Akane S. Delacroix's Story

Bong, bong, bong. The persistent grandfather clock began it's duty to wake up the inhabitants of the Moon Dormitory. Within the darkness of a room, a pair of azure blue eyes cracked open. A tired sigh escaped from the individual as she reluctantly removed herself from the mass of silken sheets and blankets. Mornings, the dreaded challenge every high school student was forced to go through. To this inhabitant of the Moon Dormitory it was no different. In two quick strides, the girl made her way to the curtains. A swift motion with her arm and light washed away the darkness, revealing the room to be quite spacious and very large. At the far end of the room, a cherrywood door opened and the dorm's maid appeared.

"Akane Delacroix, it's time to wake up. Hurry or you'll be late." She said flatly. Akane slowly turned her head to the door and nodded. Across the room, the dorm maid smiled and bowed slightly before leaving as quickly as she appeared. It was like being visited by a ghost."I wonder, shall I try and escape today?" The girl mused and placed a porcelain hand on the window. From here, she witnessed the numerous female students rushing to crowd the entrance of the Moon Dormitory. She pressed her mouth into a tight line. This was the norm at this academy. The Night Class was a show to these girls and their obsession for some of the students was unnerving. "The Disciplinary Committee will really have trouble tonight..." By now the crowd had begun to get out of hand. Akane turned away from the chaotic scene and decided that she would be ditching today. An avid memory of the Headmaster Cross deciding upon having a Spring Ball as the next event furthered her motivation to leave. Her irritation at this crazy scheme appeared on her face in the form of a scowl. The Night Class had enough problems already. If anything got out of hand it fell on the Purebloods' shoulders.

"Well time to get ready...." She said with a sigh. Getting dressed took a mere few seconds with the help of vampiric abilities. However, the ribbon was a bit stifling and she tossed it aside. She left the first buttons on her shirt and jacket were open. As usual she let her hair untouched as always. She hated the idea of looking presentable. It was too much if a hassle in the morning in her opinion. At the back of her throat a sudden itchiness halted her usual routine. That's what I get for not taking last night's dose. She mentally scolded herself. Her fangs unsheathed themselves in anticipation as she made her way to the desk by the window.

From a small drawer, she fished out a plain bottle and unscrewed the cap. Inside were white tablets the size of the dime and she dumped a handful of these into her palm. In one gulp they disappeared and the itchiness dulled. "That's disgusting." She mumbled to herself and pulled out two bars of chocolate from another drawer. One was devoured in a few bites, the other for a snack later. Finally, she slipped on a pair of knee high black socks and a pair of black combat boots before finally heading out the door. Time to conqueror the day, or at least survive.

What greeted her outside her room were a few admirers from the Night class. She received the usual good mornings and bows with a nod, not really paying any attention. The Pureblood status was huge irritation. Everyone wanted your favor, your attention, and your labor. She mentally cursed the Council and it's stupid punishment.

Nearing the entrance to the moon dorm, a crowd of students had already formed around the door when she reached it. "Let's go! One...two....three!" A cheerful voice said. One of the more enthusiastic students was leading the charge. Whoever had the courage to do such a task had her undying thanks. Usually the Purebloods would be leading the class and today, or any other day, she wasn't looking forward to doing that.

Slowly students filed their way out of the door, suddenly picking up speed because of something. "Wait a go, Kazoku." Someone by the window smirked. In curiosity, Akane looked outside as well. Somehow one of the prefects managed to make the Day class retreat to their dorms. "Heh, good job indeed." She glanced back at the stream of students filing out quickly and moved to a position near the end of the crowd. There the excited whispers of wonder reached her ears. Her face remained calm, inside she was imaging bashing the students in the back of the head with something nearby.

What greeted the Night class outside was silence. It was peaceful. She had to thank the Prefects for at least this. With room to actually breath, everyone began breaking into their little groups and chatter began. Gaggles of girls were debating on who they would ask to the Spring Ball, a few on test scores spouted, a conversation on family, and all of which could be gathered under the general topic of gossip. The boys were laughing amongst themselves and were having similar conversations. She refrained from joining any of the groups. All she would receive was a shower a compliments she hoped to avoid.

However, as the group passed the prefects the conversations became more hushed. A few of the students even shot death glares. Despite the fact that they provided safety between the two classes there was a radiating aura of dislike for them. Even so, she could understand their job was difficult and she didn't feel any particular animosity towards them. "Oh Sera, just to let you know, we'll be having to let a handful of students closer to the night class students." The statement cause her eyebrow to twitch. On second thought, maybe the Prefects did deserve their hatred. Today wasn't going to be pleasant at all. KYYAAAAAAAA~!!!!!! Someone please shut them up.

The grandfather clock rang, slowly but surely, signaling the end of school, as loud as ever. In front of a mahogany desk piled high with books and papers, a child jerked awake, looking blearily around the room, his scarlet eyes glowed like sapphires in the dark. Ciel rubbed his eyes, still a little confused at his surroundings. Where was he again? He examined his surroundings, taking in the silken curtains, the bed and his closet, before his thoughts started clicking into place. Stifling a yawn, the boy frowned at the desk of papers and let out a deep sigh. Pulling an all-nighter didn’t work out as planned, so it seemed. He must have fallen asleep without knowing it, and judging from the amount of papers still left it was safe to say that he was probably not even half done with the work he had intended to do.

He kneaded his temples, the look of extreme annoyance floating back onto his face. In any case, it looks like he would have a busier schedule for today. Irritated, he strode to the windows and flung the curtains open, letting light illuminate his room. His eyes narrowed slightly as he took in the sights of the Sun dorm students, jostling each other in the midst of the crowd forming around the moon dorm. Though that seemed like a normal sight for him, they seemed more energetic than usual, probably because of the ridiculous arrangement Principle Cross made. A Spring Ball in such a school… and they were trying to keep such a dark secret. How did such a preposterous man become a principal anyway? The boy placed a slender finger to his chin in an almost childish gesture, his mind wandering for a moment to consider the fact that the man was perhaps a wizard. However, his more sensible side kicked in and he shook his head, dismissing that thought. “Maybe he bribed the authorities… or maybe he has strong connections. Wonder what they saw in him to make him the principal.” Well, it was food for thought, and he made a mental note to find out more about that topic.

Still, as he watched the crowd, he could not help but feel a slight pity to the prefects. Their jobs were no doubt going to be a hard one, getting all the students into one place and stop them from harassing the night class students. Still, like humans, the night class had its own problems, and it would be nice if the prefects kept the crowds under control enough to stop creating problems for them. Though he was sure that Akane, the only other pure blood he knew, would help out in those matters, he didn’t hold out much hope for her to assist him with the legal matters and paperwork if one of the students got hurt. “

"It’s time to cross the red sea…” He muttered to himself. Taking a few quick steps to his closet, he retrieved his uniform and slid it on smoothly, tightening the ribbon around his neck, making sure that everything was immaculate. Although he felt uncomfortable in those clothes, he still endured it, as he was but a child in appearance. Dress formally and neatly was a habit to him. Who would take him seriously otherwise? He pulled on his black socks and decided to go with a pair of high heeled boots. As girlish as it seems, it was an effective way to make him look even a bit taller, to allow him to speak eye to eye with some. In order to get respect, he wouldn’t mind what he had to put up with. All of a sudden, he stopped right in the middle of lacing up his boots, the thirst hitting him. Gasping a little as the sudden and mad thirst for blood reached him, he doubled over, trying to catch his breath. Not again… he reached for the blood pack on the window sill, and drank deeply. Slowly, he breathing evened and the thirst faded. The wonders of modern day life. He drank the rest of the blood slowly, more relaxed. Thank god for the invention of blood packs that he did not take pills like the others did. He was, after all, much more allergic to them than he thought. His asthma was the most major problem on his health, but he needed to subdue it. He would probably be viewed as weak otherwise.

