Chapter Nine

As they briskly traversed across the school grounds, Day Class students passing with curious eyes, Zero began to actually talk to Ayama. It was unsettling at first and strange to her. His voice had a low timbre and seemed unaccustomed to any kind of talk, even conversational.

But he wasn't trying to be conversational. Zero was investigating, and for some reason, that made her sad. Ayama missed light hearted conversations about nothing, or deep, heavy ones about love and life. Her heart suddenly remembered Iku, her long lost best friend. At that moment, she felt as if Iku was trillions of miles away from her, and Iku might as well have been. All the same, though, Ayama merely wanted to talk about things not so burdening for once.

"What happened to Hiroshi, exactly?" Zero effortlessly kept pace with her, even though she was partially attempting to out-stride him. "The Council's dogs were blocking my view. I couldn't see what happened clearly, but I know you are the cause. I just don't understand how."

"You didn't see the wall crash upon him?" she murmured, smiling calmly at one of the gaping Day Class boys. His face went red, his glasses slipped off the bridge of his nose, and she was worried he was going to faint. Immediately Ayama decided it was best not to take notice to the students, especially if they would react in such a way.

"I did."

"And that is what happened. You saw it. Hiroshi was nearly crushed to death."

"Those monsters are strong. A wall falling upon them is nothing, even a Level E's, though they would still be injured, unlike the other pure monsters." His face darkened, and he glowered at the nearest student, causing her to trip and drop her books.

"Stop taking your anger out on others," Ayama involuntarily snapped, handing the girl her books. They continued on after, Zero still glaring, only at the ground that time.

"Wakahisa, I'm not stupid. Hiroshi only would have been in danger if that wall had been thrown or pushed with such a divine force that even Kaname would have been bruised." They stopped in front of Yagari's classroom.

She turned to him, examining his naturally tortured eyes and angular features. He was different, like her. Ayama knew it. "Zero, what is it you want to know?"

He narrowed his eyes. "I want to know what you are. Truly."

Her shoulders sagged, as they always seemed to do. "And I could say the same thing for you, but do I?" Without another word, Ayama turned and entered the classroom, closing the door with a soft thud behind her.

The classroom was lit by the sunlight pouring through the wide windows. Desks were empty and dustless. A still, stiff scent of education, paper, and pencils surrounded the room, and Ayama spotted Yagari at his desk, frowning at a leather bound book.

"Yagari-sensei?"

"About time." He placed the book down. "I found this in the library."

"The school's?" Ayama picked it up carefully, turning it over in her hands. She could sense it's ancient secrets and that it carried a heavy load of truth and knowledge. It was a book to be respected.

"No."

She stared at him. "Then where did you find it?"

He raised an eyebrow and retorted, "Don't worry about it. But it has some interesting answers to our questions. I honestly believe this is what we've been looking for. If it's true, I'll admit, this is a scary circumstance."

"What do you mean?" Ayama opened the book, feeling its withered pages whisper to beneath her fingers. It wanted to be read, to share what it knew.

"Well, I am not going to just summarize it to you." He crossed his arms over his chest.

She pouted. "Why not?"

"Because you're spoiled. Read it yourself," he huffed, frowning still. Then, he added earnestly, "And, because I think this is something you must discover yourself. For me to just tell you feels wrong."

A sense of trepidation sank heavily in her stomach, and she gulped, whispering, "I think you are insinuating that this is very, very personal."

"And serious."

Her heart jolted at that and Ayama clenched her teeth nodding. She wasn't sure if she could mentally prepare herself for the truth. "Is this all,Yagari-sensei?"

He nodded once, and she instantly left.

Outside, she found Zero waiting for her, gazing out one of the windows. She gasped at the sight of him, startled. But there was a moment when he appeared to be a great angel. The sun was shining around him like a heavenly glow, almost forming golden wings around him.

"What is that?" He gestured toward the book, stepping from the sunlight, ruining the angelic effect.

"A book Yagari-sensei is lending me. He says it is a terrific read." Ayama began marching to the exit, knowing that Zero would follow her, though she wished he wouldn't.

"You are….odd for a bloodsucker."

"I suppose it's because I was raised to believe I was human," she murmured thoughtfully. She knew she should have looked at her previous life as a façade, and that her new vampire one was a beginning to something great, but she couldn't. Ayama just couldn't let go of her human memories.

As they crossed the courtyard, the sun was fading behind the plethora of trees that surrounded the entire school. Ayama had a flashback to what had happened one evening within those trees and shuddered.

Zero apparently noticed. "Are you feeling well?" he asked, concern nothing but a light frosting to his chilled, uncaring voice. It was as if he was asking it absentmindedly.

"Yes," Ayama growled, walking faster.

He kept pace beside her. "There were people here who wanted to kill you, and you demolished them, or so I heard. And then, the Council comes, demanding your presence. Meanwhile, your parents are rushing a ceremonial ball and wedding, and your pet is in a comatose state."

"He's not a pet," she snapped, but she still saw his obvious point in the direction of her apparent not-so-well wellbeing. "He's my friend. Not that that means much to you, since you do not appear to have any."

Zero replied, "I don't do friends."

"Then you must be very lonely."

He didn't reply.

At the door of the Moon Dorms, they stopped and faced each other. Zero's expression remained his usual one, while Ayama found weariness weighing her down. She stared expectantly at Zero, sensing he wasn't done with his pestering.

And she was correct. "You lied to me before. Yagari-sensei never reads. He hates it almost as much as he hates vampires. But he doesn't appear to hate you, and he has obviously given you this book for a reason. And I want to know that reason."

Ayama answered as truthfully as she felt necessary, unwilling to draw out the pain of being awake anymore. She was simply too tired. "Yagari-sensei's been doing research and told me to read this book because it apparently has all the answers I need for the questions I have." Opening the door to step inside, she added quickly, before he could interject, "Now, if you will excuse me." And she closed the door in his face.

She turned to see Kain Akatsuki and Ichijiou Takuma at the bottom of the stairwell. Takuma immediately smiled and surrounded her with the conversational, casual questions she had been dying for all day.