Chapter 4
I looked at the exam, and it was pretty easy. I wasn't sure about some stuff like which squad was the stealth force or punishment force, or particulars of what the squad symbols and meanings were, but I thought I did fairly well. I finished in 2 hours, and the exam proctor men collected the exams. Whispering started and Alex whispered to me, "That was easy! I think I mixed up a little bit, but otherwise it was pretty easy."
I nodded back and the proctors quickly silenced us.
"The second portion merely gauges your amount of spiritual energy and measures how well you can control it at present. Each student will come to the front when your number is called. Your number is on your table."
There were numbers on each of the separate tables that were attached to the chairs (surprisingly like in normal auditoriums), and mine was 58, and Alex's was 57.
"Number 1!"
A tall girl walked to the front and was told to sit in a chair, where one man wrapped a band around her wrist and looked at the machine attached to it. A beep sounded after a few seconds (like a digital thermometer when the temperature is measured) and he wrote down something, then asked her to form a ball of her reiatsu in her hand. She managed to focus a tiny blue ball of her reiatsu in her palm after a while, and the proctor wrote something else down after measuring the diameter of the swirling ball.
"Number 2!"
I giggled when I realized it absurdly resembled people getting their blood pressure taken, then started getting bored as I watched people alternately get their spiritual energy measured, then struggle to concentrate reiatsu in their palm. Most people had blue reiatsu, and some had light red, yellow, green, and one had a dark brown (which I thought was ugly). A few students only took a few tries to easily focus reiatsu into their hand. The ball was of all different sizes. Some people completely failed to make a ball. I saw one boy with with white reiatsu.
"Number 57!"
I woke up quickly from my thoughts and Alex nervously went to the front. I whispered "good luck" as she went by.
Her spiritual energy was measured and written down, and she focused her reiatsu into a medium-sized green ball successfully and after only two tries.
I smiled and gave her a thumbs up as she came back, smiling happily.
"Number 58!"
I got up, suddenly getting cold hands, and Alex gave me a thumbs up to reassure me. I went to the front, sat in the chair, and the proctor attached the band to my wrist. I was acutely aware of every single gaze resting on me, and the cold smooth chair. I heard a beep and the proctor looked at the screen of the little device. I saw his eyes widen momentarily and he wrote down something. He then asked me to focus my reiatsu as best I could into a ball in my hand. I gathered energy and let it flow out into my hand, and focused it into a ball as big as my fist. The ball was pitch black and was big enough to cover my hand. The proctor raised an eyebrow, measured it, and wrote down something.
I went back to my seat and Alex whispered "good job!"
We smiled and when everyone was done, a proctor announced, "Your test results will be available in one hour. You will be individually called by your number, so please write it down and come to room 5 when your number is called. Until then, you are free to eat something from the vendor just on the right of the school building, and relax. Dismissed!"
Alex and I ran out the building and I said, "I'm so thirsty! I hope you don't have to pay for anything!"
She agreed and said, "I hope they have bubble tea in the Soul Society!" We laughed and stood in the long line for the vendor.
Fortunately, everything was free, and they had iced green tea, juice, and little bento's that got handed out. I chose green tea and Alex took juice, and we ate the bento we each got. It tasted pretty good and I gulped down the iced green tea. When we were both done, we watched people go inside the building nervously and come out either disappointed or happy.
We heard the speaker say, "Number 57!" and Alex said, "I'm going to go in. Wish me luck!"
"Good luck!"
She skipped off to the building and came out five minutes later.
"I got accepted to the advanced class and the proctor said I showed talent!"
"Great!"
"Number 58!"
"Oh, gotta go. See ya!"
She smiled and waved as I ran off to room 5, which I quickly found. I entered the room and the same proctor who had administered the second portion of the test was sitting at a desk. He said, "Sit down here. You are Sayuri?"
"Yes, sir."
"I am pleased to inform you that you have been accepted and placed into the advanced class. Congratulations!"
"Thanks!" I was bubbling with excitement inside.
"Also, you have the most amount of spiritual energy of any student that I have seen. In fact, it rivals that of a captain's and could perhaps exceed it later when you learn to control it. I am sure you will be a seated officer in one of the squads when you graduate, which is usually about six years. Former captain of squad 3, Gin Ichimaru, graduated in only one year."
"I hope I can graduate in a year too!"
The stoic man smiled. "Perhaps. Also, you are the only student with pitch black reiatsu. I find that quite interesting."
"Oh...I wish I had gold or white or something. Black is ugly."
He laughed. "Black is intriguing. Anyway, I am quite busy with the rest of the students, so I'm afraid I can't talk any more. Here is your schedule, we start classes tomorrow at 8:00 AM in Room 8. Meanwhile, you are provided lodging in the dormitories to the right of this building."
"Thank you!"
I bowed quickly and left the room.
"Alex! Guess what!"
We gossiped about what the proctor had told us and we happily walked to the dormitories, got our keys, and found our rooms, which were next to each other (we begged the lady at the dormitories to have rooms next to each other, and she smiled and complied). It was already 6:00 PM by the time we went in our rooms (according to a clock on the wall), and exhausted, we quickly fell asleep. I woke up in an hour with a growling stomach and knocked on Alex's room. She groaned and opened the door.
"Aren't you hungry?"
"Now that you mention it, I am furiously hungry!" We laughed and walked down the stairs in search of food. There was a cafeteria-type place with a buffet-style area, so I got a bowl of udon and Alex decided to settle with ramen. After eating ravenously, we went upstairs again and fell asleep two minutes after getting into bed.
In my dreams, everything suddenly goes misty. A three-dimensional surrounding yellow-golden mist. I wait patiently in my dream to see what happens.
Nothing happens for a while. In my unconscious, I start getting bored and think about using my imagination to switch to another dream. Then I hear something that makes me start so badly I almost wake up. My brother's voice.
"Kamenosuke?"
I look around for my brother, calling his name. I do not see him. Then I hear it again. His voice, saying my name.
"Sayuri. I know where you are, I know of the Soul Reapers now. I know about everything now. I am not-"
I get jerked out of my dream suddenly.