Hello, hello. 'Tis Nayunari 'Ayu' Tsuki, finally updating a story. Would you believe that I had most of this already done, but just added about a page?

DON'T KILL ME.

Anyway, the beginning is very wordy (at least by my standards) and thick, so you'll have a lot to read. I got very deep into it and ended up to be nothing but Lulu's thoughts for a page and a half.

If you love me now, you will review. *happy face*

~BREAK~

To what would probably be the brunette's chagrin, the raven didn't remember much. He did remember something, which would've been a fantastic start if he had told the brunette this. Which he didn't. For his own sardonic humor, it seemed.

He remembered barely nothing about the brunette's personality. What he could remember did prove that he is the same Suzaku he has been. Apparently he also knew the guy for about 2 years before they were harshly broken up by a move. So, by technicality, they've been friends for 12 years. Lelouch personally never thought friendships could endure so long, at least not from such a defining and prominent distance.

...Not that he's admitting to possibly reviving their friendship. The thought couldn't be further from his mind. By observation only, it may hold strange outcomes, but in depth, it would probably not be his best idea. Surely not. The raven had much more sense than his past friend. As if watching him being presently harassed by Milly for only Lord knows what was any indication. Not that Milly is an avoidable force. Shirley could prove to be just as bad if prompted.

He turned to watch the proceedings and resisted the urge to laugh. Somewhere in between his musings, C.C. and the still unidentified (if he had heard his name, he can't remember, and at the moment doesn't care to, and he just plain hasn't ever seen the other girl) blonde and pink-haired coworkers of his found their way inside, and are either watching with their own brand of humor or actively participating in a task that most likely is trying to turn the actor redder than a rose in full bloom.

It, if nothing else, revealed how shameless the female blond and the lime-haired woman were. Not that he hadn't already inferred that over time. Either way, was the now-actor always this much of a pushover? The thought hadn't sparked in his mind. It's imperative by now that he has a special soft spot for the raven. His random claims of love (which to date Lelouch doesn't recall ever letting him completely relay) prove that.

Was he always so positive? Not yet has he seen the brunette get mad at him. He does know that Suzaku mad is not the most ventured bridge, or at least for him. He's gotten sad, and usually nervous, and even shameless in some of his ventures. Never anger directed toward him. As with before, when he realized that Suzaku as a whole was more or less forgotten, the brunette held no ill will. With the cheeriness he had displayed, it would've been a more...welcomed reaction. He would've reacted negatively, or at the very least hang his head with sadness.

Lelouch truthfully felt bad for forgetting someone that meant so much to him. Yes, he accepts that they probably meant a lot to each other. He couldn't help it. Lelouch was no less than bitchy and uptight as a child to everyone but his closely knit parts of his family. If he found someone he can trust, he becomes dependent on their radiance. The Suzaku he recalls outshone the sun most of the time. And Lelouch bit the hook like an eager fish.

There was almost a brand of melancholy to his childhood. His mother died, his sister lost her ability to walk (she had once lost the ability to see, but about half a year ago her vision restored itself), and his best friend (or so he'd wish to assume) left him against their will for nearly a decade. If he recalled, they met at 7 and parted at 9. It's been...yes, a decade, really. Lelouch's 20th birthday is half a year away, and if he can recall, the actor is turning 19 very soon. He was about a week away from finishing his freshman year of college, and he thought that the brunette's birthday was in the following month.

It was a slightly endearing tale at the same time. Some person he had apparently enjoyed being around despite the obvious hardships he had faced. That same person stuck with him the entire time, until that fateful day. The day that separated them for almost 10 years. Lelouch had grown more and more bitter the longer his sun was extinguished (the most appropriate analogy) until a perpetual darkness, in the form of the proverbial rain cloud, settled over his mind, attitude, and consequently his heart. He was irreparably darkened.

He can remember the most important part: The actual parting. With a good friend came a bad memory. He knows that he felt like dying so much that he laid in the street, waiting for a 4 ton industrial heap of metal to run him over so he wouldn't have to bear the pain of the loss for much longer. A steady suicide. But that car never came. He wasn't big enough to occupy an entire lane in the street, let alone big enough for the tires to remotely grant his wish no matter how he shifted.

