Editor's comments and actions are denoted by [brackets]. Sound effects are written {like this}. (Parenthesis) indicate side notes in the dialogue bubble or the mangaka's note. And finally, italics are thoughts.

Outside of the Count's mansion, Hisoka, Tatsumi, and Watson still wait, alone.

Hisoka: [looking around] ——Tatsumi-san... Aren't the Count and Tsuzuki a little too late...? They've been gone an hour.

Tatsumi: That's right... They are a little too late...

Tatsumi suddenly puts his cup down.

{sound f/x kacha: clink of teacup against the saucer}

Tatsumi: ———...... No way. Did something happen to Tsuzuki-san...!?

Back in that troublesome book, Tsuzuki stares at the merry little girl who he woke up with.

Tsuzuki: [pointing to himself] When~... When you say Mr. Angel... You mean me?

Girl: [genkily] That's right. I mean you.

{sound f/x shin: the two staring at each other motionlessly}

Tsuzuki: [sweatdrop] ...... (Ho...) Hold on!! I'm a human. I'm not an angel!!

Girl: Ala! But I saw it!! You fell from the sky. When I went into the forest to pick berries, I accidentally found you. And so I quickly brought you home with me. You fell from such a height, but didn't have a single injury. It was a miracle! Surely you are an Angel sent to this earth from God...

Tsuzuki blankly ponders what to say to that.

Tsuzuki: Th... That's... (Ummm....) Actually I'm just a dead body that's moving around, so— (We are...) At any rate, I need to return to my world, fast!

Tsuzuki turns and runs like the wind.

Tsuzuki: Thank you very much for saving me!! You have my eternal thanks~!!!

{sound f/x ba: Tsuzuki suddenly running}

Girl: Ah! Wait Mr. Angel~!! Where are you going!?

The door opens just as Tsuzuki gets to it.

{sound f/x ko: click of a cane against the ground}

Voice: He—y. Is it our guest?

Chief Konoe leans on his cane and stares at Tsuzuki blankly.

"Konoe": Who are you...

Tsuzuki: ———... (GEEEEH~~~~~) Ch~... Chief Konoe!? Why do you look like that!! Why are you here!?

"Konoe": (Huh?) ...Who are you...?

Tsuzuki's taken aback.

Tsuzuki: Wh...Who...

{sound f/x gan: Tsuzuki's horrible revelation}

Tsuzuki: No way~!! Chief, how mean~! It's me! Did you forget!? It's TSUZUKI!!!

Girl: (Wait...) Wait just a second, Mr. Angel!!

The young girl goes to stand next to the chief.

Girl: This is my father. (He has a bad hip.) This isn't the man you call "Konoe" or whatever.

Tsuzuki: Huh? What...!? You say... your father...

Girl's Father: It seems as if you have mistaken me for someone else, sir. I have al—ways lived in this house with my daughter.

Tsuzuki: No way... But... The resemblance is... If this isn't the chief then who in the world... ———!! Now that you mention it...

In Tsuzuki's mind, he flashes back to the Count's words.

Count: "I just needed to establish characters and a broad story. After that, everything's up to the ‘book.'"

Off to the side, a little flowchart outlines Tsuzuki's train of thought.

(A Flowchart To Here)

1.) The Count wrote a novel.

2.) The book in the Count's study sucked me in.

3.) Inside of that book are characters just like myself and Konoe.

Tsuzuki: That's right...

Count: "Those characters are truly becoming——— It's a wonderful story."

Tsuzuki: So that means that... That bastard, he used us as characters in his book...

Inside of Tsuzuki's ranting mind, a little Count giggles at him and does a V.

Count: (But it's not really a copyright infringement~!)

Tsuzuki: He created a self-reliant story just so he can go and play——~~!!

Tsuzuki foams at the mouth while the girl looks on, confused.

Tsuzuki: That———bas———tard———Count~~~~~~!!!

{sound f/x gogo: threatening menace}

Tsuzuki: When I get back he's done for~~~~~~~!!

