[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

Ouritsu could have very well been wrong about his theory of needing to move in a serpentine nature to find his way out of the maze, and it wouldn't have been a stretch to say he was grasping at straws. The boy enjoyed a good challenge, something to get the ole brain running, but the stone walls that all looked alike were starting to annoy him. Turn after turn he'd take, the maze offering only single directions to turn. Either he had figured out the pattern or disappointment was on the horizon.

With one last turn a grand sight would come into view: a room! Had the genin finally found the exit? His pace quickened as the entrance to the room neared, eventually leading Ouritsu into... not quite what he was expecting. There was a strangely dressed woman and a pool of water between them. This didn't really look like an exit. The woman would begin to speak, letting him know that he had indeed made it to the end of the maze... almost. The young Nohime's eyes would shift to the water, there was one last obstacle he had to overcome. While he was more than ready to get out of the maze something just didn't seem right. Moving closer to the pool would reveal glowing stones, so at least he'd be able to see, but there was no telling how deep the tunnel went and if he'd be able to hold his breath that long.

Ouritsu would glance back up at the woman. The flak jacket and headband she wore pegged her as a shinobi of the "village" they were currently in, but the formal dress underneath was really odd; not to mention the katana she sitting off her hip. Well, he didn't really have a reason to not jump in the water, but what if this was a trap? He hadn't really encountered anything of note in his venture so far, and while Ouritsu wouldn't complain about things going well... things were going too well. Thinking back to the rule card, there was a line about being able to take out living obstacles, which the woman standing before him definitely was. Her being armed to the teeth also seemed a red flag. If she was only here to tell people about the next part of the exam why did she need a sword?

"Something's not going to shut on top of me as soon as I jump in, is it?" He'd inquire to the woman. The genin was stalling, hoping to find an alternative, yet looking around the room didn't provide much much in the way of help. Perhaps if he could get the woman talking she would divulge some information.

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze The woman seemed to be in quite a good disposition. She couldn't of been happier to be in this room of hers. Whether it was a pride to be the next step in the maze or a facade to guise evil intentions were unclear. Further investigation would make it quite clear earlier observations weren't incorrect. Her sword was definitely not a decoration, her backside even had an equipment pouch. As though she'd be more than ready to use more than a sword, but also the room would appear to provide only one exit. At least one new exit which would be the water? It wasn't a clear exit though, as the supposed tunnel down deep in the pool wasn't really clear. Questioning the woman wouldn't come at any punishment, at least there'd not seem to be a repercussion. She didn't take advantage of the boys placement or hesitation. She'd instead keep her calm demeanor and actually reply as though just another person in the maze. "I don't see anything to seal the pool, I also wasn't told of any such trap. Don't worry, I wouldn't lie to you." She'd state with a perky attitude, as she'd even give a nice little polite bow. Maybe a reminder of the boys cousin, but even that girl could be disingenuous and still carry a smile. If there weren't further questions, but was further hesitation the woman would add. "Go on. Time is of the essence after all." She'd gesture for the boy to go into the pool again. There'd still be no force applied, but there definitely wasn't any clear signs to trust this person either. The glow of the water did make it pretty alluring.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

A less than amused look would cross Ouritsu's face as the woman's response was as cheery as it was unhelpful. He should have known that simply asking if there were any traps wasn't going to make her divulge information, but it was worth a shot, right? The boy sighed as he focused once more on the pool of water. It was looking to be his only path at this point, dangerous as it could have been. Further goading from the woman to hurry up and enter the water made him a bit suspicious, but everyone knew that this was a race after all so she could have been just been trying to help him along.

Like, it was so obviously a bad idea to do this but there weren't any other options! The woman probably had a list of excuses longer than her katana for any other questions he had, and since she looked to be a shinobi --an oddly dressed one-- trying force out any useful information probably wouldn't end too well. Meh, if this was where things ended then so be it, but Ouritsu wouldn't be a slave to indecision. "I hope there's a towel on the other side." The boy mused to himself as he walked to the edge of the water, sitting on the edge before slowly lowering himself into the chilly liquid. With a deep breath the boy would begin his descent in search of the fabled combination that would get him out of the maze, all the while trying to be wary of what was going on above him --at least on the surface--.

