Hello everyone~ So uh... This is a story - well a roleplay - between me and one of my old friends! I felt like since it was just sitting in my computer, I really should have just started to share it than anything else.

I really hope that you like it!

It was easy to recognize new faces in Ashford. Suzaku had been in private school his whole life, and had gone to school with the same group of people. Even after summer, when new schedules disoriented everyone, he could tell when he looked at the boy next to him in world history: he didn't know him, not even in an "I've passed you in the hallway a couple times before" way. Suzaku was popular, with an abundance of friends and admirers, since he was the star athletics student and the heir of The Kururugi Trade (as far as his classmates knew), so it was rare for him to not recognize someone.

He definitely hadn't heard the name "Lelouch" in school, either; he decided when the teacher called roll. He had heard "Britannia," though. His eyebrows rose. His father had been babbling all week about how the head of Britannia Incorporated was moving to Japan. He knew this had to be the owner's son.

When Lelouch sat down after his introduction, Suzaku leaned an inch closer, smiled, and whispered, "Welcome to Ashford. I'm Suzaku."

Lelouch glanced at Suzaku, yet showed no emotional expression towards him. "I know who you are. You're Suzaku Kururugi, son of Genbu Kururugi and heir of the Kururugi Trade, correct?"

In honesty, Lelouch had no idea why he was in school. His father and mother already knew that he did not care or will have the effort in applying himself in schoolwork or group projects. He was only here because his father wanted him to get his diploma and that was it. There was also trying to get information out of the Kururugi heir, but Suzaku didn't seem that interesting to him. Why his father was obsessed with his business, he had no idea.

Suzaku stayed friendly and warm, disheartening as Lelouch's response was. "In so many words, yeah. Lunch is after this class. I know a good place to sit, if you want."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at him before smiling. Perhaps he was different and more interesting than he thought he was. "You're very nice, all though you know that our fathers are rivals in a company. Tell me, you're not using me to get information on Britannia Incorporated are you?"

Suzaku leaned his cheek on his palm and smiled wider, whispering back. "That's what my dad told me to do. But I'm an honest guy and I think that's bullshit. I'm hoping to let you see that for yourself, though."

"Mister Kururugi, is there something you'd like to share with the class, or is your private conversation with Mister Britannia too important to wait until lunch?" the teacher snapped from the front of the room.

Suzaku sat up straight, color rising to his cheeks, and he blinked innocently. "No, ma'am. My apologies."

Lelouch laughed softly, and then opened his school bag to take out a tablet. Since his mother thought paper was a waste for some reason, she bought him a tablet that you would write with a stylus. It was a waste, but it was something he had to get use to he supposed.

"We can continue this at lunch. I'm very interested to learn more about you Suzaku." And he was, though if his father asked him questions about Suzaku, he wasn't going to lie to him.

After class, Suzaku picked up his bag and led Lelouch out to a grassy ledge on the side of the school, ended by a brick wall and overlooking the track field and the swimming pool. There were plenty of trees, with flowers planted around the base of each, and plenty of shade from them.

Suzaku sat on the ledge and leaned back, stretching out on his back. He'd gotten a burger from the cafe, fries, and a bottle of water, and didn't unwrap them immediately.

"So you just moved here, when? Last week?" Suzaku smiled up at Lelouch, not caring that he was getting grass in his hair.

"I moved here two weeks ago, though I tried to convince my parents to not let me come to school. That failed miserably." Lelouch sighed and began to get a plastic container of food from his school bag. The chief made chicken pasta salad, since it was his mother's favorite, and the family had to finish everything before they made a new dish. It was slightly aggravating for a picky eater like Lelouch.

"All though, I'm only glad that I joined this campus because of the swimming pool they have. My family estate has one, yet it's too small, so joining a club might be interesting enough to keep me entertained. Swimming is one of my hobbies, though I don't exploit it enough." Though he hates to, but he had to enjoy something in this campus.

"You swim?" Suzaku grinned and sat up on his elbows. "Yeah, you look like a swimmer." He had a long, lean torso, Suzaku noticed, after looking closer. Long legs, too. "I'm in track and baseball. I was thinking of joining judo, too, but it would be hard to keep up with all of that."

