The imagination truly was a wonderful thing. Honestly, it could accomplish so much - it was the basis of progress, of new inventions, of scientific theorems and one of the things that made humans so unique. Well, that last bit Zhuge wasn't too sure of. Did animals have imaginations? Some of them could dream, so maybe. He would add that tot the list of medical things that he wanted to experiment on in the near and/or far future maybe possibly. He would put it right under "find out the multiple uses of dolphin tonsils in terms of nutritional purposes." How he had ever wondered what the answer to that was was still a mystery to him. Then again, truth be told, despite being a medic and knowing the exact extent of damage caused by drugs and smoking, he didn't really take care of himself all that much. He figured that he would eventually find a way to fix the damage he had caused himself in the first place. Maybe he could find a way to perform an organ transplant on himself. He added that to the list of things that he wanted to perform an investigation on as well.

It was likely because of these bad habits and his all around cold and uncaring nature that he was terribly terribly under prepared for the upcoming Chuunin Exams. Terribly. As in it was at this point  guaranteed that he was going to get his ass kicked straight to next Sunday. Albeit, he cared little about the promotion - though he had heard something about a cash prize that intrigued him quite  lot. Nevertheless, he didn't want to look like an idiot. There had to be something that he could do, some way that he could cram in several months worth of training into a few hours... right?

That was the predicament that was at the top of his list of investigations at the moment. It had been bumped up due to the urgent nature that it had to it. Would he succeed? Not a chance in hell. He knew that already. But that didn't stop him from trying. Something about scientific minds and not giving up and some such bull shit. It made him wonder why he had signed up for the god forsaken exams in the first place. He only remembered it being a good idea at the time. Oh right, he wanted to scout the next generation of doujutsu users. Best case scenario he could start off his precious collection. A guy could only dream.

In the meantime, here he was, in Takigakure already, bathing under the shining sun and the clear blue skies. The weather was lovely, he'd admit that much. Currently, he was lying face up on a patch of grass in what seemed to be a labyrinth. He had gotten himself lost in it on purpose in order to get some privacy. The main areas of the village were bustling with people roaming around the markets and the city. Apparently, hosting the Chuunin Exams made the place a tourist attraction. He also guessed some of the people there were participants, but he couldn't really fathom an Exam where there were one hundred plus participants. He really really hoped to whatever deity that existed - if there was one in the first place - that that wasn't the case.

He let a sigh escape his lips. So far, he had drawn a blank. No ideas had come up. Maybe he could... Maybe... Hm... It was a long shot, but it could possibly work. That, or it could very well be the equivalent of an acid trip gone wrong. Well, he wouldn't get any answers by just lying there and waiting, would he?

Sitting up, Zhuge Shin placed himself in a lotus position. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate on the contents of his own mind. The key, first of all, was to clear himself of any thoughts, to find himself adrift within his own existence. After a few minutes, he began to lose his sense of time. He could feel the energy coursing through his body. Time to tap into the darkest corners of his own mind and try not to end up driving himself insane.

"Here goes nothing."

[Speed E to E2: 225/225]
[Speed E2 to E3: 48/225]
[Strength E to E2: 225/225]
[Reaction Time E to E2: 225/225]

Zhuge's sense of reality began to dwindle. Essentially, he was placing himself under a genjutsu of his own fabrication, using his knowledge of the human body - specifically its nervous system - to manipulte his senses. For all intents and purposes, he might as well have been travelling to an alternate dimension. Again with the whole "imagination being a wonderful thing" stuff. He could essentially train his body through an illusion. And hey, if it worked, who was he to question the science behind it? Opening his eyes, he found himself deep within the contents of his own mind - the deepest, darkest parts of him all converging towards one world of pure chaos and destruction.

Or not.

Apparently this time he had landed himself in something... different than the usual.

First of all, he was on a field. And it wasn't a barren field littered with blood of the dead and their respective bodies. It was just that - a field. Furthermore, it had flowers. And they were pink flowers. Zhuge didn't do pink. He never wore the color. Nothing in his temporary houses was ever pink. What the hell was this? And how the hell was he supposed to train here?

The young boy surveyed the area further. Were those... lollipops? Wait... were those lollipops supposed to be trees? Dear sweet and sour Lemon Lord where the hell had he landed himself? For some reason, this made him far more nervous than any other illusion that he had created for himself. It was definitely throwing him way out of his comfort zone. In fact, he could safely say that this place was slowly obliterating it.

"Yoohoo~ over here handsome," called a distinctly male voice. A male voice with a lisp. A male voice with a lisp trying to sound like a female. Zhuge slowly turned to look at its source. Really, at this point, he didn't know what to expect. A gryphon wearing pink thong wasn't on the list, though. Its head was that of an eagle, crowned with white feathers and... was that a tiara? Yes, that was definitely a tiara. Its body - that of a rather muscular lion - was trimmed in the latest gryphon fashion. "We've been expecting you sweetheart," the animal said, stroking his chest with what seemed to be the equivalent of an index finger and winking and Zhuge. "You can call me George, baby. And you don't need to tell me your name, I already know," he elaborated.

