A/N: I went a bit overboard with this chapter. I'm sorry, but I love being able to write for Suzaku and Lelouch and Nezumi and Shion at the same time! I'm so glad I included them = W = I really hope I didn't make them OOC...


Nezumi wasn't sure what had just happened, but based on the few words exchanged so far, it looked to be a heartwarming reunion. The one that wasn't Lelouch gathered the cat into his arms and ran forward, the cat fighting him the whole way. He nearly made it across the yard before the cat bit down on his finger and dashed out of his arms.

"Yeouch! Arthur! I guess you didn't want to say hi to C.C. again." He nursed his injured finger and walked the rest of the way to the gate. "I can't believe you actually found us C.C.! I mean, I knew you were still alive, but I had assumed that you had given up after you heard about Zero being killed."

"I can't believe I found you two either. I had assumed both of you were dead. Not only had you fooled the whole world, but you fooled me too."

His face fell for a second, "Yeah, the good ol' switcheroo can fool even the best of us." He finally seemed to notice Nezumi and Shion standing awkwardly behind C.C. "How rude of me. My name is Sir Suzaku Kururugi, former Knight of Zero." He gave a deep bow and glanced back at the man still standing on the porch. "Lelouch, come say hi. We have guests."

Lelouch started calmly walking toward the group at the gate with a catlike grace that Suzaku's approach lacked. Nezumi was instantly put on edge again. He didn't quite know what exactly seemed off about him, but something about Lelouch just unnerved him. Nezumi didn't even bother covering up his disdain.

Lelouch extended his hand to shake hands with Nezumi and introduced himself, "I'm Lelouch vi Britannia. Pleasure to meet you." Nezumi had to fight the urge to pull back his hand in disgust. So that was why he seemed off to him, "You mean "The Demon Emperor Lelouch vi Britannia"? You can't be serious!"

Shion looked shocked at Nezumi's sudden foul mood. "Nezumi? What was that all about?" He merely scoffed and snapped out a response, "Let's just say that he has quite the legacy. The best day of said legacy was the day he died. I guess that day wasn't as successful as I had read."

Shion stared at the couple in front of him. Suzaku was nearly snarling at this point, but Lelouch was wearing a neutral expression. Suzaku was he one to speak up first. "Don't you dare talk about him that way! That was the worst day of my life! He made a huge sacrifice for the sake of the future! If he hadn't done that we would be living in a world of-"

"Suzaku, stop." Lelouch cut in. He put a calming hand on his shoulder. "Of course he would think that way, the world wasn't supposed to know the truth. In fact, this is the best possible reaction I could've possibly expected. I'm glad at least one part of the plan had gone right." Suzaku calmed down, but his smile had faded from his face and his gaze now focused on the ground.

"I wasn't the only one who didn't understand a word of all that, was I?" Shion piped in. To tell the truth, Nezumi was also throughly confused by every word that came out of the Brit's mouth. It wasn't addressed though because Suzaku had noticed that the three of them looked absolutely dead-tired. "You guys look tired. Why don't you come in and we'll start explaining? I'm sure you have your share of questions too C.C."

Ever-trusting Shion obediently followed behind Suzaku despite just hearing about Lelouch's unsavory title as "Demon Emperor". Nezumi followed Shion quickly getting between him and Lelouch defensively which made Lelouch smirk (well he saw it as a smirk even though it was as true as a smile that Lelouch had; if that doesn't say something about how Lelouch smiles, I don't know what does). C.C. brought up the rear, her usual mask back in place.

The house, even though it looked huge from the outside, it was rather cozy on the inside. Suzaku led them to the dining area while Lelouch went into the other room to start up some tea. Shion savored finally sitting down. The fatigue that of walking for nearly 24 hours straight came crashing down on him. He suddenly needed to plant his hands on the tabletop to remain sitting up and conscious. A line from one of Safu's many neurological rants ran through his head: "When the body is low on sugar, the performance of the brain is severely handicapped and is susceptible to seizures and even stroke, no matter what age you are." That wasn't the best thing to be thinking about at the moment, it kept him from falling asleep on the spot.

Nezumi put his arm around Shion. His eyes revealed his concern for his condition which Shion merely smiled at as if to say "I'm fine" even though he was far from fine. Nezumi started to frown at him, but their silent conversation was cut short when Lelouch walked in and Nezumi's face was cleared of all emotion. Shion however was much more accepting of his arrival on account of the delicious looking plate of Danishes in his hands. He nearly drooled at the sight. Suzaku also intently watched Lelouch enter for a completely different reason: he was wearing an apron. Lelouch smiled for a second. "Its a bit early for breakfast, but I think we could postpone our breakfast till later so you can have ours. It must have taken you all night to get here."

