Mei's C -> B Exam

Mei wasn't quite sure what to do with herself for she was still so young in mentality, but she was trying her hardest and learning her best. All Mei knew was that she wanted to be stronger so she could finally so something with herself. Mei wanted to find her dragon momma who had so kindly raised her in the absence of her true momma, at least she thought this was her true momma. This woman had told Mei that she was her own flesh and blood. She had sounded so genuine in her words, along with a sort of sadness, which hadn't exactly bothered her until this point. Perhaps, her young mind was beginning to catch up with her ageing body in some way.

Anyway, the young brunette had asked her mother for assistance and assistance Akira was delighted to give her growing daughter. The young child was told to meet within the sanded village's training grounds where a task would be awaiting the teen vessel. What the task was... Mei certainly didn't know as of yet. Mei had all but just arrived in the village that very morning as the sun was rising. She wandered in wearing a pair of black shorts and a white T-Shirt accompanied by the proper undergarments fro her age, which a kind stranger had been so gracious to teach Mei about. Upon her feet, were sandals befitting the village ninja's own footwear. How her mother lived in this village wasteland, Mei did not know.

The young teen had made her way to where the gate guard had instructed stating that Mei's mother would be waiting eagerly for her arrival. She walked into the training grounds of the village only to see sand, sand, and oh yes.. more sand. Was her mother not supposed to be there? Mei would continue her walk towards the center of the grounds looking in every direction awaiting her mother, when a needle the size of well.. about Mei.. would stick into the sand before her feet causing the girl to jerk backwards. Where did it come from? It could have killed her! Then, Mei would hear a noise like someone running towards her.. from.. behind? The girl would turn around quickly only seeing a figure dressed head to toe in black with a covered face only revealing brown hair. It would lunge for her barelg missing as the teen stepped to the right side bending her upper body backwards a bit as she did. Her being would revert into a more defensive position until she noticed the person standing near the needle simply... waiting.

Akira would be seen leaning against a wall in a darkened openning within the training grounds. The teen brunette could be seen walking in simoly looking around leisurely. The mother would stand with turquoise eyes awaiting any sort of searching or analyzing ability from the child. If she had looked upon the ground, she would easily notice where the sand was intentionally scuffed as Akira had walked along it earlier on. If she looked upon the wall, Mei would have seen the string of Nuibari simply resting upon a small edge. Even if she had simply payed more attention to the openings in the arena, Mei could have made out the shadow figures of people. Alas, she was clueless making Akira's job that much harder.

The woman would turn to her masked friend before nodding for Akira wished not to speak due to the child's increased hearing. The mothet would watch the encounter with the teen taking note of her impressuve senses and reflexes. With a sigh, Akira would emerge, "Lesson Number 1! Never! Let your guard down! An enemy can strike anywhere at any time with any anything! You were so lost in your own world that you seemed to have not noticed all the clues I left you. Which leads me to signs. Even if they're not all obvious, they are always there! The ground, the sky, the trees, the walls, above you, below you.. you have to look. Understand?
Good. Let's get started." Akira would grin as she made her way closer to Mei stopping just before her.

"You will have 3 trials. The first will be harder than the last. You must pass them all to grow stronger overall. If you fail one, you fail the other two, so don't. Trial 1. A trial of the body. Trial 2. A trial of the spirit. Trial 3. A trial of the mind. Your mind is your weakest trait making your hardest trial one of the mind. There is no set time limit for the trials; however, you must complete them by the end of the day or you fail." Akira would look to the ground and then back to Mei. It was always hard having to be tough with your own flesh and blood, nonetheless it had to be done. "Trial 1.
Begin." At this point, walls, spikey, desert plants, metal spiked clubs, and 5 ninja's all of lesser ranking than Mei would appear.

Mei would turn around as she heard a familiar voice yelling to her. The teen's face brightened until she realized that her momma was in serious mode and didn't seem to be friendly today. Mei didn't blame her though. She had to do what she had to do. So, the teen would listen obediently as she learned two new lessons, while also learning of the three tasks she would need to undergo to reach a stronger level. The first was a lesson under the label of body. It was a weird label until Mei realized what it was that she was that body meant. The terrain changed and more ninja came out to challenge Mei leaving her in a state of serious mode herself. As momma said begin, the shinobi would begin their assault all the while the one near Nuibari would continue to stand still.