That pain was too much to bear. That alone, his best friend's move to Hokkaido, which was a great distance from the Shinjuku district in Tokyo, caused him such great physical, emotional, and, believe it or not, social pain that pushing it out of his mind was all he could do to keep himself from deteriorating from the inside out. Granted, it took a good 6 years to push it completely, but he had managed, with his being intact enough to move on with his life. So move on he did.

Perhaps he did love the brunette...not in the same way it can possibly mean today, but loved him in such a way that the departure shattered him like dropping a boulder on a mirror store would. It was a level above platonic and a level below romantic. Brotherly? Familial? He still can't say. Perhaps if he would reminiscence more on that particular day...

~Flashback~

"Absolutely not. As long as we are friends, never will I even think of doing that. Don't get your hopes up."

"Pwease?" Suzaku begged cutely. Lelouch shook his head, his raven locks tickling his face. "No. I will not give you a hug and a kiss. Especially not the latter. It'll take a LOT for me to be tempted to do that. I barely want to hug you as it stands."

Suzaku gave the stubborn raven his best puppy-dog look. "But you have to practice! Our 2-year anniversary is coming up next weekend."

The raven darkened with a crimson color, though his stern expression didn't falter. "We. Are not. Married. Since when has an anniversary ever held significance to those not in a relationship? Aside from that, I heard no mention of it this time last year."

"I expected you to remember!" Suzaku whined in his defense.

"Well, how was I supposed to remember! It's pretty insignificant to remember a date like that-"

Suzaku chose now to slap the raven, the latter falling to the ground. "Nothing about friendship is insignificant! It all matters, because like 5, maybe 10 years from now, we could look back on this and ask how we met if one of us didn't remember the details! If you can't remember that now, you must not want me as a friend! Finding it insignificant...really. I thought...that," Suzaku's eyes were watering at this point, and the raven looked at him incredulously.

The streams got longer and longer until they were pouring, and Lelouch was sent into a state of panic. He wasn't trying to make him cry. He just wanted to tell the brunette that he didn't think to store it in his mind, nothing particularly hurtful. Then again, he did have a way with words. In the sarcastic meaning, of course.

He repositioned himself so he was standing up and wiped the sobbing boy's tears. "Stop your blubbering. You'll flood all of Tokyo with the waterworks."

Despite the biting tone, the boy had that trademark 'you're an idiot, but you're MY idiot' smile that he'd give whenever he hurt the boy's feelings. Like always, it won the guy over. He sniffled dramatically. "Aw, Lulu, you care! I love you, Lulu!"

The boy blushed. "H-Hey! Don't carry over the theatrics! I was just filling my obligation!" The other practically ignored everything he said. He looked up cheerfully. "You love me too?"

Lelouch immediately turned red. It meant something totally different to him as it did with Suzaku. But he had no idea who the serious one was. So, to avoid tears, he shifted his gaze to the temporarily-shorter boy. "Y-Yeah, I love you too. Now let me go, Suzaku."

"If you kiss me, I know you mean it," the emerald-eyed boy said expectantly. Lelouch immediately went from crimson red to ghost white. "You know that I'm usually the one to take initiative, Lulu."

Ducking his head into his turtleneck, he tried to delay the inevitable when they heard the clacking of heels. "Suzaku, dear, there you are! I've been searching for you."

The form of Rin Kururugi stopped in front of them, panting for breath. "Genbu...made me run to find you...since he thought he saw you. The car...is back there. It'll be good exercise for you. Whoa! And let go of Lelouch, dear."

"Where are we going, Miss Kururugi?" Lelouch asked. Rin shook her head regretfully. "Lelouch, dear, you have a separate ride to drop you off to your elder siblings' house a little further into Shinjuku. We...we're moving to Hokkaido."

The two boys looked so spooked, you thought they saw death itself directly behind the woman.

Suzaku shook his head. "No, mom! We can't move without Lulu! He's been living with us for a year now, and he's been my friend for longer! You can't break us apart!" to emphasize his point, he clung possessively to the raven.

For once, Lelouch returned the gesture. "Please don't let him leave me...He's the only friend I have! I don't want to know how my life would be without him!"

