The sun started rising, it's rays shattering the veil of night that was encompassing the sky.
Kaoru was already up, sitting on his room's desk, an empty cup on his hand.
He blankly dedicated his gaze onto his bed, where his uniform lay, neatly ironed.
'Exam, huh.'
The exam was lingering on the minds of every student in Class 1-B.
What was it going to be about?
Fighting? Academics? Sports? A different vampire related exam?
Kaoru did not know.
He was more or less the best student in his class, in academics, at least.
The new body that he initially was unable to move well in was beginning to feel more comfortable.
But what Kaoru had to do right now was prepare. Prepare for his exam.
He didn't really want to butter up to people to learn information and definitely did not want to talk friendly to them.
Kaoru found most of his classmates either annoying or loud.
There were Kirishima Yoru and Akira Nemu. They were as quiet as him, did not talk to anyone and the true threats in the upcoming exam when it came to being cautious.
Fortunately for him, Kirishima was weak. In both combat and total time of being a vampire.
Akira Nemu, though, was unreadable. He was always sleeping through breaks, and also ignored most of them.
They were the black sheep of the class.
Kaoru was a good student. His grades were excellent and he was average in anything else.
Akira Nemu was a skilled fighter, but a bad student. He leaned more into just below average.
But Kirishima Yoru had no special qualities. Not particularly a good student and an even worse fighter.
His physical abilities had somewhat improved in the past two weeks, but still...
Kaoru mostly saw him reading a book or leaving the school.
Then, there were Sugiyama, Sakurada, Kojima, Igarashi, Takahashi Riku.
Kaoru did not know who he was going to be against and with who he'd team up, but he knew one thing for sure. The biggest threats were Kojima Daiki, Sugiyama Kiyotaka, Akira Nemu and the biggest threat of them all, Sakurada Nanami.
Nanami was theoretically the "oldest" vampire among them, and she was more than capable.
Kaoru knew that he could never hope to best her in a fight.
Well, there was no point in thinking too much about it, since there was no way to know the contents of the exam.
He got up from the chair and walked over to the kitchen.
Putting his empty cup on the sink, he looked at the intricate carvings on his kitchen table.
On it, an empty bottle stood, some drops of a crimson liquid remaining inside.
'I ran out of blood again?'
Cursing under his breath, Kaoru poured himself a cup of water.
After drinking it, he left the kitchen, getting ready for school.
The gray fabric of his trousers was soft and comfortable. He cinched the belt tightly around his waist.
He buttoned the white shirt given to him, adjusted the knot of his tie around his collar and put on his dark blue blazer.
Now ready, he took his school bag and left his room, approaching the elevator.
As soon as the door opened, a floral scent reached Kaoru's nose, making him grimace.
'Great.'
There were three people inside, all of them girls.
One of the three girls smiled when she saw Kaoru.
"Good morning, Fujimoto. How did you spend your weekend?"
Kaoru cursed inwardly and answered her, awkwardly scratching his cheek.
"Good morning Sakurada. I slept all day."
He walked inside and the doors soon closed behind him.
Nanami laughed.
"Well, with our cruel after-school lessons, it's only natural."
She nudged him on the side and whispered to his ear, making him shudder.
"You smell so sweet, Fujimoto. Have you been drinking blood?"
He glanced at her with a disdainful look.
He indeed had been drinking blood just half an hour ago. His face changed from annoyed to curious.
"How did you know? Was it really the smell?" He asked.
A chuckle escaped her lips and she tried to hold in her laugh.
"I-I randomly guessed it."
Kaoru turned around, no longer wishing to keep talking to her.
These last two weeks, he never associated himself with anyone, choosing to stay quiet and focus on his training. And giving them nothing to remember as useful information.
But Nanami was the only exception. She was a good student and the most capable in her class, but she returned relatively early, roughly at the same time as Kaoru.
And so, while they were on the elevator or heading to their dormitories, she followed him and chatted a little with him.
He didn't really dislike her, but the same could be said about liking her. To him... she seemed a little off. Principally because she was the one who posed the most threat to him.
Not only was she the strongest in the class, she was very clever too.
To top it all of, she knew more about him than anyone else. She didn't know much, but she knew he was a little paranoid.
'Come to think of it, she never disclosed anything major, either.'
She noticed that he didn't want to talk more, so she seized her laughing and waited for the elevator door to open.
After not so long, the door opened and all the students walked out.
The two students that were in with Kaoru and Nanami walked together, while Kaoru was walking with Nanami.
He grimaced. Looks like conversation was inevitable.
"Say, Sakurada. Out of curiosity, for how long have you been a vampire? You are very strong, so it's been stuck on my mind."
She looked at him then turned away.
She placed her hand on her face trying to recall the day she turned.
She directed her head towards him and showed her fingers. She held up two.
"For around two months and a half."
Kaoru choked.
"Two months!? How did you survive without being killed by the humans?"
Her face turned dark and she frowned slightly.
When she spoke, her voice was quiet and barely audible.
"Sorry, but I'm not comfortable with sharing."
Kaoru thoughtfully looked at her. Then, he let it go.
"Oh. Sorry."
Her smile returned and she scratched the back of her head.
"I kind of killed the vibe, huh? Nevermind that, since you now know my total time as a vampire, why don't you tell me yours? I'm eager to know, taking into consideration your abilities."
