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"I don't really think it is necessary for me to be wearing a yukata, even though this is a festival, so it would make sense that I would wear one like I did when I was a kid," I look over at Shirley and Milly as we stand in the student council room. "I really appreciate you two going out, finding this wherever you did, but I'm going to stand out walking around in this." I look down at the yukata on my body that the two girls picked out for me. It is a beautiful baby blue with bright cherry blossom branches scattered all over, and I also have a flower hairclip clipped in my hair on the left side. I've only worn yukatas and kimonos a few times in my childhood, and as much as I love wearing this one now, it doesn't feel right.
"But we are celebrating where we come from, which is why I am wearing this," Milly motions to the maroon dress with white trim around her arms and giant pink hat with a long white bow that she is wearing. "Don't I look like a true noble?"
"You look like you are ready to go watch horses' race, which I guess is a yes to your question," I force a smile. "What about Shirley, though?"
"What about me!?" Shirley blurts out. She's wearing a pink shirt with white around the collar, jean shorts with a small apron in front, pink thigh-high socks that have white frill at the top, her school swimsuit underneath, and her hair in high pigtails with a lace headband.
"You look like a waitress, which is not where you come from. That is all I am trying to say," I raise my hands in defense. "I'm not saying you look bad or anything. I think you look great."
"It's because I have to be a waitress for the swim club," she pouts.
"We just thought that you would like to feel truly yourself for one day," Milly steps up to me, placing a hand gently on my shoulder. "You look super cute too. I know a certain boy that will love seeing you in this."
I feel my cheeks heat up as I look away from her. "I can't believe that you would try to sway my decision by bringing up my boyfriend."
"I thought you would know me better than that now, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure that I get my way. I'll drag you out of this room if I have to."
"That won't be necessary," I take a deep breath. "Let's just head over to get this all started."
"That's the spirit!" Milly smiles, grabbing my hand, and then Shirley's, and dragging us out of the room.
The last time that a festival like this was held, a few days later the princess was committing genocide while I was dealing with the shattered pieces of my heart and mind. It feels bittersweet that this would be happening again. Especially in honor of my brother.
"Sorry we took so long, boys, but beauty takes time," Milly chuckles as we enter the intercom system room.
The four boys are in their school uniforms, but Rolo and Rivalz (along with a chef hat) have pink aprons over theirs, Lelouch has a tassel of sorts hanging around his neck, and Suzaku has a large bow pinned to his shirt.
"Ah, Sakura, you remind me of when we were little, and they would dress you up for the spring festival," Suzaku teases, pinching my cheek. "I didn't think you had any that fit you, though."
"I didn't, but Shirley and Milly said they bought this a while ago for a birthday present, but since we didn't see each other much of the summer, they decided now was better than never," I smile. "It is super cute, and I will cherish it for a long time."
Lelouch's arm wraps around my waist, pulling me into his side. "I never thought that I would see you in traditional clothing like this again," he whispers to me, pressing a kiss to my temple. "You're beautiful, and I hope you get to really wear this one day."
I smile, leaning into his side. "Hm, maybe in some way."
"Okay, we've put off starting this thing for too long!" Rivalz blurts out. "Madam President, let's get this started!"
"You're right," Milly grins, stepping up and turning the microphone on. "Apologies for the delay! We are now officially kicking off the welcome party for the Knight of Seven!" She turns to look at Suzaku, "Give the word, guest of honor."
"Yeah, um, I don't suppose I can refuse," Suzaku chuckles.
"Sorry, nope," Milly sweetly smiles as her eyes close for a moment. "It's a presidential order."
"Just accept it," Lelouch says. "She sets the rules in this school."
"Alright guys, I'll get ready then," Suzaku looks around at all of us. Then he picks up the microphone to let out the worst meow I have ever heard.
I burst into laughter, "You are such a dork. Can't you even meow properly?"
"Shut up," Suzaku gives me a shove. "Next time, you can get us going with a meow, and we'll see how you do."
"Okay everyone, we better get started on our tasks for the day," Shirley speaks up. "We are going to be busy, but hopefully we can all have some fun together later!"
The seven of us split up to go about the tasks we've been given for this hectic day. I'm somehow lucky enough to be helping with Lelouch and Rolo as they peel ingredients for the even bigger than last year pizza. Not that I am actually peeling anything, more like standing around to make sure they make the quota.
"You hate what you're wearing, don't you?" Lelouch asks once him and Rolo are in a good rhythm. He's taken off the tassel and his uniform jacket.
