Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Geass or Naruto.
Suzaku groaned as he awoke, his eyes taking in the sight of the ceiling above him. 'Where… where am I?'
"Suzaku, are you all right?" Cecile's concerned face came into view.
"Cecile? What happened?" Suzaku asked quietly, wondering why his throat felt so dry.
"You passed out from heatstroke and dehydration. The Lancelot was completely disabled and you couldn't get out because of a large rock jammed into the cockpit. We had to pry the cockpit open to get you out but you were already unconscious when we found you." Cecile explained, a look relief on her face. "We managed to find you by tracking the Lancelot's last known coordinates."
'Oh right… THE BATTLE!' Suzaku sat up with an alarmed look as he remembered. "Princess Euphemia!"
"Don't worry!" Cecile put her hands on Suzaku's shoulders to push him back down. "Princess Euphemia is safe. They found her."
"They… found her." Suzaku whispered as Cecile pushed him back down.
"Yes, they found her near a cave. She's okay." Cecile nodded.
'She's safe.' Suzaku closed his eyes as he sighed in relief. 'I'm glad… but he did it again. I challenged that Knightmare and I lost again. No matter what I do, Zero and his two Knightmares are always one step ahead, undermining the system and inciting chaos and not even Euphemia, someone who did never anything to him was endangered because of his madness.'
"Yes, the Princess is perfectly fine…" Lloyd's voice called out, sounding so sweet it was almost sickening as he walked in with a dangerous smile. "Which is more than I can say for you, Kururugi. Exactly, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY LANCELOT?!"
Suzaku's eyes widened as he briefly wondered if he was better off dying of heatstroke, especially when he saw foam coming out of Lloyd's mouth.
General Bartley was torn between feeling relief and feeling very afraid.
He was no longer a prisoner and was being sent back to Area Eleven with the blessing of the Emperor himself. The bad news is that the Emperor revealed he knew the secret project he and Prince Clovis had been working on and had a new project in mind for him.
"General Bartley, due to my son Clovis's death you are no longer in charge of Project Code-R. Though you failed to produce the intended results that my son wished for you will have the chance to achieve something greater." The Emperor gazed down through the computer screen at Bartley with a look that made Bartley feel like he was an ant about to be squished.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Bartley dropped to one knee and bowed, trying to keep himself from shaking.
"Before the test subject was shipped to Area Eleven there was a second subject that stayed in the lab in India for two weeks before escaping. The scientists extracted blood samples and discovered something… interesting." The Emperor stated with a small smile that would have made Bartley shake even harder if he looked up from the floor. "The first test subject had remarkable regenerative abilities while the other possessed strange powers."
"Strange powers, Your Majesty?" Bartley hesitantly asked.
"Yes. The source of the first test subject's regenerative power was called the Code, a great power that induces immortality as a side effect." The Emperor continued.
'A side-effect? What causes immortality as a side effect?' Bartley wondered.
"You will be given a batch of suitable test subjects that are already being gathered in Area Eleven. I want you to inject the blood of both test subjects to see if these powers can be duplicated." The Emperor narrowed his eyes. "I expect there to be results or you will face more than a mere stripping of your rank."
"Y-Yes Your Majesty!" Bartley quickly replied with sweat pouring down his head. He could not fail this time or he'll wish he'd remained a prisoner.
"And you will answer to them." The Emperor smirked at something behind Bartley.
Bartley looked over his shoulder and gasped. "Y-You? It can't be!"
"You're saying the blue Knightmare made a sphere of spiraling energy that collided with the shields and that it overloaded Lancelot?" Lloyd asked, interrogating Suzaku about what happened to the Lancelot and watching it on the recording of the fight taken from the Lancelot.
Suzaku nodded. "Yes. I probably should have dodged considering what happened when I used the shields to block something from that Knightmare in Shinjuku. I fired the VARIS just as the Knightmare was in front of me but the it's attack overpowered the VARIS and destroyed the Lancelot's arm and I also think it overloaded the Lancelot for some reason."
Lloyd shared a look with Cecile who seemed surprised. "Overloaded… How could it-"
"Yes, it seems Rakshata somehow figured out the weakness of the Lancelot, possibly by observing the scanning data from her Knightmares." Lloyd nodded with a rare frown on his face.
"What do you mean?" Suzaku asked, wondering what Lloyd meant.
"The Blaze Luminous works absorbing excess energy and circles it through the entire Frame. It was done by the heavy amount of Sakuradite scattered throughout the Frame. If it were to absorb too much energy it would overload the entire frame." Cecile explained.
Lloyd finished. "Thus short circuiting the poor Lancelot. However from the scanning data we received from the fight it seems the Yggdrasil Drive was overloaded by large amounts of energy that disrupted Lancelot's systems. It's possible that happened because of the attack that destroyed the Lancelot's arm." Lloyd frowned deeply at that, something that is not seen often on his face. "What doesn't make sense is that the amount of energy that overloaded the Lancelot was enormous, insanely enormous I might add."
"That's right. The scanning data we received registered a strange energy signature interacting with the Lancelot's system before it was overloaded. It measured over a thousand percent increase that destabilized and overloaded the Core Luminous." Cecile said, remembering the scanning data. "It's impossible for any Knightmares to have an energy filter with that amount of power."
"At the very least the Lancelot is still in one piece and we can easily repair it. We'll just have to use the non additional charge conducting particles correct this weakness." Lloyd sighed. "It'll be expensive but it can be done."
"Unfortunately that means the Lancelot will be out of commission as we work on repairing it. It'll take a while to replace the destroyed arm along with the power systems." Cecile sighed with Lloyd. "And let's not forget how much it'll cost to fully replace everything."
"In the mean time I can only wonder what that energy sphere was." Lloyd grinned again. "Rakshata's Wave Surger usually expands radiant wave energy outwards, much like a shield similar to the Blaze Luminous but from what you have explained, Suzaku, it sounds like Rakshata found a way to compact that energy into a sphere, containing large amounts of energy that can overload or destroy anything it touches. Did you manage to damage that Knightmare?"
Suzaku's face turned grim. "I came upon Princess Cornelia being pinned down by a red Knightmare with a strange claw. I was about to engage it when that blue Knightmare showed up and I tried to fight it. I managed to fight it to a standstill before it used that energy sphere and overloaded the Lancelot."
"Red Knightmare?" Lloyd looked even more interested as he stared at the image of the red Knightmare, specifically its claw. "A new Knightmare in Zero's possession? And a claw, you say? That's definitely Rakshata's work."
"Rakshata made another one?" Cecile asked, sounding surprised even though she shouldn't.
"Fascinating. Things are just getting more interesting." Lloyd began imagining all sorts of Knightmares that were as deadly and powerful with pilots as skilled as the ones in the Knightmares Zero had in his possession.
"You know what thing was?" Suzaku questioned.
"If what you say is true then this red Knightmare was what caused the landslide." Lloyd answered.
