I don't claim the characters or the story of Vampire Knight, I only claim my original plot devices and characters. All other credits go to the creator, Matsuri Hino. Have fun and enjoy XxXxXxXxXxXxX
Friday afternoons, such a useless time of day. Stuck waiting for the weekend to begin, and for a student, eagerly awaiting the final bell, it was beyond pointless. The wait to escape the stuffy classrooms and equally stuffy teachers meant no one got any real work done on a Friday afternoon.
One such student, sat in the middle of her class, staring blankly at her mathematics tutor as he wrote on the board, monotonously explaining an equation the fifteen-year-old had solved during his unnecessarily lengthy and complicated explanation. Unlike her classmates, who were listening intently, frantically taking notes in the hopes of translating the mathematical gibberish their teacher spouted into coherent language.
Akane Nakamura was a scholarship student that had transferred to the school two months ago. She was a bright girl, having caught up with her peers quickly in her new, prestigious school. So, it was inevitable her attention would eventually wander. She gazed listlessly out of the window of the classroom, watching the trees sway lazily in the warm breeze. Idly, she tapped her pen on the edge of her desk in an uneven rhythm, drawing the attention of her teacher.
"Nakamura!" the man bellowed, jerking Akane's absent mind back into his classroom with a jolt. Her pen dropped with a clatter. She watched as it rolled down the steps of the multileveled room and stopped right at her teacher's feet. Everyone's eyes trailed up the man's legs to his frustrated and tired face, his coal-black eyes, scowling at Akane through wire-rimmed spectacles. She blinked back, wide-eyed and blushing in embarrassment as her classmates then turned to scrutinise her.
Shouta Fujimoto was a stout man with a balding head of wispy dark hair and thick, black eyebrows. He was dressed in his signature blazer, a matching pair of trousers, and an old, faded tie, stubbornly sticking to his varying shades of brown or grey. He was a fortysomething divorcee but still wore his wedding ring, out of habit, rather than any lingering affections for the woman who'd run off with his accountant.
"I asked, Miss Nakamura, why Mr Matsumura's formula wouldn't work on the problem we've been discussing for the past five minutes!" Ten. Akane winced at Mr Fujimoto's tone, glancing briefly to the brunette three seats across and one row down from her. He gazed back appreciatively, smiling pleasantly, appearing to be amused by her embarrassment at being called out in class.
As Akane was 'the new girl', she drew many curious stares and inquiries from the rest of the student body. A transfer was rare for this school (as her peers and teachers had repeatedly told her). So, the initial interest hadn't come as a great surprise. The smiles and awkward conversations with people wanting to know her, or the more forward few who had asked her out, were new and unexpected experiences.
Many might have been flattered by the attention, even relished in it, but the novelty had worn off rather quickly for Akane. She wasn't against the idea of romantic relationships. Some of the boys who'd approached her were certainly attractive and caught her interest, but she didn't have those kinds of wants right now. She was there to prove something to herself and didn't have the time for romance and the drama that came with it. Middle-school had been dramatic enough when she and her group of friends had discovered 'boys'. So, for the most part, Akane kept people at a distance, only interacting when necessary, or when forced to, by a certain someone.
"I didn't hear what he said, Sir," she admitted sheepishly before checking the equation. "The formula on the board won't work though, because the two hasn't been carried," she added with a tilt of her head. Mr Fujimoto twisted around, reluctantly modified the equation, completing the problem.
"That is correct," he grumbled, turning back to face his students, thoroughly exasperated by the teenager who'd graced them with her presence. "See me after class, Nakamura." Akane nodded, understanding her teacher's frustration towards her.
The last bell rang a moment later, causing the students to start packing away their desks, ignoring Mr Fujimoto's instructions to complete their homework by Monday.
"There will be a quiz on what we've covered this week. It'll be in your exams, so study your books! Nakamura..." he added, beckoning her with his finger, watching her over his wire-rimmed glasses.
"I'll wait for you Akane," offered a sweet voice. The voice belonged to Miu Hayashi; she was the certain someone mentioned earlier. She was a petite girl with light brown hair that just brushed the base of her neck, with big, deep-blue eyes, framed with long, innocent lashes. Her heart-shaped face was complemented by a small, button nose and thin, pink lips. Smooth, unblemished, fair skin, with a light dusting of blush on the apples of her cheeks. Despite Miu's petite size and innocent appearance, she always reminded Akane of a coiled spring waiting to be let loose.
"It's no big deal. I'll catch up with you later."
"You made him mad just to ditch out again, didn't you?" Kimiko Inoue was one of Miu's friends that had acquired Akane's friendship through association (after some coaxing and interference from Miu). She stood with her arms crossed over her generous chest, an accusatory frown set on her pink-toned, oval-shaped face. She had a long, straight nose, slightly pouted lips, and a toned, enviable physique. Impossibly straight, waist-length, golden-blonde hair and light-blue eyes that had the faintest coating of mascara. She was the same height as Akane and had a pretty face like Miu, but Kimiko was a much sterner character compared to Miu's more carefree and Akane's distant demeanours.
