When we arrived, we were told that there weren't any slaves available for rent.
"What do you mean, there aren't any slaves?" I asked the light haired clerk. He was wearing a white uniform similar to those in the hospital, but a little more starched. He had a nice smile and was polite, but it was easy to tell from his nervousness that he had either once been a slave or was still a slave, and the gold chain peaking out from his collar confirmed my suspicions. It seemed odd to me, then, that he should lie about anything, but I could easily see that the cages behind him were filled with slaves.
"We don't rent out slaves for five days before the auction, so they can rest before the biding starts," he said. That I understood, for who would want to buy a slave with bruises and abrasions all over him? They would be given a few days to heal, so they were pretty for the bidders. But I doubted they would get any better care here than they would with me.
"I see. So there's no way for me to borrow a slave?" I asked. I really did not want to risk taking home a brand new slave, but I did want to get a partner for Heero. I had hoped to attempt something of a trial period by renting the slaves, but it seemed as though that idea was shot.
"Well..." the clerk said, biting his lip, "There is one slave I can lend out for today and tomorrow, but you'd have to bring him back in good shape on Sunday for the auction."
I contemplated his proposal for a moment. If he was offering a slave this close to auction, there was probably something wrong with it. On the other hand, there had been something "wrong" with all my slaves so far. He'd fit right in.
Heero, standing quietly to my right, gently touched my elbow and shook his head. I understood that he was telling me to be cautious, because he too realized that something must be wrong with this slave, but would trying this one be any worse than buying one completely unknown and being stuck with it once we were home? I'd rather risk a little now than a lot later.
"I'll take him."
"Excellent!" the clerk crowed, "Just sign right here," he said, pointing to the contract. I noted that the contract was for two days, instead of the usual one, but dismissed it. Perhaps they always loaned them out in two day stints.
The clerk pressed a button and another man in white appeared, this one with a dark complexion.
"Go get cage #666," he said. The other man leaned in close, a frown on his face.
"You're loaning out slaves?" he whispered harshly.
"Just him," the clerk replied.
"Oh. Oh! Did you get rid of him for both days?" the man asked, a smile suddenly on his face.
"Yeah, so hurry up!" the clerk replied, and the other hurried to his work with a grin on his face.
Well, that did not bode well at all.
On the other hand, however little I liked the whispering words of the two employees, I liked even less when the other man returned pulling with him a heavy, barred cage, with two armed guards on either side. And inside the cage...
"You're giving me Shinigami?" I gasped in shock.
"The one and only," the clerk said, with a smile that was a little too wide. "Good deal, huh?"
Somehow, I doubted that. Not that the armed guards or the iron bars would warn me off.
"Are you going to take him out?" I asked, barely containing my annoyance. I did not need another troublesome slave right now. I had barely managed to tame the last one.
"Are we... what?" the clerk responded, mystified.
"Well you certainly don't expect me to drag that thing down the halls, do you?"
"Oh! Of- of course not. Just... uhh... just let me go get the dart gun."
Dart gun? Good lord! What had I gotten myself into?
The clerk disappeared into the doorway behind him where the cages of slaves were stored and came back with what appeared to be an animal tranquilizer.
I wasn't surprised, though, as what I could see within the cage was more animal than man. If it weren't for the mass of dark brown hair lying on top of the hay I would have never guessed which slave was inside, and would have been hard pressed to guess that there was a slave in there at all. The only part of Shinigami other than the hair that peaked out of the roughly strewn hay in the bottom of the cage was a set of fingers, which were tightly wrapped around one of the bars at the front of the cage. And from the grime covering those fingers I shuddered to see what the rest of Shinigami would look like. His hair was matted and encrusted with dirt, tangled almost passed the point of salvation. He was a far cry from the creature I had seen only three days before.
As the clerk took aim on the highest lump in the hay, which was assumed to be Shinigami's butt, a pair of eyes rose just above the straw. As the clerk squeezed the trigger, a foot came flying from between the bars, hitting him in the chest and knocking the gun out of his hands before the shot could be fired. One of the guards growled and grabbed the foot, but instead of staying still Shinigami reared back, pulling the guard toward the cage and smashing his head against the bars. The other guard pulled out a tazer and advanced on the cage, only to receive a flying foot to the groin. As the second guard went down, the first guard and the clerk were able to get back up, but instead of reaching for the gun they decided to attempt to grab Shinigami. They did not have much luck.
Ignoring the melee to my back, I sighed and calmly walked around the cage and picked up the gun. Then, careful to remain out of arm's reach of the cage, I proceeded to take careful aim at Shinigami's revealed shoulder as he reached for the hair of the first guard, found my mark, and fired. The dart hit the meaty part of Shinigami's shoulder. The boy roared, ripped the dart out, and threw it to the floor, but it was too late. In another minute, he collapsed against the bottom of the cage.
I watched the three grown men standing around the caged boy, giving them a look that said, "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?" They did not look particularly pleased with me.
"I'll get him out for you," the clerk offered, moving to open the door. Shinigami twitched at his words, tensing.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," I warned. "He's going to run like a wet cat if you open that door now. Wait for the drugs to fully kick in before you set him loose."
"Oh. Well, then, I'll go get you some chains."
"I won't need them," I told him, though it probably wasn't completely true. It was very possible that I would need them to deal with Shinigami, I just wouldn't use them. The clerk probably thought I was boasting about my skills as a master, though, while I was truly just being stubborn with my morals. Still, I didn't really care what he thought of me. They were all buffoons.
"Well then, sir, is there anything I can get you," the clerk asked angrily.
"I could use a cold drink," I replied offhandedly, suddenly deciding that I hadn't pissed them off enough just yet. The clerk scowled and stormed off, returning a moment later with a glass of water. I only barely managed to restrain myself in making a comment about the lack of ice.
I sipped a little of the water and, after offering Heero a drink, sat the cup down on the desk and proceeded to open Shinigami's cage. The three buffoons tensed, ready for an attack, but I knew that the boy would be far too drugged to do more than kick exhaustedly at me, which he did as I entered the cage. I ignored his attack and pulled him out of the straw, finding that the rest of his body was just as grimy and dirty as his hand had been. He was wearing no clothes, and seemed to have dropped a few pounds, which concerned me only because he had been too thin already. Now he was nothing but wiry muscle and bone, and the bone seemed to exceed the muscle.
I wanted to sigh as I pulled him into my arms. If properly cared for, he would have been such a beautiful creature. His eyes, which glared at me in hazy hate, were the most beautiful violet color I had ever seen, and his hair was a dark, tri-colored blend of deep brown, hazel, and gold. His body was well proportioned, and would have been shapely with ten more pounds of weight, and beautiful with twenty. As it was, he was whipcord thin, his bones jutting out unbecomingly.
"Pu' meh d'wn, f'cker," he growled incoherently as I lifted him into my arms and out of the cage. I had to smile. The boy had a lot of guts, and a lot of soul. Perhaps he could teach the others to be a little less fearful. On the other hand, I couldn't allow him to teach the rest of my boys to disrespect me. We would have to see how he behaved around me, around the others, and, most of all, around Heero. Only time would tell if he stayed or went. I tried not to think of it as lived or died, though it was probably the same in his case.