Eyes Red as Blood
Sixth Night: Invitations and Obligations
"Yuki, I would never hide anything from you."
Everything went black and red in Yuki's mind, and she shook her head to get the images out. 'That voice, there it is again' Yuki clutched her head as the pain increased. Her headache had gotten progressively worse after Arisu left.
"Yuki, are you alright?" Yori asked, concerned for her friend. Yori looked up to get Zero's attention and motioned to Yuki. He acknowledged her gesture, and his gaze flickered between Yuki and lecture.
"I'm fine," Yuki replied, trying to reassure the two. She wasn't about to tell them that she had been hearing this little girl's voice in her head for a while now. Sometimes she would see a face so familiar and vaguely similar to her's when she was five. She originally waived it off as a memory of herself, but she started to wonder if it was someone else now. As the day went on her headache only grew.
"Why don't you go to the nurse's office already?" Zero muttered, still not looking away from the front of the class.
"I said I was fine!" She hissed, turning around in her seat.
"Yuki Cross, pay attention," The teacher scolded.
"Yes, sir," Yuki grounded out as she straightened in her seat. At least he didn't give me detention this time...
"Now, where should I go?" Arisu murmured to herself. She had been thinking about going to get the Night Class uniform from the Headmaster, but she couldn't remember where his office was for the life of her.
"Arisu-sama, wait up," a voice from behind called.
"Oh," Arisu turned around and saw Hanabusa Aido running to catch up with her. "I thought you were sensitive to the sunlight?" she called back.
"As I said before, you don't have to worry about me, Arisu-sama," Hanabusa assured Arisu.
"Wow, you really are sensitive to sunlight," she looked him over, seeing his rosy cheeks and squinting eyes, "Come on l, we'll walk through the hallways." She grabbed Hanabusa by his arm and dragged him into the nearest hallway. By that point the entirety of Hanabusa's face was flushed, and his skin was starting to get sunburned. "How long were you in the sunlight?" Arisu asked, fully facing Hanabusa now.
"Uhm, a while, I'm not sure. I was looking for you."
"Why are aristocrats always this troublesome," Arisu asked herself, rubbing her temples with her fingers.
"What do you mean?" Hanabusa inquired, his blue eyes shining in innocent inquiry.
'Wow, does this happen when I do it to Kaname or Ichiru or anyone else,' Arisu wondered. It felt rather like seeing a lost baby animal. "N-never mind. So, did you need something?"
"I just came to accompany you because Kaname-sama told me to," he explained.
"Hanabusa, I want you to go with my sister," Kaname ordered while lying underneath his bed covers, "Take her anywhere she wants to go and if anything happens to her, it's your head."
"Y-yes, Kaname-sama" Hanabusa quickly replied.
"Oh. One more thing, can you please close the blinds?"
"Alright," There's was no point in sulking about it, and she may as well make the most of the current situation, "Let's go to the Headmaster's office. I need to get the night class uniform."
"Sure," Hanabusa started walking back in the direction of the uncovered walkways and courtyard.
"What? No. You'll get sunburned, literally. And then it will be my fault." Arisu grabbed Hanabusa by the arm and pulled him back.
"But this is the shortest way to his office," Hanabusa replied, confused by her statements.
"Then let's go the long way!" Arisu smiled as she walked further into the hallway.
"Yuki, let's go," Zero got up from his seat and started walking towards the door. It was ten minutes until the final bell rang and the class was stuck doing some group work, but because the two were prefects, they were allowed to leave early.
"We should check in with the headmaster for today's duties," Yuki suggested as she gathered her notebooks and writing utensils. Zero nodded. Before long Yuki said by to Yori and left with Zero outside the classroom.
"Let's see, the headmaster's office should be right here," Hanabusa said as he rounded the corner.
"You mean you don't actually know where it is?" Arisu was truly surprised by Hanabusa.
"I never really had any cause to come to his office before," Hanabusa defender and as it turned out, he was right about where the office was. "See! I told you this is where it was going to be!"
