Hi readers! Arashikishu000 here, at your service. Thank you for tuning in for the fourth chapter of Thist. And thank you so much for your reviews…they honestly transform my day from bearable to fantastic. Ha ha. Of course, constructive critism is always welcome as well. But other than that, let's get on to the fourth chapter of Thrist!
Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. Do I have to do one of these for every chapter?
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4: Admirable
To say the Cross Academy library was big would be an understatement of its size. As one of the school's largest rooms, the library's width out-measures a football field and its length is easily two fields long. The two-story library had an extraordinarily high ceiling that caves into itself, resembling a dome. The first floor, which is primarily used for studying, has twin rows of long desks situated on either sides of the library, with a long walkway in the middle of the room. The walls adjacent to the desks were complimented with tall glass windows engraved with cross-shaped panels, spilling floods of natural daylight into the room. Located in the back of the library are two spiraling stairways that lead to higher elevations. The second floor contains countless stashes novels, encyclopedias, research material, and even romance manga. You name it, they have it.
The library was comfortable, quiet, and filled with bright young minds seeking to stuff themselves with knowledge. It was the perfect place to study in…not somewhere one would want to go on a Saturday morning.
"Yukari," Mari said as Yukari skimmed the book shelves. "Today is Saturday. One of the only day-offs we get in the week, and you're going to spend it at the library?"
"Well, it's only ten o'clock, right?" Yukari said as she added a book to the growing pile in her arms. "I'm not planning to spend the entire day here. Just the morning."
"Yeah. And we're the only people in this place." Mari said, pointing out their silent and empty surroundings. "What's this?" Mari enquired the latest book in Yukari's stash. "The History of Vampire Mythology?"
"Yeah, I thought I could do a little research on vampires. It's pretty interesting once you check it out."
"Um, Kari, if you're really going to research on it, why don't you try the non-fiction category?"
"I did!" Yukari said as she walked down the stairs to the first floor. "But I can't find anything on vampires." 'Of course. The school want to keep vampires—real vampires—a secret from us.'
"You don't say," Mari lolled, rolling her eyes. "Trust me, if a book exists, this library's going to have it. It's probably hidden somewhere in the back or something. Here, I'll find it for you."
"Oh, you don't have to—Mari!" Yukari called out a second too late, for Mari was already running to the back corner of the library.
It's been three days since the incident with Ichijo occurred, and Yukari still hasn't been called to the office yet, which means that Ichijo, so far, has kept his word. But Misaki and Kaoru weren't as lucky as her. Yukari heard, after Misaki and Kaoru dragged Mari back to their dorms that night, that Mari unleashed her fury on them; yelling things about 'how could they abandon Yukari like that' and 'what if Yukari got suspended for us'. Yukari closed her eyes as she remembered that night.
"Kari, there you are!" Mari exclaimed when she saw Yukari in the doorway. "I tried to go back to get you, but I was stopped by Misaki and Kaoru—those idiots! Are you alright? What happened?"
Yukari was momentarily speechless. "You're still awake? It's like one in the morning!"
"Well, yeah, I was waiting for you, idiot! I swear, if you came back five minutes later, I would've called the dormitory manager. Then you would've been expelled for sure."
Yes, Mari could be really scary sometimes, but when it came down to it, she was a great friend.
Yukari smiled as she sat down and cracked a book open.
"Vampires are blood-sucking creatures disguised in human forms," She began to read. "They possess abnormally beautiful appearances, superior intellect, and elongated life spans. All these characteristics contribute to their success in luring in and feeding on human beings and these traits are maintained by the very blood they consume…" Yukari paused, a frown on her face. 'If the night class students are vampires, then where do they get their blood from?'
Yukari gasped. 'Could it be…that the Headmaster is also a vampire and he enrolled us to be his personal vampire food?' Dark clouds began to form over her head as a shadow of doom fell over her eyes. Yukari's mind kicked into overdrive, filling with imaginative conspiracies that involved the Headmaster and the night class students and the poor day class students as a giant blood bank. Yukari could hear the ominous cracks of thunder roar as her head began to be filled with horrific theories—
"Yukari, don't go imagining crazy theories and jumping to unrealistic conclusions again."
Yukari looked up to see Mari, this time with an arm's length's of hardcover books. "You can read minds, Mari?" she asked in astonishment.
"No. I just can tell by your expression that you're thinking something absurd again." Mari said as she sat down next to Yukari and flipped open one of her books.
