ね、みんな－さん！Here's the second chapter of strictly business. Please give some reviews, okay? Thanks so much for reading! Note that there are more swear words compared to the previous chapter, i think. Enjoy! :D

Cold, hard walls. Dead gray. Like the clouded sky outside, spelling the forthcoming of a heavy storm. Like the dull plastic plate where daily sustenance is provided by the cooks and delivered to the prisoners through a slim, rectangular opening in the otherwise plain, cold and sturdy metal door. This cold and boring world seems so dull, as if I cannot believe that such a place would exist in such a beautiful world.

Day by day, my strength dwindle little by little, and my build thinner, my bones sticking out a little, compared to the healthy and stoic build back when I was still back at the company. But forget all this slight setbacks. My resolve burns brighter than ever, if not stronger.

It has been months, years, decades? Has it been this long since I stepped into this cell? Although a bit unsettling, some of my "neighbors" seem to feel my resolve. They avoid me at most times, keeping a respectable distance from me. And to make things worse, I have been seeing things. Hallucinating. 8 nights ago I saw a girl with raven black hair, ivory skin and unusually large, ruby red eyes, dressed in a sailor's uniform. She was sitting at the furthest end from me in my cell. And the frightening thing was that, I conversed with her. I had been saving plastic spoons to be used as a form of weapon, perhaps. She said in a voice as cold as ice, absolutely void of feelings.

"It will not work, Akio Sano. The spoons are too blunt for any use."

"W-W-WHO ARE YOU?! How did you get in here?"

"You harbor very dangerous intentions with an incredibly great amount of passion, Akio Sano. They are affecting the people around you in dangerous ways. I am sure even you can notice...you have, haven't you? I may yet be of service to you."

I smacked my head with a palm and whispered, "Heavens, I have gone mad. I am conversing with a figment of my imagination."

To prove that she was a hallucination, when my focus was back at the spot where she was, she was gone. How can human beings disappear and appear out of thin air in a matter of seconds? How can they even complete the first task?!

But...forget it. This does not matter, just as long as I can get my revenge. Only this matters to me, nothing el--

*BANG*

A guard with a walrus mustache knocked on my door with his fist. The sound reverberated around the cell, echoing...

"Number 23? You have a visitor looking for you. Get ready in 2 minutes if you have to." the guard spoke with authority. I wet my hands and patted my thinning hair down neatly and gave my face a quick wash with water. In this prison, not only do they prohibit knives or forks as cutlery, but combs as well for grooming. Something to do with security, and just as well; the thought of the type of company here armed with knives and attempting to break out of prison should be quite unnerving. I wiped my hands and face with a dry towel, straightened out my prison garb and walked out calmly. The guard glanced at me and gripped his nightstick tightly.

"This way."

As I walked at a brisk pace beside the guard, thoughts of the identity of the visitor(s) ran through my mind. Could it be Lisa, my wife, with the kids? Maybe they decided to contact me, and flew back to Japan from California! The thought made joy run through my body like electricity. In fact, I started to hum a jovial tune quietly, and the guard glanced at me and visibly relaxed. I could have disabled him there and then, took his nightstick and his keys, break out of prison...but...if Lisa was really here...then it would not make such a good impression, yes?

The guard opened the door to the visiting area and pointed to a booth with a plastic screen to prevent any physical contact between visitor and prisoner. I walked towards it with a smile on my face, and opened the door.

And on the chair...sat the man who took everything away from me...Riku Takemoto.

FUCK. I should have taken the nightstick to bash this bastard's brain out.

He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table, and looking at his fingers, linked them together.

"Hello. You're looking well, Sano-san. I trust you find life here..." he looked up at me and smirked. "...quite comfortable? If not, shall I send you your office chair? It's very comfortable, you know. Oh, wait. Prisoners can't accept such gifts, the would think I'm trying to smuggle drugs or weapons along with it. Can't have that, eh? My reputation would stink!" He paused and laughed heartily.

