Hey everyone I know that I said that this chapter would be out within a month or so, but damn did I just have a burst of writing fever of the past few days! Since this is my newest story, and I've been thinking about it recently, I just felt like I had to get this chapter out! So anyway, that's why this chapter is out so early. Also, I know that this chapter is kind of short, but I just wanted to get it out. So hey, it's short but sweet. You don't have to wait as long and, this way, I can spend more time making the next chapter more interesting.

To those of you who voted on the pairing, here are the totals so far:

Kallen: 2

C.C.: 2

Euphemia: 1

Other: 3

No pairing: 1

As you can probably see, the vote is a bit... how should I say it... dead even. I can't really make a decision quite yet at this early stage. So, if you're a guest reading, just click that review button and tell me. You don't have to actually write a review, just tell me what pairing you want (or lack thereof).

Disclaimer: I don't own -man or Code Geass, all rights go to their respective owners.

Chapter 7: Old Scars, New Battles

Ashford Academy's pool was definitely one of the campus's most extravagant buildings. The gigantic diving boards which were housed inside seemed to scrape the ceiling, and the various pools themselves were absolutely enormous. At the moment, it was packed with students from multiple classes. Today, the gym classes were using the pool for exercises, it was an event that Lelouch had been dreading for weeks. And if it wasn't for Milly's meddling, he wouldn't have been there in the first place. "Well don't you look absolutely miserable?" He heard Kallen say from her spot on one of the nearby bleachers. Currently, she was dressed in the standard girl's swim gear, and actually looked quite happy.

"What? You're actually joining them for once?" Lelouch asked the girl as he watched some of his classmates walk into the locker room. Most of the time, Kallen weaseled out of gym by using her fake illness as a scapegoat. However, today, she was participating like any normal student.

"Ha! That's rich coming from you, Mr. Vice President. Tell me, what did Milly say to stop you from cutting class?" Lelouch sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Just in the nick of time, Rivalz came out of the men's locker room and swung an arm over his shoulders.

"Lelouch, buddy, you finally made it! I seriously thought that you were going to skip on us again!" Rivalz told him as he waved at Shirley, who was currently standing atop one of the diving boards. "Hey Shirley! Lelouch is here!" The second the girl heard that she, and many of their classmates, turned to look at the three of them with wide eyes.

"What? Lelouch actually showed up?!" One of the girls squealed, her face tinged slightly pink.

"Is he in a swimsuit? Somebody take a picture for the yearbook!" Another one said. Yet again, Lelouch sighed as he rested his head in one of his palms. This was another reason why he didn't want to come to the pool, everyone was always so loud.

"Ah! That reminds me!" Rivalz started as he placed something into Lelouch's right hand. "I know that you've forgotten the combination to your pool locker, since you never use it and all, so I got one of the custodians to get me your key. Change quickly, Suzaku and the rest will be here soon. And I know for a fact that they'll want to see you." Lelouch frowned as he stared at the small metal key that Rivalz had given him. The rust that tinged its body showed its age and years of unuse. All he wanted to do now was pick it up and toss it into one of the pools, but obviously, that wasn't an option.

"Dammit..." he cursed as he got up and made his way into the locker room, the sooner he got this done the better. Several male students grinned and chuckled as they watched him walk by. "Yeah, yeah. Our president blackmailed me, so you all know what that means."

"Just go out there and give them hell Lelouch!" One of the second years joked as he slapped him on the shoulder. "I saw Suzaku walk by here a few minutes ago, I think he just got changed." Lelouch just rolled his eyes as he continued on to his locker in silence. Hopefully, this wouldn't take too long.

Lelouch wasn't sure what pissed him off more. Milly's incessant laughter or Suzaku's smug grins. "Lelouch, I have to admit, you certainly look... unique." Suzaku told his friend as he struggled to stop himself from laughing. While Lelouch was by no means out of shape, his skin was as pale as a sheet. "I have to admit, even when you're going to a school of nobles, you still found a way to look overly pampered."

"You should know better than anyone that things like this aren't my strong suit." Lelouch told him as he pushed Suzaku aside while Milly, who had stopped by the pool on her way to class, flipped out her phone and took a picture of the pale nobleman.

"Seeing you in those clothes is honestly rarer than winning the lottery, you know that right? I've got to savor every moment." She told him as she waved Shirley over. "Since you're a member of the swimming club, why don't you show this pale trout around. He looks like he's drowning on dry land." Even though Shirley had seen him before, she couldn't help but giggle when she noticed what Lelouch was wearing.

