The next chapter is up, and I have decided were i want to send lelouch. Also I have set out the basic shape of the story for the next few chapters. I hope to update once a week if i get lucky.

For the record, lelouch will not be becoming a shinigami. Not by the traditional go through the academy route at least. But taking XT3s advice i plan to give him a power upgrade down the line. Also i plan to introduce him to a few old friends in the course of the story. Enough of the code geass cast have died by the end of r2 to make life interesting for lulu. Its just a matter of bringing them together.


Chapter 1: Rukongai Adventures

Lelouch opened his eyes into a bright white light streaming from overhead. He let out a groan and stretched, only for his head to make contact with something hard and uncomfortable. With a sigh he sat up from the blanket he had lain on and surveyed his surroundings.

He had gone to sleep in a small hollow in the rukongai forest. Sunlight was streaming in through the canopy made by the surrounding trees. Lelouch pulled himself to his feet and began to roll up his sleeping blanket.

He had been in soul society for a little more then a month now, and had settled down fairly well.

His little hunch that he would not be able to discard his mask even in the afterlife had been right after all. He had barely arrived in soul society, disoriented and weak, when he found his way into one of the settlements of the district. He had barely been there a minute when someone recognized him as the demon emperor.

What had followed next was unpleasant.

A large mob had soon gathered, and he had been chased by them all the way out of the settlement into the surrounding forests. When he finally manged to avoid them, with a little misdirection, he was bruised and bleeding from both thrown stones and physical blows. That was when he learned the most important lesson in the afterlife, even a dead man can die, and even a dead man wishes to live.

After that he had taken to heart the advice of the shinigami who sent him here. Now he avoided people and kept a low profile. And he had also taken the precaution of keeping both his face and appearance concealed.

Lelouch pulled himself to his feet with a wince, and trying to ignore the kinks and bruises from sleeping on the hard ground, started packing his meager belongings together with the intention of making his way to the nearest settlement. Because as much as he would have wanted to, there were a few problems with becoming a complete recluse.

One was that he had to eat. He had learned that most people in soul society don't get hungry. But the ones who do feel hunger have spiritual power, and must eat when it is depleted. And he had spiritual power unfortunately, so he had to keep himself fed.

It was only one of the many strange things about his new life. Another very important one was that he no longer had his geass, something he was both thankful and regretful for. His geass has caused him so much grief in life, but he never realized how much he relied on it until he lost it. With his geass he stood apart from the others, with his geass he had the power to change his life and to change the world. Now he was once again part of the crowd, powerless to change his course. When he realized his geass was no more, during the first confrontation with the angry mob that welcomed him to his new life, he had cursed his powerlessness and felt sick to the core.

But since then he had come to terms with it and had learned to compensate. One of the good things to come from his death was that he no longer had the weak body he had in life. His new 'spirit body' was both healthy and strong. While it was not up to the standards of suzaku or kallen, he was by no means weak anymore. The rough living on the edges of rukongai was only improving him. Besides which, he still had his immense brainpower. So he was not completely helpless.

But still, the feeling of powerlessness he got from the loss of geass would not go away. In his heart of hearts he knew that his intellectual and physical prowess would never compensate for geass. It set him apart. It defined him. Now he was at a loss, he felt like he lost a part of his identity.


Outskirts of the settlement...

The settlement, when he finally got to it, looked like it could give most of the ghettos in area eleven a run for their money. Wooden buildings clustered close together. Dusty dirt tracks between them serving as makeshift roads. Most of the buildings were residential. Groups of people living together in the manner of an extended family. He had learned that when new people arrived in soul society they were usually taken in by one of these family groups. A family broken up in death usually never reunited in soul society. But the human need for companionship meant that people would soon find an alternative to their missing family. Of course no such luck for him.

The entire settlement was made up of buildings like this. So far he had yet to see stone and brick used for building in soul society. Indeed it still surprised him how incredibly backwards and poverty stricken soul society was. Another thing he had failed to find was any form of advanced technology. He was even starting to wonder if soul society simply lacked in the metals and fuels that made modern civilization possible. It was either that, or it was the fact that most of its populous came from another world, and they saw this as their final resting place. A place to put their feet up and not do any work.