He didn't trust this situation at all and was only going to give himself a bit to explore before returning topside, best not to wait until he was out of breath to try and make an air run.

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze Chilly would be an understatement, as the water felt but a few degrees from freezing. It wouldn't be pleasant and it'd definitely be impossible to 'get used to it', but it was maybe a test of physical endurance. One needed to be able to withstand extreme conditions to be a great shinobi, as a shinobi it'd not end his life either. It'd certainly sink some level of regret into entering these exams, but their was an exit below him! Diving down the glowing gems would only be about a meter apart from each other. The first combination number would be 25, then the second would be 48 and the final number would be 6. Going deeper down about two meters, Ouritsu would be at the tunnel part of the water pool. There'd be a metal grid in the tunnel blocking the path. This block though didn't have a door to it and also there was no sign of a combination lock to unlock. The tunnel was lit, but seemed to go on and merely be blocked again and again. Ouritsu wasn't planning to stay under long or go to deep, he'd be lucky the tunnel wasn't too deep down. So he'd not be in the water too much longer, but unless he felt a quick survey of the bottom wasn't proof. Then from his brief visit to the bottom there'd be no clear exit there down under. Reaching the top of the pool again the woman would be gone, as to leave Ouritsu to his frustration. SPOILER: Click to show You're now physically suffering from the cold water. Expect to be playing out a runny nose and shivers until noted otherwise.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

The boy was lucky not to lose his breath as soon as his head dipped under the frigid water, this stuff was cold! Since there was no sun or other heating elements it made sense that the water wouldn't be hot spring temperature, but this was a bit much, no? Granted, Ouritsu wouldn't always be in a situation where the elements would be to his liking and he needed to be able to adapt and endure. While still wary of something going awry above him the boy was looking out for the supposed numbers that went to a combination that would get him out of the maze. Numbers would eventually begin to appear as the boy traveled deeper: 25, 48, 6. So the woman hadn't been lying!

With all the numbers memorized the young shinobi would reach the steel gate that was blocking his escape and looked around for some place to enter the numbers, but there was nothing! Left, right, up and down Ouritsu would search for an answer, but he saw nothing and the cold water was starting to make his fingers go numb. Staying down too much longer would begin to cause problems and he also needed to come up for air, so with gritted teeth the boy would swim back to the surface. "Hey, where am I supposed to put these num--" The boy began to speak before stopping short once he realized that the woman was longer in the room. "Of course..." Ouritsu muttered as he lifted himself out of the pool.

Now the boy was once again alone in a room with little to no direction and sopping wet clothes. "Achoo!"... and a runny nose. He'd try his best to ring what water he could from his clothes while thinking of possible solutions. There were only two, and neither seemed all that useful, but it was better than nothing. "Guess I should see if she left something behind..." Ouritsu spoke to himself as he began to walk about the octagon shaped room, checking the walls and floors for anything of use. If he couldn't do anything with the numbers down there then perhaps there'd be use for them topside.

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze Escaping the water the cool air of the maze would feel that much colder. The room would be empty as the woman had left, but the boy wanted to believe his venture wasn't for not. Instead of leaving he'd give the room a thorough once over, as to prove the maze had yet to get the best of him. Though other than realizing the warmth of fire was really nice now, there'd be absolutely nothing other than stone walls, floor and wood torches a blaze. Unless Ouritsu wanted to brave the water again and maybe try to break the metal bars, to a tunnel which might not even have an end. The only option remaining seemed to be back to the maze. Which if he took he'd snake back to the place he'd made his last decision, he might of forgotten where he came from due to the cold and time passed. So would the stone shinobi go left or straight this time around? Or maybe he'd of made camp in the pool room. At least there he had a source of who knows how healthy water. SPOILER: Click to show You're now physically suffering from the cold water. Expect to be playing out a runny nose and shivers until noted otherwise.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

Walking around the room would reveal nothing of interest meaning Ouritsu was truly left to his own devices once again. He would linger next to one of the torches dwelling in its heat to try and warm himself up while thinking of his next move. He had found the numbers but no place to input the combination, and the path was blocked by a set of steel bars that didn't look like they were going to budge. Even if he could find a way to destroy them there was no telling how far that tunnel led and if there was even an exit. Running out of breath was a problem but the chilling temperature might have done him in as well.

