First Try (Genin Exam)

Yanoda fidgeted nervously and stared at the door to the rest of his life. Within, presumably, was the shinobi that would decide whether or not he had what it takes to be a genin. He thought about all the bullshit he had endured to get to this point, and was struck with a profound sense of dread at the prospect of failure. If he botched this, it might be some time before he'd have the opportunity to try again.

Well then, I'll just have to do it perfectly on the first try. No problem, hehe. His face twisted into a smile briefly before falling back into an expression of abject despair. I better not fuck this up. Yanoda thought to himself, as his hand hovered over the doorknob. No more stalling, it was time to face destiny. Not giving himself anymore time to think, Yanoda turned the knob and pulled open the door to the classroom.

[I need me a proctor]

Roki, the rocking Rock-rocking Rockstar Chuunin was once again tasked with monitoring the Genin Exams. He didn't like it. He would have rather been rocking. Oh well. Here came another student. He stopped posing against his mirror, and turned to the student. "State your business- I mean, Welcome to the Genin Exam. My name is Roki, I'll be your examiner. And you must be..." He checked the list in his hand, "Kiro? No I passed that kid already... Kukijumaruki? That's a made up name... Um, okay. You must be Yanoda. Give me a second here.".

He held up his notebook titled, "Kirigakure Genin Exam Rules as Ruled by Kirigakure". He continued, "Okay, first show me you can use the Clone Technique and the Transformation Technique. Then also tell me what Will of Wat- I mean Will of Fire means to you... Why do I keep doing this? Sorry. Go on.".

[Do an 800-word post of you following the instructions.]

Yanoda blinked in surprise as he stood in the doorway and was met with this verbal monsoon. The gears in his head turned as he struggled to decode the instructor's... instructions. In the meantime, he decided to close the door behind him and walk into the middle of the room. "Uhh... clone technique. Right. Yes sir. Coming right up." Still feeling slightly dazed, he took a moment to gather his thoughts. Alright, focus. So what if the instructor is a little weird? It's probably another test. Focus on the exam, damn you. he thought to himself, assuming a half-sign with one hand, and using the other to fidget nervously with his shirt. Closing his eyes, Yanoda concentrated on molding his chakra. All his hard work had led up to this moment. He couldn't afford to get distracted now.

Yanoda began to enact his long-practiced process, visualizing the energy within himself as two bodies of water, crashing and pushing against each other. He began to make them swirl around each other and mix, the water calming and forming a whirlpool of energy that he pulled up from within, turning it into a growing, swirling column of water that he refined down to the absolute maximum, turning it into what seemed like a trickle. He felt the veins in his head bulge with the strain as he compressed his chakra so, and held it. Then, forming the Ram, Snake, and Tiger hand seals as a guide for his chakra, he released it to form the technique. With a puff of white smoke, an exact visual copy of Yanoda appeared next to him. Technique complete! he cheered internally, then wiped his forehead and moved on to his next task. "Okay, transformation next, right? No sweat." he said, finally over his nervousness. Maybe this wouldn't be a total botch after all. He had trained for this for years, after all. Why wouldn't he be able to do it? He had been worrying for nothing... Hopefully.

Putting his half-sign back in place, Yanoda began to repeat his process from earlier. Swirling, mixing, and pulling his chakra up from the depths of his body, slowly building... and building... until his body ached with the strain, like a guitar string about to snap. But this technique was different. It didn't call for a sudden release of chakra like the last one, this would be a bit more complicated. He manipulated the building chakra, and let it spread out across his skin like a shroud. Still a novice, the strain of this level of chakra manipulation made sweat break out across Yanoda's forehead. His chakra slowly enveloped his whole body, until it formed a sort of shell around him, in the shape of somebody else. His insides burning, Yanoda formed the Dog, Boar, and Ram hand seals to guide his chakra into the right shape, and bringing his concentration to a fever pitch, executed the technique. In an instant, he transformed into a perfect replication of the instructor. I can't hold this one for long, I better wrap this up while I can. Don't want to embarrass myself by losing the technique. he thought, finally getting the chance to breathe.

Yanoda had his clone from earlier gesture towards the transformed original with a sort of "Ta-daa" motion, then released both techniques. Once the requisite cloud of white smoke dissipated, Yanoda put his hands on his knees and panted for a moment, then turned his head up at the instructor and gave him a genial smile. "I hope that was okay, Mr. Instructor. Anyway... the Will of Fire, huh?" Standing up fully, he stared at the ceiling thoughtfully. What did it really mean to him? He hadn't really thought about it in detail. Becoming a shinobi had just always been what he wanted to do. Hadn't it been? No, wait, there had been something... something that set him down the road to the academy. It was a long time ago, though... what was it?

Yanoda thought back to the reason he chose this path. As a child, he had always admired the shinobi who came through his parents' restaurant. He admired the way they fought fearlessly to protect the village, and decided that he wanted to become strong, so he could protect his family and his home. But was it really as simple as that? I guess that's not so bad. he thought. Did it really need to be any more complicated? The Will of Fire. Yanoda wasn't sure he understood it fully yet, but he understood the flame burning within himself very well. "The Will of Fire... To me, it is the will to protect my home. To protect my family, and everyone I care about. The duty of a ninja, inherited from everyone who came before."

[WC: 811]

(By the by, I'm not sure I totally get this, so let me ask you now: What all do I get from this promotion?)

[15 Stat points, a free spec, free Genin Jutsu]

"Keep careful with your vision." Roki said, in a silent enough voice that only Yanoda would hear, "You will be tasked with not only those you care about, but also those you hate, if you area tasked with it by the Hokage. And even if she doesn't, granted those people are of Konoha. Otherwise...". He reached towards a desk nearby and grabbed one from the pile of headbands on the desk. He offered it to Yanoda. "Congratulations, you are a Genin now. Go protect our gate- I mean our village, Yanoda.". Roki, the rocking Rock-rocking Rockstar Chuunin, not rocking anymore since he expected to be a Jounin by now and free of the regular ninja work, was visibly sad, but he was holding on, like a proffesional. "One day..." he thought, "One day, I'll be Mizuka-I mean Hokage... Why do I keep doing this? Even in my thoughts? It's like some kind of divine joke or something.".
 
[Approved of your rank-up, post this to "name/rank change" thread to get your new appropriate tag. You get your appropriate rank and rewards immediately though, which you can post on your stat page.]