Part 03: Differentiation I

A lousy key.

All that the huge envelop contained was one pathetic, little key.

Jane was disappointed to say the least as she turned the golden thing over in her hands.

'There must be something special about it though,' she thought. Why else would her father explicitly state that it was only for her eyes to see?

…

"Such ridiculousness!" One of the men shouted, "A mere child the head of a major corporation?" Others joined in, nodding approvingly of the words being spoken.

"Maybe Hildred has a good reason for this? Remember, there was a time we could trust his opinion."

"A long time ago perhaps but this foolishness? It simply cannot be! Age has gotten the best of him."

The lords gathered around the large table were trying to keep their voices down, in case one of the staff members would overhear their conspiring.

"What do you propose we do about it?"

"We're practically powerless in our current situation."

The shareholders grew silent in the darkened room until one of them spoke again: "Soon…" All heads turned in the direction of the speaker, who had barely said a word the whole time. He had been standing in the far corner, not participating.

"Soon?"

"Yes... soon…" His confidence was enough to shut everyone up as he narrowed his light brown eyes, "and we all know what will be in our best interest?"

Their response said it all.

…

"Who are you?" Jane blurted out before she could stop herself.

The woman sniffed at her rude greeting but answered nonetheless: "My name is Alicia Lohmeyer, Lady Jane," and she walked closer to the younger girl inside the grand hall.

Jane frowned, thinking she had heard that name before. She took the extended hand gently, suspiciously so.

"I'm here to teach you how to be a proper CEO."

…

Jane was still in shock by those three simple letterswhile in the car an hour later. They were heading towards the Ashford's Estate just as she had wanted, but it wasn't Hayato's schedule for her that had granted this, it was her brand new mentor, Alicia Lohmeyer. The fact that this stranger was already allowing and forbidding her things (such as fidgeting with her hair; the second sentence that came out of the woman's mouth when they'd met) was making Jane grind her teeth in annoyance.

But, she decided, not too judge her based on first impressions. Since two of Lohmeyer's predecessors had lasted no more than a month – together one might add– Jane wasn't too worried. Somehow personal tutors and her didn't work out and this would be no exception. So she had no reason to get to know the woman better, but to reject her first act as mentor was a little too unkind in Jane's opinion.

Besides, she did want to see Milly Ashford again. Even though not for the reasons Lohmeyer presented – for Jane to show kindness to a lesser fortunate family of noble blood by paying them the honour of her visit. No, Jane was hoping Milly could raise her spirit a bit with her wit. An all-important meeting was scheduled for tomorrow, where the future of MECHA Industries would be decided. And she, of course, had to attend. A knot twisted itself in her stomach at the thought. She was nowhere near ready for all of this.

Next to her, Hayato was studying her face from the corner of his eyes. Every now and then he switched his gaze inconspicuously to Lohmeyer, who was sitting right across from Jane. The older female was looking out the window to her left, to the clean buildings of the Settlement. Hayato averted his head to the window on the other side of the car, behind which lay the remnants of a once great nation: Japan. Now a ruined ghetto.

It felt good to be in his own country again. Although this was not the Japan he remembered and longed for in his dreams. It was nothing like it.

In the distance, the approach of a helicopter reached his ears.

No one in the car seemed to notice when the aircraft flew overhead at a high speed to a point in front of them, following the same road and a truck that had just passed them.

Jane's thoughts drifted to the red-haired courier, Kewell, again from earlier. His sharp eyes criticizing her messy attire of half-done hair and morning robes. She frowned as she remembered her own suspicions about his role in all this and his connection to her father. The key was practically burning with importance through her clothes from inside the pocket of her jacket. She had wanted to inform Hayato right away about it but hadn't found the right moment to do so – minding her new tutor. Besides, maybe she should take Kewell Soreisi's words literally: only for your eyes to read..

Read? Read what? There was nothing to read in a key. Or was there...?

It was only moments later that their chauffeur hit the brakes because of an unexpected blockade, ripping Jane from her trail of thoughts. A police officer was obstructing the way with his car.

Jane broke the silence: "What's going on?"

