Vincent stood outside classroom 412 once again, his mind flooded with so many questions, so many concerns and curiosities. Filled with fear, uncertainty, and some anger, he didn’t know what to do. To enter the classroom or turn and run as Lucian had mentioned? He could go home, confront his parents, let them know how much they had wronged him, and shut himself in his room till the end of time. Or when he had to go back to school, a normal school, and forget all this supernatural nonsense.

Then again, if he was a werewolf, what sorts of changes were going to happen that he hadn’t already dealt with? Would he transform during a full moon and go on a rampage? Would he be able to control it? Or was this all some bad dream?

It had to be a joke, just an elaborate and cruel prank. At least that is what he wanted it to be. He could deal with the aftermath of being fooled by a prank. He had done it before, many times. The truth, though, was harder. He didn’t want to be a monster. He didn’t want to face it. He wanted to run and never look back, so what if he became lost as Lucian had told him.

“Welcome back, Vincent!” Mr. B boomed with a big smile. Vincent started, not realizing he had taken a few steps into the classroom, his decision apparently made. “Feeling any better, son?”

Vincent didn’t know what to say or how to respond, so he just met Mr. B’s eyes and rubbed his neck. “I’m doing fine, sir. Thank you for asking. I, uh, am sorry for passing out during your class.”

As Vincent took his seat, Mr. B slapped him on the shoulder with a big chuckle. “Everything will be alright, son.” The slap made Vincent wince as it was harder than expected. It would probably leave a bruise. This guy was strong. Then again, the guy was also a werewolf and so was Vincent, which is why he had smashed and broken so many things in the past. At least that mystery was solved, even though it had been replaced with more problems.  

“Now that Vincent’s returned, let’s continue with the lecture, shall we? As I was saying before, this class will mainly cover hand-to-hand combat skills. But before we get into that I want you each to introduction yourselves. Give us your name, your being type, and what you hope to achieve by the end of your first year at Crescent Academy.”

Mr. B pointed at Isabella, the girl with the strange eyes, which Vincent realized were not contacts. It made his heart sink. What was she, then? Some sort of demon?

She stood, shifting nervously as she rubbed her arm. “Um,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’m Isabella Dawn.” Vincent sensed her uneasy energy, understanding what it felt like to be forced to be in the limelight. It was one thing to choose to talk to someone, or enter a group setting. It was another to be told to do it. Talking in front of a group was a normal challenge compared to what faced him in a new and open world full of monsters and mystery.

Isabella’s uniform consisted of a black skirt, shoes, and black cardigan over a red dress shirt that was tied with a black ribbon; the shirts both had the crescent moon insignia on the left chest, just like Vincent’s.

“I’m a Dawn Vampire,” she continued. “And” –

“A bloodsucker,” Alacard blurted out, not taking heed of Mr. B’s warnings from before.

Isabella’s cheeks blazed red at the utterance of the word, and she spun around and glared at him. “I’m not a bloodsucker,” she said, stomping her foot and revealing her fangs, which Vincent realized he had seen earlier. It was no illusion. He had to catch himself from falling out of his chair again, his heart suddenly racing.

“See, no other beings get a reaction like that,” Alacard said, motioning to Vincent.

“S-sorry,” Vincent said, straightening and rubbing the back of his neck, his heart thumping uneasily against his chest as he struggled to stop it. “Just a lot of new things today. I’ll be alright.” That was a lie. He didn’t feel alright, because nothing was alright. Not anymore. This was all nuts!

Mr. B narrowed eyes on Alacard. “One more outburst like that, Alacard, and you’re done for the day. I don’t want to hear such words from you again, got it?”

“Ohhh,” Alacard said, raising his hands as if this was the end of him. “I’m so scared.”

Mr. B stepped to Alacard as if to challenge him to say another clever comment. Alacard folded his arms and slouched in his seat.  

Mr. B turned back to Isabella after letting out a sigh and rubbing his brow. “Miss Dawn, you may continue.”           

Isabella shifted her weight nervously. “As I was saying. I’m a Dawn Vampire, and my name’s Isabella Dawn. You can call me Issy, if you like.” She gave Vincent a glancing smile, which only made him shiver as he took in the blackness behind the glowing red rings that were her irises. He just couldn’t believe it. First werewolves, now vampires? What else was going to be thrown at him today.

