HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
Disclaimer: I do not own B Project.
Chapter 1, Prologue
It was eight o' clock at night; the time when shady people begun to come out enjoy themselves, blending in with normal citizens. Tomohisa shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he glanced outside of the moving vehicle.
"Young master, are you not feeling well?" asked the driver from the front seat. "We could turn back if you want to."
The silver-haired young man shook his head and smiled. "No, it's ok. I'm just feeling a bit nervous since this is my first time attending this kind of event." He said, scratching his cheek sheepishly.
The driver chuckled. "You don't need to worry, young master. I heard that your friends will also be there so I'm sure you'll be fine."
Tomohisa sighed and straightened his neck tie. "I do hope so." As he continued to get himself to relax, the ride came to a stop when the vehicle pulled over in front of a large grand building.
"We're here, young master. You can give me a call when you feel like leaving, sir. I'll be waiting right here." The driver told the young man as he watched Tomohisa getting out of the car.
Tomohisa nodded. "I'll be going then. Thanks for driving me here." He waved his hand at the driver before he turned to leave, entering the large building. As soon as he walked into the building, he was stopped by two men wearing black suits and black sunglasses.
"Excuse me, sir. Are you here to attend the auction holding for tonight?" One of the men asked.
Tomohisa stood still, confused and dumbfounded by the sudden approach. But, quickly shrugged it off when he caught up by the question. "Yes, I am. Here's the invitation." He said calmly, pulling out a black envelope from his pocket and showed it to the men.
The two men stared at each other and nodded. They then apologized for suddenly stopping him and told Tomohisa where the auction was being held, giving detailed direction. Tomohisa thanked them and walked away, heading to where he was told to. He entered the elevator and went up to the highest floor of the building.
The elevator let out a 'ding' when it reached the destination. Tomohisa stepped out once the door slide opened. He glanced around and spotted a large grand door on his left side with two men wearing black suits, guarding on either side of the door. Tomohisa gulped nervously before making his way towards the door.
"Your invitation, please." said one of the men. Tomohisa took out the envelope and handed it to him. The man took the envelope and opened it to check.
Tomohisa sweat dropped. 'Their security sure is tight here…'
The man looked up and nodded at his companion before opening the door. "You can enter now, sir. Before you reach the main hall, our staffs will provide you with a mask to protect your identity."
Tomohisa raised a brow. 'Protect? Identity?'
"We hope you will enjoy the night, sir."
The silver-haired man tensed and nodded before entering the room. As soon as he was inside, the door was immediately closed. Tomohisa walked through the long corridor and he spotted two more men in front of a black curtain. 'Not again…'
When the men saw him, they gestured him to come closer, and he did so. One of the men then took a white mask from the box that his companion was holding and gave it to Tomohisa.
"Wear this before you enter, sir." They instructed. "This way, no one will be able to tell who you are during the event."
Tomohisa studied the mask with a questioning look. 'What's with this whole hiding things?' He asked to himself. He, however, put the mask on his face. After that, he shifted the curtain aside and went inside.
Inside there was a large, dark ballroom lightened with only dim lights from the chandelier. The room was filled with other guest, dressing formally in suits or dress, all of them wearing masks. There were tables filled with food and drinks. The atmosphere was also very eerie and shady. Tomohisa deadpanned. 'Is this some kind of a Gothic ceremony?'
He tensed up a little when a waiter approached him, holding a tray of drinks. "Would you like a drink, sir?"
Tomohisa nodded and took a glass of wine from the tray. "Thank you." He said with a smile. The waiter gave him a small nod before walking away. Tomohisa then proceed to walk around the room to investigate his surroundings.
Even though they were wearing masks, he could still recognize few familiar faces from when he first met them in the previous parties. Of course, normal parties… not gothic like event like this. Anyway, they didn't seem to recognize him so he ignored them anyway. As he continued to stroll around the room, "Kya!" he accidentally bumped into someone.
Being a gentleman, Tomohisa immediately apologized. "Uh…I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going." He noticed that he bumped into a young lady, wearing a black dress with a black mask.
The lady smiled at him. "Don't worry. No harm done." She told him with a swift of her hand. She didn't move away. He could feel her staring at him from head to toes which made him shivered a bit. "I'll…be going then. Sorry for bumping into you." He said politely, trying to get away from her as fast as possible.
He was stopped by her tugging on his shirt. "Is this your first time here, Mister?" She asked. "If you like, I would kindly tell you anything you want to know." She said with a smile.
