Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, CLAMP, or Sunrise. No profits were made from this work of fiction, it was written purely for the enjoyment of the reader.
Author's note: I'm going to address one major problem I have with this story right away. Most of the girls are written either a little or very out of character. My apologizes for my mischaracterization of the women of this show, it was done in my vain attempt at comedy!
Summary: Milly suggests Shirley tries making Lelouch jealous. Harem swapping hijinks ensue.
"Suzaku!" A voice rang out down the hall. Turning his head to locate the source of the voice, Suzaku found it to be none other than his fellow student Shirley Fenette. She seemed to be a bit anxious to talk to him.
Turning to greet her, Suzaku decided to ask why she seemed so flustered. "Shirley, is something the matter?"
"No, not really. But… um, listen, I have kind of an unusual favor to ask."
"Sure Shirley, anything for a friend."
"Great! I just knew you wouldn't let me down! You're so nice and generous Suzaku!" Shirley beamed.
"Really, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be no problem. Is your locker stuck shut or something?"
"Oh, Suzaku, nothing so chivalrous. The Halloween dance that's coming up, I need a date." Shirley asked quickly.
"Huh? You're asking me?" It was more of a statement of disbelief then a question. Didn't Shirley like Lelouch? "Why not Lelouch?"
"I want to ask Lulu, I do, I do! But… every time I try, I get nervous. So I'm going to make him come to me! If he sees me at the dance with his best friend, he'll realize just what a catch I am. Then you two will have a 'fight,' and being the friend you are to both me and Lulu, you'll concede that we should be together and be his best man at our wedding!" Shirley finished rather rushed. Realizing just how much of her thoughts she had shared just then, she started to blush and took a sudden interest in her shoes.
"Shirley," Suzaku began, "that's a terrible idea. If you like someone, you shouldn't be afraid to speak with them or ask them out. And love attained through deception and manipulation isn't the kind of pure, honest love that everyone is entitled to. There can be no love where two people can't be completely honest with each-"
"- Cut the talk show crap, Suzaku!" Shirley stopped him harshly. Surprised at her new found passion, Suzaku took a step back. "If you don't want to help your best friend realize his true feelings for me, then I call into question your honor and worth as a man!"
"Er, what?"
"You heard me! And you're not my friend either if you don't do this! Or Milly's, or Rivalz's, or Nina's, or Kallen's!"
"Now, hold on." Sure, he didn't really care too much for Nina with her casual racism toward him, but the other three had been very welcoming! "If it means that much to you, I'll go. But I go on the record as opposing this plan!" Suzaku finally relented. Shirley must have been really desperate for this to work to be threatening him such a manner.
"Thanks Suzaku, you're the best!" She leapt against him and hugged him with such speed and force, that had it been anyone else, they would have surely ended up on the floor. She quickly rushed off down the other end of the hall with a delighted skip in her step.
Down the opposite end of the hallway, Milly Ashford lazily leaned against the wall, feigning boredom. She had silently observed the exchange out of the corner of her eye. Shirley had agreed to her idea of making Lulu jealous, as she knew she would. The poor girl was so head over heels in love with the boy that she'd try anything.
Milly smirked wickedly. Ah, Shirley, Milly thought, my unwitting pawn. I hope you do find love in the end. But for now, I'm afraid I'll have to use you to get what I want. To get Suzaku. I'm so brilliant. After you leave him alone at the dance, poor Suzu will be all alone with no Britannian girl wanting to dance with him. He'll want to leave, and that's when I'll appear out of no where, dressed in my cute little beach girl costume, asking him to dance! Milly grinned wildly at the brilliance of her manipulations. She observed Suzaku, still stunned from his conversation with Shirley continue to walk to his next class. As he walked away, Milly made an observation to herself. Nice ass.
Rivalz rushed into the Library with such urgency and force that he didn't heed the other patrons, causing an embarrassing scene in which he and two other boys ended up in a tumble on the floor, with the Librarian angrily looming over them.
Blushing deep crimson, Rivalz quickly recovered and made his way over to Lelouch's table where he found his friend deeply engrossed in a book, oblivious to what had just occurred at the door. That's one embarrassing story he didn't have to worry about Lelouch sharing with anyone.
"What's this about, Rivalz? Your message sounded urgent." Lelouch said over the edge of his book.
"It's Shirley."
"Oh? Is she throwing a party? If so, I don't think I'll be able to make it, I have a pretty tight schedule what with the dance coming up, among other, private things." Lelouch said, referring to his business as Zero. Of course, Rivalz would suspect that he was speaking of gambling or leading a more glamorous secret life than that of a terrorist.
"No! Lelouch, she has a date for the dance!"
"Really? I don't remember her even asking me." Lelouch was curious now. He closed the book, giving Rivalz his full attention.
Rivalz was hesitant in his response. "Not you, it's Suzaku." Rivalz had half expected Lelouch to react in outrage, leaping upon the table and screaming 'treachery!' at the top of his lungs. However, in typical Lelouch manner, he displayed indifference.
"Oh. Good for Suzaku."
"What? Man, he's crossed forbidden territory. Your other best friend has stolen your girl!"
"Calm down, you're making a scene." Lelouch scolded. "Shirley's had a crush on me for as long as I care to remember. She's not the type to just change preferences at the drop of a hat. And Suzaku's fairly new to the academy. Plus, she knows that we're best friends. She's probably trying get my attention."
