This Is Not the Goal;

The silence was deafening.

Naomi's grip on the shotgun did not loosen.

All she could hear was a loud ringing in her ear.

Yagari's mouth moved. Naomi tried to focus but she couldn't hear anything except the high pitch ringing. Naomi stumbled back when Yagari shook her hold loose on the shotgun. He said something else, but she didn't hear him. He motioned with the firearm for her to move to the side.

Naomi thought, does he want me to move?

She blinked dazedly.

Yagari glared at her, his mouth moved again. He was yelling at her.

Still, she couldn't make out his words.

The ringing got softer, and Naomi could hear muffled voice until finally it cleared.

"I won't tell you again," Yagari demanded, "move."

Naomi looked behind and she saw Zero bleeding from his shoulder and Yuki protectively holding him to her chest. Naomi was covering them. She was in the way of shooting Zero point blank.

Naomi looked at Yagari again, he'll kill him, thought Naomi, if I move, he'll kill him.

That's okay. Zero's a vampire remember.

"Stop!" Someone yelled, "This has gone far enough!"

Naomi tore her gaze from Yagari and saw the Headmaster run towards them with arms stretched out.

Cross yelled, "This is why I hate vampire hunters!"

Naomi's rose and fell heavily, a vampire hunter. Of course, he's a vampire hunter.

Cross wrenched the shotgun off the hunter's hands, "How much longer do you intend to let them soak in cold water?"

This was a terrible idea, Naomi stepped to the side and started to back away from the scene. They were all too worried for Zero to care about her right now, so she disappeared between the trees. Naomi was still trying to regain her composure when she made it past the woods as her thoughts were eating her alive.

Idiot! What was I thinking?! Fighting a man with shotgun! She pushed the entrance doors open; I came to this school to get an education – not a bullet wound! None of this is my problem. She followed dim lights that lead up to her doom room, they're the ones with issues and I will not be sucked in!

"Hey, what are you doing up so late?" a familiar voice asked.

Naomi turned her head, "Haruto?"

Anger bubbled inside her, oh now, he's speaking to me.

"Why do you care? Last time I checked we're not on speaking terms."

Haruto winced, "Look, I'm sorry. I just needed time to – "

"To what? Come to your senses?" Naomi hissed, "To see past your horny teenage angst?"

"I deserve that," Haruto said.

"You deserve more than that," Naomi turned the knob of her dorm room, "Better yet, don't ever talk to me again."

Most people would've cowered and left Naomi well-enough alone, but Haruto remained firm.

"I'm here, because Asuna and I are worried about you." Haruto said.

The bubble burst, "Oh, so you're not even here because you actually feel sorry about being a crappy friend!"

"That's not what I meant, and you know it!" He sighed and lowered his voice, "We're just worried about you. I saw you go into the Moon Dorms, only prefects and Night Class students are allowed in there." Haruto's eyes softened, "What were you doing there?"

Naomi threw him a vicious look, "None of your business. Now, I suggest you go back to your dorm."

"Nao – "

"No! she yelled then sucked in a breath as she lowered to fiercely say, "you are the least of my problems right now."

Naomi entered her dorm room and closed the door behind her. She dragged her hands down on her face. She wanted to scream, she wanted to hit something, she wanted to throw something at a wall and watch it break, but she couldn't Asuna was sleeping.

What I would give right now for a single room, she kicked off her boots and changed into pajamas. She'd settle for a good night's sleep, but her dreams were no longer normal.

Again, Naomi was in that room. She tried everything again to escape but just like before nothing worked. She looked out the window again with her elbows resting on the windowpane she saw the same snow from her last dream, the same dead trees, and worst of all, the same man.

This time he waved at her, mockingly wiggling his fingers at her and he smiled at her. She saw a flash of his fangs; so, he is a vampire.

Naomi glared at the man and yelled, "Go fuck yourself!" A string of other curses left her mouth as she flipped him off.

