Vale of Avalon
Chapter Two
Class passed by in a dragging blur, the day inching along torturously as I passed from class to class. At the same time, that same period of space seemed to take up the length of a blink as I looked back on it during dinner. My mind had been in a garbled fog, entire state of being not capable of anything more than staring blankly at any wall I came across. I guess I could take this as a reference - I didn't take rejection very well at all.
Despite any internal convincing, I knew the denial itself wasn't my only problem. Chairman Kurosu's abnormal behavior had struck a chord. Every moment since that confrontation had the gears in my head turning, bringing up any possibility into the forefront of my mind. Was his eerie warning something about the risks of being a member of the Disciplinary Committee at all? The job couldn't be nearly as dangerous as he was making it sound. What else could be wrong here, then? What sort of secrets could a boarding school possibly hold? It wasn't like there were some sort of ravaging monsters roaming around waiting to attack, for goodness sake!
Whatever it was, I couldn't help but cling to the idea that it was something. The Chairman had been uncharacteristically adamant about leaving one of his students out of the loop; Usually, the man would have been overjoyed at the prospect of one of his protege offering their time to his services. His reaction had been anything but thrilled. No matter what the exact details of his confusing turn to a 'normal' principal were, I had enough sense in me to figure out it was far more important than a simple 'it's in you best interest.' The explanation was just as nonsensical now as it was back when the chairman had said it.
"Yo, Eden-chan. Is there something on the ceiling that's more interesting than talking to us?"
A lightning current zapped through the length of my limbs, body jolting and hair standing on end. Damn it! I forgot that this was dinner. I couldn't get away with spacing out as easily here as I had in class - I would have been happily chatting away on any other day. Common sense told me that I shouldn't be sharing my experience with the Chairman with any of the girls. Besides giving them the very same idea I had attempted to carry out last night (although, I now knew for a fact that Chairman Kurosu would refuse them just as easily as he had done to me; there was no competition anymore) I doubt that I could give any justice at all to the description of our sinister meeting. They would simply dismiss it as me being paranoid or a sore loser. No, I had to keep this myself for now. Until I had pieced it all together and figured it out...
"Um, Enrai-chan? Is there something wrong?"
I blinked, looking up at the girl seated across from me. I recognized her as Mari, a classmate. We were acquaintances, not quite at a friendship level in our relationship. She was nice enough, helpful and polite, but not exactly the personality that would stand out in a crowd or call for remembrance. If it hadn't been for the fact that we had been school mates for so long, I doubt I would have ever learned her name at all. The only time she seemed to speak up at all was when showing her concern; other wise, the fellow junior was just another faceless student.
"Ah, no, I'm fine," I smiled, speaking delicately towards the girl. Her lips twitched back in my direction, instantly giving the impression that I wasn't fooling her at all with the act. I only allowed a moment of panic, however, before realizing I had nothing to worry about: she barely talked at all, never mind bringing up some useless gossip behind my back. It wasn't in her nature.
"Oh, leave her alone. She's probably just thinking about Takuma-sama!"
Zuri, on the other hand...
"Ha ha, that's right! Eden has a crush on Ichijou-senpai, doesn't she? That works out perfectly! Now each of us had our own favorite in the Night Class and we won't have to fight over them!"
Madoka, well...she was a bit too dim to read into much of anything on her own. A trait I relished in at the moment. The girl was the self-proclaimed number one fan of a certain Kain Akatsuki. I guess that was why she and Zuri got along so well as best friends - they were apparently 'in love' with the two cousins and hoped to one day be related through marriage.
I giggled, hoping to fool my two friends, at least, with the front. "Jeez, you caught me! I'm sorry, but I just can't get him off of my mind. He looked so handsome last night, didn't he...?"
Even if I could think those same words without a problem, saying them aloud was almost enough for me to gag. Could I sound any cheesier?
Zuri and Madoka squealed in unison, joining their hands in excitement. Zuri took the lead and spoke first. "Yeah, he was alright, but did you get a look at Aidou! Kyaa, he's such a hunk!!"