"What?!" Suzaku's eyes went wide as dinner plates.
"Looks like it heated underground water inside the mountain and created an artificial avalanche." Lloyd continued.
"How could they?" Suzaku whispered as he clenched his fist as an angry look appeared on his face. "That landslide could have killed thousands of civilians!"
"Actually the city was evacuated on Princess Euphemia's orders and even then the avalanche stopped on the outskirts." Lloyd shook his head. "Seems like someone calculate how much energy would be needed because it wasn't used at full blast. Meaning that Zero intentionally held off because he knew that the city would be buried."
"That still doesn't excuse them! What if the city wasn't evacuated in time?" Suzaku asked, still angry.
"It's the price of new inventions, I'm afraid. Simulated results and real life applications are different." Lloyd shrugged. "Not that it matters now. We'll have to work on installing newer and safer shields to better handle that energy sphere."
"Yes, you should rest now, Suzaku. You had a long day." Cecile nodded with a smile.
Suzaku sighed but relented, knowing that Cecile wouldn't let him leave if he tried to get up.
C.C. grunted as she tried to fight the sun shining down on her face as she rolled over but found there was no warm body for her to snuggle up to. "Naruto, where are you?"
"Sorry, couldn't sleep." Naruto was looking out the window of their room.
"Can you do something about the sun? It's too early." C.C. grumbled as she pulled the covers over her head.
"Come on, Cera, you know that the sun rises when it's supposed to rise. Not even the Rikudo Sennin himself could change the time when the sun rises, even though he probably could but never did." Naruto smirked.
"Perhaps I should try and find out." C.C.'s voice was slightly muffled by the covers.
"You'd really try?" Naruto smirked.
"If you don't come over here and give me something to hold I will." C.C. tried to sound threatening but a yawn from her dimmed down the threatening tone.
Naruto chuckled. "Your addicted, you know that."
"I'm not; I just want what is mine." C.C. sat up and removed the covers to show a bit of her body to him. "Are you not addicted?"
"Playing the old trick on me? What happens if someone wakes up and knocks on the door?" Naruto mused.
"We tell them to go away or die a horrible death." C.C. said simply as she held out her arms. "Now come…"
Naruto smiled and came over to the bed, allowing C.C. to pull him down onto it and kiss him on the lips which he returned in full force.
"Hey, Cera?" Naruto said when they pulled away.
"Yes?"
"You asked something of me on my birthday, remember?"
"I remember. It was something I wanted you to say." C.C. said with a smile.
"You asked me to say something," Naruto leaned in and whispered in her ear. "You wanted to me say it with love and tenderness."
"Yes?" C.C. closed her eyes and she nuzzled against Naruto's neck.
"I love you… Cera Celeste." Naruto whispered.
A tear fell down C.C.'s cheek as her smile literally glowed like the sun. "And I love you, Naruto Uzumaki."
"The Japan Liberation Front was nearly wiped out by your Narita operation Viceroy. Now we are hunting down the survivors one by one."
"Are you being sarcastic? We're barely pulling our forces back together after that fiasco." Cornelia was not in a good mood; actually saying she was not in a good mood would be a bit of an understatement.
The annoying bureaucrats kept on spewing nonsense but she could barely listen to them. It hadn't even been a day and she couldn't help but think of how bad the battle had gone. She had gone into battle, confident that victory would be hers over the Japan Liberation Front and once again Zero had humiliated her and almost captured her if not for another form of unexpected help from an air strike the staff at the G1 had called in but that wasn't what had angered her.
It was the fact that his knights had temporarily captured Euphie despite the protection the G1 should have had, defeated both her and the Lancelot and left them on the mountain, unable to do anything as they escaped.
She hadn't left Euphie's side for a second, even going as far as to share the same bed like they used to do when they were younger. Cornelia hadn't just been scared when she heard Euphie had been captured she had been terrified. Zero crushed her army under a million of miles of dirt and mud, lured her into a trap and defeated her again, and was just a second away from capturing her but none of that mattered when compared to how she felt when she heard that her little sister, sweet innocent Euphie had been captured. The few hours she had been missing had been absolute Hell for Cornelia as she was plagued with terrifying thoughts of what the Black Knights could have done to Euphie.
The mere thought of her sister enduring painful and humiliating torture had kept Cornelia up for half the night and it was only through the reassuring presence that her sister was alive and with her again was she able to fall asleep. She hadn't been this terrified or upset since the day her idol, Marianne vi Britannia had been killed by terrorists and when Lelouch and Nunnally had been sent to Japan and killed by the Elevens.
'I failed again. Zero outwitted me again and because of my foolishness not only was I almost captured but Euphie was almost killed.' Cornelia thought, shame and anger swelling up inside of her, gripping her hands into fists in her lap. 'He knew what I would do and used it against me, lured me out where he wanted so that new ace of his could take me down, have the blue one wait for Kururugi to try and rescue me, and then sent the green one to kidnap Euphie while we were distracted. '
The fact of the matter is it was not the fault of the staff for failing to protect Euphie, it was not the fault of Suzaku for launching the Lancelot to come save her and leaving Euphie unprotected, it wasn't even Zero's fault.
It was all her fault.
She had nothing but utter confidence that she could handle the Black Knights if they interfered and Zero knew that, using her confidence against her again. She left the Lancelot behind because she didn't want to rely on the pilot who was an Eleven but when the situation got so bad she ordered the Eleven to launch the Lancelot, thus opening Euphie to being captured by the green Knightmare that had been waiting.
"Once again Cornelia your pride as the Goddess of Victory has cost you the battle, victory itself has defeated you."
'Never again. I won't let myself become overconfident again, not against Zero or his aces.' Cornelia thought darkly. 'I can't afford to lose to them again or next time there won't be anything to save me and Euphie.'
"Prince Clovis said that we shouldn't force the subway and mining tunnels to be sealed off." The Vice-Minister explained weakly "Doing so would fuel the rebellion, giving the Chinese Federation an excuse to attack."
"They already HAVE an excuse." Cornelia pointed out dryly, scoffing at the man's incompetence as he flinched from her stare "Zero is growing stronger and bolder every day. He's interfered in our operations not once, not twice, but thrice, his aces defeated almost every opponent they faced and nearly captured Sub-Viceroy Euphemia despite the rear guard staying behind to protect the G1."
"Vice-Minister." Dalton spoke up, cutting off the inept-bureaucrat's mutters of confusion with a pointed look. "Internal affairs has appointed a special group of Elevens to sub-govern these areas, isn't that right? A group called the N.A.C. When we stormed Narita, we looked for evidence of the N.A.C's conspiracies. But it was buried in the landslide." Darlton turned to face his princess."Still, our suspicions remain high… if we suppress them now…"
Cornelia nodded, mulling over her Knight's information as she sat back in her chair, musing over the possible ramifications of such an action.
