CHAPTER 1: Everyday thug- Sanosuke Sagara

Sanosuke casually blew some of his spiky brown hair out of his face. He continued strolling down the busy street, not really having anything to do or anywhere to go. A toothpick hung idly out of his mouth, having been forgotten. He walked into his favorite diner, the Akabeko. The warmth of the diner felt good compared to the frosty air outside. It was winter and snowing, and the temperature was dropping by the day.

"Hey, Miss Tae," Sanosuke greeted the owner. The woman looked up and smiled.

"Hello, Sano," she said. "You here for lunch, or just to talk?"

"Actually, I'm here for lunch," Sano replied. Tae led him to a booth where he sat down. She handed him the menu. He opened it and stared for no longer than thirty seconds. He tossed it back on the table again.

"You've already decided, Sano?" Tae asked, looking up from her magazine. The diner wasn't busy at all: it was, after all, 3:00 in the afternoon. Sano grinned and nodded. He pulled the toothpick from his mouth and flicked it to the table.

"I'll have a cheeseburger, extra everything… and… a side order of fries," Sano said. Tae smiled.

"Okay. Sounds like a good lunch to me. What would you like to drink?"

"Coke," Sano said, putting his hands casually behind his head and leaning back into the seat. Tae walked away and into the kitchen. Sano could hear her giving his order to the fry cook in the back. Just then, another man walked into the Akabeko. He was wearing all black with a cigarette hanging from his lips. He was quite tall; at least a head taller than Sano. Wispy bangs hung in his face, which was long and angular. But his most distinguishing feature was his narrow, piercing, wolf-like eyes. They were golden and appeared to be taking in all of his surroundings. He had short, black gloves on and a long, black, pole-like object was hanging from his hip.

"Hello, sir!" Tae called, hurrying out of the kitchen. She grabbed a menu. "One?" The man nodded, following Tae to the booth across from Sano. Tae handed the man the menu and walked away. The man looked at it for a minute, then put it down and took some papers out of his pocket. He started to look at them. Sano tried not to stare, but his curiosity got the better of him and he peered over to see what the man was looking at. It appeared to be some sort of profile for a…

"What do you think you're doing?" the man snapped, crunching the papers together in his hands so that Sano couldn't see what was written.

"I-I-I… uh… dropped my contacts. I thought maybe they landed on your side…" Sano forged a quick lie. He grinned sheepishly.

"Ahou," the man grumbled. "Lying doesn't suit you." Sano glared at the man as he turned back to the papers.

"Hey, are you challenging me?!" Sano exclaimed. "Well, I'd be happy to take your offer!" The man glanced Sano's way, then turned back to his papers. Sano stood up and tore the papers from the man's hands.

"You really do want to fight, huh Rooster Head?" the man asked, standing and snatching the papers back. Sano glared into the man's cold golden eyes. Then, he raised his fist and delivered a powerful blow to the man's face.

"Well? Do you think I want to fight now?" Sano asked, smiling arrogantly. The man glanced down at Sano's fist, which was still pushing into his cheek. Then, he gave a sinister smile. Sano gasped and jumped back toward the booth.

"I take that as a yes," the man said. "But really, we shouldn't fight, Rooster. Your lunch is ready." He cocked his head toward Tae, who was standing at the door to the kitchen, mouth hanging open. Sano gave a final glare at the man, then sat down. The man also returned to his seat and continued to read his papers. Tae slowly walked over, then set the plate and glass of Coke on the table in front of Sano. Sano glanced at her and thanked her quietly. Then, he turned to his meal. He took a juicy bite and chewed it, letting the flavor fill his mouth. He swallowed, then continued with his meal. The door to the diner opened and a man with black hair walked into the restaurant.

"Hello! Table for one?" the man called out. Sano looked him over. His hair was messy and long. It was tied into a high ponytail. He was wearing a long-sleeved tie-dye shirt under a long jacket that hid his hands in the sleeves. His pants were and worn out jeans. They were torn in a variety of different places. His eyes glowed with an odd red light. Tae hurried out, getting the newcomer settled, then taking the other man's order. She walked into the kitchen again. Just then, the golden-eyed man stood and walked to the Red-eyes's table. He pulled a gleaming sword out from his belt. He held it to Red-eyes's neck.

"Get out of here and don't come back," Gold Eyes snarled. Red-eyes glared back. Sano gasped, then stood and hurried over to the two men.

"What do you think you're doing?" Sano cried, shoving Gold Eyes away from Red-eyes. Red-eyes stood up.

"Stay out of this, Rooster," Gold Eyes muttered, flicking the blade. "That thing is dangerous."

"What?" Sano asked, glancing behind him. "This man? No way! And he's not a 'thing.' You're the dangerous one!" Gold Eyes grabbed onto Sano's shoulder and shoved him away, approaching Red-eyes.

"Don't be so sure," Gold Eyes growled. Suddenly, Red-eyes lifted a limp sleeve and a slimy tentacle shot out, wrapping its self around Gold Eyes' neck. Sano nearly fainted. Another slimy tentacle slithered out of the other sleeve, working its self around Gold Eyes' stomach.

"W-wow… nice… special effects…" Sano gulped. Gold Eyes brought his sword crashing down on the tentacle around his neck and sliced it off, causing thick green slime to spray all over the floor. Sano backed up, shaken. But Gold Eyes and Red-eyes didn't seem to notice. Gold Eyes gave a grunt, piercing through the other tentacle with the sword. More green goop slopped lazily onto the floor. It landed with a SPLAT!

"You're still as good as ever, Wolf," the man with the tentacles growled. Sano glanced at Gold Eyes. He must be 'Wolf.'

"What's going on?" Sano asked himself as the two men continued their odd duel.

A/N: New fic for me, and a new way of uploading. It's fun to write, though. Might take a while for the next update, but any comments are appreciated!! Thanks for reading!!