Ugh, Friday. It's been six days since I had set foot off the campus. My arm was out of its sling now but still in a brace and my burns were healing steadily. Three fucking weeks, that was the overall estimated healing time from the nurse. And even better, I'll have scars. Oh joy. Look at War Veteran Mana. She sure wears her scars with pride. Ha, ha, ha.

I wanted to faceplant into the stone as the girls began chanting for the Night Class during crossover. I feel so stupid. In my pocket was a note requesting permission to Kuran to leave the campus because there was an album that had been released a few days ago. I felt like a little girl under house arrest or something. It just feels like I'm in trouble. But considering the track record, I decided it was best way. I mean, how long will I have to wait until I'm no longer a target? I have interests that I want to continue to pursue.

The gates opened and the girls screamed. I noticed Kuran heading the group as usual and briskly walked across his path. He stopped as the girls fell a little quiet at my actions. I pulled out my piece of paper and handed it to him. He took it and read it with a soft smile. He then beckoned for the vampire behind him, Seiren, to come closer.

"You will take Mana into town tomorrow," he said and Seiren nodded "Ten o'clock?"

I nodded. He handed the piece of paper to Seiren and smiled a little wider.

"I would come with you, except I have plans," he said "I hope you have a nice time."

I just walked back to my post and they continued on. I could feel all the daggers that the girls were shooting at me from their eyes. I could also hear their venomous words that were whispered amongst them, not really paying attention. I just stared ahead blankly, only blinking when Shiki stepped in my line of vision and turned to me with a vicious smirk. It honestly startled me, I never took any interest of the Night Class and they didn't take any interest in me.

It may have only lasted a second or so but it felt paralysing. His eyes seemed to just pierce right through me and I felt scared suddenly. I felt sick, my heart was pounding, I felt cold and I didn't realise Shiki had left until Yuki grabbed my shoulder and shook me gently.

"Are you alright, Mana?"

I nodded, taking in a breath and sighing calmly. The girls had dashed off and Zero was behind Yuki, also looking concerned. I ran a hand over my face, taking in another deep breath to try and calm myself even further. Only when I withdrew my hand, I saw spots of blood on my fingertips. I jumped at the sight, wondering and panicking about how they managed to get there but after blinking they were gone. I rubbed them, turning my hand around to confirm that there was no blood. Am I going crazy?

"Mana, what's wrong?"

I glanced up at Yuki and Zero as they look at me questioningly. I shook my head, lowering my hand and taking a third deep breath. I had to keep calm. Maybe the stress is finally sinking in. The fear of being attacked was lingering in the back of my mind but I mustn't let it show. I can't have anyone worry. I can't let anyone know my weakness or any weak moments. I have to keep it inside.

"Maybe you should have an early night?" Yuki suggested "You were up very late last night."

Yeah, I may have taken more time than normal to patrol the campus. I was trying to debate with myself to not submit and ask Kuran if I could go out to town tomorrow. But I really want this album. Like fuck, what's the worst that could happen?

Deciding it was a good idea to have an early night, I nodded to Yuki and she bade me goodnight.


But I didn't sleep well. I had one of those dreams where it was dark, misty and it was hard to open my eyelids to see what was going on. It was as if my eyelashes had grown longer and were glued to each other. It also hurt a little to try and open my eyes to get clear vision. They were misty, wet and just uncomfortable. I rubbed them to try and after what seemed hours, my vision finally cleared but all that was around me was a mix of purple and pink colours. It was like I was in a video game that couldn't load up the background. And my hands were covered in blood. My eyes still felt wet and when I felt around them, I realised that my face was covered in blood.

"Juri…"

The voice that cut through the dream chilled me to the bone. My fear increased tenfold and I saw a pair of mismatched eyes above me, glaring at me furiously.

"I will have you…" it purred "I…will eat you… I will DEVOUR YOU!"

I had to run. I turned and tried to flee but my legs were heavy like lead. I could only run in slow motion like action films. Laughter began ringing in my ears as I tried to go faster. I wanted to wake up, I have to wake up, god damn it, Mana! WAKE UP!


So I did. In a cold sweat. I sat up straight, breathing uneasily, still feeling scared. I tried to calm down, even my breaths out and take deep ones. I swallowed, I clutched my blanket, doing anything to try and forget the nightmare. I hadn't felt so scared before. I was still shaking when I looked to my clock and saw it was six o'clock in the morning. I threw the covers off my bed and got to my feet, pacing around to try and get my mind off the nightmare. I then decided to make breakfast.