"Hey Kari, look at this," Mari said. Yukari looked over and saw a picture of an intricate crest shaped tattoo with loads of text below it. The pages looked old and worn, and the letters were printed in outdated fonts. "The Transformation Tattoo," Mari began reading. "is an ancient method used by vampire hunters to tame and capture rampant vampires. The tattoo is also often used on level D vampires to slow their disintegration to level E vampires. This requires a specific charm that works in pair with the tattoo; in this case, the tattoo, which is printed on an exposed area of the subject's skin, is pressed onto the charm, resulting in the subject's paralysis…"
Yukari's mouth formed an 'O' as she marveled at the foreign information. "Mari, where'd you get this book? It's gold!"
"In a small closet-space in the back of the storage room." Mari said, her eyes still focused wide on the page. "I don't know for sure, but I think I saw this tattoo somewhere before…"
"Wait, the storage room?" Yukari asked in disbelief. "Isn't that the room locked with over ten locks? The forbidden room that no one is supposed to enter? I don't even think the staff members are allowed in there."
Mari peered at Yukari with devious eyes. "It's not locked when you have the key." She said, pulling three disfigured hairpins out from her pocket. "And that's not all. I have a whole lock-breaking kit in my bag."
"Mari, you officially rock!" Yukari exclaimed, ignoring the fact that Mari had an illegal set of lock-breaking kit in her backpack, and began to sort through the pile of books.
xxxxx
"I can't find my student ID card." Yukari said, a dismayed expression crossing her face as she palmed her empty pockets.
It was already six o clock p.m., and the library was closing down soon. Mari had already left, saying she had to attend some Ichijo fan-club meeting. Yukari now stood in front of the checkout counter with a backpack filled with smuggled storage-room books and another arms full of library books.
"I'm sorry, but you can't borrow books without your student identification card," the librarian said. "I can check you out on your student number, but you can only have one book."
Yukari sighed. Where was her student ID card? It was still in her pocket just yesterday morning…
'Did I misplace it? No, I never lose important things like this. Drop it somewhere? No, that's impossible. My pocket was zipped up, so it couldn't have fallen out, even when I was being carried by Ichijo…wait a minute.' Yukari was struck by a sudden realization. 'Did he…? No, that's impossible…' But Yukari knew it was definitely not impossible. She wasn't sure if vampires had any other supernatural abilities (they probably did), but she knew that they were lightning fast. If Ichijo could run from the night dorms to the day dorms in less than thirty seconds with a hundred-fifteen pound load in his arms, then he could definitely take Yukari's ID card in a split second. 'But why would he…?' The concept that Ichijo took Yukari's card was bizarre, but Yukari couldn't think of any other place her card was. 'What could've even motivated him to do it? '
"Man!" Yukari exclaimed in frustration. 'I need to get my ID back, or else I wouldn't be able to leave school campuses for the rest of my high school career.'
Finally, Yukari exited the library with a worried heart. Her footsteps echoed down the unusually empty hallway, probably because everyone were either out in the town shopping, or attending fan club meetings. She reached the grassy field that led to the dormitories. Yukari inhaled the cold, moist evening air and walked across the slightly soggy field, not bothering to use the cement walkway.
"Hmm…" Yukari said as she inhaled a lungful of fresh air. Her legs began to move faster, and in minutes Yukari was running across the field, losing herself in the cool wind against across her cheeks, her body, of almost flying—when she smashed into another body.
"Oof!"
"Oh, sorry!" a feminine voice called out. Yukari had crashed into the school prefect, Yuki Cross.
"Oh no, it was my fault. I was the one who ran into you," Yukari said as she scanned the ground in panic, looking for the book she dropped. Unfortunately, Yuki grasped it the minute Yukari spotted it.
"Controversies of Vampires in History…vampire?" Yuki asked as she handed the book to Yukari, her eyes wide with surprise and…alarm?
"Um, I got that from the library. Vampires are pretty interesting. Too bad they're not real, though!" Yukari laughed nervously, her mind flashing to the night when she saw Yuki get bitten. 'She knows about the night class,' she concluded. 'Stay calm. Don't let her suspect you.'
"Of course they're not!" Yuki said, even more flustered now. "Well, I should go now. It was nice meeting you, um…"
"It's Yukari. Yukari Shiina." Yukari said.
"Yukari-san." Yuki concluded and walked away.
Yukari looked at Yuki's retreating figure. Suddenly, the hem of Yuki's jacket flew up under the wind and revealed a metallic, rectangular object tucked into the belt of Yuki's skirt. Yukari's mind instantly flashed back to that night, when she saw Zero aim the exact same object towards the night class student's head.
