A man staggers through a forest in the middle of the night, staring at each tree he passes as though he expects them all to come alive at any moment to devour him whole. And who knows? In this day and age such a matter might even be possible. He needs to stop and rest. Dearly needs to. But he knows that at any moment he might happen upon the enemy. If they find him like this, he wouldn't stand a chance.

Though the question does linger in his mind. What now? The Japan Liberation Front is no more. Katase was dead. Their command base destroyed, mercifully alongside their records. All they had anymore was a scattering of cells across Japan. Disorganised. Without a leader. A vacuum waiting to be filled, ripe for the Black Knights to swoop in and absorb them into its growing organisation. Those that did not? Would have to face the fury of Cornelia themselves. Without the protection of supernatural powers. But not him! Not Josui Kusakabe! He would rather die -

"They wouldn't shut up," said a stranger standing atop a fallen log with his back turned. "Poor them, lost in their own past. Chattering away as if nothing was the matter, a deafening cacophony! If only they'd been quiet, I might have been able to help her."

The man applauded for a brief moment and laughed at something. Kusakabe slipped back silently into the shadows. He did not have the time to meddle with -

"A lunatic?" the man said. "I suppose you could say that I am. Depending on your definition. But please, Josui! What's the hurry? Weren't you just going to kill yourself anyway?"

"...Who are you?" Kusakabe asked. "Turn around and face me!"

"Ah? Because if it turns out I'm an enemy you would rather attack me face to face?" It was a strange thing. Even though he could not see this stranger's face, he still had a sense of a smile somewhere off in the darkness ahead of him. "Except that in this day and age, an opponent would not need to face you to be able to fight you."

"Then I shall make you turn around!"

It was not an honourable action, but at this point in the day exhaustion of all kinds - physical, mental, even to an extend his very soul had been drained of energy. Drawing upon the last reserve of strength he rushed the man with his blade, sweeping for the legs to give him a shock -

Except that at the last possible moment, the man jumped over his attack at the perfect instant to do so. Undeterred he tried again, this time swiping up for an attack across the back. Somehow, and he could not understand how, the man was able to block the attack without even looking at it! He wielded a steel rod in both hands! Kusakabe was a practised blade wielder, and he recognised in an instant that these hand movements were those of an amateur, and yet he still found ways to prevent his attacks from landing without even looking at where the blows were coming from!

"Who are you?" he demanded, pressing his blade against the rod in a frustrated attempt to push it out of the man's hand.

"Your new best friend."

Undeterred, he withdrew and lunged forward to silence this annoyance -

"Silence me? Hahaha! When you're so loud yourself? Just like those people in the settlement. They wouldn't shut up either! None of them shut up, keeping me from rescuing her."

The stranger stepped deftly to the side, though by now Kusakabe expected that. He shifted his weight, intending to trap the stranger in place with the flat end of his sword against his gut - But then he recoiled as he felt something scratch his hand, making it feel as though it had been set aflame!

"Tscha!" he screamed, instinct and exhaustion compelling him to drop his blade and check the injury. To his shame, a small scratch, but it felt like acid had been poured in the wound. "You call yourself my 'new best friend', yet you only show me your back while using a mocking tone!"

"How true," the stranger replied, persisting in not even showing his face or telling his name. "I suppose I'm not really your best friend. He is. Why don't you do a little light reading?"

The pain in his hand was gone. Fading. Kusakabe staggered, dropping to the ground as his energy levels completely depleted. Ahead of him the man tossed a binder over his shoulder and began to walk off. Nonchalant. In a manner that almost seemed to be designed to piss him off!

Kusakabe shook his head to try to get rid of the cobwebs. He stared at the binder in front of him, mortified at his humiliation and thoroughly confused by the encounter. There really was nothing else for him to do right now but check the binder… Though when he did so, he tsked. "Written in Britannia's barbaric language," he said. "Completely lacking the poetic majesty of - Who is that?! Sneaking up on me!"

He attempted to whirl around but found his coordination a trifle lacking. Not that he would have remained on his feet after seeing the figure lurking over him, for the raw surprise alone would have left his balance particularly vulnerable to even a feather drifting on the wind. Before him stood an impossible thing that drew his breath from his body and left him shocked, amazed, dumbfounded. What was this glory? What being was this?

It looked almost as though it had stepped out of the Edo period. This! This was how a warrior used to dress! A folding portable chest armour with lacquered iron panels hanging from the bottom and arm protection comprised of a combination of kusari - a kind of chain mail that is sewn into leather - and iron panels, kusari socks and foot protection, a glorious katana that put Kusakabe's own to shame! This was the very image of a samurai incarnate before him! As though someone had painstakingly taken the very concept itself and fashioned it into a real, living thing!

He would quickly regret his rapt attention, as a sudden burst of light spread from the middle of the seemingly empty armour. Whatever it had been had kicked up dust into a certain shape, spreading up where the neck and head should be if someone were to wear that armour.

It was red. It was golden. It was shifting between them in an eternal macabre dance. All along its circumference the surface seemed to be eternally shifting like a cloud in the wind. It was like a bell standing atop a pole within the suit, except shining like the rising sun. Kusakabe never had time to really appreciate poetry, but the very sight before him moved his weary soul to tears.

"I see," he muttered to himself. His Stand drifted upwards, completely obedient to his will. "So this is what he meant - Perhaps I should not dismiss his other gift so rapidly."

And so he did, though still with suspicions and reluctance. Yet the very second he so much as glanced again upon the cover, he nearly dropped it from fright. Though curiously, as the implications came to him that fright turned to utter delight…

"I see," he said upon reading it through. "This is the power of a Stand! How glorious! In that case, it will soon be time for Japan's new dawn to rise! And in the very act of opposing me, Britannia shall fall!"

Chapter 27: Cruise Control

====Euphemia====

Boredom is one of the worst inevitable facts of life. It's like an unwelcome guest you can't quite get to leave. Ever since the battle Cornelia had taken complete control over the fallout, delegating tasks while leaving Euphemia nothing to do but watch. No decisions to make - which was a relief because in a situation this serious it would hardly do for her to make a mistake - too much happening all at once for her to keep track of to the point that it all became white noise.

And now, here she was waiting for her next task as sub-viceroy or her next "lesson" in how to run the Area. This was exactly the kind of thing she absolutely did not like to do; Nothing at all. There was whole wide world out there and here she was stuck in a glass box with nothing to do but stare out as if she was some kind of priceless doll that was only worth something because nobody ever thought to undo the packaging.

At the same time that feeling made her feel tremendously guilty. Just another reason why boredom is such a terrible feeling. It's one of those problems that people complain about when others in the world have it so much worse, and people like Euphemia that try to at least sympathise a little bit with the world at large are so very attuned to that fact.

Which is why she had slipped away from her guard. Again. Cornelia would hit the roof, but think of it this way; If Euphemia could escape this easily, then someone that wanted to hurt her would be able to exploit the same kind of security vulnerabilities. See? Wasn't it one of the very subjects her father was always going on about? That which survives the harshest test endures. What better test than for her to keep on breaking out like this?

Anyway. She had procured glasses and a brown wig to cover up her hair. It seemed to work wonders. Nobody even looked at her twice. The trick was to make it seem like you didn't care who saw you, because if you looked like you wanted to avoid being seen it would make people all the more likely to stop and look at you.

What struck her the most was how utterly ordinary everything seemed in the settlement. It was amazing. People were simply going about their business as if nothing was even going on in the world. One would think that the revelation of supernatural powers would have caused some kind of upheaval, that they would be panicking about the Black Knights or rogue Stand users. But no. So far as she could tell they were all simply getting on with their lives. Was it denial, or perseverance? In this situation was there even any difference?

"Oh, hello little kitty!" she said to a poor, starving looking cat sitting on the side of the pavement. Meow, meow! Or should that be, nya nya since you're a Japanese kitty aren't you?"

The cat looked up at her in that same imperious wide eyed stare all cats instinctively know how to employ, and that humans have decided - without consulting the cats for their opinion - looked quite thoroughly adorable and helpless. Then it tilted its head when the human girl it was looking at did not make any signs towards giving it food.

"I think I'll call you Arthur," Euphemia declared, stroking the little cat on the head. Which he enjoyed, but not so much as a nice bit of fish or maybe a mouse? Any rodent really, not picky about that. Perhaps a bird if you were feeling adventurous? Its stomach growled, which is a universal sign that cuts across the species barrier. "Are you hungry?" she asked. "What would you like to eat?"

As any cat owner can attest, a mere housecat is a remarkably fast and agile creature when it has the inkling. Their body movements are pinpoint precise, partly because their flat faces provide them the key ability to view the world in a more accurate three dimensional representation than humans can. Yes, the evolution of this adorable creature is astounding! They can even reach speeds of thirty miles an hour, making it extremely difficult for a human to catch one that does not want to be caught!

