The Brain and The Bronze [Genin Exam]

[Okibi]

Both Okibi and Seven were actually slightly surprised that her kick had been so effective. When the frog queens crown fell off her head and she started to sink beneath the water, Okibi cheered silently to herself. Now she could say she had helped bring down a monstrous amphibian! Who didnt want to tout that? Her celebration was cut short though when some suddenly grabbed her by the neck and threw her like a rag doll. Surprise was her initial reaction, but by the time she'd hit another body and fell into the water below, Okibi was absolutely livid.

With the help of her exam partner, Okibi climbed back up onto the water. Her face was twisted into a snarl as she searched for the person who dared to treat her like a pup.

The cries of Ikkadan and Oba brought the furious wild child whirling around, her wet hair flying. She was barely able to contain her anger, and keep herself from attacking the woman who must have been the one to grab her. She'd known if it was Ikkadan, and it wasnt. That thought made the girls eyes trail to the side to look at the young exam proctor, and immediately some of her anger evaporated. He was bleeding badly from the shoulder, and Okibi felt a thrill of worry run through her at the sight. How did that happen?

She would have voiced her question, if it wasnt for the sobbing that the two were doing, however.

Okibi rose an eyebrow. This didnt seem right... Okibi wasnt sure, since she'd only interacted with Ikkadan once before, but he didnt seem like the type to cry like that. She couldnt say about the woman, but someone as big as her couldnt be prone to such open displays of weakness... at least, that was the logic in Okibi's mind. Along with the near frantic edges to their voices and they way they were calling that frog 'their queen', Okibi came to the conclusion that something just wasnt right.

The girl force herself to calm down and stand up straight. When Tama looked to her for help with the bawling duo, she stayed quiet and stood there, just observing the two. This wasnt usually the kind of tactic she liked to employ, as normally she was much too impatient to stand around and watch, but this situation was calling for something different. Clearing her mind, Okibi breathed in large whiffs of air with her nose, scenting the two cry babies standing opposite of she and Tama. Perhaps her nose could tell her something.

Up on the ceiling of the cavern, Seven was thinking much the same thing that Okibi was. The pair of humans that'd seem to swoop in from out of nowhere seemed very much out of sorts. He was pretty sure he hadn't seen them drop into the cavern either. The large dog-human craned his neck around to look at the hole they'd fallen from. He wondered...

Employing all the strength he had, Seven monkeyed his way back to the hole, and with impressive tenacity started to quickly climb his way up the side of the hole. When he reached the top, he peered over the holes edge, hoping to find a clue as to what was going on. A part of him hoped to find Ikkadan and Oba standing there with grins, which would have meant that the two at the bottom would have been illusions of some sort.

What would he find?

 

[Honma Kotone]

Oh, the shame, the shambles, the disgust! They had hurt the Queen, yadda, yadda.

Tama conversed primarily with Oba and Ikkadan, however his words were harsh and unwavering. He really shared no sympathy for the two, whom were deeply hurt by the pain that their Queen was caused. And yet, he felt so unsympathetic towards that, despite the oddities of what had just happened - he really didn't care. Regardless, the pair would just stand their; continually slobbering as if the world was about to end, and they had yet to meet the ones they loved. They were really milking this crying thing.

Seven, surprisingly, would mange to make a quick escape from the cavern; clawing like hooks against the rock face until he reached the starting point of this exam. His head would pop over the brim of the hole, eyes curious with nothing to see. With nothing to set his sights on, Seven may have felt as if these two were, in fact, the real deal. However, if this was an illusion, would you really think that simply -running- from the illusion would break said person free from its grasp? No, of course it wouldn't.

