Chapter 2~ Cross Academy

"I'm surprised that Kaname has taken the interest in you as it is." I looked up at the headmaster as he handed me yet another stack of papers. "At the moment, we've only had aristocrats and, of course, their pureblood leader, Kaname." Headmaster Cross's eyes narrowed when his gaze met mine before turning to look out the window.

Just how many pages are there? I wondered, looking quickly at the new stack of papers before setting them to the side and continuing with the basic forms. Takuma had left me there with the headmaster over an hour ago and it seemed like I was going to be buried under the papers before I could make sense of them.

"I know it's a lot, but we have very strict rules on vampires here and I must be sure that you understand them all." Headmaster Cross said apologetically. "Plus, you're a common vampire…."

"Is that all anyone here is concerned about?" I glared back up at the headmaster. "Trust me, if control is what everyone here is wanting, I can do it easily enough." Instantly, I wanted to take back my harsh words. He didn't know what I had learned to endure, what I was forced to do I order to stay alive. No one did.

"What do you mean?" the headmaster asked, watching me carefully. He had picked up on the wording and tone of my voice.

I glanced back down at the papers and scribbled in a few more answers before replying. "Being a Songblood is not all that easy. Most vampires prefer either our blood or human blood. The better you blend in with humans, the harder it is to make you out in a crowd." I said, not looking up.

"You would move in the sunlight?" Headmaster Cross asked after a silence, his voice was soft, almost sympathetic.

"You saw what happens when we move at night." I said, almost wishing I hadn't said anything at all and just let it slide when I had the chance. The blood still staining my clothes was a brutal reminder of who I was.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" the headmaster asked in a quiet voice. Puzzled, I looked back up at him. Behind his glasses, his eyes held a dark shadow in them.

"That's the only reason I can come up with." I said slowly, watching him carefully. Does he know something? Maybe something about my father? I shook the thought off. If anyone would know anything about who my father would be, surely it would be the pureblood Kaname, right?

"Sorry. I thought there might have been something else." Headmaster Cross said, suddenly smiling lightly. Something about it made me think it was a bit strange, though. It felt like he was keeping something from me on purpose. Finally giving up on the matter for now, I returned to the pages I still had left to do.

It took me almost two more hours before I had finally finished everything and handed it back to the headmaster. Looking out the window, I could make out the start of the sunrise tinting the trees on the school grounds crimson. After pushing the pages over to the headmaster, I got up and headed for the door. Takuma had promised that there would be someone to show me to the Moon Dorms, where the night class slept during the day.

"Finally done?" I looked over to see a boy with messy, pale russet hair and amber eyes leaning against the wall near the door.

"Yeah. And who are you?" I asked, stiffening slightly.

"Relax. I'm not going to bite you. Name's Akatsuki Kain. Vice-President Ichijo told me to show you where the Moon Dormitory is." With that, he pushed off from the all, stuck his hands in his pockets, and started off, not even looking back to see if I was following him. Startled, I hesitated for a moment before taking off after him. No matter how much I hated depending on others, I would have to buckle down and rely on others to show me around for the time being.

"So you really are a Songblood." I jumped back a pace, not even realizing that he had leaned over to sniff at the blood that remained on my clothes. He sighed and looked at me for a long moment, his gaze holding mine for a long moment before he turned again and resumed walking.

Did I imagine it, or did he have a glint of surprise when he looked into my eyes? I thought as I followed a pace behind him. It seemed lately that my eyes caught a lot of people off guard. Everyone here had tensed when they saw my eyes, but then, I couldn't say I really blamed them. After all, how many vampires had eyes that were totally different in color like mine?

The sun was completely over the trees when we finally reached what Akatsuki called the Moon Dorm. The sheer size of it made me hesitate. It's more like a mansion than an actual dorm! I thought as he looked back at me quizzically. I gave my head a quick shake to clear it before following him into the grounds. This place was definitely going to take some getting used to.

"Glad to see you made it back alright." I jumped as Takuma came out of the dorm to greet us, a smile plastered on his face. I saw the two of them exchange a glance before the Vice-President nodded to my guide. Akatsuki sighed and headed into the dorm while Takuma stayed outside with me.

"This won't be easy for you, but try not to be too concerned with how things go." Takuma said softly, not looking at me. "It's hard for them to forget the past, especially surrounding the circumstances."

"Forget the…what are you talking about?" I asked, gazing at him curiously.

"Just try to bear with the others." Takuma turned his green gaze on me, an almost pleading look in them. "We just had peace restored here after….And most would rather keep it that way than to see it fall back to chaos."

I took a small step back in confusion. What had he been about to say that would have caused him to trail off like that? Before I could ask him, he was pulling me into the dorms, the smile back in place.

"I know you'll enjoy it here." He told me, as if we had been having a completely different conversation. With a sigh, I allowed him to pull me up a large staircase and down a long hallway. "Here you are. This will be your dorm." Takuma finally released his grip on me and gave me a real smile. "Welcome to the Cross Academy Night Class, Ariao." With that, he spun around and walked lightly off, leaving me to enter my home for the rest of the term.