Relief Society Community Center

    Welcome, one and all, to the first Relief Society Charity Date Auction! A lot of hard work has been put into the decorations and setting. A big stage is dominant at the opposite end of the room, when you first step through one of four pairs of double-doors. The floor slopes downward, with multiple rows of seats. It looks like something out of a movie theater. (And that's because it is. The Society restored the old cinema which was once a vaudeville performance hall (you can tell by the pipe organ off to the side), and as a means of thanks, was given the opportunity to come use it for special events. Feel free to choose a nice place to sit!

    For those inclined to wander around a bit before the auction begins, or for those taking a break between bids, there's a refreshment table on the left with a bowl of ice cream punch, and trays of crackers, deli meats, and cheeses. Nothing fancy, but then again, most people didn't really come for the food. On the opposite side of the room, near the pipe organ, are the box bids. Each box contains a picture of the date you can bid on, and a sheet of paper with their information listed. A pad of paper and a pencil-on-a-string sits in front of each, so people may write down their bid and slip it into the slot on the box they desire. You can bid on more than one person. Whoever submits the highest bid will win the date. (See the individual item descriptions to see who's available.)

    HOW TO BID

    This is how it will work. Orihime will announce the person available for bidding, with a short description of their qualities and traits while the person walks out onto stage. The person may pose, do tricks, wave, look shy, or just stand there and smile...whatever they're comfortable with. Orihime will say, "The bidding begins NOW!" You have five minutes to bid. You do NOT need to write lengthy poses. It may get heated and fast, so things like 'Big Bird says, "$500!"' is perfectly acceptable. The bidding will be in dollars, to keep things simple. Convert your currency accordingly. If you have an alt you wish to use for bidding, it's fine, so long as you don't have more than one character in the room at the same time. Here is tonight's list of candidates in the order in which they'll be auctioned off.

1. Yuki Nagato
2. Shinji Ikari
3. Thomas
4. Mai Tokiha
5. Sabrina Spellman
6. Matthew Conway & Simon Parker
7. Rei Ayanami
8. Ryoji Kaji
9. Haruhi Suzumiya
10. Natsuki Kuga
11. Naruto Uzumaki
12. Nao Yuuki
13. Hanataro Yamada
14. Dizzy
15. Serpentina
16. Rangiku Matsumoto
17. Mystery Date ???? (To be announced at the end)

Tio, when she heard about this event, did not understand it. That isn't unusual.

What is unusual is that she's actually decided to come to it to see if it teaches her about the wonders and mysteries of 'dating'. Tio stands, in her usual outfit, off to the side of the room where she can clearly see the stage without taking any chairs. She is not moving, aside from a slow breath about twice a minute, and could possibly be mistaken for a mannequin.

Oh goodness, what is he doing here.

The sound of a heart beat steadily rising takes up most of the castle master's internal hearing, its muffled sound thudding against his chest cavity. Hands are clasped tightly together, the ring on one finger fiddled with as Thomas thinks things over as he faces a wall. How did this happen? Why is he here? The short version of how it came to be: Thomas brings back plate with Cecile to Orihime, Orihime mentions date auction again, Cecile involuntarily volunteers Thomas, Thomas goes WHUT?! And then, it's official.

Thomas now sighs, closing his eyes and hoping that things would be all right...and that no one would bid on him. He's all snazzed up as well. That doesn't help. Curse his crew in Budehuc. Well, no, that might be a little harsh. They -did- 'help' him, after all. The youth feels strange in this getup, but hey - he -has- to have different sets of clothes.

Yuki Nagato is backstage, sitting in a chair by the wall. As might be expected, she's reading a book to pass the time; she's not worrying over her appearance, or fretting over her usual school uniform, or anything, even given the fact that she's apparently first up.

Yuki still isn't quite sure what this is all about. Perhaps it's all some sort of elaborate mating ritual.

    Somewhere, in another world, sideways from the Hub...

Three weeks.
Seventeen different methods of transport.
Eight close calls.
14,000 PKdollars spent. Mostly other peoples' money.
But Emok finally got here.

'Here' is a mountain in Shin'ou. More specifically, here is directly in front of the Pokemon plane Gate. It's so big. And watery. And it looks inviting. "This is it, guys," she says, speaking to the Zubat perched on her shoulder and the Gulpin on her head. "Wherever this leads us... it's gotta be better than Pyrite, right?"

She walks up to it and places her hand to the rippling surface. It passes through. On the other side in the Hub, people will notice someone's fingers poking through.
"Hey! You there!" a voice shouts from behind her. It's a construction worker- one of the group of people taking this thing to Kanto. She bolts and dives through the surface of the Gate...

    ...and here she is, in the World Terminus.

    "Holy surskit," she breathes.

The Relief Society's building is the main source of activity tonight- people are pouring in, so of course, it's where she walks towards. Within the first two minutes, Emok is utterly culture shocked. There's people here with jumpsuits and people in school dress and people who look like they came from the hair sculpting fest. She walks around, in a daze.

Kai isn't actually looking for a date, oddly enough -- despite it becoming less and less likely, there's a girl back home who still occupies a spot in his heart. Mostly this just seemed like a fun place to be, especially when he heard a few of his newfound friends were going to be here. And it -just- so happens he's managed to gather enough local currency to maybe even place a bid or two! So all in all it sounds like a fun experience, and he just sort of looks around casually as he waits in his chair for the show to start..

Asuka Langley is present, but hiding. Waiting for Shinji and Kaji to show their faces so they can be bought like the manwhores they are!

Naturally she's hiding in plain sight, sitting down and drinking soda and eating a butterfinger.

There's nothing quite like a nice charity event to help provide good PR and exposure to the public. The young heir of the Kukai Foundation arrives at the 'date auction' with his traditional escorts.

"Are you certain about this, Little Master?" inquires a tall woman with shock-violet hair in a sedate tone.

A slightly shorter woman interjects, "Someone we know might get jeal-ous."

About a foot lower their their head level, a diminutive voice issues from a red-headed boy, sounding slightly sulky for a moment, "Gaignun wanted some good PR. Since he's negotiating membership in the IPA..." he remarks. "And this was handy.." He grins widely then and counters, "And I seem to recall SOMEONE commenting about some of the GENTLEMEN on the block?"

At this, the blonde woman to his left pales a little, then turns bright red and casts her gaze upwards, "I wouldn't know anything about that, Little Master..."

Kitty Pryde naturally, came along with Serpentina! After spending hours of shopping for just the right outfit for the blonde. Kitty waited just long enough to see Serpentina into the back, before she returned to the audience to watch and wait. She's got money to bid as well, but it didn't matter if she won the bid or not. This was for charity! ..and fun.

As people filter into the room, Orihime emerges from behind the curtains, smiles, waves, and strides across the stage to stand behind a wooden podium hooked up to a microphone. "Good evening, ladies and gentleman! Welcome to our first Charity Date Auction. The Relief Society greatly appreciates your support, and hopes that you all have a good time tonight!" She pauses as the audience applauds, and beams. "Feel free to get up and wander, have a snack, something to drink, or place a bid on one of the Box Bids off to your right," she gestures with her hand to the table of box bids. "There's one more box due to come out...ah, there it is!"

A man struts out from a side door, arms clamped around a large box which he sets down next to the others. He fusses with it, setting it up, while Orihime continues. "As a bonus, this is a mystery date, someone who wasn't revealed as a participant up until now. And the mystery date is..."

The man steps back, and Ling Yao's big huge grin greets the world on a glossy 8 x 11. Orihime chokes. The man takes over and announces, "Ling Yao! A real prince, and a real catch!"

Orihime straightens, smoothing down her hair, and clears her throat. This is clearly Hokuto Sumeragi's doing. "Eh heh heh! What he said..." Why did it have to be Ling? Darn it. She's got $500 to offer, it can't hurt to give it a go...if she doesn't give it away first. "Well, let's get started, then!" she claps her hands together. "Our first volunteer is Yuki Nagato!"

There are a LOT of things Dante could be doing with his time. More constructive things. More important things. More necessary things. .....but nowhere near as fun. And so the Devil Hunter in the red coat currently hangs near the back of the room, arms crossed as he glances at the stage. Isn't this shindig supposed to start already... ?

Shinji Ikari is also back stage. Glaring at his tie.

"Sadists, all of them." The Third Child mutters, again attempting this strange, forigen jutsu called the "Windsor Knot". He idly hopes that Asuka did not use her scary genius powers to figure out who supplamented her income, though hey, she'd probably appreciate a hand in the titanic struggle for the heart of one Ryoji Kaji.

Shinji looks at himself in the mirror, briefly, and...frowns.

Nanoha Takamachi has shown up as well, although mainly because she's curious to see who exactly is going to be biddign on whom. None of the people who are up here well... interest her, truth be told. She doesn't know a lot of them. and the rest all probably have someone else pulling hard for them to be claimed. But that doesn't mean she can't come and have a good time with all of this!

"Do I really have to do this?" This plea has been repeated several times today, to no avail. Dizzy volunteered, and that's that. Well, more like, Dizzy _was_ volunteered by...someone. Necro is mightily annoyed, but without know who it was exactly, there's no recourse for now.
 
So Dizzy instead sits backstage, fretting slightly, fidgeting with the skirt of her dress--a rather pretty green dress that Hokuto made especially for her, for today. Something fancier than her usual black one. Every so often, she gets up to peek out through the curtain. To her dismay, the crowd has been steadily building in the past half hour or so.... She shakes her head and sits back down, just as before. Well, at least people seem to be enjoying the snacks that she brought--things left over from the bake sale, supplemented with additional cookies that she made just for today.
 
For now, she's just going to hope that whoever buys her is a nice person. And, at least, she isn't going to be first. She watches and listens from her seat as Yuki is called up.

And tagging along with Kitty and Tina is the other blonde. The witch in training was a reserve for the date, but she's in the auction as well. She looks down at her dress and frowns. "I'm only going to make like.. five dollars dressed like this." Then, she starts to get an idea.

    Shopping for the perfect dress to wear was a grueling endeavor that required hardcore, endurance super-shopping! But Serpentina felt pretty damn happy with the outfit they managed to uncover. Already the blonde is seated in her proper chair backstage. Knees bouncing as she wrings her hands together. Oooooooo! This is gunna be such fun!

Tio turns very slightly when Orihime starts speaking, so that she can see the picture on the box bid. Then she turns back to the stage. Someone is not very interesting.

    Now, while Aile wasn't really looking for romance, and sure didn't know what she'd ever do if anyone asked her out on a date, this was a great way to get to know everyone and maybe, just maybe, find some new friends, or if she actually bidded in the auctions, maybe a boyfriend. But...what would she actually DO if something like that happened? The thought made her blush. She walked into the auction room and took a seat, adjusting her clothing so she'd be more comfortable.

    "At the very least I can maybe see some cute guys," She mumbled to herself, blushing all the while.
 
Rei is somewhat late to show up. This might have been due to the dresses.

She steps into the auction hall, looking around. Her hands are folded behind her back, loosely, and she steps carefully. She is not quite used to these boots.
As her name is called, Yuki looks up. She closes her book, puts it in her pocket, stands up, and...

Yuki Nagato walks on-stage.

The short, slender teen, clad in her usual, sailor-style school uniform, doesn't do some sort of dance, doesn't make some sort of love, nor does she get down tonight. Expressionless as always, Yuki simply stands in place and looks around, scanning the crowd with her calm, light-brown eyes; she seems completely unperturbed by the fact that she's more or less the center of attention. "... unique," she murmurs, probably unheard over the crowd.

This would be a perfect place for crickets to start chirping.

    There's some small, squeaky footsteps near the back of the crowd. A small yellow creature locates a chair, and hops up on it. Kicking up its legs, it puts its arms behind its head and watches the festivities with faked interest. It's far more likely it is listening to music in the oversized headphones it is wearing, it's hard to tell whether or not it is actually watching the event, the glasses it is wearing are pretty thick. And swirly.

    Few people in the crowd are likely familiar with Kerons. Even so, Kururu's presence shouldn't cause too much of a fuss. Some people might even think he's cute. Just.. don't talk to him. It'll shatter that fantasy real quick.

Emok sniff sniff. Sniff sni- AUGH someone talking. Her head whips immediately up to the stage and sees- a girl, no older than her probably. What in the world is this? Relief Society? Date auction? Did she wander into the biggest secret school campus in the world? Stranger things have been heard of!

But then she confirms that earlier scent, and she smells FOOD. And for someone that hasn't eaten in two days, food and an open invitation to it is like placing tinder before fire. Emok makes her way to the buffet table and the person by it- Asuka- with athletic speed and considerable braking ability, stopping right next to her.
"Hey you," she says, snapping her fingers in front of Asuka's face. "You look like you're not here for anything but one thing, tell me what's happening here."

Orihime Inoue grins as Yuki emerges. "Miss Yuki hails from Nishinomiya City in Japan. Her hobbies include reading, and she likes books, and especially aliens! Her favorite foods are pocky and candy, and her goal is to read everything in the entire world!" Orihime looks suitably impressed. "Wow, you must be really smart!" she turns her head to blink at Yuki. "Yuki claims to be quiet, but only because she's shy. She's looking for someone outgoing to make her feel awesome. And the bidding begins...NOW!"

"Down through the loop, and around the narrow." Kaji instructs, standing over Shinji's shoulder. "Then turn and pass up through the loop and... down the front. Tighten to taste."

Kaji ties his own tie as he explains, looking pretty dapper in his own suit and is, for such a rare event as calls for it, has cleaned himself up. Well, he still hasn't taken a razor to his face, of course. "So, ready to present yourself to the world, Shinji?"

Haruhi Suzumiya is backstage. She is wearing a long shaul over her shoulders. which means she probably has something horrible planned for when she DOES go out. She refrains from hooting and hollering when Yuki goes out, because that's what the SOS Brigade is supposed to do!

They don't, though, because none of them are here. Punks.

There also happens to be a Quincy here too. Uryuu Ishida is sitting at a table well away from the center of the room, keeping track of bids and just generally seeing that things go according to plan. He's writing in his notebook and is, well, completely uninteresting. You should probably just... move on to the next pose. Yeah.

Yuki Nagato... blinks as Orihime rattles off a number of things. Things that she, uh, didn't write. But ah well; half in resignation, the humanoid interface nods at the hostess.

She continues to stand there and look around. Is she supposed to do something here?

Books and aliens. Tio knows what those are, and candy, but what is pocky?

She continues to stare ahead while she works this out. Evidently she is not bidding; perhaps she doesn't realize it's an option, yet.

The little redheaded boy with a lot of money calls out his bid from the side. Hey, like He has to worry about money?

Rubedo says, "$200"

    Godblessit, Conway, where /are/ you?

    Simon is waiting backstage not that far from where Kaji is helping Shinji with his tie. The only reason he /came/ to this talking-monkey meat market was so he could deal with some lingering pests, and said pests are not being cooperative tonight. The lawyer looks somewhat agitated--he's pacing back and forth, cellphone held tight in his right hand.

    Meanwhile, three figures--two women and a man--file into the hall and stand against the back wall.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To the young man with the red hair, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Yuki descends from the stage. "Up next is Mister Shinji Ikari, from Tokyo-03, Japan!"

Asuka Langley says, "A candy wrapper." concurrently with Rubedo and then says a naughty word. Her top bid, beaten!

"No." Shinji admits, honestly. He takes a minute to follow Kaji's advice...

And gaks, a little, as he ties it too tight. "L-lemme try that again..." Shinji mutters.

MEANWHILE,

Kensuke Aida looks left, and then he looks right, and then he figures 'Why not?', and the amature filmmaker...sits back down as that little redhaired kid blows his budget out of the water. Waaay too rich for his blood. Adjusting his false mustache, the embarrased Stooge sips his water and waits.

Asuka Langley also utterly ignores Emok because she's feeling benevolent.

Tio says, somewhat neutral-sounding, "Two hundred and one." She can count. She knows what comes after $200.

Why is a female automata bidding on a girl? The world may never know.

    The yellow Keron watches the first auctionee come and go with a bit of a yawn, and doesn't even so much as think about bidding for the moment. His only movement was to take his hand out from behind his head and scratch his hip, then return it to its relaxing position. For a brief moment he thinks about whipping out one of his various transformation guns to spice things up, but decides against it. As fun as it would be he neglected to bring any sort of offensive weaonry with him, and he's nigh defenseless as he is now.

    Pity. He might actually be interested in some of the dates if they were Keron girls.

A chill runs through Emok as she hears Rubedo call out. "Two hu-" It's because of this that she doesn't hear Asuka's response or lack of one. When she turns back, it doesn't matter. "Well, whatever. They're gonna regret putting out so little. Gulpin!"

The green blob with a feather on its head raises a stubby paw. "Gulp!" Emok says again, "Zubat!"

The little purple bat squeaks. "Zubat!" She looks over the spread of food. "BEGIIIIN!"

The three begin gorging themselves with a lack of decorum or manners so severe it makes even the most uncultured person in the room look better than her.

Rei collects a cracker and moves towards the side of the auction hall. She looks briefly at Yuki but does not call out anything on behalf of her. Perhaps she is poor.
"I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away... I mustn't run away..." Shinji Ikari mutters to himself like some kind of zen mantra as he waits for his name to be called. He's finally gotten his NERV-red tie together enough to allow himself to worry about other things. Like how pathetic-"No, no, no." Shinji mutters to himself, "This is a n-nice thing, for c-charity, don't...ruin it by being you. Be a man for once." The Third Child breathes in, and out, and in, and out again. "Target the center..."

 "...pull the switch." Shinji steps out, doing his best to keep his back straight, a smile on his face, and his hands from shaking too badly. Fortunately, he has pockets for things like this. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts...like...

Damn. Fresh out. Shinji does his best to /look/ happy, however.

Orihime Inoue beams at probably the shyest volunteer of the lot. "Shinji is a bright young man and an excellent pilot. He enjoys music, cooking, and cleaning!" ...wow, really? If Orihime wasn't announcing, she'd definitely place a bid. "He has no preference on favorite foods, anything's fine for him! His long term goal is to survive the war, and short term is to keep the apartment clean for more than an hour. Good luck with those!" Orihime beams, snapping a salute. "The bidding begins...NOW! Let's start at $20!"

Thomas wishes Shinji well in his thoughts.

Emok says, "How about two shiny pennies?"

Yuki quietly descends from the stage. That was surprisingly simple, though she was quite surprised that people are worth that much money, ESPECIALLY given that human trafficking is supposed to be illegal in many parts of the world.

Once off the stage, Yuki watches the proceedings with a little more interest.

"You'll do fine. Just walk out there like you own the place, give them that winning smile, and they'll love you." Kaji calls from the wings as Shinji goes out.

"One dollar!" Asuka shouts immediately, but then realizes Orihime had to force the bid, "...Twenty dollars and a candy wrapper!"

Yuki Nagato watches Shinji for a moment... and thinks. "... twenty-one dollars."

Emok fingersnaps.

Needless to say, Dizzy isn't going to be bidding on anyone. Just sitting back and fretting some more.

Junior grins his most charming grin and steeples his fingers a bit, grinning behind his fingers. "Well, ladies?" he inquires of them.

"He's a little young," remarks Shelly.

Mary observes with the faintest traces of a smile, "It would be kind of like dating you, Little Master."

Emok's fingers don't exactly snap, they're very greasy.

Asuka glares at Yuki, "Twenty Two Dollars!"

Yuki Nagato tilts her head slightly. The bidding is competitive? "Twenty-two dollars and five cents."

Sabrina raises her hand for a moment. "Twenty-five follars, if you will?" He looked nervous. She is, that's for sure.

    Simon stops pacing as Orihime actually starts reading /names/ off--he stands upright, now looking thoroughly annoyed with the universe in general. The lawyer forces himself to put on his best happy face as he finds a seat near the right wing in the stage, with the rest of the auctionees.

    "Explain to me," says Caleb, a squarish blonde man in an Indians jacket and jeans, "Why are we here, again?" He gives Shinji a sympathetic look as he crosses the stage.

    "Observation," says Sheila.

"Twenty two doll--damn!" Asuka shouts, "Twenty five dollars and Fifty ONE cents!"

Yuki's eyes glint. "Thirty dollars." SHE has a competitive side?

Emok looks at Asuka, amused. "So, it's a bidding war, huh? You two know each other?"

Sabrina shrugs. "Thirty five dollars."

Tio goes, briefly, to investigate the punch; she wants to see if it's water-like enough for her to bother drinking, or if it has enough additives and things she'd need to filter out to make it worth her while.

This means that she goes, pours a cup, and then stares at that instead for a while before just drinking it all at once.

    Aile sits up in her seat a bit to look more carefully at Shinji. Well, this was for charity, right? SHould she bid? She didn't have much money...and hadn't been to an auction before. He was kind of cute though, she had to admit. But she just wasn't the kind of person to obsesse over cute or handsome. Still, no harm looking. "I don't know what I'm doing here, but it's fun." She felt like a party pooper...

    Sighging to herself, she wondered if she wanted her first date to be bought at an auction. It hardly seemed romantic at all, no matter how she put it. She grabbed her wallet and immediately started to look through how much she had... "Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two..." She mumbled to herself, then stood up, "twenty-niii--...ugh." Then, she sat back down. Outshot already.

Asuka shouts, "Thirty eight dollars, and I'm still willing to part with the candy wrapper!"

Asuka Langley hesitates and adds, "But nobody better lay a finger on my butterfinger."

Rei finishes her cracker.

Yuki pauses, thinking deeply. "... thirty-nine dollars and fifty-nine cents."

