[Manveru]

SCROLL TWO: THE TEST

“Next up…Hiyaki Ishuze!”

Ishuze stepped forwards from the line and bowed to his five Masters - Master Huna, Mistress Fei, Master Gau, Master Veshi, and Grand Master Haruka.

“Test one,” barked Master Gau, “Is stealth. We will close our eyes for thirty seconds, and then look for you for two full minutes. If any of us find you, you fail. The students in line are not allowed to give away your position, or they fail as well.”

“Yes, Master Gau.”

“Ready? Go!” The five masters closed their eyes in unison, and Ishuze was off as soon as they did. Stealth was the one thing he had never felt unconfident about - it just came naturally to him.

After two minutes, Master Gau called him out. He leapt down from the rafters, where he had managed to conceal himself perfectly as a support beam.

“Top marks, Hiyaki. Very good.”

“Arigato, Master Gau.”

“The second test is weapon use,” Mistress Fei said as she stood.

“Choose your weapon wisely, Hiyaki.”

Ishuze looked over the selection for a while and finally selected the kusarigama, a scythe attached to a long chain with a weighted ball on the other end. Mistress Fei picked a naginata, a short blade attached to a long pole. They entered the designated area and bowed to each other at the center.

“No mercy shall be asked,” Mistress Fei stated.

“And none given,” replied Ishuze. She charged at him and he nimbly dodged, rolling to the side and swinging the kusarigama’s chain at her feet, attempting to entangle her. She dodged it and swung her weapon around in a wide slashing motion. Ishuze rolled once again, getting in closer than her reach allowed her to attack. He struck out with the scythe, almost scoring a hit on her stomach.

“Very good, Ishuze, but not quite!” She yelled as she brought out a concealed wakizashi, a short katana. She swung it directly at his neck, but he was already gone, behind her again. She turned to see the kusarigama’s chain wrapping around her arm, rendering her unable to strike. He moved in closer and twisted her arm, forcing her to drop her wakizashi. At the same time, he brought the scythe to her throat and waited for the signal of surrender.

“Very good, Hiyaki. Top marks again. You may release Mistress Fei.”

Ishuze complied, and bowed to Mistress Fei. She returned to the table and spoke briefly to the other Masters.

“The next test…is Ninpo.” The other students gasped. This was the area that the majority of students failed.

“Ninpo, or ninja magic, requires immense concentration and mental control. Losing control of one’s ninpo can cause untold pain and destruction. Are you prepared?”

“Yes, Master Huna.”

“What element have you been studying, Hiyaki,” Master Veshi asked.

Ishuze gulped.

“Fire, Master Veshi.” The students gasped again. Fire was the most difficult of the four elemental ninpos to master, and mistakes often killed or severely injured the user.

“You may begin, Hiyaki. Show us what you can do.”

Ishuze sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. He heard a few students whispering worriedly, but soon blocked out all sound. He focused on a memory from his childhood - the day his village was attacked. He saw the black-clothed ninjas slaying his friends and family, saw them setting fires, saw them dragging his sister away. He saw the fire and drew it in, used his sadness, fear, and rage to take control of the raging flames. He drew it into himself and made himself its master. His eyes snapped open as the flames shot upwards from his palms in pillars. He brought them down to fireballs and began tossing them from hand to hand, creating more as he juggled the small balls of flame. He spun them faster and faster until they turned into a giant circle of flame, a raging inferno. He raised his hands high and the fireballs flew in every direction, sizzling out before they could hit a student, master, or flammable object. The students stared at him in awe as he lowered his hands, panting heavily.

Then, slowly, the students and masters began to applaud.

“Wonderful performance, Hiyaki. Power, control, and a bit of showmanship. Amazing control of a very unstable ninpo. Top marks,” said Master Veshi.

“Arigato, Master Veshi.”

“The final test,” said Grand Master Haruka, “Is different for every student. And yours, Hiyaki, is special indeed. Your task will test your agility, reasoning, and your concentration.”

Haruka muttered a few words, and suddenly, a hundred copies of himself appeared around the room.

“Find the real me,” the Haruka copies all said as one.

“You have five minutes.” The copies began to move slowly, all smiling the same eerie smile. Ishuze closed his eyes and extended his palms, feeling the air in front of him, He knew that when an illusion passed, the air would not move. He waited for four minutes, simply standing there, not hearing as the students began to whisper in doubt louder and louder. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and leapt up to the rafters, then leapt out of a small window in the roof. A loud THUD was heard from inside the room, and then Master Haruka entered from the outside door, brushing dirt off of his kimono.