"Oh. Wow man, you figured the whole thing out in seconds." Lelouch's deductive reasoning abilities never ceased to amaze Rivalz.
"Don't be so awestruck. It's called being observant. But one thing puzzles me. Shirley's a nice girl, this isn't her style. I wonder why she would suddenly try this…"
The student council was in charge of organizing the Halloween dance, and much work was still to be done. Food, music, decorations, and costume dress codes still had to be taken care of. Of course, Milly and Rivalz had objected to the idea of a dress code in the first place, weakly arguing that it would stifle creativity. Rivalz was disappointed when his idea of imposing the same dress limit for the Fantasy Seduction Team on the females was shot down. His zealous defense of the plan earned him glares from Kallen, Nina, and Shirley that were sure to last well through November.
Milly paid closer attention to the interactions of the council members than the details concerning the day to day running of the school. She was a little disappointed that Lelouch seemed to be behaving predictably indifferent to the news that Shirley and Suzaku were going together. Of course, what Lelouch seemed to be feeling and what he probably felt were two completely different things.
Lelouch was more than likely a little put off by the notion. He never outright rejected Shirley. And Milly was sure that he had grown somewhat fond of her continual advances. Her plan would fail if Lelouch and Shirley didn't end up together, and she couldn't have that. Suzu had to be hers and hers alone! Maybe a little baiting was in order.
Kallen had bumped into Lelouch on the way to the day's council planning session and the two decided to head there together.
"Have you given any thought as to your costume?" Lelouch decided to start some casual conversation.
"I was thinking of not going. I haven't been feeling well." Kallen produced a short fit of coughs to illustrate her point.
"Oh, that's too bad." Lelouch, of course, was not fooled by her act of the sickly student. She played the part well, but being Zero, he knew too well the truth of Kallen's physical health. The fact that she didn't know he was Zero worked to his advantage somewhat.
She was the first one through the door and stopped dead in her tracks, causing Lelouch to bump into her. Ignoring his inquires as to what was the matter, she gapped in silent shock for a few moments. Standing not five feet in front of her, with his back turned, was the brown headed figure of Zero, his long black cape elegantly draped over his shoulders. "Zero!" She gasped finally.
In one quick motion, the figure turned, raising his arm to throw his cape over this face to mask his identity to the two in the door way for a few seconds longer. There, now facing them with his cape flowing with the momentum provided by his arm which remained in it's dramatically outstretched position, stood Suzaku, wearing a nearly complete Zero costume, minus the mask. "Not quite." He replied with a smile.
Kallen soon grew very flustered. Her initial shock and seeing what she thought was Zero in the student council room was replaced by a torrent of emotion. She was angry at Suzaku for unknowing deceiving her in such a way. She was engrossed in the way that cape fit his form, giving him such an… attractive aura. That cape… she couldn't stop thinking about that cape and how it followed from Suzaku's broad shoulders, over his hips and down his well muscled legs to the floor. She suddenly realized everyone was staring at her, and quickly started coughing to give herself an excuse to hide her blushing face.
"Kallen, are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean…" Suzaku began with concern as he rushed to her side. Out the corner of her eye, Kallen caught the way the cape flowed as it caught the air as he walked to her side. Oh, men in capes.
"No, no I'm fine, Suzaku. I was just a little startled, is all." She replied weakly. Nina came to her side and helped her find her seat.
"Suzaku, what are you thinking?" Lelouch demanded of his friend. This was insulting, to say the least. Zero, his symbol of justice, reduced to a Halloween costume? The nerve. "You show up in that and there will be a lot of people who'll have the same response as Kallen!"
"Lighten up, Lulu. Lots of people are going as Zero this year. It's the Halloween craze that's sweeping the whole of Area 11!" Shirley stated. Lelouch turned to Shirley and it was his turn to blush.
Dressed in what had to be the world's most revealing sailor uniform, Shirley smiled warmly at him as she ran over to Suzaku. Ignore this, she thought as she embraced Suzaku in full view of the entire council. "We're going to be the most striking couple at the dance!"
Suzaku blushed now, looking at the seething face of his friend. This is so wrong, he thought. I'm shamelessly manipulating my best friend and being used as a piece of eye candy.
Kallen still couldn't get over the way Suzaku's cape now half covered Shirley, thinking jealous thoughts toward the girl over nothing she could name. You already have Lelouch, you greedy brit. Kallen thought angrily. Why do you need another man? And one with a cape at that? Leave some for the rest of us!
Milly watched Lelouch redden with sickening interest. Dance puppets, dance! Soon, it will be me under the cape of Zeroaku! Er, Suzaku. "We thought it would be fun to try on our costumes before the dance," Milly informed Lelouch as he was trying to regain his composure. "Don't they look adorable together?"
Realizing his anger had manifested as a deep red on his face, Lelouch could only play along to cover his tracks. "Yes, yes they look marvelous together." He said it with a jealous inflection in his voice, trying to use that to mask his offense at Suzaku's down play of Zero. How many people do you have to kill to get respect?
"So, Lelouch, what are you going as?" Rivalz spoke for the first time since Kallen had entered the room. Lelouch briefly looked over Rivalz's costume. He couldn't quite tell whether it was lab assistant or some weird kind of mortuary costume.
"I haven't decided. What are you supposed to be?"
