This chapter was written with little to none of the canon storyline in mind, and as such very little of this chapter will be canon. This is owed in no small part to the fact that Stage 6 is a horrible filler episode that - amusing or not - I refuse to touch base on. And so, this chapter will be the official beginning of my major divergances from the canon plotline.
As a side note regarding the history class scene last chapter, I'll point out that the better part of it was made up. The only factual points were everything regarding the Siege of Yorktown, and the initial battle site for Todo's army during that war. Everything regarding the prisoner holding at Takamatsu and Todo's attack on said place were made up myself, mainly to further that part of the story. Not that it really harmed anything, seeing as Todo's accomplishments in that war aren't explained beyond being the instigator of the Miracle of Itsukushima.
--
Lelouch walked along the dimly lit streets of Tokyo with indifference displayed both in his facial expression - which could only be described as demonic in nature - and just about every aspect of his self at that moment. He'd long since parted ways with Karen and, upon finding a safe place, had discarded his Zero outfit that now was tucked away securely in the suitcase held in his left hand. As he walked, thoughts of how well things were going right now were all that came to mind. One could say that he was letting it get to him, but how could he not? Unless someone like Cornellia or Schneizel were sent to Area 11 to oppose him, the first stages of his rebellion would be met with little challenge, he mused.
Little challenge from Britannia, anyway. On the other hand, he had several tasks to complete before Britannia became the enemy. First would be to become the king that would lead his men, he knew, as nothing could be done before that. Then he'd need to gather the men he'd be leading, which would be a simple task. But even the finest army with the finest leadership would fall by the wayside if he didn't have the provisions for such a battle. That would probably be solved through Geass, as it had been in Shinjuku, though he'd take other means if they were present,
"And what exactly did that serve to do?" C.C. asked, slipping unannounced from an alleyway and falling into step with the gleeful prince. Much to her dismay, Lelouch had rendered himself oblivious to her sudden approach in his enthrallment. "I don't suppose freeing Clovis helps your rebellion, does it?" she added stoically.
"It wasn't saving him that mattered; that was just something I felt obligated to do. What mattered was the impact making the impossible possible will have on terrorist groups. Most will be ecstatic to fight alongside Zero, and I can use that to my advantage however I like. If I unite rebels under one banner, I can become the king that will lead the Japanese to their freedom. And those I judge unworthy of being the Black Knights of Japan - that being, the wildcards who will fight as the guardians of the weak and change the world essentially - will most likely band together to prove their worth to both Zero and the Japanese as a whole, and I can use them for my own devices from there."
"You've thought this through a lot, but what if they send a more skilled opponent to deal with the Zero threat? You're not as big a threat to Britannia as you would like, but they won't turn a blind eye to you either," C.C. shot back, brows furrowed in amusement as the two shuffled through the streets. Both had long since abandoned any sense of direction, Lelouch too inwardly pleased with himself to care and C.C. too set on seeing the depths of her partner's work despite how little it had to do with their contract.
"Clovis still has primary authority at the moment, and not even my father would mindlessly strip him of his rank in favor of someone who could pose a threat to me," Lelouch replied, pivoting on his right foot to proceed down a somewhat out of place alleyway. Maybe he did have some sense of direction lingering amidst all his thinking? If that was the case, even the stoic gray witch couldn't deny being slightly impressed. "And my target is Clovis, anyway."
"Clovis?"
"My father hates failure," Lelouch replied, finally turning his head slightly to regard his slightly shorter partner. "If Clovis fails to eliminate me, he'll be demoted and possibly removed from the country."
"And how does this help you? Or do you not want to endanger Clovis?" C.C. raised an eyebrow at the possibility, though even she doubted that was the case.
"It's not that. But having an influential inside man will help, and convincing Clovis will be easier if he can agree with my methods," Lelouch explained. As they appeared at the opposite end of the alleyway, a street lay extending before them. And the buildings that from a distance seemed to block their view of anything beyond them had parted to give a perfect view of the distant Ashford Academy, and C.C. had to wonder how Lelouch could be so coordinated from deep within the recesses of his mind.
