The Auction

Animal/Human Hybrid AU. Auctions are for the rich – that was what Aomine knew and believed. He promised himself that he would never fall to such lows as to participate in their disgusting auctions; that is, until he saw Kasamatsu.

"I really don't approve of this, you know." Aomine's voice held a flat, yet annoyed tone as he spoke, glaring at his mother who stood beside him. His mother, wearing a gorgeous sparkling evening gown covered by faux fox shawl, stood next to his father, who wore quite the expensive suit, just like Aomine was wearing.

He sighed when his mother only gave him a brief glance and a dainty roll of her eyes. She walked away to go talk to some of the other parents who were there, leaving Aomine with his father. "You know how much she's wanted one."

"One?" Aomine repeated, scoffing. "They are human, you know."

"Are they? I mean, with those ears and tail… Some even have scales." His father's face scrunched up in confusion as he scratched his cheek. "Well, no matter the case, your mother is determined to buy one and…"

"Make a slave out of him or her. I know." Aomine whispered, sticking his hands in his pants pockets and walking away. "That's what this whole thing is about, isn't it?" He asked rhetorically, looking around the eerily dim room, the only lighting was coming from the few stationed lights on the walls and the large flickering candle placed in the center of the tables near the entrance of the room.

Aomine felt sickened as he watched people converse and eat as if it was the most normal thing to do in this type of situation. He frowned and looked away, hearing some guys talking about making their auctioned 'humans' into sex slaves. He shook his head in disgust and continued on, passing by all the dining tables and into the seating area for when the auction was going to take place. He spotted his mother up at the front, handing some person who probably worked there, judging from the uniform, and taking a seat in the very front row.

That made Aomine roll his eyes as he walked over slowly, his mother turning and waving at him with a pleasant smile on her face. "Daiki, I made sure to get us the best seats so we can pick the best one!" She gushed, believing that the amount of money to pay for the seats was the best decision she made in her life.

The dark skinned teenager only nodded, not wanting to start anything here because he did not want to get in trouble with her back at home. He was still recovering from the last punishment, after all.

Aomine took a seat next to her and sighed. He studied the large, black curtains that shielded the stage behind and tore his gaze away, now studying the people. He tried to keep an eye out for a 'friend' of his, another teenager his age, whose father was probably one of the richest men here, with all the buildings and companies he owned. Aomine had met the teen quite a number of times, because his friend's father always came to these, probably wanting to build his slave, housekeeper, cook, servant – whatever – armada in his giant mansion of a house.

A few minutes passed and Aomine's own father walked up, sitting on the other side of his mother, munching on a seafood kebob. "Is this going to start soon?" His father asked, wiping the sauce from his face with a neatly folded napkin.

"In another five minutes, dear." His mother said, smiling giddily up at the large black curtains. She tore her gaze away from the curtains and looked at Aomine, who turned to face her when he saw the movement out of the corner of his eye. "Daiki, don't be afraid to bid on any one of those freaks! If you want a servant for yourself, I won't hesitate to give you the money."

Aomine nearly choked on his own spit but he managed not to. 'Those freaks?' He thought angrily, choosing wisely not to say anything back to his mother. 'Why would I even need one of them?' Aomine wondered, the thought of 'owning' one of these poor rarities making him angrier.

It was not anything new to society that if you owned these fascinating and rare humans that you were automatically rich and at the top of the food chain. It seemed the more you owned, the better you were. When in Aomine's mind, it just made everyone look worse in his eyes – cruel, even. That was why he never wanted to personally own one. At least, that was what he promised himself…

A bright, almost eye-burning light came on with a slight rumble of power, lighting up the stage curtains in front of everyone. Aomine winced, shielding his eyes from the sudden light source and cast his eyes away as the curtains slowly moved out of the way to reveal the host for that evening's auction.

"Good evening, everyone!" The host began, making some grand gesture with his hand as he bowed politely. The crowd's voices all blended together as they gave replies or started to whisper among themselves. "I hope you have all enjoyed our complimentary dinner and services! But for now, we shall be moving onto the 'entertainment' part of our evening." The man winked as he turned and walked briskly to the side of the stage.

