Chapter 9- Questions

Suzaku

A strange display presented itself, juxtaposing the ordinary and extraordinary.

A black-cloaked man with a menacing mask over his face was sitting with one leg over the other holding a newspaper as he sat on a cushy chair by an unremarkable table like any other ordinary citizen. His form was casual and relaxed, unlike before where his position called him to remain tense and calculating at all times. Suzaku Kururugi, the man underneath the mask, wore the costume of former terrorist leader but now was doing such a pathetically banal task; enjoying a morning read.

The former Knight of Zero only bothered to read the newspaper because of the picture gracing the front. It was of Lelouch, his arm draped seductively around a sneaky-looking CC. The picture, obviously conveying the light they were going to be portrayed in, must have been taken at a strange time, for he wasn't even looking at the camera. The dull acceptance that this is how things were going to be for a while still hadn't taken root; he had to force himself to read the printed words, the black ink searing holes in the page.

...former 'Demon' Emperor Lelouch, though recently dead, seems to have already assured his reign of terror to continue through an heir. "He was always sneaking around with her." says S. Tamaki, a former good friend.

The woman in question is none other than a dangerous individual known by the initials 'C.C'. After breaking into the Viceroy's Palace during his funeral, she reportedly shot an unarmed guard with his own gun and stole valuable equipment; the nature of which is unknown. It is assumed that she did this to kidnap and torture the soon to-be-crowned Empress Nunally, then assuring her and Lelouch's unborn child succession to the throne.

"We must find her and...Lelouch's heir." said Lady Cornelia, speaking for the first time about her half-brother in public. "Undeniable evidence of romantic liaisons between the two has forced us to conclude such a child exists. Its existence would prevent (sic.) Empress Nunnally from properly succeeding the throne as a direct descendant would be in line before her."

Several witnesses can even attest to the deceased monarch brutally attacking the defenceless C.C the night before his assassination, demanding an heir from her. "(Lelouch) clawed her arms, threw her to the floor and proceeded to beat her as hard as he could. When (other witnesses) had finally pulled him off of her, Lelouch banished her from the palace then took his wrath out on us." says a witness, preferring to go unnamed.

However, the palace and its affiliates assure that no harm would come to C.C if she were indeed pregnant when captured, for she would contained, monitored and given proper medical treatment while still remaining a prisoner. "We do not want to be murderers like its father." says K. Ohgi, former Deputy Commander of the Order of the Black Knights and soon to-be-named Prime Minister of Japan. "The child has a right to not be put to blame for its parents' crimes."

C.C's origins and past are unknown; seeing as her appearance as the emperor's mistress occurred shortly after he was crowned. "She was obviously just taking care of his needs for money or personal gain...they hated each other. There was no love there, and we can only guess who was being taken advantage of, C.C for intimacy or Lelouch for support." says a palace insider.

Nevertheless, C.C must be located to "ensure Lelouch's diabolical spawn never leaves the government's sight, and only when she is captured may peace be ensured." Cornelia claims. However, just finding C.C may not be enough.

"His wealth and... power made him quite the lady-killer." says one palace attendant. "There was some innuendo that he had paid to keep his other mistresses quiet." Palace reps. could not be reached about those claims. Emperor Lelouch is known for his increase of les majeste laws and holding the world hostage with FLEIJA warheads. He is now buried on a plot reserved for royalty per request of his sister. Is it not known whether his remains will be moved to Britannia or not.

Putting the newspaper down and feeling more than a little repulsed, Suzaku laughed bitterly.

"Diabolical spawn, huh?" he chuckled under his breath; the voice alteration embedded in his mask caused it to sound raspy and undefined. "That's a good one. Even you didn't even expect for them to make up that mistress crap." Pausing a bit, he then mentally retorted, "I guess it turns out you didn't have to do so much after all, Lelouch. Just let these people's imagination run wild and they'll make you into whatever they want."

Setting his coffee cup down, Suzaku got up from the chair he was sitting in. "Bringing CC into this is one thing, but jumping to such conclusions about Lelouch is another." he thought, sad his friend was again being slandered with false accusations. "Well I guess that's what he hoped for, and what he'll get."