5 shinobi all rushed for Mei together as the teen would look wide eyed and rush in the direction they were rushing as well. This would place Mei running away from the group as she weaved passed obstacles. Upon the ceasement of running, Mei would rip the bow from her back pulling an arrow wrapped in cloth from the quiver all the while. Mei had taken measures to ensure that she wouldn't harm any of momma's people while just in case she did have to fight. One individual would run past Mei leaving the brunette to immediately draw back the arrow pelting the ninja in the back of the knee prompting the individual to tumble to the ground bringing down one of the five shinobi.

Although she should have moved from her position, Mei chose to sit still leaving her revealed to the other four, who would all come crashing down on her. One of the four would reach for Mei's arm prompting her to punch at him only for it to be caught midair. His other hand would swing around only for Mei to grin and sweep his legs out from under him knocking him to thr ground. That was two out of five. However, three would be a bit harder considering he had restricted Mei using her own bow. He squeezed her between the bow handle and the string swinging her body into a wall. The child would gasp as the air left her vessel causing a sound of pure pain. From behind the wall, number 4 would jump over landing directly stradled across Mei's body before pulling her arm back to strike the brunette directly into the ground forcing the sand to crater around Mei's body. The teen would gasp and cough as she felt the pain, sharpness, and burning of the organs within her body. Body.. the trial of the body. They were trying to force her to stop moving. She couldn't lose.

Mei would begin to breathe as the individuals around her seemed to be forming some sort of plan. Little did they know that Mei had only been fooling them the whole time. Mei knew her strengths. Mei knew she could withstand a few blows from such normal shinobi. However, Mei wasn't normal, no. Mei was something else entirely to these people. Mei was stronger than they imagined. As the plotted, Mei would swiflty move towards three and four grabbing their arms. She would drag their bodies towards eachother knocking them both unconscious. The girl would grin as she began to wonder where five had gone. Now. Five. Five was special. Five was specifically a vessel created for training purposes to be utilized to fit an individual's need.

Mei would find her eyes scanning the area as her ears listened for movement that five could be making. The area was far too dense with obstacles to be able to see, but perhaps five was just loud enough for dragon hearing to sense. Hmm.. maybe not. Mei would be kicked straight into a spiked club. The impact of her body collapsed it, but her skin was not steal. A spike had found itself lodged within the girl's leg causing Mei immense pain. Her hands would shake as she reached for the spike wincing and grimmacing as it was removed by her own hands.

The girl would stand before ripping off a piece of her shirt just along the belly/lower back area to tie around her leg. Now Mei's shirt had become a crop top, she was waddling around, and her body was a bit beat up. The girl would notice five had disappeared again. The girl would scan the area before remembering what her momma had said about looking for clues. She would scan the ground noting the footprints and which were hers. They all were. Wait. They all were? Then, five couldn't have been on the ground, which is why Mei didn't hear five come close. Mei would then look up to see five sitting plain as day ahove her head quickly leaping into an attack. Mei would roll out of the way as five's foot now collided with the sand. Mei would begin to limp away as five chased her down tossing kunai in her direction. Mei would feel one connect with her arm before falling face first into the sand. The kunai would stick out of her arm as Mei would attempt to sit up. Five would grab her by the throat and hold her against a wall. Five's head would tilt as Mei squirmed and thrashed. Her body was bloodied, beat up, and her insides where throbbing. Nonetheless, Mei refused to give up. Her eyes became angry as air began to be refused by her body. With one hand, Mei would take the kunai and release it from her soft flesh. With that same hand, Mei would thrust the kunai into five's abdomen prompting a drop of Mei's body and a drop of five's as well. Mei would cough a stir. Her body ached, but she had done it. She had beat five out of five returning the landscape to normal. Mei would lie back in the sand as she watched the blood drip from her arm. "Uhm. Can i get patched up before we go on? I.. I think I'm getting a little lightheaded."

Akira had instructed an immediate first aid session; however, Mei wouldn't be fully healed until the end of all three trials or elss it would be a pointless training. Turquoise eyes would stare at the child wondering just how she had managed to take out all five of her children so quickly, yet she didn't wish to make a huge deal out of it. Akira knew she hadn't seen much of anythinv yet, and she was determined to get into the inner core of this teen. Her face seemed so small, pure, and innocent. Was she really still just a child inside that body or was her brain simply searching for a start up? Perhaps, it just needed a slight push in the right direction. Alas, there was a trial yet before the mind game would begin.

