Prologue

I secured my jacket tighter around my body. The crisp breeze that blew through me told me that winter wasn't too far away, and that fall break was almost over. School was right around the corner. Good, that meant I wouldn't have to deal with my sister's nonsense for much longer. "Shou," my sister, Mitsuru, whined from behind me and I bit down an irritated groan. "I'm cold. Can we go home, it's getting late." I grit my teeth in irritation. "That's where I'm trying to get us. And if you're so cold, maybe you should have thought about wearing actual clothes." I chastised, eyeing her choice of mini-skirt and open-toed heels with distaste.

If you're confused, allow me to explain. My little sister had wanted to go to a party hosted by this transfer student she'd recently met at school. It just so happens, he lived on the other side of town. The side we usually never go to. She apparently has this huge crush on him, and wanted to go in an attempt to "get to know him better". This wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been forced to go with her. Our parents' ultimatum was: either both of us go, or no one goes. Naturally Mitsuru practically had a fit, and so I agreed to go if only to shut her up. Resulting in our current predicament. We're completely and utterly lost.

Sure, we're teenagers and both of us have cell phones, so it'd be no problem to call our parents and have them retrieve us. Right? Right. Only, my idiot little sister decided to get drunk. And there was no way I was letting my parents see that I, her "responsible" older brother, had let her. I know that sounds bad, but, in reality, I didn't actually let her get drunk. I turned my back for two minutes and she was gone! By the time I'd found her, about two hours later (the house this kid lives in is huge), she was already pretty downhill. I cut off any more alcohol from getting to her, and waited about another two hours inside of a bathroom I'd locked us in, rubbing her back as she threw up and placing wet rags on the back of her neck, before I decided she was sober enough for us to head home.

That was nearly three hours ago. It was nearing about two or three in the morning now and our parents were sure to kill us tomorrow- if they weren't waiting up for us. I shuddered at the thought. So now I was merely looking for the nearest bus stop to take us home. "Why don't you ask that guy for directions?" Mitsuru asked from beside me, pointing down the street. I followed her finger to see a man standing underneath a streetlight. He wore a fedora on his head, the shadow it cast hiding most of his face, and a long tan trench coat covered the rest of his body. All in all he was kind of creepy. But seeing as he was the only person on the street out and about, I opted to give him a shot. "Sir! Excuse me, can you help us? We're a little lost, and we're looking for a bus to take us home." I called, almost jogging in his direction.

The man didn't say or do anything until I was a few feet away from him. Then he turned, and walked into the alley beside him. I frowned, and slowed to a stop. Well that was a little rude. My sister's heels clacked unevenly against the pavement, and she stumbled to a stop beside me. "Why'd he leave?" she questioned, eyeing the alleyway groggily. "Did you say something mean?" she turned to me and I saw her eyes struggling to focus on me. I could feel my brow twitch at the question. "Why's it always my fault? I didn't do anything!" I snapped at her. She frowned, pursing her painted lips at me. "You're always so mean to me, Shou. You're mean to everybody!" she accentuated the statement by waving her arms around at, what I could only assume was supposed to be, "everybody". I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, I'm gonna ask that guy for directions." I grumbled, walking towards the alley.

"Wait, Shou." Mitsuru caught my arm. I looked back at her in annoyance, but my gaze softened when I took in her expression. She looked scared. "I have a bad feeling. I don't… I don't think we should follow that… That guy… In there…" she struggled for the words, gesturing vaguely to the alley where the man had disappeared. I inwardly sighed. Stupid little sister… I thought to myself. I sat her down on the sidewalk and told her not to move. I would just ask the guy for help again and then come right back. It was getting really late, and I didn't see any other option. You know, besides wandering around an unfamiliar part of town. Maybe we'd stumble upon a bus stop, but with the way my luck was running tonight, that didn't seem very likely.

