I do not own these series, nor do I make any money off of this.

"talking"

'thinking'

Chapter 84: Illogical Fights; Good Intentions

Lelouch led Naruto and Sasuke to the bathroom. They took turns showering, the other staying guard. Once they were done, they patted down their clothes, making sure they looked ok. The clothes they wore were more fancy. It was a good thing that they kept their uniforms from Cross Academy. Naruto however, chose to wear an orange undershirt instead of the white one that came with it. Both decided to forgo the tie.

Lelouch was outside the bathroom, waiting for them. He looked them up and down, giving them a silent approval. "Food is ready." He led them to where the others were. When they saw Naruto and Sasuke, their eyes widened.

Milly whistled. "Looking good boys."

"Where is that uniform from?" Suzaku asked.

"A school in the E.U." Lelouch said. "Don't you remember seeing it in last year's history book?" Suzaku shook his head.

"You sure seem to know a lot about Gino's cousin," Rivalz said. Lelouch cursed inside his head.

"Gino's cousin?" Suzaku asked. He looked right at Naruto. "I can see the resemblance." 'Gino has a cousin? I thought his parents didn't have any siblings. I'll have to look into this.' "Does that mean you're half?"

"Yes," Naruto said, remembering what he had said before. "My mother is Japanese."

"That's a bit surprising," Suzaku said. "It is rare for a Britannian to have a child with an Eleven."

"Suzaku?" Shirley asked. She was surprised that Suzaku would say that.

"I think we should start eating before the food gets cold," Lelouch said before sitting down. Naruto and Sasuke took that as a sign to sit down. Naruto sat down next to Lelouch while Sasuke sat across from him and next to Shirley. It was Milly that changed the subject to the festival.

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Lelouch brought Naruto and Sasuke to separate rooms. They told him that they were ok with sharing one, but Lelouch wouldn't have it. He told them that if Milly found out that Lelouch had them share a room, he'd never hear the end of it. Naruto and Sasuke had a hard time sleeping that night. The two shinobi came to the conclusion that they had spent too much time together and that they had grown dependent on the other to be beside them during the night. The only times they hadn't slept in the same room, Naruto ended up having a nightmare and Sasuke had to force himself to sleep. Naruto stared at the ceiling as he tossed and turned. He hadn't slept the night before due to talking to Clare. He needed to learn how to sleep without Sasuke being beside him.

"Are you worrying about the Uchiha again?" Kurama asked.

"I seem to always be worried," Naruto said. "We don't even know if we are really safe here."

"This whole Eleven thing is strange," Kurama said. "I may hate humans, but do humans really hate each other so easily?"

"Differences between two groups of people make them scared of each other," Naruto answered.

"Such prejudice is stupid."

"If that is the rules this world lives by we have to deal with it. We won't be here long."

"I'll keep an eye out, just in case."

"Thank you, Kurama."

"No problem, Kit." Naruto closed his eyes.

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Sasuke cursed when he realized that he couldn't fall asleep. He felt oddly cold. His back still hurt a little, but it was tolerable. It also didn't help that something in his mind was telling him that he knew Lelouch and the others. But still, Sasuke couldn't unlock those memories. After a few hours of just staring at a wall, Sasuke got up. He made his way downstairs and outside. Seeing the night sky always seemed to have a calming effect on him. A noise to his right alerted him to the presence of another. He got up and looked around the corner to see Lelouch and Suzaku. They looked to be arguing.

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Rivalz, Milly, and Shirley left a few hours after dinner. Rolo went to sleep after some probing by Lelouch. Suzaku stayed behind to do the dishes while Lelouch showed Naruto and Sasuke to their rooms. When he came back down, he joined Suzaku.

"That was a bit rude you know," Lelouch said as he dried another plate. "Does it really matter that Naruto is half Japanese?"

"Are you mad that I called him an Eleven or are you actually mad for another reason?" Suzaku shot back.

"I don't understand what is going on with you, but…" he trailed off when Suzaku grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Why are you acting like you don't know anything?" Suzaku asked. "Are you going to lie to me again?"

"What are you talking about?" Lelouch yelled. "You're the one that's lying!" He smacked Suzaku's hand away. "Ever since you came back to school, you've been acting differently around me. Did I do something to deserve this strange hatred you seem to have for me? Or is it Rolo? You keep glaring at him every time you see him. What could my little brother have done to make you hate him? Or maybe you're taking it out on him."

Suzaku snarled. "You really think you can fool me? I know who you are Lelouch. You can try to hide behind that mask of yours, but…"

"Mask? I'm not the one pretending to be friends with someone only to turn their back on them the moment something ticks them off." Lelouch slapped the towel he was holding against the counter. "I don't know what you want from me. When you finally decide to tell me... " He ran a hand through his hair. "No, it doesn't matter." He dropped the towel. "I'm going out for a bit of fresh air." Lelouch left the kitchen and headed out the door.

