*Waaahhh! I still don't own Vampire Knight or Fairy Tail, I tried crying to the owners to let me have them for just one day and they said 'no.'
Lucy POV
When I woke up, I was back in my room in bed. I was still in my uniform and my keys had been placed beside my head on my pillow. I remembered Qiang telling the Night Class to put me to bed because I was exhausted, then I said something to the Night Class, and… everything stops there. I must have passed out from using so much magic in one go.
A glace to my window and I could tell it was about mid day, too late to meet Yuuki and Zero for lunch, but too early to try and go back to sleep. At least I felt like my magic had leveled out again.
With that in mind, and my stomach grumbling from having missed dinner after my lesson and lunch with my friends, I went down to the kitchen to pack a late picnic lunch. The servants were all smiles when they saw me and helped me pack a big meal for me as well as a second basket. I made my way to an area behind the Moon Dormitory where I was sure to be out of sight of any daring Day Class students. I spread out the blanket I had been given and pulled out my first key. I wanted to see how many spirits I could comfortably summon at once, and a day of relaxation seemed like the perfect thing to do.
"By the powers of the Jade Emperor, I beckon you to my side, Rat of the Chinese Zodiac!"
A swirl of jade light and Whisper was landing on my shoulder. "Good day, Empress. How may I serve you today?"
"I wanted to see how many Chinese Zodiac spirits I could summon at once since you all use a different amount of magic than my Golden Zodiac spirits," I told him as I handed him a cracker from the second basket.
He squeaked happily as he munched on the cracker. "I am glad to help you in any way that I can."
"Great, but you can just relax for now. Today is about testing my limits and giving you guys a day to enjoy yourselves." As he settled on my shoulder, I brought out Sheba's key. "By the powers of the Jade Emperor, I beckon you to my side, Tiger of the Chinese Zodiac!"
Sheba appeared, not roaring this time, but with her face turned up towards the sun and a content look on her face. "Please tell me that you summoned me just so I could spend some time in the sun," she purred.
"That and to help me test my limits. Are you hungry? I brought you a steak to snack on if you are."
"That is not necessary, this is enough," she told me as she laid across the grass beside the blanket and stretched out her paws.
I still felt like I had lots of magic to spare, so I pulled out my next key that I was pretty sure would enjoy a day in the sun. "By the powers of the Jade Emperor, I beckon you to my side, Snake of the Chinese Zodiac!"
I barely saw the light leave the key before I felt Kaa wrap around my leg and up my waist. "Empresssssss, how may I sssssssserve you?"
"Just relax, I want to see how many spirits I can summon, and let all of you enjoy the day." I told him as I stroked his scales.
"That issssss very kind of you," he said as he secured himself around my neck and I pulled out my next key.
When all was said and done, I was able to comfortably summon Monkey, Hou Yi, Night, and Qiang to join all of us for the picnic.
Whisper stayed on my left shoulder the whole time, snacking on crackers and reading the same book that I was reading. Kaa stayed curled around my neck most of the time, only leaving once to relax in the shade of Sheba's shadow; whom I spent the entire time lounging against. Monkey ransacked the picnic basket for all the fruit inside before settling on my right shoulder where he began grooming my hair. I gave Hou Yi an entire bag of sunflower seeds and another of corn, which he happily ate before roaming the area around our picnic. Night thoroughly enjoyed her steak before stretching out beside me to enjoy the sun. And Qiang spent the entire time curled up in a ball on my lap, purring with contentment.
My free hand was constantly switching between turning the pages of my book and taking turns petting all the spirits within my reach. I was glad to see that all my spirits were enjoying their time in the sun. I would have tried to summon the others, but it was either their day off or had made it clear that they preferred a more business relationship with me.
It was close to an hour later that I felt like my magic was running out and they were all very understanding. "You have done more for us in one day than we could have ever hoped for," Whisper told me. "We are eternally grateful and can tell that we shall enjoy being contracted to you."
Not long after that, all of them returned to the spirit world and I had to go back to the dorm to shower and change for class that night.
~oOo~
That night on the way to class, I noticed how all the Day Class students seemed more excitable than normal. "What's going on with the Day Class?" I asked Hikaru.
"There's a school dance coming up. It's one of the few times when the Day and Night Classes mix together. All of them are looking forward to dancing with us."
"And I bet you are pretty high on the 'Please, dance with me' list," I teased him. Sure enough, he started blushing and I decided, as his best friend, that it was my responsibility to make sure that he attended the dance and had a great time.
I saw Yuuki, as always, struggling to keep the Day Class students on her side back while all Zero had to do was say one thing and glare. Then I heard one girl tell another that Zero wasn't as scary as he used to be.
