Ashford Academy: a haven for the most brilliant, eccentric students from all across the world. Students parade themselves around proudly, supporting their club, the school, or just their status in general. It's a place for the rich to send their kids, knowing that they'll probably end up well off in life. Everyone is forced to join a club, orders given directly from the student council president herself. The madness associated with this school unsettles even the most hardened, bloodied veteran.
And I'm a student here.
And to top it off, I'm also the student council's vice president. Busily carrying out 'her majesty's' orders. But not by choice, our grand president kindly delegated the position to me. I was on one of my many errands for her as we speak. The school's festival would open soon, and so preparations were slugged onto the rest of us. Luckily my friend Suzaku was with me, which made the tasks at least bearable.
At the moment, we were carrying a bunch of boxes. "Ugh…" I stumbled, but caught myself before prat-falling. Scratch that, carrying a bunch of HEAVY boxes to the student council tent.
Suzaku grinned, "What's the matter? Can't lift a few small boxes?"
"Not everyone has as much strength as you," I snapped back.
"Touché, but it doesn't mean you can get off so easy," Suzaku sped up, "C'mon, let's finish up."
From there we moved, and unpacked all the boxes at their respective stalls. Suzaku ended up doing most of the heavy lifting and Rivalz stopped by to help unpack. He didn't actually help much, but I suppose moral support counts. The actual festival opens in two days, and thanks to Milly's procrastination, everything was put off to the few days beforehand.
Shirley strolled up to check on our progress, "How's everything going?"
"Everything's on schedule, we should be finished up in a half-hour," I answered plainly.
"That's good," she paused, as if she had something more to say. Her eyes glanced at me for a moment, and once I met them, she shifted hers away. "Lulu…" She started.
"Yes?" I looked at her questioningly.
Her eyes shifted at the ground, "I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it." She turned around and walked away, too fast for me to reply.
I waited until after she scurried away, turning to Suzaku, "Do you know what that was about?"
Suzaku sat on a box, his face resting on his fist, "You honestly can't figure it out?" He sounded amused.
"Yeah, it is pretty obvious," Rivalz added. God, that stupid look on his face made me want to hit him.
I quickly peered over at the both of them, "What do you both mean?"
"You're a wiz at chess, you're our valedictorian, and you're the vice president of the student council, but when it comes to things like this, you really are stupid," Suzaku teased.
I visibly showed my annoyance, "Out with it. What did she mean?"
"It doesn't mean a thing if we tell you," Rivalz eluded.
I sighed in frustration, eager to move on to something else. If they weren't going to tell me, I might as well, "So, Suzaku," I gave a serious expression, "What's going on between you and Euphy?"
He froze, "I-I don't know—"
"Don't deny it, I've seen how you two have been acting around one another, and there's definitely something going on."
Suzaku grit his teeth, but then sighed in defeat, "And here I thought we were being subtle…"
I gave him a victorious grin, "She is my sister after all. I can notice the changes in her behavior quickly, especially in regards to my best friend."
"So you noticed something like that, but you can't figure out Shirley?"
My smile faded, and three possibilities shot up in my mind. Based on what he said, does that mean Shirley…? No, why would she? I shook my head, that definitely couldn't be it. But without proof otherwise… "Are you saying that Shirley," I choked out the next few words slowly, "has a thing for me?" That was a good way to put it.
Suzaku clapped his hands, "Very good Master Lelouch! You are an excellent detective," he joked.
"Shirley huh…" I didn't particularly dislike her, but to be honest, I've always seen her as a friend; a fellow student council member and classmate. Never something to get romantically involved in, but then again, I never really engaged in a romantic relationship before. Sure I've gotten love letters and requests before, but every time I turned them down. I wouldn't call myself shy, just—isolated. I didn't want to deal with any of that, and frankly, I see it all as ridiculous nonsense.
I stared up at the sky, the sun halfway down already. The horizon streaked a beautiful array of orange and other warm colors. I gazed at it for some time; romance just isn't my cup of tea. I dismissed the thoughts and went back to work. Like I told Shirley, we finished up in a half hour and all went our separate ways. What Suzaku told me still rang in my mind. Does Shirley really like me? It's not a situation I'm used to.
I was walking to the dorms where I stayed with my sisters Nunnally and Euphy. My parents stayed either back at home in Britain or in our estate back in southern Japan. The majority of the time they spent away from home however, and often times it was empty. Considering how far a trek it would be to school every day if I lived in our estate, I stay in the dorms, except during breaks. A chauffeur would solve the problem, but none of us minds much.