He stared at her. She has long dark hair and fair skin, and even though she was wearing a mask, he could see that she has dark green eyes. She was a beautiful lady and her black dress made her glow even more. But, at the time, to him… she's…
'Creepy…' He turned to her and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, madam, but I believe I should get going."
"To where? Your acquaintance? It doesn't seem like you're here with somebody else." The lady pointed out. He sweat dropped. She just wouldn't let him go. She moved closer to him and placed her hand on his arm. "Ne, why don't we get to know each other? I'd keep you accompany you since you're here alone."
He began to creep out by her behavior. 'Why are the ladies these days are so shameless?' He murmured to himself. He couldn't think of how to get out of the situation at the time. Before the lady could say anything more, someone pulled him forward and away from her.
Both of them were surprised by this. "Excuse me, Miss. Unfortunately, this young man already has companies." A familiar voice rang through his ears. He looked up to glance at his savior and immediately recognized the man with that bright blue short hair. The man glanced back at him and winked. Tomohisa grinned. 'Yup, that's him alright.'
The man grinned and turned to look at the lady, who pouted in disappointment. "Oh dear, my apologies. I'd like to excuse myself then." She said calmly before rolling her eyes and walked away.
Tomohisa sighed in relief as he watched the female left. He then turned to look at his savior. "Thank you for saving me, Kento." He grinned gratefully. The man shrugged his shoulder. "It's no big deal. If I let that kind of predatory woman snatch you away, it'd make your beloved fiancé cry." He teased. He was one of Tomohisa's friends, Aizome Kento.
Tomohisa chuckled. "Really… we're only engaged, you know? We haven't even made the final decision yet."
Kento shushed him. "Tsk tsk tsk… No one can tell what willll happen next. Who knows when the two of you might develop feelings for each other? By the way, I'm surprised you immediately recognize me even with this." He said, tapping his mask.
The silver-haired grinned. "I'd recognize you anywhere thanks to your hair color. Even so, I'm more surprised that you find out it's me."
The blue-haired shook his head. "The one who knew it's you is that guy over there." He murmured, jerking his tongue to one of the guests around them, a young man with short blonde hair, swift to the side.
Tomohisa brightened up. "Kazu!" It was again, one of his friends, Masunaga Kazuna. The blonde seemed to take notice of this and smiled. "Good evening." He greeted, approaching the two. "I heard that you were told to attend this but I had never thought that you would actually come."
"Ah…about that… My father said I should attend this to gain more new experiences of my surroundings because I've never attend an auction before." replied the silver-haired sheepishly. "What about you, Kento, Kazu? Were you also told the same?"
Kento smirked. "You should stop calling us by names, Mister. This is supposed to be a masquerade event so we shouldn't know who is who."
Tomohisa immediately snapped his mouth shut in realization. "Ahh…opps…"
His two friends chuckled in amusement. "That's quite an unexpected reaction coming from you, Young Master. I thought you're already used to this."
The silver-haired sighed. "Apparently… this kind of event is totally different from the normal parties so I'm a little clueless here…"
Kazuna grinned in understanding and patted his back. Don't worry...You're not the only clueless one here…"
"What about you?" Tomohisa turned to Kento, being careful of not to refer by the name. "Oh… as far as I've known, you always attend this kind of event from time to time so you're already used to it right?"
Kento grinned and ruffled his hair; being super careful not to ruin the front bangs. "Well, I am more mature than you guys, just so you know, and yes. This is not my first time here."
"Eh? That's quite surprising!" said Tomohisa, sounding a bit shock. "But, that's great. With you guys here, I feel a bit more comfortable here." He said, rubbing his temple. "Are there anyone here other than us?"
Kazuna shook his head. "Unfortunately, there's only three of us. The others… I heard that they were also blabbered by their family about this but…fortunately for them, they have their own excuse."
Tomohisa raised a brow. "Excuse?"
"Yuta and Goushi are underage in case you forgot." Kento replied.
"Oh. You're right!" the silver-haired grinned. He was unaware of this.
"As for Mikado, and Momotaro, they said they have studies for the upcoming exams. Tatsu said Hikaru's not feeling well so he's staying over at Hikaru's. And the last four said they're with Mikado and Momotaro." Kazuna listed off all of the excuses from the rest of their friends.
Tomohisa sweat dropped. "It seemed like we're the only one who couldn't come up with an excuse."
