A CODE GEASS STORY - "THE PRICE OF POWER"

( * * * )

PART ONE: THE ISOLATED KNIGHT

Sir Susaku Kururugi couldn't sleep.

There had been an escalation of rebel activity in the Eleven ghettos and he was appointed to quiet it. He had had put a stop to it with the Lancelot and an assigned entourage, but he was conflicted. They were his own people, fighting for the liberation of Japan from the so-called tyranny and occupation of Britannia, for which he too was Japanese. In every respect, he should have been fighting with them.

This is what made him restless.

He had been continuously dispatched to silence rebel forces. This is yet another mode to test my loyalty to Britannia, he thought. It makes me sick that even as a Knight of the Round, I'm still not completely trusted.

The Japanese people hated him. And rightfully so. On one occasion, disguised as an infantry officer, a member of a rebel faction tried to assassinate him. Easily forted, the man was captured. But I was given the man's death orders to sign, he recalled. Anya Alstreim, the Knight of Six, signed it instead when I couldn't.

He didn't want to sentence one of his own people to death. But it happened anyway. And it was a public execution. All the broadcast stations covered it. The man was blind-folded and placed against a brick wall with his hands bound behind him while a five man firing squad stood with guns at the ready. At a chain-link fence adjacent to the site, hordes of Eleven's protested.

The condemned man shouted, "For Japan!" And then was shot. It was a brutal and inhumane killing, despite news reports around the country stating otherwise. It was also a show of 'rule of law' by Britannia.

But without pulling a trigger, it made me out to be the bad guy. And the target of all Eleven's hate. They branded me a traitor to my own people.

In his heart, he did regret it. But the hard cold reality of it was, it was necessary for the establishment of peace. Or that's what the symbolic nature of it entailed.

He didn't ask for what had happened to him. And he was dumbfounded at how much he had accomplished in his young life, especially during this last year.

He was a Knight of the Round - a request he made of the Emperor after capturing Lelouch - and with it, the position held with it status, influence and power. The Emperor even granted him the return of the Kururugi land to him for his loyalty, for originally had been taken away because he was Japanese. Both the main house and the shrine were in such disarray after so many years of being unoccupied, but now, because of his new position, he was able to commission their restoration. And they were almost completely rebuilt.

Both structures were built in the old Japanese traditional style and were surrounded by lush forest. However, the only room furnished so far was the bedroom, except for a few necessaries in the kitchen. He had finally been able to move out of the Knight's of the Round headquarters and into a place he could finally call home after so many years.

But Gino Weinberg, the Knight of Three, voiced concern about the lack of a security system.

Now the target of hate crimes, it was a recommended necessarily. Yet he assured Gino that things would be fine until one could be put in place. And besides, he had Arthur.

"A cat as a guard dog? Get serious, Suzaku," Gino had said. "I'm ordering a guard to stand watch at your house until a security system is installed."

With reluctance, he agreed to Gino's rather adamant demand. Gino had a way of being very persuasive, or annoying, whichever one came first. He was reminded of the boxing match where he fought Gino. Gino wanted him to vent out his anger and frustration, and didn't let up until he did. Since then, they had become close friends. Gino also told him to never regret his actions, and to never forget his lineage, or past friends (like Lelouch) or risk an identity crisis.**

Gino's words always spirited him when he started to feel depressed.

Thinking back, I can't be concerned with regrets. The world is at peace now. And I will continue to fight for that peace, no matter whose side I'm on, and regardless the ridicule.

The thought gave him a headache. He had voiced on numerous occasions of not being able to sleep well. He saw a physician, thinking it might be physical and was prescribed sleeping pills, but they didn't work.

The stress must be getting to me, he thought.

Gino suggested an old fashion remedy he used to help him to sleep, and he swore by it. Its simple nature should've seemed obvious to, Suzaku thought. Warm milk. The calming enzymes act like a sedative.

With a tall glass on the night stand next to his bed, he settled in for the evening, pulling the bed sheets over his legs. Arthur was already nestled at his feet, asleep. In his hand was a copy of a book called The Time Machine, a classic novella written about one hundred and fifty years ago, like the book the Emperor had given him for a gift, for which Arthur tore up.**

Gino had recommended the book, loaning Suzaku his own personal copy. From the title alone, it sounded interesting. There are certain events in my life where I wish I had a time machine to go back and change things. One in particular would be the murder my own father. And another would be Euphie's death by Zero. I still don't know why you killed Euphie, Lelouch. But someday the truth will reveal itself.

He pushed the thought aside because it was depressing, and drank down the whole glass of warm milk. Then he opened up the book and started to read.

But within minutes he began to douse off, and eventually drifted into a deep, deep sleep.

**(FYI to readers: This makes reference to my previous Code Geass story: Identity Crisis.).

To be continued. . .