Black Rose: Book One

The following days were uneventful with the exception of Yumiko witnessing the prefects punch and push one another after Zero called Yuuki a brat. Before she knew it, it was Friday night. She couldn't understand why curfew for outside the dorms wasn't extended but she never questioned Yuuki's orders. Also, because she was so quiet, she was able to observe and learn a lot of things. For instance, the Day class' girls could really hold a grudge. Apparently, they still hadn't forgave her for being able to actually touch Aidou, let alone get to the other side of the gate. Another thing she learned was that no one knew much of anything about the Night class beyond what the prefects told them. The mystery surrounding them made the Day class students absolutely nuts about the Night class.

Although they were allowed to roam around their dorm building until midnight, Yumiko opted to stay in her dorm room and finish all the homework she'd been assigned. After all, if she did it then instead of waiting, she would have the whole weekend to herself, allowing her to spend more time with Yuuki.

The door opened and her roommate, Amai, stepped in. "Hello, Yumiko."

"Hello."

Amai wandered over to her dresser and began pulling things out. "My friend Keiko has invited me to come sleep in her room for the weekend since her roommate went home for the weekend." She explained, shoving clothes into a gym bag. "There's been a death in the family."

"That's horrible!" Yumiko covered her mouth.

"It is. On the bright side, you'll have the room to yourself so you sleep in as late as you'd like!" Amai smiled. Overall, she was very kind to Yumiko. She was about Yumiko height but was in a class lower than hers. She had short, choppy black hair. She had leaf green eyes, freckles, and a round face that still hung onto baby fat. She got good grades, but didn't devote enough time to studying because she wanted to spend endless hours talking about the Night class with her friends. Yumiko also noted that even though Amai would stay up for hours with Yumiko chatting about whatever crossed their minds...Amai never invited Yumiko to tag along with her. Sure, Yumiko never actually asked to go...but Amai never extended an invitation. Amai picked up her bag. "See you Sunday, Yumiko!"

"Bye." She mumbled to the door as it slammed shut, once again isolating her inside of her own little world. By the time she finished her homework, it was nearly one in the morning. Amai would have freaked out if she saw Yumiko complete a writing assignment that was allowed a week before it was actually due. However, due to spending a little time with the class president, Akio, she picked up the habit of doing something as soon as she could instead of putting it off for later. What sense was there in waiting anyway?

She stood and stretched, yawning loudly. She didn't have anything else to do since Yuuki was busy with her prefect duties so she decided to shower and go to bed. She was surprised that all the other girls were locked in their rooms, seemingly sound asleep. She showered quickly and tiptoed back to her room. She pulled back the covers on her bed...and heard a knock at her window. The sound startled her since her room was on the second floor! She peeked out of her closet when she heard the noise again. What she saw nearly made her pass out cold.

"Stop staring at me and let me in!" Aidou whispered urgently, motioning for her to come to the window. Her feet and hands moved on their own as she moved over to the window, unlocked it, and stepped back. Aidou was standing on a narrow ledge protruding from the building. "Took you long enough."

He hopped inside the room and closed the window. Hearing the window softly shut made her snap out of her stupor. "What are you doing here?!?"

He eyed her for a moment then moved over to her bed and plopped down onto it. "That's a question you should have asked before you let me inside." He frowned, sat up to fluff her pillow, then laid back. "The question should now be 'Aidou-sempai, will you marry me?!'"

Yumiko didn't find this amusing at all. "What do you want?" She asked folding her arms across her chest.

He cut his icy blue eyes at her and frowned. "It's bad enough you look like that perfect prefect, but must you also be as annoying as her, too?"

Goosebumps appeared on her exposed arms as the temperature in the room dropped. She unconsciously rubbed her arms to keep warm. "I wouldn't have to be if you simply followed the school's rules."

He sighed heavily and sat up. "Let's face it. Rules were meant to be broken." He stood and the air in the room became comfortable again. He walked slowly over to her. "If we always followed the rules..." He reached out and teased the ends of her hair with his fingertips. "...then we would all die of pure boredom."

She swatted his hand away. "We would not."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, the perfect prefects break the rules constantly." He counted off on his fingers. "Sleeping in class. Skipping class..." He tried to think of examples that didn't involve him, Zero, and that cursed nuisance called Bloody Rose. "....hm...."

"Their duties as prefects excuse them from the rules."

"Does it really? Then please remind me to go race and apply for the position as prefect the next time the job is available." He shoved his hands into his pockets. "At any rate, I didn't come here to have a battle of the wits with Yuuki number two."

"Wha--"

"Get dressed and let's go."

"...Excuse me? Do what?"

"Let's. Go."

"I'm not going anywhere with you."

