I'm really sorry about not uploading anything lately. I thought I'd posted this before I left on my trip to Orlando before the new year. I only realized I hadn't just a few days ago when I was double checking another of my stories. Again, I'm terribly sorry about this, I hope you can forgive me.
Jeremiah 'Orange' Gottwald had just returned to the Viceroy's Palace when Lord Gilbert G. P. Guilford and two of Cornelia's Royal Guards blocked his path.
"You've been avoiding me Gottwald, me and the Viceroy. Any reason why you're behaving so suspiciously?"
"Uh, Lord Gilford! I, uh, just didn't know how the Viceroy would take me letting the killer of Prince Clovis go. I've heard rumors about what she's done to some of the officers who failed her in the past and I didn't want to personally find out if they were true or not."
Gilford glared at him for a few seconds before he spoke again. "Princess Cornelia is very upset about the Zero fiasco you and the rest of the Purebloods let happen. However, word of the reason why you let him go as well as what you did for Princess Euphemia the other night have given you just enough room to let you explain yourself."
"Thank-you Lord Gilford, I promise you'll understand once I explain-''
"To Her Highness, personally."
Jeremiah gulped. The real reason he had been avoiding Gilford was because he remembered what the man had done to him last time around. That and his fear of Cornelia wasn't completely unfounded. In the past Jeremiah Gottwald wouldn't have much fear for the Witch of Britannia but that was after he got his cyborg body. Now, he was just as human as any other officer who had displeased the Second Princess. This wasn't going to fun at all but it was better to get it over with as soon as possible.
"Where is the Viceroy?"
"She and General Dalton are leading a campaign against the terrorist faction called the Blood of the Samurai. Ever since Zero's appearance all these factions have been popping up everywhere. Maybe we should thank him before executing him. Without him, it probably would've taken us weeks, maybe even months, to find all of them."
Gilford and his men laughed as they walked away. Jeremiah allowed himself a small laugh to keep his cover. On the inside he was struggling to not murder the knight for suggesting he execute his prince. The only people he would allow to lay a hand on Prince Lelouch were Princess Nunnally and Kallen, and only because they were probably the only ones who could knock sense into him.
After spending the rest of the day getting to know each other again Lelouch invited Suzaku to his place for dinner and to reintroduce Nunnally to him. Suzaku didn't know that Nunnally could now see and Nunnally had no idea that Suzaku was here, it was going to be a wonderful surprise for them both once Sayoko brought Nunnally back from shopping. Lelouch had Suzaku hide in the kitchen while he waited in the dining area for the girls to return.
"Hi Lelouch, we're back."
"Welcome home Nunnally, Miss Sayoko." Standing from his place at the table where he was patiently waiting, Lelouch continued, "I've got a special present for you today."
"Really?" Nunnally asked, feigning surprise. She knew what was going to happen but that didn't mean she had to act completely. She had never seen Suzaku in person, not even once he took on the mask of Zero. She couldn't wait to see him.
Wanting to keep Nunnally's new eyesight a surprise for Suzaku, Lelouch quietly walked forward and knelt in front of his sister. He covered both of his sister's eyes with one hand, silently telling her to close them, while using the other to also silently tell Sayoko to not say a word. Once he was sure Nunnally's eyes were closed and motioned towards Suzaku, who was now peeking around the corner.
The boy walked over and, like his friend, knelt by Nunnally's wheelchair. At a nod from Lelouch, Suzaku took Nunnally's right hand and placed it in his own. While Nunnally could now see she retained the ability to read emotions by feeling a person's hand and remembering certain hands. Due to her time at both the Kururugi Shrine and her time as Viceroy of Area Eleven Nunnally was very familiar with Suzaku's hand. Even so, she was surprised to feel it once again.
"This hand." Tears came to her eyes as Nunnally opened them to confirm that her brother's friend, her crush and bodyguard was really there. Behind a shocked Suzaku, Lelouch stood smiling as the two most important people in his life meet once again.
"It's, it's really you, Suzaku."
"Nunnally, it's been a long time."