"A group of purebloods and plutocrats…" She muttered, contemplating finishing them off and getting them out of the way. "Relic's of their forgotten past…"
"Wait, please! There's no evidence of these rumors at all." The aid stood up but sweated under the gaze of Cornelia and Darlton so he grabbed a cloth to wipe his head. "If you suppress them the Elevens' economy will certainly collapse. That means no tax revenue to send to the Homeland. Also it's a Prime Directive of the Empire that Numbers should take care of their own kind."
"And what have you done to find the Black Knights?" Cornelia asked, sounding annoyed.
"We unearthed the shield machine they left, showing Zero was behind the Narita operation but that's all we've got. You can't squeeze information out of corpses."
"So you can't catch Zero and you don't want to hit Kyoto." Cornelia mused. "Do you know what the word incompetent is Minister? It's for people who can't get results."
Euphemia had tuned out the conversation, looking down at her laptop and seeing the reports but her mind flashed back to meeting the mysterious masked knights of Zero. She couldn't help but ponder what the masked man, Seizan meant when he talked about achieving true peace. Why speak of something like that when he's helping Zero start a war with Britannia? What is he trying to accomplish?
"It's been a pleasure meeting you, Princess Euphemia." Seizan took Euphie's hand and slid his mask up enough to kiss it. "Hopefully we'll meet again."
Euphemia couldn't help but blush at the memory, feeling somewhat flattered for some reason. Perhaps it was because in a way Seizan was a knight himself and actually listened to her views while her sister and others had to keep her silent because if the Emperor realized she would perhaps be in danger of being used as a pawn against Cornelia. Whatever it was it made her curious and wondering if she would meet the masked warrior again.
"You're Highness!" The door opened and a servant rushed in, gasping for breath. "I apologize for interrupting your Highness but you and Princess Euphemia have an urgent call from the Homeland."
"I'll take it later. Can't you see I'm busy?" Cornelia asked irritably.
"It's from the Emperor, You're Highness."
Cornelia and Euphemia along with Guilford and Darlton froze when the aid said it was the Emperor who was calling.
"He commands you to answer immediately." The servant continued.
Cornelia gritted her teeth as she tried to keep her regal look in front of the Vice-Minister and his aids. "Very well, this meeting is over."
Euphemia looked concerned but stood up with her sister and followed her out of the room. No one was looking without concern on their faces and for good reason.
A call from the Emperor with the way things were happening could not be good.
Emperor Charles zi Britannia maintained a look of complete and utter indifference as Cornelia and Euphemia stood before the large screen that showed his face staring down on them with dark eyes that probed them for weakness.
"You wish to speak to us, Father." Euphemia stated, hoping that she wasn't giving any of her feelings away.
"I assume," The Emperor began, looking at both of his daughters. "You know why I have decided to contact you."
"It's about recent events in Area Eleven isn't it?" Cornelia asked bluntly, seeing no need to hide anything.
"Yes, but more specifically it's about your recent battles against the terrorists calling themselves the Black Knights and their leader, Zero, the man who killed Clovis. Actually, it's more appropriate if I call them defeats instead."
Both girls inwardly flinched.
"The first battle, Cornelia, you tried to draw Zero out and he effectively turned the tables on you. Tricking you, defeating your Guard, and almost capturing you." The Emperor put a loud emphasis on the word 'capturing'. "Then there was the hostage crisis at Lake Kawaguchi where you allowed Zero to do your job, killing the terrorists but you refused to take action for a certain reason, showing weakness in front of the enemy and allowing them to exploit it."
Cornelia inhaled quickly, trying to keep herself from trembling.
"I hear that Zero claimed that Euphemia worked with him in stopping these terrorists." Charles then turned his eyes on Euphemia. "Is this true?"
"I-I demanded to speak to the leader of the terrorists to try and force him to surrender. He was captured by Zero before I arrived." Euphemia spoke, not missing Cornelia shooting a look at her for speaking up.
"And so Zero used you as a political advantage." Charles mused with a small grin. "Quite the cunning adversary he seems to be. I wonder if he is actually Britannian under that mask as it would explain his recent exploits."
Cornelia clenched her fist in anger. Doesn't he care that his own daughter had been in danger at all? She shouldn't be surprised but it still infuriated her from how callous he was to the safety of his own children.
"And finally, the operation at Narita where you planned to remove the last pocket of resistance in Area Eleven and failed, not only failed but you single headedly showed everyone Zero's strength, his power, his cunning, his will. Allowing yourself to not only be defeated but to be rescued by an Eleven who is currently the main test subject of Schneizal's pet project and even allowing him to capture Euphemia for a short amount of time." Charles looked back to Euphemia. "Tell me, Euphemia, why did Zero see fit to release you and not you kill in cold blood like he did Clovis?"
Cornelia wanted to shout at the man for asking why Zero had not killed his own daughter even though she of all people knew he didn't have the capacity to show any kind of fatherly emotions towards his children.
"I… I was not held captive by Zero. His knights were the ones who forced me to surrender when the green Knightmare threatened to destroy the G-1 and everyone onboard. I agreed to ensure the safety of everyone onboard." Euphemia explained.
"So, you risked your life to save your fellow Britannians?" Charles seemed to smile. "It seems that even though you do not share your sister's love for battle you show great bravery and even survived, a trait I expect from all my children. Tell me, did these knights speak to you while you were in their company?"
"They wanted to know who pilot of the Lancelot was but I guess when they found out on the battlefield they didn't need me anymore. I can only assume that it is because I am Sub-Viceroy that they had no use for me." Euphemia answered slowly.
"You told them nothing?"
"Nothing, Your Majesty." Euphemia shook her head.
"Good, never revealing any knowledge that could be used against the Empire. You've impressed me, Euphemia. Now…" Charles looked at Cornelia, his face becoming expressionless again. "If only I could say the same for you. Three encounters with Zero and each time you failed to defeat the terrorists."
Cornelia had to keep herself showing her gritted teeth while Euphemia look on in concern.
"How is it that you, the Goddess of Victory, the most driven of my children can be so easily defeated by a terrorist masking himself as a freedom fighter?" Charles asked rhetorically. "Perhaps I was too quick to choose you to deal with this minor annoyance."
"I assure you, Your Majesty, I underestimated Zero but I will not make the same mistake." Cornelia glowered.
"No, you won't. I have decided to send someone to… aid you in your attempt to quell the terrorism in Area Eleven. A member of the Knights of Round to provide support against Zero. They will be charged with ensuring that you do not let Zero embarrass the Royal Family again." Charles stated. "After all, we wouldn't want to lose another child of the Royal Family to the same land that took not only Clovis's life but the lives of Marianne's children also."
Cornelia and Euphemia both had to suck in their breath at what the Emperor had said. They both felt like a knife had been stabbed into their hearts and took everything Cornelia had to not shout out to her father with all the anger and hate she could muster while Euphie had to make the effort not cry at the mention at the deaths of her favourite half siblings.
"Let us hope that history does not repeat itself. It would be a great loss to the Empire and your family if you were to suffer their unfortunate fate." The Emperor said before his image faded away, leaving the screen blank.
