Gotta collect 'em all [Genin Exam]

Officially ANBU were supposed to be secretive. It meant that Takeo wasn't allowed to go around and announce himself to the world as a member of Kirigakure's ANBU. This of course meant that the white haired jinchuriki wasn't officially a member of Kirigakure's shinobi forces.

Until now.

The white haired man entered the academy. Being the relative of the Mizukage offered the Tadashi family certain perks around this village. Being his twin allowed him even more leverage. It had been rather easy to get himself set up in the academy system with a quick shot at taking the exams straight away, which is why he was now waiting here for his exam to begin.

[Proctor please]

Officially Asami was not supposed to be proctoring genin exams. Officially she was fifth on the list of alternates for the position. And yet, after a series of freak sicknesses, injuries, and family emergencies, here she was, officially proctoring her first genin exam at the age of seventeen. Strange how life works, isn't it?

Sitting at the front of the classroom and behind a large desk that hid the fact that her feet did not reach the ground, Asami felt the heady rush of authority. She'd spent countless years and two genin exams on the opposite side of this same desk; the room felt different from behind the teacher's desk. Smaller, maybe? She couldn't be sure, but it was different somehow.

"Takeo Tadashi, you're up first," she chirped with her best approximation of authority. "Please come to the front of the classroom and perform the clone and transformation techniques."

Perhaps a more practiced proctor would have thrown some vareity into their tests, but Asami elected to stick to the book. She couldn't very well go around messing up on her first big assignment. She'd messed up enough in her career already anyway.

[You know the drill, 800 words doing as Asami asks and you pass. Don't do as she asks? Well, you fail, good luck!]

For the third time in his life Takeo found himself taking a Genin exam. For most that would be a sign to give up on your dream of being a shinobi. Perhaps retire and become a baker, or something more along those lines. The circumstances for Takeo were completely different of course. The idea of retiring had come to his mind several times, most prominently in the last year. There was something holding him back from giving in though. A boring life didn't suit him. He'd tried it and it hadn't worked out. No, it was most likely he would continue onward until his body gave up on him for good this time. This was why he was here in the academy once more. To add another headband to his belt by completing this exam.

The young man had a vague recollection of his first exam. Takeo remembered going through the motions that had been burned into his brain. What he did not remember at all was how he felt during that time. Had he been nervous? The idea now was foreign to him. Since that day he had gone on to perform and create jutsu that eclipsed that which many shinobi simply dream of.

Takeo dropped out from his daydreaming when his name was uttered. His chakra had been suppressed initially while he waited. Just something he did in order to avoid any unnecessary attention for now. Takeo dropped it when he moved from where he had been seated. The white haired man walked across the room toward the front of the class. Perhaps the most unique looking person to have walked the path to do a Kirigakure Genin exam as of yet. The first thing one should notice would be his white hair. A genetic trait of all Tadashis, sans certain individuals, Takeo had recently had it cut to a more manageable length. That indeed should be the first thing one would notice. However it isn't. The first thing someone would notice would be his eyes. One milky white and the other coal black.

The Tenkage turned wanderer turned Hoshigakure genin turned wanderer turned undercover ANBU operative stopped at the front of the room. He hadn't bother to memorise any of the faces in the room at the time. Takeo doubted he would meet any of them again. It was at that point a chakra level was brought to his attention. Takeo's gaze turned to the proctor. If there were ever a template for the average Kirigakure shinobi, this girl certainly was not that. Still, they seemed relatively strong. The question was why they were stuck proctoring a Genin exam. Oh well, perhaps he would remember the face should they ever meet again.

"You know the last time I did this I was in a wheelchair." Takeo recalled to himself. How do they go again? He wondered to himself. He had only performed the techniques thrice before. One for practice, the other two during his exams. Hand seals had never been his style anyway to be fair. The man brought his hands up in front of him. There was a slight hesitation, a frown appearing on his face for the briefest of moments. Ram, tiger, snake? The man questioned.

You're a joke.

You need to lighten up my friend. Takeo replied. Any response that came was blocked out mentally by Takeo as he concentrated on the task at end. His hands moved slowly, the movements rather unfamiliar to him. He made a note to practice going through the hand seals some time in the future, just in case he ever needed them. The first handseal, that of the ram, was completed before Takeo quickly made his way through the remaining two. Snake and tiger was the order he had decided on. Since there had been any more complaining by his companion he assumed it to be the correct combination.

That was soon proven to be correct when two mirror images of himself appeared either side of him. Takeo raised his right hand, observing as the two copied the movement. "Never saw the point of this if I'm honest." He muttered, dropping his hand back to the previous position.

Next was the slightly more useful of the two, not that Takeo had ever used it either. The transformation technique was one he was not exactly a fan of either. It was used more for someone who needed to hide. Takeo was clearly not the type to do that. He did however remember the hand seals for this one. He quickly went through the three of them, dog, boar, ram. His appearance shifted into that of the proctor as per the unofficial written rule of the genin exam. This quickly ended after a moment or so. Takeo didn't wish to linger around too long.

[808]

The weight of a chakra signature unlike any the chuunin had ever felt before fell on Asami as Takeo rose. Wincing unconsciously, she leaned back in her over-sized seat trying her best to keep her breathing normal. Unable to pinpoint the location of the chakra exactly, it felt as if it were everywhere at once making each breath a minor feat. Indeed, the appearance of this new weight did not bode well for her concentration during the exam.

That said, the first thing the young girl noted about the first genin hopeful was how old he looked. Oh boy, not another Nero, she thought to herself. While she had nothing against older genin—or academy students for that matter—she did wonder how exactly an older person faired in the academy. Luckily, she did not have to wonder for long because the man put on a lackadaisical clinic. In fact, if the chuunin didn't know any better, she would have thought that the man had done all this before, but that was impossible.

"Great job!" Accenting her words with a single clap, Asami nearly jumped out of her seat both out of genuine enthusiasm for the man's accomplishment and in a vain attempt to shake the weight of the chakra signature from her body. "Congratulations on passing your genin exam, you will be able to pick up your headband from the administration building in a weeks time."

The chuunin settled back into her seat.

Glancing at the sheet of names in front of her a weight heavier than the foreign chakra signature fell onto her shoulders, responsibility. There were still thirty odd names on the list—she still had a long way to go.

Takeo flinched when the girl responded. Was she going to be like that for all the people? The man wondered to himself. Takeo had never been good at dealing with people so..enthusiastic. He tried to make a habit of not interacting with those type of people often. The last one had been that infuriating woman in Hoshigakure. Still, Takeo naturally felt the need to respond. It would be rude to just walk out after all, would set a bad example for the kids.

"Thanks?" He replied lamely. Takeo had to remind himself that for actual academy students performing these was an actual achievement. It had been years since he had first started, chakra control on that level was on the level of breathing to him now. "That went smoother than expected to be honest. Good luck to the rest of you kids." Takeo gave them a two finger salute, identical to the one you would see in most anime poses, before exiting the room and soon after the building.

Another headband to his collection.

[Exit]

Claiming Kirigakure Genin as official IC rank.

Strange.

The immense chakra signature wanned into nothingness as Takeo left. Of course, Asami was in no position to pursue the man further. So, for the time being, the event would remain a mystery along with the mystery of how some of these genin hopefuls could be so bad at these basic jutsu.

Oh well, it could be worse.


[Exit, 535 words towards creating a Cosmic Sibling.]

Approved Takeo and Asami <3