*Author's note: Sorry this chapter took so long to edit! It ended up being longer than intended, but I hope y'all enjoy!*
I gasped and staggered away from him in surprise. Strangely, I wasn't afraid. Shocked, yes, but not at all afraid. "What are you?" I whispered. His face was impassive. "Raisa..." he started, but was interrupted by a howl. Akira was calling me. Kaname's eyes went back to normal. Without thinking, I reached my hand tentatively towards his face. Realizing what I was doing, I began to pull away, but he caught my wrist and placed my hand on his cheek. My fingers whispered over his cheekbones, his jawline, and finally his lips, memorizing him. He closed his eyes and visibly relaxed against my touch, patiently letting me study his features. His skin was soft and had a faint chill to it, almost like he just walked out of a freezer. His mouth parted slightly, revealing those elongated canines. I gently touched the sharp end of one fang, fascinated. It was then I noticed he was looking at me. Something seemed to pass between us at that moment, and it was then I knew for certain that we had met before. Somehow, we were connected. "W-Who are you to me?" I asked in a quivering voice.
Before he could answer, there was another howl, and I groaned inwardly. "I'm sorry, I have to go," I muttered reluctantly, not wanting to leave without answers. Who was this man? What did he know? He nodded. "I will see you soon, amore mio," he murmured. I lept off the edge of the roof not having the courage to ask what that meant. Whatever it was sounded incredibly sexy rolling off his tongue. I blushed and shook my head, focusing on finding the team. Akira bounded down the pathway to me as soon as I hit the ground and pushed her head against my hand. "Where did you go, sister?" Kiba asked, coming up behind her with Akamaru. I said nothing and wrapped him in an unexpected hug, sobbing against his chest. He stiffened in surprise before returning my embrace. "What the hell happened?" he asked. I pulled away and looked at him with tear filled eyes. "It's such a long story. I will be okay, though," I sighed. I always told my brother everything and hated lying to him about this. However, something told me he wouldn't understand this one. I didn't even understand it, so how could he? He looked like he wanted to press the issue but seemed to decide against it.
"Where are the others?" I asked as continued down the path. I looked over my shoulder once in hopes of seeing Kaname still on the roof, but he was gone. "We decided to split up. Shikamaru went with Kurenai-sensei to patrol the other side of the campus. I told them I would find you, and we'd take on this side. Apparently we'll be acting as new students in the day class so we can blend in. There's a day class and a night class. For whatever reason, the two aren't allowed to mingle. When one is in session, the students of the other must stay in their dorms. There's something strange about that if you ask me. That Kuran guy gave me a weird vibe too." I thought back to the way Kaname's eyes glowed brightly in the darkness. He was something else, that's for sure. I wasn't ready to share that information with Kiba, however, so I pushed it out of my mind and changed the subject.
"So we have to wear those uniforms?" I asked, wrinkling my nose in disgust. How would I hide my weapons in a short skirt? Sometimes it sucked being a female. "Yeah. He said they'd be in our rooms by the time we finish our patrol." Suddenly the image of Kiba in a proper school uniform popped into my head and sent me into a fit of laughter. "I'm gonna make fun of you so hard when you put it on," I giggled. "Yeah, yeah. Don't think you're getting off easy either with those stupid knee high socks," he retorted playfully. I pushed him on the shoulder, wiping the tears from my face. My brother always had a way of making me feel better.
We made our rounds, teasing each other lightheartedly when suddenly my sharp hearing picked up a couple distant voices. "Did you hear that?" I asked Kiba. "It might just be the usual night guard taking over so we can sleep. I'm exhausted," he sighed. We came to a stop when we saw two people approaching. There was a tall silver haired boy with a scowl on his face and a short girl with big brown eyes and dark, shoulder length hair. Both wore the classic school uniforms as Kaname had, although theirs were black instead of white. Must've been a play on irony to have the day class wear black and the night class in white. They were holding hands, signifying that they were something of an item. 'What a strange pair,' I thought. The girl looked cheery and friendly while the boy's entire demeanor screamed 'I hate everyone and everything.' "Do you have permission to be out here?" Kiba inquired gruffly as we drew closer to them. Blunt and straight to the point; he was so much like our mother sometimes, though he'd never admit it.
