(Ichigo: Here it is! The next chapter!
Aki: We already have the next chapter done, but we're gunna wait until Chapter 14 is mostly done before releasing it.
Ichigo: We're doing this to try and reduce how long you guys have to wait for chapters to be released in the long run by building up a back-log...
Aki: Because I'm in my last year of high-school starting in September, and Ichigo's going to be her second year in university...we might be too busy to work on it everyday.
Ichigo: We're sorry! We'll still try our very hardest to update a lot! We're not giving up on this fanfic! Nuh-uh!
Aki: In the meantime, enjoy the conclusion for this arc and all the nice stuff that happens!
Ichigo: Read and review!)
Disclaimer: We don't own Code Geass! Capiche? Good.
Chapter 12: Cat & Mouse
"I…can I give you my answer another time?"
There. There was an appropriate answer. Not an outright rejection, not an outright acceptance, but a maybe…that, most importantly, would give him time to figure out his final answer.
And time to sort out his feelings.
Aurora's eyes widened but her posture relaxed. She was relieved and disappointed at the same time. "Y-Yeah, of course. Take all the time you need."
'And say yes…' the end of her sentence hung in the air, causing them to lapse into awkward silence.
Quickly making up an excuse about returning to class, Aurora turned and fled down the stairs, leaving Lelouch alone in the stairwell with his chaotic thoughts.
He turned, resting his forehead against the cool window pane, violet eyes sliding closed.
The cool glass soothed his headache…but not his heart.
His heart still ached.
Suzaku grit his teeth, rubbing the fabric of a white t-shirt together as he tried to scrub away the hurtful words painted in glaring red with no soap, sponge, or hot water. He'd been there for awhile, but he was getting nowhere and his hands were going numb from the chilling temperature of the water.
"So there you are!"
Suzaku gasped, body jerking in surprise and drenching a quarter of his sleeves.
"Ma-Marina!" he spun around, quickly turning to hide the wash tub and its contents from the Britannian.
"What are you doing out here?" she asked, eyeing him curiously, especially when he failed to answer. She noticed something behind him and titled her head, trying to see the object through the space between his arm and body. "You didn't say hello today…"
Sensing her gaze, he moved his arms closer to his body, blocking the object from view. "Yeah…I…I decided that we shouldn't act like we know each other while at school."
"What!? Why!?"
"I just figured it was for the best. If you think about it, you don't often hear about relationships between Elevens and Britannians…."
Marina bristled at the word relationship and surged forward, stabbing her finger (with the glued on, fake nails Aurora did for her during lunch) into his sternum. "I don't care about that stuff! If I cared I wouldn't have come to see you in the first place!"
Intimidated and startled, Suzaku leaned away from her, back bowing slightly, the glug-glug-glug of running water warning of just how close he was to soaking his jacket. "But it's not just you," he protested. "Think about your friends! They might get bullied and ostracized because you talk to me."
"Aurora wouldn't care as long as Lulu talked to her. Honestly, it's you I'm worried about!" she scrutinized him, glaring. "I'm worried about if you're being bullied. I'm the one who asked you to come here, so anything that happens is MY responsibility."
Under Marina's heated glare and commanding words, Suzaku felt some of his childhood personality come back…He never took kindly to people butting into his business and ordering him around. He leaned forward menacingly and Marina recoiled two steps, but otherwise stood her ground. "What!?"
"This is not your fault! You didn't force me, or drag me here, I can on my own! Don't put the blame on yourself. I'm the one who…"
"Who!?"
Suzaku's eyes snapped open(when had he closed them?) and slowly turned. Marina had used the moment to peer around his body…and now held the painted shirt in her hands.
"Who!?" she boomed.
Quickly, he tried to pry the shirt from her. He had images of Marina storming through the school, striking down all those she noticed whispering behind his back or given him dirty looks.
"It's fine! Leave it! It's almost clean anyway…"
"No, it's not fine! They're bullying you! It'll only get worse…" she pressed the heal of her hand to one eye and muttered darkly. "I hate Britannians."
"Hey," he gently pried the shirt from her and her hand from her eye. "Relax. I'll be fine…pretty girls shouldn't cry."
