Chapter 1:

Ninja's Tests

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"Ah!"

~The young ninja-in-training Ren suddenly awakes from his sleep, in a sweat. He looks about himself for a few moments to get his bearings, and then seems to calm down.~

"Must have just been a dream….but it seemed so real! I actually thought he was going to cut my head off……I suppose I'm just tense because our final tests start in the morning….I wonder if Naoko is nervous?"

~The boy tosses and turns for a few minutes, then drifts back into sleep. A few hours later, training begins. Ren wakes up as dawn breaks, dresses in his ninja attire, and reports to the Training Grounds. While on his way, he meets up with Naoko. She is also dressed in her black ninja attire. Her mask has a hole in the back which lets her long black ponytail hang out its full length, down to her mid-back~

"Hey Ren! You ready for our last tests? I know I am!"

~Ren looks at her in a sideways look as they walk~

"She seems….cheery today….but what am I saying? She's like that all the time!"

~Ren responds in a friendly tone as they near the gates to the Grounds and pull their masks over their faces~

"I'm ready."

~Naoko smiles as she pulls her mask up over her mouth and nose~

"I think he'll make a great ninja….on the same level as Rikimaru, even! But, could I ever be as good as Ayame…?"

~Ren smirks and waves a hand as he turns and walks toward the Throwing Weapons Area. Naoko heads toward the Ninja Acrobatics Area. Ren is greeted by Rikimaru. Rikimaru hands Ren shurikens, caltrops and smoke bombs~

"First, I want you to throw the shurikens at the targets ahead, both still and moving."

~Ren smirks as he takes aim at a man running at a distance with padding and a target strapped to him. He tosses the shurikens in rapid succession, never taking his eyes off the targets, with deadly accuracy each time. Rikimaru then directs Ren to a series of small roofless corridors~

"Now, run down this corridor without making the floorboards creak, while dropping the caltrops behind you. Then, drop the smoke bombs to hide yourself as you exit at the other side."

~Ren readies the caltrops in his hand as he takes off down the corridor, running lightly so as not to make any floorboards creak. He disperses the caltrops across the floor as he runs, littering the floor with small spikes sharp enough to punch through armor. When he nears the end of the corridor, Ren slams the smoke bombs down, completely obscuring him from vision as he escapes out. After this session, Ren looks over to where Ayame is completing her training with Ayame, high on a series of rooftops~

"Naoko, all you have to do is jump across these rooftops which vary in height, getting from this end to the other."

~Naoko looks down at the ground far below her, then looks at the buildings ahead. Without warning, she dashes forward, leaping with ease across each rooftop, while keeping her balance on the narrow ledges. She flips across the last few roofs and does a stylish dismount as Ayame folds her arms~

"You don't need to show off….Now come with me to the Swimming Area. Here, I want you to enter the water without much noise, treading water to the halfway point. Dive under from there, using the Breathing Reed to rest if you need to. However, I do not want to see your head above the water until you reach the other bank."

~Naoko steps into the water, carefully to avoid making excess splashing sounds. She treads water across to the halfway point, then dives to the bottom of the pool, swimming for a short time at the bottom. When she needs air, she lets her body slowly rise closer to the surface as she pulls out the Breathing Reed. She stops for a breath among some natural reeds, then swims to the other bank, exiting the water as quietly as she entered it. Ayame smiles~

"Good, very good. Now head over to where Rikimaru and Ren are, its your turn to do those exercises."

~Naoko bows as she goes to the Throwing Weapons Area, and Ren goes to the Ninja Acrobatics Area. They both complete the separate exercises, and then are lead to a dense bamboo forest. Rikimaru speaks~

"Now, you must complete your actual Stealth Training. There will be obstacles within the forest, but your goal is to reach the entrance to the Temple at the end. You will be using wooden versions of all your normal weapons. You may travel separately, or together if you choose.  Now go. You have until an hour, though I doubt it will take you that long to make it."

~Ayame waves as Ren and Naoko step into the forest~

"Good luck, you two!"

~Once inside the forest, both Naoko and Ren move as expert ninjas, advancing in silence while always seeking cover. However, they have put some distance between them, so as not to get in each other's way. Naoko jumps to the high branches as Ren stays low to the ground, using the terrain as cover. As Ren creeps over a small hill, he spots a guard, standing near a bamboo tree. Ren unsheathes his wooden katana as he steps forward, slitting the sword across the side of the guard's neck and chest, a maneuver which would have quickly killed the guard, had Ren been wielding his katana Lighthawk instead of the wooden sword. However, the guard plays along, and falls as if though he had actually been cut. Ren steps over him as he searches for the next guard~

~High in the trees, Naoko spots a guard who seems to be walking in a straight line in her direction. She pulls her wooden daggers, and drops from the tree, landing mere inches from the guard. He gets a look of surprise and looks like he's about to call for help, but Naoko quickly touches both daggers to his chest, signifying a stabbing motion. The guard sees this and only lets out a small yelp as he collapses as the previous guard had done. Suddenly, she hears the sound of two more guards approaching, so she drags the "lifeless" guard's body, placing it in some bushes. As she puts the bushes over him, she whispers:~

"Don't you dare tell them which way I went!"

~The guard nods as she suddenly jumps back into the high branches, waiting for the other guards to approach. One guard starts to search around in the bushes as the other stands still, listening intently for any sounds that might give away Naoko's position. The guard who was going through the bushes seemed to find the guard Naoko had dispatched. As his attention is diverted, Naoko leaps from her perch, swinging a dagger out across the guard's exposed back. Before he can call his friend, Naoko kicks him into the bushes, then runs up behind the other guard, reaching her arm around and slitting her dagger across the front of his neck. Naoko then dumps him into the bushes as she advances around the next corner with a smirk~

"Ha! This is WAY too easy! I hope real missions won't be this boring!"

~As Ren moves along the ground, he can sense that someone is aware of his presence, so he immediately crouches as low as he can, searching frantically for the alerted guard. He breathes a small sigh of relief as he sees the guard looking in almost every direction as frantically as Ren was looking for him. The guard was partially hidden by some dense bamboo trees, so Ren sneaks around the trees while the guard looks away. When close enough, Ren kicks him in the side, making him stumble into the tree, then swings his sword at his chest, making the guard collapse. Looking up after dropping the guard, Ren sees the temple, and dashes forward, reaching the entrance safely. Naoko sees him sprint ahead and follows after making sure that the coast was clear. Naoko smiles~   

"Well….we made it! Hey…what's that?"

~Ren looks and sees a small statue near the entrance with a scroll attached. He picks up the statue, reads the scroll, then turns to head back into the forest~

"Well, what is it!?"

"A note telling us to bring back this statue to prove we made it. Now let's go, time is running out. I think we took out all the guards, so we shouldn't have any problems."

~Upon their return with the statue, they are congratulated as the newest Azuma Ninjas. A few days later, they receive their first mission……~