II. PREFECT
"Kagome-chan!" Chairman Cross exclaimed, throwing his arms around her as Kagome, Yuuki and Zero stepped into his office.
"Domou, oji-san," Kagome replied, slightly embarrassed by the Chairman's rather overzealous welcome.
"When I heard you were coming to Cross Academy, I was so happy!"
"Well, it wasn't really my choice," Kagome said. "Aniue told me only the best was appropriate for his adopted sister."
"Ah, Sesshoumaru, how is the old dog, anyway?" Chairman Cross asked as he sat back down in the chair behind his desk.
"He's doing fine," Kagome replied. "Oji-san, there's something I'd like to ask you about." She glanced at Yuuki and Zero, before adding, "In private."
Noticing her deadly serious expression, Chairman Cross turned to the two prefects and asked light-heartedly, "Yuuki-chan, Zero-kun, would you wait outside the door, please?"
Once they were out of the room and the door closed, Chairman Cross turned back to Kagome with a bright smile on his face and asked, "Now, what was it you wanted to ask, Kagome-chan?"
Kagome went straight to the point. "I sense a dark presence at this school. I was wondering if you were aware of this, and if so, why have you allowed it? Also, are you aware that Kiryuu-kun has conflicting auras?"
A heavy silence followed.
Chairman Cross sighed, suddenly becoming serious.
"I see you powers have grown, Kagome-chan," Cross said. He sighed. "Well, I was hoping to tell you another way, but seeing as there's no other way around it...the presence you felt are the Night Class students. They are in fact vampires."
"Vampires?" Kagome echoed, whilst thinking, So the rumours are true.
"Yes. Do you know, why Cross Academy was built?"
Kagome shook her head.
"Cross Academy was built by several individuals like myself with the goal of encouraging humans and vampires to live together peacefully. The school rotates, with the Day Class students attending during the day and the Night Class students at night.
"The Day Class students do not know that the Night Class are vampires, for if they did chaos would ensue. They are not ready to accept the existance of vampires. In order to keep the peace, we have a Disciplinary Committee to keep the Day Class students from finding out, and also to keep the Night Class students from drinking the blood of the Day Class.
"Yuuki and Zero are both on the Committee, as they both already knew of the existence of vampires - Yuuki being my adopted daughter and Zero, because he is from a long line of vampire hunters.
"Zero's family was murdered by a vampire, and was also bitten by it, therefore making him a vampire. For the last five years, he has repressed his vampiric nature, but he is slowly weakening."
Chairman Cross paused. "I fear that he will not able hold onto his sanity for much longer."
Kagome felt a sadness wash over her. Zero was almost exactly like Inuyasha, two conflicting natures battling for dominance within him; and having to live with the knowledge that if he let his self-control slip even the tiniest bit, he could lose himself altogether.
Kagome was brought out of her thoughts by her cousin's voice.
"How do you feel about attending school with vampires?" he asked.
"Well, as long as they do not attempt to bite me, then I'm fine with them," Kagome replied. Besides, I have an adopted brother and friends who are not human, she thought to herself.
Chairman Cross observed his cousin for a few minutes.
Kagome had the feeling that he was assessing her, or something to that effect.
"How are your combat skills?" he asked, suddenly.
"Very good, I think," Kagome replied. "Especially since aniue took my training very seriously."
"Then, how would you like to become a prefect and a member of the Disciplinary Committee?" Chairman Cross asked. "You seem fairly open-minded and a good judge of character. Not only that, you are miko and able to sense the darkness in one's aura."
"What would the position entail?" Kagome asked.
"You will be making sure that the Day Class students do not linger on campus after school hours, and also to keep the Night Class students in line." He waited for Kagome to give her answer.
Kagome smirked, in a very Sesshoumaru-like way which made the chairman's skin break out in goosebumps.
"Sounds interesting," she said. "I accept."
Yuuki and Zero waited patiently outside the chairman's office.
Yuuki wondered what Kagome needed to talk to her adopted father about. It seemed like there was something that Kagome wasn't sure if she or Zero knew about, and wasn't sure she should tell them.
