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~~-L-~~

The first orders of business had been to secure the island. A large group of Knightmares was set out for that purpose, under the command of Tohdoh and some Holy Sword-or something. Lelouch stuck to Oghi, following him about as he was going through his chores. That also meant following him to the island's main city. On the streets, Japanese everywhere were celebrating. But on the Britannian, high-society side of town the mood was depressed. It all seemed too familiar: the quiet, the fearful looks from half-hidden figures behind windows. They strung a desolate choir within Lelouch he didn't much care for, and made very little sense when inspected too closely.

Had Rolo been hurt when their mother had died? That had been in a car-crash; he was certain. Had Rolo been in that car as well? But his brother could not walk for himself; Lelouch was carrying him now, on his back. They had been turned out of another orphanage, and so they walked the streets. Empty, desolate. It was dangerous to be out here, but they had little choice. Lelouch did not know if it was the first, or the twentieth time they had been turned out. But he did know it had been his fault; he had demanded something. Something as simple and fundamental as basic human rights; but he had asked it from some self-important bastard who had styled himself an absolute king. His demands had only gotten them run out into the street.

Lelouch fumed at the audacity of chasing a wounded, crippled boy out into the streets for such an offence; for his brother's offence. Is it not the task of orphanage owners to take care of orphans? Now though, he had more pressing concerns on his mind. It seemed there had been riots. There were dead bodies everywhere, but he could trust this Japanese boy he was following; because that boy was his friend..? Lelouch didn't even remember his face. Some friend he turned out to be...

When Oghi announced they were returning to base, it was not a minute too soon for the ex-agent. On their way back, Lelouch bugged Oghi some more about when General Todoh was to be back, but it seemed that would not be before morning the next day. This was fine, as he doubted Tohdoh would be able to contact the Order tonight; and surely the general had not had the time yesterday.

The ex-Agent still feared it; thought he supposed he was reasonably safe here, in a different land. With a different immortal.

Still, Lelouch had no intention of letting Tohdoh deal this particular piece of info over to the Order. So he would need to move quickly. The first step in his plan was to pester his chaperone some more about the prisoners, and how Lelouch would be very useful if they were to be questioned. Not that he thought for one moment that that would be allowed, but it was always a good idea to push one's own agenda when you were out to bother people anyway. When Oghi was faced with the issue of large quantities of prisoners of wars, Lelouch made bold suggestions on the lines of just putting the lot over the border and be rid of them.

Most seemed scandalized by the suggestion, but honestly, it was the best solution. It was not like they would ever beat the Britannians with sheer numbers; it all came down to provisions in the end. This way, the refugees would drain Britannian funds, not theirs. Without Todoh there to fully grasp the situation, his suggestions were simply cast aside though. But that was fine.

Once the Oghi was annoyed enough and too busy to notice, Lelouch just faded to the background. Nobody seemed to pay him any attention by the time they had touched down back at base, probably because everyone was celebrating. And, though Leluoch knew he looked somewhat out of place, enough men had seen him walk around with important people for him not to be detained just for being Britannian. One or two soldiers seemed to take his presence in by simply re-doubling their efforts and crying happy "down with Britannia!" slurs at him. As he answered these cries with a happy smile and wave, even the drunkards seemed to deem him okay though. He could mingle with these people.

It was time to play a few card games.

~~-N-~~

She had already been taken aboard a small transport by the time her half-sister returned from the war. The swish and hustle of Cornelia's entourage was hard to mistake for anything else, even if Nunnally's eyes were still closed and useless.

"Welcome back, sister." Nunnally offered with a weak smile.

The bustle of entourage stopped as they reached her, and the warrior princess knelt down in front of the wheelchair and embraced her little half-sibling. "I'm sorry, Nunnally. We will have to leave Japan now."

She tried to keep a brave face, though Nunnally well knew there were tears rolling down her face. Perhaps she should have been bolder; drawn more attention to herself. But Cornelia did not like her little sister to draw too much attention, lest she become the target of terrorist attacks. It was hardly surprising, this over-protectiveness after what had happened to the warrior's only full sibling, Euphie.

