For four more days the family repeated the same process with Hikari attending her tests alongside Harrow. The two of them ceaselessly competing to place higher in the testing scores that were being constantly reported back to the festival within the city. Within the first day Harrow and Hikari had already ascended to the top of the scoreboard, trading back and forth for first as citizens placed bets on who would end up on top in the end. At the same time Eiji continued to train with Okun, repeating the same simple practice of trying to match his output of Ki for days on end until he was finally able to keep up. Each night the family would reconvene and listen to Eiji and Hikari share their experiences of the day. Hikari talked about the ways in which Harrow infuriated her as well as some of the more challenging questions she faced during the exam, while Eiji discussed the myriad of new sensations and achievements he seemed to accrue in a short amount of time.
The sixth day of the placement exams had now arrived, bringing about the second phase of testing that no longer confined the students to desks and classes. It was known as the 'Tactical Exams', rigorous field testing and hands-on challenges completed both as an individual and as teams. Unlike the Written portion of the exam where students took a number of tests each day, the Tactical Exams consisted of one hour long exam each day for every student. The same hour-long test would be held in ten different locations with twenty students taking each exam. Repeating the process eight times each day for five days until each student had faced their five trials. Each year the category of exams was the same, although their specifics changed drastically, the tactical exams always consisted of the following: Search & Rescue, Target Elimination, Offence & Defense, Body Guard Duty, and Decision Making Skills, in that order. There was no way of knowing the exact details of the exams but there was a rumor floating around that they had all been devised by Hiro himself, something that didn't surprise Hikari in the slightest since the same rumor had come into circulation the year that Taiyo had taken his exams as well.
Once again students poured into the temple in search of their names posted somewhere along the papers that had been carelessly stuck over the previous week's schedules. Some of them were starting to look drained and already exhausted from the stress of the first portion of the Exams. It was never talked about much, but each year there was always a number of students who dropped out of the exams due to their difficulty, it wasn't considered a shame of any sorts but to Kamikochi open encouragement for its people to choose their own path, but when an individual did drop out, it went largely unspoken about. There was no such possibility within Hikari's mind, the five days of testing was nothing for the top ranking student of the class. Hikari walked through the streets of the temple with a wide set grin she had been unable to get rid of ever since she made a stop in Do'Kobu city before arriving. She had just barely managed to squeak by her opponent, but with the testing phase's final results posted all over the city for fans and citizens to see, Hikari couldn't help but feel a sense of almost childish pride over her victory. She had averaged a score of 98.9% across all her tests, with Harrow coming in second at 98.7%. It was barely a win, to most people the .2% was meaningless, but for the newly set rivals Hikari and Harrow, it meant a world of difference.
Like before, Hikari managed to spot one of her friends through the crowd, except this time Hikari had stumbled upon Arielle, who seemed to be fixated on one of the schedule posters with a confused expression on her face. "Arielle!" Hikari called out as she broke through the crowd and joined her friend. "Oh, hey Hikari," Arielle said, still somewhat distracted by the poster she was staring at. "Find out when you're taking your first Tactical Exam?" Hikari asked as she looked up and began scanning over the schedule for her own name. "Did you notice?" Arielle asked Hikari. "Notice what?" Hikari replied as she continued to look. "They changed the exam order this year… We were all ready and expecting to start with Search and Rescue but…" Hikari looked up to the top of the poster as she listened to Arielle and noticed the words in slightly bolder letters 'Schedule for exam one: Offence and Defense.
"He really had to go messing with everything…" Hikari said with a sigh as she rubbed her temples in exasperation. "He could have at least given me a head up!" She groaned, thinking of all the opportunities Hiro had been given over dinner to warn her. "Dont let it rattle you," Hikari said to Arielle as she placed her hand on her friends shoulder, "Its just Hiro trying to get inside students heads," She added. "You're probably right…Have you seen Syra at all today?" Arielle asked as she let out a sigh of relief and let herself relax a bit. Hikari turned back to the poster and pointed up towards the top of the page, "Well im guessing She's on her way to the testing site since she's in the first round of Exams, should we go watch?" She asked Arielle with a smile, not at all letting the change in the exam order get to her.