"I'm sorry Lulu, but I'm going to have to side with Milly here. You look ridiculous!" Lelouch frowned as he returned to his previous spot on the bleachers. If even Shirley was laughing at him, he couldn't even begin to imagine what C.C. would think if she saw him now.

"Maybe you should think about going to the gym with me every once in a while." Suzaku asked him, however, Lelouch shook his head. He would never be caught dead doing something so useless. "Ah, well, you'll change your mind eventually." As he talked, Suzaku sighed and pulled his shirt off. The boy had changed into his swimsuit before he first arrived at the pool, and had even brought along an pair of waterproof sandals. If the insignia inscribed on their sides were anything to go by, it appeared they were issued to him by the Britannian military.

"Why did you bring those along? We're provided with sandals, you know." Shirley asked him as she raised an eyebrow, Suzaku shrugged as he slipped the rubber shoes on.

"Lord Asplund made them for me, they're coated in a protective layer of chemicals that repel moisture and keep in heat. Honestly, on the right days, they're warmer than my usual boots." As weird as that was to say, Suzaku was right. Even from where he was sitting Lelouch could feel the faint heat practically radiating off of the rubber.

"The ingenuity of the Britannian military never ceases to amaze..." Lelouch sarcastically mumbled as he rolled his eyes. "I swear, they're just doing whatever they want now." It appeared Kallen thought the same thing. She didn't say anything, but the smug smile she gave Suzaku told him all he needed to know. "You'd think that technology like that would be better used in things like casts and suits. For example, a few strands of that heat-producing rubber would do miracles if you just put them in a cast or a splint."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But this is just a prototype. Lord Asplund doesn't really pay attention to those sorts of things, he honestly just builds what he wants. And, in some small way, I think that's endearing." Yet again, Lelouch sighed. If he were in Suzaku's shoes he would've called the man wasteful, not endearing. As the rest of them went off to get ready, Suzaku yawned and sat down next to Lelouch.

"Was your training that rough last night?" Lelouch asked his friend as he stared at his exposed body. Laying just on top of all of that muscle and bone was a thin layer of scar tissue. Thanks to the wonders of modern medicine, most of them had managed to heal. However, due to the nature of Suzaku's job, scars were practically part of the daily routine. "You got a new one, a burn, this time." He mumbled as he stared at the inflamed flesh.

"Oh this?" Suzaku said as he stared at the scar and laughed. "Don't worry! We were just running some routine checks on the Lancelot when some sparks started flying. Needless to say, a few of them managed to graze me. But I've had worse before. Give it a day or two and my body will be as good as new!" Lelouch scoffed, it was ridiculous that he actually believed the boy. Both in terms of durability and endurance, his friend's body was built like a tank.

"Heads up, you two have got an audience to entertain. Be sure you don't let them down!" Milly told the two boys as she walked over to them with a towel slung-over her shoulder. Over the past few minutes they had amassed quite the crowd of admirers. Girls from all over Ashford were taking glances at the two of them, and while the initial feeling was nice, the glares they got from the male students were not.

"Didn't you say that you had class?" Lelouch asked Milly as the Student Council's president shrugged and nodded. "Then why are you wearing a swimming suit?" Instead of answering him, Milly just walked over and playfully flicked Lelouch on the forehead.

"Oh bah! You know, you aren't the only person here who can afford to skip a class or two!" She said as she leaned back into her chair and waved at Kallen. "The entire Student Council is here, it just wouldn't be right if its president wasn't along for the ride. Plus, I honestly just want to watch you squirm." Lelouch sighed, now that he thought about it, he really should have expected this.

"Still..." he started as Milly gracefully slipped-on her own pair of sandals. "I've got to say that I'm shocked by just how many people are checking you out, Suzaku. Don't some of those girls hate you?" He was Japanese, after all. Milly laughed when she heard that and wagged her pointer finger playfully around in the air.

"Ah, Lelouch, you're brilliant but you understand nothing about women. At the end of the day, regardless of race, eye candy is still eye candy." The second Milly said that, Suzaku blushed and awkwardly coughed into his hand. "And you, my dear friend Suzaku, are so innocent that I could cry. You're a hardened soldier but sometimes you really give off the impression that you're just a big teddy bear." Now it was Lelouch's turn to chuckle. As he did so, he looked around the room and noticed something strange.

"Hey, sorry to cut you off Milly, but where's Walker?" He expected that the new student from Europia would be here by now. However, he was nowhere to be seen. Milly shrugged and shook her head, she had no idea.

