Author's Notes: Well, this is the first fanfic I'll be posting. I hope you all enjoy it. This fic starts in episode 18 during Suzaku's knighthood celebration at Ashford Academy, but is AU after that point. This is not for massive Suzaku fans.

Title: For the Want of a Nail

Summary: Sometimes the smallest change can have the largest consequences. A simple slip of the hand sends events spinning out of control, and Zero learns that redemption may not be as unattainable as it seems. Warnings: Character death, spoilers

Pairing(s): Lelouch/Kallen, but it will probably take a long time to get there.


Chapter 1: A Slip of the Hand

"I declare the celebratory party for Student Council Treasurer Kururugi Suzaku's promotion to knighthood open!" Rivalz's announcement was met with cheers and soon the party was under way, as everyone began helping themselves to food and drink

Lelouch Lamperouge frowned as he surveyed the party-goers, milling about the expanse of the student council room, for once glad that C.C wasn't with him. He knew that if she knew of the sheer quantity of pizza was available, she'd be on it, regardless of blowing their cover. It was funny how one so seemingly wise and mature could be so childish at times.

Pulling himself lazily out of his musings, he watched trying to seem detached as a large group of students crowded around Suzaku. They were cheering and laughing; a part of Lelouch urged him to go and join in with them, celebrating his friend's knighthood. Only recently, he would have been there with the rest, congratulating him like any good friend should.

That time felt like it was a lifetime ago.

As much as Lelouch wanted to, however, cold logic dictated otherwise. Kururugi Suzaku was, as of that day, the enemy. Lelouch always knew that his friend was a britannian soldier, but he had maintained the realistic hope that they would not meet in battle. His hopes had been crushed when he had found out the truth. The "White Knight" had been his mortal enemy since day one, and unless something was done, he would continue to be an unnecessarily large obstacle.

The Black Knights were divided in their oppinion. When the senior members of the Order had met, Diethard had suggested assassinating Suzaku and letting that be it. Ougi and Toudou, however, had been firmly against the idea, saying that they would lose support if they started using such tactics. It seemed odd, that the member of the Order largely responsible for their publicity would suggest such a potentially publicly disastrous solution. While he had told them that the plan was not to ahead, he was worried that the britannian man, who even more set in his beliefs than most of the Elevens in the order, would try to go over his head.

And what of Kallen? She was a good friend of Suzaku, at least as far as Lelouch could tell, and he was as good at reading people as they came. How would she be reacting to all this? He had to admit that she was invaluable to the Black Knights, as their best pilot and his own personal guard. She was dedicated to him, or rather his Zero persona, but was a good person at heart. Despite this, he had no doubt that if she believed that she was helping the Black Knights and, more importantly, Zero, she would do it.

Knowing that he would have to keep an eye on her, he quickly caught sight if her, her strawberry hair in stark contrast to the rest of the crowd. Lelouch gave her a once over, and his eyes widened as he saw what was happening. She was striding purposefully, so different from the mild image she normally wore when not on duty. She was headed in Suzaku's direction, and Lelouch's eyes widened as he recognised the purse in her hand as the one she concealed her knife in.

'Well,' he thought, 'That answers the question of where she stands on the assassination idea.' He cursed his sense of humour for playing up at the most inopportune time. He quickly focused himself. He made to follow her through the crowd, managing to catch up with her deliberate pace.

'What is she thinking?' Lelouch thought furiously. 'She's in plain sight. If she attacks him here, she'll be caught for sure! There's even those two from the britannian military here. Still, that kind of loyalty is something else.' Lelouch redirected his thoughts. He knew he couldn't say anything to her without blowing both of their covers. He drew level with her when she was mere feet away from Suzaku. He made to grab the hand which held her purse, the tell-tale glint of a blade already poking through the pale pink fabric.

Unfortunately, just as he made the lunge for her arm, Kallen pulled her arm away. This action caused him to lose his balance, sending both of them to the ground, and knocking a glass bottle that was stood on a table nearby to the floor with a crash.