'It's a gun,' Yukari thought as she gulped. So the prefects are more than peacemakers between the day class and night class. 'They're our guardians. They're here to protect our lives.'
Protect us from the night class.
An image of Ichijo's smiling face flashed across Yukari's mind. She rapidly shook her head and ran towards the opposite direction of Yuki's gun.
xxxxx
Yukari squinted as she tried to adjust to the darkness of the night. Trying to make as less noise as possible, she scaled up the tree, jumping from trunk to trunk, swatting leaves out of her sight. Finally, Yukari broke free of the mass of greenery as she edged down a long trunk, allowing spill of moonlight to illuminate her sight. Yukari came face to face with the wall that surrounded the night class dormitories. She was so high up the ground that she was level with the top of the wall. With a careful, calculated jump, Yukari could leap from her current position onto the wall, and then somehow into the night class dormitories.
'Ok Yukari. You've already snuck all the way here, so there's no turning back now. This is for being able to take trips around town on Sundays. For being able to borrow manga from the library. This is for my student ID!'
After spending the entire afternoon weighing the pros and cons, Yukari decided that her ID must be with Ichijo. So now she's perched on a tree outside the night class dormitories, risking her life to get it back. After all, it was too expensive for Yukari to afford a replacement. She certainly could not just get a hold of Ichijo and ask him for it (apparently, day class students and night class students weren't supposed to interact with one another outside of holiday events), and she couldn't bear live the rest of her high school career in Cross Academy. So Yukari decided to sneak into the night class dorms and ask Ichijo for it herself. Surely, the other night class students would understand, right?
"Shoot!" Yukari hissed when she felt her hair snag on a twig. It was a good thing she wore shorts under her skit. Otherwise, she would've ended up with scratch marks on her thighs—very uncomfortable.
Now Yukari was at the edge of the tree trunk with just a slight distance between herself and the wall. Taking a deep breath, she leaped from the trunk and landed square on the top of the wall. 'Thank goodness for those high jump lessons in track,' Yukari thought. Yukari noticed a line of gigantic trees at the back end of the dorms. She could jump on the trees and then jump into one of the dorm windows from there. She just hoped the at least one of the windows were open.
After skitting cautiously across wall, Yukari finally reached the row of trees that extended to an open window. With courage, training and perhaps stupidity, Yukari leaped, scaled, and clambered from one tree to the next until she jumped to the final tree.
"Ah!" Yukari exclaimed as she slipped off a trunk. Her arms coiled in a death grip around the trunk just in time and, with her legs kicking frantically against the tree, Yukari pulled herself to safety. Breathing heavily, she peered at the dark window that she was going to jump into. The distance between Yukari and the window was by far the largest this night, but she could make it if she positioned her body just right.
"Alright, now or never," Yukari whispered in determination. After taking deep breaths and grinding her feet into the trunk in preparation, Yukari jumped.
She felt surreal as she traveled in the air, inaudible wind blowing across her extended form. Yukari could barely comprehend that she was flying at least three stories off the ground. It felt as if time had slowed down ten-folds. Then she realized that she was diving headfirst through the window, and twisted her body just before her head hit the floor.
Yukari landed on the floor with a thump!
"Ow!" she uttered before she quickly silenced herself. Yukari had landed right on her butt.
She got up slowly, rubbing her back. The room she landed in was at least twice the size of the room she and Mari shared. The walls were pure white, and strewn about the room was a queen sized bed, an old desk, a giant cluster of books, and…a long katana sword perched against the wall. It must be valuable, because it looked sleek and lithe and screamed danger.
'Huh, I must be in someone's room,' Yukari thought. 'So this is what a vampire's room looks like…' Somehow, the room seemed unsettling. Too empty, too formal to be a bedroom.
'There's no CDs here, no posters on the wall, no dirty clothes on the floor, no…wait, is that manga?' Yukari's eyes instantly lit up when she spotted her favorite kind of book.
'Woah!' she exclaimed in her mind, completely forgetting the fact that she was invading a vampire's bedroom. 'Is this what I think it is? The latest, limited edition? It is!' With quivering hands, Yukari picked up the book.
'I can't believe I have this in my hand. There's only eight copies of this printed in the world!'
"Is sneaking into people's private room your hobby, Yukari Shiina?" a masculine voice echoed from the doorway, prompting Yukari to whip around in surprise. Suddenly, Ichijo Takuma stood directly in front of her. The door was closed. Yukari didn't even hear it open.
