A/N: And Mao exits left stage huh.
he who prepares to pull the trigger
/12/
.
He watches the memories burn.
He'll remember them, still. He knows he will. But at least there's nothing material left, nothing that will remind Shirley of them. Except careless words. But there'll always be careless words. The emotions are gone. Mao had lost. The things that would have made Shirley remember without doubt are gone.
Now, if someone tells her she once had a crush on him, she simply looks blank. She no longer knows him – and it will stay that way. He'd cost her too much. It was better this way.
It was the price he had to pay.
.
Mao. He had to go.
Lelouch was impatient. Zero was impatient. Because of Shirley. Because of C.C. Because of his own vulnerability.
Because Mao was the result of a Geass that had overpowered him and Lelouch feared he would become that too. But he had to use it. He'd pushed the world onto a path where he needed it.
And he needed C.C. More than just because she could expose him. Mao could expose him too. He hadn't. He wouldn't. Neither would she.
When had he become so reliant on fickle things? He didn't like that – but he'd no choice.
.
He won. He got rid of Mao.
It was a relatively small victory, but one that set the stage for something more. A potential hazard rerouted. C.C returned. A conviction renewed.
He wouldn't become like Mao; that he vowed to himself.
He would control his Geass. He would reign victorious.