He raised his hand which held the microphone and he cocked his head as two scantily-dressed women, both with long silky white rabbit ears and fluffy white tails came onto the stage, wheeling along a large cage covered with a silky black blanket. "First up on our menu: We have a young female pup that just turned 16!"

Aomine made a face and looked away, ignoring the rest of whatever the host had to say. It was not good, for the girl, anyway. He glanced at his mother, staring at her large, curious eyes as she appeared to have an internal debate on whether she wanted the 16 year old or not. Thankfully, she decided against it and let the paddle with the large number 3 on it fall back on her lap. Aomine breathed a sigh of relief out as he slowly looked up at the girl when he saw the motion of the blanket being pulled off.

The girl, just as described, had two small dog ears poking out of her head, twitching from all the noises around her. Her tail was tucked between her legs as she visibly shivered, obviously afraid and looking like she was about to cry. Aomine felt a pang in his heart and he tore his eyes away, not wanting to watch any longer.

'Why can't I just go home?' He asked himself, his fingers gripping the fabric of his suit. 'I hate it here.'

Vaguely Aomine could hear the multitude of bids going off behind him from the many people in the crowd, making him feel even worse than how he felt. He watched as the dog-human hybrid pulled her legs close to her naked body, lips quivering as the host began to read a list of information about her, varying from her name (which of course, when purchased, the owner could change it), age, which type of hybrid she was, height, weight, what she liked, what she disliked. Aomine cut off the rest of what the host said, because it was starting to get too personal, and it was things Aomine did not wish to hear. Because really, only the perverts needed to know whether or not she was a virgin, or how flexible she was, or how obedient she could be.

After a wide range of hybrids passed by, each being bid on and sold off to the highest bidder, the host announced that they were on their final hybrid. Personally, Aomine was glad this would be over soon. Another thing he was glad about was that his mother had not bid on anyone, grumbling and complaining that they were not to her liking (okay, so, maybe that last part made Aomine re-think his opinion. But still).

Two same two rabbit hybrids came onto the stage again, wheeling another steel cage with a large silk blanket draped over it. The host cleared his throat as the bunny girls scampered off stage and extended his arms in a brilliant gesture. "For the finale of tonight's auction, we have a pure rarity!"

The crowd burst into curious and excited murmurs and whispers, nearly everyone leaning on the edges of their seats as the Host took center stage. "The last item of the night is a pure-wolf hybrid – a male who recently turned 19 years old. He may be older than some of our other items but he is special!"

Aomine raised his eyebrow because wolf hybrids were pretty rare, after all. He has not seen any in real life before, only in pictures. He felt rather curious, despite himself. The black silk was pulled away by the host only to reveal a peachy-skinned teenager.

The wolf hybrid was squinting under the harsh light suddenly shining on him as he backed up into the cold, steel bars of his cage. He had dark black hair that stood up in soft spikes and the prettiest steel-blue orbs Aomine has ever seen. The animal-human hybrid had a small body, lithe but with some muscle. However he was quite thin, but that may have been from the lack of proper nutrition and food from the company who organized these auctions. The thing that made him stand out the most was his face – or rather, his expression.

The young male had a stormy expression on his face. His lips pulled into a fierce-looking scowl and eyes blazing with hatred. His steely-blue eyes also reflected embarrassment and hints of shame, hating the fact that he was in this very situation.

Aomine swallowed and looked up at the host, his heart thudding against his chest. 'What's wrong with me?' He idly thought, staring blankly as the host began to read off every bit of information he had on the rarity. "Kasamatsu Yukio…" Aomine murmured the moment the host had announced the male's name.

"What was that, Daiki?" His mother squinted at him, tilting her head in his direction. Aomine blinked and came out of his stupor. "What did you say?" She repeated her question, pursing his lips up at him in minor annoyance, just because she had a hard time hearing. It was not Aomine's fault that all the people around them were being noisy.

