Pop-Goes:The Terror In Normal School [Exam]

[Nanami]

Nanami unleashed her fury with a deep sense of satisfaction as her claws found their mark. This was a fight! The smell of blood filled the air, a delightful scent that caused every hair on her neck to stand on end. Even better was the attempted counterattack, she delighted briefly at the thought of their success but refused to make it easy for them. She danced between them, sweeping underneath the blade-like claws of the weasel that struck at her and twisting around to deliver a fatal blow that was interrupted by a raking blow across her cheek.

She let out a gasp and fell backward a moment. The sensation of pain radiated out from her cheek like electricity across her skin. Energizing, but distracting. She broke into a wide grin as she noticed them make for a hasty retreat. It would be easy to catch them, to pursue, she crouched low, hands digging into the ground as she prepared to throw herself at them. She could see it so clearly, it would be easy enough to eliminate to two subordinates, and then, to track down the leader and take her time.

Is Ai okay?

Her emotions blunted, subdued, doused as more important concerns dropped themselves overtop of her. Her claws all but vanished, her hairs settled and her breathing and heart-rate slowed from their jackhammer-like pace.

It took a moment for the shift to occur before she climbed up and turn to Ai. Holding a hand to her own cheek, she extended her comrade her other hand and asked, “Are you alright?” She turned her gaze towards the weasel, ready in case they opted for a more vicious surprise feigned through their retreat but otherwise content to let them go. “I think that covers the extent of what we were asked, we should inform Maru.”

She caught her breath, shaking off a specter that clung to her.

 

[Shinrya Riko]

The Weasels began to retreat, but Nanami took a less aggressive stance.

“I think that covers the extent of what we were asked, we should inform Maru.”

As she watched them scramble Ai caught her breath, ”You really think that is enough?” She somehow doubted that Maru was going to just accept the fact that they let the weasels get away. Knowing him, he probably wanted to eat them or something. Ai wasn’t sure if actually was a Youkai, but he certainly didn’t act like a person sometimes. No. The real question should be, what would a Chuunin do in this situation? They had the advantage right now, and if their enemies got away this situation could occur all over again.


Yet the objective was simply “Do something about the Weasels”. They did something, and chasing them away fulfilled that requirement. Namai was right in that regard. Still, Ai couldn’t help but get the feeling that there would be some kind of misunderstanding.


Ai looked down at ther shirt that had been converted into crop top thanks to the sharp claws of the weasel. Fortunately this scratch wasn’t anything worse than what she had gotten out on the farm when dealing with animals there, but it still was a little bit embarrassing. She tried to keep her composure, but her cheeks were beginning to turn red no that their decision not to pursue had been made and the adrenaline that had been fueling her had died down. "I guess we should head back to Maru-sensei now, huh?" She gave a final look at the scattering weasels.

 

[Midori Futotta]

The students deciding to let the weasel's go, the trio hopped out of the window and rode on a gust of wind. Flying away in defeat leaving the Academy and it's students at peace once again. The duo had now completed their task of getting rid of the weasel's, but was it to Maru's standards? Do Maru believe that they deserve to have the rank of a beginner ninja since they bravely chased off the animals that we're causing trouble in the Academy. They will find out soon enough….

__________

Maru closed his porno magazine, then his ears perked up in attention after hearing no loud booms and the sound of combat coming from the classroom that the weasels had taken over. He squinted his eyes, thinking that his twin who bravely charged in had met with a terrible end. Maru shrugged "Oh well, guess I'm going to have to go in there and see the mess they made." The fox got out of his seat then tucked his magazine under his armpit and left the classroom he was hanging around in. He honestly didn't want to pay those damn weasels anything for helping him cheat in a poker game but if it got them to go away then Maru had no choice. He sighed, then opened the door to where the weasel's had been in then offered a sweet smile. "Alright alright you guys win. I'll give you some of my jew- oh what are you two doing here? Maru said shocked to see that the two students he asked to go in and fight the weasel's was actually here instead of that weird Maru imposter.

