Starring:
Sekisetsu, Takeshi, Mitsuo, Puchi
Date: Unknown (log received October 26, 2010)
Summary:
The day has finally arrived. All the work that the people in Seki’s life have put in has finally arrived. The girl, despite her reputation has managed to come far and pass all the test she’s been put through so far. With one more to go, will our small heroin pass the Survival portion, or will it all go down in flames?
Poster’s note: Profanity filtered in obvious places.
"Survival of the….Craziest? Sekisetsu’s Genin Exam"
Testing Grounds [Kirigakure]
Testing Grounds [Kirigakure]
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A dirt path leads all directions through a small copse of trees here, a light mist permeating the air here at all times though the trees somewhat protect from the breeze. To the north there is a wooden gate with a stone sign on it, etched onto this sign is 'Genin Testing Grounds.' The path towards the east leads onto a cliff face where the outline of a large black memorial can be seen. South of that, an old branch of the river is dammed off from the main flow.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Contents:
Academy students in Kirigakure had been preparing for this week. Some students prepared by putting in long hours of study and practice in the shinobi arts, others used that time to sleep or hang out with friends. Some students took up the challenge with fiery courage, while others were indifferent. A small fraction wet themselves at night from the terror, and with good reason. Kirigakure was conducting its genin exam again.
In growing tradition, the exam took the form of a harrowing week-long slog through tests culminating in a brutal survival and live combat trial. As the prospective genin made the walk to normal school grounds for the written test, they were greeted by some of the Mist ninja who had taken the best in years past. Crouching on the wrought iron fence, sticking to the sides of nearby buildings, and peering out from the branches of trees, those who had made the cut watched their would-be equals like a pack of crows. They watched in silence until the students got close enough, and began to softly chant "fresh fish" as the little ones walked by. One genin in particular, one with red skin and fused teeth, grinned hungrily at them. Studying them harshly with the eyes of an octopus, Dan handed out little pamphlets entitled "How to Avoid Dying in a Pile of Your Own Candy: A Guide to Taking the Genin Exam".
Little Puchi was blind, but over the last several weeks, she had become well acquainted with the layout of the village. The barefoot student walked casually through the din of noise and excitement and fear, knowing that it was not yet her time. She had only been here a few weeks after all. She felt someone shove a 'pamphlet' into her hands and she sniffed it, then took a bite out of it, ripping a few pages and chewing them like a goat. "Eh, this is rather pointless to me." She stated and handed the chewed book back to the individual from which it came. She paced around the field, then found a section that appeared to be a place for spectators (though it wouldn't surprise her to find her sitting amongst students waiting to take the test, but then, that was Puchi's penchant for danger anyway and not to mention rotten luck).
Enter Takeshi, proctor of the written exam. There were several other Mist Chuunin lined up to proctor for their own classes and they had all been sectioned out accordingly before hand. Some jounin were present, but they were mainly reserved for the harrowing week long survival test part. No, the written exam was the domain of the teachers and they were here to take up their duties!
Takeshi was wearing his usual robes, long white hair flowing down his back, but this time he was missing his famous walking stick. As they began to gather, they were slowly separated into groups and when Puchi managed to sit down with those taking the test, Takeshi came along with a gentle nudge, "Wrong seats Puchi-chan. Come with me." Leading her along, he kept her by his side, feeling that was better than leaving her in one of the myriad of seats around the school. After all, she was blind and it was better safe than sorry. That and takeshi was just nice like that.
Everyone was still filing in and the only thing left to do is wait for the Mizukage to show up and introduce the exam to everyone.
It was no wonder people had been so hard at trying to get these kids in school!! From the rumors Seki heard, Kirgakure's Genin Exam, was where student's /died/. Period. There was no letters to mommy. No gifts, no re-do's, not a thing to help with what had been a trial by fire. Most of these kids, were kids Seki had seen and known, when she actually did come to class. Some of them had changed since she last saw them, becoming either really dangerous, snarling animals, or having some of what made them the most fun people to be around, stripped off and throw away. She looked into the eyes of her friend Rena, and saw none.. The girl had been totally blinded since the last day she had saw her, 5 weeks ago.