To break free of an illusion, one needed to internally disrupt their own chakra. They had to unsettle the balance within their body in order to break the illusion that took control over them. It was an easy, and basic method, something that would be most obvious to any experienced shinobi - or even inexperienced, depending on the person. So, with that being said, a massive construct of water would shoot up from the body of liquid; thrashing wildly into the air, pushing itself forward and squeezing into the gap from which they fell from at the beginning of the exam. The funnel like gap would cause the water to become much more timid, only bubbling furiously. As soon as it reached Seven, making contact with his dangling feet, it would - with immense pressure - suck the humanoid downward, through the construct itself until he was forcibly ejected and tossed into the air; allowing him to breathe, really.

Suddenly, Oba and Ikkadan, would begin to croak, quite wildly. And with an intentional intent to harm, the two would lunge forward with a furious rage. They wanted to kill.

Hint: The ninja needs to stop the flow of chakra in their body, and then apply an even stronger power to disrupt the flow of the caster's chakra; this is called Genjutsu Dissipation (幻術解, Genjutsu Kai). This can also be done by an unaffected ninja by applying a sudden surge of chakra into the affected person.
Additional Even if one of you managed to break the illusion, you can apply the same method to your team mate.

 

[Okibi]

Seven barely had time to realize that no one was in the empty room they started the exam in before he was being pulled forcefully back down the shoot. He looked down as raging waters reared up to swallow him and cut off his air supply. This wasnt going to end well if he didnt find purchase on the walls nearby. Thinking this, Seven swung out with his meaty arms and bore his hands into the rock face, fighting against the water that pulled him down. He was barely able to cling on when he reached the bottom of the hole and the water fell back into the lake. His hands slipped and slid, but he was just able to cling on for his life.

He craned his neck over his straining shoulders. Okibi and Tama were still facing off with the odd Ikkadan and Oba. "Okibi! Thats really them!" He shouted.

Back on the surface of the water, Okibi's ears twitched slightly when she heard her companions exclamation. She didnt know what Seven did to get that information, but she trusted him. Then the Ikkadan and Oba they were facing were the same ones they met in the room above. Yet, why were they behaving so strangely? It was like... they were servants to the frog queen. Or, they believed they were?

Or, she and Tama believed they believed they were?

What a conundrum.

Never the less, Okibi felt it was at least safe to assume that someone was under the affects of an illusion. Whether it was their two proctors, or she and Tama themselves, who could be certain. They were just going to have to play it safe.

Just then, the croaking (croaking!) pair decided to attack. Not only was she gonna have to play safe, she was going to have to play quick. Molding her chakra hastily, Okibi forced it to stop flowing, and then go in the other direction, attempting to Cancel any falsities that were clouding her mind. She then reached out and smacked Tama on the shoulder - perhaps harder than she needed to - to cancel any that were on him.

"Okibi take Ikki!" She declared, leaping past Tama to intercept the froggish Ikkadan mid air. Not wasting any openings, she made a jab for his injured shoulder and tried to bite into the juncture between his neck and shoulder. If her mouth made contact, she would dig her fangs in deep enough that he wouldnt be able to shake her off.Then came the next step in her safe play. If it wasnt she and Tama who were under an illusion, perhaps it was Ikka and Oba who were. Okibi gathered chakra into her hands and tried to force it into her foe, attempting to interrupt his flow with her own.

If nothing else, hopefully the pain of her attacks would shock him into reality.

 

[Toraono Michino]

This was just getting plain weird.

Tama was not expecting such madness to occur in an exam that was supposed to test students to see if they had the ability to join their warrior branches but apparently those who worked for the government in this fashion saw some pretty crazy things in their line of work and this was probably just par for the course. When the two decided to attack the student duo he couldn’t be happy enough to know that the strange turn of events lead back into a fight; he was at least half decent at that.
Okibi’s smack onto his shoulder brought about something he wasn’t expecting though since he had never learned of the general t technique to dispel genjutsu. In all honestly Tama barely knew of the existence of genjutsu let alone how to dispel it, and when his crazy partner reset the order of his chakra coil a remarkable thing happened.

Tama emitted a light like a freaking sun.

