~*Hey everyone! So I got a question with the last chapter, and I decided I'd address it now :3 Basically, even though I have the whole story and everything on my computer, I'm going to update it as if it was a work in progress and I was still working on the chapters. Just that way people aren't overwhelmed with the whole story like...right away. Plus, it gives me a chance to leave people with some terrible cliffhangers in case I decided to change something major at the end of a chapter ;D That being said, enjoy Chapter 2!*~

Chapter 2:

The next day, Keiko opened her eyes and squinted as sunshine flooded through her window and onto her face. The brunette sighed as she forced herself to sit up in the bed and stretched her arms over her head. Today was her first day attending classes with the Day Class…but Keiko wasn't quite sure whether she was looking forward to it or not. She stood up and looked around the room for a short moment before pulling her hair back in a messy ponytail and leaving her room. Moments later, she came to the headmaster's office and knocked on the door. "Headmaster?" she called softly.

"Please, call me Kaien," said a voice behind her. Keiko jumped and turned around in shock then quickly settled down as she recognized Kaien. The headmaster smiled gently at her. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you! Come to get your uniform?" he asked as he walked over to his desk.

Keiko nodded. "Headmas…I mean Kaien?"

Kaien looked up from the papers he was reading in his hands. "Yes, Keiko?"

"Why are there two different classes at this school?" she asked with a slight tilt of her head.

A look of shock flashed across Kaien's eyes for a moment before he set the papers down and met Keiko's eyes seriously. "Keiko, the students of the Night Class are different than the rest of the students at this school. They're a very elite group here at Cross Academy."

"Is there like…a special test they have to take?" Keiko asked.

"You could say that," a voice from behind said.

Keiko turned around and Kaien looked up to see Kaname standing in the doorway. "You're up early," Kaien told him in dry humor.

A small smile came to Kaname's lips. "I had something to discuss with you," he lied easily, turning his eyes to Keiko.

Keiko looked back at him, a small blush coming onto her face at the look of intensity in Kaname's eyes. "Am I…eligible to take this test?" she asked slowly. It wasn't that Keiko didn't like the Day Class…of course, she hadn't even been to any of her classes yet. But there was something about Kaname, something she couldn't quite put her finger on, that made her very curious about the him and the other members of the Night Class.

"I don't see anything wrong with it," Kaname said, a hint of mischief coming to his eyes.

Kaien audibly cleared his throat then bent down and picked up a black and white Day class uniform from under his desk then handed it to Keiko. "Go ahead and get changed, Keiko. I'll take you to your class in a couple minutes."

Keiko smiled. "Okay. Thank you, Kaien," she said as she walked out of the office and shut the door behind her.

"Nothing wrong with it?" Kaien asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kaname closed his eyes and chuckled. "She seems interested enough. And it would prepare her for the guardian position."

Kaien frowned and settled his chin on his intertwined fingers. "I never agreed to that, Kaname. You know what I said before. She's not ready. I don't know if she ever will be ready. The only thing I can think of is if a vampire was guardian, but it's been years since that happened." The headmaster noticed a reddish glow coming to Kaname's eyes and he slammed his hands on the table, causing Kaname to look at him.

"What's gotten into you, Kaname? You know as well as I do that you can't bite a human!"

Kaname frowned back. "I never said anything about biting her. Besides, nothing would be wrong with it as long as I shared some of my blood with her."

"Still," Kaien started, settling down a bit, "she doesn't know about you being a vampire, and if she did…"

Kaname turned to leave. "Just ask her about the disciplinary committee position. Something has to be done about the Day Class." Then, without another word, the pureblood opened the door and left.

Kaien sighed wearily. "What am I going to do with him?" he asked himself quietly.

Kaname walked out of the school and headed back to the Moon Dorm. He was suddenly greeted by Takuma Ichijo, a blond-haired, green-eyed teen vampire and Kaname's best friend. "There you are, Kaname," Takuma greeted the brunette. "I got worried when I didn't see you all day."

Kaname walked up to Takuma and they continued on their way to the Moon Dorm together. "I had business to take care of," Kaname said simply.

"That explains a lot," Takuma replied, looking away from Kaname. "Seiren was worried since she hadn't seen you either."