These things alone would bring up several questions in Seki's mind. Just what in the world had been in store for her? She hadn't thought to take anything seriously from day one. Sekisetsu, for that reason alone, was considered a failure. Such was obvious even now as she would walk in, many of the proctors and other students who knew who she was, seeming to whisper, and scowl all manner of things. Some wondered if she would fail the starting test and flunk out immediately. Others, would seem to even question if she was in the exam at all, her presence not been seen since the beginning of the year. Seki, herself, didn't think she had anything to prove. All she was doing, for the first time ever, was taking this all seriously. Being a ninja, was something that she found that she was good at, and for some reason still, she just couldn't understand why. Was it the bloodline of the Kuroenko flowing through her? Or was it something like destiny?
Niyami's accompanying of his niece would end at a certain point, before he would say to the girl, "Don't just survive..", before patting her on the shoulder, and letting her go. Sekisetsu would smile deviously, and make a thumbs up before running off. For some reason she would then stop, thinking about her uncle for a minute, before she would run back and hug the man's leg's, before saying, "Remember.. If I come out this without a scratch, I want my shopping spree." Niyami would sigh, and face palm before saying, "Go before you never make it there.." She would cackle and head straight to the recieving area, and coincidently, right to Dan, whose funny look would cause her to sniggle. "You look like you go with some rice and wasabi.", would be said with a laugh before going to the field.
Sekisetsu would meander the field looking around before she would then see Puchi being carted off by Takeshi. "Dreamy-sensei!! ..Puchi?!", would be said as she would run toward the two saying, "What the hell are you two doing here?? Aren't you supposed to be watching? Niyami-ojii-chan's waiting for the Old Fart to show up!", before she would point at Niyami, and the Kuroenko Clan's reserved seating. There of course would only be him, and Rankoro Hitan, sitting there just by themselves.. Seki would look to the place, and not seem to see her dad and mom, and sigh… Her face would lower some.. She would then shrug it off, and make a serious face before slapping herself and saying, "I gotta go guys!! Wish me luck!! …Or else.."
As Puchi walked away, she could probably hear Dan muttering how she could stand to read some more, eat some more, and shower some more. More than likely, though, it either felt on deaf ears or she just didn't care. Turning his attention back to his 'public service', Dan immediately came face to face with Sekisetsu. His strange, octopus' eyes narrow at the girl when she comments on his appearance but his jaw drops. Shoving a pamphlet into her hands, Dan mutters, "I hear it works really well if you run around screaming during the survival test".
Without much ado, the Mizukage arrived to introduce the exams before taking his place amongst the spectators. The first exam was a comprehensive measure of the students' grasp of strategy, tactics, and knowledge over several fields. Mathematics and language skills were tested among other things. If no student had known beforehand, they quickly found out: These tests ran all day - From 6 AM in the morning to 8 PM at night. While there were bathroom breaks scheduled every three hours, there were no pauses in between tests for eating.
Despite how grueling many found the tests, Sekisetsu excelled at the general and specialized knowledge tests. The young girl performed similarly well on the Genjutsu exams, which even included a series of sparring matches between students and even tests involving using genjutsu on the proctors. Sekisetsu was paired up with 'Snake', who was serving as a proctor in its Deathhand uniform, while others opted to use their public identities (if any other Deathhand agents were present). Little by little, over the days, Sekisetsu would catch people whispering about her in amazement that she was doing so well. This was a girl with no self-control that hardly managed to make it to class one day in ten. Yet, for three tests, she was scoring very high marks. Admittedly, she completely bombed the taijutsu test, to no one's surprise, but that hardly diminished her fantastic performance.
At the end of the four days of written tests, Sekisetsu and the others where gathered on the fifth morning and unceremonious dropped into the Blood Marsh beneath the village. While a few students had been injured, none received wounds serious enough to merit taking them out of the exams - At least by the proctor's standards. Some had broken bones, or sprains, but that didn't stop them from being pushed into teams of two for the survival slog. The students started at random points within the Blood Marsh and had to survive for two whole days while trying to find the meeting place where the final exam would take place.