He dodged most of the punch she threw but not enough to avoid getting smacked in the shoulder. "Liar!" she cried. "I am not!"
Gingerly, he rubbed his now sore shoulder. "But I wasn't lying…"
"Yes, you were," she rolled up the sleeves of her shirt and held out a hand. "I'll finish washing your shirt. You wash your hands. You look like you just committed murder."
Suzaku glanced down and saw his palms were stained with red. Trying hard not to tremble or vomit as hated childhood memories rose to the surface, Suzaku made for the sink, beginning to furiously scrub at his hands. A moment later, Marina joined him, using the other faucet for water as she scrubbed just as furiously at his shirt…and soon she'd have to scrub her hands clean as well…
"Hey, thanks," he smiled warmly when she looked at him. "For caring."
She blushed, turning her head away. "Stupid. You don't have to thank me for that."
But she was smiling too.
"You're hiding your mask?" C.C. asked amused.
First Lelouch returned from school in a foul mood, brightened when Nunnally reminded him that Aurora was coming over for tea he was pleased (so much so that Lelouch happily gave permission for C.C. and A.A. to order several extra large pizzas), then brooded for an hour before hastily tiding his room…the final step involving hiding the mask, apparently.
"Unlike the Geass, this is physical evidence…" Lelouch paused in his actions, glaring fiercely at the strange adult as A.A. opened his mouth wide, imitating what Aurora's mouth should be doing as he offered her a slice of C.C.'s pizza. "What are you doing?"
Irritation flashed in molten gold eyes. A.A. closed his mouth, sneering as he said, "What does it look like? I'm feeding my honey."
There came a knock at the door, and Nunnally's voice floated through the door. "I made the tea. Eh? I smell pizza again…"
"I'm collecting points," Lelouch set the bag he had been putting his Zero mask in, stood, and walked towards the door. "We'll be right there."
C.C. and A.A. watched and listened, as the siblings and Aurora left the room, joking and teasing the male among them about gaining weight. Soon the voices faded away, but silence did not persist as A.A. suddenly screamed, "I want tea, too!!!"
Exasperated, C.C. grasped one of Aurora's cupcakes and pitched it across the room, sending A.A. diving to save the pastry.
Neither of the two strange beings noticed the animal that had wandered in and out of the room, taking something very important with it.
The unexpected house guest wandered downstairs, a little disoriented. Though it could still see out of whatever was on its head, it wasn't the usual sharp image of the world it was used to. It sat down, and scratched at the object with a back paw. Maybe it could knock whatever it was off…
The cat wearing Zero's mask stopped its actions abruptly, however, when he heard a feminine scream.
Maybe he should get out of here…
Quickly, Lelouch stuttered an excuse to Nunnally and scrambled out the front door, after the cat that had leapt out the kitchen window, fleeing with the mask still on its head.
"Damn cat!" he snarled. No matter how much he ran, the cat was still too far ahead of him. "I won't stand for being unmasked by such a ridiculous turn of events! If those terrorists were here we could have them surrounded…Kallen? No…I can't fuel her suspicions--WAH!"
His partner in crime, skid to a stop, peering into the bushes lining the side of the school building. Lelouch had tripped and falling into the shrubbery. "Hey, are you okay!?"
"The cat! The cat! Forget about me and get the cat!" Lelouch shouted, watching helplessly as the cat zipped between Aurora's legs, running towards another part of the campus. Noticing the cat, Aurora cheerily chased after it.
"Hey! Come back here!" she shouted.
Lelouch's mouth sagged at the sight as he extracted himself from the bush with some difficulty. How could she smile so happily, now of all times! This wasn't a game, their lives were at stake! No, his life was at stake. The mask could identity him as Zero, after all!
Then again, wasn't it that soft, easy-going, happy-go-lucky part of her that had always attracted him to Aurora? The fact she was almost his complete opposite, and she could make him forget all his problems for the time being?
Wait, why was he thinking of such things!? This wasn't the time for reflection! He had to catch that cat before it was caught or before too many people saw it! Some people had already seen it, he realized when he chased after Aurora and the cat, and found two girls staring blankly after them.
He had to catch that cat, quickly, and minimize the damage it would cause!
