---

"Hey, you two, want to team with me?"

Renji was stirred from his thoughts by the random question. When he turned to see where it had originated from, he was met with the bright and cheerful visage of a young, female shinobi who'd introduced herself by the name, Ai. His memory gave him no recollection of ever before seeing her face, though he could tell by the Iwagakure symbol on her clothing that she was a fellow Chūnin from the Hidden Stone. Renji had listened to the Hokage's speech and winced when it was suggested that they choose their own teams. In truth, he was very much a lone wolf, thanks to his past eight years of isolated service. Had it not been for this girl's forwardness, Renji would likely have chosen the combative route - though that's not to say collecting the aforementioned scrolls wouldn't involve any conflict.

By the time he began formulating his reply, the girl was joined by another referring to herself as Ayame - the supposed fourth member of their would-be team that Ai had briefly mentioned earlier. Another unrecognized face, though he was quick to notice her headband tied around her neck - Iwagakure again. He wasn't entirely sure but he thought he could see an uncanny resemblance between the two as they stood side by side. Renji frowned a little, dispelling the useless thought that had popped into his mind at that moment. It wasn't long afterward that a third voiced chimed in.

"I'm Hikaru, no fancy clan name in spite of me being a Kekkei user."

This face he did remember - or what was shown of it at least. Red hair with a bandaged face, it was none other than Iwagakure's Crimson Fiend. Renji had been tasked to shadow the young shinobi whilst the ANBU brass had considered recruiting him after the disbandment of the Explosion Corps. Their ultimate decision not to enlist him being based on the fact that his casually mentioned Kekkei Genkai meant that he was extremely proficient in blowing things up. And after shadowing him briefly, Renji was entirely inclined to agree with their assessment. Hikaru had never known he was followed of course - the ANBU Black Ops always made sure to scope out any potential members before inviting them to join - it had been one of the other few occasions that Renji had been permitted to remove his mask.

He allowed the others to finish talking, before finally introducing himself, "I am Renji." He began, pushing himself away from the post he'd been leaning on to stand and face them. "And I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me. Back home, it's my job to stay invisible." He stated, making direct eye-contact with Ai. Though he didn't explicitly want to reveal his position as an ANBU member, Renji thought it prudent to at least give his new teammates a clue. Maybe this small trusting of information would pay him back in kind later.

"Regarding the scroll, I'm not entirely fond of lightning." He said, recalling the element as one of his Kekkei Genkai's main weaknesses. "But this Exam is all about challenges. And challenges are made to be overcome." Renji finished, trying his best to give a friendly smile.

Koibito payed attention to the Hokage very very diligently. Paying attention to his words, looking for loop holes in his rules. He loved to game the game. This is what all these exams were, games of wit and cunning. Skill or ability was only half the battle. After the Hokage had his little speech, Koibito looked back to Date for his response.

Koibito returned the smile, but his tone didn't seem match it. "I'm doing...normal. You know, same old same old.". Koibitos sadness peaked out a little, which was definitely out of character. He wasn't sure if Date had heard of his recent tragedy, but if he hadn't this wasn't the time nor place for all that. "Of course we will be on a team! But I think We'll need two more to make it a full team. If I had to choose, let's find someone who shares our Genjustu skill. Then maybe we won't need to do so much heavy lifting..."

Looking at all the competition, seeing a few already forming teams right off the Bat. _@LadyinInk The Medusa herself already seemed to be interested in the Pair. Maybe she had the same Idea. Then again, Koibito was sure he saw Kyo here running around with his fling. There was definitely options if they wanted to take the Easier more 'intelligent' route to this little competition. If they couldn't get another two that focused on their Genjutsu, then maybe they would have to play it fair and square. Actually having to do the work instead of just taking the prize for some unsuspecting victims.. Koibito wasn't lazy, but he didn't see why he would put all this effort when it wasn't needed.

"So what do you think Date? Want to play it fair and square or let others do it for us? We have options for both. I don't think Kyo or Kiku have a team just yet. Although Kyo might want to bring his Girl which is going against the Genjutsu idea. Honestly I'd take one of our clan any day of the week, but his thang might make him some what of a risk for the team as a whole and I don't know much about her. I'll leave the decision up to you."

Date smile at his friend's idea, he forgot what it felt like to be genuine around others, plus he and Koibito always hit it off well. While they talked he noticed his change in behavior and had an idea as to why he looked down, if Date was correct then they had a lot more in common they he would like them too.

"Kyo is not a bad idea plus we don't really need her for the win." Date said with a smirk. He had heard of Kyo from his father, the prodigy of their generation. he only knew that he lived abroad for some time but nothing more than that, and Date never had any problems with Kyo so it was a solid idea. This also drove him to wonder how strong Koibito had gotten since they were Genin, he knew an answer would be given soon enough but he still wondered.

"So we got our other two teammates, which scroll are we after? Ii can tell the other teams are already picking out which one they want." Date said as he looked for their clansmen in the crowd. Date knew there was some kind of trick to picking the scrolls and he did not wanna end up in some kind of mess, he could not afford to fail these exams or that was the end of his mom.

"Aye Kyo, come here!!!" Date yelled when he spotted him with his girl, knowing he caught someones attention but Date did not care. It was kinda obvious the two were together and this caused him to wonder if that would be a problem later on, but they would cross that bridge if they ever got their. All that mattered now was that they get the team together and start this trail.

Kiku took a few steps away from the Uchiha boys, and sighed. Weighing the options of joining a team or not bothered the girl, she was familiar with everyone who was from the Konoha Academy. But, the idea of going up to and asking anyone sent a wave of anxiety through her. Kiku brought a hand to her face, raising one side of her mask to stare at the masses. Though she could use echolocation to see the world around her, it wasn't enough to detail a face. Everything was more like a shadowy outline, black and gray, pretty bland. She looked around at all the different groups noting some already forming, and frowned. The Hokage did say anyone.... Staring at the ninja around her, examining the students from Iwa, all of them very interesting to her. Maybe it'd be better to team with another village since she was familiar with the students and what they were capable of, she'd have a slight upper hand in what to expect. But then again, the thought of going up to any of those complete strangers really made anxious. She dropped her mask and sighed, rubbing her temples - cursing herself for not being a bit forthright when it came to meeting new people.

Well, the worse anyone could say is no....she convinced herself, and began to mindlessly move through the crowd. As she let out a click to navigate through the flowing crowd, a figure stepped right in her pathway. A familiar voice she had heard earlier came from the body in front her - strudel boy. He was rather exuberant, sensing his particularly good mood - and he was also getting very very close, especially to her face. The Kunoichi leaned back as the boy leaned towards her face, her cheeks tinged with pink at the unexpected break in her personal space. He had gotten so close she could now smell the strudel on his breath. Kiku lost her balance and reached out in reflex to break her descent onto her ass, her hands reaching out of reflex for something to grab. It happened to be Shizuka's track suit - she felt him start to fall with her but he caught his footing and leaned back. Almost falling into him as she rocked forward back onto her feet. Kiku quickly let go of his suit and hopped back, letting out a breath of relief. The lavender haired Kunoichi crossed her arms, and pursed her lips as her cheeks began to turn red. "Hey! I'm not going deaf, you don't have to get so close...." She stuck a thumb under the right side of her mask - raising it high enough to reveal one powdered lavender eyeball.

"I taught myself how to fight with it on," Her one eye moved from Shizuka's face to Kurin's, and realized she recognized them from the Academy. The "Stick-boy" seemed a bit rigid, as he was just dragged through the crowd, but knew who he was - class president Kurin. Shizuka was a voice she had been familiar with for a long time, she remembered hearing it echo in the halls and even outside, but never met him. Now she had just been face to face with him, literally. "My eyes are so light because I'm going blind, and they'll keep getting lighter till then....and thank you". She added, her cheeks flushed again. Kiku personally wasn't the biggest fan of her fading eyes, but the sting of knowing she was going blind wore off a long time ago. Slipping her thumb out from under her mask quickly letting it fall back into place. She crossed her arms under her chest, and turned her head slight at the two. It then dawned on her that he was asking her to be on their team, she smiled as a sense of relief washed through her. Starting conversations wasn't her forte, and now she didn't have to approach anybody. "Yeah, okay! We just need to find one more person, right?" She chirped, extending one arm out from under her chest to shake their hands, "I'm Kiku of the Kurama Clan".

