Fandom: Code Geass
Characters: Lelouch, Suzaku, Milly, Shirley, Rivalz, Rolo, C.C., and Arthur. No explicit pairings besides one-sided Lulu/Shirley and Rivalz/Milly. There are hints of everything, though, especially with shipper or slash goggles.
Rating: T for mild sexual concepts, Suzaku's angst, italics abuse, and (arguably) homoerotic tension.
Timeline: Unless I missed something from an episode or don't know about audio picture drama 20.405745, I think this could occur several times between R2 turns 5 and 13; if I'm wrong or it bothers you, assume it's an AU that takes the place of the Turn 5 festival. So, mild spoilers up to that time.
Other: It's also on ell jay, where I go by the same username. I'm not entirely happy with how this turned out; it was fun to write, but I feel like I put too much time in this for it to be crack and too little time to take it seriously. Ah, well. Comments would make my day, and constructive criticism is even better!
Word Count: 8,866 (!!)
When Lelouch Lamperouge walked into the Student Council Room one bright, sunny morning, he instantly realized something was wrong. Milly was standing in front of an audience of the other members - Rolo, Shirley, Rivalz, and Suzaku holding Arthur - obviously waiting for his entrance.
"Lelouch! You're finally here! I was just about to explain the rules for today's event."
Lelouch set down his suitcase and took a seat next to the others, not having much choice. He had been hoping to skip classes today in order to work out some strategies for the Black Knights, but…"Surely you must be joking, Prez. You want to do another special event? We just finished cleaning up after the last one."
"Lelouch is right. We need sleep, not more festivals…"
"Rivalz! I can expect that of Lelouch, but where's your spirit?!" Milly exclaimed, wagging a finger. "Leave it all up to me! I promise you'll like this one!" Rivalz sighed, showing heavy doubt.
"Milly… You know I love the stuff our club does, but maybe we could wait and give everybody a rest…?" Shirley said, fidgeting in her seat and not quite looking the President in the eye.
"Shirley!" Milly said with exasperation. "Alright, what about you, Rolo?"
Lelouch began to feel a trace of hope. The Prez may more or less control the entire school, but her main objective was the entertainment of those involved. If the rest of the Student Council unanimously opposed her, it was probable she would back down for unwilling participants. If only everyone else will agree-
Rolo discreetly looked at Lelouch. Lelouch subtly nodded, with his eyes still focused on Milly. Blushing, Rolo said, "Sorry, but I… it would be unfair for me to participate if my big brother can't be at his best."
"OW!" Suzaku exclaimed, raising a bleeding finger. Arthur meowed. Everyone ignored the incident, being very used to it by now.
"Well, Suzaku?" Milly asked with enough smugness to worry her Vice President.
"What?" Suzaku asked, still distracted. "Um, sure, Prez, sounds like fun! I'm up for it." Damnit, Suzaku. Maybe Lelouch should start planning with the assumption that his former best friend was always purposely trying to ruin it.
"Alright then!" Milly said victoriously, leaning back as she took a lecturing tone. "Here's how it works. It's basically a treasure hunt, but there's only one item - you'll know it when you see it! I've hidden clues around campus so you can find it. You're supposed to work individually in order to locate it, and only the Student Council will participate. I won't myself, because I hid the item and made all the clues. All you have to do is find it!"
"I'm assuming the item isn't a treasure in itself, or the other students might stumble across it by accident…" Lelouch said, sounding bored.
"Very good, Lulu! Finding the item means you will receive a prize. Want to guess what?" The rest of the room remained silent. Whatever the prize was, Lelouch was fairly certain it would make his life more miserable.
Milly paused even longer for dramatic effect. "Anyone who finds it can make one member of the Council do anything and everything they command for the rest of the day!" Most of the room gasped. Ah, there it is.
"But… Anything, Prez? I mean, how are you sure everyone will agree to participate?" Rivalz said with yet more doubt.
"You already have. Remember those forms you signed when you first joined the Student Council?"
"You mean…those…" Rivalz sat back in his chair with something like sudden realization and horror.
"Those would be them!" Milly said cheerfully. "But look on the bright side. Even though I'm not allowed to find it, I've agreed to otherwise participate. You could tell me to do anything."
She smirked, and Rivalz swallowed loudly with a hint of a blush. "Is that all?" Shirley asked.
"Yes, except I have to give you the first clue. Ready?" she teased. Lelouch tensed. Rivalz would use it on the Prez, and Rolo has no reason to use it at all. Shirley is too shy to command me to do anything undignified…Suzaku would no doubt try to make me reveal myself as Zero, and with his speed and intelligence he's most likely to win. Next to me, of course. I could easily evade his questions, but it would waste the entire day. If I want to get anything done, I'll have to find it. Is it worth calling in the Black Knights? No, I'm on my own…except for the other Student Council members, who could possibly be used…
Milly interrupted Lelouch's plotting. "Here it is. 'If you believe you have what it takes to win, look where students exercise to begin.' Ready…" She pulled a small bell out of seemingly nowhere. "Set…Go!" She rang it enthusiastically.
Rivalz was out the door before the others even moved. Suzaku and Lelouch stood up at the exact same time, glaring at each other across the room. There was a notable pause as each apparently tried to kill the other with a look alone (which would usually work for Lelouch, but not in this case.) Suddenly, they both broke the stare to run. As he quickly fell behind Suzaku, Lelouch focused on figuring out Milly's clue before the others could jeopardize his terrorist career or his personal life.
***
Milly waited. Rolo glanced back at her, then ran after his brother. Shirley didn't make any move, but stood there and looked uncomfortable. Poor girl! She's too innocent to go after him by herself, but that's what I'm here for!