"Ma'am, we have finished," the two medical ninja would say before Akira would nod to them. Then, they would disappear leaving the demoness to tend to the teen's next task. Her face began to turn hard as if she were pushing out emotions and straining to continue. Akira knew what came next, but this poor, sweet girl would not. Turquoise eyes would turn away, "Task 2. Begin." However, nothing seemed to change the terrain, the sky, the people, or even the atmosphere. It was all normal.

Brown eyes would stare confused at the world for nothing seemed to have changed upon the beginning gesture. The qorld was normal and still as it had been just in that moment. No. The world was more still than it had been, in fact, nobody was even moving a muscle: not the birds, not the people, not the clouds, not the sands, not the sounds, and certainly not the scorching breeze. Mei would stand with weak knees as she wouls hurry towards her mother, "M-M-Momma?" Mei would question as she leaned forward to grasp her mother's shoulder only to find she would crumble to dust. "Huh?" Mei would wander towards the enterance to the area she had come only to notice that everything she touched would fall to sand. "What is this?" Mei would ask aloud as she looked arouns for signs of life that didn't exist here. She seemed a bit nervous, yet she seemed a bit bored as well. "Uhm. Is this supposed to mean something?" With that question the world would go dark and Mei would find herself eyes wide open standing in the most beautiful of white dresses. She looked more beautiful than ever before. She looked more ecstatic, even though she couldn't quite realize why.

"Let's go, Mei," a voice would say as she turned to see her mother. "T-To where?""You're getting married silly. Don't tell me you spaced out again?""I-I guess I did. Sorry," she would giggle with a large goofy grin before being led down the aisle towards the most heart pounding moment of her life. Who was that man ahead of her? Was he her.. new husband? Was that... Yoshi? No way. She couldn't REALLY be marrying him now could she? They were still so you- well.. maybe not. They were grown ups now after all.

Mei's heart was fully, happy, excited, and overall just ready to burst, but not for long. The small teen would freeze in olace not because she wanted to because her body refused to move. Mei was trapped. Mei was stuck. Mei was frantic. What was happening? Who was doing this? The girl would turn her head to see a group of black figures on a spree. A killing spree. They tore down the decorations, they burned the flowers, they took people hostage, they violated innocents, they took her Yoshi, and her momma was nowhere to be found. They asked her to give in, to tell them where she was, and they would let her live. Mei refused. She wouldn't lose her momma again. She wouldn't lose her family again. Then, they began to kill people each time being more painful than the last. Mei would feel herself breaking, her heart, her head... her spirit. Even still, she refused each time only exclaiming that she would kill them all. She exclaimed that she would find them. She would never give up her family, even when it came to costing Yoshi his life.

Mei's heart shattered watching him die again. Tears hurst down her cheeks and a scream emitted from her mouth that could burst eardrums for miles. Yet, these figures had no features meaning they were unaffected. Sitting in that same position as her future burned to the ground and died, she still refused to give up her mother. Mei claimed they would pay. She still refused to give up, although she was enduring the heartbreak of her life. That was just the girl she was. Then, everything would fade back to reality. Tears would begin streaming Mei's face as she flopped down onto the sand staring at her turquoise eyed mother.

It pained her to know that whatever she was going throigh wouldn't end as she hoped. Mei had been cast under a powerful genjutsu, used specifically for training/torturing purposes. It revealed your deepest desires allowed you to live in a realisitic moment, then it turned you against your worst, wildest, and horrifying nightmare(s). It was a training method Akira always hated to see being used upon her people, which she held so dearly to her. Hpwever, it hurt much more knowing that Mei, her own daughter, was about to have everything in her life turned against her in a mere matter of just minutes. Although her features showed nothing, Akira hoped that her precious child would overcome this task more than anything and her innocent spirit would hold true, even in the face of hardship.

The woman would stand before watching her sweet girl break down in front of her very eyes. Nonetheless, she had stood strong in her will and her fighting spirit iving her a passing grade for task 2. Her body had melted onto the sand as her tears dripped into it causing the woman's heart to break. She hadn't known what Mei saw nor what had broken her heart so devastatingly, but when she found out.. Akira would do her best to protect it. The turquoise eyed woman would speak in a soft tone to the girl, "Mei.. I want you to know that was all a lie.
It was a task to reveal your dreams and see how your spirit held true in the face of losing everything. So, stand up now. Everything is alright. It's growing later and we need to finish up so you can rest properly. Come now." A soft, browned hand would be held down to the teen that was a sobbing mess just moments before. Whether she took it, would tell whether to end her training or continue it.