"Oh! You must be the Leaf Village shinobi," the girl chirped with a warm smile. "I'm Yuki, and this is Zero. We're the Disciplinary Committee. Thank you so much for coming. We'll take over for now while you get some rest. My father asked me to show you where you'll be staying," she explained, bubbly as ever. It was infuriating. I wanted to say no, but at the same time had no clue of where to go. "We will have to find the rest of the team so they know where to go," Kiba said. "They're meeting us here," Zero snapped, obviously irritated.
"Ok, did we do something to piss you off?" I growled, bristling at his ill-mannered tone. Zero looked like he was about to say something insulting, but Yuki stepped in front of him holding her hands up with a nervous smile. "Zero is just grumpy by nature. Don't mind him. We just spoke to your teammates and agreed to meet under this tree," she said, motioning to the weeping willow beside us. As if to mark her words, I heard footsteps approaching nearby and saw Shikamaru appear by himself. "Where's Kurenai-sensei?" I asked him. He scratched the back of his head and said, "She had some business to attend to. Said she knew where to go already and would return."
"Alright, then let's go," Zero muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and stalking off. The 3 of us exchanged a look...Which didn't go unnoticed by Yuki. "He really isn't a bad guy," she defended as we started trailing behind Zero, "We grew up together, and he's always been like that even when we were kids. He had a traumatic childhood, so my father took him in." "Your father is the headmaster?" Shikamaru asked. She nodded. "Yes. My mother died giving birth to me, so it was just the two of us living here until Zero came along." "So you and Zero...You're dating?" I asked, feeling embarrassed for asking. Yuki laughed. "Yes. I thought of him as a brother for a long time. I eventually became the one person he confided in. Then, I don't know. Things changed when we got older." She turned a deep shade of red.
We arrived to the rooms we'd be staying in; of course they were dorms, still sticking with the "blending in" idea. Zero was waiting for us, leaning against a tree silently with his arms crossed. Before parting ways, Yuki turned to face us and said, "If you have any questions, let me know. I have lived at this academy my entire life and know everything about it. I am also a senior student here, so I will show you where to go in the morning." She then ran to Zero, and they disappeared together into the night.
The boys shared a room next door to mine, leaving me alone since opposite genders were forbidden to sleep in the same room by school law. I was perfectly fine having my own room without listening to Kiba and Shikamaru argue over who slept on the top bunk. Akira laid down in front of the door, her ears occasionally swiveling around to pick up noises outside. The room was surprisingly spacious for being a dorm. There was a bunk bed pushed against the wall on the far right with a large window directly across from the main door, and a small bathroom to the left next to a tall dresser. A basic study desk was set up at the end of the bed with an uncomfortable looking chair, and the white walls were completely bare with the exception of a small emergency exit map. I set my pack on the bottom bunk bed next to a neatly folded school uniform identical to the one Yuki wore. Shaking my head at it with disdain, I turned to open the curtains and let the moon shine in.
As I lay in bed that night, I dreamed about Kaname. I dreamed that he was with me in the Leaf Village, proudly watching me train with Akira in the woods from a tree. I was still young, only a genin practicing basic tai-jutsu and didn't appear to be aware of Kaname's presence. In one liquid movement, I kicked the wooden training post and pushed off of it with lightning speed into a back flip. I landed on my feet before disappearing into thin air and reappearing behind the post, stabbing it with my kunai in a sneak attack. Akira, still a puppy jumped onto my back with a bark.
