Chapter Text
Sasuke was growing increasingly bored. His days had become a series of dull, repetitive moments, each one passing without anything of interest happening. Despite being only 24, he already felt exhausted with life.
"Sa-sukeeeee!" A loud voice was heard.
"Ugh, what is it now?" Sasuke groaned, not even looking up from his desk. "Can't you at least come in like a normal person?"
"I can't."
"Then don't bother coming in."
"Sasuke, don't be such a grouch," came the voice of Suigetsu, a familiar presence. "I need to talk to you about something."
Sasuke was already irritated. "Just get to the point; I don't have all day."
"Come out with me tonight. Karin and Jugo are coming too."
"I'm not coming."
"Just let me tell you where we're going, then you can decide."
Sasuke sighed heavily. "Fine, go ahead."
"We’re going to an underground auction..."
"An auction??"
"Yeah."
"What’s on sale?"
"You're such an idiot. Mostly omega slaves. Criminals and rich people go there to buy their sex toys."
"Why are you talking nonsense, Suigetsu?" Sasuke’s voice grew sharper, irritated by the suggestion. "I don't like things like that. Did you really think I’d want to join you? My business is legit. I used to think you had some sense, but now I’m starting to think you’re completely hopeless."
"This auction's a bit different tonight, Sasuke. If I wasn’t sure you'd like it, I wouldn’t have mentioned it."
Sasuke raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "What’s so different about it, genius?"
"Rumor has it they’re auctioning off a mythical creature."
"A WHAT?!?"
"Told you you'd be interested."
"Are you serious?"
"I’m not sure. It’s just a rumor, but checking it out wouldn’t hurt, right?"
"I guess not," Sasuke muttered, now intrigued despite himself.
"Great! Meet me in district 12 tonight, and bring your fancy car. Karin and Jugo will be with me. Oh, and wear something nice. We might find you an omega there."
"I don’t want an omega," Sasuke responded flatly, before adding, "Now go, I’ve got work to do."
"Fine, fine. Don’t be such a pain."
As Suigetsu left, Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. Why do I even hang out with these people? he thought. Despite being close friends with Suigetsu, Karin, and Jugo, he often wondered what kept him tied to them. He had become close to Suigetsu over time. Karin had been an omega, and initially, she had been more of a nuisance. However, after Sasuke had mostly ignored her advances, Suigetsu marked her. Jugo was a strange one—his thoughts were always hard to read, and Sasuke often found himself wondering if the man was even fully human.
Sasuke’s gaze shifted to the desk, his thoughts swirling. Suigetsu’s mention of a mythical creature stuck with him. When he was a child, he and Itachi had once seen such a creature in the forest. It had been a half-human, half-cat being. Sasuke was five years old at the time, and Itachi was nine. They had stared at the creature for a few minutes, but as soon as Sasuke moved, it had fled. That memory, however fleeting, had stuck with him.
Sasuke’s thoughts drifted to his family. The Uchiha clan had never believed in such things, calling them mere fairy tales. Itachi had been the only one to truly understand him. If it hadn’t been for Itachi, Sasuke wasn’t sure how he would have survived his teenage years with their father constantly on his case. His father had always been angry, always quick to dismiss his children. His mother, though kind, always sided with his father, leaving Sasuke to feel like an outsider in his own family.
Sasuke sighed and lowered his head to the desk. Would they really be auctioning off a legendary creature tonight? He couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like. If it was real, what would it look like? If he found it, what does he even do with it? His curiosity only grew, and he found himself impatient for the night to come.
---
Two hours later
It was 6 PM, and Sasuke was ready. He packed up his things and left his office. Their meeting was set for midnight, but Sasuke wasn’t one to stay up late. He wasn’t fond of being awake when the morning came around, as he tended to snap at everyone. But tonight was different.
He still had six hours to kill, so he threw himself onto his bed to rest for the evening. After two hours of sleep, he woke up, got dressed, and prepared himself a simple dinner: spaghetti and tomato soup. "Not bad," Sasuke thought to himself, his cooking skills not too shabby. "The Omega that ends up with me would be soooo lucky."
He sighed, knowing full well that tonight wasn’t going to be a regular night. He put his clothes on, black suit with white shirt and a red tie. Black leather shoes and a Rolex. It was better to be nicely dressed for this kind of places, to be more intimidating. Although he already was, being a dominant Alpha and all.
By 10:30, Sasuke was out the door. The drive to district 12 would take about an hour, and he wanted to make sure he arrived on time. He climbed into his black and red Maserati and started the engine, feeling the car purr beneath him. He arrived at their meeting spot at 11:40 PM.
Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin were already there, standing in front of one of the old warehouses. District 12 was full of abandoned buildings, perfect hiding places for the various mafia groups.
Suigetsu showed a security guard a card, and each of them was given a number for purchasing goods. They entered the warehouse and made their way to the auction area. Suigetsu’s father, Orochimaru, was already there, waiting for them. He was the reason they could find their way into these kinds of places.
