Recap:
"Yeah, he is… Well, we should go see the headmaster now. We need a pass!"
*************************************************************************************
Thumpthumpthumpthump—
Michelle heard someone running up the hall towards them. Thumpthumpthump— Zero stopped just outside her door.
"Headmaster's out right now," he told them, just slightly out of breath.
"Oh… Okay, then… What do we do now?" Yuki asked.
"Unpack?" He suggested.
"Sound good to you, Michelle?"
"Sure!"
"Okay, then, we'll unpack! Now hurry up and get back to helping Rikki and Rian, Zero!"
"Yeah, yeah…" He turned around and walked off.
Michelle giggled softly.
"What's so funny, Michelle?" Yuki asked.
"What? Oh, nothing!" She blushed, so softly it was barely noticeable.
"Mm-hmm." Yuki said, disbelievingly.
Michelle said nothing, just set to unpacking her bags.
"You like him," Yuki said wisely.
"Magira?" Michelle asked innocently.
"Nooooo!!! ZERO!!!" she laughed
"Oh. Do I?"
"MICHELLE!!! Just admit it already!"
It was Michelle's turn to laugh at her friend. "Oh, all right. I guess he is kinda cute…" She smiled softly.
"I knew it!" Yuki exclaimed triumphantly.
Michelle laughed again, and the girls continued to chat as they unpacked.
*half an hour later*
Michelle looked towards her door; she heard footsteps in the distance again, only slower this time, and there were about three people. A few minutes later, Yuki heard them, too. She looked up to see Zero—again—Rikki and Rian standing in the doorway.
"Headmaster's back. You ready to go?" Zero asked.
"We're not done unpacking—"
"It can wait, Yuki," Michelle smiled that soft smile of hers. "I'm eager to see K—Headmaster Cross," she corrected herself for the second time in the past hour, "again; it's been so long since I've seen him!"
"Okay, then, let's go!"
Yuki, Rikki and Rian walked a bit behind Michelle and Zero, chatting casually. Of course, Yuki and Rikki were doing most of the talking—Rian was generally a quiet person, much different from his hyperactive twin. Michelle would comment over her shoulder occasionally, but mostly she walked alongside Zero in silence.
"Where are you from?" Zero asked suddenly.
"New York City."
"It's a lot different from here?"
"It is the City that Never Sleeps!" She smiled her smile again.
He couldn't suppress a faint smile in return. "Is it really always busy?"
"Always. Even at 3 a.m., the malls and streets are always packed with people."
"Sounds… Loud."
She laughed softly. "It is. Extremely."
"Isn't there a lot of crime in New York?"
"Yes, but there's crime everywhere. But what most people don't know… is that a lot of the murders and disappearances… are vampire attacks."
"Stupid leeches," Zero said bitterly, scowling.
"Yes. That's what they are. Leeches. But, just like any other parasite—or any creature in general— they can't help being what they are. They can be dangerous, but some of them are very kind. Just like humans."
Zero opened the door to the headmaster's office, and was about to comment on Michelle's remark, when he was cut off by Headmaster Cross.
"Ahhhh!! My adorable little sister!!" He picked her up and twirled her around.
She squealed, and laughed softly as he set her down. "Hello, Headmaster Cross."
"Michelle! You should know better! Call me Kaien, you silly girl!"
"Of course, Kaien." She grinned at him.
"You've grown so much, Michelle! Let's see, how old were you the last time I saw you…?"
"Ten."
"That's right. Seven years ago. Right after…"
"After my mother died…"
"Yes…"
"It still bothers you a lot?"
"Not so much. I've accepted it by now. It only really hurts on the significant days."
"I see. Well, we'll get to that when we get to it, I suppose."
"Yes, when we get to it." She smiled at him. They really were a perfect match, Kaien and Mikala…
"And Rikki and Rian! You two were, what, eight the last time I saw you?"
"That's right!" Rikki chirped, beaming.
"Still cheerful as always, I see! Good! You hold on to that, Rikki, it's a marvelous trait!" Rikki's grin widened. "And Rian, still silent and serious. Not bad qualities, either. Just keep your brother around; you balance each other out."
