Chapter 2

When Sakura's eyelids peeled lazily back from her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the soft sparkle of the dawning sun. Her excitement from yesterday had sent her to bed rather early that night, and now she found herself with too much energy too early in the morning. With the realization that she would not be falling back asleep, Sakura tossed her legs over the edge of her bed and felt the cool wooden floor under her feet. Her eyes went back and forth around her room, taking in the modest size and the plainness of it all. She decided she definitely liked it.

"We could talk to the school and arrange for you to have a proper sized room; I'm sure they would understand. You are a powerful and prestigious vampire after all."

"No mom! I don't want any special treatment! I'd like to be able to just go to this school and enjoy it for being me!" Her mother arched an eyebrow over her red, catlike eyes, but honored the request.

Sakura knew her mother had just been trying to make sure her daughter was treated right; however, now that she was actually here, Sakura knew she had made the right choice. She could tell she'd love this room.

With the extra early morning time, Sakura began to unpack in earnest. Pots and pans were put in the tiny kitchen cabinets, posters were hung on the wall, and a vase full of flowers sent by her father sat center on her desk. The final piece of decoration was a silver picture frame; the picture showed a man with shaggy brown hair and a wide smile, his arm placed lightly over the shoulder of a woman in a streaming white dress with flowing waist length pink hair, a bright silver cross connected to a jet black choker around her neck, and a longing look in her bright green eyes as she gazed at the man. A smaller, but no less important, picture shared the same frame. It showed a silver haired, red-eyed woman in the same white dress, her red eyes wide with intent, and the same young man smiling more sheepishly than before, clutching the silver cross in his left hand while his other harm still grasped the woman tightly.

Sakura loved these pictures of her parents; it showed just how happy they had been, even at that young age, and it awed her that they were still that happy seventeen years later. They had everything that Sakura wanted in her future, and reminding herself that she was back where it all started sent tingles down her spine. With renewed vigor, she continued spinning around the room, making it hers.

The excitement and activity made the early morning pass quickly, and before she knew it, it was time to gather her bag and rush out the door.

I hope I run into Akita-kun this morning! Sakura thought happily, already imagining the day ahead. She'd hug him again; she had already decided that; there was something just comforting about the feel of her arms around Akita, and him hugging her back. She felt the phantom warmth of his arms squeezing her tight and smiled to herself.

"What are you smiling about, princess?" came a shrill voice down the hallway. Sakura snapped out of her trance and noticed the three high class clique girls from her homeroom. The tallest girl, with the purple hair and sharp blue eyes stood center and was giving Sakura a haughty look, while her friends, each twirling their brown hair between their fingers, giggled with equally contempt looks from their brown eyes.

Sakura ignored their comments, but lowered her head and clutched her back tightly to her chest in sadness. Guess everything can't be perfect Sakura thought dejectedly.

"Try not to look like such a loser today!" the leader called again to another round of giggles aimed at Sakura's retreating back.

"I won't let them ruin my second special day here," Sakura said aloud as she threw open the door to the beautiful spring morning; the sun had risen fully now, and the sunshine hitting the dew made the tree tops twinkle. The air was crisp outside, cool but not uncomfortably so as Sakura made sure the sleeves of her white blouse were pulled down, and a deep breath of it made her eyes widen as she was fully woken up. "Today is going to be a good day!"

With that mindset in place, Sakura made her way down the path toward Yokai academy with renewed pep in her walk. The increased bounce in her step made for some interesting looks from some of the males on the path, their eyes shamelessly and hungrily devouring the sight for later reflection, but Sakura had no thoughts for them. She was too busy contemplating the day with her new special friend Akita.

Speaking of her new comrade, Sakura noticed Akita standing at the gate of Yokai Academy immediately as she turned the corner. His back was to her, but she could easily recognize his light brown hair and stature. He was surrounded by a small group of guys; however, they had strange looks on their faces. They seemed rather uncomfortable, shifting from one foot to another and looking everywhere but directly at him. That's a little strange… Sakura thought. She stopped a few feet away and surveyed the group of guys for a few extra seconds, a thoughtful finger placed on her chin.

Akita laughed haughtily at something he had said and pushed one of the boys roughly. A couple of them chuckled in response, but the shiftiness among them didn't dissipate. Maybe friendship is just different around boys… Sakura decided. She distinctly remembered watching other kids play on her neighborhood street and in her grandfather castle, and the boys were always a little different among themselves than when ladies were around.

Satisfied with her reasoning, Sakura stepped forward to join Akita and his small group.

"Good morning!" Sakura said, smiling brightly as she drew even with her friend. "Did you sleep well your first night?"

Akita glanced at her quizzically; an eyebrow rose over one of his deep brown eyes. His hair was still combed in the same way, no hair out of place besides his spiked up bangs, and his mouth was set in a hard line. Sakura felt herself taken aback by the harsh look and unconsciously took a step back. The guys that had been hanging around took the moment of distraction to disperse quickly without a backwards glance.