Tio calls, in her somewhat flat tone of voice, "The candy wrapper should be discarded in a proper waste recepticle instead of being sold."

Sabrina considers for a moment, then. "Forty dollars."

"How much will you add to my bid if I do that?" Asuka asks of Tio.

Yuki does a few more mental calculations. "Forty-one dollars and sixty-five cents."

Shinji Ikari is not sure if he should be flattered that people are actualy competing over him, or annoyed that it involves a candy wrapper and incriments of five cents, or terrified because PEOPLE ARE LOOKING AT HIM. Fortunately, that are what fake smiles are for.

Tio's immediate response is, "Nothing." Pay your own money, Asuka.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Yuki Nagato, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Yuki descends from the stage. "Up next is Mister Thomas!"

He's being called? HE'S BEING CALLED.

Thomas shuts his eyes tightly, taking in a deep breath before exhaling slowly. Well, there's no turning back now. He turns from his spot near the wall, walking as casually as he could (although it's quite convincing).

He takes his place on the stage, being blinded and overwhelmed by the amount of people who came. His thoughts are a mess. Still, he keeps a cool look, happy and natural, smiling a bit awkwardly as he folds his hands behind him, contrapossto. Add a hint of blush.

Actually, Thomas looks good.

"Little bastard might out do me." Kaji muses to himself. "Well, nah."

Haruhi is excited her friend was purchased! Maybe now she will act less like a paperweight.

She also STARES as Yuki engages in a /vicious/ bidding war. "Yahoo!" she declares. "Yuki is the best! Nobody can outbid the SOS BRIGADE!" She comes perilously, perilously close to striking a pose.

Sabrina stares for a moment at Thomas. Oh, he's adorable! "Twenty dollars!" she says suddenly, then slaps a hand over her mouth, blushing.

Oh, and here comes one of those people from the weird hairstyles contest right now. Emok, her mouth currently sporting small pieces of meat, looks over at Tio. "Hoi, museum piece. Hoi you." She taps Tio on the shoulder, flicking her with a finger. "Where is this place, I never heard the other kid."

At this point, Gulpin and Zubat have taken a big bite out of the buffet. No, not literally, that comes later.

Yuki doesn't stand up and cheer or anything, even when egged on by Haruhi. However, she quite satisfied that she has gotten herself a human all to her own, and for much less than the few hundred dollars that she had initially expected.

Asuka's shoulders droop, "Darn, I should have bet fourty two..." She tries to remember what she knows of Yuki though. That girl was with that other girl wasn't she? She grinds her teeth together as she formulates plans for revenge!

Orihime Inoue applauds as Thomas steps out onto the stage. "Thomas lives in beautiful Budehuc Castle, next to a forest with a gorgeous lake! He takes very good care of the place, and if you win this bid, you could see it for yourself. His favorite food is sweet curry, and his goal is to establish connections with trade and between different people, not only at home, but beyond the Gates as well. If you like nice guys, then Thomas is the one for you!" Orihime gestures grandly. "The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid, $20!"

"I heard that." Shinji mutters as he steps back, missing Asuka looking dissapointed by virtue of a badly timed blink and the dark machinations of fate. He's fairly sure this is all an elaborate pratical joke anyway.

    Kururu's glasses glint. He suddenly seems a tad more interested in the events. Not the auction, but the bickering that erupts! How very amusing. Perhaps he egg some people on... or at least get a better seat. It sucks being two feet tall, and trying to watch things over a crowd.

    The yellow Keron hops off of his chair, and sqeak-walks around, finding someone to pester...

Thomas hears the 20 green ones already placed. But so far, so good......

Right?

If he was going to be fashionable, best to be fashionably late too. Straight from the Men's Warehouse, George Zimmer's personal guarantee and all, arrives... someone who totally doesn't look like Envy. He couldn't go in his cute form, not with all the IPA guys crawling around the place, and assuming someone else's face would make for an awkward relationship. Especially given how easily people have been able to figure out that he's a shapeshifter. So, with no place left to turn to, the homunculus went to the one face he hated the most, but the one he knew nobody (besides Orihime and Ishida) could figure him out as: His True Form.

So, everyone, meet the first son of Hohenheim. Envy walks right into the hall, absently reading the bidding list as he casually makes his way to the refreshment stand. Two guys and that strange girl from the incident at North High. "Good, I didn't miss much." Hey, Orihime is the auctioneer. His eyes meet hers and he flashes a warm smile before returning his attention back to the goodies. "Did anybody see any wasabi cookies around here?"

And Sabrina has a near panic attack. He looked so much like a certain boy that she really really likes. And not realizing that it was Orihime announcing her bid, she squeaks, "Twenty five dollars!"

Rei doesn't call out another bid, although she does turn her head to look at the food - oh, it's under attack by the pokeyman. She takes another half-step towards the stage so as to put a bit of distance between her and them, and looks back to the stage itself.

"Please do not touch me," Tio says, looking straight at Emok for a change. "You are in a community center being used by the Relief Society."
Then she turns back to the stage. She sort of wants to ask someone questions, and she's fairly certain Roan wants to set up trade with other nations. "Twenty-f - " She stops talking when Sabrina bids, then elects not to bid any more.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Miss Sabrina Spellman, congratulations!" How nice that he went to someone she knows, and who seems really excited! She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Yuki descends from the stage. "Up next is Miss Mai Tokiha!"

    When her name is called, Mai eeps! Showtime! With a breath she steps forward, careful not to trip - it's not often she's scuttling about in a kimono after all. Her hands are folded neatly in front of her, and as she surveys the room, she gives a neat little bow, cheeks rosy.

    When she straightens, she ..flinches a little. Oh god. Was that Chie and Aoi waving at her in the audience? .... she lifts a hand and rubs at her eyes, blinking. When her vision clears, she doesn't see the two -- she must be hallucinating. Oh god, please let her be hallucinating.

"Well yeah, I know that, the perky MoCees said as much. I mean, what's all that stuff outside? All the fancy trees? All the well-kept shops?" Emok replies, chewing on a turkey leg. "All the freaks?" she asks again, probably just as Envy walks up to the table. At this momentary arrival of a very handsome young man, she chokes on her turkey just a little. "Woah. If I sold a kidney to get some bux, I'd hope you were up for auction."

At the end of his time, Thomas gives out a sigh. He feared for the worse. This wasn't too bad. Good. And now...what?

*FWWEEET* "Oiiiiii~! Mai-chan!!" Kai calls cheerfully after giving a rather sharp whistle through his fingers, waving his other hand above his head. It's all in fun! This is one of the familiar faces he came to see, after all -- and this time (Tenkuu Seija willing) he won't end up with coffee on his lap.

Tio, who has by now turned back to the stage, does not turn back to look at Emok, although one of her antennae bobbles for a moment. "The Hub. Please look it up at your earliest convenience, as I do not have full information on this subject."

/Nobody/ has full information on that subject, but that doesn't mean Tio is going to give out incomplete information!

Ack. Mai blushes brightly at Kai's call, and lifts a hand, waving back. ^^ "Hello Kai-kun!" Eheh! Sankyuu for your support!

Orihime Inoue laughs, and straightens her papers. "Miss Tokiha comes from the Fuuka Academy. She enjoys cooking, cleaning, talking with her friends, taking care of her little brother...awwwww, that's so nice of you!" Orihime beams. "...And especially karaoke! Her favorite food is sweet omelette, and her brother is the most important thing in Mai's life. The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid, $20!"

(Ara? She actually looks..... -cute- in a kimono!) 0 o *n.n* (And she's blushing too! Kawaiiiii~!) "Twenty dollars on Mai-chan!" Kai says immediately, waving his hand again with a rather silly grin.

"Twenty five dollars!" calls out the redheaded boy who won Yuki a bit ago. Sounds like he's being merciful this time.

"Oh *I* see how it is," remarks the blonde next to him.

Her sister, on the other side of Junior replies, "The Little Master admires beauty."

Yuki does a few more mental calculations. Given the current state of her funds... "Twenty dollars and five c-" Oh, beaten to the punch.

"Eh?" Wow, no hesitation from the others! Kai grins and thumbs his nose in the direction of the others. "I won't lose here! Thirty dollars!"

"Thirty-five dollars!" Wait, did that voice come from backstage? Mai might recognize it as Natsuki's. She does owe Mai dinner!

Asuka Langley doesn't bet on Mai. She has to save money for Kaji and, heh heheh, haahahahahaha, Rei.

Shinji Ikari blinks at Natsuki, but shrugs. A woman's lifestyle is her own busniess.

Haruhi Suzumiya suddenly realizes the girl on stage is the mystery girl from before, and very nearly tackles her. That'll show those uptight bums! But, no. No, that is for later.

Mmmyeeeees.

She asides to Yuki, "Yuki-chan, I don't think you're supposed to bid on girls! I mean, unless they're sexy or mysterious like..." Blink. Looks at Mai. Then she grins like a shark. "Yeah, go for it!"

Yuki tilts her head again. It's heating up faster than before. "Thirty-six dollars and six cents."

"Nani ka?" Kai can afford it! .....so far. "Forty dollars!" o 0 (I can miss a meal or two... )

Yuki pauses. "... forty dollars and one cent."

    By this time Kururu has found his way to the snack table in the back, and is standing on top of it. Lookout! Wild animal/alien/notapokemon next to the snacks! Even if he IS just trying to get a better view, and find someone to pester...

"Kuuuuuu ku ku...."

Junior is not a cruel taskmaster, nor is he evil.. no matter how much his brother might protest to the contrary, "Forty one!" But that doens't mean he can't have some fun for charity's sake.

"Oi!!! Don't insult Mai-chan like that!" Kai retorts. >.< "If you're gonna bid, bid for real! Like -- !" He pauses though.... and flips through his billfold.... c.c;;

Gulpin and Zubat glare territorially at Kururu.

    "Oh come on," Aile muttered to herself, and stood up in her chair again. Sure, the current bidding wasn't to her preference, but she wanted to be ready in case another cute guy was brought up. Maybe she'd get lucky!

Envy is caught with a turkey and cheddar Lunchable halfway in his mouth. "Mmf? Oi? Me? Hold on a minute," he apologizes. This looks like it'll be a cheap auction. Good thing Envy brought plenty of cash. A moment is spent sizing Mai up, and he shakes his head. Nah, it looks like- er- she's getting bid on by that strange girl. Emok gets his full attention again. "Me? Nah, I'm just here for the bidding."

Well, Gulpin does, Zubat doesn't have any eyes.

(Yosh! I can still cover it!) 0 o "Fifty dollars!" Kai declares, waving a fistful of bills over his head.

Yuki is quiet for a longer amount of time. "... ... ... fifty dollars and two cents," she murmurs.

"Fourty-two!" Kensuke Aida says...and facepalms when his bid is beaten. Ah well, at least Zaphoid Beeblebrox would approve.

*CRASH!* That sound being Kai falling -out- of his chair at Yuki's bid.. "OI!!!!"

At last, Thomas makes it to the sides of the room, getting near teh foodage table in the process. "Wow, that one girl is serious, isn't she?" he asks rhetorically, concerning Yuki Nagato.

Mai Tokiha remains on stage, but for the most part she looks.. well... she's boggling at the prices going up and up and WHAT'S WITH THE TWO CENTS HUH?? Mou! )>.<(

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To that man over there," she points at Kai, "congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Mai descends from the stage. "Up next is Miss Sabrina Spellman!"

"Faaaair enough," Emok replies, putting her hands in her pockets, although it's only to wipe the meat grease off for a moment. She then begins handling other small food items that would slip out of her hands if they were greasy. Like glasses of punch. Strangely, she looks at Envy for a few seconds longer than she should- intently, but then she stops and looks at the punch. "Zubat, Gulpin, quit it. It's just, like... some ugly Politoed. HEY! Whose Politoed?" she shouts into the audience.

    Kururu glares right back at Gulpin and Zubat. His glare is monsterous, and dark, and downright creepy, coupled with his high-pitched giggle. "KUUUUU KU KU..."

    "...Interesting," says Dinah. She's the tall blonde in the white suit--Dizzy and some others might recognize her less normal form from the Arrancar incident. She is looking at the stage, a look of mingled shock and horror on her face.

    "Most Holy?" Caleb whispers, "If you can no longer stand this... /auction/, I would be happy to escort you back home." Dinah shakes her head, and raises a hand in some sort of hand signal--not intended for the auctioneer, but...

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Yuki Nagato, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Mai descends from the stage. "Up next is Miss Sabrina Spellman!"

    As Sabrina starts down the runway, she gives a nervous smile for a moment. She's never shown off in public before. But as Kate and Tina told her, you can be yourself in the Gate, and you don't have to hold back. She shakes off the butterflies in her stomach, and waves a finger just above her left shoulder. As she does so, flickers of sparkles and fairy light make their presence known in a kalidescope of colors.

    The plain black dress melts and starts to morph. First into a renaissance dress. A long Princess dress complete with a tiara.

    Then it changes again into the dress of a Women's Army Corp Officer.

    As Sabrina starts down the runway, she gives a nervous smile for a moment. She's never shown off in public before. But as Kate and Tina told her, you can be yourself in the Gate, and you don't have to hold back. She shakes off the butterflies in her stomach, and waves a finger just above her left shoulder. As she does so, flickers of sparkles and fairy light make their presence known in a kalidescope of colors.

    The plain black dress melts and starts to morph. First into a renaissance dress. A long Princess dress complete with a tiara.
    Then it changes again into the dress of a Women's Army Corp Officer. Complete with the tilted Garrison cap and red cape.
    As he continues, he changes again, into a Poodle and Hoop skirt from the 1950s.
    And then into one of the strapless prom dresses of the 1980s.
    There is another change, and then she goes into a Princess Toadstool pink dress, complete with the hair and the tiara, and holds up a plush little Toad doll.
    And finally, with one last wave of her finger, she is sitting on her broom, perched down with one hand resting on the broom and the other hand resting on her hip as she offers a brilliant smile.

"Che... what a cheap way to win!" Kai grumbles. Climbing to his feet and dusting his jacket off, but still waving and giving a bright smile to Mai as she makes her way off stage. Oh well! It was fun while it lasted! n.n (And look, no coffee!)

Yuki's eyes glint, and she sits back down, satisfied. Now that she has two of opposite genders, her humans are now a renewable resource.

As Sabrina steps up on the runway, Mai casts an anxious glance at the girl, and makes her way off the stage. And then she looks at who bought her -- and .... smiles weakly. Oh no. Oh NO.

Haruhi Suzumiya leans in and says, "That was awesome, Yuki-chan! You did great!" with a GREAT BIG GIGANTO SMILE

Envy mutters into his punch, "Showoff."

Yuki actually turns to Haruhi and gives her a thumbs-up. And an eye-glint.

Emok SPITS her punch. "What in the name of Newton was that?"

Entering the crowd's area with hands in his pockets and dressed in casual business clothes, Gin Ichimaru looks around for a place to take a seat. He's got a new gigai now, after that last mishap with the last one. Goodness hopes nothing too bad happened to it, but he really didn't care. He's here to see what this 'charity auction' is all about. If he doesn't attract too much attention to himself from Soul Society in the process. Or... is that what he wanted?

Orihime Inoue shuffles her papers. "Miss Sabrina comes from Glendale, on the planet Earth!" You all know where that is, right? There's a lot of them out there! "She enjoys hanging out with her friends, shopping, walking, horseback riding, swimming, roller blading, and boogeyboarding. As you can see, she's very healthy and active!" Orihime beams. "She also really likes to travel! Her favorite foods are sashimi and spaghetti, and most of all pizza. Sabrina promises a magical time to the winner!" Orihime grins. She's one of the few that knows how literal that statement is! "The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid, $20!"

Asuka eyes Sabrina distastefully, "Twelve Cents!"

The castle master ohs, wondering who will bid on Sabrina. Hmmmm.

"...T-twenty-eight?" he calls out oddly. Defending her honor? Who knows.

Haruhi Suzumiya is not at all startled by this, merely returning the thumbs up with a wink.

Somewhere, Kyon feels a shiver of pure terror run down his spine.

Dizzy's brow wrinkles as she listens to this latest round of bidding. "Two cents? She won by two cents? That's...kind of...oh well." She slumps a little in her chair, waiting with faint dread for her turn.
 
Then she sits up as something occurs to her. "I...hope a boy wins me, anyway." She glances over through the curtain at Yuki, nervously.

Asuka Langley says, "Cents? Or dollars?" curiously.

Yuki watches Sabrina for a moment.

Perhaps thankfully, she doesn't bid this time.

    Simon glances over at Dizzy, then at the empty seat beside him. Pat will pay for this.

    /Dearly/.

Emok looks back and forth. "That's some kind of trick, right? Where's the Kadabra?"

She gets the feeling that this might not be all that it seems.

    Satisfied that he made his point to.. whatever those creatures were, Kururu returns his attention to the auction floor. Say... that Pekoponian looks familiar... didn't he come across her once before at a beach party? Ah yes, that was when Kururuko malfunctioned. Hmmm...

    Nah, she's not interesting enough to warrent a bid. So she can transform her clothes? Big deal. Kururu invents Power Armor in between inventing giant robots.

"Thirty," calls out Junior from the audience.

Erk. There goes that, thinks Thomas.

Gulpin and Zubat return to eating. Gulpin is, for those close, beginning to smell a bit.

Shinji Ikari observes the eye-glinting, and looks up at his sometimes-father figure.

"Mister Kaji..." Shinji asks, finally, "Should I be, uh, worried?"

Junior's blonde secretary slips Thomas some cash on the side. How the devil did she get over there?

Tio is no longer near the buffet. She has gone to help herself to a seat, since there is plenty of them, and is sitting silently.

"Enjoy being a faher," Asuka mutters at Shinji.

Having finished his cheese, crackers, and punch, its now time for Envy to find a seat. There's a faint blush to his cheek as he sits down, as it now dawns on him that's two people who've found his true form attractive. "No wonder that bastard was such a lech..."

"You seem almost jealous," Emok says, having recovered her cool a little, or perhaps she's just fronting.

Asuka Langley murmurs to Emok, "I will choke you to death by ripping out your own lung and shoving it down your throat."

Sabrina looks at Thomas as he bids, and she gets a brilliant smile. That was so sweet. Junior gets a smile, but it's not quite as brilliant. She's cheerful, though.

Again, he tries. "Thirty-three!" He shouts, louder from the side wall.
 
Rei is perhaps reassured that the Second is in her usual state of social amiability.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Mister Thomas, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Sabrina descends from the stage. "Up next is Miss Rei Ayanami!"

Emok smiles like Gin. Oh yes. "But wouldn't you rather do it to that purple-haired girl?"

The castle master thought it was sort of strange to have cash so sudeenly from that secretary, but hey. He won? Thomas sigh again.

When her name is called, Rei steps towards the stage. Her hands unfold from behind her and rest at her side as she steps forward, the fabric of the dress just a little shiny in the bright lights on the stage. She squints, for a moment, but then her eyes adapt and the tension leaves her face. She looks out, not smiling, but with a benign and somehow gentle expression which becomes just a little fey around her eyes.

After a few moments, she folds her hands behind her back and continues looking out towards the audience.

"A what?" Shinji blinks, not speaking moon language.

"Um...twenty five!" Kensuke Aida tries, because at this point its a matter of STOOGE PRIDE and because he kind of has a thing for Ayanami. Aida then /pales/ as Shinji gives him a neigh-fraternal warning glare. "...I mean, thirty!" Kensuke adds.

Thomas earns a smile as Sabrina comes off the stage and over to Thomas and the foodage. Actually.. she floats over. Then stepping off the broom, she offers a small curtesy. "..nice to meet you, Thomas. It seems we won each other." This causes her to giggle.

Gin Ichimaru peers at the pokemon at the table. Though he's not seen something like that before, he just raises his eyebrows in curiosity as he grabs a small plate of crackers and cheese. He also offers a wave to his smiling peer. Strange creatures.
 
 He continues on, finding a spot against a wall along the side, opting to stand instead of taking a seat. Because this way he can still see who comes in and who goes, but he also can keep an eye on the bids. Maybe it's kinda creepy that he's there though, because he's got that damn stupid smile on his face as always. And the squinty eyes that peer around in amusement. Looking up at the stage at Rei, he tilts his head in thought. So they were offering teenagers?

Kaji rests a hand on Shinji's shoulder and says in a somewhat reassuring tone, "Misato used to look at me like that when we were in college." Thus is Shinji's doom foretold.

Mysteriously, Junior doesn't bid against Thomas as his secretary comes back from the side.

"What about this one, Little Master?" Mary drawls.

"She reminds me of someone... Naah.." Junior replies, shrugging. He sits this one out.

Now it's starting to be the people Tio knows. Tio knows Rei. Maybe she can explain it to her. "Twenty-five," she says, although it's not loud; she's content to be outvolumed.

Then Aida changes his bid to thirty and she's out already. Oh well.

Asuka wouldn't mind having a Reislave to prove her superiority for, "Thirty Two!" She won't waste her candy wrapper though.

Orihime Inoue laughs, shaking her head at Kensuke and Asuka. At least now she knows what the starting bid will be. "Miss Rei's hometown is Tokyo-03 in Japan. She..." Orihime blinks, looking at the paper. She turns it over, as if expecting more, and raises her eyebrows to find that there isn't. "...is a woman of mystery!" she continues, folding her hands together and smiling. "Her favorite food is fried potatoes. If you want to find out more, you'll just have to win!" WINK! "The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid, $32!"

