Author's Note: How long has it been? I've lost track of time. I am so sorry! Well... I got the chapter up now? After all this time?
To be honest... I thought I had posted this the second I had finished it. I'm a failure.
Edit: Some spelling errors fixed.
The bang had sounded like that of a firework, only Kozakura was positive that wasn't what it was. It was far more harsh and she hadn't noticed an explosion of light up in the sky or heard the whiz of one being released. To top it all off, there wouldn't be a festival that required the beautiful displays for another year. The redhead was positive that one had not been accidentally set off since it sounded far too close and the academy didn't store such frivolities to her knowledge. That only left one possibility in her mind, someone had fired a gun of some sort.
Even though Kozakura knew that the only person on campus who had access to a gun was Zero, she had to investigate it as part of her duty as a member of the Disciplinary Committee. The redhead really didn't want to poke around since she doubted that the other member had shot his gun without reason. Although, the more she thought about it, the more she realized the bang hadn't sounded like his handgun. If it hadn't been Zero who had pulled the trigger, she wondered who had.
Kozakura wandered around the academy, searching for the place the gunfire had sounded from. She didn't see anyone as she walked around the grounds, the only thing that caught her attention were the lights that had been flipped on in the Sun Dormitories. Kozakura promptly came to the conclusion that the students had been woken up by the bang and were looking out their windows, trying to see what had transpired. The redhead knew she had to cease her investigation for the time being in case any of the more courageous students decided to venture outside to conduct their own. She spent the rest of the night patrolling the Sun Dorms and sent anyone who so much as opened their door back to bed.
Rumors spread throughout the school like wildfire the next day and the gunshot was all anyone discussed. The students had noticed the absence of both Zero and Rie, thus making them a key aspect to all the rumors that were circulating. Some versions stated that Zero had shot Rie then ran from the academy, the motive was always different. Another was that Rie had shot Zero, but it was the least believed since the brunette didn't seem capable of ending someone's life. A different adaptation that most of the student body believed claimed that they had been shot by an unknown assailant, no one could agree if the two were dead or hospitalized.
Kozakura and Yuki did their best to dispel the rumors whenever they heard them. The seniors had ceased their gossip by lunch while the juniors continued to discuss them until school ended. The sophomores refused to quit talking about the rumors, even when threatened with detention. No matter what Yuki, Kozakura, or any of the other students who found such gossip distasteful said, the first years just ignored their words and continued to focus on the rumors. The two prefects were immensely glad when curfew took full effect and the students went to their dorms.
When Rie awoke and looked at her surroundings, she had absolutely no idea where she was. The only thing she knew for sure was that she was not in her dorm room since everything in this place was far too elaborate. The bed she had been placed in had a light pink set of silk sheets, a pale pink canopy hung from the ceiling above it. Plush carpeting, much different from the wood she had grown accustomed to, covered the floor. The one rather large window in the room had a cream colored curtain made of an expensive looking fabric that blocked the view outside. There was a bed on the other side of the room, but it had no sheets, signifying that no one else slept in there. Even so, an expensive looking night table made of rosewood stood next to the other bed, an ornate lamp placed atop it. An exact replica of the night table sat next to the bed Rie was in and another version of the small lamp was placed on its surface.
Rie swung her legs over the side of the bed, her feet dangled a few inches above the ground, then looked down at her attire, glad to find that she was still in her uniform. She wasn't happy to see that there were small rips in the left arm of her uniform and blood had soaked into the fabric, the worst of it was around her bicep. The brunette moved the fabric to further inspect the area and found dried blood covered her skin. No matter how hard Rie tried, she couldn't find where the injury had been inflicted meaning it had healed while she was unconscious, but she doubted it had healed by itself due to how weak she felt. Then again, she had no idea how long she'd been out and if she had been unconscious for more than a day, she wouldn't be surprised about the healed injury. If it had been less than day, the only way for her wound to stitch itself up would have been if she'd had blood and she was positive she hadn't bitten anyone. Well, almost positive since Rie only remembered sitting down underneath a tree, she couldn't recall what had happened after that. The brunette could only guess what had happened after that and the most likely possibilities were either her body had shut down to conserve energy or her instincts had attempted to take over. Neither of those options were appealing since one meant she had been completely vulnerable while the other implied there was the possibility she had gravely wounded someone.