Aside from the family residences, there were only a few shops and social buildings. And most of those were gathered together in the center of the settlement.

This was were his destination was.


Several hours later...

Lelouch pulled the wide brimmed hat down over his eyes and ducked his head under the door as he stepped inside the crude wooden building. Inside was dimly lit because of the half open windows and lack of proper lighting. It had taken some careful inquiry on his part to find this place, now he came here regularly. He had spent the better part of the morning loafing around the settlement, it was now past noon and the time this place opened up for business.

The long room was scattered with short oriental tables and men sitting around them cross-legged talking in low voices, a variety of different games were already underway.

This had been his main pastime and means of supporting himself. He had always enjoyed the little gambling trips he made with rivalz when alive. It had made his otherwise dull life interesting, given him a steady income, and paid for nunnally's medical expenses. Now here in the afterlife it kept him fed.

Lelouch's eyes swept the room in a long slow movement as he walked inside, most of the games were dice but a few were board games. And finally in the far corner of the room, what he had come to find, chess, his source of pleasure and profit. Even though the players he had come across so far had been hardly worth mentioning, a match with clovis would have been preferable over any one of them.


After a few minutes of bargaining he sat down across a table and gave small nod to his opponent, an old man with a bald pate and drooping mustache. He had learned that people age very slowly in soul society, this man must be ancient to look this old.

The old man smiled at lelouch.

"I hear you have earned quite the reputation in this establishment young man." the old man said through the smile.

Lelouch gave a thin smile, almost a smirk, in return "You flatter me. I haven't been here long enough to earn a reputation sir."

"Still in this small time you have never lost a match, that is a noteworthy achievement." the old man seemed to be seizing him up his eyes flicking from the exposed half of his face to his cloths.

"Been sleeping rough i see" the question startled lelouch for a moment, even as he realized how perceptive this old man was.

"I don't plan on settling down here, in fact I plan to move on in a few days, so no need to look for better accommodations." lelouch answered with care.

The old man nodded with another small smile "Well then, i'm glad i got to play you before you left. I seldom get interesting opponents hereabouts, and you look to be interesting."

"Again you flatter me sir, shall we begin then?" lelouch gestured to the board.

"Ofcourse." the old man was white, he moved first. Kings pawn to e4.

Lelouch smiled and mirrored his opponent.

The old man responded by bringing his queens pawn out next.

Slowly and deliberately, Lelouch moved his king forward behind his pawn.

The old man studied the board carefully, and then looked up at lelouch. Studying him even more carefully. "This is the first time i saw this from a person who was not a novice."

"The king has to move, otherwise how can his people follow?" lelouch replied calmly.

The old man nodded slowly "I see, well then, shall we see if you can still win with a choice like that."

Lelouch merely smirked. For him the game truly began the moment he moved the king. Once the king moved to the front lines, there is no turning back. Its victory or nothing.


Fifteen minutes later, lelouch was walking out of the gambling house with his winnings. A small satisfied smile on his face. The old man , who had introduced himself as mutsuo, was a good player and had the experience to go with it. The game had been interesting, and both of them had enjoyed it. Old man mutsuo had payed him in good humor and had even invited him over for tea, which he had refused politely. He didn't want to get too involved with people here. He certainly didn't want them seeing his bare face.

While not everyone in soul society would know him by his face, he knew from the talk he had picked up that word had gotten around about the "Demon Emperor" who had terrorized the world of the living. And if someone identified him, like in that accursed settlement back at his arrival site, things could get ugly very fast.

So he had resolved to change his appearance as soon as possible. The most simple step had been getting a hat to cover the top half of his face. It hid both his hair and eyes and also completely changed his profile. A scarf tied around his neck and shoulders, easy to pull up to cover the lower half of his face, completed the disguise. Both items, like the rest of his cloths, had been acquired by way of a little night time burglary on an unsuspecting rukongai citizen.

