Pet Shop Of Horrors Fan Fiction ❯ The Journal of One, Leon Orcot ❯ May 5, 1999 ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
May 5, 1999
So, I've decided that I'm going to keep making my way to major cities, like I have been, but in every small town that I stop, I'm going to poke into the local pet shops. I can't go into every town in the world, but if I only make quick stops in the larger towns I take on my main route, I might actually make a discovery. I'm using the first alias from my list.
There's 3 pet stops in town. Two of those are big chain stores. I'm scratching them off the list right now. I'm looking for specialists, and kids that are working part time jobs selling fish and rats aren't going to have any information. The last and most promising one is on the East side of town. Let's try my luck as “Christian Arata.”
* * *
Well, that wasn't as helpful as I had hoped it would be. But I guess that's to be expected. It's naïve to think I'd get a bite on the first cast, so-to-speak. Speaking of fishing, I should probably grab a rod. I could fish in the less populated areas, maybe. Then again, it would probably waste a lot of time. Eh, I'll decide later. Maybe one of those silly pocket fisherman things, if I see one. Or maybe I'll just buy some line and tie it to a stick. I don't need anything fancy.
I'm really getting off track. Right.
It turns out, that most of the pet places around here mostly cater to horses. Which is actually a good thing. D had access to horses. I mean, he did help supply the horse for that movie set I pulled duty on. Yeah, that was fun. And he knows a good bit about horses. So, I'm betting a breeder might know something about Count D.
Turns out, despite my best attempts to avoid it, I ended up talking to some teenaged halfwit working a part time job. He said that the owner of the supply store did own a stable nearby, but that he was away on business. And the kid had no idea when the guy would be back. Figures. I gave him my 'name' and asked for a good number to call. The kid didn't want to give me his boss's phone number (Which, given my appearance, is understandable. Point to the teen. Mental note: freshen up before approaching the next guy. If I'm a 'customer', I'm going to at least need to look like I CAN take care of an animal.) I got the facility number instead, told the kid I'd call back in a couple of days, and left.
It's getting late now. I should probably find a place to sleep. I saw a bridge that looked pretty inviting about a mile from the shop. Let's just hope that there aren't any territorial locals fighting for that same spot. I've mostly been lucky on that: I've really only have a handful of squabbles over a place to sleep. But most of the time the local bums relax when the realize that I'm just passing through. But not always. I got sliced by one crazy lady in France. (I guess people aren't kidding when they say that the French are rude to Americans...although I'm betting most of them never got stabbed.) It was pretty superficial, but deep enough that I made my way to a clinic, where, hah, the French doctors proved just as inviting as the local bridge dwellers. I think that doctor took some sort of sick pleasure in stitching the wound shut. And I'm pretty sure that anesthetic was placebo. Good thing I have high pain tolerance.
So, I'll get a night's rest. Then I guess it's off to the next major city. I'm looking at my map. Looks like the next best town to try on my way to Amsterdam is Hengelo. Shouldn't take too long. I'll sort of follow route A1 all the way up. You know I used to think all these back packers were insane for going across Europe like this. But it's not really all that bad. Especially since I can't help but notice that the Netherlands are only about the size of the state of Connecticut and Massachusetts.
~Leon



Author Note's: I want to thank you all for the kind reviews! I really wanted to write something that focuses on all of Leon's thoughts and worries on his journey, and I'm glad you all seem to be enjoying it, despite all the recapping (which I find necessary for Leon to truly make mental connections). I'm going to try and progress this story as seen in this chapter, where Leon talks about his travels, then connects it to the recap. I'm trying to write this story in a way that people that are somewhat unfamiliar with the manga or haven't read it in a while can still understand. I've read and reread the manga countless times. Especially volume ten, which is really an allegory of D's feelings for Leon. I'm always finding new hints at Leon and D's feelings for each other and I'm trying to exploit whatever connections I can find. I'm not sure exactly how long this fic will go on...I might try to limit my 'entries' to about four per month of Leon's travels. (Roughly one per week). I want to at LEAST continue this story well through December 1999, as I came up for this story while listening to Christmas music at work. I think it would really be interesting to really treat it like an actual journal, and have it span many many entries. But, if I do that, I know that some of these entries will be very short, and maybe not all that interesting on their own. But I can try my best. Thank you for reading!
~CrossedScarsX