"Yes," Arisu rolled her eyes, 'I wonder what goes on in his head'. Arisu knocked on the door and waited tentatively.
"Come in," came the sing song voice of Headmaster Cross from inside.
"Oh, it's you, Arisu," Headmaster Cross exclaimed when he saw her open the door. "Have you come for your new uniform?"
"Yes. We wouldn't be in this mess if it wasn't for Kaname," Arisu pointed out with an apologetic smile on her face.
"It's no trouble at all. It gives me something to do anyway." The headmaster reached into his desk drawer for a key, which he used to open the small stores he closet at the side of his office where he kept some spare uniforms. He handed her a new set of crisp white clothes. "Why don't you go try it on? There's a bathroom at the end of the hall."
"Thank you." Arisu received the uniform and walked out the door where Hanabusa was waiting.
"You know you don't have to wait outside for me, you can go explore or something."
"I have been at this school for a couple of years now, so I know where everything is," Hanabusa pouted.
"And that's why you knew where the office was right?" Arisu teased. Hanabusa blushed and remained by the door as Arisu walked to the bathroom.
'This uniform isn't that different from the Day Class uniform' Arisu thought as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror after she had changed. The white made the red armband pop out even more. It also made her look elite and complemented her features. Her hair was down, and her eyes were a dark red wine color. Because she was joining the Night Class, she had no reason to hide her vampire aura. Everybody already knew, at least at Cross Academy (with the exception of the Day Class students). The final touch she added was a small black ribbon as a hair band, which she tied on the side of her head into a bow. Perfect. Then Arisu sighed. It's wasn't that she didn't want to join the day class; it was just that it would be hard to deal with all of the Aristocrats now.
As she neared the Office door she heard the headmaster say, "If it isn't my darling daughter and handsome son!" Instantly her eyes changed color and her vampire aura disappeared. Hanabusa looked on confused and tilted his head.
"Why don't you just come in? I sensed you earlier," Zero loudly called out, looking over his shoulder at the door. His eyes narrowed and he turned to look at the Headmaster, "And you, never call me that again."
"I see you have a wonderful gift for a vampire hunter," Arisu remarked about Zero's sensing ability as she stepped into the room.
Yuki gasped, "Wow, Arisu, you look amazing!"
"Thank you, Yuki" Arisu smiled and did a little twirl.
"It's a good thing you three are here. Your duties as disciplinary committee is to keep order in the school! Zero! Yuki! You two will teach Arisu all she needs to know," the Headmaster said. He almost seemed like a drill sergeant.
"Yes, Sir," Yuki replied smiling as she stood, straight as a soldier. This made Headmaster grin like a loon, happy to have someone playing along.
"Before I forget, I need to talk to Arisu and Zero alone. Do you think you could wait outside with Hanabusa, Yuki?"
"Sure," Yuki agreed, this time weary. She had no idea what Zero and Arisu could have in common.
When Yuki closed the door, the headmaster began, "Arisu, this letter arrived just an hour ago. I think it has to do with the soiree the Aido family is planning." He handed her a crisp white envelope sealed with the Aido family crest.
"Thank you," Arisu replied, receiving the envelope and breaking the seal to read the contents inside.
"As for you, Zero, your orders from the Association arrived. You are to attend the soiree as a representative of the Hunter Association." Zero nodded back. The Headmaster looked dead serious as he continued, "You also have a second job."
Zero instantly became weary. It was unlikely the Association would give him more than one job at a time, but it wasn't unheard of. Plus, he was being watched because of what happened to Shizuka. "So , what is the other job for me?"
"Well you see, you will be Arisu's escort to the soiree..."
"There is no way! You've got to be joking," Zero immediately protested. He couldn't fathom what the Association was thinking. Putting him of all people to escort a pureblood?
"Now, now. This is not only at the request of the Hunter Association, but also as a request from some of the Vampire Aristocracy. You will do well to show that both Hunters and Vampires can work well together," Headmaster Cross ended with his happy carefree voice.
