Vena Cava - Chapter 9 Teaser

"What do you do in your spare time?"

Chapter 09: Sue's Hobby

COMING THIS DECEMBER on Fictionpress and Soompi Forums.

Thank you for the continuous support!

-Hiro

Vena Cava - Author Notes for the past 8 chapters

I'd like to express my utmost thanks to those who continue to support and read not only Vena Cava but also Fists and Lipsticks and Fists and Lipsticks 2: The Silver Crescent. Although the latter two stories have been finished a year or more ago, the support, e-mails, and messages have been pouring in non-stop to this day and they all leave me very ecstatic and overwhelmed. I truly am blessed to have such readers who, despite my shortcomings (like not being able to update as often because I couldn't type on the keyboard as quickly as I do before, not being able to complete the long-overdue & promised .doc version of Book 2 of The Silver Crescent yet (*hides from flying frying pans*)), are still there to cheer me on. For the time I have not logged in to Soompi (because my mobile browser couldn't open the page for some reason since the 'upgrade'), I have received many pms (whic

h I only got to read today, sorry for the late replies, hehe) and I'm very touched that most of them were inquiring not only about my updates but about my arm injury. Thank you all for your concern. Regarding my arm, I'm still going through rehabilitation and electrotherapy. I can already fully move my arm all the way to my fingers and my wrist drop has improved markedly. Right now, I'm having strength and dexterity exercises and I'm doing pretty much well.

So, here goes my long-overdue Author Notes for my story Vena Cava.

**DO NOT READ THIS PART IF YOU HAVEN'T READ CHAPTER 1 - 8 YET!**

**SPOILERS AHEAD!**

Q: What is a HEART device? Is it the purple sphere with the letters 'VC' on it or the transplanted organ itself? - naizz from Fictionpress

^ The HEART device is the purple sphere...

(See picture above)

...and this device (which comes in different sizes according to where it is placed) is implanted to an organ, whether viable or not. For example, Albert Einstein despite having mental retardation has a fairly viable brain, so the HEART is simply implanted into his cerebrum (Chapter 08: Sue's Vision). Kato Kenta's legs, however, had to be replaced because of muscle atrophy secondary to his paraplegia secondary to his spinal cord injury secondary to trauma (car accident). His transplanted legs were 'manufactured' by the Vena Cava Corporation (Chapter 07: Sue's Risk) and to these legs, the HEART devices are later implanted.

A HEART practically works like how it is named: Human Energy Amplifying and Re-constructive Transplant device, which, in the most understandable explanation, 'powers up' an organ to perform superhuman abilities. Humans who have a HEART are called 'Vectors'.

For instance, let's have the Vector named Kato Kenta, the paraplegic. After having a HEART, he can now run so fast, even climb up and down buildings at ease (Chapter 05: Sue's Classmate). Albert Einstein, who was born with an IQ of 70, after receiving a HEART could memorize an entire encyclopedia and dictionary in less than an hour (Chapter 08: Sue's Vision). Takashi Ayase, the female tattoo artist working with the Black Sigma, who cannot move her fingers due to an acquired paralysis when she was born, became ambidextrous and can paint jaw-dropping artworks using both her hands. Kawakami Masao, born with pituitary dwarfism, can extend/grow his arms and legs to more than thirty meters (Chapter 07: Sue's Risk). Of course, who would forget Nogase Mami, the woman with cancer of the uterus? After getting her uterus transplant and a HEART implant, she can now give birth to a child everyday! In the latest chapter, Sen's HEART is confirmed - his eyes. Yes, he was blind. In fact, clues regarding his HEART were all over Chapter 06: Sue's Ego if you guys happened to catch that, but whether his blindness was caused by Vitamin A deficiency too? Hmm. What do you guys think?

Q: I wonder what happened to him (Sen) losing his eyes? Acid? Birth defect?

- ladyb from Soompi Forums

I'll leave this question hanging for now. This is one of the major mysteries to be uncovered in Vena Cava. Any more guesses?

