Chapter Text
"Oh! Oh, yep! I've found the perfect one Kozume!"
"Hmmm..? Yeah I guess he looks good enough."
"Hey, this one - let's have a proper look at him."
Hinata felt himself being rudely awaken from his restless sleep by a strong hand dragging him upwards. He blinked lazily as the huge white haired man practically threw his tired body in front of two strangely dressed gentlemen. He looked up at the two new faces, uncertainty growing in his chest, they could only be here for one reason, and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
The taller of the two men spoke first, he was good looking with thick brown hair that flicked outwards stylishly, and chocolate coloured eyes that seemed see right through to Hinata's soul.
"Hello little one!" The brunette grinned at him as he took a step forward and peered into Hinata's face. Hinata took a cautious step backward which made the taller man laugh slightly. "No need to be scared, it's not me that will hurt you."
This made the shorter of the two strangers, a man with straight blonde hair with bad regrowth at the roots, hit the first swiftly in the ribs.
"Oikawa." He said in an annoyed tone, "don't imply such things."
The first glared at his comrade and rubbed his side gently before turning his head back towards Hinata again.
"What's your name, Shrimpy?" He reached a hand forward and grabbed the collar strapped around Hinata's neck. "Hinata Shouyou," the man named Oikawa read aloud, "such a cute name for such a cute slave." He smiled, though the smile didn't reach his eyes as he continued to look down at the small ginger haired boy.
"I think the boss would be verrrrry happy if we brought you back with us." He drawled as his eyes slowly looked him up and down like a predator appraising a delicious kill.
Hinata tried to move backwards, fear evident on his face, but the white haired man stopped him by placing a firm grasp on his bare shoulder. His head slowly moved upward hesitantly to look up at the ginormous beast like man that had him in his grasp. Hinata gulped. He was as terrified of his captor as he was of the thought of being purchased by these men in fancy clothing. He looked down at the very little clothing he had on. The dirty black loincloth was really the only thing covering him, bar the shackles around his hands and feet, and the metal collar around his neck. He continued to stare at the ground as the others spoke of him as a material object.
"He's very pretty, but is he actually good at anything?" Oikawa said dubiously, folding his arms across his chest, which was clearly defined even underneath his clothing. "Our boss likes them small, but he needs them robust too. We can't have him breaking after one use, now can we, Kozume?"
"Oikawa," Kozume warned, "what did I say about implying things?"
"Tsk. Yeah, yeah. I hear you!" He sent the blonde a sharp glare before turning again, "Well, Aone? What can he do?"
"Read the tag." The giant said, giving Hinata a firm push towards his potential buyers. He stumbled from the force and quickly looked up into Oikawa's sneering handsome face. Hinata tried to hide how scared he was by furrowing his brow and straightening his narrow shoulders. Oikawa leaned down and gazed straight into Hinata's large brown eyes, smiling wickedly. He pulled the small boy's chin up, pulling his face slowly left to right. He then grabbed hold of Hinata's upper arms roughly and spun him around to assess his back.
He hummed at the back of his throat, "The more I get a look of him, the more I think the boss will be pleased. Don't you think, Pudding Head?" The blonde shoved his partner away and stood in front of Hinata's small frame. This man wasn't really that much taller than him, maybe 7 or so centimetres, he thought. His eyes were cat-like and mysterious, and he had an air of wisdom about him. His expression was hard to read, and Hinata couldn't tell if he was agitated or calm. Kozume lifted the tag around Hinata's neck without paying the actual wearer much thought. There was a short silence whilst he read the contents of the the small engraved piece of metal, and then he stepped back again.
"He doesn't look like he's a labourer," He said addressing Aone critically, "are you sure that that's correct?"
"The tags are always correct." Aone simply replied in his deep, steady voice.
"If he's a labourer, then he's got to be pretty robust, right? I say he fits the bill nicely." Oikawa said dismissively, brushing himself off after being pushed. "Come on, let's just buy him and get out of here. I'm getting bored and the evening's still young. We're off the clock as soon as we get back."
