Kaane's Genin Exam

There were too many kids.

There were always too many applicants and too much time. Jisou was getting too old for this. The balding, heavyset man had just celebrated his fourty fourth birthday and come to the realization that his next twenty years will be the same as his last, picking kids who looked like they could survive a kiri Geninhood.

"You!" He barked out gruffly to the tall kid in the black coat. "Front and center. Clone and transformation and if I see you choke, I choke you! Understood?"

(Please write an 800 words post and you're good to go! <3)

He was startled somewhat by the sudden intrusion of the man who looked like he desperately wanted to retire, followed by the sound of a quiet poof as the two boys speaking off to his side began walking off.  In his peripheral vision he could tell they were now considerably taller than they were before, and wearing Kiri’s standardized uniform instead of the lax dress they had just sported only a few moments ago. 

His mind barely registered that the group had obviously passed some initial phase of the test...probably to see if they could follow orders, no matter how trivial they were, or how long they would take to complete.  But he had very little time to think beyond that as he was called forward before the rest of the group.  He wiped his brow as he stood quietly, listening to the orders he was given.  Clone and Transformation jutsu...simple enough.

“Yes sir,” replied Kaane with a gentle, yet confident smile on his face as he flew straight into performing the first jutsu without a hitch.  He had committed the seals to memory at this point, and even with his hands gloved he wove them expertly.  The three seal sequence complete, he began to mold his chakra into a worthy form, the mental image of himself with which he wanted to create his clone already fresh in his mind.  He knew he could manage two, but for the moment he partitioned just enough for a single clone, wanting to focus on quality rather than quantity.  He allowed his chakra to form a shell around his body, feeling the energy becoming a construct with form and complete intangibility all at once.  

After but a second or so’s concentration, he released his chakra into the world, a slight distortive effect all that would signal the technique’s completion as his newly forged clone faded into existence alongside himself.  The young student caught a quick glance out of the corner of his eye...everything seemed decent enough for him, hopefully it would be much of the same for Jisou.

Kaane then released his hands from holding the seal, to let the teacher know that maintaining the slight chakra flow needed to maintain the clone’s image was slowly becoming second nature.  He would allow a few seconds for the teacher to find any defects in the clone he had conjured before dispelling it, but he somehow knew in his heart he wouldn’t discover anything.  He’d performed the jutsu to the letter; that was all that mattered.

Now onto the transformation jutsu...transformation jutsu…

He hadn’t forgotten the seals in his nervousness at least.  But what was he going to transform into, the teacher?  It was probably the most orthodox choice, something anyone would do.  Something probably all those kids behind him would do.  It would set him apart if he did something else...but what?  What did he know intimately enough that would serve as a successful analog…

“I’m waiting!” prodded his proctor.  Clearly this was the moment.  He would have to go with what came first to his mind.

“If you have a weak stomach, please prepare yourself, Jisou-sensei.”

With a quick trio of seals and a large poof of smoke, Kaane disappeared.  And for a moment, it would seem like he had gone entirely.  The space where he once stood was occupied with nothing but air.

Below where he stood vertically, however, would be a contented-looking elderly man, laying on his back in a pure white, formal kimono.  At least six feet in height, his face and balding head, pocked with small age marks, white hairs, slight scars, and deep, grandfatherly wrinkles had clearly seen better days.  Still, he was well-kept, and his hands were folded neatly across his chest.  He quite simply looked great.

Well, he would’ve looked better if he was still alive.


Every detail of his greyed, deoxygenated skin, receding scalp and nailbed, the tightness with which his joints in his hands clenched...all were indicative of a corpse that had yet to be fully treated before a funeral.  In truth, Kaane had wanted to be something else for this, but nothing else had been on his mind since the break he took to help his father from training yesterday.  But hey.  At least he could legitimately play dead when the situation required it.

It was very difficult to ignore the gasps and jeers from his comrades to keep himself from laughing, only one or two of whom had actually prepared themselves for their weirdo acquaintance to pull something like this.  Though he rarely brought his work or his interests outside of his father’s mortuary, it was really something how people reacted to the stark reality of nature.  Even if it was only a cheap, yet carefully-detailed imitation.

Eventually, his eyelids opened, even his normally light-brown irises covered with the cold blankness death had brought the body he had impersonated.  He smiled a bit, some sickly yellow teeth escaping from under thin, pursed lips, along with an unaltered voice in complete disharmony with its source.

“So can I be a Genin now?


WC: 863

"Sure, have a headband," the man groused.

Maybe Xyxer would kill this one? Man, that would go a long way to reduce the headache the proctor had just developed. Sadly, he still had a long day in front of him, shame. Maybe he could fail the next one? He could only hope at this point, knock on wood and all that jazz.

(Approved of Genin status. You get 15 stats and a free spec! <3)