Vincent didn’t know if she was smiling at him because she wanted to be friendly, or because his blood smelled nice to her and she wanted a taste. She was a vampire, after all. Vampires, according to what he knew from watching movies and such, sucked on the blood of human beings, right? Then again, besides her scary eyes, she seemed nice enough.

Isbella placed a hand against her chest. “I have a mix of elven blood and Prevalent blood in me.” She glanced at Vincent, her tone like that of a teacher’s giving a lesson. “Prevalent Vampires are true vampires in that they are typically human beings that have been bitten and become reborn as undead creatures of the night, just like the typical stuff in all the lore and fantasy stories, except Prevalents are real, just like all of us.” She cleared her throat, looking up and thinking as she tapped a finger against her chin. “A Dawn Vampire, like myself, is born like a human being but in different circumstances, which is probably more than I should be going into right now.” She smiled and then paused as if wanting to explain more for Vincent’s sake, which made her blush.

She then glanced up to Mr. B, as if looking for approval. He looked like he was fine with her continuing.

“Anyway,” she said, shifting in place and rubbing her arm. “Dawn Vampires are evolved forms of Crimson Vampires, or so they say, but again I need to go on about me, not my past and the history of what I am in so much detail. It’s just that we do have a newbie and all, right? It doesn’t hurt to give him a little more info.” She paused and thought for a moment, looking upward as she tapped her chin again. “I really enjoy cooking, even though that wasn’t part of the question.” She looked like her nerves were getting the best of her, trailing off in different directions, losing track of herself, so she brought it back in. “What I want to achieve by the end of the year is…” she looked down at the ground as she spoke this part, as if her confidence had dropped. “To be more confident in my beingness, more self-reliant. That’s about it.” She gave a little smile, which Vincent sensed was a little forced, and she sat down with a sigh of relief.

How could he even sense what she was feeling? What the heck were all these vampire types? He thought a vampire was a vampire. And, was he the newbie they were talking about?

“Such a riveting speech,” Alacard said with a slow clap of his hands and a stupid grin on his face.

Mr. B. turned to Alacard. “Looks like we have our next volunteer.”

Alacard let out a sigh and folded his arms. “I already gave my name before newbie wolf boy here passed out.” He jabbed a thumb at Vincent. “I’m Alacard Gray, and I’m the strongest werewolf you’ll meet. Heck, I’m the strongest being around. I’m a beastly, monstrous thing that rips and tears at his enemy’s throats without a care in the world, so don’t get in my way.” He smirked at Vincent, showing his sharp canines. “I’m here because I have to be. It’s like the law or something. Once I’m eighteen, I’ll break out on my own and enter the wild domain of free werewolves. Until then, I don’t need to achieve nothing because I’m already living at the top of my game. I’m an apex predator that can’t be messed with or beaten. So don’t get in my way when I’m doing my thing, or else you’ll be sorry. If any of you need any tips on how to become less pathetic, go ask a teacher or something. I hear they can help ya.” He put his legs back up on the desk, leaning back.

“I admire your spirit, son,” Mr. B said as he stepped to Alacard in a challenging manner. “But put those legs back on the desk again, and I’ll be glad to get in your way.” He leveled his eyes on Alacard, waiting for him to comply.

Alacard looked thoughtful for a second, as if he was considering not doing what he was asked, then after uttering a little tsk noise of derision, lowered his feet.

“Next, we have…” Mr. B said, peering around the room –

The girl with wild orange and yellow hair stood with a toothy grin. Her pink eyes exuded a fierce energy and had what looked like a cross-shaped dark indent in the middle.

“I’m Mizuki,” she said in a proud manner, pushing her generous bust forward. “I’m a Kindred Phoenix Child, which means I can light up the night sky with a dazzling show of fireworks.” Her smile, her face, her whole body gave off an intense energy. “And if I want to,” she continued, glancing at Alacard. “I can burn anyone’s butt to a crisp.”

Mizuki wore a pair of red-lensed goggles over the top of her messy mane. Her arms had rugged black gloves that went up to her elbow and looked like they were made for mechanic work with their thick leathery material. A radiant pedant in the shape of a large blood droplet dangled around her neck, hanging just above her loosely buttoned shirt that seemed to have trouble containing her large chest. Her cardigan was draped over her chair, and the skin on her arms that was showing was covered in bandages or had what looked like burn scars, the burns on her neck and cheek looked fresh. 

