Fiat justitia, ruatcaelum

Exams and Examination

Anko lay in bed, the hammock slowly swaying in the dim moonlight. The silver crescent glowing bright in her eyes.
She rolled onto her side, surveying the small personal space within the fortress that mockingly called itself an apartment.
*The Lord Hokage has larger prison cells than this…*
One corner was filled with her armor stand, the small chest turned on end beside it held her other equipment. A chest of drawers was filled with her clothes and topped with the few personal item she owned.
Most of which consisted of a clock that had stopped ticking weeks ago, an old copy of Ichi-Ichi Paradise, second hand and gathering dust, and a small package that had been opened. The black undergarments still within the plain brown wrapping paper and a handwritten note; ‘Sorry, had to have a laugh. Thanks for being a good sport. U. Naruto.’ The note was signed with a stylized face that could have resembled a kitten or a fox.
The thought that the jinchuuriki girl had forced him to return them crossed her mind again.
Tucked into a random page, a thin slip of paper, really little more than a bookmark, peeked out of the unread copy of the dirty book.
*But as soon as it tastes my chakra, the Lady Hanuro will be able to read the hidden message…* Anko turned her back to the room, gazing out the window at the moon, *I wonder what a woman as strong as you must be will think of one as weak as I?*

An earsplitting shriek was followed closely by the crash of pans, “NO!! Get away! Sasuke! Itachi! Help me!!
Sakura was the first in the kitchen, her training sword drawn.
Ino stood on the far side of the kitchen island unarmed. Between Ino and Sakura stood a young woman wearing high heeled platform shoes, striped socks that ran up to the top of her thighs, a skirt that sometimes covered the top of the socks, and a corset. Her tall pointed hat had fallen to the floor, short ebon hair done in a bob that curled in at the jaw and eyes as black as tar pitch.
“Careful! She knows our names!” Ino jabbed a finger at the woman, her other hand groping for a kitchen knife.
“Ino! It’s me!” She pointed to her dark eyes, “Sakura, come one, how many people do you know with eyes this dark?”
Sakura noticed the belt that seemed to be a woven cord of fine chain tipped with a razor spike on each of the two ends. The skirt was stiff in the pleats, the glint of blued steel shining out from the high hem.
“What’s your favorite thing to eat, assuming you are Sasuke.” Sakura held the steel in a fist as solid.
The woman blushed bright red. “I umm… like best… Ino’s muffin…” She muttered.
“Sasuke hates sweets.” Sakura raised the blade, “Wrong answer.”
The blade raised high and left, Sakura’s left hand on the pommel as she leaned forward to strike.
“WAIT!” Ino held out one hand, stalling Sakura inches from her target.
“You get one more sentence.” Ino glared.
The girl blushed brighter, “Not that kind of muffin…”
Sakura blinked. Ino blushed.
“It’s him…” Ino muttered meekly, “That’s my Suke-kun.”
“Aww… Saved by his own pillow talk. Now that’s young love there!” Sakura turned to face another strange woman. Her strapless cocktail gown was made of cherry red sequins, a slit in one side running from the stiletto heels to the curve of her hip, the slit in the other coming to her knee. Strawberry blond hair cascaded over her shoulders to the small of her back. The only accessories were a bright red choker bearing a small blue swirl and a belt with a small hip pouch resting on the short slit side.
“Naruto?” Sakura sheathed her blade. “Now that’s nice. But how?”
The boy as a girl grinned as wide as the Cheshire cat, “Fox magic. There is no way to dispel them until I do so by choice. To everyone else, they are reality. Even to those who know better. These illusions are so real, Sasuke could bear children!”
“Interesting…” Sakura looked herself over. Her training suit would do for now, “Well, do your worst. Disguise me.”
Naruto seemed to be actively thinking, his womanly face scrunched tight and a hand on the shapely chin.
“I got it!” He put his manicured hands in front of Sakura, “Supreme Genjutsu no Kyuubi Kitsune!!”

{{A/N; For a short while, I’ll be using the disguise names;
Sakura - Ryo ‘Ero’ Maru Ai - Hinata
Naruto - Kitsune Rin - Ino
Sasuke - Suki Haku - is still Haku
Thanks. CD}}

“Suki and Kitsune from the Village Hidden in the Glade?” The receptionist watched as the two young women approached. One in a gaudy dress, you wondered how she managed stealth of any kind.
