Once everyone was settled, Sojobo began reading the terms of the exam.
"The following students: Ogata Kintaro, Matsura Hinako, Ishikawa Yuto, and…"
"Orochi Itsuki." Kagami proclaimed.
"…Orochi Itsuki will be taking a 100 question written exam on the essential knowledge for all Battle Puppeteers. Testers may not cheat on this exam. If caught cheating they will receive an immediate invalidation of their test-"
Kagami interjected suddenly:
"That's right. And I'll have my puppet watching you all as you take the test. So it's best not to cheat…"
Kagami put on his puppeteering gloves and called out the name of his puppet:
"Shuten-doji!"
A blinding orange flame spawned in front of him as the wooden base of the puppet was summoned. The flames spread around the base as they formed into the body of a large oni. The puppet trudged to the back of the trailer and sat down.
"I'll be watching you three! You better not cheat!"
Shuten-doji exclaims as the low grumblings of his laughter fill the room.
Sojobo cleared his throat.
"Anyway… Testers will receive an immediate invalidation of their exams if caught cheating, those who obtain a 70% or higher will go on to the next part of the test which will be revealed once all testers have completed the test. You have 100 minutes, you may begin."
-
I breezed through the test. Everything I had studied for since I was 10 was right before me. I was beyond prepared, and it seemed like Hinako & Itsuki were too. That's when I looked to my left at Yuto. His face was flat on the desk and he was gripping his pen as if it were the last thing he'd ever grab. Itsuki had finished within the first 15 minutes of the exam, Hinako following suit around the 25 minute mark. I finished around the halfway point. No one had cheated yet but it was clear our main concern was Yuto. We all reached the 75 minute mark with no one cheating, but that's when it happened: Yuto tried peeking at my paper. Kagami detected him.
"We have ourselves our cheater!" Kagami exclaimed.
Yuto's head shot up, his eyes filled with worry.
"I- I was-" Yuto tried to defend himself but got cut off by Kagami's high pitched chuckling.
Sojobo gave Kagami a sharp look. Shuten-doji's grumbling laughter joined Kagami's high pitched chuckles.
"Shuten-doji! Punish him." Kagami's thin eyes opened slightly, his pupils an unforgettable bright red. They almost glowed with how vibrant they were.
That's when his puppet stood up, bursting the back of the testing trailer open.
"Will do, boss" Shuten-doji complied with Kagami's orders, raising his large open palm up.
Hinako, Yuto, and I all looked up at the puppet in fear. What felt like hours was only a mere few seconds. As Shuten-doji swung down at Yuto, Sojobo quickly put on his puppeteering gloves.
"To me, Tengu!" Sojobo exclaimed.
A red flame popped in front of Sojobo, his puppet forming around it. The flame spread across the puppet taking form as a Tengu. The Tengu quickly drew his sword, blocking Shuten-doji's attack and protecting Yuto. Tengu's attack was so strong it forced Shuten-doji to retire back to Kagami.
Kagami scoffed at Sojobo's action. Sojobo walked up to Yuto, who was still frozen in fear.
"Ishikawa, you were going to say something?" Sojobo calmly asked Yuto.
Yuto nodded.
"I was tryna see if they were finished too… In all honesty I just didn't wanna be the last one to finish" Yuto said, chuckling lightly after.
Sojobo nodded and chuckled as well.
"Well Ishikawa, you were the last to finish. But that doesn't mean you're worse than your companions all right?"
Yuto nodded. Sojobo went looking at everyone else's papers.
"Seems like everyone's done. I'll go ahead and pick everyone's papers up to grade."
Sojobo used Tengu to pick up the papers and grade.
"All right guys, here are your scores: Ishikawa, 70%…"
Yuto jumped up in joy, acting like he just won the Fifa World Cup.
Sojobo continued, "Ogata, 85%… Matsura, 90%… & finally, Orochi, 100% … Seems like you all pass to the next round of testing, congratulations. The four of you can head on out to the courtyard to take a break."