My nails dug into my palms, and a thin, weak stream of blood ebbed from the cut they made. What is happening to me? I used to have the ability to persuade random strangers to have intimate dealings with us, so why, now, am I at a loss for words? Maybe it's because even through the screen, I can smell his sickening confidence. His caustic words forced any attempts to retort back down my throat. I could feel my body shaking with such hate, such anger that I had to gasp for breath.

"What's wrong, Sano-san? Cat got your tongue?" His smirk disappeared, only to be replaced with a dark scowl. "You see, I am here today, to tell you a secret. I, Riku Takemoto, bribed your retarded bitch of a boss. BRIBED, yes. 2.5 million US dollars, my poor old man. Armed with MY charisma, MY talents, and MY wealth, nothing is impossible, my man. You must be wondering why I am telling you this. Because I just had to tell somebody, and which better candidate than you?! Even if you spill the beans, there's just no fucking way anyone will believe your words! Man, what a riot. And everyone thinks you are the bad guy." He laughed heartily once more. "Oh yes. I met your wife a few weeks ago. She was looking for you, some family occasion or something. Linda, was it? Or Lisa? Doesn't matter. Oh, she was a beauty, I tell you. Thought the worst of you. Luckily, I was there to offer a consoling arm. What a svelte waist--"

I raised my fists in a flash and thumped on the screen furiously. The hits could have killed a wild boar. Riku stood up, toppling his chair, frightened. The guard rushed into the room, nightstick raised and mustache twitching.

"I WILL KILL YOU!! YOU SON OF A BITCH! LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE! WATCH OUT--"

*thump*

The guard subdued me with a quick hit on the back of my head. I fell to the ground, and the colours of the visiting booth dripped down like paint on a canvas, and then black...

The first sounds that I hear are these. My slow, sluggish breathing, the almost silent thump of boots walking around the corridors outside, the resonant dripping of water. So cold, the surface that my body is lying on. I turned from my side to the back , with my eyes closed. No wonder, I was lying on the cold cement floor, most presumably in my cell. I opened my eyes...

To find one, gigantic green eye on the ceiling, staring back at me.

I tried to feel fear, to scream at this frightful sight. But it seems as though Takemoto has robbed me of them as well. I just looked back at the eye, blinking casually. For all you know, it might be another hallucination?...but...it's still kind of disturbing.

I turned my head to the right, wishing for a more pleasing-to-the-eye hallucination..

A beautiful woman with her hair tied up, dressed in a light blue kimono with an obi tied in the front stood between the south and east walls. She was smiling, though I cannot really say that it was friendly and warm. An elderly man, wearing a traditional yukata and a red scarf. He seems to be even older than me and he wore a friendlier smile than the woman. I raised my head. The same girl I imagined 8 days ago was sitting on the only bed in my cell.

Whoa. My mind must be seriously messed up if I can invent so many hallucinations at once.

I sat up, my heart starting to ache in fear. And then...I was in this different place. Everything was tinted a translucent red by the setting sun over the mountains. A lone traditional house sat amidst the red flowers bowing their heads, heavy with dewdrops. A wide and seemingly endless river flows, undisturbed. I was sitting on a wet field, facing the girl standing in front of a large tree. The woman, elderly man and a young man was standing in a trio not far from her.

"W-what is this..? W-who a-a-are...?" the words tumbled around my mouth and fell out clumsily, unable to form solid sentences. The girl looked at me with the same ruby-red eyes and spoke in the same icy-cold voice. "I am Enma Ai, also known as the Hell Girl. I can help you take revenge on the one who occupies your thoughts in the day, and haunts your sleep at night. However, if I send this person to Hell, you must pay the price as well. When one is cursed, two graves are dug, and after your body dies, your soul will immediately be taken to Hell. You will wander the fiery pits of hell and your soul will never know true peace...but, that's after you die, of course."

I absorbed the information greedily. To think something like this can actually happen?! What a valued opportunity! I nodded my head hastily. "Anything. ANYTHING AT ALL!! Just as long as you help me take revenge against him. I will sacrifice my soul, if that is what it takes!"

