Sunday, 12:16 a.m. and Akane was sat on her bed, wide awake, waiting for the inevitable, but an hour later and still, there was no sign of Aido. She began pacing in the space between hers and Miu's beds, irritated that she was even waiting up for him. She didn't necessarily want the egotist in her room again. He frightened her, mocked her, but he was fascinating. He'd revealed a world hidden from the average Human, how woven into her society his kind were, she wanted to learn more, she needed to learn more, she had to find a way to help him. This thought had appeared over the last week. Could learning more from a Vampire give her a way out for him, a way to save him?

Although the thought of Aido's dietary needs terrified her, sometimes he made her so mad that she just ignored the fact he could kill her, which was even more ridiculous than her fascination with him. She was his natural prey, she should not feel in the least bit relaxed being in his line of sight, let alone within striking distance. I can't let him get to me! It's how they hunt. They're like the Venus Fly Trap. Nature's built then into the perfect draw. I can't get caught!

Akane's trail of thought was broken by a strange sound, almost like the cracking of glass. She gazed about her room, looking for the cause of the noise, realising it was coming from the door leading into the corridor. She watched, amazed, as from behind the lock of her door, a crystal-like substance started to spread, forcing the lock to click open. The spread of the strange crystal, stopping at the ominous click.

Silence. Akane's heart hammered in her chest, waiting for something to happen. She jumped when the handle suddenly turned and the door quickly swung open and shut, revealing the Night Class student Akane had become reluctantly acquainted with over the last few weeks.

Aido had been later sneaking out of The Moon Dorms than usual. He'd had so much chocolate to go through from yesterday, not to mention he had to wait for the rest of The Moon Dorm residents to be fully distracted before making his escape. He was honestly proud of his stealth in getting to and from The Sun Dorms on the weekends.

He was very aware, however, that Kaname, may have an idea of his weekly outings. He had been the last to leave the main lobby tonight, giving Aido a knowing glance over his shoulder before he retired to his room. That look had sent a shiver down Aido's spine and had him thinking twice about leaving at all, but his desire to smell Akane's scent overrode his concern, and within half an hour of the Pureblood leaving the room, Aido was walking up the stairs of the female building at The Sun Dorms.

Akane stared between the Vampire and her door with a thoroughly confused expression that drew a satisfied smirk to Aido's handsome features. He enjoyed stumping this girl, it didn't happen often enough for his liking.
"What… how… what did you do?" She stepped to her door and knelt to inspect the crystal, her curiosity completely overriding her fear of the Vampire. Aido didn't reply and walked into the room, taking up residence in Akane's bed and waited for her to finish examining her door.

Akane reached out to touch the crystal poking through and encasing her lock. It was cold, and when she pulled her fingers away, they were wet. Akane frowned at the liquid and rubbed her fingers together, analysing the texture.
"Ice?" she concluded and turned to Aido with a quizzical frown. "You made ice, by freezing the water particles in the air?"
"Yeah," Aido replied, impressed she'd recognised the science behind his power so quickly, as he stretched out on Akane's bed, enjoying the scent that rose from the sheets.

"How did you do that?" He'd listened as the Human had neared to be stood over him. His eyes opened to see the strangest expression he'd ever seen on her face. The confusion was clear in her eyes and curiosity, but she seemed completely mesmerised by him like this was the first time she'd fully understood he was part of a completely different world. He liked that expression. He wanted to see more of it.

They stared at each other, gauging each other until Aido raised an intentionally slow hand, making sure her eyes followed the movement, then released his power, revealing a sword made entirely of ice. He ignored the gasp from the Human and gazed at his weapon with pride, before allowing the ice to shatter and disappear.

Akane jumped at the sudden sound and turned to see the same fate befell the ice on her door, yet no trace of either it or the sword remained. She turned back to Aido, once again, lounging on her bed with his eyes shut, and signed in relief. The last thing she needed was for him to see just how much that little display had shaken her.

Akane moved to sit on Miu's bed, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. She watched the creature in her bed, scrutinised his face, his physique, the feel he gave off as he lay there without a care in the world. She thought of the scent she'd caught when he'd gotten far closer than she would've liked. Everything about him was enticing and exquisite to her Human senses. Even now, as she sat there, she could feel them pulling at her.