He pushed the heavy oak door open and hurried down. He was already running behind time for their entry into the school, anyway, and he did not wish to be ripped to shreds by the crazy girls out there. Taking a deep breath, he ran the rest of the distance at vampire speed, managing to catch up with the rest of the stream of students. However, the silence outside came as a pleasant surprise to him. There were surprisingly none of the customary screams by the fan girls, even though there was the matter of the Spring Ball to deal with. His eyes sparkled with curiosity as he searched, slightly impressed for the reason for the students’ unnatural behavior. A prefect must have somehow managed to get the students back in their dorms, how the prefect managed it he could not understand. How did he manage to control those wild fangirls anyway? However, the answer was soon given as he caught on to the conversation. Really? That was almost as crazy as the principal’s plans. Almost. He caught sight of Akane and managed to catch up to her as the crowd parted into small groups, meaning to ask her about the current situation. He didn’t really pin all his hopes on the prefects to control the ‘handful of students’ or so they said.

Tick… tick… tick…. A large clock sounded somewhere in the distance, the last few moments of peace being counted down until... bong.... It always seemed to happen this way. No matter where he was, no matter how deep in the Moon Dorm or how far away, he could always hear the last few ticks of that annoying grandfather clock in the very center hall of their ‘home’.

Nemaeus, unlike everyone else, had not been asleep prior to the sounding of time. In all honesty, he rarely slept- or at least so it seemed. With all the hours in a day it was truly a difficult task to pin down which ones the noble actually reserved for sleep.

As the clock chimed deeply throughout the halls, Nem’s gaze shifted lazily over the expanse of dark hallways from his window-side perch. His face contorted into that of displeased irritation- he could already hear the shrill screams ringing inside of his ears from all of the female Day class students. Swiping his hand aside the cloth of the curtains, the setting sun’s last rays eagerly scrabbled inside the darkness of the Moon Dorm. With the invasive light casting its receding rays against the walls and floors, Nemaeus withdrew from his place on the sill.

With a solid thump, the boy’s boots made contact with the marble floor and his hands found a home in his pant pockets while he strode down the halls. The irritated edge to his eyes never faded as he weaved through the extensive hallways towards his room. Despite being active for the majority of the day, he had not bothered to change into his ‘uniform’. It was a task he despised as it meant he was bending against the pressure of conforming to this school.

He took his good, sweet time changing, putting off having to emerge from the manse and face the unruly crowds. However, in doing so, he also had to endure longer the excruciating task of killing his standards with the donning of the white clothing that marked him as a willing individual to this experiment the Elders had concocted for the mixing of humans and vampires. Not only was it a foolish idea in general, but it was worsened by the fact they had decided to shove Nemaeus of all candidates into the mix.

The naïve yet prideful assumption that the Council could contain and control him irked the noble to no end. His rebellious side raged and yelled, ramming against its confines in blind fury. It made his blood boil. No one would have power over him except himself. He was his own person, and others just made a complete mess of everything when they had authority.

Clenching his teeth together tightly and accidently nicking his lip with his fangs in the process, the metallic tang of blood met his tongue and his eyes widened slightly, snapping him out of his vexed reverie. With a sigh Nemaeus brought his hand up to his forehead, swiping a few stray hairs out of his eyes before wandering over to his desk drawers. Hooking his fingers into the handle, he pulled the drawer out and eyed the blood tablets with disdain. It was a crime against humanity, really. Not only were the things vile, but it was yet another flashing obstacle towards his own limited say in this whole Cross Academy matter. It wasn’t that he particularly liked feeding off of humans other than the legitimacy of the taste and nutrients in their blood- he hated relying on anyone or anything other than himself- but to be faced with the humiliation of having to restrain himself for the benefit of the Council constantly battled the clever and resourceful tool that the blood tablets actually posed.

Dropping a handful of them into a nearby glass of water, he swirled the mixture until it became a thick crimson color before actually taking a swig. Ugh, he didn’t understand how Akane could possibly take the things flat out with no help from anything else. To have the things dissolve on your tongue… Nemaeus shivered in disturbance.

Shaking his head a bit, he turned from the desk and quickly strode out of his room. He didn’t know how much time had passed, and he didn’t care either. He usually hung towards the back of the pack anyway- one of the last vampires to arrive if he could help it. Unfortunately, the others tended to like him at the front with them where they could keep an eye on him. He rolled his eyes.

As he neared the large oaken doors that led to the bridge, he was met with quite the surprise. Was that… silence he heard? His eyes widened in curiosity, his steps hastening ever so slightly. Could it actually be possible? Were the brats going to be silent for once? Did the prefects actually manage to get a hold on the humans? If that were the case then Nemaeus would definitely have to-

”NEMAEUS!!!!”, “NEMMI-CHAN”, “OVER HERE!!!!” “Look at his beautiful eyes!!”. As the noble vampire crossed the threshold into the open air, all hell broke loose. Pure, unfiltered hate flashed in his eyes for a moment. Had they planned it this way just to piss him off? Have the girls silent only long enough until he arrived? The small groups that had previously been split up suddenly conglomerated back together, and the usual chaos of the class switching was struck up once more. With the sudden outbursts from some of the Day class students, it seemed that it had lit a fuse that encouraged everyone else to embrace the chaos.

Did they seem… closer? ”…Let students closer to the Night class." The words dropped loudly, suddenly drowning out every screech and yell as Nemaeus’ focus landed harshly on one of the Prefects, Xavier, to be exact.

I’ll Kill Him.

The screams quickly resumed their intensity and the crowd pushed against the prefects that did their best to hold them back as that one, single, poisonous thought repeated itself in Nem’s head. Where he had previously been standing in complete silence at the head of the doors, Nemaeus was suddenly stalking towards the prefect in question. From the time that Xavier had dropped that little bomb to the other prefect, Serafiend or whatever her name was, they had split up to take up their positions. So when Nemaeus approached him, he was alone against the striving Day class students in his sector.

Externally, Nemaeus held his forever-present calm look of complete disinterest, but ireful rage bubbled right beneath the surface. It had been his brilliant idea to put the sanity of the Night class at risk, and Nemaeus had an irksome feeling that it had been done simply to spite him and give him a massive headache right before the dull, time-wasting classes began.

While he hated the screams with a passion, his urge to give hell to those in authority easily overpowered his instinct to keep as far a distance as possible between him and the ravenous Day class. As he neared, the hordes of students pushed ever more persistently against Xavier, certainly taxing his strength and overwhelming his senses. He leaned precariously close to the extended arms of the prefect, his gaze directly focused on the girls who were desperately trying to grab at his form and drag him into the writhing mass of doom that awaited on the other side of the prefect.

He flashed what seemed to be a wink in the direction of the girls, a lazy smirk breaking onto his lips in the process as he spoke, ”Anyone like vampires?” The comment received its intended effect as a chorus of screams and wailings followed, all clumped together as to make any answer incoherent. The force and pressure picked up against the prefect, and the girls strained against him voraciously.

Nemaeus turned away as if none of that had just occurred, though a very dark smirk flashed across his face in triumph for a moment before it completely vanished. He left the prefect to deal with the many bodies that were trying to throw themselves against him to break his barricade. It did not matter to the vampire whether or not the prefect could contain them. While he did not have much faith in the human’s abilities, he did not doubt that the boy had been placed as a prefect for a reason. However, should he break under the pressure and allow a stream to trickle through, how delicious would that be? He would be severely punished, and every vampire would look down on him with distaste and distrust. And if he got trampled in the process? Even better.

Turning his attention up to where Ciel and Akane were currently walking with one another further up the expanse, a bored look tilted his expression slightly as he walked towards their general direction, slowing down every so often to cause other prefects a hassle by ‘accidently’ wandering too close to them.

However, before Nemaeus made the decision of joining the purebloods, continuing on his own, or wandering with another of the noble vampires, his eyes settled on the proudly standing form of Miss Prefect. While the noble vampire’s wrath had already been carried out on Xavier, he did not spare her either. She was supposedly the head of the prefects, or so he got the impression. He came up silently, eyes purposefully focused on the back of her head.

He leaned down, flaring his nostrils a bit and disturbing the top of her hair. Nemaeus’ eyes narrowed as he gazed subtly out at the Day class students. He rested a light hand on the girl’s shoulder, causing a few infuriated cries from the girls nearby about how unfair it was that the prefects got to be so close to the Night class and how they only volunteered to do it to rub it in their faces. He leaned in and whispered something, making it look as private a moment as he possibly could in front of the fangirls, that charming little smirk of his filling his lips once more as his breath tickled her earlobe.

However, in reality his words were harsh and grating. ”Do your job and get a better hold on these sniveling starry-eyed females.” Knowing Nemaeus, his words definitely could have been taken as a threat, but they mainly came across as overly-patient and bored.

