DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor am I in any way, shape, or form affiliated with Vampire Knight.
Author's Note: I realize that this is an hour early (where I am at least), but I have no idea when I'll be able to update tomorrow. Due to that, I decided to release this chapter a little early. I hope you enjoy it!
After their break for lunch, classes began to fly by far too quickly for their liking and their nervousness increased. By the time classes had ended for the day, Kozakura was doing her best to hide her anxiety while Rie had to force herself to stay calm in order to assure her friend that everything would be okay. The two left the classroom and headed to the headmaster's office for their meeting, both hoped that it would last until just after class changeover so the Day Class students who went crazy over the Night Class wouldn't give them any trouble on their first day. They were positive that the student body knew about the two new additions to the Disciplinary Committee, as it was called on school documents, and they didn't want to deal with any type of outrage until they had gotten used to their new responsibilities.
Rie glanced over at Kozakura who anxiously smiled at her before she knocked on the door. The two didn't have to wait long before they received the okay to enter. Kozakura took a deep breath before she followed her friend into the room. The two girls stood a few feet in front of the headmaster's desk on which they saw two armbands and, in an open wooden cupboard against the left wall, various different weapons. Rie recognized them as anti-vampire weapons while Kozakura looked at them with confusion etched on her face.
"I see you've noticed the weapons," Kaien began with a neutral expression. "They're incredibly strong against vampires and are known as anti-vampire weapons. All Guardians have one, Yuki has a staff while Zero has a gun." Even though Kozakura knew Zero used a gun, her face paled as it was confirmed. "They are only to be used in dire situations. Pick the one that's most comfortable for you."
"O-okay," the redhead slowly approached the cabinet.
Kozakura was instantly drawn to the few swords that resided inside the cupboard and looked them over. After careful deliberation, she reached out and grabbed a rapier. The redhead took a few steps back as she unsheathed it and did a few small test pokes with it to further get a feel for the sword. When she was satisfied that the rapier was the weapon for her, she put it back in its scabbard and moved back to Rie's side.
"Figures you'd pick that," the brunette lightly teased. "You always did have an interest in fencing."
"I'll teach you how to properly wield it starting tomorrow directly after class." The headmaster grabbed a light brown belt from inside his desk and handed it to her. Kozakura put the belt on around her waist then attached the sheath to it. It wasn't discrete at all, but it would have to do for the time being. Kaien spoke again when he noticed that Rie didn't appear to have an interest in the weaponry, "What about you, Wakahisa-san?"
"Oh, Sis is really good at martial arts," Kozakura answered before her friend could even open her mouth. "I doubt she needs a weapon."
"Is that true," he inquired as he looked at her over the top of his glasses.
"Yes," she replied. "The matron was kind enough to pay for my lessons."
Kaien studied her for a few moments, as if he was trying to catch her in a lie. He continued once he was satisfied that she was being honest, "I see. I'd like to see you with Himura-san tomorrow so I can see your skills for myself." The headmaster handed them the white armbands that had the school symbol stitched into it with red thread. "These go on your left arm and must be worn whenever you are on duty." Rie and Kozakura deftly put their armbands in place as they listened to Kaien speak. "Your job begins as soon as class changeover occurs and ends at dawn." He paused for a few moments for them to process the information. "If you see a Day Class student outside before curfew lifts, get their names and class information then escort them to the dorm. Report the incident to me as soon as you can in the morning. Now the Night Class works a bit differently since the members are not required to attend class. If it's a student from the Night Class, send them to class or to their dormitory. Make sure that they go to their destination then continue on with your patrol." The two nodded in understanding. "Any questions?" Kaien continued when neither of them said anything. "You'll be patrolling with Zero and Yuki for the first week, they've already been informed and they'll decide how you split up. They'll also give you information on the more troublesome members of the Night Class." The two nodded once again. "Now, I believe if you don't leave now you'll be late and you don't want to leave my darling son and loving daughter waiting, do you?"
"N-no, sir," Rie replied, her eyes slightly widened at his abrupt change of attitude.
"Then get going! I'm sure they're excited to start working with you," he kindly smiled at them as they promptly left the room.
The gate to the Moon Dormitory was in the process of opening by the time Rie and Kozakura arrived. They saw that Yuki was having trouble dealing with her side of the student body while Zero was keeping the other side in check with what could only be described as glares of death. The two girls exchanged a look before they rushed over to help Yuki. Rie decided that Zero's course of action was the most effective and sent the Day Class students her most intense glare. The ones who noticed her expression calmed down a bit since they had no clue if she'd yell at them like Zero had various times in the past or if she would be all bark and no bite like Yuki. The ones who paid no heed to her look continued to try and get on the pathway to the school, they knocked Yuki down then some ran over to the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes shortly after he appeared on the walkway.