In retrospect, however, wasn't he always there? Calculating how every person's move would affect his own and planning accordingly, life itself beind replayed in his mind on a huge chess board? As C.C. dawned on that, she had to wonder: just where was she in the scope of his plans? He was the king and, if his nickname for her meant anything, Karen was the queen. A fitting role for his ace pilot, she knew, but where did that leave herself?
o--o
"...Welcome back, Your Highness," Jeremiah started shakily, still having trouble bringing words together in anything resembling a solid form even now, three hours after the prison break. Was this Zero character, the only seemingly threatening terrorist in Area 11, Prince Lelouch? Was the prince of the Britannian empire so enveloped in some form of hatred that he would rebel against the empire? Jeremiah, being someone who believed in the Britannian empire through and through, simply couldn't fathom why it's prince would rebel.
And so, the only logical conclusion he could allow himself to come to was that he had been hearing things. That Zero could not be Prince Lelouch, end of story. But then, what was Lelouch doing in Shinjuku? And if Lelouch had been the means of their victory there - a highly possible scenario if his talents had developed over the years as much as his brothers and sisters had - then wouldn't it be reasonable to claim Zero was the same person? After all, not just anyone can slip through the Purist Faction with ease. Jeremiah had to admit, his sincere hopes that his prince was innocent were being horribly outmatched.
"Yes... Thank you, Jeremiah," Clovis replied, equally as shaken. Either he'd come to the same depressing speculation that Jeremiah had or, worse still, knew more on the matter as he had before. Perhaps this was why he'd wanted the Purist Faction investigating the Shinjuku battle so fervently? The possibility, as all the others, certainly was there. It wasn't a possibility Jeremiah liked, as he'd told himself on more than one occasion, but it was there all the same. And Jeremiah didn't particularly care that his thoughts were swirling around at this point, either.
The third prince was loaded into the back of a prisoner vehicle and sent off back toward the Tokyo City Hall, guarded by the Purist Faction leaders in their Sutherlands: Jermiah, Kewell and Villetta. The trip was without word, even if there was anyone for Clovis to speak to. Rather, he simply resigned to silence and thought over things. Lelouch had certainly made good on his claim to rebel thus far, he had seen first hand, and things would only get worse from there. Or better, depending who's belief he opted to support. As of yet, he couldn't say. And perhaps that was what ate at him so.
o--o
C.C. contentedly collapsed onto Lelouch's bed, sighing quietly to herself. Lelouch closed the door behind him after whispering a goodnight through the small opening to Nunnally, who had seemed terrified of him during that particular meeting. Had his glee gotten to him that much? He thought over that as he sat at his desk, grabbing a pen and absent-mindedly tapping it on the desk while slouching his head lazily over said desk and groaning. Nothing outrageously paranormal by the standards of anyone that knew him, but C.C. knew better than to outrule even the slightest of uncharacteristic things.
"What are you doing?" C.C. asked, raising an eyebrow in question. Lelouch turned his head to look at his bed's occupant without lifting it off the desk, eyelids drooping ever so slightly. C.C. couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"I've been testing this power you gave me. Specifically, testing it on Britannian officials," he answered slowly, his voice deeper than usual in his lazy daze. He mustered the energy to sit upright and turn in his chair to face C.C. before leaning forward and collapsing his chin into cupped hands. With his head securely in place with his hands, he closed his eyes and continued his thinking. Certainly, it had it's limits, he'd learned. But it was still quite powerful and very useful.
"Testing it?" C.C. asked, piqued.
"Yes. For example, I've learned the maximum distance - which is two hundred-seventy metres - and that it can work even if eye contact is made via a reflective surface such as a mirror. Also, it seems this power only works once per person, which would explain the malfunction when using it on Karen," he explained in detail, making the occasional hand gesture as by this point he was lively once more and sitting upright. "Lastly, it has a major flaw."