Rin ruffled the raven's unkempt hair. "Don't worry, Lelouch. You can go live with Nunally and your other siblings again. Won't that help?"

Suzaku tightened his grip. "How long are we going?"

"Until your dad's job relocates again. That could take weeks, months, even years. A decade or two if push comes to shove. Sorry, Suzy, dear...but you two may never see each other again."

"NO!" The two boys rang out.

Rin pulled at Suzaku's collar. "We have to go. Say bye to Lulu, dear." She scooped him up and took him under her arm. He squirmed and squirmed, then finally decided to bite her arm. She screeched and Suzaku took the chance to run back to his friend. They hugged each other tightly. "Lulu, I don't want to go! Don't let me go, never ever."

"I-I don't want to let you go. Please, just stay with me. You're my favorite best friend and I can't lose you," he sobbed, his grip tightening too.

Suzaku soon received a hit to the head, and the distraction gave Rin enough time to restrain her son. "You're going to be in big trouble when Genbu hears. Biting your mother, I mean really."

"LULU!" Suzaku reached out over his mother's shoulder, his tears dampening the sleeves of her dress.

"Suzaku! Please! Promise you'll come back someday soon!" Lelouch yelled after the boy, now accepting the inevitability.

"I promise! Please, don't forget me! I still love you, Lulu!"

The last chain of sentences made the child crumble to the ground and cry. "I...I can't forget you...Even if I want to, you'll...come back and haunt me like the bad memory you're creating."

He couldn't tell time after that. Time just seemed to go still after the car his only best friend was in passed him by. Nothing in the world seemed like it needed to move anymore. The world just...stopped.

And the boy was willing to stop his world his own way.

He trudged ino the street and laid across it, hoping a car would come by and end it for him.

In the end, a car never came, except for the one that was to pick him up to send him to his new home.

"Big brother?" the little ash blonde girl squeaked to Lelouch. His sister. She used to bring him great comfort, and now even she couldn't make him crack a hint of a smile.

He was broken.

~End Flashback~

It had his eyes watering at the thought. "I-I won't let you go."

"Never ever?"

Lelouch looked up, startled, some stray tears dropping. Suzaku wiped the remaining ones. "I do still lo-"

"I was quoting a rather emotional book, if you must know," Lelouch covered easily, swatting the hand away from his face, although he secretly appreciated the gesture.

"Were you really?" Suzaku asked, a sly smile on his face. The raven nodded. "What was the title?"

Lelouch grimaced. "You never read. Since you really want to know, it's from a light novel, actually. At the moment, the title is at a loss. It appears I must've had a similar experience. Otherwise I never would've reacted that way."

"Those were some of our last words to each other, you know. Sure that writer's not some kind of stalker?" Suzaku asked jokingly. Lelouch didn't feel very confrontational at the moment, so he settled for a snort in the other direction.

Suzaku sighed dejectedly. "And you don't remember a thing? If you kinda forced yourself to forget it, you can force yourself to remember, right?"

"Nevermore." "Quoth the raven, eh? You are so cliche, really," Suzaku laughed. Lelouch had to spout random quotes he knew from books to make his lie more believable. It's not hard to tell that the actor had caught on if he could accurately complete the sentence. The guy wasn't nearly as slow as he had suspected.

The next thing he heard from the brunette was a sound resembling a squeak. The cause appeared to be the two most shameless women he knew.

"Suzy, we're not done with you~" Milly started. "Your boyfriend may be a pertinent matter, but now he's fixed and-"

"Have we not already clarified my status with Suzaku? We're not even friends," Lelouch said, receiving a dramatic whine from said actor.

Milly's expression turned from mischievous (if possible) to gleeful. "I do it just to piss you off, Lulu~" Truthfully, Milly had no idea how good she was at her goal.

C.C. just looked like she was there to humiliate the poor star. He imagined she did a lot anyway. Then again, he supposed, in the long run, he should be thankful to the mysterious woman. She must be some, if not all, of the reason Suzaku was back in Shinjuku in the first place.

"Ugh, I can't help on this one. Milly's...forceful," Lelouch said, and he was sure he heard a 'thank you' from the blonde, "and you know better than I do how C.C. acts, although I have a distinct inkling."

