Chapter 4 – Budding Interests

"Welcome to Camelot! The birth place of the greatest technological marvels in the entire Britannian Empire!" Lloyd raised his arms extravagantly as he entered the main room of his laboratory. Taking a look around, Rai marveled at the multitude of shiny new instruments and machines that littered the entire floor. To the far end of the room, he observed Suzaku parking the Lancelot into its recharge station, the green-eyed devicer sparing the amnesiac boy a quick smile as he dismounted his knightmare frame.

"It does seem rather…extravagant," Rai commented, earning a wider smile from the scientist, "I take it you specialize in knighmare frame technology, judging from your work on the Lancelot?"

"Oh you naïve child, knightmare frames are only the tip of the iceberg in regards to my exploits," Lloyd bragged with a dismissive wave, "but for now, it's what the empire has delegated to me for the foreseeable future."

As the two walked further into the laboratory, Cecile began booting up the knighmare frame simulator at the center of the room. It looked like an ejected knighmare cockpit for the most part, save for the numerous cables that ran from its front to a large computer next to it. As the doors of the simulation device opened, Lloyd gestured towards the controls, "Now then, onto the reason I brought you here. Would you be so kind as to run a simulation for us? I'm always on the lookout for chances to obtain more data, and while Suzaku has proven to be a most generous provider, I believe you may prove to be a more fruitful guinea pig…especially after watching your recent exploits."

Rai shuddered at being called a guinea pig, briefly having to fight off the flashbacks of his own escape from a lab, but peeked curiously at the inside of the simulator. The controls seemed identical to the ones he encountered in the frame he hijacked to protect Euphemia. Following the internal pull he felt towards them, the amnesiac stepped inside and strapped himself into the chair. At the computer console, Cecile entered the startup commands and began setting up the simulation, "Normally we would have you start off with basic movement and marksmanship, but after seeing the numbers that were put out on our screens in your fight with the Purist Faction, throwing you into a more advanced simulated battle might prove to be a better idea."

Walking over to the console, Suzaku spied the simulation Cecile chose and blanched, "Are you serious? That's the recreation of the Bangkok assault during the Indochinese Peninsula campaign! It was one of the last and most vicious battles in the history of the Empire in which we lost because it became too entrenched!"

"That's what I said to Lloyd when he requested this simulation, but he insisted," the blue-haired assistant sighed, "If anything, your friend will probably end up dead in the first five minutes, so at least it will be quick."

Shaking his head, Suzaku looked at the simulator with a hint of gloom, "Sorry about this Rai, but at least it'll be over before you know it."

Watching his screen come to life, Rai glanced at the surroundings and his radar, 'Somehow…this scenario feels rather familiar…oh, that's a LOT of enemies…'

"One more thing before you begin," the silver haired boy heard Lloyd speak over the radio, "That simulation emulates the Lancelot to the letter…including the lack of an ejection system. So if you die…game over!"

"Then I suppose I'll just have to live."

As Rai closed the cockpit, a simulated voice appeared over the comlink. "Listen up Lieutenant! This is the last push we need in order to bring the Indians, Thai, and the Koreans under our banner. Your orders are to push through the lines of defense set up at the building specified on your tactical screen. The dignitaries there are the leaders of the opposing factions. They are to be eliminated by any means necessary."

At first, the silver haired boy was a bit surprised that a simulation would go so far, but as soon as heard the word 'orders', a sharp pain went through his head before suddenly everything slowly…faded away. Whatever unnecessary thoughts, feelings and emotions he'd experienced just seconds ago were all flushed out one by one, replaced by the overriding need to complete his objective no matter what. Unlike the battle, however, there was one significant difference.

Now he was in control.

"Do you accept this mission?"

His affirmation flowed easily from his mouth with two simple words, "Mission Accepted."

"Then good luck out there. All Hail Britannia!"

Kicking the simulated Lancelot into gear, he peeled off into the fray. A column of tanks and a wing of fighter jets making up the main line of defense opened fire, spitting red hot rounds of lead at the speeding white knightmare. Controlling the Lancelot to elegantly flow across the field like wind, Rai dodged the incoming fire and countered with the wrist-mounted slash harkens, knocking two fighters out of the sky.

"I have to deal with those tanks somehow, though I doubt the aircraft above will stay idle," the entranced silver haired soldier mused, before suddenly being struck by an idea. Retracting his harkens, he fired another one at the tanks, spearing one in its side. Grabbing the string, he pulled hard and swung, sending the tank into the sky and smashing it into three fighter jets that were in a line.

"What the hell?!" Suzaku exclaimed at the maneuver, never having seen such use of the Lancelot's mainstay weapon before, "I didn't know the slash harkens were capable of that!"

"The tensile strength of the Lancelot's harkens is an order of magnitude greater than a Glasgow or Sutherland's," Lloyd postured, though even he seemed slightly surprised at his invention's durability, "Although when I made them that strong, I didn't have that kind of a trick in mind…it was mostly to make sure the machine didn't fall flat on its back when scaling buildings or mountains."

With the defensive line punctured, Rai sped forward, kicking up a large wave of dirt and dust to obscure the view of the remaining tanks. Realizing the extent of the distance he still needed to cross, the silver haired soldier looked around the battlefield for cover. There was a large expanse of abandoned huts and small homes which ended just before a large wall that encompassed the inner city. The city itself appeared to be far more advanced and industrialized, with steel-made constructs and a set of skyscrapers that marked the financial district. The tallest structures surrounded the parliamentary palace where his targets were huddled together, confident in their victory.

Rai would disabuse them of that confidence with impunity.

Zooming ahead, the Lancelot's radar caught another column of tanks, along with something that confused him a bit, "Forgive me if I'm wrong, but from the historical documentation I've seen, the Thai forces did not possess knightmare frames. There was no mention of this in the intelligence report either..."

True enough, several squads of Glasgow frames were barreling down the plains, trampling any huts in their way into flattened wood and dust.

'Did I forget to mention the AI of the simulation continuously increases the difficulty proportional to the level of skill displayed by the pilot?' Lloyd chimed in, a twinkle in his eye that spelled trouble for those who knew of it, 'the performance you've put on thus far has alerted the AI that you can take on something more challenging. Think of it as the program's way to bring out more of your superb fighting spirit! Don't die~!'

"…I'm starting to see why Suzaku warned me about you, Mr. Lloyd. Continuing mission," Rai shook his head in bemusement before his battle senses kicked in again, launching the Lancelot into a leap over three Glasgows that tried to impale him on their lances. Another three took aim in the air and opened fire, only for the Lancelot to deploy its Blaze Luminous shields, nullifying the incoming rounds.

'I should reduce their numbers before I make a run for that wall,' he thought, hitting the ground and skating around the enemy squad in a large circle. Spotting an incoming Glasgow from the front trying to spear him, the silver haired youth shot the two arm-mounted slash harkens forward, spearing two of the Glasgows in the stomach and barely missing their cores. Using them as an anchor, Rai pulled the Lancelot down the ground faster, crashing on top of the units and crushing their cockpits under his landspinners.

'He's definitely not the merciful type,' Suzaku noted, cringing at the brutal display of strength. The original devicer's gaze sharpened as he saw Rai take the husks of the ruined Glasgows and use them as human shields when he sped towards the second and third squadron of enemy, crashing through them and sending one into a ditch that the enemy pilot missed until it was too late, 'He's using his environment to make up for his lack of weaponry, and trapping the enemy into situations where they take out their own in friendly fire accidents…doing his dirty work for him…' It was not the kind of fighting that Suzaku himself would resort to, being too kind to employ such brutal tactics against his opponents.

Letting go of one of the trashed knightmare frames, Rai used the deployed slash harken like a whip, slicing the arm off of one of the three Glasgows shooting at him, while he threw the last smoldering husk at the other two. The strength of the throw crushed the assault rifles of the Glasgows and sent them to the ground. Spotting the last one using the tonfa on its remaining arm to try and club him from behind, the silver-haired solider struck first with a spinning back kick that knocked the tonfa off its mounting and sent it flying into the air. In the same motion, Rai had the Lancelot complete the turn, grab the melee weapon, and smash it over the head of the one-armed enemy frame, destroying its factsphere sensor and taking out its slash harken in a single blow.

"Five units down, and four more to go," Rai looked back at the four Glasgow units who had regrouped near the last column of tanks, "along with twelve tanks. Let me see," taking a look at his present armaments, he noticed a second pair of slash harkens on the Lancelot's hips, as well as harken boosters equipped on all four, 'These boosters are a new addition…wait, they can increase the speed of launch and change direction mid-flight? I believe I can make good use of this…'

Seeing the four units split apart as the tanks began to shell his position, Rai dashed forward, his green Blaze Luminous shields cocooning the white knightmare against the debris and shrapnel from the incoming fragmentation shells. Coming to a stop several feet away from the tanks, the Lancelot then knelt on the ground and covered itself as best as it could with its shields, taking the heavy fire from the tanks until a large cloud of smoke hung in the air. The factspheres of the four Glasgows flared to life as they surrounded the position and searched for the white knightmare.

"…check…"

Four slash harkens suddenly sped towards the opposing knightmares from above, using their boosters to alter their course from straight down to parallel to the ground, wrapping around the ankles of each enemy Glasgow. Landing behind them, Rai grabbed the wires and heaved, sweeping the trapped knightmare frames off the ground and swinging them into the last tank column like a flexible club. The tanks tried to retreat, but were too slow and ended up smashed into the ground, with several of them exploding from sparks hitting their ammunition stores.

"He just decimated the entire main line of defense!" Lloyd yelped in joy, eyes shining with uncontainable excitement as Rai's domination of the Thai forces continued without pause. Looking back at Cecile he inquired, "Tell me, what is the compatibility rating thus far?"

The blue-haired assistant checked the monitors in front of her and read the charts, "It's…it's unbelievable…the numbers keep rising…78…82…89% and rising!"

Suzaku suddenly felt the need to sit down, "…he wiped out the main defensive formation of the Thai army in ten minutes…and that was with knightmare frames that weren't even present in the actual battle…"

"Suzaku, where ever did you manage to find such an intriguing subject?" the sociopathic scientist asked, "Such innate talent for battle, improvisation and tactics…I think I may have found the perfect new guinea pig for another project of mine…"

The proclamation brought the original Lancelot devicer back to reality, "He's been good so far, I'll definitely give him that. But by now the AI has a better idea of what he's capable of. I got stuck at this point several times when was still getting used to the Lancelot," he glared at the simulated battlefield, the black smoke rising from the burning carcasses of the defeated defense line, "Rai's only going to have it tougher from here on out."