"Hey," he said, causing the girls to jump. "You shouldn't give me so much trouble."
And just like that, all the girls that he was keeping back, backed away scared. I couldn't help but laugh quietly as we continued walking. Vampire, hunter, or human; Zero has a magical way about him that makes girls do exactly as he wants… except for Yuuki, I don't think anyone can make that girl do anything she doesn't feel like doing.
By the time we got to the school, I noticed that said girl was being forced to the front door by a stampede of Day Class girls, I was just about to interfere when Aidou stepped in before me and pulled her into the school. And just like so many times before; Aidou teased Yuuki, Lord Kaname told her not to take her duties so seriously, and Zero came to take Yuuki away for their watch.
After that, the conversation turned to the upcoming ball and the Night Classes' varying thoughts on it. Ruka seemed like she wished that she didn't have to socialize with the Day Class.
"I, myself can not wait for the ball," Takuma said, before looking down at our joined hands.
"Me too, it should be a lot of fun!" I told him.
"Sounds exhausting," Senri said in and exasperated voice.
"Oh, come on, it won't be that bad." I said, reaching up to give his hair a little tug. This earned me a small glare, but I just kept smiling at him. "Think of it as networking. The more popular you are, the more modeling requests we'll get. Plus, there's bound to be food there." The promise of food seem to do the trick as the maroon haired vampire sighed and continued on to class.
I was still a bit tired from summoning my spirits earlier, so I decided to go with an easy lesson that night. A bit later Lord Kaname announced that a new student would be joining the Night Class that night. That surprised and worried me a bit. I hadn't even thought about another student joining and what that would mean for my secret. A look over at Lord Kaname and I was able to read a great deal from his expression as he read his book. Something wasn't quite right, which meant that I should probably keep my head down for a bit.
Just as Aidou was yelling at Rima and Senri about eating his chocolate biscuit sticks, I felt a strong aura enter the room and a musical laughter cut through the air, silencing everyone in the room. At the front of the room, sitting on the teacher's desk was a slim girl with silver like hair and lavender eyes that reminded me of Zero's. Except where the hunter was harsh and potent, this girl reminded me more of a porcelain doll.
She was wearing a Night Class uniform and I could sense that she was a vampire… but it was strange. Like she had two souls connected to one body, and the second soul was much more powerful than the first. It made me feel uneasy, just hearing her voice made me move closer to Takuma and Hikaru… although I could tell that if that girl wanted to harm me, there was little that they would be able to do to protect me.
"This place looks like fun," the girl said in a melodic voice. "Say, shouldn't this class have started already?"
"Who the hell are you?" said Aidou.
"The hell?" I saw the girl's eyes narrow on the blonde vampire a moment before she was in front of him, holding his face between her hands. "Excuse me, boy. You think you can talk that way to me?"
Although the tone of her voice never changed, I could feel her powers rise just as I was sure Aidou did. I could see his eyes widen with fear, and I was suddenly scared for him.
Lord Kaname then closed his book, drawing attention to himself. "I believe it's the new students duty to introduce oneself to the class. Right, Maria Kurenai?"
The vampire looked coyly up at the pureblood before leaping over to him and sitting on her knees on a desk as she took his hand. "If I've upset you, please forgive me. I'm sorry, Lord Kaname." She said before happily nuzzling his hand to her face. "I can't believe I finally get to meet a pureblood! This makes me so happy!"
I easily saw the reactions of shock around the classroom, specifically Ruka and Aidou. Lord Kaname seem annoyed by the whole exchange, as he didn't even look at her as he said "A pleasure to meet you."
It was only then that the girl looked around the room, seeming surprised by the tension she had caused. "I'm sorry, I think I made everyone a little uncomfortable. Perhaps it would be best if I were to come back another time." She said as she drifted through the air and towards the door at the front of the class room. Even after she had left, the unease in the classroom remained.
Of course, I knew that most all vampire aristocrats had powers of their own, like Aidou's ability to control and create ice or Rima's ability to produce electricity. But this girl was using her powers far more openly than I had ever seen a vampire use them. It was sort of unnerving, and that's saying something coming from me.
"What's with her?" Ruka snapped after the door had closed.
"Just relax, will you? Frowning like that will only give you wrinkles," said Akatsuki, trying to lighten the mood.
"Mind your own business!"
Aidou ignored everyone as he walked out the door, not even acknowledging his cousin as the left the classroom. Unable to help myself, I shook off Takuma's hold on my hand and quickly followed the other blonde out the door. He wasn't too far ahead so it was easy to catch up to him.