"Can't you tell Lelouch?" Seeing an opening to lighten the mood, Suzaku continued jokingly, "He's a nurse!"
"You- you're serious?"
"Yep! I figure that if I show a more effeminate side, I'd have better luck finding a steady girlfriend. You know, like how you do, Lelouch."
"What?" The entire council room burst with laughter at Lelouch's expense. Today was just one humiliation after another!
"Mm-hm." C.C. replied mechanically to Lelouch's recounting of the day's events. After listening to him drone on and on about how Zero had become this year's costume fad, C.C. had made the grave miscalculation of asking Lelouch what put him in such a foul mood. She wasn't even that interested! He just never gave her a moment to tell him, it was like the entire story was one run-on sentence. When was he breathing?
"And then, Nina suggests that I 'dress as a doctor' and go with Rivalz as a theme! And Kallen, Kallen just kept staring at Suzaku as if she was in a trance the entire time! She never once mentioned anything about Zero; she only asked Suzaku if she could 'feel his cape,' whatever that meant."
"Wait, why would Kallen have said anything about Zero? Isn't she trying to keep her membership in the Black Knights a secret?" C.C. asked, again foolishly.
"That's not the point, witch! She wasn't offended in the least that her leader was being mocked! It's making me call into question her loyalty."
"You're being paranoid. So, what are you going as anyway? And when are you inviting me?"
"Don't be preposterous. Why would you go to a school dance?"
"These kinds of things always have pizza."
"Not this time." Lelouch lied. His efforts to keep pizza away from the party, and by effect, C.C. were thwarted weeks ago at a planning session.
"We always serve pizza. It is tired and predictable, not to mention bad for the health of the average person, and thus the overall health of the student body of Ashford. We could have just as great of a party without it." Lelouch argued to the other members of the council.
"Lelouch… quit being stupid, it's not a good look for you." Milly stated after a long period of stunned silence. "If you don't want to eat pizza, that's your choice. But the rest of us want it so you can just live with it. Besides, you're already out of shape, it's not like pizza is to blame for that Mr. 'I can't go to gym class because I have to gamble.'"
The rest of the council soon joined in with words of agreement.
"Besides, what would you even come dressed as?" Lelouch tried to find another reason for locking her in his room the night of the dance.
"A witch?"
"Don't make such obvious jokes."
"Okay. A lion tamer?" She suggested. Lelouch paused for a moment to let his imagination process the idea.
C.C. dressed in a safari shirt tied at the waist and a pair of khaki shorts and a bull whip came to the forefront of his thoughts. Suddenly, she cracked the whip and said in a low, sultry voice 'Down boy.'
"A vampire?" Lelouch's imagination again ran that scenario through his mind.
This time C.C. was wearing a cheap black tuxedo vest with a cape and had her hair smoothly slicked down and toward the back. She had a set of glow in the dark fangs in her mouth. Grinning wickedly, she grasped the cape in her hands and fully outstretched her arms to look like a bat, proclaiming 'I vant to suck your blood!'
"Suzaku?" She asked.
"What was that?"
"I said, I could go as Suzaku."
"Kururugi?"
"The one and only."
"Why? Who would understand such a costume?"
"Zero's not the only fad this year." C.C. informed him. To illustrate her point, C.C. pulled a magazine out from under her pillow. The cover featured an image of a young Suzaku posed with his father. The caption read 'A Shining Example of The Life an Eleven Should Lead.' "He's a hero to your villain."
"Oh, he is now?" Lelouch remarked amusedly.
"Yes. In fact I found this in Sayoko's room. I think she's got something of a crush on him. You wouldn't believe how much of the drive space on her computer is devoted to photo-shopped images of your friend in sexually compromising positions."
"Too much information, C.C." It really was. He didn't need to know that much about what Sayoko did in her free time.
After a brief period of silence, C.C. spoke again. "You know, he does have the deepest, greenest eyes I've ever seen." She said teasingly. "And such adorable hair. I could run my fingers through it all night."
"Do you need a towel?"
"Be that way. But I can fantasize about brown haired Japanese boy toys all I want. Especially ones so physically gifted."
"Stop it C.C."
"You're not the boss of me. Why, I could go introduce myself to him right now if I wanted! 'Hi, my name is C.C., and your eyes are the same color as my hair. Please, hold me close to you as you whisper sweet nothings in my ear.'"
"C.C.!"
Suzaku was not looking forward to the day's events. Partially because Shirley had planned for him and her to spend some 'private alone time' on the school's very public campus for all the world, and Lelouch, to see. Adding more stress was that he was falling asleep in all of his classes because of frustratingly sleepless nights. Especially last night, his ears wouldn't stop burning for some strange reason.
He had to pull himself together! He couldn't take what he was doing as a betrayal of his first friend. He was doing this for Lelouch, wasn't he? Even if he was betraying his friend's trust, why was he losing sleep over it? He murdered his father for goodness sake; surely this wouldn't have a greater toll on his conscience than patricide.
So, there he was, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Shirley under a tree on campus, pretending to be oblivious to the passers by while Shirley scanned for Lelouch. Milly had suggested flaunting her eye candy to drive the point home to Lelouch that she was forbidden fruit and he missed his chance.
Suzaku's mind soon began to once again try to justify his purpose for being there, under the shade of that tree, with a girl who was helplessly in love with his best friend. Should he stop this right now and go and beg for Lelouch's forgiveness? No, he had already promised Shirley that he would see this through to the end. But should he really betray one friend for another? No matter what he did, he was either stabbing Lelouch in back or letting Shirley down.
