Chapter 5: Purebloods pt.2

The chair in the Headmaster's office seemed to get more and more uncomfortable by the second. Each tick if the clock indicated another second I sat, a sitting duck, unknowing to what he wanted to show me.

I looked into the Headmasters brown eyes and gave him a patient half smile, hoping he would allow me to leave soon.

"Don't worry." He smiled. "You'll be on your way soon enough. On the road to recovery."

At his words I looked down to my lap again and hugged my stomach with my hands. Vampires were supposed to heal faster than humans, but for former humans it would take a lot of pain and blood to make it happen. Luckily, I hadn't had any problems yet due to my extensive care from the infirmary. I hoped it would stay this way, but there were some signs of change. The wound now burned, and from what Kaien told me earlier I assumed it was because of Shizuka Hio. That monster couldn't come and kill me herself so she had to give me hell. "Pathetic", I deeply thought.

Within a few seconds I felt her presence in my blood and couldn't help but scratch my neck. The scar she gave me that afternoon a few months ago burned as I scratched, but nothing could get her presence out. It was as though she was sitting right next to me, tormenting me like she used to. My body tensed up out of habit. This was a feeling I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. "Get out of my goddamn blood. Now." I ordered her, trying to stay strong. But how was one supposed to be strong when their mind was no longer just their own?

A swift response answered, "For now my pet. For now." And then she was gone. I slowly loosened up, but was still cautious from the encounter.

"Akane? Are you alright?" Headmaster Cross asked, staring directly where I was scratching. His eyes seemed to hold genuine concern in them, which meant a lot to me. "You seem incredibly uncomfortable and tense."

"Uhm... Yeah. Sorry just a heat rash is all." I gave a tiny smile. The Headmaster had to of understood what just happened, he raised Zero. That poor boy is dealing with the same monster as I am, so these things must have come up at least a few times. But I was glad he was being polite anyways.

Shizuka Hio's words repeated in my mind as frequent as an eye blinking. For now. What was she planning? There was so much I didn't understand in this fucked up world, if she wanted to kill me why couldn't she just come do it already? There must have been a different reason for her letting me stay here unharmed, but what?

My elaborate thoughts were torn apart as the presence from earlier returned with a knock on the office door. I quickly stood from my seat and turned towards the door.

A Pureblood.

I reached down to my thigh to grab a knife and began spinning it in my hand, just like Dad had taught me. I readied my stance, knees bent and shoulder width apart. This encounter would end very, very differently. It had to.

"Akane, put those away!" Cross cried out, trying to reach for my arm across the desk. I shook him off as he got close. "Stay behind me," I told him in a firm tone.

Just as the door opened an exquisite teen came in. With a height of at least six feet, he had shaggy dark brownish-black hair that complimented his skin tone beautifully. He wore a school uniform, like Zero's but with the base white and the accents black instead. He was an amazing sight, one people would gawk at if the passed him on the street.

But there was a problem that lied under these beautiful features. The eyes. They were the eyes of a monster. Dark red mixed with brown. They were evil eyes. Eyes that, when a beam of red flashed through them, could be the end of you. The part to fear most was the fact that no one would be panicked over these eyes unless they already lost it all. These are the types of eyes you fear when it's been too late. When only bad memories lie in such outstanding orbs of brown and red.

I threw the knife.

The handcrafted knife danced through the air, spinning perfectly till it met its target. Or should I say, till it met a few inches out from the target? Just before the blade landed between the vampires eyes his hand flashed in front of it swiftly, catching it without getting cut.

Damn it, I thought. I sucked in my breath and grabbed another, this time arming myself with fists, the knife an accessory to a punch if necessary.

This was something I only learned a little bit of, it wasn't long after I grasped the basics of close range fights my father was taken away from me. Though he only taught me little, I remember it like it was yesterday. I blinked my eyes hard and then focused in on every move of this monster. Ready for any attack. But none came. Just words.

"Quite the welcome, Akane. But I do not wish to harm you and I do not wish to be attacked either." The pureblood spoke. He put the knife down on the floor and gently kicked it back to me. I placed it back in my holster and then took my stance again. His words made my body stiff but I forced myself to stand at guard.

