No Such Thing as Normal

Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Knight. I will make do with the universe that I created...

"Where were you at lunchtime yesterday? I even messaged you. I was hoping to eat lunch together!" Yori suddenly comes up me right after I arrive at the classroom; she is pouting slightly.

"I'm so sorry Yori, I forgot to charge my phone. Zero and I were talking to Kaname-senpai yesterday. I didn't think it would take that long and I couldn't find you in the cafeteria. He is an old friend and we haven't seen each other for a while so we were just catching up..."

"Oh I see, that person who was in foster care with you? You entered this school just so that you could be with him right?" Yori smiles excitedly. I get the feeling she is getting the wrong idea again.

"He is just a friend! A friend!" I said defensively.

Yori leans in and whispers, "I would be careful though. It's going to make a lot of girls here jealous, since you've just had an audience with 'Ou-sama'. I wouldn't say it out aloud if I were you, or the fan girls here will make your life hard."

I give an awkward laugh. "In that case... I guess we could just keep that between us, I don't really want trouble from other girls. So, people call him 'king' here?" I twitch at the word 'king'; that is not a nickname I am use to.

"Yep, there are nicknames for the other council members too. The vice president Takuma Ichijo is 'Ouji-sama', treasurer Hanabusa Aido is 'Idol-san', and treasurer assistant Akatsuki Kain is 'Wild-san'." Yori counted her fingers. "Oh there is also council secretary Ruka Souen, the boys call her 'Ice Queen', but she is very nice I hear."

"I... er... So do you have a crush on any of them?"

"No, not really, I'm not really into boys, and I find the whole thing rather silly." Yori smiles, and then changes the subject. "Have you considered what club you are going to enter?"

"Club?"

"Yes, it's compulsory here, I'm thinking about entering the music club, since I play the flute."

I ponder for a moment, "I guess... is there a list I can choose from?"

"Sure, I can show them to you during recess."

Yori grabs my hand and brings me to the sign up board. There are many clubs there. Most of them are sports clubs, such as basketball or soccer. However there are also some culture clubs such as calligraphy and math. There is a math club? What because there isn't enough math at school? " Um, I'm not sure, there are so many..."

"Don't worry," says Yori, "I think there is an exhibition of some sorts after school next week for the clubs to talk about what they are about and what they do."

"Um, Zero," I call to the lone figure behind us. "What club do you want to join?" Yori is quite startled as she doesn't realise Zero is there. Not her fault really. Zero followed us from the classroom without so much as a sound.

"... A sports club, probably."

"Um... okay... I guess you've always been pretty good at sports..." Well that got nowhere.

"Yes! PE!" I chirp, stretching happily. PE is the only lesson where I can just can relax, and I don't need to cram in heaps of new information that hurts my head. Being the elite school that it is, the course is very rigorous.

The PE teacher comes in and announced. "Today we are going to introduce you to something different, follow me." We walk out of the atrium and into the field few minutes away. There, we enter a barn and a few girls complain about the smell. "We are proud to have equestrian classes here at the Cross Academy. The school was established 200 years ago, when knowing how to ride a horse was compulsory. Although the sport is not as popular in this day and age, as the chairman has put it, everyone should try every sport at least once, because you never know where your talents lie. We have had quite a few students that went on to win equestrian championships, and we would like to continue that tradition. You will learn about horses, how the take care and manage them, also we will get you to ride one before the end of the day."

Just when I thought there would be no thinking... I groan at the idea, and there we listen for a whole hour of riding 101, from a horse's diet to how to fix the saddle and stirrup. I tune out after a while.

"Ok so that's all. Next we will separate you into groups, and assign you to a horse. The equestrian instructors will try and get everyone into the saddle before class ends." Oh god finally, some action!

Yori and I end up in the same group, and we giggle at our luck. Zero on the other hand ends up in a different group, and walks off to the far side of the field. We are introduced to a very beautiful spotted gelding. The other students climb on with the help of the instructor and do small laps. Then, it is Yori and my turn.

"Is it ok if you go first?" Asks Yori with a nervous expression. "I'm a bit scared of it."

Wanting to assure Yori that there is nothing scary about it, I agree.