So when Arthur suddenly reared up in a seemingly random direction and darted off down the street, one might think that would be the last Euphemia would ever have seen of it. Not so! Euphemia might be a rather docile Princess compared to the rest, but by no means was she unhealthy. The cat zipped effortlessly through the crowd towards its target like a guided missile, but Euphemia was not as far behind as one might believe. Why? Because the cat was not moving at its top speed. If anything, Euphemia was left with the impression that it was hunting something. Some sort of live prey, perhaps?

It didn't make sense to her that she would pursue this cat with such determination, but she felt compelled. As though her very life was at stake. So she engaged in that ancient art of improvised crowd weaving, leaping nimbly into spaces between people walking by on the street leaving more "pardon me"s and "excuse me"s than she left footsteps behind herself. What had grabbed hold of this cat's attention so? It seemed like a silly game, but Euphemia had to know!

Except that somewhere along the way she lost sight of the cat among the passersby. Too many buildings it could have gone into. Too many people around to block the view to see something so small at ground level. How disheartening. To Euphemia it almost felt like a metaphor. Like her sister, losing sight of something small because of all the bigger things around. Perhaps this little chase was her own little way of trying to break free from that mentality, so that she could more effectively understand -

"YOW! Where did this cat come from and why is it biting my arm?!"

"Buddy, you really shouldn't be feeding stray cats. Now that it's got a taste it'll follow you everywhere."

"Rivalz, I love your sense of humour but now is not the time."

That voice! Euphemia turned around, and sure enough there he was. Suzaku Kururugi, with that cat hanging off his arm by its teeth, and a couple of other students from his school standing next to him. Their paths cross again. She dashed right on up to him without a second thought.

"Arthur," she said. "Nya, nya! This isn't what I meant when I asked what you'd like to eat. Please let go of Suzaku right away. He's not food, he's people, nya!"

"Rrrowr!" Arthur eloquently argued in return, ruing the limitations of biology in presenting his case. With no other recourse he dropped from the tasty meal into Euphemia's arms.

"Thanks," Suzaku said, rubbing at the spot where Arthur had bitten him on the arm. "Hope that cat's shots are up to date. No telling what it caught from...me... "

"Hmm?" said one of the boys standing next to Suzaku. "Not like you to freeze up in front of a girl. Maybe love at first sight? Hi, I'm Rivalz. This is Suzaku, Nina and I just now realised you're Princess Euphemia in a wig and I feel like a complete jackass."

It felt like a spotlight was put on her all of a sudden. All it took was the name. A whiff of celebrity. Your normal person never got to meet a celebrity, and you didn't get more celebrity in Britannia than her family. She didn't even need to look to know that every single person in the street was looking at her. Whispering to themselves. Wanting to get a chance for an autograph, or to say hello. These students could feel it as well.

"That's Princess Euphemia?" one would say. "What's she doing out here?" another would add. "P-Princess! Hello, Princess Euphemia! Would it be okay if I shook your hand, please?"

The voices all blended together, and no amount of crowd weaving would get her untangled from this mess. It's impossible when they're all converging on you like some kind of ravenous zombie horde. No, worse than a zombie horde. There was still intelligence in those eyes.

Suddenly, a limousine pulled up out of nowhere and the students hopped right on in through the open door. "Get in!" Nina yelled. "We can't leave you out here by yourself!"

====Lelouch====

Within three months of his mother's death, Lelouch had invented the character of Zero. A charismatic masked figure, obsessed with justice, of protecting the weak from the strong, of using any and all means to achieve his goals. He would guide people by passion and guile, motivate the masses to turn upon their Britannian oppressors, and then he would use them towards his own ends with victory in every step. A grand hero like none the world had seen before, at least not in the flesh.

Naturally, he had envisioned himself playing that role and wearing that mask. Still. He had left his plans for revenge fluid and open. He had assumed he would need time to build up necessary resources and contacts. He had assumed he would have graduated. Made use of the academy's contacts in Area Eleven's business sector, combined with his work on the council and stellar grades to rapidly secure himself a position where he could build up his side of the board right under his father's nose. Specifics would have to wait. One step at a time until…

That had changed, of course. So much had changed in such a drastically short amount of time. The revelation of the supernatural gave him an open avenue. Stand Out's emergence forced him to take advantage of it immediately. Suzaku's unexpected disapproval of his methods forced him to be even more secretive yet Kallen's circumstances with her mother and strategic viability made it necessary for him to be less secretive. As for Shirley -

"I don't think Shirley ever really talked about her family before. What exactly does a hunk like you do for a living, besides being easy on the eyes?"

"He gets yelled at by aunt Suzie for hitting on women," Shirley said, while her rich uncle Joseph let out a big hearty laugh. "Miss President, could you please stop hitting on my uncle? I'm sorry about her, really!"

"Oh, ho, ho! Not a problem," Joseph said while rubbing his bearded chin. "There are worse things in the world than to be thought attractive by a pretty young thing! Just so long as she realises she can look, but not touch."

Milly snapped her fingers and shrugged. "Such a shame. All the good ones are taken. Scooch over a little, I want to hear a little more about your family history."

What did she mean by that? Well, that much was simple enough. They were in a limousine provided by the Speedwagon Foundation to transport them from Ashford to the ship expediently. The interior was surprisingly roomy, with the seats adopting a circular formation around the back of the long vehicle with breaks where the doors were. Not all of them were actually in the vehicle yet. Suzaku had to attend a brief military meeting, Nina had some shopping to take care of, and Rivalz had to finish off his shift at the bar he worked at. The three of them would meet up and be waiting in town, while the rest were picked up at Ashford. It seemed the simplest plan, and if Lelouch had learned anything recently, it was to keep plans as simple as the situation permitted.

"My goodness," Joseph said. "This is so extravagant… Will be your next line."

"My goodness, this is so extravagant," Nunnally suddenly said, then clasped her hand over her mouth. "My goodness, how did you do that?"

"Mister Joestar is an expert at cold reading," Lelouch explained. Then, with her attention fully on him, he made a sign to her using his shadow text technique; "He is also a master of Ripple. Find some time to talk with him later on." After all, if his sister was going to be learning about this ancient martial art then why not have her learn a little from another master as well?

"Ahem! Here's a gift for the adorable little sister of my niece's bo-oyfriend!" he declared, holding up both hands. They were empty, unless one counted the gloves he always seemed to wear over them. He flexed his fingers, then rapidly snapped them into a fist, then opened them again just as quickly. The gesture was repeated thrice more, and then out of nowhere, he was suddenly holding a box in his left hand. A chuckle, a small flourish, and suddenly the box was in his other hand, whereupon he offered it to Nunnally.

"Oh my goodness, that was amazing!" Nunnally clapped. Look at her. So happy at such a simple trick. Lelouch didn't even have it in him to point out that Joseph used some fine string, wrapped around his gloves, to pull the first (empty) box out from behind his back, and then deliberately drew their attention to the box with the actual gift inside it while using the other hand to discretely dispose of the box. Classic misdirection for a rather old fashioned illusion. "Thank you so much, how thoughtful of you."

That smile was the only thing that could ever stop him from making himself seem like the smartest guy in the room. Hopefully she would be smiling a lot more when they arrived at the cruise ship, though he did have to wonder how she would take the announcement. Though come to it, how would any of them react to this news?

"This is all so exciting," Nunnally said. "I can't even remember the last time I left the settlement. It's so amazing to see everything, I can hardly wait to see the ocean. Do you know what there will be to do?"

"Don't you worry about a thing! The SS Caesar is full of all sorts of fun activities, and - Hrm? Driver, isn't it taking a little while to get through this street? I don't remember their being any traffic lights at this point."

"I'm sorry sir," the driver called back. "But there are a lot of pedestrians today. They seem to be moving towards something near where we are going. Ah! I've noticed the rest of your party now."

"It's just a shame Kallen couldn't come as well," Shirley said, knowing full well the real reason Kallen was "sick" today. "I think this might have cheered her up quite a lot."

"She did seem rather upset recently," Lelouch said, squeezing his sister's hand. She hadn't commented on what he'd had her do, but he could tell she wasn't happy about that. Another reason for the cruise. Anything that might brighten her mood, and he would move the moon itself to make it happen if need be. "I hope it didn't contribute to her health…"

The door came open, and none of them even had time for a meeting before he heard Nina yell "Get in! We can't leave you out here by yourself!"

Then all of a sudden Lelouch's day got quite a bit worse when a certain brown haired girl dove right into his lap. Then her wig fell off, revealing distinctive and unique, instantly recognisable bright pink hair underneath.

"I am terribly sorry about this," Euphemia said, attempting and failing to extract herself from atop his legs. Hardly helped when the limo started moving again once everyone was inside. "W-woah! Oof! I do beg your pardon, I didn't… See… You… There?"

