AN:

Guest: Honestly, we might be getting into the main stuff in two or three more chapters.

Samurai Seven: I don't know which Round will die first, though I have an idea.

DarkDremora: That would definitely be in character for Lelouch, considering he would want to try mastering it.

Chapter 103: Car Ride

Area 11. Sendai Settlement. August 31st.

Rai casually turned his car into the gas station, making for a smooth entrance as he pulled up next to pump 7. That's when he noticed movement from his left, "Here." Euphemia extended her hand, which contained her credit card, causing the boy to tilt his head in confusion.

"What's this for?" he asked as her hand stayed unmoving.

"For gas, silly." she grabbed his hand, and forced her card into it.

"I can pay for it." Rai responded while trying to push back, only to get shut down.

"No way. Since this was originally my idea, I'll pay for the gas." Euphemia explained while hopping out of the car, "But, if you want – you can pay me back later." she stuck her tongue out playfully before running into the convenience store, leaving her former Knight at the pump.

Rai shook his head while stepping out, and opening his gas cap. He inserted the card into the pump, followed by the pin – which he had memorized from his days as Euphemia's Knight – and inserted the nozzle. While waiting, he peered into the store, where the Prince appeared to be zooming around in her large sunhat, going from the coolers, to the chip aisle, before finally stopping at a small display, "Ah. How's she going to pay if I have her card?" he thought as the meter continued climbing, "Hopefully I'll finish before then."

At that moment, he heard a loud click, indicating his tank was full. So, he finished everything up, and headed inside, where Euphemia was already at the register. But there was a problem. "You idiot!" the owner shouted at his employee, who held their arms up in fear, "Can you Elevens do anything right!?"

"I-I'm sorry!" the employee pleaded, only to get their hand grabbed roughly.

"You're sorry!? I took a chance on you because of that damn Viceroy's policy, but I might as well have hired a teenager!" he forced them to look at the refrigeration units, "You're supposed to make sure the drinks are fully stocked! But look at that far right row! It's half full!'

"I-I didn't notice!"

"Is that so?" the owner raised his fist, intending to strike the employee, "Then I'll make sure you remember next time!"

Finally, Euphemia stepped in, "Stop! What do you think you're doing?"

"Huh? What does it look like? I'm punishing my employee for their misbehavior." the man answered without hesitation, shocking the Princess.

"That's not acceptable!"

"Is it? This is how it's always been for Elevens."

"Not anymore! The Japanese are people too, and they deserve to be treated with the same respect as everyone else!"

"And who are you to say that?" the racist owner asked, directing his anger to the Princess.

Rai stepped in as the man got closer, separating the two to protect Euphemia. However, the Princess pushed his aside slightly to face the owner with full confidence, "I'm Princess Euphemia Li Britannia." she said while pulling off her hat, "And I won't stand here – willingly watching you abuse your employees."

"P-Princess Euphemia!?" the man backed away, "And the Knight of Ten!?"

The Princess took a step forward and declared, "In two days, I'll be back to check on your employee. And if I find out you've abused them further, there will be severe consequences, ones that'll make you regret referring to the Japanese as Elevens, understand!"

"Y-yes, your majesty."

Euphemia let out a frustrated sigh and stormed out of the building, followed by Rai, "Drive." she ordered once they got in the car.

For 10 minutes, an uncomfortable silence filled the vehicle as they exited the town onto the freeway. The Knight could feel the tension clawing at his throat while glancing at the girl every so often, "Are you okay?" he asked in barely a whisper, only to be ignored.

The drive continued in silence until Euphemia crossed her legs and groaned, looking out the window, "I should've done more." she mumbled.

"You did what you could."

"Did I?" she questioned in a slightly aggressive tone, "That bastard's just going to go back to what he was doing before after we return. Or worse, he'll fire that girl once we leave." she sighed while shifting her legs, "And if I had him arrested on-the-spot, then that poor employee would just be out of a job anyway."

"Wow. You really thought ahead." Rai commented while keeping an eye on the road, "Then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from someone as thoughtful as you."

