[IC] Sentaku

Coming soon:

Lore info on current kages and last 15 years of timeline (essentially, character's lifetime)

[Hey Im Jordan]

reserved

[Hey Im Jordan]

選択

♪

The chūnin exams begin today.

Young shinobi from all five of the great shinobi villages were gathered in Konoha, accompanied by their jonin squad leaders — along with a few participants from some of the smaller shinobi lands. The annual chūnin exams were a huge deal for shinobi everywhere. They dictated what the future looked like. The villages with the strongest showing in the exams would get the most work following them, and the village with the most work would have the most money, and thus be the strongest village.

Truth be told, it wasn’t too common for the Kage of the host village to address the genin so early — typically, it was saved for before the finals… but Kaminari Masuyo was far from a common Kage. Plus, her own son was among the gathered genin, and she wanted to at least see him before the exams started.

That was why the Lady Hokage was standing in front of all the gathered genin in the staging room before the first phase of the exams. It was time for her favorite part of the job: speeches.

Smiling out at the genin, Masuyo shifted her Kage headpiece and prepared to officially initiate the exams.

“Welcome to the chūnin exams. Most of you have been preparing for this all your life… and it will be the toughest challenge you’ve faced yet. The chūnin exams are going to be your first real test as shinobi — it won’t be like the standard missions you’ve been completing during your time as genin. But, all of you have been marked as ready for examination by your assigned jonin leaders.”

A brief pause as she let her words sink in.

“The exam will be in three parts, each more dangerous than the last. I’m going to be very, very frank with all of you. There is a chance some of you may die. However, that’s a risk I and my fellow Kage are willing to take. If you want to leave, leave now. If you want to stay, then you can wait in this room for when the proctor for the first exam comes to fetch you. Feel free to talk to one another, but just know that during these exams… The only allies you have are the genin from your squads. Everyone else — yes even genin from your own village — are enemies.”

“Good luck, you’re probably going to need it.”

With that, Masuyo turned, with her cloak sweeping behind her, before she left out the door… and left the gathered genin to their own devices.

---

Our story begins with the genin gathered together in a large room, surrounded by ninja from different villages, and their own fellow Konoha rookies! For now, write your introduction posts and interact with your teams and the other rookies. Once all of the characters have been introduced, there will be another GM post in which the proctor will come and collect you all for the first, and by far the most difficult, part of the exams: the written test!

Good luck!

[Bluetommy]

Irezumi Makoto had awoke on the day of the chunin exams with a bandaged arm and a pain in the neck. Her father had walked into her room loudly and plopped himself next to her head, prodding and poking at it with her hanbo. She growled, and a moment later her oni tattoo had come to life and seized the hanabo in its hand, staring at her father intensely. For his part, Irezumi Taka reacted with little more than a chuckle.

"Good, you're awake," he said simply, spinning the hanbo in his hand and dismissing the oni with an easy blow. He held it over Makoto's shoulder, and she grabbed it roughly, pulling it to her lap as she sat up and scratched at her shoulder. "Makoto, don't scratch at your tattoo, you know this," her father reprimanded with that same authoritative tone she hated so much. She knew damn well not to scratch it, it was just that waking up had a habit of removing one's ability to think about such things, she stood, spinning her hanbo absentmindedly as she pulled her ninja outfit out.

"Might wanna fuck off because I'm not going to stop changing just because you're in here," she insisted with a playfully exaggerated scowl at Taka, who held up his hands in resignation and walked out. That was the scope of their interaction for the day, her father was never the talkative one, he had his brother to do the talking for him. Makoto didn't mind much, he minded his own business and let her mind hers. She would totally have stopped if he had refused to leave, ew, but he took those things literally. In short, it was easier to exaggerate to get him to leave quicker.

She dressed quickly, and slid the door open violently, continuing to tie her hair up as she walked around the koi pond in front of the Irezumi clan compound. The sound of stomping feet alerted her to the fact that her uncle Kuren had waylaid her.

"Off to the exams, huh Koto-chan?" he asked, pushing his way into her space in a way that she'd come to find more irritating than endearing. She violently poked him in the cheek with her kanabo, shoving his head away with a dismissive snort.

"Off to pass the exams, geezer. Mind your distance."

"Who the hell is this runt?!" her uncle yelled out in a rage that had to be at least partially real. "I remember when you had some respect for me and your dad!" he continued in faux-outrage. He had been the same way at her age and the both of them knew it.

Makoto tilted her head away from him and closed her eyes contentedly. "I have respect for him, not for some old chubby jackass like you. Don't you have some maiden half your age to be lusting after?" she asked with another poke of her kanabo, this one to his ribs. "I've gotta focus on mentally preparing for this, ojisan, how did you do it?"

Her uncle chuckled, massaging his hip with a hard brick of a hand. "Teased your dad, kinda like what you're doing to me," he joked, much to Makoto's annoyance. Thankfully he seemed to notice her irritation, and scritched her hair. "You'll do fine, Koto-chan. The hard part is learning it, putting it into practice is the easy part," he offered with a ridiculous smile that made her eyes roll.

"Whatever," she snarked, pushing away from him and hefting the kanabo over her shoulder. A few steps away, when she was sure he wasn't following her, she turned back and gave him a smile. "I'll thank you this one time, but don't you dare let it get to your head!"

"Aww! You do love me!" he replied with a cackle, which continued behind her as she made her way through the village proper to meet with her squad. She looked forwards to this, her teammates were all talented if nothing else, even if that Shirou kid's inferiority complex irritated her like nothing else.

Whatever happened, she'd pass, and she'd try to make sure they all passed too. She arrived at the gathering area, and watched the hokage give her speech with a relaxed face. It was exciting and kinda scary, she had to admit, but she had to reserve her energy for the fights ahead, considering the amount of foes they had to face... she needed to stop thinking about it before she broke into a smirk that might scare away her teammates. When the hokage finished speaking and left, she turned so that she was looking at the whole crowd, and crouched, her eyes scanning her opponents with a smirk forcing its way onto her face. This was exactly what she was looking for.

[Infinite Cosmos]

>No direct interactions. Just waking up. Getting ready and arriving at the Chunin exam location<

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and Satoru was...already warming up and practicing. Such is the life of someone born into his family. No days off, so they say. Sure, Satoru gets to live like his peers do. But to say that he had a normal childhood would be a bit of a stretch. Having one of the three great dojutsu could seem like a blessing that gets you a head start in your ninja careers. Sure, that may be true. But for Satoru, it came with living in constant fear. The fear of assassinations above all. Even at such an young age, Satoru knows the procedure he has to take should he be captured and his eyes are being removed. Death. Before losing the Byakugan to someone.

Thats how he has lived his life.

After completing his 10 lap warm up around his family compound, Satoru was immediately summoned to start his martial arts practice against a wooden dummy. Today, the focus was his own chakra flow and tenketsu. He has to release a precise amount of chakra through palm strikes, finger jabs, elbow strikes, punches, kicks and the like. If he misses, even by a margin of 15%, he has to start the entire sequence over. His instructor stood near him, cane in hand and ready to strike should Satoru commit a 'silly' mistake. Fortunately, his warm up session was kept shorter today.

Today was the big day. Today, he becomes Chunin. His squad mates would too, if he has any say about it. There is no way a squad led by the Lianie Kamikaze fails at any sort of test or mission. It simply was not an option. Not even of Satoru's only volition. It just isn't going to happen.

Right?

Satoru shook his head slightly as he changed out of his morning workout outfit into a more test appropriate outfit. He can't let this creeping doubt affect him. Not to day. Whatever he has learned and know from his training will have to do. There will not be a growth spurt from now until the end of the exams, he thought. Besides, if he gets into a pinch, his Byakugan will surely be enough to get him through.

