"Welcome, to Cross Academy!"
The light from the doorway was blinding.
To eyes used to darkness for the last four hours, the Academy Entranced Hall had the illumination power of a Super Nova.
Yuka covered her eyes with her hand, grimacing as the form of a man stroke black against the glow behind him.
He walked out slowly, long coat blowing behind him.
He was tall, broad shouldered but a kind face. His glasses slid down his nose, light hair tied at the nape of his neck. A beige lounge coat fell around his slight frame, and his persona definitely gave the air of the Business type package.
That was, until she noticed the slippers.
The driver side door slam broke her out of her impolite staring, Yuka shuffling out of the car along with her Minder. She pulled the hem of her skirt down once more. Hazuno gave her a sharp glare, and Yuka felt her rebellious little bubble rise in her chest.
She hated the 'Parent' glare, especially when it wasn't given by a parent.
She turned to the Mysterious slipper-man, who inclined his head.
"You must be Yuka. I'm the headmaster here at Cross Academy, but most pupils call me Chairman Cross. I hope you find our little Academy a Home away from Home."
He gestured with his hand around the small court, the trickle a fountain heard within the silky veil of Night.
"It's beautiful, Chairman Cross."
It was a little formal for her usual speaking, but Damn - she wasn't lying.
She felt two palms suddenly cover her cheeks, squeezing them so her lips were pushed into a shape that somewhat resembled a fish. She was so shocked, it didn't even occur to her to freak out.
"Aaahh, that's right, little Yuka! That's the spirit! Wait until you see your dorm, you'll just love it, I'm sure!"
He rubbed her cheeks with his palms like a grandfather would do to a child, before clapping his hands together and sighing intently.
She should totally be freaking out.
Miss Hazuno dropped Yuka's two suitcases (that's right, two. It took her a good few hours, but she managed two) at her feet, jangling her car keys as her fingers looped through the keychains.
"Chairman Cross, very pleased to meet you. Haruka Hazuno, Sixth Minder of Dena House. On behalf of Miss Yuka and myself, thank you for the opportunity you are very graciously hosting."
Miss Hazuno lifted her hand to shake hands with the Chairman, bowing her head.
"Don't be silly, Miss Hazuno, was it? Yuka here has earnt her place here. Please rest assured we take great Care of all of our students."
Yuka snorted quietly again, taking In the scenery of the lavish School.
No shit, these kids' parents must be paying a fortune. No wonder you're taking care of them.
Of course, this also meant that - at this rate - money did by happiness.
Yuka, oddly, was alright with that. Especially if it meant staying here.
Maybe she didn't have to worry about girls who didn't moisturize after all.
..
Hazuno gave her the usual 'behave yourself, don't shame Dena Hall, keep up with school work and don't slack off' lecture as the Chairman lead them into the mansion of a reception. The floor was a polished wood, a gigantic rug that - according to the mini tour the Chairman insisted he gave -was Egyptian, huge potted greenery in each corner and leather bound armchairs next to bookshelves and coffee tables.
Tapestries and paintings hung on the walls, trophies and ribbons adorning a large display cabernet.
Hazuno was handing the Chairman an envelope full of signed paperwork, muttering of formalities and most likely, Yuka mused with rolled eyes, the medication in her satchel.
"She has nightmares." She'll say.
"She can become hysterical" She'll warn.
Yuka walked around the room slowly, her fingers reaching out to brush the gold frame of a painting depicting a castle looking over a stormy ocean.
It was an exaggeration, really. 'Hysterical'.
Yuka had never been Hysterical, but then she'd like to see Hazuno deal with the nightmares that bled into her waking days.
Hazuno was, in many ways, her carer. Her guardian. Her closest thing to a sister or aunt. But even when the situation came down to it, even to Hazuno, she was just a basket case.
Not the girl who wanted to breed horses or play music.
The girl who felt free jumping ropes in the worlds most unflattering helmet.
No, Hazuno saw a Nutt Job that got lucky and landed a scholarship.