The school's PA crackled to life, and Milly's exuberant voice announced, "This is Milly Ashford, from the Student Council. It's a cat! We are in pursuit of a fleeing cat! All club activities are suspended. All participating clubs will receive additional funds, and whoever catches the cat will get an extra-special chance at a kiss from the student council member of his or her choice!"
Lelouch's cream-coloured skin turned whiter than chalk as Milly's cackle echoed through the halls. Now she had done it. Quiet a few members of the student council (himself included) were very popular and highly sought after. By making this announcement and starting such a contest, Milly had effectively mobilized most of the school. All of them pursuing the same, mask-wearing cat he was.
Damn it all.
Grasping her arm, Lelouch pulled Aurora to a stop near the bell tower, and regarded her seriously. "You have to run faster, Aurora. You're on the tennis team, aren't you? I'm counting on you to catch that cat."
Aurora blushed. Having Lelouch's eyes fixed on her like that was making her nervous. "M-Mm!"
"Good! I'm counting on you," he pushed her off in the direction Arthur took off in. "Now go!"
And go she did. She ran, ready for the run of her life…
Only to crash into Marina, who was also running at full tilt.
"A-Ack!"
"O-Ow!"
Lelouch ran over, fuming. "What are you doing, Marina!?"
"Like I did that on purpose!" Marina snapped, massaging her tailbone, climbing to her feet.
"Lelouch? You're after the cat, too?" Suzaku asked, helping Aurora to her feet. Apparently he had been accompanying Marina.
Almost as though it knew they were talking about it, a meow echoed down to them from above. The cat was in the bell tower. Realizing this, Marina rushed into the building and started ascending the long flights of stairs.
"Wait, Marina! That's the clock tower! It's dangerous up there!" Lelouch shouted, frantically, hoping to appeal to either Aurora or Suzaku's protective natures, hoping that they would stop Marina.
And while Suzaku and Aurora did give chase, it seemed more like they were going to stop her and continue themselves. Lelouch would have to, somehow, get there first.
No easy feat, Lelouch realized as he ran after them. Especially when his athletic prowess was zero.
"N-No! W-Wait! I'll…I mean," Lelouch stumbled after his three friends, struggling to get close enough even to be heard. "I'll take care of it!"
"What!? You!?"
"Lulu, it's okay!"
"Leave it to me, I'm the better athlete. Remember with the bird back at the shrine?"
And then, to Lelouch's horror, the girls began firing questions at Suzaku.
"Bird? What bird? What happened!? I bet it spooked him!"
"What kind of bird was it, Suzaku?!"
"A canary? A dove?"
"CAT!" Lelouch screamed, tripping over the stairs…a few flights down from the three brunets. "WORRY ABOUT THE CAT!"
Damn it. Why were all his friends so much more athletic than he was? Even computer nerd Nina could finish the school marathon before him if she put her mind to it.
This was insulting…
"I got it!" Marina cried, zipping past Suzaku at the last minute and scrambled out the window, starting to climb the roof, towards where the cat sat, wearing Zero's mask.
"MARINA!" Suzaku climbed onto the outer window sill, peering up at Marina intently, hand outstretched towards her. "Stay back! It's dangerous! Let me handle it!"
"Eh? But I've done stuff like this before…"
"Not up there!" Lelouch chipped in, eager to aid Suzaku in bringing Marina down, forcefully if necessary. "Your shoes aren't made for climbing, and it's too steep up there!"
"Please!" Suzaku pleaded, stretching his hand out a few more centimetres.
When Marina wouldn't budge, Aurora grasped the window frame and placed her foot on it. "Marina, if you don't come down, I'm going to jump."
"N-No, don't do that!" she cried, sliding back down the roof, yelping when Suzaku grabbed her by her waist and all but threw her through the window, knocking Aurora to the floor in the process.
"Stay there!" Lelouch yelled, climbing out onto the windowsill, starting his work on coaxing Suzaku down from the roof, before he got hold of the cat and Zero's mask. "Suzaku! Come down from here!"
