You have answered Sunagakure's summons, "arrive at the Ranger Tracking Grounds Main Office at 8 o'clock in the morning for your assessment." The note was vague but addressed to you in the same typed script. It did not even mention what or why you were being assessed. It was likely that you considered the reason why, you expressed interest in participating in the World martial Arts Tournament next year but the message and the messenger seemed to have few words of advice or encouragement to share. Of course, it would be cheating or unfair for someone to give a potential fighter the advantage in a fight, in this study every shinobi served as a control. There were personal favorites under consideration but if they could not blaze their own way then they would never make it to the tournament.
Favored due to your association with the Toraono family as well as your status in the Medical Branch, you are one of the highest ranking Medics in Sunagakure. It only seemed obvious that once you cited an interest that you would be among those chosen to be assessed.
The Tracking Grounds was a Ranger-only center that took up several acres of land. It was an impressive, albeit plain-looking structure with a dome shape and an earth-colored hue. The tracking grounds themselves were open to shinobis in good standing with Sunagakure for the purposes of training but thus far they were underutilized. Since Shouki's final stand in this very center, the Tracking Grounds has been closed while the Ranger's headquarter's security was being reviewed. Presently closed to the public unless one has a specific invitation, you would be among the first shinobi to enter this structure in months.
The entrance would be simple, guarded by a pair of well-armed and intimidating men. Both looked more like the sort of men that would grapple a bull, beat it and then eat it raw for their morning meal. Their eyes would flash a moment of recognition, yes they knew you were coming and what you looked like, with a grunt and a nod they would allow you entry. Of course, if someone was foolhardy enough to disrespect them, the door would slam closed and you would be faced with combat before you even reached the training ground. Yes, you were probably 'stronger' than them, despite their intimidating presence because if they were indeed more capable it would be them answering this invitation and not you.
The entrance would lead to a long, narrow hall. The walls were made of some sort of metal. It would be Takahashi Steel. On either side there was also a thick wall of glass that separated their reinforcement beams. To the right you would see a desert expanse. It looked like the same thing you would see every time you left the village. A gilded terrain with little cover and vegetation. If you were to press your hand against the glass, it would feel hot to the touch, almost painfully so. To the left, grasslands. It was quite tranquil, gently rolling hills and a verdant landscape spotted with a few knotted trees that provided a shady canopy. The glass if touched would feel temperate, not hot nor cold. A rabbit would dart out from beneath a mossy stump and stare at you from the other side of the glass curiously before hopping away.
This place was one of the things that made the Ranger's unique, they were trained hunters. They spent their idle time preparing as survivalists and they did not hunt "small game." Rangers were one of the few that actively sought dangerous S-Class beasts as well as creatures and monsters of dubious origin. In truth, Rangers were the Monster Hunters of Wind Country but they did too good of a job. With a lack of dangerous game, need for the Rangers as a whole diminished until the Rangers finally dispersed as a unit entirely. Their way lost and forgotten by most as families moved on. There were a few, a mere sprinkling here and there that still knew the old ways. That was how this structure was erected but Rangers are notoriously fickle and that particular Ranger had not been seen in some time. Some have come to believe that she was lost or killed while seeking game, it was a common cause of death for Rangers who live short and brutal lives.
This hallway would prove to be quite long, in fact you would walk for over a mile before you would reach your destination -- a door. No, not THE DOOR, simply a door. It would be unlocked and you would leave the glass encased hallway and enter an office. The office would be neat and rather small given the distance you traveled to reach this central hub. There would be a desk and a man sitting behind the desk, one could only assume that he was a Ranger. He would not address, you rather a young woman who would take a few steps towards you as you entered the room. She was dressed like a fifteen year old gothic boy, not a representative for one of the largest tournaments in the world. There was a simple reason for this -- she did not represent the tournament, she represented Sunagakure's interests.
"Are you Byakko Kyūji?"
She would wait for you to confirm who you were.
