CHAPTER SIXTEEN

A Flare's Reprisal (II)

Akatsuki could not sleep in this damn dormitory. Private? As if. He threw his long legs over his bed, not even bothering to button up his shirt as he made his way downstairs. If it wasn't for the fact that Rima and Senri had left a couple hours ago on an assignment sent by the Senate, Akatsuki wouldn't have even bothered opening the door for the vampires -

Vampire.

His eyes widened.

And then closed it, tired.

"Akiyama."

Oh, great.

xx-x-xx

People called Aidou Hanabusa an idiot.

And they were right.

He was immature. Incredibly immature. As he watched Kaede retreat with a not quite frightened, but disgusted and confused expression on her face, he realized the weight of the mistake he had made. He could have gotten away with it – no one wanted to bring up the fact that a vampire broke a rule, after all. Kaname didn't even care. It wasn't his precious Yuuki. That disciplinarian wasn't involved. The Headmaster was willing to let it slip by as well in his delusion that Hanabusa had learned from his mistake and felt enough turmoil to never do it again. Even his own father disregarded the situation.

And yet, he was the one to bring it up.

He stared after her, her burgundy hair that was just a flash before she disappeared around a corner. And he looked after her with a stricken expression and he knew that this time, she wasn't going to be forgiving. After all, he didn't deserve a second chance. Then again, she didn't even knew there was anything to be forgiven the first time.

And then he blinked when he realized something.

He could easily save himself all of this self-loathing by simply unloving her.

It was completely plausible.

She was a human. It shouldn't be hard.

Or at least he did not expect it to be.

xx-x-xx

Akatsuki cleared his throat out for the third time since the greyish blonde haired girl in front of him had arrived, supposedly invited by Hanabusa before the disastrous event, to which they had never once again met, to visit Cross Academy. And here she was with a shiny designer suit case in hand and wearing a dress beneath her coat as if she was going on some sort of date. "I don't know where he is," Akatsuki said tiredly. He leaned his elbow against the door, sighing before turning his head slightly to look over his shoulder to where an audience had built. Ruka pulled the shawl around her shoulders tighter, frowning at the other noble vampire. Further behind her was Takuma, leaning over the railings of the staircase to the point that Akatsuki wondered if he was planning to flip over altogether. His eyes were lit with innocent interest.

"He has that tutor program right now," he chirped in helpfully. Akatsuki sighed. Again.

"Yes, but he came back early to rest...and then left again half an hour ago. I don't know where he went."

Maemi stared at them – all three – before taking a step in. "Well, in that case, may I impose on you to keep my belongings here until he returns? I don't mind waiting quietly downstairs. I hope I haven't interrupted you too much," she said quietly.

They couldn't say no and yet -

"Did you check in at the main campus?" Ruka questioned with a tilt of her chin. Akatsuki stared at her, amazed. Amazed at this bold, fearless but incredibly harsh woman. "We can't just entertain guest simply because Hanabusa says so. He's under probation as it is."

Akatsuki wondered if Ruka was doing this for their cousin's benefit, or for her own. He honestly could not tell. He knew that Ruka had always had a disdain for anything she found not up to her standards, but the girl in front of them was a noble, after all. Regardless, there was a wordless, obviously female stare-down going on and even Takuma excused himself. Akatsuki looked away uncomfortably.

"I'll just, ah, go look for him then."

"Hm." Maemi, thoughtful.

"Hm." Ruka, suspicious.

xx-x-xx

I found myself, yet again, in front of the Headmaster's office but the moment I placed my hand on the knob, I couldn't turn it. I didn't have it in me to burst in and tell him that I am completely okay with learning alongside vampires. Even thinking that sounded wrong.

I was under reacting to everything, I knew that.

And when I went in my room and closed the door, I still didn't know how I should act to this news. I stared at the door with my hand in the knob, stopping everything to try and process what I had just been told. Okay. So for the past several years of my life, vampires went to school with me. Vampires existed. Creatures that drink blood in order to live existed. And yet...why was I not shocked? I told Hanabusa it was because there were so many stories and it eased in the idea of getting your blood and that was partially true but maybe I just wasn't absorbing this fact yet because Hanabusa seemed so normal. Was I really willing to ignore this simply so I could have a more comfortable school life – and on what level would studying alongside vampires be more comfortable?