Giving his family members, the ones that are still around anyways, a respectful bow, Satoru exited his family home and took off running towards the exam location, excited to meet up with his squad mates and to tackle whatever tasks the testing committee has planned for them.

He got to the location in time to hear the Hokage officially kick off the exams. Three parts. Thats very exciting, he thought to himself. With his Byakugan hidden under a low-brimmed hat, he looked around the crowd for his squad, wanting to chat with them first before the tests started.

[Tsukai]

---

Tsukai slept like he was dead to the world.

"Hey, Honey its your big day! You might want to get up and get ready, I already have breakfast made and at the table." His mom called to him from his rooms partially opened door. Of course he replied with a groggy, muffled, grunt and flipped over in bed. Lazily letting himself dose back off, closing his eyes for what felt like only another thirty seconds. After opening his eyes again and seeing the time had somehow jumped almost a half hour ahead he flung himself out of bed and got dressed in a frantic flurry making sure he geared himself up. He busted open his door and came flying out hitting the wall opposite his room before stumbling down the hall towards the dining area, throwing himself down at the table where his mother just finished eating and was clearing the table for herself and his father. They both gave him a disapproving look as he scarfed down his food and hastily said thank you. Giving his dad and his mom a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek he bolted out the doorway.

"He might be like that the rest of his life." Trailed his dad.

"Without a doubt"

Tsukai was almost late already. Not to mention the Hokage themselves were supposed to be giving a speech to all of them before the exam. He dodged the crowd the best he could, shamelessly running into people apologizing over his shoulder as he quickly lost them in the crowd. He cut into a back alley trying to shave some time in hopes of not arriving mid speech. Only after it was too late did he realize the two shadowy figures step out from behind him before he felt a something wrap around his ankles and throw him to the ground. Catching himself just barely and scraping up his hands in the process he looked down to see some crappy homemade bolas. He didnt have time for this. Some thugs trying to mug just a kid? Especially today? He looked up to see the shadows. It was two kids right around his age, Both wearing headbands but he couldn't see what they displayed.

"You should just go home now squirt, you'll never make it through the exams."

"I'd watch your mouth if I were you pal! You don't even know who you're talking to!"

Tsukai retorted as he untangled his feet.

"What did you ju-"

Before he could finish Tsukai was on his feet and had sucker punched the kid right in the gut. The assailants partner just stood there in shock. Tsukai used the opportunity to climb to the roof tops and took off towards the exams. Checking behind him only momentarily to see if they were in pursuit, they weren't. The rest of his run there was uneventful, jumping from roof to roof. Once he reached the exams his heart was racing, after all the running and the little bit of tussle, it was expected. His headband had fallen down around his neck as he entered the room where everyone was already gathered. Just as the door closed behind him the Hokage started her speech. Tsukai listened intently and was revitalized by the encouragement to achieve and do well. He maneuvered his way around the outside of the crowd looking for his teammates, shouldn't be hard since Emon was so tall but most of the other kids were taller than Tsukai himself making the search rather difficult. Maybe he would check the corners first to see If he could catch Nemu taking a pre-Exam nap.

[Feijao]

Yasu Hinoiki

Journal entry 1

"The forest was alive, the ever growing trees consuming every ray of sunlight. Black patches of shade swallowed the floor beneath us, as we leaped from branch to branch. Makoto had a look of distress on her face, I couldn't tell if she was pissed off or actually scared. I wanted to know where Shirou was, and why Makoto was carrying his spear and two headbands, then hit me like hot sake down a virgin throat. He died protecting me, the rest of his corpse leftovers to creatures of forest. No wonder Makoto was pissed off, she just lost one of her comrades as well as a 5% discount on weaponry, wouldn't be surprised if Shirou's mother would start charging us double the price after losing her baby boy. The boy lived as coward but died a hero... to me.

We descended to the ground, a moment to catch our breath, all of sudden kunai came flying past us, from different directions. The bold woman readied her weapon and ran into the fray, I tried to-no I wanted to stop her, but for some strange reason I couldn't, my feet carried me in the opposite direction, I heard the clash of metals, then Makoto's cry, then an explosion, I didn't have to turn back to know her fate. I was the only one, the only survivor, I needed my Sensei, at one point I blamed our Sensei for my own cowardliness. Suddenly my body fell to the ground, I turned to see my meters away from me, yet I felt no pain. I turned over on back, the back of my head resting on giant fuma shuriken. So much for a beautiful death, I couldn't even see how nice the sky was, at the time I thought my soul would be trapped in this forest, maybe I would reunite with Makoto and Shirou, Makoto would slap the side of my ankle with her pole staff, like the good old days, and Shirou, trying to form a sentence but instead just stuttering, how Smoker Sensei take this news, I'd like to think she smokes 80 cigs before killing herself to join us, in this forest of death, heh, such selfish words to say, besides I might not reunite with them, I might be sent to the lower part, that place with all the molten rocks, sometimes hot, sometimes cold, maybe reincarnated as a maggot for a cowardly death, and like that, I would close my head, hear the unsheathing of a blade, and then wake up my this nightmare."

Finally finishing his last scribble Yasu sighed closing his book. He dimmed his lamp until it was completely dark in his small room, surrounded by blank plain screens, he heard the faint snores of his peers behind them. He rose from his bed roll, slid open his screen door and went to wash off and change into his daily clothing. Lastly he went into the empty room on the side, the custom training room with a special type of floorboard to train any Shinobi in stealth, slowly he placed his barefoot onto the cold, dusty board, then his hands, moving slowly, yet covering big areas of the floor, the trick was to stretch as you could, but to remain slow, eventually over time your speed will come, he did this for and hour before exiting the training with a bow, thus making his way to the exams.

The number of participants was a big one, there were many different colour headbands, mass variety of clothing. A lot of the participants were grown, with a few exceptional people around his age. Yasu maneuvered around the crowd carefully, trying not to step on anyone's toes, slow and steady was better for him, less likely to get him into problems, even if there was going to be a problem, Makoto would come to his rescue, she always did. He spotted her crouched down like a delinquent, Yasu found her interesting, the daughter of well respected man who had the intimidation skills of a bear, yet she didn't live off her family reputation, she made her own, "Makuza" he said underneath his breath, she had more masculinity in her than Shirou did his ballsack. The young Genin would move quietly towards,he wanted to greet her, but didn't know how, every word he thought didn't sound good enough to say aloud, this caused him to skip the greet and just be brief. "Where's Shirou?" Her grin scared him, her grin curved like a snake sizing it's prey.

[Sunbather]

The silence in the room was palpable, as if the very air inside the room had been coated with it. Only the ocassional clatter of a cup being set back onto the table, or the warm tone of chopsticks against porcelain managed to break through. The busyness with which the collected clanspeople consumed their breakfast suggested a soon-to-approach famine, each motion devoid of comfort or enjoyment. Yachiyo grinded her teeth for a moment before she lead her utensils towards her mouth one last time, hastily swallowing. Little bits of rice were glued to her cheek, earning her a stern gaze from her father, sitting to her left. Quickly wiping it away, Yachiyo cast her eyes downwards, keeping them fixed upon her knees. She barely breathed, the faint noises of chewing and drinking building up into an odd, almost manic cacophony, mixing with the coursing of her blood just behind her ears. She swallowed, fingers curling, hand slowly balling into fists, tight enough to turn her knuckles white.

"May I please leave early to prepare?"

As if in a vacuum, it felt like even the sparse noise was sucked away, replaced by eyes burning away at the girl's face. She didn't dare to look at anyone, her bottom lip disappearing as her teeth ground into it, nervously gnashing away at the soft skin. An approving grunt sounded from her father, beckoning the rest of her siblings and her mother to return to their meal, as Yachiyo rolled onto her bare soles, and strode out of the room as fast as she physically could, each step swallowed by the ground.

