It was such a beautiful night out, the stars were especially bright and the moon was large and full. It was the nights like this that I loved,
click
My camera made a faint noise as I pressed the button. This was my favorite time to be taking pictures, when it was quiet and peaceful. When ever I developed and edited them I felt as if all the peacefulness had been captured somehow in the one second shot. That's why I had so many pictures of the moon and the stars, they calmed me. I'd be lying if I said that was the only reason though,
The sliver moon when it was full reminded me of the boy whom I had once loved. I spent years trying to get him to return my affection, but his heart was with another. After a while I decided that it was never going to work out in the way that I wanted it to. So I locked my feelings up in my vault never to be awakened again.
I let out a sigh of regret and longing. It had been at least a year since I had talked to the silver haired perfect. I'm sure he had forgotten about me by now, our paths didn't cross very much anymore. Even though I lade out on the rooftop of the main school building almost every night, not once had I been caught. Unlike the annoying fangirls who snuck out of their dorms to sneak a peek at the night class, I was here simply for the glorious sight of the sky.
click, click, click
More snaps were heard as I fired off more shots aimed at the sky. I lade my head back on the black shingles and surveyed my newest work. I had forgotten to get a new memory card when I was in town last weekend so I was forced to use one of my old ones. It was a miracle that I was able to find one that actually had empty space, I usually used up all of my camera's memory in less than a week. I took my camera with me where ever I went.
There were the normal shots, the moon and stars, flowers that were in bloom in the schools garden, my friends, nothing out of the ordinary. That was until I found pictures that I had forgotten I had even taken. They were of Zero.
Zero sleeping in class, Zero standing in front of the night class gate glaring at the fangirls and boys. I stopped on the very last picture, it was of Zero standing on one of the schools balcony, the moon was full and shining in the background casting an angelic like glow around his body. His hair was slightly out of place and his eyes were red, he looked winded and out of breath.
This picture was taken my first day at Cross Academy, back before I knew Zero was the vampire that I was suppose to be keeping a close eye on. The association had sent me here for one reason, to watch over a boy named Zero Kiryu.
My mission was simple, watch over him until he screwed up and killed someone. Then I was to kill him, on the spot.
Sure that's what Yagari was here for, but they felt that he had strong feelings for Zero that would prevent him from actually ending his life. He being his old teacher and all.
I on the other hand was a stranger, someone who knew little about this boy and had no earlier contact what-so-ever. As far as I knew Zero was just a vampire hunter that had been changed into a vampire himself, slowly making the transition to a level E.
I watched over Zero for a while, monitoring his behavior, looking out for anything suspicious. I was basically a stalker, always following and in the shadows, that was until I fell for the seemingly cold boy.
I didn't understand at first, I had been raised that hunting was my first priority, not love. My mother and step-father were top hunters, they were close with the Kiryu family until a feud broke out between the two family's. This was when my mother was pregnant with me, that's why I never met Zero until now.
Judging by the position of the moon, directly above me, I decided that it was time to go inside for the night. I needed to get some sleep, I had an algebra test tomorrow.
I flipped the switch to turn off my camera and hung the strap around my neck before jumping off of the roof and down onto the balcony that surrounded the top floor of the building.
I was just about to do a flip off of the side railing down to the ground when a voice interrupted me.
"You do realize that it's after curfew right, Mizuki?" The silver-haired perfect questioned me from behind.
I froze in place, one leg dangling over the edge and the other barely touching the cement on the other side. I snapped my head around to face the cold as stone boy.
"I know, Zero. I fell asleep, I hadn't realized that it had gotten so late. I'm sorry," I lied. I couldn't really tell if he bought it or not, since his face never changed.
"It's not safe out here, go back to your dorm." He spat. This irked me a little, it bothered me when people assumed that I couldn't take care of myself.
"I can take care of myself," I said, sending Zero a hard glare. He only returned it, "Now if you're finished, I need to get going. Not all of us like falling asleep in class and missing our assignments." I jabbed at him teasingly. He 'hmped' and I slipped my remaining leg over the balcony railing and landed swiftly on the ground.
As I walked back across campus I grumbled to myself. "Who does he think he is? Telling me that it's 'to dangerous' out here for me. Please, I'm a vampire hunter, I can take down anything that tries to attack me." I finished my little rant and scanned my dark surroundings. I had a feeling that I was being watched, it wasn't a pleasant one. It was cold, like their gaze was burrowing into my skin and turning my soul to ice, chilling me to the bone. I could tell it was a vampire.