I jump into the saddle with little trouble, and I am suddenly very aware that I am not riding a bike, or anything like a mechanical vehicle. Muscles ripple under me, and I can almost feel its heartbeat. This is a thinking, breathing animal beneath me, who trusts me enough to allow me to sit on its back, and can really hurt me if it wants to. But it doesn't want to. I find myself returning that trust. The wind blows in my face, and a sense of freedom washes over me. The world seems different from such a height. I breathe in the fresh spring air, and feel my worries being swept away.

The little lap ended too quick for my liking, and I give a thumbs up to Yori when I finally got off.

It is time to go home, and Zero joins me as I was about to leave. "How did your riding trip go, Zero?"

"Ah, that. We got a mare called White Lily, it's a very pretty mare, white from head to toe." His eye lit up a little, if I didn't know any better. "The ride was... nice, relaxing."

"I think I know what you mean." Thinking about the way I felt when I was on the horse.

"The mare nibbled my hair afterwards, the instructor said that it was because she likes me."

I chuckle at the mental image.

"I think... I'm thinking about joining the equestrian club."

My smile widens, and I cheerfully run in front of him. "Zero, that's a great idea."

Zero stops, and smiles back.

That stops me in my track. I am slightly mesmerised by his smile. It's weird. My heart sort of just skips a beat. I don't know if it is because the late afternoon sun that is casting a warm glow on his face, or the petals from sakura trees flowering in the background, showering all around us. It's a rare sight; Zero almost never smiles, but when he does, it's really something that deserves to be treasured.

"Why... are you looking at me like that?" Says Zero, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"I...er... you smiled..." Wait, wrong answer. "I mean, you should smile more!" I give a nervous laugh. How odd, I've never felt like this with Zero before.

Zero looks at me as if I have just requested pigs to fly, and continues walking. I am not quite sure, but I think I see a ghost of a smile on his face as he passes me.

I follow, too embarrassed to say anymore. I shake my head and attempt to get that odd feeling out of my mind. Seeing him with a smile on his face makes me happy. I should aim to get him to do it more often, it's so pretty.

I went with Zero to sign up for the equestrian club earlier today, but upon realising that 'cleaning the stable' was also one of the required chores, I politely declined joining.

Still looking for a club...

The exhibition is after the school hours in the atrium, and attendance is not compulsory. I guess I have no choice but to stay back. So with Zero and Yori gone, I am left all alone with other students that also could not make up their minds.

The cultural clubs went first. None of them really interests me, but I soon realise that there aren't many rules regarding how you promote your club, and it appears that there is a lot of competition in getting as many applications as possible. I guess that is no surprise considering that size of the club dictates how much funding a club gets. The science club brings in a volcano that spews red bicarb water everywhere, and the book club comes in cosplaying as many characters from recent popular mangas as possible.

A familiar face suddenly steps onto the stage. "Hello everyone, especially the ladies!" Aido-senpai is standing as if he owns the stage, preaching to his followers. Murmur starts up in the audience, especially between girls. "I am the captain of the current Math Club. I realise that math is a difficult subject, especially for many of the cute ladies in the audience. I have heard many complaints from every year level, and I feel that I must do something to remedy the situation." He waves his arms around in a dramatic fashion. "I, as the school treasurer, am very gifted with numbers, and I would be happy to share my knowledge with everyone! No question is too trivial, and no inquiries are overlooked! For the happiness of girls everywhere, I introduce to you... the Mathematics Club!" Some club assistants standing beside Aido pull open some party poppers, and a banner with 'Mathematics Club' on it unrolls from another assistant's hand. "Please talk to me after the exhibition to sign up!" With that, Aido finishes with a bow. A loud applause follows. This is not a math club, but an unofficial 'Idol-san' fan club... Yep, I finally understand how a math club could even exist, let alone having any members.

Then it is the sport clubs' turn. They mostly cover their training regimes and awards that they've won, and then have a little show of skill, basketball club does a dribble number, and members from the soccer club juggle the balls with their feet. I am more interested in sports, but they are generic sports and none of them really stand out for me.

At this point I'm just going to close my eyes and point to a random club...