Stretching his sore muscles, he walked over to the floor-length windows that looked out into the viceroy's palace grounds; the same area where he was currently staying.

At first he had declined the invitation, but then after realizing he had nowhere else to go, he reluctantly accepted it; an act that did wonders for Nunnally's popularity as soon as it was known that Zero was staying in her castle. Some gossipmongers were even whispering about an engagement, a union of the nation's ruler to its saviour. Glancing at the mask that always seemed to be watching him, Suzaku was already haunted by the truth of Lelouch's last words to him.

You will sacrifice the ordinary pleasures of living...

And sacrifice he truly became, as the only people he could interact with like a normal person were those that knew his true identity. Regrettably, that was a grand total of one, and even that person was currently stone dead. It was as though Suzaku Kururugi were truly dead after all.

"He is. He's buried right beside where Lelouch— Wait..." He had heard about the minuscule turnout for the funeral, and how his body had mysteriously disappeared afterwards. "Why..? This doesn't make any sense. And then there's that whole heir business... I don't get it. Why would he get her pregnant if he intended Nunnally to succeed him? Is she even pregnant? Lelouch, what the hell have you done?"

Startled by the knock at the door, he let the damned pages fall to the floor.

"Zero?" A small feminine voice called out hesitantly. "It's E-Empress Nunally." The girl's voice pealed like a bell, easily audible through the thick doors. Suzaku scrambled for the mask and its voice changer. He ignored the feeling of Lelouch's body resisting the blade as it cleaved through bone, muscle and skin which still resonated through his arms. He noticed the slight shaking still hasn't gone away, and putting it over his face he replied in the distorted cadence of Zero.

Suzaku jumped in front of the door, quickly corrected himself, and held up Zero's mask to his face in order to enable the voice alteration device in order to speak. He kept the door closed; he was unready. "Good morning, Your Majesty. My greatest thanks for your generosity." Suzaku tried to forget how the blood of the real Zero had spread over his arms, a burst of hot liquid, once smeared with the dying man's hand on the now sparkling mask.

"You're welcome..." she took a breath."Suzaku."

The mask dropped out of his hands in shock; it clattered to the floor and he choked out, "N-Nunnally? How did... how do you know?" Opening the door slowly for her wheelchair, she entered the room, her eyes spilling over with tears. A tremendous pressure had been released, and now it was capable of going somewhere. The door slammed shut, leaving them alone.

"I don't know!" Nunnally blurted out. "I saw things, as he... as he died. Weird pictures that I'd never seen before flashed through my head like... visions or something. And I saw him... I saw him...!" Almost too upset to continue, she fought back more tears.

Zero bent down in front of her wheelchair by her legs and kept his head down. His emerald eyes formed tears that dripped down and mixed with the young vi Britannia; the salty water washing the sins off of both of their hands. Suzaku's outstretched hands, gentle and assured like her brothers were...


"ZE-RO! ZE-RO!"

The crowd seemed to scream at her, ungrateful and unknowing of the noble sacrifice they had just seen before them. Like an appeased god, the imposter rose, and seeming to feed on the crowd, and flicked theinnocent...pure...brave... blood of the slain Emperor, on the ground.

"Brother! ...Brother! Don't leave me! No... LELOUCH!"

"Nunally...I love you..."he had said ever so softly, the sense of goodbye emanating from his dying words.

NO! He can't be dying! Not my brother... it's not fair!

"It's not fair!"

It can't be...

"WHY?"

I can't bear it...

"Don't leave me..."

I can't...I can't... without you I can't...

"All that I wanted was to be with you!"

...You're the only person I will ever love...

His eyes closing, what she hopes wasn't a sigh escaping his lips. The words that were only for her and would stay burned in her memory forever.

"I destroyed the world...and created... anew..."

Not those beautiful eyes; please no. They deserve to be alive with joy, not closing as your life bleeds out...please, look at me, please, just open them...

"Don't leave me!"

Stay awake!

"Brother! Don't leave me!"

Stay...