He had plans for a more permanent disguise. Hair dye and a wig will give him much better options. Now he had finally won enough money from his last few matches to be able to afford them, which was why lelouch was now making his way towards a little shop tucked away in a corner of the settlement. But just as he was turning the corner to the street his shop was in, he head a commotion behind him, yelling children.

He barely had time to glance over his shoulder to see several small shapes dashing in his direction. Two of them, a boy and a girl, being chased by a third boy.

Before he could react in any way the two in the lead had skirted around him and dashed down the street, while the one chasing was coming too fast to stop himself and crashed into lelouch with a loud thump. Leouch was jarred by the impact. But the boy just stumbled back, regained his footing, and tore off down the street in pursuit of the other two without even a word of apology. By the time lelouch regained his senses, he just caught a glimpse of a stock of red hair disappearing down the street.

Lelouch frowned and, shaking his head to clear it, headed for the shop.


The old lady at the shop was clearly surprised by a young man asking for hair dye. But she didn't ask questions and rummaged through her stock to finally come up with what he asked for.

It was only when he reached for his money to pay for it that lelouch finally realize that he had been robbed.

"Those brats" he snarled.

The old lady was taken aback by the sudden outburst and sudden change of expression from the man who a moment ago was being pleasant and polite.

Lelouch collected himself while the old shopkeeper was still looking at him worriedly. He flashed the old woman a small smile "Please excuse me for a moment, I will be back."

Outside he leaned against the shop wall and closed his eyes tightly. Those brats. All the money he had won at the match was gone. He didn't know how long he would have to wait for another match, or even if he did, its winnings would cover his loss. The only possible culprits were the kids. The one who crashed into him, the redhead, had done it. They had executed a well planned routine. And he had fallen right in. Those brats. He was going to skin them. Just as soon as he found them.

Lelouch let out a tired sigh. It was highly unlikely that he could track down a trio of kids who were on their home turf and who had just made a haul. They would be laying low. But wait, he thought the situation over, replaying the episode in his head. The children had been shabby and wild, not domesticated at all, he thought with a smirk. So street kids. And why would street kids need to rob him? What could they hope to gain? In soul society you don't need much for survival. So why try something so risky. Daylight robbery was no joke. Unless...they were hungry, he smiled.


Sometime later...

Lelouch was watching from the shade of a nearby shack as the boy with the red hair came up to the food vendor. Even though they didn't need to, people still ate in soul society. Out of force of habit, and for entertainment. He supposed it would be the same as going to a movie back home. But the food business was not as profitable as it would be in the world of the living. With the small number of customers and the correspondingly small number of shops. As he had taken the time to familiarize himself with the general overlay of the settlement when he was searching for the gambling house. He knew were the food stalls were. It was easy to calculate were the children will most likely go. And now he was proved correct.


With the redheaded thief...

The red haired boy was walking off with his arms full of bundled bread sticks, when a hand reached out from an ally and caught him by the scruff of his neck. He kicked futilely as he was whisked down the ally and pushed roughly back against one of its wooden walls.

He looked up to see a man wearing a wide brimmed hat that cast its shadow across his face smiling down at him. For some reason the smile made him very nervous.

"Well well, fancy running into you here young man, it was so rude of you to run off like that after bumping into me earlier." the smile became a smirk. " You didn't even give me an apology."

The redheads eyes widened as the identity of the man clicked into place.

"Look mister, ill give you the money back." he was trying to run damage control.

"You mean other than what you just spent." and it wasn't working.

"Look mister." he tried again nervously, trying to turn his neck a bit to avoid getting cramped by the mans stranglehold. "I'm sorry for that, but i will give you the rest of it."

"Please do."

The boy reached into his rags and bought out the money pouch he had relived the man of. The man took it in his hand and weighted it in his hand causally.

"hmmm, you haven't spent that much of it."

Trying to nod only made the cramp in his neck worse "I only bought the bread."

The man was still smiling, and he still hadn't let go, he just pocketed the money. The boy was getting the feeling that he wouldn't get out of this without a beating.