"Eh?" Having regained his seat, Kai blinks as Rei takes the stage. Something about that quiet, gentle manner... o 0 (She kind of reminds me of Yamazaki-san.... ) All the mystery about her interests piques him, too. "Forty!" he calls quickly, raising a hand. Some others aren't even waiting for the bidding to open! Better hurry and place his while he can.

    "Most of them are /children,/" Caleb whispers. To the reiatsu-sensitive, he is a little knot of devotion. He also looks shocked.

    "Yeah, I know," says Sheila, frowning thoughtfully. She looks pretty much like a carbon copy of Matt, if you ignore the extra Oath. The Malakite then starts visually casing the crowd, looking for anyone... suspicious.

Asuka Langley peers at Kai, "Fourty One..." And she reaches into the seat next to her and pulls out a cardboard tree with a hole cut into it for a face, "And this cardboard tree!"
 
Rei's eyes widen slightly at the sight of 'that tree', but she remains otherwise benignly mysterious.

    "Most of them are /children,/" Caleb whispers. To the reiatsu-sensitive, he is a little knot of devotion. He also looks shocked.

    "Yeah, I know," says Sheila, frowning thoughtfully. She looks pretty much like a carbon copy of Matt, if you ignore the extra Oath. The Malakite then starts visually casing the crowd, looking for anyone... suspicious.

    Dinah continues to look quietly mortified by /everything/. "It's for charity..." she murmurs, to herself.

    Squeak-step, squeak-step, squeak-step. Kururu is now standing behind Asuka and Emok. He doesn't seem interested in talking, though, he was merely walking that way to get a better look around at the crowd.

    Doesn't mean he doesn't talk in general, though he's not addressing anyone in particular. "Tch... it got boring again. Aren't these people going to fight over the auction again?"

"Ehhh?!" Is everyone around here crazy?! Or just the girls?? "Forty-five!!" Kai declares with a scowl. "You can keep the cardboard tree!" >.<
Shelly Godwin casually slips a little cash to Kai on her way back to where her sister Mary and Gaignun Junior are sitting. Of course, most of the people BIDDING are kids too. So it's generally fairly sedate. Right. Yeah.

Just ignore the genetically engineered creature born to slay God in the audience.

Kensuke swears, as he can't match a cardboard tree! "Um..."

Shinji frowns, sighs, and nods. He also looks up at Kaji, "Very reassuring..."

"Fourty-two, and my contraband IPA video files!" Kensuke proclaims! "Learn what the Interstellar league doesn't want you to know!"

Emok steps back and leans against the table, quietly tucking that little bit of info away just as she tucks another piece of candy into her mouth. Between the three of them, they've already cleared one table of food. It's mostly Gulpin. She looks at Rei as she walks up. "Some psychic?" She shooes Kururu. "Go back to your trainer!"

Asuka Langley says, "Fourty six. But no tree."

Emok says, "...Interstellar League..."

"Fourty seven, and this video of the Red Devil falling off of her bicycle!" Kensuke adds, knowing that Asuka looking silly is his hottest commodity.
Hmm. Nah, too demure. Envy is shaking off the notion of bidding when he catches a familiar smiling foxface in the corner of his eye. "Oi. Guy Smiley showed up," he mutters to himself with a smirk. "I wonder where Captain Slick and Brother Ray are..."

"... Fifty on behalf of that boy," Envy shouts with a point towards Kensuke. "But only if he gives me the videos!"
 
Rei looks downwards slightly, her hair falling slightly in front of her eyes.

From her seat off to the side, Yuki watches the proceedings, calm as always. Another female human? Something about this one worries her, but...
She remains quiet.

"Forty-eight!!" Kai retorts, turning to glare at Asuka. "You can keep the candy wrapper too!" >.< Theen whips his head around as Envy bids... on someone's behalf? Can he DO that? ....wait. Video?

"Fifty One so the Syndicate doesn't totally punk us because of Kensuke's hormones." Asuka rolls her eyes.

Ryoji Kaji sighs and gives Kensuke A Look. "Aida, do you realise that you create more work for my department then most other planes of exsistance?"

Toushirou Hitsugaya finally arrives to the charity auction event. He doubles over, putting his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He ran all the way here, wishing he could flash step, but knowing that he may need his gigai. The worst part is that he didn't want to go at all. He avoids the Relief Society events like the plague, since that usually brings Hokuto Sumeragi out of the woodwork. But if Ichimaru is here...

Shiro glances up, forgetting his physical needs for a moment to look for his enemy. He stands on his tippy toes when he can't see worth a damn over the crowd. Where the hell is Ichimaru?

That's.... starting to get a little steep for just a fun night out. Kai scratches his head, looking contemplatively over at the quiet girl on stage for a moment...
"Information wants to be free, man! Let our powers combine-fifty two!" Kensuke Aida enthuses, giving Envy a thumbs up.

Shinji facepalms. "I need better mini-err, friends."

"You really mean it, Mister Kaji!" Kensuke looks, well, flattered. His eyes are gleaming.

Matthew Conway sneaks in late, in whatever waiting area the auction "items" are hiding in. He's busily wiping something off his hands. "Job ran late."

If you're looking for suspicious characters in the audience, there's that one casually snacking on crackers against the wall, offering a wave when Caleb looks his way. But he glances back to the stage again, wondering what it was he senses about the one up there. He's not here to bid, per se, but to see who he can find, and be seen. Those were his orders. Oh, and he knows Hitsugaya was probably looking for him. But this is the hub. That means no fighting~!

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To that man over there," she points at Kensuke, "congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Rei descends from the stage. "Up next is Mister Ryoji Kaji!"

Asuka lifts up her cardboard tree and smacks it in the back of Kensuke's head.

    Caleb frowns as soon as he sees Gin. It is not a pleasant frown. The Cherub steps in Sheila's direction, gently jostling her with an elbow. "The man in the corner," he murmurs, "Watch him."

    The Malakite glances at Gin, and then nods to her partner.

    "About time," Simon mutters, to Matt. Then, whispered, in Angelic: "Who'd you kill this time?"

    Kururu glances at Emok "Hunh? Trainer?" What is this Pekoponian going on about? Must be some sort of fad from one of the worlds he hasn't had time to study yet. Can't be THAT important..
 
Rei steps off the stage with a faint ruffle of her skirts - she goes over the -front- of it, landing in a slight crouch.

She then, in an unnatural burst of sociability, heads to sit down with the other people from her world. She ignores the tree.

Kensuke gets a thumbs-up from the strange blonde Envy. He motions for an usher to pass over the money as well as a slip of paper of where to deliver the videos to: The Fuhrer King's house, Central, Amestris. Homunculi MST Night is a go!

    "Yes. Yes I do." Kaji says with a weary tone. "We're going to have a talk about that film later. Again."

    Kaji steps up onto the stage with dignity and confidence. He removes his coat and throws it over his shoulder, waving to the audience with his free hand as he steps up to center stage. Once he gets there, he pauses tensely, spins around, then poses a little for the metaphorical camera. And then he winks to, well, all the ladies.

    Somewhere in the back of the room, a blue haired woman with a red jacket on catcalls, "Stop prancing around like a peacock and straighten your tie!"

    Kaji ignores her, showing himself off. Since he's certain that he's the only actual adult up on the block, he's not sure if this means he'll go for more or less then the average, thus, he struts.

"It talked! Oh man, I am not in Kanto anymore."
Emok begins fretting and edging away from Kururu.

Asuka smirks at Misato. Unlike her, she's willing to pay for him. Heh heh heh.

Unlike Asuka, Misato doesn't have to pay for Kaji.

Unlike Misato, SHUTUP.

"Ku ku... you're a slow one, aren't you? I spoke before you tried to 'shoo' me. Pay more attention." Kururu chastises, and returns his attention to the auction, his interest waning. "Hrrrnnn, this got boring. Except for the random acts of comical violence, I enjoy that, ku ku." Glance at ASUKA.

Matthew Conway grins sheepishly. In Angelic: "<Elohite. Jumped, was heading for your side. He was spent, so we estimate he'll be in Limbo for a /looong/ time.>"

Orihime Inoue smiles, putting a finger to her lips at the catcalling woman. That's not very nice! She glances at Ryoji and grins. Good stuff! "Mister Ryoji Kaji is from Tokyo-1. His favorite food is melons! His dream is to see the Angels defeated...the bad ones, not the ones in Heaven," she amends quickly since she KNOWS there's at least one or two in attendence tonight, "humanity saved, and to find Mrs. Right! And as you can see, he is...d..." Can she say that? Orihime's never cussed before. Even if it's one of the mild word, still... "...dang sexy!" There, that works. "He works very hard, and so most of his free time is taken up by this. You can save him from this mundacity by adding your bid! It begins...NOW! Starting bid, $20!"

"Twenty five dollars!" Asuka shouts.

Junior, largely, keeps to himself. He doesn't know anybody here yet, and isn't officially a part of the IPA. Though he THINKS his good buddy chaos was negotiating something himself. Of course, chaos always was the kind of guy to do things at his own pace. Like not aging. Selectivly ignoring solid matter. Appearing out of NOWHERE and vanishing back.

"Twenty-six dollars." It's a half-hearted bid from Yuki. She can probably fence him off for more money later.

To Junior's right, Shelly calls out, "Thirty!"

Her less reserved sister just LOOKS at her.

Asuka Langley glares at Yuki, "Sheesh, stop that." She looks back to Orihime, "Fourty!"

Smack! Kensuke looks woobily eyed, rubbing his head and glaring at Asuka. "Jeze, Devil, just because you couldn't get your steamy girl on..."
Thwap. "You're going..." Shinji Ikari mutters to one of his bestest best friends in the world, "...to be a gentleman, right? We don't even n-need to have this conversation, right?"

The two Stooges share a moment...and Kensuke nods. "Oh, sure, sure, you know most of that's joking...well, and nessicary funds for my burgeoning film career..."
Shinji sighs, a little, giving Rei a quick smile. He then gives Asuka a look. "Oh, so he's worth more than the candy wrapper."

Yuki doesn't press the point, deciding to save her money for later.

She also ignores Asuka.

    Dinah's eyes widen as Orihime reads Kaji's card. "...What...?" Now she remembers why she hates the Hub so very much.

    "Most Holy, do you want to take a short break?" That would be Caleb.

    "Heh," Simon says. "I don't know /where/ in the schedule we are, thanks to your 'job'."

Asuka Langley says, "A mysterious benificiary gave me money just for him, I can't in good conscience use that money on you or Rei even if I really want to." And hmphs a little.

There! Whitish-purple hair by the wall! Toushirou Hitsugaya pushes his way through the crowd but finds himself only a few feet away from the traitorous captain without any way to go, save jumping over people's heads, and that might not make people very happy. However, Gin should be able to see Shiro at this point, looking very frustrated that he can't get his hands on Gin and strangle him.

"Yeah, but I thought it, was, like, someone else out of eyeshot," she says, chewing on a cracker. "Man, this place is just darn freaky."

Because she is having difficulty swallowing, she chugs a large glass of punch, then sits down for a moment. She's sat roughly between Aile and Shelley.

Tio apparently left at one point. Perhaps she decided that it wasn't helping, and she was only getting /more/ confused.

Vanish!

Thankfully for everyone, only one of Matt's entourage is in the crowd, and he is the quiet one. Severus Lexington, clinical psychologist, is watching this all as an exercise in understanding human nature. He's taking notes.

Matt shrugs. "Job comes before everything, man. You know that."

"What, is that it?" Kaji says from the stage, making an arm motion to keep bidding. "Charity, people!"

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Asuka Langley, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Ryoji descends from the stage. "Up next is Miss Haruhi Suzumiya!"

Now Guy Smiley has company in the form of Whitey-chan. Gin hates Shiro. Shiro hates Gin. One can just feel the tension building.
This looks like a job for Envy. Luckily, he remembered to bring the ammunition!

Without a word, the blonde walks over to the pair and digs into his pocket. Its when he gets to a spot perfectly between the two that he pulls out the ultimate weapon...

A stick of Mentos. One for Gin. One for Shiro.

Kaji may have strutted, but there's only so much an ORDINARY PERSON can do to be attractive. That's OK, though. Ordinary humans are lame like that, or such would be the verdict of SOME people...!

Meanwhile, in a totally unrelated turn of events, Haruhi Suzumiya walks out on stage! Wait, why is she wearing that all-concealing shall? Is she shy?

No, no, the answer is far more terrifying, as she suddenly tears it off and reveals -- -- -- a North High cheerleader uniform, white with stripes of blue and gold. Complete with pom-poms! She walks out with both arms extended, smiling broadly. As if there were music.

She jabs her left hand, forefinger extended, to the sky, grins, drags it to point to the right. She splays her right hand, draws it across her face in a broad waving motion, and then strikes a confident pose, arms crossed, staring down at the auction participants with a huge smile and a happy look in her eyes.
Who could possibly turn THIS down!? she thinks, with glee.

Now now, that's not a very good attitude to have! That's the look Gin holds on his face, his smile somehow able to embody a mock hurt expression as he offers the plate of food towards the short captain. "Oh, so you came too! Y'gonna bid on someone, Hitsugaya?" Like he said, he's just here to watch. Unless there's something worth bidding on. Is there?

 He knows there are eyes on him, but that's always been his job. As such, it doesn't seem to bother him one bit. "Want somethin' t'eat?" It's like he's pretending betrayals never happened, and he knows it's getting on their nerves.

 And then Envy pops up between them. "Oh, thank you!" He takes the mentos with a grin, and holds the plate over to Envy as well. "Cracker?"

Ryoji Kaji steps off the stage, dramatically placing the back of his hand to his forehead. "Oh, to be outstripped by the younger generation in yet anoything fashion. Woe betide me, whom the world runs out of use for, truely, I am barerly a tool anymore."

Misato says, "Oh, you're still a tool, alright." As Kaji sits down.

Rei, once seated, slouches just a bit into a more comfortable position. It makes her look perhaps older than she is, and she's also more relaxed while in it. Perhaps the weariness of the presence of others has affected her, or perhaps it's some sort of ambient field of slovenliness that Kaji projects.

Asuka Langley actually bet more money on Shinji than for Kaji. Does this mean anything? Hmmm.. She lets out a WHOOP for Kaji though and says, "Alright!" really loudly before giving Shinji a hug. "Hooray!" She comments again before withdrawing around fifty bucks and stuffing them in Shinji's pocket, "I have mysterious benefactor change~" She trills.

"Oi, someone worth bidding for!" The blonde rushes back to his seat, but not before flashing the Mentos Smile at the shinigami. And taking a cracker. "Twenty-five!"

"Someone is probably overcompensating for something very significant," Emok muses as Haruhi explodes onto the scene. She muses this very loudly, and makes sure she hears.

Orihime Inoue says, "Miss Haruhi hails from Nishinomiya city, Japan, Northwestern Hemisphere, Earth, Sol System, Quadrant 2, Milky Way Galaxy, sixteen degrees to the right of the center of the universe and straight on 'til you get there! That should be very easy to find, thank you for the directions," Orihime beams. "She's looking for something really interesting for a new hobby. Her favorite food is anything delicious! Miss Haruhi's goal is to make friends with aliens, espers, time travelers, witches, angels, demons, shapeshifters, and magical girls!! She says she has no use for ordinary and boring people, so if you're looking for excitement, here we go! The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid, $25!" Thanks to Not-Envy-I-Swear."

Yuki blinks, looking slightly surprised for once. That's right... /Haruhi Suzumiya/ was one of the volunteers. The humanoid interface's mind races. How would Haruhi being bought off affect the situation in their home plane? How would things change depending on /who/ successfully bids on her? What variables would come into pla- no. No time to think about that.

Yuki's eyes narrow. She cannot let that happen. There is only one course of action open to the humanoid interface at this time. "Thirty dolllars," she states clearly, a layer of cold, determined iron in her normally calm voice. Oh snap, the cents are gone!

A rather large man with rather impressive-looking sideburns quietly walks in and..hangs around in the back. This man is Doumeki Kai, though nobody probably knows this.

    Tch. This'll stay dull unless Kururu himself does something. The little Keron materilizes a small hovoring platform and hops on it, rising above the heads of most, if only to be easily seen himself.

    HAY HARUHI! A SMALL YELLOW CREATURE ON A FLOATING PLATFORM!

    Kururu will just incite a bidding war HIMSELF! Good thing he 'borrowed' some of Keroro's Gun-pla funds for himself. Ku ku ku. "$45!" He shouts.

    Sheila continues to watch the drama between Shorty and Smily, a half-angry frown on her face.

    Simon, on the other hand, peers around the curtain as Haruhi... cheerleads. The card downright cinches it, though. "Girl's got an ego on her," the Balseraph mutters, to anyone within range.

Yuki's eyes flicker towards Kururu. EVEN WORSE, an actual alien frog oh dear lord. "Fifty dollars," she retorts coolly.

There's a pause as she blushes. Well, this is awkward. She's not sure what to say. After a moment, Sabrina grins at Thomas. "Well, at least we didn't go for the minmum bet?"

Emok ... "Why don't you go to a book store, girl, those things don't /exist/," Emok grouses as Orihime reads.

Shinji Ikari cannot hold back his smirk, though he's honestly trying to.

And then he's accosted by Asuka. "I d-d-don't k-know what y-you're t-talking about..." Shinji mutters, looking away and rubbing the back of his head in a vain attempt to hide his blush.

"He," Kensuke mutters Reiwards, "Is really, really bad at that."

This alien bidding war is interrupted by your friendly neighborhood psychotic shapeshifter. Envy holds up a sign reading 'MR. SMITH' for some reason. "Fifty-five."

Toushirou Hitsugaya stares at the offered Mentos, by a blonde that Hitsugaya does not immediately recognize, except on the reiatsu side. It's Envy, in one of his stupid disguises. He takes the smooth white candy anyway, but dropping it on the table after Envy steps away. No smoothing away any tension on this side of the white-haired fury!

Sev continues note-taking.

Matt nods. "Isn't she the one that's under surveillance? ...Destiny's gonna have a headache over this, and your guys, too. Let's hope Fate's not watching anyone here."

    Kururu snickers, excellent. That didn't take much. Still... he should keep it going, this could prove interesting! "$70!" Just how much money does Kururu have? Well, Keroro was all set to buy out this season's releases of new models. Three times over.

    Kururu swiped half of that. He has plenty.

"I bet Haro." Asuka looks over her shoulder as she says this.

The corner of Yuki's mouth twitches downward juuust slightly. For the sake of the Integrated Data Entity's observations, and for the sake of their universe. "Seventy-five dollars."

She's getting bid on? She's getting bid on! Awesome! She seems really happy about it! Surely, the SOS Brigade will win honor and prestige for bringing in huge bids! But...it's not high enough! She won't be satisfied for less than triple digits, which means...it's time for THAT.

Haruhi's posturing is apparently not over, however, as she suddenly flips a hand through her shoulder-length hair, nods her head a little, draws a swirl in the air...and then draws her arm across her body and in the process TEARS OFF THE CHEERLEADER UNIFORM.

There is a playboy-style bunnygirl outfit beneath. Complete with ears; it's hard to tell when they got there, exactly. Somebody from the audience hurls something at her, and it's...it's! A GUITAR!? An electric guitar, to be precise. Sadly, she does not jam. She does, however, strike a sexy pose with it, complete with HUGE SMILE.

Gin Ichimaru half watches Shiro's response, grinning and looking up at the new arrival. Make friends with anges, demons, etc? He casually raises a hand, knowing just the response that action will get. "Oh, this thing gets heated fast. $80!"

    Kururu EVIL GLASSES GLINT AT YUKI! "$100, and this rare collectable model of Gundam Wing Zero!"

    Keroro's gonna kill him. Ku ku uuuuu.

Emok raises her hand. "Two hundred Pokedollars."

"Misato." Shinji whines, just a little, "Tell Asuka she can't bet our friend's robot, she'll listen to you, you know more kung fu then her..."

The castle master Thomas sputters, eyes wide at Haruhi's new costume. WHAT THE.

Whoa, what showmanship! Envy ups the ante, "One hundred- oi, one hundred five."
 
"Gundam Wing Zero?" Rei says, towards Kensuke.

Yuki resists the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose as Haruhi makes things heat up. "$115," she shoots back, her eyes glinting back at the frog. OH NO YOU DON'T.

Only if you bid again. ;)

Doumeki Kai watches Haruhi appraisingly for a moment.
 
Then she tears off the cheerleader uniform and the captain of the Ouendan nearly falls over from shock. Oh /hell no/.

Ryoji Kaji starts to raise his hand as the bunnygirl outfit comes out to play, but he lowers it at the dirty looks he gets from the various women at the NERV table. "...what?"

    Dinah is now staring at Haruhi, unable to hide her shock and disgust. Her mouth is moving, but no words are coming out.

    "...Especially Fate," Simon says, shuddering.

"...what." Sabrina stares at the girl. "Well, I guess I could have done.. no, no, no!" Ewww, Haruhi!

    Gack! $200??? Kururu glares back at the girl who was so awkward around him before.... can me match that? Hmmm...

    He's silent for a moment, as he fiddles with a calculator.

"Man," Asuka mutters, "It's not like she's going to sleep with you." She hesitates for a moment before eyeing Haruhi carefully. "...Nevermind." She leans back, "So Shinji, you gonna bid on anybody?"

Every inch of Yuki Nagato's body is tense. Two-hundr-

There's just a stunned sort of silence as Dizzy stares at Haruhi and her theatrics, from backstage.

Matt looks out again, and facepalms. Sev cotinues to make notes.

"...Fate /or/ Lust. /God/, I hate the jailbait thing. You know if any Fate guys are here? I could take 'em out quiet-like."

