Jump 'n Jive

"It's a nice place, so long as you believe in yourself," the cat figurine said. "If not... well... prepare to become a permanent resident."

Saya's eyes widened. "Seriously? Do you turn into a cat or something?" The expression on the Baron's face confirmed that. "Wow... Perhaps I should go there. I've always wondered what being a cat would be like." And I'd love to see the look on Train's face if he saw me.

"Ew, forever? Okay, I might not want to go there anymore." Saya laughed, a little embarrassed. "While I think it'd be cool to be a cat, I kind of like my oposable thumbs. So," she leaned in to Kantarou, "where can I find one of these obake? A cat vacation would be great."

Baron finished his tea and set the cup down. "What exactly is an obake, may I ask?"

"Amazing... Perhaps I should see if one would like to join my bureau..." The baron stood. "Well, I must be going. It's getting late, and I'm sure Toto and Muta are waiting for me." He tipped his hat. "Good night. I hope you don't ever have to come to the bureau."

He left, walking out into the cool air.

"Hey, there's a new guy," Saya commented, gesturing to the person who just entered the club. "I wonder if he's friendly."

"Let's wait for him. No need to put him on the spot." Saya sipped her milk. "If he comes to the bar for a drink, then we can talk then. Meanwhile," she set down her empty milk bottle. "I'm gonna go dance." She stood up and went to the dance floor.

"Bye, Kantarou-kun!" Saya shouted over the music, waving.

Then when a girl came in singing Karaoke, Saya was laughing. The girl was terrible. If only Train could hear her; he wouldn't complain so much about Saya's own "annoying song."

"Hey there," she said, waving. "Name's Saya. You?"

"I'm Saya," she said, glad the music had quieted down a little bit. It seemed the DJ was taking a short break. "Lucky High, huh? I head that's a pretty cool school. Do you come here often?"

"You should probably go and study," Saya advised, "and don't say you don't use what you learn in school. I'm a sweeper--bounty hunter--and I use math all the time for my ricochet shots." She grinned. "It helps me catch all those pesky bad guys."

"Oh really?" Saya smirked. "Where do you work? I bet it isn't as exciting as sweeper work."

Saya laughed. "I suppose I could say the same about my sweeper job, though my parents think I should settle down already." Many believed sweeper work dangerous, too much so for a woman to do the job. When they met Saya, they always swallowed their words. She was a daredevil and always ready to do what it took to take down the baddies. "So waht do you plan to do when you grow up, Konata?"

Pokemon? Saya had never heard of the things, but she assumed they weren't real. "Well, what you want to do when you grow up is up to you, not what your dad chooses," Saya explained. "Say, you seem to like video games and anime. Why don't you try to do something with them? Like be a voice actor or a game designer."

Saya chuckled. "I wish I could live life like that. I guess I'm just too much of a doer than a hand-it-offer. If I were, I wouldn't be a sweeper." She wasn't sure if she liked this girl's approach to life, but she supposed to each their own. "You know, you might like sweeper work. You don't even have to go out to catch the bad guys. There's actually a person whose job it is to just collect jobs to hand off to others."