Chapter 17:

He stalked through the dark hallways, only a few candles lighting the path before him. His black shows clopped upon the marble floors as his sword clinked with every step. He didn't bother looking out of the windows, for there was nothing to see in the bleak blackness of the night, not even the moon. It mattered little to him, for he detested anything that shone.

He approached the ornate door, decorated with macabre carvings of horrific beasts and demonic creatures. Flanking it were two vampire thralls, their eyes as blank as the marble slate his feet stood upon. James frowned, their wills had been broken long ago, leaving nothing but a blank void within their minds. It was so like his master to break the minds of anyone at any time, leaving them nothing but hollow shells of their former selves. Such a horrific fate, even more than that of a Level E.

The thralls reached for the doors and opened them. The silence was now broken by the creaking of mouldy hinges. James walked inside, letting the shadows engulf him. As soon as the door closed again, he knelt upon the floor, feeling the cold air caress him.

Or perhaps it is the cold hand of death? He mused to himself. After all, his master could be considered as such.

From the darkness, a tall hooded figure stepped forward, a crooked cane in its left hand. James knew the cane served no real purpose, for his master could walk without it. It was just a ruse, an illusion that he was weak. The figure was anything but.

"Rise, Mr. Ridley." The figure commanded with a voice of deathly whispers. James stood up and walked to the figure, who now extended a hand. Despite there being no light, James could clearly make out the pale hand that emerged from the dark, the skin now decayed, scabbed and crawling with maggots. Without hesitation, James leaned forward, kissing the signet ring that was worn upon the figure's fourth finger.

"You appear to be in high spirits your grace." James greeted as the figure retracted its arm. He never asked if his master was doing well. The answer was always the same. He would rant on for what felt like hours on how decayed his body was, despite being a Pureblood vampire. How he would see his flesh renew itself, only to waste away within minutes again. And every breath through the ranting would be saturated with scorn and fury. It was not something James had time for and frankly, neither did his master.

"Our plans are going well are they not?" His master replied as he went and sat in a chair that didn't appear to be present till now. "Though I must say, for Ai to make such a move like moving to Cross academy was one I did not expect."

"Shall I adjust our plans then?" James asked.

"Fret not my loyal servant." His master replied. "Ai's actions may be unexpected, but not dangerous. The foolish child knows nothing of what will be wrought till it comes. She may be a Kuran, but she is still young. Her youth will be her weakness…"

Just then, the door opened again. James turned to see another figure walk in, dressed in a tailored suit and black pants. The only thing that was off was his white gloves and the metal mask upon his face.

"Franklin Lestat." The hooded figure said. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"My lord." The man named Franklin knelt as he spoke. "I have finished with the Hunter we captured. He revealed many things to me before I devoured him. The Association is also preparing for battle. It seems they want to reinforce Cross academy as well."

"Yet another predictable move." The figure nodded. "Make the necessary arrangements Mr. Lestat. Ensure that we are aware of their movements and plans. If you need to redirect more staff to observe the Hunters, do so at your discretion."

"Indubitably my lord." Franklin responded. "What message shall I give Katarina?"

"Tell her to lie low for now." Replied the hooded figure. "Do not attract unnecessary attention. It is vital that we remain secretive till the appropriate time."

"I understand." Franklin bowed once more. "Oh yes, it seems Cassandra has gone gallivanting again. Shall I dispatch a team to find her?"

The figure waved his hand. "Do not bother. I will find her and bring her home on my own time. She is still my responsibility."

"As you wish." Franklin replied.

"Leave us." The figure commanded. Franklin bowed for a final time before he stood up. James could catch the look of envy in Franklin's eyes as he walked out of the chamber. Before he came along, he knew Franklin was his master's right hand. He had to admit, Franklin was a brutal and efficient overseer. However, if there was one thing he lacked, it was a pragmatic mind and brutal conviction. Thus, he lost his position as the commander of their forces to James, though James was sure he'd do anything to win it back. All he needed was to find one mistake with the former vampire knight.

And so James was careful to not make mistakes.

He turned his full attention at last to his master, knowing that there was something of importance to discuss.

"Something stirs within the darkness." His master said. "Have you felt it?"

