Hi guys, thanks for reading. Rest assured your names will be taken and used here. Erm, I'm not sure if I can make this yaoi, since I haven't written one of those in like, ever, I can try though can't I? What do you think? Oh, and the bidding hasn't started yet, cause I'm still thinking of a decent way to make the rest of the guys from SD show up in Shohoku without it being stupid. More names and bids are welcome! Girl, boy, bakla, tomboy, butiki, baboy! Anyone really...Okay?

Auction

Chapter Three

The next week, the plan was all set up. Everyone had agreed to the idea, some willingly went along with it, while others, well, needed a little persuading, and to be frank, threatening.

Sakuragi and Mitsui have been enthusiastic ever since they heard of the idea, saying things like, "I wonder how much I'll go for" or "Someone's gonna buy me for sure!" in very loud voices during basketball practice, then they would turn menacingly to Rukawa, in case he decides to come up with a smart-ass comment after their declaration.

Miyagi was also looking forward to the day of the auction. To show his enthusiasm, he had been following Ayako more so than usual, dropping a constant stream of hints to her that he would like her to buy him. It was as if Ayako had not known that the talented point guard - though unfortunately lacking in talent on how to deal with women - had an immensely uncurable crush, no scratch that, was completely in love with her.

She was still debating whether she should bid on him or not.

Next up, Kogure. Having been bunked down from the first five to the sixth man of the game, Kogure was quite looking forward to having his own limelight for once. It was not that he was boastful or that he prides himself in the same way that Sakuragi does, he just thought that it would be nice for once to have his own spotlight. He wasn't bad looking, he thought to himself, and he's proud to say that he was quite smart, thank you very much. He didn't say much of the topic though, thinking about it and saying it out loud were two different things. Everytime someone tries to talk to him about it, he blushes lightly, but not light enough for Sakuragi to not notice.

Sakuragi seemed to have found him, Kogure, quite amusing. "Megane-kun!" he would say teasingly, "Who do you think would buy you?"

He had thought about the same thing. He was quite confident - though not as confident as Sakuragi and Mitsui - that someone was bound to buy him, for the reasons stated in the fifth paragraph of this chapter. He would definitely have to be bought by a girl, definitely, he thought, I mean, boys can't bid on us, can't they?

"Hey Ayako!" he shouted in a slight panicky voice, "Just girls right? Girls are bidding?"

Ayako gave him a weak smile. "Erm," she said slowly.

Kogure did not like that 'erm'.

"WHAT?" screamed Sakuragi and Mitsui, who have both gone pale. "You mean, guys can buy us?"

"Well, Akagi-sempai's talking to the principal about it, so I'm not sure yet," she said, backing away slowly. "But I think it's a...free for all."

"NANI?" most of the team screamed. Kogure looked around. Mitsui and Sakuragi visibly shuddered. Ayako looked like she was preparing herself for her burial. Miyagi didn't seem to take any of the information in as he stared lovingly at Ayako. Rukawa looked nonplussed, and Kogure wondered why. He just looked at the wooden floor and prayed to the Almighty Lord to have mercy on him.

Shaking the thought of the possibly of a boy buying him, a feat that he managed to his surprise, and thought instead of happy thoughts. Being a guy who likes to prepare for everything, he had the whole date planned out on his head. They might go to a movie, dinner before or after, he didn't really care. He just wants to have a good time, and then they can maybe go for a swim, or even basketball, if she's interested. He wouldn't hog the whole date of course, he was a gentleman, after all...

Let's leave Kogure-kun to his thoughts now and head on towards none other than Rukawa-kun! Rukawa, at first, flat out refused, but after being threatened by suspension from the game, he gloomily had to agree to this ... thing they called a fund-raiser. Can't they just ask him for money? He would gladly fund the entire team for crying out loud! But they didn't ask, and he wasn't about to offer. He was on the verge of offering, but when he decided it was too late and plans were already starting to go in motion. He had to go through with this ... thing ... event ... whatever.