Lelouch stared at Suzaku with wide eyes. "Wait, you're planning to join more teams? Isn't two enough for you?" With his parents, only one sport was enough because he didn't need the scholarship. And, even if he did get it, he would have to give it to someone that needed it. His mother was selfless like that. "Are you trying to get scholarships? Or is this a hobby of yours?"

"Kind of both." Suzaku shrugged and decided to be open about it. "I guess I don't really like spending time at home, so I like doing sports. It feels good. Rewarding." He opened his bag of food and ate a French fry. "How long've you been swimming?"

Rewarding huh? A rich person, definitely not one from the Kururugi Trade, would not think that sports and working hard is rewarding. Either Suzaku is not getting the fortune and the share, or the Kururugi heir is very strange. "I started swimming since I was thirteen years old. I went to competitions and won them, so it's something that I enjoy doing. It also helps my father somewhat, and whatever makes him happy makes him leave me alone."

It seemed like Lelouch didn't get along with his father, either. Suzaku's smile softened, easier and more casual. "I feel some tension here, so I want to make sure one thing's clear. I don't want to talk about our dads and whatever rivalry they might try to involve us in. You seemed pretty ready to just peg me as the Kururugi guy's kid, but I'm not talking about my dad's work, and I'm not going to ask you anything about yours. Alright?" He offered Lelouch the box of French fries.

A peace offering? Lelouch smiled softly at Suzaku and grabbed the box. Well, at least the fries were hot and fresh, which was his favorite snack anyway. "Alright, I accept. All though, I would like to see you in your athletics clubs some day. It seems interesting enough to see."

Suzaku laughed and lay back again. "Track is on Mondays and Wednesdays, so there's practice today, if you want to come." And the track field was right next to the swimming pool, only a low chain link fence and several yards of concrete separating them. "I can introduce you to the other guys, if you want. They're pretty cool."

"Yeah...I would like that. Then you can show me the swimming team here." Lelouch analyzed that Suzaku Kururugi was not anything he expected to be, which was very rare for him to say. He usually knew how one person works just by looking at them and talking to him, but not Suzaku. He knew that it was going to be exciting to learn about him.

"I'd be happy to. I think swim practice is a little after track, so it would work out fine."

After regular classes, Suzaku walked with Lelouch to the field. He got water for both of them, and had to leave Lelouch on the bleachers when he went out to run. Most of the guys took off their shirts for running, but Suzaku may have been showing off for his audience, at least when he surged ahead of the rest of the group to complete the training circuit first. He even gave Lelouch a grin from where he stood on the red gravel, catching his breath and feeling good about himself. His display would have been a lot more impressive, however, if Gino didn't catch up shortly after and tackle him in a hug.

Lelouch laughed softly as he saw Suzaku being tackled by his teammate. He was sure that he was showing off, since he was running faster than everyone and continued to glance his way. However, what caught his attention that everyone ran with their shirt off... And Suzaku wasn't that bad when it came to muscles on his torso. Sure he was skinny like Lelouch was, but he was more toned, which is surprising for a Japanese teenager.

Seeing that his runs were over for the moment, he walked down from the bleachers and went towards Suzaku and his teammate. "I assume that you're done?"

"Pretty much." Suzaku grinned and fended Gino off, and he picked up his bag without putting his shirt back on. It was too hot for that.

Gino wouldn't just let them go, though. He was too friendly for that. He hung on Suzaku's shoulder and beamed at Lelouch, greeting him with a, "Hey! Lelouch, right? I'm Gino Weinberg." He ruffled Suzaku's hair, having that privilege as a senior. "Are you friends with Suzaku?"

"Don't put him on the spot, Gino," Suzaku snorted, and twisted to push Gino off again.

Gino Weinberg? An American name? "You can say that we're friends, all though I'm not sure yet. I don't have many of them." He concluded that Gino is very nice and a close companion to Suzaku, though he wouldn't appreciate Gino rubbing his head like that, just because he was a junior.

