Fred Jones Entry: Target: Maria Ramos

He is my master. I yearn to serve him, yet I fear him.  He won't transform me into one, yet I want to be transformed.  He has shown me immortality and strength, for the sacrifice of not being able to go out when the sun is up.  Is it really a sacrifice? It is just a matter of adjusting my waking hours.

If I do what he asks of me - commands me - I may yet be transformed. He has given me some powers.  To transform into animals, specifically, a wolf and a bat.  He has injected his genes into my blood.  Although I am not a vampire, and I cannot transform others, I can spread his genes into others - put them under his spell.

He has asked me to put the journalist, Maria Ramos under his spell.  I asked him why - He said it was none of my business - just that he met her at a party.

There she is.  I transformed into a wolf, but I will act like a dog.

She seems fearful, but I will be docile. She will think I am just a large lost dog.  She is searching for identification on me - talking to me like  I am a baby.  I slobber over her, lick her face.  She puts her hand near my mouth. I bite her, and run off.

Ron Sakamoto Entry: Abraham Van Helsing

Abraham Van Helsing was my great great grandfather on my mother's side.  Old family tale says that he fought a vampire back int he late 19th century.  The vampire was a Japanese warlord, named Kageura.  Abraham Van Helsing was a medical doctor, but also a scientest and researcher.  He kept a journal.

One such journal was titled, "Sword of the Undead,"  Supposedly, this chronicles his fight against the vampire.  I've never seen this journal, but it is talked about a lot at family get-togethers.  There are some of his writings I have seen, which reference this journal. 

I need to find these writings.  Perhaps it will help me with this case. 

Great grandpa Van Helsing had other journals, in which he wrote about other supernatural beings, but those are currently missing, as well.

I also want to talk to that Japanese character with the anime haircut. I think he might provide me with some clues also.

The incident at that vampire party really freaked me out.  I am beginning to believe that maybe these creatures do exist for real.

Maria Ramos Entry: Vampire Party

I got my boyfriend to go to this vampire party.  I as a journalist, he as a cop.  Just after sundown, we went to a house in the Silverlake neighborhood of Los Angeles - just northwest of downtown Los Angeles on the east side of the Hollywood Hills.  It's an older, eclectic neighborhood of working class and artsy class - and weirdo class - it's not surprising that this party would take place here.

The hostess introduced herself as Alicia.  I introduced myself and Ron and identified ourselves as journalist and detective, respectively.  We asked to only observe, that we didn't wish to participate.
Alicia asked the others - no one had any objections - so we were allowed in. Alicia invited us to join in if we found their lifestyle interesting.

In the age of HIV, its hard to imagine something like this.  They take precaution, but still very dangerous in my opinion.  But they do have rules - each participant is one half of a couple - both of whom know each other.  So, it's not like you are drinking a stranger's blood.  But still.  And why do it in a group setting - each of these couples can do it in the privacy of their own homes.  I guess it's to justify their lifestyle. 

Anyway, they prick their partner's fingers just so a little blood oozes out, kind of like when you get pricked to have your blood sugar levels tested, and the partners lick off the blood.  It's not like they bite their partner's neck and start drawing out gallons of blood.  All very tame, I was thinking, when one of the men actually attacked his partner by biting her on the neck. Blood started gushing out from the jugular. 

He looked up at the rest of us, chin bloodied, mouth dripping with his ex-partner's blood. He had his fill and wanted to escape. Ron took out hs gun and aimed.

"No, that won't do any good," someone yelled.

"The hell it won't" Ron answered. The "vampire" charged, and Ron shot at him  - emptying his magazine.  The bullets hit, I know - but the vampire just ran through them; He knocked Ron over, and ran out the door.

Everybody was understandably shaken.  "Sometimes, a real one infiltrates a group like ours," someone said, as is to educate us about their main concern regarding their lifestyle. 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You don't think real one's don't exist, do you?" 

I looked over at the dead body, neck shredded.  If the dancer and prostitute were also a vampire's victim, this was not the same one.  This one was too messy. 

Ron was groaning and holding his head.  He was recovering from the vampire's blow.  "Gotta go through great grandpa's notes," I heard him mutter.

Ron Sakamoto Entry: Chat With Jubei

I was walking along Hollywood Boulevard and peering in shop windows casually, when I saw that Japanese man who showed up at the two crime scenes.  I never did believe in return to the scene of the crime, but no harm in questioning this guy.  I walked into the coffeehouse, ordered coffee and sat at his table.

He was drinking tea.

"How's your coffee." I asked.

"It's not coffee, it's tea. And it's okay - I've had better."

"You showed up at the two crime scenes where the victim's had puncture wounds."

"Those are the one's I investigate."

"Are you some sort of detective?"

"Sort of."

"A vigilante."

