Class #320

Classroom number three-hundred and twenty serves as the class for decoding and encrypting messages. However today they would be reserved for a host of Genin taking their written exam for their first official test to see if they qualify as Chuunin. The room has twenty-five desks, with twenty of them currently occupied by ninja from different backgrounds. They all sat in seats separated randomly, though mostly filled the room leaving no two empty seats adjacent. Despite the classroom's population, there was not a single sound. It was half an hour before nine o'clock, which was when the test was set to begin. A blackboard was at the front of the classroom with the rules already written down in white chalk. Next to the teacher's podium were two chairs flush against the wall facing the blackboard.


When in this classroom:

1.) No talking.
2.) No eating.
3.) No disruptions.
4.) No cheating.
5.) No leaving your desk once seated.
6.) Breaking one of these rules will result in a ten minute timeout.
7.) Complete all ten questions within the hour.

---

When the test begins you have to answer all ten questions.

• B-tier Intelligence and B-tier Perception lets you answer 6/10 questions.
  
• A-tier Intelligence and A-tier Perception lets you answer 10/10 questions.
  
• C-tier Perception lets you copy 2 answers at a time.
  
• Timeout results in being unable to return to your seat for 3 days.
  

Kye ascended a couple flights of stairs to reach the third floor. He figured it was best to not waste any time and to try and find the best seat in the room. But to his dismay he was a bit too late. A good amount of ninja ahead of him when checking in at the courtyard beat him to the punch. Opening the door to room three-hundred and twenty led him to shock upon finding most of the seats already filled with a few Genin turning their head at the cyclops. Without a doubt the bits of snickering Kye heard was directed towards him. At least a few people found his appearance a bit interesting. Unfortunately he didn't have any companions here. None of the Kumo ninja looked familiar and he didn't recall even seeing most of the Kiri or Konoha ninja. The goth lolita looking girl he shared the boat from the Land of Lighting with was assigned to another room on the second floor. The actual, hardcore goth girl with the ax from the same boat also shared a different floor.

He didn't let the seclusion bother him too much. If he had hoped to see any of his allies from the trip he would have to pass the first test and move forward. He wasn't exactly familiar with any of them, but they were all in this together. He knew that much. He didn't intend to disappoint Kumogakure and he felt they had the same commitment when signing up for the Chuunin Exams. He'd find the first seat available which was in the first row. It appeared the front row seats were the least popular among the other Genin. His eye scanned the chalkboard reading over the rules carefully. He found them to be quite odd for the most part, especially the no eating. Was that a frequent problem among these exams? Or did they want to really enforce the 'no distractions' policy? Taking his seat he'd sit in silence as whispering resumed. The exam has not started yet giving them a bit of free will before being locked in their desk for the remainder of the test taking process.

Hao had decided on a whim to take the chuunin exams this year. He was baffled they even let him attempt to take the exams, given his record and reputation among the people who know him. Were they not afraid that he would make a complete fool of himself and embarrass the village? Regardless of such things, Hao wasn’t taking the exams in an attempt to pass them. Doing well on these exams would out him as a competent human being, and that was something he wished to avoid if at all possible. The most useful thing he could gain from these exams would be gathering information on both people from his own village, and those from other villages. As Hao skipped through the halls of the building looking for his designated class, he thought through different ways he could keep himself entertained today as he gathered some information. In his mind, it wouldn’t be worth it to go any further than this first exam, as his actual combat capabilities were lacking in comparison to many of his peers. He knew how to use his abilities well, but his variety of techniques left much to be desired.

After skipping around the halls for bit and collecting jeers of distaste from random genin, Hao finally found his way to the door of Class #320. In his typical ditzy fashion he loudly slammed the door open and lightly skipped inside, looking around the room as he did so. When he became aware that he was one of the last people arriving his face lit up as though he was both surprised and baffled that there were so many people already there before him. Given his forceful and distraction entrance, many people in the room stopped their conversations and glared at him as though they were sizing him up. After seeing the innocent and almost idiotic looking look plastered on his face, most of them just laughed or brushed him off as some bumbling idiot.