"It isn't that I hate wearing it, because I do love wearing yukatas and kimonos. Though it has been years since that has happened," I sigh, running a hand through the side of my hair. "Right now, I would rather I have that kimono shirt I have, since it is who I am, but it is modern. It doesn't make me stand out like this. I feel like a doll, or maybe even a puppet. I was dressed up not for me to feel good, but for them to feel good. It is a strange feeling."
"You are really pretty in it," Rolo says.
"Thanks, Rolo," I softly smile.
"Lelouch, are these things appropriate for the occasion?"
"That's Milly for ya," Lelouch says. "The Prez loves events like this. She's also overcompensating for last year."
"That pizza dough flying into the tree was tragic," I shake my head, noticing Rolo twirling his knife to better use as a weapon.
"Rolo," Lelouch firmly states, shocking the boy out of his thoughts. "I've told you, that's dangerous," he reaches over to fix the knife in the younger boy's hand. "Here, hold your knife like this, got it?"
"L-like this?" Rolo questions.
"Careful of your fingers," Lelouch grins as he looks towards the door without turning his head.
I can feel my brother's presence now more than ever. Almost in the same way that I am connected to C.C. He's spying on us, seeing if he can confirm Lelouch is Zero once again.
"Um, Lelouch, and Sakura," Rolo speaks up once Suzaku has walked away. "The truth is, my Geass does have an Achilles heel."
"We all do in some way," I nod. "Like I can't control when and what visions I receive, but I don't think I would want to force myself to have visions. Defeats the whole purpose. It also stops me in my tracks if I'm awake, sending a shock through my brain."
"And if you're in one, she'll refuse to tell you," Lelouch tauntingly looks at me.
"It doesn't matter if you knew or not, the future was already set," I shrug.
"Mine is a bit more drastic than that," Rolo says. "When I use my Geass, my heart stops too."
"Your heart stops," I breath out. "Holy shit."
"I wondered why there was a reason you couldn't just continuously hold people frozen in time," Lelouch says. "Does that mean you have a time limit?"
"No more than ten seconds, which is always plenty of time for me," Rolo says. "You should know if you want to have me in your plans."
"It may be the power of the kings, but that doesn't mean it comes without restrictions," I clasp my hands together in front of me.
The boys get back to peeling, and it isn't much longer before their task is complete and Lelouch is dragging me off to get away from the crowds. From a distance, we look like a typical couple sneaking off, which in a way we are, but not to go make-out on the roof. He takes a phone call with the Black Knights to give some orders while he has the chance, and I enjoy holding his hand in mine.
"Alright, understood," Lelouch's voice snaps me out of analyzing the vision of Nunnally I keep seeing. "Go through cell F in Kyushu and make contact with Diethard. Yes, that's right, have Rakshata come here and-"
"Lelouch," I blurt out as we come to the railing of the roof. My eyes widening as I spot C.C. in an Ashford uniform walking around like the Britannian military isn't hunting her down.
"She wouldn't!?" Lelouch blurts out, ending his call and pulling me to rush back down to where C.C. is.
"There's a giant pizza involved, did you think she would stay away?" I chuckle, easily taking the lead before letting go of Lelouch's hand altogether to make it to C.C. at least thirty seconds before him. "I'd ask you if you were out of you mind, but the fact that you ordered pizza constantly a year ago, and still do now, I'm not even surprised that you risked everything to come here."
"I was told it would be the world's largest pizza, and I want a slice," C.C. says. She has a headband that reminds me of the Lancelot's arms.
"Hey!" Lelouch blurts out as he finally makes it to us. "What do you think..." he takes a deep breath as he leans over and places his hands on his knees, "you're doing?" He's breathing heavily like he just ran for gym class, but we barely did a sprint.
"I'm looking for something I left behind."
"Why are you so obsessed with this stuff anyway?" he grumbles, pulling a bag with eye holes out of his pocket and placing it over her head. "Come on," he grabs her arm and starts dragging her away from the festival.
I skip to settle into pace beside Lelouch. "If I'm right on what you want, I've been keeping it safe, since it would make sense for me to have it."
"This is why Sakura is my favorite," C.C. teases. "Aren't you acting a little devilish?"
"Shut up, witch," he snaps. "Don't you understand your situation?"
"The emperor is trying to capture me, and he's using you as bait."
"That's right, Suzaku's here, and so is another. A woman I can't use my Geass on."