She cleared her throat. Shirley caught her eye. "You should start running or Rivalz will get me first!" she said gaily.
Shirley blushed. "W-what do you mean, Prez?"
"I'm just saying, if you wanted to use that authority on me… Well, I wouldn't complain-" she tried to say seductively, but Shirley interrupted her.
"D-Don't say things like that! Prez!"
Milly smiled. Alright, enough teasing her. "But seriously, Shirley, don't you have someone in mind…? I didn't tell this to the others, but if they don't find it before I get bored, I'll announce the rules and prize to the rest of the school. You know…Lelouch is very popular, especially for his looks…"
Shirley blinked. "What…? Oh!" Without saying anything else, she blushed again and ran after the others. Milly took a seat and congratulated herself. Of course, she hadn't told them everything…
She sighed, one of resignation mixed with content. "When I leave, I'm really going to miss this place."
***
Rivalz was running before he even decided where he was running to. Exercise, exercise… Close to here there's the student health center with training and sports equipment…That's a good a place to start as any! After almost falling down the stairs twice and booking it across part of the dew-laden school lawn, he reached the center's large double doors - both locked.
Desperately, he searched for another entrance. The window leading to the equipment room was usually unlocked and on the first floor, easily reached. He ran to the side and saw it. The window was pretty small, but then, he was as skinny as anyone else at the academy (although for two large reasons, he doubted Milly would've made it). More importantly, it was open. "This is too easy," he said out loud.
He lifted himself up and slid one leg over, then the other. Unfortunately, he didn't bother to look before he dropped down, which meant he was completely unaware of the net on the floor until it was too late. As soon as his feet hit, the net rose and lifted him, struggling, into the air. "She… She booby-trapped the rooms?!" he exclaimed unbelievingly. Rivalz had obviously not expected this, which meant he had no way of defeating the stereotypical net trap. After a few futile minutes of struggling (managing to right himself up in the process), he settled down and tried to think like Lelouch would. It didn't work out too well. After a few more minutes, he gave up and settled for merely hoping someone would want a soccer ball.
***
Lelouch was obviously having much more success in thinking like himself. When he left the Student Council Room, he already had a destination in mind - the library. The immediate choice was one of the rooms for physical "exercise," but that was too easy. Perhaps if the school had been largely sports-oriented it would be true, but the use of the word "students" suggested those learning in a mental capacity. Nobody actually used their brains in class - he was a genius with good grades, after all, and he skipped more than half the time. The only remaining option was, therefore, the library. As he mentally patted himself on the back (and panted a little), he ran inside.
It was mostly empty, as usual. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. There was the normal tables, nothing unusual or clue-like on them, normal lights, nothing special about the chairs… He didn't see anything immediately special about the books, but it was possible that something was hidden in the pages of specific ones; something besides the entrance to his underground base, anyway. Going through each page would take a tremendous amount of time, so I should exhaust my other options first…Hmm…Wait, what's that?
The clock next to the entrance was broke. Ashford Academy prided itself on how rich, upper class, and so very pretty it was, so a broken clock was out of the question. They were routinely checked to make sure everything was working correctly. He slowly approached it with a smile. Other than the immobile hands, stuck at 10:00 a.m., it was the same as ever - a small version of the large, multi-story one. It was possible the clock was stopped on purpose to point to something behind the face. He carefully pried open the tiny side latch and immediately saw a small scrap of paper. On it were scrawled the words "YOU SHOULD BE HERE NOW."
Here? As in…? As in the top of the clock tower. With a sickening hunch, he looked at his watch. 9:51. Milly might've predicted he would go to the library first and find the clock now, meaning…Meaning that he had less than ten minutes to get to the top of the real clock. Which meant stairs. Many, many stairs.
Lelouch desperately hoped this would all be worth it.
***
Shirley was smarter than people gave her credit for. She knew she wasn't "smart" the way Lelouch or Nina were smart, of course, but for a relatively naïve high school girl she wasn't that dumb. Because of this fact, she came to her own decision fairly quickly.
Although the clue seemed simple to her, that didn't mean it was. Among the other facts she knew, one of them was that Lelouch, despite all his other wonderful qualities, couldn't run for crap. When you put two and two together, the smart choice seemed to be to follow him until she saw an opportunity to get ahead. Not to mention, it would give her yet another perfectly good excuse to stalk… Er, to follow her crush.
Going to the library seemed to be reading into the clue too much, but after finding Lelouch very close outside the Student Council Room, she went after him anyway. While he surveyed the room - looking for a visual clue, Shirley was willing to bet - she hid behind the some of the bookshelves. A boy was taking a book off the shelf when she crouched beside him. He saw her, looked up, saw Lelouch around the corner, and ignored the whole thing, the entire school being very used to it by now.
There's something in the clock? Shirley bit her bottom lip and leaned forward for a better look when a hand descended on her shoulder.
"Aaahh!" she yelped, abruptly turning around and simultaneously falling over while putting her hands over her mouth. Rolo!
"What are you doing here?!" she whispered frantically, fearing Lelouch had heard her. She shouldn't have been so surprised, though; Rolo snuck up on people all the time. It was like a super power of his or something.
Rolo frowned. "What are you doing following my brother?" he whispered. The other boy behind the shelf walked away, deciding the book just wasn't worth it.
"I, I, um…" Shirley stammered. Rolo was looking at her with an innocent expression that somehow seemed like an accusation. I know he's just Lulu's little brother, but sometimes he seems a little…creepy… I think he may stalk, er, follow, Lelouch too. "I was… I was looking at books! You know, for help with the clue…?"
