Nexus Darkworld Productions
Presents...
"Kaguya's Special Wedding Guest"
Lady Kaguya was the last remaining ruler of the four Kyoto clans; the other three of whom; included Zero's childhood mentor Kirihara had been executed for supporting terrorists groups throughout Japan, better known in these days of Britannian supremacy as "Area 11".
Of these formally great noble houses only two of the direct bloodline still lived, one being herself and the second ironically was a Nihon-Britannian Kururugi Suzaku a traitor to his own country and a member of his Majesties strongest knights; the knight of rounds, a group of exceptionally skilled Knightmare frame pilots each of whom wielded 8th generation Knightmare frames. His being named the Lancelot, but enough about Britannia, though they were responsible for Lady Kaguya's current distress.
Since the Black Knights had left Area 11 and had set up operations on Penglai Island in the Chinese federation the young priestess-noblewomen had become acquainted with various members of Chinese high society, most remarkably/especially with the puppet ruler of the Chinese royal family, a young girl given the title of Tianzi, her real name being Jiang Lihua. Rather ironically when pronounced in Japanese the young empress's title resulted in "Tenshi" the Japanese word for angel, an image that suited her well, a short slender girl, with ivory white skin, cute features and a head of long silver hair, her amber eyes held a gentleness with completed this image of a gentle innocent angel.
This friend of hers was now in a terrible situation and one that could also mean the end of her self-proclaimed destined one – Zero; the legendary masked terrorist, killer of two members of the Britannian royalty and the leader of the Black Knights Organisation. The situation was this...the young 13 year old empress was being forced into a marriage of convenience, arranged in the shadows by the Chinese Eunuchs and the second Prince of Britannia – Schneizel El Britannia, she was to marry the utterly incompetent First Prince of Britannia - Odysseus Eu Britannia a handsome bearded blond, blue eyed man in his early thirties.
Despite the perversion of such a marriage, it was perhaps the reasons and consequences of this sudden child molesting union that was even more chilling, the Eunuchs planned to trade the empress, their country in exchange for becoming Britannian nobility, they also planned to give the Black knights to Britannia as a wedding present as Tamaki had amusingly exclaimed in referral to their situation when they had been told the previous day.
While Zero had promised to stop the wedding at all costs, Kaguya was still greatly worried about her younger friend Tianzi, she had to be there for her but at the same time she couldn't be tell the Chinese Empress about Zero's plan to topple the shadow rule of China and crush Britannian forces stationed there in China in one fell swoop.
None the less she would be there for her friend, and support Tianzi at the pre-marriage party which was to be held in a few days...a very large and gala affair, which led her to her next problem, she'd need an escort, she was a noblewomen after all and it wouldn't be suitable for her to go alone, especially since she was Japanese, she had to enter with the appropriate flair and power that reflected Japan's former and future strength, whilst at the same time not being too obvious, therefore she'd require a small but imposing escort. Kaguya had the perfect escort in mind...
"Zero-Sama!" exclaimed Kaguya happily, latching her arms tightly around Zero's neck, swinging around and spinning him, causing him to stumble slightly, making his regal gold trimmed black cloak flare up in a somewhat comical fashion causing C.C and Kallen who were nearby to snicker at Kaguya's usual enthusiastic greeting to her crush.
"Energetic as usual Kaguya-sama" spoke Zero, quickly covering up his surprise; luckily his visored mask hid his face and more importantly his expressions entirely from view. He pried Kaguya off of him, setting the young girl down gently. "What is it I can do for you today?" he asked politely, knowing that her continued support was imperative to his plans, he had to be extra nice to her, a fact that the high-priestess took shocking advantage of.
"Well you see Zero-sama, regarding your plan to kidnap the Empress, I have an idea"
"Oh and what is that?" Zero asked, the masked leader already having a good idea as to what she wanted, he was curious however to how she would go about asking him.
"Well obviously if you go in there on your own, then they'll all be after your life, the whole regicide thing and all"
"Yes, the price of fame" sighed Zero melodramatically. "Now no one wants me to come to their parties" C.C laughed in the corner, Lelouch was a lot less stiff and proper when he donned the zero mask.
"...And if you attack with the Knights then it would start a war with both China and Britannia, but I was thinking that if you were allowed there on a political basis, then they couldn't do anything, the Chinese might sell us out later, but right now they're harbouring us from Britannia, it would be a political nightmare if anything happened."
