Chapter 6: Tokino Sora
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One month has passed since the start of the company's renovation. The whole company went on a paid leave, courtesy of the Chief, and one more month was still needed for the finishing touches on the bigger construction projects.
Yagoo was a bit restless, seeing that he hadn't worked for a month, and decided to go to the company. His wife told him it was good to take the break but he convinced her it was too long and he must get back into the CEO role quickly to achieve his dream.

He walked to the block of his company, only to see the building expanded by a few more stories and across more office spaces on the street. The large facilities across the street were still closed off with the numerous hooded people constructing on it.
'Never thought I would see the company expand so quickly.' Yagoo thought as he tapped his card to gain access to the HQ. He went into the newly designed reception and so no one was there, since everyone was on vacation.
He managed to find some staff brochures that helped him navigate to the top floor which had some meeting rooms and offices of directives and higher positions.
He wandered around and found the two biggest offices on the floor, the left office having the nameplate of CEO and the right office having the nameplate of Chief.
Yagoo entered the CEO's office and saw the quality and space increase significantly. He was able to also see all of his office supplies and personal belongings neatly organised on his new big desk. After being satisfied by the new arrangements of his workspace, he left and knocked on the Chief's office.

"Come in."
The door opened and invited Yagoo in. The office layout was similar to Yagoo except the desk is littered with electronics and monitors.
"I thought I gave you a two-month vacation, Yagoo." the Chief said as he was typing on the computers and occasionally wrote something on his notepad.
"One month is way too much, let alone two. We Japanese aren't used to such long vacations."
"You should have taken it, oh well. Please take a look at this, it explains the general layout of the HQ and all the facilities."

Yagoo was given a generalised layout of their entire block and partial sections of the upcoming larger projects across the road. Yagoo took a good look, studying which new facilities to explore, only to discover the large number of buildings and rooms that are installed.
"...Chief, have you ever been in a normal office company?"
"Yeah, a bit. Why?"
"Why do we have dorms, numerous large office cubicles, a cafeteria, indoor & outdoor pools and a movie theatre?!"
"Standard procedures? I saw them in my offices."
"No! These are way too generous. I won't be surprised if our employees start trying to return their salaries."
"Don't worry. We won't run out of money.
"And why do we have 10 music studios, 10 streaming studios, 10 dance studios and 5 minor activity studios?! We don't even have a single talent. We could have just rented studios outside the company."
"Doesn't hurt to be prepared."
"Ah, yes! Of course a stadium! Very prepared, when we don't even have a group of idols?! It's going to be an empty stage for at least a year."
"I mean, we can rent it out. It's quite big."
"....What's the scale comparison?"
"Triple the size of Tokyo Dome, wished it was a little bigger but I couldn't get enough space."
"....I feel very worried as the CEO of this company."
"Come on, just chill out in the onsen when it's done."
"A normal company doesn't have onsens!"
"We aren't a normal company, Yagoo. We are a company that will live up to its dreams, so I prepared the necessary components to facilitate those dreams."
"But this is over the top! You have prepared way too much."
"There is nothing wrong with being over-prepared to achieve your dreams."
"....Chief, what is your dre-"

BBBBBBBBBIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZZZ
"What was that?" (Yagoo)
"The buzzer for the reception, since no one else is working so I made a buzzer if someone came." (Chief)
"So you heard it when I came in?"
"Yeah, but I was too lazy after getting the notification of your ID showing on the system."
"..."
Chief got up from his seat and proceeded to walk out of his office,
"Come on, CEO. We got some guests to entertain."
"...Right behind you, Chief!"

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Two girls were waiting in the new Cover reception lobby, fascinated by the large space it provided and space to explore.
One girl had short dark indigo hair with a neat ribbon and wore a simple black shirt with denim jeans. Her classic spectacles complemented her jaded eyes and smart outlook.
The other girl wore a frilly white and peachy dress to match her brown long silky hair. A glittering star hair clip, perched on her hair with two vibrant pink feathers, paired with her pretty idol-like face with hazel eyes.