{sound f/x muka: Tsuzuki being sickened}

(Grumbling.)

Girl: ...... (What?)

Tsuzuki: [sudden gasp] !! Wait! If that's the case, this girl is...

{sound f/x nikkori: the girl grinning}

Tsuzuki: This girl is me——~~!?

Later on, Tsuzuki sits at the edge of the forest near the lake.

{sound f/x pasha: splashing}

Tsuzuki: If I let loose all of my energy that could work but... Since I don't know how to get back to my world...

{sound f/x basa: rustling of plant life}

Tsuzuki: Ah-ah. I wonder what I should do... As usual I can't use my power to fly...

Tsuzuki stares at his arm in deep thought.

Tsuzuki: (Ummm...) It looks like my body's regenerative powers are functioning, but I wonder if I can use my summoning... Then there's that bastard. Changing people's sexes as he pleases...

Tsuzuki thinks about the girl and blushes.

{sound f/x hera: Tsuzuki being frivolous}

Tsuzuki: But she's pretty cute, huh... The female me~. [giggle]

([pointing to a picture of the girl] This.)

([pointing to Tsuzuki] Idiot.)

A sudden rustling in the bushes behind Tsuzuki distracts him from thinking about himself further.

{sound f/x gasa: rustle}

Tsuzuki: Hm? Ack~!!

A super cute bunny leaps from the bushes onto Tsuzuki's lap.

{sound f/x za: the bunny leaping into Tsuzuki's lap}

Tsuzuki: What's this?

{sound f/x furu: the bunny shaking}

Tsuzuki: A field rabbit?

{sound f/x uon: barking in the distance}

Tsuzuki can only sweatdrop as a horse and several hunting dogs come bounding out of the bushes.

{sound f/x ba: sudden bounding through the bushes}

Tsuzuki: WUAH————~!!!

Rider: Whoa, whoa~! Quiet, calm down~!

{sound f/x wanwan: bark bark}

The rider leaps off of his horse and strides towards Tsuzuki, who's too busy trying to stop the world from spinning to pay too much attention.

{sound f/x ka: footsteps}

Rider: Hey! Are you all right!? You don't have any injuries or anything, do you!?

Tsuzuki: [spinning] ...... (huuuh~~~)

{sound f/x kura: Tsuzuki's dizziness}

The rider turns out to be the book's version of Tatsumi. He looks basically the same (glasses and all), but he's wearing 17th Century riding gear, and has very very long hair (past his waist) pulled back in a ponytail with two ribbons.

"Tatsumi": Look. Let me take a look at your face.

Tsuzuki panics and clutches the rabbit to his chest when he sees "Tatsumi."

Tsuzuki: Ack! He came~!! ...N~...No~~ No where really...

{sound f/x biku: Tsuzuki's surprise}

Tsuzuki: It's this world's Tatsumi!!

"Tatsumi": Your face! Is your face safe!?

"Tatsumi" grabs Tsuzuki by the chin and jerks him around to look at his face.

{sound f/x gui: Tatsumi grabbing Tsuzuki's face.}

Tsuzuki: [blushing] (Huh?)

"Tatsumi": The Master loves your face! You could have a thousand and one wounds but...

Tsuzuki: The Master...?

"Tatsumi": What...?

Tsuzuki: ...... ...Huh...?

{sound f/x ji: "Tatsumi's" hard stare}

"Tatsumi": Who are you?

Tsuzuki: (—...) (You say who but...)

"Tatsumi" suddenly rips Tsuzuki's shirt open. Tsuzuki does his best violated impression while blushing horribly.

{sound f/x ba: suddenly ripping the shirt}

Tsuzuki: AHH~!!?

"Tatsumi": ......Nothing. What the...you're a man.

(Looking.)

Tsuzuki cries SD waterfalls and covers himself quickly while "Tatsumi" stands up to ponder this new development.

Tsuzuki: Wh~ Wh~ Whatcha suddenly do that for~~? (Huh~~~) (It's not okay! These aren't things that go away!)

