Innes Ross's Story

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"Didn't I just go to bed a minute ago?" a vague grumble could be heard from beneath a mass of blankets as the alarm clock situated beside the form blared its morning tune.

After several half-hearted attempts at hitting the snooze button through the comforter, another less-intelligible grumble could be heard before the body beneath the blankets struggled to free himself from their entanglement. After a minute, a body that could be vaguely recognized as Innes Ross, one of the school prefects, was released. Yanking the alarm clock's plug out of the wall, Innes grinned triumphantly.

"Take that, you noisy bugger." it wasn't that he minded mornings, but the moments of waking up and escaping bed always seemed like too much effort to Innes.

Within fifteen minutes he was showered and dressed, his uniform put on neatly. His only quarrel with the outfit was that due to school regulations, and him being a prefect, he wasn't allowed to wear his beanie with his uniform. After roughly running a brush through his unruly brown hair, Innes pulled on his prefect armband and headed out toward the cafeteria.

After a quick breakfast, he was surprised to see that Hikari had left without him. Jogging outside, he did his rounds, taking care of the odd lost student or troublemaker. It almost startled him, how quickly it seemed to get dark. With a sigh, he made his way toward the Night Class dorms.

A large swarm of Day Class students had already gathered around the dorm door, though more were continuing to gather. He was about to make his way to the front when he spotted a girl getting hit by the crowd. Taking off in a sprint, he ducked and wove through the crowd and barely made it in time to catch the rather bodacious blonde before she hit the ground.

"Aha! Just in time!" he grinned as he helped the girl back up to her feet.

He recognized the girl as the Day Class student, Loreley von Engel. The blonde seemed to hold a special hatred for Innes, which he presently assumed was because he had her beat in height by a meager inch. He was sure there was something else, but that was what immediately came to mind. Personally, he was actually quite fond of her, seeing as how she reminded him of one of his best friends from back in Scotland.

Smiling, he released his light hold on her arm. "You should try to be a bit more careful. It gets pretty rough over here about this time."

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"There are other important things in this world, I wish someday you can find it as well..."

Gems of marvelous purple gazed at the slowly setting sun beyond the glass windows. Its dwindling light reflected like shimmering gold within those pools of endless mauve. The owner of those alluring pair of eyes was none other than the illustrious Pure Blood, Sacrilegious as he is called by all. He is known as the established leader of the Night Class students due to his lineage of perceived purity and it goes without saying as well, the oldest. More or less, he must make certain that the precious vampire students would not mingle with the oh-so-delicate humans. When the temptation is far too great, there are those so called prefects to take care of the mess. Well, there had been a few incidents and one was just recently. It all transpired last night when an overzealous human student prowled within the school grounds when it was time for the Night Class to take over.

The major altercation was avoided which was quite disappointing in his opinion. Leaning on the window pane, he had a rather bored look on his face. It was yet another time to play as a proper student of Cross Academy. He could already see some of the Day Class students were already crowding at the main gates of the Vampire's Dormitory. "And how could we resist not tasting them?" He spoke to no one in particular yet there was an eerie smile across his lips. "When they are so adorable just like that clamoring for our attention..." One would wonder if he was really doing his job properly. Well, it goes to show that the human students have yet to know the secret of this Academy for now. So, he must be doing his tasks at the very least. Reaching for a sweet treat in the nearby bowl beside him, he took a lollipop and placed it inside his mouth.

After doing so, he stood from his position which was sitting lazily upon the wide window ledge. The lollipop still in his mouth as he began preparing himself for the night ahead. Speaking of which, one of the other Pure Blood present inside the campus has now transferred to the Day Class. His thoughts lingered on that idea of switching classes. However, he was quite certain that the Headmaster would vehemently deny with reason such as "insanity". Well, he would just bid his time for now. He has nothing else better to do and a free meal was not something he would easily disregard. A knock interrupted him in timely manner and voice beyond the door echoed with reverence and the tint of fear. "Lord Sacred, please excuse me. It is time for classes."

The double doors to Sacrilegious' private quarters opened which revealed him to the vampire who had taken the responsibility as some kind of butler to him. Well in his knowledge, he was sent by the Vampire Council who was the ruling body of his kind nowadays to watch and serve as a guard of some sort. Some revered his status as a Pure Blood and some see it as a menacing threat. It was no different since the last time he was awoke. In any case, he gave a smile while leaning his face very close to the vampire who was of the male gender. Their faces had just a hairbreadth distance between each other. Taking out the lollipop in his mouth, he spoke "You are such a beautiful watch dog, my Crayne" His words dripped with such a sensual note that Crayne who was of the Noble Vampire Class blushed. Seeing this, Sacred placed his mouth so closely to Crayne's ears and lightly nibbled at its upper tip without breaking skin and then spoke. "Too bad I don't like dogs."

POP

With those words, Crayne was left in shock and unexplained transition of emotions while in his hand was the stick of the eaten lollipop. As for Sacred, he was already walking along the hallways with his usual attire. Unlike the other vampires who wore their school uniform in such an impeccable manner as if to show their superiority to their human counterparts. The Pure Blood wore the inner white shirt in a haphazard manner as some of the buttons were mismatched and also leaving some of the upper buttons opened. He also wore the prescribed coat without bothering closing and then wearing a loose sweater jacket that hanged precariously over his arms. On his feet, he wore wooden getas as they were more comfortable than those tacky black shoes. His hair was in its perpetual state of feathery disarray. At the very least, he had managed to wear the school pants plainly.

Over all, Sacrilegious' appearance was of pure oddity and no one had ever reprimanded him. There was the Headmaster but the human gave up in the end. As for the vampires, they could not say anything against his tastes unlike towards the other Pure Blood who had now transferred to the Day Class. As he descended the stairs, the vampires humbly bowed their heads in respect and already used to such display. He simply continued on as the doors of the Night Class Dormitory were now officially opened.

The deafening squealing of the adoring humans were already a repetitive routine. During his first time, he was rather fascinated and had been tempted to reveal his identity as a vampire to see how broken or disgustingly attached they will be to him. However, the warning glares of the prefects were much more interesting to him at that moment. Occasionally, he would looked at the people calling his name as if it was a prayer and smiled in a mischievous way. When he would do, some of the human girls would faint which was humorous to see. However, this time it seemed the term of being swept off her feet was redefined. A girl seemed to have avoided kissing the ground with the help of the male prefect. How dull. In any case, it would appear that his attention was taken once more by another individual.

It was none other than the Pure Blood Princess, Tsukiko. Sacred stopped from his walk which alerted the other vampires immediately who were trailing behind him respectively. Even the human fans were bewildered. "A child of the moon will always belong to the night. Don't stray too far." After stating that, he simply had a mysterious smile on his lips and continued walking towards the main grounds where the classes for their kind would now begin. For now, he wondered if something interesting was bound to happen soon. If not, he would not mind doing it for free.

"Aha! Just in time!"

"Oh, thank you so much, I wouldn't have wanted to hurt the ground- Yoooouuu."

"You should try to be a bit more careful. It gets pretty rough over here about this time," he said. Innes? Insufferable. There he was, going on and on about the next steak he was going to eat, the next grasshopper he would torture, the next hen he would steal eggs from. The, the, the-

The Bum-bum face.

Loreley snatched her arm away - well, it was already out of his grasp but you could never be too far - growling like a kitten who'd just had its tail stepped on. "I didn't need your help! Did I look like I was falling?"

"Uh, actually ye-" a terribly unhelpful student piped in, only to be interrupted by a palm to his face.

"No, I did not! Don't touch me, you freakishly large-"

Silence swept through the student body as the Night Class approached, leaving Loreley's voice trailing in the stillness as Sacrilegious spoke.

"A child of the moon will always belong to the night. Don't stray too far."

"-insect eating, cow torturing man!"

"Oh my god, he's like an inch away," whispered a voice nearby in awe, or rather in near-tears.

"Shut up!" hissed a girl, swatting Loreley in the arm. "Sacrilegious is right. There."

"Sacred potato who?" Loreley asked absently, still glaring at the bloody murderer. She narrowed her eyes, sweeping her rose pink gaze away from Innes - no, he had no right to own a name! It would be it's name from now on - to take in the distancing figure of Sacred Fishing Pole something. She registered the mass of purple, the purple and...