I couldn't hold back a genuine laugh at her wording. I don't think I had ever heard the phrase 'hunk' as an adjective outside of a movie before. Zuri noticed my humor, smirking as she flicked a bit of potato towards me from her supper tray.
"Oh, shut it, you! Like you could think of any better way to express just how wonderful your dear Takuma is!"
I grinned, only then taking a look at what food I had picked out to eat. A fajita, really? Whose idea was it to have a western styled theme tonight? And whose idea was it to let me choose this as a meal? I had to make some kind of mental note to never order food while I was mentally comatose. The bright side - perfect ammunition.
Zuri yelped as a few strands of shredded cheese landed in her hair, hands jumping up to comb through the long locks of brunette mane. My eyes flashed mischievously, lips letting out a snicker without shame. "Actually, I could. And nothing as lame as calling him a 'hunk!' We're not nine years old anymore, after all."
The girl humphed, carefully picking the bits out and tossing them onto her own plate. When she looked up, the devilish curl of her lips wasn't exactly as I had expected. She cast a perfunctory glance to each side before leaning in over that table, beckoning the rest of us to do the same. We followed, the four of us bent over our food and probably looking like some kind of plotting trouble makers to any onlookers.
"Speaking of our darling Nigh Class boys," Zuri purred, biting her lips in excitement. "... Madoka and I have been thinking about paying them a little visit some time. What do you say? Is tonight the night, ladies?"
I blinked dubiously, tilting my head in confusion. "What exactly do you mean by that?"
Zuri rolled her eyes, obviously too eager to deal with my lack of understanding. "What do you think it means? We're going to sneak out and find the Night Class, duh! Madoka did get that new camera for her birthday, you know. We can take some pictures of them hard at work in class and stare at them all day long!"
A pregnant pause passed over the group. The still silence was broken only as Mari (surprisingly) voiced her opinion. "Isn't that, like... against the rules? You could get into a lot of trouble for that! I don't think it's a very good plan..."
The idea sounded completely idiotic to me. Skulking around in the dark after hours and peeping in on their studies? Typical stalker material, if you asked me. It was stupid, unthought-out, and just plain creepy. They were sure to be caught by the prefects and have any artwork they managed to capture confiscated.
Wait...
A figurative light bulb flashed above my head, and suddenly the world slowed in it's spin. The Disciplinary Committee, of course! They would be sure to catch us if we snuck out after hours to spy on the Night Class. The only function I had ever seen the prefects perform seemed to be catering the those nocturnal students, after all. Whose to say anything against their main focus being a body guard of sorts to the Night Class? It made perfect sense - why hadn't I put it together before? The prefects must exist to watch over the Night Class!
And another point: why? Why did the Night Class need the protection? Was it only for the adoring fans that chased them so relentlessly? I couldn't help but deny that idea; the school wouldn't waste any budget or effort towards that task. They could simply make some sort of punishment for any girls who overstayed their welcome. Or better yet, why did all of the gorgeous teens have to be grouped together? It was practically discrimination to segregate the beautiful from the average like that! What made them so special that they differed from the Day Class enough to have their own separate schooling schedule? They obviously didn't need any extra beauty sleep, but did they really need an entirely clashing time frame from the rest of us?
The realization made me rethink the situation completely. Why had I never thought of why we had a Night Class in the first place? What was the purpose of it? I had never questioned it before - it had always just been accepted as a tutorial unique to Kurosu Academy. What made those students so much better? Was it only me who was just now finding it weird that every single one of them just so happened to be breathtakingly handsome? If I suddenly decided to sleep during the day and become active only once the sun set, would I become a goddess, too?
No, it was impossible! Patterns of rest had almost nothing to do with your appearance (not as drastically as I was insinuating, anyway.) Just because they were learning as we slept didn't explain anything. Okay, all of the physical evidence aside, what else was I left with to help corroborate their need for protection?