---

Sakana's silence was slightly unnerving. Rarely, the Peaceful Rabbit sought idle conversation. Even rarer it was for her to take a keen interest in someone. But there was she, listening to the Hokage of her village - the possibly most important man in the actual story - while her mind floated high above and pondered the ideals behind someone who was, by all manners, terribly unimportant. Then again, maybe his unimportance was exactly why he was so intriguing to Usagi.

Now then, the Hokage had finished his speech and finally, Sakana replied her question. The entirerily of his being consisted on following what fate had in place for him. In Usagi's eyes, fate was indeed inevitable yet, one could defy it if they were determined enough to do so. Of course, she never voiced this as the last thing she wanted was to speak against Sakana. She had no reason to. The boy, at the other hand, thought lightly of such trivial manners- he outright called idiots those who wanted to trade blows. Regardless, he was right about the fire scroll resembling Konoha's Will of Fire - While Usagi wasn't particularly religious, she had to admit that those who followed it were rather admirable. She was particularly fond of the Sarutobi clan.

Strangely enough, Sakana spoke with such determination and confidence that Usagi felt drawn to follow him. And indeed she did, writing the Kanji for fire on her own scroll as well. Now, though, he had ideas of taking a second scroll. Usagi contested him; "Can we really do that, though?" A question, simply put. There weren't any rules against it, but neither was there any encouragement. Either way, they had seemingly another member approaching them.

Kamui Uzumaki - and he was joining them. That was all he informed, nothing else. The boy was quite blunt and direct. Usagi had no qualms against him and neither did she care too much, instead, she just offered a gentle smile and glanced over at Sakana, her expression showing her curiosity about what he'd do, if anything at all.

Hime Yuki

Now, Hime had no idea what "Dills my pickles" meant, but she was sure it was a good thing based on Rumia's reaction and subsequent draping of an arm around her shoulder as she prepared to take a picture of the three of them while Kurin was all but completely ignored by the ginger girl. In the mean time she, unaware of the perverse nature of the two cousins and the expressions they would make, pursed her lips as if ready to kiss the camera as Rumia took a picture of the three of them.

"You should worry less about it, Ku-Ku, I know what I'm doing." She said dismissively before Kurin left to arrange what team he was going to be in after the Hokage explained what the first phase of the test would consist of. Choose a scroll and complete a challenge? That sounded far too easy, was it even really going to be a challenge for them to become jonin like this? Not that she was too bothered about it anyway, but it didn't sound like much.

"The special one? Sure, I'll tag along!" She was very quick and very eager to go along with her new friend's idea, looking excited about getting to work with the two of them and bouncing on the spot somewhat as she seemed to build up even more enthusiasm.

Koma Hitsugi

Koma found herself caught off-guard and let out a small squeak-like sound as Ai spoke to her, simply giving a flustered nod and muttering. "Well... I wanted to take a look around first." Before the Hokage's explanation began.
The man was incredibly imposing as he gave his speech and told them of the rules of the tests, so much so that Koma found herself starting to try and hide herself a bit more with the mesh cloak around her shoulders, to little avail. What really brought her the most uncertainty and anxiety about it was that they had to group up into teams to complete the first phase of the tests, something that Koma wasn't good at admittedly, but she was better at that than at fighting other shinobi, so she'd have to try and find some others to group up with.

The quiet girl turned to see if Ai was still there, hoping to ask a somewhat familiar face if she could work with them but she'd already gone off to form her team... With one option already gone Koma began to look around from where she stood, somewhat nervous over her situation at the moment. What if she wasn't able to join one of the six teams because they were all full? Would she then have to take part in the combat tests instead? That didn't sound fair or fun at all, really.

But she wasn't any good at taking the initiative when it came to interacting with others, so she mostly stood there like a deer in headlights as she tried to spot someone who looked like a good potential team-mate.

Kurin had to admit, Shizuka was... Unique. A shinobi with a great deal of potential, even if he did seem to be completely out of it. They'd worked together only on rare occasions in the academy, but Kurin found that you could sniff out potential based on a few things. One of which was whether or not the person in question was flexible. Rigid shinobi tended to get weeded out, and while Kurin had to admit he could be overly rigid, he was always working on helping others reach their own skill ceiling, and break it. He didn't need that with Shizuka, and he was dragged along rather easily.

He stumbled, catching the drift of wind that sailed forth when Shizuka moved. Ducking, weaving, and even leaping over another shinobi who swore at the duo. Kurin wasn't as athletic as his 'partner' which meant he lagged behind the entire time. Even barreling through two other iwa shinobi arguing over who was team leader. He skidded to a stop, eyes wide as they stopped in front of a Kiku. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it!? Mind you, he doubted Shizuka thought of it beyond 'pretty girl' and that was fine with him. After all, he knew Kiku, and he knew she was just what they needed.

"Protect the Tower, C Rank Mission." Kurin muttered softly, directed at Kiku. That's where he knew her from. A success as far as anybody could be concerned. "It's good to hear you're interested." Kurin said, hands folded over his chest as he gave out a small smile. The smallest smile possible, and he doubted she even knew. "But, we shouldn't be too worried about a fourth. I scouted him out earlier, as an opponent. But since we're relying on teamwork, he'll be a good asset." Kurin shrugged, looking across the distant sea of shinobi. Reaching a hand out, wood splintered from his fingers. Tendrils reaching out, and suddenly, from the crowd he plucked their fourth member. A very specific ninja called... "Nice to see you, Jaakuna Hinoko! You're our fourth member."



YONK! Bumu was rather quick as he sprinted through the crowds. Most already in their own teams of themselves and their old friends. Good start for most. But Bumu was instead trying for a better spread of skills. Her hands reached out, and grabbed Koma from behind. "HA! You're our fourth!" He grinned from ear to ear. Probably startling the iwa ninja while doing so. "See Kaba, I told you I'd find a fourth!" She stuck out her tongue, adding a little extra insult to injury. Since their third was still missing in action. But, Bumu was sure they'd find him. That fatty stuck out like a sour thumb!

Shizuka Ichimi

---

What was this familiar feeling? It was almost as if he was flying through the winds as usual, but this time he had no control over his movements and they were not as precise as he usually was. Oh yeah it was all making sense to him, this is what falling feels like. His mind had drifted into the clouds trying to compare the ocular appearance of the purple haired girl to that of the soft clouds above him. He was quite fond of clouds always wanting to reach out and sleep on one, but the closer he got to them the more difficulty he had breathing. Anyways Shizuka snapped backed into reality as he was dangerously close to the interesting girl and saw her cheeks shine red that was odd he hadn’t seen such a color in his cheeks before. Anyways she had a vice like grip on his signature red threads which must have been why he was falling. Maybe she had tripped on something and that’s why she held onto him, whatever it was Shizuka thought quickly as he calmly let out a current of air from his palms propping him up, but from anyone else it appeared as they were both fighting to find balance.

Shizuka was uncannily calm in tight situations like this, if he hadn’t been he probably would have fallen into her and smothered her to death or grabbed onto some weird anime trope like position. Before she could fall into him she leapt back and regained her footing, but Shizuka was more worried about patting down his track suit and getting any dirt or debris off himself. Shizuka began to walk towards her again getting closer but not as close as before. “Did you trip on something? I would have caught you know. And why does your face do that?” he pointed, despite his parents telling him how rude it was. “They turn red and then go back to normal. Can you teach me how to do it?” Shizuka pushed up on his cheeks hoping they would turn read to no avail. “Oh I didn’t think you were deaf but that’s good to know, I’m Shizuka Ichimi! Nice to meet you cloudy eyes, I like cloud they’re my favorite, I could look at them all day.” Shizuka said with a kind smile and his hand stretched out, Shizuka didn’t know the weight of his words, but he only meant to compliment the girl instead of insult her depending on how it was received.

“Oh that’s so cool! But how do you see? I can feel the wind so maybe I can wear a mask too and we can go around fighting crime.” Shizuka’s childish amusement pouring out of his body. “Oh so you’re a blind ninja! That’s way cooler, well that just means we’ll have to help each other out more.” Giving her a thumbs up. Shizuka was about to talk about their final member but Kurin had interjected so his mouth was just left agape. Shizuka loosely followed whatever the stick boy said as he always seemed so uptight and rigid, not like Shizuka had gone with the flow of life like a cool breeze. Almost like a ninken some ninja’s used to track, Shizuka caught the scent of the other ninja that would be recruited to their team as the Senju pointed him out. Without a word Shizuku once again tore at Kurin’s arm lifting him and with the other arm took Kiku’s hand into his, embarking on their short trip to their final member.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gisho Omawarisan

---

The Hokage was quite fond the reception he had received from the massive wave of Shinobi that had joined the stage with him. It appeared as though they had gone off in attempts to pair each other off. Social interaction was good and the intermingling with the ninja from Iwagakure also served as a culture shock to most of the leafs ninja who hadn’t gone past the borders of the Land of Fire. Breaking the mold of what they had perceived other nations to be like was good for breaking any biased or xenophobia any of the young impressionable ninja had, whether it was nurture or nature. A few minutes passed by the Hokage had grown content watching teams finally begin to form and decided on which scroll they would uphold. Clearing his throat once more he interrupted the young Shinobi to speak one more. “I can see that some of you have completed the prerequisites of continuing onto the next portion of examination and I commend you for that. While the others lag slightly behind I’d like to inform you a new scroll will be administered since there are more teams then there were scrolls. The last scroll will be that of Yin and Yang.” Ginsho looking around to see the reactions set in.

