Second Glance - A Vampire Tale
BY Lil Nezumi
--
Summary: AU/Continuation after book 10. Leon, Chris and all other police personnel have lost their memory of Count D, his Pet Shop, critters etc… However, some things are remembered by the subconscious mind… How will these things change our favourite characters? How will their lives change and did they begin to change before they lost their memories?
Timeline: In the books, Chris was 6 or 7. Leon had become a regular visitor to the Pet Shop for quite a while prior to the end of the series.
AU TIMELINE: Leon began investigations one year prior to Chris appearing due to the fact that trust was there for him to leave his little brother in Count D's care without worry.
1. Beware major OOC within my AU/Continuation storyline.
2. Chris has been around the shop for about three years. After that he had decided to speak and move back to live with his aunt and uncle, he was 10.
3. Leon's changes began to occur about two years after his brother began living at the pet shop. Not really apparent at that time to anyone involved with the brothers or even to Count D, as the changes were only occurring after hours and neither D nor his younger brother were ever told about them.
4. The Dracula episode in the Manga did not take place at all in my timeline. I'm rewriting it to occur after all the mangas, beside it fits into my timeline and helps with my story outcome.
Disclaimer: All characters of Pet Shop of Horrors belongs to Matsuri Akino, only modified for my pleasure and yours, if you willingly enjoy my story. I make no money from writing this and frankly earning something for doing something this fun sounds too much like real work to me.
LEGEND:
"Talking"
'Thoughts or emphasis'
(...Chris...)
--
Prologue:
--
"Hey Leon," Jill called out to him. "You want to get together with us tonight to celebrate."
"Celebrate what," he asked in a distracted tone. He was currently typing in his 14th request to transfer to into the Interpol Program. If this didn't work then he would continue his studies until he became a private investigator and was able to move to another country. 'All this studying has to get me out of here', he thought. 'I need to move somewhere my aunt and uncle can't chase Chris.'
"Celebrate the closure of the Heartford case," she explained. "You were wonderful with the way you were able to determine who murdered the heiress. We're going out to celebrate our much deserved success."
He replied absentmindedly, "No thanks, I'm too busy."
Jill shook her head and left the building, following the others out of the office.
That has been almost his standard reply lately, "No thanks, I'm too busy." Everyone wondered what he was too busy with and they were beginning to get worried at the changes that they have seen come about in him.
He went from brash, abrasive and uncouth to, well not exactly peaceful, but contained and calmer. No one would ever say he was refined, but he did acquire some modicum of politeness, which everyone attributed to his always hanging out in Chinatown. No one in the precinct knew what he did there, but his hand to hand skills had greatly improved. The same could be said with his hand eye coordination.
No one was about to complain or demand an explanation either, at this time, because his arrest record was impeccable. He seemed to be able to deduce a lot of the criminals' premeditations and determine many of the motives or the criminal intent of many their culprits better then ever before.
His physical changes were often remarked upon, usually out of his earshot though.
He was no longer wearing his hair in the late 80's shaggy rocker style. He had let his hair lengthen to his mid-back, which forced him to change the way he tied it. He still tied it at the nape of his neck, but then braided it down and tied the end off. His bangs grew longer, feathered to the side of his head and he always pushed several of the escaped strands behind his ears.
His clothing had not improved too much, he still wore jeans, runners, T-shirts with goofy sayings, but they were now always neat and tidy. He didn't smoke much anymore, in fact if everyone at the precinct took the time to compare notes they would realize that he hadn't been smoking at all since his little brother Chris had been taken from him.
All of this has been going on since his young brother Chris had returned to living with his Auntie and Uncle in Boston. They came and took him away when Leon was out working on a difficult and dangerous case.
They had heard that Chris has started speaking again and therefore since he was back to "normal" they came and "fetched" him, as if his silence was a disease they needed to have fixed or cured. Leon snorted softly whenever he thought about this.
Leon was no fool, when it came to the motives of his Aunt and Uncle. He knew that should his little brother feel threatened or ever hurt that deeply again, he would clam up once more.
That's why he began his "extra" training for Interpol. The reason he didn't want anyone to know about it, was that he'd had many difficulties before because of the linguistic requirements. Now, suddenly after years of trying to grasp another language, he found that he was able to understand the simple and complex nuances of French and Italian, verbal and written. He studied those two as his preferred languages because he was hoping to end up some where overseas, working either privately or for one of the American Embassies or Consulates in either France or Italy.
However, for the fun of it and due to his additional physical training that was taking place during night classes in L.A.'s Chinatown, he was grasping, with total auditory comprehension only, the complex Chinese language and most of the strange, but interesting cultural nuances and style. There was not a lot of style or cultural nuance to learning French or Italian, as they were fairly similar to America in the timing of their growth. But the Chinese culture was deeply seeded with history and style. The silks, food, screen doors etc… all drew Leon to adopt something from them, even if it was only deeper appreciation for the culture itself.
His grasp of languages did, of course, coincide with Count D's departure, but as Leon no longer remembered anything from their time spent arguing over tea, everything he was now learning was no longer confusing to him. All of his memories with the Count seemed to have been pushed deep into his mind that there were times when they only surfaced in his dreams, but he never remembered the details, only the sense that something was now missing and lost to him.