She closed her eyes and spoke. "Wanyudou." The elderly man stepped forward and morphed into a black straw doll with a red string around its neck. The girl picked up the black straw doll and handed it to me. "If you pull the string, you officially enter into a contract with me, and exact revenge." Her hand extended out further. "The rest is up to you."

I took the doll with shaking hands. It seems so harmless, but at the same time, it holds so much power. I looked up to thank her, to find myself alone and in my cell once again. I smiled to myself. "Deal done."

--------

Riku Takemoto leaned into the burgundy velvet chair and stretched. "Ah...I am exhausted. The meeting with the manager from Pokko Drinks* and that business with that loser, Sano..."

*beep* *beep*

The intercom button on the office phone was flashing. He pressed it and waited. The secretary chirped, "Takemoto-sama, a client of yours is waiting outside."

He frowned and sighed. "Is the client a male or female? Show her in, kick him out. I'm really tired today." the secretary replied that the client was female. He smiled and waited, sitting in a decidedly cool pose. A woman with her hair tied up, wearing a light blue blouse that is clinging to her curvaceous sides as if for dear life and a tight black pencil skirt walked into the room with a graceful air. Riku just sat back and stared at her curves. The woman smiled and extended a hand. "I am Sone Anna." She pulled the chair opposite of Riku and sat down, holding out a book. "We discussed over the phone about the new isotonic drink, remember? My boss has decided on the price, 2.5 million..."

Riku rolled his eyes, took the book, tossed it aside and gently grasped her hand. "Sone-chan, it's just...4:44pm," Riku's eyes flickered over to the quartz clock on his wall. "What say you we have dinner together and discuss this over dinner? What we have is time, and I wouldn't let such a beauty like you go with just a business connection between us." He smiled and walked to her side. The woman stood up, and he held her waist.

"Let's g--ARRRRRGHH!!!" He stopped mid-sentence and exclaimed when she turned around, showing a skull for a face. The skeleton's arms embraced his waist and crushed it, digging its bony fingers into his shirt and flesh. He squirmed desperately, screaming hysterically as the skeleton hugged his body with incredible strength, crushing his bones and squeezing out the air from his body. "LET—ME—GOOO!!!" Riku screamed, tears flowing over his face like two small streams, his nose runny and his blood streaming steadily from where the fingers buried themselves into his waist and back. The skull spoke, "Aww, darling, you have such a svelte waist, I don't want to let go of it for the life of me...did I mention that along with 2.5 million...your life is included as well..? Don't you want to have an intimate connection with me..?" A girl appeared behind the skeleton, dressed in a black kimono with flowers scattered on it sparsely. She spoke in a voice that rattled Riku to his very soul. "O pitiful shadow bound in darkness, tormenting others and causing them pain, a soul drowned in your sins...let me show you what death is like." The skeleton's arms gave a final crush and Riku blacked out.

Splash. Splash. Splash.

Riku opened his eyes warily and felt the pain all over his body ripple like a wave. Despite that, he sat up slowly and looked behind him. The girl in the kimono was paddling. He looked around him. An entire body of water, as far as the eye can see, with lanterns floating on it. A peculiar moon of sorts was casting a forlorn glow on the surroundings,and the boat they were on was heading towards a gate of sorts. More like an arc seen at the temples, thought Riku. He turned to the girl and said, "Please, if this is about the bribery, I swear, I won't do it again, just turn this boat back around, please!!" He stood up and reached for her, but a multitude of hands from the boat started to pull him down. He caught sight of a young man sitting at the opposite side of the boat, watching and smiling. "...argh..! H-HELP M-ME!! HMMPH..." His voiced was muffled as the hands buried in his mouth and covered his entire being; a groping mass of hands. "You are coming with me," replied the girl. "We're going to Hell."

Author: The End:) Hope you enjoyed it! Please leave comments and thank you for reading my story!:D ありがとうございました！