"Punks," Akita growled. He flexed his free hand and held his bag over his shoulder, still casting calculating glares at the back of the boys. "You should know better than to interrupt."

Sakura was shocked into silence; she felt her mouth drop open and a small shiver go through her body. Why is he talking like this? He was nothing like this yesterday… she thought desperately, trying to get her mouth to work.

"Just who are you coming up and talking to me like that?" Akita demanded, turning to face Sakura head on. He had a very contempt look on his face, his grin not reaching his eyes in the slightest. The look on his face reminded Sakura of looks she had seen of people when they smelled something rather disgusting and were repulsed.

"But I…"

"Oh don't tell me," Akita cut her off, wagging his finger in Sakura's face. "You think you're rather important don't you? Are you one of those high-class imperial monsters? You think you can just walk up and talk to whoever you feel like demanding attention from? Huh?" He took an aggressive step towards her, and Sakura took another tentative step back. "Psh… Can't even answer me can you…?" Akita steeped back from his previous aggressive stance and let a cold grin replace his previous look of disgust. "Pathetic, you are."

"But…" Sakura said airily, tears welling up in her bright green eyes. "I thought… I thought we were friends." She clasped her bag tightly to her chest as she said this, trying to find some form of security. This was most definitely not how she had imagined the morning gong.

Akita laughed callously, throwing his head to the sky and getting a couple strange glances from passing schoolmates; some cast knowing glances at the scene, pity in their eyes that the poor cute new girl had to deal with this miscreant. "Friends? You are a very strange girl…," Akita got close to Sakura and put his finger under chin. Sakura wanted to turn her head away but his grip was surprisingly strong. "I don't quite know why we would be friends… Though I can't lie, there are plenty of play dates I could plan for us." He laughed softly and Sakura heard a low rumble reverberate in the air with it and a longing look enter his eyes.

Sakura did pull back from him at that. "You jerk!" she sobbed, staring angrily at the ground. Her arms were locked at her side and shook in rage. "And here I thought we could be great friends… You are truly a terrible person and I wish we had never met!"

"It's no bother of mine," Akita said flicking his hand up his bangs to insure they stayed in place. "Go bother someone else then you silly girl." And he then promptly turned and began walking away.

Sakura was openly sobbing now and ran as fast as she could inside the academy walls; groups of students muttered as she ran past, with questions, pity, and some with lust, however, Sakura didn't stop until she was safely shut away in the girls bathroom.

I can't believe Akita was such a jerk to me! She thought, sniffling into a tissue at the sinks. He was so nice yesterday… In her mind's eye she could still see Akita standing there before they had run off to their separate dorms, a kind smile on his face and a firm hug waiting when she had thrown herself at him. I didn't even feel this bad when the human kids on the street made fun of me… Sakura thought in her misery, holding herself tightly for support.

She desperately didn't want to go to class. She knew that Akita would be there, leaning in his chair and probably sporting that same high and mighty look; he would look at her with the same apathetic eyes and cold grin he had worn outside and watch her squirm. Sakura didn't want to look at him again, but eventually came to the conclusion that she had to attend homeroom.

"I will not let him ruin my time at this school!" Sakura said forcefully to her reflection. She grabbed a few extra tissues and cleaned the signs of tears from her eyes and then worked on her stern face in the mirror. She recalled her mother's talks about being a proud race; Sakura had been born with immense power and needed to carry herself like she deserved respect. Not to be arrogant, but to be confident in herself. "I will not show him I am upset…" she stated firmly. Nodding to herself, she slung her bag over her shoulder and marched to her homeroom with her head held high.

As she opened the door, her eyes naturally snapped to her seat across the room; as expected, Akita was already sitting there. He didn't have the egotistical grin on his face from this morning, instead his brown eyes were scrunched in concentration as he read over a small stack of pamphlets; the other students in the room were looking over similar sheets.

"Ah, hello Sakura-san," Akita said as she approached her desk. He looked up from his collection of papers to smile warmly at him. "Did you sleep well?"

Sakura almost answered him simply out of shock; what was he doing acting nice again? He had spent all morning insulting her and now said hello and asked how her night had been with a warm smile on his face? Sakura didn't answer though, instead crossing her arms and looking away darkly.

"Sakura?" Akita asked, concern in his voice; he turned fully in his seat so he could fully face the angry girl. "Is something the matter?" Sakura continued to ignore him, looking out the window with her nose upturned. "I… I looked for you today before class but I…" Akita tried again, his voice faltering.

"I thought I made it clear that I never wanted to speak to you again," Sakura sniffed, still refusing to make eye contact with the boy.

