"And, in today's news, the Tundra Grey Wolf population is on a rapid decline over the past several decades…"
"...an increase of hunting in the area has resulted in a rapid decline of local wildlife…"
"...said to go extinct within the next couple decades, if not less…"
"...several attacks in more rural towns, with at least three dead, and two injured…"
"It came out of nowhere! The beast just shot out of the trees and…"
"Those damn glowing red eyes!..."
"...had such sharp, long fangs!"
"More hunters have gone missing in the past week. Local police have yet to find the bodies…"
"-can't confirm if this is a string of killings, or a case of bear attacks with the lack of physical evidence…"
"This just in, the corpses of several of the missing hunters have been found! And the scene is not what anyone expected!"
"...looks like an animal tore them to shreds. Game wardens and sheriffs are working together to identify the animal…"
"'This is unlike any animal attack we've ever seen,' says police chief…"
Kaien Cross listened to the radio as he sat in his office. The recent events in the news deeply troubled the man. It sounded like another Level-E was running amok, killing humans while they were out in the woods hunting.
What was most troubling was the fact that each missing person case was getting closer to his school.
'If things continue at this rate,' the headmaster thought, staring out his large windows into the setting sun. 'Then the Level-E will reach the school within the month…'
Adjusting his glasses, the blonde man sighed out heavily. He mulled over the situation before a knock sounded on his door.
"Come in," he called out.
The door opened and closed again, and Zero stood on the opposite side of his desk.
"Just coming to give my report. All of the Day Class students have been returned to their dorm, and the Night Class are in their classes. I'm about to go on patrol with Yuki. If there's nothing else you need, I'll be going now."
"Wait, Zero." His words halted the silver-haired male from leaving. "I want you to do something for me. And, please, don't tell Yuki."
This caught his attention. Don't tell Yuki? Why would Cross want to hide anything from his daughter? He stared at him as he waited for an explanation or some sign in his expression, but the older of the two simply kept his body facing away from the young man, hands behind his back as he looked out on the campus before him.
"Did you hear about the murders?" whispered a girl with almost black hair.
"Murders?" asked one of the other girls in the group.
"Yeah,"confirmed another. "Hunters have been going missing lately, and the bodies that the police could find have all been torn to pieces."
"I thought they said those were animal maulings," mused another.
"No way! Have you ever seen a bear do that much mutilation to a person before?"
"What if it's rabid?"
"Oh, this is so scary!"
The talk about the dead hunters halted temporarily as a weary Zero entered the classroom. The students had thought it was their teacher, but were relieved to find it was only the sleep-deprived boy. Their chatter quickly resumed, some questioning the more pronounced bags under his eyes as opposed to most other days, while others went on with their previous line of conversation before the brief interruption.
Yuki looked at her fellow Disciplinary Committee member with worry. Sure, they usually got very little sleep because of their nighttime patrols, but he's never looked this exhausted before. Not to mention he hadn't showed up to his shift for the past few days.
Just before she could get up and make her way over to him, however, their teacher finally entered the room and told them all to sit in their seats.
She flashed him a concerned look but did as told.
'I'll talk to him after class,' the brunette decided.
It seemed to take forever, but the bell finally rang, signalling the end of Day Class for the afternoon. Yuki looked around the crowd of students to try and spot the familiar mop of silver hair.
"Come on," she muttered to herself, worry creasing her forehead. "Where is he?.."
"If you're talking about Zero, he already left."
Sayori's voice startled the Cross girl, making her give a small yelp in surprise. Scratching the back of her neck nervously, the brunette gave a weak laugh.
"I'm sorry for shouting. You just startled me." It took a second for her words to registered. "He left already?"
The orange haired teen nodded. "Mhm. As soon as the bell rang, he was out the door. He looked like he was in a hurry."
This news made Yuki sigh, concern clear in her eyes. Where could he be off to when it was almost time to head over to the Moon Dormitories so as to keep the Day Class girls away from the Night Class students.
"Is everything okay with you two, Yuki?"
This made the brown-eyed girl grow flustered, the way she had stated it making it sound like the two of them were in a rough patch in their relationship. Quickly trying to dispel her worry, the teen waved her arms around frantically as she spoke.
