Yui's Test - The value of a Life

"Kotoshura Yui."
Ah, finally. Someone from Konohagakure no Sato was called to take the first test. Akihiro was eager to see how his own village's Genin would do in the exams overall. He wanted them to do well, but of course, he would absolutely not intervene in their favor. Akihiro motioned her to approach him and the door.

"You are the first Konohagakure no Sato Genin to go in. I wish you good luck. Beware of overconfidence- power alone is not enough to pass." he would smile, and motion towards the door with his right arm.

As soon as the door closed behind Yui, her first phase of the exam would begin. The room she entered was almost completely dark. There was no furniture except for a two mirrors on the far side of the room.  Inside there was also a woman if you could call her that. Her face and features changed as the dim light emanating from her white dress reflected on the walls, mirrors and then back on her. Her face would change from a beautiful pale-skinned woman to a horrifying skull although it did not seem to affect her..


"Hello child." her voice would say. The woman did not have a sweet voice, and yet there was something familiar about her. As if she had accompanied Yui her whole life...as if she'd always been there.

"My name is Athropos. I am Moirai, and you are Yui of the Leaf...for such is our Fate. I But not today. Today you have been summoned to help me. Today, you too shall be Moirai." The woman snapped her fingers and a beautiful white dress appeared to the right of Yui.

"Put on the dress my dear. And for today only, you will be given the opportunity to manipulate the threads of Fate as you see fit. I wonder, however...can you handle the responsibility? Or would you instead prefer to return from where you came, through the black door?" The woman smirked. Should Yui only *will it*, the dress would lift itself alone and bind itself to the Konohagakure Genin.

Yui would step through the door and wave at her fellow Konoha shinobi before stepping inside, it was a strange place as a woman that looked like some sort of monster stepped forward. While Yui had been prepared to fight it seemed this woman had no issue or desire to fight. She was asked to do something interesting as Yui would smirk widely she would accept this woman's challenge as suddenly this white dress would surround and cover Yui with her now supposedly having the power of the fates on her side.

"So Athropos how does this work, I can't wait to test this power, I mean of course I will do things in a responsible way but tell me how all of this works. I... must say white isn't exactly my color but it is a very pretty dress even though I almost never wear clothes like this, not exactly fitting for Taijutsu use."

She would wait for the explanation as she was sure there was some sort of catch this was part of the exams after all, in fact, she was sure this was some sort of Genjutsu being used. She was fine with this however she would show everyone at the exams her ability, she had the utmost faith in what she could do and the power she had.

"Ah, that dress does look good on you. We're sisters now, even if for just a little bit." The skeleton smile of Athropos was terrifying and yet it became soothing as soon as the light changed a little bit and her cheeks became of skin and flesh again. "I am glad you are eager to test this new power, my little sister. But I should warn you that great sorrow often comes to those who manipulate the threads of Fate. Once, we were all like you. Young, brave, naive. Ready to charge at the world and change it according to our views...but the threads can be cruel, and force you to make choices you would never have to make otherwise. I will show you how it is done."

As stated previously, there were two large mirrors behind Athropos. "These are Destiny Mirrors. They reflect the destiny represented by each thread. It is time for you to make your first choice, little one."

Two silk threads would descend softly from the ceiling, each one of them hanging in front of a mirror.

"These are the threads of Fate. The one you choose to pull will become part of reality, and the other one will be left there to decay. Before we proceed, however, I need to know some things about you. We're sisters after all...I cannot guide you properly if I do not have a good grasp on your beliefs. So, five questions before we start manipulating Fate.

Question 1: Torture, as a matter of principle, is always morally wrong. Yes or No?

Question 2: To you, the morality of an action is determined by whether, compared to the other available options, it maximizes the sum total of happiness of all the people affected by it. So if more people are happy than sad with an action, that action is right. Yes or No?

Question 3: It is always, and everywhere, wrong to cause another person's death - assuming, of course, they wish to stay alive - if this outcome is avoidable. Yes or No?

Question 4: If you can, through the use of these threads, save the lives of innocent people without reducing the sum total of human happiness, and without putting your own life at risk, you are morally obliged to do so. Do you agree with this, yes or no?