The two of them took their leave and made their way to the place where the citizens and anybody who came to marvel at the rising Sentoki students were meant to observe, making sure to find their own exam times along the way. Arielle was slated for the fourth block of testing, and Hikari for the last, Something that was surely Hiro's doing as well. Not only was she set to take the last exam of the day, she had quickly noticed that once again Harrow's name sat promptly next to hers on the scheduling poster. "I Imagine it's going to be like this the whole time," Hikari said to Arielle as the two of them arrived at the location just outside of Do'kobu City where the second two phases of the exams would take place.
It was a massive arena and coliseum that had been erected from the red stone that covered Kamikochi's southern coast. The Arena itself was a rather new tradition having only been built twenty years prior. It was a monumental piece of architecture that rose over thirty stories into the air and covered almost four square miles of space. Row upon row of seats cascaded from its edges until finally stopping at the edge of a stunningly large training grounds that were specifically reserved for the Placement Exams and other important events. Students, teachers and citizens alike filed into the massive stadium one by one. Many of them stopping at the seemingly endless line of booths and stands selling food and drinks or taking bets. The smell of grilled meats and liquor filled the air while celebration and music could be heard no matter where you were in the area. It was a joyous time for almost everyone involved, that is except for the students whose hopes and dreams rode on the outcome of their performance.
Arielle and Hikari had finally made their way under the massive archway that led them into the testing grounds, only to be immediately stopped by one of Hiro's assistants who recognized the both of them and escorted the two girls to a special viewing booth that had been set up for the Umitasora family. Hikari and Arielle climbed the countless steps that led to the booth that had been positioned perfectly to get the best view of the action below, only to be greeted by the very man that had been pulling the strings behind the scenes. "Ah! I wasn't sure if anybody would join me up here today!" Hiro chimed as the two girls rounded the corner and took notice of him. "What are you doing here?? Should you be with Eiji??" Hikari asked impatiently, almost forgetting that she was with Arielle and needed to be careful what she revealed about Eiji's situation. "Eiji will be fine training on his own today," Hiro added as he seemed to approach Arielle who happened to be one of his part time assistants.
"Good afternoon Headmaster," Arielle said with a bow of her head as she reached into the bag slung over her shoulder and pulled out a small yet very full looking envelope and handed it to him. "Ah! my bets! Great job, Arielle!" Hiro chimed as he pulled open the parcel and revealed a hefty stack of paper notes which looked enough to be able to purchase a small home. "The Headmaster isn't allowed to bet on students!! That's so messed up!" Hikari cried as her face took on an expression of disgust. "Messed up?? I just made a year's salary because of your test scores Hikari!" Hiro retorted with a childish laugh that forced a giggle from Arielle as well. "Hikari, I'll let you in on a little secret… Every Headmaster bets on their students…" Hiro added as though he was giving her some kind of profound wisdom. "Whatever…" Hikari said dismissively as took a seat overlooking the field below.
Trees and large boulders littered the stretching field, and at either end a fortress-like building sat tucked away and just barely visible over the top of the sparse forest. In the middle a large circle had been cleared out and surrounded by a thick stone wall, which Hikari could recognize as the site for the final phase of the exams. "What do you think of the setup this year?" Hiro asked as he greedily counted the bills he had pulled from the envelope beaming with pride. Hikari leaned her head over the back of her chair, letting her white hair hang as she looked at her uncle upside down. "Was this your design as well?" She asked with a blank expression, knowing he would understand her implication regarding her 'coincidental' pairing with Harrow for every exam thus far.
Hiro stopped counting for a second as he shot her a sideways glance accompanied by a crooked smile. "I'm not just messing around you know… I do know what I'm doing," He replied before going back to double checking his winnings. Hikari tilted her head back forward with a scoff, looking back down at the field and noticing something off in the distance. At the end of the field, on top of one of the buildings, Hikari could see what looked like a group of people gathering. "Ah! Great! They're ahead of schedule!" Hiro chimed from behind Hikari and Arielle as he tucked the envelope into the sleeve of his robe and walked over to the edge of the balcony.