"A flaw?"
"Targets retain no memories of what happened to them while under Geass' influence. This is very good in it's own right, to be sure. But seeing as how you were captive by Britannia, I assume they have some knowledge of the Geass and I can only assume that - should cases of Knightmare Frames disappearing during a mental lapse arise - they will begin to piece things together," he explained bemusedly.
"So you're going to have to be careful, or they'll realize Zero has Geass?"
"That depends," Lelouch eyed C.C. carefully, raising an eyebrow. "You're probably not the only one who can give Geass, and I'm not the only one who has it, am I?" Lelouch had to wonder where these questions were coming from. Geass was a mysterious and malevolent thing, and he'd never really considered the possibility of others having Geass. But now that he had thought about it, the chances certainly were high. And that worried him slightly, especially if they harbored the same power he did.
"V.V.," C.C. stated, almost hesitantly.
"V.V.?" Lelouch asked, dumbfounded.
"Another one like me. He can give people Geass as well," C.C. explained, clearly intent on not further explaining the matter. But that didn't mean Lelouch couldn't still try to gather more information. And he had every intention to attempt to do just that.
"Who has he given Geass to, then?" Lelouch was almost afraid to ask. When she'd spoken, it seemed clearly hesitant. Was he going to be bothered by the answer? If that's the case, who is a likely answer? His mind began to wrack through the various possibilities, but only definitevely settled on one answer, and he absolutely dreaded it. Unfortunately, C.C. had the same answer.
"Charles Di Britannia," they said in unison.
o--o
This is bad news, to say the least. But knowing it now, I can prepare beforehand. Prepare as best I can, anyway. I know nothing of his Geass, but the simple knowledge that he has one takes away some of his advantage. And that is vital in a war where going into battle with an unfair advantage is key. But I have to wonder: I can't use my Geass on C.C., but is the case any different with someone with Geass? I'd have to find means of testing that theory sometime.
That aside, things had been relatively normal after that talk. I'd found time to get a small bed that, with much help from Sayako after a much longer time spent explaining some wacky scenario in which C.C. was a distant relative I didn't know existed, I got set up for her use. It made the room extremely crowded, but... well, my room's free space was definitely not a pressing issue. What was a pressing issue, among other things. was our new live-in guest. It would be easy to explain the situation to Nunnally, but being on campus made hiding C.C. from the Student Council quite impossible.
The following day came rather quickly, as opposed to the comparably restless nights I'd had of late, and after a brief argument with C.C. - which I had the feeling would become a morning ritual for us - I found the time to have Nunnally meet her and explain the situation... the situation that C.C. would be living with us and leaving out all other details, of course. Nunnally was simply delighted to have a new friend, and seeing that bright smile as she nervously grasped C.C.'s hand with her own brightened my mood considerably. Thoughts of my rebellion didn't come to mind at all in Nunnally's company, and I'm sure that will be a weakness someday. But it, unlike most of my weaknesses, is not one I am willing to address.
The new gossip of the day was the only thing really worth my notice, and it was gossip I'd been awaiting for some time now. Cornellia Li Britannia and Euphemia Li Britannia - that is, two more of my half-siblings - were being deployed as assistants to Clovis. Decoded, that means they were being sent to await the time when they would replace Clovis as Governor. Charles couldn't baselessly replace him, but he could wait for a small blunder and use it to put Cornellia in Clovis' place. The only downside to this meant the conflict in Area 18 is done with for the time being, which meant more people suffered under the title of numbers.
o--o
Lunch break, as it had almost everyday since the 'Shinjuku Incident', was welcomed with a warm sigh of blissful relief from Lelouch. He settled in the cafeteria - although it was so luxurious it might as well have been called a small restaurant - with a small plate of food, poking absent-mindedly at it while his mind was elsewhere. Again, as it usually had been of late. Unlike most cafeteria food it was far from questionable as to how edible it was, but that didn't make it any less worthy of being the unlucky victim of his lack of focus at that moment.