"Who would have thought that one of the first people that you used your Geass on would end up here," I hum, as we head behind the main building where the tomato sauce is being stored. "I guess that is what happens when you use it on those in the military. I'm surprised I haven't been approached to confirm anything about you, Lelouch. I can only hope my conversation with Suzaku made any thought I had resumed my role be thrown out the window."
"The little politician making sure she is in the clear," Lelouch grins as he glances at me. "Didn't try and help me any, did you?"
I shrug, "I know what to say and when to say it when it comes to how my brother thinks. I did what I could."
The three of us head up to the top of the tomato sauce trailer where our conversation won't be heard. C.C. leans against the railing, I take a seat on the ground, and Lelouch stands with his arms crossed.
"This would be a perfect time for that Geass talk," I speak up, tapping my toes.
"That's why I dragged us all the way out here," Lelouch says. "So, the person who gave the emperor his Geass is the same person who told Suzaku?"
"That's right," C.C. says. "But you shouldn't delve any further."
"I'm already involved in this," he voice hardens.
She lets out a small gasp, "V.V."
"V.V.? Did he give Suzaku a Geass power?"
"No, it doesn't appear that he did. Anyway, about Villetta-"
"Lulu!" Shirley's voice shatters the conversation. "Sakura!"
I burst to my feet as Lelouch shoves C.C. into the tomatoes. My arms go around his neck to give off the illusion that we were kissing moments before the girl called out to us. "Look at that, the mistress saves the day."
Lelouch rolls his eyes, "She's not a mistress. Only a piece on the board that I can use sometimes."
"I was just teasing, but I hope you don't think of me that way."
"The queen is still a piece on the board, you just move independently." He looks over to where Shirley's voice came from. "Hey Shirley, what's up!?"
"Oh, there you two are," Shirley appears from the side of the building. "Did the two of you really sneak away to make out?"
"Do you need something?" he asks, pushing the button to close the trailer and hide C.C. from Shirley.
"Well, I wouldn't want every single person at school to see me kissing my boyfriend," I giggle, releasing Lelouch from my hold.
"Oh, well, that makes sense," Shirley starts up the steps to where we are standing. "Couples deserve alone time. Anyways, I do have a small problem that I was hoping one of you could help me with. Ms. Villetta seems to be avoiding me, so I was thinking you should...huh? Are the two of you really alone up here?"
"Yes, you really caught us in the act of making out," I chuckle.
"The two of you weren't talking before? I could have sworn I heard you talking to someone."
"Nope, we're the only ones here," Lelouch says.
Shirley looks away, like she's debating with herself. After a moment, she looks back up with fierce determination, but whatever she has in mind is squashed as a green otter mascot shoves me forward and covers Lelouch's upper half.
"Excuse me?" I turn around to face the rude individual in the costume. "What the hell? Lelouch, are you okay?"
"Sorry, I didn't catch that," Lelouch is muffled from inside the mascot.
"Hey, what's the big idea?" Shirley comes to stand next to me. "Come on, we can pull him out Sakura."
"Perfect plan," I nod.
The two of us then grab ahold of Lelouch, giving him a big tug that gets him out of the mascots mouth and flying behind us. I quickly try to grab him with my mind to land softly on the ground, but a person is a lot more difficult than an inanimate object. He still lands with a thud, so I rush down the steps to check on him.
"Who's in there being so rude!?" Shirley demands.
"I'm so sorry, are you okay?" I kneel next to Lelouch, trying to spot any bleeding.
He groans, holding his head in one hand, "How undignified."
"Who was in there?" I whisper, running my fingers gently over his cheek.
"Kallen," he mumbles.
"Will you quit standing there and say something!?" Shirley grunts as she tries to fight back.
"All of your girls in one place," I tease, jumping to my feet. "How convenient for you, Lelouch."
"What has gotten into you?" Lelouch grunts as he pushes himself to his feet. "Why are you acting so jealous all of a sudden?"
"Nope, oh no, don't even start," I shake my head. "Not here. Not now."
"Ugh, wait!" Shirley lets out a small cry before punching the otter's nose.
"Shirley, wait! Be careful with that!" Lelouch shouts.
"Hey, Lelouch!" Suzaku's voice causes me to turn around to see my brother rush around the building.
"Suzaku?" I blurt out.
"Say, have you seen Arthur?" Milly asks as she steps into view.
"He grabbed a valuable quill pen from me and-"
A loud bang that could only come from inside the trailer shocks us all into silence. C.C. continues her ministrations to the horror of Lelouch and I.
"Oh no, is he in that thing?"
"No, cats and tomatoes don't mix!" Lelouch rushes over to the trailer.