Mikari woke up to silence, her room almost pitch black except for the small slit of sunlight that vibrantly splashed against the bedroom wall. No matter how she tried to arrange the curtains, there always seemed to be that one annoying gap. Maybe the fabric was too short? She would have to ask the dorm maid about it, since the brightness was rather irritating. After a moment of contemplating the offending spot of sun, Mika gave a large yawn and stretched as far as she could reach.

Her eyes barely half open, she pushed the covers forward and sat up, once again looking around the room. This time the various crumpled piles of clothing caught her notice. As long as no one needed to come into her room but her, she did not care enough to clean them up. The only clothing that absolutely had to stay clean was her uniform, and that hung neatly on the closet door. Since she was already up, there was no way she could fall asleep again. She may miss the bell if she fell into a deep sleep so close to dusk. Once that happened, it usually took quite a feat to wake her.

She scooted to the side of the bed and hung her feet over before standing and walking over to the desk. Her sketch book stood neatly to one side, an easel holding a half-finished painting of a fountain occupying the clean corner. The rest of the desk was an unorganized mess of papers, books, pencils, and other such paraphernalia. She picked up the sketch book and a couple pencils and set them on the bed. That would be enough to occupy her until the bell rung. She walked over to the dresser and removed the white uniform, careful not to wrinkle it. Soon, she was dressed, and her hair was carefully brushed and restyled to look a bit messy, but in a more relaxed and cute way than simple bedhead. At least that is how it seemed to Mika’s thinking.

She put a couple tablets in a small glass of water, hoping that would give her a slight bit more energy, and grimaced at the taste of the liquid. It satisfied her hunger, but did little besides. She grabbed the items off her bed and a parasol and stole out of the room. Even a fellow vampire would have had a hard time noticing her, and she walked seemingly it without effort. The illusion was broken with a wide yawn, the only noise she had made since leaving the room. She went down to the large front doors and opened one just enough to slip through, closing it as she moved outdoors.

The bright light of the slowly setting sun made her squint in discomfort, and she quickly opened the white parasol to block out the light. Knowing that the squealing Day class students would soon be clamoring about, she had little desire to go outside the walls circling the Moon dorm. Besides, all those silly humans were too worked up over the coming dance. It would be a nightmare out there this evening. Mika gave a sigh, settling herself down under a tree near the wall and opening her sketchbook. She looked up at the Moon Dorm building, locating the particular ornamented steeple she wanted to draw. It was off to the side, and not often noticed, but Mika thought it had some good features. She would transfer it to a canvas and paint it later, but for now she only had time for a basic drawing.

It was not long before the sun was touching the horizon, and leaving long shadows streaking away to the east. Mikari could hear the gongs ringing, alerting the Night Class members to begin to ready themselves for class. Mika finished up the detail she had been working on, then stood and brushed her skirt off. She closed her book and nestled it in the crook of her arm before again raising the parasol over her head. It was not as bright now since the sun had almost totally set, but a little protection from its rays was still a relief to her eyes. She slipped back into the dorm, giving a slight smile to a vampire sitting on the sofa, and hurried to her room. As soon as she set her things down on the desk, she left again. The door closed behind her with a soft click, and she went back down to the main doors, taking a seat on the sofa herself.

Many of the Night class students had already gathered, ready for their daily appearance. Mika could already hear the screaming girls waiting and grimaced at the shrill sounds. Such juvenile idiocy… It was not long before one of the more energetic vampires led the way out the doors. They were usually supposed to be lead by a Pureblood, but it was not surprising that it did not happen that way. It rarely did. She located the Pureblood, Akane, with her eyes, and noted her position so Mika could avoid her for a bit.

As the gates opened, Mikari was surprised to hear relative quiet. However, that only lasted a bare moment, especially when Nemaeus crossed the threshold. Mika shot him an amused look as several girls shouted out cutesy nicknames and beckoned for his attention. However, something one of the prefects mentioned about letting some students closer set him off, and he began riling the students up. Mika noticed the other Pureblood, the little boy Ciel, making his way forward. She was momentarily distracted with watching the young vampire, and almost didn’t notice Nemaeus approaching Seraphine.

He definitely had the crowd of girls worked up, and Mika was surprised that the prefects were able to hold that raging sea of hormones back at all. She approached Nemaeus, ignoring little miss Prefect for the moment. Her half-closed eyes gave her an almost demure look, and her tone, though soft, was loud enough to be heard over all the squeals and shouting. She tugged slightly on Nemaeus’s sleeve as she spoke, “Oy, Nem-kun. You should help me stay awake in class tonight.” A large yawn punctuated the end of her statement, and she rubbed one eye sleepily. The tablets had not helped all that much, but that was normal. Her hand paused in its tugging as she yawned. However, she started tugging a bit more insistently after, until she got Nem to turn toward her.

An all too familiar, male voice burst suddenly from the crowd. “Meek-chan! Er, no… Mika-chan!” A blond haired boy in the black uniform pushed his way to the front and managed to squeeze past the prefect for a moment. He gave a stiff, jerky bow as he nervously shouted, “Meek-chan! Please say you’ll dance with me at the spring dance!”

She gave a shy smile, still half hidden behind the intimidating form of Nemaeus, which only served to make the love-struck boy in front of her more nervous. She stepped slightly to the side so she was facing the boy, and with a pondering look said, “That might be possible. See ya.” Her smile widened momentarily and she gave a tiny wave before again giving Nem’s sleeve a tug so he would maybe walk beside her. “We don’t want to be late, Nem-kun,” she intoned, the slightest bit of irritation in her tone at the interruption. She would definitely make an effort to avoid that blonde-haired human, but just barely so he thought he still had a chance. Playing chase was always amusing.

Yukina Shiro had been locked in her room all day, while the other Night Class students slept. She did what she always did when she was bored, besides sleeping. In front of her was what looked like a tree, about a meter tall, and completely frozen. She extended her left arm out, formed a tiny, delicate snowflake on the tip of her finger, and added it to the tree. The tree's back was made ouf of ice, it's insides made out of ice, the branches, the twigs, all made out of ice. If one observed closely, they'd see extreme detail and the care to attention that had been taken in making this tree. Detail wise, it looked like a real, natural tree. Each piece of bark was it's own separate tiny and detailed scale. The branches jutted out from the top, some thick, some thin, eventually getting thinner near the ends, with smaller branches and then smaller twigs all jutting out from the branches. Some twigs were broken, some branches were broken or looked like they had been eaten through or rotted away. Little by little, she had placed a single snowflake on each branch again and again, then on each snowflake another, again and again. Until eventually there was thousands of snowflakes acting as leaves. On the floor around the tree, was ice-bark, ice-twigs, tiny blades of grass made out of ice, and leaves out of snow. Each and every detail had been carefully taken care of and added by her hand.

It has been a project she had started when she came to Cross Academy three years ago. Of course, with her ice powers, she could make another tree in minutes, but it wouldn't have as much detail and it wouldn't mean as much. She spent years on this tree, putting her time, attention and care into it.

Tick...tick...tick... She picked her head up. Subconsciously she had been counting the seconds since she started making the tree. Seven thousand one hundred fifty five seconds. She was half a minute from having worked on it for two hours. She stood up, then and looked around her room. The air in her room was always kept below freezing, but her room was insulated so the extreme temperatures in there wouldn't affect the rest of the Moon Dorm. She yawned. Her curtains had been permanently frozen shut with such thick packed ice that little light would go into her room. It was almost pitch black save for the dull blue glow of the sunlight refracting through the ice, making her room glow faintly.

Thump-thump-thump. Someone had knocked on her door. The knocks sounded dulled, muffled, as the sound had a slightly harder time traveling through the thick air in her room. She understood. There was only a few precious minutes until the Moon Dorm's Gates opened, and her and the rest of the Night Class left the dorms and crossed over to the main academy building. She went over to her bed and put on her black hemmed white Night Class uniform, then she crossed the room and opened her door to the main hallway. The outside room temperature air blasted into her room like a furnace. She quickly shut the door behind her and sighed. Yukina pulled a mint lollipop out of her pocket, froze it through, then started sucking on it to keep her mouth cool.

