Idle jutsu and rumors about exams

Water gushed out of the stainless sink faucet, taps both on full to prevent the water from being icy cold or too hot.  That's because a bored looking Hayate stood next to the faucet, his palm pressed flat against the scroll that rested on the dry sink basin.  All the rushing water was being caught halfway down by chakra and sucked into the scroll.  But still ..... each scroll held just over 26 cubic feet (or about 0.75 cubic meters) of water.  And so he sat, as it slowly filled up.  Another finished scroll sat on the counter beside the sink, all thanks to the sealing Yatagarasu had taught him.

He still couldn't produce his own water for some of the larger techniques yet, but these scrolls should ensure he always had enough of his chakra element around to at least muster up some basics.  Or quench the thirst of a small army. He thought, as the sealing continued.  He should have went down to the ocean, but he thought it would have went faster.  He never bothered to do the math.  Instead, he thought about the idle rumors going around.

Chuunin exams.  After the recent bloody exams, the test for Chuunin rank was both a hot topic, and one spoken of after people looked around to make sure they knew who was listening.  But rumor had it the Konoha ninjas, who had just recently submitted to Kiri, had proceeded with their plans and were holding such a test of their own.  They had similar battle criteria, though apparently one didn't need to kill, or even win their fight to be promoted, just to have their skill recognized.  It sounded to Hayate a bit weak - no wonder they gave up to the invaders so easily, if that was the level it took to be Konoha chuunin.   When Hayate thought about the Kiri ninja who has achieved that rank, most sent shivers down his spine, in a way you'd want your fighting force to.

Still, it was so soon after the invasion some were saying Konoha was trying to bolster their ranks for a reason.  Rumors had it that the Mizukage was going to send a delegation from Kiri, though either as a show of force or to keep an eye on things remains unclear.  But those same rumors hinted at a possibility of sending their own genin to advance.

Hayate was still newly genin, only a few weeks in, and sure he wouldn't be sent.  Still, he had completed a growing number of missions, and his combat training was going well.  and really, his year off to train put him ahead of most genins ...  He shook his head to clear it.  No.  it was still too early.  Even if he made chuunin, it would be a false chuunin, a weak chuunin, and he'd always be denied the validation of passing the exam in Kiri.  Even if his parents might prefer it.

Still, he was tired of these D and E rank missions.  They absolutely helped the village, but there were only so many boats and fishing nets one could fix, so many floors to sweep and statues to polish, before you wondered if you were a real ninja at all.  And it would be a chance to get beyond the stormwall.

Beyond the stormwall.  There was a thought.  Hayate had never been past it - there had been no need.  And he was perfectly content with his life inside it.  But he did have hopes and dreams, of advancement, of being an arm of the village's will beyond its domain.  Of seeing other places, and just knowing what was out there.  He could imagine, and it was kind of exciting, to go see the places he had read and heard about.

As the chakra surrounding the scroll started to weaken its pull, indicating it was almost full, Hayate turned off the taps with his free hand, rolling up the sealed water and placing both it and its twin in the left sink.  He'd leave them out for a day, made sure they held and didn't leak or release unexpectedly, in a safe place that WASN'T his pocket.  Better to test things safely, when one could.

Perhaps he would check with his kenjutsu instructor after all, just see if the rumors were even true.

wc 721
(ooc 2 already in inventory normal scrolls became sealed with Water sealing technique, 26.5 cubic feet (or about 0.75 cubic meters) of water in each)

The cool, damp air of the town had lost some of its oppressing nature for the day.  Hayate notices it as soon as he left the front door and stepped out into the street in the market area, hood down but mask up, and shinobi headband centered on his forehead.  He set off at a normal walking pac to the academy, but the air almost seemed energized, perhaps electric.  There was just a bit more talking than usual, especially as he progressed to the Shinobi central buildings.  Could it be the rumor?  Or was something else going on.

He saw a few Academy students, still without headbands, gathered around a flyer as he passed his old school.  They turned to look at Hayate, eyes on the shiny headband he wore.  The academy students always did this, of course, wanting to be genin themselves, but this time the resumed conversation was a bit more furtive, maybe speculative in nature.  Hayate quicked his pace to a light jog, quickly closing the distance between him and the kenjutsu academy.  All that training and the missions had been paying off, as his pace now would have been a full blown run just a year ago.

Sliding open the dojo door and stepping inside, once again the town receded and a clean, well organized and well lit practice area greeted him.  The dampened foggyness and vague electricity in the air was replaced with a clear, straightforward mindset, as the atmosphere was designed to encourage.  The only change from normal was, secured to the top of a small shelving unit near the entrance meant to store gear, was one of those flyers the kids had been gathering about at the academy.   Hayate read it.

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It addressed active Kirigakure genin - there was a chuunin exam in konohagakure, and it confirmed the details Hayate had heard in the rumors.  It was a tournament structure, and Kiri genin were being allowed to register interest in traveling to the event.  So Kiri would be sending a delegation, and not just to watch, but to participate ... Hayate once again wondered if he might conceivably be up to the task so soon.

361 words   twc 1082

As he stood thinking, a voice spoke up behind him.

"Go for it".

Startled, but not giving a large jump, Hayate slowly turned his head.  His eyes locked dead even with his brunette swordsmanship sensei, her hands casually on her hips in a relaxed stance.  She had that same smug 'I know everything and I'm amused you dont' look on her face, complete with half smile half smirk.  She must have seen him reading the flyer, and snuck up behind him while seeing him think about it.