"Oh, the eggplant!" she announced cheerily.

"Kill it, kill it slowly," hissed a student in the crowd.

She was cornered.

Several human girls were surrounding Tsukiko, who, due to her naturally shy and calm state, could not find the will to fight back. They threw out words at her. However, she straightened her shoulders, adjusted her jacket, and tightened the strap of her Violin case, her head tilted back. Their words could not hurt her; she was far too accustomed to the insults that would often be thrown at her.

Out of nowhere, a tiny girl appeared - one that she had seen in her two days since enrolling in the Day classes - and began to stand up for Kiko, who had gone immobile with shock. Her jaw was slightly slack, and she forced herself to clamp it shut with a soft clack. It was only when the girls had stalked away and the girl that stood up for her - her name was Loreley, she believed - grabbed her arm, was she able to thaw out and stumble quickly in an effort to catch up with her.

She didn't have enough time to react when Loreley suddenly fell, despite her swiftness due to her vampire state, and found that the blond girl was rescued only when a human boy appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. She breathed a sigh of relief, stepping back and away from the two.

Only to find herself bumping into a large, familiar male body.

Sacrilegious ...

She blinked and tilted her head back, peering up at him, and skipped a step away, ignoring the hushed, jealous words that the human girls surrounding them were saying.

"A child of the moon will always belong to the night. Don't stray too far."

Tsukiko blinked once more and watched as he walked away, her eyes slightly narrowed. Casting a glare at the hissing student, she made a motion at Loreley, as if to apologize in advance for something, and took off quickly after Sacrilegious. She snagged his arm, gasps erupting around them as she tugged him back.

"I can't believe it ... She actually touched him!"

"Who does she think she is?"

"How dare she touch Sacrilegious! He's ... He's ... Sacred!"

"That whore is going to pay ..."

She tugged him aside and fixed a dark gaze on him. "Sacrilegious, you cannot say things such as that in front humans," she hissed out, casting a quick look around, taking in the fiery eyes of the female students. Her eyes darted back to Sacrilegious, taking on the role of a chastising sister, despite her feelings for him. She wagged her finger in front of his face, shaking her head at him. "Qualité aimable ! Vous me conduisez aliéné parfois!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air, directly before his face. Lightly slapping her forehead, she took a step back and once more shook her head at him. "Stupide ..."

Muttering something incorrigible, she turned away, to find herself faced by several angry, seething human girls. One got really close to her face, her eyes blazing with anger.

"Just who do you think you are, coming to our school and just waltzing right on up to our Sacrilegious? Nobody can talk to him like that, especially not the likes of you, you freak of a little girl!" she snapped, baring her teeth at Tsukiko, who instinctively took a step back, her hands rising up in self-defense, her Violin case bouncing a bit against her back.

Another girl stepped towards her, almost like a predator tracking it's prey - precisely what she was supposed to be.

"Yeah! Why don't you just go back to whatever planet you came from and leave our boys alone? You don't even know Sacrilegious! Who gave you the right to pretend to be some sort of queen, march into our school and talk to him like that? You even touched him! I mean, seriously, how dare you!"

Tsukiko flinched back from the girls, biting her cheek to retain from saying anything in return, which she would undoubtedly regret later on, and clenched her hands into fists as they dropped to her sides. She tilted her head up, keeping her nose high in an attempt to show the girls that they could not, would not, succeed in breaking her down enough to see the hurt that was slowly welling up inside of her.

Suddenly, she turned away, a desperate attempt to hide the tears from those vicious human girl's views. She gripped the strap of her Violin case, and with a single tear escaping the corner of her eye, and a clenched and aching jaw, her thirst suddenly erupting inside of her due to her strong, sudden emotions, she began to walk away.

((Qualité aimable ! Vous me conduisez aliéné parfois! = Goodness gracious! You drive me insane at times!
Stupide… = Stupid ...))

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"No, no, no, no, no! All wrong! It's all wrong!"

Ikuno watched with blooming amusement and interest, as his little sister, Autumn, darted back and forth in his dorm room, tossing clothes to-and-fro.

"You are such a pig, Ikuno! Would it really kill you to actually clean up after yourself?"

He chuckled in response and sat up on his bed, dropping his hands from behind his head, and down onto his lap. His golden locks fell into his eyes, and he brushed them back lazily.

"Why yes, yes it would, my darling little sister. Would it really kill you to stop fussing so much and actually enjoy yourself? I swear, you are almost as bad as mother," he grinned, his purple eyes glinting with humor. Autumn gasped in outrage and threw a quite-clean uniform shirt at him. It hit him in the center of his face, yet he let it fall, completely undeterred in his amusement of his sister.

"That's it! I give up! You truly are hopeless!" she exclaimed. He let out a delighted laugh and pushed off of the bed, quickly crossed the room, and captured his sister in a smothering hug. "Autumn, you really do need to calm down and try to enjoy yourself more. You aren't going to attract many boys if you're uptight all the time," he said gently.

She scrunched up her face and shoved away from him, scowling. "Barf!" she gagged, pointing her finger into her mouth. "I'd rather go without blood for a month then attract any of the disgusting, perverted immature guys in my grade," she insisted, her thirteen-year-old-face serious and just shouting rebellion. Ikuno shook his head and ruffled her own blond hair, causing her to grumble and retreat from his bedroom. A quick glance at the clock set him into motion; he snatched up his money and darted out the door, sticking to the shadows as he made his way from his dorm room and in the direction of the Human prefects meeting room, where he, the Guardians, and the other 'Watchers', as he referred to them, were to meet.

A commotion in the courtyard caught his attention, however, and he paused mid-stride, blond hair waving slightly in the gentle breeze. Several girls were shrieking at a very familiar girl - Tsukiko. The girl that he had unofficially adopted as his little sister, and often used as a dress-up doll. Anger welled up inside of him, causing him to take a step towards the large group, but he immediately cringed back into the shadows as the sunlight slightly-seared his hand. He shook it a little bit, blowing on the skin, and glared daggers in the direction of the group.

And yet, he could do nothing to help his 'sister'. He could only stand helplessly by as he watched tears appear in her eyes, watched her hands clench, watched her work her jaw in that very rare way of hers whenever she grew thirsty. He watched as she began to make her way away from the crowd. The girls behind her spit after her, causing her to cringe at the sounds. His face turned a slight pink with barely-contained fury, and he began to tremble with rage.

Forcing himself to turn away, for he knew he could do nothing to help one of his best and most adored of friends, he stiffly began to continue on to the meeting room. When he finally reached it, he was breathing heavily through his nose, and threw open the door. It crashed against the wall, the knob of it causing a crumpling indent to appear in it.

"Learn to control your pathetic excuses of human peers, Hikari, or I will take care of them myself. They're targeting Tsukiko for absolutely no reason, and I will not stand idly by while my little sister is bullied so severely as to make her cry," he snapped, stalking over to the girl. He cornered her against a wall, glaring down at her. "Do something, or I will." His threat held a promise that he would, without a doubt, carry out with his words. His eyes pored down at her, and his fangs prominent in his mouth. He did not mean to threaten her, specifically; he watched out for his own, and that was that. Anyone who found something wrong with that, could take it up with him.

Innes wasn't offended in the least by Loreley's insults. Actually, they were quite amusing to him. "I'm not sure where you're getting this from, but I'm not a big fan of insects. I don't recall torturing a cow either." he grinned, seemingly immune to the blonde's glare.
He couldn't help but laugh at her nickname for Sacred; it certainly did seem to suit his hair color, he supposed. "Anyway," he forced down the laughter, "as much as I would love to stay and chat about cow torture techniques and the best way to cook bugs, I do have a duty to perform as Prefect, if you'll excuse me." he bowed, more as an act of sarcasm than respect.

Navigating to the front of the crowd, he set his feet and began ushering the crowd of Day Class students back. "Get back to your dorms! You've only been crowding around the entrance to the Night Class dorms every day since you joined the academy- I don't see why you need to continue on with it today." his annoyance was practically radiating off of him. Couldn't there just be one quiet evening where he didn't have to listen to squealing girls?

"Go away, Prefect Ross!"
"You're so mean!"