Once you have answered these questions, the dress you're wearing will trace you your profile and you will finally be able to pull these threads. " The Moruai was smiling. But it was hard to tell if she was either smiling out of happiness or pitty.

She mentioned them now being sisters making Yui want to laugh for a bit in a way she guessed it was true. The woman would begin to ask a series of questions. The words she spoke before that seemed a bit worrying young and brash like herself, but she was sure none were close to as strong as herself. She had a power that would only become more insane as she got stronger, one that could destroy entire nations, yes this is the weight of the power on her shoulders. The one she chose would become part of reality the one she did not would fade away, this was quite strange but she was fine with this.

The first question was simple she was not one that liked to have others suffer, no if it came down to having to kill she would make it fast and swift to cause the least amount of pain. This lead to another question about killing, she was not against it because she knew deep down sometimes things could not be solved with words alone, sometimes it was their life or your own and she accepted that as a shinobi. The other questions also felt east enough for her to answer as she would begin to speak.


The answer to the first question was easy, "No I do not condone torture, sure you might get information out of someone this way but its simply not something I want or would enjoy doing."

The second question also was easy, she would have to kill as a shinobi there was nothing she could do about that. "Yes, as a shinobi, I accepted the fact I may have to kill, it is part of the shinobi life."

The third question was tricky, the happiness of others was good but if they were being controlled or driven to a mob mentality not so easy. "No, Now is an action the right choice if it makes the masses happy over one person, this is an objective choice, sometimes masses get driven into hysteria so what they think they want is not what they really want."

This question was easy and an obvious yes from herself. "Yes, if I had to sacrifice myself for the greater good and to save my village I would willingly, sure I would be sad I am about to die, but I will become strong enough I never have to worry about that. I will become so powerful that only a power great enough to threaten the entire world would cost me my life."[/color]

She would wait to see what happened to her, she hoped she answered them right if this was all a genjutsu it meant the shinobi using it understood her way of thinking, and underneath deep inside her heart she desired power. She felt the need to become so strong that her village would be untouchable, this desire could one day lead her down the wrong path, for now, however, she still held goodness in her heart.

As Yui spoke and gave her answers, the dress around her changed. It would change depending on her answers, going from a short dress to a long dress, long sleeves to short sleeves and even its lower cut changed. The one thing that didn't change was the color. The dress of the wielders of the Fate Threads was always white.

"Yui my dear, I did tell you on that last question that you wouldn't be putting your own life at risk. None of us ever does...it's the lives of others we play with. But alas, if you're willing to answer yes with your life at risk, it seems safe to assume you're willing to answer yes when your life is not at risk. Let's move on."

The two threads that came from above were now hoovering in front of the mirrors.

"Now, like I told you before, it is not our lives we decide on. Instead, it is the lives of others. You might think this makes it easier for us...well, for me it does. But not for you. You see, I've been doing this for a little over five thousand years. Everyone I knew when I was a human is dead. But you're young...and that makes it all the difference. Let's see what the mirrors show us, shall we?"

Athropos made a motion with her hand and the mirrors suddenly stopped reflecting what was in front of them. Instead, they showed a world outside this dimension. There was a plain, a grassy field where shinobi were having a battle. One could recognize Konohagakure no Sato's Leaf Symbol on some of their headbands while the other band of shinobi didn't have any sort of identifying symbol or even headbands. They were rogues.

With about ten ninjas on each side, the grassy field had become a true battlefield. Shinobi tools were being thrown around, shurikens and kunais flew through the air and clashed against each others in a show of sparks. Chakra was being molded and turned into jutsu. From fireballs to water sharks, all kinds of jutsu were being thrown into the fray.

Yui would be able to watch this battle, but there was someone, in particular, she would be able to recognize. Amongst Konoha's fighting force was Konohagakure no Sato's kunoichi- Kanna. She was clearly incredibly strong and by herself she was holding off five enemies while five of her team mates held off one each.

Then a sudden flash of light would shine on the other side of the battlefield, as one of the enemy shinobi gathered chakra to release a powerful Katon ninjutsu. Then, right before he released it time would freeze inside the mirrors.

"What you see here, my dear sister, is one of many possible fates. I will not tell you this is certain to happen, but there is certainly a chance for these events to unfold. Alas, now you're asked to make a choice.

