"You want to see Princess Euphemia," Suzaku asked. "Why?"

"We-well, a few days ago some nobles were harassing me, and she stopped them. I wanted to thank her."

"I can see what I can do, Nina, but I don't see why you want to. She doesn't care."

"Annmarie, leave the ideas you have of your sister at home."

"Suzaku, do you even know what she has done?!"

"What could she have done? She is a sweet girl. It sounds to me like you just want a reason for others to not like her." My eyes widened. I stood up off the couch and smacked him.

"Why would I make something like that up?!" I ran from the Student Council room. I don't know why exactly I did this, but I ran to the kitchen. When I got there, I made sure no one else was in the room. I went to where the knives were. My hands reached out for one of the smaller ones. Knowing my left arm still hand bandages on it, I rolled up the sleeve of my right arm. The knife was cool when it touched my skin. Instead of using a sawing motion like I usually did, I made quick slices against my forearm. When I went to cut myself for the eighth time, a hand grabbed my left wrist.

"Do you really want to leave him behind like that?" The voice of the person that spoke was familiar. I turned to be face-to-face with C.C.

"What are you doing here, C.-" With her other hand, she covered my mouth.

"I knew I shouldn't have stopped you, but then, I wouldn't have you to help Zero." She smiled sadly. "Besides, you were bleeding too much, and what kind of friend would I be to let another friend kill herself?" C.C. moved her hand and grabbed the knife. She set it down in the sink.

"What if everyone was better off without me?"

"I seriously doubt that." C.C. grabbed some paper towels and put them on my arm. For some reason, I was mesmerized by the blood getting the cloth wet. "I don't know why you keep feeling like this. You have many people that love you." She looked at me and smiled knowingly. "Especially that Kururugi boy."

C.C. dragged me to a bathroom on the second level. She got out a roll of gauze and began wrapping my arm. "You said you needed my help."

"I said Zero needed your help; he doesn't know it yet though. He will need help dealing with Euphemia." My eyebrows lowered to show my anger.

"I want nothing to do with her."

"Zero will need help getting rid of her." My eyes widened in surprise. "I figured that would catch your interest. I've seen what she has done to you."

"What do you think I will have to offer?"

"The way she thinks; you know that better than most. Nozomi, you want her to pay for what she has done to you, right?" I nodded. "Then agree to help Zero when the time is right."

"I don't know if I could do what it takes to get rid of her."

"Leave that to us." After thinking things over for a few minutes, I said:

"Ask me again later, when Zero actually needs my help." C.C. smiled and then hugged me. "I… I need to go."

"He needs you, you know?"

"Zero?"

"No, the Kururugi boy; he needs you, just like you need him. You're not the only one with bad memories."

I was walking down one of the hallways at school. My gaze was directed at the ground. Classes were done for the day. The Music Club didn't have a meeting today, but the practice rooms were open for us to use. Not really knowing what to do, I just walked to the practice room that I used a lot. As I was walking up, a boy in the middle school division was putting a key in the lock of the door to my practice room. He unlocked the door, looked up, and saw me.

"Princess Annmarie," he gasped. He was also a member of the Music Club. He played the violin and drum set, an odd combination. "Oh, this is the practice room you use a lot. Did you want to use it?"

"It's okay. You can use it."

"But, it's your room."

"No, I just use that one the most. The acoustics in that one are better."

"I thought I was the only one that noticed that." The boy smiled.

"What's your name?"

"I'm Arlo Wahlgren. I'm a third year middle school student."

"What were you going to be practicing with today? Drums or violin?"

"I didn't know that you knew what I played." There was a moment of silence. "I was going to practice a couple songs I wrote for violin."

"Do you mind if I listen?"

"Not at all. It would be an honor to play for you." Arlo opened the door to the practice room for me. "Please, go ahead." I walked into the room. It was big for a practice room. It had enough room for about five people to play their instrument comfortably and already had a piano and drum set in there. I sat down on a chair. Arlo opened his violin case and took out his violin. Before he started playing, he made sure his violin was tuned correctly. "Um, I actually have a piece that is done that I wanted to be a collaborative piece with you." My eyes widened.

"You do?"

"Yeah, can I play it for you?" I nodded. He started to play a beautiful piece. The tune already had me coming up with things I could contribute to it. Lyrics seemed to write themselves in my head. When he finished, Arlo looked at me. "So, um, what do you think?"

"Can I record that?" He looked at me confused. "So I can write lyrics and add a few other things." His face lit up. "Sheet music too."

"I actually…" Arlo walked over to his school bag. "I recorded it already. This flash drive has the mp3 and the sheet music on it." He handed me a black flash drive.

"Thanks," I said as I took it from him. I started to leave the practice room. "Meet me back here next week. I should have something ready by then."

"Thank you, Princess Annmarie."

"Call me just Annmarie." He smiled.

"Right, Annmarie."

