Day 13: Meeting the Man

"KIKKERIKIII~" Kiara shouted through the phone. "Today is a very special day, Ryan!"

"What is it today?" Ryan asked, unsure whether to be excited or scared.

"YAGOO is visiting the store today!" Kiara exclaimed. "I'm so excited!"

"Who's YAGOO?" Ryan asked.

"He's a really cool sage!" Kiara chirped. "He's super strong and super easy to make fun of!"

"Shouldn't you not make fun of powerful people?" Ryan asked, facepalming at the memory of Kiara freaking out over A-Chan and Enma.

"Usually, but YAGOO is fun to joke about!" Kiara replied.

"Alright, I'll be there soon," Ryan sighed, hanging up the phone. Something told him today was going to be interesting.

-

"Morning, Tenchou," Ryan said as he walked into the restaurant. Kiara was waiting for him at the counter.

"Hey, Ryan!" Kiara smiled as he entered the store. "Did you sleep alright last night?"

"Yeah," Ryan rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I've been sleeping a lot better ever since I started working here."

"Maybe it's because I work you so hard!" Kiara exclaimed. "Maybe I should work you harder so you can sleep better!"

"I'll pass," Ryan grumbled as he walked over to the counter. "I'm going to go get changed."

"Suit yourself!" Kiara chirped as Ryan entered the break room.

As Ryan got changed, a man and a small girl walked into the store. The man was wearing a business suit and tie and looked around 30-40 years old but looked otherwise completely normal. The girl had purple eyes and long, brown hair. "Good morning," the man said, smiling at him and Kiara, who was wiping down the counter. "It's been a while, Kiara-chan."

"YAGOO!" Kiara shouted as the two sat down. "Who's this? A new idol? That's exciting! I'm Takanashi Kiara! It's nice to meet you! What's your name? Do you sing? Do you draw? I can't wait to see your debut!"

"My name is Anya Melfissa…" The small girl looked down shyly, obviously overwhelmed by Kiara's flow of questions. "I… uh…"

"Tenchou, you're overwhelming her," Ryan put a hand on his boss's shoulder before turning to the small girl. "My name is Ryan Shade. Don't mind my boss, here. She's just excited to meet someone new. It's nice to meet you, Anya-chan."

"N-nice to meet you too," Anya looked up, forcing a smile.

"I'm caring for Anya for the time being," the one named YAGOO replied. "My name is Tanigo Motoaki. It's nice to finally meet you, Ryan."

"Likewise," Ryan shook the man's hand. "Tenchou has said a lot about you."

"Has she now?" YAGOO chuckled. "Nothing bad, I hope."

"Anyways!" Kiara cut in before Ryan could say anything about her. "What would you two like to eat today?"

"I'll just have some mild chicken wings," YAGOO replied.

"I'll have what YAGOO is having," Anya mumbled.

"Alright! I'll go make it!" Kiara rushed over to the back.

"But-," by the time Ryan opened his mouth to protest, his boss was already gone. "Whatever."

"Ryan," Anya said, catching Ryan's attention. "What's it like being a human?"

Ryan thought for a moment. Sure, it was an odd question to ask, but being a magical being and being a human are two vastly different things with vastly different lifestyles, so maybe it wasn't all too odd. "Honestly, my experience hasn't been too good until recently," he answered honestly. "My memory concerning anything past a couple years is really fuzzy, but my life wasn't all too great until recently. Until I got this job, I would spend my time alone with my thoughts. It really wasn't fun after a while, but after I got this job, I met a lot of great people and made a bunch of friends. Meeting everyone certainly helped me see life in a more positive light."

"I see," Anya said, seemingly deep in thought.

"It seems that things have been going well for you here," YAGOO said.

"Things have started to look up for me since I started this job," Ryan said, looking into the distance. "Not that my life was exactly the best before I got here, but I think I have found what I needed to become truly happy."

"I see," YAGOO nodded his head thoughtfully.

At this point, Kiara came back with two tubs of chicken, placing them in front of her two customers. "Here you go!"

