Warnings: OCs, and Angst (Somewhat).

Author's Note:

For the Readers who read the older version called "Selfless Mask of Pride", in the case that you can still remember what had happened in the story, it would be better to read this new version with a completely new mindset because there are a lot of changes to how the plot would progress in future.

For New Readers, this is an OC FAN-FICTION. If you're not a fan of OC fan-fictions, get out immediately. I do not want any OC flaming in the reviews.

Otherwise, I hope this new revamped version would be a pleasant read for everyone.

…And yes, I believe OCs need a warning label of their own—since there's this serious OC-Pet-Peeve going around more so than before. I can understand why, though I don't really care—I like writing OCs in preset stories to see how things can go about instead of the original storyline so… Yeah, I'll stop my rambling now.

Vampire Knight © Matsuri Hino

Fan-Fiction Plot and Original Characters © Kuro Nightroad/ Me

Fragility

A Vampire Knight Fan-Fiction

Chapter One:

"Foreshadowing Omens"

Summer.

The Sun scorched with a scalding touch.

Cicadas hummed to a deafening tune.

Light reached through the thick layers of leaves above, casting spots of gold onto her form. She dared a subtle peek, a pale hand to her eyes adjusting to the piercing brightness. A vague wonder of how long she had napped idled in her mind, though she could care less to actually find out.

She stared off blankly into thin air for a brief moment, eventually opting to pull out her cellphone to check the time, and was greeted with a number of missed calls displayed on the home screen. A bead of sweat formed as she recognized the phone number as well as the time.

Dear lord, she was so in trouble... even though she initially had every intention to skip out on assisting her guardian with his mentoring back at the log house.

And having snuck off when the opportunity arose... She had no doubt the older man was probably—most assuredly, and positively—livid when he realized that she was not around to help when he needed it.

Whilst debating on whether she ought to return the call, her screen of her cellphone lit up once again, buzzing incessantly.

"... ... ..."

Sigh.

Reluctantly, she flipped it open, picking up the incoming call.

"OI RIEL, WHERE THE H—"

Clack!

The loud, bellowing voice was cut off abruptly before they could finish their yelling over the receiver.

She felt another bead of sweat forming, both hands grasping her cellphone shut as though the yelling would continue on relentlessly if she does so much as slacken her firm grip. She wasn't keen on getting a dreadful lecture from her guardian when she could hang up on him now and cook up a feasible excuse (or plan for her quickest escape route in the situation should her guardian decide to target practice on her with his handy firearms) before returning to the log house later.

She found herself breathing again, having realized that she had been holding it unknowingly when she had answered her cellphone. She slipped her cellphone back into her pocket.

With one leg hanging off the branch she was perched comfortably on, she tilted her head back against the bark of the tree. Amber eyes slowly closed and her conscious slowly slipped... Perhaps snoozing for another good hour would not hurt.

BAM!

...Huh?

Beating wings fled to the skies in flocks, the sound reverberating through the forest.

She straightened up, peeking open an eye. The gunshot was not far off from where she was hiding out, and she sincerely hoped it was not a certain tawny-haired pessimistic trainee that came to the log house not too long ago.

It wasn't that she had anything against that arrogant sourpuss at first. The boy had initially taken one look at her and scoffed, before proceeding to ignore her existence—to which she didn't care two hoots about and was rather content with such (socializing hadn't been her best trait for a reason after all).

It wasn't until several days later the said sourpuss had lost to her in a training challenge set by her guardian, and that single loss—without a doubt—did not sit too well with the boy and led him to constantly compete with her on every assignment and chore they were made to do thereafter.

It also did nothing to help her predicament when the boy wears a permanent scowl or glare around her and always had a bone to pick with her over the pettiest things—one would think she had murdered his pet dog or something to warrant such hostility.

She grimaced at the oncoming headache, remembering the none too pleasant fact that her guardian even encouraged the one-sided rivalry between the two of them.

She sighed, a hand to her forehead rubbing in circles to try and soothe the dull throbbing as she diverted her attention back to the bushes beneath her.

...Come to think of it, what was that boy's name again?

She furrowed her eyebrows at the sudden thought, digging her mind for a name. She came up with nothing.

Nothing. Nada. Zilch.