Tick...tick...tick... bonnng. The clock said, signaling the next hour. She walked out of the dormitories, and outside with the rest of the Night Class, keeping the air around her cool with her powers. When the gates opened and the shouting started, she toned out everyone. She ignored Nemaeus's rage, after all he was always annoyed. She went oblivious to Mikari's flirting, the Perfect's struggling and Ciel's lateness. She walked with a bored expression in her eyes, seeing everything in front of her but not acknowledging it all.

"It's Kirei-chan! She's so tiny and cute!" "Kirei-chan, Kirei-chan!" "Shiro." She said quickly but sharply, snapping to attention and to annoyance. She sighed quickly, a sharp exhale of breath, and looked to the other Night Class students. Some enjoyed the attention, others ignored it, and others were peeved at it. She looked ahead again, waiting anxiously for the moment when they had passed all of the Day Class students. Sometimes she was in the mood to be playful, other times she was a bit of a stalker. At this moment, she was quiet and annoyed.

Xavier could tell he was in trouble or at the very least, the stage just before the in trouble started; a silent Sera was similar to a shark swimming up to you, it may not make any sounds but it's intentions were still the same. Fortunately for him, his luck was still holding out as the always energetic Teito came into play, taking the heat off the nervous prefect for a split second. "Hey my little Teito-chan, how's student president life treating you today?" He chuckled out loud, giving the smaller boy a friendly nudge in the ribs with his elbow, his cheerfulness was short lived when the female vampire hunter focused once more on himself. "It would seem you have made a deal with the Day Class. How delightful, you have a knack for negotiations, Xavier-san." Despite a brief brow twitch and muttering himself to cram the honorific up some a certain hole, the boy was for a lost of words, he wasn't to sure whether to take the comment at face value or if the more senior prefect was simply being sarcastic but before he was able to make a desision Sera was off in a moment, her duties coming into play.

With a soft sigh he walked over to a group of students, mainly girls, who were calling his name. "So you're the ones who want to take me up on my offer then? He asked casually, the group wasn't as large as he had expected but non the less he had no dout they would be loud enough with the front row seats they had secured. The response he got was the usual array of screams, yes' and wide eyed gawping; so he took them closer than the usual boundary that they were allowed making sure his formidable mass was always between them and what would be the night classes location. "Now listen you lot, I'm possibly going to get chewed out a second time this day for you lot being this close so would you ple-" The rest of his sentence was drowned out as the small group behind him and a sudden rush of bodies against his back and raised arms almost knocked him off his feet.

After quickly regaining his balance he noticed the source of the sudden ferocity of his fellow day students; Namaeus, he had picked the one group which was devoted to the only vampire that despised his fanbase more than he did authority, the latter trait also being shared by the now struggling prefect. Whilst his muscles strained against the constant pressure of the students behind him, he tried his best to give a relaxed smile to the now approaching rule breaker, he didn't want it to come off strained since he genuinely liked the vampire's attitude towards rules and even had turned a blind eye to some of his more harmless rebellions whether Nemaeus knew it or not. Once the prowling figure had reached him and his ever so loyal fans, the ferocity of theirs struggles to reach him, doubled, having to snag a few arms before they could grab what ever they could of the night class student Xavier had more than his hand full.

With his ears almost screaming back at the painfully loud calls and screams of the students behind him, he almost never heard the rebel casually ask. "Anyone like vampires?" Despite such a small remark what had already been a constant strain against his body became tenfold, he was beginning to lose ground as he slowly was pushed further and further into the general direction of the night class. With the damage done, Xavier watched as Nemaeus walked away and with the thought of resisting the struggling students, at least if I'm trampled to death it saves me from being killed by Sera, one of the more smaller girls from a lower year managed to slip under his aching arms. "Come back, Nemaus-chan! She screamed immediately bringing her to the prefects attention, if she hadn't have shouted after the vampire she would have made it to him without the struggling boy even realising what was going on but her otaku nature was hers and the night student's little plan undoing.

Without letting pressure go with his stance against the restricted students, the prefect snatched out his right arm and by the width of a hair was able to snatch the fabric of her jacket which gave him the leverage to not only pull her back but swing the girls petite body onto his shoulders. The girl squealed and thrashed out with her arms and legs for a moment before giving up in defeat, a sigh of relief escaped his lips, it had been a close call and definitely would have caused harm to the boy's authority if he hadn't dealtt with it as soon as he did. "Curfew is in session for the Day Class. Whatever my fellow prefect promised beforehand is null and void due to your inappropriate behavior and lack of decorum." At the sound of Seras voiced raised, Xavier turned his head to look at the girl. "At the count of three, if you are still here. The Spring Ball shall be cancelled." And without prompt the senior prefect started to count down and never before in his life had Xavier seen a group of people move with such speed and purpose, he stared at the rushing mass for a moment before he felt the girl he was currently restraining struggle against his grip.

"Jōkū-san you're going to get the ball cancelled!" The girl cried, prompting him to place her to the ground gently before she sprang after her classmates. He looked around to see if there was any stragglers who had decided to try and lurk about until they could spring on their favourite student but besides from the prefects and the night class the place was deserted, he caught the eye of the pure-blood Akane Delacroix and gave her a friendly smile and a small wave only taking his attention away when Sera approached him. "I appreciate your initiative. That's a good sign." She beamed at the taller student, allowing himself to revert back into his usual relax self he was completely off guard when a sudden pain in his ear forced hi down to his superiors height. "But remind me not to put you in any future negotiations." She released him with the same smile she had been giving before the rather unnecessary punishment. "At least it limited the damage, instead of at least fifteen nut jobs trying to upset our special students it was just the handful!" He stated casually, hoping the joke wouldn't go to waste.

When Teito was with them, Sera started to speak again but the tallest of the prefects attention drifted to the vampires, he scanned them one by one out of casual curiosity more than duty, he had come to recognise all of them and even had spoke to some, not exactly the type of conversation he had with his fellow humans since the glares did get tiring after a while but non the less it was better than nothing. After his gaze fell on Akane again, his dull blue orbs shifted their sight lower to the floor and spotted the other pure-blood Ciel Rin, the "grown child" as some of the more malicious day students called him. Hehehe look how small and cute he is. He chuckled to himself, temporarily forgetting that the little earl was rumoured to be able to read minds, his attention returned back to his group as Miss Prefect finished her sentence, oblivious to what she had said and with a familiar growl emitting from his stomach. "Anyone else want me to cook something up for a quick bite before anything?"

The screams were deafening from both sides! Akane stole a quick glance at the crowd to her right and her eyes widened slightly in surprise. They were definitely closer than usual. Just a few more inches and their outstretched hands would be able to touch the Night class. Wait....that means they could possibly grab someone, right? A small smile spread across her face. She wondered if the prefects would be able to catch her after this little idea.

However, her devious thoughts were interrupted by the approach of her fellow Pureblood. "Good evening, Ciel." She said in an even voice. She had seen him at a few parties in the past and now went to the same school, but they were only acquaintances and only worked together through a form of mutual agreement. Nothing more nothing less. The idea of friendship was something she found interesting, yet she didn't bother with it. In her mind friendship went like this; you pick someone you like and you do stuff with them. It was very fascinating watching the process. But, it wasn't something she would attempt anytime soon.

Suddenly, the already unbearable screams increased in volume and ferocity with the chant of one vampire's name. To Akane that meant only one thing. "Nemaeus has appeared." She mumbled under her breath. He was one of the few vampires the Council has specifically warned to keep in line. Unfortunately for them, she had no intention of carrying out what she asked. Though she did try to keep the Night Class in line. Her train of thought was quickly severed when the shadow of a towering student in the Day Class student approached her. He was out of breath from fighting the crowd by the looks of it and the fact he had her attention wasn't helping. His breath only grew more ragged when she looked him in the eyes. "May I help you? It wasn't a question at all and she was dreading what the student would ask her.

"Please go with me to the Spring ball! The student managed to croak. A polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, formed on her lips. "No thank you. I don't care for balls." She said softly. Disappointment appeared on his face and he quickly retreated into the vicious crowd. With that she started walking again, not a damn was given about the heart she just crushed. Ciel was probably tottering after her so she slowed down her pace only slightly. Then....CIEL-SAMA!!!! RIN-CHAN!!! PLEASE GO WITH ME TO THE BALL!!!! The oppressive aura given off by the female fans nearly knocked her off her feet. The urge to make a dash for the door was very tempting, but before she could decide on such a thing, one girl had managed to get past the outstretched prefect's arms and make a quick grab for Ciel.

