[Exam] Blue Team

Kiriyomi stands there in shock for a moment as the scenery around him changes, before he thinks back to his lessons with Shusuke. Performing the Cancel technique, he would attempt to break out of any sort of Genjutsu that was being cast upon him, while looking over at his companions to make sure that no harm came to them. Once the scene settled, he would breathe a sigh of relief. Kiri then looks up in surprise, as there is a figure standing before them, looking directly at him. There is the ringing of a bell, possibly one of the ones they are seeking out, followed by the figure speaking. It is a language that he doesn't understand, but the meaning is not lost on him. This creature has the bell they are looking for, and it was taunting them. Perhaps it had something to do with the "curse" from getting the key down in the grave outside?

Shaking himself off, Kiri grabs the keys and tries to unlock the box before them to get to their first bell. The sooner they could secure this one, the sooner that Jinzo could try and replicate it just in case they needed a decoy down the line. Before he opens the box, however, he feels cursed chakra surging around him. Turning, he sees the cursed seal scrawling its way across Jinzo's skin. He feels a pang of guilt, especially when the boy states that he doesn't know what happened. But he remembers what Shu said about strength being necessary to survive in the shinobi world, and the guilt fades away. He was simply allowing his teammate to grow in strength so that he could overcome any challenges thrown their way. "I'm not sure what exactly that thing was, but it was looking directly at me. I wonder if it was the curse that was mentioned for getting the key from the grave outside? But that doesn't matter right now, we need to get this bell and chase those footprints and get the bell from whatever that was! Are you feeling alright? Can you continue on?"


[MFT: 352]

Kiriyomi was lucky, the key was the real key to opening up the box, and the box sprung open to gather the key. A new hint was given... 'Mirror mirror on the wall, where would I be of all? An empty house? Is a place full in the streets? Come see, come all.' It was a riddle that often carnivals used... so a carnival spot near the place could be the answer. It certainly also was there the footsteps were going...

If they got to the place, a grinning creature was everywhere in the trick that Nao had placed... Fun house... specially designed mirrors spring forth that imitate the user in an attempt to confuse the opponent. All failed attacks seem to bounce right back at the one who clumsily aimed them. A cackle was given which was obviously echoing. "Can you make it to me..?" He asked the kids and would show the bell in his hand. "Can you overcome this riddle in less than an hour? While honoring the rule that my master set in place..? Never leaf a teammate alone??"

[Sadly to say, only Kiriyomi and Umashi's sub are now a team together.]
[Think of this on those carnaval's house things...

"Are you feeling alright? Can you continue on?" Nodding his head slowly but assuredly, Jinzo felt that there was a sense of being that was returning to him. "Yeah, I think that I'll be alright." Not one to want to slow down the group, Jinzo decided to push beyond the pain that he was feeling. That was one of the things about being a shinobi, there would be times where he would have to put his sense of self aside for the greater good of the mission and this was one such mission. There would be plenty of opportunities for him to sit and heal his body after the fact, but for now he was a shinobi on a mission, an exam, one in which those in the higher positions had thrown for people like him to test their resolve. His team was waiting on him and to slow them down would be putting their exam results in jeopardy as well. "Let's follow those footsteps and get that bell, I'm tired of all of this dark mumbo jumbo stuff that's going on." With a new determination in his voice, Jinzo found the trail that the footsteps were on and began to follow it. "We'd better stay ready, you never know what they'll have in store for us. They've already led us in circles before and we probably should be prepared for a fight." It was sound advice even though a fight was the last thing that Jinzo wanted. Any fight would likely be one that was far out of their league even with the three of them.

Kiri would quickly snatch out the note inside of the box, reading it aloud to Jinzo. It appeared that they were heading to a carnival of some sort, and the footsteps leading them also headed in the direction of a large... fun house? Nao grinned at them from all sides as they apporached, and he quickly realized that this was a house of mirrors. The Sennin was toying with them, playing with physical illusions rather than Genjutsu, making it more difficult for them to find out where exactly the shinobi was hiding. Lucky for them, Kiri was a sensor and knew what Nao's chakra signature felt like. Hopefully he could use this knowledge to lead them through the maze and to the bells before time ran out.

"I'm glad you're feeling alright! Like you said, we might end up having to fight Sennin Nao or their contract, so let's be prepared for whatever they throw at us. Stay on your toes, keep your eyes peeled, and stick together. No matter what happens, we can't separate. That seems to be the most important rule here. Perhaps we can use clones to split off and search, but our main bodies can't be separated. I believe in us! We can do this!"