Perhaps Puchi heard Dan's complaints, being blind tended to make the other senses a little sharper. However, it was obvious the child didn't really care. Perhaps she should have taken the pamphlet to practice detecting the difference between the ink and paper, and she would one day, but not today. No, she continued about her own business until Takeshi appeared. She looked around for a moment blindly, not sure what was wrong with the spot she had chosen. Apparently it was, and perhaps it was not surprising since the noise of the area was making navigation difficult to navigate. She tentatively lifted her hand towards Takeshi and took it, telling herself that it just proved that either she was worthless as her clan had cast her out so many years ago, or she needed to work a little harder on finding a method to move through the environment. "Thank you, Takeshi-sensei." She said, surprisingly respectful considering how tart her mouth could be prior to joining the academy and being subject to the discipline within. Hearing Sekisetsu's voice, Puchi turned her head towards her and stuck out her tongue, "Nyah, I hope your opponent turns your to swiss cheese. Being full of holes will go well with that slightly sour odor."
Teshi face palms at the comments. Not only did this girl appear to take the test, but she didn't even know that Takeshi was proctoring her written exam because she was technically in his class? Amazing! She truly lived up to her name now. Niyami on the other hand had received a letter about that and the rest of the Odori household would soon file into the combined Kurenko and Odori seating section. Puchi would also take her place there in a few minutes.
After the written exam, he had little else to do but take Puchi up to the spectator seating and put her in a seat next to Aoi. Aoi, the second oldest Odori, would be polite to the girl, making sure she had anything she wanted to eat and drink during the exam. Sumiya was talking to Niyami idly and Yuuji had fallen asleep in the back while Akiko played with Puchi.
Takeshi came to sit on Niyami's other side and sighed, the survival exams just now starting. He was not on the 'rescue' team this year, so that meant he didn't have to go chasing down every weakling that tried to escape the blood marsh instead of finish his or her exam, and there would be plenty die today for that reason alone.
He watches quietly as they start out on their journey, each one thrown into their arena after inspection. "So, Niyami. Our niece is doing quite well for herself wouldn't you say? I'm a little sad she failed the taijutsu exam, but that I suppose was my failure.
Who knows, maybe Mitsuo would show up on this day and take his seat next to them. Odds are however, that he would move to sit in his own Spectator seating at the spot where the battles would take place. Eventually, Takeshi would have to make his way over there.
Dan's comments would not be heard.. Too bad, because it had been rather hilarious. Seki would have been clueless as to how good she had actually done on the testing. To tell you the truth, she probably didn't care much. She would have been more caring of how Puchi just said she stunk, rather than anything. "You sure you not smelling yourself, Poo-stains?? Cause I tell you, I though someone was snacking on mozzarella, and old blood earlier.. Do me a favor, and learn how to read, Eyeballs.." Yep.. a tad bit bitter, to say the least, but it was only cause she was excited, in the sickening happy way.
The Mizukage just came out to greet him, and she was happy to see him!! "Mizukage-chan!! HI!!!!", would be screamed from her seat when things got quiet, before she would be knocked in the head to sit down. Of course she would clone technique, and run around before being restrained and caught yet again. Sumiya, would be witness to Niyami, this whole time, being red with embarrassment as Seki would not only make a bunch of noise, but not even listen to any of the speech for the Kage. Takeshi would sit down next to him. He wouldn't even notice for a while, all because he hid he face while the rest of the clan laughed behind him. This whole thing would probably test the nerve of the Kuroenko clan head, who not only had to watch his niece make a fool of herself, but deal with snoring, sleeping and prattling all around him thanks to the House of Odori's three pupils.
He would look to the oldest Odori, and snort saying, "Your genius is something I will never understand, but only because you cover it all in the most inane and utterly senseless of normal behavior on a daily basis.", before he would then say, "Besides, you know she hate's Taijutsuist. That’s the reason why I told you never to say you were one, remember? The girl won't learn from someone she hates.."
Soon, Seki would find herself being brought out to a familiar place, once the blind folding was removed. The girl would not be scared. In fact, Seki seemed to embrace and reminisce when she would find out that the Blood Marsh was where they were testing her. Last time she was here, the girl wasn't nearly as strong as she was now, and even then, she survived, despite being scared out of her wit. As far as Seki was concerned, she was home. This place to her, would be a piece of cake, since they hadn't even thrown her in the worst part.
