Panther II

Kallen didn't like this at all. Pretending to be sick, pretending to be girly, pretending to be Britannian—she would much rather be back at the Black Knights base doing something mundane like cleaning. But there she was, stuck attending classes because of some stupid thing called minimum attendance.

Ugh.

Not only did having to listen to all the girls talk about even more stupid Britannian things but she also had to see two people that she disliked the most at school for the whole day: Kururugi Suzaku and Lamperouge Lelouch. Suzaku was a disgrace to the Japanese while something about Lelouch didn't exactly sit right with her.

And seriously, when is the teacher going to come and stop the class from talking? She had enough of the girls asking her invasive questions that she made up half the answers to.

Her eyes looked to the front of the classroom when the door finally opened to the homeroom teacher coming in.

With a young blonde girl trailing behind him.

"Hello, class. Ah… um. This is our new classmate." He looked somewhat hesitantly at the young girl next to him.

The new student is beautiful.

That was the first thought that ran through Kallen's mind.

"Hello, my name is Ann Takamaki," she said with a wide smile.

The boys whose faces turned a bit gleeful that a new girl was joining them completely twisted into disbelief and horror at the new girl's last name.

The class all started talking amongst themselves in hushed tones.

An Eleven last name?

But she looks Britannian?

She might be a Half. That's disgusting!

"Yes, I am Half-Eleven. It's nice to meet you."

The class quickly became silent.

Kallen's only felt disbelief. This girl is Half-Japanese? Even Kallen herself has very minimally noticeable Japanese features, but this girl looked completely Britannian… much like another blonde Half-Japanese boy that she met before.

She studied the girl's face carefully as the new student walked towards her newly assigned seat.

Ann? Where did I hear that name before…? Kallen asked herself. Why does she look familiar?

And the blonde girl met Kallen's eyes.

The red-hair almost recoiled back.

There was no way… right?

.

Then it was PE. Her favorite class period. All she had to do was sit on the benches nearby while watching the class do some kind of exercise. What a perfectly good waste of her precious time.

But it was funny to see Lelouch pathetically flailing his arms to try and hit the volleyball, so at least she had some amusement. And Kallen's eyes drifted toward the new girl who everyone was staying far away from.

She looked at the volleyball with such a hateful expression that the other classmates didn't see, which caused Kallen to stare curiously. It was the first expression Kallen saw her express other than the overly bubbly smiles.

Did she hate volleyball or something?

Yet when Takamaki went for the serve, there was no mistaking that she knew how to play volleyball better than any of their classmates.

.

"Hey wait!" Suzaku called out to the new student after the final bell rang. "Could we talk for a moment?"

Kallen wouldn't normally care about what Kururugi does in his own time, but they were heading to the Student Council Room… and she conveniently needed to talk to Milly.

She quickly excused herself from her 'friends' and used a shortcut to get to the Student Council Room before the two could while texting Milly to ask to meet with her there.

.

"Oh, I didn't think that there would be anyone here." The brunette Honorary Britannian said with a bit of surprise as he opened the door, seeing two girls already sitting down in the room. "Maybe we should go to the clubhouse. Wait, I thought you were back in the classroom Kallen?"

"Oh shush, Suzaku. Kallen and I were just starting our conversation, but you're more than okay to join us with your girlfriend," Milly giggled.

"W-wait! She's not!" Suzaku waved his hands frantically. "I've only met her today!"

"No need to feel shy!" The president unabashedly said. "You should introduce her to me though!"

"Umm," Suzaku looked at his blonde companion. "This is Ann Takamaki, our new classmate."

Milly's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, I've heard that there was a new Half-Britannian student attending school now. Well, it's nice to meet you! My name is Milly Ashford!" Milly said excitedly without any reservations. Although Kallen didn't like Britannians very much, Kallen actually liked Milly a lot. She never discriminated against people for not being Britannian and never told anyone about Kallen's own half-Japanese background.

"I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier, but my name is Kallen Stadtfeld. We're in the same class," Kallen said while giving a half-smile to the girl.

"It's a pleasure to meet you two! Thank you for being so welcoming, but I think Warrant Officer Kururugi would like to speak to me in private."

"Warrant Officer Kururugi?" Kallen asked in an incredulous tone.

"Ah, Takamaki-san is in my unit. I found out just last night that she was going to start attending school with me. I haven't actually run into her before today though," Kururugi said while rubbing the back of his head.

Kallen was in even more disbelief. She thought that Kururugi was only interested in talking to her because she was Half-Japanese, but she was in the Britannian military? With Kururugi Suzaku?

