DISCLAIMER: I do not own nor am I in any way affiliated with Vampire Knight.
Rie mutely trailed behind Seiren, the questionnaire clutched tightly in her hands. How had it ended up like this? She thought she'd be able to slip under the radar and simply be a normal high school student. Perhaps she'd been far too confident in her own abilities to act like a regular human. Rie supposed that her absences had been rather suspicious as well... She'd had a perfect attendance record until that lust for blood had hit her. On top of that, the charm the matron had given her hadn't helped a single bit. What had Kaname said? That she was akin to a ghost? Perhaps if the charm had given her some type of presence, no one would've caught on. Rie realized that that was a foolish thought. In a school like this, her secret would've been found out one way or another.
The brunette glanced up at the sky. Light blues were beginning to paint over the vast black of night. It was almost morning already? Time sure flew once she'd been dragged to the Headmaster's office. Then again, perhaps her sense of time had initially been a bit off since she had been unconscious for awhile.
Rie's attention was dragged away from the sky by the creaking of a gate. She stopped and stared directly at the foreboding wooden doors. Beyond that threshold would be an entirely different world. One full of politics and judgments along with the unmistakable ominous air that a vampire's dwelling always seemed to have. Unaware of what she'd come across, she straightened her posture and schooled her expression into one that was completely blank.
Once the gate had completely opened, Seiren continued down the path. Rie followed her, exuding the air of an aristocrat.
Kozakura stared at the woman on Rie's side of the room. She was dressed in a maid's outfit, her tea colored hair pulled back into a bun. The redhead had never seen this woman before in her life. Besides, the Sun Dormitories didn't have maids. They took care of the dorm by themselves and, occasionally, if things got too dirty, the Headmaster would hire a cleaning service.
Why was there a maid there? Why was she packing Rie's belongings?
"What are you doing," she questioned. "That's Sis' stuff!"
"I'm packing Wakahisa-sama's belongings so they can be transferred to her room in the Moon Dormitory," the maid replied as she continued her task.
Kozakura was at a loss for words and her mind was in overdrive. The Moon Dormitory? Why would Rie be there? No one knew she was a vampire. There was absolutely no reason for anyone to move her things!
She took a deep breath to calm herself. Maybe this was just a hallucination from lack of sleep. On the other hand, this could be a nightmare and she'd wake up soon.
"Please excuse us," the maid's voice broke her thoughts.
Wordlessly, Kozakura stepped aside. The woman and two people dressed in cloaks she hadn't noticed before moved past her, boxes in each of their arms.
Even if this was all simply a part of her imagination, Kozakura knew she had to speak to Rie... and soon.
The Moon Dormitory was deadly quiet, most of the residents were likely asleep. Rie almost felt secure enough to drop her guard. Almost. If this place hadn't housed vampires, she likely would have. She knew that if there were still any up and about, they'd likely view a lowered guard as a sign of weakness. Until a time came where she felt comfortable enough to not act like the perfect noble, she'd keep up the display.
"Thank you, Seiren." Rie turned her attention to the stairs, where the unusually cheerful voice had sounded from, and saw Takuma Ichijou descending them. "Kaname's asked me to take care of things from here."
The silver haired girl inclined her head then moved past him and up the stairs, presumably to go to her own room. Once Seiren had left the main hall, Takuma turned his attention to the brunette, a bright smile etched onto his face. Rie was inclined to believe that grin of his was fake, but, given how he acted when in the public eye, she doubted it. He seemed far too human to carry a less than genuine expression.
"I'm Takuma Ichijou, the Vice President of the Night Class," he introduced himself.
Rie weighed her options. She could either give her actual name, use the alias, or just state her first. If she simply gave him her first name, she was sure it'd be improper. It was possible that, even as nobles, their families ran in different social circles. Not to mention, she was nowhere near comfortable with anyone she wasn't close to simply referring to her as Rie. Using her alias would get her nowhere. Her true name was bound to spread like wildfire once she handed in her survey. Although revealing her real name would give away everything, she knew it was the only realistic option. If he reacted to it, it'd give her an inkling of her family's standing in their society after all these years... unless, of course, he was a master at concealing his true thoughts. Despite the human air he had, she was positive that he had the ability to flawlessly mask his thoughts and emotions when he needed to.
"I'm Rie Takagawa," her tone was polite. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Takagawa," Takuma's voice was quiet, almost inaudible, and the smile fell from his face.