Forcing the feeling to the back of her mind, Akane began a mental list of what she currently knew about Vampires, such as their strength, their beauty, their speed, their thirst. She remembered both he and Aido had commented on her scent, so heightened senses were another trait to add, and now, strange powers. They're like Demons in the guise of Angels. What else are they capable of?

Aido allowed the Human to study him while he did the same. He noticed the slight shift in her position every so often. He listened as her breathing became irregular before she composed herself again, which coincided with the irregular fluttering of her heart when she became nervous.

After some time had passed, Aido rolled onto his side, resting his head in his hand and watch as emotions played across the Human's face. Fear, wariness, interest. He grinned at the faint stain on her pale cheeks, at hearing the increase in both her heart and her breathing to his smile. But the sense that had been fully engaged from the moment he'd stepped into The Sun Dorms, was his sense of smell.

Akane's scent was something Aido had begun to crave over the last week. Having only the memory of her oh so alluring fragrance was nothing in comparison to the aroma itself. He had no words that could fully describe it. It was mouth-watering, drying your throat to the point it felt like a fire had ignited that refused to be extinguished. That fire travelled to the pit of his stomach, causing a ravenous hunger to rise to the surface, demanding to be satisfied.

He heard the Human's heart stutter as their gazes locked. She stood slowly and moved to her bathroom. The Vampire's red eyes following her every move as she filled a glass and returned with water, offering it to him with a shaking hand, keeping her distance. Aido to swing his legs to the floor sat up and took the glass, placing it on the bedside table, thoroughly enjoying how unnerved the Human had become.

Akane shuddered away, as quickly as she dared, to sit back on Miu's bed to watch the Vampire pull out his pillbox and drop two small, white tablets into the glass of water. They quickly dissolved, turning the water a pale pink.
"Does it smell like blood?" She couldn't stop herself.

Aido had just brought the glass to his lips but stilled, directing his reddened eyes at the Human and smirked at the unnerving feeling his eyes were eliciting in the girl. He offered the glass out to her, which she leant away from, glaring at him for, yet again, making fun of her. But despite his grin, the glass remained outstretched, so, bracing herself, Akane shuffled to the edge of Miu's bed and took it. She glanced back at him uncertainly, before turning back to the glass.

The Human looked down, into the pale, red liquid, swirling it around the tumbler. It still had the consistency of water, and it didn't stain the glass either. So, the tablets were more of a supplement, not a thickener. Aido watched her bring the glass to her nose, and sniff… nothing? She gave it one last look over before passing it back to the Vampire and turning away as he chugged it down, setting the empty glass back on the bedside table.
"Why do you drink that stuff?" she finally asked. Akane, of course, had no idea what blood tasted or smelt like to a Vampire, but she was fairly certain it was nothing like the substance Aido had just consumed.

He sighed at the glass before explaining the blood tablets and why they were needed, and by extension, he found himself explaining the reasons Cross Academy was housing Vampires in the first place. Aido revealed Kaien's pacifistic ideal to Akane, his hope for their species to coexist peacefully and that the academy was basically, a social experiment for the youth of Vampire and Human society, the results of which, Kaien hoped to be a better understanding and appreciation for each other.

"What a dumb idea," Akane asserted after the lengthy explanation. "Why would they think Humans could cope with that kind of knowledge?" Aido hadn't expected Akane to have the same scepticism as him, but upon reflection, he supposed that her way of thinking would make the headmaster's dream seem a tad outlandish and probably naive.

"I don't pretend to understand what goes on in that man's head. Lord Kaname trusts him and thinks it could work, so we stay."
"Still, it's such a big risk. If you're exposed at the wrong time, or to the wrong people, it could start an all-out war."
"Humans aren't a problem, even if they did find out and got The Hunters Association involved. Not that they'd need the incentive."
"The Hunters Association?" Akane tilting her head at the unfamiliar term.
"Yeah, they're a group of Humans that hunt the lowlifes of our world, Level E's mostly."
"Level E's?" Aido sighed, he hadn't expected to give Akane a crash course in Vampires and their relationship with Hunters. He was supposed to be here to gather intel on her!