"What?" Akita demanded, leaning to try and catch Sakura's bright green eyes; the dejected vampire was having none of it though, continuing to glare out the window. "B-but… Why would you never want to speak to me again? I thought we were going to be such good friends…?"

"Well, I think you made it clear that you had no interest in being my friend," Sakura said coldly, finally locking her deadpan stare onto Akita's confused glance.

There was a beat of silence between the two. "Are…are you playing a joke on me?" Akita asked, his voice sounding very desperate. "Because if you are, you definitely got me, and you can stop now. We have to think about joining clubs soon, and I was hoping you'd seriously like to join one with me…"

"Why would you want to do that?" Sakura continued her aloof responses, but inside she was in turmoil. Why in the world is he acting so different in class? She thought desperately. It's almost like this morning didn't even happen…

"Is… Is something wrong Sakura?" Akita floundered. His shoulders were slumped and his face had a look of rather pitiful defeat. Sakura almost gave up the act and wanted to give him a hug again; he looked so genuinely lost that she was starting to feel guilty! But the replay of this morning's events rolled through her mind again and she crossed her arms defiantly.

"Just turn around and leave me alone Akita," Sakura huffed. "That's what you really wanted anyway isn't it? Or do you want to keep looking at me for you sick mental pleasure…"

"WWHAAA?" Akita almost fell out of his chair.

"Now class let's begin today lesson and stay on the right path for a successful school year!" Ms. Nekonome was suddenly at the front of the class, all energy and ready to start the morning lesson.

"Sakura what did you mean by-?"

"Pay attention back there," Ms. Nekonome warned from the front of the room, waving her ruler back and forth at Akita. "Just because this is a school for monsters does not mean you guys have an easier schedule. This academy has the highest standards for grades, just like in the human world, so you'll need to stay on top of things." This got a couple groans from the class, and Akita reluctantly turned to face the front.

Sakura took notes the entire class, but Ms. Nekonome's words did not penetrate her thoughts; she kept going back to Akita, upset that his friend had abandoned him, with slumped shoulders and a hanging head. After the lecture had concluded, Akita attempted to turn around and demand answers from Sakura about why she was angry, but the brown haired girl had gathered her things as fast as possible and power walked from the classroom.

In the chemistry room now, Sakura let her guard down and slumped in her stool, the weight of the morning continuing to wear her down.

"Hey are you alright?" a voice came from beside her. Sakura looked over quickly to see a young man taking the seat next to her. He looked to be about Sakura's stature, with buzz cut raven black hair, and a striking set of bright blue eyes and the standard Yokai academy men's uniform. He was regarding her kindly and Sakura managed a small smile.

"It's just been a very bad morning," she responded in a pseudo-bright tone. "I'll be alright."

"Well if you ever need any help with anything, just let me know ok?" the boy smiled, extending his hand out. "I'm your lab partner for the semester so I'm sure I'll get to know you well. My name is Makota Yoichi."

"Sakura Akashiya."

She took his hand with a smile and found was very soft. "You have nice hands!"

"Oh… Well, thank you," Makota grinned sheepishly.

"Settle down class," the chemistry teacher walked into the room, setting his briefcase down gingerly. "In case you have forgotten you in chemistry with me, Mr. Aku Hasumi," he adjusted his glasses and smoothed his white shirt, buttoned up besides the top three. "So, let's get into it immediately then."

The rest of the class was spent much like the homeroom lesson; Sakura took notes but had no attention for what the teacher was saying, and Makota, despite trying to start conversation while conducting the student trial, fared no better. Cooking class was equally dismal, day two causing her to burn herself when she was actually tasked with baking something. Sakura wasn't a bad cook, but she was used to her mother's calm guiding hand ensuring everything went off smoothly, and Sakura's distracted mind did nothing to help with the disparity now that she didn't have her mother's help.

As that class ended Sakura began making her way to the lunch hall, she had decided she would give Akita a chance to explain. Maybe…just perhaps…he could have a good explanation for what had happened this morning. As on cue, Sakura caught sight of the top of Akita's head poking its way through the crowd and back up the stairs. Akita quickly came into view after that and Sakura opened her mouth to get his attention. However, before she could say anything, Akita caught of her; he locked that cold glare on her and licked his lips vulgarly and making bite marks at the air in her direction.

Sakura felt the air leave her lungs and a renewed wave of fury. With an 'hmpf' and a stomp of her foot, Sakura stormed down the stairs, past the lunchroom, and outside into the midday weather. The young girl was furious with herself; how had she almost been so stupid? Sakura paced back and forth under the shade of an awning covered path muttering to herself how miserable her luck was and how big of a mistake she could have almost made.

"Sakura?"

She stopped in mid pace and realized Makota was sitting against the wall and enjoying the shade of the awning himself. He had seen her round the corner, steaming mad, and pace and talk to herself for the past couple minutes; his eyebrows were raised wide and Sakura could see the word 'crazy' slowly being displayed across her forehead.

