AN: Thank you for the reviews! I know you're right and Hino didn't us much to go off of, but I can't help but be nervous...hehe... also this is still very much a "beginning" chapter.
Important info: Hino briefly discussed that bloodthirst is in part physical and in part emotional/psychological. For that reason, I want to stress that when Shiki says he's "hungry", it's not really that he's starving or anything, but more a result of his situation.
Also, I've given Rima some hobbies. Reading (including plays/theater since she likes acting), sketching clothes, etc.
"Everyone out! Everyone into the common area!" an all-too familiar voice exclaimed loudly.
Rima sighed, flipping shut her book and at last making her way out of the dorm room she unfortunately shared with Ruka Souen. Coming to the academy had been fairly uneventful, but today Ichijou had been making a fuss for the last ten minutes straight, attempting to gather all of the vampires together, although she resisted until the last moment possible. She didn't really appreciate being torn from a good book, especially on the last free weekend she had before the start of the semester. Although, she couldn't say she wasn't grateful to leave the dorm room, which was infused with Ruka's heady perfume of rose, jasmine, and gardenia. The scent clogged her nostrils, even with the window cracked open. She wasn't sure how she was going to endure it for the remainder of the year.
Moving down the hallway towards the common room, she saw Ichijou standing at the top of the stairs. Below him, the majority of the Night Class waited with varying levels of patience. It didn't escape her notice that the pureblood, Kaname, was nowhere to be seen. For someone who had so strongly promoted the coexistence of vampires and humans at this academy, he certainly hadn't made any special effort lately to lead his cause. Instead, he had appointed Ichijou as his vice president, and as such thrown the entire burden of leadership on the noble vampire's slender shoulders.
In front of her, masked by the shadow of the hall, Senri Shiki leaned against the wall, seemingly bored, though it would have difficult for her to tell if that was how he actually felt, seeing as how he was essentially a robot. Nevertheless, she came to a stop beside him wordlessly, reluctant to stray too far from her bed and her book...and even more reluctant to join the mass of noble vampires below. The company of one lifeless mannequin was a thousand times preferable to being squished in an onslaught of facetious politicians who all hoped to gain favor with the more powerful aristocratic families. Her lips curved downward. She didn't want to be bothered with politics today. Or ever.
At her approach, Ichijou turned and gave her a radiant smile. Senri Shiki, however, only gave her a slight nod in greeting. At least he acknowledged her presence... She smoothed out a crease on her skirt to mask her sour expression. Despite her attempts at conversation, at work or elsewhere, Shiki had relentlessly deflected each and every one. The only person he showed any inclination towards was Ichijou. Everyone else might as well be wallpaper, including her. Normally it wouldn't have bothered her at all but, after seeing how well the two models complemented each other in their photo shoot together, the staff had opted to partner them together for the foreseeable future. She could hardly believe her misfortune.
It seemed Rima had been the person her enthusiastic friend had been waiting on. Without any further ado, the blonde dorm leader raised his arms and declared cheerfully, "Good morning everyone, I won't keep you long because I know you have a great many things to do in preparation for the upcoming school year, but I wanted to say a few words before the start of the semester as vice president.
"First, I would like to say welcome to Cross Academy and thank you for taking part in our vision for coexistence with humans. While it might take some time to see the signs of our work to build trust and a culture of collaboration and harmony, there are immediate signs of new growth and progress all around us. This year, we are joined by more of our friends and peers, making this the largest Night Class to date. I'm excited to begin the school year and share this school and this place with all of the students, vampire and human alike."
Rima gave a little sigh. She never really understood why schools always insisted on such repetitive speeches, especially when they didn't really inspire her at all. The modeling school she had attended had been exactly the same. She felt her foot tap against the ground. She wanted to finish her book before lunch, and it was already almost 11 PM. She wrapped and unwrapped the end of a pigtail around her index finger in boredom, already drowning out the vice president's words. Yes yes, okay okay, they should all get along, etc.
Ichijou continued with gusto, "Communication is the lifeblood of a healthy school. Therefore, if any of you encounters any problems during the year, I ask that you inform myself or Kaname-sama immediately so that we can avoid any conflict. I don't need to tell you that our existence as vampires is a secret, therefore we must be careful not to put the Day Class students in danger.
"Again, thank you for coming here and taking part in this. I am looking forward to a wonderful school year because I strongly believe that this year will be an important and exciting step forward for Cross Academy. I am deeply committed to working with everyone to make it a truly extraordinary year for the school. Whatever you do this semester, give it your 100%!"
"Except drink the humans' blood," the burgundy-haired model muttered beside her dryly.
Rima suppressed a laugh, lips twitching upwards. She shouldn't laugh, not when Ichijou was clearly making an honest effort to motivate everyone. But... Then, just as suddenly, she sobered, turning her head sharply towards Shiki. Had he just made a joke? The eyes that met hers were grey, serene, unruffled. As if he'd said nothing. Although, this time she caught a hint of blue there. Only a taste. Only the faintest suggestion of color. But at least, it was something other than the drab nothing that had characterized that gaze before. And then, as the vice president dismissed everyone, the model simply walked up to join him, leaving her standing there in complete disbelief.