"Of course. It's a real problem." Euphemia responded, "I have so much power… yet I can't do anything about those social situations." she puffed out her cheeks and returned to looking out the window, "Perhaps I could get her a job…"

"As what?"

"Maybe… my assistant?"

Rai's face softened, "Euphie, I don't think you can trust some random person with such an important job, regardless of race."

"Yeah, you're right." the pink-haired Princess responded while looking down, "I just wish I could do something."

"Perhaps… you could give her a different job?" the boy suggested, "She could start at a desk job and slowly work her way up."

"Hey, that's a great idea!" Euphemia's face finally softened into a smile, "Those jobs can't be that hard, and I'm sure they pay nice too!"

"Of course." Rai nodded along, "I'm sure they'll be happy too."

The Princess sat up, "By the way, have you figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?"

"What we're going to be doing in Hokkaido. Have you figured it out?" she called back to her question from before.

"I haven't really given it much thought… but we're just touring around, right?" Rai asked hesitantly.

Euphemia rolled her eyes playfully before saying, "Jeez, you can be so clueless sometimes, Rai."

Somewhere within the Chinese Federation.

Castor and Pollux chuckled heartily while downing a drink as servants ran around the palace, desperately trying to please their guest with the High Eunuch watching from across the table, "Oh. It makes me so happy that such amazing Prince's could grace us with their presence." one said with red rings around his eyes, "With Britannia on our side, I'm sure we'll be able to easily crush the Black Knights with no issue."

"Isn't that right?" another added with his own red rings, "We're truly blessed with the presence of Lord Castor and Lord Pollux."

"And don't you forget it!" Pollux shouted with a mouth full of food, "As long as you're loyal to us, we'll save you from the purge once we become Emperor."

"Thank you, your majesty." the High Eunuch chimed robotically as their servants hid their disgust.

Suddenly, Castor's phone began to ring, which Pollux noticed, and shouted, "Everyone, leave at once!"

At first, the entire room froze, not knowing how to respond. It wasn't until the High Eunuch stood and shouted, "You heard him! Get out!"

In less than a minute, the vast hall was emptied, leaving the Prince's alone to speak with their uncle, who impatiently greeted them over the phone by asking, "How have your preparations been?"

"Spectacular. The entire Federation is practically our play-thing." Pollux responded with a smirk as the call was put on speaker.

"Then why haven't you been reporting about it? I told you to inform me on everything that's going on within the Chinese Federation. It's absolutely imperative." V.V explained while impatiently tapping his finger.

"Relax, Uncle." Castor added, "Brother and I have this covered."

"And what of Cornelia?" the Immortal asked, causing the Princes to smirk, "Has she caused any problems?"

"Not at all." Castor said while leaning back, "She hardly even knows we exist."

"Excellent. The last thing we need is her involvement."

"So the plans are still on, right?" Pollux steered the conversation away from the Princess, "We're ready here. What about our frames?"

"They're practically done." V.V responded, "I'm sure you'll enjoy the added touch that these Knightmares have."

"Excellent."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang at the front door, causing the twins to stare with disgust, "What was that?" their Uncle asked.

"Nothing. We'll call you later." Castor said before abruptly hanging up just as the door was kicked in, followed by an angry mob.

"Where are the High Eunuch!?" their leader shouted in outrage while gazing upon the table filled with food.

"And what do you want?" Castor asked with mild amusement.

"We're sick and tired of starving ourselves while they live lavishly in the capital!" another joined in, "We want justice!"

"Justice?" Pollux got onto the table and kicked a few plates onto the ground, spilling food in all directions, "The only justice around here, is the one WE rule." the crowd grew angrier as he kicked more food onto the ground, "WE tell you when to eat. WE tell you when to sleep. WE tell you when to get angry, and when to feel happy!" he picked up a bottle of wine, and purposefully poured the contents onto the floor, "That is the duty of a King, and his servants, understand?"

