Author's notes: Hello! This is the extra chapter for Book II - Virtues of the Heart. I came up with the idea for this story purely by chance and after some tweaking, I decided that I liked the way it was going to turn out. Unfortunately, I ran into a few problems writing, and the story became longer than I had originally envisioned it. So, instead of two extra chapters of different scenes, I will be splitting this extra story into 2-3 chapters and give up on the second extra story I had planned.

I'm currently working on the first chapter of Book III, and I have to admit, it's going pretty slowly right now. I've started my summer internship, and I'm usually in the lab from 9 am in the morning until 2-3 in the afternoon. My original prediction of 1 chapter per 2-3 weeks may have been too optimistic, and my releases are most likely going to come slower than that.

But, all that aside, I'm quite happy with how the extra story turned out, and I hope that you'll enjoy it as well!

Until Next Time!

~TabiNoTochuu

P.S. I'm always looking for new ideas for new stories or add-ons to existing ones. If you want to see something, be it a scene, a pairing, or a new series you'd like for me to write about, feel free to PM me! I'll do my best to accommodate any requests.


Book II

Extra Chapter 1 - Ghostbusters

I looked up from my book and frowned slightly. "What are you talking about?"

C.C. tilted her head slightly to the side and sighed. "Like I just said, there's an interesting rumor going around right now. There's a shrine near here, and the rumor states that there's an evil spirit possessing it. Not many people have the courage to go near it anymore."

I laid my book down and rested my chin on my hands. "What does that have to do with us? Besides, it's just a stupid rumor. It was probably started by someone who saw a raccoon or something and scared themselves into thinking it was a ghost."

She shook her head vigorously, and I could almost see the enthusiasm and energy radiating from her body. "Someone from our class went to go check it out last weekend. From what I've heard, he saw movements in the shrine, and heard voices. Ever since then, he hasn't come back to school, and people are now saying that by visiting the cursed shrine, he was put under some sort of spell."

I scoffed at the notion and leaned back. "Absurd. There's no way ghosts could be real. He's probably just pretending to get attention."

Then, I noticed the sparkling in her eyes, and before she even said anything, I knew what she wanted. "But... What if they do exist? This would be a great opportunity to do a bit of research! Who knows? Maybe it really is a ghost. Besides... I heard that there was going to be a festival held in the shrine. Even though the students here are kind of afraid, there should be a lot of other people going. It'll be a chance for us to have some fun as well!"

"There's absolutely no reason for us to go... Ghosts don't exist, and what would we prove if we actually went? It a waste of time in my opinion."

"... not even for a chance to go to a festival with me? It'll be my treat, and I promise it'll be fun! We can bring Euphy, Nunally and Suzaku along if they're willing to come."

I sighed and held my hands up in defeat. "Alright, alright. I'll ask them, but don't think that I'm giving in. I still don't believe in ghosts and I think that if we spend time at that festival searching for one, we'll just turn up empty handed and exhausted."

C.C. turned her head to the side, and I just barely caught her reply. "... maybe you're the only one that's going to be tired."

"... I know I'm not athletic. You don't need to poke at my pride like that."

She gave me a innocent look. "What pride?"

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

Three Days Later

I scratched my stomach as I fidgeted in my seat. After talking with my sisters and Suzaku, I only managed to convince Euphy to go. And, naturally, since Euphy was going, Suzaku found a reason to show up. Nunally had gotten a mild cold the night before, and decided to stay home and recuperate. So, before we knew it, we had been bundled off into a sleek black limousine headed for the somewhat remote temple, and the so-called haunted shrine. "Lelouch... stop fidgeting. You're messing up your kimono."

I growled in frustration. I wasn't used to wearing these types of clothes, and frankly, they were much too scratchy and clung to me in ways I cared not to describe. The cloth and the quality of the clothes were superb, but its comfort was something to be questioned. "... I've never worn clothes so uncomfortable before... How are you people able to bear this?"

Euphy put a finger to her lips and thoughtfully answered. "Well... I guess it's kind of like wearing a dress."

