"Just get her down here." Anju said as soon as they stepped through the doors of the Moon dorm. Slowly, Gabriella and Hibiki helped Cassandra down onto the sofa. She sat there, breathing heavily in an attempt to compose herself.

"Anju, what happened?" Gabriella asked as Emi and the other vampire prefects came to see what the commotion was.

"I don't know." Anju replied. "We were just out shopping and then I met someone, a man named Rodin. Cassandra took one look at him and was suddenly terrified out of her mind."

"Terrified?" Gabriella asked with concern as someone went to get Cassandra a glass of water. "Could Rodin have been someone from the Kraven clan?"

"No." Anju shook her head. "He was human through and through. He was strong though. I was getting harassed by some vampires and he saved me. Launched one of them across the street with just one punch." Murmurs now went through the gathered vampires. It was truly rare that some random human stranger was capable of overpowering a vampire was unheard of.

"I think we should report this to Chairman Cross." Emi said as she received the glass of water and handed it to Cassandra. "As part of the Association, I think it'd be best if he knew about this."

"I had the exact same thoughts." Anju nodded. "Once I drop off the supplies, I'll head to his office."

Cassandra now sat up, resting her head on her hands. Gabriella now sat down and patted her back. "Just calm down alright? You are safe here now." Cassandra merely responded with a few nods as she took a sip of water.

"Well, it has been quite a day, and it's time for me to get going." Anju said. "Let's all just get some rest alright? And just remember, we do have a festival coming up. Hopefully, that cheers her up."

"Anju, wait!" Cassandra said just as she walked to the door. "That man, I… I'm not sure who he is, but I think I remember his face, though it has changed since that day…"

"That day?" Anju asked. "What do you mean?"

Cassandra breathed, composing herself before she looked to Anju again. "I mean the day my mother was killed…"

Anju's eyes widened as she heard this. From what she had seen from Yuki's rearrangement of the memories of Cassandra's mother, Verona Kraven, and the revelations by Mortis Kraven himself, it led to one conclusion in her mind.

Helsing? Anju frowned. This could be worse than I thought…

Ichigo huffed as he reached the checkpoint, heavy the heavy backpack upon his shoulders. This was among the final steps of Deathdealer training. With less than 4 hours of sleep the day prior, the trainees had to make their way past a trek that lasted over a week on average, without any pause for rest. It was thus dubbed as the 'Death March'. Even Ford had scoffed at how lame a name it was.

Already, he had endured six days of endless hiking through dark forests and mountainous terrain, all the while finishing complex tasks meant to break him physically and mentally. Even experienced Hunters who poured all their rage and anger against vampires could falter at this stage. And that was without surprise attacks from hidden attackers who were meant to test exactly how ready they were in anticipating an ambush, of which failure to stop them resulted in an instant failure of the exercise.

Something snapped in the branches up above. Ichigo now dropped the backpack and dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the weapon of the man who ambushed him. He immediately twisted and lashed his leg out, hitting his assailant's skull while his hand now reached up and grabbed his shirt, forcing him down to the ground. Ichigo then pulled out a knife with his free hand, holding it at his throat.

"Well done." The assailant said. "Day six and it's still impossible to get you."

"That's because you made it easy for me to hear you." Ichigo remarked as he withdrew the weapon. "Seriously? A Deathdealer actually giving himself away? How did that even happen?"

"Well, I reckon as well that it's because you have a clear mind." The assailant said as he stood up. "Most people have nothing but seething anger toward vampires to keep themselves going this far down the line. But while that has its uses, it also blinds you to things you'd otherwise notice. Only the most alert, or the most level headed are able to withstand all that. Keep going, you're almost done."

Ichigo didn't respond as he went and picked up the backpack, alert for the slightest footfall. It wouldn't be uncommon for the assailant to praise him only to then attack him when he least expected it. Once he had confirmed that he had left, he marched on.

Then, rustling in the trees sounded. Crafty bastard. Ichigo said as he swivelled to face his opponent. Just as he drew his knife, a figure stepped out from the bushes with his hands raised.

"Easy kid." Ford said. "I swear that I'm not a part of this test you have here."

"You need something else to convince me." Ichigo said.

"How about this then." Ford answered. "Cross Academy is doing a school festival."

"What? Do you intend to distract me with something like that?" Ichigo frowned.

"Why the hell would I distract you with something like that?" Ford grumbled. "Just telling you what that idiot chairman decided to tell me. I have a feeling he wants you back in school."

"Hmm." Ichigo breathed as he put the weapon away, knowing that Ford's reasoning made sense. "Probably another one of his stupid whims."

"So, are you going back after this?" Ford asked.

"Well, I got nothing better to do." Ichigo remarked. "Plus, someone needs to make sure that idiot girl hasn't gotten herself squashed by the stampede of human students. And, I suppose it would be nice to go back, even if for a little while."

"Alright then." Ford nodded. "I'll make arrangements. Oh, and you might want to hurry it. You just lost five minutes."