"K-King!?" the mob leader shouted in outrage, "How dare you! We know the truth! The High Eunuch are only using Empress Tianzi's name to rule the country, and once our revolution is successful, we'll spread the truth across the land!"

"The truth?" the Prince ground his shoe into a bowl of rice, turning the contents to mush, "The truth is: you don't matter. None of you do!" he outstretched his arms with a sadistic smile, "Understand, peasant? You can easily be replaced by the guy next to you, or the girl ten steps behind you!" he lifted his foot, with a chuckle, "Now, since I'm such a graceful lord, I'll feed you as long as you lick it off my shoe."

"Don't you think that's too kind, brother?" Castor added with a laugh, "I'd say even being in your presence as they die is too good for them."

"You think so?"

The crowd roared in outrage as the twins cackled together, "I don't know who you are, but you don't have a right to speak to us that way!" they took a step forth, only to be stopped at a hand raise.

"Just like cattle." Pollux chuckled, "Let me tell you something… nobody will remember you if you choose to attack me, understand?" his eyes flashed with two Geass symbols, striking fear in the mob for some strange reason – despite not knowing what it meant.

Nonetheless, the leader shouted and rushed forth, followed by the enraged group, "We're gonna kill you, bastard!"

"Kill? Me? Funny." the Prince said as they leapt onto the table, while he calmly kept his hands in his pocket, "Especially since you're going to be dead in a few seconds." he waited until they crossed an unmarked line, before ordering with his Geass active, "Die!"

At once, the mob fell into an eerie silence, before they began slitting their own throats with their weapons, earning a scowl from Pollux, as he got some blood on his coat, "Ugh. Disgusting creatures." Castor mumbled while tossing a turkey leg onto the ground, which had caught a spec of blood, "Now they've sullied my meal."

"I'm sorry, brother." Pollux said with a smile, "Those slimes weren't worth the time of day. Killing them didn't even give me enough exp to level up." he shrugged while hopping next to his twin, who got up in a huff, "But don't worry, I'm sure after we deal with our big brother, we'll level up beyond belief."

"Of course. Just like we planned." Castor added while wrapping his arm around his brother, "Soon, Lelouch's very existence will be our sword to smite Britannia."

Black Knight Warehouse. Chennai. India.

Lelouch let out a breath as he carefully swayed from side-to-side, facing his girlfriend who kept calm with her muscles tense for a confrontation, "Come on. I always strike first." she said, "It's your turn."

He kept an eye on her figure, which was rather revealing due to her outfit. Despite having trained with her for so long, he always found himself getting distracted once in a while. Though, he couldn't help it. Lelouch shook his head, and focused on the task at hand. With a single step forward, he sent out a half-hearted strike, which the red head easily caught, and pushed back, "Come on. Try hitting me for real."

"Kallen. You know, no matter how much you say that, I'm never going to do that." the Prince responded with a sigh.

"Oh come on. You can only get so far half-assing this, you know?"

"And yet you let it happen." the boy smirked.

"That's because I love you so much." she pinched his cheeks playfully, easily passing through Lelouch's guard, much to his surprise, "If you were Naoto, I wouldn't let it slide."

"Of course you wouldn't." the Prince chuckled while trying to back away, only to get pulled in, "W-wait, I-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the red head pulled him to the ground, and put him in a pin, "We're still training, remember?" she said while holding him in an arm-lock.

"Ugh… I know." he said in a muffled voice as his mouth was covered by her leg, "Can we take a break? I'm getting tired."

Kallen rolled her eyes while releasing him, "You always want to take a break." she commented as he tried to sit on the couch, only to get pulled into her arms, "No. I want to sit here."

The Prince groaned while settling into her hold, "Why not on the comfy couch?"

"Because it's nice and cool on the floor." she responded casually, "Anything on your mind?"

"I've just been thinking about our plan for the Chinese Federation."

"Is that it?" the red head asked while resting her head on his shoulder.

"For the time being – yes." Lelouch said as he overheard Tamaki yelling outside, though he didn't bother to check, due to thinking it was just another one of his antics, "Would you like to hear the plan I've cooked up so far?"

