It is not odd for vampires to be silent. The night dorm often goes days without a single word being spoken, each vampire absorbed in their own thoughts and work. Vampires are no stranger to silence. Silence is a friend of the night. But, no vampire in this hall had ever been silent due to shock and fear. No vampire was ever left speechless by the terror expressed on their beloved pureblood leader's face. No vampire had ever stopped dead in their tracks and stood, frozen in fear because of one man. And no man had ever stood, grinning at the fear on the vampire's faces before.
After what seemed like an hour, but had in reality only been a few minutes, Kaname regained his composure spoke. "Good evening, Ichigo. I had not expected to see you tonight, or ever again, in fact." Kaname spoke with his usual soft voice, although Zero noticed a small shake in his voice when he spoke the name "Ichigo". Zero glanced at Yuki, who was clutching his hand tightly. She seemed afraid, but confused as to why. Zero could see she was deep in thought, because her fist was tucked up under her chin, her usual pose for thought.
"I didn't expect to see you this glorious night either Kaname, oh, excuse me, Lord Kaname." The man who Kaname named as Ichigo said, grinning menacingly throughout the sentence. He seemed to spit out the word "Lord", almost as if he was disgusted by it. "But, I am so glad that we have met once again." Nobody could tell if he was being sarcastic or sincere. He had strange mocking voice, as if he wasn't speaking a word of the truth, but he had such authority that you believed him.
"Yes...glad. I'm glad to make your acquaintance again Ichigo. It will be...interesting to share this academy with you." Kaname's face remained completely neutral throughout the conversation. He didn't give a thing away. "I assume that the headmaster has briefed you on the rules, both human and vampire?" Kaname placed extra emphasis on the word "Vampire" as if it was more important.
"Don't worry Kaname, we know the rules. We won't break them if you don't." Ichigo's face lit up at this little mock bargain he was offering. "Now, if you'll excuse us, my classmates and I must head back to our dorms. We haven't seen them yet, and now that we've introduced ourselves to both other classes, we'd like to get a good rest. The day class just adored us." Ichigo let out a small chuckle "And we think they're just swell, if not a little boney." Ichigo starts to walk towards the door, his classmates following him like a pack. Just as he's about to leave, he turns his head back "Goodnight Kaname, see you around the academy."
And with that, Ichigo, and the rest of the Twilight class, left for their dorm.
There was silence in the night dorm for a few minutes after the Twilight class left. Everyone had questions, but they were all too afraid to ask. Eventually, Kaname spoke. "I ask all of you to stay away from the Twilight class. Speak to them only when necessary, and do not under any circumstances go to their dorm. Those of you who will share classes with them, keep an eye on them, and most importantly," Kaname paused, and looked at Yuki, before continuing softly, "Do not let them alone with the humans. I am tired after this meeting. Should any of you need me, I will be in my room. Goodnight my friends. Goodnight Yuki." Kaname starts to walk up the stairs, leaving all his loyal vampires confused, before turning around and saying "And Zero, if you would come see me tomorrow in my room, I would greatly appreciate it. Come alone, please." And with that, Kaname disappeared up the stairs to his room.
Yuki was the first to speak. "Wh...who was that?" And why am I so afraid of him...Yuki thought after asking her question. "Well, his name appears to be Ichigo, and he appears to be the leader of the Twilight dorm. Their equivalent to Lord Kaname, if you will." Hanubusa answers, before being slapped on the back of his head by Kain. "Good job Hanubusa, you pointed out the obvious." As Hanubusa rubs the back of his head, he mutters "I was just trying to help, no need to hit me..." Kain softens up a little, a look of guilt sweeping over his face "Sorry Hanubusa, force of habit. You actually have a good point. He is their Lord Kaname. He's their leader. This could be useful to know." "But what are 'they'? What are the Twilight class? Are they human?" Yuki asks softly, glancing at Zero for an answer. Zero just stands there, deep in thought. "They don't appear to be vampires, but I can never really tell. I don't know Yuki." Kain answers. Zero mumbles something to himself, just low enough so that Yuki, who is standing next to him, can't hear it. "What was that Zero?" Hanubusa asks. There is a brief pause before Zero answers, "I said, there's only one way to find out what they are, and that's to go see them at their dorm." A slight gasp rings across the room. "But, Lord Kaname asked us not to go to their dorms!" exclaims Ruka "We can't just disobey him!" Zero grins slightly before saying "Maybe you can't, but I can. About a third of the blood flowing through my veins belongs to Kaname, and so I feel I can bend his rules a little. I want to know what this Twilight class is, and why the hell that Ichigo scared the hell out of Kaname." Zero looks down at Yuki, who started clutching his hand even tighter when he said that. She looks scared, concerned for his safety. Zero bends down and grabs Yuki's chin gently with his index finger and thumb, before tilting her head up and kissing her gently on the lips. "Don't worry Yuki, I'll be back soon, I promise." Yuki smiles up at Zero, a sight that would have surely upset Kaname if he had saw it. "Now," Zero continued, "you stay here with the vampires. I don't like the idea of you being alone while I'm gone." And with that, Zero starts walking towards the door. "Keep her amused, will you?" he calls back to the dorm full of vampires, before disappearing into the night.