Speaking of being noisy, Aomine sneered when he heard that very group of men from earlier talking among their small little group. From when he heard, they were talking about who was going to bid on him and if one lost, another would bid. Then something about sharing – and holy shit, Aomine decided he could not listen to them anymore.

Ignoring those disgusting excuses for human beings, Aomine glanced back at his mother, suddenly remembering her words. "I want to bid…" He whispered, almost hesitantly. His mother's eyes widened as her head whipped back to the stage, her eyes falling on the boy.

"You want him?" She asked, sounding unsure.

"Yeah."

"Well, I did say you can bet on any of them. Are you sure?" His mother stared at him. Aomine nodded, about to ask how he should go about it, until his mother raised her paddle.

"10,000!" She shouted. Aomine's eyes widened and he hurriedly looked around the room when it fell silent. He sank in his chair and chanced a look back up at the stage, his eyes roaming to find the hybrid still seated in the back of his cage.

The hybrid, Kasamatsu, was staring at Aomine's mother until he felt eyes boring into him. He blinked and slowly looked to Aomine, staring back at him with an unreadable expression. Aomine bit his tongue, his breath catching in his throat at the sudden eye contact. He found himself wondering how pretty Kasamatsu's eyes would look under the shine and glow of the moon. A full moon. That brought up other questions Aomine suddenly had.

Did the wolf-hybrid actually shift into his wolf-counterpart like some other hybrids could? Or was he forever stuck in human form with soft-looking black ears and a fluffy yet sleek tail? Did he howl at the moon? What did he eat? What does he like? Aomine cursed himself for not paying attention to what the man had said about that, but he was soon pulled from his thoughts when he heard another person shout an even higher amount.

His mother frowned and he noticed her eye twitch. Aomine went back to shrinking in his seat, getting ready for the storm that would be his mother. She always did turn super mean and crazy when she did not get something she wanted. So, for everyone's sake, Aomine hoped that she would win this battle of bidding.

His dark blue eyes once again found Kasamatsu, studying the teenager who was only two years older than him. He had his legs pressed together and pulled up to his bare chest, hugging them close because of all the stares from the crowd. Aomine suddenly felt angry and oddly protective, wanting no one to stare or even glance in the hybrid's general direction.

"150,000!" Aomine choked on his spit. Wondering what the hell had happened during his thought process. They started off at 10,000 and suddenly they (they being his mother) were at 150,000.

"200,000!" A man yelled, making Aomine frown. Okay, so they just keep getting higher. Aomine was kind of glad his family was rich and even gladder that his mother had not spent any more money on bidding and winning a hybrid.

"That's it!" His mother hissed out, standing up hastily, making her chair fly backwards and clatter on the ground noisily. "My son wants this wolf-boy and by damned he is going to get it!" Aomine groaned and slapped a hand to his face, his cheeks suddenly burning with embarrassment when she put her hand on his head. He could feel everyone staring down at him, whispering and talking quietly.

There was one stare, however, that made Aomine shiver in an oddly nice sort of way. He looked straight up and his own royal blue orbs met icy steel-blue eyes. The wolf hybrid looked somewhat shocked at Aomine's mother's sudden outburst, causing him to look at Aomine the moment she had touched his head.

Aomine had to look away, suddenly feeling bad about what he wanted.

He shook his head, knowing that he was different than the others. He wanted to help the teen, to protect him from those perverts and no-good people who just wanted someone to cater to their every want, need and desire. He did not want them to touch Kasamatsu, to ruin his seemingly innocent aura and destroy everything pure about the boy. He did not want him for himself.

"I will offer you 500,000 cash." His mother stated in a dangerously quiet voice, pulling a large, shiny and silver brief case from under her chair. She had a small smirk on her face, turning around to study everyone's shocked expressions.

Aomine himself was shocked, and apparently by the looks of it, so was Kasamatsu. Aomine could hear his father sputter something about wasting good money, but his mother hushed him as she held the case up to the host.