"I didn't tell her where I went," Kaname said.

"That's obvious," Takuma told him. "Kaname…what's wrong?"

Kaname stopped and looked back at Takuma. "What do you mean?"

"You're thinking about something, I can tell. You've been kind of out of it every since Yuki…well you know…"

Kaname was silent for a minute and Takuma took a step back, not knowing what to expect next from Kaname. Finally though, the brunette spoke, a kind of distant look coming into his eyes. "A new girl was taken in by Headmaster Cross. Her family was killed by a group of Level E vampires."

Takuma looked over at Kaname, surprised. "And we didn't know about it?"

Kaname shook his head. "That's what bothers me. I'm the first person that knows this type of thing so we can take care of it on our own…without involving the hunters. But…" Kaname trailed off and stared into space.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Takuma said in an attempt to calm the brunette. "One or two Level E's—"

"Three."

"Even so. Three Level E's escaping our notice is hardly any reason for concern."

Kaname looked at Takuma for a brief second before continuing to the dorm. "We shall see…"

Keiko sighed as her class finally ended. It was only her first day, but she had already taken so many notes that her hand had starting cramping before she was even halfway through with her classes. Keiko quickly stuffed her books into her bag, picked it up, and walked out of the classroom. First on her list was finishing her homework. After that came exploring the school grounds. No sooner had Keiko walked only a few feet down the hall did she hear someone calling her name. Keiko turned around to see Kaien jogging towards her. "Good afternoon, Keiko!"

"Good afternoon, Kaien," Keiko replied. "Do you need me?"

"Yes, actually," Kaien told her. "Would you follow me to my office, please?"

Kaien led Keiko to the office then sat at his desk. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Keiko, I have a question."

"Okay?" Keiko said slowly, catching the hesitation in Kaien's voice.

"You remember Yuki and Zero, right?" Keiko nodded. "Of course you do. Well, they were the prefects of this school and helped maintain order between the two classes when the time came for them to alternate use of the school building. However, since they left the school a couple years ago, the Night Class has been having…difficulties. I was going to ask you if you wanted to take over the position."

"But," Keiko started, "this is only my first day! I don't know anything about this school!"

"I know, Keiko, I do. And I'm aware that this request may sound ridiculous, but Kaname Kuran—"

Keiko's head shot up. "K-Kaname?"

Kaien nodded slowly. "I understand if you don't want to, I mean this must sound absolutely absurd."

"Well…I do have to say that it does sound a little crazy…" Keiko admitted as she crossed her arms in thought. "But I was going to go explore the school grounds anyway, so I suppose I can get a feel for the school then…"

"Great!" Kaien said, giving Keiko a smile. "Now go on before it gets too dark."

Keiko nodded then walked out of the office. Kaien frowned and laid his chin on his folded hands. "I just hope she doesn't scratch herself…"

Keiko walked out of the school and took a deep breath. "Ah," she exhaled as she took a seat on the stairs of the school and pulled out her books. "Homework first." After a few minutes of reading and writing in her notebook, Keiko stuffed her books back into her bad and stood up. The sun was just beginning to set so Keiko figured she had about two hours or so before it got too dark to see anything. Even with the death of her family sitting heavily on her shoulders, Keiko was determined to have a fresh start at Cross Academy.

