Chapter 16: New Student

At 6 o'clock, the gates barring entry to the Moon Dorm opened and the Night Class began their procession past the fangirls. Yuki thought she would be prepared since she had already witnessed them prior via her familiar. However, as she went forth a few steps, following behind Kaname, she realized how wrong she was.

The high-pitched shrieks and enamored screams assaulted her sensitive vampire hearing. She glanced at Maria and saw her similarly trying to hold back a wince. Both girls had spent most of their lives within the quiet of nature, but now they were experiencing the higher end of the decibel scale. The cacophony around them brought to mind battle fields of ancient wars. Yuki wondered if this was how soldiers had felt as they hid in trenches while the racket of cannons and artillery fire filled the air.

The two girls survived their first encounter with the fangirls and followed their classmates to the dining hall where breakfast was being served. Kaname gestured for Yuki and Maria to sit at the same table as he and Hanabusa, while the remainder of his clique sat at the next table. He then informed them the blond aristocrat would help them settle in on their first day of class.

The blond stood up and bowed deeply to Yuki. His cerulean eyes shimmered with excitement and pride at the fact that Kaname had entrusted this task to him.

"My name is Hanabusa Aidou, and I'm a loyal follower of Kaname-sama's. I'm pleased to help Yuki-sama with settling into life at school. If there is anything you need assistance with, please don't hesitate to ask."

Yuki smiled awkwardly at his fervor and thanked him. She suspected he had high expectations of her, given how he admired her brother, and that he would be shocked when he eventually discovered she wasn't like Kaname. She had always been aware that she possessed neither the authoritative yet mysterious charisma of her mother and brother, nor the cocksure confidence of Shizuku.

Mealtime came to an end as 7 o'clock approached and the students dispersed to their respective lecture halls. Hanabusa led the two girls to an empty lecture hall where he had them seated a few feet apart and informed them of the protocol. All students admitted into the Night Class had to take placement tests for the core subjects of literature, math, science, and history before they could attend the courses. Yuki and Maria were no exception.

As soon as he spoke the word 'exam', Yuki felt the blood drain from her face.

She had completely forgotten about the placement exams, even though Maria had warned her about them the week prior. Okay, maybe Maria had warned her more than once… Unlike her, Maria had read the details in the orientation packet the school mailed them and had strongly suggested Yuki review her lessons before heading off to school. As usual, Yuki had ignored her friend's sensible advice, and thus here she was, filled with dread about the exams she now faced.

While the blond turned around to sort the unorganized test papers on the teacher's desk, Yuki turned to face Maria. "Help me!" she mouthed with a pleading expression. Maybe her friend could somehow wriggle their way out of this.

In return, Maria simply sent her a look that read "You reap what you sow", before turning again to face the front. Whenever Maria reacted like this, Yuki could see she was a distant relative of her mother's – they had the same icy glare. Yuki grimaced, there was no other option but to take the exams.

Hanabusa finished arranging the exam papers and distributed them among the two girls.

"These tests are meant to give the teachers an idea of what you already know and what you need extra help with. This is necessary since most of the Night Class students were homeschooled and the curriculums were not standardized. Of course, these exams won't be any trouble for you, Yuki-sama. After all you're a pureblood, and Kaname-sama's little sister!" Hanabusa concluded and smiled brightly at her.

Yuki forced herself to smile back.

The blond interpreted her smile as indication that she was ready and clapped his hands together. "Now that the details are out of the way, let us begin. You have one hour for the history exam."

As soon as Yuki flipped her page and skimmed the questions, she broke into a light sweat. She deeply regretted not paying attention during her lessons. As the minutes ticked by, she stealthily glanced around. Aidou-senpai was busy reading a scientific journal instead of proctoring, apparently having faith that she and Maria won't cheat. She glanced at Maria on the opposite end of the bench and saw her engrossed in her exams, with one page already completed and put to the side.