"No need to push," the blonde suavely said to the girls before he made the familiar gun motion with one of his hands. "And bang!" He continued down the path once he had pointed at a random girl.
Kozakura rushed over to Yuki and helped her up, the brunette smiled at her in appreciation. The two then proceeded to try and get the girls under control, knowing that either Zero or Rie would deal with the ones that had gotten onto the path. A few of the students backed away when they noticed that Kozakura had a sword at her side, they looked at her with confusion and fear. The redhead failed to notice their stares.
"Yuki, are you alright," Kaname inquired as he approached her.
"Uh," a faint blush appeared on her cheeks. "Y-yeah, I'm fine..."
"Shouldn't you be getting to class, Kuran-senpai," Rie questioned as she approached the pair.
"As long as you're okay, Yuki," Kaname offered her a gentle smile before he turned and walked away.
A slight frown tugged at Kaname's lips as his thoughts wandered to the new prefects, he had been informed by the headmaster that there would be two additions to the Disciplinary Committee, but he hadn't anticipated one of them reminding him of Zero in terms of how they approached him. He recognized the one who had spoken to him as the brunette from the other day that had seemed especially anxious for some reason or another. Something didn't seem right about her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on what. Kaname ultimately decided that he'd worry about her unnatural aura at a later date since there were more pressing matters that needed his attention.
The Day Class students went to their dorms as soon as the Night Class students were out of sight. The four guardians let out a small sigh at the fact that they wouldn't have to deal with high pitched squealing until tomorrow. Rie's headache was far worse than the other three's since she wasn't used to all that shouting, not to mention her hearing was far more sensitive than that of a human's. She wondered how the Night Class had gotten used to the constant screaming from the Day Class students and came to the rather silly thought of them using ear plugs in an attempt to drown out the noise. The brunette would not be surprised if that turned out to be true.
"Zero," Yuki broke the silence that had settled over them. "You and Rie-san should take the school building and Sun Dormitory while Kozakura-san and I patrol the grounds and Moon Dormitory."
"Let's go," was all Zero said to show he was alright with the arrangement.
"Don't cause too much trouble for Yuki-san, alright," Rie told Kozakura before she followed Zero to the school building.
Kozakura followed Yuki around the grounds as she listened to the brunette further explain their responsibilities to her. Apparently if one of the Day Class students happened to find out the Night Class' secret, they were to be taken immediately to the headmaster to have their memory modified. Yuki assured her that that had only happened once so far and that Kaname would most likely take care of it himself. She then went on to talk about the Night Class members that caused the most problems for her and Zero.
The ones who skipped class most often were Hanabusa Aidou, the boy with blonde hair and blue eyes, and Akatsuki Kain, the boy with dark blonde hair and brown eyes. According to Yuki, Aidou was bound to cause problems while Kain was more laid-back and generally listened to the guardian's requests. Ruka Souen, the girl with wavy light brown hair and brown eyes, hardly skipped class and, when she did, she generally had a good reason for it. Rima Touya, the girl with light orange hair in two pigtails and blue eyes, and Senri Shiki, the boy with mahogany hair and light blue eyes, also hardly skipped class and, in Yuki's opinion, wouldn't cause any problems at all. Then there was Takuma Ichijou, the boy with blonde hair and green eyes, he apparently never skipped class and, if he ever decided to, Yuki was sure that he would be the least likely to cause any type of issue and that he'd have a good explanation. Lastly there was Seiren, the girl with short silver hair and matching eyes, she had never caused any sort of problem for the Disciplinary Committee, she had a tendency to help keep situations under control, especially if said situation was caused by Aidou or Kaname specifically asked her to help them.
Yuki also informed Kozakura that Kaname would leave class from time to time when he had to speak with the headmaster about important matters and to not worry if she were to ever see him. As if to prove that he could be trusted, she told Kozakura how Kaname had saved her from a rogue vampire when she was just five years old. The redhead could tell by the way Yuki spoke that she deeply admired the pureblood and that she sincerely felt that he would never hurt anyone unless there was no other option.
The rest of their patrol was done in silence as Kozakura thought about all the information Yuki had given her. If what the brunette had told her was completely true, then did that mean that there was really no reason to dislike vampires. From the sound of it, Rie had no reason to hate vampires, so Kozakura wondered if her friend was in the wrong by despising them. Then again, there also seemed like there was no real reason to be afraid of vampires since they didn't necessarily need blood to survive, but the world still kept them a secret, probably afraid of how everyone would react. Either way, Kozakura wanted to know Rie's opinion on keeping vampires a secret and what her story was since the brunette was rather good at avoiding the topic whenever it came up. The redhead resolved to ask her friend as soon as she could.
