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Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.
-Sir Winston Churchill
British politician (1874 - 1965)
The leaves rustled as the wind blew their way. The sky, as blue and perfect as it was, didn't seem to match the grimness of the day. I frowned, gazing upon the off-white building that was the source of all my current troubles. If only I hadn't been chosen by the Vampire Hunters Association to spy upon the vampires.
A bird chirped above me. I glanced up, startled, and swore silently under my breath. I really shouldn't be in thought so much. Who knows when vampires might decide to take advantage of my thoughtlessness?
The association had also mentioned something else though. New students in the Day Class. I really didn't see the point of being on the lookout for them. If they were human, they were safe, unless they were vampire hunters, like me. I remembered that they were twin sisters, the elder one being called Jillian Quilembry, and the younger one was named Sophie Woolfe. Part of me briefly wondered why their last names were different, but I didn't dwell on that for long. There could be multiple reasons behind the difference. Besides, they weren't my main target. I shouldn't concentrate on them so much.
But the Association said that the two wouldn't be entirely human.
Never before had the Hunters Association seen creatures like these. What were Toga Yagari's words? Mysterious and deadly, more earthly than vampires, but filled with more power than humans could ever hope to achieve. But that was all the information they had on the creatures. It was up to me to find out the rest. Quite a mission, considering the many talented vampire hunters we had. But maybe that was the point. I was one of the newer recruits, not yet famous but hardworking and talented enough. There would be no suspicion on this espionage sortie. I'd pronounce myself as a former vampire hunter, still with my vampire hunter weapon, Silver Cross, a shortsword with a steel blade coated in silver. The hilt was longer than normal, making it look like a cross. It would be used for protection against the Night Class in case something would ever happen. I would be a prefect, and from there my charge would begin.
-l- -l- -l-
"Last minute student? Of course it's okay, why wouldn't it be?" the placid smile of the headmaster took me off guard. I had expected it to be harder than that.
"Um…" I voiced, "Don't I have to go through a whole lot of procedures to get in without as much as a word of protest?"
"If you want to go through them then be my guest," he waved airily. "Don't worry, Whiting-san, you come with very high commendations."
Translation: they forced him to accept me. I should've known that the Association would've interfered.
Keeping the easy smile pasted on my face, I shook my head, "Oh no, that's okay, thank you for all the trouble you've gone through, Souke-san."
"No problem at all," he was quite a mild man for a former vampire hunter.
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
"Come in," said the headmaster.
A tall man with dark brown hair stepped in. His eyes were reddish-brown, and he was in the white Night Class uniform. I recognized him. Who wouldn't? The pureblooded prince of the vampires. Kaname Kuran.
"Ah, right on time. I was about to talk to you about him. This is the president of the Night Class, Kuran Kaname," the headmaster introduced. "You might have heard of him already."
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. This was one of the Level A vampires I had heard so much about. Worse, he was the nephew of Rido Kuran, one of the worst examples of vampire-kind.
"Hello, Whiting-san," he smiled kindly, bowing slightly, "It's a pleasure to meet you."
Geez, this guy had charm. If I hadn't known that he was a vampire and if I had been a regular girl I probably would've swooned. Most girls fell for the handsome and charming types.
As it was, I just stared at him levelly. Nothing would make me like him. Nothing. "Charmed. I'm sure."
"Whiting-san is a former vampire hunter," said Kaien Cross, the headmaster. "She has decided to give them a chance, intrigued by our school and its beliefs."
"I hope you find your stay here pleasing," smiled Kuran. "It's our conviction that we are heading towards a new era of peace between vampires and humans."
Grinning, I spoke, "I'll just have to see that for myself."
As I was about to leave, Cross pulled me back, "Wait, Whiting-san, I have a little favor to ask of you."
I turned, expecting what he was about to say.
"Could you maybe…work here as a prefect?"
"What?" I was impressed with myself. My acting skills weren't half-bad.
"A prefect, well, guardian actually. They work to protect the Day Class students from the Night Class, and keep the Night Class' secret from being discovered by the Day Class."
"Um…okay."
"If it's okay with you. It's just that…we only have two, and against the two classes, they'll need some help. Seeing as you already know about vampires, I thought that…"
"Thank you, Souke-san. I'll do my best."
"No, thank you, Whiting-san. May I call you Whiting-chan? I like to think that I'm on at least a familiar level with all my students."
"If you want to, Souke-san," this guy was an even bigger dip than I had thought before. But there was something endearing about him anyway.
"Oh, don't call me Souke-san, please, call me Cross-kun. I hate being a stranger to my students."
"Yes, Cross-kun," I sweatdropped.
"Yay! Great! Well, that's all, here's your prefect armband!"
He gave me something that looked similar to a folded cloth napkin, but was much more durable. It had two red stripes on it. One stripe near the top, another near the bottom. At one side there was the official design of Cross Academy. It looked kind of like a snowflake, gothic style. In the center of the design was a crescent moon, symbol of the Night Class. Why did I have to wear their emblem?
