Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

Author Notes: I apologize for the long wait and then this shitty chapter. It is kind of like a filler chapter. As far as Lelouch goes, I swear he will be making an entrance from the next chapter onwards. And wouldn't it be fun to see him interact with friends and enemies from past life? Especially Suzaku... just so you know what to expect.

Chapter 7: The Masked Classmate

One Week Ago

Tamaki liked to think of himself like a no nonsense kind of person. A person who didn't stand for any of the stupid things the others seemed to do and always spoke his mind whether his opinion was welcome or not.

More importantly he wasn't the kind of person to believe in a mysterious voice mail predicting the death of his best friend.

Tamaki stared at his phone in silence as he tried to make sense of what he had just listened to.

The phone itself looked prehistoric. It might have well as been from another age with its battered condition. But none of it really mattered to Tamaki. He never actually used his phone anyway. It was only kept for emergencies for the times when the group was split up.

"Hey Tamaki. What are you doing, standing all alone in the dark over there?"

For some reason Tamaki couldn't fathom, his hands automatically dropped the phone back into his pockets. Why did he feel the need to hide it? It wasn't like it was anything wrong. It was just a bloody prank. But who would go through all the trouble for such a silly sounding prank?

"Nothing much buddy. I was just waiting for the rest of the guys to show up." Tamaki grinned widely at Naoto. Naoto returned the grin with his own smile before coming to stand beside Tamaki.

The abandoned warehouse in the ghettos was not the most ideal location to have meetings but they had little choice in that aspect. It was a great thing they even had anywhere to hold their meetings given the strict surveillance of the Britannian officers recently. Now there were only the two of them there waiting for the rest of the members of the group to come.

Ohgi was the next one to arrive after them and smiled dryly when he saw Naoto and Tamaki.

"The first ones as always huh?"

Soon the warehouse was filled up with people of all ages. Tamaki noted that Naoto was one of the youngest people over here. It made him frown and think about the voice note again but he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. He shouldn't let this prank affect him too much.

'If it was a prank', his mind supplied unhelpfully.

He frowned and tried to concentrate on what Ohgi was saying. "So Naoto has got the information of a shipment of something important being moved so this raid will still be conducted in order to distract them." Ohgi glanced at Naoto who nodded grimly. Everyone had determined expressions attached to their faces.

"It will make them lower their guard since we don't normally strike so quickly in succession." Ohgi quickly dived into the specifics and Tamaki found his attention waning once again. His thoughts came back to the voice mail no matter how much he tried to forget about it.

"Long Live Japan!" Ohgi hailed as the others quickly joined in. The meeting had ended. Tamaki joined in too but he still couldn't help glancing at the boy beside him.

Maybe this was all a prank and maybe someone was fooling with him. But still- he sighed and pursed his lips. If there was even a little chance of it being true then he would have to look out for Naoto. He couldn't let his best friend die when he could save him.

"Ready Tamaki?" Naoto was grinning now, his face flushed and excited at the prospect of beating back the Britannians.

Tamaki's resolve strengthened. He wasn't going to risk losing his best friend. "As ready as I'll ever be."

"Hello, Shinchiro Tamaki. I am sure you are surprised by this voice mail that I have sent to you and are no doubt confused about it. Please listen very carefully Mr. Tamaki, for I am about to tell you something very important. Your best friend, Naoto Kouzuki will be shot in the upcoming raid if you do not heed this message and save him. Don't worry, our medics will be standing close by in case something goes wrong but the task of saving him is entirely up to you. Thank you for listening.. oh and, failure to comply will result in an accident which will usher forth your untimely death. Goodbye for now Mr Tamaki... and good luck with the rebellion."

Naoto gritted his teeth as Nagata drove roughly, trying to control the truck. He hadn't expected things to go smoothly but neither had he expected so many difficulties.

"These Britannians are relentless." Nagata cursed as he took another turn that would lead them into Shinjuku Ghetto.

Naoto smiled wryly. "Well they aren't going to allow a bunch of terrorists to get away after stealing something precious of theirs."

"Is this military weapon even worth this risk?" Nagata asked swearing around objects forcing Naoto to hold on tightly.

"By the way they are chasing us all over the city, I would say yes." Naoto frowned as he caught a look of more of them joining the chase. His eyes widened momentarily as he caught sight of Knightmare Frames joining the fray. But as soon as the shock came, it subsided leaving a small smirk on his face.

"What are you smiling about?" Nagata glanced at him.

"It's my turn to take care of things now." Naoto made his way towards the back of the truck where the Guren was waiting for him. He wasn't ready to die. Not just yet.

