Scarlet Eyes 1

Scarlet Eyes 1
Silent Regard
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Thirteen years ago, Katarina Riko was attacked by a level E vampire – a horrible creature that was once human, but driven insane by a vampire's bite. She cried, fearing for her life, and tried to escape the monster's clutches. She soon found herself countered and closed her eyes, hugging her teddy bear as tightly as she could. 'Someone help me...' Her little voice whimpered in the night fog.

She curled up into a ball against the wall, but as her tears continued to fall she heard the shriek of the vampir – when she opened her eyes, it was dead. Two boys around her age had saved her from the fiend – she sniffled and hugged them both, grateful that her life had been saved.

They seemed supernatural... how could two children defeat such a vicious creature? No, they were not human. They were... vampires.

Now, Katarina Riko is ninteteen years old and attends the Cross Academy as part of the Day Class. She is part of the Disciplinary Committee, whose duty is to protect the students from vampire attacks. Today, she is attending classes with her best friend, Yuki Cross... as usual, the lecture is boring, so Katarina is daydreaming.

"Ms. Riko, care to share the answer of this equation with the class?" The teacher's voice brought her back to reality and she sat up straight in her chair. "Uhh..." Yuki, who was sitting next to Katarina, giggled. "Pssst, the answer is forty-six."

"Yes sir, it's forty-six!" Katarina announced confidently. The teacher raised an eyebrow and turned to the board, surprised. "Yes, that is correct. Now then, class, your homework for tonight will be..."

"Whew, thanks Yuki, you really saved my bacon!" Katarina exclaimed and Yuki gave her friend a victory sign. "No problem! A girl's gotta look out for her friends, hee-hee!" The dismissal bell rang and the two girls left class. Outside the room waited a silver-haired young man with cold gray-purple eyes. "Time for duty. Don't slack off today," He glared at Yuki.

Yuki laughed heartily and rubbed the back of her head while holding her staff, Artemis, in her other hand. "Ha-ha! What are you talking about? I never slack off, Zero... Right, Kat?" Katarina nodded, holding her vampire-hunting gun in one hand. "Yep. Never!' The girls ran off to the courtyard and Zero followed after them with a sigh.

The Day Class girls were lined up on either side of the path beside a gateway that separated the Day and Night class dorms – they were waiting excitedly to catch a glimpse of the Night Class' beautiful students... namely, the men. "Oooh, do you think Aidou-sama will look our way today?" One of the girls in the crowd said gleefully. "I hope so!" Another chirped.

Zero, Yuki and Katarina arrived to make sure that the Day Class girls didn't interfere with the Night Class. "Okay guys, stay back... you can gawk all you want from there." Katarina said teasingly. The girls snarled – they hated the Disciplinary Committee. "Psh! How come YOU get to be so close?!" One of the girls shrieked, but the three ignored her.

The gateway creaked open and the Night Class students walked down the path in a single-file line. There weren't very many of them, so they were all recognizable by now. They marched down the path, ignoring the squeals of the girls around them: "Ooooh, Kaname-sama, look over here!"

"Aidou-saaamaaaaa!!" The girls chanted. "Akatsuki-saaaaan! Please accept my feelings!" Akatsuki Kain, a tall, slender vampire with orange hair and eyes smiled boyishly at Katarina as he passed. "Hello, Katarina." She blushed a little, "Hi, Akatsuki-san. Have a good day in cl--"

Akatsuki's hyperactive, flirtatious cousin named Aidou Hanabusa, came up from behind Katarina and hugged her. "Hiiii, Kata-chaaaan~" Katarina blushes, "H-hi, Aidou-sama..." He lets her go and Akatsuki rolls his eyes and sighs. The girls from the Day Class are scowling at Katarina – if they had a chance, they'd rip her hair out. My two saviors... from that day. Katarina reminisced as she watched them disappear into the school building, a nostalgic smile on her lips.

Later that night, the three Disciplinary Committee members were patroling the Academy perimeter on the lookout for intruders. Suddenly, Zero stopped Katarina and stared her in the eye. "Katarina, you shouldn't talk to those Night Class trash. They're bad news, stay away from them!" His voice was cold and uncaring, which annoyed Katarina. "They saved my life when I was a child, Zero! I'm grateful to them, but I guess you have no idea what gratitude is!" She yelled.

"Hey, what's going on you guys?!" Yuki cried, approaching them. "Why are you fighting?" Zero glared at her, "Stay out of this Yuki, it's none of your business." Yuki frowned, "None of my business...? We're all friends, we shouldn't be fighting!"