Sen left a clue in the latest chapter, though --

"Care to tell me all about it?" my eyes were bright with interest. "About how you lost your sight?"

He shook his head, "I don't really like talking about it."

"Was the story behind it that bad? Too scary that it still freaks you just by thinking about it?" I paused, suddenly not sure whether asking him about his HEART straightforwardly was a good idea to begin with.

"It's not because it scares me," he suddenly said in a softer voice, leaning towards me until his face was mere inches away from mine.

"It's because it will scare you."

So let's assume it's really something 'scary'.

Hehe. *hyena grin*.

Q: What was the purpose of that glasses? Is that how Sen could see colors?

- chyne22 from Soompi Forums

Very good observation. I will let the unfolding of the plot in the next chapters explain more about this.

If you want clues regarding this part, let me give you one: re-read Chapter 04: Sue's Stalker. What was Sen doing in that chapter again? Driving? *cough* stoplight *cough*. Not unless he cares the least about Japan road rules like Miyazawa Aya does, well... And I think he was wearing something while driving... :-)

Q: So Sen's HEART is 'taking other people's heart' kind of HEART? - silvernecklaces from Soompi Forums

In Chapter 08: Sue's Vision, Sen revealed the nature of his job in the Black Sigma. He called himself a 'Confiscator', which pretty much explains what he does - confiscates HEARTS of those who abuse it.

How he does it? Don't worry, you'll see more of his 'confiscations' in the next chapters.

Again, Sen's HEART is his eyes. But maybe, just maybe, those blue-black-turning-purple eyes has something to do with his confiscations after all.

Q: - Why did Sen say that Sue was his girlfriend? Does he like her?? And did her heart stop temporarily or for good (when Sue and Sen jumped off the VC Corp building)? - beef taco from Soompi Forums

The conversation between Sen and Shouhei Lascaux during their visit in the VC Corp headquarters dropped some vital clues, the most obvious one is Sen's rather peculiar hostile attitude towards his 'boss' and protectiveness towards Sue (Chapter 07: Sue's Risk). Going back to the previous chapters (Chapter 05: Sue's Classmate), Sen tells Sue - "Little word of advice from me to you, Sue: If I were you, I'd stay away from him."

Or was it really protectiveness? Does Sen like Sue or does he have any ulterior motives?

Regarding the question about Sue's heartbeat, which for some reason stopped again when Sen made her jump off the building with him, it 'suddenly' came back in Chapter 08: Sue's Vision. It wasn't said exactly what happened, whether the heartbeats came back spontaneously or not? This would remain a mystery for now.

On the other hand, Sen said something to her while he was teasing her on the tree. What did he say again? That could be a clue :-). And if we go back a little further back (to Chapter 03: Sue's Revival), there was a time when Sue's heart was about to 'stop' then 're-started'. Who was with her that time and what happened? *cough* something NOT stimulating *cough*.

Q: I remember that Kenta was also caught by VC, but for what purpose? - chyne22 from Soompi Forums

Going back to Chapter 05: Sue's Classmate, the part where Kato Kenta enters the story - he was in an on-going chase running for his life. But why? Good question.

I cannot reveal this part yet because I have a chapter that will answer precisely this- Kato Kenta's 'side story'. But I will drop a big clue regarding this one - What was Kato Kenta holding at that time? And if you have answered this question, I'll ask you another one - Do you remember a similar scenario that happened some chapters back back back back? It just might have something to do with that. *wink*.

Q: I'm confused. Shouhei is part of VC but why is he with Black Sigma? Are they the same? Do they work together or something? - xxSanityx from Soompi Forums

Vena Cava Corporation (or VC) is a company that manufactures medical tools and machines and does nanotechnology research - or at least that's what the others know. In secret, it also happens to be the manufacturer of the HEART devices. Shouhei Lascaux is the heir of this VC corporation, but apparently he had been put on-charge because his father 'got ill' (as mentioned by Oshima Shiori in Chapter 04: Sue's Stalker). And again, I said 'got ill'.