In the next moment, an older Knightmare used for the creation of the world's largest pizza picks up the tomato trailer. "You're supposed to start with this, right?" a male questions.
"It can't be...Gino?" Suzaku says.
"Yeah! This commoner school is really a blast!"
"Who is Gino?" I look at my brother.
There's no time to answer as the Knightmare takes off towards where the pizza dough must be waiting.
"Hey! Wait!" Lelouch calls out as he starts to run after the Knightmare.
All of us then burst into sprints after the strange man named Gino that is piloting the Knightmare. Once out on the main road, I catch Arthur out in front with the quill pen still in her mouth.
"Suzaku! I see her! I see Arthur!" I shout.
"Thanks!" Suzaku says as he rushes past me.
In the next few seconds, I watch as everyone passes Lelouch who has never had the stamina. If this was not a pressure situation, I would stick next to him for as long as he needs, but C.C. is in a trailer heading straight for the main stage where everyone will see her. I'll just have to leave him behind.
"I love you, Lelouch, but you aren't cut out for this sort of thing!" I wave as I easily pass him.
"Release the hounds!" Milly calls out from right behind me.
I push myself to run faster, blessed with the same genes as Suzaku, and pass Kallen in the otter suit being chased by Shirley still. Everything could come crashing down if too much goes wrong right now.
"Over there!" Rivalz's voice calls out from the stage where he has a megaphone. "The Knight of Seven, Suzaku Kururugi! He's arrived, along with our Andes-grown ultimate tomatoes! Suzaku, come on over! You're the one we've been waiting for!"
"Arthur!" I scream as the Knightmare is catching up with the poor black cat.
Suzaku rushes in front of the Knightmare, scooping up Arthur before rolling out of the way.
I skid to a stop, "Oh, thank god. One problem solved, now to figure out this Gino," I grumble.
"There's a different person piloting!" Gino calls out, coming to a halt on the stage.
In the next moment, as the tomatoes are being poured onto the dough, the fire-extinguishing gas around the stage is released. Now no one can see a single thing, meaning that no one can see C.C. fall out of the trailer, or me as I rush in to grab her.
"Come on, we'll go to my room really quick to pick up what you came for," I grab her hand, manipulating the gas around us to keep us from choking on it.
"Did you just claim it as your own?" C.C. asks as we easily avoid all the students rushing away from the extinguishing gas. "When they forced you to move into a dorm?"
"That's right. I didn't have much to take with me, but that was one object that I needed to keep close. Then, with everything else going on, I forgot about it. There's been so much I've had to keep straight, I'm surprised I haven't slipped up once."
"You've always been a strong girl, even in the very beginning. This is nothing for you."
I grin, "I guess so."
We make it to my room, and I pull the box with the plush that she's been without for too long out from under my bed. She gets a message from Lelouch of where he's waiting, so we head out with the box, being carried with my Geass, to catch up with the boy on the roof of a building. There is still chaos where the festival was taking place, giving us the perfect chance to reach him without anyone spotting us. Kallen is also on the roof with the head of her otter mascot off.
"That was an eventful day," I brush some tomato off C.C.'s uniform.
"I was spotted," Kallen speaks up. "I think they were wearing a swimsuit. She bumped into me, and my head fell off, but I don't think she got that good of a look at me."
"Okay, well, maybe she wasn't paying attention because of the chaos," I shrug.
"So then, the person who saw you was from the swim club?" Lelouch asks, looking out at the school below. His back to all of us.
"I think it may have been the teacher," Kallen says.
"Villetta?"
"I didn't get her name, but the weird thing is, I think I remember seeing her last year at the festival with Ohgi."
"Ohgi and Villetta?" Lelouch turns to look at Kallen.
"Minami said that Ohgi might have had a collaborator who reported directly to him."
"Ohgi kept...a secret from me?" he looks down with a bit of hurt flashing across his face.
"A secret?" I tease. "Oh wow, it must be the end of the world if people are keeping secrets." I step up to him, wrapping my arms around one of his arms.
"When it comes to these sorts of things, you're really very thick," C.C. steps up on the other side of him, pulling down his shoulder so she can talk right into his ear. "The truth is, she was working with Ohgi, making her one of the Black Knights in a way."
"And your brother Rolo is going to her right now," I let go of his arm. "So, you need to get down there right now. I'll take care of C.C. and Kallen now, we'll meet back up tonight. For now, some more pieces need to be moved into place."
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Hope you enjoyed reading! I was going to add another scene, but it made this chapter super long, so I decided to end this chapter here! I would love to know what you thought! :D