CHAPTER 2: The Business Card

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

The man with the tentacles backed away, dripping green slime all over the floor. He charged forward, growing his tentacles back with ease. One lashed out and attacked Wolf, but he easily jumped away.

"You and the rest of the Demons of the Juppongatana will be returned to the same dark hole that you came from, Shishio!!" Wolf yelled. The man with the tentacles, Shishio, was growling and spitting, backing away even further.

"I won't tell you a thing," Shishio snarled.

"What's going on?!" Sano cried, very confused. Wolf thrust his sword out and managed to pin a tentacle to the wall. Then, he took out a small gun.

"Your days of terrorizing the city of Tokyo are over, Shishio," Wolf said. "And you won't talk, so there isn't anything to keep you alive for." He pulled the trigger, sending a small beam shooting toward Shishio's head. Sano didn't see anything happen, but Tentacle man slumped to the floor. His breathing was slow and unsteady. Sano glanced at Wolf, who was pocketing the gun and sheathing his sword.

"You… what happened?" Sano asked. The taller man glanced at Sano, then grabbed a tentacle and dragged the body into the kitchen. Sano heard Tae's scream and ran in. He saw her standing by the sink, the chef by the grill, and Saito dropping the body into the large vat of hot oil to make French fries with. Wolf pulled out a small bag of what appeared to be jelly beans.

"Here, eat this," Wolf said. "It's to make sure you don't get sick from the goop from his tentacles." He handed one to Sano, Tae, and the chef. Sano looked at it carefully, but Tae and the chef ate it instantly. Sano shrugged and popped it into his mouth. It was sweet and sugary.

"How's this supposed to—" Sano started, but suddenly, he blanked out. He blinked a few times, then looked over to a tall man.

"What happened?" Sano asked, rubbing his head. "Why am I standing here?" He squinted at a tall man standing next to him near a large vat of boiling oil. Something slimy was hanging out.

"You are here for lunch," the tall man said. "Your food is on the table near the window. Tae is your waitress and the green goop on the floor is discharge from the stove. It needs to be fixed." The tall man began to walk out.

"Hey, who are you?" Sano yelled after him. The tall man turned around and tossed Sano a small business card that was completely blank. Sano stared at it for a moment.

"But this is—" Sano started, looking back up to where the man had been standing, but he had already left. Sano turned the small card around in his hand. The other side was also blank. He walked back out into the dining room and sat down to eat his burger.

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"So? How'd your mission go, Saito-san?" Okita asked, grinning. He stood next to the same man from the diner, the one called Wolf. Okita was obviously younger than Wolf. His face showed no signs of age and the boyish smile that played across his face was not that of a grown man. (A/N: I think Okita was actually Saito's age, but this IS FICTION after all…) He and the other man, Saito, walked into an old alleyway and stood by a dumpster. Saito opened the top.

"I defeated Shishio," Saito said. "But as you know, it's harder to kill him than we expect. Without a doubt, he'll be back." Okita nodded, stepping up onto a small foothold on the dumpster. Then, he swung the other leg into the dumpster its self and grabbed onto the edge to keep his balance.

"But while he's recovering, his group will be out of commission," Okita said. "That'll leave us enough time to apprehend some of them and make the others easier to capture." He swung the other leg into the dumpster, then let go, falling in. Saito followed suit, landing a few feet below the ground.

"I should report to Hijikata," Saito said. "I'll meet you in the training room." Okita smiled and waved as he took another tunnel that led away from Saito. Saito continued on through the main tunnel, which was painted silver, then opened a door and walked into a white room with round, black-and-silver chairs along the sides. This was the testing room. He walked casually to the end of the room and opened a concealed door. He walked in.

"Saito…" a voice emerged from the darkness. Saito sighed.

"Why do you leave the lights off all the time?" Saito asked, flicking a switch on the wall. The man at the desk at the far side of the room laughed. The room was painted light blue with white triangles at the bottom where the wall met the floor.

"It trains my senses," the man said, shrugging. He stood. "How was your mission? Did you…" Saito nodded.

"Yes, Hijikata-dono, I did find Shishio," Saito said. "Your information really is flawless. He arrived at the Akabeko at exactly the time you predicted." Hijikata rubbed his nose.

"Ah, well, when it comes to my job, I take it very seriously," he said. "And what of Shishio?" Saito glanced at the shorter man.

"Fried," Saito said. "Though I'm sure he'll be returning. You can't get rid of HIS kind so easily." Hijikata nodded.

"I see," he said. "You've done a good job. Anything on the Demons of the Juppongatana?" Saito shook his head.

