Chapter Five: A New Member
Kallen Kozuki was having to be Stadtfield for longer than she'd have liked.
At the moment, she'd have preferred to be piloting a knightmare simulation. Or better yet, hijacking rations meant for the military. The recent wrecking of Lelouch's soup kitchen had put her in a foul mood. It was one thing for Britannians to go around wrecking the world. But hurting anyone who tried to clean up their mess was worse.
And then she got the phone call, as usual. Putting it to her ear, she heard Naoto's voice on the other end. "Kallen, are you alright?" said her brother.
"Yeah, I'm fine Naoto," said Kallen, wondering why he felt like asking. "Why do you ask?"
"I'm just worried about what happened with that soup kitchen," said Naoto. "Tamaki has been raising hell and wants us to start actively killing cops. I told him that kind of move would only provoke a worse reaction, but some people are sort of in favor of it."
"He's that pissed? Why?" asked Kallen. Tamaki was the last person Kallen expected to take the part of some Britannians. He hated them, except maybe her.
"He's been reading the bible a bunch," said Nato. "And he pushed me to put protection on them."
Kallen frowned. That actually didn't seem like a bad idea. "So are we?"
"No," said Naoto.
"...Why not?" asked Kallen. "I mean, it isn't hurting anyone. And a lot of people starve to death every day."
"It's too far out of our territory, Kallen," said Naoto. "We can't exactly send people out there all the time to keep an eye out. And the Fierce Yamato is pissed about them being out there. They say that they're undermining the Japanese's spirit of resistance.
"And anyway, even if we did come in on our side, Britannia might get in on it. They'd shut the place down hard and throw your classmates in prison or something. And this is all the moot point anyway since they're going to give up."
"What makes you so sure?" asked Kallen, surprised. Lelouch hadn't seemed like the kind to give up. Then again, he hadn't been menaced by armed cops then.
"Would you keep trying to feed your enemies after being threatened by Tamaki. Let alone after being beaten up by your own government's police?" asked Naoto. "They're not soldiers, their high-school students.
"They'll probably stick to handing out pamphlets from now on anyway.
"It's not worth the effort.
"Still, are you sure you don't want to spend some more time with them?"
Kallen was surprised at the question. "What are you talking about?"
"Look... spreading information about what goes in the ghettos can't be a bad thing, Kallen," said Naoto. "At the very worst, nothing will change. And it's not like we've had any plans that need a knightmare pilot. And you have the simulator at home, don't you?"
"Are you saying I'm not needed?" asked Kallen.
Naoto sighed in the way he did when he was telling her she was not needed. "No, I'm saying I need you in school for a bit. Just keep an open mind."
"Whatever," said Kallen, who hadn't been expecting anything else. She hung up. "Why is it that no one else ever gets forced to go to highschool?"
As Kallen got out of the bus and walked into the school grounds, she looked over to Lelouch's house. His property actually had a vegetable garden in it, which Kallen had never really seen before. It had been there, and she'd known about it, but its existence had just been unimportant. One more Britannian hobby to justify their empty lives.
Except it wasn't.
In fact, it was a much nicer garden than the one they had at the manor. There were raised beds and netting around them—a variety of vegetables and also several young trees. Lelouch himself was harvesting from some of them. Kallen saw a young, blonde girl who was adorable only a little way away in a wheelchair. Behind her was a Japanese maid.
"Lelouch, what are you doing right now?" asked Nunnally in a too-sweet voice.
"Right now, Nunnally? I'm harvesting the peppers," said Lelouch.
"Oh really?" asked Nunnally. "So we'll be making some spicy meals soon."
"That's right," said Lelouch, drawing out a red one. Far smaller than the kind you bought in a supermarket. "Would you like to feel one?"
"Of course," said Nunnally, bringing out a hand.
"Just make sure you don't bring it near your eyes," said Lelouch, offering it.
You couldn't imagine a guy who was as elegant as Lelouch gardening, but here he was. He was wearing dirt-stained gloves and a gardener's outfit. Even so, he looked very good in it, somehow. Kallen found herself walking forward despite herself. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, Kallen is that you?" asked Lelouch.