Making his way past the defeated Thai forces at the front, Rai continued into the city proper. Examining his surroundings with a critical eye, the amnesiac was quick to notice that the once bustling streets were barren of any civilian presence.

'This seems like the perfect place to set a trap,' he mused as he continued traversing the empty streets. Suddenly, his radar lit up with a shrill scream, "Something's coming…from behind?"

The front of the skyscraper behind him blew open, as a Sutherland burst through, lance targeted at the Lancelot's cockpit. Wasting no time, the white knightmare frame back-flipped over the deadly weapon and the Sutherland, grabbing the upper floors of the skyscraper for support before pushing off and smashing its knee into the back of the offending knightmare. The cockpit unit ejected before Rai's counterattack struck, leaving the rest of the unit to be smashed into the building across the street.

"So they'll even use the buildings as ambush points…I can't afford to linger then, the sooner I get to Parliament the better!"

Picking up the lance of the fallen knightmare frame, the silver-haired youth sped towards the city center, wary all the while of other hidden frames. He didn't have to wait long as two more Sutherlands crashed through another building in front of him, and one behind.

"More advanced frames? This AI doesn't seem to like me too much…" Rai chuckled, though for some strange reason he felt no anxiety at the prospect of stronger opponents. An uncharacteristically vicious smirk came over his face, unseen by anyone outside the simulator, "Alright then…come at me if you think you're strong enough."

All three suits charged at him in a pincer strike. Taking aim, Rai threw the lance in his position like a javelin, the force of the throw sending it right through the heart and cockpit of one of the two Sutherlands advancing on him from the front. Then, in a surprise twist, The Lancelot simply stood straight with its hands to its sides.

"Rai what are you doing?! Those Sutherlands are about to hit you with a two-pronged strike!" Suzaku shouted into the radio. Cecile looked on nervously, while Lloyd watched with a sharp eye. The Honorary Britannian turned to them both, "Aren't you going to say anything?! He's about to get killed!"

"Oh calm down, Suzaku," Lloyd chided with an airy wave of his hand, "I'm sure your friend knows what he's doing…and if he doesn't, it just proves he wasn't made of the right stuff anyway."

Back in the simulation, the two Sutherlands closed in fast, their lances eager for a taste of the Lancelot's chassis. Counting slowly in his head, Rai evened out his breathing and sharpened his focus to a fine point.

Then he struck like lightning.

The Lancelot's arms shot out and caught the lances of the Sutherlands, stopping their advance cold. The landspinners of the inferior frames squealed on the concrete in protest, but the white knighmare frame didn't budge an inch.

"You both fell for such a simple ploy," Rai chided the simulated foes with another smirk, his blood boiling in anticipation of what came next, "well if you two want to spear something so badly, then allow me to help."

Moving a step back, the Lancelot pulled on the lances lightly, throwing the Sutherlands off balance and sending them straight into each other. The business end of each weapon tore through the stomach of the opposite Sutherland and pierced their cores. Rai dashed off towards the city center just as the two enemy units went up in a furious storm of flames, the explosion decimating most of the city block.

"Rai's made it to the city center in only fifteen minutes…at this rate he'll reach Parliament in only a matter of moments," Cecile reported as she continued to record the feed from the simulation.

"That's ten minutes faster than me…I don't know if I should feel awed or concerned," Suzaku joked, though he briefly glanced over at the simulator machine, "But if I remember right, the AI gets really nasty here. It's the last open space before the target objective."

Lloyd was trying his best to hide his excitement at the final struggle to come, but he was barely able to stop shaking in anticipation, "This will be the perfect time to test the new data I placed into the system recently," seeing the confused looks on Cecile and Suzaku, the lavender-haired scientist only winked, "Just keep watching and enjoy the show!"

Suzaku merely facepalmed, all to accustomed to Lloyd's 'surprises'. 'Why do I have a bad feeling about this?'

The Lancelot peered from behind a tall skyscraper at the courtyard of the Parliament building, taking quick notice of the barricades that blockaded the entrance. Three improvised bunkers sat at the center of each of the four roadways leading to the seat of the Thai government, along with two tanks.

Rai looked down at the Lancelot's waist, which held a few grenades he had pilfered from the Sutherlands he defeated, 'Three Chaos Mines, and two fragmentation grenades for anti-vehicle combat…the chaos mine has a small area of effect, but can devastate just about anything without a Blaze Luminous shield…and I can use one of the fragmentation grenades on the building entrance…'

He checked the formation of the bunkers and the tanks, noticing that the defenses on the path closest to him were huddled together at the moment, perfect for flooding his position with fire as soon as they saw him.

It would have been a pain…if he planned on attacking from the ground.

Backing away a bit, Rai grabbed a frag grenade and hurled it as far as he could towards one of the other positions. The enemy troops barely had time to react before the grenade went off, taking out one of the tanks on the path to the right of Rai's projected entrance point. The bunkers opened fire immediately, sending wave after wave of hot red steel down each path.

It was as they were winding down their fire that the three chaos mines were suddenly thrown above the three untouched pillboxes, unloading their lethal payload on the unsuspecting Thai emplacements. The red-hot shrapnel rounds easily cut through the thick concrete and dirt walls, setting off the stored ammunition and engulfing the three bunkers in a hellish blast of fire. Most of the tanks had been caught in the explosions and went up with their partnered bunkers, though two managed to survive.

The silver-haired devicer chose that moment to burst through his hiding place on the upper floors of an abandoned building overseeing the courtyard, plunging his arm-mounted slash harkens into the surviving tanks and swinging them off to the side.

"Seems that was the last of their defenses," the amnesiac observed as he walked the Lancelot through the burning remains of the last line of defense, before his danger senses flared up wildly, just before his screens registered danger messages themselves. "Where…from above?" He had no choice but to take a gamble on where to evade.

The Lancelot dodged backwards, merely a second before a golden lance plunged into the ground where it once stood. Looking up at the roof of the parliament building, Rai saw the shadowy visage of his new opponent. The setting sun's light peered through the smoke and illuminated the offender: a royal purple colored Sutherland knightmare with a billowing black cape and a maroon colored slash harken on its chest. Attached to its hip armor was an assault rifle, though the unit never made to pick it up. Jumping down to the ground, the dangerous looking knighmare reacquired its lance and pointed it at the white knightmare as a challenge.

'Lloyd…are you serious?! What's General Darlton's Gloucester doing there?!' Rai overheard Suzaku berating his superior. Getting on the comm. link, he asked the scientist, "Excuse me, Mr. Lloyd, but what is that knightmare frame? I've never seen it in the historical records…"

Before the lavender-haired scientist could respond, Cecile angrily took the radio headset from him and explained, "That's a Gloucester Rai. It's a high-performance Sutherland repurposed specifically for melee combat. That particular unit belongs to Andreas Darlton, a highly decorated general of the Britannian military, and one of the right hands of Second Princess Cornelia li Britannia, the 'Goddess of Victory'. He's a powerful warrior…and someone Lloyd should know better than to clone in a simulated battle!"

Rai winced as he heard the scientist's yelp of pain when Cecile grabbed him by the ear, but refocused on the enemy before him, "So in other words, a prolonged battle will probably end with my failure…especially since the Lancelot seems to be running low on power," he glanced at the energy meter on the console that showed he was quickly approaching red due to his abuse of the Blaze Luminous and Harken Boosters, "I have only one chance at defeating him. I need to make it count!"

Arming his slash harken on the right hand of the Lancelot as a makeshift sword, the silver haired boy crouched his unit down in a starting position. A wave of calm embraced him while the tension outside the simulator became unbearable, the three spectators waiting to see the conclusion of this duel with bated breath.

Ten seconds past…twenty…thirty…fifty…

A loosened glass pane from the skyscraper the Lancelot burst out of fell and crashed to the ground.

The Lancelot's landspinners shrieked on the ground as the white knightmare sped towards Darlton's Gloucester, the enemy also dashing forward to meet him. The caped knightmare thrust its lance out, determined to pierce through the chest and cockpit in one strike. The distance between the two knightmares closed in a flash.

Cecile screamed.

Suzaku cried out to him.

Lloyd's eyes widened in shock.

Time slowed for Rai as he watched the point of the lance grow closer…and closer…

He smiled.

"…checkmate…"

The left arm of the Lancelot came up under the lance, Blaze Luminous covering it with an emerald green diamond-shaped shield. Knocking the decorated Britannian general off balance, the Lancelot's right arm flashed across the Gloucester's hip from left to right.

As the white knightmare came to a stop behind the Gloucester, Darlton's unit crumbled to the ground, its legs severed at mid-thigh. The cockpit of the now useless knightmare frame ejected and disappeared over the few skyscrapers still standing. Picking up the last fragmentation grenade from his knightmare's waist, the silver-haired devicer aimed for the front doors of the parliament building and threw the primed weapon with the last of the Lancelot's strength.

The grenade crashed through the doors and through several rooms before landing at the feet of Rai's targets.

The following detonation vaporized those closest to the grenade, while the shrapnel tore through the rest of the rooms, shredding anyone left in the building to bloody scraps and body parts. The explosion blew apart the front of the building, and set off any stockpiles of weapons that had been stored inside.

"Mission Accomplished." He muttered to himself, before letting out a small breath and feeling all the suppressed emotions that he had been holding back earlier return to him.

Looking back at the camera feed from the Lancelot's factspheres, Rai felt grim satisfaction as the Parliament building fell apart and collapsed on itself in flaming ruin. Moments later, a green sign blared across his screen.

SIMULATION CONCLUDED – MISSION COMPLETE!

"Bravo! Bravo! That was one of the most scintillating mock battles I've ever witnessed!" Lloyd congratulated as Rai stepped out of the simulator, "And you achieved a whopping compatibility rate of 98%! Simply brilliant!"

At that, Suzaku nearly choked, "W-Wait, 98%? I've only been able to get 87% at the most on this sim!"

"The numbers don't lie my boy! Your little friend here is a natural!" the sociopathic scientist leaned down and heavily invaded Rai's personal space, "My dear Rai, I have a proposition for you! I've been working on upgrading the original prototype suit that Suzaku's Lancelot is based off of, the Lancelot Club. Would you care to take the role of its devicer?"

Rai leaned back a bit in order to breath, "M-Me? A devicer? That would require becoming a soldier of the Britannian army, wouldn't it?"

"It would, but you would be a special case just like Suzaku," Cecile chimed in as Rai took a seat to relax from his ordeal, "You would still be a student at Ashford Academy, and since we have Suzaku filling the role of a combatant, you would purely be used for experimental purposes and not be sent into battle."

The silver haired boy placed a hand under his chin in thought, 'It doesn't sound like a bad idea…and for some reason piloting a knightmare frame seems…right to me. As if I've been doing so all my life. Could being a test pilot somehow help me reclaim my memory?'