There's a hint of desperation in Yuki's voice. "Two-hundred dollars and one cent."

Thomas says, "Oh, my....goodness...."

Kururu raises his hand once more "$205, the Wing Zero model, and a mint condition box of an EVA-01 model!!" Keroro's gonna kill him...

    Besides that, The Eva cast is gonna kill him!

Waitaminnut! Didn't Ichimaru say that he was only observing? Why the hell is he bidding now? Hitsugaya sputters and nearly raises his hand only to be saved by another voice raising the price. The little captain glares at the traitor, unfortunately, daring him to do that again.

Yuki runs some quick calculations in her mind. "... ... ..." Wait, how much IS all that worth?!

Gin Ichimaru 's eyebrows raise. "Bunnies're popular even in t' human world... Oh- y'aint gonna bid?" He saw that hand nearly go up.

"Oh boo," Emok says, raising her hands. "I can't beat that, considering I don't actually know what your freakin' cents are. Crazy people."
She takes a note. This Yuki Nagato girl is going to get her full attention.

"Overrated." Kensuke's NERD powers immediately snap back into place, "If you want a decent Gundam from that car wreck they call a continuity, you want to use the Heavy Arms...but really, Wing sucks anyway. What you /really/ want is the oh you were asking about the guy with the toy." Aida coughs, once. "Sorry. Reflex."
Shinji glares at Kururu, and shrugs at Asuka. "Who'd want to go out me? I'm not a sadist, Asuka."

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To the adorable yellow frog alien, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Haruhi descends from the stage. "We're going to take a short fifteen minute break! Feel free to walk around and stretch your legs. Help yourself to the snacks!" And she wanders off to get a glass of water.

    Aile's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. 200 dollars was something she just couldn't hope to contend with, she only had fifty and she wasn't sure how far this sort of thing should be taken. She wanted to donate, and was kind of interested in a date, but this would never do at all. "I guess that leaves me out." Would a guy ever ask her out? PRobably not, but she didn't mind. At least, she didn't mind yet, too much.
 
"I have a bad feeling about this," Rei says, considering the obvious evil of the frog.

She pauses, considering the strangeness of that thought.

Haruhi Suzumiya went for 205! TO AN ALIEN! AWESOME! AWESOME AWESOME!

She continues to do her crazy dance ALL THE WAY BACKSTAGE, BABY

Yuki almost sags in her chair, bleak despair emanating from her emotionless face. She has doomed the universe through her inaction.

One thinks the castle master is still in shock over the whole bunny outfit thing, but he manages to get over it, trying to munch on something to occupy his thoughts. His hands shake too much.

... and then Yuki perks back up. At least she can probably make enough money through human-breeding to win her back.

A break? Oh, well...further delay of the inevitable. Dizzy stands up and stretches, more out of habit than a real need at this point. As unobtrusively as she can, she walks out from backstage toward the food tables, in order to grab some snacks. Of course, unobtrusive is difficult to do with wings and a tail showing. Oh well.
 
"I wonder how much I'll go for," she muses as she walks. Well. It has been kind of exciting, hasn't it? Maybe she can get into this just a little bit.

    "Hey there, you got animated at last," Emok says as Aile is quite shocked. "What are you looking at? That's not enough to feed chickens where I come from. You're looking at a gen-u-ine homeless bum, here, complete with the blisters to prove it. Although between you and me, I get the feeling there's little difference, if you're so poor money like that shocks you."

    Excellent! Victory for the Keron Army, and..... wait, why did he want to win again? Didn't he just want to cause some trouble?

    Whatever. He'll take them up on the date offer, and if it proves to be annoying or boring he could always test out an invention or two on Haruhi. Kururu floats his platform over to the table where he drops down the $205, the pre-assembled Wing Zero plastic model, and the mint-condition EVA-01 boxed model set. Then he flies to the back of the crowd once more, and sort of just hovors there.

As a break is called, the Horseman of War stands from his seat and stretches a little, rummaginging in his pockets and pulling a lolipop out of somewhere in his trenchcoat. He then leans a little against the seat before him and rubs at his shoulder. "I can never get comfortable in these seats.." he remarks to Shelly. "It's like they make them so you can't get comfortable."

Ryoji Kaji leans back in his chair, tilting it back up to it's hind legs. "So, Asuka. I can understand bidding on a fine young man like Shinji... but why Rei?"

"Your legs are a little short, Little Master..." Shelly replies.

Uryuu blinks at Kururu briefly. An associate of Giroro's, possibly? He shrugs and jots down "$205; Wing Zero model, assembled (1); EVA-01, mint unopened (1)". And then gets up to pick a few snacks from the buffet.

As all the people start mingling during the break, Hitsugaya finds the chance to get close to Ichimaru finally. He'd like to grab Ichimaru and shake him viciously, but the rules of the Hub might throw him out, and that would be inconvenient. He warns the traitor, "Get out of here. Now."

Suddenly, Emok chokes as Dizzy walks out to the buffet table. "WHAT?" She gets up in a hurry.

"Dangit, Gulpin, Zubat, off the table. Get away from that freak," she says, not looking at Dizzy. "Come on, you guys, come on." She desperately rummages, and produces two red and white balls. "Back in your Pokeballs."

She zaps them back in and backs off from Dizzy quickly. "What is this, someone from the freak show wander into this circus?"

But Envy already stretched his legs out! Oh well, this will give him time to enjoy the cracker. But it came from Gin. Is it an evil cracker? Eh, who cares. Munchmunchmunch.

Aw, Shiro's being mean to Gin. The power of Mentos has failed us!

Asuka looks over to Kaji, "Oh, because..." She smiles sweetly, "I wanted to make sure whomever got her would appreciate her and wasn't just bidding because they had extra cash to burn~" She trills, and quite possibly lying through the teeth. "Plus..." She admits quietly, "It'd have been fun to see her in the tree costume..."

It wasn't an evil cracker! If you want to be specific, it came from Orihime!

Haruhi Suzumiya disappears into the deep backstage to go change into her actual street clothes again. VICTORY for the SOS Brigade! She is grooving even as she walks.

Envy, you are giving candy to a boy who HATES candy. Of course, Hitsugaya is going to throw it away.

That elicits a bit of a response. Dizzy wilts slightly at the word 'freak', but just tries to smile. "Excuse me," she mumbles, and fills her plate with some crackers and cheese, as well as a cup of punch. She looks at Emok, debating saying something more, then shakes her head and moves aside to munch on her food glumly.
Shinji Ikari blinks at Asuka, sighs, and hands Kensuke a five dollar bill.

"You think the frog's evil, Ayanami?" Aida asks, even as he victory dances in his seat.

    Dinah's shoulders sag as the Seraph sinks forwards to stare at the floor. Caleb wraps an arm around her, supporting her. "Would you like some punch?" he offers, "Snacks?" The three Judges start to move off towards the refreshments, where Caleb pours his boss a drink without waiting for an answer.

    Sheila, meanwhile, leans against the wall and mutters something about needing a beer or two. She catches sight of Dizzy, and blinks once.

    Meanwhile, Simon makes his way back from offstage, quite possibly to get a drink or something before things start back up again.

Emok walks off, talking to herself. "What in the /world/ place is this," she says, returning to her seat and clutching her Pokeballs.

Gin Ichimaru isn't failing the mentos though. He just doesn't stop smiling! It's really darn annoying too. "I ain't doin' anything bad." The white haired man counters. "'sides, isn't my money goin' t'charity?" And did you really think he wanted a date with a schoolgirl human?

"Don't let it get to ya, cutie," offers a voice as Dizzy makes her way back. Dante having stayed leaning against the back wall all this time with his arms crossed over his chest, offering a smirk to the familiar set of... features. "Some people are like that."

    "Oi, don't flatter me. Kuuuu ku ku..." Kururu says to Aida and Rei as he hovers directly above them. "I just got a bit carried away, but I suppose I'll have to do this date thing. I'll have to scan my list of inventions and see what needs a guinea pig..."

    He's joking, right? Maybe. Most likely. Probably. Hard to tell.

Sev continues to take notes, and Matt just gets some rest from killing someon-er, doing his job before he goes on stage.

"Very noble of you." Kaji replies. If he knows whether or not Asuka's lying, he doesn't show it. He glances around, his eyes pausing as they pass over Rei. For a moment, his brows furrow in thought... but the moment passes not long after. "So, Shinji, is there anyone that you want to bid on?"

Dizzy blinks and looks up. "Oh. Hello, Mister Dante. Um...yes, I know. Still, I was hoping..." She shakes her head and gives him a smile. "Are you here to bid on anyone?" she says, now fidgeting a little bit with her plate.

Uryuu scowls at the little thread of conversation he'd just heard. He takes a bite from a chocolate cookie (one of the few leftovers from the bake sale the day before) and passes another to Dizzy, without a word.

Toushirou Hitsugaya doesn't know what Ichimaru is up to, other than no good. The smiling man only makes Shiro scowl. "You could have only stolen that money, Ichimaru."

"I got my eye on someone," Dante replies with an easy grin, giving his head a toss. "Business has been good lately." So good he got himself an arrest warrant out for him -- but luckily, no one seems to have realized that yet. "So I figured I'd come out and see if I hit the jackpot tonight."

Yuki goes back to being silent, book-reading furniture for the time being.

    Tina takes a brief break from backstage to linger through the various Bidding Boxes. Grinning as she looks at pictures and reads bios.. Until coming upon a recently deployed box. Oooo.. It's ... o_o! AWESOME! The blonde claps once as she whips out a specially prepared moneyclip, giggling herself stupid as she prepares to blow the other competitors out of the water on this one..

    ...That is..
    Until Tina's eyes pass over a certain piece of information. Age: 15.
    Mr. Hotness is.. Is.. Jailbait?

    Tina's jaw slooowly descends as her eyes widen. Ooh no no no no .. ehehe.. no no. They got it wrong! She giggles to herself with a nervous smile as she rubs at the two condemning numbers, hoping the '1' is actually a '2'. ;_; "It should be illegal for guys that young to be that hot." She mutters to herself, defeatedly.

Envy has relocated himself near the bid boxes. He walks away with an expression that can only be described as the cat getting the canary, the mouse, and the can of Nine-Lives.

"Eh? Oh! Mister Ishida. Thank you." Dizzy smiles and accepts the cookie. This is not one of hers, actually; she was experimenting with frosted sugar cookies for today's event. "Thank you. Will you be bidding on anyone?" She turns back to Dante. "Really? May I ask who? ...oh, and how rude of me. Mister Ishida, this is Mister Dante Spardason; I helped him find his way around the Hub when he just arrived a little while ago. Mister Dante, this is Mister Uryuu Ishida. He's the treasurer of the Relief Society, and a very nice man."

Ryoji Kaji was the one legal up for bid, you had your chance, woman.

Matthew Conway is legal, dammit. /525 years legal/.

Asuka smiles at Kaji, "Hehe," She giggles like an innocent young lady before murmuring to Shinji, "Hey, yeah, you gonna bid on someone? Actually, the truth is..." She begins.

Orihime Inoue ascends the stage once more and picks up her papers. She's had a chance to wet her throat, and she feels much better now. "Okay, before we continue, please don't forget to enter a bid for one of our Box Volunteers!" she beams. "Our next volunteer for the auction is Natsuki Kuga!"

"Y'think so highly of me, Hitsugaya." Gin chides, setting down the plate and walking over to crowd around the food. Obviously not getting more to eat since he set it down, but perhaps to mingle? Gin? He also glances over the bid boxes too, and glances at Envy, pointing back to Hitsugaya. "Might wanna give him another one'o those mint things." Yep, probably a whoole box at the rate his mood is going.

Kensuke Aida just /stares/ at Kururu.

Meanwhile, Shinji looks dryly up at Kaji. "I'm n-not a very interesting person, and I don't really think about s-stuff like that. I mean, they'll g-get money anyway, and they'd definately have a b-better time with, like, just about anyone but that Envy guy anyway, I mean, who'd /want/ to, y'know? Its not right to make someone...Kensuke, what is it."

"Ikari, you've got to leap into action!" Kensuke points at the floating frog. "You're a teenaged robot pilot, he's an evil scientist! Its fate, destiny, your job man! You've gotta save that exibitionist girl from his /vile clutches/ and let me tape it all! Can't you feel the HOT BLOOD boiling in your veins?!"

"No." Shinji says, simply. "Its a frog, Kensuke. I'll do a lot, but..."

"He's your /natural enemy!/" Kensuke insists, "An evil scientist up to no good! Ayanami, back me up here! Becides, you've got merchandising to think about...I mean, what good's a hero without his /sinister/ arch-rival?! This is your big chance for legitimacy, man!"

"I've got, like..." Shinji pauses, doing a mental head count. "At least three. Ask Toji, Toji needs an evil..." Shinji pales. "Oh man, I'm talking like you now..."

"Just Dante's fine," the Devil Hunter notes to Uryuu, giving a friendly nod. And grinning at Dizzy, laying a gloved finger across his lips. "Uh-uh. I'm not tipping my hand in -this- crowd. I've already gotten a look at how competitive some of these guys are. I'm not losing out to a gum wrapper."

During the break, there was a mild ruckus going on backstage. "Mai, what are you doing?" That would be Natsuki's voice again. "My hair is fine... what is that?" There's no more time for complaints, though!

As her name is called, Natsuki emerges onto the stage, back to the audience. She doesn't walk, though... it looks more like she was shoved! Observant viewers might notice a hand helping her on the way from backstage. "What the... when?" She's actually dressed in casual clothes today, jeans and a tank top, though a certain meddling redhead has added some jewelry and a flower hair clip.

When Natsuki regains her balance, she slowly turns around, expression approaching that of a deer in headlights. She recovers quickly enough, but probably not before everyone in the audience has seen it. Is there anything she can do about it now, though? Not without making a scene. So the HiME just forces a smile.

Mai Tokiha can be heard giggling from behind the stage, after having pushed Natsuki out onto the runway. Then she scoots down again, "Remember Natsuki-chan! It's for charity!" <3

Ryoji Kaji sighs at the antics of the Three Stooges Minus One. "And to think, my greatest worry growing up was how to hide from the press gangs."
Asuka Langley says, "That's right, Kaji," despite not understanding what he's saying at all.

Orihime Inoue looks down at her papers. "Miss Natsuki also attends the Fuuka Academy. Her hobbies are many, including bike riding, walks on the beach, modeling, karaoke, and hanging out with her friends. She's very interested in men, puppies, reading, guns...wow...ice cream, cooking, and karaoke. Her favorite food is ramen topped with mayonnaise..." Orihime pauses. That actually sounds really good, she'll have to try that. "And her dream is to either be a model, or learn to cook well. The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid...is this right...?" The paper says it is. "$500!"

Asuka Langley says, "One candy wrapper!"

A few things from that info card do make one eyebrow twitch slightly as she tries not to react too strongly. Lies, all of it! Well, most of it. Some of it, at least! Still... she's going to get you for this, Mai!

Emok says, ".... Five... hundre..."

Yuki says, "... ... ... ... ... ... two cents."

Natsuki Kuga turns and stares at Orihime. "Five -hundred-? Who?"

Mai Tokiha is so totally dead, but it's damn worth it. And she /giggles/, pointing a finger and everything. SHE MOCKS YOUR EMBARASSMENT!

Uryuu blushes very slightly and shakes his head. "Ah, no, Miss Dizzy, I don't expect I will be. I'm just here to do the recordkeeping." He turns to Dante and nods. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Dante. Good luck when she comes up."

That having been said, Uryuu bows to them both and quickly returns to his notebook, ready for the continuation of the auction.

Orihime Inoue turns to look at Natsuki apologetically, cups her hand over the microphone, and whispers a name at the model.

"Six hundred!" calls out Junior.

    $500? Good thing Kururu already spent his money. A Pekoponian girl isn't worth THAT much to him, especially one as plain looking as this one.

    The Keron just sneers at Aide, and floats off to observe the crowd some more. He's not bidding any more, but he'd still much rather see more people cause a fuss over things. For now, he floats towards the interesting-looking girl with the wings, and the pencil-necked geek standing next to her. Froggie at 2 o'clock Dizzy and Ishida!

The irony of an Eva pilot's ignorance of Second Impact always brings a smile to Kaji's face. "It sure is, Asuka."

Kaji glances towards Junior. "I want /his/ job."

    Aile plants her face into her palms, blushing for some odd reason. The gall, the nerve, the...well, that was one way to say you sure didn't go cheap, but was anyone going to pay out that much for a date? Hoooo boy, she wondered. "This I have to see," She mumbled, still embarrassed over whatever it was at this point.

Natsuki Kuga hears the name and... "B-b-b-but..." But how? He didn't know the Gates existed! Her eyes quickly dart across the audience, trying to find the familiar face. Where is he?

Natsuki-vision, begin!

The color slowly drains out of the world, as everything grows pale, then monochrome. Her jaw drops, eyes go blank white... and a loud crack echoes through her head as the universe shatters.

Back to the real world!

Natsuki looks like someone just told her that Duran died. She's given up all hope! Doesn't she look pitiful, folks? Please, save her from a fate worse than death!
Toushirou Hitsugaya makes sure he doesn't let Ichimaru out of his sight. If Ichimaru is mingling, so is he. "We both know that you don't have an ounce of trustworthiness in you." The blond Envy gets a glare for even thinking about giving him candy. When the bidding starts, Hitsugaya pays special attention to the traitor captain. 500 dollars? Oh dear...please no. Fortunately, there isn't anything more than a sweat drop on this little white-haired boy to give away his distress.

Dizzy giggles lightly. "The gum wrappers were weird. I mean, the last winner paid with money and mechanical models. I wonder what kind of auction this is...." She shakes her head. "Well, I need to go back up to wait for my turn, anyway." She nods to Ishida, watching him return to his place, and finishes off the cookie before heading back up toward the stage.
 
As she goes, she stumbles slightly, her eyes going wide. "Five hundred...wow. Er..." And another surprise. "Hello," she says to Kururu, a touch nervously. "Is there something I can help you with?"
 
 Fortunately? Or unfortuantely a gentleman in the black suit in the back raises his hand, "650!"

Asuka Langley considers. Low starting bids resulted, for the most part, in low bids. She has an ingenious idea and says, "Be right back." and she darts off without another word.

Having figured out the relative value of currency here, Emok can only sit there slack-jawed at the amount being thrown around. "This is stupid," she says, lowly. "What kind of rich kid's circus have I walked into?"

Mary remarks from Junior's side, "Spending his father's money..." she says, unapprovingly. Well.. Mock-unapprovingly.

Junior's sixth sense is pinging, however. He smells.. gunpowder.. "Seven hundred."

Envy smells.. more money than he has. He'll pass and enjoy some more Mentos.

Other people are bidding? Natsuki looks slightly less dead on her feet as she looks back and forth between the bidders. Wait. Is that a kid bidding on her? And someone in a suit? What the heck?

But Shiro likes getting candy, right? Doesn't uncle Ukitake-taichou leave bundles of it for him every few weeks? "Seven hundred fifty!" Gin cups his hands to his mouth and calls out from the back with a grin. Who cares if he has that much or not. He knows Shiro will bid.

Asuka Langley kicks Envy in the shin as she slides out.

"Good luck!" Dante says idly, turning his attention back to the stage as Dizzy makes her way back. The poor girl out there looks like she's about to have a stroke...
Shinji Ikari rembemers Kaji's story about post-Second Impact, and sobers up, giving the man a concerned glance. "...okay, fine, Kensuke, I'll fight the evil frog."

"WOO HOO! Ayanami, let me teach you the Three Stooges victory dance! Its great for when you win against the forces of evil, by which we mean Asuka."

Shinji raises an eyebrowl at Junior, and nods. "Seriously. Maybe he's from that money tree plane."

"One-thousand!" Junior crows, grinning like a loon.

Emok says, "You're NUTS!"

Gin Ichimaru just chuckles quietly.

Mai Tokiha blinks up at Natsuki -- and slowly looks over her shoulder at the red haired box who just bid a thousand. "....." That's more than she makes in three months! o_o

The redheaded boy looks over to Emok and replies, "No. I'm Giagnun Kukai, Jr.."

Toushirou Hitsugaya bristles in alarm! He begins to raise his hand, almost..."Se...seve...s." Another young voice, a boy with red hair saves him yet again from a bid he didn't want.

Yuki blinks at the proceedings, before closing her book and pocketing it. As if coming to a decision, she then stands up and walks right towards one Shinji Ikari, looking down at Her Property Ha Ha Ha. "Is that true?" she deadpans.

... huh?

Matthew Conway looks out again. /One thousand?/ These humans are craaaaazy.

Sev continues to make notes. He has already filled several pages.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To the young red-haired man just over there. Congratulations!" Wow, that's incredible! She had no idea they'd gather so much. She'll have to thank Natsuki. She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Natsuki descends from the stage. "Next up is Nao Yuuki!"
Emok gives Rubedo a Look. "You are on my List, rich boy."

"Ow! What the-" Asuka just gets a strange look from the blonde boy who totally isn't Envy. "What was that for?"

    Dinah continues to look something like the protagonist of a Lovecraft story--utterly horrified, but unable to look away.

    "That's one rich little kid," Sheila remarks, at the enormous bid. She sips her punch, and elbows Simon in the gut as he approaches the punchbowl to get his own. In a mostly friendly sort of way.

Natsuki Kuga had no idea she would be so popular! "One thou-thou-thousand?" From a kid? She looks a little shell-shocked... but she's so very glad that the initial bid didn't win!