I nearly burnt the eggs I fried, my hand was very unsteady and I couldn't focus well. It didn't help that when I saw one of the yolks split in the pan, that I saw red blood as opposed to the yellow liquid. I felt detached as I put the fried eggs on the rice I had prepared alongside and took it to the dining table.

I know that I have the habit of bottling things up but maybe it was the reason why I'm hallucinating seeing blood here and there. It's never happened before. Surely this was just a little phase? Maybe it will go away once it's confirmed that I'm safe. Yes, it's nothing to worry about, it'll be pointless to consult someone about it.

"Good morning, Mana."

I looked up to see Kaien and gave him a small nod. He sat opposite me and gave me a warm smile.

"How are you feeling today?" he asked "Is your arm feeling any better?"

I shrugged. Sure, yeah, healing up just fine, no need to worry. Kaien tilted his head.

"You know, you can come to me at any time if you're worried about something," he said "Remember what happened last time you bottled up your feelings?"

…At primary school, I socked someone in the eye for bullying me. Or that's what I had said, it was because Yuki was getting some hate from some of the girls who were leaving flowers on her desk and sending her hate mail, all the usual petty stuff. It just really got to me when I heard the perpetrator talk smack about her and well, I gave her what for. So worth it.

I rolled my eyes at Kaien and cleared my place up. He just sat there, smiling as I washed up then went upstairs to get ready for the day.


Seiren arrived at ten o'clock on the dot, poker face and all. We nodded to each other stiffly and walked side by side. It was a little nerving that our shoulders nearly touched with the proximity, but I can only guess she's just making sure to do her job perfectly. She seems the perfectionist anyway. A little like someone else who shall not be mentioned.

We walked through the streets, silent, calm and neutral. I noticed a few odd looks being sent our way. I did kind of feel like those children from that old film, Village of the Damned. I felt uncomfortable myself in all honesty.

We reached the music store and Seiren followed me to where I could grab the album I wanted and also listen to some other music. I winced a little when putting the headphones on because my arm was still hurting but Seiren helped me. Probably another instruction from Kuran. I nodded to thank her and began listening to tracks.

I found myself unable to focus on the music. I was still thinking about the awful nightmare and it made me shudder to recall just how scared I had been. Then I began seeing blood on my brace. It frightened me, I don't know why but it just did. And as soon as I wiped it off, it was gone. No blood. My head began to hurt and I tugged the headphones off, placing them down and taking a deep breath.

I turned to see that Seiren was no longer standing behind me. I glanced at the screen that showed which songs were playing. I had been standing there for at least five songs, roughly fifteen minutes. I looked around the shop, not seeing her anyway. I moved my way to the till, thinking that perhaps she was waiting outside. After paying for the album and sliding it into my bag, I walked outside and glanced around. No sign of her, what do I do? Maybe she was still in the store, maybe she decided to look for the albums herself. She might not look it but I assume she has some interests here and there.

When it turned to go back, I saw four tall and very intimidating men blocking the way. They wore dark clothes and hats which pushed their hair down to cover their eyes. They wore identical smirks as one stepped forward and leaned forward.

"Hey, you're cute," he grinned a little wider "What's your name?"

Fangs. I could see his fangs. They were vampires. Like fuck! How quick are these guys?! Where's Seiren?! What do I do?! This is bad, really bad, FUCK!

I backed off and they stepped forward, hands in pockets and leaning a little forward towards me. They had the most chilling aura that I had ever felt and I wasn't the only one who thought so. There were people rushing by, shoulders up and heads down, not wanting to get involved. Should I run? I couldn't outrun them and it wouldn't be wise to lead them back to the school. Attack? No, bad idea. We're in public and although they can't hurt me, it wouldn't do to reveal to the public that vampires existed and I could flay their skin off. By the gods, there are children about!

"We know a real fun place to go to," another crooned as he stepped forward to join his pal "Let's go together."

"We won't hurt you, we promise," a third cooed.

Buddy, you could say you could give me my voice back, I am not going anywhere with you. I looked around, wondering where Seiren was. Tch, some bodyguard! I'm kind of in a bind here!

"Come on, we're just being friendly."

"Yeah, yeah, just give it like half an hour."

"Let's go."

I jumped back when the one closest to me tried to grab my arm. Fuck it, I'm running! I dashed off and shot across the street, not caring about the traffic. Judging by the horns sounding, they didn't seem to care much either.

I predicted that they'd spread out and surround me so it didn't surprise me much that one crossed my path. But there was a reason why I was headed in this direction. I could turn and try to lose them in the park. Maybe there were less people where I could take them out discreetly. On the other hand, they could also take me out discreetly with no witnesses.