Ascending the stares, Yachiyo came to a halt when she passed one of the estate's rounded windows facing the gardens, her eyes narrowing, scanning for a certain someone. A few seconds passed, and the girl's shoulder slumped, before she returned to her upwards sprint, finally reaching her room. As she slid the doors closed, she allowed her back to press into the wall, sliding down until she sat, with bent knees, on the floor. Her lungs dared to deflate, muscles relaxing in an instant. The quiet up here was different; empty rather than dense. Her shelf, littered with scrolls and textbooks, loomed above her, the love novels hidden behind the facade of studious lecture luring out a smile. She beckoned a little figurine, a crow made of glass, until the artwork came to live, flapped its wing, and circled the sils for a moment; then, Yachiyo snapped into haste again, a look towards the clock urging her onwards. Without pause, the kunoichi grabbed the jacket from her chair, and flung it onto her bed, as she slipped on the cropped top with the mask. As she slid her arms into her jacket, Yachiyo approached the window sill once more, grasping the little figurine of Bijou her grandmother had made for her, her fingers closing around it.

Today was the day.

-------------------------------------------------------

The blabbering of the assembled genin was a welcome distraction for Yachiyo. She sat alone, legs spread wide to guard her territory from strangers seeking a space, her elbows proped up on her thighs. Her mind raced, quieting down only when she craned her neck upwards to search for her teammembers, for Kurimi, for Suzuhime, for Karu... anyone she knew. She let her eyes wander, spying a troop of genins whose village she couldn't tell due to their posture, but who all had symbols littered across their skin; the sight made Yachiyo wrap her fingers around her forearm, reaffirming her scrolls presence. She had felt warm all day, the dry, heated air in the room not helping.

Transfixed onto the foreign teams, Yachiyo's attention was demanded as her baggy jacket began to ruffle, and a pathetic mewl sounded from within her breast pocket. Eventually, a fuzzy little head poked out of her half-opened zipper, Bijou squealing for his friend's affection. Her lips curled upwards behind the mask, and her eyes softened, as slender digits combed along the little bear's fur, flattening the ruffled tail, which elicited an excited little squeak from Bijou.

"Excited?" she asked, pulling the creature fully from its hideout inside her jacket, and planted it into her lap, her heels tapping rhythmically, gently rocking it up and down. The soft texture of its fur between her fingers calmed the kunoichi. "Me too..." Yachiyo pulled her eyes away from her little friend, and scoured the rest of the assembled shinobi with steely eyes. They were all rivals, even her friends. At least she could rely on Yo and Hirameki... If only she could find them within the mess of people.

[AlteredTundra]

There was an unspeakable tension in the air as the Lady Hokage was speaking to the genin present. She spoke of how the chunin exams would be vastly different than any of their past missions would be and how those around them -- some Ren Shimo knew from the academy days -- wouldn’t all be allies; that the only allies he had were those in his own squad. Upon hearing this, Ren chuckled, curving his lips into a smirk.

As his mind began to wander as soon as Lady Hokage finished speaking, Ren thought about his team, about his sensei, and about how much trouble he had caused them since graduating from the academy and actually becoming a team. To say that their time together has been surprising was putting it mildly. Ren always felt like he carried the team, being the one who had the most leadership qualities out of everyone. Of course, that was not counting Shion-Sensei. She was de facto leader but it wasn’t like Karu was going to step it up, not when he always tried to get sensei’s time of day.

Of the many times the chance presented itself, Ren had to assume the role because obviously the only other female on the team spent her time trying to keep everyone in line -- even Ren. But when it came down to it, Ren was always the one to take control of a situation. Organized or not, he had a certain order to his madness and he never turned away from a fight. And that was the reason why he was so excited right now.

His blood usually ran cold and disobedient, but something about the challenge and reward of possibly becoming chunin sent thrills down his spine. As shivering and frigid as they were, Ren felt the will of fire burn bright as he scanned the room and just tried to gather who would be the weakling among them.

His blue eyes, the overseers for his blades, Ren spotted some familiar faces. Former classmates of his and they looked strong. He gripped his kodachiswords by the hilt, the itch that needed to be scratched crawling up his skin like a rattlesnake slowly ascending. “Someone, but who?” He asked himself, breathing the names of those he saw, craving a spar with someone.

[Bluetommy]

Hirameki woke up at 5 AM and leaped out of bed. Before his very hungover father could sit down after returning from his night out an hour later, Hirameki had already made the both of them breakfast, eaten his half, and was now standing in the backward violently laying his hands upon the training dummy that he had built himself earlier that week. His father stared in astonishment at the meal laid out before him, and as he looked up to ask Hirameki a question about it, his son had appeared right in front of him.

"You don't have to eat it, if you don't want I mean. I know sometimes you wake up and get home having puked out everything so I thought I'd be thoughtful and give you the chance to fill back up. Anyway, the exams are today so I need to prepare myself. Love ya dad!" And before Hirameki's father could get a word in, Hirameki had shot by him and left the building, leaving him staring at the room with a sigh.

"God he's just like his mother," he mumbled to himself as he collapsed onto the floor, unable even to reach the breakfast that had been so kindly prepared for him.

Hirameki fired like a bullet through the village, wishing the Mochis a good morning as he leapt onto their roof and dived overtop of a fruit cart with a lack of grace that hid very well his status as a genin. He blew a lock of hair out of his eyes, then looked down the road towards the meeting place. He would be the first one there even if he showed up in the next few hours, so why not do a little work fir-

A half hour later Hirameki was still seated in the same place with blades of grass in his hands, trying fruitlessly to pull them perfectly in half. Every time he tried he would bring a little bit more of one half than the other, it was unendingly frustrating! He growled and tossed another pair of freshly bifurcated blades to the ground, looking up at the sky with a pouting lip.

"No, I can't let some goddamn grass beat me! You hear me grass?! I am a soon to be chunin, you're grass!" With a roar, Hirameki tore another handful of grass out and started working his way through, blade by blade.

It took him another hour, but he finally pulled a blade of grass perfectly in half, he watched it the whole way down, and it was as straight as an arrow, utterly perfect. Hirameki stared at it once more, his eyes widening and his face being consumed by a grin. With a cheer of victory, he jumped into the air, holding both blades of grass into the sun as a demonstration of his superhuman precision. He landed with a short stumble, which he pretended that he totally meant to do by following his momentum into a spin and yet another jump.

"I did it!" he yelled out, pure bliss written across his face. He landed and stood for a second, breathing deeply even though he hadn't physically exerted himself. He looked at the split blade of grass, then tossed it into the air, turning away and running off to find something else to do.

Before the exams had even begun, Hirameki had torn out a large patch of grass, awoken many sleeping people by jumping all over their roofs, slashed the tip of a broomhandle off in an attempt to practice his kunai skills and stuck it in a tree, and had to be restrained by a summon before he could disturb a large bear that was hiding in the woods outside the village. Finally he found himself to the meeting place, a lot later than when he had first seen it. There was already a crowd there, but he didn't care about showing up first. He failed to pay attention to the hokage speaking, his nemesis, blades of grass, had again distracted him, but he understood the point anyway, you could die, be a good teammate, blah de blah. when she finally stopped speaking he noted the growth of chatter among the gathered genin, and as a result he was torn away from the blades of grass. He decided it would be a smart idea to find his teammates, so he looked around for them, zipping and snaking his way through the crowds until he finally located Yachiyo, who he snuck over to, before saying "yo" in the deepest voice he had heard in the past day. When she turned to look, she would see Hirameki brushing a lock of hair over his head with a hand, his tongue sticking out playfully.

[Haha]

“Mnnnnnnnh.”

Kurimi audibly hummed as she entered the irritatingly crowded room of various shinobi. Maybe she didn’t even need to be here, Kurimi was small, blended in pretty well too.