After a few more moments, he looked up at Lloyd, "Your offer sounds tempting, but would it be alright if I could have some time to think it over?"

"Hmm…I suppose I could do that," Lloyd replied reluctantly, although a slight glare from Cecile cut off any further complaints, "Very well. It's not a horribly urgent matter, so take however long you need to decide. I look forward to using you in the future!"

Deciding not to point out how the mad scientist had already assumed a positive reply, Rai sighed and nodded his assent, "Thank you. After I've had a moment to digest everything that has happened, I believe I'll be able to make the best choice."

Giving the younger man a reassuring pat on the shoulder, Cecile guided him back to the transport trailer, "I'll give you a ride back to the Academy. I'm sure your friends are worried sick about you."

Realizing just how much time had passed, Rai felt a tendril of fear grip his chest, "Oh no…Miss Milly must have found out about what happened by now…"

Suzaku raised an eyebrow, "What's the problem?"

"…I may have…snuck off campus without telling her where I was going…"

"…I take it she won't be too happy about that, huh?"

"…No…no I don't think she will be…"

Sitting comfortably at his desk within his and Nunnally's shared apartment, Lelouch watched attentively at the footage Kallen had sent him only minutes ago. The sheer ruthlessness and expertise Rai displayed during his brief altercation in the Shinjuku Ghetto raised several red flags with the exiled Britannian prince.

'He claims to suffer from amnesia…and yet possesses skills that could probably put him at the level of a knight of the round devicer,' he mused, not even cringing at how the silver-haired boy plunged his frame's lance into the enemy's cockpit, the end of the weapon painted a horrid crimson, 'I knew something was off about him. He could still be an infiltrator sent by that man…but no, he shouldn't be aware that Nunnally and I survived…but then who else could he be?'

Continuing to observe the footage, Lelouch suddenly paused just as Rai was disembarking from the Sutherland. Or rather, just as Rai was helping someone else down from the cockpit.

'Hold on…is that…Euphemia? What's she doing here in Japan?'

Last he had checked, his half-sister was still studying abroad in Europe, and yet now here she was in one of the last places she had any right to be in. Lelouch felt no small amount of discomfort at the implications of Euphemia's presence.

'It hasn't been too long since I killed Clovis…but then again, the empire would scramble to put someone else in his place in order to maintain an image of strength to the people. But I expected him to send Cornelia, or maybe even Schneizel to maintain a foothold…this doesn't add up…'

Deciding he would look into the matter of his sister's arrival later, the dark-haired young man began to replay the battle footage again, looking for anything that could give him some insight into the mysterious new student. So lost in his contemplations, Lelouch never heard C.C. re-enter the room, one hand perfectly balancing four boxes of Pizza Hut pizza. The emerald-haired beauty lazily glanced over at what Lelouch was watching, a single eye-brow raising at the sight of Rai leaving the cockpit.

"You're still worrying yourself about that boy? How boring…"

"There's something disturbing about him…I can't put my finger on it but this battle he partook in proves it. That level of skill at his age isn't natural."

C.C. sighed, "Isn't your friend a skilled devicer as well? How do you explain that one away?"

Lelouch glared at the pizza glutton, "Suzaku is a special case. Plus we already know he's aligned with the Britannian forces. Rai on the other hand…maybe he is telling the truth about his affliction, but I can't take any chances at this stage."

The geass witch plopped onto Lelouch's bed and opened up the top box of pizza. Savoring the flavor of the slice, she smirked at the pensive rebel leader, "Well he's not the threat you're making him out to be. I should know…we were prison mates once."

Lelouch raised a curious eyebrow, "Prison mates? Explain."

"He was held captive at the same laboratory as I was, back at Code:R. I never interacted with him personally since I was kept in that capsule," C.C. took a moment to eat more of her pizza before continuing, "but I remember hearing his voice…or his screams at any rate. He was very loud sometimes. The last time we were both nearby, I think they said something about the 'ultimate soldier' being complete. Though I have no idea what they meant by that."

"So he's an escaped experiment of the empire? No doubt another of Clovis' pet projects, especially if they were trying to make him an 'ultimate' soldier of any kind," the exiled prince concluded, "In that case…maybe he could be turned into an ally? He would have every reason to hate the Britannians after being tortured and experimented on…"

C.C. huffed amusedly, "Well that's if he remembers any of it. You've seen him, he's still trying to get his bearings. No doubt due to the highly concentrated cocktail of drugs that they must have kept injecting into him if his screams were any indicator," she cringed slightly at the memory, "then again, if they didn't give him those drugs, he would have died from the trauma…a no-win situation for sure. Anyway, I doubt he'll be of much help to you right now."

Lelouch thought over C.C.'s assessment, and realized for the most part she was correct. As he was currently, Rai would not be of much assistance. However, something within was telling the exiled prince that the silver-haired youth could prove to be a huge help in the future.

'Maybe…there's a way we can recruit him. Even if he can't remember anything, those abilities could still go a long way to help us with our cause. Kallen's good, really good, but it wouldn't hurt to have another ace in the hole. Plus, he at least trusts her a little bit, so he'd be willing to hear her out if she pitched the idea.'

The exiled prince's eyes narrowed a fraction as his thoughts took a slightly darker turn, 'Of course, this could all be a ruse to gain my trust. I still don't fully buy this amnesia story, but if anything, recruiting Rai into the ranks would give me the chance to keep a closer eye on him. So long as he's kept in the dark about my identity, everything should still fall into place…'

As he was about to tell his partner in crime of his view, he spotted something else on the monitor just as the footage was ending. Something that definitely spelled trouble in his eyes.

"C.C., remind me to call Kallen soon to set up a meeting," he ordered before closing his laptop and heading out, "Amnesiac or not, we may need all the new allies we can get in the near future."

Nina cringed as the sound of a loud slap echoed throughout the student council office, the mousy girl watching worriedly as Rai faced down an absolutely livid Milly Ashford. It was dark by the time the amnesiac boy was dropped off at the academy by Cecile. From the moment he stepped foot on campus, he could literally feel that something very bad was waiting for him, like a foreboding, malevolent aura that radiated from every building. Being escorted by Nina to the office upon entering the SC headquarters did not help matters, prompting him to mentally prepare himself for the worst.

He learned very quickly that hell hath no fury like Milly Ashford scorned.

"Do you have ANY IDEA how worried we were about you?!"

Rai flinched at the hurt he could her in his guardian angel's voice, "I don't, but I can only assume I caused a great deal of trouble with my unannounced depart-"

"I mobilized the entire council to search for you! I was this close," the blonde president raised her hand and pressed her index and thumb together until barely a millimeter of space was between them, "to notifying the authorities to be on the lookout! What in the world were you thinking?!"

"M-Milly…I-I'm sure he had a good reason to-"

"Don't you dare come to his defense, Nina!" Milly harshly cut off the council treasurer, the poor girl recoiling as if struck, "Especially when you were just as worried as I was! Did you know she scoured the entire southern sector of the city for you Rai?! And she did it all alone since we were spread out so thin!"

The silver haired youth felt even worse with every detail Milly yelled to him regarding the student council's search for him, "…I really am sorry-"

The president sliced her hand through the air dismissively, "No. This goes beyond what a simple apology from you can fix Rai. The fact that Kallen found you, in Shinjuku Ghetto no less, having to be protected by soldiers while those Purists were running wild…you could have been injured! Or killed!"

At that moment, Rai was very thankful that Kallen didn't see him dismount from that Knightmare frame, or if she did, that she didn't rat him out. He made a small note in his head to thank her later if he survived the rest of the tongue-lashing he received, "I know…and I apologize for making you worry so much. But let me tell you something…"

Seeing him look up at her, the president felt her heart clench at the lost look in the young man's eyes, "Ever since I awoke in that bed…not knowing who I really am or where I came from, I've felt this hollowness within me. I can recall nothing of my previous life…not my family or any friends…or even something as frivolous as my hobbies or ambitions…it's as if my entire identity never existed, and I'm simply a living shell with no direction."

His hands balled into fists as he tried to wrestle down his emotions, "So that's why I have such an urge to go out into the world and try to find some answers. I know that you and everyone else are just trying to look out for me…and I cannot tell you in enough words how much that means to me…but keeping me caged here only makes that urge to explore on my own that much stronger. I NEED to know the truth."

"Rai…," Milly began haltingly, doing her best to muster up some strength after feeling herself be literally torn in two after the amnesiac's heartfelt tirade, "I will not lie and say that I can sympathize with where you are coming from…the struggle you are dealing with. But as you asked me to understand you, I now ask you to understand me. You are under my care because of those very injuries and lack of memories that you claim propel you to go forth and explore. You do not know what is out there, how dark and deranged this world has become…but I do."

With a look of resolution on her face, she stared straight into Rai's eyes, "And that is precisely why I have gone through such lengths to keep you safe, so that you can go out into the world and explore with some measure of security…so that this merciless world does not hurt you again."

Rai barely caught the tremble in the blond president's voice, however her feelings couldn't have come across any stronger. The fight now drained out of him, he hung his head in assent, "…I understand. I…I accept any punishment you deem fit for my actions."

Milly placed her hands on her hips and shot the young man a small smirk, "I'm glad you've decided to submit, because as of this moment I am placing you under house arrest."

Nina and Rai both looked back up at her in shock, though the silver-haired young man's face warped back to an expression of grim acceptance. Seeing his compliance, Milly continued, "There's an available apartment next to Lelouch and Nunnally's quarters here in the Student Council building. I've already moved your things there. You are not allowed to leave that room without a chaperone approved by me. Is that understood?"

Knowing that was an order and not a question, Rai reluctantly agreed, "Yes…I understand, Miss Milly."

Milly felt some of her anger dissipate at the boy's downtrodden face, but refused to buckle to it despite the growing ache she felt in her chest, "I don't like having to resort to heavy-handed punishments like this…but this is for your safety more than anything."

"…I know…"

"Then stop making things difficult, and don't think this is the last we'll speak of this either. For now, Nina will take you to your new quarters."

Rai nodded, "Very well. I'll see you tomorrow, President."

Milly watched with a hardened gaze as he left with Nina, the smaller girl giving her president one last glance before leaving the room. Once she was sure they were gone, the normally plucky blond sank into the plush chair behind her, a hand resting over her wildly-beating heart. The fact that Rai had called her 'President' rather than 'Miss Milly' like he normally did had hurt her far worse than any sort of curse or tirade he could have thrown at her.