"Excellent, sign here." She would have you a scroll. Once unfurled it would be a liability statement claiming that you are aware and affirm that you are about to enter into a dangerous situation. That death, disfigurement and even potential disability may result from participation. "I am sure they filled you in," she would announce while she waited for your signature. "Of course they wouldn't, would they?" She sighed, the project was not public yet. Well, she better explain. "You are about to enter a simulated combat experience unlike anything you have ever seen before. This will assess you in a 'safe'"</B><i></i> she made quotation marks with her fingers "...environment. You will still suffer the damage of powerful attacks, determined by the setting dial on the machine. I have you and the others set for Level 8. Yes, there are higher levels but those are intended for group combat experience and we felt that it would be unnecessary." She would press a button on the Ranger's desk and the walls would open up. There would be several doors, well more specifically 5. Each would be labeled simply: desert, grassland, forest, tundra, water.
"Pick a biome and enter when you are ready. We have added security measures to the door. Returning will be difficult to say the least. you have thirty seconds to return through the door. Do your best." She would give him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. As he enters she would add an additional query, "Do you have any next of kin, medical issues, excreta that I will need to be aware of when I---" The door would slam between you an her, trapping you inside whichever biome you have chosen to enter. She gave you the instructions -- you have 30 seconds to return through the door you just left. It sounds simple, but it truly is not. The door would hum to life,hidden gears would start to whirl as an unknown power-source empowered the massive mechanical structure.
It was go time!
<B>Intruder Targeted!
Favored due to your association with the Toraono family as well as your status in the Medical Branch, you are one of the highest ranking Medics in Sunagakure. It only seemed obvious that once you cited an interest that you would be among those chosen to be assessed.
The Tracking Grounds was a Ranger-only center that took up several acres of land. It was an impressive, albeit plain-looking structure with a dome shape and an earth-colored hue. The tracking grounds themselves were open to shinobis in good standing with Sunagakure for the purposes of training but thus far they were underutilized. Since Shouki's final stand in this very center, the Tracking Grounds has been closed while the Ranger's headquarter's security was being reviewed. Presently closed to the public unless one has a specific invitation, you would be among the first shinobi to enter this structure in months.
The entrance would be simple, guarded by a pair of well-armed and intimidating men. Both looked more like the sort of men that would grapple a bull, beat it and then eat it raw for their morning meal. Their eyes would flash a moment of recognition, yes they knew you were coming and what you looked like, with a grunt and a nod they would allow you entry. Of course, if someone was foolhardy enough to disrespect them, the door would slam closed and you would be faced with combat before you even reached the training ground. Yes, you were probably 'stronger' than them, despite their intimidating presence because if they were indeed more capable it would be them answering this invitation and not you.
The entrance would lead to a long, narrow hall. The walls were made of some sort of metal. It would be Takahashi Steel. On either side there was also a thick wall of glass that separated their reinforcement beams. To the right you would see a desert expanse. It looked like the same thing you would see every time you left the village. A gilded terrain with little cover and vegetation. If you were to press your hand against the glass, it would feel hot to the touch, almost painfully so. To the left, grasslands. It was quite tranquil, gently rolling hills and a verdant landscape spotted with a few knotted trees that provided a shady canopy. The glass if touched would feel temperate, not hot nor cold. A rabbit would dart out from beneath a mossy stump and stare at you from the other side of the glass curiously before hopping away.This place was one of the things that made the Ranger's unique, they were trained hunters. They spent their idle time preparing as survivalists and they did not hunt "small game." Rangers were one of the few that actively sought dangerous S-Class beasts as well as creatures and monsters of dubious origin. In truth, Rangers were the Monster Hunters of Wind Country but they did too good of a job. With a lack of dangerous game, need for the Rangers as a whole diminished until the Rangers finally dispersed as a unit entirely. Their way lost and forgotten by most as families moved on. There were a few, a mere sprinkling here and there that still knew the old ways. That was how this structure was erected but Rangers are notoriously fickle and that particular Ranger had not been seen in some time. Some have come to believe that she was lost or killed while seeking game, it was a common cause of death for Rangers who live short and brutal lives.
