FINALLY I freakin' updated. God, Ceri would kill me if she were standing right next to me...or maybe she'd do something wore. I dunno.

CHAPTER 2

I Don't Do Skirts

"DADDY!!!" Suzaku woke up at three in the morning to screaming. Ceri had been too relaxed when she'd gotten to sleep, so they'd decided to let her sleep and check her out in the morning…which would've been a few hours later hadn't she started having night terrors. Suzaku came over quickly to her writhing form and looked frantically at the monitors. Her heart rate was out of control and her monitorial system was going nuts. Taking that as more than enough incentive to act, the Honorary Britannian grabbed Ceri's shoulders gently and started shaking them.

"Bellamont-san! Bellamont-san! Wake up!"

"Daddy, Daddy!!!" the pained girl screamed, her body covered in cold sweat. Her eyebrows knotted together and she curled herself up, as if her stomach were in hideous pain.

"Bellamont-san!" Suzaku repeated again, but this wasn't to any avail. He sighed, and tried to silently shake her again. No response except for the tremors. He voiced himself again, this time gently. "Ceri-san, please wake up." That was the first time he'd addressed her to her given name. And, to his shock, it began to work.

"Nngh…" she whimpered again, before her eyebrows slowly relaxed, as did the rest of her taut body. "Nngh…" she grumbled once more before she fluttered her tired eyes open. "Daddy…" she whispered for one last time, before looking at Suzaku. "…Wait, no…it's just you, Suzaku-san." Her voice was underlined with disappointment, but gratefulness shown in her weakened smile. "Thank you, Suzaku-san, for waking me up." Then her eyes started watering up, startling Suzaku even more.

He stared at her and in her eyes saw shadows of intense pain. "Ceri-san, what's wrong?" She blinked, as if she hadn't realized she was crying, and turned her head away, her hair creating a shield for her face. She slowly shook her head, saying she didn't want to talk about it. His concern was only growing with her resistance. He'd cared for Euphie – very, very much so – but ever since he'd found her in that alleyway the day before, he'd felt more and more protective of this girl. Why? Why did he feel this protective of Euphie's old friend?

I couldn't protect Euphie, he thought, but I'll make it up to her by protecting her friend. "Ceri-san…please tell me. Did…something happen to your father?" Her eyes widened and she looked at him in shock, "You kept screaming 'Daddy' in your sleep." Ceri nodded, a slight blush of embarrassment on her cheeks. She was silent a few more moments before she spoke quietly.

"Daddy and I are very close. I love Momma dearly, and she and I are really close too…but Daddy was my best, best friend. So…" she wiped away oncoming tears from her eyes. "When I was erased from the database of living people, I had to cut off connections with my family." More tears that were quickly brushed away. "I keep a photo of them in my pocket all the time. I still have a few in that box in the alleyway. But, since I can't ever see them again…it feels like Daddy's so close to me, but I always know he's so far away." Finally, she let the tears fall freely, she let her shoulders tremble, and she let her mouth let out her sobs. Suzaku was nervous and sad for his new acquaintance, and wanted nothing more than to help her. Why he did, he had no clue as he watched her sob more and more. After a few more moments of her cries, Ceri was trying to formulate words, but it came out in gibberish. Suzaku had a hard time not making a creeped-out face at the unintelligible grumblings, but she began to form words again, slowly this time. "I – All I want…is for Daddy to hug me again."

Suddenly, Suzaku found himself hugging her. Not as if he were hugging Euphie, but as if he were hugging a friend. If Lelouch weren't a guy and if he weren't straight, then this would be he'd have hugged him if he'd needed comfort – before the days he hadn't known the bastard was Zero, of course. Refocusing on the one who needed his comfort now, who had indeed gone into shock at being embraced so unexpectedly. "It's gonna be okay," was all he could find himself to say.

