Disclaimer: I don't own anything belonging to Code: Geass or Naruto.
The morning of the next day came as a miserable start for Lelouch who barely had a few hours of sleep after helping Naruto and C.C. rescue Kallen from a mad Geass user in which where he suffered another nightmare of his mother's death and his and Nunnally's banishment that caused him to wake up, gasping for breath with sweat pouring down his face. Nevertheless when he saw Nunnally smiling as she greeted him he smiled back and set out to make breakfast while Sayoko helped Nunnally get dressed.
"Morning, Lelouch. Breakfast smells good." Nunnally said as Sayoko wheeled her into the living room where Lelouch had already set up breakfast.
"Glad to hear that." Lelouch smiled as he sat down. "I decided to make a full menu this morning and I'd hate to hear that something was wrong."
"Nothing you make is ever wrong, Big Brother." Nunnally said as she took a sip of orange juice. "You always make the best breakfast."
"That's best thing I like to hear in the morning." Lelouch said as he bit into a piece of bacon. "So how have you been at school? I heard you had an appointment with Miss Senju."
"Oh… Well…" Nunnally shifted in her chair for a second. "Miss Senju checked me over to see if my fever was gone and we talked a bit and…"
"And?" Lelouch softly prompted.
"Miss Senju believes she can heal my leg injuries." Nunnally finished.
Lelouch's eyes widened and he was almost completely frozen.
"Lelouch?" Nunnally asked when she saw the look on Lelouch's face. "Are you okay?"
"Y-Yeah. I'm all right." Lelouch shook his head. "You say she can help you walk again?"
"She says it would take an operation and then I would have go through physical therapy to see if it was a success but… yes." Nunnally smiled as she nodded. "… And I want to try."
"You're going through with it?" Lelouch asked, surprised by Nunnally's boldness.
"I want to… but only if you're there with me." Nunnally finished with hope shining in her eyes.
Lelouch stared at Nunnally, seeing how hopeful she was and wanted to say yes but at the same time wondered what Mito and possibly Naruto and C.C. were up to this time. "Yeah. I'll be with you with entire time."
"Thank you, Big Brother!" The smile on Nunnally's face almost took away all uneasiness Lelouch felt that morning.
Of course the moment of happiness had to come to an end and it when they heard someone knocking at the door. Sayoko would have gone to answer but Lelouch decided to answer, believing it was Milly or Rivalz.
But when he opened the door it wasn't who he was expecting. "Kallen?"
"Hi." Kallen was already dressed in her Academy uniform. "Milly asked me to make sure you didn't skip school again with Naruto and… Tsunade."
"I see." Lelouch sighed, expecting Milly to pull a stunt like this. "Have you seen Naruto and Tsunade? I checked their room this morning but they were already gone."
"No I haven't." Kallen shook her head. "Maybe they're already at school."
"I guess." Lelouch shrugged. "It's hard to keep track of them even when they are at school or helping out. I'll be at class in a moment, just making sure Nunnally's all ready to go. Want to come in? We got bacon and eggs."
Kallen was surprised by the nice offer but shook her head. "No thanks, I had breakfast already and I can't be late."
"All right, I'll see ya this morning." Lelouch said, as he closed the door and Kallen nodded before turning and walking away.
While Lelouch was getting ready for another day at school someone was else was starting their day with a major headache.
"Well, Nelly it seems the Black Knights are just as skilled as the rumors say." Nonette leaned back on the chair next to Cornelia's desk. "And Zero is not so bad himself."
Cornelia held back a scowl at that comment. After the defeat of herself and Suzaku at the harbour Zero had been labeled as an ace pilot who could handle a Gloucester piloted by the Goddess of Victory herself and a Sutherland with only a rip-off Glasgow while missing an arm. As if the rumors surrounding him and the Black Knights was not already bad enough. "Why are you here, Nonnette? Shouldn't you be doing something else? Where is your apprentice?"
"Like what, Nelly?" Nonnette pouted. "You don't like my company?"
Cornelia would have said yes but remembered who she was talking and quickly but her tongue.
"Aw, poor Nelly, all stressed because of Zero and his mean old Black Knights." Nonnette chuckled at the look Cornelia's face. "Anyways my little Rai's getting ready for school since Euphie insisted he get an education when he's not working and I can't say no when little Euphie get's all mother hen, just like her big sister. I can't wait to hear how his first day of schools goes. I wonder if he'll have one or more girls crushing on him. Kind of like…" That was when Nonnette trailed off with a solemn look on her face.
"Nonnette, please." Cornelia sighed, knowing who Nonnette was talking about. "It's too early for this. It's bad enough Zero got away and defeated us… again . If this keeps up it'll be a matter of time before the entire Area descends into chaos."
"Calm down, Nelly. We just underestimated them. In case you forgot you put up a better fight than before. The pilot of that red Knightmare surprised me but that one mistake will only make sure I'm prepared for her again." Nonnette said with a calm smile. "If you want to turn the tables on Zero so bad you need to stop being so predictable."
"Predictable?" Cornelia raised an eyebrow.
"The last times you encountered Zero it was during an operation where he took you by complete surprise. If you want to catch him by surprise you need to do what he's been doing, play along and make him think you're falling for his trap and then make him fall for you." Nonnette explained, grinning at the surprised look on Cornelia's face.
"That's… That's…" Cornelia stuttered a few times. "Actually the best idea I've heard since I arrived."