The moment his face vanished Cornelia let out a frustrated scream and slammed her fist into the ground.
"Sister?" Euphemia rushed over and knelt down next to Cornelia. "Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine… I just need… a moment." Cornelia took a deep breath. "That bastard… He's all but said he doesn't believe I can stop Zero so he's sending someone to babysit me and he went and even rubbed Lady Marianna's death in my face while he was at it!"
"Sister…" Euphemia said sadly.
Things were about to change in Area Eleven and no one knew how it would end.
"So the Britannian Viceroy's gone this far already…" A figure noted as he and several old man sat seiza-style around a fireplace as they discussed the latest chain of events
"It would seem she's not at all the simpleton her brother was."
"With the Japan Liberation Front smashed, the last embers of Japan have died away."
"NO! He may be on the run, but Todoh is still strong! Still fighting!"
"Even if that's so. I heard he's lost his custom Burais, so there's no hope."
"There IS hope." A fifth voice corrected, this one decidedly younger than those of the others, who turned to face the speaker, a young girl with bright emerald eyes, as she sat behind a screen, smiling at them.
"The Black Knights?" the fourth voice muttered, sounding both skeptical and disbelieving as he stared at the speaker "You've been infatuated with Zero since he rescued Kururugi Suzaku. We even sent him the Guren Mk-II."
Shirley was torn between being confused, jealous, and worried. It had to do with a certain raven haired student who was once again absent, but that was nothing new as he was always skipping class to go out to gamble. The fact that Naruto, Tsunade and Kallen were absent with him was a little strange and she could not help but be worried that maybe…
Were Lelouch and Kallen on a double date with Naruto and Tsunade?
Lelouch and Kallen had been rumored to be kissing once but they both denied it ever happening.
Milly looked from her laptop and looked at the orange haired girl sitting across from her in the Student Council Room. "Okay, what's got you so worried?" She asked, smiling playfully at the younger girl from across the table "Constipated? Your monthlies?" Milly grinned deviously."Or have your monthlies STOPPED?"
"That's not it!" Shirley exclaimed, the orange haired Fennette turning red in the face at the older girl's highly insensitive insinuation
"I know!" Milly noted, smiling knowingly at the embarrassed girl "You're lonely that Lelouch isn't here, right?"
Shirley flinched, looking down at the envelope she'd received from her father that day.
"It's more like… the fact that Kallen's absent the same day he is… again" she admitted, her face a mask of depression.
"Oh so carefree…" the blonde president sighed, leaning back in her desk chair dramatically "Meanwhile the rest of the world is coming to grips with what happened at Narita. Suzaku's been out for two days because of that too."
"But Lelouch and Kallen absent on the same day? That's serious!" Shirley pointed out, a mild frown on her face at the President's laid back attitude.
"I envy you, Shirley. That's what I love about you."Milly giggled.
"Don't make fun of me!" Shirley slammed her note onto the desk, scaring Arthur who had been hiding under a cabinet.
The cat wished his friend; Matatabi was here with him to keep him company instead of these silly humans.
"Oh why don't you come out and say it?" Milly got up from her chair and walked around the table. "Three simple words: I LIKE you!"
"I couldn't!" Shirley exclaimed, the younger girl shaking her head vehemently despite the fierce blush adorning her cheeks, her amber eyes filled with embarrassment, doubt and concern "I mean… What if-?"
"What if he rejects me?" Milly pantomimed, the busty Ashford heir holding her arms and pretending to look saddened as she turned to face the orange haired girl, her face taking on the mask of dramatic depression. "What if it ruins our friendship?"
Shirley blushed as Milly laughed. "You don't have to laugh you know?"
"It's comfortable, this place now, the way we are together." Milly looked out the window.
"That's true." Shirley admitted.
"Still we should prepare ourselves a bit. The fact is nothing stays the same forever you know?" Milly pointed out but chuckled when she saw the downcast looks on Shirley and Nina's faces. "Oh forget it. Please don't take me too seriously. If it's bothering why not ask him the next chance you get?" Milly looked to the door causing Shirley and Nina, who'd been typing away in the corner, looking up as Lelouch walked in, dressed in a red jacket and jeans. "So how do you feel about on your side?"
"L-LULU!" Shirley exclaimed, startled at the sudden arrival of her not-so-secret crush as the violet eyed student walked up to the desk, calm as could be "I thought you were absent!"
"Nunnally had a bit of a fever this morning," Lelouch answered "And Sayoko was busy, so I stayed home to help."
"Oh really, you don't say?" Shirley stammered, the orange haired girl calming herself down as she spoke, looking up at the teen in concern for his younger sister's health, as the entire Student Council thought the world of the little crippled girl."Is Nunna okay?"
"A bit, thanks for your concern." Lelouch assured her, as he scooped some papers up off the desk, turning his gaze towards Milly. "Madame President, your papers?"
"Oh right, make sure you organize them by year and class okay?" Milly noted approvingly, the Ashford heir holding her elbows as she smiled coyly at the elder Lamperouge.
"Yeah, yeah." Lelouch said calmly as he walked to the table and picked up the papers in front of Shirley. "You have a talent for ordering people around."
"And you make a great subordinate." Milly replied.
"Subordinate, I guess that's what I am." Lelouch said as he walked out.
Shirley sighed and looked at Milly. "Madame President, you nearly gave me a heart attack doing that. Huh?"
Shirley realized the envelope with tickets from her father was missing.
"Where are my tickets?" Shirley then realized Lelouch must have accidently taken them. "Huh?!"
"LULU!"
Lelouch turned around to see Shirley running after him. "What is it?"
"AH!" Shirley gasped, snatching the envelope out of her crush's hand, her face bright red from embarrassment at her shuffling it into the paperwork without thinking "Is my dad's letter mixed up with that paper work?"
"Hm? Oh sorry," Lelouch assured her, as he gave the letter back but noticed Shirley looking at the ground."What's wrong?"
"Um well…" the girl stammered, looking down at the envelope nervously, anything to avoid looking at the boy she was crushing on."You see, there was this concert I wanted to go to, and Dad managed to get two tickets for me…"
"Really?" Lelouch asked, curiously. "Any idea who you want to take with you?"
"Um well…" Shirley began, the younger girl looking nervously up at Lelouch.
From the window of the apartment C.C. watched with an amused grin. "So, does little Lulu have himself a date? Perhaps he does have a social life after all. Well, it's a good thing I severed my connection to Marianne or she'd probably be bugging me about her little Lulu having a date."
A white haired man stood on the roof of the building, looking at Ashford Academy. He wore visors and a headset with an arrogant grin plastered on his face.
'I know you're here, my darling C.C. and soon we will be together again.'
"Kyoto praised us for using the Guren Mk-II so well." Ohgi said once all the Black Knights were assembled. "I thought that was encouraging."
"And not to mention how Seizan and Kallen took down Cornelia and that white Knightmare!" Tamaki cheered.