The blonde nodded sadly. The newbie duo dropped their head and let out a depressing sigh. Kento sweat dropped. "You two, since you guys are already here, why not just enjoy the night? I can assure it's going to be interesting." His tone changed a little when he said the last part.
As he finished saying this, the light in the room became more dimmer than it already was. Then abruptly, a spotlight was pointed to the front stage as a man appeared. The man was wearing a different mask than any other guests. He let out a cough.
This caught everyone's attention and the room immediately quiet down. "Ladies and gentlemen, good evening to you all and we hope that you're enjoying this marvelous evening." He greeted, spreading his arms. "Welcome to tonight's auction, once again held by us, and tonight, we would present more fabulous treasures and merchandises than always so…get ready to bid for it!"
Loud applauds roared from the guests when he finished his greeting. He held his hand up. "Also, tonight, we have a rare, special merchandise for the last one so brace yourself for it." He added.
Kento frowned a little at this. Tomohisa and Kazuna noticed this. "Kento?" Most of the guests became anxious and excited when the man announced this. The two were confused. The air around them has suddenly become very tense.
The man smirked. "Now then, the first merchandise is …" a subordinate of his came out from the curtain, pushing a cart which has a silver jewelry with black diamond on it. "This one! The black tear!" He announced.
All the audience stared at it in awe as the man continued. "The black diamond of this jewelry is said to be the tear of a goddess when she wept for the death of her loved ones…"
Tomohisa and Kazuna stared blankly at the stage as the man continued to ram about the jewelry.
"Somehow…this is more normal than I thought…" Tomohisa grumbled. "The temperature has suddenly dropped so I expected something more…umm…glory?"
Kazuna nodded in agreement. "Ditto…"
"Now, now…don't say that, you two. See? Everyone's pretty excited." Kento gestured to the guests who were bidding for the jewelry. "But…actually…what Tomohisa said is not incorrect either…"
The two blinked in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"
The blue-haired sighed. "Normally, the auction is not this tense or interesting because of the merchandise that can easily be found anywhere…" He said. "But, there are a few times, when they have a rare 'merchandise' to present to the buyers… and those rare merchandises…. But actually, it's not that rare."
Tomohisa and Kanzuna listened to him with great interests. "It's not rare or hard to find. Most of the guests here are those who have their own pride because of their social statues… So, if that one person were to get his hand on that rare 'collection', his fame in the society can easily drop." He continued.
"That's why… we have to wear this mask so that no one would know who the person that wins the bid on that merchandise is." He pointed at the mask.
"Ohhh… I see…" The two wondered in amusement. 'In other words, this place really is filled with dangerous people…'
"Say, do you know what that rare merchandise is?" asked Kazuna.
Kento sighed and nodded. "The type of that merchandise is always the same every time it is announced." He muttered, sounding a little disgust. Tomohisa noticed this. 'What kind of item that might be?'
"So…have you ever bid on anything during auction like this before?" He asked curiously.
The blue-haired shook his head. "I have no interests in these kinds of things." He declared. "I only attend this auction because I was told to… that's all…" He pointed out.
"Heh…"
The rest of the event just went on normally, with the man presenting one merchandise after another and the guests; bidding against each other for the precious looking collection. Most of the items included jewelries, rings, necklaces, books, vases, paintings, vice versa. Tomohisa sighed. 'Hurry up and end…I wanna return and finish my studies as well…' he grumbled.
"Hey, aren't you gonna drink that?" Kazuna asked. Tomohisa snapped out from his thought when his friend pointed at the glass of while that he had been holding in his him ever since he came in the room. He grinned cheekily. "Yeah…I almost forgot about it…" He said, twirling the glass a little and took a sip of the drink.
Kento stared at the stage. "Well… it's going to begin anytime now…" He said.
"You mean… that rare merchandise?" asked Kazuna. He received a nod as a reply. "Honestly, I don't really want to watch this… It's kinda unbearable for me…"
"Eh? How come? Is it really that rare?" asked Tomohisa.
Kento remained quiet for a moment. "You'll find out soon enough…"
The man on the stage clapped his hands. "Everyone, the time you've been waiting has arrived!" He announced with a wide smile. All the guests looked eagerly at the stage at this. "Tonight is one of the few nights that we present you with a special merchandise so you're all lucky to get to see this." He continued. He gripped a string behind him and the spot lights were pointed to the center of the stage for everyone to see. "The last merchandise for tonight is…"
"Tomo, Kazu…" The two looked at their friend since he suddenly called them by their names. "... You'd better be prepared to endure...whatever you are going to witness now." He said sternly. The two gulped and nodded.
