Hiya! New chapter! :)
I've been so busy lately, packing and looking for somewhere to live. It's so hard to find somewhere, everyone else seems to get the houses we want, and we've had to get an extension from the owners of this place to stay here while we keeping looking. I hate moving. :(
Disclaimer that I don't own Code Geass goes here.
Chapter One
Life as a student at Ashford Academy was peaceful. That was how Lelouch Lamperouge saw it, and that was how he intended to keep it. A peaceful life for himself and Nunnally, hidden away from the vipers of the Imperial Court. Hidden skilfully by the Ashford family in plain sight, their existence as royalty was unknown to anyone, bar Reuben Ashford, his granddaughter Milly, and the maid Sayoko who served as Nunnally's official carer.
Lelouch sighed as he stared out of the classroom window. Yesterday had shaken him. There was this big gap in his memory, which started from when he and Rivalz were returning from one of Lelouch's chess ventures, and ended later that evening in front of his mirror. Coupled with the aches he felt throughout his body, he deduced that something unusual had happened, and the fact that he couldn't remember unsettled him.
The headache he had upon 'coming to' in his room made him think that he'd hit his head somehow. That headache was still there, though less intense and more of a dull ache than anything. He'd already taken some ibuprofen, and it was slowly working. Lelouch yawned slightly, casting a quick glance to make sure the teacher hadn't noticed, then resumed staring out the window.
"Hey, bud," came Rivalz's whispered voice. "You feeling better?"
During the student council meeting, Milly had whacked Lelouch over the head, having no idea of his headache. When she'd found out, she'd used it as an excuse to basically order him not to hide things like that from her. (like he'd listen anyway) It had then come out that he couldn't remember what had happened to him yesterday, and Rivalz had, on the way to their next class, filled him in on the truck crashing, and Lelouch rushing in to check on the occupants.
"Then you left me high and dry," Rivalz had said, and Lelouch had apologised, despite not remembering.
And then of course, they'd learned of the terrorist attack in Shinjuku, which was apparently where the truck had sped off to. Lelouch wondered if he'd somehow been caught up in that, and that was where he'd hit his head and gained his probable concussion and his amnesia. He sure hoped not, and was glad the likelihood was low.
Lelouch's thoughts were interrupted when there was a knock at the classroom door, and he glanced over to see a girl enter the room, handing a note to the teacher, who simply nodded and indicated for her to take a seat.
"Kallen, it's been ages!"
"Are you alright?"
"Sophie's been worried sick all this time!"
"You're okay though, right?"
"Yeah, I just have to go easy for a little while," the girl Kallen said. "Anyway, if I stay home any longer, I'll never catch up."
The girl looked familiar, and it took him a moment to place her. Then Rivalz leaned in, sly grin in place, and said, "What's up, buddy? See something you like? You've got a thing for her, don't ya?"
"Just thinking this is a rare event," Lelouch told his friend. "She hasn't been here at school since this whole term started."
"Kallen Stadtfeld," Rivalz said her name like he was reading it from a transcript. "They say she's sick or something. And she barely showed up at school last year, either. Still, her grades are at the top of the class, and she's a member of the Stadtfeld family, which means she's well-bred and rolling in money. Man, you sure know how to pick 'em!"
Lelouch shook his head. "It's not like that," he denied.
"Ah, you don't have to hide it," Rivalz said with a grin. "A touch too sheltered, though, if you ask me."
"Leave it alone, Rivalz," Lelouch said, resuming his lazy study of the world outside the classroom window, oblivious to Shirley eyeing him worriedly.
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, right up to the end of the last class, then Milly confronted him. "Lulu," she said in her conspiratory tone. "A little bird told me you took an interest in a certain Miss Stadtfeld today."
"Oh really?" Lelouch said. "And what bird would it be this time, Madam President? Rivalz? Or perhaps one of the girls you've corrupted to your wicked ways?"
Milly giggled and slapped his arm lightly. "You're such a riot," she laughed. "Seriously, though, do you have an interest in the girl? I know I do."
Lelouch merely raised a brow, and a moment later, Milly sighed and elaborated, "I was speaking with my grandfather. Kallen isn't part of a club, and you know the rules for those in the upper grades. They must all be part of one of the school's extracurricular clubs. Kallen has been able to get away with not joining one, due to her health, but grandfather and I decided that if she joined the student council, that would solve everyone's problems right away."
"Well, why don't you ask her, then?" Lelouch asked.
"I don't share any classes with her," Milly said, waggling her finger at him. "You do. So tomorrow, you are going to extend the invitation. Get her to the clubhouse after class, we'll have a welcoming bash just for her!"
Lelouch resisted the urge to roll his eyes, enduring Milly's presence a bit longer before he headed off to find Rivalz. The two of them were planning on working on one of their class assignments, which meant that Lelouch would finish it quickly, while Rivalz would ignore the work in favour of talking about their next gambling session. He'd probably finish his homework later in his dormitory.
A few hours later found Lelouch returning to the clubhouse to find Nunnally and Sayoko folding paper cranes. After dinner, he put his sister to bed, then headed to his own room, his headache finally faded to the point that he felt he would be fine getting to sleep without needing any painkillers.
OoOoO
The next day, Lelouch was waiting for an opportunity to speak with Kallen, but she seem to always be surrounded by her friends. The day was passing without opportunity, and at the student council meeting, Milly whacked him over the head and told him to just 'man up' and get it over with. Rivalz offered to do it instead, but retracted that when Milly just glared at him.
Finally at the end of the last class, Lelouch gave up on trying to get around Kallen's friends, and instead decided to go right through them. And Shirley too, apparently.