The crowd had taken notice as well as the almost endless looking stand both above and below the Umitasora booth continued to fill with onlookers who were eager to begin. A wave of shouts and cheers began to unfold as they slowly caught sight of the students gathering on the rooftops in anticipation of the first event. Around the inner edge of the arena, a number of Sentoki lined the walls. Each of them was a Shishogan User who was capable of using a Ki stone to transmit what they were seeing in real time to the crowd in real time via large flat slates of Ki stone that were set up all around for viewers to see. In addition, there was a massive shard of flattened Ki stone that had been propped up at one end of the stadium above the stands, and was used to project the scores and penalties of each student during each event.
In truth it was actually an enormous strain on the faculties of Do'kobu city and Kaika temple to employ so many specialized Sentoki each year to facilitate the Placement Exams, but the event itself was of such cultural importance it could not be changed. Each of the Shishogan Users who helped relay the event and scores of the participating students also doubled as medical Sentoki as well, many of them being volunteers who normally operated on medical squads in the medical field. They were also each accompanied by either a teacher or an already High ranking Sentoki who's job was to act as a judge of sorts during the exams.
With the stadium steadily filling up and the judges and students all in place, Hiro pulled a small Ki crystal from the same sleeve of his robe where he had stashed his cash and held it just in front of his lips. "Welcome One! And Welcome All! To the… Oh what was it again?" Hiro roared only to stubble over his words as the Ki crystal in his hand seemed to project his voice across the area for everyone to hear. "Oh yes! The Two thousand four hundred and thirty ninth Placement Exams!" He continued as the crowd cheered enthusiastically despite his blunder. Hikari rolled her eyes as the sound of the cheering fans filled the air. Behind her in the halls of the coliseum she could hear the shuffling of feet as people rushed to fill the rest of the vacant seats.
"We are all honored and privileged to gather here today! The placement exams are a timeless tradition that not only serves to acknowledge the next generation of Sentoki but succeeds in bringing our nation of Kamakochi together in a way that fills me with pride!" Hiro announced to the tens if not hundreds of thousands of shouting viewers. "Our Students have all worked tirelessly to be where they are now! So let's give it up for them!" Hiro bellowed, followed by an uproar so loud and enthusiastic that Hikari could feel the tremble in her seat. Hiro looked back over his shoulder at his niece who quickly stifled a small smile brought on by the crowd's excitement. She wasn't very fond of entertaining Hiro's showmanship and took much after Kyuen in that way.
"As I'm sure many of you have already noticed, but I've decided to change up the usual order of the exams this year! Cause why not!" Hiro shouted into the small crystal with a hearty laugh, He was known for being a rather unorthodox Headmaster and how he had ever gotten the position in the first place often crossed Hikari's mind. "So without further delay! Today's Exam will consist of the Offense & Defense portion of the tactical Exams! On either end of the field you may have already noticed our first round of students for the day beginning to gather! For them, the Exam is simple! Defend your base and over take the other! Our students have been evenly split into Teams A & B, each with a hundred young future Sentoki eager to prove themselves!" Hiro explained to the masses as the displays made of Ki crystal panned over the faces of the determined students down on the field. "Each base is equipped with a Ki crystal that each time must protect from the other, if a team's Ki Crystal is broken, the other team wins!" Hiro exclaimed with a smile. "Each student will be graded individually by our esteemed judges and their team's win or loss will be factored into their grade, so I hope you've all picked your favorites and placed your bets! Because the first match is about to begin!" Hiro's voice rang out across the entire stadium as he shouted the end of his announcements meanwhile a set of blaring horns cried out from all around, and set the first real match into motion.
There was an eerie calm for a moment after the sound of the horns faded away. The crowd all waited with bated breath for the first student to appear on the crystal displays. The few seconds it took felt like hours but when the first face did finally appear, even Hikari found herself out of her seat and cheering with the rest of the crowd.