"W- Well…" The host stuttered out, reaching for the case. "If n- no one else is going to bid, then I guess we have our winner." A moment of silence confirmed his statement. He cleared his throat as he handed the silver brief case to one of the stunned rabbit hybrids, "This concludes the auction for today! I hope you all enjoy your new companions in life – they will be ready for pick up shortly. If you prefer drop off, just come talk to me or any of the employee's here. I sincerely believe that-" Aomine shut out the rest of whatever the host had to say, rolling his eyes at his sudden change of personality when it came to money being shoved in his face.

"Mom, you…" Aomine began, only to have her put a finger on his mouth, cutting him off.

"Tsk, tsk, Daiki. You should know by now that I hate to lose. It runs in the family, after all." She added cheerily. "Even if I couldn't get one, I'm glad you did, sweetie. This wolfie will belong solely to you, so you must take care of him and train him properly, do you hear me? If not, then I won't hesitate to… take matters into my own hands." She offered a stiff smile before turning away.

"Go collect your prize, dear. Your father and I will be in the car." With that, Aomine watched his mother leave, a scowl present on his face.

"He isn't an object…" Aomine muttered under his breath before taking the paddle his mother left behind. He walked towards the area where the hybrids were brought to after they were auctioned off, and Aomine's eyes immediately found Kasamatsu.

Kasamatsu was being pulled out of a cage, albeit in a harsh way. One of the employees had a glare on his face as he pulled Kasamatsu's arm, grunting out, "Come on! Be a- Good… boy!" He choked out, giving another tug on the hybrids arm. Kasamatsu would not have any of that because he was gripping onto one of the bars of the cage, kicking out at the guy who barely managed to dodge each time.

"Hey!" Aomine barked, jogging over. "You can't do that!"

"Trust me, kid," The employee spat, giving another harsh and brief tug on Kasamatsu's arm. "This guy will give you all sorts of trouble. Always had, always will." He let go suddenly, making Kasamatsu smack into the steel cage with a grunt. "He's all yours now, though. So I don't really give a shit." The employee offered a sickly-sweet smile before stomping off, muttering darkly under his breath.

Aomine watched him go before turning back to Kasamatsu slowly. His mouth went dry as he suddenly felt on spot. "Hey," He greeted after taking a moment to wet his lips.

Kasamatsu stared and studied him with narrowed eyes, knees still brought up to his chest to hide his naked form. Aomine blinked and shook his head briefly before sliding out of his jacket. "Here." He offered his jacket. "It isn't much, but at least it'll help until…" He trailed off, looking away from Kasamatsu's inquiring gaze. "Until we get home." He whispered.

When nothing happened, and when Aomine thought Kasamatsu was not going to take his jacket, he looked up and felt a slight tug on the material. Aomine fought back a smile as he watched Kasamatsu inspect the jacket, bringing it up to sniff at it before pulling it on slowly. The jacket, a size or so too big for his smaller frame hung off one shoulder, even when zipped up. And when Kasamatsu came out of the cage, Aomine realized how different their height difference really was. He was nearly two heads taller than Kasamatsu, so his jacket practically reached the shorter teenager's mid-thigh.

Aomine looked away, his cheeks burning suddenly. "Let's go." He said, offering his hand to the wolf hybrid. A moment later, Kasamatsu took his hand, warm and soft against his skin.

Aomine seemingly infatuated with Kasamatsu at first sight was kind of super cute and awesome :D (also, longest one yet, so yeeeeeey~)

I couldn't decide whether or not I wanted a Kitty!Kasa or a Wolf!Kasa at first. But, as we all can see, I chose wolf. xD Just because cats are overused?... Eh? You say wolves are too? Well, meh. Oh, also, I did not know what to call this AU… I thought of a wide variety of names but just went with what I have now. So many decisions, so… little time?... 8D I'm going to sleep now…

WAIT. I HAVE A QUESTION. Should I just leave it at this, or should I make another installment of this certain AU? I kind of want to write more on how Kasamatsu and Aomine will get along and stuff… Maybe how Kasacchi opens up to Aomine?

~WinterAssassin~