Okay, so I couldn't wait and I decided to share the next chapter fairly quickly. I hope it's to the viewers' liking.

CHAPTER 1

I Win

His eyes stared up at his apartment ceiling, dried from his (rather embarrassing) crying and staring at nothing with pensiveness. The events that had occurred the day before, Third Princess Euphemia's funeral day, still had his usually collective mind reeling. First, as he was in the church and watching a parade of mourners pay their last respects to the princess's open casket, he'd spotted a girl with the same exact hair color as said deceased royal, though she'd had the same forest green eyes of Suzaku himself. She'd quickly looked away once they'd made eye contact, creating her character more suspicious. Then, at the interment, she'd appeared again, but kept her distance away from the other participants, though Suzaku had continuously felt her eyes on his back. If all that hadn't creeped him out, the Euphie-clone had then come to comfort him as he was sitting alone, sobbing before his precious Euphie's grave. She'd even stated she once knew the princess on a personal level, and had hummed a song that Euphie had supposedly taught her. What an oddball… but she was a genuinely nice person, he'd give her that.

Euphie… he thought, closing his eyes a pang shot through his body. He still felt, for some reason, that she was alive, but his mind kept supporting the fact that she had indeed left the world of the living. Why had it been so hard to accept? A soft chuckle escaped from his lips as he thought of the obvious answer. Though he hadn't had a good chance to tell her by the time of her death, he'd loved his charge. Dearly. Not in the best friend, little sister type of love, but the real thing. He'd have done anything to prove it to her, had she asked for it. Sure, the princess had had her faults, like her (kind of cute) naivety, but that had only made her more perfect in his eyes.

Remembering the day they'd first met once more, Suzaku suddenly realized a place where he could say a true goodbye to his Euphie…

The first and only place she'd wanted to go on that day; the Shinjuku ghetto.

Thinking about the location made the Lancelot pilot sigh in slight annoyance; that had been where all this mayhem of immortal twelve year-olds, Geass, the Black Knights and Zero the Bastard started. Even though it was something that reminded him of Euphie, nothing could make him forget the very day he'd been carrying a 'poisonous bomb' for the late Prince Clovis.

Well, isn't that just lovely.

He was thankful that it wasn't rainy today; he'd nearly caught cold after standing in shock in the rain without his umbrella. He'd have to scold the doppelganger for giving him such a shake-up if he ever managed to find her again. She had said that they'd meet again, though…that'd caught his attention. Wrenching himself back from his thoughts, the young Eleven steadily walked through the streets that led to the subway station. Through there, he'd find the ghetto and visit the memorial to the lives lost that fateful day.

As he walked his noticed people staring at him. Some hatefully, some admiringly. He didn't care; they were entitled to their own opinions of him. Mostly the rebels, such as the Black Knights, of Area 11 called him a traitorous scumbag that succumbed to the enemy, and some rebels and more likely normal citizens thought that he was making a difference, being an Eleven building a high reputation in the Britannian society. Either way, Suzaku just saw himself as himself; a person who was trying to gain power within and change the Holy Britannian Empire peacefully from the inside.

Within half an hour he was treading through the broken streets of the Shinjuku ghetto, staring at the ground blankly as he made his way towards the memorial. Why did every second that passed by feel like a millennia now? Time had seemed so much slower as of late, like the day didn't want to be over and done with like it should be. He continued to entertain himself with pointless thoughts until he heard signs of a struggle. He then heard a girl frightfully shriek into the afternoon.

"STOP!! Please!!"

Suzaku paused, shocked; he recognized the voice from the day before.

The doppelganger.

He rushed to where he was still hearing the pleas of the girl, which lead him to the back of an alleyway. He stopped at the left entrance, stealthily scooting closer and peeking in on what was going on. His eyes widened. Three older men, perhaps in their mid-twenties, ganging up on Euphie's look-alike. "Stay…stay away…" said girl stammered, backing up against the wall. Suzaku noticed she'd traded the black outfit from yesterday to a set of street clothes. She wore a lavender t-shirt, its hem going past her hips. She wore a black, turtleneck-collared jacket over it, and with finger-less black gloves warming her hands. She also wore a pair of baggy light blue jeans and black tennis shoes. "I'll…I'll…"

"You'll what, Britannian?" asked one of the men gruffly, his greedy hand reaching down towards the girl's jeans. She slapped it away with a growl, tensing her muscles as if preparing for a match. "Oh, me oh my, a feisty one. Looks like we're gonna have some fun, guys." The other two chuckled as they inched even closer to her, the ringleader cupping her chin with his hand. "Whatchya gonna do now, hm?" A merciless smirk plastered itself on the man's face, "Oh, I know: You're gonna be a good little bitch and let us have fun."