Across the campus, Milly observed the two through a pair of binoculars. "Doesn't Suzaku have an adorable expression when he's facing a moral dilemma?" She commented off handedly to her partner.
"Is his cape flapping dramatically in the wind?" Kallen inquired.
"He isn't wearing a cape," Milly informed, "but he does look really good in one, don't you agree? I mean, can't you just picture him wrapped in one right now?"
Silence.
"Kallen?" Milly turned to see Kallen fanning herself with her hand and blushing rather deeply. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah! It's just a little bit warm out here, is all." Inwardly, Kallen kicked herself for how rushed the excuse sounded.
Fortunately Milly paid her no mind. "Yeah, it is pretty warm out here. I wonder if Suzaku will take his shirt off…"
"You're a pervert, Milly."
Milly ignored Kallen and returned to spying on the two pseudo-love birds. Shirley must have spotted Lelouch because she was feeling Suzaku's abs with interest. A little too much interest for Milly's liking. She'd have to remind Shirley of her mission objective later on. If only she could hear what they were saying!
"Shirley, please stop! It's not that serious!" Suzaku begged in a hushed whisper.
"But you said Arthur scratched you on your stomach last night, it could be infected, quit being so stubborn and lift up your shirt." Her voice was full of touching concern. Had she asked anymore sweetly, Suzaku was sure he would have suffered from diabetes.
"I disinfected it! Honestly, I'm a soldier; you think I don't have some first aid knowledge?"
"Take off your shirt!" She screamed loud enough for the entire campus to hear. Coincidentally, Rivalz had been walking by during the exchange. He immediately ran off to find Lelouch.
"Lelouch! Lelouch!" Rivalz screamed as he approached his friend.
Annoyed, Lelouch reluctantly looked up from his homework. This was his only free time to do it, and as ambitious as his secret agenda was, he still didn't want to fall behind in his classes. "What now, Rivalz? Milly shoot you down again? Another gambling debt? Did those freshmen make you feel inadequate again?"
"No, it's worse then- wait, how'd you know about the last thing?"
"You mean that's really happened before?"
"Not the point! Shirley was just trying to undress Suzaku in front of the entire school! You should have seen her man! She was tearing into his shirt, almost ripping it off, forgetting all etiquette and decency!"
"And you didn't stay and watch?" Lelouch was stunned by this revelation.
"Well… I didn't exactly turn my head away as I came here."
"Rivalz, once again you're overreacting. Tell me, how was Suzaku behaving?"
"He was really red in the face! I think he was enjoying being forced upon."
Lelouch was again in his room relaying the day's events to a bored C.C. C.C. wondered what the boy's ego did before her. Who did he confidently boast about his genius and masterful planning to before? Nunnally? It's amazing the poor girl didn't go deaf. Of course, when Lelouch mentioned the business with Suzaku and Shirley, C.C. couldn't help but ask the question, "Did she ever get his shirt off?"
"I don't know. Anyway, I think Shirley's getting really desperate for my attention to try to pull something so humiliating in public." Lelouch deduced.
"You know, the whole world doesn't revolve around you. What, do you think that you're the main character in some epic story about a tortured teenager who leads a terrorist organization? Get serious." C.C. snapped. Two nights of listening to this childish whining had taken its toll on her mind. "There are other people in the world, with thoughts and dreams of their own. You're not the only one that matters. Shirley could actually be in love with Suzaku. Have you ever even noticed how similar you two are?"
"Don't be ridiculous, you witch! Suzaku killed his father, and I just want to kill mine! His problems stem from suppressed guilt over something that was his fault, mine from circumstances beyond my control. He has green eyes, and I have violet ones! We're different!" Lelouch desperately reasoned.
"He does have green eyes, doesn't he?"
Two days until the dance, the Student Council held another meeting to go over the preparations one last time. For the hundredth time, everyone voted against Rivalz's pleas to DJ the dance. Despite having an extensive background in music, owning a CD collection that dwarfed all of the other member's combined, and begging like a dog, they refused to allow it.
"You'd just play songs that no one wants to hear from bands no one's ever heard of." Nina argued. To which Rivalz mumbled something about love songs and tables under his breath. No one heard.
"Where's Kallen?" Suzaku asked. "Shouldn't she be here for this, I mean so we can have her opinion?"
"What, cheating on Shirley now are you?" Milly spat half amusedly, half bitterly.
"No! Of course not, it's nothing like-"
"Save it lover boy. We all know about your little escapade under the tree." Milly stared viciously at Shirley. I'm going to destroy you, my former friend. Quickly masking the expression conveying her true motives that had come across her face, Milly cheerily asked Shirley, "How's the detention?"
"I don't want to talk about it. We're lucky we still even get to come to the dance."
"You're still going?" Milly was growing more frustrated by the minute. If those two spent anymore time together, Suzaku might fall in love with Shirley, and she would forever miss her chance! They had grown too close in their mutual desire to help Lulu listen to his heart, and it was driving Milly into a state of near homicidal depression.