{sound f/x ba: Tsuzuki quickly covering himself again}

"Tatsumi": Ah——Excuse me. I mistook you for an acquaintance.

Tsuzuki: Huh? So does that mean...

"Tatsumi": You look like a woman... I wonder if that's impolite to say...? In any case, I'm glad that nothing happened.

"Tatsumi" suddenly grabs Tsuzuki's face in his hand again. Tsuzuki blushes horribly again.

Tsuzuki: Hee...~

"Tatsumi": But still you really do resemble her...

{sound f/x gui: "Tatsumi" grabbing Tsuzuki's face again}

"Tatsumi": Are you perhaps an older twin who's lived apart from her...? (Or something along those lines...)

"Tatsumi" and Tsuzuki look up as a new voice enters the scene. In the background, one of the hunting dogs sniffs the rabbit.

Dog: (Don't tease me.)

{sound f/x funfun: sniff sniff}

Rabbit: (Tease?)

{sound f/x gasa: rustling in the bushes}

Voice: He—y, where are you—? Did you get the game——?

The "Count" wanders out of the bushes. Only now he's covered in head to toe like a 17th Century French Lord (completely with long curly wig) and a small mask that now only takes up 1/4 of his, um, "face." Tsuzuki stares at the "Count" in shock.

{sound f/x ban: giant dramatic appearance}

"Count": (Aloha~~!) My cute rabbit-chan~!

([pointing to the "Count"] Mask)

Tsuzuki: Geh~!! No way! Seriously~!!? Count!!?

The "Count" suddenly leaps at Tsuzuki and tackles him towards the ground.

"Tatsumi": (...)

"Count": AH~!! Aren't you my beloved bunny~!!

{sound f/x don: the "Count" tackling Tsuzuki to the ground.}

"Count": Have you fallen in love with me yet? You lovable thing~!!

(Attack!)

Tsuzuki: UAH!!!

"Tatsumi": No, my Lord. He quite resembles her, but it isn't that girl.

Tsuzuki: [rubbing his neck on the ground] (Ou~ch)

Lord: Huh? Ah... That's true. Isn't this a man.

{sound f/x geho: Tsuzuki coughing}

Tsuzuki: [wincing] My... My Lord—!?

Lord: But still, he looks a lot like her. When he looks dazed and pitiful like that, aren't he and that girl just two peas in a pod...

{sound f/x kii: glint of the Lord's "eye"}

Tsuzuki: Would you please leave us alone~~!!!

Lord: By the way, we're in the middle of hunting. That rabbit is our dinner. Would you please return it?

Tsuzuki: No!! If I know you're going to eat it, I won't give it back!!!

"Tatsumi": You...~! Watch your mouth in front of the Lord!!

Lord: [laughing] Don't concern yourself. You need to calm down. When you're like that, you're also a splitting image of her... I get the feeling that you're not just kind, but strong as well. And of course I like your appearance, too... If you were a woman, I'd force you to be my wife right here.

Tsuzuki: (——...) (You perverted old man...)

(But you don't care if he's a man, do you?)

The Lord and "Tatsumi" mount their horses and ride off. The Lord waves back to a still disgusted Tsuzuki.

Lord: We'll look for other game.

{sound f/x ha: "Tatsumi" encouraging his horse on}

{sound f/x kappo: the Lord striding his horse}

Lord: Well then, I hope your travels are pleasant.

Tsuzuki sits on the ground blankly with the other cute bunny on his lap after the two have left.

Tsuzuki: ......... ......... What in the world just happened? Those guys...

Back at the young girl's house, Tsuzuki sits down to a cup of tea just as she comes home.

Girl: Ah... So that means you met the Lord?

(After all, there's no place to return to...)

Tsuzuki: Yeah... They were convinced I was you until they tore my clothes off.

The girl looks like she's trying hard not to laugh.

Girl: [giggling] Ah, how horrible...

Girl: Our Lord is the one who governs this region. The farmers in this vicinity borrow land from the Lord, and we pay a tax of one-third of our harvest. But he hasn't imposed a completely unreasonable tax. The tax is adjusted to that year's performance. He's a kind lord that always thinks about us peasants.

