Chapter 3~ Night Class
A knock made me jump to my feet. I had been sitting at the desk for the last few hours, a quill in my hand, trying to find a way to keep track of what had happened so far. So much had happened in such a short amount of time!
"Ariao? Can I come in?" It sounded like Takuma. Setting the quill down and capping the ink, I let out a quick sigh before calling out that he could enter. He opened the door and looked around a bit before seeing that I was near the desk and came over, smiling like he had since moment one.
"Is it almost time for class already?" I asked, picking up the notepad that I had been scribbling in.
"Yeah. Kaname wants you to stay with me and Kain for the first few days until you get used to the schedule." Takuma smiled brightly and I couldn't hold back the sigh. "Something wrong?" He asked, eyes focusing on mine for a moment before looking away.
"I've just never been one for relying on others before." I told him stiffly as I started to head for the door.
"You don't trust us?" I jumped back from the door as Akatsuki made his presence known. Gritting my teeth for a moment I glared at him before snapping out my reply.
"Trust runs quite thin as a Songblood, buddy." I saw Akatsuki's eyes flash crimson for a moment and I tensed, ready for a fight. With a soft cough, however, Takuma pushed between us and glanced apologetically at me.
"I understand it may be hard at first, but most of us are able to control ourselves." I met his gaze before turning and heading back down the hall.
"If there's class to go to, we might as well get going." I said, not looking at them. Even if what the Vice-President said was true, there were still those that were willing to break the so-called peace for a blood meal. Behind me I heard Akatsuki mutter something about me "learning my place" to Takuma, but chose to ignore it. At the top of the stairs, I paused, taking in the group that waited below me. As if they had been waiting for me, they all got to their feet, and one of them, a blond haired boy with icy blue eyes, stalked forward.
"You're the Songblood?" He asked coldly. I could see a slight tint of crimson in his eyes.
"Hanabusa!" Takuma stepped in front of me before I could say a word. The others had come to the base of the stairs and were watching us, a few of them gaining the crimson in their eyes. The one named Hanabusa let out a light growl before looking away and stepping back. From that simple movement the tension peaked in the room.
Going on instinct, I pulled my ocarina out from my bag, took a deep breath, and began to play. The first thing that came to my mind was a peaceful meadow with a calm lake so that was what I decided to play. After the last note had faded, the group was all staring at me with wide eyes, though to my relief, the tension had all but vanished.
"So it is true." Hanabusa said quietly after a few moments. Takuma put a hand on my shoulder for a moment; a small smile etched on his face, and led the way down the stairs. Giving my head a small shake, I followed him down, quickly followed by Akatsuki and Hanabusa. At the base of the steps, I paused. Something wasn't right….
Fire. Lots of fire. The smell of smoke was enough to make someone go mute. From the depths of the flames came a figure in a dark cloak, the hood concealing his face. The vampire crouched before me in a low bow, eyes seeming to be locked on the ground.
"I have returned for you, Ariao." The vampire said voice silky. I took a step back, only to bump into another.
"We are here for you, my lady. We shall make sure this place pays for holding you captive." The second vampire said, also dropping into a low bow. As if on cue, more vampires came to bow before me. Terrified, I spun around to see what was really burning behind me. Cross Academy, engulfed in flames and barely able to be recognized, stood darkly outlined against the growing moonlight.
"Hey! Are you going to move or not?" Hanabusa asked pointedly. I jumped and spun around, snapped out of the vision. Hanabusa was standing at the door, looking back at me, blue eyes glittering in annoyance.
"Yeah, I'm coming." I told him, heading for the door. I heard Akatsuki sigh and realized that he had been waiting behind me the whole time. The noise at the door made me shrink back for a moment, but Akatsuki grabbed my shoulders and pushed me out the door in front of him.
"Just keep moving." He told me, finally letting go of me at the gate. Hanabusa was grinning from ear to ear as the gates opened up and the noise from the other side got louder.
"What's…?" I trailed off as Takuma lightly pulled me along after him.
"Welcome to the first day of the night class. This is usually the greeting we get when we leave our dorms." Takuma explained, smiling brightly.
"Every evening?" I whispered, starting to wonder if this wouldn't drive them all crazy before the end.
"They never mean any harm by it. So we just go along with it." Akatsuki said, hands in his pockets once more.
Class was sort of boring. The only use the teacher had that I could tell was just to make sure none of us left without permission. Other than that, the group only looked like they studied. I sat at the back of the classroom with Hanabusa on one side (Takuma was standing next to Kaname near the front), and Akatsuki on the other. Left to my own thought, my mind wandered to the strange vision I had had earlier.
That's right. I forgot that as long as no one takes my blood, I could see these things. I thought, dimly aware that I was drawing pictures of flames on the bottom of my notebook. Just who had those people been? And why had they treated me as a Pureblood? Before I was even aware of it, the flames turned into a pair of eyes, one shaded darker than the other.