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Today was [i]the[/I] big day. The big day that years of hard work, training and getting beaten over the head during sparring matches lead to. Unmistakably the soft pitter patter of the rain made the courtyard of the ninja academy shine in that characteristic way, that way that only Amegakure rain could make pavement shine. This courtyard would be familiar to the students that were lined up now, standing in a neat row organized by the sensei in advance, awaiting the arrival of the leader of the rain – a woman shrouded in as much mystery as the hidden rain itself. Not much more was known than her name. [i]Kaguya Yogensha[/i]. Any other information was reliant on vague rumors to those not privy to meeting her privately, from the way she dressed to the way she fought. She had observed the students once or twice, though not openly, so the students would likely also not be familiar with the woman. 

The monotony of the sound of rain pouring down from the heavens was broken by the entrance of two guards wearing masks and long hoods, appearing from the gate leading to the academy. [i]ANBU.[/i] Not surprising, considering the leader of the Rain was visiting. Unseen by the academy students were the myriad of other ANBU that were hidden in plain sight on the buildings around them. A moment of silence passed before a figure wearing a similar cloak, though beige in color and not black, passed in between the two ANBU standing at the gate. She was looking down, and continued walking until she stood in front of the students. She looked up then, looking over the line of shinobi left-to-right, and then back, before smiling at them. The woman, presumably the kage, had a peculiar style of makeup on her face, with red dots on her forehead and the edges of her eye, as well as one on the bottom part of her lip. Her hair had been carefully combed and parted, then pulled backwards behind her ears. Two tails hung down to her shoulders, draped along the front of her body. 

There was something awkward about her smile. It wasn’t a genuine smile, and it did not take a genius of social interaction to know this much. It had a hint of sorrow in it, as if she was remorseful about the graduation of these students. Perhaps they had been deemed not good enough, and had been passed only to bolster the ranks of the shinobi armed forces in Amegakure.

Following shortly was a man, about a full head taller than the woman. He was much more well known, as he was the assistant to the kage, and did most of the public business that the kage did not attend. He was not wearing any cloak, but instead wore armor resembling that of a samurai perhaps – although modified to be more agile and stealthy. He was a known kenjutsu-genjutsu specialist, and a dangerous and formidable foe in any capacity otherwise. This face [i]would[/i] be known to the students, as he had observed the classes openly more than once.

It was not the leader, this ‘Yogensha,’ that would speak up. Instead, it was the assistant. “Students,” he started, “if I may call you that still.” He raised his hand, furled into a fist clutching on to a large amount of shinobi headbands, marked with the stripes of the hidden rain village. A worthy prize for any shinobi that had proven themselves in the academy. And a source of pride for those who earned it. 

“Unfortunately, you are not done learning just yet,” he continued, lowering his fist again. A few drops of water started running down the metal of the forehead protector. “In Amegakure no Sato, the rain never ends. Just like the rain, your road to shinobihood never ends. It is an everlasting path you must walk.” 

As the assistant spoke, behind him Yogensha peered up into the sky and slowly formed the tiger seal, mumbling to herself, [color=pink]“Ukojizai no jutsu,”[/color], barely audible to anyone, to which the rain offered a brief moment of respite and let up, allowing the sun to shine through only momentarily. 

The assistant continued, stepping forward and beginning to hand out the headbands to everyone in the line. 

“Now that you have passed your exams, you [i]must[/i] remember; mistakes are no longer the difference between passing or failing an assignment, they are the difference between [b]life[/b] and [b]death[/b]. Not just for you, but for your comrades too. Your assignments, starting now, are going to be greater than you – greater than your own life.”

The students had been instructed prior to the event during the rehearsal with their sensei to not put the headband on until the command was given, so they were left standing there with the headband in their hand. The assistant did not seem to let up and only continued his speech, as boring as it may have been. 

“Remember what it means to be a shinobi of Amegakure no Sato.” He stepped back, standing next to Yogensha once more. Before he could continue, she filled in the next line for him, letting the students hear her voice finally. 

[color=pink]“Being a shinobi of Amegakure no Sato means you bear the burden of sacrifice so that others do not have to. Congratulations, shinobi,”[/color] she told the students in front of her, once again flashing them an ingenuine smile. This was the signal that the shinobi could put their headbands on, and probably the moment they had all been waiting for.

She turned around and mumbled to herself as she proceeded towards the gate where the two ANBU guards were waiting for her while she formed the tiger seal again. [color=pink]“The rain weeps for you, and the suffering you will cause and receive.”[/color] On cue, the sky darkened again and the gap that had allowed the sun to shine through closed, before a blast of thunder lauded the entry of more rain showering down on the fresh graduates.

The assistant carried on, continuing where Yogensha had left him off. “You will receive a week off to collect yourselves, enjoy time with your family, and spend a well-earned break with friends. After that week, you will receive notice from your sensei. Good luck, shinobi.” His address of the students as shinobi rather than students was specifically chosen, as he was no longer speaking to children, but to soldiers of Amegakure no Sato, part of the armed forces now that they had officially secured their ranks. And with that, he too marched off, leaving the new genin to celebrate with their peers and the family that might have shown up to celebrate with them.

[center][b][color=black]Shinobi life.. begins![/color][/b][/center]