The expression on Rolo's face was very skeptical. "Are you sure you weren't cheating…?" he asked flatly.
"Of course not!" Shirley said. It's not really cheating if he's not knowingly helping me. "Wait, Rolo, what are you doing here?"
"I'm trying to find the next clue, of course," he replied smoothly.
"Well, I think you're trying to help your brother like always-"
"Wait, did he leave?!" Rolo exclaimed, looking over her head to where Lelouch had been standing.
"Lulu?!" she said, quickly turning around. He was gone! She turned back; Rolo was gone too. Shirley made some inarticulate sound of rage and stood up. I'll have to find Lulu again or have to do this on my own. But seriously… How do they keep disappearing like that?
***
Suzaku thought the best place to start was the gym. Sure, there was the student recreation center or even the library, if you thought about it too much, but most students exercised in the gym. So that's where he went.
After running halfway across campus, he was barely breathing hard. Coach Viletta was, as he'd expected, in the middle of teaching a class who were currently separating themselves into groups for what seemed to be basketball. He stood at the side of the gym, wondering where the clue could be. Is it in plain sight? Should I ask-
"Suzaku?" He heard a woman's voice ask. The teams had begun playing, and the athletic instructor/spy/noble/swimsuit model was walking towards him.
"Oh, hi, Coach Viletta," Suzaku greeted. "Have you seen Milly come here for anything?"
"Yes, to tell me the clue to give to you," she replied, sounding highly amused by the whole thing. "You're supposed to go to the equipment room in the student recreation center."
"The equipment room? That's it?" he said in disbelief.
"That's it," she repeated. Then she blew on her whistle and pointed to a student on the court. "Hey! You over there! Try harder, Lelouch could do better!"
"Thanks!" Suzaku called, already running to find the next clue (or destination, if it was spelled out for him again).
As he was leaving, he stepped on a wire stretched across the ground that was likely from a jump rope or something. A few seconds later, a container of dodge balls fell over sideways for some reason and left them everywhere in his path; however, he avoided them easily. Huh. That's bad timing, but fate would have to do more to prevent me from winning this!
***
Not having much choice, Rivalz, for lack of a better expression, just kind of hung out.
***
With a few dozen steps to go, Lelouch was fairly certain this wasn't worth it. Still, he kept going, step by step, and eventually he made it to the top with only a portion of a minute left. Once there, he pushed aside memories of the confrontation with Mao and searched the room. Something of a time-sensitive nature… Nothing on the ceiling, the floor, the window… Aha! He started to run towards it and quickly changed his mind, walking instead. His side still hurt and he did have half a minute, after all.
As soon as he could see out the frame he realized his suspicions were justified. A group of people were assembling on the lawn outside, collaborating to make some kind of shape; he'd assumed they were simply some club when he ran past them, given how many there were at Ashford and being even half as strange as the Student Council would mean various meeting times. Within a few seconds, they resolved themselves into two parallel lines, connected at the top by a single wavy line. After a couple of minutes, they disbanded.
Lelouch simply stared, and thought: I could have seen that from the library window.
***
His older brother had been up there for a few minutes; hopefully he'd come down soon, or they could lose valuable time. I'm sure I lost that girl. The probability of anyone else coming up here at this time is minimal, however…I'll do what is necessary, but could I dispose of the body before it would be found on school grounds? Rolo idly wondered if Lelouch would want him to kill for a Student Council event in the first place. Of course, just to be careful…
He heard footsteps approaching him from above and straightened, pushing himself off the wall. When they were close enough he asked, "Big Brother?"
"Rolo?" Lelouch returned, coming into view and acting surprised. "You know we are supposed to work separately."
"There are no cameras or agents nearby."
"So Milly did put up cameras simply to watch our progress? Somehow, I am never surprised by what our Prez puts us through for entertainment," he said with amusement, dropping the act.
Rolo waited, and after a very short pause, Lelouch began giving orders. "Rolo, I need you to go to the cafeteria, since running is the quickest route. Find out if they're serving pie today, and if they are, the clue will pertain to that. If not, go to Classroom 314, which is where I will be until I find the next clue. Call my cell phone if you discover any information."
"Understood." He turned to leave.
"Oh, and Rolo - you know that since we're brothers, I'm willing to do anything for you and I know you'll do the same, but please don't injure any other students for the sake of this competition."
He nodded, and began running down the stairs. Well, that makes things unnecessarily more difficult.
***
After the two boys disappeared (again), Shirley had walked up to the clock and found nothing - the face was open, but if anything had been inside then Lelouch must've took it with him. The thought occurred to her that the stuck time on the clock meant something; unfortunately, by then it was too late to reach the larger version in time. Stupid boys.
So she settled on her second plan, which was going to the gym. It was obvious, sure, but Milly liked her a lot… Maybe she had planned out what would happen? Maybe. On the way there, she passed Suzaku, running in the opposite direction much faster. I hope he didn't find it first…
When she finally made it to the gym, the trip seeming to take forever, there wasn't any obvious clue in sight. Coach Viletta was teaching some kind of class, as usual. Shirley decided asking her if she was allowed to help was the easiest way to find anything abnormal.
"Coach Viletta!" she called, running towards her.
Viletta noticed her. "Shirley! You're here for the clue, right?"
"Ye-Yes, did Milly tell you?"
"All about it. You're supposed to go to Room 110 next."
"Oh, is that… Is that all?"
"Yes, that should be everything."
"Thank you! Bye!" Shirley was already running away.