"…Damn it…I could barely keep it together," she said aloud as she did her best to calm her breathing, "These feelings…I'm starting to think they'll only get worse from now on…"

Looking back up at the doorway, she could feel the regret crashing down on heart, her grip tightening on her shirt, "I'm sorry Rai…but I don't know what I would do if I let anything happen to you, especially with the state you're in. I hope you can understand…"

"I suppose this is where my new living space is," Rai questioned as he and Nina arrived at the door. The timid girl nodded and handed him a key. Sighing, the amnesiac opened the door and stepped inside. The room wasn't all that different from the small apartment downstairs, though the bathroom in his new 'prison' was a bit larger and more lavishly furnished. Turning to the green-haired girl behind him, he gave a small bow, "Thank you for escorting me here, Miss Nina."

Nina shook her head, "I-It was no problem at all. I'm happy to help you anyway I can!"

Rai smiled, making the bespectacled girl blush a bright crimson, "I'll be sure to remember that. Also, I apologize if I worried you with my thoughtless outing. I had a feeling it might not be received so well, but it was never my intention to upset you or the president in such a way."

The green-haired girl frantically waved her arms, "It's ok, really! I-I mean…I'm sure you had your reasons…and to be honest…after you saved Milly and me that day in the city…I just can't find it in me to be mad at you for what you did…"

"I almost forgot all about that whole event," Rai scratched the back of his head with a slightly embarrassed look, "Are you doing alright now? Forgive me, I meant to ask you how you were faring before, but I guess I became too caught up in things."

Nina bowed her head, making it hard to see the expression on her face, "…I'll admit that it was…hard to deal after all that. Sometimes…I still have nightmares about it…all those people…stampeding towards us like animals…separating us so quickly…and almost getting trampled…"

Seeing the girl's shoulders beginning to shake, Rai acted on impulse and pulled the girl towards him in a reassuring hug. Nina froze, unable to compute the fact that she was being embraced by her not-so-secret crush.

"I wish I had gotten to you both sooner that day," Rai lamented, slowly rubbing the back of the treasurer's head in a soothing motion, "Forgive me for not getting you out of there before it got out of hand."

Slowly, Nina wrapped her arms around the taller young man, savoring the feel of his body against hers, "…There's n-nothing to forgive…you saved us both…and I don't think I ever thanked you for it…thank you so much, Rai…"

The two remained embraced for a few moments longer, though it felt like blissful eternity to Nina. Eventually, Rai released her and stepped out of her grasp, "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"

The treasurer nodded, "Yes! I-I've been appointed to be your chaperone for tomorrow, then after me is Shirley, and then I think Rivalz…"

"Well at least things won't be dull if you and the others will be looking after me," the silver haired boy said with a smile, unware of its effects on his friend, "Sweet dreams, Miss Nina."

"G-Good night, Rai." Nina replied before walking back down the hall, all the while having to fight the urge to skip all the way to the dorms, 'H-He hugged me! He r-really hugged me!'

Lifting the front of her sweater to her nose, she inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her savior and feeling a pleasant burning sensation within her core.

'I need to get to my room fast…before I make a mess all over the floor…'

"My bad about all this again…the prez really came down on you hard, huh?"

Rai waved his hand dismissively with a slightly embarrassed smile, "It's quite alright Rivalz. This is what I deserve for causing everyone so much trouble."

A few days had passed, and life at Ashford Academy had resumed its normal pace for all the members of the student council. Rai, however, had to endure living the life of a guarded criminal, having a member of the SC take turns every day escorting him to classes and council activities.

"Still though, going as far as to say you couldn't even go to the bathroom during class without one of us taking you?! That's just way over the line," the blue-haired youth groused, hands in his pockets as the two continued to head to their P.E. course. The amnesiac stifled a laugh at his friend's complaints, "Ah well, at least we get to hang with you a bit. Maybe now we can put the legend of the Illusionary Adonis to rest, huh?"

Rai hung his head at hearing the nickname the students at the academy had given him due to how he seemingly joined the school out of nowhere and was usually nowhere to be found outside of classes.

Recovering from the slight jab, he recalled the beginning of his punishment days ago. Nina had volunteered first, and the amnesiac young man wasn't too sure what to expect with the meek, bespectacled girl. Suffice to say, it turned out to be an interesting day, 'I believe I've come a bit closer to unraveling the peculiarity that is Nina Einstein…'

"So your entry into the Ashford Academy was because of a theory you wrote which expanded upon quantum mechanics?" Rai asked, his eyes alight with amazement and curiosity, "That sounds very impressive!"

"I-It wasn't that big a deal…" Nina replied, her face flushed red from the compliment. The two were sitting in the flower garden behind the SC clubhouse, having finished classes for the day. Since he was part of no other clubs, and was restricted to the clubhouse regardless, the amnesiac had opted to relax somewhere with a view. His warden for the day, Nina, seemed all too happy to get out of the stuffy classroom. This eventually led to now, with the usually timid girl opening up a bit about her past to the curious young man in the middle of the gardens.

"You may think it wasn't a bit deal, but to someone like me who still has a hard time grasping even the basics of physics, it's the exact opposite," he smiled at the bespectacled girl, unaware of the affect his words were having on her, "So what other classes do you like?"

Nina gripped her skirt tightly as she tried to focus, "U-um…well…I've always thought Calculus was fun…especially how all the equations seem like puzzle pieces that create all sorts of new applications when you put them together right. Plus it can be applied to so much already, like Finite Element Analysis, which you can approximate forces on an object and predict how it might react under certain strains! Or like in Nuclear Physics or-"

Rai eyed the girl curiously when she stopped mid-sentence, her face becoming an even darker red than before, "Nina? Are you alright?"

"I-I-I'm sorry," she apologized quickly, unable to meet his gaze with her own, "I-I-I'm just r-rambling on…I'm not really good at conversing with others…and the interests I have aren't all that fun either…"

"Well I don't know about the others, but I think your interests are rather fascinating," the silver-haired boy interrupted, placing a hand on Nina's clenched fists in her lap as a gesture of support, "We all have something that sets us apart from others: ambitions, hobbies, and the like. They are what define us, make us who we are. You are an extremely intelligent young woman, who seems to come to life every time you talk about science and math. I think it's truly commendable how much passion you have for those subjects."

The poor young woman seemed ready to faint at all the praise coming from the man who she was crushing on so hard, "Y-Y-Y-Y-You give me too much c-c-credit! I-I-I'm not all that interesting or anything…I-"

"-need to stop putting yourself down so much. I don't know where or how you developed this notion that you are not impressive, but it does not suit you," Rai quickly put a stop to the young woman's self-depreciating rant, Nina looking up in shock as he grasped her hand in his own, "You should be proud of your accomplishments. Be proud of your passion. Defend it against any who would speak against it, and don't be afraid to share it with those who care for you."

His eyes softened as he felt the girl slowly grip his hand back, holding onto it as if it were a lifeline, "You, Nina Einstein, are a fascinating person. Never forget that."

The silver haired boy nearly jumped when saw tears form in the young treasurer's eyes, but that fear dissipated when Nina smiled the most honest, pure smile he'd ever seen on her face, "T-Thank you…you…*sniff*…you have n-no idea…how much that m-means to me…"

"You don't need to thank me, Miss Nina," he replied, reverting to the polite way of addressing her, "I just want you acknowledge your truth."

Looking at the sky above, the amnesiac realized the sun was beginning to set, "It appears we may have been out here longer than we thought. I believe it is almost dinner time?"

"Oh no! Prez wanted me to look at a couple more of the budget requests from the other clubs before it got dark!" Nina jumped from her seat, reluctantly releasing her grip on Rai's hand, "She'll be so mad if I don't have the preliminaries drawn up!"

Rai placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, "In that case, I can get back to my room from here. You get to the office and do what you can. If the president does get upset, just tell her I kept you out later than expected."

"A-Are you sure? W-Won't she get even more mad at you?" Nina asked, not wanting to accidently place Rai in the line of fire…again. With a final nod of assent however, she was placated, "A-Alright. I-I think Shirley is going to w-watch you tomorrow, s-so I'll see you around?"

"Of course, Miss Nina," Rai replied, only to be surprised when the young woman flung himself into his arms for a tight hug. Laughing a bit, he returned the embrace, taking in the scent of the young woman into his nose.

'Hmm…is that…pine? Mixed with the scent of some lab chemicals no doubt…it suits her well.'

Eventually Nina let go and ran back to the student council office. But just before she turned the corner, Rai could almost swear she stopped and looked back at him for a second. While the act in and of itself didn't seem odd, what caught the silver-haired boy's attention was the expression in her eyes. Or rather, the lack of it, as it seemed like there was a harsh glare coming from behind her that hid her gaze. Though she was also quite red in the cheeks…and panting slightly, or maybe it was giggling?

If he had to put it to words, he would say it was close to an expression of longing…and something else…

Rai chuckled as he chalked up Nina's strange gaze to a trick of the setting sunlight or something.

The following day had been Shirley's turn, and that excursion became an exercise in tolerance and quick reflexes. The well-meaning girl was horribly clumsy, and could get into accidents simply by taking a deep breath at the wrong time. Rai still scratched his head at the thought of how she had managed to take a breath by the gardens, sneeze from the pollen, and back into a doorway just as the cooking club was coming out with a large cake for one of their competitions. Suffice to say, there had been much apologizing, with the orange-haired beauty still covered head to toe in white frosting. It had been awkward as well to have to wait outside the girls' locker room for twenty minutes while she showered and got it all off of her. He had to stop himself from facepalming several times.

Oddly enough, Rai had not seen Lelouch or Kallen during his observation period so far, something about Lelouch going off gambling in the city again and the red-headed firebrand being forced to find him and return him to the academy. Milly had ended up roping Suzaku into being his chaperone for two days before it was finally Rivalz' turn. He had not conversed much with the Honorary Britannian, though the subject of being the devicer for the Lancelot Club had come up once or twice. Rai wasn't sure if he really wanted to go through with it and Suzaku didn't hold it against him. He was nice enough to warn the amnesiac that Lloyd would never stop pestering him about it until he gave in though.

The silver-haired boy chuckled at his last recollection of his time with Suzaku, when Cecile had coerced him into trying to eat some of her food while the teen did the best he could to convince her that Lloyd needed to eat it more. Noticing this, Rivalz asked, "Remembering something funny?"

"You could say that. I don't think Suzaku has some rather bad luck when it comes to-"

"Attention, Attention! This is Milly Ashford of the Student Council!" the two paused as they heard their enigmatic leader come onto the speakers throughout the campus, "We are in pursuit of a fleeing cat! All currently ongoing club activities are hereby suspended, and all participating clubs will receive additional funds for their events for the rest of the year!"

Rivalz shook his head and sighed, "Oh boy, a cat hunt? I wonder what she's up to now…"

"…and whoever catches the cat earns a very special prize: a kiss from a member of the Student Council, and the winner gets to pick who!"

