Suzaku had expected the stares and whispers. He expected the suspicion and distrust. He expected to be treated poorly by his peers, to be ostracized simply for being an 'Eleven;' for being lesser.

He hadn't expected a stranger to greet him first.

"Nice to meet'cha! I'm Rivalz!"

Suzaku took a moment to stare at the hand extended to him and then to the face of the person offering said hand. Beyond the blue hair, there was a complicated expression on his face; it looked friendly on the surface, but Suzaku could tell that there was some internal struggle going on there.

Still, Suzaku wasn't wanting to be rude, and thus took the hand. Politely, he responded, "Pleasure to meet you as well! I am Suzaku. But, I suppose you already knew that." He scratched the back of his head in slight embarrassment.

Rivalz's eyes slightly widened and he said, "Wow! You're English is really good! I can barely hear an accent!" His smile dropped slightly once a multitude of whispers returned with a vengeance; this time, with Rivalz's name joining Suzaku's as the topic of gossip.

Suzaku blocked those voices out, focusing on what Rivalz had said instead. "Thank you! I had to grow up with it for seven years, so I suppose I just learned the accent as well."

Rivalz's face cringed slightly. Suzaku couldn't figure out why. Was it something he said?

"Rivalz!" came an energetic feminine voice, chiding the blue-haired boy, "you can't just comment on his accent that quickly!" As she stepped up, Suzaku could see the girl the voiced was attached to. Her bright, long orange hair made her stand out quite a bit. She turned from Rivalz to Suzaku and said, "I'm Shirley Fenette. Nice to meet you!"

"Pleasure to meet you as well!" Suzaku was feeling happy that at least two people same to him first. Maybe his ideals were more achievable than he thought.

Rivalz looked from Shirley toward the back of the classroom. When Suzaku followed where Rivalz was looking, he found a timid, green-haired girl that seemed to shrink at his gaze; it almost looked like there was genuine terror in her eyes, like she was about to run just by him looking at her. Rivalz motioned to said girl to Shirley before saying, "I'll talk to her," and jogged over to her.

Suzaku, feeling slightly confused, asked Shirley, "Is she normally like that?"

Shirley looked slight disappointed and responded, "Not to this extent, no. I don't think it's your fault, though; she apparently has some bad history with Elevens." A moment passed before her voice and body language got a bit more frantic. "N-not that it's your fault she's like this! You didn't have any relation to those people!" The nearby students whose whispers began to redouble seemed to disagree.

He couldn't help but frown at the short story. Did that girl really have to deal with Japanese people causing her grief? Why? They lost; why didn't they just submit to Britannia? No one on either side should have to suffer any more. Especially since she's no older than he is; she couldn't have possibly been part of the war. Why involve her in something she had nothing to do with?

Suzaku couldn't make out what Rivalz said to the girl, but he seemed to calm her down. Okay, maybe that's a bit inaccurate – he just seemed to reach some sort of compromise with her, resulting in her being... more watchful of him? What exactly did Rivalz say to her?

As Rivalz came back over, Suzaku noticed that Shirley's gaze seemed to follow Rivalz with an unusual degree of nervousness, like she was studying him for some reason. Suzaku's first thought was that she had a crush on him, but he quickly realized that wasn't the case; there wasn't romantic attraction in her eyes. He couldn't tell exactly what it was though. It almost looked like concern mixed with slight suspicion?

"Sorry 'bout her," Rivalz interrupted his thoughts, "she's got some bad experiences with Ja-" Rivalz cleared his throat, "with Elevens."

"I already told him, Rivalz," Shirley spoke up. Suzaku, now that he knew it was there, could hear a slight tenseness to her voice.

"Oh! Sorry for explaining again, then!" Rivalz let out a nervous laugh and scratched the back of his head.

They three of them would have continued talking if Lelouch hadn't walked past them. Both Rivalz and Shirley tried to get his attention, but to no avail – he simply waved and ignored them. Suzaku was slightly confused why Lelouch wasn't talking to them; they seemed to be friends, weren't they? The sentiment vanished when, while he was still in the doorway, Lelouch tugged the collar of his uniform. 'That signal,' thought Suzaku.

"What's up with him?" Rivalz asked confused. He turned to Suzaku with a lopsided smile, "Sorry 'bout that. I would say that he isn't normally like that, but that's not entirely true." He punctuated his sentence with a nervous laugh.

A disappointed sigh from Shirley. "Seriously. He acts so aloof when there's other people nearby. Why does Lulu care so much about what other think?"

Chuckling at the nickname Shirley gave Lelouch, Suzaku gave a polite smile and said, "I appreciate your company – both of you. But I should probably be going; I want to explore the school and learn the layout."