"Not a problem," Lelouch said, fighting back the nervous twitch he could feel coming, but refused to grant the satisfaction. He could see it all settling in already across her facial features. Recognition was inevitable, yes. A glance over at Nunnally might initially dispel some of those concerns due to her eyes being open, but it wouldn't take long to notice her legs weren't moving or the special additions to the seat they'd provided for her benefit and safety. At that point the Princess showed a glimmer of joy, and that gave the twitch fresh ammunition to batter down upon his defenses.

But still, he would not yield. His pride demanded that he beat it back. Maintain some semblance of control over the situation, even if Milly and Suzaku had turned absolutely deathly pale. So what? So they'd been discovered by a member of the family? It was Euphemia. She wasn't stupid or malicious, so long as this situation was handled delicately they might be able to convince her that they didn't want to be discovered and were perfectly happy where they were, thank you very much, so please leave us alone.

So, it was a bad situation but so long as nobody said anything stupid it couldn't get much worse than -

"... I was thinking we could invite her to the cruise ship?" Nina said. "I mean, since Kallen isn't coming, technically we have an empty invite, so…"

"What a wonderful suggestion!" Lelouch said with great and genuine enthusiasm.

"It is?" said Nunnally, Suzaku and Milly in unison. Shirley merely slowly tilted her head.

"Of course," Lelouch said. "I mean, how often do you get the chance to spend time with Royalty? If the Princess doesn't mind attending a little cruise ship party like ours! I'm sure we'd be happy to have you!" Because it would give them a chance to talk with her. Because it would give them a chance to use Nunna's Geass to keep her from talking. Because it would be better than dropping her off before they could get the chance to persuade her to keep things quiet.

"Yes, Lelouch!" Shirley said with a far, far too sweet smile on her face. "I'm sure it's a very interesting thought process you've had just now while she was sitting in your lap."

Lelouch didn't used to believe in luck. But what the hell, if Stands could exist in this world then who was he to not believe in an abstract concept like that? Especially when he appeared to be living, breathing proof that yes, bad luck does exist.

====Cornelia====

Procrastination is often referred to as the thief of time. Well. In Cornelia's opinion, anyone that tried to steal from the Royal Family merited immediate execution, if only to prevent their stupidity from tainting the gene pool any further than it may have already. It was more a favour to humanity at large than an intimidation tactic, really.

In the last few days, the Japan Liberation Front had dissolved. All trace of them vanished completely. Not a word declaring their re-emergence, no sign of renewed activity attempting to cover for any of their members that might have slipped through the net.

Not only that but no sign of the Black Knights either. They'd gone to ground. Staying hidden. Under the radar. Meticulous in their care in leaving no leads for her to follow. Luring them out into the open again immediately would be as foolish as letting them lick their wounds for too long, but then she had her own that needed cleaning as well. Although. She was never the sort to sit idly by and let her opponent decide the next move. Not when there was something else she had been putting off doing in favour of drawing out the part she enjoyed the most, the battle, the warfare, the crushing of her enemies underneath her feet.

So. She had no further reason to sit around picking off the few remaining resistance cells scattered throughout Area Eleven. Attempting to lure out the Black Knights would be unlikely to work so immediately. Therefore she would take her time to do something else instead; She would go directly to the source of Clovis' research and begin looking there. She'd put it off long enough trying to gain some semblance of control within the Area, but now she would permit no further distractions to keep her from this vital, essential -

"I think I must have misheard you," Cornelia said to a rightfully nervous Captain. "For a moment there, I thought you might have said something stupid, like my sister has managed to slip away from her guards again and you had no idea where she was. It couldn't have been that, because you still have your teeth."

"W-Well, what we think happened is - "

"If I cared what you thought, I'd be as much an idiot as you!" Cornelia yelled, thumping her desk and making the imbecile jump nearly out of his skin. "How does she keep doing this? Haven't you learned anything from her previous escapes?!"

"We're not entirely certain," was the rather stupid reply. "We were considering perhaps tricking her into swallowing some sort of tracking device? Or perhaps putting something in her jewelry."

Incompetent fools! Allowing her sister to run out into the Area like that… Foolishness! Who knows what might happen to her out there? Who knows what terrors she might have to confront? Who knows what Zero might do to her if, forbid the thought, somehow she noticed the Sub-Viceroy wandering around unchecked and unguarded?

Cornelia gripped the side of her chair hard enough for it to creak her in warning that it might break if she sustained this level of pressure any longer. She wouldn't normally react that way. But who knows what twisted fate might befall her sister if Zero were to ever get her hands on her?

====Shirley====

She stared down at the pink haired princess, and scowled. The pretty little princess was lying there with her eyes closed and her hands behind her back. Prone. Helpless. Utterly oblivious. Her nemesis. Her antagonist. The most significant obstacle she'd yet encountered.

Shirley leaned over, reaching out her hand towards the princess's head in a slow, deliberate almost threatening manner while her foe retained that air of absolute ignorance, then finally once she was close enough she finally spoke:

"Here's your lemonade, your highness!"

"Thank you, Miss Fenette! You really are too kind."

"Not at all," she said while Schizoid Man floated behind her. You know what it's like when a child immaturely mimics a person's behavioural patterns, playing them up and over exaggerating them to the point you can't really call it satire anymore? Schizoid Man was doing exactly that kind of thing in the style of Princess Euphemia. Every little one of her demure gestures exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. She'd sip delicately from the glass, and the Stand would - unnoticed - copy the motion while extending a pinky and pulling a face.

Envy is often called a green monster. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a black and white Stand. Look at her, lying there like that with her svelte, fit body. Wearing a spare bikini Milly happened to bring along. Probably has a personal trainer and a dietician to help her maintain a physique mere commoners could only dream of. No luxury too expensive for little miss pink haired Princess!

Maybe she should consider exchanging this sunscreen for cooking oil and see how long the perfect complexion lasts under the blistering sun…

"There you are!" Milly said with typical tremendous and infectious enthusiasm. She tugged on Shirley's arm, pulling her away from the Princess. "Sorry your highness, I need to borrow her for a moment. I hope that won't be a problem?"

"Not at all," Euphemia replied. "It's wonderful to have an opportunity to relax. When you said it was a party, I expected something a lot more serious and straight laced."

"That's not the kind of event my uncle would arrange," Shirley said while Milly continued to tug her away. This was true enough. It wasn't exactly a party in the typical Britannian sense. It wasn't all fancy dress and people standing around gossiping or swilling wine. Nope. She couldn't imagine her uncle Joseph setting up that sort of party no matter how much she tried.

The entire ship was filled with different kinds of activities to ensure nobody could possibly be bored. Wanted some quiet? You could sunbathe outside, maybe read a book at the front of the ship. Towards the back there was an enclosed tennis court with a cage around it to stop the balls from being lost. If neither of those suited you, there were several rooms indoors where you could play all kinds of games, dance, listen to music, find a quiet place to chat, you get the idea.

This whole party was supposed to be a time to unwind! Relax, celebrate. Catch a tan, get to know her new friends better, do the stuff Lelouch wanted to do with her uncle Joseph. And really, she was so happy that those two were getting along so well. Then it turns out Kallen had to do a thing with the Black Knights, help integrate that Tohdoh guy so she had to feign sick. Which was important and all that. Made her think about those guys in the Black Knights a bit, actually.

Kallen was pretty great. She could easily see the two of them being best friends if not for all the weird stuff going on. Clever, charming and gave as good as she got whether it was cruelty or kindness. That Ohgi used to be a teacher, and that dorky affable attitude really didn't do him any favours. And as seriously as she took things, that Tohdoh guy made her want to tell him to loosen up a little! Honestly as a whole she kind of liked their group a lot better than she was expecting, which only goes to show that people are still people whatever their history -

"Careful now," Milly wagged her finger in Shirley's face, interrupting her thought process. "They call jealousy a monster because it ruins your attractive qualities before you know it."

Oh, that's right! She was annoyed about that Princess appearing out of nowhere, wasn't she?

"Easy for you to say," Shirley huffed, a trifle irritated at the reminder almost as much. "You're not the one competing against Royalty. I saw the way they looked at each other..."

"Ah ah ah! I won't hear any of that negativity. I've been trying to set the two of you up for too long to see it fall apart now. So! Now that you're dating, it's time for you to go on the attack, attack, attack! Follow my advice, and your darling Lelouch won't dare to stare at any pretty Princess except for you. That's a Milly-certified guar-an-tee! And I'll even keep her highness distracted while you work, how does that sound?"

=====Lelouch=====

There were exactly two problems with his plan to talk to Euphemia in private. The first was that inviting her aboard the cruise ship was an absolute necessity, as this was the single opportunity available to speak with her. The second was -

"Helloooo!" Joseph called, his mechanical hand digging a little too deeply into Lelouch's shoulder while pushing him forward. "This is that boy I was telling you about. Lelouch, remember?"