To his surprise the only reaction he would receive is his own, before he could even continue a team had already taken on the mantle of the new scroll. Ginsho chuckling at the spirit that had been kindled in each and every one of these ninja, took a step back and continued. “I will now leave the rest up to my lovely assistant here, he will be your guide and carefully watch over each group, as will I but from the booth as I see to my guest and your peers. I do bid you young ninja good luck and may the best group win. And for those of you who are choosing to fight instead, remember if you’re not first you’re last.” Ginsho turned and walked away from the students before a gust of wind came by and he disappeared into a cluster of leaves.

Shinko bowed and walked towards the ninja before appearing within the center of each adjacent team. Several hand seals later Shinko slapped the ground releasing a plume of smoke before standing. He waved to each of the ninjas before fading away himself. Quite the mysterious and cryptic fellow, most likely filling the young ninja’s with questions. Before they could resume their conversations the ground began to glow underneath the feet of each ninja. A myriad of circles appeared underfoot in a selection of colors with kanji etched below them with the Kanji of their respective choices. The light was blinding before it vanished, with it the location of where the Shinobi once stood.

With the vision returning to the young ninja they would soon discover they were in a small white room, there were no windows only 6 walls all around with a slit in the wall in front of them that appeared to be an exit. Unable to properly evaluate and anticipate their location the ninja would have to quickly find their bearings in unfamiliar territory. A subtly pleasant music note played within the box before a familiar voice echoed around the room. ”This is the Hokage if you hadn’t already put that together. You’ve been transported to a far off land you have never heard of or visited, here you and only the several other ninja you recruited will participate in this stage of which scroll you selected. The test immediately begins when you remove the paper seal on the door associated with the chakra nature you chose. If you fail the exam you will lose points and have a smaller chance of becoming a jonin. Do not worry about the other teams as they are in identical rooms, but on different islands so there is no chance of crossing paths. Good luck to you all and Audaces fortuna favent.” Ginsho’s voice quickly fading.

Ginsho had appeared outside the doors of the spectator’s club section for the games. Everything up until this point was going grand, aside from the itching feeling he got from a weary presence he felt out on the stage. It was probably just his phantom pain acting up again, he needed to get a better handle on that. One of his genin had informed of the arrival of Lady Kaguya, Ginsho was familiar with her and yet always strove to please her and let it be known there was a long standing peace and opportune alliance to be gained from the two. Ginsho prepping a smile pushed the doors open with his one arm and entered the room regal with grace. His eyes quickly adapted to the light allowing him to see the elegance and prim demeanor that Kaguya wore so flawlessly. A simple bending of the knee and kissing of the hand would surely begin things off on the right foot. That was until he saw him

Ginsho’s other arm screamed and seared in pain as he made eye contact with what seemed to be a ghost of his past returned to haunt him. Without showing any sign of weakness whatsoever as he was conditioned to he stabbed himself with chakra to ease his pain. Ginsho felt the familiar sense of uneasiness he felt outside, but was it the same? No they were two distinct feelings, the first one however seemed more trying. Returning to his prior engagement Ginsho strode across the room, “Ah if it isn’t Yogensha Kaguya in all of her beauty and elegance. I am nothing but unworthy of your presence and presence here today. I hope all is well and we can continue our discussions for an Alliance and expanding Amegakure. May I?” Ginsho said as he bowed and then kneeling down with his arm stretched out in order to receive her hand.
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Among the crowd of Jonin prospects, Tsukiko made no effort to stand out. This wasn't a social event nor did she care for the idea of showing off to spectators. This was merely another step forward, another mission for her to complete. Being promoted to Jonin was one more thing to conquer. For starters it would allow her access to greater challenges along with greater pay, but the prestige of joining the elite was not lost upon the young woman. Tsukiko could feel that many of the others around her wouldn't make the cut. Her instinct told her that the weaklings surrounding her would fail, either by their own nature or by getting in her way. Only a dozen or so stood out in her eyes. The rest were fodder or obstacles that foolishly believed they stood a chance.

But still she kept her silence. Despite performing her daily workout routine this morning she still knew that she had to conserve her energy and her efforts. She had to remain sharp just as much as she had to remain fit and prepared. Perhaps a few may recognize her, but the majority of the participants surely couldn't know much about Tsukiko. And it was for the best, lest she accidentally become a priority target or plans be made to handle her. If anything it would be a boon for the rest to think she was weak or unassuming. To have no expectations of her, a blank slate, would give her the edge for victory. She hadn't spoken a single word to anyone by the time the Hokage finally arrived to explain the first part of the exam. There would be six teams with their own unique challenges, and any team that did not have a scroll would go on to a consolation round to thin the herd.

Alright, that sounds simple enough, she thought to herself, bringing a hand to her chin as she scanned the rest of the Chuunin. If she was going to pick a team it had to look good. Joining weaklings would reduce the odds of moving on in the Exam. Though it wasn't her eyes that found what she was looking for, but instead her ears. "We should try and take another scroll so we finish with two scrolls. Fire first.. and if we have time, a second scroll." Tsukiko turned fully to face the direction of this brilliant idea, finding the culprit to be Sakana. He was explaining his idea to another young woman, Usagi. Though Tsukiko did not recognize either of these two offhand, her intuition was telling her that these were her kind of people.

Hunters.

Another young man joined the team as Tsukiko approached, identifying himself as Kamui Uzumaki. He was blunt and unceremonious about recruiting himself to their cause. As it should be. The team taking the fire scroll was shaping up to be a real group of winners. With a confident smirk Tsukiko herself now stepped forward to the crew. "I will be joining this team as well. Tsukiko Umene," she introduced, before directing her attention to Usagi to answer her question, "And we can do that, physically speaking." By now her smirk was long gone and her new teammates may have a hard time thinking she wasn't already angry. A resting bitchface did her no favors. They didn't hardly have any time before the Hokage spoke up again. After another brief speech he let his "assistant" come in and create several seals on the ground underneath the various teams that had formed. Tsukiko was immediately suspicious but ultimately decided to take no actions as the floor began to glow and envelop her team in light.

When her vision returned she found herself in a new room with only her teammates. As the Hokage's voice explained a little bit further her eyes locked onto the door with the fire symbol. Tsukiko didn't even wait for the voice to finish before she began walking towards the door ahead of her team. There was no need to sit around and waste time. If they could complete this task and get their scroll in a quick manner perhaps they could encroach on another team's challenge and take their scroll by force. The doors surely led outside judging by how the Hokage explained they were on an island. If the challenges were not all fully separated by the different islands being far apart then surely this strategy would be plausible. Once at the door Tsukiko considered just ripping the paper seal off herself but held on with a bit of patience, instead turned to face her approaching teammates. "It's time."

Kyoka went with what came natural and that was with the flow. Pulled in for a few selfies didn't matter, in fact, seemed natural as Kyoka stuck out her tongue and threw up her index and middle finger in a peace sign for the camera. She didn't really understand some of her cousins antics but that didn't mean she didn't enjoy going along with them all.

"I reckon we ain't see der last dat boy scout, cuz. He played awfully sweet on me but I think he ain't the faintest clue what he getting into." Kyoka slurred the moment Kurin had departed them after that sweet invite for noodles later. Despite Kyoka's lust, she wasn't an idiot and anyone that thought they had a chance with the hillbilly crackhead were bound for a lot of pain. There was no off-switch to Kyoka's Kekkai Genkai so anything Kurin or Kyoka had in mind for each other would also include agonizing chemical burns for the boy scout.

