Gambit 3rd version.

Chapter 14: Find That Niche

0000~L~0000

It was their second change of cars, and as Lelouch had suspected it seemed they would not be leaving Tokyo. For this coupe, as opposed to the last two vehicles, C.C. had actual keys. They remained unused for now, placed above the silent ignition.

Car keys were, it turned out, an overrated luxury. Even without his father's ghost to open locks for them. He would never have thought to consider that CC would know how to pick locks before; but he supposed it would make sense for a lonely immortal to acquire skills like this.

"So where are we going?" He tried again; she just chuckled, though. She had said it was a surprise; which did not please him at all. If there was one thing Lelouch hated, it was surprises. Then again he was hardly in a position to complain.

C.C. seemed to have more pressing concerns. "So, how did you do it? Did you get your father's code?"

The Demon emperor sucked in a slow breath; "I… suppose that's it…" but he quickly berated himself for his evasion. This was C.C.; his immortal witch. He could trust her; he had always trusted her. Not that he had had a choice before, but still…

He needed to trust her again, he realized; if only because she had the information that might help him understand his predicament: why was he returned amongst the living? How did this weird after-death regeneration work if he had no sigil to mark him as a code-bearer? Why was his father's ghost bound to him? (Though the last question seemed rather less pressing now it had left his side.)

Before he could formulate a decent enough answer, C.C. caught him off guard; yanking at the cast that protected his still tender right hand. "So, is the sigil on your hand? Is that why you wrapped it?"

"What? No…" he started again; "C.C., there is… something weird about my condition." The witch didn't heed a word he said, studying his forehead from up way too close while keeping his bangs away with one hand. She pouted. "Not on your forehead either; shame really."

Dimly, he realized she was excited about this; and hoped he wasn't bashing her hopes too hard. "C.C., I have not found the sigil on my person anywhere."

She shook her head though. "Did you check your back?"

He affirmed that he did, trying to fend her off.

"And your mouth? It could be on your tongue…"

So now he finally understood why it was a bad idea to get yourself stuck in a confining place with someone with no sense of decency. "Ih cuh beh ihsah mah tummeh; wah da cheh deh doo?"

"What?" She asked incredulous, before understanding she would have to get her hands out of his mouth before he could make himself understood.

"I said it could be on the inside of my stomach; and maybe you wanted to check there?"

"Oh. Sorry." She pouted, sinking down into her seat, crestfallen. "I just thought… if you're like me now…"

Gone was his proud, insensitive witch; replaced by some fragile little girl whose feelings he seemed to have hurt. Wonderful; now he felt guilty.

"Hey," The demon said; "I don't really know understand what happened to me yet." his voice was a little too kind and reassuring in his own ears; C.C. should have been offended. "But I know I came back from the dead, twice!"

Unfortunately, the green haired immortal seemed far from offended. She just cast her watery eyes down, a stupid half-smile on her lips. Don't you dare come undone at the seams on me! He wanted to scream at her. Instead, he assured her. "So that's pretty much the same, right?"

Hesitating, he put his good left hand in the nape of her neck, forcing her head up so he could look into her eyes. She still didn't look alright; not alright at all.

"Hey?" He tried again, rubbing the hand through her hair; desperate to snap her out of it. "Thanks for rescuing me, ok?"

On a whim, he closed the distance with her, softly touching her lips with his own. He moved back then, giving her his best grin. "Though, seriously, if I'd wanted to I could have gotten out myself anytime, you know."

"Keh!" She retorted; the thick sarcasm was back in her voice – thankfully! "Do not kid yourself, boya!" The girl raised herself up, pulling the back of one hand past her eyes before snaking both into his shirt and taking a seat on his lap.

Whoops. There was something in him that told him this was dangerous ground; that he should be happy to be free of any obligations to this witch; that the last thing he should do now was get lured into an even more complicated relationship with her.

It was a rather small, unheeded part.

"Let's celebrate your return." She murmured down into his ear.

It would have been rude beyond measure to decline such an invitation.

0000~0000

Lelouch slouched over the office chair's back, seated the wrong way around; elbows crossed over the top. He used his feet to spin the chair slowly left to right. As if the chair's cushion could protect him from those two desperate smiling faces that regarded him. One face, happy and innocent, belonged to Rivalz. The other, a little more jaded, tried to cover what he knew quite well was a hopeful expression; Milly Ashford.

With a sigh, he turned his attention to the fourth occupant of the room, who was pointedly ignoring him in favor of some silly magazine. C.C., in contrast to her fire less than an hour ago, was back to her old self; as if nothing had happened in that car at all. As if she hadn't…

Her nails on his skin, pulling and clawing feverously to remove the offending shirt.

As if he hadn't…

Pushing her down on the back seat, a nervous laugh at getting caught here, in a car; in the open.

This was precisely the reason he had worked so hard to keep at least that distance from the immortal in the past: he knew she was old; different, and maybe even a little broken. Getting involved with her like this would only cause trouble for them both; but of course, it was easier to hang onto resolve when there was a timeline to keep to. Or perhaps he was no longer as strong as he had once been.