"Got a lot on your mind, Lelouch?" Lelouch looked over his shoulder to the approaching figure of Rivalz, a wide grin on his face. Normally Lelouch would have been pleased to see that grin - as it meant Rivalz had found a betting game for them to pit themselves in - but this time he felt little more than contented to see it. On one hand, he had to admit that such a thing would be childish of him with his much more important game still ongoing, but an afternoon of unwinding in one of his most fulfilling past-times could do him some good.
"You could say that," he spat out quickly. Rivalz gave him a questioning look. Normally, Lelouch would ignore such a question and immediately ask who the opponent was this time. Lelouch knew this fact, and realization hit that he'd made a slight blunder. Not one his admittedly slow friend would pick up on, but this was a small testament to the fact that he couldn't afford to be caught off guard like that. Not if he wanted to keep up the act of being completely normal as long as he could. "So who is it this time?" he continued bemusedly in an attempt to salvage the situation.
Rivalz's confused expression quickly turned sour and he frowned at his violet eye'd friend. "What, don't have the time for our games anymore, Lelouch?" Lelouch could tell he was just slightly annoyed, no matter how hard it was to tell.
"No, no! I could use a relaxed afternoon," he shot back quickly, waving his hands in wild arm gestures. Rivalz brightened up considerably at that, and he was grinning widely so quickly one would normally wonder if he'd stopped grinning to begin with. But with Rivalz being the self-oppointed best friend of Lelouch, Lelouch could see these differences. "So, who is it?"
"Turns out the old Duke William of Edinburgh had a son after all, and they kept some small amount of nobility in the EU. This guy is some descendant of Duke William..." Rivalz trailed off after that, and the fact that his own knowledge of their opponent was considerably limited. "Anyway, do you remember that Coup d'etat in Kofu four years ago? With the leader being recognized by Britannia as a Duke and being allowed to watch over matters in Kofu?"
"Yeah, and Kofu became an area where Elevens were given far better lives until a year ago when the Duke stopped caring and Kofu fell into disarray. The entire matter was rather skeptical though. Are you saying this guy is Kofu's revolutionary?"
"Exactly!" Rivalz chirped, grinning. "He wastes his life away indulging in games now, because Prince Clovis never trusted him much. I suppose you could expect as much, seeing as he was a rebel. It's a pity really... I'd say he'd be a match for that Zero guy even."
o--o
We'll see about that...
o--o
"And that's check," the Duke said, his head cradled in his hands. His opponent, like they all were, simply couldn't measure up to his intelect. And though this led to a quickly filled wallet - not that he needed the money - it also led to an unsatisfiable boredom. "Can you make your next move in, say, twenty-five seconds?" he asked cooly, lifted his head slightly. His long, blond hair flew in sync with the motion, and the ruffled mess then fell slightly over his face. One could say it made him look lazy and unkempt, and the truth was that one wouldn't be far from the truth in saying so. Such was the byproducts of the boring life Britannia forced him to lead.
"M'lord Henry, you're being awfully generous to him," a guard said from his side, dressed in Britallian standard military uniform with a rifle firmly grasped in his hands and a rapier sheathed at his side. "Lord Akira is just an Eleven, after all. Be too nice to them and, well, I think you know what will happen," Henry's head twitched to the side as he took note of the pure disgust in his guard's tone. Sadly, his designs for a better living situation for Elevens in Kofu hadn't gone beyond being something his allies supported. And as time went on, Eleven prejudice rooted itself further and further into Kofu all over again.
"P-please! Just a little bit longer and..." the slightly aged, maybe little over thirty, man across from Henry cried exasperatedly. The doors behind Henry chose to open at that moment to reveal Lelouch and Rivalz, and Akira breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Wonderful! But should you be missing class, sirs?" he rushed from his seat, uncaring of the disrespectfulness of such an action, and embraced Lelouch as a lost child would his mother. Lelouch chuckled to himself and pulled away from Akira, nodding in greeting.