The dream switched suddenly to the same setting with me just before my 18th birthday. Kaname was still hidden in a tree watching me practice. Akira stood beside me in the clearing, body tensed in anticipation as I expertly flew through the hand seals. "Human-Beast Combination Transformation: Nightclaw Hell Hound!" There was a poof, and Akira and I combined into one giant, black dire wolf with a menacing snarl and flashing golden eyes. With our combined senses, we quickly picked up Kaname's scent, yet he was gone by the time we turned toward the tree. Akira and I shared one mind in this body and used it to communicate with one another. "Did you recognize that smell?" Akira thought. "No, but what the hell was this intruder doing stalking us like that? We have to find him." We sniffed the air, but all traces of the stranger's scent was gone. "Damn," I growled. Suddenly, everything went dark just like my first vision in the Hokage's Residence.
No, no no. I knew what was coming when the stench of evil surrounded me. "KANAME!" I screamed, but he was nowhere to be found. That wild, manic laugh sounded behind me making me freeze. I slowly turned around and again saw nothing but his mismatched eyes glowing in the dark. They seemed to be even more cruel than before and penetrated into my soul. I struggled to run as he came closer, but my body wouldn't move. I screamed when he grabbed my arm roughly with calloused fingers and ripped my shirt off to expose my breasts. "You are mine," he snarled in a cold, emotionless voice. My body felt as if it was encased in stone, and all I could do was scream when he bent me over. He covered my mouth with his hand to stifle my pleas for help. I had never in my life felt so utterly defenseless.
I suddenly jolted awake then, sweating and panting. I glanced around and saw I was alone in my dorm room. Akira was still sleeping soundly in front of the door, showing no sign that there was ever an intruder. The birds were chirping outside my window as the sun slowly rose. I breathed a sigh of relief until I looked down and saw a hand-shaped burn mark on my forearm, in the same place the man grabbed me in my dream. I gasped and started trembling, shaken to the core. How was this possible? Just then, there was a knock on the door interrupting my thoughts and making Akira lurch to her feet with a low growl. I pushed everything out of my mind and quickly hid the burn mark with a pillow before opening the door. I was met by the big brown eyes and cheerful smile of Yuki. "Hey, Raisa! Good morning. I was just stopping by to see if you wanted to walk to class together," she said in a voice too happy to be real for this ungodly hour. I despised morning people. "Oh, that's ok! I still need to get dressed and make some coffee. I don't wanna make you wait," I said, trying to send off the hint that I didn't want company. "Do you know where to go?" she asked as if seeing right through me. I inwardly groaned. "Fucking hell." "Actually, I do not! I was planning to just find the way with my team," I explained with a fake laugh.
"They already left with Zero," she claimed, "I really don't mind waiting." I wanted to punch a wall as I opened the door further to let her in. She sat down on the edge of my bed, looking anxiously at Akira who in turn watched Yuki warily from across the room. I smiled to myself, knowing how intimidating my girl was to strangers. Except with the Headmaster apparently.
I looked at myself in the mirror, feeling like a completely different person in the black blazer, red neck tie, mini skirt and knee high socks. I tugged at the skirt, trying to pull it down more to no avail. I took a deep breath. At least I still got to wear my combat boots; I hid a few shurikens in one. It proved to be impossible to successfully hide a holster on my thigh, so I tucked my kunai in a handy pocket inside the blazer. Thankfully the sleeves of the blazer hid my burn mark as well; I'd never be able to explain that to someone.
As I stepped out of the bathroom, Akira readily stood to follow me out the door. "Alright, let's get this over with," I muttered, opening the door. I looked at Yuki who hadn't moved from the bed. She was eyeballing Akira and I with a strange look. "What?" I asked irritably. She cleared her throat nervously. "Um..It's just..Dogs aren't allowed in the classroom," she stammered. My eyes flashed angrily. "What?! Akira goes with me everywhere!" I protested. Akira barked in agreement. "I'm sorry," Yuki replied, taken aback by my outburst. I sighed, not seeing much of a choice. "Fine. Stay here, Akira," I muttered. Akira made a noise of disagreement. "I know, girl. It's just for a little while, and I'll be back," I promised, stroking her head and tracing the little white diamond there with my finger. I then stormed out the door, catching a glimpse behind me of Yuki quickly running with caution past Akira, clearly afraid of the canine. That lifted my mood a little.
