Recent Posts

Though it had been years now since her own test, Suzuka found herself brimming with nervous energy whenever she attended these exams. She couldn’t quite tell what it was. It could be excitement at the prospect of witnessing young shinobi as they proved themselves and grew stronger in the process. It could be the strategy element, piquing her interest as a tactician. It could be the trauma she’d faced around her own exams, which happened very near to the death of her mother. Regardless of what it was, regardless of the discomfort, it did make her feel alive. Every day lately had bled into the next; sleep and awake seemed more and more alike. For all the effort she’d been putting into living, she sometimes got tired, bogged down by memory and the weight of forgetting.

But the stands were alive with energy and bustle, and there was sure to be a great showing here today. While the pool was relatively smaller than she would have expected, Suzuka was sure things would be entertaining. Hopefully, though, they wouldn’t be too entertaining. While peace had found the villages temporarily, she knew the ninja world had a way of chasing it back away. Suzuka had seen the destruction that came with war, and while there was a ceasefire for the exams, more treacherous things had happened. Suzuka herself was fully prepared to protect her village—hopefully, though, she wouldn’t have to.

She had arrived early to get a seat near the front. She had an excellent view down into the tournament, the high walls surrounding the arena making the spectacle feel even grander. Of course, that was for everyone’s protection more than anything—even though these were genin, these battles could get intense. Where she was sitting, she’d have to keep her wits about her. Generally, civilians didn’t take these seats, for their own safety—at least as far as Suzuka knew. Of those dressed casually, some were ninja trying to relax, but some had to be ANBU or guard plants. Suzuka sighed, returning her eyes to the arena. She was stuck in her own mind too much lately—that was the problem. She exhaled, willing herself to think less, and watched in anticipation as the first round of the tournament began.

Ah, so, he’s, uh… practical, if nothing else. Suzuka didn’t know exactly how to feel about the boy responding not only by assuming they’d died, but… well, clearly not giving a damn to boot. She wondered if it was truly because of his OCD that he hadn’t been promoted. Despite the small knot in her stomach, she didn’t really say anything in response, opening her mouth for just a moment, brow furrowed. She wasn’t really sure what to say to that. She was torn between feeling responsible due to knowing better and the awkward feeling one sometimes feels when two dead bodies suddenly tiptoe their way into a conversation like a couple sneaky little zombies. Okay, so maybe teaching Genin wouldn’t be her strong point.

Suzuka couldn’t help snorting, however, at Korenth’s comment about the two, genuinely amused. “I think they’ll regret it later on.” Taking it at face value, Suzuka wondered if Korenth was one of those poor kids whose moms told them that if they had sex, pregnancy and death would follow. Or maybe that someone’s uterus would explode and the pieces would attack your face like a parasite. She’d heard some wiiiild shit growing up. Either way, the comment startled her somewhat and she struggled for a split second to hold back laughter, not realizing that he’d probably meant it to be funny for his own reasons. Of course, having totally not been paying close attention to him, she hadn’t noticed the bugs slipping down from him and following the happy couple into the village.

“Sounds good. Shall we start at about the midpoint of their route, check out that area, and decide where to move next from there? If we’re thorough, we should be able to cover part of their route and ours, or both if we need to, though I doubt we’ll need to.” Its purpose wasn’t really to be a question—she’d decided that that was what they would do and didn’t see why anyone would disagree. “In that case, we’ll be starting southeast of our normal route.” Suzuka started walking as well, assuming he knew the previous route anyway. It was one of those things you could ignore if you didn’t give a damn, but they gave you that information, so why not use it? She was maybe being an overachiever, sure—but that was what got the bills paid. Well, that wasn’t really true at all, but it was what she told herself.

As Suzuka walked away from the gate, her attention was snapped backward—she could swear she heard screams. Seeing nothing outside the gate, though, she concluded that it was inside the village. Ah, well. Gate patrol or somebody else got that. She turned back, running her fingers through her bright mane. This shift had already been pretty eventful for her taste, all of about ten minutes in. Then again, it certainly wasn’t boring, which was more than one could really ask of a patrol shift. A small sigh escaped her lips, and she increased her pace, assuming Korenth would do the same. The ground was more uniform here—hopefully, he’d be able to pick things up. She really didn’t feel like having to fan out around his location to cover all the ground—especially when there was nothing for him to detail, really. At the pace she was setting, though, they’d reach the other patrol’s midway point within minutes.