Suzaku stared after him, not moving from where he was. It took him a few seconds before he was out the door, looking for Lelouch. He found Lelouch around the corner, still walking away. He grabbed his arm and spun him around. "What gives you the right to tell people how to live their lives?"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"You've been trying to string me along like a puppet. Do you really think I'd do your dirty work?"

"Suzaku, what are you…?"

"I'm an honorary Britannian, a Knight of the Round. Now that I have this status, do you plan to use me?" He slammed his free hand against the side of the building. "I won't allow it!"

"I don't understand what you're saying! Just what are you accusing me of?"

"As if you don't know."

"I don't. I wouldn't ask if I knew. That would be just a waste of time. Now, if you don't mind, you're hurting me." Suzaku looked at his hand that was still squeaking Lelouch's wrist. He released him and Lelouch took a step back, away from the other boy. His other hand went to his wrist and he rubbed at it. "Are you going to explain yourself now?"

"I… I just." Suzaku brought a hand to his forehead. "With everything going on, I think I'm just confused. All of these emotions I feel right now, I don't understand them. I know I'm angry at you, but the reason why is so complicated." 'Plus it doesn't help that you supposedly don't remember anything.' "I'm also mad at myself."

"Does it have anything to do with Princess Euphemia?" Suzaku looked at Lelouch in surprise. "You were her knight and yet she was killed by Zero. Are you angry at yourself for being unable to save her?" Suzaku didn't know what to say, so he nodded. "I'd like to tell you that it's not your fault. That no circumstances didn't allow you to stop Zero. But I don't really know what happened. I wasn't there. I don't know how it feels to lose someone like that. If I lost Rolo, I don't know what I would do."

"If someone killed Rolo, wouldn't you hate that person?"

"I would. I would want them dead. I may even seek out revenge. I know that Rolo wouldn't want that. He'd want me to move on and live a happy life. I don't think I'd be able to do that. I could try, but the memories of us together would tug at my desire to bring whomever killed him to justice, even if it cost me myself."

Suzaku nodded. "I want to kill Zero, but not just for Euphy. I want to save the world she saw, protect the things she wanted to protect. But I don't know if I can do that. Not with how I feel right now."

"I won't stop you. It would be foolish of me to tell you not to follow your dream. If peace is what you are truly after, find it. Once you grasp onto whatever it is you find dear, never let it go." He walked over to Suzaku and put a hand on his shoulder. "No matter what it is." He pulled back. "I'm going to bed now. There is another room free if you wish to spend the night."

"Do you mind if I share your bed?" Lelouch blushed at that, hiding his face from Suzaku. "Like old times?"

"Sure." Lelouch couldn't help but smile.

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Sasuke heard Lelouch and Suzaku coming towards him. He went back inside and hid behind a curtain. It was a stupid place to hide, but luckily for him, Suzaku and Lelouch didn't seem to notice him. Once he was sure they were gone, Sasuke once more went outside. He didn't understand what they had been talking about. But it was clear that someone close to Suzaku had been killed and he wanted revenge. In Sasuke's opinion, that was understandable. 'Still,' Sasuke wondered. 'What does that have to do with Lelouch?' His gaze returned to the sky before he closed his eyes.

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Sasuke sneezed as he and Naruto were being led around the campus. At the sound, Naruto looked over at him. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke said. Naruto frowned. Sasuke didn't look like he was feeling good. He wondered if it had anything to do with what happened in the morning. Naruto had gone to wake Sasuke up but when he had gotten no response, he opened the door to see that Sasuke wasn't there. At first, Naruto panicked thinking that maybe someone did something to him. He had started to run down the stairs only to see Sasuke walking up them. From the look on Sasuke's face it was clear that he hadn't gotten a lot of sleep. Naruto had been about to tell Sasuke to rest when Milly slammed the door open, yelling about festival preparations. Her voice must have traveled well as Suzaku and Lelouch came out of Lelouch's room, looking like they were going to pass out. Lelouch told her to quiet down. Rolo came out of his room looking like the only one to have gotten any sleep. He joined Milly in making breakfast while Suzaku and Lelouch forced themselves to stay awake. Sasuke nearly fell asleep until Rolo placed a cup of coffee in front of him. Sasuke had chugged the coffee, ignoring how hot it was, before asking for more. Three more cups later and Sasuke was being pulled out of his seat by Milly who had offered to show them around. Sasuke didn't bother to fight her and Naruto quickly went after them.