Keiko wandered along the stone path that led through the small forest within the school grounds quickly before stopping suddenly and looking around. "Um…where am I?" she asked herself. She hadn't been paying much attention to where she was going and now it was getting dark. Keiko looked down at the path she was on, only to realize that, as a result of her walking around aimlessly, she was no longer on the path, but instead in a clearing next to a small body of water. The sudden sound of something moving through the trees caught her attention and she caught a glimpse of two red, glowing orbs flash among the trees. "Hello?" she called softly. Seconds later, the orbs returned and Keiko realized with a jolt that there were two glowing, red eyes staring back at her hungrily. Soon, the sound of heavy breathing reached Keiko's ears and it soon hit the girl that she was in danger. Keiko whimpered and ran in the opposite direction, and it wasn't long before she heard the sound of rushing behind her as whatever was in the trees gave chase. The image of the ashes from the vampire that killed her family flashed through her mind and caused her to gasp. "Could it be…a vampire?" she thought to herself, not daring to slow down enough to look behind her. Keiko's panic grew as she tripped over a rock and fell, hitting her knee badly against the rough ground. She stumbled her feet, wincing as pain shot up her leg. She could hear her pursuer gaining fast on her location and, no matter how much it hurt, she had to get out of there. She forced herself to start running again, though much slower this time, and moments later she came to the edge of the forest…and the stone path that led to the school. However, she was too far from the school or the main school grounds entrance to know which way to run. Keiko's hesitation soon proved to be a mistake as a heavy weight soon crashed into her side, knocking her to the ground. Keiko moaned and looked up to see a ragged looking vampire looking down at her, saliva dripping from the fangs in the creature's open mouth. The vampire licked its lips as it took a step toward Keiko, it's heavy breathing breaking into hunger crazed laughs as it approached her. Keiko attempted to stand again, but her injured leg gave out from under her and she fell to her knees. The vampire laughed maniacally and lunged itself at the trembling girl. Keiko closed her eyes tight and screamed as loud as she could, hoping someone, anyone would hear her. The vampire suddenly stopped as a bright light began glowing from Keiko's neck and a crackling ray of light shot from her neck and blasted the vampire away from her. Keiko opened her eyes and looked in shock at the smoking vampire on the ground. "W-what happened?" The vampire groaned and stood up, its eyes glowing even fiercer than before and lunged again. However, just like last time, the vampire stopped just before digging its fangs into Keiko's body. When the brunette opened her eyes and looked up, she saw why: there was a sword of ice sticking out of its chest. Keiko leaned to the side slightly and saw that there were two guys from the Night Class standing behind the vampire—one with blond hair and blue eyes and the other with bright orange hair and red-orange eyes.

The blond walked over to the now collapsed vampire and pulled out his sword. "That was messy," he said to his partner with a smile as the sword evaporated into thin air.

"I think you're forgetting something, Hanabusa," the red-head said, pointing to Keiko.

The blond looked away from his friend and down at Keiko curiously. "A Day Class student..? Oh! She's hurt!"

"Don't even think about it, Hanabusa," his friend warned. "You know what happened last time…"

"Aw, Akatsuki, I was just gonna do it a little bit," the blond whined.

"Uh…"Keiko started, turning the boys' attention back to her. "Who are you?"

"You mean you don't know?" the blond asked surprised. "I'm Hanabusa Aido and this is Akatsuki Kain, my cousin. Forget Akatsuki! You've never heard of me before?"

Keiko shook her head. "N-no. I just started here today."

Hanabusa smiled and bent down in front of her, leaning forward slightly as he took a small sniff. "Mmm…that explains why I've never smelt your blood around here before. It certainly does cause a drunken feeling," he sighed, looking down at Keiko's bloody knee. 'Eh, what the hell,' he told himself before bending his head down and slowly beginning to lick the blood off.

"Hanabusa," Akatsuki warned again, taking a step forward.

Keiko sat in shock as she watched Hanabusa lick her knee clean. When he lifted up his again to look at her, she noticed a red glow to his formerly blue eyes. "Just as intoxicating as it smells," he said, licking his lips. Keiko gasped as she saw a pair of fangs sticking out from Aido's mouth.

"Y-you're a…" she broke off as Hanabusa leaned forward and sat almost nose to nose with her.

"Vampire?" Hanabusa finished for her as he smiled. "That's right."

Keiko gasped as Hanabusa slowly leaned forward, his mouth wide open as he inched closer and closer to Keiko's neck. The girl had just felt Hanabusa's fangs touch her neck when he stopped suddenly. The two of them looked up to see Akatsuki holding the back of Hanabusa's shirt collar. "I'm not getting in trouble for your actions again, Hanabusa," the blond's cousin said sternly.

"Wise decision," a voice spoke behind them. All three turned around as Kaname stepped out of the trees. He stopped and looked at the ashes of the dead vampire then to Hanabusa and Akatsuki. "If I remember correctly," he told the two, "class has started already."

"K-Kaname," Keiko said softly.