My brother...lying there, dead, someone is taking me away, off his cold body. I'm leaving now... he'll never follow. Lying there...a bundle of bloody clothes and surreally topped with my brother's pale, greying face, the beautiful purple eyes I've had seen for the first time in too long now closed forever, never again seeing the stars the moon the sky...


Forced to let go of the hands that had dried her tears, stroked her cheek and brushed its fingers through her hair, slowly getting colder and colder as the stillness of death infected them with its crushing finality. The sure, strong arms carrying her away promised the future, a new life, but she'd much rather be in the dead ones now that were now feeding worms.

Back in present time, she shrieked, "Don't touch me!" she screamed out automatically, pushing his hands away. Suzaku wanted to assure her that her brother had been a great man and would be missed, but they both knew those were lies.

"You killed my brother." The flatness in her voice was more unsettling then when she was upset. Nunnally looked him in the eye this time. "You're a murderer. You killed—" Clenching her fist in fury, she was shaking with anger or sadness or both.

"—your best friend. You killed your best friend. And now you have none, because you're supposed to be dead." Those words had been tossed around, over and over in his mind, and hearing them aloud it hit him like an evil epiphany all over again.

"I have to see you because you're Zero and I'm going to be the Empress." she continued. "But I'll never forgive or trust you. Ever. In fact, I hope you live a long life, forced to live with the atrocity of your crimes, all alone; a dead man like you were supposed to be. "

Shocked, Suzaku shot back to his own defence. "Nunally... Do you think I enjoyed it?" he hissed darkly. "Lelouch was my best friend! He did know what he was doing though. I know it's tough to see all of this...disparagement, but that was his plan. At least a handful of people know that, and in a way that's enough, y'know? He told me, as he gave me the mask, that Geass was like a way to attain the impossible...a wish. And in a way, he did. The world is at peace now, all thanks to him." Putting the mask up to his face, testing its weight, he said in tones previously unheard from the robotic Zero.

"I don't even feel like Zero. It's like he's a separate being from me. I may have his mask, his cloak, his name, but all I have are mere items. Zero is a symbol of peace; I, Suzaku Kururugi, only associate with war and strife. I... it's another one of your onii-sama's paradoxes, I'm afraid." Suzaku gave up on trying explaining the conflict and slumped over, sighing outwardly.

Nunnally's body language didn't change, but she did seem less upset. Sensing the change of atmosphere, Suzaku did something unexpected of him; he gave the soon-to-be Empress an awkward half-hug. His movements were sluggish and hesitant all the while proving to be rather difficult to wrap around her waist completely. It took him a few air tries to try and figure out how to do this; he retracted his arms every second in fear that he may hurt the little vi Britannia. Nunnally didn't fight back against the motion and allowed the chestnut-haired Japanese boy to carry about his wish anyway, watching his movements with an innocent curiosity.

However, just as he had finally found a way to carry out and put his hands on her did the door explode open to a furious Ohgi. Obviously responding to her scream, seeing Suzaku's hand on her shoulder, and the tears on Nunnally's face, he bolted over to Nunnally's side "Get your hands off of her!", shouted Ohgi as he shoved Suzaku backward and knocking the mask from his hands.

"Empress Nunally are you all right?" he had his back to Suzaku, and when she assured him that nothing bad had happened, he turned to Zero to ask him what he had been doing. Suzaku, scrambling to pick up the mask, was too late, and Ohgi saw who the new Zero really was. His face paled and an indescribable expression formed on his awe. Confusion. Anger. Disbelief.

"S-S-Suzak-ku? How...? What..? You killed Lelouch? ...You killed Lelouch! Why? Why did you... Did he...? What? It can't be you! You're dead!" He looked like he had been punched and the stomach. All of the colour had been drained from Ohgi's face to the point where he could most likely pass off as a Britannian at the moment.

Suzaku sighed, this couldn't possibly be happening to him. For a split second, he wished he had Lelouch's Geass to wipe their minds and take back what happened. "It really is me. The Knight of Zero." He paused slightly. "No, actually now just Zero."

