Unknown

I ran. I kept running without knowing the reason for doing it. Looking back, I saw no one pursuing me as I pushed aside those in my way. Even so, I ran. A feeling of cold fear was locked deep inside my chest was the main reason for my escape from invisible enemies. Without a destination in mind, my legs kept moving my body forward. Thinking about it now, had I turned at a different direction at some point, everything that happened could have been different.

At some point, the obvious happened: I ended up falling to the ground. While trying to get up from it, I heard voices coming from the opposite direction I was. By reflex, I hid myself in some bushes nearby, unmovable. After some tense moments, I managed to detect the ones coming.

'Sorry for the sudden calling, but you skipped class earlier, so that makes us even, right?' A young blonde woman spoke with a playful voice, slapping a young man's back.

'So I can't avoid it then? How many times do I have to tell you…?' The one with black short hair and impressively purple eyes said, before the girl stopped him in his tracks.

'Who's there?'

Shit, she saw me! In less than a second, I got up from my terrible hideout and go in the opposite direction from them. I could hear her calling out to me, but I ignored it. I couldn't get caught for some reason I didn't even know, or something horrible could happen.

However, it seems that the fatigue, fear and overall exhaustion got the better of me. I tripped once more and that time I stayed on the ground, feeling the cold stone of it as I went into darkness. The last thing I noticed was the diminishing voice in the distance from the blonde girl.

'Hey, are you alright?' Milly tried asking the young man who suddenly collapsed. 'Lelouch, I think he passed out.'

'Where did he come from? He isn't wearing the uniform of…' At that moment, Lelouch recognized the clothes the strange young man was wearing. 'What the…'

'Hey, can you hear me?' Milly checked his pulse and released a relieved sigh when she felt it, before getting worried again. 'He is burning with fever! We can't just leave him here! Let's take him to the nursery.'

Lelouch didn't argue with her about that decision, which he would on a normal basis. However, the strange silver-haired man was wearing the same clothes an associate of his did, which could mean several things. In order to better understand the situation, it was better to keep an eye on him and ask him some questions.

'At least give me a hand at carrying him!' Lelouch said to the girl, who gave him a mischievous look.

'But I am just a frail girl.' Despite having an extremely keen mind, Lelouch had a really weak body. 'You are an athletic young man, so you carry him by yourself.'

'You little…!' Lelouch said, putting all his strength into carrying the man in his right shoulder. 'You damn… slave lord! You will… pay for it!'

Ashford's Nursey

Light slowly came as I slowly opened my eyes. At first, I couldn't understand what I was looking at, before realizing it was just a normal ceiling. My head was a complete mess, unable to focus in a single thought for even a second. There was something I should be wary about, but I couldn't exactly recall it…

The only thing I could recall was the image of a girl and a boy, but these recollections were also clouded. Moving my neck, I noticed I had an IV bag to my side, with a tube going to my arm, its contents entering my body slowly. It seemed like I was in some sort of nursery, lied down in a bed.

The next moment, my breath was taken away for a moment when I saw a woman sitting with her long legs crossed, reading a book in a chair by my side. Shoulder-length blonde hair, fair skin, blue eyes and a shapely figure made her seen like an angel for a few seconds, before my mind cleared a bit. She was humming an unknown song and seemed to not have noticed that I was regaining conscious.

I was about to say something to her, when every nerve in my body suddenly screamed the same thing: do not do it. For some reason that I was unaware, my instincts told me I should analyze my situation before actually doing it. The way she was dressed suggested she was a student of some king, probably in her final years judging by her appearance. I wasn't bound by any way, so I probably wasn't a prisoner or anything similar to that. She probably was the one who got me to the nursery, for whatever reason I passed out in the first place, so perhaps I could trust her… for the time being.

'Oh.' All that thinking seemed a little silly when she noticed I was awake before I called out to her. 'Welcome back to the world of the living.'

