Holey Sheet, is my upload schedule inconsistent as hell or what! I'm going to try to rectify that, but I'm also going on a camping trip next week so probably no updates next week. Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter!

…

"What?!" Zero yelled at Kaien. "I admit that not all vampires are evil; but you want to put a bunch of teenage vampires with poor impulse control, in the same school as a bunch of human teenagers with poor impulse control? Have you gone insane!?"

You see, it had been a few months since my Nightmare, yes I am choosing to capitalize that, and I was nearing this body's fifteenth birthday. And today Kaien had brought Yuki, Zero, and me to his study to discuss his idea for a new school. A cross species school between humans and vampires. To say that our reactions were varied would be an understatement.

Zero looked and sounded enraged, as if the very idea was offensive. Yuki looked concerningly excited, probably due to the fact that Kaname would be attending. Me, I was apprehensive. As hunters in training, Zero and I would be called upon to police the vampire population. Well, not Zero just yet. This year he was going back into middle school after taking a year off due to what happened to his family. Thankfully He wouldn't have to redo a year, he was smart enough to avoid that, but that meant for the first two years I would be policing the school on my own.

Fuck.

"How is this even legal?" I asked. "Both the Japan Branch of the Hunters Association and the Vampiric Senate of Japan would come down on anybody else who tried this in a fury." It was true, both groups seemed to be of the opinion that interactions between humans and vampires should be kept to a minimum.

"I admit, both Kaname and I had to call in quite a few favors and expend a lot of political capital in order to make it legal. We even had to negotiate a change to the Hokkaido Treaty." Kain boy was that a big deal. "The eyes of the world will be on this school. Every Hunters Association branch and Vampire government in the world will be watching with great interest."

"Please tell me that there will at least be a few hunters on campus?" Zero pleaded.

"Unfortunately one of the Senate's conditions was that the only hunters allowed on campus be students." Kaien said, looking a bit embarrassed. "And not a single hunter family in Japan was willing to send their children." Zero promptly set his head down on the table, as if rethinking his life.

"I think it will be nice!" Yuki exclaimed. "It will be a good step toward lasting peace!"

"Thank you Yuki." Kaien said with a smile. "I knew you would understand. Now, I hate to cut this conversation short but I need to speak with Marcus. Alone."

Yuki promptly got up and left, clearly happy with the recent developments. Zero looked like he wanted to protest, and looked at me with concern, but he left too.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I queried.

"Well, as I said I had to expend quite a bit of capital in order to pull this off. But I stepped on a lot of toes in the process." Kaien responded. "A lot of high up people are angry. And they've decided to punish me."

"How?" I said, concerned.

He handed me a letter. It was an official hit assignment notice from the association, addressed to me.

"How can they do this?" I asked. "I know I'm almost fifteen, but to send me out before then… It breaks all sorts of regulations." I started to feel shaky.

"It does." Kaien agreed. "But I made a lot of people angry. I managed to make sure you weren't sent against a common vampire or worse an aristocrat, but you will have to kill a level E a few days from now."

"I assume I can't refuse?" I questioned.

"No, you cannot." Kaien stated. "I wish I could be there with you when you take your first life, and normally I would. But this isn't an initiation hit, but a professional one. Therefore, I can't go with you."

I steadied myself. "Very well. May I go to collect my thoughts?"

"Take all the time you need." Kaien said. "But tomorrow and the next day we will do double drills to make sure you're up to snuff."

I got up to leave.

As I went through the door, Kaien spoke once more.

"And Marcus?"

"Yes?"

"I believe in you."

…

My target was one Matsubara Tadashi. Apparently, some children had been going missing around the town I was in's local elementary schools. Some exsanguinated bodies had also been found. And so the association stepped in. Tadashi was the only ex-human vampire within the town and had apparently lasted several decades before succumbing to bloodlust. Of course, the longer they last the harder they fall. And Tadashi had fallen hard.

You could barely recognize any of his young victims.

The town had fallen on hard times in recent years, and there were multiple abandoned buildings within walking distance of the school. I thought it a reasonable suspicion that he was hiding in one of those since according to the association briefing his apartment looked like it hadn't been inhabited in months.

I looked for him specifically on a weekend day since Level-E's that exhibited his amount of brutality tended to enter a sort of hibernation between hunts. Hopefully I would be able to catch him by surprise.

As I ventured through different buildings, careful to be as quiet as possible, I wrestled with what I was about to do. Tadashi himself had once been a victim according to his file. He was turned at the frankly horrifying age of three by an unknown pureblood. As it turned out, Level-E's usually chose prey similar to themselves before they were turned. Some sort of subconscious desire to regain what was lost.

But regardless of what he had gone through, he was now a danger to society, and I had to eliminate him. I steeled myself and my conviction as I entered another building. It was hard to describe, but this building felt soaked in despair. This was Tadashi's lair.

I slowly stalked through the building, an old house, checking every nook and cranny. I found nothing on the first floor, so I ventured up to the second. And as I got to the master bedroom, I heard labored breathing. I peeked through the doorway that was missing a door, and there he was.

He was sleeping, as I thought he would. I sculked into the room. He didn't wake up. I got right up to him. He didn't flinch. I let go a breath I did know I held, relieved that I could make it quick.

Then he struck!

It was without warning. One moment he was sleeping peacefully, or at least pretending to, the next he was leaping up at me with a roar; nails turned claws slashing at my throat!

I managed to block him with my cleaver, but he still managed to stagger me. As I tried to regain my footing, he tackled me to the ground! I tried to get him with my shotgun but the first shot missed and the second only clipped him. All the while he was a whirl of claws and teeth, tearing up my arms as I tried to hold him back!

Next thing I knew, I had been disarmed of my cleaver and he picked me up by my collar as he slammed into the wall repeatedly. This was bad! I had to do something to put him on the back foot.

In between one of the slams, I managed to break his hold on me, tearing my shirt. I grabbed him by the neck with both hands and started banging his head on a nearby dresser. He collapsed to the ground, groaning, and I went to go pick up my cleaver.

As he tried to get up I body slammed him and started hacking at his head as he thrashed and wailed. I don't remember when he stopped moving, but in my terror I kept hacking at him for a while. When I regained my senses. I was covered in blood, both Tadashi's and my own. I looked down at the body. Why wasn't he turning to ash? I felt for a pulse, nothing. Why wasn't he turning to ash?

Then I felt hungry. And I was filled with terror.

The hunger was overpowering. I stared at the body for what felt like hours. I wanted to eat. I didn't. I wanted to. I didn't. I wanted to. I did.

I ripped into him.

…

I woke up and it was night time. I was covered in blood and shame. I ran to a nearby river to clean myself. The blood washed away but the guilt didn't. It seemed that after I had eaten my fill, the body had turned to ash, which I was thankful for.

I began the long walk home.

…

I feel like that was the best chapter so far, wouldn't you agree?

Ages:

Kaname: 15 and about to go into Highschool

Marcus: 14 nearly 15, and about to go into Highschool

Zero: 12/13, in middle school

Yuki: 10/11, elementary school