After writing his name at the top of the first page, Itachi decided to forgo answering the questions right away and instead skim through the test as whole. Roughly the first page consisted of entirely trivial questions; favorite foods, hobbies, whether the applicant was an early bird or a night owl, and other small matters. However, after that the questions became much more serious, delving deep into the beliefs and philosophies of the applicant and how they might respond to particular situations. Itachi quickly began to comprehend what Yoruichi had meant when she had said that this wasn't a typical academic quiz.
They're having each of us build a psychological profile of ourselves, he realized, I can definitely understand why she emphasized honesty earlier. Still, how would they enforce it on a paper quiz? There's no way that they could already know the background of every single applicant; Jiraiya and I can't be the only ones who are here by little more than virtue of a chance encounter with a Soul Reaper, after all.
He went back to the first page and was about to start answering the questions when he heard a student cry out. "What the hell?"
Every applicant in the auditorium turned towards the source and found a young man standing up. That wasn't the attention grabber, though; it was the fact that his paper had suddenly ignited in a burst of crimson flames.
At the front of the room he saw Yoruichi shaking her head, very much the picture of a disappointed teacher. "Really? You couldn't even make it past the first page without fudging something? That's just sad, kid."
"You're wrong!" the applicant protested, although just from how pale his face was and how high his voice had become Itachi could tell that he was full of crap, "You… you can't prove anything!"
Yoruichi smirked. "I have all the proof I need. It's right there in those flames. You were warned, kid. You have no one to blame but yourself."
"H-how the h-hell…" the applicant stammered as he looked frantically back and forth between his burning test and the proctor.
Yoruichi rolled her eyes. "If you can't figure it out, then you won't be ready to join our ranks for at least a hundred years. Get him out of here."
While most of the applicants watched nervously as the washout was escorted from the hall, Itachi's gaze was focused elsewhere; the failure's exam. The crimson flames burnt themselves out a moment later, but there wasn't so much as a scorch-mark on the surface of the desk beneath. Itachi turned his attention back to his pen, pieces of the puzzle beginning to fall into place.
So this is the enforcement mechanism, he thought as he studied the pen in his hand, I don't know how, but it's somehow able to discern whether or not we're telling the truth based on the hints of spirit energy that it takes from us.
The flames had done more than just expose a liar; they had also given Itachi new insight into just how difficult this test would be. On the surface, telling the truth in what was essentially an elaborate personality quiz didn't sound all that hard, but it didn't take much effort for Itachi to see past that and find the true obstacle; the test-taker's internal biases. No matter how self-aware people claimed to be, it was only natural for most of them to have a positive view about themselves. To truly pass this test would require the ability to peel back misconceptions and biases that had been built up over the years and be willing to face up to one's flaws.
This was not just a psychological profile. It was an inquisition in which the subject was also his or her own interrogator.
Itachi took a deep breath before closing his eyes. An outside observer might think that he was meditating, and that wasn't too far from the mark. Before he could begin the test, he would have to mentally center himself. He would have to find the clarity of mind that was necessary for a proper and honest self-evaluation. Only then would he be ready for what lay ahead.
It's fortunate that we have two hours for this phase of the exams, he mused, I'm going to need them.
….
And another one's down, Yoruichi mentally hummed to herself, another one's down, another one bites the dust. Man, they're really dropping like flies. I'll have to thank Kisuke for the pens later. Every other year before now it's just been special paper that inks out when someone lies, but thanks to these little toys everyone who manages to pass Phase One under me will be whispering about it with fear long after it's over!
The pens or the paper used the years before would have no effect on fully-fledged Soul Reapers, but against the uninitiated it was a different story. Before someone underwent proper training, how their spirit energy was emitted depended in no small part on their emotional and mental state. Outbursts of anger, fear, joy, sorrow or other powerful feelings corresponded with stronger surges in spiritual pressure, but even much more subdued and controlled processes would trigger emissions and fluctuations. One of the subtlest of those fluctuations in spiritual pressure came when someone was lying. After learning how to truly control their spiritual pressure, the person in question could easily suppress those fluctuations entirely, but anyone who lacked that ability to regulate the energy within them was vulnerable.