The Mochi Girl simply crossed her arms and glanced around the ocean of roaring people, social anxiety forced her sights to scan the room for familiar faces. Which was pretty difficult, though she managed to find Iza and Yachiyo within the ocean of ninja youth— but there was no way she could get their attention, maybe she would try and make her way over to one of them. Where was her team anyway?

Something would interrupt that train of thought. Kurimi wasn’t the sharpest with her senses, but her instincts were quite sharp. Danger. The feeling welled up in her chest and forced the anxiety to momentarily disappear and push her to move towards the familiar faces she’d seen before. But she wouldn’t reach them, the young ninjas torrent or cheers and conversation, excitement and cheer, unless she went on a rampage or something. But that wasn’t happening, and the presence that alarmed her grew closer until suddenly—

“Don’t worry, I don’t think you’ll make it far enough to be in any ‘real’ danger. Just try to survive the best you can, little one.”

His words rang through the white-haired girls ears like an alarm bell sounding off.

Her head spun back to meet the foreign ninja’s eyes with her own, the cream colors irises cutting deep into the rival ninja’s soul. That’s what she had hoes for atleast, her teeth gritting beneath her lips, fists clenching at her sides. The Kumo-nin wore a grey jumpsuit, white silken belts, and a ninjatou was strapped to his waist. He was tan with darker features, brown eyes, black hair, a clear contrast worn in his wardrobe to make him stand out. This person’s psyche reminded her of a certain person in Kurimi’s class and she hasn’t even really known this guy for that long— nonetheless she just flared her nostrils and faced forward in a silent rebellion. Not offering him any stimuli in response to his shitty comment.

Or maybe I’ll crush you in the Forest of Death. Kurimi thought to herself as she quietly contemplated the closing words of the Hokage’s exam speech. And as the gathering event came to a close she would deliberately spin on her heels and stomp right past the Kumo-nin who tried to rile her up, growling quietly as she did so. Stepping out from the crowd her glance would once again dance among the people who left the preparatory speech in the outflow along with her.

”Finally..” She quietly said to herself, muttering a whisper only audible to someone closely listening.

[Rabidporcupine]

@Feijao@Bluetommy

---

"SHIROU!" the loud voice of one Hijikata Tsubaki rang through the house as she burst through the door into her sons room. "Todays the day, get up and get ready so you don't leave your team wa- oh."

"Morning." Shirou said from his position on the bed, not taking his eyes away from the book sat on his lap. "I'll be out in a second."

"Couldn't sleep huh? How long?"

"Five hours, I think. I haven't really been paying attention to it."

His mother chuckled lightly, before pulling the book from his hands and lightly bopping him on the head with it.

"Then I'd say that's more than enough time to spend with your nose in a book. Come out and eat, so you can try to get at least a little of your strength back."

After merely a second of hesitation, Shirou sighed and nodded, climbing off the bed to follow her into the kitchen.

"Where's dad?"

"Probably in the forge already. We got an order in just recently which we're hoping to get done by the end of the exams."

"Hmmm?" He hummed as he started eating. "I'll have to say bye before I leave."

He looked up to his mother, the bags under his eyes even larger than usual as he tried and failed to hide the nervousness in his voice.

"So... you did this too, right? How did you keep yourself calm?"

"By beating up a group of the other genin in the waiting area. Freaked out for a week before that though."

She narrowed her eyes, targeting Shirou with an icy stare.

"But don't you go thinking it's a good idea. I could've screwed my chances right then and there, and I'd better not here that you or any of your team decided to risk it yourselves!"

"I won't! Y-you know I won't!"

Makoto.

He paused as the name passed through his mind.

"She probably won't either."

"Mhmm..." Tsubaki said, a skeptical expression on her face. The expression quickly disappeared however, replaced by a wide smile. "Well, you know what? I was thinking of doing this anyway, but why not make it an incentive? If you and those two manage to pass the exams, we'll make them something of their choice, free of charge."

Shirou nearly choked at his mothers words, looking up at her in a combination of shock and terror.

"Mom, are you feeling alright?"

"Don't be silly, dearest son of mine. I'm never in anything less than perfect condition, you know that."

"Uh... right." Shirou said slowly. "Well, I'd better get going or I'll be late. I'll see you soon!"

"Well, soonish... But I know you'll make it through in the end! Now go say bye to your father."

No sooner had she said the words that Shirou was already making his way to the forge.

"Dad, mom's ok right?"

"Hey brat!" His father, Hijikata Shinzou, said with a tired looking grin. "She's pretty nervous about you and the exams, but other than that, she seemed pretty fine. Why, did something seem wrong?"

"She said if we passed, she'd forge Yasu-san and Makoto-san a free weapon each."

His fathers eyes widened at Shirou's words.

"That is kinda unnerving, isn't it?" He said. "Guess I'll hide all our sharp objects and try to make sure she gets some rest, see how she feels when she wakes up. Now get going, or you're gonna be late!"

"Right, I'll see you in a few days." Shirou said, sending his father a small wave before leaving. Thankfully, he'd already gathered anything he thought he might need the previous night, so all he had to do was get the pack from beside the door, give one final wave goodbye to his mother, and then head off to the meeting area.

---

It wasn't until after the Hokage had finished her speech that he finally found Makoto and Yasu and made his way over to him. He had just made it into earshot when Yasu asked where he was.

"I'm here, Yasu-san." He said, nodding to his teammate in greeting before turning to the other one. "Makoto-san, you're m-making a scary face. Y-you're not planning to start a f-fight, are you?"

He tried not to let himself sound too nervous as he spoke. True, spending three years with Makoto and Yasu had done a great deal to make him less scared of them, but that didn't erase it completely. Well, actually, he was pretty decent with Yasu, but Makoto was still kind of... 'overwhelming'... However, he quickly remembered that he wouldn't have to resort to his pathetic negotiation skills to convince Makoto not to fight, because his mother had provided him with bribery.

"It would be a b-bad idea to fight anyone before the exams h-have even started, M-Makoto-san. My mom said that if we passed, she'd let you both request a w-weapon, and she'd make it and give it to you f-for free. But if we fight another t-team now, we could risk i-injuring ourselves and being disqualified before the exam even starts..."

While he might have started out strong, his nerves had him quieting down steadily throughout his explanation, until he was barely speaking loud enough to hear at the end.

[Feijao]

Yasu Hinoiki

Yasu looked at his small kunai and found himself contemplating a new weapon, he was no weapons specialist, swords never interested him as he was slow to draw them, they also made too much sound. Polearms like Shirou's wouldn't suit the boy either, constantly having that sort of weight on his back would annoy the young boy. Yasu thought about Makoto's weapons and shook his head. "I couldn't possibly lift those, too heavy, I need to go with something small, but not a kunai, he thought, sighing he mumbled underneath his breath. "I don't even like close combat, I can't fight they both know that. But i can't pass up a free weapon" Yasu nodded his head in agreement Shirou. " I mean he has a point, we could get disqualified if you start sizing up people, plus Shirou said we'll get a new weapon if we pass or well survive." The tanned skin boy would cast his eyes down to the ground in fear as he remembered his dream, hoping that it wouldn't come to reality, because he of this dream he'd end up spilling a drop emotions. "We have to make it, I've never told this guys this, but I'm glad to on this team with you two, I don't know how you guys see me, but in the 3 years we've known each other, you two have become people I appreciate, I guess in other words, my best friends. So please be careful." Yasu felt awkward spilling this, he turned his back away from the two quickly to avoid embarrassment, he even stepped a little further from them. His heart began beating anxiously as thought "I shouldn't of said that, i shouldn't of said that." He would close his eyes and take a shallow breath.

