Footsteps echoed in a small section of forest, piercing the heavy shroud of silence that the night had caused to settle over the Earth

New story. Have fun. Epic.

Disclaimer: All mine. Copyrighted. Don’t steal.

Don’t complain about my usage of Japanese.

Don’t complain about typos; there aren’t hardly any.

Don’t complain about if it bores you, because I don’t care.

Footsteps echoed in a small section of forest, piercing the heavy shroud of silence that the night had caused to settle over the Earth. Silvery moonlight filtered down through the thick canopy of trees, filling the considerably large clearing with shimmering light. A slight wind picked up, whisking through the open forest area, singing an eerie song of darkness. A small owl with snowy white feathers, perched upon a branch in a tree above, mimicked the wind, adding its own haunting lyrics.

The owner of the feet that caused the footsteps came into the picture in full vampire slayer regalia. A cloak the color of ink adorned his shoulders; the hood was pulled up over his face, casting his features in shadow. He was tall and slender, his whole body swathed in black. In his right hand, a long, slim silver blade glinted in the light of the moon, almost menacing all on its own. His feet were clad in a pair of black tennis shoes, their material thin so as to give him a speedy advantage.

The tall boy was closely followed by two other hooded figures, each wielding a cocked, loaded pistol. They walked a ways behind their leader, as if they feared him, respected him.

The owl hooted, causing the three boys to stop and look up at the somewhat-glowing bird, their hoods remaining faithfully in place. It stared back at them and cocked its head to the side in curiosity, as if to say, “Dare desu ka (Who’s there?).”

“Sakamoto-san!” one of the followers cried, gripping the butt of his gun with both hands and aiming it up at the bird. “Behind the tori (bird)!”

With the adroit grace only bestowed upon a creature of the night, the superior boy was up on the branch of the tree in mere seconds. He pivoted on his right foot, allowing his blade to fly out around him with the swirling of his cloak.

The two halves of a slowly shriveling creature splattered onto the grass, spraying a thin layer of black blood across the trunks of the trees behind it.

The older boy landed on his feet with elegant dexterity, wiping the dark blood off of his blade with the folds of his cloak. He slipped the rapier up into its sheathe across his back, the hilt resting on the flipside of his right hip.

His followers bowed at the waist, obviously awed by his advanced skills.

Suddenly, one of the followers gasped and fell to his knees, clutching the sides of his spiky-haired head as his hood fell back. He inhaled and exhaled sharply, squeezing his eyes shut. After a few moments of tense silence, he gasped and looked up at his leader, his cerulean eyes showing his exhaustion.

“Mizawa-sama says that there’s more Tainted near the edge of Yamaoka. If we hurry, we can cut them off before they get into town.”

The top half of his face still covered, the other follower spoke, “How are we to do that? Tainted have twice the speed of us Untainted. We’ll never beat them.”

The leader swept his cloak aside and turned to look up at the owl. The seconds passed by quietly before his voice was heard.

“The fukuroo (owl)knows a way. Saasaa (Come on!).”

The three teenagers bounded up into the trees and sprinted off after the swiftly soaring owl. It hooted softly as it flew. Its great wings moved up and down gently, as if it were dragging its feathers through deep water. It was a beautiful creature indeed.

They came to a halt at the edge of a sprawling yet generally quiet town most formally known as Yamaoka. It was completely surrounded by the thick forest, causing it to be more of a rural city. Its streets were usually bustling with shoppers in the daytime hours, and partying young adults at night. Its main attraction was Ouran-Park Private School, a prestigious academy in the Japanese countryside that was almost impossible to be accepted into due to the fact that it was in a castle-like building with high arches and expensive accommodations. Nevertheless, everyone in Japan seemed to know about the school, making Yamaoka not only a tourist attraction, but also a peaceful, serene city with a natural charm that only small towns could have.

Down by the southeast entrance gate, the three cloaked teens had dropped from the tree branches to the grass below, facing the forest’s edge. Their weapons drawn, they waited for their enemies to appear.