Brains? Were they all at such a greater intellectual scale than us that they, the 'smart people,' needed their own class? That couldn't be right either! I knew for a fact that there were multiple students in the Day Class with perfect 4.0 GPAs, and so much more that were close enough to the feat to be recognized. Grades couldn't have anything to do with it.
What if it wasn't a reason as simple as I had been exploring? Something not the average person would first come up with? Was I wrong in assuming it was them that needed the protection?
That's true - it could be the other way around. The didn't want some kind of secret to get out. Well, that really didn't narrow it down. It could be anything! Obviously big enough that they needed the continuous guarding of the students, but not so high-class as to call in professional help or government involvement. It was closely tied down to the school, nothing that would be publicized openly to the outside world.
"Eden!!"
I squawked, jumping out of my chair in fright. The three girls stared on in shock, Zuri's expression mixing with aggravation. It was easy to figure out that she had been the one to holler my name, the idea only finalizing when she continued. "What the heck are you doing? Sit back down!"
I obeyed without question, still wrapping my mind around everything I had just been brooding and storing each detail in my mind for a later time when I could be left in peace. Obviously, I couldn't go into a state of Sherlock Holmes until I was alone and away from this company.
"Are you sure you're alright, Enrai-san?" Mari's introverted tone cut in, genuine concern easily audible. I nodded dimly, hastily pulling myself together enough to grin guiltily.
"Aa, daijoubu! I just got caught up in thinking about Takuma again, I guess..."
Did it say anything about my character that I actually did feel bad about using the object of my affection as an excuse? Would Takuma accept me taking advantage of him like this?
Zuri brushed aside my excuse, only offering "Yeah, yeah. I know their all inhumanly beautiful and everything, but get your mind out of the gutter for long enough to tell me whether you're in or not for the stake out tonight!"
One of her words jumped out at me, distracting my train of thought from the point of her ramble. Inhuman. I had never considered it as an adjective to describe them, the Night Class. Now, planted in my mind, it was perfect. Inhuman: it was the exact embodiment of everything the Night Class was.
But how literal would I dare to take it?
"So, are you coming or what?"
I lied in bed, watching as the sun set through the prosthetic glass of the window. As lonely as it sometimes was, I had never been more glad about the fact that my roommate chose to spend more time with her more 'popular' friends than bonding with me in our shared space. It gave me the ideal opportunity to just sit back and figure things out.
I mentally brought up every point that I had been gathering in the past twenty-four hours, spread out on my back and letting my shoulders sink into the comfort of my pillow. The prefects served to hide some kind of secret concerning the Night Class, taking up a considerable amount of their sleeping time and affecting their schoolwork and daytime awakeness. This point was minor enough for the Chairman to ignore, meaning that the clandestine aura surrounding the Night Class overshadowed his care for his daughter. I would have never thought such a thing would happen.
What if I was looking too much into this? Maybe I really had been delusional when I met with the Chairman last night, or simply not in the right mind after the shock of being turned down as a Disciplinary Committee member. It was plausible, and made much more sense than some supernatural investigation.
But still...
'There is so much more behind the prefect duties and responsibilities than you could ever understand, Eden.'
...That didn't exactly strike me as the words of a man who had nothing to hide. He was holding something back, for sure. And the prefects and Night Class were right dab in the middle of it in plain focus. I would be a moron to brush it aside.
Playing with my fingers as they came to a rest on my stomach, I regrouped. Strange things going on between the prefects and Night Class, the principle need to keep them separated from us...
...The inhumaness of it all..
If we found (or were found by) the school's prefects while skulking around outside, we would be close to whatever secret it was they were trying so hard to keep covered up from us. If we found the prefects, we would find the truth behind them...
A soft, pointed knock interrupted my hypothesizing, my body snapping up in the (now, unexpected) darkness.
"Pst, Eden! You ready to go? It's time!"
"Itai!" I gasped, stumbling over some type of natural element jutting out from the earth. I struggled to regain my footing, managing to keep on my feet, albeit unsteadily. I scowled. As stupid as it would have been to bring along a flashlight, I couldn't think of any better solution to the vision troubles us humans faced once the moon rose. I would just have to wait until my eyes adjusted some more or the lunar rays grew brighter before I could settle in a bit more with my surroundings.