"Okay, Suzaku," Cecile said. "You're doing well. Your production ratio, Yggdrasil resonance—both show high numbers."

"Thank you Cecile." I saw Suzaku's smile on the screen in front of Cecile. "And how were my training numbers?" Suzaku looked at me for a second. "Have I beaten Annmarie's yet?" I smiled weakly.

"Those were also fine, but you haven't beaten Annmarie yet. Despite not having much experience, she is quite the pilot." Somehow, I couldn't force myself to thank her for the compliment. "I want to say, but… can I ask something?"

"Yes."

"When you entered Block 14, you let two markers in the abandoned factory go, on purpose. Why did you?"

"The identification signal read UNKNOWN. I did recognize the automatic pistol nearby, but they weren't acting hostile so I decided that they might be civilians."

"What if they acted hostile?" Suzaku climbed out of the simulation pod that was used for Knightmare training.

"I would've captured them using paralyzers." Suzaku made his way up the stairs to the platform where Cecile and I were.

"And if you had orders to shoot them?" Suzaku clearly hesitated when he reached the top step. He sighed, walked over to me, and said:

"Of course I would have shot them." He sat down next to me. Suzaku grabbed my hand and kissed it. I lay my head on his shoulder. Cecile narrowed her eyes slightly, but then she opened them all the way.

"Okay, training is over. I don't think either of you need to improve on anything. Good job you two. I'll go prepare some tea, so come down in a bit."

"Thank you."

"How do you feel?" I shrugged. "That's not really an answer."

"I feel bad. Let's just leave it at that."

"Alright." We walked down the stairs to the hangar where the Lancelot and the Archangel were. We stared up at the Knightmares. The only Seventh Generation Knightmare Frames in existence so far, well, except for the red Knightmare the Black Knights had, and all of them were used by Japanese people.

"Here you go," said Cecile as she walked over to a table. Suzaku and I both picked up a cup from the tray took a sip from our respective cups. The aroma was so relaxing. I smiled a little. Even though I wasn't looking at him, I knew Suzaku saw me smiling and was also smiling.

"I'm sorry I don't have snacks to go with it."

"It's okay—we're fine."

"Where's Lloyd?" Cecile's eyes widened when she heard me speak.

"Um, he's over there." Suzaku and I turned to look at where Cecile had gestured. Lloyd was by the Archangel's legs.

"What is he doing?"

"He wants to attach a float unit to the Lancelot and Archangel."

"He's finished it?"

"Well, most of what he does is for fun, so you don't have to worry about it."

"I see."

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. You have medical checkups that need to be completed as soon as possible."

"A medical checkup?"

"It's just regulations. All Knightmare pilots are required to do it."

"I understand."

"Good. Come tomorrow after your last class." Cecile looked at me. "Annmarie…"

"Hm?"

"Cornelia has asked for a specialist to do your checkup. She said you would know what that meant. Do you?" I nodded.

"She called my doctor."

"Like the doctor for the Royal Family?"

"No… just my doctor. He's been my doctor for quite a few years now and knows how to treat me. He knows my condition the best, well, besides me."

"Is he your-"

"He's my psychiatrist." Lloyd turned around after hearing that, walked over, and sat down in a swivel chair beside us.

"Oh, so your condition was that serious?" I nodded. "I assume you have more than one doctor then."

"Yes, I have three others. I'm guessing Cornelia told you Lloyd."

"Indeed, she did. She wanted to make sure I took care of you." Lloyd spun his chair around in circles. "However, she never had anything to worry about. I could tell straight away that you had something hidden behind those eyes. I never worried about it; I figured you would tell me about it if you wanted to."

"I had a feeling you knew."

"Cornelia gave me an order to take care of you, and since I am an Earl, I must obey." Suzaku gasped.

"Lloyd you're an Earl! You never told me that!"

"He doesn't act like one. The Royal Family is embarrassed by his actions, but seeing the value in his skills in engineering, they try to overlook it. You don't have to worry about it. It's not that big of a deal. Sooner or later, he will lose his status."

"It's nice to know how you think of my being an Earl, but you could have put it more gently."

"Suzaku, I need to go home. Will you come with me?"

"Uh, yeah." The walk we took was practically silent between us. He asked me a few things and mostly got one word answers. "Are you mad at me?" I stopped. Suzaku had been walking behind me, so I turned around to see him. We had just gotten inside the palace gate. "You haven't been talking to me much, and when you are around me, you pretty much ignore me."

"I ignore just about everybody when I get like this. Don't take it personally."

"But it seems like it has been especially me."

"It's not, I swear." I looked at Suzaku. He looked hurt, but in my state of mind I felt like there wasn't much I could do to help. "Hey, Suzaku."

"Huh?"

"Blank ending."

"What?"

"Blank ending. Fill in the blank. In a story, there is a happy ending or a bad ending. Which one would you rather have? Blank ending." Suzaku smiled.