At this point, the young Amida was in a state of shock that he couldn't quite snap out of. His thoughts were actually blank. "What the hell is this place?" Was all he could muster. The gryphon got up on all four legs and started what seemed to be a strut his way. "You're in La-La Land, sweetie. And I can make all your dreams come true here."

What. The. Fuck.

"And you're the chosen one, sent here by the Lemon Lord himself to free us of the torment caused by the rainbow unicorns. You see, this was once my kingdom but those colorful little pansies thought they could take better care of it. We've been at this all day long. It's getting annoying at this point." You know what? At this point, it was time to just take these things as they were and go with it. There was no hope at all of any of this making any sense at all anyways.

[Speed E2 to E3: 225/225]
[Speed E3 to D: 300/300]
[Reaction TIme E2 to E3: 101/225]

In all this time, Zhuge really hadn't even said a word. A truck load of information was being dumped on him and all he could really do was stand there while the gryphon named George circled around him in what he could only guess was an attempt at seduction. Usually, when it came to sexual encounters, Zhuge wasn't really all that picky. Hell, he could even go for some freaky shit every once in a while. A gryphon in a pink thong, however, was a little bit too much for him. "You know what? Screw it. What's the worst that could happen? I'll help you get rid of those unicorn things or whatever," Zhuge finally said after what seemed to be like an eternity of deliberation, at least for George.

The gryphon rolled his eyes. "Ugh, finally, we don't have all day sweet heart! Come on! I have a manicure at five that I'd like to get to, please and thank you," he said as he began to strut down the field and towards a red brick road that stretched as far as Zhuge's eyes let him see. "So... I'm guessing we follow the red brick road to get to the rainbow unicorns?" Zhuge asked, just to break the awkward silence. Everything about this experience was unnerving. After this, Zhuge Shin was likely to develop an irrational fear of all things pink.

And to think that all of this was somehow a product of his subconscious mind. Any psychotherapist would have a field day exploring this kind of thing. If anyone else saw this, the boy would likely end up in a psychiatric hospital - a looney bin, an insane asylum - if anyone else was unfortunate enough to take a look at this strange strange world he had landed himself in. He was broken out of his reverie by George, who was apparently laughing. "No, honey, that's how you get to the La-La Wizard, don't you read, you silly goose?" Zhuge sighed once again. "Right," was his only response. He was not about to argue with a talking mythical animal - much less one that was a figment of his own imagination and seemed to be more of a Diva than Bustin Jieber.

Zhuge slipped his hands into his pockets and resigned himself to following the eagle - lion crossbreed. "So... where too, then?" He asked, once again trying to distract himself from the strutting gryphon. There was something about looking at him that seemed to be both incredibly uncomfortable and oddly mesmerizing at the same time. "We go to the Candy Tower, that's where Stephanie is. She's the one that leads the rainbow unicorns - she is such a bitch. Last thing she told me was that I'd let myself go and gotten fat after the break up, but she knows nothing. I mean, what the hell? You can't just say that to someone who's going through a rough time. I have feelings, you know!"

George's voice was getting chocked up. He initially seemed angry but was soon rendered to the edge of tears. Zhuge took a deep breath. "Sorry I asked, then," he muttered under his breath. Maybe the awkward silence was better after all. Just as that thought crossed his mind, he noticed a blur of color appear in the corner of his eye. He tensed on instinct. He was supposed to be looking for rainbow unicorns after all. A blur of color was a good sign.

A slim hand reached into the contents of his weapons' pouch. He drew a kunai and readied himself for a fight. He had never really gotten to fight  horse before, much less one that could talk. Or at least Zhuge assumed the things could talk. "So little George went off and got help because he couldn't handle things on his own," came a mocking voice. This time it sounded female.

A horse - or mare, rather - with blue hair and a rainbow colored mane was standing in the middle of the path. And... was that a tattoo of a rainbow and a cloud on its ass? Whatever. Zhuge Shin reminded himself not to question it anymore. It would get him nowhere. Before the two mythical creatures could begin to argue over whatever it was that this conflict was about, Zhuge launched his kunai towards the horse.... mare... unicorn... thing.

"Ugh, of course Stephanie would send you of all people, Veronica," George replied with evident distaste. Well, at least Zhuge now knew what to call the thing in front of him other than "soon to be dead."

[Reaction Time E2 to E3: 225/225]
[Reaction Time E3 to D: 300/300]
[Strength E2 to E3: 225/225]
[Speed D to D1: 132/325]