"Yes, because I do that very often."

C.C. reached over and pinched my cheek. "Lelouch is just grumpy because he lost our bet."

My face reddened slightly. "No, I'm not."

She grinned and poked me in the ribs. "Admit it. You should have seen the look on your face when these two happily and enthusiastically volunteered to come hunting for ghosts. I should have taken a picture."

"W-Well... I thought that it would be a nice experience..."

I glared at Euphy and sat back. As I closed my eyes, I felt two soft, warm arms wrap around mine. "Come on... Cheer up! Even if we don't find a ghost, at least we'll have fun doing so! Think of it as a challenge!"

I let out a breath and rested my head on her shoulder. "I really can't stay mad at you, can I?"

She flashed me smile and turned to look out the window at the scenery rushing past us. "Of course you can't. I know you too well."

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

I opened the car door and stretched myself, sore from the long car ride over. After I had made myself comfortable, I looked at the building in front of me. Since the festival stretched over an entire week, C.C. had made arrangements for us to stay at a very high-class hotel that her father's friend owned. Even before entering, I could tell just how much money had gone into the building. Everything looked new, and it was designed in a traditional style that had an oddly calming effect on me. I took a deep breath, taking in the scent of wildflowers growing along the path to the hotel. "Well, what do you think?"

I turned around. "It's perfect. The scenery, the environment, everything is just so amazing."

She let her hand slip into mine and pulled me toward the double doors. "Let's go check out the room where we'll be staying this week. I can't wait to see what they look like!"

I let her pull me through a maze of corridors until we reached a door. She took a key from her purse and unlocked it, opening it to reveal the room beyond. My eyes widened slightly at the sight of the room. It was clear that this was a room reserved for very rich guests, as it was larger than any hotel room I've seen before. There was a fully stocked and working kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms, and a recreation room with glass walls on all sides. Despite this, I couldn't help but feel a small feeling of bitterness grow within me. So... this is what money can buy...

I shook away my rude thoughts and went to check out the bedrooms. Each room had two large beds, a pair of writing desks, a TV, a computer, and a private bathroom. "Who is going to be in which room?"

C.C. gave me a look that clearly said, Are you stupid? "... Euphy and Suzaku are going to be staying here, and naturally, we'll be staying in the other room."

"... I'll sleep on the couch."

"In your dreams. What are you so afraid of?" A wicked grin spread across her face. "Can it be you are afraid to spend the night in the same room as me?"

"Should I not be? Who knows what you could do to me over the course of this week?"

She sidled a little closer to me. "Are you scared that I might put you under a spell that would make you obedient to me for an entire week? Or are you scared because I might try something when you let your guard down."

"Naturally, coming from a witch like you, both."

"I see." She suddenly stood on her tiptoes and pressed her lips to my cheek. "Then, are your worries abated with this?"

"I don't know. I think I might need more convincing."

"Oh shut up and help me get the luggage."

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

After we had moved all our luggage from the car to the room, we decided to split up until the evening. I was curious about the surrounding area, as well as what else the hotel had to offer, and C.C. had offered to give me a tour. Euphy and Suzaku decided to stay in the room and rest, since they were tired from the long car ride over.

Downstairs, we roamed around the entire grounds, seeing everything there was. Though I had my reservations about casually strolling around a place for aristocrats and the rich, soon, I was too caught up in discoveries to mind that. Walking around with C.C., I felt more relaxed than I had been in a long time. Soon, we discovered a small pathway leading away from the hotel, and we curiously decided to check it out.

"... Is this really what I think it is?"

Secluded around 10 minutes walk from the hotel, surrounded by trees, was a private hot spring. I made a mental note to visit here and let off some steam when I had the chance. It had been forever since I had last been to a hot spring.

"Look here... it says that there are small, private hot springs that the hotel guests can request. Maybe... we should go in together?"

I felt my face redden instantly. "D-Don't be stupid! There's no way that I would go into a hot spring with you!"

"... Why not?"

I couldn't help but laugh a little at the serious disappointment on her face. "Besides the obvious? There's no way that I would be allowed to go into there with you."