'Why me' Arisu thought. She didn't mind that she would have an escort to the soiree, but she did mind that it would be Zero Kiryu. Zero glared at the headmaster some more, but the older man didn't seem at all fazed by it.
"Some things cannot be helped, I guess," Arisu spoke outloud, "Thank you, Headmaster Cross for relaying the information. I look forward to attending the soirée with Zero."
"It's not like I have a choice," Zero scathingly interjected. He sneered and looked down at Arisu. He turned to face the headmaster and bit out, "Is that all you wanted to talk to us about?"
"Yes, that is all for now," The headmaster replied dancing around the room while he ushered them out, "You both may go back to your prefect duties!"
The door closed behind them with a soft click.
"What did the headmaster want to talk with you guys about?" Hanabusa asked. He was quite bored of standing outside in the hallway waiting for Arisu to come out. The Cross girl had left shortly after joining him, muttering about voices or something.
"Oh nothing, except the soirée you forgot to mention," Arisu nonchalantly stated, "Zero has been chosen as my escort."
"I apologize, Arisu-sama. Sending your invitation was a rushed affair considering you appeared just yesterday," Hanabusa started explaining, "I wasn't sure when the raven was getting here to deliver it."
"Don't worry about it," Arisu waved him off, "When do our classes start?"
"Right at dust, so we still have some time."
"Okay. Hey, why don't you go back to the Moon... wait, where is Yuki?" Arisu asked, looking around. She didn't see Yuki anywhere, but she knew the other girl had stepped outside. She instantly turned around to look at Hanabusa suspiciously.
"Hey, don't look at me. I didn't eat her or anything. She also didn't tell me anything about where she was going," Hanabusa defended himself. He was genuinely unhappy that Arisu thought so little of him, so he went and sulked at the corner of the two hallways.
"Let's go find her, Zero." Zero raised an eyebrow at that.
"Hanabusa," she called out. Hanabusa's head shot up in attention, "go back to the Moon Dorms and wait for me there."
"Yes, Arisu-sama." Hanabusa knew that tone all too well thanks to Kaname. He quickly turned to walk in the direction to the Moon Dorms.
"You sure know how to handle your subjects well," Zero remarked, surprised that Arisu had only been in the Academy for one day and she already had full control over the Aristocrat. 'Well I guess I shouldn't be amazed. It was Aido she was ordering about.'
"It's not like that! I would never just order people around," Arisu replied earnestly, "I'm not like the other purebloods. Besides, don't we need to find Yuki for the prefect duties?"
Zero snorted. "You can do that if you want. I'll go do my own thing."
"Hey, aren't you a prefect, shouldn't you help?" Arisu demanded. She brought her hands to her hips and frowned when Zero turned and walked away. Really, Zero was a hassle to deal with.
"Yes, I am, but I didn't choose to be, so I don't always have to do my job," Zero replied as he rounded the corner, "As you can see."
Arisu sighed and walked aimlessly through the buildings. The few students that were out stopped and stared. Of course, she had used her powers to seem more normal, but that did not stop the students from gawking at the new student.
"You are Arisu Kuran, aren't you?" A girl stepped forward. She had short light brown hair and was wearing the Day Class uniform.
"Yes, I am," Arisu replied, "You are?"
"I'm Sayori Wakaba, Yuki's friend. You can call me Yori though."
"Oh! You are the girl that was sitting next to Yuki in class, right?"
"Yes, that was me. Pleased to meet you."
"The pleasure is all mine. Speaking of which, do you know where Yuki is?" Arisu asked.
Yori thought for a moment. "She might be in the cafeteria, usually likes snacking around this time at least."
"Could you show me the way?" Arisu tentatively asked Yori.
"Sure!" Yori led Arisu around, trying to make conversation with the girl. Arisu admitted she wasn't entirely sure about being appointed as prefect.
"I'm sure you will do fine," Yori assured, smiling at the brunette.
"I hope so..." Arisu walked in pace with Yori, continuing the conversation about life at the Academy.