"Dat der special one, huh cuz?" Kyoka spat a rhetorical question after her cousin, following her hand to the Yin-Yang Scroll. "Sure thing, cuz! And I agree dat we keep aroun' dat cutie-pie, Hime. She's a fresh doll, dat one!" Kyoka said after her cousin in earnest as she had no complaints keeping Hime with them. It wasn't even a matter of practically but rather for Kyoka to hang onto someone other than her cousin for once.

"Woah der darlin'! Come here!"At the sight of Hime's eager acceptance, Kyoka approached and wrapped her arms around her new friend, pulling her in close to press their bodies together. Holding Hime this close, Kyoka swallowed a lump in her throat as she deftly rocked her pelvis so she was grinding up against Hime's front side. Kyoka's cheeks flushed a deep red and her mouth drooped open in exhaling a warm breath of delight, revealing a web of saliva bridges much like a predator connecting various parts of her mouth for a brief moment before they broke. "Welcome to der family, Hime Yuki!" Kyoka warmly welcomed her new 'friend' by ceasing her grinding and instead sliding her hands down to Hime's rear, palming each cheek with obvious greed before giving them a gentle squeeze.

If Hime didn't try to squirm away from Kyoka's rather invading grip, Kyoka would hold her 'friend' until they were teleported away. Her attention would focus away from Hime for a moment as the Hokage spoke but Once they arrived in a strange blank room, Kyoka turned her attention back to Hime. "You don't worry a thing, darlin'. We'll be Jonin yet wit dis team!" Kyoka said finally relieving Hime from her grip and stepping away. "Suppose be ready fer anything, huh cuz. Let's do it."

---

Had it not been for the Hokage's unique setup, the crew indulging in none other than the Earth scroll would have been blessed with the knowledge of where exactly they were. Unfortunately, once they would remove the seal on their selected wall, they would end up in a far different place from the sober, white room they had been ported in. Once all inside, they would notice that behind them would no longer be the pure white contrasting with the dark path leading to their trial, but a rocky wall. As if that white room had never truly existed in the first place.

It was dark, but small fissures on the ceiling would allow rays of sun to pass through and illuminate some areas. They were not in the Hidden Leaf, that was for certain. The room itself wasn't very big, going as far as ten meters in radius as a rough estimate. It'd be like a dome of sorts, with nothing but rock over them, and what seemed to be a thick pile of rocks set at the opposite edge of the room from where they had supposedly entered. An educated guess could deduce that a rock slide had blocked the passage to what was possibly the entrance/exit of the spot.

As soon as they would move to investigate their current predicament, it'd be clear as day that whatever they were standing on, it wasn't rubble like the rest of the room. Cold, hard metal creasing as they walked, as if its foundation wasn't exactly stable. Upon further inspection and adapting to the darkness, the squad would notice that they'd actually stand on a circular platform of sorts with odd, runic-shaped patterns upon it. With a set of parallel lines far more defined near the center travelling from one end of the circle to the other, as if they were rails.

It would be long after this realization that these odd glyphs on the metallic structure would shine a bright, blue color. A second afterward, it would brutally descend, leaving our protagonists free-falling with it. Well, not for too long, as its speed would adjust. An observant individual could tell this was some sort of lift mechanism. And it was quite rusty in its singular function. Nonetheless, there would be no danger so far. A good thirty second descent would have the team finally land and be comforted to an exit, one in which the haloing light would be somewhat blinding as they would be brutally removed from their darkness-adapted state.

These were ninja, a little light would be nothing. With their vision clearing from the dazing effects of the sun blazing through one of the larger cracks of what seemed to be the complex they were in, Team Daddy would bear witness to the fantastical landscape few eyes had the grace of admiring.



Ruins, all secluded within the earth and its minerals. Not underground, mind you, for one could see through the crevices of the earthen shell surrounding the abandoned establishment that there'd be a long, endless desert surrounding the space. They were perhaps in a mountain, or some sort of alleviated area. Nonetheless, they'd feel the breeze of the outside world quite well, dragging along the dry heat of the land and the dust of old age.

Before them was none other than one of many civilizations that had fallen, with its own unique architecture to discover. Many passages, most of which ruined, could be seen littering the settlement. Writings on walls, most of which tarnished beyond salvation were abundant. It'd be unfortunate for the more artistically inclined, for many of the drawings made by the now dead culture were suppressed by the effects of father time.

But as they would progress in the hopes to find a clue as to where that scroll would be, the group would notice more than more oddly shaped edifices. They almost looked humanoid, but were far bigger than them, and could be easily be mistaken as another piece of the many ruined buildings. It would not be until they'd further venture down and find the plaza that they'd make a first big discovery.



Not entirely intact, but recognizable. A gargantuan humanoid statue, or golem, standing solemn. It was at least three times the size of the tallest one of their group, but it was most certainly inert. Its features were thick, and hard to distinguish, though the glyphs on its body were particularly well preserved compared to the rest of the buried city. Its left arm was also distinctly high, as if purposely set this way.

A good eye could notice that the stone behemoth was pointing at a set of rails that went through the city. The same type of rails that they had found in the elevator. They would not be able to tell where it'd lead with all the rubble, but the path it took would not have any particular obstacle. Now, it'd be up to them to use their intuition to get around.

It's hard to really get a grasp of where you're going, or even where you've been. The sudden flashing of light made it very clear that something was up. But the light wasn't from a jutsu, but from a lightbulb, dangling above the group as they found themselves in a tight room that resembled less a grand challenge room and more that of the janitor's closet. Oh wait... They're the mop. Yep, this is a janitor's closet. Either they where too lazy to get special, or the creator had a sick sense of humor. As if to say "Pass, or end up getting really personal with your mop."

There was only one door in the room, pretty simple really. Nothing too complex, literally just a simple door handle stood before them. And then the lights went out. Challenge 1: Open the door in the dark. Well, that was a breeze. Hopefully. No timer, but it would have been pretty embarrassing to fail out right there. The door opened with a click, rather easily when they got that far. And out they'd stumble into the light. Hundreds of lights filled the room, and it wasn't just one room. Well, it was if you want to get technical.

Three stories, each visible from the one below. Because dead center, taking up a vast majority of the room was a statue of the buddha.



Each floor holding part of the divine statue, hundreds of lights shining onto the statue. Lanterns dangling from the underside of each floor, and even lanterns placed around almost haphazardly. As if the idea wasn't so much that they'd have great lightning, but to just fill the room with as many points of light as possible. Till it almost hurt the eyes. The buddha himself seemed towering, and shimmering in the light. A glorious being. Revered, adored, and most of all, honorable.

The rest of the rooms themselves seemed fairly simple. Plenty of wooden panels that creaked softly when the team took a step. A single flight of stairs led between each floor, keeping it all nice and minimilistic. And then there was the stuff inside the rooms. Boxes. Boxes and tarps strewn about, seemingly just there for decoration, because when somebody tried to pop the lid off it just turned out to be empty. Well, the first box anyway.



The drums where the second most important. Presented rather meekly, subtle but important. In total the team would find twenty drums in total. Each drum was roughly three feet in diameter, hoisted up off the ground by a series of wooden panels. Nothing seemed set up to drum them, so it looked like they'd have to be drummed by hand. The drums themselves where spread out amongst all three floors. The first floor housing ten drums, the second was six, and the third the rest. But what was important here?

No exit in sight. Seemed this was the objective. Just got to figure out what it is now.



Well, this was... Interesting. The Senju looked around, impressed, but it seemed he had a place to start. Considering how cavernous this is, the real challenge here was going to be less about following a set path, and more along the lines of mapping out the area. He turned to Shizuka, quickly explaining their plan. Using handsigns, military language, like any good ninja should know. He was going to start mapping the area, and he could use wind jutsu to help him spread out. You need a good spread to really map an area like this. Getting every crack.

Another flurry of handseals, and his hand slammed onto the ground. There was a rumble, not a massive one, but one that was at least noticeable. Tree roots began to appear in the cavern. The ceiling let out a little shower as bark and wood broke out, keeping it small to start just in case the area was unstable. The trees helped somewhat, adding some more structure to the area. Slowly the bark of the exposed trees began to crack, pods opening wide. Spores showering the area as they poured out in a glorious shower of plant life. The spores began to map out the area, clinging to the walls and any structure they landed on. Kurin's mind flooding with new information, slowly mapping out the area as the golem before them was covered in a light showering of plant matter.

"Alright, when Shizuka finishes spreading the spores around, we'll need to find the exit." Kurin said, looking around as if searching with his eyes as well. The whole cavern was slowly coming into focus, with each hole possibly being a way out. "One thing we need to focus on is finding out what the challenge is." Kurin added, for extra benefit. "Kiku, be ready to use genjutsu if you detect anything living. Jaakuna... Don't set anything on fire yet. Stick to electricity. We don't know how much oxygen we've got. And running through it all is going to be bad."