The rest of the meeting proceeded awkwardly. With Milly worrying about her masterpiece puppet theater running wild, Rivalz worrying about Lelouch and Suzaku, Suzaku worrying about Lelouch, Shirley worrying about what Lelouch was thinking of her with all the rumors going around, and Lelouch and Nina the only ones taking an active interest in the business at hand, little was accomplished. Well, little was accomplished with the help of those not involved in a conspiracy or worried about said conspiracy. Black Knights related conspiracies excluded, of course.
Milly sighed and laid her head in her hands. All this scheming in vain was starting to give her a headache. As the others got up to leave at the end of the meeting, Milly stopped and turned to see Nina sitting on the table and staring thoughtfully at a picture of Princess Euphemia. Oh, unrequited love.
"Room on the table for one more?" Milly asked. Nina's startled and embarrassed expression baffled Milly.
"Oh, I know! I could go as myself and you could go as Mao. Sure, no one would get the theme, but-"
"-You're not going to the dance, Cinderella!" Lelouch cut C.C. off.
"That's not my name. And that would be a horrible costume. Plus, where would I find actual glass slippers?"
"C.C.! Go to sleep."
"What are you going as anyway? A Pirate? Zero? Spaceman? Wookie?"
"I'm about to go berserk if you don't stop talking nonsense." Lelouch spat.
"Why are you always mean to me?" C.C. asked curiously. "I give and I give and I give and ask nothing in return. And you repay my kindness with either apathy or cynicism." She sounded hurt. "You won't even let me go to the dance!"
Lelouch looked and almost began to feel somewhat bad. Had she really wanted to go so badly? No, it was more likely she was toying with him again. If she really wanted to go, she'd just go, wouldn't she? Lelouch groaned in frustration, this girl was too unpredictable! "Well, if you really want to go-"
"No, I don't. I just wanted to make you feel foolish." She replied smugly. "There isn't going to be any pizza, right? So the only thing I could really go to see is you getting your head kicked in by Suzaku when you confront him over your little love triangle."
"More like a love square. I've realized in the last council meeting that this is all Milly's doing. She's set Suzaku and Shirley up in the hopes of distracting her from me. It's obvious that she wants me."
"Lelouch," C.C. began, "what did we talk about last night?"
"The world doesn't revolve around me?"
"No, it doesn't. But that's not what I was talking about. I meant our conversation on how much I really don't care for your teen drama."
"That didn't come up."
"Oh? I must have dreamt it." She sighed mournfully. "It was such a good dream."
Something dawned on him. "Wait, what do you mean you 'give and you give and you give and ask nothing in return?' Do you have even the faintest idea how much your gluttonous appetite costs me? Do you?" Lifting his head off the floor, he saw that C.C. was already asleep.
The dance had begun without any major glitches. The DJ arrived and set up early, the room was decorate in orange and black with plastic Jack-O-Lanterns flanking the entrances. Rubber bats were hung from the ceiling on elastic strings that gave the illusion of the bats flapping their wings. For a final touch, the DJ had draped his loud speakers and most of his station in fake spider webs.
As to be expected, most of the girls showed up in revealing costumes. Some as sailors, some as withes, a handful as the Bride of Frankenstein with dress that showed more cleavage than some were sure was allowed. Not that anyone complained. In fact, Nina, who was in charge of inspecting costumes to see that they conformed to the dress code seemed more then eager to allow entry to the outfits. And, of course, there were the more original and thoughtful costumes. Some came as Princess Cornelia, others wore pink wigs and elegant white dresses as Princess Euphemia. Nina held these girls back for a prolonged period of time for 'further inspection.'
The gentlemen came in an equally disappointing array of costumes. Nearly every male at the dance was dressed as Count Dracula. The ones that weren't were going as Frankenstein to create a theme with their dates.
"How disappointing, I was hoping for a little more creativity in the costumes." Milly remarked. As planned, she had shown up wearing only her bikini despite the low temperature outside due to the season. Nurse Rivalz nodded his head in agreement.
"Madame President, what's Nina's costume supposed to be again?" The nurse asked the bikini model.
"You can't tell from the plaid shirt and blue jeans? She's a lumberjack!"
"No, I don't see it."
Sailor Shirley arrived alone at the dance and started searching the sea of black capes for Zeroaku. Thirty minutes of awkward searching later, she found him trying to hide against a wall. "Suzaku!"
Damn, she found me. My brilliant 'blend in with the wall' plan failed. "Oh, hey Shirley. I was looking everywhere for you." He lied. He was already manipulating his best friend. Oh, Lelouch didn't deserve a friend like Suzaku. For all his arrogance and vastly over-inflated ego, hadn't Lelouch always been honest with Suzaku? And hadn't he always trusted him above anyone else? Suzaku's stomach churned as he processed how deeply he was betraying his friend. Lelouch would never secretly manipulate Suzaku to this degree! The only person Suzaku could think of that would do something so malicious was the man he was dressed as, the man he knew he needed to stop above all others. Zero. It was a fitting costume, the uniform of a man who betrays people's trust.
"Suzaku? Are you there? Stop ignoring me!" Shirley brought him back to reality with a firm grip on the shoulder and a good shake. "We have to dance together! If we don't appear to have a good time together, Lulu will never want to hook up with me! Milly was very clear on that part. Oops."
"Milly?"
"Well, yeah. She didn't want me to tell you, but this was all really her idea. She wanted so badly to help me get with Lulu that she thought the whole thing up spur of the moment and then told me to take the credit. She's so modest."
