Starring:
Date: December 27, 2012
Summary:
Uzumaki Tenken puts Taiki through a grueling test to see just how much medical knowledge he's learned, amongst other things.
"Medical Training 3: The Test"
Konoha Hospital Library
Taiki finally got message that Uzumaki Tenken had arrived, along with a notice that the elder Uzumaki wanted to see him in the library just after lunch. Having finished the last chapter in his current assignment, Taiki sent back a message that he would be there, though he didn't know why. Thus Taiki finds himself in the library a few minutes early, with his ninken bracketing him. The librarian here has gotten used to them by now, especially since Taiki ensures their clean when the come with him.
Right at the agreed-upon time Uzumaki Tenken steps out from the shelves where he had been hiding, watching Taiki. The man appeared to like what he saw, and had a slight smile on his face. "Inuzuka-dono, it is good to see you, though I understand you have had some interesting experiences as of late?"
Taiki stands, turns, and bows to his sensei, an easy smile on his face. "Hai sensei," Taiki responds. "We came under attack on our way out of the Land of Water by the Recluse, but their target was not me. They put some kind of seal on Uchiha Naru to lock away her Sharingan. Odd thing though, by his comments it seems like this man was hired to do this, but I've never heard of them selling their services…" He then goes into a full report to Tenken, explaining all his observations. "And… I had to attempt to use my medical training early," he adds after. "This was another mission, assigned by my clan. We were to follow up on a missing patrol, where we found a man severely injured with multiple stab wounds, along with facial bruising and tears that indicated he had lost a fight. If I did not at least bandage him, he would have died." He then went on to report exactly what he had done, in detail, though he knew he could get in trouble if he was found to break student ethics.
The Uzumaki listens to his student's reports, seemingly happy with his first report but slightly upset by the second. "I see… given what little you told me, I can't really blame you for doing something, but you must understand Inuzuka-dono, you are still largely untrained in the practical application of medical ninjutsu. You could have very well killed the person you were trying to save, and not even known why until it was too late. Fortunately, you kept to diagnosis only, and relied on your first aid kit to do the rest, so I will let you off with a warning this time. Don't ever attempt to heal anyone until you pass the tests, do you understand?"
"Hai sensei," Taiki says, inwardly happy that he was being let off with just a warning. Truth be told, event trying to use chakra for simple diagnosis could have had disastrous results should it have gotten out of hand, so he knew he was getting off lightly. Still, he didn't show the happiness on his face, instead opting to bow to his sensei yet again. "I understand, and will comply." Only after Tenken gives some indication for him to rise does he do so.
Tenken allowed a slight grin to return to his face, satisfied at his student's response. He knew Taiki well enough to know the young man knew exactly what could have happened, and with the Inuzuka's subservient apology he knew full well the message was received. Thus he motions with his hand for Taiki to rise, then sit at the table. "I have prepared a written test over everything we've covered," Tenken starts as he lays a thick packet of paper in front of him. "You have four hours to complete this exam, and every question not answered will cost you twice the amount of points it is worth. Your results on this exam will determine if you are ready to move on to the practical exercises. If you fail, you will be put through remedial course work. Do you understand?
Taiki nods slowly as he eyes the stack of papers before him. Its obvious this is to ensure that he knows the material well enough not to think about it when he's working. If he can't rattle the answer off at the top of his head, then he can't be expected to be able to help people in a timely fashion. Finally Taiki nods and looks up to Tenken. "Hai, I understand." The graphite rod remains by the stack of papers until Tenken tells him to begin.
Seeing that Taiki understands full well the goals of this test, and knowing just how intelligent Taiki is, the Uzumaki has no doubt his student will pass this test. "You may begiiin… NOW!" With this instruction he watches his student flip the papers over, grab his writing implement, and begin.
Taiki flips the paper over and begins taking the test. He seems to be going through the questions rather easily, not even really pausing as he does so. He finds it interesting the test is laid out randomly, with more intricate questions interspersed with the basic ones. 'Describe the symptoms for kidney failure, and note how they differ from failure of the liver…' Taiki only pauses for one brief moment, then grins and continues to write down answers. It's a good thing he can write rather quickly.
Tenken in the meantime appears to grab a book, move over to a nearby table, and take a seat. He surreptitiously watches Taiki, but doesn't really feel too much concern over the chuunin cheating; after all, he knows the Inuzuka knows this stuff well, and is not the type to cheat. But still he is supposed to be monitoring this test, and so he does.
<Weather> A gentle cascade of snowflakes drops delicately from the sky. The snowfall is fairly light, however; not enough to block out the weak sun. The ground is clear, with only a few wet patches showing any sign of the gentle snowing.
After the first hour, Taiki begins to appreciate the amount of thought that was put into this test. The sheer number of questions were daunting, and given the fact they were all essay questions, he could see the test was meant to not only test his knowledge, but his hand-eye coordination and writing speed. The questions continued to vary in complexity, sometimes requiring simple, one or two line answers, and and other times requiring more complex and wordy ones. Yet he continues on, though he does wonder if he'll be able to finish it all.