I walked in big strides, not waiting for her to catch up. "Um, it's actually this way!" she called. I growled in frustration and glared up at the sky before turning around. This was the worst morning of my life-Plus I never even had my coffee. Arriving to the large classroom, I saw my brother on the back row glaring at a wall with his cheek resting in the palm of his hand. No doubt he was as pissed as me about the no dog rule. Shikamaru was sleeping beside him, leaned back with his mouth wide open. Any other time, I probably would've stuck an eraser in his mouth to startle him awake. Today, I just wanted to do what he was doing. I slid in the seat beside Kiba and put my head on the desk without a word. Yuki sat near the front next to some other girl, Zero nowhere to be seen. "Where's ass-face?" I asked Kiba, lifting my head slightly. "That dick forced us to come here with him, not even letting me bring Akamaru. Then he just turned around and walked away once we got here," he snarled. I returned his glower and said, "I also had to leave Akira, and I had to deal with Miss Sunshine while being caffeine deprived. This sucks." Kiba shook his head and didn't respond as the teacher brought class into session.
I fell asleep not too long after class started and was again plagued by chilling dreams. Kaname's words, "It will all make sense to you soon," echoed in my head, followed by his eyes glowing red . The image instantly cut to more spatters of blood on snow, and I jolted awake to find class had ended. I nudged Kiba and Shikamaru awake. "We have to go," I yawned. We all took our time climbing out of the seats and stretching before following the students outside. Yuki was waiting for us, joined by Zero who apparently managed to show up. What we assisted them with was probably the strangest task I ever had. We were asked to hold a crowd of excited, screaming girls (and even some guys) away from the night class as they exited the Moon Dorm. It didn't take long for me to see why.
Seven devastatingly beautiful students in white uniforms stepped into view, one of them being Kaname himself. Zero leaned against a nearby tree, not helping at all while Yuki fought off the masses, all desperately trying to reach the night class students as they walked by. One of them, a blonde, blue eyed boy seemed to enjoy the attention while the others tried shutting it all out. He waved and flirted with the girls, acting like a celebrity as they fawned over him. I noticed behind me that Shikamaru used his shadows to hold the girls on the other side of the path still. As I kept getting jostled by the girls I was struggling to detain, I eventually had enough and decided to use my own abilities. I let my eyes turn wild and yellow, teeth elongated into sharp canines like wolf before snarling harshly at the girls. They instantly shut up and coward away from me.
Satisfied, I let my face go back to normal just as my heart suddenly fluttered. I spun around to see Kaname stop on the path in front of me as the rest of the group continued on. Some of the girls started complaining in jealousy when he reached a hand out to me, but I silenced them instantly with a hard glare. "Raisa," he greeted in his silky voice, playing with a strand of my hair. "Kaname," I replied, nodding my head respectively and blushing. We exchanged brief looks before he continued on behind his classmates. Once they were gone, the team and I managed to usher the day class back into their dorms for the night. Yuki and Zero went on to meet with the Headmaster while we took the first patrol. "Ya know, I haven't seen Kurenai-sensei since we arrived," I mused when the three of us were alone. "Yeah, right? Where has she been?" Kiba added. "Who knows? She's probably got some business to attend to again. Let's just focus on our job right now. I think this time we should split up since we have uneven numbers this time." "We could send the dogs to patrol on their own," I suggested, "Kiba and I are able to communicate with them from afar if anything happens. But this way we'd have more coverage on the area." "Very well. That's a good plan. You two go get the dogs from the dorms, and I'll start around the west side. Let's do this," Shikamaru coached before setting off in the opposite direction.
After retrieving Akira, I asked her to prowl along the perimeter, blending in among the shadows. Kiba had Akamaru stay concealed high in the trees, looking out from above. As I ambled down the walkway alone, I heard some girly giggles coming from a bush. 'You have got to be kidding me...' I crouched behind a tree and peered around the trunk to see a pair of day class girls, still in their uniforms. One of them, a brunette, was holding a camera pointed upwards. 'What the...?' I glanced up to see what the object of their attention was and found Kaname reading a book in the window. 'Of course.' I slunk silently up behind the girls and snatched the camera from the brunette's hand. They flew to their feet in surprise."Ahh! We're sorry. We just wanted to take pictures," the girls said in unison, bowing to me apologetically and scurrying to their dorms without the camera. I scrolled through about twenty close-up photographs of Kaname and seethed as I deleted them.