Now who 'goes ill' in the VC corporation anyway? Now your detective imagination is working. Are you brain-fried yet? Hehe.

Regarding the Black Sigma, heavenfalling from Soompi Forums is right. It is indeed a group of Vectors who work for the Vena Cava Corporation tasked to hunt down HEART abusers. Going back to xxSanityx's question, NO they're not the same, but YES - they work together.

And they will be working more and more together in the coming chapters.

Q: Sue first met Sen when he's with the Black Sigma, why don't she reported him to Kojima or other SAT? - lullabunny from Soompi Forums

Because Sue is very, very curious about her 'heart-stopping abilities'. Apparently, the only person who claimed to know about her peculiarity is no other than Sen. He offered to answer all her questions in the condition that Sue 'gives him her heart' a.k.a. 'joins the Black Sigma'. That's the reason why she isn't turning him in. Yet.

Which leads us to this next question too...

Q: Why did Sen lie to Shouhei about why Sue was suddenly recruited into the Black Sigma? - madenloui from Fictionpress

Now this is the confusing part.

For now, just stay confused... and get ready for a bomb, hehe.

Q: If Sen is Oshima Shiori's younger brother and his family owns the university hospital and the school, why does he have to work? - kc_chua from Soompi Forums

Who doesn't ask this question at this point of the story? A gangster, a ramen waiter, a pizza delivery boy, a photographer, an ohagi vendor, a Confiscator - Sen's always seen running around doing random jobs. He seems very enthusiastic about earning money above anything else. Is there any particular reason behind this? Is he just an impulsive workaholic or is he hiding something?

For now, just stay confused too... and get ready for another bomb, hehe.

Also, I'm answering another question unrelated to Vena Cava. I like this question, hehe ----

Q: Let me ask you Hiro, are you more of the Kosu-kun or Crosse-kun type? or let me rephrase the question (your honor), who's character in F&L 1 and 2 do you most likely see yourself? is Aya-chan the characterization of Meia? hmmm... just wondering - jia_kickass from Soompi Forums

Meia and I?

Oh boy, we are like Akio and Lin. Imagine it, hehe.

My brief Q&A would end here for the mean time as my hands aren't cooperating anymore having typed so much text.

Actually, I've brainstormed about the plot of Vena Cava again for the nth time and I'm made some changes in the plot, some minor ones and some major ones. Looking at where this story would go, I'm beginning to think that Vena Cava, though shorter, has the potential of overthrowing Fists and Lipsticks off in terms of plot twists. Oh, this story's gonna be so crooked.

I'm very excited to fry some brains, hehe. Are you too?

Thank you for reading my writing blog. Until the next update!

-Mark

Chapter 08: Sue's Vision - will be out in a while

I will be posting Chapter 08: Sue's Vision today. Please give me a few more minutes for the final edits.

Thank you for the patience.

-Mark

Vena Cava Character Chart and New Poster for Chapter 8

Meia, Pamie, and Vincent came up with a really cool character chart. The aim is to aid brain-fried readers who are not used to Japanese names (especially readers from Soompi). Visuals like this could help readers take note of the 'who's-who's in the story better.



Note: The actors/models in this character chart are not, in any way, associated with the story and/or the author of Vena Cava. We are willing to take down this graphic if ever such related conflicts arise. No copyright infringement intended.



Next chapter is on the way. Just some pending finishing touches, a couple of grammar and spelling errors to be fixed and Chapter 08: Sue's Vision will be up.

Thank you for your continued support!

-Mark

PMs and PM list pending

For Soompi Readers:

PMs / PM list is temporarily on-hold. Meia is currently not feeling well. We will resume sending PMs soon. We do apologize for the inconvenience.

-Mark

Did last minute revisions

I did some last minute revisions on Chapter 7: Sue's Risk which took me 3 days to complete. I spotted some inconsistencies that may affect the plot later in the story and so I found it necessary to do the remedy while the injury's still fresh. I do apologize for the delay it caused.

