Class #113

"Time!"

The professor called at the climax of the chaos in the room. It appeared during the last five minutes of the class the students used that opportunity to cause as much chaos as they could. Verdandi happened to have a Ninjutsu-scale sneeze which cased mayhem in the room by everybody's test sheet scattering in the air. Irui was content with staying completely still, the boy not even blinking, as he held onto his reward with a death grip. Kitsuki happened to be incredibly lucky with her paper being blown one way, but the opposing current having it retrace its steps identically. It was an incredibly rare phenomenon with a fraction of a percent of happening. Kitsuki was one lucky gal. Yoru was the same, hands resting on his test sheet just as he left it following his taunt to try and goad the other test takers into trying to cheat off him. The other Genin were a lot more clumsy as their papers dancing in the air as they desperately tried to catch them. And in his lapse of judgement he heard a loud clunk.

It would elude him, but a test happened to make its way onto Verdandi's desk skewered by a single pencil. Ten questions, though the test she received was not any of the aforementioned. "I will be collecting your tests immediately!" Oobleck darted between the desks clearing all the rows in a matter of twenty seconds. He'd gather all tests, even the newly acquired tests, before returning to the podium. He'd start from the top of the pile and work his way down one-by-one. "Ah, yes, Lady Kitsuki. About your earlier question." The proctor reached into his podium, his side having several shelves where miscellaneous equipment was stored. From there he grabbed a secondary grading rubric. "A ninja must always be prepared. Now! Lets get this grading process started." The first paper in his stack was Irui's, which was really just his copy of the rubric and a mostly filled out exam. Next was Verdandi's, Yoru's, Kitsuki's, then a bunch of irrelevant Genin from a mix of all foreign lands and the homeland.

"Irui Mikiri, is it? Well, there is no doubt you have passed this examination. You have my other rubric, after all. A ninja such as yourself capitalizes off opportunity when they see it. Your good judgement, although fairly mediocre execution, does qualify you as a good leader." He'd set his paper aside to the next person's, Verdandi's. Her questions were mostly incorrect, despite having all ten questions answered. "Little Miss Lady! You answered four out of ten questions correct." Flipping the next paper he read Yoru. "Mr. Yoru, impressive display of knowledge! You answered all ten questions correctly!" The next paper was the most interesting one of the initial four and soon to be the entire class in general.

Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do...

Oobleck was familiar with the concept being related to Solfège and music, though his general knowledge stopped there. Despite being more intelligent than Kitsuki he was not as musically invested as she was. He didn't completely understand what she was trying to achieve, but according to his rubric these answers were incorrect. "Lady Kitsuki! You answered all ten questions incorrectly." He would continue this process for a total of five minutes getting through everybody in the room. Those Genin who had their papers misplaced or stolen were failed. Those who succeeded in keeping their own papers passed. This meant half of the room failed to turn in a paper to Oobleck, those Genin failing their examination and leaving the room out of dishonor or frustration. Once he completed the last test he gathered them all into a neat pile.

Then proceeded to dump them all in the trash bin next to his podium.

"If you turned in a test and answered at least nine questions on the test, you passed. Irui, Lady Verdandi, Yoru, Lady Kitsuki..." He continued down the list of people who did exactly that. The people who turned in their paper by the end of the hour. "You all passed! This exam was no knowledge test, if it wasn't apparent already. Although intelligence is valued and gave those with the amplitude of finishing the test peace of mind, this test is one of following instructions and interpreting your objective while taking the best course of action suited to your skills. Many great ninja and nations have died or been destroyed in history due to falsely following orders or protocol. You were required to answer up to nine questions to receive a passing score. What made those questions correct were up to you as individuals. There are countless ways to approach a mission. Whether that be through espionage, diplomacy, force, or guile. There is no wrong way to achieve your objective. The only wrong path to take is one of failure. Where you and your allies are compromised resulting in death and/or destruction of your nation."