Was that he couldn't quite get away from Joseph to talk with her, which was only really a symptom of the overall nature of the second problem. Namely, private conversation with Euphemia would be damn near impossible. This was a celebration aboard a luxury cruise ship. It didn't leave much room for real privacy with all these people potentially overhearing.

On the other hand, Suzaku had the right idea. He was standing by Nunnally towards the back of the room holding his thumb by the right corner of his mouth. The sign for "let's talk" in their body language based code. For a moment he was distracted with genuine delight on noticing Nunnally making the same gesture, but then he turned his Stand's attention towards them. No trouble in this crowded room. The only one that might notice a wandering shadow was Joseph, and he was already fully aware of Painted Black.

"i'm sorry," Suzaku signed. "I should have taken her somewhere else."

"It's alright," Nunnally signed back. "There really wasn't anything you could have done."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Lelouch said, shaking the hand of one of the Speedwagon Foundation's board of director members. For the benefit of the silent conversation he crafted some shadow text instead of using the code. "This could be bad. Even though it may be a positive sign that she hasn't said anything yet…"

"I want to speak with her," Nunnally signed. "I missed talking with her."

"This will work out for the best," Suzaku signed. "I'm sure once she's told you don't want -"

"- I have to say Joseph, don't those two seem a trifle fidgety? Perhaps they feel a little left out of the conversation, hrm?"

Well, that was to be expected. The code was supposed to be used among children. It was a little more noticeable when done between teenagers, but enough had been said for him to get a good picture of the situation. The two of them seemed optimistic about how this might turn out, and Lelouch could easily see the argument for that. Euphemia was less likely than others to reveal their presence, especially if she understood their wishes. Still. That didn't necessarily mean anything. He'd seen too much recently to expect something positive from this development.

"Thanks for inviting us onboard Mister Joestar," Suzaku said. "I have to compliment you on the decor. Everything looks amazing."

"Ah, ah now!" Joseph wagged his finger. "Forgive me if I don't take the compliment from someone that's probably too used to military bunks to have a good sense of taste."

"Got me there. Though recently I have been sleeping in more comfortable accomodations."

"It's incredible," Nunnally said. "I can't believe you do this once a year, it must be quite expensive."

"Compared to how much the Speedwagon Foundation pulls in annually," Lelouch said. "This must be a drop in the bucket."

"Wow," Nunnally gasped, throwing her hands to her mouth. "I never would have imagined Shirley was so well connected!"

"I'll say!" Suzaku playfully nudged him with his elbow. Then, to Lelouch's gratitude, he extended his hand to help Lelouch back to his feet. "You really picked a winner for your first girlfriend."

"He certainly did!" Joseph laughed. "Rich, cute and pretty. Though I suppose there is only one problem he hasn't come across yet."

"Problem?" Nunnally asked. "I've known Shirley for quite some time, I can't think of anything that might be a problem."

"Well, her connection to one of the wealthiest non-military corporations in the Empire was also a bit of a shock," Suzaku correctly pointed out. Yes, and it had been a surprise to Lelouch as well. Call it paranoia but he had looked a little into his friend's backgrounds upon joining the student council. He'd known there was a connection, but not that it was this deep! When Joseph had made that offer of assistance he'd had to suppress a bit of a maniacal laugh. "Maybe there's some other secret we don't know about yet? Right Joseph?"

"Oh no, I'm sure there's no other secr-"

"Right!" Joseph interrupted with much more enthusiasm than one might expect from someone desperately asking to be punched in the face. He slapped Lelouch heartily on the shoulder while he spoke his next line. "You see, I know teenage boys. Their hands like to wander into places they should not go But you see, if something like that were to happen to my dear niece -

"Then my hands would wander around that boy's throat."

"Ooh, scary!" Nunnally gasped. "But I'm sure big brother doesn't have anything to worry about. You're not the sort of person to do that sort of thing. Right?"

"Even if I was, would I admit that in front of so many people? I see the rest of the council is already exploring the ship. Why don't we follow their lead?"

This seemed the best approach to take for now. It seemed Suzaku caught his lead as well with a slow, serious nod. Find Euphemia, set up a conversation with Nunnally and he'd try to find some time later on. For now he had to get on with the real reason he'd asked for Joseph to invite them all in the first place, and then he could worry properly about -

"'Scuse me!" Shirley called, zipping expertly yet manically through the crowd. "Hi! Come with me. Right now. If you would. Please? Thanks!"

"Huh?" he asked, not quite one of his more intelligent statements or thoughts of late, even if it did contain a lot more nuance and depth than three letters and a question mark might normally. Which is actually a problem for a question, because it meant the response could literally be anything and still technically be an answer to the words, if not to the intended point of confusion.

But forgive him for indulging in a touch too much brevity, for he hadn't the time to articulate the question in a more precise manner before Shirley had yanked him by the hand, leading him out of the room and outside onto the deck of the ship.

"Hold up! What's happened?" he asked. "Hey! Where are we going all of a sudden?"

"No time to explain!" Shirley said. "We're heading to the tanning area! There's an emergency that only you can resolve!"

If an ambiguous question is the worst response, then an ambiguous answer is the second worst. Especially for someone like Lelouch. It lacked vital information. Context for what she meant by "emergency". Had someone been injured? Had Euphemia said or done something to merit this panic? Had an enemy Stand user appeared onboard? His mind reeled with possibilities. Cornelia had somehow tracked Euphemia's location. A journalist had followed the limo and snuck aboard. Now he was panicking a little! What could it be? What could this emergency be that demanded his immediate -

"I want you to rub lotion on my back."

You know. As he stood there over Shirley (and a slightly confused looking Euphemia a few seats over) lying there on the deckchair face down it occurred to Lelouch that there were several sights he'd anticipated witnessing in his life. His mother's killer's head on a silver platter. Nunnally looking out at the world in awe, wonder and joy. Nunnally walking again. His father pleading for mercy and finding none. The entire Britannian system of stamping down on those too weak to fight back being burned to the ground. Happy little thoughts and images just like those.

On the other hand, he continued to think, there was another list that was much the opposite. Things that he wished he had never seen, that he wished - oh he so dearly wished - that he could somehow find a way to forget. Right at this instance the top of that list was the sight of Schizoid Man wearing a slingshot bikini and adopting a variety of inventively seductive poses.

Damn his eyes. Damn his excellent memory. But most of all, damn Milly over there for putting Shirley up to this. The setup stunk of her thought process. Looking over at them with victory in her eyes while gently pulling Euphemia to the side for a discrete chat - Oh dear, that could potentially be a bit of a problem.

"Well?" Shirley asked. "Stop looking over there for a moment! The sun won't block itself."

So here were his choices at the moment. Attempt to interrupt the conversation between Milly and Euphie before anything else terrible happened. At which time, he would probably be punched by Schizoid Man. Alternatively he could stay, rub lotion on the girl, and then Joseph would find out and allow his hands to wander around Lelouch's neck.

Neither of those outcomes seemed particularly enticing to him. On the whole, annoying his figurehead seemed like a less bad outcome in the long run than irritating one of his financial backers. However Schizoid Man was right there and Joseph was nowhere in sight... So, with a heavy heart burdened by the weight of responsibility, he knelt down to begin rubbing sunscreen on his "girlfriend's" back. Of all the rotten, lousy luck. Still. He could use this chance to talk with her about their next move after the party -

"There you are!" Nina called, rushing along towards them with her hands waving. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realise the two of you were 'busy'. I'll come back later on."

"No, that's alright!" Lelouch said. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing really," Nina said, but she was rather a transparent girl at the best of times. She was nervous at the best of times, so let's see... She was the kind of introvert that would probably prefer to spend time near an extrovert to draw attention away from herself, and you didn't get much more extroverted than Milly. "S-Sorry to bother you, I'll leave you alone -"

"I think Milly went off in that direction," he said, nodding his head in the given direction. Nina jumped a little, but then quickly backed off. Fine. Now they could quietly discuss -

"Hey, Lelouch! Emergency!" Rivalz yelled. "You gotta come quick! Hi Shirley, just got to borrow him for a few minutes! I challenged one of those executives to a chess game, and he's crushing me but then he gave me the chance to bring in a ringer! Be right back!"

So. It was official. Fate itself had conspired towards ensuring that by the end of this day, he was going to get punched at least once.

====Nina====

If there was anything that made Nina nervous it was - Elevens, actually. But if there was another thing it was large crowds of people she didn't know, especially in places she'd never been before. Being among influential people that were part of such an influential organisation - Well, the only topic she really knew how to talk about in any depth was science, and it wasn't as if anyone was wearing badges broadcasting whether they were in accounts or the research team.