"According to this brochure, they were only founded last year. Sora-sama, are you sure this is the place? We passed by here a couple of times before."
"A-chan, I told you to stop calling me 'sama'. We are no longer in the Spirit Plane."
"But-"
"No buts," Sora teased as she placed her index finger over A-chan's lips, prompting her to stop her excuses, "You promised me when we left."
"...Yes, Sora." (A-chan)
"Good!" Sora smiled and giggled while she was poking A-chan's cheeks. "And do not worry, Ankimo taught me the skill [TRACE] and it didn't respond until just recently. I check it every day!"
"...As long as you are happy."
"Thank you, A-chan!" Sora smiled and hugged her best friend.
'Why do I still have an uneasy feeling?' (A-chan)

As Sora was excitingly looking around and A-chan trying to find her source of unease, two men came walking into the reception lobby from the staff area of the building.
On the left, was a traditional black-haired Japanese man in casual business attire. The more defining features were his slanted eyes and well-chiselled face. He had a casual and relaxed atmosphere, presented with his hospitable smile.
On the right, there was another mixed Oriental man with a very complex and silent aura. His white hair added a mysterious air to his smart casual outfit of a black jacket, white shirt and black jeans. However, the most distinct thing about the man was his red eyes, seemingly being able to look into the depths of their souls.
The two men, side by side, stood in front of the two young girls.

Yagoo, while looking very hospitable, was very confused about why two girls came to their company especially when no one else was working. Even he wasn't supposed to be here!

"Good afternoon, sorry for the late reception. Everyone in the company is on vacation and my buddy and I were in a meeting for a bit. Is there anything we can help you?" (Yagoo)
"Ah, good afternoon. We came to take a look because...." A-chan was at a loss, realising that they came in with no other intentions except for relying on Sora's skill of tracking something. She didn't have a suitable excuse for coming inside the company.
"We are here for the recruitment." (Sora)
Unbeknownst to A-chan and Yagoo who were overthinking their current situation, Tokino Sora and Chief were looking at each other's eyes. Chief stood his ground, his red eyes coursed and had to blink to prevent [DEFLECT GAZE] activation because of Sora's intense stare.
Sora was staring at the Chief, her eyes swirling into a shade of light purple. She lightly touched her precious hairclip and chanted silently, while still looking deep into the Chief's red eyes.

[KAGUYA TRUTH]
[KAGUYA TRACE]
Sora let out a giggle from the result she got and proceeded to clap her hands together beside her cheeks. Chief softened his gaze after seeing nothing wrong with this pair of girls and consulted Alice-chan to run through some of his [EARTH] memories.
"We saw the posters near your construction sites and were interested in the positions." (Sora)
"Huh, I don't remember the company needing more staff at the moment. We haven't even got our old staff in to organise the new facilities." (Yagoo)
"They must be talking about the idol recruitment." (Chief)
"....Why did you post an idol recruitment?"
"Don't we need idols for your dream?"
"We can't have idols if we haven't even got our staff and equipment prepared and ready! We should only recruit after we have everything prepared."
"But why not get some idols earlier so they can slowly get into a rhythm? They still need training right?"
"Well we don't have the staff right now, so we would be wasting our money having idols not doing anything."
"Yagoo, we don't have to worry about money."
"..." Yagoo facepalmed, trying to understand the Chief's logic.

"Can we become an idol?" Sora raised her arm and asked, her purple eyes still staring at the red eyes.
"Wait, Sora! I haven't researched this company yet. We can co-" (A-chan)
"No, we can do that afterwards. I would like to join the company and become an idol." (Sora)
"Pleasure to meet you, young girl. I hope our cooperation goes well. Let's discuss in a meeting room on this floor since our usual meeting rooms are still under renovation." (Chief)
"Are you even listening, Chief?! We shouldn't be hiring idols if we haven't even got the company working yet." Yagoo dragged Chief to the side and ushered him in a whisper so the two girls can't listen.
"We'll just have them as interns or trial idols then. Yagoo, you shouldn't dampen their resolve to join the company, these kinds of people are the hope of many companies. Have you seen her eyes?" (Chief)
"..."
"They are filled with ambition"
"Ambition?"

