- Author's Note - Miri and I must show sincere appreciation for the reviews this story has thus
received. Thank you very much, and I hope, should you continue to read, you will enjoy the
progression in the story. This chapter, we get our tale started as Usagi travels across town to
meet the illustrious Count Kamen (aka Chiba Mamoru) in his great manor-estate.
Thank you to Eternal SailorSaturn for so kindly contributing Andrew and Chad's Japanese
names.
- Key -
"..." -dialogue
'...' - thought
*...* - emphasis
(...) - quick explanations, drifting along with the story
[#] - author's note
* (5x's) - change of scenery
// ... // - diary entries, letters, articles, etc.
- Warnings - Mild language, dark (literally [no pun intended]), semi-adult themes, if you start
to become confused at the way the diary entries are set up, please tell me. If you've read the
book of Dracula, you know the entire book is written through letters and diaries and newspaper
articles, so I must include some of that to be in this story. Spontaneous comma splicing and
comma omission.
* * * * *
Kamen * By Seph Lorraine
Chapter 1: Creaky, Leaky, and Squeaky
* * * * *
// May 2nd; 2:43 AM --- Tsukino Usagi's Diary //
The ride across town into the eastern outskirts of Tokyo was less than pleasant. Riding on the
back of that cart was an experience I should hope to never experience again. My butt is really
sore from sitting on the wood, and lurching when we hit those speed-bumps. Itai...
I've gotten hay all over myself from sitting in the wagon. Garnfarnit! I didn't even know we had
hay in Japan?!
Anyways, I was told I would arrive at the manor around midnight. Ha! Well, it turns out we got
stuck in traffic. Something about a meteor crashlanding in the middle of the street, or something.
It's not important. We are currently on a really dark road, and it's hard to see for my writing. I
really don't know why I'm writing, except for Rei told me it would be cool to read over everything
I've done on the trip.
Sometimes I worry about Rei. I have a cell-phone! I can call her anytime! I hate writing, it
makes my fingers hurt... Yea, well, Rei, when you read this:
Next time you take a trip ANYWHERE, you better write me a whole frickin' bloody novel, because
this is a really low thing to do. And incase you can't hear me right now, I'm sniffling. Yea, that's
right! I'm... Oh! We've just pulled up infront of this really run down old shack. What are we doing
here?
Aa! The driver just told me that this is Count Kamen's manor-house-estate-mansion-shack-thing.
Whoa. This can't be right... I mean, this thing looks likes it was constructed out of tooth picks,
tape, and old band-aid boxes.
I guess he's on unemployment or something-- that must be why he wants that apartment on the
cheap side of town.
I'll talk later!
-Usagi
()_()
(^.^)
(")(")
* * * * *
At Count Kamen's Illustirous Estate-*cough*shack*cough*.
The shack was great in it's size, poor in decor. The boards over the windows gave an air of
hobo-ish-ness to the atmosphere. The paint was peeling from the outer walls, and the gardens
were full of weeds and prickly bushes. The wooden sign reading "Castle Kamen" had been
chopped in half, and the axe laid on the ground, still resting from it's cut.
Quite a cozy place, indeed.
"Er... Are you sure you have the right place?" Usagi tenatively stepped out of the cart, holding
her nausea from the smell of the horses ahead of her. She glanced at the driver, he merely
shrugged, setting down her bag and stuffing another piece of hay in his mouth. He climbed
back onto the cart and began to ride away.
"WHAT?! YOU'RE JUST LEAVING ME HERE?!" The blond stared on in shock as the cart wheeled
and bounced away, "YOU IDIOT!! COME BACK HERE!!"
The cart did not come back.
'How rude.' The blond growled.
Pissed, and a bit ruffled, Usagi turned back to the mansion-thing. She picked up her bags and
toed herself to the door. Dropping the bags at her side casually, she knocked loudly. The door
shook almost violently at her 'rap'ping, and she decided she would stick to pop and punk rock
from now on [1].
Suddenly the door opened.
A cry rung out through her mind as she saw the man who stood at the door.
