My eyes started to drop as the class droned on. We were reading Natsume Sōseki's Watakushi wa neko de aru (I Am a Cat) in class, and I lost all interest in this story fifteen minutes ago. This 'satirical novel' sounded interesting, but I could not stay awake long enough to comprehend what the teacher was saying. Thankfully, we had the night off tomorrow, which meant that I had the entire night to learn all I could before we discussed this in class. Well, not the entire night.
The class ended and everyone gathered their things before returning to their dorms for the rest of the morning.
"OK everyone," proudly announced Takuma. "Remember that tomorrow is my birthday party and everyone is invited." This came as no surprise, because Takuma had been talking about his birthday party for weeks. He chatted about the enormous cake that was ordered for the occasion, the refreshments that would be shipped in today, the decorations that would be put up by the Night Class staff, and so on and so forth.
It was impossible for me to look forward to this birthday. I'm not much of a party girl, no matter how domestic the party is, and I don't know whether Maeni likes to party or not. Luckily, by now everyone has accepted the fact that 'Maeni' keeps to herself now, and no one seems to care that much. I have received questions concerning my drastic change in behavior, but no one has pressed the matter far enough to know the truth. I still try to keep to my motto: Keep your big mouth Shut!
Kaname walked right past me in a hurry, his head held high despite the gloomy mood that emanated from him (not that a cheerful mood ever came from the dorm president). All the night class students could see the change that had overcome their leader, but no one spoke a word on the mater. The real me desperately wants to know what was wrong, but I have to keep to my motto if I am to survive this school without the possibility of being killed for stealing a vampires body… or worse.
Lately, I am having problems falling asleep. My days have been spent tossing and turning in my bed until I could take it no longer. I'm sure that the cause of my sleeplessness comes from the naps I take during the night. In my real body, I would take naps when I was getting depressed (which undoubtedly was the problem now). Every time this would happen, my aunt would sit me down on the couch and ask what the matter was. I would explain my worries, troubles, and anxieties and she would impart some of her large storehouse of knowledge. But as she was not present at the academy, and would not recognize her own niece, I, unfortunately, was on my own. And being on my own was the cause of my depression. I don't mind being left to my own devices most of the time, but once in a while, I would like to talk to somebody. But, because I don't know everything about Maeni, I had to be careful about what I say and more importantly, who I say it to. It would be a catastrophe if someone Maeni knew noticed my change in opinion and became suspicious.
After another sleepless day, I decided to go to the living room to clear out my thoughts. I must have sat on the couch there for ten minutes when I heard footsteps on the staircase.
"Good morning Maeni-san!" a cheery Takuma said. Shiki was behind him looking as bored as ever.
"Good morning." I replied back. It was then that I noticed a samurai sword in Takuma's hand. I stared at it in awe.
"Kaname asked us to hunt down a level E. So I will see you later." Takuma said. I don't know what level E's are, but I have learned that they are dangerous and must be hunted down.
"Wait." I stopped them both. "Why is Kaname sending you to hunt a level E on your birthday?" It took Takama a few seconds to answer.
"It's alright. This won't take long." Was the answer I received. They passed over the threshold and the door slammed behind them. Something must be eating the dorm president. Why would he send his best friend to hunt a level E on his birthday? He is obviously not a jerk, so he must not be thinking strait. After a couple of minutes of trying to come up with another possibility, I gave up and went back to bed.
The party decorations, refreshments, and cake looked as grand as Takuma claimed they were. I couldn't help but to stop and gaze at their splendor… I saw Takuma, Aido, and Kain, chatting away in the center of the courtyard.
The party was an hour away and I was not looking forward to attending. I was simply going to give Takuma his gift (a Cross Academy Pen), wish him a happy birthday, and create an excuse to leave the party early if necisary.
"Oh, and one more thing." I overheard Takuma say. "Can you two do me a favor?"
"Sure" Kain said, shrugging his shoulders.
"What kind of favor?" Aido suspiciously asked.
"Can you escort Zero-kun and Yuuki-chan to my party?" Aido gave an obvious look of disgust. Kain's face fell a little. "And I would appreciated if you would treat them like honored guest." Emphasized Takuma. Kain and Aido looked at each other. After a few minutes they turned back to the dorm president.
"Of course." Kain stated.
"Thank you" Takuma said as they walked away side by side.
"Oh, hello Maeni-san." Takuma said when he turned to face me. The wheels in my head were too busy turning to create a response. Yuuki will be at the party.
"Can I help you with something." He asked. It took me a heartbeat to respond. Yuuki never knew the real Maeni.
"Yes." I said slowly. "Where do you want your birthday present?" I asked holding up the small package. Yuuki is a nice girl.
"Over there." Takuma said, pointing to a table where a small pile of presents sat. Maybe…
"Thank you." I said bowing to him. Maybe I could talk to her.
With that thought on my mind, I placed my gift on the table, and ran back to my dorm to get ready.