"Shh, Eden! Don't make so much noise or we'll be caught!" Zuri hissed, looking no better off than me as she squinted towards the ground, stepping blindly. The three of us were having some kind of field day running around like headless chickens lost in the school grounds (Mari had decided not to take the chance with this adventure of ours.) I was almost expecting to be the one who broke our record and actually lost their footing. However, it was Madoka who shrieked at that moment, falling to the ground in a muffled heap. Zuri and I startled, tripping over our steps and looking down towards the dark mass of shadow. Luckily, we had stopped in a clearing and, by this time, the moon decided to grace us with it's presence. Using the light to our advantage, we both took to our knees and fended for Madoka.
"Jeez, are you okay?" Zuri questioned, helping the girl to a seated position as she cradled one of her legs. I watched on, not finding an opening to jump in.
"Mm, I think it'll be fine," Madoka nodded, her short, boyish-cut hair fluttering in the light breeze. I took the time to notice how her dark eyes picked up in the moonlight, glowing a strange, deep blue. "It's just a scratch."
Zuri sighed, resting down in a kneel as she tended to Madoka's wound. "We'll have to be careful from now on - at this rate, we'll never get to the Night Class without being found out by one of those pesky prefects!"
No sooner had the words left her mouth did the branches above us shudder from a large weight, a body dropping from it's leaves in the next moment. Kurosu Yuuki stood tall (about three or four inches under my head had I been standing, but intimidating all the same) glaring with an unimaginable authority given her stature and general temperament. I thought of the irony of her arrival in the back of my mind, the main emotion straying along with accomplishment. I felt a slight smirk of approval slithering onto my lips.
We had been caught - why was I so proud of it?
"You guys, what are your names and classes? Wandering around the school at night is strictly prohibited!"
Yuuki took our stunned silence as a chance to adjust her prefect's arm wrap, brandishing it like some kind of police officers' badge. Her expression gradually lost some of the aggression, tone becoming something more of insistent worry.
"It's dangerous out here. Please return to your dorms, quickly."
It was almost funny how her words aligned with her father's warning close to perfectly. It was quite the suggestive match.
"We just came to take some pictures of the Night Class!" Zuri defended, not one to give up so easily. All the same, she refrained from letting any accusation slip into her voice and remained poised and respectful.
Madoka shifted, wobbling up to her feet with a whine. "Isn't it fine just to take a few? Ow!"
"Are you okay?" Zuri asked helplessly, watching Madoka's discomfort from the ground. "Can you walk?"
"You're hurt?!" Yuuki surged forward unexpectedly, rendering each of us into a state of confusion. "Blood is really bad..."
I narrowed my brow, finding her abrupt worry baffling. Why would she instantly care so much once she found out one of us was hurt? Was it such a big deal? What was that she said about blood?
"Return to your dorms, quickly!!"
I stepped back out of reach, choking as the freshman bound towards and gripped Zuri and Madoka by the shoulders, shaking the dramatics of her command into them. What the hell was she doing? I hated to admit it, but this was actually getting a little overwhelming. She was beginning to scare me with her show of panic...
"Nani?!"
"It doesn't matter!! Go quick - "
Yuuki broke off, her eyes snapping over her shoulder. The next events happened in a whirlwind of action, the prefect stepping away and suddenly bashing a long weapon into Kain's Akatsuki's awaiting hand.
"That was close. As to be expected of the Chairman's daughter."
A series of needles prickled along my limbs, breath hitching and chest tightening. Kain and Aidou? What the hell were they doing here? Shouldn't they be in class? When did they arrive, anyway? How could they have snuck up on us?
Why was I so afraid of them...?
"Kain Akatsuki-senpai and Aidou Hanabusa-senpai from the Night Class?!" Madoka shrieked, not in her typical fangirl cry. I was somehow comforted with the fact that I wasn't the only one to figure out that something was oddly wrong here. The notion, however, was gone with the wind as she and Zuri faced each other with a giggle.