Rie pushed her thoughts aside as she carefully got off the piece of furniture, her legs were shaky and reluctant to hold her weight. She slowly made her way to the door that was on the wall opposite the window. Rie pressed her ear to the wood and listened for any sign of life inside the building. When she was positive no one was moving around, she opened the door and left the room.
The hallway had marble flooring that was covered by a rectangular red rug with gold trimming that ran the entire length of the corridor. Windows lined the wall that stood opposite Rie, giving a wonderful view of the outside world. There was a window every couple of feet in either direction. The brunette stopped at one of them and gazed out of it. She could make out the wall that separated the Moon Dorm from the rest of Cross Academy despite the night's darkness, the knowledge she was still at the school filled her with relief.
With that thought in mind, Rie began to plot a way to escape from the dormitory. She could walk out the front door, but she had no idea what time it was or how many students had stayed back from classes. That plan was just too risky if she wanted to slip away undetected since she had no clue what the dorm's layout was like. Plan B was to simply jump out the window. It'd be far quicker and a jump from the second story wouldn't kill her or even severely harm her. The chances of her getting caught seemed far less likely if she were to do that.
Rie looked out the window to make her decision, her eyes turned towards the ground below. She could make out pavement and didn't see anything that would block her way down. The brunette turned her attention to the window itself and didn't see a way to open it without having to destroy it. Rie moved to the window in the room she had woken up in. She moved the curtains aside and was glad to find that this one could be opened. Rie did a quick study of the area outside and noticed that the surroundings were quite similar to the ones she saw a minute ago. The brunette pushed open the window then leaped out of it without a second thought.
Rie ran off towards the forest that surrounded the Moon Dorm without taking even a second to recover from the jump, her legs screamed in agony at her decision. She just knew that she had to get off the grounds before someone noticed something was amiss. Rie did her absolute best to avoid the path that led from the gate to the dormitory, the only time she had to follow the trail was when she had to cross a bridge. The gatekeeper made no move to stop her as she passed him.
Rie felt far more comfortable being off the grounds of the dormitory that was far more like a mansion. The more distance she put between herself and the building, the less anxious she felt. She knew that it wasn't right of her to simply leave the dorm, but she had no idea why she had been there and she didn't particularly care to find out. The important thing was that she was now free to check on Kozakura and assure her that everything was okay.
Her hope of checking on her friend was short lived. She had only made it halfway to the school building, where she hoped the redhead was, when she stumbled upon those of the Night Class. The students walked past her as she wondered if it really was time for them to return to the dorm. Rie glanced up at the sky and noticed that it was still dark, the sun hadn't even begun to rise, so she concluded that perhaps they hadn't had as many classes as usual.
"You woke sooner than I anticipated," a voice as smooth as velvet entered her ears. "Please allow me to accompany you to the headmaster's office."
Kaname turned on his heel and headed towards the school building. Rie knew that her only option was to follow him. She had no intention of finding out what the consequences would be if she didn't and she had an inkling that the pureblood would not be above giving her some sort of punishment if she chose not to obey his request.
A tense, uncomfortable silence had fallen over them as they made their way to the headmaster's office. Rie stayed exactly five steps behind Kaname, she had no desire to get any closer to him than that, especially since she was positive he was fully aware of the fact she was a vampire. The brunette knew that she was stupid to think that she'd be able to stay under the radar until she graduated, but she had hoped no one would pick up on the fact she wasn't a human. She hadn't anticipated the possibility that she'd be found out within a matter of months.
The two arrived at the headmaster's office all too quickly for Rie's liking since she had wanted to put off the inevitable for as long as possible. Kaname knocked on the door twice before opening it and stepping inside the room. The brunette followed him into the room and closed the door behind her. She saw Kaien sitting behind his desk as usual. A lantern sat atop the desk's surface; the contained fire cast a soft, slightly eerie light.