The driver unbuckled his belt and opened the door. "I'll inquire that, Milady," he answered before leaving the vehicle.

Hayato did the same after ordering Jane to stay put. Lohmeyer cocked a brow at that, clearly disproving of his ill-mannered behaviour towards his superior.

"It's probably just another accident," Lohmeyer said to Jane, "You know how reckless those Elevens can be in traffic–"

But before she could finish her sentence completely, Jane had already stepped out of the car, Odin in her arms. Staying behind the open standing door, she more or less obeyed Hayato's command and also satisfying her curiosity.

Now, she could hear sirens and the sounds of helicopters and could see Hayato and the driver talking with the policeman, who was gesturing with his hand in the direction of the ghetto.

"Lady Jane, I suggest you get back into the car immediately!" Lohmeyer hissed from her position inside.

Was there another bombing perhaps? Or some other attack by the terrorists?

More vehicles were forced to a halt behind them as time passed and several people got out of their cars. Odin was getting restless in her grip, so she pulled him tighter against her body.

"Lady Jane, please–!"

Suddenly, Odin twisted in her arms and with a shriek of pain Jane let him fall to the ground. He had bit her! She was perplexed beyond belief as she watched him ran off. "No, Odin!" Quickly she regained her senses and hastened after him. "Odin, come back!"

Before Hayato and the others had realized what happened, two figures had flashed by them. Frozen for a second, he blinked a few times. "Jane?"

The dog hurried as if the devil was chasing him and Jane had trouble keeping up, not only because her hesitation to pursue the chase. 'Damn, I didn't know I was this out of shape…' She thought to herself, for fencing it was good enough at least but apparently not for a long sprint.

She could hear the men calling after her, but right now the safety of her pet meant more to her than obeying the rules.

Odin led her to the first exit of the road but he was much faster than she was. Nonetheless she continued to trail after him, clutching her left hand where he had bit her previously. Blood coaxing her fingers but she paid it no mind.

Panting and gasping for breath, she slowed down as a truck loomed up before her. The thing had crashed, she noticed once she had stopped fully, against a construction site. People were gathered around to watch the scene and Jane hesitated to get closer.

This must be the reason of the obstruction.

"Odin!" She couldn't help the yell as it left her mouth, seeing her beloved pet near the rear of the vehicle. Without indecision, she ran forward again.

"Can you hear me? Are you okay?" A male voice said loudly.

A yelp and then the truck started moving again in reverse before Jane could reach it. The last thing she saw was a grey fur ball attached to a pair of black-clad legs by the mouth fall into a space on top of the truck as it drove off hastily. She jumped out of the way, falling over, to prevent herself from getting run over.

She stayed on the ground a little longer before scribbling up, dusting her knees off – which had scratch wounds on them. Her black skirt was also permanently ruined probably. Never mind.

Her eyes flashed around for any type of transportation she could use, before she detected a man standing nearby with a Pizza Hut delivery in his hand.

"Sorry, sir, this is a matter of emergency! I will return it to you as soon as possible!" The guy didn't know what hit him when a young girl pulled the bike from his grip and hopped on. "Your generosity is greatly appreciated!" Jane screamed at him with the orange helmet on her head as she drove away.

…

The hunt was on.

'Nobody takes my dog and gets away with it.' She gritted her teeth and hit the gas even more.

The straps of the helmet slapped against her cheeks as the wind attacked her face. She bet she looked ridiculous at the moment on the silly, bright-coloured Pizza Hut vehicle, her hair and clothes a total mess. She could imagine what Alicia Lohmeyer would have to say about this. She grinned.

"Odin!" She shouted again to pump herself up why she was doing this again. "You give me back my dog, you bastard!" If she was yelling at the driver or at the boy she had seen falling inside the truck with Odin, she wasn't sure.

She was amazed how fast the mope could actually go and she had almost catch up with the truck. The helicopters above was starting to worry her though and when suddenly: "Stop the vehicle!" She gasped and looked up.

"Surrender now and you'll be able to defend yourself in court!" The booming voice scared her. What had she gotten herself into?