As soon as I walked in I glanced at the clock, 8 PM already. Nunnally rushed out to greet me, "Brother! You're home finally." She smiled.
Something about her smile always made me at ease, "Yeah, Milly's working us extra hard before the festival. It's pretty tiring."
"Do you need any more help? Me and Euphy aren't doing much," she offered.
"It's alright, we're almost finished. Plus tomorrow a lot of the other clubs will be helping set up as well. There's no need for the two of you to help out."
"Oh…" Nunnally looked disappointed.
I took the hint and smiled, "Hey, how about this: We'll go out this Sunday to the mall. We'll get pizza or something."
She perked up instantly, "Really?" Her puppy eyes astonished me.
"Of course, I wouldn't let my little sister down."
"Promise?" she held out her pinky.
I chuckled, "It's a promise." I crouched down a little and shook her pinky with my own. Afterward I stood up and looked around, "Where's Euphy?"
"She's in her room; I think she's talking to someone on the phone."
"Is it on the house phone?"
"Yes, why do you ask?"
"Oh, no reason," I playfully waltzed over to our second receiver, picking it up and pulling it to my ear.
"—He found out?" It was Euphy's voice.
"Yeah, I couldn't hide it from him. He's surprisingly vigilant to pick it up so quickly." This was Suzaku, just as I thought.
"Well, what are we gonna do now?"
"Yes, what are you two going to do?" I chimed in, a devilish grin plastered across my face.
A shocked noise came from each of them, quickly quieted by Euphy, "L-Lelouch! Get off the phone!"
"No, no, finish your conversation. I'm curious as to 'what you're going to do next'."
Euphy started to yell something, but Suzaku interrupted, "We'll finish this conversation another time, alright? I'll talk with him about this later," obviously directed at me.
They spared the pleasantries and just hung up from there. I mentally counted, three, two, one. The door slammed open, and out emerged a striking young beauty with long pink hair, curled into buns at the side by her ears. Judging from her expression, she wasn't in the best of moods, "Lelouch, how long were you eavesdropping on us?"
"Oh, not that long. All I heard was what I asked about," I told her the truth.
She drilled holes in me with her glare. "It's not polite to eavesdrop period," she raised her finger at me.
"It's also not polite to point," I lowered her hand.
She pouted, crossing her arms and turning the other way. Nunnally stood watching the whole engagement, yet said nothing.
"It was harmless, don't worry about it."
I'll admit, I could have phrased that better, as if her furious reaction was any indication. "Harmless! That's not the point Lelouch!" She grunted in frustration, "You don't go around interrupting people's conversations and eavesdropping on them. It's rude, and I'll bet Suzaku is as upset as I am." She stormed off without another word. Another slam sounded, and I vaguely heard a lock click. Both Nunnally and I stood there for a few minutes, surprised by the intensity her outburst. The silence pressed on, and I broke it by scrapping a chair against the ground and resting.
"Brother…" Nunnally gave me that look, the look that tells me she understands my reasons, but I still did something wrong, "I think you should apologize to Euphy."
I let out a small laugh, "And you think that'll mean anything to her?"
"Maybe not right now, but you should still apologize. That's what Suzaku would do, isn't it?"
"Well now, I'm not Suzaku," she had a point though. When Euphy gets like this, the only thing that makes her calm down is for the person to apologize. But I'm not one to swallow my pride as easily as Suzaku. If she truly wants an apology, she'll apologize first for that outburst. But that still won't guarantee me apologizing. Everyone who knows me at least understands that much.
Nunnally didn't look satisfied, but she knew she wouldn't get much more out of me. She sighed and retired to her own room, "Goodnight big brother."
"Goodnight Nunnally," I replied. Afterward, I let my mind wander aimlessly, soon thinking about the upcoming festival. It was only two days away, this Friday in fact. Preparations would be complete tomorrow, and then everything would be set. I'm actually surprised Milly hasn't blown this quite out of proportion like she normally does. She typically makes us dress up in eccentric outfits, or requires some obnoxiously over the top theme. But this time, it seemed—well, normal. She must be planning something, no doubt about it.
Would it be around the end of the festival? She's the type to end things with a bang. Or perhaps something in the middle, like kidnapping various people and doing something to them. If it was the latter, no doubt I'd be one of the ones taken. Milly just loves to mess with me and the other student council members. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if she was collaborating with Gino.
