Literally, the weight of the spools of thick metal wire weren't that heavy. Sure it was like having a small but heavy child constantly hanging onto his back but that wasn't why he slouched. It was the metaphorical weight that burdened him.

The written test was nothing. Basic deductive reasoning he knew even prior to entering the police academy. Hangetsu knew his score must have been high due to the lack of snide comments or smirks from the proctor who usually never missed a chance to put down a rookie.

It was the physical portion of his metal bending test that worried him. As far as everyone outside of Hangetsu's skin and his paranoid imaginings knew his earth bending was consistently master level. While it was hovering around Master level it was far from consistent, not since the death of his grandfather. His sense of spiritual harmony was as dead as the old man that raised him only without the benefit of feeding worms.

Hangetsu wasn't sure why he was taking a test to be an elite officer of the law when he began to question his choice of career to begin with. It was less catching criminals than kicking the homeless out of the park and patrolling streets where the gangs knew better than to work out in the open. Tackling the odd mugger here and there was as close to real justice as Hangetsu got.

There was a thin layer of foil hovering between the prospective metal bender's hands which Hangetsu folded into a asymmetrical crane in an attempt to practice his craft and relax at the same time.

His name had been called twice before he heard it and walked to the testing area. There was supposed to be a warning but there was none. Dummies began to spring up from the ground by the earth bending proctors both innocuous looking to simulate civilians and cartoonishly evil scarecrows for perps.

The perps were tied up with the thick wire while the civilians were left alone. Only one of the twenty civilian dummies was attacked. It was enough to pass.
It was a relief to pass that portion but the second worried Hangetsu even more. It involved following a proctor as he slid across the metal wires like the ones stretching throughout the city. Failure meant the possibility of a broken neck and it required a determination and confidence he wasn't sure he possessed.

The proctor remarked that Hangetsu's sliding had the grace and speed of a Satomobile with square wheels but was acceptable.
With the two first tests passed the bender's confidence grew. As it grew bending became easier and easier. For the first time since the death of his grandfather Hangetsu's spirit was cohesive. He was doing what he dreamed of doing.

Exhilarated yet exhausted Hangetsu was given his final test which was more of a formality than anything else. It was a hypothetical situation involving helping an honorable criminal or a corrupt cop. Unlike less foolish testers Hangetsu answered honestly. He would circumvent the law to make sure the honorable criminal was released while the corrupt cop was punished.

As if to show just how much of a formality the question was the officer posing the question let out a disgusted noise as he stamped a document and congratulated Hangetsu on his new position as a metal bender...even if he was unworthy of the position.

When Hangetsu asked about where he was to be transferred to the same man whose contempt he had just earned looked down at a form and gave him a look of pity most would reserve for a man sentenced to be dragged to death over a field of broken glass.

There was a fierce battle between Hangetsu's sense of elation and the idea that he had just been handed a fate worse than death.

He was told to go home and that tomorrow would be the beginning of his first day in hell.