There was a slight breeze in the hall. Arisu was quietly observing the shorter girl, thinking it unusual for a human to be this close without flinching or being in complete awe. Then again, Arisu was using her ability, so that might explain it.
"You must think it is odd for somebody like me to be completely calm around you," Yori spoke up as if reading Arisu's mind. Her head rose until she was looking into Arisu's eyes. Her gaze was calculating.
"I guess it shouldn't be strange" Arisu replied, averting her eyes.
"You know, I don't see why the Day Class students worship the Night Class," Yori continued. Arisu stopped in her tracks, her eyes widened. Could Yori be holding a grudge against the Night Class? Yori noticed Arisu stopped and turned to see if she was okay.
"Oh, it's not like that, Arisu," Yori instantly said. "It's just that I don't actually see what makes them any different than us. I mean, yeah, they are beautiful to look at and some of them are famous, but they don't even talk to anyone other than the prefects and each other."
Arisu hummed in response. Perhaps the Headmaster's ideology is possible. Maybe humans and vampires can coexist at some point... if more humans were like Sayori.
"Arisu, are you alright?" Yori asked.
Arisu snapped out of her thoughts and replied, "Yes, why wouldn't I be?"
"Are you sure I didn't offend you?".
"It's fine. Besides, I like someone who can speak their mind," Arisu reassured her. "Are we almost at the cafeteria?"
"Yes, it is just around the next hallway," Yori replied, her brown locks bouncing as she made an almost skip, happy that the other girl wasn't offended.
"Why on earth did you leave Arisu's side," Kaname asked, his tone harsh. He was already angered when Hanabusa told him Arisu would still be doing prefect duties. "Do you know how easy it would be for an aristocrat to abduct her and no one would the wiser? Hardly anyone knows she exists and that only makes it easier!"
'If she is anything like you, then that is going to be hard to do.' Hanabusa was looking at the ground. He would never admit it, but Arisu seemed to be a whole lot scarier than Kaname.
"I'm certain that will not happen, Kaname-sama," Hanabusa instead replied, looking up, "Calm down."
"I simply cannot calm down," Kaname hissed, narrowing his eyes at Hanabusa, "I told you to stay with her. Now go out and look for her!"
"Uhm, actually, I can't do that," Hanabusa shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "Arisu ordered me to come back to the moon dorms until our classes started, so..."
Kaname sighed, looking at Hanabusa in the eye, "In that case there is one thing for you to do..."
Outside of the room, Shiki and Rima were walking in the direction of Kaname's room. They stopped and burst out laughing, a rarity for the stoic vampires.
"Oh, be quiet," Hanabusa said as he passed them with his head held up high. The two vampires just laughed even harder. Hanabusa had a bucket filled with water on his head and one bucket in each hand in punishment.
"Yuki!" Yori called as they neared the table where the girl was sitting. All eyes turned towards them when they sat down.
"Why is a Night Class student here?"
"She's a prefect."
"Didn't you hear? There's a transfer student."
"Supposedly she's Kaname Kuran's sister."
"He has a sister?"
"Apparently he does. She transferred here from a private school somewhere in eastern Europe."
"Do you think she has a British accent?"
"No, we heard her speaking in home room."
"Why was she in there?" As the whispers around them subsided, Arisu relaxed.
"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Yuki asked. She greeted the two of them and scooted down the table bench so they could sit beside her. "By the way, that uniform looks great on you!"
Arisu blushed, and mumbled a quiet thanks.
"Arisu was looking for you, so brought her here," Yori said as she sat down.
"Oh, I see," Yuki stuffed her face with a piece of cake, "do you want anything to eat? It's on me, of course!"
Arisu politely declined, "I was actually wondering about our prefect duties."
"Don't worry about that, you'll soon know what to do," Yuki replied, smiling up at the vampire.
Every thing lapsed into silence as Yori dug into the plate of food Yuli Gad handed her. Then someone from behind them asked, "is it true that you're Kaname Kuran's sister?"