"Aidou, stop!" I said as I grabbed his sleeve and forced him to look at me. He didn't look happy as he glared at me, but I stayed convicted to my thoughts as I stared up into his eyes. "You sensed it too, didn't you? That girl isn't a normal vampire."
That seemed to shake him out of this thoughts as he looked at me and gently pulled his sleeve from my grip. "She was different, scary. And there aren't many people that have the ability to scare me."
"I could tell," I agreed. "But there's something on your mind, what is it?"
"I'd rather not put it out there until I'm sure. I'm going to check on some things first and I'll let you know."
"You promise to tell me?"
"Yeah, I'll tell you since you and Lord Kaname seem to be the only ones who could tell that she was different," he assured me. Then he was walking away again and I turned to go back to the classroom. I didn't want to be alone any longer than I had to be. I didn't feel safe with that girl around.
~oOo~
The following night, the Day Class students were even more excitable than before. I had been advised by Zero to put our lunches on hold until after the dance since he didn't think they would be able to keep the fan boys and girls at a safe distance for a while.
Even Takuma seemed worried as he stared out the window at Yuuki doing her best to control the crowd. "This looks worse that St. Xocolatl's Day," he said as I stood beside him.
"Even if it is, this will all calm down after the dance. At least I hope it will," I added as I turned away from the window.
Then I saw that Senri had gotten a love letter asking him to ask a girl to be his dance partner, which he said that he was going to pass on. Maria snagged the letter from Rima's hand and commented on how he seemed quite popular. Rima seemed annoyed for a moment and Maria quickly handed the letter back to her before skipping down the steps to her seat. I noticed that she seemed a little more calm today, but everyone was still wary of her.
Yaguri had returned from his hunt and had started teaching classes again. I suspected that this had to do with Hunters Association telling him to keep an eye on me, their new allay/mercenary. That got me to chuckle a little, which earned strange looks from Hikaru and Takuma, but I waved them off. I also noticed that when the hunter saw Maria Kurenai, he eyeballed her a bit. It was like he sensed something off about her too.
Later on, I decided to leave the Night Class to go on patrol with Yuuki and Zero. It was too uncomfortable in the classroom with Yaguri watching her and the weird energy that Maria was putting off. I hadn't gone far when I felt the transfer student's energy following me. I don't know what made me do it, but my hand reached down to touch Kaa's key and I asked him to discreetly merge with me. I told myself that it was just a precaution in case Maria was feeling puckish. That way my blood be less than appealing and she would likely stop right after she got a mouthful of poison.
Kaa was glad to do so and I felt the snake spirit merge with my body and soul. It was like I became two spirits. It wasn't me and Kaa, it was like we were both part of each other. I could feel the shift in my own blood as it changed and became poisonous. I also felt the slight lengthening and sharpening of my fingernails then a film that covered them as well as my teeth. But the transformation was so quick and subtle, that Maria never broke stride as she approached me. She had no idea that I could probably kill her with one swipe, bite, or gulp of blood.
"Hello there," Maria said sweetly as she lightly strolled up to her.
"Hi, Maria. Were you looking for something or someone?" I asked trying to stay calm.
"Not particularly, but I do have a question for you," she said, taking another step forward and starting to invade my personal space. "You see, I can tell that you are not a vampire like the rest of us, but you're also different from a human. Why is that?"
"Because I'm not," I said, cautious of how much I told the girl.
"I find that to be interesting. You see, I read over the oath we all took when joining the Night Class, and I noticed something." She took another step closer and I couldn't help but step away, the girl had the eyes of a predator.
"Which would be?"
"Members of the Night Class are forbidden from feeding on human blood, but we are allowed to feed on each other. Since you are not human, and a member of the Night Class, I was hoping that you would allow me a little taste."
As she spoke, I felt a sort of power wash over me, urging me to allow this vampire to feed on me. It made me feel like I wouldn't care if this girl took all of my blood, but then I gave myself a mental shake and realized what was happening to me. This power she was using on me was similar to Lord Kaname's, but diluted. As soon as I realized what was happening, I easily resisted the power and jumped away, pulling my whip and activating it in the process. I could have let her bite me and get a mouth full of poison, but I didn't want to show all my cards yet. Besides, Maria appeared genuinely startled by my ability to break her control as well as the fact that I was wielding a vampire hunter's weapon as she took a step back.
"The oath does say that, but it also says that in order for members of the Night Class to share blood, both must be willing. And I assure you that I am not. If you try that again, I will not hesitate to hurt your body, Maria… although it will not harm the second soul that resides within it."