"There's a slight… problem," the girl stammered, and then her eyes narrowed in rage. She twirled around like a ballerina and extended her leg out, managing to hit the pervert straight in the face and knocking him back five feet on the ground. "I am no one's bitch."

"Impressive," Suzaku whispered in awe, thinking for a moment that she was better off now. Until one of the two remaining assailants whipped out a knife and a gun.

He sliced at her arm, making her yelp in pain and collapse on the floor, leaning on the wall. "Heh, not so tough now," the attacker snickered, the first and fallen pervert recovering upwards as this second one had his turn leaning in on the girl. "Now who's the good bitch?"

"She already told you – she's not one," Suzaku said from behind him, shocking the assailant and causing him to whip around quickly. Though it wasn't quick enough to stop the Lancelot pilot's fast fist from colliding into his jaw, nearly breaking it in three different places. The man was down for the count and didn't dare get up again.

The girl looked up in grateful amazement at her defender, but then her eyes widened. "Oi! Watch out!" she cried, before wincing at the pain her shoulder was giving off, bleeding like there would be no tomorrow.

Suzaku turned around and saw the last man who hadn't been hit yet. On reflex he spin-kicked him just like the pink-haired girl had, leading to said assailant crashing into a trash bin.

"Stupid wannabe Britannian," he heard a voice from behind him growl. He turned around and saw the first pervert behind him, holding the second one's gun from ten feet across from him. "Let's see how you like being shot at."

"NO!" the girl cried, and got up from her position on the alley floor. She ran at breakneck speed to stop right in front of Suzaku at the very moment the man pulled the trigger.

Had she not taken the bullet to the same shoulder that'd been slashed, that would have been the second time Kururugi Suzaku had gotten shot in the Shinjuku ghetto. With a scream of pain, the cherry-blossom-haired girl fell to the ground on her side, crying at the agony she was experiencing.

Seeing his one reminder of Euphie being bloodied made his own blood broil past its point. With a shout of anger, he delivered an erratic array of lightning-fast blows to the twisted man, getting both the heel of his shoes and the knuckles of his hands slightly stained with red. He back-flipped onto the ground as their last adversary fell to the pavement. Not dead, but definitely hurt. Speaking of hurt, he rushed to his rescuer's side, shaking the shoulder that hadn't been wounded gently. "Are you still awake?"

"Nng…" the girl groaned, trying to use her good elbow for balance as she attempted in getting up. "My arm…" she choked, sniffling from the tears she'd shed from the pain. Her weak green eyes stared at her rescuer's. "Thank you…Suzaku-san…" she gasped.

Suzaku merely nodded and scooped her up into his arms. "We need to get you to the hospital." Looking at her shoulder, he noticed that the bullet had hit straight above the slash. How unfortunate. He took off his jacket and used it as a makeshift sling of some sort. He now only had his white t-shirt and dark blue jeans to protect him from the still chilly weather. He got up and started rushing out the alleyway and back to the subway station; he needed to go to the military hospital. He could make sure they'd help her fully recover. "How come they attacked you?" he finally asked as he made it to the station, people clearing their way as they saw him carrying a bloodied teenager.

After wincing from the pain again, the doppelganger managed to hiss, "Because…I look like Euphie. They immediately assumed I was Britannian…lucky guess." Another wince.

"Why'd you take the bullet for me?" he asked as they boarded the train, "Can you hold on until we reach the hospital?"

"I'm pretty sure I can," the Euphie look-alike murmured, trying to force a smile on her face, but to no avail. Suzaku was now holding her in his lap, making the brunet blush slightly at being so familiar with this stranger. "And Euphie…wouldn't want you to die yet… So, with that in mind, I just protected you…like she would have." Her voice was starting to become even hoarser. "Heh, I'm surprised I'm holding out as much as I am… All that practicing with my dad must've paid off," she murmured, partly to herself.

They hung on in silence for the duration of the ride, Suzaku wondering how exactly he was going to explain this whole mess to Lloyd and the rest. Though he couldn't let this girl die. It could have been from the fact he would have witnessed the death of Euphie twice, but also because he felt this compelling feeling to protect her. He didn't know why, but he honestly didn't care. What mattered was that this girl would be safe out of harm's way again. "Thank you…" he finally whispered, and the girl looked up at him in mild surprise from her head's place on his legs. "Even…even if there's nothing more I'd love than to be with Euphie again…thanks for saving me."