That was before we threw in a little bit of "Royalty present" and "encountering her friends in a private moment". It made her throat feel completely dry, she didn't even know what she should be saying or doing. But Milly would. She could charm colour into a rock. She was the sort of person that could talk with anyone at all! If anyone could help Nina Einstein break the ice, figure out the sort of thing she should be saying to open up a conversation -

"Enjoying the party, your highness?" Milly asked, and Nina instinctively pressed herself up against the nearest wall. Oh gosh! She was right there! Princess Euphemia! "It's probably not up to your standard, but -"

"Not at all," Euphemia replied. "I prefer the more relaxed atmosphere. It lets people behave more like themselves and have a little fun. However, that is probably not why you wanted to speak with me. Did he ask you to have a word in private on his behalf to make it seem a little less suspicious? That doesn't seem like the boy I used to know."

Eh? Boy she used to know? Whatever could she mean by that? The only time any of them had a chance to meet her was that one time she paid a visit incognito to the school.

"I'd better be careful not to cut myself," Milly said. "You're pretty sharp. Except I decided to do this myself. He'll probably want to have a word later on knowing him."

"He always was a bit of a control freak. It was a surprise seeing them again like that out of the blue… I suppose you want me to stay quiet about our 'relationship'?"

"If you would," Milly said. "I know you must be excited by this chance encounter, but…"

"I'll keep quiet," Euphemia said. "It's for the best really. After what happened…"

====Shirley====

She had reached a decision. She was going to do very, very unpleasant things to Rivalz. Though she did have to admit to being a little impressed at his turn of speed, born from a union of panic and necessity. Perhaps he had caught sight of something in her eye warning of what would happen if she were able to catch up to him?

Why was it that the least relaxing time she'd had recently was aboard a ship during an event that was intended to be relaxing? You'd think that award would be won by one of the more recent battles she'd been in, but noooo! She had to go about competing for her Prince's attention against an actual, honest to goodness Princess, and -

"Nina?" she asked, noticing her friend staggering back the way she'd come. "Is everything alright?"

"Not really…" Nina said. "It's just… I was wondering, how important is a person's dating history when you get right down to it?"

====Lelouch====

"Checkmate!" Rivalz declared. "Haha! Toldja he'd be able to turn that around! Well done, buddy!"

"Yes," Lelouch said, rising from his seat. "It was particularly impressive, since that position on the board is mathematically impossible without setting it up deliberately in advance."

"Um…"

"Which makes me think that a certain someone might have been talking me up behind my back, then set up this game to make me look impressive, then dragged me away from my girlfriend for a stupid, stupid gamble."

There was a beat of silence, and then the executive he'd been playing against chuckled and drew out another envelope full of money.

"Damn," the man said. "You were right. He figured it out immediately. No wonder Mister Joestar was so interested in you, Mister Lamperouge."

"Hm?" Rivalz asked. "What's he mean by that? Mister Joestar is interested in you?"

"Oh that," Lelouch shrugged. Ah, this seemed like as good a time as any. There were several reasons he'd had this cruise set up, and this was merely one of them. "It's nothing too big. You'll get to hear about that later -"

"Hello, hello, all you happy party goers! Say hello, Miss Nunnally!"

"Um… Hello, everyone! It's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Isn't she sweet? We hope you are all enjoying yourselves!"

"That's right, and… Um, Joseph, what was my next line again?"

"You were going to tell them that if they looked starboard, they would be able to see the outline of Shikine Island, which we will be giving a wide berth because of the military base located there. But it's still a nice view if they have a camera ready."

"Oh, that's right! Should I still tell them that? Or maybe I should just skip to the next part, tell them that lunch is ready and they should go to the main hall?"

"Oh my God! That would have been my next line! You really are too precious for words!"

"Um, I think that's everything. Enjoy your lunch everyone, I look forward to seeing you there."

"- And it turns out later means now," Lelouch said. The executives all nodded to themselves. Of course, they already knew all about this in advance. All part of the plan to keep things going as smoothly as possible. Rivalz was completely baffled, but drawn along by utter curiousity.

"I'd ask what this is all in aid of," Rivalz raised an eyebrow. "But knowing you, you'll just tell me something like 'wait and see'. Right?"

"Then wait and see," Lelouch chuckled. From now on it seemed as though events were finally under his control. Once he had Euphemia's promise to keep things quiet, all tasks at hand would be completed and he would have nothing at all to worry about. "Ah, Shirley! Sorry for the interruption, but I was thinking that - "

"Tell it to her highness," she sniffed, and then reached above his head with the bottle of suntan lotion pointed down. Before he could process what was happening, she gave a squeeze to it - assisted by Schizoid Man - and all of a sudden his hair and clothes were covered in the goop.

After she left in a manner more in common with a storm than footsteps, Rivalz handed him a towel and sadly shook his head. "Well, I guess having a Princess sitting in your lap really doesn't do any favours for a girlfriend's jealousy. Man, you might be brilliant at the chess thing but you really suck at dating."

"Probably just a misunderstanding," Lelouch said, trying his absolute best to keep upbeat. At least she hadn't punched him. Which meant there was still hope he could clear that up. "I'd better get a change of clothes. You head off to lunch, tell the others someone spilled a drink on my lap or something. I'll be along in a minute."

Except Lelouch didn't quite realise yet, that as complicated as events had turned, fate hadn't exactly finished twisting the knife quite yet.

====Kallen====

Walking through the ghetto section of Tokyo settlement seemed a rather apt metaphor for Kallen's recent mood. It was dark. It was dirty. There wasn't a whole lot she could immediately think of to improve it. Britannia made it this way through careless, thoughtless and self centered behaviour brought forth from a vile sociopathic philosophy.

"Well aren't we cheerful today?" said a slightly annoying presence just slightly off to her left. A certain immortal witch, hiding her distinctive green hair underneath a ridiculous purple wig. "Wishing you had gone with them after all, or maybe burdened by your new knowledge?"

"Oh, not at all!" Kallen replied. "Why would I want to go to a party where I could be surrounding by the rich, powerful and influential when I could instead go to an important meeting that could determine the future of our organisation?"

C.C. looked her over for a moment, then placed a hand on Kallen's shoulder in the manner of a dear friend imparting precious advice from deep in the heart. "You desperately need to practise your sarcasm.

"I wasn't being sarcastic."

"Of course you weren't."

This was the point where Kallen threw up her hands. Why did she even bother? Talking to the witch was an exercise in futility. Either she'd trick you into buying her pizza, or she'd tease you the entire length of the conversation. It made for quite a frustrating companion, even if her skills and insight were rather… Unique. Kallen still didn't know what to make of her. She didn't like Stands, but had her own set of supernatural powers that seemed to make her immortal. She didn't tell them anything about her own past at all, besides extremely teasing hints that she'd been around for a long, long time.

It was maddening. Like trying to figure out a puzzle that knew it was trying to be solved, and was desperately fighting against you at every turn. Which actually made her quite the perfect fit for the shadowy leader of their organisation. That still left her reeling. Lelouch? Of all people, Lelouch? Really? That lazy genius was the one behind all of this?

"Hmm, how strange," C.C. said. "He thought you'd be spending this time peppering me with questions, but instead you've been pretty quiet."

"Would you answer the questions if I asked them?"

"It is my experience that simply answering a question can never fully sate curiosity," C.C. said. Here goes. Her usual cryptic nonsense. "From each answer, three new questions always arise. People change. Places change. Few things stay constant over the unceasing flow of time. For example, it appears we have arrived at our destination. Are you ready for still more change?"

She was right. That they had arrived, that is. Kallen didn't really know what to make of the poetic garbage she'd been spouting, but she did know that they were here. At their mobile base of operations, nestled neatly out of sight in an abandoned garage. She steeled herself. Made herself ready to go in there, ready to come face to face with a few living legends among Japanese resistance.

"Hey, there you are!" Tamaki called, waving them inside. "Come on, get going already! Everyone else is already here."

"How's the atmosphere."

"Pretty tense," Tamaki admitted. "I'm on guard duty, so I can't hear shit about what they're talking about. But you know how it is when you can just feel the tension in the next room?"

"Understood," Kallen said, heading right upstairs towards the meeting room. "C.C. switch off your snark and switch on your diplomacy. I trust you do know how to be diplomatic."

As she strode up those stairs, Kallen could feel exactly what Tamaki meant. It was like this terrible weight on your shoulders, so much that the steps themselves might give way at any moment from the strain. She should have expected this. It was kind of like a testing ground for expanding the membership of the organisation.

The Four Holy Swords. They were names you heard if you spent any time at all really paying attention to Japanese resistance. The very best of the Japan liberation front. Among the first non-Britannians to master Knightmare piloting, soldiers of the highest calibre. Fighting constantly against incredible odds, bringing years of combined battle experience. Teamwork. A crucial understanding of battlefield tactics that would only help them grow. Military training that would help them more efficiently prepare new recruits. And on that very topic, who better to assist in drawing in new recruits than these five names throwing their weight behind the Black Knights?

Especially considering the tension between the Black Knights and the now defunct JLF. There was no secret that the two did not see eye to eye. Throw in the inability of "Zero" and "Painted Black" to personally attend due to other pressing concerns and it made perfect sense that this would be an extremely volatile situation to step into! The tension of finding yourself opposing your own personal heroes created an absolutely monstrous pressure that hardly made the situation any easier.