Once Zero had finished informing Rie on what to expect from the members of the Night Class, they walked together in a rather comfortable silence. Rie had realized that, from Zero's description, the one she had assaulted was known as Hanabusa Aidou and he apparently caused a lot of problems for the guardians. If that was the case, she didn't regret attacking him when he had wandered over to where Kozakura was the other night. Although, a voice in the back of her head reminded her that the situation was primarily her and Kozakura's fault for breaking the rules in the first place; Aidou had just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. Rie refused to admit that the voice was right as she and Zero continued to patrol in silence.
"Let's go," was all Zero said when it was time for them to head back to the Moon Dorm's gate to make sure that all the Night Class students were safely inside their dorm before curfew lifted for the Day Class students.
The two made their way to the Moon Dormitory in silence and saw that Kozakura and Yuki had beaten them there. Yuki offered Zero and Rie a tired smile while Kozakura seemed dead on her feet from a sleepless night. After confirming that there had been no Day Class students out that night and none of the vampires had acted out, Zero and Yuki quit talking and waited with Kozakura and Rie for the arrival of the Night Class.
A few minutes passed before the Night Class students came into view, none of them appeared tired despite the fact the sun was in the process of rising. Kozakura kindly bid each vampire a good night as they passed her and Yuki stood by the redhead's side and offered each one a tired smile while Rie and Zero merely watched the students return to their dorm. When Kaname approached the dorm, he stopped when he was by Yuki and turned to look at her.
"Thank you for all your hard work," his voice was gentle as he spoke to her. "Please, be careful."
"Y-yeah, of course," Yuki stuttered out before she offered him a bright smile.
Kaname offered her a small, gentle smile before he turned and headed into the dormitory. The gate creaked close once he was on the dormitory's grounds. Once the wooden gate was completely shut, Zero turned around and headed in the direction of the boy's dormitory.
"So what now," Kozakura inquired as she watched Zero walk off.
"We get whatever sleep we can," Yuki informed her.
"Oh thank God," the redhead shouted in relief.
"We only have a few hours until class starts," Rie reminded her. "So it won't be much."
"Don't remind me," Kozakura sighed as the three headed towards the girl's dormitory.
"How was patrolling with Zero," Yuki questioned. "Did he do or say anything mean?"
"It was fine," Rie replied. "Kiryu-kun didn't say much to be honest."
"Good," the slightly shorter brunette said. "He wasn't exactly happy when he told me that you two were going to be guardians with us."
"I can imagine," the other brunette responded. "It does seem rather dangerous."
"It's not all that dangerous," Yuki told her. "The Night Class students are generally very well-mannered and the Day Class students are easy enough to deal with."
"I'll take your word for it than," Rie knew that it was best not to try and argue with Yuki. "We'll see you in class."
Upon entering the dormitory, Rie and Kozakura headed directly to their room while Yuki stayed behind to close the dorm's door. Kozakura jumped onto her bed as soon as they entered the room and snuggled her face into her pillow. Rie sighed then approached her friend and undid the belt around the redhead's waist. She carefully slid the belt out from under her friend's side then walked over to Kozakura's desk and placed the rapier and its accessories on top of it. The brunette wondered how her friend had completely forgotten about that before she decided to jump onto her bed. Rie came to the realization that she'd never understand how Kozakura could be so forgetful.
Rie looked at the clock that hung on the wall and saw that there were only two hours before classes started. She knew that it would be pointless for her to try and sleep at that point. The brunette decided that it was in her best interest to try and complete her schoolwork before classes started.
Author's Note: I would just like to take a few more seconds of your time to say that Pokemon X and Pokemon Y are being released October 12, 2013. I have been a fan of the Pokemon franchise since I was a child so I pre-ordered Pokemon X. I am not expecting to receive the game the day of release since I ordered it from Amazon (the confirmation message said I'd get it anytime between October 21-October 28), so I am going to be taking all the days before I get the game to write as many chapters as I can since I do expect the game to take up most of my time until I beat the Elite Four. This should not affect updates at all. If anything, it will affect my already questionable writing ability since I am going to be getting as many chapters as possible completed in a rather short amount of time (I'll be honest, this is going to be a challenge since I generally write one chapter per week, one and a half if I'm lucky, and two if the moon and stars are perfectly aligned). As always, I will edit (and possibly rewrite) the oncoming chapters to the best of my ability, but please forgive me if grammatical errors get overlooked (I'm sure so many grammatical errors for just these four chapters have gone unnoticed and I apologize for that). I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll see you Sunday, October 13, 2013.
