-Ephemeral Encounters -
August 16, 2017 a.t.b.
The next day, Ekkehardt stayed in classes for a while, though hasn't been able to stay awake for a long time. "Alright, this time of day, we have a new student in our rosters. I would like you all to give him a good greetings." The teacher said, though Ekkehardt looks off to the side. New student huh? Who's the fortunate one I wonder? Ekkehardt thought to himself.
"My name is Suzaku Kururugi. I will be attending Ashford Academy for the rest of the year. It is my pleasure to meet you all." A familiar voice brought the attention up to see that it was actually Suzaku. Ekkehardt could only smile towards Suzaku as he passed Ekkehardt. So, you come here now? How does the fortune favor you in a manner like this? Now though one other has come to mind. Ekkehardt thought.
His attention turned to look at Kallen Stadtfeld ahead of him. Should I talk to Suzaku, or confront Kallen? Ekkehardt thought once more. Military matters did come to mind, but he wasn't ready to go report Kallen for suspicion yet. Best to confront her about it first. By then, class started and he begun his work like nothing happened.
After class, Ekkehardt got up from his seat. He looks back to Suzaku, who was putting things away in his case. Sorry Suzaku, as much as I want to talk about your experience, I've got other settling matters at hands. Ekkehardt thought as he walks up to Kallen. "Hey Kallen, are you well enough? I got some stuff that I need to get handed out to the other clubs, and I need a helping hand at it." Ekkehardt said to Kallen with his usual calm smile. She looked up at him before nodding to him. "Uh, sure." She said before she got up, dismissing her friends and walked with Ekkehardt to the council room.
Student Council Room
There, it was empty except for them. Ekkehardt was on his knees, opening boxes while Kallen stood next by the table. "Say, were you watching the news a couple days ago?" Ekkehardt asked Kallen as he went to check the contents of the items inside the boxes as well as the pricing matches. "Yes, about Zero's appearance. What about it?" Kallen asked, looking off to the side. "You know, I found that night to be a peculiar night. I was a pilot in one of the Sutherlands there. I happened to come across a figure. That figure had red hair just like you. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Ekkehardt explained to Kallen, who had to react. She walked closer to Ekkehardt silently. "No, not that I know of. I doubt I do." Kallen said.
"This is Milly Ashford speaking! Stop whatever you are doing because it is cat hunting time! We got a cat running here loose. All participating clubs will have budget priorities. And, whoever catches our feline friend will get a special prize: a kiss from a member of the council! So, grab the cat to me, to me, to me!" Milly spoke on the microphone, brought out throughout the entire ground through the speakers.
"A what? Ah Kallen, wait!" Ekkehardt said, looking up then turning around, seeing that Kallen ran out of the room, leaving him be all by himself in the room. "Milly, you had to go and do that do you?" Ekkehardt asked hoping that she would hear that one. He knew though that wouldn't happen. He looks down at the boxes and deciding to abandon them, he got to his feet and ran.
Ashford Academy Halls
Down through the halls, Ekkehardt dodged left and right of all of the other students participating in the hunt. "You sure know how to create chaos in a good way Milly." Ekkehardt commented. With his eyes forward, he saw a remnant of a tail. "The cat!" Ekkehardt said as he followed the tail down another hall, last seeing it in a room. He entered the room and closed the door behind him. It was dark with only the light coming in from the window. He walked in between the desks, snapping his fingers continuously to attract the cat. He then sees it on the teacher podium. "There you are!" Ekkehardt said out loud as he lunges forward to catch it, but the cat jumped to another desk and out of the window. "Man, what a crafty cat." Ekkehardt said.
Later on that day, Ekkehardt met up with the other council students outside in front of the bell tower. "Someone close to getting the cat?" Ekkehardt asked Shirley. "Lelouch and the new student are up there." Shirley answered when she looks over to her and then back to the roof. Ekkehardt looked to see that exact truth. Suzaku was climbing from the window towards the bell, Lelouch behind him. Ekkehardt could only stand and watch but when he saw that Lelouch was sliding off, he rushed below and waited for his fall. Fortunately Suzaku catches him at the edge, that was when the bell rung.
