Chill time

The day of the auction was overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time. Between the stress of transporting an almost four meters sculpture of glass. The lessons from teacher Yamada of how to act with nobles, and the many revisions of all the paperwork to make sure nothing slipped between the cracks. The business aspect proved itself ruthless.

Ryu didn't witness the auction. After involving in all of the preparation behind the curtains, artists stood in a spacious room backstage hearing the auctioneer's gavel hitting the wood, announcing a sale.

They waited there for the buyer of their piece to come to the room, wrapping the sold artwork personally in front of the buyer before shaking hands, sealing the deal.

Roxy came to the auction house after running some errands and job searching, standing in line to enter the building behind a man with silver hair and scrub suit.

The security guard took their names.

"Well, both of you are in the list of people related to the seller/artist. To protect the integrity of the auction you may not enter the hall, but you can wait in the waiting room."

"That goodie two shoes put genuine names in the list." The man said as they sat in the fancy waiting lounge.

'How did he put the name of someone nameless? Wishes are still weird.' Roxy thought while biting into the blueberry chess cake.

He sipped some fancy flavored quinchy. They locked eyes while she was chewing, he recognized that faint copper, almost pastel orange color of her hair and eyes. 

'Have we met before?' Roxy asked.

"Yeah, you hit your head as a kid and I took your scans."

"You adults never let that go huh?" She says, comically offended.

'So he remembers huh?'

"So you're Ryu's friend?"

"He is a kind soul helping me with something."

"Like homework and stuff?"

"Like building a cult." She says, deadpan. He laughs at the answer.

"I see, how he's doing? I haven't heard from him since the pipes of his dorm room busted and he had to move temporarily with other roomie."

"He's good. His roommate is a fabulous person if I say so."

"Is that so?" He looked at the fancy lounge, Roxy grabbed another piece of chess cake.

"Was all this too much for him?"

"Well maybe, some unexpected things happened and he got shaken up a little, but he bounced back."

"That's good to hear."

Ryu shook the hand of the rich older woman, exchanged pleasantries and watched her excitedly watch over the porters moving the dragon away. He looked at his work one last time, smiling to himself. 

They told him that parting with his first piece can be a sad thing, others told him to only focus on the profit from what he make or he'll not be able to live off making art, he didn't knew what school of thought he's subscribed to. All he felt in that moment was the feeling of a job well done. And that's was enough for him. 

He was a simple person when it's all said and done.

After checking the receipt and the deal paperwork he received he walked out of the building, the lounge was in the way to the exit, passing there he saw the two waiting for him.

The older man waved to him, he fought the excitement to run like a little kid.

"Don't you have work, nii-san?"

"It was a night shift so I'm done."

Roxy slid a brownie into her plate, not interrupting the two.

"How are you gonna eat stake with your stomach full now?" Ryu asked her.

"We're having stake?"

"Well, since my name now is Mr. Rich." 

She thought carefully before opening her planner, munching on the brownie.

"You should wait till next month to put it in an investment fund, profit rates are low now."

"Right, continue living below your means for the time being and save for something big."

".. For two eccentric people this is too lame." Ryu said.

They walked out of the auction house to street of big villas.

"So you wanna go to barbecue, or should we have a treat at the president house?"

"No, I don't wanna impose on her suddenly. But I do want pumpkin seeds baguette." Ryu replied.

"Has he been eating anything other than bread and chess?" The older man whispered to Roxy.

"I don't know."

"Not snitching huh? Well barbecue it is." He drags them like a cat dragging two baby cats.

"Pumpkin seeds baguette..."

"No pumpkin seeds baguette for you." Roxy teased with an evil grin.

In the barbecue restaurant Roxy was distracted by the pink disco ball in the traditionally made and decorated yakiniku restaurant style.

The older man placed a piece of meat in her plate.

"Can you eat after all those chess cakes?"

"Yes, thank you!"

Putting another piece in Ryu's plate while he ate silently, enjoying the treat.

"So will you go back to the dorm after they fix the pipes?"

"I can't do three stinky roommates who burb anymore." For obvious reasons he didn't mention that sleeping in his human form for too long gives him muscles cramps all over his body.

"Then move in with me instead of paying rent."

"The hospital is far from the academy."

"I meant in the house you jerk." 

"It's still far, and you gonna boss me around." He whispered the last sentence.

A woman enters the restaurant, she sees Ryu, his cheeks getting pulled by the older man and a girl eating quietly.

"Hey, look how's here!" The woman greets them warmly.

"President."

"Hello there." He stops pulling Ryu cheeks.

'So that's the president of Ryuyu's orphanage.' Roxy thought, mind recalls a past conversation between her and Ryu, when the surgeon asked him to deliver lots of apples his patient gave him to the president.

--

"To be honest I would prefer if you and the president don't meet." He whispered to her, walking in the fancy street.

"A-Are you ashamed of me?!" She whispers dramatically, hands on her mouth.

"Her hunch is too strong." He said, unusually not indulging the drama.

"You think she suspect you?"

"No, but sometimes, I feel that she feels something."

He looks at the big guard dogs in the garden of the villas, and the one walking in the street with their owners. His pupils turn narrow for a split second before turning back normal. The guard dogs shiver in their places and the one on the street leave their owners running.

"I don't doubt my disguise, but safe better than sorry."

" So you're doubting mine!" She said, causally and unoffended.

"To be honest you're leaning a bit much on the silly persona."

"Come on it's fun! Plus there is no point of striving for perfection, hide a tree in the forest as you human say!"

"That doesn't make sense." He pulled her cheeks.

--

The waiter placed the new orders on the table, the curly haired woman reached for the cup of soda on the table.

"So the water pipes in your dorm busted. You got a new roommate. You made a four meters dragon and sold it in an auction. And you gonna build a cult with your friend. Good use of your youth kid." The president chuckled, taking meat with a chopstick.

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Ryu asked Roxy upon the cult mention.

"Seriously what is it?" His nii-san asked.

"World destruction, potentially." Ryu told him.

"As long as y'all having fun."

"What about you, I never see you, pretty much." The president asks.

"Well, nothing new, the operation room is full as usual, oh but I got a smoking buddy."

"I see.." She murmurs, not impressed with the news.

She looks at the girl in a brown suit eating politely.

"So your a quite one like Ryu?" President joked lightly.

"I actually never shut up unless there food in my mouth." Roxy said after swallowing  the last bit of rice in her plate. Her response earn a laugh from the woman.

"So how the two of you met?"

'We met two years ago, and going by Ryu's feeling she might suspect something about someone he didn't mention for two years.'

She opens her mouth to answer but he out runs her.

"She's my roommate's friend." Ryu says.

"I should meet that roommate of yours." The president says, intrigued.

"They're so fabulous." Roxy supplied.

'The ice is already thin enough.' Ryu gave her the look.

'Isn't she his roommate? Well president will have reservations about that.' The brother thought, sipping his barley tea. 

Roxy excused herself to the restroom. In front of the mirror she got distracted by the blue disco ball. An old woman in a nice Kimono comes to her.

"I saw you in the last drafting, you have many languages."

After a conversation she went back to the table.

"What took you so long?" Ryu asked, eating some dessert.

"I got a gig offer." She shows him the business card of the institute of translation. 

"Well I got you crownies."

"My glorious elf king of the west forest!"

"Okay that's it." He takes the half brownie half cookie to his plate.

"Nooo." She mobs quietly while he bites her treat.

Nothing beat a nice clam day, even for those who aren't human or fully so.