"Milly? Modest?" Suzaku asked disbelievingly. Milly wasn't the modest type, if she did something she made a show out of it. It wasn't that she was a glory hog or anything of that sort. She just loved putting on a good show.
"Huh… now that you mention it, that doesn't really sound like her." Shirley made a thoughtful expression for a few moments before asking Suzaku, "Do you think she's been replaced by an alien?"
Suzaku blinked and stared a moment before he and Shirley both laughed at her joke. A slow song began to play and Shirley was about to make a grab for Suzaku's arm, but some else's was already there.
"Excuse me, Zero, but… May I have this dance?" Came the phony timid voice of the arm's master, Kallen.
For such a sickly girl, she sure has a strong grip, Suzaku observed. How could he refuse? Kallen was such a shy and reserved person; it had to have taken a lot of courage for her to ask him to dance. Besides, he still wasn't looking forward to torturing Lelouch, so if this put it off, "Forgive me, Shirley. I promise that you and I will dance later in the night." Her only response was to cross her arms and give an indignant grunt.
Suzaku, my friend, my enemy, this is one trespass too far! I can forgive you being the pilot of the white Knightmare that has plagued my plans in the past. I can forgive you conspiring with Milly. But, disrespecting my alter ego? How dare, Brutus, how dare? Lelouch thought to himself behind his mask. Tonight, I will make you share my pain. After all, isn't that what friends do?
C.C. had been locked in his room. He even ordered three pepperoni pizzas to ensure that she would have no desire to escape. Most of the work of running the dance could be 'delegated' to Rivalz. Shirley would probably be handled by Suzaku, so she wouldn't distract him. Tonight, Lelouch could put everything to bed. He would reap his glorious revenge on Suzaku, he would politely take care of Milly's manipulative advances, and he would finally be done with this accursed Halloween dance!
Beach Babe Milly and Nurse Rivalz had made there way over to the DJ's station and were trying to rest themselves from a busy night of guarding the punch bowl against spiking, keeping the dancing clean, and keeping Woods Woman Nina away from the Princess Euphemias. Basically, they were killing fun, which meant that they could at least take comfort in the fact that they were effectively doing their job as chaperones.
"This sucks." Rivalz yelled over the loud speakers. Whether Milly couldn't hear him or was just ignoring him, he couldn't tell.
Milly, however, wasn't paying him any mind. Her eyes were fixated on the sight of Zeroaku slow dancing with Kallen whispering something in his ear. First Shirley, now Kallen? What's next? Rivalz will confess his undying love for Suzaku too? Ugh, maybe I should just- no! I can't start thinking like that now, not at the endgame! I have a few more cards to play.
"You're a really good dancer, Kallen." Suzaku whispered, almost as if he was afraid the vibrations of his voice would break the girl in his arms.
"You too."
Suzaku decided to take notice of her costume. It was an elegant white silken Japanese style Kimono with red lotus designs covering it. Probably her mother's.
"Kallen," he needed to know, know if she was fully prepared to forsake everything that was Japanese in her life, just to gain acceptance in Britannian society "are you going to go all the way-"
"All the way? Will you wear the cape during?" She asked before she could register what she'd said.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, I sneezed." She covered up her blunder with a fit of coughs before she began talking again. "You know, for a Knight, you're actually really sweet. And I really like the costume. Have you ever thought of wearing more black?"
"No. Listen, Kallen, before this gets any more serious, there's something you should know about me."
"Damn it all, I knew it. You're gay." Disappointment filled her words and she sighed dejectedly.
"No, that's not it; I'm very heterosexual, at least in this fan fic. But there are plenty of others out there, if that's what you're into. What I'm trying to tell you is, that I… Killed my father, Kallen."
"But, that's perfect! Don't you see? I hate my father, too! We're meant for each other!"
"Kallen," Suzaku began, still stunned, "you need some counseling." With that he released her from his hold and quickly walked away, leaving her alone on the dance floor. Suddenly embarrassed, she feigned a few coughs and made her way toward the wall.
Suzaku made for the exit when he was suddenly yanked hard by his arm and spun into a vice-like hug by none other then Shirley. "Dance with me." She demanded. "Lulu's watching!"
"Lelouch? Where?" Suzaku looked around desperately.
"There." Suzaku followed Shirley's pointed finger and did a double take.
It was a human-sized Lancelot. Or rather, a costume made of plastic armor designed like the Lancelot. No store would carry such a costume; Lelouch must have painstakingly made it himself! He was still his best friend, after all he had put him through! He was trying to make Lancelot into a less imposing figure, so he wouldn't have trouble fitting in! Suzaku felt sick to his stomach.
Finally noticed by Zeroaku, Lancelouch confidently strode over to where he and Sailor Shirley were standing, still embracing each other. "Ah, Zero, my worthy foe, shall we dance the dance of mortal enemies? Or just pal around?" He punctuated the last sentence with a semi-maniacal laugh. Taste it, Suzaku, taste the disgrace as your symbol falls in the eyes of the people! Let it's bitter after taste sour your mouth for as long as you have allowed it to sour mine!
"Lelouch! Nice costume. You must have worked very hard on it." Suzaku weakly complimented. He could not mask the shame that found its way onto his face. Lelouch, my friend! I have betrayed your trust and devotion with shameful lies and cunning!