He stared at her intently, almost as though he were studying her. Rie felt that wasn't a particularly good sign. Most introductions wouldn't be met with such scrutiny. Normally, they'd make polite conversation, discreetly attempting to find a weakness or any exploitable flaw just in case. It was never this obvious unless a majority of society felt that the family was barely deserving of their blood. Had her family's standing fallen so far after she'd left?
If it had, Rie knew that she had to stay on her toes and not make any mistakes. Every movement, every word, every breath would need to be impeccable. If things got to be too bad or her family's reputation was worse off than even she guessed, she could run. She'd find an escape route and leave. With her knowledge of human society, she could easily make it seem like she'd fallen off the face of the earth again.
Suddenly, his expression brightened. "I remember now," he began. "You're related to Miyuki Kurosawa-san!"
That reaction... She hadn't anticipated it at all. It was likely a good sign. It probably meant her grandmother had done everything in her power to ensure that the Takagawa line's reputation hadn't fallen. She would've needed quite an excuse to explain the absence of her only grandchild, the lone member of the Takagawa clan, and a number of connections to make it appear real. Of course, the Kurosawa family had always been fairly high up and well connected so she'd have the contacts to successfully pull off whatever story she concocted. The one thing that concerned Rie was what lie her grandmother had told.
She'd worry about that later. What was more important at the moment was how he knew she was related to that woman. While certain lineages were taught, their tutors only told them about the pureblood lines. Perhaps his had informed him about certain aristocrat families? Or maybe his family had taught him that? There were a few other possibilities for his knowledge, but she didn't quite want to entertain the ideas.
Despite her thoughts, Rie kept her mask of indifference in tact. "Yes," she confirmed, keeping her voice cool and even. After all, it was risky to show another vampire your true emotions, especially if you weren't familiar with them. Any emotion could be exploited.
"I'm sure your grandmother will be relieved to hear you're well," he replied.
"That's likely," was her simple response.
As though sensing Rie had no interest in conversation, Takuma turned and began walking up the stairs. "Your room is this way."
She followed him in absolute silence. Her brain still couldn't process that she was being forced back into the society she had left. The only thing that kept her from turning around and bolting was Takuma would likely stop her. Given how he drank blood, or, at the very least, a substitute for it, on a regular basis his abilities would far exceed her own. He, along with the rest of the Night Class, could catch her with ease like a cat pouncing on a mouse. If she wanted to escape, she'd have to bide her time and look for an opening.
For now, she memorized the way to her new dorm room.
Eventually, the pair stopped in front of a door. Rie glanced out the window. The scenery was the same as the one she'd seen upon gaining consciousness.
"And this is your room," Takuma spoke as though he'd been talking the entire time. Had he? Rie couldn't be sure. "Do you have any questions?"
"No," she said. "Thank you, Ichijou-senpai."
"You're welcome, Takagawa-san," he smiled.
"Well, good night," Rie entered the room before he could say anything.
She listened to Takuma's footsteps as he left her door. A breath she hadn't known she'd been holding escaped her once they faded away. Finally, she could get some peace.
Rie moved further into the room and placed the survey she'd been given on one of the nightstands. It didn't have to be completed right away after all. Besides, she wanted to hold off on filling it out for as long as she could. If she found an opening to leave before its deadline then it would've been a waste of time. Three days. That was her time limit to find a way out. If she could accomplish it as a child in a well guarded mansion, Rie was positive she'd be able to escape again as a teenager at a boarding school.
Despite wanting to think up a plan to grab Kozakura and leave, Rie was exhausted. She curled up on one of the beds and was asleep within seconds.
Author's Note: This chapter has been sitting around in my documents since 2017 apparently. I think my original plan was to get a few chapters ahead before posting this one, but, well, that's a moot point now. I figured since it's been so long I should publish what I have then continue trying to figure things out. I'll be honest, I haven't actively worked on this story for years now and my notes are... a dumpster fire to put it lightly. I'm sure only the me from 2016/2017 could decipher them. Even so, I'm thinking about trying to continue writing this since I've been wanting to work on something for Vampire Knight for a little while now. It's either continue this, work on a new story with a pureblood OC (which I'm certain is oversaturated at this point), or maybe just do both. I'm not sure yet. At any rate, if I do continue this the next update will take awhile since I have to rework my basic outline and make certain decisions regarding a few characters (Kozakura in particular). Regardless of what I do decide, thanks for taking the time to read this!