Kyo and his bae were just about done sizing up the competition as the Hokage announced the first trial, which was simple. Get the damn scroll. By the time Kyo was ready to come out of his introverted shell, the competition had already banded together into six groups and ultimate his kin were looking to him to join them. ~How cliche... all of the Uchiha excluded from the other groups so we have to stick together... What, are they going to give us the fire scroll next?~ Kyo pondered in his thoughts as he made his way over to his kin.

"They're talking about us, Kyo.. You know they want you but I doubt they want me to join your little reuinion.." Senna whispered as she followed a a step behind Kyo, lingering in his shadow as they made their way over to Date and Koibito. She wore a stern look on her face like a mask, as if to tell the other two boys that she meant business and was not just a fodder member of their team. However, Kyo most definitely wore the pants in the relationship just based on their combined demeanor. He had that classic cold, emotionless Uchiha countenance and clearly brought Senna along like a little puppy. Little did they know just how great of an asset she would be to an Uchiha. They would soon see why the prodigy of their clan kept her around him so much.

"Well, well, well... Looks like the Uchiha are forced to band together in this one.. Good. I like it better like this. This way I won't be forced into a group with some no-name Earth Shinobi who expects me to do all the work just because of my name... at least this way we all know what's expected of ourselves." Kyo was obviously referring to their status as Uchiha and the heightened expectations placed on them by their peers simply for the symbol they each carried on their attire.

Before he could even formulate an idea of which scroll to take, the Hokage made his grand revelation and they were transported to a white room together. He looked over to his two Uchiha comrades and gave them a telling look of seriousness. He was not going to take this lightly. From here on out this was all about teamwork and victory. The faster they completed this challenge, the more time they had to focus on resting for the second trial. Failure was simply unacceptable here.

"Up to you. Whatever scroll you guys want, I don't care. Victory is within our grasp no matter which door we choose." Kyo finished, turning to Senna and nodding to her. With this she closed her eyes and focused her Kekkei Genkai, the Vibration of All Things, and tuned herself into the emotions of the other two Uchiha. It was no Genjutsu, but literally becoming one with their emotions. She would have an intuitive insight directly into their feelings just by being around her. She was a pure empath beyone measure. She would become the link between their group that allowed for perfected communication and cooperation.



Two wisps of silver flames gently danced underneath the feet of a daunting man with matching silver hair. He was floating in a pitch black room, the only light emanating was from his feet. Next to him was a large scroll with the Kanji for Fire scribbled in bad handwriting across the front. The floating fireman had narrow, judgmental eyes that seemed fixated on the door where his arrivals would enter from. Upon entry the light from the bright white room would illuminate but a very small portion of the entire landscape, signifying to any of the observant contestants that they were in fact in a massive room, despite how dark it was. While fire was very illuminating, this challenge seemed to start off with the embodiment of the exact opposite.

As the four contestants would eventually make their way in, the floating figure would introduce himself. Or would he? "Look at the lot of you... not a winner in sight. None of you have what it takes. Why bother even telling you my name?" He sighed, placing his hand on his forehead as his index finger and thumb ran down the sides of his head and circled his temples, easing the headache he was giving himself. "Just call me Suzaku, if you have to address me at all... Now listen up, and listen good, because I fucking hate repeating myself. This scroll next to me is the fire scroll. You need it to pass this first trial. The trial is as follows: Take the scroll and leave the room. That's it. It's that simple." Suzaku explained the trial and then as he did, he put his arms behind his head as if to lay down, and then he did just that. He lay back, still floating in mid-air, laying on nothingness. The two flames at his feet still illuminated the area around him, the scroll next to him just barely visible amongst the shadows..

He closed his eyes as he laid back without a care in the world. "By the way... don't ask me for any hints, I'm not saying a word.. None of you deserve to be Jonin anyway. Back in my day the Jonin were elite members of the village who commanded respect, earned it... not expected it to be given to them freely just because they won the title of Jonin from some glorified lottery system you got goin' on here..." He would seem off in his own condescending world, and the fact that he lackadaisically floated above them in the air was no coincidence, he had placed himself above them both literally and metaphorically, as if to show his significance. The air of arrogance that preceded him wasn't hidden whatsoever, it was as if he truly expected all four of these Shinobi just to roll over and accept defeat without even trying.

He cocked an eye open before any of them could even hope to get near the scroll. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot... the part that makes this so-called challenge, you know, challenging.." He began as he extended his index finger to the Scroll of Fire. He merely poked it in the most nonchalant way possible and set it ablaze in translucent silver flames. The four contestants would soon note that the scroll was not withering away from the cloak of silver that enveloped it like a scroll would if it were to be normally set on fire. Instead, the cloak of silver danced around the scroll and merely sat there as Suzaku laid back down on his cloud of nothingness. The same silver flames danced beneath his feet ever so elegantly. "I will only say this... don't even try touching those flames with your bare hands, kids. Remember what your mother always told you as a kid!" And with that Suzaku let out a haughty laugh and rested his head on the air beneath his head. Nothing was holding him up, he just lay there and closed his eyes, emitting an aura of indifference as he waited to see what his contestants had in store for his challenge.

"Jounin exams could you even believe it five years ago when I came to your farm that I would be considering trying to be part of it. The Hokage gave me a second chance when he assigned me to be trained by you as a Genin failure. Wish you could me now Sensei and see your student now.", this came from a young man sitting in the middle of the Konaha graveyard for fallen shinobi. This young man's name is Tashiro Hokori. He sits in front of the headstone for his late master who's name was Koga.

Tashiro sits there with his sword sitting ontop of the headstone in its sheath along with two plates of dumplings. One that hasnt been touched the other half eaten. Going through what Tashiro believes to the be the biggest moment of his life, he could be part of the jounin exams. He contiunes to speak to the gravestone as if he was speaking to his Sensai, "I don't know if I should even attempt this. Am I even ready to attempt to become a Jounin? What if the same thing happens when I became a genin and wash up? I know, you taught me everything I need to be a splended ninja, and an exelent swordsmen..."

The wind blows Tashiro takes that as an answer Tashiro laughs, "Alright I'll do it, if i didnt do it you would crawl out of your grave and beat me up or sick one of your tigers on me again. I guess I better head out then don't want to be late so you eat up and I will go and try to become a jounin." Tashiro springs to his feet grabbing his sword and starts to run off as he slings the sheath and sword over across his back as he heads out leaving the uneaten dumplings there for his Sensei.



A few moments later Tashiro made his way to the statium he looks around carefully to to 'observe'. More or less he was trying to find someone to talk to about joining a squad for the exams. He noticed a group of two rather unqiue stone shinobi approaching a lady from his interpertation from their lingo and way they spoke he thought they were asking in a strange manor to be this girl's partners for the exam. Tashiro watched carefully it seemed they came to an arangement because the one hugged the other. Tashiro noticed how the hug went between the two who's names he heared to be Hime and Kyoka. The one not seemingly to hug a bit lower in a very obvious manner as Kyoka clearing grabbed Hime's rear during their hug. Tashiro didnt give it much of a thought he needed to find a team. These two and their other female friend seemed to from Tashiro's perspective needed a fourth teammate. Tashiro didnt care how they active or what village they were from he needed to find a team and they seemed alright by his standing.

Tashiro took note of what he seen from these three. The two girls from the stone they seemed unqiue Kyoka and Rumia . He figured they were related mostly because they keep refering to each other as cousins which was a big give away other then their same unqiue way of speaking and mannerizums. The other girl from the leaf though Hime Tashiro thought he reconized her then again he sees a lot of people throughout the day in the village. He remembered hearing her say something about being a snowflake of Konaha. He thought of what that could mean but didnt think that much of it. These three seemed like a unquie and that is what drawn him to them in the first place.

Tashiro approached them waitting for the Kyoka to stop hugging Hime he heard the what Kyoka said 'We'll be Jonin yet wit dis team!'. Tashiro approaches, "That sounds like a great team you three have here. Do you ladies still need a fourth person to make the team complete? If so, I'd be willing to team up with you three if you would have me." Tashiro trying to be polite but noticing how the two girls from the stone spoke he wasnt sure if that would go over so well but he risked it anyway as he was really looking for a team to join up for this exam and this seemed like the perfect team for him to join.