(They're talking about if there are many abundant harvests and few bad harvests.)

Tsuzuki: Is that right—? He didn't seem like the usual weird, eccentric Lord. But your father seems to let things pass by sleeping because of his hip ailment, right? And if he can't work you can't pay your taxes...

Girl: Or the money loaned from the Lord by buy medicine... I can't return it at all...

Tsuzuki: So? Are they going to drive you out of this house......?

{sound f/x zu: Tsuzuki sipping tea}

Girl: Nope... If I can't pay back the debt, then I'll pay it back with my body...

Tsuzuki spits his tea across the room.

{sound f/x bu: tea flying across the room}

Girl: He told me to come be his bride...

Tsuzuki: ......

{sound f/x gehogoho: Tsuzuki coughing}

([pointing to Tsuzuki] Choked.)

Tsuzuki: That...

{sound f/x guhegoho: coughing still}

Tsuzuki: That bastard~~~~~~!!

Girl: But between myself and the Lord's dead wife—— I'm not that much older than his son... When I think about that I don't want to become his second wife...

Tsuzuki cries SD buckets and clutches desperately at those straws.

Tsuzuki: Th...That's right! Don't become a wife to that old man with a Lolita complex!! (If for only that stoooooop!)

{sound f/x hi: Tsuzuki shrieking}

{sound f/x guru: his mind spinning}

([pointing to Tsuzuki] Earnest.)

Girl: And besides that... And besides that I... don't want to marry a man with such bad fashion sense! Absolutely NOOOOT!! [This is how you can tell that it's really a girl, not just a female Tsuzuki.]

{sound f/x don: high dramatic impact}

Tsuzuki: [sweatdrop] (Ha-ha...) (T-that's right, yup.)

Girl: I don't want to marry such a flittering guy——~!!! I want an honest man——~~!!!

{sound f/x gya: the girl squealing some more}

The girl mooshes into her cloak she's carrying.

Girl: Ah... but it's impossible for me to repay the debt alone... (After all, I'll become his wife...)

{sound f/x shikushiku: sob sob}

Tsuzuki: Don't say that~!

Tsuzuki sparkles in the crying girl's face.

Tsuzuki: Don't give up!! I'll help you, too, so work hard to pay off the debt!!

{sound f/x kirakira: Tsuzuki glittering}

Girl: Mr. Angel...

An SD mental Tsuzuki scratches his head at the camera.

Tsuzuki: What... The truth is since I have no place to go, I only wanted to have a reason for being here, but...

{sound f/x pori: Tsuzuki scratching his head}

Tsuzuki: Her crisis is my crisis, too. (I'll try my best.) First of all, tell me your name. I haven't heard it yet.

Girl: Name? There's no such thing. On this world, everyone is called something like "Girl" or "Lord." So I'm "Girl." Other girls are all called the same thing.

Tsuzuki: Hm—m... But that makes things complicated, huh. Having a name makes things much easier......

Tsuzuki thinks about this surprisingly seriously.

Tsuzuki: Yeah, that's right. ——— How about...... "Ruka." How's that?

The girl, Ruka now, I suppose, looks at Tsuzuki in shock.

Ruka: Ruka...... That's my name... from Mr. Angel...

Tsuzuki: That was my older sister's name. Ruka———

Ruka: My...

Tsuzuki: It's a nice name for a Japanese person, isn't it? What do you think? But if you don't like it, I can think of another name...

(Think of a real name...)

Tsuzuki: If you say you want a foreign girl's name I don't know many but——

Ruka: No!! That's not it!!!

Ruka glows with pride as she speaks to Tsuzuki.

Ruka: It's wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Angel. I'll treasure it my whole life.

Tsuzuki: [grinning] No problem.

Ruka: It's no one else's—— My name... Thank you.

On top of the hill in a large estate, the Lord and "Tatsumi" come home to a horde of bowing servants.

Servants: Welcome home, Master.

