The number one rule of my lifestyle that I knew was that it was survival of the fittest, every man for himself. Or, better yet, every vampire for his self. You could never trust anyone. It was main plan to always stick to the shadows; avoid ever being seen by the mortal eye. Some decided to play human, and mingle in their lives as celebrities: actors, actresses, singers, models, you name it. In my opinion it was just a waste of time. Those humans were my way of surviving and I certainly was not going to be living alongside my dinner. I was feral.
For the most part, I avoided other vampires as well. I never stayed in one place, either. So when the day came that I ventured a new territory and was attacked, it came as something of a shocker to me.
I was fabulous at not being found; human nor vampire. As I normally was, sitting in the shadows after finishing off my late night snack, crimson blood dripping from my chin to my hands, just getting ready to flee, when they came. At first there were four or five of them. I instantly knew they were vampires, but something wasn't right about them. I didn't take the time to ponder on the fact, and took off out a nearby broken out window into an alley. They followed me, of course.
I ran with vampiric speed down the alley before hitting the end and boosting myself to the roof. It was a deserted part of the town, with nothing but rundown buildings in the area, so I had a clear escape from the rooftops to the forest. Leaping from building to building I could hear the deranged screams coming from my pursuers. What the fuck was up with these things anyways?
I didn't get the time to even question that thought further, for once midair, something got me from behind and drug me down to the alley below. The ground came hard as I rolled till I hit the wall. Damn, that would've killed me had I been fragile enough. I quickly jumped to my feet, not wanting to be at a disadvantage, the second I stopped rolling and stared down my attacker. It looked like any old human but with razor sharp claws and vampire fangs. Its eyes were also hollow and it looked sick.
It didn't hesitate to come at me again. Instead of running, I decided to fight. I leapt up into the air to avoid it then spun around to face it once more. It seemed momentarily confused so I took this as my moment for a blow. Though I disregarded its disorientation; it was actually more intact with my movements then I had thought. It swiveled to me right before I reached it, its' claws raking against my cheek. God dammit. In a second it took me to process the pain it had me on the ground underneath it, looking ready for the kill. It definitely had vampire strength. I was still stronger though.
I kicked the beast off of me and sent it flying into the far wall. I left no time for thinking anymore, before taking off through the zigzagging alley ways to escape. An opening came in front of me, just past a four way. I gritted my teeth and picked up speed, aiming for my exit.
Something hit me hard before I got there. I once again rolled and sputtered in the dirt, but with nothing seeming to go at me at that second, I bolted off again, clear out and straight for the woods. Before I entered the trees I saw the creatures' bloody pals as they leaped from the roof at me. I danced my way off roots and rocks, spinning around trees in a way only I could make it graceful. They were gaining on me though.
This was beginning to make me pissed. I wasn't used to having anything close to my caliber after me. It made me feel weak. Silence dawned through the dark woods; not even my footfalls were to be heard. Maybe they had finally given up.
That was my mistake though, even doubting the possibility of retreat, because the moment I faltered, was the moment I was hit so hard and flung down a steep embankment to land hard in a shallow creek. My body was broken and bleeding; it would take weeks to heal. I lifted my head, my vision blurred and the last thing I saw were eerie red eyes before I was slammed unconscious.
When I woke up again, I was in lying on a couch. I sat up and looked around the room. It was huge and very fancy; someone rich must live here. The couch I was on was longer then I was tall and had a fancy back, with a wood frame that was carved with intricate designs. Behind me loomed a huge floor to ceiling window. I hopped up and went to it, looking outside for anything vaguely familiar but nothing out there rang a bell. In my frustration, I yanked on my sleeve and it came right off. I stared at it in utter surprise, and that was when I noticed how tattered up it was. There was a big rip across my torso and under the cloth of my shirt was a slowly healing wound. I frowned. I was pretty dirty too.
The click of the door made me spin around and I noticed someone coming in through a door across the room. I was assuming, and hoping, this person owned the place, but also a bit more concerned this person was male. It made me even more pathetic if he was the one who found me out there. "It's good to see that you are finally awake." He said while shutting the door behind him. I didn't respond. "How are your wounds healing? I had hoped they would be alright on their own, although that one across your abdomen is severe."
Out of instinct I draped my arm across my mid-section and it hurt. I stayed silent, only staring at this guy in front of me who seemed to be showing a large amount of kindness to me. I didn't trust him though for two reasons. One was being who the hell just trusts random strangers, even one who helps you. For another thing, he was a vampire, I could sense it. Judging by this place and his exterior, a big shot one at that. I never trust any other vampires, ever.
"Why don't I have someone come to tend to your wounds?" Well at least he didn't offer to do so. When I once again didn't answer he slipped out of the room again. My gaze traveled the room again but I didn't catch much interesting; there wasn't much there. A desk, a bookshelf, a chess table, another door to another room, a few other various things. The door opened back up again and this cute little short girl with glasses and a maid outfit came in; the guy followed behind her too.
"Please sit." She beckoned to the couch but I didn't move. "I don't bite, I promise. I just want to help you out." She seemed nice and really sweet too. Plus I really did hurt. So I slowly shuffled over to the couch and sat down. I noticed now the different bottles and jars she had. "Let's see that worst one first." Before I even had the chance to realize it; she had tugged my destroyed shirt over my head. I very quickly wrapped my arms around myself. "Oh now, don't fret. This won't hurt and it will take a second." I looked around the room for that guy and saw him standing looking out the window behind us. He wasn't paying attention and although it still highly bothered me, I slowly retracted the grip on my body.