"We didn't capture Cornelia and we didn't destroy it." Kallen pointed out with a frown as she remembered who the pilot was. "We just probably took it out of action for a while. It'll be back."
Zero, or rather Lelouch wasn't paying much attention. 'Why would Shirley ask something like out of the blue?'
Naruto of course senses Lelouch's confusion and knew what it was about since C.C. had told him. 'By Kami is he that dense?'
' You tell me. This is your area of expertise. ' Kurama snickered.
"Here." Ohgi handed a letter to Zero.
"What's this?" Lelouch took it.
"A love letter." Ohgi answered simply but the smile on his face let everyone know he was joking.
"Oh, from you?" Lelouch asked, feeling a little humorous for some reason.
The joke had its intended affect though as Tamaki laughed his ass off. "And they say you have no sense of humor!"
"You laugh too much." Kallen remarked dryly.
"It's an official letter from Kyoto. They urgently request a meeting." Ohgi said with a smile.
"Is this really such a big deal?" Lelouch said, not seeing the point.
"Um, big deal? It's Kyoto!" Kallen exclaimed.
"If they accept us it's mean funding and support. It could cover our financial crises." Ohgi continued.
"Crises?" Lelouch asked, seeing Ohgi flinch. "There shouldn't be any problem with the budget I laid out."
Ohgi couldn't help but glance at Tamaki, a fact that nobody missed, and soon, all eyes were on him. "Hey! It's not my fault. We're turning into a big organization now that means new expenses you know!"
Kallen smirked. "Like on fancy dinners with the new recruits so you can show off?"
Tamaki exclaimed. "Hey you-"
"I know where you've been taking them," Kallen remarked with a sneaky grin. "Big spender."
"Ugh, you know about it?" Tamaki gaped.
Lelouch sighed, he should have known. What had possessed him to allow that moron to regulate their cash? "We'll put Ohgi in charge of our finances for now."
"Hey now, I'm in charge of our cash!" Tamaki shouted as he stood up. "That's my job!"
"If you want me to trust you then show me results." Lelouch calmly stated.
Tamaki snorted. "Did you actually say trust when you and you buddies never take off those masks? And you even had Princess Euphemia but you let her go, so how can we trust you if you let a Brit Princess go instead of keeping her so we could use to get out country back!"
The tension rose to the point where it could be cut with a knife as Lelouch remained silent along with Naruto and C.C.
"Hold on, that's-" Ohgi started but was cut off.
Kallen jumped up. "Tamaki, their actions speak for themselves. They led us to victory and outwitted Cornelia not once but twice now. That's why they are the leaders of the Black Knights. Do we really need to know more?"
Tamaki glared at her. "Easy for you to say. I noticed you, Zero and his two buddies acting a lot more familiar with each other now. Maybe you already saw their faces; they all to take their masks off sometime. Zero can't sleep with his mask on, now can he?"
Ohgi brought his fist down on the table. "TAMAKI!" He shouted, before calming himself. "That was going too far, do you even realize what you were hinting at?"
Tamaki blinked apparently only now understanding what he had just suggested. "Sorry Kallen, that was over the top. I don't know what came over me."
Kallen gave a short nod, apparently not in the mood to talk to Tamaki right now.
When he saw the mood she was in the man looked at Zero. "I still say that you should let me handle our money, I mean…"
"Now, now, hold on everyone." Naruto stepped out in front of the table. "Zero, while Tamaki did spend some of the money we have for parties we do have good reason to be celebrating as like Kallen said we outwit Cornelia and her forces more than once. Small celebrations are good for morale especially when we've earned it. Even if it was without your permission and could have been spent on helping our resistance movement we still have enough money that it won't hurt our resources. There's no need for fighting over this."
"So you believe Tamaki can handle the budget?" Lelouch asked, wondering what Naruto was thinking.
"Leave him in charge but if you're worried about too much of the budget being spent Ohgi can manage it with him to make sure our finances aren't hurt. There's no need to kick him off his task because of a few parties." Naruto said, trying to ease the situation.
"… All right. Tamaki, you can continue managing the budget but Ohgi will work with you. It's too soon for us to celebrate when we have much work to do." Lelouch relented.
"Uh, thanks man." Tamaki smiled at Naruto who nodded back.
"It's no trouble and the reason we didn't keep Princess Euphemia prisoner is because doing so would have endangered Japan." Naruto answered.
"Huh?" Everyone, except Lelouch and C.C. looked puzzled.
"Let's put it this way, take away the fact that Cornelia and Euphemia are princesses of the Empire what else are they?" Naruto rhetorically asked.
"Huh… I don't know… Woman?" Tamaki asked, scratching his head.
"Sisters." Lelouch answered, catching on. "She and Cornelia are sisters."
"Exactly and it was shown that Cornelia loves her sister dearly as she didn't attack the Kawaguchi hotel because Euphemia was there. If we kept her prisoner Cornelia would have searched the entire country for her and if she believed we had harmed her she would have gone on a rampage across the country and the Japanese would have suffered her wrath and no mercy would be offered." Naruto explained calmly. "If we want to take back this country from Britannia we have to be smart about it and make sure there is still a country to liberate in the end."
Everyone was silent as they took in Naruto's words and Lelouch applauded Naruto for coming up with a good reason to avoid keeping Euphie as a prisoner. Even after all these years there was still a part of Lelouch that still loved Euphie almost as much as Nunnally and had no wish to keep her as a hostage. And it seems Naruto had effectively convinced everyone that going after Euphie was a really, really, bad idea.
"Since Kyoto wishes for a meeting all appointments are cancelled." Lelouch spoke up, getting back to the subject. "We'll shall meet with Kyoto and see what they want."
With that said everyone was dismissed as Lelouch went up to his private quarters, followed by Naruto, C.C., and Kallen a moment later.
"So what are we going to do about Kyoto?" Kallen asked when she closed the door.
"Despite their intentions we need their power if we're going to make a difference." Lelouch answered.
"Even though Kyoto will likely ask us to remove our masks." Naruto pointed out. "When they realize that you're not Japanese it'll shake everyone's trust in you."
"I know but luckily I believe I know who we're going to meet." Lelouch said as looked at his laptop and saw the heads of Kyoto.
"You realize that you'll have to tell them about your Geass? There's no way they won't know as the others will no doubt want to mention it and start questioning you if you don't say anything." C.C. pointed out.
"I am aware of that. Personally I don't like so many knowing of my Geass but considering that everyone in the Black Knights knows they would no doubt believe that Kyoto should know as well." Lelouch answered calmly.
"And what about mine?" Kallen asked, wondering if she should tell the others of her Geass.
"I don't believe that's a good idea." Lelouch answered honestly and he knew that Naruto and C.C. agreed when they didn't say anything.
"Why not?" Kallen questioned, wondering why she shouldn't tell the others of her Geass.