"Ne, Zero...what do you think they're talking about?" she asked her friend.
Zero said nothing. As he was deep in thought.
He had noticed Kagome looking at him frequently during the day, not in a way that would make him think that she had a crush on him, more like she had a suspicion that she had yet to confirm. This made him nervous. What if she knew he was a vampire?
And there was that aura of power that surrounded her. It was almost on the level of a pureblood vampire. It was almost frightening that such a delicate girl could wield so much power.
Zero was brought out of his musings by the oak door creaking open.
The girl, Kagome, poked her head out.
"The chairman says you can come in, now," she said.
Yuuki and Zero stepped back into the office and walked up to stand before the chairman's desk.
Kagome moved to stand beside them.
Chairman Cross observed then a moment before saying, "Kagome has agreed to join the Disciplinary Committee as a prefect."
Yuuki surprised that Kagome had accepted the position but she was happy that there was someone other than herself and Zero to keep the vampires from stepping out of line, especially since Zero had a habit of disappearing to who knows where when he ought to be patrolling. However Yuuki was also apprehensive about it, as that would mean that Kagome would have to be told about the existence of vampires.
Zero's reaction was far more explosive.
"Are you crazy?" he shouted. "She's a civilian, and a new student!"
"It's alright, Zero-kun," Cross replied. "She knows."
"Ano...knows what, exactly?" Yuuki asked, nervously.
"I know that the Night Class are vampires," Kagome replied. "And I know that Zero is also a vampire, though formerly a human."
Yuuki gasped in shock, and she felt Zero tensed beside her.
"How did you know?" Yuuki exclaimed, shocked that her cousin had known without anyone telling her. Even Yuuki hadn't known about Zero being a vampire until he had bitten her on the neck.
"You forget that I grew up on a shrine and am a miko," Kagome reminded her. "I have the ability to sense peoples' auras, and to purify the impurities within them, and not only that, I have a black belt in martial arts, which I think will come in handy."
Zero knew he could not aargue with that. It was obvious that the chairman's cousin could take care of herself, and to top it off she had powers that would definitely help in keeping vampires like that Aidou in line, who had a tendency of overstepping his boundaries. Things were definitely going to get interesting.
The usual sound of shrieking fangirls reached the ears of the Night Class, along with Yuuki's flustered vioce, attempting to tell them to return to their dormitaries for the night, as the Night Class were just leaving for their classes.
The doors to the Moon Dormitaries opened to reveal the usual sight that greeted them everyday. Day Class girls all clamouring for their attnetion and trying to catch a glimpse of them with the chairman's daughter trying to push them back. Although Yuuki was not the only person who was working.
A girl a little taller than Yuuki was also attempting to push a group of starry-eyed school girls away from their path. A girl they had never seen before. She was undoubtedly the new student, and Chairman Cross's relative.
The white band sporting the school insignia tied securely to the upper arm of her uniform proclaimed her as a prefect.
So she knows about vampires, Ichijou thought. As expected of a relative of Chairman Cross
Seiren had been correct when she had said that the new student was beautiful. Her hair was a shimmering black that seemed to shine a metallic in the light of the setting sun. Her eyes were a deep saphire blue, that could almost be mistaken for black. And her skin was an almost snowy white, and had a healthy glow to it.
Her aura was pure and radiated power.
Just from its level of purity, the Night Class could tell that she was miko, a true miko, not like the pretenders that guided tours on shrines. And from the way that she kept her aura from flaring out in frustration with the clamouring mob, it was evident that it was only a portion of her powers. it would be interesting to see just what kind of power this girl wielded.
Kagome had sensed their presence even before the gates had opened. The Night Class students exuded auras of darkness, but they weren't evil.
Chairman Cross had briefed her on the names of the Night Class students. Kuran Kaname, the Night Class President and Dorm Head; Ichijou Takuma, the Night Class Vice-President; Aidou Hanabasa and his cousin, Cain Akatsuki; Souen Ruka; Senri Shiki; Touya Rima and Seiren.