Yuki gulped. She would have to start writing, time was ticking away. Almost a third of the questions were multiple choice while the rest was short answer. Hopefully partial credit was given, and that luck was on her side.


By the time Yuki scribbled her last answer, she was visibly exhausted. She had no idea how people could sit through several exams in a row. There had only been a single ten-minute break the whole duration! When Hanabusa collected the exams and asked if they were as easy as he had assured her, she only smiled meekly.

After collecting their exams, Hanabusa proceeded to give a presentation on the electives available. The Night Class had more leeway with their studies and schedules than the Day Class since many of them had been taught by the best tutors money could afford and also benefitted from the enhanced intelligence of vampires. Although there were exceptions, the average vampire was smarter than the average human.

At Cross Academy, a plethora of electives were offered. These included filmmaking, dance, and philosophy among others. After much consideration, Yuki marked down oil painting, horseback riding, cinema studies, and photography. She had always liked watching movies and cinema studies sounded like a class in which they did just that. Horseback riding was a no-brainer, she loved being outdoors and had always wanted to ride a horse. As for the art elective, she decided that painting was preferable to the classes with assigned reading and writing.

For her last elective she chose photography. She wanted to learn how to take photos and send them to her mother. Yuki was aware her mother had always been imprisoned and had never experienced society – much less school. Besides sending photos to reassure her mother she was doing well; she hoped the photos would address any curiosity her mother might have about school life.


The next day, soon after Yuki awoke, Seiren knocked on her door and informed her that Kaname-sama wanted to see her. Yuki quickly brushed her hair and threw on a shawl before heading to his room.

Kaname was sitting at his desk, a cup of tea and a stack of papers before him. Yuki stood nervously before him, wondering what he wanted to discuss. Glancing down, Yuki gulped when she saw her name on the top paper – it was her history exam from last night. There was a large 43% written and underlined in bright red ink next to her name. This was not good…

With a stern frown, Kaname informed her that Aidou had graded the exams and that while Maria had passed them all, Yuki's scores were "disappointing" to put it lightly. To be concise, she had failed all her exams except for the literature one, which she had narrowly passed with a score of 67%.

Yuki felt a rush of gratitude to her mother for reading the classics to her, even back when she was too young to understand a thing. She could still remember the times her mother tucked her into bed and read in her calm voice the words of great writers and philosophers, as well as the times her mother recited famous poems. Although Yuki hadn't understood what her mother had read to her half the time, it seems some of the literature had managed to leave an impression.

"Your mother did hint at the state of your academic progress, but it appears I mistook her words for the exaggerated concerns of a parent with overly high expectations."

Yuki blushed to her ears with mortification and shame. She wondered what Aidou-senpai thought of her now after having graded her exams. She also hoped her brother would not blame her mother for her grades. Her mother had tried, but unfortunately Yuki herself was simply uninterested and had paid only the barest attention to her lessons.

Kaname sighed. "This is what we shall do. You'll attend literature and the other classes with the rest of us, and Aidou will tutor you on the core subjects you're deficient in. I expect that you'll strive to improve your grades."

Yuki nodded timidly. "I'm sorry Kaname onii-sama."

He softened his expression and held her gaze. "Yuki, you're a princess of the esteemed Kuran family. There are certain standards you have to live up to, do you understand?"

She nodded and he dismissed her. As she shut the door behind her, she comforted herself that there was a silver lining – she managed to pass the literature exam. At the very least, the situation could not get worse.


Unfortunately, as is often the case in life, when one wonders if the situation could get worse, one will discover that yes, it can indeed get worse.

Before the first week was over, Yuki received a long letter from her mother, one she read with trembling hands and a chastised expression. She could see feel the heavy, menacing anger of her mother permeating the elegant handwriting. Apparently Kaname had written a letter to Shizuka, giving her an update on how Yuki was settling into school life. Unfortunately for Yuki, he had also reported her inadequacies in the academic subjects.

