Author's note: Just to clarify: This fic is set between episodes 20 and 21 of season 1 and can be read as a "filler" arc of sorts. As for the title, it was inspired by a song sung by Lacus Clyne in Gundam Seed Destiny. And as anyone who has seen that series would know, the similarities between Euphie and Lacus are astounding. Also, watch for the Macross reference. It's coming up~

Stage 01 Unfolding Predicament

"Kyuun! Kyuun!"

Suzaku tried very hard not to stare blankly.

"Kyuun! Kyuun!"

He was failing miserably.

The strange noises appearing to come from the girl's mouth continued. "My boyfriend is a pilot!" A light giggle, a toss of her vivid pink hair – and then Euphie finished her exaggerated twirl on the spot. She opened her mouth to sing the next line until she noticed Suzaku's expression. She faltered.

"Er... Suzaku? Is something wrong?"

Suzaku immediately began to sweat harder than he could ever remember having done in any given battle. Even Narita couldn't compare to this! "No, nothing at all! Princess-!"

"I get it," Third Princess Euphemia Li Britannia declared tearfully. "It's my voice, isn't it? My big sister always giggled frightfully when I sang! I always suspected she was mocking me!"

Suzaku blinked.

"That is it, isn't it? That's why you're staring at me!"

"No, no!" Suzaku insisted vehemently. Quick, think of a good lie. "I was staring because I thought you looked really pretty today and I thought, I guess, I mean...!" He gulped.

Awkward silence, during which time Euphie looked over her long, white gown. She personally didn't see any difference in her appearance from normal.

Oh well. It was still a very good response from her knight. Suddenly feeling a bit shy, she looked up and gave him a discreet smile of approval. Suzaku gulped again and smiled back. Their eyes met.

Both of them looked away at the same time.

"I thought it was a good song I sung," Euphie said cheerfully. "I mean, it's appropriate for us!" She did another twirl on the spot. Then she looked at Suzaku again. "It is, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah." Suzaku Kururugi was the pilot of the Lancelot and he was also Princess Euphemia's knight and -

"I command you to love me!"

… Yeah.

It made him a bit giddy to think about the actual event so he considered the implications instead. With Euphemia supporting him, then maybe it really was possible to change Britannia from the inside. And right now, he actually felt himself wanting to support Britannia from the bottom of his heart. Sometimes, when he was with Euphie, he actually found himself forgetting about his father for brief stretches of time, even with that constant reminder that he had on him. It was... strange, but he'd never felt so lighthearted since the time he'd first made friends with Lelouch. That was seven years ago.

"... Suzaku?"

He jumped lightly and was slightly mortified that he'd allowed his mind to drift mid-conversation. "Yes, Princess?"

"How's school?" Euphie asked him. "I like hearing your stories."

"Oh!" Suzaku laughed. "Well, you see, my friends – the nice people on the student council – asked me to help out for the annual school festival, so that's why I've been staying back at school lately. That and..." He laughed again, a bit sheepishly this time. "I haven't been keeping up with the homework."

Euphie puffed out her cheeks and glared. "That's not good! You have to work hard and be a good student! Show me your homework! I'll help you do it!"

Unable to disobey a direct order from the princess, Suzaku fumbled about for his school briefcase. In his off-hours, he actually did carry it around so that when he was not busy he could finish some homework. He was kind of uncertain how Euphie could help him with it, though. Oh well, an order was an order.

He opened up his briefcase and a loose slip of paper fell out and onto the ground.

Hmmm, that's funny. I don't recall-

Suzaku picked up the paper and looked at it. He froze.

"Suzaku? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Suzaku answered quickly. He stuffed the paper back into his briefcase. "Actually, there was something I forgot to do at school. I have to go now and whatever you do, stay in the government office!"

"Suzaku!"

But he was already gone.

It was a rare occasion indeed when Kallen Stadtfield came to school. Even though she was one of the top scorers at Ashford Academy, her attendance record was significantly marred by constant bouts of illness. She was a delicate, unassuming girl who always seemed to give the impression that she needed to be taken care of.

This identity was, in truth, a total fabrication. Suzaku had come to learn that Kallen was actually a half-Japanese terrorist fighting on the side of Zero and the Black Knights. Suzaku had thought he could be friends with Kallen and convince her to change her methods and that was why he hadn't reported her to the authorities.

Now, after receiving the message, he was not so sure his decision had been a right one.

Suzaku found Kallen in the student council room reading a book. This actually wasn't too surprising because there was a somewhat lack of terrorist activities these days.

It was just the two of them in the room.

Kallen looked up – surprise flickered in her gaze. "You-"

"Kallen." Suzaku was deathly calm. "Did you write this?"

