TURN 14
DISCLAIMER: I do not own either the story or the characters of Code Geass. They all belong to the creators. A big thank you to my beta-reader Inohin Con who wiped out many mistakes! My best regards to Eclipse for your great job in subbing the series!
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I decided to split TURN 14 as it will be quite long and the first part mainly focuses on Lelouch explaining everything to Shirley.
After they had returned to Ashford Academy Leouch had Rolo stop by at Sayoko's at the hospital to confirm that she was alright. Lord Jeremiah, who did not mind Lelouch calling him "Orange-kun" once in a while, was sent to the Ikaragua as he needed treatment and an engineer of Lakashata's level. Lelouch had already pinpointed the location of the order and wanted to think about a plan to use it and somehow solve the problem named V.V. Additionally Lelouch and Shirley called Suzaku to inform him that Shirley had run away after him and that they had safely arrived at Ashford Academy.
"This seems kind of strange, Shirley. How did you return to Ashford and why did you refuse to use the car I provided?" demanded Suzaku's rather taken back voice which showed he was smelling something fishy about the story Shirley had just explained to him with Lelouch. "You know I saw Lulu and was so excited that I forgot everything around me and just headed his way. We..uhm..stopped by at a park and were so happy that we had safely escaped and uhm… we were uhm..-" explained Shirley perfectly acting as if there was something romantic which had happened between her and Lelouch she was embarrassed to talk about. "Shirley! Do not explain him in detail!" Lelouch stated in an embarrassed voice. "Ok. Take care, you two. You sure are careless with all the terror going on" Suzaku said in a remarkably happy voice which also implied great relief. "And remember to use it if necessary. For your own sake" Suzaku added half seriously, half cheerfully. "Eh! Suzaku what are you getting at…." Shirley asked panicking and turning red like a tomato at the same time. "You know what I mean. Bye and Congratulations" Suzaku ended the call.
"That was perfect, Shirley. With this Suzaku will have no more doubts. You even blushed." admired Lelouch. "No Problem. The last actually was really a little embar…eh I mean..not that I would not like it..ehm …"Shirley panicked. "Ehm..? Do not worry about it..ehm I also think … ehm…" Lelouch stuttered.
As they looked at each other they realized that they both had blushed all over their faces. Two seconds later they both started laughing for a while until they had no more stamina.
Lelouch was the one to pick up the word again. "However. Let us go to the intelligence division chamber. There we need to talk the whole thing over. Follow my lead." Lelouch started regaining his senses while starting to walk towards the library. Shirley kept quite all the way as she knew that nobody was supposed to know that Lelouch was Zero and that he was going to some room nobody was supposed to know about.
"Wow! I am really introduced into his actions." She said happily to herself. She could not resist a smile when they arrived at the library where Lelouch had started acting weird for some reason. The book used to open the elevator door also added to this smiling. "So Lulu. You only kissed me to prevent me from seeing this, huh?" Shirley asked in a sarcastic tone. "Actually it is a lot more complicated. I was at the Chinese Federation at that time. The Zero fighting there was me" explained Lelouch calmly. "Eh? The one who kissed me was not you?! Who was it? If I think about kissing another boy than you I –" Shirley panicked.
"It was Sayoko. You know Nunnally's and my maid. I had her cosplay myself. Sorry she somehow went overboard in some cases. She was also the one arranging this crazy idea of dating half of Ashford Academy's girls on one day. Sorry for that. I needed to pretend I was there and…" Lelouch uttered apologizing and obviously fearing of being slapped by Shirley. "It is OK Lulu. I have had my first kiss with you and know I can state that I have already kissed a girl once. Milly would be excited about this. And know I know why I tasted the flavour of rubber after that kiss. Plus I have the confirmation that you did not intend to date all these girls" Shirley exclaimed happily to a rather startled Lelouch who thought to himself: "She is quite surprising, isn't she?"
The elevator stopped and they entered the intelligence division chamber with its monitors. Nobody was there as Rolo had ordered the watchdogs to secure the outer area of Ashford Academy. "Wow. All this technical stuff is amazing!" Shirley thought to herself gazing at all the screens and computers in the room.