"Yes," Arisu replied as she turned around. Standing in front of her was a boy about Zero's age. He had golden yellow hair with azure blue colored eyes.
"Aha, then it will be even more fun to snatch you for myself," The blond boy spoke, a charming smile appearing on his face. His smile revealed pearly white teeth that made him look even more handsome.
"Uhm," Arisu did not know how to reply; her checks blushed a light pink. There was only one person that ever talked to her in that way. A couple of the girls watching at the ordeal squealed.
"Well, I must excuse myself. I have matters to attend to. It'll be nice seeing you around, Miss Kuran." Just as quickly as he boy had come, he left. Arisu was left mouth agape, not realizing that Yori and Yuki had the same expressions on their faces. The whispers around them began anew, only more fervently. They turned to look at each other.
Arisu finally managed to speak, "Who was that?"
"That was Kai Koruya, son of the owner of The Koruya Company. The only one other than Zero who can be compared to the Night Class. He transfers between the Night Class and the Day Class," Yori explained.
"Really? I have never heard that company name before," Arisu replied, thinking hard. Her brow furrowed, it was nearly impossible to switch between one class to the other unless you were a vampire who had excellent self-control. Kai did not give off a vampire aura to her.
"Well, the Koruya Company acquired many well known enterprises and industries. They came to be fairly recently. Nobody knows much about them," Yuki interjected. She knew that because Kai Koruya's future company had donated generously to the academy. Then the ruckus started, whispers turned to loud chattering from every side. Girls quickly cleaned up their cutlery and exited the cafeteria.
"The night class is about to leave the dorms, we better hurry," Yuki told Arisu as she got up. "Yori could you take my bag back to the dorms, please?"
"Sure thing! Good luck on your first day, Prefect Arisu," Yori chimmed before receiving Yuki's bag and walking away.
Arisu and Yuki sped to the gates that lead to the Moon Dorms. Even though there was still some time before the Night Class would come out, girls were already swarming at the gate. Not to mention a few guys here and there.
"Everybody get back!" Yuki yelled at the crowd. Some of them listened, but others completely ignored her. "Man, this would be a lot easier if Zero were here!"
"He doesn't come that often does he?"
"Not really." There was something about her tone of voice that made her seem sad.
"Who were you saying didn't come?" a voice from behind both Yuki and Arisu spoke. Chills ran down both of their spines. Slowly they turned around. Zero was ominously starring down at both of them. His hair tussled as if he had been asleep somewhere. Other than that, everything about him seemed tamed. Except for his uniform, but he never really buttoned it up fully. Suddenly, he started to bark out orders, "Yuki, come with me to bring the crowd back. Kuran, you go into the Moon Dorms to accompany your kind out."
"Jeez, you don't have to say it that way," Arisu replied waving her hand as she started to walk towards the entrance of the gate. However, before she fully turned around something happened that made her freeze. She was about to blow her cover because her anger flared, and she almost moved to rip out Zero's throat. Before she did that, something flew at her and would have hit her in the face if she had not caught it. Yuki semi-screamed once she realized what had happened.
"Don't do that!" Yuki yelled as she punched Zero.
"Ow! What was that for," Zero responded rubbing his cheek. Zero had reached under Yuki's skirt and had gotten the Artemis rod, which he threw at Arisu. The pureblood girl uppercut Zero right below his chin, sending him tumbling back, before looking at what was in her hand. A small weapon hummed as it encountered her skin, but then it quieted.
"What is this," Arisu asked, turning to Zero who was trying to stand up.
"That would be the Artemis Rod, a vampire hunter's weapon. You will use only for self defense both in and outside of the campus," Zero replied. "The only reason you are getting a weapon is because while you are enrolled in this Academy, you will be a prefect."
"Oh," Arisu replied. She fully extended the Artemis rod and examined it, "If it's a vampire hunter weapon how come I can use it?"
"A few vampires exist that can use vampire hunter weapons and you seem to be one of them," Zero answered.