There it was. Her opportunity to slip away off this prison of inappropriate behavior and broken toys. Just before the girl's hands could get a grip on Ciel, Akane quickly shoved him out of the way. "Sorry, I promise to do half the paperwork for this favor. She whispered to him before getting dragged into the sea of doom. The mass of bodies started pressing, squishing, and smashing her as soon as she entered. How the prefects managed to keep such a monstrous power back was unthinkable. It was like some form of torture. Despite the forceful jostling Akane managed to get a hand free and produce a piece of paper from her jacket pocket. With a bit of concentration, a drawing sprung off the paper and came to life. It was a body double of herself and on closer inspection it was easy to tell it wasn't her. However, right now wasn't the time to think about that. Then, she kicked the body double out of the crowd to where Ciel was hopefully waiting. In a mere few seconds all of this had unfolded.

The plan was going as expected and though she wasn't fond of breaking rules, she couldn't stop now. Punishments would be issued if she were caught and the head prefect wasn't going to make them pleasant whatsoever. As if on queue, Miss Prefect spoke about canceling the Spring Ball and the vicious mass of students began to clear out before Roseau reached the count of one. With that crowd Akane took her leave as well. She quickly detached herself from the girls on the way to the Sun Dorm and with a vampiric burst of speed ran towards the gates of Cross Academy. She didn't feel any regret about this and the thought of thought of leaving Ciel to deal with the Night Class himself was quite amusing. No one could catch her now.

Well no one but the Night time gatekeeper. Hopefully the gatekeepers hadn't changed shifts yet and she paused briefly at the gatekeeper's window. "Ryugen, are you there?" Silence. She frowned and discovered the compartment was empty. That was rather foolish to not have anyone watching over the gates. Well that wasn't her problem that the school was now unguarded. She then turned her attention to the task at hand. With a graceful leap she made it over the gates and went on her merry way to the town ahead. The feeling of having escaped her cage for the time led to humming a very mirthful tune.

---

Meanwhile, the drawing of Akane had reached the steps of the main building to only explode in a spray of black ink. Whoever was standing by it at the time would be very unfortunate.

Ciel strode alongside to Akane, regarding her closely. The air around her was different today… was she planning something? But of course, she almost always was every day, thinking of new ways to escape the school. In fact, he would be quite surprised if she turned up to any of the lessons on time at all. He gave a quiet sigh as he toyed with the idea of going into her mind for a little peek, to find out exactly how she was planning to sneak out, but decided against it. It took a considerably large amount of will power to enter a fellow vampire’s mind, and he would need that for later, just in case. After all, it was hard to say if she would get offended by that, and he tried not to get onto anyone’s bad side for now.

Just as they were about to exit the crowd, the ear piercing screams seemed to kick up another notch. Ciel winced slightly as the crowd started screaming, chanting and asking to go to the spring ball all at one time. His mind came to the immediate conclusion. Nemaeus. He was one of the more rebellious of students, always getting into the prefects way and making life difficult for them. What was he up to this time? He watched, slightly amused as he flirted with the girls, causing them to act even more crazily, if that was even possible for them to.

He watched on as the prefect, Xavier struggled with the frenzied students, feeling a twinge of disappointment as the prefect managed to subdue them, before being distracted by the screams of the day class students. Ignore them, ignore them he repeated over and over again in his head, shutting his eyes with irritation as if to keep the noise out. He just needed to get out of the crowd and go to class. Perhaps he could get Akane to go on time for once, but he doubted it. Just as he was wondering if he should bribe her with chocolate, he felt a push as he was shoved, causing him to stumble forward. “Wah-“ He was just about to protest to whoever pushed him when he heard Akane’s whisper. Sorry, I promise to do half the paperwork for this favor. Before he could react, she had already disappeared into the mass of bodies in the crowd.

Heaving a sigh, he quickly regained his balance and pushed through the crowd, waiting for her outside, safe from those crazy humans. Soon enough, he saw her, or what was supposed to be her come outside the crowd. However, his sharp eyes soon spotted the crude lines and some markings on her usually unblemished skin. Although it was, in his opinion, much to easy to spot out, he couldn’t help but admire the older vampire a bit for her power. That will be extremely handy in times like those, without actually exposing her identity. Still, first things first. He grabbed the body double and steadied her balance. “Well, off you go then, Akane no. 2, classes are starting.” He spoke to the double as if it really was her, faking the fact that it was not. Though he didn’t really enjoy being an accomplice, it will be quite interesting to see the students reel in shock as Akane exploded, and as a bonus, he could use some help with the paperwork. He doubted that she would try to promise him something that rash again after she saw what he had to deal with. It was worth taking care of the night class until she comes back at least, and he could always say that he didn’t notice that it was a fake.

Walking away from her leisurely, he walked slightly closer to the prefects curiously, his eyes flickering in red as he trying to probe Seraphine’s mind again. No luck. For some reason, her mind was totally closed off to him, and she was one of the only people he could not get access to. How was a matter he could not comprehend. In the process, he unintentionally heard Xavier’s thoughts as his mind wandered off. Slightly irked, he shot a glare in his direction, while giving them a mock bow “Glad to see you’re all doing your jobs so well, miss prefect. It could be considered a miracle that none of the night students were injured by you subordinate’s brilliant plans.” He intoned slowly, giving them a sweet smile. “And yes, Xavier, even a small, cute child could come up with a better plan than yours,” he added before turning on his heels and following the rest of the night class inside for classes. They are his temporary responsibility after all, no matter how annoying they are.

As his presence leaned threateningly over the female prefect, Nemaeus suddenly felt a soft tugging on his sleeve. It was annoying, and it meant someone was touching him. “Oy, Nem-kun. You should help me stay awake in class tonight.” At the sound of Mikari’s voice, he blinked once, but did not bother to look at her. Miss Prefect was speaking again. "Thank you for the advice, Nemeaus-san. But classes are about to start." An overly exaggerated look of stressed patience filled his otherwise bored and uninterested facial features, as if he were dealing with a small toddler.

”It wasn’t advice. It’s your job.” It was not surprising that she had said as much. Humans tended to be slow, some more than others. She did not particularly strain his nerves, she was simply a slight annoyance- much like a fly. The tugging at his sleeve intensified, and Nemaeus finally turned to look at the sleepy Mikari. With a blank look that hinted at dislike at being touched, he walked away from the female prefect as she struggled against the fangirls and fanboys. He was led off a few meters by Mikari, and grabbed her wrist which was still holding the lip of his sleeve, when she suddenly stopped as a male Day class student suddenly appeared- having broken past other prefects.

Holding her wrist like that, and with an increasingly dark look of both impatience and poison aimed now at the boy, Nem was incredibly threatening- he might have even appeared possessive holding her wrist like that, pressuring the annoying boy even further. In reality, however, he simply didn’t like being touch- other vampires weren’t that bad, but Nemaeus valued his personal space, perhaps a bit too much.

The Day class student spoke of the spring ball, and Mikari replied with a vague answer that would spike the boy’s hope up too far. Nem released her wrist shortly after as the boy returned to the crowd, but it proved to be a mistake as she swiftly began tugging at him again. ”Oshira-chan, I’m right here. Stop dragging me around like a puppy on a short leash.” He looked at her blankly as she pulled him up to her side once more, and as she finally released him of her own will, he slipped his hands into his pockets, walking alongside her.

“We don’t want to be late, Nem-kun,” At this he scoffed blatantly, stamping his foot lightly on his next down-step. Being late? Seriously? None of this crap mattered, it was all pointless. Classes he attended to humor along others, tablets he took to make others feel more secure, living beside humans and other vampires, he hated it all- it didn’t matter what the circumstances of any particular situation were. It was not a little-known fact that he wanted to wreck and ruin this entire place and leave it all behind. To be forced under the mirage of human authority- it was a laugh. And furthermore, it was naïve.

A subtle glare flared up in his otherwise blank face, the screaming getting more and more on his nerves. By the time Miss Prefect mentioned the time to him, he had been long, long gone. I will leave this place behind. And good luck to the bloody council if they can ever manage to catch me again, let alone keep up.