Upon reading Kaname's letter detailing her daughter's failure to be admitted into multiple classes, Shizuka had buried her face in her hands, simmering in disappointment and embarrassment. The following day she had crafted a lengthy, multi-paged letter indicating the full weight of her censure, warning Yuki to study hard, the "or else" strongly implied. Yuki shuddered, thinking of the consequences she would meet with upon her return home if she did not do as ordered.


During her first week of school, Yuki could not help comparing life at school with life at home.

Life back in the mountains was simple. She would wake up, eat breakfast, and sit through 5 hours of lessons with a lunch break in between. Thrice a week, she had to train with her mother after lessons. After lessons, she usually went to Maria's house where they would hang out, doing things like watching television or baking. Often, she would stay at Maria's to dine.

It had become custom for the Kurenais to invite them over for dinner twice a week. Yuki loved eating at the Kurenais. While Aoi was a decent cook, Maria's mother was an expert and prepared many wonderful dishes. She specialized in Japanese cuisine but was also quite proficient in other cuisines. Her family owned a famous, centuries old, Kaiseki restaurant. It was at this restaurant she had honed her skills and met Maria's father, who had dined there with friends one night to celebrate the successful production of his first play.

After dinner, Yuki would spend the remaining hours before bedtime lounging around the living room. Her mother and Aoi would be in the living room where they had set up their make-shift studio, absorbed in their embroidery and sewing. Not long after they had moved into the mountains, Maria's mother had gotten them jobs through her connections.

Shizuka was prideful and did not want to rely on the Kurenais more than necessary. She was also very bored and found some pleasure in working. Aoi was the type that found meaning in work and felt restless when she was not toiling. There was only so much to do as a maid of two purebloods hiding in a cabin deep in the mountains. As a result, Aoi now did contract sewing work aside from her forays into the stock market, while Shizuka embroidered expensive kimonos and obis. Shizuka enjoyed the work, it was nice earning her own money and she had always done embroidery as a pastime anyway.

While Aoi operated the sewing machine and her mother adorned colorful kimono patterns with gold or silver threads, Yuki would laze on the sofa and chatter. As night drew to an end, her mother would send her off to shower and to bed. Yuki had lived this way the past three years.

Life at school was more rushed.

On weekdays, Yuki got up around 3 in the afternoon. Since they did not have access to the dining hall until a few hours later, many Night Class students went to the dorm kitchen for a light snack during the interval before classes started. The kitchen was functional, but not much cooking occurred there, as most of the Night Class were rich and used to having others do the cooking. The refrigerator and pantry were thus filled more with store-bought snacks than cooking ingredients.

After grabbing a snack from the kitchen, Yuki would return to her room and work on her homework. Unfortunately, she often got distracted by the TV in her room when Maria was not present to supervise her. As 6 p.m. approached, she would change into her uniform and assemble with the rest of the students in front of the dorm gates.

Every weeknight, the gates would open the moment the clock struck 6. The Night Class would make their way past the fangirls and arrive at the main building. Yuki would grin and wave whenever she passed by Yoko, who would respond with an affable smile before turning back to her duties.

The students would stream into the dining hall where they ate and hung out until classes started at 7. Yuki would then follow Hanabusa to an unoccupied lecture hall where he would tutor her until her short lunch break at 9. After lunch she would finish her private tutoring session before attending the other courses with her classmates.

Classes ended at midnight, and the athletes headed to the fitness center while the rest went to their club activities or the library. During this time Yuki would pop into different clubs and see if any of them caught her fancy. Students would then return to the dining hall for dinner around 2 to 3 a.m. Yuki usually retired to the Moon Dorm after dinner to do her homework with assistance from Maria.

Yuki was thankful to Hanabusa for tutoring her, but she preferred Maria's pedagogical methods. The blond was a genius, and like most geniuses, his talents lay in research and not teaching. He expected her to know things by default and his attempts at explaining usually confused her even more. Maria on the other hand was accustomed to teaching Yuki and explaining concepts in ways she could understand. Most importantly, Yuki was able to relax around her and not worry about keeping up appearances. With Aidou-senpai, she was Kaname-sama's younger sister, whereas with Maria, she was just plain old Yuki.