The snowy owl landed gracefully on the leader’s shoulder, narrowing its eyes at the darkness of the forest.

And then they came, all at once.

Five savage Tainted appeared, their emaciated bodies draped in rags; their hair was stringy with grime and muck. They didn’t look to have fed in days. If they didn’t get nourishment soon, they would perish.

It was the three teens’ job to make sure they didn’t make it into town to gain sustenance.

The leader shed his cloak in a single movement; the wind causing it to flutter away, flapping like a flag. His chin-length bangs, the color of charcoal, fell across his face, making his lime-green eyes stand out with burning intensity against the darkness of the night.

The five Tainted crouched low in front of the three teens, baring their jagged, unbrushed fangs. They hissed like snakes; clawed at the air like cats. They were like animals in every way, but they did not frighten their challengers.

“Tainted, onamae o ukagaemasu ka (what is your name?),” the boy with lime-green eyes called out to who appeared to be the leader of the opposing group, the wind carrying his voice and amplifying it to frightening levels. His neon emerald eyes flashed menacingly, mirrored in the reflective surface of his rapier.

“What’s it to you, pureblood?” the group leader queried, adding a low growl for good measure.

“It is my duty to protect the citizens of Yamaoka. I will not have you spreading your filth among these people,” the boy replied, baring his own fangs threateningly. His grip tightened visibly on the hilt of his sword.

The Tainted leader’s eyes narrowed upon seeing his enemy’s incisors. “Hypocrite,” he spat, his saliva splashing at the boy’s feet. He took a step forward.

“Take one more step forward, and we’ll kill you,” the boy’s followers warned simultaneously, stepping in front of their leader to protect him. They pointed the barrels of their guns at the Tainted leader’s face and cocked them.

His upper lip curled and he moved back.

“My brethren and I haven’t fed in many moons. Surely you can understand our needs . . .” he inquired desperately, approaching the problem from a different direction.

“Revolting half-blood,” one of the lime-green eyed boy’s followers said, the disgust in his voice evident. “Do not speak to Daisuke-kun as if you know him. None of us care if you feed or not.”

“But we are the same, are we not?” the Tainted leader replied. “We are all brethren, no?”

“Would it please you to know that I killed one of your so-called brethren not five minutes ago, in a clearing not far from here?” Daisuke answered, his emerald eyes blazing.

The Tainted leader’s eyebrows raised in horror, and he glanced back at his own followers. They turned to go.

Daisuke appeared in front of them, barring their path.

“I cannot let you leave alive,” he snarled, gnashing his fangs in a somewhat animalistic way.

The Tainted leader unsheathed a dagger from the inside of his worn leather boot. He licked his lips and glared at the boy. A sinister laugh that promised nothing but death escaped his lips. He hissed fiercely before he lunged forward, bringing his dagger down in a flash of silver.

The raven-haired Daisuke sidestepped to the right, twisting his blade around and up, so that the point lodged itself firmly in the Tainted’s gut. The twisted smile fell off of its face swiftly as soon as it felt the cold metal piercing its skin. An ear-splitting scream rent the night air as the Tainted’s fingertips and toes began to fall away into dust. It was like a strange black sickness, spreading quickly toward his abdomen until it was merely a pile of inky ashes in the grass.

The two followers dispatched of the remaining Tainted just as easily.

“Let’s get back to the school,” one of the followers said, sweeping his cloak aside as he wiped the edges of his blade on the grass.

The other two nodded briefly before they departed for their final destination of the night.

x

My heart began to pound clear up to my eardrums with each passing moment. I glanced to my right, hoping to see if there was anyone else as nervous as I was. It didn’t appear so. In fact, what I saw just made me feel even more nervous.

Every single person in the row of chairs that sat on the auditorium stage was calm. They sat with straight backs and heads held high, collected smiles spread across their lips. Their composed demeanors only served to dishearten me as we waited for our names to be called.