I placed my hand over top of the anti-vampire dagger that was secured in its holster under my skirt, but quickly removed it. It was more of a precaution really, I wouldn't take it out unless I really needed to use it. I preferred not to kill the vampires that attacked me, I didn't hate them like other vampire hunters.
Once I made it back to the girls dorm without any confrontation I quickly walked up the stairs to my room. I was the only girl at the academy to have a room by herself. I was only suppose to be here temporarily after all, nobody thought that it would take very long for Zero to go crazy with blood lust. Nobody had faith in him at the association,
I didn't bother changing into my pajamas and instead just went straight to bed in my school uniform. I did however unclip the belt that held my dagger on my leg, and placed it under my pillow.
"Good night, Zero." I whispered knowing that he was watching me from outside. Now that he knew that I was a vampire hunter he didn't hide his presence as much as he could have. I knew it was him following me, watching over me, making sure that I got back safely to my dorm. I guess he could be sweet when he wanted to be.
My eyes slowly slipped shut as I fell asleep with the feeling of being watched.
I awoke to the sound of my phone buzzing on my nightstand. I grumbled as I flipped on my stomach and slammed my hand around until I found the stupid electrical cellular device. Whoever this was, was going to get a huge surprise in the morning. My fist in their face. Nobody wakes up Mizuki Hara and gets away with it.
"Hello" I mumbled out barely audible.
"Hara, Mizuki." A steely, stiff, voice sounded on the other line. It was a voice that I knew very well. It was the man that would contact me via mail, phone, or telegram, occasionally he would show up and talk to me personally if it was important. He was the one that gave me my orders at the hunters association.
"Yes, sir." I stiffened,
"You are to return to the Hunters Association, you have a new assignment." He said,
"A new assignment?" I asked confused. "But, I'm still watching Kiryu like you told me too."
"As of tomorrow morning you are no longer under that obligation. Yagari will be taking full responsibility from here on out."
I was silent on the other side of the phone, to stunned and hurt to talk.
"Is that understood?" He asked icily.
"Sir, if I may suggest something?" I asked quietly, silently hoping.
"You may,"
"My school year is almost over, would you allow me to stay and finish it out?" I questioned.
There was a long pause on the other line.
"Fine, but only this one time Mizuki." and then the line went flat.
I let out a sigh of relief, at least this gave me time to say goodbye to my friends,
and Zero.
I glance at the digital alarm clock on my night stand. 4:56 A.M. It read in bright red letters. Great, now I couldn't even go back to sleep because I had to get up in forty-five minutes. Instead, I lade in my bed eyes plastered to the ceiling, I was thinking about how different my life would be after I left here. I didn't want to, but it was my job and I had to follow orders. Being at Cross Academy for so long made me realize that I yearned for a simple life, with friends and school. I would miss living a semi-normal life.
If I was going to be leaving in less than a month then I needed to confront Zero about something, I decided.
For the next half hour I lade in my bed thinking over my master plan in my head. I would wait until the last day of school before I told Zero my feelings and the real reason that I had come here in the first place. That way if he rejected me I wouldn't have to spend the rest of the year in humiliation. Sure, he knew that I was a vampire hunter just not that I was here hunting him.
At exactly five forty in the morning the annoying, buzzing/beeping noise rang out through my room. I slammed my hand down hard onto the alarm clock. I sighed before getting out of bed and slipping into the bathroom for my usual morning shower. After I had gotten dressed, brushed my teeth, and did my hair, the normal side pony tail with my fringe hanging perfectly around my face, I slipped on my socks and shoes. I glanced at the clock, 7:25 A.M. A sigh escaped my lips as I realized that I had nothing to do and school didn't start for another forty-five minutes.
I knew everybody would be in their dorms getting ready for the day so the campus would be empty. I decided then that I would take a walk. I didn't want to stay cooped up my small room anymore, besides I only had a limited time until I left. I wanted to absorb and remember everything that I could. I grabbed my stack of books and my camera and slipped out the door and down the hallway to the front door.