"Of course."

The Prince hummed, "Then… we'll need some kind of way to isolate the High Eunuch from the rest of the military. Fighting in the capital would be foolish, considering that they'd have a QRF on top of us within half-an-hour. Ideally, it would be best for us to kidnap one of them to draw out the rest. However, the chances of them abandoning the one compromised is too high, so I thought it would be best to strike their core."

"Empress Tianzi?"

"How did you…" Lelouch shook his head, "Anyway, we're going to take her Prisoner, since the High Eunuch use her as a figurehead to rule the Chinese Federation. Once we take her, they'll have no choice but to chase us down personally to further drive home the idea that they exist to help, painting us as the bad guys. However, that's when we'll expose their corrupt regime, and ignite a wide-spread revolution across the Federation."

"How do you plan on exposing them?"

"From what Oz has told me, the High Eunuch speak very highly of themselves all the time, so it shouldn't be too hard to find something that'll expose them as frauds."

"Oh… speaking of which…" Kallen leaned back, and looked her boyfriend in the eyes, "Clara wants to talk about Oz later."

"She does? What's that about?"

"It's related to Rolo."

"I see." Lelouch sighed, "I figured something like this would come up eventually, but I didn't think it'd get so bad that I'd have to intervene."

"Wait… you know what's up?"

"Yes. Oz has a deep hatred for Rolo regarding a misunderstanding in their past. That's the short version of it. Honestly, I thought Mario would be able to solve this by himself, but I guess he chose to take a neutral stance considering how difficult of a situation this is."

"So you're going to help now?"

"Naturally." the Prince said as they heard a loud crash, followed by various cursing from Maya. Kallen got up and ran out to see the commission, only to witness Tamaki run out of the warehouse, followed by an angry black-haired girl, "What happened?" she asked Mario as he massaged his face.

"Uh… I don't really know." he looked at the Sougetsu, which was slumped on the floor, "Tamaki just… touched something."

Soon, Lelouch walked out in his Zero attire, and gently pulled tapped his girlfriend on the shoulder, "Go put on some clothes." he whispered, "Otherwise, someone might get the wrong idea."

Kallen blushed slightly, "They've already got ideas." she mumbled while heading inside.

"Mario. What happened?"

"I don't know!" the Disel shouted in frustration, "Seriously! We were gonna take the Sougetsu for a spin, but it just collapsed!"

"Perhaps the battery's dead." Rolo commented while sitting atop a large pile of crates.

"It's not a car, idiot." Clara said while slapping him on the back, "Besides, you saw it move."

"Mario." Lelouch called again, "What happened?"

The Disel groaned while walking over to the downed Knightmare, "We were… gonna use it to help train Benio."

"Seriously?" Zero raised an eyebrow, "What for?"

"Tamaki kept pestering us about using the Sougetsu for a sparring match, since it was 'only collecting dust' in here." Mario explained while hopping into the cockpit, "I guess it collapsed due to not being piloted for so long."

"Or maybe Tamaki's just that bad." Clara suggested with a giggle as Kallen exited Zero's office, wearing a jacket over her sports bra.

However, before she could even reach the stairs, Lelouch stopped her and pointed back at the door, "More clothes."

Kallen rolled her eyes before heading back inside, "You're just trying to get me to change completely, so I'll be too tired to train later."

"That's partly why I'm doing this." he responded while grabbing her arm, "But there's another reason."

"And what's that?"

Lelouch snuck his hand beneath her jacket and trailed his finger down the red head's spin, causing her to shiver upon feeling the cold leather make contact with her skin, "Because I don't think I'd be able to resist teasing you like this."

Kallen pulled away with a smile, and tightened the jacket around her figure, "You're such an idiot." she responded while sticking out her tongue, "Just go do your job, you little flirt."

Mario maneuvered his Sougetsu outside, where he saw Maya beating Tamaki over the head, while Naoto tried prying her off, "Maya! Let him go!"

"No way! This idiot hurt my Knightmare!" the girl argued.