But it wasn't like I attracted attention. I'm sure as soon as the novelty of fresh blood wore off, I would be a recluse once again.

Did I just refer to myself as fresh blood? Geez -

My hand flew to my neck.

Nothing was there – nothing.

And I didn't remember anything...was memory wiping another vampire -

This was beginning to sound ridiculous. I groaned, throwing off my jacket, blouse and tie and slipping off my skirt before jumping in bed with nothing more than socks, bra and underwear and wrapped my blanket tight around me. I didn't want to think anymore. On one hand, I felt like a wall had shattered and now I know "the Truth" but another part of me was telling me to just ignore it, to repress it all, to go on and continue with the way I have lived because I'll only be here for three more months.

I groaned again – and then a sharp pain made me curl up even more.

Great. Here came the headache.

xx-x-xx

Cross Academy had the most ridiculous idea about not allowing students to keep medicine in their rooms and because the dorm supervisor was nowhere to be found, I was forced to make a mission in the middle of the night to the Headmaster residence where I knew they had Tylenol. Yes, I could have knocked on several doors and asked for anyone who surely kept a secret stash of all your prescription and non-prescription drugs but I dread to imagine what it would be like the next day when I would see wide eyes and whispers of hey! Guess who talked to me last night – yeah, the blind chick! I shuddered at the image of all the fingers to be pointed my way.

Now with the knowledge of vampires – yes, creatures of the night that feasted on the living – living within walking distance, I made my way to the makeshift kennel downstairs after pulling on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie baggy enough to make me look like a convict, not that I needed much of protection with my dog around. Akira, being a beautiful German shepherd and completely able to jump onto my shoulders when on his hind legs, could act as my wolf. Wolves hated vampires...right? Or was that a legend? Then again, weren't vampires -

Too much thinking.

With my forehead still throbbing, I walked to the corridor and immediately heard nails scraping and a low welcoming bark followed by further rattles on the chain. Akira always knew when I was coming and that brought me a ridiculous amount of happiness.

"Hey baby," I whispered despite the fact this was a 94 pound dog. I ruffled his fur collar, leading him out the cage. He pawed at my knees and I bent down to hold his face in my hands, saying quietly in French, "Allons-y une promenade." [Let's go for a walk] My mother had given me this beautiful baby puppy before we had left our home in France when I was five years old to move to the States. I had brought Akira along with me – from Paris, to Cambridge, to Nagano where Cross Academy was located on the fringe of. I wasn't completely sure if Akira understood French, English and Japanese – despite the fact that he was surrounded by those three languages constantly and interchangeably all his eleven year life – but he knew that promenade meant a walk and he was completely up for it.

I slipped my feet into boots and pulled on a jacket as Akira sat anxiously wagging his tail, his tongue hanging out. "Quiet, boy, we're going to get in trouble," I whispered in a hushed tone, wrapping my neck in a scarf, "come on." I left the door slightly ajar because surely, there was no reception in the dormitories and I would hate to be stuck on campus during January in the middle of the night. Akira took off running and I sigh -

But then I stopped.

Because things felt so...normal.

For the first time in a while, I felt okay. Sure, I had this headache but stepping out, feeling the snow on my foot and hearing Akira's heavy breathing as he jumped and wrangled in the snow that was lit up by the lamps brought me a sense of...normalcy. And happiness. I grinned, chasing after him so glad that there were lights circling around the frozen lake not too far away. Even with monochrome in mind, everything held almost a warm glow. But I felt happy and light and I was grinning and laughing and I felt like in his own dog language, Akira was laughing too.

And I almost forgot about the fact that there were vampires and that I was bitten by one...until Akira started going insane.

He went from his excited bark to a violent one in an instant – which was okay because German shepherds were alert, fearless, and above all protective – but instead of standing of front of me fiercely defending me from whatever harm he perceived, he ran right towards the threat but stopped immediately and began whining, his head and ears down.

Now I was the one protective.

