Chapter 5

Disclaimer: The Maiden of Autumn owns nothing

"Zero!"

Said owner of that name slowly opened his amethyst eyes, rolling them in annoyance as he heard his name being called. He didn't move from where he was sitting slumped against a tree, arms crossed and legs stretched out. "What do you want, Yuuki?"

She stopped in front of him, bending over to place her hands on her knees as she panted, attempting to catch her breath. She gazed at him through her brunette bangs, her brown eyes narrowing into a glare. "Where were you? You showed up late, and then disappeared on me!"

Zero uncrossed his arms, stretching them above his head, and hearing his shoulders pop. "I was taking a break." He raised an eyebrow at Yuuki, giving her a deadpan look. "And at least I wasn't going into fangirl mode on a certain pureblood while we were supposed to be keeping the other girls at bay."

Yuuki gasped, trying to come up with some sort of comeback, spluttering when she was unable to. Zero settled back against the tree, internally smirking, though it didn't show on his face. "That's what I thought."

Yuuki growled, crossing her arms. "Whatever," she said, mimicking Zero's usual response. "I also wanted to let you know that a new Night Class student showed up today; he'll be starting classes tomorrow."

This got Zero's attention, and he shot up, lilac eyes going wide. "What?! The Chairman didn't tell me this!"

She giggled, pleased that she knew something that Zero didn't. "That's because he was an unexpected arrival, or so he said."

Zero glared at Yuuki, before settling back, and mumbling something about another bloodsucker he'd have to watch. Yuuki frowned at this- his sudden, unexplained arrival was odd.

She considered it for a moment, before coming up with no plausible explanation. It was odd, that Kaien knew nothing about the new arrival, and yet, accepted him into the school, and sent him to the Moon Dorms, no less. There was something Kaien was hiding, she was sure, and was determined to find out after her shift, when they reported back to the Chairman's office. She looked up at the moon, smiling slightly as she pushed the thought of the new arrival to the back of her mind.

It was a beautiful night; it was almost a full moon, and the moonlight reminded her of the color of Zero's hair. Walking over to him, she nudged his outstretched leg gently with her foot. "Come on, Zero- kun. Let's go patrol for fangirls."

Ah, so good to see you again, Host.

What? Where- Who are you? Where is this place? It's so dark!

It's your subconscious, Vincent. Aerith really did take away all your memories, even of me. How sad. And how bad for you, if I were less honorable, and decided to take control of your body while you slept.

My subconscious? Aerith? You take control of my body?! What do you mean, she took my memories away? I had an accident, that's why I cannot remember!

No, Host. Well, yes, actually. You did fall, and quite hard, too. I cringed, even though we could not feel anything, as you were unconscious, and Aerith was protecting your body. But, your fall is not to be blamed for your loss of memory.

What? Then who is?

Yourself, Vincent. You only have yourself to blame for your loss of memory. But don't take it too badly, Host. Your life before your memories were taken was not worth remembering.

You remember- wait, who are you?

I'm you, Vincent. Or at least, a part of you. Aerith didn't touch the memories I have; she's not powerful enough to do so, unless I allowed her. Which I didn't.

You… remember?! Tell me, then! Who am I?

Ah, Vincent, you shouldn't be asking who you are, if you want answers to your past. You need to be asking the truly important question: who were you before you fell?

I… don't know. I can't remember.

That was the point of the deal you made with Aerith. Your memory, and something else precious to you, in return for a new life.

Deal… Aerith? I don't know what you're talking about!

Chuckle. You're not supposed to, Vincent. I told you, that was the point of the deal you made.

I don't understand. I can't… remember… Who is Aerith?

Ah, so we finally get down to the heart of the matter. That mysterious person who keeps popping up. Vincent, I cannot tell you who you were, or who you are; I'm not allowed. However, she may be able to help you. Remember Aerith, and you'll be able to find a clue to your past. Now, my Host, you need to go back.

Go back? Where is this?

Your subconscious; you fell asleep in the library, and I took the chance to talk to you. But, it's farewell for now, Vincent.

Will I hear from you again?

Of course. I'm you, and you're me; it's quite hard to be separated. I'm everywhere, Vincent; in your brain, your body, and numerous other places. Try the mirror, in fact. Now, goodbye, Vincent. My time with you is up.

