Hey readers! Here is the next chapter for you guys!
To anyone who is a beta reader, or interested in being a beta-reader, I've been thinking of getting someone to beta-read this story. If you're interested, just PM me, and we may work something out.
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass, its characters, or any related material.
Late afternoon of September 9th, 2010 A.T.B., Japan, Shinjuku Gyoen National Park, Shinjuku.
Kurou Takara sighed. The 19 years old was getting a cramp in his legs from sitting up in the tree he was in. And he was sure the camouflage paint he was wearing over his face was fading off. Bringing his binoculars back to his face, he resumed his surveying. From the tree he was in, which was on top of a small hill, he had a good view of the park. And still, no sign of children.
"Toshiro." Kuro whispered in his radio. "You're really sure that tip you got that Suzaku was seen on the parks outskirts is good enough to justify us sitting up in trees until our butts fall off?"
The man's radio cracked to life "For the last time, Kurou, yes! I'm the one who gave Suzaku survival training, and this park's the perfect place to rest and get safe drinkable water. Now, focus!"
Kurou sighed again. He was all for helping his commander get is little brother back, but he felt a little exposed up there. Yet he knew Toshiro wouldn't give up, and he did exactly what Toshiro asked of him: He focused. Straight on a small clearing, just as a foursome of kids walked in it!
"Holy sh-!" Kurou swore, "I've located them! Clearing straight east!"
"Yes, we see them!" Toshiro's voice said on the radio.
"And I see a group of men closing-in fast from the south east." And other man's voice said, "They look like Britannian special forces!"
"Really?" A female's voice said next, "Because I'm eyeing a group coming in from the north-east. Never seen their uniforms before, but they look driven, and they're led by…a man in a green suit wielding two swords!?"
"Okay, there are definitely too many uninvited people to this warm reunion!" Toshiro said. "Everybody, move, and on the double!"
"YES SIR!"
"Well," Kurou said to himself as he jumped off the tree, "I hope for those kids' sake that the commander doesn't live up to his nickname of "Too late" Toshiro!"
Lelouch, the twins and Suzaku were walking under the cover of the treetops. To Suzaku, the park had seemed like a safe location to rest before continuing on. Lelouch had to admit (and he actually DID admit it, several times in fact) that they would have been in trouble if it weren't for Suzaku. Not only was the Japanese boy highly knowledgeable when it came to wilderness survival, he had been able to get some help from other Japanese when they really needed it, not to mention he could read the road signs and maps, which were all written in the native language.
Lelouch's plan had first been to link up with Britannian forces, who he thought would surely recognize them, and help them get back home. But the very first Britannian soldier they had met, a few days ago, had turned out to be an assassin. If it hadn't been for Suzaku, who managed to take out the man at the last moment, they would have been done for.
After that incident, Lelouch's hadn't quite known what to do. The man had been wearing special forces gear and insignias, so there was no telling who else in the military could be a threat. Maybe it was Clovis, whom Lelouch knew had been put in charge of the invasion, who wanted him gone. Or for all he knew, it could be his father!
After the assassination attempt, Lelouch had started getting paranoid. He had even started to doubt his Grand-Father's ability to deliver on his promise to him to bring them back home safe. When all was said and done, he was only a Baron, wasn't he? Maybe it was better if they didn't go back to Britannia after all.
Suzaku, sensing, and somewhat understanding, his best friend's predicament, had suggested that they try to reunite with some of his relatives from his mother's side, who lived near the Shinjuku area. His uncle Soujiro had been opposed to Genbu's policies that eventually led to the invasion, so he reasoned that he would probably consent to help a couple of Britannian kids, even if they were the children of the emperor.
Seeing no other course of action, Lelouch had agreed to Suzaku's plan, and they were headed to his uncle's residence. From there, Lelouch didn't exactly know what to do. Maybe he could try to get directly in contact with his own uncle. Before they were sent to Japan, Sebastian had shown him how to access L.A.I.'s exclusive communication network from just about any computer or phone in the world.
Shifting Nunnally's weight on his back, Lelouch looked to his left at Rolo. He looked tired, ready to collapse in fact, with dark circles around his clear blue eyes. Rolo had a hard time sleeping, understandably enough. Lelouch and Suzaku could shield Nunnally from most of the horrors they had seen during the past week with her being blind, but Rolo had to see all of it. Lelouch realized that when it came to going back to Britannia, as far as the twins were concerned, he might not have much choice despite all his misgivings and paranoia.
