Chapter 36: Clubhouse

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Kiba chuckled, getting ready to move. "How bout I answer your second question first." Kiba responded with a grin. "We're gonna race from here back to the old school clubhouse, but the catch is that you have to dodge at least thirty trees before you exit the forest going as fast as you can without getting hurt."

Kiba turned to his friend. "If you get hurt send a spell up in the air and let it burst so I can come get you, I don't want you to try and force yourself back to the clubhouse if you crash full speed into a tree."

Lelouch walked up to Kiba's side and prepared himself to run as fast as he ever had in his life. "And my first question?" He asked, noticing Kiba had dodged it.

"I'll tell you if you beat me in the race." Kiba said playfully. "If I win, you'll have to answer a question or two of my own." He held up one arm as he prepared to start the race. "Is that fair?"

Lelouch chuckled, not minding the little game. He was somewhat sure Kiba would answer his question no matter what, but this did make it interesting. "Sure, why not?" He could use this kind of motivation considering as a human his speed was pitifully weak. As a Devil it had improved thanks to Akeno's training sessions, but he still didn't have full control.

"Good, we start on three." Kiba said as he prepared to let his arm go down as a signal, but before he could count Lelouch took off.

"Hey what the hell man?!" Kiba shouted as he launched himself after Lelouch, quickly catching up to the less experienced Knight. "I said we start on three!" He had to resist a laugh from Lelouch's reply as it would throw off his rhythm.

"You said three so I started!" Lelouch said as he spun around what felt like the tenth tree, but was probably closer to the third this early in the race. His legs were flashing faster than he had ever felt them move and he quickly jumped to the right to dodge another tree and bounced off a fifth, using it as a launching point to get him back on the quickest path to Kuoh's old school buildings.

"If you aren't cheating you aren't trying!" Lelouch quipped with a slight chuckle, as he tried to accelerate away from his friend, nearly stumbling as he realized what he just called Kiba in his mind, before the blond Knight passed him by about two strides.

"Cheaters never prosper." Kiba quipped back, as he passed Lelouch, dodging the tree in front of him and spinning around a seventh as Lelouch stumbled between three trees before accelerating again.

The two of the passed the fifteenth tree soon after, Lelouch hot on Kiba's heels, but just unable to outpace the more experienced Knight. The seventeenth blew past the pair as they split before converging again on the same path. The pattern repeated itself ten more times, each time the pair took opposite sides of a tree to avoid crashing into each other.

'Damn, this is the longest I've ever run.' Lelouch thought as he panted, feeling sharp pains in his sides. His lungs felt like they were about to burst. He started to slip further and further behind Kiba, and as the last tree on the edge of the forest Lelouch decided to take a risk. "Fuck it." He breathed and dove forward.

Kiba shouted in surprise as he felt his back bend backwards as Lelouch dove, tackling him to prevent him from crossing the edge of the forest. Unfortunately, Lelouch had forgotten to account for their shared momentum and they continued to roll after they hit the ground until the both left the forest at roughly the same time.

"Sonofabitch!" Kiba cursed loudly. "That hurt you bastard." The blond wheezed as he felt the wind knocked out of him by the landing begin to return.

Lelouch coughed and chuckled quietly, marveling at the soreness in his legs and back. He was sore, but that had been rather fun. "Heh, I had to win somehow." Lelouch felt his heart begin to slow down, his body was beginning to recover quickly.

"That was fun." He didn't think he'd like to do that sort of thing often, but racing Kiba using the speed granted to him by his Knight Evil Piece had been enjoyable. The wind blowing through his hair, the thrill of competition, all of that combined to provide a really fun race against the blond man he now could recognize as his friend.

Spending time with the two he had been closest to before his resurrection had simply made it easier to become friends with them after he had become a Devil. Even if he hadn't spent as much time with Kiba, his easygoing personality and the interesting start to his speed lessons, combined with how he had opened up with Koneko before, made it easier to get closer with Kiba.

"I believe that was a draw." Lelouch offered, taking in some final deep breaths before sitting up to look at Kiba who was still laying on his back as he stared through the leaves, relaxing in the shade.

"I agree." Kiba relented, staring up at the leaves as some began to change color and fall. "How bout we both get our questions answered?" He offered, feeling that was a fair consolation prize since that way they both gained something from this. Kiba wanted to move on to Lelouch's next lesson, he didn't want to have to repeat the race.

"Sure, I go first though." Lelouch laughed lightly before becoming somber, staring off into the distance across campus. "Why did you ask Rias to save my life?" He asked for what he hoped would be the final time. He wanted to move on to this question, but until he got an answer he couldn't move forward.

"You said some last words." Kiba answered to Lelouch's surprise. He hadn't recalled saying anything after getting stabbed. "They convinced me that you didn't deserve to die, so when I called Rias using the flyer I found in your jacket pocket I asked her to save you."

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