"That was because you came here asshole!" Ichigo growled as he hurriedly marched away. As soon as he left his sight, Ford smiled wryly.

"Yeah, guess you'll be fine after all." He nodded before slipping back into the darkness.

Ren watched as Akira sat cross-legged before her. It had been weeks since he had started training like this. So far, there was evidence of progress. Only recently was she able to bear witness to her nephew finally achieving flight on his own. It was unfortunate that Akira had been swallowed by the ecstasy of flight, resulting in him crashing through the castle's main reading room and resulting in a scolding from his mother.

Ren's eyes watched as the bucket placed at the room's left side began to rise. Soon enough, the table itself started floating off the ground, along with the cup and teapot that was upon it. Her eyes returned to Akira, who was now sweating under the exertion of his telekinetic powers. The young Kuran's diligence appeared to have paid off, though he still had a ways to go before he could claim mastery of it. While it was already a difficult task to bring out such powers, reining them in was a far more difficult task, hence the current lesson.

"Good." Ren nodded as the other objects slowly lifted off the ground and went higher into the air. "Maintain your focus."

Akira did not reply, his very being concentrated upon the exertion of his power. The objects now floated around him, yet rising higher and higher.

Suddenly, Ren pulled out her pistol, aiming it toward her nephew. The minute her finger began to squeeze the trigger, a small stone flew straight at her. Ren ducked, avoiding the projectile that was aimed at her head. She watched as it flew to the wall before it slowed down dramatically, hovering in place.

"Expertly done." Ren nodded. "You have shown good awareness despite the toil upon your mind, not to mention great control." Ren now looked toward the floating objects slowly making their way down to the floor and settling back into the same place they were.

Akira opened his eyes, giving a drawn out exhalation as he stood up. "Auntie, would you consider that close to being sufficient use in combat?"

"I suppose it would serve you well." Ren nodded. "However, Katarina is a fierce opponent, as will be those Paragon beasts. Though you may rejoice in your current accomplishments, remember it is unlikely that the Kraven clan has shown all they are capable of, especially when we must consider that they may not have shown us their full potential. I doubt even Katarina was being completely serious with me."

Akira grabbed a towel and wiped the sweat from his brow. "So, what now?"

"I have been able to teach you all I know about your power." Ren replied as she opened the door, gesturing for Aria to follow. "Perhaps there are other aspects that you will find, but for now you should focus on honing your current skills. Oh, and the reinforcement of your weapon is going smoothly. You should go and see the smiths about it."

"Of course." Akira agreed. "I hope that it will aid me well in the trials ahead."

Ren nodded. "Well, hopefully you won't need it in the upcoming days. I hear the school is planning a festival, and that the girl who hosted your grandmother is apparently on the planning committee."

"Oh?" Akira's eyes widened in surprise. "That definitely sounds interesting. I wouldn't mind going. I would also like to see what my fellow students in the Night class have done. I just hope they don't end up making too much of a mess in the school."

"Speaking of which, things haven't been too crazy over there." Ren reported. "Cassandra Kraven seems to have settled into her role as the class head, and your friends have also done well in showing her the ropes."

"I never doubted her for a second." Akira smiled. "At least, it seems everyone is supporting her with all they have."

"I see." Ren said as they walked down the corridor. "So it was not just for the safety of the Night class, but also to ease Cassandra into her new life hm? You are quite devious at times."

"I try, Auntie." Akira shrugged.

Chairman Cross frowned as he heard Anju's report. Both Kidomaru and du Coteau similarly had concerned looks upon their faces upon Anju's description of the man named Rodin.

"Helsing huh?" Kidomaru frowned. "Zen has been looking into them for a long while now, but has yet to turn up any leads. It seems incredible that someone likely affiliated with them just turned up on our doorstep."

"One thing bothers me though." du Coteau said. "Lady Cassandra's family was supposedly killed some decades ago. If what she says is true, this Rodin fellow is older than he appears. How is that possible?"

"I know not." Chairman Cross said. "But, in our shared history were instances of humans drinking the blood of Pureblood vampires simply for the power to destroy them. Perhaps this Rodin is of a similar origin."

"I believe we should alert both the Hunter council and Queen Ai." Kidomaru said. "They ought to be on the lookout for him as well. The scarcity of information means we cannot pass this up."

"I agree." du Coteau nodded. "Though, I wonder what it will mean for us. Someone like him this close to Cross Academy may mean more trouble again. And just as things were going well for the students, who are especially excited for the festival."

"True. Too much security would be very off-putting and create unnecessary tension." Chairman Cross nodded. "But, would the alternative be worse? Already we have a history of being attacked at the worst possible times. I cannot compromise the students' safety, but at the same time I don't want to ruin this time for them."

"However, in the event anything happens on the school grounds, we may have no choice but to suspend the festival for the students' safety…" Kidomaru said.

"No!" Anju protested. "We can't!"