Innes clenched his fist and tuned out the shouts, momentarily closing his eyes and taking a deep breath to calm himself. Of course, the crowd happily used that opportunity to rush closer, half-trampling Innes in the process.

"Damn it." Innes glanced down at his hand, which had been sliced open by the heel of someone's boot. Half-yanking his tie off, he quickly wrapped it around his hand in an attempt to stifle any aroma of blood that might reach the Night Class from the large cut. Clambering to his feet, he glared at the girls around him. He normally had an even temper, but something about the swarms of screaming girls set him on edge and made him especially irritable.

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Hikari sighed as she stood in front of the large doors. Forcing herself inside, she stood by a rack holding a few weapons designed specifically for the prefects. She ran her fingers along the cold steel of the weapons, watching as each one lacked the necessary requirements she was looking for. Finally, she settled on a basic rod and hooked it to her thigh. As she began to finish off her outfit, the loud bang of the door caught her attention.

She glanced up, spotting a head of blonde heading straight for her. She knew him as Ikuno, one of the night class students. She noticed the angered look in his eyes as he charged her, cornering her in the process. He was yelling about Tsukiko. The day class students seemed to have been harassing her again. The last of his sentence sent Hikari’s eyes into slits.

“You will do no such thing Ikuno! You know the rules,” she retorted, pulling the rod from the secured spot, shifting it into a full staff. “What do you expect of humans, specifically the female population? They are teenagers, hormone filled things,” she nearly spat. Sure she knew of the torture Tsukiko went through, but she couldn’t always be there. Tsukiko was a good friend and Hikari wanted nothing more than to help her break from her shy shell and protect her but, she was only one person.

“Put away your fangs Iku, they are not needed here,” she sighed as she replaced the rod in its spot. She pushed passed him, making her way towards the door in the process. She paused and glanced back at Ikuno, eyes holding a bit of guilt for Tsukiko before she spoke, “Class is about to start, you better get going,” and she left. She didn’t stay for his reaction, instead, making a bee-line for the crowd of girls and boys swooning over the night class. Honestly, it disgusted her at how people were so easily swayed by beauty.

Sure, they were all beautiful in their own way, but their beauty was caused by their vampiric sides. The shouts of girls snapped her out of her stupor and she glanced in the direction. She smiled a bit as she spotted the familiar brown hair of Innes. She also noticed the new student, Loreley seemingly lecturing him about something. She laughed at the idea of someone shorter (by an inch) lecturing Ross.

”Go away, Prefect Ross” she heard some of the girls shout. She only shook her head as she made her presence known. She wasn’t exactly an intimidating person, but when it came to boundaries, she wasn’t one to cross them. With a sigh, she straightened out her posture and made her way towards Innes, shoving her way in front of the crowd, eyes narrowed. The girls of the class shivered a bit as they slowly stopped their stampede.

“Back to your dorms. Now!” she nearly shouted, pointing towards their rooms in the process. She heard a few shrieks, but reluctantly most of the day students made their way towards their dorms. She turned her attention towards Innes, noticing his bandaged hand and shook her head. “You might want to go take care of that, otherwise you might have an awkward situation with a few of those Night Class students,” she stated, patting him on the shoulder and smiling.

“Plus, it’ll just give me ammunition to use against you later,” she continued as she turned her attention to the retreating day class. She spotted Sacrilegious and the other Night Class students. She watched as most of the students followed behind Sacred, almost as if he were their king. Which in all honestly would seem about right. He was the oldest by far and he had an air of royalty about him. She scanned the area, looking for Tsukiko so she could talk to her, hopefully make her feel a bit better, but she didn’t see her. Perhaps she disappeared in the crowd and went back to her dorm.

When Innes - at least, she thought that was his name - moved in front of the crowd, he was like an ascending angel in her time of need. Not that she was falling for him; she didn't even know him! But she was extremely grateful when he went to the front of the crowd and ordered everyone to return to the dorms.

Erys appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and lifted a hand to wipe at the tear on her cheek. She scowled a little - or at least, managed as much of a scowl as she could in her current state of distress. She sniffed a little and shook her head. "If it wasn't for the rules, this school would be complete and utter chaos. They would treat me differently if they knew what I was, and if they knew I was a night student. Besides," she said, managing a tiny shrug, "The males like me enough. I've made enough friends with the boys here that they stand up for me to the females ..." she trailed off, thinking over what she would tack on.

However, the instant that Innes cut his hand, she smelled the blood. It whispered throughout the humans that surrounded her, overpowering the scent of their blood, which was moving steadily throughout their veins, beneath their skin. This was different, though; it was freely-flowing blood, above his skin. It trickled across his hand, and she immediately locked onto the blood, looking through the crowd, around the bodies of the Day Class students.

Tsukiko remained in control, despite her thirst clawing towards the surface, and quickly swallowed, heavily. She tucked her lips in and over her teeth, in an attempt to conceal her fangs, and swiftly and surely pushed her way through the crowd. When she reached Innes and Hikari, the spell that the blood had cast over her had faded at this point. Instead of attacking him and allowing her thirst to overtake her, she snatched his wrist and held it up.

"Such a stupid boy ..." she murmured, staring at the quickly-staining tie. "For a guardian, you aren't the most intelligent of humans," she scolded, glancing over at several vampires, who were all staring hungrily at Innes. "It would be best if we took care of this, and quickly. Hikari," she began, looking over at the girl, her shyness momentarily pushed away, her authoritative, old-soul, wise self pushing out into the open, which was as rare as her shyness was common, "Make sure that none of the Night Class students follow us, and that all of the Day Class students are taken care of. As for you, Innes," she said, turning her gaze back to him, "If you will follow me, I would be more then happy to take care of that hand of yours."

Turning, she dropped his hand and once more adjusted her Violin case, and made her way to the nearest secluded spot - a place underneath a shaded, shadowy tree. Taking up his hand once more, she unwrapped the tie, cast a slow, studying glance around, and then completely removed the tie. Kiko slipped it into the pocket of his pants, for him to take care of later, and turned her attention to the cut.

"I won't hurt you, if you are worried about that. I know you don't know me well, but I can assure you that I will not hurt you. If I would, Hikari would have never allowed me to leave with you," she murmured, her voice soft and a bit compelling. "Trust me," she added, staring at the hand.

It was then that her eyes seemed to take on a change. The mesmerizing, bewitching purple iris's began to pulse, rippling and almost becoming waves in her eyes, and slowly, traveling outward from her endlessly, black pupils, an odd color began to spread throughout the iris's, overtaking the purple. In replacement for the purple, the iris's became a little more then one-fourth brown, and the rest grew to become a white-gray hue, with yellow spikes surrounding the pupils. As soon as this transfiguration was complete, she drew his hand closer to her face. Flipping it around, she lifted it to her lips and pressed them against the back of it.

If what she was attempting to do succeeded, a strange warmth would end up passing through the length of his hand, perhaps even his wrist and the entirety of his arm. An odd tingling sensation would begin in the cut, which would slowly yet efficiently seal shut.

When she had finished, Tsukiko pulled away and released his hand, allowing him to gain control of it once more. She took a few steps back, obviously willing to give him some distance, and then turned away. With that done, she lifted her hands to the back of her head and stretched, before starting away from him.

(( Eyes ))

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Ikuno ground his teeth together, his anger evident in his face. "Don't test me, child. You may be a prefect, guardian, and a human, but I will not hesitate to protect my kin," he snapped, refusing to allow his fangs to return to his gums. He wasn't about to let her order him around. Besides, it was a relief to allow his fangs out for the time being; he didn't allow them to escape very often.

As soon as Hikari was gone, he whirled around and forced himself to keep from punching a hole in the wall.

What an infuriating human!

Grumbling a little, his anger fading just enough so that he wasn't steaming from the ears anymore, he spun on one heel and strode from the meeting room. His destination: class.

He didn't make it that far, though, and paused once he reached the courtyard once more, where he immediately spotted Tsukiko beneath a tree. He smiled a little; she seemed calmer. He took a step in her direction, but froze when his eyes took in Innes's form.

Immediately his anger was back. How dare that little human trick his Tsukiko into healing him? Of course that was what she was doing. He could see from the soft, dim golden glow that radiated off of her skin.