Her ears picked up Kurin's light words about the tower mission, she snapped her fingers and nodded - "You're right," Kiku agreed and smiled slamming a fist into her other hand. An "ah-hah" moment, "I knew there was somewhere else I knew you from". As her mind wandered back to the successful mission, she felt Shizuka's presence coming towards her again. Readying herself for another face to face - he clearly was the kind that had no boundaries. Her head turned slightly as he began to speak, her mouth slightly dropping at what came out next.

She may of well have fallen, except on her face this time with his comment. 'Cloudy Eyes,' she felt herself mentally sink into a hole. Kiku had completely accepted the fact that in close to 11 years she'd be 100% blind, but the occasional comment towards her eyes made her apprehensive to ever showing her face in public again. Her face, that was revealed, twisted into a look of smelling something sour. In her mind she sulked away to a corner, trying to figure how to recover from the assumed jab at her eyes. In reality the girl just shook the boys hand, her body tense - not sure of its next move. An exasperated sigh left her mouth, but her mood slowly shifted positively as she noticed how genuine the exuberant boy was being. Since her world was currently enwrapped in darkness, all her other senses heightened to notice the positive mood of the Shinobi - not feeling any negativity radiate from him. Her face flushed again, and she leaned forward towards him this time "Because you're just..it's just...you...I...." She stumbled over her words, and then let out a distressed sigh, shaking her head. "I wasn't expecting you to get so close.....and I don't think I can exactly teach you this..." She turned her face away from his, leaning back and standing tall trying to combat the red that this boy was instilling in her face.

Kiku wasn't even sure if he was trying to compliment her, or be rude with a backhanded compliment. But his comment about looking at clouds all day left her wondering. Suddenly, her composure changed from stiff and crossed arm to holding her stomach and letting out a pretty nice sized laugh. "Fight crime?" She laughed again, and smirked at him. She hadn't encountered a personality as diverse as his, and was now coming to terms with the fact that the boy possibly meant no harm. "Maybe I can show you sometime...." She clicked her tongue, and pointed at her mouth, "Echolocation. Like a bat". Her hands moved out to the sides, and she made little wing like motions. Kiku decided to play it out, and feel Shizuka out - his personality was one she hadn't encountered before and he seemed to be a sincere boy. Her attention then turned back to Kurin as he began to speak of the 4th member, she nodded in conjunction with his choice. Familiar with this boy as well, this would be an interesting team. Kiku opened her mouth to say something, but it was then that Shinko appeared, and they disappeared.

The Challenge

Her confidence soared, upon their entrance to the room, Kiku smiled - her hands on her hips in a prideful pose. The darkness, her old friend, one she had been slow-dancing with since she was 8 years old. Her mask was still on her face, but she had pulled it down momentarily to asses the start of their exam. She quickly let out a few clicks, and sauntered forward raising her head towards the roof - she was stiff for a moment letting all the echo's bounce and come back to her. The room began to take shape in her head, "It's not a very big room," She noted, and turned her head as if she was looking around "But this is weird...". Bending down towards the floor, her mane flowed over her body and piled onto the floor - she rapped her knuckles against the structure they were standing on. The sound rang in her ears, and clearly it was not earth, the sound that came back earlier from her clicks caught her attention. Kiku turned her head to Kurin, hearing her name and nodded "Gotcha". Her hand was still on the floor as her fingers grazed the lines. Kurin seemed to be taking on the role as squad leader, and Kiku was completely fine with this - she let out another click this time to readjust the mental map of the room as Kurin had changed its already painted image in her head with his trees and limbs. "Anyone else sensing anything?".

As the team who had chosen for the yin-yang scroll appeared in the arena, they would be met with a tranquil, pure white room. It reminded of marble, or perhaps pearl - but the color of the room was most likely the point of least importance. As soon as they entered, their heads would fill themselves with a soothing, calm voice. Not calm enough to put them to sleep - that would detract from the entire challenge. Rather, the combination of the pure white room with the calm voice would call them to attention and almost force them to enter a mixture of pure focus and ultimate calmth. “Welcome to the challenge,” the voice said, it's gender or intonation rather indistinct. If it was a jonin proctor throwing their voice or entering their head, they were awfully good at it.

“In front of you there are two doors,” it said, and it was right - two doors were in front of them. One had the kanji for 'exit' above them, the other had kanji for 'sacrifice' above it. The principle of the challenge could very well already have been clear for them. “Yin. Yang. Balance and peace, unbalance and war. All of these things are resembled in yin-yang. For one thing to grow, another thing must shrink, for one thing to live, another must die. In order for two of you to grow to the next rank of shinobi-hood, two of you must sacrifice. Two of you must enter the room that says 'sacrifice' and the other two must enter the room that says exit. How you come to the conclusion of who goes where is up to you - everything is allowed, including force. Those who enter sacrifice will not pass, those who enter the exit will pass to the next challenge.”

Immediately the two doors slid open automatically, revealing darkness that did not reveal anything about the contents of the next room. They could start now, but the voice wouldn't leave just yet. “In order to successfully advance, only two people may enter either room. If only one enters, or three people enter any of the rooms, you will all automatically fail and forfeit participation in the next round of the challenge, and immediately be pushed into the battle tournament. You have five minutes to reach a conclusion. Follow the principles of yin-yang best as you can.”

Then, the voice disappeared entirely and the room would go fully silent - not just 'silent' but actual silent. Not even the buzzing of nearby voices in other rooms could be heard, and the only sounds that could be heard would come from the shinobi themselves.

Full. Tranquility.

---

---

Yogensha glanced at the figure that entered the room, though paid them no heed, redirecting her eyes to the screens now that flickered and showed the respective arena's that the teams would be in during their challenges. It did not take long, however, for the stranger to approach her and start speaking to her. It was to be expected - desires to be close to other humans were strong in anyone, so she couldn't fault him. As he spoke to her, she watched him bow and returned the favor, bowing lightly, femininely, even lifting the kimono slightly like a princess would. “I see,” she remarked to his comment on the fruit, and smiled slightly at him - even when she smiled she seemed at peace. “Fruits like these don't grow in my home country. It rains too often - but we have good street food.” She reached out and grabbed a strawberry lightly, holding it up in the light and turning it around, inspecting it closely as if it were an item of extreme importance. She held back the sleeve of her kimono even now, being the figurehead of grace.

“But that doesn't know I don't mean what these are, of course.” She turned to the man and smiled again, before putting the strawberry in her mouth, holding it by the stem, and taking the fruit off carefully, before chewing it softly and swallowing it. She discarded the stem onto the table, before turning to the new presence she felt. Something very similar to the one she used to feel at the shrine, but somehow different. It had the same aura of calm, but the nature was difference. Spiritual - but not the same.

“Hokage-sama,” she said politely, as the man bowed before her and held out his hand for hers. She was slightly taken aback by this gesture, but did not show it - indeed, she seemed as if she had completely expected such a grand gesture from the hokage. It seemed like she was the master at keeping up appearances and maintaining a calm and relaxed posture. She slowly put her hand into his, allowing him to kiss her hand before she'd take it back and place it on the sash on her stomach. “Such a nice day you chose for the event, hokage. Surely, you agree, today is not the time to speak of alliances and building Amegakure. You know that we are content being our own little corner of shinobi-hood in the rain, are you not? Expansion is not on our list so far.” She glanced at the man that was still with them, who had failed to give her his name, and smiled politely at him in order not to exclude him. “I am sure you understand Hokage. Konohagakure, for all it's wealth and might, still feels as homely as a small village. I would not want to give up that same feeling for Amegakure for material gain. I would rather look to the future and work on a better understanding of the shinobi arts, the way the Sage and his sons intended for us.”

She glanced at the screen then, where one of the teams had just began their little challenge. The earth challenge. Spores were being shot through the air, and one of the shinobi seemed to be instructing the rest of the team. “.. just like your students are, Hokage-sama. Broadening their understanding of the shinobi arts - not just jutsu, but also what it means to be a shinobi.” Her words were floaty and tranquil, just like she was. Perhaps not entirely strange - was it?

---

---

Sakana glanced briefly at the Uzumaki that was joining them, who restricted his interaction to merely a notification that he was, simply put, inserting himself into the team. Sakana replied by taking the boys' scroll and scribing 'fire' onto it before handing it back, no questions asked and no explanation given. It was only then that Usagi replied to him, questioning his intentions to take a second scroll if they could. He shrugged, glancing the girl over. “As a shinobi, it's our duty to ensure success of our mission,” he simply stated. “At any cost. If we can do it, we should at least consider it. It maximizes our chances of success. If we can't do it, then no harm done. That is fate too.”