"If they find out you have a Geass then they'll think you've seen Zero's face and believe it was unfair for you to be the only to see his face." C.C. answered. "They'll also become afraid of you because of your Geass's power."
"They would no-" Kallen stopped in mid-protest as she thought it over and grudgingly realized C.C. was right.
If Tamaki got suspicious just from how Kallen seemed more at ease with Zero and his Knights how they would react if she had the same kind of power he had?
"All right, I won't say anything." Kallen reluctantly conceded.
"In the meantime let's get some rest. It's going to be a long day tomorrow." Naruto finished the group meeting.
"Mito-san, Lady Nunnally is here for her check up." Sayoko said as she helped wheel Nunnally into the school infirmary.
"Ah," Mito stood up from the nice red couch she had acquired for personal use and smiled as her patient entered the room. "Thank you for coming."
"Sayoko told me you might be able to help restore my ability to walk." Nunnally said with hope shining in her eyes.
"Yes, I've been working on several different ways of healing injuries like yours and possibly restoring mobility." Mito nodded as she prepared a bed for Nunnally. "First I would have probe your injury to get a better idea of how bad it was then we see it if works."
"I hope it does." Nunnally wheeled up to the bed.
"Yes, in the meantime a consultant of mine will be watching in through my laptop if you don't mine. She's a valued college and she has the same knowledge of procedure as me." Mito turned on the laptop and on the screen appeared Rakshata with a smile.
" Hello Nunnally, I'm Rakshata Chawla. Thank you for agreeing to this, I'm sure the procedure will be a success ."
Lloyd was looking at the recording from multiple Sutherlands and Gloucesters that were salvaged from the battle at Narita, determined to see three Knightmares in action. Suzaku and Cecile were behind him, watching the advanced Knightmares affiliated with the Black Knights take down anything in their way but Lloyd was interested in the red Knightmare with the silver claw and glowing sword.
"The red Knightmare is definitely Rakshata's work. The Radiation Wave Surger is a dead giveaway but this sword…" Lloyd froze the image of the red sword releasing a blast of crescent shaped lightning that destroyed any unlucky Frames in its way. "This red beam sword is new. It's not her usual work." Lloyd grinned with a little saliva slipping out of his mouth. "A multi-purpose beam weapon in the shape of a sword, not something I ever considered Rakshata building. The way it is able to contain and condenses energy like that when it uses its long range attack, interesting."
"It's impressive but we should be concentrating on the blue Knightmare." Cecile pointed at black and blue Knightmare defeating the Lancelot. "From the data we received it's possible that this Knightmare uses a new power source that's much greater than Core Luminous."
"Perhaps but the fact that Lancelot put up a better fight than it did in Shinjuku means that it's capable of fighting these Knightmares, once the pilot gains the necessary experience and once we've calibrated the Blaze Luminous. If it has a new power source we'll just have to see if we can replicate it. We've already got a few clues from the readings we got from the Lancelot's data." Lloyd boasted. "And we've got even more good news."
"What's that?" Suzaku asked curiously when he saw the big smile on Lloyd's face.
"In response to the three advanced Knightmares affiliated with the Black Knights Prince Schenizel wants to begin building Knightmares with the Lancelot's quality as well as upgrading Cornelia's forces with the Lancelot's weapons and luckily for us Princess Cornelia agrees. So we've begun building Knightmares from spare and salvaged parts." Lloyd answered. "We've already begun designing the Lancelot Frontier and the Vincent."
"Frontier and Vincent?" Suzaku asked.
"Yes and we'll need you for data gathering." Lloyd nodded. "The first prototype, the Lancelot Club failed because no one could properly operate it due the fact that it was built with a Sutherland Frame as a base. Now the Frontier is a sister unit of the Lancelot while the Vincent is the prototype for less… talented pilots since if it's successful it'll be mass produced. We had to dumb the system down, thus making it less as impressive as the Lancelot."
"And the Frontier?" Suzaku asked.
"It won't be as impressive as the Lancelot but the data we receive from you piloting it will show us what we need to make it easier less gifted pilots." Lloyd answered. "Now get moving! Chop, chop! We have work to do! We still have to completely repair the Lancelot so it can take on those Knightmares and defeat them!"
Cecile sighed but she was just as eager as Lloyd to see the data from the tests.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi, Princess Cornelia wishes to speak to you." An officer called out, earning Suzaku's attention who snapped to attention and complied.
The officer led him to the tent Cornelia was in, currently going over reports of the battle.
"Warrant Officer Kururugi, You're Highness." The officer bowed as he led Suzaku into the tent.
"Thank you. Dismissed." Cornelia said cordially, watching as the officer saluted and left the tent.
"You wish to speak to me, Your Highness?" Suzaku asked, bowing his head.
"I did. Sit." Suzaku did as he was told and waited for Cornelia to continue. "As you know that I ordered you to remain behind. Do you know why I ordered you to stay behind?"
"It's because I am an Honorary Britannian, isn't it?" Suzaku asked respectfully.
"Yes, I ordered you to remain behind because I don't trust Numbers, more specifically Elevens. I listened to you speaking with the pilot of the blue Knightmare, stating your reasons why you joined the Britannian Army." Cornelia paused for a moment. "You believe that you can change the Britannian system from working within it, as you stated on the battlefield, don't you?"
"Yes ma'am." Suzaku nodded.
Personally Cornelia scoffed at his belief as she knew better than anyone that it was impossible for someone to actually change the Britannian system no matter how useful they are. The nobility would never give up their power to treat those they see as lesser beings as if they were not ants to be stepped on. But she didn't voice these thoughts because despite her personal opinion on Suzaku's political beliefs they were not relevant at the moment.
"As much as I hate to admit it you were the only one who managed to fight any of Zero's Knightmares in an equal battle even though you were defeated. That being said I'm ordering our Knightmares to be outfitted with weapons from your Knightmare so that we'll stand a better chance against the Black Knights in the future. I've underestimated Zero more than once and I almost lost my sister, Princess Euphemia this time because of my overconfidence. I cannot escape the idea that I almost lost her because I kept the only pilot behind who had experience facing Zero's top pilots because of my overconfidence that cost me many of my men." Cornelia said, grimacing as she remembered her despair of being left behind while Zero left with her sister. "In the meantime we'll be talking about you and your future."
"My future?" Suzaku asked.
"I allowed Earl Asplund to begin constructing new Knightmare frames because the Lancelot lasted longer against Zero's aces because I realize we need Knightmares to match them in combat and you'll be head of the team that pilots these new Knightmares." Cornelia explained.
"Thank you, Your Highness." Suzaku bowed his head. "I will not let you or Princess Euphemia down."
Lelouch watched as the car pulled out in front of him and the window rolled down so the drive could speak. "Please bring your command staff along as per my master's instructions, understood?"
"They're patrolling the perimeter in case of unpleasant contingencies. I'll call them soon." Lelouch answered. "However before I do that…" He slid open the part of his visor covering his face so his left eye was seen, glowing red his as Geass activated.