"And if you were?"

I decided to joke around with her a bit, and closed my eyes in mock concentration. "Well... if that's the case, then I would have no objections to it. But, then again, there's no way that's happening."

Her brooding silence at that moment scared me more than anything else could have.

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

Evening

The sky was getting dark when the four of us departed from the hotel. The shrine was only a few minutes walk away, and already, the street was filled with people on the way to the festival. Even from here, I could hear the music and smell the various foods that were at the site. Despite my attitude, I couldn't help but get excited at the sight of such an energetic festival.

Even the schedule C.C. had laid out for us couldn't dim my excitement. Since it was the first night and the festival was just beginning, we were to go up to the shrine tonight after enjoying as much of what was currently available in the festival. When we reached the first stalls, we split up, as Suzaku and Euphy went one way, I was pulled by C.C. toward another area of stalls.

For the next couple of hours, we tore through the festival, checking out the wares that were available and trying out all kinds of foods. Needless to say, it was more fun that I'd had in a very long time.

Finally, at the appointed time, we met up with Euphy and Suzaku at the edge of the festival grounds and headed up the worn path towards the shrine. The lights and sounds of the festival died away behind us, and the trail became steadily darker. Soon, the only thing that illuminated our path was the half moon above us.

"... I don't like this..."

Despite how quietly I whispered it under my breath, C.C. still managed to hear me. She grinned and gave me a soft nudge in the ribs. "You were so adamant on your belief that ghosts aren't real. If that's the case, then why are you getting so scared now?"

I felt my face flush a little, and I ducked down. "... I'm not scared. I just have a bad feeling about the shrine." I looked at her and realized she was trying really hard to suppress her laughter. "I'm serious! It's just a feeling... I can't really explain it."

"Sure, Lelouch. Then I guess we'll just have to be really careful tonight, won't we?"

"You're just making fun of me right now, aren't you?"

Without even a second's remorse, she grinned and skipped ahead. "Yup."

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

The desolate shrine didn't help ease my worries at all. There wasn't a light to be seen, and the shadows were growing around us. In this dark, even C.C. seemed a little more on edge than normal, but we proceeded into the shrine regardless of what we felt. From a backpack, Suzaku produced four flashlights as well as two hand held radios, just so we could keep in touch and coordinate our search. In order to check as much of the shrine as possible, we had decided to split into pairs and check different areas.

I grabbed a flashlight and a radio and followed C.C. into the main building of the shrine. With the light from our flashlights, the shrine seemed much less sinister. However, despite this, I felt a constant prickling on the back of my neck, as if we were being watched by someone. Even though I turned around many times, I never saw anyone following us.

After around 30 minutes of wandering through various rooms, we came upon a locked room. Try as we did, we couldn't find a key. "... I wonder why this room in particular is locked... Maybe we could pick the lock?"

I stared at C.C. in disbelief. "We can't just go and pick the lock! Something like that is illegal! What if you get caught?"

She laughed and pulled a hairpin out of her pocket. "Relax, Lelouch. Besides, who's going to catch us? We're the only ones in this area of the shrine."

Despite my protests, she continued to work at the lock, and after only a few minutes, the lock popped open, and she glanced up at me with a smug grin on her face. "Open sesame."

She slid the door open and my eyes registered something large flying our way. With a speed that surprised myself, I tackled C.C. out of the doorway just as a chair flew through the doorway and broke against the wall with a resounding thud. "W-What w-w-was that?"

I gathered my courage and crawled to the door and peeked around the corner. I couldn't see anyone there, as the moonlight filtering in through the window would have made anyone in the room visible. "... It couldn't have been..."

Even though she was obviously still shaken from having a chair fly towards her face, C.C. propped herself up in excitement. "You see? There must be a ghost here! Otherwise, how would you explain that?"

Before I could respond, a voice spoke out from the darkness. "What are you doing here?"

It was so unexpected that C.C. and I both screamed and clung to each other. There was a light chuckle, and a girl around the same age as us stepped out from the shadows. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

C.C. gave me a look and untangled herself from me. "O-Of course not. You just startled us a little. We didn't expect anyone else to be in the shrine at this time."

