Chapter 1: The Persistent Failure
"Sir, you really should stop coming here," the attendant at the Guardian Registration center said with a weary sigh.
Kyle looked up from his coffee cup, those gray eyes meeting hers with that same nonchalant expression she'd grown to know too well. The slightly tan young man with black hair raised an eyebrow. "Why? Is there a rule against how many times someone can attempt the awakening process?"
Another sigh escaped her lips as she pressed a hand to her forehead. "No, but maybe there should be soon. To limit people like you."
She wasn't in the mood for pleasantries today. Hell, she was never in the mood when it came to this particular face. His features were practically burned into her memory at this point. It was like having that one friend you don't really consider a friend, but can't quite bring yourself to tell them to buzz off. Except this guy showed up here every damn day, invading her personal space like it was his God-given right.
"I don't think you should speak to an applicant with that tone," Kyle said, taking another sip of his coffee. Just how he liked it – milky and sweetened with honey. He'd tried black coffee once, thinking it might make him seem more mature. That bitter mistake had lasted exactly one cup, and he'd sworn off impressing people through caffeine choices ever since. Life was too short for terrible coffee.
"And I don't think it's normal for someone to keep showing up here when we both know what's going to happen. When we ALL know what's going to happen."
Kyle shrugged. "I don't see why you're so concerned. Your job is to smile and hand me a form. Like a good girl."
A vein visibly popped on her forehead. "Mr. Kyle. You should leave."
"I'd really like to." He gestured behind him with his cup. "There's a long line back there, and you're just creating more work for yourself. Hand me a form and I'll be gone. Simple."
She glanced over his shoulder at the growing queue of impatient faces. If this kept up, her supervisors would have her head. Again.
"Fine." She grabbed a form and practically hurled it at him.
Kyle placed his elbow on the counter and pretended not to notice the paper that had just hit the floor.
"Mr. Kyle, I just gave you the form." Her smile looked like it might crack her face in half. "If you keep this up, I might just call security and have you thrown out."
"You could do that," he said simply.
She took a deep breath. Why was she even getting worked up over this loser? He'd get the same result as always and slink away on his own.
"What do you want?"
"Give me a form."
She pulled out another form and held it out properly this time. "Here."
Kyle smiled genuinely for the first time that morning. "Thank you." He took the form and walked away, leaving her to stare at his retreating back before calling out, "Next applicant!"
Kyle made his way to the filling area where dozens of people sat at tables, scribbling away at their forms. He spotted an empty chair next to a young man with curly black hair and claimed it, spinning it around before sitting down with a flourish. The form went on the table, and he started going through each field with practiced efficiency.
"Um... morning," came a voice.
Kyle looked up to see the curly-haired guy – good-looking by any standard, with slightly green eyes and wearing what had to be the most formal suit Kyle had ever seen in this place. First-timer, definitely.
"Yeah, morning. Can I help you?"
The young man hesitated, then extended his hand. "My name's Samuel, but you can call me Sam."
Kyle shook it. "Kyle. You can call me... Kyle."
Sam gave an awkward laugh. "I was wondering..." He held up his form, pointing with a glossy black pen at a box in the upper right corner marked 'Passport.' "Is this mandatory?"
"Yeah, it is. There might be more than one person with your exact name, so they need the photo just in case."
"Oh." Sam nodded, then watched as Kyle patted his shirt pocket, then his pants pockets, frowning deeper with each empty search.
"Well, fuck."
"Is something wrong?"
Kyle gave him a sheepish grin. "I forgot my pen."
Silence.
Then they both started laughing. There was no logical reason for it – it just sounded so stupid, coming here for something this important and forgetting something so basic.
"Here." Sam handed him one of his pens.
"Thanks." Kyle took it and started filling out the form quickly.
"Is there somewhere to get a passport photo?" Sam asked.
Kyle looked up from the address section and pointed toward a row of booth-like devices. About ten of them lined the wall, each with a small queue. "Just don't smile when it tells you to," he advised. "Experience talking."
"Right." Sam grabbed his form and headed over.
STARVED OF LOVE...~! The ringtone blared from Kyle's phone.
He quickly answered and turned down the volume, but the damage was done. Half the room was staring at him with expressions ranging from amused to annoyed. He caught Sam looking back with surprise and just laughed it off.
"How does she always manage this?" he muttered, checking his messages. No matter how many times he changed that ridiculous ringtone, it always somehow reverted back. Strategic manipulation at its finest, designed to make him answer calls immediately. And it worked every damn time.