"No.  Don't worry, I leave police work to the police."

"That's good." 

"So, you investigate crimes which the victims have puncture wounds. What are you, some sort of vampire hunter?"

"There was something familiar about you when I first saw you.  Yes. You should know."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Look at your old family albums."  he said, and disappeared.  I didn't get his name, and he literally disappeared. 

I decided to take the subway back into downton Los Angeles.  I saw a familiar face going down the steps.  "Hey, lady," I yelled, but she too, disappeared, like the stranger. But I knew that face.  It was Candy - the dancer.

Kageura Entry: New Recruit

My first disciple - woman can be warriors.  Women can even be Empresses who officially rule - But the Tokugawas and the Western influences which began during the Meiji Restoration put an end to that.  I learn that it changing again during this era.

Candy is her name. She danced for men. But she is strong willed.  Life did not go her way - she felt humiliated and ostracized, but did what she had to do - and most importnatly, kept her dignity in spite of what others might of thought of her profession.

Candy, yu are the first to be resurrected.  I have been recruiting others, and you will recruit others, and our recruits will recruit others.  And soon, we will have an army of warriors and we will be victorious.

Jubei Entry: From the Past

Another victim of Kageura was found today.  In a dumpster.  I passed by, and had a sense about the detective. I had the same feeling before, when the dancer was killed.

I told the detective that this victim was killed by the same one who killed the dancer. He looked at me, was about to say something in anger, but stopped.  "Do I know you?" he asked.  I don't know if he referred to the other night, or if he meant something else.

I sense that I know this man from a past era.

"I do not think so, yet I do sense that I know you," I answered.

"Humor me," he said, "How do you know it was the same killer?"

"By the smell," I answered.  He ignored me and walked away.

"Hey, Lieutenant," an patrol officer called to the detective, "The dancer,"

"What of her?"

"Her body disappeared from the morgue."

"What she do, walk away?"

"You're not kidding.  It's on tape."

Maria Ramos Entry: Headline: Vampire

My name is Maria Ramos.  I'm a journalist.  I write for an online newsite.  It's all going digital anyway - saves paper costs and trees.  I heard about the victim who dies from loss of blood, and the only wounds were two puncture marks in the neck. 

I don't believe for a second that this was the work of a real vampire - but someone who just thinks he's a vampire.  The Dracula complex is up there, probably second after the Napoleonic complex.

I have an advantage over other journalists on this case. My boyfriend is the lead detective looking into this killing.  Of course, he can't provide me with any confidential information, but I can do some research and feed information his way.  In a way, crime reporters can be second eyes to detectives.  The vampire angle is great.  I love Ron, but I am a journalist also.

I met Ron for lunch, bringing a free weekly community paper that caters to the alternative lifestyles in the city - and boy are there several - and unlike a small town in the mid-west, where a lot of this is hidden - in LA, all this is open information.

I asked Ron what he thought about vampires.  He reminded me that his great grandfather had supposedly encountered a vampire, but he thought of it as family legend, but since it was an old family legend, he knew a lot about vampire folklore - and no, he did not think this killing was done by a real vampire.  How about someone who thinks he's a vampire? I suggested.  He said, "Maybe."  I couldn't really get a handle on his thoughts on this case.

Anyway, I opened up the personals section and found an ad, which I read out loud, without thought, for it suprised me.  "Vampirism - for real - Group meeting for those interested in the lifestyle."  You don't see postings like taht on public internet get-together groups. 

I ended up calling, and got an address. I told Ron I was going - he protested - but I was adamant.  He insisted on going with me, for safety's sake.  And that's how yu get a cop to go with you to a "vampire" get-together.

It was all set, we were going to a gathering of vampires in the Silverlake district of Los Angeles on Friday night.  Lets see how close these vampire wannabes are to the real thing.

Ron Sakamoto Entry: With the coroner

The coroner confirmed that there were two puncture marks in the neck, and he felt that was where the blood was drained.  He paused, as if he wasn't sure he was sane, or if he thought I would consider him insane.

He took me to the body and uncovered Candy's face, pointing to the neck.  "Here's where the puncture wounds were."  They were gone.

"Doctor, this is unbelievable, but I believe you. I saw them myself at the crime scene." A could hear the doctor breathe a sigh of relief.

"I don't understand it," he said.  "We are in the stone age of science, but I can only think of one thing, and that's not science, that's supernatural - out of my realm of believability."

"I thought the same thing you are now, at the crime scene."  But when I got home, I started thinking.
My great grandfather was a doctor by the name of Abraham Van Helsing.  He claimed to have come across a vampire in his day - so my relatives like to tell.   It made me interested in his notes.  I need to find them.

"Your name's Yamamoto? but on the paternal side was a Van Helsing?"