But, I still have more-

Oh, and one last thing. Get our gun back from Kaien, would you? It's quite precious to us, and I, at least, want it back.

-!

"Man, was it just me, or were classes tonight super boring?" Hanabusa Aido ran his fingers through his hair, tousling it even further, and glanced over at Kaname. The brunette was staring off into the distance absently.

Akatsuki Kain, Hanabusa's cousin, shook his head at the blonde's words. "It's only boring if you make them boring, Aido- kun." His eyes slid over to a light- haired brunette, and a smirk surfaced on his face. "Although, I don' think Ruka- chan thought classes were boring," the strawberry blonde teased, hiding his true feelings behind his taunts. He loved Ruka- always had, and the thought of her loving Kaname when it was obvious that he would never return the feelings angered him.

Ruka, who had been taking advantage of Kaname's detachedness, and was gazing at the pureblood with dreamy- eyes, snapped her head around. "Mind your own business," she hissed, although the color rising in her cheeks belied her true feelings.

All of the inner group of Kaname's friends had noticed Kaname's distracted state today, and Ruka had taken advantage of it to stare at Kaname to her heart's content, something that also didn't go unnoticed by the nobles.

Takuma Ichijo, a gentle, green- eyed blonde had to laugh at Ruka's defensive state as they neared the doors to the dorm. She shot a glare at him, and he only smiled at her, unruffled by the heated look.

"Stop it." They looked in shock to Kaname, who was staring at them with an irritated look. "Your squabbling annoys me." They noticed his brown eyebrows had drawn closer together, a crease seen between the two- an indication of worry.

There were no meeting scheduled, no tests or exams, and nothing had put the vampires in danger, so why was Kaname worrying?

Kaname was worrying, although it was something they knew nothing about. Thoughts of a certain crimson eyed boy had flitted through his head all night, and ideas as to what the boy, Vincent, was, and where he came from had been thought up, and then cast aside as they seemed with far- fetched or didn't fit the circumstances.

Worries about what they were going to do with him had nagged at him all day, making him distant as he attempted to focus on the problem. Now, another one troubled him, and Kaname glanced back to the group of vampires as he strode ahead, leaving them in their shock. How were they going to react to a human- well, mostly, as Kaname knew that the boy had something else in him- in the Night Class.

He increased his pace, trying to get ahead of the other vampires, and hopefully get into the dorms and find Vincent before the others did.

He approached the security guard there, ignoring the fearful look he got from the lower –level vampire. "Did the new student arrive?" he asked quietly, and the security guard nodded.

"His room is room… um- hold on…" Kaname waited impatiently as the old man sifted through some papers, muttering to himself as he did so. While glaring at the man's bent head, he didn't notice the subdued group of nobles that slipped past him, and entered the dorms quietly, unsure of why their beloved pureblood prince was acting so moody.

Talking quietly, and throwing uneasy glances at the dorm door, they made their way to the library, where they all gathered after class every night, before they retired to their rooms to sleep.

Takuma was the first one to reach the door, frowning when he found it slightly closed. It had not been left like that… Shrugging it off as one of the cleaning maids coming in and out of the room, he entered, freezing when he saw that a certain chair was occupied, and his mind screeching to a halt when he smelled the occupant within the room.

He was jostled from behind as Kain came up behind him, not noticing the stopped vampire noble in front of him. The impact nearly sent Takuma sprawling, and Kain, behind him, hissed in surprise. "Damn it, Takuma-!"

The blonde haired vampire whipped his head around. "Sh!" The harsh tone, coming from the always happy, light- hearted vampire stopped the other nobles, and they peered around the doorway. Takuma pointed a single finger at the occupant in the armchair.

Kain peered around the shorter vampire's shoulder, amber eyes widening in shock. "What…?" he mumbled.

Takuma crept closer, the other students following his lead. He got close to the armchair, and knelt down onto one knee, bending so his face was closer to the sleeping occupant. If Takuma hadn't smelled the human-ness of the person in the chair, he would have been inclined to think he was a vampire. Still… he frowned as he smelled something that was distinctly not human, and made the hairs on the back of his neck raise.

The person's smooth, ivory- like skin glowed in a reflection of the fire which the purebloods always kept in the library, and the long black hair, obscuring part of the face, fluttered with every quiet breath the occupant took. A book was opened on the armchair, and the position of the person led Takuma to believe that they had nodded off while reading.