With a breaking yell from the female prefect’s direction, everything went silent as she threatened to cancel the ball if they didn’t all scram. Nemaeus knew she hardly had that authority, but nonetheless it worked like a charm on the Day class. ”Manuke.” Nem muttered lightly. Why hadn’t the girl thought to do that before the Night class had left the building? It was like they had the little concert just to piss off all of the vampires, especially Nem.

He remained at Mikari’s side as they left the bridge behind. He tilted his head to look down at her. She was so short. Heck, practically everyone when compared to him was short. Excluding that Xavier prefect. ”It isn’t my job to keep you awake, Osh-chan. Don’t expect such free favors from me.” Shifting his gaze back up, the rest of the vampires cleared the bridge and they all headed off towards the main building.

The duo kept a rather nice pace with one another as they wandered together towards their classes. Nemaeus rarely deigned to look back down at his fellow vampire, simply keeping his head faced straight forward and his hands tucked into his pockets. He eyed the form of Akane further up ahead. At least the Day class was completely taken care of and would no longer prove a bother to them- unless the prefects screwed up again, as they so often did.

However, he could sight a few discrepancies in her form. She was much like he was, but only in the fact that she couldn’t really stand this place either and constantly ducked out to do her own thing. He also knew of her abilities, and it did not surprise him in the least to see the walking art. However, when had she managed to switch out? Nemaeus shrugged internally, making sure to keep his distance from the doppelganger. As they neared the doors, Akane’s form suddenly burst into ink, splattering the door frames, stairs, bushes, windows, and any nearby students. Nem smirked, listening to the growls and grumbles from those who had managed to slip into the paper’s range. Whoever had to clean that up was sure to have a grand time.

However, despite those covered in the ink, no one tended to really care about the little incident, and the horde of vampires did not slow down in the least, walking straight through the ink puddle and tracking the sticky, stain-causing liquid right into the building, causing more mess and more damage. Nemaeus was one of those people, but instead of simply walking through the puddle at the entrance of the door, he rested a palm on the door frame and dirtied his hand as well. He walked close to the walls, dragging his fingers all over the wall as he walked, leaving murky handprints behind as his signature.

Once the oil left his hands for the most part, he pulled a small square cloth from a nearby vampire’s pocket, wiping off his hands before returning it to a completely different vampire’s back pocket. He smirked ever so subtly to himself, already planning several ways to ditch the stuffy place in the middle of classes.

Mika’s lips upturned slightly in a half smile at Nemaeus’s little show of irritation after her comment. She knew full well of how little he cared about this whole ruse of ‘school.’ She was just glad he wasn’t in a bad enough mood to snap her head off, literally or figuratively. He was not exactly a touchy feely person, so even tugging his sleeve had seemed like a slight risk. Not that Mikari could not have slipped away if necessary, but it was good to be cautious. In any case, she was able to distract him enough so the whole thing with that “Little Miss Prefect” did not escalate more than it needed to. She did not feel that it was very worthwhile to upset the peace while the prefects were trying to keep the crazy humans under control. That could result in someone getting hurt, and probably not a vampire. Then where would this poor school be?

Almost as soon as the smile appeared on her face, it was interrupted by a slight yawn. She cut it off abruptly, returning her face to its usual curious but otherwise blank look. She focused her attention on the academic building ahead of them, but her true focus was internal, wondering if there was anything else to say to Nem, who was still walking beside her. She heard Seraphina yell at the still clamoring Day Class students that she would cancel the ball if they didn’t leave. It was almost surprising how fast everything got quiet, except for the stampeding of feet rushing back to the sun dorms. Nem’s comment drew a small, exhaling laugh from the blond haired vampire, which she quickly concealed behind a raised hand. She did not look back at the now nearly empty path, but instead, basked in the silence. She did sneak a peek at Nem’s face, and was unsurprised to see a small measure of irritation plain on his features.

They soon crossed the bridge, and Nem again spoke to her. She met his eye for a second, hearing the disapproving tone. She wondered a moment what the most proper thing to say would be. She knew what she wanted to say, but what kind of repercussions might it have? Probably nothing, maybe something. Mika was curious to find out. They were nearly at the main building when she finally spoke, her tone soft and a contented look on her face, “You know that was not what I actually wanted, right, Nem-kun?” She was, of course, referring to the fact that she was just trying to divert his irritation away from the prefect. Still, she would let him take it however he wanted.

At that moment, the form of Akane suddenly burst, spraying a black inky substance all over the nearby Night students. Mika was definitely surprised. She usually made it her goal to ignore the purebloods as much as possible, and avoid their notice in return, so she had not seen Akane switch out. The display distracted her from what she had said for the moment. It seemed to distract Nem too, as he made sure to get his feet and a hand in the ink to track more into the building. Mika herself made no effort to avoid the black stain seeping into the brick entrance. She was just glad her white uniform would stay white. It would have been a shame to have it soiled, and she sympathized with those who had gotten dirty.

Akane’s ability could be such a nuisance. She was supposed to be one of those who would keep the night class under control, but she usually made more trouble than those she had power over. Mika scoffed at the thought. A couple of the students near her heard the noise and glance at her, but her face already returned to its normal, impassive state.

Mika was still near Nemaeus as he pulled his stunt with the handkerchief. Neither of his victims seemed to notice, and Mika watched as a smirk grew on his features. That was the closest he ever seemed to get to a true smile. Mika felt a smile of her own growing on her face in response. She ducked her head to conceal it and continued toward the classroom.

In the short time it had taken Akane to 'walk' to town, dark stormy clouds obscured the moon and rain began to fall at a steady pace. She exhaled softly, her breath visible in the chilly air. "Hopefully Ryugen will have something warm brewing by the time I get there." She sighed and continued down the cobblestone street. The crowds of people didn't bother her in the slightest, but their whispers were another story. "What's she doing without an umbrella? She'll get sick!" One person hissed. "That's a uniform from that academy right? She's really pretty... Maybe it would have been a much better idea to change out of the uniform before leaving the grounds. Well not much she could do about that now.....As if an answer to her thoughts, the dim light streaming from a clothing store window across the street caught her eyes.

In a brisk manner, Akane made her way across the street and entered the little shop. The store clerk didn't seem surprised to see her at all, then again she might be a vampire. The town the academy had been built in was home to a high concentration of vampires after all, well in her opinion anyways. She quickly perused the racks and shelves of clothing with an eye for comfort and casual. By the end of her little shopping trip she was wearing a white longsleeve and a pair of drop crotch sweats. In her hand was a new umbrella and in the other a bag containing her school uniform. With that she took her leave from the shop and back out into the wet night.

It didn't take her long to reach her destination, a small art shop tucked between a cafe and library. The chilly air had misted up the shop's window, but she could make out to figures moving about. She slowly opened the creaky door and the tinkle of a bell sounded her arrival. "Welcome back, Miss Delacroix." Warm golden eyes locked with hers and she let her mouth form an almost smile. "I'm back. She said simply and took a seat in one of the squishy red chairs by the shop's window. The place had racks and shelves of art supplies, but quite a bit of space was left so customers could work on whatever they were working on. She noticed the work table was littered with sketches of a single person. "Where's you little assistant Ryugen?" She called to the Gatekeeper, picking up one of the sketches. It was of her. "He's out and about killing a few level E's. He replied casually as if it were some every day thing. Akane scowled while he handed her a cup of hot cocoa. "Oh that's interesting....Do prefects usually leave the grounds at this hour?

Akane looked up from her cup of cocoa and briefly glanced out the window. There was a coppery flash of hair and soon it was lost in the crowd. "No....no one is allowed off the grounds. She said under her breath and abruptly got out of the chair. While Roseau had her usual tranquil face her actions we're lining up. She was running and at a rather fast pace. If the girl wasn't paying attention she might get herself into some kind of trouble. "I'll come back another time for the supplies and money." The Gatekeeper merely shrugged with his usual eerie smile. With that she left the little shop.

This was a matter of responsibility then actual worry. If Roseau ended up injured or hurt in someway it would be her fault because she didn't bother to help her. She would also have to bother with Valliére afterwards as well. She shuddered slightly. For now, she had to focus on finding Miss Prefect, not an easy task with humans bustling about. The now heavy rain wasn't helping very much either. As she made her way further and further into the town, the more and more desolate it seemed to become. Suddenly, there was a low cackle and something lunged out at her.

