Author note: I do not own Yakitate! Japan.

...I swear I have too many fanfiction ideas...I just had to write this one before it disappeared into non-existence...This is the only excuse I can give for writing this fic, besides the fact that I wanted to continue working on my world-building skills in writing.

Warning: AU, varied pairings including possible shounen-ai or shoujo-ai, lots of violence, possible swearing

Constructive Criticism would be great, and I hope you read, review and enjoy! Thanks!

Manhunt

1. Slave

A young woman with orange hair tied back in two long, messy pigtails, struggled against chains she was ensnared in. Resistance was futile, however, as the guards continued to drag her towards the stage.

Monica Adenauer had no idea why she had been forced to be sold at this slave auction. The thought of it, and the fact that she was scantily clad for all the buyers to see, disgusted her. The fighters of the Arena were willing to buy any slaves to use for whatever purposes they wished, and quite a few of them, she was sure, were perverted men.

She didn't know when this idea of an Arena started, but it quickly became very popular with everyone in the Empire. Homeless men and women were picked off the streets to be used as slaves for whoever signed up to become a fighter at the Arena. The more fights that the fighter won, the more money, fame and glory they had, as well as slaves. Of course, the less fights they won, the less they would get. That was obvious.

"Slave number 666, everyone! Slave number 666! This is the one you've all been waiting for!" The auctioneer's voice blared through loudspeakers as the men cheered.

She was pushed onstage by the guards, and the crowd roared as they got a view of her. She looked away, ashamed of how she looked in front of them, and that her fate was to be a slave to one of these terrible men. She quite seriously thought that the idea of the Arena did not turn out well.

The government became corrupted over the prospect of wealth, and the people had become just as corrupted, too. The world, she figured, was much better than this idea of an Arena and slaves and...

"The starting bid is 500!"

Immediately, all the fighters in the room began to shout at once.

"550!"

"560!"

"650!"

Monica shut her eyes as she listened to the bid rising higher and higher. Obviously, a lot of these people wanted her as their slave for who knows what purpose...

"5000!"

Everyone immediately turned to the one who had shouted such a high price for the slave-to-be, and quite a few of them let out murmurs of surprise or gasps of shock.

"Well, here we have fighter number 666, Meister Kirisaki, the one everyone calls the Grim Reaper!" The auctioneer crowed. "Will anyone go against his bid? Anyone willing to go to 5100? Anyone?"

No one dared to speak a word, and Monica tried to spot this 'Meister Kirisaki' in the crowd. Unfortunately, he was too far back in the room for her to see him.

"Going once...Going twice...SOLD, to Meister Kirisaki for 5000! Give it up for him, folks!"

The crowd let out a roar of approval as Meister Kirisaki walked towards the stage. Monica glanced at the man carefully as he walked closer. He wore a titanium mask over his face, concealing all but the light blue eyes and pale lips underneath. He wore a long, silky robe of pure white, with hints of silver on the shoulder parts of the robe. His tight gloves were a pure white as well, with a silver ribbon around the hem of each glove. His trousers were a raven black, and his boots were white, slowly fading into a grey smoky colour. His long blond hair trailed from behind him, down to his waist.

Meister Kirisaki looked at Monica disapprovingly after paying the nearby auctioneer, before speaking. "I'm afraid that attire won't do, as I don't like my slaves so...exposing in appearance, but I suppose I can get something much more modest for you to wear by the morning." He spoke, eyeing her quietly. His words were spoken with a slightly blunt, but concerned tone. "...Come with me." He gripped the chain that bound her, and she had no choice but to tag along with the fancifully dressed man.

A young man sighed as he walked down the street, pulling the bandanna down slightly over his face. Tonight was a night for the Slave Auction, but he didn't bother to go. He didn't need slaves. He could do perfectly fine by himself. He could fix up his own injuries, cook himself food, and he was able to take care of himself whenever he got sick. He would be fine by himself. Right?

"Suwabara-san?"

The bandanna-wearing man paused in his stroll, looking up slightly to see Meister Kirisaki walk over to him. Accompanying him was a scantily-clad, orange-haired female who Suwabara assumed was his newest slave of the sorts.

"Ah, it is you. I didn't think you liked to go out for a wander on a night like this." Meister commented quietly, smiling a bit.

"I didn't think you were actually interested in getting chained, scantily clad people to be your slaves." Kai responded, crossing his arms.

Meister glanced at the chained girl, before responding. "Oh no, Suwabara, it's nothing like that I assure you..." He paused, before speaking up. "Her name is Monica Adenauer, item no. 666...The same number as my fighter number. Interesting, isn't it? I got her from the Slave Auction earlier for 5000."

The girl didn't seem to happy with Kai's earlier remark, nor did she seem too delighted with Meister talking about her like some sort of conquest. Meister glanced at her again, before continuing. "If you ever want a chat with her, Suwabara, you can go on ahead as long as you have my permission, just like with Inaho and Kuroyanagi-kun. I do think you keeping her company would be nice for her."

"You got her for that high a price? A lot of people must have wanted her as their slave for obvious reasons." Suwabara responded. He paused, thinking that he had the opportunity to talk with this girl. Well...He supposed it would be alright to talk with her, but... "You better make sure you get some clothes on her before I go speak with her, though."

"Of course people would want her for obvious reasons. But my reasons, Suwabara, are not that obvious. I can tell you the most important reason for why I would want slaves is not for sexual purpose, but rather to, ah, fill up the loneliness I have in my spare time. That would be the sole reason for having servants...At least, in my case. They make for good companions if treated well enough." Meister started, and then he paused before finishing. "And I'll make sure to clothe her properly before you first see her again. Have a good evening, Suwabara."

Meister gave a quiet nod, before he and the girl to head in the opposite direction of where Suwabara was headed. Suwabara glanced behind him, to see Monica glance from behind her to see him. The two paused, before turning and going their separate ways.

"Inaho, Kuroyanagi. We have a new one." Meister Kirisaki gestured to an orange-haired girl, scantily clad and shivering from the cold weather of the evening outdoors. "Get her some proper clothing, now, and unchain her as well. Get her something warm to drink, too. I don't want her dying of hypothermia in one night. Understood?"

"Yes sir." Both servants, clad in black uniforms, spoke before the female one (probably Inaho) and the male one (Kuroyanagi) walked either to a closet to grab a similar black uniform, or towards Monica to start unchaining her.

Meister led Monica to an armchair, seating her before he seated himself opposite her on a couch. "You should be lucky that I bought you. I'll tell you that, because I'm sure all the rest were perverted men that want to get their dirty hands on whatever is available." He started. "And second, if you don't want me bringing out the Scavenger's Daugther to use on you, don't bother trying to assassinate me in any way. I have a strong resistance against all poisons, and I can still fight in my sleep somewhat, so you would just end up killing yourself in the process. Understood?"

Monica let out a breath, before nodding once. Obviously, this man was someone she couldn't mess with too much. She had to escape. Soon. She just had to find the right time...

"Oh, and...Don't bother trying to escape, because there are security guards outside this building and will probably use some sort of electric weapon on you. And then they will probably resell you in the auction. I don't believe you would want to get resold to anyone right now, would you? Unless, of course, you don't want me to make sure you're well-fed and all."

"You don't know me." Monica snapped, doing her best to glare at him. "Quit playing games with me."

Meister Kirisaki just smirked, crossing his arms. "You don't know me, either. And no, I won't stop playing games with you." He responded. "Monica, Monica, Monica...This will be interesting and entertaining." And also possibly exhausting to myself at first, He wanted to add out loud, but he kept that in the corners of his mind.

I think this will really be interesting from now on...