"Well, while don't we give you a tour?" Rivalz offered.

"I appreciate it, but I can't use up anymore of your time. Thank you for spending time with an Eleven like me," Suzaku said before grabbing his things and leaving.

'Now,' he thought, 'which way to the roof?'

Nina wanted nothing more than to run and hide from the Eleven that had infiltrated the school, wanted to hide from him, not have to look at him anymore; but she couldn't run, couldn't move, couldn't even look away. It was like a train crash, if that crash had caused a life-lasting trauma. His green eyes seemed to pierce her very soul, and not in the good way.

The whispers that surrounded him coming from fellow students that felt suspicion made her feel slightly better in case he tried something, because then they'd all protect her, even if unintentionally. She logically knew that she shouldn't be happy that someone was being made fun of and insulted behind their back, but Nina had trouble thinking logically about Elevens.

She couldn't wrap her head around why Rivalz would willingly talk to the Eleven.

Rivalz had just walked up with purpose, offered a hand, and smiled at him. She knew that Rivalz wasn't the most distrusting person of Elevens, but this? She didn't think that he was that tolerant of them.

Shirley going over to join them wasn't as unexpected, but it still made Nina feel... defenseless. They had just been together, talking about the transfer student, and now, mere moments later, she was over there talking with that monster like it was anyone else.

When Rivalz turned his gaze toward her, it didn't take long before the Eleven's did as well. It made her go from nervous to downright terrified. His stare brought genuine fear with it. She wanted to rip her gaze from Kururugi, but that feeling of being unable to look away returned, even stronger now.

When Rivalz noticed her own frightened face, he said something to Shirley and made his way to her. When he got close enough he said, "Nina, it's gonna be okay; he's okay."

"H-how – how can you say that? He's an Eleven..."

"Well, yes," he sounded sympathetic, "but he's still an Honorary Britannian. Look, if you're really this worried, then me and Shirley'll keep you from him. I don't think it'll come to that, though."

"B-but..!"

"Nina." His voice was more determined than she ever heard it. "I don't know what you've been through, but he's had to go through some stuff himself. Probably not the same stuff, but still. Just," he sighed. "Just give him a chance, okay Nina? Maybe even talk to him if you feel comfortable enough."

Rivalz's words, while not expected in the slightest, did slightly help. At the very least, she can trust her friends to keep her safe from the Eleven. And, now that she thought about it a bit more, if he did do anything dangerous, then Milly and her grandfather wouldn't let him stay here, at least unpunished.

She still watched Suzaku Kururugi, but no longer out of fear. Instead, it was out of a form of observation, a desire to determine if he was 'one of the good ones,' so to speak.

"...Okay," she managed to squeak out. "I'll trust you guys."

Rivalz smiled and sighed in relief. "Thank you for trusting us, Nina." Once he was finished, he made his way back toward the Eleven.

A few seconds later, it seemed that Suzaku Kururugi departed from his apparent new friends, heading her direction. While she backed into a corner to put distance between the two of them, Kururugi seemed to not even notice her fear, focusing on something else seemingly occupying his mind.

Nina let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding.

Rivalz and Shirley rejoined her, with the latter speaking. "He seemed nice! I wish he let us show him around, though."

"I get the feeling that he had somewhere to be," Rivalz said with a slight smirk that Nina couldn't understand the reason for.

"Well, he has to know that he's being rude!" Shirley sighed. "Still, he didn't seem very mean to me. I think everyone's overreacting to him being her."

Nina decided to join the conversation. "Well, I for one am glad he decided to stay way from people."

Rivalz sighed. "Well, I suppose that's progress," he said exasperatedly. Nina couldn't help but tilt her head in confusion; was it something she said?

The rest of the school day went by very much like it had before, with the exception that Suzaku seemed to be in a slightly better mood. I don't remember exactly what he and Lelouch talked about on the roof, but I do remember it happened, and I can't think of any reason it wouldn't happen here too.

I sighed as my mind drifted to Nina. She's really scared of Suzaku, isn't she? I didn't fully realize the extent that Nina's anxiety goes. Did she actually have PTSD? Upon further though, probably not, since she eventually is able to stomach Suzaku's presence; it's definitely close, though.

While classes droned on, I planned my next move. Suzaku was finally here, what can I do now? Gah! Blast this body's memory! Probably didn't help that I hadn't seen the show for a year before I was brought here. Okay, breathe Rivalz; what happens next?

If I'm right, then I think that Arthur causes some problems in a day or two. Do I want to prevent that? Probably; there's no guarantee that it'll play out the same as in canon, unless I want to make sure that Suzaku doesn't find the Zero mask. Not a bad idea, but it would be... difficult to achieve. And the main problem is actually, now that I think about it, Arthur, simply because they're a cat and thus are prone to being much more random than people; I wouldn't be able to totally determine where Arthur will end up.

