That was the way it was, then. The multifaceted lesson ran from 11:40 pm to 1:10 am, after which the vampire students had an hour-long break, to do with as they pleased. Many gathered themselves downstairs in the refectory, sipping on water suffused with blood tablets and making conversation. Others took a moonlight stroll out by the fountains, or read in the library. Reina knew that they did these things, but she had never joined them. As she always did, she retreated to the fourth floor of the main building, the unused 'attic,' and began to work on her assignments for the classes she had just completed. She preferred to keep her two lives as separate as possible, which meant not mixing homework. She did not like to be reminded in the daylight that in just a few short hours, she must slip out to her car and set out for Cross Academy once more. Thinking of such things during the day distracted her from living her human life; the only real life that she had.

Reina was not lonely. She had plenty of friends and family around her in the sunlit world of her own town, and she was perfectly happy there. Sometimes she wondered how it would have been if she could have gone on being like that, blissfully ignorant of what she really was, of the shadowy blood that swarmed within her veins. Even now that she knew of her own dual nature, she still often questioned whether she couldn't just ignore it and go on living as a human full-time. The few people that knew would keep her secret, and nobody else needed to be aware. End of complications. Albeit, there were some parts of being a half-blood that Reina had honestly grown too attached to to give up; the incredible strength, the daunting speed, the razor-sharp senses, and most of all, the ability to run up walls and leap insane distances without injury. And she wouldn't be forced to give it up entirely- a little moonlight run through the gorges now and then, ricocheting off the canyon walls and skimming over the clifftops- that would be enough to keep her happy. As long as she was wearing her homemade ninja mask, nobody would know. Reina felt sure that she could keep the secret 24/7, if it meant getting her old, vampire-free life back. She was very adept at keeping her claws and fangs retracted, and as for her body's near-invulnerability, well- she would just have to make sure that she never stumbled into a situation where she ought to be injured, but wouldn't be. It was absurd and unfair for Headmaster Cross to suggest that her transition was the beginning of a brand-new life, and that she must embrace it by starting at school here. She had no desire to embrace any brand-new life. She had been more than satisfied with her old one. Even if the headmaster had helped her in the past….

Reina sighed, and tucked her completed theory back into her pristine white bag. The room which she had taken over was small and cluttered with miscellaneous items, of no use to the school anymore. It was lit up with the warm glow of the candles she had brought up and perched on the desk at which she sat every night, dividing her nights and days with a determined hand. Reina liked the benign, insular feel of the room. She liked the fact that it was hers alone. She seemed to live at Cross Academy in the rooms and spaces that others considered not fit to occupy. Reina smiled a harsh grimace as she stood up and prepared to return to the crowds below. How suited, and yet how strange for one such as her.

"What am I doing here?" she said to the wall, on which she had pinned an old, faded calendar. One by one, in dark black ink, she had progressively marked off the nights which she'd spent here with sharp pen scratches, as if slashing them out of her memory. Four months, seventeen days. Now eighteen. Reina felt a flutter of unease as she attacked the day's date with her pen. What was she counting the days down to? When was this all going to end?

The dark-haired girl persevered through an hour of Ethics class in the school building next door, followed by another hour of Literacy Studies. At 4:10 am, the classes were dismissed for the night, and Reina made her way artfully through the muttering crowds of vampire students slowly drifting down the halls. Some would go back to their dormitory now, others would stay for awhile. The campus was theirs for several more hours. The sun rose at 6:30; the day class students came out at 7:00. By then, the night class would have cleared out and been well on their way back to bed. As for Reina, she was going to see the headmaster, and then she was going home.

She spotted Kaname Kuran and his followers at the bottom of the staircase, and quickly changed her course, ducking through the doors of a second-story balcony. Quickly scanning the area for sneaking day class students, Reina stepped casually off the ledge and fell to the ground, landing gracefully in a grove of trees. She began to run again, skimming over the grass and bushes. Even though it was nearly four years since her transition, sometimes she still felt startled at the lack of noise that her feet made against the ground.

Headmaster Kaien Cross was busily roasting a tilapia fish over a miniature grill in his office when Reina knocked and let herself in. For a moment, she stared quite vividly at the scene in front of her. Honestly, how this man had ever gotten to be an academy chairman…. When he saw who it was, Headmaster Cross straightened up and called out cheerfully, "Reina, come in, come in! I've got a fish for you too!"