He wasn't going to throw away the life Tamaki had fought so hard to save. And while today's plan may be going haywire due to the fact that Tamaki had been injured trying to save him during their last raid he would never fault his friend for it.

Naoto bet that he would have been dead meat by now if it hadn't been for Tamaki who jumped in front of him and took the bullet in his place. And it was for him and the other people who was dependent on him, that he couldn't fail. It just wasn't an option.

Taking his seat, he grinned widely as the back door opened and the sun shined on his face. It was his time to prove himself.

Lelucia knew something was wrong with the truck the moment it started to speed off. She wasn't sure exactly what until she saw a boy her age heading towards the back. She knew that he wouldn't be too happy to see her so she kept herself well hidden. Yet there was something familiar about the boy that she could not place.

She had seen him somewhere. She had an exceptional memory and never forgot the faces of people after seeing them once. But she couldn't recall where she had seen the boy.

She had to stop her mouth from dropping open as the boy exited the vehicle with a Knightmare.

'Don't tell me this is a terrorist truck.' She thought desperately.

'Damn it!' She cursed her conscience. She should have just left the place instead of reacting and trying to find out if the people in the truck were safe. Now she was trapped in a terrorist truck heading for god knows where with no guarantee of coming out alive.

She slid down to the ground and cradled her head in her hands. Her brilliant mind usually full of ideas seemed strangely empty now. Flipping open her phone she sighed as she saw that there was no signal. This truck seemed to be blocking all kinds of electric signal. Whatever was in the chamber had to be something really dangerous for the government to act so desperately. Or maybe….

Or maybe it was not only dangerous but a disastrous secret.

Disastrous for the people involved if anyone else found out about it.

Just as she was going to get up to investigate the truck began to bump around throwing her against the walls. She tried to steady herself and hold onto the chamber.

'I guess we are in some kind of underground tunnel.' She thought. There was no way the terrorists would enter the main city so the only option was the ghettos. And with the bumpiness she guessed it was an underground tunnel in hopes to escape the soldiers.

But there was a sinking feeling in her stomach as the truck bounced even more and curved all around. If the Britannians were ready to send out Knightmare Frames to get this containment back there was no way they would stop from destroying the ghetto to get what they wanted.

The truck bounced around some more before making a sharp turn that sent Lelucia reeling to the other end of the truck.

And then it crashed.

The crash knocked the air out of her and it took her a few minutes to regain her bearings. Lelucia coughed and looked around warily as she stood up. The door was open and she was free to go. But there was something that stopped her that kept her back.

But she quickly shook the feeling off and dragged herself out the truck. This wasn't the time to stall or she would get herself killed.

She was right about it being an underground tunnel. It was too dark to clearly distinguish what exactly had happened and where she was but as her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness she could pick out different things like the truck had lost control and the person who was driving was still stuck in the truck.

But before she could go to investigate she heard footsteps. Automatically she receded into the truck near the container. She felt the pull towards the container but it was weak and she was able to write it off as a side effect of hitting her head when she fell into the truck.

"Who are you?!" She backed away as another person- a Britannian soldier- entered the truck. She knew that this wasn't going to look good for her and before she had a chance to explain herself the soldiers paused and whispered, "Lelucia."

She abruptly came to a halt as she stared at the soldier who was removing his gas mask.

"Wha-"

"It's Suzaku, don't you remember?" And it was Suzaku with the same messy brown hair and bright green eyes. For first time in forever she was speechless. Her usually sharp tongue had abandoned her as she tried to understand what he was doing here in a Britannian soldier's uniform.

"Suzaku?" She eventually settled for his name posed like a question because she still couldn't believe it was him of all the people.

"What are you doing here?" She asked running her eyes over his attire. And all of a sudden the foggy haze of confusion was lifted and she narrowed her eyes. "Don't tell me you work for the Britannian Army now?" She wanted him to tell her that it wasn't what she thought.

Hell, she would be happy to know that he was with the terrorists but she knew that it wasn't the case. Her thoughts were only confirmed when a guilty expression over took his features as he looked down at the ground.

She pursed her lips but before either of them could say anything the container began to open.

"Watch out." Suzaku pushed the gas mask over her face as they both fell to the ground. She wanted to berate Suzaku for the stupid move; now he was the one without any protection but instead just groaned in pain as they hit the ground.

For few moments she was disoriented; a person was not supposed to be thrown around like a rag doll so often.

It was a girl.

Lelucia rushed to her side and loosened the gag on her mouth. She seemed to be alive though unconscious. She turned her glare to Suzaku and hissed, "Is this what Britannia was trying to hide?" She felt a savage satisfaction at the shocked look on Suzaku's face as well as a bit of relief. It didn't seem that Suzaku knew anything about it.