"Hey Makota… Sorry to bother you, I was just…"

"Is your rough morning carrying over into the afternoon?" Makota asked. Sakura nodded glumly and sat down next to Makota.

"I was hoping making friends at this school would be easy but…" the girl brushed her hair out of her eyes and looked up at the clear blue sky. "It's a little more difficult than I would've hoped."

"I know what you mean," Makota nodded, munching absentmindedly on a hamburger.

"I'm sorry, you don't want to listen to me go on about my problems…"

"No don't worry about it actually," he said quickly, his bright blue eyes disappearing in a wide smile. "I enjoy listening to you talk. As a matter of fact, I'll show you that it's not always so hard. Would you like to be my friend Sakura-san?" The young man offered Sakura his hand, much like he just had during class, and Sakura took it again with a smile.

"Alright; well at least I'll have you as a friend Makota-san." Makota seemed rather pleased with that statement and continued munching away at his food.

"So, what is it that has been bothering you so bad today?" he asked after a few moments.

"This jerk…," Sakura mumbled. "He acted real nice and like he wanted to be my friend yesterday. But today he's been very rude and very…indecent to me."

"Just ignore him," Makota offered. "Jerk's like that can't really be beat. They just have to realize they aren't wanted and then they move on." Sakura pondered this for a moment before her alarm went off and she realized that she was going to be late for class if she stayed out here any longer.

"I've got to get to my next class! See you later Makota-san!" Her chemistry partner waived goodbye as Sakura disappeared around the corner and out of site.

Sakura took Makota's suggestion to heart, and for the next three hours the young vampire remained completely oblivious to everything Akita did in the last three classes they shared. She was deaf to his questions and helpful tips during their math worksheet, his compliments on her poem in English did not register with her, and she refused to acknowledge him in the friendly soccer match the boys and girls played in during P.E.

By the time the end of the day had come, Sakura was feeling rather pleased with herself. She had managed to not give into Akita at all and had prevented any further heartache from his wishy-washy attitude. She walked down the path to the dorms alone with her head held high when she heard a familiar voice that had been haunting her for most of the day.

"Sakura wait up please!" Akita's voice came from behind her. Sakura made no effort to slow, instead seemingly quickening her pace. "Sakura! We need to talk really quick."

"I have nothing to say to you," Sakura leered. Akita cut her path off and Sakura stepped back in surprise. When he had called he had sounded pretty far back, and she hadn't heard him run up the rocks.

"Can you please at least tell me what I did?" Akita begged as Sakura pushed past him to continue walking. "Because I was hoping that we would be on our way to becoming great friends but now…"

"It was you who decided we shouldn't be friends Akita…"

"What are you talking about?" Akita demanded, jogging to keep up with Sakura's quickening pace. "I have never said anything like that!"

"You made it very clear this morning in the courtyard that you didn't want anything to do with me unless it had to do with one of your," Sakura reddened and shivered, "bodily desires."

"W-what… What are you talking about?" demanded Akita, his face had reddened considerably but he looked completely befuddled. "What happened in the courtyard?"

"I went to try and talk to you and you were very rude to me in front of everyone you big jerk!" Sakura finally exploded, rounding quickly on Akita.

"But Sakura… I didn't see you until homeroom and I… I…" Akita's voice trailed off. His face morphed from one of complete and helpless confusion to one of worry and understanding. "Oh no… I know what happened…."

"What are you talking about now?" Sakura asked, curious about the sudden change in attitude.

"Sakura you have to understand that wasn't me this morning in the courtyard," Akita said, grabbing her tightly by the shoulders. "I couldn't think of a better friend for me, and of course I'll always want to be your friend. I could never say I don't want to be your friend!" Akita smiled warmly at the young green eyed girl and the latter felt a familiar feeling of warmth flow through her, one she hadn't felt sense running into Akita in the morning before he had insulted her.

"Then why this morning… And later that afternoon…" Sakura spluttered.

"That wasn't me, Sakura! Honest, I swear that is the truth. That was-"

"There you are…" came a familiar voice farther up the path from the two companions. "I was wondering when you'd show up on this path."

Sakura looked up the path and felt her jaw drop from the shock. It was the strangest thing, but just up the road stood Akita, dressed in the same standard pristine uniform, with the same spiked bangs hairstyle and same dark chocolate brown eyes. She looked to her left, just to verify that the Akita next to her hadn't moved anywhere when she had looked away.

He hadn't, and was still standing there, though now with one foot in front of Sakura. He looked worried and was unable to keep his eyes completely locked on the doppelgänger up the road. Sakura glanced back and forth between the two one more time, amazed by how it was like looking in a mirror. Then the boy from up the road, observing the two friends with cold eyes spoke again:

"Hello, brother."