Lord: I'm home. Ah, today was truly fun. And there was an unexpected harvest... [chuckling] I want to meet that adorable youth again.

"Tatsumi": Master, what shall we have on tonight's menu?

Lord: I'll leave that up to you.

"Tatsumi": Certainly.

"Tatsumi" wanders into a plush living room and takes off his gloves while instructing "Watson" on the meals.

"Tatsumi": Well then first of all will be a red Roman chianti bisque soup and asparagus salad. The main course will be duck accompanied with an orange sauce. The tableware will be silver.

{sound f/x gyu: "Tatsumi" taking off his gloves}

"Tatsumi": The tablecloth will be a clean white and blue. The flowers will be white rose, Karst branch. [I'm not really certain about some of these specifics that "Tatsumi" orders, but you get the basic idea. Damn katakana...]

"Watson": (Yes, sir.)

Voice: I want cooked fish.

This world's Hisoka has hair to his mid-back pulled back with a ribbon. He's dressed extremely posh and has two large black...dogs of some sort with him.

"Hisoka": I hate the smell of blood.

"Watson": (Junior...)

"Tatsumi": I understand. We will do the best that we can for you.

Junior: "Butler." I want to have a little talk with you.

Butler: You want to talk with me... What in the world is the matter? Junior.

Junior: If I want to talk to you, you know what it's about.

Junior hugs one of his dogs tight.

Junior: I beg of you...

{sound f/x kyuun: Junior clutching his doggie}

Junior: Please stop father's second marriage...

Butler humorlessly glares back at Junior.

Junior: Father places his absolute trust in you—— He leaves just about everything inside of this house up to you... To tell the truth, this house's real master isn't Father, it's you, the "Butler." If you oppose then Father will give up... I beg you to lend a hand.

Junior clings to Butler's coat.

Butler: This is the Master's private matter. It's not something that I should get involved with.

Junior leaps back in desperation.

Junior: !! Won't you listen to my request!?

Butler: I won't listen. The one I serve is the Master. Not you.

Junior stares at Butler in shock.

Junior: ...

Butler: I understand that you don't want to betray your mother.

Junior: But... But I...~

Butler: But Madam has been dead for three years... Accepting a new wife isn't strange, rather it's almost too late.

Butler kneels before Junior and gently kisses his hand.

{sound f/x su: Butler slowly taking Junior's hand}

Butler stares at the hand he's kissing coolly.

Butler: Please understand, Junior. My parents abandoned me, but the Master found me and raised me here... I would rather die than betray that Master.

Junior blushes, a bit ashamed.

Junior: ...... It's all right. I understand.

Junior and his dogs leave the room. In a shadowed corner of the room, a figure slowly applauds.

{sound f/x pan: clap}

Voice: No————~! You're a cold-hearted guy, aren't ya!!

{sound f/x pan: clap}

Voice: After that little kid begged you so bravely.

Butler: Instead of flapping that useless mouth in your free time, how about hastening your case studies...? I've already paid you part of the money for your work.

Voice: He—h he—h. I'm doing it exa—ctly like you said. Alchemy is a delicate thing. I'm the same way~! I want to think about it and take into consideration anything and everything. (Truly.) (Heh.)

Butler: Splendid boasting. Whatever it takes, make that girl the Master's... It doesn't matter, use any means!!

Voice: Okay—

{sound f/x nyari: leer}

Watari, the Alchemist, sits smirking on a chair in the dark recesses of the room. Besides his dress, he looks exactly the same. [Not that anyone would have NOT known that it was Watari. His Kansai-ben is soooo thick....]

Alchemist: I'll show you the power of heretic alchemy...

"003": (An evil person?)

Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9

Manga belongs to Matsushita Youko, Hana to Yume, and Hakusensha, taken from the Yami no Matsuei, Volume 5 manga, ISBN4-592-17405-4. Not like the story makes sense if you haven't read the manga anyway. Romanized and translated into English very badly by Mina-P, with desperately needed help, as always, by Mako-chan. Any comments or corrections can be mailed to Mina-P at Minako@senshigakuen.com.

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