"Huh? Wha? Of course not! Don't be silly! Everything's going just fine! I'm just a bit worried that he's overworking himself, that's all! There really isn't anything more than me wanting to make sure he's sleeping enough!"
She kept rambling, that is, until Sayori interrupted her.
"You should ask the Headmaster if he's noticed Zero's behavior. If anyone knows what's wrong, it's him."
This perked up the female member of the Disciplinary Committee.
"Hey, that's a good idea! Thanks, Sayori!" Waving over her shoulder, the brunette ran off, a smile gracing her lips. She wanted to find out what was the matter with her friend so that she could help him feel better again. Maybe he was sick and needed time off of patrols? She was sure to remember to bring it up with the Headmaster when she got there.
Knocking on the door, Yuki waited for a reply before entering the office. Once she heard her adoptive father say 'come in', she opened the door and peeked inside.
"Oh, Yuki. Isn't it a bit early for you to be giving your nightly report?"
"Uhm, yes, Headmaster, but I'm not here about that.."
"Really? Then, what is it, Yuki?"
"Well.. I noticed how tired Zero looked today, and I haven't seen him for patrol for the past few nights. I was wondering if he was sick, or having trouble sleeping, and if you might know why."
For a moment, the brunette could see the serious expression on Kaien's face, but it was quickly replaced with his usual dopey smile.
"Don't look so glum, my dear daughter! He's simply been running errands for me! I'm sorry for not informing you sooner, but I didn't think they would make him so tired. I'll be sure to give him a break. Now," he stood up. "It's about time for you to go to the Moon Dormitories. Don't want the Day Class girls to get there before you."
The short-haired girl nodded her head. "Right."
Yuki knew she should trust the headmaster. She knew that he only had her's, Zero's, and everyone else's best interests at heart. But the look that had briefly flashed over his features before he answered her was worrisome.
She wasn't one to pry into others' business unless she was assigned to confiscate contraband, but if this was affecting Zero's health, she wanted to help. That was probably why she ended up hiding behind a group of trees as she followed the lavender-eyed male through the gates leaving the academy grounds and into the woods.
They walked in silence for a while, the girl being sure to stay so far away so as not to be caught.
It was quite sudden that the solitary teen spun on his heel, the Bloody Rose gun's barrel was pointed directly at the tree trunk she was hiding behind. His expression was stony, and, if looks could kill, the Cross girl would be dead ten times over.
"Show yourself," Zero demanded.
Seeing she had no other choice, she slowly made her way out into the open with a nervous smile.
"Haha.. hey, Zero. Funny meeting you here."
"Yuki? Why were you following me?"
Sighing, she dropped all pretense and straightened up.
"You haven't been to classes or patrols, and I was really worried about you, Zero."
"Look, it's not safe for you out here. Go back to the Academy and make your rounds. Who knows what the Day Class girls are up to."
"I'm not leaving you out here alone," she insisted. "Besides, it's not like I'm completely helpless. I have the Artemis Rod."
"L-"
He couldn't get a word out before a loud scream rang out, causing a cluster of birds to take off into the sky. Faster than she could blink, Zero ran toward the voice.
"Go home, Yuki!" he yelled over his shoulder.
"Wait, Zero!"
Against her better judgement, the naive brunette chased him. Branches and brambles tore at her face and uniform, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. When her lungs felt like they were about to burst, they finally arrived at a clearing. The sight was enough to make her want to throw up.
There was what looked to have been a camp-site. Items were littered around -shoes, scraps of clothes, cans, bottles of alcohol, flashlights, blankets, etc- and a fire-pit with the embers of a dying fire nestled in ash sat in the center. The horrifying aspect of it all was the shredded bodies thrown around carelessly. As though the thing responsible cared not for the lives it ended.
God, and the blood. Such a foul smell invaded poor Yuki's nose. She was assaulted by the sheer magnitude of iron that wafted through the air. Everything was bathed in the crimson liquid like a painting gone wrong. But, something did tug at the back of her mind, a brief thought along the lines of, 'this seems familiar', but it was gone before she could fully process its meaning.
