Hoshigakure: First Class

(After computer issues, I don't have the time to read all this. I tried, but myeh...)
(Because of this, I'm just going to do as short a post as possible to free anyone still in here)

Oda snapped out of it, He signed the papers, and, after having waited for the class thing to resume, he walked into the room. With a strum of the strings, another copy of himself would appear. With a pluck of the middle two, his shape would transform into that of a cat. A big cat, but a cat. Finally, he would preform the substitution jutsu when the needed situation occured.

(Below is assuming he was handed the head band. If he is not, just ignore this)

Oda would grab the headband from the person who handed it to him. Looking at it, he would suppress a tear on his otherwise stoic face. He would say anything he would have to say, although would avoid physical contact if he could. He would take the band, grab it in his hand, and then begin to wrap his viol. After that, he would walk out the door, band still in hand. He would assist any attempts to put the band on, as he had an idea how he wanted to wear them, and would act upon that idea at a later date.

The next person to attempt the exam had a very unusual method of performing jutsu, Akihana noted. He didn't seem to require hand seals at all. Of course, the kunoichi could have figured out how he was directing chakra had she observed closely enough but she was sure that would be rude. As it was, she let him continue giving wh im the same warn smile she had given everyone else when finished.

“Congratulations,” the blonde would say, handing him his very own headband as well. She would open her arms to offer him a hug too like she had the other candidates but he seemed to be shy of physical contact so instead Akihana would settle for a handshake. Should he shake her hand, she would discreetly place a mark seal upon him and should he not, she would let him go without any problems.

The academy seemed to be emptying fast around her as the day progressed. Akihana hadn’t expected this big of a turnout but she was glad the protesters outside weren’t keeping those who wanted to be shinobi from trying. She had faith that one day this would all sort itself out. Soon enough the religious people of Hoshi would realize that ninja meant no harm to their land and everyone would exist in unity.

With that in mind, she finished off with the remaining students, giving out more headbands to the ones who passed and encouraging those who didn’t to try again. The sun was near enough set when everyone finished and finally, Akihana was able to leave and head back to the place once again, wondering what could have been so urgent for Den to receive such a summon and if she was even going to be told.

(1868)

Shika sat at the back of the classroom, silently observing the other students and trying to make herself comfortable in the chair that was much too small for her. Eventually, more and more students took the exam, yet she herself was never called. Have I done something wrong? She wondered, frowning slightly. As one of the proctors left the building, she found herself quickly standing up as well. She briskly walked after her. "Excuse me, ma'am," she called out, hoping to catch her attention. "I haven't taken the exam yet... Would you mind teaching me the Transformation jutsu so that I can participate?"

(I don't know if this counts or not towards my final 800 word count as I'm not technically participating in the exam yet... But if it does, it's 103 words)

As Akihana was just about to leave, the medic heard a small voice behind her an turned around, puzzled. She was sure she had gotten through all the students but it seemed she had missed one.

"Hi there," the blonde greeted the young girl with a kind smile. "I'm so sorry, you must have been way at the back. My apologies, let's see." she pondered a moment before smiling again. "The transformation technique is simple," she began, doing the five handseals slowly for the little girl to see.

"The seals are important, but not as important as focusing your mind on what you want to transform." Performing the jutsu on herself, Akihana vanished in a puff of smoke, in her place stood an identical form of the young girl opposite her.

"See," she said with a grin. "Just focus on what you'd like yourself or something else to turn into and you'll get the hang of it."

(your words don't count towards the exam but they can count towards the 250 you need to learn transformation <3)

"Carp..crap CRAP!" So Laz overslept and missed everything. He quickly got dressed and headed out as fast as he can to the academy. He was almost there too then he forgot to bring his Yuki headband and his now much needed glasses. Groaning as he arrived at the Academy only to turn around and head back home to get his things...even getting lost on the way because still new to the place and very bad vision. The young boy rushed his way back to the academy seeing some people leave with headbands and others without he cursed to himself as he just barged in. "I'M HERE, DEFIANTLY DIDN'T MISS IT RIGHT?! PLEASE TELL ME I DIDN'T MISS IT?!"

If Aki noticed, Laz was not the same depressed boy she met at the pond anymore nope, just more hyper and optimistic. "Uh oh your that Lady..uh..I forgot your name umm...Do I have to retake the exam? Because I took one in Yuki before it went...well became a frozen graveyard... if I do retake do I have to fight a dragon again or something else?" He was just blurting out questions not really wanting to retake the exam again which would mean his journey to Sannin or whatever would just take longer than it already is...he has been in a set back since Yuki went bye bye and has been stuck as ex genin from yuki title for the longest now. "I really don't want to redo this...."

As she was teaching the girl transformation, another sound threaded into her ears, this time of a very different nature. It wasn't quite or timid, it was hyper and cheerful. Grinning Akihana turned to see Lazaru rounding the corner, his glasses in place and his face bright and energetic.

"Practice transformation for a bit, and then we can do your exam," she told Shika, transforming back into herself before turning to Laz, opening out her arms to give him a hug.

"Hi Lazaru, no, you haven't missed anything. Just deposit your headband at the counter and get a new Hoshi one and you'll be good. The guards will assist you," she would say, letting him go. If Laz would go to the counter, the guards would ask to see his headband for proof, give him some forms to fill out and should he do it all accordingly, they would present him with a new Hoshigakure headband, making him an official shinobi of the city blessed by the stars.

Having made sure that Lazaru was properly registered, she turned to Shika once more. "How are we doing, sweetie?"