Hoping to pass the last criteria this one final time, he applied once more to the Interpol Program.
Leon knew that he would need to leave America in order to obtain a couple of multi-national citizenships. Once that was done, gaining custody for Chris should be easier.
He had decided to apply for the furthest and hardest location, thinking that China would not accept him because he couldn't read or write in that language, but one of his other preferred countries would. If all this worked out, then by the time that Chris was in his teens, which of course will be the more trying age for his Aunt and Uncle to deal with, Leon would hopefully have a home ready for both of them overseas.
--
Chris was ten, when his Auntie and Uncle came to "fetch" him. He also knew that, at the time, his brother was working towards a scheme that would allow him to live permanently with his "Big Bro".
He knew that Leon need some time and space on his own to get everything set up. Therefore, in his young mind he knew that he needed to 'allow' his Aunt and Uncle to believe that they had succeeded in luring him back to Boston and away from his brother's 'bad' influence.
He also knew in his heart that he was leaving something else behind, but having forgotten all the events with Count D and his Pet Shop, it passed from his conscious mind and rested far too deep in unconsciousness to ever be brought forward by any immediate circumstance.
He had felt some changes occur within himself and found that he was drawn to the same languages that his brother was currently studying. More importantly, though, he was drawn to the arts. He had begun to draw and sketch things when he was living with his brother, but now he found a strange near consuming need to carry a small sketchbook and various pencils, charcoals and pens of all shapes and sizes with him at all times.
His drawings began slowly with bits and pieces of a person, place and/or thing. Lashes, lips, eyes of every shape size and from every kind of creature he came across. He drew fingers, hands, lamp-posts, textured hair and animal fur, doorways and doors, windows, buildings, signs, leaves from different trees, claws and paws of animals found around town and the zoo. He continued to draw only incomplete images, almost like the shadows of the things he truly wanted to draw.
He continued in various mediums branching out into water colours and oils only to finally settle on both with favour. He kept his paintings and drawings, small, but very detailed, mimicking places and various environments without any creature or person in them. It was like he was preparing to add them later, maybe on larger canvases, but he never stopped drawing, painting or sketching. He just felt like he couldn't stop.
His Aunt and Uncle were not thrilled about this, however since Chris was clean cut and not involved with the darker elements of the city and as long as Chris continued his studies and played at least one athletic sport, this to please his uncle, he was 'permitted'' to continue his 'frivolous' past time. They were hoping that he would eventually outgrow it, but Chris was hoping that Leon would succeed a lot earlier, in order for him to be able to quit all sports.
Chris figured that around the time he was about to be 14 years old, he would have to start slowly rebelling against his Aunt and Uncle, hopefully to get them to let him go once more. If they didn't, then he decided that at around or about 16 years old that if, and only if, Leon had succeeded in his plans, he would get more drastic in his rebellion.
He knew the kinds of things that his Aunt and Uncle 'disapproved' of and he would definitely do some of those. If he had to he would begin a life of petty crime, like lifting stuff for his unnatural 'habit' a.k.a. his drawings.
Still he hoped that everything would turn out well and with as little pain as possible. His only other option was to create or fall into a nasty situation that would necessitate his silence once more, knowing that his relatives could never handle that happening again. Should he be institutionalized, his options would really be slim in order for him to be placed in his brother's care, but he was prepared to take whatever chances he could for the best.
--
Sofu D had advised his grandson on what he thought was the best course of action at the time that D's father became a baby, but now his frustration in his grandson's lack of enthusiasm was building. His grandson was working, but not at his best. It looked like he was pining for the uncouth detective. This would have to stop or else Sofu would need to do something very drastic about this new turn of events.
He decided to look into how the detective was fairing, his current situation and whereabouts. He discovered quite surprisingly and pleasingly that the detective was adapting, improving his living situation and lifestyle.
Sofu frowned in thought wondering at the changes he could detect within that human male and found something extraordinary. The detective had already begun to change his thoughts and plans to accommodate his grandson's needs to move locations. It was not something that his grandson was aware of and would never have known until the detective was sure that he had succeeded in his endeavours.
The detective's own brother was changing as well. His young mind was affected by the incense from the shop, as well as prolonged exposure to the 'other' sight, which had caused the young boy's mind to change as well. He was far more accepting of this otherworldliness and was now growing into a fine young man.
Sofu looked further into the souls of these brothers and saw that they were each in their own way pining for his wayward grandson, for animals of the Pet Shop and for the Shop itself.
Glancing down at the baby in his arms and looking into the violet eyes of his infant son, he saw an innate understanding flash in the child's eyes.
Fluttering his long sooty lashes and blinking cutely at his father, the baby showed acceptance to any decision Sofu chose to make from this point on. Baby D laughed and gurgled joyously pleased with how things were beginning to turn out. He hoped in his tiny heart that his son would eventually know that everything was all right by him.
Sofu was confused by the deep knowledge that his baby son seemed to impart, but finally making his decision, he looked down at Baby D and smiled. Baby D giggled his laughter once more and clapped his tiny hands in agreement, as though knowing exactly what Sofu D was about to do.
--
TBC...