"It was an accident!" Tamaki retorted as Benio cutely rushed over.

"M-Maya!" the little girl called, which instantly made the Disel calm down, "Please let him go!"

"Awe." the black-haired girl stood and picked up Benio joyfully, "How could I ever refuse a request from my favorite Black Knight?" she said while playfully pinching her cheeks.

"Favorite?" her brother boomed through his intercom, "What about me?"

"What about you?"

The siblings stared at each for a moment, before the former sighed, "Whatever."

"Oh, come on, Mario!" she put down Benio and leapt onto her brother's frame, climbing up to the cockpit where she knocked on it several times, "You know you're my favorite sibling, right?"

"The more time I spend with you, the more I wish Hina were here."

"Don't be like that." Maya said while knocking even harder, "Now, open up!"

Suddenly, the cockpit began moving, causing her to nearly fall over, only to be caught by Mario, "Be careful." he warned, pulling her up.

"See? You do care!" As she went in for a hug, Mario pushed her off, earning a gasp as she fell for about half-a-second, before landing on the ground feet-first, much to her surprise, "Hey! What the hell was that for!?"

Mario chuckled while stepping off the frame, which was now only a foot off the ground, "I'm just messing with you." he hugged his sister, and walked toward Tamaki, "You better not hurt my frame."

"Uh… sure." Tamaki replied while reaching for the key, only to have it pulled back seconds prior.

"Sure?"

"I mean, yes. I'll be careful."

The Disel handed the keys over as Zero skeptically watched from afar, with Kallen – now wearing her Black Knight uniform – by his side. Though, she'd soon step forward and snatch the keys from the Japanese man, saying, "No way. I'm not trusting you to teach Benio."

"Hey! Give those back!" he shouted while trying to take them back, only to be answered with a glare, "You can't just bully everyone into doing what you want!"

"I'm not bullying you, idiot." the red head responded, "If you're hoping for her to be skillful in a frame, then I'm the one who needs to train her."

"You think I don't have skill!?"

Naoto facepalmed in the background as his sister smirked, "You don't have enough to teach her, that's for sure."

"That's so mean!"

"Y-yeah!" Benio suddenly added meekly, "K-Kallen… you shouldn't be so mean to Tamaki."

"Awe." the red head turned to the little girl and kneeled, "I'm not being mean to him. I just want the best for you so that you'll be prepared some day when you get to go on a mission."

"What!?" Tamaki exclaimed, "There's no way I'm letting her go on a mission anytime soon!"

"Then what are we training her for?"

"Self-defense! It's way too dangerous for her to take the field!"

"Then it'll just be a waste to train her for combat like this!"

"This is so stupid." Lelouch mumbled while Maya shoved her brother with a giggle.

"Then let's ask Zero." Kallen put a hand on her hip with a smirk, "Zero, what do you think about taking Benio on a mission?"

"No far!" Tamaki shouted, "He's just going to take your side because you're his-" with a single glare from the girl, he shut up, but not without muttering the end of his sentence, "girlfriend."

Lelouch released a heavy breath, before trying to sound as unbiased as possible, "Depending on how well Benio performs, she might become a part of our main formation. However, she'll need to take some proper training that will prepare her for that event. Understand?"

"Of course." the red head spun the key on her finger, "And who do you think should train her?"

"Both of you." the Prince surprisingly answered, "Kallen, you're not going to be here 24/7, so Tamaki will have to fill in those gaps. For this match, you can take priority."

The Japanese man crossed his arms and headed to the sidelines, where Naoto was, "Don't feel too bad about it, bud. You'll probably be the one training Benio 80% of the time anyway."

This seemed to cheer him up, as he responded, "You know what? You're right. When it comes down to it, I'll be the one mostly credited with Benio's success, won't I?"

"That's… one way of thinking about it… I guess."

Lelouch watched as the Sougetsu's stood up simultaneously – bringing their fists up – preparing for a spar. That's when Clara and Rolo stood on either side, one with a neutral expression, while the other had a smile, "Rolo." the masked man called without facing him, "It's come to my attention that you and Oz are at odds."

