As they rounded the bend they came to a stop, and Itachi saw Soi-Fon smile. "There it is; Shin'ō Academy. Seeing it like this really takes me back…"
Itachi hadn't known what to expect, but it wasn't this. His only experience with learning institutions was his time spent at the Academy at the base of the Hokage Mountain in the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and while that had been a large facility it was absolutely dwarfed by Shin'ō Academy. In a way, it appeared to be a miniature version of the Seireitei itself, but even then, its sheer size made it seem like something more akin to an actual town than simply a school. The front entrance was a traditional and pristine white wall and gate, but beyond was a truly expansive campus. An enormous multiple-story building held central prominence, but even from their position just outside the entrance Itachi could tell that it wasn't the only structure involved in the educational institution; there were several smaller annexes and other facilities that seemed to be part of the overall operation. He couldn't even begin to imagine what it might be like inside.
Jiraiya whistled next to him. "Boy, they sure do know how to make 'em big in the Soul Society, don't they?"
"How large is the student body?" asked Itachi.
"Several thousand at any given time," Soi-Fon replied, "and that's not counting the instructors and support staff. Shin'ō Academy is nearly two-thousand years old, and it's gone through several renovations and upgrades in its time. It would seem that the list of prospective enrollees for this year alone is quite a long one."
Itachi could see that quite clearly; theirs was hardly the only group outside the main entrance at the moment. He could spot several people wearing the uniforms of full-fledged Soul Reapers, but there were many more who were dressed not too differently from him and Jiraiya. It was impossible to get an accurate count at the moment, and even then, it would not be a complete picture of the candidates for enrollment since that wouldn't be including those who had already entered the campus grounds. In addition to those who wished to enroll this year, Itachi could spot scattered groups of people who wore robes similar to those of actual Soul Reapers, but in this case based on their body language he guessed to be actual student uniforms; blue and white shihakushō for males, red and white for females.
As he studied the crowd he became aware of Soi-Fon's gaze lingering on him. This wasn't quite the same intense scrutiny she had given him and Jiraiya before. In fact, she seemed more curious than anything else.
"Is something wrong?" he asked after a moment.
Soi-Fon blinked before responding. "Your last name… it's Uchiha, yes?"
Itachi nodded, wondering what she was getting at. "That's correct. Have you heard it before?"
Soi-Fon's only response was to peer closer at him for a moment before turning away and walking towards the gate. "If you manage to graduate, I'll answer that question. Come with me; we're running out of time."
Itachi looked at Jiraiya who simply shrugged before following Soi-Fon. With nothing better to do, Itachi fell in behind them. After passing through the gate and the front courtyard, they went inside the main building. It was even more crowded in there than it had been on the outer plaza, and it took them a few minutes to work their way through the throngs of people to what appeared to be their destination; a very large meal hall. Several lines of enrollees stretched across it, and at the far end Itachi spotted several desks set up with what appeared to be Academy faculty sitting behind them.
"Pick a line and get registered," said Soi-Fon, "Don't worry about being late; it's only when the doors to this hall close that the cutoff for tardy applicants goes into effect. Once they're shut, anyone who's not in here will have to wait until next year to take another shot at the entrance exams. As long as you're in one of the lines in this hall, you'll be guaranteed a spot in the first phase of the exams."
"Understood," said Itachi, "Thank you."
"Yeah," said Jiraiya, "It would've been hard to get here without a guide. We owe you one."
"Hardly," Soi-Fon replied, "I was simply carrying out Lady Yoruichi's instructions. This is as far as I go. Best of luck, Itachi... and to you as well, Jiraiya."
Jiraiya smirked. "Can we boost my chances of success with a little kiss? Just a peck on the cheek will do!"
Soi-Fon was positively seething. "You know what? I take it back. Itachi, I wish you good luck. Jiraiya, I hope you wash out in the first phase and then get stung by a swarm of angry hornets!"
Itachi shook his head as he watched Soi-Fon leave the room. "You have a way with women, you know that?"
Jiraiya chuckled. "Well, of course I do! I was a successful romance novelist when I was still alive, after all. Oh, maybe I should pick the pen back up again! I bet there's a serious market for the Make-Out Paradise series in the Soul Society!"
"Is it possible to get into legal trouble for plagiarizing your own work when you're in the afterlife?" asked Itachi as he and Jiraiya got into line.
Jiraiya's brow furrowed. "Hmmm, you might be onto something there. I might need to start a new series; if any of these people read my books when they were alive then they'll be hungry for something fresh. Guess I'll have to start storyboarding later; I'm sure there's plenty of material out there just waiting to be put to print."
"You do that," said Itachi dryly, wondering how the Legendary Sannin could think of writing a new book at a time like this.
Completing the registration process didn't take as long as Itachi had initially feared. The lines moved quite quickly considering their size, and once the two of them got to the front they were each given a sheet of paper and asked only to write their names and the district that they had resided in before coming to the Seireitei. After that there was nothing to do but wait, so both Itachi and Jiraiya took advantage of several tables with refreshments on them set up on the other side of the hall.
"So," said Jiraiya after a while, "how many do you count so far?"
Scanning the hall, Itachi quickly came up with a rough amount. "Two thousand, give or take a hundred or so."
Jiraiya nodded. "Same here. Looks like your eyes are still sharp even without the Sharingan."
"So it would seem," said Itachi before noting new activity where they had first come in, "It looks like that number should stay that way; they just shut the doors."
Jiraiya stretched before sitting down and leaning back against the wall. "In that case, we might as well kick back and wait for our lovely proctor."
That's right, Itachi recalled as he joined Jiraiya, Yoruichi's overseeing our exams. Is this something she does every year, or does she rotate with the other Captains? I should ask her once I get the chance.
