Chapter One:
To Cross Academy I Go
As the sun set over the mountaintops, Mika stepped into the open air, face portraying no emotion. "You called?" she asked a figure leaning against a tree.
"Yes..." the speaker was male. "I've come to ask you-"
"Whatever it is, I'm already saying no, senate bastard..." MIka said, her voice icy. Her pale turquoise eyes shot lightening but her face remained like carved stone.
"I'm not from the senate, Koorihana-sama," the man said.
Mika remained silent, her pale face remaining still. "I've come to offer you a spot in Cross Academy," the man continued.
"Why do you people insist on me going there?" Mika asked. "I have no interest in Cross Academy."
"Kaien Cross insists on it. He remembers that you both share pacifist thoughts." WHen Mika did not answer, he continued, "And that is what he is establishing at Cross Academy."
"And he beleives that me being there will help the Pacifism?" Mika asked, eyes finally locking on the man.
The man remained silent, bowing his head under her gaze. "Cross has told me and others to keep persuing you to come to Cross Academy." the man said after a few minutes under Mika's cold gaze.
Mika podered this thought, looking at the scarlett sky that was slowly fading to night. The moon rose, a paper-thin slice that was three days or so to the new moon. "If it makes you bastards stop following me around..." Mika sighed lightly, "I accept."
The man nodded, bowing his head. He bowed, murmuring, "Koorihana-sama..." then backed away.
Mika turned and went back into the house, glaring. "Mika-san, what's wrong?" a little girl with dark brown eyes with a red tinge poked her head out of a room. Her satin-smooth black-purple hair was sligthly bed-messed. Mika smiled lightly at the little one, stopping and coming into her room.
Mika too a seat next to a bed, which was messed up from the little girl getting up. "Besides the fact that you're the first one up every day?" Mika smiled at the little girl, who stood in front of her, in a white pajama dress. Mika shifted so her lap was free and the little girl settled there.
"Who was that man you were talking to?" the little girl asked. Her reddish eyes were big as she looked up at Mika.
"He was...a invitator, Murasaki," Mika said, stroking the girl's hair.
"Where was he inviting you to, Aoi-shisuta?" Murasaki asked. Aoi-shisuta (pale sister) was Murasaki's name for Mika.
"He.... was inviting me to Cross Academy to study..." Mika replied, looking out a small window in the room.
"Oh....what's Paficism?" Murasaki asked.
"The idea of humans and vampires peacefully living together," Mika stroked Murasaki's hair. Murasaki wrinkled her nose.
The room's door opened and Suri Koorihana stepped into the room. "Oh you're already up..." she said, seeing Mika, her eyes were cold but then softened as she saw Murasaki.
"Come, Murasakino, you need to get ready," Suri said, holding out her hand for Murasaki.
Murasaki got up with some help from Mika and went with her mother. Mika stood and followed them out, going to her own room and taking out a notebook from a drawer. She scrawled down a few things then put it back in the drawer, closing it quietly and locking it.
Mika then went to the kitchen, where Suri, Murasaki, and Koto were all sitting at a low table, drinking water with blood tablets dissolved in them. Mika took a seat next to Murasaki on oone side of the table- Murasaki scooting closer to Mika- and took up onen of the glasses of water and dropping a half of a blood tablet in the liquid. She watched the tablet slowly disslove in the water, a little cloud of red in the clear. Sighgin, she set down the glass and turned her near-transparent gaze on Koto. "I've been invited to study at Cross Academy," she said, not wanting to beat around the bush. Suri shot her a death glance.
"Again?" Koto raised a busy eyebrow. "And what did you say..?"
Mika took a breath and looked out the window, "I said yes..."
"So they'll leave us alone now?" Suri looked a tad happier. "When will you leave?"
"As soon as they send me a uniform," Mika said, Knowing their way of letting people know they could come.
"I don't want you to go, Aoi-Shisuta..." Murasaki said softly, leaning her head on MIka's shoulder.
Mika reached over and patted Murasaki on the head. "I'm not going today, little one. It'll be probably about three days untill the uniform gets here." Mika didn't want to give Murasaki false hope or get Suri pissed off at her in saying that maybe Murasaki could come to Cross Academy when she was older and study. Without taking a sip of her tablet-water, Mika stood and said, "I'm goign to take a walk..." and left the kitchen.
She walked in swift strides to her room and changed into jeans and a cut-off white t-shirt. Taking a quick exit through a side door, Mika made her way into the forest down about twenty feet from the house and to a little cliff. Mika stared out into the distance, the wind blowing her shoulder-blade length white hair behind her. Her pale eyes scanned the mountanous terrain in front of her, picking out the slim shapes of deer-like animals settling among the trees and the feline forms loping between them, predator and prey living together in peace.