For the survival portion of the exam, Sekisetsu and Rena were paired up and made the slog through the Blood Marsh. Having been here before, Sekisetsu was familiar with the terrain, however, her blinded friend made things difficult. Despite the shinobi city's inhabitants often possessing a gruff personality, and how many of the natives grew up in the Land of Water's death-numbed culture, the proctors stressed the rules with particular enthusiasm. Students would fail the test entirely if they allowed their teammates to die or become seriously wounded. The Mizukage and the other higher-ups, they told the shinobis-to-be, didn't care how talented someone was if they couldn't set their personal differences aside and work with others. Arguments and in-fighting was to be handled off the battlefield.
Once the survival test began, the blinded Rena presented a unique challenge for Sekisetsu. Sure, the girl was beginning to adjust to her lack of vision, but there were several useful things that one could obtain only through vision. Such as the coloration of plants and animals, which might mean the difference between life and death when encountered.
How does Sekisetsu deal with this challenge?
Puchi slipped away slightly from Takeshi as he took her to the group's seating arrangements, not really caring where she was sitting, as long as it was close enough to the front to get a good 'feel' on what was happening in the combat. She squeezed and wiggled and sat in the very front of the section, on the ground where she could pick up a few vibrations in the ground and get a basic view of the area through her senses. "Mozzarella and Old Blood, sounds like a Kirigakure Italian specialty." She laughed, "Serve it up with some intestines and eye balls and you'll probably be in heaven. Who is your opponent going to be? Cause he's got my cheers hands down!" Of course, Puchi didn't know of the blind Rena her challenges.
Teshi shrugs, "I think that was dangerously close to a compliment Niyami. I never said I was the best, but I trained her and I think the results so far speak for my talent." He leans back, "If you want to know how I do it, I do it by not limiting them. You can't teach them to be good in one thing, everything adds together into one big mesh of skill. I taught her to make seals faster than me, I taught her basic taijutsu to defend herself when she can't rely on her other skills, I taught her how to focus her chakra, how to conceal it, how to control it and how to release it. Most importantly, I taught her that despite everything, somebody believed in her. That's all anyone needs to excel, to know that someone is watching her."
He snickers lightly, "And your fear is unfounded. It's pretty hard to hide that I'm a taijutsuist from Sekisetsu. That cat has already climbed out of the bag several times."
The light in this place, it had been rather different for Seki to actually see, even for her. It was still day, and yet one of the things that made Blood Marsh, well, Blood Marsh, was that the pollution of the air, and the trees, allowed no light. So for some reason, the fact that Rena, who now had been her partner surprisingly, was blind, had not scared her as much as she thought. She was one of those smarter kids. The one's that knew it all, or at least pretended to be adults, like Meruin. Rena would be the first to ask, "This place.. it stinks.. I would want to guess swamp land, Seki-chan.." Sekisetsu would look to the girl, and say, "Well that makes my job easy. I don't gotta explain nothing.."
Seki would look to the girl and say, "You might want to keep close.. I'm not gonna be carrying you around, but I will be right behind you." Rena would keep a hand on her katana as she would slip through the murk. "I am supposing, Seki-chan, that you are going to ask me why I'm not scared, since I can't see." Seki would smile, and say, "It ain't supposed to matter. Whether you are scared or not, I gotta make it outta here, so its either you get on the good foot, or its curtains for ya." Rena would shake her head and say, "We have to find shelter.. Looks like that's your job.", before turning to where Seki, and wave her hand in front of her face, as she would smile, gesturing again as to why she couldn't. Seki would smile, and say, "You know what? If you didn't have split ends, I could grow to like you, Rena-chan!"
Meanwhile, back at the spectators booth, Niyami was just about having enough of Takeshi's ego. His head had been swelling, and sapping all of the room in the seats. He would look to the Odori, and say, "You sir… act as if I did nothing but encourage her into the wrong direction. Besides, this clan's chakra control, and sealing, are inherent traits of which you, even with you experience, are made to grow inherently. So while you think that you did that on your own, you are /deadly/ mistaken. The only things that you did, were what I predicted. You sympathized with someone, whose brain and personality, are as stubborn, bull headed, and temper prone as you are. You call yourself a master. So do I, however, I hate when you take all the credit for stuff that just /naturally/ happens. Its sickening."
When Teshi would start to talk of how hard it was to hide that he was a Taijutsuist, Niyami would laugh. "You really think that highly of her? Really? For Kami's sake, man, she doesn't even know that it was really the Old Fart, Odori Takeshi, who even taught her!! Dreamy Sensei.. remember." would be said with a loud laugh.