The morning was very pretty. The sky was full of big white clouds and the sky was bright blue. The sun was just starting to peak out over the horizon, stretching its rays out and warming the cool earth below. The scene before me was breath-taking, I couldn't help it when I snapped a picture. It was more of a reflex now, see something that I like and take a picture. I liked to preserve my memories.
I wasn't paying much attention to where my feet were taking me, I just let them walk. It was about five minutes later when I came across one of the fountains. A large swan with it's wings spread as if getting ready to fly was placed on top of an ornately decorated pedestals. A water fall was flowing out of it's slightly open beak, a large geyser was spraying water up from beside it. It was beautiful.
I walked over and sat myself along the side of the clear water, my books and camera placed at my feet shielded from the spraying water. My fingers were slightly skimming over the top of the cool liquid, it felt good against my skin which was still warm from my shower. Suddenly the water froze under my touch, slightly encasing the tips of my fingers.
"What are you doing up this early, or late in your case, Aido?" I asked the blonde haired, blue-eyed, womanizer behind me.
"Class got out late." He replied in his usual high, perky voice. "And then I was walking back to the dorms when I saw you sitting by yourself. You looked lonely so I decided that I would come and keep you company" He smirked down at me, walking closer.
"I'm fine, but thanks anyway Aido." I fake smiled up at him. I didn't exactly hate Hanabusa, but we weren't buddy-buddy either.
"What's this?" He asked exuberantly, before swooping down and grabbing my camera from the ground.
"Nothing, give it back!" I shouted, trying to free my hands from their icy prison.
"I didn't know you took picture's, Mizuki." Aido raised an eyebrow at me, but it went unnoticed since I was still working on my hands. Normally I wouldn't mind people looking through my camera, but since I still had the same old memory card in as I did last night Aido would see all of my old picture's of Zero. If he did he would surely tease me about it, that's just how Aido was.
"Finally!" I cheered in victory as I used my strength to finally release my slightly numb hands. The first thing I did was use my hunter speed to get on my feet in a flash and charge at the blonde vampire. He was too quick for me and raised his hand over his head, my camera dangling from his fingers.
"Give it back, Aido." I seethed out for the second time. If I had to tell him one more time then I was going to flip. I hated repeating myself.
"Do you have something to hide? Hmm?" He mused aloud, still rifling though my pictures.
"I'm not going to say this again. Give. Me. My. Camera. Back. Now!" I said growing louder with each word. At that moment Akatsuki Kain emerged from the trees.
"Just give it back, Hanabusa. It's getting late, the day class will be coming soon. Do you want to get in trouble by Kaname?" Akatsuki threatened out running a hand through his wild orange hair.
"I guess you right," He sulked, turning towards his cousin. "Here," He handed me my camera. As I reached my arm out to quickly retrieve my property from Aido, he leaned down to my ear and whispered. "Your secret's safe with me, Mizuki." I could hear the smirk in his voice. I froze in place
He barely had time to right himself before a gun was shoved into his face. Bloody Rose.
"Get back to your dorms," Zero loomed over me, his gun pointing in between the wide eyes of Aido.
"We're going, we're going." Aido raised his hands in surrender. "No need to use that," he motioned to the anti-vampire weapon in the silver-haired perfects hand. Zero glared and cocked his weapon. That's all it took for Akatsuki to grab the back of Aido's jacket and pull him towards the night class dorms. When they were out of sight I had finally gotten control of my body and turned to face Zero, my mood still ruined because of Aido.
"What did you think you were doing?!" He demanded,
"I was just minding my own business when Aido came and stole my camera. Then he wouldn't give it back even after I repeatedly asked him to." I told him, Zero narrowed his eyes.
"Whatever, get to class." He spat not believing me.
"I'm telling you the truth!" I shouted in his face.
"I never said you weren't," He revoked.
"You may as well have," I argued.
"You shouldn't be around them, Mizuki. I'm a perfect, the guardian of this school, I'm suppose to keep the day class and the night class students separate. If you can't follow the rules around here then maybe you should go back to the Hunter's Association." He spoke venomously, every word he said felt like a knife to the chest. Zero wanted me to leave.
"Fine Zero, if you don't want me here then I'll leave." I said quietly as I collected my books and slipped my camera around my neck. I started walking towards the school, even though my heart ached I knew that I had to leave now. I couldn't stay for the rest of the year, I wasn't wanted here.