"Wait!" Viletta shouted after her. "Tell Lelouch that he can't get any clues from me until he makes up those absences!"
***
After an hour or so, Rivalz wasn't any better off. Still occasionally struggling, he was therefore very glad to see the doorknob slowly turning - meaning a chance to escape! The door opened, and Suzaku stared at him in surprise.
"Rivalz? What are you doing here?" he asked curiously, coming closer.
"Umm…Well…" Now that he thought on it, the situation was a little embarrassing. "I think the Prez put traps in some of the rooms, so…I wasn't watching where I was going very carefully, and… Here I am!" he finished lamely.
"Oh," Suzaku said, as if not sure what else he could say. "Er, would you like some help down?"
"Please…? You can take Lelouch's spot as my best friend!" Rivalz pleaded.
"No, um, that's all right." Suzaku said, producing a pocket knife from somewhere and placing one hand on the net. Firmly gripping both, just as he was about to make a cut, he stopped and stepped back. Rivalz was dismayed to see him putting the knife away.
"Sorry, but I can't help you. I just remembered that it's against the rules - we're all supposed to be working separately." He placed one hand behind his head sheepishly. "I'd like to help you, but it'd be unfair to the others."
Rivalz stared. He wouldn't. Would he? Aww, c'mon, it's Suzaku, of course he would. "But Suzaku - we're friends! I'd do the same for you!"
"I'm sorry, but rules are in place for a reason. Milly knows what she's doing."
Rivalz couldn't believe this guy. Seriously? "But Suzaaakkkuu-"
"Good luck, Rivalz." With that said, he turned around and walked out, the door clicking softly behind him.
Rivalz tried to thump his head back, but it didn't work so well with the net. Out loud, he complained, "Geez, does that guy have to do everything he's told?"
***
Lelouch felt even more smug than usual. Pi=3.14159... The classroom numbers stopped before 3141, and the dorms were surely too far away to count in the hunt. Therefore, the clue must mean this classroom, 314, and Rolo would take the cafeteria as a precaution. At this speed, he could very well beat Suzaku! As long as he kept his eyes open and didn't fall into any of those obvious traps Milly had planted around the school, anyway. He smiled to himself and opened the door.
He blinked. The room was full of girls in swimsuits. All of whom had obviously been waiting for him.
"LELOUCH!" shouted the members of the Swim Club. He made himself not take a small step backward as they ran forward and surrounded them.
"Hello, ladies," he said smoothly, with some vague idea that they could smell fear. "Are you here to give me the next clue?" He gave them one of his best smiles. There were several squees.
One in the front, a smaller girl with red baubles in her brown hair, spoke up. "Only if you can answer our question!" she said with enthusiasm. So they're like sphinxes, then? Lelouch wisely kept that thought to himself. Wait, sphinxes eat you if you guess wrong…
"Well, then. What is your question?" he said, using his absolute best smile (one fainted). Chances are he could answer any question correctly, having been a serious threat to the ruling power of the world and all, but it wouldn't hurt to dazzle them a little.
A tall one with black hair grinned. "The question is… Which one of us, the members of the Swim Club, is prettiest?"
Uh-oh. "I'm afraid that's not exactly fair, is it?" Lelouch said, pretending to look carefully at each of them in order to stall for time. A few of them posed. "To choose between all of you beautiful girls?"
The tall one smiled faintly, the little one grinned and a few of the others giggled. Aha!
"It would be unfair to choose between the ones of you who are here, so… I have to say Shirley."
"Awww, you guessed right!" The small one said, pouting. Just what had Milly promised them if I had guessed wrong?
"That's what Milly told us you were supposed to say, but if you ever change your mind…" The girl who had fainted winked at him.
"We know you have to hurry, so I'll tell you now. The next clue will be in your bedroom," the black-haired girl said with a knowing smile.
"In my bedroom?" Lelouch said, suddenly frowning.
"Yep!" Brown-haired Girl said. "Good luck! Sorry it's such a long distance from here…"
***
Rolo ran across the school, exactly as his older brother had told him to do. If he couldn't help Lelouch find the item himself, he could at least find it for him and neutralize the threat. Whatever it takes, I have to find that clue!
However, Rolo's resolve dwindled when he entered the Ashford Academy cafeteria to see some grinning student worker with half a dozen pies, the room otherwise empty. Didn't they ever use the school as an actual school? Not a party location or terrorist base or refuge for celebrities in hiding? Then again, maybe all schools were like that. Rolo didn't really know.
Taking a deep, deep breath, he walked closer to the student. She perked up, as evidently she had been standing there for dramatic effect for a rather long time. "Hello! You want the next clue, right?"
Rolo smiled as little as necessary and didn't reply. As he was taking her place, it was a very good thing Nunnally didn't happen to be a very talkative girl, and his silence could be often mistaken for something other than murderous intent or derogatory thoughts.
"It's pretty simple to get! There's a message on the bottom of one of these pie pans that'll lead you closer to the prize! But…" Here the girl paused melodramatically. Rolo thought she might be in his class; he didn't pay much attention if they weren't well-known to Lelouch. In any case, he wasn't liking her so far. "…You can only use THIS spoon to find it! And you have to eat every single bite you pick up."
"You… want me to eat six pies?" he asked doubtfully, frowning.
The girl started to seem a little nervous now. "We-well, um… Only if you're really unlucky…" Rolo continued to stare at her. "Um.. they're all different flavors…"
Kallen, Nina, and practically every student from the previous year had left; you could say that the students disappeared from the school all the time. Surely Milly and Lelouch wouldn't notice if one went missing, would they…?