The thought made her feel slightly sick.

That could have been ME.

"I've recently transferred into the Camelot Unit, and you're a Warrant Officer, so it's no wonder that we don't run into each other, sir!" Takamaki mused.

"Ah, please don't call me that… Just call me Suzaku," he said bashfully.

"Then please call me Ann!"

Kururugi nodded and he turned to leave the student council room to find an empty room.

"Wait!" Kallen yelled as she stood up abruptly, stopping the two from leaving.

She had to make sure of it.

"Huh?" Kururugi asked while he and the blonde girl turned back to face the redhead. "What is it?" he asked.

"You're… You're Ann Waldstein, aren't you?" Kallen questioned directly to Ann Takamaki.

The blonde twin-tailed girl blinked as if she was caught unaware, but her surprised face quickly settled back into the smile.

"Ah, yes… it's definitely been a while since I've used that name but I was once called Ann Waldstein. How nice of you to remember me, Kallen!"

All too suddenly, the red-haired girl remembered their last encounter.

'Why are you here?' the blonde girl, the girl who is always the star of the gatherings, asked her as Kallen was crying in the balcony.

'I… I don't know any of the customs. The other girls made fun of me.' She said while sniffling.

The blond girl gave a soft smile. 'Do you want me to tell you a secret?'

Kallen's wide eyes looked peered into Ann's bright, sky blue ones.

'I didn't know any customs before too… because I'm Half-Japanese… like you,' Ann said with a warm smile.

So it was her. Ann Waldstein. The girl that every young girl at the Britannian social gatherings wanted to be… including Kallen when she was still a young, ignorant child, blind to the disgusting nature of Britannian nobility.

"Waldstein?" Milly asked no one in particular as she put a finger to her chin in contemplation. "That name sounds familiar…"

"Bismark Waldstein… Knight of One…" Suzaku let out breathlessly and with widened eyes to the girl. "Are you his daughter?"

"No, nothing of that sort. He's my uncle. I haven't talked to him in a long time," Ann said with a little bit of a forced smile.

Suzaku looked at the girl with a shocked expression.

"If the Knight of One is your uncle and you used to be called Ann Waldstein, why do you call yourself Ann Takamaki now? Why are you a Private and an Honorary Britannian?"

That's exactly what Kallen wanted to ask too.

But the girl in question merely shrugged.

"I know you're an Officer, Suzaku, but I would appreciate it if you let me keep that to myself," she said and all the members in the room could see the strained smile, so they dropped the conversation.

.

"Wait! Takamaki—no, Ann. Can we talk?" Kallen huffed as she caught up to Ann at the gates of the school. It wasn't even that she was walking fast or anything, but it was a hassle to find the blonde after she and Suzaku left. And then Kallen was looking all over for them while cycling through walking like she would fall over at any moment and sprinting in short spurts when the students were out of sight.

"Didn't we already? What more do you need? I know we were friends before, but I'm not sure if we are now." Ann said while giving a half-smile.

"Why… why do use your Japanese last name? Why did you become an Honorary Britannian when you could have hid it?!"

"Why not? It's not very important, is it?"

"It is! You could have chosen the most comfortable life any person could have, but why did you choose the worst one?"

Then the bubbly smile dropped into an impassive look.

"Yeah Kallen, I could have been like you, right?" Her voice was filled with annoyance and exasperation, dropping her ladylike pretense as quickly as Kallen does when she steps into the comforts of her room. "Always one or the other, but never both. I remember what you were like when you were young. There is no way that you are the meek Britannian girl that all the students think you are. You try to hide that you're a half-Japanese when you're at school. Then, you try to hide that half-Britannian side when you go back to your Japanese friends."

And Kallen's eyes grew wide as she remembered the Half-Britannian boy that questioned her prejudice and made her doubt her own beliefs. But even though he broke through the though, Kallen continued to go the way she did—hide one side when she was the other. She could never accept that she was both yet.

"And anyway, why would I want to go crawling to my uncle for help when he abandoned me? You must have a fun double life, Kallen. You can choose which parent you want to emulate for the day. Britannian or Japanese. But for me? My mother and father both died in the Invasion. My uncle didn't even care to warn us before the Britannian Military made our home into a warzone. And you know what? He could have chosen to become the viceroy of Area Eleven or try to find me after the Invasion, but he chose not to. Why would I ever want to live with that piece of trash?"

"Then why did you join the military?! You're working with people that killed your parents—or at least are part of the group that caused their deaths."