"Hey Lulu, you coming along?" she asked.
"Sorry, maybe some other time," he told her, then walked over to where Kallen was with her friends.
The girls with her parted as he approached, looking at him curiously. "You think that you could spare a minute?" he spoke directly to Kallen. "I need to talk to you."
He heard Shirley gasp, but ignored her. "Wh-what is it about?" Kallen asked.
"It's nothing to worry about," Lelouch said. "It's just about your extracurricular activities here at school."
Lelouch could swear he saw a flicker of… something… in her eyes at that, before she stood and said, "Alright, sure, lead the way."
OoOoO
Kallen followed Lelouch Lamperouge through the halls, curious and slightly wary. She'd felt there was something off about him all day, he kept staring at her. Now, at least, she felt she was going to get an answer.
"May I ask what this is about?"
"It's a well known fact that you are often sick, Miss Stadtfeld," he told her. "As such, you've been excused from joining one of the school clubs."
Kallen nodded, relaxing as his intention toward her started to clear. "I can't really do anything too strenuous," she agreed, silently snorting at the fact that the reverse was actually true.
"Well, yesterday the Principle spoke with his granddaughter, and the two agreed that you joining the student council would solve this issue," Lelouch said, and Kallen frowned.
"You want me to join the student council?" she basically repeated what he'd said.
They'd reached a building a short distance from the school, and Lelouch was using a key to unlock it. He held open the door for her to go in, and once inside, Kallen's eyes widened, narrowed, then returned to normal at the sight of a large room with a grand staircase. "I had no idea this place existed," she said.
"It's the clubhouse for the student council," Lelouch told her. "They built it as a ballroom for special occasions."
"I see."
Kallen glanced around, noting the typical Britannian opulence, refraining from expressing her disgust. "So how about it?" Lelouch was saying. "Shall I tell Milly that you'll be joining? There's quite a few perks to being on the council, you know. You have a looser curfew for being on school grounds than the rest of the students, plus we're able to leave the grounds at any time, provided we let a member of the staff know."
Kallen raised a brow at that. 'That could be useful,' she thought, and was about to answer, when a voice called, "Here it is! I found it!" distracting them both. "This is it, right?"
The two of them looked up to the balcony to see a student up there, then two more. Another came in pushing a trolley of food.
"Milly…" Lelouch said. "What is all this for?"
"Lelouch, you should know," Milly said. "That's why you brought her, right? We're inducting Kallen into the student council. You did ask her like I told you to, didn't you?"
"I did," Lelouch said, "but she hasn't answered." He turned to Kallen then, and the red head felt she was being put on the spot.
"Er… Alright, I guess," she answered.
"Excellent!" Milly enthused, then introduced herself, Shirley, Rivalz, and Nina.
"Shirley," came a new voice and Kallen looked over to see a girl in a wheelchair, and a small feeling of pity hit her. "Do you think you could set these on the table for me?"
"Oh, sure thing, Nunna," Shirley said, and rushed over to help the girl, Lelouch not far behind.
"That's Lelouch's little sister," Milly said, coming over to Kallen. "She's not officially a member of the council, more of an honorary one."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Nunnally said.
"Right!" Rivalz declared, placing a bottle of champagne on the table. "Shall we kick this off with a toast?"
"Rivalz!" Shirley cried, indignant.
What followed was nothing short of disastrous, considering Kallen ended up soaked head to toe with champagne.
"Damned Britannians!" Kallen cursed a little while later, desperately trying to wash the smell of champagne from her skin and hair. "This is just one of the reasons I can't stand them!"
Milly and Shirley had brought her to a shower situated at the back of the clubhouse, then had taken her clothes to be washed, with the promise someone would be along soon with something for her to wear. Kallen figure that with the time it would take for them to go over to the dorms, that she'd be finished by the time they got back.
She really wanted to strangle Rivalz for this, Shirley a little too, since her avid chase of the bottle had contributed to it as well. And as for Lelouch… There was something off about him, she had no idea what it was. Something in the way he spoke, his inflections… She gasped as she realised that he sounded just like that guy from Shinjuku the other day! What a place for her to figure that out, while in the middle of a shower! But how could she confirm her suspicions?
A knock at the door startled her from her revelations. "Kallen?" Speak of the devil. "It's Lelouch. I brought you a spare change of clothes."
Adjusting the curtain to maintain her modesty, Kallen called, "You can come in, the curtain's drawn."
The sound of the door opening and then closing reached her. "Sorry about all this," Lelouch said, and Kallen hadn't missed his audible swallow. "I know they can be a little over the top."
"It's fine," Kallen said as she continued to rinse absentmindedly whilst thinking of how she could question him.
"These are some of my clothes, hope that's okay," she was told.
"That was fast," she noted. "You went all the way to the boys dorm?"
"Actually, I live here," Lelouch said, surprising her. "It'd be pretty hard for my sister to live off in the dorms. The Principle lets us stay here as a favour."
"…I see."
Lelouch stood. "Anyway, I should get going," he said. "You can return those clothes tomorrow, there's no rush."
He was leaving! "Hey wait!" Kallen called impulsively, then had to think fast. She stuck her hand out of the shower and asked, "Can you hand me that pouch over there?"
"Sure thing." She heard Lelouch's footsteps, then his hand was placing the pouch in her hand.
Kallen quickly gabbed his wrist in a vice like grip, then bent down to retrieve her pouch. "What are you doing?" Lelouch demanded, trying to pull his wrist free, but failing in her firm grip. "Let go!"
"Were you the one in Shinjuku the other day?" she asked, the blade from her pouch now pressing into his wrist. "Answer me!"
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