"Look, it's Syra!" Arielle shouted as she too jumped to her feet with excitement as the image of their friend took over the display, with the young Nikugan wielding woman leading the charge into battle. "Hmph" Hiro said with a snort as he crossed his arms and watched with a smile. "You know it's kind of a shame that the first in the class gets so much of the spotlight…" Hiro said to Hikari as he continued to watch. "Because the second in the class this year is really something else as far as Nikugan users go… She might even be stronger than Taiyo was at that age…" Hiro added as he began to stroke his short gray bread.
Hikari and Arielle had pretty much ignored his comment. The two of them were well aware of Syra's skill and prowess. If it were not for her test scores and academic achievements, Even Hikari wasn't sure if she would be able to top Syra in terms of pure skill, and certainly not in terms of strength. "Go Syra!" Arielle shouted as the two of them watched their friends dash across the field effortlessly, the strength of her Nikugan propelling her forward with each step. In the next second a monstrous crash rang out as a number of trees could be seen toppling to the ground. A cloud of dust erupted into the air, eliciting a wild cheer from the crowd. A handful of the Medical sentoki stationed around the edge rushed into the cloud, and another second later Syra emerged from the other side, continuing on towards the opposing base.
Only moments later another crash rang out as Syra and about two dozen other students had broken down the gate of the opposing team's fortress with ease. Syra and her group had chosen a simple strategy, enlist a small but strong squad of the strongest students within their group and attack the enemy base full force. Meanwhile the opposing team had done the exact opposite. They had sent an overwhelming number of students on the attack, while leaving their strongest to defend the base and their crystal.
The field quickly erupted all around as students met and clashed amongst the spaced out trees and boulders, some of them making headway towards their goal as they did, others falling to defeat and carried off of the field. The crowd bellowed furiously as they cheered for differing teams and their chosen contestants. There was a full hour allotted for each exam, if the crystal was not captured in said time, then each student would be graded on their performance alone, but as it stood at the moment, the Exam would be over long before the hour came to fruition.
One by one Syra managed to dispatch her opposing students with ease. Equipped with one of the dull training blades that was allowed during the event, she made swift work of the majority of those who stood in her way. Crash after crash came ringing from within the wall of the fortress she had invaded, the crowd going wild as her image filled the screens around them. A number of individuals could be seen running up and down the aisle of stairs around the area, going back and forth from their seats to the betting cages to place new wagers as Syra closed in upon her opponent's crystal.
It had only been a short fifteen minutes before the match was over. Syra stood victorious over a shattered crystal within the opposing team's base. Her image plastered on every screen inside the stadium and as well as the hundreds of crystal displays that had been set up around Do'Kobu City and Kika Temple and had displayed the entire match. The roar of cheering and celebration that came forth next could easily be heard for miles around. Not only had the entirety of the arena burst into celebration, the viewers who filled the streets of the temple and city erupted as well. It was somewhat of an unspoken tradition for everyone, everywhere to cheer as loudly as and as long as they possibly could after the end of the first match, no matter who they had been rooting for.
Even Hiro had once again picked up the small crystal that projected his voice and joined in on the bellowing that shook every stone in the vicinity. Hikari and Arielle shouted and cheered with hands clasped around their mouths, both of them filled with pride at the fact that not only had Syra's team been the one to succeed, but that she had clearly taken the spotlight amongst her peers during the match. "Well, well well!" Its looks as though Mrs. Syra Voss is determined to make a name for herself and impress us all! Let's give it up one more time for Syra and her classmates, while the judges hurry to get the scores posted for you all!" Hiro bellowed into the crystal before turning around to Hikari and Syra.
"Can you girls run me a few favors?" He asked with a mischievous look on his face that Hikari was far too familiar with. "Oh no, I'm not-" "Can you go check in on Eiji, Hikari?" Hiro said cutting off her objection to what she thought was going to be some ridiculous task. "And Arielle, can you take care of this for me?" He added as he tried to coyishly hand her new envelope stuffed with paper bills that was surely meant for gambling. "Oh and here's your commission," Hiro continued as he handed Arielle a stack of bills that would have equaled more than six months of her pay as his assistant, and her job paid well. "Ugh…You've got to be kidding me!" Hikari groaned in embarrassment at both her friend and her Uncle before quickly turning around and leaving the two of them snickering to themselves while Hiro listed out the bets he wanted her to place.