Chapter 2
"You're selling the auctions?" I asked.
Soryu was still speechless.
"Well, that's something." Luke said.
"Eisuke, are you behind this?" Soryu asked.
"I don't need the auctions now that everyone has left. So I'm selling it. That's it." Eisuke said.
"But…" Soryu began but he then trailed off, he definitely had no idea that this was going to happen.
"Normally no bidder would be able to afford it, but I've invited guests tonight who have the finances necessary. There are many people who are interested in the auction itself. So I thought why not sell it?"
Eisuke's argument seemed convincing but Soryu didn't seem to buy it.
"I know you always do what you want. But to put up the auctions, I just can't agree with it." Soryu said, then he stood up and started to walk away.
"Soryu, please wait." I said and went to stand up to go after him, when Eisuke pulled me back by my arm.
"Don't interfere." He warned, he pulled me back down to my chair "Leave him be."
I heard Soryu leave and his footsteps disappeared.
"But-" I couldn't let Soryu leave as well.
"Someone's going to buy it." Luke said, he didn't seem to be affected at all.
"Yes. Pretty good price too." Eisuke said.
So now only Luke was left and wasn't that interested in the decisions Eisuke makes. So Eisuke was basically alone.
"Are there any other bidders?" the mad hatter said. "Well then, the black market auctions are sold to bidder #12. For an astonishing price of…."
The auction was sold for a price that I was saw could buy a small country. After the auction, we returned to the penthouse lounge and found that Eisuke had a guest. It was the winning bidder of the auctions, they were going to sign the contracts. He was a British gentlemen, who sounded quite posh.
"Please come in." I said.
"Thank you." He said and sat down on the sofas. I offered him tea, which he readily accepted and thanked me.
He seemed like a nice guy. He had a gentle disposition that made it seem a little unbelievable that he'd participate in the auctions, much less own them.
"That name's Ichinomiya. I'm the seller, thank you for bidding on the auctions." Eisuke said with his fake, charm voice.
"My pleasure. I'm eager to take it off of your hands. I just can't believe this amazing opportunity." The man said.
"Here's the contract of purchase. Please look it over."
"Thank you."
I stood behind Eisuke, as the man looked through the contract. I heard the sound of paper rustling. Once he signed it, the auctions would no longer belong to Eisuke. I started to feel emotional just thinking about it, but what a change of tune. At first, I was horrified by the auctions. But now, it became an irreplaceable part of my memories with Eisuke. Though the memory of being sold at the auctions still made me shiver.
"It looks fine. Let's go ahead with it." The man said.
"Please sign here then." Eisuke said.
They signed the contracts and Eisuke seemed happy.
"That should do it. I hope the auctions prove beneficial for you." He said.
"Yes, thank you." The man said and he left the room.
The next day at work, I run into Hikaru in the linen room.
"So, what's going on?" he asked.
"It's been pretty crazy." I said but I wasn't sure how to elaborate. Hikaru just stood there, like he was waiting for something. "What is it?"
"I saw a man I'd never seen before, coming from the penthouse lounge last night." He said.
"Last night? Oh yeah." I said. He must mean the man that bought the auctions. "Was a British gentleman?"
"Gentleman… I guess he kind of looked pretty proper. You know him?"
"Yes. He came to the penthouse lounge to sign a contract with Eisuke. Actually, at last night's auction…" I then told him how Eisuke sold the auction.
"He sold the auctions?" he said sounding surprised.
"He said since everyone left, there was no reason to hold onto it anymore."
"That sounds like him." He said and his tone changed to his normal bored, uninterested one.
"Do you really think it's ok to leave things how they are?" I said.
"I guess? Anyway, it's got nothing to do with me now." He said.
"So then why do you care about the guy who was up in the penthouse?"
"I'd never seen him before, so obviously I was curious. I was just making small talk." He said.
"Oh?" I said but I wasn't convinced.
We kept talking, he told me about his work, clearly not that interested in the auction. Hikaru seemed to be handling it well but my thoughts were with Baba, Kishi, Ota and Soryu. They were original members and they were all friends. Thinking of them made me sad, I wondered if I would ever seem them again?
That afternoon, I was at the penthouse helping Ota and Hishikura with packing and cleaning. I wanted to say goodbye before they went and so naturally, the conversation turned to the auction managers splitting up.
"Oh, Baba and Kishi went back to Japan? I thought I hadn't seen them in a while." Ota said.
"You didn't know?"
"They both disappear a lot." He said.
"Is it true that Ichinomiya sold the auctions?" Hishikura asked.
"Yes, a British man brought it yesterday. They've already signed the contract." I said.
"I can't believe it." Ota said with emotion.
"Does it make you sad?" I asked.
"Not sad… it's just going to be so boring from now on." He said. "I almost never get bored when I'm with Eisuke." He said with irritation, clearly not amused by the situation.
"Don't either of you regret quitting as auction managers?" I asked.
"Well, what done is done." Ota said.
"Ichinomiya's made his decision, about us splitting up and the selling the auction." Hishikura said.
Everyone was just so casual about this, maybe I was the only one overreacting?
"Anyway, I ran into Soryu yesterday and he was super pissed. I don't think it was a great idea for Eisuke to make him angry. Although, he's about the only one who can make him mad." Ota said. He sounded almost scared for a moment.
"Well, Soryu was mad because Eisuke didn't consult him first before selling the auctions." I said.
"He didn't tell Soryu? No wonder he's pissed!"
"I heard they've known each other for a long time." Hishikura said.
"They've known each other the longest out of any of us." Ota said. "Normally when they argue, Soryu's always the one to smooth things over. There aren't any other auction managers around this time, though. So he might've really screwed up their relationship."
"Yeah, maybe." I said.
"And once you've known each other that long, a big fight is hard to repair." Hishikura said.
I doubt that Eisuke would apologise to Soryu, he never apologised for anything.
"Isn't there any way for them to make up?" I asked.
"Don't ask me." Ota said.
"Sounds difficult." Hishikura said.
"Thanks, you guys are of little help." I said.
That night after work, I went back to the penthouse and I heard Eisuke's voice.
"The contract is exactly how it was written." I guessed that he was on the phone, he sounded slightly irritated.
It sounded important and I didn't want to interrupt him, so I went to the bathroom to have a shower, without saying a word to him.