Genin Exam!

Spoiler:

Today was the day. Today Shinryuu would finally collect that well earned headband of his village, symbolising he was officially a ninja of Kirigakure. He had prepared as best he could, honing his basic skills throughout the academy days. He was confident his Clone and Transformation techniques were more than acceptable for a passing grade. Shin made sure he finished his breakfast, got dressed and headed out to collect his trophy.

It was a bustling day, multiple students were already present that usually arrived much later at the academy grounds. It made sense though, there were students who could use all the extra time and assistance form other students to maybe improve last minute. He wasnt one of those students though, Shin was ready for it all. He had worked hard throughout the year to strengthen his chakra control and work out the finer minutia of the jutsus. Since there was plenty of time to spare before the exams started, Shinryuu decided to pick out a nice quiet area a little bit away from all the students. He then sat down comfortably and started playing around with waterdroplets again as he often did in the spare time he had. Many times had he attempted to cause them to freeze over, and an equal ammount of times had the water droplets remained at the same temperature. Frustration had gotten the better of him before, but today he felt very calm, maybe due to the exams coming up later. Small setbacks at the moment did not bother him one bit. They spurred him on instead. Now he was in a far better headspace for it than he had been before, and he noticed he was thinking more clearly about it aswell. "I've been going about this in the wrong way", he thought to himself. "It's not that i've been failing my attempts at freezing these water droplets, but the fact that something was missing all along".

Sometimes it only takes a bit of relaxation and a fresh look at things to come to an understanding. Shin had just had that experience, realising that if he wanted to manipulate his water to freeze, he was focussing on the wrong things. "Wind", he came to the realisation, was what he had left out but would push him towards where he needed to be. He could cool the water element using the wind element. The only problem was, he now had to work on harnessing the wind element now first, before he could battle with his icy desires. "Fine", he thought to himself, and he relaxed his body, recomposing himself. He quickly glanced in the direction of the other students, who were still there, frantically practising a wide variety of basic skills, not knowing yet which subjects were going to be part of today's Genin exams. Shin then closed his eyes, focussed on his breathing, and started meditating calmly. Breathing in and out at a steady pace, letting the air fill his lungs, before exhaling it back into the open air. In and out. In and out. Letting the air get used to his rhythm. Making the air accept his rhythm. Because it was his rhythm that would dictate what would happen to the air, just as it did when he breathed.

Wind was a lot different than Water, the latter a fluid while the former being more of a concept, shapeless if you will. But there were also similarities, with both of them being strong forces of nature capable of causing huge ammounts of damage. Nature could be a scary thing if you did not have the neccessary skills to deal with it. Shin didn't expect this to be easy, but he was a very determined learner. He focussed on his surroundings and on his own breathing, as he molded his chakra and continuously attempted to indufe it into the air he breathed in and out. After a while he noticed that it was actually starting to work, with him sensing some of the air that came out of his mouth actually retaining some of his chakra. He then quickly tried to hone in on it and guide it peacefully along a breeze passing by his face. Then he lost it. So he started at the top again, breathing in and out gently, molding his chakra and infusing it into the air he was breathing in, and then breathing it out again. Some more chakra-infused air left his lungs, and he slowly and calmly guided it into the world, and proceeded to turn it around himself in a small circle. He kept doing this over and over, getting more familiar with the process, getting more familiar with the flow. The air was particularily helpful and well-behaved today. More and more chakra-infused wind was slowly being gathered by Shin, circling it around himself like the quietest, most peaceful invisible tornado ever.

Sweat was rolling down the sides of Shin's forehead, down his arms, his back also damp from it. He had no idea how long he had sat there, but it felt like he should have a beard hitting the ground right about now. He breathed out strongly, his eyes opening confidently, and a soft yet clearly guided breeze swirled calmly around the spot he was sitting in. A smile appeared on his face, "That was easier than controlling water when i was younger i think", he said aloud. He was very pleased with himself and glanced over at where the students were practising their basics. Except they weren't. No-one was there anymore.... "Oh shit!", Shin blurted out as he jumped up in panic, "Am i going to be late to the exam?". He sprinted towards the Academy in a panic, and quickly did a chakra sense to see where the students were that were taking the exam with him. "2nd floor, 3rd window", he thought to himself as he found them, and he ran around the building towards his goal. No time to take the indoor route, no time like the present, and he jumped up to one of the open windows, landing elegantly and quietly on the windowsil. "..Next up is Shinryuu Yuki, glad you could join us, step forward please", a teacher at the front of class stated, as he glanced at his exact direction with a interested smile on his face. The teacher recognised the young student easily from his wardrobe and looks, and always gave skilled students a bit of leeway, you should never stand directly in front of progress he believed.

