Blood flowed freely from the gaping hole in the corpse's chest, soaking the ground beneath it with the life-carrying liquid. It smelled sweet to her nose, like the fragrance of a kitchen in the hands of a master chef. How the delicious scent teased her senses, causing her stomach to quiver in anticipation.

Yet, despite how much that blood called out to be devoured, to be feasted upon and enjoyed, she would not give in to such temptation. Pride, long since hammered into her race from millenia past, would not allow such an act, that of consuming the blood of the dead.

However, this was no ordinary dead. Though humanoid in appearance, its skin was of a ghostly pallor, wrapping about its slightly taller-than-average frame. Black hair, so dull it seemed almost gray, adorned its head. The nails of its fingers tapered to slight points, giving them the appearance of small spades. Two canines protruded from the upper jaw down over its lower lips, thick and long and undoubtedly deadly. Such individual features were not uncommon in the monster realm, but to have all of them together signified certain creatures that just didn't belong. However, these characteristics were overshadowed in meaning by its other far more...dazzling traits.

Most prominent to the eye were the black marks that stood out on its white skin. Jagged and rough, they climbed up the right side of its neck, originating from two dots dots near the collar bone. When the inter-connected patterns converged upon the jawline, they split into two branches; one side continuing up the right, the other wrapping under the chin and up the left side.

Eyes with black sclera and white irises, tinted lightly with green, stared out at the world. No pupils were to be seen, giving the orbs a glassy look.

The creature, no, abomination that lay dead at the girl's feet was a ghoul, a veritable berserker whose sole purpose in life was to destroy and devour anything that crossed its path, whether it be adult or child, male or female, animal, human, or monster. Created by the corruption of a human body with injections of vampiric blood, their will and personality were wrenched away, given over to mindlessness.

Brilliant, emerald-green eyes peered into the murky depths of the creature, before she withdrew her hand and its lacerated heart from it back. Promptly, the organ was crushed, then thrown in some random direction, never to power the monstrosity again.

Disdainfully, she eyed the arm of her blood-stained school jacket. It would need to be washed thoroughly, maybe replaced. Her silver hair, a waterfall of flowing metal, had been splattered with the crimson liquid, as well as her face and legs, testament to the gory deed.

She had been lucky to have seen the ghoul before it noticed her. By the time it knew of her presence, an arm had already been speared through its back, left lung, heart, and ribcage.

'Great.' the girl thought, looking at the red substance on her body. 'It's only the first day of high school, and I'm already going to be late.'

XXXXXXX

Pale hands scrubbed vigorously at silver hair, trying to dislodge crimson flecks from the sea of metal as quickly as possible. Though she was in a school of monsters for monsters, that didn't mean she wanted to be treated as one. Those that killed were usually feared, and those that were feared usually became hated. Even though she was a vampire, she was also a girl, one that craved contact among others. After all, five years of living alone in a house with only a maid and the occasional 'visits' from her younger half-sister made her feel totally secluded. No friends at school, despite looking and acting human, also contributed to this state. Here, she hoped to at least be able to talk casually among her peers.

And so, in the first girl's room she could find, Moka Akashiya was furiously trying to scrub any trace of removing a life from existence. There was nothing she was able to do about her jacket, so it had been discarded in the nearest trashcan. Thankfully, only a couple of drops had touched the white sleeve underneath, so they were nearly unnoticeable to all but those blessed with a keen sense of smell. Likewise, her skirt's plaid gray color hid the offending liquid. The blood on her legs, face, and hands had been easily washed away, so all that remained to be cleaned was her hair.

Compounding the entire situation, every few minutes she had to replace a filter filled with a certain plant extract on the sink nozzle to keep her demonic energy from reacting to the water. The entire process took no more than a fifteen seconds, but that was fifteen seconds more in which she could be discovered by another student.

And then it happened.

In stepped a young woman that looked to be fifteen years old, short red hair, thin, stringy figure, face contorted in the slight grimace of somebody desperately seeking to use the facilities in this particular room. However, she is not important to this story other than to further this scene, so no more description shall be given to her.

Apparently without noticing the sight of the vampire in the room with reddened water dripping into the sink, she made her way to the nearest stall. A few minutes later, the young lady re-emerged from said stall, walked up to the sink next to the stunned Moka, and proceeded to wash her hands.

"Nice day we're having, isn't it?" Unnamed Girl asked. There was no answer from the vampire, but she went on unperturbed. "That opening ceremony is so long. I don't think I should have drank all that dorian juice before going in."

She turned off the faucet, dried her hands with some paper towels, and opened the door.

"Don't stay in here too long. The ceremony is almost over with. Have a nice day!" she cheerfully said, before walking through the door.

Moka just stood there in shock, utterly baffled by what had just happened. It took a few moments for her mind to catch up with what had just happened, and when it did, she was still confused.

'Well, at least she doesn't seem like she was disturbed by thi-'

Before she could finish her thought, the door was abruptly slammed open, with the same girl staring at Moka with a look of abject horror.

'Well, fuck.'

XXXXXXX

"Would Moka Akashiya please report to the front office? I repeat: Would Moka Akashiya please report to the front office? Thank you." loudspeakers throughout the school blared, carrying the voice of what sounded like a middle-aged woman.