"This is taking too long. When will we get there?" Tamaki grumbled as they sat in the back of the car.
"Ugh, could you chill out, you're embarrassing." Kallen sighed.
It was just Kallen, Tamaki, Ohgi, and Zero as the others stayed behind and for some reason Zero's knights were missing.
The car came to a sudden stop and there was vibration that shook the car.
"What the hell?" Tamaki grunted.
The car was taken up by a large elevator that was seemingly built into the ground.
"We're going up?" Kallen wondered.
The elevator stopped and when the door opened the car wheeled to its destination. A second later the back door was opened.
"Sorry for the inconvenience." The man stated, allowing the Black Knights to exit the car. "The master is waiting for you."
The Black Knights stepped out into the meeting room and needless to say some of them were impressed. The car arrived to the meeting point, only to be taken up by a large built in elevator into a large chamber with a large window overlooking the city from high up in the mountain.
"This is… This is the Fiju-mines!" Ohgi gasped.
"That's not possible! No way we could be here!" Tamaki put his hands on the window.
"It has to be Mount Fuji, there's only one mountain like this!" Kallen pointed out.
"That means the Sakuradite is right below us? The damned treasure that caused this whole war! Do you know what they do to intruders here? Execute them." Tamaki shouted.
"Their power reaches all the way out to here? The Kyoto group is amazing." Ohgi commented.
"It's repulsive." An elderly voice spoke. They turned to see a man in a veiled seat, two guards stationed in front of him as the window was sealed. The man continued. "Mount Fuji, a sacred mountain once known for clear water and quiet beauty. Now it is bent to the Empire's will, a place of hideous violation, of what Japan has become, it pains me so."
Lelouch looked at him with a sense of nostalgia and annoyance.
"I apologize for not showing my face but Zero, your face is hidden as well. Unfortunately I cannot allow this, to trust you I must know who you are. Therefore," The old man pointed his cane at Zero. "You will show me your face."
His words were still ringing in their ears when four Burai rolled out of the shadows and pointed their rifles at the Black Knights.
"Please wait!" Kallen stepped out in front of Lelouch. "Zero has given us power and victory, that should-"
"Silence! Now," Kirihara spoke again. "Which one of you is Ohgi?"
Said man looked up. "That's me."
Behind the veil, Kirihara nodded. "You will remove Zero's mask."
Shocked silence reigned, then Ohgi gulped and slowly turned to Zero. "I'm sorry Zero, but we need reason to believe in you. So help us, to put our trust in you."
Lelouch raised his hand, and Ohgi stopped, looking confused. "Very well Ohgi, I'll grant that wish. Only, not how you may expect."
Then he slowly took a few steps forward until he was standing just before the Frames.
He sighed loudly and shook his head. "Really, is all this necessary? I think you're going a bit overboard. Even you have to admit that you're blowing this out of proportion, Clan Chief Kirihara."
"I don't think so, you are known to be… What did you call me?" The old man choked out.
Lelouch smirked. "Really, I hadn't expected that Taizo Kirihara, spokesperson of the Six Houses of Kyoto was hard of hearing.
That was when the guards pointed their guns at Lelouch. "Anyone who can identify him must die! Especially if he is not Japanese!"
"That's far enough." Lelouch snapped his fingers.
For a second, nothing happened, then, in an instant, two of the Knightmares disarmed the others before pointing the barrel of their oversized rifles at Kirihara. The cockpits opened and revealed two cloaked familiar figures in red and white animal masks, a remote-trigger in her hands.
C.C. grunted as she jumped off her Burai. "These things are barely toys compared to the real Knightmares."
Ohgi was in shock. "Seizan? Shinryoku? What are you doing here? I thought you were both staying behind."
"Sorry, but Zero predicted something like this would happen and we needed you all to be convincing." Naruto answered before flanking Lelouch as he walked up to the seething Kirihara.
"Taizo Kirihara, founder of Kirihara Industries which has a monopoly on Sakuradite mining, formerly a key backer for the Kururugi regime. However when Japan fell you dodged tribunal by collaborating with the colonial rulers. Commonly known as Kirihara the Traitor. In reality you are one of the leaders of the Six Houses of Kyoto support resistance groups throughout Japan. A double agent, how cliché."
"Stop!" The old man shouted.
"It is as you guess though, I am not Japanese!"
The Black Knights sans Kallen, C.C. and Naruto were shocked when they heard what Lelouch had said.
"Are you serious? No wonder he never showed his face." Tamaki whispered.
Kirihara remained composed. "If you are not Japanese, why do you fight for Japan? What is it you want?"
"The destruction of Britannia." Lelouch calmly answered.
"And so you believe that this is possible?" Kirihara asked. "That you can do it?"
Lelouch's face became solemn, not that anyone noticed. "I can because I must. I have reasons which compel me inexorably." He chuckled as he reached for his mask, then taking it off, the dim light assuring that nobody but Kirihara would see it. "I'm glad I'm dealing with you."
When Kallen saw Lelouch take off his mask she discreetly activated her Geass so she could hear them despite the distance, relying on the sensory increase of her Geass.
Kirihara's eyes widened. "You!"
"It's been a long time, Lord Kirihara." Lelouch smiled down at the old man.
"Is it really you? It's been eight long years since that family received you as a hostage." Kirihara flashed back to the day a little boy and his sister came to the Kururugi family.
"Yes and I appreciate you taking care of me back then." Lelouch nodded.
"If I hadn't come tonight were you planning to take the messenger as a hostage?" Kirihara questioned.
"Not at all." Lelouch answered. "I came to ask for your help, that's all I'm seeking from you."
Kirihara began to chuckle, harder and harder until it was full-blown laughter. "So the flower that was planted eight years ago has finally bloomed. This is even better than I hoped."
"I can't see him…" Tamaki whispered.
"Ohgi!" Kirihara shouted.
"Y-Yes!" Ohgi stammered.
"This man is a true mortal enemy of Britannia whose face must remain hidden for vital reasons. I urge you to follow Zero. As long as you follow him, I guarantee you our assistance, financially and otherwise."
Lelouch bowed. "I am grateful."
Kirihara raised the veil and looked him in the eyes. "Are you embarking on the path of blood?"
Lelouch smiled as he replaced his mask. "If that is my destiny. However until then we have much to prepare as much as changed since we last met. I come with information that is vital to Britannia's power, a power that the Emperor himself is in possession of and that I have been exposed to as well."
Kirihara looked confused but nodded as he turned to the guards. "Leave us and contact the other members of the six families."
"My comrades already know of the power I speak of as I have shown it to them. With it the destruction of Britannia is possible but there are others out there who have it as well. The power… of Geass."
Kallen had to admit she was actually surprised by the fact that Lelouch was able to gather the heads of the Six Houses of Kyoto here just by revealing his face to Kirihara who apparently knew him. Her Geass allowed her to hear them speak and what she heard was informative but confusing. Lelouch was sent here as a hostage eight years ago? That would have been around the time Britannia invaded Japan.