See the thing was that he had managed to turn his ring up past the point he knew he could control thinking that he had it on a good number and the sudden explosion of power would radiate through the cave causing a number of things to happen. For one there would be a sudden increase in clarity for both Tama and Okibi as the holy aura enveloped all that he perceived as friendly granting the wild child the same kind of visual prowess that he used through his left eye. The second thing to happen was a massive white explosion of electrical power would fill a large portion of the lake but held none of the properties of lightning at all. Instead it had the pure burning force of holy energy that would bring about a “shock” towards all those he perceived as enemies but would do no harm to neither himself or Okibi due to the first coating of holy energy that enhanced their collective vision. Like a god standing upon the lake Tama reached up towards his right hand and turned the ring’s number down as if it was a dimmer switch and reduced the amount of light that was pouring out of his very being down into a much more manageable state, though the sudden loss of energy dropped the poor boy to his knees unable to help Okibi anymore than he had in those two accidental actions from being released from the genjutsu.

[Using White Blaze for that area attack by the way. Spiritualist attack go! The increase vision is of course the White Blessing.]

 

[Honma Kotone]

There really wasn't a need for more fighting, to be honest. As soon as Okibi had conjured up enough disruption among her chakra system, the illusion upon her (and immediately after she struck her partner) was dispelled with a shatter off glass. As if their very vision crumbled before them, or rather shattered before them, but disturbingly disappearing none-the-less. As the glass broke, and their vision darkened into that off a grainy nothingness, the par would fall silent as they stared into the abyssal of, seemingly, another illusion. However, this was not the case, it just so happened to be the side-effect of the Genjutsu, which was casted upon them.

The light from their eyes would return, and the two would be slumped together inside of a specially created room within the Academy. It wasn't the same runic room they had entered at the beginning, but rather a white-padded wall that emitted an odd sound from its breast. Okibi, Seven and Tama were seated together, clawed down by shackles of metal, against white marble thrones. Attached to their heads, ears, eyes and other sensory organs would small nodes that attached themselves to a thin black wire; which was fed all the way back to a series of tediously dense mechanical apparatus. Above that said apparatus there would be an almost faded screen, which would be hard to spot if it was not for the continually white noise that it emitted. And from time to time, the trio would be able to set sights on a version of themselves facing off against the croaking, yes Okibi, croaking proctors.

As their vision returned, they would set sights on a focused Kinnaku, whom sat on the floor with her legs crossed and her fingers pinched together as if she had entered a zen-like state. But suddenly, as the students awoke, she too would awake with a yawn due to her tiredness. "Well, I didn't expect you to break out so early... I think it has something to do with the beat-down of that 'Queen'" She commented to herself with a curious expression upon her face. Out from the shadows of those buzzing machines came Ikkadan with his hands behind his back, holding two items. "Okay, it's best that we explain about what just happened." Kinnaku would brush herself down before returning to her feet with a smile on her face, "You were all caught up in an illusion! From the moment that you entered the Academy, actually. It was a little tricky to move you both and concentrate on keeping your minds completely submerged in the illusion, that's for sure. However, it worked!" She would state confidently just before Ikka picked up after her, "Genjutsu was the easiest way for us to fully see what you both were capable of, without the logistics of, well, reality getting in the way."

"And while you, in reality, hadn't moved a muscle, we were able to observe how you would both act accordingly in a real-life situation... And, we were impressed." Kinnaku would add again, folding her arms and standing side-by-side with Ikka. "You both worked so well as a team, and I was very impressed with your Ninjutsu and Taijutsu capabilities. And also your resourcefulness to the situation that you were both in... I'm just more happy that you both were able to pull of successful team-combo attacks to deliver such a result... And for that, I would like to award you both something."

Ikkadan would reveal the two items cupped behind his back. Two forehead protectors, each with the symbol of Suna inscribed, but both without material as he felt they would want to customize whatever cloth was used. He would give Okibi and Tama their forehead protector and bow, respectfully. "It's my great honour to announce your promotion to the rank of Genin, and may your heart always keep you on track."