After working on her assignments, she would shower and watch more TV before bed. Around 6 or 7 in the morning, she would finally go to sleep, bringing her night to an end as the sun rose higher in the sky.

By the end of the first week, Yuki started to settle into her school life. However, at the end of the second week, someone unexpected appeared and shook up her new routines.


Yuki shot up from her chair, gasping audibly at the sight of the new student who had entered the meeting room and now stood beside Takuma. She had been surprised when Seiren informed her about the impromptu meeting and had wondered what was so urgent it could not wait until next week's meeting.

While Takuma addressed the class about the newcomer joining them, Yuki stared at the new student without blinking. That golden-orange hair and those chartreuse green eyes on a devilishly handsome face. That all too familiar aura...

Ah – now he was looking straight at her with a small smirk! That cinched it, this was definitely him, even though he appeared older now. That condescending smirk was something she would never mistake or forget, not even after a million years!

She would have leapt down the stairs and dragged him away to shake and question him if it were not for the look of warning Kaname was giving her now, as if he had been blessed with the gift of telepathy and had sensed her desire. Yuki reluctantly sat back down under the firm stare of her brother. Sometimes she suspected he shared parenting notes with her mother since their "don't test my patience" glares were identical in their ability to freeze her blood.

"Class, we have another pureblood lord joining our school. Please welcome Shizuku Toma-sama."

Their non-pureblood classmates bowed deeply, displaying the required respect.

Shizuku smiled confidently (rather too smugly in Yuki's opinion), briefly introduced himself, stating that he was here for a new experience, having been drawn to the school's goal of fostering coexistence with humans, and concluded that they did not need to mind his presence too much. He paid no heed to the dark and seething aura surrounding Yuki, who glowered at him from the back of the room.


As soon as the meeting ended, Yuki rushed after him, too intent on her target to care about the way she appeared to others. Maria would just have to admonish her about running around in an unlady-like manner later. Shizuku had already disappeared down the corridor. When she arrived at the intersection at the end of the hall, a voice interrupted her before she could even decide whether to turn left or right.

"Looking for me?"

She whipped around to see him leaning casually against the wall to her right. He was looking at her with an amused smile and a taunting gleam in his eyes. Seeing him up close made her feel even more confused. Although she had always been aware that his boyish appearance was a facade, it was odd seeing those familiar green eyes on the unfamiliar face of a teenager.

Back when she first met him, she had almost thought him a girl with his thick eyelashes and large eyes, but now his visage was undeniably male. That and the fact that he now towered over her by almost a full foot. She had only known him as a ten-year-old boy that never aged, like Peter Pan from the story Aoi once read to her. It was hard connecting the Shizuku she had always known to the Shizuku currently standing in front of her.

Seeing her continue to gawk at him with a dumbfounded expression, her mouth slightly open but not saying anything, he sighed lightly and stepped closer. Peering down into her face, he flicked his index finger on her forehead, causing her to emit a small yelp and bringing her back to the present. For some reason Yuki found her face growing heated when he stood so close.

Noticing her reddened face, he smirked. "What? Are you so impressed by how handsome I am that you're stunned into silence?"

Yuki scowled; the immense size of his ego had not changed. Before, she had found it easy to humor him and his arrogance, given his childish countenance, but now it irked her when he behaved the same way in his older form.

"Oh please, Kaname onii-sama is just as handsome if not more!"

"You're right…he's so beautiful that it's shocking you two are related given your mediocre looks!" he readily retorted.

It was entertaining how her face was red as a beet now – a sight he will never get tired of.

Yuki fumed but decided to ignore his rudeness, another trait of his that he failed to shed even though his body had matured, focusing instead on what she wanted to know.

"What are you doing here?!" she demanded.