I will be uploading the final version within 24-hours Thank you for the patience.

Quick updates ahead

Chapter 07: Sue's Risk will be up on Friday, September 3, 2010. It's actually done, but I'm spacing out the updates.

I can't wait to get this particular chapter out actually. From here on, the real plot of Vena Cava finally starts. Here starts the puzzles, brain-frying questions, and build-up of the plot. There are lots of revelations in this chapter too, and if you are smart enough to spot the gazillion clues I dropped in the past 6 chapters, you'd be able to connect a good number of what has been revealed so far at this early point of the story.

New characters come in too. There's a guy who's barely 4 feet, a girl who smokes cigarette like a chimney, a popular TV star,... of course the already-revealed characters like Albert Einstein, Kato Kenta, and Shouhei Lascaux.

For some reason, I think I'm beginning to enjoy building up the Sue-Sen relationship, in fact much more than I enjoyed doing Kosuke and Ayane's. I personally think that Sue and Sen are more flexible to control. As the author of the story and given the personality I assigned to them (lesser angst, hilarious and sarcastic rolled into one), I find it easier to create scenes involving the two of them compared to doing Kosuke and Ayane (I mean, imagine Kosuke and Ayane doing the ramen house scene of Sue and Sen in Chapter 4: Stalker? Weird huh?).

Regarding the PM list, unfortunately the links have been broken. It's been a while since we last dropped by Soompi Forums and I think the maintenance done on the site has something to do with it. Meia's currently re-doing the PM list. I would be updated on the installment of Chapter 7. Until then, just send her or me a PM if you intend to join/remain/be removed from the PM list.

Thank you for all the support and thanks for reading Vena Cava.

Chapter 06: Sue's Ego now up

Chapter 6: Sue's Ego now posted on Fictionpress and Soompi Forums. New poster from Vincent too.

I'm very excited about going back to writing. I'm keeping my fingers crossed (as usual) to having constant (if not frequent) updates for Vena Cava. I'm also very excited to unfold the plot from here on. Introduction had been quite long and now I'm ready to introduce you to many characters I have yet to reveal. I'm also looking forward to presenting the twists in this story which, although I have not put into writing yet, have been mapped out in my mind for the time interval I've 'vanished' from Fictionpress/Soompi.

I'm also working on the .doc version of Fists and Lipsticks. In fact, I'm half-way done. Here's a sneak peak of how it would look like in the final version:

Pretty cool huh?

Thanks for reading the latest chapter!

Will resume writing mid-August

As the title says, I will be resuming Vena Cava on Monday. For all the readers who have been waiting ages for the next chapter, thank you very much for your patience. Too much things are happening in the real world for me lately and it was really difficult putting things up according to schedule. I've been busy with my rehab and wedding plans as I've been fixing my immigration papers here and also my transcripts, completion of requirements, etc... you guys get the picture. For the past few months, I've been like a messenger running to places with stacks of documents. I barely got the time to sit down in front of my computer to continue my stories for God knows how long.

Thank you also for the e-mails I received regarding Fists and Lipsticks. A lot of people have been asking me for a PDF/doc version of F&L2. For this, I would like to announce that yes, I WILL be coming up with a PDF/doc version of Fists and Lipsticks for both Book 1 and Book 2 compatible with the iTouch/iPhone. At this moment, I'm still working on the revisions. F&L is a story comprising over 500,000 words and because I am re-writing some parts, mostly scenes from Book 1, I am taking really long. I am asking everyone to please bear with me with this. Thank you for everyone's patience. For now, you are free to copy-paste the story to your MS Word for your OWN reading pleasure. DO NOT DISTRIBUTE YET IN DOC VERSION.

Thank you everyone. I miss you all!

-Mark

Thanks for everyone's birthday greetings

Hey F&L and VC readers, thank you so much for the birthday greetings and e-Cards. I'm trying my best to respond to every email as much as my hand would permit me to.

Take care everyone.