"Alright, well, take some time to consider it," Gino laughed, and left his hands on his hips instead of harassing Suzaku. "Suzaku's an upstanding young man. I think you'll get along fine."

"Sod off," Suzaku told Gino in the playful way only close friends could manage, and he guided Lelouch off the field. "See you tomorrow."

"See ya. Nice meeting you, Lelouch!" Gino turned to gather his things to go, and Suzaku rolled his eyes.

"He's a good guy. He's just enthusiastic," he told Lelouch as they walked into the pool area. There weren't many people there, only a handful of students in one corner of the bleachers, and no one was in the water.

"I can tell that he is. All though, I'm not use to that kind of friendliness when physical contact is needed." Lelouch went to the near changing room and opened the door, then closed it behind him as he changed into his swimming trunks. When he came out of the changing room, he had a towel around his neck and his bag in his hand. He went next to Suzaku and place his things next to him, then went to the pool.

He placed his fingertips in the water to test it before he dived in. He rose from the water minutes later and sighed. "I miss this."

Suzaku sat on the edge of the pool, just in basketball shorts, and he let his legs kick slowly in the water. He smiled and curled his fingers on the lip of the pool. "You already joined swimming club, right? Otherwise I don't think they'd let you use the pool."

"I signed in to be in the swimming club as soon as I saw there was one." Lelouch played with the water in his hands, and then he swam closer to Suzaku. "Do you want to get in? I rather not try to pull you in here."

"Do I have an option, then?" Suzaku laughed out and nudged Lelouch back in the water with his foot.

"Well no. But I can't force you, can I?" He went closer to the edge of the pool and shook his hair, then sighed again. He really did like the water here. "I can race you, if you want to. Since you like to show off."

Suzaku felt his face heat up, and he glanced to the side. "Who says I'm a show-off?" He was confident in his swimming ability, but Lelouch's opinion of him mattered.

Lelouch laughed and moved his long wet hair out of his eyes. "The way that you ran ahead of everyone, how you continued to glance at me while you were running, and at the very end of the run? I can see a show off when I notice the signs."

"If that's what you think," Suzaku growled, grinning, and he slipped into the water with him, accepting the challenge. "The fact remains, I'm the fastest runner."

"That's on land not water, there's a difference." Lelouch smirked slightly as he pressed his back on the wall. He was sure that Suzaku was fast, so he decided to not go easy on him. None of the sports he participated in made him weak. "Are you ready?"

Suzaku put his back to the wall and nodded, bracing himself. They counted down, and on the signal, they kicked off. Suzaku had a strong kick, as a runner, and his strokes were powerful, but forceful as he was, he didn't move through the water quite like Lelouch did.

Lelouch's strokes were swift, not as forceful or rough in the water like Suzaku was. He was graceful with his movements and didn't hesitate in his fast movements as he did so. He was a bit faster than Suzaku, possibly a couple of inches farther. When he touched the wall first, he raised his head from the water, shook the water from his hair, and smirked.

Suzaku was close, but it was still a decisive win for Lelouch. When he pulled his head up and wiped the water from his eyes, he scowled at first. It wasn't that he was mad at Lelouch; he just wasn't expecting to be beaten. He covered it up quickly with an impressed smile. "Damn, you're fast."

"So I've been told." He's smirk turned into a small smile as he leaned on the wall again. "I told you I was in competitions, but I would usually be in first place for races. But you're not bad either, you're strokes were impressive."

Not bad either? Suzaku could still just see the smirk, and it kind of pissed him off. He pulled himself up onto the pool ledge and ran his fingers through his hair, chasing the excess water out. "Thanks. That was fun." Be a gracious winner, he reminded himself. Don't mention how close it was, how easily he could have beaten him.

"Excuse me?" a tired-sounding voice interrupted. A smaller boy, maybe a sophomore, stepped forward from the corner of the bleachers, to talk to the two of them. "We're not really supposed to be in the pool right now. There's no practice today."

"Oh? Sorry, we'll get out." Suzaku pulled his legs from the water, and he offered a hand to Lelouch.