The blue-haired boy's jaw dropped to the ground, "I-I-Is she serious?! Wait a minute…if I find that cat, then that means…"

Images of a certain blond bombshell popped up in his mind, her blushing face, mischievous eyes, and succulent lips just ripe for the taking…

"…Rai...if you promise not to tell Milly I bailed on you for this hunt, I won't tell her you were walking around without an escort. Deal?"

Before Rai could even process the request, Rivalz dashed off with giant hearts in his eyes. Not too long afterwards the ground itself seemed to shake as the whole school was following suit. Realizing that his escort was long gone, the silver haired boy sighed before heading back in the direction of the clubhouse, "Well, if I'm going to get in trouble for being unchaperoned, I believe being as close to the clubhouse as possible should mitigate my subsequent punishment a bit…"

As he approached the clubhouse, a strange rustling in the bushes nearby caught his attention. Eyes narrowing with a cautious gaze, Rai slowly crept towards the shaking leaves. Suddenly, something burst forth, leaping at his chest, "What the?!"

Using his quick reflexes he quickly caught the strange object in his arms and cradled it to his body as he took a step back. Holding the creature under its forelegs, Rai lifted it up towards his face and made a quick examination.

"Hmm…you seem to be a cat, but what's this contraption you're wearing?" covering the cat's head was a black helmet of some sort, with a smooth glass-like front, and a retracting back that seemed somewhat mechanical in nature. Removing the strange mask, Rai inspected it with a more critical eye, 'How strange…it seems to be firm enough to withstand a bit of punishment…and there's another small mechanism that allows part of the front panel to open…hold on, this looks awfully familiar…'

He briefly recalled the day out in the city, where he rescued Milly and Nina from the stampeding mob, 'Right…Suzaku's trial…and his release by that supposed terrorist Zero…'

More rustling in the bushes brought the amnesiac out of his thoughts, though he could hear the sound of someone gasping for breath. Rai recoiled a bit in shock when Lelouch of all people stumbled from the brush, sweat dripping from his brow as he doubled over and sucked in lung full after lung full of air, "…damn that blasted cat…and physical exertion…"

"…Lelouch? Are you alright?"

The raven-haired young man looked up briefly and froze for a minute as he saw Rai, and noticed the quarry he held in his arms, "…Rai…what are you…doing out here?"

"Well, Rivalz and I were headed for P.E. class, but then the president began this cat hunt," he looked down at the small black cat in his arms, who seemed to be purring contently in his gentle grasp, "I believe this is the cat you were looking for?"

Straightening himself up, Lelouch walked over and gently picked up the helmet from the cat's head, "Yes…he swiped this mask that Nunnally gave me as a gift not too long ago. It's a bit of a strange hobby of hers, but I would never deny her whatever activities she may indulge in for entertainment."

"I see," Rai replied, though there was a part of him that suspected there was more going on than he realized at the moment, "Well I'm happy I could help reclaim your mask. Though, if you could refrain from telling our fierce leader that I was unchaperoned…I would be in your debt."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at the silver-haired boy before gracing him with a small smile, "Don't worry about it. It'll be our secret."

"Lelouch! Did you find the cat yet?"

"Damn," Lelouch cursed under his breath, hearing Suzaku approaching fast. Placing the helmet under his arm, the vice president of the student council made his way back into the clubhouse, "Rai, please let Suzaku know you were the one that found the cat and that I just went to go put something away. I'll come back down in a second."

"Al…right," the amnesiac replied confusedly as he watched Lelouch walk off into the building, wondering why he seemed somewhat panicked the moment he heard Suzaku. Seconds later, the Lancelot devicer came through the trees, "Oh, Rai. Guess you're the lucky winner huh?"

Looking down in his arms, Rai and the cat exchanged looks before the cat went back to purring, "Yes…it seems I am."

"Huh…I think this is the first time I've seen it so peaceful. Every time I tried to catch it or get near it," Suzaku slowly placed his hand near the cat's head, only for the cat to bare its teeth and him and hiss ferociously, "It does that. I don't think animals like me too much."

"I can't imagine why…you don't seem to have the aura of someone that's menacing," Rai observed. Suzaku shook his head, "Well anyway, we should probably call this in to the president. Oh, was Lelouch here at all? I could've sworn he ran this way…"

Rai freed one of his hands and pointed at the clubhouse, "He went to go put something inside, though he should be back any second now."

At that moment, Lelouch reemerged from the clubhouse and, upon seeing Rai with Suzaku, headed towards them, "Oh there you are Suzaku."

"Yeah. Looks like I missed my chance by a hair," the Honorary Britannian chuckled as he pointed at Rai, "He beat us both to the punch."

"That he did," Lelouch answered as he dug out his phone from his pocket and dialed in Milly's number, "Milly you can call off the hunt, the cat was found…yes…no he didn't have anything on him…who found him? It was Rai…hello? Milly are you still there? ...alright…ok, we'll be right up."

Hanging up the phone, the exiled prince turned back to his two compatriots, "Milly wants us to head to the lobby inside."

"To the gallows we go then," Rai fixed his arms to make the cat a bit more comfortable before heading up the stairs into the building, Lelouch and Suzaku right behind him.

Back in the clubhouse office, Milly Ashford placed her phone down and sighed, "So…Rai was the winner. It almost seems like fate…"

The blonde president shook her head in amusement, though her thoughts were another story. As she stared down at her desk and the multitudes of forms she had been looking at regarding paying out the other clubs for their participation, her mind kept returning to the silver-haired amnesiac.

'When did it happen? When did he start dominating my every waking thought with naught but a few conversations and that damnable smile?'

Since starting his punishment, Milly had done her best to stay away from the young man. She figured this would give her the space and time she needed to sort out her feelings. Unfortunately, the more she tried to distance herself, the stronger her yearnings became.

'I'm supposed to be the unflappable, unapproachable heiress to the Ashford name. The monolithic president that guides this school and its students to the epitome of nobility. And yet…just the thought of one boy, who I've only known for a few weeks at the most, sends my heart aflutter and nearly shatters my convictions to pieces…'

The Ashford heiress leaned back in her chair, her generous bosom straining against her uniform top. Stretching her arms above her head, Milly thought back to when she first met the silver-haired young man, 'It probably started back then…when he first opened his eyes and called me an angel. His expression was just so…pure…and trusting…'

Being the heiress to a once noble household, Milly was accustomed to receiving all sorts of compliments and accolades, along with multiple marriage requests (some of which her parents were still trying to push onto her). Having grown used to such things, it came as a surprise to her when Rai's words gave her a different feeling.

'Hmm…maybe now would be a good time to 'mentally compartmentalize my affairs' as Lelouch put it?' she giggled to herself as she lost herself for a moment to her earlier memories with her childhood friend.

Reminiscing about the old days when she would spend time with Lelouch and Nunnally at the Aries Villa always seemed to put her mind at ease whenever she felt the weight of her responsibilities becoming a bit much. Playing with those two had been some of the most fun she'd had in her younger years, even with all the rumors of a political wedding being arranged between herself and the raven-haired young prince.

'In all honesty, I don't think I would have minded that one…even with his rather prickly demeanor at times,' the blond haired president allowed herself a small smile, recalling how she used to adore Lelouch, 'Yes…that would have been a fun match…'

She frowned however, as she then remembered when things changed: the assassination of Lady Marianne and the subsequent exile of Lelouch and Nunnally after the prince renounced his claim to the throne in protest against the king. What shielding the Ashford family had against the bloodthirsty sharks in the nobility disappeared with the death of their close friend, and before Milly knew it her family's standing dropped from being of high standing to barely staying afloat. The desperation that set in was enough to drive her parents, or more specifically her mother, to start offering up the beautiful Ashford heiress like some cheap carnival prize to any noble who would have her as a wife, regardless of age difference.

It was only after her grandfather had put his foot down and declared that only Milly had the right to choose her own husband that the brazen actions of her mother lessened, although she would continue to pester, threaten, and even attempt to blackmail Milly into marrying a suitor of her choice.

As such, the best way the blond president felt she could deal with the unwanted pressure was to create the 'mask' she wore now: the mask of a nonchalant, mischievous, unpredictable young woman. The Milly that would repeatedly sexually harass Shirley, plan extravagant club events at the drop of a hat and throw everyone into a panic, and use any reason no matter how insignificant to throw crazy parties.

The way she saw it, if her destiny was to be trapped in a loveless sham of a marriage, then she would be damned if she didn't live her life to the absolute fullest first.

'Though to be honest, I haven't exactly lived to the absolute fullest,' she mused as she thought back on the romantic aspects of her life…or lack thereof. Having attended so many arranged marriage proposals, Milly definitely felt her outlook on love was rather skewed. She just never felt the urge to indulge in it, despite having countless admirers in the student (and teacher) body at the academy. The blond president wouldn't even have to really work for it, all it would take from her end was a wink and a smile at the right time, along with a mandatory promise of confidentiality, and she could humor any and every naughty fantasy and adventure she could think of.

But she never did.

Milly pondered for a moment on that as she continued to lean back in her chair, the front legs lifting from the ground as she began a bored balancing act, 'I wonder…could it be because of lingering feelings that I've yet to address?'

Out of all the suitors and admirers she had amassed over the years, there were two that stuck out to her the most…well, three as she considered her current situation. The first and most profound would definitely be Lelouch vi Britannia. She could say without a doubt that before everything went to hell, her feelings for the eleventh prince to the Britannian throne were powerful. However, after looking deep into her heart, Milly just could not bridge the lovable young boy to the guarded, secretive, and indifferent teenager he had grown to become after the murder of his mother and the crippling of his sister. While she could understand the reason why Lelouch became so bitter, the blond president knew that whatever she had felt for him had died the same day that little boy did. The changes in him were profound to a point that there were days she barely recognized him anymore.

The second potential suitor she had considered slightly was Rivalz, and she giggled to herself at how shocked many people would be if they heard her say that.

'He does have his own charm…and he is rather cute in my opinion…easygoing, carefree,' she smirked wryly, '…maybe a little too carefree…and his attempts at gaining my favor are a little much…'

Unlike some women she knew, Milly actually did not really go for "yes-men". She would much prefer someone who wouldn't be afraid to check her if necessary, maybe occasionally rebel should things get to that point.

Rebellion was one of the many spices of life after all.

Most importantly, the Ashford heiress wanted someone who would know how to stand beside her as an equal, someone who wouldn't be intimidated by her status. A partner she could confide in and who could guide her down the right path during her times of doubt.

Regrettably, Milly just could not see any of those qualities in Rivalz, who would literally jump through flaming hoops if he believed it gave him even the slightest chance at winning her over. His maturity had not yet reached an appropriate level for her to consider him in a romantic light.

