Alexis:

    "You look silly, you know that Alexis?"

    I chuckled. "Oh, loosen up Greyforce. Everybody's doing it, why can't we?" I was
    dressed up as Asuka from Neon Genesis Evangelion. Greyforce, in his usual phobia
    towards costumes, was dressed in the usual ensemble -- white tee, black leather jacket and
    jeans. I suppose I shouldn't have expected any less from this guy. I mean, I've been
    working for him for a couple of months now and that's practically all I've seen him wear.

    "That's kinda funny, coming from you."

    "Oh hush. Go keep an eye on your guy."

    He'd gotten an interesting job just yesterday. It was security, in many respects, but
    not in the way you'd expect. You see, the big mucky mucks of the convention had asked us to
    keep an eye on some guy who apparently had a real knack for getting into trouble at conventions
    like these. The name they'd given us was weird -- no, I suppose that's not a nice thing to
    say, is it? It was just... Japanese. What was it again... oh yeah!

    Kintaro Amano.

    He was some writer guy. A real James Bond type from what we had heard. Frankly, if
    he was as tough as they'd claimed then I didn't see any reason to be looking out for him.
    I have to say, though, he didn't look particularly impressive. Buzz cut hair, glasses,
    slightly overweight. Hardly Sean Connery or Pierce Brosnan. He didn't dress the part
    either -- denim shirt, work slacks, Doc Martins, backpack. Still, you couldn't help
    but feel a certain draw from the guy, like he was chock-full of charisma. No, it wasn't
    quite charisma... I couldn't explain it, really. At any rate, Greyforce seemed to like
    the idea of an ordinary looking guy being the macho hero.  Something slightly unsettled
    me about this unusual display of quick acceptance, but I shrugged it aside.

    I tossed the guy at the stall a few dollars and picked up a small model. It
    was basically a super-deformed pig-tailed kid being chased by a bunch of girls. I'm not
    sure why exactly I bought it --I've never been much of a Ranma fan, personally-- but there
    was something so humorous about it that I couldn't help myself. I turned back to Greyforce,
    who was still intently watching the guy. "Quite the ladies man, I see," he observed.
    "Would you look at that? It's like a harem."

    He was right. The guy was surrounded by a small group of women. Something told me
    I ought to have been vaguely disgusted by this, but for some reason I couldn't pinpoint I
    almost envied them. "So he's popular. He's an author -- it's to be expected."

    "A FANFIC author, Alexis.  Not exactly big time."  He gazed back at Amano.  "Though
    he must not be far away from it, judging by his popularity."

    A man walked up to the guy at that moment. Amano seemed to blanche for a second.
    Then he took off like a rocket, leaving several confused looking girls behind.

    "Huh. Wonder what THAT was about?" I pondered.

    "Maybe he's his tax auditor," Greyforce quipped. "That's the only reason I'D take off
    like that..."
 

Freon:

    "Well, things are looking up already. There's a girl walking up to me right now, and I've
    only just wandered into the Dealer Rooms... With any luck, we'll be rolling in the hay within
    the hour."

    Girl: Say, aren't you Kintaro Amano?

    Freon: Why yes, as a matter of fact.

    Girl: Oh, I thought it was! I'm such a fan of your work! I've got your site bookmarked!

    "Hey hey, I'm bookmarked. How's that for a sign from the heavens?"

    Freon: Really? That's great!

    Girl: Yeah. How come you haven't updated in a while?

    "Oh hell, she's noticed. Just play it cool."

    Freon: Well, you know, I've been pretty busy. Plus I want to make sure that my next work
    is the best one yet. Got to keep the fans happy, you know.

    "Heh heh. Pretty smooth, Freon. Keep this up and you'll be bedroom bound in no time!"

    Girl: So that means you've got more stuff coming? Cool! I can hardly wait! How do you
    do it?

    Freon: Well, you know what they say -- genius is one percent inspiration and ninty-nine
    percent perspiration. It's hard work, baby!

    Girl: Oh, wow. I wish I were that talented... (she sighs)

    [Another girl walks up dressed like Ukyou.]

    Ukyou girl: Oh my! Is that really you? THE Kintaro Amano?

    "Uh oh, too many girls at once. Better not try to play favorites."

    Ukyou girl: Oh wow! I LOVED the Blue Star of Namiya! The characters were so cool! I've
    always wanted to meet you.

