Finding My Way

Chapter 4

"Well, Zero," I say, "Today is the big day." We're standing on one of the balconies at the academy, giving us the perfect view to watch the gate to the Sun Dorms and the area around it.

Zero doesn't respond. He seems deep in thought as he scans the grounds from his position, keeping a watchful eye on the move-in process. Classes start in the afternoon today to accommodate the students and teachers moving in.

I really want to ask Zero if he knows about the different levels of vampires. I also want to ask him about his role in the Hunter's Association. But he seems so distant right now and unapproachable that I'm afraid to ask.

"Zero? What are you thinking about?" I ask, determined to try to get him to open up.

Zero doesn't look at me, but responds, "I'm just thinking about the vow I made four years ago when my parents were killed. I vowed to kill all vampires and rid the earth of those beasts. Now, I'm breaking that vow to protect their secret."

Poor Zero. He takes too much on himself. I know that he blames himself for his parents' death. I knew about his vow too, but I didn't realize how much this had been eating away at him.

Not sure what to say I hesitantly ask, "Zero? Was your family part of the Hunter's Association?"

Zero looks at me in surprise, "Yes, of course, Yuki. I thought you know that."

I blush a little, embarrassed, "I guess I should have, but no one ever officially told me. Maybe everyone assumed that someone else had told me. Would you tell me about it, Zero?"

"Sure, Yuki," Zero says. "It's only fair that you know." He turns his head back towards the grounds. "Both of my parents were vampire hunters. The teacher I told you about a while ago? He was training me to become a vampire hunter and follow in my parents' footsteps. That nurse who attacked us? She had lapsed into a Level E vampire." So he does know about the vampire levels, but of course he would, if he was trained to be a hunter. "But my teacher wasn't around when that woman killed my family." That's what he always called the vampire who killed his family.

I wait for Zero to keep talking, but he remains quiet. Finally, I say, "It's lucky she wasn't a pureblood vampire or you would have turned into one."

Zero doesn't reply. After a few moments pass, he says, "Yuki, I think I see Sayori over there. I've got this covered if you want to go say hi to her."

Recognizing that Zero wants alone time and also thrilled about the prospect of seeing Yori, I leave without hesitation and run to greet my friend.

----

Sitting on my bed and watching Yori unpack, we chat animatedly about each other's summers and speculate about the upcoming year. Yori had gone traveling with her family and they had gotten into quite a few misadventures. As our line of conversation begins moving towards the school year again, a thought seems to cross Yori's mind.

"Yuki, is true that we have new students who will attend class at night?" Yori probes me. "Since you're the headmaster's daughter, you probably know all about it."

I had prepared myself for this kind of question and decided that the best course of action was to feign ignorance. "Actually, I know less than you might think. I just know that the headmaster wants Zero and me to be part of a new Disciplinary Committee and we need to keep the Day Class students out of the way of the Night Class students."

"Keep us out of the way? What like we're paparazzi or something? We're their fellow students," Yori muses.

"Don't ask me, I'm just obeying the wishes of the headmaster," I say. Then I add, struck with an idea, "Maybe they're all the children of government officials or especially wealthy and need to be kept separate from us."