What was Kallen supposed to say here? 'Sorry you got roughed up by the police?' It happened to people in the ghettos all the time. It only got a taste of it but saying that would be horrible. "Hi um... I uh... heard about what happened with your soup kitchen. Sorry to hear it."
"It's fine," said Lelouch. "The damages should be repaired by the time we open over the next weekend."
Kallen blinked in surprise. What had he said? "Wait, so you aren't calling it off?"
"My big brother isn't the kind of person to quit," said Nunnally in a voice of devotion. "Who is she, Lelouch? Is she your girlfriend? Shirley will be jealous."
"No, nothing like that Nunnally," said Lelouch. "Kallen, this is my sister Nunnally. Nunnally, this is Kallen, a fellow student."
"Right, so uh..." Kallen felt really awkward here. "I kind of feel like I should head out."
"I'll walk with you if you'll let me clean up," said Lelouch.
And Kallen did end up waiting. Nunnally was wheeled to school, and Lelouch came out later clad in his uniform and very clean. He'd obviously put a lot of effort into his appearance.
"So, you're a gardener then?" asked Kallen, not sure of what to say.
"Of course," said Lelouch. "You can't change the world without getting your hands dirty. And by gardening, I can get far better quality vegetables for a lower price."
Kallen paused and remembered that she'd been called up by Lelouch earlier. He'd said he wanted to talk to her when they got a moment. "So why did you want to talk to me?"
"Well, the Student Council, by which I mean Milly, wants to recruit you," said Lelouch.
"What?" said Kallen, surprised. "Why?"
"Well, you haven't exactly joined many clubs," said Lelouch. "And being part of a club is important for skill-building. Also, Milly is concerned you don't have any real friends."
"I have plenty of friends," said Kallen.
"And their names are?" asked Lelouch.
Kallen immediately thought of Oghi, Tamaki, Naoto, and the others. She realized she couldn't say them as examples. So she thought of her friends from school who eat lunch with her every day. She drew a blank. "Well, uh... that is..."
"Word of advice, if you're going to pretend to be a nice ill girl, remember your fake friend's names," said Lelouch.
"I don't recall asking for your opinion," said Kallen. Though she kind of felt like a jerk anyway. "And anyway, I didn't seek them out. They just decided to declare themselves my friends so they can feel better about their lives."
"Or maybe they think you are lonely and are trying to reach out to you," said Lelouch. "That's possible too."
"Well, when did I ask them to?" asked Kallen.
Lelouch sighed. "Believe me, when you're on your deathbed, you'll never lament that too many people cared about you. I'd take what you can get."
"Well, why would I want to join the Student Council anyway?" asked Kallen, wanting to change the subject.
"You haven't joined any clubs before now, and people are starting to talk," said Lelouch with a shrug. "Besides, we're doing more operations than just the soup kitchen. We've been handing out pamphlets and trying to do research on conditions."
"I guess," said Kallen, who concluded it would sort of be following Naoto's orders.
School passed, and eventually, it came time for the meeting with the Student Council. Lelouch led Kallen to a student clubhouse, and a blue-haired boy ran toward them. "Hey, Lelouch!"
"Oh, Rivalz, you're here early," said Lelouch.
"Yeah, Milly has been working everyone to the bone lately," said Rivalz. "She's been really, really mad about what happened and has been making a lot of phone calls."
"What have you been up to?" asked Lelouch.
"Running errands," admitted Rivalz as they walked up a flight of stairs. "I still don't understand how Milner managed to rip the entire place apart. He tore up everything from the walls to the bibles but didn't locate the shotgun under the counter."
Kallen blinked in surprise.
"He wasn't there to search the place, Rivalz. Just to threaten," said Lelouch.
"Still seems kind of unprofessional is all I'm saying," said Rivalz. "I mean the whole reason he was there was to find a 'terrorist threat.'"
"He did thousands worth of damage to a civilian building to intimidate some teenagers. Why are you complaining about a lack of proper searching?" asked Lelouch.
Rivalz laughed. "Fair enough."
Kallen managed to process just what Lelouch and Rivalz had been saying. "...You keep a shotgun under your desk?"
"Yes," said Lelouch. "It was a just in case measure, but I'm beginning to think it's more trouble than it's worth."
"Well, you said it, not me, buddy," said Rivalz, putting a hand behind his head. "I did say it wouldn't do us any good in a firefight. We'd get massacred."
