Prologue
Yumi Haruzaki
I walked quietly down the road, holding my friend Hikari's shirt tightly in my arms. The night was dark, cold, and slightly foggy, but I didn't mind. As I got older, I had realized the dark was not something to be feared. In fact, I almost relinquished in the ice-cold blackness of the night sometimes, like tonight. I loved the moon and the rain and roses too, and because of this my parents and friends called me "vampire".
The bright lights of Hikari's house were very close now. All I had to do was pass that bush and cross the road. I approached the road, and stopped. Despite its childishness, I remembered to look both ways. However, I didn't notice a dark silent figure emerge from behind the bush and creep towards me. I stepped into the street, and then-SLASH! A pale hand with long claw-like fingernails shot out from the mist and grabbed me. I was violently pulled backwards. And then, excruciating pain, as teeth (?!) sliced into my neck. I tried to struggle, to scream, but the grasp of the creature was too powerful. It's truly horrifying, feeling all your life literally sucked out of you. I couldn't believe I was going to die, that I would never see Hikari or my parents again. And it was all thanks to this…this vampire! Geez, the irony…
Suddenly, a purple insignia exploded beside me and the vampire turned to fine blue dust. Now that there was nothing holding me up, I lurched towards the ground, but not before a firm hand gently stopped my fall. I looked up and my eyes widened. A beautiful boy stood in front of me. He had long white hair and purple-gray eyes. In one hand he steadied me, and in the other he held a large silver gun, with "Bloody Rose" engraved onto it. "Are you alright?" He said quietly, as if nothing had happened. I opened my mouth to speak, but suddenly my vision blurred and began to fade to black, and I lurched further forward. The boy grabbed me with both hands and pulled me closer. Through my last bit of vision, I saw the boy slash two cuts in his neck with his own fingers. "Drink my blood," he said, "It will revive you."
I tried to gasp but the intake of breath was too excruciating. I grimaced in pain. If it meant drinking this boy's blood to bring me back to life, then I would do it. I moved my head forward and pressed my lips to the boy's neck. His hand tightened on the back of my head. With a final twinge of un-comfort, I sucked the blood into my mouth. After a moment, my eyes flew open. The blood…it tasted…good. I then noticed the boy had a peculiar purple tattoo on his neck, sort of like a flower with four daggers stabbed into it… his voice broke the silence. "Can you stand? Can you breathe all right?" I nodded, and somewhat reluctantly pulled away. "Thank you for saving me," I said. The boy nodded. "But," I continued, "what just happened to me? Who are you?" The boy looked away. "I'm Zero Kiryuu, a Vampire Hunter, and you were attacked by a Level "End" vampire," he said.
I gasped for real this time, and then noticed something. The boy was extremely pale and I could have sworn I saw fangs flash in the moonlight when he spoke. "You're a vampire too, aren't you." Zero turned back to me, and I saw fury flash in his purple eyes. "I-I'm sorry…" I muttered. Zero shook his head and then walked towards me. He took something out of the pocket of his long black trench coat. It was a small black hairpin with a white rose on the end. I could tell that he must have been keeping it in his pocket for a while because the fabric of the rose was fraying and slightly stained on the edges. My eyes widened as he used it to pin my bangs out of my face. "Keep your hair out of your face," he said, "you have beautiful eyes." He then turned around and began to walk away, picking up Hikari's bloody shirt and tucking it under his arm as he went. I was so surprised by his comment that my mouth was barely able to form words. "W-wait!" He turned around. "Will I ever see you again?" Zero stared at the ground for a moment. He gave a small, sad, smile. "Hopefully not." And then he disappeared into the mist.
My name is Yumi Haruzaki. And this is my story.
INTO THE MIST
Chapter 1
Yumi Haruzaki
(two years later)
I ran my finger down the spines of the books, all the way to the end of the row, and sighed. I had already read all the books in the Fantasy & Myth, and there were no new additions. I bit my lip and turned to the next case, only to run into a door, marked "Restricted". The door was slightly ajar. My heart rate sped up a little. I looked over my shoulder to make sure that no one was looking at what I was doing. It wouldn't be correct to call me a rule-breaker, but I'm not always Little Miss Perfect. I pushed the door open and slipped inside. Unfortunately, there was nothing all that exciting about the "Restricted" room. It was just a small, dimly lit room full of locked file cabinets. Still determined, I walked over to the cabinet directly in front of me. Biting my lip, I shoved my hand into my coat pocket, hoping to find a pin or paperclip of some sort. However I rummaged around so violently that my keys managed to fly out of my pocket and slide underneath the filing cabinet. I gave a sigh of exasperation and got down on my knees. I peered under the filing cabinet, and to my surprise, my keys were not the only things down there. A large, beat-up, leather-bound book had been forcefully shoved underneath the cabinet.