That was what the pens were designed to do; exploit that vulnerability and turn deception against a liar. Of course, on the off chance that one of the applicants had already mastered proper regulation of their spiritual pressure the pens would be reduced to little more than normal writing utensils. However, it was a very small percentage of applicants that had that sort of innate ability or prior knowledge, and Yoruichi was relatively confident that no one in her batch of enrollees possessed that degree of skill.
Those who truly excel at this test aren't the ones who race forward and try to finish first, she thought with a smile as she studied the remaining applicants, Victory here requires patience and the capacity for true self-awareness… and it looks my two rookie Hollow-slayers from last night have precisely that!
While the rest of the enrollees had undergone something of a minor panic attack after the first student had been disqualified, Yoruichi had immediately picked up on how Itachi and Jiraiya both closed their eyes and retreated inwards once the flames had died down. They had intuitively grasped the true nature of the test, and they were clearly not about to charge in blindly. The raven-haired young man had spent a full twenty minutes in silent contemplation before picking up his pen again, while his white-haired companion had taken a little less than fifteen minutes to complete his inner preparations. However, now both were proceeding forward with boldness and resolve while many of their fellow examinees were faltering as the test went on.
There was a loud thud as one of the bulkier students slammed his fists into his desk when his test was suddenly covered in crimson flames. "This is bullshit! This is fucking bullshit!"
Yoruichi waved her finger. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth? There's a time and place for that sort of language, and Phase One of the entrance exams isn't it. Come back next year."
"No!" the young man growled as he glared at her, "I demand a redo! I wasn't lying!"
"Maybe not consciously," said Yoruichi, "You were probably lying to yourself rather than the test, although it's really all the same as far as the exam's concerned. Now scram. You're making a scene."
"Do you know who you're messing with, lady?" the petulant applicant snarled, "My father…"
"Cannot help you here," Yoruichi finished for him firmly, her eyes narrowing, "Leave. Now."
The young man hocked a fat wad of spit onto his desk and gave her a look of utter contempt. "Or you'll do what, you uppity bitch?"
That was the last straw. In a single fluid motion Yoruichi stood up and initiated Shunpo. A single Flash Step was all it took to close the gap between her and the failed enrollee, and a swift gut-punch was more than enough to make her target double over before passing out entirely.
Yoruichi then effortlessly tossed the unconscious oaf with one hand to a nearby assistant. "Take out the trash for me, will you?"
The assistant, a blonde-haired girl, looked at her in a mix of awe and fear before hastily replying. "Y-yes, ma'am!"
Yoruichi then gave the rest of the applicants a hungry grin. "Anyone else want to play 'overgrown spoiled brat' with me? I'm game if you are!"
As she'd expected, none of the applicants took her up on the challenge. Most of them were appropriately terrified, although more than a few had looks of awe on their faces. Quickly picking out Itachi and Jiraiya amongst the crowd, she saw that the later actually looked rather amused at what had just occurred. The former was harder to read, although as their gazes met Yoruichi could detect more than a hint of admiration in his calm and thoughtful eyes.
You're one cool customer, aren't you, Itachi?, she mused as she gave him a playful wink, I like that.
Dropping back into Shunpo, a single Flash Step later and she was back at the front desk. The exam continued apace once the majority of the remaining applicants were able to regain their wits, and Yoruichi did a quick headcount of the survivors.
We started out at 1,947 applicants, she thought as she finished her tally, and we're down to 1,403 now. That's about on track with the average pace recorded for the first phase of prior entrance exams. Another straggler here and there might fall, but at this point I think I've got my crowd that's moving on to Phase Two. All that's left for me to do now is wait for them to finish up.