"Ok Shirley. Have a seat on that bench at the wall." Lelouch offered to Shirley in a calm voice while he took a chair from the table and placed himself in front of her so that they were able to directly look in each other's eyes.
"Ehhm…" Lelouch and Shirley uttered exactly at the same time in a rather unsure manner.
"It is not easy to find a starting point here I guess" commented Lelouch on the rather awkward situation they were in right now. There was a long pause in their conversation as Lelouch finally took the initiative.
"Ok I will start explaining why I act as Zero in the first place. Please listen carefully and give me a bit room to explain it." Lelouch began his explanation. Shirley was looking straight in his eyes indicating that she was ready and that Lelouch had her undivided attention.
"I am not Lelouch Lamperouge. That is merely a fake name. I am Lelouch Vi Britannia. 17th, or now rather 15th, heir to the Britannian throne. Nunnally Vi Britannia, Nunna-chan for you ……
He told her about everything: His mother's death and that he actually was a prince. His audience at the Emperor of Britannia. The time at the Kururugi Shrine and how Suzaku became his first real friend. How fond Nunnally was of Suzaku. He finally added the reprise of the bad in his life. The invasion of Japan and Suzaku who had killed his very own father. That this event was the very reason for all of Suzaku's actions. He mentioned his promise he had given to Suzaku oblivious of his patricide. And how Ashford had supported them. And at last his plan to destroy Britannia who had driven him since then. His wish to create a better world. To obliterate the current Britannian Empire and its Royal court driven by social-Darwinism.
Shirley listened most of the time quietly but when Lelouch seemed to be emotionally touches, especially during the incident with his mother, she comforted him with caring words.
He went on with the day who had changed his whole fate. The Shinjiku incident including C.C., Suzaku and Karen's resistance group.
Shirley was rather relieved when she heard that Lelouch's interaction with Karen was primarily because he was worried she would uncover his identity. Shirley nearly choked herself while laughing when she heard what the cat chase was really about…
"So your Zero mask fell on that cat and you had to chase it all over? It must have been terrible when Milly opened a school-wide chase." Shirley joked.
"Yes, indeed" Lelouch replied.
Shirley also was told the fact about C.C. living in Lelouch's house and Nunnally's mistake of thinking Lelouch was engaged to her. Shirley was kind of amazed that Lelouch was the one to rescue herself, Nina and Milly from the hotel high jacking giving the debut to the Black Knights.
The next big thing was Narita.
"Now we have arrived on a hard topic. Narita," Lelouch said in a rather soft voice. Shirley's eyes looked straight at him while he went on
"I had planned to capture Cornelia there and use the Japan Liberation front to my advantage. I had the idea of using the hot springs there to create a flow of earth towards the valley. I had Nina calculate everything in disguised form. What was a mistake I assume. The energy emitted by the Guren MK II, which Karen piloted up to her capture, with the electromagnetic wave was too high. The whole mountainside came down which was not my objective as I did not want the city to be buried under the earth. I could say I am sorry. Or that if I had known that your –" Lelouch explained putting his head down in the end.
"Do not worry about it anymore, Lulu. I have forgiven you. You fought for Nunnally and the way of justice. In times of war there are always casualties. Father would be happy if he knew I am now helping to spread justice. He would moreover be happy that I have finally found someone whom I could love more than him," Shirley's soft voice whispered right into Lelouch's ear. She hugged him for a short time until he rose again and went on…
"I felt so bad back then. On our first date you were sad. We had always been on close terms. You were the only one to call me by a nickname. Like some old married couple, Even if none of us had realized it. And so we kissed. You because you were sad and wanted myself to comfort you and finally begin a real relationship. I because I was the guilty one and perhaps also because I also wanted a real relationship."
"You are right, Lulu. I felt like cheating on you after that. But that was not the case. Mutual understanding, right?" Shirley lightened the mood up.