"W-Why?" Ohgi whispered like a girl sharing her biggest secret. Suzaku got up and walked Ohgi over to the chair by the table where he had been sitting a few moments ago. The newspaper was still open to the article about Lelouch and the two gave it a glance before speaking once again. "Were you Zero before and Lelouch your cover or something?" After he had calmed down considerably, it hit him.

The lightning bolt realization dawned upon the soon-to-be Japanese Prime Minister accompanied by sheer horror that 99th Emperor Lelouch had indeed not been a monster, but instead was the greatest kind of hero. The kind one who got no credit for his martyrdom, and would be remembered by the brilliant illusion his carefully planned actions had only encouraged, lying to everyone until the end.

"You've all been pawns in my game..."

The nagging feeling of being manipulated didn't matter when Ohgi replayed their battle against him, and the Black Knights' attempts at an execution by the firing squad. When they had watched him in his rampage of destruction and reacted with hatred, unknowingly it had all been according to Lelouch's plan. The amazement that Lelouch could get up one day with his intent to die, to accept the fact that his name would almost be an equivalent to a curse word, to have people smile while remembering his murder and smirk when they passed a certain bloodstained sword.

"Nunnally... Suzaku. You mean... he planned this all along? He killed himself for the world... just like that?" Ohgi was having a hard time accepting it. "Do you know what this means? Any number of things he did could have been false too... this might have something to do with his missing body!"

Nunnally apparently had not heard about his body's disappearance. "What?" Nunnally exclaimed. "His body is missing? Why didn't anyone tell me this? I'm his sister!"

Ohgi answered. "Well, it was a tough decision, but Cornelia and I decided not to tell you because we thought that closure would be good for you. He's dead, Nunnally. This is just some rouge grave-robber we can easily catch."

An awkward silence dropped into the room as the three delved in their thoughts. Nunnally held in her tears as she said, "Excuse me. I have to go now." The princess left the room in hurry. She didn't escape fast enough for her sobs to go unheard.

Ohgi turned to Suzaku. "Anyway, there's something I'd like to ask you." Ohgi twiddled his thumbs nervously before he steeled himself up and looked into the observant emerald eyes Suzaku possessed. "You were Lelouch's best friend, right? Is there anything you could tell me about him and C2? We really need to find her, and as you know if the Emperor's heir exists it will be a major threat to Nunnally, and possibly all of Britannia's future."

Suzaku figured that the newspaper article on open on the table they sat by at the moment brought the topic up or Ohgi had already intended on asking him Suzaku thought carefully before speaking. "He didn't say anything about her being his baby's mother or whatever. All that I know is that they were pretty close. When we went to school together she was even in his life then. Yeah... he and Nunnally lived together in the clubhouse, and I think she was there too because Kallen and I saw her around campus every once and a while."

Looking surprised, Ohgi responded. "Kallen knew that? I'll ask her about it then..." He dragged the sentence out, still deep in thought. He had a look on his equivalent to one someone may find on Lelouch when predicting chess moves in his mind. "We're having a meeting soon about Nunnally's crowning ceremony and this matter. I think Zero should join us, don't you?"

Suzaku nodded without further debate. "Right. I'll be there."


Lelouch's grave was located near the back of the land, and had already been defaced in several ways. The luminescent marble had been smeared with spray-paint and graffiti and it already had the sad air of neglect the other stones lacked. The still-fresh dirt had been dug up very recently, for it had been spilled over the side of its allotted space, leaving a messy dusting of earth around it. It was supposed to be buried at a secret location for that very reason. A simple, non personal message adorned its face.

"Lelouch vi Britannia. December 5, 2000 a.t.b-".

The rest was scratched out.


All righty. I have a question...when Lelouch, CC and Suzaku were chillin' and suddenly Lelouch starts gasping and clutching his chest, what the heck happened? I mean, was that a little scream of joy or something? And then his 'sword' Suzaku throws him on the floor and sweeps off with his pimped-out cape. What. the. Heck. Anyway, the 10th chapter, the one you've all been waiting for...Dead Man Walking is next.

Please enlighten me about Lelouch's joy-scream and leave a review, as those expedite the next chapter. Kreion, you are smart:)