Lelouch graciously took Suzaku offer to help him up, and then walked to his school bag to get a towel. "Well that's a lot of fun, but I better try to make it home on time. My father want to discuss future plans to the company to me and mother needs help with her designs for her clothing line. We can do this again sometime?"

"Yeah, I'd love to." Suzaku smiled and tried not to let himself get flustered. He got the impression that Lelouch wasn't the type of person to say 'let's do this again sometime' very often. "I uh, history tomorrow, then?" He went to pick up his shirt, drying his hair with it.

Lelouch smiled as he put on some black pants and a long-sleeve white shirt. He always brought spare clothes, just in case. "Sure Suzaku, I'll see you later." When he gathered his things together, he started to walk off and went towards the school's front gate.

As he thought, his father would probably like to know that Suzaku Kururugi is not like his father, but at the same time it's useless information. Though, he could not understand how his father worked, all he knew that his father was very passionate with his job. It was a good thing or a bad thing, depending on how you saw it, but Lelouch didn't care either way.

A black car was already waiting outside for him and his mother's guard, Jeremiah Gottwald, was outside opening the door to the passengers' seat.

"Master Lelouch, you're mother is waiting on you at the house."

"Thank you for that useful information Jeremiah," Lelouch said with a sarcastic tone as he stepped inside the car. She was a staying home mom for goodness sake.

"My apologies."

"It's nothing to worry about." Lelouch focused his attention elsewhere as Jeremiah closed the door. He looked around the area and noticed that there wasn't a car or anyone for Suzaku. School ended, so shouldn't Suzaku have someone for him?

Suzaku didn't have anyone waiting on him; he had to drive himself to work right after school. He put his stuff in his bag, and he jogged by himself to the school lot, where he'd left his motorcycle. He pulled on a hoodie and his helmet, and he drove out, engine snarling, down the road opposite the one Lelouch's car was taking.

Charles didn't have to go to the office every day. Most of the time, he stayed in his home office, and he only went to the company building for weekly meetings. Today was strange, though, because instead of staying locked in his study, he was downstairs in the living room, flipping through the newspaper.

"How was school, Lelouch?" he asked when the door opened, though he didn't look up from the printed words. His voice didn't have any inflection, either; he wasn't interested in how Lelouch's day went, but he simply had to lead into a conversation. Detached and cold, as usual.

Lelouch knew that his father didn't care about him, probably the information he was going to give him and a lecture of him taking over the company. Since Nunnally is too young, Euphemia is a not strong willed enough, Cornelia doesn't care, and since Schneizel has his own company, Lelouch was the one that will inherit Britannia Incorporated. Though he didn't care about the company at all, it didn't mean that he had to express it.

"It's easy like the other ones you made me go to." Jeremiah closed the door and went up the stairs as Lelouch sat across from his father in a sofa. "What is it that you wanted from me father?"

Charles actually laid the newspaper down in his lap and looked up at Lelouch then. Eye contact. That was something, at least.

"Did you make any friends?" The question was pointed. He had already told Lelouch that the Kururugi boy went to Ashford, and that he expected him to get along with him.

He smirked at him and folded his hands across his crossed legs. Honestly, it wasn't like Lelouch was going to disobey his father. "Suzaku Kururugi is a very interesting person. We're supposed to try to help each other with History when a project comes up and we went swimming today." He didn't exactly answer his question, but to hell with it. Messing with his father always made him feel better.

Eerily, Charles seemed satisfied. He didn't smile or frown; he just looked back down at his newspaper and kept reading. He wasn't stupid enough to expect big trade secrets on the first day or anything; all he wanted was some insurance, so when competition got tighter, he might have some leverage. "That's good," was all he said.

As he expected, his father was easily satisfied with anything he told him. He could just lie and said that he didn't like Suzaku, but it wouldn't matter. Lelouch wasn't a liar and it wasn't a trait that he was willing to pick up from his father. At least, he didn't lie all of the time."But I did learn something about him."

"And what would that be?" Charles glanced up, curious. Lelouch volunteering information was unusual.

