rakuen | Time to catch up | Conquest dorms

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Time to catch up | Conquest dorms

Following the fight with that... troll, the last thing Lelouch wanted to do was sleep in that room. So he stayed in his own dorm lobby until very late, and made his way to Suzaku's sometime in the wee hours of the morning. He made himself comfortable on a couch, using a blanket he'd brought with him. He knew Suzaku was an early riser, so he didn't anticipate any trouble for his moving from one dorm to another. All he needed to do to was move the blanket and the remnants of his uniform would tell the story.

Why he was back, he didn't know. But he wasn't going back there anytime soon. He would at least have to speak with Dolorosa.

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When Suzaku began to leave, Lelouch's hand shot out to stop him. It wasn't even something he was aware of doing by the time he'd grabbed hold of his friend's sleeve. "No. Wait."

"I want to speak with Dolorosa. She is one of his kind."

Suzaku stopped immediately and turned back to Lelouch, "Dolorosa? Who is that?"

"Fortitude's Headmistress. I think I may have to request new sleeping quarters while I'm at it. Murder can put a strain on living arrangements." He finally stood, and somehow looked weaker than usual. Perhaps it was due to poor sleep, or the fact he still had the sensation of being killed to shake off. Even he couldn't help but be shaken by that.

"I'll be counting on you," he said. The last half of that sentence, 'to protect me from that troll,' went unsaid. But it was definitely in his eyes.

Suzaku nodded, "We will go and see her now," because surely they would do something. Suzaku still wanted to go find this troll that had killed Lelouch but Lelouch's idea was better for the long term.

At his final words Suzaku snapped into a formal salute, bringing his arm to his chest. "Yes your majesty!"

He didn't really have the energy to ask questions about the salute. It was probably yet another lost memory he would have to fight for. He walked up to Suzaku and rested his head on the other's shoulder. He wrapped his hand that still wore the glove around his friend's wrist.

"My, how heart-warming."

Had she been there the entire time? It was hard to tell. The Fortitude prefect was seated neatly on the opposite sofa, leaning against the arm and watching them with a tired, half-lidded intensity. "Santana really is slipping, to allow so many of my charges into her campus without permission..."

Suzaku was a bit thrown off by the sudden contact, usually it was Gino who attacked him like that. Still Lelouch had been attacked and injured, and if he was to be believed; and Suzaku had no reason to doubt him, killed.

Suzaku brought his free hand to rest on Lelouch's head, he looked up sharply at the voice. He recognised her as the other prefect.

"Yet you allow your students to be killed by those in their dorms," Suzaku was still formal, but there was anger in his voice. "I believe it is you that is slipping."

At the interruption, Lelouch stepped back from Suzaku again. "I need to speak to Headmistress Dolorosa," he started evenly. He covered himself with his blanket around his shoulders, looking every inch the refugee prince he was.

"You need to speak with the Dolorosa... So you left her campus and walked to Conquest. I see. Of course, that explains everything," she smiled, continuing to slouch where she was. If his change in stance had made an impression at all, she didn't show it. "Ah... Suzaku, wasn't it? Would you have me intercede every time a weed is removed from a garden? Or every time a student steps on a bug... I would have no time to myself at all."

Suzaku frowned but nodded at the name. His eyes darkened as he stepped forward towards her. "And is that what the people you bring here are to you. Weeds and bugs?" He was furious, his posture stiff as he stared at her.

He lightly touched Suzaku on the arm to quiet him. Lelouch's voice and face remained impassive. "I will return to my campus once I've discussed a few things with her. If it's all the same to you, I hope the extenuating circumstances would grant me a reprieve."

"You want her to come here? That's a little arrogant for someone who was so carelessly killed by a fellow student... Ah," she paused, and glanced aside. "I think you misunderstood, we did not bring you here..."

Oh. Well, either way he had seen her fight in the arena, she was definitely capable of protecting those who were now in her care. "Either way you allowed a student who couldn't defend themselves to be killed." And that was weird to be saying since Lelouch was standing right next to him...