It was September the twenty-third, and it was the day of Ouran-Park Private School’s Student Council elections. This was the third time since Freshman year that I’d run, so now that I was a Junior, I hoped students liked me enough to vote for me. I wanted nothing more than to be on the Student Council this year, especially since I’d invested so much in the school anyway. I was in every chorus class, I was head of the Academics Committee, I organized fundraisers for the rest of the school’s clubs, and I was an active member of the Yearbook and Newspaper classes. What was there not to vote for?

“Arigatoo gozaimasu (Thank you) all for coming here this morning,” one of the most prominent members of the student council, Tanemura Matsuri, said brightly. Her sapphire eyes twinkled as she surveyed the students sitting in the seats of the auditorium.

I inhaled sharply, knowing that the moment had finally come. It was almost time to find out who’d been accepted into the student council. There were only three spots and eight candidates, so things were tense. My hands clenched in my lap and I straightened up in my seat.

Matsuri giggled and gestured to the side of the stage, where the protruding wall blocked the student’s views.

“And now, your Student Council President, Mizawa Akiyoshi to announce the winners,” she said, handing the microphone over to a tall, handsome boy whose presence caused his many fan-girls to swoon and cheer for him from the audience.

“Arigatoo gozaimasu (Thank you),” he said, his voice as soft and as smooth as silk. His eyes, a silvery moonstone color, were similar to the shade of the moon, and they seemed to glow all on their own as he read the names of the winners off of a small sheet of paper.

“Shou Takumi,” he said, clapping along with the rest of the students as a prim-looking boy with his black hair cut short got up and went to stand next to Akiyoshi.

“Yumitaka Noriko,” Akiyoshi said next.

The girl sitting directly next to me got to her feet, smoothing out her skirt as she shyly went to stand next to her President. She seemed to be in awe of him, even though he was just a person.

“And now for your third and final candidate . . .”

I closed my eyes and counted to three, hoping that by the time I was done counting, it would be my name leaving Akiyoshi’s lips.

“Tsuraga Kyoko.”

It felt like I was dreaming. I glided up to the front of the stage, not really hearing the warm applause, or feeling Akiyoshi’s pearl-colored eyes burning intensely and somewhat strangely into my own amber eyes, or seeing my twin brother jumping up and down somewhere in the middle of the audience. All of it didn’t matter, because I was finally in the Student Council!

After the assembly, the two other new Student Council members and myself were whisked off to Akiyoshi’s personal dorm to be outfitted in our new uniforms. While the rest of the school wore the plain black-and-white colors, Student Council members got to wear black jackets with silver lapels, black skirts with silver hems for the girls, and black slacks with silver stitching for the boys. It made it known to everyone that you were above the rest of the students, and therefore, were important enough to receive special treatment.

I stood in front of the full-length mirror in Akiyoshi’s front room, the first of the three to be fitted because I was so petite and small. I was wearing nothing but my underpants due to the fact that the tailor needed to get the proper measurements if my new uniform was to fit snugly. I didn’t much mind it, though.

No, the thing I really cared about was the fact that Akiyoshi was standing in the doorway, leaning nonchalantly against the frame, staring at me. I could see him clearly in the mirror’s reflection, and I knew that he knew I’d noticed him looking at me. Strangely, I didn’t feel self-conscious. Just a little creeped out.

Next to me, Matsuri was chattering on and on about how excited she was to have me on the Council with her. After all, her best friend was my twin brother, Ryusei. We’d always talked about being on the Student Council together, and now that it had finally happened, she had so many plans for us. It was overwhelming just hearing what she had in store for me, first of which was helping her to organize Ouran-Park’s annual Winter Dance.

My twin brother Ryusei and I lived at Ouran-Park, so it wouldn’t be hard to help her with the dance. Our parents had perished in a fire about two years ago, when we were fifteen, leaving us with billions of dollars that we had no idea what to do with besides secure our futures. We had purchased a private part of the castle to live in and were currently trying to become as immersed in the school as possible so as to keep our minds off of our parents’ deaths.