She heaved another sigh (how many times had she sighed already, she had to wonder), resigned to the dreaded fact that her memory power definitely had issues when she was still drowsy.

Know what, never mind.

She really didn't feel the need to remember his name at the moment, withdrawing her suspended leg from the edge, and concealing her presence as she leant over slightly—trying to get little to what was a glimpse of the shrubs on the ground without falling off. She perked, watching and listening to the rustling of the leaves.

There was a soft sigh, and a head of silver emerged from the bushes—Oh, it was one of the trainee twins. The older one.

Thank God—she thought.

She hadn't slightest clue as to what she would have done if had been the tawny-haired boy.

Probably something stupid—she offered sarcastically to herself while rolling her eyes—one that might result in me falling out of the tree and to my gruesome demise.

Scratch that, the tree she had climbed was barely even three stories high. There's no way she'd die falling from that height. Maybe if she landed on her head, then there might be a chance. She shook her head, stopping herself. Now was not the time to be morbid and thinking of one-thousand-and-one ways to die.

She watched the boy in curiosity, her chin rested on a palm.

The boy seemed resigned yet relieved somehow, and it seemed like he'd probably have to go without dinner later that night (her nose hadn't picked up the scent of blood that should have been in the air if his previous shot had flown true). His entire body then tensed, having seemed to have sensed something and tilted his head—eyes widening in recognition as innocent amethyst met solemn amber.

Wow—she mused, inwardly applauding the boy's sharp senses.

Not to be a complete braggart, but she was the best when it came to hiding her presence from detection and she was damn well proud of it. There was hardly anyone she knew who could find her without much difficulty once she hides herself, and the boy staring up at her from the ground was the first to have detected her hidden presence so effortlessly.

The corners of her mouth twitched into a small smile. Her guardian hadn't been exaggerating when he said the boy's acute senses—if refined with the proper guidance—can become his greatest asset as a Hunter. Though that being said, she felt a sudden and strange feeling nagging at her to notice that there was something wrong with the boy. What, she didn't know.

Looking the boy over critically just to satisfy the curiosity, what she hadn't realized before struck her hard when her eyes landed on the trembling hand clasped tightly around the handle of a warm gun. She blinked, unsure if she ought to be surprised. Amber clashed with amethyst again, and her eyes softened at the slight tinge of pink to the boy's cheeks.

Brushing her short sanguine locks behind an ear, her lips moved to speak to the boy...

Riel scrunched her face with a grimace, waking to incessant barking and a wet tongue lapping at her face. She raised a hand, ready to grab the perpetrator disturbing her slumber. Her fingers made contact with soft fur before they slipped away in alarm and the incessant barking resumed. She chuckled, wiping at her face with the sheets covering her body before flipping onto her side.

"Yes, yes. Good morning to you too, Ruri. You little rascal." Riel mumbled into her pillow. She heard a final bark, almost tempted to roll her eyes at the tinge of satisfaction it held. She let out a groggy yawn, her eyes of golden yellow still heavy with sleep, but her mind was strangely more awake than she could ever remember.

Lifting her head from the pillow, she blinked at the slightest hint of morning rays streaming in through the white curtains. The scenes of greenery outside her private room of the overnight train she had boarded the day before, had changed to scenes of white—an indication that she was nearing her destination soon.

She continued to watch the sceneries go by until Ruri—the enthusiastic crimson-eyed pup with odd patterns of black on her pure white fur—decided that she had enough of her master lazing in bed and pounced. Riel felt herself sink further into the bed at the sudden weight on top of her. She looked up and glanced over her shoulder with a pout.

"Oh shucks, Ruri... cut me some slack here. I had been working my butt off for the past few weeks, and the least you can do now is quit being spartan about what time I wake up."

Ruri wrinkled her nose, a stern twinkle in her beady eyes as she firmly barked again. Riel stuck her lower lip out even more, apparently she knew what that bark (with a hint of warning) meant.

"Wake up. NOW."—and that was Ruri's final decision-slash-command.

Riel muttered darkly under her breath, "I'm seriously beginning to wonder who is Master and Pet now..."

At that, she glanced to the nightstand beside her bed. The time on the digital clock was displayed in bright neon red.

