A New Challenge Awaits [Reizo Shoyu Genin Exam]

Today's the big day, finally! Reizo thought to himself, waking up to the sun filtering through his blinds. It was only 7:30, but that was late for Reizo. He was glad to have finally gotten some very restful sleep before his exam. It felt like he had only just entered the Ninja Academy, yet here he was aiming to graduate. Reizo sprung from his bed and leapt into the shower. He rehearsed the entire exam in his head and went over all of the possible questions and demonstrations he'd be asked. He was sure he had solid answers for any thing- the jutsus and their functions, why he wanted to be a ninja, what his future goals were... it was almost like prepping for an interview in his mind. After only 7 minutes in the shower, Reizo dried himself off and picked out his clothes: a royal blue undershirt, and an orange tunic on top of it, paired with orange pants and his blue shinobi sandals. Reizo grabbed his bag and pulled out his notes to review one more time. In those notes he had detailed his whole thought process for each jutsu. He had been practicing all week for this, and he had finally mastered everything yesterday.

Reizo bid his mom goodbye and was out the door, energetic and full of excitement for what was to come. He was totally prepared, in fact he had never felt more prepared for anything before. He didn't want to get cocky because he knew that would be how he could mess up, but he was very confident that he would ace the exam with ease. After calming himself down just outside the examination room, Reizo slid the door open, bright-eyed and grinning, and confidently strutted into the room to face his examiner(s). Giving one last glance over his notes, Reizo stuffed them in his bag and tossed the bag carelessly aside. After today, he wouldn't need those notes ever again. Reizo was ready to face the Genin Exam.

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"Come on everyone, you're doing great," Akihana encouraged as one after the other, her latest batch of Genin stepped up to the mark and shot a near perfect stream of fire at the target. They were supposed to fire thrice at the bull's eye but most of them were accomplishing it least twice, something that made the blonde beam with pride.

As October gave way to November, officially ushering in winter to Kumogakure, the mornings had gotten chillier and the students found a renewed purpose in breathing out flames. Good for combat, good for bonfires, good for staying warm against the chill. As the next boy stepped up and took his position, Akihana offered a silent prayer to the gods. His breathing had always been problematic before. Keeping her fingers crossed, she watched him execute a perfect fire stream and still have enough breath left over for a second try. On his third, he hit the bull's eye square and let out a small gasp of surprise as his classmates cheered.

"Well done, Shirou," the medic called out, clapping alongside the rest. "Shanti, you're up next." Perhaps the most challenging student in the batch, the young girl stepped up, positively radiating with energy. Or perhaps she was just cold? Shanti's problem had always been balance. Either her fire was too dull or too uncontrolled. But she had been working these past few weeks and the improvement showed. The girl took a deep breath, letting out a thin stream of fire that singed the target fifteen feet away.

"It's okay, try again, Shanti," Akihana called out as the students encouraged the girl similarly, chanting her name and other words of motivation. On her second try, she didn't even make it to the target, ehr fire stream fizzling out about two feet from the target. Her third try however, the girl hit the bull's eye, making everyone erupt in renewed cheers.

"Very well done, all of you," the blonde praised, smiling down at her students who had outdone themselves this morning. "I'm so very proud of you. Most of you are well on your way to mastering higher level fire jutsu after this but remember, if you need help, you can always come back to the academy."

"Miss, your turn now!" Shiro called out from the back, making Akihana laugh. The boy reminded her of Arata too much sometimes. Obliging the crowd, Akihana turned to the targets, breathing in a shallow breath before shaping her lips as though blowing a kiss towards the bull's eye. A thin line of flame shot from her lips, burning a hole clean through the center.

"Best of luck, I don't expect to see many of you after today," the blonde spoke, dismissing them with warm wishes and good cheer. She was just in time to pick up her papers from the receptionist and head to the genin exam attempts for the today. Looking dwon at hr file, seh noticed only two applicants had signd up that day. Hopefuly it shouldn't take long.

Interring the classroom, she saw a girl and a boy waiting for their turn, the girl seemed nervous while the boy exuded confidence. "Hi guys, I'm Akihana and I'll be your proctor today. Your task is simple enough, please come to the front and perform the clone and transformation technique and give me a use for each one. Ladies first, shall we?"

The girl seemed startled to be called upon first and her performance reflected that. She stumbled, stuttered and failed to produce even a weak clone. In the end, Akihana kindly told her to go back and practice, reminding her that there was no need to take the exam in a hurry. When the girl had left, Akihana turned to the remaining boy in the room. "Mr. Raizo, same task. Please perform the clone and transformation technique and name a use for each one. You can take your time."

(Make an 800 word post doing the above and you'll be good to go <3)

Reizo took his seat about 4 rows up into the classroom, in an aisle seat. He was the only one in the room for now, but he was certain he was in the right spot. He was always early to his appointments so it was not very surprising that no one had showed up yet.