Lelouch, in his triumph, took Suzaku's face to mean that he was feeling put off by the Lancelot. Operation MockingBlow: Success. Suzaku has felt the shame of mockery! That's one objective accomplished. Now, all I need do is-
"Lulu! Don't you want to cut in?" Shirley demanded of him.
"Hm? Oh, no, not really. Have fun you two." With that, Lancelouch departed in search of Milly. The tragedy of his costume, however, was that it significantly limited his peripheral senses, and thus was unaware that Milly was right behind him and had stalked up to the two as he left.
"Okay, Shirley. Our genius plan has failed. Time to give up Suzu. Uh, Suzaku." She stated matter-of-factly.
"I'm having the weirdest night…" Suzaku said to no one in particular.
"What?" Shirley asked confused.
"You heard me. It's time release the poor boy of his suffering. We've held him in our thrall for long enough, don't you think? Oh, Suzu, if only we could have seen Shirley and Lelouch hook up. Maybe someday."
Shirley stuttered. "But, Lelouch! I still need to make him jealous!"
"Shirley, I tried to tell you before! True love isn't about manipulations or jealousy! If you love someone, then they should be the kind of person with whom you could share your deepest thoughts and feelings, without hesitation. True love is when you can hold someone, and make them feel safe while they make you feel safe as well…"
"Kind of like… how you're holding me now?" Shirley hesitantly replied.
"Oh… no…" Condition red, condition red! Milly's mind screamed. She's fallen for him! Do something, quick! "Suzaku, you're right! Shirley, you should be ashamed of yourself! Lying to poor Lulu and strong arming Suzaku here. Go make up with Lelouch right now!" As she said this, Milly immediately began prying the pair apart.
It was at this moment that the divine tapestry of fate decided that Kallen should find the three of them, locked in what appeared to be an awkward embrace. "Milly! Shirley! Suzaku?" She stammered.
"Kallen!" Could this get any worse?
"Attention ladies and gentlemen!" Lelouch's voice echoed from the DJ's speakers. He had inexplicably managed to convince the DJ to give him a microphone and 'air time.' "We have a very special guest here tonight. A man that we should all hold in the highest regard! Zero!" As he announced Suzaku's costume, three spot lights lit up from the rafters and landed directly on Suzaku, Kallen, Milly, and Shirley, all in a compromising position.
Almost immediately low whispers filled the room.
"Three girls? Man, what cologne does that guy use?"
"What a womanizer!"
"Damn Eleven. First he comes to our school, then he has the nerve to get knighted, and now he's monopolizing our women?"
Of course, given his nature, and the fact that he currently had three girls violently tugging on his arm, torso, and strangely enough, his cape, Suzaku remain oblivious to the murmurs. Lelouch! Suzaku's inner voice screamed. Stop trying to make me into a hero! I don't deserve your loyalty! Please, don't trust me, for I am the Judas to your Jesus!
Lelouch's mind wasn't working quite so benevolently. Yes, Suzaku, what a highly embarrassing and misleading position that you're in. One that is sure to ruin Lancelot's reputation forever! "Uh-oh, ladies and gents," Lelouch continued, "looks like Zero's got three women vying for his attention. Wonder who he'll choose, place your bets now!"
Suddenly deeply embarrassed and aware of what was going on, all three girls let go of Suzaku and hurriedly made their way to the bathroom. Suzaku, meanwhile, was receiving pats on the back and congratulatory handshakes from numerous Draculas and Frankensteins.
Now that Milly has isolated herself in the girl's bathroom, all I need do is wait for her to come out. Then, I'll just casually remark how she and Suzaku looked nice together, explain to her that I was only doing it for Suzaku's 'best interest,' and subtly let her down gently. It was fool proof! Lancelouch quickly ducked into the crowd and made his way for the girl's restroom, leaving the bewildered DJ on the stage, wondering what that kid was doing up there just a few moments before.
It was the last hour of the dance, and Zeroaku had made his way toward a chair next to the refreshments and grabbed a paper plate with two slices of Pizza Hut pizza on it. He was perfectly content with just sitting in the corner in shame. The only way he could have felt worse about what he did to Lelouch was if he had killed him and then spent the rest of his life with Nunnally!
A gigantic Cheese-Kun made its way toward the refreshment table. That little liar! I knew there'd be pizza here. The Cheese-Kun's 'arms' moved to lift up a screen around it's 'nose' revealing none other than C.C.'s face underneath. Try to lock me up all night, will he? She thought viciously. Moving toward the pizza boxes, a sudden flaw in her costume came to light. Her arms were far too immobile to reach the pizza.
Suzaku took notice of the girl just a few feet away from him struggling to reach the pizza, and decided that he really wasn't all that hungry. "Here," he began while placing his plate in her hand, "you can have my pizza."
C.C. was taken aback by his kindness. "Th-thank you." She stammered out. As he turned to return to his seat, she stopped him. "Wait!"
"Hm?"
"I… I can't lift it to my mouth." She admitted.
What was he supposed to do? Leave the poor girl, with probably the most creative costume there, alone holding a pizza she couldn't eat? Plus, he was sure he knew her from somewhere. Cheese-kun hid her hair, but her face looked so familiar. He couldn't just let this girl, whom he'd already disrespected by forgetting, stand there dumbly holding a pizza. He began to feed her. All the while her face grew deeper shades of red then either of them thought possible.