And then there's Shirley. That revelation Suzaku gave me earlier caught me off guard. Shirley likes me? I still couldn't wrap my mind around it, it didn't feel right. Maybe I'll talk to her about it tomorrow. I'll probably have to confront Suzaku about the whole 'incident' as well, and Euphy won't stay mad at me forever.
The next school day faded away fast. Euphy sat behind me in homeroom, and I could feel her boring holes into the back of my skull. Suzaku also gave me the cold shoulder, for reasons unknown. Noticing this, Kallen approached me about it in the hallway before our last class of the day, "What's up with your sister and Suzaku? They both seem pretty ticked at you."
I thought about telling her. That thought didn't last long, "Eh, nothing."
She stared at me in disbelief, "Like hell nothing happened. Euphy never ignores people like that, and Suzaku and you are usually the ones chatting like this."
"It's none of your concern, Kallen," I never really opened up to her. Sure, we were council members together and we're both like-minded, but it felt as if there was something separating us.
She brushed her red, spiky hair with her hand, her blue eyes analyzing me. She slammed her hand on the locker nearby and stared me down. I didn't so much as flinch. Unconsciously, she brought her face inches away from mine, and a sort of staring content ensued. I don't know whether or not we were testing each other's mettle or if she just enjoyed the intimacy. We remained frozen in spot for several minutes.
Kallen is one person who makes little sense to me, constantly antagonizing me, almost in a friendly way however; if that makes any sense. I've heard a term that describes this situation once, she would be my frienemy.
The bell rang, snapping us both out of the trance. Kallen finally realized how close our faces were and turned a shade red before quickly pulling back. "I-I need to get to class," I watch her hurry along. I took my time strolling to my next class. It was P.E. with Ms. Viletta after all, a teacher who can't stomach people who put forth no effort—AKA me. I'll probably get an earful as soon as I show up. After changing I decided to hang around outside the gym for a bit, I could see the class was already in the middle of doing several laps, and I'd rather wait till they finish before making my grand appearance.
After class I'll talk with Suzaku, best not to put that off. Once he's happy I know Euphy will be quelled. And then I can—
Wait. I spotted something out of the corner of my eye, in the window just outside of the building. A girl with long neon green hair, dressed in a light blue tank top and jeans peering in uncertainly. Her gold eyes shimmered in the bright sunlight. A suspicious person on campus? She looked old enough to be a student, but appeared very uncertain, almost frightened. She perpetually had a fist up to her mouth as if to shield herself.
The window was ajar, so I walked up to greet her and discern her intentions. I brought up my hand and began to say hello, but she as she noticed me, she turned tail and ran. Almost as if she thought I would do her harm. I moved my head out the window and watched her run away, she didn't even look back.
Unfortunately just then, Viletta found me skulking around, "Lelouch! Trying to skip class are you?" The door to the gym burst open.
"Huh? No, I-"
"Save it, 20 laps. Now," She pointed to the gym.
Like a punished child, I complied without a word. The others saw me slunk in and laughed when they saw me running while Viletta barked madly. Suzaku seemed especially amused by the turn of events. I made it to about the fifteenth lap before I fell over. I rolled over onto my stomach, and between huffed breaths I muttered, "I can't…do this…"
"Lelouch, you can do it. Because if you don't, I'm going to cost you that valedictorian title," she threatened.
I tried to laugh, but a battered wheeze came out instead, "I don't care about that. Try again."
"Tch, fine, you better finish up soon, if you want to go to the school festival."
I protested, "You can't bar me from the school festival, only the chairman or principal can."
"And I can give the principal a nice conversation about your little attempt to skip class," Now this threat actually held ground.
"Demon…" I struggled on my feet and continued my charge forward. She ignored my remark and kept counting my laps. My muscles were screaming at me by the 19th lap, but somehow, I made 20; promptly collapsing afterward. I laid on my back staring at the ceiling, trying to catch my breath. The bell already rang, so everyone else already left, all but one.
I heard clapping nearby, "Good job Lelouch, I didn't know you had it in you," Suzaku joked.
"I don't."
"Need a hand?" He put his arm out.
I grabbed it, and he pulled me to my feet, "I hate this class." That statement invoked a harsh glare from Viletta.
We both ignored it, "I can tell, you have no stamina, do you?"
"I'm well aware of my own weakness," I answered, "And aren't you supposed to still be angry with me?"
"Oh, that? I figure that nothing I say will make you change who you are. Being mad about it won't change anything."
I smiled, closing my eyes, "Good answer. I'm not going to apologize anyway."
"To be honest, I never expected you to. Though Euphy will still be angry," Suzaku noted.