One hour later, in a nice, casual outfit, I stood out in the courtyard with the rest of the night class. We were, naturally, waiting for Kaname to arrive before the party could officially begin. The teenaged vampires stood in tight circles and conversed among themselves. Quiet footsteps from the walkway pauses most conversation. Takuma was the first one to officially break the silence.
"Yuuki and Zero," he greeted the disciplinary comity. "please, make yourselves at home. I'm throwing a little party for my birthday. Please enjoy yourselves."
"We came here on business." interjected Yuuki. "I want to know more about what happened today."
"Oh…" Takuma's face fell into an astonished frown.
"I wanna know why you thought it was ok to destroy that level E." Yuuki continued. "I mean, he's a vampire just like you are."
"Actually, we're not like them at all." Aido said with confidence in his steps.
Takuma picked up two glasses and addressed his inquisitive guest. "Yuuki, you must understand that the vampire society is ruled entirely by a few purebloods and only a handful of aristocrats. Every student in the Night Class is at least an aristocrat or higher." he handed a glass to Yuuki. "Below us are the average vampires. And in the ranks below them are the vampires who were once human."
"And then there are those vampires who don't even make the ranking" said Shiki as he appeared behind Yuuki's shoulder. "and their known as… Level E."
Everyone's attention was at least partially directed towards the conversation in the center. But no one gave more attention to the ongoing drama than I did. I desperately needed to learn as much information about the vampire society and unfortunately I could not find text books on the subject.
"Due to a number of reasons" Takuma continued "vampires who began their lives as humans will slowly lose their sanity falling into level E, the E standing for the end, complete degeneration and destruction." My heart stopped. I used to be human, I thought. Will I fall to level E?
"We are in no way similar to vampires who were formally human." Aido's voice rang out. "Please don't lump us together again."
"Why do you have to look down on them?" Yuuki demanded. I couldn't help but to smile. Standing up for someone weaker than herself is just the thing a good girl like her would do. No wonder she was on the disipinary committee. "None of them wanted to become a level E in the first place." I would hate the idea of dorm president doing anything harmful to her. "It was you kind that made …"
"Exactly right." Takuma interrupted her "And that is why it is our duty to keep an eye on them… before they are so consumed by their thirst for blood they grab any human they can find."
"They were following my orders." Well speak of the devil. There stood Kaname looking as magnificent as ever in a white suit. His eyes sparkled as he gazed at the human girl before him. "I did it. I'm the one who told Takuma and Senri to hunt down the level E today."
"It was you Kaname-sempi?" questioned Yuuki.
"Yuuki, I'm surprised that you would come to such a dangerous place simply because Takuma asked you to." 'Well if this place is so dangerous i should have stayed in my dorm.' I thought.
"I wanted to find out for myself" she said, too shy to look Kaname in the eye. 'Oh wait, it's dangerous for her, not me'.
Kaname sighed and ran a hand threw his hair. "Did you now?" he questioned a frown on his face. "Come over here… "he beckoned. "Yuuki... Zero" Kaname elegantly turn and sat himself on the velvet couch, obviously meant for the king of the night class. Yuuki and Zero walked up the step toward him, both intensely studying the decor. "Yuuki, sit beside me." the dorm president commanded. She stopped. "It's alright" he assured her with a sigh and a slightly irritated look.
Hushed whispers tricked throughout the crowed. "I don't believe it." Ruka snarled. "That human girl is receiving special from Kaname-sama. That is completely unfair."
"What is so special about that human." Aido complained.
"Kaname-sama shouldn't be associating with the likes of her." Someone else whispered.
"What is that lowlife human and her hunter friend doing near a pureblood."
"I'm fine here." Yuuki said loud enough for everybody to hear. She must have heard the whisperings about her.
"Yuuki." Kaname said sternly. Yuuki must have gotten the unspoken message because she plopped down onto the couch with an embarrassed "OK". Kaname smiled to himself before he reached over, grabbed Yuuki's shoulder, and pull her closer to him.
"Beside me is the safest place for you to be." he said. I truly doubted his words, and I was not the only one. Zero leaned against a pillar, hands in his pocket and a wary eye on the pair seated on the couch. When he could not stand the sight any longer (which was only a few second) he looked away into the distance.
More harsh words would have been whispered if it were not for the hardened glare Kaname had given Ruka and Aido when the proceeded with their murmurings.
"You know, "Yuuki said in an attempt to break the awkward silence "actually, I've been meaning to thank you for the…"
"To be honest," Kaname cut her off "vampires that were formally humans shouldn't really exist at all." this seemed to make Zero uncomfortable. "But centuries ago, in the dark annals of history, lies a time when the battle between vampires and vampire hunters was most violent. Many humans were forcibly turned into vampires at that time. It was done to bolster numbers in battle; ever since that wrong that wrong was committed it has been the duty of the aristocrats to oversee the vampires who were once human. And sometimes that duty means ending their lives for another's safety." A length of gauze fell of her arm. That hateful smell of dried blood wafted through the air. My mussels went taunt and Zero stood boldly before Kaname.
"It's the vampire hunter's duty to kill vampires, not yours." insisted Zero, his back to the many vampire eyes watching the scene take place.