"I really didn't-" He shook his head and came closer to her.

"We were said that it was poison gas at the briefing." He explained as he helped her untie the bounds. "I didn't know that there was a girl in there or else-"

"You damn monkey!" Lelucia and Suzaku froze in their efforts and turned towards where the voice had come from. Lelucia nearly groaned when she caught sight of the Britannian soldiers who were clearly of a high ranking.

"Sir! We found this girl in the capsule." And Suzaku- stupid, brave Suzaku- ran towards the man with his back kept rod straight. Lelucia reflected that she had never seen Suzaku act so respectfully towards anyone since she had met him. She stood up and took a few steps towards them, trying to keep the girl shielded from their view.

"Who asked you to tamper with it?" The officer snapped as Lelucia felt the hair in her arms raise up. It didn't sound very good for either of them. Suzaku still stood in front of the officer with his head held high but Lelucia knew that it wouldn't be long before-

"You committed a grave mistake but since you found the container I am ready to overlook it." Lelucia didn't dare hope. She had been with Britannia long enough to know that they wouldn't let any witness's go so easily. "Provided that you shoot the girl who is working with the terrorist."

"But sir she isn't a terrorist, she's just a civilian who-"

"Silence!" It echoed around the cave and Lelucia swallowed. She knew that Suzaku would never shoot her but she still couldn't be sure. Time changed a person. The Suzaku she knew would never have joined the Britannian Army let alone let anyone talk to him with such disrespect.

"I won't shoot a civilian." Lelucia smiled as Suzaku turned towards her with a smile but before Lelucia could gather her wits she heard the shot and Suzaku fell forward.

She stumbled back a few steps, her mouth open in shock. It wasn't that she didn't know the extent the Army could go in its cruelty but the fact that Suzaku had died saving her was something she could not swallow. She couldn't tear her eyes away from his body even after she heard the man say, "Now it's your turn girl-"

Suddenly there was an explosion from the truck and the roof fell in. Her attention snapped back to the situation. She couldn't let herself be distracted by it. Suzaku might have died but it wouldn't be justice to him if she let his sacrifice go in vain. And there was Nunnally to think about.

With that thought alone she managed to drag the now conscious girl out of there and into another side tunnel. She hoped that the distraction would be enough so temporarily deter the Royal Guard from following them. The girl, although conscious, was not making any effort to try to walk herself and Lelucia couldn't walk for long before she lost whatever will power she had and let go of the mysterious girl.

She herself slumped to the ground as she glared the girl who was staring at her with golden eyes. "It's all your fault isn't it? The reason Suzaku is-" Lelucia shook her head and buried her face in her hands. She couldn't go around blaming the girl for something she had no control over. She too, like Lelucia and Suzaku, was merely a victim of the whims of the Britannian Empire. But Lelucia still didn't understand why they had kept her captive.

Another explosion shook the ground and propelled Lelucia to her feet. There was no time to waste.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." She snapped as she offered her hand to the girl. The girl accepted it without saying anything and Lelucia decided that it was for the best since this wasn't the time to be distracted by talks no matter how much she wanted to know what was happening.

Her priority was getting to safety.

And she moved carefully, balancing half the girls weight as she draped herself over Lelucia. But Lelucia knew better than to complain so she let it slide.

She blinked as she saw a way out; light shining from above in what looked like a route toward a warehouse from the tunnel. She quickened her pace and crouched on the steps leading to the abandoned warehouse. She was about to move up before she heard the unmistakable sounds of the man who had murdered Suzaku.

She froze.

"Oh, so this warehouse has already been cleaned up." There was malicious glee in his voice and it was only then that Lelucia notice the putrid smell of corpses and blood that hung in the air. She gritted her teeth. They had killed the Japanese hiding in this warehouse for no reason.

"Well then, let's move on to the next one."

Lelucia let out a sigh of relief but it was too soon. A loud blaring noise filled the warehouse as she tried to get out her phone and put a stop to the ringing. She glanced at the Caller ID before shutting it off. 'Thanks so much Shirley.' She fumed.

"Oh so little Missy is hiding here?" She gulped as the man stood above her grinning at her.

After a few minutes she was restrained along with the girl. "I am really sorry little Missy that this had to end this way but we really have no other choice." He pointed his gun at her. She closed her eyes and thought of Nunnally, her mother and even her brother.

I am sorry Nunnally.

"No don't shoot her!" Lelucia's eyes snapped open in time to see the girl push in front of her and take the bullet for herself. She gaped at the girl's body as the soldiers looked shocked.

