There was a moment when I thought I loved her when we were young. It was the first time I had seen her after we made our engagement official. Her mother, Maraki Shiritou, brought her into the room after her father called for them. She had barely turned four years old, half a year younger than me. Thick curly hair hung around her shoulder, and her rich blue eyes froze me to my seat. She was a gentle blend of her parents; brown curls from Miraki and calm eyes from Hadori. We were introduced to each other shortly after that then left alone in a room to 'play'. We both knew that our parents were simply talking about whether or not we fit together.
"Are you scared?"
The first words out of her mouth were that of a question.
"Why would you ask me that," I had replied.
She smiled softly, like she understood a deeper meaning behind my answer.
"We're going to be engaged, and we don't even know each other," she said. "Isn't that a little weird?"
The idea had never occurred to me. I had merely obeyed my father when he said that the pureblood, Hadori Shiritou, had agreed to betroth his daughter to me and that I was to meet her. I had never guessed that she herself would be nervous and disturbed at the thought of being betrothed to a stranger.
"No," my childish reply was honest and blunt.
Her expression of sadness from that moment on had been etched into the deep recesses of my mind. In that glimmer of innocence, I could honestly say that I was in love with her. It was impossible to think it was anything else; she looked as if she had been asking for someone to love her.
"Hanabusa, it's time to get up."
My eyes flashed open, and my arms felt like lead coiled around the spare pillow. It had been a while since I had a dream of the past. Akatsuki leaned over me, my devoted cousin, his amber eyes conveyed his curiosity.
"You've been sleeping for a while now," he said.
I sat up and stretched.
"I like sleeping in," I complained.
Akatsuki sighed.
"We have class today," he warned.
I groaned and attempted to crawl out of bed. Ever since Kaname had disappeared, and Yuki and Zero had gotten together, I felt as if life lost a portion of its meaning. The only thing I had to do was finish school, which was on the bottom of my wish list. Childishly, I got dressed in my old white uniform and followed Akatsuki to the school building.
As we walked down the beaten road to the gates, I felt worn. This was my last year here at the academy, and a good portion of my friends had moved on and left me behind. Even Akatsuki was preparing to lead a new life with Ruka after school was over. My legs felt like lead. It wasn't fun being left behind. The closer we came to the gate, the louder the screaming could be heard on the other side of it and I smiled. Paparazzi, thy name is as a summer breeze.
The doors swung open, and hundreds of girls swarmed attempting to get as close as they could to us. I waited for sharp yells and dangerous scowls from the prefects, but they were nowhere to be found. The crowd bubbled and threatened to eat all night class students like one hugs giant white blood cell. I waved to the countless number of girls screaming my name. I enjoyed the entertainment of human being obsessive over me. Suddenly silence swept throughout the mob, starting at one end and ending at the other. I immediately knew who it was.
Sakiri Shiritou.
She walked through the swarm like a hot knife through butter. Her blue eyes were hard and full of irritation. The girls that had been making the other vampire students feel anxious surrendered, backing away as if the beautiful woman approaching us was some sort of disease. In a flash, memories from my childhood flooded my mind. She was still the devilishly magnificent girl I had met years ago, only her hair and body had changed drastically. Her long wavy hair had been tamed back into a ponytail, and had the figure of a gorgeous model. But of course, her attitude was ten time more sour than when we first met. I had honestly forgotten that she still attended the academy. Sakiri folded her arms in front of her chest, obviously not pleased to see us.
"Is this everybody," she asked in a stern voice.
"We're all that's attending this year," one vampire spoke up.
Sakiri's icy blue eyes caught the speaker. Ever since she had become a full-fledged pureblood, it was impossible to ignore or resist her. We were bound to obey her; our honor depended on it, even though she still insisted on wearing a day class uniform. Correction; most of the uniform. She was content with just the shirt and pants from the male uniform with a neck tie loosely anchored around her collar.
"Let's go then," she announced, turning around and marching through the mob.
We followed mindlessly. I watched her cascading curls bounce and sway with each step. Her vampire beauty finally had caught up to her, and I couldn't help but stare at her delicious curves. I decided to scamper closer to our leader.
"Good morning, Sakiri," I cheered. "You look glorious as usual."
I received no response. It wasn't highly unusual for her to ignore me in the morning.
"Are you going to be this irritating all the way to the school," she asked. "Because I'm not in the mood for your annoying blabbering."
I opened my mouth to say object to the very idea that I was annoying, but Akatsuki pulled me back. I looked up at spotted Yuki and Zero, side by side and arms intertwined. Yuki was still wearing her white uniform while Zero preferred his black. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye; Sakiri avoiding the smallest bit of eye contact from the two of them.
"Good morning, Saki-chan," Yuki said warmly.
Sakiri's scattered facial emotions were reassembled in an instant.
"Yuki," she nodded, but her face didn't look entirely pleased with the situation. "I thought you didn't want anything to do with disciplinary committee members."
Yuki's face softened. She released Zero to walk over to the pureblood.
"We were merely checking up on you, Saki-chan," she said smoothly. "Since the last time you visited the Headmaster, you've been ever so edgy."
Sakiri literally took a step back away from Yuki.
"I'm just anxious for school to start," she lied elegantly.