Ceri looked up at him, touched. Her eyes began to tear up in the emotional storm and she found herself crying on Suzaku's shoulder. She felt relieved that she was being hugged. In fact, the relief was so great that it only supplied the reason as to why more water poured from Ceri's eyes. She stayed there, sobbing into the brunet's clothing and not regretting that she was getting it wet. It was odd for her, to let her guard down in front of someone she'd barely met, but the loneliness she felt when she was separated from her loved ones had been too great. It'd been too great for the once-cold soldier's heart. "Thank…thank you…Suzaku-san…"

Suzaku, uncertain of how to react, merely nodded in mute reply. They stayed there like that, Suzaku silent and Ceri crying, for at least a half hour. Finally, Ceri began quieting down, and her breathing began to even out. Suzaku had been in a daze – he still wasn't sure why he had volunteered himself to comfort the girl – for the whole time and had just been embracing her, but soon found that she was sound asleep, right on his shoulder. He blinked and turned his gaze towards her evenly-breathing form. A small, relieved smile was suddenly on his features, and he felt glad that he'd given her comfort. Suddenly feeling wiped out for the early-morning disturbance, he let his eyes fall and he found himself in a deep sleep.

For that whole half an hour and with neither Ceri nor Suzaku realizing it, Lloyd had been outside the room, listening in. He found himself feeling bad for the girl, but his usually indifferent personality prevented him from intruding. Now that he was certain that both were sound asleep, he quietly entered and found the two teens on the hospital bed, Ceri's head on Suzaku's shoulder with the Eleven's own head on top of hers, for lack of a better pillow. He'd have thought it looked like they were lovers, but the Earl of Pudding wasn't that socially retarded. It just looked like they were close friends, even if they'd only known each other for less than a day. Whatever way he looked at it, however, it was still something charming to lay eyes upon.

With a smile, he silently retreated from the room, thinking he could go for an early breakfast. He wasn't that good at staying asleep anyway.

That, and he wanted a good, honest excuse for not having those strange concoctions Cécile always tried to make for breakfast.

Ceri's eyes fluttered open as she felt her body telling her it was time to wake up. By that newly-formed kink in her neck she was dreadfully feeling as she stretched, she must have fallen asleep on something that wasn't her pillow. Her eyes looked over curiously, but they shot open as they saw who was next to her, still fast asleep. Crap!! she screamed in her head, Despite that I know who he is, it must've looked frickin' inappropriate if anyone came in here!! CRAP! She violently nudged the sleeping teenager from the world of dreams, but in her own rush of feeling uncomfortable, she had actually pushed him off the bed roughly. Despite the impact his back had made on the cold hospital floor, however, the brunet remained asleep. Well, that habit hasn't changed, she thought with a tired smirk. Shaking her head and crossing her arms, she tried to remember what had happened to even get him on the bed. Her eyes widened and a sweatdrop rolled down her head. Riiight…that little episode with those damn nightmares. Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard someone knock on the door. "Come in," she called politely.

Lloyd walked into the room, already neatly groomed in his white lab coat to start a new day. "Ohayou, Ceri-chan!" He then looked at the floor and muttered quietly to himself so that Ceri couldn't hear his confusion, "Suzaku-kun…?"

She ignored how irked she felt when he again called her name with such familiarity – it still wasn't very appropriate to her – and nodded back as cheerfully as she could. "Ohayou, Lloyd-san. Sorry I couldn't be outta your hair earlier."

"Nonsense; don't think about it," he said, smiling at her. He then looked to the far left with great concern, and Ceri turned her head halfway before whipping it back again at seeing the last drops of blood flowing into her veins. Now that she thought of it, it actually seemed to be working. "Ah, seems you've taken all the blood you've needed." He saw her wince at the mention of the word. "Oh, sorry; the icky red goop."

"That's a better name," Ceri agreed quietly, but she couldn't deny how childish the new codename sounded. Lloyd went to her side and took out the IVs and other tubes that had made themselves at home on his pink-haired patient's arm. "Thank you."

