Chapter IV
Suzaku eyes widened with look of utter disbelief, taking in the whole room. Pages from the book Gino had given him as a Birthday present were scattered everywhere, torn to shreds, and tossed asunder without a care. It was like a bomb had gone off.
Arthur had destroyed the book! It was like the cat had become the character of Mr. Hyde.
"Arthur!" he repeated with an even stringent tone. "Why did you do this? You've never done anything like this before!"
A scrap of paper slipped from Arthur's mouth as the cat looked back, almost stunned with the elevated tone of Suzaku's voice—like it was something new. He jumped off the glass table and ran away from the immediate area, his ears down, frightened by Suzaku's "new" demeanour.
Suzaku snapped a look and gave Arthur a harsh glare as the cat took refuge behind the corner of a wall, the hallway that lead to a kitchen area. Suzaku's quarters was sizeable and luxurious, and there were many different places for Arthur to hide away.
Arthur continued to observe Suzaku from his safe place.
Suzaku sighed deeply, his anger turning to grief and abashment. He felt so embarrassed by this act of animal destruction. Arthur had never even destroyed a piece of furniture. Yet this book had brought out something in him that seemed unnatural.
He spent the next couple of minutes retrieving the pieces of the book. But he wondered, if Arthur had swallowed any it? Would he find different pieces in his litter box days from now? If Gino ever found out what happened, he'll be very upset. No matter the type of book, Gino's sentiments meant a lot to Suzaku. He was the only one who gave him a birthday gift, none of the other Knights did, or even acknowledged it. That was saying a lot. It meant friendship.
Just tell the truth. Would Gino laugh or be upset?
When he thought he had gathered all the pieces, he placed them in a pile on the table. Sitting down, he looked at them, and sighed deeply again, and actually tried to put some of the papers back together like a giant jigsaw puzzle. But putting the book together would be a hopeless cause. And even if he spent the time doing so, he could never put it out for display. And what if Gino asked to see it? In all regards, the book was beyond repair. Completely and utterly ruined.
He turned, and saw Arthur still watching him from behind the cornered wall. The cat looked at him with confused, but uneasy eyes. Arthur obviously knew he had been bad.
Arthur then began to cough. He hacked something up in the form of a tiny paper ball.
Suzaku went to retrieve it, as Arthur moved back. Suzaku unbound the sticky, gummed up piece of paper, no doubt part of the book, and tried to dry it with a portion of his shirt. It appeared to be ripped from the beginning of the book and had some sort of dedication.
Oh, no! Had Gino actually signed it? Wishing him a birthday inside the book?
Some of black ink was running, but it was still readable. It had conscript from a person with masterful penmanship. Suzaku knew Gino's handwritten was child-like.
Bewildered, he read the short dedication:
"With my compliments, Knight of Seven.
—Charles vi Britannia."
It was from the Emperor. The book was not from Gino?
Wait, Gino never said it had come from him. He only handed it over. It was only an assumption Suzaku thought it was a gift from the friendliest of the Knights.
And then it suddenly dawned on him, the rationale behind such a cruel and natured gift.
Suzaku had thought it unusual that Gino would be so unkind. In the short time he had known Gino, the Knight of Three wasn't like that. Gino must have been asked to give it to him.
With this book, Suzaku knew, the Emperor was sending him a message. And the Emperor was thanking him for his new allegiance and betraying his people.
Lelouch had been fighting for a cause Suzaku secretly hoped would succeed. Lelouch was fighting to reestablish Japan, as Zero, despite being a prince of Britannia. But Suzaku had been too blinded by duty and Euphie's death to see Lelouch's true ideal cause.
He slapped a hand to his face. I'm such a hypocrite!
But it was too late for regrets. He had made his bed and it stained with the blood of Elevens.
He slapped the book with a hand, an evil gift, and threw all the papers, including the leather binding, to the floor. The contents scattered everywhere like confetti at a parade. He put his hands to his face, as he leaned his elbows on the table, and silently screamed.
I'm such a fool! What the heck do I think I'm doing? It's a folly's quest. I'll never be able to change things. The Emperor would squash me as easily as any bug!
His anger turned to self-pity, but his anger towards Arthur quickly melted away. He wiped away tears from his eyes, and then turned and smiled at his feline companion, still hiding.
Suzaku smiled with pride. "Come here, Arthur," he said calmly. "I'm not mad anymore, honest."
Arthur hesitated, but then came out into the open.
