Turn 03 - Mission Start!

Kallen began to make her way home, thinking about all that had happened that day. She'd almost died. If it hadn't been for Prince Clovis suddenly called for a ceasefire. "Lelouch… was it really you?" She asked herself.

"Don't you know?"

"Huh?" Kallen said, seeing a mysterious woman with green hair approaching her. "Who are you?"

"Don't you remember?" She asked. "Kallen, I'm hurt."

She stared at the woman in utter confusion. "She looks familiar, but at the same time, I've never seen her before. What's going on?"

C.C. sighed. "I see. You ignored my warning before you made the leap, didn't you?"

"The leap?"

C.C. nodded. "Yes. Kallen, you have sent your consciousness back in time by six years using the power of your geass."

"Geass?" She said, confused.

"Alright, if every word I say is going to result in questions, then I have to do something first." She said. "Hold still."

Kallen watched as the woman approached her and grabbed her hand. Suddenly she remembered. "C.C.? Oh no…" She said, holding her head. "I can't believe it… I completely forgot about the mission…"

"If you hadn't used your geass so recklessly, that would not have happened." She said. "I tried to warn you. Without proper experience, you can only leap back in time so far before it begins to affect your capacity to remember anything past the point where you travel."

She sighed. "That's what you were trying to say to me…" She said. "Even after what you did just now, I still can't really remember anything that's going to happen..."

C.C. nodded. "I could not bring back all your memories. Besides, it's better this way. You know what needs to be done and have the power to try and see it though. Provided you don't use it so irresponsibly."

Kallen sighed. "So that's why then… I couldn't control it properly, so I lost my memory of what I went back in time to do." She said. "I even went back farther than I wanted to… I might have compromised things before I even went to work on it."

"I wouldn't say that." C.C. said. "You have already changed core pieces as to why Lelouch would not disclose information to you. With any luck you can work as closely with him as I had the first time."

Kallen felt a light shade of pink grace her cheeks. "So, should I tell him?"

"That you love him? Or about the mission?" C.C. flipped her hair. "Either way, that is not my decision. It's not as if it will cause time to collapse on itself or anything. And even if it did, you could just go back and stop it."

Kallen nodded. "Oh, right. That makes sense." She said. "Hey, one more question… how are you talking to me about this if geass can't even affect you?"

C.C. smiled. "We have a contract, do we not?" She said, simply. "I have to be here to make sure you follow through on your end of our deal."

Kallen took a deep breath. "Okay then, so what should I do now?"

"That is your decision." C.C. said. "You're a capable enough person on your own. Don't let other people make all of the decisions around you. That is how Lelouch's fate was decided the last time."

The following day, Kallen woke up early, getting ready to go to school. "Lelouch, I… no that's not it." She said, trying to figure out what to say to him at school.

Originally she'd been away from school for a while and it was the first time they'd really ever spoken, but this time… they were friends. They'd even been with each other the previous day… before everything that happened.

Kallen began to comb her hair down when she realized something. "Oh crap. I haven't been doing that sick girl act at school for the past year!" She realized. "If I start now, it'll seem suspicious. I could go back… but then I'd be waiting a whole year just to get here again." She said. "I guess… I'll just go as I am then." On her way out, she took a look back to the black king chess piece in her room. "Lelouch..."

Once she got to the school, she made her way toward the student council room.

"Wake up, Lelouch!" Milly said, hitting him in the head with a rolled up piece of paper. "I know you were sleeping. Your hands stopped moving!"

He rubbed his head, as if it actually hurt to be hit by Milly that way. "Well you don't have to beat me up over it, do you?"

Rivalz huffed. "Serves you right for ditching me like that."

"That's right. What was up with you yesterday?" Shirley asked. "You're smart Lulu, but you waste your time on stupid things. And now you're even bringing Kallen back into them with you."

He looked a bit unsure of how to respond. "Well, uh…"

"That's enough, you guys." Milly said. "If we can't come up with a fix for the club activities budget, there won't be money left for anything at all."

Nina nodded. "And if it comes to that point…"

"The equestrian club will be pissed." Rivalz said. "We don't want 'em comin' in here on horseback."

Milly sighed. "Rivalz, can't you be a more serious student council member?"

"You know," Shirley said. "It would have been nice of you if you would have reminded us about this a day ago."