"Thank you, Kiara-chan," YAGOO smiled softly at the CEO. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Ryan, but I have somewhere to be."

"Bye!" Anya stood up, bowing before she turned around to follow YAGOO out the door.

"That was anticlimactic," Ryan said.

"Yeah," Kiara said. "But tomorrow is going to be great!"

"What's going on tomorrow?" Ryan asked.

"You'll see," Kiara winked.

-

After dropping off Anya back at the Hololive HQ to hang out with Sabrina, he opened a portal to America for a meeting. He sat across from a hooded figure his face unreadable. "Good evening, Shade," he said.

"I assume you met Edhas, then," Shade, the hooded man replied. "How was he?"

"He seems to be content with his current life," YAGOO replied. "He's been working at Kiara-chan's establishment for the past couple weeks."

"How are the girls reacting to him?" Shade asked.

"They've been receiving him very well," YAGOO replied. "He's made a lot of friends and they seem to be affecting him as positively as he's affecting them."

"I see," Shade nodded his head. "Do you think he's ready?"

"I do," YAGOO said, a strong resolve shining in his eyes.

"Good," Shade stood up. "Go notify Godslayer. He shall receive his memories tomorrow."

-

"Where did you go?" Sabrina asked as YAGOO walked in. She and Anya were watching one of Fubuki's recent livestreams. Anya looked ecstatic, clearly idolizing the cat (fox?) girl. Sabrina just calmly watched the stream alongside Anya, not caring to look at the man as he walked in.

"Shade gave the thumbs up to do it tomorrow," YAGOO replied.

"He did?!" Sabrina jumped up from the couch to look at YAGOO, Anya looking at her with confusion.

"Yes," YAGOO replied. "I just need to contact another source to return his magic."

"Why can't I just do it?" Sabrina asked curiously.

"The seal is a very advanced seal. There aren't many people in the world that can do it," YAGOO replied.

"I see," Sabrina thought on his words for a moment. "I've never been really good at seal-work anyways."

"Alright, I'll be right back," YAGOO said, before snapping his fingers and vanishing.

-

"Storm," YAGOO appeared in an endless void before a cloaked figure. "It's time."

"Time, you say," Storm had his back faced to YAGOO. "Perhaps it is, but perhaps not."

"We've all agreed on it," YAGOO said. "It's going to happen tomorrow."

"Time is such a fickle thing in the endless void," Storm replied. "I shall be there, but not all things are in our control."

"What are you implying?" YAGOO asked. Even as a sage, YAGOO sometimes could not decipher what the hooded man was saying. Of course, Storm was not one bound by the laws of physics, nature, or magic, so anyone would have a hard time understanding him.

"What I say is up for your interpretation," Storm turned to face YAGOO. "But know your actions will dictate what will happen to him, and what will happen to the rest of the world."

"I have accepted that burden long ago," YAGOO said confidently.

"But can you live with the consequences?" Storm asked. Before YAGOO could reply, he vanished with a gust of wind. Storm turned around and sighed. "What will become of his dimension, I wonder?"

-

Ryan had spent the better part of an hour on his computer. He looked at the clock and sighed. Time for bed, he thought as he turned off his computer. He stood up, stretching before walking over to bed and picking up his phone.

"I guess I should call," Ryan sat down on his bed and dialed up Sabrina's number. When it went to voicemail, he sighed again.

"Hey, Sabrina," Ryan said, laying down on the bed. "I don't know what's happening tomorrow, but Tenchou thinks it's something important. She refuses to tell me anything, though. I got to meet this guy named Tanigo Motoaki. For some reason, everyone calls him YAGOO. He seemed normal, but he's kind of mysterious to be honest. He kept on asking me questions before just up and leaving. I don't really know what to think about him, but I think I'm going to stay weary of him. Anyways, that's all for today. I'm going to go. Goodnight, Sabrina."

As he hung up the phone, he put it back on the nightstand and stared at the ceiling. "I guess I'll just have to wait and see."