Kozume paused, then looked up at Aone once more. "How much?"
"1750 crowns." He replied simply, his white hair becoming more illuminated in the evening sun shining through the window.
"What?!" Oikawa grabbed Hinata's thin arm briskly, shaking him slightly. "1750 crowns for a, what? Barely 160cm, tiny, little, ginger haired boy? You've got to be shitting me, Aone! We're not paying that!"
Hinata held back the urge to say that he was, in fact, at least a little taller than 160cm. He looked from Aone, to Kozume, back up to the striking Oikawa who still had a firm hold on him.
"1750 crowns." The largest man replied, a slight hint of anger in his voice.
Oikawa huffed and scrunched up his nose in disgust. "1600." He stated.
Hinata let out a surprised and pained yelp as Aone grabbed a hold of his bouncy orange hair and gave him a sharp pull away from the other two. "Not for sale, then."
"Ack! Please, stop!" Hinata whimpered as he was lead back into his cage, still being dragged by his hair.
"Wait! Wait, then. Okay, 1750 crowns. Bloody hell, there's no negotiating with you is there?!" Oikawa pouted, thrusting a bag of coins towards them. Hinata felt the sweet relief of his head being released as Aone took the little bag and emptied the money onto the dark wooden desk. He counted the amount silently as Oikawa addressed the small ginger again.
"Well, Shrimpy, say goodbye to your humble abode. Where we're heading is much more grand than this dreary prison." He chuckled to himself, and then continued, "Mind you, your living quarters will probably remain similar to what you have now."
Hinata gazed around, remembering the first day he had been locked up here. It had only been just over 3 months ago, but it had truly seemed like a lifetime. He had been thrown into his tiny dark cell with only a small mattress on the floor, being told that he now belonged to the state of Dateko due to the fact that his family were too poor to pay their taxes. Slaves like him were often sold to rich families or governments across the land for all sorts of different reasons. The small, angry boy that been locked up in the cell next to him had been sold to a fruit farming organisation due to his fast reflexes and extremely good catching abilities. A long haired man in the cage opposite his had been sold merely 3 days before to a wealthy building company to assist in the heavy lifting and doing the general 'dog's body' tasks.
When Hinata had arrived at the slave holding cells, they had labelled him a labourer too, despite the fact that he was nowhere near as strong as the long haired man, nor as good at catching as the angry boy. He did however, have an impressive amount of stamina, and could easily work all day as long as he wasn't over stretched. After all, he used to work on his parent's farm until they could no longer sustain it.
He was snapped out of his thoughts of his family by a grunt and a nod from Aone, and then the feel of an eager palm encasing his shoulder once more. Oikawa lead him out of the front of the holding block into the light of the nearing sunset. He breathed in the warm fresh air, and for a brief moment felt at ease. He looked back over to the menacing boxy building behind him, seeing the tall white haired man leaning against the door frame one last time before he was tugged into the back of an expensive, black saloon vehicle. Kozume slid in next to him and he could feel the warmth of the two men sitting either side of him. He felt uncomfortable and claustrophobic, and also embarrassed and ashamed as he was basically naked in comparison to the other two.
"Drive on, Akaashi." Oikawa ordered the driver from next to him.
The car began to roll away, and after several minutes of awkward silence, Hinata asked, "Urm, w-where exactly are we going?"
"Oh, so you do speak then, Shrimpy?" Oikawa leaned forward and draped a muscular arm over Hinata's shoulder, making him flinch. "Haha! Don't be too scared of me. I'm like a sweet baby lamb in comparison to our boss, little boy." He said grinning maliciously into his eyes. He pulled Hinata close to him, bringing his lips to his ear. The ginger tried desperately not to shake with fear in this strong man's hold as he whispered "You're in for a world of pain, pretty little sunshine child."