Within his plastic shell, Lancelouch had become quite damp from sweating, both from the heat of his breath against the mask of the costume, and its immense weight. It was too stiff to allow him to sit down, and now he was growing concerned about how to get the thing off. He was getting fatigued and short of breath.
I still need to wait for Milly. It had been twenty minutes since she and the other two girls had barricaded themselves in the bathroom. If this keeps up, they may stay in there until the dance is over. And I don't have that kind of stamina! Those were his last frustrated thoughts as he passed out. Unfortunately for Lelouch, the costume was designed with wide feet to help him manage his equilibrium with all the bulk toward the top. And when he lost consciousness, the legs, which weren't very accommodating for movement, locked into place, leaving him on his feet with his head angled slightly downward. This gave the impression to girls exiting the restroom that he was… well, being perverted.
Oh, he's a man after my own heart! I can't remember the last time that a total stranger was this kind to me. C.C. thought warmly. How could this kind and sweet boy ever be friends with Lelouch?
I hope no one's watching this, were Suzaku's only thoughts as he fed the girl her seventh slice of pizza.
After the night's embarrassing debacle, the three girls had decided that it was best if they left the bathroom at separate times. Kallen had decided to go first. As she opened the door, she found Lelouch staring at her. "Lelouch?"
No reply. Is he staring at my-! The nerve! Abandoning her act as a sickly girl, Kallen delivered a roundhouse kick squarely in the Lancelouch's chest, knocking it off balance and sending it crashing to the floor. Kallen paid no mind to the stares of onlookers as she stormed out of the room.
Lelouch woke up screaming, only to return to unconsciousness by the force of the floor meeting his head.
After the students began to leave the dance, Rivalz began to undertake the monumental task of cleaning up with no help (Lelouch was out cold, Suzaku had left in a rush, as had Milly, Kallen, and Shirley, and Nina was suspiciously absent.) Rivalz sighed inwardly as the DJ informed him that he wasn't going to help him. Also, the DJ let him know that he'd be billed for physical injuries he had sustained from 'some psycho cat.'
"Arthur." Rivalz seethed. That's it, tomorrow he'd have Suzaku's cat neutered. Hell, he'd do it himself if animal cruelty wasn't an issue.
"Hey, Rivalz, man have you seen my date?" A somewhat stressed Dracula asked the infinitely more stressed council member.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. She's hot." He replied absently. "Bride of Frankenstein?"
"No, Princess Euphemia, you twit!"
"She is really hot!"
"She's missing!"
"The princess?"
"My date!"
After spending the last hour being dragged by Sayoko from the floor of the dance hall to the floor of his room, Lelouch couldn't help but feel somewhat… defeated. True, he had made Suzaku pay for humiliating Zero, but Milly was still after him. To top it off, C.C. was missing and he was still trapped inside this plastic restraining suit he called a costume.
Lying there, drenched in is own sweat and the sting of failure, Lelouch bitterly decided that he hated Halloween. He hated the costumes, he hate the begging of little kids for possibly poisoned candy, he hated the witches, the ghost, and the goblins. He hated the witches particularly.
"Oh, you're back." C.C.'s voice sounded vaguely surprised, it matched his expression behind his mask. He hadn't heard her come it, and god knows he couldn't see her. "You lied."
"I lie often."
"About the pizza. There was pizza at that dance."
"You had three here! Why did you go?"
"I ate them."
The room was completely dark. The only sounds that could be heard were the gagged pleas for rescue and the rattling of chains as a captive girl dressed as Princess Euphemia struggled against them. Why was this happening? Who could be doing this to her? What had she done to them? She just wanted to go home! She wanted her boyfriend to come rescue her. She started crying.
"Oh, oh, don't cry my Princess. My heart's Empress," a sadistically sweet voice cooed from the shadows. "I'm going to make you very happy." Suddenly, the captive remembered how she had gotten there. That freak dressed as a lumberjack had knocked her out! "Don't struggle," Nina's voice continued, "I promise, I'll enjoy it."
The surface she was chained to was smooth and felt wooden. It had to be a table. She felt a weight land on the opposite end of the table and could her to soft sounds of someone rubbing their hand lovingly against it.
In his room, finally free of the cumbersome suit he had painstakingly made, Lelouch sighed. "C.C., tonight's events were completely awkward and almost seemed unrealistic. Everyone behaved slightly out of character, me included. Could this be another Geass?" He wondered aloud.
"Out of character? How?"
"Well, Kallen's barely suppressed obsession with Suzaku's cape for one. It was sickening."
"Lelouch," she began, "Nina is currently doing unspeakable things to a poor girl chained to a table. I think Kallen's cape fetish is excusable."
"But, what about me humiliating Suzaku on stage so that I could further degrade him and isolate Milly? Surely I wouldn't normally do something like that."
"You do tend to be theatrical. I was surprised you didn't have a music track playing in the background."
"I couldn't figure out how to work the machine." He confessed.
"Oh. By the way, I do agree with you. Some of the events of these past few days have felt a little forced; as if someone was doing a god awful job of writing a story."
"I thought you said that my life wasn't a story." He smirked. She scowled.
"Again, it's not all about you. I was talking about my life as the story. You're just a secondary character, at best."
"Then who are the main characters?"
"Me and the man who captured my heart," she laid back in bed dreamily, "Suzaku Kururugi. The man who shared his pizza with me. I didn't even have to ask or steal or beg. I'm in love."
"And you're making me ill."
End.