He gave the two a look of suspicion, not sure if they were weasels in disguise so he simply raised his right hand and created a kitsunebi in his hand. The foxfire floating in his hand started to twist, changing into the form of one massive flaming eyeball that used the flaming to blink. It looked at the girls for a moment, the pupil small as it concentrated on the children and after a moment the eyeball's pupil returned to it's normal size. "The girls before you are not weas–" the eye went up in flames then vanished before it even finished. Now knowing for sure that these two weren't weasels he decided to relax a bit, clapping his hands together. "Excellent, I'm just going to assume that the weasel's have been taken care of, yes?" he said in a joyful tone, assuming that the weasel's have been taken care of otherwise they would've probably attacked him already.

He looked around the room, seeing the devastation that was caused by the weasel's. Maru wasn't about to clean nor fix the classroom since the last time he did that, he ended up creating a Youkai from filth that still to this day won't leave. 'Yup this is looking like a job for my Youkai. Speaking of Youkai where is that twin of mine.' He looked out the broken window, shrugged. "Alright, so where are the bodies? I was looking forward to some weasel meat for lunch." he said, holding his hand out for them to put the weasel's living or dead bodies in his hand. Trying to make up his mind whether to cook them or just crunch on them now while they are still fresh. With his hand outstretched, he waited for the children to give him the weasel's and allow them to graduate already. But will he get the weasel's he was looking forward to eating?

WC 590
MFT

 

[Nanami]

Nanami chuckled and let out a sound of relief as she leaned back and took stock of the situation. "His request was pretty clearcut. Beat 'em up, headbands are ours." She considered for a moment. Maru might have intended them to do more, but at the very least they followed his words. That might not ultimately matter in the end but...hrm. She wouldn't let it go without a fight, either way. Let him try!

"Are you sure you're good?" she took a moment to appraise the injuries. Not too bad, nothing that required immediate triage but Nanami fished about her tools for some bandage to help tend to some of the bleeding.

The act was interrupted by footsteps, Nanami snapped to attention as their employer, Maru, appeared. She tried to stand up tall, as impressive as possible alongside the towering Ai. It seemed he didn't expect them to be here victorious, something that irked her. She felt a shudder deep in the pit of her stomach, anger that she shoved deep down. Some small part of her wondered if she could take Maru if she had to, that part of her wanted to.

"Of course they have," she said a little more hotly than she intended. Having her identity verified to confirm she wasn't a secret weasel was a little too much after the mess that this graduation had become. She took a deep breath, surprised by her own emotions. Something's not right, get ahold of yourself. She let out the breath as carefully as she could as if trying to exhale her frustration. Why?

She stared at his outstretched hand sheepishly for a moment.

"Maru, Sensei. They..."

He didn't ask us to kill them. He didn't ask us to keep them around. He asked us to get rid of them, get them out of the school, a mess he made, an exam he probably doesn't even have the right to hold. Is this some kind of joke? Is he trying to mess with us? Of course he's not, of course this is just another-

"We drove them out as requested," she said politely, her voice tight and formal. "They fled the school and I chose to let them go out of concern for my ally and because I felt that satisfied the request. If you'd like, I'd be happy to track them down and return them to you."

She titled her head down slightly in a polite deference, obscuring her clenching teeth. Get a grip.

 

[Shinrya Riko]

"Are you sure you're good?"

”Unless they had rabies, although at this point I wonder if maybe they did given how bizarre this whole thing has been.” She shook her head. Nanami busied herself trying to tend to the scratches. Ai continued, ”Heh - at least I got to meet a pretty cool kunoichi -” She was caught mid sentence as Maru entered the scene.

Alright alright you guys win. I'll give you some of my jew- oh what are you two doing here?

The giantess raised an eyebrow at the curious man. ”What’s that supposed to mean? You told us to come in here?” He wasn’t satisfied. He pulled out some kind of technique that turned into an eye and glanced at them before announcing that they weren’t in fact, imposters. Ai shrugged and gave an exasperated look. What did he expect?


”Sensei- I’m flattered that you think weasels would take my form to try and defeat you with their secret technique.”

"Excellent, I'm just going to assume that the weasel's have been taken care of, yes?

”Yeah, we took care of them. Although-” Ai proving her timid nature was once again cut off by Maru who seemed to march to the beat of his own drum.

