Night Thirty-Eight:
"Ah! I'm going to miss you so much!" Koume exclaimed when we reached Cross Academy.
It had been two months since It was announced that I was to return to Cross Academy. We waited so long one, for the admission process to begin again, and two, for the new semester to start. A whole new school year would begin this year.
"Yes. I'm going to miss you all as well, but it won't be long." I said simply, hugging her tightly as she hugged me. She then released me as the gates opened.
I couldn't help but to feel slightly reminiscent as the gates opened, and there stood the familiar, tall, and handsome form of Zero, who on his other side was Kuran and, of course, Kaien Cross. I ignored the others as my eyes zeroed in on Zero, who was scowling as he looked at the ground. I felt my heart pull, and I had to look away.
Our driver had opened the door, allowing Koume and me to step out. Shion was right behind us followed by the twins, and Toma. I sighed, brushing off my skirt as I looked up at Yuki, who smiled at me, and bowed. I nodded stiffly, being sure to avoid Kuran's stern look, and Zero's obviously hateful expression. Zero's expression is the one that hurt the most. I couldn't bear to look at it.
"Welcome back to Cross Academy, Miss Tomita." Takuma Ichijo said to me, bowing slightly. I looked at him in surprise. How could I miss him? Was I too focused on Zero already?
"It's good to be back." I said with another nod of my head without missing a beat.
"We should show Lady Tomita her room, if her parents don't mind." Kuran said, extending a hand out to me.
"Of course not Lord Kuran." My mother smiled brightly, nudging me slightly. I sighed, taking Kuran's extended hand.
"Good. Follow us, Miss Tomita." Takuma smiled at me as Kuran bent down, and kissed my hand before dropping his hand from mine, and turning on his heel.
I knew I was expected to follow, but I couldn't help but to pause as I looked at Kaien, and, finally, Zero. Zero still refused to look at me. I wanted him to look at me. I wanted him to say something, anything.
"I hope you will enjoy this year so much. Welcome back, Miss Sakika." Kaien said in his usual kind, soft tone. I looked at him, and nodded.
"I'm sure I will." I smiled, and then looked back at the Tomita family, waving my good-byes as Kaien said his own good-byes, and they loaded back into to car, and drove away.
I looked at Zero. His eyes refused to look at me.
"Zero, don't be so rude. Say something." Headmaster Cross instructed him, nudging Zero slightly.
"Don't…. Don't force him, Headmaster. I understand why he may not want to talk to me." I said simply, laughing slightly.
But… But it still hurts. Zero… Please… At least look at me. Even if it's nothing but hate… At least look at me. Hate is better than just being ignored.
I thought to myself, sighing as I shook my head, and quickened my pace to catch up with Kuran and Takuma.
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"And this is your room. I hope you understand everything." Takuma said as he opened my door, and stepped aside. I paused for a moment, and then stepped through.
Unlike in the Sun Dormitory, in the Moon Dormitory, I would have my own room, and was it ever spacious, and luxurious. Everything was white in the room. The floor, the walls, the paint, and even some of the furniture. The wood was dark, but polished so much I swore I could use it as a mirror. A large bed was in the center of the room with a little canopy over the bed. There was a large dresser to the left, and a huge vanity mirror that had a make-up desk. It was also white with golden outlines. There was a table in the center of the room that was mahgoney with a flower pot in the center. A door far off the right lead to what I assumed was a private bathroom. It was beautiful.
"Wow…" I said simply, putting down some of my bags. Takuma was carrying the rest.
"Our rooms differ depending on the rank of the vampire. Our most luxurious ones tend to be for those of your rank." Takuma said, smiling brightly as he sat some of my suitcases down."I hope it is accommodating enough. We rushed to get it prepared." He explained as he opened a suitcases, and began to take out some of my personal items, and putting them in various places. Even if I was a vampire myself, I would never get over just how fast they moved.
"If this is what you do when you rush, I want to be floored when you actually aren't rushed.." I said with a laugh. Takuma laughed as well, shaking his head." SO… Where did Lord Kuran run off to?" I questioned. He had left as soon as we had entered the building. Takuma paused,and then shrugged slightly.
"Lord Kuran is a pretty busy man. Though, He probably went off to class. Truthfully, as Vice president, it is my duty to care for the new arrivals." He glanced at me, smiling slightly. I nodded, looking away.