Making their way confidently through the competitive energy towards the 3 Genin was one of the leaf's richest kids and two of his allies. " So you guys made it then, I mean I expected Makuza to make it, but you two? not a chance, Shirou the stuttering coward, and Yasu the softy. Makuza definitely these two, I mean that guy Yasu, he skipped Taijutsu class after I winded him, the guys got no fight. The boy shook his head in disappointment, his ponytail swishing from the side to side. " So Michi hear told me he overheard Shirou stuttering about some sort of free weapon if you pass." The boy would grin, raising an eyebrow, then reveal, then unsheathe his Wakizashi katana, the gold hilt glistening in sunlight. "Straight from the land of Iron, the most expensive metal you can get, my bokkun, is worth more than your pathetic, duller than dishwater, blunt, primitive spear. You see boys and Makuza, to survive you need to have the best gear. The boy carried on his voice getting louder. " Now let me Mochi Genji of the great Mochi Clan tell you guys something. Those cooking utensils Shirou's mother found won't cut it for you guys, in fact i doubt they can cut through my riceballs. Mochi Genji crossed his arms, the same arrogant smirk on his face. " So how about it Makuza, you do business, I do business, your tough, I'm tough.. You could be my side piece , my girl, how about after this exam we go take a walk around that nice lake, I'll even buy you an ice cream to lick, and we can talk about your transfer from squad 5 to squad 20.

Yasu had no words, he would look at Shirou, then Makoto, "He's done it now."

[Fiber]

The day started at dawn for Kotetsu. He was a farmer first and foremost, and that meant working the farm as soon as he woke up. The only difference for today was that his mother had packed an extra special lunch for him, which he’d look forward to eating when the time was right. At this moment he was standing in the auditorium, reflecting after the Hokage finished her speech. He didn’t know enough about her to have a solid opinion, the Kaneharas stayed away from ninja business for the most part, and ninja business was the lion’s share of the Hokage’s duties. If Kotetsu passed the test this day he’d be spending more time with ninja business, but ultimately it was just a job for him. The Kaneharas were farmers, and Kotetsu always saw himself going back to that some distant day, perhaps buying some more land with the money from being a ninja.

It frustrated him that the written test was first. He did best with things that could be solved with force, being only average at best at intellectual tasks. The only asset he had to help him was his persistence. He had a few minutes before the test started, so he used that time to read over the notes he had taken during class. They were a mess, but there was a lot material on those sheets of paper, plenty for him to study beforehand. He had enough that someone else could join if they wanted, and as far as he knew there was no rule against studying before the test actually began.

Annoyingly, there were some large empty spots in the notes, places where he simply wrote SEE TETSU’S NOTES or TALK TO SATORU ABOUT THIS; his team was great, but there are some times when he thought relying on them too much might actually hurt him. He wasn’t sure if they were there yet, Kotetsu thought he saw Satoru in the crowd but wasn’t sure, and just went back to standing there and flipping through his notes. He tried to actually think about the written test, not daydream about how much better he’d be at the physical portion, because if he didn’t pass this, there would be no second stage for him.

[Bluetommy]

Makoto's smirk was interrupted by her teammates bugging her, one with that annoying nickname, "Makuza", it made her want to put her hanabo through a wall every time she heard it, and the other being his terrified self. He turned to Shirou, roaring out "idiot!" and threatening his space with her kanabo.

"You think I'm stupid or something Shirou? You dumbass! I'm not going to go around picking fights before the exams even start, I want to pass, and I'm sure as shit not going to stop you from passing just because I want to fight someone! Especially if I get a chance at a new weapon!" It was an interesting concept to Makoto, she'd had this same kanabo for years now, and it was starting to get worn down, missing studs and such. A new weapon by trained weaponsmiths would certainly be pretty badass. She then turned to Yasu, grabbed his shoulder and spun him to look at her, and playfully put a fist on his forehead protector. "Come on loser, show some self respect, don't be saying that sappy shit to me." Then he grabbed him by the hair and twisted, tugging at it with a smirk.

"Call me Makuza again and I'll geld you."

That ended when another approached them, using that same stupid nickname, and proceeding to talk in far, far too many words about how inferior her team was and how inferior their families were. Makoto stood and listened to him speak with an expressionless face, until she realized that he was trying to flirt, and not even as his main girl. It was hilarious, why would he think that insulting her team for a few minutes would be anything other than obnoxious and unattractive? She stared at him with a look of confused annoyance, before approaching, roughly grabbing him by the collar, and driving her forehead protector into his nose, with more than enough force to break it. Following that, she grabbed the other side of his collar with her other hand and spun him around and off of his feet, driving him into the ground head-first with an "ora!". She backed away from his prone form and clapped her hands together.

"That's the end of that," she said simply.

[DClassified]

---

_Earlier...

"Ey Yo Bushbaby!"

Yosuke kept walking. They always did this, and they knew what today was for him. He wasn't going to humor them this time. He was determined to be there early, as would be fitting for a worker commissioned to a task. To fit the reputation Team 7 earned. He had recommended his teammates do similarly but it wasn't out of place if they just did their own thing. Yo as of this moment in time, however, was avoiding his cousins; Korajo, Midare, and Noboru.

Three 'exemplary' chunin of the Hinoiki that had graduated a little while before him. It was the trio of brothers that were often on his back the most, only being three years older than he was. To call them bullies would be an understatement, as they were almost singlehandedly responsible for his hardships growing up. They were also responsible for the unwanted nickname 'bushbaby'...Yosuke hated that name, thus he never answered to it.

"C'mon now Yosuke, we got somethin for ya." Stated Noboru; followed by Korajo:

"From the clan."

The young swordsman stopped and eyed the ground with a sigh. Something told him he was going to regret this. Despite their odds, he couldn't deny their status as chunin who passed the exams. Maybe for once, he'd learn something helpful from them. So, Yosuke turned around, and past his developing mane, his stern gaze turned upward.

"What?"

Korajo pulled a small, wooden cylinder coiled object from behind his back. Upon further inspection, it looked sort of like a snake, and the clear gap in the middle looked like it was meant to be placed around something. He extended it for Yo to take. The kid's lips flattened and he looked back up to their goofy faces.

"What is this supposed to be...?"

"You get through the exams wit that on, you a real one." Noboru replied. Yosuke, examined each of their faces. Midare expression didn't seem to move from a straight face, though Korajo had something of a crooked smile. He couldn't see either of their eyes behind shaded glasses. From the looks of this, he felt like he was confronted by a three-headed devil trying to make a deal with him. He mentally debated, but in that small pocket of time, Midare spoke.

"Look like you really ain't shit after all. No wonder the clan don't like you." He stated frankly, holding the denotation of disappointment in his voice. Noboru shrugged and Korajo was retracting his hand, but Yo took the thing.

"Fine." He replied, quickly sliding his left arm through the looping snake cuff. Korajo chuckled a little bit and glanced at his brothers.

"Maybe the kid finally learning."

"We'll see."

"Remember, you gotta keep it on through all the exams. You do, you'll have our respect movin forward." Korajo explained.

Yosuke's golden eye bounced between the three of them again. It was really hard to believe, but after all these years, this might have been the one time they meant those words. It wasn't normal for Midare to even say anything to him, so, that clearly was some kind of sign. Yo rolled his shoulders, but nodded his head in understanding.

Turning back on track again, he started walking again. Following after him, he heard Korajo's voice chase after him.

"This is your test. Good luck Bushbaby! You'll need it."

---

_{Present || @Bluetommy, @Sunbather, @Haruharara}

Yosuke still managed to make it to the site earlier than most. So, his position ended up somewhere near the front. He was sat on the heels of his feet, with his hands on his knees. His head was aimed down and eyes closed. His father's sword, named "Hakai", laid horizontally parallel in front of him. It was always before top priority tasks that his father taught him to meditate first. To bring his emotions to a controlled place, to focus his thoughts, and ready himself for the task ahead.