"Akane! Please put down the weapon! This is Kaname Kuran, president of the night class." Kaien cut in. His words only made me grip my knife harder. What an idiot.

"Why?" I glanced at the Headmaster, who had moved a few feet to my right now. "What the hell is going on here?!" I demanded. Kaname continued to slowly move into the room. Behind him was a boy with blonde hair and beautiful green eyes. His height resembled Kaname's and he seemed pretty relaxed for the situation. He also wore a matching uniform to Kaname Kuran's. They both stopped once completely inside the doorway, closing it behind them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. As Kaien Cross just stated I am Kaname Kuran, President of the night class . This is the Vice President of the night class Ichijo Takuma." The pureblood put on a small, welcoming smile. It seemed a bit forced though, like his eyes said something else entirely. It was as though they were assessing me and trying to cover that up with the innocence of a smile, it didn't work on me.

I looked at the boy with blonde hair. "Both vampires." I commented. They all just looked at each other. Uncomfortable glaires filled the room. Headmaster Cross was the first to speak.

"This school has two different classes, the day class and the night class. The day class is occupied by humans while the night class is composed of-,"

"Bloodsuckers." I interrupted.

At this Headmaster Cross frowned and looked down, letting his blond bangs fall over his glasses a bit. But he didn't say anything. He knew I was right. This wasn't safe at all. Who would allow high ranking vampires anywhere near humans in the first place. It was unthinkable and put innocent lives in danger.

"We mean no harm." Ichijo informed. He gave me a sweet smile, which made me loosen my grip on the knife a bit. This vampire didn't seem like a vampire at all, if it wasn't for his stunning good looks I probably wouldn't have even noticed him. But he is a vampire, my thoughts warned. They are all so manipulative. The blonde teen, Ichijo Takuma, even added a gentle wave at the end of his spiel.

I looked to my right to see Cross' eyes burning into mine. "Akane, this arrangement promotes peace between vampires and humans. It shows that both can coexist together in this world, and even in this school." Kaine spoke. "Now, I'm begging you, put your weapon away."

I looked deep into his eyes and then back at the two teens. Then just shook my head. "You trust them? Really?" I asked out of breath. This was difficult. It felt like I was making a grave mistake again. "Letting vampires into my life is what took my life away. I want you to remember that." I told him, bringing eye contact back. He simply nodded as my shaking hands came down to my sides. I didn't put away the knife though, I kept it spinning in my hands.

"Please, sit. Everyone." Cross commanded politely. I took one of the two chairs across from him while Kaname took to other. Takuma stood by the door behind us, which made me even more uncomfortable. I didn't trust these guys at all, regardless of Headmaster Cross' opinion on them. I scooted my chair to the left a bit, moving as far away from him as I could. Not to necessarily be rude, but it was difficult to be around a pureblood ever since Shizuka.

Kaname made me extremely nervous. My hands shook as they twiddled the knife around in my lap, memories of Shizuka making it difficult to focus. The pureblood looked left towards me out of the corner of his eye. He obviously knew this was difficult for me, but he was a Pureblood. What did any of them care? As long as they could devour the life's of the innocent, they were happy.

"Akane, Kaname Kuran is also one of the leaders in the vampire world. I hope that's you'll show at least some respect to him. He is a good pureblood."

My eyes shot up to look at the Headmaster. "Excuse me?" I began. "But I don't need to show any pureblood respect. Maybe they should start respecting the sanctity of human life first."

"That's what this arrangement promotes, Akane. It shows that there is a way to live in peace between both vampires and humans-".

"Why is it so difficult for you to understand how completely reckless this is?" I interrupted. Frankly, tis whole situation just pissed me off.

"I assure you," Kaname began. " That the night class is extremely well behaved and cautious when it comes to being at Cross Academy. No one drinks blood while on campus and the two classes are almost completely separated throughout the day. I hope you will find the presence of the night class comforting at some point."

I simply looked away from him when he was done. Nothing I said could convince them that this was going to end in bloodshed.

After moments of silence I decided to speak. "Well, is that all?" I asked the Headmaster. He nodded in response and then added to his statement. "Unless you have anything you would like ask or share." He smiled.