"Feels better?"

"Very." The awkward silence that shortly followed was soon interrupted by a rumbling sound. "Eh!?" Ceri said, looked down at her own stomach and flushing a bright strawberry red. Lloyd also blankly stared at her before he chuckled lightly. Go ahead and laugh at me, you bastard; we'll see who'll be laughing once I'm through with you! Ceri mentally shouted at the scientist.

"You haven't eaten very much at all, haven't you, Ceri-chan?" he grinned as he said this, and looked at her…kindly? "What would you like for breakfast?" Ceri had never seen him so gentle-looking. It actually seemed…likeable.

She blinked, "Oh! Uh…could it be anything?"

"From pizza to asparagus."

Weird way of putting it, Ceri thought, "Um…are chocolate chip waffles and gummy worms alright?"

The expression on Lloyd's face soon changed from kind to a bit bewildered at the choice she'd made. She stared blankly at him, her answer unwavering still. Eventually, the earl shrugged, "Well, I did say anything." He smiled and held up his whole left hand as he turned to leave. "It should be ready in five. Do you think Suzaku-kun would mind having the same thing?"

"Maybe not with the gummy worms…" Ceri mused to him, earning a nod from Lloyd before he cheerily walked out of the room, leaving her in silence with a snoring Suzaku still on the ground. She cocked an eyebrow at him. "How the hell can you even manage to do that?" She received a snore in reply, making the sweatdrop reappear again on her head. "Oh, why do I even bother?" Taking the silence to look about the room, Ceri noticed a pile of fresh and new clothing on a table not too far away from her. Since there had to be a lot of blood on her old clothes, she figured that they'd still be in the process of washing, or they had been discarded altogether. Remembering how long and lasting blood stains could be, the latter was the more likely to have happened. But she hadn't wished for them to get her clothes that still had the price tags on them. Maybe a used uniform would've done well. Yes, she'd have accepted that. Save for the fact that the uniforms… Wait a minute… she thought, narrowing her eyes a bit. Getting up from her seat on the bed and crawling over Suzaku to reach the table, Ceri carefully went over the articles of clothing.

A casual yet form-fitting black jacket with a large hood…a blue-green long-sleeved shirt that was fairly big and looked comfortable…apparently new tennis shoes since blood must've gotten on them as well…

Oh, KAMI-SAMA, no. She picked up the next article of clothing with only two of her fingers, as if it would kill her at any second.

A pleated…

Gray…

Super-duper short…

"SKIRT!?" she screamed, her green eyes widening. The sleeping Suzaku suddenly jolted and the Honorary Britannian was wide awake and looking about his surroundings like someone had gotten killed. Hearing his jostling awake, Ceri turned to Suzaku and held the skirt into his face. "Okay, you – WHO IN THE HELL BOUGHT ME THESE CLOTHES!?"

"L-L-Lloyd, why?" said the bewildered brunet. What was so wrong about skirts…?

"THAT FLIPPIN' PERV!" she screamed, basically shattering the demure resemblance to Euphie she bore into millions of tiny fragments. "What is it with people on this planet being bent on making me wear skirts!?" She was about to tear her hair out, she was so angry. After a few more of very colorfully-worded ranting, Ceri slumped forward and took a breather. She looked over at Suzaku and found that he was backed up against the bed without leaving any room whatsoever, his eyes astonished.

"But we don't have time getting you a new pair of pants or shorts," he pointed out after his sense was regrouped to his body. "It's probably gonna be cold outside, too, but it's better than walking in the streets with just your underwear." Ceri shot him a glare so sharp he felt electrical currents arise between them. "What?"

"In case you haven't noticed, Suzaku-san," she growled deeply. "I. Don't. Do. Skirts."

"Well today you do," Suzaku argued quickly, beginning to climb his way back up from the floor. "How'd I get all the way down here…?" she heard him mumble under his breath before dusting himself off. "Anyways," he continued at a more listenable volume. "I don't really care if you don't do skirts or not. You're wearing it and that's final."