"This is the student I spoke with you about," Kaname said before the headmaster even had a chance to open his mouth.
"Thank you for bringing her here, Kaname-kun." Kaien turned his attention to the girl. "Do you know why you're here, Wakahisa-san?"
Rie could think of a few reasons why she was brought to his office. The one that seemed most likely was they knew she wasn't a human. The brunette wouldn't be surprised if that were the case due to where she awoke, but she really didn't want them to know. If they found out, she'd either be expelled or forced to transfer into the Night Class. There was no way the headmaster would allow a vampire to stay in the Day Class despite his pacifistic ideologies. Even if Kaien would, there was no way Kaname would agree with it.
No matter the reason, Rie knew that she had to stay calm. She closed her eyes as she took a deep breath through her nose and slowly exhaled through her mouth. When the brunette was positive she'd stay calm, she opened her eyes then looked directly at the headmaster.
"No, sir," she eventually replied. After all, there was no way she was going to say she had an inkling of why she was brought to his office.
"To put it simply, we have reason to believe you are a vampire," the headmaster told her without any type of hesitation or disbelief.
Despite her preparation for the accusation, Rie tensed and the color drained from her face as soon as the words left the blonde's mouth. Fear flashed in her expression for a split second before she was able to school it back into her usual calm. She knew that her anxiety hadn't escaped their scrutiny and she was terrified of what would happen next. The brunette knew that lying her way out of this wouldn't work, but she had to try. Rie had to stay with Kozakura to protect her and if they were separated, even if it was something as simple as her switching dorms and classes, she'd be unable to watch over her friend.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," she looked down at the green rug on the floor. "I'm... I'm not a vampire."
"The Night Class students have reported on a few occasions they've smelled the blood of an aristocrat who isn't a part of their group on campus," Kaien calmly informed her.
"That doesn't prove anything," Rie feebly argued.
"You lack a presence," Kaname spoke. "The others are unable to sense you. It's as if you're nothing more than a ghost."
"So what," the brunette inquired. "Maybe they're just stupid."
"Or, perhaps, you're in possession of a charmed object capable of hiding your existence," the pureblood suggested.
After he had finished speaking, Rie recalled that the matron had told her to never remove her necklace unless she wanted others to know her true nature. The brunette wondered if that was the reason why. She had her doubts that the pendant that hung from her neck was infused with magic, but she remembered that her childhood tutor had told her there were a fair amount of spells that only hunters knew. Rie wondered if it was really possible that the matron charmed an object to keep her hidden.
"That's not possible," she eventually decided on despite her own doubts.
"Then would you mind taking your necklace off," the brunet asked her.
Rie restrained herself from glaring at the pureblood. She was extremely irritated with him for being so perceptive since he seemed to notice every little detail. If a spell like that truly did exist and her necklace was infused with such magic, they would know she was a vampire. The brunette would rather run away and hide than risk being found out, but the only choice she had was to comply.
Rie took a deep breath before she reached for the clasp of her necklace with slightly shaky hands. She hesitated when her fingers were inches away from the clasp. The brunette briefly wondered if running away to avoid this would be the better option, but she knew it would only give them another reason not to trust her.
After another breath, Rie unclasped the necklace and placed it on the Headmaster's desk. Her presence to the other two in the room had completely changed the second she had taken the piece of jewelry off. To them, she no longer seemed as though she wasn't fully there and the fact she was a vampire was quite clear.
"She can't be permitted to stay in the Day Class," Kaname spoke.
"I know," the blonde replied. "Which is why I'd like to transfer her to the Night Class immediately."
"I'll have someone gather her belongings and escort her to the dorm," the brunet gave the headmaster his permission. Kaname turned and left the room to allow Kaien to sort out the rest.
"Now then," Kaien said once the pureblood had left the room. "Could you fill out this survey and hand it in to either Kaname-kun or myself within the next few days?" He handed her a few pieces of paper with questions mostly pertaining to her views on humans and coexistence with them. "Since no vampire with the surname of Wakahisa exists, I ask that you sign it with your real name."
Author's Note: I know this is a bit of an awkward place to end the chapter, but please bear with me. I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things.