Shifting his focus back to the entrance, there was always the option to venture back into the maze and try his hand at a different route, but doubling back would cost valuable time that Ouritsu didn't really have to spare. It'd make sense to have one final troublesome push before finding the exit to the maze, but even for a test the tunnel seemed a bit extreme. As much as he disliked it, the boy would have to swallow his pride and realize that he had made a mistake by taking this path, and if he wanted to truly find the exit he'd have to once again venture into the maze.

Thankfully the path that led him to this room was full of single turns and would be pretty simple to retrace, and as such that was what he would do, exiting the room and heading back into the maze. When returning to the original split the young Iwa shinobi would then take the opposite path which would hopefully get him closer to the true exit. There was no telling how much time he wasted in that room, and he had nothing to show for it except for some random numbers and wet clothes.

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze Steering further into the maze Ouritsu would choose to not back path. He'd instead venture forward, clinging to a walls the torches would provide warmth. There'd certainly be a feeling a regret within each shiver, that or maybe a panic to dive deeper. It would be the longest straight away in the maze, but it'd instead of coming to a stop. Emerge one torch, as there'd be suddenly the choice to go right or to keep going straight. As usual there didn't seem to lay any hints, the only clues were ones past given. At this point it was clear the Nohime, was either supposed to have gathered something or produced a method to best navigate the maze. There certainly were methods to clear mazes quicker right? That or a sick game of luck was the real test of the exam. SPOILER: Click to show You're now physically suffering from the cold water. Expect to be playing out a runny nose and shivers until noted otherwise.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

The current path Ouritsu was on seemed to drag on forever, but with each chilly step he was fortunate to not still be swimming around in the near freezing pool of water. He wondered if that could have really been the exit to the maze and it seemed just challenging enough to make it one last obstacle that he would need to overcome. The boy trusted his skills in Jinton enough to be able to destroy the steel bars but had never done so while trying to hold his breath submerged in bone chilling water before. But he had made his choice to circle back into the maze and try a different path; besides jumping back in that water wasn't something the boy was too keen on doing.

After what seemed an eternity a split in the road would finally emerge. It was a near mirror of his last choice: continue straight or turn right. Going right last time had landed him with a set of random numbers, wet clothes, and a chill that wasn't going away. Surely continuing forward wouldn't land him in one of the exits as that'd be too easy, but the young Iwa shinobi really didn't want to have to double back a second time. Ouritsu was beginning to believe that he had missed something important back at the beginning room. Maybe he should have paid a little more attention to the gaming table and the grid that lay on top of it, or maybe the symbols that were carved onto the walls. Meh, there was little time for regrets now. He'd continue straight for the time being and see where that led him. It wouldn't take much effort to back track should the need arise though that would surely cost him valuable time.

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze Proceeding straight instead of right, the boy wouldn't go far. He'd travel all of two tile before finding an immediate right. There was no alternative, so following this route, he'd only travel another six tiles, before finding an immediate left turn. So far he'd been faced with a straight path followed by decisions, until a very specific split popped up. The one turn that ended up in cold water was the only turn with twists. Searching for anything without clues, this thought might occur to Ouritsu, but testing it out would require following the path ahead. It'd move another four tiles over, before there'd be a forced left turn. Once again a snaking pattern would start to follow, but it was much longer than the last. So again there could be hesitation from the Nohime. That or the need for answers, there was something at the end of these ways. Even the wrong turns seemed to provide some information. However with that last room being full of lies, it was quite hard to take the rest of this exam seriously. SPOILER: Click to show You're now physically suffering from the cold water. Expect to be playing out a runny nose and shivers until noted otherwise.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

The next few minutes would move by quickly for the boy. After his decision to choose the right path Ouritsu would almost immediately be met with a left turn followed by yet another left turn. The throes of paranoia were beginning to creep up on him, and if he come across just one more left turn the boy would have feared that he was going to end up circling back on himself which admittedly was his one concern from the moment he stepped foot into the maze; so of course a third left would rear its ugly head.

