Prologue

I am jarred from a nightmare. No breath catches in my throat. My heart does not pound -

THUD THUD

THUD THUD

THUD THUD

- with increasing rapidity inside my chest. Sweat does not cascade down my brow and cling to my back, soaking the crimson sheet beneath. All I can do is lie in the enclosed black stillness that I deem Refuge.

It was only a dream, I tell myself.

Lies.

It was a treasure chest pulled from the depths of my mind. Only this chest does not contain gold or precious gems. Instead, it is chock-full of macabre memories I had cast away long ago.

Why must it resurface?

I, having worked meticulously and with such vigor to make the best of my existence, am still a prisoner of the past; a past that haunts me, dogging my steps as I move forward through the endless Wheel of Time.

Chapter One

I find it difficult to hide what I am.

I AM A BLOODSUCKING FIEND. I FEED ON YOUR SONS AND DAUGHTERS. I HAVE VERY SHARP TEETH AND A LOVE OF CAPS LOCK. I’m only joking about the Caps Lock thing.

It’s true. I am a vampire. Vampyre. Vampir. Vapir. Upyr. Creature of the night. The undead. Call it what you will.

I play up my image as a vampire. I‘m a rock star vampire. (Now is when you compare me to Lestat.) Most people believe me to be a fake, which is the entire purpose.

Subject: OMFG hotness

By: akumanodoragongrl

Kyorei is so hot!! i don’t care if hes not a real vampire. He can still bite me ;-)

Subject: RE: Kyorei is the best!

By: Nemosan

He does it to promote his image as a Japanese rocker. Have you seen how he looked in his indies days? He didn’t even resemble visual-kei! He changed his appearance to be more “vampiric”, and ultimately making himself cool and mysterious. Personally, I think he’s decadent and cannot sing for shit.

Subject: RE: RE: Kyorei is the best!

By: kamikaze

Kyorei is a narcissistic bastard who glorifies homosexuality and gets drunk on cheap booze before concerts, thus impairing his vocal abilities. That untalented creep can’t hold a note or play guitar. He’s actually hideous underneath all that makeup, and I hear he has bad breath.

(The last one is mine. I enjoy pretending to be an angry music fanatic in my own forums. It’s interesting to see what people think of me. Thank Buddha for the Internet.)

Rumors abound. Naturally. My favorite is the one about how I used to impersonate Cher before I became famous. I know I’m gay, but I’m not the Cher-loving type of gay. I’m the Kiyoharu-loving type of gay. Who cares if I don’t stand a chance with him? I can admire from afar!

So. How does one become a gay rock star vampire? Well, there is a certain process one must go through in order to complete said task. IN JUST SIX EASY STEPS!

STEP ONE. Stumble upon a hungry vampire in a remote location. Bite-y, bite-y.

STEP TWO. Spend a few centuries brooding over having achieved immortal status. Subsequently, one must spend another 50 years or so sleeping to while away the hardships of being a vampire.

STEP THREE. Get your lazy ass out of your coffin and start hanging around in modern cities. Experience the nightlife.

STEP FOUR. Find some cute musicians who are eager to become famous. (Sleeping with at least one of them can often be a plus.)

STEP FIVE. Play up your image as a member of the undead as much as possible. Be outrageous.

STEP SIX. Fanservice. Fanservice. Fanservice.

There you have it! Kyorei’s Guide to Becoming a Bloodsucking Celebrity. In bookstores everywhere.

Okay, okay. Enough nonsense. I’m sure you are all waiting my extravagant, tragic, bloodcurdling story of vampirism and decadent stardom.

I was born in some town, some country, some year, to some parents. I was “created” by some vampire. I met some musicians and started some band. Gained some fame. The end.

In all honesty, I do not recall much from my life as a mortal. Many memories were obliterated the night He found me. I remember his humble nature and the stark contrast between his black hair and nearly translucent skin.

“I have something for you.”

That is all I recollect him saying to me. Until the moment I woke, everything was an abyss.

A loud knocking on my dressing room door. I am struggling to fit into a pair of tight, shiny black pants. I call out to whoever it is to enter.

“I didn’t mean to inter-….” Tsukumi’s voice trails off. “Are you okay?”

“Fine,” I reply. “It’s just that I think my ass has grown since I last wore these pants.”

Tsukumi laughs. “Here, let me help you.”

Instead of him helping, we end up on the couch, making out. I need not go into details on that. After we finish, he does succeed in getting me into my ass-tight pants, and we prepare to go onstage.

The crowd gets excited even as our roadies are setting up. Ken and Hiroshi, our two newest roadies, come offstage looking flabbergasted. This being their first show, they previously had no idea how crazy our crowds can get.

Hiroshi-kun looks ready to pass out (possibly owing to the fact that he got drunk with Q and myself the previous night). Ken passes by me and says, “Those girls are crazy out there. How do you do it?”

I smile and simply say, “I just do.”

The show is flawless. Yuu-chan amazes the crowd with an intense drum solo after the first set. Then Q-san joins in on guitar. We slam-bang into the second set with our most recent single, “オノマトポエイアの オーケストラ onomatopoeia no orchestra”. Despite the fact it was released only two weeks ago, the entire crowd sings along. We close off the evening with a bow and head backstage.