Reina had always been rather of two minds when it came to Kaien Cross. There was one part of her that admired his vision and supported his pacifism. And yet, there was another part which tended to be generally appalled at the man's propensity for ridiculousness. That part was definitely winning as she closed the door and crossed the length of the office in tentative steps. The blonde, bespectacled man held out another speared fish to her, but she did not take it. Instead, she set her bookbag down on his desk and began to carefully unload the culinary contents. Kaien Cross left his roasting stick hanging over the coals as he scuttled over to admire the lot.

"Ah-ha, this is good! Very good! Now I can make chopped duck soup for today's breakfast!" he rejoiced, inspecting the labels of the spices. After another moment of distraction, he inquired, "So how were your classes tonight?"

"All right." Reina replied, which was the truth. Nothing particularly good had happened, and nothing particularly bad had happened. Like always.

Kaien Cross was not placated. He raised his eyebrow, and seemed to forget that he had been the one setting up a roasting pit in the middle of his office, and was therefore not really in a good position to make serious comments. "How long do you intend to keep this up, Reina?" he questioned bluntly.

The dark-haired girl hurriedly extended her senses around the office to make sure that no one was listening. When she was satisfied, she shrugged and moved to sit down in the headmaster's chair. "I'm attending the academy. I'm doing as you requested. I'll keep it up until we both agree that there is no benefit in my being here."

"But I wanted you to attend the academy as yourself, Reina." The man protested, leaning against the window frame. "Not to make up some story about you being a common vampire so that you could go unnoticed."

"That was my condition; that you would keep my secret. I don't want them to know me for what I am. It would only complicate things."

Headmaster Cross sighed, brushing a strand of hair out of his face. "Try to understand the world from their point of view. These young vampires have been raised their whole lives to revere the night world's hierarchy. But I know they would accept you if they only knew-"

"I have no interest in being a part of that hierarchy. Not even the highest part." Reina replied, shifting to stare out the window as she watched several white-uniformed students flit by. "A cage is still a cage, no matter how gilded."

"No one could make you do anything you don't want to, Reina." The headmaster commented softly. "That's one of the benefits of being the most powerful vampire of vampires- along with purebloods, of course. And if such people were to try to coerce you into agreements with them, I think they would find out quickly just how strong-willed you are…."

The mention of purebloods brought a sharp frown to Reina's face. She stared even harder into the night, where she could see a solitary, elegant figure walking along beside the pond. "Kaname Kuran," she muttered under her breath.

"Huh? What about Kaname-kun? Speaking of him, I know he'd be happy to have an equal here with him at the academy….someone to understand him….I think he gets lonely…."

Reina brushed aside the headmaster's ramblings. She narrowed her eyes at the distant figure. "I think he knows."

"Knows….? About what? About you? But that's not possible, I haven't said anything, I swear!" The headmaster flailed around in confusion, pressing his face against the glass and also staring out toward Kaname. He's going to see you, you fool, thought Reina. She wondered if she ought to tell him that his fish was burning.

"Well, maybe he doesn't know exactly, but I think he suspects. I can just feel it when he talks to me, and even when he doesn't talk to me. I'm so sure of it, and it's making me uneasy. By the way, your fish..."

The headmaster dove to save his tilapia, and Reina reached over and pulled the blind across the window. When she turned around again, the man was blowing on his fingers furiously, waving a scorched, speared fish around above his head. Without her permission, Reina's mouth curved up in a smile. Despite the fact that he was a ridiculous human and an ex-vampire hunter, and she was a reluctant, secret half-blood, she and Kaien Cross had been allies since that time four years ago. The older man could always make her feel better, whether he intended to or not. He had an open, affable personality, and even after hearing him admit to it, Reina still found it hard to believe sometimes that he had ever been a vampire hunter.

"Well," Kaien Cross was saying, fanning the coals with a random paper fan, "I don't know where Kaname-kun would have gotten that idea from, but as long as it's only a suspicion, he'll probably keep it to himself. He's a perfect gentleman, you know, so your secret is safe. However, I really do think you ought to consider revealing yourself on your own terms, Reina. It would be best for you and everyone else. After all, it's only because of your sacrifice that we're even able to have a night class in the first place. The other students would definitely look up to you."

