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"Ergh.."
His whole body felt extremely heavy and sore. There the young teen laid in his bed partially covered by his overly puffy comforter. The light shining through his window indicated the early morning. His routine usually consisted of him being up by dawn, perfecting his training. But that would have to wait. A couple of days ago, he thought he would do some eight gates training. Sure it was beneficial in the long run, but now he still felt the unfortunate side effects of such an action. A lot of the pain had actually subsided as compared to the day before. A small sigh escaped his lips as his emerald orbs slowly traveled to view his window. It seemed like such a wonderful day and he was missing it. Moans and groans were the only audible sounds coming from young boy. A creaking sound was made as his bedroom door slowly opened. An older woman with the same silver hair Aiko had made her way to his bed and placed her hand over his head. Her eyes were sympathetic, but her tone when she began to talk was stern.
"What have I told you about training too hard?"
"Ugh.."
"Your lucky your father found you. It's quite dangerous to be out on the training grounds at night."
"Uff.."
His mother gave a gentle sigh as she kissed him on the forehead before leaving his room. His eyes closed as he quickly drifted back into unconsciousness.
--
An hour had passed before the boys nostrils picked up on something. The smell of something sweet and delicious. Chocolate covered rice balls, something his mother made every time he would come home from training. His father wasn't a big fan, but hey, don't knock it until you try it. His eyes quickly opened and it was as if life sprang back into him. It took a few minutes but he was up on his feet soon after stretching his aching muscles. A warm soothing shower was next on his agenda. He then dressed himself in a charcoal colored thin sweater with a light grey t-shirt over it. Grey cotton pants finished off his simple look. He wasn't at all flashy with his style. And soon, Aiko found himself downstairs at the dinner table with two rice balls and a cup of juice. Who needed breakfast when you could have sweets?
"I knew you wouldn't be in bed too long after smelling that."
Akio simply grinned as he devoured his 'meal'.
"And I'm sure you're ready for the Academy exams today!!"
"Oh!" He exclaimed as his heart sank ever so slowly into his stomach.
"Oh?" his mother repeated, a bit concerned as this came as a surprise to her son.
"Uh.. I.. yea.. yes! I'm ready!" He manged out as he popped the last rice roll in his mouth. He had done pretty good in the academy yet far despite his setbacks and he would simply have to overcome this obstacle as well. Especially that written part of the exam. Strategy and all that good stuff was definitely not a strength of his. He was one to act on instinct, no matter how wrong it may seem at the time. He would have to cram. Yes, cramming was something that would have to work and he had plenty of time to do it. He thought.
"I'll just study a bit before I leave out."
"Well you better hurry, the tests start in less than half an hour."
Quickly jumping up Aiko went into a mild panic before running into his room and getting his training book he was studying from. Had it not been for his mother who had set all his necessary items he would need for the day near the front door, the boy would have been out of luck and late for sure.
"Thanksmomloveyoubye!" He blurted out as he grabbed his bag and quickly exited. To say he was in a rush would have been an understatement. He quickly made his way through the village bumping into any and everybody that had the misfortune of standing in his path. He might have been able to maneuver his way through had it not been for the fact his nose was deep in the strategy book that he should of had memorized by now. His clan was located near the east edge of the village so it took a nice chunk of time for him to get to his destination. Upon arriving, he quickly entered into his assigned classroom making a loud fuss all the way to his seat. It seemed the Chuunin instructor was in the process of passing out the dreaded packet of doom to everyone. Aiko quickly placed the book in his bag only moments before the instructor placed a packet on his own desk. The young boy could only sigh. The man then went on to address the class.
"You will have forty-five minutes to complete the test. If you have finished before the time is up, check your answers. If you have not yet finished when the time is up, you will be failed. Understood? ... Begin."
Without wasting any time, Aiko quickly began the exam and to his horror was befuddled by the very first question. What are the most common ninja tools? He thought to himself. Sure, the question seemed easy enough but at the current moment, the boy's mind was drawing a blank. How about my fists? No.. that couldn't be the answer. Hmm.. Oh, I remember practicing throwing shuriken. And that turned out to be his strategy for the exam, to reminisce his years in the academy to the best of his ability.
--
The proctor suddenly called an end to the exam. Well it wasn't exactly 'sudden' as forty-five minutes had passed. Thankfully, Aiko had managed to finish the last question right on time. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. He didn't run out of time, which meant he didn't immediately fail! He couldn't help but grin as his exam was collected. He then began to converse with some other students in the classroom trying to gauge how they thought they did. After discovering the other students thought the test was rather easy only made the boy a bit nervous. He didn't think it was that easy. There was no sense in worrying about it now for there was another part of the test to prepare for. But that too would have to wait. Rushing out of the room, he made his way into a nearby bathroom nearly tripping over a girl who had fallen asleep rather awkwardly. He might have suggested she find a better place to sleep but he continued right on into the bathroom to relieve himself.
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