***
Suzaku thought this competition seemed a little unfair. It was bad enough, leaving Rivalz tied up like that, but so far it was only a goose chase. Coach Viletta had told him where to go, and then he found that sign on the floor of the equipment room. This was simply unneeded exercise so far. On the other hand, he could run faster than everyone else, so maybe he was winning. Now, how can I use that power to see if Lelouch is hiding anything…? Ah, there it is. Classroom 110. He opened the door, wondering if this clue would be as easy to find as the others.
"Meow."
In the center of the room was a table. On the table, there was a letter. On top of the letter was a cat's paw, and connected to the paw was Arthur, blankly staring at Suzaku.
"Arthur?" Suzaku said, surprised. The cat picked up the letter in its teeth and made some sort of noise resembling a growl.
"Would you give me that? Here, kitty…" Suzaku approached the table slowly. Sometimes he had a strange feeling that Arthur understood every word, but he still felt like an idiot for talking to a cat. Arthur stared at him for another minute before abruptly jumping on the floor and running directly at him.
"Arrgh, Arthur!" Suzaku grasped at the cat, but it dashed under his legs and out the door. Suzaku quickly turned around and followed him, but just as he rounded the corner-
"Suzaku! What-" He crashed into something - a female uniform and orange hair? - and the next thing he knew, he was lying facedown on something… soft? He lifted himself up and saw that it was a very flustered girl. Oops.
"Um, Shirley, sorry about that - here," he stammered, getting up and offering her a hand.
"Uh, it's fine," she said worriedly, smoothing down her uniform. She laughed awkwardly. "Accidents happen, you know."
"Yeah… Hey, Arthur!" he yelled, noticing the cat was running away again. Had he stopped to watch that? "Sorry, I have to go!" he shouted over his shoulder as he started to run.
Distantly, he heard behind him, "Wait, is that a clue?!"
***
After a couple of hours of sitting (lying?) still, Rivalz had given up entirely on struggling. In fact, he was starting to wonder if anyone would remember him after the hunt was over. To be honest, sometimes I feel a little unappreciated around here…
Hey, what was that noise behind him? Rivalz sat up - at least, he tried to - and changed the way he was sitting to see the face of Lelouch's little brother in the window. "Rivalz?" Rolo said, surprised. He looked around cautiously before climbing in, avoiding the net and carefully watching where he stepped.
"Rolo!" Rivalz said with joy. Maybe now I can finally get out of this thing. Hmm, Rolo is walking a little strangely. "Hey, Rolo," he said curiously, momentarily distracted. "Did you gain weight?"
Rolo gave him an evil glare. Occasionally Rivalz wondered if he and Lelouch were truly related, given how much nicer, quieter and shier Rolo was and how he seemed a little too obsessed for a little brother. Then Rolo always inevitably shot him some sort of death glare and erased the doubt from his mind.
"Er, sorry, that was kinda rude. Um… Could you help me down from here?" he asked awkwardly.
The other boy considered for a minute. Rivalz sweated. "No, sorry," he said regretfully, something in his tone sounding slightly fake. "We aren't supposed to help each other, remember?"
"Oh, come on," Rivalz said, becoming impatient. "I know you're helping Lelouch. Look, I'll forfeit the competition! I just wanna get out of this room, I've been here for hours!"
Rolo sighed and looked down at his feet shyly. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do. How can I trust you? How am I supposed to cut the rope?"
"Of course you can trust me! Just find a professor or something-" Rivalz pleaded, already knowing it was a lost cause.
"Sorry, Rivalz," Rolo said, one hand on the door.
"Lelouch would help me!" Rivalz said as a last-ditch method.
"Are you sure?" he said quietly. And then, suddenly, he was gone.
"Of course I am!" Rivalz yelled. Rolo couldn't hear him. He sighed and lied back down, resigned to his fate. I like Lelouch's little brother, but man, can he be annoying sometimes. Am I the only normal one at this school?
***
C.C. was eating pizza and lying on his bed when Lelouch ran in. Poor dear, he's completely out of breath. Still, that didn't stop him from gaping at her in surprise and exasperation. She delicately took a bite of the slice in her hand. How fun it is to bother him like this.
"Witch!" he finally managed, seeming to be on the urge of finger-pointing or some other droll, dramatic gesture of his.
"Hello," she said pleasantly. "Are you having a nice day at school?"
"What are you doing here? Where's Sayoko?" he demanded, completely ignoring her. As usual, she supposed.
"I'm eating pizza, obviously. And Sayoko is a terrorist, a ninja and a maid. She's probably busy with something or other."
"Such as…?" Lelouch inquired, remembering appearances and calming down. C.C. didn't know why, really; she'd seen him lose control multiple times already.
"Don't ask me. Doesn't she work for you?" she said, her voice muffled by another bite of pizza.
Lelouch sighed and took a seat beside her, but still kept some distance. He gave her a serious look. It's even serious by his high standards, she realized with a tiny amount of amusement. It was even more entertaining to think of how the Black Knights had thought of her as his mistress. If that was true, he'd be much less uptight…
"You know you can't be caught by the wrong people on campus-" he began, but she interrupted.
"I know what I'm doing. I've been alive long enough to," she said directly before yawning. He was looking at her curiously. Probably wondering how old I truly am, but he doesn't need to know, does he?
She started back at him, trying to appear as nonchalant as usual. "For my sake, I hope so." She continued to stare. After a moment he smiled resignedly and lowered his head. "Very well then," he said, before meeting her eyes again and standing. "Now, are you inclined to tell me where I'm off to next? I assume Sayoko left some instructions with you from Milly."
"Perhaps."
