[Chuunin Exams] First Phase- Aeran Uchiha

"You are lead to a door within the heights of the Lonely Tower. The man who leads you tells you to wait, count to ten and then enter the room. he walks off and leaves you alone to your own devices. True to your word you wait for ten seconds then travel inside. You find yourself in a large room room separated into two halves by a gaping hole in the centre of the floor. A narrow bridge crosses the 30 ft gap and a light wind blows through numerous large windows on either side of the room, a quick glance within the pit reveals it drops down into darkness but you can just make out a large set of spikes that would surely impale you if you were to fall down. Standing in front of a door directly opposite you is The Proctor, he smiles and addresses you. "Welcome participant, to the first phase of the Chuunin Exams. Your task in this phase is simple -ahem." he gestures to the door behind him. "You are to simply cross the room and enter this door -ahem." His grin turns wicked and he lowers his head to look at you from below his hat. "You will not be told of any traps and dangers that could exist in this room, it is up to you to decide how you cross, you must simply enter the opposing door within an hour, failure to do so will result in failing the exams - ahem." With that he turns and leaves through the door."

-

I had finally returned from my errand out in the Ressa Desert, and honestly, I was extremely worn down from the journey. But, lo and behold, I had returned to the village of Aerogakure with Shinobu and the others just as the Chuunin Exams were beginning. Before my first challenge, which I was told would occur in the Lonely Tower a few miles from where I was staying in the village, I immediately went to the Post Station to have a message flown to Ventus and Ayame, to let them know that I need them in Aerogakure before the impending Summit would begin. New Uchiha would have to make an appearance. I then went back to the inn that I was staying in, and clothed myself in my new garb. From head to toe, I covered myself in skin-tight black cloth, only exposing my eyes. If I were to run into Hebi of Takoda, or even fight one of them, they couldn't know that I was still alive. Then, I grabbed my weapons, and I walked to the Lonely Tower.

When I arrived, I was directed to a certain room by the assistant proctors at the entrance. When I walked in, I was surprised. I was given my instructions by the puppet.. thing.. before I could even process my surroundings. A long, narrow plank covered the girth of a deep hole filled wall-to-wall was large metal spikes. He didn't tell me of any traps, but I assumed there would be a few, because this was too easy. I activated the only Tomoe of the Sharingan that I had yet to muster, and I used my enhanced visuals to scope out the room. I looked at the plank, the open windows, and the door. I was overwhelmed with what I saw. They were everywhere, the traps anyway. Some were chakra-based, others were physical. The first I saw was the small thin wire that stretched all the way across the plank perpendicularly from one wall to the other, set up as a tripwire. It was too small for a regular eye to see, but I saw it only with the help of the Sharingan. Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of it. I saw motion-tripped chakra lines stretching from window to window. I figured if I tripped one of those, something would fly in through the window, so I had to be extra careful about those as well. I found a few elevated bumps on the plank as well, that could be one of two things. It could be a pressure activated trap of some kind, or.. well.. it could just be a bump. Either way, between the motion-sensory ones, the "bumps," and the tripwire, I was pretty certain that was it, and now it would be my job to somehow avoid them. They were arranged in a way that would make it nigh-impossible for someone to completely avoid all of them, but I would have to prove that theory wrong if I were to pass.

I began slowly approaching the very thin wire stretching across the room that blocked the plank. I was half-tempted to just run as fast as my legs could carry me across the plank, not regarding the traps, and hoping to get lucky, but my better judgment told me otherwise. I took a deep breath and felt a bead of sweat roll down my forehead and into the pit below me. It made a subtle "blop" noise, and the break of dead silence in the room, no matter how short, eased my tension at least a little bit. "Calm down, Aeran.." I whispered to myself. Immediately after I said it, a voice identical to my own but a tad more eerie whispered back, "Calm down, Aeran.." before a cackling hoarse laughter resounded through the entire room. "Who's there?! Show yourself!" Although I couldn't pick up on anything chakra-based with my Sharingan, the laughter continued. As I whirled around to try to pinpoint the laughter, I forgot about the tripwire, and backpeddled into it. I heard a snap with my heel, and made a deep sigh. As I quickly turned back around to check the damage, a giant log tipped with a metal ram-head flew from the ceiling on the other side of the room flew forward at me, and it was too fast for me to react to. I tried to catch it with my palms to soften the blow, but all that did was hurt my hands along with my gut. I flew back into the door I had come through and slid to the ground. Wheezing and gasping for breath, I looked down to me stomach to check the damage. "Not even in a fight, and I'm bleeding already." I grunted to myself before trying to stand up. Even with the Sharingan, I was at the mercy of this test just like everyone else. I approached the beam in order to try again.

I walked nervously towards the beam, taking this even more cautiously than before. I had also come to the realization that whatever that voice was, it was designed to distract me from focusing on the traps, so if I was to make it out of this successfully, I would have to detach all emotions from my brain, fear included among them. I approached the beam again, and noticed that the same wire was there again. I tried to set aside my confusion, and just accept that this room was just one huge defiance of physics. I stepped over the wire carefully with each foot, and then stood there in place to evaluate what the next traps would be. I then noticed the string of chakra going from one window to the next, resting about half an inch away from my chest. I caught my breath, feeling as if I took too deep of a breath, I would trigger the trap. Keeping my upper body leveled, I bent my knees, slowly... slowly.. until my head was beneath the string. I just rested there on all fours, taking in heaps of breath. "You know what? Screw this." I said out loud as I planted my back right foot, bent my left knee, and grabbed the plank with both palms, the same position one takes at the beginning of a race.

"Let's get this over with."

I took off in a dead sprint for the door, and my Sharingan started going crazy. A flicker of motion from the window in front of my on the left was first as I crossed the chakra thread. A barrage of needles flew from the ceiling, so I ducked underneath the plank, swung my feet down and around it, and landed back on the top to be greeted with an explosion from the ceiling. With a burst of speed, I passed under the explosion only getting my left foot a bit burned. In my head I was thinking, "Great, the same leg that was burned in the desert, and I barely had enough time to heal that." I landed in a roll, still steady and straight on the plank, and shot forward yet again. This was it, I was almost to the door. I dove forward, but a large hammer swung from the ceiling. At its angle and the direction of me moving, it would hit my side, probably break a few ribs, which I didn't have time to fix. I lifted my right arm mid-dive, and caught the head of the hammer with my palm, and used its momentum to spin. I then tucked my head in and slammed full-force into the door with my back. I was heaving breaths, but I was glad to finally have it done. "Shit. not exactly graceful," I said as I stood up and turned to face the door, "But a win is a win."

I turned the door knob, and walked through.