'Was I dead?' That seemed pretty unlikely, but my brain was still operating at the speed of a drunken turtle.

'Everyone, come in here! He's awake now!' She called out for someone outside the room and soon the nursery was flooded with people I didn't know, all wearing the same type of uniform as her.

'You face says you don't know where you are. Well, we'll be the ones asking some questions here.' A boy with black hair and somewhat aggressive looking eyes said to me, his whole body giving off an impression of anger.

'Stop antagonizing him, Lelouch! You'll scare him like that.' The angel-like girl scolded him. It appeared that she had some authority over the rest of them. 'Don't worry about him. You can just ignore this guy, since he is not dangerous at all.'

For some reason, those very same instincts that were against talking to the blonde before analyzing the situation warned me about the man named Lelouch. There was something in his eyes, something cold and calculative that felt like it pierced my very being. Out of all the people in that room, he was the one I felt the greatest discomfort with.

'Before I forget, my name is Milly Ashford, president of Ashford Academy's student council and the one who brought you here.'

'Ashford Academy…' It seemed like my theory of them being students was correct to some extent.

'Yep.' She seemed happy for some reason. 'Anyway… after you suddenly fainted, we carried you here, where you slept for several hours. Seriously, I was starting to think about calling an ambulance if you didn't wake up.'

'In the end, everything ended well.' Another attractive girl, this time with orange hair and green eyes, spoke, smiling at me.

'You were… worried about me?' It gave me a warm feeling in my chest, as if that didn't happen very often. It felt… good, for some reason.

'The nurse here gave a check on you, saying you were probably suffering from intense fatigue and weakness. She put an IV on you and said to let you rest before anything else. I can't even imagine what you could have done to become that tired, to the point of passing out.' She raised her body from the chair and sat down in the bed, right at my side, putting her hand over my forehead. 'Hum… your fever has cooled down considerably. So, to make things easier for everyone, why don't you tell us your name?'

My name…? At that moment, I realized how bad my memory loss was, as I couldn't recall my own name, aside from a single thing. I tried to remember it, but all I could get was a tame headache. The first thing I could remember was waking up there, but anything before that… wait! Something suddenly came to mind as the people inside the nursery kept their gazes at me, waiting for my answer. A flash of a woman wrapped in fog appeared for a brief moment, saying a single word, one that felt right in some way. Perhaps…

'Rai.' I said, those simple letters filling my chest with heat. 'My name is Rai.'

Remembering just that increased the pain to a mild one, coming in small waves at a fixed interval. I couldn't picture the woman that flashed before me, no matter how hard I tried, so I decided to give up. With some frustration, like I had missed some important detail, I faced Milly Ashford.

'Rai, is it? What an interesting name you have.'

'So, who exactly are… ouch!' Lelouch tried to speak, but Milly used her elbow to deliver a well-placed blow to his ribs, taking the air out of the lungs.

'It's rude to ask questions of a person before introducing yourself, don't you think? Since you are so eager to speak, you can start.'

'Lelouch Lamperouge.' He said while looking away from me. He had a very thin body, almost as if a slightly stronger wind could carry him away.

'I'm Rivalz. Rivalz Cardemonde.' Another guy, this time one with short blue hair and grey eyes greeted me with enthusiasm.

'My name is Shirley Fenette. Nice to meet you.' The orange haired said to me, showing a smile similar to Milly.

'I am Suzaku Kururugi. It's a pleasure to meet you, Rai.' The different name, different greeting (he slightly bowed to me) and appearance gave away the fact Suzaku wasn't completely like the others.

'Alright.' Milly clapped her hands, probably to get everyone's attention. 'Rai, could you tell us who you are and what were you doing inside the school?'