Then, 3 girls walk up to the stage dressed in what looks like cheerleading costume, and holding batons. The senpai in the middle is very pretty, big blue eyes and long lavender hair up in a braided bun. "My name is Ruka Souen, and captain of the gymnastic club. This is a new club created just for girls!" A groan is heard from the boys in the audience. "Don't complain! You bunch of perverted hormonal males would harass any pretty girl on your sports team. Whenever there is a sporting event for a sports club, only the boys get to compete and the girls were made to be managers or just cheering from the side. This is very unfair and this club is set up by me for the girls that don't like to just sit around!" Many girls, including me, cheers.

"Ok, let's go, music!" One of the girls clicks play on the ipod stereo. I am amazed by what I see, the batons are twirling so fast that my eyes are barely able to keep up. Girls are in perfect sync with each other, and the batons are switched, thrown and caught with what looks like no effort at all, all the while they rolled and flipped to the beat of the music. As the music reaches its crescendo, Ruka throws her baton very high, and does 2 back flips, and catches her baton without so much as a drop of sweat.

The crowd goes wild, and I think I've developed a girl crush.

"Have you heard Kaname? Yuuki has just joined the gymnastics club." Says Takuma, as he goes about organising the school enrolment forms.

"Yes, from Ruka, she will look after Yuuki just fine. At least it's not the Math club." Kaname glares at Aido, who is currently standing in the corner holding 2 buckets of water and balancing another one his head.

"Don't you think that's a bit severe, Kaname?" Aido asks nervously.

A dark cloud descends over the president's demeanour, "You should consider yourself lucky that it's not in a public place."

Aido gulps and pretends to be the wallpaper.

Most of the students that enrolled are present. Well, all except one, thought Kaname. "Maria Kurenai, she appears to have been absent since the beginning of the year."

"Yes, her parents sent a doctor's certificate, saying that she was recovering from a very bad cold. She will be starting school a little after golden week." Takuma waves around a signed piece of paper.

"It would be difficult for her to integrate now that most friendship circles have been formed, I would like to ask for her to be put in 1B. I believe she knows someone from that class and it would make her transition easier."

"Oh?" Takuma raises his eyebrows. "I don't remember getting a letter for class changes... Oh wait," he smiled slyly and winks, knowing fully well that the president is up to something. "I think I must have misplaced it. I'll get the paperwork done, I'm sure the teachers wouldn't object."

"Thank you, Takuma." The 'king' smiles.

The class finishes and I bounce along to the gymnastic club in my sports uniform. Zero is on his way to the equestrian club, and decides to walk me part way.

"I suppose the gymnastics club suits you, it'll teach you some coordination," teases Zero, seeing my enthusiastic hop.

I slap him on the arm. "Hey, I am very well-coordinated."

"Not according to all the banging I heard in your room when you practice your cartwheel."

"That is a work in progress! And most of the banging comes from me practising the baton twirling." I pout and cross my arms.

"Oh yeah, the ponytailed alien told you to practice in your room because you almost broke the coffee table glass with that thing."

Zero has really gotten teasing me down to an art form. "It's harder than it looks, okay?" I can't help but raise my voice at that accusation!

We are so busy bantering that we don't notice footsteps coming our way. "Yuuki-san," Ruka interrupts, "Are you okay? Is he annoying you?"

Both of us stops in our tracks, not expecting anyone to overhear our conversation. "Eh, no, we were just having a friendly debate, Souen-senpai." I give a nervous laugh. The conversation in all honesty doesn't sound friendly at all, even though it is just harmless teasing. More than that, it is kind of private, since Zero doesn't like to show that side of him in public. It is rather difficult to explain, and Zero knows it too.

Then an awkward silence descends over us, and Ruka gives Zero a cold look. Feeling the uneasiness in the air, Zero turns away, and says with his back facing us, "I'll... get going... to my club..." and hastily walks off.

The captain of the gymnastic club suddenly turns to me and smiles. "Yuuki-san, do call me Ruka, I think we work better as a team if we are all equals."

"Ok Ruka-senpai, then please call me Yuuki." I return her smile. Well that sure is a sudden change in attitude.

"You know, any type of harassment is against school policy. You don't have to feel threatened if you report." Says Ruka with a concerned expression.