"Au contraire. Since you let me into your bedroom, you'd be in triple the amount of trouble you'd be in if you were merely caught outside roaming around campus." He looked at her smugly. 'Check and mate.'

Yumiko's face fell. He was right. The consequences for having a male in the girl's side of the dormitory were far worse than being found frolicking around outside at one in the morning. She took a deep breath and retreated back inside of her closet. He waited patiently, ignoring the sounds of rummaging and angry mumbling. She finally emerged wearing her school uniform and glared at him. "Happy?"

"Not as long as you look like her." He drawled and turned to the window. "Come on. Zelman can only keep the prefects occupied for so long before they catch on."

"Why do I get the feeling this won't end well?" She asked approaching the window and looking down at him as he extended his hand to her.

"Because you're bound to get caught. It will be worth it. I promise."

She took his hand and put one leg out the window. "How so?" She asked ducking down to stick her head out then followed by her other leg. He put his hands on her waist and set her down on the ledge.

"You'll see." He smiled wickedly.

"I don't think I'll like this."

"Neither will Yuuki."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"I wonder what's keeping them so long..." A guy stood by the window with his arms folded. His hair gave him a wild appearance yet his eyes told a different story.

"The whole thing is troublesome I tell you." Shiki stood and pushed a hand through his red hair as he looked around the room. "What's the point of deliberately causing trouble?"

Kain looked at him with a dry smirk. "I'm sorry. Are you talking about Zelman or Aidou?"

Shiki tilted his head to the side briefly as if contemplating an answer then settled on shaking his head. "Why do we always get pulled into this?"

The door burst open and a guy with dark red hair, about Shiki's color, ran and and slammed it behind him, pressing his body against the door. Seconds afterwards someone began screaming and pounding on the other side of it.

"PYR WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU YOU'RE GONNA BE LUNCHMEAT!!!" A girl screamed at the top of her lungs.

The boy rolled his eyes and scoffed with a sinister smile. "Oh, hell, like I haven't heard that before!" He yelled back sarcastically then locked the door. "That was fun."

Kain and Shiki looked at Zelman with curious looks. Kain unfolded his arms and spoke softly, "Zelman...what did you do?"

Zelman winked and plopped down on his bed. "The same thing I do every night, Pinky." He closed his eyes. "Try to take over the world!"

The beating on the door continued for another fifteen minutes or so before Yuuki's voice was heard asking the girl to go back to her room. Zelman chuckled.

"What's so funny?" Shiki asked. Although he personally didn't care as to what the self-destructive thrill seeker did in his spare time...he learned it was best to be prepared for any punishment either Kaname or the Headmaster deemed fit for them not stopping Zelman and Aidou.

"Her hair is blue now." He smiled with satisfaction. "Permanent dye isn't the easiest to get out."

Kain's eyes widened with horror. "And who was that?"

"Some first year...what's her name....ah, Amaterasu. Hell, too many letters if you ask me."

"So where are they?" Kain looked at Zelman.

Zelman opened an eye and looked directly at Kain. "The guy is patrolling the northeast part of the grounds while the girl is somewhere inside the dorm with Amaterasu." He closed the eye. "All is well."

"Good." Kain whispered.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"W-wait! I changed my mind!" Yumiko whispered and stopped walking alongside Aidou.

"Again? What is it now?" His icy blue eyes gave her chills. She looked away and chose to stare at the water in the pond that was under the bridge there were standing on. "If you keep this up, we'll certainly be found before we even get to the Moon Dorm!"

"Why are we going there?"

He looked at her for a second. "Don't you want to meet the Night class?"

She thought about it. "I already did."

"Not formally."

"Why me? Of all the girls in that dormitory...why me?" She looked down at the ground between them.

For this Aidou didn't have an answer. "Why must you ask so many questions?! Anyone else would be on the verge of fainting to even be near me alone and yet here you are playing 21 questions with me."

Yumiko bowed her head submissively. "I-I apologize."

Seeing her do this, Aidou only saw Yuuki repeatedly doing the same thing to Kaname....and it grated him. "Stand up straight!" He barked and she snapped to attention.

'Pathetic.' He thought to himself. 'She's nothing more than a pet begging to be trained. A puppet needing someone to pull her strings. She doesn't think for herself. She has no true personality. Flatter than a ruler and equally as dull.' "That annoys me.." He whispered to no one in particular. 'She's nothing more than Yuuki's shadow...and havingone Yuuki is more than enough...'

A devious thought entered Aidou's mind...and with it came a sinister plan.

'But what if....what if I took this dry, dead soil and planted a seed? What if I watered it with my own personality...my own thoughts and wants...and grew....a dark beauty. Someone to stir up commotion and chaos during the day for those damned prefects while I slept peacefully? Then when she laid her precious head down to rest...I could rise and start the torment all over again.' He smiled wickedly. 'Where there is light...there is dark. Yuuki is Kaname's good little princess...and Yumiko could be my wicked, thorned black rose....'