"It is no big setback," he assured, and the three made their way back to the game so Lelouch could observe the matter. The guards were absolutely furious by this point, and only Henry's unwavering composure stayed their hands. Rivalz let out a loud whistle as he saw the board, and whispered some disheartening nonsense into Lelouch's ear, who didn't seem phased by such things. "I'm going to ask for double the initial amount, Lord Akira, but I can win this. In... Rivalz, go turn off the motorbike. We may actually be a while."
Rivalz blinked twice and poked at himself a couple times to make sure he was right of mind. Had Lelouch just had a flicker of uncertainty in his ability to swiftly win a game? But before he could dwell on that Lelouch gave a dismissive wave, and Rivalz hastened to obey. Lelouch took his seat where Akira had been, who had since then left the room, eyeing the board intently. "Was it wise of Lord Akira to allow a student to take his place?" Henry asked cockily, smiling as he noticed Lelouch's momentarily bewildered expression.
"Is it wise for a Duke no more than ten years my senior to make such remarks?" Lelouch replied absent-mindedly, quickly devising his strategy in his mind. But he had to admit, it had been hard to do so. Henry was way and away superior to any he'd faced, and he could tell that simply by looking at the chess board. Perhaps he could be a match for Zero... no, he couldn't. Lelouch knew that such a thing was something he'd allow none but his father accomplish. The right of being a match for Zero only went to him, and the right to crush Zero's equal went only to Zero. Any other could only be registered as a close second.
Henry's aristocratic grin was the only thing Lelouch was greeted with as he sat upright. Well, that and a pair of rifle-holding guards that looked a little too relieved that the replacement for Akira was a Britannian. "Do you think you can be a match for me, kid?" Lelouch raised an eyebrow for a moment before chuckling in response.
"Second only to Zero," was his answer, earning three gasps as he lifted a Knight that he had to admit was in the worst position imaginable. But it was such poorly positioned pieces that now formed the backbone of his strategy. He swept it dramatically through it's L-shaped trajectory, ending with taking a strategically irrelevant place where one of Henry's Pawns was prior to being swept away. "Knight takes Pawn," Lelouch remarked, slapping down on the button on the timer next to them with the base of the Pawn he'd just taken.
And such a move left Henry completely bewildered. 'A move like that? What does he have in mind?' and, doing the only thing he really could do at that moment, he grabbed a Pawn and moved it into the Knight's trajectory, planning to draw it out. At the same time, moving the Knight would leave his Bishop free to move in and declare Check once again. Of course, Lelouch had already considered all this and was doing a nice job of getting Henry swept up in his trap.
"Bishop takes Pawn," Lelouch declared, bringing out one of his own Bishops and taking the Pawn that had just moved. As he had suspected Henry's boredom led him to a false sense of security of sorts, and as such had now placed Lelouch in complete command of the game. More or less, anyway, but he'd never admit that total control wasn't his.
Meanwhile, Henry's thoughts were far more negative. 'Who is this kid?! How am I being matched by a student?' he cried mentally to himself, quickly reforming his now shattered strategy. The student had done a good job of shattering it, he admitted, but he'd not hand the victory to a student so quickly. And so a desperate battle of wits began, with Lelouch's control slipping bit by bit and Henry not gaining any control whatsoever - a scenario that left Rivalz's mind in ruin when he returned. In more than twenty minutes of continuous play, neither had gained any solid advantage over the other. Lelouch held a very tiny upper hand, but he felt himself growing more and more impressed with Henry's playing. Henry, in kind, had come to refer to Lelouch as the finest foe he'd faced in some time. But that respect didn't make their match any less competitive.