"Even though Euphie would feel the same way about seeing you, she wouldn't want you to share her fate," the girl murmured. "I…owe her a lot, that Euphie…" she whimpered at the pain again, this time cringing forwards to try to ease it by applying pressure to it. "Ouch."

"Hang in there," Suzaku said, trying hard to keep his voice calm.

The girl nodded; she didn't need to be told twice. Even if she looked like the deceased princess, she was tougher than her by a mile. Even if she'd never been shot before, she had felt worse pain than this. Much worse. She then looked up at him once more, curiosity overlapping the pain in her emerald eyes. There was something in turn she had to ask of her savior. "Suzaku-san…why'd you come and save me?"

"No one deserves to be treated the way those men treated you," Suzaku said simply, trying to smile at her but failed. "I couldn't let a friend of Euphie's be dishonored like that."

"Thanks, but can I sleep now?" the girl randomly whispered. "I'm tired, Suzaku-san. Could I please sleep? I won't go see Euphie, but I'm just exhausted." She spoke in a voice so kind, just like the dead princess. Suzaku wanted to deny her the chance to sleep because he too was fearful that she would slip away from the world of the living, but seeing the life that still burned in her eyes… It was so much more than the amount Euphie had had when she was in the same state. But this girl was a fighter, he'd already seen… Euphie had just been too frail and too emotionally exhausted; it wasn't a discredit to her on his part, though it was a fact. Euphie wouldn't have been able to stop anyway…

Suzaku nodded. "Yeah, if you tell me your name."

"Cerise…Bellamont," the girl whispered, her eyelids drooping. "But everyone calls me Ceri…" She sighed contently before drifting off into the world of dreams, some children crying to their mothers that the girl had died now. The mothers would shake their heads and deny their children gently, saying that if the girl was still breathing she couldn't possibly be dead.

Praying that they were right with all of his heart, Suzaku stared at the strange girl, still perplexed at the situation he had gotten himself into. Bellamont-san… Who exactly are you? The name seemed familiar as well, but he could not understand how at all.

He'd have to have Lloyd and Cécile look into this "Cerise Bellamont" once he got to their hospital.

Her eyes began to flutter open, seeing a blur of whites and grays… The hospital… she thought, as her eyes furrowed in anguish in order to get used to the harsh lights. Well, there's no stinging in my shoulder, so I guess I'm fine. She felt an IV in her wrist; how lovely. Why do these things always feel so damn awkward? she grumbled mentally, and then saw another, red tube in her arm. Her green eyes shot open. Oh, God, no… B-Blood…? she knew that she must've been bleeding on the way here, but she'd been so distracted by the pain she hadn't really noticed. Now, clear as day, she saw a whole tube of it, flowing into her veins. They must have figured out my blood type. Crap, they have a clue…

"You're awake." A light gasp escaped from her lips and she turned around to see…him. He was standing over there, casually propped against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. His weak smile forced a bigger one on her.

"I know," she said. "Thanks for bringing me here, Suzaku-san. But…" she pointed her IV arm to the blood-tube. "Whose blood is this?"

"Mine," the honorary Britannian answered, holding up his wrist where a bandage was held. "They took a sample of yours and you're blood type O, and so am I. So I volunteered; I thought it'd be faster than checking all the blood to see which would fit."

Phew! Now I'm safe; what he has is no different than what I have, I guess, she thought, her face expression relieved. "Thanks again." He smiled and nodded this time, and then his expression turned grim, confused. He was staring at her like he was staring a stranger, the way he had at the cemetery, but not the way he had most recently. That hurt her a bit, since she had assumed she'd made an acquaintance out of him; but now he seemed to hate her for some reason. It couldn't have been because he was risking his blood for her? No, it wasn't that. She just knew something was troubling him. Whatever it was, she needed to find out, so she could fix it. "Suzaku-san, what's wrong?"

"What's your name?" he asked, for the second time that day.

"Cerise Bellamont; I already told you… I think," she answered, but then her eyes narrowed. He wasn't buying it. "Why?"

He held out a notepad, with a single white paper sheet on it. It was completely blank, except for the words 'Bellamont, Cerise' printed on it. "I asked my superiors to run a background check on you –″

"But you didn't find anything," she murmured, not really surprised. "And you wanna know why." She received a nod from her brunet rescuer, and she sighed. He did deserve an explanation, but it was too soon yet. She had no choice but to make up an alibi and fast. "Some agents were after me, trying to recruit me for the things they're involved in. They wanted to go into my files and find something to blackmail me on if it meant I'd join; they can hack any system without a hitch. It's child's-play for them to hack into the government's database of its civilians, so I requested I be deleted from it. They warned me the consequences and I didn't care. So they did and now I technically don't exist; Camille Bureau is dead and now I've become Cerise Bellamont."