Mei would stare at the sand crystals creating the terrain beneath her knees, as her tears dripped onto them forming the individuals into chunks of wet sand. Her fingers would curl into the sand as her mother spoke to her she would raise her hands as the sand slowly began to fly into the desert atmosphere and eventually die away. That was how she had felt watching that dream, that wonderful dream, that soon to be reality, eventually disappear. However, Mei had an advantage to this dream that had been carved into her mind long before this silly genjutsu had placed it there. Mei had already believed that at one point, she had lost everything. She had watched her mother disappear before her very eyes, she had watched her best friend be taken away from her with nothing she could do, and she had watched the love of her life die with his arms wrapped around her. She had already lost everything leaving her with no other option than to move forward and crawl her way back up. Mei had known that was all just false in one way or another. Mei had known that she wouldn't allow anything to happen to Yoshi ever again. Mei had known that her mother wouldn't have run away, but she would have fought. Mei had known better. She was more intelligeny with a kinder soul than anyone could have thought... yet her heart still hurt.

Akira would stare at the girl with those turquoise eyes leaving her all the bit more enraged as the girl simoly dilly dallied around in the sand. "Listen, Mei,
I said it wasn't true. Even if it had been, you're acting like a child. A silly little child. What do you expect this world is? This world can be cruel. This world can be vicious. The world changes... but you.. You may look the part, but you certainly aren't grown. You're just a helpless little girl behind that pretty face aren't you? How do you expect to move on? Are you just going to hope for the best? What about that boy of yours? He'll grow up one day and you'll be left behind. Adults don't like to deal with children. He'll leave you... leave you far behind. You'll be alone. You'll be crying like a scared girl. You'll be left to wonder why. You'll be left to pick up your own pieces, but you won't be able to. You'll be small. You'll be unprotected. You'll be weak. You'll be vulnerable. Momma won't be able to help you because you won't be able to help yourself. How will you feel? What will you do? Are you or are you not a woman?!" Akira would say as she attempted to strike Mei in the face with her hand.

Mei would find herself staring off into the abyss of sadness her heart had created as her mother began speaking to her. The teen would stand up as she took her mother's hand and stared deep into her eyes like a scared little girl. Her brown eyes showed nothing but heartbreak and a confusion that rattled deeply into her system. What was she saying? How could she be so cruel? How could she say those things to Mei? Why would she try to hurt Mei? Why was she talking nonsense? Was this really who her mother was? She had never spoken this way to Mei before now, so why had she started? Had Mei done something wrong that her mother didn't like. Why did she keep calling Mei little? Why did she keep saying Mei was weak? Mei certainly wasn't weak. She certainly wasn't small. She was a big girl, right? Yeah, sure she was. She was tall, she was pretty, and she was now in a bigger body. She was definitely big, but her mother kept calling her small. Why?

Mei would tear up as the hurtful words soaked into her system and nothing could prepare her for what happened next. The woman would raise her hand forcing her palm into her left cheek leaving a stinging sensation and a confused teen standing before her. Mei.. had never been.. hit.. before. Why would anyone do such a thing? Mei hadn't done anything wrong, but she was punished for something. Tears would fall from her brown eyes as Mei would hear a familiar voice enter her head. "You've grown soft. You were raised better than this," it was a stern but kind voice that made Mei's eyes widen.