"Sakamoto. And Van Helsing was on my maternal side - Picture bride and all, but it wasn't legal at the time, you know, between Whites and Asians. So, their daughter married a Japanese man, and their daughter, my mother married a man named Sakamoto."

"Oh, well. I didn't mean to pry into your family history."

"That's okay. I have a feeling I'm going to start prying into it myself."

Ron Sakamoto Entry: Candy's story

Her name was Candy Cain. At least that was her stage name.  Corny, I know.  But that's how she was billed.  She moved out here from Ohio when she graduated from high school.  She was the star of her high school's productions, and there was little doubt, she'd leave the town to make it in the major leagues.  The odds of a local talent making it big in Hollywood from out of the blue is like a local high school baseball star getting discovered by a major league scout while playing catch at the park.  But  they come anyway.  I don't fault them, but they should have a plan "B."Aspiring actresses come to Hollywood, dancers go to New York -  but it is as a dancer she made her living in Los Angeles.

Candy was actually a lucky one - she earned a good wage as an exotic dancer.  It's a perfectly legal way of earning money, too.  It just might be one where some personalities might hesitate to talk about.  Candy was one.  She didn't like being that type of dancer, but give her credit, she did what she had to do to earn money, legally. 

She had to deal with customers like Jones, so I'm sure she was pretty good at defending herself.  And Jones doesn't look like he could kill her in a fair fight, and he doesn't seem the type - though looks can be decieving.

Here's what we know. Candy confronted Jones.  Jones said he gave up and turned around.  I can't believe Jones killed her, but I can't believe he doesn't know anything else that happened after that.

Candy was found dead, but all her blood had been drained out of her.  There was no sign of spilled blood in the area, and that would be impossible, no matter how hard it was raining.  Unless she was killed someplace else and dropped off at the location where she was found.  But Jones' last location, according to his own admission, was almost exactly the same location where the body was found.

The coroner's report found no bullet wound, trauma by a blunt object.  Death was caused by a loss of blood.  It made note of two puncture marks in the neck.  I only know of one cause of death that is caused by puncture marks to the neck, and that is un-real.  It's time I had a chat witht he coroner.

Kageura Entry: Lots of Japanese

I was among the first of the Japanese to move to the United States.  I am sure I was the first in Los Angeles.  I am in a part of town where many of the business signs are written in Japanese and Roman characters.  Many Japanese must have moved here after I did.  I wonder if they are samurai blood or peasant blood.  No matter. Perhaps I will find many warriors here.  But, my warriors need not be Japanese, any nationaity will do, as long as they have the warrior spirit.

Ron Sakamoto Entry: Back to High School

Fred Jones dropped his wallet near  the crime scene.  I went to his home, but he wasn't at home. His neighbor told me that he was a widower, and had been somewhat withdrawn since his wife's death.  She told me that he was a principal at a high school in Torrance, CA. 

Torrance is a large beach city in Southwest Los Angeles County. It has a population of approximately 125,000.  It's the fourth largest city in Los Angeles County, and it's family friendly.

I arrived at the office, but just told her that Mr. Jones' wallet had been found, and I just wanted to inform him.  She buzzed me in. 

Mr. Jones was in his late fifties, a little young to be widowed, I thought.  He seemed mild mannered, but you never know.  I asked him how he came about being in that part of town.  He broke down.  Admitted he was lonely and followed a dancer for a block or two in the rain, offering her a ride home - yes, he was being a pest, but he had been drinking. What was it, had she pressed harassment charges against him?

No, she was murdered, I said.  He buried his face in his hands as if he couldn't believe it.  "You don't think I did it, do you?" he asked.  He swore she was alive when he last left her.  I said, no, he wasn't yet a suspect, but I was just trying to get to get some information to help solve the crime.  I don't know if he believed me.  I don't know if he killed the victim, but I don't believe him when he said she was alive the last he saw of her.

Jubei's Entry: It's a Large City

When I first moved to Los Angeles, the city had a population of only 5,000.  San Francisco, at that time had about 100,000 residents.  Even so, that is a small amount compared to modern day Los Angeles.  I did not move back to Japan after battling Kageura, along with Van Helsing, Seward, Harker and Holmwood. In fact, Van Helsing and I would meet up a few more times during his lifetime. 

I live as I have the past 300 years - drifting out of people's lives before they suspect the fact that I do not age.  I eat, but do not need daily, or even weekly nourishment, so it is easy for me to be out of sight.  While mortal, I was the oldest child of a high ranking clan - I had money money to begin with, and I still have money that was minted when I first arrived here.  I hid from the public during the war between Japan and the United States, but those times were among the busiest for me for the carnage brought out the  monsters.  Kageura had told Harker that he felt Japan would revert back into a dictatorship - and indeed it did - But Kageura, in that state he was in, I wonder if he secretly planned on being that dictator.  His current state was created out of an evil essence - one he has tried to fight, but cannot, as I have fought off.