"See, there's a reason I'm a Knight of the Round." Nonnette chuckled.
It was true. Ever since she had arrived in Area Eleven she's been falling for Zero's tricks because he managed to see through her plans and take her by surprised. She needed a new strategy, a way to knock Zero off his game and trap him like he's almost done to her in their previous encounters. The question is how she could trap him?
She tried luring him out at Saitama but that backfired on her.
'If I want to trap Zero I need something that will guarantee he will appear.' Cornelia thought, her mind drawing up several ideas on what she could use to trap the most wanted terrorist in the Area.
Little did Cornelia know was that the opportunity would soon drop onto her lap.
"A medical check up?" Suzaku asked as he slipped his school uniform on.
The repairs to the Lancelot were almost complete and the two new Knightmares, the Frontier and the Vincent were almost finished as well.
"Just regulations." Cecile assured him. "It's required for all Knightmare pilots."
"I understand." Suzaku finished the last button.
"Good. Tomorrow then, after your school gets out." Cecile said as Suzaku walked down the ramp.
"Thanks. Oh and Cecile, is there any way I can get to see Princess Euphemia?" Suzaku asked.
"Huh?" Cecile looked confused. "You want to meet her?"
"Forget it. You have to at least be a Knight of Honor to get an audience with her." Lloyd spoke up, hearing them talk.
"But an Earl could arrange it if he really wanted to." Cecile said, turning to face Lloyd.
"Oh me?" Lloyd looked up, feigning confusion.
"Yes." Cecile said with a slightly raised voice.
Suzaku blinked for a second before realizing what Cecile said. "Lloyd, you're an Earl?! You never told me that!"
Lloyd laughed as he rubbed the back of his head. "Oh I am so embarrassed."
"The prodigal son of nobles." Cecile smiled as she looked back at Suzaku. "He can't really separate work from play."
"Wow." Suzaku muttered.
Lloyd seemed to be in a good mood today even though no one could tell that because he was always smiling unless someone did something to his precious Lancelot.
The reason why was simple. The fact that the Lancelot Club had come back with plenty of interesting data that would come in handy as he began putting the finishing touches on his Vincent and Frontier and he even got additional funding to repair his Lancelot since the nobles were all screaming for Zero to be caught and since he had three dangerous Knightmares they turned to the one man who could make the Knightmares that would bring him down. Sure, the blue Knightmare had buried, damaged, and nearly destroyed his precious Lancelot but at the same time it made him determined to make his creations as strong as Zero's Knightmares and with the nobles screaming for blood he was getting more funds. This made all the grief of his Lancelot suffering almost worth it as he studied up on what to improve and neat little ideas to make his toys all the more dangerous.
So in the end Zero was an okay guy in Lloyd's book.
'So much to do, so little time.' Lloyd thought as he looked over the recordings of the three Knightmares that had given Cornelia so much trouble. 'The red one screams Rakshata because of her Radiant Wave Surger but I still don't know how she managed to improve MVS technology but even managed to create a new version that conducts electricity. I don't how she pulled off something like that but she showed it is possible and if my creations are to stand a chance I'll need to recalibrate the Blaze Luminous on all of them.'
He was already at work on designing a shield with a built in Blaze Luminous for the Frontier, mimicking those shields that the black armored Knightmares the Black Knights had used at Narita but the Blaze Luminous was Lloyd's idea to improve on the shield idea. It was pretty good idea and even if the shield was damaged it wouldn't affect the Frontier like the Lancelot when it fought the blue Knightmare. The VARIS rifle the Frontier had would make for a mid to long range combat but that was fine, the Vincent would make up for that. The Vincent was designed for mid to close range combat with its MVS weapons shaped more like spears than swords and it had a new feature that the Lancelot did not have: Electric Needle Blazers.
Instead of Blaze Luminous emitters the Vincent was armed with Needle Blazers on the elbows that would fire short ranged bursts of energy that are meant to take out enemy cockpits, piercing their armor and eliminating enemy Knightmares from the fight. Lloyd modified what he had done to create the Blaze Luminous but made them for offense instead of defense. This was done so because the Knightmares Zero's aces had all shown that they could block or counter the VARIS rifle so in order to take away that advantage they needed a weapon that couldn't be blocked. The Needle Blazers may not have the range the VARIS had but energy as far as Lloyd knew could not be blocked and even if Rakshata's radiant wave technology did improve the Needle Blazers would take a toll on any Knightmares trying to block.
'Well, Rakshata, we'll see how your Knightmares fare against my new and improved creations in the next fight.' Lloyd grinned eagerly.
There was no way he was going to let Rakshata show him up again. The only downside was that he had been unable to mimic the energy that had disabled the Lancelot because it was unlike anything he or Cecile had seen before. He analyzed the energy from the Lancelot's systems to see if it could duplicated and saw that it had a violent effect when in contact with Sakuradite. Actually that was a bit of an understatement as the Sakuradite and the strange energy tried to repel each other which caused the overload.
'Just what did Rakshata create?' Lloyd wondered as he looked scanning results again. 'This is not like any kind of energy I've ever seen before.'
"You coming or what?" Suzaku asked with a friendly smile as he stood at the gates to Ashford Academy.
Rai was dressed in the Ashford school uniform and stood a few feet back, staring at the school before Suzaku's voice woke him up. "Huh? Oh, sorry."
"Can't afford to be late on your first day of school." Suzaku remarked amusedly.