"So, The Hunter's ancestors were given weapons to kill Vampires by a Vampire?" Akane asked in a perplexed tone after around fifteen minutes of Aido's unexpected History lesson. She was sat on the edge of Miu's bed, drinking up every word he said.
"Humans were caught up in the wars between the Purebloods, and she sympathised, gave them the means to defend themselves. She infused the molten iron they used to make their weapons with her blood. The weapons they made have been passed down through the generation of Hunters ever since."

Akane quieted, contemplating this information for some time. She was pleasantly surprised Aido was so willing to answer her questions and wondered how long this good mood would last. While she could, she decided to ask about another term that had been new to her throughout this conversation, and one that would hopefully, get her somewhere.
"What's a Pureblood?"
"You're asking a lot of questions tonight. Are you trying to keep me here longer?" Aido asked flirtatiously, leaning towards her.
"No!" she snapped. "I'm curious. It's not every day someone gets to interrogate a Vampire."

He raised a sceptical brow but settled back into Akane's mattress.
"A Pureblood is a Vampire born with no Human blood in their lineage, not counting the parents of the first Pureblood they descended from," Aido answered after he got himself comfortable.
"Wait!" Akane interrupted, waving her arms to halt his next words. She leant closer, her eyes wide and enquiring. "Are you saying the first Vampires had Human parents! How'd that work?"

Aido grumbled. This was not how he wanted to spend his evening, discussing the origins of his species with a Human. Though she did look enthralled by the subject, there were far more interesting topics he wanted to discuss, her history rather than that of his kind, for one. Also, he was well aware she was directing this conversation and was impatient to uncover where it would lead, and why.

Akane sensed the Vampire's mounting boredom but pressed on, not knowing when she'd get another opportunity like this.
"Are you a Pureblood or are you one of the other Vampires you told me about?" she asked, mimicking his relaxed position on the opposite bed.
"No, I'm an aristocratic Vampire or a Level B," he clarified.
"What's the difference, you were born weren't you?"
"Yeah, Purebloods, Level B and C Vampires are all born. Level D and E Vampires were once Human and were turned." Akane's face fell into a thoughtful frown.

"How do you turn someone?" The girl had asked her question so quietly, but the Vampire's keen ears had heard. He turned to her.
"Only a Pureblood has the power to turn a Human. They drink their blood, and within hours, weeks, or even years, they become a Vampire, a Level D, if they survive."
"Then they fall to Level E, right?" He nodded.
"The only way to stop the fall is to drink the blood of their master."
"And the Pureblood that turned them is their master?"

Aido began schooling her on Purebloods and explained the reverence Vampires held for them, but that they also had a subtle power over every lower-class Vampire, a dominant force that when wielded, can lessen a Vampire's resistance to a Pureblood. He said, however, that the power wasn't absolute, but that the influence was strong.
"Lord Kaname has never used his powers to control another Vampire to do his bidding," he declared, finishing his explanation.
"So, if a Pureblood tells a Vampire to do something, under the influence of this power, they obey?"
"A born Vampire has more control and resilience to the compulsion, but a turned Human is bound to answer to their master's voice. If their master orders them with the influence of their power, they'd obey, no matter what the command."

Aido watched the girl as she gazed up at the ceiling with a troubled face. One hand lay behind her head, stroking at the back of her neck, while the other played with the hair that rested over her shoulder.
"How do you break such a bond?" she pondered absent-mindedly. There it is, Aido thought and moved, unnoticed by the Human, startling her as he slid onto the bed beside her.

He grinned at her frightened expression, captured her wrists in one strong hand, holding her down and turning her body to face him to ask some questions of his own.
"So, Nakamura, how about you tell me something?"
"W-what do you want t-to to know?" she stuttered breathlessly, her heart racing erratically, and her body shaking in fright at the potentially, deadly embrace she was caught in.
"This Vampire," he began as he stroked his free hand over the scars on the back of her neck, causing her to flinch away from his touch. "What type of Vampire, do you think he is? He's obviously not a Pureblood, or a Level E, because you wouldn't be in the most sought-after position in the academy if that were the case."