Oobleck raised a hand to the bridge of his glasses fixing them and causing a glare to sparkle from the lenses. "You must see your objective with an open mind and grasp it with tenacity! It is that vigor which makes all of you outstanding individuals capable of achieving anything you set your minds to. And here in Kirigakure we hope those ambitions are for the good of all people." Reaching into his podium he retrieved a stack of packets which contained all the valuable information for the next Chuunin Exam. He would normally set them on his desk and let the Genin self-serve themselves, but due to one's allergies in this room he figured it wasn't the best of ideas. He'd hold the stack firmly in his hands allowing the remaining students in the room to approach. "Take one and keep it. You will need this for your next exam. Read it and beware, for the Survival Bout awaits!" The proctor said with a smirk. What fun the Genin had waiting for them for their exam would be discovered soon in their packet. But for now they've earned the rest of today and the next three days off. Study, prepare, and take my teachings into consideration. After today the exams will become exponentially more difficult as you all will face the true challenge of a ninja...

Verdandi was quite on edge considering that her move was rather drastic. She had given into chaos in order to find her way out of this mess and eventually secure her own ticket to the next round. None of what happened after her wind trick was really something she could have foreseen. The proctor watched the chaos with a calm face. Dozens of students exhaled their absolute disagreement over loosing grip of their exam papers. Many were toppling chairs and tables in order to go and grab for their lost chances. Others were too scared to move due to the ‘remain seated’ rule and just hoped that they were allowed to pick their papers up and turn them in.

Irui wasn’t own grazed with a rather windy blow to the face but now also time-locked in some sort of chakra sphere. Verd didn’t know what was really going on there. She never heard of time-altering jutsu before. Seeing the papers flying through his bubble at insane slow-speed and his kumo-nin’s own body movement basically stand still was quite freaky. It felt like the room was going to explode any minute now. The genjutsu chakra reached Avalanches mind and slowly set ablaze a series of mental images clearly and quickly disturbing the otherwise now calm and obedient creature. He would start to whimper and growl, adding to the overall mess within the room.

Things would certainly have escalated further. The bear might have jumped his earlier target of anger despite this one being trapped in a time bubble. He might have gone rogue and attacked the proctor. But the whole chaos was immediately disturbed. The proctor called time and collected the sheets. Giving Verd the chance to sit down next to her bear and hold on to him, slightly comforting the poor fella as he was still whining. Eventually Kit’s jutsu would fade, eventually Irui would either let go off his technique channeled or lose the connection to the bear. Oobleck would hand out the papers to the next step. Verd even missed out on the part where he basically failed her for only having 4 correct answers on the paper she stole. Which was kind of a funny twist since her own paper had 8 correct ones on them, rendering her ploy a failure basically.

But fate shined with favor on her chaos created. Verd could pick up the scroll and leave the room with her still shivering and irritated companion. She'd not celebrate until her pet would be alright again. Worried someone had caused long-term harm on him. Hopefully Irui would at least realize that he had been a prick for nothing to the fluffy fellow.

[EXIT]

Oh bother, it seemed the whole classroom was falling apart.

Yoru lazily watched as Verdandi would grab her paper and hastily fill it out, he'd see Kit display a mixture of a just and vengeful streak by creating an orb of time that stopped Irui from doing anything, he'd see the bear grow agitated once again- and through it all he'd see Ooblek watching the chaos unfold as if it was all to be expected. What nonsense, what loud and brash noises were these? It seemed that the proctor had had enough of all the shenanigans as well, calling time on everyone in the class before starting to walk down the aisles to take people's papers. Yoru handed his in, leaning back and giving a sigh of relief to finally have the pressure of the test be over. Sheesh, he needed a glass of red wine and a bubble bath to recuperate from all this stress! Each of his classmates passed their answers in too, leaving Ooblek alone at the front desk to grade them all right then and there.

Irui passed, no surprise there, seeing as how the guy had the rubric- though had he even managed to write down any answers in time? Yoru hadn't really been able to tell with how quick Kit had trapped the guy in that time bubble thing. Verdandi had answered incorrectly, seemingly getting a bad hand of answers from one of the many sheets that had been flying around. Yoru, for his part had passed, his intellect managing to blow the test out of the water. Kit, for all her justice, had not managed to cross the threshold... Or had she? When Ooblek slid all the papers into the trash bin, a broad smile appeared on Yoru's face. He had guessed correctly when it came to the true nature of this test, and by it's criteria, they had all passed

Following orders and instructions was the most basic of responsabilities a shinobi had to follow. Yoru had done so many times by this point in his tedious D-ranked missions to fund his puppet-building activities, and event hough the scale of his focus was small, he knew that the same principles applied for those high-ranking missions that determined the fate of nations and ninja. Ooblek was right, and at the end of the day, Yoru was glad that Kit and the others had passed- even the kumo-nin in a sick kind of way. They were all interesting, fascinating, promoting a morbid interest that made the Uzumaki want to see what made them tick inside.