Reina said nothing.

"The night world is a part of you." The headmaster declared, standing up and beginning to gather the spices in his arms. Reina turned away, eyes flashing red, feeling the claws that lay beneath her skin and fangs that hid in sheaths at the edge of her palate; feeling the incredible strength, the enormous vitality of her body, the power, the blood….none of which was her. She sighed, and touched her collarbone softly.

"Not really…."

Reina helped him carry the spices back to his living quarters. The air was still and silent there, given that his two adopted children were out performing their duties as guardians. She wondered vaguely when these people slept. As they loaded the spices into the cupboard, the headmaster enthusiastically asked her to stay for breakfast with his family in an hour; it was 5:00 now. She pondered the offer, but ultimately turned it down. His children….well, Yuki she didn't mind. The younger girl was more than a bit clueless, but she was friendly and likeable enough, like her adopted father. But to sit there across the table from Zero, who would no doubt spend the entire meal glaring at her, letting her know with his eyes that she was not welcome….well, Reina had better things to do than deal with him. But thinking of Zero, that reminded her….

As Reina picked up her bookbag to leave, she turned halfway back toward the headmaster and intoned quietly, "By the way, Zero's presence has been feeling a bit strange to me lately."

Humans were never as skilled at concealing their emotions as vampires were. The fingers on Kaien Cross's left hand betrayed him in a kind of twitch- just a subtle movement- that Reina wouldn't have even noticed without her inhumanly sharp eyesight. After a moment, he asked, "Oh, I see. Has it?"

Their eyes met. Reina nodded, the red bow in her hair dipping up and down."Yes," she answered lowly. "It has."

Footsteps on the stairs below them prompted Kaien Cross to change the subject. "That time is almost here again," he commented, glancing out the window. "Are you ready?"

She nodded. "I'll see you after the weekend."

"Have a good one." He waved, somehow still managing to give her a carefree smile. "Thanks for the spices! I'll definitely make you something good to eat next week!"

Reina bit back a smile as she left, despite everything. Really, that man….

She encountered Yuki Cross and Zero Kiryu on the landing on her way down. The smaller girl started upon seeing her and then bowed politely. "Good morning, Reina-san!"

Reina bowed in return. "Good morning, guardians. Your father is making chopped duck soup for you. Homemade, apparently."

Yuki smiled, seeming contented. Zero grunted and continued on up the stairs, Yuki jogging after him belatedly. Reina watched him go, the contour of his back, the rippling of his body. There was something there, without a doubt. This was not merely the aura of someone born into a vampire hunter family. Something had changed, deepened, contorted….and the headmaster knew, but she was willing to bet that Yuki did not….

It probably wasn't any of her business, Reina thought as she skimmed across the lawn in the dark. Just another strange facet of this very weird place. But still, it was curious…. The half-blood girl reached her car, scooped up her clothes, and retreated back into the abandoned building. She changed back into the red dress swiftly, tucking the white uniform away in her bag. No one in her hometown could be allowed to see her in this; no one but her family could know that she attended Cross Academy by night. It would lead to too many questions.

Reina climbed into her red car and immediately felt dipped in sunshine, even though it was still dark. She felt the freewheeling spirit which she suppressed every evening in order to become invisible rise up in her again. She was on her way home, and she had art club to look forward to after school today. She unwound her bun and let her shining hair fall all around her shoulders and back. Kicking off her shoes, she put her stocking foot to the pedal and stepped on the gas. She popped one of her indie bands into her CD changer to complete her mood as she sped up the road. She did not even notice Kaname Kuran, still sitting by the pond, gazing at her with an unfathomable expression as she swept past him and left the academy behind. The pureblood lord watched her car until it disappeared from sight.

"You're lucky." He murmured, so softly that he could hardly be heard, before standing up and making his way slowly back to the moon dorm.

By the time that Reina pulled into the familiar driveway of her home, greeted her father, mother, and sister, and collapsed on her bed to look over her already-completed homework from the day before, the night was done. The sun had risen, spreading its warming beams all throughout the land. It was time to be human again.