Akane rolled her eyes with a small smile, not answering her friend's accusation as she walked past with an innocent air. Kimiko sighed, turning irritably to Miu.
"You know she did it on purpose, right?" she asked as Miu swung her bag over her shoulder, answering her short-tempered friend's question with a shrug. Miu did agree with Kimiko. It wouldn't have been the first time Akane had weaselled her way out of coming with them, but she was adamant Akane was coming today, no matter what!
The pair descended to the lower levels of their classroom, then out into the hallway to wait, where their tutor's voice could still be heard clear and clipped as he scolded their friend.
"Your work is exceptional, but I won't accept disobedience and disregard for my authority in my classroom. You may be bright, Miss Nakamura, but this is still a school, and I expect you to conduct yourself properly while in attendance. Incidentally, it came to my attention last week, that mine are not the only lessons you've been neglecting. This behaviour is not befitting a scholarship student of this academy. You will attend all your classes from now on, Miss Nakamura, is that clear?"
"Yes, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir," Akane replied softly, holding out her homework sheet for her teacher, watching as the man struggled to keep his annoyance in check. "It's the homework you set today, Sir," she explained in a contrite tone.
Mr Fujimoto took her homework with an attempted composure. Akane bowed her head again in embarrassment. She seemed to annoy Mr Fujimoto way more than any of her other teachers. That's one of the reasons she skipped his classes, especially after she corrected him in his last lesson on Tuesday. He'd not been appreciative of her pointing out his error. A shuffle near the door drew Mr Fujimoto's attention to the two girls impatiently waiting in the hall for their friend. The tired man sighed, waving Akane from the room. Akane hurriedly bowed, bidding her teacher goodbye before scuttling out of the room to her friends, letting them whisk her down the corridor and out the school building, into the late, afternoon sun.
"We're going to miss it, Miu! Just forget it, she won't come," Kimiko complained, exasperated by Akane's unwillingness to co-operate. Miu waved a hand over her shoulder to silence her friend as she continued working on Akane.
"Akane, you've been in this school for two whole months and you've refused me for the last time, now you're coming, and that's final!"
"But I'm not interested in them Miu," Akane groaned for the millionth time, hoping to wear her friend down like she'd done every time before.
"You see! Now that's just not normal," Kimiko argued, her hands resting on her hips in aggravation while her blonde hair flowed long and thick down her back. Her silver-like, blue eyes were trained on Akane with a frustrated stare.
Miu sighed in mock disappointment. She wasn't getting what she wanted with conventional methods. It's time to bring out the big guns!
"Then you leave me no choice, Akane," Miu said as she released Akane's shoulders (that she'd been lightly shaking for the past few minutes). She stood with her head bowed and her eyes cast down, obscured by her brunette bangs. Akane leant away from her friend. Miu's stance, stirring recognition in her green eyes.
"Wait? What are you...? No!" Miu lifted her head to show deep, blue, puppy-dog eyes, brimming with tears and a sad turned down mouth. "Not the face Miu. Come on, cut it out! You know I hate the face!" But Miu persisted, making her eyes bigger, little whines climbing out of her throat in a convincing mimic of a crying dog.
"You brought this on yourself, now look at me!" Miu countered, pushing herself into Akane's line of sight whenever the girl turned her head away.
"Oh, for the love of …" Kimiko groaned holding her palm to her face in embarrassed frustration. What on Earth is this girl doing? However, despite Kimiko's lack of confidence in her shorter friends' persuasiveness, it appeared her tactics were getting the desired effect.
"Ok, ok, I'll go with you, once. Now, will you please stop it!" Akane complained, scrunching her face at the unappealing look Miu was contorting her face into.
"Yeah!" Miu squealed, returning her features to normal and linking arms with her friends, dragging Akane to her feet and pulling them both to the exit of the female dorm building.
"See, I told you I'd get her to come with us today, no matter what," Miu triumphed, sticking her tongue out at Kimiko childishly. The Kicked Puppy. It works every time, even on a grouchy Akane.
"Whatever! You'd better hope we get good spots, Nakamura, after we waited around for you to make up your mind." Akane mirrored her shorter friend and poked her tongue out at Kimiko, earning a humph in response as the two giggled at her annoyance.
Akane would never be able to wrap her head around the bizarre ritual her peers took part in so faithfully. If you've seen one pretty boy, you've seen them all, no big deal, were her thoughts on the matter whenever asked, why she never took part. Nevertheless, she allowed an excited Miu pull her down the long lane towards The Moon Dorms and the 'amazing' Night Class.