The young Iwa shinobi was now mostly sure that he had missed some kind of important information at some point. He was essentially guessing which direction to take at this point, and having found a room only to have it be little more than a ruse had hit his pride a bit. The gaming table definitely had something to do with this maze and he should have spent more time trying to figure it out, but since there was so little to work with and considering this was a race after all Ouritsu couldn't have been bothered to put extra time and energy into it. That way of thinking wouldn't get him far in the shinobi world. Problems often didn't have clear cut solutions laid out in plain view, and there would be times when the boy would have to buckle down and really get his brain cells rubbing together to figure things out; but hindsight was usually 20/20 and it wasn't until the young Nohime was essentially lost in the middle of a maze that he took time to consider previous options.

Alas, the boy was not one to quit when the going got tough, he liked the challenge. Granted, this scenario wasn't his usual cup of tea but variety was the spice of life as they say. A sly grin would creep across Ouritsu's face as he continued onward. He was going to get out of this maze one way or the other. Thankfully a right turn would appear as a saving grace of sorts, if but to temporarily quell the boys nerves. He had taken the "snake" part of the maze to heart and it seemed that the maze did, too, with him having to switch directions in rapid succession. Ouritsu didn't know how big of a place this was but he had covered a good bit of ground so he had to be getting close to something... anything...

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze Proceeding forward there'd be two tiles, then a second right turn. This turn left would be followed by two tiles and a turn left, then two tiles and a turn left. Two more tiles and a turn right, then two more tiles and another turn right. Followed by two tiles before a left turn followed by two more with another left. Then two more and a right turn, once again followed by two more tiles before that second right. Finally things would change up and there'd be a left turn after two, but it'd proceed four tiles before another left, then two tiles before a third left. Two more tiles up and there'd be a right turn. Traveling two tiles in there'd be an almost split in the room, but the right path was barely illuminated enough to know it was a dead end. The other direction... It'd stir with a strange sound; a snort followed by a squeal, then the sound of hooves of a heavy animal charging the stone shinobi. SPOILER: Click to show You're now physically suffering from the cold water. Expect to be playing out a runny nose and shivers until noted otherwise.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

The next few minutes would be a blur. Turns left and right in quick succession that allowed little time for thinking, just doing. He had perhaps banked too heavily on wanting to follow a snake pattern and was now in the belly of the beast for all intents and purposes. But all progress was good progress, right? Ouritsu hoped that was the case and considering his current situation he had to be nearing something of value, though without any kind of information to go on there was literally no telling just how well the young shinobi was doing.

Finally a split in the path would appear, and while it meant a decision would have to be made it also meant that Ouritsu could take a few moments to breathe and let his mind catch back up with his body. Thankfully the constant movement had helped the boy stay at least a little warm, though his clothes were still pretty damp and the chill still wasn't going away. But enough about that, the genin had a decision to make.

It was difficult to see down either path as had been the case for most of the maze, so once again it'd be up to a less than educated guess for him to pick a direction. Eyes cut to the side at the sound of a.. yell? No, a squeal of some sorts. "What the.." Ouritsu muttered to himself as hooves clopping against the stone floor filled the air. Something was heading his way and it didn't sound small, but with no light the boy couldn't quite make out what it was. Well, he had a guess but surely what he was thinking of couldn't be that big.

Stepping back from his current tile would only serve to extinguish the torches leaving him more in the dark, so running wasn't an option --yet-- but Ouritsu couldn't think up a plan if he didn't know what he was fighting, and waiting around for it to get close enough for the torches to shine light upon it would be disastrous. "Oh, I got it.!" He exclaimed while clasping his hands together. Pulling them apart would reveal a growing cube of Jinton, within it a an orb of chakra. Aiming in the direction of the sound Ouritsu would begin to squeeze in on the sides of the cube causing the one facing the darkness to bulge outwards until finally it would shatter releasing a bright, blinding light. Whatever was heading for him, assuming it had eyes, would probably be blinded for a few moments, and at the very least he'd be able to see what it was.