Lelouch was focused enough on those thoughts that he almost bumped into Suzaku's back. The Japanese boy had stopped in the middle of the clearing, looking around, with a frightened look on his face. Lelouch's hairs on the back of his neck stood straight, a reaction which the prince had come to associate with imminent danger.
"What is it, Suzaku?" Lelouch asked.
"Big Brother, is there something wrong?" Rolo asked, a scared expression on his face.
"L-Lelouch, I'm sorry." Suzaku said without turning around.
"Huh?" Lelouch said. He noticed that Suzaku had taken out the combat knife he had picked up on their would-be assassin.
"I think I've led us all into a trap." The Japanese boy said.
"What!?" Lelouch exclaimed, just before a group of about a dozen men jumped into the clearing, effectively surrounding them, their rifles pointed squarely at them. They wore Special Forces uniforms, same as the previous assailant, and their faces were covered by combat gas masks.
"You're a hard bunch of kids to find, Your Highnesses." One of the men said. "Sadly for you, the chase ends here."
That was when Suzaku, his combat knife raised and letting out a battle cry, charged the man. He never got close, as one of the other men clubbed him with the end of his rifle, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. Lelouch watched as the man Suzaku had charged stomped on the boy's left hand, making him lose his grip on his knife. The man then crouched down, and picked up Suzaku by his collar.
"You must be the little rat that off'd Clifford." The man said. "You just wait over there, we'll get to you in a second." The man turned around, and kicked Suzaku in his side, sending him tumbling off to the other side of the clearing.
"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried. He knelt down, and hugged a crying Nunnally and a shaking Rolo. This was going to be it, was it?
"Switch weapons." The man said to the others. Lelouch was too scared to notice it, but they all switched to machine guns used by the JDF. "I'm not a fan of killing children, but with the payoff from this job, we'll all be able to retire, or at least we won't have to take every shit flinging jobs offered to us." The man opened his mouth to give the order to prepare weapons, but he was stopped by his communicator cracking up to life.
"Commander, this is lookout, we got a problem!"
"What is it?"
"We've got JDF goons incoming fast! They're about-haaaaaggghh" The connection cut off.
"Christ!" The Commander said, then turned to of his men, "Steve, you go finish off the native boy." The man nodded, and his commander went back to the matter at hand. "Men, aim weapons!"
Lelouch closed his eyes. He couldn't believe it was going to end like this.
"Mother!" was what Lelouch thought, just before his world erupted in a cacophony of gunfire.
As this was going on, Suzaku was lying on his back, barely conscious. He heard footsteps coming his way, and tried to turn his head towards his friends, but he only managed to make his head face upwards, straight into a rifle's barrel. He blacked out for a second, and then was brought back by the feeling of a warm, sticky liquid dripping on his face. He opened his eyes again, and instead of looking at a gun's barrel, he stared straight up to see a pair of dueling swords trusted into the neck of the man who had been holding the gun.
"What….? Who….?"
Next thing he knew, he was looking at a hail of bullets going over the dying man's head.
Lelouch still had his eyes closed. Were they dead? He could still feel both Nunnally and Rolo on either side of him, so he supposed they weren't. What was going on? He opened his eyes, and what he saw made his jaw drop. The men who a few seconds before were standing around them, and fully intent on killing them, were now lying on the ground, either dead or quickly dying.
In front of him, standing over a groaning Suzaku and holding two bloody sword, was one of the last persons Lelouch had been expecting to see in a warzone; Mathias Wallenstein, his grand-father's bloody butler!
Behind Wallenstein, numerous armed men and women in black uniforms were advancing briskly, their weapons raised with laser sights pointed straight at the downed men. And amongst them, holding a large revolver in one hand and Horus's harness in the other, was his-
"Grand-father!?" Lelouch said, too surprise to even think of getting up.
"Talk about making it just in time." Isaac said, slightly panting.
Behind Lelouch and slightly to the right, one of the downed men, who had fallen face down and away from Isaac, was handling a grenade with shaky hands. The man was just about to grab the pin, but Isaac, seeing the man move, raised his gun in a lightning swift motion and shot him square in the back of the head... half a second before an arrow embedded itself into the top of his skull.
Horus let out a low growl.
"'Talk about making it just in time', was it?" a familiar male voice said, in perfect English but with traces of a Japanese accent, from the shadows behind Lelouch. "You know, one of these days, I'd like to be able to say that. Just once at least."