Kallen gently pushed open the door, prepared for the very worst -

"And I'm telling you," Kosetsu Urabe insisted, slamming his hands down on the table and staring right across the room. It was worse than she thought! Urabe was known among the ranks for being pragmatic. If something had annoyed him - "There's a little sushi place around the corner that will absolutely change your mind! They even deliver, how can you say no to that?"

"Raw fish makes my stomach uneasy," Rakshata sniffed. "I'd rather have something with a little more spice to it. A little more taste and imagination than raw fish."

"Whereas curry tends to have so much imagination, you're lucky to have taste buds left!"

"Hmph! Then it's your fault for having such weak taste buds to begin with."

"Really Urabe," said Ryoga Senba, the oldest member of the group. "There's no reason to be so defensive, is there? Perhaps you ought to broaden your horizons a little?"

"You're only saying that because you're also a curry fanatic," Shogo Asahina, the cool headed cautious one casually observed. "What about yourself, Britannian? Which do you like more?"

"To be honest, I've always meant to try sushi…" Diethard tactfully said. Attempting to defuse the situation. Good, good. "Though there really isn't anything wrong with us enjoying a curry either."

"Oh, please!" Asahina snorted in derision. "We're not the masses being placated by a well placed piece of propoganda! We've seen enough Britannian fluff pieces to know when you're trying to play us, keep us calm and obedient."

"... Then why don't we just order in from multiple places?" Ohgi asked. All eyes in the room turned to him and he sunk a little into his seat. "Just a suggestion. It seemed like it might solve the argument, you know?"

"Just so long as she and Senba keeps that overpowering odour away from my food!"

"Wait, wait!" Kallen yelled, finally able to take no more. "You were arguing over what we're going to have for dinner? This is ridiculous."

"It absolutely is," C.C. agreed. "Especially when it's obvious we should be having -"

"Not helping!" Kallen interrupted, throwing up her hands. So much for her image of staunch and serious professionals going about their business. On the right hand side of the table, Diethard was in the middle while Ohgi was closest to the door while Rakshata had her feet up on the desk just next to him. Two empty seats were on Diethard's other side where Kallen and C.C. took their own seats. Opposite them were four out of the five members of the Four Holy Swords. Their leader Tohdoh was conspicuous by his absence.

Although come to think of it, there was at least someone else in the room drawing her attention. The only person that hadn't spoken up during the entire conversation. Nagisa Chiba, the only woman in the group. Rising through the ranks in spite of the typical male favoured attitude to work directly underneath a legend, in the process becoming one herself. She did not look especially happy. Maybe it was the folded arms, maybe it was the way her eyes were closed, and an eyebrow was twitching every so often. Or maybe, just perhaps, it was the deep, deep disappointed furrows on her brow that probably perfectly matched Kallen's own expression.

"He went to the bathroom," Chiba tersely said, catching Kallen's questioning look. "The argument started just after he left. Like it always does whenever we try to order food."

A bit of a tense silence there, and Kallen was suddenly starting to change her mind. Maybe being surrounded by a bunch of rich arseholes for a day really would be a little bit better than having her perceptions on some personal heroes getting shattered? A bit of sunbathing, spend some time relaxing with her new friends, maybe find out the real reason this damned cruise was so important in the first place that they couldn't attend this meeting…

The door opened and Tohdoh walked in, seemingly oblivious to the discussion that had just ended. He took his seat and looked over the Black Knight side of the table, while the rest of the Holy Swords adjusted their posture a little to seem more like the professional fighting force that they were. Too little, too late.

"So to begin with," Tohdoh finally said, breaking the awkward silence. "How did they react?"

"Reasonably," Senba said. "They didn't try to force us in any way, tried to have a conversation with us about what to order. Nor did he use that ability you told us about to force us to calm down."

"I'd say they are more organised than we initially believed," Chiba added. "But not quite as much as they need to be. That part might need a little further work."

"They are friendlier than expected," Urabe said. "Open to suggestion. Flexible."

"But not so much that they'd do something foolish," Asahina said. "Or short-sighted. Unfortunately, none of that tells us conclusively whether joining is a good idea or not."

"For example," Senba added. "We still need to find out more about this Stand power they have access to."

"Where did it come from? Why does it work?" Urabe said.

"There's also the issue of your leadership," Asahina said. "Why does she wear a mask? Who is that shadowy figure that goes with her everywhere?"

"Where do the true loyalties of your organisation lie?" Chiba asked. "Unless we can determine these things, joining you will be impossible."

"Agreed!" Tohdoh said, leaning his elbows on the desk to sternly look them over. "If you wish for us to join your ranks, you shall have to work a little harder to convince us. Where can the Black Knights succeed where the Japan Liberation Front failed? I will need to be convinced by something more than your access to supernatural abilities before you receive our membership."

"...That was a test?" Kallen asked. "That whole stupid argument about what to order was a test?"

"Of course it was," C.C. said. "You didn't notice right away? Hrm. I suppose next to your sarcasm, your observation skills may need improving as well."

Oh, please C.C. Please engage in further snark when she was in this bad of a mood. JJF's fists haven't punched anything in a little while, and Kallen was afraid she was going to go out of practise if she didn't use them regularly. At the very least she could feel her respect for them returning, step by step. Testing them by drawing out an argument about something small and trivial. How they would react.

No. It was more than that. It had been implanting an idea into their head. Now everything they did or said might be interpreted as a test. Why else would they reveal the nature of the test before the attempt to recruit them had really begun? To keep them off balance. To really push for what they were after. To keep them honest, because only honesty would maintain their interest.

Somehow, it was reassuring to learn that she'd been so expertly tricked. The faith in a hero renewed is one of the sweetest faiths one can taste.

A phone went off all of a sudden, rudely interrupting her thought process. Rakshata's, it seemed. "Hmm? How strange… From one of our warehouses? Pardon me one moment… Hello?"

"While she deals with that, why don't we discuss why you should be joining the organisation," Diethard said with full politeness and charm blaring from each syllable. "To put it bluntly, we're growing at a rapid pace. Our resources are swelling and we have many young recruits who need your level of expertise to make them effective. By joining us, you will each be placed in charge of a greater depth of willing soldiers to fight for Japan's liberation than you have ever had before."

"Yet your publically stated goal does not centre around Japan's liberation," Tohdoh retorted.

"Not immediately," Kallen explained. "Indirectly. By repeatedly confronting those who abuse their power, we will inevitably come into conflict with the Britannian military quite often."

"And in the process wearing down the public's capacity to trust them," Diethard said.

"Trust," Chiba said. "Is a very important matter. How certain can we be that we can trust you, given your previous actions? These are very dangerous times to be casual with trust."

"Especially since at least one of you has the power to influence the minds of others," Asahina said, pointedly staring at Ohgi.

"Hey now, let's not be unduly paranoid about this," Ohgi said. "Let's all consider this in a calm, rational manner instead of leaping to conclus-"

"I beg your pardon?!"

You know, by this point she could almost feel the bad news coming. Yet another unnecessary complication. Now, Kallen didn't know a word of Indian, but she was pretty sure that some of the words Rakshata was saying after hanging up the phone were not the kind of words one should use casually around someone that did speak the language fluently. C.C. stifling a laugh wasn't exactly dispelling that impression either.

"What happened now?" Kallen asked.

"Of all the nerve," Rakshata said. "Apparently, someone broke into one of my hidden warehouses and stole a little something I'd been working on. A prototype, you might say!" Suddenly, she collapsed onto a couch at the back of the room with the back of her hand pressed to her forehead and her cigarette holder hanging limply at the corner of her mouth. "Oh, I'm despondent! Some fiend has kidnapped my baby before she was ready for battle!"

"Then if I may say so," Tohdoh solemnly said. "Your security measures may need upgrading, if this manner of theft is possible. Especially for experimental equipment."

"Oh, but the security was to the highest standards," Rakshata complained, still in that overly dramatic position. "That is the strangest part. The warehouse was completely locked down, and the equipment was stored in a reinforced basement. Whoever stole it had to know all of the access codes, because even a single mistype on any of the five of them would have immediately alerted me and activated the automated security turrets. Even activating the Gekka to move it would require a specific sequence that only I was personally aware of, so this tragedy shouldn't even be possible in the first place."

"Did the thief leave any clues at all?" Senba asked, and Kallen had the impression that he was asking out of genuine concern. Not simply that the Gekka might be used against them. More like, he was sympathetic for Rakshata's plight.

"That is the really strange part," she said. "Apparently they did leave a message. Painted on the wall in bright red. But it doesn't make any sense at all, it doesn't mean anything! So bizarre."

"What was the message?"

"It was… 'Break her heart'. Which they already did by stealing my baby! Oh, they'll pay for this!"