"Then tell me," Kaname questioned. "Why didn't you kill that level E when you had the chance?" this question seamed to disturb Zero. Kaname turned his attention to the pale arm in his grasp. "This must be your injury from today. Hold still, I'll ease the pain." If there was ever a time that I would truly panic for another person's safety, it was now. Kaname brought his lips to Yuuki's elbow. Certain that Yuuki would get a pair of fang marks on top of whatever injury she had, I got up out of my seat, knocking my chair over in the process, and ran to the rescue. I stopped when I saw a purple sphere right where Kaname's lips and Yuuki's elbow touched. My heart dropped, for I thought I came too late.
"Kaname-sempi" Yuuki squealed.
I smelt the air. No fresh blood. At least Yuuki wasn' t being bitten.
"Perhaps, Zero-kun, "Kaname continued. "you sympathized with him."
Just for reasons of defining common sense, a person should know that when you have pushed someone passed their limit of what they can tolerate when that person will most likely do something completely irrational. And Kaname had clearly passed that line with that last comment. How could one tell? Zero drew (to my utter astonishment) a gun from his coat and pointed it at Kaname's head. Everyone gasped and most of them prepared to fight. If I were in Zero's position, (thank heavens I'm not) I would be extremely scared of being stampeded by all the night class. I would especially be wary of Seiren, who's hand was right at his neck. No would let harm come to their precious Kaname-sama.
"It's ok, Seiren." Kaname said. "I said something I shouldn't have." Thank goodness Kaname decided to be the bigger man (errr... vampire). The situation was looking ugly. Unfortunately, Kaname's apology did not disperse the tension of the night class completely.
"How dare you point a gun at Kaname-sama." growled Aido. "Tearing you to shreds right here wouldn't be enough!" Kaname glowered at him. "However, I will restrain myself while attending this academy. I don't want to hinder the headmaster's pacifist ideology. But never forget, our respect for one person is what keeps us at this school. And he's Kaname-Sama, a pureblood." Pureblood huh? Well that explains why he is held in such high regard. Good to know we live by the feudal system here (said with sarcasm)
"A pureblood? I that true Kaname-sempi?" Yuuki demanded.
With a kind look on his face he said "You look as if this is the first time you heard this Yuuki. Are you afraid?"
She blushed and looked away "To tell you the truth, I guess I've always been a little bit afraid of you." she shyly answered. "Even now, I'm still a little bit afraid."
Someone clapped, and everyone turned to look at the birthday boy. "Hey! Don't forget everyone. This is my birthday party. You all got to celebrate. Yuuki-chan and Zero-kun are my precious guests too." he added with a look in his eye that said' be nice to Yuuki and Zero or else. I mean it.'
So everyone put their weapons away and their guard down (at least a little).
I walked over to the refreshment table to grab some blood substitute. Shki and Rima were talking quietly amongst themselves
"It's very rare for Kaname-sama to use his powers to help just anyone." Rima commented in her usual tone.
"It makes one wonder why." Shki added. "Why is that human girl so special?"
With Yuuki's safety still on my mind, i took a sip from my glass. The moment i felt my nose burn, I started coughing up the last few drops of the drink.
"Are you alright?" Shki asked. I continued to cough up and spit up the repulsing taste caught in my mouth. Blood substitute with carbonated water.
"I'm fine." I managed to say between the spastic fits "I just (cough) can't tolerate (cough) carbonated water.
"The regular blood substitute is on the other side of the table Maein-san." Takuma explained as he suddenly appeared behind me and pointed to that part of the table.
My face flushed from shock and embarrassment. "Thank you." I managed to say. He smiled, nodded, and walked away to mingle with his other guests.
After that incident the party went well...for a while. I lazily leaned back against the table as i watch the vampires chatter aimlessly about school and other things. With a bored mind, my eyes wondered over my surrounding for some form of entertainment. They then rested on Takuma, Shki and the knife in their hands. The knife was carelessly set on the table as Shki took Takuma's hand and started to lick it. To my shear horror I realized the reasoning behind their strange behavior… Takuma had cut himself.
As in discreetly as I could I covered my mouth and nostrils and walked away. I accidentally bumped into zero I see raced out of the crowd his hand covering his face also. I stopped under the gazebo to breathe. That was when Yuuki excused herself from Kaname's presence. Unable to concern myself about her wellbeing, I concentrated on controlling my breathing.
Breathe in… Breathe out. Breathe in… Breathe out.
"Is that alright, letting her go like that?" Kian asked.
Kaname chuckled lightly to himself "Eventually she will return to me." He answered.
'What a cocky person' I thought. 'How can he be so sure of her actions? Does he truly believe that she will return to him?"
Breathe in… Breathe out.
'Just because he is a pureblood, it does not mean he lays claim to all the mater in the universe.'
Breathe in… breathe…BANG!
Time seems to stop. Everyone looks around to find the source of the sound. The sound was undeniably a gun shot.
Thank you to Wherefox357 and Defender of the Pen Alexis for your reviews.