Lelouch had never been known for his strength, and he found himself cursing his frailty as he was disoriented by a fierce blow to the head from the hard tiles of the floor. He couldn't gather his thoughts, as all that that occupied his head was a painful throbbing. He could just make out a voice saying his name over the blood pounding in his ears.

"-lu! Lulu!" He recognised Millay's voice, and sure enough, her face swam into view as she helped him up. A look of concern was in place of her usual grin, and Lelouch wasn't sure if he should be feeling touched or insulted. He shook his head almost violently; this definitely wasn't the time to worry about his admittedly large ego. He did a quick scan of the room, and his blood ran cold as he realised that neither Kallen nor Suzaku were in sight.

"Lulu, what-" Millay began, but was cut off by Lelouch.

"Where's Kallen?" he asked quickly, still searching for her. When he saw Millay's frown transform into a sly grin, he realised how he'd sounded.

"Well," she spoke slowly, and Lelouch could tell she was teasing him, "if you've really gotta know, she's headed towards the infirmary. I think she cut herself on that broken glass, but I'm not sure. She was out of here pretty quick. I think Suzaku's taking her there."

Lelouch was off before she'd even finished. As he practically sprinted towards the exit of the council room, he heard Millay's call float after him, "Off to kiss it better, Lulu?"

Even as he ran, he snorted. 'Kiss it better?' he thought derisively, 'At this moment, I'd sooner kill her.'


Kallen smirked to herself as she walked side by side with Suzaku down one of the academy's halls. In the small scale din Lelouch had caused it had been easy to slip away. She had cut her hand on the broken glass, and it had been far too easy to convince Suzaku to take her to the infirmary to get her hand treated, while Millay unknowingly kept Lelouch busy.

'I've really gotta hand it too him,' she thought, 'Even if he doesn't realise it, he really saved my skin back there. Still, what was he doing? Was he trying to stop me? He must have recognised the purse.' She was pulled out of her thoughts as she heard her companion say her name.

"Kallen?" Suzaku asked, worry playing across his handsome features, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll be fine," she assured him, and she let herself smile despite herself, "it's just my hand still hurts." She indicated the lightly bleeding cut on her hand and Suzaku nodded in understanding.

'It's a pity really,' she mused, 'you're a good person Suzaku, but if I have to choose between you and Zero, it's Zero every time.' Her face hardened. And she gripped the purse that contained her knife, and the blade extended, cutting through the fabric with a slight tearing sound.

"Kallen, what...?" Suzaku trailed off as he saw the now visible weapon in her hand.

Kallen struck. Suzaku's eyes widened as he felt the cold metal of the blade sliding in between his ribs. Kallen could see the look of shock in his eyes, even as he fought against the pain. Warm blood began spreading through his shirt from where the knife was still held there by Kallen.

Kallen watched as, seemingly in slow motion, Suzaku fell to his knees, gasping in pain as the knife left his chest with he sickening sound of tearing flesh. His breath was coming hard, and Kallen could tell that she'd punctured a lung. The knife was trembling in her hand, even as she moved behind him, pressing the blood-stained weapon against her victim's throat.

Suzaku sounded like he was trying to speak, but with a punctured lung it was all he could do to breathe. 'This is for Zero, Kallen,' and with that thought, she stilled her hand enough to bring the blade cleanly across hiss throat.

She stared in morbid fascination as he fell to the floor, face first. She gripped his shoulder and turned him over, and lifeless eyes stared back at her.


And so Kururugi Suzaku fell, neither to thousands off enemies against impossible odds on the battlefield, nor of old age in the arms of a loved one. No, he was betrayed and killed by someone he considered a friend, alone save for one girl, still clutching the murder weapon in her bloody hands.


AN: So, how was it for my first fic? Whether or not you liked it, please drop a review.

Thanks go to Sadistic Lunatic, who inspired me to write fanfiction.

I'm also working on a Full Metal Panic fic at the moment, but I'll try to alternate my updates once I post it, so I don't end up abandoning either.