Chapter 3 – Inescapable night

I idly swung my sheathed katana as I lazily walked my designated patrol. Bored, I twisted and sliced at the empty air. I let myself smile and twisted another way; my body remembering an old dance my father had taught me. I pulled back, my muscles shifting, tightening and pushed, swish and –

''Gah!'' If it wasn't for years of my practise and for the sheath, I would've sliced the boy diagonally and in half and no amount of protection from the Chairman and Kuran Kaname can protect me from receiving a death penalty from this lad's family.

His eyes were screwed shut; his arms were crossed over his face as if it can protect him. Scattered around our feet are little colourful boxes of presents from today's event. I wondered briefly how the hell did he expect to survive a sword (sheathed or not) with only his hands as shield and if perhaps he had the power to harden his skin until it became hard as metal. According my father, the higher up the rank, the more powerful they are. This one is obviously influential enough to be in Cross Academy and important enough to become Vice-president.

And for the life of me, I couldn't recall his name nor do I want to try to.

My head tilted to the side as I appraised him. It was the first time that I had been this close to a vampire other than Kuran, after all. And this one was surprisingly hard to read as well, although in a different sense altogether.

He opened one eye cautiously then blinked. Sighing in relief, his lips curled up into an easy smile. Like that idiot, Aido, this one also encouraged the girls to get even wilder. If only all of them looked like they had sticks shoved up their asses like that bitch Ruka, my job would have been far, far easier.

''Whoo! You nearly got me!'' he exclaimed, laughing breathlessly. He was not even a tad frightened that it annoyed me a little and the more I stared at his smiling perfect face and those kind green eyes, the more I felt even more aggressive.

It wasn't him, really. But what he represents. Without a word, I side-step the guy and went on my way, pretending he wasn't there. Hopefully, the guy gets the message;

''Hey! You're name… It's Shizu, right?!''

Apparently not.

''Thank you for stopping before slicing me in half.''

''The sword—'' I paused, biting my tongue as I scowled at myself. I turned and stared at his face. His eyes were raised and he looked at me expectantly. This guy… ''The sword is sheathed. It wouldn't have.'' I carefully continued before taking wide brisk steps to get away from him.

But the boy was apparently ignorant of social cues. That, or he was so good at ignoring it.

''I've never really talked to you before!'' he jogged and matched my steps, quickly closing the distance I try so hard to put between us. ''I'm Ichijo, by the way, Takuma Ichijo, in case you don't know. You probably do—''

''I don't.'' I replied out through gritted teeth.

He took the cold retort in stride. ''Good! I'm glad we fixed it then! Nice to meet you! Oop.'' My eye twitched as the boy 'tripped' from a root.

Is this even a vampire? The only person I know who'd trip from such an obvious obstacle is my dad! And I know he's just pretending. It's really hard to believe his 'foolish-dad' act when we basically try to beat each other up (or rather him beating me up) every morning at six.

''Hey, by any chance, have you seen some of my classmates around? They've been missing our class, you see and—Eh? Why'd you stop?'' I lifted up a hand and to my enjoyment and relief, the boy actually responded. Until of course, he opened his big mouth in the next second that I was forced to cover it with my left hand. My arm tensed as soon as I recognised the danger I just attracted. But then he only blinked owlishly at me; his body pliant under my hold.

''…You're just human. And yet, you're attitude to Lord Kaname…''

I felt my face harden as my ears caught that girl's voice.

''Hm-mm—''

I gave the boy a freezing look, successfully stopping him before I pushed him against a nearby tree. I focused on the scene not too far from us while making sure the vampire doesn't stand a chance in case he stupidly tries to attack.

A careful hand touched the top of my hand and unfastened some of my fingers away from his face but didn't pull away. ''Why aren't we stopping them?'' he whispered slowly. Too innocent to be true. Too innocent for me to believe.

I pulled my hand away completely from his grasp and wiped it on my skirt. I tied my Katana to my waist before crouching on the floor, watching how Zero threw this ginger to the floor.

''How uncool.''

''That is what I call being cocky.'' Aido covered the floor Zero was standing on with ice.