Senri traced the wooden grain of the table behind which he sat, head supported on his palm, eyes unfocused as the mist of consciousness clung hazily around him. He was half-asleep with ambivalence and boredom, and only vaguely aware of their teacher saying, "We here in the Night Class are the first of our kind in the world to test these newly developed blood tablets. Not only are we the pride of this school, we are also the pride of the entire vampire race."
Blood tablets... The thought ghosted across his mind, phantom-like. What were those like? Would they be available for all vampires someday? The image of his mother clouded his vision for a moment, her eyes wild and unfocused, clutching at him as her fangs sank deep and painful into his throat. His fingers pressed hard against the tabletop as he took a breath, remembering where he was. Class, he was in class. The orientation class his cousin, the pureblood Kaname Kuran, had mandated they all attend. He shook his head, as if he could cast off such recollections like flimsy spider webs.
"Somehow I really doubt that," Ruka Souen was saying. "We're just a study group anyway." She shrugged, silken honey curls tumbling over her shoulders with the movement.
Blood tablets... The thought came again, unbidden. He inhaled Ruka's scent, finding it strangely offensive, and turned his head away. If he thought about it too closely...he was really starving... Even someone with blood as distasteful as Ruka's wouldn't be bad... But although his mouth and throat were harshly demanding nutrition, insisting from the back of his mind where he kept his hunger chained and hidden, he ignored his needs. The one who needed blood was his mother. His mother, who could never again sate herself with the blood of her beloved...
"I don't know about that. After all, co-existence with humans like this...it is a huge step forward. Right, Kaname?" Ichijou piped up cheerfully. Leave it to the vice president to forget the pureblood's title...
"That's right," Kaname agreed. "After all, we have the chairman to thank for everything we've learned here." He didn't chastise the blond for calling him by his name, although Senri was sure he would have punished anyone else for presuming to do so.
Already, the mahogany-haired vampire's thoughts were drifting away again, like clouds; insubstantial and forever changing, slowly morphing from one shape to the next in a constant motion. Curiously, he took note of more of the various scents around him, some better than others. Obviously pureblood was the most appetizing, though he also believed that obnoxious human guardian Yuki Cross to have a tasty aroma. Ichijou, on the other hand, had rather pungent blood, like Ruka or Hanabusa Aidou. It was too...much, too vivid. Senri hungered for something more unique, something more subtle. Something...
The smell of electric dahlias flooded his nostrils. Glancing up, he saw Rima enter the room, late just as she had been for the earlier speech; sapphire eyes flashing over the room until spotting an empty chair. She settled there, perching herself between two vampires he didn't recognize like a bird poised for flight. Maybe, someone with a scent like that would be alright... His throat felt scratchy, but he dismissed it, as he dismissed everything else. It was unneeded, such a carnal thing like hunger. It was better if he just forgot it, as he forgot everything else, including himself.
His eyes were back to tracing the wooden grain. Retracing it. Losing himself there. Yet, perhaps in reality he was searching for himself. After all, he had already left himself behind in the maze of his mind long, long ago. From those first moments his mother had pleaded with him to remain empty. To remain a doll. Since then, he had buried himself under rubble, carved himself out like a hollow pumpkin. And just like that, his hunger slipped away, vanished like smoke. He was just like that, after all. Incorporeal, selfless smoke. Even if, in reality, he knew that to be a lie.
Rima sank further into the warm water, feeling her muscles relax and lose their tension. Despite the multitude of speeches and events throughout the day, she was at ease and pleased that she had found enough time to finish reading her novel. Lazily, she raised her hand, running it through the bubbles that reposed leisurely against the surface of the water. Her life was rather like that, she thought, leaning her head against the wall of the tub: warm, slow, relaxed... There was not a ripple in it, not even the smallest wrinkle...
Her towel, waiting on the sink counter, suddenly caught her eye. The color the maids had provided this evening was grey. A kind of drab, slate grey... Grey, like monotony, like Shiki's eyes... With a flash of irritation, she scowled and turned her gaze away. She didn't want to be reminded of grey, even if the touch of blue that had flowered in his eyes after that single sarcastic remark during Ichijou's speech had lingered. Even if those tendrils of gentle color intrigued her...
She exhaled, tracing the folds with her eyes, contemplating. Perhaps there was one ripple, after all. More of a pebble, a kind of grey, nondescript pebble. The corner of her mouth pulled down in a slight frown. She would be lying to herself if she said she wasn't bothered by Shiki's character. He, like the imaginary pebble, dropped into her world and just sank straight down, down until it hit the bottom without so much as a word; soundlessly, intangibly, but heavily. And there it sat, an uncomfortable weight added to her days that she could not dislodge.
At least she would soon have classes to distract herself with. This was her first time in the Night Class, so it was a new experience for her, but she thought it should prove slightly interesting at the very least. For her, a monotone, tedious existence was worse than death, but playing human and attending school seemed different enough to rouse her interest for a while. And, at the worst, she didn't think Kaname would take particular offense if she wanted to leave. She was nothing more than a faceless member of the multitude of noble vampires to him. There was no danger to her departure, if that was what she chose. But for now, she thought she'd give it a try.
If only she could say the same for any potential camaraderie with Senri Shiki...
AN: More so than any other pairing, I feel like Shima would move very slow...inch by inch, so please bear with me as I gradually move this forward. Also, let me know if anything seemed bad/OOC/etc. I know this could be improved a lot.