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A-chan and Sora were sitting on the couch in the meeting room on the ground floor. A-chan was nervous about being in foreign territory but had to put up a strong front to prevent her or Sora from being taken advantage of. She made sure to protect Sora as her bodyguard.
Contrary to A-chan's nervousness, Sora was happily humming a tune while waiting for the two bosses to come back. One could say that she looked really excited for some reason.
Yagoo and Chief came inside the room with Chief holding a tray of beverages.
"Here's some tea while we discuss your plans with the company." (Chief)
"Thank you." Sora received the cup and smelt the smooth and floral scent of the tea.
"T-t-thank you.." A-chan nervously received the cup and smelt it, instantly recognising the smell and quickly sipped it to confirm the taste.
'WHAT! These are Mikando Saksu Cherry Blossoms! Why does he have such legendary tea leaves that are reared by the Fox kin and they scarcely let royalties of other empires buy it?! Even Kaguya-sama only got a leaf as an offering from a rich clan!' A-chan thought as she nervously placed the cup down, afraid of wasting such a treasure.
Sora was calmly drinking the exclusive tea, maintaining perfect etiquette of tea drinking and was marvelled by the taste.
'Huh, wonder if Ankimo likes this type of tea' (Sora)
"Wow, this tastes great. Very mellow and sweet, where you get these leaves, Chief? My wife would love to drink this." (Yagoo)
"Dunno, my acquaintance gave some of these pink leaves as a gift. She looked really pained giving it to me from the tree so I only took a bit. I'll reserve some for your wife next time I visit them." (Chief)
'WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU GOT THEM FROM THE TREE?! WHAT DID YOU DO THE FOX KIN THAT MADE THEM GIVE YOU THE LEAVE OUT OF THEIR FREE WILL?! THIS GUY IS BAD NEWS!' (A-chan)

"Ah, we never got to introduce ourselves. I am Motoaki Tanigo, the CEO of Cover. You can just call me Yagoo if it's too complicated."
"The name's Tatsu Nezu. Please just call me Chief as I am too used to being called by that position."
Sora's eyes flicked a shade of yellow before returning back to the hazel colour.
"My name is Tokino Sora, an heir of the Kaguya Family, and I hope to join this company as an idol."
"I-I-I-I am A-chan, a friend of Sora and I am just here to supervise her." A-chan was still recovering and looked at the teacup, trying to convince herself it could be fake.
"A-chan? Is that short for anything?" (Yagoo)
"No, I was given this name." (A-chan)
"We won't pursue the matter, let's get to interviewing to see if you are capable of the idol position." (Chief)

Sora raised her hand slightly and asked in a quiet voice,
"Um, what does an idol do?"
"..." (Yagoo)
"..." (A-chan)
"Yeah, what does an idol do, Yagoo?" (Chief)
"Okay! I get it if Sora-san doesn't get it, but you're the Chief! Why would you invest in such a company if you didn't even know what we are going to do?! You even heckled my ass about the 'dream' stuff!" (Yagoo)
"Ahhhh, your charisma and persuasion got me to invest in your company?" (Chief)
"Why is that a question? Whatever, we'll talk about it later. I'll go and print some idol information guides from my wife so just interview them normally. You know how to interview them right?" (Yagoo)
"It should be fine, I'll ask Alice-chan for help if something happens." (Chief)
"Oh, she's here?"
"Nah, nearby as always."
"Okay, I'll be right back."

Yagoo walked out of the room and closed the door to go to his office printer.

[DOMAIN]
In that instance, the room shrunk down with pressure. A-chan felt tremendous pressure smash down on her aura and instantly broke it. She was weakened immediately and struggled to keep her face up. If she wasn't supported by the couch and trained as a bodyguard for a few years, she would have already collapsed onto the floor.
'WHAT! WHAT IS HAPPENING?!' A-chan thought as she managed to take a glimpse at the Chief.
Before, his aura was mysterious and subtle, making it hard to predict his motives and action. Now, his aura was oppressive and powerful, making A-chan submit instantly. His red eyes glowed with fearsome intent as he scanned the two girls.
Sora tightened her posture when she felt the pressure and looked at the Chief, wondering why he was suddenly so terrifying. Sweat drops appeared on the side of her head but she barely managed to maintain her calm face.

"So," Chief took a sip of his tea and placed it down, "Why are you here, people from the Spirit Plane?"

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{Little Segment}

"Honey, you can come out already. He already left for his [RUN]."
"But Dad, he sometimes finishes them too quickly before I get to play with the dogs."
"Unlikely, he's doing another [INFINITE] and won't leave it unattended for at least a decade. Why didn't you greet him, you only have an eternity?"
"But...I'm scared Dad. Mum told me all the terrifying things he did before the [ERA]."
"And he won't do them again. They are already gone and he has other duties to do now. Even he wouldn't get hung up for not completing [APOCALYPSE OF GODS] since millions of years ago."
"...Dad, can I watch his [RUNS] with you?"
"....Is it to spend time with me or to make sure he doesn't hook up with other girls?"
"You don't need to know Dad!"

Yeet! Slowing progress to plan some things out. Chapters might get boring but I still need to write them! For those who might wonder, Tatsu is also in the Black Bullet novel, just in different time frames. I'll do a Q&A after some more chapters to help solidy my character-building as well as claify things as I will not write for every run he does.

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