A disturbance from the direction of the house made Mika turn. It sounded close to snarling. Mika's eyes widened and she raced through the trees, praying it wasn't what she thought it was making those noises. A child's scream hit her ears as she came upon the house. The kitchen door was open and MIka could see a bloodstain on the visible interior wall.
Mika went into the kitchen and tried not to look at the dead Koto sprawled on the floor. Suri was in the hallway, dead also. Mika's anger flared as she neared Murasaki's room. She strode in, fear in her heart.
A pair of Level E vampires- vampires who had become beasts in human form- were crouching in front of A bloodstained and scratched Murasaki, who was in the grip of another Level E. There were tears in her red eyes and she kept trying to show her little fangs at the Level Es, but didn't suceed. When Mika entered the room, the two Level Es turned and drew away from her, looking fearfull. Both had huge eyes and extremely thin red pupils and no irises. Their mouths were open in wide snarles. One had a kind of snarl-smile on it's face. The one holding Murasaki didn't look up when Mika entered the room and bit into Murasaki's neck.
Murasaki screamed then went limp as the Level E drained her. An enraged cry left Mika's throat-her eyes turning more blue and becoming not as transparent- and glass stakes kabobed the Level E who had taken Murasaki's life. It vanished into a mist, Murasaki's body sinking to the floor. The other two ran, busting a hole in the wall.
Mika, eyes still blue with rage, knealt down beside Murasaki and took her head in her hands. She put down the still-open lids of Murasaki's red eyes and lifted her body up. Carrying her outside, Mika looked for a secluded spot in the forest. When she found a forest clearing, she set down Murasaki's body and outlined an area of the ground then forced the dirt up, leaving a hole.
Just when Mika was about to lower Murasaki into the hole, Murasaki's lips fluttured. "Aoi-shisuta..." her voice whispered.
Mika stared down at the little face and wiped away some of the blood from the girl's face, running her tongue over a finger, tasting the blood. "Aoi.....Shi-su....taa......" Murasaki's eyes fluttured open. "Drink....."
"No, little one," Mika said quietly.
Murasaki closed her eyes and nodded her head once. "I....know....who......." she started.
Mika lowered the girl into the hole she had made. "You can't be saved," Mika said sadly, looking down at the pale face.
"You're.....very.....thirsty....I....c-can....tell......." Murasaki said. "D-drink......my......blood.....maybe......."
She went out like a light, the life leaving her within seconds. Mika looked down at the little body then moved the dirt back over Murasaki's body. Knealing beside the grave, Mika put a finger on the ground, over where Murasaki's head is and concentrated. A little glass flower, sparkling like ice bloomed where Mika's finger was. The petals were purple and etched in the flower was Murasaki's name. When the flower was finished, Mika fliched the glass, making sure it wouldn't break then headed back to the house, burying Koto and Suri side-by-side near the house.
Mika spent the next day (Night) in a trance, writing in the notebook off and on and spending almost all of her time outside. When she finally fell asleep around noon, she dreamed she was searching for something but couldn't find it.
A few hours later, Mika awoke, finding a white uniform on the doorstep. When she tried it on, she kept on the straight white pants, not considering wearing the skirt; Mika left her longish hair down and shook it a little, ruffling it. When she was done dressing, Mika went outside to see a carriage waiting, an old man driving the carriage. Mika alighted into the carriage, feeling drowsy.
Mika watched as different sceneries flew by the window, usually back roads to avoid humans. She tried to drink some of the blood tablet water but couldn't.
They arrived at Cross Academy, the building looming onimously. Well, all it needs is lightening to colpete the creepy-as-hell look... Mika thought as she ducked her neck. Oh how ironic... at that second, a lock of lightening clawed at the night sky behind the castle-like building.
Rain pored down just after Mika got inside. She followed the signs- literal miniature arrows- to Kaein Cross' office; she reached the office door in seconds, knocking twice on the wood. "Come in," Cross' voice said.
Mika entered the office and immediately locked eyes with the headmaster. "Good Morning, Koorihana-sama," he said brightly, standing. "Welcome to Cross Academy." He smiled then the smiled faded a little when he saw her outfit. "Whatever happened to your uniform?"
"I'm not going to wear a skirt, Cross," Mika said, eyes rolling. "Your girls in this academy show too much of their leg."
Cross just smiled. "I waasn't going to make you wear a skirt, Koorihana-sama. I know about the marks."