Ceri was just about to protest, but she closed her mouth and looked shamefully away. Damn, I could never argue with anyone… she thought begrudgingly. However, she was going to make it clear that she wasn't into wearing skirts and that she never would wear a skirt. "Alright, fine. I wear the dinky thing. But if I get sick 'cause this pathetic excuse for practical clothing never kept me warm – which it won't no matter how one looks at it, by the way – you or Lloyd-san are dead, got it!?"

What scared Suzaku in that statement was that Ceri actually sounded serious. "O-Okay," he stammered, facing his palms at her in surrender. Ceri glared at him for the rest of the few moments before Lloyd entered the room in his jolly old manner, carrying two plates of steaming chocolate waffles and a bag of gummy worms crammed in one of his coat's pockets.

"Ohayoooou!!" he chirped as he set the plates and the bag on the table next to the chair Suzaku had been previously sitting in. "Ceri-chan wanted chocolate waffles and gummy worms, so I was happy to oblige with some breakfast for Suzaku-kun as well!!" He grinned and closed his eyes cheerily. However, his mood was quickly diminished as he noticed the rose-haired patient glaring at him, her shoulders hunches, her brow furrowed, and her fists balled. In fact, it looked like she was about to kill him on the spot.

"If the accommodations regarding clothing weren't so lacking in this gown," she growled, "your nose and wrists would be broken already." She held up the skirt to the scientist's face. "WHY did you think a former soldier would be caught dead in this!?"

"Just because you were in the military doesn't mean you're a full-fledged man, Ceri-chan," Lloyd said matter-of-factly. He grabbed the pack of gummy worms from the table. "Now, since you don't like what I've so generously provided for you, you probably won't mind if I take these gummy worms away." Instantly the girl stiffened and grabbed the package to her chest quicker than Suzaku could blink, her green eyes pleading.

"No no no!" she cried hastily, "It's fine! Really! I'm sorry, Lloyd-san! I really am!" Both the men in the room with her were, needless to say, uncomfortable with her seemingly obsessive passion for the inanimate cluster of candy in her hands. She looked away, a red tinge on her cheeks. "I…shouldn't have acted so violently. You guys have done a lot for me already, so…I should just shut my trap. Okay? Okay." She then politely shooed out both of them so she could change, but she gave Suzaku his plate of chocolate waffles before she closed the doors on them.

"What an oddball…" Suzaku murmured, the second time he'd thought of her that way. Lloyd made a quiet smirk and chuckle.

"Yes, but aren't we all?" he mused. Sometimes Suzaku didn't know exactly what to think of his somewhat boss. There'd be times when he'd be so philosophical that one would think he was another Einstein – speaking of whom, he wondered why Nina had taken the princess's death so hard – and then there would be other times when everyone would think that the light-haired man was just plain insane. "She seems pleasant enough, though. Might compensate for the confusion I believe she'll bring on."

Suzaku cocked an eyebrow as he stuffed the first forkful of waffles in his mouth. He switched he portion to one side of his mouth so he could speak cogently. "Excuse me?" he grumbled through the breakfast.

The superior looked at his subordinate with a dry but knowing look. "Notice how she's been very careful about what she says about her past," Lloyd began, "It's mysterious, suspicious even, and that may – or may not – lead to trouble. With women, Suzaku-kun, I doubt you could ever know for sure." He shrugged, "But like I said before – she seems nice enough. Maybe you won't get that many headaches that way." After a few more moments of Suzaku stuffing more waffles into his mouth – he hadn't realized how hungry he'd been until this morning – Lloyd began chuckling, making Suzaku's eyes lift up to look at his face. "How scandalous it will be, for such young people living in the man's apartment."