I thought about Shizuka Hio. I thought about Ichiru. I thought about everything that had happened in the past few months leading up to this situation. It would be so much easier if I told them what had happened in that house and how I got here, but the truth was I just wanted it behind me. I wanted to forget about all this. Plus, there was no way in hell I was about to vent my life to a pureblood monster about another pureblood monster. There was no way.

"No." I responded after a moment. "I'm okay. I'll be leaving anyways when Yagari comes back, right?" I spun the knife one last time and placed it back in the holster, then stood. Kaname stood as well, which I found odd.

"Well, it was nice to meet you Akane." He said with a small smile. He then began to put his hand out to shake, but unknowing of that I flinched back. Everyone in the room stared at my hands lifted in front of me. "Oh." Was all I could manage ask I quickly threw them back down to my sides. Kaname's eyebrows raised as if he had figured something out.

"Uhm I have to go." I said and quickly exited the room without a goodbye. I silently cursed myself out in the hallway of the Headmasters home. That was obviously a test, he knew I would flinch. And now he knows something about Shizuka Hio. She wasn't very kind to her pets.

Later that night I found myself wandering the grounds again. Prior, the Headmaster gave me new clothes. I now sported a black skirt and a red sweater. I had graciously thanked him and he told me that I should go shopping with Zero and Yuki tomorrow. I didn't know how I felt about this. I barely knew either of them and I couldn't let the Headmaster buy me clothes, it didn't feel right. But I suppose his nurturing fatherly side overcame my doubts and he forced me to agree.

I looked around myself and smiled, I had finally gone so far into the forest that I had no idea where I was anymore. Thank God. This was the type of thing I needed at the moment. To be lost in something other than my thoughts. I continued to walk, my bare feet slipping silently through the grass.

Before I knew it I had sadly found a building again. I looked through one of the windows and noticed it was an empty classroom. I started turning the corner around the side of the building when I bumped into what felt like a wall, or I suppose the equivalent. Zero.

I tried to catch myself but fell down on my butt. "Ouch." I cried out, looking up at the pissed off boy with silver hair.

"What are you doing out here?" He demanded while sticking out his hand. I took it and dusted myself off, then grabbed my stomach in a bit of pain.

"I'm just waking." I replied. "What are you doing out here?" Zero frowned at me and showed me his badge on his sleeve. If features a red and white design that matches the red tie on his uniform. I had noticed Yuki sported an identical one, but never really thought anything of it.

"Disciplinary committee." He stated. "And you're not aloud out here at this hour, especially without an escort, vampire." I simply leaned against the wall, immediately uninterested with these silly rules. Of course I couldn't be out here, the vampires were too dangerous to allow night time walks. Now I understood the need for a disciplinary committee. It was so the night class wouldn't be able to hurt the day class, even if they tried.

I frowned at Zero, mostly for calling me a vampire though. It was the greatest insult, a reminder of what I have become. But at the same time I wondered if it hurt Zero just as much to know that he was one too. I just ignored the remark, not wanting to offend the teen thats already been through hell and back.

"Why are you helping these jerks by being on this committee?" I asked. I knew what happened to Zero and his family. Why in the world would he agree to this? It must have been like a slap in the face every time he saw that pureblood.

Zero darted his eyes away from mine. "It's not my choice." He told me. "I do it because Kaien asked me to. That's all there is to it." I shook my head at him. "So you agree with him? You think this ridiculous pacifism can actually work?" I questioned, a bit of annoyance creeping through my voice.

Zero looked me in the eyes now. "Of course not. Those monsters shouldn't even be on campus, let alone alive." He spoke.

I smiled at him now. "Good. Glad there is someone that is sane here." I paused and looked down for a moment. My thumbs began to twiddle a bit. I needed to get something off my chest, but how would Zero react? "I- I'm sorry about Ichiru." I told him. "A-and about Shizuka."

Zero's eyes widened but he stayed silent for a moment. Eventually he broke the silence. "You said to the Headmaster that it was your fault they got together. What did you mean?" Curiosity and anger laced his voice.

I sighed. I didn't want to share this with anyone, I wanted to put it behind me. But I could see Zero was hurting from this. Bags were present under his eyes that weren't there when I arrived. This must have been keeping him up at night wondering what happened to his precious twin brother after all these years. I felt as though I owed his at least a small explanation as to what happened.