Reaching through the spider-webs, I slid the book out and brushed the dust off it. The title read "Cross Academy Chronicles" by Ichijou Takuma, and was embossed in curly script. Underneath the title, there was a peculiar and beautiful logo of some sort. (see below)
I was feeling quite pleased with myself by now. I had never thought I would actually get anything but pride out of sneaking into the "Restricted" room, but apparently I was wrong. However I then realized the librarian was probably wondering where I was and might come looking for me. And I definitely did not want to be caught in here. Tucking the book safely under my arm, I crawled over to the door. Still on my knees, I pushed open the door and practically hurled myself out of the room. I then leapt to my feet and immediately seated myself at the nearest table, trying to look as casual as possible. I had barely taken a breath when the librarian came striding over. "Oh Yumi! I've been looking all over for you! Did you find anything good? I wouldn't want my favorite person to be disappointed," exclaimed the friendly Miss Chu, who I knew well thanks to my frequent visits to the library. "Oh yes Chu-senpai. Thank you. I think I'm just going to stay back here and read it for a while." Miss Chu nodded happily. "I'm glad Yumi," She peered at the book. "And you appeared to have found quite a treasure there," My grip on the book tightened, but she started to walk away. "But you should be getting home soon, I don't want your parents to worry." I nodded. When Miss Chu was a safe distance away, I breathed a sigh of relief and set the book on the table. Finally I can read this thing, I thought. Then, with a bit of impatience, I carefully opened the book to the very first page…and nearly screamed. On the page, there were too pictures. One was of a few tall, good-looking people in white uniforms. And the other was a picture of a short brown-haired girl peering happily over the shoulder…of the white-haired boy with purple eyes, Zero Kiryuu.
Chapter 2
Yumi Haruzaki
As soon as I had seen the picture, I practically flew out of the library, gripping the book tightly and ignoring Miss Chu's curious calls. When I reached the bus stop, I sat down on the bench and opened the book again. My heart was really racing now as I opened the book again. This time, I noticed there were neatly written captions underneath then two pictures. The one below the people in white uniforms read, 'from right to left: Ruka Souen, Kain Akatsuki, Aidou Hanabusa, Kaname Kuran, me(Ichijou), Shiki Senri, and Rima Toya.' Wow, I thought, All these people are just as beautiful as their names. I then looked at the caption beneath the other picture. It said, 'the Day Class Guardians, sweet little Yuuki Cross, and her not-so-sweet partner and adoptive brother, Zero Kiryuu.' I smiled. This confirmed that the boy really was Zero.
I didn't get why Ichijou had called him "not-so-sweet" though. He had been incredibly sweet on that night two years ago. He had saved my life! How mean could he be? Suddenly, a chill came over me. I looked up. Everywhere around me, shops had closed down and there wasn't a soul in sight. The sun had set many hours ago, and even the fountain in the main square had been shut off. It had to have been at least 11:30 at night. Boy were my parents going to kill me. I closed the book, leapt off the bench, and raced home. Thank god it was Friday.
The next morning, after too little sleep and a thourough verbal beating from my parents, I quietly turned to my bedside table. The book was still there; it wasn't a dream. I reached for the tome and propped myself up on my pillows. All right, I thought, here we go. This time I flipped all the way to the introduction. I licked my lips and began to read.
Cross Academy, the prestigious school for both humans and vampires, will always remain my second home. No one really knows its real story though, so I'm going to do my best to tell it to you. I do hope you like stories about romance, blood, deception, and vampires…
I tore through the introduction and reached the first chapter. It was a general overview of the school and how the Day and Night Classes operated. It was simple really, the Day Class attended the Acadaemy during the day, and the Night Class at night. When the separate classes changed, Zero and that girl, Yuuki, made sure no humans went astray and kept the Night Class' secret. What a job. I read more. As I had assumed, the vampires attended classes at night, and the humans during the day. But there was one exception. I gasped.
Kiryuu-kun was the exception. Because his family had been murdered by a pureblood vampire, Shizuka Hiou-sama, and Zero had been bitten, he had to endure the painful process of turning into a vampire. Because Kiryu-kun hated vampires, and he was more commonly recognized as a human, Headmaster Cross allowed him to keep attending the Day Class. To learn more about Zero, vampire hunters, and Level E vampires, go to chapter 7…
I instantly flipped to Chapter 7, and I immediately recognized the pictures on the page to be Zero, his tattoo, and that gun, the Bloody Rose. I found out that Zero's tattoo was a symbol used in "vampire hunting magic" and was supposed to be a means of keeping him from turning into a vampire. It also served the purpose of momentarily paralyzing him when united with a special bracelet bearing the same symbol; this was only used in case he lost his sanity. The Bloody Rose gun was an anti-vampire weapon that did not effect humans, but could be fatal to a vampire. Ichijou noted somewhat humorously how Zero always had the gun with him, and I smiled. I already knew so much more about Zero now, and I was excited to see that the next part of the chapter was his brief biography. But as I read on, I almost cried.