This now brought her to Rai, her 'Illusionary Adonis'. The aura she felt from him reminded her so much of Lelouch's younger sister, Nunnally. The innocence and purity both radiated from their very beings was captivating and slightly unnerving. It was as if both were so naïve to how cruel and merciless the world could be, yet were still determined to make their place in that world. When Rai smiled at her, it wasn't a smile that seemed to hold secrets like Lelouch, or a smile that was hopeful for a reward like Rivalz.

Rai's smile was just one of pure happiness. And all that happiness was aimed straight at her.

This was what Milly realized caused her to go so gaga over him. To her, Rai was like a baby bird she had looked after, albeit one that became far too rebellious rather quickly for her tastes. Yet despite her frustration, the Ashford heiress couldn't help but feel drawn to that challenge his attitude presented. Dare she say she even liked that the silver haired youth would not bend to her every whim!

But what made her so comfortable about that unruly streak of his was the simple fact that had been proven the day Rai saved her and Nina from that stampeding crowd: that when the chips were down, she could depend on him to come through for her no matter what.

'And now he's the winner of the hunt. I wonder who he'll choose for his prize kiss,' at that thought, the mischievous SC president blushed a brilliant shade of pink despite her best efforts to push it down. Even the slightest inkling that Rai could possibly choose her sparked a blazing heat within her body, starting from her chest and pooling a bit below her stomach.

As she heard the sound of footsteps downstairs grow louder, Milly finally began to accept that yes, she was definitely a woman in love. While she had read her share of romance novels, where 'whirlwind romances' began with but a simple meeting of the eyes and a 'spark', the blonde beauty never believed such a thing would happen to her for real.

Life worked in really funny ways sometimes.

"Oh, there you guys are!"

Lelouch, Rai, and Suzaku looked over to Shirley, who was waving over to them from the other side of the main hall of the clubhouse. It appeared that the rest of the council had arrived before them, with Nina looking a bit nervous and Rivalz trying, and failing, to hide his dejection at having lost the challenge.

"So it's true, you're the one that found him," the orange-haired member of the student council observed, lightly brushing the head of the feline in Rai's arms with her finger, "How did you catch him? The little guy was so fast!"

"I didn't necessarily catch him per se…he just jumped into my arms," Rai shrugged while doing his best not to disturb the still slumbering cat he was cradling.

"Awww man! If I'd stayed with you, I woulda had him!" Rivalz complained, getting the eyes of the rest of the council to turn to him. Lelouch responded with an eyebrow raised in suspicion, "Now that I recall…it WAS your turn to monitor Rai, wasn't it? Care to explain why you left him wandering on his own?"

As the blue-haired treasure stumbled on his words to try and explain away his dereliction of duty, the sound of someone clearing their throat caught everyone's attention. Rai stiffened slightly at the sight of Milly at the top of the stairs, the blonde president slowly making her way down to where they all stood.

"What is this that I'm hearing about a dereliction of duty now, my dear Rivalz?" she said with a slight edge in her tone, a clear warning to everyone in the room that someone was about to catch hell. Rivalz could only shiver as sweat poured down his forehead, nerves shot as he stammered about trying to explain himself, "W-W-Well y'see…what h-had happened was…"

"Ah-ah-ah! We will discuss your punishment for your negligence in a moment," Milly redirected, turning her attentions to the silver-haired young man still holding a slumbering feline, "Now then Rai, congratulations seem to be in order! You are aware of the prize for finding that adorable creature, yes?"

At that, everyone's attention shifted to Rai as they were very much aware of the stipulations of the hunt. Hidden behind the taller president, Nina's face adopted a slightly pink hue as she did her best to control her suddenly haggard breathing.

'Who will he pick? I-I mean…there's no way he would pick someone like me…but then again, we've been pretty close since that day I had to watch over him…maybe….just maybe….'

Tilting his head to the side in slight confusion, the amnesiac took a moment to recall the reward for capturing the elusive cat, "Oh…if I recall correctly the reward was a kiss from someone on the council. Is that correct?"

"That's right! So you are now free to pick the lucky lady…or man, depending on your preference!"

Both Suzaku and Lelouch cringed slightly, the both of them eyeing Rai beside them with a bit of uncertainty. While he had garnered a lot of popularity with the female population at the academy (hence the 'Adonis' part of his nickname), the silver haired young man never seemed interested. Originally they had chalked this up to his amnesia, but now that the options had been put out there for the reward it was easy to see why the two would be a bit uncomfortable.

Luckily for them, Rai merely laughed, "Oh, that won't be necessary at all. While I appreciate the gesture, I'm just glad that the hunt ended well with no one getting hurt. Just that reassurance is enough reward for me."

Milly smirked, though on the inside she was trying to quell the fluttering of her heart at Rai's virtuous explanation…and that thrice-damned smile of his, "Well aren't you the ever-righteous one? Very well, if that's what you've decided, I guess that's the end of that. Now then…"

The blonde president turned to Rivalz with a dangerous shine in her eyes, "I believe someone was accused of negligence of their duties and left my charge to wander on his own? How do you plead, Rivalz my dear?"

"N-n-not guilty! Not guilty!" Rivalz panicked, his eyes frantically searching the faces of the others to find support. He was ultimately disappointed.

"If that's the case, then why did Rai tell me you left him to go cat hunting?" Lelouch chimed in with a slight smirk of his own. The blue-haired chronicler shot a betrayed glare at Rai, the recipient only shrugging his shoulders with a guilty smile, "Well…you told me not to tell the president…you never said anything about not telling Lelouch."

"YOU TRAITOR! I TRUSTED YOU!"

"Ah, is that an admission of guilt, Rivalz dear?" the sickly-sweet voice of the president quelled any tirade Rivalz had been preparing to give, and returned his panic several-fold, "In that case I believe we can skip straight to the punishment!"

Raising his hands in a placating manner, the blue-haired young man slowly inched backwards as Milly advanced on him, "Now hold on prez! Let's be reasonable here!"

"I think I'm acting very much within reason, Rivalz dear. Now hold still!"

SMACK!

Everyone in the room looked on in confusion and a small bit of amusement as the blonde president slapped a fake cat's tail on to Rivalz' backside. Feeling the strange appendage on him, Rivalz looked back up at Milly, "What the heck is this?"

"I hereby nominate you as lead organizer for the welcoming party for our new student council mascot!"

The entire lobby was silent for a few moments before the sound of Milly's nefarious giggling broke the spell of incredulity that had fallen over the others. Lelouch could only rub his eyes in annoyance, "Of course…leave it to Milly to use this whole thing as a pretext to throw another party…"

"Are you serious?! This was never part of the plan!" Shirley protested futilely, "We still have to divvy up the extra funds to the clubs that participated in the hunt! How can we possibly finance any of this?!"

"Well that's what Rivalz is going to figure out," the mischievous blonde gestured towards the dumbfounded chronicler, "Nina, would you be a dear and take our organizer to the office to begin reallocating the funds? Be sure that he leaves enough for a party befitting a noble for our new member!"

Nina nodded quickly, not wanting to incur the wrath of the president, and tugged on Rivalz' sleeve, "W-We should go now, before she does s-something even more drastic Rivalz."

"R-Right," he stammered as they made their way upstairs. Nodding to herself, Milly turned to the three remaining men, idly amusing herself at how the two seemed to flank Rai like a pair of bodyguards, "Suzaku, please escort Shirley and Lelouch to the changing rooms upstairs please. You'll find costumes already prepared. And do be sure Lulu participates."

"On it, Madame President," Suzaku affirmed before taking both Lelouch and Shirley by the shoulders and hauling them upstairs as well, "C'mon you two, orders are orders!"

"Are you serioius?! Suzaku, don't just encourage her insanity! Are you listening to me?! Unhand me right now!"

"Lulu's right Suzaku! We can't just let her have her way!"

Milly giggled as the sound of their cries and complaints echoed up the stairs and thru the halls. As she calmed down, she realized that she and Rai were the only ones left in the lobby, the silver-haired youth looking at her with a small hint of nervousness, 'I suppose now is as good an opportunity as I'll get…'

"Rai, could you come with me please?"

The amnesiac nodded, curious as to why the usually upbeat and energetic blonde seemed so demure all of a sudden. Following her lead, the two walked to one of the empty rooms down the hall from the stairway. Opening the door, Milly gestured for Rai to go in first. Sensing his apprehension, the blonde gave him a gentle smile, "You're not in trouble or anything Rai. Rivalz is solely to blame for what happened. I am not upset with you at all."

"I see," he answered somewhat warily, but after seeing the honest expression on Milly's face, Rai calmed down and walked in, unaware of Milly locking the door behind them. The room was about the size of a classroom, though instead of desks it had several lockers to one side, along with a couple racks filled with costumes of multiple types that were hung against the wall. There were no windows in order to ensure privacy, something the silver-haired young man figured put the female members of the student council at ease.

Milly's perverse behavior was more than enough to handle without including other prying eyes.

Setting the still-slumbering black cat down on one of the tables, Rai turned to face his blonde friend, who was now rifling through the different costumes hung on a rack in the middle of the room, "Is everything alright? You've been acting a little strange lately…"

The student council president flinched for a second before giggling with a small hint of nervousness, "Is that so? I don't feel strange in any way…ah! Here it is!"

Pulling out a brown and white cat onesie, Milly examined it for a second before nodding to herself and tossing it over to Rai, who deftly caught it with one hand, "I think that costume would suit you perfectly! Now hurry and get dressed, chop chop!"

"You…want me to get changed here? Shouldn't I go-"

" Oh! And you'll need these paw gloves too, they're so cute!"

"Uh…Miss Mill-!"

"And some cute ears would only enhance the look…but the hood of the costume has ears as well…guess these won't be necessary!"

Realizing he would never get a word in and not wanting to rile her up any further, Rai sighed and began to remove his blazer and dress shirt, unaware that the mischievous president had noticed him resign himself to his fate and went to the rack to pick her own costume. As she plucked a somewhat risqué black cat outfit from a hanger, Milly let off a small sigh as she steeled herself, 'Alright…this is the moment I was waiting for. Just the two of us…separated from the others with no chances for interruptions…'

"…Rai, there actually is a reason I had us separate from the others. It was a bit of duplicity on my part I'm afraid."

Having suspected that she had an ulterior motive all along, Rai turned to face the now somewhat apprehensive girl, "I see. Does this have anything to do with what I did? I understand if you're still upset at me from before…"

"No. It's nothing related to that," she began as she conquered her nerves and turned to face him…

…only to completely forget what she was about to say as soon as she laid eyes on the now shirtless Rai.