Regardless; she was back to her old self. He figured it either meant she was disappointed in his performance or sated in her needs; he'd be damned if he would let her unfazed him now. He could play the same game. "C.C., I am not happy."

Focusing an angry scowl on the immortal's back, he ignored the crestfallen, shocked stares from his school-time friends. "Why am I not happy, C.C.?"

The woman answered heedlessly, not even looking up. "Because you are a grouchy-pooh?"

Before, in the heat of the moment, he had been able to fool himself to believe that there might still be a purpose for him; for C.C. and him both. Now, having had some time to process the information the China meeting had offered him, such delusions were waning. All evidence suggested there really was no new enemy to fight.

He sighed again; if he had ever imagined any reunions with these dear friends, none of those dreams had been this awkward. With a quick glance, he noticed that Milly had a particularly fake smile plastered on her face. It was her trademark way, he knew, to keep from crying. Rivalz was faring little better, rubbing his arm and studying the floor to the side.

It was all getting too much to process: His requiem was in shambles, the cause of which did not seem one malevolent being, but rather a joint collectiveness of stupidity and selfishness. His own continued very existence puzzled, if not annoy him. After suggesting the opposite, his witch now seemed to have decided she didn't need a warlock after all. And to add insult to injury, all the people he had pushed away so very hard - if only to keep them alive - seemed insistent to follow him wherever he went with heartfelt offers of forgiveness.

He wanted to run, hide in the deepest hole he could find and stay there forever and ever till they all had forgotten he ever excised. It did not seem likely there was a hole in this plain of existence deep enough for such a feat.

Instead, he got up with another sigh. "I imagine my old room is still there?" Lelouch asked by way of clarifying where he went. He was too depressed to be going through niceties right now; he vaguely wondered if they understood.

It was pointless; his entire existence was. Even though he had finally broke free of that choking little basement, he felt as trapped as ever. With no goal, no enemy to destroy, what was the point of him?

'And here I thought you were the bad guy...' The demon emperor hissed softly as he paused at the door's threshold.

And that, he was…

He could only steady himself with a hand on the frame as he had the sensation of puzzle pieces falling and re-arranging themselves around him. When the world came to a slow, spinning stop, he was left in a cluttered mess of a world that looked strange and new.

Despite this, Lelouch smiled. He had not calculated this through, but his strategic insight had never lied to him before; from this new vantage point, this puzzle might still be solved.

"Milly; big interview in one week time."

He hoped to include all three of them in a broad smile.

"And for the love of god, no gossips yet, please!"

0000~M~0000

The room went quiet after Lelouch left; it was an eerie, unreal quiet. Milly had never been one to believe in the miracles; but she had no other explanation then that. He was alive! She didn't doubt that; all other questions would, it seemed, have to wait.

The news anchor girl knew better then to push her childhood friend now; he had always been a private person. And she supposed apparent death was not the kind of thing to change that for the better. She just couldn't believe he was alive!

Rivalz seemed to already have past that hurdle though, fidgeting on his chair uncomfortably. "But wait; an interview? Isn't that bad? Shouldn't he be hiding?"

Alive and back at scheming it seemed. This, Milly realized happily, meant he was doing pretty well. It wasn't quite like the old days; as Shirley and Suzaku were still dead – and not even Milly Ashford would ask for more than one miracle; but it was a start.

The tall blonde clapped her hands together, ignoring the question. "Isn't this wonderful? Our friend is back! This calls for a party!"

From behind her magazine, the green haired girl made a sound – CC he had called her? such an odd name. The woman was a mystery to Milly; she looked so young but acted so old. Something about her put Milly off though, as those cold golden eyes came up from behind her magazine. "I thought Lelouch said no rumors; what's the occasion going to be?"

The Ashford heir scoffed. "What are you, his handmaiden seeking his orders carried out? Besides, we have parties here all the time; there's nothing odd about it."

Helpfully, Rivalz put up a hand. "Actually, we haven't had a party since…"

"Yes," Milly cut in, heedless. "Good point, Rivalz; not having a party soon would definitely spread rumors, as we have not had any for way too long."

The girl laughed, - laughed at Milly Ashford! Then dropped her magazine, getting up close to the tall blonde; she hardly reached up to Milly's shoulders. "Oh? It might be a bit of a strange party; with – what – only ten students left in the entire academy?"

"Ah;" Milly called in a fake friendly tone. "Do you mean to help? Have you enrolled into our school yet?"

If it had not been obvious before, the cold eyes staring up at Milly would have told her, this C.C. was no ordinary girl. The two women stood eye to eye, auras battling for supremacy. Milly was not about to be cowed though, ignoring the warning lights in the back of her mind: there were very, very few people that looked Milly Ashfords in the eye without flinching.

Strangely, after only a moment, C.C. seemed to think better of it. Her boisterous laugh suggested she did not consider it a defeat; rather, she was postponing their match. "Whatever; as long as there is enough pizza to eat."

C.C. turned then, as if realizing something. "Oh no! My pizzas." The grin on her face suggested to Milly there was nothing to worry about; the green haired girl insisted though.