6:38AM

Almost automatically, she closed her eyes again and buried her face into her pillow, groaning aloud.

The pup tilting her head innocently to one side in question went unnoticed by her master.

If it had been already eleven nearing to noon, Riel would have understood her pup's displeasure with her—but to wake her at six? Seriously?

And did she mention that from now, it won't be for another twelve hours before they reach their stop?

Somewhat peeved, Riel threw a defiant scowl over to Ruri before pulling the covers back over her head—much to the pup's chagrin and the incessant barking began again.

"Ruri, be quiet. Wake me before nine again, you're going back into your cage in the cargo compartment."

The pup stopped, whimpering for a moment before curling into a ball at her master's feet.

It wasn't until another hour later that Riel finally decided to get up of her own accord, having been unable to go back to sleep. Her mind replayed her dream over and over like a broken record—she couldn't fathom a logical reason for dreaming up something that happened so long ago.

Just a few years ago, she had been forced to leave—unwillingly transferred to another branch of the Hunters Association overseas before she could salvage the damage from that incident... and it was only recently (two months and a half to be exact) that she was transferred back to the main HQ.

"Its been four years since..." She muttered quietly to herself, bright amber eyes darting to the window, once again watching the sceneries outside brightening evenly with the rising sun behind snow-covered mountains.

There was a sense of foreboding in her gut now.

Running a hand through the messy tresses of her sanguine hair, she groaned again.

So much for sleeping in.

"This cannot go on."

Shoulders hunched, and her head hanging in between, Yuuki could do nothing but sigh at the exchange before her.

Open palms slammed onto the hardwood desk harshly. "Our duties should not include acting like hired bodyguards who have to fend off ardent fans, Chairman!"

"Oh, I know it's been tough on you two every single evening but you should know I appreciate the hard work!"

...The brunette had to wonder just many times her foster father and brother had to reenact this argument. Heck, she could even call it part of their daily routine now—a rushed breakfast, school, detention, dinner with the Chairman, councilor duty, report to the Chairman, argument between father and son, patrolling, report to the Chairman again, few hours of sleep, and all of that happens again the next day.

"If that's the case, then you should be getting more student councilors! That girl over there isn't much help!"

What!

"Hey! Just who's the lazy punk whose always late for our duties!" Yuuki huffed indignantly at Zero's blatant insulting words. That was a low blow. How could he even drag her into the argument when his performance as a councilor was no better than her?

Then it struck her. Zero could scare off a horde of fanboys and girls with just a glare, whereas Yuuki herself...

Alright, so maybe he does get the job done better than her, but there was still the issue of his punctuality. Yuuki could practically count on one hand the exact number of times that Zero actually managed to be on time for their duties. Yes, if Kiriyuu Zero had any flaws, it would definitely be his punctuality—the brunette conveniently concluded her quiet debate to herself amidst the still ongoing one-sided argument. Watching the heated commotion, she also figured it was about time the Chairman would say something to make Zero snap and break something... literally.

"It doesn't pain me at all to give my precious daughter and beloved son this great task."

SNAP!

SMASH!

Ah. There goes the Chairman's desk. Splintered and completely punched through from the surface courtesy of Zero's white-knuckled fist.

Yuuki made note to remind the Chairman he would have get his desk fixed later, since the current look on her dear father's face didn't seem the least bit concerned about the pitiful state of his unfortunate desk. Apparently, the Chairman was more concerned at the fact that Zero was denying that their familial relationship.

"Oi, Yuuki. You're the Chairman's daughter, don't you have anything to say about this?"

She looked up.

Now he's asking for her opinion?

Yuuki took a brief second to consider, and smiled shyly. "Mm... Actually, I think we're handling both the Night and Day Class rather well... And I'm happy to help out with things."

Her fellow silver-haired councilor shot her a blank look.

"OHH! What a good child you are, Yuuki! Your Papa is overjoyed!"

The Chairman exclaimed with dramatic tears streaming from his eyes, feeling touched by his precious daughter's words. He then proceeded to climb onto his broken desk in happiness, giving another one of his long speeches that would normally last for an hour if no one bothers to intervene (which is usually, never).

"I'm gonna go patrol the campus. Yuuki, you deal with him." Zero plugged his ears, hightailing out of the office without another word. The brunette frowned, a deadpan look on her face as the door slammed shut.