She dodged the incoming attack with a simple side step. A huddled form lay sprawled in front of her and she eyed it warily. It was one of those level E vampires. The bestial desire was glowing in it's crimson eyes and she could only sigh. The only thing left for her to do with this vampire was kill it. As the level E staggered to it's feet, Akane began to close in. It let out a low hiss and before it knew what was happening, it was disintegrating into dust. Lightning flashed overhead. The deed was done.

Soon she was wandering the twisted streets once again. Mentally, almost unconsciously, she was hoping not to run into anymore level E's tonight. While it was accepted, no encouraged, to kill level E's that didn't get rid off the odd feeling it gave her after killing them. It was also her responsibility. Her eyes narrowed. Responsibility, the word basically chained her. She had no freedom because of it. Unfortunately, this wasn't the time to keep thinking of such things. She came to an abrupt stop, her eyes turning icy. Around her, the familiar cackles and hisses could be heard.

Finally, and possibly by luck, Akane found Roseau. Her still crimson eyes quickly scanned the girl for any harm and she reached out to tap the girl lightly. "Miss Prefect." She lightly gripped her shoulder to prevent her from running any further, holding out the umbrella to shield the taller girl from the rain. "You'll get sick..."

Akane nodded as Roseau busied herself with her cellphone. The torrential downpour hadn't lightened up since it started and soon she was drenched once again. It was a pleasant cool to her though. Despite the wetness, the heavy clinging of clothes, and it's ability to muffle sound. The effects were all a soothing balm to her. She looked up at the sky and a slow smile spread across her face. A certain memory flashed before her eyes, leaving as quickly as it came. "That happened. It was raining just like this." Suddenly the sky disappeared from view and the red of the bottom of an umbrella entered her gaze. "...Delacroix-san, please...let a go back." Roseau's voice gently called her back.

She gave her a quick nod and placed her own hand above Roseau's on the handle. "Of course, Miss Prefect." Slowly, she began leading them back to the academy. At this hour, the crowds had begun to diminish and the footsteps of both girls seemed to echo in Akane's ears. She kept her gaze constantly scanning the streets, buildings, and people around them. Nothing could be overlooked as safety was a priority now and any dangerous engagements must be avoided to ensure unwanted conflict. While she was confident in the Prefect's abilities as a hunter, there was something about her that seemed off.

Their progress was slow, but somehow they managed to make it back to Cross Academy with some hours to spare before dawn arrived. As they passed through the gates a familiar golden glint shown from the gatekeeper's booth. Akane ignored it and kept leading Roseau to the Sun Dorm. This was her responsibility after all. "Take care, Miss Prefect." From her bag she produced a bar of chocolate and closed Roseau's right hand around it. With that she left without another word. It wasn't going to be morning for a few more hours.....maybe she could sneak back into class?

She made her way to the main building, passing a pristine entrance and hall. The black ink that had previously been left had been miraculous cleaned up, by whom was a mystery. She silently made her way down the hall and into class. "Akane Delacroix-san! Where the hell have you been?" The Professor roared. "You're not even in uniform...." Whatever the man was saying was falling on deaf ears. Akane was already dozing off in her seat.

Mikari’s eyes flickered to the other students as they walked to the classroom. Few seemed eager to be there, but not many were willing to skip out. That usually included Mika. She did not like to seem rebellious around the Purebloods or to attract their attention; but tonight, that may be less of a problem. Akane was gone, as usual, so there would be less to keep Mika where she was supposed to be. The only question would be whether something of interest would happen to draw her out of class.

"Do not concern yourself with the affairs of others. It is impolite, Mika-chan.” Nem’s faintly scolding tone drew her out of her thoughts. She knew he would probably catch her meaning right away, and this was the expected response. Mika said nothing; Nem probably would not accept or really care about anything she said anyway. Still, she could not help the slight smile that barely turned the corners of her lips.

They reached the classroom, and Mika murmured, “Have fun,” as Nem slipped away. She slipped into the classroom like nothing had happened. She took a seat near a window in darkened classroom. The moon shone through the windows between clouds, suddenly illuminating the students dressed in white uniforms. The professor entered not long after and ordered the stragglers to take their seats, while Mikari was already sitting, her head resting on her arm, half-asleep. She eyed the man without much interest as he began speaking. His voice seemed monotone and dull, telling her nothing she did not already know. There was not much point to this whole school charade in Mika’s view, but there was little else to do. Perhaps she would follow Nem’s example and slip out when she got the chance.

It seemed only moments before the clouds fully covered the room and began rumbling darkly. Mika watched out of the window as a chill wind began blowing, causing the trees to stir and whisper. She could easily hear it through the large windows that occupied one wall of the lavishly decorated room. Her only regret was that she had not brought a notebook to sketch out the scene. Maybe it would be worthwhile to go get it, class or no class. She thought briefly on Nem’s words again and gave a small, huffing chuckle. ‘Not polite to get mixed in other’s affairs, eh? Isn’t that what this silly school is about? Mixing vampire and human affairs to see if there can be peace.’ she thought, shaking her head slightly. It was an odd concept, but being at this school meant they were all mixed into the humans affairs. Despite what anyone may claim though, it was more the vampire’s decisions and influences that would determine if this would work at all. The humans were just a temptation they chose to ignore… for the moment.

Before her thoughts could make it any further, a sudden peal of thunder erupted with fury, a bolt of lightning illuminating the dark clouds. Mikari was startled out of her reverie, feeling more than half awake for a moment in her surprised state. Finally, her eyes moved from their post at the window, and she noticed a couple others had been surprised by the booming noise. Still, most of the room’s occupants just seemed annoyed at the interruption. The heavy rain that followed made Mika hesitant to even think about going outside. What a shame.

Mikari tried to turn her attention to the teacher, but within moments of listening, her eyes seemed determined to force their way closed. After each blink, if became harder to open her eyes again. The soothing sounds of pouring rain only further relaxed her. Her eyelids seemed to take on their own will, and she was soon dozing, partially concealed in shadow. She was woken up by the teacher suddenly shouting.

Thinking he was scolding her for sleeping in class, again, she lazily let her eyes drift to his face. However, he was not even looking at Mika. Instead, his attention was focused on a rather wet-looking Akane. She was contentedly dozing, but now Mika knew she would find it hard to even daydream. She sat up for the first time in that class and watched Akane with slight distaste that did not show on the girl’s features. Mikari thought it a shame that she had to respect a person who was so irresponsible. She had no real choice in the matter, though.

For now, Akane was busy wandering in her dreamscape. It was raining as she walked down a dirt path leading to the ruins of what would have been a beautiful Japanese estate. Her eyes were misted over and blank when she past through the empty buildings, each footstep creaking with the rotten wood of the platforms. Then it came into view. A cherry blossom tree in full bloom, the fragile pink petals lay scattered around it. However what held the Pureblood's attention was the dark wooded coffin resting against it's trunk. "It's time to wake up...my dear friend...." She whispered and lightly placed a trembling hand on the lid. At her touch, the coffin opened with a soft hiss.

"Akacchi..."

A sharp pain registered in her brain and her eyelids fluttered open. Instinctively, she brought her hand to her stinging cheek, by now a welt had formed. Before she could figure out what had happened, a thick stack of papers fell into view with a resounding thump. She turned her head to the side and met the cool gaze of a student. "Yoite...that hurt.." She murmured, he merely shrugged. While he had the characteristics of a faithful servant, he was more of a mother to the Pureblood girl. With that she turned her attention to the monstrous heap of Satan's daily torture from the Council.

Though class was supposed to be 'learning' time, Akane hardly paid any attention as many of these subjects were already know to her. As a result she spent the time filling out the arduous amounts of paperwork. However before she could start Yoite leaned in, his breath warming the tips of her ears. "While this may seem unimportant to you Akacchi, the Council wishes to know where you stand on the Kalis issue." She paused briefly in the middle of writing a sentence. Yoite took that as the okay to continue. "Their reason being for a current incident that occurred fairly recently. Apparently a woman, a hunter in fact, was murdered. Quite brutally in fact." A sigh escaped from her lips. She wanted him to get to the point, the dramatics weren't welcome at the moment. "I believe the woman's name was Marilyn Roseau... Whatever he had said after that was drowned out by a sudden flash of lightning and rumble of thunder. It seemed that the weather was mourning a great loss.