Rivalz sighed. "I would have to say a day later. Then we would have given up."

Lelouch smiled. "That's a good idea. We can still do that."

Milly was going to continue, but stopped when she noticed a certain red-head entering the room. "Why if it isn't our very own Kallen Stadtfeld. So nice of you to show up in our time of need."

"Hm? Is something wrong?" Kallen asked.

Milly smiled and handed her a stack of papers. "Here. Look over these, then I need you to fill these out, those are for the school's overall club budget so we have to make sure it gets done. Those ones over there, you can ignore. Rivalz can take care of them."

"What?" Rivalz shouted. "Come on, Prez, don't I have enough already?"

"If you're going to keep complaining, you can have that stack over there too." She said before turning back to Kallen with a smile. "Thank you so much for the help, Kallen."

Kallen was starting to feel overwhelmed. "Um, sure. Actually, before I start these, I kind of have to talk to Lelouch about something."

"With Lulu?" Shirley asked.

"Hm? About what?" Lelouch asked.

Kallen gave him a look that told him he knew what she wanted to discuss. "It's kind of personal. Could we go somewhere else? Alone?"

"Alone?" Shirley said. "W-wait a minute. You two wouldn't happen to be dating, right?"

Kallen blushed looking at him and, flashing back… or forward, to an image of her kissing Lelouch.

He smiled. "No, it's nothing like that." Lelouch said. "Come on, I know just the place." He said.

Kallen followed Lelouch as they silently made their way to the roof. "At least this time he won't see me…" She said, remembering he'd seen her in the shower the last time. "If I'd joined the student council the first time it was offered, that wouldn't have happened either though."

Lelouch walked toward the ledge of the school, looking over the grounds. "You really saved me back there." He said, casually. "All that paperwork was starting to put me to sleep."

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure." She said, walking up behind him. "Lelouch, answer me honestly… was it you?"

Lelouch smirked. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me… Q-1?" He said, turning to face her.

She smiled a bit. "I knew it." She said.

"Is that all?" Lelouch asked, turning around to face her. "You're not curious as to why I helped you? I am a Britannian after all. I'd have expected you to believe I had my own interests in mind."

She shook her head. "No. I know you have other goals in mind, but our desires go hand-in-hand together." She said. "I fight for Japan, and you fight to destroy Britannia."

He looked a bit surprised for a brief moment before his face returned to its usual neutral expression. "I see. So I was right."

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone it was you. I don't want to bring you into my fight if you don't want to be part of it."

He smiled. "I appreciate that. Although, I can't promise you the same thing." He said. "Kallen, would it be possible if, moving forward, we worked together?"

"Huh?" She asked.

"If I were to take over as leader of your resistance group… would you support me?" He asked. "They would never trust me as I am now. I'm a Britannian, and well-intentioned as they may be, I find it hard to believe they would accept me so readily."

Kallen had a flash in her mind of something from the other timeline. A dark room, just her and Lelouch against all of her comrades. "That may be true…" she thought.

He turned to face her. "I need an answer, Kallen."

She looked him in the eyes, seeing something that had previously taken nearly the entire war to achieve. She smiled brightly and nodded. "Lelouch, I… I will support you to the very end."

Lelouch smiled and reached his hand out to her. "Then, I suppose we are officially partners… my queen."

Kallen took his hand, her face turning a light shade of pink. "I look forward to it… my king."

Lelouch began to walk toward the school again. "Now then, I have some preparations I need to attend to. Oh, and don't worry." He said, turning his head to look over his shoulder. "I won't tell anyone about your power."

"Huh?" Kallen said, watching him disappear into the school. "Lelouch… does he know… about my geass? But how?"

"I told you not to be so careless."

Kallen scowled. "Shut up, C.C.! Wait, what do you mean? I was careless?"

"You used your geass." She said. "You showed him something to prove he could trust you. Now the question is, what did you show him?"

"I showed him something?" She said.

Lelouch walked through the halls and back to the student council room. "I see, so geass can manifest itself differently depending on the individual. I suppose that makes sense, considering the circumstances of my own." He thought as he entered the room. "I'm not sure why Kallen showed me that vision. Rather, I don't think she meant to. But because of that, I know I can trust her. Which means I have my first true ally in this."