After looking like a deer in headlights for a moment, Hao seemed to regain his composure before noticing that only the first row seemed to still have open seats. He also noticed some spooky looking serious dude with an eyepatch sitting in said row. He had no idea who the guy was of course, but given that he was in this room, it was at least worth it to keep an eye on him and surmise any capabilities he might have. As he didn’t have much of a choice, Hao made his way to one of the empty seats in the front row and sat down in it, leaving a gap of one empty desk between him and the eyepatch guy. It was at this moment that Hao had a chance to read the board. From what he could tell, the proctor for this exam was likely to be hardass of some sort, but he didn’t have any reason to complain. He was confident that he could deal with any written test thrown his way, though he wasn’t really planning on answering a single question anyways. All he had to do now was wait and see what sort of test this would entail.

It was finally time for Tsuki Tatsuda to take the stage of Kirigakure. This stage is promptly known as the Chunin Exams, and today is something that Tsuki appears to be oddly good at. That was, of course, the written exams as Tsuki was told to find her classroom. Supposedly this classroom was pretty strict, but Tsuki can handle strict. Who knows, maybe she can stir a little bit of chaos around her?

Either way, upon entering Tsuki recognized Kye right off the bat. After all, they did complete a mission just before they came to Kirigakure. She silently mouthed the word "hey" with a slight wave before hurrying over to her desk. Thankfully the tools were already there, but she dreaded the thought of not even being able to speak let alone get up. This calls for a more delicate touch, but for now Tsuki just goes about answering the questions she already knows how to answer. It was a bunch of encryption that she had to decide though. The first couple proved to be easy, but Tsuki quickly found that the later questions became more elaboration and complex.

Quarashibanzai Hoinzyo strolled into the classroom. He was almost late but he gave off an aura of not giving a single fuck. The young man was loudly chewing on some gum and had his hands in his pocket. He swallowed the gum immediately before entering the room. He scanned the room for a moment before selecting a seat. He purposefully kicked Kye's desk as he walked pass the Kumo-Nin. He wanted to rattle somebody just before the Exam and Kye seemed like a natural target. There was just something about this guy that he didn't like. The young man was armed with all of his shinobi effects that he had bought from the marketplace. Q plopped down in a untaken seat and waited for the Exam to begin. He was of the opinion that this exam was going to be a piece of cake.

Five minutes would pass since the exam was supposed to start. Strolling into the classroom late was a middle aged man, tall standing 6'4 with blonde hair and a pair of shades on. He dressed somewhat formal aside from his bow tie and shirt button being partially undone. He had a lit cigarette in his mouth, recently lit, as he tossed his previous cigarette butt across the room and landing effortlessly into the ashtray at his desk. In his offhand he carried an energy drink already cracked open. "Alright you little rats, pipe down. I'm Professor Shizuo. Today you will be deciphering some puzzles written by Kirigakure's Cipher Corps. Just do the work and stay quiet for the rest of the hour." He said all while keeping the cigarette in his mouth. Strutting over to his desk he set his drink down and grabbed a stack of tests. From one end of the room he'd give an anonymous amount of exams to the first person and do the same to the other rows. "Take one and pass it back. If you have extras turn them in to me when the hour is done. It starts now so be quiet." At the end he returned to the podium where he dropped the remaining exams and answer rubric on. Turning away after he was finished he'd return to his desk, lean back in his chair and prop both feet up on the table enjoying his drink and cigarette in the peace which overtook the room. He'd keep a watchful eye on the test takers to make sure they followed his rules.

