Another white mark appeared in the corner of the blackboard.
The chalk touched down lightly, without disturbing anyone's pen. The dust it stirred up was carried away by the draft in the aisle.
Ibiki stood beside the lectern, raising his wrist, lowering it. He added a mark, stepped back half a pace, then added another.
The tally reached seven, each mark beside the next, packed ever closer.
Two more rows of seats stood empty among the desks. Daylight fell across them, making the empty spaces brighter than the occupied desktops.
The two rows by the door had emptied first.
Every few minutes, the door at the far end of the corridor opened. A quiet "please leave" reached into the room from the end of the aisle, and those at the named desk rose one after another. Chair legs scraped briefly against the floor as they filed out behind the proctor. The door closed behind them, the scratching of pens paused for half a beat, then resumed on its own.
Those who left did not look back. Their papers stayed on their desks, open to the page they had only half answered.
Each time the door closed, the remaining pens sounded a little more in unison.
With every departure, the room felt a little lighter.
When a proctor raised a hand, the people at that desk followed them out. No one moved into those two seats.
The footsteps in the corridor grew more distant each time.
No one looked toward the door anymore.
Fewer and fewer heads rose. Those bent low over their desks pressed their pens even lower.
The sounds in the back half of the room were denser than those in the front.
There was no panic in the scratching of pens, only caution.
Naruto lay slumped over his