"We need passes to class, Headmaster—" Yuki told him.
"Call me daddy," he interrupted.
"D…Daddy. We need passes to class."
"All right then!" He scribbled something on a note pad and handed it to Yuki, then handed a book to Rikki, Rian and Michelle. "Get to class now—it's already half over—and come back after and get the rest of your books."
"'Kay, later, Kaien!" Michelle and Rikki called in unison.
*in blodge (biology)*
The teacher stopped in the middle of a lecture when they walked in. Yuki handed her the note, and she and Zero went to their seats.
"Oh, well, class, it seems we've got a few new students! This is Michelle, Rikki and Rian Waya."
"That's Rikki, that's Rian," Michelle informed her, and the class, pointing to each of them.
"Well, I'm sure it'll be a pleasure having you. Boys, why don't you sit behind Miss Cross and Miss Wakaba, and Michelle, why don't you have a seat next to Mr. Kiryu." They all walked to their seats and sat down, and she resumed her lecture.
About five minutes later, a note landed on the table in front of Michelle.
"When do you start your "prefect" duties?
--Yuki"
She wrote back:
"I'm not sure—tonight?
--M."
P.S. just a little note-passing hint, only sign your first initial, or a fake name—that way you have less chance of getting in trouble."
A minute later the paper came back. Yuki had replaced her name in the first note with a "Y." The new line read:
"That would be great if you did start tonight! We could sure use the help—those girls can be a handful!
--Y."
She replied:
"I bet! I also bet that, pretty soon, there's gonna be just as many boys as girls!
--M."
(A/N from now on I'm just going to write what they write; it's a hassle writing "she replied" and "she wrote back" after every ten words)
"Why? Because of your sisters?
--Y."
"Exactly. They all had loads of fanboys back home.
--M."
"Lucky us! Hey, tomorrow's Saturday, do you want to see if we can go into town and hang out?
--Y."
"Sure! He'll let us—he lets my sibs and I do whatever we want—notice he didn't even make us wear uniforms?
--M."
"Hey you're right! I didn't even notice!
--Y."
"Lol. So it's a plan? =)
--M."
"Yup! Think we should bring the boys?
--Y."
"Sure, why not? We can always ditch 'em if we need to! Lol. Rian probably won't want to come, but who knows?!
--M."
"Okay, then, we'll invite them. Is it cool if I invite Yori, too?
--Y."
"Sure. Is Yori the girl next to you? I bet Rian likes her. She looks like his type. Lol. Do you think Zero will come?
--M."
"Yeah, that's Yori. She probably likes him too! =) I don't know if he'll come, but you can ask. If it's you asking, he'll probably come.
--Y."
"Why if it's me?
--M."
"I think he likes you, too!
--Y."
"Ohh, shut up! Lol. I'll ask him now.
--M."
She pulled out a new sheet of paper from her notebook and wrote a new note:
"Hey, do you want to go to town w/ us tomorrow? It'll be FU-UN!! =D
--M."
"I doubt it'll be as fun as you say, but I'll give it a shot.
--Z."
She beamed at him.
"Great!!!!! Trust me, it'll
be worth it!!!! =D
--M."
"If you say so.
--Z."
"I say so.
--M."
She noticed him smile softly, then quickly slide the note under the table when he noticed the teacher (A/N I'll call her…. Mrs. Jones) staring at him. When Mrs. Jones had turned back to the blackboard, he slipped the note back into his pocket.
The original note landed back on the table.
"What did he say?
--Y."
"He said he'll come!!
--M."
"I TOLD you he'd come if YOU asked!!!!
--Y."
"Y!
--M."
"What?
--Y."
"Shut up now. And pay attention!
--M."
"Yeah, yeah.
--Y."
Okay, so I kinda lied—You'll have to wait 'til the next chapter to meet the rest of the family. Sorry, but this was getting kind of long. I really don't like having majorly huge chapters, because I know people don't always have time to read a whole lot. So, I'll start on the next chapter now.
I'm actually kinda surprised I was able to write this. I have writer's block, but it seems I only have a touch of it, luckily.
Thanks to BloodLustLove for the review and encouragement from chapter one!!