The minutes gradually ticked by, and ten minutes after the one-hour mark passed applicants began to rise to turn in their tests. Periodically her gaze drifted over to Itachi and Jiraiya; as proctor, she wasn't supposed to play favorites, but their performance the night before was never far from her mind and she was genuinely intrigued with how they were tackling the first phase of the exams.
One hour and twenty-five minutes later she saw Jiraiya stand up and walk forward. As he dropped his test into one of the baskets on the desk he gave her a smirk.
"That was interesting," he said with a chuckle, "I'm looking forward to Phase Two."
Yoruichi gave him a sly smile. "Trust me; you won't be disappointed."
At the hour and a half mark Itachi rose and came forward. He lingered in front of her desk for a moment with a thoughtful gaze on his test before he dropped it into the basket.
"Nice trick with the pens," he said, "That was… unique."
Yoruichi grinned. "That's what I was going for. Afraid I can't take all the credit, though; I had a buddy put them together for me. If you thought this was fun, just wait until you see what comes next!"
She saw what looked like the slightest hint of a smirk appear on his face. "Very well, then."
Good thing you and Jiraiya got done relatively early, Itachi, she thought as she watched him leave the room, I hope you take this chance to rest up, because Phase One's a walk in the park compared to what I've got set up for you in Phase Two!
The final half-hour passed relatively uneventfully. When time had finally run out, only three additional students had washed out, leaving an even 1,400 to proceed to the second phase.
I'll have to split them up into waves for Phase Two, she mused as the last applicant left the room, otherwise the field's gonna be way too crowded. 140 per wave should work just fine.
There was a knock on the door, and Yoruichi smiled; she could tell from their spiritual pressure who they were. "Test's over, so come on in, Tessai!"
A tall, muscular, lightly tan-skinned man wearing glasses entered the room. His black hair was cornrowed and he continued to sport that large handlebar mustache that Yoruichi loved to sprinkle pepper in whenever he fell asleep at parties; the resulting sneeze was always worth a laugh or two. As both the Kidō Corps Commander and the Grand Kidō Chief of the Soul Society, he wore the standard black Soul Reaper uniform, but over that he sported an ornate dark blue robe with an upturned collar to signify his rank. The greatest spell master in the Soul Society and an old friend of Yoruichi's, Tessai Tsukabishi and his subordinates were to play an important role in Phase Two of the entrance exams, and the Captain of Squad Two wanted to make sure that they were all set to go on their end.
"How did it go?" he asked as he shut the door behind him.
"Pretty well, all things considered," she replied, "It wasn't quite as boring as I thought it'd be. There's a couple of special candidates I've got my eyes on, and they did pretty damn well from the looks of things. I can't wait to review their tests later. There was also an idiot who thought it'd be a good idea to pick a fight with me, so that was entertaining."
Tessai winced. "I do hope that you refrained from doing any permanent damage to the buffoon in question."
Yoruichi laughed. "Come on, Tessai, you know me. I just gave him a little love tap and sent him on his way!"
Tessai nodded. "Hopefully he'll learn his lesson from that encounter."
Yoruichi shrugged. "If not, then he'd better pray he doesn't get Unohana as the proctor next year. She'd do far worse to him than I did."
Tessai shuddered. "Very true."
Yoruichi grinned. "All right, enough about people with brains the size of acorns. Are things ready on your end?"
"Yes," said Tessai, "although I still have my reservations about this."
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed. "You were able to get enough specialists, right?"
Tessai nodded. "Of course."
"Then you've got nothing to worry about," said Yoruichi, "After all, I'm just looking to sting them, not kill them. If you've got enough people with that kind of finesse with Kidō then everything will be just fine. Who knows? They might even adopt this as the permanent template for Phase Two in future entrance exams."
Tessai chuckled. "Yes, and I bet you'd like it very much if they named it after you."
Yoruichi giggled. "You know me too well. How does 'The Shihōin Gauntlet' sound?"
"Rather fitting, all things considered," Tessai replied.
Yoruichi stood up and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "That's why we're pals, Tessai. Come on; let's keep things rolling. After all, it's just starting to get fun!"