One: the encounter

A black haired young man standing in the departure area waited for his decoy to escape from those fools. His violet eyes scanned around looking for a potential target for diversion. Being in a secret organization and holding the important files of the code together with being an outlaw with a billion dollars bounty on his head surely made him popular in any places and any country. Thanks to his dear partner in crime CC who left him nothing but troubles.

"Ah… perfect timing" he sighs as he grabs his duffle bag and the attaché case.

He then boarded the airplane trying to find a nice spot to sit and nap with no one ogling him. He sometimes curses his looks, because he has been sexually assaulted by some women and –ehem- gays who were staring at him with hazy, lustful eyes. In the third last row he saw a perfect place to sit and a woman sitting on the edge away from the window. 'Good' he thought, at least she's not the type of woman who ogles men. She didn't care when he put his bag on top and excused himself as he took the seat near the window. The woman smiled at him as she placed her book on her lap and took off her headset.

"Hey" she greeted.

"Hm" he smiled.

"I can see you're err… quiet comfortable near the window."

"Hn, is this your first time?"

"Yeah" she smiled sheepishly.

"I see- what were you going to do in Japan, if it's okay for me to ask?" he asked politely.

"Oh well, my older brother got sick and wants me to be there to take care of him. But actually he made that excuse just to let me be present for my arranged marriage" she said sadly.

"You don't like the sound of arranged marriage eh?" he chuckled.

"yes- by the way I'm Kallen Stadtfeld" she offered her hand.

"Lelouch… Lelouch Lamperouge" he accepted her hand.

"So Lelouch you're ah…." She scrutinizes his looks "businessman?"

"Sort of" he looked at her "and you?"

"I am a school teacher"

He was about to say something, when the stewardess approached Kallen to bring her some medicine and a glass tap water. Lelouch raised an eyebrow as he looked at Kallen. She's been attended by a lot of staffs here. Who is she? Didn't she say, that she's a school teacher? I mean he did not underestimate her but he was intrigue by this woman. She didn't look at him like the other girls, but treated him normally instead. Kallen seems to have read his mind and she bit her lower lip while putting her book inside her bag.

"Ohm- actually my father owns this airport and some of the planes" she admitted blushing.

"Ah" he said, leaning his head on his hand," you're rich".

"They were rich" she defended herself "I'm earning my own money" she laughed nervously.

Lelouch only chuckled as the pilot announced, that they were ready to take off. Kallen hold onto the armrest for dear life as she closed her eyes. 'She's unique. She owns an airport and some planes yet she's scared of riding them?' he mentally chuckled as he stared at her. Her pony parted her somewhat short red hair, which was so red, that it made her skin glow palely.

"Is this what they call being afraid of heights" she nervously laughed.

"Open your eyes and enjoy what you are seeing, don't think so much."

"Is that going to calm me down?"

"Yes" he assured her.

She slowly opened her eyes. It was visible to her that she was scared her: lower lip was quivering, but she managed to bite it to lessen their trembling. She tried her best to enjoy the sight by watching the shows and trying to read some magazines that were provided for the all the passengers. Lelouch grabbed his phone and read his schedules and plans for his next assignment. He was planning to hack the files of the Vi Britannia for his own benefit and CC gave him info about Schneizel's account. He had almost hacks the file, but that man was too smart. He had made a back up account in his bank and left a centavo insulting him, that he was stupid to try getting his money the easy way. Lelouch gripped his phone harder remembering that day. It seemed that he had to wait for 3 hours for their arrival at Narita Airport. He noticed Kallen having a nap by leaning her head at the back of the seat and hugging her pillow to her chest. This woman was not only attracting but unique, too. He hadn't encountered a woman like her before. Some women got crazy and offered themselves to him or even squealed and started flirting with him instantly. Those challenges made him smirk visibly, as he thought that he was going to get her right away. Lelouch decided to take a nap to give him some energy for his assignment and enjoy the rest of the day visiting a bar to be with women who would willingly satisfies him all through the night, making hm have a wonderful night. After an hour a stewardess offered them some food. Kallen accepted the chicken Caesar salad and lemonade while Lelouch enjoyed the club house deluxe and water.

"Lelouch you told me to enjoy the view to forget my nervousness, right?"

"Yes" he looked at her confused.

"Then tell me, is it normal for a plane to have fire on his wings?" she asked growing pale.

"What do you mean Kallen?"

"Why are the planes' wings on fire?" she pointed outside Lelouch's window.

Lelouch followed Kallen's finger and widened his eyes upon seeing that she was telling the truth. '**' he cursed, as he looked back at the woman beside him who was hugging herself saying incoherent words to calm herself or curse or whatever she was saying. The pilot announced the situation which caused people started to panic and some even prayed.

"Kallen listen to me, buckle your belt" he instructed calmly.

"O-okay" she began to cry.

"Shh... Don't cry" he hushed her and moved from his seat to sit next to her "I'm here."

"I'm scared Lelouch" she grabbed onto his coat.

"Don't ever open your eyes when the glass shatters and duck your head."

"Ohm… okay" she tried to hold her tears.

He rubbed her back in a comforting manner while looking around and managing making a plan to survive in this predicament. He was not used to save another person's life, tch he even left CC half dead along the way to selfishly save himself. But this woman he couldn't leave like this. He was going to help her as his top priority. The windows started to break and the door opened widely, blowing some people away from their seats because of the air pressure. Luckily, their seats were far away from the door. He kept his arm around Kallen, holding her strongly to not let her be eaten by the wild wind.

"Why were they blown away?" Kallen sobbed.

"Don't look. Just close your eyes and trust me Kallen."

"You're not going to leave me, right?" she looked pleadingly into his eyes.

"I will not leave you" he promised, kissing her forehead.

Kallen closed her eyes only to hear the screaming and shouting from other passengers. Some were shouting prayers and some were screaming profanities. She felt Lelouch's arm tighten around her, making her feel safe. She no longer felt fear. She was safe in his arms and relaxed. Everything started to blur, the voices seemed to mingle in her ears and everything went black. Would this be her end? At least she had met a man who could protect her and make feel secure. Lelouch, the man who gave her the warmest looks she had ever received from a man in her life.