The tailor directed me into Akiyoshi’s bathroom to change into my new uniform, claiming that I had been easy to dress since I was so petite.

I stared at myself in the mirror after I dressed, my sunset-colored upturned eyes full to the brim with tears of joy. My dream had finally been fulfilled—I was on the Student Council. I was going to be part of the school I loved so much, and there would be nothing to get in my way and stop me from fully submerging myself in Ouran-Park.

My elbow-length strands of charcoal-black hair fanned out around my body as I twirled in a circle, giggling merrily. I felt so joyful that I could kiss Akiyoshi and not care about the repercussions of committing such an act.

There was a knock on the door.

“Your pardon, Tsuraga-san,” Akiyoshi’s silken voice said from the other side of the door.

“Aa (Oh),” I exclaimed, unlocking the door and pulling it open. I found myself looking up into Akiyoshi’s scorching moonstone eyes, wondering subconsciously why he seemed to be so interested in me.

“Ogenki desu ka (How are you?),” Akiyoshi asked, his hands slipped into the front pockets of his slacks. His thin, blue-black hair hung in loose waves to his shoulders, his bangs falling across his forehead and into his piercing eyes.

“Subarashii (Wonderful),” I said quietly, shyly. I bowed low at the waist. “Arigatoo gozaimasu (Thank you) for this opportunity.”

“Yorokonde (Of course),” he replied, his lips seeming to caress the words as they soared out of his mouth. I’d never heard someone with such a beautiful, enchanting voice, nor such a gorgeous set of luminescent eyes.

“Your uniform fits, I presume?” he questioned.

I nodded quickly, the blush that stained my cheeks causing me to keep my head ducked down and my eyes on the floor beneath my feet. My long, silken tresses fell around my face, helping to hide me from his heated gaze.

“Hai, arigatoo gozaimasu (Yes, thank you),” I said politely, bowing once more.

“There’s no need to hide yourself, Tsuraga-san,” Akiyoshi laughed, gripping my chin in one hand and tilting my face upward so that my hair fell back and my heart-shaped face was thrust into view.

“Gomennasai (I’m sorry),” I stammered.

“No need to be sorry, either,” he replied.

“Mizawa-sama!” A member of the Student Council came rushing up. He was short and thin with horn-rimmed glasses and a messy shock of spiky blue hair on top of his head. He panted to catch his breath after skidding to a halt beside Akiyoshi.

“Hai (Yes)?” Akiyoshi answered, one eyebrow raised in amusement at the state of his peer.

“Sakamoto-san and the others have returned, Mizawa-sama. Shall I send them in?” the blue-haired boy questioned.

Akiyoshi looked thoughtful. His hand slid away from my chin and went back to his pocket. He nodded briefly.

The boy bowed and then turned and bowed to me, smiling cheerfully. “Watashi wa Kiyoshi (I am Kiyoshi),” he said. “You must be one of the new members. Tsuraga Kyoko, right?”

“Hai (Yes),” I replied, smiling and giving him a small bow.

“Doozo yoroshiku (Nice to meet you),” Kiyoshi grinned before running to the giant set of French double doors that led out to the school’s hanging gardens.

“Tsuite kite kudasai (Come with me),” Akiyoshi said, holding his arm out for me to grab on to.

Briefly wondering why he was allowing me to be nearer to him than any other student in the school, I clutched his arm and allowed him to lead me to the living room. The fittings had moved to the kitchen at Kiyoshi’s request, so it was just the three of us in the room at the moment.

Kiyoshi gave Akiyoshi a nod before he pulled open one door. The amount of effort it caused the small boy almost made me want to giggle. I stifled my laugh, looking up at Akiyoshi sheepishly when he arched one of his prominent eyebrows at me.

In the doorway stood three cloaked boys, one taller than the rest. They stepped over the threshold, bring with them a strange scent. It was metallic, but sweet at the same time. It took me a moment to realize that it smelled suspiciously like blood.

The three boys bowed at the waist before removing their cloaks and handing them to Kiyoshi, who took them off into another room.