"Oh, Allen? Unless I'm mistaken, he should still be in the locker room." Suzaku told the two of them as he scratched his chin. "I saw his stuff when I went in to change, but that's it. What with his injury and all, I'm guessing that he's just taking his time. Those waterproof casts do take a while to put on, or so I've heard." Right on que, Rivalz and the other members of the Student Council walked up to them.

"Hey guys, have you seen Allen? I wanted to show him around the pool, but I just can't seem to find him." Rivalz told them as he scratched the back of his head.

"No... we haven't. Do you think he got lost?" Lelouch wondered as Kallen walked up to them.

"We showed him around campus the other day, I doubt he's that much of an airhead." She was right, Allen didn't seem like the sort of person who would get lost that easily. In fact, he seemed like the opposite of that.

"Maybe we should check the locker room?" Suzaku suggested. "Like I said before, I saw his stuff in there so he can't be that far." Rivalz and Lelouch nodded, searching for him couldn't hurt. It was still his first week at Ashford, after all. "Okay..." Suzaku started as he slapped his knees and stood up. "Lelouch, you go with Shirley and check the back. Rivalz, take everyone else and search the entrance. I'll check the locker room, if we all do our part then I'm sure that we'll find him eventually-" Suzaku stopped when they all heard a familiar voice call out to them from the men's lockers.

"I don't think all of that is necessary, but thanks for your concern." Lelouch and everyone else sighed in relief when they heard Allen's voice. Even though they would've searched for him regardless, none of them were keen on doing a campus-wide manhunt while wearing nothing but swim trunks.

"Thank heavens, for a second there I thought you got lost." Milly started as she turned around to stare at the boy. However, when she did so, the class president went as silent as the grave. "Oh... oh my." Lelouch heard her mumble as the rest of them turned around.

"What in the world could've gotten her so shocked?" He thought as he raised one of his eyebrows. However, when he saw Allen's body, he completely understood Milly's reaction. "Holy..." he was at a loss for words. To say that Allen's body was scarred was an understatement akin to calling a charred corpse a 'little burnt'. He couldn't fathom how the boy's torso was even holding itself together, much less functioning normally. Gigantic scars, from what had to be inhumanly large bullets, riddled Walker's body from top to bottom. However, that wasn't even close to all. Huge gashes were carved out of the boy's flesh. With the largest one stretching all the way down from his shoulder to the bottom of the Europian's stomach. There were also several scars from, what looked like, repeated bludgeonings, beatings, burnings, and other various injuries. To put it in simple terms, the boy looked like he had been tortured.

"How in the world did you get all of those?!" Suzaku whispered as his eyes trailed down to his own scars. Compared to Allen's, his wounds looked like minor scrapes. And with the white waterproof cast he was wearing over his left arm, he honestly gave off the impression of an injured warrior. Not only that, but hiding underneath all of those injuries was a thick layer of hard muscle enough to rival even Suzaku's.

"The place where I grew up wasn't the nicest of areas, let's just leave it at that." Thanks to his perfect poker face, Allen managed to dissuade any of them from trying to dig into his past. However, that couldn't stop anyone from staring at his wounds. Every student in the building was staring at him like he was some sort of zoo exhibit. Some looked at him with pity in their eyes, some with morbid curiosity. However, most simply gagged and looked the other way. "Is it... is it really that bad? If I'm making everyone uncomfortable I can always go put on a shirt." After shaking herself out of her shock, Milly frowned and shook her head.

"No, there's no need for that. After all, the initial shock has already passed. Give them time, and nobody will even bat an eye at you." Allen didn't know why, but he didn't believe that for a second. These were all noble children, and he doubted that they ever saw anyone like him. The closest person they had to compare him to was Suzaku. And while the boy was definitely an accomplished warrior who had seen many battles, none of his scars were anywhere near as deep as some of Lavi's or even Lenalee's. The job of an exorcist was one that most picked up at childhood, and it was never an easy one. They didn't get to fight their battles with gigantic suits of armor to shield them, or had modern medicine to heal their wounded bodies when they got injured.

"Well then..." Allen started as he clapped his hands together, desperate to change the topic of conversation. "When do we get to hop into the pool?" When he asked that question, Milly shrugged and turned to Shirley.

"I don't know, Shirley, do you know when the instructor is supposed to get here?" After a few seconds of thought, the girl shook her head.