The girl laughed again and glanced at the flashlights in our hands. "Even though I don't think you mean any harm, what are you doing here? The shrine is off-limits after sundown."

Sheepishly, C.C. answered, her eyes directed downwards like a child who had done something wrong. "W-We... um... heard from a classmate of ours that this shrine is haunted. We wanted to see if we could find a ghost or find some sort of evidence here."

Instantly, the air around her seemed to change. "I see... you're one of those people. In that case, I'm going to have to ask you to leave. There can't possibly be a ghost here, or I would have known by now."

"Wait here. If you say there aren't any ghosts, then how do you explain that chair that flew out at us when we opened the door? Besides, why was that door even locked to begin with?"

The mysterious girl sighed and bent over to begin picking up the pieces of the chair that had, just moments ago, been flying at our heads. "There are sometimes kids that sneak in here and think they're being clever by setting up booby traps like this. I lock up the rooms to prevent anyone from getting hurt."

I was taken aback at her answer. "O-Oh... Well, I'm sorry for bothering you. Would you mind if we continued to explore this place? It wouldn't feel like the adventure we had planned if we don't check everywhere for these so-called "ghosts", even if they don't exist."

She thought for a moment, and her facial expression softened. "Alright. I'll permit it, as long as you promise not to enter any more rooms that are private. In order to make sure you don't, would you mind if I joined you? I think this ghost hunt is quite exciting."

I glanced at C.C., and at her nod, I smiled and held out my hand to her. "We'll be happy to have you join us. My name is Lelouch Lamperouge. And this is C-" I hesitated, not sure whether or not I should give this mysterious girl C.C.'s real name or not.

C.C. helped me from my dilemma by nudging me aside and holding out her own hand to the girl. "It's nice to meet you, my name is Cera Ciel."

Her head tilted to the side as she shook C.C.'s hand. "Cera... That's a nice name."

"Thank you. What's your name?"

The girl in the shrine maiden's uniform smiled and gave us a small bow. "My name is Ayumi. It's nice to meet you as well."

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

For another thirty minutes, we walked around with Ayumi, as she took the lead and led us through the shrine. We searched all over the rooms we were allowed to go into, but we found nothing else suspicious. At the end of our "tour", we met up with Suzaku and Euphy. After we introduced Ayumi to them, C.C. excitedly asked them if the had found anything in their search, then sighed in disappointment as their answers were negative. "Well... let's call it a night and head back to the hotel... We can come back to do a little more exploring some other time this week. That's okay with you, isn't it, Ayumi?"

She smiled and nodded. "You would be welcome to come by whenever you choose. Good-night, and have a safe trip."

Just then, a sudden thought seemed to strike C.C. She turned around and grabbed Ayumi's hand. "Hey... The festival is still going on right now, and we were planning on doing one last round through the stalls before we went back. Would you like to come with us, Ayumi?"

She quickly shook her head and stepped back. "I would love to, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to refuse. There are still things I need to tend to at the shrine, and I must finish my work tonight. I would be happy to go some other time this week, if that's alright with you."

C.C. smiled and nodded enthusiastically. "That would be great! In that case, we'll be leaving!"

Still talking about the things we had found, the four of us headed back into the still bustling festival grounds. As we walked, I happened to put my hand into my coat pocket. Inside, my hand brushed against a piece of paper that was definitely not there before. Confused, I asked the others to head on ahead while I took a look at the piece of paper I had just found inside my coat pocket.

It was a very old photograph, and it was in black and white. However, the date and the picture itself was clearly visible, and my eyes widened slightly as they looked over that small square of paper. The girl in that black and white photograph, taken at least fifty or sixty years ago, looked identical to Ayumi.