The other might have passed for a nin. If she hadn’t been showing off her panties at every turn. The skirt was simply too short to allow any sort of modesty.
“Yes?” The dark haired girl answered as she came to the desk.
*The fashions they wear these days…* “As soon as your final party member arrives, you may go upstairs for the exam.” *Damn splinter villages…* The gray haired woman shifted to the next stack of papers, passing the ones stamped with the kanji for ‘blade’ to a pile of complete forms.
The next stack down was also stamped with the blade nin mark. *Two?* A quick check to the master, *This Hanuro… Didn’t she buy off the Uchiha Compound?*
She looked up as the doors opened. “You waited for me!” A young man in leather pants and vest came through the open doors, a shock of bright pink hair seperated into two long braids.
“We had little choice, Ryo.” The ebon haired girl scowled at the boy. “You’re late!”
“Hey, don’t be so moody. I ran into our mates. Ai got lost while Haku thought that Rin was keeping tabs on her and vise versa.” The boy thumbed over his shoulder, “They’re outside getting some last minute stuff now.”
Suki crossed her arms, “So Rin came after all? I thought that Nii-san told her she couldn’t.”
“Go figure.” Ryo shrugged, “I didn’t figure Ai would come either, really.”
“Regardless.” The receptionist raised her voice, “They’ve certainly found their way. And they shall certainly find their way upstairs, if indeed their paperwork clears. Move along.”
The gaudy Kitsune stuck her tongue out, but made her way to the stairs, her teammates behind her by a few paces.
*How bad will the other cell be?* She read over the forms quickly. *Ai… the lost girl is blind? And Momoshi Haku… Momoshi… That name is familiar. And interesting she’s the only one of the girls who gave a surname…* The woman looked back at the other team’s file. “Ryo Maru…”
She was distracted by the doors opening again.
Three more applicants had entered. The first looked enough like a ninja to pass for one in most countries, though her attire seemed to lean toward mist fashion. Twenty five years past, anyway. The thick canvas vest and shorts, the straps that ran down the outside of the arms and legs, belting on with wide straps. The open sleeves and chaps lined with scrolls and weapons. Open, mobile, light. Sensible. And bracers filled with dozens of senbon.
The second almost looked like an Uchiha, the long slacks and coat, the red tunic shirt, haite-ate as a belt. Pouches sewn into the pant legs and a bandolier under the jacket, all she needed was the chest displayed with unquestionable pride.
The back of the jacket held an embroidered basket of flowers in place of the anticipated family crest. Though she did carry a large windmill shuriken on one hip, clipped to the base of the bandolier. But they made larger ones.
The last girl trailed close to her formal teammate, one hand on her shoulder. Dressed in pale colored robes that fitted close to her body with nothing trailing. Her vest was neatly organized and efficiently laid out. Though her headband was pulled down over her eyes.
All of them with hair as dark as wet coal and bound back tightly, almost in uniform.
*As sensible as the last group was wild.* “Good afternoon, ladies. How may I help you?”
The mist dressed girl came to the counter, “Thank you, Ma’am. We’re Blade nin from the Glade village and we’re looking for the hall where the written for the chunin exams is taking place. My Name is Momoshi Haku.”
The woman smiled, tapping the pages before her, “I have your file here, Ms. Momoshi. The exams are on the third floor, up those stairs.” She pointed to the stairwell. “Everything appears to be in order. Go on up. They should be nearly ready to begin.”
The Momoshi girl smiled at her, “Thank you, Ma’am. Have a pleasant afternoon.”
“You too dear.”
“Careful Ai. Stairs.” The guide helped her comrade up the walkway slowly.
“Oh, just let me use the jutsu…” Ai gently pushed her teammate away, focusing her hands into a strange sign and proceeding up the stairs with ease that belied her blindness.
*Such nice girls… I hope they do well.*

The top of the stairwell greeted them only with a corridor, doors securely closed, save one at the end, lining the length. The low murmur of many quiet conversations drifted down the hall.
Stepping into the room, only the attentive or nervous noticed the trio. Several cells of assorted nin occupied the large classroom, grouped more or less by village of origin.
A full dozen leaf nin took up most of one wall, three cells of mist nin clumped up in one corner. A group of ash nin were beside the lectern, the girl in their group perched upon it, legs hanging down.
