Finishing his morning worship, Akihito returned to his bath for an expedient cold shower before donning his official black and red robes, the frigid waters revitalizing his senses through their icy embrace. As he finished clothing himself and descended the stairs, the elder councilman refrained from taking his breakfast. He would not touch food or drink until his evaluation of the jinchuuriki's Chuunin Exam was complete. He was not blind to the putrid darkness that was sealed inside the young girl Sakaki, a once potentially pure vessel of Yuumagure's compassion and might forever tainted by the most vile and evil of darknesses, one whose necessity for protecting their beautiful village was the only reason its continued existence was allowed. Akihito began his walk to the Training Grounds below the village well in advance of the exam, taking the time to softly utter prayers and mantras in an undertone as he steeled himself for the inevitable meeting with the same dark spirit that had stolen away their beloved Kazekage and had corrupted other faithful shinobi in the past, fine young men and women whom had offered themselves in service to their village... and had paid the same ultimate price at the hands of the foul demon that exacted it. Those who saw Akihito on the street knew not to disturb him in his present state of mind, the intensity of his facial features making said thoughts and emotions unmistakably clear.
In your grace, oh holy light, I pray one day you will shine on the path that will free us from this insult to your majesty once and for all, the councilman prayed as he entered the tunnels leading toward the Training Grounds. And until you deem our faith worthy of such release, please give me the strength to continue standing against the darkness. Praise be to the ancestors. Praise be to the sun!
"Honey! Where is my flak vest?!"
"What?"
"WHERE. IS. MY. FLAK VEST?!"
"I, uh, hung it up to dry!"
"Where?!"
"WHY do you need to know?!"
"I need it!"
"Uh-uh! Don't you think about wearing that ragged flak vest again. You haven't had it properly washed in two months!"
"I NEED it for village duties, love!"
"I NEED to protect my sense of smell!"
"YOU TELL ME WHERE MY VEST IS, WOMAN! WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE GREATER GOOD!"
"Greater good?! I am your wife! I am the greatest good you are ever gonna get! Wear your spare one, you lazy bum!"
Manza grit his teeth as he jumped from roof to roof, partially in order to chew on the onigiri in his mouth and partially in order to find some semblance of comfort in his spare flak vest, which was just a tiny bit too small and didn't have that same "broken-in" feel that his normal vest had. His wonderful, loving *coughHAGcough* wife was right, of course. He'd gotten so used to the musk that had settled in on the fabric of his normal vest and the way the aged garment had flexed and stretched to fit him just right that he hadn't bothered to tend to it properly. There were times where her stubbornness and willful nature threatened to inflict him with momentary madness, but what could he do? It was that same nature that made him fall in love with her in the first place! Unlike Akihito, Manza had possibly almost completely forgotten about this Chuunin Exam he'd been asked to proctor with his fellow councilman. It was by no means because he was disorderly or incapable. Perish the thought! Rather, it'd been so long since a second councilmember was needed to proctor an exam due to the lack of jinchuuriki that had made it that far that he didn't realize it was his turn on the rotation. Thus, the normally confident, composed councilman was blitzing across the village to make sure he made it on time.
He grinned to himself as he thought about Akihito standing there in his red and black robes. The old man's concerns were warranted, of course. The Soul Genma had proven to be a much more volatile sword for the village to wield than the Creation Genma, a sword which often proved how double-edged it was. Still, he found it difficult to separate the Genma from its host, and considering the host was presently a literal child warrior, making sure she knew she had the village's backing was of the utmost import. He would serve as a crucial practical balance point to the revered Akihito's undying zealotry.
The Training Grounds were massive, so much so that it was unlikely that the two genin that would square off today would ever approach the borders of the space for the entirety of their fight. Despite how massive it was, however, it seemed that to test the village's nascent jinchuuriki's current skills, the proctors had spared no effort. All over the battlefield, there were large stone pillars of varying sizes but no fewer than three meters in diameter that dotted the entire battlefield, with a fifty-meter clearing in the center of the training ground that would serve as the genins' starting point. Through the middle of the clearing, splitting it evenly in two, ran a fast-flowing river. Using powerful Suiton techniques, the shinobi charged with manufacturing this testing area had forced underground aquifers to burst forth and form four winding streams, flowing from the west corners of the battlefield through the middle and branching out to the east corners of the battlefield. These would provide breaks in terrain and further diversified the arena. All in all, the prepared space covered an almost 300-meter diameter space.
Akihito huffed as he noted Manza entering the viewing balcony on the opposite side of the Training Grounds. It was important that the two proctors remain separate, so that they were not restricted to judging based on one solitary point of view, both physically and philosophically. Both were seated and awaited the arrival of the two genin.
Kaen would arrive first.
- Ninjutsu: 10
- Taijutsu: 20
- Genjutsu:1
- Stamina: 10
- Control: 15
- Strength: 20
- Speed: 16
- Instinct: 15
...was that he was really feelin' it!
(OOC: Not sorry in the slightest. :3)