NPC

Stats
Strength: B
Constitution: C
Stamina: C
Speed: B
Coordination: B
Intelligence: C
Perception: B

The last three people to join were a real special bunch. An effeminate man, a shaved punk who looked a lot older than a Genin, and Tsuki, somebody he actually knew by name and was rather fond of. He acknowledged her greeting with a partial nod while waiting for the proctor to arrive. The cueball showed up last, stumbling on Kye's desk like a moron without coordination. There was something about the guy's vibe that didn't sit well with him. He seemed like the type to write checks with his mouth that he couldn't fill. Lax, unprofessional, and always looking for trouble. His eye glared at him dully after he walked into his desk and followed him to his seat before fixing back at the front of the classroom. No more than a minute later and class started, if one could call it that. The proctor gave them all a half-assed introduction and couldn't even muster the willpower to properly hand out the tests. Instead he was given a stack to hand back to the students behind him. Although he couldn't argue that it was efficient there was something not right about letting foreign ninja be responsible. He'd imagine someone like the pink Mohawk guy would wipe his nose on it or something immature.

So a cipher...I didn't know that was part of the curriculum. Kye read the answers carefully, though found himself unable to proceed. Although he could identify the patterns in some of the text he was unable to make anything useful out of it. At times he felt close to a breakthrough, but not being confident in his answers made him reluctant to guess. With pencil in hand he tapped his finger gently on the desk in deep thought. Eye shifting to the blackboard he read the rules again. He found them odd considering the proctor was breaking two of them as he tried to focus. The stinging smell of tobacco smoke in the air was irritating and caused his throat to tickle as if he was going to choke. Exhaling sharply out his nose he tried to ignore it and focus on the test at hand.

Hao sat around watching the doors and waiting to see what wacky and zany people might come into the room. His efforts were not let down as he saw two eccentric people walk into the room one after another. The first one was some random girl who went straight to her desk and began to work on her exam. It was amazing to Hao that someone was able to work on the exam without the proctor having arrived or passed out the tests, but some people were just gifted. The next man who walked in looked nothing like any ninja Hao had ever seen. The cool demeanour with which the man entered the room made him seem as though he was almost overconfident at his chances of passing this exam. This was made especially apparent when he kicked the eyepatch guy’s desk hard enough to rattle it.

A short time after the strange pink haired man made his entrance and sat down, the proctor arrived. The man was not anything like Hao was expecting given the rules this room was given. He seemed to barely have a care in the world as he smoked and drank. Given that he was chosen as a proctor for the chuunin exams, and given Hao’s own proclivity towards acting like a fool, he wasn’t going to assume this man was incompetent in the slightest. He didn’t care about passing of course, but if he wanted to mess with everyone else, than he needed to at least be sneaky about it. After the proctor entered the room he passed out the exams to everyone in the front row including Hao, and after he received the exam he took one and passed the rest to the person behind him as requested. At a quick glance through the problems, Hao surmised that he could easily solve every question on the exam should he want to. Ciphers weren’t exactly his forte, but these seemed easy enough that someone of his intelligence should be able to crack them.

What he was curious about however, was why these questions would be considered very difficult for anyone but the most competent of academics. Problems of this level would not be considered chuunin level in most cases, as the vast majority of genin would have no chance in hell of finishing more than one or two of them. It was easy to tell that there was some sort of trick to this exam but all Hao was concerned with was observing the capabilities of his peers. All he needed to do was figure out what the trick is and then goad the rest of them into using their abilities. For now he would just wait and pretend as though he was thinking as hard as he could as he looked at the exam.

Perhaps it was because Tsuki has recently been exposed to certain fumes, specifically smoke coming off from lava. However, when this professor strolled in Tsuki nearly coughed from the smell of a cigarette. Which is funny since she has incinerated bodies and skewered men before. Even trapped bandits in caves to ensure they starve to death by plugging the entrances. So one would think after the smells of burnt flesh and human hair wouldn't cause her to nearly cough from cigarette smoke.