"Lelouch, you're back!" Milly said, smiling. "Hey? Where's Kallen?"

He smiled. "Oh, she lost something while we were making our way up to the roof. She said she'd meet me back here."

Milly nodded. "Okay then, but if she doesn't come back soon, it'll be your job to handle her work."

"Aw, come on, don't I have enough to work with already?" He protested.

She smirked. "As student council vice-president, you should be doing more work than anyone else here."

He closed his eyes and raised his right hand. "Then I hereby renounce my claim to the council."

"Oh no you don't." Milly said. "You won't get away that easy."

The school day came and went, with both Lelouch and Kallen sharing glances throughout.

"I screwed up." Kallen thought. "I never should have let him find out about my geass. I guess I could go back, but what if he doesn't trust me without me using it?" She looked back over at him. "Could it be that, even with having been friends beforehand, he still wouldn't have trusted me?"

Before she could continue her thought process, the class was dismissed and with it the school day came to a close. "Lulu!" Shirley shouted. "Hey, we're going to be starting the celebration soon. Do you wanna go together?"

"Huh? A celebration?" He asked.

Shirley nodded. "Yeah, to celebrate you and Kallen coming home safe." She said. "After all, the news said you two fell into that truck with the poison gas yesterday."

He nodded. "Oh yeah, that."

"Actually…" Kallen said. "We have something we need to take care of today. Don't we, Lelouch?"

"Huh?" Shirley said. "But this celebration is for you guys. You have to at least show up."

Kallen nodded. "Yeah, I know, but…"

"Why not?" Lelouch said, surprising her a bit. "There's no harm in having a little fun first, right?"

Kallen was shocked. Lelouch choosing to enjoy the ordinary pleasures of life when they had a war to fight? "Oh wait… it hasn't even started yet at this point." She realized.

"So are you coming too, Kallen?" Shirley asked.

Kallen stared at her for a moment, but finally relented. "Yeah, sure. But only for a little bit. Lelouch and I have some things to discuss."

"Huh? What's it about?" Shirley asked.

"Don't worry about it." Kallen said. "It's just a project we're working on."

Shirley just became even more curious. "A project? What kind?"

Kallen couldn't come up with an answer. "She's learning how to play piano." Lelouch said.

Shirley looked at her in surprise. "Huh? Wait, Kallen, you can play music? That's so cool." She said, looking down a bit.

"Um, yeah. It's just a little hobby of mine." She said. "A-anyway, shouldn't we get going to the celebration?"

Shirley nodded. "Oh, right. Come on, you two, let's go."

The two of them trailed slightly behind her as they made their way toward the clubhouse.

"What was that back there?" Kallen whispered. "You know I can't play any instruments."

He smiled. "I said you're learning, didn't I?"

"Stop making decisions without telling me, Lelouch."

"Is that what I did last time then?" He asked, watching her flinch slightly. "Don't worry, in matters involving our plans for the future, I will keep you properly informed. Considering you've been through this before, I suppose it would make even more sense to consult with you this time around."

"What did I show you, Lelouch?" She asked.

"Oh, nothing much." He smirked and placed one of his hands against his lips.

Kallen stared for a moment as her face began to redden. "W-wait, I-I can explain."

"We're here guys!" Shirley said, as she opened the doors to the clubhouse.

Milly smiled. "Oh, and you brought the guests of honor as well." She said, excitedly.

Rivalz smiled, lifting up a bottle. "Alright, now that the gang's all here, we can finally cut loose!"

Shirley shook her head. "What? No, we can't drink!"

"Oh relax. It's just for a little fun." Rivalz said, trying to keep Shirley from taking the bottle. "It's just a little cider anyway."

"Then you won't mind letting me see the bottle, right?" Shirley said.

He smirked. "Lelouch, catch!"

Lelouch reflexively managed to catch the bottle, in order to avoid having it shatter on the ground. "Oh no you don't!" Shirley said. "Lulu, if he can't have any, then you can't either!"

"Wait, Shirley." He said, as the two of them fell over, with Shirley landing on top of him.

