A Day of Tests. And Pancakes.

Mission Arc + 1:

Oda woke up that day with a smile on his face. He got out of bed and adjusted his combat vest a bit, he was so excited for today that he decided to do a thing he liked to call “pre-dressing”. He grabbed a cold cup of ramen on his way out of his small apartment and gleefully bounded down the road towards the Medical Institute.

Finally coming to the Medical Institute. A Long line stretched from the counter and Oda reluctantly took a spot. Lines were the worst, and Oda was already shifting from one foot to the other.

Today nothing could bring his mood down, and he hummed a tune as he stood in line, smiling to the occasional passerby that he recognized. He daydreamed about the sort of jutsus he would learn at the academy and the sorts of friends he would make.

“Sir? Excuse me Sir?”

A voice broke him out of his daydreaming.

“Oh! Terribly sorry friend” He stepped forward quickly and gave a smile “Oda Terumi reporting in!” He said with enthusiasm.

The hospital worker looked at him with the sort of tiredness that comes from doing something a thousand times. “Medical exam will be to your left, have a seat in the room and a doctor will be in with you shortly.”

Undeterred,Oda flashed another smile and began to walk away before stopping and turning back to the worker. “Don’t worry bosslady, the work day will be over soon! You've been a lot of help thankyou so much” He flashed another smile and gave her a thumbs up.

The worker paused and gave a genuine smile, her posture straightened a bit “Thank You very much sir, good luck on your exam.”

Oda walked into the small waiting room and took a seat briefly before getting up again and fiddling with a jar of cotton swabs. As he was doing that the door to the waiting room began to open and Oda panicked, spilling the jar of cotton swabs. He haphazardly tried picking them up before giving up and using his body to block sight of the jar, turning around to smile at the doctor as they walked in. Oda noticed the doctor noticing the cotton swabs.

The doctor flashed a reassuring smile “Not a problem…” He looked at the chart in his hand “Oda Terumi?”

“That's me!” Oda said with enthusiasm.

“Well Oda Terumi, there's nothing to be worried about, this is all fairly standard procedure.”
The doctor motioned for Oda to stand in front of him and proceeded to take some measurements.

The exam was straight forward, save for when the doctor took his temperature. He glanced concerningly down at the reading.
“Uh. You seem to be running a fever… Do you feel sick?”
Oda laughed and gave a dismissive gesture “Oh that's just the Terumi in me, nothing to worry about there!”

In a matter of minutes Oda was outside the Institute again, smiling and ready for the next test.

---

Oda proceeded to walk back to the academy, a pep in his step. He stopped at a food vendor to haggle, something he was known in the area for doing.
“Say sir whatcha say you let me have some of that Yakitori and when I get back I’ll do some work for ya?” Oda flashed his signature charismatic smile.
The merchant did not return it.
“Oh you mean like how you ‘helped’ me with my onion shipment a few weeks back?”
“Hey now I cut those onions into exquisite ribbons, it's not my fault the birds took a liking to them!”
“You wouldn’t stop feeding them!”
“They were hungry!”
The two looked at each other before the merchant finally broke. “Fine, take 2, and when you get back you're helping me put these lanterns up!”
“Aye aye bossman!” Oda said through a food stuffed mouth as he sauntered down the street.

Oda began to get nervous. This was the part he was dreading, the written exam. Oda had tried to take some practice exams but always gave up, he was a terrible test taker and even worse at sitting still in a chair. Oda wouldn’t let his fear overcome him. He knocked on the door to the academy and a young worker answered the door.

“Oda Terumi reporting for the written exam!” He gave a smile and a thumbs up

“right this way sir” The employee said

Oda, oblivious to the workers' reaction, entered. His eyes looked around in amazement at the academy building. “Wow, I’m really here!” He exclaimed. He was led down to the exam room.
“You’ll be taking your exam here shortly, please take a seat at the table and only open the envelope when you have heard the bell ring. Once the bell has rung you have 1 hour to complete the exam, good luck!”

His nervousness was in full bore now and he sat down and stared at the envelope with trepidation. He waited for the bell to ring. His thoughts were racing. What will I do If I fail? Can you retake it? What if they reject me completely? WHAT IF I'M NEVER GOING TO BE A NINJA?!

The bell rang and Oda tore into the envelope with a slight mania. He answered what he knew, and guessed on what he didn’t. He was never sure about these things, and as he exited the room and waited for his grade he hoped he had done enough.

He paced the hallway for what to him felt like eternity, the group of kids waiting with him growing. Usually he would have encouraging words for his peers but he was too preoccupied with his anxiety.
“Oda Terumi” A voice rang out, he looked at the outstretched envelope with trepidation.

He opened the envelope slowly.

PASS.

“WOOO HOOO!!” Oda grabbed a nearby student and grasped him in a bear hug excitedly before setting him down and running out of the hallway in elation. Now to the fun part!