This hallway would prove to be quite long, in fact you would walk for over a mile before you would reach your destination -- a door. No, not THE DOOR, simply a door. It would be unlocked and you would leave the glass encased hallway and enter an office. The office would be neat and rather small given the distance you traveled to reach this central hub. There would be a desk and a man sitting behind the desk, one could only assume that he was a Ranger. He would not address, you rather a young woman who would take a few steps towards you as you entered the room. She was dressed like a fifteen year old gothic boy, not a representative for one of the largest tournaments in the world. There was a simple reason for this -- she did not represent the tournament, she represented Sunagakure's interests. "Are you Byakko Kyūji?"She would wait for you to confirm who you were.
"Excellent, sign here." She would have you a scroll. Once unfurled it would be a liability statement claiming that you are aware and affirm that you are about to enter into a dangerous situation. That death, disfigurement and even potential disability may result from participation. "I am sure they filled you in," she would announce while she waited for your signature. "Of course they wouldn't, would they?" She sighed, the project was not public yet. Well, she better explain. "You are about to enter a simulated combat experience unlike anything you have ever seen before. This will assess you in a 'safe'"</B><i></i> she made quotation marks with her fingers "...environment. You will still suffer the damage of powerful attacks, determined by the setting dial on the machine. I have you and the others set for Level 8. Yes, there are higher levels but those are intended for group combat experience and we felt that it would be unnecessary." She would press a button on the Ranger's desk and the walls would open up. There would be several doors, well more specifically 5. Each would be labeled simply: desert, grassland, forest, tundra, water.
"Pick a biome and enter when you are ready. We have added security measures to the door. Returning will be difficult to say the least. you have thirty seconds to return through the door. Do your best." She would give him an encouraging smile and a thumbs up. As he enters she would add an additional query, "Do you have any next of kin, medical issues, excreta that I will need to be aware of when I---" The door would slam between you an her, trapping you inside whichever biome you have chosen to enter. She gave you the instructions -- you have 30 seconds to return through the door you just left. It sounds simple, but it truly is not. The door would hum to life,hidden gears would start to whirl as an unknown power-source empowered the massive mechanical structure.
It was go time!
<B>Intruder Targeted!
| ! |
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After a quick evaluation, I was prepared to go and I would head to the Ranger Tracking Grounds Main Office as described in the letter that I received last night. My time of arrival to the entrance would be around 7:30 giving me plenty of time to relax my nerves, get out the jitters and be able to present myself and think rationally; I would not wait long however to enter the building and be met by two guards who would grunt and nod before letting me in. With their acceptance and verification, I headed down a long, narrow hall seeing two vastly different biomes, if one could call them, on either side of me with one appearing to be like the deserts of our country while the other looked like somewhere in Fire Country if it was true that they had a lot of grass, trees, and it was more scenic than the barring wastelands of our desert even though I liked our deserts. While these two different biomes were interesting, I did not have a lot of time to waste so I continued along my path and it would be a long way to say the least as I would quicken my pace to get to the end of the hall quicker. It did not help that I was wearing armor inside of a building that would cause my sweat glands to begin on top of these contractions called breasts that would not stay still if I did anything else aside from walking; they were pesky little buggers to say the least. 
In any case, it was time to act as time was ticking away and I didn't want to leave this evaluation with merely showing that I could evade practically everything that was thrown my way. It was already obvious that I could do that and it was more likely that they wanted to see if anyone would put a big dent in the D.O.O.R. or die trying. Thus, it was time to show them what I was truly capable of doing with my swordsmanship and this new body; I had to at least try to damage it a little and possibly make it "bleed" some oil or other liquid so it wasn't as powerful as I move on against it. But, I had to wonder if everyone was truly facing a creation like this in their evaluations that probably followed mine OR if I was the "special victim" in this whole experiment of the Rangers. In other words, was I a guinea pig or a mouse that was being toyed with to see what effects giving me the "cheese" would do? Truthfully, I did not know and it was likely that I didn't want to know for the time being. However, I did know that if I survived and could recall this test that I was in, I was going to write about it in Formal Runic and place my findings in the Oracle's Library when the time was right and I could sit down with the creator and possibly get more information. After all, knowledge was power and one could not be sure if a creation like this could solve the problems that our nation was currently facing. If it was giving me a fit, then it could likely be used as a form of defense for the village from outside invaders like rogue ninja or even the corrupted political leader of the country.