“Hello, Mr. Orochimaru,” Sasuke greeted, his voice respectful but cautious.
“Well, well, Sasuke-kun, I never expected to see you here. You don’t usually like these kinds of places,” Orochimaru replied, his voice smooth but full of intrigue.
"I came for the mythical creature," Sasuke said bluntly.
“Oh, I see,” Orochimaru said, raising an eyebrow. “Suigetsu told me you might be interested.”
“Is it true that they have one here tonight?” Sasuke asked.
Orochimaru’s eyes darkened slightly. “I’m not sure. The auction owners have been spreading rumors for a while now. As expected, the auction's attendance is much higher tonight, so they might be using the creature to attract customers. If it’s a lie, we’ll deal with it afterward.”
Sasuke’s thoughts were clouded with unease. Orochimaru, a high-ranking member of one of Japan's biggest mafia groups called the Akatsuki, was a dangerous man. Sasuke knew Orochimaru had a penchant for experimenting on people, and he didn’t want to think about what might happen if he got his hands on the mythical creature.
Suigetsu and him were friends before he knew about Orochimaru, but after he found out about him, they were already good friends and Sasuke didn't find it necessary to break his friendship up. But now he felt uneasy, if the mythical creature was really here...
If Orochimaru buys it... Sasuke clenched his fists. That thing would be tortured for the rest of its life. He couldn't let that happen. But what could he possibly do? Maybe he could buy it, he couldn't just let Orochimaru have him.
Suddenly, the auction began, and the atmosphere shifted. Most of the items on display were various omega slaves, their pheromones filling the air, driving the alphas in the room crazy with desire. Sasuke was able to ignore it easily—he was a dominant alpha, after all. But as time passed, his impatience grew.
A few of the auctioned people were actually alphas, for the rich omegas that bought them or even other alphas with peculiar tastes. There were even some betas but their prices were low.
He was starting to think the rumor was a lie but at 3 AM, the host finally spoke.
“And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! I know many of you came because of the rumors, and now I’m here to tell you... those rumors are true!”
A few people entered, carrying a cage draped in cloth. The host continued.
"In a world where mythical creatures exist... Nine-tailed foxes are considered legends even among legends... Our auction is proud to present to you... the nine-tailed demon fox..."
The cloth was pulled away, revealing the creature inside. Sasuke froze. A small, naked child huddled in the corner of the cage, terrified. Despite being human in most ways, the boy had nine tails and orange fox ears, along with bright red fox-like eyes. He looked nothing like an ordinary child.
The boy curled himself up in the corner of the cage, wrapping his tails tightly around his exposed body. He buried his head between them, trying to hide. The host had called for him to show himself several times, but the boy refused. Each time, he only pressed himself further into his tails. The host, frustrated, pressed a button on a device, and the collar around the boy’s neck lit up. A powerful shock of electricity coursed through his body. The boy screamed in pain, his tails unfurling. With trembling hands, he exposed his bare body to the audience once more.
"Just as you can see, this legendary creature is a nine-tailed fox. It has incredible healing powers, and more importantly… it’s an omega," the host announced.
At the mention of the word omega, the crowd went wild. Everyone leapt from their seats and rushed toward the stage, eager to get a closer look at the creature before them.
The boy’s golden hair, like sunlight, shone under the lights. His orange fox ears with white tips twitched, and his large red eyes were filled with tears. Six faint markings were visible on either side of his face, and his lips had paled, likely from dehydration. The first word that came to anyone's mind upon seeing his face was "beautiful." But then, their gaze traveled down to his frail, thin body. Despite his stunning features, the boy was unnaturally thin. His ribs were clearly visible, and it was evident he hadn’t eaten properly in years. His orange tails with white tips were wrapped tightly around his legs.
The only emotion evoked by seeing the boy was pain, and the only emotion visible on his face was fear. Fear of the people who were staring at him with hunger in their eyes. It seemed as if the boy could sense their thoughts—he knew exactly what they wanted to do to him. Whoever bought him would make him suffer even more, and the thought made the fox-boy tremble with terror.
However, the fear, the pain, and the trembling of the fox-boy were lost on the audience. They didn’t care. All they saw was a rare commodity, a prize to be claimed.
The only person who noticed the fox-boy’s pain was a man with dark hair sitting some distance away from the stage.
The fox-boy’s red eyes scanned the crowd in desperation, his gaze shifting from one person to the next. Each face seemed more horrifying than the last. All he could see in their eyes was lust and desire. He turned his gaze again, and finally, his eyes locked on a pair of black eyes. For a moment, the two of them stared at each other, and the fox-boy saw something different in those eyes—pity, not lust.
For a long moment, the fox-boy couldn’t tear his gaze away from those black eyes.
---
Sasuke couldn’t look away. No matter how much he tried, his eyes were drawn to the boy. He couldn’t understand why he felt so compelled to stare.