Five long strides, and he was under the tree with them. He stepped between Tsukiko and Innes, baring his fangs at the boy. "How dare you trick my sweet Tsu-Tsu into healing you?" he demanded, his voice a hiss. He took a menacing step closer to the boy, his hands now fists at his sides.

A hand on his upper arm stopped him, and Ikuno froze mid-step, before looking over his shoulder at the person touching him.

"Kiko?"

She looked up at him with her gentle, purple eyes, and slowly shook her head. "He did not trick me. I insisted. Ikuno ... You have been acting irrationally and irresponsibly. It is so very unlike you. Is something the matter?" she asked quietly.

Ikuno clenched his jaw, his eye twitching a bit. "Nothing is wrong. I'm just ... Tired," he muttered. The look on her face shone with disbelief, but she dropped her hand none-the-less and stepped back, looking over at Innes again. "How is your hand?"

He stared at Tsukiko for a moment, before turning away.

"Do as you wish; I won't stop you. But remember," he locked gazes with Innes, "If you do anything to harm Tsu-Tsu, I will not hesitate you hunt you down and kill you," he growled, hissing at the boy, his fangs protruding once more. Oh, how he loved the feeling of his fangs escaping. It was relief and normalcy combined into one.

With that in the open, his threat lingering, he spun on his heel and walked quite calmly away - which he was extremely proud of.

His pride did not last, however, for when he was pacing past the Night Class's Dormitories, he heard a shrill, girlish scream of surprise, followed by several snapping sounds, and the quick attack of the smell of blood. He took several strides forward and stopped when he rounded a corner.

Through the foliage of trees, bushes, and flowers, was a small, slightly familiar short, blond girl - and short she was, especially in comparison to him.

She was rising and whimpering softly as she plucked what could only be thorns, from the rosebush that she had crushed, from her skin. He cast a glance around, his jaw aching. He worked it, his fangs escaping. Curling his lips over his teeth to hide the sharpened canines, he began to approach the girl.

Only to stop when a shadowed form darted from the shadows.

Without hesitation, he took off after the vampire, capturing him just in time. The vampire was Level C and one of the more unattractive of the vampire race, and his fangs were prominent on his face. Ikuno tackled the vampire into the wall, baring his teeth at the male. He crossed his arm over his neck, pinning the vampire against the wall, and immediately began to hiss in return at the loud hissing he was receiving, all the while oblivious to the naivety of the small, very human, German girl beside him.

He pulled the vampire away for a moment, grabbed him by the lapels of his uniform jacket, and shoved him hard against the wall, before wrenching him away once more and throwing him into a nearby bush.

"Run," he hissed at the boy, who took off in a blur of speed. Ikuno would see to it in the morning that the child-vampire faced the repercussions facing him. His blond locks were in disarray, yet if one were to gaze upon him, his appearance would be that of an ethereal, distant beauty, his eyes bright with fury and his protective nature, his fangs obvious against his red lips.

When he finally remembered the girl's presence, he turned, his fangs hidden behind his lips.

"Are you alright, miss?" he murmured, his words a bit slurred due to his inexperience of speaking without allowing his fangs to be revealed. He gently took her wrist and looked her over, studying her lacerations. "We should get you to a nurse, and quickly. You seem to be bleeding profusely. Allow me to assist you?" he offered, taking a step back and bowing before her at the waist, one arm crossed perfectly over his abdomen. He looked up through his hair at her, praying that she had not seen enough to guess at his, and the other Night Class's students, vampire states.

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Hikari watched as the day students dispersed. She turned to glance at Tsukiko who had reappeared and smiled. Before she could ask Tsukiko if she was alright, she snatched Innes and walked away, stating that she was going to take care of his wound and that she was alright. Hikari frowned but let her go anyway. She noddly curtly as the last words Tsukiko spoke reached her ears and she began her rounds for the night. Time seemed slow, the low howls of the wind blowing through the trees whistled a silent tune for Hikari.

It was moments like these that seemed to calm her and make her feel more at ease about the situation at hand. Although it might have seemed like another night, Hikari was slightly worried. There were rumors going around that the nearby town was recently visited by a string of murders. Of course Hikari knew what was causing the murders, but with it being so close to the school; she didn’t want the day class students to find out their schools secret.

Sounds, more like inaudible curses, filled the air as Hikari turned to find the source. Then she saw it, a sudden blur running through the trees at an alarming rate. She cursed to herself and pulled the rod from its’ hiding place and jolted off in a sprint. She knew their body language, and the shadowed figure was in a hunting position. There was only one explanation for that and she didn’t want to know which day student had disobeyed again. She would have been irritated if she were not so focused at the moment. Why is it so hard to follow rules?, Hikari thought as she rushed after the vampire. She came to an abrupt stop when she spotted Ikuno and Sacrilegious.

“Speak of the devil, here is one of our prefects right now... Isn't that a lovely thing?” Sacrilegious spoke as Hikari came into view. She glanced between Ikuno and Sacrilegious before spotting Loreley. She was covered in subtle scrapes with a few being more prominent. She sighed, replacing the rod she was carrying into its’ spot and crossed her arms over her chest.

“Lorely, why are you out after hours? You know it’s curfew,” she spoke, her voice calm. “And you two should be in class,” she added, glancing at the two vampires from the corners of her eyes. “Never mind. Loreley, come with me so we can get you cleaned up,” Hikari stated, grabbing the German girls arm lightly and smiling.

Innes cast a thankful glance toward Hikari as she beat back the tide of students, sending them back to their dorm without much trouble.

"You've always been so much better than me at dealing with them." he chuckled and glanced at his hand. "I'll take care of it in just a minute, don't worry."

He was feeling a lot better now that the crowd was gone. He'd never been particularly fond of large groups of people; he guessed that he was only chosen as a Guardian for his fighting experience, not his less-than-substantial social skills. He was surprised when Tsukiko Opaque, a girl that he recognized as part of the Day Class even though she belonged in the Night Class, approached him. Muscles tensing as she snatched up his wrapped hand, he cast a half-suspicious glance at her.

Tsukiko's comment about him being stupid caused his eyes to narrow. "It's not my damn fault that the girls uniforms include heels or that they're so loud and there's so freaking many of them." he grumbled, more to himself than anything.

A moment later, the vampire girl had walked off after making a comment to Hikari, who seemed to approve of the girl's idea. With a sigh and a grumble, Innes followed her. Leaning against the tree she had picked to stand under, he stayed defensive as she took up his hand once more. Wincing slightly as she unwound his tie, which had already partially stuck to the wound, he tensed. The metallic tang of blood was obvious even to him when it was this close; he couldn't imagine what it was like for Tsukiko being this close to it. That thought set him on edge even more and her words did little to comfort him. In his experience, hunger could drive someone to do anything, even something very out of character.

The change in her eyes was transfixing, he had to admit. One minute her eyes were a mesmerizing purple and the next they were another remarkable combination of colors. The transformation startled him so much he almost didn't realize when she drew his hand up to her lips. He was rather confused momentarily, both flinching from the thought of her potentially biting him and blushing because hey, a cute girl was practically kissing his hand.

Forcing himself to focus, he was surprised even further by the tingling sensation that spread through his hand and up into his arm. It was both pleasant and incredibly uncomfortable all at once and he wasn't entirely sure how to react to it. He was almost disappointed when she released his hand and the sensation vanished. Of course, he silently chastised himself for that afterward, but it wasn't like he could entirely help it.

After examining his now-healed hand for a moment, he looked up to see that Tsukiko had already started away from him. He was about to thank her when Ikuno stepped between them, fangs bared. Hand instinctively reaching into his jacket to remove Bloody Rose, the vampire-killing gun that had been given to him to wield. Normally he also carried around an anti-vampire extendable rod for extra security, but he'd neglected to go to the Prefects lounge earlier to pick it up, since he didn't keep it with him all the time like he did the gun. He didn't fully remove the weapon from his jacket, but the threat was there in the motion. When Tsukiko stopped Ikuno's advance, he let his hand drop to his side once more, leaving the gun concealed now that the threat seemed to have passed.