"Yes, I know," said Lelouch.
This was not how they were supposed to react. They were supposed to be sobbing after having a dose of the real world. Or angsting in shadows about how nothing they did change anything. You weren't supposed to have this kind of thing happen to you, then walk it off.
It didn't seem fair that people in the ghettos couldn't do the same.
And then they got into the clubroom and saw an unbelievably beautiful blonde girl. She was leaned in a high-backed seat with her long legs on the table. Her arms were crossed beneath her huge breasts, and she had a smile like the chestire cat on her face.
"Well, don't you look like the cat that caught the canary, Milly. What happened?" asked Lelouch.
"There's an investigation going on into police brutality by Prince Clovis," said Milly.
"How did you manage that?" asked Rivalz.
"Well, after Nina got hurt, a lot of people wanted to know why," said Milly. "I told them the truth, and they told their parents. The Ashfords might not be nobility anymore, but we know a lot of nobles.
"The idea that the police might rough up students hit a little close to home.
"Clovis has been pressured into prosecuting the one who hurt Nina. It probably won't get Milner, but he's going to be on his best behavior from now on."
"Yeah, but Nina is still in the hospital," said Rivalz. "I'm going to have to take a raincheck on operations to visit her, to be honest."
"I know," said Lelouch. "We'll go together later."
"We can't quit now," said an orange-haired girl with a very toned form. "We have to keep doing it to help those people."
"Well, right now, we've got a whole week to do repairs, Shirley," said Milly. "So, let's talk about rebuilding better."
"Right," said Lelouch, sitting down and motioning to Kallen. "But uh, Milly... I may be out once or twice during that time."
"What?" asked Rivalz. "What do you mean?"
What, no introduction for Kallen? This was weird.
"Well, I've got some different business to attend to," said Lelouch.
"A game?" asked Shirley, tone long-suffering.
"Something like that," said Lelouch.
Kallen didn't get it. "Game?"
"Lulu sometimes goes gambling at Babel Tower when we need an infusion of cash," said Shirley.
"Not much in the way of gambling. He only plays games of skill, and he never loses," said Rivalz.
"In terms of skill, the nobles are tepid. They're just overprivileged parasites," said Lelouch.
"Present company excluded."
"None taken," said Milly with a smile. "I might just like to leech off you a bit, Lelouch."
"Madam President!" said Shirley.
"Oh fine," said Milly. "So, Lelouch, would you like to do introductions?"
"Of course," said Lelouch. "Everyone, this is Kallen Stadtfeld, our club's newest member."
"I never agreed to join," said Kallen.
Milly nodded. "Great, glad to have you."
"But I didn't-" began Kallen.
"So, Shirley, how is research going?" asked Milly.
Shirley halted. "Well, Nina is the specialist on this. But from what I've been able to look up, police go on 'unauthorized expeditions' into the ghettos. It happens all the time, and some of them even brag about it on social media."
"You don't really think they're killing people?" asked Milly.
"What reason did they have to wreck the soup kitchen?" asked Lelouch. "And we're Britannians."
"Yeah, Lelouch has a point," said Rivalz. "If the police are willing to treat us that way, I'd hate to think what they'd do to elevens."
"They usually go to areas that don't have a resistance group to protect them," said Kallen. "Sometimes they hunt people for sport. The idea is to terrify the natives into not daring to resist Britannia."
Silence.
Everyone stared at her as Kallen realized she'd broken character.
"Kallen, are you... serious?" asked Shirley.
"How do you know this?" asked Milly.
A list of possible excuses shot through her mind. Kallen picked the least harmful one. "I uh...
"I was here before the invasion, and well... I've got some friends who were moved into the ghettos, is all."
Silence.
No one said anything for a long moment, and Milly took her legs off the table and leaned forward. "Sorry to hear it."
"So what are we going to do about this? How are we going to pay back old Milner?" asked Rivalz.
"Pay back?" asked Shirley. "What are you talking about, Rivalz? We can't pick a fight with the police?"
"Shirley is right," said Milly. "I may have connections to the nobility, but I don't have that kind of strings to pull. Milner was given his position by Prince Clovis; the Ashfords can't afford to pick a fight with him."