With the test over, Yoru would eventually take his time getting up to grab a packet that would be vital to the next part of the exams, looking it over and thinking on its contents. These written portions would no-doubt serve him well, but with the survival round looming around the corner there was no telling what might happen. He wasn't the strongest compared to others in the exam like Chi, he was self-aware to accept that, yet desired to last for juuuust a little while longer. These fellow ninja were such exhilarating and interesting folk- besides, the show had to go on~.

When the proctor called time, Kitsuki let out a slow breath. Keeping Irui trapped in the time bubble had drained her reserves dramatically. She had instinctively used the strongest version of the technique. She wasn't sure what his capabilities were but she didn't want to risk him being able to free himself so easily. Unfortunately, she could only hold the sphere up for a few precious seconds and in that time frame he had managed to grab his exam albeit at the cost of the rubric.

Tch!

Kit noticed his fortunate manuever from her peripheral vision. The rubric would be helpful to someone for sure, but ultimately it was meaningless. So long as Irui had his answers he would probably pass. Kituski held him in the sphere for a few more seconds before releasing him. She sighed and picked the paper from her chest and put it on her desk. She folded both hands on top of her exam answers until the proctor collected it. Irui had escaped justice this time, but maybe next time he wouldn't be so lucky. Kit couldn't think about him right now though. She was too busy mentally biting her nails as the man walked up to his desk to grade the papers. He then took the time to answer her earlier question. He revealed a backup rubric and declared that a ninja must always be prepared. Kit swallowed. She was hoping that he would auto-pass them as a result of having lost his rubric but she could see that was a foolhardy thought. He would not pass all students based off of the labors of another. Kitsuki was all in on her gamble but it would have made life much easier if she didn't have to bank on her squirely interpretation of the exam's rules.

Kit sat up straight as Professor Oobleck began to go through the exams one by one. He was grading them aloud. Everyone would either know her genius or stupidity. There was no hiding her gamble from the others.

The Professor began with Irui. He basically auto-passed the Kumo-Nin. Kit did her very best not to rule her eyes but she could help but bite her lip in annoyance. The hooded genin was a cheat and a charlatan in her book. He didn't deserve praise. Professor Oobleck then moved on to Verdandi. Four out of ten. Kit's heart sank. The Ice Princess had failed. She had fallen well short of the 9 out of 10 required to pass the exams. Kit cast Irui a dirty look. It was all because of him. She squeezed her hands as she kept them in rigid folded position. The aggravation was growing on her and Zizz could feel it. The Angel signaled for her to relax and not let her anger consume her. Yoru surprisingly did quite well. She had assumed his earlier boast was a bluff but apparently not. The loudmouth puppeteer was audaciously brilliant. This shouldn't have surprised Kit given that most puppeteers were engineers and most engineers were geniuses at math. Nevertheless, she found herself raising an eyebrow in commendation as she smiled at him.

Nice job egghead she mentally teased.

"Lady Kitsuki!"
Here we go.... She could tell by his facial expression that he was intrigued by her answers.  
"You answered all ten questions incorrectly!"

Kitsuki's innocent eyes grew wide as he openly announced her spectacular failure. It was an all or nothing gamble so it shouldn't have been a shock that she failed each question. That didn't take away the pain. Kitsuki lowered her head but kept her hands folded. She didn't listen to the other irrelevant genin. None of it mattered at this point. She had failed and she had failed miserably. Zizz did her best to cheer up her host but it was all in vain. Kitsuki's confidence was annihilated. She had swung for the fences and come up woefully short. Katsumi would be disappointed. Her parents would be disappointed. Maestro Ko would be disappointed. And most of all Headmaster Sukimori would be disappointed. She had utterly failed the exams and now had no one to blame but herself. Kit began to wonder whether she should have cheated. It would have been so easy to do given her abilities. She dismissed the thought. She had taken this gamble precisely because that's not how she wanted to get through this portion of the exam. She needed to take her lumps like a proper lady. This meant: no crying, no bitching, no yelling, and no storming out. The virtusuo sat in patient silence as Professor Oobleck finished grading all of the exams.