Zero dashes through the night, running along the edges of walls and over the many rooftops of the academy. He moves faster than he ever could when he was human, or ever when he first became a vampire. Although he won't admit it, Zero loves the newfound strength and speed he has acquired since becoming a vampire, and even more so since he drank Kaname's blood. He dashes along the rooftops towards the Twilight dorm, his Bloody Rose holstered safely within his jacket. He comes to the edge of the buildings, to a forest. In the middle of the forest, he sees a dorm, resting on a platform, the moonlight bouncing off it's light exterior, causing it to glow in the night. Zero sees a bridge connecting the dorm to the main part of the academy, but decides to run along the tree tops, so not to be detected. He leaps among the trees, quite enjoying himself, and losing himself in a game of bouncing along the trees. For a few minutes, Zero felt like a child, simply playing. Once he reaches the dorm, he regains his serious composure and forgets the game, trying to lie to himself, saying it wasn't really fun. Zero stands on a ledge of the dorm house, peering through a window into the main hall. He sees nobody in the hall, and decides to sneak in through the window, not knowing what he hopes to find. Zero opens the window, which was left unlocked, and climbs in. He jumps down from the windowsill and lands on the floor, making only a slight thud as he lands. Zero walks through the hall, looking for something that would give him some information. Anything...
"Kaname Kuran, how nice of you to visit." An all too familiar voice booms. Zero looks around to see where the voice has come from, until he hears a thud behind him. "...You're not Kuran. I could have sworn I smelled Kuran's blood in her- Ohhhhhhhhhh, I see. Is Lord Kaname sharing his blood among his subordinates now?" Zero turns around to face his company. Ichigo. "So," Ichigo continues, "What brings you to my fair dorm?"
Zero says nothing, but stares at the red haired man in front of him, his hand edging closer to his Bloody Rose.
"Speak, boy, I'm not one to accept silence as an explanation for trespassing. Why are you here?" Ichigo's voice sounded more threatening with each sentence.
"...I want to know who you are." Zero says coldly, not giving away any of the fear he is experiencing. Ichigo chuckles, and bows sarcastically. "Ichigo Kaburagi. And you are?" "...Zero Kiryu." "Well, Zero, I'm afraid I don't take too kindly to trespassing on my dorm. Repercussions are in order."
Ichigo raises his hand to strike Zero. Zero quickly draws his Bloody Rose. "Don't move a muscle, or I'll turn you into dust." Zero squints his eyes at Ichigo, giving him a look of complete threat. This look melts into a concerned scrunching of eyebrows when Ichigo starts chuckling. "A Bloody Rose? They gave you a Bloody Rose? I'm terrified." Ichigo says sarcastically. Zero decides he's had enough. He's already killed several vampires. What's another one? It'll put this new dorm in their place, removing any threat to the night class, or Yuki. Zero pulls the trigger on his weapon, and a bolt of bright light shoots out of it, directly into Ichigo's chest. Zero waits for the sparks, the dust. The closest they can have to a corpse.
Nothing.
Ichigo stands in front of a now panicked Zero, a look of both anger and delight on his face.
"You just tried to kill me. Good thing Bloody Roses only work on vampires." Ichigo shoves Zero back several feet, Zero landing on his back and grunting in pain.
"You asked who I was. I told you. Now, let me show you what I am. It's been nice knowing you, Zero Kiryu."
Ichigo stands up straight, and then collapses down to his knees. His arms grow in length, and muscles start to spring up on them. His legs shoot out, growing at a phenomenal speed. His entire body grows to about seven feet in the space of a few seconds. Zero watches helplessly as muscles grow all over Ichigo's body. His shirt rips, and falls off, followed directly by his trousers. His skin starts to darken, seemingly getting thicker. Zero gasps as dark red hair starts to grow all over Ichigo's body, covering him from head to toe. Ichigo's face elongates, until his mouth is replaced by a snout. His teeth grow and sharpen, turning into fangs, four deadly canine teeth extremely prominent. His ears perk up, turning triangular and long, sticking up above his head. His nose is replaced by a wet, black ball. Finally, a tail grows from his behind. Ichigo stands up, towering over Zero, his fur covered body muscled beyond belief, his snarling, fang filled jaws drooling rabidly. Ichigo's red eyes stare down at Zero angrily, hungrily. Ichigo raises his head to the sky and takes a breath in.
A howl pierces the night.