“Mizawa-sama, ohayo gozaimasu (Good morning),” one of the shorter boys said. He had a rather unkempt look about him, what with his roguish smile and unruly black hair. The locks of jet-black were cut short all around his head save for chin-length bangs that fell across his face, shielding one cerulean eye. His outfit mirrored the others’: A pair of tight black skinny jeans, black Converse shoes, and a simple black tee-shirt. They definitely looked like they were dressed to camouflage themselves into the night, which would be hard due to their pale, olive-toned complexions.

“Ohayo gozaimasu (Good morning). What have you to report, Ichiro-kun?” Akiyoshi asked, sliding his arm around my shoulders.

Ichiro’s one visible eye looked at me questioningly, but Akiyoshi merely nodded for him to speak.

“There was a group of six Tainted, Mizawa-sama,” Ichiro told Akiyoshi. “They were in the forest, but we stopped them from entering the town of Yamaoka.”

Akiyoshi turned to the other boy, who looked exactly the same as Ichiro but his hair was light brown and his eyes were a glimmering hazel color.

“Anything different to say, Ritsuka-kun?”

The boy shook his head, his hair flying all over the place.

“Daisuke-kun?” Akiyoshi said, looking to the tall boy.

“We killed them all,” Daisuke replied, bowing his head once.

Akiyoshi smirked. “That’s what I like to hear.”

I swallowed, wondering what in the world they were all talking about. What were “Tainted”? Who did they kill? I didn’t want any part of any murder schemes.

“Who is she?” Ichiro asked, folding his arms behind his head and jerking his chin toward me.

Akiyoshi chuckled. “I almost forgot. Allow me to introduce you to one of the newest members to the Student Council, Tsuraga Kyoko.” He surprised me by taking my hand and twirling me around in front of him like I was on display. My pleated miniskirt flew up around my thighs, causing me to blush again.

“Utsukushii (Beautiful), isn’t she?” Akiyoshi said, his eyes traveling up and down my slim form as if I was some sort of priceless jewel. It made me feel awkward, seeing as nobody had ever paid this much attention to me. Because of my shy personality and somewhat depressed state of mind, I didn’t have any friends besides my twin brother and Matsuri. I hardly thought I was beautiful, either.

“Yorokonde (Of course),” Ichiro laughed, bowing. “Doozo yoroshiku (Nice to meet you).”

“Doo itashimashite (It’s a pleasure),” Ritsuka said, his voice barely louder than a slight whisper.

“Ano kata wa, donata desu ka (Who is that?),” Daisuke asked in a somewhat passive voice, as if he couldn’t care less for the answer to his question.

I looked behind me to see whom he was speaking of. Surely he hadn’t been so tuned out that he’d missed hearing my name. However when I felt his gaze blazing against my body, my eyes widened and my heart skipped a beat. It felt as if there were a great pressure on my chest, causing it to pump faster. I wondered what had happened, but couldn’t quite place my finger on what was causing me to feel the way I did. It was like everything clicked. Like . . . Like I’d known him all of my life, and something in my heart was telling me to run to him and throw myself in his arms.

My cheeks tinged at the last thought. My common sense was keeping me from committing such a strange action.

Akiyoshi opened his mouth to introduce me once more, but I stopped him with a hand on the elbow.

“Totsuzen shitsurei desu ga, jiko shookai shitemo yoroshii desu ka (Pardon me, but may I introduce myself?),” I said quietly to Akiyoshi.

He smiled and nodded once, placing his hand on the small of my back and pushing me forward a little.

I looked up into Daisuke’s eyes, studying him closely.

His olive-toned, creamy, pale skin contrasted shockingly with the mess of shiny jet-black hair that grew out of his scalp. The layered charcoal strands jutted out in untidiness, the pointed tips grazing the tops of his shoulders. His hair held a wispy, downy consistency, and his choppily cut bangs skimmed attractively across his face, starting above his right eyebrow and gradually lengthening to his chin.