Tenken looks up and smiles a little, satisfied with the progress Taiki is making. It may not look like the student is a quarter of the way through the test yet, but Tenken formulated this test to make the first parts take longer than the last, assuming the student knew his stuff. Of course, he won't tell Taiki that, part of the test is to put the student under pressure, and make sure he can react well to said pressure, after all.
Now it is half-way through the test time, and Taiki is beginning to sweat a bit. The more difficult questions seem to be outnumbering the easier questions, and Taiki isn't even half-way through the test. He glances up at the clock very briefly,t hen back to the test. He wonders if he's going to be able to finish the test, though he is not going to give up in the least. Still, one must wonder if this test was ever completely finished before…
Tenken takes note of Taiki's anxiety, and withholds a smile. 'Good, he's right where he should be,' Tenken thinks to himself. Silently he cheers his student on, encouraging him without speaking to dig deep into that determination Taiki is so famous for. This test was specifically designed to make the lesser willed people give up sometime in the third hour, after all. If someone couldn't push through something like this, then they couldn't very well help others that depend on them. It was better to know this now than later.
<Weather> The skies are clear; a sea of crisp, pale blue, with not a single cloud in sight. The air is pleasantly warm for the time of year.
During the third hour Taiki has indeed begun to question whether or not he can do this. Some questions bogged him down, demanding answers to advanced medical theory and chakra interaction. In fact, if he didn't know better, he would swear that at least two of them were from Uzumaki-sensei's personal scrolls on medical seals, which Taiki knew was more advanced than just about anything else he read from this library. Not that any of those notes detailed private Uzumaki workings, but they were meant for advanced medic-nin of other countries, as bare basic information sharing. Once during this hour Taiki almost felt like giving up, but paused just before setting the graphite rod down. He remembered Naru's plight, and her blindness. He remembered his own feeling of helplessness against the Recluse, and all the other victims, including his own parents. He made a vow to them, one he was not going to give up. Those memories fueled his stubborness, causing him to tackle the test once more. Slowly his tongue moved out of the corner of his mouth as he lost himself in concentration. He could do this; he would do this… for his friends, for his family, for countless others, and for himself…
Tenken watched Taiki carefully through this hour, as this was the point in which most of those that failed this test would quit. He had lied about blank answers being marked down as double their worth. That was part of the point of the test, to put as much pressure on the student as possible. If the student didn't break here, then he wasn't going to. As Taiki had his moment of indecision, Tenken held his breath in anticipation. Could the chuunin find what he needed deep within? Would his motivations be enough? Just as Tenken sorrowed that the answer to those questions would be 'no,' he noticed a fire light in Taiki's eyes. He watched as Taiki looked up toward the ceiling for a moment, almost as if he was looking directly into his father's room. It was then that Tenken could breath a sigh of relief. He knew then Taiki remembered why he was doing this, and thereby found his will to go on. Tenken smiled behind his book as he thought to himself, 'Part 1 of the test: passed.'
It was during the fourth hour that Taiki hit the diagrams. Since regular ninja had to undergo training in how the body was put together, this was in fact the easiest part of the exam. Sure, the diagrams asked for more details, going into parts of the body not covered by basic training, but this part was more rote memorization and one-to-two word answers. Taiki smiled slightly as the time counted down toward the end. He could do this! He was doing this! He had the knowledge, the ability, the intelligence needed to do this. It would be close, but it would be done, finished, completely.
Tenken was never happier than he was at that moment with Taiki. He considered Taiki an apt pupil, though at first he had wondered if the young man had the temperament to be a med-nin. The fact he was hunted by the Recluse would pretty much ensure he'd never be able to sit back as support like most med-nin, so that was never a question for Tenken. But he knew better than most what drove Taiki, and he wondered if Taiki could move past his need for revenge. This test was amongst the hardest of its kind, designed to test conviction in a way that would not be obvious. If revenge was all that fueled Taiki's drive, then the sheer volume of the test would bog him down, and he would fail. Even some of the questions were designed to give the examiner a glimpse into the mind of the student. Only a need to help others, a need to make a difference for others, would allow someone to pass this test. So far, from Taiki's face he had found exactly what he needed. Speaking of, Tenken looks at the clock and says, "Time in 10… 9… 8…7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Time's up, rod down."
Taiki let loose a sigh of relief as he laid the graphite rod down. He had just completed the last question as Tenken hit 6, which was too close for Taiki's taste. He promised himself he would do better next time. He couldn't be a true medical-nin if he was this tired after a simple essay test! As Tenken reached down and picked up his paper, he smiled weakly at his sensei and said, "Can I have a break? I think I need something to drink…"
Tenken didn't hold his smile back this time. "You did well Taiki-dono. In fact, I think you probably passed this test easily," he adds, nearly breaking out laughing at Taiki's face in response to that. "Go on and practice your water taijutsu or something else for a while. Get your mind off of this, and I'll have the results for you tomorrow."
Taiki breaths a sigh of relief, then nudges his partners up. "Come on 'Bu, Noz'. Let's get out and get something to eat and drink, maybe see what the others are up to." With that Taiki and his partners are gone, leaving their sensei to grade the papers while never knowing what this test was really for.
