Miu, Kimiko and Naomi had managed to jostle their way to the front of the hoard of Night Class fans. They watched as Yuki tried, admirably, to keep the girls in line as the gates began to open.
"It's opening! It's opening!" cried a brunet stood next to them, jumping up and down excitedly, trying to see over the heads to get the first glance of the Night Class students. Miu grinned and turned to her two friends, who shook their heads in disappointment at the lack of control.
Miu remembered Kimiko scolding her numerous times for her overenthusiasm during the changeover. She remembered her saying, 'It's undignified and childish. We are there to support the Night Class and wish them luck in their exceptionally difficult classes, not deafen them before they graduate, and appear as unrefined commoners! No offence Nakamura,' she'd added as Akane had been sat with them at lunch at the time. The girl had taken no offence and giggled along with Miu. 'Oh, yeah? I seem to recall someone pulling ponytails, just to get to the front of Kaname's booth during Valentine's.' Kimiko had gone pink at Miu's expertly executed refraction.
Miu smiled fondly at the memory of the three of them together. They had missed Akane after her move to The Moon Dorms and had all come to the changeover every day, so they could wish her luck and offer their congratulations. She hoped she was doing ok. Miu knew better than most, how sensitive Akane had been when the Night Class were concerned. She'd wanted nothing to do with them, so Miu was curious to know how Akane was faring being amongst them now.
Every day of the last week, after she'd gotten the ok from the nurse, Miu had been at the changeover, excited to see Akane in the prestigious, white uniform. But every day she'd been a no-show. Aido had been nice enough to assure Miu and her friends, Akane was fine and just catching up on studying before joining the class properly. But Miu had a good feeling about today. A week was plenty of time (she felt) for Akane to be brought up to par with her Night Class contemporaries, and today was Monday. If Akane was anything, it was practical. If she was to start a new class, she would start it on a Monday.
The brunet had been lost in thought for some time and had missed the first of the Night Class pass by. The tall, handsome but reserved Rin Yamiyo, and the beautiful and petite, Kyou Himura. She was pale, slender, and graceful, the form of a dancer, and when she walked, it was as if she was floating. Her hair was a rich coffee brown and fell in ringlets to her mid-back. Her eyes were a pale, sharp blue but were a soft round shape, giving her an angelic look to go with her overall appearance.
Miu watched as student after student passed by, all being admired and adored by the crowd. She strained her neck as she stood on tiptoes to see over the masses, hoping to spot a flash of midnight black hair.
"Oh, there, there, look! I see her, there!" Naomi cried, pointing excitedly down the lane in the middle of the ambling crowd. Miu followed Naomi's finger and watched as the white uniforms seemed to part to reveal her friend.
She sucked in a breath at seeing her. She looked stunning in the white uniform. Her pale skin had always been washed out even more by the black uniform of the Day Class, but with the Night Class uniform, she looked ethereal, like she was glowing a brilliant white. Her pitch-black hair was down like usual, but the way the sun reflected off the strands made it look even finer and sleeker than it had before. Akane's green eyes shone brightly and stood out against the pristine backdrop of her skin. They were looking around nervously at the faces of the Day Class as if searching for something.
She's looking for me, Miu realised as her mind came back into focus.
"Akane!" she cried excitedly. Her heart stuttered as Akane's eyes snapped to her immediately at her call. She hadn't even realised Aido was stood beside her smiling charmingly, she didn't spare him a glance as a sudden rush to reach her friend took over.
Akane watched as Miu ran to her, throwing her arms around her waist, and burying her head in her chest. She was surprised and confused by her friend's sudden, and desperate grip on her body.
"I was so worried about you." Akane froze as Miu's tiny voice reached her ears. She turned to Aido with a look. You said she wouldn't remember! It conveyed. He shrugged but looked concerned by Miu's behaviour.
"Sorry," the girl began pulling away and whipping her teary eyes. "I know how much you hated all this. I was worried because you were stuck in there." Akane's shoulders sagged in relief. Miu had been worried about her being with the Night Class, not that she knew what had happened. Although, her reaction was certainly more extreme than Akane would have expected from her shorter friend. It has been a week. Has she missed me that much? Miu was also evaluating her feelings and reaction. The relief she'd felt at seeing Akane had been profound. She felt, now that she had seen her, she was safe again. Had I felt unsafe before? She thought puzzled by her emotions.
"Good evening, Miss Miu." Miu started at the sudden greeting from Aido and turned to him with wide eyes and a dainty blush at being caught in her thoughts by the Idol. "We would love to stay longer, but Miss Nakamura and I, really need to get to class."
"Oh, yes, of course, sorry," she stuttered and stepped back from the pair. She hadn't realised Kimiko and Naomi had followed her, and many of the Night and Day Classes stopped to stare. Her cheeks flushed at the unwanted attention and lowered her head to hide from the many prying eyes.
"Miu," Akane called gently. Miu lifted her head to see her friend smiling happily at her. "Thank you for worrying about me. I'll see you tomorrow, ok?" Miu smiled and nodded. She gave Akane one more hug before she stepped back to where Yuki deemed a reasonable distance from the travelling caravan of Night Class students. She waved, watching with their friends as Akane walked away. No one noticed Yuki's subtly, dejected look at Kaname as he followed the others into the school.