As a result, few people even knew about Nunnally's existence beyond the fact that she was Cornelia's crippled half-sister and needed protection.

There was nothing to be done about all this now though. Wisdom in hindsight, at best: "It's alright, sister. You did your best. We will just have to find Lelouch another way."

Cornelia stiffened at that; and Nunnally could not help feel that tiny bubble of suspicion that suggested perhaps Cornelia was not telling all she knew about their lost brother. Then, the warrior drew back a little, and Nunnally felt her smooth out her hair. "Let's just return home. The good news is that at least we will be home well in time before the Christmas celebrations."

Nunnally tried to laugh at that; it would be her first Christmas back with her family, as she had just missed last year's; her discovery and return to her family late by only a few days. Perhaps the celebrations would serve to lift both their spirits.

By the time Cornelia took her leave, a different presence approached her. "Hello Nunnally." He called, sounding a little sad, as he always did these days.

She tried to be especially cheerful for him. "Suzaku! Are you coming home with us too?"

"Yes Nunnally." He sighed, dejected. "I suppose I am."

Nunnally never saw his eyes flicker angrily towards Cornelia's entourage. He never voiced the accusations; that her sister had been so stubborn to not allow him into battle even in the face of imminent defeat. But she knew the stares were there; she knew the words that were not spoken. Nunnally sighed. Perhaps she could do something to lift Suzaku's spirit's too this Christmas. He needed it perhaps most of all.

~~-K-~~

Celebrations were well under way by the time Kallen was done with her chores and could leave her beloved Guren well-taken care of in the hanger,and so she set out to look for a certain someone. She supposed she should have just let the man be; but after all this time apart, especially after this victory that announced Zero's return, Kallen felt a need to… know what he was up to. Besides, this was a time for celebrating. Japan was finally, fully in Japanese hands. It would remain to be seen if they could keep it.. But surely, the man that had made this possible should not be left out of the celebrations.

And when she found him, she was glad to know where he was and what he was doing, but she was content simply to watch for a little while, and then to leave him to his game. It really was nostalgic; Kallen had only heard of Lelouch's illegal gambling trips playing high-stake chess, but she imagined the sight presented to her here would be quite alike to what she had missed back at Ashford. Sure, this was poker; sure, this was against a bunch of Japanese soldiers, not against some Britannian noble. But he was still winning, if the pile in front of him was any indication. He was still cleaning out his indignant opponents: not only were there several types of currencies – on that pile Kallen saw rings, weapons, a helmet and… several Black Knight visors?

Kallen balked; watching the scene again with totally different eyes. Lelouch rubbed at his eye; the patch he had somehow acquired covering a few stitches, some discoloring but most importantly that blazing red Geass only she and the top Black Knights knew about. Three of his opponents had already lost their visors to the stack. A fourth sighed dejectedly; offering hisas if that would allow him to continue playing.

Leluoch laughed. "You know I collect them. As you see. Sure."

There were only two players left actually wearing their visors. This was a quiet corner; the chance of random people passing by at the wrong time was low. And he rubbed at his eye. Maybe it really just itched. Maybe…

To say Kallen was upset would have been an understatement. She marched up to the table with barely contained rage.

"Soldiers;" she addressed the gathered men. "You will wear you uniforms fully, including your headgear. Especially in the company of our 'guests'. As for you…"

She didn't even have the words. Angrily, she grabbed Lelouch's elbow and proceeded to pull him to the closest office—thankfully empty—she had access to. When they were inside she locked the door and turned on the lights. Then she took a moment to note the details of that switch. Plain, square. Plastic. It took her a while, but when Kallen had collected herself well enough, she whirled around. "How many of our men have you Geassed with your curse already?"

"I don't know what you are talking about. I was just playing a game of cards."

Sometime in the last year, the Lelouch she knew must have lost his ability to lie perfectly, because it was easy to tell: he stood too straight, eyes ahead. Like he knew it was no use, but was just too stubborn to not at least try.