Shion polished off the first Danish in record time and grabbed a second one. "Yeah, it took almost as long as it did to get to the wall from the center of town." He then bit into the Danish and made an effort to eat it slowly. Suzaku tore his eyes from looking adoringly at Lelouch to stare at Shion. "You got from the center of West District to our house in one day? Wow."

"No, from the center of No. 6." Suzaku looked even more surprised at that.

"Seriously? How'd you get past the guards at the gates?"

Shion paused for a moment and set down his Danish. "I used my geass to subdue them..." A collective gasp came from the other aide of the table.

"You have geass, too?" Shion nodded, but then did a double take. ""Too"! What do you mean "you have geass, too"?"

Lelouch sighed. He waved his hand in front of his face and the geass symbol appeared in both eyes. "Yes, I too have geass powers. I don't like using it much anymore, not saying that I even have much of an opportunity to use it much anymore. No one comes around anymore, so it is just Suzaku and I most of the time, and forte most part things have been peaceful. Well, here anyway." The black haired man's face fell and he covered his eyes. "I tried using my geass to change the world, but now it is right back where it started: elitists who live easy lives on the sacrifices of others and a suffering people who can only grasp at the other's trash in hopes that they will finally falter and die. It makes me sick, but Lelouch of the rebellion died along with Emperor Lelouch."

Suzaku's face was smothered in guilt, "Lelouch, none of that was your fault. You did succeed in creating peace, no matter how long it lasted it did work. I was the one who messed it up. If I hadn't ran off to find you the minute I learned you were here, the world would probably still be a great place to live in. I left my position as Zero, and the world went into war."

"We've had this conversation a million times before. In the end it was I who made you become Zero and I who made you leave. I won't have you taking the blame for all this and that is final."

"Sorry for interrupting," Shion flinched when everyone's eyes fell on him. "But do you possibly have any more Danishes?"

Suzaku and Lelouch laughed in spite of themselves and Lelouch got up and said, "Sure. I need to check on the tea anyway."

Suzaku laughed one last time, "I just realized I never caught your name."

"My name is Shion. It seems you already know C.C. and this is Nezumi."

Lelouch set down five glasses of tea and a new plate of Danishes. "Nezumi? Is that really your name?" Lelouch blinked in confusion for a second, "What's so odd about his name?" Suzaku whispered something in his ear. "Oh."

"No need to whisper about it like it's the newest piece of gossip. Yes, that's my name. It was given to me by the good folks at the correctional facility. They saw me nothing more than a rat, so they gave me a name that fit what they thought of me." he looked thoughtfully at the plate of Danishes for a moment. "You said that you would answer our questions right? Well, answer me this: how have you guys been able to live so nicely in the middle of nowhere?"

Lelouch and Suzaku exchanged a look for a second until Lelouch spoke up, "I guess I can't quite say that I decided to not use my geass. Quite awhile ago, No. 6 conducted a search of North District. They found us living here. Up until then, we had been living on reserves that Nunnally had sent to me before the war had started. At first I used my geass to fend them off, but soon they sent in the president of public security over here. I knew if he were to disappear, we wouldn't he able to live here anymore and both Suzaku and I had grown to live this place; I mean this is where we first met.

"He offered us a deal. I stop killing off his men, and they let us join No. 6. I knew right then that they had no idea who we were. So said right there that I, Lelouch vi Brittania, had every right to be here because Japan was still a colony of Brittania, and therefore mine. Luckily, he was smart enough to see the resemblance, and made a deal with me that if I never reclaim my position of power or use my geass on another, then they would let me stay here and supply me with food and anything else I wanted. They were afraid I would try to take over the world again, but like I said, Emperor Lelouch died a long time ago. They don't need to know that though."

No matter how interested he was in hearing about Lelouch's geass, Shion's eyelids and the half a dozen Danishes in his stomach were conspiring against him. "I don't mean to be rude, but did they send you supplies for guest rooms?"

Suzaku grinned, "Sure. This used to be my family's estate after all! Right this way."


A/N: Like I said before, feel free to PM me or ask in your review if you have any questions. I don't want any of you to be in the dark, and I usually respond in less than a day. I hope that even if you don't know these two you were still able to appreciate them!