CHAPTER FIFTEEN: SLEEPING LIONS.

      When the Sakamaki siblings and Izumi attended school, they quickly noticed that something was different. The scent in the air was different, revealing the presence of despicable entities. They hadn't even made it through the entrance gates, that they were able to verify their suspicions.

      "Are you kidding?" A girl squealed as she chatted with another one on their way to school, "Did our Idol really come to study at our school?"

      "I would never joke about something like that," denied the other blue-haired girl, and they both began to run as they entered the institution, clearly with the sole motive in their minds to find the person they admired so much before the others.

      The pinkhaired ignored that, as did Subaru and Kanato who entered after the girls. However, the vampiress enjoyed seeing Ayato and Laito become indignant at the fact that the girls had not greeted them. They hadn't even looked in their direction. Their annoyance was clear on their faces.

      Izumi smirked, "Sorry to tell you guys, but it looks like the magic of your spell is dissipating."

      Ayato rolled his eyes and walked forward towards his classroom, while Laito slipped his arm over Izumi's shoulders. "It's not that I've lost my charm, but that they know they must respect the fact that I'm with you now."

      The alluded girl looked at him in disbelief, "Please Laito, no one believes the lie that you can be faithful to someone. Besides, I'm sure they would be more than happy to 'win your heart' over me."

      "That's impossible," Laito assured, taking the girl's chin and bringing her face closer so he could look her in the eyes. "No one is better than you, Princess."

      Izumi could not help but smile. While she still didn't believe his words, she couldn't deny that hearing it didn't make her happy and sent electric shocks through her body. For a moment, she allowed happiness to overwhelm her.

      "Please don't tell me you really believe that," Shu taunted from behind them, stepping out of the limo and passing between them, causing them to part to make way for him. Laito hissed and went to speak, but the blond beat him to it, looking over his shoulder at Izumi, "I know you're not that naive."

      "Are you calling me a liar? Why don't you come and say it to my face?" Laito growled, but he didn't get what he wanted. Then, he snorted, "I thought so."

      "Laito, Izumi," Reiji called, already turning his attention to the only ones who still hadn't entered the school. "I won't allow you to be late for your classes. Hurry up if you don't want me to punish you."

      The brunette rolled his eyes, now slipping an arm around Izumi's waist to pull her closer. He didn't bother to answer to the older vampire as he moved forward in the direction of the entrance.

      On the other side, Izumi turned her head, winking at Reiji with the sole intention of teasing him, "Yes, daddy. I'm running. I don't want you to punish me," she pouted, only to laugh after crossing the doors at the annoyed look on the bespectacled vampire's face.

      "You have no mercy, huh?" Laito murmured to her ear, placing a playful kiss on her earlobe.

      The girl smiled at him, feigning innocence, "I don't know what you're talking about."

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      "Who the hell is he?" Ayato huffed, pounding his fists on the sides of his tray. It was their first class break, and Ayato was beyond annoyed that all the girls were surrounding the blond boy who stunk.

      Izumi continued to move the salad around with her fork, not even paying attention to the boy's tantrum. The reality was that everyone was tense about the unannounced appearance of those unknown vampires. However, Ayato's jealousy bordered on childish. The others were attentive to the new students for the simple fact that they were suspicious.

      Laito wrinkled his nose. He wouldn't admit that he missed the attention he received, primarily because he knew the situation didn't warrant two annoying vampires. After all, anger only blinded their instincts, and now was the time they needed them the most. Meanwhile, Reiji didn't bother to look up from his book, and Shu seemed at peace as he slept on the table. Or at least he looked like he was sleeping, since he had moved the food to the side and rested his head on his two arms folded over each other.

      Kanato looked at the food in disgust before glancing sideways at Subaru and Izumi: neither of them had taken a bite of the cafeteria food despite Reiji always nagging them to eat everything. But they had a reason this time not to eat, the tension in the air was almost palpable to the vampires. (Besides, the cabbage didn't even taste like it anymore from so many times it had been reheated.)

      Izumi looked up from her plate as she felt the gaze of Kanato, who silently asked her to spare him from having to eat that disgusting food. The vampiress looked over her shoulder at Laito, recognizing that he was just as annoyed as Ayato no matter how hard he tried to pretend to not be. She placed the utensil on the table, catching the attention of two of the triplets.

      "Do you want me to go find out who it is?"

      Laito smiled, "That would be great, yes."

      Ayato, on the other hand, didn't look very convinced. He twisted his face, returning a look full of disdain towards the blond, to look at Izumi again. "I'd rather not."

      Izumi's eyebrows rose. "Why not?"

      "I think Izumi should go find out who he is," Kanato interjected.

      Shu made a sound to show his agreement, then opened his eyes just to look at the girl. "I'd rather you go than have those two continue complaining."

      Laito snorted through his nose, "What? I didn't say anything," he raised his voice, but quickly regained his composure when Izumi placed a hand over his, giving him a smile.