The short time he spent with Rai showed Suzaku that Rai was a quiet boy outside of a Knightmare cockpit but was friendly. He had no last name and when he tried to strike up a conversation with Rai he learned that his fellow pilot didn't talk about his past very much. He didn't seem traumatized or upset when he answered, he just seemed like… He just didn't know.
Rai was a skilled pilot, perhaps even better than Suzaku as he lost two out of three times when they spared on the Knightmare simulators.
"Don't worry. I'll introduce to my friends and I know they'll like you." Suzaku said reassuringly as he led Rai through the gate.
Naruto was looking forward to a nice and quiet day after the battle at the harbor and the situation with Mao but it seemed he was still Fate's plaything when he noticed the silver haired boy follow Suzaku into the class room and the red sigil in his left eye even though it was not active.
'You've got to be kidding me. How can he show up here of all places?' Naruto wondered.
' It's just your life, kit. ' Kurama snickered.
In the meantime C.C. looked at the boy as he introduced himself to the class.
"Hello, my name is Rai and nice to meet you all." Rai said with a small smile before walking to a seat offered to him by Suzaku.
'Rai… He doesn't look like a member of the Geass Directorate.' C.C. thought as her eyes spotted the inactive Geass like Naruto's.
"So Suzaku, tell us of your new friend." Milly said with an eager grin once everyone was assembled.
Class was over quickly but Suzaku and Rai had no time to enjoy their short break as they were pulled into the Student Council room for an emergency meeting.
"Oh, he's a…" Suzaku trailed off while everyone looked interested in what he would say.
"I work is Suzaku at the Engineering Corps." Rai suddenly answered. "I just transferred here from the Homeland and our superiors decided I should attend school with Suzaku."
"Really? You must be really skilled then. What's your specialty?" Milly asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Running Knightmare simulations and inputting experimental data." Rai answered, not flinching from Milly's smirk.
'Smooth. He's not even feeling any pressure. He's mixing the truth with deception.' Naruto thought and wondered if anyone would disbelieve it.
Milly seems too eager to interrogate the new guy, maybe she suspects something. Maybe she even suspected Suzaku was hiding more than he let on as well. The girl had a love for the unknown and she proved to be keen that almost everyone forgot because of her mischievous nature.
"Well, since you're a close friend of Suzaku as the President of Student Council I hereby welcome you to Ashford Academy and offer you a spot on the Student Council!" Milly announced with a big smile. "I'm Milly. This is Rivalz."
"Hi there!" Rivalz waved happily.
"The orange haired girl is Shirley."
"Pleased to meet you." Shirley said politely.
"The black haired pretty boy is Lelouch."
Lelouch nodded. "Welcome to Ashford."
"The blond haired fox is Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto smiled friendly. "Nice to meet you."
"The green haired girl next to him is Tsunade Senju."
C.C. glanced at Rai with a blank look and only nodded.
"The girl with the glasses is Nina."
"Hello." Nina said nervously before looking back at her laptop.
"Then there's Kallen."
"Hello." Kallen said, reverting to her sickly self.
"And lastly the little girl here is Nunnally."
"Pleased to meet you, Rai." Nunnally smiled friendly.
"FYI, Nunnally is Lelouch's little sister so be nice or you're in big trouble." Milly whispered with a evil smile.
"Hi, I'm Rai…" Rai rubbed the back of his head, not used to all the attention directed at him.
Lelouch twirled the black king chess piece in his hand as C.C. sat behind him, holding her Cheese-kun doll, not really interesting in socializing with Rai like Naruto was.
"He's the pilot of the Club isn't he?" Lelouch asked, unable to remain silent anymore.
"… Possibly." C.C. answered.
Lelouch sighed, wondering why he bothered. At least Naruto was more honest and could convince C.C. not to play around like this. "If so then he has a Geass."
"Does that make him a threat?" C.C. asked rhetorically.
"If he's a member of the Geass order and sent here it could mean that they suspect you are here and if he's recognized you he'll inform his superiors." Lelouch said, trying to convince her to talk.
"You don't know if he is an enemy yet. All you know that he is possibly a pilot and a Geass user. That doesn't make him an enemy." C.C. said, deciding to humor Lelouch.
"It doesn't make him an ally either." Lelouch retorted.
"So he can still be either: a friend to you or an enemy who seeks your death." C.C. shrugged.
"So unless he figures out my other identity he's not a threat?" Lelouch surmised.
"That's one way to put. Why not see if he's as loyal as Suzaku?" C.C. lied back on the couch. "You're making this more complicated than it is."
"Hmph." Lelouch frowned. "Just how does Naruto put up with you?"
"I have my methods of persuasion." C.C. simply said.
'Yeah, persuasion.' Lelouch retorted in his head.
Kallen found herself some free time because it was currently time for the PF course and she couldn't take because of her 'poor health' so she was left with time to check on something. While she had grown use to speaking with Zero and his Knights while 'off' duty she was still curious about just who she was working with.
"You have no idea why he's fighting Britannia and yet you follow him? Are you sure he's not using you for his own agenda? How can you trust him if he keeps all his secrets hidden? Or what his hidden agendas are?" Mao stopped laughing and looked down at the shocked look on Kallen's face. "He didn't even choose to show his face, his knights made if for him and yet you still follow him. So why would you follow a Britannia and not ask why? Don't you want to know? Or maybe he's managed to trick with his fancy speeches or maybe he even lied about his Geass and he's using it to control you even now!"