Hazuno will leave, and get a new kid when she gets back to Dena Hall. The next in a long line of baggage which gave a new meaning to 'taking work home'.
All too suddenly, the magic was beginning to wear off.
"I can assure you, there isn't much this school hasn't seen." Chairman Cross smile kindly, and Yuka reserved the right to roll her eyes again.
Typical.
"But of course, it is very late - most of the Day Class students will be falling asleep by now, and lessons pick up early in the morning. Perhaps Yuka should go up to her new Dorm and we can finish business in my office?"
Miss Hazuno nodded, placing the envelope back into her purse.
"Yes, yes. Yuka will be needing some rest."
She didn't want to rest.
..
She didn't even want to rest now, Lounging on her bed that was big enough for two of her.
Her Dorm was huge, twice the size of the bedroom she had back at Dena Hall. It was lilac and a maroon from what she could see in the dim lamp light, pillows and throws adorning her bed like she had placed them there herself.
Her two suitcases were set upon the floor, the lid flung open and clothes dotted against the light carpet. Her senior dance dress hanging from the back of the door.
Which, awesomely, locked, by the way.
A desk sat in the corner, the polished wood shining like the moon outside her Window.
Her frog pen Holder and fluffy penguin came with her, of course, sitting on the bookshelf along with a few text books that had already been in Here.
Chairman Cross had given her the key, smiling kindly as he whispered about not sharing the room with anyone given previous situations.
Suited Yuka fine. She wasn't really the sharing type of person.
She had laid out cosmetics, brushes and mirrors on the dressing table. Scarves, hats and snow boots waiting for the winter.
Her riding helmet and gear were hung from coat pegs.
She fingered the enrolment pack in her hands.
It all seemed so real now she had a chance to let it sink in.
She was spending her Senior years somewhere she could only dream of.
Of course, no cute guys in sweaters to be seen yet - but it was early days.
She was even feeling generously forgiving of the lack of WiFi, though she knew in two weeks it would either make or break her.
Really, she shouldn't be feeling the uneasiness she was.
But it was there, knotted in her gut, trying to tell her something.
It was normal, surely. Being uprooted and taken to the Castle of Academic Learning, In the middle of nowhere, given a room bigger than some houses, a headmaster with serious boundary issues and being told to pack your life into two suitcases (honestly, two) would eventually start to make you feel a little queasy.
What she needed was fresh air.
Breathing space.
There was a balcony in the Dorm she was staying in. Downstairs and by the study area. She'd have to be quiet, of course, So as to not to wake anyone up - but some water and air would be good for her.
The door opened without a creak and Yuka tiptoed her way down the corridor and into the Main lounge.
The Sun Dorm was bigger than she first thought. The main crux of the building split off into many different segments. Enough seating for at least forty or fifty at one time, not counting the games rooms. In all honesty, she'd lost count of the amount of closed doors she had walked past to get here, the ones on her floor being dorms, and all the ones above it.
And that was just the girls side.
The boys were the other end of the building, and Chairman Cross had explained about the Disciplinary Committee that patrolled late at night. Especially, he stressed, between the segmented genders and dorms.
She had nearly laughed.
Rich Guys and Gals were still human after all. Who knew?
She would have maybe thought about the fact that the Main Academy Building was actually an island within itself. She had a long old bridge to walk over on the way here; the water looking like liquid onyx.
But, no, the Chairman was worried about sneaky midnight make-outs.
..
The kitchen was like walking into a the backend of a five star restaurant.
Four fridges, two sinks, two cookers, plus a microwave the size of a dog - and workgroups made of tanned marble.
Really, now they were just showing off.
Yuka spent a whole five minutes trying to figure out how to make the water dispenser to, well...dispense. She never realized you needed so many buttons to make water go from point A to point B.
Point B being the very important glass in Yuka's hand.
But, she got there in the end, and was reaping the benefits of hard work on the Balcony off the Study Area.
The dim hum of switched off Computers and the creepy glow of monitors that hadn't quite turned off had unnerved her a little further, but the air was helping.