Lelouch cursued to himself when Suzaku merely ensured him he'd get the job done. Suzaku was being a real pain. Sighing, he tried to move so he could climb onto the roof and, perhaps, beat Suzaku to the cat…but he didn't have a chance to even try as his lack of athleticism finally caught up to him. Drained of his strength all of a sudden, he lost his grip on the window sill.
"LULU!" the girls cried from the other side of the window frame, reaching out to try and grab Lelouch's hands as he slid past them, but they were too late.
Thankfully, Suzaku quickly slid down the roof, grasped onto the windowsill, and Lelouch's wrist with the other, preventing him from sliding entirely off the roof and to his certain death. "You're too carefree to be up here, are you alright!?"
"I'm fine…" Lelouch gasped weakly as Suzaku pulled him up to safety, trying hard not to smile when he noticed that the cat had knocked the helmet off and it rolled out of sight. "My strength just kinda left me all of a sudden…"
"I SHOULD HIT YOU," Marina shrieked, looking quiet upset. "YOU NEARLY GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK!"
Aurora was much more quiet with showing how upset she was by Lelouch's near-death experience. She stood beside the raving and shouting Marina, sniffling quietly, trying hard to prevent tears from falling.
Lelouch swallowed. He had to take care of something else, he realized, besides securing Zero's mask and placing it in a more secure location…
"I'll date you."
"Huh?" Aurora said stupidly, as she slid off the low roof, Zero's mask in her hands, and into Lelouch's arms.
"I'll date you," he repeated.
Aurora brightened, practically glowing. "Lulu!! Thank you! You won't regret it!"
Lelouch smiled, but beneath the surface he was troubled. He couldn't make up his mind, so he gave her an affirmative answer, with conflicted feelings…
It was the right answer, if he wanted to keep her under his thumb and under his control, doing so would ensure she'd never betray him and his identity as Zero.
But the thought of making her so happy, with such an impure reason made his heart ache. He wanted to say he did like her, but…what did he know about love? He loved his mother, his sister, and he loved Suzaku…but that was all in a familial way.
What did he know about loving someone so much, to the point that doing anything for them was possible?
Even supporting them in their quest to overthrow the largest empire in the world…even if they might not truly be in love.
The fact Aurora could do all this, and he couldn't decide. It hurt. It hurt.
But he couldn't tell if that was a good sign or not…
"So it was the cat from that time…" Suzaku peered down at the cat he carried. The one hissing and yowling on occasion, as though Suzaku was causing him great agony, even though the Japanese boy was being very careful with the feline.
"It still doesn't like you, either," Marina reached out and scratched the cat behind its ears and it began to purr. "You know, you can like Suzaku instead of me."
"Eh, Marina!?" a blond boy cried as he saw Suzaku and Marina exit from the shadow of the tower. It was the same boy whose bike she stole to visit Suzaku while he was incarcerated.
"K-Kenny…" Marina shrunk back a little, surprised by all the people there.
Shirley, sensing the brewing hostilities between the crowd towards Suzaku, quickly rushed forward. "Thank you for saving our Lulu!"
"Not bad, New Kid!" Rivalz joined in, clapping Suzaku hard on the shoulder.
"Did it have something with it?" Milly asked, cutting to the chase.
"It looked like it did, but I think it fell off somewhere," Suzaku explained.
"Where's Lulu and Aurora," Shirley asked, almost in a panic since she couldn't spot the object of her affections and her greatest rival. "They're not together, are they!?"
"Ah, they are. Lelouch said he had to find something he lost, and Aurora said she'd help him."
"Ah! Maybe it has to do with that embarrassing secret!?" Milly's eyes gleamed with the possibilities. "A love confession!?"
"And if it was?" Lelouch asked, appearing from another building with Aurora. "What would you do then, President?"
"I'd tell everyone and make Aurora get all sorts of dirt on you," Milly said without missing a beat. "So was it? Was it? Was it?"
"Yes."
"E-Ehhhh!?" Marina cried while Shirley paled dramatically.
"You're dating, Aurora!?" Rivalz hung his head when Lelouch nodded. "Daaaaamn."
Kallen, who had been standing nearby, silently observing the looks Suzaku and Lelouch had been sending each other, finally said, "Do you know each other?"