She stared at the identical copy of herself in wonder. So that's what the technique can do, when fully utilized. She concentrated on her breathing for a few moments, before exhaling sharply and opening her eyes. Shika mentally recalled the handseals, going over them a few times before focusing an image in her head. Dog seal. Boar seal. Ram seal. She poured chakra from her coils, ordering it to take shape and bend to her will. She felt her entire appearance shift in the puff of smoke. Her hair grew flatter and flatter until it was actually presentable. It seemed to darken from its vibrant orange, and settled into a mellow brown. Her almost obnoxiously obvious nose ridges filled in. Shika's eyes seemed to gain a dazzling gleam, and before she knew it, in her place stood an almost identical copy of her own mother. She looked up at the lady who had so kindly taught her the jutsu, and gave a slightly lopsided grin.

"Is this good enough?" She asked, curiously. "Should I head inside, and perform the jutsu there as well?" She thought to herself for a moment, hand on her chin. "I can do the clone jutsu, as well," she said, hands reflexively shifting into their respective seals that she had become so familiar with. With two puffs of smoke, two twin copies of her, well, the her before the transformation jutsu, stood side by side. One of them waved at the woman. The other seemed to flick her twin in annoyance. Of course, her fingers phased through the clone. Not a second after casting the jutsu, her form seemed to flicker for a moment. Damn, she thought to herself. Why is it so hard to maintain this jutsu?
She dismissed the clones, who promptly vanished with a barely audible pop, and released the transformation as well. Shika looked at the kind stranger. "...What happens now?"

(319 words. Then you add the 103 from earlier. That's, like... 422 words. Unfortunately, I guess 103 of them won't be going towards getting promoted. Do I get stats from these, or...?)

"That's very good," Akihana praised the girl who was a very fast learner. The blonde had no doubt she would prove a great Hoshi ninja. At her question about performing the two jutsu again, Akihana shook her head.

"I have a better idea," she said with a warm smile at the girl. "I already know you can do the jutsu, so why don't you tell me two uses for each the transformation and the clone. How would they personally help you in your everyday life as a Hoshigakure kunoichi?" she asked, her golden gazed trained on the girl's young face.

(So you have 422 total, you needed 800 + 250. Make upt he remaining 600+ in the next post and you're good to go)

Going to hug Aki, Laz smiled and nodded at her words when she told him what to do but then frowned upon hearing deposit his headband. This was part of him...his life...the struggle. He went through a lot while wearing this headband and now he has to give it up. Sighing he decided it was for the best, backing away from Aki he then watched the other ninja perform the transformation and the clone jutsu and in response he clapped "Cool, you did great...way better than I did the first time.. anyway good luck on your exam!"

Rushing off he went to turn in his headband and fill out the paperwork he then received his new headband. "Can I get this in a belt..?" Yep totally got the belt and then tied it around his waste. "Now one step closer to Chuunin. ..again! Anyway bye I'll see you later~" Waving goodbye he headed out

Exit
Claiming Hoshi Genin status yo~

Shika brought her hand to her chin, eyes narrowed and deep in thought. "Well, technically speaking, the usefulness of each jutsu is determined by the ninja that uses it. I mean, a creative person could literally find endless ways that jutsus as simple as the clone and transformation techniques could be used." She scratched the back of her neck and cracked her back very audibly. Hmmm... If I was put on a mission with these jutsus, what would I use them for?

Her hands flew through the three seals, and once again, in a puff of smoke, her mother took her place. She shook her head slightly. The jutsu still felt weird to use. Maybe she'd get used to it with time and patience. "I could use the transformation jutsu to infiltrate, to name an obvious example. You know, turn into some random henchman and waltz into some enemy's base. It takes a lot of concentration to maintain, though, so maybe a less stressful situation would be better." She could see it in her mind's eye. I wonder if there's a way for someone else to see through this jutsu, Shika wondered. She pulled her head out from the clouds and snapped back to stark reality to continue. "But... maybe if you have something on you that you don't want someone else to notice. Like, a bad scrape or a bruise. Couldn't you theoretically use this to transform into yourself without that wound? Or, if you have a weird kekkei genkai, and you want to use it without anyone else knowing you're, well, using it." Her thoughts immediately flew to her Sharingan. No! Bad thoughts! No-one needs to know about that. She shook her head to cleanse her head, and took in a deep breath. She let it out slowly. The clone technique... I wonder...

"As for the clone technique..." Her hands quickly flew through the familiar seals, and the twin clones re-appeared at her sides. "You can use it to distract someone in a fight. Feign one way with the clones, attack from a different direction." The fight with Kyofu. Granted, it failed epically, but... "Also, the puff of smoke can be used as a distraction, maybe, if you were super close up." She was just rambling at this point, rattling out theoretical possibilities as soon as they came to her. "Speaking of creative jutsu usage, maybe I can use the clone technique at the same time as the transformation technique. That way, it'll look like two different people are walking together. There are a ton of different ways that could be used... And, once again, to name the most obvious, espionage. Or intimidation. Is it possible to use the transformation jutsu on the clones? 'cause, if you could produce more than two, then you can scare off potential missingnin by making it look like you're surrounded by different people." She coughed, remembering exactly why she was answering these questions, and turned to the instructor.

"How was that?" Shika asked, scratching the back of her neck. She dispelled each clone individually, and released the transformation. Soon, a tall, ginger girl in a red coat was staring expectantly at her proctor. "I mean, yeah, I have tendencies to ramble, but if you search deep enough, I'm sure you'll find an original thought or two in there." She was chuckling on the inside at her own joke. An awkward moment of silence passed, and she found herself scratching the back of her head once more in embarrassment. "I never got your name," she said out of nowhere, hoping to lead attention away from her epic fail of humor.

(607 words. :D )