And backed up to the windows, a lost looking trio of sand nin stood, eyes keeping vigilant watch.
“Look at this season’s freaks!” A mist nin called out. “More orphans from some no-name village!”
“What’s going on in here?” Haku stepped up beside Ryo.
“Not much.” Ryo put one arm around her shoulder, “Some drips from a watered down village making little splashy noises.”
“Well, well.” A boy with a lazy drawl sauntered over, hands wedged deeply into his pockets, “Seems some from your group can dress properly.” His gaze took in the whole of Haku’s group, “More or less.”
“Bite me, Shika.” Ryo would have recognized the half lidded gaze on anyone. The pair also could have been brothers.
Shika sighed, “I’m interested…”
“Could have fooled me.” Ryo interrupted.
“…That you know my name. Part of it, at least.” he finished.
Ryo leaned in, “We did our homework. This business, it pays to be prepared.” Ryo leaned back and moved to step around, “And alert.”
“Just watch the toes you step on, new kid.” Shika stepped back, slowly, “You clearly don’t know as much as you think you do.”
“Nara Shikamaru. Family technique employs their own shadow as a weapon, paralyzing and puppeteering their victims. The shadow is able to cross other masses of darkness, but can cross no boundary of light that spans wider than their shadow has surface area to cross.” Ryo smirked, “Strategist, he enjoys most board games and logic puzzles. Tends to be slightly lacking in some of the more physical pursuits.” He gasped theatrically, “And do you even know my name?”
Shika clicked his tongue, but didn’t reply any further.
“Very nice.” Many eyes turned, taking in the sight of a woman in anbu armor standing beside the lectern.
“Very macho.” She clapped softly, “But unless you intend to spill blood, take a seat.”
The shuffle for seats was short under her gaze. “Good. I am Sergeant Mitarashi. I will be administering this exam. Questions?”
None moved.
“Good. Lord Hitake?”
Kakashi entered the room, slamming the door behind him. His unveiled eye scanned each face.
Ryo yawned as the gaze crossed over him, ignoring the half a moment it locked.
“The room is clear, Lord Hokage.” Kakashi spoke far more loudly than was needed, his voice crushing at them from the walls that suddenly seemed far closer.
A thick flash of smoke and the shade of the Hokage appeared, lifting to reveal the pale face of the snake sannin. “Good afternoon, young nin.” His smile was as false as faded silk flowers. “And welcome to this year’s chunin exams. The best and brightest of your villages has sent you here to see how you stack up against your fellows from other banners. Leaf and Mist, most of you know what to expect from the tales of your superiors. Ash and Blade, I expect you do as well, being rogue from one or the other of the previous…” His gaze lingered on Rin and Haku. “And to Sand; May this generation be the resurrection of a village sadly lost.”
The sand nin bound in wraps that resembled an embalmed man, lifted a finger to his nose, sneezing, “Wha-wha-whatever!!”
The Hokage reinforced his painted grin. “Anyone with an aversion to mental or physical abuse should get up and leave now. And take your teammates with you.”
No one stirred.
“Very good. Very fine, indeed.” He turned to Kakashi, “Do you have anything to add?”
Kakashi stepped forward, “There has been a rumor circulating that any nin who turns in a haite-ate at the end of the exam that is not their own is to be awarded a monetary prize.” He glared over the class, “This amount seems to vary with retelling. I have overheard some rather ludicrous sums.”
He hesitated. “There is no sum being offered. However, feel free to trade, steal, ransom and bride among yourselves. But for the student who can display the largest number of headbands at the end, I have a katana that would fetch a fine price.”
The room took on a tone of silence.
“That said,” Orochimaru formed the teleportation signs, “I have matters to tend to, but know I will be watching you all. The best of luck. To those that rely upon it.”
And he burst into a cloud of smoke. Kakashi was gone in the next instant.
“Time is of the essence,” Mitarashi picked a manila envelope up off of the lectern, tearing it open, “Let’s get this damned paperwork out of the way so we can get to the practicals.”
She skimmed through the rows, handing out the sheets of paper.
Ryo could only stare at the page. Sakura within knew she could master any test any instructor could write, but she gaped now because the page was blank.