Then Kallen realized it was no use: "I'm going to ask C.C.."

She was almost out of the door before he caught her on the arm forcefully; his expression was soft, if maybe a little tense around the eye.

"Three; just three. Please don't tell her."

Kallen tisked. "Why, Lelouch?"

His body pose relaxed, and Kallen briefly wondered if she had been fooled again. But he scoffed, finding a desk to lean on and suitably derailed her with his answer. He still hadn't released her: "I need to uncover a spy remember?"

The change was sudden, complete, and everything Kallen had wished for. She coughed, calling attention to the allegedly offending arm on her sleeve with a finger. Then sighed, feeling a little hot. "You really don't need to, Lelouch. If you'd only asked for my help…"

Again, that almost-familiar smile. "I am sorry. I suppose I should try to trust you. But please remember, I've only met you two days ago."

And, Kallen thought with embarrassment, he had every reason not to trust her. This was all her fault, really. If only she had not panicked, back on Kanime Island. Still, C.C. hardly deserved the same treatment: "I'm beginning to think you're afraid of C.C.."

He laughed; and that also sounded somewhere close to the laugh he'd had back in school; "Are you kidding? She's immortal and indestructible. She can turn a man's mind to blubber with a touch. She can read my mind… why the hell aren't you afraid of her?"

Kallen laughed, feeling a tension fall away that she had not even realized plagued her. "What, C.C.? she's completely harmless!"

~~-L-~~

Suppressing a sigh he laughed as well as he could at the girl's story. Despite her late start, Kallen was probably as far gone as any of these party-goers, and the sun had already risen hours ago. Let it never be said that Japanese didn't know how to party. Personally, if he'd ever found the need to man an attack on this country, he would remember to do it on the morning after a national holiday. It was likely no-one would be able to even lift a rifle in defense on that day.

Easily, Lelouch allowed his gaze to trail back to the red-head that was in front of him. Cheeks lush with alcohol and smile a little too giddy… she really was a looker. Too bad she wouldn't shut up. Casually, he refilled her glass from the bottle on their make-shift terrace table. "That was a hilarious story, Kallen. Why don't you tell me another one?"

Sadly, the girl complied. And it was another one of these stories about a Milly Ashford, who apparently bullied Lelouch and a whole other group of people into all sorts of weird situations at some school, where he and Kallen had supposedly both attended.

Well, apparently she was only half-Japanese, so he supposed it was theoretically possible. But he couldn't remember any of it, and he certainly couldn't picture it. Lelouch was pretty sure he made it a rule to shoot anyone who thought they could bully him. As a result, the only ones that got away with that were impervious to bullets.

But Kallen's stories did serve to make him feel decidedly ill. That was a bit of a strong reaction he supposed; perhaps it was just all this 'saké'. It tasted sweet, and seemed innocent enough until it reached the stomach. Yeah; that was likely it.

Another group of soldiers came by in a drunken stupor, and again they had to ask "Is it true? Is Zero back? Wasn't he executed?"

And again, Kallen replied, raising her glass, eyes shining, proclaiming; "You can't kill justice!"

"Isn't that right Lelouch?" she said softly when they had passed by, redoubling their efforts at celebrations.

I wouldn't know. But he just smiled thinly at her instead. Honestly, he could think of a million things he'd rather do than prance around in a mask and cape, like some stylized version of Batman. But he needed this girl right now. He needed both to derail her uncovering his little network of informants her support when he made his move on Todoh.

If all it took to earn this girls trust was to put on a stupid costume…. Honestly, the girl was so easy, he considered. Kallen must get taken advantage of a lot. All he had to do now was convince her to trust him long enough to close his net on their spy…

"As you say, my lady." He gave his best impression of a courteous bow without getting up.

She chuckled. "Easy now, boss! I see what you're doing. And I still haven't forgiven you for trying to make me kill myself."

Cue accidentally spilling over his half-empty glass in front of him. After dabbing some at it, with his gaze averted, he tried for the right tone. "Kallen, I cannot begin to tell you how sorry I am about that. I was… awful."