She had even found a comfy decking chair with pillows, and she found herself getting lost in the rising moon. And looking for WiFi boxes on the outside walls.
She wasn't certain whether or not Hazuno and the Chairman were still talking in the Headmaster's office, but after showing her everything she needed to know in the Sun Dormitory they said their goodbyes and parted.
She wouldn't be heading back to Dena Hall for another eight weeks at the least.
She thought she'd feel some begrudging tug on her heart, or at least the want to get back in the car, go back home, and go to the God Damn senior dance she just missed.
Alright, so she had a complex with the dress.
"Hey! All students are required in their Dorm Rooms by eleven on school nights! Please return to your room!"
Yuka jumped so hard she slipped her grip on her glass. The water engulfed her jumper, but luckily the glass didn't break on the stone flooring.
Yuka cursed loudly, holding her beating heart.
Definitely turning into a stiff.
"Holy Christ, you nearly killed me!"
Yuka placed the glass on the table to her right, standing up to brush excess water from her jumper. She grimaced, brushing long hair behind ears.
"This jumper is one of my favorites."
She scowled, shaking her hands to try and dry them slightly in the frosty air.
"All students must be in their Dorms by eleven. Please return."
The voice was female, authoritative and delicate at the same time.
Yuka turned, setting her jaw.
She wouldn't have minded too much, but the voice didn't belong to an adult. Not to mention her experience of the school yard was screaming at her to make herself a force to be reckoned with before she was devoured alive - Especially if they were twice her size.
The girl before her was petite, chocolate hair with bangs falling into her eyes. She stood holding her white rose armband, eyes steady and determined.
The look of experience, that one.
She was cute, even with that frown. She had also set her jaw, looking somewhat frightening with a black and white uniform she recognized from the handbook splayed on her bed.
There was something about her face. Something Yuka couldn't quite put her finger on.
"I'm new. I didn't know, sorry,"
Yuka picked the glass back up. Making enemies in your first night was never wise, and this girl wasn't exactly a school-yard bully.
The girl lightened up a little, and dropped the arm band.
"Yuka, right?"
Yuka blinked, before the armband clicked something in her head.
"Disciplinary Committee?"
The girl smiled, standing to attention.
"Yuki Cross, member of the Disciplinary Committee."
Yuka frowned slightly.
"Cross? Is everything here called Cross..?"
Yuki Cross laughed lightly, her demeanor changing so fast it almost gave Yuka whiplash.
"Not exactly." Yuki paused as she looked her over. "I'm Sorry about your jumper. Do you have a uniform yet?"
Yuka shook her head.
"No, not yet. The Chairman said someone would help me get one tomorrow."
Yuki Began walking back inside, waiting for a moment to incline Yuka to follow.
"Then let's get you one now, considering you can't sleep."
They walked in silence for a bit, through darkened halls and moonlit corridors.
Yuka followed like a cat being circled, hecklers raised. It wasn't that Yuki was making her nervous, but this place was quite creepy at night on the inside.
"So, ah, do you only patrol in the Sun Dormitory?"
It was weak, but it broke the silence.
Yuki thought for a moment.
"No, I patrol the whole school throughout the night. I'm not alone though, I have a friend who helps."
"The whole school?"
Yuka remembered having to walk to the Sun Dormitory from the Main Academy building. It took around five minutes, and the Dorm itself would probably take around three hours to cover everything. The Main building she didn't even want to try and comprehend - not to mention she didn't even know where the other path where she began her walk went to.
The whole thing just seemed impossibly useless.
The school was gated, surely they have camera's? Security that wasn't a school girl?
..
They paused outside a large door with 'Linen' engraved into the wood. Yuki opened it, asking for Yuka to wait outside the door whilst she rummaged shelves.
"Honorary member of the Disciplinary Committee, please stand guard in my place for five minutes!"
Yuka leant against the wall, listening to Yuki pull clothes from the storage cupboard.
Her mind began to wander, thinking of the strange girl with an arm band.