'She's really thought about this...' noted Zero. "So, then Kaguya-sama, what did you have in mind to give me this 'political shield'?"
"Simple" Kaguya laughed with a smile "I've been invited to the party prior to the wedding; the empress and I are good friends, as our countries representative, I must have a small escort to ensure my safety, could I prevail upon you to act as my escort on that occasion?" ending her sentence with an adorable smile.
Beneath his mask, Zero smiled, it seemed Kaguya had a use for her mind other than being devious at getting his attentions and being cute. "Well as you've asked me to accompany you, it would be dreadfully rude of me to refuse, and if the Britannians object to my coming among them, then that's just to bad, I am after all a mere escort" he declared with an attempt at modesty, Zero didn't do modest well however, intelligence, flashy and flamboyant were his strong points.
"Oh thank you Zero-sama!" squealed Kaguya, once again flinging her arms around his neck, this time though she actually pulled him off balance. The two tumbled across the floor, ending with up with Zero unintentionally straddling Kaguya awkwardly on the floor. Thankfully, none of the black knights were in there with them, or Zero would have been humiliated. "Oh my, Zero-sama, this is a surprise, well I don't mind the aggressive types" Kaguya teased, pulling the surprised and fully blushing terrorist leader into a tight hug.
Even with the mask on, it was clear that Zero was panicking in the unintended embrace. C.C and Kallen watched both surprised and filled with mirth as Zero made futile attempts to escape the little priestess's grasp. For a young, slight girl, she possessed remarkable physical strength. It wasn't until she tried to remove his mask, caught up in her own little wonderland that C.C and Kallen stepped in. Zero's identity had to remain a secret, at least until Britannia fell.
"Come on lover-boy, that's enough of that" said Kallen with a smirk, grasping the cuff of his cape and yanking him off the ground, while C.C pried Kaguya's hands off of Zero's mask.
"Didn't you say yourself that you didn't have to see his face?" asked C.C "this isn't the time to be seducing knights, is it?"
Kaguya pouted, looking distinctively disappointed. "I did say I'd wait till our wedding night, didn't I?" she sighed, taking her leave. "That aside, Zero-sama, I look forward to going with you to the party"
"As do I" Zero replied, struggling to keep his cool, he was after all a teenager under that guise, not that many people knew that. As the mechanical door closed behind her as she left, Zero breathed a huge sigh of relief.
"Are you okay, Lelouch?" asked Kallen.
"Yeah, I'm fine, but I thought my heart was gonna burst for a moment there" he admitted, unclipping his mask, beneath it he was still rather flushed.
Kallen chuckled dryly. "Try to keep it in your pants, we've got a war to focus on" before leaving the room herself. Heading down the long metallic corridors, Kallen sighed bitterly; she wished she had the confidence to attack as Kaguya did, to be able to confess both to yourself and to the one you love. She knew that Lelouch didn't have romantic feelings for Kaguya, but she always felt jealous when the two interacted as they did. Kaguya's honesty in her affections for Zero truly grated on the young Knightmare frame pilot's nerves. 'Damn it all I'm the leader of the Zero Squad, I can't keep getting distracted like this' she thought to herself. But Kallen was living in a delusion; the passions of a maiden in love could not easily be extinguished.
Back inside Zero's private apartments, later that evening, Lelouch was still being teased by his comrade and contractor C.C "will you shut up already" Lelouch grunted angrily, trying and failing to block out the annoying women's laughter. It made planning the kidnap of the empress all the more difficult.
"You really have a way with women, if we hadn't been there, she would have probably taken your virginity on the spot, for a high born, she's a rather lusty brat"
"This is difficult enough without your nonsense, C.C" Lelouch complained, having enough of planning, dropping his pen with a clatter, he stumbled over to his bed, throwing himself atop it, not bothering to undress. Would every day from this point be as stressful? He didn't bother arguing the subject of virginity; he was too busy to worry about such things, and not in any rush to lose it. Romantic attachments were a weakness that his enemies could exploit, and boy did he have enemies. Two thirds of the planet wanted him put up against a wall and shot. Though many of those would be quite happy to torture him first, and trying to juggle the identities of Zero and Lelouch, as well as keeping the Britannians from killing his sister and his friends, along with all those duties and expectations was far more that what a teenager could stand. There was many a time that Lelouch wanted to throw back his head and scream the place down. If not for the dignity of Zero to uphold and the usual presence of his subordinates, he would most likely do so.