The lines gradually dwindled down before disappearing entirely about twenty minutes later. Ten minutes later one of the doors to the meal hall opened again, and none other than the lady of the hour walked in; Yoruichi. Save for the addition of a white sleeved haori, her outfit was the same as the night before, and Itachi once again could not help but admire her athletic form. She spotted Itachi and Jiraiya almost immediately, but apart from giving them a smile and a wink she did not acknowledge them.
"All right, listen up everyone!" she shouted, "I'm Yoruichi Shihōin, Captain of Squad Two and the proctor for this year's Shin'ō Academy entrance exams."
She then gave the crowd a sly grin. "And believe me when I tell you that you're going to wish you'd gotten anyone but me by the time we're through!"
I wonder if she's serious or bluffing, Itachi mused, more than a little humored by the nervous expressions that were popping up on the faces of applicants across the hall, I suppose we'll find out soon enough…
She then pointed to the door behind her. "Now, first order of business; I want you all to head out that way and hang a right. Auditorium A-1 will be down the hall a little way on the left side. Phase One will take place in there. Get moving, people!"
As the crowd began to move, Itachi carefully studied the face of his proctor. The little smirk she wore as she watched the applicants file out the door told him that she was definitely enjoying the effect her earlier warning was having on the crowd. She clearly was the kind of person who enjoyed a little bit of teasing, and if she wanted to play head-games with the applicants then Itachi was more than ready to roll with it.
"An auditorium, huh?" said Jiraiya as they followed the crowd, "Guess they're getting the written portion out of the way first."
"Just like the Chūnin Exams," said Itachi, "I wonder what sort of rules apply here."
Jiraiya chuckled. "We'll find out soon enough. Man, this really takes me back now that you bring up the Chūnin Exams. That… well, I guess that was literally a lifetime ago now, wasn't it?"
"I see you're having no problem picking up afterlife humor," said Itachi.
"Humor is the spice of life," Jiraiya replied with a smirk, "You Uchihas could certainly do with a little more of it."
"I won't deny it," said Itachi, seemingly taking Jiraiya by surprise with that remark, "If our clan had learned to loosen up a little more, perhaps its downfall could've been avoided. I suppose we'll never know now."
Jiraiya seemed to be regarding him carefully as they entered the auditorium. He undoubtedly had questions regarding what had really happened to the Uchiha Clan, but much to Itachi's relief the Sannin apparently felt that now was hardly the time or the place to press the issue. The two former Shinobi found seats in the middle of the hall and waited patiently for everyone else to file in. Once all the applicants were seated he saw Yoruichi take her place at the head of the auditorium, while on both sides of the room Itachi several academy faculty members.
Yoruichi cleared her through before addressing the applicants. "All right, listen carefully, because I'm only going to go over this once! As you've likely guessed by now, Phase One of the exam is the written portion. This is not an academic test. That being said, there is a scoring criterion, and if you can't meet it then you're out."
She nodded at the staff assembled on both sides of the hall, who quickly began passing out exam sheets and pens. "Make sure to write your names clearly at the top of the front page. Answer each question truthfully and to the best of your ability, and you will make it through the first phase. As long as you are being honest with both the test and yourself, there is no wrong answer. However, leaving any questions unanswered is unacceptable, and you will be disqualified from enrollment if we review your test and found that you skipped one or two. Peeking at another applicant's test or attempting to collaborate with a fellow applicant will be grounds for immediate disqualification, as will lying on any of the questions, no matter how great or small the deception may be."
A devious smirk came to her face. "And trust me; I will know if you're lying."
She's not bluffing here, thought Itachi as he studied the look in her eyes, which means she has some way to ferret out deception among the applicants. What sort of method could that be?
Yoruichi glanced back at the clock on the wall before turning to the applicants again. "From my mark, you will have two hours to complete the test. Once it is complete, simply bring your copy forward and put it in one of the baskets on the desk. After that you will return to the meal hall and wait for Phase One to reach its conclusion. Anyone who's disqualified will be escorted by one of the staff to the front gate of Shin'o Academy. There are no appeals, so if we boot you you'll just have to try your luck again next year."
The pens and test sheets made it down to Itachi and Jiraiya, and Itachi saw the Sannin's eyes widen ever so slightly as his fingers touched his pen. Itachi found out why a moment later when he received his pen; there was a very slight tingling sensation in his fingertips at the moment of initial contact. It would be easy to write it off as pre-test jitters, but paper examinations hadn't particularly phased Itachi in the past. His eyes narrowed as he carefully considered the writing utensil before turning back to Yoruichi. Her gaze met his, and the knowing light in her eyes was enough to convince Itachi that it wasn't a simple case of excitement or nervousness that had elicited the earlier sensation in his fingers. These weren't normal writing tools that had been given to them; there was something about them that Itachi suspected was explicitly linked to this test.
He closed his eyes for a moment and concentrated solely on where his fingertips met the pen. For a few seconds he felt nothing, but then that slight tingle made itself known for just the briefest of moments. In that split second Itachi realized that it was more than just his skin that was touching the pen; a tiny bit of his spirit energy had leaked out and made contact with it as well.
Opening his eyes again and glancing to the right, he saw Jiraiya carefully regarding his writing utensil. He looked briefly at Itachi before returning his gaze to the front of the room with a small smirk on his face. Whatever game Yoruichi was playing with this test, the Sannin had clearly decided to go along for the ride.
As will I, he thought, I've come this far, after all.
He saw Yoruichi look over her shoulder at the clock on the wall again. "All right, then. Your test begins in five… four… three… two… one… go!"