''…Oh my, this is not looking good. I told them not to…'' My unwanted companion commented once again. ''We should—''

I took a slow breathe in as I unbuttoned my school blazer and reached inside the breast pocket. Calm. Cool. Collected. Twisting the loader open, I scoured my pocket for five bullets, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 – one for each vampire on the clearing. I closed the loader shut, removed the safety and then tested the distance. My heart rate rising in anticipation of the hunt.

If I was quick enough I could kill most of them from my spot so easily, depending on how quick they'd react. Ruka would be an easy target, Aido as well. One bullet straight to that bitch's forehead and that loud boy's temple.

If I was quick enough, I could take out the guy with the fire too. I know the ginger likes Ruka, judging by his body language. He would definitely freeze when he sees his lady love die. I could shoot him then. As soon as he turns around to my direction, one bullet straight to his heart. I could definitely imagine it.

The girl wearing pigtails and the guy with mahogany hair, on the other hand, will survive. They would have managed to remove themselves from the scene and take cover before I could shoot at them. Nevertheless…

''Are you tempted?'' I stilled as the guy beside me spoke. I nearly forgot him. I glanced at him over my shoulder and stared at his angelic face; my body not faltering from its position. My dad has trained me so many times on the 'art of staying still' to do so.

And I can't believe I actually used that adjective to describe another person other than myself.

''No.'' I lied but didn't move from my position. I tilted my head to side, thinking, analysing, imagining. ''Maybe I'll wound them a little,'' I added as an afterthought as I contemplated which limbs to shoot at. Such a wide selection… ''If they cross the line, that is.''

The boy slumped back against the tree, watching me for a while until he turned to his left and observed the scene as well. ''You're pretty scary, prefect-san.'' He said genially, although less so than he was before. He made me curious, to be honest. But that, I knew, was dangerous so I killed the seed before it can take root. He could play mysterious as he likes, I don't really care.

I hummed nonchalantly but the truth was, I was gauging his movements. Any twitch from him and I'll elbow him hard to the nose before twisting my wrist to put a bullet in his pretty head. I'll just run away afterwards, shave my hair and then make sure I disappear from the face of the earth. But then I faltered as my sister's form came to view along with a battle cry that made me flinch a little. My sister always had such a high-pitched voice. ''Hoooold itt!''

She landed gracefully (which was a slight surprise) on the ice, blocking Zero who had his Bloody Rose cocked and ready. Her sweet voice carried to where I was. ''Fighting is forbidden! That's one of the rules of this school!'' she announced and I shook my head once before sighing. Did she think that would stop people from fighting if they truly wants to? At least, she had Artemis ready…

''If you insist, then as a prefect, I must take you on!''

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at my sister. Oh, she's so determined. It's so cute but so naïve…Five noble vampires against her and Zero? I don't think so. The best way to eliminate them is not to meet them in battle.

There was a tight silence that made me tense up once again, annoyed at myself for getting distracted even for five seconds. I clenched my jaw and waited for one single twitch from the vampires. One single twitch, one bullet. If they attacked whilst I wasn't looking…

Someone spoke low and lazily. It was the ginger. It sounded like a surrender.

''She ruined it. Let's go back to class.'' My hold tightened around my gun, my finger itching to pull the trigger.

I've always hated this bitch. I hate her. There was a wordless surrender and the group started to disperse, following Ruka's lead. Aido huffed and crossed his arms across his chest. He opened his big mouth, ''Hmph! The fun's gone so quickly.''

I shifted and aimed the pistol to his forehead. I'll show you fun, you fucker.

The group started to come closer by the second.

Retreat, the rational part of me advised. Not one to deny my instincts, I followed.

With an ease of someone who has been handling guns since she was 10, I forced myself to unload the bullets before replacing them back to my pocket – as instructed by my father. Aware of the boy who has been oddly quiet for the past few minutes, I wordlessly stood up and briskly walked away, half-praying the vampire would not stop me.

One of these days, I might really just kill or severely injure one of them from all these drama they cause me.