At least with the tests being handed out Tsuki could distract herself with just passing off paper. She lightly fans away the smoke for a moment before she actually looks at what was given. Immediately she recognized the patterns and clockwork pieces. Much like looking at cogs in a machine and figuring out what goes where in what order. With a casual twirl of her pen that end with a click. Tsuki analyzes the puzzles as her golden eyes focus on the paper. Occasionally cracks pieces of the ciphers, but when she isn't Tsuki is purposely being obnoxious by clicking her pen at the three second interval. It's a psychological distraction that excites nervousness and stresses those who hears it when everything else is quiet. Especially after a while.

Problems 2 out of 10 is answered

Q returned the dirty look he received from Kye. He smirked and sat down. The pink haired lad crossed his arms and just after he had taken his seat, he saw the proctor stroll in. The man had the same type of energy he did. He was lax and carefree. This would make cheating easy. Q was superior to every single individual in this room. He cared naught for himself. He decided that even if he knew the answers he might cheat just to show how much more dominant he was than them. The jerk took his exam and began to study it. Like the proctor said, it was something about ciphers. Unfortunately, as smart as Q was he was not smart enough to complete the exam. He stared down at the questions in annoyance. He decided that didn't matter. He'd merely cheat. He saw how the proctor had left the grading rubric on the podium. All he needed to do was distract the proctor long enough for him to grab the rubric and cheat off of it.

He licked his lips as a plan began to form in his mind. The Chuunin Exams were gonna start off with a bang.

"Shit..."

Kye muttered softly under his breath. Part of him thought this was some sort of joke. This level was test was far too advanced for an ordinary ninja. This was the Chuunin exams, something meant for Genin to test their mettle to see if they qualify as Chuunin. And a Chuunin was just a journeyman ninja. Nothing grand, but more than a novice. What the proctor was expecting them to answer were highly advanced cipher skills that were only possessed by Tokubetsu Jounin and Head Strategist. It was a very specific skill that was not super common. Kye imagined just about every Genin had the same troubles in the room unless a select one or two were exceptionally gifted, but that was a far cry. There was no way this test was common core. There had to be something more.

His eye scanned around the room. He noticed the proctor set some papers down on the podium. It seemed like confidential stuff, perhaps something related to the test. He doubted there was anything more to that piece of paper. The proctor apparently didn't give a shit and seemed uninterested in actually paying attention. Not until a rule was broken blatantly before him. Kye figured if he could get close enough he could...

The young man shook his head to put himself back in reality. Cheating was off the table. He wasn't sacrilegious when it came to cheating only minor, harmless situations like playing non-competitive games with friends. It was more a gesture of humor to him than a means to actually feel superior by winning something. Cheating in a professional setting, however, made his stomach churn. It was just as bad as forging a transcript to get into a university. Cheating on a test didn't represent one's true ability. If he did cheat and passed it would be an illegitimate victory. Something he was not willing to risk.

It appeared as though whatever trick there was for this exam was off to a slow start. Hao couldn’t perceive any out of place behaviors from his fellow genin nor could he perceive anything from the proctor either, besides his cigarette smoke of course. It was quite a boring experience really and since Hao hadn’t planned on putting forth much effort for this exam it was even more lame than he had expected. He had at least hoped there would be some sort of shenanigans going on in this test room but it seemed as though he would either have to wait a bit longer or he would have to start the shenanigans himself. If he didn’t start them, then there was a large chance that he wouldn’t be able to gain any information about his peers and that would just mean he wasted his time coming here.

From what he had observed of the proctor’s actions earlier, he was able to see that one of the tests on the proctor’s table was different from the others. That difference left Hao curious as to whether or not that was the answer rubric for the exam. He thought to himself, “If that’s the rubric, it’s possible that it’s just a fake meant to be bait for unsuspecting cheaters. Of course, if the exam is this difficult, using that rubric to cheat might be part of the actual exam. In either case, my peers will probably consider those possibilities as well so that rubric will be key to analyzing their capabilities.” This train of thought flew through his mind at a blistering pace and at the instant of its completion he had decided his course of action.