"Surrender at once! Or we'll shoot to kill!"

'Shoot to kill?' Jane gulped.

…

"Damned dog!" Lelouch hissed as he pried the stupid animal from his leg. The teeth had left quite deep marks in his ankle and blood was seeping out of the wound, staining his pants. He growled and almost fell over as the truck made an unexpected move to the left. He caught his balance and thought to himself what he should do.

There was no ladder inside the truck, so there was no possible way for him to get out. And the growling dog wasn't helping his nerves one bit.

…

If things couldn't get any worse, the back of the truck began to open and revealed a colossal, red Knightmare Frame inside. Jane moved out of the way immediately, giving room to the weapon that came shooting toward one of the helicopters that her father told her was a so-called 'Slash Harken'.

Next was an explosion up in the air as the green helicopter took a hit.

That was the first time that day that Jane actually felt frightened. Fear began to settle in her bones at the thought of meeting the same faith as the pilot inside, only in an attempt to save her dog. So why did she sped up even more?

The ghetto– they were heading to the ghetto! The realization hit her then and the fear multiplied tenfold.

'No, be brave. For Odin.'

She was next to the truck by now but the plan was still uncertain. As an impulse she reached for the door handle, but the truck was moving too fast and suddenly made an abrupt turn to the left as gunshots were being fired.

Jane hit the brakes instantly, the wheels of the vehicle sliding over the asphalt to a halt. This was becoming way too dangerous and this time Hayato was not around to catch a bullet for her like he always said he would. She suddenly felt very naked without him by her side.

"Hey! You there!" A stern female voice came from the Knightmare that had opened fire on the truck, now standing not ten meters away from Jane and her bike.

…

Jane grunted in the back of her throat. Her mouth felt dry and her head heavy. She tried to lift it off the ground, but to no avail. Her whole body ached. Her arm stung and some warm liquid was trickling down her cheek.

There was complete silence around her and when she slowly opened her eyes, blinking a few times, the world came back to her gradually and so did the sounds.

She was lying in some dark tunnel with beams of light coming through the roof here and there. Fear crept over her in an instant. Where was she? What happened? She looked for Odin out of instinct, as she remembered running after him. He was nowhere in sight and neither was any other form of life for that matter.

As she sat up, her limbs under her control once again, the bright orange bike a few meters to her left caught her eye. She frowned. Was she underground?

I remember–! In the middle of a gasp she was interrupted by the echoing of over a dozen of voices. They were muted, coming from the end of the tunnel behind her. She had to act quickly.

Hurrying to get on her feet again, she hissed at the pain that shot through her ankle. She cursed and hopped to the nearest hiding spot. It was a hole in the subway wall, created by years and years of war above ground. She could hear the Knightmares in the distance but the human voices so close by were scaring her more. What if they were terrorists? Her heart began to speed up at the thought of them capturing her and doing whatever it was those Numbers did with honest Britannian citizens.

Her panic started to rise as images of torture flashed through her mind. She decided to act quickly. Pushing past the pain in her right limb, she shuffled further into the narrow gap in de wall, feeling surprised at how convenient it actually was.

The sound of barking reached her ears suddenly and she listened carefully. "Odin…" she whispered to herself.

…

Hayato growled, "What do you mean you don't know her whereabouts?" He was furious. More at himself than at the lousy policemen. He had failed miserably as her guardian.

The look on Lohmeyer's face spoke volumes as their gazes met. As if she was telling him she knew from the start he was unfit to protect her. That did it for him.

Before the policemen had time to blink, Hayato had swiftly moved past them. "Hey!" They yelled after him, but he was already heading in the direction of the ruins. They knew what was inside that truck and chances were that the girl wouldn't survive if it were to explode.

…

"Hey! Open up! My dog is in there!" Jane banged her fist on the iron doors of the truck. She had followed Odin's calls for help and found the truck and his (possibly) dangerous captors in no time. "Do you hear me! I want you to give me back my dog!"