That was the moment of truth: I truly had no idea why would I enter the school or who I was, so how did I tell them that? I couldn't exactly tell them the only thing I remembered, either because it sounded too impossible or because it was too dangerous. That Lelouch guy was already suspicious of me before knowing about that, so I had to think of a way to not worse my situation. From the looks of it, if I could convince Milly about my condition, he would comply with her decisions, even if he disliked it. So, I tried the best approach I could think of: being honest.

'I can't remember those things.' I tried to sound firm in my words.

'So… are you saying you lost your memory?' Suzaku gazed at me with worried eyes.

I would say… 99% of it, as there was a single thing I knew about me. Was it base survival instincts that allowed me to know that, or something else? What I knew was the mysterious ability I had in my right eye and how it worked. How I did know that was something beyond me, but I knew with certainty it was the truth. For reasons that are probably obvious, I refuted from telling them about that.

'Maybe you have amnesia?' Milly spoke in a sad tone, pondering about it.

'Then we probably should hand him over to the police.' Lelouch said in a less harsh tone. 'They can get him actual help for his situation.'

'No!' I surprised myself for speaking so loudly. 'Not the police!'

'Why?' Great, I managed to make him even more suspicious of me.

'I… don't know.' It wasn't him that I had to convince, but Milly.

'President, I don't like this, at all. It's too suspicious for my taste.'

'I don't think Rai is a bad person. I don't feel this from him.' Shirley defended me from the suspicious one. 'Maybe there is a reason for his reluctance, but he can't remember.'

'Hum… then how about this: you can stay at Ashford Academy until your memories return.' That proposition caught me by surprise. Lelouch too, for the look on his face.

'That's a good idea, president.' Rivalz said with a big smile on his face.

'Idiot! Don't agree with something before giving it any thought!'

'There's nothing to be worried about here. Grandfather already said he could stay until he recovers, so there's no problem, right?'

'I'm not worried about him here!'

'It's fine isn't it? I mean, he doesn't look like a bad person, does he?' Shirley said to the grumpy one.

'Just say yes so we can settle it.' Milly patted my shoulder with enthusiasm.

For some reason, I had the feeling that even if I said no, Milly would have me stay there at the end. She had the aura of a person who got things done her way, no complaints from others. I was silent when I nodded to her, sighing at such a weird situation.

'As always, the student council is powerless against her decisions.' Lelouch said, also sighing.

'Welcome to Ashford Academy, Rai.' Suzaku was in a much better mood than the other guy.

'So it's decided. Now, all you need to officially enroll here is to be registered at the secretary and someone to sponsor you which will be me. Oh, before I forget, the two silent ghosts at the back are Nina Einstein and Kallen Stadfelt.

'H-Hello!' The one called Nina sounded like she was about to die from a heart attack from how red she was.

'Nice to meet you.' Kallen said in a distant tone.

'There's also another member of the council, but since it's late she already went to sleep. It's Nunnaly, Lelouch's little sister.' Milly then approached my ear and whispered on it, making a shiver go down my whole body. 'Touch her in any place… no, just think of touching her and Lelouch will murder you.'

'I will… remember that.' For some reason, I believed every word she just said.

'Oh, there's also the rule saying every student must belong to a club, so since I am your sponsor and the president, you can join the student council with us.'

'Thanks… I guess?'

'Expect to be treated as a slave, work beyond your capabilities every moment and be prepared to obey every single unreasonable demand of this president here.' Lelouch muttered without shame.

'Alright…' At that moment, my stomach growled loud enough that for a brief moment I thought an earthquake was happening.

'Sounds like you haven't eaten in a few days.' Shirley said, picking up a basket from a nearby desk. 'Have some of these.'

It appeared I was quite hungry, because I chowed down every single one of those sandwiches in a matter of minutes. There was also a thermos containing herbal tea, which disappeared as well. Only when I finished, I realized how impolite my actions were, so I felt my face hot as the others laughed.

'You were really starving, weren't you?' Rivalz spoke while laughing.

'I suppose…' I said, not looking at them.