"Oh, no way!!!"
I grit my teeth, shaming the two. Couldn't they sense that things weren't okay? No, I guess not. This was what they had wanted - a visit with these very boys standing before us. They wouldn't find anything suspicious about it at all. They didn't know (or suspect) anything that I did. They weren't there with the Chairman, listening to his foreboding admonishes...
They didn't know anything about the trouble going on here. Well, neither did I, distinctly. But I was more well informed then the gullible likes of them, in the very least.
"Ah..."
Adding to the glaringly bad situation, Kain made a strange move of lifted his injured wrist to his mouth as his more extroverted cousin took dominated the conversation.
"We smelled some blood, so we just came to see what happened."
His voice was as charmingly nonchalant as ever, annunciation flawless. Had I not been so distraught and on edge, I would have overlooked the meaning of his speech and focused only on his mouth moving (as I suspected of Madoka and Zuri.) But that wasn't the case. Had he just said... they smelled... blood?
"You're so cruel, Yuuki."
The painfully attractive blond boy lifted his head, the eyes that had once shimmered a brilliant blue now literally glowing scarlet.
"We... really just wanted to come take a look..."
Never mind. No, I didn't want to find out the Night Class's secret. I wanted to be back in my dorm, asleep, safe, and warm under the covers. Not here. Why did I come? Stupid! Baka! Why hadn't I listened to that nursery rhyme saying 'curiosity killed the cat?' I was an idiot! Moron! Run away! Go back to bed! Leave!
Aidou closed his demonic orbs, lifting his head to caress the win. "Ah, it smells so good.."
Madoka's shrill holler was like a knife jabbing into my spine. "Oh no, what should we do?! He said we smelled nice!!"
Brainless twit! What the hell was she saying?! Didn't she listen to him at all?! Why were they such failures to all of woman kind?! They can't just ignore this animosity because he was pretty! They needed to use they're head and instincts!! Everything here was trouble! They are bad!
Yuuki adjusted her weapon, hands gripping the metal pole tightly. I shuddered, realizing only then how close the two of us were. I hurriedly scurried three steps to the side, feeling the lack of protection increase by a ten-fold in that mere meter. I would have never thought the small freshman girl could have given me a sheltered feeling, but it seemed at the time that she was the only one of us to fully understand and be willing (and able, with that electrifying rod) to handle this ordeal, and that was good enough for me. She was prepared and unpertubed. I could accept the fact that I was useless, terrified, and in need of saving - just as long as that savior did they're job and kept me alive and well. I couldn't stand up for myself, I couldn't flee the scene - the sense in the Chairman's resounding premonition was rabidly piecing together right before my very eyes. There was so much going on here that I didn't understand. It was in my best interest to be far, far away...
"Aidou-senpai," Yuuki growled. "If you lay one finger on them I'll - "
Hanabusa ignored her histrionics. His advance only further inerted my body. Yuuki faltered as his hands came to a rest on her baton, one encasing her own on top of the pole.
"Did you fall?"
I felt besieged, unable to move or think at all. They two boys were surrounding me on all sides in each plane, both physically and mentally. I couldn't risk a retreat - they would go after and find me. Yuuki, little Yuuki, wouldn't be there to save me. I could only stand rooted and aghast as they took control over whatever petty reason I had left with their imminent motives and elusive words. I was a damsel in distress. Inundate.
"That good smell I was talking about..." All of the females could only gape in their own form of horror as he grasped Yuuki's hand and lifted it into the open air. "...is your own blood, Yuuki-chan."
Blood? Why were they so obsessed with talking about blood? Blood was gross. People can't smell blood. People don't like blood.
Were these people even people?
Yuuki winced, expression firm. "S-senpai!"
She tried to force her hand out of his, the attempt foiled as he coerced his fingers around he wrist, bringing the injured skin directly into his face. "You're really... tempting me..."