…I don't see any other way with dealing with this, I know I don't have the best record so far with choices but I can't see any other way. So I turned sharply into the park. I sprinted, my mind racing as I wondered how they can function this early into the morning. Also, what kind of vampires target a person in broad daylight?!

As luck would have it, I saw a crowd in the plaza. I wasted no time merging and blending in, it was a temporary hiding spot. Somewhere where I could clear my head and hopefully lose some of the bastards. Maybe Seiren and I should have established a plan in case something like this had happened. I doubt she would have let some Level E leeches overwhelm her. No, she is too strong for that.

Loud music jolted me out of my musings and the people around me suddenly moved. It took me a moment to realise that I had walked into the middle of a fucking flash mob. Fantastic, just want I needed! I can't dance! But when I glanced and saw one of those vampires looking around, I immediately followed and tried to mimic the moves the other girls were performing.

Thankfully they were simple. Like thank the lord, I shouldn't stand out too much. You can guess my panic when during the middle of the first verse that was blaring out through the speakers in the trees, when the girls began pairing off. Shit, this is bad, I'm going to stand out and throw off the whole thing!

But a miracle was thrown my way. A girl with obvious dyed red hair skipped over to me, linked arms with my right and danced me along with the crowd. I gave her an alarmed look, surely she knew I wasn't part of their dance group? She just smiled and after giving a quick look around, I realised that everyone was in pairs. It looked like someone had not made it. I managed to force a smile to continue blending in with the crowd. If I had learned anything from drama, it is to go with the flow and blend in.

Didn't stop me from tripping and stumbling over my feet though. But the red head (let's call her Red) just gave me a reassuring smile, helped me along and I practically stayed at her side during the dance. My legs are starting to ache.

Other girls were giving me an odd look, they obviously didn't recognise me. Some were a little annoyed, I was probably ruining the whole performance. When Red and I moved closer to the front of the flash mob, she leaned with me and nodded discreetly towards one of the vampires, who had clearly spotted me. She must have seen that I was trying to get away from them. This is sort of good, she can help me with my cover. On the other hand though, she might become a target herself.

It was tricky to keep up with the others but Red always made sure I was in the right place at the right time, even if it did mean being yanked around and shoved. It was also hard to keep up with the beat but once the second chorus came around, it was easy to mimic the moves because they were the same as the first chorus. Once the music break started, I saw Seiren. I practically leapt in joy and caught her attention immediately. She looked relieved.

I followed Red during the music break, scouring the audience and pointing out my chasers to Seiren who nodded, disappearing here and there, probably taking them out. By the time the song ended, I was out of breath and trying to maintain the pose Red had put me in. The audience clapped as relief washed over me. It was over. I could still see Seiren, I could go home. The dance group began breaking off as the audience dispersed and Red grabbed my shoulder.

"I think you did rather well," she said with a bright but exhausted smile "You ought to join us to at least have a few lessons. What's your name?"

I stared at her, catching my breath still as Seiren approached us.

"Mana-sama, we must be off."

I nodded to her before bowing to Red to thank her. She gave a cheerful wave before grabbing her bags that were by a pile of other bags and walked off. Seiren linked arms with me and practically marched me out of the park. My legs ached, I had moved way too much in a short space of time. I just want to go to bed.

Seiren stopped once we were on the school grounds, unlinked her arm from mine and stepped in front of me. She then bowed.

"Mana-sama, I should have never left you for a second. I sincerely apologise, it was a gross mistake on my part."

I stared at her and hunched my shoulders. I didn't have anything to write on to wave off her apology so I awkwardly grabbed her shoulders to stand her upright. She stared at me silently for a moment.

"I think you are a brave woman."

I felt something wet slide down my cheek. Seiren didn't seem affected by the fact that I was one the verge of tears and madness as the realisation hit me full force. They could have gotten me. If she hadn't shown up, then they would have grabbed me the moment the dance was over and even Red wouldn't have been able to help me then. My arms were shaking as I took in deep breaths to stop myself from becoming a blubbering mess.

I wanted to thank her. Thank her for being there. Without her, I might be dead by now. But my voice wouldn't work and I just bowed to her.

"It can't be easy to have an injury that makes you feel vulnerable."

That does it. I brought her in for an awkward hug. She stiffened and I hugged her tightly. It took a weight off my shoulders, I needed this. Seiren awkwardly patted my back, obviously she wasn't used to physical contact.

"I must report this to Kuran-sama."

That sent a chill up my spine. Crap, what will he say to this? How will he react? I pulled away and Seiren bowed again.

"Let's get you home."

I nodded and followed her closely. My legs wobbled from fatigue and fear. It terrified me that such a feeling could paralyse me like this. It only made me worry for what lies ahead of me.