"She'll get over it."
"You really are a cruel brother."
"I do what needs to be done," I explained.
"Including eavesdropping? AND giving yourself away too?" He had me there; I only gave myself away for the fun of it really. I was glad that Suzaku didn't stay upset too long. I needed someone to suffer with me during the festival after all, "C'mon, go get changed and we'll get to work."
P.E. was our last class of the day, so from here we both went to the student council to help with last minute preparations. Many of the other clubs already were working on things, so in the end it was just Suzaku, Shirley, Rivalz, Kallen, and I in the council room. We discerned that no one knew what Milly planned for the student council, only that she had something up her sleeve. I groaned, knowing that nothing Milly had in store for us boded well.
I admit I was curious about that mysterious girl with green hair from earlier, but I had no information on her other than a description. Prodding matters like that will get me nowhere, so I let it die.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, Euphy still ignored me, Shirley kept evading me, and Suzaku watched it all carrying that same amused expression he always does. Nunnally tried talking to Euphy about me, but to no avail. I forgot the depths of her stubbornness it's been so long, and I won't need to be reminded again anytime soon. Tomorrow: The day of the festival, I'm sure if Shirley truly does like me, she'll try something then. Euphy will be over stimulated to the point she may forget she was mad at me, and Milly has her secret in store for us.
Tomorrow promises to be one hell of a day.
I got out of bed and lazily slugged myself to the bathroom. I soaked in the water unceremoniously and changed into my school uniform. Knowing Milly this was a wasted effort for today, as she probably would dress up the student council in costumes. As to what kind of costumes, I could only dread the possibilities. For all I know she could have us all cross-dressing. And she WILL go to any means necessary to get what she wants.
I waited for both Nunnally and Euphy to get ready so I could take them both up to the Festival. They both trotted along in their respective school outfits. Nunnally blended in quite nicely with the middle school uniform. It was pink and pale yellow, matching her bright personality and complementing her smile. Euphy didn't have her normal buns in her hair, instead choosing to let it flow freely down her back, almost nearing her ankles. Once again, the pink of her hair and the pale yellow school uniform seemed to match perfectly. Her scowl ruined the image somewhat, but no doubt it would turn to a bright smile by the end of the day.
"I take it you're ready to go?" I asked.
"Yes!" Nunnally practically bounced off the walls with excitement. Euphy said nothing, keeping up her anger from the other day.
"Alright, let's go then."
We took our short walk from the dormitory to the school just in time to see everyone get into position. Out of nowhere, the PA sounded, "Milly here to sound off the festival!" She beamed, "Remember to have fun, one and all, and with the next sound, let the festival begin!"
A pause, soon thereafter abruptly cut short by a loud noise, "Meow!" Wait, was that Shirley's voice? And why would Milly choose to start the festival out with a cat's meow? I stopped trying to understand, this was Milly after all. Not long after I heard Euphy say goodbye and run off to Suzaku, leaving only Nunnally and me left.
"Big brother, look at that!" She pointed to the student council's tent. Keeping secrets again, Milly wouldn't let us see our own tent yesterday, and now I understand why. Nunnally pointed to a dunk tank, with a sign next to it that read, 'Dunk your favorite student council members!'
I mentally sighed, knowing I'd have my turn in there no doubt. The PA sounded, and rang loud and clear in Milly's voice, "Would all members of the student council please go wait outside the student council room, thank you!"
I gave Nunnally a look, and she immediately understood me, "I'll be fine, Lelouch, I'll just go meet back up with Euphy since Suzaku has to leave too."
"All right, I know I won't be there to watch over you always," I smiled to her and waved goodbye, moving on my way to the room. Considering the dunk tank, the obvious reason for calling us out to the room would be for us to change into swimwear. But with Milly, I should always expect the unexpected. Whatever it is, I'm not looking forward to it.
While walking past all the stalls I caught a glimpse of that girl from yesterday sitting on a bench. She seemed much more relaxed, not as nervous or jumpy as when I caught sight of her yesterday. I kept walking but trained my eyes on her as I passed by. Today she wore an Ashford Academy uniform, leading me to believe she's a newcomer here. I'm not that oblivious that I'd miss someone with neon green hair walking around. She noticed my stare and sent a snide smirk my way. I scowled. Her smirk remained, and now she trained her gaze on me as I walked away. I heard her mutter something, but I was just out of earshot.