Oh no, I sigh. "Um, you misunderstand Ruka-senpai, Zero and I are childhood friends, we do this from time to time with no hard feelings. Zero looks scary with his tattoo, and piercings... and attitude, but he is a nice person." To me anyway... sometimes...

"Oh, I see." It appears that I have confused Ruka-senpai.

The gymnastic club is situated in the atrium. We pull out mats and do stretching exercises, and share baton twirling tips. The older members are on the other side doing more complex moves such as flips and throws.

At one point Akastuki-senpai comes over and starts talking with Ruka. I overhear one senpai talking about how cute they look together. Curious, I wander over to them.

"Hello, my name is Yuuki. I was wondering, are Akastuki-senpai and Ruka-senpai close?"

"Ah my name is Mimiko. Oh yes, in fact it was Akastuki-kun that encouraged Ruka to start this club. See, before, girls didn't have much power in the school sports before, and there was a lot of harassment cases in the clubs that were overlooked. Ruka was in the tennis club, but as the only girl no one really played with her, and she was left with menial jobs. She is also pretty, and a lot of boys tried to make moves on her. Akastuki-kun saw this, and suggested that she starts her own club, and also recommended the president to appoint Ruka as one of the council members. Now any harassment cases will result in the offender carrying 2 buckets of water, and one on top of the head after school at the entrance!" The girls giggle.

"It's really funny when they couldn't really balance the bucket and water goes all over them when it drops!" Another senpai adds.

"Ahhh, Wild-san is so awesome, but I guess I wouldn't mind if it is Ruka-san."

"Yeah she really takes her responsibility seriously."

"She is nice AND pretty."

"Do you think they are dating? I mean, Akastuki-kun is the only guy Ruka is nice to."

"Mm, I don't know, but for some reason I feel just a little bit sad that Wild-san is taken..."

The girls chat away, and I look at the two talking. I have no idea what a couple is suppose to look like, but I guess they would make the hottest couple ever listed if they tried. That brings a smile to my face. It doesn't look like that much of a stretch.

I was lost in fairytale land and doesn't realise that Akastuki-senpai has already left. Ruka's voice snaps me out of my daze. "Yuuki, you should try and tie your hair up properly. Your long hair, as nice as it is, can get in the way when you do flips and such." She then points to her own braided bun.

I touches my hair, which is currently in a ponytail. "Er, I guess I can sort of do a bun." I undid my hair, and proceed to retying it, but doesn't pull my hair all the way out at the end. It's the only bun I know how to do... The result is a very long bun if you could call it that, due to the length. Meh, I'll be okay.

Time goes by so fast since I am having so much fun. I decide to practice more on my cartwheel on the soft mats along with other first years. Although it hurts less when I fall, the way my hand sinks into to mattress doesn't help with the balancing. I realise that I'm falling behind the others and wonder if Zero is right about my coordination.

"Yuuki!" Ruka calls again, seeing me struggling. "Come here, I'll show you something."

She brings me to practice balancing beam that is just above the ground. "You should start with this." She leans down and grabs the beam, and jumps over while keeping her hold. "Start with a little hop, then raise your legs higher and higher, till you can do a smooth cartwheel over the beam." She then shows me a full cartwheel, I am amazed at her grace. She then pats my shoulder with encouragement.

With something to grip to, it isn't difficult to work my way up to a full cartwheel. The feeling is exhilarating, and I decide that I can go back and join the others. I do a couple with no trouble, and the others clap and decide to also try the beam method. I am happy to have the mats all to myself and decide to line them up and do a few consecutive cartwheels.

That is a bad, bad idea.

The first cartwheel is ok, so is the second, but then my hair falls out of its constraints and sweeps right under my hands. Due to the unfortunate fact that hair is not elastic, I feel my head getting pulled down and my arms buckling. Think fast! I twist slightly and just manage to land on my right foot without falling.

Safe!... AH CRAP.

Before my left foot touches the floor, the mat under my right dips from the twist and slides, resulting in me falling full force onto the hard wooden floor, hitting my shoulder and twisting my foot at the same time.

