Casualties of War Chapter 2, a code geass fanfic

A/N: Second chapter, woohoo! Also, reviews, woohoo! Thanks so much to YaanKarasu, Jessica, warrensdarklust, Kitsuki, and Naome 666 for reviewing. Many thanks as well to everyone who faved or story alerted. I'm so glad there's interest. I love Code Geass (have I mentioned that lately?), and Suzaku and Lelouch are my special faves, as is C.C., who, still sans memories, makes her first appearance here. This story has me so excited!

That said, I'm going away to California (!) on Monday for about a week, and probably won't have a chance to update until I'm back. I'll try to get around to it as soon as I can, though. (School starts soon. /)

Enjoy this chapter, and don't be afraid to drop me a review! I love hearing from you guys.

P.S. Still not sure if this is going to be slash. I'll keep you posted.

Suzaku Kururugi opened his eyes, but could not see.

After the initial surge of panic that the darkness sparked, he allowed himself to relax and get a feel for his surroundings. It was difficult to do without sight, but he focused as well as he could. He was lying on his back, and the air around him was fresh and cool—he was no longer in the Lancelot, that was certain. He checked his body next, wiggling his toes, then his fingers, and trying to move his legs, only to meet with sudden resistance. A cuff. Trying to work his arms yielded the same result.

So. A prisoner. Of the United Federation, no doubt. And, now that Suzaku could think clearly, he felt the blindfold covering his eyes and sighed, relieved. Not actually blind, then. Thank goodness.

But what did all this mean? Had Zero won? Or was Suzaku simply a hostage, a bargaining chip, to be brought out when the time was right?

And Euphie had said…

"Where am I?" he wondered aloud, not expecting a reply.

"A cell on the Ikaruga," said someone to his left.

Suzaku tensed. He knew that voice. "Lelouch."

"You were out for three days, Kururugi," Lelouch continued, as if Suzaku had said nothing at all. "Ordinarily, we would still have you in a medical unit, but, given the circumstances, I authorized your transfer two days ago."

"You'd have let me die in a prison cell?"

"No, we've been monitoring your vitals quite closely. There was never any danger of you dying." Suzaku swore he heard Lelouch chuckle at that. "No danger at all. You should be experiencing temporary weakness, but I've been assured that you will regain your strength. In time."

Suzaku wanted the damn blindfold off. He turned his head in the direction of Lelouch's voice. "So why go to all of the effort?" he asked. "Keeping me alive. It would have been easier…"

"It took very little effort," Lelouch said calmly. "Besides, I wanted to hear your excuse."

"Excuse?"

"Why you betrayed me at Kururugi Temple."

Suzaku was silent. He'd known what Lelouch had thought after that confrontation, but he hadn't expected the ache that came along with the accusation. He drew in a deep breath. "I didn't," he said. "Schneizel, he knew about you, he had me followed. I wouldn't…I didn't betray you. Not that time."

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Lelouch asked.

"I don't." Suzaku leaned his head back against the table. "But it's the truth." He paused. "Why do you think Kallen was able to catch up to me in the battle? You knew the Emperor was using Nunally as bait, you knew…I got her out of the palace before your Black Knights came and destroyed it." He closed his eyes, not that Lelouch could see. "Unlike some people, I uphold my promises."

Lelouch, leader of the rebellion, said nothing.

"Why am I still alive, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked softly.

"Don't—" Lelouch began, then thought better of it, and Suzaku wondered, vaguely, if he were going to ask not to be called "Lelouch." "You're alive, Kururugi, for the same reason we've left the other Knights of Rounds alive. You have a choice. Swear your allegiance to the Black Knights, and your life will be spared."

"That isn't what I meant." Suzaku lowered his voice even further. "I should be dead. I should have been killed. The Guren's systems should have fried-"

"Think it over," Lelouch snapped, ignoring him. Suzaku heard him stand, his boots—Zero's boots—pressing into the floor. "But if you take too long, there won't be another option." He took a few steps, and then paused. "The Britannian army has been destroyed, so don't think anyone will be charging in here to rescue you."

Lelouch laughed, a cold, manic sound that could only come from Zero. It made Suzaku shiver, and his mouth tightened into a thin line as he heard the door hiss shut. Just what had he done to deserve all of this? Lelouch still hated him, the war, apparently, was lost to the terrorists, and he was a prisoner. Maybe his execution had already been scheduled. How they'd kill him, though, was still...