"Left alone to experiment with herself, do you really think that Sekisetsu-Chan would have grown as quickly, or as well as she has?", a voice butts in from off to the side. The voice was stripped of gender, giving it a one-dimensional and somewhat lifeless quality. The owner was a creature draped in a black cloak with the skull of a large snake on its head like a helmet. "There is a reason why good teachers are prized in every culture and society", the sexless, otherworld less host adds as it steps down and into an empty seat next to the two shin obi. "Takeshi-Sensei is a man who has fought opponents stronger than himself, and won solely on his experience and intellect - I would think it a blessing to any student to have his tutelage at hand, Miami-San", the being went on, "I mean no disrespect to your own efforts as a teacher, of course, and there is much merit in your own endeavors. I do wish, however, to turn you off from the bitterness of argument. Sekisetsu-Chan has grown much, and as her teachers, should we not celebrate her taking such a prestigious exam?".
Meanwhile, down in the Blood Marsh, Sekisetsu and Rena have survived for one day and one night. However, as the two begin to prepare for their journey on the second day, Rena is bitten by a viper with lethal poison. Antidotes exist, of course, but those would likely be carried by the med-nin waiting for them at the meeting place. The snake itself managed to escape into the dark corners of their campsite in Rena's panic - She was unable to hear the still snake while she was rummaging around for her equipment. While she was holding out, it was becoming increasingly clear that she wouldn't make it if Sekisetsu didn't do something.
Puchi sat, waiting for the fighting here to begin. But alas, there was none. She turned from where she was sitting, a little confused, and then it dawned on her. This was the survival round and it wasn't here. Was she slow of wit or something? No, not really, just the exact manner of events in the village was still somewhat a mystery to the girl. She turned, tuning her ears towards Takeshi, "Takeshi-sensei, how long is the survival portion? This is so boring. I thought the exam would be more exciting than this." The little blind Okumo whined slightly.
Takeshi turns to look at Niyami, "Oh, you're too damn serious. We both know why you left her to me. It's not that she didn't have the talent, it's that she didn't have the drive and it took someone like me, who has the patience of a god and the same stubborn, bull headed nature as her to beat the drive into her. We're both responsible for her growth," and then Snake butts in adding his own two cents.
Teshi gives a nod to Snake, "Well, came to join us? How're you holding up?"
He returns his gaze to Niyami now, "Snake is right, we both taught her, let's just enjoy the show. There's no reason for us to fight, we both just want her to succeed." His eyes lazily take in the action on the floor of the blood marsh, while he couldn't make out specifics, it was clear that things were starting to get testing.
He turns to Puchi, "There will be once they get through this. We'll go grab front row seats."
"How in the hell did you get bit???", would be shouted by Seki, as she sat next to Rena who lay aside her in the cavernous portion of a nearby tree. Rena would snirk, and cough, wince and feeling for her leg, which had been slowly seeming to turn red with inflammation. Food, had not been hard to find, but apparent, it had been hard to find snakes. Something weird for happenings. Rena, who was way more cool headed despite being the one obviously injured, would say, "I can move.. however.. I do not know what bit me, so I am not sure of how long I have." She would then cough as before long, she would taste blood, and then sigh.. Seki's eyes would widen. Rena would say, "One such plant.. May help me until the days end, but only if we can get it when it blooms.."
Using it as a cane, Rena would come to a stand before saying, "I know it by smell, however, it only grows in a high place north of where we are now, which is…" Seki would speak out, "The Black Forest… Hey!! Isn't it that one that glows in like the north-.." "Yes-Aackk*cough*!!" This time it would be a lump of something red that would fly out, and hit the wooden floor with a skip. Seki would look on again, and say, "Come one.. We gotta get it now. And remember… We stick together." Rena would happen to nod, as she would then reach the casing of her sword, for Seki to grab and act as a guide. The travel, would probably take a half a day in this darkness, but the dependence of Sekisetsu, on Rena's other senses, while Seki seemed to lay traps and detection seals where ever they stopped, would at least be attempts to make travel safe.