Shortly, Lelouch and Suzaku, who is holding the cat in his arms, walked out. "Hey Lelouch, trying to give a scare?" Ekkehardt said, nudging him on the shoulder. "Lelouch, you know him?" "But he's an Eleven!" Ekkehardt heard this from the group, even from Nina, who's xenophobic of Elevens.
"He's a friend. Milly, will you let him be a member of the student council?" Lelouch said. Ekkehardt could only smirk. "Well, you are the Vice President after all." Milly answered with a smile. As the group introduced each other to Suzaku, Ekkehardt looks around for Hannah. She hasn't been around for a while. Where could she have gone to?
"Announcements. All students are to report to the multi-purpose room for the funeral of Prince Clovis. All students are to report to the multi-purpose room for the funeral of Prince Clovis. That is all." One of the announcement students spoke in the speakers. "Alright. Let's not waste more time. Or else it will get crowded and it will be hard to get in." Ekkehardt said to the group before heading to the multi-purpose room. Along the way, he saw Hannah and he runs to her side. "Hey Hannah, where did you went to? I didn't see you around during the hunt." Ekkehardt said to Hannah with a smile. "I didn't want to participate, so I sat on the roof. Is that wrong?" Hannah said in her serious tone. Ekkehardt waved his hands in denial. "No, it's not wrong. I was just concerned that's all." Ekkehardt said as they went into the room.
Multi-purpose Room
"All men are not created equal. Some are born swifter afoot. Some with greater beauty. Some are born into poverty. And others are born sick and feeble, both in birth and upbringing. In sheer scope of ability, every human is inherently different. Yes, that is why people discriminate against one another. Which is why there is struggle, competition and the unfaltering march of progress. Inequality is not wrong, equality is! What of the E.U., which made equality a right? Rabble politics by a popularity contest. The Chinese Federation with its equal distribution of wealth? A nation of lazy dullards! But not our beloved Britannia. We fight, we compete! Evolution is continuous! Britannia alone moves forward, advancing steadily into the future. Even the death of my son Clovis demonstrates Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress. We will fight on! We shall struggle, compete, plunder and dominate! And in the end, the future shall be ours. All hail Britannia!" This is the speech that the Emperor of Britannia gave on the screen in the multi-purpose room. What kind of memorial to Clovis was this? Though, I do have to agree with him about one thing. We weren't born to be equal. We can never have the same thoughts in the head. Otherwise the whole world becomes a stale one-word. Father, you don't seem to like listening to my reasons so in the return I closed my ears towards you. But you never seem to learn do you?
August 17, 2017 a.t.b.
Ekkehardt, dressed in his casual clothes consisting a copper-tinted red vest, a white shirt, blue jeans, and white shoes; walked down the streets of the Tokyo Settlement. He was, thankfully, relieved from military duty for the day, so he had decided to take this chance to get some stuff for himself. As he walked by, his hand accidently brushed against someone else's hand. That was when some of the most bazzare things happened in front of him.
Everything seemed to be in grayscale, not a sense of color but black and white and that in between. An image of a woman's face is seen turning towards him. "I've come to protect you from my enemies and yours." Another image passed by, showing himself with a sneering smile. "With the stepping stones in place thanks to the support of the Black Knights, I have become the liberator of Germany from the E.U., restoring the family power that my ancestors had. Another image came by. It was Ekkehardt again, but a closer look on his right eye. There was something strange as some kind of symbol was etched in the eye. "With this power, my Gespenst, and the allies I have gained, I am unstoppable! Not even Britannia can stop me if they even dare!
Ekkehardt felt a sudden push back to reality as he covered one of his eyes. The hell was that! Ekkehardt thought and turned around to see that there was a woman with the familiar light rose color hair. The woman from before! Seven years ago he met the very woman at his mother's grave. He looked to see that the woman was running. "Hey wait!" Ekkehardt called out to the woman, chasing after her. "What was all of that? Stop for a minute, I want answers!" Ekkehardt again called out to the woman, seeing her cut down a corner. Ekkehardt followed around the corner but stopped to see that Hannah stood in front of him. They both nearly crashed into each other.