Kaname looked down at Keiko then back at the two males. "You two get back to class. I'll take care of her. And, Aido," he said as the two passed him. Hanabusa looked at him with a slightly frightened look. "I'll deal with you later," Kaname told him threateningly.

Hanabusa sighed then walked back to school with Akatsuki at his side. Kaname watched them leave then turned back to Keiko and kneeled down in front of her. "Are you okay, Keiko?" he asked her. "Aido didn't bite you too hard, did he?"

Keiko shook her head slowly. "N-no, he only licked the blood off my knee. No biting. But…he…"

Kaname looked down at her sympathetically. "Yes, Keiko, Aido is a vampire. Actually, to tell you the truth…"

Keiko's eyes widened as she stared up at Kaname's face. "You…you don't mean.."

Kaname gave Keiko a small nod. "Here, I'll help you up," he said as he began to lift her up by her arm.

Keiko jerked away from his grip and took off down the path back toward the school. Kaname watched her go then looked down at the scattered remains of the vampire from before. 'What was an E Class doing here?' He stood, staring at the ashes until finally he turned and headed back to the school.

Keiko burst through the doors of the school and ran down the hall toward the headmaster's office. 'Kaname…Kaname's a vampire? That's…that's impossible!' Her thoughts were broken when she ran into someone. She fell backwards and looked up to see Kaien looking down at her.

"Keiko?"

"Kaien?" Keiko stared up at Kaien in panic. "Kaien! Kaname! And…and Aido! They…they're vampires!"

Kaien looked at her surprised before smiling gently and helping her to her feet. "I'm guessing you found out. Yes, Keiko, Kaname and Aido are both vampires…as are the rest of the Night Class."

Keiko's eyes narrowed as she looked up at Kaien. "Are you a vampire, too?" she asked suspiciously.

"No, Keiko, I'm not a vampire," Kaien explained. "But I am an ex-vampire hunter. I organized the class in hopes that humans and vampires could co-exist peacefully. Hm?" It was then that Kaien noticed Keiko's once again bleeding knee. "Come with me to the infirmary and I'll explain everything else."

Kaien let Keiko to the infirmary and set her down in a chair then walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bag of cotton balls and a bottle of disinfecting alcohol. "Hold still," he said a he wet a cotton ball in the alcohol and pushed it onto the wound. Keiko winced but did nothing else as she watched Kaien. "Why wasn't I told?" she asked softly.

Kaien looked up at her after he wrapped a bandage around her knee. "I didn't want to make you feel vulnerable, Keiko. The vampires here…they all listen to Kaname. They're here to try out my pacifism plan for humans and vampires because I don't want them to have to fight anymore than they have to."

"But…humans and vampires…can they really get along? I mean, don't vampires try constantly to drink the blood from humans?"

"Yes," Kaien admitted with a look to the side. "But we're trying out a new method of controlling a vampire's lust for human blood." Kaien dug around in his pocket until he found a small container. He opened it up and took out one small tablet. This," he said, holding it up to her, "is a blood tablet. It suppresses a vampire's urge to drink blood so they don't go after humans. Occasionally, though, blood tablets aren't enough and vampires get tempted from the smell of humans or sometimes even their own kind. That's why…" He looked down at Keiko's knee then back to her eyes. "That's why we need a prefect around. With the Day Class mobbing the Night Class every chance they get, there's an ever increasing chance that a vampire can get carried away and reveal their secret."

Keiko sat and stared at Kaien for a long moment before finally looking to the side. "Are you asking me because my family was attacked?" she asked softly.

"I'm asking you because I think you of all people here must wonder why vampires and humans can't just live together in harmony."

Keiko placed a hand on her bandaged knee then looked back up at Kaien. "I'll give it a try," she said with a smile.

Kaien visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Keiko."

The next day, Kaien took Keiko to the park and stood in front of her. "Okay, Keiko. Being a prefect requires a strong body and quick reflexes. You never know when you'll need to attack at a moment's notice. So, Keiko, how physically fit are you?"

Keiko stared up at the sky in thought. "Well…I've been taking marital arts classes since I was four and I played soccer and basketball at my old school."

