Resolve and Absolution [Genin Exam]

Yuuma wasn't totally sure how these things were supposed to go, but nor did he worry about it overly so. Ever since the events of the morning, his mind was forward focused. He didn't exactly know what was going to happen next, what Genin even did after the exam was concluded, or what was expected for him. What he did know was the dull burn of an ember he felt in his chest, his heart beating now with a purpose, even if only for a moment. Yuuma had psyched himself up, blood pumping fresh, a dull ache in the palm of his hand. Lifting the hand, he looked at the fresh scar he had achieved from his earlier outburst. Something he didn't intend to repeat. He had forced himself to crawl out of the hole, and he intended to keep himself out of it for as long as he could. Fingers slowly closed into the palm, scratching at the irritated scabbing covering his flesh, but he didn't mind the discomfort. He anticipated it. Prepared himself, not just for his hand to heal, but also for whatever lay ahead of him.

Optimistic as these feelings were, he couldn't help a growing sense of dread. Like a rock, sitting in his stomach. Despite his best efforts, he couldn't pinpoint what was causing the sensation. Something about his instinct was giving off danger signals. Similar to the feeling of being stared at but more directed. More focused. More intense. It was a feeling he could reason and animal felt when it realized there was a predator nearby. He could feel his muscles begin to tighten and tense unconsciously, his eyes moving to the wall beside him, slowly moving towards the door into the room. Resting on his knees, Yuuma felt his heart rate increase as whatever was causing this feeling remained unseen. As an unintended consequence, his brow furrowed and his gaze darkened, forming an almost glare expression in response, though not with any purpose or intent behind it. It was all he could do to bring his breathing steady as the door to the room was opened...

TWC - 355

EDIT: Added TWC.

Dressed in his normal black armor and red cloak, the gray eyed kage would open the door and move into the room. A casual, confident stride to his step as he moved down toward the front of the room. A classroom of students sat before him, wondering where in the world their normal instructor was. The vast majority didn’t realize he was their kage, most shinobi in the village only knew the name of the man that would lead them into battle if it was required. At least until they became full shinobi, or in the case of this classroom, potentially when they moved to earn the right to become one. For Valen wasn’t here to give any normal genin examination, he would scare the hell out of these hopefuls. He would give them a very minor taste of what they might face in the future. The beast sealed within him chuckled darkly in his mind as Valen stood tall before the class. “My name is unimportant, however your regular instructor has been reassigned today. I will be administering your genin examinations. This won’t be like others, I’m not going to coddle you. You will either leave this room in fear, unconscious bliss, or holding a headband, having earned the right to continue. The requirements for the exam are normally the proper execution of the Clone technique, and the Transformation technique. I assure you, these requirements have not changed. You will not have a headband unless you successfully transform into someone else in this room. You must make at least two copies of yourself, while performing the transformation technique. Furthermore, you will be required to perform these actions under duress, the nature of which, I will not explain.” He would say simply his eyes cold and calculating as he surveyed the room. 

Many of the students were afraid, timid seeming children. However if they were going to be soldiers in his forces they would need to show some backbone. ‘I’m done allowing shinobi who aren’t prepared continue on. They’ll either rise above their peers, quit, or die.’ He would think as he finished his surverance of the room. “The examination will now commence. I will call your name one at a time, and you will perform the required techniques while being subject to my own. If you are unable to perform this test you will not be allowed to pass.” He would say, to which a few of the students looked indignant at him for. He couldn’t blame them, they didn’t know who he was. As far as they were concerned some random shinobi came into their room and explained what their exam was and then raised the bar on it. Then told them that they couldn’t pass if they didn’t meet his expectation. The Hogokage would not give them time to complain however, as just as their thoughts would become solidified a brilliant light would flash throughout the room. This light would temporarily blind any shinobi who wasn’t strong enough to handle it. To a classroom of students, the results would be classwide blindness. The robbery of one of the major senses. It was cruel to subject students to such a test in the eyes of some people. However their vision would return to normal soon enough. 

