Kain growled, turning and twisting in his bed.
"Hanabusa, one more sound and I'll feed you your pillow!" he threatened, throwing a glare at his cousin in the bed on the opposite side of their shared room. It was nearly 10 a.m. and Kain had listened to Aido toss and turn, then moan and sigh for the past three and a half hours since returning from following Akane after they spotted her on an early morning stroll.
"I can't help it, Akatsuki!" Aido complained as he threw his covers back and sat up in his overly lavish bed, looking longingly at the window. Outside, the Day Class students were enjoying the beginning of their weekend. He could imagine Akane either walking the grounds with her little friend, visiting her family or completely alone, and vulnerable.
"I can almost feel the way her hair would brush against my cheek when I bite into her ne-Oof!" Aido's unintentionally vocal daydream was abruptly cut short by the half-naked, red-eyed Vampire, currently pushing a pillow forcibly into his mouth.
"Will you cut that out! I'm starving!" Kain barked after Aido pushed him off. He left him clutching his chest, gasping for breath.
Kain returned to his bed, flung the covers over his head, and tried again to get to sleep and ignore the burning thirst in his throat. Aido said nothing and laid back down, facing the blackout curtains that covered theirs and every window within The Moon Dorms. He could imagine her now, sitting out in the sunshine with her friends, her hair blowing about her, pale, white neck inviting him, begging him to paint it red.
The two aristocrats sat up as one and reached for their blood tablets. Kain glared at his cousin for making him thirst so much during the day and swallowed two tablets before lying back down to sleep, turning to face away from Aido and saying no more to him. Aido mimicked Kain's glare with a theatrical flourish before lying down and trying to think of anything, besides that girl.
Miu zipped up the small duffle bag she'd packed on her bed with a sigh.
"So, it was bad?" she asked after hearing what their headmaster had told Akane about the school boards' decision to review her scholarship. Akane nodded, passing her friend her sweater which Miu took and quickly put inside her bag for her weekend at home.
Miu visited her home every weekend as her parents didn't like that she was away and virtually, unsupervised. So, she was picked up every Saturday morning by her father, leaving Akane to herself all weekend. She didn't mind this at all. Akane relished the quiet. Not having to hear about the Night Class and how awesome they were for two days, was her idea of Heaven. Of course, she understood her friend's infatuation with the scholars, they were extremely attractive people, but she did dislike having to justify her lack of interest on an almost daily basis.
"Well, like I said, you only have yourself to blame for this. I don't want you to leave Akane, so, do what the Headmaster told you," Miu pleaded as she sat down on her bed next to her friend, dropping her bag at her feet.
"Don't worry, I'll do whatever I have to, to stay here. Headmaster Cross said I'd have to be dead or dying to miss a single class from now on." Miu smiled approvingly and patted her friend on the back in a motherly way, which drew a light chuckle from Akane.
"That sounded an awful lot like maturity," she teased before putting her hand on her heart and stood in a dramatic display to deliver her performance. "Oh, my little Akane's growing up." Akane playfully nudged her friend as she bounced down on the bed beside her with a giggle. "You might even start liking the Night Class next," she chortled.
"Don't hold your breath."
Later that morning, Akane and Kimiko waited with Miu at the academy entrance for her father to pick her up. He arrived in a black Volvo SUV, slid down the window, and waved to his daughter's friends as Miu flung her bag onto the back seat and settled into the car, greeting her father happily.
Miu's father was in his early forties but still had a youthful look about his features. He had a slightly darker complexion than his daughter and finer, lighter brown hair that was thinning at the top and along his hairline. He was a fit and lean man with a good nature but could be stern with his daughters.
"Good morning, Mr Hayashi," Akane and Kimiko greeted respectfully.
"How is your mother faring?" Kimiko enquired. Miu's grandmother had recently had a hip operation and had initially had a hard time during recovery.
"She's doing much better thank you, Miss Inoue," he smiled and continued the pleasantries with his daughter's friends as she settled into the car.
Once Miu was ready, the girls said their goodbyes and stood to wave off their friend, then walked back to The Sun Dorms. Akane asked Kimiko whether she was also visiting home this weekend, as she sometimes did.
"No, I have a few sleepovers planned for the weekend. Do you want to come?" Kimiko knew the answer to her question but still asked, knowing Miu wouldn't like to think Akane was being left out of anything. But Akane liked that Kimiko was so impatient with her, it meant she gave up quicker, neither irritating the other more than was necessary.