A twinge of irritation flickered across his face. "Well, well… not even a greeting huh? Anyway, to answer your question, I was bored and decided to see this academy that you and Kaname are playing students at."

"Don't you have work to do as head of your clan? Besides, this is a serious place of learning, you shouldn't join just for amusement!"

He arched his eyebrows and laughed. Of all people to tell him off about attending for amusement! She was here to stalk her twin sister, not to take advantage of the educational resources this 'serious place of learning' offered.

"You're really boorish, aren't you? And here I thought you would be excited to see me, your old friend, after not being able to meet this past year. It turns out you're the type to quickly forget about your friends once you no longer need them."

She looked down, reprimanded by his words.

"Don't worry, your brother knew I was joining. No one can join the Night Class without his permission after all. I've already filled out the paperwork and have been made aware of the tedious rules. Besides, it's not as though I joined for your sake, I'm interested in seeing what those weakling humans are like in their natural environment."

Yuki wondered if Kaname had allowed Shizuku to join because of her close connection with him. Or perhaps he would have allowed any non-enemy pureblood to join simply for the sake of gaining support for the idea of coexistence. So far, the only pureblood family to back Cross Academy was the Kurans, thus the headmaster was undoubtedly pleased the leader of the Toma clan was showing positive interest in the school.

"If you're done interrogating me, I'm going to rest in my room after the journey here." Shizuku stepped away and turned to head down the corridor.

Yuki bit her lip and lifted a hand to hold him back, but he was already out of reach. It was true that she had not welcomed him warmly like a friend should have and had treated him like a nuisance instead.

"Shizuku, I …" she trailed off uncertainly, watching him walk away.

She wanted to apologize for her behavior. She had missed him but upon meeting again things had ended on a sour note. Why did she react so contentiously now that he looked different? His attitude and mannerisms were the same, only his physical appearance had changed. This was still the same Shizuku she had met all those years ago in front of the snowman.

"I was just joking about you forgetting your old friends, so stop frowning at my back. See you later," he announced without turning around and disappeared down the hall.

At his parting words, her spirits lifted a little.


As Shizuku headed back to the room he had taken up in the old dorm building, finding it too crowded in the new one, he reflected on his decision to come here.

A few weeks ago, Shizuka had informed him that Yuki had reunited with her brother and would be attending Cross Academy. Upon receiving her letter, he had been irritated that Yuki had not bothered to tell him, apparently having completely forgotten about him in her excitement.

That girl had had the nerve to ignore his last letter! It seemed the older she got, the more brazen she became. Even back when she was a sniveling child, she was already dropping the honorific from his name and acting like they were best chums. In recent years, she had started treating him like a youngster, patting his head and all.

He knew Yuki was annoyed that he had taken a while to reply to her letter. But in his defense, he had been busy dealing with the surge of level E's running amok in his territory (no doubt thanks to the Senate and Rido for his interference 3 years ago). He had initially been miffed that she had not replied within a week as she usually did. Yet as months passed with no reply, he had pondered writing her another letter as an olive branch. However, that idea was discarded as it seemed desperate, and he most certainly did not miss her enough to do so! As a result of their obstinance, neither willing to make the first move towards reconciliation, they had lost contact for almost half a year.

The Senate had not been causing trouble for him recently, so he had been free to spend the past month brooding in his mansion. After Shizuka's letter, he had paced around restlessly for a few days to the concern of his butler Saikawa, before deciding to enroll too. It had not been a light decision, for Shizuku had to return to his real form, the form he hadn't used for the past seventy years. Saikawa had burst into tears of joy upon seeing his young master revert to his adult form.

Shizuku reasoned that he might as well attend Cross Academy to alleviate his ennui. Besides, someone needed to keep an eye on that bumbling and airheaded girl before she somehow got herself hurt. A part of him was also tired of Yuki treating him like a kid and figured it was time for her to see him in his true form.


A/N: Kaiseki is a traditional Japanese multi-course dinner and basically their equivalent of haute cuisine.