For some reason he couldn't understand, it infuriated Suzaku that Lloyd would speak of Ceri that way, but since hitting a superior was a Don't in any form of even civil law, all he could do was shoot him a glare. "It's not like we'll be sharing the same bed, Lloyd. I think she can have my bed and I sleep on the couch. If she stays long, than I can save enough money to get her a bed of her own. There'd be a reason to put that one empty room to use…" now he was beginning to mumble to himself about what he'd do with a stranger in his living quarters. But he wouldn't be able to live it down if he'd left her in that box she claimed to live in. That was just inhumane.

"You can come in now!" they heard a call from Ceri, who opened the door for them. They saw her all cleaned up, pouting and blushing while her gaze was averted from them. "…I feel retarded," she grumbled quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I told you – it's better than going out with nothing," Suzaku repeated casually as the two men walked in, grabbing his fork for another helping of waffles. "By the way, you might wanna eat before we can get you settled in."

She suddenly brightened and her head looked eagerly at the plate of waffles and bag of gummy worms. "Food!"she cried as she rushed over to sit on the chair. She bent over from the chair to scoop up forkful after forkful of waffles, her free elbow supporting her as she did. Soon enough she devoured the chocolate waffles in their entirety and she moved on to the unopened package of candy. She gently took it, but the greediness her hands contained was evident as she brought it closer to herself. Diamonds seem to glitter giddily in her eyes as she stared upon the red, green, white, and yellow worms inside. "Heeheeheee…" she chuckled, enough evidence for her to be a madwoman.

All the while, Suzaku and Lloyd could only stare as she ripped the bag open and started digging her fingers into it, chewing the worms like there would be no tomorrow. "MMM!" she cried joyfully as she ate yet another.

"C-C-Ceri-san…" the brunet stammered, making the pink-haired girl look at him with his own eyes curiously, a red worm still dangling from her mouth. "You could choke on those, you know." This only made the strange girl blink twice at him, before eating the rest of the worm. She then smiled at him with her eyes closed.

"Relax," she said, "I can eat two packages nonstop. I haven't died yet. The only time I did was when I was, like, three. I think…yeah, that was three." She plopped a green and white worm in her mouth, chewing it in the corner of her mouth as she continued, "It was the beginning of my Gummy Addiction: I didn't want Momma to cut the worm into tiny pieces, so I chewed it whole. Damn, I paid for that one." She swallowed it and giggled again, but her she let out a light gasp. "Wait, I'm being rude!" She pulled two worms from the bag and offered them up to the men. "Want one?"

Lloyd smiled and took the offered candy, plopping it into his mouth. However, Suzaku stared at it before tentatively agreeing to take it into his hand. Ceri looked at him curiously. "What? Haven't you ever had one before?" After Suzaku shook his head, he sighed, "Well, have you ever eaten a real worm before?"

"What?" he asked, so shocked that his tone came out flat. He had, but it was still such a weird question to ask!

"You heard me: A real worm. The training for the army wasn't – and probably still isn't – easy, especially on those survival courses," Ceri explained, reminding Suzaku that she had been a military officer before her life had seemed to go downhill. "So, what I'm getting at is that you can just eat it like the real worm. Head first."

Lloyd turned a few shades too pale. "Ugh, Ceri-chan! I can't believe you can still eat and you're saying that!"

Ceri looked at him flatly, plopping and chewing another worm in her mouth and switching it to her left side as she spoke to him with her right. "Wow, you're a prissy scientist," she muttered innocently, not intending to be offensive, and then she looked at Suzaku, "So? Have you or haven't you?" The brunet nodded, but it was very tentative still. "Okay then, then you should eat this no problem."

Suzaku looked at the worm and forced himself to not imagine it being squirming and brownish-pink. Gulping, he ate it head first. His eyes went wide and an "Mmm!" resonated from his throat. "That's…really good!"