'HE IS SO HOTT!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!!' Every hunk-censor in
Usagi's system was on full-blown alert. Red lights were flashing behind her eyes, and sirens
were ringing in her ears. She was definately going to enjoy her visit here.
The man at the door, a tall pale man with shimmering ebony hair messily tousseled about his
head, sweatdropped at the display before him. What was wrong with this guy? Who was he?
Why was he here? What did he want? Why was he blushing so? Why couldn't he have servants
to answer his door for him? 'Oh yea...Unemployment. Forgot that part.'
"May I help you, sir?" He spoke eloquently, putting on his charm, and bowing to the blond man
at the door before him.
"Ano... I'm here as a substitute for my brother, a Mr. Usagi's Brother. He passed away just
recently--" She-er-He began.
He quickly cut in, "Oh! How dreadful, however did it happen?"
"--A tragic accident with a rice ball just last week. It was really quite sad. We'll miss him dearly,
but ANYWAYS! I am here to take up the job so that you don't sue our family for all we own. I am
his sis-er-brother..." Usagi drifted off. She had forgotten to think of herself a name! How stupid
had she been!? "...Andrew! I usually work at an arcade, but I know all about this stuff." She let
out a nervous chuckle, hoping the hottie in the doorway would take the bait.
"Oh! You're his replacement solicitor. Well, that's wonderful, please come in." He stood aside
allowing -Andrew- to enter with -his-[2] bags.
The boy entered the doorway cautiously, glancing around wide-eyed at his surroundings and
looked to the man before him, "Gomen nasai... Anata ga Kounto Kamen, desu ka? Ano, Chiba
Mamoru, desu ka?"
The ebony-haired man blinked, "I don't speak that language..."
Trying to avoid rolling his eyes, Andrew frowned, "Wie heissen Sie? Count Kamen? Herr Chiba?"
"Erm... Not that one either." He replied, in a bashful way.
"Hablas Espanola?"
He shook his head, frowning.
"Parlez vous Français?"
Another 'no'.
"English?"
"Aa! I speak English..." He paused, "Haven't we been speaking in English fine up until now?"
Actually, it was odd that everyone, up to this point, had thought themselves to be speaking in
Japanese, which was just simply dubbed over into English by some divine entity, so that all
observers observing this observation could observe without difficulty. Unfortunately, they had all
been wrong. So very wrong.
Andrew sweatdropped, "Are you Count Kamen?"
"Yes, yes I am. I am Chiba Mamoru, otherwise known as Count Kamen."
"Well, that's nice. I'm sleepy, do you have a room for me?" Andrew bore his gaze at the Count,
his eyes drooping slightly, but forcing themselves to stay open and observe the drop-dead-
gorgeous Count Kamen.
"Yes, I do. Come with me Mr. Andrew. You may change and your dinner shall be ready for you
shortly (nevermind the fact taht no one eats -dinner- at such an insanely early hour in the morning).
The servants are preparing it in the kitchens." He nodded, motioning for him to follow as they
headed towards the rotten staircase. "I wll come in with you later so that we may have a bit of
discussion before you head into sleep." At this point he stepped on a rotten board which gave a
loud creaky and broke. The Counst stumbled, grabbing the railing and trying to pull himself back
up onto he next step. "Er... Don't step there."
Usagi was left in her room to freshen up and change, and she set her bags down carefully on the
springy mattress. There was a large red stain on the bed, kind of like dried blood, but she quickly
just determined it was just a weird design on the sheets. She opened her bags to pull out something
to wear and froze.
She was a guy, but she had forgotten to pack her brother's clothes. Now she was stuck with denim
skirts, tops of all colours, and a thin yellow dress. This is not how guys dress. She grunted, about
to forsee her doom, when her stomach growled loudly. She hadn't eaten all day! She needed food.
With that she headed into the next room, one connected to hers by a small oval room with two more
doorways (one locked, and one filled with books-- ick! who would go in there?). He entered the
sitting room, and the Count looked up from his seat by the fireplace. The reflection of the flames
danced in his eyes, and for a moment, the man looked even devilishly more handsome than before
(or perhaps he just looked like the devil).
