Chapter 10: Absolute Gentleness.
AN: Hey guys! So, today, it's about Suzaku being ... Suzaku, but with something more.
Enjoi
Lelouch was on top of the Ashford Academy's roof, waiting for his eternal rival, best friend and self-proclaimed worst enemy to come.
"Here he is." Lelouch said casually when Suzaku arrived. "So, you're in the loops as well."
The Knight of Zero had a rather strange expression on his face. Well, he wasn't the only one, but still, it was strange. Suzaku had the gaze of an old man.
"The loops?" Suzaku asked calmly. "What loops?"
Lelouch chuckled. "So it's your first time then."
Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "What first time?"
The former conqueror of the World stared at him with a dull face. "Time-travel, of course."
A moment of silence.
"You mean it isn't the first time you time-travelled?" Suzaku asked, his astonished expression unhidden.
Lelouch snorted. "Of course you dumbass. If it were the first time I wouldn't have stayed an ordinary student."
Suzaku's eye twitched.
"So, have you replaced me?" Lelouch mused. "You did lead the battle in the Shinjuku Ghetto, didn't you? You did get a Geass from C.C and you used it on Clovis to send me a message, am I right?"
"You guessed right." He said. "I passed away at the age of 103, but, instead of dying, I found myself in the Shinjuku Ghetto. Imagine my surprise when I didn't see you there."
Lelouch chuckled. "That's because I didn't go into that truck like I did the first time."
"Why?" Suzaku exclaimed.
Lelouch sighed.
"There's so much we can do!" Suzaku shouted. "We can save Euphie, we can build a better World for the Japanese, for everyone! We…"
"Shut up." Lelouch interrupted him, a hint of annoyance in his tone.
Suzaku widened his eyes. "What?"
Lelouch stared at him with an intimidating glare. "During all this time you wanted me away from this, you blamed me for being Zero, you blamed me for actually do something useful for the Japanese cause…"
"But I realize that I was wrong!" Suzaku shouted back. "But now, there's so much we can do with knowledge of the future! We can start things over…"
Lelouch grabbed the centenarian in a teenage body by the collar. "It. Has. Been. Twenty. Fucking. Centuries. That. I. Start. Things. Over." He said icily. "Don't you understand? Every time I die I go back at one point of my first life. Do you know how many times I've heard you whine about me killing Euphie, how many times I wanted to kill you because you were so damn annoying and how many times I couldn't because I ordered you to live in Shikine Island? No you don't. You know nothing, you may be older but you're still the ignorant little fool you were at seventeen."
Suzaku grabbed Lelouch's wrist and threw him on the ground. "And you still have the physical abilities of a ten year old boy." He said sternly. "You are forgetting something, my dear friend. Right now, I have a Geass, you don't."
Suzaku activated his Geass power on his left eye.
"Let what is best within you overcome your darkest side, Lelouch vi Britannia, and help me build a gentle World under my command." Suzaku Kururugi said imperiously.
The red sigil in Suzaku's left iris flapped wings, and the signal came straight to Lelouch's brain through his eyes.
Red circles appeared on Lelouch's violet irises.
Lelouch knelt, and smiled.
"Oh, yes, Suzaku-chan!" He said with a cheerful tone. "I will help you built a better World, for you and for Nunnally's sake."
Suzaku smiled of satisfaction, even though he felt a bit of remorse from manipulating his friend. But Lelouch was the one who had killed Euphie, and he needed help. Lelouch had to become a better person.
Suddenly the red circles faded.
Suzaku widened his eyes. "H-How?"
Lelouch stared at him with a dull, yet tired look. "Duh, my sister has managed to break my father's Geass when she was 15, do you honestly think I wouldn't have the strength to break from your Geass as well?"
Suzaku lowered his eyes. "Well…"
"It would have been easy." Lelouch said quietly. "To cast Geass on myself every time I go back in time. But no, I always break free."
"I didn't know." Suzaku whispered.
"No you don't." Lelouch retorted. "You don't know how painful it is to know that you can't die."
In the meantime, in Pendragon.
Charles zi Britannia was talking with a young pink-haired little girl in his private quarters.
Well, in fact, he was talking with his late wife Marianne who possessed the girl with her Geass before physically dying.
Yes, it is true.
"Still no message from the Geass order?" Marianne asked.
Charles shook his head. "My brother is up for something."
Marianne made Anya roll her eyes. "Maybe he's not."
"He is." Charles stated. "He doesn't need me to trigger Ragnarok, and perhaps he knows I know he killed you."
They allowed a second of silence to pass, and then…
"MY BROTHER LIED TO ME AGAIN!"
Suzaku Kururugi was on the G-1 unit, heading for the command room, when three people bowed at him. Jeremiah, Villetta and General Bartley.
"Lieutenant Kururugi." Bartley said, under the effects of Suzaku's Geass. "The Purist faction has rebelled against you."
Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "Against Prince Clovis, you mean."
The fat General nodded.
"What shall we do, your greatness?" Jeremiah asked.
"Give them a chance to surrender." Suzaku ordered. "But if they don't, show no mercy to the traitors of the crown."
Villetta smirked. "You are too good, your greatness."
Suzaku chuckled. "I know. You may go, now."
He continued to walk to the command room as the three puppets walked away. Suzaku felt some scruples to remove their free will, but it was necessary for the Greater Good. When he was Zero, Suzaku had been too soft, which resulted to the former noble houses to take control of Britannia slowly. Then, thirty years after the Zero Requiem they managed to overthrow Empress Nunnally and the war broke out again. And in the end, it was Suzaku's lack of will to discipline the people that led to this new tragedy. He had learned how to be a skilled leader, in both politics and military. Then he eventually won the war, but it was due to his skills in combat and not to his gentleness.
Suzaku entered the command room. Prince Clovis was there, along with his Royal Guards and his officers. They were holding some prisoners.
"Suzaku." Clovis said in a polite tone. "It is a pleasure to meet you."
Suzaku smiled back and bowed a little. "Your Highness."
The Captain of the Royal Guard knelt.
"Your greatness, we have captured the members of the Yamato Alliance as you commanded." He said, and the Japanese terrorists – the only people in the room besides Suzaku who still had their free will- thought that he was referring to Clovis. "Unfortunately, the Britannian Army had killed a dozen of them."
They brought the leader of the Yamato alliance in front of Suzaku.
"Traitor!" He snarled. "How dare you betray your country?"
Suzaku stared at his compatriot with a look of pity.
"Tell me, what is your name?" Suzaku asked softly.
"Izumi." The leader of the Yamato alliance replied.
Suzaku chuckled. "Izumi. You do care for the Japanese people, aren't you?"
Izumi nodded. "Of course."
Suzaku smiled. "So do I. And you have to understand that there are other means to protect the Japanese people."
He turned his head to the officers in the room. "Order your men to give supplies, food, and build provisory houses for the people in the Saitama Ghetto."
The officers all bowed their head. "Yes your greatness! You represent the light we must follow if we want to walk to the right path."
The Yamatos were staring at the scene with astonishment.
"B-But H-how?" Izumi asked weakly.
"I told you there was other means." Suzaku said simply.
Then he activated his Geass.
"Let the darkness disappear of you and show the World how benevolent and kind-hearted you are." Suzaku ordered. "Serve the lord of the light, Suzaku Kururugi, in his fight against injustices."
"Yes, your greatness!" Everyone chorused.
Suzaku smiled.