'Sweet Britannia…' was the blonde's only thought as she lost herself in examining her charge, eyeing just how built Rai was. He was nothing like a bodybuilder, with almost comically oversized muscles, but more like an athlete with a very lean figure that the school uniform hid rather well. The muscles in his arms and chest were very well defined, and twitched slightly with his every motion.

Noticing the red that began to flush Milly's face, Rai stepped closer and placed a hand to her forehead, "Miss Milly?! Are you ok? You're turning red rather quickly!"

"Oh…a-am I now?" the silver haired amnesiac's level of worry grew when he heard how far away her voice sounded, "O-Oh dear…I do feel a bit faint…"

Suddenly the strength in the blond president's legs failed, the proximity of the attractive man before her driving her heart rate up to comically excessive levels. Before she knew it, Rai surged forward and caught the woman in his arms, her hands pressed against his chest. Almost subconsciously, she brushed her hands across his torso with a sense of wonder, as if she wanted to ingrain the feel of him to her memory.

'Goodness…well he's certainly far more built than Lelouch and Rivalz…maybe even Suzaku…and, are those scars?'

Milly moved her hand back over to the left side of the Illusionary Adonis' chest, where she felt what seemed to be a surgical scar over his heart. Moving down, she felt another faint one on his side that was oddly circular, 'Was this…a bullet wound? I've never seen one before, let alone felt one, but something tells me this could only be that….'

Meanwhile, Rai himself was being overcome by strange feelings, as Milly's soft hands continued their exploration of his chest. He was also very conscious of the heat exuded from her body, a heat that could only be felt when two people were extremely close to one another.

'Why…do I feel so light headed? This is so strange…' he thought before his gaze returned to her face, still flushed red with a curious expression in her dazzling blue eyes, 'And yet…seeing her like this...it's as if her beauty has been magnified exponentially…'

"…Milly?"

Lifting her face to his, Milly took note of just how close they were, his face a perfect picture of confusion, though something else seemed to lurk in his eyes. Something that compelled her…called to her…

"…you know Rai, it's said that sometimes asking for forgiveness is better than asking for permission…so forgive me for this."

"Forgive you for wha-"

Any conscious thought Rai had was brought to a screeching halt when he felt the silky smooth sensation of Milly's lips kissing his own. At first he thought he had to be in a dream, that there was no way his savior, his personal guardian angel, would be doing this with him. But as Milly continued to push herself against him, her arms wrapping around the back of his neck to bring him closer, the amnesiac felt himself slowly surrender to the euphoric feelings he was experiencing.

Feeling her crush's arms wrap around her waist and embracing her tightly, the blond let off a mental whoop for joy as she savored the surprisingly soft feel of Rai's lips, 'He may have been slow to respond, but he really can kiss well...'

The two remained that way for a few moments before they slowly pulled away reluctantly, staring at each other as if seeing the other person for the very first time. Rai was the first to break the silence, "Well…I must admit that I never saw that coming."

"Understandable. Though you never did specify who you wanted to kiss as a reward for finding the cat," Milly giggled, finding a blushing Rai to be one of the cutest things she had ever seen.

As well as a slight turn on.

"I thought I told you I didn't want a reward," the silver-haired young man replied bashfully, "I was just happy that everything concluded without anyone getting hurt."

"Hmm…then consider this the second part of your punishment for your misdeeds."

Rai leveled an eyebrow at her before recalling that when he had been reprimanded before Milly had indeed said she wasn't finished with him yet, and that further punishment would eventually be given for his little adventure. Realizing this, he laughed as he slightly tightened his embrace, "I see. I must warn you though; if this is the kind of punishment I can look forward to I may just start to act out more often."

"You do so at your own peril," the president leveled a mischievous glare at the taller young man, though it lessened as she continued, "But in all honesty Rai…I've had these feelings for you for a little while now. It just took me some time to finally identify and acknowledge them. You are…truly one of the most remarkable men I've ever met. And as a noble, I've seen my fair share of them."

Hearing her compliment caused Rai's blush to deepen just a bit, though he did grace her with a small smile, "Well, I don't believe I have done anything truly remarkable to make you think that. After all you were the one that found me, gave me a place to recuperate from my ailment, and even made me a part of your student council."

"And you saved Nina and I from that crowd, putting yourself in harm's way for our sake even though you barely knew us," Milly countered, taking advantage of her current position to nuzzle her nose in the crook of the silver haired boy's neck, "I would say that makes us even dear."

"I'm not going to win this challenge, am I?"

The predatory smirk he received was a good enough answer as is, but the mischievous blond replied anyway, "Nope, now shut up and kiss me Rai."

Deciding not to disobey this time, Rai did just that, leaning back down and claiming her lips for himself. By now, Milly had lowered her arms to wrap around his waist, allowing her to squish her bountiful chest against his. Even through her clothes, the amnesiac could tell how soft her breasts were, and he suddenly felt a bit more emboldened. As gently as he could, Rai began caressing her sides and hips, Milly letting out a mewl of pleasure through their continued lip lock.

'My dear Rai…you DO have a little devil in you don't you?' she thought as he felt his hands tease a bit lower, 'But I suppose I have to show some level of decorum…just when it was getting good…'

Pulling away from the kiss grudgingly, the blonde president stepped back, a part of her already missing Rai's warm embrace, "Well…as much as I would love to continue, we do have to prepare for the festivities…I must admit, you are far naughtier than I would imagine dear sir."

"I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable," Rai apologized, his gaze somewhat ashamed, "I don't…I have never felt this way about anyone before…and I guess I just lost myself to what I was experiencing…"

Walking up to him, Milly placed a finger on his mouth to silence him, "You did no such thing. I loved every second of it…and wouldn't have minded going a bit further. But as the only daughter of a noble family, I do have to maintain some order of decency."

Planting one last lingering kiss on her crush, the Ashford heiress stepped back towards where she had placed her costume and began to disrobe, "However, who's to say I'll remember that decorum next time? Now get dressed before the others start getting overly curious as to our delay."

With that, the two set about getting into their cat costumes, though they did sneak some looks to each other during the process, with Rai getting an eyeful when Milly "dropped" a piece of her costume and bent down to retrieve it, 'Black lace suits her…far too well…'

Once they were prepared, Milly took his hand and led them from the classroom and back to the foyer. Both were so preoccupied with each other that they never noticed a strand of hair that fell from the doorknob of the changing room they had occupied.

A strand of dark green hair.

As late evening began to set in, Rai found himself going for a stroll through the halls of the student council mansion. During the party hours before, once the SC had christened the cat they had found with the name of Arthur and the role of co-mascot alongside Nunnally, Milly had officially declared his house arrest at an end, much to everyone's elation. The whole SC had congratulated him and festivities continued in earnest, although everything were cut short by a quick message to Milly from her grandfather, prompting her to immediately halt everything and announce to the campus that everyone was to meet in the gymnasium building for the broadcast of Prince Clovis' funeral. It took only about thirty minutes after taking of their costumes, cleaning the make-up off of their faces and getting back into their old clothes before Rai and every other student at the academy was standing in front of a large projection screen. And on screen standing front and center at a raised podium only feet away from his son's casket was him.

Charles zi Britannia. The 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire. The minute he opened his mouth, the sheer commanding presence he gave off seemed to overwhelm everyone and the amnesic couldn't help but notice just how many people seemed to be in awe of him.

Just recalling the end of the powerful speech caused the silver-haired youth to wince at the sheer volume of the students who chanted with fists held high:

"ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!" "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA" "ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"

As he rounded a corner to the hall that led to the recreation center, Rai recalled how even with the odd camera angles and zoom, he could tell how physically imposing the emperor was. Tall, muscular, with an oppressive aura that could be felt even through the visuals of a projector on the other side of the continent.

'Truly…that man is not one to be trifled with in the slightest,' he thought to himself, randomly opening a door and continuing his stroll, 'And yet…for some reason…he seemed almost familiar…as though we've known each other for a long time…'

That niggling sensation in his head and chest was what had brought him out of the comforts of his bed and into the halls minutes ago; the insatiable feeling that somehow, someway, he knew the emperor on a deeper level.

'But how could that be? While my memories are still missing, I just can't fathom how I would have met the emperor before…maybe it has something to do with that…vision I just had?'

The silver haired amnesiac stopped in his footsteps for a moment, recalling how during the speech he had closed his eyes for just a second, only to find upon opening them that he was in a completely different location.

'It was a garden…a very large garden…and I felt very content,' he remembered as the details slowly filtered back into his head, 'and I wasn't alone…there were two others with me…two young boys who looked like brothers…but how could any of that possibly be related to the emperor? This is all so strange…'

Before he knew it, the silver-haired youth had entered the swimming pool area. Only the sound of someone jumping into the water brought him out of his ruminations to the realization that he was no longer by himself.

"Oh, it's you Rai. What brings you here so late?"

Looking over to the side of the pool, Rai observed Lelouch sitting with a laptop in front of him, as well as a few papers that looked like financial charts. In the water, he noticed someone he'd never seen before: a young woman who looked their age with lime-colored hair that shone in the moonlight coming down from the glass ceiling.

Turning back to the raven-haired vice president, he replied, "Nothing much. I had a hard time sleeping after that presentation earlier, so I began to wander to clear my head a bit."

Lelouch's gaze hardened a bit at the mention of the emperor's speech, "I can imagine. By the way, during the speech you seemed to zone out a bit?"

"I did? I had no idea," he lied, unsure as to why he felt he didn't want to tell Lelouch about his vision, "However, I do remember feeling a sense of disappointment with his words. While it may not be popular opinion, I do not believe I can agree with the emperor's view of the world."

Rai didn't notice the nearly imperceptible surprise that flitted through the exiled prince's eyes, though Lelouch was quick to school himself, "Is that so? Well I wouldn't feel too bad about that if I were you. While you're right that such an opinion is looked down upon around here, I think you would be surprised how many silently protest Pax Britannia."

"The fact they can only protest in silence is rather sad if you ask me," the amnesiac replied before choosing to turn to different topic, "So what brings you here Lelouch? I never took you for one to have late night excursions. Except maybe those gambling matches Rivalz tells me you're so fond of."

At that question, Lelouch gave a slightly embarrassed smile, "Oh it's nothing too crazy like that, I'm afraid. I just figured I could get a head start on this budget plan for Milly. Now that we have to factor in that last minute cat hunt and the party, our numbers have been thrown into chaos."

Upon mentioning the blonde president, Lelouch noticed a slight tinge of pink come onto Rai's face, and anything said after her name didn't seem to register in the silver haired teen's mind, "O-Oh…a task for Milly…I see…"

'Strange…this is the first time I've ever heard Rai stutter…and he stopped saying 'Miss' Milly…I wonder…'

"It looks like someone is having naughty thoughts about his new girlfriend."