"Hey!" I called out, running out to my dog and bent down to run my fingers through his fur. Akira had no leash but holding onto him worked just fine – not that it was allowed but hell, if I was out with a dog at two in the morning, the last thing on my mind was going to get a little rope to hold back a dog. My eyes strained to see what had scared my usually fearless dog but there weren't lights in the shade of the trees. "Who's there?"

And then someone stepped out.

My first thought was that this was a vampire. She had to be. She was too pretty not to be.

The girl had light hair, light skin, light everything that was obvious now that she had stepped away from the cover of the trees. Her skin and eyes practically blended in with the snow at her feet. "Who are you?" I asked, gaining confidence to take place of Akira who was now behind me. I felt his muzzle on the back of my leg and a gentle nip on my heel telling me to go back. The whine was discerning enough and remembering his behaviour towards Hanabusa and Ichijou...I was beginning to get worried myself.

"I – I'm a guest here," she said softly. She sounded...shy. For someone with an angelic-sort of beauty, I was surprised at the fact that she stuttered. I thought I was the one that tripped over words.

"Oh."

There was silence and Akira barked.

"Well...I, um, I don't exactly know the protocol but I'm guessing visiting hours are over..." My voice trailed off along with her blank stare.

"I'm here for a Night Class student," she said hesitantly.

So I was right.

Behind me, Akira continued to pull at the hem of my sweats. I knew he was anxious – surprisingly not angry but just plain nervous – so muttering a "well, all right" I continued to the Headmaster's residence only to stop again when I heard her protest. "Wait, wait!" she called out. She practically glided like a ghost across the white snow, her hair drifting behind her and it was as if she came right out of a fairy tale movie. "Are you heading to the administration's office?"

I stared at her, confused. "Um, no." She waited and it took me a moment for me to realize that she was expecting me to tell her where I was going. "I was actually going to the Headmaster's building..."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's a bit...overstepping your boundaries, no?"

I couldn't help but laugh. "The Headmaster has no personal boundaries," I assured her. She smiled and I took the kind gesture as a push to be friendlier myself. "Do you need help getting to the office?"

She let out a huge exhale. "That would be extremely helpful, thank you. I don't even know where I am anymore. I came from the Moon Dormitory's side and now..."

And with that, I was being a vampire's guide.

xx-x-xx

"Look who came for the last period," Ruka called out as a blond man strode into the room. Seeing the grin on his face, Ruka's own smile stopped. "Why are you so happy?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Hanabusa asked, raising an eyebrow. He felt completely fine. In fact, he felt light and carefree now. With the hours that had passed by since he last saw Kaede, he finally regained the proper and usual mindset. Ignoring her was completely plausible. Actually, ignoring wasn't quite the right word as it gave the subject...a subject. He was completely cutting her off, he was making her disappear. There was nothing to ignore because there was nothing there. It would be easy. After all, he had gone all these years without running into the girl and he had not heard a single thing of her. Why should now be different? It just meant that he would stop wandering at night. It wasn't as if Kaede participated in school events or arrived at the gates every dawn like the other girls.

This would be easy...because Kaede was the invisible type.

Ruka and Akatsuki exchanged a look before she walked towards her cousin, and stopped, hands on her hips. "Weren't you with Akiyama?"

He made a face. "No, why would I – is she here?"

Behind them, a book snapped shut and they all turned to face the pureblood who was getting up from his seat in a slow, graceful and utterly terrifying, predator like movement. But he didn't say anything. He silently walked out of the room, leaving every single pair of eyes staring right behind him.

A pair of blue green ones in particular. "Kaname...sama?"

xx-x-xx

"...and I'm not a hundred percent sure who's in charge because the Night Class faculty is different," I said as I pointed towards the doors leading into the office. She smiled gratefully, petting Akira who rubbed himself next to her happily. At one point, he had done a full 180 and opened up to her warmly, acting like his usual charming self. I was completely fine with that – jealousy did not run in me too strongly, if it did, I would have killed nearly the entire population – but it made me curious. Most dogs, after a whiff or two, would decide whether or not they like you but towards Akiyama, Akira just...changed. No sniffing, no treats, no petting.