Gin Ichimaru says, "That's too bad..." Ichimaru muses, shrugging and heading back to his earlier spot by the wall. He should go to charity events more often!"

"For being a jerk!" Asuka comments as she returns with familiar looking paperwork, that she fills out with one of Shinji's pens.

Orihime Inoue blinks, glancing at the man who brought out Ling's box as he ascends the stage and whispers into her ear. "Huh? Oh! Okay, hee hee! Sorry, Miss Nao isn't quite here yet. So next, is Hanataro Yamada!"

"Um." Shinji blinks, blushing at the strange, intensly quiet girl who...sort of...well, hell, she bid on a lot of people. Its always the quiet ones. Looking at Kaji and Misato, Shinji blinks, "Is what t-true, miss?"

"He's Gaignun Kukai Junior. Son of a wealthy businessman of the same name, obviously." Kaji replies to Shinji. "In command of a vessel larger then the Nadesico called the Durandal. Has a pair of beautiful assistants. Competant mecha pilot. A very nice job, indeed."

A moment passes.

Kaji explains. "Part of my job is to look into potential large robot rivals to determine if they're a finacial risk to NERV or not."
Haruhi Fujioka has disconnected.
 
Rei's head turns slightly, perhaps more at the question of these people being -financial- risks than anything else, towards Kaji.

She does remember the Jet Alone affair, at least.

Envy limps off to the little boy's room. Even homunculi have to go.

"The frog," Yuki elaborates quietly, a barely audible note of worry tinging her voice. "Is he an evil scientist?" Given that he DID bid- and win- on one Haruhi Suzumiya, perhaps that worry is justified.

And heeeeeeeeere's...

Heeeeeeeeere's...

Heeeeeeeeere's...

Oh, here's Hanataro. After a few moments to build up his courage, a slender young man with unkempt raven hair and saggy blue eyes finally emerges from stage left, nervously tapping a mittened hand against his lips.

Yes, mittens.

He's dressed in a snappy dark green suit with a cream scarf wrapped loosely above his shoulders. "Hello, everyone," he meekly introduces himself with a bow. "I am Yamada Hanataro, mild-mannered store clerk for a 24 hour convenience store. I like to explore new worlds, and... anou... I am skilled in cleaning and... attending to people. ... On behalf of the Relief Society, I would like to thank everyone for their kind donations and... anou... hope that I bring a small amount of happiness to whoever wins their bid. Thank you." His spiel done, the little shinigami looks up at the crowd with an expectant smile. /Someone/ has to bid on him... right?
Kitty Pryde chuckles, "Thirty dollars!" She calls up. This should be a kick.

    Kururu lowers his hovering platform and hops off, merely shrugging at Dizzy. "Nah." Nothing more to it than that. Kururu's interest in things comes and goes like the wind. Right now, he's just looking for a place to watch the rest of the event. He can't help but be somewhat amused at the flurry of bids over this last woman.

    And yes, Yuki. He IS. Not that most people here know that. Aide was just guessing, though a spot-on guess it was!

Hanataro's shoulders slump with relief. Someone bid on him! Whew.

"The fourth division?" Gin perks up in curiosity. Who woulda thought that kid'd have the guts to do something like this. He was probably wrangled into it. But it's no fun to bid on one of his own kind, and so he just crosses his arms and leans against the wall. You can rest easy this time, Hitsugaya. But it /would/ be funny if he had bid.

    In the backstage, Tina giggles to herself. XD Go Go Kitty! The Plan goes smoothly so far.. <3

Orihime Inoue chuckles, remaining quiet while Hanataro introduces himself. Oh good, he saved her the trouble! She snickers, and nods to Kitty. "Starting bid is $30!"
Emok considers bidding on this poor sap for a long moment. Then she decides she has better things to spend her money on, like travel back to Pyrite.

Junior seems ot be pretty mellow for a wealthy heir. He's not sneering or anything. He seems to be having a blast just being here though. Pretty relaxed. But why did Giagnun, who is perhaps his world's Most Eligible Bachelor not show up himself? Maybe because most of the people who have voalnettered are a little younger? And why not send Junior out to put a good face on. He's going to be running the company .. nation.. whatever.. some day.

Dizzy shakes her head and warily returns to her seat, glancing over her shoulder at Kururu as she goes. Well, at least that furious round of bidding is complete. And now.... "Ah, Mister Yamada is up." Involuntarily, she twitches slightly, recalling yesterday's incident, and his inadvertent invasion of her personal space. Aheh.

    Aile immediately stands up, and digs through her wallet. "Thirty five dollars!" now why, all of a sudden, did she decide to bid?
:Thomas perks, seeing Hanataro onstage. NO, HE IS NOT BIDDING ON HIM. Keep your fantasies to yourself.

Emok says, "Ha, at last..."

Sabrina Spellman has connected.

Toushirou Hitsugaya is secretly relieved by this loss, but by now he's aware that Ichimaru is playing with him. There's no chance that he's going to let Ichimaru win. EVER. But when Hana goes on the block, he glances up at the other white-haired captain, managing to scowl instead of give Ichimaru a nice 'Oh god, don't do this to me!' Ichimaru doesn't appear to want to bid, so he takes it easy this time.

HEY! "Fourty!" Kitty retorts, shooting a quick glance at Aile. o_- No ruining the evil plan! I mean..

"Well," Shinji stammers, "He did talk about experiments, but that m-might just be a j-joke..." The Third Child pauses to look blankly for support.

Rei is looking at Kaji. Kensuke is still victory dancing. Kaji is being mildly creepy. Asuka has left, presumably do to something terrible or because she already got what she wanted. "You think someone would want to buy out NERV, Kaji?" Shinji asks, because he knows Rei won't and she probably wants to know.

He then turns back to his "date". "Its a decent guess, but I can't be s-sure." Shinji pauses. "Your friend should be okay, though, its not like he /bought/ her. Just...gets to have a date with her, you know?"

"Not quite." Kaji says, staring at the... bizarrness on stage. "As you know, only an AT Field can destroy an Angel. And as you also know, only an Eva can use an AT Field."

    AIle digs a bit more through her wallet. Well, she wasn't sure if she wanted to continue at this, but now she was feeling competetive, since she'd actually bid. "Ummm..." Flip, flip, flip.... "Err..." She looked at Kitty, then shrugged with a blush and a smile. "You win."

Kitty Pryde grins at Aile, lifting a hand and tipping a cheerful salute. Yay, win!

Emok says, "Wow, you are poor, ain'cha."

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Kate Pryde, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Hanataro descends from the stage. "Next up is Miss Dizzy!"

    Serpentina briefly pokes her head from behind stage and pumps her fist into the air, "GO KITTY WOOT!" >O< Before zipping back out of view.

Aile shakes her head. "No, I just ummm, I..." Aile trailed off, trying to find the right words. Then, she got them and all was well. She started to blush though. "It's not a good idea to compete with a wink."

With a shy smile, just a bit strained, Dizzy emerges from backstage through the center opening in the curtain. Her hair is arranged in an elaborate braid that curls around and over her shoulder, tied together by both of her ribbons arranged into a rather pretty bow. Her wings flutter about her shoulders in a way that is meant to accentuate her looks. Well, Undine does, anyway. Necro is fluttering more in irritation, but hey, it works.
 
Her dress is a shimmering dark green number, short-sleeved and low-cut up top to reveal just a bit of cleavage. It tapers down to her waist, and then billows out into loose folds around her legs. The hem, which is trimmed with green lace, is cut a bit asymmetrically; it is lower on the left side, down to the middle of her calf, and then rises as it goes to the right, to just above the knee. And because it is a little bit tighter, there is a hole cut in the back for her tail, instead of just leaving it beneath the skirt, as she does with her normal dress. As one may imagine, it is a piece of Hokuto Sumeragi's work. The shoes are a matching green pair of heels, with a curious design set into the surface on the toe, but otherwise rather simple and fetching.
 
Dizzy makes it to the center of the stage, hands clasped demurely over her stomach, in an attempt to keep them from continuing to fidget with her dress as she stands there, waiting for the bids. The nervousness is still very visible on her face, as is a touch of redness to her cheeks.

Kitty Pryde echoes Tina's cheer, "Woo!!" And with her free hand, she pulls out a cell phone, pressing a button. ".. Illyana? Mission accomplished. You can surrender Lockheed at any time." u.u Honestly, holding her dragon hostage..!

"Forty? That's... four thousand yen," Hanataro nods sagely, remembering his exchange rates from the bake sale. "Anou... that /is/ a lot of money," he thinks aloud, tapping the mitten to his mouth again. So cute! Bid more!

Or not. "Sold? To... Kate... Kitty!" Hana beams a happy smile for the X-Girl, he got sold to someone he knows! Oops, his turn's done, time to head back off-stage and hide a bit.

Orihime Inoue looks down at her papers. "Miss Dizzy originates from a place called Gear-Earth. She loves baking and helping others, and her favorite foods are cookies and cakes. Her goal is to be a wonderful housewife!" ...Is that right? Orihime squints. Oh well! "Dizzy has a very pretty tail, enjoys flying, and her two wings each have names. And speaking personally, she's one of the nicest girls I ever got to meet!" she beams. "The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid is $20!"

Runrunrun. Envy almost literally flies out of the bathroom at the sound of the gavel, racing back to his seat in time for the next bid. "Fifty dollars!"
"Sixty on the cutie with the tail!" calls a voice from the back. Dante gives a little smirk from the back as he raises a hand from where his arms are crossed, tipping a little salute to the stage. Looks like he's aiming for the jackpot...

"A what?" Emok asks, puzzled. She sees Dizzy. "-oh, man, who wants to bid on that freak of nature? I mean, what, are those things real? Is this the kind of people around here? I stepped into the land of the birdpeople?"

She looks at Aile again, attempting to find some sort of answer to her questions. "You're such a pity case I'D give you money, but I don't think my PKD's worth much, heh."

Yuki pauses, trying to process what he tells her next. "... a... date?" Clearly, there's some confusion there.

Orihime Inoue looks down at the crowd, a small frown on her lips. She crooks her finger at Envy, beckoning him to the stage.
There is a visible wince as the word 'Housewife' is spoken. Dizzy's just getting introduced to the concept of dating, really, let alone...marriage.
 
She does perk up at Dante's bid...and then blushes as she sees who it is that made the bid. She gives him a shy wave.
You paged Emok with 'Say, mind if Kururu plays a prank on you?'

"Seventy!" Gin calls, now that theres' a girl on the stage. And look, she wants to be a housewife! Shiro needs something like that, especially if Gin plans on taking off with Matsumoto one day. Who would do all the paperwork??

"Some people just have -no- taste for art," Dante remarks idly, letting the comment drift a bit as he nods back at Dizzy's wave.

The game's afoot.... Or is it? Envy walks over to the stage, crooking a curious eyebrow - but not before upping the ante. "Eighty!"

"Ninety!" Dante calls back, almost idly. He's just getting warmed up.... devil hunting is -not- a cheap business, after all. *coughplundercough*

Orihime Inoue leans down and whispers into Envy's ear, then snaps upright again to watch the bids fly.

    "Hey you, that's not very nice. I think the wings are cool!" Aile shot in Emok's direction, crossing her arms.

Oh that just won't do. These people are faster than him! "One hundred!" Grin.

Matthew Conway, meanwhile, walks out to get a drink - and a look at the crowd he'll be auctioned at. Sev continues taking notes as the large black angel heads over for the drinks stand, giving Sheila a friendly nod.

"Eighty!" Hitsugaya yells out, since it's not likely he could be seen over the crowd. He's met Dizzy, she's a nice girl, so he has no real problems with hanging out with her for a day.

Shinji Ikari blinks at Kaji, pausing to let him finish his sentence. Paragraph. You know what I mean.

He then looks at Yuki, and nods. "Y-yeah, a date. You go out for an evening, to a restraunt or a movie or s-something, hang out with a p-person...um..." Shinji blinks, and hangs his head. "I'm not r-really the best person to, um, explain things like this. S-sorry."

Envy listens, his eyes tilting back to Emok before nodding, whispering back, and then adding his next bid. "One hundred."

"One-hundred ten!" Dante retorts, pushing himself up from the wall and letting his arms fall to the sides.

Junior's already bid enough for the moment, he'll just sit back and let other folks bid. "One of the things about auctions..." he notes to Shelly, "Especially charity auctions. Is that you need to be able to shake them up a little." He grins. "See how much more lively things are now?"

Dizzy continues to fidget a little on stage, nervously listening to the bids come in left and right. "Oh, well..." Now she's looking a little flustered. And flattered.

Gin Ichimaru says, "One hundred twenty!""

Ryoji Kaji continues. "Well, some people in the U.N. /don't/ realise that despite what the Commander tells them."

Toushirou Hitsugaya nearly growls, "One hundred thirty!"

Envy winks at Dizzy. Not playful or appreciative wink, but a 'Trust Me' wink. "One hundred fifty."

Okay. We've got some players in the house! Time to up the ante. "Two-hundred!" Dante says firmly

Gin Ichimaru says, "Hou... you seem t' be gettin into it now..." He grins. "Two hundred fifty!""

Thomas just stares. In amazement.

Dizzy merely blinks black at Envy uncomprehendingly. Then goes back to her slightly strained smile.

All in? Not yet. Envy needs reserves in case the mystery date turns out to be someone worth bidding on. "Three hundred fifty."

Asuka Langley looks up at Dizzy, and shakes her head sadly. "The fetish market is a sad thing..."

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To ah...Mr. Smith, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Dizzy descends from the stage. She's glad! A girl's self-worth can increase a lot if people treat her like she's worth more. "Next up is Miss Serpentina!"

Thomas' jaw drops. What? Did he hear right???

    Kururu glances at Emok. "Tch, what an annoying Pekoponian." First she treats him rudely, then she's rude to Dizzy! And while Kururu is normally all for rudeness, it's only when HE'S being the rude one. In this particular case, he decides to teach Emok a lesson. (And he's totally not testing out one of his latest inventions, either. Seriously.)

    Kururu hops back onto his hovering platform and flys over by Emok. "Oy! You said something about being in the land of the birdpeople?" Before Emok would get a chance to respond, Kururu has taken out a small, cheap looking gun. It looks more like a squirt-gun, or a toy accessory than anything else. Kururu pulls the trigger, blasting her with a beam of light.

    The gun does no damage, and is not a weapon, per say. It DOES, however, cause Emok to sprout a nice pair of wings out of her back.

    Kururu flips the gun over and checks a gauge on it. "Tch, only enough energy for it to last a few hours. I need to work on its power conservation it seems." Oh well. Thanks for being a guinea pig, Emok!

Gin Ichimaru just whistles at that last bid. "That's no good." Oh well though.

Asuka Langley looks at Mr. Smith. "I knew he was a perv."

Dante Spardason was -just- opening his mouth as the gavel game down.... and grubs faintly, giving a little shrug and an 'ah, well' look to Dizzy. o 0 (Catch you later, cutie.)

The idea of Ichimaru having one moment with the nice girl with the wings and a tail makes Hitsugaya go KILL KILL eyes at Ichimaru.

    As her name is announced, Tina jolts into motion! The blonde startles a moment, "I'm up! I'm up!" Scrambling as she hastily evades and dodges through a few rows of people backstage before she swiftly scales the stairs and waves to the audience with both arms. "Hiiiiiiii! Hiiiiiiiiii!"

    Once she approaches the podium she turns to the audence, settling her hands upon her hips and swiveling to and fro to let the adoring peoples get a good look at her! The emerald dress compliments her dazzling grin well. A sleeveless affair to show off her intricate serpentine tattoos along her slender pale arms. The emerald halter-top glistens with her movements as her short skirt hugs her hips.

    "Is everybody having a GOOD TIME?" Tina laughs as she continues to wave her hand, encouraging the crowd to get just a little louder. XD "I sure am! C'mon, Its for a great cause! I won't bite!"

    ... She taps her lip as her jade eyes slide askanse, "..hard." ~.~

    She takes a few more steps to the audience, "I like shopping! Boys! Mutants! Aaaaaaaaand I would -die- for chocolate mousse. I know ALL the coolest spots to hit in New York AND above all, I love having fun!" As she then stands at the edge of the stage and waves the crowd on, "I'll show you a great time! Lets hear them bids!" >o<

    .... "Did I mention I have superpowers?" Tina adds all secretive like as she wiggles her eyebrows and clasps her hands together at her shoulder.
Gin Ichimaru would have to turn her down anyway, lest he endure Matsumoto's jealousy.

Well, not the highest bid of the night, but it's a pretty good one. At least the money's going to a good cause. She walks off the stage to sit down near the winner. "Um, hello Mister Smith," she offers a bit hesitantly. She does not recognize Envy's current form, after all.
 
At the sight of all the wiggling and jiggling, Rei blinks once.

She then looks at Asuka, as if expecting her to do something.

Envy fistpumps. Score one for Team Homunculi! The blonde flashes Dizzy a thumbs-up and, for a moment, his hazel eyes disappear in a flash of alchemy to take a violet color, then flash back again. Guess who!

Now to take care of business. He disappears once again into the bathroom - sometimes it just comes in waves, you see - and a moment later a big black security guard steps out. He looks a lot like Matthew, actually, only dressed in blues and with those sunglasses with the reflection on the insides. Mr. Officer walks over to Emok and looks down sternly at the Poketrainer, "Miss, we would appreciate it if you kept your unkind words to yourself. Otherwise, you're free to find someplace else to amuse yourself at."

Yuki's gaze doesn't waver. Well, there goes her plan to make more humans. At the very least, though, it puts her mind to ease regarding Haruhi's ultimate faet. "I see," she replies. Shinji's apologies go largely ignored as a largely preoccupied look comes over her face. "Thank you." With that, Yuki starts walking off, mulling things over. And she just bought the right to have one date each with two people. She should start planning.

The sight of the girl on stage makes Hitsugaya frightened. DON'T BID ON HER ICHIMARU, FOR THE SAKE OF WHATEVER YOU LOVE IN THIS WORLD.

Kitty Pryde lifts a hand and -SMACKS- it against her forehead. "............"

Mary and Shelly both look at Junior at the same time and just smirk.

Junior shrugs a little.

Orihime Inoue beams, grateful for Serpentina's self-introduction. "There you have it! Let's start the bidding at $20!"

Ryoji Kaji drums his fingers on the table, considering. "...eh, powers?" He shakes his head a little. "No thanks, I have enough trouble with normal women."

    "Serpentina?" Simon mutters, glancing sidelong at the Malakite hovering by the punchbowl. "Do I want to know?"
    The observant might notice that Dinah is "hiding" behind Dizzy's little crowd, with her face buried in her hands.

One might argue that Gin was digging his grave, if he weren't already dead. That look freezes ice, literally. So it's a good thing that he just doesn't care. The smile on Gin's face widens at the next entry, and he raises a hand while glancing sideways at the whitehaired midget next to him. "$100!"

Eh? Did she see that right? Dizzy frowns a little bit. That eye color seemed familiar. "I...you're not who you appear to be, are you?" she whispers to Envy quietly. But then he stands up and goes off to take care of some other things. She shakes her head and settles back into her seat in order to watch the remainder of the auction, unmindful of the current attention now focused on her.

Emok turns to Aile. "Well, I-"

Then Kururu turns around to her. And points a gun at her. She cranes her head back around reeeeal slooowl-

Too late. And now Emok has wings. She feels them on her back- you would, it's like immediately gaining two extra limbs. The wings are lined with smelly, dappled brown feathers, and the sudden connection causes them to twitch and flap spasmodically, knocking her out of her chair.

Emok glances desperately around at her back, and at the snickering toad. She looks around fearfully, and jumps out of her chair. "Forget this! I'm getting out of here, I wanna go home!"

She shoves out of the audience and flees for the entrance, her wings twitching and trailing feathers as she runs.

Sabrina stares at her fellow member of the terrible trio.. quarto.. and stares, as she stands next to the Castle Master. Then.. one hand rises slowly to her face. "..."

Face X Palm, OTP.

Matt grabs a drink. "No idea. Never heard of her. Hey, Sheila, you heard of her?" Hummed: "<Do we need to take a look? Could be a Lustite.>"

Kitty Pryde , had half raised her hand - a pity bid is better than no bid at all, right? But then Gin bids, and she lets out a soft sigh. Now she doesn't have to! Thanks Gin!

A pleasure!

Shinji Ikari scratches his head at Yuki, shrugging a little. He should've known that the only person who would bid on him would be confused about what the auction was about. Probably thought they were selling housekeepers and woah. Shinji coughs, discreetly, at the um, yeah. The yeah on stage.

Kensuke clicks off his camera, and adjusts his glasses in That Way.

"I s-see." Shinji finally says to Kaji, "Well, in all fairness, the rest of the b-black sheep held their own against the last Angel." The Third Child pauses. "Maybe its a cross plane thing...though, y'know, if the Commander was less of a..." Shinji is saved from getting backhanded by Rei via Emok's exit. Ikari the Younger frowns a little at the poor girl's humiliation.

Toushirou Hitsugaya freezes. He can't raise his hand nor speak. He doesn't want to do it. No...not this freak. But, it's Gin...and Gin is EVIL. MUST...CAN'T....MUST...."O..oone hundred....one."

"Thank you for your assistance, sir." Officer Envy politely tries to point Kururu's gun in a direction away from a live body, "But could you please put the gun away before you scare our bidders? I'm sure they don't want their prospective dates seeing them with extra limbs."

    Kururu just giggles at how flustered Emok acts. "Kuuu kuu kuuuuu..." Well, that's enough entertainment for Kururu for the evening. He'll probably behave for the rest of the night. Probably.

