"Swear that even if the ground beneath us should be rent asunder we will live and return to this place again." — Renji Abarai.
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Renji looked around him, silently taking in the new location as their guide explained to them the rather easy rules of the exams, or test rather.
Renji had been stoked, and maybe part-time nervous, about how the tests would be only for him to find out that it would just be a physical and then they would measure their Reiatsu output and Reiryoku level.
From what he heard the tests changed some couple years back, but hey you won't catch him complaining.
He held no notion that he would be outstanding in any way, given that Black always taunted him of how barely passable a Shinigami he would be, but as long as he passed then all was well.
And then he'd get to see her, hopefully. That was the only thing he could do right now — give his best and hope that it was enough, at least for this stage.
He looked around at some of the examinees and couldn't help but feel his heart waver for a bit. These guys looked–felt more promising than he did. Some of them even had this cool nonchalance spread across their faces like nothing could faze them, not even if a Captain showed up. They looked cool, Renji couldn't help but admit.
Some looked bored, as if them passing was already a foregone conclusion. If Renji was in charge he would pass them based on their confidence alone. Others like him looked skittish and was the exact opposite of coolheaded confidence.
The more their guide continued to speak, the more Renji looked around his fellow students and his confidence started dwindling.
"…. I should also tell you that just because you perform well on your physicals does not mean you'll be automatically accepted. The physical aspect is a personal test that shows the conjunction of how well your body and soul are connected. Everyone has their own limits, which the proctors can gauge judging on the amount and how robust your Reiryoku is, which means that someone that does worse than you can have a better shot at passing if they can influence their body better than you with their Reiryoku. It's a two-faced test – a physical one and one that tests your Reiryoku control."
"Wow…" Renji said dryly. Black didn't teach him anything about this Reiryoku and Reiatsu stuff until their last month, and even then he didn't teach Renji anything other than what they were and what they do. "I really want to punch you right now."
The only thing he could do in relation to his Reiryoku and Reiatsu was how to use them to stay longer in training. Would that really translate over?
He really couldn't do anything else with it since Black refused to reach him anything else other than prolonging his suffering(training).
If they were testing his general endurance and how long he could last in strenuous physical conditions then he would've been a lot more confident than he currently was.
"This is it, Renji. This is it." He psyched himself up as groups of students were called to take their tests at once. "You either go hard or you go home. And you really don't want to go home."
"Renji Abarai." He jumped up when his name was called but thankfully no one laughed. The nerves got to all of them equally.
He took a few steps and stood in front of their stand-in proctor. Maybe he was a little too eager since he arrived before the others called alongside him. Maybe that was why there were gasps behind him when he came forward.
Shūhei Hisagi raised a brow as he saw the little display of speed from the flustered red haired boy and couldn't help but note his name down for future reference. He had kept his eyes on the boy during their walk to the school where the boy kept releasing his Reiatsu in emotional bursts. Heavy Reiatsu, no, honed Reiatsu.
It took him half their journey for him to realize that the boy had no idea what he was doing. In a way it reminded him of Tōshirō in the beginning, but whereas Tōshirō had the strange highlight of a genius, he couldn't really say the same about Renji. One thing he was sure of however was that the boy was a hard worker. They recognized themselves.
The others joined them in the front and Hisagi had to fight off a smile off his face when he saw how pressured some of the students were besides Renji, to which the boy was completely oblivious.
"You've got five minutes on the timer. Start!"
They all burst into action and he saw as the earlier tension slowly started bleeding out of their joints as they dived into their works.
Three instructors and three Shinigami were in charge of the test but he alone was the stand-in. He could feel some of his comrades eyes zoning in on some of the students as well as feel their general impression.
He watched Renji for a short while and that was enough to tell him that Renji was familiar with the exercises they were being tested on, and not only that, Hisagi would say he had better control of his Reiatsu than Tōshirō at this time. Yeah, the boy was a hard worker all right.
Renji couldn't bring himself to care about the other examinees as he lost himself in a variant of exercises he was used to. Okay maybe he had been a little too harsh on Black in his head. As he fell into the exercises, his confidence started restoring itself to the level it was months ago, before Black had mercilessly beat it down.
Second after second the moment came to him and no longer was he inside the Shin'ō Academy but he was back to that rocky beach where he first started swinging his sword. Rain fell, the sun rose, the winds cried; one leg in front of the other, arms swinging one after the other, until he crumbled like a piece of—
"That's enough."
"Heh?" Renji snapped out of his trance when he felt a hand gripping tight his shoulder, bringing back unpleasant flashbacks. "I'm sorry. I must have zoned out."
"I can see that." Hisagi replied with a deadpan. "Your time is up, join the other group over there."
Renji looked at where Hisagi pointed and saw a smaller group of students who had completed their test and were watching the ones who were currently undergoing theirs.
He nodded and took a step, then took three more and he found himself among the group, and once again they pushed themselves away from him.
Honestly he was fed up with these people and whatever it was that was their deal. He doubted he would be getting an explanation even if he asked so he didn't bother.
He gave it an hour or two for all the students to go through with their tests before the results came out. Luckily they would get them today by the time the tests were concluded so he didn't have to wonder where he would be sleeping.
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Hisagi sighed to himself as he watched the red haired boy get lost in himself among the other group.
If before he could tell that the boy was a hard worker then now he was certain that not only was Renji a 'train until bones crack' kind of guy, but that someone must have ran the boy through some gruesome training.
The way he'd fallen into some kind of half-trance state in the middle of his test was all the proof Hisagi needed.
Once again he couldn't feel the abnormality of a genius from Renji but the boy was not the lesser for it, quite the opposite. He almost couldn't wait to see how the boy would improve in a few years time.
He supervised the rest of the test before finally excusing himself to meet up with the other proctors and get their results from them.
"A peculiar one, won't you say?" Isane said when he arrived. He followed her line of sight and true enough she was looking at Renji.
"He's not the only one." One of the instructors said but then shrugged, "but his showing can't be denied. He's already starting to get Shunpo and not to mention his fine control over his Reiatsu, at least on his body. Now if only he could keep it in."
No one mentioned the fact that he must've been trained because frankly it didn't matter. In fact it would be better if all new students could receive prior training, that way it would make their learning easier.
"A few of them are promising. I can see some of them completing the course in half the time." One of Hisagi's former combat instructors said as he adjusted his monocle.
It took a short hour of deliberation for them to make up a list of the students who passed and Hisagi returned to deliver the results.
Some cried — even though they could take the exams again next year, no one liked failing, some gnashed their teeth and bore it well, while others, a smaller number, were ecstatic.
Renji included.
It wasn't that much impossible to believe, but it was still surreal. He would be studying to become a Shinigami. And soon he'll get to meet Rukia.
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