Mao's words rang in her head even though they managed to gain her trust a bit since they've managed to strike several blows against Britannia and saved her life from a mad Geass user but she still wanted to quench her thirst for answers. While Lelouch said he would tell her eventually she couldn't shake the curiosity so she decided to look for answers in an indirect way. So that was why she was in the library at one of the computers, to get some answers. She brought up the search engine and typed in the name 'Lamperouge.'
It was a long shot but if the Lamperouge was a noble family there was about to be a few articles on them. That turned out to be true as several articles came up but there were not what she expected.
COMMONER MARIANNE LAMPEROUGE PROMOTED TO KNIGHT OF THE ROUND
'A Knight of the Round?' Kallen thought as she clicked on the icon.
Marianne Lamperouge, born a commoner that joined the military has shocked Britannia as she is made Knight of Two for defeating Bismark Waldstein, Knight of One and right hand of the Emperor himself. Never before has a commoner been given such an honor and Emperor Charles zi Britannia has personally praised her skills for piloting the third Generation Knightmare the Ganymede to such an extent that she has earned the title 'Flash'. Despite her status as a commoner called into question by several noble familiar Marianna Lamperouge has been praised as an icon of Britannia's strength and potential expected in all of its citizens and has become a role model to many commoners that have spoken of following her footsteps.
'Lamperouge?' Kallen looked at the picture of the woman on the article and had to admit she was beautiful and there was something about her that was familiar. 'Her skin, it's as pale as Lelouch's. Is this his mother?'
She skimmed down the bottom and saw several more articles but one caught her eye.
MARIANNA LAMPEROUGE BECOMES FIFTH CONSORT TO THE EMPEROR OF THE HOLY EMPIRE OF BRITANNIA
'She became a consort?' Kallen thought with widened eyes as she clicked on the title.
Emperor Charles zi Britannia shocked all of Britannia by taking Knight of Two Marianne Lamperouge as a consort, becoming the fifth wife and taking the name Marianna vi Britannia, making her the first commoner to be granted title of Empress. Many nobles have expressed shock and outrage that a commoner is granted such a great honor as it is tradition that those born of noble families are offered the title of Empress Consort but yet the Emperor has praised Marianne's skills and some even suggest he favors her above the other Empresses. Though his decision is questioned no one has spoke out against this for speaking against the Emperor for any decision he makes would be considered an act of treason that would lead to execution and no doubt the dishonor of the family of whoever would be foolish enough to speak out against our ruler.
'When does a commoner become Empress Consort?' Kallen wondered as she looked at the title of the next article.
LADY MARIANNE GIVES BIRTH TO HER FIRST CHILD
Kallen clicked on the article, wondering if the child was who she was thinking of.
It is a celebration in Britannia as another child of the Emperor is born, even though various nobles and royals have called his status in question for being the son of a commoner. The child was confirmed to be a boy, making him the eleventh prince and the seventeenth in line for the throne. While the woman and her son have been moved to keep them save the Emperor has announced the name of the newborn son…
Kallen's eyes widened when she read the name. "Lelouch vi Britannia."
That name stuck with her and she was stunned in complete silence as she considered the chance that the same Lelouch she was working with was possibly a Prince of Britannia. Her eyes glazed over the next article.
LADY MARIANNE ASSASSINATED AT HER VILLA
'Assassinated?' Kallen thought as she clicked on the title.
All of Britannia was shocked as one of the Emperor's consorts was gunned down at her villa by terrorists that not only took her life but also crippled her second born child and daughter: Nunnally vi Britannia.
'Nunnally?! That's right! She's Lelouch's sister.' Kallen realized as she kept on reading. 'They both have the same first names! This is not a coincidence, they must be the same.'
The youngest daughter was diagnosed with injuries her spine that left her physically crippled and doctors confirmed she had been become blind because of the trauma of witnessing her mother's death while Prince Lelouch was unharmed due to him not being present when the attack occurred. The investigation was called off by the Emperor without identifying the terrorists that were responsible for the attack.
'The Emperor called off the investigation? Why would he do that? An attack like that in the center of the Empire should have had him screaming for blood.' Kallen thought as she knew how prideful Britannians were. She even had more questions when she saw the next article.
YOUNG PRINCE AND PRINCESS SENT TO JAPAN AS PART OF PEACE TREATY WITH BRITANNIA
'Peace treaty?' Kallen wondered as she read the article.
It has been confirmed that the children of the late Lady Marianne vi Britannia have been sent to Japan as part of a peace negotiation with the Japanese government over the large amounts of Sakuradite in Japan. Though many wonder why a negotiator was not sent it speculated that the Japanese would be more open to discussion with two members of royalty staying at the home of Prime Minister Kururugi.
'Prime Minister Kururugi? That's right. Genbu Kururugi was the Prime Minister of Japan when Britannia invaded.' Kallen realized. 'And that must be how Lelouch knows Suzaku, they knew each other because they met when he and Nunnally came here. But why send a boy with a crippled and blind little girl unless…' Kallen's eyes widened. 'Hostages! They weren't sent here as part of peace treaty, they were sent here as political hostages!'
She then looked at the final article.
BRITANNIA INVADES JAPAN: ROYAL SIBLINGS PRESUMED DEAD
It is a sad day as the Empire mourns the deaths of two members of Royalty, the children of Lady Marianne who have been rumored to be executed by the Japanese once they learned of the invasion. Britannian soldiers located the Kururugi Shrine but found no sign of His or Her Highness. They are presumed killed by the Japanese as revenge for the invasion and their bodies lost in the fires of war. The Empire will surely see that justice is brought down on the Japanese for their cowardice actions once their land has been conquered.