Suzaku looked up at the knowing looks of the girls, whimpering. He was scared of what was in store, since Milly had gotten over her phase and was constantly suggesting tortures for the poor teen.

"I need something hot," Lelouch said distantly. Milly and C.C. both looked to the raven and blinked stupidly. "And I want it tall, dark, and strong."

Milly and C.C. both practically dropped Suzaku as they caught their nosebleeds. It was unfathomable to Lelouch why anything perverted could cross their minds. Wait...he must've forgotten who he was talking about.

Milly regained her decency (if you can call it that) and wiped her nose with a kerchief. "If this weren't a coffee shop, we would've thought you were talking about our friend on the floor here."

Impossible. Suzaku wasn't tall: He was about 9 or 10 centimeters above him (if his conversion from inches to centimeters was correct; it simply wasn't what he was taught). Suzaku wasn't dark: He was tan at best, say, caramel at first inference. Suzaku was hot, but in the literal sense. Somehow the guy had a perpetual warmth. Whether or not he was strong is the only one he knew nothing about. He was stronger than Lelouch, but admittedly, he wasn't the only one. Lelouch didn't have much stamina, so he didn't work out much. Not that he felt he needed to, his exercise was from knowledge.

Apparently Suzaku was also too slow to see how any of what Lelouch said connected to him. That suited him just fine. "Milly, Shirley, please. One of you, I need a coffee. Desperately. I feel kind of chilled on the inside."

Milly suddenly came up with a plan, and C.C. seemed to be the only one to catch on. "I recall you like cane sugar and not the granulated kind. Tell me, rough or smooth?"

"I like it rough," the raven said absently, and the girls (even the emotionless calculating Anya) had a simultaneous nosebleed. "It never matters in the long run. I'll just need more until I'm satisfied."

Milly and the girls were having a field day in their imaginations. Unfortunately for Lelouch, due to the various emotions his reminiscence caused him, his clouded mind didn't catch onto stuff until long after he said it. Even Suzaku was attempting to keep his mind in the right place.

"Hurry along, Milly. I'm tired, and you know that doesn't take much. Even the slightest workout wears me out. That's why I don't do it as often as I prefer," he stated, his tone even.

'Is he even thinking or is he doing that on purpose?' Suzaku thought briefly, sure he would join the girls in their nosebleeds. He looked to the other male and saw he was trying to guise it as a forming cold.

Milly sat the plastic cup in front of him, the steam seeming to calm the other teen. He sighed, grabbed the rim, and took a quiet sip. However, he could feel Milly's intense stare on him. If he had something to read, he would've easily ignored the rather disturbing gaze. Since that was not the case, even attempting to immerse himself in the coffee had no avail. "What?"

"What are your tastes, Lulu?" Milly asked bluntly but cheerfully. This should be interesting.

It became increasingly obvious that all occupants of the room had their gazes fixated on him. He took another sip of his coffee and lulled his head to the side with a mix of boredom and fatigue. "I've had a long day. And should you know what my coffee tastes are if you know how to make me the right blend without any prior instruction? Seriously, I expected you to have more...tact."

"Not that, silly," Milly said, shaking her head. C.C. cut in. "In people."

Lelouch smiled lazily. He sipped at his coffee and closed his eyes. "In men or women?"

That set everything off.

Shirley spoke up in a high-pitched voice. "You don't have a preference?" The teen bridged his fingers together and rest his chin upon them. "Although I'm very particular in their qualities, I don't care which gender I find it in."

C.C. put her hands on her hips and smirked. "And I thought you were gay. I get proven wrong, and I'm not all that unhappy."

Lelouch twitched with annoyance. "If I didn't want this, you'd be witnessing some second-degree burns right now. What gave you that notion, anyway?"

"I don't know," C.C. said sarcastically. "Maybe it was the fact that our first meeting saw you in a dress or that you're going out with my star employee who also happens to be gay. Just a wild guess."

"Finally, I know!" Milly cheered. "Lulu here clicked the TV off at that part of the interview when we were watching it the day we first encountered Suzaku, and now I feel better. I never had a chance to begin with though, so it shouldn't matter."

"So you DID watch the interview," Suzaku said in realization. "Now I understand why Milly questioned my colors. To answer that, though, I do that so when I go out in public, I can just be my natural self."