When Kiko asked about his hand, he smiled. "It's fine, thanks to you." his hand went back toward his jacket at Ikuno's hissing threat.
"I imagine you know that if you do anything to a human on this campus there will be dire consequences, Ikuno Translescia." he was rather relieved when the Night Class boy finally strutted off, looking as overly prideful as always.
Turning back to Tsukiko, he smiled. "Thank you for healing my hand. You didn't have to, but I'm grateful that you did."
Thoughts turning toward conversational topics, he said the first thing that came to mind. "How long has it been since you last fed?"

Tsukiko paused mid-stride, having already begun to walk away once more, when Innes murmured his 'thanks' to her. She turned back around and offered him a smile. "You are quite welcome, Innes. Besides, we wouldn't want one of the Night Class students thinking it was okay to eat you, now would we? No, we would not. I would really hate it if you were hurt," she said sincerely, nodding a little.

When he suddenly mentioned her thirst, she froze. When anyone, anyone, spoke of blood, or even anything pertaining to it, she would feel extremely uncomfortable. She looked down and shuffled her feet, her hands clasped behind her back, and she finally shifted her gaze up through her eyes at him.

"That ... Is unnecessary. That information is not needed," she mumbled stoically, turning away. "Besides, you simply do not ask a lady that sort of question," she attempted at a joke, yet it fell flat and she herself did not find it funny - which was quite tragic, actually. Under other circumstances, it would undoubtedly be very funny indeed.

She turned away once more and began to walk again.

Her jaw was aching.

Her gums throbbing.

Her throat burning.

Her stomach churning.

Her entire body would undoubtedly shut down soon.

And all because of her cursed thirst.

She lowered her Violin case slowly to the ground, and then stood still for a moment, before turning back to face him. Her eyes were a darker shade of purple, slightly more intense, and she took a step towards him. Suddenly she was directly in front of him, her head tilted back for moment, then looked down at him.

Of course, she knew his job as a Guardian; however, she refused to take advantage of that. Yes, it had been a few weeks since she had taken the offered tablet, and even longer since she had actually drank human blood, but ...

"Two weeks," she murmured, closing her eyes for a moment, before reopening them. She shook her head a little and worked her jaw.

"You smell ... Delicious," she whispered, leaning in closer to him. She ducked her head and nuzzled it into the crook of his throat, inhaling deeply as she did so. "Positively scrumptious ..."

She seemed to be almost under a spell. The mesmerizer had become the mesmerized. Her lips trailed softly across his equally soft skin. Her fangs slid freely out of her gums, scraping gently across the satiny skin of his throat. "Do not be afraid ... I would never hurt you ..."

Without seeming to be able to help herself, her fangs pierced his neck, immediately finding the vein that would give her the most blood. The flow of blood was compelling. She managed to regain her hold on herself, and as soon as the blood began to flow between her lips, her mind shot into that of Innes's, compelling it to feel not pain, but pleasure. She did not wish to harm him, and that was the truth.

If one were to look upon the two, they would see only a couple that had sneaked out to embrace each other. One of Kiko's hands had curled into Innes's hair, pulling his head to the side; the other was resting upon his chest; one ankle was twined around one of his, and her lips were locked to his throat.

She forced herself away after a few moments, so as not to endanger him, and she immediately pulled back from him, her arms at her sides, her tongue tracing over her lips.

"I hate it ... I truly do ... Why should you die or be harmed in order for me to live? It isn't fair," she whispered, turning away and clenching her jaw.

"I'm sorry ..."

With that, she snatched up her Violin case, slung it over her shoulder, and began away, her intention to return to her dorm room and lose herself in her music. She didn't have classes until a few hours before dawn, so she was free to sleep or wander the campus until then.

---

---

Ikuno kept a firm grip on the human girl, so as to prevent her from falling, and when Sacred appeared, barely even spared him a glance. Instead, he kept his eyes on the girl, listening to Sacred and growing angrier with each word.

What a pig-headed son-of-a ...

He ground his teeth together and forced his calm control to return, focusing on the girl before him.

She did not look well, at all. He pulled her in closer so as to ensure that she would not topple over.

When she pricked her finger on his fang, he hissed and tore away, keeping her at an arm's length as a drop of blood dripped upon his tongue. The taste exploded inside his mouth, and his eyes darkened with a hunger he normally so expertly kept in check. He stopped breathing entirely, his chest stopping it's rise and fall, and turned away from the girl, one arm holding her up. It was then that he felt her plucked from his arms, having been entirely zoned in on keeping from draining her dry. He faced the wall of the building, his hands clenched at his side, his eyes squeezed shut, and his heart hammering in his chest.

When Sacred and she were gone, he turned to face Hikari, his eyes darker then ever before.

"I'm going to find Tsukiko and take her to Loreley. She'll heal her," he muttered. With that said, he took off, almost seeming to disappear.

He figured that he would first look for her at the tree he had last seen her at, with Innes. When he reached the tree, however, it was to see her caught in the midst of teeth-to-throat with him, so instead of interrupting, he took several steps back to wait for them to conclude their feeding.

Innes knew it had been a while since Tsukiko last fed. He'd told her to come to him whenever she needed it, but it had been a long time since then. His suspicions of her thirst were confirmed when she seemed to stiffen at his question, though he knew part of that was discomfort at the topic. Her joke was flat, even to him, but he managed a smile at her effort.

Biting back a sigh as she started walking away again, he was hardly surprised when Kiko set down her violin case, seeming to have made a decision. Her eyes surprised him every time, their darkness vaguely reminded him of the irises his mother used to grow. Her sudden approach made him flinch, though it was a rather delayed reaction. He figured it had been a while for her, but two weeks seemed a ridiculous amount of time. Exactly how much control did she have to be able to go that long without blood?

She leaned in and nestled her head against the crook of his throat. He took a deep breath as he felt her fangs scrape his neck, closing his eyes to keep himself calm. His breath caught as her fangs pierced his skin, instinctive fear flashing through his mind briefly with the pain before Kiko compelled him to feel pleasure instead. He couldn't say he minded either one, but his mind was actually quite blank. He was rather acutely aware of her hand in his hair and her ankle wrapped around his. He was thankful that he'd managed to keep calm, though his heart was beating rather fast, which he was sure she could feel with her hand on his chest.

He was almost disappointed when she pulled back. He didn't mind her drinking his blood; he'd always had a soft spot for girls, especially cute ones. He wasn't surprised at her comment- that was her insecurity talking, he figured.

Still, he raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "It's not like it's terrible for me, you know. There's no need to apologize, so don't. I really don't mind it, so please do come to me whenever you like. I don't know if you were aware, but I volunteered for this by my own free will." she was already walking away, so he hoped that she still heard him talking. "Ah, anyway. Please be safe on the way back to your dorm. If anyone asks, you're welcome to say that I kept you out. Have a good evening, then." he smiled.

He had to say that he was feeling slightly fatigued after that, but he ignored it. Removing his stained tie from his pocket, he dabbed lightly at the puncture wounds on his neck, trying to keep any blood from finding its way to his shirt. His mind still wasn't entirely clear, but he knew his senses would be back to full functionality in just another moment, so he wasn't worried about it. Now he just had to do his patrol and hopefully get a few hours of sleep in.

Ikuno waited until the two were separated before approaching Tsukiko, who was only just then walking away from Innes. He shot a glare at the human boy, his eyes holding a hidden threat, before turning to face Kiko, who had paused mid-stride when she saw him.

"Something happened with a Day Class student, and we need you to heal her. Also, would you mind so terribly to erase a bit of her memories?" he said, glancing down at her.

Her expression fell a little - for what reason, he hadn't a clue - but she nodded and started away with him. She stopped and turned around, though, causing Ikuno to pause in order to wait for her.

"Thank you, Innes," she said quietly, looking at him with hooded eyes. "I am forever in your debt." With that, she turned and nodded at Ikuno, who nodded uncertainly in return, but began to walk. Ikuno was the one to stop next, and he looked down at her.

"I don't want you around him anymore, Tsukiko. Him or Sacrilegious. Neither of them are any good for you, and you know precisely what your duties are as an Opaque child. You have no future with the boy, friends-wise or more so. If your father ever found out that you were even friends with a mortal, he'd-"

"And are you going to run to my father and tattle upon me as if I were a child, Ikuno?" Tsukiko asked quietly, her voice slightly cold. "As far as I know, it is not a crime to befriend humans, and if my father finds something wrong with that, then he can be the one to threaten me. You may be as close to me as a brother is, but you haven't the right to treat me as a child. In fact, if my memory serves me correct, then I am older then you. So don't you dare act as if you have the right to control with whom I choose to associate myself with, Ikuno Translescia," she snapped.