Trailing his eyes down the sleeping form, Takuma came to the conclusion that it was a boy, although between the features and the hair, it was possible he could have been either gender.

Rima broke the silence first, her soft, quiet voice weaving its way through the room. "Who is it?" her brows furrowed. "And why does he smell human?" Her brows furrowed as she delicately smelled the air. "Well, mostly human."

"Because he is." They all whirled in surprise as Kaname's voice was heard from the doorway, the brunette's dark russet eyes locked upon the sleeping figure. "Or, at least, we think he is. Partially, at the least." He came forward, standing before the boy to regard him with a worried expression. "The Chairman and I aren't sure what to do about him," the pureblood murmured. "We don't know who or what he is, much less what he's doing here."

"What do you mean?" Hanabusa's voice sounded from the left of the armchair, where he was examining the new arrival with unabashed curiosity, and if truth be told, a tad of hostility. He didn't know who this was, but the fact that Kaname had accepted him into the Dorm so quickly made Hanabusa somewhat jealous.

Kaname sighed, closing his eyes, and bringing up his hands to rub his temples. "He's been distracting me all night… I don't know what to do with him…" he muttered to himself, and then opened his eyes, and said louder, in a voice meant for everyone to hear, "Last night, I was gone from classes. You all know this, and the reason why I was gone was this boy here. He fell from the sky, into the woods. At first, I thought he was a vampire, but…" He shook his head. "You can all smell that he isn't one." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the sleeping figure. "In fact, I suspect that he's something more than human- and that's why he's here. Cross and I want an eye kept on him until we figure out why he's here, and what he is."

Rima, who had been quietly listening to Kaname's words until now, spoke up thoughtfully. "Why can't you just go into his mind to learn what he is? Or ask him," she added as an afterthought.

"He has no memories of his past; that part of his mind is empty," Kaname replied. He lifted his head to locked eyes with each of the vampires in turn. "And he has no knowledge of vampires."

The whole groups stiffened at these words. Letting a human into the dorms that knew nothing of their existence? What had Kaname been thinking? Kaname sensed what the others were thinking, and it didn't surprise him. "Which means that you will not tell him, or give him any indication of what you are." His eyes landed on Aido, who had the grace to look away.

Aido, in the past, had been caught flaunting his vampiristic characteristics, and Kaname and the Chairman had had to wipe more than a few Day Class girls' memories.

"So, he's stuck with us?" Takuma asked, a smile already on his face. "Getting a new member of the group is always thrilling!" He grinned over at the sleeping person on the chair. "What's his name?"

He had forgotten to tell them, Kaname remembered. And it was about time the boy woke up, so they could meet him. He was going to class tonight, so it would be good if they had time to get acquainted with one another. "His name is Vincent Valentine."

Kaname leaned over the boy as he said this, gently shaking Vincent's shoulder. His lips parted as he was shook, and he whispered something that only Kaname was close enough to hear. His eyes narrowed at this, but pushed it to the back of his mind, determining to think about it later.

He shook the shoulder harder, and finally, the eyelids started to flutter, opening slowly. They blinked once before opening all the way, a gentle shake of his head removing the long black strands away from his eyes, and they focused blearily on the figures in the room.

There was silence as the vampires all got a good look at his eyes. The fire was reflected in the dark crimson, lending them the oranges and blues, and the light of the fire made them glow, making his eyes look like twin embers in the darkened room.

The appearance of the red eyes startled the vampires as they had done so to Kaname when he first saw them, and knew the other nobles were thinking the same thing he was. Except, due to the firelight reflecting off the eyes, the effect was much more pronounced. "Good evening, Vincent," Kaname said quietly, deciding to step in before one of the nobles forgot themselves and attacked the person possessing the eyes that signified bloodlust in their kind. He had nearly done so when Vincent had first woken up. "I see you made it here alright."

Vincent blinked again, his mind just now focusing. The encounter with the thing in his mind… it had been a dream, right? Something told him that it was not- perhaps it was the presence that he could sense in the back of his mind.

A person that was familiar was talking to him… oh. It was Kaname. The events of the last evening flooded to him, and he shot up straight, suddenly remembering where he was. The library- he had fallen asleep while reading. And if Kaname was here, that meant… the other students were here.