"Hang on…" Kallen said. "I know this." The cork of the bottle shot off and Kallen managed to swipe it out of the way. "Good. Now, I'll just-" Before she could continue her thought, she felt the cold liquid spill onto her head and all over her clothes. "Crap… just like last time…"

While Kallen went to go take a shower, the others were working to get her a new pair of clothes. "And I thought I'd avoided this by talking with Lelouch earlier in the day… I guess some things are just destined to happen…" She heard the door to the bathroom open and then close. "Lelouch? Is that you?" She asked, being met with silence. "Listen, Lelouch… about the kiss. I just wanted to say that I…"

"Oh~ So you've kissed."

Kallen's eyes widened. "M-Milly? What are you doing in here?"

Milly giggled. "Well, I couldn't very well let your darling Lulu join you in the shower, now could I?"

"That's not…"

"You know the truth about him, don't you?" She said, casting her gaze toward the ground. "About his past and who he really is?"

Kallen nodded. "Yeah, but how did you know I knew?"

Milly smiled. "My intuition is never wrong." She said. "It's kind of nice. Now Lelouch can actually have a real friend."

Kallen was a bit confused. "What do you mean? What about Shirley and Rivalz?"

"Don't get me wrong, he cares about them." She said. "But no one else besides me has been friends with the real Lelouch for a long time. I was really happy when I saw how you two were getting along so well. I thought that, for once, maybe he would actually let someone in."

Kallen never thought about it before, but Lelouch wasn't just hiding his identity as Zero. He was hiding his identity as a Britannian prince this whole time. And not just from Britannia, but even his friends. "So that's why he never told anyone…"

"What was that?" Milly asked.

"Uh, it's nothing. I just…" She tried to gather her thoughts.

Milly laughed. "Well, enough of all this serious talk, let's hear about that kiss."

"Huh?" Kallen almost shrieked. "Oh, uh… well I…"

"Don't worry, it's just us girls here, so spill it. How was it? Was it fun? Is he good at it?" Milly asked. "I hope he isn't just a big disappointment. I mean, a prince that's not even a good kisser. Can you imagine?" She said in an amused voice.

Kallen played back the moment she had kissed him in her head. She couldn't tell her the circumstances, so she couldn't even be honest about her feelings when it happened. "It was… emotional."

"So he's a passionate kisser then? That does make sense." Milly mused. "After all, Lelouch never does anything halfway. I shouldn't be surprised."

She nodded. "Milly… do you… like Lelouch?"

There was a long silence in the room. Kallen almost thought Milly had left without saying anything, but eventually she got her answer. "I don't really know." She said. "Don't get me wrong, I think he's incredibly cute and charming, but I just don't think we would make a good match, you know?" She said. "I should get going. I put some clothes in the basket for you. When you're done, meet us back in the clubhouse. Everyone's still waiting so we can cut the cake."

Kallen nodded. "Yeah, sure." She said.

"Oh, and by the way…" She said on her way out, looking over her shoulder at Kallen's silhouette. "You're a ten." She said as she left.

Kallen blushed. "Milly!" She shouted as Milly left, giggling as she shut the door.

Kallen finally stepped out of the bathroom, clean of whatever it was that came out of the bottle Rivalz had and made her way back to the clubhouse.

"This is terrible!" Nunnally said.

Kallen stepped inside, standing beside Lelouch. "What happened?"

"It's Prince Clovis… they're saying someone tried to kill him." Nunnally said.

Rivalz stared at the screen. "Whoa, they shot him three times and didn't kill him? Must've been a pretty lousy shot."

Kallen's eyes shifted to look at Lelouch, as he stared at the screen. "There's no doubt about it… he really was the person who killed Prince Clovis back then… hold on. But he didn't attempt to kill him. He killed Clovis last time."

"Attention, this is breaking news. The suspect of Prince Clovis' attempted murder has been captured. Private Suzaku Kururugi."

"What?" Lelouch said, in shock.

Kallen was taken aback by Lelouch's reaction. "Oh right, they're friends… or they were friends…" She thought.

She was filled with a sudden burst of rage as she remembered the cold metal of an injector against her skin. She almost wanted to tell Lelouch to just let him die, but she knew that couldn't happen. One way or another, as an ally or an enemy, he would need Suzaku alive. Besides… she felt like she was supposed to do something for him.

One change I plan to make in this story is the importance of the other supporting characters. I'll admit, I don't really know what to do with Rivalz, but I plan on involving Shirley and especially Milly more. I put more effort into planning things for Milly since I never felt she had as big of an impact as she should and I wanted to fix that.