"Your Satoshi, right? RIGHT?" The man enthusiastically exclaimed. "Oh wait, pardon my introductions, the name's Bucky Barnes. Don't ask me, that's my real name. I'm your Manager."
The man grinned as he lightly touched his somewhat lengthy flowy hair which had a nice blond on it. His messy stubble was one of the most dominant features on his face, and his semi-muscular build exuded pressure and great strength. Aside from that, he also had a recurring theme of black. Down to the socks he wore underneath his black pants, and down to his shoes which were newly shined. He balanced a black cane on his hand as well as a black hat on his head.
Tipping his hat, he waited for Satoshi to respond to what he just said. For the past two weeks, he did nothing but closely monitor Satoshi to see how he was holding up. And as expected, he had exceeded everyone's expectations including his. It's not every day that they get to see someone grow in terms of their superpower in just a short span of time. In a sense, this made Satoshi an aberration in terms of beast taming.
"My Manager? I don't recall ever having joined a group, much less a boy band." Satoshi responded. Somehow, he forgot the term Manager even though Yun Zhe had explained the concept to him on numerous occasions. He tried to wrap his head around the situation but it just didn't make any sense. He didn't have a hint of recollection when it comes to having a Manager.
"In a sense, yes. Let's just say I, for one, chose you as part of my team." Bucky Barnes explained, totally ignoring the sharp stares he received from Ayano and Lydia.
"So, you're a Manager, huh? If you really are his Manager, then why did you go to such great lengths in kidnapping us?" Ayano asked, stepping forward before pulling Satoshi behind her. There was no way she would allow the kidnapper to be in close proximity to Satoshi, not if she could help it.
"Pardon me, I assume that was rude of me to spirit you away from your dimension." Bucky Barnes tilted his head downward in a sincere apologetic manner before he proceeded to explain the situation. "The reason why I had to resort to something so underhanded was that... I can't go to your dimension. Even if I wanted to, there's just no way I'd be able to go there and personally speak to you."
ραпdα Й?νêl(сòm) "As you probably already know..." Bucky Barnes turned away, trying to find the right words that would make it easier for Satoshi to understand. He stole a glance, then hesitantly bit his lips. He could tell that Satoshi had no idea what he was talking about.
While he knew that Satoshi did have a decent understanding of Disciples, he also assumed that Yun Zhe had explained what the Managers are. However, it was painstakingly obvious that Satoshi had no idea about it.
"Well, let's just start with the basics of basics. There are Disciples, and there are Managers." Bucky Barnes began. This was the time he realized that he was explaining it to Satoshi and two other people who aren't even Disciples. If anyone knew what he was doing right now, he'd be demoted in an instant— it's not like he cared about being demoted.
"You already know what Disciples are... the term is pretty straightforward so I don't need to explain the concept." He continued. "As for Managers, they are the ones who choose their Disciples. There are only two rules when it comes to being a Disciple. One, they must choose their Disciple before he or she was born. And second, they should assign a guardian to watch over the growth of that Disciple."
"We can choose anyone we want, and since you were the son of the two most powerful superheroes in your home country, I decided to choose you. Even though I could tell that you won't have a superpower in the future, I believed that you will prove to become a powerful Disciple. And I was right, you really are someone worthy of becoming my Disciple."
While Bucky Barnes inwardly celebrated, Satoshi fell into a state of silence as he realized what the man was talking about. It all started making sense now. First, he was late when he awakened his superpower, and second, he was chosen by this Manager person while he was still in the womb. This explained the dream that his grandfather had... and it also explained why his grandparents kept telling him that he was the chosen one.
"I... I see..." Satoshi dejectedly muttered to himself.
After all, it was too good to be true. The past few months felt like a blur. It felt like a prolonged good dream that gave him everything he ever wanted. There was no way that that dream manifested because of his hard work... he finally understood what was going on— or at least, that's what he told himself.
'So this wasn't my superpower... I was just lucky I was chosen. It's like winning the lottery before you were born... how nice.' Satoshi said in his mind. While his thoughts were essentially true, he found it rather disappointing. Everything wasn't a result of his hard work, it was all a result of a certain someone who placed his bets on him before he was born.
Ayano and Lydia, who had known Satoshi ever since he was a kid, also thought the same thing. These past few days, they witnessed Satoshi's passion when it comes to tamed beasts first hand, and they were happy for him. He had a rough childhood, but now he was finally living the life he'd always wanted.
And now they just had to learn that all of these were actually someone's choice instead of Satoshi's. Of course, they'd feel despondent about it.
"Why do you all look so sad?" Bucky Barnes asked, genuinely concerned. He wasn't even in the middle of his explanation yet and they were already in low spirits. "Was it because of anything I said?"
"How are we supposed to believe you, you fraud!" Lydia suddenly snapped out of nowhere, much to Satoshi's surprise.
As for Ayano, she had a much calmer approach. "If what you're saying is really true... you said that Satoshi was chosen... that he was supposed to not have any superpower. Why didn't you just keep that to yourself instead of saying it out loud?"
Bucky Barnes had no idea why they were quite adamant when he was just trying to explain a few things to them. After hearing them out, though, he realized that he said something that Satoshi completely misunderstood. Somehow, it flew right past his brain and he didn't even think about the consequences brought about by his heavy words.
"Ah that... I didn't say that he didn't have any superpowers. I said... I couldn't tell whether you'll have a superpower in the future. Was that clear enough?" Bucky Barnes pursed his lips as he apologetically looked at Satoshi. "In other words, I never did expect you to have a superpower, nor did the other Managers expect you to awaken one. After all, we aren't gods, we're just mere Managers. There's no way we could have predicted the future or something."
"What I'm saying is... I chose you even though you weren't supposed to have superpowers. It also came as a surprise for me when you awakened your superpower, you know, so don't be dejected. That's your power, I didn't grant you anything. All I ever gave you was a blessing. Ask any other Managers out there, it's beyond our capabilities to bestow a superpower, we can only bestow blessings. Blessings only ever boost the superpower that you already possess, and it gives you a certain affinity to beasts. That's about it."
"Why did you have to word it like that then?" Ayano pouted as she grabbed Satoshi by his head and hugged him to her chest.
Satoshi didn't resist, as his face sank on the two pillows— well, it's not because he liked it, but because he still hadn't gotten over the fact that he was chosen. If what he was saying was true, then it truly was like winning the lottery... or rather, it was like winning the lottery twice. His absent-mindedness prompted Lydia to hug him as well. For some odd reason, she didn't want to lose to Ayano.
"I'm sorry about that. In any case, the reason why I called you out here was to warn you about something." Bucky Barnes muttered. "An evil force is coming to your dimension. It's known as the World Eater. At this rate, your entire world will be destroyed if we don't step in."
"The least we could do is warn you of the impending doom, and lend you our aid by gathering the Disciples at an earlier date. The First Selection is scheduled way later, but we're going to push it earlier than expected. I hope you prepare yourself before then." Bucky Barnes continued, patting Satoshi on the head.
"My time's up, talk to Yun Zhe about everything I said but don't tell him I told you. As I mentioned before, we Managers cannot directly intervene in your dimension's affairs. That's it, I wish you all the best in the Official Beast Tournament. As your Manager, I'll be closely watching, adios~"
One moment, the three of them were in an unknown space, the next moment, they were back in the middle of the restroom. A couple of men who were in the urinals flinched upon seeing three people show up in thin air.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