These sort of chapters are my favorite to write for some reason. It makes me feel empowered to humanize my characters, I guess. Of course, this chapter is centered around my lovely Lulu!
Kallen: Christmas is coming up, isn't it?
SnowyNeko: I can't wait! But there aren't any presents under the tree yet… :(
Milly: Should I plan a gift exchange?
SnowyNeko: Yeah!
Milly: And we can all wear ugly sweaters, and build a life sized gingerbread house!
Kallen: Life sized?
SnowyNeko: Can it be painted with white chocolate?
Milly: Sure! I'll have Lelouch wear a santa outfit, too!
SnowyNeko: I don't want him in a fake beard.
Milly: *smirks* A girl's santa costume.
SnowyNeko: *nosebleed*
Kallen: Umm… SnowyNeko does own any of Code Geass.
SnowyNeko: *faints from lose of blood*
I'm in a field. It isn't just any field, but the one near my half brother's villa that we would play in as young children. Across the grasses, Lelouch is helping his sister Nunnally walk. She's such an adorable little thing, only just growing out of crawling, and Lulu and I absolutely fawn over her. Out of the many children the emperor has had, she has to be by far the most spoiled.
Lelouch is holding Nunnally's hands up to support her while I crouch a short distance away, encouraging her. Upon reaching me, Nunnally giggles that cute little laugh of her that makes everyone around her smile. She clenches her tiny fists around a patch of dandelions nearby and holds them out to her fully blood-related brother.
An irreplaceable grin paints Lulu's face as he accepts them. He's scrawny as a child, but in my eyes he has always appeared as the definition of princely, the knight in shining armor from every girls' dream. Without warning, he leans over and tucks one of the bright yellow flowers behind my ear. For once, I can read his eyes. They tell me that right here, right now, he's content.
And then it happens. Lulu begins to run and I begin to chase him, Nunnally dawdling behind. Just an innocent game of tag, but I know what's about to come. Over and over, so many times. Every time, I can never catch him. Every time, he never stops.
I watch in horror as the perfect boy's eyes fly wide in shock before he tumbles down the hill. Head over heels, his body twists and turns in every which way. I throw my hands over Nunnally's eyes yet again and bury my head in her hair, breathing shakily. I'm too afraid to look. I know what will be there if I do. If I see it, I will scream.
But then there's something new, something that hasn't ever happened before.
"Tori, wake up. You're having a bad dream."
I jolt into consciousness to find the grown up version of that boy sitting next to me. Eyes wide, I jerk upright and throw my arm around his neck.
"Oh my God! Lelouch!" My body is convulsing with shivers, but my grip on him remains tight. A few hiccups escape me, but I manage to hold back the tears. His arms wrap around me as well, and oh, how amazing they feel! I rest my forehead on his shoulder, trying to even out my breathing. "Lelouch! I thought…I saw…I…You're alive!"
"Alive," he repeats, confirming my statement. "And so is Nunnally." I'll realize later that my grip on him must be causing him pain (he never was physically strong), but for now no such thought crosses my mind.
"You…you didn't seem to recognize me…" A final hiccup slips out and all my tension seems to fade. Now, I'm slumped against him and using him to remain in my upright position. He laughs, a sound that finally convinces my eyes to water.
"You always were a sensitive girl, he comments. I smile into his shoulder. He lowers his voice before continuing. "You didn't want my to yell, 'What are you doing here', did you? But you gave me a surprise, Victoria."
"I've told you to call me Tori," I mumble, energy drained. "Thanks to you, I might have to spend the rest of my first day of school bedridden."
"Never mind that," he whispers urgently. "Care to tell me what exactly you're doing here under the alias of Tori Kozuki?"
I turn my head to look at him. Correction, to glare at him. "Care to tell me why you were ordering around the terrorists like their king?" He flinches and becomes stiff. Immediately feeling like I shouldn't have brought it up, I hide my face again.
"Don't answer that," I murmur regretfully. "You never did like the way Britannia ran things." His arms around me are a little less gentle, but my childhood feelings for him keep me from feeling threatened. Lulu was always the one to catch me when I stumbled, or help me up if I tripped. I trust him not to hurt me.
"You still haven't answered my question," he points out. I grin, relieved for some reason.
"For once, Lulu, you've failed to connect the dots," I chuckle. "I even gave you my name over the radio yesterday."
His hands fly to my arms, pushing me back so that he can look at me. "You joined the rebellion." It's a fact, not a question.
"Yup! If you plan to keep your identity secret, I may be helpful as a middleman." The both of us have returned our expressions to their usual masks. Even though I'm celebrating on the inside, this situation calls for me to be serious. Apparently, Lelouch thinks the same, because his face is once again unreadable.
"I'll be counting on you, then, Victoria Britannia."
I raise my hand for him to shake, which he does. "The name is Tori Kozuki." He cracks a smile, sliding back into his school mode. Then I add, "By the way, can you tell me where exactly we are?" I've been wondering ever since I woke up whose bed I was passed out in.
Laughing, he fills me in. "After you fainted, I pretended to freak out and the teacher let me take you here to the infirmary. Kallen was here for the rest of first hour, but I told her I'd stay with you until you woke up. It's near lunchtime now."
"And no one will realize you're gone?"
He shakes his head. "Rivalz will know because he was there in the classroom with us, but I don't have classes with any of my other friends until after lunch."
"So no one will know." I smirk. "What are you, a total zero at this school?"
"Not quite."
All of the sudden, a girl throws open the door to the infirmary in a huff.
"I heard from Rivalz you were here, Lulu!" she exclaims without pause. "Are you alright?" I put up my wall again, shrinking back timidly. As he reassures her he's fine, I nearly scoff. So he kept the Lulu nickname. Then, I feel a pang of surging jealousy. They're getting along so well, and she seems really worried about him.
Catching myself, I bite my cheek harshly until blood spills. As a kid, those sorts of thoughts were fine, but now we're grown. I can't think of him that way, even if we do have different mothers.
"Oh, Shirley, this is the new student Tori Kozuki. Tori, this is my friend Shirley."
Even though the shy smile I give her is nothing but false, I struggle to form it properly. She smiles back at me genuinely. In the hallway, I spot Kallen watching us. I visibly brighten and call out to her, using her like a lifeline. When she comes in, Lelouch excuses Shirley and himself.
Kallen shuts the door behind them and takes the same seat Lulu had. Her expression has reverted back to the one from yesterday, only something seems off. I drop the act and sit up, fully alert.
"Be careful around him," she warns me, clearly meaning Lelouch. "I think he knows more than he lets on."
"What do you mean?" I wonder.
"She told me not to mention Shinjuku to anyone earlier today. I don't know how he would have done it, but it's possible he might be the voice from before."
"I doubt it," I lie easily. "I know you're a Britannian student, but the likelihood of another being a half-blood and actively pursuing the rebellion is low. The odds are even lower because there are already two of us here."
She thinks it over. "You're probably right, but I want to know why he mentioned Shinjuku like that to me. Anyway. That's not what I came here to tell you."
"Then tell."
"Good news for us," she tells me dryly. "Prince Clovis is dead."
Christmas is closing in, and I haven't bought any presents yet! Gah! I don't wanna get coal in my stocking again! Oh yeah, and I've got to do something about that ultra creepy elf on the shelf. I swear, it's planning my murder this very minute. I'll write again soon…If I'm still alive...
Till then, Kisses from SnowyNeko! :3 MEOW!