"You knew the whole time." the black-haired boy mumbled, "What about it?"

"Well, I'm stepping in. It shouldn't take long to clear up the misunderstanding-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Clara stepped in, "Actually… it's more complicated than that… Zero…"

"What?" Lelouch turned, "Explain."

The girl got on her tiptoes, and leaned into his ear – or at least where it would be –, conveying the situation through a whisper, which earned a scowl from Rolo, who felt vulnerable having such a part of his past exposed, "Are you done yet?"

"That's the gist of it." Clara said, while letting her touch linger for a second longer on Zero's shoulder, before leaving his proximity.

"Hm…" Lelouch looked down, "That's really bad."

"Do you think there's someway to fix it?"

"No." the Prince answered bluntly, "There's no amount of apologies that could erase the scar Rolo's left on Oz's past."

The former Geass assassin looked away while holding his arm, "I already knew that. There's no point in reconciliation. This is something I have to live with for the rest of my life."

"Though…"

Upon hearing his leader's hesitation, his eyes shimmered with some kind of faint hope – which Clara noticed amusingly, "Though what?"

"You were manipulated into conducting such an act, right? Perhaps there's a way for Oz to sympathize with your situation, then we could go from there." Lelouch explained in a low voice, "If he has any kind of conditions, we'll see if we can meet them. Though, I doubt any of them will end without 'killing Rolo'. Of course, we'd refuse those."

"You think we can do it?" Clara asked hopefully.

"Depends on Oz. I won't meet unreasonable demands."

"You hear that, Rolo?" the girl began shaking the boy by his shoulders, "Zero's totally gonna save your bacon!"

"I can't promise that-"

Clara gave their leader a hug with a giggle, "Thank you, Lelouch." she whispered before running off.

Now, Rolo stared at the Prince while rubbing his arm, "Rolo. It'll be fine. The worst that could happen is that we don't make a deal with Oz."

"Thank you…" the former assassin mumbled.

"You don't have to say that. We take care of our own. Or at least that's what Naoto says."

"Like a family…" Rolo mumbled, recalling Clara's words.

"What?"

"Nothing. Thanks again for this." the boy bowed before calmly walking after the pink-haired girl, "Perhaps… I can find my place here after all…"

"Drop your shoulders, Benio!" Kallen shouted while sending a strike upward, which was narrowly dodged at the last moment, "Unlike Britannia's, our cockpits are similar to motorcycles seats, giving us slightly better mobility." she sent out her hand, grabbing her opponent's shield.

The little girl panicked and retracted her hand, bringing the red head's Sougetsu close enough for it to strike her chest, "Ow!" she reacted while falling to the floor.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" Benio got up instantly, ready to go again.

"She's got good coordination." Kallen mused while strafing left, which her opponent easily tracked, before extending her frame's claw-like fingers, and went in for a cut.

Benio leapt back, dodging the narrow maneuver while firing a slash harken, only to have it get caught and crushed, earning a reaction from Maya, "What the hell was that, Kally!?"

"Oh. I'm sorry." the red head apologized, "I got a little carried away."

The two Sougetsu returned to combat, with Kallen closed the gap, sending a flurry of strikes which her opponent desperately tried parrying, deflecting, and blocking. But her defense could only last so long, as her guard soon crumbled, letting Kallen land three crucial hits on her chest, before finishing it with a headshot. Benio fell onto her back with a thud, but quickly recovered for more.

"Don't you think she's pushing herself a bit hard?" Mario questioned as Tamaki crossed his arms in the background.

"This hardly seems like training, more like a beat down." the Japanese man commented.

"She's probably just trying to determine Benio's level." Tohdoh chimed in suddenly, "By the way, Zero. About that thing…" he took out a letter, and handed it over to the masked man, "It's done."

"Excellent." Lelouch looked at the seal with a smile, "It's not perfect, but hopefully she doesn't notice."

"She?" Naoto questioned, "Are you talking about Kallen?"