After explaining how Nunnally could suddenly see again, the three sat down to eat a traditional Japanese diner that Sayoko was only too happy to cook. To the three friends, it was like being back in the Kururugi Shrine seven years ago.
"Suzaku's enrolled here at Ashford as a student, so you can see him anytime you like" Lelouch explained to his little sister.
"Actually Lelouch, I'm still in the military. I have duties I need to complete so I can't be here every day. Don't worry," he added quickly seeing Nunnally's frightened look, "I've been reassigned to the Engineering Corp., much less dangerous."
"That's cool" Lelouch said, standing with the empty tea pot.
"Let me help you!" Suzaku said, also standing.
"Just sit Suzaku. This time we get to play your host."
Suzaku and Nunnally shared a laugh as Lelouch walked into the kitchen to find C.C. wearing an Ashford Uniform.
"I thought I told you to remain in my room."
"That boy, he's the solider from Shinjuku isn't he? Is that wise?" she said, completely ignoring his earlier statement.
"Don't worry about it, he's…he's a friend from the past."
"I see. By the way, I was caught earlier."
"WHAT? By whom? This is exactly why I told you to stay hidden."
"Oh relax it wasn't that bad. It was by that blonde friend of yours and that red-head you kissed the other day."
A small smile appeared on C.C.'s lips as Lelouch blushed lightly and said, "We did not kiss."
"Well, it looked like a kiss to me. They invited me to join your Student Council and I accepted, otherwise they would've gotten suspicious."
"This isn't good. Suzaku knows what you look like and he'll see you around campus."
"Oh come now, how long did you think you'd be able to hide me? Your sister has her eyes now and that maid of your isn't exactly blind either. With that soldier being a friend of yours he was bound to come over a handful of times so he would've seen me then. Best get it out now, otherwise you'll have to come up to a very good explanation as to why you're hiding a girl who looks like the one you two rescued in Shinjuku in your room."
"And just how am I going to explain this to him?"
"And here I thought you were smart. Why not use that little gift I gave you, huh boya?"
"I," Lelouch hesitated, "I didn't want to have to use it on him."
"Because he's a friend? He's a Britannian soldier and you've declared war on Britannia. You're going to have to use it on him sooner or later."
"Then let me save it for when I really need to use it!"
"I thought you weren't going to use it on him?"
"Witch" Lelouch growled.
"And don't you forget it" C.C. said with a giggle.
"So what's the deal, something happen to you yesterday or what? You did even show up for the Council meeting. We have a new member you know, cute but a little crazy."
It was the next day and Rivalz and Lelouch were talking outside the classroom before classes started.
"Well I kinda tanked that history exam…"
"Please, the way you study-"
The rest of Rivalz's statement was ignored as Suzaku walked by them, catching both of their eyes. As per Suzaku's wishes, Lelouch avoided him, acting like he wasn't there. He also hated himself as, despite his own wishes, he was forced to use his Geass on Suzaku. Using his Geass, he forced Suzaku to believe that when he saw C.C. at Ashford he was to believe that she was Cera Carenami, C.C. chosen identity, a different girl than the one they rescued in the Shinjuku Ghetto.
Throughout most of the day Lelouch thought about what he did to his friend and Suzaku's comments last night. He didn't want them to associate with each other in school, to hide their past and protect the fact that they were royalty. While Lelouch was grateful that Suzaku wanted to help protect Nunnally, he knew that she needed more than to hide, she needed friends.
He and Sayoko were fine but Lelouch knew that Nunnally needed more. The Student Council introduced her to plenty of friendly people but even then it wasn't enough. Nunnally wasn't really a member of the Council and couldn't sit in on all of their meetings and the members themselves were busy with the projects Milly assigned them. Someone else, someone she was used to, was needed. Someone like Suzaku.
Suzaku was also a part of Lelouch's plan to destroy Britannia. His future army would be made up of mostly Elevens at first. To build it he would have to motivate them and Suzaku on his side would help with that. He thought that part of his plan was shot when he turned down Zero, but now he was offered a second chance. He would have to proceed slowly, convince him of the righteousness of his actions. Then, once Suzaku was finally on his side, Britannia would fall, his father would die, and his mother would be avenged.
