The Guardian (Vampire Knight ~ Akatsuki)

Chapter 4: Revelations

My weird premonition seemed to be far fetched, since no such thing as a storm seems to present itself over the next week. But the nagging feeling in my stomach didn't go away. It was a constant reminder of the night Samantha died. The same nagging feeling had plagued me back then, but I had dismissed it, thinking it was just some hunter trade; maybe my body telling me my work was getting too dangerous for my own good.

But now it is back, I can't just let it go.

Something is coming.

The thing is that I have no idea what or who or when, so the stomach stretch is keeping me awake at night after I report back and jumpy during the day, which isn't a good combination since it means lack of sleep. It's been a week since my first patrol – since my storm premonition – and I already feel everything taking its toll on me. When I looked in the mirror this morning, my eyes were all puffy from sleep deprivation and I couldn't bring myself to make my hair look as shiny and curving as it normally did. I couldn't care who saw me – Day- or Night Class student.

I also found out, I had by far the most boring job. Since I was scheduled to cover the Moon Dorm ground until Zero found me capable for something harder, I hadn't seen any Day Class student trying to sneak in. If Yuki didn't stop them, then Zero did. They never even had a chance to get to the Moon Dorm, much to my annoyance. I shouldn't be of course, but it did make my nights very boring. When I reported back to Zero at the end of the night, Yuki was always complaining about students hoping to take pictures of the vampire students.

When Akatsuki – or anyone else – didn't come to join me again since that first night, I decided to catch on with my reading. My reading list was impossibly long and I guessed I better try to shorten it instead of spending my time staring off in the darkness and letting my mind wander off to places I didn't want it to go.

For starters, to how bored I was. And about my parents, Yagari and Samantha. And about the pang I had felt inside my chest when I realized Akatsuki wasn't going to come. It didn't make sense; he had said he just came to check on me and never gave any indication he would again.

As I think about it again I remember his words: Next time you don't have to check up on me.

My fingers tighten around the pen I'm holding, more for show than for any other reason. Next to me, Yuki is focusing on writing down every single word spoken in class, Yori too, but she is a little less overdoing it. Then I feel Zero's eyes burning in my back and I suppress a flinch as I'm afraid he just read my thoughts. I turn in my seat slightly, so I can look over my shoulder. Zero is one row higher than us, two seats to the right from me. He is indeed glaring though I don't know why. Surely, even Zero can't read minds.

So I give him a smile and a wave of my pen, but he just blows the air from his cheeks in an annoyed sigh as he looks back to the lecturer without returning my smile. Asshole.

I like you too Zero, I think as I roll my eyes.

The intrudingly loud sound of the bell makes me jump on my seat. I was so not paying attention, that I didn't even look toward the clock to see when this was over.

"You really are a daydreamer, aren't you?" I hear from behind and I see a white puff of hair from the corner of my eye.

"I can afford to be one, unlike most people. That's the difference." I turn side wards so I can glare at him properly.

"You better keep it sharp now." He says as he gets up and leaves. He didn't even take a book to class. And he calls me a slacker.

"Hypocrite." I mutter as I gather my books – open but unused. It's getting late. That means, time for the usual routine. Class, food, patrol, sleep. It takes a little getting used to still, but when you think about it, it's not so different as my life back at New York. Class, training, food, maybe a job squeezed in between, food and sleep. But I must say, for the first time in a long time, I do feel like I'm not a complete outsider in my own life. Maybe 99 percent of the Day Class students are not my type to get along with, but I find spending time with Yuki and Yori pretty nice. Even Zero is sort of becoming my friend, though he'd never say it. We're more alike than he thinks, but I still feel this barrier between us. That might have scared off all the other students, but that doesn't work with me. And if he's going to make me work for it, so be it. He's the only hunter here – of my age anyway – and I like being around him; his dark and sarcastic remarks are somewhat like my own.