Chapter 2

The story is written in Rei's POV :) Enjoy! I didn't own Vampire Knight nor Utada Hikaru's song.....and Hikage Rei is an OC created by me!

"We have arrived, miss." Waken up by the gentle taps on my shoulder by the driver, I lazily stretched my arms. Rubbing my drowsy eyes with my palms, I wondered how long had I had slept. Looking out of the car window, I could see the car had just pulled into some what looked like the front foyer of the Cross Academy. Even though I am still felt sleepy and was reluctant to remove myself from the comfortable seat, I managed to pull myself together. After I fixed my scarlet hair, which got a little bit messy from my sleep, and straighten my white night class uniform – black blouse, white school blazer and skirts along with black leather boots – I got out of the car and stepped into the refreshing air of a warm summer afternoon. Fresh sunlight was pouring down from the clear, azure sky.

It's such a lovely weather to start my day!

Feeling the sensation of faint warm of sunlight washed over me, I couldn't help it but smile to myself. As far as I could remember, I didn't really have much chance to enjoy my days under the blue sky like this. The sun was bright and making it necessary for me to shield my eyes with my hands. The driver benevolently offered me an umbrella, but I refused the offer courteously.

"I like the sun," I explained, assuring him with a smile. "I am used to it."

The driver looked at me with concern for a moment longer, then he proceeded to take my luggage from the back trunk. Indeed, it was strange for a vampire to admit that they like the sunlight; after all, the two just didn't mix under normal circumstances.

After the driver settled my luggage on the ground, he checked on me once again, making sure that I was okay by myself, and then he returned to the car. I smiled and waved him 'goodbye' before the car pulled away from the lot.

While I sat on my luggage, patiently waiting for someone to pick me up, I gave the building a look. It was a Victorian-styled architecture standing on top of a small sloping hill behind a huge metal gate with a gothic arch; its two-story external framework was outlined with reddish-brown bricks, with an elegant veranda on the second floor. From the gate, there was a long stony staircase winding down toward the main foyer, which was where I was currently waiting. This was when I spotted two figures - an amber-haired boy tailing by a blonde, who were walking down the staircase. I immediately recognized the amber-haired boy as Kain Akatsuki. I met him on an annual ball before, and since then we became friends and exchanged letters occasionally. He seemed to be quite comfortable under the sun. On the other hand, the blonde didn't seem to share the same enjoyment; he looked grumpy and had his arms folded across his chest, muttering all the way as he traipsed behind his companion.

"Akatsuki!" I looked at him with delight as the amber-haired boy approached me. "Long time no see!"

"Yeah, it's been a long time, Rei." He said with his usual tranquil voice. "How have you been?"

"Better than ever! I am glad Ichiou-sama finally let me go to this school," I said happily. "It's so boring with the home tutors back there. You know. They are pretty damn strict….By the way, where's Ichijou? He said in the phone last night that he will pick me up."

"Oh yes, Ichijou says he was supposed to come pick you up, but he got caught up some business with Kaname-sama right now. So he asked us to come instead," Kain answered. "But you sure will see him tonight at dinner though."

"Oh…..Busy, huh?" I shrugged my shoulders. Even though I didn't show it in my face, I was actually a little bit disappointed about that; after all, I hadn't seen Takuma for so long since he left the Ichijou mansion for Cross Academy. "Oh well, he's always busy. This is not the first time."

Then, I looked over Kain's shoulder and noticed the blonde boy, who was now standing beside Kain, still had his arms folded across his chest. Now that he seemed to be a little more comfortable under the sun now, but I could sense the word 'displease' had written all over his face. After all, this was still considered 'night time' for vampires.

At least to the normal ones I supposed.

"You don't seem to like the sun, do you?" I chuckled at him and gestured towards him with a wink, and then I turned to Kain. "Sorry, but I didn't anticipate that I would arrive at such early hours."

"Not a problem," replied Kain. He gestured to the blonde boy with his eyes. "By the way, this is my cousin, Aidou Hanabusa." Then he switched his gaze from Aidou to me. "Hanabusa, this is Hikage Rei. She's a pureblood."

"Let me guess…." I titled my head to the side. I was sure that I had seen him somewhere before because I recognized his face, but I just couldn't recall where. Suddenly, something popped up in my mind and I let out a quick, soft 'Oh'. A small grin appeared on my face. "I remember you! You are Tsukiko's little brother! Do you still remember me?"

"Oh. Now that you mention it." Raising an eyebrow, Aidou smirked. "I remember you! How could I forget? You and Tsukiko played a prank on me at the last annual ball!"

"Hanabusa…." Looking at his cousin with a frown, Kain sighed, and felt embarrassed by his younger cousin's immature behavior. "It's not proper to point and shout at a girl….Especially to a pureblood." He added.

"I know it's insolent to speak of a pureblood without honorific, but still!" Making a face, he said as he stuck out his tongue at me. "She and Tsukiko almost tricked me into drinking that 'poison potion' they made!"

"That's okay, Akatsuki. I am actually glad that Hanabusa still remembers me." I giggled. "You know, after all, I am new to the school and all I know are you and Takuma. Now I can add Hanabusa to the list," I said happily as I nodded at Aidou. "And I guess I do owe you an apology."

Kain seemed to let out a sigh, then he walked toward my luggage. "Is that all?" He asked.

"Thank you." I nodded. Kain shook his head as if saying 'it's not a problem', and he grabbed the handle of my suitcase and lugged them up the stairs. As the three of us walked up the staircase towards the gate, I looked up at the sky and caught the last glimpse of the sunlight that now mixed with a hint of roseate suggesting the faint glow of approaching dusk.

"Come on," I turned around and shouted at the two boys. "I want to see Takuma soon." And I raced toward the gate, without looking back.