“You startled me, Hiyaki,” he said, smiling.

“I apologize, Master. But my time was running short.”

“Yes, and you did well. Top marks for technique.”

“Arigato, Senpai.”

“Well, that completes your testing, Hiyaki. Or should I say, Hiyaki Ishuze, Genin!” He handed Ishuze his headband with the village symbol on it. But before Ishu could take it from his hand, a kunai flew out of nowhere, pinning the headband to the wall.

Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the door, where one of the senior students, Umai Takeo, was standing in the door, picking his teeth with a long, curved blade.

“Umai! What are you doing here,” Master Haruka asked, enraged. “This is the Genin test! You should be practicing for your own Chunin test!”

He spat on the floor and continued to pick at his teeth.

“Passed it already.”

The Masters looked amazed.

“So you’re already a Chunin,” Ishu said, getting impatient, “What do I care? Why are you interrupting my test?”

“Because I want to fight you.”

Master Gau sighed, “Umai, that can wait until after his ceremony, now please leave!”

“Can’t do that. After all, he can’t become a Genin if he’s dead, right?”

The room fell silent.

Mistress Fei stood.

“Umai, if you have an issue with Hiyaki, we can discuss it later. But you are interrupting a very important test. Leave now, or I will make you leave.”

Umai spat again and looked away sullenly.

“I’ll test him, then.” The masters stared at him again.

“Excuse me,” said Master Huna.

“No, if he can beat me, the he can get his Genin rank. But if he can’t, he fails, and has to leave the school.”

“Umai! Need I remind you that you are not a Master here? You do not make the rules just because your great-grandfather helped found this school,” barked master Gau.

“I’ll fight him,” Ishu said, silencing the room once more.

“W-what,” asked Master Huna, stunned.

“If he really wants to fight me, I’ll fight him. I’ll kick his butt, too,” Ishu said, smiling widely.

The students cheered, and Umai’s face grew red.

“So be it,” he growled, dropping his cloak to the floor. He drew two abnormally long katanas and adopted a ready stance. Ishu bent down to grab his kusari-gama, and before he could rise, Umai had rushed over to him and kicked him in the ribs, eliciting a grunt from Ishu and some surprised gasps from the students.

“Umai! What are you doing,” Gau shouted, “You didn’t even let him get his weapon!”

“A TRUE ninja,” Umai shouted, swinging his blades down at Ishu, “Knows to never let an attack opportunity slip by!” Ishuze barely dodged his blades, suffering only some cuts to his clothing. He was panting from the exertion. Umai was a very skilled and experienced fighter, and apparently he had a bone to pick with Ishuze. Umai grinned as Ishu rose.

“Not so great, are you, Ishu? And to think Toko thinks so highly of you!”

This made some of the students laugh - why would Umai care so much about what the school’s janitor thinks?

“What? Toko?! What are you talking about, Umai,” Ishu shouted as he barely dodged another strike.

“You don’t have any idea, do you, Ishuze? Toko is-” Umai began to speak, but he was silenced as a dart whizzed out of nowhere, striking him in the neck. He fell instantly, crumpling to the floor. The students gasped but the Masters seemed unfazed.

“Master Gau, please take Umai to the infirmary. We’ll talk to him tomorrow,” Master Huna said calmly.

“Yes, Master Huna,” Gau said, bowing. He grabbed Umai’s unconscious body with one arm, hoisted him over his shoulder, and carried him out of the room. The students were whispering in hurried tones, all wondering what Umai was talking about, but they all fell silent when Grandmaster Haruka stood.

“As one of the Masters is indisposed, we will be postponing the remainder of the tests for a short time. The testing will resume tomorrow morning after breakfast. Anyone who did not take their test today is required to attend,” he said, retrieving Ishuze’s headband from the wall.

“Congratulations, Hiyaki Ishuze. You have officially achieved the rank of Genin, lesser ninja,” he said, tying the headband around Ishu’s head. Ishuze grinned and bowed, not noticing that in the heat of the battle with Umai, he had wet himself again. Master Haruka noticed, however, and whispered to him as he put the band on.

“You might want to make a theatrical exit, Ishuze. You seem to have…had an accident during the fight with Umai.” Ishuze looked down and saw the wet spot, and nodded. Haruka dropped a smoke bomb, and Ishuze used that as a convenient escape cover, running as fast as he could back to his house to change.