Kitsuki heard the sound of something being dumped in the trash. She looked up to see that the Professor had tossed the entire pile of the exams into the trash. He then declared that anyone who turned in the exam and answered at least 9 questions had passed. He read aloud the names and Kitsuki blinked in shock. He went on to explain that the true secret of the test was not answering the questions, it wasn't even stealing or cheating per se, it was about having the gumption to make it through to the end. To use all of your abilities and skills to get the job done within the parameters stated. So long as they followed the rules and did their best, they were passed.

"You must see your objective with an open mind and grasp it with tenacity! It is that vigor which makes all of you outstanding individuals capable of achieving anything you set your minds to. And here in Kirigakure we hope those ambitions are for the good of all people."

Kitsuki's expression slowly broke into grin as she was inspired by his words. It was so WASP-y. He'd fit right in as a teacher at the school. "I-...I did it...I passed" Kitsuki's grin could no longer be contained as he brought out the stack of packets for the next portion of the Exams. He handed them out and warned them to get ready for the Survival bouts. Kitsuki nodded her head vigorously as she took the packet and held onto it for dear life.

I passed....I passed.... I PASSED!

Verdandi, Yoru, and even that cunning Kumo boy had also passed. Shn was happy for her countrymen and women but she could do without the thief. She smiled to Verdandi and Yoru and gave them a thumbs up. The drama, intensity, and misery of the first stage of the Exams were behind them. It was time to move on and she was more than happy to let bygones be bygones, at least as far as her friends were concerned. The best dressed kunoichi hugged her packet and got out of her seat. She bowed to Professor Oobleck and said:

"Thank you very much Professor Oobleck! We will take your lessons to heart!"

The girl then practically rushed out of the room and down the hall. She had done it. She had stuck to her guns and completed her objective no matter how impossible the situation seemed. It turned out her alma mater and family would be proud of her after all. Kitsuki wasn't big on dancing in public but anyone outside the Academy would notice a petite black girl doing ballet spins and leaps as she made her way out off the schoolgrounds and to her cobblestone apartment. If they were particularly perceptive they'd notice a small fairy-like Angel trailing behind her with glee and excitement.

--Orrectly!"

Oobleck's voice entered his reality like a sledgehammer, splitting through the veil. The glass broke into fine particles across his clothing and skin, skittering across every fiber and nerve, as time crashed back into his existence. Every breathe he would have drawn, every beat of his heart, the sounds, vibrations, and movements collided against his neurons all at once.

Irui sucked in air, gasping for breathe and braced a himself against the desk, but his condition was lost in the moment. Something had happened here, the exam had finished, the tests were graded. Everyone had passed-- Wait, the test, did he pass?

"You must see your objective with an open mind and grasp it with tenacity!" Oobleck continued on, depositing all of their tests into the waste bin. "It is that vigor which makes all of you outstanding individuals capable of achieving anything you set your minds to. And here in Kirigakure we hope those ambitions are for the good of all people."

So he'd done it,he'd passed-- but unlike the others, he didn't feel a sweep of joy, or relief. After all this time, hearing about the exams, studying for them, growing up in the Academy of Kumogakure, and it still only barely brought him satisfaction. His thoughts were elsewhere, drifting back to the burning presence he'd felt.

That girl, the dark skinned one who'd sat nervously throughout the hour.... Irui glanced in her direction, settling his eyes on her as she celebrated. Out of all the Shinobi gathered here, her presence, no what she'd concealed, was staggering. There was raw, untapped power stirring inside her, he'd felt it. Whatever she'd done-- ninjutsu or illusion--it had held him so firmly, that he couldn't perceive the classroom itself.

After the others had made their way to the front of the classroom to collect their scroll, Irui selected his own, and stuffed it into his pocket. The second round of the exams were upon him.

Yoru, Verdandi, Kitsuki... He ruminated as he passed into the hallway. The Hidden Mist has interesting shinobi....

[exit]