Back at the spectators booth, Snakey would be greeted by Niyami, but rather coldly, as the man's way was such. "I suppose she would not. But, you see, Death's Hand, like any clansmen, as well as any family, I had and still have rather high hope, as well as pride, in what happens to be my own bloodline. And you do not say anything that I do not know of this man's combat awareness. After all, I have not seemed to be able to exterminate his life yet.. However, Takeshi-san, while I do not take any credit from him as far as how well he teaches, I do have moments where his ego makes me want to feast on his heart with a white wine.."
A seat would be gestured too by the Kuroenko man, as he would say, "Besides, from I hear, you 'sir', have as much a right to be here as any of us.. Snakey-chan.", the name obviously being said as a tease, for that was how Seki referred to this skulled phantasm. "I have indeed heard of your influence on this one, and how I may as well have been in your debt as well. If she had suffered a day longer and I had found out, that witch would have been surely found and her mind wiped.!!", his eyes flaring black when he would think of the woman who had been calling herself as the Black Rose.. He would calm himself, and flip his hair back before saying, "Otherwise, you, kinsmen, had virtually thwarted civil war."
"Hardly", the snake-skulled specter replies flatly, "If it came down to it, we would have let you kill Kurohana-San. She's a master at genjutsu, and a valuable asset in that regard… But she's not worth risking a civil war to protect". Allowing a pause for its opinion to sink in, the Hand of Death adds, "However, a degree of patience and willpower is best for dealing with others, wouldn't you agree Takeshi-San?". The person, whoever they were, underneath the mask was no doubt grinning at the reference to Niyami getting so worked up about Takeshi. Even for an assassin who would kill a loved one with but one command from his master, the thought of eating someone's organs with wine was strange and slightly aberrant. The claim of a civil war over something a petty as one wench was also pretty wild, but then… Patience Snake, patience.
Reaching the black forest took a little more time than Sekisetsu might have expected, since the venom was taking its toll on Rena. The young girl had put on a brave face through it all, and helped Sekisetsu help her as much as she could. With perseverance, the two students manage to make it in time to prepare a treatment for Rena. This, however, takes them off course, and had they not chosen to run through the marsh at night instead of sleeping, they wouldn't have made it to the meeting place on time. The two are treated to a meal and the services of a med-nin before the final test: The two-student teams established in the survival round would be made to fight some ridiculous, monstrous animal that could only inhabit a world such as their's.
Takeshi shrugs, "I don't know Snake. Mitsuo killed my entire family for a disagreeance over how peaceful we should be as a clan, so is it so strange to cause civil war over something so small?" He leans back and watches the show, "Well, All that's left is to wait. Though I suppose I should steal away now. It's time for the main event and I have to be there to proctor, or so I'm told." He stands up, "You coming Niyami? We're going to the sparring ring."
Without further ado, he jumps off the seating and towards the center of the blood marsh where a couple of torches can be seen. The wild animal was struggling but they had managed to calm it down and by now it would be the point that the first thing it sees after waking up would probably be smashed and killed ten times over. Can't blame the thing. He lands next to the jounin and nods, "So, I take it the preparations are complete?" A nod from the assembled jounin and chuunin is all he needs as he proceeds to a large raised platform at the back and stands, arms crossed, waiting for the first batch of students.
Looking to Takeshi, and then Snake, at himself being allowed to off Kurohana, Niyami would say, "Just as I thought, though from what I here, your own skill, is a might bit more of an asset yourself." The patience comment would come off as a rather, embarrassing however. Niyami would turn his nose up at the joke, as he would say, "I have been friends with Takeshi for over 2 decades.. I feel that my patience has been /beyond/ saintly. Trust me, if you knew this man, and I put emphasis on the word /know/, then you would not be as misunderstanding as to make such a joke." Niyami would smile casually, trying not to let the teaming up of the two others get him down.
When Teshi would agree with him, Niyami would raise an eyebrow. Guess clan head's stick together on points of family. When Takeshi would move on to prep for the next stage, and invite him along, the Kuroenko, would sigh, and say, "Fine..", and move on with the man, landing just short of his own position and walking the rest of the way. He would see the large brute of an animal, and raise his eyebrow before chuckling. "Hmmm.. I guess this won't just be serving as a test, but as entertainment then?", before he would then sigh, and say, "I think I might just enjoy this.