As you can see, the enemy is about to release a powerful technique. Kanna is isolated fighting five men by herself. On the other side, five Konohagakure no Sato shinobi are fighting another five rogue shinobi. Now, your choice.... if you pull the thread on your left..." she would indicate the small thin thread hoovering in front of the left mirror.

"...the enemy shinobi's jutsu will be released against the five shinobi. They will die, but Kanna will be able to survive this encounter and return safely to Konoha. Five lives will be lost, however.

But if you pull the thread on your right... you will be able to save these five lives. The enemy shinobi's ninjutsu is new and untested...if you pull the right thread, his jutsu will come off wrong and instead of being aimed the five Konoha shinobi it will be aimed at Kanna. Make no mistake, she will die there on the spot. But you will be saving five lives and these five Konoha shinobi will be able to return home to their families.

So Yui... choose. Pull the left thread and you forfeit five lives but save a dear one. Or pull the thread pn your right and save a grand total of five lives, but forfeit the life of Kanna. Choose."

Yui listened to the woman as she explained things, it seemed like this could be a difficult test and one that would make it hard for her to make a choice. It began with showing a situation before her she saw Kanna and five Konoha shinobi in a battle with another force, it was a fierce fight and one that she could certainly lose. As it became clear what the choice was she would scowl at the woman, she was being forced to save the lives of five or save the life of Kanna herself. No she would not stand for either choice she would fight fate itself if that was what it took, screw destiny or fate she would fight against it with all her might no matter what.

"This is a very unfair choice, chose one set of lives or another, what if I think fate can go fuck itself, I refuse to be forced into a fate type of situation let some stupid threads control my reality. No way in hell, I became stronger so I never had to have choices left like this where I had to rely on fate. No, you can fuck yourself if you think I would accept this choice pick a string what if I pull all the strings, what happens to your damn fate than. If I have to pull one, of course, it would be for Kanna I, however, will always fight fate and destiny, I will forge my own god damn path without the help of some stupid fated rule and burn down everything in my path to make sure I succeed. I am betting no matter what I chose one so I save Kanna, but let me explain I will make sure these events never happen, I will give you the finger and tell fate it can go fly a god damn kite."

She would pull the string to save Kanna but it was clear she would never be a person to be controlled by anyone or anything. Her determination and desire to resist things set in stone made her become as strong as she had. She would never back down and would always fight against the chains of destiny trying to coil around her.

Athropos rolled her eyes as Yui went on her little rant. "You humans are all the same. Break so easily. Just a minute ago you were so eager to play with the threads and control the fate of fellow humans, but right when fate throws you the curveball of controlling the fate of one you love, you tell it to go fuck itself. " The Sister was clearly disappointed. It's not that she didn't expect this result- she had performed the test thousands of times and very few were the humans who had made a different choice. Athropos' test certainly wasn't easy but what bothered her the most was the girl's attitude.

The dress around Yui began to tighten as she spoke ill words towards Fate. It would tighten around her legs, torso, and neck making it incredibly difficult for her to breathe but not tightening enough to choke her.

"You think all the choices you'll find as a Chuunin will be fair?! You fool. You cannot escape Fate. Fate brought you here. Fate brought you together with that woman. No living creature can escape these threads. Not you, not her. You are not a God. If these events are being shown here it's because there's a chance they will happen, and there's absolutely nothing you can willingly do to avoid it. You're arrogant, overly proud and foolishly overconfident. But most important of all of that, you're weak.

Remember my words, Yui. One day your overconfidence will kill you. You and those unlucky enough to be around you. This is your eye opener, your chance to change, despite the errors you've made so far.


Look." The woman would point at the bodies which had been hit by the jutsu. Five people, dead.

"Your choice was to kill five people to save the one you love.
Yoshimoto Ken. Burned alive, leaves a widow and three small children behind.
Sai Lao. Burned alive, proud sense of a team of Genin. These genin will be left without a teacher. Leaves parents behind, never married.
Shi and Ken Tao. Twin brothers, both burned alive. Leave behind the dream of becoming Hokage and protecting their loved ones. Combined they leave 3 children behind, two of which are newborn babies.
Tai Li. Burned alive. Died without confessing his love to the woman he's loved for over six years ever since they were ten.