Just beneath that wondrous, perfect head of hair was one of the most unearthly, beautiful faces that I had ever laid eyes upon. A swift, sparing look thrown his way could confuse the wisest man as to whether or not Daisuke was truly a boy . . . Or a girl. His general veneer could undoubtedly be considered that of a female, what with his smooth jawbone, rounded chin, high cheekbones, and somewhat glowing, clear complexion. The fact that he was so slender and lithe that he almost had an hourglass figure from the back view didn’t help to make matters any better. However, his deep, scratchy voice, lack of breasts attached to his broad expanse of chest, and slightly muscular arms proved that he was indeed male.

As if to add to the ingredients for the recipe for the hottest Japanese boy alive, God had bestowed upon Daisuke the most unique set of almond-shaped lime-green eyes. It was almost impossible for me to look away from those gleaming irises. Daisuke’s eyes were such a beautiful shade of neon emerald that they could be mistaken for jewels.

I bowed quickly when I realized that I was staring at him quite unashamedly.

“Watakushi no namae wa Tsuraga Kyoko desu (My name is Tsuraga Kyoko),” I said in a soft, whispery tone. All of my nerves were electric; my blood felt like it was boiling. Just being near this boy without actually touching him was driving me crazy. I was puzzled as to my feelings, seeing as I’d just barely met him, and yet at the same time . . . I wasn’t.

Daisuke was staring at me with such a burning intensity that I half expected him to kiss me. He did no such thing, thankfully (I probably would have failed in an eternally epic way if he had!), and instead bowed his head momentarily.

“Watakushi no namae wa Sakamoto Daisuke desu (My name is Sakamoto Daisuke). Ome ni kakarete, kooei desu (I’m honored to meet you),” the beautiful boy replied in an almost too polite tone.

Akiyoshi didn’t seem pleased by the interaction we’d just had. He placed a gentle hand on me, his slender fingers curling around my shoulder.

“If you’ll please excuse us, there are many things that we need to do to have her inducted into the Student Council. She still has many things to learn,” he said courteously.

“Yorokonde (Of course),” Ritsuka said, grabbing Ichiro’s hand tightly in his own and yanking him out through the doorway.

“It was nice meeting you!” Ichiro called over his shoulder as he was forced to go with his brother.

Daisuke nodded to me once, bowed to Akiyoshi, and left the room.

“Tsuite kite kudasai (Come with me),” Akiyoshi murmured, taking my arm lightly and leading me into the lavish kitchen where the others were. Matsuri brightened as soon as she saw me.

“Kyoko-chan!” she exclaimed, waving me over to her. “I have to talk to you about some of these decorations . . .”

Akiyoshi stilled me before I could go to Matsuri’s side. He smiled without showing teeth.

“Forgive me, Matsuri-chan, but I must take the new Student Council members with me to the Headmaster’s office. He has yet to know the results of the election,” he told her. “However, I do have a job for you . . . If you would kindly escort the existing members of the Student Council to the Conference Room in the West Wing of the castle, then we can proceed with more formal introductions?”

She bowed. “Mizawa-sama, yorokonde (With pleasure).” And she hurried to do her President’s bidding.

“Now, if you’ll kindly follow me, we’ll make our way to Headmaster Yamada’s office to bring him the good news,” Akiyoshi said, his shimmering eyes landing on me and causing me to blush.

I wondered what the strange obsession was with me today. Akiyoshi and Daisuke both had shown an interest in me, which was strange, seeing as I’d been all but invisible to the Student Council for the past three years. It only added to my confusion that Daisuke and I had such a strong connection when we hadn’t said more than six sentences to each other. To top it all off, Akiyoshi, Daisuke, Ichiro, and Ritsuka all seemed to be involved in some sort of elaborate and mystical . . . Thing that frightened me and made me wary of being near any of them.

Yes, things were definitely going to change in my life now that I was in the Student Council.

If you liked, review please. Or don’t. Whatever.

Extraaa: I heart Sveinung Hauge, my Norwegian-Asian lover.

xDDDDD