"Nope. This is for Cornelia." the Prince waved with a smile, "Don't worry, I'll tell you what I've got planned later."

Back to the fight, Kallen dodged a strike, before sending a hard counter into Benio's side, causing her to squeal while stumbling toward one of the warehouses, earning a yelp from the surrounding Black Knights as they moved out of the way. Luckily, the little girl stopped herself from colliding with the building, "Alright, I think I've got it now." the red head said, ending the fight, "I know exactly what we'll need to work on from here."

"W-we're done?"

"Yep." Kallen knelt her Sougetsu and hopped out, which Benio mimicked.

"How did I do?" she asked nervously while approaching her teacher.

"You did great. From what I can tell, you've got great potential as a pilot."

"R-really!?"

"Yes." the red head responded with a giggled, "Don't worry, I'll make an ace pilot out of you. It'll just take some time."

Area 11. Hokkaido Block. September 1st. 2:38AM.

Rai stifled a yawn while pulling into their hotel's parking lot. The building itself was very modern, especially accustomed to Britannian tastes, as they were the main patrons that visited the Hokkaido block for holidays. Euphemia had booked them a room a few hours earlier before falling asleep in her seat, "Euphie. Wake up, we're here."

The Princess gently swatted his hand away, while cutely mumbling, "Five more minutes… Nellis…"

"Is it rude to wake her up like this?" he mused while glancing from the front door, back to her, "I mean… I could just carry her in, but it's not exactly proper…" his eyes wandered back to the door, "But we can't sleep out here – she'll catch a cold otherwise."

Rai got out of the car, and headed to Euphie's side, where he opened the door and gently picked her up in a bridal carry, trying to be as careful as possible. That's when she shifted her arms onto him, nearly eliciting a laugh as her hair tickled his neck. The boy blushed as he felt a low hum of satisfaction escape the Princess' mouth, "Rai…" she mumbled, "Thank you… for being my Knight."

With a raised eyebrow, he checked her face to see if she was awake, only to find her eyes closed and breath uninterrupted. Despite this, he decided to whisper, "Euphie… are you awake?"

Unsurprisingly, she didn't answer. Instead, shifting her head into his neck a little more. The Knight let out a sigh, trying to lessen the blush on his face while heading inside, "What is this feeling?" he thought while checking in, earning odd stares from the staff moments before he entered the elevator, "It's like something's tugging at my heart… oddly warm and comforting… though strange." he barely managed to use his key card to open the door, and stumbled into the room.

Inside, there were – thankfully – two beds, one for each of them. Rai gently placed the Princess on her bed closest to the window, and tried to pull away, only to get his hand grabbed at the last moment, "Wait…" she mumbled in her sleep.

The Knight looked toward his bed, before returning to Euphie's, "I can only stay for a bit…" he moved her hand onto her chest, and knelt by the bedside.

After a few minutes, Rai decided it was time to bring their bags in – so, he headed outside without protest this time. Soon, he came back with two suitcases and a bag of goodies that Euphemia had picked up from another gas station. He placed her suitcase at the foot of her bed, while doing the same with his – then took a look inside the bag of confections. That's when his eyes came across a pamphlet, advertising some kind of festival that the Sumeragi house was hosting. He turned to Euphemia, who slept soundly with a smile across her face, "Looks like we'll have a busy day tomorrow."

It never crossed his mind, to make the connection between Euphemia's sudden interest in the Sumeragi family, and his own past.

The Knight laid across his bed, and let out a tired breath, allowing the feeling finally overtake his body. He took one last look at Euphemia, before closing his eyes. Any normal boy would be stressing out from sleeping in the same room as a girl - let alone a Princess. However, this was something Rai knew he had to do sometimes, from being her Knight. After all, he was her bodyguard back then. And while he wasn't technically her Knight now, the same principles - which were etched into his mind - still applied. Even as he dozed off, he kept one eye subconsciously open; prepared to spring into action at any given moment.

AN: I'm in a bit of a writing slump right now, so the next chapter might take a bit longer to come out. Hopefully it won't take as long as this one.