Her blood was tempting him? He thought her blood smelled delicious? He was so aroused that his irises lit up a burning red?
"Really..."
And then... he bit her. With a fang. There were two of them, but he only grazed her palm with one. And then there was more blood, trickling down her -Yuuki's- arm.
"A fang?!"
"A vampire?!"
Vampire? Vampire. I hadn't thought of that. They were vampires? Are vampires? Aidou and Kain. They liked blood? They thought blood smelled delicious? They could smell it from their class room and be eager enough to ditch school and sniff it out? Like animals on the hunt. They wanted to eat us. Aidou wanted to eat Yuuki.
Yuuki's staff dropped to the ground with a malignant clatter. "Senpai, stop it!! A-Aidou-senpai!!"
I wanted to help. She needed help. She had been trying to help me. She was struggling and hysterical. She was getting eaten alive. By Aidou. A Night Class student. A vampire. I wanted to help...
But I couldn't. I was too confused. Too afraid. They were vampires. They shouldn't exist. They would kill me. All of them - the entire Night Class.
Even Takuma...
"I still want more..." Hanabusa sighed, detaching his elongated tooth from Yuuki's skin. Wanted more? He wanted more blood. Because he was a vampire. He wanted more blood. More human blood.
He took advantage of Yuuki's proximity, pulling her into his chest as he tugged at her blouse collar. "May I drink from your neck?"
Yes, of course. Because he was a vampire. When they killed people -drained them dry of every ounce of blood- they took it from their neck. Just like all of the stories said. All of the fictional stories.
"N-n-n-no!! You c-can't!! I won't let you!"
He was going to kill her. Eat her. Drink all of her blood. And then what? Would I just stand here and wait to see if he wanted anymore? Be the desert dish? Watch as he ate Yuuki and pray that I wasn't next?
Click
I recoiled instantly, sputtering on a scream. A chain flashed ominously between Aidou and Yuuki, the two instantly spread apart by the time the metal links slashed through the space they had just been. The chain came from a young man holding a handgun, the barrel pointed towards the offending vampire.
Vampire. Was this man a vampire, too? He had silvery hair, like the moon. Cold, amethist eyes. He was handsome. He looked hostile. I could believe it.
"Drinking blood within school grounds is strictly prohibited. Getting drunk at the scent of blood and showing your true self, vampire..."
There they go, talking about blood again! Was that all these vampires cared about? Blood, lust, feeding?
"Zero, don't!"
Zero. I knew that name. Zero. He was the other prefect, wasn't he? The one who had ditched Yuuki the other night at patrolling duties. Yeah, that was it. This boy was Zero, the other prefect. The bigger, stronger, meaner looking of the two. He wasn't a vampire - he was wearing a Day Class uniform and holding a gun towards the vampire! I was saved. We were saved.
Aidou didn't seem fazed. "But it was just a taste," he smirked, tongue flicking across his bottom lip teasingly. With my new-found hero standing guard, the earth suddenly came back into sharper focus. I could think clearer, mind calmer. I wasn't fooled by Hanabusa's lie and wasn't shuddering at his sly, falsely innocent tone. Zero -this freshman boy I had never met before in my life- would take care of it. He would protect me, I was sure.
And he did. He pulled the trigger.
I flinched, cowering back even farther and not holding back a shout of terror. I didn't like vampires, sure - that much was obvious. But they looked just like humans. I didn't want to see one get shot right before my eyes! Was it murder? Could killing the supposed 'undead' be murder? Did they count as a life? Were they registered in the government as an authentic being?
"Idiot! Why'd you shoot! Th..that was SCARY!!"
I almost laughed from the sheer lack of humor; it wasn't amusing at all, but hilariously so. Aidou straightened from his ducked position, face wide and traumatized. Kain looked up into a nearby tree, a shining star marking what I could only guess was the remains of an extreme vampire-busting bullet.
"Would you lower your Bloody Rose, please? It's very dangerous to us."
That voice was new. Suave, nonchalant, and coming from a white-suited man. A Night Class student.
A vampire.