She took a breather and stepped back a moment that caused a stab of pain to shoot through her ankle. The tiers of the vehicle began spinning rapidly suddenly as the driver hit the gas pedal, but they were stuck in the muddy ground. Jane gasped, hurrying around the truck – or rather hobbling around it. Cautiously she made her way to the passenger's side and went to reach for the door handle.

"Excuse me, Miss. Could you please step away from the vehicle?"

The friendly voice made her turn around. She came face to face with a figure clad in an all-black armor, including helmet and facemask.

She recognized that armor. It belonged to the infantry of the Armed Forces of the Holy Britannian Empire. Relieve washed over her and then confusion. What was happening? Why was the military involved? Or better yet, what was it about that truck? "I'm sorry, but what is going on here?" Jane suddenly became very aware of the life threatening situation she had put herself into. She could hear Lohmeyer's disapproving words already: 'all for a stupid house pet'. Hayato's worried eyes also appeared before her, more concerned than angry. He was never angry with her, no matter what she had done. She could never figure out why.

"Miss, you are not supposed to be here," the young male said, carefully approaching her with his hand stretched forward, "This is a very dangerous situation." Now that she agreed with.

"I am just looking for my dog. Please, help me find him–" But then as if on cue, the mentioned animal jumped into her arms, whining slightly out of distress. "Odin! I'm so glad you're okay!" Jane caressed the dog, holding it tightly against her chest. "I'll never let you leave my sight ever again."

The soldier smiled a little at the sight of the girl's affectionate behaviour towards her pet, as if everything else around her was of no importance. But he snapped back to reality when he noticed movement behind her. The side door of the cargo part of the truck slit open and Jane wasn't the only one that was shocked to see a tall, Britannian schoolboy inside.

In a flash, Jane saw the still unidentified soldier run past her and kick the person inside on the chest, knocking him down in the process. Her hand moved up to cover hear mouth in awe at the brute force of the attack and the suddenness, her eyes wide.

…

Clarice Lockwood grit her teeth in frustration. With her hands in her hear she listened to the man on the other end of the line. How could they have screwed up this badly? Losing sight of her a day before the plan that would fix everything? "No, no!" She smashed her fist on the table, interrupting the discussion, "You do as I say and find her immediately! Thanks to that German bitch I didn't get a chance to talk to her yesterday and show her the will! So do not try to persuade me into staging her death as a result of the Shjinziku situation!" She yelled in the speakerphone. 'How appealing it may ever sound,' she thought to herself. "Lord Diamond will not have her killed. She is a girl for God's sake!" a short pause as the secretary calmed herself and leaned back in her old boss's chair, "I'm confident I can convince her what's in her best interest… I'll make her an offer she won't refuse."

Outside the door, a man pushed his glasses further up his nose, grinning. "You bit off more than you can chew, Clarice," Adrian whispered, pushing his body from the wall he had been leaning against with his back.

Disloyalty was punished by death…

…

Death… it was just a hair's breath away. And that realization hit her hard in that moment, the moment that the capsule inside the truck opened and a bright light blinded her eyes. She duck to the ground out of instinct, with Odin protected safely in her arms, her face buried in his soft fur. If she were to meet her end now, at least he was by her side. The last present her father ever gave her and that meant the most to her.

'But think about all the things you had yet to do in this life? You have accomplished practically nothing! Besides being born fortunately…'

She braced herself. Odin stayed completely still, as if he knew catastrophe was near.

There was moments of silence. But no blast, no poisonous air, no fire or burning flesh.

Slowly, Jane raised her head, peaking up from under her bangs. Huh? What the–? Her mouth dropped in confusion for the numerous time that day. What she saw seemed surreal: a human girl with long, green hair was inside the now open container. Her body was trapped in a white straitjacket so she couldn't really move and her mouth was covered too. But the most captivating thing were her eyes. Fierce and seductive, yet slightly sad. She was absolutely gorgeous.

The soldier that had spoken to her so gently before and the schoolboy – who turned out to be quite handsome Jane decided when his face came into clear view for the first time – had taken the mysterious woman from her imprisonment. Thank God they were not part of the terrorist organization that was rumoured to inhabit these parts of the city. And the fact another civilian had gotten involved by mere coincidence made her sigh in relief.

