Chapter 1
A midnight blue carriage rolled up to the front of the magnificent cross academy just as the sun was dawning. Clouds grazed the peaks of the highest dormitory towers of this prestigious school. The door to the carriage was flung open and a petite girl jumped out.
"We're finally here." Mikaru said, hoping of the carriage and languidly stretching her arms. She had crystal blue eyes with pitch black hair that fell to the end of her shoulder blades. She wore the day class blazer and skirt only with the blood red ribbon adorning a headband instead of being tied around her neck. Mikaru glanced back at the carriage as another girl strolled out. She was similar in build to Mikaru but her hair was longer and her eyes were deep violet instead of the sapphire blue that made up Mikaru's orbs. She wore her uniform without adjustment unlike Mikaru and held a black tow bag in her left hand.
"Kassari, hurry up!" Mikaru yelled at her friend who shielded her eyes from the sun.
"It's not my fault that I'm sensitive to sunlight. You may be a hunter but I'm a vampire, remember?" Kassari asked rhetorically.
"Shush." Mikaru whispered harshly to her friend. "We don't want to be found out before we even get there."
Kassari nodded quickly, ashamed that she had spoken so carelessly.
Kassari was a vampire, at the very peak of the aristocrats that was sometimes even said to possess the abilities of purebloods. Kassari was one of those special ones who could even frolic around in sunlight. She could've been transferred into the night class but she felt further scrutiny would be placed on her. Mikaru on the other hand was a hunter. She wielded two katanas as her weapons of choice and she had an unusual amount of vampire genes in her body, making her age at a rate similar to vampires, even giving her the ability to stop the wrath if time. She too, had entered this school under the guise of a normal girl. They were an odd pair, not many hunters and vampires would even consider conspiring together but they had been friends for a long time and were both placed under a huge amount of pressure, being exceptional for both races. So, in order to escape that, they came to cross academy. Not on a mission but to try and live normally under the guise of being sisters.
Kassari tossed a black camping bag to Mikaru from the carriage.
"We need to get settled into our dorms." she stated matter-of-factly. Kassari then walked through the gates with Mikaru trailing behind her. She couldn't help but admit the place was impressive, even though she had been surrounded my beautiful and intricate things all her life.
"Do you think we'll be fine?" Mikaru whispered into her 'sister's' ear.
Kassari sighed. Mikaru kept on bringing up the doubts in her mind. "Don't worry, as long as we keep to ourselves, no one will question us. Anyway, aren't you usually the reckless one?" She added on with a coy smirk.
They had just entered the courtyard when a petite brunette jumped in front if them. Mikaru let out a small yelp which Kassari chuckled at. The girl wore the day class uniform which showed a few signs of disrepair. She had medium length brown hair with doe like eyes of a similar colour. She tugged at an arm band on her left arm and yelled. "You shouldn't be out of your dorms! That's detention for both of you tomorrow."
Mikaru stepped in front of Kassari and attempted to reason with her. "We were just-" she was all she managed to get out but the girl interrupted with a wave if her hand.
"No excuses! You know the rules!"
"But-" Kassari tried this time but was cut off again as well.
"No!" she yelled this time, her face going slightly red. "Why must you fan girls be so persistent."
"Because they aren't fan girls Yuuki." A silky voice came from a near by tree. Mikaru and Kassari both turned their heads in the direction and saw a boy there. His silver hair was coupled with an enchanting pair of lavender eyes. His day class uniform was worn ruggedly with his tie tied loosely. He was quite tall and held a gun casually in his right hand. He leapt down gracefully and landed next to Yuuki. Kassari hid her vampiric aura from him once she saw the bloody rose gun and one look into this eyes and she knew he wouldn't hesitate to use it on a vampire.
He turned to Yuuki. "They're new students, the headmaster told me to watch out for them."
Yuuki pouted and glared at him childishly. "Why does the headmaster trust you with things but not me, Zero?"
"Maybe it's because I'm mature enough to handle it." He retorted teasingly, messing up her hair. Yuuki immediately swiped him away and stormed off, leaving Zero to sigh at her theatrics.
"The office is this way." his said motioning to the duo. Kassari and Mikaru followed him through the hallways, where people in their dormitories were just starting to stir and a few glances were shot at them as they headed towards the headmaster's office. Zero was opening the door nonchalantly just as a loud bang was heard, causing both Kassari and Mikaru to flinch. They peaked inside nervously and saw Yuuki standing over a large desk. Behind the desk, sitting in a plush chair, was a man with yellow, blonde hair that reminded Mikaru of the dawning sun that could be seen in the large glass window behind him. He had tied his hair into a low ponytail that looked astonishingly good on him. Rectangular framed glasses rested gently on his nose and a furry kapi sat neatly on his head. His astonishing dress sense managed to pry a giggle from Mikaru as Kassari bit her lip to avoid doing the same. It involved a large number if coats, so many, that it was impossible to tell whether he was fat or thin. The floor was carpeted simply with a pure white rug and the walls were adorned by bookshelves.