"Happy ending."

"Now you say it."

"Blank ending."

"Happy ending… Play this little game with me often, and I'll get better quicker. Milly uses it a lot with me. She sometimes does it at random, just to make sure she knows I'm okay. If I answer 'bad ending', she knows something is seriously wrong. 'Bad ending' is usually my answer if I am feeling suicidal or want to hurt myself. When that is my answer, Milly knows to start the game. The others have caught on as well, and know when Milly begins to use it more often, that I am not well. So they started doing it too. It reminds me that there is still a bright future for me; in other words a-"

"Happy ending," Suzaku finished for me. He touched the side of my face. A few tears dripped from my eyes. Suzaku laughed slightly. "Blank ending."

"Happy ending." I brought Suzaku's mouth to mine. He kissed me fervently. When we broke apart, he said it again.

"Blank ending."

"Happy ending," I answered with a small smile on my face. Suzaku kissed me again.

"Blank ending."

"Happy ending." Suzaku pushed me up against the wall of the palace. He kissed me again.

"Blank ending."

"I think you are abusing the rules of the game."

"What rules? Blank ending," he repeated. And for the first time in a few weeks, I laughed.

"Happy ending." Suzaku kissed me again, and since I was in the middle of laughing, he got his tongue into my mouth. I missed this sensation of our tongues touching. When we separated, Suzaku's forehead was touching mine. "Suzaku?"

"Yeah?"

"Am I in your happy ending?"

"I certainly hope so. Every time you answer 'happy ending', I'm sure you will be."

Suzaku had gotten me out of my period of darkness. I was feeling much better, but who knows when I will be trapped again? I had just heard that Suzaku was taken into Darlton's custody, so I rushed to A.S.E.E.C. "Why was Suzaku arrested?!"

"He wasn't arrested. They're just asking him questions," Lloyd said calmly.

"But on what charges?!"

"Annmarie, please calm down."

"Leaking information. Based on the Narita incident last month and the recent Tokyo Bay incident, it's clear that information from this side is leaking to the Black Knights, or else they couldn't plan something that aggressive."

"Why would they suspect Suzaku?"

"Because he's the only Honorary Britannian who participated in the mission. Viceroy Cornelia doesn't use Honorary Britannians in those kinds of missions. That's why people, especially the Purists, were suspicious from before."

"But that's… that's ridiculous!"

"You could call it jealousy. If you look at it in a skewed way, you can come up with anything. For example, Suzaku could leak information to the Black Knights and assist in cornering the Britannian forces. Then, he can participate in battle where he normally wouldn't be summoned. He rescues the Viceroy who is in a bind and gets credit for it—they could claim that it was all part of Suzaku's brilliant plan. And besides, he seems to have an old acquaintance on the terrorists' side."

"I cannot forgive this. They don't know how much Suzaku suffered in that battle…"

"Well, he's being questioned in the break room." I was gone immediately. I took the short walk of only about twenty steps to the break room of the A.S.E.E.C. HQ. When I reached the door, I brought my hand up to knock.

"Let me ask you something else. What changed you so much? Was it time, or was it the influence of others?" It was Darlton who had spoken. There was a brief pause.

"I think I have a lot of reasons."

"Just one is fine. It doesn't have to be the biggest reason either."

"Yes sir. If I were to choose one reason… I'd have to say Annmarie has changed me a lot." I gasped. "She and I have a lot in common. Sure we have our fights, but I want to do better for her. I want her to be able to live in a better place. She has changed me. Before, I felt that I couldn't save anyone if I let my feelings overwhelm me, but that's different now."

"Do you mean that you would ruin yourself if you remained fixated on resentment and anger?"

"I guess… that's how you could put it, yes."

"Is that a way of thinking that only applies to you? Would you say this to the terrorists that you fight?"

"Both."

"I see. This is my last question, Warrant Officer Kururugi."

"Yes, sir."

"Can you die for Britannia?"

"Of course. I know that if Annmarie heard me, she would say I wasn't allowed to, but she understands that if I must, I will."

"Very well, your questioning is done." I heard footsteps come up to the door. When the door opened, Darlton stood in front of me. "Ah, Annmarie, there's nothing to worry about. This questioning was just a formality." I looked at the floor and nodded. "Well then, if you'll excuse me…" I moved out of the way so Darlton could leave.

"Annmarie?" Suzaku walked up to me. "Are you okay?"

"B-Baka!" I hit Suzaku's arm.

"That's the first time you said something in Japanese around me." I began repeating the word. I heard Suzaku chuckle. I smacked his arm again. "Annmarie…" I looked up at him. "You heard what I said, didn't you?" I nodded, this time to Suzaku. "And you understand what I meant, right?"

"Yes."

"Good." Suzaku placed a kiss on my forehead. "Then, let's go." He grabbed my hand and led me to Knightmare training.