“You will have twenty minutes to finish.” Back at the lectern, she pulled a large hourglass from below and turned it over, starting the sands. She pulled a talisman from the envelope and tore it cleanly in two. The sound of paper shredding echoed across the pages as they filled with ink; queries, diagrams, and equations.
*Alright!* The voice of Sakura cheered, *How many kunai, standard size four, can be contained in a scroll, average size four?*
The question rolled over in her head as numbers flew around like terrified moths in a jar, *containment kanji…three by four…scroll’s twenty by five… eighty.*
The quick scribble of her pen faded into the whispers of thirty other pens.
*What is the effective range of a paralysis vapor tag when unleashed from an open palm maneuver?*
The frown on Ryo’s face was echoed on the inside. *Open palm could use either a burst or a spray…and it specifies vapor…so if I had to use it that way…the exhale ring could shrink down to… and then a focus ring just outside of that…*
Twelve feet two and one quarter inches; assumes standing target without significant windage.
*Next question… What the hell?* Ryo looked up at the sergeant. The woman calmly leaned against the blackboard, painting her nails. She would glance at the hourglass once in a while, cast her gaze around the room, and return to her nails.
Sakura reread the question, *A chunin rank ninja has a chakra reserve of three hundred and seventy two units and a pool of eight hundred and twelve units holding an efficiency rating of seventy three percent and no elemental affinities. How many times can said ninja perform the chidori attack in succession without rest or interfering combat mechanics before they put themselves at risk?*
*Ho-ly shit. They actually found a question I don’t have an answer for…* She moved to the next question, *You are trapped in a water prison technique being held by one chunin rank and stabilized by a jonin rank. Both are standing on the pool of water. Twenty two feet away on shore, two additional chunin rank stand at ready, the chunin on the left holds an active paralysis talisman with the intention of using it on you. You have no known allies and capture is not an option. What is your next action?*
Sakura stared, the jaw of Ryo hanging open. “I know it’s supposed to test your knowledge of how to be a shinobi and not get caught, but does this question realistically have an answer?!?*
Across the room, Kitsune giggled, scribbling on the page feverishly.
*First…* Naruto bit back the giggles, the battle to contain himself losing ground, *I use the Art of the Phoenix; Falling Star Heel Drop. Then I create two water doppelgangers, one above me as I sink into the water using the flash of steam as cover, assuming the water prison jutsu breaks from the impact, explosion of steam, or I get cooked alive, at which point, I’m not of much use any longer anyway.
The second doppelganger goes behind the dry footed chunin with the tag.
I stealth the wet foot chunin, replacing him with a third doppelganger or kill him outright failing to be sneaky and attempt to steal the freeze tag. Proceed from there.*
*This rocks! Who thought you could openly mock them, and they wanted you to do it?!*
Bright eyes ran over the next question, *A jonin, rank A taijutsu specialist, of five feet, six inches wielding a collapsing windmill type shuriken of standard plus dimensions, sized thirty six inch radius by six inch inner diameter, has an effective lethal and accurate range of how far?*
The chuckle from deep within his mind bubbled like water in a hot spring, *Oh, Kit. I have the most excellent answer for this.*
Two rows back, Ai listened to the others around her write. Curse. Weep. One was even laughing.
Though she hadn’t attempted her own test, she imagined it was quite difficult. The headband made a very effective blindfold.
Passing the time, however, proved more difficult than simply sitting and listening to the woes around her. And so she had pulled toward her what should have been scratch paper and absentmindedly doodled a weak chakra tag.
Little more than ink in a pattern on a page, the doodle was as harmless as a fly. Hinata activated her eyes as she finished the last line, smiling to herself as she watched the runes and glyphs of the tag slowly spin in their rings.
She knew from years of experience that the same tag she saw was alight with a pale blue light, though this weak, it may not even show in daylight. But if you could see them, they were simply the designs glowing, little spikes of light that swirled and danced until the tag burned away the chakra charge.
The seal was one she had learned to draw for her sister long ago. When Hanabi had still used a nightlight. Her fear of the dark. Hinata sighed as the page went dark. It had lasted little more than a few dim minutes.
But then again, wasn’t she just passing the time…
Sasuke grumbled at his test, not seeing Hinata’s art. He scribbled in what should be about a five minute timer in the indicated box. He moved on to the next set of boxes and sketched in the missing components for the rest of the exploding tag.