"Witch…" he said in a tone that was probably meant to be a warning. How cute.
"Oh, fine. If you must know…" She lingered before the next words to eat more pizza; he didn't appear amused. "…The top of the clock tower."
She watched as the words sunk in. Perhaps he may be boring at times, but some of his facial expressions are really quite priceless.
***
Shirley was exhausted. Arthur could run fast, and he kept darting through small spaces or suddenly around corners while they lumbered behind, often avoiding a conspicuous string, raised step, or dark piece of ground that Suzaku had mentioned earlier as Milly's doing, which Shirley could easily believe. Even he could hardly keep up with Arthur, and she was falling behind. After what had seemed to be running the entirety of the campus several times over, she couldn't run any farther.
They went on ahead while Shirley caught her breath. Where was she? Next to the Health Center? Ugh. She happened to look up, and there, in the window - was that Rivalz? Yeah, there he was in a hammock or something!
"Hey, Suzaku, I found Rivalz!" she yelled, seeing that he was still within hearing range. Was is just her, or did he start running faster?
Huh, how weird.
***
Suzaku was definitely sweating now. Arthur had ran throughout the entire campus, making sure to stay in hallways and outside where he couldn't be cornered. Why does this cat hate me so much? It doesn't make any sense!
After all this time, Lelouch could've already won by now! And now the cat was leading him up the clock tower. At the very least, maybe he could corner him at the top. He started running up the stairs, looking down and being careful of his footing - a fall down these wouldn't be good.
For that reason, he had already passed Lelouch before it fully registered that maybe he wasn't losing after all.
***
When Shirley climbed through the window, Rivalz had given up entirely and was attempting to get some sleep.
"Rivalz!" she said with exasperation, poking him.
"What?" He looked around confusedly before noticing her. "Oh, hey, Shirley!" Finally, I can count on her!
"What are you doing?! This is supposed to be a race!" she scolded.
"I…well…" He sighed. "Look, it's a long story. Can you just help me get down from here?"
"Sure, I guess." She searched the room, eventually coming up with a pair of scissors from a desk in the corner. Then she started cutting, and after several minutes Rivalz was able to tumble out. He rubbed his back, feeling somewhat sore.
"Thanks, Shirley! You have no idea how long I was up there," he said with a grin. "I'm not sure I can forgive the Prez so easily for that one."
She wasn't paying attention, which in Rivalz's opinion happened way to often to him. "Rivalz, what's that?" she asked suddenly.
He followed her line of sight. "That sign? It's the next clue, I guess. Suzaku and Rolo both came here ages ago. There's not much use following it now."
"No, I mean this." She grabbed his arm and poked his back, at least a spot he had missed. He reached behind him and plucked something that had been sticking to his uniform, then looked at it curiously.
"Just a post-it note. It must've been stuck to the net," he said dismissively. The he looked more closely. "Wait… there's something written on it…"
***
Lelouch really, really, really hated stairs. He was thinking on this as he attempted a light jog - at least a quarter of them to go - when there was a blur of gray and flash of uniform that quickly passed him. He grimaced. Suzaku and Arthur, and he had to beat them up there.
He began running and made it up… well, he preferred not to think how many steps he kept the run up before placing his hands on his knees and realizing there was no true way to catch your breath in a dignified manner.
Come to think of it, he really hated Suzaku, too.
***
After he left Rivalz, Rolo was able to find the next clue quickly - the first twelve whole numbers somehow written on the center's ceiling in a circle, which had to point to the clock tower. Milly had evidently planned it so all the Student Council members could figure out the clues without too much trouble. Based on her actions so far, he guessed she was more interested in watching people become caught in her traps or making Lelouch run more than he ever had in his life.
In any case, he was therefore at the clock tower before Lelouch or Suzaku, and so found the last clue before anyone. At least, he found half of it. A piece of paper lying in the center of the floor (one that had definitely not been there earlier) that had the letters "ST CLUE" above "OM" above a thin bar and "2", all of them on the very edge of the paper's side.
It was an easy guess to make, then, and he was on the verge of calling Lelouch to see if he had the other half when he heard footsteps approaching the top. Should I use my Geass? That could be Suzaku. If he claims it's for the Lelouch investigation, he could demand to see this paper and I'd have no reason to refuse.
He froze time and began walking downward. The cat came into view first, with Suzaku only feet away. Rolo decided after a second of thought that it wouldn't be worth it to pick the cat up and move it farther out of reach. After ascertaining their position, he began running the rest of the way down, hoping to call Lelouch when he had put enough distance between him and his seeming military superior.
He almost ran into the frozen Lelouch before realizing it, and immediately stopped his Geass.
"Rolo-" Lelouch said with surprise, almost colliding into him before stopping himself. Rolo supposed he should've moved to the side or stopped him with a hand first.
"Here," he said, handing the paper to Lelouch. "I found this at the top of the clock tower. Arthur has the other piece."
Lelouch glanced at the paper as he took it. "Good work, Rolo," he said approvingly. "I'll try to acquire the other half by myself - it's too risky to use your Geass. But stay nearby in any case, should you be needed."
"Of course," Rolo said, watching the older boy continue his attempt against the stairs. He wasn't entirely sure how Lelouch planned on getting the clue before Suzaku, but he was certain his big brother had some kind of plan.
***
"Here, kitty kitty," Suzaku said, once again glad no one was around to hear him talking to a cat. Arthur, holding the letter in his mouth, was trapped in the corner of the room, but it was still possible he could run around Suzaku and back down the stairs.
"I doubt talking to the cat will help." Suzaku turned around to face the voice - well, as much as he could while keeping Arthur in sight. Lelouch.