As much as he liked basketball, he detested the idea that he can be 'bought' and sold to screaming girls as a 'date'. For crying out loud, he didn't have a girlfriend for a reason. Just how unfair is this? And then Ayako had to come up and tell everyone that they can be sold to a boy? The world can really be mean, he thought. But he didn't dwell much on that, he would just have to beat up his 'date' senseless if said date turned out to be a guy.

Akagi, meanwhile, was not thinking of the possibility to have a date. He had just come out of the principal's office with Anzai-sensei and he had breathed a huge sigh.

Of relief.

"I must say, Akagi," said Coach Anzai, with a twinkle in his eye, "this is the most amusing idea any of you can come up with."

Akagi didn't dare look down on his coach. He felt his face slightly warm up as he stared determinedly at the end of the corridors that they were walking out of, towards the basketball gym. It was bad enough to explain it to the principal, who seemed to have been amused by his idea and probably the redness of his face, now his coach has to make him relive it all over again.

"I didn't come up with this idea, sir," he said, quite stiffly, "it was Ayako and Haruko's."

"It's a very amusing idea."

"Yes, I can hardly breathe from laughing," said Akagi dully, who seem to be reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (Hermione said it when she got punched by Fred and George's telescopes).

"It's also an idea that can work."

Akagi opened the gym doors and stepped aside to let Coach Anzai in first. "For our sakes, I hope so."

Monday was the intended announcement of the Basketball player's bidding, but rumors had begun to surface Friday morning, where many were under the impression that -

"The Shohoku Basketball Team Members are planning to sell their souls!" whispered a girl in the grounds, a whisper that carried over to many ears.

"That's stupid! They can't sell their souls," cried, her companion, a guy, "everyone knows there's no anti-Christ here!"

"Maybe they're just selling their things," suggested a girl, who was mercifully, logical.

"And what," asked another guy, "they're gonna play naked?"

"Ooh, I hope so!" cried another girl away from them. The four students turned to the girl, who blushed and ran away laughing, no doubt to tell her friends what she just heard.

"Do you think they'll really play naked?" asked the guy who declared that there wasn't an anti-Christ in the school.

By Friday afternoon, everyone in the school seem to be under the impression that the Shohoku Team was going to play naked. More people than usual showed up to watch practice, and not just girls, boys were there too.

The team was blissfully unaware of the rumors. This they manage because they were concentrating on their game against a visiting school. So far the first five was unaware of any of the speculation, but Ayako and Kogure, who were nearest to the chattering crowd was able to hear some of the conversation.

"Shohoku's gonna play naked!"

Kogure whipped his head so fast that his neck cricked.

The gaggling student, a boy and his companion, a girl, didn't seem to notice.

Kogure turned his head back to the game, but kept on listening, a slight trace of panic in his eyes.

"That's ridiculous," retorted the girl, "why would they play naked?"

"It's true," insisted the boy, "I think they need money or something."

"Well, there's Kogure-sempai now," Kogure shifted his weight from one foot to another, "go ask him."

Obviously, the two were under the impression that they couldn't be overheard.

"No way!" said the boy, "I can't do that! He might think I'm gay!"

"But you are gay," countered the girl, "and I thought you like him?"

"I do," said the boy, and here Kogure's knees began to get weak. "But he doesn't need to know that."

This time, the girl's tone became amused. "I bet you'd like to see him play naked huh?"

The smile in the boy's face cannot be hidden from his tone of voice. "I'm sure reality would trump my imagination any day."

Here Kogure hang on to the benches for support until he finally just gave up and sat down.

Ayako, who was standing, looked down on him with a big grin on her face. He tried to glare at her, after all, this was her idea from the beginning. This was all her fault. But the words of the boy was still sending shivers down his spine.

Anzai-sempai then turned to him, an amused expression in his face. Evidently, he heard the conversation too. "I'm sure he'll like what you have to offer, Kogure-kun."

Ayako ran to the hallway and laughed out loud there. Kogure saw her collapse in a heap on the floor. He looked up at the heavens, and wondered what he had done to deserve this.