 

[Okibi]

As the world shattered and the trio was suddenly suspended in darkness, Okibi found herself wishing for a flashlight harder than she ever had in her... year or so within the village. What happened to the cavern? The lake? The frogs and Ikkadan and Oba? Was this another part of the exam?

Or was she just sleeping?

Slowly, the girl 'awoke' to find herself strapped down to a large chair, unable to move an inch. As her consciousness gradually returned to her, she began to struggle; she did not like being tied down so thoroughly. It made her feel desperate. She was about to start shouting and cursing when Seven's groggy rumble reached her ears from her left.

"Calm down Okibi. You're not in danger." He growled. Okibi attempted to look at him, but couldnt turn her head more than a centimeter or two. She then tried looking the other way, at whom she presumed to be Tama, but found she had no better luck seeing him either. But what she could see was a large screen made up mostly of white noise. Every now and then, however, pictures of herself, Tama and Seven would flash up, falling down the hole, fighting the thug frog, climbing the wave. Everything they just went through was being played out on the screen between flashes of static.

What the-?

Just then, Ikkadan stepped out from behind some machinery, and she noticed Oba sitting on the floor in a meditative state. The younger boy went on to explain that everything they just experienced had been an illusion (as Okibi suspected not moments ago), starting the moment they stepped foot into the academy. Okibi had to admit she was impressed with the lengths they'd gone to to make this happen. Ikkaden presented a pair of shiny metal plates with symbols on them, and the girl recognized them because she'd seen such ornaments on numerous people throughout the village. Did this mean she passed the test? Ikkadans final words affirmed this, and Okibi's smile split her face.

"Yaaaaay." Okibi said in a tone that was oddly quiet. She wiggled her arms and looked side to side before giving Ikkadan an imploring look. "Uh, Okibi is happy we pass test. But... you let us go now, yes?" She couldnt very well celebrate her and Tama's success while she was strapped down right?

 

[Toraono Michino]

Being in a genjutsu was not something that Tama enjoyed. The very idea that someone could so easily scramble his mind and sense of reality literally freaked the boy out and when he awoke from the mind trick to find himself strapped down it only raised the panic caused by not being in control more.
His eyes watched the screen and everything that it displayed in near horror realizing that this could have easily been used to find out the dark secret he was told to keep from everyone and had the possibility of revealing Mikaboshi’s true form as well as the “evil” things Tama did with the monster that walked among the mortals.

With a deep breath the scientist focused inwards and found his chakra now completely in his control and flowing fluidly. He forced a great deal of it towards his arms and enhanced the wiry muscles that dwelled there to multiply their strength three-fold, and with a jerk, tore away from the chair without the need for help.
He was not a happy camper.
It was one thing to push him to his limits so that he could further study how to extend them, but to actually place him inside of an illusion where he wasn’t even sure how far his powers actually would have gone just made him angry. With his free hands he quickly began to undo the rest of the equipment that held him down, raised himself from the chair and snatched the metal from Ikkadan’s hands before storming out. He would of turned and helped Okibi but she wasn’t in any apparent peril since this had all been a ‘trick’ in the first place. All he did was raise a hand in farewell to her and the giant canine as he slowly navigated his way back outside the building.

An hour later he was back in the temp house sitting on the floor in his temp bedroom staring down at the glossy metal with the symbol of their nation stamped into it. A single tear drop splattered against it as Tama fought the need to unleash salty water from his eyes. This was the goal that his mother had been pushing him so hard towards, to join the village and become part of something greater than the nomadic Ryuu blood that flowed through him. It saddened him that he had finally managed to become her first successful student but she was no longer around to see the fruits of her labors.
Now that he had made it this far there was thing to be done. With the title that the metal bestowed he would be able to get grants to fund his creations, do work to further fund his experiments, and get him a step closer to his new goal in life; to bring back the Ryuu Clan and destroy the man who destroyed it.

[topic left]

 

[Okibi]

[Topic Left due to thread death!]