Chapter II

The sound of the bang must have alerted someone outside because seconds later the door to the conference room suddenly opened, and light from the outer hall poured in, bathing the room in bright white illuminance, from both artificial light and sunlight.

Suzaku squinted, as the new brightness penetrated the dark, stinging his pupils.

Who dared disturb him in his moment of self-enmity?

Suzaku gasped, as the tall, yet a familiar figure stood at the double doors. The conference room was adjacent to the private lounge used by the Knights of the Round when they wanted to unwind. To Suzaku, it was a symbol of elite privilege, and he hated it.

"Hey, now, why are you in here all alone and in the dark?" The lights flicked on, and Suzaku winced with the sudden brightness, blinking a couple of times. The figure was Gino Weinburg, the Knight of Three. He was a tall, young, and handsome man, with wavy blonde hair.

Gino once remarked, if his life had gone in another way, he'd be a movie star.

Suzaku didn't doubt that. Gino had movie star, good looks, and he often reminded everyone about it to stroke his ego. He was an excellent pilot, one of the best in the Knight's, but he also a bit of an exhibitionist, with a huge ego. He added flare in the field, when killing his enemies, in dramatic fashion, to make it not only entertaining for himself, but flashy for the media.

Suzaku remained sitting, as Gino looked around the room, and at its disarray. He then looked at the active screen on the wall, noting who was on it. Lelouch's image was on the screen, bound, and jailed. Gino smirked. He then took notice of the smashed screen next to it.

"Feeling nostalgic, Suzaku? But there's no need to take our your frustration on the TV's. The surge of the Empire is where he belongs. We tried many ways to rehabilitate the guy, used him for our own ends, you even played babysitter, but nothing worked. Now he's back home."

Gino chuckled, but Suzaku was not amused. Suzaku sat back in is chair, gripping the handles tightly. His emotions were frenzied, but he had to hide them from Gino. Who knew what the guy said to the others behind Suzaku's back. Would he say something about the room? Tell the others that the newest member had a little temper tantrum?

This meeting was unofficial, despite both of them wearing their white Knight uniforms. They were on stand-by, not on duty, but they were still on the clock.

Several seconds past in silence.

Gino put two closed fist to his narrow hips. "You disappeared suddenly from the lounge," he said, switching the conversion. "You shouldn't be by yourself, it's not healthy. I know you've had some…let's say…issues after you-know-who was brought back in. But don't fret, Suzaku. It's all for the best. The Empire is our home. And you're a part of our family now."

The very notion turned Suzaku's stomach.

"So, forget about your old friend. He's nothing now. He's the Emperor's business. Frankly," —and Gino turned back to the screen— "I'm wondering why the guy hasn't been eliminated yet? Maybe the old man does have a soft spot for family?" He shrugged. "Who knows, who cares!"

Suzaku gripped the chair handles tighter, his hands hurt. He felt like lashing out at Gino, but that would be unwise and would amount to insubordination and assault.

He had come here, done the things he did, to rise the ranks, and to change to status quo when it came to the Empire's sentiments towards Elevens. After what Lelouch did, however, that had been set back. So, he needed to remain within the enemy's camp and bide his time.

Gino looked at the room again. "So, what happened here? Have a fight with a ghost?"

Suzaku blinked reflectively. Figuratively speaking, Gino was right. He had had a fight with a ghost from his past, and he took out his anger on it—on the room. Suzaku looked around. And suddenly, he realized what he had done. What excuse could he give to explain it?

Suzaku sighed, then folded his arms on the table and rested his chin down.

"I wish to be left alone, Gino," Suzaku said sombrely. He didn't feel like company right now. He knew he had to try to get past his depression and demons, and he only had himself to deal with them. In fact, I wish the whole world would just go away—forever.

Gino shrugged his shoulders in his usual non-chalet way, smiling softly. "No, you don't," he said cheerily. "Come on, man, you're never alone."

Gino continued to smile as he sat down next to him. Suzaku glanced over at him, his chin still resting on his arms. Out of all the Knights, Gino had been the only one to want to get to know him, to be friends. He even got a little too-close, but that was just his way.

The chair Gino sat on creaked horribly and Suzaku cringed. He had known about that chair and purposely didn't sit there. He wished he had thrown that chair instead, so it could be replaced. But whenever the Knight's had a meeting in the room, that was always Gino's chair, and he liked to sway back and forth in it, annoying the others with its creak.

"I must send in a requisition to revamp this room," Gino said, laughing momentarily. "Fire the cleaners, or reassign them to the sewer system clean-up."

Suzaku's eyes widened, his head lifted. "Don't do that," he said adamantly. "I'll clean it."

Gino laughed, patting his left arm. "I was only kidding," he said with a smirk.

Suzaku frowned again, and he brought up his arms, but rested his elbows on the table, his chin on crossed hands, and looked blankly across the room in contemplation. He sighed.

"Why in a sour mood?" Gino asked. "Is it because of him?" He thumbed Lelouch on the screen.

Suzaku groaned irksome under his breath. He seriously wanted to be alone. He sighed again, he didn't wish to answer. But yes, it was because of Lelouch. It was best to let the question float.

Gino smiled. "I have some good news and this will interest you," he started. "I wasn't going to say anything, the old man didn't want me to tell anyone, especially you. But hey, you'll know soon enough. And it might just cheer you up. Your friend is getting another chance."

Suzaku looked at him puzzled.

