Chapter One

Prologue

The Girl in the Tree

-oOo-

Kain looked up at the tree uncomfortably, watching Aido climb toward the sleeping girl. "We're going to get in trouble again," he called softly, "don't you remember how pissed Kaname-sama was the last time you went after a stray?"

"Spoilsport!" was the cocky reply. "Don't you want to know what she's doing up here?"

"Sleeping, moron. Even you should be able to tell that." Kain looked back towards the Academy building, through the dark, moonless night, watching to see if any of the other Night Class students or – god forbid, the disciplinary committee! – were heading this way. Thankfully, Yuki and Kiryu didn't seem to be anywhere near. "That would be the perfect cap to this little adventure," he muttered.

"What?" Aido called down, hanging his head around a particularly leafy branch.

"I said you should get your ass back down here before someone shows up!"

"Oh, c'mon, Akatsuki! No one even knows we're out here! What, do you think Kaname-sama is going to appear out of nowhere right behind you?" he added, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"No, just me!" was the cheerful reply.

Kain whipped around to find Ichijo standing barely six feet away, hands on his hips.

"Sooo," he drew out the word, "which one of you wants to tell me what's going on over here?"

Kain put his hand over his eyes and groaned. "There's a Day Class girl sleeping up in the tree."

"Ahh. And Aido's up there why?"

"Ummm . . ."

"I see." Kain winced at the deadpan reply. "Aido," Ichijo continued, "you and Kain can get your asses back to class now."

"But what about her?" Aido pouted, pointing at the girl.

"You let me worry about her. Move it."

"All right, all right," Aido muttered as he dropped to the ground. He was still protesting as Kain dragged him away.

"Now who are you?" Ichijo said to himself, looking up through the branches at the still-sleeping girl in the black uniform of the Day Class, who hadn't even twitched at the commotion around her. "Oh, and Kain?" he called over his shoulder. Kain paused and looked back at the vice-president of the Night Class. "If you see Kaname, ask him to come out here, will you?"

"Hai," was the dispirited reply.

-oOo-

"I see Ichijo found you." The words came out of the darkness as Kain and Aido approached the door of the classroom hall that they had snuck out of earlier. Kain winced. I should have known he'd be waiting. "What were you two up to this time?"

"Umm … nothing?" Aido tried.

"Mmm. An interesting 'nothing' that leaves twigs in your hair."

Aido's hands flew up to his head.

Kain tightened his grasp on Aido's arm. "Well," he began brightly. "We'll be heading back to class now." He pointed in the general direction of the tree, adding, "Ichijo wants to talk to you."

They made it two steps closer to the door before they heard his reply. "Let's not keep him waiting then, shall we?"

"But Ichijo told us to go back to class," Aido chimed in, hoping desperately to not be there when President Kuran discovered he'd been after a human girl again.

"And now I'm telling you to come with me," was the calm reply. His dark brown eyes gazed quietly at the two troublemakers as he waited for the only acceptable response.

"Hai, Kaname-sama."

-oOo-

Kaname's eyes narrowed as he looked up and caught a whiff of the girl's scent. He swiftly scaled the tree, perching next to her, being careful not to touch her. Something in the back of his mind said that doing so would be dangerous. But dangerous for whom? He searched his memory for something that would explain the odd scent. She was clearly not a vampire – he would have known, and besides, she wouldn't be in the Day Class if she was – but she didn't smell quite 'human' either.

He'd first noticed the scent two days ago, traces of it in the classrooms, as if left by someone in passing, but it was much stronger here. The girl was definitely the source. His skin, pale by nature, grayed a little as the answer came to him.

"Did either of you touch her?" he called out suddenly.

Startled by the question, Kain replied, "No. I was down here the whole – "

Kaname cut him off. "Aido, did you touch her?"

"What?" Aido was confused and a little defensive. "What does it matter? I only wanted to –"

"Did you touch her?" Kaname snarled.

"No! No! Ichijo got here … I wasn't going to … I mean … no," he ended weakly, "I didn't touch her."

"Good. Now go back to class." Kaname returned his attention to the strange girl.

"But …" Kain threw his hand over Aido's mouth as Ichijo glared at them.

"Go. Back. To. Class." Recognizing the deadly venom under the growl, Kain and Aido fled back to the hall. "You too, Ichijo," Kaname continued, forcing control over his voice.

Ichijo calmly looked up at him. "You're going to need help getting her back to her dorm."

"I'm not taking her back to the Sun dorm." Kaname gently lifted the girl from the branch, being especially careful not to touch her skin.

"You're not?" was the surprised reply.

"I'm taking her to the headmaster's residence. He needs to be informed, needs to be told what she is." He slowly made his way back down to the ground with the girl.

"But," Ichijo looked confused, "she's just a human, isn't she?"

"No." Kaname began walking away from the hall, towards the headmaster's residence.

"What is she then?" He hurried to catch up.

"Wolfen."

He stopped dead in his tracks, a look of horror on his face. "Wolfen?" he squeaked. "But they're extinct! There haven't been any seen for centuries!"

"True, there haven't been any here, but that doesn't change the fact that there's one right here now." He paused and looked back at his friend. "Are you coming with me or are you going to stand there catching flies?"

Ichijo shut his mouth with an audible click, and rushed after Kaname. Wolfen? What the hell?

-oOo-

"Are you sure we shouldn't knock?" Ichijo muttered as he opened the door.

"He's most likely asleep. It is two a.m." Seeing that the main living area was empty he directed Ichijo down the hallway to the guest bedroom. He gently laid the girl down on the bed, removing her shoes and placing them on the floor. No sense in soiling the coverlet, after all. He sat beside her on the bed and ran his fingers over her hair, wondering at the odd color. It seemed to be all the shades of Autumn – reds, golds, browns, even a hint of black. He wondered what color her eyes were.

Stepping away, he checked to be sure that the window was locked, then shooed Ichijo out of the room and closed the door behind them. He stared pensively at the door for a moment, then visibly shook himself and returned to the living area, Ichijo following along behind.

Once there, he penned a brief note to Headmaster Cross:

There's a Day Class girl sleeping in your guest bedroom. Please don't disturb her for any reason. She won't wake until sunset. I'll be back before then. – Kaname Kuran

He set the paper and the pen on the table.

"Now what?" Ichijo murmured.

"Now we go back to class."