Yeah, sure. Go off to enjoy his solitude and leave her to listen to her Papa's grandmother stories. What joy.

She rolled her eyes with a small pout.

"Well, I do understand what Zerorin's trying to say... Which is why I have been thinking that having another councilor around would help lighten the weight of your duties."

"Eh?"

Surprised, Yuuki leant in closer to the Chairman—her hands pressing on the conspicuous huge crack on the desk, causing it to splinter further from under her weight. "Another councilor? From the Day Class? Do you have someone in mind already, Chairma—Papa?"

"No, not from the Day Class." The Chairman replied, settling back down onto his chair whilst dabbing away at the corner of his eyes with a small handkerchief. When it didn't seem like he was going to say anything further, Yuuki pressed for more details. However, her Papa remained tight-lipped and merely smiled. "You'll see soon enough!"

The brunette stuck her lower lip out in another pout. She wanted to know more!

Chuckling at his daughter's sulking, the Chairman urged her gently. "Yuuki, its getting quite late now..."

Yuuki's auburn eyes glanced at the hanging clock in realization, and she hurried to the window—she wasn't about to be late for patrolling and let Zero have another thing to complain about later (it was bad enough that he'd always mention that she was hardly competent when it came to dealing with the fans from the Day Class).

"Do your best, Yuuki!" The Chairman called out.

She turned back around with one foot on the ledge of the open window. "Everything will be alright, Papa! You can count on us councilors!" With a grin, she leapt out of the window. "I'll be off now!"

The Chairman sniffled, waving his handkerchief to send her off before dabbing away at his tearful eyes again. He smiled goofily to himself. "Ahh, my darling little daughter... I've really raised her well... I'm so proud of her..."

Cough!

"Chairman, could I ask that you drop that daughter-complex and quit smiling creepily to yourself? You're going to give me nightmares, no doubt."

He spun around with an incredulous look, sputtering incoherently at the nonchalant burgundy-haired woman before him now. She raised a delicate brow, unamused by the Chairman's pathetic attempt to protest against her comment.

Eventually, the Chairman just opted to pout at her from his seat. "You're as mean as ever, Mari-chan..."

Marian—the school nurse—crossed her arms, rolling her eyes at the Chairman's childish behavior. She often had to remind herself why she had stuck with this eccentric man for so long (its been four years now). Granted, she would have quit this job on the first day if it hadn't been for the fact that the only other place she could return to was the Hunters Association.

While others may find the Chairman's antics hilarious, not everyone appreciates having a dramatic employer with a complex bordering on obsession with his children, and Marian was certain she was one of them—especially when she was one of the few who knew of his actual age.

She blew away several stray strands of caramel hair obscuring her view. "Another councilor, huh? You seem rather eager to take advantage of the plight that the Association is putting you in."

The Chairman blinked his hazel eyes at the sudden change in topic. He soon broke out into a small smile nevertheless, gesturing to the armchair in front of his desk—to which Marian quickly took a seat on.

"I'm surprised you didn't question their intentions, much less voice a single complain about it to them."

Shaking his head, the Chairman's smile turned sheepish. Although he couldn't agree more with her thoughts, there was still one problem preventing him from voicing his agreement. "Mari, you know that I am in no position to say 'no' to them."

"Kaien," Marian deadpanned with the firm tone that she only used when she meant business (coupled with her using his first name, he knew it'd be wiser not to test her patience). "It's been nearly three years since the Night Class was established, and nothing particularly bad has ever happened. Now they want to send someone in under the claims of a long-term inspection?"

She continued on, the sharp look in her eyes warning the Chairman not to interrupt her. "Don't you recall how huge of a fuss the association made when you first proposed the idea of starting the Night Class? You have had so much trouble trying to convince them, I still find it hard to believe that they gave in so willingly at the end of it."

"What are you going to do if all of this is just a farce they cooked up to foul up your efforts so far?"

The Chairman's smile had disappeared, the corners of his lips tugged down in a solemn frown. "They're not that careless, and I'm certain they're aware that I'd be cautious too." His hazel eyes diverted to the open window where Yuuki had left previously. "I won't let them do as they please."