    Freon: Do you like what you see?

    Ukyou girl: Oh, very much so.

    "All RIIIIIIIGHT! SMMMMMOKIN'!"

    Girl: He's great, isn't he? He's so sweet in person, as well.

    Ukyou girl: Really? Gee, then I'd love to get to know him better...

    "Hey hey, now if this keeps up I could really be living the otaku dream! Keep up the
    good work!"

    [ANOTHER girl, dressed like Lum this time, comes up!]

    Lum Girl: Oh wow! It's Amano! THE Kintaro Amano! Hey, Jenny, look over here!

    [The Lum Girl is joined by a girl dressed like Nuku-Nuku.]

    Nuku-Nuku Girl: Wow, they never told us he was so handsome in person...

    "Whoa, Nelly! We've got a hot one tonight, folks! I think I see some red-headed lady
    checking me out over there as well. A bit too old for me, but nevertheless..."

    Man's Voice: Well! Fancy seeing you here again! Just can't keep you away, can we?

    "Oh, PLEASE let that not be who I think it is..."

    [Freon turns around. It's the Bish Guy from Baka-Con!]

    "WARNING! WARNING! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! LAUNCH TACTIC OMEGA NOW, LIEUTENANT!"

    [Freon pushes through the throng of girls and is off like a light.]

    Ukyou Girl: Huh? W-why'd he take off so fast?

    Bish Guy: Oh, he's always such a kidder...
 

Hibichi:

    "So let me get this straight. You fly all the way out here to an Anime convention on the other
    side of the Pacific just because some big-ass vampire head honcho is supposed to be here?"
    asked Hibichi Isuto skeptically.

    Tomiko nodded. "He's evil, but he's a hopeless anime fan. If we want to take down one
    of the Vampire Lords, there's no better time than now."

    Hibichi thought for a moment, then grinned. "Hey, works for me. Man, these Americans sure
    know how to throw an anime convention!"

    "You said it, kid. The Yanks sure know how to live," agreed Nekita. She was dressed
    as Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo, a character she admired because somehow she "struck a chord
    with her."  ("Though why she'd waste time chasing after that wuss Tenchi is beyond me," she'd
    added upon explaining her choice to Hibichi.)  Hibichi and Tomiko had gone as Keiichi and
    Belldandy, which wasn't too difficult of a feat as Hibichi already looked a lot like Keiichi as it
    were.

    "Oh? And you think we don't?" asked Hibichi wryly.

    "Hell no! Damn man, they're all stiff shirts and manners over there! Now HERE, you
    can be as wild as you wanna be and nobody gives a shit!"

    "NEKITA!"

    "Sorry, Tomiko-chan. Forgot how much that annoyed you."

    Hibichi shrugged. "It's not all bad, you know. I happen to like Japan."

    Nekita smirked. "And America?"

    "It's good, I suppose..." Hibichi replied modestly. Nekita looked at him incredulously.
    "Okay, it's fantastic! On the other hand, I didn't exactly lead the good life in Japan..." He
    thought of his father, the overbearing, vaguely psychotic Kinotsu, and shuddered slightly.

    "Enough about me, though -- what do you think, Tomiko?"

    Tomiko looked around uncomfortably. "I don't like it much. It's so big. And I can
    barely speak a word of English..."

    "Don't worry, Tomiko-chan! Hibich and I can do enough speaking for the three of us!"
    said Nekita cheerfully. "Now, how about a little high entertainment? One of the viewing rooms
    oughta be open by now..."

    Hibichi quickened his pace. "Cool! Can't wait!"

    "... All right. I suppose Fortas won't be too active right now. But no sarcastic
    comments during the screening this time, Hibichi."

    "Oh, loosen up Tomiko, it's fun!"

    They soon found a viewing room. A man dashed in before any of the three could touch
    the door. He had gone in quickly, yet somehow still managed to make an impression on the
    minds of the boy and his vampire companions.

    "Whoa-ho-ho. Who do you suppose Speedy Gonzales is?" asked Nekita.

    "Dunno.  Really catches your attention though, doesn't he?" commented Hibichi.

    "I wonder who he is..." wondered Tomiko.
 

Coming up!

-- An old flame of Freon's shows up!
-- Nekita hits it off with Freon!
-- And Kirin and company make a dramatic entrance...