Stalker: Where are you? You were supposed to just buy coffee. How long does it take?
Kyle snorted at the contact name he'd saved her under. This would definitely cause problems if she ever saw it.
You: I'm in the coffee shop. The line here's killing me.
Stalker: Then come back.
You: Can't. I really need this coffee.
Stalker: Fine. I'm coming there now.
"Eh?" Kyle stared at the screen.
You: Wait, you don't have to—
The message stayed unread. She was already hunting for him.
"Tch." He pocketed the phone just as Sam returned, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"You done?" Sam asked. "What happened to you?"
"I should have listened to your advice." Sam showed him the passport photo – there he was with a bright, cheerful smile that definitely shouldn't have been there.
Kyle professionally suppressed what would have been a dangerous laugh and nodded seriously. "It's... fine."
Sam gave him a look that clearly said, 'Do you think I'm an idiot?'
"Whatever." Sam handed back the pen, and they headed for the elevators.
"First time?" Kyle asked as they waited.
"Yeah. You?"
"More like the nth time."
Sam nodded absently, then the meaning hit him. "Wait, what?"
DING!
The elevator doors opened, and they filed out into the awakening hall. Sam's breath caught.
"Wow."
The space was massive – impossibly so, given how the building had looked from outside. Some kind of spatial manipulation was definitely at work here. Fifty enormous crystals, each the size of boulders, filled the hall with pulsing blue light. Tubes connected each crystal to what the signs labeled as "Spaces of Pure Energy."
Before each glowing crystal sat a chair-like device covered in wires and tubes. This was where applicants would sit for their awakening attempt. Next to each chair was a control console manned by staff in full protective gear. Around the perimeter, Guardian officers stood at attention, tranquilizers and other weapons ready in case things went sideways.
SUBMIT FORMS TO REGISTER AND RECEIVE PLACEMENT FOR AWAKENING! boomed a voice over the intercom.
Kyle gestured toward some registration devices where people were feeding their forms into slots and receiving placement numbers.
"WHAT THE HELL?! A B-rank?!" Someone shouted from across the hall.
"Wait, how old is that kid?"
"I heard he's only thirteen!"
The commotion grew as people began talking over each other.
"This is so messed up. I've been trying for ten years and I'm still F-rank. How does some kid awaken a B-rank on his first attempt?"
Kyle sighed and walked over to input his form. He was one of the unfortunate ones – he'd been attempting the awakening process since he was twelve, and it was always the same result. Always.
"Good luck," Sam called out, waving after receiving his own placement number.
Kyle waved back with a tired smile and joined his queue.
The line moved with typical bureaucratic speed, but eventually Kyle's number was called. He walked forward and settled into the chair-like device. Metal cuffs secured his arms and legs, and a helmet-like apparatus lowered over his head.
"This is going to hurt," the technician warned. "Try to endure it."
"I know," Kyle said quietly.
ZWOOOOOOOOOOM
The sound filled his ears – that familiar, indescribable hum he'd heard so many times before. And then came the pain. Sharp, electric agony that wanted to tear a scream from his throat. But something held it back. Something always held it back.
"What the..." The technician frowned at his readings. "Where is all the energy going?"
The device showed no reaction from Kyle's core whatsoever. It was as if the massive surge of energy coursing through his body simply wasn't there. Or rather, something was absorbing it all.
"Let's increase the output," the technician muttered, adjusting controls.
Kyle's eyes widened as the pain intensified. It felt like his mind was being torn apart piece by piece.
"Still nothing? I'm maxing it out now. Hold on tight."
That was the last thing Kyle heard before his consciousness felt like it was being forcibly ripped from his body. Everything went white, then black, then—
Clink.
He opened his eyes. The first thing he saw was the technician's fully covered face looking down at him with something that might have been pity.
"You couldn't awaken."
Kyle sighed and started to stand up. He was getting really tired of this. Really, really tired.
"OH MY GOD!"
The shout came from somewhere behind him. Kyle looked toward the sound and saw a crowd gathering around one of the awakening stations.
"AN S-RANK!"
Kyle's eyes widened. He pushed through the crowd, not quite believing what he was hearing. S-rank awakenings were legendary. There were maybe a dozen S-rank Guardians in the entire country.
When he finally saw the face at the center of all the excitement, he stopped dead in his tracks.
It was Sam.