"E-Ekkehardt! What are you doing here?" Hannah asked him in a startled manner. Ekkehardt was looking over her shoulders and around, not seeing the light rose-haired woman around. "Hannah, have you seen a woman with a very light rose hair color?" Ekkehardt asked Hannah, who shook her head. "No, I haven't. Are you okay?" Hannah answered. Ekkehardt sighed after giving up on the chase. "Yeah, I'm fine." He answered.
"So, you're telling me that you've met this woman seven years ago when you were ten correct?" Hannah asked Ekkehardt. They sat at a small desert restaurant. He had decided to treat Hannah to this, as well a reason to talk to someone while he was out. More the reason to not return to the academy a little longer. "Yeah. I just happened to brush her hands while walking on the streets, then I got a rush of stuff that didn't make sense to me. Seven years ago, I met her at the cemetery while I was at my mother's grave." Ekkehardt said to Hannah. "Is it possible that she is a relative of yours? Did you at least get her name back then?" Hannah asked. He shook his head. "No, there's no one within my immediate family with that kind of hair, nor that face is familiar. She didn't give a name to me, even when I asked her who she was. She only answered with 'just someone who is lost. Lost without reason to be in a sad, senseless world.' I didn't even get it myself." Ekkehardt explained.
"Probably you're just hallucinating things. You should rest while you can." Hannah explained. Ekkehardt looked over to his side. "Yeah, I probably am. Stress's getting into me hard I suppose. Thank you for your input, Hannah." Ekkehardt said with a smile. Hannah nodded and got to her feet. "Anyhow, I need to get going, thank you for the treat. Here's the money to-" "No, go ahead and keep your money for other stuff. I hear girls are expensive, so this is my treat." Ekkehardt retorted, teasing Hannah once more who blushed at the comment.
Lelouch's Homestead
Ekkehardt knocked on the door of where Lelouch lived in the academy grounds. The door shortly was opened by a woman name Sayoko, the maid who is taking care of Lelouch and Nunally. "Well, hello Ekkehardt." Sayoko said in greetings, bowing down. He returned the greetings with his head. "Hello Sayoko, may I come visit Lelouch and Nunally?" Ekkehardt asked kindly. "Yes, you can. Come in, I just got finished with dinner, I can give you a serving if you wish." Sayoko answered, moving to the side as Ekkehardt walked in. "Certainly, I would appreciate the offer, thank you." Ekkehardt said.
Lelouch and Ekkehardt sat across from each other, a board of chess in front of them as Nunally sat by the two. "So, I heard that Milly, Shirley, and Nina are going to the Lake Kawaguchi Convention Center." Lelouch said as he lifted a piece over to another spot. Ekkehardt did the same in response. "Yeah. I got an offer from Shirley, but with military duties to be on standby, I couldn't go." Ekkehardt replied to Lelouch. "It most be tough being in the military Ekkehardt." Nunally said with a bit of sorrow in her tone. "Yes it is. I'm looking for a good reason to get out of it though. Transfer to another division that isn't in the front lines, or a simple request to drop out." Ekkehardt said. "Well, that's good to hear. Oh, and checkmate." Lelouch said, announcing a checkmate about chess. Ekkehardt sat back with a smile that feigned the signs of defeat. "A true mastermind of chess. You should teach me someday." Ekkehardt commented. "If I taught you, then I would have my loss handed to me now will I?" Lelouch said in a joking manner. Nunally nodded. "My brother is truly a winner at chess. He never lost a single game." Nunally said with pride for her brother.
"Thanks for having me by Lelouch, it was a good time." Ekkehardt said at the doors, Lelouch standing by. "It is also a good visit. I appreciate you coming by, hopefully you can come by on more occasions." Lelouch said. "I will try, but no guarantees yet." Ekkehardt said before exchanging their farewells to each other as Ekkehardt walked back to the dorms. He didn't think that a worst case scenario would happen to him the next morning however…