"Now then young man, i have some questions" the man said in that annoyingly smooth voice. "First off, why did you feel the need to rob me?"

"Cant you just let me go, you got the money back, Ow." the last was when he was shaken by the neck.

"But I didn't get all of it back, you spent some of it, so the least you can do it pay me back by answering a few questions." the bastard was still smiling.

"Fine, what do you want to know." the boy asked sullenly.

"How about my earlier question, why did you rob me?"

"Look mister, its not as if we wanted to, but we had to, we needed to get the food."

"You were hungry?"

"Yes." the boy answered, still skulking.

"I thought so." the man seemed satisfied, satisfied enough to cut him loose? The redhead sighed as he showed no sign of letting go. "And you followed me from the gambling house didn't you?"

This time the boy was surprised. "Yes."

The man nodded. "That was a clever distraction you three came up with, fooled me completely, i didn't even know i was robbed till i had to pay for something in a shop."

Again surprise. The bastard was praising him and giving him a neck cramp at the same time? "Uh, thank you mister, I guess."

The man let out a snort this time. "One last question, and you can go. And you can keep the food as well. I know what its like to be hungry."

The redhead immediately brightened up. "Ok." Then what he heard registered. "You have reiryoku(spiritual power) too?"

"So i am told, but that is not my question, the question is..."

"Hey pointy hat!" the shout came from just behind them.

The man turned, surprised at the sound, and was hit square in the face by a porridge of dust, sand and dirt. It got in his eyes and mouth. And then he did the worst thing he could have done at that momment, he breathed in.

The coughing, spluttering man had let go of him to paw at his face. And the redhead didn't waste any time running past him to the ally entrance. The bundle of bread sticks fell and scattered all over the ground in his wake. His two companions were waiting for him at the ally mouth.

"Good shot." he told them grinning. "And i told you two to wait till i came back."

The dark haired girl smacked him across the shoulder. "If we hadn't followed you would be needing a new neck." She turned and sped off "Come on."

The other two took off after her. The redhead still trying to rub the back of his neck as he ran.

Back in the ally the man finally managed to get enough of the muck out of his mouth and nose to breathe properly. He spent another moment panting and spitting to get the taste out of his mouth. Then he walked up to the ally mouth and looked up and down the street. No sign of any of the culprits.

"Those brats!" lelouch snarled.


It was almost sundown when he finally made it back to the shop. The shop lady was watching him warily from behind her counter. No doubt wondering about his sweaty dusty appearance and thinking him some kind of madman, lelouch thought wryly.

"Hello again. I was asking about some hair dye earlier today" he said helpfully.

When lelouch left the shop, his pack was loaded with a selection of dye and something extra he found. The general helpfulness and good nature of the shop keeper had won past even in the face of a potential madman in her shop, and she had been glad to point out more accessories for his plan. He had given her the most convenient explanation, he was courting someone and wanted to change his style. This, added to his rather charming manners satisfied the old lady and got her out of her fright.

As lelouch finally made it to the outskirts of the settlement, he realized that he would not be able to make it back to his little hollow before sundown. And wandering rukongai by night was a bad idea, especially if you had spiritual power. But he also didn't dare sleep in the town till his disguise was complete. He would probably end up raising another mob if he was recognized, but he risked being eaten by a hollow if he continued.

He growled in frustration. "Those brats." It had taken hours for him to get his money back, and now the cost of the lost time was showing.

"I swear, if I get myself killed today, i'm going to come back as a hollow, and i'm going to hunt the brats down."

Lelouch hauled his pack onto his shoulders and started walking resolutely in the direction of the forest.


So there you have it, chapter 1, and the true beginning of the story. What do you think? As always reader input aka: reviews are greatly appreciated.

Note that i decided to remove his geass. Mostly as i'm pretty sure death severs the contract. And secondly as it would give him a god mod advantage in rukongai. So now lulu has only his wits and good looks to get him out of any trouble he might land in.

Also I need to name and number the rukongai district he is on, does anyone have ideas?