"Zero lives to fight. He doesn't have feelings, he's just a jerk!" Katarina spat, her feelings hurt – she wasn't sure why she was saying such hateful things that she did not mean. "Humph, I look out for my friends. I know what those Night Class people are like. They're vicious, blood-sucking monsters, Katarina--!"

"You're wrong, Zero!" Katarina yelled, tears in her eyes as she turned and ran away. "Zero... why did you yell at her like that?" Yuki sighed. Zero shrugged and looked away. "She has to learn that those people are dangerous. Night and Day class students should not be getting so familiar, no matter what the circumstances are. They're monsters... so what if they put on a fake smile? You never know when their true nature will bubble up again."

"Zero... you shouldn't think like that. There are good and bad vampires... just like humans. You should apologize to her tomorrow, all right?" Yuki stepped in front of him and looked him in the eye sternly. "...." Zero was silent. "Okay, Zero? Come on, I know you're not really a big meany, are you?" Zero walked away from her, "Forget it. No more slacking off, back to work."

Meanwhile, Katarina had stopped at the fountain on the other side of the academy; she was crying as she sat down on the fountain's edge. "How can Zero be so cold-hearted...? He's my friend, isn't he? Shouldn't he be happy that I... have friends...?" She rubbed her eyes and sighed. "What should I do...?"

Akatsuki Kain walked out of the shadows and approached her slowly, casually. "Katarina? What's wrong?" He asked plainly. "Nothing," She answered, drying her tears and not looking at him. "It's nothing, don't worry about me." Akatsuki raised a brow and stood in front of her. "Why are you all alone? I thought you patrol with Zero and Yuki."

Katarina did not reply. I can't tell him that Zero doesn't want me to talk to him, or anyone from the Night Class... "Well?" Akatsuki sat a short distance from her on the fountain's edge, propping his leg up on his other knee. "Zero was being mean. He doesn't understand me at all..." Katarina finally gave in, sighing. She felt safe with Akatsuki – like she could tell him anything.

"Zero isn't good at showing his feelings through words, but I can tell he cares about you. He's pretty protective of you and Yuki – haven't you noticed?" Akatsuki tried to lighten the mood. Katarina raised her head, "Cares...? I don't know, maybe you're right." She paused and stood up, clenching her hands at her sides. "Anyway, you'll get in trouble if you're seen here with me. I'm gonna go back to the dorms. See you later, Akatsuki."

She turned to him and for a moment their eyes locked in silence, but Katarina quickly ran away without saying another word. "Hmmm, strange girl." Akatsuki stood up, putting his hands in his pockets. "Guess I'll be getting back to the dorms as well..."

Katarina returned to her room and put her weapon away, then changed into her pajamas. She laid on her bed and stared at the ceiling, still a bit depressed. "Akatsuki... he would never do anything to hurt me, would he? Aidou too... they are both nice people, even if they are vampires. Humans and vampires... can live in peace, can't they?"

She rolled on her side and closed her eyes, trying to get to sleep, but her mind continued to wander. "But what if what Zero said is actually true...?" A terrible feeling of doubt washed over her. "Vampires... their true nature is to prey on humans, but the Night Class is different. They've given up their old ways and truly want to live with humans in harmony."

"I know that's the truth, so why do I..."

There came a knock at the door, and Yuki's voice could barely be heard: "Katarina, are you awake?" Katarina sat up, "Y-yeah, I'm awake. You can come in, Yuki." The door opened and the light from the hallway flooded in, causing Katarina to shield her eyes. "Are you okay?" Yuki asked, standing in the doorway with her hands held behind her. "Zero didn't mean what he said, he's just bad at communicating with words. Don't be sad, okay?"

"Yuki..." Katarina paused, looking away. "Yeah?" Yuki asked, tilting her head. "Do you think... that the members of the Night Class are bad...? Do you think they want to hurt humans?" There was a brief silence and then Yuki laughed. "What? I don't think the Night Class is bad, no..." She paused. "They want to live in peace with humans, and that's why they came to Cross Academy."

"That's what I thought too, but—"

"Aw, Katarina, don't think about what Zero said. I can tell you like Akatsuki-san a lot by the way you look at him. It's not a bad thing, and you shouldn't try to bottle up your feelings like that." Yuki said cheerfully, and Katarina looked at her with red cheeks. "L-like him?! No... I don't! I mean, he saved my life and I--"

Yuki turned away to leave, "Hee-hee it's okay, Katarina. I won't tell anyone," She stepped out and slowly closed the door behind her. "Sleep well. Don't forget you have the day off tomorrow, so have a little fun!"

"Okay... good night, Yuki. Thanks for the talk." Katarina waved good-bye to her friend and the door closed shut.

The confused Katarina laid back down and grasped her covers close. "But... how did she know...?"