"W-Wait.. I'm sorry, what?" Mei would say as she seemed to be stuck in her own head, yet again. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten child. I knew you had a bad memory, but..forgetting your own mother?" The blue dragon would come into full view making brown eyes widen, as they would grow a bit teary. "M-Momma? W-where have you been? Why haven't you come to find me? Why aren't you here?
I-I needed you and I couldn't find you!" Her voice seemed to have grown angry with every question she asked the dragon for she had been searching so long, yet she had just now decided to come to her. "Now Now, child. I never left you. I've been with you all along. I've been closer than you imagined, dear girl. You were simply too young to look. You weren't ready for me yet," the dragon would speak softly not moving from her seated position looking down upon the now teen. Mei would shake her head as she listened to the dragon as she choked back tears, "What are you talking about?! I was ready! I waited for you! I looked for you! What do you mean I wasn't ready?! I did need you! I-I almost didn't make it without you!" Mei would begin pacing in front of the large beast for it helped her think. "But you weren't without, dearest. What makes you say 'almost'," the dragon would ask in her most interested voice possible, even if she already knew the answer. "W-Well, I met brother Naisu and he took care of me and Captain Hoppy. He had a friend too Nat-something. I didn't like her too much, but she seemed nice, plus she was brother's friend. I met sister Kasey when I went to the tournament, which I did my best in just for you. I met Momma too. She's my real momma just like you. I love her a lot. I met the brown haired girl too, but I don't know her name. She cheers for me. I've met a lot of people, Momma! I even met a REAL pirate! We went on a treasure hunt," a smile would grow on the girl's face as she searched through her memories. A giggle would escape her lips before she would look up at the dragon with the most sincere eyes and a shaking voice, "And... I met Him,
Momma. I met Yoshi and I took care of him. He took care of me too. He fought me in the tournament, but didn't hurt me. He actually died holding me in his arms, but he came back. They brought him back to me. We even danced. Momma, one day I'm gonna marry him. One day, I'll be his princess and he'll be my prince." Her eyes would release but the happiest of tears, as she smiled up at the proud dragon before her.

"You did all of that without me, but I never went far, dearest. You see, I may not have been here,
but I was in your heart all along. You won't be able to see me again for I will remain there. Before I go, there's one more lesson you need to learn, even though it'll be the hardest of all," the dragon's voice was soft, as it leaned down close to her touching its large claw to her small chest. Brown eyes would look to her momma with a heart knowing since the beginning that she would eventually need to let her mother go. She knew her mother couldn't stay somehow, but she didn't realize it would be this soon. "You already know, don't you?
You see, until this point, you have but dwelled in the past. You vowed to find me, when I was gone. You cried every night. You lost your dear boy and you cried every day. You lost your brother and you were scared to tears. You dwelled on these things and you always cried. Crying is okay, dear girl, but eventually, the tears need to end and you need to move on. Sometimes, you need to let objects go, you need to let events go, but most importantly, you need to let people go. You have a journey that can't be accomplished if you spend all your time looking backwards instead of toward it. You have a life that's waiting for you to drive straight into it. Remember sweetest, it's okay to cry, but eventually your heart needs a break. You have a heart that is soft,
but your mind needs to tell it when to forget, so it can remember. Let go, but always remember," the dragon's voice would fade as the tears would slow, until the beast had finally disappeared and Mei's grip on reality had resurfaced. Her face was dry, her heart felt lighter, and her being felt all the more wiser. Mei would look to her mother before her. She would look into her bright blue orbs. She would smile at the woman, "I'm on my way there."

Akira had been but staring at her hand as Mei had fallen into her own head, yet again due to shinobi training methods. This training had brought out the best in people and the worst in people. Whether Mei woke up sane depended on whether she had the mental fortitude to withstand whatever her mind threw at her, if anything at all. She had hoped her child could forgive her, for only a good connection with the palm of the woman's hand could have started the mental test. She had hoped that this test increased Mei's abilities rather than harmed her mentality. The woman would stare at the child for what seemed like an eternity awaiting her awakening. When Mei finally returned, she seemed to have already found an answer to Akira's question forcing the demoness into a smile. Of course, it wasn't a simply yes or no question. To Mei, she still had much to learn before she was a fully fledged woman. She was still young in mind and heart, but she had gained great knowledge that day. On this day, Mei had decided to begin pushing forward, which was all Akira had really hoped for from the girl. "You'll make it soon," Akira would smile as she attempted to grab her daughter's hand. If Mei accepted it, Akira would escort her to her room for the night to stay in. She couldn't wait for Mei to continue her journey and grow more.

Mei would smile as her mother had confirmed her passing of the trial, but also seemed to silently cheer her on in her trials to come. The teen would smile at the sky knowing that all around Pandora someone else was looking up too. She looked at the sky knowing that somewhere under it a soul was under it that she was bound to come into contact to. She looked at the sky knowing she would one day lose a loved one that was now living a grand life. She looked at the sky knowing someone just like her was going through the same problems that she was. Mei couldn't wait to continue on. Mei couldn't wait to help people all over. Mei couldn't wait to live a long and happy. Mei couldn't wait to become really strong and make someone feel safer. She couldn't wait for her future with Yoshi, Kasey, Momma, Brown Haired Girl, Pirate Man, and everyone else to continue. She would be led back to her room, where Mei would have the best night of sleep ever.