"Nina tells me she's being doing a lot of research into the subject bedridden," said Rivalz. "If we compile enough data, we may be able to prove his misdeeds to the Prince. Then we could get him arrested."
"Clovis already knows what he is doing," said Lelouch flatly. "Or he does not want to know. Everything Milner is doing is happening on his watch. If he is looking the other way now, forcing him to take responsibility will earn his enmity."
"Are you serious about that, Lelouch?" asked Shirley.
"Being forced to dismiss a member of the Royal Guard would be a public humiliation," said Lelouch. "Especially if he is being dismissed for wrecking efforts Clovis nominally supports."
"Lelouch is right," said Milly. "People in power don't like it when people they consider lower than them speak up. Especially when it makes people in the club suffer.
"Milner is part of the club. We're not."
"Why not just tail him?" asked Kallen in a dull tone.
"Kallen?" asked Lelouch.
"Well, um... that is to say I often hear that in the ghettos when you want to get dirt on someone, you tail them," said Kallen. "Sort of following without being seen and find out where they go. We could um... snapshots of him doing something horrible, then release it online."
"That could work," said Shirley. "If we got proof of him doing something really scandelous, we could get him fired at least. And we could do it anonymously."
"No," said Lelouch simply.
"Oh, come on, Lelouch," said Rivalz.
"The soup kitchen takes priority," said Lelouch. "Destroy Milner, there will be a concern; Clovis will make a regretful speech and fire him. And then some other psychotic thug with a gun will replace him. Nothing will change, and the police will want to get even with us for fighting back."
Kallen couldn't believe this. She stared at him. "What, so you're going to just sit there and take it?"
"No," said Lelouch. "I'm going to feed the hungry and do charitable deeds. That was the entire reason Nunnally wanted me to found that soup kitchen. Getting involved in politics will only distract me from that goal. This organization was never founded to 'get even' with anyone. Milner is only a concern insofar as he influences our mission.
"It's probably better to just take all precautions and hope Milner forgets about us. I doubt he'll want to smash the same soup kitchen twice. He got his kicks already."
"Don't you have any ambition?" asked Kallen.
"What do you think we'll accomplish by picking a fight with the world's biggest superpower?" asked Lelouch. "Start a direct confrontation, and you'll be smashed. Win a victory against all odds, and they'll just escalate. Milner could have every single one of us murdered if he could convince Clovis we were a genuine threat."
"Why would Clovis think we're a threat?" asked Shirley. "We're doing what he wants to be done."
"What he 'says' he wants to be done. And we're making accusations against his subordinates," said Lelouch. "Whether or not those accusations are true won't matter. Clovis will take it as a slight. Then he'd wave Milner on without looking up from his paperwork, and we'll have an 'accident' happen to us.
"Or they'll manufacture charges of us giving information to rebel groups. No one will know or care that the accusations are baseless."
Lelouch was... kind of right about everything.
Kallen agreed with every word he said, but his conclusion was the complete opposite. Then again, Lelouch didn't exactly have any Britannian resistance groups to join.
"Well, who says we need to pick a fight?" asked Rivalz.
"Hmm?" asked Lelouch.
"Look, the way I see it, we want to stay off Milner's radar and not get beaten up," said Rivalz. "But we also don't want to start a fight cause we'll lose. So we ought to-"
"Have him tailed and learn his worst secrets so we can blackmail him with them if he starts anything!" said Milly. "We can use the incriminating information as security! That's a brilliant idea; I'm so glad I thought of it!"
Milly was... eccentric.
"Your welcome, prez," said Rivalz.
"So who's going to get that job?" asked Shirley.
"None of us," said Milly with a smile. "Milner might recognize us. We need someone beneath notice. Someone who no one will be surprised at not showing up for school."
Wait... had Milly called her here for a purpose? Was she just pretending to have come up with that idea? "Hang on me?
"I just got here."
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun," said Shirley. "Come on, Kallen, please."
"I think Sayoko should handle this," said Lelouch simply.
"Sayoko, why her?" asked Rivalz.
"Sayoko is good at this kind of thing," said Lelouch. "Being unnoticed is one of her primary skills. No one will notice her; her whole profession is about being beneath notice. I'd rather someone as sick as Kallen not be endangered like this; Milner's thugs were pretty rough with us." Who was Sayoko again?
