12 - The Results are in

I awoke the next morning to the sounds of water flowing outside my window. It was a quiet, peaceful morning, as opposed to what I'd usually hear upon awakening, which usually consisted of loud machinery emanating from the nearby city.

However, there was something...different...about the sounds I was hearing. I heard a lot of running and clanging, almost as if somebody was having a swordfight outside? I decided to investigate, slithering out of bed and into a fresh change of clothes. Turns out I had slept in the clothes I wore the other day, I was too tired to change last night.

I put on fresh clothes and walked over to the window. When I opened it, the gentle breeze of the outdoors greeted me with a wishful grin. It smelled so nice outside, which was due to the plethora of cherry blossom trees that had just begun to bloom. It was spring, my favorite season.

"YO, WATCH OUT!" I heard coming from outside as I opened my eyes. The first thing that I saw was a sword flying in my direction. I quickly ducked as the blade flew into my window and stuck to my wall.

~WOOSH, PTANGGG!~

The sword drove itself into the back wall, vibrating violently as it made contact with the surface. It would definitely leave a mark, and I would probably be responsible for fixing it...

"What the hell?!" I shouted as I was nearly decapitated.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" yelled the same voice, approaching the outside of my window. I stood back up, slightly dazed at what had just happened.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I was practice-dueling my friend here and lost control of my sword. Here, I can~" I interrupted the panicked individual.

"I'll just grab it for you. What exactly happened?" I asked, grabbing the sword from out of the wall.

"Well, my friend here used a tricky maneuver against me and sent my sword flying across this field, and you just so happened to open your window right as it was flying towards you, otherwise it would have just stuck to the window itself."

"I'm sorry if I caused you any trouble, it's just that the final examination is today and I'm trying to get as much training as I can in before we're called to the building."

Wait, had this person made it to the final examination? If they were out here warming up as they claimed to be, then that must mean they received their results already...

"Wait, you made it to the final examination?" I asked.

"Of course I did, haven't you checked your mail yet? Everybody's letters should have come in by now!"

My eyes widened. This boy had made it to the final exam. The letters probably arrived a while ago, I just slept through it! I didn't want to waste any more time, if I made it, then I had to start warming up myself!

"I haven't, I'll go look right now. Here's your sword, don't worry about this whole incident, I'm still alive and that's what counts," I said, handing them their sword.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. Keep practicing, I'm sure I'll see you in a few hours anyway for the final examination, maybe you can pay me back then for almost taking my head off." I said as I attached my own sword to my hip.

"Okay, good luck to you sir! I hope you make it in as well!"

I closed my window, fixed my hair, made my bed, and left my room. I had no idea where the mailboxes were, but I was sure I'd find them eventually. There were probably tons of people posted around them.

As I approached the foyer of the building, I noticed a large group of people gathered around a corner. My suspicions were confirmed, these were the mailboxes. I wasted no time walking over.

"I got the green envelope! Yes!"

"Damn it, mine is red, what did I do wrong?"

"I didn't think I had any shot, but somehow I made it through..."

These were the words I was hearing as I approached the crowd. There was a mix of emotions ranging from one extreme to the other, a mess of happiness and sadness, with the occasional indifference here and there. The mailboxes were labeled with everybody's first and last names, making it relatively easy to find mine.

I searched and searched, but couldn't seem to locate my name. They were sorted alphabetically by last name, so I searched around the "K" section, scanning over it numerous times until I finally found my mailbox.

"HACHIRO KARASAGI" was the label on the door. My heart rate was beginning to skyrocket as I reached for the handle. When I grabbed it, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and pulled on the knob. The boy next to me, holding a green envelope in his hand, eagerly watched as I opened my mailbox.

*. . .CLACK. . .*

...it didn't open... Of course, the mailbox was locked! There was a keyhole on the left side of it, how could I have missed it? That's when the boy spoke to me,

"Oh, you need to grab your mailbox key from the front desk! Here, follow me, I'll show you where it is!"