"Apologies my lord, I know not." James replied.

"I know not what it is either." His master responded. "But it stirs an ancient nostalgia unlike anything I've known before. It is only a trickle now, a small ripple in a pond. However, this is one thing that I am fully confident is unpredictable. It could jeopardise all we have worked for."

"Send me to destroy it then." James said.

"I do not know what it is." He master responded with a heavy sigh, before he coughed. James could now smell the freshly coughed up blood of a Pureblood vampire. His master took a few breaths before speaking again. "I know not of the consequences of destroying it and neither do I know what sort of threat it represents." James frowned. He was right, uncertain things had uncertain consequences. It has to be handled with the utmost care to ensure that the consequences were at least more or less desirable.

"What is thy bidding, my master?" James asked.

"Find this speck of unpredictability." His master said. "Bring it to me…"

"As the Deathlord wills it." James replied, bowing once more.

"Ann… Wake up…"

"Hnnnggh…" Anju moaned as she tried to shake away the disturbance.

"ANJU CROSS!"

"GAH!" Anju woke with a stat to see many pairs of eyes turned toward her. But most piercing was the eyes of the teacher that stood in the middle of class.

"Well Ms. Cross, since you have found my class worth sleeping through, perhaps you would like to pick up where our literature reading left off?" The teacher said with a forceful glare that could probably make vampires flinch.

"Uh…" Anju gulped as she looked to Hibiki for help, but there was none to be found.

"I… I'm sorry…" Anju bowed her head in remorse.

"Well then, I suppose a little bit of after school sessions will be in order." The teacher surmised. "I'll be letting the prefects know about this."

Ack. Senior Isabelle is going to kill me… Anju thought as she resumed paying attention to the class. Truth be told, she hadn't been sleeping well as of late, considering the horrid dreams she had been having so far. They appeared to be getting worse and worse by the day. Sometimes, it would be getting attacked, sometimes she would be drowning in a pool of blood, other times she would be getting ripped limb from limb.

And always, always she would be there. Always watching. A girl clad completely in white, with long brown hair and eyes the colour of blood.

Anju sighed as she tried her best to ignore the exhaustion that was setting in and focus on class. Still, she couldn't shake off the memory of the girl who was assaulting her dreams every night. She was beautiful, but also deadly. Movement at the window caught Anju's eye. She turned to see a very large swallowtail butterfly fluttering about. Anju somehow felt it was a familiar sight, but disregarded it to focus on the lesson. It wouldn't do for her to get into any more trouble with the teacher.

As the class ended, Anju wearily got up and headed for the cafeteria, hoping a cup of tea will at least keep her awake. As she walked through the halls, she could hear gossip from other students about spotting the vampire senators that had come, along with the queen, who they merely got fleeting glimpses of.

Some days ago, the chairman had already announced the presence of the high ranking vampires that had stepped into the school grounds, saying that their visit is only meant as a way to observe around the school and its operations, a sort of audit if they could call it that. Despite his assurances that the vampires would not interfere with classes, he also gave stern warnings on not disturbing them. Anju knew well enough that vampires could be fickle, and that his warning also subtly included not antagonising them.

As she got to the cafeteria, she noticed the students were focussed upon something other than their own meals. She entered to see four figures at the furthest corner of the cafeteria. There was a woman with toffee coloured hair and next to her, a tall male with orange coloured hair. The male was quite the stunning replica of Ganju Kain himself, leaving Anju to wonder if they were related. The other two figures were people she already recognised, Senri Shiki and Rima Toya, Shinji's grandparents.

They appeared quite odd by most standards, especially Rima and Senri, who were sharing a box of candy sticks, with Rima feeding Senri most of the time. They appeared to be in a quiet conversation with the other two vampires, who Anju had to assume were new arrivals, for she did not see them during the night party at the Moon dorm.

Then, it appeared that Senri noticed her looking at them, for his eyes suddenly locked onto hers. At this time, Anju felt a chill crawl down her spine as she felt his stare to be similar to that of a predator. It wasn't long before she felt the eyes of the others seated with him as they wondered what had caught his attention.