Something seemed off about that girl, yesterday she was afraid of even looking at me, but now she mocked me just by looking at me? Schizophrenia? A possibility. No point in worrying about it at the moment. I hurried along to the room slowly, finding Suzaku and Kallen waiting outside. "So what's going on in there?"
"No clue, Milly's been dragging people in one after another. When Nina went in, we heard a shriek, but since then it's died down," Kallen explained.
"How mysterious…" I commented, "Anyone else notice the dunk tank at our stand?"
"Dunk tank?" Both Suzaku and Kallen chimed.
"Yeah, apparently that's one of Milly's little secrets."
Kallen looked away in distaste, while Suzaku kept his same surprised expression. But before anyone could say anything else, Milly called out, "Kallen! If you're out there, you're next!"
She winced, but quickly entered the door to get it over with. I heard a surprised gape, but it was quickly silenced. Eventually Suzaku went in next and finally me.
I opened the door, and my eyes widened. Cats; Milly dressed everyone as cats. Shirley had two small pig tails in the shape of cat ears, and a cut ensemble of a red top, bottom, and fluffy shoes. Not to mention a pink tail sticking out. Kallen wore the same outfit minus the pig tails and her costume was more of a bloody deep red.
Rivalz was covered from head to toe in a yellow costume that I assumed to represent cat fur. He had the ears on his head and a muzzle like face. Suzaku simply had a blue baggy cat costume with a couple spots painted on his face while Nina wore an almost identical outfit.
The queen herself had long black leggings with fluffy rings around her ankles. Her top revealed a lot of cleavage and cut off at her thighs, showing a lot of skin. The tail on hers looked the most realistic, and she had a pair of cat ears as well. The getup was completed by some giant cat paws. Every one of them had whiskers painted on their faces. "You're joking with me," I turned to run, but a rather naughty looking cat grabbed my hand.
"Ah-ah-ah," she waved her finger, giving me her trademark mischievous grin "You're not going anywhere."
I kicked, I struggled, I screamed, and I beat on them but Suzaku held firm on me and they resorted to tying me to a chair. "Let me go! Enough is enough!" I closed my eyes and rammed around. By now they painted on the whiskers and stuck a pair of black cat ears on me. "Stop it! I'm serious, Damn it!"
"Oh stop your struggling Lelouch, you're only making it worse," Milly stated matter-o-factly.
"Why are you doing this in the first place?" I snarled.
"Because, it's fun!" She said simply. I groaned. "Fine Lulu, you don't have to wear the full costume, as long as you keep the whiskers and ears on."
I grimaced, but accepted her terms, "Fine." They already had my shirt half unbuttoned, so the top of my chest was visible through both my uniform and white dress shirt.
"Awww… Pres…" Shirley sounded disappointed.
"Don't worry; we'll get him back with dunk tank duty." She winked.
I furrowed my brows, dreading that 'duty.' "Will anyone untie me?"
"Oh all right, but you're the first one in the dunk tank," Milly smiled, "Suzaku, untie him."
He promptly followed orders like a loyal foot soldier. I brushed myself off and let everyone see my annoyance. "Alright, I'll go off to the dunk-" I was interrupted by Suzaku grabbing my right arm in a tight grip, lifting me up slightly. A moment passed before Rivalz did the same with my left arm, albeit I was a little bit lower on that end. "H-hey! I can get there myself!" I squirmed around a bit, Rivalz grip faltered, but quickly restored.
"And you think we'll take your word on that? You'd probably run away," Milly said as she pat my head.
I growled, "Put me down!"
Suzaku apologized, "Sorry Lelouch, just following orders."
"Like hell you are, you're probably having the most fun tormenting me!"
"Maybe," He trailed off, smiling.
This was going nowhere fast. I rustled around as much as I could, but physical strength never agrees with me. Rivalz almost lost his grip several times, but Suzaku more than made up for that. They dragged me out to the festival with the other council members in tow. Various passerbies giggled watching us go by. As we passed the bench by the entrance I caught sight of that green haired girl eye me curiously, bringing her hand up as if to laugh. I glared at her, but she went unfazed. I ignored her and let the two stooges carry me to the tank.
After awhile, having two people hold you up lopsided by your armpits hurts. I winced audibly more than once, shifting uncomfortably in their grip. An eternity later, we made it to the student council's tent. They dropped me off in front of the tank's ladder, everyone of them standing guard. I scanned my surroundings, no chance of escape. Even if there was a hole in their defense, Suzaku would be quick to get me. He knows where I hide because I usually hid with him. Plus he's got ghastly physical strength and stamina. I swear he could dodge bullets if he tried.