The man on the stage smirked and pulled the string. "The last merchandise for tonight is this!" The curtain shifted to the side to reveal the 'merchandise', lying on the stage with two men standing beside 'it'.
Tomohisa and Kazuna felt their eyes widely opened, their jaws almost dropped in shock and horror as soon as they set their eyes on what was on the stage. Kento closed his eyes and looked away in disgust.
All the other guests were in awe, some gasped in wonder.
The so-called 'merchandise' is a young teenager, who looked no more older than 15 years old. The teenager was laid on the stage, naked, displaying the pure white skin. The teen's hair was black and the few left bangs on the hair were fuchsia highlights. The eyes were also the same color, fuchsia, but they were a bit dull as if the teen was lifeless. The teen's lips were parted slightly and the teen somehow has the face of a beautiful maiden. The teen's hands were bound together with handcuffs and he was lying unmovingly on the stage.
Tomohisa was still in the state of shock, his mouth wide open like a fish. 'W-What the hell is this?'
"Kento, what is going on here? Why is-" Kazuna stuttere, recovering from his shock. The auction has somehow take a flip and turned into some kind of underground auction.
"That kid… is the merchandise…"Kento told them. "In case you guys are unaware, this auction is somewhat a little it illegal because of this. They don't want to get caught so they only present this type of collection very few times…After all… this auction is for those who want to get their hands on the rare collections. Teenagers like that kid…" he pointed at the stage, "…are sold by their family or they sell themselves to the one who hold this auction in exchange for money… So, they are obligated to do whatever they are told to because they're just a merchandise…"
"No way… how can this kind of thing…"
Tomohisa shivered slightly as he watched the lifeless-looking teen on the stage. He couldn't take his eyes off the teen. Who would such a thing to a human being? This was totally unacceptable… inhuman…
Kazuna sighed and looked away from the stage. "How cruel…"
On the stage, the man walked up to the teenage. His men grabbed the teen by the shoulders and held him up in a sitting position. "Ladies and gentlemen, what do you think of this beautiful doll?" He grabbed the tee's chin and forced the teen to look up. "The smooth, delicate, pure white skin… the elegant long black hair…and the breathtaking fuchsia, purple eyes and the majestic body shape!" He said with a wide smile. "We do believe that this type of collection is not very easy to find in your everyday life." He smirked as he added the last one. "And of course, this one is still pure and innocent…"
All the guests muttered to each other as they stared at the teen with eyes filled with lusts and desires. "And now… the auction will start at 20 million!" he man announced.
"35 MILLION!" "40 MILLION!" "No! 55 MILLION!" "60 MILLION!"
Immediately, many response from the guests broke out as they bid against each other for the 'merchandise'.
Kazuna stared uncomfortably at the commotion before his. "This is unbelievable…. They will go this far…just for this?" He covered his mouth. 'I'm starting to feel nausea…'
Kento sighed. "I did warn you guys, didn't I? Tomo, Are you ok?"
No reply…
"Tomo?"
Tomohisa stood still, staring at the teen with sympathies. 'Poor girl… getting caught up in this kind of situation…' He was lost in deep thoughts. 'She must have had it hard…being sold by her family… the one she trusts…' He looked carefully at the teen. 'Indeed… she is very pretty and breathtaking…' he blushed.
Unexpectedly, his blue eyes met with the teen's fuchsia ones. This caught him off guard as he jolted in surprised. 'W-Whoa…did our eyes just…?'
But, strangely, once their eyes met, Tomohisa couldn't look away and continued to stare. Suddenly, he thought he caught a glimpse of what the teen was trying to say, though the teen couldn't move.
"85 million! I heard 85 million! Is there anymore bidding?"
"ONE BILLION!"
Tomohisa stared at the teen carefully once again. Those bright violet eyes…
'Save me…'
"One billion! The highest bid is now one billion! Is there anyone else?" The man stood up, glancing at the audiences before him. "Anyone?" He asked one last time. He eventually raised his hand up. "Well then, the bid is now…"
"TWO BILLION!" A voice suddenly shouted, interrupting him. All the eyes turned to look at the sliver-haired young man who has just shouted, Tomohisa.
Kazuna and Kento stared dumbly at their friend. "T-Tomohisa?" Did he just…?
