Night Twenty:
The Winter Ball was two weeks away. During that time, we had our Final Exams for the semester. Of course, as always, the class with the over all lowest score would have to work at the ball. Yuki had already gotten it from the class rep about our average, again from what I heard, and couldn't help but snicker at the thought, but quickly stopped it when Zero cut me one of his glares. I knew when not to push his buttons.
The rest of the week was spent doing nothing more than studying in preparation for the Final Exam. We were given worksheets to memorize, small projects, and mostly reviews for the materiel we had learned over the first semester. The pressure was hard, but nothing I couldn't handle.
It was the job as a school guardian at night that seemed to make it harder. I was personally tired, and wanted to go to sleep, but I tried my best to stay vigilante. Other than a few cases of some of the Day class girls trying to sneak over, it was surprisingly easy.
I didn't see any of the Night students, though I sometimes felt like someone was staring at me from time to time, but every time I turned around, there was nobody there. I just chalked it up to my tired mind playing tricks on me.
I didn't really expect to see any of them either, though. I just considered that perhaps they were under pressure to study as well, though I hardly saw the point. They were all already so intelligent as it was.
But I was also very grateful for the time away from them. My time before I had to leave was so short, and I didn't want my resolve to leave to weaken any further. I knew if I saw anyone I had become close to, especially Akatsuki, than my resolve would just weaken that much further every time I saw them, and I couldn't allow that to happen. I never went back on my word, and I sure as hell couldn't let myself go back on my decision. I needed my priorities to straighten out, and the only way to do that, was to leave.
Anyways, a few days before the final exam was given, we were given a pre-test in most of our classes. Overall, I was pretty confident about my overall scores, and I wasn't disappointed when I got the grade back Still, we were given worksheets about what we had to review.
By the time it came for the final exam, I was sure I had everything down. The only thing I was even a bit hesitant in was, as usual, my maths. As usual, everything just seemed like a jumbled of un-matching things that minus well be written in a foreign language. But I was almost confident I could pass.
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"Oh man, that test was freaking killer. How do you think you did, Sakika?" One the girls that sat next to me smiled at me as we handed our papers forward. I looked at her, and smiled slightly.
"I think I did alright. I'm just not so excited for Mr. Yuji's history test. He always makes the regular tests so complicated, so I'm kinda scared to see how the Final Exam will be." The girl laughed, shaking her head slightly.
"Tell me about it. I have Miss Towaka. I hate her ethics class." We both shared a laugh.
"Well, just one more, and then we're home free!" I exclaimed, she nodded, smiling again.
"Yeah, and then we can finally prepare for the Winter Ball." She sighed in day-dream like way, her eyes getting the sort of foggy expression in her eyes. I looked at her with an eyebrow raised.
"You excited for the dance?" She shook her head, and looked at me with wide eyes, as if the very nature of my innocent was question was stupid. I felt insulted immediately.
"Well, yeah! Don't you know that this is one of the few dances that will have both Day and Night students?" I straightened out, my heart skipping a few beats.
"R-really?" I questioned, breathlessly. She grinned, and nodded.
"I'm really excited to dance with some of the Night students." I nodded slightly, and looked down at the table in front of me with excitement.
"Do...Do you have someone you like in there?" I questioned, my heart still jumping in my chest. The girl glanced at me with wide eyes, a blush on her face, but then she grinned, and nodded her head in enthusiasm.
"A few of them. It's really hard to chose just one, ya know. They're all so...So-"
"Amazing?" I joked with a slight laugh. She pursed her lips, and then nodded.
"Yeah. Ya know, I'd really like a dance with Akatsuki. I bet he's an amazing dancer." She sighed dreamily as she leaned forward, resting her chin in her hands as her blue-grey eyes got a far look in her eyes, and her other pale finger began to twirl the end of her short, curly, dark brown hair.
I felt an emotion I rarely felt go through me at that moment. Jealousy. I hadn't felt jealous over someone else in a really long time when it came to me liking someone. It was a strange emotion, and I didn't fully understand it. I tried my best to keep it under control.
I glanced at her as her daydreamy-like smile came across her face, and I had to force myself not to outright glare at the girl who had so far been really kind to me. I eyed her for a moment, examining her with an almost intense look for a second before nodding. I had to keep my jealousy in control.
"I bet he is." I replied dryly, looking forward with a pout. She looked at me with surprise, and then grinned slightly.
"Do you have anyone you'd like to dance with?" She boldly asked with a slight smirk as she leaned close to me. I blushed, and leaned away from her. I cleared my throat, and swiped my bangs from my forehead, and off to the side.
"No. Not really." I mumbled, looking down at the desk in front of me. The girl giggled, patting my back slightly. I grumbled slightly, happy that the teacher finally let us out of the classroom. I couldn't escape the nosy girl fast enough.
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"Wow~! Today was so hard! How do ya think you did, Sakika?" I glanced at Yuki, and shrugged as we walked around the courtyard during our nightly patrol.
"I think I did alright. I studied like hell so...Yeah." Yuki nodded, balancing herself on the fountain. I glanced at her with a curious expression. She looked back at me with a grin.
"I'm actually pretty excited for this years Winter Ball. What do you think about it?" I shrugged slightly.
"I think it's gonna be fun." I replied a bit dryly, and then sat on the edge of the fountain with a sigh.
"Hey, are you ok?" I looked over at her, and smiled slightly.
"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm going to see what Zero is up to." I quickly stood up, straightening out my skirt, and then walked away from Yuki.