At the same time a brutal amount of chakra would move throughout the room. Valen, activating his Display of Power. None of the students could see the form that it took behind him due to their vision. The feel of it however would be felt throughout the room. The inescapable presence of that of a great serpentine like creature. Stalking, hunting, looking at you specifically as if you were mere prey in its eyes. The forked tongue flickering out to taste the air and raspy hiss of scales rubbing together as it coiled and uncoiled within the room, searching for its next meal with venom dripping from its fangs as it searched. The display was purely a demonstration of one’s power, nothing more. It could not strike, could not even physically touch anyone. However the presence of it would be known. A few students passed out immediately. Obviously they wouldn’t be passing. “Naomi Miwazoto” He would call, the shivering girl standing shakily to her feet and slowly trying to perform the seals for the transformation jutsu. He chakra fluctuated wildly as the small, dark haired girl activated the technique and turned into an image of another nearby student. Straight from memory since she couldn’t see her classmate. Valen would compare the two carefully before nodding his head and in satisfaction before speaking “And the clone technique.” He would say, giving her not auditory confirmation on if she performed well or not. The shaking girl would nod before attempting to perform the technique before succumbing and passing out. The sound of her collapsing could be heard throughout the room. Causing the resolve of the other students to plummet further. Some began to leave the room now, unable to maintain their composure any longer. Or foolish students not wanting to try and fail. It didn’t matter, he didn’t need weakness. The girl that had passed out had almost finished, and in his eyes she deserved more notice than anyone else in the room so far. 

“Yuuma Fujiwara” He would call out, expecting the next blinded student to rise at the name call. He expected some names to be unanswered, students who had already collapsed into unconsciousness or one of those who had left. Was this student going to be one of them? 

WC: 928

For the sake of explanations, I have multiple items and equipment on him that can blind you for at least a post. Assume I'm using one of them. I won't bother with AP since I won't be using anymore so it's not like I'll risk running out lol. 
[800 words required for your next post. Perform the clone and transformation as specified. Hope I gave you enough to work with.]

Is this the power of the rank above him? Certainly, there was no way he would be expected to rise to this sort of power by Genin. It was unfathomable. The image of the man younger than him burned into his mind, observing everything there was to see. Yuuma wasn't very good at guessing age, but he looked almost the same age as himself. Maybe even younger. This was an embarrassment. The shame of how far he had to come to compare to someone like the Proctor began to push against the fear and anxiety of failure. This was no time to be intimidated by the difference in their strength. Now was the time to look upon the road ahead, laid out so perfectly for him. Here was the blueprint to success. To Power. It stood before him in this very moment as the unnamed man move to stand in front of the classroom.

As the instructor began to speak, Yuuma could begin to feel a shift in the room. A growing discomfort. An uneasy feeling at the way the man conducted himself. Truthfully speaking, Yuuma cared little at this moment for who the man was. He could have been a street sweeper for all he cared. The bottom line was, this man held the keys to his future. Every door before him that would eventually open to success. And all he had to do was follow instructions. To perform the actions he had learned day after day. Duress? Certainly. At that moment, Yuuma was prepared to perform these tasks, on one hand, upside down, in the rain. When he closed his hand, he could feel the coolness of the metal on the band against his skin in his mind. There was no doubt about it. His eyes burning a hole in the instructor as he scanned the room.

"Look at me....look at me...look at-" His thought was interrupted by a blinding light. A piercing golden beam flashing the middle of the room without warning, dazing him and robbing him of his sight. For a moment, he panicked, believing this was some form of attack. His mind, however, was quick to reason. This is it. That duress. Quickly, Yuuma learned that it was not just the light. Flood of that same feeling he got earlier poured over him. It felt as though he was being swept away in an ethereal tide, a feeling in his spine, not unlike the one you get when you feel you are slipping off a precipice in your dreams. But contrary to the majority of his fellow students, it was not fear that washed over Yuuma. It was determination. The feeling of being so utterly enveloped by the power. A power that spoke of promises. Like a bodybuilder flexing their muscles for a crowd. Showing what true strength looked like. 

He felt the embers in his chest erupt into a flame that pulsed with a heartbeat that had seemed long since dormant. The fires kindled his mind, opening his brain as he found himself in his sanctuary once more. Spider free. The land behind the pavilion of his mind was green and lush. A perfect chill falling over the man as he laced his fingers together over his desk. Head bowed as he listened to the nervous mumbling around him. It felt, for a moment, like he was in a bubble. Protected from the infectious miasma that sowed doubt into the minds of his colleagues. But this man, whoever he was, was right. This is the life they had chosen. And this was the test they face. A small price, for the keys to your own future.