Narrowing her gray eyes, Marian leant back on the armchair. "They're certainly not a bunch of fools, Kaien." There was no denying her being skeptical. She couldn't trust the association—not anymore. "And there is no telling if their intentions are as simple as they are obviously planning something... but who is to say they won't target your achilles heel, your children—the boy, especially?"

"Now, now." The Chairman chided lightly, dismissing the obvious twitch of an eye from Marian. Apparently his sudden mood changes was still something the school nurse wasn't accustomed to despite the years she had spent working under his employment.

Watching with bemused eyes, Marian could have sworn she saw flowers bloom in the background as the Chairman twirled (yes, he twirled) over to refill his forgotten teacup. She kept quiet though, knowing that the Chairman would pout and whine if she did otherwise. "You've watched Kiriyuu-kun grow too, Mari. Have faith in him."

"I know he's a good kid, but don't forget—he's also one of many who had disagreed with your decision to bring in the Night Class to the academy."

Actually, that was an understatement. The boy had hated Vampires enough to lock himself up in his room whenever the topic of attending high school was brought up, and it was a only a year later that he was persuaded by Yuuki to attend begrudgingly.

Marian raised both of her hands in a defensive stance as the Chairman looked at her with an incredulous look, his eyes wide as plates if possible—most probably from thinking the very thought of suspecting his son a blasphemy. "...Alright, alright, I get it. I'll put some faith in that son of yours."

Checking her wristwatch, she signaled the end of their conversation. "We'll talk another time, I'm gonna turn in for the night." Straightening from her seat, Marian headed for the door, her hands stuffed in the pockets of her white coat and the hems trailing behind her.

She paused briefly at the door, throwing a glance over her shoulder. "Good Night, Kaien."

"Sweet dreams, Mari-chan!" The Chairman smiled and waved. He then sat back down in his chair, frowning as soon as the door clicked shut.

So I wasn't the only one thinking too much into things...

He took a sip of his red tea and stared at the rippling liquid.

"Oh dear... the tea's gone cold."

Riel could feel her blood running cold.

"Riel-kun, is there a problem with what I have assigned you?"

She could feel her entire body shaking where she stood.

"Well?"

The Director quietly tapped the tip of his frilled fan on the desk, eyeing her with a pointed look—daring her to voice a complain about her latest assignment.

"...No."

She desperately maintained her composure, barely swallowing the lump in her throat as she answered. Her lips were pursed together in a tight line, and her amber eyes stared hard at the velvet flooring, awaiting her dismissal.

"Good. You're dismissed then."

Closing the doors to the Director's office softly, Riel rested her pounding forehead against the cool oakwood. She felt as though she were coming down with a fever, but she knew better. She shuddered and held herself.

What an idiot I am. She cursed.

Why hadn't she seen this coming?

She cursed again, her knuckles going white as she fisted her hands tighter whilst listening to the pounding of her heart. The minutes passed, and Riel slowly found herself calming down, strangely comforted by the pain of her nails digging into her palms. She finally released the long breath she had been holding onto for dear life before, straightening from her slouching position previously.

The next few seconds that occurred, suddenly became a blur.

Her mind could only comprehend that she had been tackled to the ground in a tangled heap by a mop of chestnut hair, the wind knocked out of her as she coughed. Feeling heavy but slender arms snake around her shoulders and tighten, Riel cringed slightly when a soft cheek nuzzled her own. It took her another moment to realize the cheery voice chirping happily at her return.

"Welcome back, El-chan!"

Blinking twice in surprise, her words were caught in her throat. Albeit she would have just shook her head while chuckling at the situation she was in, Riel (not feeling quite like herself at the moment) merely managed a smile and patted the overly affectionate man's back in a friendly manner.

"I'm back, Mako."

She closed her eyes, burying her face into the thick fabric that was Makoto's coal-black winter coat. The strong scent of blood and gunpowder flooded her nostrils, overpowering his usual scent of honey spices. "Did you just come back from an assignment?"

"I rushed over the moment I heard from the administrative department that you had returned!"

Makoto grinned, his death grip on Riel tightening as he continued to hug her. She squirmed in his arms, feeling a bead of sweat forming. She chuckled awkwardly. "Um... Mako..."

The man only hummed in question. The bead of sweat grew.