"O-oh, is this your room?" She asked, dumbstruck. 'Just how long has he been standing there?'
"Yep," Ichijo nodded. His brows furrowed in confusion as he reached for Yukari's hair and pulled out…a leaf?
"…Did you climb the trees to get here?" He said, amazed. "And why are you wearing shorts under your skirt?"
Busted!
"Ok—wait, I can explain—"
"You saw my manga collection." Ichijo suddenly said sheepishly, his eyes flickering to the book in Yukari's hand.
'Is…is he embarrassed?' Of all the reactions Yukari was anticipating from Ichijo—insulted, at seeing her in his room, or angry, perhaps, at seeing Yukari touching his things— embarrassment was the last. Why is he embarrassed? Because he likes manga? Is that even something to be embarrassed about?
"I'm really sorry for crashing into your room and touching your books," Yukari apologized. "But, as a fellow manga fan, your collection is amazing. I can't believe you even have the limited edition!"
Suddenly, Ichijo's eyes lit up with excitement, not unlike an isolated child who just found a playmate. "You like manga?" He asked.
"Are you kidding? They're my favorite books to read."
"Then you'll love this volume. It has so many twists and turns—I can lend it to you, if you want."
"Seriously?" Yukari exclaimed, not believing her good luck. "Thanks so much. I'll keep it in perfect condition—I mean, no! I'm here to look for my student ID card." Yukari mentally slapped herself for getting so off track. "The last time I remember having it was yesterday, with you. It might have fallen out of my pocket or something. I was wondering if you know where it is…?"
"Ah." Ichijo said as he flicked his hand. And there it was, Yukari's ID card, situated between his index and middle finger. "Is this what you're looking for?"
"That's my card! I—"
Suddenly, Ichijo's palm was pressed against Yukari's lips. His head was turned towards the door as he focused all of his attention towards there, and his shoulders tensed with anticipation, like an animal sensing a foreign intruder.
Finally, Ichijo leaned close to Yukari and whispered. "Sorry, but we can't stay here anymore. There are people here, and there'll be trouble if you're found out." His expression relaxed a bit and he half smiled. "Do you still want this?"
Yukari nodded, her eyes glued to the card held in between his fingers.
"Then follow me."
Yukari gasped as she felt Ichijo's hand envelope hers as he led her to the door. His hand was surprisingly warm, unlike that time in front of the night dorm gates, and big—it enveloped her hand completely.
"Wha—"
Ichijo pressed his finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture. Then, he carefully opened the bedroom door. When Yukari stepped out into the halls, she felt like she had entered another world.
The first thing Yukari noticed was an enormous glass chandelier hanging directly in the middle of the ceiling. It emitted almost glistening shine on the walls and on the wide walkway, which was embedded with a series of gold handrails. Interestingly, the middle of the floor—beyond the railings—consisted of nothing but empty space. Yukari peered over the railing as she followed Ichijo and saw way down what must be the first floor, with comfortable-looking sofas and glass coffee tables. Yukari was definitely more than three stories up, because of how small the first floor looked, and she saw now that the spiraling staircase connected to several other floors as well. Yukari was speechless as she marveled at her surroundings. The night class dormitories looked ten better than the school!
Silently, Ichijo and Yukari traveled up several flights of stairs and into a dark hall before finally reaching a big, metallic door. A cool breeze wooshed over Yukari's body as Ichijo opened the door.
"Right. No one should be able to find us here." Ichijo said as he closed the door behind them. Yukari suddenly faced a broad, star-filled night. They were on the roof of the building. The closest Yukari has ever been to the sky.
"Ichi—Ichijo-senpai," Yukari said. "You dragged me all the way up to…the roof?"
"Well, I can't leave you in the dorms because there are people there, and I certainly can't let you climb out the window and risk breaking your neck." Ichijo answered, a spark of amusement shining in his light green eyes.
"Hey!" Yukari defended. "It's not that strange for people to climb trees, is it? Plenty of girls have tried to scale the gates to get to you, you know?" Yukari defended, an image of Mari flashing through her mind. "So…I'm stuck here until the night class students leave their dorms? What if they don't leave until morning?"
"Well, that's what happens when you sneak into such a dangerous place. But then again, I should expect that of you, right, Shiina?"
"What?" Yukari stumbled. 'He's doing it again. That thing where he talks like he knows me or something.'
"Can I have my ID—what are you doing?"
