After Yuto consumed the pill, he immediately started to have second thoughts. The pill he just consumed was not only expensive, but it was also dangerous. The pill was similar to military rations pills, but less effective and more dangerous. A normal military rations pill allowed for a shinobi to combat for three days straight, but at the end of those three days, the user is brought to complete and utter exhaustion. The pill Yuto just consumed differed from the military ration pill. Yuto consumed a shinjin rations pill, meaning "deadman". It's named this because after taking the pill, you might as well be considered dead. After all, fighting in the condition the pill puts you in is simply suicidal, and is only meant for a last resort. Along with that, the pill only lasts half a day and comes with symptoms like vomiting, coughing, shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest pain.
Yuto was, of course, aware of this, but still consumed the pill, because he simply couldnt afford not to have those contribution points. His career relied on those points because he needed enough points to purchase medical material when he finished his six-month training period. Yes, he'd still be in the genin reserves after the training period was over, but he'd also still be in the medical trainee program. That was all he had to look forward to, as it was his only way of having value to a team. Yes, he was skilled and intelligent, but he had no missions, so it wasn't displayed in his file. No teams wanted an inexperienced genin, no matter how much hype he had built up around him. These contribution points were his only way out, for say, and if it meant risking his frail little body, then he'd do so.
It wasn't long before Yuto's energy came back, but it wouldn't amount to the effectiveness of a real military ration pill. He ran like his life depended on it, his worn-down shonobi slides slamming into the dirt. His heart pounded at a faster rate after taking the pill, as he assumed that's where the symptom of chest pain came from. Right then, in the distance came another whistle.
Yuto sighed, seeing that he had a lot more hours to go. he hoped no one had the bright idea to attack him, as he didn't want to waste his newfound energy on defending attacks. He knew that the only reason he survived Nobutoshi's and his buddy's attack was because of the rules of the test. Realistically, if it were a real battle, there would be no instructor to eliminate Nobutoshi for dropping in speed. He simply was lucky that the other experienced genin didn't pursue him after his counterattack on Nobutoshi.
After a few more hours, the sky was pitch black, and there was no more daylight. Yuto struggled to see in the dark as he widened his eyes, attempting to widen his vision. he wished he could use that useless sensory ability he supposedly had. Yuto, running at full speed, wasn't able to stop himself from running face-first into another participant. The other genin was sent flying as Yuto's body slammed into theirs.
Yuto couldnt care less who it was he ran into, as he continued his pace. Yuto staggered forward, barely staying on his feet as he ran. he decided if he couldnt trust his legs to move accordingly, he'd just change their function. He changed his sprint into a series of hops, as he channeled chakra into his legs with every jump. he knew if he could keep this up for at least half an hour, he might just secure that fifth-place spot.
Right when he started grinning like an idiot, his chest erupted in pain, as a burning sensation ran through his torso. He felt like he was having a heart attack, and his head ached. He screamed in agonizing pain, jumping into the air to continue covering distance, despite his pain. He clutched his hands to his aching head, relying on his wobbly legs to do the hard work. He hopped and hopped like a bunny until he flopped to the ground in agony.
He heard another whistle, but this time it was for him.
"You're eliminated!" said the voice of Ebisu.
"Return to the indoor grounds," he finished before disappearing with a body-flicker.
Yuto groaned on the ground. He pulled his body off the ground, holding his wounded side. His eyes were heavy and sleepy, and his walk was sluggish. The bags under his eyes were more profound, and his ears only picked up the sound of his beating heart. His legs shook as he stepped forward. To be frank, he looked like shit. The only reason he was still standing was because of the pill, despite the pill being the cause of his pain. He walked back with a grim expression on his face, as he knew he had failed again. even with his rejuvenation bars and his shinjin ration pill.
He had no one to blame but himself. It didn't matter, though; he couldnt improve even if he wanted to. He simply didn't have the time to train his body, and he prioritized his studies over anything else because it was all he had going for him.
He made it to the indoor grounds building and pulled open one of the doors, revealing the rest of the participants from both classes.
He was in shock at what he saw, the number that was there. It only meant one thing: he was one of the last ones to enter.
It means he might have made the top five, but he didn't get his hopes up. He would count every participant in the room besides himself, which would tell him everything he needed to know.
He walked towards the crowd of genin and plopped down in a corner, gaining a few looks of surprise.
"Hey, isn't that the brat who couldnt even push the boulder halfway across the grounds!" said one of the genin.
Another one looked over. "Wait, you're right, that is him!" said the other genin.
"Maybe we didn't notice him come in, it's the only answer," said the other one.
"Yeah, you're right, noway he was one of the last ones to be eliminated," he exclaimed.
The others next to him nodded.
Of course, Yuto overheard this, but chose to ignore it. They could believe whatever they wanted. He had bigger issues; there was a deep gash in his side, and he needed to ensure it wasn't infected and bandage the wound. Luckily, the wound wasn't that deep, and the wind blowing under his jacket dried out the wound before any more blood could emerge. He unzipped his low-collared jacket and took off his fishnet undershirt. He ignored the curious stares from the rest of the bunch. He wouldn't let what happened yesterday happen again. he would never let anyone see him cry, especially his grandfather. he could just see the disappointed eyes of his grandfather.