She made a derisive sound somewhere between snort and a laugh, which Lelouch took to mean this was exactly what she had wanted to hear, so he pressed the point further.

"Despicable; disgusting."

Kallen animatedly shook her head, only pausing for a quick sip of sake. "No, no. it's alright. You didn't know. And also, you apologized so let's forget about the whole thing."

He looked at her a moment, as if considering her offer. "You must know I did it only because I thought you were going to kill my little brother."

A blatant lie, as they would have tried to kill their target—and whoever accompanied her—even if they had come under the universal white flag and offered a peace-treaty. In fact, the only reason he had not made sure of her death before moving on was he had thought Rolo's fate sealed at the time.

Kallen's face dropped though. "Oh, Lelouch. I'm sorry, but he really isn't your brother."

It was the one statement that made it impossible to keep up his act. Lelouch sneered. "He is."

Sympathetic condensation was not an expression he had wanted to see in those blue, intoxicated eyes right now. "These emotions, they are commendable, and believe me I know how you feel; I had a brother, once. But you must understand: he and all those memories associated with him are fake."

Understand like hell. He should probably have just accepted that; but the need to prove her wrong was too strong. "You had a brother."

For once, the girl turned off her boisterous demeanor. "Yeah. Died as a resistance fighter."

"Parents…" Lelouch tried to make the question sympathetic, instead of accusing.

"Father and I never got along, especially after the divorce. Mother… she got involved with drugs. Now that we freed the country I don't think she will have to serve the full sentence, but she is still in rehab anyway."

Alright, he had to admit; that was pretty close to home. Still. "School? Friends?"

She chuckled mirthlessly. "School and friend were fun, but the truth is I was a spy when I was there; an insurgent. I can't honestly claim those people as my friends. But!" she perked up. "It's okay, because I have friends here, in the resistance; No! Japan's liberation army."

Lelouch grunted in understanding. "And that's it. These people, and the dream you share is the one thing you do have. And then is why you are such a great pilot; because everything becomes very simple when you only have one thing to fight for; one thing to live for." Slowly, he refilled her and then his glass. "Mother of miracles, maybe you do understand."

Kallen nodded wisely. "As I said, I had a brother too. We were very close."

He tried, really. But he could not help bursting out laughing.

She made it worse, pouting: "Are you laughing at me?"

Then, Lelouch's phone rang. Or rather, the one he had acquired from one of his Geassed soldiers: seven all together now. He would have liked a few more, just for contingency plans, but it seemed that would not be needed. He supposed even he could get lucky sometimes. Lelouch closed the connection, faking a disconcerted expression. Then he waited for Kallen to catch on.

"I guess we got him." then offered her his tentative smile. The one that made her breath hitch. Really, she was too easy. "Will you help me with this?" he reached out a hand. "And can I trust you to stay quiet and do what I say until we have enough proof?"

Todoh was on the move; now if they could only catch him in the act.

~~-T-~~

Todoh felt only confused, as Oghi pulled the microphone from his hand. He didn't understand.

Kallen looked sad, betrayed. "I heard the whole thing." We were hiding under the table when he made the call."

Speaking such obviously pained her, but not as much as those words hurt him. He had no reason to be in the communications room. Especially as he had been there alone - or so Todoh had thought.

The boy Lelouch was there too. He only gave an apologetic shrug.

But why was Todoh on the radio? Who had he just been talking to? Why didn't he remember? Somehow, Tohdoh's own mind betrayed him, and he didn't know why.

A spy!

How could he be betraying this country, his country, that he loved so? It didn't make sense.

Nothing made sense, anymore.

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Took me a while, didn't it? But I am pretty happy with the results! Special thanks to dw77 and Magery for beta-ing!

Ps- Avian Reader called my attention to the fact that this fic is somewhat similar to Code Geass: Megiddo. Well, I guess that's actually quite the compliment, but it would be kind of useless to write this if it was actually the same. After reading the author's notes however I am almost positive this will turn out totally different then that fic. So, yay!