Zero's life had been pure misery! His parents were murdered, his younger brother, the only, survivor, had tried to kill him; he had to endure the pain of becoming a vampire, the one creature he hated the most; and the one girl he loved was head-over-heels for the one person he hated the most. I felt so sorry for Zero by the time I was done reading, that a tear really did slip down my cheek. Of course, my mother chose then of all times to call me down for breakfast. I swallowed my tears, crawled out of bed, and donned my favorite black sweatshirt. "Coming okaa-san!" I sprinted out of my room and down the stairs, my heart crying for Zero every step of the way.
Chapter 3
Yumi Haruzaki
After I hastily finished my fried egg, I practically threw my plate into the sink and was right about to scurry up the stairs when my mom called out to me in a worried voice. "Yumi? Do you have somewhere to be? You're in an awful hurry for a Saturday." I took a deep breath and smiled. "Sorry, okaa-sama. It's just…" I bit my lip. I might as well tell the truth. "I, um, I found this really good book at the library yesterday, and I'm sort of caught up in it." I put on an innocent smile. My father chuckled. "Yumi, I'm happy that you love to read so much, but I'm worried you're spending too much time with books and not actual people." My mother nodded in earnest agreement. I frowned, slightly hurt by that comment. And I spent plenty of time with people. Who did they think I went to school with? Guinea pigs?!
I leaned back against the wall and twirled some of my dark brown hair around my finger, trying not to pout. I could have read an entire other chapter in Cross Academy Chronicles by now! My fathers voice finally broke my thoughts. "But I suppose, if the book really is that good, then you can go ahead and read some more." My mother opened her mouth to speak but my father silenced her with his hand. "On one condition. You have to get dressed and washed up and complete all your homework." My mother closed her mouth, satisfied. I smiled in relief, and ran over to hug both my parents. "Don't worry! I'll brush my teeth and do all of my algebra problems!" Then, I dashed back up the stairs to do exactly that.
After I had washed my face, brushed my teeth and hair, and changed into jeans and my favorite plaid shirt, I lay down on my bed and took out all of my homework. All I had to do was read and analyze a poem for Language Arts, complete an ecology worksheet for Science, and then do twelve darn algebra problems for Math. Which actually wasn't that much, considering how much work I usually got. I breezed through the poem and the worksheet, but when I got to the algebra, I blanked. My mind scrambled to remember...you get rid of parentheses by using the distributive property, get the variable to one side…ugh, screw this. I flipped rapidly through my binder, trying to find the two-step equations directions sheet. When I finally found the directions I completed the problems in a painstaking twenty minutes. I shoved my binders back into my backpack and took a deep breath. Finally, I was DONE.
I had grabbed Cross Academy Chronicles, settled onto my comfortable pillows, and was literally right about to begin reading, when my mom burst into my room. I nearly jumped out of my skin and instinctively tightened my grip around the book. My mother thankfully didn't notice. "Oh, I'm so sorry to bother you, Yumi, but I just wanted to tell you that you're father and I are going into town, probably to the farmers' market, and we won't be back until around four." I glanced at my clock. Seeing that it was 10:38, I nodded vigorously. "Hai, okaa-sama. Have a good time." I resisted the urge to jump off my bed and push my mother out the door as she looked around my room, as if she was taking in all the stacks of books and piles of ballet stuff (yes, as crazy as it sounds, I'm actually a pro-ballerina) scattered around my room. After what seemed like half an hour, she finally nodded. "Sayonara, Yumi. Love you." Then she turned around and exited my room. I listened to my parents exchange a few words, and then close the door behind them. Then I turned back to my book.
After a second of contemplation, I finally decided to read the profile chapter for Yuuki Kuran. She seemed to have quite a life, and it would also clear up my confusion as to why her last name had suddenly changed from Cross to Kuran.
I must have been reading for a good five hours when the heavy book slipped from my tired hands and fell onto the bedspread. The book had flipped open to the back cover from the fall, and I noticed something that would change my life forever. It was a postal stamp of the address to Cross Academy. It was amazingly located in the countryside of Hokkaido, my home town, and it was a solid lead to Zero. I knew right then that I had to go there.