"Euphie…" he murmured.

And, as an unbidden response, he heard those same three words:

Trust your heart.

"So? What did he say?"

Lelouch slumped down in a chair. He wasn't sure he wanted to deal with Kallen right now, but she'd all but trapped him in his room and wasn't giving him much of a choice. He removed his mask and set it on his desk. "He said he didn't betray me. What else was he going to say?"

Kallen stood in front of the door, her arms crossed, fierce and oddly imposing in her uniform. "You aren't going to believe that, are you?"

Lelouch ran a hand through his hair, then tilted his head to the side and rested his cheek on his palm. "I can't," he said.

"Good." Kallen nodded. "Little rat. He's probably just trying to get your sympathy, so you won't—"

"Although, he saved Nunally," Lelouch said. "Did you know that?"

Kallen opened her mouth, then hung her head. Looking away from Lelouch, she said, "I saw him. I saw him flying away from the palace. I followed him, to sneak up on him, and I saw her. I thought…I don't know what I thought. I thought he might be kidnapping her. But I watched, and I saw him set her down, and then…then I attacked." She shook her head, as if to clear it. "But what does that matter? A man does one good thing, it can't make up for a thousand other crimes!"

Lelouch folded his hands in his lap and crossed his leg. "Kallen, I know your grudge against Suzaku Kururugi is personal, but I want you to answer me honestly. What would you do?"

Still refusing to look him in the eye, Kallen said, "If I were in Zero's place, I wouldn't even be having this debate. I would kill him." She pressed a button, and the door slid open. As she turned to leave, she stopped in the doorframe. "Perhaps my grudge against Kururugi isn't the only personal factor here," she added coldly.

Zero said, "You're wrong," and meant it, and laughed, but Lelouch said nothing, because he knew she was right.

"I think you should kill him."

"I know what you think, Rolo."

"I think he should have died a long time ago, Brother. I think you're making too much of this."

"I owe him. For Nunally. He saved her, like I asked."

"You're trying to save him! You're still trying to save him. But you shouldn't. He wouldn't do the same for you. Didn't he sell you out? Can't you tell the difference between your real friends and—"

"Rolo."

"You should have let me kill him when I had the chance. We wouldn't be having this debate, Brother."

"This 'debate' is over, and I'm not your brother."

"You're the only family I've ever had."

"Rolo, leave me alone."

"Whatever you say, Broth-Lelouch."

The girl called C.C. stood by the door of her master's room, waiting for him to call her. This had become a habit of hers, waiting. Master Lelouch, or Zero, or whatever his name was (because it wasn't her business, what he called himself) didn't like to ask for her to come to him, for reasons unknown, so she'd taken to waiting for him, and entering during his quieter moments. He had a temper sometimes, but he could be gentle, too.

She heard his voice, though, and thought he might be asking for her. She was about to turn the knob when she remembered. Knock. He'd said—Master had said—she could come in whenever she wanted as long as she knocked. Gingerly, she raised a fist and tapped on the door. Too lightly, he couldn't possibly hear that. She tried again.

"Yes," said Master irritably. "Who is it?"

Oh no. This was bad; she'd caught him in one of the wrong moods. Shrinking away from the door, her first instinct was to retreat, but she couldn't, not now—he'd be annoyed with her. "It's C.C., Master," she said softly.

She heard a sigh, and then a reluctant, "Come in."

C.C., who still jumped at the sudden hiss of the automatic door, gingerly stepped inside the room. Her Master sat at his desk with his head in his hands, fingers digging into his scalp. His mask, which had so alarmed C.C. when she'd seen it on his face, law on the desk, harmless and momentarily abandoned. Feeling awkward, as if she'd intruded on some private conversation or personal debate, she clasped her hands together and shifted her weight nervously from foot to foot.

Without looking up at her, Master barked, "Well, what do you want?"

"I, um," she began. Master had told her she could speak as much as she wished, and he would not reprimand her, but that concept was still a foreign one. "I heard your voice, and I—I thought you might need something." She paused, then added, "Master," belatedly, cringing.

"You don't have to do that," Master said wearily. "And I'm fine, C.C. I don't need anything."

"Oh, well." She stood there awkwardly for a moment, and then, mustering her courage, said, "Master?"

"Yes?"