He pulled a scroll from his ninja pouch, unsealed his medical kit in a giant puff of smoke. he sighed, feeling all the eyes on him, as he knew he had drawn quite a lot of attention to himself. Every time he unsealed something from his pouch, the class's eyes were on him. he pulled out a white cloth and dabbed it in some alcohol, and disinfectant the wound, without a single his at the burn of the alcohol, as he'd been through much worse in his short time as a shinobi. He remembered the beating he took from his grandfather in sparring, a shiver running down his back at the thought of it.
He started wrapping bandages around his torso before securing them and putting his clothing back on. He didn't want to have his shirt off any longer than he needed to, as he was already a little insecure after yesterday's events. He felt a small tinge of anger build up inside him every time he thought about it, as he felt so helpless, weak, and vulnerable.
He stood up off the cold concrete floor in the indoor grounds, walking over towards his roommate. His roommate and, in some way, Touji were the only people he had an actual conversation with. he sighed, seeing Touji's depressed form, as he smacked his teeth at Hikari's shamelessness.
Hikari looked up, showing a fair smile before speaking. "Wow, Yuto, you were like one of the last to be eliminated. You sure are strong!" Hikari said cheerfully.
Yuto's frown softened, as it was kinda hard to hate the guy. "Of course. As I told Touji, I simply lacked physical strength. I'm far from someone to scoff at," Yuto exclaimed pompously.
"hum, touji?"
"Don't tell me you're friends with a guy like that?" Hikari said, clearly not fond of Touji.
"I don't think, friends is the right term," Yuto said grimly.
"Yeah, trust me, I was in the academy with that guy. he's nothing but trouble!" Hikari exclaimed wearily.
Yuto had to look up to speak to Hikari before he spoke.
"Yes, but I can't deny his skill," Yuto said. While he hadn't seen Touji fight, he knew he was skilled after the display of wit in the forest trail. He had to admit it was quite crafty to run at top speed and not cover distance, as Yuto didn't even think of something like that.
"Yes, I can't deny that... but how do you know?" Hikari asked.
"Oh yeah, I had a run-in with him in the forest trail," Yuto said indifferently.
"What? And you survived?" Hikari said, clearly surprised.
"It's like I said before, my skills are not to be scoffed at," Yuto said, despite the only reason for his escape being that Touji simply didn't feel the need to attack him, but Hikari didn't need to know that.
"Looks like I underestimated you, Yuto," Hikari said.
Right then, one of the doors to the gym was opened as Touji stepped in, a filthy grin still on his face.
Yuto's indifferent composure quickly changed, and his face shifted to a frown, seeing the Yamanaka.
"One of these days, I'll wipe that stupid grin off his face," Hikari muttered.
Touji looked in Yuto's direction, and his filthy grin somehow grew before he started walking over.
Yutos's frown deepened, and Hikari beside him became a little tense.
Thankfully, both instructors appeared with a body-flicker, stopping Touji's approach.
Touji frowned and fell into the crowd of genin, and stood at attention to the instructors.
"Okay, the test is over!" Taro said.
"I'm sure you bunch are curious who the top five participants were in the stamina test," Taro spoke again
He lifted his clipboard. "Looks like my batch didn't do too bad," Taro said, making a few from his class perk up in anticipation.
on the other hand. Ebisu looked at the clipboard in Taro's hand and frowned.
"Okay, I'll make this quick! The first place spot goes to..." Taro said dramatically, pausing.
"So much for making it short," Yuto thought.
"Shiranui Arata!" Taro finished.
The crowd went into murmurs, as they weren't familiar with that name.
Yuto's mind clicked; he knew that last name. It was the same last name as Genma Shiranui.
"Sinbon senpai?" Yuto whispered, looking at the brown haired teenager across the indoor grounds, jumping in excitement. Yuto suspected that he must be from Ebisu's class.
The crowd calmed down, hearing taro speak again. "For the second spot, we have Touji Yamanaka," Taro said.
The crowd went into murmurs again, shifting their attention to Touji's disappointed face, as he clearly wasn't satisfied being in only second place.
"As expected from the Yamanaka clan," one of the genin said.
Yuto blurred out the rest as he wasn't interested in anyone after the first two, as no one ever was celebrated for being the third best. And he had a feeling the last few spots didn't involve his name in it.
"So much for achieving at least fifth place," Yuto thought with a sigh.
Just as he thought this, he heard something, snapping him out of his thoughts. He could have sworn he heard his name, but maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. he adjusted his face back to uninterested and looked up, seeing his fellow genin looking at him in surprise.
Yuto sighed, a small smile gracing his face. He had done it, by some brim of luck, he was able to actually cut it close and achieve fifth place. He felt no need to put on his act, embracing the rewards of his luck. He saw a facial expression he couldnt make out on Taro's face. He regretted letting his instructor see his tears, as he didn't like being looked at with pity; he didn't need it.