Kaname walked into the vicinity, weaving between Aidou and Kain and looking towards the prefects monotonously. He halted with a hand to Aidou's shoulder, his standing clear as he faced Zero and Yuuki. Black versus white. Night versus day. Vampire versus human.
Us versus them.
"I'll take care of these fools," the President announced lightly, no vocal hint of malice in his tone. "The Chairman will be waiting on a report from this."
Aidou didn't seem all too relieved at the airy handling of his adviser. "Dorm-head Kuran..."
Kaname disregarded him, eyes narrowing towards the other (human) male challengingly. "Is that okay, Kiryuu-kun?"
What? What did I miss? Why was he asking Zero? Were they rivals? That attitude made it clear enough. Over what?
Zero barely reacted, sliding his gun back into his pocket casually. A seventeen-year-old boy casual putting a gun into his pocket after nearly slaying a hungry vampire. "Take them with you, Kuran-senpai."
There was only a fraction of a moment that passed before Kaname moved his attention elsewhere. "Kain."
The boy in question jolted. Was he really a boy? Was 'man' more suitable? If any of the other stories were true, vampires could live forever. He could be hundred of years old, trapped in his mid-teen body.
"Why didn't you stop Aidou? You're responsible for this, too."
I got the impression that Kaname was far more than a mere Dorm-head among the coven of... vampires. The domination in his command and the effect it pulled from his fellows was too great for such a simple title.
"Well then..."
I wondered why he didn't even find the need to have Kain answer his inquiry. I almost wanted to hear it. Why hadn't he stopped his brethren from eating a few girls and just looked on from the background? Was he simply hoping to devour scraps and refrain from being labeled as the killer?
"As for those two girls, we'll erase their memories of tonight and take them to the Chairman."
Two girls? Why weren't Zuri and Madoka speaking up for themselves? I snapped my head towards them, having to search for an eternal second before I looked down to find them out cold on the forest floor. I couldn't decide whether it was a good or bad thing that they hadn't witnessed every one of the latest happenings. How long had they been out, exactly? They were the ones who had led me to figure out the identity of the Night Class - they still weren't safe with that knowledge. It must have been why Kaname had ordered their recollection of the night to be modified.
Kaname...
Just as quickly as they had left him, my eyes sallied back to Kaname's stoic form. It sent a tremor of anxiety through my overworked heart when I caught his gaze.
Damn, this was real. He was a vampire. I was staring down a vampire. Could he hear my lungs nearly bursting? Was the blood surging through my veins at rapid speeds some sort of lullaby to him? I needed to vomit - the stress was too much. I could feel my intestines churning. My breathing was loud and unsteady, every inch of skin twitching and trembling - was that a sign of an easy catch; weak prey? Was he hungry, too?
"Oh, senpai!"
I coughed. Well, more of a reversed cough; a violent gasp. I blinked, wrenching my eyes away from Kaname's hypnotizing trap and clumsily catching Yuuki's awe. She and he fellow guardian watched me with angst, no doubt only just noticing that I wasn't in the same state as my class mates. I was very much conscious, a witness to everything that had just happened between us and these... animals.
Yuuki bit her lip, turning nervously to the vampire's leader. "Kaname-senpai, what about her? She's still awake after all of this! What should we do?"
Why were they discussing me like I wasn't even here at all? I may be incapable of movement or speech, but they shouldn't just ignore my existence like this! My humanity. It was a disgrace. Asking about me to that monster? Leaving my fate in his hands? What made him so worthy of the choice? What was his standing that justified the rivaling authority of the Chairman himself?
Kaname's eyes didn't relent, drilling a hole into my skull even as I refused to meet his stare. My fists clenched, nerve returning after most of the drama had passed. Somehow, I knew that the death factor was over now - I had escaped any peril. Still, there was no room to be brash. They were uncontrollable and untrustworthy. Even if I had no power against them to stop any attack, I couldn't just look at all of this blindly. Aidou had almost killed someone. Had it not been for Zero, and later Kaname, how much blood would have been spilled? Would it have attracted even more of them - the vampires? Would I have escaped with all of my bodily fluids intact?
