"Zarameyuki-kun," the chūnin examiner began, only to stop, seemingly at a lose of words.

"Yes, sensei?" Orochimaru answered, tone perfectly respectful with just a hint of muted curiosity and a tinge of lethargy. As if she had no idea why her homeroom teacher would pull her aside after the main lesson before she could go to kunoichi class. As if she was oblivious of all the concerned looks various staff had been throwing her way for the past two months and meaningful looks her main instructors had been giving her in the last three weeks alone, all in the hopes to catch her eye and get her to come to them instead of the other way around. As if her class ranking hadn't been suffering and her atrocious grades failed to burn a hole in her pride.

As if she hadn't been purposefully flubbing every test and spar for the past forty-three days since she officially moved out of the orphanage and became financially independent.

The chūnin sighed, coincidently enough being the same one who had called the names of students to separate them into classes all those months ago. It was starting to seem likely that he was the head instructor at the academy, the equivalent of a principal. She hadn't seen him much, except at the occasional assessment test, rare school assemblies, or when he was divvying up D-ranks among the fourth years... Which meant he was very aware of exactly of just how many extra D-ranks she had been taking outside of school and, given by the folder in front of him, very aware of her current financial situation. She could almost make out a candid photo of her up to her arms in fertilizer as she planted and weeded one of the many vegetable gardens Konoha's community had speckled randomly throughout the village. She looked exhausted.

(she had been exhausted, but that was beside the point)

Orochimaru fought back a satisfied smirk, instead allowing her face to slip into what looked like a stifled grimace. Taking on a tone of reluctance, she mumbled, "This isn't about me taking D-ranks outside of school, is it?"

"...No," he answered a moment too long for a comfortable pause, radiating awkwardness. "Not entirely, anyway."

"Then why am I here after class, Sensei?" The woman-turned-child finally prompted, taking mercy on the chūnin. He probably wasn't forced into this position often, usually it was a trouble-making or slacking student that would be called into the office for cases like these, because they had the tendency of being disruptive as well as failing. Orphans like her... Well, in most cases the instructors wouldn't bother, so long as they weren't causing undue mischief. But Orochimaru was unfortunately not like most cases, because she had Potential and would be a Good Little Asset for the War... if she weren't failing. So, obviously, that was why they were here and her sensei so uncertain as to how to approach her: she fit none of the usual parameters.

"I have a feeling you know why," he speculated quietly with a sigh. "But, I will be direct, at the rate you are going, Zarameyuki-kun, you will not being passing with the rest of your peers, by an uncomfortable margin. The graduation exam is March; that's not much longer, only about a handful of weeks." He gave Orochimaru a significant look, tone frank, "You haven't been studying."

What have you been doing instead beyond D-ranks?

"I have not," Orochimaru agreed serenely. "I still train, though."

So, I haven't been slacking, per se; I just haven't been working on the academic areas of my education.

"And it shows, you rose two ranks in taijitsu and your accuracy percentages in aerial projectiles has grown by a little over ten percent," the examiner allowed before sighing. His eyes were tired and corner of his mouth downturned in a grimace. "However, that only accounts for about sixty-percent of your grade, and you have only just been scraping by in maintaining your status."

If you wanted to pass by the physical test alone, you would need to do far better than you are. Would need to practice more and have extra tutoring. Would need to be older to compare with other students three years your senior. But your aren't, and so are only above average.

"...Does this mean I'm going to be held back a year, Sensei? Even though I haven't had the chance to try? That's not fair!" Orochimaru sounded upset, sounded frustrated and outraged like any child her supposed age would. She thought of being forced to pass so she could fight in the War, of being forced into this shinobi lifestyle with no choice, of being trapped in the wrong body and being unable to anything about it, of just about everything in the past four years really. There were a lot of things that she was actually aggravated with, and it didn't take much to get her visibly annoyed at the thought of them.

The examiner spread out his hands in a helpless gesture, lips pursed grimly. "There's not much that can be done for that, if you can't move forward and keep up then you'll have to relearn the basics... Normally, anyway."

Her guts freeze as something like cold dread settles in her stomach. "Sensei?"

He sighs, rubbing his face tiredly with a hand, "The Hokage has gotten involved."

And all of her carefully laid plans came crumbling down in an instant.