The auditorium seemed a little over crowded, the air thick with tension. Unease could easily be defined on a number of vampiric faces, while most of the humans appeared to be enamored. It was a dream come true for most of them, and it could be seen in the shine of their eyes. Ranmaru resisted the urge to roll his eyes with all the admiration his companion and her kind were getting. He held a few gazes himself, but he put it down to having been a vampire before. He still held that charm most vampires have, though his was more of a subtle kind. With a shrug of his shoulders, he pushed past a few students, and found a seat to take. He motioned for Saya who seemed lost in her own thoughts for a moment. She waved to him and pointed to another spot.
"Suit yourself," he whispered to himself as he spotted a familiar tuff of dark brown hair. He knew Rikiya was here and Saya would want to sit with her brother. He reclined slightly in his chair and waited for the rest of the students to pile into the auditorium. Once it was full, and everyone adjusted, Ranmaru closed his eyes, and waited for the events to happen. The sound of footsteps scurrying across the wooden stadium filled his ears, the soft coughs of those around him, and the quiet whispers floated about before dying completely. He shifted uncomfortably when the sound of someone tapping on the microphone, filtered through his ears, and he cracked one eye open to see the Headmaster blowing softly.
"Welcome back, students of Cross Academy.," the voice came out muffled at first, as if he had his hand over the microphone, however; he adjusted it, causing a loud ring to echo out. Most of the vampires in the area flinched, the sound almost painful to their ears. The Headmaster smiled sheepishly before uttering an apology, clearing his throat as he made for another try. "As I was saying, welcome back! As you might have noticed, this year we will be introducing a new system, something that will help bring us all a little closer." Soft grumbles of protest could be heard, mixed with content sighs and giggles.
"I know most of you are worried about the new system in place, especially those of you who are sensitive to the sunlight. We took those into consideration when we created the new schedules, and when the school was rebuilt, as you can see," he continued, moving a hand around his head. Ranmaru scoffed slightly, I guess that explains a lot. Muffled whispers of concern lingered in the brief silence, allowing some to be heard, and others to fall on deaf ears.
"We will get into the explanations a little later, however; since today is the first day back, we have decided to use this day as a means of introduction. We will be hosting groups for this little exercise," he continued, the slight hint of mischief echoing in his voice. That was new, Ranmaru thought as he opened both eyes this time, curious as to what the Headmaster had in mind. "We will be grouping students in groups of six for the first week." Slight cheers of delight could be heard in this pregnant pause.
"The groups will then be broken once more into two groups of three. Each group will house a certain number of vampires and humans. To keep it even--" the rest of the Headmaster's words were drowned out as Ranmaru groaned, covering his face with one hand. It was large enough to fit his entire face in the one palm, and he rubbed it up and down his face. He didn't have a problem with it, honestly, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of regret hidden inside. He could hear the faint cheers as the Headmaster began dividing up the students, and names were called. Friends were being separated—some were remaining together, but none of it really mattered to him.
He chanced a glance towards his friend, watching a smile dance across her lips as Rikiya spoke something to her. "Of course she'd be excited for this," he grumbled beneath his breath, staring back at the Headmaster. He blinked several times, waiting for his name to come up, however; it appeared the Headmaster was saving him for last. That's when he saw it—the smirk on the Headmasters face was undeniably diabolical. His eyes seemed to lock onto Ranmaru's as the latter glared at the man, as if daring him to do it. Challenge accepted.
"Next, we'll have Asakawa Rigen, Shirasagi Kasa, Seitenshi Unmei, Kuran Saya, Hiō Zen, and," he paused, glancing towards the side as a teacher whispered something into his ear. Ranmaru knew it; it didn't take a genius to figure it out. "Kiryū Ranmaru," he completed the group, a hint of something malicious laced in his voice. Ranmaru sighed heavily, sinking into his chair as if it were going to swallow him whole. Part of him hoped that it would, so that he could wake up from this madness. He could see Saya send him a wave, but he refrained from responding. He wasn't as thrilled as she was, but what else could he do?
"Now that you all have your groups, you are all to meet, and spend this day together getting to know one another. You can use any part of the Academy for a rendezvous, but know," Hiroshi continued, pausing to take a deep breath. "We will be watching you. So try and get along, we want this to be a fun year!" the last words were spoken with a little too much chipper. He was going to regret allowing his father to persuade him to attend the Academy, wasn't he?