      "Sorry, but you're pretty obvious," she muttered, and Laito let out a laugh. The vampiress didn't give him time to answer, but got up from her place. "I'll just say hello and come back. Reiji," she called, causing him to finally stop paying attention to the book, "I trust you'll keep your eyes on me, won't you? You won't risk me getting hurt, will you?" she murmured, feigning innocence as she petulantly adjusted her skirt.

      Reiji only responded by closing his book and resting it on the table, looking at her with annoyance but knowing it would be best to pay attention to the next interaction. Content with that, Izumi gave a quick glance at Kanato, who was already discarding the food in the nearest trash can.

      "You're going to have my eyes on you, Princess," Laito promised, "You don't need anyone else's," he assured, and Izumi smiled at him. Ayato stifled a mocking laugh at her side, which prompted Laito to turn in his direction, ready to argue.

      "No, no, no," Izumi interjected, raising a hand and placing it on Laito's chin to make him look at her, "I don't want arguments. Besides, shouldn't you pay attention? I'm on my way..."

      Laito smiled at her, and nodded, "I'll only pay attention to you."

      "That's the way I like it," she nodded. Ayato rolled his eyes.

      Without further ado, Izumi finally moved away from the table they always occupied and made her way to the group of girls. She paid attention to the blonde vampire's voice, and was surprised to find that he was treating the humans with respect and even affection, going so far as to even laugh at their unfunny jokes.

      Once she caught up to the crowd, the girls were quick to run out of her way to allow her to catch up to the blond despite shooting her jealous looks. However, Izumi ignored them. There was no chance she would be offended by someone as inferior to her as those students.

      In a matter of seconds, Izumi found herself in front of the blonde, who was quick to look at her with interest. The girl tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, acting innocent, "Hi," she murmured with a small voice. The girls behind her rolled their eyes.

      The blond's lips stretched into an amused, almost mocking smile as he looked at her. He licked his lips before getting down from the table he was sitting on, placing himself in front of her.

      "Hi, cutie, what's your name?"

      The vampiress smiled, twisting her head to the side. So they didn't know her name? Should she believe him? Maybe her blood had nothing to do with their sudden appearance, but they were just vampires stupid enough to believe they stood a chance against the king's children. Still, she would continue to study every answer they bestowed upon her.

      "Izumi," she replied, and puffed out her cheeks in mock tenderness, "Wait, I wanted to know your name first!"

      The blond laughed, leaning forward a little to place his index finger on the girl's nose. "Kou-" he winked, and resumed his previous position- "But I'm sure you already knew that.

      At that, Izumi frowned. "Why should I?"

      Kou let out a laugh, holding his hand to the eye that was covered by his bangs, while continuing to laugh heartily. Meanwhile, the girls around him started to protest "he's an Idol! Isn't it obvious?", "don't you know? It's obvious who he is", "Kou is so beautiful, how can you not know who he is?"

      "Girls, girls", the blond raised his voice, placing his hands in the air to signal them to be quiet, "It's okay, not everyone is aware of what's going on in the world," he mumbled before looking at Izumi with a hint of annoyance, "I'm Kou Mukami, an Idol."

      "The best Idol!", squealed a girl, which led others to do the same. The blond smiled and thanked them.

      "Uh, Idol..."

      "You look lost, do you want me to explain it better?"

      Izumi sensed the opportunity, and quickly nodded, her voice sharpening as if she were a child excited at the prospect of getting candy, "Yes, please!"

      "It would be my pleasure," Kou assured her, and then sent a glance around before raising a hand to her face. He closed one of his eyes and acted apologetic. I'm sorry, girls! But I'd like to have a moment alone with Izumi. So, if you'll excuse me...."

      Despite the girls' protests, Kou grabbed Izumi by the arm and pulled her out of the dining room. The girl followed him, but not before sending a glance towards the table where the Sakamakis were sitting, nodding slightly to let them know that all was well. Once they crossed the door out of the dining room into a deserted hallway, Kou closed the door behind them.

      The blond had a smile on his face but, when he turned around, Izumi cornered him against the door, grabbing him by his uniform's tie and making him crouch down so she could look him in the eyes.

      "Now tell me the truth, who are you and what do you want?"

      The blond's face, to Izumi's surprise, was unaffected. Instead, he smiled at her with amusement, before raising a hand and pinching one of her cheeks.

      "Ooh, come on, little Izumi, I already told you who I am, weren't you paying attention?"

      Izumi moved her face to free herself from the grip on her cheek, before looking at him from head to toe, "You want me to think you're an Idol when you dress like that?"

      "That's not fair," Kou protested, clearly offended, "I have no choice but to wear these disgusting clothes! Believe me, it hurts me more than it hurts you. Unfortunately, I have to comply with the statutory uniform."

      Izumi clicked her tongue, "What a tragedy. So, what are you doing here?" she insisted, tightening her grip on his tie to exert more pressure. Kou laughed, to which she frowned. However, before she could even get a word out, her feet stopped touching the ground.

      She turned her head to find that the pigtailed vampire had grabbed her by the shoulders and lifted her up as if she was nothing. She growled, if there was one thing she hated, was the disadvantages her height provided.

      "Any problems?" the boy mumbled, smirking as he watched the girl struggle in his grip to no avail, "You're adorable, you know that?"