"I see." I said, looking around. I then looked at Takuma, stopping him from opening a suitcase as I smiled at him." If it's not too much of an issue, I can unpack things myself. Besides, I just want to be alone for a bit. If it isn't too much trouble, that is." I smiled brightly at him. I used a bit of my own pureblood powers to manipulate his decision my way. I rarely used my vampire powers, but I just desperately wanted some alone time to process everything.
"Oh! Of course, Lady Sakika! I will be waiting nearby!" I nodded, watching as he left the room, closing the door behind him.
I raked my hands through my hair, letting it loose of the side ponytail it was in, and quickly slipped into my Night Class uniform. I admired the beauty of the white and black desgein of it all. I looked over at the moon. Yuki and Zero would be on patrol tonight. If I was lucky, I might just catch Zero on his own. I just wanted to talk to him. I just wanted to see him. I knew it was stupid. It was a stupid, stupid decision, but… I just needed to see his face.
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I had no idea what I expected when I saw Zero. I had no plan when I made the rash decision, but as I hid behind a tree, trying to keep my prescene from being felt, I couldn't help but to tense up as I saw Zero walking a bit of a distance away from where I was hiding. I had no idea what I wanted to do. What to say. Nothing….
"You minus well stop hiding." He said, his tone icy as he paused on the other side of the tree. I tensed,and then sighed as I stepped out.
I gave him a nervous expression, my right hand holding my left upper arm tightly. He still looked at me with a icy expression.
"I…" My words caught in my throat.
Now that I was face to face with Zero, I couldn't deny how just seeing him made my heart skip a few beats, and then speed up. I couldn't deny how much I wanted to just hug him, and tell him how much I missed him, and how he never left my thoughts. I couldn't deny how much I wanted to change that expression on his face,and how I longed to see his gentle expression. I couldn't deny how much I cared, truly, deeply, cared for Zero.
I don't know how, and I don't know when, but somewhere along the way since knowing Zero, he became very precious to me. We may not have had the tightest or closest of friendships, but I missed the Zero that I knew. The kind, the caring, the thoughtful, the.. Impulsive, annoying, too angry to exist, perhaps too stupid to exist, too stubborn and smart for his own good, the strong and skilled, the sad, the perceptive, the Zero that I knew. The Zero that, despite having a bit of coldness and gentleness to them, had gentle eyes.
I couldn't help but to feel connected to Zero in a odd sense. We were both once human and a hunter who were then turned into a vampire. Granted, our situations were entirely different. He was always human. Now, he was just a former human, just lucky he hasn't turned Level E. While I, was the very thing Zero hated. A pureblood.
Looking into his eyes, it hurt to see nothing but distrust, hate, and disgust. I would give anything to have those emotions wiped out of his eyes when he looked at me. I wanted so desperately to change that expression in his eyes.
"What are you doing here?" He questioned with a hiss to his voice.
Please, Zero… Please… Don't look at me as the enemy now. I don't want you to see me that way. Please… I… I didn't chose this…
"I… I don't know." I whispered, shaking my head as I looked off, biting my lips. I could feel his gaze on me strongly. I looked at him, my eyes pleading for something, anything, just not the hatred, the anger, the despised expression he was now giving me."I thought… Because I truly don't know anything about the vampire world other than what I was taught as a Hunter, that perhaps the best way to learn was to… To immerse myself in it." I stumbled over my words, trying desperately to get Zero to understand.
"No. Why are you out here? Why are you watching me?" He questioned, taking a step closer to me, and then stopped. I looked at his left foot, the one that had stepped towards me. It was just centimeters from my own foot. If I stepped closer, we would be so close…
And you'd have a gun pointed to your head, stupid.
My inner voice told me. I sighed, shaking my head to get it to shut up. I looked at Zero,and smiled smally.
"I… I was waiting for the right time to approach you." I explained. Zero's eyes narrowed in suspicion.
"Why?" He questioned in a low tone, almost growling. I felt my heart tug again, and I almost wanted to cry.
"Because…. Because I wanted to talk to you." I said simply, my voice no longer holding any sort of fear. Instead, it was more firm, but I still tried to keep it soft.
In a way, I suppose I was trying not to let my commanding side show. If Zero wanted to talk to me, I wanted it to be of his own free will, and not of my own wishes being imposed on him. Zero's eyes widened for a second, as if sensing the underlining tone, and then narrowed again.
"Why? We have nothing to say to one another." He said simply, but at least there wasn't so much hostility. It was softer, if only by a fraction, and I was happy to have the pure hostility dropped.