She saw Zero's hand tightened on his pistol in either anger or disgust -she wasn't sure-. It was obvious the sight before them bothered him as well, even if she could only see his back.
"Yuki," his voice sounded strained. "Go back.."
As she opened her mouth to respond to him, a loud rustling stopped her. In the blink of an eye, the teen's arm was raised and a shot was fired into the bushes. The sound of flesh being pierced vaguely reached her ears before a deafening roar was screeched out. Whatever made that noise was definitely not human.
Zero was ready to put another round into the creature behind the leaves, almost certain it was just another level-E waiting for its next victims. Before he could pull the trigger again, however, something large and black jumped out at him, and claws tore into his shoulder like a hot knife through butter.
He yelled out and was pushed to the ground, the big thing now on top of him. His eyes went wide as he was met with a snarling snout and two glowing, red eyes. Its black fur was stained red, along with its teeth and paws. The sharp canines were the size of the teen's longest finger, and the beast, itself, was perhaps as large as a bear while its height may have reached that of a fully grown man.
As quick as lightning, the wolf of massive proportions sunk its jaws into the arm with his gun, and it shook its head like a rabid animal. Another scream tore from his throat as he was forced to release his weapon.
Like a miracle, his limb was released. A canine-like yelp escaped the monster as the metal rod struck its head. Yuki stood protectively over her classmate, ready to beat back the beast if her life depended on it.
"Are you okay?" she questioned, not taking her eyes off the wolf. Said creature was slowly circling the pair, an obvious gunshot wound visible on its right flank. It was odd that a vampire weapon had harmed it at all.
"I'll be alright," Zero bit out, clutching his injured shoulder.
"What is this thing? It doesn't seem like a normal wolf.."
"Whatever it is, it clearly was the one responsible for killing these men."
"But why?" Yuki wondered.
"It's a crazed beast bent on blood-lust. Does it need a reason?"
The wolf suddenly tilted its head back and howled loudly. Wind whipped by. The brunette wasn't able to distinguish the breeze from the cracking of twigs, but her fellow Disciplinary Committee member was. With his good hand, he reached for his gun and shot out to their left. This didn't discourage the other wolves emerging from the forest, and it didn't harm the one he had turned the barrel to.
'Regular wolves,' he concluded. 'Bloody Rose won't work on them..'
They were surrounded in minutes, gold and brown eyes watching as their seeming ringleader crouched as though it was going to pounce on them once more. What stopped the creature was a large wall of fire that separated the Cross Academy students from the black entity, which snarled and growled but stepped away from the flames.
As one of the smaller, normal wolves lept to attack Yuki, a flash of a white uniform darted past, feet landing on its head and smashing it into the ground.
Seiren jumped off the incapacitated animal, landing silently besides Kain.
"Seems like this is the thing Lord Kaname wanted us to kill," the male stated.
"It appears so," the pale violet-eyed female replied monotonously.
"Akatsuki, Seiren!" the doe-eyed Cross girl shouted, confused and relieved the Night Class students showed up.
The fur on the black wolf's back suddenly ridged up as the low snarling increased in volume and malice as its red orbs glared almost hatefully at the two newcomers. The animosity rolled off it in stifling waves as its head lowered closer to the forest floor.
Fire engulfed the light-orange haired vampire's hand as he sent another volley toward the wild beast. It moved out of the way, swiftly running toward the culprit. Seiren got in front of him and ducked under the claws that sought to bury themselves in her cheek, a hand darting out and striking the creatures side with enough force to send it flying.
A pained whine came from its throat as it struggled back to its feet. As the lithe female approached the injured wolf, others got in her way. She easily batted them aside, stead-fast on her mission to eradicate the nuisance to her lord.
"Seiren, watch out!"
Yuki's shout proceeded to catch her attention, making her turn in the opposite direction of another lunging wolf, this one brindle in color that had used the cover of trees and underbrush to conceal itself from the vampire.
Kain reached out, orange flames licking at his fingertips and engulfed the canine, burning it to a crisp. However, when the fire cleared, the biggest wolf was gone, and the remaining pack dispersed, no longer interested in holding up the four students now that their leader was away.