      "You bastard," Izumi spat.

      "Ah, what a filthy mouth you have, kitten," Kou pouted, which turned into a grimace of pain when Izumi kicked him in the stomach, "Brat," he went to move closer, but stopped instantly when he felt another presence.

      The three turned to discover Laito, Ayato and Shu. Izumi huffed, being more than quick to protest, "Go away, I've got it all under control!"

      The taller one, who was still holding her by the shoulders, sneered, "You call this 'under control'?"

      He continued laughing, but his laughter was stifled when Izumi managed to kick him in the leg. However, that wasn't enough to break free. So, she took advantage of his grip weakening and twisted her arm to elbow his ribs, and finally fell to the ground.

      Kou went to approach her to grab her before she escaped, but Ayato was faster than him and placed himself between them. Ayato just looked at him, and Kou sighed in defeat. Then, he took a few steps back and raised his hands to his sides, giving them a friendly smile.

      "It's okay, sorry," he crooned, "You win, for now. We'll be on our way."

      Izumi stood up, pushing Ayato aside when he offered to help her up, and went on to fix her sharp eyes on the blond, "No, you still didn't answer my question."

      "Mhm, I was going to when I thought you were a good girl. But you've already shown your true colors, haven't you?"

      "I'm the one who says that," replied the pink-haired girl, shooting an ugly look at the pigtailed one, "I wasn't the one who called for reinforcements."

      The alluded one raised his eyebrows, "Huh? Kou didn't call me, I was just passing by and saw my brother cornered by a girl," he explained, before giving the blond a mocking look. "By the way, how did you end up like that? She's five feet tall!"

      "Said the one who let her go after only two punches," Kou pointed out.

      "And I'm five foot six!", Izumi clarified, to which the one with the ponytail looked at her with amusement. She knew she was being childish by making such a clarification, but she couldn't help it after her height betrayed her.

      "Adorable," the taller one said, bending down to bring his face close to hers.

      "Hey, get away!"

      "Shut your mouth, Ayato," Izumi growled, to which the red-haired man kept silent.

      The brown vampire's eyes strayed to Ayato for a moment, before refocusing on Izumi. The sneer shining in his eyes did not go unnoticed, causing the girl's jaw to clench.

      "I'm Yuma," he introduced himself, stretching out a hand towards her.

      The girl didn't even look at his hand. "Aha, it's a pain to meet you."

      Yuma straightened his back again, throwing his head back as he gave a laugh, "I insist, you're adorable."

      Izumi's face burned, she was already more than irritated by this boy's presence, "Yes? Then, I'm going to kick your ass while looking cute."

      Yuma smiled, "Can't wait to see it," he nodded, before turning around and starting to walk in the opposite direction.

      "See you later, then," Kou waved, quickly following the brunette.

      "They're fucking annoying," Ayato hissed.

      Izumi turned in his direction, and the red-haired man was alarmed to notice the anger on her face.

      "What the fuck, Ayato? I said I had it under control! Didn't you hear me?"

      "Uh," Ayato raised his voice, "I just wanted to help you!"

      "I didn't need your help!"

      "Well, from my point of view-"

      "Ayato, don't you ever learn?" Laito purred, appearing at Izumi's side and wrapping an arm around her waist, "Princess was quite clear when she asked us to stay out of it."

      Ayato glared at his brother angrily, "How am I wrong for helping her?" he looked at Shu, "Shu! Tell these two that what I did was the right thing to do!"

      Shu looked at him with disinterest, "She said to stay out of it."

      The red-haired man looked like he was about to go crazy, "Are you... But we came here! What was the point of coming if we weren't going to help?"

      "We came just in case," Laito raised a finger, speaking slowly as if he was explaining something to a three-year-old, "Just to make sure Izumi didn't get hurt."

      Now it was Izumi's turn to raise her voice, "Why are you doing this? I don't need you! I can defend myself! I know how to fight too!" She started to protest, but was interrupted when Shu separated her from Laito, placing both of his arms behind her back and leaving her motionless.

      "You were saying?" he murmured in her ear.

      "Shu! Son of a-! Let me go!"

      "Show me that you're right. That we're exaggerating," he continued speaking against her ear, sending shivers through her body.

      "You know that I can't-" Izumi interrupted herself, unable to admit that there was something she couldn't do, "You're stronger than me and you know it! But it's just you! Now, let go of me," she urged, still struggling.

      She jerked her head to the side, granting Shu a direct view of her bare neck. His eyes darkened as they met the skin glistening under the hallway light, and he felt his fangs pressing against his lips.

      In a matter of seconds, Shu released her and broke away, already appearing on the other side of the hallway. Izumi staggered at that, losing her balance for a millisecond before recovering herself. She turned to the blond, only to find that he had already disappeared behind a door.

      Her brow remained furrowed as she rearranged her clothes, glancing sideways at Ayato and Laito.

      "Anyway, I know why all the girls are after the blond. He's an idol."

      "Are you kidding? That's so stupid," Laito snorted.

      "It totally is, and his brother is even more stupid," Izumi added and she could hear Yuma's laughter at the end of the hall.