Ikuno stared at her, his mouth agape with shock. Not once in the several years had he known her, had she ever once spoken back to someone on such a trivial matter. However, this may not have been a small matter to her; it may have been far more important to her then he had originally thought.

"Tsukiko, I'm sor-"

"Save it. I'm going to go ahead and heal that girl, and then I'll be returning to my room to sleep. I would like it very much if you would not accompany me."

Ikuno did not miss the hurt that flashed through her eyes as she turned away, and although he wanted desperately to go after her, his gut was what stopped him from doing so. She had asked him not to accompany her, and as one of her closest friends, he would honor that request, no matter how much it pained him to do so.

With that thought in mind, he turned, shoved his hands into his pockets, and went on his very un-merry way to class.

---

---

Kiko continued towards the nurse's station, where the human girl undoubtedly was, her arms crossed over her chest as she swallowed down an odd feeling that continued to attempt to creep up and out of her.

For the first time in her life, she had stood up for herself against someone, someone who had only ever ordered her around and expected her to automatically do his bidding. She adored Ikuno, but was absolutely sick and tired of listening to him all the time.

Maybe Hikari was right ... I do need to grow a backbone ...

She paused outside of the nurse's office, before knocking once on the door and proceeding to enter. She nodded at Hikari, and then strode over to the girl's side.

"Loreley? Of course. She has to be one of the clumsiest ..." she trailed off and shook her head a little. She tugged a chair over and dropped down beside her, lifted her hands, and allowed them to hover above her. Her eyes closed, hiding the change that went over them each and every time that she healed someone or something, and she blocked out the scent of human blood. Oddly enough, her thirst did not attempt to escape in any way, despite her full state. The blood didn't even hold it's normal allure; it was nothing in comparison to the smell of Innes's blood.

Innes's blood ... The delicious, warm substance that she had only just recently drank ... Sweet and appetizing ...

She shook her head and opened her eyes as her mouth began to water and her fangs threatened to expose. Stop it ... Enough ... Do not even think about it ...

She closed her eyes once more, inhaled deeply through her mouth, and returned to focusing.

It took her a few moments, due to her distracted state, but she managed to heal the girl's bodily wounds. She then rose and leaned over her, pressing her index and middle fingers to each of the girl's temples, her right hand hidden by one black glove, as normal for her. Her eyes remained closed as she concentrated, shifting through the girl's memories. Within an instant, what occurred that night was swept from her mind, and easily replaced with her only falling from the windowsill and into the rosebush, where she was found by Sacred, who then took her to the nurse for inspection, upon which she was told that she was fine, other then a mild concussion.

Tsukiko rose and stumbled a bit, gripping the railing of the bed.

Why am I so tired ...? This ... This isn't normal ... I can't ... Focus ...

Images of more then one object began to appear, when in fact, it was only one object. She was seeing double, triple the amount of everything she looked at. She was incredibly dizzy and oddly nauseous, and with a soft groan, she collapsed to the ground.

The coolness of the tile felt good on her hot cheek. But why would her cheek be hot? Vampires did not run fevers. They did not grow sick. However, she could not deny that the room felt stifling hot to her, and that she had broken out in a thin sheen of sweat. She could barely breathe; with each inhale, it felt as though she were inhaling buckets of water. She managed to slip her hand up and grip the ruby gem of the necklace that she wore, drawing comfort from that.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she drifted into a blissful unconscious state.

---

---

Crayne was not certain on how to proceed from here. Perhaps, it was for the best if Moirae had taken this instead of him. He was not that keen on human interaction and more importantly, reasoning on matters that would not reveal the secret of the Night Class. It would have been best if the girl had remained asleep. But alas, this happens. For now, he must put the safety and health of both females above his discomfort. Well, he was surprised the girl was still fine after smacking her head on a shelf. It seemed this female was prone to accidents. For now, he must addressed her questions. "I'm Crayne Le'Xore, a student from the Night Class. As for Lady Tsukiko's condition, I'm not sure. I have just arrived and found her like this. It also seemed that the nurse is nowhere to be found. But she is suffering a slight fever." While stating the last statement, he looked at Tsukiko with great concern. "Seeing you are quite well, I would like to escort both of you and Lady Tsukiko back to your dormitory. The sun will soon rise and both of you need rest. I will inform the Headmaster of what happened to both of you." This was spoken with eloquent politeness. "I am sent by Lord Sacrilegious to assure both of your conditions, so please be rest assured." After stating that, he pulled Tsukiko closer to him to make the Pure Blood princess more comfortable as he gestured towards the door. "If you please, Miss..."

Once Crayne was certain that the human girl was beside him. He led the way towards the Sun Dormitory. Honestly, he must make haste for he is not resistant to the sun like the Pure Bloods. Although, there are a few hours left on the clock. Hopefully, nothing would happen along the way. A few minutes later, he had entered the Dormitory of the Humans and made himself prim and proper. The scent of delectable preys lingered in the air strongly. His self-control was truly tested and fortunately, he won. At the same time, it was good to know that the humans are already sleep. He did not want to cause a commotion especially having a Night Class visiting the Sun Dormitory. Soon, he reached the human girl's room first. "Then, Miss. Please have a good rest. I will inform Lord Sacrilegious that you are safe and sound." He did not leave the human girl until she entered her room and heard the locking of the door. After wards, he proceeded locating Tsukiko's room. It was not that hard as he followed the scent unique to the princess. Good, her room was unlocked as he entered and gently laid down the princess on the bed. "This is truly odd. I didn't know that they could get sick..." Placing his hand on her forehead, her temperature was still a bit higher than the norm. He was not certain what to do but all he could think of was to inform the Headmaster. "Take care of yourself Lady Tsukiko..."

It was then Crayne left the room and went to the Headmaster's Office. The Headmaster was still awake and he explained the situation. He was assured that human girl and Lady Tsukiko would be taken care of. For now, he must return to the Moon Dormitory before the sun peeks on the horizon for his own good. Excusing himself, he left the Sun Dormitory and met one of the guardians and if he was correct, this particular one is an acquaintance of Lord Sacrilegious. The name is Innes. "Good evening, thank you for your hard work." He greeted politely and took the whiff of faint blood along with the scent of the Princess. "Are you close to Lady Tsukiko by any chance?" He indiscriminately asked as his curiosity took over as he waited for the answer.

On the not so distant Moon Dormitory...

Sacred had just got out of his bath. His hair still clung to his ghostly complexion as he donned a simple black shirt which was mostly opened except for some buttons at the lower part. Matching it was a simple black pajama pants. It seemed the murders occurring nearby the Academy was just another of the signs as expected. He did tell Moirae that he was going to be a mere spectator in all of these. Yet, he wonder how long will he be able to remain as such. His internal thoughts were only interrupted upon sensing someone near at his room's entrance. He already knew who it was by the scent being drifted to his room and the voice calling out his name. It made him smile as he exited the bath chambers and into his room where Hikari was now present. "Always the dutiful guardian Kari." He walked towards a nearby sofa and smiled. There was no wonder why he was adored by the human population whether it to be a female or male. His looks was divine in its very essence. There was still some water on his skin making it glow in an ethereal light. He appeared so seductively beautiful yet without him needed to flaunt it at all. "So, how was your day?" Sitting on the chair with an inherent grace, his eyes of mysterious purple looked at Hikari as if analyzing ever fiber of her being.

It was no secret that Sacred treats Hikari differently outside his room. To him, he was a female guardian and that was all. He always addressed her as Guardian, Hikari, or Toko. It depends on how he wants to deliver a certain meaning. However in the privacy of his bedroom, he was rather quite friendly and always calls her Kari. "I hope it had not spoiled your blood now." He raised his hand towards her gesturing for Hikari to come to him. The Pure Blood had always been an enigma even when feeding on the female guardian. He had always kept to his schedule and if measured properly, he never takes more than 200 milliliters. This is either he is not really that thirsty, have incredible self-control or cared about Hikari's health than he lets on. Regardless, the answer to that is unknown and left unnoticed. "Now, would you tell me yourself? Or, should I ask your blood?" A smile continued to adorn his lips yet it has this underlying meaning that had yet to be figured out.