Said student trekked down the halls towards her destination, ignoring the mixed stairs she was getting. Some were of lust (primarily from the males), envy (females), and some with fear. Apparently, rumors had already started spreading about her. There would have to be a small talk with that other student later.

Arriving at the office, she was greeted by a secretary that looked to be in her mid-thirties, cropped blond hair, and not that the appearance told her true age. After all, appearing human was all part of the act, all a ruse to blend in with the real human society. These transformations were subject to the monsters will, and they could appear however they wanted to as long as it correlated with their general mass.

"Moka Akashiya?" the secretary asked, eying her uniform, or the lack of a jacket.

"Yes, ma'am."

"The Headmaster would like to speak to you in his office. Just knock before entering, alright?"

"Thank you."

The vampire walked down a short hallway to a wooden door, which she promptly knocked on.

"Come in." a slightly eerie voice called out.

Upon opening the door, a small office was exposed of about fifteen feet by twelve feet, painted yellow with cherry flooring. Behind an oak desk, a man sat in a high-backed swivel chair, clothed in an all-white robe, face hidden by a white hood attached to said robe. From under the hood, a pair of glowing white eyes shone unflinchingly.

"You called for my presence, Lord Mikogami?" Moka asked, slightly bowing her head in deference to the man in front of her.

The figure chuckled in amusement, a mischievous grin showing itself. "No need to be so formal, Miss Akashiya. Even if I'm a Dark Lord, currently, I'm just the Headmaster of this school. That, and you're the daughter of an old...friend. Please, take a seat."

Nodding her head in compliance, she sat in the chair provided for visitors.

"It's come to my attention that you've recently engaged in a fight, am I correct?"

"Yes, sir. A ghoul was wandering about the path near the bus stops. I managed to eliminate it before it could notice me. I crushed its heart and threw it away, making sure it would never move again."

"And did you notice anything odd about this ghoul? Usually, they're very aware of their surroundings."

Moka thought for a moment, recollecting her memories. "Its eyes...they weren't normal. Instead of being red with slit pupils, they were black on the outside, and greenish-white on the inside with no pupil whatsoever. And the clothes it was wearing seemed to be almost brand-new, like it just bought them, or recently underwent ghoulification."

The girl looked to the man, who had clasped his hands and was resting his chin on them, smiling that eerie smile of his.

"I see. I'll have my men check the body out."

Again, Moka nodded, accepting his words. She knew that he knew how dangerous ghouls were, and how best to deal with them. After all, he wasn't one of the Dark Lords, three of the most powerful and intelligent monsters to ever exist, for nothing.

"How's your seal holding up?"

The question wasn't totally unexpected, but it was still sudden enough to temporarily catch the young vampire off guard. Feeling the silver rosary that hung off her choker, studded with a single ruby in the center of the cross, she contemplated the question.

"I've noticed that I've had a bit more energy lately, so I think it's been weakened slightly. Other than that, it's been the same."

Mikogami hummed in thought for a moment, before sitting back. "Thank you for coming here, Moka. In one week, I want you to visit me again to have the seal adjusted. Also, the secretary has a new jacket for you. She'll also tell you where you're dorm room is. All of your nick-knacks are already there. You may leave now."

"Thank you, Headmaster."

Getting up from her chair, Moka turned to leave. Just as she was about to cross the threshold of the door, the Dark Lord called out to her again.

"Moka. There is a student that will be in the same room as you. Please try to get along with them, alright?"

"I'll do my best, Headmaster."

XXXXXXX

'Ground floor, room 102.' Moka thought to herself, repeating the words of the secretary in her head.

The dorm room she entered wasn't overly spectacular, nor was it plain. The small entrance was floored with brown tiles in an effort to conceal any dirt that might happen to invade the area. Immediately passed that, a relatively spacious living area was furnished with a bean-bag chair on the far wall in front of a massive window, a sofa to the left up against a wall, and an old television on the right wall.

Close to the entryway, behind a small counter to the right, a kitchenette was present with a fridge and range. Opposing it on the left wall was a door that led to a small bathroom with a toilet, sink, and a walk-in shower.

On the left and right, midway between the far wall and the entrance, were two doorways, each leading to a room garnished with a twin sized bed, a dresser, and a desk. Windows faced out the same way the one in the living area did, giving them a view of the grounds below. On the back of the doors, a full-length mirror was hung, guaranteed to have you show off in the most embarrassing way when anyone walked in without knocking.

The entire place (bar the bathroom, which had white tiling) was carpeted with a dark-beige rug, and all the walls were painted dark green. All-in-all, a pretty good deal.

All of Moka's belongings, as well as a duffel bag that she assumed to belong to her roommate, was set in the middle of the living area. Picking her stuff up, she went to the room to the left of the entryway, the one closest to the bathroom, and claimed it as her own.

Once everything was packed away (which didn't take any longer than thirty minutes), she walked back out into the main area, picked up the remote to the T.V., and watched an old B-movie about some zombies until bed time.

XXXXXXX

Off the pathway to the school, deep in a secluded glade, an hours-old corpse lay, ignored by nature's carrion-eaters. Broken, beaten...dead.

A finger twitched.