As soon as we stepped through the academy gates, I felt the weight of the atmosphere shift around us. The building was bustling, but not in the usual way.
There is a tension lingering in the air, like everyone inside are holding their breath before something important.
Right by my side, Jimei slowed his pace and scratched his head, furrowing his brows. He looked around, clearly trying to find some kind of reference—but failing.
"Hmm... wait a sec..." He snapped his fingers and pointed at me. "What room was it again?"
I didn't even need to think.
"301."
Jimei furrowed his brows even more, scanning the numbers on the doors as we walked. His eyes grew increasingly lost with each step.
"301... 301... You sure? Wasn't it 201? Or 101?" he mumbled, now sounding suspicious. "Now I'm not so sure anymore."
I sighed, already sensing this is going to take longer than it should.
"If it was, I would've said so."
A soft laugh came from beside us. Natsu, as always, wore a calm expression. She moved down the hallway as if the tension didn't reach her at all.
"Kenshin-kun already answered, Jimei. Wouldn't it be easier to just accept it and move on?"
She spoke gently, unhurriedly. Her tone was sweet, but there was something subtly amused about it too like she was enjoying his stubbornness.
Jimei let out a loud sigh and crossed his arms.
"Hey, I'm just double-checking! Can you imagine if we walk into the wrong room and embarrass ourselves right at the start?"
"That would be quite the achievement, considering the correct answer has already been given twice." Natsu added, her smile widening just a bit.
"Alright, alright!" Jimei grumbled, adjusting the forehead protector on his head. "301 it is... Just saying, I still think it could be another one."
I rolled my eyes and kept walking. The hallway leading to the stairs was filled with the low murmur of other genin—some chatting confidently, others clearly nervous.
"I heard there's always a surprise test before the exam really begins…" Jimei said after a moment, glancing around like he expected someone to jump out from the ceiling.
I shot him a lazy look.
"If it's a surprise, you're not supposed to know about it, right?"
Jimei opened his mouth to reply, but just as we stepped onto the first stair leading to the third floor, he suddenly threw his arm out in front of us to stop us.
"Wait, hold up!"
It seemed like an instinct, but something in his voice made me stop without thinking.
"What is it?" I asked quietly, my eyes narrowing as I looked suspiciously at the group of genin ahead of us, still climbing the stairs like nothing was wrong.
He slowly lowered his hand, eyes fixed on the steps. His usual distracted expression had vanished—he was serious now.
"A genjutsu activated the moment we stepped here."
I blinked. "Seriously?"
I hadn't noticed anything. Not even the faintest sign of distortion in the environment. But if Jimei, with his natural talent for illusions, said so, there was no reason to doubt him.
Natsu had already activated her Byakugan. The veins around her eyes became visible for a moment as she scanned the surroundings.
After a brief pause, she let out a soft sigh.
"Indeed..." she murmured looking at our faces. "Someone cast a subtle illusion here. But it's nothing too complicated."
"What's the genjutsu supposed to do?" I asked, glancing around.
Jimei tilted his head, scratching his chin. "Maybe it's meant to trick us into thinking we've climbed the stairs, when we actually haven't moved at all?"
Natsu gave a faint smile. "If that's the case, then it's quite a... naive trap."
"Well, if the goal was to catch people who don't notice it, I bet it already snagged one or two fool.," I said with a shrug. "But it's got nothing to do with us. Let's move."
None of us wasted time. Together, we dispelled the genjutsu, and in the blink of an eye, everything snapped back to what it should've been, normal, or at least as normal as it gets.
Without any further issues, we continued up the stairs.
When we reached the third floor, a large man stood in front of room 301 with his arms crossed.
"You got here fast."
Honestly, Dekai-sensei could've passed for a bodybuilder in my old life.
Jimei grinned. "If you expected anything else, then you don't know us very well, sensei."
Dekai didn't change his expression.
"So, you weren't dumb enough to fall for the first ridiculous trap of the day."
"If it was a little harder, I might've pretended to fall for it just to see if I could get something out of it." Jimei said, folding his arms behind his head.
Dekai raised an eyebrow. "That kind of thinking is exactly why so many genin leave the exams broken, physically and mentally."
Before Jimei could come up with a comeback, Natsu stepped forward and smiled, her voice as gentle as ever.
"Sensei, I understand your concern, and I do appreciate it. But we should learn to trust in our own abilities a little more, don't you think?"
She had a way of speaking that made even a lecture sound like a calm and friendly chat.
Dekai sighed and rubbed his temples, clearly not in the mood for long conversations.
"Don't disappoint me."
Natsu closed her eyes briefly and gave a respectful bow. "You can count on us."
I nodded. Jimei, on the other hand, snapped his fingers with a smug grin.
"We won't need luck."
Dekai-sensei shook his head in exasperation before vanishing in a puff of smoke. A brief silence followed before I looked at the two beside me.
"Shall we?"
Natsu gave a small smile and nodded. Jimei opened the door without hesitation.
Without another word, we stepped into the exam room.