Kokuei's Genin Examination

Kokuei moved briskly through the halls of the academy. After today, he would hopefully have a different view of the place. He'd no longer see it as the place where he would learn, but where he had learned. Maybe the strings of fate would bring him to teach at this place one day, but he had some years before him before that was a possibility. For now, Kokuei had to focus on the present.

The Nara boy stopped, standing next to a door slightly ajar. He couldn't see what was in the room from his angle. Was he supposed to go into the room or wait outside? "Is this...?" Was this the right location? The examination notice didn't specifically say to enter the room.

It was tough to tell what sort of examination this would be. Apparently these genin exams were radically different from one another. It certainly kept academy students on their toes. Kokuei waited anxiously, just outside the door of the specified room, to see what sort of trial he would have to face.

OOC:

Miko always hated giving exams. It was only her job when none of the other usual candidates were around, and she never really understood why she was picked to be the back up option when she wasn't really a ninja. At eight in the morning the secretary grabbed a file and made her way to the testing room. Upon turning the corner into a hall that lead to room, the woman saw what looked like a student peeking around.

"Can I help you?" Her tone mimicked that of a customer service representative.

Oh! "Then enter the room, and no it's not a written exam."

Miko would follow the boy into the room, before taking a seat. "What's your name?" She asked, moving her paperwork off to the side of the desk. "Alright then, perform the clone technique, and the transformation technique. Afterward, tell me how they can be used in a risky scenario, please."

"Sure, of course!" He said nervously, leading the way into his own examination. It was a bizarre feeling, having done all this training and studying and preparing, only to have to it end like this. Alone, without any peers, to perform a few simple tasks. The Nara was excited for his next step, but this certainly did not feel like he thought it would.

The dull purple haired boy gave a nod. "It's Kokuei, miss," he said to the woman. The substitution and the transformation technique. These were the hurdles that Kokuei had heard this exam would likely entail. Luckily, he had prepared himself, put himself in the right mindset, to utilize these techniques. The verbal component threw him off, but hopefully the Nara boy would perform well under pressure. "Of course." He gave a slight bow before taking a few steps back, away from the woman and the desk. Not that he really needed all this space, but it felt appropriate.

Ram, snake, tiger—Kokuei slapped together the proper hand seals to first form the Clone Technique. An incredibly simple ninjutsu, but of course the basics were of the utmost importance. A puff of white smoke appeared beside the Nara boy, and an exact replica of the academy student filled its place. Kokuei quickly looked the clone over, trying to spot any imperfection. From the quick glance, he couldn't find anything. He didn't want his proctor to think that he was scanning it for flaws, so he kept his wandering eyes to a minimum.

"A successful demonstration of the substitution technique." He gestured to the clone, who gave a slight bow. Following, the Nara boy approached and waved a simple hand through. "An easy way to fool an enemy into thinking you're somewhere you are not. One of the oldest tricks in the handbook—it is still ingrained into the shinobi repertoire for good reason. In a moment of panic, or heat of the battle, the opponent may not recognize such a simple sleight of hand," he said.

Kokuei was stalling a bit with his monologue. He took the time to look over his proctor's appearance. Taking in her major details, her periwinkle clothes, glasses, files just out of hand. Hopefully she was not aware Kokuei was going to take on her guise. He wanted to surprise her. Likely though, she had seen this sort of spectacle before, where a examinee took on the form of their proctor. Closing his eyes, the boy prepared himself for the next technique.

Dog, boar, and finally ram—a puff of white smoke engulfed Kokuei, only to fade but a moment later. What was left behind was the slightly taller appearance of Miko. Lighter blue simple garb, black glasses that Kokuei pushed up the ridge of his nose, and a short stack of papers in his hand that had gibberish written on them. Unfortunately the Transformation Technique had no way to perfectly copy data like that. It was all personal mental knowledge on the user's part.

The Nara boy stood for a moment, moving a bit only to show that his transformation was stable. With a small smile, he held together the ram hand seal and released the jutsu. A quick tuft of smoke revealed the boy's form again. "Another easy way to potentially fool an enemy. Transform into an ally or loved one, and suddenly they aren't sure what to do. Confused, if only for a moment." He stated. Kokuei took a step closer, done with the jutsu portion of the exam. He wanted to be within closer range of the examiner.

"Much like many of the practice and training we do at the academy, it is to reinforce the basics. The final exam is no different, of course. We have to be able to perform such simple ninjutsu at a moment's notice, perfectly," Kokuei begin, lightly clasping a hand around his fist, "if we cannot, we can be caught off guard or be ill-equipped for a dangerous scenario. By understanding the basics, we will always have a proper foundation to build off of. For any shinobi who finds themself in a dangerous situation, they must figure a way out. In a particular example, a freshly graduated genin may be within the canopy of the Hidden Leaf forest, being pursued by a rogue shinobi on a mission gone wrong. This rogue is stronger, more experienced, and overall deadly. The genin is cornered, but can give themselves an out. A clone jutsu can send off a couple of diversions, allowing the real one to hide or to run away. The rogue ninja may be able to see past such a simple trick, but even a moment of hesitation is all the genin needs. Alternatively, the transformation technique could be used to mimic the guise of a rogue's ally, or someone of import, like the Hokage or a ninja that the rogue may recognize. A moment of uncertainty can give the genin the chance to escape, or bring down the rogue. Of course, likewise, we must be vigilant in not falling for simple tricks, as they can be used quite effectively." Kokuei did his best to take in a deep breath discreetly. Long rambling speeches weren't his thing.

Kokuei waited, patiently, for his proctor's response. He hoped his demonstration and explanation were enough to promote him into the proper ranks of a shinobi.

[Word Count = 899]

[Claiming, provided all is good, Genin Rank, Free Genin Jutsu, Ninjutsu Specialty, and 15 Stat Points.]

Congrats, approved.