'Except the Japanese didn't kill them, did they?' Kallen narrowed her eyes. 'They faked their deaths and have been hiding out here all this time haven't they?'
But that still didn't explain fully why Lelouch was leading a rebellion even if it somewhat made sense. Their mother was killed, his sister blind and crippled even though she had been cured of her blindness, and exiled to a foreign land to be hostages but that didn't answer all her questions. Why would two children, especially children of Royalty be sent as hostages when Britannia invaded just a few months later? Nunnally obviously had no clue to what her brother was doing but from what Kallen had read and the way Lelouch was acting he seemed to have an even bigger grudge against Britannia than she or the Japanese had.
Is that why he became Zero? To exact revenge on Britannia for abandoning him and his sister and were the Black Knights his tools of revenge?
School had gone by pretty quick for a few students but that was okay because they still had lots of work to do. Naruto and C.C. were gone somewhere, no doubt out in the city with Lelouch's card again so Kallen gave Lelouch a signal and he understood. He pointed up and Kallen knew he was giving her a signal for them to meet on the roof. The roof was one of the designated places where they would meet up and speak about Black Knight business without worrying of someone overhearing them because they didn't speak for long.
"You need to talk about something, Kallen?" Lelouch asked as Kallen stood against the railing next to him.
"It's about last night." Kallen stated.
"About what happened with Mao or on the docks?" Lelouch asked.
"Both… actually." Kallen admitted. "At the docks, I know we won but…"
"I know. It was a disaster. We won the battle but that's about it. The enemy has two ace pilots, one of them piloting a new Knightmare frame and happens to be a Geass user as well. Considering you faced the Gloucester that was piloted by a Knight of the Round and managed to survive that shows how skilled you are." Lelouch remarked with a small smile.
"I didn't win by skill, I used my Geass." Kallen replied, sounding ashamed at having to rely on her Geass to win instead of her skills. "I know you rely on your Geass to help but I prefer to win without relying on mine. It's like… relying on it too much and I'm afraid I'll be helpless without it and then there's Mao…"
"I know. C.C. already explained to me the side effects of Geass but she says that Naruto wouldn't have given us Geass without making sure to take precautions. If we begin to lose control Naruto says he'll seal our Geass with his eyes." Lelouch said, understanding Kallen's concern. "I haven't asked but I know Naruto is the type of person who wants to make sure his comrades don't lose control and become a danger to people."
"Yeah… He's like that with the others." Kallen admitted, remembering Naruto's interactions with the others. "No offense Lelouch but sometimes I wonder why Naruto is not a general or some kind of leader in the Black Knights. He's more than capable."
"Really? He said the same thing about you." Lelouch remarked slyly, smirking at the surprised look on Kallen's face.
"Me?" Kallen questioned, unable to believe what she had heard. "Why would he think that? I'm not a strategist like you or him and I've never been a commander. I'm better off piloting the Guren on the front lines then staying back to direct everyone."
"To be honest I think he's making it a point to make sure that the Black Knights don't fall if something were to happen to Zero. While he or C.C. have proven to be adequate commanders in their own right they seem more or less happy as fighters while training or making commanders for the Black Knights." Lelouch surmised. "At the very least they are capable along with you as we'll need all the skill we can get with our new enemies and the other Geass user. I would have been a goner if not for the fact that Naruto was immune to Rolo's Geass but on the bright side it feeds the rumors of Zero not only being incredible strategist but also an ace pilot who took down Suzaku who is unnamed in the articles and Cornelia herself." Lelouch grinned a bit during the last sentence.
"It's an annoying ability though. I thought I was dead a few times when I was fighting against that knight." Kallen grimaced. "We might get more enemies than we can handle if we don't get some help soon."
"You're right." Lelouch frowned and looked over the courtyard. "I considered the possibility of asking Kyoto to ask Todoh and the Four Holy Swords to join us or at least ally with us but I've received no word of them since Narita other than the fact that they lost their Burais escaping the Royal Guard. With the destruction of the JLF they've more than likely they've gone into hiding and are simply waiting to make another move."
Kallen was frustrated by that as she was hoping that the Todoh, icon of hope for the Japanese people would join up with the Black Knights. "Is there any chance they'll join us? If we had Todoh with us we'd have a better chance of defeating Britannia."
"There is a chance but the longer we wait the less of a chance that they'll actually join and despite Todoh's fame and skill we can't wait for him. We have plans to carry out, especially in light of these recent developments." Lelouch replied, slightly wondering if Todoh and the Four Holy Swords had been injured or killed and Kyoto was keeping quiet. "On the bright side it seems Rakshata is coming to Japan to officially join the Black Knights."
"Really? That's great." Kallen smiled, happy to hear some good news. "We can use her help, especially after she made Naruto and C.C.'s Knightmares and the Guren."
"Yes." Lelouch nodded in agreement. "At the very least Rakshata can use the Ashford's resources to produce Knightmares. It'll make liberating Japan much easier."
Kallen was silent as she thought over of what Lelouch had said. "Lelouch."
"Hm?" Lelouch looked at the red haired girl.
"I know you don't want to tell me why you're rebelling against Britannia but are you really fighting to give us back Japan?" Kallen asked.