Those are the lives you choose to take, in order to save your loved one. It's easier if you don't know their names and backstories, isn't it? But this test isn't supposed to be easy. Alas, for some reason you seem to believe that your loved one is more important. That the love you feel for this woman outweights the love between these men and their families.

At the very least your response is consistent with your claim that morality is not just a matter of maximising the happiness of the greatest number of people. However, your belief is unusual, so it would be interesting to know what your thinking is here. On the offchance that you're not just another selfish human. For now, though, let's see how you get on with the next scenario.



Mae Yui is a kunoichi also present on this battlefield. She is below the battlefield, using a Doton Ninjutsu to travel underground. Shee can sense that the jutsu approaching is out of control, and that it is going to hit the five people who you chose to die. The only way to stop the jutsu is to drop a something into its path.
Unfortunately she's running low on chakra and the only thing she can do is try a final jutsu to intercept the incoming attack.

Because she's running low on chakra, things can go very wrong here.

Here are your choices.
Choice 1: Her jutsu goes off safely but she is unable to intercept the incoming attack. These five men die.

Choice 2: Her jutsu goes off wrongly, and she is expelled from the underground towards the surface. This causes her body to intercept the incoming attack. She will die, but the five men will survive.

Pull a thread, make your choice."

By this time the dress had loosened up and she was able to breathe properly again.

It seemed the woman was not happy as the dress squeezed Yui making it hard to breathe, she began to rant how Yui was no god and she would cause those around her to suffer and die as she likely would die herself. This angered Yui but it was a fate she knew she had, her story would likely end in tragedy as she tried to fly yo close to the sun with her waxwings. Either way, she would struggle until the very end.

She gave her two more choices, one was to have the girl fail her jutsu and get killed instead of the five men. The second choice was the jutsu would go off correctly but the men would still die, now she was sure the woman wanted her to save the five over the one. However she would stand by her first choice, she was sure it was the right choice and who was she to change her mind and kill someone else instead. She had already stained her hands in the men's blood, she knew her choice and the results, all those families losing their loved ones. She would not change her mind however, she was determined to stick by her choice, even if this somehow meant she failed her exam she would not change her mind.

"You only want what choice, I chose to have her jutsu go off and the men still die, I know the backstories now. I know they all lose their loved ones, but I made my choice and I stick by my decisions, when you wish to become a kage you must make very difficult choices like this and not everyone will be happy. I made what I consider the right choice and choose to stick by it, even if you get mad this is my code, this is my shinobi way. Stand by your decisions good or bad, refuse to back down and always be sure of yourself."

She would wait to hear from the woman, she was certain she was going to be furious, she would want Yui blood most likely but she was ready for her punishment. Even if she knew she could be punished she made the best choice in her mind, she refused to let herself back down and she would continue to fight her way.

The skeleton woman couldn't help but be surprised with the girl's answer. She had clearly given her a second chance and Yui seemed to have thrown it away for the sake of pride.

"When you chose to save Kanna over the life of 5 other shinobis... It was a wrong choice, from a fully statistical point of view. Had you argued that Kanna was potentially more powerful than the other five, I could have let it slide. But you let your feelings get in your way.

And even then, Fate gave you a second chance. The second scenario replaced Kanna with an unknown shinobi. And you decided to take the life of 5 people instead of taking the life of a single one. You have literally made the apparent worst possible decision without any sort of justification, at all."

The woman shook her head.

"You have failed the first part of the Chuunin Exam, Kotoshura Yui. I do not think you're qualified for being a Chuunin and acting as a potential team leader. " The woman let out a prolonged sigh.

"If it were up to me, I would fail you immediately and await you here next year. However, your proctor insists you have an abnormal amount of firepower for a Genin and that we should allow you another chance in the tournament. Alas, it is not my decision but....you'll be allowed to participate in the tournament and perhaps even graduate from Genin. But I wonder...can you use all that power cleverly?" The woman smirked, doubting the Genin's abilities. Ultimately the Fate sister was convinced she was right and wanted that to be proven at the tournament. But would Yui surprise her?

She turned her back on the Konohagakure no Sato Genin. "Go, through the door you came in. We'll see if you have what it takes at the tournament."

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

Blast Yui fails the first part of the exams.
She will be allowed on the tournament, but her graduation requirements will be set higher.

Good luck!