Vincent blinked and gulped as the sight of her made him feel of mixture of attraction and trouble as he got the feeling that she was the type to rough anyone up that looked at her wrong, even if she did have a pretty face beneath the scars and nice body. He couldn’t help but glance at her bust as it jiggled along with her movements, but looked away quickly as he didn’t want to come off as rude.  

“My goal,” continued Mizuki as she jabbed a thumb against her chest which made it ripple slightly, the movement and the way she positioned herself revealed the outline of a bra that was probably strained to capacity. “Is to stand in the way of people that think they are better than their peers.” She leveled her eyes on Alacard and smirked.

Alacard leaned back with a wide smile, licking his lips with enjoyment as he looked her up and down with a deliciousness. “I wouldn’t mind having you stand in my way, honey. Gives me something to look.” His eyes lingered on her bust.  

Mizuki clenched a fist, her jaw tense. “Call me honey again and see what happens.”

He continued staring, looking her up and down as if she was some juicy morsel. “I prefer my honey think and juicy.”      

Smoke rose from her clenched hand. “I’m gonna fry you to a crisp, wolf boy.”

The smell of burning wood filled Vincent’s nostrils, and he wondered if the gloves were worn as some sort of protectant against the fire.

Mr. B stepped between them, raising a hand. “Now, now, you two. There will be no frying of any sort. At least not now.” He gave Alacard a questioned look. “And, Alacard. Keep your wandering eyes, and thoughts, to yourself. While you each have competitive natures, you’re still classmates, so I expect a certain level of respect for each other, got it?”

Mizuki shrugged, her hands no longer clenched or smoking. She slumped back down in her seat, folding her arms and shrugging.

Vincent wondered if burn scars hurt, and if it was from her own fire creation or something else? He had to look away, though, because she gave a wide smile at him noticing her, and he didn’t want her to think he was checking her chest out or something, which he admittedly was earlier. Her playful smile made him think that she knew exactly what went on the minds of boys when they looked at her that way, so he turned away in a quick and nervous fashion, scratching the side of his cheek.

Mr. B faced the boy with brown hair and distant blue eyes and a face that Vincent thought should belong on the front of a fashion magazine. The kid looked like the kind of guy that women were attracted to and wanted to be with. He exuded a charming nonchalance and didn’t seem to care that the teacher was looking in his direction, or looming over him.

The kid just continued to lean against his propped-up arm and stared out the window longingly. He looked tall and in lean shape, and his hair was well trimmed as if he cared about his appearance, even though his body language seemed to give off an aloof and mysterious air. As Vincent watched the kid, he felt something similar to when he was in Lucian Illustrious’ office, yet much less pronounced.

“Alexander,” Mr. B said, leaning a hand against the kid’s desk. “Would you kindly introduce yourself?”

“As you can see,” he said in a smooth tone, not turning to acknowledge Mr. B. “The adults call me Alexander, even though I prefer Alex. I’m a magician, which you know, means I can pull fancy parlor tricks and simple illusions, like pulling a small animal out of a hat and making a bird vanish out of sight in midflight.” There was a bit of a sarcastic wittiness in his words. “It’s all really boring,” Alex said, waving his free hand around nonchalantly, giving the impression to Vincent that he probably knew how to deal cards well, and pull off sleight of hand moves. “Being a supernatural being. The only fantastical thing about it is that we have more expectations and responsibilities placed on us other than the average classwork, as well as a wonderful future of working for the magical man, keeping the peace and balance and all that crap.” There was a derisiveness in his voice, as if he disdained being a magician.

He eventually turned his gaze toward his teacher and the other students, still leaning against his arm. “My goal is to become acquainted with the lovely ladies of our classroom and school.” He nodded at Isabella, and gave Mizuki a wink. “They are the real wonders of the supernatural world.”

Isabella flushed and looked down, fiddling with hands in lap, whereas Mizuki just held her eyes on his, giving him a challenging smile as if she knew all about Alexander’s type.

“Does that suffice, David?” Alexander said, looking up at his teacher with a sly smile.

Mr. B nodded acceptance, adding a little of his own slyness. “Yes, that does, Mr. Illustrious.”

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