"Shishio wouldn't talk," he replied. Hijikata nodded some more.

"Okay," he said. "You may go." Saito turned and walked out, strolling into the silvery main tunnel. He turned down another and walked into another, bigger room where many black and silver metal picnic tables were scattered across the floor. There was a bunch of square doors in the far wall which, if one didn't know any better, could be mistaken for microwaves. Next to the doors was a long poster that had many different foods written on it with codes next to the words. Saito walked over to one of the doors and pressed 'S3.' He watched through the clear door as a bowl of plain hot soba with chopsticks across the bowl materialized behind it. He promptly opened the door and pulled it out, walking to a table and sitting down. The room was empty. He began to eat, thinking hard about the days events.

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Sano finished his burger, Coke, and fries. He sat back, studying the business card. What could he gain from this? He studied it some more, then put it on the table and grabbed his glass of Coke. He picked up the business card again, his wet fingers leaving marks on the paper. Then, a letter appeared in the wet spot. Sano nearly jumped out of his seat.

"What is this?" Sano asked, staring at the small card. A fat man passed his table.

"It's a business card, stupid," the fat man grunted, sitting at the table across the way. Sano looked at the man, then back at the card. He slowly wiped the card on the wet Coke glass, watching letters appear. The fat man gave a grunt as he watched Sano play with the card and stare at it in fascination. Sano glanced over at the man, then stood.

"Wait! Your bill!" Tae called, running across the goop on the floor to Sano.

"Put it on my tab," Sano said, walking out and into the snowy streets. He hurried over to a pile of snow and picked up a wet chunk of it, wiping the water onto the card. The rest of the letters were then revealed. He dropped the snow, wiping his hands on his pants. The card read:

Hajime Saito: Third Leader

Shinsengumi Organization

1 Miburo Avenue

Sano stared at it, then at his watch. It was only 4:30. Sano shrugged. He might as well check it out. There wasn't anything better to do anyway. He walked through the city, reading signs. Eventually, he found the street. There was only one building on it. Sano checked the card, then looked at the number on the building. It was number one. Sano hurried toward the building- it was snowing harder now. He stepped into a large concrete hall with granite floors. He floor in the hall was lined with white triangles. His sneakers made squeaky sounds on the sleek floors. At the end of the hall, there was an elevator.

"What is this?" Sano asked, pressing the 'up' button, which was, after all, the only button to press. After waiting a minute, the elevator came and he stepped in. He turned to the buttons in the elevator as the door slid shut. Every button was labeled: '3.' Sano stared, slowly pocketing the small business card. There was no 'lobby,' no 'door open' or 'door close.' There wasn't even an 'emergency stop' button! Every button was labeled '3.' There was a sign on the wall. Sano read it. It read:

'Press three, then wait. Then, press three and wait. Then, press three and wait. Then, press five.'

"Five?" Sano wondered aloud. Feeling like the entire trip was pointless, Sano decided to press the first 'three.' He felt the elevator rise, then stop. The door opened to reveal a brick wall, startling him. He pressed another three. The elevator doors closed and he felt the elevator fall. The door opened to reveal another brick wall. Sano sweatdropped, then pressed another three. The elevator moved again, opening to yet another brick wall. Sano looked at the sign.

"Five…" Sano muttered, looking at all the threes. "There's gotta be a logical explanation to this. He sighed and sat down. "But if there isn't, I'm stuck in here for the rest of forever! I don't know how to get back down!!" He gave groan and leaned against the wall, staring at the sign on the wall. Stupid business cards…

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A/N: Tell me what you think of this chapter. I need to know if it's good enough otherwise…

Anyway, thanks for reading!! And as I said on my other fic, I might not update for a while, company is coming…

REVIEW RESPONSES:

Anne Miliardo: Okay thank you! Yeah, it'd be surprising if this wasn't an AU fic and Sano was eating a burger and fries!!

Kairi7: O_O it's you again!! ^__^ Hey, you like Sano! I didn't know that… I don't think… maybe I read it and forgot… ^-^; It won't mess up my updates and if it does, I'll put it on hold for you. Thanks!!

Nannon: Thanks.

Narakunohime: Right… I'm updating!

MissBehavin: O_O It's YOU!!! AHHHH!!! ^__^ Heh. Thanks. I got the idea when watching the movie and seeing how Saito's personality is like K's and how Sano and Saito interact the same way K and J do.

PraiseDivineMercy: You're right. Saito is a lot like K. That's where I got the idea!! Kenshin will appear soon, I promise!! And so will Aoshi and Misao… and probably many others.