"Alright, so where are the bodies? I was looking forward to some weasel meat for lunch."

He held out his hand expectantly, and Ai gazed at him in abject horror. Know she was from the country, and it was surely a fox’s world out there - where the fox grinned when he got the hens, but somehow eating an intelligent creature seemed… wrong. They were much too smart - and Maru certainly had seemed to be in the wrong accordingly to the weasels.


Nanami explained the whole situation and Ai bowed her head as she glared at the floor as she tried to figure out what she thought about this whole manner. She couldn't help but think over and over again questioning about what she had gotten herself into.


Ai just blinked and ran a hand through her hair as she looked at Maru - the strange fox man. Their life at the academy seemed to be in his hands as it were. She gestured with her hands to indicate that she was just waiting for Maru’s judgement, in a ‘Well?’ kind of motion.

 

[Midori Futotta]

A cool breeze went by as soon as he asked for the weasel's followed by an awkward silence. Maru's smile never seemed to fade, his hand outstretched waiting for the children to give him the 'food' so he could graduate them already. Maru looked at the Nanami, who had looked at him sheepishly, then at Ai, who looked at him in horror, then he looked at his hand, that remained empty, then he looked back at Nanami. Nanami spoke up first, about to tell him something but seemingly cut herself off for some reason. "They what? Did you two eat them? No! You must've burned them to ash, no biggie, their souls gotta linger around here so I'll just help myself." Maru raised his head up then sniffed around, trying to sniff out any remains of animal hair around but the smell was pretty faint. He looked at the children again, Nanami explained what happened in the most educational and professional way that she could. But however, Maru's inner demon already decoded the language into something that he could understand.


Maru extended his hand towards Nanami, cupping her chin to tilt her head back up to look at him. A smug smile now plastered onto his face, he knew that their future was riding on him and now that they made a rather critical mistake this exam was starting to look grim. "So… what you were trying to say was that they got away. That you had an opportunity to capture them but because she…" he gestured his head in Ai's direction. "was hurt. You decided to let the weasels go to rest, get stronger, than come back to the Academy with a vengeance. Is that correct?" Maru letting go of Nanami's chin, he turned his back to proceed to walk towards where the now broken teachers desk was. "I suppose when the Raikage orders you two to get rid of a spy you'll let them go too, huh? Oo! Or how about finding a missing child. You'll find them but because returning them wasn't in the description mission complete. Yanno… I really need to start doing that I'm inspired!" he laughed to himself, turning back to again decided the children's fate.


"Under normal circumstances I'd just fail you and get it over with but… of course we are kinda low on shinobi so I'll grade you two to show I at least attempted. So weasels left that half the grade right there so you already got 50%" Maru explained. "The capture was worth 10 points so I guess you lose those points along with the extra credit for each one captured which is 10 for each weasel captured. So much for a perfect 100%." Looking up towards the ceiling, he began to think of something else then pointed at them. "Oh we grade on flawless too, basically how much you were injured. Nanami ain't badly hurt so I'll give her a 7 but Eye over there was hurt bad enough to warrant concern from her teammate so she'll get a 2 since she doesn't know how to dodge." He scored. Maru would've given Ai a 5 based on his judgement but since Nanami used her as an excuse he scored Ai based on HER judgement! So far it's looking 57% for Nanami and 52% for Ai however there was still more. 70% or higher would be enough to at least graduate so let's see how Mr. Normal grades them on the next two categories.


"Now the use of Justu, now I wasn't here but if you managed to use enough to make them flee then you two must've scared them otherwise why would they run. Buuuuuut you two didn't knock them out so I'll give you both an 8 on that." he scored. "Good. Looks like you two are now in the sixties. The next category is the most important, not only is it important because it's your only shot at passing but it's important that all gennin get a perfect 10 on this one. If you don't then you actually lose points depending on what your grade already is. Like say if you score a 5… you gain and lose 5 meaning you get nothing. Get anything lower and you might just lose points." everything was riding on getting this last category right, Nanami could afford to lose a couple points but Ai needed the whole 10. The fox smirked, folding his arms and closing his eyes letting the tension build. "The last category was…. Teamwork. Nanami seems to show a bit of leadership though doesn't look down on her teammates and Eye seems to be pulling her weight too as a good servant so I'll give you two a 10 for that. Congrats… you two passed by the skin of your teeth. 70% for Eye and 75 for Nanami." Maru clapped the two on a job well done, turning away from the two to remove his mask so he could reach down in a seemingly empty space within the inner part of his mask to bring out two shiny silver headbands with the Kumogakure's symbol of allegiance etched into it. Putting the mask back over his face then turned back to hold the headbands towards the two graduates.


