The first few days of my holidays would be spent at home. I would be able to see Mum and spend time with her. Maybe. After that, I would return to the academy and 'watch over it' as Kaname said.

The drive back home was a long one, and rather tedious. Let's say that the driver was a bit of a dull person, who barely said a word except 'yes' and 'no'. I couldn't even remember what his voice sounded like.

As the car pulled into the driveway of the house, the driver still had yet to say something.

"Thank you for driving me," I thanked him. His only reply was a nod, as he waited for me to get my bags, before backing out of the driveway. So much for a 'goodbye', or 'hope to see you soon'.

"Saki?" Mum opened the door, looking out. "Oh, it is you." I didn't know what to make of it. Mum sounded genuinely surprised, even though I had told her I would visit during the holidays when I left.

"Hi, Mum," I said meekly, not meeting her gaze. "I'm back." Mum opened the door wider, beckoning me inside.

"I hadn't realised you would come," she told me as I walked into the house. "I was rather expecting you to be more at home with the rest of the Night Class." That was putting it tactfully.

"Mum," I began. "I really don't want to go back to Cross Academy." I know. I know. She's already paid the bills and all, and I didn't know how to explain that Kaname had been using me as a puppet.

"Why not?" She frowned at me. "I think it might be better if you stayed." It was like a slap to the face. Not again. Rejected again. I suppose I should just clear things with her.

"Mum, I know it's hard for you to have me, a vampire, as a daughter," I began. "I'm sorry. I know, you have every right to-"

"No, Saki," she broke in. "That's not the reason why." She took a deep breath, before looking at me squarely in the eye.

"I've had word from the hunter association as well. Apparently you attacked and killed a man. Is it true?"

Is it true?

How did they know?

The picture of the man lying dead on the ground flashed vividly into my mind. Eyes staring wide open in shock, but blank and clean of emotion. I couldn't deny it.

"It's true," I admitted hoarsely. "I killed someone." Mum sat down with a thump on the chair behind her.

"I had been hoping it wasn't that," she buried her face in her hands. "But there's no denying it. The hunter association will be coming here tomorrow to deal with you. I have been asked to restrain you and keep you in this house until then."

"Go ahead then," I hung my head. "You have to do your job."

"That's why I wanted you to stay in Cross Academy," Mum continued. "There, you will be under the protection of Kaien Cross and other vampires. Orders will have to go through Kaien himself, before the assocation will be able to arrest you by force."

"Oh," was all I could say. So Mum only wanted me to stay in Cross Academy because it was safer for me. And all this time...

"I guess I could let you leave," Mum offered hesitantly. "If you leave enough marks on me to make it seem like a fight, you could still escape and go back to Cross Academy. I won't mind."

"No," I shook my head. "I have to try and make amends. I regret killing him, but there's no going back. I'll stay here until the assocation comes."

"Are you sure?" Mum looked at me worriedly. "You know that the punishment might even be death. If word gets out to the general public that you killed someone, the consequences would be disastrous."

"I know," I replied steadily. "But I killed him so I'll take responsibility for it. I'm sorry if it affected you in any way."

"It's okay," Mum replied quietly. "I know it must be hard for you to deal with all of this, being a hunter's child and a vampire at the same time. I'm so sorry I couldn't do anything."

I nodded silently, not knowing what to say. It was hard to take in. The assocation would be coming tomorrow to arrest me, while Mum could only watch on the sidelines.

"Well, I guess you should probably take your things to your room," Mum finally said, getting up form her seat. "I aired it a bit earlier, to keep the musty scent from clinging in there. It's getting late, so I suppose you'll want to rest, unless you prefer to sleep in the day."

"No," I waved a hand. "I'll just sleep now. It's been a busy day."

---

The assocation came the next morning.

"We're here to take Saki Minagawa," the man said, leaning against the wall. "I hope you don't resist." Mum looked at me standing behind her expectantly.

"Saki?"

"I won't resist," I replied quietly. Walking forward, I let myself be taken into the back of the van, the doors closing behind me, and keeping me trapped in a cell. "Bye, Mum."

"You're awfully quiet," a voice remarked from the front of the van. "Being arrested really dampened your spirirts, huh?"

"Yagari?" I looked up to see the familiar one-eyed face through the bars in the window. "What are you doing here?"

"Arresting you," he replied, a cigarette in his mouth. "The assocation were on the verge of classifying you as a dangerous vampire, seeing as you killed someone. Not many other reasons I would be here anyway."

"I get it," I sighed, sitting down on the bench against the wall. "No trouble has come to my Mum, right?"

"Shina?" Yagari looked at me with a frown. "She's managing. The association doesn't really hold her to blame." That was good. I didn't want to trouble her further.

"That was easy," the guy from earlier grunted as he got into the van. "If only all vampires could give in that easily."

"She can hear you," Yagari glared at the guy. "And she isn't crazy like some of them, Bern."

"Either way," Bern shrugged as he started the van. "I didn't have to use force."

"Hmm," was the only reply Yagari gave.

I don't know how long I sat there in the van, staring rigidly at the wall in front of me. It was plain, boring and dull. The bench wasn't very comfortable either.

"We're here," Bern pulled up with a jolt. "Yagari, do you want to take her into the interrogation room?" Interrogation? That didn't sound very appealing.

"Ok," Yagari accepted. "You can go park the van." He got off the van, landing on the ground with a thud. I could sense him walking around the van to the back of it, reaching the doors that shut me in my prison.

"You better behave," Yagari warned me as he opened the doors. "Or I'll have to restrain you forcefully, ex-student or not." I didn't care if I had to behave. My legs were cramping and I desperately wanted to walk, or just move around.

"Hold on a second," Yagari halted me in front of a pair of gates. Without warning, he suddenly picked me up, hoisting me under his arm like I was a sack of potatoes.

"Hey, let me go!" I struggled wildly. "That wasn't part of the plan!" Yagari didn't let go.

"Do you want to be spiked by the gate?" Yagari retorted, marching through the gateway unfazed. "If a vampire enters without a hunter's seal, the gates will just slam shut on you. The only other way is to be carried by someone who can enter by their own free will."

"I don't believe you," I muttered darkly, glaring at the floor.

"Too bad," he replied. "We're through." Just as ungainly as before, he dropped me before I could react. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, my face aching, and my nose on the verge of being permanently flat. Do they treat all arrested vampires like this?

"Hurry up," Yagari ordered, walking forward. "We have a schedule to meet, and the president of the assocation doesn't like being kept waiting."

"So why did you just drop me on the floor like that?!" I almost screamed at him. "Can't you show a little respect?"

"Don't forget who's life is on the line here," Yagari kept walking. "Faceplanting on the floor is the least of your worries." I was annoyed. And ticked off. What erked me the most was that he was right.

With a mutter of frustration, I picked myself up, marching after Yagari with long angry strides. I followed him down a corridor and through a number of turns, leaving me unsure if I could ever find my way out.

"Here we are," Yagari stopped in front of a set of doors. "Your trial will be held here." He pushed open the wooden doors, their hinges creaking, as the two of us stepped through.