I growled. ''Why do I even bother.'' I clutched at the piece of cloth on my chest, trying to calm the burn inside of me. I'd been getting really angry so easily nowadays that I have a feeling there was something wrong with me. I swallowed to wet my parched throat. The night wind blew my way and I paused to listen to the crickets chirp all around me. I reached up and touched my forehead, finally noticing that I was sweating.

Sighing, I pulled my hair free of my hair tie then massaged my aching scalp. I gasped as I felt the world whirl and then dragged myself towards the nearest tree, seeking support.

Something's wrong with me...

My eyes were half-closed when I reached home. My coast was clear and the vampires are now well inside their classrooms. I fumbled with the keys and let myself in. For some reason, Yuki and Zero's shoes were inside, telling me they were here. It's been so long since they both came here to rest. I groaned silently, annoyed at their intrusion. This meant that my 'older' sister would be trying to get me out of bed before 9am tomorrow and being assaulted by Zero's 'woe-is-me' attitude. It was good enough that I already have that attitude. To be fair though, he and I are totally different.

My woe is that I find myself always stuck in the middle of ridiculous situations like fangirls, unrequited loves, overly faithful servants and the like. Meanwhile, Zero's woe is that he found his family slaughtered by a vampire and now he finds that now he's surrounded with them. It was perfectly normal to hate them, really. And when we put our situations in a row like that, I realise I'm such a bitch.

Who am I to talk, really?

Oh, just another girl who has no memory of her real parents, whose first memory was being bitten by a goddamn vampire in a middle of nowhere, not to mention who might actually have anger management issues!

I snorted, chuckling silently at my own sense of humour. God, I'm actually kind of fucked up…

''Shizu? Is that you?''

Nope. Nope. Nope. I hid behind the door and held my breath as another door clacked open and my sister poked her head out. ''Hm…I thought I heard… Oh well, Zero! Here, let me dry your hair!'' The door shut once again, muffling my sister's voice.

I sighed. Better let the love birds make their nests while I… I silently made my way up the stairs. As I neared the second story of our house, the blue wall-papered walls became increasingly decorated with family pictures and certificates rather than impersonal pictures and paintings. I allowed myself to smile, despite the growing migraine because most of them were mine. Yuki has not really won any awards, nor does she have any clubs.

It was petty of me but I think I'm allowed to compare myself with my caring older sister from time to time too. People do it always do it, anyway, thinking I wasn't listening in.

'At least, Yuki is nice. That one's a real bitch.'

'A big-headed bitch.'

I hesitated at the top of the stairs, half-wanting to sleep beside my father and half-wanting to be alone. I muffled a groan when my head gave a sudden throb. I guess alone then…

Soon enough, I reached my door with a relieved sigh and pushed my way in. With eyes half-closed, I started stripping my uniform off until I was left in my underwear. I moaned as I crawled inside my duvet. I closed my eyes shut and tried to find a better position to sleep. When my headache didn't stop, I let myself fall from my bed and reached out desperately for pain relief from my bedside drawer. Realising I had no water, I groaned once again and forced myself to get up to get some from the bathroom.

'Shizu…' A woman sang whilst I was bent over at the sink, drinking from the tap. I paused, confused and slightly scared of what I knew I heard. I straightened and screamed immediately, my legs giving out and my bottom hitting the cold floor painfully. My breath came out as tiny little gasps. I looked away from the woman staring at me from the mirror. Her eye sockets empty and staring; blood trailing down her face as her lips moved as if talking to me.

I sobbed, crawling desperately out of the bathroom. I grabbed and hastily put an old shirt on, pausing briefly at the sight of my bloodied hands. I ungracefully scrambled towards the door, imagining a woman standing at the centre of my room, watching me go.

''Shizu?'' My dad sat up from his bed before he turned to turn on his night lamp. His eyes widened, seeing myself.

''T-there….d-dad…g-ghost…lady…'' I pointed at the door, trying to tell him that there was a ghost in my room.

He pushed himself out of bed and the next moment, he was kneeling in front of me on his floor. I felt his hand on my forehead while the other held me by the elbow. His hands felt strong, cold and soothing against my burning skin. ''My daughter, you have a fever!''