"Damn it." The man cursed. "Well it cannot be helped. We just have to report that she was already dead by the time we reached in here." He turned back to Lelucia.

"No one to save you now."

"You don't want to die do you?" And she fell into darkness.

"Private Kururugi, missed your chance to go to heaven haven't you?" Lloyd was cackling as he glanced at the Eleven they had rescued from the tunnels.

The boy didn't reply but just looked a bit confused and….. worried. Interesting.

"Is Lelu-" He stopped in middle of his sentence like he had thought better of asking that question. "What is the status now?" Lloyd smiled.

Ignoring his question Lloyd leaned forward into Suzaku's personal space causing the boy to lean back. "How would you like to pilot a 7th generation Knightmare Private Kururugi? I am assuming you learnt the basics of Knightmare control before." Lloyd glee only increased at the stunned look on Suzaku's face. He normally wouldn't be so keen on letting his Lancelot out without finishing the final adjustments but he had orders from the top to let the Knightmare take part in today's battle and special instructions that Private Suzaku Kururugi had to be the one to pilot it.

Lloyd had long since stopped questioning his boss's decisions no matter how crazy they sounded since they added more spice to his life and resulted in him creating brilliant Knightmare Frames.

And there was always a reason behind his boss's madness even if it wasn't apparent at the first glance.

That man was practically a genius and this was coming from Lloyd.

So he didn't question the decision taken and merely asked Cecelie to give the boy the manual to read. He cast a glance at the screen and shook his head in amusement as he saw the diminishing number of Britannian forces. As his boss has predicted, they would have no other choice but to allow Lancelot into the battlefield.

It was time.

Lelucia was quickly running out of energy. Everything had been going according to her plan until the damned White Knightmare had interfered. Now it was pursuing her and most of her troops were gone and she might be staring at deaths face.

Not today. She swore and she kept shooting in hopes of at least slowing her opponent down.

She ejected when it didn't seem like there was anything else to do. She thought that the White Knightmare would come behind her even after she ejected but was pleasantly surprised when she landed unharmed. Leaving the pod, she looked around and realized that she was near Clovis transport vehicle. She grinned as a plan formed in her head.

The next day at school was spent thinking about what she had done yesterday. When they announced that the massacre was due to the Poison gas she couldn't bring herself to be surprised. It was clear that they were trying to avoid panic and anarchy by doing so.

She had already vomited twice since yesterday and she wasn't keen on eating anything more. Her night was filled with nightmares of her killing Clovis, seeing their mother being killed along with Suzaku and even Nunnally - She pursed her lips as she discarded the thought. Now was not the time to be backing off.

She entered the classroom and came to an abrupt stop.

"Hey Lawrence! Where have you been all these days?" Richard and a few other boys were huddled around the desk of Lawrence Stadtfeld and it was with a jerk that she realized who the boy piloting the Knightmare yesterday was.

Lawrence Stadtfeld. Brother of the- most probably- future Queen of Britannia. She vaguely remembered meeting and talking with Kallen but the memories were nothing concrete. But she never knew that Kallen had a brother who was in her class let alone went to the same school as her. But she was sure that Lawrence desk stayed empty for most of the year since she never really remembered it being occupied.

"Didn't feel like attending." Lawrence shrugged carelessly as she went to her seat. "Also had a bit of family business to take care of."

"Don't tell me you are actually interested in him." Rivalz whispered from behind her. "Though I have to admit that he is a god catch what with his sister going marry Prince Lelouch in the near future." Lelucia knew that it was not jealousy talking but the bias that was ingrained in the minds if all the Britannians.

Lawrence resembled the Japanese more than Britannians and Lelucia knew that there was no way he would be allowed in the school if it wasn't for the fact that his sister was in a high position of power.

"Are you still staring at him?" Rivalz amused voice broke through her musings.

"I was just wondering about the fact that he doesn't show up most of the time." She turned back to her notes, keeping the blank expression on her face.

"He is the heir of the Stadtfeld family so he does have the business to run. And," Rivalz leaned in conspiratorially, "The fact that he looks like Japanese had led to plenty of questions and silent accusations but nothing concrete. He is clearly a half Britannian and though everyone treats him with respect I think he knows what they really think about him. I doubt he would want to spend time with people like that."

"A half huh?" Lelucia muttered, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

It made her think about Kallen. It was more than probable that Kallen too was a half-blood though no one would ever dare say that aloud. Despite that fact Lelucia was sure that Lelouch wouldn't care about it since he seemed completely smitten by Kallen. Of course, Lelucia herself had been away from him for the past seven years so she didn't know if he was still in love with Kallen but if the news were to be believed than they were still growing strong.