He inhaled deeply and turned on the charm, putting an arm around her shoulders. "Come. We don't have all night to stand around."

It didn't take them long to get to the room where the others were waiting for them. He had to carry her on his back in order to get to the second story window where Kain already had the window open.

"Hell, it took you long enough." Zelman teased sitting up. His eyes settled on Yumiko and for a minute he freaked out. "Why did you bring the prefect here?!?!"

Aidou smiled as he put Yumiko down. "Take a closer look; this isn't the prefect."

Shiki and Zelman leaned forward, staring at the girl. Zelman was the first to lean away after a few moments. "I see. She has a beauty mark on the left side of her face. The prefect doesn't."

"Exactly. Her name is Yumiko."

"Did you bring her here as a snack?" Shiki's eyes threatened to change color but Aidou got in between them to prevent her from seeing this. "No. She's a friend of mine...don't touch her."

The group sighed with disappointment.

"You're killing me, Aidou-sempai." Zelman pouted.

Aidou ignored him and turned to Yumiko. "These are my closest friends." He pointed to each person as he called their name out and each gave their own version of some greeting to her. "Shiki Senri, Zelman Pyr, and my cousin, Kain Akatsuki."

She smiled awkwardly and gave a small wave.

"Come! Sit down!" Zelman patted the bed beside him. Yumiko merely stared at him. He looked down at the bed and grinned. "Or not..." He stood, lept over the back of the couch that sat between three beds (one on each wall except by the door) and sat down. "Okay, now let's try that again."

Much to Yumiko's (and Aidou's) surprise, Yumiko found comfort within the group of guys. Contrary to the shell she was when she felt no one was looking at her or that no one cared about her, she was very conversational. Zelman and Aidou made up most of the conversation, jumping from topic to topic so quickly that Kain and Shiki didn't even bother to try to actively take part in it after the first thirty minutes went by. However, Yumiko was able to keep up with the two. While Aidou and Zelman expressed their opinions and differences, Yumiko made mental notes to find out these things so she could form her own list of likes and dislikes. She watched them both carefully and was inwardly thrilled with the recognition and personal attention the boys gave her. Her shyness disappeared. She actually relaxed instead of being on edge. At some points during their conversation, Zelman had been able to move behind her and start playing in her hair. She would playfully swat his hands and tell him only girls play in people's hair; he would respond that "friends" allow friends to play in their hair. After the third time of hearing this, she stopped fighting him.

Aidou watched her carefully, making mental notes and plotting out his "lesson plan". It would take a while to make his plan work. It would take lots of patience and commitment...but it would work. She was perfect. Step one had already began to effect her. She trusted them.

He knew he had to go slowly through the steps. She had to trust them and what they said before anything else could be done. As long as they were kind to her and treated her like a good, valuable friend, she would become attached to them. Yes. She would want to spend time with them. This was a crucial step in that, in the future, she would actively seek them out on her own, wanting company that most likely would never be found over in the Sun Dorm.

He smiled as he watched her yawn and stretch, eyes blinking as sleep began to weigh down on her eyelids.

"I think you should be heading back now, Yumiko." Aidou sighed and stood up. As much as he hated to admit it, she needed to go back before she was caught inside their dorm room.

"Yes..." She muttered sleepily, leaning against Zelman who was intrigued by her being comfortable enough with them to actually not mind being to so close to him. Aidou grabbed her wrist and slowly pulled her to her feet.

"I don't think I'll walk you back. If you get caught out alone, this tired, they may just fall for the sleepwalker trick." Aidou mused.

"Aidou-sempai!" Zelman feigned shock. "You, a gentleman, would allow a lady to walk back alone to her room in zombie mode?! I am apalled, sir!"

Aidou cut his eyes at Zelman yet still smiled. "I haven't had my medication yet. I don't think it would be a good idea." He took both of Yumiko's hands and looked directly into the girl's tired eyes. "Can you make it back alone?"

She blinked a few times. "Huh?"

"Wow." Kain finally stood and stretched. "It's nearly four in the morning. The prefects should be on their way back to their dorms."

Yumiko yawned...and fell forward against Aidou, sleeping soundly. Aidou looked at her in disbelief as she continued to sleep, then immediately shot Zelman an accusing look.

Zelman looked around suspiciously, and the minute he felt the intense glare, got defensive. "Oh come on! I couldn't resist!"

"She could have used what little energy you left her in the first place to get back home!" Aidou nearly growled. "Now I have to take her back!"

Zelman stood and went to his bed. "You're forgetting to mention where that becomes my problem, my friend."