For the first time they had kind of revealed their mutual feeling of resonance they had been feeling for some time.
The silence was broken by Lelouch: "Mao was a Geass user like me. His Geass's ablility was to read thoughts."
"So that is why he was so easy able to manipulate me. I nearly shot you. But now I understand. It was my wish from the bottom of my heart to protect you. I would have beard with it. The only thing I do not understand is; Why did you geass my memories into the cage of oblivion?" asked Shirley with determination.
"C.C. told me not to involve people I like in my conflicts. As I could lose them. I hated myself for killing your father. I wanted you to be at peace of mind. But I have realized that I was wrong. YOU were the emotional support I lacked. You have always trusted me. Even if you did not know me anymore. Thank you for everything, Shirley. Please walk forth with me on my path. Together," Lelouch assured her while slowly proceeding to hug her.
They held each other for a few minutes.
Lelouch went on with the two Mao incidents that followed. And how his pact with C.C. was renewed by that. That he knew her real name since Narita. He explained in detail why he had wanted Suzaku to protect Nunnally and that this was destroyed with Suzaku as Euphie's knight. He even told her that he had intentionally killed the Japan Liberation Front and how he had used this on Toudo of miracles. Shirley recognized a change in Lelouch's voice when he told her about Suzaku's "live!" Geass back at Kaminejima and what followed on the island.
"I did not want to cast it on him. He of all persons. And I recognized that Euphie had not changed and that she was the best for Suzaku. Even to my disadvantage."
"It was the only choice to make." She assured him.
Lelouch reported the rest of it. The Chinese Federation attack and how he and Suzaku had fought together. How the Special Administrative Region Japan was an obstacle for the Black Knights. How Nunnally disapproved and approved of Suzaku's mutual attachment to Euphie at the same time.
With tears in his eyes Lelouch went on. "I did not want to kill Euphie that day. My Geass became unstoppable the moment I gave this stupid fake order. Kill all Japanese. She resisted because it was against everything she had desired deep in her heart. I wanted to work together with her. Yet I lost. I had to kill the closest thing to a first love I have ever had."
"Lulu… I did not know… So you did not. It's OK," Shirley consoled him holding him tight to her. Lelouch was crying. Shirley had never seen Lelouch like this. She felt how much he had lost and why he wanted to rescue her from falling to death. He did not want to lose anyone else.
The conclusion Lelouch drew was even worse. Even tough he could obliterate Cornelia's forces and ask her out he had obtained the upper hand in the battle. He had lost Nunnally and had to leave because of it. And Nina had nearly bombed Tokyo with everyone to pieces. Suzaku's and Lelouch's friendship concluded in hatred. Suzaku sold Lelouch to the emperor. And the emperor took away everything precious left for Lelouch.
Above all he replaced Nunnally with Rolo. Lelouch told her about Rolo's obsession with him and how he had managed to control him.
"But I will get rid of him. This psycho nearly killed you. Along with Geass I will get rid of him soon…" promised Lelouch
"Lulu…"
"The rest you know roughly," Lelouch concluded. He just added everything Shirley did not know which was not much as most issues had been revealed in the media or by Shirley's deductions. He even added the thing about C.C.'s kiss but Shirley accepted it as needed to go forward for him. What Shirley kind of liked was the Oughi Villette matter. "Oh how cute!" she said. She giggled at Lelouch's problems of analyzing Tian Zi and how Kaguya had helped out.
"You had helped me regain confidence on that night of the field trip. It was you alone. And you lead me to Xing-ke's absolute loyalty without Geass. And above all to the right way: Love is power." Lelouch concluded. Shirley was amazed that she had helped him even when she was oblivious of his real actions. They suddenly hugged for several minutes.
"We will plan things more detailed tomorrow after class" Lelouch concluded.
"Good night, Shirley" – "Good night, Lelouch"
They had been talking for nearly 4 hours. They both were going to be tired the next day.
End part 1
I hope you enjoyed the 2nd chapter somehow. I hope you liked it and I am looking forward to your reviews.