I reluctantly climbed the ladder and shimmed over to the half plank that barely held up above the vat of sea green water. I crossed my legs and let my hand sink into my face. "Let's get this over with," I mumbled.
I saw my first customer, and I braced myself for the impending watery impact. Of course Suzaku couldn't resist being the very first one to dunk me in the tank, "Ready, your majesty?" He sometimes calls me your highness or majesty when I'm in an especially embarrassing or demeaning situation.
"Just do it."
"If you say so," he wound up, an unknown fire blazing in his eyes. He grunted on the throw, pitching like baseball. The ball directly impacted the metal at the center of the target, and suddenly the plank retracted. I scrambled to find something to grab, but of course, nothing was there. I fell into my watery pit, whilst I could hear everyone else's laughs. I surfaced quickly; the pit wasn't too deep, and I climbed back up on the plank. "Satisfied?"
"Yup," Suzaku gave me a wide toothy grin.
"My turn, my turn!" Milly pushed around to throw next. Every member of the student council got their chances to drench me. Milly got it on her second try, Shirley on her third, and Kallen on her first. Rivalz and Nina missed all three times.
From there everyone split up to explore the festival, though Suzaku stayed behind to keep me company and laugh every time I fell in. Gino and Anya both stopped by and took their shots at dunking me. Anya nailed it without any effort, and Gino took it on his third shot. He asked when Suzaku's shift was, so I assume he'll be back later. Suzaku made a trip to the restroom not long after, leaving me all by myself. Thank god my shift will be over soon, I'm itching to get out of this torture.
I watched as another customer came up, eying her suspiciously. It was that green haired girl, "You."
"What about me?" She kept an expressionless face, gazing in my violet eyes with her gold ones. Her voice came out smooth, filled with an almost tenderness.
"Who are you?" My voice came out the exact opposite, cold, rigid, and untrusting.
"My, is this how you greet someone you've never met before? Don't you know it's polite to give your own name before asking for others?" She mocked.
I growled a bit and inwardly groaned, "My name is Lelouch."
She replied, "My name is C.C., I'm new to Ashford Academy."
"A nickname; you aren't very trusting of others, are you?" I gathered.
She mumbled something under her breath, "That makes two of us…" Before I could respond, she continued breathlessly, "Shall we get started?" She picked up one of the three balls and began to take aim. She brought the ball up to her face and I had enough time to study her features. She had a rather well proportioned body, slim, one might even say beautiful. The gold of her eyes combined with the flowing neon green hair vaguely reminded me of a Christmas tree. What was visible of her skin appeared unblemished, she almost captivated me. Almost. She wound up and threw the ball, and for a split second I saw the ball's intended travel space. I was going in the water again. I braced myself once more as the plank disappeared, soon climbing back up to the top.
From what I could tell, she didn't seem all that thrilled that she made the shot. I saw a tiny little grin while I resurfaced, but that vanished in an instant. "Congratulations, you're the fourth one to get me in on their first try."
"Is that so?" An awkward silence enveloped us both. She quickly broke that silence, trying to make small talk, "I was wondering, why are you all dressed as cats?"
I ran my fingers through my drenched hair, letting a melancholy sigh drift out, "President's orders; I tried to get out of it, but she wouldn't let me."
"Sounds like this president is an interesting person," C.C. held an unreadable expression. It felt like amusement, but I could be wrong.
"You don't know the half of it…" I spat.
I heard footsteps thumping on the concrete and turned. Suzaku finally came back, "Hey Lelouch, who are you talking to?"
"I'm talking to C-" I looked back where she was standing, no one there. "—C…There was someone just there."
Suzaku kept up his usual goofy grin, "Sure you're not just going crazy?"
"Yes, I'm sure," my eyes shot open, "Ah wait, isn't it your shift now, Suzaku?" A wide, twisted grin formed across my face. I'd get my payback on him.
He chuckled a little, "I was hoping you'd forget."
I smirked, "Not likely." We switched places and I grabbed a towel to dry myself off. In doing so I accidentally wiped off my fake whiskers. I shrugged, what Milly doesn't know won't hurt her. I shifted my attention to my feline companion, "Alright Suzaku, your turn to swim." I picked up the first ball and closed my left eye. My right hand rose to about my nose and my wind up began. I threw it just as I saw Suzaku do it before, but with less success. The power behind the throw was great, but the accuracy felt like a mile off. It hit the mat behind the target and rolled to the ground.
"Sure about that Lelouch?" He was full of himself.