---

---

Innes hadn't taken much note about Ikuno's glare, figuring that it was normal for the overprotective boy to hate him. It did bother him that he was still hated even after he'd just been a willing meal for his 'little sister.' Blushing slightly, he nodded at Tsukiko's gratitude. He was already starting to walk away when he heard Kiko and Ikuno argue for a moment, which surprised him. The two of them never seemed to argue, at least not that he'd heard.

It wasn't long before his head had cleared up quite considerably and he was back to patrolling the grounds. As he was passing by the Sun dormitory, he happened across Crayne; a noble vampire and also Sacred's watcher. When Innes paused to inquire about the boy's presence outside the human dormitory, the 'slightly' elder boy beat him to the punch with a greeting.

"Good evening, and it's no problem; just doing my job." the follow-up question startled him slightly. "I would like to say I'm an acquaintance of hers, why? Did something happen?" his own curiosity spurred him to inquire, though a glance at his watch startled him. "Ah, actually, as much as I'd like to stay and chat, I have to finish my patrol." he smiled and waved as he jogged off.

The rest of the patrol was rather unremarkable. Innes couldn't deny that he was starting to doze toward the end of it, but he was thankful when he finally got back to his dorm room. Settling down in the desk chair, he hurried through his homework, barely finishing it before he fell asleep on it. Thankfully, his roommate was so kind as to wake him by dumping him out of the chair. Cursing, Innes got up and glanced at the clock. Brilliant, he'd only gotten about two hours of sleep.

Hastily showering and changing into his spare uniform, he snatched up his homework, made sure Bloody Rose was tucked safely inside his jacket, and rushed out the door. Grabbing two bagels from the cafeteria as he passed through, he made his way through the school, he dropped by the music room to remind anyone in there that they should be heading to class soon. He was certainly surprised to see Hikari in there with two rather hostile vampires.

Finishing off the last bite of his bagel, he moved to stand beside Hikari and held out the other one to her in offering. "This is the music room, you know. Not an arena for a fight to the death. Now," he turned his attention back to Hikari, "should I have plans on shooting anyone?" his hand was already half-inside his jacket, reaching for the rather well-known anti-vampire gun, Bloody Rose.

"Umm, uh, yeah," the boy Loreley found herself with mumbled, shifting from foot to foot. "I'm Sotaru?"

"What. Just. Happened?" Loreley managed to choke out.

"Well, you seem a bit feverish, apparently? I should do as Miss Toko said and take you to the-" His sentence was interrupted by a palm to his face.

"Ssshhh." Loreley furrowed her eyebrows in concentration as she sifted through the mess of her memories. "I'm thinking." Woah. I'm actually thinking.

"Look, you're obviously a little out of it. Let me just-"

"Listen, punk." Her gold hair slapped Sotaru across the face as she spun around. Those who knew her learned to see the signs: pursed lips, narrowed pink eyes, hands on hips. Uh oh. If Sotaru knew what was good for him, he would run.

"Do you see my hair?" she asked.

"Is that a rhetorical quest-" Sotaru began.

"You see these curls?" she asked, not quite allowing Sotaru to answer as she lifted a lock of her smooth, thick blonde hair, the ends curling 'round and 'round in a lolita doll fashion. "They're impossible to tame without a special sort of deep conditioning. Made up of the fresh blood of teenage boys." Loreley smacked her teeth together in what was an attempt to be intimidating. "Now shoo."

"I'm afraid I can't, Miss Toko said to..."

"Nope, nope, nope," Loreley insisted, just as Sotaru snatched her hand to try to drag her along. Loreley glimpsed the Insect Killer that Innes just then, as if her day couldn't get any worse. "If you make me go, I'll scream!"

"Calm down, jesus, you just need to-" Sotaru reached out and grabbed Loreley's waist with his other hand.

Loreley screamed.



"I have to go deal with your problem now," the blood donor hissed.

Takumi lounged casually against the wall as the holes and tears in his body began to mend themselves. He crossed his arms, not bothering to even waste his energy glaring at the two prefects that now stood before him, one of which wielded the legendary Bloody Rose.

"You don't deserve to hold that," Takumi said, gesturing at the anti-Vampire gun. "You've all grown soft. Weak. You expect me to kneel for two blood bags and a 'Pureblood' that ran away and took a nap like a coward for a few hundred years?"

"Lord Sacr-" Fay began to speak in the Pureblood's defence, taking a step forward to hammer some sense into the noble Vampire, when a laugh interrupted him. The two Vampires snapped their attention to the human? Vampire? Orpheus. They'd forgotten he was there. Why was he still there? Was a Vampire?

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Orpheus gasped between his ringing laughter, wiping a teardrop from the corner of his eye. "Please, go on."

"You don't seem very surprised," Fay said slowly, gesturing towards the rapidly healing wounds on his and Takumi's bodies. Takumi was healing much faster than he was. Dammit. The bastard didn't deserve to be of noble blood if that was what he did with his immortality. "Are you as Lady Tsukiko? A Vampire in the Day Class?"

Orpheus gave no reply, except to smile and shake his head before slipping out the door.

"Who gives a crap who he is or what he is? He's their problem. That's what you're there for, isn't it?" Takumi asked the prefects. "Keep the monsters in line? How different is our taste for blood from humans' taste for chickens or fish? The Purebloods get to drink from the vein but we're given this," he said, pulling a container of Blood tablets from his pocket and tossing them at Innes.

"Our Purebloods are different. They're our kings, our queens, we must respect them and treat them as they deserve to be treated," Fay reasoned, the crazed red of his eyes beginning to fade.

"Fine, Fay! Give me something to respect. Show me who it is that I should lay my life down for. Tell me it's Juri Kuran, Shizuka Hio, or, hell, Yuki Kuran, and I will treat them as they deserve to be treated, and I will give them my life. But what do we even know about Sacrilegious? About Opaque? Nothing!" Takumi raked his fingers through his scarlet hair, drawing back his fangs as he paced around the room.

"How can you trust them? A Pureblood who allows humans to belittle her and hides within daylight? Another who ran away from god knows what by disappearing and leaving his Vampires behind. What are you asking me to believe in? Who am I meant to follow?" Takumi's voice rose and the speed of which he was walking began to increase as he seemed almost to talk to himself.

"And the girl," he said quietly after a long moment of silence when he merely paced. "Ley. What do we do with her?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Fay stated, snapping out of the trance Takumi's words seemed to have put him in.

"We should kill her. Use her as a peace offering to the normal Vampires or something. She knows too much already," Takumi continued.

"You will do no such thing. She's an innocent human girl who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"Why? Why shouldn't we? She's not under anyone's protection. From what I gather, her family's dead. No one will notice."

---

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Hikari furrowed her brows, an assault of a headache forming between her temples as she listened to the two vampires bicker. She had forgotten about Orpheus and she mentally cursed herself when he slipped out of the door. She shook her head as Innes implied the use of the Bloody Rose gun and turned her attention towards Takumi. He had began to list off a list of pure-bloods that had previously attended the school.

It had been such a long time ago that their histories were etched into the walls. Whether or not the Kuran family was still around had yet to be known. Yuki and her brother have not been seen since they left the school. Shizuka Hio had been one of the pure-bloods that had threatened the treaty once before. A former guardian had made it so that she no longer exists in the world, but threats like her were still bountiful.

"The reason they are allowed to drink human blood is because they help defend this school," Hikari stated in a frighteningly calm voice. "I didn't see you or any other vampire sign up for the deal so don't you dare," she continued, her hand resting on the weapon that once belonged to Yuki Kuran. Her anger seemed to be seething through every pore of her body as Takumi mentioned killing Loreley. Although Fay had defended her, Takumi was still relishing the thought of offering Loreley to the other vampires, the ones known to be about killing people. Something snapped in her as she withdrew the Artemis rod and flung it behind Takumi's legs and watched the vampire fall. She immediately swung the rod down, impaling it into his shoulder and twisted the pole so that she kept the vampire pinned to the floor, her eyes glowing a dangerous vermilion.