SPOILER: Click to show

NAME: Jinton: Taiyō Furea [Dust Release: Solar Flare]
RANK: D-rank
CHAKRA USAGE: Medium
CLASSIFICATION: Ninjutsu
ELEMENT: Jinton
DESCRIPTION:

When her father failed to form extremely massive jinton he shed his flesh and became a monster among men. Unwilling to see his sweet heart suffer a similar fate, she'd been given special training to deactivate a jinton cast. However through practicing this method Yoshiko designed a new jinton technique, in which she purposely fails to create a jinton structure. Appearing like a normal jinton cast, Yoshiko will begin to shape an object of jinton between her hands, however she'll cause it to fluctuate opposite of her. The fluctuation combined with a small surge of every element will cause a bright explosion like magnesium being burnt. The flash created is very quick, but any watching it's creation will be blinded for the duration of most of the next post.

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PYXIS ★

[Yoshiko]

First Exam: Maze Four Into the Stone Maze If Ouritsu had guessed a big ol boar was charging him, then he'd be 100% correct. The animal was able to track with it's snout, so hiding in the dark wouldn't work on it. Nor would darkness scare it at all, it was lying in wait in the dark after all. It didn't change the fact that it had eyes and sight, so despite having other stronger senses. It'd be the eyes of the beast that damned it, as the sudden flash of light released it squealed again. Slightly panicked the animal would heighten it's pace in adrenaline, but it'd be charging without any targeting. Just a predetermined location of the stone shinobi. So long as the Nohime didn't stand and gawk at the creature till it gored him, then he'd be more than able to step backward. The animal would charge past the turn, it'd however make it no more than a tile. The sound of a loud thud, before the ass end of the animal collapsed. It was barely visible from the light of the torches a tile over, but it was quite clear the animal had hit a dead end. Investigating the boar would find a piece of cloth with the message. 'Your Fortune is True'. Going down the path the boar had come from there'd be another dead end. The only choice was to back track through the snake, it'd be a long path for sure. Valuable time lost, bringing him back to the last split. He'd be able to choose greatly backtracking or continuing down the path he didn't try last time. SPOILER: Click to show You're now physically suffering from the cold water. Expect to be playing out a runny nose and shivers until noted otherwise.

[Nōhime Ouritsu]

i think you're slipping

i bring you pain, the kind you can't suffer quietly

The boy had an inkling of an idea concerning what manner of beast was charging him, but it would have been too weird to just be some random pig that had been thrown down here, alas when his technique illuminated the dark path that was exactly what Ouritsu would see. Why were there livestock roaming around the maze, and more importantly why was it mad? Perhaps it, too, was getting annoyed of walking around the maze and was looking to let off some frustration. Well, the genin wasn't about to stand around and find out.

With the boar blinded Ouritsu would take a few steps back to avoid the now misguided creature and watched as it ran off into the dark path, though a loud thud would signal the end of its journey. Walking over to it, cautiously of course, the boy would notice that the path he hadn't chosen to walk down led to a dead end. Well that helped make his decision a hell of a lot easier, though to be honest the young Nohime was probably going to pick the path the boar came charging down anyway. He'd notice that a slip of sorts was hanging from the creature that would affirm that his fortune was indeed correct. Was it referring to the fortune from the cookie in the beginning room? If so... big whoop.

Well, with that interesting experience out of the way the boy would begin to walk down the path that his momentary enemy had come from, only to find out that it, too, was a dead end. Well shit. Ouritsu had now struck out a couple times and valuable time had been lost. He could feel a headache beginning to come on but wasn't sure if that was due to the annoyance of the maze or the chill in his bones. Regardless, standing around was not going to help him. He'd have to retrace his steps through the snake before taking the other option at the split. The boy was honestly lost at this point and his only saving grace was that the paths chosen weren't difficult to back track on, so getting back to his original position wouldn't take long.

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PYXIS ★