"Awww!" Pain shots up from both my shoulder and my ankle. I attempt to muffle my scream unsuccessful with the floor, and bang my fist into it to distract myself from the pain.

A couple of girls run over and help me on to a chair. Ruka comes over and checks my shoulder and foot.

"Geez, Yuuki, that's a nasty fall. Don't say I didn't warn you about your hair. Your shoulder looks bruised, but it should be ok, your ankle however is a bit swollen. I should call your parents to pick you up. What number should I dial-"

"NOOOO!" I suddenly have a mental image of father, or rather the chairman, running in with tears on his face and frilly shawl trailing in the wind... I will never live this down.

"Um, my parents work really far away! They wouldn't get here till late. I only live 15 minutes away... Just call Zero Kiryu, he will help. He is in the equestrian club."

Ruka gives me a puzzled expression, but upon seeing my pleading eyes, she resigns and gestures Mimiko to go and get Zero.

In a matter of minutes Zero rushes in. His hair slightly dishevelled, and without his jacket and tie. "Yuuki! I heard you were hurt. What happened?" and kneels down in front of me. I am temporarily lost for words. I've seen Zero angry, and annoyed many times, but I've never seen Zero so... so scared.

Mimiko arrives soon after, and out of breath. "I've never seen anyone run so fast..." she mutters.

"I, um, well, it's really funny actually. See, I was doing a cartwheel, and I tripped on my hair... with my hands, and then fell and twisted my ankle. Oh and I hit my shoulder. Hahaha..." I give a nervous laughter as Zero proceeds to check my ankle. That explanation doesn't make sense at all. It even sounds stupid when I say it out loud. Who trips on their hair with their hands? "It's really not that bad, it'll be fine if I rest for a few days... AW DON'T PRESS THAT!"

Zero glares at Ruka. "You know, as the captain it's your responsibility to look after your fellow students, she could be seriously hurt-"

Before Zero can take out anymore of his anger on Ruka-senpai, I stop him by cupping his face with my hand, and force him to look at me. Being polite isn't one of his good points, that's really no way to talk to a senpai. My shoulder protests. "Zero, it's my fault, not Ruka-senpai's. Please, I'm tired, I want to go home." I give him my best puppy dog eyes.

Zero stares at me for a minute, and sighs. "Ok, come on, can you walk?" and offers his hand.

I nod, and stand up. Pain shoots up my right leg but I can walk, or rather hobble while holding on to Zero.

"I guess you carrying your bag is out of the question. I'll come back and get it once we get home."

Zero drapes my arm over his shoulders and supported my waist. I wave silently to Ruka and the rest of the gymnastic club goodbye, and hurry to get the ticking bomb out of the atrium.

After covering 5 minutes worth of ground in 10 minutes, Mr Shortfuse is get impatient. "You know what, it's only 10 minutes, I'll piggyback you."

"Eehhhh?"

"What? It's not the first time." He lets go and squats in front of me.

My face is getting redder by the second. if I were wearing my school skirt I would have a better excuse, but no, I'm in a pair of shorts... "I've... gotten heavier than the last time you carried me."

Zero glares at me. "I'm strong. Now get on or I'll grab you and sling you over my shoulder."

That is definitely not an empty threat. I put my arms around his neck and get on, my heart is going a million miles a minute, and I'm very thankful that he can't see my face in that position.

He is so tall, I didn't notice until I look down. He is warm too, and his familiar scent of sweat and the afternoon sun is strangely calming. I lean down and put my head in the nap of his neck, feeling so, very... safe. I have never thought Zero as being anything other than a friend, or a brother even. There is no reason for me to blush, nor for my heart beat to quicken. I have always thought that the feelings I have for Zero are the same as those for Kaname-nii. Well, not exactly the same, but close enough. But now, I seem to be a nervous wreck, something that I've never experienced with Onii-san. How odd. What is this feeling that I'm experiencing?

Author's note: I googled 'school clubs in Japan', and one of the articles gave me 'math club' as one of the possible cultural clubs... this makes me very confused. I wondered why in the world anyone would make a maths club. Only one name comes to mind. Aido. No offence to anyone who like math (I did 3 math subs in year 12), this is mainly from Yuuki's POV and we know how she feels about it.