She seemed normal enough, but there was just something; Something about her.
It was odd, but it was almost like she'd seen her before.
Yuka shook her head.
Must just be a generic face. She doubted this girl came to any big cities seven hours from here.
Not to mention she seemed like she had just walked out of story book. Really, no one is that cheerful unless they have a graveyard worth of skeletons in their closet.
Yuki emerged, a bundle of wrapped uniform items in her arms.
"I hope they're the right size! We dont keep many in stock, New students are quite rare. No one really leaves for there to be room for new members of the student body to enter."
Yuki passed the garments over, and Yuka smiled in thanks.
"Students don't leave?"
Yuki shook her head as they began walking back to the girls Dormitory.
"No, not really. It's a nice school."
Yuka nodded. It made sense.
Seriously, just look at the place.
They crossed into the Main Sun Dormitory lounge area. The light from the moon flooded through large Windows, bathing the chairs and couches in a glorious glow.
"K-Kaname!"
Yuki's surprised gasp came as another mini heart attack. Yuka scrambled for the bundled of clothes she nearly dropped, glancing around at the Committee member.
"Kaname?"
Yuka repeated the name, confused.
Then, the uneasiness returned.
It was like a sledge hammer to the stomach and legs, as the atmosphere in the room turned sour.
Yuka blinked hard, stunned by the sudden change.
"Yuki. My apologies."
The voice cut through the atmospheric mist like a dagger, and her gaze snapped up to a student clad in white.
His dark hair falling over his eyes. A book held lazily in one hand. His eyes fell onto Yuki, lingering there. Yuki stammered, taking a moment to return back to life.
"Kaname, you can't be in Here. Please return to the Moon Dormitory."
Her voice sounded strained, awkward.
Kaname regarded her for a moment before inclining his head, moving past them to the Main entrance way.
Yuka stood dead still as he passed her, teeth glued together as she clutched the bundle of clothes.
She could have sworn that his gaze past her as he walked, but she dared not raise her eyes to check.
The doors closed behind them after a slight pause, the echoing thud bouncing off the walls.
"Who was that...?"
Yuka's voice came out barely as a whisper, eyes wide.
She felt like she was going to be sick. Her bones ached. Ice freezing over her veins.
She had no idea what was happening.
"Night Class President, Kaname." Yuki muttered, brow knotted as she watched the door. She seemed suspended for a moment, before a kind smile broke across her face.
"Anyway, we should get you back to your room. Let me deal with Kaname!" She poked her tongue out, pointing towards the ceiling.
Yuka snapped out of it as Yuki linked her arm, dragging her along at a hurried pace.
They made the walk back in half the time it took to get there.
It bothered Yuka. Itched at her mind like a dog with flees. That was no normal encounter. People just didn't feel like their world was ending by looking at someone.
Yuki felt it too, Yuka just knew it.
She had to of felt it.
Hell, the whole campus should have felt it.
Yuka opened her door, half listening to the breakfast times in the morning that Yuki was listing off entirely from memory.
She placed the uniform on her desk.
"Well, Yuka, I'll see you around. We should have some classes together at some point. Get some sleep, okay?"
There it was - that cheerful disposition.
It really was Unnerving.
Yuki was just about to shut the door before Yuka stopped it.
"Wait! Yuki!"
Yuka's hand held the wood open as she chewed her lip. The question lingered on her lips, dancing around her tongue. Instead;
"A-Ah, thanks. Again, I mean. Uniform and stuff."
Bottled out.
Yuki winked.
"Go rest. Long day tomorrow."
Yuka nodded, returning the smile, closing the door.
The latch clicked into place, and Yuka dropped to the bed.
Well. She'd never had a panic attack staring at a guy before.
She rolled to her side, suddenly exhausted.
Cross Academy, she mused.
...How interesting.
..
Hello there!
Please, everyone, let me know what you think!
- Did you like it, did you hate it - any ideas?
Stay tuned for more!
"I'll also show you a sweet dream, next night."