"Thank you so much, I didn't expect this school to be so big. In the car, it seemed..."

She seemed to be searching for the right word. Slowly, I suggested, "Smaller?"

She laughed, touching her hair. "Of course." Fingers through the tresses, she looked as if she came straight out of a hair commercial. But I suppose vampires were born beautiful. I wonder...should I tell her I know?

There was no point of that, I reminded myself, none at all.

Besides, Akiyama was friendly. Akira liked her enough, and she did nothing that could even be seen as haughty or frightening so there was no reason to set myself up for an awkward situation. "Well, it was nice meeting you. I hope you find who you're looking for." I waved and turned, catching up with Akira who was already at the end of the hallway.

"Oh I hope so, his cousin was looking for him this afternoon."

"Maybe he was just taking a nap somewhere," I said politely so it wouldn't be as if I ignored her. But I still needed the Tylenol and I knew none of the teachers that worked with the Night Class that would take kindly to me bringing a dog inside the building.

"Well, if you see a blond haired, blue eyed man – send him my way." She laughed but I stopped. I didn't tell her that I didn't see colour, of course, there was no reason to but I remembered that description clearly. There had to be more blond guys with blue eyes...but yet..."Do you mean Hanabusa?"

She stopped too, startled. Her eyes widened slightly before lowering, her eyebrows pulling together and the smile leaving her face. "Aidou," she said slowly, "how do you..." And then she blinked and leaned back slightly, her chest rising with a deep breath. "You didn't tell me your name," she said quietly.

Ah, crap. "Misane -"

Two voices spoke at once. Hers, and a male's.

"Kaede."

xx-x-xx

This was not the scene he wanted to walk into. Hanabusa had left the room with his cousin to see where Kaname had gone to – only to walk in on the two girls that he had been trying to avoid. On one end was Maemi, her eyes narrowed, looking as if she was staring at a very difficult question, and on the other was Kaede who just looked plain confused. And completely out of place. What is she wearing?

"What are you doing here?" Hanabusa asked quickly, his eyes wide.

"You invited me -"

"Not you," he said dismissively and turned to Kaede who now looked beyond shocked. "You're not allowed to be on campus at this time!" He pointed towards her, frowning. This was supposed to be one of the times he was confident that he would not run into her and now she was ruining a vital part of his Kaede-free plan. She gave him a withering glare but then shook her head, as if having no more of the situation.

"It was nice to meet you again," she called out to a startled Maemi who was staring at Hanabusa in absolute horror. She turned her back on all of them without another word towards Hanabusa. "Come on, Akira." The dog barked and Hanabusa flinched automatically – ignoring the mutter from Akatsuki about his manliness, or rather lack of – and as if purely habitual, he took a step closer towards her...until he remembered that he wasn't supposed to have anything to do with her. He sighed, rubbing his face before turning back to the aristocrat. "I didn't actually expect you to come," he said flatly, rather coldly.

She had no idea what to make out of the situation. The pleasant girl she had met and talked to for a decent fifteen minutes – the polite but genuinely interested small talk that somehow missed the exchange of names – had been the girl whose name was brought up at the soiree? The coincidence was astounding. She blinked and then dragged her eyes to Hanabusa who looked troubled, and Akatsuki who did not at all looked pleased to be there. "I..." What could she say? She wanted to go see him and decided, why not? She had never thought she would be greeted by a cold Aidou and run into the girl she had heard about on the night Hanabusa had drunk from her. "I see that this isn't a good time."

"You think?" he muttered, looking frustrated. But the moment she opened her mouth, he was already leaving.

But then he stopped when he saw Kaede, hunched over, the dog's squished up and furry face in her hands as she laughed and kissed it.

I do not love her, I do not love her. I. Do. Not. Love. Her.

So why was it so hard to look away?

He needed a new plan.

What can he do to un-love her?

Easy.

Make her love him.

HI EVERYONE. How has it been? Summer's almost over and life could be tough but hopefully, this update makes up for the month long hiatus :)

I can't wait for you all to read the next chapter, ahhh. But thank you for reading this one! Reviews would be lovely.