A/N: Hey~ this is brunette bookworm14, proudly bringing you chapter 8! One thing before I start- THANKS A BAJILLION-FOLD TO WHOEVER OUT THERE EVEN READ THIS~ sorry, I tend to spaz out sometimes… I think this crappy chapter is crappy, but please let us know whatcha think!!! …I still think I did a bad job with this, and sorry it's UBER late! We were on a temporary hiatus ;D so, without further ado, Chapter 8 of Clashing Colors!

Chapter 8: Atarimae (Natural)

Rina was brought back to reality again. And, the reality was war.

She'd made up her mind that she would help the effort in any way she could, whether Suzaku agreed with it or not. Whenever she told him she wanted to fight, he'd always change the subject.

Though, today, Rina wasn't going to give up.

"I don't care what you say! I'm going to fight and you're going to accept that," she resolved.

"No. You are not going to go out there and risk your life! I won't let you," Suzaku said, standing in her way for good measure.

"Yes, I will, because I'm not going to leave this world thinking I did nothing to make it better. I will not stand by while innocent people die." Her eyes were fiery with determination. "And I definitely will not sit on the sidelines and do nothing about it like half the people I know do," Rina concluded, sure she would win this argument. "And it's not like I need your permission, either," she snapped, and started off in a different direction.

Suzaku kept up with her easily, and grabbed her hand to make her come to a stop.

"I didn't say you needed my permission. I just want you to think about what you're saying. What you're doing. You can't commit yourself to this and suddenly stop when you get bored, you know that?"

She yanked her arm from his grip. "You think I want to do this because I'm bored?!" Rina nearly shouted. "I think you very well know, Suzaku, that I will not do any such thing. And you also know, I'm fairly sure, that my reasons are almost the same as yours, and-"

"I still won't let you," Suzaku interrupted, "You are not going to throw your life away just because you feel that you need to. I will not allow you to," he said, looking just as determined as Rina.

Feeling frustrated and angry with him, Rina just turned and walked away. He can't tell me what to do, she thought to herself. I still have someone to protect. She stopped, and watched him walk in a separate direction. He's going to go fight, and just leave me behind to worry about him? No.

Rina proceeded to go after him, throwing caution into the wind.

When Suzaku arrived, Lloyd was already waiting for him. Suzaku had already confronted Rina, who insisted on coming with him, and was now quite irritated. As he strode into the room, he saw Lloyd taking note of the person following him.

"Suzaku, you know we don't allow random visitors," Lloyd chided sarcastically, giving Rina a once-over.

Rina noticed this, and felt embarrassed for not saying anything.

"I apologize for not introducing myself," she said, giving a polite bow. "My name is Rina Satou."

Lloyd looked inquisitively at Suzaku. "Your girlfriend, Suzaku? I didn't know you dated anyone," he said, smirking a bit.

Rina watched as Suzaku's face went from its normal color to pink to bright red. "I-it's not like that," he said, stuttering a little. "We're just friends."

Lloyd looked skeptical. "All right, but just why is she here?"

Suzaku sighed. There lies the problem, he thought.

Rina answered for herself before Suzaku could say anything. "I wanted to come so I could learn more about how to fight on Britannia's side," she answered confidently.

"I only let you come because you're so stubborn," Suzaku said, feeling irritated again, "I'm not going to let you-"

"Anyway," Rina interrupted him, giving him a look. "How does that machine work?" she asked, looking up at the mecha.

"If you want to know so bad, you can just go with him," Lloyd suggested. Suzaku's eyes were about three times their average size at this. Rina looked excited though, since the last time she'd been inside the Lancelot was when she almost died, and at that time she was too shocked to observe anything.

"There's no way I'm-" Suzaku started, but was cut off again.

"Can I really?!" Rina asked, her eyes glittering with excitement. Suzaku sighed. I can't say no to that face, he thought to himself. She looks so happy.

"Fine," he agreed. "I'll probably regret it later, though."

Rina observed closely as he piloted the machine. It must take a lot, she thought to herself, to be able to concentrate on all these controls while fighting.

Everything seemed to come to a halt for a split second. Suddenly, they both saw a column of black smoke rise, reaching up into the cloudless blue sky.

"Another attack," Rina thought out loud.

Suzaku didn't say anything as he prepared for a fight.

"…It's the Black Knights, isn't it?"

He nodded, furrowing his eyebrows like he was confused.

"But why did they do that in broad daylight?" Rina asked, also a bit confused by their tactics.

"Well whatever the reason," Suzaku finally answered, "They're still targeting innocent people and I won't allow it!" With that they launched into battle.

Suddenly, Rina heard a huge crash. Something had broken the glass, most likely with a bullet of some kind. She looked around, dazed, and saw Suzaku clutching his arm, his face twisted in pain.

Acting on an impulse, Rina took the seat. She heard Suzaku's protests, but only barely. Turning around to face him, she gave him a look. "Do you want to make it out alive or not?" she asked the rhetorical question. Suzaku felt like she was staring through his very soul, her gaze was so intense. Rina whipped back around to the messed-up glass and screens, and faced the controls. "Then I suggest you hang on."

Lloyd noticed something different. The way the Lancelot moved was totally not Suzaku's style. Effective, but not what he was used to. When he faced the monitors, Lloyd noticed an alert for broken glass. Smirking, he entertained the idea of someone high-jacking the Lancelot. But, just to check, he called into Lancelot's transceiver.

"Hello?" instead of Suzaku, he heard a feminine voice on the other end.

"Who, may I ask, is piloting the Lancelot at present?" Lloyd asked, trying not to laugh.

"Oh. This is Rina. There was a slight accident, so Suzaku is unable to pilot it at the present time. Being the only other person in here, I stepped in for him," she said politely. Then he heard her mutter something along the lines of, "…hope I'm not doing something illegal." Chuckling to himself, Lloyd replied.

"Well, Rina, for this being your first time piloting a frame, I'm surprised."

"Um…About what?" the girl asked, sounding obviously confused.

"You haven't crashed or destroyed a building or anything accidentally catastrophic like that. You've managed to pilot the Lancelot without any issues."

"…Oh, but I've had issues. I've been learning all as I go, so I must have made at least one mistake…"

Lloyd heard grumbling in the background. "Is that Suzaku mumbling back there?"

"Yes, it is. I had to wrap his arm up a bit before starting to drive. He was bleeding."

"You're trying to get here as quickly as possible, correct?"

"…Yeah. I'm taking this route, since there are Knights behind. I hope this'll be faster, considering the roads and buildings…"

"It is, but try to be careful."

"All right. Do you want to speak to Suzaku?" More grumbling on the other end.

"Yes. You can put him on."

"Lloyd," Suzaku said, sounding ready to tell him off. "You're letting her do this?"

"Yes, of course. You obviously can't drive, as you're injured. Why do you ask?"

"Yet you know that I'm against her joining the military."

"It's not like she's drafting herself," Lloyd countered sarcastically, "And of course I know."

"Then why do you let her pilot this thing?" Suzaku asked, his anger mounting.

"Because firstly, you're injured, and secondly, have you even observed what she's doing? She's a natural."

Suzaku paused, then answered in an aggravated tone, "Still, even if she is good at piloting, she will not join the Britannian Army. That is where I put my foot down." Hearing a sarcastic "Whatever," from Rina, Lloyd laughed. "All right, but tell her to just focus on getting back here. See you two then," And with that, he hung up.