"Yuuma Fujiwara." Came the calm voice of the instructor.

The call for his name was crystal clear. He could have heard it over a roaring crowd if there was one. Taking in a breath, Yuuma would quietly stand, but instead of waiting for the instructor to tell him to begin, he would take it upon himself to stand out. He was the elder in the room. It would be shameful to not distinguish himself. Moving to the front of the room, he would attempt to walk steadily, but directly along the line of tables he had walked past many times. His head bowed slightly, eyes closed as they were useless to him anyway. He managed to successfully not stumble over anything as he made his way to the front, standing a ways from the instructor with his head bowed. As best as he could, he would show himself as confident. As ready. Once the command was given, his hands lifted, clapped once to make sure he was aligned as he could before swinging into hand signs. First, Transformation. Honestly, he didn't know much of the class by heart. He paid them little mind. But according to the rules laid before him, it was only a matter of transforming into someone in the room. Jutsu completed, he would take the form of the last person he had seen. The same one that was now seared into his mind from focus.

Appearing as a direct copy of the instructor, he continued to stand with his head pointed downward only just. It was not so much something he did in expectations of a response, but it was the most honest, crisp image he could muster of someone. Still, he seemed to hold the form with little problem as far as he could tell. In the silence that formed while waiting for the next command, an utterance of doubt floated through his mind. Within his sanctuary, an orb of memory floated before his face. An attempt of the technique in front of a pair of thugs that had happened the day before, and the shock the accompanied the failure. It had paralyzed him before, allowing his guard to be broken by a single punch. The consciousness within the sanctuary sighed with some amusement, lifting a cloth to be placed over the orb, blocking it from his view. "Now is not the time for that. Now is the time to do your jutsu."

Hands would fly once more, creating the three-part symbol that made the clone jutsu. This time, however, it was not a mimicry of the pictures in his encyclopedia. It was a true, natural feel, allowing his muscles to make the signs he had done a hundred times in a swift, fluid motion. "Clone." He spoke simply. He could feel chakra wrap around himself quickly, like a breeze whirling along a pillar. Outwardly, it would seem as if two exactly copies would materialize from the fibers of his being, giving it an almost sand-like quality that would shed from him and reform into two perfect replicas. Dropping his hands, he stood, head bowed, with two copies that followed his exact movements. 

Within his mind was no celebration, but quiet acknowledgment. He passed a test that should have been simple. Seven years too late. To stumble here would only be wasting precious catch up time he needed. "Good job." He felt his own mind say to him, allowing him to relax, if only for a moment. The relaxation same with a flood of thoughts that had been pent up behind the transparent curtain of his focus. The rush was so powerful, in fact, that he wasn't even fully aware he was speaking until he was halfway through his statement. "Teacher, if you would, I would ask to speak with you in private once this exam concludes. Pass, or fail." He said, bowing his head then to await a response, followed in suit by the two clones that maintained at his side until the instructor would say otherwise. Straining, even, if need be.

[TWC - 1,645.]

EDIT: Updated TWC to include first post.

A name was called, and a teen that seemed the same age as Valin himself arose at the call. The one known as Yuuma would begin to move down the corridor to stand before him. Eyes downcast as he moved down the walkway with the assurance of such a long time walking up and down them could cause, straight down the middle. His head would be bowed low, before stepping off the stairs, successfully navigating the stairs without the use of his vision. ‘My, such a talented student.’ A mocking voice in his mind would call as the Gobi sneered ‘Your comments are not necessary Gobi, be useful, or be silent.’ He would think back to the creature he housed. He sensed the five tailed monster sneering at him in annoyance before disappearing from his mind for a time. “Begin.” He would say, almost absently, as if it didn’t truly matter. The boys hands would clap together, and begin forming seals before transforming into him. Valen would simply look at the image carefully, it was perfect. From the hip he wore his sword on, his weapons pouches, his armor, white hair, gray eyes, everything. He would nod his head approvingly, although no one could see it. His eyes would rise and he would look around the room as Yuuma paused and the Hogokage would scan the hopefuls as more and more began to black out from the force of his display. He was slowly increasing the strength behind it. 

