Vampire Knight Chapter 4


The male Disciplinary Committee members arrived at the ballroom first, and as they stepped inside, their heads swiveled and their mouths gaped with wonder. The room looked tidy and extremely beautiful, instead of the dusty and dark way it usually looked. New crème colored curtains had been hung from the giant, stained-glass windows. The walls had been repainted light pink. Every part of the room was whipped so clean you could almost see your reflection. The stair railing was decorated with white and red roses. A golden chandelier hung from the top of the room, with candles substituting light bulbs. The room had a very romantic atmosphere to it.

Suddenly, the Headmaster appeared at the top of the stairs. “Don’t you three look like fine young gentlemen!” he giggled, clapping his palms together. “But what are three young gentlemen without the extravagant young women?” He made a flourishing gesture towards the top of the staircase.

Yuki, Stephanie, Kiana, Raquel, Emily, Alyssa, and Morgan peeked over the stair railings, and then gracefully made their way into the ballroom. Their faces twitched tiny smiles at the boys; every one of them looked wonderful.

The Headmaster was nearly beside himself. “Let’s get this party started!” he roared rapturously. Each Disciplinary Committee member stepped up to the front door and stood in a neat and orderly line as the Headmaster creaked open the door. Slowly, Night Class students entered the ballroom; some of the Night Class boys paused to gawk at the female Disciplinary Committee members. A few minutes later, the Day Class entered, fidgeting with excitement at the Night Class’s beauty. The Night Class stared back, unfazed.

The Headmaster took up a microphone in his hand. He stood at the top of the stairwell. Both Classes directed their attention towards him.  “Hello, students!” his voiced boomed over the microphone. “This is the one of the very few times of the year when the Day Class and the Night Class intertwine for a social event! Welcome to the St. Xacolatl’s Day Ball! I’d also like to welcome a special guest! I am happy to present the famous singer, Kanon Wakeshima!”

There was a tremendous roar of happy surprise from the Classes as a blushing Wakeshima-san joined the Headmaster. Kanon took the microphone. “Hello! Thank you for inviting us! We will be playing our newest song, “Still Doll”, and we just wanted to say, ‘lets get this party started!’”

Again, the Classes erupted in applause and cheers that were soon drowned out by the sound of “Still Doll” wafting into their ears. The Classes began to dance to the dark, ominous waltz, and soon, the only ones not dancing were Disciplinary Committee members.

***
Morgan sighed; she was thinking about everyone having fun out there dancing while she sat against the stupid wall thinking about everyone else having fun. Why, oh WHY had she listened to Jacob and gotten dragged along all the way to Japan if she couldn’t have fun with everyone else?

As if in answer, a gorgeous Night Class student named Shiki Senri shuffled up to her with a flashing smile and an outstretched hand. “Would you care to dance?” he asked.

Morgan blushed and glanced at Alyssa, who winked at her. She took Shiki’s hand and smiled back at him. “Love to,” she replied, and disappeared into the crowd.

***
Jacob watched Morgan walk off with Shiki and immediately spotted Toya Rima sitting on the stairs, alone. He shyly walked up to her and sat down beside her. “You alright?” he asked, concerned.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Toya replied glumly. She did not sound fine at all.

Jacob smiled. “You want to dance?”

“You’d dance with a Night Class student?” Toya breathed incredulously, a shocked expression on her face.

“There are plenty of other people doing it. Why not us?”

Toya and Jacob started to waltz.

***
Alyssa looked up to find Akatsuki Kain staring at her. She looked back at him, confused.

“Hello, Ms. Disciplinary Committee,” Kain said charmingly.

Alyssa blushed deeply and looked at her feet. “My name is Alyssa,” she mumbled.

“Well, Alyssa, I’m Kain. Would you like to dance with me?”

Alyssa perked. “Yeah!” she blurted.

“Wonderful.” Kain took Alyssa’s hand and kissed it, and Alyssa giggled.

***
Josh saw all of his friends dancing and wanted to be included, too. He mustered his courage and scooted across the dance floor, over to Ruka Souen. He saw her face tense up and turn very hot and red. Ruka was known for her huge crush on Kaname Kuran. Did she also have feelings for Josh?
Josh tried to start a conversation. “Ruka, would you—“

“Yes!” Ruka blurted.

Josh chuckled. “Okay…”

“I’m sorry.”

He smiled. “Don’t be.”

***
Emily walked over to a rose bush and knelt to smell a flower. When she took a deep inhale, she found that the flower was no longer in front of her nose. She looked up.