As Isaac's men raised their weapons in his direction, the speaker came out of the trees' shade. He had obvious Japanese features, although he was taller than most. Wearing the JDF's dark green uniform, the man had looked to be in his early twenties. He had dark brown eyes, slightly tanned skin, and long, spiky black hair that was tied into a messy pony-tail at the nape of his neck. His left hand was tucked into his belt, while his right hand was holding the red shaft of a naginata which rested against his shoulder. The young man had an air of carefree confidence about him, yet Isaac could tell that he had killed before, and didn't look like he'd hesitate to do so again if he needed to.
"Your orders, sir?" Nathaniel, who was to Isaac's right, asked. "There are numerous possible hostiles behind that guy, more than likely armed."
"Better to play it safe, then", Isaac thought, "I can see them." He whispered to Nathaniel, "Stay alert, and act only on my order."
"Yes sir."
"What is your name, soldier?" Isaac asked, " And what is it you want?"
"My name is Toshiro Takahashi, the way you Britannians say it." Toshiro said. "And what I want is my little brother* Suzaku, who happens to be the kid that the Green Samaritan over there was kind enough to save."
Wallenstein, unphased by the strange moniker, bowed slightly in acknowledgment.
"Having me, Suzaku and all my buddies behind me leaving here unharmed, or rater mostly unharmed thanks to that dead child beater over there, would be nice, too."
"I see." Isaac said. "And what do I get in return, if anything, for complying with such a simple request?"
"In exchange, you get the same thing; you, those kids whom I understand to be your grand-children and all of your heavies get to leave here in one piece, bullet-wounds free!"
"It seems more than fair." Isaac said.
"I think so too!" Toshiro said with a smile, "It's better than the alternative, isn't it?" The smile disappeared, "Do we have an agreement?"
Isaac looked down at Lelouch, who was looking right back at him, a scared look on his face.
"We do." Isaac said, then he stepped next to a groaning Suzaku, and slowly knelt down. Toshiro's grip on his naginata tightened slightly, but otherwise he didn't make a move.
"Can walk, son?" Isaac asked a battered Suzaku, "You do understand me, don't you?"
Suzaku nodded, "Y-yes, mister." Suzaku said with heavily accented English, "I-I think I am a-able to walk."
"Good, because this man seems to want you back something fierce." Isaac said.
"I-I know." Suzaku said, coughing a little. "I don't want anything to-to happen to Lelouch, Rolo or Nu-Nunnally. Th-they're my friends, mister."
Isaac smiled, "Is that so?" He helped Suzaku to get up. "Well, your big brother there, or what ever he might be, tells me nothing will happen to them if you go with him. Do you have a problem with that?"
"N-no, mister." Suzaku said. "I'll go with him."
"Good." Isaac said, "From what I can tell, all of you kids went through more than enough. Now go."
Suzaku, holding his left side, limped towards Toshiro.
"Suzaku!" Lelouch called up to his friend when he passed him.
"It'll be alright...Lelouch!" Suzaku panted." I'll-I'll remember you three, and the times we s-spent together."
"I-I won't forget about you either, Suzaku. And, thank you."
"Is Suzaku going somewhere?" Nunnally asked softly.
"Yes." Lelouch said, choking up a little. "He's going with Tosh…And we're going back home with Grand-Father."
Suzaku eventually reached Toshiro, his legs giving out under him. Toshiro caught him with his left arm just in time.
"Hey there, little buddy." Toshiro said Japanese, a smile on his face, "We've been looking for you over half the country."
"I…I'm sorry for having ran away." Suzaku said.
"I'd probably have done worst if I was in your shoes." Toshiro said. "Look like we're done here." He said to Isaac in English. "Have a good day, Mr. Black Baron. Oh, and you too, Perma-Frown!" He said to Lelouch, mirth in his voice, then turned around and started walking away.
After waiting for a few seconds, Isaac started walking towards his grandchildren. Rolo, however, was quicker, getting up and darting towards his grand-father, followed shortly by Lelouch holding Nunnally. The three of them threw themselves into Isaac's arms, crying the same thing; "Grand-father!"
"Hey there, kids." Said an also crying Isaac, "See Lelouch, you kept your promise, and I kept mine."
"Yee-esss!" Lelouch cried.
"Now, let's get the three of you safely back home," said Isaac, "There are people waiting for you."
"Well," Toshiro thought as he glanced over his shoulder at the touching scene, "I guess there are some decent people in Britannia. Who knows, maybe Japan still has a future even if it has been conquered."