"Welcome, please forgive me that I have already eaten, but you may help yourself." He gestured to
a table filled with various different foods, which the blond boy intended on devouring each and every
single one of. "We may chat while you eat."
He nodded and in one gulp, everything on the table was gone-- silverware included.
The Count sweatdropped slightly, "Er... Ok, then. Please have a seat! We have lots to discuss."
Hesitating slightly, Andrew seated himself in the chair opposite the Count, and they began to talk.
"So..."
"Yea..."
"Hm..."
"So..."
"Nice place you got here."
"You think? I built it myself, back in the roaring 20's."
"When?!"
"Er... Twenty months ago... You know. The place was roaring with bulldozers and whatnot."
"Really? What did you have to bulldoze?"
"Aa, nothing. Just some old Indian burial ground."
Usagi gulped.
* * * * *
To Be Continued...
* * * * *
Notes--
1] Sorry... ^_^ I couldn't help me self. Music joke, for you who didn't get it.
2] From now on Usagi will be referred to as Andrew/he unless she his alone, or I specify other-
-wise. This is to cut down on confusion. She's being Andrew because Usagi as a male and Andrew,
when I picture them in my mind, seem to look quite a bit similar. Andrew will still be Andrew, but
when I use him, I will call him the *real* Andrew (Unless someone is willing to lend his last name,
if no one knows it I'll make one up) and Andrew/Usagi will be Tsukino Andrew, ne? Gut!
* * * * *
Next Chapter--
The Count and *Andrew* have a long discussion over... everything. Usagi decides she needs to
phone home for someone to pick up her brother's clothes, only to find that she forgot to bring the
charger to her phone, and her battery has gone dead. What will she do without communication
with the outside world for a whole week!? Count Kamen hasn't paid his electrical bill so there's no
entertainment-- How will she survive these hard times? And then there's the matter of the Count's
house. It was built on an ancient Indian burial ground? But, there were no Indians in Japan!
* * * * *
[ Originally Drafted and Posted = 22 August 2002 ]
[ Edited and Reposted = 5 April 2003 ]
received. Thank you very much, and I hope, should you continue to read, you will enjoy the
progression in the story. This chapter, we get our tale started as Usagi travels across town to
meet the illustrious Count Kamen (aka Chiba Mamoru) in his great manor-estate.
Thank you to Eternal SailorSaturn for so kindly contributing Andrew and Chad's Japanese
names.
- Key -
"..." -dialogue
'...' - thought
*...* - emphasis
(...) - quick explanations, drifting along with the story
[#] - author's note
* (5x's) - change of scenery
// ... // - diary entries, letters, articles, etc.
- Warnings - Mild language, dark (literally [no pun intended]), semi-adult themes, if you start
to become confused at the way the diary entries are set up, please tell me. If you've read the
book of Dracula, you know the entire book is written through letters and diaries and newspaper
articles, so I must include some of that to be in this story. Spontaneous comma splicing and
comma omission.
* * * * *
Kamen * By Seph Lorraine
Chapter 1: Creaky, Leaky, and Squeaky
* * * * *
// May 2nd; 2:43 AM --- Tsukino Usagi's Diary //
The ride across town into the eastern outskirts of Tokyo was less than pleasant. Riding on the
back of that cart was an experience I should hope to never experience again. My butt is really
sore from sitting on the wood, and lurching when we hit those speed-bumps. Itai...
I've gotten hay all over myself from sitting in the wagon. Garnfarnit! I didn't even know we had
hay in Japan?!
Anyways, I was told I would arrive at the manor around midnight. Ha! Well, it turns out we got
stuck in traffic. Something about a meteor crashlanding in the middle of the street, or something.
It's not important. We are currently on a really dark road, and it's hard to see for my writing. I
really don't know why I'm writing, except for Rei told me it would be cool to read over everything
I've done on the trip.
Sometimes I worry about Rei. I have a cell-phone! I can call her anytime! I hate writing, it
makes my fingers hurt... Yea, well, Rei, when you read this:
Next time you take a trip ANYWHERE, you better write me a whole frickin' bloody novel, because
this is a really low thing to do. And incase you can't hear me right now, I'm sniffling. Yea, that's
right! I'm... Oh! We've just pulled up infront of this really run down old shack. What are we doing
here?