-Hiro

Still alive

Just dropped by to say that I'm still alive, hehe. I receive everyone's mail and messages via e-mail (although I have yet to check Soompi for messages there - I couldn't access the site via Blackberry for some reason).

For the past weeks I've been very busy not only with my rehab but my make-up classes for the sessions I missed in school. Also, we've been laying out the plans for my wedding. Thank you for all the messages showing support not only to my stories but also to Meia and me. We truly appreciate the kind words and the boost of confidence you give us with your enthusiasm and expression of gratitude in whatever means.

I've been finding time to post the next chapter for Vena Cava. Actually, the chapter's finished many weeks ago, but I decided to change some scenes in the last minute, which would be quite crucial in the plot because it would involve not only one but two new characters. I would post it as soon as I polish the chapter to my liking and when time allows me too.

Again, thanks for all the support. For any messages you need reply for, you can reach me faster via e-mail - hlarucea@hotmail.com

New Rehab "exercise"

My physical therapist gave me a brand new hand and finger dexterity "exercise".

^ Now that's what I call exercise!

Everyone, play this game, seriously. If Fists and Lipsticks fried your brains, this one will eat it! Haha.

Chapter 5 - Sue's Stalker now posted

The long overdue update of Vena Cava - Chapter 5 - Sue's Stalker is now up in Fictionpress.

Will be posting on Soompi later this day.

-------------------------

Copy-pasted note:

A/N: Thank you for reading the latest chapter of Vena Cava. This is way overdue again and I apologize for the delay again. Aside from the faulty internet connection, I actually left for a couple of weeks to visit my mom back in Beijing. Also, I made a couple of changes in the sequence of events. The chapter is also longer now from the previous 20 pages now up to 24. This is not only to compensate for the long update interval but I decided to sprinkle a lot of clues in this chapter. If you are observant, you’ll be able to catch them.

I won’t post when my next update will be. I don’t know why it had become a jinx. Each time I announce my updates, they always get delayed (unlike in F&L). So for Vena Cava, just expect surprise updates.

I just found out today that Vena Cava had been nominated in Fictionpress for Most Creative Plot – Incomplete. The contest is called ‘Some Kind of Romance’ or simply 'SKoW' (pretty cool name for a contest, in my opinion. It reminds me of a movie someway back). Thank you to whomever that person was who nominated my story.

For any questions or inquiries, please e-mail them to me directly at hlarucea@hotmail.com. I usually open my emails via my mobile phone so I get to access it more often that FP & Soompi. If that won’t be possible, you can post here or e-mail Meia. She goes online more often that I do.

God bless you all and I hope you liked he chapter. Any criticism is welcomed, especially constructive ones. Please inform me of any spelling and/or grammar errors I might have missed. Your help would be greatly appreciated.

- Hiro

Still no internet

It's still freezing here where I am.

To worsen things up, my internet connection has not been restored yet (until now). Hence I couldn't go online to upload my new chapters - I am using my mobile phone right now to update this blog.

I apologize for the delay. You know, I think it would be a really good thing if I refrain from posting when I would update from now on. For some funny reason, the world does some weird things to stop me from doing so, hehe.

But to give you some little spoilers, the next chapter's going to have lots of Sen and Sue scenes. As I have said, the title's going to be Sue's Classmate. So, who is Sue's Classmate? Compared to the latest chapter, Chapter 5's going to be quite a run. Also, a big revelation about Sen would be revealed.

Little delay on Chapter 5

I couldn't log-in to Fictionpress and Soompi due to internet connection issues since Friday night (I'm using my mobile phone to update this blog). Due to unavoidable circumstance, there would be a little delay on Chapter 5: Sue's Classmate. But the folks said that they're working double time to resolve the issue. They said connections would be up in a few more hours so stay tuned guys.

I'll upload the chapter right away once connections are stabilized. That would be very soon. Thank you for the patience and sorry for the inconvenience.

-Mark

Vena Cava Chapter 5 - will be out on Sunday

I'll be uploading Chapter 5: Sue's Classmate hopefully this weekend. It's actually done but I'm spacing out the updates to give room for proofreading. I'm trying to bring my old quick update pace back now that my arm is doing pretty well.