"By the power granted by the Raikage, Lord Enma, and all the horrors that lurk in the shadows of Kumogakure. I hereby promote you two to Gennin" now that they were beginner nin's it was a good of time as any to see what branch will they be interested in… "Also as agreed you'll get my recommendation to a branch of your choice. Though now you're free to choose your own path, how about you two become a team with me as your Jounin supervisor?" he offered, looking to get his first shot at recruiting some Gennin since the other branches would be more than happy to take them. While Maru wasn't exactly a particularly good person, he was in a position of power in which he wasn't afraid to use. "You see, I've seen countless Academy students and currently Gennin be stuck in the same rank for years on end. Not only that but they speak of wanting to protect the village but when a bloodthirsty rogue walks in they aren't ready to defend themselves." the fox went on, raising his finger to the sky. "I for one am offering to supervise your ninja career! That means I'll train you up to defend yourselves, do a few missions, and continue ranking you two up until you're a Jounin like me! Of course, it won't be easy but it'll be faster than waiting for years on end without purpose. I am your best option though if you really don't want for me to supervise you than… Don't be surprised if there's another wanna be kage kid ranking up under my supervision." he shrugged. It was indeed hard enough for their future at the academy to be at the hands of the fox man, but will they let him watch over their ninja career. They could be done with him here and now though what if his offer was genuine? What if he was offering to rank them up faster for a few missions and a couple of training sessions? "Besides you need a Jounin to recommend you for the rank, if not that then you better hope the Raikage or a Sennin will promote you. Otherwise I'm the only Jounin who could recommend you. Thank Enma for all those shinobi coming up missing." Maru snickered wondering if it was a deal….

[Nanami and Watanabe Ai PASSED their Exam!]

[Post what branch You'll be joining and I'll request your banners!]​

 

[Nanami]

Nanami stood still, regulated her breathing, let her adrenaline lapse and her emotions settle. It was hard. She didn't like being judged, she didn't like the way that Maru held against them things that weren't explained. She didn't like that she wasn't letting herself say 'well, if it wasn't for you those weasels wouldn't have attacked anyone in the first place! The tension coiled inside her like a spring as he teased out whether she passed or failed.

She was going to fight him. She wasn't sure how or why, what she'd even do if she decided to, but she knew she deserved it. She and Ai had earned it, and she wouldn't be able to help herself if he tried to take that from them. Even if she knew better, she was a cloud nin, it wasn't her place to challenge him but she -needed- this, and she wanted to fight, so badly. The weasels were nothing, after all, just a warm-up.

Her muscles tensed, her eyes locked firmly with Maru's as he delivered his sentence. Her hands clenched tight, nails much too sharp to be hard own dug hard into her palm. She waited with a held breath the outcome and exhaled hard, the tension drained from her. She closed her eyes and smiled, exhaling hard in relief. The rest of his words were a blur, she felt the clasp of his hand and her eyes opened in time to see the headband. Her eyes widened as she looked at it. She took it tentatively, then clutched it tight in her hand, staring at it long into Maru's recruitment spiel.

She lowered the headband to her side, still clutched tightly as if she was worried the wind might snatch it away from her. Branch. Supervisor. She took a breath, Maru was certainly capable, and his...enigmatic nature had a certain appeal to it, but she wasn't even expecting to graduate today much less pick her branch or her supervisor. Something about Maru set her on edge, but it was that same feeling that pulled her. She could learn a lot, she could...get a chance maybe.

She exhaled hard, "If it's okay, I'd like to defer my decision, for a time. This was a lot more than I anticipated doing in one day and I'd like to take a little bit to think about it." The idea of languishing in her rank for years was something she refused to worry about. "But as for branch, I would like to-" a moment of hesitation, "-begin down the path of the Medical Nin!"