The room fell silent. Nobody was quite sure what to make of this new development. Or maybe it was that they all felt the same dread Kallen was feeling. It was like, they'd just seen something at the very edge of the horizon. Creeping closer and closer with each passing moment, growing bigger and bigger along the way. Until finally you realised the distance, realised how absolutely massive it must be and how easily it might swallow you whole. Dread. This dread was so oppressive she thought she could see Tohdoh trembling a little!

"Guys!" Tamaki suddenly yelled at the top of his voice. "Guys! Guys! You've gotta get down here and check out the news! This is huge! You'll never believe it! It's - It's Zero! She's doing something completely insane!"

"Well, that certainly makes a change," C.C. sighed. "A Stand user behaving irrationally. How original." But Kallen wasn't too sure. Whatever the monster was approaching them from the horizon, it was so close now that it seemed to block out the sun.

====Kusakabe====

To an outsider it might seem as though he was calm as they approached their target. Unaware of his surroundings, oblivious to what was still to come. Sitting akimbo, eyes closed with his sword held in his lap as a mother might their child. Though within there was no trace of calm to be found. Anticipation burned within him, fuelling on his worries and concerns on what was to come, gobbling them whole and turning them to ash. If you spent too long being scared of the future, then it would be upon you and gone before you even knew what to do with it.

He opened his eyes to look upon his team. His Stand was not the kind that could perceive on its own, though he assumed they would share damage inflicted. It hovered above him. A suit of empty samurai armour kneeling in midair as they sat within this boat. Him and ten Japanese soldiers. Some of them JLF members that had survived the attack. Others… New recruits.

Eleven of them in all. There was almost a kind of twisted poetry to that. All things considered.

"We're approaching the target," the helmsman said. "They must have noticed that we are on an intercept course."

"Remain silent," Kusakabe instructed the rest of them. "Contact them immediately, if you would."

"Right away!" his radio officer declared, setting the frequency while clearing his throat. Naturally, given his former occupation he knew the Britannian security frequencies rather well. "Attention S.S. Caesar!" the radio officer said in a stiff, precise Britannian accent. "This is Captain Griswold, security patrol for Shikime Island."

"Pardon?" was the reply. "Security patrol? But… According to our instruments we're quite some distance from the military demarcation. Is something the matter with our course?"

"Not necessarily," the radio officer said, adding a tiny touch of irritation to his tone. All the better to convince them that they were genuine. "New procedures following recent events. They may appear a trifle excessive, but they are… necessary under the circumstances. One cannot be too safe given the existence of Stands."

"Understood. Is there anything else we should do to make this proceed smoothly?"

"Pull aside and allow us to board. I understand you were having an annual celebration of some sort? If everything is in order, your guests will barely notice us before we leave. We shall intercept within five minutes. Over and out."

When the radio fell silent, Kusakabe nodded his head towards the radio officer, who smiled back and nodded. Only when he was certain that the communication had concluded did he speak up, letting loose the flames of passion he'd been keeping stored until this point.

"This is much earlier than I had originally intended," he announced. "Our original plan was to watch from afar, study our enemy in greater detail. Recruit further truly Japanese warriors to assist us in this vital quest. For two reasons, we make this move today instead of tomorrow! To begin with, every instant of every day that the world considers us Elevens is a wound against my heart!"

And then, in absolute contrast to the words he was saying, a dark smile grew upon all their lips, including his own when he spoke the next words; "It offends me."

"And secondly," he continued, placing his sword at his hip and spreading out his arms, and the arms of his Stand while a bright cloud emanating, shining from the neck with a glorious light only he could see! A light shining on, leading them out of this dark page of Japanese history and into a wondrous awe inspiring new dawn! "The Gods themselves have blessed our mission. A finer opportunity than this shall never arise again! They are away from that accursed Academy, that half of us cannot even approach. Our key targets are gathered together, surrounded by wealthy parasites aboard a cruise ship."

They arrived at the cruise ship swiftly enough. A ladder was extended down for them to climb up, and it was Kusakabe that took it first. Dressed in the garb of a Britannian military officer to maintain the illusion as long as possible. He reached the top, and then…

"That's quite enough," said the Captain of the cruise ship. He was standing behind a wall of sailors, their security team no doubt. All pointing guns directly at him. "Tsk. Now, now! Did you really think something like this would work? As if I would ever permit someone aboard my vessel without being completely certain it was safe."

To which Kusakabe sighed, and smiled, taking note of a Britannian flag drifting in the wind high above them on a mast. A pretentious little flag. Blue background with a red cross that had a white aura across its horizon, while in the middle there was a crowned shield within which was held the most pretentious image of a snake facing a lion. Normally a sight like that would boil his blood, yet today he was smiling. No yelling. No anger. No call for it. Not really.

His Stand struck like a jungle cat. Its sword drawn in an instant, and in a single swing had sliced through the throats of the entire security team! No Stand users among them? How pitiful. Only the Captain himself was left unscathed.

"Yes, as it happens," Kusakabe said while his men began to gather behind him. The Captain foolishly reached for his pistol once the shock wore off, and in turn lost that hand. With hands clasped behind his back and stiff military march in his gait, Kusakabe walked over towards the man, screaming at the sight of blood squirting out of his stump and leaned over. "Since it appears that I am now your guest, would you be so kind as to tell me where everyone is at the moment? Preferably before you pass out from bloodloss. I am quite busy, you see."

"A Stand user," the Captain pointlessly seethed. "M-Mister Joestar… You don't stand a chance against him. He'll - "

"Hit me with his Ripple, or perhaps wrap me up with Hermit Purple?" Kusakabe said with a weary sigh. Though he did find a semblance of satisfaction in watching the man's face turn pale a little faster than it had before. "Oh well. I suppose that I shall have to find them the hard way. But first, a change of attire."

It might seem strange that they would change from the uniforms of one enemy into another. Yet that was the entire point to this mission. Today, the Black Knights would cease to use Japanese towards their own ends! Today, the Black Knights would themselves be used as a tool to drag Britannian presence from Japanese soil!

Above them the shield in the midst of the Britannian flag had developed a prominent circle in the middle, red as the rising sun.

====Joseph====

"This cruise ship is now under control of the Black Knights!"

There was nothing that quite pissed him off like being taken hostage by terrorists. At this point in his life Joseph was simply bored with it. Being a traveller of the world and associated with one of the more powerful, wealthy organisations around did tend to draw attention from the wrong sorts of people, or from his point of view, the right sort of people to introduce their teeth to his feet.

So he looked around the room. There were a lot of guests here, and only two of them had any kind of battle experience. Kururugi was a soldier, his niece had her Stand to keep her safe. No sign of the boyfriend yet. Those two were keeping the rest of their friends safe and calm for the time being, including the Princess.

As for the enemy: He counted eleven armed Japanese wearing knockoff Black Knight uniforms, with tinted glasses over the eyes. Armed with pretty typical modern rifles. The kind that uses an electromagnetic pulse instead of gunpowder. Next, he examined their body language. Confident. Extremely confident. Not just because they were the ones with the guns either.

"Pardon me," he said to the obvious leader of the group. "Tell me, because I'm curious. What exactly is it that you intend to achieve here, hrm? Pretending to be the Black Knights… A hostile action like this can't do you any favours, so I'm wondering what your real goal is."

"To restore Japan to its true glory," the leader said with a peculiarly triumphant smirk on his face. "This is something a Britannian like yourself couldn't hope to understand. At least, not yet."

"Stop this!" Suzaku yelled. Brave boy. Bit stupid, but brave. "You talk about glory, when taking people as hostages? What's glorious about that?"

Suddenly, there was an additional presence in the room. A suit of samurai armour blew directly by Joseph's position, flying towards Kururugi with its hand on a blade. The boy didn't so much as blink, even when a large mushroom shaped cloud extended from the neck of the armour, right in front of his face, and then it used the hilt of its sword to hit him square in the chest. Without the knowledge to brace himself for the impact, a shot like that would strike him right beneath the diaphragm, the kind of blow that would leave even the toughest person unable to move!

"Traitors have no right to speak."

"Grkt!" the boy gasped, collapsing to his knees and clutching his chest. The air must have been knocked out of him in that blow! Damn! This complicated the situation impossibly!

"Suzaku!" Rivalz called out in genuine concern. "What happened? Are you alright?"

"Hang in there," Milly said, rubbing his back. "Keep your head low and try to breath."

"That was… A Stand, wasn't it?" Nunnally asked. "You just hit him with your Stand!"

That's right, he did. Just now he used an unknown Stand. This changed the situation in ways he couldn't calculate! What was his Stand ability? Could he neutralise it at the same time as the other terrorists in the room? Damn them! It wasn't for fear of his own sake that he hesitated to act. It was concern for the other hostages keeping him from acting brashly. Otherwise...