    Kururu 'parks' his hovering platform around the middle of the crowd, and relaxes. It should be nearing the end now, anyway.

    Sheila frowns. <I have no idea who she is,> is her response to Matt, concealed within a tune that sounds kind of like 'Dixie'. <Could be coincidence.>

Gin Ichimaru just crosses his arms and tilts his head to the side. "Hmm.... One hundred... ten!" Yes, he's enjoying this. But hey, it's the 10th captain's fault for being so easy to provoke!

Both crises averted, Officer Envy returns to the bathroom, and a moment later, Hoju exits, adjusting his already loose collar. It's good to be the shapeshifter. Now where did Dizzy go...

Toushirou Hitsugaya glances at the assorted folk with what is definately panic. Won't ANYONE bid on this girl? PLEASE? SAVE ME! "One hundred...eleven."

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Captain Hitsugaya, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Serpentina descends from the stage. They'll make such a cute couple! "Next up is a very special bid: Matthew Conway and Simon Parker, auctioned off as a pair! Come on up!"

Dizzy remains in the same seat as before, idly chewing on the tip of her tail.

    Tina trills happily as she gets a pretty sizable bid! Clapping her hands as she hops in place, besides herself with glee! Until.. OH HEY! That adorable kid bid on her! Awwwwwwwwwwwww! The wonder blonde waves towards Shiro and mouths 'Hiiiiiii cutiiiie!' MUAH!
    <3

"They did, I saw the reports. But it was still Unit One that destroyed it /and/ it took the Eva's to neutralize the enemy's AT Field first." Kaji counters. "We are the only ones that can stop them. The Commander is, after all, just looking out for the world, right?" Kaji takes a pull from his glass and is slightly dismayed to learn that it is not a rum and coke but merely coke. "Sometimes they don't realise how they need to be saved and alternate measures need to be taken."

Kitty Pryde would help you Shiro, but she's ..giggling far too hard. And when Orihime claps down that gavel, Kitty has to double over to keep from laughing. OH GOD.

Before he returns to his seat, Envy passes the whole stick of Mentos to Shiro. "I think you'll be needing these more than I do."

Gin Ichimaru claps a hand down on Toushirou's shoulder in congratulations, and his grin practically eating his face. Oh the hilarity. "Way t'go! You need t' get out more, enjoy life! Oh right. You're too busy with that paperwork, aren't ya?" He waves to Envy again.

Matthew Conway nods to Sheila. "See you later - we're on. Charity, y'know?" And mauling Pat later. The angel-in-disguise hurries up to the stage, downing his drink quickly and tossing it into a gargage can. He's wearing a nice green short-sleeve shirt and a pair of brown slacks. He actually /does/ have off-duty clothes, and fairly nice ones, at that. He's a very large black man with short hair, for the record.

Envy drops Box Bid #4 - Alphonse Elric.

Toushirou Hitsugaya stares down at his shoes. His shoes are wonderful. They've got shoelaces. No, he's not facing Serpentina, Ichimaru or the bid collectors. What have I done?

    Forgive him, Dinah, you know what he must do.

    Simon smiles cheerily at the bidders before scurrying backstage. He takes a few seconds to put on his best Cheery Face, waits for Psycho to show up and make himself presentable, and struts out onto the stage after him. He's wearing a black suit with a red shirt and tie, and grinning.

    Dinah looks at her boyfriend and fellow Judge. She seems to have acquired a nervous facial tic.

Shinji Ikari rubs his cheek, for some reason, looking bitter. "Yeah. He's a real hero. I'm gonna go get something to eat, excuse me."

Momentarily after Gin speaks, Hitsugaya collects his wits, and wittily remarks to Ichimaru, "It's for charity."

God knows that Serpentina wouldn't get bid on otherwise.

Burn.

The Godwin Sisters look at one another for a moment, trying to decide if they want to bid. They converse the possibility over Godwin Net for a little while, trying to decide wether they want to splurge. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

Orihime Inoue looks down at her papers. "Matthew Conway is from Washington D.C. He enjoys police work, detective stories, martial arts, and markmanship. He has a statuette collection, and his favorite food is steak! Mr. Conway's dream is a world where there is no evil, and the innocent can walk safely." She smiles, then looks over at the big man. Awwwww! "He claims that he's not really too good at this 'date' thing, so please be gentle! And if you bid on him, you also get Simon Parker, from Cleveland! He likes law, opera, politics, and detective fiction. His favorite food is Mahi-mahi...good stuff. His goal is to win the respect and trust of the whole multiverse. He's already got someone he loves, but he's willing to give a date a go and thinks a change of pace would be nice. The bidding begins...NOW! Starting bid is $40!" Since there's two of them.

Rei shifts herself a bit, reaching into one of the sleeves of her dress and withdrawing a white envelope that looks like it might have come from a bank. She then opens it and starts counting the colored notes in it.

Sometime, when nobody was looking, a fourth box joined the other three on the table. It has the same marking as all the others, and also a picture of a suit of armor waving to the camera. Envy found the spare boxes in the men's room and the temptation was too great. He's been picking on Ed for so long, its time he made sure little Al wasn't neglected!

Matthew Conway . o O (Love, huh? Hm...note to self. Talk to Flowers about Redemption techniques.)

"Fifty dollars," Rei calls out, having counted her money. Is it from merch sales?

"Negative Twenty Dollars!" Asuka comments, before looking askance at Rei. "...You serious?"

Kururu mysteriously giggles when Rei makes her bid.

"Yes," Rei says.

Did light glimmer in one eye for a moment?

Gin nods, knowingly. "Sou, sou. That's what I said earlier!" He watches the bids go on for the next group. Noo, he's not about to bid on Matt. But had Hitsugaya not won that last one, he might have!

Asuka Langley sighs, "Just don't leave a murder trail."

Shinji Ikari looks concerned.

Kensuke, meanwhile, looks a little afraid. "Its always the quiet ones..."

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Rei Ayanami, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as Matt and Simon descend from the stage. They'll make such a cute couple! "Next up is another very special bid: the Ouran Host Club! Not just one, not just two, but all seven members!"

Yuki's eyes glint in return. Our day of conquest is nigh approaching.

Teh Godwin Sisters look at each other. And grin. Widely.

Junior says NOTHING.

Envy pops himself a Mentos.

Gin Ichimaru 's eyebrows go up again. "A whole club? Ambitious."

There is the sound of symphony playing some strangely beautiful yet dark melody as a group wanders on stage. Among them is a man with pointed ears and tall top hat, wandering in with a almost larger than life walk. Each step almost seems to stop time as the wind blows the heavy fabric around ever so slightly. The cloak around him flares open for a moment, revealing the techno colored silk within and his black tuxedo with a red flame up the sleeve. It's no man at all, it's Tamaki, president of the Host Club, dressed as the Count of Monte Cristo. He stares forward with a devilish grin on his face, winking at any ladies who happen to meet eyes with him. Even with a look of such evil, it is one of beautiful all consuming evil.

 To his left walks Mori, dressed in a green suit with red trails thrown onto it, and Hunny, dressed in a blue suit with grandious golden designs suit complimented by red Sash. Hunny looks around the stage and spreads his arms out as he runs briskly forward, pulling the ever silent Mori along with him. He is followed by another group of similarly styled outfits.

However there is on other following them not on the ballot. It is the only female in this group, quickly running to meet up with the group and receiving several strange stares from all but Tamaki, who is just being charming. Renge joins the party, dressed in a oddly colored teal wig and a white dress that sparkles and defy's gravity. She hangs off Tamaki's arm which makes him a tad nervious due to previous history with this crazy woman.

 Standing at Tamaki's left is Kyouya. The dark haired boy is clothed all in white while the light reflects off his glasses, effectively hiding his eyes. His coat is a white double breasted affair with odd geometric patterns running along both the jacket and the pants. Beneath the coat is a powder pink dress shirt tied off with an incandescent blue cravat. He's got one arm crossed over his chest while the other is holding up the nosepiece on his glasses. There is a cunning smirk as he poses, standing slightly sideways with his back towards the black cloaked Tamaki.

 To Tamaki's right with a slightly confused but still brilliant smile on her face is Haruhi Fujioka, the host club's 'natural'. Her white gloved hands are held loosely at her side as she wonders how the host club must look to everyone else. Out of all the host club members, she is probably the most 'normally' dressed. A checkered black and brown frock coat covers a brilliant gold vest which is on top of a simple wing tipped tuxedo shirt with a smart little black bow tie and a pair of fancy white tuxedo pants and shoes finish everything off.
 
 Part of her eyebrow twitches as she resists the urge to tug at her collar. All things considered, since she -just- found out that she was doing this auction about 15 minutes prior to arrival, she is looking rather calm. Of course, she was promised that half of whatever is bid on the Host Club will be taken off her debt so bid! Bid BIG!

 Of course, what's Haruhi without her TWO BEST FRIENDS? (Hint: Not Takumi). Standing behind her with one arm each around her shoulders lean the mischievous twins. Dressed in identical tuxedos with a slightly different color scheme, They're both wearing grey pinstriped slacks with a matching vest but the pants have cloud swirls on them. While Hikaru's clouds are grey and white, Kaoru's are just dark grey. A black dress shirt and a dark blue bowtie sits under the vests for the twins but Hikaru's outer jacket is half burgundy and half brown with odd geometric patterns and Kaoru's is a forest green with feather patterns.

Matthew Conway looks over at Rei. And then at Orihime. That was fast. Then at Simon, with a shrug. "Great. Thanks for bidding - it's all going to charity, after all." He then walks offstage.

    Kururu blinks. Seven at once? Isn't that against the rules? Interestnig... He's still not biddnig, but it's still interesting....

    Simon blinks. He keeps up the fake happy grin as he conducts a swift retreat.

    Sheila starts laughing, and turns to Rei. "Enjoy," she says, to the blue-haired girl.

Dizzy smiles a little nervously at Envy as he returns, still apparently not having puzzled out his identity quite yet. Then she looks up as seven, that's right, seven people come up on stage at once at Orihime's prompting. "An entire school club is being auctioned off?" she says with a touch of wonder to her voice. "I wonder how this is going to work, exactly?"

 They grin and wink slyly at each other over Haruhi's head before glancing sideways at Tamaki. Hmmm.... How to make things interesting?
 
 The group stops as the music changes to a beautiful piano piece. The "count"/Tamaki steps forward, smiling at all of the people in the audience. Renge stands beside him, much to Tamaki's unnoticeable displeasure. He wished it was Haruhi beside him. T_T "Madame, Monsieur. Bonsoir," he says with fluent French as he takes a bow and holds out a single red rose with his free hand. "We are the Ouran High School Host Club." Suddenly, the entire group on stage is framed in a curtain of blooming roses while the lights shine in such a way that the entire club seems to just sparkle. The lights and the roses fade after a short while and the members of Ouran's Audio Visual crew collapse from the difficulty of projecting the CGed roses.

Rei's lip quirks. It's just for a moment and it might've been a tic.

She does not comment further, or make any noise at all, really. However, the presence of an entire club on the stage seems to distract her.

Hmm. He didn't have time to be too obvious, as he had duties to perform. So Envy leans over to whisper into Dizzy's ear before answering her question. "Bulk sales, I guess."

Never one to not fulfill his duties, Shiro pulls out his wallet from his back pocket. Not in immediate sight of Ichimaru of course! There's a serious problem here. Just enough yen to cover the bid. OH HECK. If Gin bids again, he'll be lost. Not that he isn't already lost. He's got a date with Tina, he's deader than dead at this point. The little captain cooly puts his wallet back and scowls at Gin. Not saying anything. Just glaring.

"I think..." Shinji says, crossing his arms, "Two might be enough for one n-night, Ayanami." He has apperently forgotten his Gendo RAGE for the time being.

Ryoji Kaji leans over to Misato. "Team bid? I get the woman, you get the men?"

Misato puts a finger to her lips, considering this a moment.

Dizzy blinks and twitches, sitting upright, then looks over at the fellow who won her tonight. "...oh," is all she says, but then she smiles and appears to relax. "I see. Um...thank you." And with that, she settles back into her chair, looking less nervous that before.

"That Haruhi guy is kind of cute." Asuka thinks, "But what are they thinking selling a toddler?" She looks at Tamaki and frowns, "...Pimp..." and then she looks to the twins, "...Incest is too far, right Shinji?" She considers. Either Mori or Haruhi. She decides to go for the cute one. The guy with the glasses looks like a nerd and Mori is probably boooring. "Twenty Five on the cute guy! The rest of you need to train harder!"

Mai Tokiha blinks a few times. Erm. Uh. Well she's here, so why not? It could be fun. She lifts a hand tentatively, "Uh.." A pause to check her wallet, "Fourty dollars!" What would she do with so many people though? Well.. let's see.. that blonde was right up Natsuki's alley!

Had Gin just now walked in, he might think he was back at the fashion show. But then, there's no Byakuya, Renji, or Rukia to tease here today. So he knows better. And he may not /see/ Hitsugaya pull out and check his wallet, but he's fairly certain of it by the look he's getting. His hand shifts from having his arms crossed as he seems to contemplate bidding again. Is he?

Somewhere in the connection between the Godwin Sisters, a consensus is reached. Seven for the price of one. And they're semi-profesional hosts as well, which makes it even better. They do a little bit of figuring and announce their bid. "One hundred fifty!" Which one? All of them of course. They ARE a package deal.

    Just outside the hall, a normal-looking Japanese schoolboy /grins/. It's far too wide to be natural. And as he sees the two Celestials slinking off the stage, he hurries off to a safe distance. And then he laughs. And laughs. And laughs.

Orihime Inoue chuckles. She's really glad that Tamaki agreed to this, it was so generous of them all! "The Ouran Host Club is a high school organization that specializes in providing romantic and fun entertainment for young ladies. Mr. Tamaki Suoh is the founder!" And since reading all of their information would be much too wordy, the stats are instead flashed onto a screen that slowly descends from overhead. (See: http://www.rpgclassics.com/~rendezvous/Bleach/RS.shtml#Ouran) She announces them one by one, pauses as a bid is made followed by another, and laughs. "Okay, starting bid is $150!"
 
 Asuka's shout causes Haruhi to blush and look around. Which one is the cute one? Probably Hunny.

"Kaji! I'll help too, as long as I get the one I want, okay?" Asuka smiles, willing to help her Kaji if he's SO DESPERATE.

" ....one-hundred seventy-five." comes a voice from... the back? Dante doesn't look at -all- the type. Dangerous, yes. Intriguing, yes. Host material, -possibly-..... but leathers and chrome are a definite step apart from elegant silks and high-culture brands. What -could- he be thinking?

ACK. A hundred and fifty? T_T Let's see. Bills, food, karaoke night...Um.. "...Two hundred!" She skirts a worried glance towards the Godwins. Rich blood. She's not winning this one. Two hundrd is as high as she can go. She's a po' girl.

Toushirou Hitsugaya is a captain so he's paid fairly well! He just didn't bring that much money with him today. He wonders if Orihime takes IOU's.

The Godwins strike back, "Two fifty!"

"Three hundred in Mai's name!" That would be Natsuki. Hi, Mai!

Tamaki grins at all of the bidding. "Fight hard ladies. I will be sure to make it up to you for your donation." Suggestive sparkle!

Shinji Ikari looks up at 'the cute one' as Asuka points wildly.

Off screen, a light bulb suddenly turns on.

As for Shinji Ikari, he smiles a little. "Good luck with that, Asuka." He then looks at Misato and Kaji. "Great role modling there, guys, really..."
"...three hundred already?" Kaji says.

"...that's... that's a whole car payment!" Misato says, dismayed.

The two exchange defeated glances. "Bilk the old man for raises tomorrow?" "Oh, definately."

Asuka Langley siighs, "Wow... that's too much." A lightbulb doesn't go off for her because she's used to guys acting girly around her, Shinji.

" ..three-hundred already? Hunh." Dante pulls a silver coin from the air, flipping it up with a *ping* and catching it, peering down. " ....tch. Not this time. Ah well."

The bid shouted from Natsuki has Mai blinking in surprise. Wow! She's not going to kill her after all!

 The twins continue to grin with their identical smirks as they both lean over onto Haruhi and Kaoru licks Haruhi's cheek while Hikaru reaches up to ruffle the girl's hair, winking suggestively out at the crowd. Beat that Tamaki!

Hunny eyes the audience. "Hey everyone! I baked cake for the winner!" He trips over Renge and the cake falls down to the floor. He stares at it with watery eyes. Renge however gives some fanservice to the guys. BID MORE.

Tamaki glares at the Twins and walks over to Haruhi, dipping her without warning and running a hand down up her thigh suggestively with the rose in his mouth.

The Godwins, however, mourn.

"I shouldn't have gone drinking last night..." Mary moans.

"You drank HOW much?" Shelly wonders.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Mai Tokiha, congratulations!" She puts the gavel down and applauds, smiling as the Ouran Host Club descends from the stage. Not bad! "Okay, to wrap things up, we have..." she flourishes an envelope. "A mystery date, submitted by Hokuto Sumeragi! Let's see who it--oops!" She fumbles for the envelope as it slips from her fingers, and she stoops to pick it up. What's with the delay? You'll see.

There we go. Envy smiles cheerfully for Dizzy, "It's for a good cause. A real good cause if I can keep you away from Leatherhead back there. Besides, I owe you a tea date, so we'll now make it a tea date and a formal da- ..." What. The. Hell. "Is he allowed to do that on stage?"

Mai Tokiha claps! Yay, she won! Okay technically NATSUKI won, but still! She won! Yay! She'll give Natsuki the lion's share of the club for the date.

Dizzy blushes brightly at Tamaki's abrupt actions. "Oh...my," she says, quietly, staring at the two of them. "I don't...well, Miss Sumeragi did say that we should try to pose to show ourselves off, but...um."

It was Hokuto's fault? "I... see...", Envy's voice trails.
 
 Haruhi gets dipped and then stares at Tamaki, "... ..." She then turns completely ice cold. "Tamaki-sempai...." If glares could kill. But it's time to go off the stage. She looks at Mori for help and he promptly comes along and plucks the girl out of Tamaki's arms and tosses her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before wandering off stage.

Asuka says, "Hold on! Before we move to the mystery date...." She dashes down the aisle and up to the stage in a completely obnoxious, but loving, manner. She is holding a great deal of paperwork and she storms right on over to Orihime, practically throwing them in her hands.

"I decided to sign up after all!" She laughs like a pirate.

She looks back to the crowd and blows a kiss, "Bid for me, and you'll not only get me for the day, but you'll get the Unit 02 since My Unit 02 and I are one!" She clasps her hands together. She probably can't actually offer the Unit 02, but that doesn't mean she isn't going to SAY she can offer the Unit 02 as well. Heh heh heh... Her eyes drift towards Shinji.

Tamaki gasps and just stares. Great he did it too far. He walks off and just goes to wherever.

Shinji Ikari blinks. He would do something else but he's speaking to his Father and is therefore-what the.

Why is she looking at me like that? "W-what did /I/ do?"

Orihime Inoue stands up and blinks. And blinks. And blinks again! Wow. Most people had to have other folks sign them up, and did so pretty reluctantly. Asuka's the most enthusiastic volunteer so far! "Ah...? Well okay, then!" she beams, and looks down at the papers. What language is this? Hrmmmm... "Presenting Miss Asuka Langley, who so generously offered herself as a super surprise! She's a great mecha pilot, and contributed in the rescue of Xing from Kaiser Kikai! She's a real spitfire, so let's see those bids! We're starting off at $20!"

Envy chinrubs. Kick his shin, will you? "Fifty."

Gin Ichimaru wasn't fast enough to embarass Hitsugaya again on the last auction, so he tries again now. "Sixty!"

"Seventy dollars on the plucky redhead!" Dante calls from the back, raising his head. She's a little young, but -- she certainly seems to have piqued his interest.
Asuka Langley had to join in, Rei and Shinji did! That makes it a CONTEST.

She cracks her knuckles and does her best to look demure. She's pretty good at this, even if it is a trap. She looks mildly horrified as Envy bids for her.

Yuki stares at Asuka in contemplation, thinking for a moment about the angry glances that the redhead threw her.

"Seventy dollars and three cents."

Ryoji Kaji rubs his temples. That just created a mountain of paperwork for him. He looks to Shinji. "I think you'd better bid."

The grin on Envy's face just grows. "One hundred."

Shinji Ikari looks over at the known Syndicate agents, and the horrified look on Asuka's face.

"I..." Shinji hands his head. "You think so, Kaji? Um..." Shinji blinks. Kensuke elbows him in the gut, and nods. "Um...a hundred twenty?"

Yuki says, "..."

Must Ichimaru pick out every annoying girl? No way. Besides, there are other kinder people out there to help Hitsugaya out.

Dizzy simply watches, glancing over at Envy curiously as he throws his hat into the ring, and listening as the number rises steadily.

    Hmmm.... Kururu reaches into the trash bin of his hovering platform, and pulls out...

    "One candy bar wrapper! Kuuuuuu ku ku kuuuuu!"

Oh, what's this, what's this? -Someone- apparently sees more than meets the eye here. "One-thirty!" Dante calls, curious as to just how high they could take this.
Asuka Langley smiles sweetly at Shinji. It is the kind of sweet smile you see on someone who put arsenic in your drink--then he bids and she acts more casual.

Yuki is silent for a moment. "One hundred and thirty dollars and two cents."

Gin Ichimaru just picks out the girls! Would you rather he pick the boys? He's at least /that/ considerate.