He had no delusions about his chakra’s potency, he knew it wasn’t the strongest in the worlds. However he knew it was strong in comparison to the rest of his villages with the exception of maybe Hikari. ‘Kotetsu was on even ground with me as well in terms of raw power..’ He would think for a moment, his hand idly fingering the hilt of Twilight as he suddenly became aware of a great weight on his blade. His thoughts on the students had wavered, and he shook his head a time or two to get it clear. Thankfully everyone was still blinded by his technique so they couldn’t see the moment of hesitation over something. Some of the students were stronger than others, keeping themselves conscious, and upright somewhat. Yuuma was one of them, however he didn’t seem to be the only one. That was for certain. 

The genin hopefuls hands would flash through some more hand seals and two copies of him would appear. The boy had done everything required, while blinded, and feeling the oppressive chakra and presence of a predator within the room. He would do well if Valen could push that determination further. Although his decision to walk down the steps while blinded proved that he had a bit of a streak of confidence. Did it end there? Or did it go deeper into arrogance? If the latter, Valen would have to beat that out of him. Something the Hogokage would be more than willing to do. As Kenshin had done for him, so long ago. The boy would ask Valen a question now, a request to speak with him alone? Valen would say yes, however he didn’t want the rest of the class to know his identity, so he couldn’t exactly tell the guy to go to the Hogokage’s office. However the ashen haired kage would nod his head before giving instructions. “First off, you pass, here’s your headband.” He would say, handing him the cloth and metal headband, the star symbol of their village engraved on the metal plate, denoting village alliance. “Next, yes, but I can’t give you the time at this moment, I still have to finish the rest of the student’s exams. Go to your school administrator, ask him where you can find me in a few hours, he’ll know. Just ask him where the man that ran your genin exam in this classroom will be. Come there later tonight, sundown should do. You can ask your questions then.” He would say, giving the boy clear instructions. The school admin would be baffled that the student didn’t know who Valen was, but the kage himself was not. He had only been the village leader for a short time, after Kyousuke committed suicide. At the time the previous kage died the bijuu he kept at bay was released, and Valen was wounded fighting it. Immediately after getting over those wounds, he was forced to leave the village for the Kage Summit that Xyxer Gyojin, the Mizukage called. So no one had spent much time interacting with him yet. “Go now, while I finish with the remainder of this class.” He would say, dismissing the teen before turning his attention back to the students. 

[Exit]

WC: 774
TWC: 1702

Claims: All toward this which will put me at 2250 total with this thread.

You can claim 15 stats, a free specialty, and all free genin jutsu found here. Any words over 800 you've done may be used for more stats (200 words per point) and Academy student level stuff (So E ranks)

Approved.

If one had asked the young man what he had been respecting as a response, he most likely wouldn't have any solid response. He was not surprised when the inspector didn't show much of a reaction to his display. What could he have said? He had most likely seen these techniques performed hundreds of times by students both more and less competent than he. No matter what sort of response he could anticipate, Yuuma felt a wave of relief as he was offered a headband. Reaching forward, he guesses as best he could as to where it would be. After finally achieving a hold on the band, he brought it back to his side, squeezing it in his grasp as he listened to the instructions on how to later meet with the man. Once his instructions were over and he was dismissed, he would bow his head low before turning to walk the rows back to the seat he had taken, thankful he had picked an aisle seat.

Even among the increased output of the aura, Yuuma felt his heart beat a steady, chilled pattern in his chest. Hand squeezing the belt that no doubt contained the symbol for the Land of Haven, he closed his eyes and allowed himself a quiet moment of celebration. This came in the form of sitting in his set, clasping his fingers together, and bowing his head with his eyes closed. Listening to the rest of the remaining able students do their own test, Yuuma felt a sensation he had when he felt the need to get up and do something. The bottom of his feet itched. The sanctuary of his mind was well prepared to receive him as he got comfortable. He had finally taken the first steps towards something better. But there was still one half of the equation left, and he would only get his answers later in the day. But for now, quiet celebration.

[Exit]
WC - 324
TWC - 1,969. - 800 for the exam leaves 1,169.

Claims:
Rank of Genin and all bonuses therein.
+5 Stats.
Finishing progress towards This with 187 words. Past progress Here.
Earth Release: Rock Section Cane - [500/500]
Puppet Art: Ventriloquism - [482/500]

Approved.