The vampire glared dangerously at me before letting out a huff and disappearing down the hall. When she was gone, I wasted no time in going to report the incident to Lord Kaname. He didn't seem surprised by the news that Maria had been forward with me. He complimented my abilities as well as having the foresight to poison my own blood if she had gotten control of me, but he also cautioned me about going anywhere alone for a while. After what had just happened, I wasn't going to argue with him on that.
Later that night, Aidou came to get me saying that there had been some news on Maria Kurenai.
"Apparently, she requested to move to the old dorm on a different part of the grounds. Claims that living with us made her too nervous to sleep here with the rest of us," he told me as we walked to a secluded area to speak in Akatsuki.
"I might have had something to do with that," I told him, earning a look of surprise from the other blonde. "She tried using her powers on me to let her drink my blood. Took her by surprise when I broke free of her control and threatened her with my whip. And even if she had tried to feed from me, she would have ended up drinking poisonous blood since I had already merged with Kaa when I felt her coming towards me."
Aidou chuckled at that. "Sometimes I forget that even though you're not a vampire, you are more than capable of taking care of yourself."
"You know it," I replied, making both of us smile as we found his cousin, who was holding a clipboard with Maria's file on it. Aidou and I quickly settled down on the stone ledges just as Akatsuki started reading.
"It seems Maria Kurenai transferred here officially and took the same vows we did." Said the orange haired vampire. "Other than that, it says she was born with a weak constitution and she's never attended a soiree. That's about it. There's nothing particularly strange about her. Well, other than the fact that she's fearless."
That struck me as strange. I knew that someone could have a weak constitution and still be fearless, my mother had been like that. But Maria hadn't been socialized like my mother had been either, at least from the sound of it. And even though I felt two different energies residing in the girl, both felt strong enough to support a body.
"Hey, Akatsuki, did you happen to meet that woman before?"
"What woman?"
My interest was peaked, not only because of the mention of a mystery woman but because Aidou had a certain look in his eyes. I had only seen that look once before, when I had been about to leave back to Fairy Tail and he was wanting to ask me to stay. What ever he was thinking about was very important and was weighing heavily on his mind.
"The pureblood vampire whose lineage is on par with the Kuran family. She disappeared after going crazy. Her name is Shizuka Hio."
"She went missing after the incident involving the Kiryus. Some say she died after that. But no, I've never met her. Is there a reason you're asking?"
He got that far off look again. "No, it's nothing. Alright, let's stop. Talking about that woman is bad luck." Aidou said before standing up and began walking back to the dorm with Akatsuki beside him.
I followed at a more sedate pace. If either vampire had bothered to look back at me, they might have thought that I had gone into shock. But my mind was actually going at incredible speed as I mulled over what I had just learned. Neither Aidou nor Akatsuki seemed to care about the Kiryus. And why should they since I knew that the Kiryus were some of the best known vampire hunters around. That would be like the two rival guilds caring about if the other was getting enough work.
But it mattered to me, I had made the connection almost right away. Zero's extreme hate for vampires, specifically purebloods like Lord Kaname. Gemini mentioning when they had taken his form how looking at them in that form must remind him of Ichiru. And why he didn't seem to have any family except for Yuuki and the Headmaster. It all added up to one horrific story that nearly made me cry.
The pureblood Shizuka Hio must have killed Zero's family… and turned him into a vampire! I remember Takuma saying how humans can only become vampires if they survive the bite of a pureblood vampire, that must be what happened to him. And if Aidou is asking about this Shizuka Hio, then it has to be for a reason.
Despite my fear of vampires, or more specifically Level E vampires, I had never really hated them. Hell, according to most all of my friends, it wasn't in me to really hate anybody. But this pureblood that Aidou had mentioned, if she really had done the things that Akatsuki had insinuated and that I suspected, then that was someone that I could come to hate. Not only would that woman have killed one of my best friend's family, but condemned she him to eventually fall into madness and be hunted down like a wild animal.
Then an image came crashing into my mind, one that I had fought against even imagining. It was an image of the Level E vampire that had been attacking Gary, only this was not a random vampire. This Level E had Zero's face, but his eyes were blood red and his mouth was covered in my friend's blood. The image gave me a chill, but forced me to harden my resolve.
If I ever came face to face with that particular pureblood vampire, I just might use my whip on the woman to see if I was capable of killing her. And I didn't just mean in the 'am I physically able to kill a pureblood' way. I would do whatever I could to help one of my best friends.
A/N: Ended up writing this chapter a lot quicker than I thought I would. But that's what happens when the writing bug bite a huge chunk out of my ass and tells me to get a move on. Hope you all like what you see in this chapter. Warm-Fuzzies and please review!