"Good, good," Kaien said seemingly distracted. Then he suddenly sprang forward and attacked Keiko with a pole that he had been holding at his side. Keiko reacted quickly, dodging the pole with a cartwheel and once on her feet, she grabbed the pole firmly in her grasp. "Very impressive," Kaien told her, honestly amazed. "I think you'll do just fine."

Keiko smiled up at him. "You think so? Thank you, Kaien!"

Kaien smiled back at her then reached into his jacket. "Oh! I almost forgot to give you this." Kaien pulled out a silver gun with a crystal chain dangling from the handle and handed it carefully to Keiko.

"But…I don't know how—"

"It's really quite simple," Kaien said, cutting Keiko off. "First, just unlock the safety," he showed her how to do so then handed the gun back to her. "You see that target back against that tree?" He pointed to a red and white target that was hanging against a tree trunk and Keiko nodded. "Hold the gun with both hands and aim straight ahead." He watched as Keiko brought the gun up and held it in front of her with both hands and aimed for the target. "Now fire."

Three shots rang clearly through the air and Kaien patted Keiko's head proudly as he looked at the target that now had three perfectly clear bullet holes in the middle of the bull's-eye. "Very nice, Keiko. Now…this gun is called the Scarlet Wings. There are spells cast on its bullets that make being hit with them extremely painful for vampires. Sometimes, it's even fatal…if shot in the right place."

Keiko tilted her head. "The right place being…?"

"The heart or the head," Kaien said, meeting the girl's eyes seriously. "You keep that in mind, and you'll be perfectly safe."

Keiko stood outside the Moon Dorm gates as the Day Class girls gathered around. They were all squealing and talking to each other excitedly about which Night Class guy they liked the best. As the gates creaked open, the squeals became louder and soon, the girls were all screaming at an all time high. Keiko covered her ears in annoyance and glared at the squealing teens. A couple tried to sneak past Keiko, but she quickly grabbed them by the back of their collars and gently, but firmly, flung them back into their lines then blew her whistle loudly. "No one gets past me," she said sternly.

"I see you accepted," a familiar voice said in her ear. Keiko swung around and saw Kaname standing next to her. The girls began screaming again, but Kaname merely glanced at them then turned his attention back to Keiko. "I dealt with Aido, just like I promised," he said with a glance over at the pouting blond. "He knows to behave."

"Right…" Keiko said with a glance at Hanabusa. "Thanks, I guess…."

Kaname smiled at her then continued on his way and soon, all the vampires made it safely and undisturbed to the school. And after just one guardian job, Keiko was now a force to be reckoned with among the Day Class. "Now," Keiko said, turning to the girls. "To your dorm! Now!" And in a mad frenzy, all the girls ran to their dorm, not wanting to risk starting a fight with the new prefect.

Satisfied, Keiko walked toward the school to patrol the surrounding area. She soon came to the place where she was attacked the night before, yet, for some reason, it didn't scare her like it did before. She heard leaves rustle and immediately pulled out the gun Kaien had given to her and aimed it in the direction of the sound. "Come out!" she called bravely.

"Okay, okay! Just don't shoot!" Keiko lowered the gun as Hanabusa stepped out of the trees with his hands up in front of him.

"Aido? Shouldn't you be in class right now?"

"Y-yeah," Hanabusa said with a slight blush. "I should. But…" he glanced up at Keiko.

"What?"

"I…I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday," the blond said as he stared back at the ground. "I was out of line."

"Did Kaname tell you to come apologize?" Keiko asked with a raised eyebrow.

Hanabusa looked at her and shook his head. "No, I came of my own free will. I'm really, really sorry, Keiko. Really, really sorry."

Keiko put her gun back inside her uniform and crossed her arms. "I believe you, Aido," she said with a small smile. "So…how exactly did Kaname deal with you?"

Hanabusa pouted again. "He hit me…hard. Harder than he usually does."

Keiko frowned lightly. "I'm guessing you get in trouble a lot."

Hanabusa shrugged. "Yeah. I try not to, but I don't think the blood tablets are working on me like they should."

Keiko smiled a bit and put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine, Aido. Just give it time."

Hanabusa nodded as his eyes drifted back to the ground. "Y-yeah."