He straightened. "You'd be surprised what just talking can accomplish."
Lelouch chuckled in the same arrogant, sardonic way he'd always had. "I agree wholeheartedly that words have power, but sometimes they fall on deaf ears."
"Some people have no reason to listen."
"And all cats. Apparently, Arthur for you in particular."
Suzaku glared at him defensively. "He likes me more than you."
Lelouch snorted. "Probably because you taste better. Better-conditioned or something like that."
Suzaku turned back to Arthur, but it had nothing to do with holding back a smile. Of course not. He started to approach the cat, but instead it sauntered up to him. Arthur walked up to within a foot of Suzaku and dropped the letter at his feet. Then the cat looked up at him with big, innocent eyes and said very clearly, "Meeoow."
"What?!" Suzaku asked, flabbergasted. "You led me on a chase around the entire school and now you walk up to me like that?"
"Meow."
"Argh-"
"Heh." Suzaku looked back, and Lelouch had covered his mouth with his hand to hide what sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
"It's not funny!" he said indignantly (and maybe a bit sulkily).
Lelouch laughed out loud, and said when he stopped for air, "I would advise you to pick that up before he decides to take another run across campus."
Suzaku sighed and reached down for it. Why does Lelouch have to be the way I used to remember him, when we were kids? He's Euphie's murderer. I can't like him. He opened the letter and read the piece of paper inside. "THE LA" above "RO" above a "1" and half of a "4".
"I have the other one," Lelouch said smugly from the other side of the room.
Suzaku blinked. "Where did you get it?" Why had he been coming up here, then?
"You must've missed it on your way in. It was on the floor," the other replied with a shrug. "Shall we compare?"
Suzaku looked from the piece of paper in his hand to the one in Lelouch's. "We aren't supposed to help each other," he said automatically.
"Milly meant for us to cooperate in the end. How else could someone solve it?" Lelouch said persuasively.
"There's nothing against interfering with each other," Suzaku said after a moment's thought.
"Really, Suzaku? Resorting to brute strength?"
"You'd use your mind, if it could accomplish anything in this situation. The easy way would be for you to simply hand that over."
"Or for you to do the same to me."
Suzaku began walking towards Lelouch, making his intentions obvious. Lelouch stood there with his practically trademarked disdainful smirk. Suzaku kept his piece in one hand while using his other arm to pin to the wall the hand Lelouch was using to hold his part of the clue. Lelouch didn't put up any kind of struggle, for whatever reason, and Suzaku was easily able to take his piece of the paper. He opened it, and inside it read - it was blank!
"What-?" Lelouch took advantage of Suzaku's surprise to somehow steal the piece he was missing, smiling triumphantly as he read it with one hand.
"So that's where it is, huh?" he said smugly.
Suzaku frowned, shifting so Lelouch could not escape (although even if he did, Suzaku could easily catch up to him). How did he do that, anyway? I suppose he has always been good at sleight-of-hand and things like that…"Fine, so you know where to go. Now I need to know the other half of the clue."
Lelouch was silent for a moment, and then he looked carefully at Suzaku. "When did this tension come between us?"
"What?" Suzaku asked, easing up in his grip a little. "What do you mean?"
"Last year, we… worked much better together," he said, now looking somewhere to the side. " Have I done something since then to make you angry?"
This is probably just a trick. He's regained his memories and he's using them to fool me. That's what Suzaku hoped, anyway.
"No," he began, making up the first excuse that came to mind. "It's just… stress from being newly knighted, I guess."
"I'm glad to hear it," Lelouch said with a friendly smile. It became decidedly evil as he carefully put his hand in his pocket and gave him the resulting piece of paper. "It would have been much easier if you would have simply agreed to work with me."
Suzaku decided not to dignify that with a comment and read the paper, mentally combining it with the other: "THE LAST CLUE: ROOM 142." The Student Council Ballroom. He stepped back and said, "You know I'll find it much faster than you."
"I wouldn't be so sure. Who knows what can happen?" Lelouch said with an theatrical shrug. No matter what, he's always been flamboyant, Suzaku thought.
Not to be outdone, Suzaku offered a hand. "May the best man win," he said. Lelouch accepted it and shook, still smiling. After a companionable moment of silence (as much as there could be between rivals, in any case), Lelouch began running down the stairs.
Suzaku ran past him, hands on his knees while catching his breath, farther down than he'd been expecting.
***
"LAST CLUE: IN THE STUDENT COUNCIL BALLROOM" was written on the note in Rivalz's hand.
Shirley looked up at him in confusion. "You were sitting on a straight ticket to the end the whole time?"
"I guess so," Rivalz said with a shrug.
Shirley bit her bottom lip. This seems pretty simple, right? "Let's stop standing here then," she said suddenly, running towards the window.
"Hey, wait for me!" Rivalz exclaimed, starting to follow her. Then he looked back at the door and said sheepishly, "Actually, maybe I'll go the long way around this time…"
***
"Pardon me, but don't you have some kind of plan?" Rolo asked, keeping pace alongside Lelouch.
"Obviously," he managed to gasp. "You and your Geass."
"He's running much faster-"
Lelouch grimaced. "Plus the extra necessary time to take a slightly longer route… to avoid Suzaku seeing you with me…but adding the time we don't lose avoiding…. the other route's more extensive traps… assuming we gain ten seconds for…for every… Trust me, alright?"
Rolo seemed doubtful. "I believe you, Big Brother. But can't you run any faster?"
"…"
***
Suzaku stood in Ashford Academy with his mouth open, the race momentarily forgotten. "A… A tar pit? In the center of a hallway?"