Wait, he was calling her weak, even when he knew she was strong! That jerk! "Why you-"
"Shirley, do you think I could get your help taking care of Nunnally while she's gone?" asked Lelouch.
"Oh, um, sure. I don't mind," said Shirley, looking away with a blush.
"Now hold on, I'm capable of doing this," said Kallen simply.
"Sorry, Kallen, but we just couldn't bear it if we got a perpetually ill girl hurt," said Milly.
"I..." Kallen remembered her role and sighed. "What should I do instead?"
"How about you hand out the pamphlets like I usually do?" asked Shirley. "They spread awareness about conditions in the ghettos."
"Oh um, sure, I guess. Can I see one?" asked Kallen.
Shirley stood up and made her way over to a box. Bringing back a small pamphlet, she handed it to Kallen. Kallen flipped through a number of pictures with descriptions. It was a brief history of the invasion. There were some statistics on casualties and shots of devastation. But there wasn't much in the way of hard numbers.
"...This doesn't have much detail, does it?" asked Kallen.
"Well yeah, we can't actually go into the ghettos," said Rivalz. "The area is dangerous, and we're pretty sure the elevens wouldn't want us around. Pictures of the outside are the best we've got."
"Yeah, but there aren't any numbers here at all," said Kallen. "No statistics or anything."
"Well, Nina could tell you more about that," said Milly. "To make a long story short, Prince Clovis' reports are likely to be overly optimistic. For instance, they say unemployment is incredibly low in the settlement.
"But they don't count anyone who isn't actively looking for a job as unemployed. So if someone gives up after years of failure, they don't count."
"And that's in the actual settlement," said Rivalz. "We've got almost no data on the ruins."
"So shouldn't you get the real numbers?" asked Kallen.
"How?" asked Lelouch.
Kallen thought about what to do. This seemed like something that would be good to help with, even if they were a bit weird. "Well, um... I could maybe call up some of my friends from before the war," said Kallen. "Or you could write to Kyoto."
"Kyoto, what's that?" asked Shirley.
"A group of Japanese businessmen. They were allowed to keep their positions and money," said Milly. "Most of them covertly fund terrorists."
"Oh, come on, that's just a rumor," said Rivalz. "No way would Clovis just let them stay in business if they were funding the JLF."
"Either way, it does sound like a good idea," said Milly. "Kyoto might have some numbers that we could compare to the Britannian numbers. It might help us figure out the truth."
"We should do our own research, though. Once we compare the other two to our own findings, it should help us figure out the true numbers."
"It doesn't matter," said Lelouch simply.
"Why not?" asked Rivalz.
"The true numbers would make Britannia look terrible," said Lelouch. "If we showed real statistics about the poverty rates, we'd get accused of sedition. At best.
"Or we'd get framed for working with terrorists and shot. Clovis might not do public executions, but that doesn't mean executions don't happen."
"You are just a wealth of depressing statements, aren't you?" asked Kallen, annoyed at how he kept bringing things down. There was this vision of a future where Britannia was brought low by viral photos. But that sort of thing would never actually work in real life.
Everyone knew Britannia killed its own as much as the numbers. They were too scared to say anything and too weak to do anything. And that made this all the more depressing.
"So what do you think we should do, Lulu?" asked Shirley.
"Simple," said Lelouch. "We should provide evidence about the true nature of the settlement in a vague way—all without citing any specific numbers. Then we list the official numbers next to our evidence without confirming or denying it.
"People who look at it will draw their own conclusions, and we'll have deniability."
"Well, it doesn't matter right now anyway," said Milly. "We've got to distribute these pamphlets today. Lelouch, Kallen, you're in charge."
"I'll go meet Nunna," said Shirley.
And the meeting dispersed.
Kallen had to admit, she was a little resentful at how everyone had just assumed she'd join. Some sort of party would be nice or something. But the student council seemed almost ruthless in how to business they were. Getting the boxes of pamphlets, Kallen and Lelouch picked them up.
"So, I guess we're together again," said Kallen, remembering her ill-girl persona. Kallen Stadtfeld was a total doormat, so she'd fall in line.
"So it seems," said Lelouch. "Let's hand out some pamphlets."
This was going to be a long day. But, it could have been far worse.