I took it anyway, and excused myself. My eyes hardened as I left. Vampires. I would find out their secrets. Such a school like this was unacceptable. There were no way vampires and humans could coexist. They had their own feeding farm now, probably done on purpose by Kaien Cross. The humans here were like cattle, waiting for the slaughter.
-l- -l- -l-
Classes were simple, to say the least. I went through them with ease. I found that I sat next to Yuuki Cross, daughter of the headmaster. To her other side was a girl named Sayori Wakaba. I found out when I went through the door. Many girls were chatting, saying how excited they were to be sharing a school with such good-looking guys. It was only too bad that they weren't in our dorms.
Yeah, perfect. Make it easier for the bloodsuckers, I thought.
I felt weird, being amongst all these people. My whole life was one spent in a dark atmosphere. The fellow vampire hunters were gloomy, depressing people. Mostly, when we talked, we talked about the vampires we killed or were going to. If someone died, there would be no sadness on their faces. This was business, and everybody knew that there was a lot of risk involved. But it was worth it anyway.
Here, though, it was all so peaceful. Kind of disconcerting.
And yet, I smiled. It felt so easy to go back to the days before I was part of the Association. When my parents were alive and I was happy. I had yearned for those days subconsciously, and when I was back to this happy atmosphere, I could embrace my true personality.
I looked at a piece of paper taped to the teacher's podium. It showed where we sat. Going over, I glanced to my right and saw a young girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair and reddish-brown eyes. Those eyes reminded me so much of Kuran, that I involuntarily flinched. She noticed, and looked at me curiously.
"Is anything wrong, um…what's your name?"
"Whiting Aliya," I said. "And no, nothing's wrong. You just reminded me of someone."
"Oh, ok," she grinned, "I'm Cross Yuuki. And this is Wakaba Sayori," she showed me a girl with bronze-colored hair that framed her head in slight waves. Her eyes were caramel. She seemed cold and mature for her age, especially compared to the peppy Yuuki and the other crazy girls. I never once saw her smile during class. In that way, she reminded me of a Night Class person.
I felt surprised, in spite of myself. Where was the interrogation? Why wasn't she at all curious as to who I had thought of when seeing her? This girl was definitely not vampire hunter material. Be grateful that she didn't ask, I told myself. It was embarrassing enough that I had made that slip-up. To be questioned on it would be even worse. No, it was none of her business anyway. Maybe she realized that. Or she is planning on asking me later, but for some reason, I doubt it. Oh well, I'd just have to watch what I'd say. That wouldn't be a problem, as I usually did. This school had just caught me off guard. But...I decided just to act normal around her.
We talked for a while, Yuuki and I doing a lot of the talking. We skipped from subject to subject like lightning. First she'd talk about the Night Class, then Kaname, then about what she would do later on, and then: "what do you like to do, Whiting-san? Do you know anyone else here? Why is blue?" (Well, the last one didn't really come up, but still…) She touched on each subject briefly, and then flitted on, like an indecisive butterfly. It seemed as if this girl had a lot to say but a limited amount of time to say it all in. In a way, it reminded me of me when I was younger. Yuuki was my medicine. Slowly, but steadily, I forgot my mission to destroy the vampires, and started to remember more of when I was with my parents.
At least, until they came.
They being the two I was informed of. I knew right away, though I had seen no pictures. The Association had said I would know when I saw them, and I could see right away what they meant.
The first one had auburn curls that wrapped around a thin face. Her jaw was slightly stronger than what I would've expected, but it seemed to make as much sense with her face as the high cheekbones and the pointed chin. It was just…her. The girl's glimmering variegated green eyes were like dewy grass set in a golden background of toned skin.
The second had corn silk red hair in a pixie-cut. Her skin was plush and creamy with emerald eyes that shouted, "Look at me!" They seemed to pop out of her lean face. Accented even more so by the contrast between them and her hair, it was clear that she probably had broken many hearts. Well, they both might have, if the boys hadn't been so intimidated by their power.
That was one thing I noticed about them clearly. They had a graceful, predatory look to them. Even their moves were synchronized, like Siamese cats. It was as if they both bore the same mind. Actually, it gave me the creeps.
"Look at them," I heard a girl whisper.
"Wow…" another muttered.
They glanced at me suspiciously, as if they sensed something amiss. So, another thing to add about them. Perceptive.
Snapped out of my careless phase, I sized them up. If worst came to worst, I wasn't sure where I would be. I would have to make a careful assessment of their skills and flaws. But, believe me; I would win in the end. I could not let two unknowns stop me from my goal. Failure was not an option. In this world, you either lived after completing a mission to do another one, or you lost focus and vanished from the world. I would not be the latter. I could not afford to be. This mission would proclaim my success…or spell my doom.
Dun Dun dun!! So who and are the two girls and why are they scary? Tune in next week to find out!