Taro clapped his hands, breaking the murmurs.
"As promised, those who made it to the top five will have a chance to double their points if they reach the top spot of their class," Taro said.
"Okay, that's the end of day two. Report to the living quarters," Taro said.
Ebisu refrained from speaking, letting Taro do the talking. Both instructors disappeared with a body flicker.
When the instructors left, both classes erupted into chatter as they walked out the doors of the indoor grounds. Yuto looked at Hikari before he spoke.
"I don't know about you, but I'm tired," Yuto said, standing up, clutching his side at the strain to motion.
"You alright, man?" Hikari asked with concern.
"I'm fine..." Yuto spoke before coughing up blood.
"Wait, are you sure!" Hikari asked with concern and worry in his eyes as he rushed towards Yuto's form.
Yuto scoffed. "I'm fine!" Yuto said, his eyes full of fury.
He hated those eyes; they were the same eyes he saw when Taro looked at his deteriorating form in the showers. It made him disgusted with himself when he showed weakness; he was already aware that he was weak and didn't want any reminders of it. They acted as if it was what they expected of him, he was just a weak little coward bitch.
It wasn't the tests or the laughs or the stares or the haggling that made him hate this place after only being there for two days. It was people like Hikari.
Yuto struggled to get Hikari's comforting hand off his small body. He walked away in a fit of rage despite his light steps from his small shinobi sandals.
Later on, He made it back to his room with a towel over his shoulder and a set of pajamas on. he didn't care how childish it looked; his skinny body could only endure so much cold air conditioner. He frowned, seeing Hikari and some other genin laughing up a storm in their shared space. He then looked down at the ground, seeing dirty footprints on the wooden floors. He then looked down at his hand, seeing the dirt and grime it had gained from the door handle. His face shifted into a fit of rage.
"Hikari?" Yuto said with a grunt.
Hikari looked at Yuto, gesturing towards the footprints on the floor.
"Oh, sorry about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
Hikari's friend turned around. "To think this guy was one of the first five to finish," he said, unconvinced, seeing Yuto's pajamas.
Yuto refrained from speaking as he had no intentions of bickering with Hikari's friends, calmly walking towards his bed.
"Don't be rude, Hiroki!" Hikari chastized.
"I'm just saying, look at this brat, how can you take him seriously?" Hiroki said, holding his hands out.
Yuto wasn't bothered by his comments; he had nothing to prove, as far as he was concerned, he made it in the top five, luck or not.
The other friend spoke. "Well, he performed way better than he did yesterday," he said.
"Don't tell me you're taking up for this brat, Sakuza!" Hiroki said.
Hikari intervened. "Leave him alone, okay?" Hikari said, with a frown.
Right then, Yuto's anger increased, seeing Hikari defending him like a helpless child. He bent down, pulling out a scroll from his side table drawer before speaking.
"I'm not a defenseless child," Yuto said, trying to speak calmly.
"So he speaks," Hiroki said, with a grin.
Yuto frowned. "I'm not amused. Just keep it down, I'm studying," he said, climbing into bed with his medical scroll in hand.
Hiroki scoffed. "Anyways..." Hiroki said, continuing his conversation with his friends.
The next day, Yuto dragged himself out of bed, as the effects of the pill were still present. He clutched his head from the aching pain of his headache. nevertheless, he threw on his combat outfit and reported to the indoor grounds just like the days before.
When he arrived, it was just his one class. He was honestly not looking forward to another joint exercise, as he suspected the intensity of the last test had something to do with the classes being joint.
He stood at attention, sipping his morning coffee as per usual.
Taro spoke.
"Okay, today's exercise will only last one hour, meaning you'll have the rest of the day to yourselves," Taro explained.
The genin seemed to be excited about that, as they erupted into excitement.
Yuto, on the other hand, was ecstatic; he'd been wanting to study, and in his condition, he wouldn't be doing an ounce of physical training today, not that he planned on doing any in the future either. Though he did intend to use this exercise to improve his chakra control, as not only was it necessary for medical ninjutsu, but it might also help him in the physical strength exercise, if he could properly strengthen his muscles. He considered asking his fellow genin for help, but the only person he'd comfortably ask this was the instructor and Hikari.
Taro then began to speak again. "I'm sure everyone is familiar of the leaf exercise, correct?" he asked.
Everyone gave him nods of affirmation.
He continued, "Well, instead of leaves, you'll use pebbles," he said, as right then a genin came rolling in a small wooden box loaded with pebbles. The genin gave the instructor a nod before walking away.
The crowd of genin went into murmurs, but was cut off by Taro's sharp tone.
"Now, before you start freaking out, you'll be given five minutes of practice time. When the five minutes of practice time are over, I'll start a one-hour timer. Those who don't make it past the half-hour mark are immediately eliminated, meaning the rock has lost contact with your forehead, as usual. Individual scores will determine your ranking on the class leaderboard," Taro explained.
"Any questions?" he asked.
No one spoke.
"Okay then, your practice time starts... now!" Taro said, clicking the stopwatch in his hand.
[Be sure to give me your power stones]