"What about Yuki? What will she use to defend herself?" Arisu turned back to face Yuki, who was still in shock of seeing Arisu hit Zero. There was still a tinge of pink on her face because of what the boy did.
"As long as she stays by my side until I get her a new Artemis rod, she will be fine," Zero replied. He started to leave towards the gate, rubbing his chin.
"Next time politely ask for things, so you won't get punched twice." Arisu smirked at Zero.
"Next time, I will shoot you with my Bloody Rose gun if you even attempt at hitting me. As I said before, I don't care if you are the pureblood princess." Zero continued to walk away as he said, "Let's go, Yuki. Kuran, go to the Night Class."
Yuki hurriedly walked to catch up to Zero but turned to smile at Arisu, "I'll see you later, Arisu!"
"Yes," Arisu replied smiling. Arisu ran full speed that the gate wall and used Artemis to she propel herself over the wall like a pole-vaulter. There were a few audible gasps from the Day Class. Most of them thought it was cool. Once Arisu flew across the wall, she saw the Night Class students gathered near the gate. She landed on her feet and moved to join them.
"You are late, Arisu," Kaname said, handing her schoolbooks to her.
"I'm sorry," Arisu replied receiving the books from Kaname. However, she was smiling mischievously. Kaname caught Arisu's eyes and smiled. A genuine Kaname-will-talk-to-you-later-about-the rules-and-regulations type of smile. Arisu felt a twinge of fear, but she thought it strange that Kaname's eyes were smiling. He must have been happy to see that she was enjoying her newfound freedom, even though he opposed it. The school bells started to ring and the gates opened. A loud ruckus erupted from the Day Class girls.
"Kaname! Idol! Wild! Shiki! Takuma!"
"Wow, this is something different," Arisu spoke, stunned about all the fangirling.
"Don't worry, Arisu-sama, it is our duty to protect you," Hanabusa said while dramatically bowing in her direction. She hesitated, unsure about what to do. With just as much flourish Hanbusa stood up to walk over to a group of girls, and asked, "Did any of you dream about me last night?"
"Wow, he's actually enjoying himself," Arisu observed the gaggle of girls swoon over him. She would probably never understand that vampire. Ichijou Takuma started to talk to her, but something caught her attention. A pair of girls was fighting over who would get the better spot to look at the Night Class.
"Excuse me," Arisu interrupted Takuma in mid-sentence as she walked out of the protective group of vampires. She walked over to the girls and said, "Now, now, there is no need to fight. We will always be here." The girls igasped, to them Arisu looked like a goddess sent from the sky. They all swooned and swarmed around her. A few male students joined in the swarm.
"Wow you really are beautiful!"
"You are amazing!"
"It's no wonder you are Kaname's sister!"
"It's not polite to swarm over Miss Kuran. She is new here after all and doesn't know how things function."
Arisu was pulled from out of the swarm. Strong arms locked around her waist. She was about to protest and hit the person behind her had it not been for Kaname.
"Kai, I would appreciate if you would refrain from grabbing my little sister like that." Kaname's features were calm and collected, most likely because there was a group of students who surrounding them. The arms around Arisu released her and she quickly walked behind Kaname.
"I apologize. I was only trying to help out Miss Kuran," Kai replied flashing his charming smile, "it looked like she needed assistance."
"Thank you for your consideration, but we must get going," Kaname said, his words laced with venom. It seemed like he was threatening the blond. "Let's go, Arisu," Kaname guided her through the crowd of Day Class students. The students parted and made space for the siblings to pass. Arisu turned around and Kai was still standing there. He flashed her his most charming smile and walked away. As soon as they reached the Night class, Kaname and Arisu were surrounded until they were at the middle of the Night Class like they were in a protective cocoon. Arisu saw Yuki and Zero fending off more students from approaching the Night Class and wanted to help, but Kaname stopped her, "Stay by my side, Arisu." His tone of voice made her comply.
Arisu smiled apologetically to Yuki who smiled back at her reassuringly. The rest of the evening went without further incident.
Revised 03/16/20 - merged original chapters 7, 8, and 9