He sounded so tense that her fleeting courage drained as quickly as it had come. "I—I was just wondering if we'd be staying here very long," she stammered. "We never stay anywhere very long, so I was-I was wondering."

Considering her question, Master looked up at her and leaned his face on his hand. He looked a little calmer than before, a little more pensive, and C.C. was glad. "We will be here for some time," he said. "It only makes sense to use the capital of the old Britannian Empire as our new base of operations—the people need some sort of leader right now. Besides, there's reconstruction work to be done. You've seen the palace." She nodded. "And I must deal accordingly with the remainder of the Imperial family. We've captured Schneizel and a few of the others, but that isn't enough." C.C. saw his right hand clench into a fist. "Do you understand that, C.C.?"

Ashamed of her ignorance, C.C. shook her head.

Master closed his eyes. "No. Alright. Well, you and I will probably have to stay here for months, if not years."

"Together?"

He gave her a strange look. "Unless you have somewhere else to go, we're in this together. Does that answer your question?"

Bowing her head, she said, "Yes, Master, thank you," and backed out of his room.

Together. In this together.

Walking down the hallway, she was suddenly stuck by an odd memory: standing in a room she'd never seen before, pointing a gun at her master, telling him that she couldn't let him die. She stopped and rubbed at her forehead—what an odd thing to think!—and kept walking, glancing about to make sure she still knew where she was. She had the strangest feeling that it had actually happened, and that there'd been a time when she shared that room with her master, and addressed him as an equal. As "Lelouch."

C.C. shook her head, but couldn't completely shake the feeling that there were parts of her life that weren't entirely her own.

"Lelouch!"

Gasping and panting, Lelouch fell to his knees, bracing his palms on the rough stone steps leading up to Kururugi temple. All around him the sun was too bright, the cicadas too loud, the air too thin. He felt as if he were going to throw up.

"Lelouch!" Suzaku called, a few steps ahead. He carried Nunally on his back as if she were no trouble to him at all, as if the steps themselves were no trouble at all. "Are you alright?"

"I'm—"

"What's wrong with my brother, Suzaku?" Nunally asked, her voice clear and musical. "What's he doing?"

"Racing—you this far—was—a bad idea," Lelouch panted. He pressed his hand to his forehead, and took a deep breath. Colors swam before his eyes, and he groaned, before he remembered that he had to be strong for his sister. "Don't worry about me, Nunally, I'm just a little winded. You and Suzaku go up; I'll be there in a minute."

"Are you sure?" Suzaku asked, concern written clearly on his face. "We can wait." He shifted Nunally up a little and she giggled. Over Suzaku's dark hands, her pale legs dangled uselessly.

Lelouch, for his part, felt guilty and terribly weak. "No, no, don't let me hold you up. Go on, go!"

Suzaku blinked, shrugged, then turned and continued on, and Lelouch turned around so he didn't have to see how easily his friend mastered the stairs, carrying Lelouch's little sister to boot. They'd been racing around for awhile now, and this uphill climb was the final stretch. Lelouch never should have agreed to this in the first place, even if Suzaku had said that he'd carry Nunally to make it fairer. He stared down the mountain, at all the paths they'd traveled in the last hour, and wondered why they couldn't have just played chess instead. He always beat Suzaku at chess.

"Hey."

Lelouch looked up. Suzaku was standing next to him, holding out his hand. "Are you sure you don't need help, Lelouch?"

"Where's Nunally?"

Suzaku jerked his head. "At the top. Waiting for us. Come on, I'll help you up."

"I don't need—" Before Lelouch could finish the protest, Suzaku had grabbed his wrists and pulled him to his feet. He felt sheepish. "Thanks. You could have just left me, you know. I'd be fine."

"What are friends for?" Suzaku grinned, still holding one of Lelouch's hands. Lelouch hadn't really ever realized how warm Suzaku was. Friends. "Let's go. We'll call it a tie today."

The Britannian prince and the Prime Minister's son climbed the stairs together that day. The next time Lelouch played chess with Suzaku, he took care to arrange a stalemate.

What are friends for?

P.P.S. from the author: So, there's something about Suzaku still being alive, eh? And will C.C. ever recover? Will Lelouch eliminate the Imperial family? And will Lelouch ever outrun Suzaku? (Kidding, I think we all know the answer to that). That, and more, in future chapters!