Yukari stood in momentary disbelief as Ichijo walked to the center of the roof and lay down flat on his back, closing his eyes. The image of Ichijo—of any night class student—lying on the ground was absurd, paradoxical, even. She certainly couldn't picture Ruka, or even Aido, doing this. But Ichijo never seemed one to follow vampire normalcy.
"Won't you join me?" Ichijo said, gazing at Yukari with faint emerald eyes. "Don't worry, its not dirty," he teased. "We have cleaning service every twenty four hours here. Or was it twenty hours?" He mused.
Suddenly, Yukari broke out into laughter from the shock at Ichijo's actions, and at his absurd humor. "Twenty hours?" She said in between laughs as she walked over to Ichijo. "The Day class dorms only get professional cleaning service once a month!"
"Wow," Yukari gasped when she lay down. Her vision was submerged in a never-ending river of blinking lights that illuminated the obsidian sky. The stars, in a vast expanse of Milky Way, glimmered in the night, animated to life.
"I come here almost every night, just to stare at the sky. It helps me relax." Ichijo said in a low, soothing tone, his voice blending with the breath-taking sight before Yukari.
Even though Yukari couldn't see his face, she knew Ichijo was smiling.
"It's beautiful," Yukari uttered in a breathy voice. She felt like she was in a cocoon of airy night and subtle lights—and Ichijo's voice, Ichijo's presence, consummated the cocoon into an entire other dimension, transported Yukari into another world that she felt herself sinking into—a numbing, peaceful, electrifying fantasy.
A long time passed before Yukari finally snapped out of her trance (Ichijo was right—it was very relaxing.) and became fully aware of Ichijo's existence beside her. Yukari turned her head towards him. His eyes were still closed, and his body looked relaxed—like he looked like he was in a deep, peaceful sleep. She stared at him, fascinated. At Ichijo's character, his vampirism, his everything. The whole notion that vampires existed, that vampires were real, and so close to her, never really hit Yukari fully. Until now, when she turned and looked, really looked at Ichijo up-close. All of his features—his beautiful long lashes, his perfect, almost statue-esque symmetrical features, his blemish-less fair skin, his always refined posture—all of Ichijo's features scream that he was different from Yukari. Incomparable. Alien. Yet, Yukari never felt that way when they were together—she was always so relaxed around him, as if he wasn't a vampire, but a just a normal (albiet extremely beautiful) boy.
'But he's not a normal boy. He is a vampire.' Yukari thought as she observed him.
Suddenly, Yukari's eyes met Ichijo's open ones, his face frozen in an expression that she could not define. She didn't even notice him staring at her as she unceremoniously drifted off into her own thoughts.
"What are you thinking?" Ichijo asked in a dream-like, convoluted voice. Yukari could hear the wind breeze against her ears.
"Oh, nothing." 'That you're a complete world apart from me because you're a vampire.'
"Really?" Ichijo replied in a voice that suggested he didn't believe her.
"Well…I do have some questions."
"Questions?" Ichijo's inscrutable expression broke apart and was replaced by his normal, upbeat expression. "About what? Ask me anything you want."
"Really? Ok, you asked for it." Yukari said. "First of all, where do you guys get your food? I mean, you live in a school. You don't…uh…you know…"
"What a daring question!" Ichijo laughed. "We don't eat fellow students, if that's what you mean. But, if you must know… our main source of food is town children who break their curfews and wander the streets at night."
"What?" Yukari sprang up in horror. "Are you serious?"
"S-sorry, bad joke." He chuckled, sitting up to face Yukari. "We don't drink blood from an actual human. Our main food source is a vampire-made, chemically-engineered blood compressed into pill tablets. They're called blood tablets. You drop them in water and they will dilute into a liquid that provides the same—and sometimes even more—nutrients found in human blood. They're very convenient, but I can't say the same for the taste." Ichijo made a face.
"Ah," Yukari sighed in relief. "Wow, that is neat." She paused. "But unfortunate for you, I guess." Yukari couldn't imagine her own diet being restricted to a couple of pills every day, and from the look on Ichijo's face, the tablets probably didn't even taste good.
"You don't have to answer my next question if you don't want to. My mom used to always get angry when I asked her this." Yukari cautioned. "How old are you?"
Ichijo pursed his lips for a second, carrying an expression of ponder. "Physically, I'm seventeen years old. My real age, however…is confidential."
"C-confidential?" Yukari coughed.
"Hey, believe it or not, I'm very sensitive about my age!" Ichijo pouted.