Aido had picked the rose and was holding in front of his face. He smiled. “Hello,” he said.

“Hi,” Emily replied. “Are you Aido?”

“My fan girls call me Idol,” said Aido. Emily frowned. “Would you care to dance?” Aido stuttered hastily.

“I would,” Emily replied, and Aido slid the rose into her hair.

“The rose suits you,” he complimented.

Emily blushed. “Thanks…Idol,” she replied.

***
Stephanie made her way to the stairway…and tripped over her own feet. Her stomach plunged as she fell, and she braced herself for the pain of the floor—

She plopped into someone’s arms. Takuma Ichijou had caught her. “You alright?” Ichijou asked, concerned.

“I-I think so…”

“Good.” Ichijou helped her to her feet, and then placed his arm around her shoulder. “Since I’m here, you wanna dance?”

Stephanie giggled. “Sure,” she said adoringly.

***
Raquel and Kiana’s spirits drooped with sadness. All the cute boys that they knew had been taken, and they knew neither Zero nor Kaname would ask them. Just then, they noticed a pair of twin Night Class students, both of them handsome. They strutted over to them.

“Hey, boys,” they said.

“Hi,” said the first boy.

“Would you like to dance with us?”

“Sure,” the boys said in unison, and they four walked onto the dance floor together.  

***
Yuki’s eyes swiveled across the crowd, looking for trouble. A dark shape beside her melted out of the shadows. “I see you’re wearing the dress,” whispered a cool voice in her ear.

Yuki jumped and whirled around. It was Kaname. “Y-yes, Kaname-san,” she stammered in surprise.

Kaname chuckled and flashed a charming smile. “Oh, don’t be so formal, Yuki. We should enjoy ourselves tonight.” He extended a hand. “Would you care to dance?”

Yuki felt her pale face go red and hot. She stared at her feet, but put her hand in his. “I’d like that,” she mumbled. She made for the dance floor, but Kaname tugged her softly out onto the balcony instead, where the moon bathed them in silver paint. She felt herself wrapped in Kaname’s strong, gentle arms, and the two began to waltz.

Inside the ballroom, Zero was the only one to notice Yuki’s absence. He scanned the crowd for her unique dress, but he couldn’t see her. Icy dread gathered in a ball in his stomach as his heart plummeted in panic. He pushed through the crowd and stumbled to the doorway, where he could see the balcony—

There she was. She was practically lying in Kaname’s arms, gazing up with wonder at him while he stared at her with what could only be described as adoration. Zero’s gray eyes burned with fury and hatred for Kaname as he glared at the two from afar.

Wait—what was this? The long, white-and-pink kimono, the blonde-brown hair, the colorless eyes! Her! Zero’s eyes widened. His Bloody Rose gun was suddenly in his hand; his neck tattoo stung wildly. The woman faded from Zero’s sight and vanished up the second set of stairs. Zero bounded after her, past the balcony.

Yuki spotted Zero’s lithe shape dart past the balcony, and she began to grow suspicious. She pulled away from Kaname. “I’m sorry…I have to go…”

“Really? Why?”

“I think Zero needs my help. I’ll see you later, Kaname-san.” She broke away from him and ran in the direction she had seen Zero go, the long hem of her dress trailing behind her.

***
Zero busted through the door at the top of the stair, his silver hair wildly framing his face. The room inside had never before been opened, so it had nearly dismantled itself. The furniture was dark and dusty. The curtains, almost completely torn apart, lay upon the broken stain glass window. The woman Zero had been chasing lounged in a battered red armchair.

With the light clinking of chains, Zero’s arm thrusted out towards the woman, and the barrel of the Bloody Rose pressed against her head. She was unfazed, though. Calmly, she inspected her perfect nails and spoke with a drawl.

“Well it’s about time, my child. I was beginning to think you forgot about me.”

“Forget you?” Zero snarled. “I can never forget about you! Not after what you did to my parents!”

“Ah, yes. The Kiryu family, wasn’t it?” She looked about at him with her unnerving  eyes and smiled hungrily. “Delicious family of yours…”

“Shut up, damn it!” Zero barked, violently shoving his gun into her chest.

“You know very well, my child, that it is you who has been damned—“ Her sentence was cut short as Zero squeezed his hand around her throat and pointed his gun at her temple. His eyes were barbarically angry.

“I SAID SHUT UP!” he screamed.

“Shoot me.” Her colorless eyes flooded with a deep, scarlet hue, and her demonic laughter swirled around the tower…