" Headmaster! Why do you consider me less trustworthy as Zero! Why do you hide things from me!" Yuuki protest loudly, banging her fist on the table for emphasis. Mikaru jerked involuntarily again at the sound but she could tell that the headmaster, too, was becoming afraid of his student. "Well you see Yuuki, I do trust you it's just that Zero wanted a turn to hit on girls -" He was cut off when Zero's fist collided with his face. The man fell comically backwards, his chair tilting back for an agonizing long time before crashing against the floor with a plume of dust rising up. Zero threw a death glare at the man who lay partially unconscious on the floor. "Don't embarrass me just because you can't come up with a half decent excuse." he said coldly, before leaving the room and slamming the door behind me. Kassari chucked softly at the destruction before her whilst Mikaru ran to the man to check the damage done. However, the needlessness became eminent as he sat and straightened himself up, as if nothing had happened.
"I'm sorry for my son's violent streak." he said, extending a hand to Mikaru as Kassari joined her friend, standing in front of the desk, next to Yuuki. "My name is Kaien Cross but you have to call me head master in public." he said, winking at the pair, causing Kassari to raise an eyebrow. "Anyway, this is my adopted daughter Yuuki and that was my adopted son Zero." Kaien leaned in closer to the girls and whispered into their ears. "Don't worry about his attitude; he has a weak spot for pretty girls, especially her." He gestured towards Yuuki whose face lit up.
"Stop joking around!" Yuuki interrupted, slamming her palm down on the table causing a large tear to form in the wood. Appearing oblivious to this, she continued. "Don't you have to interview them or something?"
A light bulb seemed to go off in Kaien's head as he leaned back into his chair and put in a serious face. "Okay, you have passed the exam but you still have to go through the interview. Who are you two?" he asked. Kassari felt Mikaru push her forward and she turned around to argue but when she felt Kaien's gaze on her, she decided there wasn't really any point. "I'm Kassari Saiken." she started, using the alias her and Mikaru had prepared in the carriage. "I'm fifteen and have been at Tankuetsu academy but didn't enjoy it there so when I heard about this school, I decided to enrol here. My mother was Hisana Jundo and my father was Shin Saiken. My sister is Mikaru and we are fraternal twins." This wasn't completely a lie. She and Mikaru were born on the same day, January 24th. "I have been aggregating A's since first grade and I was part of an extension program at Tankuetsu academy. I don't play any musical instruments and have no particular hobbies except reading." Kassari finished and glanced at Kaien who nodded his approval and Kassari stepped back and Mikaru walked up. Kassari watched her facial expression carefully as she saw a careful mask forming over her friend's face. Mikaru stared seeping into Kaien's eyes and began. "I'm Mikaru Saiken. You know my background after listening to my sister's speech and I have the same grades and extension activities as my sister. The only difference is that I play flute and I enjoy writing instead of reading. And please don't get us mixed up." She bowed almost mockingly to Kaien and walked back. She saw a smile light up on Yuuki's face and realized she had probably heard more than her fair share of long people drawling on about how awesome they were in their interviews. Mikaru gave a thumbs up to Kassari who felt like face palming her friend but couldn't help the smile that forced its way onto her face. Even Kaien struggled to suppress a smile, which contorted his face strangely.
"Well, I guess it's too late to get your books and stuff so you can take the day off," Suddenly a grin came onto his face and something evil glinted in his eye. "And," he added in a cunning tone, "You might just see the night class."
Kassari paled a little but managed to get out. "Night class?"
Yuuki nodded in response. "Let's see if we can catch a glimpse of them." Kaien said. "Yuuki, show them to the sun dormitory and then introduce them to the night class. See which ones get a new fan girl." With that, he dismissed them from the office, leaving Kassari and Mikaru thoroughly confused as to how to react.
Yuuki sighed exasperatedly at her father's antics before gesturing to the both of then. "If you unpack quickly, we can see them before even the others can." Yuuki then dashed off, leaving Mikaru and Kassari to catch up. When they arrived, Yuuki pulled out a pair of keys and handed one to each of them.
"These are your dorm keys and you better not lose them or headmaster gets very mad." Yuuki shuddered as if remembering some bad memory but shook it off. "Well, I'll leave you to it. Be out in five minutes otherwise you'll miss them."