Meanwhile, after having bared all and then struggled, Rena, and Sekisetsu, were fine. Well at least they were fed, and slightly rested. The meals, hadn't been the best, but they served the need for what had been sparse hunting. Sekisetsu would look to Rena, who despite having been given anti-venom, looked more tired now, than she did in the darkness of Blood Marsh. She would think of what might be her own strategy for this, but nothing seemed to come in the fog of exhaustion and weariness that over took her mind. The words, 'wing it', would come to mind as she would inspect her comrade, and then smile, saying, "You know.. I'm going to end up dragging you about this entire fight…" Rena, would frown and say, "My pride won't let that happened.. So, assumption denied.", before the two would began laughing once more. The two girls laughed, not knowing what was ahead of them in the slightest.
Takeshi nods at Niyami, "I guess it will be. That's not really how I’m thinking of it though. After all, I guess this beats what we did to earn our stripes." He looks around and notes two chairs, the center one obviously reserved for Mitsuo, but two on either side. "Those two smaller ones are ours I suppose. Mitsuo is the only one who sits in the middle one. I hate it anyways."
As to Sekisetsu and Rena, they'd reach their goal and the jounin would waste no time in ushering them forward. As they enter, the giant animal has began to thrash about even more wildly. The two approach and A ninja lands next to Takeshi to whisper a quick word in his ear before disappearing. Only three teams had made it to the end. The rest had either been incapacitated, killed or otherwise maimed beyond recognition.
Teshi raises a hand, "Congratulations, Kurenko Sekisetsu, Kaguya Rena (Because pilot didn't give me a last name). You have reached the last test and should you survive well be given all the duties and powers applicant to a shinobi of the Genin level. IF…You survive." While he speaks, barricades are being set up to keep the animal and them inside. Soon everyone has left the area that is marked by the red circle, an area being barricaded by ninjutsu, genjutsu and seals. "Let the third round of the genin exam, commence!" With that the animal breaks from it's reigns and charges at the two shinobi, obviously angry. It was big too, but it could still run fast. It wasn't going to be as simple to take down as a serpent for instance.
He takes to his seat and leans back, "Well Niyami, here's the culmination of our training."
Nope.. It would not be as the serpent.. But for two reason.. One, was that Sekisetsu, was not alone. As soon as the animal come sealing, Seki and Rena, would scattering, going opposite ways.. Seki would say to the girl, "…Kaguya??", as she had learned the last name, and sighed. Seki, meanwhile, had already readied a stack of tags that would be thrown at the animal, aimed specifically at its face. The tags would go off, two explosive, and one, only meant to blind and deafen the animal. Rena would appear later, out of a flash of pure speed, though seeming to favor the leg she was bitten, and say to Seki, "What? You didn't know?", before she her herself, would then seem to charge in, going in low in an attempt to slice open the nearest appendage she could.
Looks like she had been making use of Seki's attempt at trying to distract the large animal, seeking to actually land a disabling slash against something that would undoubtedly prevent it from moving even more so. Seki would look to Rena as she would move. She was fast, but she was still hurt. Whatever they did, they would have to work quick. Otherwise, they would instantly be failed.
Teshi watches the fight silently. Not even a muscle is moved while the contenders circle and feint around the beast. He knew both of them, they had both been around, one sought training with him, the other he watched from afar. That was part of his Modus Operandi, watch the younger generation, learn, inject knowledge and improve. It was something that his erratic behavior was meant for, but few people realized that until they actually used the knowledge. Sekisetsu here, she already knew how to beat the beast, it was the first thing she was taught, and only Rena seemed to understand. The beast was big, that meant it relied on its legs. Without legs, it wasn't moving.
Rena's speed was well known to Takeshi, second only to a few others in the clan, the girl was quite possibly the only person who could beat Takeshi in a foot race. Her father and Takeshi had butted heads more than once, but overall, it was a good relationship. Kind of like Sekisetsu and Niyami's relation with Takeshi. There was some head butting, but overall, it was a good relationship.
The animal may have been blinded and true that may have been a good thing, but it started to flail about. Rena managed to slice at the things leg, but with all the moving and jumping, it would only be a wound to annoy the animal. No, this was too big an animal to cleave near the bottom of the foot, but half way up? The tendons? Now that would work.