"Tell me the truth. Poison gas? This girl?" The schoolboy apparently knew the soldier. Jane frowned, 'what is going on here?'

"Hey, it's what they told us in the briefing, I swear."

"How is she?" Jane jumped in, not feeling the least bit comfortable with being in the dark.

Lelouch looked in the direction of the anxious voice but Suzaku answered for him: "I don't know. I think she's alive." He had his back to her and Lelouch was still watching her when she kneeled next to them. His eyes were narrowed.

Jane put Odin on the ground as she reached over to help the soldier unzip the suit the green-haired female was trapped in. She was unconscious and looked like she had been in a lot of pain. The dog was wagging it's tale for some reason, sniffing intriguingly at the body of the woman.

She ignored the suspicious looks the boy in the school uniform was giving her and glanced sideways at the other male, who's face she saw for the first time. Those graceful features… green, curious eyes… nothing but complete concern and kindness…

Memories of a past that had faded away in the back of her mind flashed before her eyes in a chaotic sequence of colors, movement, flowers, smiles, tears– laughter of children reached her ears; running and chasing each other; carefree and perfect; but then tall grown-ups with serious faces; the rape of their naïve innocence, because of war…

"Suza–" His name had almost left her lips but something interrupted her: a set of bright lights focusing directly on them.

…

It all happened so fast. The police finding them, the mean captain ordering Suzaku to shoot the 'terrorists', by which he meant the schoolboy and her. It was only then that Jane snapped out of her daze (mostly due to the shocked condition she was still in from the moment she had realized her long lost childhood friend was in the Britannian army and right beside her, not recognizing her in the slightest), and spoke up.

"Hold it right there, sir." Her voice was more shaky than she wanted but confident nonetheless, "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Jane!" Hayato's shout boomed through the hangar. "I m-mean… Miss Godfrey!" He corrected himself after realizing the improper way he was addressing his superior.

He rushed past the group of soldiers to the dark-haired girl standing in the middle. She had scratches on her knees and her hair was an absolute mess. She looked a bit bewildered upon seeing him too.

The captain with the nasty scar on his right temple grimaced and all his men immediately pointed their gun at the intruder. "Well, well, well… if that isn't–"

"Save it, Gargoyle," Hayato told him harshly. And Jane snapped from her trance, hurrying over to him immediately. Thank God, she was safe. His body felt strong and all muscle when he took her under his arm, even kissing the top of her head. "Silly girl, don't ever scare me like that again." She looked up to him, a little apologetic smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

The realization hit Suzaku in that moment. 'Godfrey?' He was too shocked to move while Jane's rescuer wasted no time and turned to get the hell out of there.

"Sir?" One of the soldiers asked the captain, eyeing the pair. "Leave them," The curt answer came directly, "For now." He gave Hayato a meaningful look. He in return nodded at him.

The eerie feeling that crept over Jane as they left was growing with every step they took. "Wait!" She tried to detach herself from Hayato's now quite firm grasp but he held her even tighter, "Please, Miss," He said softly, "Trust me, you don't want to see this."

"See what?" Confusion was written all over her face. And she suddenly was the little girl again all those years back, when the grown-ups knew things and wouldn't tell her. For her own good, they said. "Hayato, no–" he didn't answer her, which made her anger rise. She began to struggle more and look back at the scene behind them. "No, I don't want to– let me go!" But it was no use. Her half-hearted attempts to escape his grip were pathetic. He was much stronger than her and more determined at that. And before she knew what had happened, her vision started to become blurry, a resolute force pressing against her neck.

Everything went black

…

"Suzaku!" Jane sat up with his name blurting from her mouth. Bewildered she looked at her surroundings, panting from the intensity of her recent dream, or nightmare more likely. 'What..? Where am I-?' Eyes wide and sweat on her forehead, she felt a gentle but yet strong hand touch her shoulder and push her back into the softness of the cushions beneath her again. She didn't resist, slowly turning her head to the man next to her bed.

"Kyuseishu…" (savior)

His dark eyes came in to focus slowly. She was still dreamy and her mind clouded. And Jane reached her hand up to touch his face. But Hayato stopped her movement midway.