"No, thanks. I think I'll have an early night."
"Well, if you change your mind…" Akane nodded, but both girls knew they likely wouldn't see one another until Miu returned.
Kimiko and Akane parted ways near the entrance to the gardens. While Kimiko headed back to The Sun Dorms, Akane decided she wanted to stay out in the sunshine a while longer. That was something else Akane liked about Kimiko. Without needing Akane to say anything, Kimiko knew she preferred her own company to the company of others, and gladly left Akane to her own devices, instead of trying to force her to interact.
Miu was an altogether, different sort of friend. One that nagged and bossed Akane around sometimes, trying to get her to involve herself with their wider group of friends. So, after a long, and tiring few hours with Miu, Kimiko was a very welcomed change of pace. But Akane liked and respected her friends, even Miu. She knew Miu meant well and wanted to help her 'social development' (as she called it).
Akane spent the rest of the day reading outside, eating in the cafeteria, or listening to music while doing her homework in her room. By 4 p.m. Akane was strolling through the academy gardens again, listening to music on her borrowed device. This time, she made sure to set her own playlist, so she didn't have to listen to Miu's more eclectic tracks in her collection.
She walked in a thoughtful daze, letting the music take her thoughts while her feet guided her before she realised, she'd walked right up to The Moon Dorms outer wall. I've already gone this far. With a shrug, Akane walked a lap around the structure before going back to The Sun Dorms for supper. She'd never walked this far up before and found she enjoyed how quiet the place was. Of course, she couldn't have known the Vampires inside were getting irritated by the faint scent creeping in through their open windows, their thirsts rousing many.
The Night Class didn't have the option to visit their families during the weekends like many of the Day Class students did, due to many of their homes being much further away. They had never given much thought to the rule before but now, they were beginning to loathe it.
Aido craned his neck trying to spot the Human on the other side of the wall, but the wall was too far from his window to give him the correct angle. He sighed, wishing it masked her scent as effectively as it did her appearance. His throat was burning. He was so thirsty. Thankfully, after her scent did a complete lap of The Moon Dorms, it began to fade, relieving, and disappointing the now hungry Vampires.
Kaname sat at his desk answering the endless number of letters from the Vampire Council when a knock sounded at his door.
"Come in, Aido," he called without lifting his head as the aristocrat entered. "What is it?" he asked neutrally, fighting the assault of Akane's scent on his senses.
"I think I've found the reason Akane Nakamura's scent is so potent, Lord Kaname," Aido began, standing with his hands held behind his back as if he were addressing a General. The Pureblood left his letters and gestured for Aido to take a seat and explain further.
"Human children have a more potent scent than they do as adults, due to their scent gradually diminishing as their bodies mature." Kaname agreed with an affirmative nod as he laced his fingers and rested then beneath his chin, while his elbows rested on the desktop.
"That's why children are a more attractive target to the less controlled of our kind." Aido nodded, glad Kaname was listening to him. His ego boosted by the validation from his Vampire Lord. He was the brightest… anything at the academy, after all.
"I've looked through the archives and found, that it doesn't happen often, but it's not unheard of for a Human's scent to increase in desirability when they begin to mature, instead of their scent fading." Kaname sat in thought for a long while before addressing the now, fidgeting Vampire before him.
"Thank you, Aido." He lifted one of the many letters littering his desk and began to read. Aido understood he was being dismissed and rose, bowed and then exited the room.
Kaname dropped the letter back on his desk and rose from his chair. He looked out over the academy grounds before from his large windows. He directed his gaze towards The Sun Dorms, the roof just visible through the many trees separating the two buildings, contemplating Aido's theory. It was entirely plausible. Cases such as Aido had uncovered had been catalogued by the Vampire Council over the centuries, but these Humans had always died young and were never known until after the fact. They were known simply as Unfortunate, due to their ill-fated existence.
The Pureblood stood in thought for some time at the window until the sun finally set and the occupants of The Moon Dorms readied themselves for another night. He walked back to his mahogany desk, lowering himself back into his dark green leather, mahogany chair and looked thoughtfully about his lavishly decorated room. His eyes landed on the intricately designed, marble chess set, ready and waiting for a new game to begin.