The man who had spoken up let out a sigh as he approached the frail young man that was fidgeting nervously a couple of feet away from the gate. His eyes narrowed as he looked down at Kaito who was still trying to figure out what to say.
"Hey kid, I know that you might be struggling but we can't just let anyone in. Rules are rules so you'll have to go, at most I can give you enough money to buy yourself a meal."
Kaito stopped fidgeting for a moment and stared at the older Enlightened man before him with utter disbelief.
'Did he say kid? I'm almost eighteen damn it!'
Kaito gritted his teeth briefly before shaking his head and speaking in the sweetest tone he could muster, even forcing a grin to form on his face.
"No, no. Sir, I am here because I have recently cleared my trial and would like to get to the academy. I do need to prepare because I don't know much about fighting."
The guard raised an eyebrow, he looked... amused? Before Kaito could continue to explain why he needs to get inside of the shell, the guard shakes his head in disapproval and speaks in his same rugged and firm tone.
"No kid, we won't be falling for those tricks. If you're Enlightened then you'll have to prove it with the mana reactor. If you are truly enlightened then the white ball should change color."
The young man seemed dumbfounded at the mention of a mana reactor. To be fair, Kaito never heard of a mana reactor. He only knew the bare minimum about enlightenment and nothing more. Kaito had more pressing matters to tend to, like surviving.
But the older man did not know that, nor did he seem to care. With a sigh the guard turned away from Kaito and asked him to follow.
"Come with me, let's find out if you truly did enlighten."
There was no need for Kaito to feel nervous but he felt a shiver run down his spine after hearing the older Enlightened words.
"Y-yes sir. I can assure you that I'm not lying!"
Internally Kaito gritted his teeth and wanted to scream.
'I've lost my mind, why am I sucking up to this bastard?!'
But he remained silent and followed the man. Once they reached the other guards the older enlightened man looked at another guard. She was a tall and lean woman with short auburn red hair and emerald green eyes. The woman scoffed and spared a glance at the young man besides her captain.
"Let me guess captain, he said he's enlightened? I mean this one didn't even try hiding it!"
The older man besides Kaito, who apparently was her captain, shot her an unamused glare. The woman scoffed once again and extended out her hand, blue fragments quickly began forming into a white ball in her hand.
"Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on kid, let's get this over with."
Kaito's eyes twitched slightly because he was once again called a kid. This was starting to annoy him, but he knew that he would not be able to beat all four of the guards that were looking at him expectantly. A soft sigh escaped the frail young man's lips as he approached the woman and reached for the white ball in her hand.
After placing his hand atop of it, the ball suddenly began turning into a pure black color. Kaito's eyes widened slightly and the guards looked at him and sighed because it seemed like he really was awakened. A smug expression overtook Kaito's previous one as he looked at the red haired woman before him.
'Yeah, what now? You thought I was lying didn't you? Now look at you all, staring at me like fools.'
The woman glared at the young man as if wishing she could slap the smug smirk off his face. Of course she didn't, instead she reluctantly dismissed the white ball and it evaporated into blue fragments. The captain patted Kaito's shoulder and glanced at the same woman who had just dismissed the white ball.
"Alright kid, you are awakened. Enlightened Akane will escort you to the academy."
The woman, Akane, glared at her captain then at Kaito with a displeased expression. She scoffed and shook her head as if trying to suppress something. Akane grabbed Kaito's arm and walked off while muttering curses under her breath. Kaito suppressed a yelp at the sudden action and glanced at the other guards who chuckled as he was being dragged away.
Akane dragged Kaito to the massive gate and it opened for her shortly after. The young man beside her was half her height, the atmosphere was quite awkward. None of them said a word as the woman continued to hold onto Kaito's arm as the gate slowly opened.
However before the young man could think of anything the woman tugged on his arm and dragged him through the narrow opening in the gate. Maybe it was the awkward atmosphere that made her impatient or maybe it was that she didn't like waiting. Either way Kaito still hit his head while being dragged through the narrow gap.
'Damn it! Is this woman crazy?!'
While Kaito rubbed his forehead with his free arm he was suddenly tossed into the backseat of a car and the door closed, leaving him inside alone. But it wasn't for long because he saw Akane head towards the Driver's seat and began driving him to the Academy.
Somehow this was even more awkward than when they were waiting for the doors to open. Kaito looked around while thinking of something to say.
"Uh... Nice view here, isn't it?"
Akane scoffed and kept driving, this time seeming more irritated than before, if that was even possible. It was a long ride to the academy and the whole ride was in utter silence. Luckily they reached the academy sooner than expected because there was little traffic today. Once at the academy Akane glanced at Kaito before speaking in an irritated tone.
"Get out."
With little hesitation the young man opened the car door and stepped outside, making sure to close it gently. His eyes widened as he took in the view of the large building before him. The view was beautiful, he gulped silently while slowly walking up to the gate of the academy. This was where he was going to stay to learn how to survive and fight inside the trials for a month.