"Take her to the Chairman. He can decide what to do with her," came Kaname's decision. I quivered, peering at him from the corners of my eyes. That was it? He was sparing me and passing me on the the Headmaster? Was I not good enough to be taken care of by him, personally? Just a default survivor?
His gaze took to the trees, intent clear as he called, "Seiren."
The girl was there in a flash, hovering over Zuri and Madoka as a ball of purple energy formed in her hand. Why wasn't I offering some type of protest? Why was I alright with they fact that they were performing some kind of vampire voodoo on my friends? Did I honestly believe that they wouldn't be hurt? Why didn't I fret over the fact that I was leaving my two classmates in their grasp?
All thoughts of clueless human girls forgotten, Kaname once again found interest in Yuuki. "I'm sorry if this brought up any... bad memories." As always, his eyes seemed to soften as they settled on the girl. Rather than swoon and think of Takuma, I found the trait almost unnerving.
Takuma... I hadn't put much thought into it. Takuma was a Night Class student. Takuma was a vampire. If I was in love with Takuma, I was in love with a vampire. An animal. A monster...
"No, it's fine!" Yuuki assured. "He hardly did anything."
Would my feelings for Takuma change? I would definitely have to do some serious thinking, weight the pros and cons. At the moment, the pro list was on the empty scale. He could eat me like Aidou had attempted to do with Yuuki. He could be unable to hold himself back and drink me dry. Would I take the risk and accept him for he he was? Would it make any difference at all? More importantly...
...Did he even know my name? Would he realize the girl that sustained his life was in love with him at all? Would I be just another nameless meal for him?
"We're going."
"Chotto, Zero! What is it?!"
A vice-like grip caught my wrist, tugging me behind the translucent hair of Zero. Yuuki stalked at my side, her hand caught up in the boy's other set of fingers. I teetered along with them, ignorant to whatever conversation they held, in the mindset of a zombie. I was about as aware and helpful as a slug.
I was going to face the Chairman about the school's little vampire problem. I had uncovered the big secret - it was all out in the open now. So, why wasn't I happy? Why did I feel like I was about to descend down the scale of life and never overcome this to go back to my same way of living?
The Enrai Eden I had always known was over. I was about to face a crossroad that I could never turn away from.
(A/N) For reference, this was previously posted under a different name as a Takuma/OC/Zero story... for about two days before feedback caused me to rethink it and tweek a few things to make it into what it is now :] Takuma all the way! But don't fret, Zero fans - I'll be starting a new story for him soon enough ;D
I'm sorry for being annoying and throwing these questions out all at once (it's a major pet peeve of mine when people ask silly questions they could just look up themselves, but I honestly couldn't figure this out, I swear!) but it would be great if someone could explain more about the vampire levels to me. I'm not a total loser, I know the basics, but what happens if a noble were to bite a human? Do they turn to a level E or is it the same effect as a level E biting a human? When Zero drinks Kaname's blood, does that only control his cravings or is he not a level E anymore? But if it had been Shizuka's blood he got, what would have happened? Was Ichiru actually a vampire?
Again, I feel bad acting so clueless and asking all this stuff, but this will be the last time, I promise you! I don't have the time or patience, sadly, to get caught up reading/watching the entire series at the moment, but I'd like to figure all of this out now to plan the plot then wait and have facts clash :[ And just for the record, I made the names of those two girls up. I'm fairly certian they're never named and I won't use them too much after this, so I didn't see the harm :]
I hope my train of thought wasn't hard to follow. I hate doing these psychological chapters because I always think I'm just insane and no one else will be able to keep up with me .
The feedback from the last chapter was seriously amazing considering it was the debut, so I'd love it if you guys could continue that (even though this chapter was such a long wait and more of a Takuma-less filler.) Updates shouldn't take so long anymore, but the Drama Festival coming up will definitely take up a lot of my time. Sorry :[ Just hang in there with me, please!
