BZ: This is an AU of Code Geass with significant changes. Basic backstory is provided here. First: Charles zi Britannia actually cared about his kids and not social Darwinism whereas his father, the 97th emperor of the HBE did care about that stuff. Second: Charles made an alliance with Japan instead of invading. Third: The Yakuza are the antagonists in this story. So that's the big ones. Oh and one more thing…Fem!Lelouch! I hope you enjoy the story!
The buzzer rang and amethyst eyes glared at the clock by the chessboard, spitting fire.
"From here on, you'll make your moves in twenty seconds or less," a man in a black suit said to the girl. Her long black hair fanned out over her back, coming to a stop at her hips. Her bangs fanned over her eyes. She was dressed in a plain pale violet kimono with a white obi around her waist. The man in front of her was dressed in a black suit with a red tie. She couldn't be any older than seventeen.
"I'm fine with that, what of you Reiko-sama?" The girl glared at him. A boy roughly the same age with brown eyes and blue hair looked over the board.
"Hey, Reiko-sama, let's just back out now, okay? You can't win this one."
"Ryo, how long do you think we'll need to return to the base before my husband's security notices our absence?"
"About twenty minutes if we bust our humps," Ryo said quickly. Reiko smirked.
"I'm fine with it, but the bet changes." The man raised an eyebrow. "If I lose, you win me for the night. If I win, I replace you on the mission after this."
"Fine by me. By the looks of the board, I'll be the victor. To think, a petty footman like myself gets the head man's wife for the night," he said with a self-satisfied smirk. 'Reiko' picked up her King and moved it forward.
"Enough talking. Make your move."
Ryo laughed loudly as he slung an arm around Reiko's shoulders.
"Hey, eight minutes and thirty-seven seconds is a new record. You should be happy. Plus, you're getting out now, right?" The girl nodded.
"Rivalz, you and I both know there's only one way out of the Yakuza, so does everyone else. But through everything, you, Millay, Shirley and Nina have always been there for me. I just want you all to know that I'm really thankful for everything you guys have done," she said quietly, wiping at her eyes as she began tearing up. Rivalz wrapped his arms around the girl and squeezed her lightly.
"Lelouchia, you're our friend. You know we'd do anything for you, even this. Sure we'll cry a little when you're gone but we'll be happy for ya. You're gonna be free. After five years as that Takahiro Masamune's wife, you'll be free." Lelouchia pulled away from Rivalz and smiled at him. She reached up and cupped his cheek.
"Do you have those other things?" she asked. Rivalz nodded and pulled the backpack from his shoulder, handing it to the girl. "Rivalz, I'm going to die. I only need a shirt and some pants." The teen nodded.
"We know. But someone will find your body and some of the other Britannians want others out there to know they're still alive. This has a list of names of those still alive since the takeover and some even wrote messages to their families." Lelouchia nodded.
"Good-bye Rivalz," she said as she hugged her friend once more before running to the bathroom. The blue-haired teen watched her until the door shut. He bit his lip and turned away, headed outside to the motorbike with a sidecar for Lelouchia and put his helmet on. His movements were slow as he wiped at his eyes.
"Good-bye Lelouchia vi Britannia. I hope you find a way to live and be free," he said quietly as he swung his leg over the bike. Lelouchia stepped out of the building, dressed in a black t-shirt, dark jeans and sneakers, backpack slung over her shoulder and a black baseball cap hid her hair. Rivalz started the bike and drove away as Lelouchia climbed into the cab of a large delivery truck and saluted Rivalz. She turned the truck on and turned down the road as Rivalz drove the other way.
Lelouchia gripped the steering wheel in a white-knuckle grip as tears slipped out of her eyes and dropped onto her jeans, staining them darker. The sound of helicopters soon filled the air behind her and she smiled a little.
"I knew you'd try keeping an eye on your precious weapon, Masamune," she muttered quietly. The radio screeched.
"Tohru, how's the weapon?" came the voice over the intercom. Lelouchia turned off the intercom and smirked a little as the helicopters began to fire at the truck. She swerved off the road and skidded through the sand of a construction zone until the side of the trailer hit the side of the building. Lelouchia shook her head and stomped on the gas and the truck took off into the underground, abandoned subway.
"Next you'll send in your new foot soldiers. But by the time they find your precious weapon, Masamune, I'll have used it and I'll be dead." Her pinkie began to run up and down the leather seam of the wheel. "I'm sorry Nunna. I just don't have the strength to keep fighting like this."
The truck lurched forward as the front wheels got stuck in a large, deep crack in the floor. Lelouchia sighed.
"Not exactly the picturesque place to die, but I guess this is better than in a populated area in case this poisonous gas is more potent than I expected," she muttered as she stepped out of the cab. She pulled the backpack straps over both shoulders and walked to the trailer. The side had been torn off , revealing a ball-shaped capsule covered in silver spikes that served as locks. Lelouchia climbed up into the trailer and started looking around the capsule for some kind of opening or release mechanism, but to no avail. "You've gotta be kidding me," she muttered.
After a few more moments of futile searching, Lelouchia slammed her fist against the steel in frustration.
"You're supposed to kill me. So why won't you work?!" she screamed. "I tried my best, I broke, I put myself back together time and time again, I talked it over, I thought it through, I'm ready to die, I deserve to die, I should have died when I was young with my mother, my father, Nunna and all the others. So why? Why can't I just die already?"