"Mako... you can let—"

"Quit smothering her already."

A rough voice spoke, pulling Makoto from Riel's straddled lap. She heaved a sigh and got off the ground, grateful for the save. Makoto, however, wasn't happy that he was interrupted—if the half-pout and half-glare he had been sporting was not enough of an obvious indication. The seemingly intimidating man (mostly because he had a deep scar running from his cheek to his chin) was hardly fazed as he held his partner by the collar.

Riel felt the corner of her lips tug upwards in amusement at the sight—she thought it better not to laugh now lest she wants the Director to come out to see what the rowdy commotion was about, they were just outside his office after all.

She nodded, greeting the newcomer with another smile. "Jin."

The older man cocked his head curtly at her, setting Makoto down to ruffle at her sanguine locks. "Yo, you look like hell. What happened?"

"Jin, practice some tact will you?" Makoto elbowed Jinmu in the ribs, grumbling under his breath about his partner's bluntness.

"Its fine, Mako." Riel let out a small laugh, grinning widely. "And I'm alright now, Jin. Don't worry so much, you have enough wrinkles as it is already."

Jinmu narrowed his eyes comically, jabbing a thumb in the general direction of his burgundy-haired partner and deadpanned. "Can you blame me when this guy can't even take care of himself? He can't even file in his paperwork correctly!"

"What! That's going too far, Jin!" Makoto retaliated, his cheeks flushed pink and arms flailing wildly in outrage. "Its not like you don't have your moments too! Like yesterday when you nearly—mmph!"

Riel couldn't help but snicker when Jinmu slapped a coarse hand over Makoto's blabbing mouth. The younger male struggled fruitlessly (he could have just used his teeth, but he honestly rather not being biting the older man's hand).

Jinmu then cleared his throat, changing the topic as the trio unanimously agreed to head out to the town's local diner for an early dinner. "By the way, where's that frisky little critter of yours?"

"I left Ruri back at my apartment." She chuckled sheepishly, a hand to her head. "Wouldn't want an encore of the fiasco that happened when I last brought her here now, would we?"

Riel dreaded to recall the incident from her last visit with Ruri to the HQ's Infirmary that left the place in chaos and half of the staff there traumatized. The clueless red-haired hunter hadn't been smart enough to think of enlightening her little pet about the harmlessness of vaccination shots... and it resulted in the rampage of an overprotective pup who thought her master (whom she knew wasn't feeling ill at all) was going be infected with some disease at the sight of an intimidating needle looking to pierce through soft, delicate skin.

She sighed, although the staff at the Infirmary said it was all good, Riel was aware that no amount of apologies and compensation could make up for the shocking trauma her precious pet had caused them. Which was why she opted to never again let Ruri into the HQ again unless it was absolutely necessary, and made it a point to send two baskets of fresh fruits to the Infirmary once every month.

"I heard you got chewed out by the Director pretty badly after what happened."

A shrug. "Ruri's my responsibility after all, its not surprising I'd be the one reprimanded for the her actions." There was a brief pause. "And though that was about a month ago, I get the feeling the Director is still angry about it."

Makoto gave a light-hearted laugh, flinging his arms over Riel's shoulders. "Well, don't let it get to you, El-chan! The Director will get over it soon enough!"

Riel raised an eyebrow in question at the grinning man hanging over her shoulders, then decided to turn her amber eyes onto his partner for a comment or two. Jinmu merely offered her a shrug before shooting a disapproving look to Makoto, who conveniently chose to ignore along with Riel's obvious attempts free herself from his iron hold.

"Anyway, how long will you be staying until the next job?"

She paused, looking up into curious gray eyes before looking away with an unfathomable expression—she had not wanted to remember what she had been tasked with from the Director just moments ago. Feeling a pair of concerned eyes on her, Riel closed her eyes—the sick feeling in her gut was returning, and her chest tightened. No, no, don't. Calm down. Calm down. Just calm down. Breath. Yes, just breath, Riel. She chanted quietly in her head, resisting the urge to claw at the pounding pain in her chest.

"El-chan?"