Given the circumstances, any actions that Hao took would have to be surreptitious in nature, and under the watchful eyes of what he assumed to be an at least chuunin level shinobi, he didn’t have many options. To his credit however, Hao was quite talented in the art of genjutsu and within his arsenal he had a few techniques that could be useful in a scenario like this. The genjutsu he had in mind did not require any handseals and could be manifested after a short period of time. The moment his plan had formed within his head he activated his genjutsu with himself as the centerpoint of its origin, traveling outward at B rank speed and allowing him to alter the environment within one hundred meters to appear as he saw fit. Of course this would take some time to set in and those changes could not be made manifest in an instant. This left Hao plenty of time to prepare his changes and to alter them should the situation change. He didn’t see much risk performing the genjutsu like this either, as he gave no indication that he was using any techniques, nor would anyone be able to tell he was unless they were using some form of extrasensory perception that involved chakra vision or chakra sensing. Simultaneous to the use of his genjutsu Hao also utilized his innate talent of increasing his stamina at very little cost to himself, increasing his total reserves by a large amount.

If anyone were to look at Hao as he was activating his genjutsu, all they would see is someone staring at his exam with an intense focus, as though it was taking every last ounce of his brain power to even comprehend the first few sentences. As he was working on his genjutsu, Hao also considered the possibility that he or the room might be under the effects of one already. Using his vast intellect he considered the many different aspects of the room that might betray it as some form of genjutsu, all the while remembering the exact position of every object in the room using his eidetic memory. If anything were to change, he would be aware of it.

Checking for Genjutsu with A rank int

UA +1 Tier Stamina D->C 5 cp
Demonic Illusion: False Surrounding Technique 5 cp

Total Chakra: 100/110

Quarashibanzai's hand shot up. He waited for the proctor to walk over to him. He needed to ask the proctor if he could go to the bathroom. The pink haired punk had his eyes on the blonde man the whole time. He refused to say anything at this stage. If Professor Shizuo granted him permission to speak then he would take advantage of that oppurtunity. Otherwise it was best to say nothing lest he accidentally violate the first rule.

The proctor, really not caring too much about the class, spotted an arm shoot into the air. Raising his hand up to the cigarette in his mouth he took a long drag before removing it from his lips. "What." He said with smoke leaving his lung following a long sigh. He couldn't argue the own rules he made, but seeing that kid put his hand in the air like a schoolkid sorta irked him. Regardless, he would let the boy make his request.

The goddamn stubborn proctor didn't even walk over to Q's seat to see what was the matter. Q tucked his exam in his jacket pocket. There was no helping it. Time was literally running out and he didn't have time to play games. Quarahshibanzai flickered through a series of seals and then grabbed the handle of his katana which was strapped to his back. The lad leapt out of his seat and screamed:

"FUCK YOU JABRONI!!"

He then jumped off of the desk. He used the surface of writing slab to push himself into the air. He then unsheathed his katana and sliced downwards creatinng a powerful arc of flame towards where the proctor was sitting. The blast of flame was intense but controlled. It would set the teacher's desk ablaze along with the front of the room. He assumed the man was a Jounin and would not die so easily. Otherwise he might find himself sitting on death row with the Mizukage waiting to put a needle in his arm or escort him to the gas chambers (which allegedly smelt like pine oil). The arc of flame was contained to the immediate area around the proctor. If he was not badly burned or injured he'd be contained by the fire. Q rushed up to the podium and grabbed the stack of papers. He began running up the walls using the Tree Walking Technique.  He dropped miscellaneous papers around the room as he ran along the ceiling. The goal was to cause confusion and madness while he searched for the rubric. If he found it, he'd fall off the ceiling and land in his chair. The lad took out his exam and began blatantly copying the answers while the Professor was being slow-cooked Pitmaster style.