To some he probably looked ridiculous, but Yosuke didn't care how they thought he looked. When Hokage Kaminari came in and made her speech, Yosuke opened his eyes and watched attentively. It seemed his meditation was warranted. As very soon, those who were not of his own squad, were to become enemies. Very well too, that death was a serious possibility. Whether it be due to the trials, or to each other, Yosuke wasn't sure yet. Still, it likely was in his best interests to find his team.

This was their first true test.

His eye clipped the wooden ornament on his bicep as he picked up Hakai. Yosuke stood up and threw the blade over his shoulder and finally took notice of the crowd that developed. His view sifted through the faces and noticed cream-colored hair; Yachiyo. He felt air get caught in his lungs as though there was a net inside, feeling a little colder outwardly. He wasn't sure why that happened, but he ignored it for now.

Navigating through, he took note of some faces he'd seen in passing, such as his little cousin Yasu with his team. He thought about going over to him to check on things, considering his teammate just headbutted some other random genin. He found no necessity in that though, and thus kept walking.

It was as he did though, that he took notice of Kurimi, seemingly looking around for her team as well. His head tipped to the side in something akin to fondness, gently placing a hand on her shoulder as he passed her by. He kept his pace forward though, as the two of them were never the sort to exchange many words. Just a touch in hope of cloud-haired girl's good will during the exams, yet also not at his squad's expense.

As it seemed, Shunji managed to find his way to her as well. Made things all the easier. As he approached, he nodded in acknowledgement to each of them.

"Hey Yachi, Hirameki. What's up...?"

[Roach]

_{@Haruharara @Bee}

In the shadow of the eastern wall, the Sekiguchi Clan’s compound lay still, serene, and sedate. Dawn lit up their sprawling rock garden in blue-grey hues, and though beyond the gate Konoha was reluctantly stirring, the same could not be said of the shinobi residing within. To be Sekiguchi was to be lacking in ambition and energy. They were not Kaminari, related to the Hokage and thus recipient to the missions that sent them on top-secret, faraway missions at first light. Instead, their routine was marked in backshifts and second jobs, dull as dishwater.

But Suzuhime was not one hundred percent Sekiguchi. One half of her blood hailed from the Land of Tea, the part that brought her milk-blonde hair and delicate complexion. That same part was to blame for her lack of sleep, and was the reason why she swung her legs out of bed and plodded downstairs like a girl ready to face her own execution.

Dad would sleep through his own execution. Worries didn’t seem to gnaw a hole in his stomach as it did hers. They flooded her thoughts, whispering and chanting that there was a chance she would end up like him, a jonin with no record of any special accomplishment, or her cousins, who peaked as chūnin in their twenties, or worse – worse than any of her family had ever been – an eternal genin.

It was her firm belief that you weren’t really a ninja yet if all you took were D-Rank missions.

Though she thought she was the only one awake in the house, the sliding door that led out into the garden from the dining room was left ajar. There was no chance that a family of shinobi would leave it unsecured at night – not even hers. She brushed it aside, careful not to make the faintest creak. Sitting on the bench outside was a woman in a meditative pose was her mother, milk-blonde hair braided but still long enough to brush against the grass.

Suzuhime watched the rise and fall of her mother’s breath from the doorway. It sometimes scared civilians to realise that their Academy-trained children had the ability to kill them without them ever knowing they were there, but Suzuhime still made sure her footsteps made no sound as she approached. It was good practice for later. There was no doubt in her mind that stealth would be paramount in the chūnin exams, as important as aim and chakra control.

Just when she was about to reach the bushes behind the bench, there was a flash of intent behind her that rang alarm bells in her head. Rolling into a crouch, a fan of kunai were in her hand in a second––

“And just what are my two darling princesses doing up so early?”

An arm snaked around her torso and hoisted her up into the air before she could do anything to block it. Less taijutsu, more dad-jutsu, always effective. Suzuhime’s father was a tall, broad man with wine-coloured eyes, a Sekiguchi inheritance. He was earnest in his appreciation and outrageous when showing it, and like her mother, Suzuhime had mastered rolling her eyes at his antics many, many years ago.

“Husband,” her mother greeted. Her warmth was hidden behind an icy front, impossible to see unless you knew where to look. As it was, the frost in her eyes was light and reflected her mirth. “Perhaps you should put dear Suzuhime down. It’s the first day of the chūnin exams, is it not?”

He dropped her without warning, but like a cat, Suzuhime twisted around to land on her feet.

“The chūnin exams, eh?” he asked, as if he hadn’t even known they were happening. That seemed unlikely, given it was all anyone in the village had been talking about for months. “I still remember mine – good times, good times.”

“Didn’t you lose yours, Dad?”

A sheepish smile played at the corners of his lips. “Well, yes, but it was a near thing. Damn Ōkashi. I received a promotion not long after that –– and then I was sent on the mission where I stole the heart of your mother, with flowers, and presents, and a lot of dancing… you could say.”

“You know that I'm old enough to know what that means, right? Euphemism or not.” Suzuhime wrinkled her nose at that. “I don’t think I need to hear about that bit.”

“No, don’t go yet! I made you a special breakfast,” he said, tugging on her arm to guide her back inside the house towards the kitchen. ‘Special breakfast’ sounded like something for a toddler, not a teenage trained killer, but the moment Suzuhime looked upon the kitchen table she saw plates piled high with sweet foods. The only thing ‘breakfast’ about it were the pancakes drenched in syrup, to say nothing of the cakes and pastries littering every available surface.

A confused noise escaped her. Her dad wiped the back of his neck, abashed, and in the growing light of the morning, the shadows under his eyes looked even more pronounced than usual. “I may have made too much, but it’s a momentous occasion! My little girl finally growing up to be the strong kunoichi I always wanted to be.”

“You wanted to be a strong kunoichi?”

“Eat your breakfast.”

By the time Suzuhime left the compound, stuffed full of everything sugary that she could eat (with leftovers in a neatly-wrapped bento for lunch), the sun was already high in the sky. So much for being early to settle her nerves. She rejected her father’s offer to walk her to the examination centre where genin from all the countries would be gathered, and figured that it was his privilege as a jonin to watch from the rooftops after giving her a few minutes headstart.

Settling into a comfortable position on the outskirts of the room, she looked around through her thick fringe at her colleagues, as well as those she hoped would not become her enemy. A true wallflower, petrified of the middle of the room.

The Hokage began her speech when she was halfway around the edge, sandwiched between a squad of lithe Suna-nin and what felt like an ocean from Kumo as they shuffled around. One jeered at her as she ducked around him, cementing the idea that they were truly willing to be her opposition in the test to come. Even so, she could not imagine those from her graduating class – her own village, Yachiyo and Iza and the rest – to be her enemies. Her allegiances started with Team 10 but they did not end there.

Glimpsing her tiniest teammate leaving the crowd out of the corner of her eye, she let loose a sigh of relief and began to forge towards her.

“Kurimi – finally – thank goodness! I’m sorry… I got here so late, I was worried I’d never find you,” she said, dipping in and out of an apologetic bow. It was difficult to tell sometimes how to best appease the Mochi girl with how tightly she held her cards close to her chest. Suzuhime could not tell what was wrong, but she could have sworn she heard her growling. “Where is Usagi?”

[Kautalya]

_@Tsukai

---

In a forest shaded with a milky stream, Sueno Nemu could be seen laying still on the grass. The meltwater splashed, creating sounds between the rocks and the wind among the needles of the tree branches. The place shone with such sunlight that it lulled the small boy to a deeper sleep. He had been taking a small break--nap--because of the training he had promised himself to abide by(though it never actually happened). The chitter of the birds traveled through his ears as a song, an odd effect of both the sunlight and the noises of the animals enveloping Nemu into a peaceful trance. He had promised himself it would only be for 5 minutes, 5 minutes and he'll be up and running to the destination, but 5 minutes turned to 10 to 15 to 30.