Lelouch was silent as he thought over the answer. "Yes I am. I'll admit I have my own plans for Britannia in the future but in order for them to succeed I need people to help me realize Britannia is not unstoppable. You could say I'm doing this for revenge, you could say I am using you. As I told Naruto I will not pretend to be a saint but I will be honest when I say I want the Japanese to get their land back, especially since I somewhat owe them for looking after me and my sister during the first few months we stayed here."
Kallen was silent for a moment. "That's good enough… for now. Just know, Lelouch, that if you do anything behind my back that endangers me or the others…" She pulled out her switchblade as she got up close to Lelouch, staring him in the eyes as she held her blade at his neck. "It'll be the last thing you ever do."
Lelouch nodded, not bothered by the knife at his neck. "I understand."
"Glad you do," Kallen smirked darkly. "You're Highness."
Lelouch's eyes widened. "What… What did you say?"
"It's been a while since you've been called that huh, Lelouch vi Britannia?" Kallen continued, still holding the knife at Lelouch's throat. "It's starting to make sense now a bit. I did some research when I heard from Taizo Kirihara you had been brought here as a hostage with Nunnally. I typed your last name and what do I get? The maiden name of the Emperor's fifth wife, Marianne vi Britannia and the names of her two children, Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia."
Lelouch's skin become pale white and his eyes threatened to fall out.
"It's true isn't it? Your mother was killed and you two were shipped here as hostages. My question is why? And why did you two fake your deaths?" Kallen questioned, pushing her knife forward a bit.
"… Because I questioned the Emperor when he call off the investigation into my mother's death and gave up my claim to the throne when he revealed he didn't care." Lelouch answered after a moment of silence.
"What?" Kallen asked, her eyes widening slightly.
"I insulted him because I stood up to him and for that he exiled me and Nunnally to this country, not caring if we died." Lelouch glared at Kallen, making her falter slightly from the pure rage and hatred in his eyes. "He called me a walking corpse in front of everyone and said my sister was a weakling because her condition so he discarded us and left us to rot as he invaded Japan." Lelouch's glare became even fiercer, his eyes looking like they were burning with violet flames. "And when we had our chance we faked our deaths because I knew if we were sent back he would manipulate us again. He'd use Nunnally to make me do his bidding and possibly marry her off to some noble, not caring how she is treated. Now do you understand?" Lelouch leaned forward, not caring if the knife was now touching his skin. "Do you understand why I fight against Britannia now? It's because I know our future will always be in danger because of that man and because I want my sister to have a future where she can live a happy life. Is that good enough for you, Kallen or are you going to kill me here and now before exposing me?"
Kallen was silent in shock as that had not been the answer she had been expecting. She considered the chance that Lelouch wanted revenge and the chance to take the throne but what Lelouch had said was too real to be a lie. Does this mean she was wrong? Perhaps Mao was messing with her…
Of course Mao was messing with her!
The guy got inside her head and played with her insecurities to turn her against Lelouch and Naruto to get to C.C. and she fell for it.
Shirley had been coming up to find Lelouch and Kallen because Milly was calling meeting of the Student Council. She knew that Lelouch liked to spend his time on the roof and so she went up to find him. Just as she came to the door she gasped as she saw Lelouch and Kallen close together, close enough that they looked like they were going to…
"LULU!"
Lelouch and Kallen jumped back when they heard Shirley's voice and Kallen quickly put her blade away and prayed Shirley didn't see it.
"Shirley?" Lelouch asked, making sure that the orange haired girl didn't see anything suspicious. "What are you-"
"I came looking for you because Madam President called a meeting. What you are doing?" Shirley pointed at Kallen. "Are you and Kallen having a secret affair?!"
"WHAT?!" Kallen gasped from the crazy accusation. "It's not like that!"
"I saw you two about to kiss!" Shirley said accusingly.
"I was just helping Kallen stand up because she said she wanted some fresh air and I brought her up here because there is a good view of the courtyard up here but she got a little light headed and almost fell over." Lelouch quickly explained while still looking calm and rational.
"Is… Is this true?" Shirley looked at Kallen who nodded hastily.
"Yeah, I guess I didn't think what would happen from being so high up." Kallen said, rubbing her head to emphasis what Lelouch was saying.
"Anyways, what does Milly want?" Lelouch asked, trying to steer the conversation away.
"Uh… I'm not sure. She just called a meeting." Shirley said awkwardly, still thinking there was something going on.
"Well, better go see what she wants." Lelouch said resignedly not looking at Kallen who nodded as she followed Lelouch towards the door.
Shirley looked uneasily at Kallen but followed them off the roof and to the clubhouse where everyone was waiting. Once they arrived they were greeted with the Student Council waiting for them but also they had Nunnally and Mito Senju as well.
"Nunnally?" Lelouch asked when he saw his little sister waiting for him.
"Hello Lelouch." Nunnally smiled which made Lelouch smile back.
"Ah, there you all are." Milly said cheerfully once everyone was assembled. "Now the subject of this meeting… Nunnally's operation!"
"Huh?!" Lelouch's eyes widened. "You-You know!?"
"I told her, Lelouch." Nunnally said like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Yes, she told me that Tsunade's mother, Mrs. Senju has come up with a way to help Nunnally walk again!" Milly announced, surprising anyone who didn't know.
"Really?" Shirley and Rivalz asked at the same time.
Kallen stared at Nunnally with a shocked look but turned into a small smile at how happy Nunnally looked.