Suzaku patted a leg, and Arthur, twitching his tail happily, jumped up on to his lap. Arthur finally allowed Suzaku to pet him on without being bitten. Arthur purred.
It was like Arthur, empathetically, knew of the evil of the book—that he could smell the Emperor's scent on it, and destroyed it for the evil that it was. The title itself was enough to cause Suzaku despair. And after seeing it was, in fact, the Emperor who had given it to him, he hated it—and the Emperor—even more.
Perhaps Arthur was much more perceptive than he give the cat credit for?
Arthur began licking the wound inflicted on Suzaku as if in a moment of penitence. Suzaku continued the pet the cat. "It's okay, Arthur. You're a good boy."
Arthur then purred contently.
A couple of moments later, a beeping came from Suzaku's communicator. It was a special device that alerted him of any on-goings in and around the city that the Knights should be made aware of. An alert flashed on the screen about a riot by a couple of Elevens in a ghetto.
Arthur jumped down as he stood up. Suzaku retrieved a television controller from a couch. He switched on a large flat screen monitor on one wall of his quarters. Standing in front of it, he crossed his arms. He didn't turn on the sound, there was no need to listen a bias news anchor.
What was going on now? What were the Elevens doing? He wondered.
They didn't know it, but he fighting for them. He couldn't tell them, but he hoped they would be patient and not cause any trouble until he could crack the system and provide more to the Elevens the best way he could. He was already increasing health care services as a way for the Emperor to look good to other nations around the world.
He watched the live news broadcast. Happening now, a group of Elevens were fighting some Britannia soldiers in hand-to-hand combat, fighting with anything they could get their hands on.
The broadcast showed a large ghetto residency with dozens of people in dire straits, living in abject poverty, with makeshift stoves, and boxed single, wooden homes. The military, according to the headline, were ordered to clear them out of the area. The military was armed to the teeth in full regalia, bringing a couple of Mainframes, seen in the background, with soldiers brandishing weapons. The ground forces were violent and attacked with prejudice, even shooting those that became too unruly, or who refused to adhere to Empire's declaration.
"No, stop it!" he shouted at the television. "Shot killing them! Goddamn it! STOP!"
But shouting did nothing, as he witnessed the slaughter of dozens of innocent people.
He couldn't watch anymore.
He clenched both fists at his sides until his nails pricked his skin, blood dripped from his hands to the floor. He then turned, took the book binding from the floor and threw it at the television. It hit centre, exploding the screen, sending sparks outward in every direction. The wall crashed to the floor.
He wanted to shout, but he knew someone would come running, one of the many guards that walked the corridors for security, and he didn't want anyone to ask questions.
He put his hands to his face and suddenly began to cry, collapsing to his knees. Zero would have been their saviour, the Black Knights would have come to their rescue, but now neither were around, and it was all his fault. He was responsible for those Elevens dying.
More people, dead! All because he turned Zero in. Never in a million years would be able to repent for the deaths. He had betrayed his people. And he knew they hated him for it. They called him a traitor, and one person was actually executed after attacking him. But it wasn't he who killed the man, it was one of the other Knights after the fact without his consent.
Arthur came over and then sat next to him, and meowed, sympathetically, and then nudged Suzaku in the leg, rubbing his face over the same spot. Suzaku lowered his hands, tears blurring his vision, and looked at Arthur.
Arthur was showing him affection. Trying to cheer him up.
"Oh, Arthur…" Suzaku let out a heavy sigh. "What am I? Who am I? Am I Japanese, a Knight of the Round, or something else—what kind of demon have I become? Should I even care anymore?" He looked at Arthur, and the cat cocked his head, indecisively.
Suzaku extended his hands out.
And suddenly, Arthur bit a finger, and Suzaku cried out in pain. "Ow!" Another love bite?
Animals were intuitive and had a way to help their masters when they needed it the most. Was it a wake-up call to snap him out of his depression? That things would get better?
Suzaku pulled his finger away and sucked off the blood. Then he bit down on it, as if to say, "Wake up! You're here to help your people. There will be bumps in the road, but you're here, and you can make a difference!"
He knew, eventually, the Empire would learn his Japanese brethren could play a pivotal role in society, the stamina of their lineage awash. And he would be there to bring forth that change from within. He couldn't give up. He had to keep trying. Without Zero!
He felt better. Arthur had helped him.
He stood on his feet. Leaving the mess on the floor, he then headed out to met Gino.
To be continued...