(he was regretting his decision on taking the test a little bit)

"Nemu." A clear cut voice struck through the boys trance. A hand dropped itself down upon Nemu's mop of a hair, "So this is where you were, huh?" It was his father. The young boy lifted his head up, groggily staring at his fathers crouching figure, trying to adjust his eyes to the blinding light.

It wasn't like I was running away.

An exasperated sigh escaped the tight lips of his father, "You have to get going." His hands clasped over Nemus fingers, a clear juxtaposition between the two. "You already know how I feel about all this, but..." He already knew about this whole ordeal and did Nemu want to listen to the topic at hand, again? Not really, so he did what he did best and avoided the conversation. The boy released his grip from his father's cupped hands, slowly nodding as his final response. These past few days Nemu had noticed how vocal his father had been and it troubled him.

Getting up alongside with his father, the two shared a quick look and that was it. Nemu wrapped his scarf over him once more and skipped his way out of the forest, looking back once to watch the back of his father diminish, a loneliness dressed itself on his back.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗‗

With the finishing touch of the Hokages speech, Nemu shifted his eyes across the surrounding plane of the room. It was a little surreal that these participates were eventually going to be his enemies in battle. Still in a sitting position with his legs tucked in, Nemu relived the sentence that stuck to him the most.

"...There is a chance some of you may die.."

His eyes dragged themselves down towards his knees, his fingers twiddling as he took in the new piece of information. He felt the determination that escaped from each of the students that sat in the same room as him, and he himself expected the same feeling, but a part of him was stuck on the one word that made him uneasy. This was real, he was really about to do this.

With a big puff of sigh escaping his lips, Nemu gripped onto his scarf and lifted his head. He didn't want to let anyone down, not his teammates or his father, so he'll just have suck it up and deal with it. Pushing himself upwards, the boy squeezed his way through the crowds, his hands searching for his teammates. Emon and Tsukai were usually easy to spot for Nemu, especially with the wild silver hair of Tsukai and Emon's tall stature. Finally releasing himself from the tight crowd, Nemu noticed Tsukai.

Gripping the ends of Tsukai's sweater--in hopes of gaining his attention--Nemu spoke in a soft voice, "Sorry." Releasing his fingers, Nemu stuck them into his pockets, his eyes shifting downwards to the floor. "Emon?" He questioned, wondering where his other teammate was, upon only seeing Tsukai.

[AlteredTundra]

_{Collab with @Infinite Cosmos}

---

While he was scanning the crowd for his squadmates, Satoru spots a familiar chakra signature. Shimo Jiren. He smirked and started walking over, sifting himself through the gathering crowd.

“Oi. Ice boy. Who would have thought they let you join the exams this year? What with your scores and all, I would have thought they would hold you back another year in the fears of you getting killed too quickly…” Satoru said, with his arms folded behind his back.

While he was insulting the other boy, Satoru had his guard up. He was reading for any and all chakra fluctuations. One move and Satoru strikes. He needs to establish his position with anyone that may be watching and taking notes.

“Sato,” Ren minimally said, only giving Satoru as little of his actual attention. The rest of it was focused on finding actual worthy opponents. Ren examined Satoru for all of five seconds. They were short and produced nothing worth any further attention. “If you wouldn’t mind, but I don’t have the time nor the patience to entertain your limited intelligence. So, please, if you will, go find someone else to annoy.” Ren characteristically dismissed the blonde boy. Usually, he would be all over Sato for his comments, but Ren was focused, which might seem weird for those who actually know him, but he wanted a real challenge, not some wannabe playing ninja.

“From what I remembered, I scored better than you in just about every exam we had to take up until now. Oh, wait. Not in stick fighting. That’s what your family is known for right? Fighting with sticks.” Satoru said, slightly irate. “And if I annoyed you so much, why don’t you make me stop? Put me out of commission. That way, you can take the test in peace and not worry about me, killing you, in the process?” Satoru replied with a smirk again.

In truth, he was itching for a fight, but he wants Jiren to be the one to strike first. The one who strikes first is always seen as the one that lost their temper…

Ren held his hands very close to the handles of his two swords, trying not to let his anger and impulses get the better of him. Shion-Sensei has been trying to help him with that. Was it working? Well, before he would have already made the first move and tried to decapitate Satoru, so the fact he hadn’t unsheathed his kodachis meant he’s come a long way. Still, the fact that Satoru was still trying to goat him on was taking its toll on his patience.

He inhaled deeply, reciting the wise words of his father Our Will of Fire is remaining cool. Those words echoed in his mind and he spoke them softly. “What you remember and what I have achieved is two severely different things, Satoru,” Ren corrected him. “Now, I’ll only say this one more time: Piss. Off.” Ren stared in a nearly-fierce, aggressive way. He wanted to make it clear that the next time Satoru opened his mouth about Ren or his clan was going to be the last time he could speak without a sword inserted down his throat.

Satoru showed that devious grin of his again. His plan was obviously working. “Awwwww. Is little Renny boy mad? Tell you what. Make me leave. Draw your swords, and make me leave. Otherwise, well, we all know what that results in.” Satoru said, quietly shifting back a half a step and welling up a little chakra around his hands.

Keep cool, keep cool, keep cool. Ren exercised his father’s wisdom and tried to put it to good use, but it was evident that Satoru was being quite adamant about getting him to react.

“Will of fire? What will? Your family, and using swords. That's about the least Ninja thing I’ve seen. Waving around a shiny metal stick. It practically screams ‘HEY, LOOK AT ME! I’M GOING TO TRY TO ATTACK YOU NOW’. There is no subtlety to it. No grace.” Satoru looked at Jiren with disdain. “Being a shinobi, is to accomplish one’s tasks without the enemies even knowing you’re there. Be in, be out, and be silent about it. Name one thing you can do with a sword that I can’t do with my fists!” Satoru exclaimed.

That should have done it. There is no way Jiren is going to let what Satoru just said slide. “Good. Let your anger get to you, as usual.” Satoru thought. “Attack me blindly with your sword and I’ll seal off the chakra flow to your arms…” Satoru continued to think of his battle strategy while waiting for Jiren to attack.

[Hey Im Jordan]

_{Mentions: @Roach @Fiber @KZOMBI3
Location: Chūnin Exams Staging Room}

---

the night before the exams

Hikaru hadn’t slept a wink, but who could blame him? He was a little ball of nerves, who knew he was ill prepared for what was to come. He hadn’t even unlocked his Sharingan! And it wasn’t for lack of trying — he’d spent the whole night poking and smacking his friends with his chopsticks trying to trigger the emotional trauma necessary, but… no luck. Karu had then decided that he might as well put the stress-induced insomnia to good use, and figured he might as well do what Katsumi-sensei would have recommended.

Karu let his teammates sleep, even if he couldn’t, and read the Encyclopedia with the light of a lamp. When he’d asked Katsumi-sensei for advice, the only thing she’d said was ‘it’s in the book…’ and Karu had practically no clue what he was doing… so if that was all the advice she was going to give, then it was what he was going to do. His sensei wasn’t exactly the best at giving advice — in fact, it sometimes came down to something as simple as ‘don’t lose’ — but he was going to take it seriously all the same!

As he read the night away, Karu scribbled notes in the margins of the book, with the soft sounds of his friends sleeping in his room, finally free from Karu’s overwhelming energy. If he had his way, Squad Three would have spent the whole night training and getting ready for the chūnin exams, but apparently he couldn’t always get what he wanted — and Iza wouldn’t stop throwing her pillow at him if he tried to keep them awake.

Karu understood though, girls needed like, beauty sleep. He got that, really. That was why he’d decided to curl up by his lamp, and focus on reading. It was kind of relaxing, having to think about just the words on the page, and not the failure that was inevitably coming…

“Hey, Karu, positive thoughts! Positive thoughts.” He whispered yelled at himself, dropping the book on his bed. He ran a hand through his short hair, and briefly wondered if he should wake up his parents for a bit of advice — he would have thought about going to Kenshin for this kind of thing, but Kenshin wouldn’t wake up if he blew something up next to his face.