My bags were packed and I had made all of the necessary calls. The Association knew that I was coming back early and they were more than excited. Me on the other hand, I was a wreck on the inside, but my outside appearance never changed. Nobody could tell that I was breaking in half, I was good at hiding my emotions when I wanted to.
I sat on my bed, looking around the room that was once mine. It saddened me that I would never sleep here again, that I would never wake up to the sound of my annoying alarm clock, that I would probably never see any of my friends that I had made again. What saddened me the most was that it was Zero, the one that I was going to stay here for, that had wanted me to leave.
I slowly walked towards the headmasters office, lugging my school uniform and my last suitcase. The others were already placed in the car that the association had sent over for me. I walked extra slow, savoring the moment and everything around me. When I reached the headmasters door I gave two quick, gentle knocks.
"Headmaster?" I called out.
"Come in, come in!" He shouted in his loud, flamboyant voice.
"I'm leaving now, Headmaster. Here are my papers and my school uniform." I said quietly as I placed the said items on the older blonde mans desk. I kept my head down the whole time, my bangs shielding my eyes. This was why I didn't see the violet eyes that were staring at me from the corner.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay for the rest of the year? You only have a few more weeks until break, and your grades are extraordinary!" He exclaimed loudly.
"I'm sure, Headmaster Cross." I looked up, only then seeing the boy perfect in the corner of the room. His arms were crossed and he was looking down with a scowl on his face.
"I must be going now," I said reluctantly. "My car is waiting."
I turned and walked out of the office without another word. I stopped and stood in the middle of the courtyard and looked around, it seemed so peaceful. It was mid-afternoon so the day classes were done for the day, but the night classes had yet to begin. The noise I heard was the sound of birds chirping and wind rustling the leaves above me. I took out my camera and snapped one last picture. My last memory at Cross Academy.
I was about to travel the rest of the way to the front gate when I sensed something behind me. A vampire. I didn't bother grabbing my dagger, which was still under my skirt. I knew who it was.
"What do you want, Zero?" I asked glancing over. He said nothing as he came into step with me. We moved farther down the bath before he finally broke his silence.
"Your leaving." He stated. "Why?"
"Because, Zero." I said simply. He mustn't have liked my answer because the next thing I knew he slammed me up against the nearest tree. His hands were on either side of my face and he was leaning in close to my face. So close I could feel his sweet breath on my face.
"Why?!" He demanded an answer again, this time more forceful than the last. I was to stunned into silence to answer. His eyes were full of anger and frustration and something else that I couldn't place. It was like some secret feeling that was just waiting to burst to the surface of Zero's cold eyes.
"Why?" He whispered, his voice soft. It was completely different from his normally cold exterior. He dropped his head causing his hair to cover his face completely.
"Zero," I muttered bringing my hands up to cup his face. I tilted it up so that I could look into his eyes, they were no longer full of anger but, instead the new foreign feeling. It looked like longing, but I couldn't be too sure.
"I thought that," I said quietly before stopping.
"Thought what?"
"I thought that you wanted me to leave," Saying those words caused my chest to twist painful. Zero was silent, his eyes still wide and open staring at me, piercing into my soul. Before I could register what was happening, Zero slammed his lips to mine. I froze shocked,
His kiss started out forceful and demanding, but then turned soft and loving. I started kissing back after a moment of hesitation. This was new to me, I had never kissed a boy before. We pulled back a minute later, both of us panting.
"Zero," I whispered.
"Mizuki," He whispered back. "Do you understand now why I don't want you to leave?"
I nodded my head and then added,
"I always thought that you liked Yuki,"
"I did until I realized that she would never return my feelings. Besides, when you came here I lost all interest in her." He explained,
"Zero," I said. "I think that," I paused, a blush covering the majority of my face. "I might love you," I squeezed my eyes shut not wanting to his his reaction. I heard his chuckle,
"That's good, because I think I might love you too, Mizuki." He whispered in my ear.
My heart swelled as I smiled up at Zero. I pulled him into a kiss before pulling away.
"Does this mean that you want me to stay?" I giggled,
Zero pulled me back to him forcefully and attached his lips to mine for the third time. I giggled again before grabbing one of his hands in my own and pulling him back in the direction tat we had come from.
"Let's go tell the Headmaster then," I smiled.
Five minutes later, I was a Cross Academy student again.
"Ahh, young love these days is so cute! My little Zero is growing up so fast!" The headmaster cried,