"You sound like a kid who hasn't eaten candy in his life…" Ceri commented cynically, chewing on yet another worm. When she saw Suzaku's guilty face, her eyes shot open. "No. Way." Leaping up and almost dropping the precious bag of gummy worms, she grabbed his shirt collar. "You're frickin' seventeen! You deprived son-of-a-bitch, why haven't you ever tasted candy!?"

The older boy blinked a few times, "Uh… Exercise nut?" He used the nickname Lelouch would always call him, even back then. When they'd been best friends; him, Lelouch, and Nunnally. A sharp pang of nostalgia washed over him, but he quickly shook it off. Those days were over. Nunnally was innocent, but Lelouch… Again, the thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind as he slowly pried Ceri's fingers off his shirt. "C'mon, hurry up and eat. We don't want to impose on Lloyd and Cécile any longer." Without another word, Suzaku left the room to Lloyd and Ceri.

Ceri's hands were still frozen where Suzaku had touched them. "Did I say something?" she asked as she slowly returned her hands to her sides.

Lloyd was silent as he stared sadly at the door. After a few more moments, he sighed. "I…I think you reminded him of someone." He saw Ceri stiffen, and his eyes shown with sympathy. "Sorry, you get that a lot, don't you?"

The pink haired girl was hunched over slightly, head hanging slightly as she stared at the cold floor, her hair sweeping over to cover the sides of her face. "…But I'm not her."

"Sorry," Ceri said quietly.

Suzaku was jolted out from his reverie, his sunglass-covered eyes looking over to his new roommate. "Excuse me?" Ceri had barely said anything after they'd exited the hospital, and they were already three quarters of the way to the brunet soldier's apartment.

His sakura-haired companion was quiet for a few moments, but then nodded, "I…I'm sorry…if I reminded you of…well, anyone, back there…" She looked at him with those green eyes that seemed strangely familiar. "I didn't mean to, you know that, right?"

His eyes widened for a moment, but then his expression softened. Being nearly two heads taller than her, he patted her hair gently, making her blush only slightly. "No, it was my own thoughts that reminded me of someone, and it was something from what I said. Don't worry about it, okay, Ceri-san?"

A few quiet moments passed before Ceri nodded slightly. "Okay, Suzaku-san…"

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence, Ceri merely looking around the city's bustle. It looks a lot different here… she thought, her emerald eyes gazing in wonder of the tall buildings that may or may not be gone within the next day thanks to the Knightmares running amok around this place. It's so sad…a lot of people seem happy here, like the war's not even going on… It was so interesting, to see people with such a burden on their shoulders and above their heads – a burden she herself had never experienced – and to be able to shrug it off the way the Elevens were doing.

"We're here."

"Eh!?" the pink-haired girl jolted, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion of thought. After regaining her composure, she looked up, eyes wide and mouth open in an 'o' shape, to see a large apartment complex. "Damn. The units seem pretty big, Suzaku-san." Even where she came from, she didn't think she'd ever laid eyes on such large-looking apartments; the ones she'd seen were normally a quarter or a half less the size that Suzaku's was.

Suzaku chuckled modestly, rubbing the back of his head. "It's pretty nice, to tell you the truth." He winked, "One of the perks of being in the military, right?"

"We didn't even get decent apartments, lucky bastard you," Ceri grumbled half-teasingly, smiling good-naturedly at her new roommate-to-be and earning a laugh from him as well before he headed towards the complex, making her quickly follow suit. She quietly pursued, looking about the quaint building with curiosity, but keeping her guard as she usually did in public. But that would end soon. Hopefully she would have a real bed – maybe even just a couch – to sleep in tonight, or within the next few. She didn't care; something to properly call home was good enough.

He lead her through five flights of stairs – being the exercise nut he was, he never took the elevator, and she was perfectly fine with it – and two hallways until they reached the second door on the left, Apartment 501; after having observed the other floors, Ceri had figured that the apartments with '01' were the biggest in the building. It worried her slightly; wouldn't Suzaku be a bit more hated because of this small factor, the factor that he had the biggest room on the floor? She didn't really know for sure, but she did know for sure that people were like that. Said brunet smiled and turned the keys in the knob, opening it wide for her.