No Envy aqui! 'Mr. Smith' keeps on going, however. "One hundred fifty."

Ryoji Kaji pulls out his checkbook with a pang of regret. He places it down on the table and starts to scribble on it. He takes one glance around the room. With a baleful look, he passes it to Shinji.

Everything's there but the dollar ammount.

"Kick their asses, Shinji."

Toushirou Hitsugaya is thankful, very thankful Mr. Ichimaru.

Shinji Ikari gulps, because he knows she's going to kill him.

"She's fourteen! K-knock it off." Shinji says Dantewards, and blinks...nodding. "T-two hundred!"

"Two fifty!" Gin grins at Toushirou again.

Rei counts the remaining money in her bank envelope.

Yuki Nagato stands up. "Two hundred and fifty dollars and two cents."

"Two fifty-two... " Dante pauses, glancing over towards Yuki... and smirks. " ...and one-half." Someone actually still -carries- those?

Why do you think Yuki's been trying to get rid of it? "Two hundred and fifty-two dollars and fifty two cents."

All in! With a shrug, Envy bids, "Three hundred fifty."

    "Two candy bar wrappers!" Yeah, Kururu doesn't really care. He just wants to get rid of the garbage he's carrying around.

Toushirou Hitsugaya crosses his arms, trying not to look smug that Gin is being outbid by someone that isn't him.

Oh competition. That's what makes this so fun. "Two sixty!" Will Shiro bid again? Why does everyone bid so little?

Shinji twitches at the forces of evil.

"Three sixty, and, um...I'll do your dishes for a week, Orihime!"

Yuki Nagato pauses. And then she sits back down.

Asuka looks more and more horrified as Envy bets more money.

Rei pauses in her counting as she glances at Shinji.

Gin Ichimaru chuckles. "Looks like got no luck today."

Shinji Ikari points at the blank check, and shrugs.

Rei resumes counting.

Even more horrified, eh? Envy makes some mental counts, hopes they don't expect his other bid money to come in right away, and goes for broke. "Fife hundred fifty."

Shinji Ikari facepalms. "Hold on!"

Rei then hands the entire envelope, which has the better part of a month's pay, to Shinji.

Yuki Nagato thinks for a moment, mulling something over. And then: "Five hundred and fitty dollars and fifty-two cents."

"Six-hundred!" Dante calls. Then considers for a moment: "And a rocket launcher." Half-cents aren't the only thing he needs to get rid of.

Pride didn't need that wine, after all. "Six-hundred... and three cents."

Gin Ichimaru says, "Six fifty... and a mentos! The shorty didn't eat his.""

Shinji Ikari nods, and attempts to look vaguely heroic.

Yeah it doesn't work. "Um, okay, uh....come on dad, hurry up...cooking lessons, Orihime! I'll teach you how to cook!"

Ryoji Kaji says, "Just bid, Shinji. Do a thing first, get approval later."

Orihime Inoue blinks at Shinji. But...she already knows how...mostly...well, she could use a few new recipes!

"Use it," Rei says towards Shinji with a peculiar sort of urgency which has no other emotional valence whatsoever.

Envy ponders, then slumps in his chair with a shrug to Asuka. "Sorry, girl!" Pride gets his wine after all!

Shinji Ikari nods-it was for stalling. "Allright...Asuka, you'd better not get a big head about this...um, s-s-s-six twenty!"

From the back of the room, a man in a hat calls. "700!" He grins from under his hat.

Toushirou Hitsugaya is somehow managing to find his center and calm. Maybe because he's accepted his doom. He's got a date with Tina, and there's nothing he can do to stop it from coming. Not even Ichimaru's comment can disturb his zen.

Orihime Inoue slams down the gavel. "Sold! To Shinji Ikari, congratulations! And you don't have to do my dishes," she laughs. Wow, that was a nice surprise. "Thank you very much, Langley-san!" she clasps her hands in front of her and bows. "I hope you have a good time!"

She picks up the envelope, takes a deep breath, and tries again. "All right, the last date of the evening! And the mystery date is..." Her finger slides beneath the flap, popping the envelope open as she withdraws a pink flowery piece of stationery.

And the smile fades while her jaw drops. "Anou..." She glances around, trying to find Hokuto. She should have figured when Ling's box went out! "...it's me?"

Dizzy shakes her head in bemusement at the continued, rather odd bids. Then blinks as Orihime reveals that it's herself up for bid next, as the mystery date. "I guess I'm not the only one in the group that was put up on the block unexpectedly," she says, softly. "I wonder who's been doing that."

Envy can't say for sure, and even if he could, he can't say because he just fell backwards in his chair. "... Orihime!?"

"Do you still want the money?" Rei asks Shinji, instead of just grabbing her cash back.

Shinji Ikari slumps into his seat.

"She did that just so she could say she got more than any of us, didn't she." The emotionaly exhausted young man...he yelled, like, /three/ times today...says as he looks up at the roof. "Huh? Oh, n-no, Ayanami, its yours. T-thanks, though...I don't want to t-think about what some psycho like Ichimaru would've done. Jeze, Asuka's got to be more careful with stunts like t-this..."
 
 TADA! There is a Sumeragi in the house! Arriving FASHIONABLY LATE! Hokuto Sumeragi steps out on stage in a brilliantly designed outfit. She grins widely as she steps up to the podium, "GOOD EVENING EVERYBODY! I hope you all saved your money for our most lovely host of the evening! Her name is Orihime Inoue." She grins and winks at Orihime, "She's a high school student from Karakura Town and her hobbies include helping people and cooking! Her favorite food is Red Bean Paste and she is just an absolutely wonderful person so bid on her okay?"

" ....hunh." Dante taps his cheek thoughtfully as -that- last auction is announced.... this could still be a fun night after all.

Asuka reconsiders her terrible plan to show off, she lets out a VERY RELIEVED breath as she doesn't go to Envy after all. Thank God In Heaven, alright, Thank God In Heaven. That mysterious top hat guy was kind of NERVwracking too. Get it? Nervwracking? At least NERV's money will go to charity.

Asuka slides off the stage, though, smiling as if she got a big head over this because her ultimate goal was achieved! Even if Shinji is now more of a slave to his father than before because of it.

"Thanks, Shinji! That guy's creepy." She says as she gets back down. She doesn't, for the moment, brag. The lovely charity bonus speaks for itself. Rowr.

Uryuu's eyes widen momentarily, and he looks up from his notebook. Then... he scowls and returns his attention to the records. He shouldn't even be beginning to think along those lines.

It's not like he even /has/ any money.

Orihime? Uhoh. Ichimaru definately shouldn't get his hands on this one. Hitsugaya's pretty sure that Orihime wouldn't mind if he borrowed some money off of her to bid for her so she wouldn't fall into the clutches of evil.

Orihime Inoue blushes. But it isn't like she can protest, really. It's for charity, and lots of other people did it! So she clasps her hands in front of her and bows to the audience. "Well, just one date can't hurt, I suppose! Thank you for the introduction, Hokuto-san!"

Rei takes her bank envelope back and looks over -

She feels a faint twinge, and reaches up to toy with an earring, lips moving faintly as she subvocalizes.

Envy is not creepy! He's handsome and smart and he's nearly leaping out of his chair to prevent Guy Smiley and Leatherhead from getting their greasy hands over the lovely Orihime! No, wait, calm yourself, they haven't bid yet. Wait for it...

Ryoji Kaji gives Shinji a manly slap on the back. "Good job."

Gin has had his fun, and stirred up trouble, and so he's about to leave. But then the last contestant is announced, and he decides one more amusement definitely won't hurt. He actually stops leaning against the wall and calls out. "Twenty five!" First bid? Wow, come on people!

D'oh. "Fifty," Envy groans, raising his hand.

"Pfft. One-hundred on the charming hostess!" Dante calls with a smirk. The big advantage of losing out up until this point is that he -still- has that kind of money to throw around.

    Kururu ponders. The host girl is up for bids. Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

    Then Kururu gets a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach. There's something sickeningly pure about this girl. She radiates kindness and warmth. She's just too....... goody goody!

    No way, not betting on her.

Twitch. Fine. All in again for Envy. "Six hundred fifty... and three cents." No wine for Pride, and no sentai toys for Wrath. He's never going to hear the end of this...
Rei nods once to thin air.

"One hundred and fi-" she begins to say, before pausing again.

Hokuto Sumeragi grins widely, "We have 100 dollars so far! Come on! I know you guys can do better! For a cutie like Inoue-san?" And then Envy puts up his bid, "oooh... Six hundred fifty and three cents from the gentleman over there! You're pretty popular Inoue-san!" She looks over the crowd, "Anyone else?"

Toushirou was right about one thing, any money Gin has, he probably swiped from someone. So he has no qualms throwing out money either. At least it's going to a good cause? "Seven hundred..."

Uryuu nearly faceplants on the table as Envy yanks the bidding up into the air. Well, if he /had/ been thinking of trying his luck, nothing doing now. Hm. He turns to his radio for a moment.

" -Someone's- desperate," Dante remarks, with a grin. "Five-hundred, a rocket launcher -- and the Black Shadow parked out front." A classic motorcycle -- with one or two additions -- is worth at -least- several hundred dollars, even if it's not 'collector's' condition.

Thomas can't bid on Orihime. Just because.

Dizzy's eyes widen, and she looks over at Envy in some amount of surprise. "Oh, my," she says. "Are you trying to...?" Trying to rescue her too, basically. She quickly sits back and looks forward again, though, as things continue to pile up.

Toushirou Hitsugaya waits patiently this time around. He's only going to bid if Ichimaru appears to be the very last bidder. Orihime should go for quite a lot. She's popular beyond reason. The shinigami just waits for it.

The man in the back grins and chimes in. "856 dollars and a coupon!" Kisuke leans against the wall, watching the bidders with a shifty gaze. Yoruichi would kill him.

Envy whispers to Dizzy, then seizes up. "Oi, you've got to be kidding me..."

Shinji Ikari is slapped on the back, waughs, and bonks his face on the table. "T-thanks." he groans, sitting himself back up. He also looks at Rei's nodding, and briefly pictures his father scheming to take Orihime for an evening out. He shudders. Gendo's bad, but he's not date-a-fifteen-year-old bad. Couldn't be,

Finally, Shinji looks over to Asuka. "Thank everybody. They all p-pitched in, y'know..." Shinji sighs, finally letting himself look worried. "Next time you pull something like t-this, can it be with less supervillains around? Y-you're going to give me gray hair or something, jeze..."

Orihime Inoue looks at Hokuto. "Commander Fokker just bid $750.00" Then she looks over at Urahara. W-what? "I...I guess never mind!"

Gin Ichimaru glances to the back, eyebrows going up in thought. "Nine hundred?"

"I only have six hundred and fifty dollars," Rei says, looking to Shinji, somehow expectantly.

She then hands him the envelope.

Rei Ayanami also kept a fifty out of it. She remembers her debt.

Urahara grins wider. "9 hundred One dollars and two coupons." He laughs evilly.

Thomas stares at Urahara. What.

Uryuu Ishida groans. Head + table = otp.

Envy sweatdrops, but stays silent. You could do worse than Urahara...

"And since you got the loan from the Commander... looks like you won't be needing thi--" Kaji pauses in his reaching for his blank check. He looks to Shinji, then to Orihime, then to Shinji. He raises an eyebrow questioningly, then nods towards the girl on the stage for confirmation.

"Oho... ya got me there." He concedes defeat. Mostly because he knows Urahara won't quit, and it was fun while it lasted. Gin leans back against the wall again.

    Kururu's jerk senses are tingling. He turns his hovering platform around and glances at Urahara. "Kuuu?"

Hokuto Sumeragi Hokuto nods and then blinks as she tries to calculate Dante's bid. "Ano... Sir with the motorcycle, we'll take the motorcycle but not the rocket launcher. We -are- a peaceful organization you know." She winks at him and calculates the total. "It seems like the silver haired man in back is in the lead! Depending on the motorcycle value, we're up in the thousands folks! Come on!"

"You people need to learn to /talk/..." Shinji mutters. "Fine. 1,350..." Shinji DRAMATICLY POSES in the grand Ikari tradition, pointing at Ishida..."In his name!"

Urahara nods at the Alien. He met the other one in his store before. He turns back to the stage, waiting for the next bid. "1 thousand 40 dollars plus this Hokkah that makes can cut fries." He grins and waits for a reaction.

Toushirou Hitsugaya nods and smirks at Ichimaru now that he's lost to Urahara. The little captain doesn't consider the shop owner to be evil enough, but then, Shiro doesn't really know him. Just a lot of rumors and whispering about him in Soul Society.

Orihime Inoue whips her head around, and slowly, her hands rise to her mouth. Shinji...? NO! Uryuu...? Well...that wouldn't be so bad! Not bad at all! But is he really okay with that?

    Hmm, the jerk is strong with this one. And didn't Giroro once mention an annoying sandal-hat man once before? Kururu will have to keep an eye out for this person...

"Hey, it makes a -great- conversation piece!" Dante protests. "Sit it on a coffee table somewhere and just watch the questions come up!" He won't argue with it though, just waiting as he glances around at the other bidders.

And without further ado, the Quincy falls out of his chair. "Wh-wha... I, ah..." He shakes it off. Combining with Shinji, he can manage... "$1,500."

"Really?" Asuka offers, "Er, I didn't realize he was a supervillain, just a pedo, but..." She points a finger at him, "You went up and so did Ayanami. So you can't say I'm not allowed to go up. I mean, they'd want you two too. That guy was just pissed because I kicked him." She blinks for a moment and then points to Shinji, "I think I see one over there..." She is pretty surprised EVERYBODY pitched in and she feels kind of guilty about that which means she can't say much of anything. Because she feels guilty.

Ryoji Kaji spits out his drink back into it's glass as Shinji bids LIKE A MAN. "Yee-HA, boy!"

Urahara considers for a moment, eyeing his opponent. "Hmmm. 1,501."

Uryuu Ishida scowls. "$1502."

Urahara eyes Ishida. Grinning wider. "1,509."

Uryuu Ishida quirks an eyebrow. Oh dear, the Quincy competitiveness. "$1,525."

Yuki Nagato looks up from her book. Hey, if everyone's doing it... "Add two dollars and two cents to that man's bid," she says, indicating Uryuu with a nod. Finally, a way to get rid of those two cents.

"For the love of..." Shinji facepalms, twitching. "I already did one thousand, three hundred and fifty, hat guy! Becides, everyone knows that Matsutaro makes the best french fries. Trying to unload your back lot, aren't you...1,526...and Asuka, bid the tree costume."

Oh, hell. It's for a good cause, right? "Tack on three hundred fifty to Ishida's bid, that gives him... one thousand eight hundred seventy five."

Nanoha Takamachi pulls out a $50, and slips it into Ishida's hand as she walks past him from behind. And gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Dizzy shakes head in faint disbelief at the proceedings. "This is going to be interesting."

That was the blonde guy who really isn't Envy, by the way.
 
 A gentleman wearing a Relief Society shirt walks over to Dante, "Excuse me. Were you the one who bid on the motorcycle sir?"

Urahara grins at the Quincy. He coughs before announcing. "2,455."

Yuki Nagato says, "And two cents."

    Kururu falls off his hover platform. Splat.

Orihime Inoue looks at Hokuto and whispers something to her, blushing all the while.

"That's right." Dante glances over as the man makes his way up, still leaned against the wall. "It's out front if you want to inspect it." Reaching into his coat to pull out a set of keys, twirling it absently on the ring.

Uryuu Ishida hurriedly taps out a series of numbers on his calculator...

"I bid the tree! And fifty bucks for uh...whomever Shinji is helping, I haven't been paying attention. You can do the math, right?"

Envy nearly falls out of his chair again. Urahara's pretty damn desperate for a date, isn't he.

That is from Asuka, of course.

Hokuto Sumeragi leans over to converse with Orihime. What are the two women planning?

Matthew Conway has, at some point, slipped out.

Sev is taking notes quite a /lot/ now.

Uryuu Ishida isn't sure he's counting right, but damn it, he'll make up the difference if he's wrong! "$2,750!"

Yuki Nagato says for real, "And two cents."

There is a sound of extreme irritation; a phone goes off at the NERV table. Everyone looks around for the guilty party in between checking their purses and pockets.

Kaji is the guilty party. "Excuse me... I have to take this." He steps away from the table and answers his phone, having a quiet conversation.

Uryuu Ishida says, "And flight lessons from Roy Fokker!"

Urahara doesn't seem at all nervious. He has a plot here. A Double edged plot as it Were. "4,500 and a full loaded Gigai!"
 
 The man in black goes out front to check on the motorcycle.

Stepping away from the wall finally, Gin seems to have lost interest in the direction this is going. It seems Orihime was the last auction and he heads towards the door. Although, on his way out, he stops at the box bids once more.

"See you later, Kaji~~" Asuka trills, "And a candy wrapper!"

Thomas says, "There has to be a way to stop this..." Alas, no end in sight, apparently.

A hulking figure in black slides out of the shadows and hands Uryuu an envelope. He grins faintly and tips his cowboy hat.. He then walks off. Was that.. the legendary.. Joe?
 
 "... What is a Gigai Mr Man in a Hat?"

Toushirou Hitsugaya looks mightily thoughtful at Urahara's bid. A gigai, huh?

"Sir," Shinji says, looking at Urahara, "You know she's l-like...fifteen, right?"

Uryuu Ishida sinks into his chair, scowling. But then -- an envelope? He blinks at it, then unfolds it to see what's inside.

"A Body for spirits to inhabit. It's also good for medical purposes in theory. Net worth 2,000." Urahara grins at the MC.

    An injured Kururu climbs back up onto his hovering platform. "..." Things are getting competitive, and competitiveness can drive Kururu. This is one of those times. Even if the girl DOES seem annoyingly pure, he feels he MUST bid on her! But he certainly doesn't have the cash to exceed the amounts going on now.

    Kururu opens up a laptop and rapidly hits some keys, what does he have that he can bid.... Of course! He could always bid THAT! But.. can it get here in time, and is he willing to part with it for such a trivial thing.

    Hmmmmmmmmmm

Shinji Ikari desperately tries, "We um, have a tree costume! That's gotta be worth almost as much..."

Orihime Inoue chews on her lip, and looks at Hokuto. And she whispers again, huzzah!

Asuka shakes her head, "You guys aren't going to be able to win this way." She stands up, "A guest room at La Casa De Misato on Ishida's bid!"

"We have a guest room?" Shinji asides.

Asuka Langley murmurs to Shinji, "Where Pen Pen sleeps."
 
 The man in black comes back and whispers up to Hokuto. She does some mental math before Orihime whispers to her again. "I'm sorry Mr. Man in the fashionable hat! We won't be accepting any bodies tonight!" She then blinks at Asuka, "Could you please give me the monetary value of that?"

Shinji Ikari ohs, and nods, adding, "The room c-comes with its own hot tub!"

Uryuu Ishida's jaw drops, momentarily. He pulls a sheaf of bills out of the envelope. Counts briefly through it. Then he raises his hand. "Er. Ten thousand."

Hokuto Sumeragi says, "ALSO! We have just determined that the man in the back with the motorcycle's total bid is 10 thousand and fifty dollars!""

Asuka Langley says, "It's, uh, I don't know for sure but it's better than the room Shinji and I get..."

The castle master facepalms, finding some paper and a pencil, scribbling down 'a week stay at Budehuc.' He walks over to Uryuu, placing the note in front of the Quincy. His hand, maybe.

Shinji Ikari says, "Y-yeah...and Tokyo-03's a g-great vacation spot...so at least sixty..."

Thomas says, "There. Adding that on and all that.""

"Mention the lake and Mount Fuji," Rei suggests towards Shinji.

"Oh no? Ok Then how about this. Hmm How about this Hot Springs I have? I'm too old to enjoy it."

Shinji nods. "There's this big lake from when we almost blew up the city, and scenic Mount Fuji!"

Hokuto Sumeragi says, "The current highest bid is... 10 thousand and 60 dollars!"

Uryuu Ishida counts on his fingers for a moment. He's rapidly losing count. "Twelve thousand and two hundred!" He glances down. "And a week's stay at... Budehuc?" Not bad pronunciation, actually.

"The weather there is awesome!" Asuka adds.

Hokuto Sumeragi says, "A... hot springs?"

Hokuto Sumeragi says, "What is the worth of the Hot Springs Mr. Hat Man?"

    Yes. Yes he can.

    Kururu has already entered the command. And moments later there's a rumbling sound overhead. Gotta love that Keron space-transfer technology.

    A giant robot roars in the sky above, and lands down next to the auction. The giant robot is in the form of Aki Hinata, the mother of the Hinata Household, and the most 'powerful' Pekoponian woman known to the Kerons. The robot is dubbed 'Autumn H', though unbeknownst to everyone this is just the PROTOTYPE of the real Autumn H. Kururu's not parting with the real deal. Sure, chances are this one will run amock and cause some damage when activated, but Kururu doesn't actually care about the date. He just wants to win!

    "I bid this giant robot. Kuuuuuu ku ku kuuuuuuuu!"

"A complete one. The Land around it too. I dunno. It's Property in Japan near a tourist resort." Kisuke considers and then puts a number forward. "15,000."

Ryoji Kaji returns to the table as he replaces his phone in his pocket. "Well, it's been a lovely night, but duty calls. Excuse me." With an exagerated bow, Kaji leaves the procedings early for a reason unsaid.

Junior simply smiles and murmurs a quiet thank you into the microphone he keeps in his collar, chuckling at the gruff response. It's not every day he can call in an assist from Joe that doesn't involve blowing up some kind of giant monster with his Mysterious Gnosis Powers.