"Bureau?" he asked, finding it amusing for someone to have the last name of a type of company. It'd even be funnier if she said her last name were "Incorporated."

She pouted. "Shuddup! I know that it's a bit weird, but just focus on the fact my birth name was Camille. Ignore the surname; it's annoying and stupid." She continued making the face for a whole minute, but then her expression brightened. "Ah, I just remembered! I'll be attending Ashford Academy as Cerise, and I understand you go there too, right?" Suzaku nodded, though a bit shocked at the sudden – and random – revelation. Ceri smiled. "Then it's our little secret, okay?" she placed a finger on her lips to emphasize keeping it quiet. "I'll be a new student council member, too."

"Huh!?" she was amused at his puzzlement, with the shocked eyes and the wide mouth. "The Student Council just keeps growing…" he murmured to himself.

"Yup, but I haven't picked up my uniform yet," she added, now drifting off the subject and into her own little world. "Come to think of it… I don't even have a place to live yet, so I dunno what I'm gonna do…" she sighed, and now tapped her chin with her finger. Suzaku was wondering exactly why she was talking to herself, but he figured he was bound to meet more characters with their certain eccentricities. "Hm…what to do…" she murmured again, her eyebrows furrowed. She hadn't really thought of it before…and she'd been in Area 11 – Japan – for a week already.

"Exactly where've you been all this time, then?" Suzaku asked. He'd planned to take her to her home once she recovered, but thanks to that second random revelation, his plans were dashed at the moment.

Ceri winced. Oh, had this been a rough week. "In an alleyway; I found this big box that I could sleep in, and there was shelter from the rain." Suzaku was staring at her, wide-eyed and mouth agape. It was clear the Knight was shocked that she'd been living

"You can't live there forever, so…"

Ceri's eyes widened as she realized where her rescuer was getting to. That's not what I had in mind; but spending time with him while I still have it wouldn't be so bad. "I've imposed on you too much already, Suzaku-san!" she piped, sitting up straight from her bed. "Nuh-uh!"

"Where do you expect to go then, hm?" he asked, his tone a bit harsher than he meant it to be, like a father gently scolding his daughter. Thinking that made Suzaku feel strange again, like being a father was natural with this girl. Said pink-haired teenager pouted and looked down at the ground, crossing her arms over her bust. He expected her to answer, but only silence fell upon the two in the room.

The door slid open and a light blue-haired man in a white lab coat came in, "Hello, everyone!" he boasted loudly. A blue-haired woman in the regular military uniform of a dress coat and skirt came in with a brown notepad, a bit exhausted. Who wouldn't be, with this man's apparent mental problems?

Kami-sama, Lloyd-san is even more of a pain in the ass here, Ceri thought, gritting her teeth in annoyance. Lloyd looked at her curiously and smiled.

"Ah, you're awake, Bellamont-san!" he chimed happily, heightening the creepy rapist-factor in Ceri's mind about two levels. Resisting the urge to let her eye twitch at how weird this guy was, Ceri smiled politely at the eccentric visitor.

"Call me Ceri, please, sir. And thank you for treating me; I'm in debt." She'd been close to addressing the man by his given name; had she done that, they'd have gotten suspicious. The last thing she needed was to get discovered so early in time. She wanted to get up and give the two a hug, but she collapsed on her bed once more, still a bit tired from her endeavor. She hated feeling, no, being so useless. Suzaku rushed to help her up, which she personally thought was a very kind gesture, but Ceri held her other hand that wasn't clinging to the sheets in aggravation in order to put his actions to a halt. "Lemme try, Suzaku-san."

"No," he said firmly, but gently, as he placed his hands on her shoulders and kept her on the bed. "You've just been shot and you've lost a lot of blood. Looks like your plans for attending the Academy are gonna be put on hold for…" He blinked as he remembered that he hadn't been the one who'd actually examined her condition, so he motioned his head to the rapist-looking guy and his still pooped assistant.

"About three days," the lab coated man said, shrugging. "You see, Ceri-san, your wound has healed rather progressively in the short time you've been unconscious. It's healed more in six hours than it would have in two days." He looked at her with a slyly kind face. "You're lucky, that you're built like Suzaku-kun here." Both Ceri and Suzaku seemed a bit shocked to hear the similarities that'd been found in them, but Ceri only found it common sense. She'd known those similarities when she was a child.