"Welcome home, Ceri-san."

That simple expression would have been enough to make her cry. She looked at the room with awe, although it looked like any other home. But she couldn't help but feel something special in this one. It felt like her home, the home she'd had before she gotten stuck in this situation. She walked into the room, desperate to get a closer look at the place she'd be living in from now on. There was a blue couch in front of a black TV set, complete with a VCR, stereo set, and radio set, all framed in a light wood frame. The kitchen wasn't too far away, with granite countertop and oak wooden cabinets. There was a small corridor, which led too two small rooms on the left and one on the right. "Wow, this is nice…" she finally breathed, her eyes widening in awe.

Suzaku laughed softly. "Thanks. My room is the only really large thing in here, that's the only room down the left. The two on the right is the bathroom and…well, come to think of it, I never gave the other room much thought."

Possessing cat's curiosity, Ceri instantly bolted for the mysterious doorway, perceiving which one to be the bathroom after she cracked the door open and saw the toilet. Once she placed her hand on the doorknob, the strange girl opened it enthusiastically, and a smile instantly spread across her face. "Awesome!" she exclaimed, causing Suzaku to stride over there as a result of curiosity. His eyebrows arched in surprise. He hadn't expected a room so large. Well, it wasn't as large as his room, but still pretty decent.

"I told Lloyd I was gonna have you take my room and I'd get the couch, but…" instantly he could feel an electric current from the sharp look Ceri was giving him, making him sweatdrop nervously. "But…you probably wouldn't let me, right?"

She smiled wryly. "Suzaku-san, I really think we'll get along great."

"Unfortunately for you, I'm forcing you to take my bed until we get you a mattress."

"Damn hospitable bastard."

A roaring laugh escaped from Suzaku's throat, a laugh harder than all the ones he'd had in a long time. In her own rough way, Ceri was cute. Not in a way in which he liked her as more than a friend, because he found that there was no way he could possibly do that, but in the way she liked to act tough.

The sound of him laughing brightened Ceri's face. I miss hearing him laugh like that… she thought, a softer smile reaching her features.

His laugh soon died down as he wiped tears of mirth away with his finger. "Oh boy, that was great. I'm sorry, Ceri-san, but that was just great."

She stuck her tongue out before venturing into the open space, trying to figure out with what she was going to do with it. "Well, since I'm gonna be spending a lot of time here, obviously…I think I'll have the bed right between these two windows. Oh, that closet's nicely-sized. And I guess I can have an entertainment center right here…"

Suzaku winced for a moment. "…I'm gonna be broke."

"Nonsense, baka. I have my own stash of cash that could easily pay your rent several times over." She was finished observing the room and winked at him. "Don't worry your curly little head."

"Soldier money?"

"Mercenary."

"WHAT?!"

Ceri shrugged. "What? Had to make an extra living somehow…then of course I'll get a part-time job."

"Like what?"

"…Pizza Hut, maybe? I dunno. We'll see." She then proceeded to walk out of the room and soon out the door. "I'll be back in a few hours; my box in the alley's calling."

And before he could insist on helping her, she was gone.

Walking back to the apartment with two roller suitcases filled with things, Ceri looked around idly, noticing all the shops that she somewhat remembered, but everything still seemed to different. "Sure has changed here," she mused, but then her look darkened as she saw a riot across the street. Two guys fighting over what side they were on. Britannia, with Lancelot, or Japan, with the Black Knights. Others had joined the fray, while there were a handful of people on the sidelines, unsure of whether or not to join in.

Or perhaps, Ceri thought, they had been reminded how unsure they were about which sides to choose.

