CHAPTER 3: Do You Believe in Demons?
He gave groan and leaned against the wall, staring at the sign on the wall. Stupid business cards…
Sano woke up. He stood and stretched. He was still in the elevator but… how long was he asleep? He glanced at the threes again.
"Stupid," Sano moaned, yawning. He sighed. It seemed like an impossible puzzle. He read the sign again.
'Press three, then wait. Then, press three and wait. Then, press three and wait. Then, press five.' Just then, and idea came to mind. What if he pressed three buttons? Then, that would be pressing three. And he could press five buttons as well! It was worth a shot. He pressed three buttons simultaneously. The door slid closed and the elevator began to drop. Sano waited patiently. Then, the door opened. There was a brick wall. Sano pressed three buttons again. The door closed and Sano was forced into waiting again. He waited for a while, itching to get out of the elevator. Again, the door opened to reveal a brick wall. Sano sighed and pressed three buttons at the same time. The door closed and he waited as the elevator dropped.
"HURRY UP!!" he yelled angrily. The door opened after a few moments and Sano leaped at the buttons, pressing five of them all at once. The doors slid shut and the elevator began its descent again. Sano waited for close to a minute. Then, the door opened. He was met with a long tunnel with silver walls that was lit with small round lights hanging from the ceiling. Sano gasped and hurried out of the elevator, lest he be stuck in it again. He stared for a moment at the silver walls in awe. Just then, a man turned the corner a few yards in front of Sano. He walked toward him.
"Excuse me, sir!!" Sano yelled, running toward the man. The man looked up. Sano recognized him as the same man as he had seen earlier at the diner. The one who had given him the business card.
"Rooster head," the man replied, giving him a cold amber gaze. Sano looked around, then said:
"Hey, you sure do have a weird elevator." Sano grinned sheepishly. "Or was it just me?" The man groaned.
"I'm surprised you got here. Usually people have to be rescued after about an hour of pressing threes," the tall man said, folding his arms across his chest. He stood a few feet away from Sano.
"Oh, I don't think I ever got your name…" Sano said. "But according to this…" he pulled the card out of his pocket. "You're Hajime Saito." The man stayed silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Yes, I am," he said. Sano studied him.
"Oh," he said. "Well, it appears I'm at the right place, but… why I'm here exactly I don't know." Saito turned around and began walking down the silver tunnel, his shoes clicking on the smooth concrete floor.
"HEY!" Sano yelled and ran after the man. He caught up with ease. "I'd really like to know what this place is. It has to be important because the elevator makes it really hard to get in!!" Saito stopped.
"You're right," Saito said. "You've heard of 'demons,' right?" Sano glared.
"Of course!" he exclaimed. "They're like bad spirit things that do bad things…" Saito nodded.
"Yes… do you believe in them?"
"Do you really think I'm that stupid? Of course everyone knows that demons aren't for real!! I mean what kind of idiot—" Sano started his rambling, but Saito held up a hand.
"Shut it, ahou. You have no idea what you're talking about," Saito said. "There are demons everywhere and they can take the form of anything they'd like. However, in this society, a human is the most popular form." Sano stared at him.
"You're a nut case, you know that?" Sano said. "I've really gotta go… if you could just tell me the way out I'll…" he turned to leave. Saito swiftly grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. Sano was jerked back.
"Demons are real," he said. "You want something to eat?" Sano stared at him, then, unable to resist free food, followed eagerly. They turned down a few empty corridors and finally walked into a large room with lots of black and silver picnic tables were sitting. They walked across the room to a row of small, clear doors that looked a lot like microwaves. Saito stopped in front of them.
"Soo… why are we looking at these doors?" Sano asked, staring skeptically into the door. He glanced at Saito who pushed a few buttons on the pad. Sano craned his neck to see what was inside the door. Suddenly, a bowl of plain hot soba materialized inside it. Saito took it out and headed for a table.
"What about my meal?!" Sano cried, sweatdropping. Saito looked casually over his shoulder.
"The menu's over there," he said, pointing. "Just enter the code." Sano glanced at the boxes.
They're haunted!! He thought, shuddering. How does it work? Evil black magic! That guy did say that demons exist, after all. Sano looked up 'pizza' on the menu. Pepperoni pizza was code number P5. Sano pushed the buttons and watched in awe as the pizza materialized behind the door. It was hot and the cheese was gooey. Sano cautiously pulled the delicious looking pizza out of the microwave-like device and hurried over to sit across from Saito.
"What is this place?" Sano asked. Saito looked up, in the middle of slurping soba.
"You have to believe in demons first," he said. Sano looked around.
"Okay, what if I said that I did?" he asked. Saito looked up again.
"You either do or don't. There's no 'in between,'" he replied, slurping some more noodles into his mouth. Sano sighed.
"I believe in demons," he said. Saito gave him a slight glare.
"Do you really?" he asked. Sano let out a growl and smashed his fist into the table.
"I BELIEVE IN DEMONS!! There! Do you believe me NOW??!!!" Sano cried, baring his teeth and giving an annoyed look. "DO YA?" Saito swallowed his soba, then looked at the furious teen.
"Yes, I believe you," he said. "But just making sure." Sano let out a sigh.
"Of what?" Sano asked.
"That you won't quit like a few others I've seen and that you won't be possessed by accident," Saito replied, lifting the bowl to his lips and drinking the broth. Sano stared for a while.
"Could you tell me what this place is NOW?!" Sano asked, becoming annoyed. Not like he wasn't before, but now he was even more annoyed.
"Sure," Saito said. "Finish your pizza." Sano looked down at his forgotten pizza and picked up a gooey slice. He took a large bite out of it.
"Fo? Wha' i' 'his 'lace?" Sano asked, his mouth full of pizza. Saito looked at him.
"Come again?" asked Saito calmly. Sano swallowed.
"So? What is this place?" he repeated, taking another large bite out of his pizza. Saito watched him chew, then began his explanation.
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A/N: Mmm……… hope you liked it. It's short, but I just had to get Sano out of the elevator. Thanks to everyone who's reading this (if there's anyone left…) I'll try to update sooner…
REVIEW RESPONSES:
MissBehavin: Did you like how Sano wormed his way out of this one? There'll be more to come! Thanks for reading…
Narakunohime: Yes, it is. The next chapter will be even more so… ^_^
Kairi7: You went to Argentina? How was it? Yes, now that "The Wolves Apart" is finished, I will be paying more attention to my other fics (such as this one.). You are not pathetic.
Sekihoutai: Thanks. Heh… I'll keep updating. Believe me…