Though at this moment he was considering it, C.C just didn't know when to shut up, Lelouch would have thought that a woman who was over five hundred years old would have realised when not to push a person's buttons. Either that or she simply did not care. Being immune to his geass and horribly sharp tongued made for a horrible combination in his interactions with her.
"Well that's enough fun, get some sleep Lelouch" she said after a moments silence, perhaps taking pity on him C.C decided to go get some more pizza, she would return later to kick him out of the bed when she grew tired. She usually slept in his room; it was the easiest way to watch over him, unfortunately this meant that the other members of the black knights believed her to be his mistress, a rumour that C.C didn't bother to stamp out. It amused her greatly, Lelouch could unintentionally be very charming and worm his way into your heart, but when he purposely tried, it came across as being artificial and heartless. A son of kings and master of terrorists he may be, but he still had much to learn about certain aspects of life.
"Lock the door" Lelouch muttered as she went to leave. "I'm too tired to put my mask back on"
"Will do" C.C immediately replied with a shrug, as if she had intended otherwise. The poor boy had so much to do right now, because of that silly wedding involving his half brother Odysseus. C.C paused at the edge of the corridor; a smile snaked its way across her face. One more tease she decided. Glancing back over her shoulder, she casually said "get a good night sleep, try not to spend too much time dreaming about little girls like your brother, Lolicon" and with that she left.
It was several moments after C.C had left that her final comment, permeated Lelouch's brain. Purple eyes and geass flashing dangerously, he abruptly yelled "Damn it Witch, I'm not a Lolicon!"
It was times like this that Lelouch wished his father and he were on better terms and not trying to kill each other as he could do with his advise. Charles VI Britannia had many wives, how on earth did he put up with so many women? Lelouch wasn't even involved with the women around him and they made his life a living hell regardless.
V**V
Twelve hours later, and lots of preparations on, the celebration of the union between Britannia and China finally began. Countless nobles and officials from these two cultures mingled amidst the vibrant and rich surroundings of the party hall. The second prince of Britannia chatted politely with the Chinese officials, but paused as he heard a collective gasp as the Japanese representative was introduced, puzzled he turned and for the second time in his life he saw Zero with his own eyes.
The legendary man who had killed two members of the royalty, countless soldiers and the only man other than the King who could match him as a tactician "this is a surprise" Schneizel declared; his blue eyes competitive.
The guards were ready to attack at moments notice, but Schneizel waved them off, Zero was here as a guest it seemed, he stood arm in arm with the Japanese representative, a young brunette wearing a traditional kimono.
"Hello Zero" said the second prince, casually striding forward "this is the second time, I believe we've met" he noticed from the corner of his eye that three knights of the round drew up at this sides, meat shields if the need was required.
"Schneizel, why am I not surprised to see you here, I trust you are well?" Zero said, making a forced effort to be polite at the end.
"I am, thank you, though I must say I am surprised to see you here"
"Lady Kaguya was invited by the Empress, an enemy I may be, but I could not allow the leader of the United States of Japan to be alone with so many Britannians, I hope you understand?"
"I do, though I hope you will refrain from your regicide tendencies, give the importance of the occasion" there was a note of challenge in the Prince's words. The nobles and officials watched, whispering to themselves as the two great leaders stood face to face.
Zero, to their surprise, began to laugh. "Of course your highness, there is a time for war and a time for fun" the two both chuckled, neither believing that for a second. Every moment to them was a battlefield in some manner or another.
Kaguya's special guest, her decision to invite Zero would shape the world enormously, the rematch between the white and black king, the control of a super nation, all of that decided by a simple decision by a young girl in love with a man in a mask.
-Certainly not the end-
Please read/watch the original manga and anime of code geass, thank you for reading this one shot of my favourite anime, to read my professional works, see my book website linked to my user page.
As for fan-fiction, I will be updating the Journey to Lordship in the next few weeks, as this is one of the stories I've written which still has a lot of interest, even after I left the site a few years back to write Grey Faction, Melodies of a Madman, and the Scalpel Murder, which I have to admit is rather gratifying.
Until next time we meet, my fine anime/manga enthusiasts
-NEXUS AWAY!