The other woman now stood up, walking over toward Anju. She noticed how gracefully the woman carried herself, which made Anju believe she was a Noble of some sort. As she studied her hair, she realised how similar it was to Ganju Kain, much like the appearance of the other male.

"Why hello there." The woman said softly as soon as she was close enough. "It seems we have caused quite a stir in this place."

"Ah, well…" Anju gulped, still captivated by how perfect this woman looked. From her brown eyes to the curves of her body and her smile, the woman was completely enrapturing. Not as much as Queen Ai herself, but Anju figured that no one else came close.

"Oh, where are my manners?" The woman gasped before straightening up. "I am Lady Ruka Souen. I am one of Queen Ai's retainers and a member of the Vampire council. I just arrived here not too long ago and I must say, many things have changed since my time."

"You are an alumnus?" Anju responded. "Ah, I mean, I don't think I should be surprised."

"All of us over there are." Ruka nodded to the table. "Me, Akatsuki, Rima and Senri over there. I must say, things don't feel as dreary as all those centuries ago. It seems the co-existence of both human and vampire have clearly benefited this place. You prefects don't go around confiscating photos of the Night Class, do you?"

"Um, we don't do that. We just make sure the crowds are well controlled." Anju answered.

"Well, that is still the same." Senri Shiki yawned as he came over with Rima and the last vampire, whose name was Akatsuki. Anju could now see an even greater similarity with Senri Shiki and his grandson, though admittedly, Shinji appeared more active.

"Seems you haven't gotten used to the sunlight yet Senri. Here, some more food." Rima said as she flicked a small tablet into the air, which Senri now caught and swallowed.

"If only Ichijo and Aidou were here, that'd be pretty much the whole gang." Senri said as soon as he swallowed the tablet.

"Too bad Hanabusa is busy in other affairs." Akatsuki now spoke up. At this distance, Anju marvelled at how tall the vampire was. She gawked as well at his style of wearing the shirt, leaving the top unbuttoned so that all could see his collarbone. He then noticed how many students stared at him, moving immediately to properly button up.

"It seems I'm attracting a lot of attention." Akatsuki frowned.

"Well, I think it's because you resemble Senior Ganju a lot." Anju stated.

"Ah, I see. Ruka, it appears our grandson is pretty popular in this place." Akatsuki frowned, seemingly relieving some memories.

I knew it. Anju thought as Akatsuki's words carried over the cafeteria. Students now bustled as they realised that Ganju Kain was related to the newest arrivals in the school. Anju looked back carefully, wondering if there was any need to hold back a crowd in the middle of the day.

"Well, we all were back in the day." Ruka nodded. "I still remember the day class prefects then."

"There were only two. They worked hard. They often got overworked." Senri nodded, seemingly in a daze, though Anju could feel how piercing his gaze was as he looked at her. "She kinda reminds me of Yuki…"

"You know we can't say that name so openly…" Rima sighed as she fed Senri another candy stick.

"Some things are best left untouched unless there is no other option." Ruka nodded before turning to Anju. "I am aware of who you are Anju Cross. Rest assured, we will not speak of anything Queen Ai has discussed with you and we will not interfere with the students. I bid you farewell for now, but I'm more than certain we'll meet again soon."

With a slight bow, Ruka walked away, followed by the other vampires. Anju watched as they reached the entrance of the cafeteria, stopping only as a familiar face came in.

"What are you doing here?" Ichigo asked, noticing immediately that they were vampires.

"Huh… Another one eh?" Senri frowned. "I can't decide if it's just me, or if this is all coincidental."

"If it is coincidental, it must be one very cruel play of fate." Ruka replied sombrely as she motioned for them to leave. "Adieu to you Mr. Ichigo Kitsuke. Do try to not lose yourself to your temper, or your thirst."

Ichigo's eyes went wide as he watched the vampires leave, wondering exactly how they realised who he was, and that he was a vampire.

Anju breathed a sigh of relief as she finished up with the make-up class. Thankfully, she wasn't plagued by exhaustion of any sort, getting through the lesson without much difficulty save for the stern look of the literature teacher.