"I think he's supposed to get here within the next thirty minutes, but that shouldn't matter. They told us that, if the instructor was late, the swimming club was allowed to start practice. So, if you guys want to, we can get started right now." Shirley, who was obviously very excited about this whole situation, didn't even wait for them to respond before she waved for the rest of the swimming club to start class. Within moments, they had everyone divided into neat little lines at each of the diving boards. While one group swam laps, the rest would practice their diving. And, just because God seemed to hate him that day, Shirley decided to let Lelouch go first. "Go for it Lulu!" She called out to him as the Britannian prince walked up to the edge of the diving board.

"Let's just get this over with." He thought as he jumped over the edge, splashing down unceremoniously into the water below.

"Ow, that sounded like it hurt Lelouch!" Suzaku called out as he did a perfect dive into the water. "You've got to straighten your legs more, otherwise, you'll just flounder around in the air and come crashing down." Lelouch rolled his eyes as he nodded his head.

"I could be doing so many other useful things with my time right now than this." He thought as he swam towards one of the ladders, breathing heavily the entire way there. Eventually, after the rest of the Student Council took their turn diving into the water, Allen walked up to the diving board.

"Try your best Allen!" Suzaku called out to him as the boy prepared to make his leap. After taking a few seconds to make sure he was ready. Allen took a step back, breathed in, and jumped. He plummeted through the air for what seemed like minutes before finally being embraced by the cold water. However, the second his head went beneath the waves, something happened that made his heart skip a beat.

"What?!" He thought as he clutched his left eye, which was now pulsating and throbbing like an inflamed tumor. The pain which suddenly afflicted him was unimaginable, nearly enough to make him pass out. "Crap! I thought you wouldn't do this anymore!" He could feel the metal cog start to form beneath his fingers as black blood slowly seeped out of his cursed eye. Like a predator hungrily searching for prey, his eye scanned over every inch of the pool, looking for something that it knew wasn't there. "Listen to me! There are no more akuma left! You don't need to come out anymore!" In response, Allen felt another jolt of pain shoot through his skull as even more black blood poured out his eye. From there the pain slowly grew, getting worse and worse with every passing second. Eventually, it got to the point where Allen didn't know where he was, or what he was doing. All he could feel was his eye throbbing and moving as it pumped out more and more of the oil-like blood. And then, just before he lost consciousness and his eye finally deactivated, he saw a white hand reach out to him and touch his cursed eye. The hand was clear, almost invisible against the water, and wasn't connected to a body. It simply floated in the waves, or, to be more accurate, in Allen's own consciousness. The second he felt those clear fingers touch his tender skin, he heard a familiar voice speak to him from within his mind.

"Now Allen, you must go deeper, into the realm of black... and white..."

Author's Note

So yeah, I know that I said that this chapter would take a few weeks while I worked on my other stories. But dammit, I just had a rush of inspiration over the past day that I just had to get on-paper! Now, this hasn't affected my writing schedule in the slightest it just means that I got a chapter out early, which I'm sure you guys won't argue with.

Now, there's one thing that I'd like to cover. Namely, the pairings. Okay, so I know that I've stated this at the beginning of the chapter, but it really is amazing how dead-even this is. Even when I add-in all of the PMs I've been getting, it still comes out too close to tell. So, if you're reading this now and haven't done so already, please cast a vote. I'd like to make a decision on this matter before I get to the eleventh chapter, so your voting would really, really, help me out.

Now, it's time for me to answer some of your guys questions about this story:

Okay, so a few of you sent me some questions that I feel like I should answer here. So, here we go.

1st) "Will this story have evil-Allen/Noah Allen in it?"

Answer: I'm not telling you anything about that, you'll just have to wait and see.

2nd) "Will Allen join the Black Knights or Britannia? Do you plan on having him pick a side in the matter?"

Answer: I'm not telling you that either, you'll just have to wait and see.

3rd) "Do you plan on adding in more characters from -man? Like Lavi, Lenalee, and the other characters?"

Answer: MAYBE, and that's a strong maybe. So, to really answer this question, no. At the moment, I just want to focus on writing this story with Allen in Code Geass's world. I don't want to convolute it by adding in characters that don't need to be there. But, who knows? One of these days I might actually add them in.

4th) "How long to you plan on making this story?"

Answer: If you're reading my other -man story, Beacon's Exorcist, it's going to be around that long. And since Beacon's Exorcist isn't even finished yet, that'll give you an idea to how long I plan to support this story as long as you guys read it.

Anyway, that's all for me, I don't want to make this author's note longer than it already is, so I'm going to go ahead and cut it off here. If you guys have any more questions, or want to make a vote for the pairing, be sure to leave it in a review. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy the rest of your day/evening wherever you are. And I'll see you guys in the next chapter of A New Dawn!

Chapter 8: The Bells of Destiny