The Yokai seemed to have perfectly taunted them and they had to make their way through this maze filled with innocent little traps and such. They were enough to tick you off, to try and do something stupid. It seemed that this was a race to keep your head in the game, to keep as level headed as possible.

Little did the two shinobi know, that at the end, there would be no fighting. That there would be a pleasant surprise for them, yet they still had to get through the maze itself.


[Ooc; Rp how you get through this to the end, you can do this in as many posts as you guys want.]

At the end, you would notice a Yokai dancing. "How did you like my traps? Water, wires, pop shooters, they were lovely yea? My master wants to see you now... please continue through the hall of horrors!" It would be just a very, very dark tunnel with fake spiders and Halloween stuff everywhere, once they got out... They would be near a ramen tent where nao was waving them over.

OOC: Hello Nao, respectfully, you've done a lot for this exam but I'd like to bow out of the topic. I think that a lot of the steam was lost when Akio had to leave and now the topic is dragging out a bit because the general premise was based on a 3 person team and with us nearing the 5 month mark, from a systematic point, all of our characters have probably changed in some one. Thank you for being willing to mod this far for us!

Topic Left

Kiriyomi stood before the mirrored maze, listening to the Yokai taunting them. He figured that this was just a strategy to try and get them to rush through the maze, which he might have fallen for before. But, with the weight of his decisions weighing on him, the boy decided to take this last task slowly and methodically. Putting one hand against the wall, he sent out a small group of his Kikai through the maze to navigate the path before him. As he went through, keeping his eyes peeled for any traps and surprises, he kept a kunai in hand to deflect anything that may fly his direction. Between his scouting and using his sensor abilities, to try and combat the dizzying effects of the maze, Kiri slowly made progress. He wasn't concerned about the time, because he knew that they still had plenty of time to find Nao before their deadline of the exam ended.

Along the way, Kiri got splashed in the face with water and had paper confetti from pop shooters stuck to him. Grumbling to himself, he picked off as much as he could of the paper, wondering why this was part of the exam. Was this all to try and get a rise out of the students, or was this to get them off guard for some large final battle? He wasn't sure, but losing his temper now would not serve him in any way. After a few hours in the maze, finding a few circle and dead ends, Kiri finally smells something delicious ahead of him and his stomach grumbles loudly. Was that... ramen? What was going on? Finally stumbling out of the maze and collapsing to his knees, the boy looks up to see the Sennin seated not far from him at a ramen booth, waving him over. Struggling to his feet, the boy slowly makes his way over to Nao, sliding up onto a seat beside him. "Hello, Sennin Nao. Or is this just another clone sent to confuse me and take me somewhere else to finish this exam?"

Nao would chuckle as he heard Kiri. "No not really..." He would pinch himself to prove it was the real him. "You probably have a lot of questions... but first, please sit down. I am glad to inform you that you and Jinzo passed the exam, sadly for Akio he did not." He would speak and look towards him as he started to straighten himself and sit correctly in front of the bowl. " The chopsticks were a small and little gift from me to you guys, so we could all enjoy the ramen together once you passed. You see... the goal of this exam that you all sticked together, that you all would work together as a team, not going out in singles." he would speak before looking at his Yokai who was a bit too chipper. "Sorry if he scared you, but I had to keep you guys moving forward at some reason." he would start to take a bit. " hot hot hot..." he would start to blow a bit before taking the next bite. " goodjob Kiri, you passed your exam with flying colors."

[Kiriyomi Passed the exam]
[Jinzo passed the Exam]
[Akio did not pass the exam]
[ooc; you are free to leave]

Kiri would finish picking off the pieces of confetti off of his arms and chest, glancing around at the ramen booth as his stomach continues to rumble. Warily, he takes a seat next to Nao and pulls out his chopsticks before ordering himself a bowl of ramen to enjoy alongside Sennin Nao. "Thank you for the exam. It was fun, even though I got soaked through with all those traps you placed in the maze. Also, there is nothing to apologize for. The Yokai definitely startled us at first, we thought we might have to fight him off, but that is part of being a shinobi. To be prepared for anything, and adjusting to the situation as it changes."

A wave of guilt passes over Kiri as he thinks about the cursed seal that he placed on Jinzo, but is afraid to bring it up to the Sennin seated next to him. So he wordlessly eats his ramen, thanks Nao once more, and ehads back home to get some well deserved rest.

[Topic left]