Ann laughed.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't really like Britannia, but what makes you think that they are the only evil people in the world? I don't even really like Japan either, you know. After the invasion, I was an orphan. Do you think the Japanese accepted me any more than the Britannians? They were the same, if not worse. So I chose to be Ann Takamaki. The disgustingly prejudice Britannian side, and the disgustingly hypocritical Japanese side—I've learned to accept both even though they both shun me."

"But you don't need to do that!" Kallen bit her lip. She shouldn't say this, but she knew that the half-Britannian girl would be so much better off without not serving in the Britannian Military. "Maybe… maybe you should join the Black Knights."

Ann blinked once. And then twice. And then she laughed.

Kallen immediately regretted saying that.

"You're so funny, Kallen. Why do you think that the Black Knights are any better than the Britannian Military? Don't worry. I'm having fun in the Britannian military. You see, Suzaku is wrong, but also right in a way. And the Black Knights are also wrong, but right in a way. You can't change the system from just the inside nor just the outside; you need to change both."

Kallen frowned at the stance her one-time friend—her one-time idol—stood by. Her words reminded her so much of that Half-Britannian blonde that shattered her perceptions. What did she mean? How could just a regular girl—an outcast in both the Japanese and Britannian societies—change anything, never mind changing it from the inside and outside?

She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but a roar of a motorcycle engine stopped her.

"The hell, Ann? I've literally been looking for you for like forever!"

Ann turned toward the sound with a frown.

Kallen's eyes also turned to the sleek motorcycle and a man sitting on it.

And then the rider took off his helmet.

"What the… Ryuji?" Ann exclaimed. "Why are you even here?"

"Huh? What do you mean? You needed a ride, didn't you? Mona said… oh. Ugh…" Ryuji grumbled. "Freaking cat. He lied to me again."

The red-haired Half-Britannian couldn't believe her eyes. It was him: Sakamoto Ryuji.

The one who shattered her prejudice and made her feel so ashamed and guilty and disgusted with herself.

And he looked so much better in that black blazer, red shirt, and plaid pants with chains hanging out from his pockets than the Black Knights uniform ever did.

Ann facepalmed. "You're so gullible, you idiot."

"Yeah yeah. Come on already. You look hideous with that yellow dress. At least your military uniform is a bit cool but now you look like a clown. I bet you acted all posh and stuff like 'oh my!' or 'could you please pass the napkin?'" Then his laughter stopped abruptly as he opened his eyes comically wide. "Dude… Akechi needsto go to this school… No joke."

"Ugh," Ann groaned as she stomped toward Ryuji and the motorcycle. "Stop making me feel more of a fool than I felt the entire day. You know, I can't I actually believe I liked these kinds of clothes as a kid."

"Okay, okay, fiiiine… oh!" Ryuji exclaimed as his eyes shifted toward Kallen. He gave her a wide smile and waved. "Yoooo Kallen! Fancy meeting you here! Wassup? How long has it been? Like a month?"

Kallen didn't respond as she couldn't get any words out of her mouth.

"But seriously. You look so weird in that dress too. Like, you look so much cooler in that Blac— oof," Ryuji groaned. "OW! What the HELL was that for!" he yelled at Ann while clutching his gut painfully.

"Shut up you idiot! Anyways… isn't this Makoto's favorite motorcycle?"

"Ahahaha…. Um… maybe?" Ryuji supplied with a bit of hesitancy while looking like he was still hurting a little.

"And does she know this?" A single eyebrow went up and the twin-tailed blonde's lips curled into an amused expression.

"Not unless you tell her," the spikey-haired blonde gave a wide, pleading grin.

"We'll see." And Ann hopped onto the back of the motorcycle, grabbing the extra helmet Ryuji tossed to her. "Oh, and Kallen?" She said before she put the helmet over her head.

"Huh?" Kallen finally managed to get a word out.

"Ryuji is right. Kamoshida deserved that bullet to his head… but he deserved it a long time ago."

Kallen looked confused, unable to understand exactly what she was saying.

"See you tomorrow Kallen!" Ann said as she waved goodbye and without waiting for a response.

"And don't forget the debt!" Ryuji yelled and then they drove off.

.

Author's Note:

I didn't like how it felt like my last chapter for Ann felt like I wasn't doing her bubbly, emotional, and headstrong character justice because literally all she did was scare the hell out of Cecil. In this world, I feel like this Ann became as much jaded as someone like Akechi is until she found her friends (or they found her). You can still see those moments in Panther II, but you can also see that she is more than just a ruthless killer that I wrote in Panther I.

And my lovely boi Ryuji just makes everything so much light-hearted even in such a dark place. He's so precious UwU