Summary: When Haruno Sakura is enrolled at Stephen's Academy, she dreads the thought of attending a boarding school in the wilds of Columbia. Little does she realize what awaits her. Stephen's is no ordinary school. Its students and teachers are all secretly vampires. And the mysterious vampire, Uchiha Sasuke, has been selected as her mate.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, unfortunately. The characters belong to Kishi-sensei.
Chapter 1: The school
Haruno Sakura stood at the school gate on a Sunday afternoon, her eyes fixed on the building in front of her. It is not particularly magnificent, nor is it beautiful, awe-inspiring, or majestic. It looks as though its architect combined the features of a castle, stately home, and manor house in one stone and brick pile.
The building was originally a hospital. During the World War, it housed the soldiers who were victims of artillery bombardment.
At some point during the 1920's, the building was closed down. Rumors indicated that one of the soldiers died resulted of heavy injuries. The years passed and more of the patients were found dead and after losing the money, the hospital was deemed inhospitable. It was late in the 1930's that the school was founded. The founder was named Stephen Kaplan. Sakura did not know much about him except that he was very famous in the financial district during the 20's. Kaplan announced his intention of retiring to open a boarding school in Columbia then died some years later in a hunting expedition at an age of 81.
Stephen's school prospered.
Sakura's uncle had been insistent on enrolling her in Stephen's Academy. Sakura's mother, a dancer had died two years before. Then, her father died six months ago, and Sakura moved in with her Uncle Haruna. Even though Haruno Haruna was her father's only brother he was totally unlike Haruno Sakumo. Sakumo had been tall, full of boisterous charm, a professional painter who died in a car crash. Sakura had never been more devastated, or more alone. Now, she sensed, her life was about to change again.
Sakura had protested against the idea of enrolling in a boarding school in Columbia but her uncle thought nothing of it. He was, in many ways, devious. She knew why she was being dispatched from her uncle's apartment. She was in the way. Her uncle had a procession of girlfriends passing through his apartment and Sakura was cramping his style. Sakura had asked to find a school on her own but her uncle was against the idea since it wasn't worth her time. He insisted that Stephen's Academy would be very good for her education.
She begrudgingly admitted that the city was charming, with its conifer forests and breezy wind. The weather is barely good though. As she waited outside the gate, she reminded herself of the decision she had made before leaving.
She was alone in the world, her parents both dead, her uncle being the only 'family' he could claim. Nor did she have any friends, close friends, the kind whom she could share her thoughts and feelings with. So Sakura decided that she would make the most out of her independence. She would trust no one except herself. If she found no friends, and won't be able to slot in with the school, she would leave and take his life into her own hands.
She has been waiting outside the school for fifteen minutes. 'Damn, they said they would be waiting for my arrival. Maybe I should just leave now!' she thought.
Just as she was about to ponder calling her uncle, the gates opened. From afar, she saw a girl walked towards her. She looked like she was gliding rather than walking, her feet barely touching the ground. When she was only a few steps away from her, Sakura's eyes widened. Up close, the girl looked devastatingly and inhumanly beautiful. The girl smiled, showing a set of perfectly white teeth.
"Haruno Sakura?" she asked in a formal voice. Her voice sounded like she was singing. "I trusted you had a good journey? My name is Yvonne, your guide here. Come with me."
Sakura nodded, hefting her suitcases, still a bit dazed.
"I trust that you have a lot of questions," said Yvonne as she led Sakura toward the main entrance. Without giving Sakura a chance to reply, she hurried up the steps and into the main lobby. Its high ceiling arched overhead, reminding Sakura of a cathedral. The floor shone in the light spilling through the high windows and smelled of honey-lilac.
A set of double doors, flanked by columns, was located in each of the three walls. Yvonne indicated the wooden doors at the far end of the lobby.
'This is the central part of the school. Through there you will find all the classes, study centers, administration departments, and the Great Hall where you will take all your meals." She indicated a broad doorway on her left.
"The girls' dorm is housed through there. The boys' dorm is located over here to your right.
Yvonne crossed to an identical doorway on the opposite side of the lobby. With a wave of her hand, she ushered her inside.