And thus was where the situation for the two girls would get a bit hairy. Here they had been, seeking to try and take down the animal, and yet such a large brute of a beast proved a bigger challenge than there plan could compensate for. Seki's initial blinding, while it proved effective, had only succeeded it angering the creature further. This would prove more dangerous however for Rena, who had been closest within range. The animal would flail about its parts, one of them hitting the Kaguya solidly. The power would be enough to kick her up into the air rather easily, sending her flying into the barrier that had closed the battle in. This proved to be a rather strong blow to the team, and if it had not been for the Kaguya resilience Rena had inherited, such would have proved fatal.
However, where such a strong hit had failed, it had also exceeded, in cutting the female's kenjutsuist movement ability, in half, causing her to now be prone on the battlefield. Sekisetsu would have to spring into action, and fight alone, which in the end was the /one/ thing she did not want to do in this fight. Her strategy? Well it had to first lie in making sure that Rena was safe. The large animal that had been apart of there survival test, had been going in for the kill, and the blind girl had been on the menu. Sekisetsu, however, had other plan's as she would step in front of the Kaguya. "Wait! What are you doing?? Just attack him while he is busy!! At least you'll live!!" Seki would look to Rena's words, and turn to her, smiling. "Nope.. I ain't failing, all because you want to lay down and rest a minute." Seki would then turn to the animal, and shout, "Hey!! You!!"
Seki would then slit her arm, and hold it in front saying, "Dingdingding!! Come and get it!!" This had been enough to even make the large beast perform an action similar to raising an eyebrow. Seki would then, in one large bite, be swallowed whole. Had this actually happened? Had she actually given up and fed herself to the beast?? Well… looks like this might have been the worst thing ever indeed. The beast had been licking its chops, before it would then seem to set its eyes own Rena, who was now bleeding from the fractured leg she could barely stand on. The beast would drool almost seeming to anticipate another morsel of human flesh, before soon.. It's expression would change. It would roar out in pain, and then parts of its body, would seem to glow and bubble, portions of its stomach and body being burned, and cook seeming from the inside.
And then… BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMM!!!!! An explosion would seem to rock the place. Before long, after the smoke, tinged with red, would clear, upon the battle field would rain scraps of flesh and body parts, along with burned paper. Just what the hell had happened? Upon further notice, one would see that the pieces of paper, had been parts of explosive tags.. Seki had did it!! She took down the beast from the inside!! But what had become of her? Well, Rena was sure curious, as she would, broken and bruised, drag her body across the ground, calling out, "Seki-chan!!!" Just what had happened to the girl? Well, there would be one pile of organs and parts, that seemed to be a bit larger than the others. If one were to dig into it, no matter how gross it was, they would find Sekisetsu, surrounded by linked shields, octagonal, and with the word 'Fearless', written in Kanji about them in red. Seki, would have fainted, but otherwise… she had survived.
And Niyami? His jaw had been dropping as he watch Seki become bait and then get swallowed. His skin had turned white and for the most part, he was scared out of his mind. And was Teshi's comment even heard? Nope. He couldn't hear a thing.. Poor Niyami had passed out once the blast went off… He'd probably agree with Takeshi's claim, but it was hard to say with him unconscious.
Teshi just opens his mouth to speak and can't find the words to describe the event. He turns to eye Niyami, "You have the craziest granddaughter I have ever noshing seen, and THAT'S saying something…She's worse than us when we were her age…What the mink kind of Niece did you bestow upon me?" He turns his gaze but on the battlefield and Seki soon emerges from the intestines and all else. Oh yeah, that was Seki.
Chuunin and Jounin swoop in to take them to a hospital, after all, they survived and that was all they were required to do. Even as they go, Takeshi was still staring in shock at the animal and it wasn't until the cry of the serpent was heard he turned his head. Yes, Seki was done, she had passed along with Rena, now it was time for the…About that time, a courier arrives and then leaves, "Well apparently one of the last two teams just tried to run and were killed. So we have one more fight to watch, unless you're leaving."
He leans back and motions to the jounin as they bring in the last set of Students and Takeshi stands up, "Kaguya Reiji and Shirayuki Marie, you have reached the final stage of your exams. Fight, win and earn your headband." With that he sits down, the genin exams over for one more year, as he waited to see the results of the last test silently.