Yuuki then sprinted off down the hall way, disappearing from sight moments later. Kassari sighed and pulled the door open. The room was relatively large, with two single beds laid against the furthered wall with a bedside table in between them. The beds were laid out with white sheets and two pillows. On the bedside table stood a small lamp as well as a phone. To the right was a large panelled glass window with a window seat. The view showed them how high they were and a blood red sun painted the clouds a surprisingly mellow orange. To the left was an ensuite complete with two sinks a shower, toilet and bath. There was also a walk in closet but that held neither girl's attention for long. Mikaru dropped her bed and fell against the soft covers of the bed.
"It's been so long since I was able to relax like this." She turned to Kassari who sat taunt on the edge of the bed. She saw the worried look on her face and crawled over to her best friend. "Come on, we're safe here Kassari. If my research is correct, the vampire without fangs is protecting this school, no one will even think of us being here." Mikaru reached for her companion's hand but it was jerked away.
"You know we can never be safe as long as there are my father's spies around looking for me." Kassari stood up and picked up both their bags. "I'll pack these away before Yuuki takes us to see the night class."
Mikaru sighed. "Why? Do you really want to see other vampires?"
Kassari paused for a minute considering her friend's words. "Yes, so I can know whether I can trust them."
Kassari then disappeared into the walk in closet. Mikaru sighed again and walked over to the window seat and stared at the sun which was almost fully in the sky. She couldn't help but share Kassari's worries. They were two very precious people from both sides and there would definitely be accusations floating around about kidnappings. Mikaru drew her legs closer to her body and wrapped her arms around them. Kassari walked back in the room and joined her on the seat.
"What do you think of Yuuki?" Mikaru asked her.
Kassari let the silence stretch for a while before answering. "I'm honestly not sure. She appears fully human but there's something different about her, something I'm not sure I want to know."
Mikaru let out a deep breath. "She seems okay and genuinely friendly. What about her dear brother Zero?"
Kassari looked at Mikaru with an amused look. "You're the hunter, you should know what that 'tattoo' means."
Mikaru turned away to face the sunset. "Human that's turned into a vampire and been contained. Also has an anti vampire gun. Wonder who gave him that?" Then she added in a soft voice as if this weren't joined onto the other sentence."He shouldn't be here.
Kassari let out a laugh. "That gun is a bit of a worry. But neither should we be here and look where we are." Mikaru threw the smile back at her. For a moment, their friendship seemed almost normal. A soft knock came at the door and Mikaru left to answer it. Standing there was Yuuki who grabbed Mikaru and Kassari before dragging them down to the class rooms.
"This is a once in a life time treat from the disciplinary committee. You get to see the night class!" Yuuki yelled jovially as if she had just given them a wonderful present. Kassari stiffened slightly but tried not to show the doubt she had about seeing other vampires, especially since there was rumoured to be a pureblood there. As they rounded a corner, in front of them stood several people. Vampires, Kassari thought, hiding her aura. She realized that they were all aristocrats, feeling their auras as her gaze flickered over them. She passed several without much notice and then she suddenly felt her heart beat race. Kassari stared at a tall brown hair man. He wore the night class uniform pristinely and in his hand he held several books casually. Amethyst coloured eyes lit up his otherwise sullen face. On first glance there was nothing noticeable about him, just perhaps a little too good looking for reality but Kassari saw more. Mikaru appeared to have seen the same thing. "Pureblood" She mouthed to Kassari and she nodded in agreement. Yuuki on the other hand, didn't seem at all bothered by the suffocating aura that he emitted. "Kaname senpai!" These are the two new day class girls!" Yuuki ran up to Kaname and he affectionately patted her head. Unlike with Zero, she didn't swipe at his hand. Instead, she blushed, light pink staining her pale skin.
"I'm just glad you came to see me." He told her and the pink turned into a bright red and a smile lit up his face ominously. Yuuki turned to face Kassari and Mikaru. "Come on! This is the leader of the moon dormitory, Kaname senpai." They shot each other a nervous look before walking towards him. "
Um, hi." Mikaru mumbled, trying not to show how much she detested him with the classic nature of a hunter.
Unfortunately, Kassari's feelings were similar so there was nothing but tension between the three.
"Don't you have to go back to your dorm Kaname?" Zero said coldly, walking out from behind the shadows. His gaze locked with Kaname's at the hand on Yuuki's head.
"Well see you tomorrow, Miss disciplinary committee." With that, Kaname walked off, strolling down the halls, leaving Yuuki staring after him like a love struck puppy. Kassari saw Zero's pained expression.
"Don't you three have classes to go to?" he asked, his usual unemotional demeanour returning as if the hurt she had seen in his face a moment before was merely an illusion.
Yuuki shook her head in reply. "Headmaster said that I had to show the twins around school and since it's too late to get their books, we get the day off!" She looked exceptionally pleased to be skipping out on classes.
Zero smiled a little. "If you keep doing this, you'll never get any smarter." Yuuki pouted childishly and attacked Zero playfully.
Mikaru watched on in amusement. "This sure is one weird school, and we just might fit in.