"Got to go save my pizzas from that clean freak. Try and be good now!"

0000~S~0000

Zero locked the kitchen's door behind him and turned to see the cook and maid giving him shocked stares. He almost laughed nervously; but that would not do for the people's hero. Behind him, the fuming red-head started pounding the door, all the while screaming loudly. "Su-Ze-Rooo!"

Why the hell had he let this fuming red-head into his house in the first place?

For a moment the pounding stopped, then intensified as the woman had no doubt found a weapon to assault the heavy door with.

He turned to the cook and maid, slipping a few bills from his coat pocket; he hoped the action didn't offend, but it was the best he could think off under the circumstances.

"Thank you for all your hard work." He said, honestly. "Please take the rest of the evening off." He motioned to the back door to indicate they should leave; with them gone, the house would be empty safe him and Kallen. It was the least he could do to keep his staff safe.

The maid looked up uncertainly though. "Sir, are you going to be alright? Shouldn't we call the cops or something?"

The irony, of course was, that this girl represented the police. He knew better then to point that out though; drawing himself up, he told her.

"I think the great Zero can take care of one distraught female, do you not?"

That seemed to placate her, if only just; Suzaku waited until they had left and locked the door behind him before removing his mask, calling out through the door.

"Kallen, if I come out now, will you please stop destroying my kitchen door?" He considered his house had had enough damage done to it for one night.

There was a moment of silence before the girl replied. "Very well, but what goes for your house may not apply to your person. I saw him, Suzaku; and now I understand what you asked me before. You lying bastard!"

That wounded the knight. "I did not lie! I merely… left out some information."

"Fah!" She laughed incredulously. "Did he tell you to 'leave out information'?"

"No-o." Suzaku spelled it out; "He told me to leave out all information." then hesitated, pushing at the door. Kallen was still glowering, but her eyes were fixed on the carpet somewhere. A fire-extinguisher lay discarded at her feet. Suzaku heaved a sigh. "He told me not tell anyone anything."

She chucked; it was a mirthless, angry sound. "You know, I realized in our sparring match that you had faked your end; but in all honesty, I had never expected you to have both weaseled out of death."

Another cut at his honor, and for once he didn't believe he deserved it. Despite good manners, Suzaku was just about ready to start hitting this woman too now. The knight clenched and unclenched his black-gloved hands a few times before he felt he could safely answer. The temptation to tell her about his Geass condition was strong now; as she already knew everything else. "My death was faked from the start… As for his... I didn't know."

The red-head kicked the fire-extinguisher; hard. It bounced with a heavy 'thud', and rolled over to Suzaku's feet. "Of course you didn't; that's why he decided to break into your cellar?"

-"I didn't know at first; when I found out…. Well, I guess I just didn't know what to do."

She scoffed. "So you went and followed his orders like a good little soldier again."

It wasn't like that either; but Suzaku was just about ready to give up, groaning.

Her next accusation was the one that really cut him; deep: "And what about Nunnally? Did either of you ever even considering her feelings?"

The black-clad boy was close to tears now. "Why do you think I went to talk to you?"

0000~L~0000

Lelouch's once tidy room had been turned into an animal's den; quite literally. The mess C.C. created had been almost too much for him to manage when he still lived at the Ashford's school. But this time, there had not been anyone to clean after the immortal witch for weeks. As Lelouch opened the door to his private room –assailed by the smell of cheese and tomato and mold – he felt a little… upset.

While he stood there, his mood quickly souring to match the smell, he could only wonder if C.C. had staged the whole rescue just to get him to housemaid for her again. He was too tired to have to have to clean his room right now.

Lelouch had hardly managed to make himself stack a few boxes before C.C. came to stand in the doorway though. She folded her arms, leaning casually into the frame "So where's your scar then?"

It was indeed one of the puzzles that had him worried; CC's own code-giving scar stood out brightly in his mind. An almost shining red weld on her otherwise perfect chest he had traced little over an hour ago, in the back of a rented car.

But right now, he would have liked to hear something else from the woman: some recognition; an apology maybe. He squashed the sentiment, annoyed with himself now too.

"I'm taking a shower." He stated casually. "Meanwhile, can you please do something about all these boxes?"

C.C. leaned back casually though; "Lelouch… you would not actually be foolish enough to make me choose between you and pizza?"

Of course he wasn't. "Can you at least sort which boxes should not be thrown out yet then?" He took her silence to mean assent; or pretended he did.

She called to him though, before he could leave the room. "You do understand, if I could get enough entertainment from breaking little boys in, I would not need to be here."

Perhaps the sigh betrayed him, but he had been expecting as much. Regardless, C.C. spelled it out for him, straightening with a little pout. "I'm bored. Entertain me."

It would have been nice, he thought privately, to have at least remembered a time in his life when some motherly figure had patted him on the arm and had said something along the lines of: 'Don't worry my boy; just try you best.'

As it was, he just threw his most diabolical smirk. "A car-chase and a roll in the back seat and you're still bored?"

C.C. shrugged and made to reply; but Lelouch cut her off.

"Don't worry; have I ever let down before? I'll give you –and the world – another show they'll never forget."