"Milady," he said, kissing the hand she had reached out to him with, "how are you feeling?"

Jane smiled, "It was all just a bad dream, wasn't it?" Her head began to pound as she tried to remember the dream.

After a moment of contemplating silence he nodded.

"I'm glad." Jane breathed, her eyelashes caressing her cheeks softly.

"My darling, I'm glad to see you are awake!" The deep, rich voice came from the door, where Hildred was standing. His enthusiasm startled Jane from her half-slumber.

"Grandfather," But before Jane could speak any further, Hildred told Hayato to leave with a quick motion of his head. He did, with a reluctant look on his face.

Even before the door was closed, Hildred's whole demeanour changed: "I will not have you running off like that again, do you understand?" He spoke as he strode to her bed slowly. He was being much more stern than he used to be. She had never heard him speak to her like this. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? The company– I mean, we could have lost you–"

"But–"

"No 'buts', young lady, this is not the time for games any more. You have a responsibility to your father, to me, to your family."

So it really wasn't a dream at all… That realization made her bright awake all of the sudden.

"Jane…" Hildred's tone became more kind. He sighed, taking place at the food of her bed. "I'm sorry, but you have to understand this is not acceptable any longer."

Jane nodded slowly, deep in thought.

"Will you promise me never to act so impulsively again?"

She could feel his sharp eyes on her, even though she was avoiding his gaze.

"Janey?" He insisted.

A sigh, "Yes, grandfather."

Hayato listened at the door with his back against the wall; his eyes closed.

"I will not disappoint you again." That was the last thing she'd ever wanted. It always broke her heart to see that look on his face, the look of failure. Not only of her, but of himself in teaching her.

"Good. Now rest. You will need your strength the next couple of days." With that he kissed her forehead and rose (a bit inelegantly) from the bed.

"Grandfather–." Jane stopped Hildred halfway through the door, his hand on the doorknob, "… it wasn't his fault." She almost blurted the words out, as if a quick apology. What had happened in the hanger all came back to her now. The way Hayato had protected her but had also forced her along against her will and took her here, God knows how exactly without her knowledge.

Hildred only blinked at her and shut the door.

Jane screw up her face in dismay. She knew her grandfather all too well and Hayato was going to feel his anger. It was only that she really started to worry when she heard the lock switch.

Hayato let the old man knock him on the ground with his cane. He stayed there, with his cheek pressed against the carpeted floor, the tip of the cane digging into his back.

"If any harm comes to her…" Hildred growled, "… you will pay the ultimate price… do you understand?" He emphasized every word with a hiss.

His blood was boiling. How could he let this man treat him like this? He could take him on, two hands behind his back, but he wouldn't… he… couldn't… he had promised her. So he swallowed his pride.

"Well?!"

"Yes, sir." Hayato answered bitterly.

Jane held her breath on the other side of the wall, her hand pressed against her mouth. The tears were building up behind her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She tried to steady her breathing, focusing on the smiling face and gentle kisses that her grandfather would give her. But poor Hayato–

The wooden cane struck his back again and Hayato stifled a groan.

"That's right. Remember your place here."

It wasn't until Jane heard footsteps dying away that she attempted to open the door. "Hayato," she whispered. "Hayato, can you open the door, please?" she pulled at the knob some more.

"No, Milady," he told her softly.

She couldn't tell what his emotions were by his voice but she felt the urge to hug him, to apologize. "I'm so sorry, Hayato, it was all my fault."

"No, I failed you, Milady." His words stung and hit her right in the chest, like a sharp-pointed arrow. The hurt made her sympathy turn to anger in a matter of seconds: "Then go." She said harshly, "Go and repent."

He didn't question her and bowed his head shortly before getting up and leaving down the hallway.

Now the tears finally fell.

…

Short, white fingers dug into the ground, grabbing the golden object his purple eyes had spotted from a distance. 'Yes…' he held the key up to his face, studying its shiny exterior.

"Getting sloppy already?" He mumbled to himself, "… Janey?"

…