"I told you there are reasons for the things we do. Either find yourself a new home, or so help me," she growled out, a feral pull of her lips as she looked down upon the male vampire.

Meanwhile, outside of the room, Loreley screamed as Sotaru grabbed her by the waist and held her wrist firmly. The girl had a pair of lungs if any, because the light chuckle of a male filled the hallway, sending chills down Sotaru's back. He glanced back and forth nervously as he tried to find the source. Immediately, ice blue eyes stared down at the boy, black hair falling over as the male held his posture against the door. Sotaru began to shake violently as the newcomer removed his hands from Loreley's waist and wrist before releasing them.

"The girl said she didn't want to leave," the male spoke as he stared at Sotaru. "Leave," Kiyoshi stated as Sotaru nodded fervently and dashed down the hallway. He turned to Loreley, his face remaining as stoic as could be. He tried to force a smile, but it came off as a rather intimidating grin. He cleared his throat nervously before glancing down at the small girl. "Could you, perhaps, direct me to where a Hikari Toko might be?" he inquired, waiting for the small girl to reply.

Innes was just about ready to fire a warning shot at Takumi when Hikari beat him to the punch, impaling her rod into the vampire's shoulder. It actually looked quite painful, especially since the rod was blunt, and Innes winced at the appearance of it. He certainly wasn't envious of Takumi right then, but the vampire had it coming, especially with everything he'd just said.

Stepping up next to Takumi, he crouched down. "Be thankful it's just the rod in your shoulder, not a bullet." his eyes were narrowed threateningly, which was quite a contrast to his normal wide-eyed look.

Standing back up, he laid a hand on Hikari's shoulder. "Enough. We should go." he yawned.

In the back of his mind, he was almost anxious to go to class; not to get away from the troubles of the Night Class, but to get a chance to nap. He was exhausted after staying up for most of the previous night and then getting an early waking. It wasn't just that he wanted to get to class, but he didn't like Hikari getting her hands dirty like this; he'd always hoped to keep her out of the more bloody work and into things such as crowd-control and just plain and simple patrolling.

"Could you, perhaps, direct me to where a Hikari Toko might be?"

"No, I absolutely refuse to lea- Oh." Loreley paused in her yelling. "Ohhh... You must be one of Kari's fanboys," Loreley mused, nodding to herself. "Get in line, punk, she's mine.

"But," she paused, flashing her blindingly white teeth in a cheerful grin. "Since you saved my life and all that. Come." Loreley took the man's arm and dragged him along as she skipped her way back to the music room. "You look really familiar. Are you a student here?

"How do you know Hikari? I hope you haven't been stalking her," Loreley said, shaking her head in disapproval. "Because that would be creepy. She doesn't get freaked out by anything, you know. Like today Fay punched Takumi and Takumi threw him through the air like WOOOSH!" Loreley gestured. "And then bam, Fay stabs him and Takumi stabs him back and Orpheus tries to stab and- Oh my goshness, do you think they're alright?" the girl asked, chattering away, not giving the boy enough time to answer but thinking they were having a conversation anyway.

"It's been a weird few days, don't you think? Like yesterday, I swear to God there was a guy with fangs and he wanted to eat m... Ow!" Loreley flinched, pressing her palms to her temples as the migraine from earlier in the morning invaded her head. "Could you just... Massage my temples?" she asked absently, taking the dark haired boy's hands and placing them on both sides of her head.

"Anyway, as I was saying, right? So Sacred leaps out of this window, like, three stories above ground and I get tears on my uniform but I'm not injured! It just makes no sense. I mean, I know mermaids exist but- Stop!" Loreley held up a hand even though they weren't moving. "Maybe they're, like, Superman. I just don't get it beca-"

"The reason they are allowed to drink human blood..."

"Oh, we're here!" The blonde announced cheerfully, shoving the door open.

"...help defend this school."

Takumi was embedded to the floor.

"I swear to god, I'm not on crack," Loreley said slowly. "Okay, slow down, slow down," she mumbled to herself. "Hold on while I FREAK THE HELL OUT! Oh my god, Kari, what are you doing?!?"

"Someone please kill her," Takumi mumbled from his spot on the ground.

"Omigod, omigod, omigod. Are you a serial killer, Kari? Woah, no, not just, just, everyone- STOP YELLING!"

"In the name of Kuran, will you stop yelling? My ears," Takumi moaned.

"Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill me," Loreley repeated. "I'm too young and attractive and talented to die."

"You do have pretty great boobs b-" Takumi said.

"Stop ruining my ego. It's already big enough," Loreley said seriously before going on with her hysterics.

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Brilliant mauve eyes were shimmering with great interest upon watching the interactions inside the music hall. Sacred was amused by the words of the red-haired vampire. He is of the Okinawa Clan named Takumi. So, he was a coward. Hmm... Perhaps, the boy was right on that. He did sleep through all of the chaos and even as of now when the night stirred to alert him of the incoming bloody tribute. The Pure Blood had clearly stated to Moirae that he would not do anything about it. Although, he knew for a fact that his past would soon introduce themselves into the present. If that happens, he would not be able to stay as a mere audience anymore. He would have to become an actor in this crimson-stained play of theirs. The idea was quite depressing for him to even think about. Well until then, he would continue to bid his time in such a manner like this. Playing his game of chess against his invisible foes, he was having quite the thrill in doing so.

Stinky, the rambunctious feline continued to enjoy its piece of sweet heaven. Sacred glanced at the cat momentarily and patted its head while it purred in affection. "I find this Academy interesting even more... If they weren't, I would have left a long time ago." After stating that, he looked towards the direction of the main building once more as his avian familiar continued to watch the scenes. "Kuran, Hio, Hanadagi, Shirabuki, Toma, Shoto, Ouri..." He listed the renowned Pure Blood families to no one in particular. Placing his chin at the palm of his hand, he had a rather mysterious smile on his lips. He had met some of them a long time ago. Speaking of which, he had yet to greet their descendants. However, he was never the kind to adhere to proper manners which is why the Kuran would often scold him about his atrocious etiquette and even Hio would join in from time to time. Those days were quite entertaining indeed. It was then he finally caught a glance of someone very familiar from the vision of his familiar. The smile that adorned his lips turned into of a longing one. Its meaning lost in his own private thoughts.

"Excuse me." There behind Loreley and Kiyoshi was another student of the Day Class depicting from his uniform. He was not behind in terms of looks from the current gathering of students at all. Golden sun-kissed locks properly kept which matched his yellow gold eyes that seemed to hold the ability to captivate and see through all lies. His built was not to be judged as inferior as well. He is muscular and well-built. It also seemed that he works out everyday judging by his fit physique. His beauty is considered more of the manly quality which speaks of a certain suave bad boy vibe that cannot be ignored. "I have a class here." His voice was bordering politeness and a specific knowing as he looked at the people inside the music room with casualty. He could see some blood stains along the floorboards and walls. There were also some broken furniture here and there. He has an idea of what had transpired but did not probe any further. Instead, he gave a polite nod of the head and made his way towards one of the empty seats.

His honey gold eyes could see that the one known as Hikari had pierced the rod into one of the male students now pinned to the floor. "Fighting inside the school grounds is prohibited even more so for the prefects." Tilting his head to the side, he offered a small smile which was not to condescend but to serve as a reminder to return to the civility of things. "So Artemis and the Bloody Rose should be kept for more important matters." Revealing this knowledge meant that he is aware of a world that only a few of the humans are privileged to know. Most of the time, those who knew were either related to the hunters or servants of the vampires. Now, which was he between the two? He then pointed towards the window where a raven with alluring purple eyes was perched on a branch as it watched in silence. "I'm not sure how long but He is watching all of you intently. It would be good not to serve as his entertainment any longer." As if in retaliation, the raven flapped its wings while he simply shrugged his shoulders. It had not been that long since his absence from school and here he was being presented with a rather intriguing matter to say the least. "It is early in the morning and we all have classes to attend to and other matters to take care of." His eyes looked at each of the people within the room. There was no air of haughtiness in his presence rather, he exuded a calm and soothing presence as his voice rolled much like a calming wave of wind. "I forgot to introduce myself to those who do not know me, I am Takeru. Kuran Takeru. A pleasure."