[Medical Branch!]

 

[Shinrya Riko]

Ai really couldn't stand the way that Maru seemed so non-chalant about eating intelligent weasels. When Nanami explained things plainly to him his words began to feel particularly scathing to Ai. She grew up on a farm with strict rules. She had learned to care for creatures other than herself for something more than a meal so she wasn't the kind that wanted senseless violence. No, she was someone who wanted strength if only to protect the weak who died because she hadn't been strong enough. To protect them from people like Maru. The accusation that they didn't complete the mission because it wasn't in the guidelines just confused her a little more. The details about what he wanted them to do weren't very clear in the first place, but then again this was Maru. He probably thought that they would understand what he was asking for from the beginning.

As the grading began she felt that she was already off to a bad start. He went through their whole battle line by line. He hadn't even been there to witness any of it, and yet he was making declarations. Like didn't know how to dodge - Like there was a choice in the matter. The points added up in such small numbers and as the analysis of the battle drew to a close Ai couldn't help but hold her breath as she wondered what she would end up with. Would it be enough? She could very easily imagine Maru failing her just because he could. Then...She passed? She breathed in relief, and a hand rested over her heart.

Then came Maru's offer. It was a little unfair that he was the first to get his chance to appeal to the young impressionable minds at the academy given his proximity to them, but his offer wasn't without appeal. Maru was crazy, that much she couldn't deny, but on the other hand he was jounin and had access to the skills that she would need in order to achieve her goals some day. Medical branch? No way - she would just get in the way. Anbu? How was she supposed to erase her identity just for the sake of the village? The only option was the main branch - the dead end. Except it didn't have to be.

"Umm...Maru-sensei...I'll take you up on your offer." Ai already regretted what she had just said. Internal facepalm.

[Main Branch]

 

[Midori Futotta]

Maru chuckled at the look on their faces when they finally realized that they actually passed. Mediocre as the duo did in capturing the food, they didn't deserve to be properly graded so he believed their grade was pretty fair… though… he wondered if he decided to just fail them what would've happened. Ai was a bit meek so that reaction wouldn't be no fun but Nanami's reaction would've been pretty funny. Guess there will be more chances since besides running the academy, he also was in charge of a blanketed program on known as Chakra Potential Screening Service so the exact branch isn't really an issue since all the branches have a hand in the program. With his offer on the table, the first one to answer was Nanami who though didn't say "No" exactly had decided to think about having him look over her shinobi career.


She also wanted to go on the path of a medical ninja which surprised him considering her personality. "Not a bad choice. We are kinda running low on medics anyway, could help me with finding some chakra sensitive kiddos out there to recruit." he joked, though he honestly thought she would take to being an Anbu giving her edgelordness. Now Nanami chosen her career, the fox now looked up at the tall girl who hasn't chosen her path yet. He waited patiently for her to make up her mind, waving his tails in a swaying manner as though he wasn't going to leave unless Ai gave him an answer. 'Tick-Tolk Eye.' Maru thought to himself, then she answered which made him smirk. "Excellent choice, Eye. Main branch it is then." he simply said.


"Welp! Now that that's over with I now promote Nanami to Medic-Nin in training and Wannabe Eye to just plain old Gennin." he clapped his hands, then began walking towards the door after promoting the two former Academy Student's. "Office is always open when you finally decided Nanami. As for you Eye, I look forward to working with you again. Though it won't be easy, but I'll guarantee that by the end of it all we'll both will be able to get ahead. We could work out the details of our apprenticeship later." With that, Maru whistle calling for a dark cloud of miasma to spread before him a couple feet above the floor before he stepped on to the clouds as though it was a floating platform. "Until then, rest easy and get your mind ready! Things only get normal from here." Saying all he needed to say, Maru sped down the hallway and down the stairs on his cloud. Where exactly he was going, he didn't know but he wanted to find some lunch somewhere….


[Nanami is Promoted to Medical-Nin In Training!]
[Watanabe Ai Promoted to Gennin!]
[Left Unless stopped]