Kaoru heavily exhaled.
He couldn't help it. It was his fault that he asked an insensitive question from the start, so it was his turn.
"Two weeks. I can't remember how I turned though."
The last part was not necessary, but he thought it appropriate to share it.
It did not affect him much after all. Furthermore, it could not be used against him.
"I see. Well, we reached the school so shall we go to the classroom together?" She inquired.
Kaoru shook his head.
He'd rather not be seen with her much, so he parted ways with her, choosing to mindlessly open his phone.
Every student was provided a phone a week after they joined the academy.
Their phones had no connection to the outside, so no one could leak the location. Not that they could.
...Two minutes later, he put his phone in his bag and moved on.
He opened the door to the classroom, silently taking a seat. Nanami was already in the class, not sparing a glance at him.
The room was more quiet than usual, indicating that it was still pretty early.
He took out his phone again and searched a certain site.
It was a manga reading site.
Since he had left behind everything, his manga and book collection was never retrieved, and he felt strange about going to the library, so he read whatever book he wanted online.
He read panel after panel, more students coming in.
At some point, there were more than fifteen of his classmates, so he turned off his phone and waited.
Before long, Tsukishiro finally entered the classroom.
"Everyone sit down."
***
For the remaining day, Kaoru focused on what Tsukishiro was saying in class.
His determination to study to repay his parents was unwavering. Human or vampire, he was returning their kindness back, no matter what.
So he pushed himself.
During the after-school lesson, Kaoru run faster and longer.
Stretching, exercising, running, practicing techniques. He did all of that with more vigor today.
'I have no other way to prepare for the upcoming exam.'
Fortunately, there was no sparring today, so he dedicated his time to train his endurance.
Completely spent, he sank to the floor, his heart beating hard.
The lesson was over. And now they had to listen to Tsukishiro's endless talking, before finally going home.
'Maybe he will say something interesting...maybe.'
***
Throughout the week, Kaoru was training himself, trying to expand his abilities so he can respond accordingly to the exam.
It could be anything, after all.
But now, it was finally Thursday. Today, the rules of the exam would be explained to them.
They were done with their normal classes, so their after-school lesson was about to start.
Kaoru suspected that the lesson was not going to happen.
Because, if they waited a whole week to explain the rules to them, the school must have planned to not make it brief.
Confirming his suspicions, Tsukishiro announced that they would not participate in any lesson because he was planning to explain the exam.
But that was not all.
"...you will also get a day off to rest so you can be ready for the exam."
The student's foul mood turned bittersweet. Yes, they would take a day off. But the exam was still just one day away, creeping over them like a dark omen.
Tsukishiro started explaining the rules right away.
"The exam will be held in an uninhabited island not too far from here. You will spend three days and two nights there."
A cacophony of words and loud voices mixed together, creating an incoherent sound, making Kaoru wince.
"What do you mean!?"
"Three days in an uninhabited island?"
Tsukishiro's eye twitched.
"Be quiet, let me explain."
He coughed in embarrassment and continued.
"Let's start with the teams. You will be split into seven teams, each having three members. The members will be random and you will get to know them tomorrow morning, on the way to the island. We will give every team three bandanas for each member, with different colours for every team. Your team will decide on it's 'leader' that will get to hold and protect the most valuable bandana."
A hand shot up in the air, attempting to ask something.
"How is it the most valuable? The bandanas are the same, aren't they?"
Tsukishiro shook his head in dejection.
"I was about to get to that part. And to answer your question, no, they aren't the same. Two of them are worth one point while the leader's will be worth three."
He looked around, watching his students to see if they are listening to him.
"Each team's equal value is five points. To pass the exam, you will have to be holding seven point's worth of bandanas till the end of the exam. You can steal other team's points by stealing, fighting them over it or anything you come up with. But, mind that it's still an exam between students, so don't take it too far. If you lose all your team's points, you can still take them back, or steal another team's points. So, you will not be disqualified for losing them all or pass because you have seven or more. The only thing that matters is that you have seven points by the end of the exam."
Kaoru sighed slightly. Who could have thought that the exam would be so straightforward yet so hard. Not to mention the absurdness of it.
Nanami raised her hand too.
Tsukishiro gave her permission.
"How exactly will we live in the island?"
Tsukishiro reassured the students, saying what they needed to hear.
"Taking into consideration that there are young girls participating, all around the island, there are a total of four 'public' restrooms available for everyone. Inside the restrooms, stealing bandanas and fighting are strictly prohibited. You can treat them as a safe zone."
He sat on his chair while continuing to talk.
"We will give you some supplies, but you will have to find more on your own. As for sleeping, you will be the ones to decide. Who gets the Leader Bandana is up to you, too."
A student Kaoru knew nothing about tried to ask a question but was interrupted by Tsukishiro.
"We will get to the exam site by ship, leaving this academy at six in the morning. We will arrive and start the exam at nine, and end it three days later at seven in the afternoon. This may sound weird, but please refrain from asking questions, since this exam is about testing your skills in unpredictable situations. That's all, you are dismmised."
At that exact moment, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lesson.
Kaoru lingered for a few moments, collecting his thoughts.
After some time, he got up and walked back toward his dormitory.
He had to get up early tomorrow...