God, this sucks… Anju moaned as she walked past the halls. It was time to report for her prefect duties, though she was sure she'd get more than a grilling from Senior Dunois for this oversight. Combining that with how exhausted she felt, Anju couldn't help but feel her body turning into dead weight.

Anju now looked up, realising she had missed her turn toward the prefect's room. Instead, she had found herself in the west wing of the school, where the Night class would soon be gathering for their first lessons.

"Darn it all. It's bad enough that I'm losing sleep, but now I have to let it get me lost on school grounds too?" Anju grumbled as she shuffled her way back down the hall. As she continued walking, she came across a black coloured door that was left slightly ajar. Anju disregarded it in favour of focusing on where she was meant to go first. That was until a figure emerged from the door, bumping into her.

"Agh!" Anju cried as she hit the ground, her books toppling out of her hands.

"Ah. Apologies…" Said the figure. Anju now looked up to see a female figure hunched over her. The woman had pale and short violet hair and eyes of a similar colour. She stared coolly at Anju as she helped the girl up to her feet. "I should have been watching where I was going."

"No, no." Anju said, waving her hands. "I'm at fault for not paying attention."

"Well, let's agree that we are both at fault, shall we?" The woman said nonchalantly.

"Uh, sure. Why not?" Anju grinned sheepishly.

"Please allow me to introduce myself." The woman said. "My name is Seiren."

"Hello." Anju replied. "My name is Anju Cross."

"Ah. You are the one Queen Ai has taken an interest in." Seiren replied. "I hope she hasn't caused too much confusion with her jokes. She wasn't like that as a child."

Anju blinked as she registered Seiren's words. If this one knew about the queen, she had to be a vampire, possibly as old as lady Ruka and the others she had met earlier in the day. "So, you've known the queen since she was young?"

"I did." Seiren nodded. "There were many fond memories I had with her family."

"I see." Anju replied. "May I ask, what is that room anyways?" Anju now gestured to the black door.

"From what I know, that is the Night class prefect room." Seiren said. "It is a good place to relax sometimes." Seiren now glanced at the clock, which said Seven O'clock. "It seems I have to be going. Good day Ms. Anju Cross. May you have a pleasant evening."

"Ah. You too." Anju bowed as Seiren left. She frowned as the vampire left, her eyes now switching to regard the door. Curiosity overcame her prefect responsibility as she now walked over to the black door. Pulling it open, she entered the room. It wasn't as dreary as the door looked, with ornate furniture and a small chandelier hanging overhead. All around the room were works of art and pictures of the academy.

Anju now looked toward the small table in the centre of the room, upon which a photo album lay. It appeared Seiren was looking through the album, most likely depicting the academy in previous years.

Anju now went over and looked through the photos, which were mostly depicting old vampire students and previous Night class prefects. Anju flipped through the pages, chuckling as she spotted the photo of Akira and the other vampire prefects in their first year at the academy, a very comical shot of Emi trying to balance herself on Ganju's broad shoulders, which may have caused him to lose balance and now start to topple on Henry, with the rest of them now glancing in shock.

Anju giggled as she turned the pages again, approaching more distant years of the academy's past. She flipped once more, and then froze.

There she was, the phantom figure from her dreams. She stood beside a young girl who closely resembled the vampire queen. There was no mistaking the brown hair the extended past her waist, though the eyes weren't red, but a slight red-brown instead. Despite it all, the figure was all too familiar. Anju now noticed a shadow dancing in the periphery of her vision. Turning to the window, she now saw a swallowtail butterfly. And then she remembered.

Butterflies. Whenever the woman appeared in her dreams, there were always butterflies dancing around her.

"Who are you?" Anju asked no one in particular. "Why do you keep haunting my dreams? What do you want from me?"

Ai opened her eyes in shock. Through the butterfly, she had seen what Anju had found, and even more, what she had just said.

It can't be… Ai sat back down, bewilderment filling every inch of her mind. Could she have?

Author's Note:

Well, at this stage I think I have pretty much spoiled loads of things I have ideas for in this next chapter.

I apologise for the late upload, but work doesn't make writing these chapter out much easier. And it doesn't help when ideas don;t flow through your head well enough.

Still, I hope you are still reading this fic, and enjoying it.

Jdbl00d