Mika thinned her eyes. "You can blame the senate for that," Cross said, raising his hands in an it's not my faault gesture.
"I'll be sure to do that..." Mika murmuredd, rolling her eyes, "When do I start class?"
"I would've had you start now, but you haven't even seen the school's interior yet..." Cross said. He was about to say something else but then a girl with messy brown hair and red-brown eyes burst into the room.
"Headmaster! I'm here!" she yelled as she stood at attention.
"This is my darling daughter Yuki~!" Said Cross, smiling affectionately at the young girl.
"Uh-huh...I could see the resemblance.." Mika said sarcastically. When the two of them looked at her confusedly, she added, "that was sarcasm."
Yuki looked at Mika closely. "A night class student?" she asked the Headmaster. "What's a night class student doing in- oooooh....." she stopped when her brown eyes met Mka's near-transparent turquoise ones. "You're new, aren't you?"
"Took you long enough..." Mika sighed, rolling her eyes.
"I was hoping you could show Koorihana-sama the moon dorm and her room, Yuki-chan~" Cross said, looking at Yuki lovingly.
"Hai," Yuki said, beginning to march out of the office, then turned around, a questioning look in her eyes. "Which dorm room...?"
"Room 213," Cross said.
Yuki looked confused. "213? Isn't that an extra room?"
"Koorihana-sama gets a room to herself," Cross said, then sat down behind his desk, picking up a stack of papers. "You will receive your schedule tomorrow evening, Koorihana-sama. Now, off with you~!" he said, waving a hand and smiling.
Mika followed Yuki out to the hallway and through multiple others. "So...." Yuki said as they walked. "You're new..."
"Well spotted..." Mika said sarcastically, earning her a sharp glance from Yuki.
"I'm a School Guardian," Yuki said, not looking at Mika, "I'm one of the people who makes sure none of the Day Class student or Night class students get in trouble. Or do anything they're not supposed to," Yuki shot another glance at Mika, who returned it with a stony stare.
"Faaascinating..." Mika muttured, looking out at the rain.
Both were silent untill Yuki tried to make conversation. "Why are you wearing a boy's uniform?"
"I don't like showing my legs and I hate skirts," Mika said, turning her pale gaze on Yuki, who blinked at her eyes then looked away.
Yuki kept quiet after the short reply and led Mika to the Moon Dorm, pausing in the door way leading out into the rain. Mika walked past her then stopped, standing in the rain. A finger of thunder raked the sky as she asked, "What's wrong, Yuki? Don't like rain?"
Yuki straightened her shoulders then walked- at a quick pace- to the archway that led to the Moon Dorm. Mika followed Yuki into the humongous Moon dorm building and up a flight of stairs to the second floor,
Yuki led Mika to a room at the end of a long hallway; there was a large four-poster bed with black silk sheets in a corner, next to a large bay window with a window seat built in. A desk stood against a wall, a black mahogany dresser beside it, no doubt holding more unifroms. "Thank you, Yuki," MIka said, nodding her head at the so named. Yuki bowed in responce, straightening up and smilng at Mika.
Yuki left and Mika sat down on the stool in front of the desk, pulling out her notebook from inside her school jacket, which had mercifully kept it dry. She wrote down the day's (Night's) events then went over to the bed and slid it under the matress. Then she walked over to the dresser to see a few clothes from the Koorihana house in there- including her favorite pair of jeans. Mika pulled out a pair of long black yoga pants and a button-up black t-shirt and went out to meander the hallways of the Moon dorm. While she meandered, the memorized the building layout and noted every single window and door.
When she passed a certain hallway, she ran into a man carrying a book on ohis shoulder. His black hair looked wild and curly, trying to be held into place by a cowboy hat. "Shouldn't you be in class?" He asked, the only visible eye staring down at Mika.
"I don't have a schedule yet, sir," Mika said, staring back up into the man's face.
"So you're the new one Cross has been raving about?" he sneered. "Toga Yagari, tacher." he said, then walked past Mika, who caught a smell of him.
"Not to mention past and present Vampire Hunter," MIka said, smirking.
Yagari stopped; Mika could hear the fourth-grin on his face. "Very good..." he said then continued down the hallway. Mika watched him go then went down another hallway, taking a short route back to the room she had been given. Grabbing the notebook from under the matress, she scribbled down a few more notes about Yagari then slid the notebook back into it's hiding place.
Mika sat on the edhe of the bed then lay back, hating the feel of the silky fabric. It seemed too...delicate to be sleeping under. Nevertheless, she got under the covers and fell asleep almost immediately, even though there was still about an hour and a half left of night time, a vampire's day.