"Although, it would require the usual payment. Nunnally and Euphemia want to go shopping this weekend, and then Schneizel wants to go somewhere next week in Denmark." The usual payment was around five thousand dollars and maybe seven thousand if he was lucky. That was probably what he inherited from Charles zi Britannia; negotiation, bribes, and his intelligence, although Lelouch's intelligence is higher and close to Schneizel's.

At first, annoyance flashed across Charles' face, but then he just looked amused. "Alright, fine. I'll give you ten thousand if it's good." That was nothing, in the scheme of the company's daily profits.

Lelouch smirk became wider. His old man really wanted to know some information about Suzaku. Maybe stretching the truth won't hurt in this. "It seems like his father does not support him in anything. Usually, rich kids would possibly brag about their family business, yet Suzaku refuses to talk about it. I also witnessed him going the opposite direction than the Kururugi household is, which probably means that he was either going to a friend's house, or doing something else. Probably drugs, or probably whoring around with other women. It is something that will tarnish the Kururugi name if information came out."

That got Charles to smile. "Very good. Keep an eye on him. If he is doing anything incriminating, and if you can get evidence, it'll be $100,000." With that weighty promise, he looked back down to his newspaper and forgot Lelouch existed. Whenever he promised Lelouch money, he just had it transferred to his account, instead of handing him anything.

"Yes sir." And with that, Lelouch stood up from his seat and left the living room, but he left with a thoughtful look as he went to his mother's clothing office. Suzaku would probably kill him if he found out, but, usually, he kept his company out of the Britannia household. Now... How to fabricate a sexual act to get that $100,000?

Suzaku got home about ten after working at the auto shop. He was sore from practice and dirty from working on car engines, and all he really wanted was a shower and some sleep. Maybe dinner, if no one had eaten his leftovers. He just didn't want to deal with his dad.

He parked his bike out of sight when he got home, since his dad didn't like how it looked in front of the pristine, oversized house, and he opened and shut the door quietly.

"Where have you been, boy?" Suzaku's father, Genbu Kururugi, was in the corner of the living room reading a book next to a lamp. He waited there since five in the afternoon and, even though his wife wanted him to sleep or go in the room with her, he ignored her and waited. His face remained expressionless and was not looking at his son, yet his eyes held anger.

Shit. Suzaku sighed and gripped the strap of his bag a degree tighter. "I was at work, father. I work on Mondays." His tone was dry, and that was all the respect he could muster for this man. He knew that his father was a horrible person.

"Are you sure that you're not whoring around any woman that I should know about? Because you usually come home around nine instead of ten." Genbu looked Suzaku in the eyes and the unexpressed anger was written in his face. "I refuse for a boy like you to ruin my business."

"How is coming home one hour late going to ruin your business?" Suzaku snapped. "I had to stay late because my boss made a customer angry and I had to fix it."

"For all I know it's a lie and you're seeing some whore on the street." Genbu rose from his seat and glared at the boy in front of him. He never called Suzaku his son and he wasn't going to feel sympathy for him now. "I'm keeping you here to keep you in check and in line so you won't ruin the company's reputation. Without me and my money, you wouldn't be able to do anything. You'll be poor and homeless; don't forget that. Now get out of here."

"Get out of here, as in, go to my room or leave the house?" Suzaku answered flatly. "You know I have to work late to save up for college, because I have to pay my own way, remember?" He didn't move or even look away. He'd been firmer lately, just because he was sick of taking his dad's shit.

"If you want to leave, be my guest. Where are you going to stay? You have no money, no friends, and you're a student. Who's going to help you? It doesn't matter to me, but if you don't want to leave this house right now, you get out of my sight. Now."

It took all of Suzaku's self-control to walk upstairs to his room without saying anything else, or breaking anything, or slamming the door. He took a shower and curled up on his bed, his mood too bad to even text anyone. He didn't talk to anyone about his dad. Sometimes, he wanted to invent a scandal, just to ruin his father's shady, selfish business.

So was it... Good? God I hope so, because I won't publish the next one unless this popular or something...