Suddenly my skin prickled. Something was wrong. It was then I heard the screams of two girls ring out in the night. I dropped the camera and ran as quickly and soundlessly as I could through the trees toward the source. The smell of fear drifted through the air. I came to a halt on a low branch and spied down on a clearing where the two girls from earlier were standing frozen in the grass...Literally frozen. Their legs were encased in ice, immobilizing them. Towering above them with a taunting smile was that attractive blonde night class boy. Although lanky in stature, he still held a domineering intimidation over the girls. As he inched closer to them, I wrapped my fingers around the handle of my kunai and began sliding it out of my pocket. I stopped and almost dropped the knife completely when the boy's eyes turned bright crimson just as Kaname's had. They gleamed, slicing through the shadows and sending waves of power that I could sense even from the tree. Knowing I couldn't let the shock stop me from saving the vulnerable students, I transformed into a large white wolf and lept from the tree to charge at the boy.
He whirled around in surprise, his wide eyes blue again. I snarled, baring my teeth viciously at him before attacking. He caught me by the throat and threw me across the clearing with surprising strength. I bounced back to my feet in an instant and made myself invisible. The boy scanned the area for me, confused. I waited, teasing him for a moment before reappearing behind him and clamping down on his leg. He swore in pain when my teeth released a burning acid into the bite. I yelped when he grabbed me roughly by the scruff and tore me off of him along with a chunk of flesh from his leg. He hissed in pain and hurled me across the glade again. This time, I hit a tree and reverted back to my human form. I spit his flesh out of my mouth and staggered to my feet again, recovered from the blow. I started running at him with my kunai only to have my legs imprisoned in ice mid-stride. I noticed then that the wounds on his leg started healing right before my eyes. There wasn't even a scar left. "Well, well," he leered, stepping closer to me as I fought against the restraints, "So you're that girl Lord Kaname seems so interested in. Raisa, is it? I don't understand what he sees in you." He leaned forward to study my face, and I spit on him defiantly.
He recoiled away from me and wiped his cheek. "Gross," he muttered. "What exactly are you planning to do with these girls?" I snarled. He just laughed but was then cut off by the quiet click of a loaded gun. We both turned out heads to see Zero aiming an intricate pistol in our direction. His face held its usual scowl, but his eyes were filled with an intense, burning hatred I hadn't seen from him before. "What are doing out here, vampire?" he said the last word with dripping disgust. I gasped and widened my eyes in disbelief. Vampire? The blonde boy laughed darkly and sauntered to the sobbing girls with an irritating air of confidence. "Aw come on, you don't have to use such a scary weapon. I just wanted a taste," he purred playfully as he lowered his head towards one of the girls' neck.
"Aido," came an icy voice behind me. 'Kaname.' The boy instantly stopped and turned around, all traces of menace replaced with terror. He suddenly looked like a child. "Dorm President Kuran," he whimpered, bowing with respect. The moment he straightened, Kaname slapped him with such force that he crumpled to the ground. "Get back to class," he commanded harshly. "Yes, my lord. Of course," Aido stuttered, trembling as he hurried away. The ice melted away from my legs, and Kaname caught me in his strong arms before I fell to the ground. I was confused when he abruptly positioned me behind him protectively. Peering around his body, I saw that Zero hadn't relaxed his hostile position and now pointed his gun at Kaname, who regarded him coolly. "Kiriyu, please lower your weapon. I do not want any unnecessary violence," he murmured politely with a slight edge. Zero didn't budge until a deep growl sounded behind him.