A sound caught her attention and she snapped around in time to catch a foot behind her shoulder and have its owner kick her out of the trailer. Tiny loose stones embedded in her arm and side and skin peeled away under her weight as she slid across the floor.
"Wha-" A hand shoved her shoulder onto the floor and the arm pressed against her chest, pressing tiny stones into her back. She started clawing at the armored arm and pushed at the black helmet hovering over her. Her nails caught on the gas mask and yanked it off.
"Thats enough mindless murder!" the soldier barked as he grabbed her arm and slammed it onto the floor as red scratch marks appeared on the man's cheek and mouth.
"What are you-"
"The poisonous gas."
"I wasn't-"
"Don't lie to me! You're already caught so just give it up! Your little Yakuza friends-" Lelouchia snarled under her breath and began to thrash around until her cap fell off. The soldier's grip slackened enough for her to slip her arm out and both hands latched onto the armored shoulder pads and shoved the man away and got up herself, running back to the trailer, black hair sticking to the blood beginning to trickle down her arm.
"You think I'm Yakuza? I was using this to escape that nightmare!" The soldier stood perfectly still staring at her open-mouthed. "I was forced into a marriage when I was twelve, so if I was planning to use this thing to murder anyone, I was going to murder myself!"
"Lelouchia," the soldier said as he reached for his helmet. The girl stiffened. Under the dark helmet was curly chocolate-brown hair, deep emerald eyes and tanned skin. The person himself couldn't have been any older than Lelouchia herself. "Its me."
"Su-Suzaku?" the ravenette said. "You-You became a soldier?"
"It was either this or hide from the Yakuza all my life. I am Genbu Kururugi's eldest child."
"Yea but-" The locks on the capsule hissed quickly as they popped up and off one by one. The capsule split down the middle. Lelouchia's muscles clenched in excitement. Suzaku slammed into her, covering her mouth and nose with his gas mask and knocked them both to the floor as the capsule opened. Lelouchia grabbed his wrist and twisted her head until the mask came off her face and light flooded her vision. "Please."
But what came out of the capsule wasn't poisonous gas, but a girl who looked no older than either of the two teens. She had long pale green hair and beautiful golden-amber eyes that closed themselves once they locked with Lelouchia's. She was dressed in a white sack it looked like with black leather belts holding her arms against her body, limiting any movement in her legs and covering her mouth.
"That's not poisonous gas," Suzaku said. Lelouchia slapped her forehead.
"Thank you Private Obvious!" she said exasperated. "Now then, can you please get your elbow out of my..." The teen pulled his arm away from the girl's chest, a blush beginning to grow over his cheeks.
"Sorry." He stood up and offered a hand to the girl. Lelouchia smiled a little and took it, eyes becoming a little wet as his fingers wrapped tightly around her hand and he pulled her to her feet. She moved towards the truck and he squeezed her hand once before letting her fingers slip through his hold.
"You got married after you disappeared?" Suzaku asked as they began to remove the bindings on the girl. Suzaku unzipped the bottom, revealing loose pants and high-heeled boots.
"Either that and have ten years to choose to give myself to my husband before he did it by force, or just get raped then tortured to death."
"But you were twelve."
"I know that. But the Yakuza hardly cares who they hurt these days. I thought the takeover would've taught you that." Suuzaku's teeth clenched and Lelouchia's hand finished unclasping the last buckle on the girl's mouth and moved to pull it away. Her finger brushed the girl's cheek and a shock ran up her finger, through her arm and back and seared into the small of her back. She winced.
"What is it?" Suzaku asked as the girl started rubbing the spot.
"Nothing. Just static shock is all." The Japanese teen nodded and stood up just seconds before a bright light shone on the three of them. Suzaku stepped in front of the girls at the sight of the soldiers, colors washed black in the light.
"Private Kururugi, now may be a good time for an explanation," the leader said harshly.
"Wait. If these guys are soldiers...then maybe..." Lelouchia stood up and the distinct click of a gun rang in her ear. "Put your weapons away this instant!" she ordered.
"And just who do you think you are to order me around young lady?"
"Daughter of the late Emperor Charles zi Britannia and Lady Marianne, perhaps the only remaining member of the Britannian royal family, Princess Lelouchia vi Britannia. So I'll it once more, put down your weapons!" Suzaku moved so he stood more in front of her.
"She's telling the truth," he assured.
"Then explain to me how a Britannian princess, from our allied nation, became a Yakuza driver for a WMD."
"I volunteered to drive because I wanted to die. When you think you've lost everything, its easy to do. And I was kidnapped by the Yakuza and forced to marry the head five years ago." The man in charge flicked his wrist and Suzaku stiffened.
"Get down!" he yelled as he turned and started tackling her. A gun fired and Suzaku grunted. Lelouchia's head smacked against the floor with a sickening crack and her vision went entirely black. Her shirt had gotten caught in between pieces of Suzaku's armor and ridden up, revealing a bright red bird that stretched from just above one hip to the other, the wings dipped down somewhat so part of the bird's body was hidden by her jeans.
The color flashed like a light for an instant before Suzaku's arm slipped, covering the mark.
BZ: So, how was that for a first chapter? Please leave a review!