She was right in saying it wouldn't hurt and whatever she used, helped the wounds a whole hell of a lot. "Well you certainly can't put the shirt on again. There's nothing left of it!" she said and got up hastily, quickly exiting the room and my guard shot up again. The seconds ticked by uneventfully though and she came back and handed me a shirt. "This should be your size." The shirt was black and button up, a little fancy for my tastes. "All better now miss." she said and with a slight bow of her head she left.
When I glanced back over my shoulder, the male vampire had turned in my direction again. I wondered when he had done that, with sheer frustration. I faced him, having a million questions to ask. What were those things after me? How he found me. Why had he helped me? Where am I at? And more importantly who is he? I didn't voice any of those questions though and instead remained silent and we both just stared at one another.
Then he tipped his head, a sense of curiosity on his face, and asked, "Do you have a home?" My home was wherever I was. I didn't answer him though and he seemed to expect as much. "You may stay here if you like." I was hoping he didn't actually mean right here but I assumed better. I shrugged in response. At least it was something. "Will you let me show you?"
I ended up following him out of the room and walking through the large, beautiful building we were in. At one point we walked past stairs and I could see down below, where what looked like a big main door. I would remember that as means of leave if I needed, if not windows anyways.
There were others down on the lower floor, all vampires as well. What was this, some kind of little vampire villa? Every single one of the stared at me and I felt like a caged animal. I glared back at them. Then we were past and on down the hallway. After a few flights up we stopped outside door, presumably to the room I was able to inhabit for however long I felt like it.
The room wasn't nearly as big as the one I woke up in, but it was still big. "You may stay here as long as you please." I almost forget that guy was even still here, never mind the fact that I just followed him all the way here. I looked at him to see if he would leave but he didn't seem like he was going to go anywhere. "Would you mind telling me about yourself?" I shrugged and walked over to one of the low couches and sat down. My gaze travelled, taking it all in. "Where are you from?" He asked, not waiting for me to actually give him an answer to whether I wanted to talk about myself. I was still looking around, not meeting his gaze but I shrugged in response. He appeared to be very patient with me though. "Do you have a family?"
This time my gaze returned to him again. "No." My first word I spoken since I ended up here. I didn't have any family that I knew of. Yea, that makes sense huh? I had to come from somewhere right? I vaguely remember my parents; I took after my mother the most and only saw my father once. Then something happened that I don't remember and they were suddenly no longer there and I was on my own.
"Where do you live?" He was frowning now, but suddenly seemed to lean forward with interest.
"Wherever I am." I returned to looking at the room, now to doors to my right. "I come and go as I please." He didn't say anything after that and when I looked at him seemed to be thinking about something. "My turn for question." I said, taking advantage of his silence and didn't let him respond either. "Who are you? Where am I? What were those things after me? How did you find me to help me and why did you help me?"
He stared at me for a while, as if thinking on what he should and should not say, before he finally spoke. "My name is Kaname Kuran. You're at Cross Academy, a school dedicated to showing that vampires and humans can co-exist. Those things after you were Level E vampires, humans turned into vampires that have lost their sanity. I found you simply because I keep control of the Level E vampires, to make sure they are not causing harm and to get rid of them once they have fallen."
I looked down, taking in what he said. He didn't exactly answer why he have helped me, though at the moment I wasn't too concerned. "A school for vampires and humans to co-exist? Is that some kind of a sick joke?" I spat the words out and then looked up at him. His expression remained neutral.
"The chairman believes in a better future of the vampires and humans." He replied. What kind of a crack-pot place was this? Vampires and humans together.
"So wait, that means there are humans here too?" I asked before standing and walking over to the windows to look out at the night sky. The horizon was rapidly lighting indicating that dawn was arriving.
"It is strictly forbidden to take the blood from the human students at this school." His tone said that it was my warning to know the rules while I stayed here. "I think I'll leave you to rest now. You must be tired from your battle, right?" I turned to look at him as he went to leave. "Feel free to look around when you are feeling better."
When the door clicked shut behind him I turned back to the window. I didn't see much here either except for trees and paths down below, leading to who knew where. I stayed there until the first rays of light emerged before I yanked the dark curtains shut and walked away.
Going back to the door I had noticed earlier, I opened in and stepped inside to what was obviously the bedroom. There was a pretty good sized bed in the center against the far wall and it suddenly looked so inviting. I didn't care to look at the rest of the room only went to the bed. None surprising, the second I hit the bed I was out.
I had slept well into the night, not waking up until around 1 am. I decided I wanted to get a feel for the place that I was in; after all if I wanted to stay, I wanted to know absolutely everything about the place. I've never stayed in one place for very long, never truly having a real home. So sitting in something I could consider "my" room as long as I wanted was something of very strange to me.
The place seemed pretty deserted, which was alright by me. I still didn't like company of other vampires very much, especially all these strange ones. This building just seemed to consist of endless amounts of rooms, all which were of no interest to me. I vaguely remembered last night passing what I had assumed was the main exit to this place. Now was just to figure out how to get there and the best start was to work my way down.
By the time I was sure I was pretty close to the door, I came to the open hallway and grand staircase that led to my departure. Outside the night air was warm. A cool breeze broke through every now and then, rustling the leaves and lifting my hair. The grounds were gorgeous; I had to give them that, if anything. It was strange, actually, I could feel this odd vibe coming from this place and not a bad one that that. I'm not used to this sort of thing, and I'm not really sure how to describe it. It's almost like I feel... safe. That was my problem though; letting my guard down for even a second. That's how I had wound up here in the first place, and that was how I made the same mistake twice.