Then a third figure appeared, as if on cue, and introduced herself as Tsukiko Umene. Atleast she had the decency to tell them their name - nothing more than that, luckily, as that would've been misplaced. “Sakana Uragiri,” he simply introduced himself, his black and yellow eyes peering her over. She seemed strong - stronger than the others. If needed, Sakana would've had no problem letting her spearhead the problems, but something also told him that she was ruthless. A good thing in his mind, but there had to be some control over it. He wondered if she had that control - the challenge would likely show. She was right, at least, that they physically could take another scroll. They seemed to have formed up better than the other teams, at least in Sakana's eyes. “And yes, we can. Physically.”

When the ground lit up, Sakana looked down with a look of slight surprise, raising an eyebrow curiously. Before he could say something about it, however, they were already in a new room. As Tsukiko stopped before the seal, however, Sakana did not. He gently brushed past the girl, not hard enough to be a cause for anger, and pulled the seal off instantly. “No need to wait,” he reminded Tsukiko. “Those whose fate won't carry them far enough will fall behind regardless of whether we wait or not. Best to just go.” His talk about fate might've been lost on her, however leaving behind the weaklings might've appealed to her - not that he was calling Kamui or Usagi weak - it was just his way of affirming that fate would determine whether they'd make it or not.

As he entered the room first, he looked around to see a figure floating in the air with fire next to him. The moment the man started talking, he already irked Sakana. 'None of you have what it takes,' he said, 'no need to tell you my name.' Tsk, Sakana slissed under his breath, before speaking up before the man had even finished. “Oi, just shut up already, you cocky bastard. Just go be quiet and proctor us in peace.” But it seemed the man was entirely oblivious to what he'd said - or ignored it on purpose, or didn't hear it over the sound of him mouthing off like the idiot he was. Regardless, Sakana ignored his presence, only listening to what he said, as he walked closer to the place from where he'd be able to see the scroll.

While the man was still talking, Sakana looked at his team, already having formulated some ideas, but not a concrete plan yet. “If any of you knows the kage bunshin technique, maybe you can sacrifice a clone to get the scroll. The clone would die but he might be able to push the scroll away far enough to fall out of the flames. Otherwise, I can try some water techniques on it, but this fire looks different. Not sure if it'd work,” he explained, though he didn't feel that confident in any of his plans.

He then glanced at the proctor and hissed slightly, speaking just softly enough for the man to barely hear anything except for some muffled sounds. “We can also just kill him - from the fact that he's using the flames to float, I also imagine if he dies the flames dispel. Not like he's been helpful yet anyway. Although, since he's floating on the flames and they're not burning him, maybe the flames aren't that hot.”

He then glanced back at his team, fixating his eyes on the team in its entirety. “Otherwise, I guess I can also get the scroll by just running in and hoping for the best. It's the Will of Fire after all, right. Fire is fierce and unpredictable. I can be just that, if needed.”

---

Assimilation of the Yuki was complete, with the innocent lass caught in th acidic web of the resident Heisenberg. Validation and the such later, it seemed the gang was set on taking the scroll distinct from the rest of the challenges. Rumia's instincts encouraged her to avoid this particularly unique path, but the overwhelming thrill seeker within couldn't just ignore the inevitable high obtained from the more peculiar of challenges.

Though just as they would step onto their selected direction, an unknown male figure would present himself out of the blue. A swordsman by the looks of it. Our ginger friend would set a hand on her hip, and squint upon scrutinizing his frame. Judgmental she sure was, and her expression wouldn't morph too far from a dull scowl. The hick wasn't too impressed, for he was not a cutie-pie like the lil' Hime they had adopted.

"Uh-huh. Right, four. Fine. I reckon he COULD make a smoll spot fer you, lil' boi. S'long as you shake on it with Kyoka 'course."

A quick tilt of her head would have the redneck head honcho gaze at the direction of the blonde, offering her a wink. They were clearly up to no good. But young Tashiro at least had a team to compete in this trial.

Once actually ported into the challenge area, they'd come to notice just how similar it was to the wait room. All white, sober and with only a couple of doors and kanji marked over them. With barely enough time to actually inspected the area, a form of psionic link would infiltrate their minds and force the squad to listen to a particular set of instructions. Something about yin and yang, jargon that was completely beyond the redhead's thought process.

She would fully absorb the catch of the whole thing, however. The condition in order to progress. Two had to fall, in order for the other two to survive, and to proceed. To a street hound like Rumia, the choice was obvious. She was to progress, and force anyone contesting her choice to be shoved into the other room. Immediately she'd take action, once the doors open.

"Tsk, fuck this shit."

Hands in her pockets, she'd make her way toward the door. She could be stopped or warned, but Rumia would not exit immediately. The ginger would half next to the door frame, and turn her gaze toward the group.

"I ain't gon' waste more time in this shitty exam. If we listen to that voice of their's, I'm moving forward. And I want my lil' cuz with me."

Pursing her lips, she'd then peer at the direction of Hime. A dilemma came to be. The cute little thing was basically their plush doll now, and leaving it behind was heart wrenching.

"... Dammit. Cuz, you got any clue how we gotta go 'bout this? I kinda smell a rat. Maybe a big ol' 'fuck you' is what we gotta do, dontcha think?"

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After confirming Uragiri's approval to him joining the team, Kamui simply closed his eyes, silently announcing to those around him that he simply didn't wish to bother with interacting with them for now, just barely replying to Usagi's friendly gesture with a small nod before closing his eyes definitively - apparently trying to convey that he acknowledged her presence. The Uzumaki seemed to be so absurdly distracted by his own thoughts when the last member of the group - a female named Tsukiko Umene - suddenly announced her presence in a similar and equally laconic way as himself, he still didn't even bother with opening his eyes, merely nodding once more to acknowledge the fact that a new member joined the group.

He did, though, have the common sense of once more opening his eyes as the Hokage started talking, paying at least some attention to the man's speech before he found something better to think about. Surprisingly, though, he did show some reaction in his seemingly ever nonchalant face as the hokage left, displaying some surprise in his face when the seals responsible for transporting them started glowing under his feet, not only surprised at the fairly unusual use of sealings to conduce space-time ninjutsu but also curious about the inner workings of such a method, going as far as trying to analyse the seals in the brief moment that took for them to vanish, ultimately failing to get anything useful from the situation due to the lack of time for an intricate analysis.

Due to his failure, it wasn't surprising that he couldn't help but find himself a little frustrated when they arrived their room, going as far as frowning for a bit before he once more recovered the usual indifference in his face. He proceeded to nonchalantly check his surroundings while waiting for his partners tear the seal, taking his time to familiarize himself with the face of the team's new member - that he didn't bother to check in the arena - before once mlre following Uragiri, that decisively pulled off the seal, starting the test before they had the time to plan anything.

What faced him in the test room, though, was fairly disappointing even for he normally uncaring Kamui, for it was basically a black room with some grumpy looking floating asshole that decided to openly criticize them instead of direcrlt presenting the test - an attitude that was fairly unprofessional in Kamui's hardly humble opinion, for no one ever asked for a moral lesson amidst an advancement exam to start with. "Can't you just give us the objective of the test already? Talking with a rude stranger is hardly my priority right now." The Uzumaki didn't even hide the dryness in his voice as he adressed the grumpy male, making no effort to hide the fact that he was fairly unpleased with the excessive talking - to the point where he effectively acted to stop it, something that he hardly felt the need to do.

When the guy finally stopped talking Kamui was already clearly annoyed by the wast of time, actually executing the sealings required to make a shadow clone as soon as Uragiri suggested doing so - a proactive act that hardly matched the ever-so-lazy Kamui. It wasn't, though, something that he did solely for the sake of testing Uragiri's theory, as he moved to the side of the team's unnoficial leader right after directing the clone towards the scroll, using the fact that most of the team would unconsciously observe the clone to see the result of the attempt to inconspicuously move towards the other shinobi. "I may have a way to confirm the objective of this test." He whispered to Uragiri, seemingly not only sure about the failure of their first attempt but also unwilling to present his thoughts about the test to the rest of the team. "If it is a test of courage, not only my clone will be useless but the person who touches the scroll will probably still appear to have been burned after touching the flames, most certainly until ashes to make it seem like It is the wrong solution, making it so that only the one who effectively had the attitude to touch the flames pass." He quickly externed his thoughts as his clone extended its' hands to touch the scroll, making it so the chakra construct briefly excited before reaching the piece of parchment to have time to finish explaining his thoughts to Uragiri. "As long as you manage to send someone to do it personally, I can use my sensing technique to constantly check their condition, possibly getting a hint about what is the actual effect of the silver flames. If it is truly a test of courage, I'll know and if it isn't, only a single member of the group will get damaged." He finished the brief explanation of his thoughts as soon as his clone effectively touched the scroll, taking away his attention for a second as even if doubtful he still had to check the results of such a simplistic attempt of beating the test.