I do not think he merely plans on an existence of killing innocents just to survive.  He was a lord in his day, he is ambitious.  He must have a plan for those he transforms.

In a city of 5,000 he was easier to trace.  But nearly 4,000,000, and compared to the last time, extremely more noisy, and developed, and smellier - it will be a difficult task in this environment.

Fred Jones Entry: I Lost My Wallet

I'm back at work today.  Of course, I can't let anybody know where I was last night. I suspect some of my male co-workers frequent the same type of places, but it's something that's not talked about at my job. I am a high school principal.  There would be nothing more embarrassing than for my co-workers, or students to find out.  Yet, I can't forget what I saw. I feel the need to tell somebody.  My wallet? Where is my wallet?

Ron Sakamoto: Strange homicide

I hate it when I get woken up in the early a.m. , especially on a cold rainy night.  People think it never rains in LA, but it does, and sometimes, pretty hard and pretty often.  Thank goodness I live nearby.  The murder took place in the Santa Fe Arts District - formerly full of warehouses, which developers tried to make into a gentrified neighborhood and they still are - but its progress was surpassed by othe parts of the city.  So, now, its an eclectic mix of artsy lofts, wholesale warehouse outlets and strip joints.  The victim, so I am told was a dancer at one of the neighborhood clubs.

The strange thing is, she was drained of blood, and no sign anywhere of the blood. Maybe the rain washed it away, but that's more of a supernatural explanation, more likely she was killed someplace else and disposed of here.

I noticed a strange man dressed in black. A lock of hair covered one eye, and a baseball cap covered his head.  Probably a gawker, but there was something about him that caused me to make a mental note of him.

Kageura Entry: My Castle is Gone

I have been resting underground since my resurrection.  It smells of waste.  It is waste.  But it shields me from sunlight.  Little beams of sunlight come through, but I can easily avoid them. Lots of rats. Mr. Renfield would enjoy this place. But I do not.  The castle I had comissioned to be built is gone.  It is now a huge bowl like structure with very bright lighting.  It is here, that I will raise my army.

Author's Entry: I'm stuck

Originally, I was going to have a couple of runaways who were friends with the dancer as primary characters, try and solve the mystery, then become students of Jubei. But then I thought, maybe a one on one battle between Jubei and Kageura.  I'm not sure, yet. I might try different scenarios, which might make this blog somewhat confusing, but if things in this blog don't go from point A to point B, logically, it's probbaly because i'm trying to figure stuff out (which there will be a lot of) - hopefully, a great final product will come out of this blog - or ideally, a whole series of adventures/battles.

Kageura's Entry: I will create an army

I walk along a stretch of road in the middle of town.  Strange vehicles, but lots of people on foot.  Most are despaired, but among the people, are a special type. They have lost hope. Many are young.  They remind me of the inhabitants of Onigashima.  But, instead of co-existing with them, I will be their leader.  They will serve me, and in doing so, will find a purpose in their existence.  And our kind wil rule over those who would banish us from society.

Jubei's Entry: He's Back

I know I destroyed him over 100 years ago, and 250 years before that. But he keeps resurrecting. Since he placed his cursed injury onto me, I, too, must walk among the living after my time, but differently.  I must do battle with those who feed off the souls of the living.  It was at an intersection of a desolate area of Los Angeles.  I was drawn there, but didn't know why at the time.  Yellow police tape.  I saw the victim - drained of blood.  And I knew. It wasn't any other vampire - I instinctively knew - Kageura is back.

Fred Jones Entry: What I Saw

I am a widower, and sometimes I need to let off some steam.  I don't do it often, but it was raining; I was depressed. I decided to go to the club. There is a dancer there I like, Candy. She probably never noticed me - though she did, last night - my fault, I was drunk and obnoxious towards her.  I just wanted her to be with me.  So, I waited for her to leave. I followed her as she walked in the rain.  I kept asking her to keep me company.  I saw a figure appear behind her. She turned around to tell me off, and then she turned around and Oh, God! I can't bear to remember.

Kageura's Entry: At the Strip Club

I walked into an entertainment store tonight.  100 years have passed since I last walked among the living.  The world has visually changed, but the culture of the living has not.  Alcohol is served to the men, and women dance to entertain men. 

An obnoxious man was harrassing a dancer.  It was too much for her. She cried and left the room.  He ruined his own entertainment.

Later, I walked outside.  The dancer is walking in the rain.  The man who harassed her is following her in a horseless carriage.  The dancer turned around to insist to the man to leave her alone.  When she turned around, I fed on her, and in return, she will receive immortality.   I looked towards the man. He was staring at me.  Scared.    "From now on," I commanded, "You are under my command."

The man sped off thinking to escape, but he is already under my control.