I entered the alley, ignoring the protests of my drunken sister, and looked around for the man. He stood not that far away from the entrance, and I could just see his outline in the shadows. "Excuse me?" I called out to him. He didn't move, his back facing me. I walked farther into the alley. The man stayed exactly where he was until I was about arms-length from him, and he quickly moved farther into the darkness. I was getting really freaked out now. "Shou?" I looked over my shoulder to see my sister stumbling towards me. "Did-Did'ya find the guy?" she asked. I frowned at her and moved towards her. "Yes, I did. He wasn't really that much help. I thought I told you to stay on the sidewalk?" I scolded.

She pouted her lips at me. "Well, I was gonna! But that… That- lady over there was, like, really creeping me out." She waved her arm behind her. I assumed that maybe she was just imagining things, but when I looked over her shoulder my frown deepened. There really was a woman standing right where Mitsuru had been sitting. Her eyes were wide, and her black hair was frizzy and knotted- as though it hadn't been brushed in weeks. Her clothes were incredibly wrinkled and she just kept staring at us. She was starting to creep me out, too. She took a staggering step forward, and I noticed that her whole body was trembling.

Instinctively, I pushed Mitsuru behind me. "H-Hun…gry…" the woman ground out. Her voice sounded strained, and dry- almost as if she'd been swallowing dirt. "What?" Mitsuru questioned, peeking around my shoulder at the woman. "Hun…gry…" she repeated, taking another step forward. I'd had enough at this point, and grabbed Mitsuru's hand. I turned to hurry further into the alley, but the man from before was standing directly in front of me. Up close I could see how haggard he really looked. His clothes hung loosely off his body, and his cheeks were sallow and sunken against his face- sharply outlining his skull. He had the same eerily wide eyes as the woman. They were vacant, almost animalistic, and seemed to be staring at us in-

"H-Hun…gry…. S-so, hun…gry…" the man's voice sounded strained as well. "Sorry, we don't have any food." I stated firmly. I could hear the woman's breathing grow heavy behind me. She sounded like she was close to hyperventilating. "Smell… so… g-good…" she cried, inhaling deeply. And now, I was officially scared. Suddenly, so fast I didn't even register what had happened, I was pinned against the brick wall of the alley by my throat. I heard Mitsuru scream, and my eyes snapped over to her in time to see the woman grab a fistful of my sister's hair and jerk her head back.

"Mitsuru!" I called out for her, struggling in the man's grip. My efforts didn't even seem to faze him. For someone who looked on the brink of starvation, he was incredibly strong. The woman opened her mouth wide, and two extremely sharp looking canines shined in the moonlight. I stared in horror as the woman clamped her teeth onto my sister's throat. Mitsuru whimpered in pain, and struggled against the woman. She must have been just as strong as the man who held me, because she didn't even budge. Eventually, Mitsuru's hand fell limply to the floor. I was too horrified to speak.

She was growing paler by the minute, and she wasn't moving anymore. Not even a twitch or a whimper of protest. A stream of crimson flowed smoothly to the ground from her neck and I fought the urge to vomit. "Hun…gry…" the man repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. I tore my eyes away from Mitsuru to look at the man before me. My heart stopped. His eyes were the same crimson as the blood that flowed freely from my sister's wound.

They seemed to have an unnatural glow to them, and I found myself fall into a daze. Like a snake hypnotizing its prey. I didn't even register the fact that the eyes were getting closer. I was paralyzed. Until I felt a sharp pain in my neck, and then the spell was broken. I thrashed around, clawed at the man's arms and face, but this only served to annoy him. He slammed my head against the brick wall, and my world went black. I fought for consciousness, turning my gaze in Mitsuru's direction. The last thing I saw was a puddle of crimson.

Like those eyes…

A/N
Hello! :D
So, this is my first ever Vampire Knight story, and I'm really nervous as to how it's going to turn out, and the response it'll get :S
I'd love some feedback, it'd be very much appreciated!
This is just the prologue, but I'll have the actual first chapter up probably on Saturday.
See you then!
Bye~!