I furrowed my brows, preparing for my next toss. I repeated the same pose and threw it, this time with less power and more accuracy. I came closer, but still no dice. Between Suzaku's muddled laughs, I refocused myself. "I will hit that damn target…" The last pitch, rolled off my hand effortlessly, streaming toward the intended target. But at almost the last second, I watched it curve, almost like a bowling ball, and nail the spot right next to the target. I twitched.
Suzaku started laughing at my inability to hit the target. "Your turn to swim," he mimicked my voice, purposely sounding more macho than I made it out to be.
I grit my teeth, "Suzaku…" I stormed over to the target and punched it dead on. Suzaku was too busy laughing to notice my actions, and fell in unprepared.
"AH!" He screeched, "T-that's cold!"
My smirk returned, "What did I tell you?"
"Y-you cheated," He stated the obvious.
"Yeah, what of it?" I sat on the chair at our booth.
"You always do this when you don't get what you want. You can't get it by the book so you overturn the rules and just go off doing things your own way."
He's getting all philosophical on me again. He does that from time to time, "It's a valid method to meet my ends."
"But what good are ends if the means are questionable?"
I saw the direction of this conversation, and didn't like it one bit, "Let's save this for another time, your next customer awaits." It was a convenient excuse because newcomers had just shown up. Suzaku always followed chivalry and unspoken rules to the letter. He's probably hung up on the whole honor motif. In some ways, he reminds me of a samurai or a knight. I decided to hang around him until his shift ended since he did the same for me.
In the middle of his shift, Shirley came back. Something felt a little bit off about her. She seemed, jumpy, almost anxious. She slowly stepped forward to meet with me, "Hey Lulu…"
I gave her my attention, "Yeah, Shirley?"
She fidgeted around with her fingers a bit, looking down at her feet. "Could you meet up with me on the roof later? If you're not doing anything…"
I didn't particularly need to be anywhere today, but Nunnally would want to go around the festival with me first. "Sure, but can it wait until the afternoon? Nunnally and I are going to explore the festival a bit."
"O-okay, then how about at three?" She blushed, still not giving me direct eye contact.
She was pretty cute when she was flustered, "Then I'll see you at three," my lips curled into a smile.
Suzaku watched the whole exchange, and once Shirley went off he whistled, "You know why she's calling you off to the roof, right?"
"I assume it's because she likes me," I gathered that much. I'm hopeless when it comes to women, but with Suzaku's hint I got the message.
"You're not as clueless as I thought," Suzaku rested his chin on his hand, "And what do you think of her?"
I thought about it for a minute, recalling what I already figured out about her, "I don't think I like her as for now… But anything's possible."
"In other words," He summarized, "You don't know how you feel?"
"You hit the nail on the head, as usual," Whatever I couldn't figure out, Suzaku could. We complemented one another like two adjacent puzzle pieces. Perhaps that was why we were such great friends. After Suzaku's shift ended it was Rivalz's turn. Nina kept him company while Suzaku and I sought out Euphy and Nunnally. Eventually we found them sitting on a bench by the school pool.
We each went with our respective girl, and I trusted Suzaku wouldn't do anything to Euphy. He was my best friend after all. I'll talk to each one individually about their 'mutual interest' later, but for the time being, I had a date with Nunnally. We prowled around the festival for the rest of the morning, seeing cheap parlor tricks and terrible shoddy goods and services for sale. What always amazed me was the willingness of people to actually purchase said goods and services, they're all awful.
We met up at one with Suzaku and Euphy for lunch. Euphy seemed to have forgotten her animosity toward me as she was her usual cheery, bubbly self. After about a half hour, we all went back out again, this time as a big group. We snaked around, and like before I found myself dumbfounded by the sheer idiocy of it all; containing my contemptuous laughter.
Before I knew it, three o'clock snuck up on me, and I entrusted Nunnally to Suzaku and Euphy while I went away, "I'll be back in a little bit, okay, Nunnally?"
"Where are you going, big brother?" She gave me another one of her classic looks.
"Shirley said she wanted to talk to me on the roof, so I'm going to meet her," I explained.
Euphy made a small gasp, "S-she wants to meet you on the roof?"
I had no idea what she was imagining, but I assumed it to be mildly perverted, "Yes, that's where she told me to go."
Suzaku chuckled, "Good luck, Lelouch."