"We're friends," Lelouch answered immediately, before Suzaku could deny anything. "I was meaning to talk to you about this, President. I was wondering if we could induct Suzaku into the student council. Club participation is mandatory, but it'll be difficult for him to join any other clubs or comities."
"Yes! Please Milly!" Marina begged, hands clasped tightly in front of her face. It was a rare occasion where Marina was supporting Lelouch, and she didn't really like it, but it really would be best for Suzaku to be in the Student Council…and the fact she'd get to see Suzaku a lot more was a very pleasing perspective.
Milly smiled warmly. "Well, how could I say no when it's a request from our vice-president and it's already been seconded?"
"Thank you!" Marina cried, hugging Milly tightly, overcome with joy. She wouldn't have to worry about Suzaku all on her own, anymore.
"E-Eh? Could this guy…" Shirley raised a shaky finger and pointed at Suzaku, shocked that Marina was being so affectionate with anyone. "Could this guy be him? Your secret lover?"
"EH!? WHAT?! NO?!"
Suzaku peered at everyone, confused yet also curious. "Secret lover?"
"IT'S NOTHING! DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT!"
"Aurora sort of started it," Lelouch explained as Marina continue screaming in the background, her face turning red from exertion. "Marina was dazed after the incident in Shinjuku, so Aurora asked 'Are you thinking of him', so now everyone thinks that--" he was cut off abruptly, when Marina covered his mouth with her hand, shushing him loudly.
"I-It really is nothing," Marina swore, ready to die of embarrassment. "Right, Ro!?"
"R-Right…?" Aurora backed away nervously as she spoke. Marina didn't seem to be very pleased with the current conversation.
"You're a bad liar."
"It really is nothing!" Marina shouted at Lelouch.
"Of course, of course."
"LULU!"
"Now, now," Nunnally chided lightly, using her wheelchair to come closer to the group. "Suzaku and my brother should hurry up and come here," she grinned kissing the two boys on the cheek when they did as she told. "That's for stopping Milly's evil plot. You'll have to make due with a kiss from little ol' me, though. Ah, but I get Aurora wouldn't mind giving her new boyfriend a kiss if he asked."
Aurora flushed, as did Lelouch. "N-Nunnally…"
Nunnally just smiled happily. She finally got her wish. Her brother was with Aurora and he could finally be happy and stop worrying about her.
"Are you happy?" Lelouch asked, later that evening as he walked Aurora back to her down, hand in hand. He had taken Aurora home until the events of the afternoon calmed down, worried they'd be confronted too often.
"Mm!" Aurora frowned a little. "Are you?"
"Are you sure you won't regret this? I won't make a good boyfriend."
"Of course I don't regret it," Aurora smiled kindly. "I have faults too, you know. I may not be the greatest girlfriend, either."
"No, you will be," Aurora stopped, surprised at Lelouch words, turning pink when she fond him smiling at him. "What do you mean…?"
Lelouch simple smiled, dropping a soft kiss to her crown. "Good night."
"Oh my god, Oh my god, Oh my god!" Candice tackled Aurora as the girl entered the girl's dorm. "How did you do it!?"
"E-Eh!?"
"Yeah!" Erika jumped onto Aurora too. "How did you manage to get the guy that almost every girl wants!?"
Marina, calmly standing to the side and watching her best friend and new acquaintances, she said a single word in an attempt to answer the two tennis club members questions, "Nunnally."
The two girls blinked. "Nunnally?"
"Well, Lulu's fond of Nunnally, and Nunnally's fond of Ro, so…"
"Makes sense," Erika noted after a long moment.
Sighing and shaking her head, Aurora headed up the stairs to the right of the lobby. "I'm going to bed."
"Waiit!" Candice called, chasing Aurora up the stairs, slamming into the door for the third floor when Aurora shut it on her.
Unawares, Marina and Erika were taken out when Candice fell down the stairs and bowled them over.
"AH! MY HAIR!"
"I THINK I BROKE A NAIL!"
"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!"
Stuck at the bottom of the pile, Marina decided it might be a good idea to hang out with some people who were a bit more…normal. At least for the sake of her health.
Where she would find these "normal" people, was anyone's guess…