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

Despite how strange the picture was, I decided to leave the matter aside until sometime tomorrow. I was too tired right now to try and find an explanation for the picture, and all I wanted to do was take a quick shower and collapse onto my bed. When I entered the room, I knew instantly that something was up. C.C. was nowhere to be found in the common living room, and I couldn't find her in any of the other more public areas in our suite. I took a deep breath as I laid my hand on the doorknob into my (shared) room. I had no sooner opened the door when a hand reached out from the inside and pulled me in with surprising force. I didn't even have time to shout before I landed on my back in my room, with a shadow looming over me. "C.C... It's late... Can't you do this tomorrow? I just want to take a shower and go to sleep... I'm absolutely exhausted."

She shook her finger at me and grinned devilishly. "Not so fast, Lelouch. Wouldn't you like to relax in a hot spring instead of a boring shower? I've heard that this hotel's hot springs are famous for being able to revitalize a person."

"A soak in a hot spring does sound pretty nice..." Then, a sudden realization hit me. "Oh no you don't. There is no way I'm getting into a hot spring with you. I admit, you almost got me there, but luckily, I managed to see through your plot in time."

She blinked at me innocently. "What do you mean? I would never think to do something like that. I had them book a private one for you and another one for me so that we wouldn't have to use the crowded public baths."

I sighed and shook my head. "In that case... I guess I'll go. A soak in a hot spring is always good for the body. And... I guess I am a little wound up."

I would regret not paying closer attention to the devious grin on her face.

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

My eye twitched as I stared at the entrance to my "private" hot spring. It was a pretty nice little place, a small pool of hot water at the perfect temperature, surrounded by rocks and greenery to set the scene and mood. But, what was bothering me was the person that stood in the doorway. "I thought that you said they had prepared a separate hot spring for you. So... Why are you here?"

C.C. continued to act innocent as she walked to the edge of the water. "It seems they made a mistake with the preparations. So, instead of staying out in the cold, I decided to come to yours, since it was already prepared."

I felt my face heat up as I realized she was wearing only a towel. I quickly turned away and waved a finger at her. "A-Anyways, go put on some clothes and talk to the manager or something. I'm not turning around until I'm sure you're gone."

There was a soft splash, and a moment later, I felt someone slide up next to me. "Don't be such a child. There's no reason for me to go find the manager, right? He's probably busy, and anyways, this is the perfect size for two people."

"Why does this always happen to me?!"

-oOo-oOo-oOo-

After the initial awkwardness was over, I had to admit, it was more relaxing with her there next to me. It helped to have someone there that I could talk about anything to. "... about that girl we met at the shrine... did anything seem odd about her to you?"

C.C. opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling. "I'm glad you brought that up. I also thought that something was off about her. Her story was strange, but it wasn't too abnormal that I would say she was lying. But something just didn't feel right."

"At the time, I was still too shaken about having a chair come flying at my head to question her story. However, now that I think about it, it really doesn't seem to fit too well. Let's say there actually are kids who would set up random booby-traps inside an old shrine, if Ayumi had seen them do it or knew that the traps were there, then wouldn't it be a simple matter to get someone to fix it? Even in a place like this, it can't be too hard to find a few people willing to do some community service at the shrine."

She nodded thoughtfully. Suddenly, I remembered the picture I had found in my coat pocket and brought it out. "Also, there's this. I found this in my coat pocket after we left the shrine. I didn't notice it until we had reached the festival grounds. Take a look."

C.C. studied the picture for a long time before she spoke. "... Lelouch... I don't know what to make of this... It looks exactly like Ayumi, no doubt about it. However... if that date is correct, then the girl in that picture should be nearly seventy years old now."

Then, she tossed the picture aside. "But... let's leave this little mystery until tomorrow. I'm sure we'll find ourselves a reasonable explanation once we ask Ayumi about it. Besides... We came here to relax and enjoy ourselves too. It would be a shame if we didn't make the most out of our time."

I smiled and rested my arm around her shoulders. "You're right. It was foolish for us to worry about such things when there are other things we should be focused on."

As she rested herself against me, we stared up into the night sky. Then, as I began to drift into a light sleep, I began to think that maybe, coming here wasn't such a bad idea after all.


Extra Chapter 1 - Ghostbusters