He shook his head. "Just how crazy is that woman?" he asked of no one in particular, preparing to jump.
***
Milly stood in the ballroom on the balcony, cell phone next to her ear.
"Hi~! They're almost here. So if Shirley wins, the rest of the Student Council will take turns cleaning the pool, but if she loses, we'll be able to use it whenever we want. Sound good? Alright, I'll be back to you later with the results. Bye~."
She dialed another number. "Art/Photography Club? This is Milly, confirming your bet. If Lelouch or Rolo wins, they'll be your models again, but if not you'll help us with decorations for the next major event…"
***
Lelouch could see the door to the ballroom ahead on his left. Somewhere behind him, he knew Rolo was waiting to arrive a few seconds later, ready to use his Geass. As he came closer, he saw Suzaku running towards him from the opposite direction, followed by - Shirley and Rivalz?
"Lelouch!" exclaimed Suzaku as if he was speaking a curse. "How did you get here first?!"
Lelouch shrugged, placing a hand on the doorknob and turning. "I guess those remedial gym classes worked." The door swung open.
There, at the top of the stairs between the balconies, was a small table supporting an elaborately decorated, but obviously fake, golden crown with a note underneath that read "Good luck!" in bright rainbow lettering. Lelouch didn't take the time to dwell on Milly's peculiar sense of humor, instead running towards it.
Unfortunately, this caused him to make the same mistake as Rivalz, and too late he saw the proof of Milly's sadism on the floor - marbles. He couldn't stop, but as soon as he put his foot down he attempted to right his balance again (in the most dignified way possible). Maybe because of how incredibly long his legs were, instead he fell on his back very painfully, tiny plastic balls digging into his back.
At some point during this process, Rolo had used his Geass (Lelouch thought distantly that he would have to do something about the camera footage), and was running forward in an attempt to catch his brother. Lelouch watched as, too late, he also tripped and, with his luck he should've expected this, landed on his stomach across Lelouch. Blinded by love or not, he thought despairingly, an assassin really should know better.
In horror he realized the ten seconds were almost up. Shirley, Rivalz and Suzaku were frozen running directly at them. He struggled to get up, but under Rolo's weight of about one hundred pounds there was no way to move. He decided to give up on dignity and merely hoped no one would step on his face.
Then time sped back up, and Shirley and Rivalz - running side-by-side, their speeds about equal - tripped over either him or Rolo. Shirley yelled femininely and Rivalz grunted as they were added to the quickly-growing pile.
Lelouch had the presence of mind to realize Suzaku had done neither, and watched open-mouthed as he jumped over all of them, landed next to the stairs, and skidded on a marble while somehow managing to keep his balance, then stepping on the stairs without any apparent difficulties. Now that is unfair.
Lelouch realized Suzaku was on a clear path to the crown. Which meant, he also realized with anger and despair, there was no way he could win. I refuse to let this happen! After all this, he can't beat me-
"Meow."
Suzaku suddenly stopped a foot away, almost losing his balance as -was that Arthur?- ran in front of him. Probably knowing his competition was still far behind, Suzaku simply watched as the cat leapt onto the table and sat in the center of the prize. Arthur then sniffed at it before digging his nose under it, causing the end to slide over his neck.
Lelouch heard a loud popping noise, and suddenly confetti and balloons were raining from the ceiling.
"YOU WON!" Milly exclaimed, coming from somewhere on the balcony. Then she paused, seeing Arthur on the table. "Oh, you mean you didn't pick it up?" she said thoughtfully, addressing Suzaku.
Suzaku was looking around as if he wasn't sure what just happened. Meanwhile, the others began picking themselves up (carefully avoiding marbles).
Milly suddenly said, "Hmm… I suppose Arthur is a Student Council Member." She turned to face the others. "Well? What do the rest of you think?"
Shirley shrugged, Rolo remained quiet, and Rivalz muttered something unintelligible. Reflecting on their reasons for attempting the competition, Lelouch presumed Shirley was happy as long as he wasn't at another girl's mercy, Rivalz had decided he wouldn't do anything with the power even if he got it, and Rolo just wanted what was best for him. Which, Lelouch realized with dawning joy, meant this was a golden opportunity for revenge. Finally.
"You're right, Prez," he said, laying it on thick. "Arthur is a Student Council member as much as we are: he heard the rules, he followed them, and he reached the finish line first. I don't see why he should be penalized for his species."
Suzaku gaped at him. Milly smiled and said gaily, "Alright then, you heard the Vice-President! Arthur is declared the winner."
Now Suzaku was outright glaring at him. Lelouch met his gaze with a good-natured smile, but in his head, he was laughing maniacally. Definitely worth it.
"But how do we know what Arthur wants?" Rivalz asked, puzzled.
"Rivalz has a point…" Shirley said, chipping in.
They turned to look at Arthur, who looked back at them all curiously. Then, he bit Suzaku's hand.
"Ow! Arthur-"
"That seems like an answer to me," Lelouch said smugly.
"It's settled! You'll just have to put up with it, Suzaku," Milly announced.
"Prez? Are you serious?" he asked, crestfallen. Milly simply laughed, and most of the others at least smiled. The members began gathering their things for class (and in Suzaku's case, Arthur too), Lelouch feeling somewhat better for the day.
I increased relations with Rolo and I prevented Suzaku from finding out my identity while taking a little revenge. True, there won't be time to do anything for the Black Knights or the Rebellion, and the green-haired witch will be waiting at home…I've already suffered so much exercise and indignity today, perhaps I'll even go to gym class.