---

Oda's excitement was palpable and it took everything in his power to not use the auditorium as an obstacle course as he and the other students waited for their instructor. He eyed the mat with elation. He had spent the better part of his time here practicing against wooden dummies and he was ready for the real thing. He visualized in his head how the fight would go, replaying his combos and steps that he had practiced.

His visualization was interrupted by the deep and baritone voice of a very large man.
“Ok students, this will be your final test before you are accepted into the academy. Do I have any volunteers?” Oda's hand shot up before he could even get the last words out.

“Ooh, me, me!” Oda waved his outstretched hand excitedly.

The instructor pointed at Oda “Alright, you, come on down.”
His mouth dropped as he turned around and looked at who he was to face.
An absolute behemoth of a ninja stood before him, 6ft 5 and at least 270 pounds.

“Uhhhh, no offense bossman but-” He pointed at his opponent “Really?”

“Your sparring partner is picked with your skill level in mind, unless you think I don’t know how to do my job?” The instructor gave a sharp glare at Oda

“Heh, no sir!” Oda said, his voice shaking slightly as he stared at the bull across from him. This certainly wasn’t a part of his visualization.

His thoughts were interrupted by the crack of 2 pieces of wood and suddenly, Oda found himself sparring.

The beastly student charged in predictable fashion and Oda dodged out of the way to his left, barely escaping the man's shoulder. He crouched down and gave a quick kick to the back of his knee, using the pause as he recovered to switch to a southpaw.

Oda let the man recover before flashing a smile “That all you got tiny?”
The verbal jab had its intended effect and the man gave another ineffectual charge, repeating the same process. Oda dodged and kicked his leg again.

This time though, he did not let the ninja get back up and rushed forward to give a simple punch to his opponent's head. The ninja reeled in confusion, which Oda used to circle to the rear and deliver a roundhouse kick to the side. He was riding high off of his success, only to be dashed down as the ninja grabbed his leg and rolled, flipping Oda to the ground.

Oda kept smiling as he watched the man attempt to body slam him. He deftly rolled out of the way and remained at ground level, spinning on his back and delivering another kick to the head. He got up to face the attacker once more before realizing he was knocked out cold on the ground. He gave a sheepish grin to the instructor.

“Very well done Oda Terumi, you may take your seat. Next.” The instructor said, moving on to the next student.

---

Riding high off of his exams, Oda strolled through the village of Tsukigakure, head held high and beaming with a smile. He stopped at the waterfalls that greeted visitors as they entered, taking the time to admire their beauty. His eyes floated past them and up to Kage tower and he day dreamed about one day being up there, helping the village with the big problems.

He went from store to store, occasionally bagging some free samples before leaving and moving on to the next spot. Oda had learned a long time ago how to get by with very little Ryo. As he did his usual rounds, he happened across the Darkside.

Oda had never really gone into the Darkside, but this time a sign on the window caught his attention.

“Eat 10 Pancakes and your meal is free!”
“Cash prize!”

Oda grew excited, a chance for a free meal AND some money? What a perfect day this was ending up to be!

He walked into the restaurant.
“Hello sir, table for one?”
“Pancake challenge!” Oda said in response
The waitress laughed and led him to a table
“Good luck sir!”

Oda sat at the table and played with some napkins for a bit before a large plate with a physics-defying amount of pancakes was brought out. He smiled with elation as the pancakes were set down. But, as he took the first bite, Oda's smile faltered, this was a problem.

These pancakes were perfectly fluffy, perfectly sugared and filled with just the right amount of moisture. He grimaced, Oda usually liked his pancakes burnt, or if he was lucky he got them to be cooked on the outside but raw and doughy on the inside, like a perfect pancake should be.

A ninja always adapts, never surrenders, and always gives it his all! Oda thought, as suddenly this challenge had gone from a meal to a fight for survival. He devoured the pancakes, forgoing savoring the taste, he could feel his stomach expanding with every bite. By the time he was on his 9th pancake a crowd had formed, cheering him on. He continued to eat, finally reaching the last bite.

His head fell into the table face first, a massive sugar crash coming on. The crowd groaned in anticipation.

An employee began to motion to take his plate, indicating failure.

“Wait- look!” one of the onlookers shouted and pointed

Oda's hand was moving feebly and slowly toward his mouth, he raised his head briefly as the pancake inched closer.

The crowd watched in rapt fascination. Followed by a loud cheer as he placed the final piece in his mouth and swallowed.

He laid his head back down on the table

“Yaaaay go me” he said weakly.

“Congratulations sir on your free meal and prize!-” The employee grabbed his limp arm and raised it “uh- uh sir?”

Odas snores could already be heard as the sugar crash hit him in full force. A contented smile on his sleeping visage.

---

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