The skies over the Tokyo Metropolitan Area
A while later, the three vi Britannia children were on-board one of the Blackcats with their Grand-Father, and were en-route to the Garland. They and Isaac were sitting on the same bench, with Isaac holding a sleeping Nunnally against him, and a dozing Lelouch holding a sleeping Rolo. Horus was lying at Isaac's feet.
"They sure were tired," Jeremiah, who was sitting on the seat opposite to them, said.
"That they were." Isaac said, then he looked outside the chopper's window, and stared at the setting sun for a moment. "They've been through a lot." He then turned back to Jeremiah, "So, son, what'll you do once my daughter's children are safely back in the homeland?"
"I'd like to continue serving you, sir!" Jeremiah said, all serious, "I have done very little to help you, and I feel that there is a lot more hat needs to be done in order for my honor debt to be repaid."
"I won't object to that." Isaac said, "With the empire being what it is, these three are going to need all the help they can in the future."
"Hmmmmmm." Nunnally mumbled in her sleep, "Granpa, you smell funny."
Howard let out an audible chuckle in the cockpit, "Isn't that the truth!" He said. "That's the smell of oil, diesel and gunpowder! I've told you that you should have dry-cleaned your old uniform, sir."
"Shut up, Howard, and concentrate on piloting!" Isaac said.
The garland's hangar
The members of the former Blackguards Irregulars decided to hold an impromptu party right in the Garland's hangar immediately after they got back to the ship.
"Here's to a job bloody well done, guys!" Alphonse said as he rolled a keg of beer over to the group.
"Beer, ye little bastard?" Hector said, bear hugging the smaller man "C'mon! Any real celebration call for ye ol' whiskey!"
"Get off, you mad scot!"
They wrestled around a bit, and doing so, the two of them tripped over the beer keg and they both fell face forward, butt in the air. They were alright, but Hector's kilt felt away, and left his bare hindquarters exposed. The eyes of both Lelouch and Rolo, who had been staring at the scene, went wide as saucers.
"Hector!" Isaac said, ticked off. "I told you a million times I don't mind the kilt, as longs as you wear Something under it!"
"Sorry, old mate!" Hector said, putting his kilt back in place, "Completely forgot! Haven't worn underwear for a decade!"
"Don't tell me that!"
"Real smooth, daddy!" Alex said, laughing.
"Huh, what's going on?" Nunnally asked, more than a bit clueless.
"Nothing sweetie." Isaac said. "C'mon boys, I'll show you three where you'll be sleeping."
Later that evening.
Isaac was sitting in his cabin. He was going through some papers while his grand-children slept in the next room, when someone knocked on the door.
"It's Gale, sir."
"Come in, son." Isaac responded.
Nathaniel opened the door, entered the cabin, and closed the door as silently as he could.
"Here is the report you wanted me to fill, sir." Nathaniel said, handing Isaac a stack of paper.
"You didn't have to do that tonight, you know." Isaac said as he took it.
"I know, but I just wanted to, you know, get it out of the way before joining the rest of the guys."
"How restrained of you."
"I also wanted to tell you about some stuff I pieced together about what happened today."
"Really? Then shoot, son."
"My buddies from the 17th recon called back after they heard we went into the area, and guess what? They were there because they were looking for a unit of JDF special forces. Reports said their commander wields a spear with a long curved head. They were suspected of taking out a team of our own Spec Ops two weeks ago."
"Is that right?"
"They also said that their commander, who they believe is named Toshiro Takahashi, is most likely the same guy who came this close to capture or kill prince Clovis at the battle of Itsukushima. They think he could have, too, if he hadn't been delayed for five minute by a bridge our forces damaged by accident! He's got a huge bounty on his head, from what I hear!"
"What did you tell the guys in the 17th?" Isaac said, lifting an eyebrow.
"I said, 'wow, that's interesting! Make sure to tell me if you find him! Bye!'"
"Real smooth, son." Isaac said. "Is that all?"
"Yes, Sir!"
"Thank you, then, and good night."
"You too sir!"
End of Chapter 4!
Yeeeeeehaaaaaw! Man, I'm on a roll!
Hope you guys liked the chapter! If you did, leave a review! The more you leave, the more I write!
*Suzaku's 'big brother': He's not directly related to Suzaku, which explains the different surname, but he was taken in by Suzaku's father when he was little, so the two of them grew up together in this universe. One of the purposes of is chapter was to introduce him, since he's going to be a major secondary character in this story.