Tomohisa himself was also dumbfounded by his own action. 'D-Did I just shout that?' He sweat dropped. The man remained quiet for a while before he brought his hand down. "This bid is two billion! Sold!" He announced. A loud applause broke within the room once again.
Tomohisa gulped nervously. 'It can't be helped… what's done is done…' He said to himself before walking up to the stage. One of the man's subordinates handed him a pen and a checkbook and a pen. He took it and wrote down the amount of money and signed it before handing it back. He then turned to the man.
"Can I take her back with me now?" He asked. The man smiled and nodded. "Of course, you can. It's all yours." Tomohisa nodded and approached the teen who was lying on the floor and gently picked him up. He turned to the man again. "Would you mind removing these?" He asked politely, pointing at the handcuffs.
"Sure… why not?" With a snap of his fingers, one of his men approached Tomohisa, taking out a key and removed the handcuffs from the teen's hands. Tomohisa took of his jacket and covered the teen's fragile body before he fulling picked the teen up, carrying the teen in his arms. He stood up.
"I'll be taking my leave then. Have a good night, sir." Tomohisa bid a farewell before he took a step forward, walking down the stage, and across the room. He could hear the others murmuring from the guests as he walked past them, but he ignored them and continued on his way.
"Hey! Wait up!" Kenato and Kazuna came out from the crowds and followed after their friends and they all left the room together, leaving the guests behind.
"Kitakado Tomohisa, what do you you're doing?" asked Kento as they came to a stop once they were in the hall. Tomohisa grinned.
"Uh… I don't know either…"
"You don't know? What the hell do you think you're gonna do with the kid? Don't tell me you're that kind of person, too?" the blue-haired asked bluntly before taking a step back in horror.
"Wait! Wait! It's not like that!" Tomohisa protested. "Y-You see…I-I sorta feel sorry for her!" He blurted. Kazuna placed a hand on Kento's shoulder before glancing at Tomohisa, "Can you explain this?" He asked.
The silver-haired sighed. "Uh…well… it's just that…She's still young…she's already this miserable…" he stared down at the teen in his arms. The teen's eyes were now close so Tomohisa assumed the teen has fallen asleep. "I don't want her to go through something more dangerous than this... that's all…"
Kazuna and Kento huffed. 'How typical of this guy to be kind and caring…'
"I-I know it sounds a bit unreasonable of me…"
Kazuna shook his head. "Don't worry. I think we've heard enough reason for you to do this, and we understand. Right, Kento?"
The blue-haired sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "That's just like you… Anyway, we're not going against this but…since you're the one who've bought the kid, you have to take responsible and take good care of the poor kid. Hear that?"
Tomohisa nodded in gratitude. "Thanks, Kazu, Kento…"
"So, what are you gonna do next? Going back home?" asked Kazuna. He glanced at the teen a little. 'He has fallen asleep…'
"Well…I think I should bring her home and clean her a bit and let her sleep in my room for tonight… I'll figure out something else tomorrow." replied Tomohisa.
"And, how are you going to return? Did you bring your car?"
"No… My father has had a driver from the main house driving me here… I should give him a call now."
Kazuna smiled. "Well then, I guess you can take care of everything on your own." He said.
…
"No… Actually I can't…" Tomohisa murmured, his face turning a bit red.
His two friends looked at him in concern. "Uh…is there anything you need help with?"
Tomohisa remained quiet for a moment before he muttered quietly. "…bath her…"
"Huh?"
"I don't think I can bath a girl…." The silver-haired repeated nervously; his eyes fixed on the ground.
…
Kazuna blinked. 'Huh?' Kento scoffed. "Pfft… Girl? Tomo, I think you're mistaking something here."
This time, Tomohisa was the one who's confused. "Eh?"
"Uh…The kid you're holding…It's not a girl, you know…" Kazuna grinned sheepishly. "He's a boy…"
…
Silence
…
Tomohisa stood, frozen. When he finally regained his senses, the only word that he could blankly mutter was…
"Huh?"
Kauna and Kento both sweats dropped at their friend's reaction. "Seriously…? Tomo…you're really unbelievable…"
This is totally out of character for me to write shounen ai fanfic. ^/^ But I can't help it... Tomohisa and Ryuji look so cute together that I couldn't help but ship them. This is my first time write this type of fanfic so I hope I did well. It's a bit of umm...+18... I hope you guys enjoy it. Thanks for reading and review, plz. /o/