I returned the gesture, "I don't need luck, or don't you remember?" and I walked away toward the roof. He knows how I treat luck and chance, I make it myself. On my way through the door I spied C.C., standing behind a—no, she was hiding behind a pillar. I tilted my head, slightly confused. Now she acted more like the one he saw the other day who ran from him. I thought of possibilities and came up with about eight possible explanations. Out of those eight, about three were plausible. Normally I would try to confront her, but I didn't want to make Shirley wait too long.
I hurried up to the roof, patiently waiting for the elevator to carry me four stories up. When the doors finally opened, I had to walk up another flight of stairs to make it to the top. There she was, Shirley Fennette, gazing out off the balcony hunched over it. Her gaze seemed distant, as if lost in thought. "Shirley?" I snapped her out of it.
"A-ah!" She turned around quickly, "Lulu!" She blushed.
"So, what did you call me out here for?" I walked up next to her and leaned my arms on the balcony.
If her blush went any deeper I would've mistaken her for a tomato. "Uh…Well…You see…" She was fidgeting, trying to choose her words carefully. She took a deep breath, "Lulu."
"Yes?"
"For the past few weeks I…" She started, pausing, "I've been getting this weird feeling around you."
I said nothing, just staring at her. I supposed it unnerved her a bit, because once our gazes met, she shifted her eyes to the floor again. "I don't know quite how to put this…" She continued slowly, "But… I think I like you."
I let this sink in for a second before replying, "Like me? What do you mean?" I wanted to be one hundred percent sure.
She put a finger up to her mouth, "I mean… I like you more than a friend. As in…" Her blush deepened, "Like a…lover, maybe." She whispered the last line, fidgeting again.
Now that I wasn't prepared for, my eyes shifted around, as if looking for an avenue of escape. I thought of plans to get out of this situation. Nothing I came up with would leave Shirley happy except if I lied to myself.
My thoughts evidently took longer than I intended, as Shirley broke me away, "Well, Lulu… What do you say?"
My heart started to pound, almost like it was when I did those laps in gym. A bead a sweat came down my neck, while I still tried to find some words. I could only come up with one, "Why?"
She took some time herself to come up with an answer, "Why…? I… I don't know why. That's how love works though, isn't it? We're not supposed to understand it."
Love. That one word made me shudder and I moved my hand over my forehead; more sweat coming off. This makes no sense, why am I reacting this way? "I don't get it…"
"What don't you get, Lulu?" Shirley put her hand on mine.
I pulled my hand away immediately, "Don't touch me!" I roared. Shirley had a shocked expression, pulling her hand back to her mouth, "I-I'm sorry. I don't…" I couldn't find the words to finish my sentence.
She then smiled softly, "Shh… It's okay Lulu." She moved over and hugged me. Contrary to my last outburst, I let her do it. I even half hugged back, my arms sort of moved around her, not quite wrapping around her per se, but good enough I guess. She buried her head in my chest and purred. Oh lord, she purred like a cat to me. I froze up, literally unable to say or do anything. I didn't even know why I allowed her to hug me in the first place. Something felt off. I didn't love her, so why was I letting this happen?
I panicked, and a jolt burst through me. I pushed her off of me, and the resulting force sent me flying over the balcony backward, head first. Damn you, Newton. I felt the weightlessness in my stomach, and heard Shirley's shriek, all the while my eyes scanning the blue sky around me. After falling two stories down, I hit the awning, landing on my head at an angle. I screamed in pain, bouncing, and the second time I landed hard on my left shoulder, following the angle of the awning downward to the ground.
I closed my eyes, and I waited for the inevitable smack against the pavement. It never came, but instead it was replaced by a soft catch. Someone had their arms around my back and legs. I forced my eyes open, and though the image remained blurry, I made out an unmistakable characteristic. Long green hair, "…C.C…?"
That sparked a reaction, "H-how do you know my sister?"
I smiled; it looks like it was the second possibility after all. That smile vanished quickly, replaced by a look of pain as I groaned, "You're the one…" I coughed, "…I saw the other day…"
She said nothing. My eyes slowly came to a close as I drifted out of consciousness. Damn… I knew it'd be one helluva day.
Author's Note:
Well, I made a new story that I actually plan to continue. Somewhat infrequently, so don't expect updates to often. The two versions of C.C. I'm using are her normal self and herself when she lost her memories. I don't know why, but I really liked that C.C., so I decided I'd write a story about 'em. Not really too humorous of a story, just thought I'd add that tag because I don't really want it to be seen as a full romance story. I don't really want to make it all mushy gushy. Really long chapter, I know, I actually intended it to be two, but I'm lazy. Only had the attention span to check this once, probably could've been improved a lot. Anyway, enjoy.