Mustering up her strength, Riel looked up with a forced smile. "...I can't stay, Mako. I have to be on my way by tomorrow morning." She gently remove Makoto's arms from her shoulders, putting some distance between them and gave an apologetic smile to the duo. "I'm sorry, but I think I'll pass on dinner after all. I'll see you two again soon, alright?"

Not waiting for an answer, she gave a small wave before striding off briskly, disappearing around the corner.

Jinmu heaved a heavy sigh, placing a hand upon Makoto's head like a father would. "I heard from few of the staff back at HQ. It seems like the Director has given the Cross Academy assignment to her."

Makoto went wide-eyed at Jinmu's words. "You're joking."

"Do I look like the sort who'd crack such a tasteless joke?"

"Has the Director gone mad then?" Jinmu eyed Makoto with another disapproving look, but the younger male could hardly bring himself to care about how he addressed the head of the Hunters Association—he could feel his blood bubbling in growing anger for Riel. "You and I know just who is at Cross Academy and everyone here also knows how bad his relationship with El-chan had become before her transfer! Sending her there is no different from adding fuel to the fire!"

"Makoto." Jinmu rapped his knuckles against his partner's head, rebuking the younger man. "Our duties as Vampire Hunters are first priority, everything else comes second... and whether one Hunter is able to getting along with another fellow Hunter... The Director could care less for that sort of thing." Jinmu was thrown a spiteful look, albeit it was hardly intimidating courtesy of the slight hint of tears gathering at the corners of Makoto's eyes as he held his head tightly in silent pain.

"Besides that, he is the Association's Director. The Director's orders are absolute, and this holds especially true for Riel."

The burgundy-haired man then stormed off, grumbling his displeasures about the Director under his breath. Jinmu could only shake his head in disapproval again, but opted to let his partner vent his frustrations—there was nothing else they could have done for Riel other than being concerned and feeling indignant for her after all.

A string of profanities left Makoto's mouth again as he continued his grumbling. "I swear... That girly old man is seriously asking for a beating..."

It didn't seem like his grumbling, cursing and swearing at the Director was going to stop any time soon.

Jinmu heaved another sigh.

BEEP!

The Chairman nearly dropped the teapot his hand in surprise at the soft sound, spilling a small amount of piping hot tea over the expensive carpet floor of his office. Holding tightly onto her teacup, Marian's quick reflexes allowed her to lift both her feet swiftly onto the couch to avoid the scalding liquid. She stayed frozen in that odd position, eyes blinking as she registered the blinking red light of the fax machine.

Her gray eyes shot to the Chairman, who had yet to move since he spilled some of his tea. "Chairman?"

"O-Oh! Yes, yes! I'll get that!"

...That seemed to snap him out of his stupor.

He quickly set the teapot onto the coffee table and flew towards the black machine churning out printed papers. Marian dropped three cubes of sugar into her tea before sipping slowly, raising an eyebrow when she noticed the Chairman's oddly still form. She stood and approached him with her teacup still in hand, peering over his shoulders at the papers he held in his hands—they were admission papers for enrollment. Her eyes widened as she read the information printed on them, the firm grip she had on her teacup slackened in shock.

SMASH!

The porcelain teacup fell to the floor in sharp pieces, but neither had paid it any attention. Marian sneaked a glance at the Chairman, who furrowed his eyebrows in concern.

"Kaien..."

Her words were not heard, the Chairman's full attention focused on the name printed on those pages. His hazel eyes read the name repeatedly, somehow hoping that he had read it wrongly—that it wasn't her the Association was assigning.

Cross Academy Enrollment Form

Academic Session:

First Year

Name of Candidate:

Ookami Riel

Author's Note:

Well, I'm not sure if any of my previous readers or anyone for that matter is still following this story of mine (didn't bother to check) but never mind.

It was for the reason that I started this story and didn't like where it was going with my horrendous writing, along with the lack of plot development from three years ago, that I decided to rewrite it. So I will rewrite this story as brilliantly as I can and finally finish it the way I want it to end.

Soooo... yeah, I had been pretty busy with college and stuff (no surprise there, I mean, who doesn't get busy with school and their private lives?) but I managed to get around that somehow, and fixed up my prologue and made it into the first chapter of DFP (:

Anyways... Questions? Comments? Feel free to review or PM me, I won't bite...probably.

Ciaos ;)

~Kuro-Chama