"Like I said, Ichiru and I were friends when we were young. I had met Shizuka and didn't know what she was. T-they met through me..." I stated, almost covering my mouth at the end. That's the first time I said that out loud. "I'm so sorry. I know you must hate me and I don't blame you so if-"

Zero cut me off by grabbing my arms and pinning me up against the building. He forced me to stay down even though I used all my strength to push away. I squirmed under him as much as I could, looking for an out. But just as he appeared Zero was very strong and he effortlessly held me there.

"Goddamn it." He grunted. "Just tell me what happened to Ichiru. Please. All of it, no more of these broken up explanations. They only make all this shit worse." I stared into his lilac eyes. They were so deep. It was almost like they were bright and dark at the same time. Like they were naturally bright but with every sight of evil seen they lost their glow a bit each time. The same thing that I saw present in Ichiru when we were kids.

I tried to speak to Zero, tell him what had happened. But I couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't bring myself to ruin the image of his perfect twin brother. The twin brother that was so full of life and love yet always suffering under his illness. So instead I focused on the matter at hand, my wound. "Zero please." I cried looking down out it. He immediately loosened his grip and let me off the stone wall, but didn't stalk off.

We were both quiet for another moment. "Would you go around telling complete strangers that only cared to use you as bait your whole life story? Well?" I demanded, forcing myself not to yell. "God damn it, Zero. I was trying to give you something, even if it was small it was something."

Zero began to breathe heavily and look around. I guess this situation was really upsetting for him, but he answered my question. "No, I wouldn't. But this doesn't only affect you."

At that moment I heard the bushes to my left rumble. My head shot in the direction of the noise, only to see nothing. "Did you hear that?" I questioned Zero, completely forgetting the topic at hand. "No," he responded. Hear what?"

I stayed silent for another moment and heard it again, only to see a figure move from it and begin walking towards the trees. The figure had hair identical to my own, but shorter. My heart stopped beating. Mom? It couldn't be. My mother was dead. I saw her.

"Zero...d-did you see that?" I whispered. Zero looked confused. "No, what's the matter?" He asked.

Without responding I bolted towards the descending figure. How the hell did she get here? How did she survive?

"Akane! Hey, wait!" Zero called from behind. I heard him begin to follow me through the dense woods.

I swiveled right and left around tree after tree, trying to keep the figure in sight. My wound burned but I kept going, unable to think about anything else but getting to my mother. Suddenly the figure stopped running, her white, flowing clothes swaying around her. I came to an abrupt stop a few feet away.

I heard Zero stop a few feet behind me as well, panting from the long run.

"Mom...?" I whispered, out of breath. "Is that you?" Tears began to form in my eyes as I focused on the figures back.

"Akane, who are you talking to?" Zero pried. I turned to look at him. "What do you mean? You don't-," at that the wind blew and when I turned back around my mothers figure was gone.

"What?!" I began to cry. "No! Mom come back!" I began to spin around continuously, looking every which way she could have gone. "Please." I cried, covering my mouth. She was just here. Right in front of me. I know it was her. Where did she go?

Zero walked up and put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry." He whispered while I shook uncontrollably under his hand.

"I don't understand." I wept as I stared into Zero's lilac eyes. "She was here."

"Purebloods can do a lot of things." He began with a frown. "Even cloud our judgment."

Well there you have it, Purebloods pt.2. I think the chapter flowed pretty well, but what do you think? Tell me in a review! :D

Anyways, I started school again today, and guys, it's bad. There is so much work I think I might die. But I'm gonna pull through. I going to write every day during my online class and just do the online work on the weekends, so chapters shouldn't stop or be delayed. Honestly, as I write this story I like it more and more. It's just to much fun to write I suppose. I hope you guys started to see Akane becoming a bit more comfortable around Kaien, which is why she didn't censor herself to much around him during that meeting. Haha, I found that situation loads of fun to write, but editing it was a pain in the butt.

Second question, do you like this length of the story better then the previous? This rounded out to 100 shy of 4,000, which is a little disappointing because my goal was 5,000. So longer chapters, yay or nay? That was my intention for this story in the first place, but a second opinion on it wouldn't hurt. Welp, that's it. Thank you so so so much for reading this far, there will be more to come.