Rai's head whipped back over to the pool, where the young woman he saw before was stepping out and walking towards them. She was a bit on the svelte side, but her one-piece swimsuit did a more than adequate job of outlining her feminine curves and modest bust. It also rode high enough to bring attention to her long, smooth legs. However, that wasn't what held Rai's attention to her. Nor was it her blunt statement.

'Her eyes…I've…seen those eyes somewhere before…but how…'

"Why are you such a pain," he overheard Lelouch mumble as the mysterious woman came to stand at his side. She smirked slightly before looking over at the still dumbstruck newcomer, "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend? And to think you have the gall to complain about my behavior…"

Begrudgingly, Lelouch stood from his seat and gestured towards her with his hand, "Where are my manners? Rai, this is Ciére, a relative of mine from the European Territories. She came to visit for a little bit to catch up. Ciére this is Rai, one of the members of the student council."

Rai shook himself of the spell he was under and walked up with his hand out for a handshake, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Ciére. Forgive me for intruding on your bonding time with family."

"It's no trouble at all, I'm glad to see one of Lelouch's friends actually has good manners," C.C. replied as she closed the distance between the two with her own hand extended out, "It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Rai."

The moment their hands touched, Rai's as if he was suddenly being flung into space, a rush of dark colors speeding by in an almost nauseating fashion.

Then, without warning, he was surrounded by a blinding light…

"…what the…what happened?" Rai asked as he suddenly found himself in an all-white void, unable to tell the difference between up and down. One minute he had been shaking hands with Lelouch's relative, and the next…

"….They're coming…"

"Who said that?" the amnesiac looked around quickly, trying to find the source of the strange voice, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

"…the enemy will be upon us soon! There's no time!"

"…those who can fight must take up arms!"

"You're the only one who can do this…"

"…orders are ready, Your Highness!"

"To Everyone! I command you-"

"…what have I done…"

More and more voices began to echo, nearly bringing Rai to a crippling migraine. As he clutched his head to block out the eerie choir of strangers, a slightly familiar voice pierced through, "It's funny…no matter how many times I visit here, it's always so depressing…"

"…Ciére? I-Is that you?"

"Here…allow me to ease your pain a bit…"

Before he could question her, the void began to rapidly change into the previous stream of indiscernible dark colors…and this time he knew for a fact he was being flung somewhere by the feel of wind rushing past him.

"What the hell is going on?!"

The blurred scenery finally slowed down after a few seconds, though Rai felt like it had been an eternity. He was now standing at the edge of a large lake in the middle of a beautiful open field. The red-orange sky above told him it was sunset, and the fresh, crisp smell of dead leaves on the wind hinted at mid to late autumn. Taking a better look at his surroundings, Rai realized he was not the only person at the lake edge.

A few feet away, he noticed a trio of young boys dressed like nobles sat on the soft green grass, admiring the tranquil scene of the calm blue water and the wildlife that were still frolicking about. Two of the boys were the same ones he had dreamed about before, one blonde and another brunette.

However, it was the third child who had his undivided attention.

"Is…Is that me?"

"I'm sorry I asked you both out here so late," the younger version of Rai began, getting the attention of his two friends, "I…I was just thinking about how things have been going lately and…well…"

He turned to face them, and Rai could see his younger self trying his best to hold his tears in as he continued, "I want to know…I want to know what we can do to stop all this…to end all this deception….what can we do to change this world for the better?"

Before he could hear some kind of reply, the world around him began to blur back into white, the boys at the lake becoming more and more indistinct.

"No! Wait! Please, let me see more! Wait!"

"…-ai? Rai?! Wake up! Rai!"

The young man in question slowly reopened his eyes, with the first thing he noticed being the worried look on Lelouch's face. The next thing he noticed was that he was looking up at the ceiling…which usually meant only one thing.

"…I had another episode, didn't I?"

Lelouch breathed a short sigh of relief before gently easing the amnesiac up into a sitting position, "Just take it easy Rai. Thankfully you didn't hit your head on the way down, so you should be ok."

"…doesn't feel like I didn't," Rai replied as he rubbed his forehead. Kneeling down next to him, C.C. handed him a glass of water, "Here. This should help with the migraine."

Gently receiving the glass, Rai took a sip of the cool liquid, taking slight notice of the taste of some kind of medicine that had been mixed in. Turning to the green-haired woman, he managed a small smile, "Thank you Miss Ciére. I apologize for causing you such an inconvenience."

"It's fine. At least you aren't afraid or too proud to show gratitude to others…unlike someone else I know," C.C. pointedly glanced at Lelouch, who returned a mild glare, "In any casee, you might want to retire for the night. You seem a little pale."

Rai nodded, but paused for a moment when his eyes met the green-haired woman's own. There was something lingering in her golden eyes…something that was almost recognizable, yet it escaped his grasp at the moment. However, the silver haired teen realized there was one thing that rang true despite his tenuous grasp of it.

Somehow…someway… he knew this woman…

"Rai?" The raven-haired vice president calling his name snapped Rai out of the trance he felt he had fallen under, "Forgive me Lelouch, I was a bit lost in thought. I think I'll call it a night here…"

Before Lelouch could respond, the silver haired young man sprang to his feet and left, his mind a jumble once again.

'That vision was different…and I can actually remember it this time…who were those two boys? Childhood friends of mine? And why did I ask them such a question? If only I could've heard more…'

"What did you do to him?"

C.C. examined her nails with a bored expression as she languished on one of the long chairs by the pool, "Nothing you need to worry about. I just helped him a little bit with the problem he's been having."

Lelouch narrowed his eyes at the immortal witch, "You mean his amnesia? How could you possibly help with it? Didn't he lose his memories from an accident?"

"You would think that wouldn't you?" she countered with a lazy smirk the exiled prince couldn't see, but rather felt from hearing her tone, "That boy has been subject to quite a bit for one so young. As for why I was able to nudge his mental doors open for him…I'll tell you later…maybe…"

The raven-haired young man tried not to let out a frustrated sigh, as he knew that if C.C. didn't want to tell him something, nothing he did was going to get her to crack, "Fine then, just as long as whatever it was you did doesn't turn him into a threat to myself or Nunnally…or hamper his combat capabilities."

A slightly interested golden gaze slid over to the former prince, "So you're actually thinking about recruiting him?"

Lelouch nodded as he sat back down at his laptop, "While his amnesia is a bit of a handicap, his abilities as a combat pilot cannot be overlooked. In all honesty, he just might be a bit better than that annoying white knightmare that interfered the last time. At this point, it has become obvious to me that what I need is a reliable unit…no, a reliable army. With a trained and dependable force of my own, taking down Britannia will truly become a reality."

C.C. stopped examining her nails and changed her seat to one at the table next to Lelouch, "But do you really think you can trust him? Normally you are a lot more cautious with people."

"I'll admit I'm taking a bit of a gamble here. However, you weren't there at the funeral broadcast," Lelouch stated as he brought up the footage of Rai's battle that he received from Kallen, "In the time that I have gotten to know him, I have seen that Rai is the kind of person who wears his emotions openly. During that speech by the emperor, his expression was one of disagreement…and something else. While I didn't keep my eye on him the whole time, I can assure you that Rai is not someone who agrees with Pax Britannia."

"So you're basing all of this on just an expression?" the accusatory tone in C.C.'s voice caused a spike of annoyance to pass through the former prince, though it left as she continued, "…from what I saw in his memories, you may not be far off though. In which case, it's a good thing I helped unblocked some of what was being held from him. He won't have as many fainting episodes as he does now. That should make him a bit more dependable."

Lelouch nodded, "Indeed. Thanks for that by the way. Though I don't know him well, Rai seems like a good enough person. He deserves his memory back, especially if his amnesia was caused by unnatural means," a small shiver ran through the raven-haired former prince, as he couldn't imagine going through a similar experience and forgetting everything, especially Nunnally, "for now though, I have need of his skillset. And I know just the person to help start the dialogue."

Reaching for his cellphone, Lelouch clipped on the voice modulator and dialed the contact number for his reliable Q1, '…Zero? Is that you?"

"Yes, it is. I have a favor to ask of you Q1. That boy in the combat footage you sent to me…how well do you know him?"

"Not all that well, besides the fact he's a troublemaker and more slippery than an eel," Lelouch almost chuckled at the irritation that he could pick up in the fiery redhead's voice, '"But he's definitely trustworthy. I can personally vouch for that."

That was all the assurance the revolutionary needed, "Very well. Do you think you can set up a meeting with him? I would very much like to see if we can convince him to side with us in the coming conflict."

'Recruit Rai? Are you sure about this? He's an amnesiac with a LOT of random fainting spells," Kallen said with a bit of concern, "I'm not sure how much help he can be…even if he is a crazy good devicer."

"Trust me…he will be a very dependable ally if we can get him to side with us. The video footage you provided displays more than enough evidence to convince me of his potential. Just set up the meeting, and leave the rest to me. Believe me when I say we'll be in need of powerful allies soon."

"…understood Zero. I'll set it up as soon as I can."

Hanging up the phone, Lelouch turned back to his laptop and fast-forwarded the battle footage to the end, where he saw Rai and Euphemia disembark from the Sutherland they had acquisitioned. However it wasn't them that drew his pointed gaze.

It was the person who marched onto the battlefield afterwards and escorted his younger sister away. The man known as Zero burned the image of the stern, powerful figure of the other pink/purple-haired woman into his mind.

He would soon be tangling with the 'Witch of Britannia' herself: Cornelia li Britannia

"Yes…I will be in need of allies like Rai very soon indeed…"

Author's Note - There's nothing I can really say to diminish the fact that it took over a year to update this again...so all I'm going to say is that I haven't given up on this story (my beta reader has seen to that for sure lol), and I'll try to do better by you faithful readers who still put up with my long pauses. I'll be trying to update my other story, Love Hina: Kyoshiro no Tenchuu in the next couple weeks or months, though that's tentative since I start grad school soon.

Anyway, back to the story. A LOT happening here, and while I don't really feel comfortable with these huge chapters, there was no way to shorten this one since there was just that much critical stuff going on. Rai seems to be getting accustomed to life at the Academy while the events of the series continue to occur around him. Now, however, is where he'll start getting even more involved in the happenings of the world. So expect things to pick up from here on out.

That's all I have to say for now. Reviews are welcome, constructive criticism is welcome, flames will be put out by liquid nitrogen as per usual.

Huge thanks to Cloud Link Zero for continuing to push me to get to working on these projects. Behind every great author is a dope beta reader.

Peace to the planet

Ciph signin' out