Akira emerged from the trees behind Zero, baring her teeth. She was followed by the rest of the team, all ready to attack if Zero fired the gun. Then there was Yuki who ran up to hug him from behind. "Please, stop," she cried, "He hasn't done anything wrong." Zero looked at her, then back at Kaname and lowered his gun reluctantly. Kaname nodded and started turning to face me. As soon as he moved, Zero had his gun raised again in the blink of an eye, finger on the trigger. Before he could fire, he was imprisoned by one of Shikamaru's shadows. Zero gritted his teeth in anger as Shikamaru forced him to place the gun safely in its holster.
Once freed, Zero stalked off without a word. Yuki looked at Kaname and I apologetically. "I'm sorry," she quivered, bowing quickly before chasing after Zero. "Are you alright, Raisa?" Kaname asked softly. I hadn't realized my knees were shaking until then. I put on a tough face, "Yeah, I'm fine!" Akira bounded to my side and licked my hand. As I stroked her head, Kaname stepped over to the now unconscious girls. He placed a hand on each of their heads, and a bright light emerged around his touch. I furrowed my brow in confusion but remained silent. Suddenly, they woke up in a daze. "Are you girls alright?" Kaname asked kindly, holding a hand out to them. The girls' faces beamed, and they squealed, "Oh my god, it's Kaname Kuran!" He helped them up as they babbled excitedly. "Why don't you get on to your dorms. It is dangerous out here at night," he said smoothly. They nodded and began walking away. Akira escorted them to ensure nothing happened on the way. Kiba and Shikamaru turned in to their room for the night after I assured them I was okay. "Don't you need to get back?" I asked Kaname once we were alone. The faintest of smiles played on his lips. "Are you trying to get rid of me?" he asked. "What? No! No, of course not," I stammered before looking away, caught in my thoughts. 'Vampire...He's a vampire?'
"I am sorry if Aido frightened you. I certainly didn't want you to find out about our kind in such a way," he murmured, almost as if reading my thoughts. "I just...I don't understand," I whispered. Kaname motioned for me to sit beside him on the edge of a nearby fountain. When I did, he began to explain. "Vampires and humans have coexisted for many years, not always peacefully. To humans, we were the disgusting monsters who lived off of their blood. Through that hatred, vampire hunters were born. I'm sure you noticed how hostile Zero Kiriyu was with us. He comes from a famous line of hunters and was born genetically geared to hate vampires.
"Headmaster Cross is an ex-vampire hunter who dreamed of creating peace between humans and vampires. That's how the Cross Academy came to be. He made this a place where humans and vampires could coexist without bloodshed." "Why is Zero here then if he obviously doesn't agree with the Headmaster's ideals?" I asked. Kaname closed his eyes for a moment before responding, "Zero's parents were murdered by a pureblood vampire such as myself when he was young. Kaien took him under his wing and raised him as an adopted son. Understandably, Kiriyu has never trusted vampires since then, yet out of respect for the Headmaster has resisted harming any members of the night class."
My mind swirled with questions. "What did you mean by 'pureblood' vampire?" I asked. "There are different levels of vampires based on how much human blood is present. The purebloods are the original vampires, born without any trace of human blood. Many purebloods bred with humans, creating weaker generations of vampires varying in strength depending on how much human or vampire blood is present in their systems. Other purebloods only bred with their own, keeping the family bloodline pristine. However, long ago, there was a great war between humans and purebloods that wiped out the vast majority of our kind. Less than a handful of us still exist in this world, most in hiding from hunters.
Then there are level E vampires, the lowest ranking breed born as a human and turned into a vampire with the bite of a pureblood. Every ex-human will start to go mad with bloodlust and can only be saved by drinking the blood of their creator. Otherwise, they are exterminated by hunters to protect the human race." As I tried to adjust all the new information, my head suddenly started throbbing, causing me to fall off the ledge to my knees. "Raisabel," Kaname murmured comfortingly, kneeling on the ground in front of me and resting a hand on my cheek. He lifted my chin and made me look into his garnet eyes. I trembled and reached out to return the gesture. "Who are you to me?" I choked, tears glistening on my cheeks.