Ceri only made a convincingly calm, pleasant smile at Suzaku. "Really, now?" She smiled, her eyes closing in her cheerful mood, "That'd pretty interesting, eh, Suzaku-san? We have the same blood type, and now we have the same healing capabilities." The young Honorary Britannian could only make an awkward smile and nod back, murmuring a yes. She then looked at the two other people in the room, "Oh, my bad; I haven't learned your names."

"Such a polite little girl," cooed the man, making the hairs in the back of Ceri's neck stand on edge. "Well, my name would be Earl Lloyd Asplund."

His supposed assistant, now having a chance to recuperate, smiled at her and extended a friendly hand. "And I am Cécile Croomy; it's a pleasure to meet you, Ceri-san."

Ceri smiled back and took the hand, and after they shook she said it was a pleasure to have met them as well. Even if they already knew me… she thought. "Excuse me, Lloyd-san, I know it's not my recommended time, but…" she looked up at the scientist with big eyes and pouting lips. "Please, could I get out in about a few hours?"

Suzaku looked at her sharply from his place at Lloyd's side. "I already told you –" he was cut off when Ceri swiftly pointed to the tube of blood flowing into her, a look of fear suddenly replacing her begging expression. As she stared at him harder, trying to get her point across, her arm started shivering. His eyes stared at his own blood and then looked at the scared patient. "You're hemophobic." A shaky nod came from her.

"I don't want to look at it. But then I'd have nothing better to do if I'm stuck in here. It'll be a living hell."

"Movies, TV shows, maybe even the Internet would be available," Cécile offered, also concerned of the girl's wellbeing, despite the fear of blood she was sympathizing with. Ceri was silent, and looked away.

"No, I'd still look at it," she murmured quietly. "This is weird, coming from the daughter of a military officer and a former officer herself, but… I just can't see it." They think I'm a psycho now, I know it. She dared a glance at the red substance, but she instantly looked away with a shudder. Oh well. I just can't be in a room with blood. I can't. "Please, if you could get me out of here quick, maybe in less than a day, but please let me out."

Lloyd was staring at the girl with a cross between of thoughtfulness and indifference. After a short silence, his expression relaxed and he looked at her with a kind but non-smiling face. "Six hours," he muttered. Suzaku whipped around to protest, but Lloyd beat him to the punch, "I've already said that she heals faster than the average human. She's no weakling, Suzaku-kun." He looked at the pink haired girl again. "Rest for the time being, Ceri-chan. You'll need it."

That's just what he did last time! Ceri mentally growled. Saying my name with such familiarity – without my permission, too, dammit! However, trying to replace her annoyance with gratefulness, she smiled at Lloyd and bowed to him as best she could. "Thank you so much, Lloyd-san." Lloyd nodded and silently exited the room, Cécile by his side, which left the two young people alone in the room.

Suzaku, tired, plopped on the chair he'd been sitting on before she'd woken up. With his head back and eyes staring at nothing, he sighed with a pout, "You got lucky."

Ceri could only flash a tiny smirk in response. "I win!" She closed her eyes, suddenly realizing that she was still a bit wiped out as well. "I win…"

"Hy-ah!" she ducked the incoming leg swinging for her face, and soon countered with a low spin-kick of her own, knocking her sparring partner down. "Hah, I win!" She giggled for a moment, but when she heard a groan, she gasped worriedly. "Daddy! Daddy, are you okay!?"

Her father laughed as he got up and placed a hand on her head, ruffling her brown locks that she'd gotten from him. "I'm fine, kiddo. You've gotten stronger since our last match." He kissed her forehead. "I'm so proud of you…"

"Daddy, you'd better not've lemme beat you!" she pouted, her green eyes glaring up at her father's. Her father looked at her with a fake, hurt face.

"___, I'd never do that. You've gotta believe in your abilities, too, y'know."

"So I really did win!?" cried the little girl excitedly.

"Yeah, you did, ___. You win."

Yes, I did do the ___ on purpose.

Yes, Ceri's not really telling the truth about either of her names.
Yes, Ceri's actually a brunette.

So yeah, Ceri's a big fat liar. Well, she's actually pretty skinny, but ya know what I mean, right? Right.

Okays, time for the review answers!! XD

CrystalStarlight95 - Thanks for reviewing. I really appreciated your feedback!! ^^ *hugs*

Have a nice day, everybody!!

- Gabby