"Rivalz, go back to school," Lelouch started, not moving his eyes from the board in front of him. He had plenty of freedom to move, with little to no pressure, but that didn't make his predicament any less nerve wracking. Henry, though initially seeming inferior to him, had proven to keep up completely and their strategies had left the other with nothing gained. 'Perhaps this will be what it's like when I face the White Prince?' Lelouch pondered. And in his thinking, it took him a moment to register the questioning grunt from the very piqued Rivalz nearby. "This match will drag on longer than I anticipated, and Shirley will bust us for this. Return and tell her you were taking me to meet with an old friend or something."
"And old friend?"
"I do in fact have friends outside Ashford, Rivalz. Now go, please," Lelouch gave off a dismissive wave, taking his free hand to grasp a Pawn. He was glad Henry had increased the allotted time to forty-five seconds to accommodate the intensity of their game, because he'd have been in trouble on that move otherwise. He slid the Pawn forward, bringing it to rest next to one of Henry's - both remaining despite how long they'd been playing - Bishops. He clicked on the timer that read five seconds, and breathed a sigh of relief. Inwardly, of course.
Henry showed no less focus when it was his move, and he hardly noticed Rivalz scurrying out of the room to oblige to Lelouch's request. "Was it necessary to lie to your friend?" he asked, still pondering his next move. Their game had effectively made them have to plan each move separately, much to the chagrin of both of them.
"If you know it was a lie, is it necessary for you to drawl and not dismiss your guards as well?" Lelouch asked, clearly amused by Henry's attitude. Henry mearly gave an agreeing nod, and gave a dismissive wave in turn for his guards to leave. Both were very much shocked by this, but they dared not disobey and hurriedly left the room. "So... what is it that demands our privacy, Lord Lelouch?"
"Drop the 'Lord'. I'm not nobility," Lelouch said calmly, eyeing the timer to his right. Twenty seconds left, and Henry didn't seem to be showing any signs of figuring out his move. Lelouch smiled inwardly, until he saw Henry grasp one of his Bishops and slide it along so that it was in perfect alignment to take Lelouch's Queen on the following turn. Problem was, if he took the Bishop then a Rook could slide in and take his Queen. Certainly not a good thing, to be sure. "Not a bad move," Lelouch commented as Henry hit the timer's button.
"Were you expecting to keep up with me, Lelouch? A student should know better."
"You're right, a student should know better. But as a revolutionary, we have common ground, do we not?" Lelouch chuckled softly, but to Henry this chuckle seemed distinctly muffled. Lelouch grabbed a Pawn and moved it into place as a barrier for his Queen, and as he hit the button on the timer Henry looked up. Lelouch once again chuckled at the gasp that was forcefully released.
"Zero...?" Henry asked disbelievingly, but after a moment he simply smiled. "I feel better calling you a match for me now. But I assume Zero wouldn't be here for these games?"
"Correct," Lelouch answered. The game forgotten and abandoned - to be declared a draw should any ask, much to the chagrin of both - they both sat back in their seats. "I've found a better game to play, Duke Henry of Kofu and Edinburgh. A game to change the world."
"Terrorism doesn't change the world. My past is testament to that, is it not?"
"Destruction and reform is not terrorism. It's revolutionizing. Britannia is a declining empire that cares only for Darwinism and conquest. That reality needs to change, as you know. I can do it. So can you," Lelouch explained calmly, absent-mindedly grabbing the black king from the board and twirling it in his fingers. "On the chess board of my rebellion, this is me. The white king is Charles Di Britannia," he reached over and, with a flick of the finger, knocked over the white king. "And that is my desire."
o--o
"Nunnally said Shirley told her you were gone all afternoon," C.C. noted as Lelouch walked into the room, returning the small suitcase that held his Zero outfit to it's secure hiding place under between a false bottom and the real bottom of his bed. It was unnoticeable unless you knew what you were looking for, which was exactly what Lelouch needed. Much more than he needed Sayako stumbling across a Zero outfit hidden in his room, to be sure.