"Right, uh, thank you..." I said, my face turning slightly red from embarrassment. But it seemed like others also had the same problem, as other kids began following me and this boy to the front desk.

As we walked to the desk, my phone buzzed. I checked to see who it was, and it was Akisada. He had sent me a text message. When I opened the message, there was an attachment. It was a picture of him smiling, holding a green envelope next to his face.

Below the attachment was a message, it read "I got in! Let me know if you did as well, maybe we can grab lunch and prepare together!"

This only made me more nervous. If I didn't get in, not only would I be letting myself down, but I would be letting Akisada down as well. Part of me knew I was strong enough to make it in, but another part of me was worried that by free-loading with Kage, perhaps he would make it in, but Haruka and I wouldn't.

I reached the front desk, waited in line until it was my turn, and retrieved my mailbox key. I put it on the same keychain that held my room key as well as my safe key. Each room had a safe where you could store precious belongings, it was quite useful!

"Here is your mailbox key, I wish you the best of luck!" said the girl sitting at the desk, she appeared to be not much older than me, and she was wearing a badge that said "STUDENT ADVISORY OFFICE" on it.

"Thank you very much," I said, bowing to her before returning to the collection of students at the mailboxes. The boy continued to follow me, as he was now invested in my results. I made it back to my mailbox, put the key in the hole, turned it, and heard a proper click this time.

*...Click!*

As I retracted the key, the mailbox began to open up. My heart was beating rapidly, and I held my breath as I reached into the dark tunnel that was my mailbox. I felt a piece of paper at the end of the tunnel, grabbed it, and slowly pulled it in my direction.

I took the letter out of the mailbox, held it in my hands, and opened my eyes... when I did, I saw something completely unexpected. The boy next to me was caught off guard as well, in fact, so was everybody in my immediate vicinity.

"...what is this?" I asked.

"I'm not sure what that means... you should open it and see what it says..." replied the boy.

In my hands, was a blue envelope...it had no label on it, much like the others, in fact, nothing was different about it at all except for its color. I opened the envelope carefully so as to not rip any of the paper that encapsulated its contents. When I had finished, I slid the letter into my hands and opened it up. The letter read as follows:

~Hachiro Karasagi - Examination Parts I & II Results Document - Result: PASS - Placement: 93/3157~

"Congratulations Hachiro, you have successfully passed parts I & II of your entrance exam. Furthermore, you have placed within the top 100 overall applicants. Solidifying a position for you in the final examination requires that you place within the top 700. You have greatly exceeded expectations, once again, congratulations!"

The letter was signed "Mr. Renjiro Otsuka, Academy Director"

I can't believe it. I had done it. Not only had I made it through to the final examination, but I broke the top 100. I immediately began scanning the foyer, looking for anyone else who was holding a blue envelope, as they too had broken the top 100.

The boy next to me gave me a high five and congratulated me on my accomplishment.

"Hey hey! Turns out that blue envelope just means you scored super high! Good for you man! I can't wait to see you at the final examination!"

"Thank you so much, I look forward to seeing you there as well," I replied, before making my way to the entrance of the dorm. I wanted to go outside and look for Akisada to show him my envelope. I texted him, asking him to meet me at the fountain outside of my dorm.

"Hey Akisada, I have something I'd like to show you, meet me at this fountain, I'm sending a picture of it. If you can't find it, I'll come find you!"

I sent the message and exited the building. When I stepped outside, I heard a voice calling out to me from my right. I turned to see who it was, and it was Kage. He approached me with a different colored envelope in his hand...this one was golden...

"Hey there Hachiro, I see you have one of those blue letters! Where did you place?"

"I placed 93rd, but what the heck is that golden envelope for? Where did you place?" I asked. Kage smiled as he handed his letter over to me, and I began to read the contents.

Upon reading them, my eyes widened, and Kage let out a small chuckle...

~Kage Takahashi - Examination Parts I & II Results Document - Result: PASS - Placement: 1/3157~