But if I don't let the cat hunt happen, what could I do to help the school accept Suzaku? While only those at the student council really matter in the long term, with Nina being the most difficult to win over, the more Britannians accept him, the ultimately better the end result is. So, what can I do to make Suzaku more welcome?

C'mon, Rivalz, think! You've read tons of fanfiction; use some of that creativity for inspiration!

Eventually, as I was still thinking through possible ideas, the bell rang, and with a groan, I made my way to student council room. I guess I would have to put my thoughts on hold for a while. Unfortunate, but I have duties to attend to.

As I walked in with pursed lips, still in thought, I found Milly, Nina, and Kallen already waiting. It seems that Kallen had only gotten here about a minute before I did; the other two being here before her.

I sat down and just stared into space for a bit. Despite what I told myself, I couldn't keep myself from thinking of other ways to solve the Suzaku problem. I didn't even realize anyone was calling my name until Milly started actually shaking me while yelling, "RIVALZ!"

My eloquent response was of course, "AH!" and falling off my chair. Picking myself up, I realized that I was more out of it than I initially thought, because Shirley and Lelouch had made their way here and already had a decent stack of paperwork done, all without me noticing.

It was Shirley who spoke first. "Are you okay Rivalz? You haven't paid attention to anything for the past ten minutes."

At everyone's general agreement, I said, "It's nothing, guys. I just had something on my mind is all."

"Was it a girl?" came Milly's smug reply.

I chuckled slightly at the irony of it being her that asked. "Not this time, no. It's just that new student; Suzaku, I think his name is." I still needed to play the part of Rivalz and not let anyone get too suspicious of me, namely Lelouch.

Nina stiffed slightly at the mention of the Japanese, and Kallen narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in curiosity. Said redhead asked, "What about him?"

I took a deep breath. What I say here will likely determine how Kallen thinks of me, how Nina thinks of Suzaku going forward, and if Lelouch will figure something's wrong with how I've been acting – if he hasn't already. "W-well, he's been getting nothing but whispers, ya know? And I get that he was thought to be Clovis's killer, but Zero took responsibility for that. And he doesn't seem to be at all working with Zero from what I could tell!"

"What are you saying?" Shirley asked.

"I... guess I'm saying that people shouldn't judge him before they even get to know him."

I noticed Kallen's face soften a touch at the same time Lelouch ever-so-slightly narrowed his eyes. Milly had a much more complex look on her face, one I couldn't make out what she was thinking, but it looked to me like she was slightly proud. Of course, there was Nina who was looking scared and nervous at my statement.

"Well, what do you want to do?" was Milly's reply.

"Huh?"

"You've been thinking about it for a while at this point, assuming that it's been the only thing on your mind. You must have some solution to this problem that's been plaguing you."

"W-well," I trailed off; my silence speaking volumes. "I just can't think of anything that would work for the exact idea I have! And I've been thinking for a while!"

Lelouch chimed in, "In that case, why not do something to make him more comfortable here? I'm sure there are steps to do so."

I was going to continue to speak, but Milly interrupted me with a snap of her fingers. "Oh! I have a great idea!"

Immediately, everyone but Kallen groaned, knowing what was about to occur. She expressed her confusion, to which I explained how she better get used to Milly Ashford's insane school event ideas.

The idea offered this time, however, was actually not too ridiculous this time:

A Japanese culture festival.

AN

Sorry for the slow, slightly small chapter. It's a mixture of laziness and having more fanfic ideas than I know what to do with. Again, sorry, but I wanted to get this out on the schedule I made for myself. Going forward, I'll try to put more content per chapter, but that comes with something else I want to talk about.

Namely, the fact that RUR will likely not be following the every three weeks formula anymore. The reason is simple: I want to make more fanfics, and I mean A LOT MORE fanfics! I want to have more projects to pour my motivation into. If everything goes well, then I should have a list of future ideas for fics on my profile, so you might want to check that if you're interested.

Now, about the culture festival. I think that it works both from a narrative point of view and an in-universe one. I'll let you guys decide if I go with it (mostly because of what I'm going to say next) since I can simply find another way forward. However, I have NO IDEA what a Japanese culture festival would look like here (and I don't remember if something similar was done in the show – it's been a while since I've seen those parts), and I would like some advice on what I could do to make it feel more alive. Essentially, I'm asking you all for ideas of what I could put into the festival, if you guys want to see it. So please, if you'd be so kind, leave a review about what you'd like to see, and I'll probable use it in some way.

I think that's all! Hope you all enjoy and have a great day!