"Seriously, go for it.  A kid like you doesn't get many chances to travel outside of the town walls, and probably wont for a while more.  Learn what other ninja are like.  Plus, the other villages exams are a bit - less likely to have permanent consequences."   She could still see the questioning in his eyes.  He didn't want to go just for experience.  Entering a situation with an expectation to lose just wasn't smart.  And Kiri needed to look good in front of their new conquest, not appear weak.   "But seriously, I wouldn't say it if I didn't think you might have a shot.  Just dont embarass us - I've need a test dummy for some new variations I've come up with for the discipline jutsu."  She made a few test swings in the air with her hands to drive home the point."  There was that wicked grin again.

"I'll think about it."  Hayate responded, perhaps a bit more eagerly than he meant to.  Once the idea had entered this morning, it was all he could think about.  In truth we was excited, he wanted to go, he wanted to do well and show what he, and what Kiri, could do.  His doubts just kept nagging at him.  Perhaps a bit more training would clear his mind, to help convince him he could indeed do what he wanted.  He did have another day to sign up. "I've got to go."


Hayate left the dojo as quick as he had entered.  His teacher watched him go, smirking the whole time.  She could see he was flustered and excited about this.  Further damning evidence was that he had apparently just entered the building to find out more about the exams, and had left without any doing anything else that could justify his presence.  In her mind, he was already on the next boat out, he just didn't know it yet.  He wished HE was that confident - he'd try to be in the future.

wc 417 twc 1499

Once outside of the town proper, it began to rain.  Just a light drizzle, but mixed with the mist that gave the village its name.  It wasn't supposed to rain properly until tomorrow, so perhaps this would be short lived, but it added to the uneasiness the young genin felt.  

The clearing he came to was no different then the other days - he had even trained here in heavier rain and fog than this.  The light patter of rain on the stream surface and the foliage of the far bank, the uneven slippery smoothness of the stones leading up to the stream from this side were not unfamiliar.  But today, it seemed alien, like a different world.

Chuunin Exams.

He still wasn't sure he'd be allowed to go if he volunteered.  His instructor had urged him on, and might have some say, but the village had a reputation to uphold, and he wasn't long a genin, despite he frequent rate at which he did missions.  The real question was, should he even sign up.  Here in Kirigakure, chuunin exams were deadly serious. The rumors had it that Konohas were more monitored and stopped if they got TOO far, but people still died when shinobi went all out.

He left the sword in its shealth for now, and went through some simply taijutsu forms.  Hood up, mask up, lost in his own world, thinking as he replicated each punch and kick he had done a thousand times.

But to be a chuunin.  To be recognized for real, instead of being one of the kids to be watched out for and trained.  To go on REAL missions.  As much as he thought making genin would let him help the village, and in his head he knew it did, it didn't feel like what he was meant to do.  Chuunin would let you do that, a tempting voice in his head reminded him.  It was a secutive prize, a tantalizing target.  One that his mind came back to again, like a gnat at night circling a small pattern around a light despite having the whole rest of the outdoors to wander.

Hayate switched to his kenjutsu forms, but kept his hands empty.  Instead he performed each strike holding an imaginary hild, feet falling into the common dance of the swordsman.

His mind tried to come up with roadblocks.   He didn't know any of the Konoha ninjas, really, just his Kiri counterparts. He had long since outpaced Kether, and was beginng to keep up with Asami.  Even the new genin Azami was now his student.  But that didn't mean anything about his unknown counterparts in Leaf. He didn't know how tough it would be.  It was entirely possible, perhaps even likely, he would fail.  That would be bad enough, to lose immediately, inviting scorn and criticism of what he stood for.  Let alone he could die or be seriously wounded if he wasn't really ready enough.  And he could always wait.  No one would fault him for not signing up THIS early. 

Not only that, he'd need new armor.  He'd need to be at his absolute best to even try and represent Kirigakure as a swordsman.  He'd have to empty his wallet for the foreseeable future.  Even that may be enough.  He might have to try to petition for a brand.  He winced a bit at the thought, throwing his imaginary strike off a hairs breadth, but noticable to him.  They weren't pleasant, and one tried to avoid the toll they took on the body if possible, but his path would probably lead to one anyway, and he was just about as old as grandpa was when he got his first - past the major growths of adolescence, body almost fixed into that of a man.  He might not even get ACCEPTED if he applied for the exam, and be confirmed to be not ready in the eyes of the village, instead of it being his coice.

Hayate's pace picked up as he placed his right hand on the scabbard of his sword and left hand on the hilt.  His turns became whirls, his movements no less precise but faster and stronger.  He snapped the blade out of its scabbard, aiming for individual drops of rain around him, reshealthing afterwards.  A kick behind to an imaginary foe, an elbow to the side and tuckroll forward, followed by another lightning snap of grey as the sword exited the scabbard and returned silently, looking for all the world more like a fluid whip then a hardened metal blade.

For every feeble opposition, it was brushed aside.  Chuunins could take on tougher missions and earn the money right back.  He'd still have to participate in the next blood games regardless, this would at least be good experience.  This would be a chance to see the outside world.

Once all the positives and negatives were swept aside, the center truth lay bare.  He wanted to do it.  He wanted to test his mettle in combat, he wanted the danger and excitement.  

He realized he had been still for a good time now, forms practiced, standing hand on sheathed sword.  The rain had just barely stopped, but that wasn't the source of relief.  He had made his decision, found his path.  His parents would be unsure at first, but he felt confident he could win them over, perhaps even convince them to let him petition the family.  He felt more confident in general.    He grinned.


Chuunin Exams, here I come.


920 words  twc 2419

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