Aido chuckled, amused that her annoyed frown reappeared on her previously petrified face.
"Why so curious?" she bit, her fear forgotten as the desire to protect surfaced.
"Because I'm interested," he answered, pulling her flush against his body, and sliding a knee between her legs, forcing Akane to rest one leg on his thigh as he trapped the other beneath it. She blushed at the intimate position but kept her irritable frown in place as she struggled futilely in his arms.

Amused by her attempts to escape his arms, Aido wound them tighter and snuggled her into his chest as he closed his eyes to wait for her eventual surrender. Akane growled, frustrated that her pulling and wriggling only served to entertain the predator.
"Seriously?" she glared up at him.
"What? I got lonely all the way over there."

Akane grumbled indignantly for letting herself be caught like this. She was thankful to realise Aido wasn't trying to take a bite out of her but did he have to make subduing her look so easy? It was embarrassing and demeaning and awkward, and she was not okay with being forced into this situation. Reinvigorated by her annoyance, Akane pushed against Aido as hard as she could, twisting her body this way and that to free herself from his grasp, but it was useless and the amused snort her efforts produced from him sapped all the fight out of her.

She lay there, panting into the Vampires chest with her wrists held down between their bodies by one large hand while his other held the nape of her neck, with his legs tangled with hers. However, annoyingly, despite the company, it was rather comfortable. Damn it, Akane! Prey isn't comfortable when trapped by their predator! He's a Vampire, if I keep running my mouth, anything could happen to him.

"Why have you been asking Miu about me?" Akane grumbled after a long bout of silence between them. Aido's eyes popped open. He looked down at the girl he'd wrapped himself around and frowned.
"You knew I was asking her about you, and you still didn't come to see me? I'm hurt Akane!"

He'd spent a lot of time trying to subtly coax Miu into dragging her uncooperative friend to the changeover. At the very least, he tried to make the little Human jealous enough to confront her friend about him, which he'd hoped would have annoyed Akane enough to bring her to the changeover herself. He'd been looking forward to catching her amazing scent. Smelling it only once a week was almost as torturous as being with her now and not being able to even get a sip.

"Nakamura!" she snappily corrected. "And why would I come to see you? Do you think I have a death wish?" She had just enough room to lean away and look up at him with a sarcastically raised brow at his pouting face. "Oh, please, I know you were trying to make Miu jealous, even she knows that! Although why you're asking for me confuses us both because I can't give her an explanation. I don't know what your motivations are." She gestured at Aido with a jut of her chin. "The purposes behind these interactions are a mystery to me," she finished, watching him stare down at her with a neutral expression.

Aido dragged Akane's unwilling body back against him and shuffled down the bed to dip his head into the crook of her neck, causing the girl to stiffen in fright for a third time that night.
"Do you really want to know why I come here?" His husky voice teased her ears as his breath brushed her neck, causing her heart to race in panic (and against her will, excitement). She nodded in answer, not trusting her voice but wanting to know what compelled him to come here. Her scent couldn't be the only thing that kept him coming back.

He sighed, his breath fanning against her neck and causing her to shudder against him, and he almost thought, to hell with it! But he moved away, staring down into frightened, green depths. He grinned at her blush and chuckled darkly when she shut her eyes tight, shaking fearfully in his arms. Stop it! Don't stare at him, calm down! Akane ordered, breathing deeply to calm her beating heart and cursing herself when Aido's scent filled her nose.

"Let me go, Aido," she demanded. He smiled smugly but let her finally wiggle her way out of his arms to stand beside her bed, holding herself protectively.
"Don't you want to know the answer to your question?" he asked, amused by her flustered and flushed appearance.
"No, I don't believe I do," she snapped and turned away.
"How about I tell you this…" Akane suddenly found her back pushed against a wall with Aido pressed against her front with one of his knees pressed between her thighs. Her wrists were held in his hands again and she was terrified to realise her feet were hanging in mid-air.

She looked into those deadly red eyes that glowed back threateningly from the darkness, daring her to fight back. "Either you answer me next time, or I won't tell you how you can help that Vampire of yours." What?! Aido smirked in triumph, releasing the stunned girl and left the room. Akane slid down the wall as her knees buckled. Shaken and afraid she remained on the floor, sitting in the dark.