"What of it?" Lelouch asked, settling down at his desk and opening the laptop resting there.
"Where were you?" C.C. asked, clearly hating being pushed in such a way. Normally she did such things to Lelouch, not the other way around, and so it was visibly annoying for her. And Lelouch, though he showed no outward signs of it, was loving every second of his momentary victory.
"Met with the leader of the Kofu Coup d'etat."
"...And?" C.C. cursed the fact that she had to know what went on at this moment. Were it not for the fact that such knowledge was necessary for her part of their contract, she'd have stopped caring long ago for sure. Worse yet, Lelouch knew this all too well and some small part of him that still had time for it was doing a victory dance in his mind.
"Rebelling won't do us a whole lot of good if we don't have funding, for one. Secondly, rebelling will serve no purpose if we remove Britannians from power, only to replace them with Japanese. We need to have a mix, so that the future will not be a repeat of what the present is," he stopped there, mainly due to the fact that the second part was still a work in progress. He hadn't entirely deduced how he intended to make Japanese accept Britannian aid, but he would do it. As Zero, it was his duty to make all things possible. Only he could do that.
"And how do you plan to make the Japanese accept the aid you want them to accept?" and just like that, C.C. turned the tables on Lelouch completely. She knew all too well that he had no real plan to address that, and he knew that she knew. And so started the souring of Lelouch's otherwise unusually happy mood. Hardened from much success on his part and several hours spent in his dear sister's company, almost immediately shattered by that one remark. But he wouldn't let that happen so easily.
"I'll organize all Japanese terrorists in Saitama. They're all at least slightly intrigued by the entity that is Zero, and will answer my call at least to see what I can do. Cornellia has little power right now, so it will be Clovis I fight. When it is all over Clovis will be demoted and Cornellia will be put in his place, and then the true rebellion can begin. The only thing I even have to do is secure armaments that the Duke won't have ready in time."
C.C. chose not to comment on that, as the Britannian prince seemed to be addressing that issue at the moment. She turned away from him, shamelessly slipping off her strait jacket and replacing it with the large shirt she still hadn't returned - much to both the embarrassment and chagrin of Lelouch as he caught this action in his peripherals - and collapsed onto her small bed. She may have found some brief amusement in teasing Lelouch, but there was never any fun in a joke taken too far. The saying was slightly misplaced for their scenario, but she didn't particularly care. And neither did he.
o--o
Sitting in class the next day, tuning out the teacher's morning drawls about god only knows what, Lelouch found himself staring out at the sky. It truly felt like a prison to him, having that perfectly cleaned window between him and that cloudless sky. That window was the barrier that kept him from everything beyond it. The situation was no different for any of the other students attending Ashford Academy, sure, but they didn't see it as a prison. Like any other school in the world, it was just a place they needed to spend the better part of their day in. To Lelouch, it was a place binding him from doing what he needed to do.
"And we have a new student entering our class today," Lelouch raised an eyebrow and turned toward his teacher, his previous musings forgotten. "He is an Eleven, so I expect you to not show disdain or anything of the sort," Lelouch was growing more and more suspicious. It would have to have been a special case for an Eleven to be allowed into a Britannian school. Unless... "You can come in now!" the teacher bellowed.
And the door opened, revealing the manifestation. Locks of chocolate brown hair, an innocent and somewhat naive smile. There, at the doorway, was Suzaku Kururugi. Only Milly noticed the wide-eyed shock Lelouch displayed, and she hummed in amusement and quietly muttered something Lelouch didn't pick up. Probably because he was too busy watching Suzaku make his way toward the front of the large classroom and turn toward the class, still smiling innocently. "I am Kururugi Suzaku, and I will be studying with you for some time. Please take good care of me."
His mannerisms were that of a true Japanese, Lelouch noticed, and many people grumbled about it. Suzaku seemed to ignore them as he allowed his eyes to wander, smiling warmly when he saw Lelouch and began the climb to where Lelouch sat, seating himself next to him. They both exchanged looks mentally asking a thousand questions, but both knew answers would need to wait until they had privacy.