Orihime Inoue can't help but stare. She's...she's really worth a giant robot? She smiles, and brushes at her eyes. Totally not crying! Really! She's just...just...insanely flattered and happy.

    Sadly, Kururu doesn't care about Inoue, he cares about competition. Still, GIANT ROBOT!

Haruhi Suzumiya has disconnected.

From the back a little girl, walks in and hands Ishida something. Ururu looks up at him. "Here you go! The boss said to bring this." It's an envelop with 8,000 Dollars plus the deed to the Hot spring." Urahara looks over and winks.

 Hokuto stares up at the Giant Robot, "Um.... the uh... owner of the Giant Robot is currently in the lead!"

Uryuu Ishida always thought Ururu was a good kid. He smiles slightly and raises a hand briefly to Urahara, then sets the envelopes down on the table. "$23,000. Plus all the extras previously noted."

Rei wipes some sweat off of her forehead with a black hankerchief.

She then looks at it.

She looks over briefly at Ishida and then looks as Kaji walks off. Hm.

A guy in the Relief Shirt returns Dante's keys before going to bug Kururu, "Ano... What's the value of the giant robot?"

Asuka murmurs to Rei, "We can always just bet one million dollars. I suppose the Nerv expense account can take one more hit for the team..."

    "Value?" Kururu asks. Hmmmmmmmm, tough one. "I don't really know! Ku ku..." He doesn't pay attention to minor things like price. "20'000, 30'000 maybe?"

Envy's been silent, for he's been spending his time listening to the growing insanity of the bids and tapping his chin. He had a plan... for a different purpose, but if it was going to the same cause, then it might be worth it to use it here? Great, now someone put in a bloody giant robot. Fine. "To Ishida's bid, I add a blue gem worth at least eight hundred thousand dollars." No, its totally not the Hope Diamond. Not if Bob Hope or whoever it was hasn't gotten it yet.

Whelp. That's it for him. Dante just smirks a bit, twirling the keys on his finger before catching them up. "Hunh. Guess the house wins tonight. No jackpot for me... " Still, it's almost -insane- how far this has gone up.... and there's going to be one very lucky charity by the time tonight's over and done with.

 The guy in the shirt nods and then shuttles up to Hokuto who then slams down her little gravel. "Attention! Attention!"

Shinji Ikari murmurs, "You just want to do the pinky pose, don't you."

Asuka Langley says, without shame, "Yeah."

Envy does the pinky pose at Asuka.

Sev continues taking notes. He's managed to fill half a ring binder.
 
 "The bidding war is now over! We're going to take a time out to determine just who won the Orihime bid! Those of you with certificates and non cash, please report to this gentleman over here with the total cash value of your bids and certificates to show that you actually own said item!" Hokuto points again to the guy in the shirt and steps down.

Asuka Langley changes her mind immediately, "No."

Urahara calls out to Ishida. "You better win now boy. Or I'm making your bid your debt."

    Well, Kururu bid all that he could. If this doesn't win it for him, he'll have to condede to better men than him.

    Won't stop him from making their lives miserable in the future, though. He's a sore loser.

Oi. "I guess they won't take IOU's," Envy groans with a facepalm. He does, however, give Ishida the leftovers of his cash reserve, all $350 of it.

Junior just sits back and waits. "Man. I'm getting Erde Kaiser flashbacks..." he remarks.

Uryuu Ishida blinks up at the stage for a moment. He... can't believe he actually did that. No, no, on second thought, he /can/. He shakes his head, then collects everything together and heads up to the shirt guy.

Rei nods to Ishida as he goes past. Supportively? Or is she just planning to make him sew elaborate outfits?

Another disbelieving shake of the head, and Dizzy stands up. "Congratulations, Miss Inoue," she calls out, up at the stage. "I think you win highest bid of the night." That's an understatement, isn't it? With the same bemused smile that's been on her face all evening, she looks over at Envy. "It was kind of you to help out Mister Ishida there. I wonder why he's so determined to win Miss Inoue, though...perhaps to keep her from getting grabbed by the wrong person? After all, she already has a boyfriend and everything...and since he's their friend...."
 
Dizzy nods sagely at her reasoning. She has absolutely no idea...no, none at all...

Thomas just keeps looking on, wringing his hands slightly again. Come on... Oh, the suspense.

Nanoha Takamachi sits back in her chair and sighs happily. "It must be nice to be that popular and loved." Not that she wishes she had that fierce of a bidding competition over her, but it was sweet... in a way.

At the box bids, Gin looks over them one last time. He grins as he finds the one he's looking for, descreetly filling out one for Matsumoto and slipping it in the box before anyone can see his amount or what he wrote. But the box is obvious enough at who it is, and he knows Hitsugaya will see it. But, at the very least, the poor boy's probably close to broke now. Hopefully.

Urahara stares at the robot. "Excuse me? Who owns that robot?"

    Kururu raises a small yellow hand. "Kuuuu ku ku."

Urahara grins at the small yellow frog and grins widely. "How about you and me make a deal so you can go home with alittle less to carry tonight." He leans against his cane.

    Kururu's glasses glint mischeviously. "Oh really? Well, I think I'd rather wait to hear the winner, first. But if you still want to make a deal after that, I'll listen. Ku ku."

Envy returns to Dizzy, hands in his pants pockets as he holds back his muttering. Some help he was tonight. "Oi, Ishida? Yeah, he's a real good friend of Orihime's," he answers with a jerk of his head back to the Quincy. "Maybe more than that someday."
 
 After doing some talking back and forth and Hokuto busy scribbling things down on a notepad, she returns to the stage and gives a grin at Orihime. "Ahem! Thanks to the contributions from many people all over the universe, I am proud to announce that Uryuu Ishida wins tonight's auction on Orihime Inoue! Congratulations Ishida-san! You must be very proud of yourself! I think Inoue-san may have a few words?"

THUD. That is the sound of a Quincy collapsing into his chair.

    Kururu snaps his fingers. "Tch."

Dizzy nods, listening to Envy, then looks confused for a moment. "More than that? What do you m--" Then it registers. But it leads only to more confusion. "But...isn't Miss Inoue already, um...her and Mister Ling Yao...wait..." Yeah, you may need to give her a little bit of time here. She turns to look between Orihime and Ishida.

Thomas tries to help Uryuu get back up again, failing in a way. "Uh, sir? You all right??? He-hello?" Well, this either works or not, depending.

Orihime Inoue looks around as she hears her name, then smiles warmly at Dizzy's remarks. "Hee! Gosh, thanks," she rubs the back of her neck. "You did really well too! I'm really happy for you, and you got someone so nice!" She beams at 'Mr. Smith.' Yeah. She thinks Dizzy did really well. And he looks so handsome like that! Then she looks towards Hokuto for the winning bid...and heaves a little sigh of relief. "W-wow! I am...well...I'm really happy!" she stammers, at a rare loss for words. She rubs at her neck for a moment, then bows politely to the audience. "Thank you very much. It was fun!" And it was heartwarming to see so many people working together for Uryuu's sake. He's made so many friends since the appearance of the Gates. Then she bows to Hokuto. "Thank you very much. Ah...if you don't mind...I need to go get a glass of water. Could you wrap up for me?" she whispers. Because her knees feel weak, and she really -really- needs to go sit down.

"How about I take the mecha off your hands?" Urahara stands next to frog man, grinning at his handy work. Noone would notice that he was bluffing the entire time. He never had that much money. He gave it all to Ishida. The hot springs? Cruddy land that he fixed up and added a spring. He chuckles to himself.

"No jackpot this time," Dante voices as he makes his way over to where Dizzy is paying her congratulations. "Looks like lady luck's smiling on some other lucky guys tonight." Gotta give 'Smith' and Ishida their props. " Still... " The Devil Hunter tosses a wink to Dizzy before turning his head, the grin he flashes a rather gleaming one against his bronze skin. " ....maybe next time. Catch you ladies around." And giving a little wave of a black-gloved hand before turning to stroll his way out.

Sabrina smiles at Thomas, and quips quietly, "Back up." she says, and then. "He fainted quicker than finding out he was a father, wake him up with a splash of water!" And a bucket of water, ala Flashdance, tips over from the rafters and splashes all over the Quincy Archer. Wakey Wakey~

Envy can finally crack a smile now. "Life's complicated, eh? Let's just say we all got our happy endings tonight and leave it at that." Except for Asuka, but nobody likes her anyways.

Before Orihime exits, though, the blonde boy makes sure she gets a loud round of applause from him. And everybody else. Hint. Hint.

Thomas whoas. "Good thinking, Sabrina."

Shinji Ikari lets out a sigh, at all of the you know what. He blinks, realizing that Kaji vanished. "Huh. ...you think we did the right thing today, g-guys?"

    "I don't think so." Kururu is nearly as wily as Urahara, perhaps just as much so. Now that the competitive impulse is no longer present, Kururu's not parting with one of his mechs that easily. Even if it IS just a prototype. "Since this little escapade is over, I think I'll be leaving. But.. I'm sure we'll meet again, Mr. Sandel-hat."
Rei doesn't applaud.

She blinks, though, a few times. Her expression doesn't change, but she brings the hankerchief up, near her mouth and nose. She doesn't speak when Shinji asks.

He didn't /faint/! Not that he has a chance to indicate this before he's splashed. "Ack!" Uryuu topples out of his chair, but manages to keep himself from falling over forward. He sighs and brushes his clothes off. "Th... Thank you." But a slight smile slips onto his face, and he joins Envy in the applause.

This earns Thomas a blush from the Witch in Training, even as water continues to pour on Ishida. "T-t-thanks, Thomas!" Sabrina manages, before she remembers to turn off the water.

Thomas says, "Erk. Sorry, Uryuu...was it? Yes." He also applauds automatically for some reason.

Yuki looks up, and calmly starts applauding. All things considered, not a bad way to wrap up the ceremony, though Yuki does not quite get why everyone got so emotional everthing. Perhaps it's an organic lifeform thing.

"We will. Mr. Invader." Kisuke grins and walks the other direction. He doesn't mention how he knows about Kururu. He wanted to leave the frog speechless. "Come on Ururu. We need to get you back to Fuka." He grins and walks out of the auction as if he was never here.

In the meantime, Junior is chatting into a small, handled device. Or rather, with a square of light tht seems to be a screen of some sort. "Just finishing up here. Right. Right. Later." He then shuts off the connection and tucks the device back into his coat. That handled, he'll pay off the cash for the dates he won with Yuki and Natsuki and make his way out with his secretaries. Well. After he gets contact information for the two girls he won dates with. He'll have to figure out somewhere nice to go... Maybe.. Hmm. That's an idea.

Asuka doesn't applaud either, she doesn't really know Orihime -or- Uryuu, but perhaps just having one friend (in Rei) is good enough to earn many terrible allies. "Eh, he seemed to care her the most, the other guy was a pervert, and the other other guy was probably an arms dealer."

Dizzy belatedly shakes off her fugue and starts to applaud for Ishida and Orihime. Oh well. She'll figure it out later, perhaps. Mmm. This whole romance and love thing, it's still very new to her. Jealousy and, a-ha, envy are not familiar concepts for now.
 
 Hokuto looks a bit sorry for Inoue and nods while giving her one of her best supporting smiles, "Of course of course Inoue-san." She then turns back to the audience, "WOW! You guys did really well today! I'd like to give everyone who put themselves up a huge thank you! Especially Miss Langley for her last minute choice to volunteer!" She claps loudly, "I hope you are all satisfied with your dates! We will be handing out contact information within the next few days so that you may set up your dates! Please be sure to pay before your leave for the evening!"

Toushirou Hitsugaya did see Gin sneak a bid into one of the boxes! He rushes over there to find out which one, and he's simply dumbfounded to see Matsumoto's face pasted on the box. Oh, so that's how you're going to play, Ichimaru. You won't get your freaky face anywhere near his vice-captain! He snaps up a bid sheet but stands there, for a VERY LONG TIME, to try to figure out what the value of his vice-captain really is. If Ichimaru sneaks out now, he'll have the best chance to escape without Hitsugaya following him.

Damn you Ichimaru. Depending on Gin's bids during the auction, he has at least $900 available. Is Matsumoto really worth that much? Hitsugaya taps his chin with the pen. Should he bid a nine-hundred fifty? A thousand? He could do it if he counts his next IPA paycheck and his stipend from Soul Society. Shiro writes down a number, and just shakes his head, crossing it out and entering another. He doesn't look terribly satisfied as he stuffs the number into the box, but what's done is done.

    Kururu can figure it out. Giroro has loose lips and has been out around pretty much everywhere. It's the only reason why he's not putting a lot of effort into being secretive.

    Watching Urahara leave, Kururu floats his hovering platform up to the cockpit of the Autumn H. "Hmph, I suppose I'll have to contact that other Pekoponian for our 'date'. I wonder how I shall spend it? What inventions need testing... ku ku..." Climbing inside, the Autumn H begins to start up.

Yuki Nagato suddenly turns to watch Kururu leave, feeling a chill go down her spine. THIS date will need monitoring.

Sabrina applauds for a couple of moments, then chuckles at Thomas. "Well, between us, I think we made fifty-three dollars. Every little bit helps, right?"

The youth shrugs after the whole event is over, looking back at Sabrina. "Well, yes. That went....well." Thomas chuckles, still wondering what just happened. "...I wonder how everyone is going to be financially..."

    Run Shiro Run.

    After joining in and giving Orihime and Uryuu a hearty round of applause for that -amazing- bidding battle! --HOLY CATS! The Society is LOADED now. XD-- Tina quickly rushes over, spotting the diminutive captain stuffing a ballot box. The girl squeeeeeeeees as she rushes over, immediately moving to wrap her arms around Shiro's shoulders from behind as she laughs! "Myyyy HERO!"

    She then races out after her girl-friends, breathless at the whole event! Wheeeee! ^.^

"Isn't she engaged, though?" Shinji gives Ayanami a worried look, and coughs. "I'm s-sure we did, though. I mean, all's well that ends well, right?"

Shinji then smiles a little, and mutters, "One sixty-five." to himself.

Don't worry, Dizzy, you have Envy as a tutor. ... On second thought, perhaps you should worry. The money is easily taken care of, three-hundred fifty to Ishida, three-hundred fifty for his bid, and the fifty two for Kensuke. That leaves... two hundred for the box bid. Oh ho ho ho. Back to Dizzy again, because the contact information is easy as pie. "I have an apartment in the same complex as Orihime-chan, its unit number XXX."

"I don't know. I only have fifteen dollars left. I get a forty dollar allowance." Sabrina smiles, as she folds her hands in front of her. "I guess, since I bid first, we should have a date for the stuff you like.." There's a bite of her lip as she considers. "..then the second date will be the stiff we like."


That of course, was the point. While yes, it was fun picking on Hitsugaya-taichou, the first time he had stepped over to the boxes he had also noticed who was listed there. But he bided his time, and that was worth it. Both for the look on Shiro's face, and the increased chances of winning his bid. All said and done, when the 10th captian turns around again, Gin is be nowhere to be seen. Happy bidding! Oh, and have fun on that date!

Er, wait. Envy freezes, "Though if I pick you up... Where are you staying?"

Thomas sweatdrops. "I didn't even really have the right currency..."

Asuka blinks, "One sixty five?" She doesn't move to spend money on him immediately.

Dizzy nods to Envy. "Right. I know where it is now, so that should be easy enough to find. Um. I suppose..." She thinks for a moment. "Well, there's no new leads on the Gate back home, so I'm pretty much free whenever, for the date...where am I staying? Oh, I have a small apartment in the Hub for now, just a blocks streets away from the IPA headquarters."

"..right currency?" Sabrina asks, a hand pressing against the back of her head as Tina goes.. affectionate. "That's one of my friends. She almost bid on you, you know?"

"IPA Headquarters." Envy repeats, as if reciting his doom. Guess which form he's going to have to use again. "I'll meet you there?"

The lad blinks and erks when he sees Serpentina. Oh dear. "R-really...ahahaha...you...you don't say..." Quick, we must run. Thomas laughs nervously, slinking back slowly.

    MEANWHILE! Back on the Pekopon version of Earth, Sergeant Keroro is happily rummaging through his Gun-Pla savings. Suddenly, panic strikes! What's this? $205 of his savings GONE?! And... where's his mint-condition Wing Zero model? And the EVA-01 model he was going to put together today?! Next to where those items should be, is a small scrap of paper, with a single mark on it. Kururu's symbol.

    "Ku.... KURURU!!!!!"

"Oh, um, its n-nothing." Shinji looks down at the floor, rubbing the back of his head. "Just, uh, how m-much I went for. Fourty one sixty five." Kaji went for fourty. "Its, y'know, s-silly..."

A smile, this one a relaxed, more happy one than most she's shown tonight, graces Dizzy's lips. "All right! Just let me know when is good for you, and it should probably be good for me, then, Mister...er, Smith."

Junior and his secretaries are now on the move, drifting through the gathered people as they mill around. "Now you see, ladies? That wasn't so horrible now was it?" he inquires of Mary and Shelly as they walk.

Mary mutters, "I was hopin to win the Ouran Club..." quietly.

"But we didn't have the funds..." Shelly continues.

"You could've just asked me..." Junior points out.

"That's not the point!" the two women chorus, earning a shrug from the Little Master.

Somewhere else, Giroro pauses his usual bazooka-polishing regime and looks up, hearing Keroro's anguished cry of rage. "... hmph," he mutters, going back to his polishing. "Probably Kururu again..."

"It was for a good cause," Rei says, moving to stand up. She glances over at the food table.

Yes, she thinks: all gone.

Thomas starts to retreat, and Sabrina frowns. Was it something she said? The little witch frowns, and looks down at her hands. She didn't mean to scare the Castle Master off!

"Oh, didn't hear the fourty." Asuka smiles, "I was gonna add more but they finished it too quickly. I was gonna go to fifty." She looks to the food table and her stomache growls.

Severus Lexington's notebook has been closed, and he is leaving. Human nature observations are complete. They'll need compiling and comparison, but he had a /vrey/ good evening.

Oh, he's not scared of Sabrina. He's scared of Tina. "Come with me, please," he whispers, beckoning for her hand. Sneak awaaaay~

Yuki Nagato pockets her book again and stands up. Upon looking around, the humanoid interface once again makes her way towards Shinji, semi-ignoring the others with him. "When shall we meet?" she murmurs calmly.

Blunt, isn't she.

Sabrina blinks at the offered hand, then presses her own gently into it, giving a quick wave before Thomas leads her off. "Okay."


Oh, right, still in public. Not-Really-Envy coughs and nods enthusiastically, "Right, Miss Dizzy. I'll give you a call."

Orihime Inoue comes out from the back, wiping her wrist across her brow. Wow...that was pretty exciting! Everyone seemed like they were having fun, and the only rude person there left in a hurry. Phew... Definitely a success! She'll have to check the bid boxes and see how they did there. But for now, there are a couple of people she wants to talk to. Mr. Smith is the first. "Thanks for playing security," she laughs, reaching out to shake his hand. "And congratulations!" She winks at Dizzy. "You guys will have fun, trust me!" She pulls back, then turns to look at Uryuu. Orihime smiles, then begins walking in his direction. "Anou..."

Shinji Ikari blinks at Asuka, having no idea how to process that. His brain decides to just file it for later.

He looks up at Yuki then, scratching the back of his head. "Um." Shinji sighs, "You d-don't have to...erm...but I'm o-off duty Wednesday."
That's right. Shiro is doomed. With the number of weird souls here, he barely catches Serpentina's reiatsu approaching. There's just a shiver down his back for a warning. What? Hitsugaya feeling cold? This is certainly a bad feeling.

*TINA-HUUUUGGED*

URK! "No hugging until the date!" Those are words that Shiro never ever considered saying in his entire life. Especially with the way that shinigami live so long. Fortunately, the mutant girl dashes away and he can breathe again, until the date. With a look around, Hitsugaya realizes he's lost Ichimaru, and he wants to hit something very badly. Would the Hub respond to violence towards bidboxes?

After ensuring that he's dry enough, Uryuu picks up his notebook and tucks it away, a blush beginning to bloom on his cheeks. So now he's got a date to look forward to. With /Orihime/. And about a thousand people to thank for it. Wow. Difficult to take in all at once. He glances up, hearing Orihime's voice, and the blush intensifies. "Ah... Hello, Orihime-san."

Junior and his entourage chat with a couple of people, and then they head for the exit. As Rubedo's player is about to fall asleep and requires rest, lest he fall over unconscious.

Dizzy nods once more to Envy, then smiles at Orihime as she comes out. "Well, I think it's time to clean up, then. It was a big success, wasn't it?" And she wanders over toward Ishida to assist with getting all the paperwork and bids and such sorted out. Glancing again between Orihime and Ishida as she works.

    The Autumn H's rockets flare to life, and the giant robot takes off into the sky. It's just a prototype, but it's only the weapons that are glitchy. It can fly him back to his SECRET LAIR easily enough.

Salute! "Happy to help," Envy responds with a wink. You can make your own whip-cracking sounds here. "Yeah, I think we'll have a great time." And he's not done helping either, for he goes to join Dizzy in helping to clean up. All the better to also peek in on Orihime and Ishida as well. Snoopsnoopsnoop.

Yuki nods in response. "I see," she deadpans. "Wednesday. I will see you then, Shinji Ikari." The humanoid interface nods to the pilot- and to the OTHER Children- before walking off, presumably in the general direction of her home plane's gate.

---

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