"And to respond to YOU, C.C., I was forced by Milly to go on that date and to get in the dress, because she wouldn't let me back in when I tried to escape it." Lelouch said in exasperation.

"You know without your little run-in with blondie that you enjoyed it," Milly said pointedly.

"What was there to enjoy? Nothing happened," Lelouch said, glaring. Milly wagged her finger. "You could always go on another."

Avoiding a response, Lelouch drank his coffee. C.C. went to his side. "You know, unless you've had a girlfriend, I can't believe you're bi." He glanced over to her. "Who says I hadn't."

This piqued the interests of Suzaku, C.C., and Gino. Milly had a knowing smirk on her face, and Shirley seemed to not be out of the loop for once. Anya was typing away at her virtual diary. C.C. continued on her trek. "Who was she? Surely we need to know."

The long drink Lelouch took from his coffee put those not knowing on edge. The fact that he drank until the end of the cup nearly upset the three, C.C. in particular. He took a breath and glared. "It's not as if you know her." C.C.'s skepticism rose.

Now awake, the raven actually felt like doing something. He rose from his seat and went towards the cappuccino machine, grabbing a cup. Before anyone could voice their feelings, he spoke. "Kouzuki."

The three showed unrealistic surprise at that one word. "No...no way. You don't mean Stadtfeld?" Gino spoke finally.

"I don't recall her having any other name than Kouzuki. We told each other everything, and while my alias came up, not one of hers was hinted at. Most likely because she didn't have one," Lelouch said, mixing his beverage.

"Kallen Kouzuki, also know as Kallen Stadtfeld," Anya said, clicking away at her diary. "They are one in the same."

Lelouch nearly dropped his cup of cappuccino. Milly chuckled in response. "Wow, Lulu. You have all these connections with famous people. Now I wanna meet her. You should say she's not coming so she does!"

"Just because he said that and Suzaku appeared," Shirley started bitterly, "doesn't mean it'll happen twice."

Gino blinked in confusion. "That's what happened? That sounds cool! Try it, Lulu."

"Don't call me that," the raven retorted, sipping the cappuccino. "Fine, then. Kallen is not going to come through that door. Sorry to disappoint."

...And the door burst open.

"Kururugi! C.C.! Blondie! What in the hell are you three doing in a damn coffee shop!" A redheaded woman yelled rather loudly.

"Dude, you are powerful," Gino said incredulously.

"Kallen~" Milly said cheerfully. The actress looked over and her eyes widened. Without saying anything, she ran and hugged the other girl.

C.C. smirked. "It's remarkable how you said she wouldn't appear and she did...Lelouch."

The redhead visibly bristled at the name. She turned around slowly. "Lelouch..." Lelouch waved in reply. "Hello, my dear ex."

Kallen practically zoomed over to him and hugged her with all her strength. Which hurt the raven severely. "Lelouch I didn't think I'd see you again so very soon! I thought the end of senior year would be the last time in a while! How have you been?"

As she rambled on, Milly looked over to C.C. and Suzaku, seeing that the former was smirking and the latter was glaring at the redhead. She smiled knowingly. "This doesn't bode well, does it, Suzy?"

The actor shook his head. "Not really. I knew I didn't click with her for some reason. I just knew."

C.C. smirked even wider, and the amusement shone in her eyes. "Because you'll have to compete."

The two watched the redhead ramble on to the raven and the raven smiling and nodding, an occasional laugh coming out. The brunet nodded with disdain.

~End Chapter~

Sorry, guys, I had to make Kallen either a spaz or a nervous wreck around Lulu and guess which one made it.

I slightly ship LuluKallen, so since I wanted to find a way to get Kallen in the story (appear), I had to make it happen.

That said, I am such a pervert. That 'sugar' part was for my enjoyment and mine alone. Get a kick out of it, and I will be honored you like it and have the same perverted humor I do.

Anyway, at least the whole 'Kallen's a spaz over seeing Lulu again' thing coincides with the fact that Kallen and Suzaku are rivals. Or at least, that's how it looked to me.

What else...I'm sorry if it's not long enough to make up for...Almost 3 months without an update. Don't kill me.

All righty, Nayunari 'Ayu' Tsuki out!