Maybe it could work out. Us being friends again, but somewhere inside me highly doubted the possibility. Still, I wanted to hold on to what little hope I could possibly have to hold on to.
"I just…" I hesitated, not entirely sure why I had a reason. I had none. I just wanted to talk to him. I wanted to hear his voice. I wanted to see if he was still the same Zero I had known him to be, or if he was changed that much. If our dynamics had changed because of who I was now. How could I expect him to have remained the same, when I, myself, had changed so much. But I could never tell him that for a million reasons. So, I just sighed, shaking my head."Never mind. It doesn't matter." I looked at him, smiling slightly, and then looked at the Moon Dormitory.
I felt my eyebrows drawn together. I could sense a few people looking for me in the dorms. They already found me out. I sighed, and then I looked at Zero, whose eyes were also fixed on the dormitory that held the Night Class.
"They're looking for you. You better go." He said, stepping away, and quickly walking away.
I wanted to follow after him so desperately, but I understood that if we were found out together, it wouldn't look good. It would raise too many questions, and I didn't want Zero in any trouble. So, reluctantly, I turned, and started walking back to the Moon Dormitory.
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"I must say that I'm a bit surprised you would use your power of control over lower class vampires to sneak out of the Moon Dormitory, Miss Tomita." Kuran told me almost as soon as I had walked into the door. I paused, my muscles tense for a second.
My eyes immediately darted to the now closed door, my heart racing. Did he see me with Zero? Would he ask questions? Hold it over my head? What would he do? But I couldn't worry about any of those possibilities until Kuran made a move. I relaxed, and then looked at him with a slight nod of my head, my eyes still holding a wary expression. Kuran regarded me for a second, eyeing as if trying to figure me out, and then nodded.
"I am not used to a escort." I said simply, lying. Chiori was always around me, and if it wasn't her, it was Shion, or someone else, but I wouldn't let Kuran know that.
"I'm surprised. Most purebloods have some sort of escort with them often." He stated, his eyes still looking at me as if trying to figure me out.
"Well… Only in certain situations." I admitted. Kuran nodded slightly.
"It's customary for Night Class students to have an escort their first couple weeks here at Cross Academy. I'm sure they have a similar custom for Day Class, but for Night Class students, it's a bit more… Mandatory if you will. I'm sure you understand why." He paused, giving me a expression that told me he wouldn't wait for my answer. I was right in that assumption as he continued." I would appreciate it if you followed customs. I know most of these students wouldn't outwardly display a bit… Resentment if we gave you, a pureblood, special privileges based on your status, but I'm sure they would feel it inwardly. I just ask that you respect the customs." I nodded slightly.
"Fine. I understand." I agreed. Kuran smiled slighly, relaxing as he stepped closer to me. I tensed, wanting to back away immediately, but relaxed slightly. Kuran didn't seem intimidating, and I didn't want to make a big deal out of nothing. Nor did I want to insult him.
"Also, I would suggest staying away from Kiryu. Most of us Night Students will not take it very kindly that a being such as Kiryu has taken special notice by you. You have a reputation to uphold, Miss Tomita, and you wouldn't want to bring him any trouble now would you?" He whispered into my ear in an almost threatening tone. I tensed slightly, a bad feeling immediately setting in my stomach. Kuran had seen us. It was enough to make my blood run cold.
"Miss Tomita! There you are!" I was relived to hear Takuma's voice call out to me. I was even more relived that it made Kuran step back from me. I looked at Kuran, and by his sickly-sweet smile, it told me that he was only keeping up a friendly pretext for the sake of it. I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, and I forced myself to look away, smiling at Takuma.
"I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble, Ichijo. I simply wished to see the moonlight. Kuran here just informed me of the customs. I'm sorry to have deceived you." I smiled at Takuma, who simply gave me a kind smile in return.
"You don't have to apologize, Miss Tomita. You're a new student. It will take some time before you are used to the customs here in the Night Class. Are you all unpacked? I could get one of the Night Class girls to help you, if you wish."
"Oh. No. It won't be necessary." I smiled slightly, raising a hand slightly, and waving it in front of my eyes as I laughed slightly.
"Right. We should be getting you back to your room then. Follow me." Takuma smiled, taking a step forward. I smiled in turn, nodding as I followed him.
"Miss Tomita, it would do you some good to remember what I told you as well." Kuran called after me. I looked at his friendly tone, his eyes still held a threatening expression. I nodded stiffly, and then turned and quickly followed after Ichijo.