Because I'm one of those people that tends to save money, I had more that enough to buy myself a bus ticket. I grabbed my worn shoulder bag off a hook on my wall and threw the book, a change of clothes, the money, a few cereal bars, and my beat up little cellphone inside. I pulled on my caramel-colored trench=coat, and was almost finished lacing up my Vans, when I heard the door open downstairs. My parents were home early, and I looked like I was running away from home…A visit from the alibi fairy would be extremely helpful right now…
Once again, I decided I might as well tell the truth. Or at least a variation of it. I scrambled down the stairs, nearly crashing into my parents as I tumbled into the foyer. My dad gave me an extremely quizzical look. "Yumi? What in the name of-" I cut him off and hastily spilled my alibi. "While you guys were gone, I, uh, touched base with an old friend from the orphanage, (**Yumi is adopted. More info later**). I found out he lives right in the Hokkaido countryside, and I'd really, really, like to see him again. I have the money for a bus ticket, all my homework is done, and it would mean a lot! Plus, I'll be back by Sunday night-" My mom sighed. "Yumi, I don't like you running off so suddenly. We wanted to spend some time with you this weekend. Maybe go to the lake or the symphony…" I bit my lip, resisiting the urge to shout that this boy had SAVED MY FRICKING LIFE. I shrugged my shoulder bag onto the floor and sat down on the stairs. I should have known my parents would never let me go…My mom put an unreadable look on her face. "Does this boy…does he…mean a lot to you?" I leaped to my feet. "Yes. Enough to make me kill my weekend and my savings." Though I knew Zero meant so much more than that. My mom turned to my dad, who had been standing in stunned silence the whole time. "Should we let her go, Seito?" My dad had a slightly stubborn look on his face. "Well, you are eighteen now, and if you're willing to 'kill your weekend'…" I grinned, and threw my arms around my dad, (I was doing an awful lot of sucking up today). "Thank you so much, outo-sama, okaa-sama. I promise I'll be good!" I hugged my mother, bid them goodbye, and finally started on my way to the bus station.
The suburb of Hokkaido in which I lived was quite small, and you could walk, bike, or scooter practically everywhere. Because of this, the bus station was rarely crowded, only used by people traveling to a different section of Hokkaido or a separate city. I walked up to the ticket booth and scanned the boards. Because there was a popular street market in the part of Hokkaido that I was traveling to, there were frequent bus trips. But, as bad luck had its way of snagging me, I had literally just missed the most recent bus, and had to wait forty-five minutes. "One ticket for the 4:25 to Hokkaido, please." The man, who had long black hair and looked as if he hadn't slept for days, took another bite of the slice of cake that he'd been eating and snatched the money from my hands. He handed me a ticket. "Enjoy you're trip." Before I could respond, the man slid the window of the ticket booth shut and resumed eating his cake. I sighed. People these days…
I slid my ticket into the shoulder bag and spotted a nearby bench, checking for cigarette butts and pieces of old gum before I sat down. I leaned my head back and sighed. This had all happened so unusually fast. For two years, the memory of Zero saving my life had festered in my mind, and then, just yesterday, the book practically appeared in front of me, and told me everything and more about him. And now, I was waiting for a bus to drive me to him. I couldn't help but smile. This was almost too good to be true. However, as my Language Arts teacher, Mrs. Hiru, would often say: You can't have your cake and eat it to. That phrase drove me insane, but it totally applied to the current situation. What was I going to do for forty-five minutes? And then, the bus drive there had to be at least thirty minutes…
Geez, I should have brought some of my origami paper or something entertaining to do for all that time. I let out an agitated breath and mentally took stock of what I had with me. The only things I thought had potential value were my phone and the book. And even then, all my phone had was a Tetris demo, and I didn't have texting on my plan; however, I hadn't finished reading Cross Academy Chronicles yet… I had barely taken my next breath before the book lay open in my lap. I scanned the table of contents, looking for the ones I hadn't read. I had already tore through Night Class, Zero Kiryuu/Vampire Hunting, Yuuki Kuran, Hio Shizuka & Ichiru Kiryuu, Overview of Vampires… Oh! I hadn't read that one! I flipped to page 83 with my cold fingers. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, and the temperature would soon begin to drop. I pulled my trench-coat more tightly around myself and began to read.
A handful of aristocratic vampires are lucky enough to have certain super-human powers. Besides our speed, grace, strength, and good looks, some of us can control elements, like Rima, who can control lightning, Kain, who can control fire, Shiki, who can bend blood, and Aido, who can control ice. Some have even been blessed with more powerful and unique talents such as mind and memory control. Kaname can erase one's memories, and Ruka can cause a person to kill themselves or the one nearest to them just by looking at them, (Helpful hint: don't cross Ruka).
After reading some more, I found myself involuntarily jealous of these people, if you could call them that. Even though they were the same race as the beast that almost killed me, I was envious of their everlasting youth, shocking strength, and superhuman powers. Who wouldn't want that? I was on the last few sentences of the chapter when a noisy bus pulled into the station. I glanced up. Finally, my ride was here. I placed the book back into my shoulder bag, handed the driver my ticket, and boarded the bus. Once I was seated, I set my phone to vibrate in twenty-five minutes, so I wouldn't sleep through my stop. Then I closed my eyes, leaned my head back on the seat, and took a deep breath. Zero, here I come.