Aa! The driver just told me that this is Count Kamen's manor-house-estate-mansion-shack-thing.
Whoa. This can't be right... I mean, this thing looks likes it was constructed out of tooth picks,
tape, and old band-aid boxes.
I guess he's on unemployment or something-- that must be why he wants that apartment on the
cheap side of town.
I'll talk later!
-Usagi
()_()
(^.^)
(")(")
* * * * *
At Count Kamen's Illustirous Estate-*cough*shack*cough*.
The shack was great in it's size, poor in decor. The boards over the windows gave an air of
hobo-ish-ness to the atmosphere. The paint was peeling from the outer walls, and the gardens
were full of weeds and prickly bushes. The wooden sign reading "Castle Kamen" had been
chopped in half, and the axe laid on the ground, still resting from it's cut.
Quite a cozy place, indeed.
"Er... Are you sure you have the right place?" Usagi tenatively stepped out of the cart, holding
her nausea from the smell of the horses ahead of her. She glanced at the driver, he merely
shrugged, setting down her bag and stuffing another piece of hay in his mouth. He climbed
back onto the cart and began to ride away.
"WHAT?! YOU'RE JUST LEAVING ME HERE?!" The blond stared on in shock as the cart wheeled
and bounced away, "YOU IDIOT!! COME BACK HERE!!"
The cart did not come back.
'How rude.' The blond growled.
Pissed, and a bit ruffled, Usagi turned back to the mansion-thing. She picked up her bags and
toed herself to the door. Dropping the bags at her side casually, she knocked loudly. The door
shook almost violently at her 'rap'ping, and she decided she would stick to pop and punk rock
from now on [1].
Suddenly the door opened.
A cry rung out through her mind as she saw the man who stood at the door.
'HE IS SO HOTT!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!! OH MY GOD!!' Every hunk-censor in
Usagi's system was on full-blown alert. Red lights were flashing behind her eyes, and sirens
were ringing in her ears. She was definately going to enjoy her visit here.
The man at the door, a tall pale man with shimmering ebony hair messily tousseled about his
head, sweatdropped at the display before him. What was wrong with this guy? Who was he?
Why was he here? What did he want? Why was he blushing so? Why couldn't he have servants
to answer his door for him? 'Oh yea...Unemployment. Forgot that part.'
"May I help you, sir?" He spoke eloquently, putting on his charm, and bowing to the blond man
at the door before him.
"Ano... I'm here as a substitute for my brother, a Mr. Usagi's Brother. He passed away just
recently--" She-er-He began.
He quickly cut in, "Oh! How dreadful, however did it happen?"
"--A tragic accident with a rice ball just last week. It was really quite sad. We'll miss him dearly,
but ANYWAYS! I am here to take up the job so that you don't sue our family for all we own. I am
his sis-er-brother..." Usagi drifted off. She had forgotten to think of herself a name! How stupid
had she been!? "...Andrew! I usually work at an arcade, but I know all about this stuff." She let
out a nervous chuckle, hoping the hottie in the doorway would take the bait.
"Oh! You're his replacement solicitor. Well, that's wonderful, please come in." He stood aside
allowing -Andrew- to enter with -his-[2] bags.
The boy entered the doorway cautiously, glancing around wide-eyed at his surroundings and
looked to the man before him, "Gomen nasai... Anata ga Kounto Kamen, desu ka? Ano, Chiba
Mamoru, desu ka?"
The ebony-haired man blinked, "I don't speak that language..."
Trying to avoid rolling his eyes, Andrew frowned, "Wie heissen Sie? Count Kamen? Herr Chiba?"
"Erm... Not that one either." He replied, in a bashful way.
"Hablas Espanola?"
He shook his head, frowning.
"Parlez vous Français?"
Another 'no'.
"English?"
"Aa! I speak English..." He paused, "Haven't we been speaking in English fine up until now?"