After waiting in the classroom for 5 minutes, a girl about Reizo's age entered the room and asked Reizo if it were the room for the Genin Exam. Reizo piped up a simple "Yep!" and nodded. The girl would quietly find a seat not too far from Reizo, only 2 rows in front and a couple of seats to his right. Reizo attempted to make conversation, but the girl remained silently focused on her studying and could not be distracted. She looked like a nervous wreck. Reizo felt bad for her; he knew what it was like to be totally unprepared for an exam and could empathize with how awful she felt and how much she must be dreading the upcoming exam. At least it seemed he was the only other person who would be there to watch.

It felt like an eternity, but it couldn't have been more than 10 more minutes of waiting for the examiner to walk in. She seemed to be in a rather joyful mood, and Reizo wondered if she heard some good news, or if she was just that happy that she only had to examine 2 students today. Her cheeriness felt out of place with the quiet atmosphere of the room, but it made Reizo smile, and hopefully it made the other student feel a bit more calm as well. Glancing back at the girl, Reizo noted that it didn't. Akihana, the examiner, gave the girl the first turn, and Reizo couldn't help but cringe at how badly she flopped. It was very disheartening and Reizo felt terrible for her. She seemed extremely disappointed in herself as well, to which Akihana remarked that it was understandable that she wanted to make the leap to a full fledged shinobi so quickly, but that she should take her time to learn the material first. Reizo didn't see it that way, and immediately sprung from his seat and leapt to the front of the class to comfort and console the distraught student. He felt so badly for her, and he sympathized with her embarrassment.

Wrapping his arm around the girl, who looked to be on the verge of tears, Reizo whispered, "Don't worry, you'll be fine. The exam is all in your head, there's no need to make such a big deal out of it, especially if it's just your first time." In an attempt to comfort her, Reizo even lied, "This is already my sixth attempt, I'm sure you'll get the hang of it soon, just believe in yourself and keep your head in the game, okay?" The girl attempted to shrug him off, but she did seem at least slightly assuaged by Reizo's words before exiting the room. Reizo put his hand on the back of his head and gripped his hair lightly, his face contorted into a mildly disappointed look, but he would then turn to face the proctor. It was now his turn to perform the jutsu.

"Alright, the first jutsu I'll perform is the Clone Jutsu. This technique, while it is very basic, can be very useful as a distraction to make way for a more devastating attack. Although it is possible to distinguish between the real user and the clones, it can be difficult to notice immediately, making the jutsu very useful when applied in the right situations," Reizo stated his knowledge of the jutsu to the best of his ability, and began to weave the hand signs. The heat of the moment made him a bit nervous, certainly more than he expected to be considering how confident he was going into the exam. However, with only the examiner watching, Reizo's nerves were eased. First Ram, then Snake, then Tiger. Reizo wove the seals quickly and delicately, just like he had practiced, drew the chakra within him and then released it all at once. Two projections of his person appeared, one on either side, and Reizo looked at them each and kept them active until Akihana gave the word to move on.

"The Transformation Jutsu is a very important jutsu for every shinobi to master. It is useful for many tasks, from espionage to becoming a tool for use by another shinobi," Reizo stated to the examiner. Reizo would then weave the hand signs just as before, this time weaving Dog, then Boar, then Ram. Reizo originally learned the technique by mimicking a rock in the river, but he had since learned to be able to transform into anything he sees in real time. Focusing on Akihana, Reizo ingrained the image of her likeness into his mind. "Transformation Jutsu!" Reizo exclaimed, a cloud of smoke appearing around him. When the smoke dissipated, Reizo had transformed into an exact replica of Akihana herself. After a few seconds, Reizo would deactivate the jutsu and ask her the question he really wanted to know. "So... how'd I do? Did I pass?" Reizo asked innocently. He had to have aced it, he knew in his heart he had done it all right. It was only his first exam, but he was certain he passed.

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Akihana was impressed with the young man's performance, but more importantly she was impressed with how he'd treated a girl who had not passed. far from mocking her, he actually treed to help. And that confirmed to Akihana more than the jutsu that he would make a great shinobi in future, one who would never leave a comrade behind. It was time Kumo started acknowledging what really made shinobi great, and this boy had that in spades.

"Well congratulations," the golden haired medic beamed, handing him a brand new headband. "You are now a Genin, an official member of Kumogalure and the Raikage's force. I have every confidence that you'll do all of us proud." With that, she dismissed the boy, making a note on her cupboard about his passing.

(Exit Akihana, approving Genin status. Reizo gets fifteen stats, a free spec and all the free genin jutsu he doesn't have yet. <3)

TWC: 786 - All towards Majestic Fire destruction