Used: Fire Release: Cloud-Style Flame Beheading

The unlikable trait of the Genin showed its full colors as he sprung up from his seat erratically earning a timeout in itself. He also caused a disruption which was another strike. This boy was wasting his valuable time by causing these disturbances, but none of that would matter in the end for him. He grabbed his sword by the handle and proceeded to execute an attack. He was a complete bold moron. This fuckin' Pinko! The trajectory of his swing raised no alarm to the Jounin as he wasn't in immediate danger, though he would be urged to swing his legs off the desk to avoid being scorched by the blade of fire which soon followed. The fire technique had some kick to it causing the desk to deform almost immediately and char along the edges while the metallic bits either melted, being made of aluminium and not a higher heat resistant metal. Teacher desks were not meant to withstand B-rank Fire Ninjutsu.

Rage fueled within the proctor at the boy's audacity to not only think of assault him, but setting part of the classroom on fire. The heat that spiked up in the room caused the fire sprinklers to trigger and the fire alarm to sound. The exam process was ruined.

But the proctor wasn't going to roll over. This kid needed to be taught a lesson. His hand grabbed the side of the desk and tossed it out the window as if it were weightless, shattering the glass and free falling to the ground outside of the classroom. His hand would suffer some intense burning, but Shizuo used this pain to fuel his rage even more. The sprinkler system worked to help negotiate the remaining fire by preventing it from spreading and over time eventually put it out. Shizuo used the path created by the removal of his desk to blitz Q's flank. The kid would make it to the podium in time and feel the victory of grabbing the stack of papers but would quickly and accurately need to negotiate the Jounin-level ninja who appeared immediately to his side. He had his left arm cocked back with the unscathed hand clenched into a set of knuckles. Throwing a single straight jab to the side of his body he'd put all the strength and finesse he could to cause the most damage to Q and neutralize him as an active threat.

Q would feel his ribcage 'give' more than it should have if succumbed to the Jounin's assault. Shizuo's Taijutsu would cause a depression on Q's side with his knuckles breaking a few ribs and the skin causing some minor bleed. Following the contact Q would be sent through the door, his body knocking it off its hinges, before he'd meet the finish line at in the hallway. Q's body would imprint into the wall and likely be left in critical condition following the external and internal damage he'd suffer. His body would likely survive and make a recovery, but boy did he have a lot to explain once in The Big House.

---

Technique:

Dance of the Blossom | C-rank

Stats
Strength: B++
Constitution: C
Stamina: C
Speed: B
Coordination: B++
Intelligence: C
Perception: B

Chakra Usage: 109/110

The sudden outburst caused Kye to glance over his shoulder as a wave of heat passed overhead. It was that kid again. A troublemaker at heart. There was some satisfaction seeing the proctor cave in the boy's rib cage. He'd smirk as he felt he got what he deserved. Class would be cancelled and the students in the room got a free pass for the fire emergency. What a lucky day for him.

[Exit]

Q got his shit rocked. He remembered making it to the podium. However, before he got a chance to make off with the papers he was accosted by the Jounin who threw a punch that made him see stars. The pink haired boy found himself sitting in a small crater in the wall. His body hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced in his life. Blood poured and his head rang as she slumped onto the ground. He was completely defeated.

Well this entire experience had been a waste of time for Hao. From his vantage point he was completely out of the way of any sort of damage or conflict that was going on in the room. Given that it seemed as though the time for the exam had ran out, he found that it was in his best interest to just cancel whatever silly genjutsu he was doing and to leave. He made a note of the brash pink haired man's abnormally slow but somewhat powerful fire slash, but he didn't really find it impressive or intimidating. Oh well, shit happens. Hao proceeded to get out of his seat, avoiding any of the mayhem and left the room through the back door, off to go do whatever weird shit could keep him entertained for the rest of the day.

[exit]