Actually, it was odd that everyone, up to this point, had thought themselves to be speaking in
Japanese, which was just simply dubbed over into English by some divine entity, so that all
observers observing this observation could observe without difficulty. Unfortunately, they had all
been wrong. So very wrong.
Andrew sweatdropped, "Are you Count Kamen?"
"Yes, yes I am. I am Chiba Mamoru, otherwise known as Count Kamen."
"Well, that's nice. I'm sleepy, do you have a room for me?" Andrew bore his gaze at the Count,
his eyes drooping slightly, but forcing themselves to stay open and observe the drop-dead-
gorgeous Count Kamen.
"Yes, I do. Come with me Mr. Andrew. You may change and your dinner shall be ready for you
shortly (nevermind the fact taht no one eats -dinner- at such an insanely early hour in the morning).
The servants are preparing it in the kitchens." He nodded, motioning for him to follow as they
headed towards the rotten staircase. "I wll come in with you later so that we may have a bit of
discussion before you head into sleep." At this point he stepped on a rotten board which gave a
loud creaky and broke. The Counst stumbled, grabbing the railing and trying to pull himself back
up onto he next step. "Er... Don't step there."
Usagi was left in her room to freshen up and change, and she set her bags down carefully on the
springy mattress. There was a large red stain on the bed, kind of like dried blood, but she quickly
just determined it was just a weird design on the sheets. She opened her bags to pull out something
to wear and froze.
She was a guy, but she had forgotten to pack her brother's clothes. Now she was stuck with denim
skirts, tops of all colours, and a thin yellow dress. This is not how guys dress. She grunted, about
to forsee her doom, when her stomach growled loudly. She hadn't eaten all day! She needed food.
With that she headed into the next room, one connected to hers by a small oval room with two more
doorways (one locked, and one filled with books-- ick! who would go in there?). He entered the
sitting room, and the Count looked up from his seat by the fireplace. The reflection of the flames
danced in his eyes, and for a moment, the man looked even devilishly more handsome than before
(or perhaps he just looked like the devil).
"Welcome, please forgive me that I have already eaten, but you may help yourself." He gestured to
a table filled with various different foods, which the blond boy intended on devouring each and every
single one of. "We may chat while you eat."
He nodded and in one gulp, everything on the table was gone-- silverware included.
The Count sweatdropped slightly, "Er... Ok, then. Please have a seat! We have lots to discuss."
Hesitating slightly, Andrew seated himself in the chair opposite the Count, and they began to talk.
"So..."
"Yea..."
"Hm..."
"So..."
"Nice place you got here."
"You think? I built it myself, back in the roaring 20's."
"When?!"
"Er... Twenty months ago... You know. The place was roaring with bulldozers and whatnot."
"Really? What did you have to bulldoze?"
"Aa, nothing. Just some old Indian burial ground."
Usagi gulped.
* * * * *
To Be Continued...
* * * * *
Notes--
1] Sorry... ^_^ I couldn't help me self. Music joke, for you who didn't get it.
2] From now on Usagi will be referred to as Andrew/he unless she his alone, or I specify other-
-wise. This is to cut down on confusion. She's being Andrew because Usagi as a male and Andrew,
when I picture them in my mind, seem to look quite a bit similar. Andrew will still be Andrew, but
when I use him, I will call him the *real* Andrew (Unless someone is willing to lend his last name,
if no one knows it I'll make one up) and Andrew/Usagi will be Tsukino Andrew, ne? Gut!
* * * * *
Next Chapter--
The Count and *Andrew* have a long discussion over... everything. Usagi decides she needs to
phone home for someone to pick up her brother's clothes, only to find that she forgot to bring the
charger to her phone, and her battery has gone dead. What will she do without communication
with the outside world for a whole week!? Count Kamen hasn't paid his electrical bill so there's no
entertainment-- How will she survive these hard times? And then there's the matter of the Count's
house. It was built on an ancient Indian burial ground? But, there were no Indians in Japan!
* * * * *
[ Originally Drafted and Posted = 22 August 2002 ]
[ Edited and Reposted = 5 April 2003 ]