"And now, the bidding for this extraordinary creature begins. The starting price is one million dollars," the host announced.
The crowd quickly began calling out their bids. The price climbed higher and higher. Sasuke’s attention shifted to Orochimaru, who was licking his lips, trying to bid on the boy every few seconds. Sasuke knew that if Orochimaru got his hands on the boy, he’d experiment on him. But even if Orochimaru didn’t win and someone else bought the boy, would it really make a difference? The people here were all the same. Whoever ended up with the fox-boy would give him a similar fate.
As Sasuke’s gaze returned to the boy, he saw nothing but fear and desperation in those red eyes. It was as if the boy’s silent plea was meant for him. The boy was looking at him—he was pleading with me. It was as though he knew that Sasuke was different from the others.
Sasuke heard the price rising steadily and, without thinking, shouted over the noise of the crowd:
"80 million!"
The entire room fell silent, and all eyes turned to him. The amount was absurd. Sasuke could do anything with that money, but for some reason, it didn’t matter. All he wanted was to save the boy. That was it.
"Any bids higher than 80 million?!? 80 million once… 80 million twice… and yes, the legendary creature has been sold to participant number 243 for 80 million dollars. Congratulations, sir," the host announced.
---
Sasuke stared at his phone, still processing what he had just done. 80 million dollars… He never thought he would pay that much for anything. He could hear the voices of his companions echoing in his mind.
"Sasuke-kun. I never expected you to spend that much money on him. I didn’t think you'd be so excited." Orochimaru's disgusting voice drawled out. He was clearly pissed for not getting his hands on the fox-boy.
"I knew you were interested in mythical creatures, Sasuke, but 80 million dollars? Do you even have that kind of money?" Suigetsu asked.
Sasuke gritted his teeth. He had forgotten in the heat of the moment, but now the reality hit him. He didn’t actually have that kind of money on hand. What the hell was he supposed to do?
He quickly apologized to the group, pulled out his phone, and went to a quiet corner.
"Hello, Itachi?"
"Sasuke??? It's 4 AM. Why are you calling me? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. But I need money."
"Why?"
"I bought something."
"At 4 AM?"
"Yeah."
"How much do you need?"
"40 million."
"40 million yen?"
"No, 40 million dollars."
"40 million dollars?!? Sasuke, did you buy a country??"
"No."
"Then what could possibly cost 40 million dollars?"
"It's 80 million dollars. I'll pay 40 myself."
"What the hell did you buy? Tell me."
"I can't explain right now, but I'll show you later. I really need it now."
"It's better if you're not lying."
"When have I ever lied to you?"
"24/7, every day of the week."
"Fine, just give me the money."
"Send me the info for the account you're transferring to. I'll handle it."
The call ended. That bastard... Sasuke thought, but at least Itachi was sending the money. He was lost in thought about the fox-boy when a girl suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Uchiha Sasuke?"
"Yes."
"you can come and see your purchase."
"Can’t I take him with me?"
"No, we’ll deliver him to you tomorrow."
"I understand."
Sasuke dialed Suigetsu to let him know. He followed the girl backstage. The auction house owner was the leader of the Cloud mafia, a black man with one arm missing.
"Congratulations. You bought a nice piece."
"I paid a lot, but it’s okay."
"Paid a lot? That thing is worth much more than this. You know that. Anyway, I’ve never seen you at any other auction. Which mafia do you belong to?"
"I’m not in the mafia. I work legally."
"Then how did you manage to come here?"
"One of my friends is in the Akatsuki."
"I see. It’s an honor to do business with the Akatsuki. Since you’re in contact with them, I’ll throw in a few extra items for your purchase. You know, things you need to tame a damned monster."
Sasuke clenched his fists, his body tense. He wanted to punch the man in the face, but he restrained himself. It wouldn’t be wise to punch the leader of a powerful mafia. Instead, Sasuke gave him a cold, emotionless stare.
"I just want to see him to make sure he’s the real deal."
"First, the money, kid. You might have the Akatsuki backing you, but I can’t let you see him without the cash."
Sasuke pulled out his phone and checked his account. He showed the screen to the man and also sent his info to itachi, who quickly transferred the 80 million into his account.
"Now, you can see him."
They walked down a long hallway, exiting the warehouse where the auction had taken place and entering another. The cage where the boy had been earlier was covered with a cloth. As they approached, a guard lifted the cloth. There, in the corner of the cage, was the boy. His eyes were blindfolded, and a collar was still around his neck. The boy had wrapped his tails around his naked body, clearly trying to shield himself from the gaze of anyone looking at him.
"Let me. I’ll make him show himself."
"No need. When will you deliver him to me?"
"Since this is such a special package, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow night."
"Understood. I’ll wait."
Sasuke returned home, collapsing onto his bed. He drifted off to sleep, his thoughts consumed by the legendary creature who would soon be living in his house.