And speaking of his army, the first soldier had contacted him again. Their leader, Ohgi, was worried about Cornelia. The Blood of the Samurai was the four group to fall to her since she took over as Viceroy of Area Eleven and was the largest yet. Knowing her, it wasn't long before she went after Zero. Due to the risk in becoming familiar with Ohgi'g group, especially since Kallen was in it, Lelouch was seriously considering cutting ties with them and finding another terrorist group to lead. But that was a matter for another time, right now he had have tea with Nunnally.
C.C. walked into Lelouch's room carrying her beloved pizza. Her demon working on a carrying case with Zero's mask lying next to it. He was obviously trying to hide it; whether from his sister or anyone else who might show up she didn't know. All she did know was that something about this was striking a warning light in her brain, she just couldn't figure out what it was.
Before she had a chance to comment on it, the door behind her opened and Nunnally appeared. Lelouch quickly swept the mask into the case, hiding it from his sister's view.
"Lelouch, the tea's ready. Oh, hi C.C., would you care to join us?"
"No thank-you Nunnally, I'll just stay here and enjoy my pizza."
Nunnally giggled. "Careful C.C., eat too much pizza and you'll get a blubbery belly, and I don't think Lelouch would like that too much."
"Nunnally" Lelouch groaned.
C.C. just smiled and said, "Don't worry; there's little chance of that happening. Beside, I'm sure Lelouch has more important things to worry about than my appearance, don't you Lelouch?" She said this with a flirtatious wink, causing her target to blush lightly. It was just too easy this time around.
"Let's go Nunnally. And you don't touch anything."
Nunnally giggled as Lelouch pushed her away and C.C. stuck her tongue out at him. She kept that way for a few second until she was distracted by a soft thud and a cat's yowl. Spinning around C.C. didn't see anything strange except for the case, when had fallen on the floor. Then the door opened once again but no one was there. Then, the warning light in her mind finally made sense.
"Oh fudge!" she said as she started to run after the mischievous Arthur. She had to catch him before he escaped the house; otherwise her demon was in very great danger.
The demon himself was having tea with his sister, listening to her describe how some of the other students were reacting to Suzaku's presence at Ashford.
"Isn't there anything you can do?" Nunnally asked her brother. She had forgotten how cruel the other students had been to Suzaku. Even after becoming Euphie's knight a large number still didn't trust or like him. While she no longer held a crush for him, he was her first friend outside the royal family and she wanted to help him.
"It's just…these things take time."
Nunnally looked down in sadness. Like last time Lelouch was unable to do anything to help his friend. Then again, what did she expect, she was different not him, he wouldn't be able to change anything this time because he couldn't last time.
She was lost in thought, staring into her half drunken teacup when Lelouch let out a startled shriek. Startled, Nunnally looked up to see her brother's face filled with horror. She followed his gaze to see a cat's tail disappear around the doorway, Lelouch following a second later.
"Arthur?"
C.C. then arrived and looked at her.
"Arthur escaped again, didn't he? Darn." She then pulled out a cellphone and pressed a button. "Kallen, it's me. We have a problem."
At the same time, a certain blonde hadn't forgotten what happened this day; she never forgot anything that was related to embarrassing Lelouch. She was so certain that this time, she would finally get some really good dirt on Lelouch. And so, once she was sure of the correct time, Milly Ashford went on the PA system.
"This is your Student Council President Milly Ashford speaking. Cat Hunt everyone! There's a cat lose on campus that needs to be rounded up, put everything on hold people. Participating clubs will get budget priority. And whoever catches our feline friend will get an extra special prize, a big old kiss from a member of the Student Council!"
Kallen had just finished listening to C.C. explain the situation when Milly's announcement came over the PA system. To her horror most of the guys immediately went into action hunting for the cat, just so they could get a kiss from her. The same was true for the girls, only instead of her; they wanted a kiss from Lelouch. Kallen wasn't having any of it.
