It was Saturday, Miu had left, the sun had set, and Akane was finishing her homework before getting some sleep, in preparation for Aido's inevitable arrival. She changed into a comfortable, pale, green sleep shorts and top set, then snuggled down into the sheets at 8:15 p.m. and was soundly asleep in moments. The stress brought on by the Day Class, finally coming to a head, as Akane snored quietly, alone in her dorm room.

Akane awoke, but her surroundings seemed distorted as if she were looking through a hazy lens. The room was dark… it was late, past midnight, judging by the light from the moon shining in through the crack in her curtains. Her bed was in the wrong place. It was cold, too cold, and quiet… so quiet. Akane lay stiffly in the bed she realised was not her bed at Cross Academy. She huddled under a familiar green blanket, looking about her childhood room uneasily. Anticipation coursing through her veins, causing her heart to quicken. Something was coming… she could feel it, but what? Why was she so frightened? What had woken her so suddenly?

The darkness made it hard to distinguish any features of the room clearly, but nothing looked out of place. A creak of a floorboard. Akane turned to the window. The moonlight was gone. The curtains, thrown open and fluttering in the soundless wind that blew in through the now, wide-open window. However, the moonlight hadn't simply gone, it was blocked by the large and imposing figure of the person Akane loved more than anything in the world. Red eyes glaring through the gloom, elongated fangs, visible and ready for their intended purpose. He lunged. She screamed.

Akane shot up from her bed. A thin coating of sweat covered her skin as she panted, caught by her fright and wildly panicked imagination. It took her several, terrifying moments to gather that she was safe, that she wasn't in her old room, and that he wasn't coming to feed and leave her in an unconscious stupor. It also took her some time to realise that Aido was sat beside her, holding her shoulders and looking uncharacteristically serious. Was he talking? What's he saying? Akane stared at the Vampire, using him as an anchor to steady her heart and mind.

Eventually, she calmed, holding up a hand to signal she had composed herself. Aido moved back, giving Akane space, watching as her breathing evened out, as she shifted her eyes about her room like she was expecting something to jump out at her. She shivered, cold. The pair turned to the window beside Miu's bed that stood wide open. Akane frowned, certain she'd not opened the window all day.

"How'd you get in?" She asked absent-mindedly, swinging her legs over the edge of her bed and padded to the open window.
"The door, like always," Aido answered, following her nervous figure with his eyes. Akane quickly secured the latch, closing and locking the window tight, before drawing the curtains closed. She glared at the coverings suspiciously, rubbing at her arms to warm her chilled skin, then abruptly turned to the bathroom. She plucked a dressing gown that hung on the hook behind the door and threw it on, pulling her hair out the collar.
"Do you need water?" Akane asked shortly, tying the cord around her waist.

Aido chose not to answer. Instead, he threw himself down on Akane's bed, placing his arms behind his head. Akane frowned at the lack of a response but brushed her irritation aside and shifted to Miu's bed without comment. This had become the norm, it would seem. Aido would take up Akane's bed and she would be moved to Miu's. It had frustrated her in the past, but not tonight. That dream had startled her awake so badly she doubted she'd be able to sleep anymore.

"Running from horses again, Nakamura?" Aido teased, cheerful smile in place as the girl sat, bouncing a leg over her knee. A habit Aido recognised as a nervous tell for her.
"Oh, shut up! I'm not in the mood," Akane snapped, rubbing her face to rid herself of her tiredness. "What?" she grumbled at Aido's persistent, irritatingly, charming smile.
"You have questions to ask, don't you?"
"…." Aido lay back with a shrug at Akane's silence, settling into her pillows. They weren't as comfortable as his own, but his pillows didn't have Akane's scent. He'd missed it.

Of course, he couldn't let the Human forget why he was here (or himself, for that matter), even though, finding her tangled up in her sheets and crying in her sleep had startled him more than he'd ever care to admit.
"You'll help me?" she eventually asked.
"On the condition that you answer my questions first." She frowned. Akane had thought long and hard about whether it was worth revealing her secrets. Aido's words rang clear in her mind, like they had since he uttered them. "Either you answer me next time, or I won't tell you how you can help that Vampire of yours."

After a tense silence, Akane made her decision.
"Deal!" Without much choice, she reluctantly agreed to Aido's terms. He scared her witless, but in a rather twisted way, she trusted him. Deliberating all week had been stressful and frustrating because it wasn't herself, she was putting at risk. Revealing too much to Aido, could lead him to the headmaster or The Moon Dorm President, and she knew neither would look to help, they'd look to destroy, to eliminate the threat. But, if she could find a way, it would all be worth it.

"How long has he been feeding on you?" Akane visibly bristled at the suddenness and direction of Aido's first question but forced down her more indignant response and reluctantly answered.
"Since I was twelve."
"A level D?" Akane shrugged but nodded in an, I guess so, sort of way.
"Hmm… do you like him?"

