Bucky Barnes didn't speak anything about it, but he had essentially broken the rules, and there was no going around it. But then again, he knew that it must be done, or else their dimension won't have the slightest chance of surviving. To him, it was worth breaking the rules and risking a demotion than leaving his Disciples and their particular dimension alone.
With a satisfied smile on his face. He stretched his hands and controlled the spatial dimension he had put up so that he could have an audience with Satoshi. He was aware that his control over space was incomparably refined than his fellow Managers, and that's why he was confident that he won't get caught just like that.
"All the best to you, Satoshi." He muttered to himself as the room changed from an empty space into his usual room. As soon as he did that, he collapsed on the couch and tried to relax. Despite being fairly certain he won't get caught, he still felt the nervousness creeping up from behind him. There was no way the higher-ups wouldn't know about it... and he knew it was only a matter of time before they became suspicious of his actions.
"Now... where were we again?" He scratched his head as he balanced the staff on his hand. He had been gone from the gathering for far too long. In fact, he expected another Manager to come knocking on his door any moment now.
Rap. Rap.
Just as expected, someone came to pick him up. It was none other than the Manager with long white hair, donning a pristine white robe. "What are you doing here? The semifinals for the Official Beast Tournament are about to start soon. Aren't you going to watch?" He asked.
Even though he had already expected someone to pick him up, he was still surprised that someone did go out of his way. And it was none other than the strongest Manager himself. "You didn't have to, I was just about to make my way there. In any case, are there any updates on the World Eater?" Bucky Barnes managed to remove suspicions on himself by smoothly changing the topic.
"I see," The white-haired Manager rubbed his chin as a sinister smile appeared on his face. "Well, at the moment, we are aware that the World Eater is finally awake... or rather, we've already confirmed that it's moving through dimensions as we speak. While we're still not sure whether the prediction could be true, we also couldn't rule out the fact that the higher-ups' predictions have been spot-on in the past."
"At this rate... their dimension is going to be destroyed... and there's only so much we could do to help them." He continued.
"Why are you smirking like that?" Bucky Barnes asked. Every time the white-haired Manager smirked, just like what he was doing right now, there was always something behind it. That's why he just had to ask since it had already piqued his interest.
"Well, I find it rather interesting that you're taking this Official Beast Tournament seriously. So... who's your Disciple?" The white-haired Manager asked as Bucky Barnes walked out of his room.
Acting as if he had been caught red-handed, Bucky Barnes averted his gaze from him but he continued walking towards the room where the other Managers were gathered. "I'm telling you nothing." He blurted. His voice had a hint of nervousness in it, and the white-haired Manager had already caught wind of it.
"You know what? After observing you and your reactions while watching the Official Beast Tournament, it's easy to know who it was. Although I'm not a hundred percent sure that my guess would be correct... well, I'm pretty confident it is whom I think it is." He said, crossing his arms as he leaned forward. He wanted to see what expression Bucky Barnes was wearing. After all, he kept on turning his head away from him while they made their way to the room.
"And who do you think it is?" Until then, Bucky was fairly certain he was messing with him. But now, something about his voice told him he wasn't kidding. There was a good chance he already knew who his Disciple was.
"Well, there's this kid who had been rising up... defeating every single Disciple in the Official Beast Tournament as if he was crushing bugs under his feet. He never broke a sweat, and his battles were all one-sided. He's undoubtedly the best beast tamer in the Official Beast Tournament... amongst the Disciples, I doubt that he's the best, but there's room for that argument if he wins the Official Beast Tournament by a landslide."
"There's another beast tamer who had also caught our attention, and I've decided to recruit him as soon as possible. There's a good chance that he's already someone else's Disciple, though... if he already did, I'll find it hard to believe that he's your Disciple. I heard that Yun Zhe guy talked to him about being a Disciple, but he had no idea what the term even meant. If that's the case, then there's no way he could be someone's disciple, right? With that talent of his, though, I think he'll be a great Disciple."
"You've been blabbering for too long. I stopped listening. So, who's your guess? Who do you think is my Disciple, then?" Bucky Barnes asked, also crossing his arms and imitating the white-haired Manager's gestures.
"I already said his name... it's that kid Yun Zhe, right? He's your Disciple?" He asked, smiling.
The tension rose between the two as their stares got into a deadlock. At first, Bucky Barnes didn't want to admit that it was true... but after contemplating it for a couple of seconds, he came to the realization that it would be better to tell the truth. It would be a great misdirection since everyone would believe what he said, and they won't pry into any details when it comes to his other Disciples.
While it is common knowledge that Managers could have more than one Disciple, most Managers don't really reveal the names of all their Disciples right off the bat. "Well, you got me. But I don't get why you Managers make a big deal out of whose Disciple is who." Shrugging his shoulders, Bucky Barnes went ahead of the white-haired Manager, rejoining everyone in the meeting room, claiming his seat.
"I knew it... they even have the same characteristics." The white-haired Manager chuckled.
With this, there was no way that they'd ever assume Midoriyama Satoshi is already a Disciple.
.....
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.
Before Lydia could see anything that would scar her mind, Satoshi had already covered her eyes. She flinched, not because she was in the men's bathroom, but because Satoshi was standing too close, his body was pressed against her back. The redness on her face became evident as they walked out of the bathroom.
As for Ayano, she was slightly jealous of Satoshi's relationship with his childhood friend. She was embarrassed too, but there was no one who covered her eyes when they got out.
"Ah- ! Don't tell me," Satoshi muttered as he pointed a finger toward Ayano.
"W-what is it?" Ayano asked, avoiding Satoshi's line of sight in a bashful manner. She had assumed that Satoshi was about to ask her something embarrassing.
"You saw what would happen in the future, and that's why you followed me to the restroom. Was that it?" Satoshi asked, heaving a sigh of relief. At the very least, there was nothing weird with their actions.
"Hmph!" For some reason, Ayano 'hmph'ed before she headed towards the stalls. Apparently, she couldn't believe that Satoshi made her feel embarrassed for nothing.
...
With the Official Beast Tournament entering the semifinals, the hyped atmosphere that enveloped the entire American Dome had reached its peak. There was still an hour or two lunch break before the semifinals commenced, but most of the audience didn't budge from their seats. They stayed glued to it while they patiently waited for the announcement of the semifinals.
Meanwhile, the huge television screen in the middle of the American Dome showed the four contestants who would be participating in the semifinals. The first one on the list was a Korean named Kim Jin Seok, who had been matched up with weaker opponents, making it an easy climb for him toward the top four. There was nothing worth noting when it came down to it. Sure he could use the Dual Beast Integration, but he doesn't have a Representative.
Then there was White Mist, who, by a stroke of luck, managed to reach the finals despite having difficulty with his Dual Beast Integration. Even the audience was amazed at his luck.
As for Satoshi and Yun Zhe, everyone already assumed that they would be the ones dominating the finals. No one questioned it.
Pretty soon, breaktime had come to an end and the commencement of the semifinals finally came.
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om