/

When she worked with paint, Reina forgot everything. Everything around her disappeared, and all that she knew about herself was somehow diluted. She was neither human nor vampire. She was not even Reina anymore. She existed in the paint, the colors and lines, bold and soft, bright and dark. Maybe that was part of the attraction, the clean slate that painting gave her every time. Whatever the reason, she had picked up a paintbrush at the age of nine, and had just kept going strong since then. She knew she was good. She did not need people to tell her, though she felt gratified when they did. She just knew, deep down inside of herself. She had been born meant to paint.

Even better, she was not the only one. As Reina had moved through middle school and into her freshman and sophomore years of high school, she had amassed around herself a group of like-minded artistic friends, all gifted in one way or another. Or perhaps they had amassed her around them. Nobody was really sure anymore how they had all come together. Nevertheless, they were known as the 'artsy group' at her public high school, even though their membership was based on goodwill alone and was therefore nothing like a clique. They were just ordinary kids with talent. And on that base, they had formed the Art Club almost immediately after starting high school.

Reina was the vice-president. Her duties included taking meeting notes, emailing event reminders, and filling in for Asuki when she was not there. Asuki, who was a highly charged only child with an organizing bent, was naturally the president. She coordinated all of the club's activities. Reina and Asuki worked in close synchrony, which was made easier by the fact that they were best friends. Everyone said that they were two of a kind. Even though she knew that they were not aware of everything, Reina still agreed.

Today was an unusual project. Today they were setting up for the annual school-wide art show.

Reina had her own smaller group of close friends within this sea of acquaintances. There was Asuki, of course; then there was Saori, Asuki's next-door neighbor, Kimiko, who aspired to be a makeup artist, and Tren, who was a boy, but who somehow still fit in with the rest of them as naturally as breathing. They were not stereotypical artist kids. They were strong-bodied, adaptive, and clever. They devoted hours and hours of work and contemplation to their artistic mediums, but they also knew how to fix cars and pick locks and skim money off their purchases at stores. Tren liked to joke that they were world-savvy, and therefore completely prepared for futures as starving artists, poor, but glorious. And now they were sitting on tables and setting up easels in the empty student commons, carefully hauling out paintings and sculptures and pots, debating the benefits of certain light angles for the featured works. Kimiko was mounting photos of some of her more zany makeup jobs on the far wall. Saori was arranging her braided pots in a windowless corner, where the sunlight wouldn't fade them. Tren was studying his latest drawings; Asuki was standing in the middle of the room, directing everything in a clear, efficient manner. Reina was sitting on a tabletop with her paintings all around her, staring off into space.

In times like these, Reina often felt like her vampire nature, Kaien Cross, the night class, everything must be merely a dream. It seemed absurd to be sitting here in the late afternoon sunlight, surrounded by a happy crowd of perfectly human teenagers, yet knowing deep inside that this was only one side of her life. It was like having a kind of awareness floating above that of everyone else's. At school here, everyone supposed that she was a regular human like them, and that she spent her nights sweetly tucked into her bed (or up late cramming for exams.) At Cross Academy, everyone thought that she was a vampire, like them, and that she spent her days asleep in some….place. The details had been left purposefully vague when the headmaster had issued a statement upon her enrollment, informing everyone that she had his special permission to live outside of the academy due to certain 'circumstances.' No one had ever bothered to ask, so Reina had never been troubled to invent what these circumstances might be. Still, the dichotomy was mind-boggling. It was a good thing that she had other people- her family on the light side, and Kaien Cross on the dark- that were in on the secret of her dual nature. It would have been far too much of a headache to try to keep up the façade around everyone, all the time.

Still, it was in times like these, moments which seemed so secure and utterly normal, that Reina thought, I am going to wake up. I am going to wake up, and I will be 13 again, and all of this will just have been some weird dream. Vampires won't exist, of course they won't….I will have dreamed all of them up. Kaname Kuran and his followers, Kaien Cross and his children, all of them, unreal, a funny story to tell my friends over lunch the next day…. But no matter how many times she thought this, Reina still felt the claws and fangs sheathed out of sight, sensed the latent strength and speed running through her body. She was acutely aware that if she wanted to, she could run right up that wall, or smash through it, and there was nothing normal about that.

And anyway, when she got into her car to go home every day, there was always that bag with the white uniform inside: the hard, solid evidence.

...Hopefully Kaien Cross was in-character. :3

Tune in next time for coolness!