"So vampires do live for a long time, huh…Lucky you." Yukari laughed it off.
"Ah, before I forget," Ichijo said as he drew an object from his pocket. "I should give this back to you."
"My ID!" Yukari exclaimed as she took the card from Ichijo. He curled his hand up as she took the card, his fingers briefly skidding against her palm.
"Just promise me something," Ichijo said. "Never climb trees to get into my room again. If you want to see me, just come through the front door. Just call for me and I'll let you in."
"But won't the others mind? Besides, We'll be breaking more than fifty school rules if you do that. I think I'm safer climbing trees. Besides, I'm sure lots of other girls did that before." An image of Mari flashed across Yukari's mind.
"Actually, you're the first person I know who actually climbed trees to get into the night dormitories." Ichijo said, a corner of his mouth quirking up in laughter.
'Is this real?' Yukari asked herself. 'I'm on the roof of the night class dormitories, laughing with a vampire.' "Hey, can I ask another question?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you agree to my deal the other night? Now that I look back on it, the whole thing really was ridiculous. I mean, I could've just kept the secret for a month and then told someone the very next day—" Yukari stopped when she saw Ichijo staring at her with that same foreign, unrecognizable expression, and mentally slapped herself. "I mean, not that I'll ever do that, you know, I always keep my promises, that's the first thing my mom taught me when I was little—" Yukari blurted in panic.
Ichijo chuckled. "Don't worry, I didn't take it like that." He turned his face upwards to face the sky. "Shiina, did you know we—the night class—go to class in the east wing of the school building?"
"Um…" Yukari began, confused at the sudden change of subject.
"I always sit by the window, and I see the entire track field from there. One day, I saw a girl on the track field, running, even though it was twelve-thirty five in the morning. Her form wasn't exactly graceful, as she was slumping and wavering as she ran, and she looked dog-tired. But she still kept on moving for two hours without breaks. As I continued to see her every night and day on that track, I became curious as to why she persevered in something that seemed to drain her so much. Then, one day, I saw her face. Determination. Perseverance. Frustration. Desperation. Joy. This girl enjoyed what she did, and she fought desperately for what she wanted. That was something that I, and a lot of people around me, was never able to—never had to do. And I thought: we could all learn something from her. I admired that girl for it. Before I knew it, I longed to know her." Ichijo faced Yukari. "Yukari, do you know who that girl is?"
Yukari gulped. Her heart hammered against her ribcage as an impossible answer dawned in her brain. Her body, and her mind, was completely frozen by the intensity in Ichijo's gaze.
"Don't look so surprised!" Ichijo burst out suddenly, pouting. The atmosphere, so heavy before, suddenly changed.
"Huh?" Yukari said as she broke herself from his eyes. 'Was just happened?' She thought. 'Had I been holding my breath the entire time? Wait a minute—'
"Hold on—you watched me run?" Yukari said as she jumped to her feet.
Ichijo slowly rose, too, and smiled in that same sheepish, caught-red-handed-smile. "Guilty."
"But why—how—just—" Yukari stammered. "I did not give you permission! Is that even legal?" 'Not to mention embarrassing,' Yukari thought as she felt her face flush bright red.
"I'm sorry. It's not like I can un-see what I already saw." Ichijo said.
"But all that time…you didn't report me." Yukari said. "Why didn't you report me?"
"Because," Ichijo said, his serene eyes locking with Yukari's. "I wanted to see you again."
'Ah…'
"I think we should go now, Yukari. The others are gone now. Come on," Ichijo offered her his hand. "Yukari?"
Yukari stared at Ichijo, and then at his outstretched hand, and took a deep breath. "Ichijo-senpai," She began. "You're not a vampire."
"Huh?" Ichijo's eyes widened in surprise.
"You're kind and nice and not like the other night class students who are so hard to approach. You always go out of your way to help me out of messy situations, and you put up with me and answer my questions. I don't even think some day class students are willing to do that! And besides, you don't kill people to drink their blood." Yukari exhaled. "You're relatable, and I like spending time with you. When I'm with you, I always forget you're a vampire." Yukari smiled. "I think I admire you, too."
For the first time, Ichijo seemed dumbstruck as he stared at Yukari with wide eyes. "Oh…" He finally said as he turned his head so Yukari couldn't see his face. Was it just her imagination, or was Ichijo blushing?
"Th-thank you."
"No problem!" Yukari laughed. 'So vampires get flustered at compliments too, huh?'
Maybe vampires are not so bad after all.
Maybe.
xxxxx