"There's no way I'm kissing anyone but Lelouch, and you can dream again girls because he's mine. Oh, why do I have to pretend I'm sick and feeble?"
There was only one way to stop this, explain to Milly what Arthur the cat had really stolen. Even Milly wouldn't risk Lelouch's identity as Zero. Once she was properly warned she would hopefully call off the hunt.
The entire campus was abuzz with activity as everyone rushed to a fro looking for the cat. This hindered Kallen's movements greatly as she couldn't run and was forced to walk at as fast a pace as she could. There was a good chance that Milly had left the Clubhouse already but Kallen had to make sure, Lelouch was in danger and as Q-1, she would protect him.
Unfortunately, the Clubhouse was empty except for Nina, who was busy working away on her computer.
"Nina? What are you doing here; I thought you'd be out looking for the cat."
"Oh, Kallen. You see, I'm not too interested in the hunt really and I've so much work here."
It was then Kallen noticed what Nina was working on, the project that was one day to become the F.L.E.I.J.A. She couldn't allow that terrible project to be completed. Kallen was conflicted, on one hand, using her Geass on Nina would end F.L.E.I.J.A. but could she be trusted. Nina never was Zero's biggest fan. On the other hand, she did develop many handy tools for Britannia and the Black Knights for keeping the peace.
The real question though, was if her Geass could handle it. Already she had used it too often. Jeremiah, Nunnally, Sayoko, and Milly, could she handle anyone else? And there were plans for others in the future, maybe.
Making her decision, Kallen said, "Nina, could you look at me for a second?"
"Kallen? What are you…?"
Just like with the others, Nina froze once her gaze focused on Kallen's Geass sigil. A few seconds later Nina snapped out of it and looked at her computer in horror. Furiously, she started typing, all the while muttering "Oh no, oh no!"
"Nina, Nina, stop!"
"I can't Kallen, I can't let F.L.E.I.J.A. be created, I can't."
"Just wait, and clam down. Didn't you make some good things using your F.L.E.I.J.A. research?"
"Ah!" Nina turned away from Kallen to look at her data, much of which had been deleted. "All that work."
"Don't worry; you can remember much of it, right?"
"Maybe, but what am I going to do with it?"
"I can think of one thing," Kallen said, an idea forming in her mind. "I'll explain it to you later but right now I have a cat to find."
Kallen ran out of the Clubhouse, trying to find Milly still. There was no one nearby, which was good as she could still feel the burn of her Geass. Just as she was fearing that it had become active for good, it went away. Kallen made a mental note to have C.C. made a pair of Geass contact lenses for her and Lelouch, just in case.
Kallen didn't know where to look for Arthur, that cat could be anywhere. And going to the clock tower seemed like a good idea as that was where Lelouch and Suzaku cornered him last time, but she could be sure that was where he would go this time; this was an entirely different chase.
Suddenly, Zero's head popped up from a bush next to Kallen, scaring the living daylights out of her.
"Ahhhhh!"
"Meow?" Zero asked. It was then Kallen realized that it wasn't really Zero but Arthur wearing Zero's mask on his head.
"Why you little…"
Kallen was not happy with Arthur at the moment. The cat seemed to sense her anger and ducked back into the bush.
"Get back here!" she shouted and dove into the bush after him.
"Kallen?"
Digging herself out of the bush, she saw Suzaku running over.
"Did you find the cat?"
"Uh, yeah. It's hiding in the bush."
"Here, I'll get it."
"NO! I mean, I can get him. Just watch in case he tries to run away.
Kallen then stuck her head into the bush again. It was scratchy and difficult to see but it wasn't too hard to find Arthur. He was using the branches of the bush to try and remove the mask and was failing.
"Here, let me get that for you" Kallen said sweetly as she reached into the bush. She pet Arthur's back to let me know she wasn't a threat before reaching around to grasp the mask.