Hime Yuki

Hime was surprised, yet also giddy with excitement as she was welcomed onto the team and given another hug, this time by the adventurously degenerate blonde, Kyoka. Admittedly the Yuki wasn't smart and she knew what Kyoka was up to with her hips and hands, but that didn't mean she would stop her, it wasn't like it was a bad thing after all, right? In other news Kyoka would've found Hime to be quite a soft young woman, much to her pleasure or displeasure.
People showed their feelings in different ways anyway, so who was Hime to tell Kyoka how to show her excitement? Instead Hime elicited a small giggle and wrapped her arms around the girl as well to return the gesture, minus the groping and grinding. "Family? I like it!" She chimed afterwards.

As soon as that was said, Hime having missed the fact that another had joined the team whilst she was distracted by an enthusiastic Kyoka, they were transported to a serene, white room and the conditions of the test were explained to them. "I never worry, Kyo-Kyo. It wouldn't be a very Yuki thing for me to worry, you know!" The ditz bragged, puffing her chest out with pride once more after being freed from Kyoka's grasp.

Rumia clearly knew what she was going to do, all things considered, and so did Hime. Though of course with Rumia being the first to act Hime would first watch her move and soon voice a concern that maybe everything wasn't as it seemed. "Well! Whether or not it is, I'm okay with waiting until next time to try for Jonin, I'll get there anyway so what's another year until the next exam, right? Then I have time to practise and you guys can come and watch Hime be even better than before! What do you think?"
By the time she'd finished talking Hime had placed herself by the "sacrifice" door. "Maybe, if we listen to the voice up there, we'll pass as a team by following instructions. Who knows, it could be trying to play us against each other by saying the people who sacrifice themselves fail to make us fight over who goes through the doors, that kind of in-fighting isn't acceptable for shinobi teams, right? We go as a team, pass as a team or fail as a team, that's how it's worked as far as I know."

---

Drip……Drip…….Drip…..

The sound of a single droplet of water could be heard and seen from the ceiling top of the otherwise barren and quarantined room. The unlucky squad of ninja would be faced with the Water trial. Unlike other rooms the room wouldn’t automatically terraform to the terrain they would be thrown into nor would it wait for them to rip the seal open and thrust the door open in an open unknown expanse. While they were stuck formulating their plans and gaining their bearings the small droplet gradually increased in frequency. Drip…Drip…Drip…Drip….Drip….. slowly the droplet sprung into a leak and before the ninja could notice the leak began to grow in size and pressure. The lights above them began to short circuit and flash on and off.

The ceiling began to cave in downwards as if there was something about them trying to break through. With no windows and one exit the Ninja needed to act quickly and stop the bleeding before the room was flooded with water and their means for survival decreased to zero. The approximate average for a human to be able to hold their breath under water is 2 minutes. Even the world’s most trained diver can hold their breath for only 20 minutes and these chunin probably haven’t devoted their lives to increasing their record. The slit in the door exploded with a spray of water that jetted inside forcing itself in like a creature clawing from under the bed. The water paper was launched and hit one ninja square in the face before the room began to flood.

The water was rapidly rising around their upper abdomen by this point. In another minute or so the water would reach the ceiling and flood the room completely. They needed to escape but the pressure was far too great to pry the door fully open. If they did manage to open it incrementally the water would just flood in faster pushing them back. It hadn’t been made knowledge to them, however the water was specifically infused to inhibit the creation of oxygen or the use of a chakra apparatus to regulate breathing. Depending on what the ninja agreed upon decided their fate, they needed to act now and leave the rest up to fate.

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Shizuka Ichimi

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Before Shizuka could respond to the red cheek girl and stick man he was engulfed by a divine like light, while the light illuminated his face and propelled his hair up his unique and gorgeous red eyes of revolving color shimmered as he saw the kanji of the word earth inscribed below him. And just like that ‘poof’ he was transported from the Land of Fire to an empty room. The pure white room didn’t last very long before the seal peeled itself off from the door. Almost as if he was following a predetermined sequence decided for him, Shizuka and his band of misfits was quickly thrown into another terraformation. The white room was quickly swallowed up by a rugged rock interior with a cacophony following suite. If there was something he didn’t like it was enclosed spaces, it wasn’t because he was claustrophobic but rather he enjoyed open spaces to fully exercise his mastery over wind. For now he would have to rely on his teammates and his ninjutsu to produce enough wind for him to use.

Shizuka had been every sort of environment having traveled extensively with his parents. From the Land of Iron to Suna to Konoha and traveling around the minor villages. It seemed like common terrain for an earthly terrain. The texture was correct from the rigid sharp stones to the dark decrepit aura that left you with the feeling you were buried alive. Luckily Shizuka surveyed the fact there were crevices large enough to have rays of light caress their faces and a steady air supply. Some luxuries not everyone was provided with in a situation such as this, simply unlucky. Covering his bases and spotting out the obvious he checked behind them assessing their possible paths; the entrance a tomb of stone. ”Well looks like there’s only one direction we can go I guess.” If his teammates were perceptive enough and not focused on the earth around them they can see the sudden paradigm shift within Shizuka as he had not spoken a word and his normally abrasive attitude was quelled.

The room was rather small and it seemed there was only path to take that led somewhere, most likely the first challenge. “We might want to take scrolls out and etch these runes into the scrolls. They might be valuable later on in this place.” Shizuka said to anyone who would listen whether or not it fell on deft ears did not matter to him. The taste of the air was sour on his tongue, it wasn’t just earth, but metal alongside it. But before he could even take out a scroll his wind sense had triggered and sent a breeze through his skin. Suddenly they were falling, not to their deaths it seemed though. Shizuka let himself fall elegantly until the lift had reached the next step. Sensing the arrival of a bright light Shizuka quickly shifted in front of Kukin invading her personal space once more. Her eyes were more sensitive than the rest of them so the sudden shift in light could negatively affect her more so than the rest of them, the gradual introduction to light would help her ease into the new area.

“Sorry Cloud eyes.” Shizuka said smiling before turning around, only to be greeted by one might consider a world wonder or lost city. With it was a familiar feel, a breeze , despite it being of hot air and dust. Kurin being the class president, ”Not Shizuka’s president , took charge and had already implanted his wooden and floral children into the old forgotten earth. This was probably the first time this earth had been kissed with new vegetation, the reinforcement would not only benefit the team but salvage and preserve this wondrous lost village, he only had hoped Kukin could experience the same beauty. Shizuka stuck his hand out as a wisp of pollen landed on his finger. “Quite presumptuous there sticky.” Shizuka said flicking the pollen from his finger away before he exhaled forcefully pushing the pollen outwards as if a gale wind had whipped through the room.

Shizuka turning to see the lavender haired girl on the floor. With her heightened sense she could simultaneously map their surroundings while the pollen covered the rest. Having understood and quickly learning the machinations of her abilities Shizuka decided to augment her ‘vision’. “Here let me try.” Shizuka rubbed his hands together before separating them and creating a large smack. The sound and the force of wind that erupted from his hands traveled outwards in a blast. The wind would knock her over and most likely Kurin too since they were directly in his vicinity while the sound and the rest of the air scurried into the rest of the dome mapping the area. Having studied her eyes and mask, Shizuka figured she used some form of sensing and hopefully it was echolocation. The sound and the gust of wind she would be able to ‘see’ and track mapping the area just as fast if not faster than the pollen spores.

“It’s better if we don’t waste time, we don’t know how much time we have with how old this city is. The foundation might give out and my wind is rather destructive. The statue is pointing in the direction we need to go, so there’s no point in wasting our time mapping anywhere else out.” Shizuka jumped down from the lift and made his way past the massive golem before eyeing it down to make sure there was no trap or ulterior motive, like let’s say come to life and begin fighting with the team. “Come on let’s go. The more time we spend lagging behind the more ahead the other teams will be and we should probably consider entering another room after we secure this scroll.” Shizuka had molted and changed his attitude, whether it was because of the change of scenery or because they were participating in a test. That was however before he turned his head to utter “There’s no clouds in here.”
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