Still, Karu needed a drink of water. Working hard made him thirsty, and he was definitely working hard! He was just exercising his brain, instead of the normal muscles he spent his days working out. Karu was careful to be quiet as he slipped out of the room, carefully stepping over the sleeping form of Iza. He’d woken her up and before and that… was a dangerous game.

Once he was in the halls of the Hokage Residence, Karu could move freely. Yawning widely, he wondered how much time he had left to get some rest before the exams in the morning… Right now, it was the dead of the night, and he knew that his mind was racing too much for him to get any meaningful rest. “Might as well send it,” he grumbled to himself as he stepped into the kitchen.

“Hey, kiddo. What’s up, you can’t sleep?”

Hikaru froze when he heard the voice that came from the shadows, and turned to look as the source stepped out. If it had been any other voice, he might have been concerned, but this one belonged to… “Dad? What are you doing up so late? Don’t get mad at me when you can’t sleep either!” Karu protested, turning back to reach up and grab a glass from the cupboard.

“Geeze, never seen someone get so defensive because their dad asked one thing.” The head of the Kaminari clan commented, watching as his son poured himself a glass of water. “Are you nervous?” He asked, and Karu didn’t respond. Unfortunately for him, a father’s intuition was better than Karu thought, and Daisuke just nodded and kept talking on. “Of course you are. It’s perfectly normal to be nervous. I was, too.”

“You’re gonna be fine, don’t worry. It’ll be easier than you’re expecting, I promise.” Daisuke ruffled his son’s hair, before digging around in the cupboards for something, while Karu frowned.

“I mean, yeah, but… what if I fail? Wouldn’t you and mom be disappointed?” He asked, sipping from his glass of water. He had, in his mind, a valid point. Karu’s insecurities were creeping up. What kind of Kaminari would fail the chūnin exams? A shinobi’s career hadn’t even really began during their exams! It was what came afterward.

“What? Of course not! We couldn’t be more proud of you. and if you fail? Who gives a damn. You know who else failed their first exams?” Daisuke glanced over his shoulder at Karu, who was listening intently, wondering who his father could be referring to. Maybe one of his older brothers?

“Your mother.” The answer got an audible reaction out of Karu, and Daisuke smiled, turning around to show that he was holding two shot glasses, each filled with a clear liquid.

“Here. And for my sake, don’t tell Masuyo.” He said, smiling at his son. The Lady Hokage would have his head if she knew what he was doing. “Nobody’s perfect, Hikaru. If you don’t succeed, you don’t succeed. The worst thing you can do is give it anything less than your best. You’re a Kaminari. We don’t give it less than our best. Your mother and I will be proud of you no matter what.”

“Now drink up.” Daisuke said, holding his glass up toward his son.

With a huge smile on his lips, Karu clinked his glass against his dad’s. He thought about asking what was in the glass, but thought better of it, knowing that his father wouldn’t answer him even if he did ask. If he couldn’t trust his father, who could he trust? Without a care in the world, Karu tipped the glass back, and he grimaced as it went down. Once he swallowed, he blinked a few times, staring at his father.

“That… that wasn’t very good, Dad.”

“Don’t tell your mother. She’d have my head. Did the same thing with your brothers, but somehow, I’m always the bad guy… You’re gonna do fine, kiddo, don’t stress. You got this.” Daisuke said, holding out his closed fist. Karu nodded his agreement and held his hand out, bumping his fist against his father’s. “It’s sake. It’s good to learn to hate it now — in fact, this is probably why your brother didn’t drink…”

“Yeah… okay. Thanks, Dad.” Karu sat the now empty glass down on the counter, and backed away with as mile, offering a thumbs up and a grin, “the next time you see me, I’ll be a chūnin. Trust me!”

---

the next day, at the chūnin exams intro

If Karu wasn’t dead on his feet tired like he was, he would have shaking with hype from the speech his mother gave. Unfortunately, while others — even his own squad — were getting excited from the Hokage’s speech, Karu’s only response was a disrespectful one, out of context. After the Hokage wished everyone good luck, Hikaru’s mouth opened wide as he yawned, rubbing his eyes.

“Sheesh, I should have slept longer… Did Mom- Lady Hokage say we might die? That’s crazy… I didn’t think it was like, deadly deadly. Maybe she’s just kidding. Not that I’m worried about it — we’re just gonna send it anyway, right?” Hikaru said, looking between his two teammates, giving the best smile he could — while his fingers were still digging at his eyes. “Hey, when do you think lunch is?” Despite the massive breakfast he’d eaten before coming here, Hikaru was already hungry. It wasn’t his fault! He’d been too nervous to sleep, and staying up late burned a lot of energy. Food was fuel! And Karu was running low on fuel.

“Oh man, there’s also the written test, right? Crap, I should have studied more… I’m not prepared, there’s no way! Not for a written test. How much time do we have? Maybe I should cram some last minute study time in now…” The stress was creeping back in. Maybe he should have asked his dad to give him some more of that sake for the road. Hikaru looked between Iza and Mori and groaned. Both of his friends were way better at retaining Katsumi-sensei’s speeches and nuggets of knowledge. What the heck was he supposed to do now? His whole future was riding on these exams!

If I had my Sharingan, maybe I could actually scan this crowd effectively… Karu thought to himself as he looked around the crowd, Hikaru was able to make out exactly two interesting things. At least working with Katsumi-sensei had made him learn how to look at crowds with some effectiveness. In fact, Karu was pretty good at it (he might have seen more things going on, had he not been so tired), but he couldn’t help feeling insecure about the lack of his clan’s dojutsu.

After taking in the crowd, Hikaru reached into his bag and pulled out the one thing he was smart enough to bring along: a thermos filled with some still hot tea. Uncapping it, Hikaru took three huge gulps, and let the warmth flow through his body before bouncing from side to side as he screwed the cap back on, and stuffed the bottle back in its place, trying to re-energize himself. It worked, at least a little bit, because before long, Hikaru was off to the races.

“I’m gonna go see if that guy over there’s studyin’! A study buddy is exactly what I need right now. Maybe someone who can ask me some questions and answer some of my own is what I need to really get the ball rollin’, and the juices flowin’. Iza, there’s a fight that’s gettin’ ready to bust out over there, so go check it out for me, alright? Normally, I’d be in there, but I can’t be now — I really gotta study or I might fail before the second stage. Do you know how embarrassing that’d be? It’s scoutin’, so make sure they actually commit, and don’t just beat their chests at each other! They’re just arguin’ now, s’far as I can tell. Mori, can you use your little slug buddy to check things out too? I wanna know if there’s anybody we need to worry about! We went to school with most of these people, but if they’ve been trainin’ half as hard as we have, then we’re gonna hafta be ready for anything! If Mom- Lady Hokage says we might die, then we’re probably gonna be fightin’, and Katsumi-sensei says a fight is won before a blow is ever thrown, so let’s just send it and win some future fights right here, and right now, ya got it?” With that, the self-proclaimed leader of Squad 3 was off, bounding through the crowd and toward the only other person in the whole damn auditorium who was studying. Hikaru was feeling good, even if he was forcing himself to a little bit. He needed to put up or shut up. This was his chance to prove he was more than just ‘the youngest Kaminari,’ ‘the Hokage’s son,’ or ‘Kenshin’s little brother.’

Once he made it to his target, Hikaru boldly tapped the young man on the shoulder to get his attention. “Hi, man. You’re Kotetsu, right? We went to school together. You might not remember, but that’s okay. Anyway, I saw you were studyin’, so I was hopin’ that I could study with you? I’m not too confident when it comes to the written stuff…” With all the hope in the world, Hikaru flashed a smile in Kotetsu’s direction.