I let myself carried to the bed; my body felt incredibly heavy and lifeless. I felt him leave, ''Dad-dy…please, don't l-leave…Ghost. Lady. Blood…blood…blood…''

He wiped my sweating forehead with his hand and massaged my forehead with his thumb as if he knew my head was in pain. ''Shh…okay, okay. Dad is just going to call for help, okay?''

I nodded and smiled a little when he didn't pull his hand away. I felt him struggle for a bit before I heard the keys of his phone as he dialled. As I felt myself falling to sleep, I thought I heard my sister's voice, followed by that woman's. A wild shiver racked my body and I screamed in pain as an unnatural painful blast exploded inside my head.

I woke up sometime in the early hours of morning. Someone was talking to me; his voice calm and warm in my ears, soothing the anxiety before it can even erupt. It was familiar. I know that voice. Something wet and warm fell upon my lips. In instinct, I swallowed and licked my lips for more. Hot chocolate, the most expensive kind. I felt myself pulled to sit up and a strong body supported me from behind. Smooth like velvet, sweet and dark at the same time. Warm skin, a wonderful masculine scent, glowing crimson eyes, I opened my eyes and in my dream, Kaname was there.

Extra:

''Eh?! Ichijo? What are you doing there!?'' Aido exclaimed, looking down at the young vampire who they found sitting rather inelegantly on the floor.

All of a sudden, Shiki took a step forwards, earning a few odd looks. He sniffed the air. ''You smell good.'' At this, the others followed suit and gave questioning looks to their Vice-president.

''Yeah! Who were you with?! You didn't break any rules, did you?! Lord Kaname would get so angry at us!'' Aido voiced out. With this, Takuma Ichijo gave out a slightly shaky chuckle and stood up from the floor, brushing away some dust from his uniform. He smilingly reached out and held on to his friend's shoulder who only blinked, confused.

Takuma Ichijo breathed in and indeed, he could smell his own scent covered deliciously with that sweet, velvety aroma that made his throat feel dry. He sucked in his lips, tasting the odd girl. Then, he gave his friend's shoulder a small squeeze before patting it. Then, he turned to the rest of the group – Akatsuki, Ruki, Shiki and Rima. ''You could have all died, my friends.'' He said with an affable smile then he turned to Aido, ''You.'' he says to him and then to Ruka who merely raised an eyebrow at him, ''and you, especially.'' He added. She stiffened at the threat.

''HA?! What do you mean?''

He chuckled at nothing and announced that he forgot something in his room. Without answering the loud inquiries of his childhood friend, Aido, followed by Ruka's. He waved them goodbye and set out alone. He could feel their stare from his back but chose to ignore it. On his way towards the Moon dorm, he kept on tasting his lips until he none of her remained. He needed a drink, fast.

That was so tempting, it's scary.

AN: Okay, I hate it when I accidentally press something and now I have to re-write my AN. Anyway, thank you so much for my first 10 reviewers! I really apreacite your opinions! If you have suggestions or anything, I don't promise to follow them but I'd love to hear them! Vampire Knight is not very popular and good OC fanfictions are scarce! Oh, the woe! Anyway, I'm free of Uni for the next 2 months or so! Isn't this a great time to write?! Also, I'm so so sorry in advance for any grammar mistakes! English isn't actually my first language but I sure love it.

Story-wise, re-watching the anime to remind myself of the storyline is painful. I don't know why but I get irritated seeing Yuki's doe-eyed face. Okay, I get it that she's innocent, caring and loving but seriously, her eyes are more than unnatural. I think she might have the biggest eyes in the show! hahaha! I don't want this story to bash her or anything. I don't like stories like that. I personally respect her character. I just prefer the flawed ones better. I mean, come on! Nothing is ever boring than perfection, after all.

On the other hand, what do you think of Shizu so far? I actually think she's a little bit of an arrogant bitch, a control freak and yes, a loner. But she's kinda cute too, right? Don't worry, she's not a Mary Sue. Oh no...I hate Mary Sues. She's just really allergic to situations where the feels are really strong. LOL. I feel sorry for her already. Tell me what you think, guys! Thanks so much for taking the time to review, I hope that you continue and tell me what you think regarding this chapter?

With love and dreams,

your author