"Mister Joestar," their leader said. "I would appreciate it if you could please allow one of the other guests to tie up your wrists and ankles. I am keenly aware that you are a master of an esoteric martial art that could be dangerous to us. And Kururugi as well, we wouldn't want that traitor to have any peculiar ideas. If notl, I might not ask politely a second time. As for the rest of you, if you simply cooperate you will be allowed to go free once we have concluded our business."

Tsk! As if he'd play along with something like that so easily. Even in this situation, a little intelligence and observation would allow him to figure out a counter-attack in an instant! All he had to do was try to get an idea of how their leader thought, and then…

Confidence. Absolute confidence. From the way his eyes flickered briefly towards his Stand, in its ability? Whatever it was, there was no hesitation that he thought it would win. He absolutely believed it down to the core of his soul! Not a trace of bluff or deception. He really truly believed this Stand would lead him to absolute victory!

Joseph suddenly began to look around the room in disbelief. But if that was the case, then… "Just so you know," Joseph said, presenting his wrists. "The last time someone had me tied up, their nose was broken by the end of the day."

Out of the corner of his eye he could see Shirley's Stand manifest. Its expression read as though it wanted to tear someone's head off! Pounding a fist into its open palm, snarling like a bull ready to charge, yet restrained by the fact that the enemy's unidentified Stand was holding its katana against the necks of three of her friends in a row, forcing them to lift their chins from something none of them could see. The slightest violent action and they would be the first to die in the midst of a bloodbath.

"So this is the mighty and clever Joseph Joestar?" the leader sneered, taking the time to spit in Joseph's face. "I'm disappointed. You're more cowardly than I thought if you would bend your knee so quickly. So much for the man that defeated the Perfect Being."

And unnoticed by everyone else in the room, Shirley's thumb twitched, then was held out while the rest of her hand made a fist.

"You didn't answer his question," said another voice. The Princess! Well, wasn't this a change in attitude all of a sudden? The friendliness from earlier was replaced with a much more stern, direct personality. Demanding attention, for the sake of removing it from others. Remarkable woman. "What is the point of this attack? Why do you persist in targeting the Ashford Academy?"

"For one thing," their leader slowly said with an air of menace. "We had intended to take our time and attack at a later date. Imagine our surprise to learn that you were aboard as well! The perfect opportunity to obtain multiple objectives at the same time."

"And the other objective?"

"What else, but the daughter of a member of Stand Out! Or did Shirley Fenette not tell you the full circumstances of her father's demise?"

Shirley's index finger twitched, and was held out alongside her thumb.

"Don't you dare say anything about my father!"

"Shirley!" Joseph yelled, tutting a little when the ropes around his wrist were pulled a little too tight for his own liking. "Remain calm. Don't let him provoke you. He'll be looking for any excuse."

"Our original objective was to obtain you," the leader said with his arms spread wide. "We had hoped you might prove potent leverage over your father. Perhaps instead you will serve as a reminder of good behaviour for your uncle and your friends? Yes. You will come with me. Should I hear of any misbehaviour among the others, it will be taken out on you."

"Ah!" Nina gasped, staggering, trembling away from the leader with her hands on her cheeks. "Argh! An Eleven with a Stand… How terrible!"

You could hear the air sucked out of the room as all "Eleven" eyes fell on her. The nearest to them made a hostile motion with his gun, and yelled "What was that?! We're not Elevens! We're Japanese! Get it right, you little Britannian bitch! I'll teach you to call us -"

"That won't be necessary!" the leader called, striding through the crowd towards the young genius with terror in her eyes. Her friends Milly and Rivalz gathered around protectively, as did Euphemia, attempting to reassure her but she was still trembling in utter justified fright. After a tense, terse moment where Joseph felt powerless to intervene in something that was completely pissing him off, the leader did nothing more than stare at her for a moment before turning away. He'd need to take out all of the terrorists in the room at once, and Hermit Purple would not extend far enough to let him hit them all simultaneously! "This offensive young girl will learn those lessons soon enough of her own accord."

"I don't understand," Nunnally said. "It sounds like you're enjoying this."

"Oh, but I am!" the leader said. "You might remember me from our previous visit to your school. Surprised that I remember you? We 'left you alone', and then 'never returned'. Too bad you aren't at the Academy anymore, otherwise I might just have stayed away."

"If - If you hurt one hair on her he-head -" Suzaku began, but stopped when he looked up to see that some of Nunnally's hair was being held up by that armour wearing Stand. Then, before the poor girl could so much as blink, its sword came across precisely chopping off a single strand of hair, which the Stand then proceeded to shred before it hit the ground.

" Now, Miss Fenette. Accompany me to the bridge. As for you, Princess. Remain here until I need you. And remember, everyone. If you behave yourselves you shall not be harmed. Otherwise be warned. The first shot won't be lethal immediately."

The smug bastard turned to leave, and Shirley's middle finger twitched, then remained extended alongside the others. Schizoid Man was still furious above her, but she followed along, only stopping when their leader did. And Joseph could easily see what might stop him.

There was a shadow on the wall that should not have been there. A shadow which quickly vanished. The situation wasn't completely hopeless so long as Prince Charming was still out there!

"You five," the leader said, pointing to some of his men at random. "Go out there, search out our missing guest. And don't forget to bring your flashlights."

And that clinched it. They knew too much about them. A spy? Or some kind of ability? Related to that Stand? No, there wasn't enough information to make that kind of assumption. But they were at a severe disadvantage from the very start. That confidence was well earned! They were holding all the cards before the game even began.

Their leader left with Shirley in tow, and Joseph analysed the room once again. The Stand user was gone, and had pretended that Shirley was his hostage to keep them behaving themselves. No. It was more like the other way around. To keep Shirley behaving herself, they would use this room full of innocent people to keep her powerful Stand in line. The Ashford group had gathered around each other, even including Euphemia in their group. Nunnally and Euphie shared a moment of eye contact which seemed positively darling, somehow seeming to Joseph as though they'd just had an entire conversation without even saying a word.

"Hey, what do you think he meant by that?" Rivalz asked.

"I don't know," Milly whispered. "But at least we know why they keep attacking us now."

"Small comfort that is…" Rivalz whispered back. "You okay, Nunna?"

"I'm fine," Nunnally said. "To be honest, I'm a little more worried about Nina. Are you okay?"

"I- I'm fine," she said, rubbing at her eyes underneath her glasses. Joseph wished there was something he could say to make the young girl stop crying, but he couldn't think of anything. So long as his hands and wrists were tied like this, he couldn't risk doing much of anything to resolve this situation. Especially since he had no idea what that Stand's power was! "But that man… He was so kowai."

"Huh? What was that?"

"I said he was so scary," Nina said still rubbing at both her eyes. Suddenly he didn't feel as though they were tears anymore. More like, some sort of irritation. Come to think of it, a few other people were now starting to rub their eyes a little, and his own were feeling a little bit sore.

"Excuse me," Euphemia said. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

"It's nothing worth your time, your highness. Just- Just a bit of irritation. My eyes feel funny all of a sudden, and I don't know why."

"Let me take a look anyway."

Joseph couldn't see from this angle, but he could tell from Euphemia's gasp exactly what it was that she was seeing when she got a good look at Nina's eyes. Looking around the room, he could see further evidence still backing up a very nasty little theory he was developing about that Stand's ability and effect. The furniture. The decorations. Even their clothes were already being affected! And none of them had even noticed because it was so benign.

"Suzaku," Euphemia suddenly said, pulling away from Nina. "Aren't those -"

"Epicanthic folds," Suzaku said through heavy breathing. "Nina, this is an important question. Please, answer it without thinking. Your life, all our lives might depend on it: What sound does a frog make?"

"Gero," Nina immediately answered, and then immediately clutched her hand to her mouth. "Nani?! Kaeru don't go gero, they croak! I mean frogs go gero! I mean… Ah! Wh-what's happening to me?"

"Your language, your clothes, the epicanthic folds in your eyes…" Suzaku said. "There's no question about it. His Stand effect is turning you Japanese!"

"Wh-What?" Rivalz gasped. "You - You really think so?"

"Oh," Nina quietly said, nodding her head and pounding a fist into her palm as if all of a sudden everything made sense. Then her eyes rolled up so you could only see the whites of her eyes, and she fainted completely on the spot. Understandable under the circumstances.

"This Stand effect," Joseph said. "It's completely useless in a battle situation! But he's so confident in it, I could tell from the way he moved and spoke. Unless he intends - "

"Unless," one of the terrorists interrupted. "He intends to use it to turn the tables on you snotty bastards. No more Honorary Britannians. How about some Honorary Japanese instead?"

[Tsuzuku!|\|]

Stand Stat Sheet

New Clear Days

User: Kusakabe

Stats

Destructive Power B

Speed B

Range C

Durability B

Precision A

Developmental Potential C

Abilities

Turning Japanese: When user is offended by an item or living being near him, he may make it/them become incrementally more and more Japanese as time passes, to an extent and speed proportional to degree of offense.