"How do you get this darn thing off?" she muttered as the mask wouldn't let go. It was difficult looking for the switch that would release the mask as she couldn't see anything. Finally, she found it and the mask came off. The moment it happened Arthur took off out of the bush.
"Gotcha!" Suzaku shouted from outside the bush. Taking her head out from the bush, Kallen could see Suzaku holding Arthur in his arms.
"Hey," he said, looking closer, "is this the same cat from the other day?" Kallen didn't know what he was talking about but Arthur proved who he was by taking a large bite out of Suzaku's finger. "Yep, it's the same one."
Kallen couldn't help but giggle a bit; good old Arthur. However, she couldn't get to Zero's mask until Suzaku left.
"Suzaku! Kallen!"
Lelouch had arrived and following him was about half the school. C.C. wheeled Nunnally forward while Rivalz and Milly jumped from the boy's motorcycle and sidecar respectively. But it was poor Shirley would caught Kallen's attention. She had completely forgotten that the oragnette had swim practice at the moment and was dressed in only her suit, much a handful of boys' appreciation and her embarrassment.
"Well," said Milly eagerly stepping forward, "it looks like the new guy won the cat hunt. So, lucky guy, which lady do you want a kiss from?"
She pulled the rest of the girls together, including a shy Nina. Kallen used this time to give Shirley her Ashford jacket to cover herself up with.
"Actually, it was Kallen who found the cat, not me." Suzaku said nervously.
Everyone turned towards the sick girl and Kallen could see a few guys moving forward, hoping to be chosen to get the kiss. But once again, Shirley caught her attention. Kallen remembered the crush the girl had for Lelouch. Rivalz had told her upon her return to Ashford how Shirley's crush for Lelouch had only increased, despite their memories being manipulated as well as what had happened on Cupid's Day.
Kallen fully identified Shirley as her one true rival for Lelouch's affections but at the same time she recognized her as a good friend, both this time and last. And as a friend Kallen felt like she had to do something for her. She knew that soon, Shirley wouldn't stand a chance at gaining Lelouch's affections so she decided to give her what she always wanted. Besides, although she may not want any other girl to kiss Lelouch, she was somewhat comfortable with Shirley doing it.
"Madam President," Kallen said, manipulating her voice enough for the blonde to know that she was planning something, "would it be possible for me to give my prize to someone else, I don't really feel like giving out a kiss."
Milly gave her a questioning glance and Kallen slightly jerked her head towards Shirley, who was looking a little hopeful and relieved. Once she understood her plan, Milly got her mischievous smile on and nodded.
"And just who would you want to give your prize to Kallen?"
Milly's question was answered when Kallen lightly shoved Shirley in Lelouch's direction. It didn't take the rest of the school long to figure out what Kallen was doing and everyone got excited with C.C. and Nunnally giving her curious looks.
"Well Shirley, it looks as if you're our new winner. So, who are going to give the special kiss to? Which lucky black-haired, violet-eyed boy are you going to kiss?"
Shirley didn't, or couldn't, say anything as she was blushing too hard. When she didn't answer Milly gave a hand signal to Rival, who pushed Lelouch closer and made Shirley's blush deeper.
"Well Shirley, we're waiting."
Shirley glanced around but she was no hope for escape or help. Everyone was watching her, waiting for her to finally kiss Lelouch.
"Um, uh, uh" she stuttered, unable to form a single word, either out loud or in her head. Finally, she accepted that there was no escaping this and sighed in defeat. Turning towards a nervous Lelouch, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath before leaning in.
She felt her lips touch skin and heard everyone around her gasp. It was nothing like she thought it would be; there were no fireworks, no tiny shock, no anything, not even the relief she thought she would feel at admitting her feelings.
Opening her eyes slightly to see what Lelouch was doing, Shirley quickly pulled back and wished right then that Kallen had kept her prize. Instead of kissing Lelouch, she had accidently kissed Rivalz, who was holding Lelouch in place. Both boys were blinking in shock, and they weren't the only ones. The entire Council was staring at her in a weird way. Mortified, Shirley ran, pushing past the students who had surrounded them.