"And now we're going to throw a festival for her and Arthur and Matatabi!" Milly said as she held up Arthur who meowed in protest. "Say, where is Matatabi?"
"I'm sure she's around. She wanders off when she feels like it but she always come back." Naruto answered simply.
"Well, let's hope she's around when we throw the greatest festival ever even if Mrs. Senju says there's no need for a lot of money to cover the operation." Milly grinned eagerly.
"What are we going to do?" Shirley asked.
"We're going to make… the WORLD'S LARGEST PIZZA!" Milly declared.
C.C.'s eyes shot up and Naruto sighed when he saw the look in her eyes.
"We're doing what?" Lelouch's eyebrow twitched.
"We're making the world's largest pizza. With our news mascots and word of Nunnally's operation we'll get lots of people coming and when they see the giant pizza we'll go down in history as the ones who made it!" Milly giggled madly.
"And where will we get the resources to pull this off?" Lelouch asked rhetorically because he knew nothing would change Milly's mind.
Shirley would agree with him if he didn't want to but Rivalz would do anything Milly said, even jumping off the roof naked while singing 'I Believe I Can Fly' and Nina would just stay at her laptop. And from the look on C.C.'s face she was all for it while Naruto could only roll his eyes, possibly in agreement with Lelouch. Kallen had to keep up her sickly act so she would just agree with Milly all the while thinking the idea was ridiculous while Nunnally would just go along with it because she thought it would be fun.
"That is where you come in, Lelouch." Milly grinned at the Vice-President. "You're in charge of setting up the events after all."
"Fine but I accept under the condition I do not have to engage in anything humiliating." Lelouch said with a resigned look.
"Drats!" Milly snapped her fingers. "I had the idea for a Lulu-Kissing Booth to attract lots of customers and possibly a Naru one as well."
"Say what?!" Naruto's eyes widened in shock while C.C. smirked at her boyfriend. "Seriously?"
"What can I say? People like those whisker marks on your face." Milly reached over and grabbed Naruto's cheeks. "So much like a cat's whiskers or maybe a fox's. How can anyone resist them? And Tsunade already gave me her blessings."
"Say what?!" Naruto looked at C.C. "What did she promise you? Did she bribe you with a truck load of pizza?"
"How'd you guess?" C.C. innocently asked.
"Now that Madam President is done can we move on. I do have to prepare for Nunnally's operation that will be in a few days." Mito said, smiling in amusement at the antics of the Student Council.
Kaname Ohgi didn't like Britannians as much as the next Japanese but he had some concerns about imprisoning a woman who had been injured even though she tried to abduct Kallen to lure Zero into a trap. She would have been locked up but for some reason when Ohgi heard her mutter Zero's name he brought to his apartment instead, bandaging her wounded head and letting her sleep on the bed.
'What have I gotten myself into?' Ohgi wondered as he watched the woman with a gun in hand.
She had been out for a few days, it was obvious that Kallen had done a number on her.
"Uhh…." The woman sleepily groaned.
"Are you waking up now?" Ohgi asked, keeping a close grip on his pistol.
The woman slowly opened her eyes and looked at Ohgi. "Y-Yes."
"What you were doing with that red haired girl?" Ohgi asked with a scowl, not forgetting that this woman held his best friend's sister hostage to get Zero. "What's your name?"
"I-uh…." The woman looked confused and tired despite how long she was asleep. "My name is…."
"Uh?" Ohgi wondered what was wrong with her.
"What is my name?" The woman asked, looking up at the ceiling.
"You don't remember?" Ohgi could barely believe what he was hearing, thinking it was a trick. "What do you know about Zero? You were talking about him before."
"Who's Zero?" The woman looked back at Ohgi.
Ohgi groaned as he buried his face in his hand, his grip on his pistol beginning to tremble. "What am I doing? I practically betrayed him and why?"
"But I don't know anything!" The woman protested as she sat up, quickly covering herself to protect her modesty. "Nothing at all."
"Sorry." Ohgi now looked guilty as he turned away. "I was able to undress you with my eyes closed but putting your clothes back on was… I turned up the heat so I thought you'd be all right."
The woman glanced at Ohgi before smiling. "Thank goodness."
"Huh?" Ohgi looked at the woman.
"Anyone could have picked me up out there but I got someone nice." The woman answered happily.
Ohgi could only stare at the woman and wonder what he had gotten himself involved in.
"The rest results came out fine, though you seem to pay extreme attention to discipline and weighing the value of human life." The doctor said, looking at the results of Suzaku's test on her computer screen.
"Is that going to cause problems?" Suzaku asked, slightly concerned.
"These are positive traits for a soldier. However subconsciously do you think your comparing yourself to your father?" The doctor asked.
Suzaku and Cecile gasped.
"That may be the underlying cause of your insecurity." The doctor stated professionally. "It's quite common in the children of famous people. Your father Genbu Kururugi, the former Prime Minister of Japan. He was a great man."
Suzaku could only stay silent as he listened to the doctor's words. As they spoke no one noticed the small butterfly hanging on the wall.
"Urabe and the others are late." Chiba stated as Todoh and Shogo stood before the large gravestone under a tree.
"Well this sure is an ironic meeting place, isn't it? The grave of Prime Minister Kururugi." Shogo noted.
"The traitor who told us to fight to the end and then committed suicide himself." Chiba remarked bitterly.
"Enough." Todoh stated. "This man was a true patriot and deserves a proper resting place."