He couldn't help but snort at the insinuation that he was helpless. Indignation was the first emotion he'd felt since he woke up again. That was progress at least. "No, I don't expect her to come to me. I will go to her office. But until I have that opportunity, Suzaku will be accompanying me, regardless of arbitrary school affiliations."

"Very well. Since you are accompanied by a prefect..." And here she finally stood up. She was even less intimidating when it was obvious how short she was. In another galaxy, this would be referred to famously as 'a trap'. "Let us go there now. And, Suzaku, I would appreciate it if you stopped trying to pin your own guilt on me. I assure you, the death of a human here is not remarkable in any way, and preventing every attempt would be a waste of my time."

Suzaku's face darkened further, "So you believe that human life is worthless." Even if you did come back, death and dying was still painful, "Does human suffering mean nothing to you?"

He has gotten even closer, not wishing to strike first but almost angry enough to do so anyways consequences aside.

"Suzaku," Lelouch finally snapped firmly. He was not interested in an escalating situation. Some of his commanding character was coming back to his voice. "Continue this debate later. We do not have the time to debate the many failings of this system." Lelouch started toward the door, turning his back on both of them.

"Having two conversations at once is a little confusing... I'm not sure I am particularly suited to it," She mourned, apparently tuning Suzaku out for a few seconds. "I really miss the island sometimes. People are such a hassle, even after a year trapped here. Ah, speaking of which - and to answer your question, Suzaku..."

And apparently she'd been pushed a little too far by the events of the week, because she turned and tottered gracefully over to Lelouch. And reached into her pocket.

"Excuse me," was her only murmured warning before she withdrew a knife from her jacket and placed it to his throat, "It really is nothing personal, but your friend just doesn't understand."

Suzaku stopped when told to, taking a step back from Nanami and turning to follow Lelouch. So he didn't see Nanami draw the knife, he turned at her words and his eyes widened at the knife against Lelouch's throat.

He didn't stop to think just threw himself at her, planning to kick the knife out of her hands.

When the blade pressed against his throat, he did something he hadn't done for a long time: he froze. Normally, his mind is always shooting through the possibilities, probabilities, predicting everything. But now, he was still too raw. He'd let his guard down. He was going to die again.

He was indeed. Nanami's smile was a little sweeter as she leaned up to his ear.

"I'll come and get you from your dorm, so if you would please get dressed in a timely fashion..."

... and then the knife pressed down and she was turning back towards the oncoming kick even before the blade had left his throat in a spray of warm blood. Really. The warning penalty was ingrained into her mind now, it wasn't even effort to trigger that. Cruel, but effective. It would be less than a second before the full force of it hit Suzaku's brain - fast enough to check his attack. The rest she could dodge, by stepping into the space left behind by Lelouch's second vanishing corpse.

Pain burst into Suzaku's brain and he fell to the floor unable to cope or think or even breath for a moment. By the time it had faded enough for him to blink blearily all that was left of Lelouch was blood.

"You..." This was all too much for Suzaku, as the events crashed down on him and he was on his feet a moment later launching for Nanami again.

"Suzaku," she said, by way of chiding. "If we do not leave immediately, we will be late to meet him in his room. Did you miss the lesson? I could say it again... Death does not have any value here. Like the itadori, you do not disappear so easily. Unfortunately, we are an invasive weed in this town."

She paused, both to trigger a lesser penalty to stop his lunge again, and to collect the glowing orb that had risen out of the bloodstained floor. She would need to take that to Lelouch - maybe he had been carrying something he'd like to keep. She pocketed it. "I could break your limbs instead, if that would stop you more effectively... but it might make us even more late to meet your friend and the Dolorosa."

The pain this time was not too much but it was enough to stop him in his tracks. He took in her words with a scowl but nodded; he still did not like the fact she was comparing them to weeds.

"That wont be necessary." He stalked towards the door, not waiting for her, he knew the way to Fortitude.

Sadly, Nanami would probably have had difficulty returning to the campus on her own, so she just sighed and followed after him. Really, these new people had such bizarre ideas of what was important. They would battle with the sensation of pain, but balk at the actual thing? She had been particularly considerate with the cut, too.

Oh well.

Ten minutes or so later, they would be back at Fortitude.

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