Milly continued to talk about the festival, not knowing that neither Sasuke nor Naruto were listening to her. They eventually met up with Shirley and Rivalz. The two joined them with Shirley asking where Lelouch and Suzaku were. Rolo popped out of nowhere to tell them that Lelouch had gone back to bed. He then added with obvious hatred that Suzaku had joined him. This caused Milly and Shirley to blush. Rivalz, Sasuke, and Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

"I-it's nothing," Shirley squeaked out. "A-anyway, I think the festival is gonna be awesome!"

"Of course it is," Milly said. She looked over at the giant clock. "It looks like there is only an hour left. We should split up and see if anyone needs any last minute help." She turned towards Naruto and Sasuke. "Can I ask you two to go wake up Lelouch and Suzaku? Tell them I sent you if they give you any trouble." Naruto nodded.

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Sasuke was tired. He knew it was mostly because of his lack of sleep. The last time he really slept was when Naruto stayed awake to talk to Clare. He had tried to get some sleep outside last night, but the pain in his back kept him awake. He had half a mind to either ask Naruto for some more healing or to ask Lelouch if he had any pain medicine. The problem was that the pain medicine probably wouldn't work on him due to his tolerance. He blamed Orochimaru and Kabuto for that. As for asking Naruto to heal him, he was too stubborn to admit a weakness to the other. So, he ended up suffering as he followed Milly and Naruto around. His ears didn't seem to work as nothing she said reached him. He did however hear Naruto ask him if he was ok. His response was a simple: "I'm fine," but it wasn't the truth. He was sure that Naruto could see through his lie, but he was too tired and too hot to make up an excuse. When Shirley showed up, he wanted to strangle the girl. He reminded him of his annoying fangirls. Then Rolo showed up with his strange hatred of Suzaku. It was more similar to the feeling of jealousy a person had of their sibling's lover, but Sasuke chose to ignore it. When Milly asked them to go back to wake up Lelouch and Suzaku, Sasuke was more than happy to agree. He was secretly hoping to just go back to his room to sleep.

When they got back, Naruto turned around and lightly pushed Sasuke up against the door. He put his hand on Sasuke's forehead, letting out a gasp. "I was right. You have a fever."

"It's nothing, idiot," Sasuke said, slapping Naruto's hand away. But he didn't have the strength to push Naruto backwards.

"Is it because of last night?" Naruto asked. "I know you didn't get any sleep."

"I told you that I'm fine, Dobe," Sasuke said.

"Why do you always have to act like this?" Naruto asked, raising his voice. "Am I that unreliable that you can't even tell me when you're sick?"

"Naruto?" Lelouch called. Naruto instantly let Sasuke go and turned around to see Lelouch and Suzaku walking down the stairs. Suzaku was rubbing at one of his eyes, trying to get the sleepiness out of it. "Is everything alright?"

"Milly asked us to wake you up," Naruto said, choosing to ignore the question. "She said she wants you to join them in making sure the festival preparations are complete."

Lelouch looked over at the grandfather clock. "There is only forty minutes until it begins. I suppose we should get ready." He grabbed Suzaku's hand and pulled him towards the bathroom. Naruto stared after them for a few seconds before turning back towards Sasuke.

"Go upstairs and get some sleep," Naruto ordered. "We'll talk about this later." He started heading up the stairs towards his own room. Sasuke wanted to punch Naruto for daring to order him around, but he was too tired to even glare at him. He slowly walked up to his room. He was at his door when Naruto's opened. Naruto was now wearing a light orange shirt with a black vest over it. He was also wearing black pants along with orange and black leather boots that went up to the knee. Sasuke stared at Naruto, wondering where the hell he had found those boots. Naruto looked at Sasuke with a frown on his face. "What?"

"Nothing," Sasuke said, before entering his room and closing the door behind him. He lowered himself to the floor and put his head in his arms. He didn't know what was going on with him. After a few minutes, he got up, stripped down to his boxers and got into bed. A few seconds later, he heard the door opening. He kept his eyes closed as he could tell who it was.

Naruto sat a glass of water down on the bedside table along with some medicine. He then reached over and placed a cooling pad on Sasuke's forehead. Sasuke flinched at the contact, but neither said anything. "It might not work on you, but take some medicine anyway." Naruto walked back over to the door, stopping at the entrance. He bit his lip as he swallowed down what he really wanted to say. "I'll be back later." He closed the door behind him quietly before heading downstairs and meeting up with Lelouch. "Thank you."

"I hope he feels better soon," Lelouch said. He looked over at Naruto. "You know, you don't have to come to the festival. You can always stay here."

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I need to go out. I… it would be best if I stayed away from Sasuke."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Suzaku asked. He was fully dressed, back in his military uniform. Lelouch clicked his tongue before using his towel to dry Suzaku's hair. Suzaku rolled his eyes before looking back at Naruto.

"I'd rather not," Naruto said. Suzaku nodded and the three left.