Aido was still lying down, gazing up at the ceiling thoughtfully, but Akane's frown deepened at the course these questions had taken. She'd never revealed any of this before and resented the fact she was to divulge her most guarded secret to a Vampire, of all people. When Akane refused to answer, Aido looked over at her staring hard at the wooden floor. He sat up and planted his feet on the boards to fix the girl with a cruelly, amused expression.

"Do you love him?" he teased with a snigger.
"Yes." Akane's simple and quick reply halted Aido's teasing. He watched her, staring back at him, unflinching. Her forest-green eyes boring into him irritably. Her declaration had aggravated him more than it should have and couldn't stop that annoyance boiling inside of him. He threw himself back onto Akane's bed, petulantly mumbling what sounded like the word, idiot.

Akane frowned at the Vampire's sudden mood-swing but ignored his antics. She understood such a concept would seem incomprehensible and reasoned that had their roles been reversed she may have called herself an idiot too.
"I never took you for a fool."
"I'm not a fool, Aido," Akane replied coolly.
"Humans are good for one thing to a Vampire, Nakamura. You're nothing but a pet, so don't be stupid enough to think he cares for you the same way."

Akane angered instantly. The Vampire hadn't the slightest idea about the nature of their relationship, yet presumed she was some love-sick sycophant that was allowing herself to be used.
"I didn't ask for your opinion Aido! What I need is your help! So, are you going to give it or not?" He lay unmoved by the Human's ire. She balled her fists at her side at being ignored again but eventually, he turned to her standing over him. A scowl etched across her face and her dark, green eyes piercing.

He hadn't studied her face much since their first meeting. Now, as he lay watching her cocked head and blazing eyes, he was struck again by the sheer blackness of her hair, the paleness of her skin and the incredibly deep green of her eyes. She was such an anomaly, and all he wanted was to understand the origin of the Unfortunates. Did they have a bloodline he could trace? Could he use that bloodline to predict the next? Why were they so different from other Humans? But Akane didn't know the answers to these questions, and likely, never would.

Aido watched the Human still, her eyes widening as she stepped back slowly. She walked to the bathroom, returning with a glass of water. The Vampire remained as he was, his blood-red eyes stalking the Human as she tentatively neared and set the glass down on her bedside table. She shuffled back, pulling her robe tighter around herself, busying her hands to lessen their trembling, looking anywhere but at the creature in her bed. They'd changed so suddenly, unlike the other times. The change in his eyes had almost been instantaneous, and now, the girl struggled to stand on shaking legs.

He sat up, dropped two blood tablets into the water and downed the reddened liquid. He frowned, eyeing the girl's fearful stance and expression. She was watching him like he would attack her at any moment. It annoyed him that she'd turned away in such fright when his thirst had spiked at her anger. She knew what he was, knew his eyes changed when his thirst for blood grew.

He stood and neared the Human, causing her to jump back, stumbling against her wardrobe. He stopped just as his shoes came to her bare feet. He leant closer, intimidating her further, while she shrank away from him. He didn't like that look of dread on her face, he preferred her more eager and quizzical expressions. She fascinated him and his ego enjoyed knowing, he fascinated her.

"I don't like that tone." His voice was little more than a whisper. A terrified shudder ran through Akane's body.
"Y-you said you'd answer my questions if I-I answered yours first. I've answered yours, n-now y-you need to answer s-some of mine." Akane cursed her stutter but forced her spine to straighten and stood strong against Aido's unimpressed gaze.
"Then ask." Again, his voice was quiet, the tone far from friendly. Akane's heart quickened more but she steeled her nerve. She had to do this, it was for him, it was all for him. All this anxiety, all this uncertainty, and nothing short of a definite answer would satisfy her.

Keep calm, nothing happened, you're fine. Shaking off the fear and anger for the Idol of the Night Class for frightening her, she fixed him with a determined stare and asked her question.
"How can the bond between a Pureblood and their subordinates be broken?" That was it, that was all she wanted to know. If she could just get the answer to that one question, it would be enough. The smug look on Aido's face, however, squashed her resolve and heighten her anxiety.

Akane turned away as he drew closer to her face. She hid her neck with her shoulders pulled them up as high as they would go. She had nowhere to run, tightly pressed against the wardrobe. Her eyes were screwed shut. I'm trapped!

"Knowing, won't make a difference. He'll still be a Vampire, and you'll still be just another snack." Her reaction happened before she realised, she'd moved. Her hand was raised and stung from the impact of the slap she'd just sent across Aido's face. His head had turned with the impact, and once the resonant sound of the blow subsided, the room was left in an eerie silence.

Akane stood frozen, her eyes staring blankly as Aido turned to leave the room. Through her sinking heart, at the sight of the only person who could help her leave, there was one ray of hope she clung to.
"So, there is a way?" Aido stopped and glance back at the desperate look on her face, then left with a quiet click of her door.