It's either Japan's liberated and its own free country, which Zero said, or the Britannian tyranny that's taken place for well over eleven or so years, which Suzaku indirectly promotes. There's no middle ground, no balance of Japan being free but Britannia ceasing to be tyrannical. She'd stopped to gaze at the riot, like many others hand, all the while, her face hidden by the black hood of the jacket. Her eyes shimmered with sympathy. And this can be the cause of all these civil crises. Why tear a land apart? There should be a neutral movement, where it's fair. But there's no way that would get around…unless someone were to represent it.

Sighing, she turned away and continued her journey home.

Daddy, who's going to be the middle symbol?

"I'm back!" Ceri called as she knocked on the door, the sweet aroma of Chinese takeout filling her nostrils. Is that orange chicken? she briefly wondered before Suzaku opened the door. She smiled sweetly at him. "Hi."

"Welcome back," he said, shocked at the hour at which she returned, "But it's nearly seven and dark as heck. How far was the alley?"

"Inside Shinjuku. I figured no one would find me there and just mistake me for a random hobo."

Suzaku sweatdropped. "You…"

"Yup, I know, I'm silly. But hey, at least I came back alive, right?" she giggled as she rolled past him and down the hallway, lightly kicking her new bedroom door open and flicking the light switch on with her elbow. She plopped the two suitcases down before the doorbell rang, causing both the roommates to look curiously but cautiously at the door. Quick as she could, Ceri searched a pocket of one of the suitcases and protruded a rifle, with which she quietly – along with Suzaku and his mysterious new baseball bat – crept towards the door with. Suzaku quickly whipped the door open, revealing a delivery boy with an Ashford Academy-crested uniform, shocked at the two weapons that the roommates were holding.

"Uh…" he stuttered as Ceri quickly hid the rifle behind her back and Suzaku placed the bat to the side. "Delivery for Cerise Bellamont, new arrival of Ashford Academy." He held a package, also stamped the Ashford crest, out to Suzaku. "I presume you're Cerise?"

"Kami," muttered the actual patron of the package as she marched right over and gently took the package from her brunet friend. "Sorry sir, but I'm Cerise. Sorry for the confusion due to the nature of my order. Have a nice day…" the boy have her a weak smile as she locked the door on him, "…idiot," she finished. Without really thinking, she gave the package back to Suzaku and walked back to her room.

With an arched eyebrow and severely confused psyche, Suzaku looked at the package and tentatively opened it. He was even more confused when he saw the actual contents. "Oi, Ceri-san?"

"Wha-?" she casually replied, peaking her head out the bedroom door, her own eyebrow cocked to see what he sounded so confused about.

She smirked when she saw Suzaku holding up a male Ashford Academy uniform, though it looked tailored to fit a girl's curves nicely. "Well, this is your lesson for the day."

"What lesson?"

"I don't do skirts." With a wicked smirk, she winked as she disappeared back into her bedroom. Suzaku assumed that this was the kind of nuttiness he'd have to deal for a long time…

Don't you just love Ceri? XD I do, actually, even though she's a liar half the time.

HEY LOOKIE another person who's gonna done somethin' for the war. AND she's a complete tomboy. I wish there were pants optional at my school. T^T

REVIEW ANSWERS!!

GEASS SLAVE - I was never intending to have Suzaku and Ceri like each other. For reasons right now unknown, you and the others will realize exactly why this is a SUZAxEUPHIE, GINOxOC fic.

Hotspur - Will do!

LoneTraveller - The Pink Princess never died, hm? You're somewhat on the right track. Somewhat. But again, this is a SuzaxEuphie fic, albeit an indirect one.

The Vampire of Britannia - O HAI. I haven't heard from you in a while. Well, I really hope you liked this chapter!!

Demon-Wolf101 - OMG I did. ^w^

xXKaira-HimeXx - Hopefully I'll be updating a bit quicker, I'll do my best.

Mistress Meer - You just made a very keen observation, dearie. Nice.

Hope you liked it guys. I LOVE YOU. - Gabby