'Alright everyone! Now that we confirmed that Rai is fine, let us all get some sleep. Rai, tomorrow I will come here to give you more information, alright?'

'Sure.'

'There's a bathroom over there and some pajamas for you to change into. Just leave your clothes in the basket that someone will wash it for you.'

'Thanks.'

'See you later.' Milly said, guiding the others to the outside.

After they left, the nursery seemed colder and lonely with only me inside of it. Rising from the bed, my legs shaking a little, I made my way to the bathroom. Once the hot water was flowing in my body and the steam rose, clouding my vision, my mind was mostly recovered and my thoughts were mostly clear. I managed to successfully get myself a place to at least sleep, but for how long?

Recovering my memories was the key, I just knew it. For whatever reason I became so weak to the point of passing out, I had to first remember everything to figure that out. The problem was that I didn't have any information aside from my name, which wouldn't actually help me much. And there was also Lelouch, who was suspicious of me from the beginning. Whatever I decide to do, I had to be careful to not make him my enemy or I would check first hand if my intuition about him being dangerous was correct.

I cleaned the mirror from the condensed water and saw my own face for the first time since I woke up. I had silver hair, not too short and neither too long. My eyes were crystal blue and my face was slim and quite handsome, if I had to actually say it. My body was similar to Lelouch's, but I could bet I was a lot more athletic. One thing that caught my attention was the many scars spread across it, some which I couldn't even recognize the cause.

Despite the person at the mirror moving exactly like I did, I couldn't get the feeling of him being me, no matter how hard I tried. I felt as a stranger in my own body, as if I was just a puppeteer moving his doll, without actually doing any work himself. Looking at my reflection, I wondered if I had any relative.

Were they similar to me? Were they different? Do we get along or discuss a lot? Where were they while I was unable to recognize even myself? Do they even exist…? Thinking that got my chest numb, as if an ancient wound was aching inside of it. Maybe something happened to them and I was all alone…

The only thing I knew for certain was the strange power I had in my right eye. I activate it by instinct and I watch as the blue is replaced by a shifting purple and a sigil that looked like a bird appeared on it. I had no idea what that thing was, but I knew what it could do: when turned on, I could give any order to people and they would obey, no matter what I said, as long as they listened to it.

Why did I have this thing? Could the reason behind my loss of memory be related to it? I had too many questions and no answer at all. Putting on the pajamas that I was given, which fit quite well (that was a bit creepy), I lied down on the bed again and stared at the ceiling for some time. After a time that seemed eternal, Morpheus managed to relief me of the burden of consciousness and I drifted into a dreamless slumber.

Lelouch's Room

Lelouch kept glaring at the chess board he had placed over his desk, thinking how some of the new pieces would fit on it. As Zero, he had to use every single asset in his fight against Britannia if he hoped to be successful in his crusade. However, a new piece just appeared in the board, a completely unknown one, with some interesting outcomes available.

'If you keep staring at the pieces so strongly, they will flame up, you know?' C.C said while eating one of her many pizzas.

'Say…' Lelouch decided to finally ask her something that was eating him all day. 'When you were in Britannia's custody, do you remember someone else in the same situation as you?'

'I think there were some others, but I never got to see them, only heard talk of them.' She said, looking interested at the young man. 'Why?'

'Someone appeared today. Using chess analogy, his status right now is of a pawn who reached the end of the board and can become any other piece on the board. That includes playing in the enemy's side too, so I am wondering what I can get from the situation.'

'Why do you think he could make such a change in the way things will play out?'

'Mostly my intuition, but… not just he was wearing the same clothes as you, but there is something about him. It's hard to explain, but it feels like when I was with my older brother Schneizel. This new piece and him… had very similar auras around them. I wonder how that man would fare in a game of chess…'

'Interesting… want me to keep an eye on him?'

'If you could, I would be grateful.' Lelouch said, looking once more at the board. 'We need to be sure he will be an asset or a threat… to act accordingly.'