Next was the anatomical outline of a man. He quickly marked the points to strike major arteries and veins with the required ‘x’s and ‘o’s. Then tried to avoid bumbling the marks as he drew squares over knockout points.
“Time…” Mitarashi sounded bored, blowing on her darkly lacquered nails.
Every test page in the room went blank.
“Please place your village of origin in the top left hand corner of the paper and pass them forward. For Leaf and Mist, include your cell name.”
The brief scribble and shuffled of papers filled the room. The Sergeant sighed as she picked up each stack, sifting through them. She paused, “Who forgot to put down their village?”
Ai raised her hand, “Hard to take a written when you’re blind. Though I am willing to take the exam orally.”
A mist nin leaned over, whispering to the leaf nin beside him, both snickering.
“My ears, however,” Hinata turned, facing them directly, her brows scowling, “Work quite well.”
“Cool it.” Mitarashi called to them, “There is a time and place in which you are expected to knock each other’s teeth out. It is not here.” She laid the stack of papers down on the lectern, facing the group of genin.
“Leaf cell six and Mist cell Razorfin have failed this exam. While the picture you drew is quite interesting, a woman committing such an act and the words ‘I suck at cheating’ does not qualify as an answer to any of the questions.”
A leaf nin shot out of his seat, an accusing finger lashing out at Kitsune, “That blade nin put a jutsu on me!”
Kitsune held up a paper talisman, “Only because you were trying to cheat off me. I was just using protection.” She stuck her tongue out.
“As for the Mist cell…” The Sergeant raised her voice, “Your answers were not adequate as a group. And you all seem to lack basic knowledge. Study hard, I’ll see you next year.”
The mist trio shrugged amongst themselves.
“Haha! You guys suck!” The doodler shouted, the pointing finger sweeping around to his new targets.
A leaf nin grabbed the doodler by his hair, swept his legs and palmed his chest, throwing him heavily to the floor. “They failed as a group. You failed as an individual.” The other leaf nin glared down at his teammate, “Badly enough to get us thrown out as well. Think before you open your big mouth again.”
The two left the doodler where he lay.
Ryo stood over the nin, offering down one hand, “I had a sensei once that taught me to never leave a man behind.” The leaf nin scowled up the length of arm. “And since then, my team has seen and done many things. Together.”
The scowl softened as the words sunk in, the young man’s eyes shifting to one side. He rolled, climbing to his feet, ignoring Ryo’s hand.
“Save the camaraderie for your own, shinobi.”
The hand clenched into a tight fist, the leather glove creaking. “Hey.”
The fist rose in a tight hook as the leaf nin turned around. Knuckles met jaw with a solid thud and the nin collapsed throw three quarters of a turn.
“Oi! Leafy nin!” Kitsune leaned out the door, “Your pal with the glass jaw is out cold! You wanna come get him?”
The sergeant laughed, leaned against the lectern, “With that… touching… reminder of the importance of teamwork and co-reliance neatly displayed, it’s time we gear up for the practicals.”
The room fell into silence again.
All the conscious students taking in the devilish grin the woman before them wore.
“Some of you may know the theories and formulas for everything under the sun, and some of you didn’t have a single answer on that test right, but it is the application of what you do know that matters. If you can’t do anything with what you know, you have all the battlefield worth of a book; You might be handy if we need a paperweight, a reference, or something heavy to throw at someone.”
Her face became grim. “This is the first of precious few chances you will have to decline the remainder of this test without shame. Because the next portion holds true and deadly risk…”
“Wait,” A mist nin wearing a mask raised her hand, “This is the part where you tell us we can all die if we aren’t good enough. To get us to wimp out and go home and save you the trouble of dealing with us and the test. Right?”
“Heh. Quite to the contrary…” The imp’s grin returned to the anbu’s face, “I want you all in my forest.” Her voice lowered, “And I want all of you to come out the other side…”
None of the genin spoke, though a few milled on restless feet.
“Because…” Sergeant Mitarashi licked her lips, “That’s when the real fun begins!”


{{P.S. --> I know I don’t usually leave this down here, but can anyone actually answer question 3?
Hell, can anyone else make sense out of the answers I came up with?
Hehehe, I was just making up questions for this part, let me know if I fouled something up. Thanks. CD}}