"The Emperor has appointed a guardian to Lelouch when he's sent back to school, where your next assignment will be," he added. "And he's in the final stages of rewriting Lelouch's memories to include the perfect candidate, a member of the Special Branch. You'll meet him soon. We shouldn't have any more trouble from Zero or the Black Knights after this final solution."

Unlike Lelouch's Geass, for which he could only use once on a person, the Emperor's Geass was unlimited, with help from the Thought Elevator.

Had the Emperor decided to try yet again after all the slip-ups? The Emperor was a hard and strict individual, but even he, Suzaku surmised, was subjected to his own bruised ego. And maybe, just maybe, Lelouch was important to him? If only to be played with.

But to Suzaku, killing him would have been more humane.

"That's good," Suzaku said conversionally, but he was still bothered by the memory erasure.

The Emperor had already tried to use Lelouch as a pawn for his own whims, and had completely altered his identity, but Lelouch's consciousness was stronger, and he had broken the spell, and was a prisoner of his own ambitions again.

Suzaku thought of Euphie, and how she was executed by Zero. It seemed like a life time ago. Lelouch used Geass on her to massacre innocent Japanese in the Administrative Zone. If the zone had been successful, it would've given hope back to the Japanese people. With Euphie as Emissary, through her, Britannia was prepared to designate a piece of land for the Eleven's to settle on, and to once again, officially, call themselves Japanese.

If that had happened, I would have seriously considered leaving the military and joining them.

"Why, Lelouch, why?" Suzaku muttered under his breath.

He had no time to interrogate Lelouch before dragging him before the Emperor. Now the reason why Lelouch did what he had done was lost forever.

"You miss your friend, don't you?" Gino said with genuine sympathy. "I know how it feels to lose a friend, especially one from childhood. I had a friend who was killed in action against the rebels, long before the Black Knight's appeared. But what kind of friend are you to Lelouch? You handed him over to the Emperor to have his memory erased, to take away Zero, the saviour of the Japanese people, weakening their resolve? You're Japanese, right?"

"Shut up, Gino."

"You have anger issues, my friend. You need to relax." Gino smiled. "I know some very hot girls who would be more then willing to help you take your mind off your troubles." He winked.

Suzaku felt like striking him, but restrained himself.

Gino seemed to pick up on his irritation, however, and stood up to leave. He shrugged his shoulders again, and smiled. "But, you're right. After everything you've been through lately, maybe a little time alone to reflect on events is what you need. Just don't mope around."

"I'm not moping," Suzaku said defensively.

"Okay, brooding."

"I'm not brooding either."

"Your eyes tell me a different story," Gino replied seriously. "You can tell a lot about a person's eyes. You're not a good lair. But I'll leave you in peace."

Gino turned towards the door, but then stopped. He turned back around, reached into his white uniform jacket, and said. "Oh, I almost forgot: Happy Birthday." And put a small white package with a red bow on the table in front of Suzaku. Suzaku took it, turned it over in his hands. "Also, call it a welcome gift," Gino added.

"Thank you, I didn't think anyone would care."

"Of course we care. You're one of us now, Suzaku." And Gino smiled.

One of us now…

Those words felt like a knife to the heart.

Then Gino left, closing the doors behind him.

And Suzaku was alone again.

He unwrapped the gift. It was a leather bound book, it looked well worn. Obviously, why would the Knights buy something that would be new? A used book was good enough.

It was The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde.

He had read it already when he was in the infantry. One of his regiment recommended it. It was a classic story about a man who developed a split-personality disorder. By day he was a mild manor lawyer, but by night, he was a ruthless killer. Ironically, the story had an all too familiar air to it, tragic, especially in comparison to himself and Lelouch.

It was also cruel. Because it also reminded himself of his own two-faced personality.

He put it down on the table, and then looked back at the screen with Lelouch. And almost found himself smiling when he remembered a fond memory.

It was a time when he and Lelouch were having fun at a cookout at Ashford Academy. He had a photograph of that day in an album he kept. Shirley, a girl at school, took it. It was now, however, part of a collection of memories he could never show to anyone, because along with Lelouch's memory, the Emperor choose to rewrite the memories of all of Lelouch's friends; forgetting the Black Knights, and even Nunnally. And it had taken a lot of effort to do so.

And Suzaku knew, the Emperor would get some sick pleasure in stripping all of Lelouch's history away. It made him sick to his stomach.

So much history, gone! All because of Geass! Maybe, Gino's right. I'm too tense. I need to relax. I need to forget.

He forced the memory gone, then stood up, and turned off the monitor.

"Good-bye, Lelouch," he said. "I'll remember what you were, not what you became." He didn't expect to ever see his old friend again.

Picking up the book, he then left the room.

But the moment he opened the doors, Gino waved a hello. He was alone. He had been waiting. And he spared no time in getting friendly, wrapping an arm around Suzaku's shoulder.

"Hey man, It's not healthy for a person to keep hate in his heart," he said, shaking him. "You'll die sooner. Meet me in the gymnasium in half an hour and I'll have a surprise for you."

"Gino, I appreciate you trying to cheer me up, but I just don't feel like it."

"Don't make me order you. I do out rank you, after all." Gino smiled in his usual manner, and Suzaku rolled his yes. Gino was the Knight of Three, and that trumped the Knight of Seven.

Suzaku sighed. "Fine, I'll be there," he said.

"Good, thirty minutes. Don't be late. And I want you to bring all that stress and anger with you."

"Huh?"

Gino smiled, retracted his arm, and then walked away, waving as he went.

To be continued...