The Night Class boys seemed to be very popular with the Day Class girls. The overzealous fangirls were quite a handful. How did Yuuki manage to keep up with this everyday after school, she wondered. It was like dealing with a thousand Yukas, Eris and Ayumis, and only the three of them was bad enough.
One of the vampires began calling to the other girls, openly flirting with them and obviously enjoying their attention.
"Thanks for the hard work."
Surprised, Kagome turned to see to see the smiling face of one of the Night Class students. He had unkempt dark brown hair that was almost black, and expressive brown eyes. The power emanating off of him could rival Sesshoumaru's. He was obviously a pureblood, and the most powerful vampire in the Night Class.
From the names that her elder cousin had given her, Kagome deduced that this was most likely Kuran Kaname.
Just then, Yuuki managed to get herself pushed over by a particularly large group, and landed painfully on her backside.
"Ite-te..." she groaned.
"Daijoubou, Yuuki?" Kaname asked, smiling warmly at her, offering her a hand up.
"H-hai, Kaname-sempai," Yuuki replied, taking his hand.
Kagome smiled to herself; it was obvious that they were in love with each other.
Kagome envied Yuuki. To be in love with someone and to have them love you back; she wanted that.
Realising she'd forgotten her cousin, Yuuki pulled her forward to introduce her. "Kaname-sempai, this is the new student and prefect, Kagome."
"Higurashi-Taisho Kagome, desu," Kagome replied, bowing a little. "Yoroshiku."
"Welcome to Cross Academy," Kaname said, returning the bow. "It is an honour to meet you, Kagome-sama."
So he knows I am a miko, Kagome thought.
When she had been travelling in the Feudal Era, she had often been called miko-sama, or Kagome-sama, in respect for her station as a miko. Kagome had more or less become accustomed to it, especially since she was now the sister of one of the most influential businessmen in Japan, possibly the world.
"Please, it's just Kagome," she said.
"So you're the chairman's niece," a fair haired, green-eyed vampire said, stepping up to stand beside Kaname.
"Second cousin, actually," Kagome corrected as she held out her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you..."
"Ichijou. Ichijou Takuma," he introduced himself, as he shook her hand. "And the pleasure's all mine."
"I think we should be getting to class, Ichijou," Kaname said. He nodded to Yuuki and began to make his way to Academy.
"Hai, Kaname-sama," Ichijou replied, before turning back to Kagome and giving her a dazzling smile.
Kagome blushed slightly.
The crowd of fangirls watched all this with jealousy. Sensing their distress, Kagome automatically sent out a wave of calm, instantly making all present feel at ease. Even the vampires could feel it from a distance, but said nothing, knowing that isn't a good idea to discuss such matters in public.
After the Night Class had left, the crowd dwindled as the girls began to return to their dormitaries.
When there wasn't a student in sight, Kagome turned to Yuuki, saying, "You go on, I'll follow later. I'm just going to make sure that there aren't any stragglers."
"Hai," Yuuki replied before heading towards the campus to start patrolling.
After she was sure that Yuuki was gone, Kagome closed her eyes and scanned the area with her senses.
Sensing nothing out of place, Kagome quickly made her way to campus to join Yuuki and Zero on patrol.
Japanese words, suffixes and phrase meanings
Oji-san – Uncle
Hai – Yes
Hentai - Pervert
Daijoubou? - Are you all right?
Yoroshiku - How do you do? (literally 'favor me')
Note: Kagome only calls Chairman Cross 'uncle' out of respect of his age.
Thanks for all the amazing reviews, and for your thoughts on who Kagome should be paired with. At the moment, Zero is in the lead, though I'm not going to pair Kagome just yet, as I feel it's a bit too early in the story for that. Also, please vote for pairing using the poll on my profile. I won't be able to keep track of votes otherwise.
SorryI deleted and reposted the chapter. After reading it when it was posted I realised a missed out a few words, and didn't make several things very clear.