I missed writing a lot... and I'm very excited about VC's plot. After revising Chapter 1-3, I also made a rough outline of the plot from beginning to end just like what I did to F&L. My target finishing date would be September or October of 2010. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, hehe.

Thank you for reading. Expect more update news exclusively posted here in my blog.

-Mark

Vena Cava Chapter 4 posted

I have posted Vena Cava's Chapter 4: Sue's Stalker in Fictionpress and Soompi. Thank you for reading! And I've revised Chapter 1 - 3 too if you still haven't heard, so feel free to re-read from the start if you want to refreshen the plot on your minds.

Chapter 4 is much lighter compared to the previous 3. But clues are stealthily scattered everywhere. Can you catch all of them? Hehe.

Fictionpress:

http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2665826/1/Vena_Cava

Soompi:

http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=288564

-Mark

It's the most wonderful time of the year

We'd like to take this opportunity
to greet our Fictionpress & Soompi friends a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

God bless you all and your families!

~ Greetings from Hiro L & Meia L

* Hey everyone, how have you all been? I'm very sorry for the lack of replies to your outpouring e-mails and messages, including questions and constructive criticism. But I've read each and every one of them (with my handy-dandy BlackB) and now that my wrist drop isn't killing my hand as much as it did before, I would reply to them as soon as I can.

THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the support to F&L, most especially for the get-well messages and E-cards you guys sent. I hate being dramatic but yeah, they really mean a lot to me not only as a writer but as a person.

It's been a long time since I last dropped by Soompi. I could say that I did miss the forums a lot. Hehe.

Your "BFF" (Brain-Frying Friend),
Hiro


P.S.
Please do not distribute Fists and Lipsticks 1+2 yet in .doc version. It isn't fully proof-read yet. Please keep my creepy grammar and spelling mistakes exclusive to Fictionpress and Soompi for the mean time, hehe.

I have received several requests for proofreading in Fictionpress. I'd attend to them when I get back to the US on January 2010. Though my hand is pretty functional now after they took off the brace, the holidays kept me moving from place to place; thus, I can't attend to requests yet.

Back to do something I missed

It's good to be back in Boston and except for the brace stuck on my arm for about a month now, I've been doing pretty good as far as my rehab sessions are concerned. In Detroit, I got to meet many oldies (because people who go to rehab are usually old people who suffered from stroke) and I can write again.

It's amazing how I've learned how to write with my left hand too now. That made me remember something that Dr. Young told me - that the body is able to adapt to disabilities by amplifying other parts to compensate for what it is not capable of doing. For example, sightless people do have increased senses just as much as deaf people could read the lips of the persons they talk to.

Proves that there's a genius called 'God' hanging around somewhere.

Anyway, regarding Vena Cava, I'm pretty excited to get back to it as soon as I can. I would be posting new chapters within this month and I am filled with so much inspiration in writing something new this time.

Thanks by the way for all the kind e-mails and reviews you guys sent regarding Fists and Lipsticks. There's so much editing to be done, grammar and spelling errors to be fixed, scene inconsistencies, and also pulling the whole bulk together in a single PDF file for the final manuscript... I still haven't posted my long overdue thank you notes and in-depth analysis of scenes including the answers to the questions previously posted. I still haven't dropped by Soompi yet, but Meia had kept me informed of the PMs you guys sent and it warms my heart to have read all of them.

I've received e-mails regarding the broken YouTube link to the F&L Trailer of combined Book 1 and 2. I already asked Pamie about it and she said that she would be re-uploading it to a site where the audio won't be taken down. Apparently, the Multiply.com video link isn't working anymore too. Also, Pamie and Meia are planning to make a trailer for Vena Cava too and I'm pretty excited about that too. I don't know how they'd do it, but with Pamie's editing talent I think it's gonna be great!

Thank you guys! See you around.

-Mark

DONE!

DONE!

*collapses*