Why would Lelouch be sent as a hostage?
There wouldn't be any point to him being a hostage as it wasn't likely his presence changed anything when Britannia invaded Japan. She shook her head as Zero addressed the Heads of the Six Houses, explaining his Geass by using it on someone to dance around the table, surprising everyone who wasn't already aware of it but it wasn't the end.
"It has come to my attention while studying my Geass and its origins that I am not the only with this power. Another person who has this power is Charles zi Britannia, Emperor of Britannia itself." Zero announced which caused shouts to be heard as everyone, including the Black Knights were shocked to hear that the Emperor had the same kind of power as Zero. "Using this power Charles has ensured the Empire is completely loyal to him but his Geass is different from mine. His allows him to alter a person's memory and he does not need to make eye contact with his intended target. He uses this power on his subjects to ensure complete loyalty, altering their memories so any thoughts of rebellion are suppressed."
"And he has an entire cult of people with this… power?" One of the Heads asked.
"Yes but the good news is that most of them are children with five to ten of them available for missions. For now the Emperor has no reason to send them here as long as he doesn't suspect no one here is in possession of one. This gives us time to consolidate our forces here in Japan." Zero stated.
"We must start by building an army that can challenge Britannian forces occupying Japan, and then if and when we liberate Japan we will have to work on setting up a proper government and economy while still being strong enough to stop any retaliations when Britannia sends reinforcements to retake the country." Naruto spoke up.
"At the very least it would take a year or so to ensure Japan's liberation unless the one or more members of the Knights of the Round are sent to reinforce Cornelia. We cannot run the risk of capturing or disposing of Cornelia until we are ready." C.C. offered.
"So while we continue to make attacks on Cornelia and interfere with her operations we can slowly build up support but that the same time we build up our forces while maintaining the façade of a group with only three advanced Knightmares and limited amount of Burais until the time is right." Lelouch finished. "We already have access to a Knightmare factory and with the right material we can produce Knightmares but we'll need materials as right now production is slow."
"Very well." Kirihara nodded. "We will provide you with as many parts as possible."
"I can't believe we got the full support of the Six Houses of Kyoto." Kallen commented once they were back at the Ashford Factory. "Only the Japan Liberation Front has ever received full support." She looked at Lelouch as he dressed in his school uniform. "Kirihara-dono seemed to know you and he said you came as hostage. What did he mean?"
"That's a story for another time, Kallen. It's not something I want to talk about." Lelouch put the mask away.
"But-"
"Leave it alone, Kallen." Naruto interjected as he sealed his cloak and armor into a scroll. "It's personal and he'll tell you when he's ready."
"Right now we should be focused on getting back before we are missed." C.C. said, twirling her mask in her hands.
"In the meantime we just go about our business and have our guys keep training on those Knightmare simulators. Lelouch, you could use some training yourself." Naruto grinned. "Can't have you being sloppy now can we? Oh wait, out of all of us you aren't blessed with the same bad ass skills we've got."
Lelouch frowned while C.C. snickered. "I can pilot my Burai just fine, Naruto. I can trust you three to handle Cornelia and the Lancelot."
Naruto and C.C. noticed Lelouch was deliberately avoiding mentioning Suzaku but didn't comment on it.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late." Lelouch said as he walked to the door.
"Nunnally will be long asleep by now." Naruto pointed out.
"Not that, I have a date." Lelouch said and smirked when he saw the look of surprise on Kallen's face but would have been satisfied if C.C. and Naruto reacted the same way.
"A date?" Kallen asked, not considering Lelouch had an interest in relationships.
"Shirley had two tickets to a concert and invited me." Lelouch replied with a sly smirk. "You thought I didn't have a life outside of Zero?"
"Was almost worried you didn't." Naruto smirked as Lelouch walked towards the door. "To think he actually decided to go. Guess he's not a complete revenged obsessed emo after all." 'Unlike a certain someone.'
Back in Naruto's home universe a certain duck haired emo sneezed.
Lelouch was just about to close the door when his cell phone rang. He held it up and looked at the caller ID. 'Shirley?' He pressed the answer button. "Shirley?"
The other three watched as Lelouch listened to Shirley, seeing him look calm before looking surprised. Actually surprised was putting it lightly, his eyes went wide and his skin turned pale like when he learned Suzaku was the pilot of the Lancelot.
"What? Is he all right?… Yeah, that's a relief. Yeah, it's okay. I'll be there… Okay… Bye." Lelouch pressed end button and let out a huge sigh.
"What's wrong?" Kallen asked, wondering what Shirley had said.
"Shirley… Her father was injured by the landslide at Narita." Lelouch answered, unable to look at them as he looked down at the ground.
Kallen gasped while C.C. remained calm but Naruto had the decency to look alarmed.
"Is he all right?" Naruto asked.
"Yeah, the landfill didn't bury the house he was in that much so they were able to get him out." Lelouch nodded but he still looked upset. "I thought everyone was evacuated and the city was untouched."
"It was. Euphemia evacuated the city and Kallen held back on the Wave Surger enough that the landslide would not hit the city. It's likely Shirley's father was on a house much closer to the mountain." C.C. reasoned, looking calm as always. "Are you surprised? It's not this wasn't to be expected."
"What's not to be expected?" Lelouch glared at C.C. "I almost got one my friend's parents killed!"
"And all the soldiers we killed today and at Saitama were fathers, brothers, sisters, aunts, and uncles to someone out there. Every time we go out on the battlefield we're taking the lives of people who have loved ones out there." C.C. retorted easily. "Did you not think of that when you started this rebellion? You went and spat in Britannia's face and did so without second thought that your actions might have consequences… You're a lot more innocent then you pretend to be. You're just lucky there are those who help you try and point these potential consequences out."
"It's a sad fact but true. In order to try and stop this madness we have to fight and when we do people on both sides and those caught in between will die all because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time." Naruto offered sadly. "Just be thankful that Shirley didn't lose her father today and be there for her when she needs it."
Kallen nodded with a solemn look on her face. "Yeah… Be there for her."
Lelouch took a deep breath and sighed. "Right…"
"Well, there is some good news." Mito removed her hand from Nunnally's back where her injury was. "There is a chance to restore the legs. The damage to your spine is extensive, almost done with surgical precision. Fortunately there is a way…"
"Really?" Nunnally was lying face down on the bed but she looked up when she heard there was a chance she could walk again.
"Basically there is a reconstruct damaged spine and nerve damage but it will be tricky and I'll need consent from your brother. If it's successful you should start feeling your legs a day later before being able to move, albeit slowly." Mito explained.
" Think of it as inserting an artificial spine into your damaged one that will send messages from your brain and through the feet, allowing for movement. " Rakshata clarified.
"Will it… hurt?" Nunnally hesitantly asked.
"We can keep you under for the operation so you won't feel a thing." Mito said reassuringly.
"….I want to do it." Nunnally declared.