I walked around for what felt like the longest time, though in reality was probably no more than thirty minutes, when I found Zero. I was about to call out to him, but I stopped in my tracks. Zero looked like he was in pain, holding his neck slightly, hunched over. I felt my heart quicken, and my muscles tensed up. It was site I should have been used to seeing, but it was somehow different with a friend. Seeing a friend in this state was alot more...Different.
"Z...Zero?" I questioned, my hands gripping the front of my shirt, as if trying to calm my pounding heart."Zero, are you..Are you ok?" I questioned rather stupidly as I took another step forward.
"S-stay away..." He groaned out. My throat dried up, and my muscles tensed up hearing the raspy, pained voice." Go back. S...Stay away." I didn't know what to do. He glared at me over his shoulder. His normal violet eyes had turned into a red, blood lusting colour, and I again felt fearful coming face to face with such hungry, predatory eyes, but I couldn't bring myself to move, like I knew I should be. I just couldn't get my body to obey my mind's orders.
"Zero!" I looked over my shoulders at an obviously worried Yuki, and then I looked back at Zero, who seemed to have softened his expression just slightly for a moment before hardening even more so than before. I shook my head, my feet finally taking a step back.
"I...I'll go..." I whispered, and then turned on my heel as I looked at the Headmasters daughter.
We locked eyes, and, as if by some magic, some message passed between us without anything have been said. I glanced back at Zero, and then at her. She just nodded slightly. I needed nothing more than that to get the hell out of there. I knew it was wrong. What was about to happen, but I wasn't going to say anything, and I sure as hell didn't need to see any of it.
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"Tonight is moving so slow." I complained out-loud to nobody but myself as I leaned against the gate separating the two dorms. I had been careful to keep my mind off Zero and Yuki, and what I knew had happened without anyone saying anything.
I always had a feeling Zero had been transformed into a vampire. Maybe it was more of a logical conclusion than a feeling. But seeing what I saw. Those eyes. Those red, angered yet pained, eyes, and knowing what he wanted was something entirely different. It was different seeing someone I considered a friend being like that, and it was unnerving. And I didn't particularly like the idea of Yuki feeding him her blood either.
I sighed, running my fingers through my hair, and then straightened out my uniform.
"Sakika?" My heart sped up, and I had to stop myself from grinning like an idiot as I looked up at Akatsuki. I straightened out immediately, half pushing myself off the wall, and taking a few steps towards him.
"What are you doing here?" I asked the first thing that came to my mind, again touching my arm.
"The Night Class is in a frenzy again with the smell of blood in the air. Lord Kaname sent me to investigate what's going on." I nodded, my eyes flickering around for a moment before looking back to him.
"I thought he would have sent Takuma or something."
"Takuma went as well. He's just somewhere else at the moment." I nodded slightly, my eyes flickering around again before looking back at him again."Are you ok?" He asked with a bit of concern in his voice. I looked at him, smiling slightly.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Are you heading back to the Moon Dorm?" I felt rather stupid with asking such an obvious question. Akatsuki, however, didn't really seem to mind. He just chuckled slightly, and nodded.
"Yeah." I nodded, looking at the ground, and then sighed, smiling up at him.
"Well, I think I've stood here long. I should get going." Akatsuki half chuckled again, and half nodded.
"Right. Wouldn't want the other prefects getting worried, would you?" At the mention of Zero and Yuki, I felt the same emotions go through me again, and I had to force myself to keep my composure as I let out a laugh, and nodded.
"Right." I said, walking past him, but at that moment that I passed him, he reached out, and grabbed my wrist. I felt my heart pound in my chest, and my face lit up.
"I heard you're leaving. Is that true?" It took a moment for me to answer, but I looked at him, and nodded slightly.
"Yeah." I replied slowly, biting at my lips afterwards. His expression seemed to harden slightly as I confirmed the rumour."How did you know?" I replied after a moment of silence.
"Lord Kaname told me." I felt some irritation towards both Headmaster and Kuran, but I didn't let it show. I just sighed, and nodded slightly, looking off again before looking at him with a slight smile.
"I won't be leaving until after the Winter Ball. So..."
"That's only four days away." He sounded frustrated, though I couldn't exactly identify the reason why. His grip on my wrist tightened for just a moment, pulling back towards him ever so slightly.
Silence continued between us for a few more minutes. He looked at me with intensity, and I just looked at him, trying to figure him out. After the minutes passed, he let go of my wrist, and just nodded slightly as he stepped back.
"Well...I'll see you some other time." With that parting word, he turned on his heel, and began to walk away.
I turned to look at him as he walked away. My heart jumped in my throat, and I wanted to say something, anything, but I couldn't with the lump in my throat. I hesitated saying anything, and my mind fought with itself on what I even wanted to say.
"Wait!" I called out before my mind could even process what I wanted to say. He stopped, and looked at me. Again, the words froze in my throat.
"Yes?" He questioned in what I hoped was amusement as he half smiled at me. I felt my heart speed up in my chest, which just caught the words more in my throat."Are you ok?" He asked again, turning towards me with his eyebrows cocked slightly. I shuffled my feet, and then cleared my throat as I looked at him with a slight smile.
"The Winter Ball, when it comes, don't dance yourself out, ok?" I felt my heart again speed up more than it was doing before. Akatsuki just looked at me with confusion for a moment, and then smiled warmly as he nodded.
"I won't if you won't." I smiled like an idoit, laughed nervously, and nodded.
"I won't." I promised, gripping my arm tightly. He just laughed slightly, and nodded.
"Right. Well, see you."
"Yeah. See you." I turned on my heel the same time that Akatsuki did, and walked away. Before I got too far, I looked back once again to see him looking at me.
As soon as we made eye contact, he just smiled again, and then walked into the gates. I blushed, and continued walking feeling like I was floating on Cloud Nine.