Akane's expression remained as blank as always and she continued filling out the piles of paper. Finally, she stopped when Yoite's earnest gaze seemed to be drilling a hole in the side of her head. "The Council is fully aware of where I stand concerning this matter. If Kalis's presence interferes with my life I will not hesitate to delete her from existance." Her tone was carefree, but in that statement a challenge was concealed. The male vampire merely smirked at her answer and retreated to the door in the back of the class. This wasn't his class after all. That was that and she zeroed in on the many handwritten letters sent from a plethora of Purebloods.

A richly embossed one caught her eye, but the scent of sender sent a ripple of dislike through Akane. In neat elegant script, the name Radana was scrawled in the upper left-hand corner on the back of the envelope. Her own name was written on the front, right across the top. Whatever the woman wanted Akane wanted no part of. She hated the company of her own 'class' with a passion. Many were deceitful, conniving, power hungry, vengeful, beings, she could have kept going on but the general idea was given. She herself knew she wasn't exempt from those traits, but she did strive to be better. For now she would put those thoughts aside and figure out what the matron of the Traavettis wanted.

The professor at that moment released the class to group up in order to solve the questions on the board and Akane made her way to Oshiro. She stopped right in front of the girl and nodded in greeting. "Oshiro-san, Radana seems to be quite angry that I'm not accepting a marriage proposal to her son. I was wondering if she was always this forceful and wanted to know the result of incurring her wrath." She gently set the letter down in front of Oshiro. It was an honest question. Akane merely wanted to know who she wanted to make enemies with and who to just avoid.

Almost as if Mikari’s thoughts had summoned her, Akane soon turned and made her way over to where Mika sat. At the same time, the professor allowed the Night Students to come up to the board. Mika’s eyes flickered to Akane and back to the board as she stood, both out of a small desire to flee to the safety of the other students, and a desire to be seen as respectful. Except for the flickering of her eyes, her expression gave no indication of her desire to ignore the pureblood and avoid conversation. Mikari could already feel a slight thrill of fear and anxiety roil through her, but she suppressed it before it could make itself known.

Instead, a small, easy smile appeared, seeming natural to Mika’s features. She had hardly talked to Akane during this school year, more on purpose than by accident, so she was not sure what Akane would approach her for in the first place. That definitely bothered the girl. She noticed a paper in the pureblood’s hand, but it was covered enough that she could not make out exactly what it was. An envelope, perhaps. As Akane approached, Mika acknowledged her in a deferential tone, “Akane-sama.” She nodded politely and Akane returned the gesture. Apparently, Akane was unsure of how to deal with Radana. That was often hit or miss in Mikari’s opinion, but she did not mind telling Akane her thoughts. She picked up the envelope and asked, May I?” With Akane’s approval, she opened the envelope and removed its contents.

Though Mika seemed to be concentrating on reading the letter, she only scanned the page with half of her mind. She had been in contact with Radana recently, and she already knew some things about the situation. From the information the woman had gotten out of Mikari, she knew full well that the timing was not right for Akane to be willing to enter into any sort of betrothal agreement. Not only were the circumstances of the end of her previous betrothal a well-known rumor, but the woman had also gotten information about Akane’s lack of regard for rules and her distrust. Still, Mika knew that Radana could be painfully patient. She would be willing to wait until the timing was right, or until she could force Akane’s hand.

After an appropriate amount of time “reading” the letter, Mika finally paused in thought, raising a loose fist to lightly touch her lower lip as she thought about how best to convey her message. She had no issue telling Akane the truth, but she also wanted it to have the effect she intended. After a moment‘s pause, she started out, “Akane-sama, I believe that Radana-sama is hardly serious at this point, in spite of how intense she may come off.” Mikari looked to see what reaction Akane may have so far out of habit more than anything. She always insisted on using the –sama honorific with the pureblood’s name, both out of habit— since that was what Radana always insisted on—and out of a desire to irk her. Still, she continued with only the slightest pause. “At this point, the only real mistake you could make would be to ignore the proposal entirely. Still, I would think that a polite acknowledgement would be sufficient for Radana-sama, for the time being. If she starts threatening to buy out a chain of chocolate factories, though…”

Mika paused a moment before giving Akane a slight smile to show she was only joking. “Joking aside, once Radana-sama does become serious about it, you will need a game plan in place, Akane-sama,” Mika said, a slight stress on the honorific. She carefully folded the letter and placed it back in the envelope before setting it back on the desk. She wondered whether this would be a good time to be slightly daring with her words. Her eyes flickered back to Akane’s face, then out the window as she quietly spoke in a rather absentminded tone, “Your usual disregard for the rules of highborn society will likely do more harm than good when that happens.” A look of surprise crossed Mikari’s features, as if she had not meant to speak those easily insulting words aloud. Her widened eyes returned to Akane’s face as she spoke, her tone deceptively calm, “I said too much. My deepest apologies, Akane-sama. If I may, I think I will go solve this problem on the board?” she said with a small, overly-respectful bow. If Akane dismissed her, Mika would be at the board in a heartbeat. If not, Akane’s attentions or scoldings were not the worst Mikari had dealt with.

Akane listened intently, her face however said otherwise. Her features just naturally made her look dreamy and spaced out. However, a little life sparked into her features at the hated honorific. Was the use of the word really necessary?? She pushed the thought aside when Oshiro had paused after her little joke about Radana buying out a chain of chocolate factories. A thin smile of slight annoyance formed on her lips at the thought.

As Mikari continued the idea of what to do with Radana became more apparent. “Joking aside, once Radana-sama does become serious about it, you will need a game plan in place, Akane-sama,” Yeup, marriage was always a big no for the Pureblood. Ever since that day. Most of society knew bits and pieces of the incident, all being far from the complete truth. One thing was for sure to Akane. Radana was to be considered an enemy once she begins to force the marriage card. “Your usual disregard for the rules of highborn society will likely do more harm than good when that happens.” Oshiro then apologized immediately afterward and asked to be excused. Akane have her a small smile and nodded. "It's no trouble at all. I am quite lax when it comes to those rules. But, what is one to do if such rules chain them to an unhappy fate? As one climbs higher up, Oshiro-san. You begin to wish you could come back down." Her azure eyes held the other's gaze for quite a bit. She studied her features, and flickered back to her eyes. The girl's actions contained what she could only think as nothingness. Then the thought hit Akane, "....Really....how empty...". She tilted her head to the side in thought. Come to think of it.....the smile earlier had even lacked expression.

"Oh I apologize. You may go ahead. Thank you for the information Oshiro-san, it was very helpful. Also...please refrain from the use of -sama if you could. In education, actually anywhere, status is an unneeded thing. It clouds judgement and we lose our respect for others by looking down on one another. It's something most Purebloods could never get..." Her words were quite sincere. The way society was, she despised it. At the end of her words, the bells dinged and donged the arrival of lunch hour. Chatter began to fill the classroom again and students started filing out to head for the cafeteria.

With that, Akane returned to her own seat and began fishing around in her shopping bag for the chocolate she planned as a snack. Wait...hadn't she given it to Roseau...? A gentle sigh escaped her lips, the girl had her sympathies. Perhaps she could send the girl some honey milk tea? Wait...when had she grown attached to her in the first place? Whatever I'm still sending the tea. She thought annoyed with herself as she made her way to crowd of students heading to lunch.

---

Through the pouring rain, Takeshi strolled quite comfortably in his kimono. The paper umbrella in his hand, as fragile as it looked, kept the torrential downpour at bay. He had heard from his little assistant that Japan was getting some visitors from their western counterparts. In his right hand, a paper bag swung back and forth with his gentle pace. Richelieu seemed to have a thing for roses and well, rose tea seemed like a pleasant way to discuss the important topic at hand. He passed the Night Gatekeeper with a wave in greeting and continued on his way to the greenhouse.

Inside was his 'boss' and an unfamiliar man. His wooden sandals clacked harshly on the floor of the greenhouse when he entered. "Good evening, Headmaster." He gave Richelieu his usual enigmatic smile and then nodded in the direction of the stranger. "I wished to discuss something, but you already have company so I might as well leave. However, I went through the trouble of bringing this so here ya go." He held out the bag containing the rose tea packets and other assorted goodies.