Lifting his head up more fully, he could clearly see two women and four men in the room, not including Kaname, who was standing right in front of him. He winced at the thought of being found asleep in the library, and a slight blush spread across his cheeks at the embarrassing thought.

Kaname saw this, and couldn't help but feel a rush of sympathy for Vincent. His situation wouldn't be ideal to anyone; he was alone, in a dorm full of strangers, in a world that he remembered next to nothing about. He watched as Vincent straightened himself up, brushing off his jacket, and the motion led Kaname's eyes to trail down the sitting form.

Vincent looked quite good in the Night Class uniform, Kaname thought. It fit his slender form perfectly, from what he could see while Vincent was sitting down, and the white contrasted with his inky- black hair, the black trimming and undershirt doing the same to his skin. The two stark colors drew attention to the crimson of his eyes, making them stand out in an otherwise colorless face.

It also made him look more mature. The night before last, barefoot and in a button- up shirt that seemed too big for him, he seemed remarkably young compared to Kaname's millennia on this Earth.

"Vincent," he started, drawing his attention away from thoughts on Vincent's appearance, "I'd like you to meet my companions." Gesturing to each vampire in turn, he called them by name, "Kain Akatsuki, Souen Ruka, Ichijo Takuma, Shiki Senri, Rima Toya, Aido Hanabusa, and myself, Kuran Kaname."

He turned to the noble vampires regarding the crimson- eyed Vincent warily. "This is Vincent Valentine."

Vincent examined each student in turn, noting the wary glances. What could they be…? Oh. He remembered Yuuki's attitude towards his eyes and he blinked before looking away, hiding his eyes.

Kaname saw Vincent's understanding, and he quickly snapped his head around to glare at his fellow Night Class, sending them a look of warning. They blanched collectively and Takuma was the first one to recover, the glare snapping him out of it and he grinned at Vincent. "It's wonderful to meet you, Vincent. I apologize if I was rude," he said apologetically, "but your eyes… They are very unique. I can honestly say that I've never seen a human with that eye color," he continued truthfully.

Vincent looked back at the now smiling blonde student, and he offered a hesitant smile in return. "It's fine," he said quietly. "And it's nice to meet you as well," he said sincerely.

Takuma sensed the other vampire's surprise at his actions, and he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Really, whatever they sensed, Vincent was still mostly human and he seemed friendly, if not a bit shy. But then, he would be too, if faced with circumstances like this. Come on, he urged the other vampires telepathically. At least attempt to be friendly.

His mentally- spoken words had the effect he wanted, snapping them out of their wary state, and Kaname's cousin, Senri, spoke up next, perhaps sensing a kindred, quiet spirit in Vincent. "Yes, it's nice to meet you, Vincent," the brunette murmured. Shooting a nasty glare at the vampire next to him, Hanabusa, he continued, "even if other thickheaded students don't think the same way."

Hanabusa, knowing the insult was directed at him, bristled. "Hey," he said defensively, "I was getting there!" He turned to Vincent and with a flourish, said, "Aido Hanabusa, pleased to meet you."

Vincent acknowledged him by nodding, and then looked down at the book he had been reading, making sure to remember what page he had been on before snapping it shut, and slowly standing up. He stretched as he did so, and was happy to find that the jacket was loose enough to allow for such movements. Moving over to the bookshelf, he slid the book back into place, then turned to face the rest of the Night Class members.

He shifted indecisively, his bangs falling into his eyes before flicking them away with a huff. They were really starting to get annoying. "I think… I'll go get some more sleep, up in my own room." He started towards the door to leave, before a hand fell onto his shoulder. Glancing back, he saw it was Kaname, understanding in his deep russet eyes.

The student knew he was out of place here, among others who knew each other, when he had no memories of his past whatsoever. He understood loneliness, even if he didn't understand what it was like to draw a blank when he tried to remember further back than his awakening.

"Classes start at 7, Vincent," he said softly. "Meet us by the doors at 6:40." He gave a smile before releasing Vincent's shoulder. "Sleep well."

"Thank you," Vincent replied, and left the library, closing the door gently as he did so. Kaname waited until the boy was gone and heard the distinctive sound of a dorm door down the hall closing, before turning to fix his famous pureblood glare at his companions.