The man threw his head back. She dug her nails into her palm; he was laughing, the bastard was laughing.

Naomi frowned when she saw the white windowpane stained with red. She looked at her palms – she was bleeding from four crescent shaped cuts on each of her palms.

I need to wake up, she thought, I really need to wake up.

Naomi gasped awake.

It was a little over dawn. Naomi looked at the time on the nightstand – 5:23 a.m. She slumped back in her bed with a groan and closed her eyes. At the very least, she should rest her eyes. She sighed in relief when she saw an inky blackness instead of that room. A moment of reprieve before she got up to bathe and slipped on a freshly cleaned Day Class uniform.

Naomi shook Asuna awake, "Hey, you want me to wait for you so we can walk to class together."

Asuna peered up at her and sleepily yawned, "Nah," she whispered as she buried her face on her pillow, "You go on ahead. I'll see you in class."

Naomi smiled, "Alright, see you there."

She grabbed her assignments from her desk – she needed to get them done anyway. She doubted Cross gave her too much leeway with her professors when it came to turning in her assignments on time. Her getting to class earlier with no one there to bother her would give her the concentration that she so desperately needed.

Naomi sat in her usual seat to do her assignments. Luckily for her, the assignments were rudimentary. She handled vampires and vampire hunters yesterday these assignments were nothing.

The door opened to the classroom she was in; I didn't know professors got in this early. She looked up and gasped, holy shit –

"I'm surprised." The vampire hunter said, "I didn't think anyone would be here this early, especially you."

"Why are you here?"

"You seem shocked." He said nonchalantly, "I'm your new professor, Toga Yagari."

Naomi's eyes widened, "Wait, you're teaching here?!"

"Obviously."

Naomi tightened her grip on her mechanical pencil, "You brought a shotgun and shot a student."

Yagari shrugged as he placed his lesson plan down on the front desk.

Naomi placed her pencil down, "I don't understand."

"What isn't there to understand?" Yagari asked. "It was you who caught Akira Saito, obviously she was going to be replaced."

Naomi's eye twitched, "You shot a student," she repeated, "with a shotgun."

Yagari sat down and crossed his legs, "You've said that already."

"I just think is odd," Naomi said, "a vampire hunter comes to an academy that just happens to educate vampires." Naomi asked, "Why are you here? I'm sure it's not because you have a passion for teaching narcissistic teenagers."

"I have a teaching license."

"That's not what I asked."

Yagari gave a look over his lesson plan, "You're pathetic when you're reaching."

"And you're transparent when you're deflecting," Naomi shot back.

Yagari chuckled.

Naomi glared at him. This was no laughing matter, he shot Zero and he was laughing about it.

Naomi jabbed him, "Do vampire hunters usually go around shooting innocent people?"

His dark eye pierced hers, "But Zero's not innocent, is he? You witnessed what he did to Yuki, didn't you?"

Naomi leaned back in her seat, "So transfer him to the Night Class."

"He won't survive there."

Naomi's face scrunched up in confusion, "Why not? He's a vampire that's the whole point of the Night Class – "

Yagari frowned, "Zero's a Level – D. He was turned into vampire by Pureblood woman that killed his family."

Naomi straightened in her seat, "I didn't know."

"I get the feeling you don't know much."

"But doesn't that mean Zero's gonna," Naomi frowned, "eventually turn into a Level – E?"

His eye shifted toward the door, "pipe down, students are coming."

Yagari was right – students were flooding the classroom. Asuna took her usual seat beside her.

Asuna asked, "Finishing up your assignments?"

Naomi was still reeling from the information her newest professor gave her, but she forced a smile, "Yeah, I'm almost finished."

"Here," Asuna took out her own assignment and passed the to her, "you can copy the rest."

A few moments later, the bell rang.

Yagari introduced himself with a soft smile.

Naomi had to hold back a laugh – Ethics, he was replacing Akira Saito in ethics.