"You'd be pleased to know that your room is upstairs." Her shoes echoed as she climbed an imposing granite staircase.
"You will share a room with another student of your age," Yvonne announced at the top of the stairs. "You have your own en-suite bathroom." They had entered a long hallway, its pale cream walls broken of series of solid wooden doors. Sakura looked around, mystified by silence and absence of students.
Yvonne pointed toward an archway at the end of the hall. "You'll find a lunge, kitchen, DVD library, mini-gym, and pool tables through there. As well as the personal laundries, one for each room."
Yvonne stopped outside one of the doors and her hand, very gracefully, handed her a key.
"This is yours."
She opened the door and stood aside as Sakura entered. She set down her suitcase and surveyed the room. It was pretty homey. There were beds, desks, chairs, two wardrobes, and two bookshelves.
Yvonne held open another door. "Your bathroom," she said.
Sakura opened the nearest wardrobe. A school uniform—blazer and skirt—hung from a wire coat hanger. White shirts, school ties, a sweater, socks and a tracksuit were neatly folded on a shelf. The girl saw the surprise on Sakura's face.
"When your uncle was told you would need a uniform for classes and all meals in the Great Hall, he gave us your measurements," Yvonne informed her. She heard Sakura sigh.
"Stephen's is a fine school. We achieved a 98.6 percent pass rate at last year's examinations. We're hoping to better that this year. If you need me just holler. It's customary since I am the head senior."
"Yes ma'am." Sakura said stiffly, debating with herself how long would she give the school before she packed her bags and fled.
Then with another dazzling smile she gracefully left the room. But not before she said, "Give us time, and I think the school will start to grow on you."
Sakura began to unpack. She had packed enough clothes to let her last a year. She stuffed them into the wardrobe, then took out her textbooks. She closed the suitcase on the rest of his things and pushed it under the bed with her foot.
Without warning, the door was flung open, and Sakura jumped.
"Look at all this space!" said a voice.
Sakura turned to discover the newcomer standing in the doorway, balancing a large carton of books and papers in one hand. Surprised, she stared at them blankly. She was almost as beautiful as Yvonne was. Sakura noted that she had an extremely pale face, and her features seemed to be more perfect than any normal human being. Sakura was puzzled by this fact.
Despite that, she looked about the same age as her. She was almost as tall as Sakura. Her perfect angular face broke into a smile once she saw her.
"I'm Yamanaka Ino," she said. She dumped the things beside the second bed and stretched out a hand. "You're Sakura?"
Sakura shook her hand and almost recoiled at the touch of the girl's palm. It was hard and smooth almost like stone.
If Ino had noticed Sakura's reaction, she ignored it. "Well, welcome to Stephen's. I have been here since prep school."
"You must like it," Sakura said.
She tilted her head. "Of course." Her eyes, strange amber colored, met Sakura's gaze.
"I've heard about you. I'm sorry for your parents."
"It's the past." She shrugged.
"So, what are you into?" Ino went on. "Do you like painting, like your father?"
"Yes. A little bit."
"Do you do sports?"
"I play softball. I was on my school team once."
Ino nodded. Her eyes seem to wander around the room. Then she caught sight of Sakura's wardrobe.
"You dress plainly, don't you?" she asked.
Sakura was taken aback at the sudden comment. She stepped across and closed the wardrobe door. "I guess I'm not that much into fashion."
She glanced back and saw her unpacking her things. She didn't notice her move.
"Did they move you to another room?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Yes," Ino replied with a quick glance over her shoulder. "I think they thought you'd be lonely staying by yourself."
"Sorry to disrupt you."
"Don't be. My previous room sucks. This one has a greater view."
Her cheeks reddening, Sakura crossed to the window and gazed out over the forest. "I guess it does."
Ino stacked her laptop and books on the desk nearest her bed. She carefully sorted the books into neat groups.
The clanging of a bell echoed throughout the building.
"Well," Ino suddenly took hold of her arm, "let's have dinner."
A/N: That was tiring. Hoped you like the story. Tell me what you think.