Hunter X Hunter Esther

2) The One Who Bought Me

Waking up, the first thing I see is darkness. I sit up and feel my surroundings. The cold touch of a bar makes me retract my hand. I curl myself up into a ball, shrinking in as much as possible. My ears perk up to the sounds of feet walking on smooth pavement. I turn to look in the direction of the sound. A dim light seeps out from under a door.

The door opens. And I'm blinded momentarily by the light. Someone approaches me while I rub my eyes quickly. Blinking slowly, I see the face of a fat man wearing strange jewels. He smiles at me, showing his row of golden teeth.

"Ah, finally awake? Good. Can't have the products sleeping during the auction," he states as easily as describing the weather. He snaps his fingers, and the lights come on. I try to bury myself into my tail, hoping he'd go away. "Hmm...Yes. You seem fit for the auction."

Someone with a clipboard walks towards us. He passes a note to the golden teeth man. When the golden teeth man stared at the note, he seemed surprised at first. Then, he glances at me. He rubs his beard, smiling at me greedily.

"Well, if that's what he wants, who am I to say no? Prepare number 27 for auctioning at once," the golden teeth man orders. Clipboard man nods his head, hurrying away. Golden teeth man continues to stare at me. Making the same expression father used to make. "It won't be long now. I can just smell the money~"

After saying that, he laughs. He turns around and walks away. I am left alone, trying to piece together just what is happening. I peek around my surroundings now that it's clear to see. What I didn't notice before was that there were more creatures locked up in cages like me. They seem sad. Many, ignoring anything and everything.

I then realize that I'm actually outside my home for the very first time. I stare intensely everywhere. Trying to see how close mother's description of the outside world was. So far, I see no difference. I'm still trapped and unable to leave. Perhaps this isn't what she meant?

Thinking of my mother, I frown. My heart begins to pound painfully. I clutch my chest, trying to calm myself down. Maybe I should limit how much I think of her for now... But it's not something that could be forgotten. The sound of wheels rolling on smooth pavement distracts me long enough to recover. I turn to the sound and see clipboard man pushing a cart. He stops in front of me, grabbing my cage.

"You're light," he comments silently as he places me on the cart. He takes a cloak from underneath the cart and drapes my cage with it, covering me up. I can feel him push the cart.

"Hey! Is that the item he requested?" Someone asks.

"Yeah. The boss is gonna make a profit when he auctions this magical beast," clipboard man says. I feel the cart stop on a strange platform. A bell rings. His footsteps back away from the cage. The floor underneath me shakes, and I feel myself going up. Someone speaking becomes clear the higher up I go.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Here, we have something you've may have only read in books! Thought to have gone extinct long ago... Here, we have a most rarest of beasts!" The cloak covering my cage is pulled off. And I am greeted to the sight of hundreds of people all staring at me. "Here we have a Kemonomimi!" The announcer shouts.

The crowd begins to talk amongst themselves. Questioning just what is a Kemonomimi. The announcer grins from behind his mask as the people continue to speak. I clutch my shirt, only now realizing that it isn't what I was wearing before. He claps his hands, signaling for everyone to quiet down.

"Now, now. You must be wondering what a Kemonomimi is right? Well, I'll tell you. A Kemonomimi is a beast that resembles a human but has parts of an animal. These creatures can possess amazing abilities that foster at the age of 5. Take this Kemonomimi as an example. This beast was taken from a home very unloving towards it."

Pulling out a gadget that looks like a phone, the announcer points it to me. He clicks a button, and a red beam scans me. I hug my tail, growling at the light.

"Due to growing up in that kind of environment, this beast has developed a need to please others. This scanner shall tell us exactly what power it possesses," when the scan finishes, the announcer looks at the scanner and holds it up to the air, grinning. "According to this scanner, this Kemonomimi can create any and all objects. So, if you're looking for a beast that can make an infinite number of objects. This is the one!"

The crowd discusses amongst themselves again. The announcer puts down the scanner. I tilt my head at his exclamation. I can create objects? He walks up to a stand and picks up a gavel. He pounds it, signaling for the auction to start.

He begins to shout out numbers as people raise their signs up. This continues for a very long time. Long enough that the highest the number got was 760,560,323 pounds of gold. Being once again covered by a cloak, I'm pushed off stage and into the back.

"Congratulations! Here is your very own Kemonomimi!" Clipboard man tells someone. My ears perk up, listening closely. "Would you like assistance in transporting your earnings?"

"I think I'm good," someone answers.

"I see... Well, we hope you have a great day!" Clipboard man says. I can feel my cage being picked up from the cart. "Don't worry, it's not heavy at all," he hands me over to my purchaser. "But would you like for us to put it to sleep? That way, it won't try anything funny. From what we've seen so far, this magical beast is quite intelligent."

"Yes, I think that's a good idea," the purchaser agrees. My hair stands up to no end. Someone flips up the cloak a bit. I see a needle insert through the hole. Bad memories of father using a needle on me flashes in my mind. I growl in agitation. And back away from it as much as I can. I swipe my hands at it, slapping it away.

"Hmm... It doesn't seem to want to cooperate...," clipboard man mumbles. The cloak is taken fully off my cage, revealing me curled up into a ball with an alert expression. I growl at them, daring them to come closer. "... Plan B then."

Four more people pop out from seemingly nowhere. They all have needles. I perk my tail at them, trying to look menacing. I fail, miserably. While I tried to block the four men from coming near me with those needles, I failed to notice clipboard man stab me with his own hidden needle. Everything around me begins to spin. And my sights land on a man wearing a red hat. I think he's the one who bought me...