"Write what?"

"Don't play dumb." Suzaku frowned. "You're the only person here who could have slipped this note into my bag and who also happens to be a terro-"

"Shhhhhh!"

Suzaku fell silent. He simply watched Kallen as she put the book down and came over to him. She came so close so that she could whisper and not be heard by anyone passing by the room.

"So what? Now you're going to turn me in? I thought as much, Kururugi." And all of a sudden, Suzaku could feel the tip of something sharp against his abdomen. Kallen's purse had a switchblade hidden in it!

Suzaku scowled. He should have known given how slippery the Black Knights were.

"I don't know what you're talking about with this 'note', but if you want to settle things, there's no time like the present," Kallen whispered. Even though the volume was low, as if it had been turned right down, the strength and intensity of her voice was there. This was Kallen Kouzuki speaking, not Kallen Stadtfield.

"Kallen, you-"

The door of the room swung open. Because Suzaku had his back faced to the door, he could not see the newcomer until that person spoke.

"Suzaku! Kallen!" It was Shirley, and she was surprised as a girl could be. "Kallen, I thought it was you and Lulu who were-!"

Kallen hastily flipped the switchblade back into an innocuous purse. "Shirley! It's not what you think it is!" And then something else clicked. "And wait. Wh-What do you mean by me and Lelouch?"

Just as Kallen said that, the door opened once again. "Did someone say my name?"

"Lelouch!" Suzaku was pleasantly surprised to see his friend not slacking off at school for once. (Honestly, what did he spend all that time off even doing? Suzaku preferred not to think about it.) As for Kallen, she tried to look nonchalant as Lelouch entered the room. Shirley simply peered at him as if trying to work something out about him. She was always doing that these days: Suzaku had been told she and Lelouch were having a massive fight these days and she was pretending not to know him.

Lelouch no doubt noticed these mixed reactions to his appearance and took them in stride. As his gaze swept around the room, he noticed something. "Did one of you drop something? There's a note on the floor."

Suzaku must have dropped it during the scuffle with Kallen. "Oh, that's-"

But before he could finish, Shirley was already picking up the note and unfolding it. "Traitor Suzaku Kururugi!" she read aloud. Suzaku felt his face go pale. "Let's see how your so-called righteous methods work when Euphemia dies the day after tomorrow!" Shirley stared. "Is this... is this a prank?"

She was remembering the diary entry she had discovered recently. She had apparently written it, but she could not remember ever doing that at all. And the entry had said Lelouch was Zero! How could that be right...?

As she stared, trying to work this earlier mystery out in her mind, Suzaku took the note off her. "I think it's a prank!" he said quickly. "I just want to know who put that note in my bag."

"Hmmm." Lelouch looked at Suzaku sideways with clever, calculating eyes. It was clear to him that Suzaku was reacting to it in a way that indicated he didn't believe it was a prank. He took it very seriously... because it was Euphemia who was at stake, wasn't it?

Euphemia... the woman he had chosen over Nunally. Over Lelouch. Over their friendship.

"Suzaku," Lelouch spoke up. "When do you think this note could have been slipped into your belongings? This seems like a personal attack on you. It was probably done by another student."

He paused. He recalled how ever since Suzaku had enrolled at Ashford, he had faced nothing but opposition and hostility from the other students. Things had gotten a little better for him after he had joined the student council, but even then Suzaku had been bullied. He had just never said so to Lelouch or anyone.

"Maybe," Suzaku said, smiling. "You can help me figure it out, can't you, Lelouch?" Strong though he was, Lelouch's deductive reasoning powers were just as powerful.

"Together," Lelouch said, returning the smile, "we can accomplish anything."

Suzaku didn't know how right he was. Only the other day, at the Battle for Kyushu, the two of them really had accomplished something together. Lelouch didn't know how something could make him feel both bitter and proud until that day.

"Uh," said Kallen, "I hate to interrupt your touching moment but..." She pointed out the door where students were filing past in an orderly manner. "It's time for class."

"We'll try to work this out later, then," Lelouch said firmly.

Suzaku nodded. He had significantly cheered up since Lelouch's offer to help him. "Right!"

Meanwhile, at the government offices...

"I didn't make Suzaku bad at schoolwork by singing to him, didn't I? Maybe my singing has that effect on people! Oh no! What if it makes Suzaku bad at piloting a Knightmare too? Oh dear! Oh dear! Oh dear!"

Euphemia really had a complex about her singing ability.

Next chapter: Lelouch and Suzaku try to work out who wrote the note. Also, Kallen tries to settle her score with Suzaku at decidedly inappropriate times.