Akane travelled down the corridor, her door closing behind her with a soft click. She descended the stairs to wait in the seating area in the foyer of The Moon Dorms. The Sun was still high in the sky and shining brightly through the large windows that flanked the grand double doors. Thankfully, her over-sensitivity to sunlight lessened day by day. She wouldn't have accepted it if her life were permanently devoid of the simple luxury, she'd taken for granted all her life.
Sinking into one of the ornate, white couches in the seating area, nestled between the stairs, Akane reached into her dark brown, leather satchel and pulled out the research notes on the blood tablets Aido lent her. She'd studied the notes thoroughly, as well as other materials he'd brought for her, in preparation for her first day. The notes were littered with questions and points she wrote as reminders to bring up to the scholar/playboy after school, at their next tutor session. Or is it tomorrow?
Bringing her thought back to her many notes she'd spread out on the surface of the granite coffee table in the middle of the seating area. So immersed was she in reading and re-reading the materials, that she failed to notice the presence settle opposite her. She jumped when she looked up at a boy lent on the railing of the balustrade, head in his hand and a charming smile on his lips.
His eyes were blue and twinkling. Thick, dark honey brown hair with natural highlights perfectly capturing the sunlight shining in through the windows. His skin was tan and, as was true for all the students of The Moon Dorms, his complexion was flawless. He had a lean and tall figure. Slim, but visibly strong physic. Certainly striking. Akane was somewhat surprised he hadn't come up more often during the sleepovers she'd endured back in The Sun Dorms.
The boy chuckled lightly. A soft, melodic sound. He straightened and walked down the remaining steps to stand before her with his hands in his pockets, his feet, shoulder-width apart, in a relaxed yet, refined pose.
"I didn't mean to startle you." His voice was deep and rich, a tone of liquid honey as he spoke. His uniform was pristine, perfectly pressed, and so white as if fresh off the rack.
Akane guessed this was probably the case. The Night Class students (like most of the Day Class) were wealthy, some even bordering on ridiculous sums of money. So, to think they had several uniforms or ordered new uniforms frequently was not out of the question.
The Vampire tilted his head at the lack of response, watching the girl look through him, her mind obviously elsewhere.
"I've never rendered anyone speechless before. I do hope to at least hear you introduce yourself, rather than take your name from hearsay?" Akane blinked back in surprise. She hadn't realised she'd been staring so intently into his cobalt blue eyes.
"Akane Nakamura," she offered. A faint blush of embarrassment flushing her cheeks.
"Rin Yamiyo," he returned with a full smile back in place as he sat down on the cushion of the couch opposite.
Akane nodded then returned to her notes, preferring not to engage with the Vampire. Aido mentioned he had a bad habit of charming the ladies, to which Akane replied, 'So, he's a shameful flirt, like you?' Aido's reaction had been comical, sulking for a good twenty minutes, arguing he had class while Rin Yamiyo was vomit-inducing. Miu never portrayed Rin as the flirtatious type or even mentioned him much at all. She concluded, Aido just didn't have a high opinion of his classmate. Whatever his view, Akane was still weary around the other students in The Moon Dorms and decided not to entertain any more pleasantries. She had enough on her mind for the day.
For several minutes, Akane filtered through her notes unimpeded, but the stare from across the table was becoming intolerable. She wrinkled her brow at the unapologetic smile Rin sent her as he sat with his knees crossed, an elbow resting on his crossed legs, a hand under his chin, and holing up his head. The papers were placed into her lap as she levelled the Vampire with a blank stare.
Keeping her features under the control of her indifferent mask was no issue before she knew about the secret of the Night Class. However, since Aido revealed them for what they were, even being turned, Akane was still not able to fully suppress her fear or anxiety from being surrounded by such strikingly beautiful, yet deadly creatures.
Rin Yamiyo continued to grin good-naturedly, seeming content to just watch her, but Akane didn't like being watched so intently, especially by someone who hadn't outwardly displayed his intentions.
"Did you need something?" she asked finally, seeming to amuse the Vampire as his charming smile turned positively devilish. He rose to his feet and walked fluidly around the table to sit at her side. The hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end.
"Actually, I think we could be of help to one another." The honeyed tone of his voice was laced with a salacious edge as it slipped into her ear but only served to stutter her heart and spike her fear. The look in his eyes wasn't sultry or playful, like Aido, but hungry and dangerous.
Akane shifted away, beginning to tidy away her notes and place them back in her bag in a manner, she hoped, didn't portray her desire to run and hide from those electric, blue eyes.
"I don't believe I will be of much assistance, Yamiyo."
"Oh, I don't think it'll be anything too taxing for you, not anymore anyway." His eyes raked over her legs suggestively, with an appreciative glance up her torso, before resting once again on her wide-eyed expression.
"Excuse me!"
"Don't be timid now. I remember how fiercely you walked through us at The Changeover. Had I known Humans could look so delectable, with scents like yours, I would have paid them more attention. However, your involvement with someone of Aido's status, I'm afraid, would cause quite the scandal." Akane's shocked expression reverted to her blank stare, but her blood was starting to boil at the insinuation behind those words. Not even Aido was this overly suggestive, or downright crude with her.
"Your assumptions fall woefully short of the truth, Yamiyo, and I don't care for the accusation, or presumed insight, you think you have of my friendship with Aido." Rin's gaze raked over her body again, lingering on her legs. Akane pulled them to the side, hiding them from his poisonous scrutiny. His eyes dropped to a half-lidded stare, letting his head rest back on the couch as his arms stretched around the back and far too close to Akane's shoulder for her liking.
The Vampire grinned at her hardening expression, undaunted to have angered her at all.
"Oh, that anger flashing in your eyes right now. You're the only Human that has ever gained my attention with that ferocity. It's terribly inviting." He slid closer, following Akane as she sidled away. "But at your current level, you're just not suitable for Aido. Surely, you're aware of this?" Akane reached the arm of the chair and could move no more. He slid right up against her, his hip and legs touching hers and leaning his upper body over her. "I, however," he breathed, plucking a strand of her hair in the arm resting on the couch behind her. "I don't have the same obligations."
Aido roused earlier than usual, ready to collect Akane from her room and quell any anxieties she might have about her first day of school and being around Humans for the first time after her transformation. Kain was rolling out of bed by the time Aido finished his shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and another over his shoulders to dry his hair. He was placing his feet into his shoes when Kain appeared from the bathroom, followed by a cloud of steam.
Taking one last glance at his reflection, Aido straightened his blazer, pulled down his cuffs, and exited his room. The first thing he noted was that Akane's scent was stronger than he'd expected, and voices were coming from the lobby below. Aido and Kain's room was situated right at the top of the stairs so needed only to step to the railing to see what was going on. What he saw had his fangs itching, his eyes flashing red and his blood boiling in his veins.
Akan was uncomfortably sliding along the couch while Rin Yamiyo, slid after her, trapping her against the arm of the chair. Rin's voice travelled up to him as he watched him lean over Akane's shrinking form.
"Oh, that anger flashing in your eyes right now. You're the only Human that has ever gained my attention with that ferocity. It's terribly inviting. But at your current level, you're just not suitable for Aido. Surely, you're aware of this? I, however…" Aido's jaw clenched as he watched Rin's hand capture a strand of Akane's midnight tresses and twirl it around his fingers. "I don't have the same obligations."