The three looked at her in surprise at her outburst. Anju composed herself with a few deep breaths before moving to explain. "The students, every one of them has worked so hard for this day! They deserve to enjoy themselves, especially since we are in the final preparations of the festival."

"Anju, while I do agree with that, we need to prioritise the students' safety first." Chairman Cross frowned. "I can't have a repeat of last time when the Kraven clan attacked us. Already people are talking about our school being cursed…"

"I don't think that is what is happening…" Kidomaru frowned in suspicion.

Anju sighed, knowing that the chairman was right. Nothing was more important than the safety of both students and guests. But how exactly was she going to be able to manage that? She wondered what was the most suitable of ideas, but nothing suitable came to mind.

"Haaaah…" Chairman Cross sighed, far more than he normally did. "Well fine, I'll call in some favours and bow my head a little to some people in the Hunter's Association. Considering who else is coming back for this, maybe I can convince some people of how historically important this event is."

"Well, I can help too!" Anju said, but Chairman Cross raised his hand.

"No, no Anju." Chairman Cross said. "I made this idea in the first place, so I ought to at least see it succeed. It should be you students who get to enjoy yourselves then."

"Are…" Anju frowned. "Are you sure?"

Chairman Cross nodded with a smile. "Fret not Anju. It is a grown-up's duty to make sure you children grow up happily. Let this old foggy handle any trouble that comes up!" He now got up, placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. "Now then, you should get going! You have quite a lot to plan for after all!"

"W-well, if you say so." Anju said. "You sure you will be okay?"

"Positive." Chairman Cross said, pushing her out the door.

"If you say so…" Anju nodded. "Well, I'll get back to my duties. Good luck Chairman, and thanks."

"Anything for my cute little girl!" Chairman Cross smiled gleefully. Anju nodded before she closed the door.

"You know, if only you'd act like that every time, I'd guarantee you'd at least be twice as respectable as you are now." Kidomaru commented.

"Shut it Kido." Chairman Cross frowned.

"At any rate, who will you be approaching?" Kidomaru asked.

"I think you know." Chairman Cross replied. "Oh and Kido, I'd like you to be present when I make this request to the Association council. Surely you understand why."

"If it's to make sure you don't end up bawling like a little baby, then sure." Kidomaru answered nonchalantly.

"Why you…" The Chairman gritted his teeth in frustration.

The train finally entered the station, hissing as it came to a stop. The people within came out, dragging large luggage bags or small suitcases that no doubt contained their personal effects. From the car at the end, a man came out, carrying two bags and grumbling as he did so.

"For god's sake, why the hell do I have to carry your stuff too?" The man glared, his yellow eyes partially obscured by the strands of his long black hair. "This is corporate abuse dammit!"

"Comment… Nonsense…" Replied the girl who stepped out. Her blonde hair was tied into two long pigtails with red ribbons. She wore a black gothic lolita dress adorned with red crosses and lined with white lace. However, the dress had no sleeves. Over her upper body, she wore a black shawl that was designed into six separate tails that extended to her waist with white porcelain triangles lining the ends. "Born without arms… Cannot carry…"

"You and I both know that don't mean shit…" He growled as he dropped both bags and moved to adjust his leather bracer studded with shoulder spikes. "Besides, it's hot out here already. I don't need extra help in making myself feel warmer." He now tugged repeatedly at his grey shirt underneath, fanning himself in an effort to cooldown.

"Attire… Black leather, tight cargo jeans… Analysis… Thermally retaining…" The girl replied. "Conclusion… Hot no matter what… Besides… Orders… Thus, unable to assist with luggage…"

"Good god, talk straight will ya?" He scowled as he picked up the bags. "It's so annoying sometimes…"

The two of them walked out together, flashing their tickets toward the station staff before they emerged into the town. People bustled all around, minding their own business as the two of them walked down the streets. At once, the man's nose twitched in disgust.

"Ugh, there are so many blood suckers here." He groaned.

"This place… Long history of vampire and human intermingling." The girl said. "Conclusion… Vampires heavily present…"

"We should just kill every one of them." He replied. "Let them understand fear…"

"Negative…" She said. "Goes against directive…"

"I know, I know…" He nodded. "I'll do it some other day." They continued walking past the crowd before they set their sights upon the distant mountain. "So, that is where the famous Cross Academy lies?"

"Affirmative…" She nodded. "There… Objective… Will recon terrain… Advise on appropriate strike time…"

"And in the meantime I bore myself here in town and make sure we don't compromise our mission. I know…" He grumbled. "Well then Five, we might as well get started shall we?"

'Five' nodded. "Agreed… Eight, contact One… Tell him… Arrived… Will proceed with final stages at discretion…"

"Kiehehehehe…" 'Eight' chuckled. "This'll be fun…"

Author's Note:

Took a little while longer than I though to get this out. To be honest, I'm at a point in the story where it gets harder to think of what to put into these chapters, along with writing another fanfic simultaneously. Please bear with me for any gaps between uploads.

Jdbl00d