The other students were all standing lined up in front of the teacher and had not noticed Shin yet, as he stepped forward after having moved into the line under the direct watchful eye of the teacher. "Please, if you have the time for me, perform the Transformation jutsu, trying to look as closely like me as possible", the teacher said. So the Transformation jutsu seemed to be the first task of the day. Shinryuu did not mind, though he was still damp and sweaty from the training he was doing just now before he got here. Not like that could stop him though. He performed the required handseal, focussed his mind and chakra, fixated his gaze upon the teacher, and *PooF* in a cloud of smoke he transformed his looks into a strikingly similar looking man as his teacher. "Skincolor the same tone, gear and clothing correct, good set of hair on his head", the teacher calmling stated, running a diagnostic of his transformation. "An easy pass on this one kid, you can move to the next classroom to take the next test", the teacher told him kindly, and Shin undid the technique and thanked him, before heading out of the classroom.

Shin stopped walking after he exited the classroom, making sure he steadied himself fully again. "That was one hell of a hectic entry", he thought to himself, "Let's not do that again anytime soon". Shinryuu took a towel from his pack, and wiped away the sweatiness and dampness, to make himself look more presentable again. It was time for round two, and he opened the door to the next room as he stepped inside. This time it was only him and two teachers in the room, no other students present. The teachers were seated in the front of the classroom, a table in front of them, covered with a whole bunch of Kirigakure headbands. Some looked different form others, as students were allowed to specify different looks for them prior to the exams, and his eyes had easily located his beautiful white headband amongst them. "Shinryuu Yuki", one teacher said, his head tilded down, reading a piece of paper lying in fornt of him on the table. "This is your final moment at the Academy as a mere student, show us what you got", he stated after. The other teacher was sitting back with his legs on top of the edge of the table, keeping his eyes firmly locked onto Shin. "Perform the Clone jutsu for us", he sternly said. Shinryuu could now drop any form of nerves he migth've had at the start. Clones? Not a problem.

Shinryuu placed his hands together and made the Ram handsign, before channeling his chakra and summoning 3 clones next to himself. The grumpier of the two teachers then got up from his chair and started to walk towards Shin. He examined the clones one by one, examined Shin inbetween a few times, and then went back to his seat while saying: "Easy pass, the kid got skill". He sat back down and gave the other teacher a nod. "Come forward and collect your village headband young man", said the other teacher, as he stood up and carefully picked up the white headband from the table. Shin undid his jutsu making the clones dissappear in 3 puffs of smoke, and he walked closer to the two teachers. He eagerly took the headband he was handed, and wrapped it tightly around his forehead, seeing his reflection in the classroom's window, a hug grin appearing on his face. "Congratulations on becoming a Genin of Kirigakure", the two teachers said in unison, and they both shook his hand after the other. "Make us all proud out there kid", the stern one told him with a wink of his eye.

Proudly walking out of the Academy building was a new Genin of the village. Shin was very pleased with how the day had gone. He had finally graduated from the Academy, his ninja career ahead of him, and at the same time he had managed to gain insight and a huge step towards unlocking his icy potential. A good day indeed. Shinryuu was almost ready to head home, but he decided to go check the bulletin board first, just to check how Sakuran had done. He just remembered she had had her exam a day prior to his but he hadn't had time to check how she had done yet. He moved to the boards and quickly scanned over the names of the passed and failed students till he stumbled upon her name. *Sakuran Hatake: Passed*, it stated. It wasn't like Shin had doubts about that, but with her type you never could know for sure, so better to make it a 100% before congratulating her and then finding out she hasnt passed. Well, that was everything he needed to know and it was all in order. Shin started heading home, and passed the shopping district as he did. "I think i recall Saky wanting to go on a shopping spree somewhere in the nearby future, i feel bad for whichever poor lad has to endure that", Shin thought as he shuffled along home laughing to himself.

Tomorrow would be time for more training, and he soon would have to start doing missions for the village, whuch he could hardly wait on. He could start helping out the village that took him in and sheltered him when he was alone. "Time to give back", he thought, and entered his home.

[2018 WC], 1000 Ryo, 5 AP, +20 Chakra

[2000 WC] Unlock of basic Wind element

[Exit]

Shinryuu wrote:

[2018 WC], 1000 Ryo, 5 AP, +20 Chakra

[2000 WC] Unlock of basic Wind element

[Exit]

Approved!