Then why would Lawrence, who would become one of the more powerful influences when the wedding finally did take place, fight against Britannia?

The teacher entered the classroom and everyone sat in their places. Her eyes kept on drifting towards the brown haired boy who was looking bored but she knew that she couldn't do anything just yet.

Her Geass could come in handy for questioning him but even then she had to be careful that no one would see her. She was sure that Milly would leave no effort to embarrass her if she heard any rumors regarding them and that was one thing that Lelucia wanted to avoid at any cost.

So when she spotted Lawrence alone, leaving the school later that day, she cornered him.

"Yes?" Lawrence asked, raising an eyebrow. Lelucia took a moment to study him more closely and noticed the slight similarities between Kallen and Lawrence. They both had the same face cut and hair even though it wasn't apparent at first glance.

"I was wondering if you could help me by answering my questions." Lelucia asked as she activated her Geass. She was sure about the fact that Lawrence was the one who had been the one in Shinjuku but she wanted to know why he went against his sister.

Unless she too was involved in this.

"Of course." Lawrence answered as the Geass overtook him.

"You were the one at Shinjuku aren't you? Why are you fighting against Britannia Lawrence?" She decided that it would be better to come straight to the point and finish off the conversation as soon as she could since it would reduce the chances of anyone seeing him with her.

"Yes I was the one. I am fighting because I am Japanese. My name is Naoto Kouzuki." Despite the blank look on his face; there was a conviction in his voice that wasn't missed by her. She took a moment to digest the new name- which sounded like his real one- before continuing with her line of questioning.

"But your sister -"

"She isn't my sister!" Lawrence- or rather Naoto- scowled. Lelucia automatically took a step back at the venom in his tone. Her silence seemed to snap him out of the Geass influence and he blinked before shaking his head in confusion.

"What the- did you need something?" He frowned at her and Lelucia blinked when she realized that her Geass had been broken.

She smiled sweetly. "No thank you. I got what I needed Naoto." As she was about to leave he stopped with a hand on her wrist.

"Wait a minute. How do you- what do you mean by Naoto?" Naoto frowned at her and she internally cursed at the slip up. His Japanese name seemed to be easier to say than his Britannian one and she had slipped.

"What do you mean?" She asked as she felt her Geass activate. "Forget I ever said anything."

"How can I forget you calling me by m- an Elevens name?" He asked, stepping closer to her. Her eyes widened when she realized that her Geass had no effect on him and he was still staring at her suspiciously.

"I- I meant-"She stumbled over her words in her panic. 'Damn! What do I do now?'

"I have seen you somewhere before." He stated, peering at her face. She shrunk back from his scrutinizing gaze.

"What?"

"I don't exactly remember where but it was a long time ago" He narrowed his eyes like he was trying to pinpoint where exactly did he see her.

"I don't think we ever met before." She snapped. "Let go of me."

In response the hand over her wrist only tightened and she gritted her teeth. "First tell me why did you call me by that name?" He wasn't giving up and she was starting to feel the situation slipping from her hands.

Just when she thought she was gone, Rivalz poked his head out the first floor window. "Hey Lulu! Madame Prez is looking for you. Something about the budget documents-"Recognizing her chance to get off she gasped dramatically and pulled off her hands from Naoto's hold.

"Damn it! I forgot all about it. I will be right there." And with that she took off running, though she was the last one to indulge in those kinds of activities. Once out of sight, she leaned against the wall and heaved a sigh of relief. She had a close call and she had no doubt that Naoto would now be keeping a closer eye on her.

And if she had any chance of being successful in her plans then she would be requiring his assistance whether she wanted it or not.

Author Notes: I didn't explore Naoto's character more deeply in this chapter but the next chapter will be sure to give a clearer look into his character which is definitely different from Kallen. Expect a bit of Lelouch in it though the Lelouch will only enter the fray completely in Chapter 9. (And that's when the real fun will start).

And no, Rivalz is not Shirley's replacement. Review!

Review Replies:

Demons Anarchy of Pride: Yes she will but the difference will be Lelouch looking out for her and probably interfering. Thanks for the review!

ScarletRoofs: It all depends on the viewpoint of who is fighting whom. You will see. Thanks for the review!

Patrick the observer: Lelouch and Cornelia interaction seems obligatory so it will be there. As for Lelouch and his plans, that will be revealed soon. Thanks for the reviews!

Victorzou: That's true but Lelouch has a plan(like always). You just need to wait and see it. Thanks for the review!

DoktorApplejuice, toolazytologin, nahte123456, oGade, guest, shadow crusader, grieviousrommel, amouren, adalricus victorious: Thank you for the reviews!