Everyone knew that Sakiri hated coming to the academy, especially since she had been asked to keep an eye on us aristocrats. And besides that, the school year had started months and months ago; we were well over half way done. It was an obvious lie that most of us already knew was faulty. Yuki didn't seem to mind, and she returned to Zero's arm.
"Alright then," she sighed. "I'll see you around."
Sakiri waved her hand as if it was a dead fish, but as soon as they left, she turned into a drill sergeant, leading us to the classroom. Once in the room, we were bombarded with warnings about being out past curfew and ignoring the rules, as well as being threatened with Sakiri's wrath. With each passing moment, I noticed something of was off about Shiritou. Her complexion was paler than usual, and she looked worn out. I pulled Akatsuki close to me after the pureblood left.
"Does something seem off to you," I asked in a hushed voice.
Akatsuki glanced at Sakiri's disappearing silhouette then turned his attention back to me.
"You don't know, do you," he said roughly.
I shook my head emphatically, confused.
"Sakiri was engaged to the Kiryu twins when she was younger," my cousin explained bluntly. "From what I've gathered, she really only loved the younger brother, Ichiru, but he was killed by Rido Kuran. After that, she turned her eyes to Zero, and if it wasn't for Yuki Kuran, she probably would have him by now. I think it's safe to assume that she is suffering from a severely broken heart."
I sighed, salt rubbed into an old wound.
"Women are so fickle," I mumbled.
Akatsuki smiled.
"Oh, that right," he chuckled. "She was engaged to you before the twins."
He spotted Ruka in a corner and dashed off, leaving me to my thoughts. I eventually ended up drawing on a random sheet of paper in my notebook; if I dwelt too much on the past, I'd find myself chasing after her. Our engagement had been nullified a decade ago. I didn't have a part in her romantic life.
Class finally ended, and the bored to death vampires drudged out of the school. We kept a weather eye out for Shiritou, but she didn't seem to want to play today. As we passed through the gate, low and behold, there she stood, her eyes flickering between students. I decided to play cocky.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's moon," I started, but there was no bite.
"What do you want, Aidou," she hissed, waiting for the last of the vampires to leave.
I paused and watched them move past then approached her.
"I was just trying to be friendly," I whined.
Sakiri's eyes stayed focused on the group until they were out of sight before turning her attention to me.
"No, you're trying to get on my good side," she grumbled. "And you're not doing a very good job, now if you excuse me. . ."
She turned to leave, but I jumped in front of her, desperately thinking how I could keep the conversation going. Without thinking, I opened my mouth.
"I just noticed you didn't look so well," I spewed, horrified at the words coming out of my mouth. "I was thinking you'd like some cheering up."
I covered my mouth, impressed that I could blurt out the truth so easily. For a moment, I thought she would laugh, but after while I noticed she wasn't saying anything. Shiritou's face had softened, and for a second, I thought she would burst into tears. In a flash, the window of opportunity opened. Now that I thought about it, getting on a pureblood's good side would keep me out of trouble and also provide excellent benefits.
"Why don't you come over tomorrow to my place for a bit," I suggested casually. "We could do some studying; eat some snack; and chit-chat. It'd be fun. What do you say?"
The shields came back up, and Sakiri's hard stoned face returned. I fought the impulse to retreat with my tail between my legs. Then something happened that froze me in where I stood; her glare turned into a smirk. 'Oh great,' I thought miserably. 'She's going to play with my halfhearted feelings.'
"Okay, Aidou," she jeered. "I might take you up on that."
I didn't know whether to apologize or to smile like an idiot. I chose the smile.
"Terrific," I beamed, my ego slipping by the second. "When do you want to stop by?"
The evil grin widened, and I could imagine Akatsuki standing over my grave complaining about me being a complete idiot.
"Right now," the words nearly dropped me to my knees. "Just as you had implied."
"D-Don't you wanna change out of your uniform," I offered.
She raised an eyebrow.
"So you want to make this a personal visit," she inquired.
Sweat dribbled down my neck. She was making this extremely difficult now.
"W-Why not," I said somewhat joyfully.
Sakiri's playfulness died.
"Alright," she sighed. "We'll play your way."
I perked up.
"We'll change, and I'll meet you in front of the moon dorms," she stated.
She spun on her heel and left. I didn't wait for her to disappear; I ran back to the dorms. I threw myself into my room, where Akatsuki was waiting for me. I dropped my book, my mouth releasing incoherent words. My cousin grabbed my shoulders firmly.
"What is it, Hanabusa," he asked softly.
I took a deep breath.
"Sakiri Shiritou just agreed to come over to visit," I stammered. "I wasn't even thinking! The next thing I knew I was inviting her over!"
"Calm down," Akatsuki said slowly. "When is she coming over?"
"Today," I cried.
"Well, don't make a fuss," he said firmly. "There are other vampires in this building besides you."
"I don't care," I whined. "She's going to kill me!"
"Maybe she just desperately needs to talk to someone," Akatsuki replied. "Try to appear civilized."
He released me and moved towards the door.
"Where are you going," I demanded.
"Ruka's place," there was no hesitation in his voice. "You're going to need the entire room for this 'visit'."
The door shut, and I finally understood. This was going to be the day I die.