"Transform!"
Four voices, belonging to the members of the penultimate group shouted in unison. Four large clouds of smoke erupted from each of their positions at the front of the classroom. When the smoke cleared, the students had vanished, and had been replaced with four different puppies.
Izumo made some notes on a clipboard, occasionally looking up and murmuring to himself.
"Very impressive!" he said a few minutes later. "Good consistency and coordination within your group; I'm impressed by your teamwork."
The four students dispelled the technique, causing a second eruption of smoke clouds, and returned to their seats.
"Lastly; Tenten, Kiku, Allia and Lee. Please come to the front."
Tenten got to her feet first, and made her way to the front of the classroom. Allia followed close behind, with Kiku and finally Lee bringing up the rear. They arranged themselves in a row so that Tenten and Kiku stood closest to Izumo, whilst Lee and Allia were positioned nearest the door.
The rest of the students were not expecting much. Most of them watched Tenten and Kiku expectantly; Kiku was known for her prowess in Ninjutsu, and no one was expecting much success from either Lee or Allia.
"When you're ready, you may begin." said Izumo, writing their names onto the score sheet.
Tenten glanced over at Allia, who nodded determinedly in return. All four of them made the hand signs; Dog, Boar, Tiger, and shouted, "Transform!" simultaneously.
When the smoke clouds erupted from Tenten and Kiku's end, obscuring the general vision in the classroom, Allia threw the first smoke bomb at the ground. She nudged Lee, and the two of them swapped places as quietly as possible.
When the smoke cleared, Izumo looked the group up and down, before making notes by each student's name.
"Not a bad idea, Allia, using a smoke bomb to create the illusion of a successful Transformation." Izumo chuckled at the look of complete dismay and disappointment on her face. "It was resourceful, to say the very least. What let you down was the smoke bomb itself; they make a different sound when they go off." His expression turned stern. "Where did you get smoke bombs, anyway? Academy students aren't allowed to use those."
Allia looked down at the ground sheepishly, her face growing scarlet with embarrassment. "One of my older brothers gave me one."
Izumo shook his head in exasperation. "Should've known. All of them were troublemakers when they were students here. I see they haven't changed at all."
He made further notes on his clipboard. "Whilst the smoke bomb idea was indeed imaginative, the prize goes to the most imaginative Transformation, and since only two members of your group actually achieved that, I cannot therefore offer you first prize."
Tenten and Kiku dispelled their Transformations, two more large clouds of smoke billowing into the already hazy classroom air. Tenten gave an apologetic smile, which Allia returned. As Tenten and Kiku moved back to their seats, Izumo stopped Allia and Lee.
"I'd like to see the two of you after class." He said quietly.
Allia went cold. Surely the smoke bomb thing wasn't that bad? She thought worriedly.
She turned back to glance at Lee, who was wearing a similarly fearful expression, but she also noticed a slight resigned look in his eyes. As though this wasn't the first time he'd been held back after lessons.
Allia took her seat next to Tenten, trembling slightly. Tenten gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder.
"Don't feel so bad; it's not the end of the world, right? All we've really lost is a free meal…"
"I'm so sorry, Tenten. My idea ended up letting the group down." Allia murmured ashamedly as Izumo began announcing the winners. She looked over to where Lee was sat, a few rows ahead and on the other side of the classroom by the window. He wasn't paying much attention to the results of the contest, and was instead staring out of the window.
"Now that that's over with, I'm going to set you some homework." announced Izumo to collective groans. "Just a simple worksheet, nothing too difficult. I expect it in by the end of the week, so you've got plenty of time to complete it. Please collect a sheet on your way out. Dismissed."
"Do you want me to wait outside for you, Allia?" Tenten asked loudly over the noise of the other students as they made their way out of the classroom.
"Nah, it's ok. I'll be fine. Thanks for the offer though." Allia replied, with the most confident grin she could muster.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Tenten said brightly. She walked out of the classroom, pausing to say her goodbyes to Izumo and to pick up one of the remaining worksheets, and slid the door shut behind her.
Allia packed her things away into her bag and walked tentatively towards the front to stand next to Lee, her pulse thudding in her ears, and barely able to mask her trembling hands. 'Mum and Dad'll be so angry if I've got detention or something' she thought in dread. Izumo was sorting through various stacks of paper, and did not acknowledge them immediately. After a few minutes of silence, punctuated only by the rustling of paper sheets, he finally looked up at the pair of them. He scrutinized them both before letting out a long sigh.
"Have either of you actually considered selecting a different path?"
For a moment, Allia almost forgot to breathe. Not become a ninja? Impossible! Everyone in her family was a ninja. She wasn't about to break that tradition any time soon. She glanced at Lee, who was equally thunderstruck, though Allia again noticed a look in his eyes that said he'd been asked this question many times before.
"Both of you seem to have a lot more…trouble with Ninjutsu than your fellows. And if we're brutally honest, that fact doesn't look likely to change in the near future. Perhaps you would find your time better spent pursuing a different goal-"
"But Sensei," Lee cut in. "Everyone says it is impossible to be a ninja without being able to use Ninjutsu or Genjutsu. I want to prove them all wrong, and I will not change my mind."
"I suppose I should have realised by now that you can't be swayed, can you, Lee? But you could save yourself so much time and effort if you devoted your energies elsewhere. You should find a different path."
This was too much for Lee. He put his hands over his ears and ran from the room, forgetting to pick up the homework sheet in his distress.
Forgetting her own worries for a moment, Allia looked back at Izumo and said, "Sensei, would you like me to take the worksheet to him afterwards?"
"Yes please, if you wouldn't mind." He turned to face her. "The same goes for you, you know. I know you probably feel like you have a lot to live up to, given that everyone in your family has gone on to become successful ninjas, but you shouldn't feel that you have to as well. You should be doing this because you want to."
"But Sensei, I do want to." Allia looked up to meet his eyes. "This village has been so kind to people like me by taking us in when few other villages would. I want to become the best ninja that I can, so that in the future, I will be able to fight for and defend this village."
Izumo smiled sadly back at her in the face of her determination. "As admirable as that is, you won't be able to achieve that if you can't pass the Graduation test." He looked at his watch. "I've kept you long enough. I'd be most grateful if you would pass that homework on to Lee for me. See you tomorrow morning."
"See you later, Sensei." Allia replied, taking the two remaining sheets of paper from the table closest to the door as she left.