The three of them had no idea they were being watched through a scope. "Fugitive Todoh identified. All units prepare to move in."
"Hey." When Naruto and C.C. left Mito's office they turned around, hearing Kallen's voice and saw her walking up to the pair. "Have you guys seen Lelouch?"
"He's speaking to our resident Britannian about setting up the command structure of the Black Knights." Naruto answered with shrug. "You wanted to talk to him."
"Yeah it's about…" Kallen trailed off. "Can we talk somewhere else?"
"Sure." Naruto put a hand on both girls' shoulders and they vanished in a flash of yellow light.
When Kallen opened her eyes again she saw she was in the mobile headquarters with no one else there.
"This good enough?" C.C. asked as she sat down on a couch.
"Let me guess, it's about whatever it was you two were talking about on the roof." Naruto looked serious. "I could sense a great amount of negative emotions from Lelouch when he was coming down. What was that about?"
"I was looking into the Lamperouge family because… I wanted to know more about Lelouch and I…" Kallen looked to the side. "I…"
"So you know." C.C. guessed easily. "The Lamperouge name was well known throughout the Empire since it is the maiden name of the fifth Empress."
"So you knew?" Kallen looked at them with widened eyes.
"I've known about Lelouch since the day he was born." C.C. answered simply. "Naruto first met him at Shinjuku."
"Is that what this is about? You went to Lelouch and told him what you found out?" Naruto asked.
"I did and…" Kallen sighed. "I got a little excited because I thought he might have been using me… like Mao suggested. He just…"
"Got inside your head." Naruto sighed. "So you know the whole truth?"
"I got the gist of it. Their mother was killed and they got sent here as hostages who were then later caught up in the invasion. Then when I called him out on it he got mad, I'm not sure if he was angry about remembering it or because I found out what he was trying to keep secret." Kallen explained, remembering the look in Lelouch's eyes.
"Impressive work, Queeny." C.C. smirked. "I didn't think you had it in you."
"But what will Lelouch do?" Kallen asked, not understanding why they weren't angry with her about going behind their leader's back.
"There's nothing he can do. You were bound to find out sooner or later. Lelouch won't try anything, especially since you're immune to his Geass now but he's not worried about himself." Naruto said reassuringly.
"No… It's Nunnally he's worried about isn't it?" Kallen knew how much Lelouch loved his little sister. To be honest it made Kallen think of her own brother and what it was like growing up with him looking after her.
"Give him some space before you bring it up again. He needs to cool off and we need cooler heads for keeping appearances in the Black Knights." Naruto stated.
"All right. But I heard from Ohgi that Zero's making contact with the Chinese Federation." Kallen changed the subject.
"He's being cautious as he has not interest in a real contact with the Chinese but we're not in a position to say no to them yet, not when they want Japan and the Sakuradite for themselves. Zero will most likely offer information valuable to them for countering Britannia in exchange for some Sakuradite we stole from the Britannians to keep them happy for a while." Naruto nodded with a small smile. "Once we get Japan we'll worry about them then."
"Are you sure we can get take back Japan without their help?" Kallen asked curiously.
"It'll take some time. Cornelia's not a push over even if we've made it this far and with a Knight and two Geass users we'll have to be extra careful. At the very least we'll be able to take Japan in a year, two at most but the real challenge will be keeping it. Britannia will no doubt send reinforcements to take the country back and then the Chinese Federation will offer 'protection' to get their hands on the Sakuradite." C.C. answered.
"We'll just need to build up more firepower to liberate and protect Japan for when the time comes." Naruto said.
"I see…" Kallen sighed. "We've been working so hard to free Japan that we didn't realize what would happen after we did. Still no word from Todoh or the Four Holy Swords?"
"None. From what I've heard this Todoh is a good strategist but he's on the run and not in the position to do anything. I'm sure we would have heard if he was dead by now." Naruto shook his head.
"Todoh won't do anything yet, not without the resources to strike back against the Britannians." C.C. offered. "He'll hideout for a while but with Katase and the rest of the JLF dead it's hard to tell what he'll do next."
"I hope we find him soon. We could use him and the Holy Swords right about now." Kallen sighed sadly.
" The agent has made contact ." The voice came through the phone.
"Should we apprehend them now?" Bartley asked, looking at the man sitting on the chair in front of him.
"No, for now the agent shall simply wait and watch. We will strike when we have enough information." The man said confidently. "No need to tip our hand so soon."
"But sir, what if the agent is compromised?" Bartley asked.
"Then he is of no use to us. In the meantime, Rolo, you have heard of the Vincent?" The man changed the topic.
" Yes. " Rolo answered through the speakers.
"Good. I have decided you will replace the test pilot for the Vincent. We need all the capable pilots on the battlefield the next time the Black Knights make an appearance and the Vincent's test pilot is a troublesome fool not worth training." The man said in a dismissive tone to the Vincent's pilot.
" Understood. " Rolo said before hanging up.
"Sir, what makes you wish to replace the Vincent's pilot?" Bartley asked.
"It's come to my attention that even with the Club Cornelia is still outnumbered, due to the unique abilities of Zero's ace pilots. Rolo's skills combined with his Geass and emotional control make him an asset I intend to exploit fully to my advantage." The man answered simply.
Bartley had to repress the shudder running through his spine as he bowed his head. "Understood sir."
"Now that that has been taken care I believe we have a few test subjects to check up on." The man stood up from his chair. "Let's see how the progress has been going."