"Come on, Ranny. It won't be too bad. At least you might make more friends this year," Saya's voice pulled him from his thoughts as he stared at her, all emotion void of his face. He couldn't tell if she was being serious, or if she was just trying to crawl under his skin. "Let's go meet the others, and Ranny," she paused, pulling at his arm and forcing him to stand. "Play nice, alright?"
Didn't he always?
"Suit yourself," he whispered to himself as he spotted a familiar tuff of dark brown hair. He knew Rikiya was here and Saya would want to sit with her brother. He reclined slightly in his chair and waited for the rest of the students to pile into the auditorium. Once it was full, and everyone adjusted, Ranmaru closed his eyes, and waited for the events to happen. The sound of footsteps scurrying across the wooden stadium filled his ears, the soft coughs of those around him, and the quiet whispers floated about before dying completely. He shifted uncomfortably when the sound of someone tapping on the microphone, filtered through his ears, and he cracked one eye open to see the Headmaster blowing softly.
"Welcome back, students of Cross Academy.," the voice came out muffled at first, as if he had his hand over the microphone, however; he adjusted it, causing a loud ring to echo out. Most of the vampires in the area flinched, the sound almost painful to their ears. The Headmaster smiled sheepishly before uttering an apology, clearing his throat as he made for another try. "As I was saying, welcome back! As you might have noticed, this year we will be introducing a new system, something that will help bring us all a little closer." Soft grumbles of protest could be heard, mixed with content sighs and giggles.
"I know most of you are worried about the new system in place, especially those of you who are sensitive to the sunlight. We took those into consideration when we created the new schedules, and when the school was rebuilt, as you can see," he continued, moving a hand around his head. Ranmaru scoffed slightly, I guess that explains a lot. Muffled whispers of concern lingered in the brief silence, allowing some to be heard, and others to fall on deaf ears.
"We will get into the explanations a little later, however; since today is the first day back, we have decided to use this day as a means of introduction. We will be hosting groups for this little exercise," he continued, the slight hint of mischief echoing in his voice. That was new, Ranmaru thought as he opened both eyes this time, curious as to what the Headmaster had in mind. "We will be grouping students in groups of six for the first week." Slight cheers of delight could be heard in this pregnant pause.
"The groups will then be broken once more into two groups of three. Each group will house a certain number of vampires and humans. To keep it even--" the rest of the Headmaster's words were drowned out as Ranmaru groaned, covering his face with one hand. It was large enough to fit his entire face in the one palm, and he rubbed it up and down his face. He didn't have a problem with it, honestly, but he couldn't help but feel a sense of regret hidden inside. He could hear the faint cheers as the Headmaster began dividing up the students, and names were called. Friends were being separated—some were remaining together, but none of it really mattered to him.
He chanced a glance towards his friend, watching a smile dance across her lips as Rikiya spoke something to her. "Of course she'd be excited for this," he grumbled beneath his breath, staring back at the Headmaster. He blinked several times, waiting for his name to come up, however; it appeared the Headmaster was saving him for last. That's when he saw it—the smirk on the Headmasters face was undeniably diabolical. His eyes seemed to lock onto Ranmaru's as the latter glared at the man, as if daring him to do it. Challenge accepted.
"Next, we'll have Asakawa Rigen, Shirasagi Kasa, Seitenshi Unmei, Kuran Saya, Hiō Zen, and," he paused, glancing towards the side as a teacher whispered something into his ear. Ranmaru knew it; it didn't take a genius to figure it out. "Kiryū Ranmaru," he completed the group, a hint of something malicious laced in his voice. Ranmaru sighed heavily, sinking into his chair as if it were going to swallow him whole. Part of him hoped that it would, so that he could wake up from this madness. He could see Saya send him a wave, but he refrained from responding. He wasn't as thrilled as she was, but what else could he do?
"Now that you all have your groups, you are all to meet, and spend this day together getting to know one another. You can use any part of the Academy for a rendezvous, but know," Hiroshi continued, pausing to take a deep breath. "We will be watching you. So try and get along, we want this to be a fun year!" the last words were spoken with a little too much chipper. He was going to regret allowing his father to persuade him to attend the Academy, wasn't he?
"Come on, Ranny. It won't be too bad. At least you might make more friends this year," Saya's voice pulled him from his thoughts as he stared at her, all emotion void of his face. He couldn't tell if she was being serious, or if she was just trying to crawl under his skin. "Let's go meet the others, and Ranny," she paused, pulling at his arm and forcing him to stand. "Play nice, alright?"
Didn't he always?