For that very reason, classes passed exceptionally fast for Lelouch. As lunch - his only glimpse of freedom during the school day - hit, he immediately pulled Suzaku off to the side. He muttered no protests as his friend - whom he was still overjoyed to see breathing - led him to who knows where. The pulling ended and he found himself at the roof, with Lelouch already having detached himself and now leaning over the railing and gazing down at the throng of people going this way and that in their joyous moment of freedom.
"So..." Suzaku perked up, and noticed that in his daze he'd failed to notice Lelouch had one eye turned to look at him, the other still watching the activities below, Suzaku let out a questioning 'hmm', otherwise finding himself lost for words at that moment. "You serve Britannia now," Suzaku hadn't expected the question to be so blunt, but he had expected it to be more cold than it was. In an odd way, Lelouch seemed... understanding of the situation.
"Listen, Lelouch, I..."
"Don't," thwarted abruptly, Suzaku raised a questioning brow. "I understand. It's who you are. I don't think it's right that you serve them, but it is something you'd do. I won't question that. What I will question is..." he turned to face Suzaku fully, his elbows resting on the railing and his fingers drumming on his chest. "What do you hope to achieve?"
"I want to save Japan."
"From the inside?"
"Without fighting a war. With the Lancelot, I have the power to do that."
o--o
Lancelot? The white Knightmare Frame?
o--o
"You'll fight Japanese so that you can save them without fighting a war. Aren't you contradicting yourself, Suzaku?" Lelouch felt it was his turn to raise an eyebrow. Both in question and due to the fact that the motives of his best friend utterly bewildered him. He could understand wanting to avoid a war as much as the next person, but was Suzaku really so naive as to believe that it was possible to change Britannia without fighting a war? That, even if he restored Japanese rights, the Britannians' hearts would change?
"Perhaps. I may get their hatred, but I will get their rights."
"You're naive."
"What?"
"Nothing."
o--o
The die had been cast. A week had past since Suzaku's enrollment, and I'd confirmed some things and arranged others. Lancelot was indeed the white Knightmare Frame, and I'd already discovered it's weaknesses. It would be a rough fight with inferior Knightmare Frames and, having seen Suzaku's skill, inferior troops, but I'd pull through. I had to win without killing Suzaku, and inferior troops was a good way to do it.
Of course, I needed those troops. And I needed armaments, both of which I had secured. Armaments in the form of an entire transport of Sutherlands and Gloucesters, with the convoy having been destroyed afterward to make it look like a raid. It would enrage Britannia, but they'd think little of it. For troops, it was a simple matter of going public and announcing that I planned to raid Britannia in Saitama. This doubled as alerting Britannia so that they would gather their forces; the more that crumbled, the more god-like I'd be in the end. All I had to hope for was that enough terrorists would answer my call to arms.
This broadcast was made possible by means of Diethard Reid. A zealous reporter, but not much else. He suggested abandoning his work for me, but it's better if he stayed where he was. I could get Clovis to protect his job, and he could allow me to rally support by making my achievments public. He also had incredible skill in espionage and the like, as I quickly learned when I clued into the fact that Sayako was his spy. He was oblivious to my knowledge of that, but probably because the story of a hiding prince doing nothing isn't interesting, whereas a masked revolutionary is very much so.
--
I'll end this there. The ending first person bit was a tad bit rushed, I admit, but otherwise this chapter went pretty well. It's the first one with no conflict whatsoever, but it is still quite eventful. I'm making my chapters long enough to be eventful, but I'll try to shorten them somewhat so that I can update more frequently. 20,000+ words in two chapters is impressive, sure, but it made for quite the wait in between. This one was also on part of other things, but we won't go there. Until Chapter 4, which will include the Saitama Ghetto battle (which, as you can see, will be completely different)!
