Eleven people reviewed the last chapter. Awesome!

Lelouch: well, at least she didn't shout

Suzaku: agreed

Ahem, I'm trying to do the beginning notes here. Anyway, thank you to Shadow-Shinobi666, DYnoJackal19, assesh, Miraculous Messiah, yuuram2fangirl, northernlion196, ewertondragon, davycrockett100, ZeroUnleashed, Shimmering-Sky, and HufflepuffKat for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome.

Now I know this chapter ain't that long but, believe me, the chapter length will fluctuate quite a bit.

Bakura: who cares?

Oh shut up, Bakura. Anyway, I'll just get straight to the point. There's another important note at the end of this chapter in my author's notes. I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

. . .

. . .

December 5, 2009

Kururugi Shrine, Japan

It was early December. Snow was falling from the white sky above as Suzaku wandered around the courtyard of the Kururugi Shrine, not really knowing where he was going; he was just walking and getting some fresh air. After spending the last couple of hours with his tutors, he decided that he needed it.

He was surprised when he spotted Princess Nunnally, Prince Lelouch's little sister, seated in her wheelchair, her face tilted toward the white sky above her head and a content expression on her face. One of the maids within the shrine was standing beside her, trying to urge her inside.

He wandered over to join Nunnally. Even if he and Lelouch didn't get along, he couldn't help but like Nunnally. She was really nice and was always smiling a contagious smile; her presence also brought out a side of Lelouch that people rarely saw, the side of a caring, doting older brother.

Nunnally's face turned toward Suzaku. "Who's there?" she called quietly.

"It's just me," Suzaku said.

"Oh, Suzaku. You came to enjoy the snow too?" Nunnally asked.

"Yeah," Suzaku said.

"It feels nice," Nunnally said, holding out a hand and smiling when a few snowflakes landed on the palm of her hand. "I remember Big Brother and I playing in the snow back in Pendragon. Winter is Big Brother's favorite season, you know. Hey, Suzaku, can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Suzaku said.

Nunnally tilted her head toward him. "I wanna make something for Big Brother but I don't know what. Do you have any ideas?" she asked.

Suzaku pressed his lips together in thought when something simple came to him. "I have an idea," he said.

Later that day, after they finished the project, with Suzaku patiently teaching Nunnally how to make the appropriate folds, they set out to find Lelouch. They found the boy seated in the library, a book opened in his lap. His head lifted as Suzaku closed the door to the library and his eyes narrowed but then softened when he saw that Suzaku wasn't alone.

"Nunnally? What brings you here?" he asked, closing the book and placing it on the side table as Suzaku wheeled the wheelchair over.

Nunnally giggled. "I came 'cause it's your birthday, Big Brother, and I couldn't wait to give you your gift," she said.

Suzaku blinked in surprise. He hadn't known that it was Lelouch's birthday. As a prince, he had expected Lelouch to inform everyone that it was his birthday and demand something, like a party, presents, or, at least, a birthday cake.

"You didn't have to get anything for me, Nunnally," Lelouch said.

"Of course I did! You only turn ten once! And I didn't buy you nothing. I made it for you! Well, Suzaku helped 'cause he taught me how to do it. Here, take it," Nunnally said, holding out the small, crudely wrapped present at Lelouch.

Lelouch took the present, his eyes flickering to Suzaku before he gently began to open the present to reveal the origami picture frame that was done in four different colors—blue, green, purple, and red—with a single picture in its center; a picture that Nunnally had told Suzaku was the only picture she had someone grab for her when they were forced to leave Aries Villa back in Pendragon. Lelouch's eyes widened and Suzaku was surprised to see tears appear that he hastily wiped away.

"Thank you, Nunnally," he said softly. He hesitated and his amethyst eyes went to Suzaku and his next words shocked the young Japanese boy. "And…thank you too…Suzaku, for teaching Nunnally how to make this."

Getting over his surprise, Suzaku said, "You're welcome…Lelouch."

. . .

4

A Surprise Reunion

March 15, 2016

Student Council Meeting Room, Ashford Academy

Over a week had gone by since Lelouch and Nunnally had left and, gradually, the entire student body had come to accept the knowledge that things were going to be different. Whether that was because Lelouch and Nunnally were never coming back or the simple fact that they were royalty, no one knew.

Nina could tell that her friends on the student council were taking things in stride. Thankfully, none of them were being hounded by questions anymore; since they had been Lelouch's friends for the past couple of years, the student body had thought that they knew all along about that secret. When Milly told them, point blank, that they were all just as surprised as the rest of the student body, the questions stopped.

Now, they were in the middle of planning a spring festival that would take place in the middle of April as well as organizing some petitions that had been submitted by the student body, whether for the festival or for something else. Nina was typing on her computer; she was half focusing on her research but also looking up booth and activity ideas for the festival. While they did have all of those petitions from the clubs in the school, they still needed a few more ideas to ensure that there was enough for everyone who were invited to do.

She had to admit that she was just as surprised as everyone else that Lelouch and Nunnally were royalty. For Nunnally, it was hard to see the sweet, blind girl as a princess. She just didn't hold the air of someone who was royalty. Lelouch often held the air of a perpetually bored slacker in class but Nina had spoken with him enough to know that he was incredibly intelligent. Still, he never let on that he was royalty either.

He was good at keeping that part of him hidden, Nina speculated as she typed another search item and scrolled through the results.

"You got anything, Nina?" Shirley asked, turning to look at Nina.

"Um, no, not yet," Nina said softly, her gaze fixed on her computer's screen as she clicked on the arrow that would take her to the next page.

"Why are we bothering on doing this now anyway?" Rivalz asked with a frown. "I mean, we still have like a full month before the festival, right?"

"If we put it off, we're gonna end up doing it the day before the festival," Milly said, flipping through the pages in the binder in front of her. "Besides, we need to ensure that all of our ideas fit within the budget that we just created. We need another Vice President, I swear!"

Nina smiled a little to herself, knowing that Rivalz and Shirley absolutely refused to accept the position of Vice President when Milly offered it to them, stating that they either didn't want all the work associated with that position—Rivalz—or didn't feel that they were qualified for such a position—Shirley. Nina, herself, had been offered it but she knew that she wouldn't be able to do it since it was a rather social position, especially when Milly got into one of her moods and Nina wasn't very social.

There was a knock on the door and the council glanced toward it as it opened. A girl with shoulder-length red hair and bright blue eyes stepped into the meeting room. "Um, Principal Ashford sent me here to speak with Milly Ashford," she said meekly.

"That's me. What can I do for you?" Milly asked, getting to her feet and wandering over to join the red-head.

"Um, I'm Kallen Stadtfeld. I'm new and, 'cause of my medical condition, Principal Ashford thought it might be a good idea for me to join the Student Council since I have to join a club," the girl said.

Milly beamed. "And the answer to my problem just walked right through that door! Congrats, Kallen, you're the Student Council's new Vice President!" she said brightly, hugging Kallen.

"Um, okay?" Kallen said, looking rather startled at the sudden hug as well as her new position.

Rivalz leaned toward Shirley. "Should we warn her?" he murmured just loud enough for Nina to hear.

"She'll find out soon enough," Shirley murmured back.

"What're you two whispering about?" Milly asked, planting her hands on her hips as she released Kallen and frowned at them.

"Nothing, Madam President," Shirley said quickly.

"Yeah, what she said," Rivalz said.

"Good. So, Kallen, you're gonna help us get ready for the spring festival next month. Here,"—Milly picked up and handed Kallen a folder—"these are petitions that require both of our signatures to approve them. You can get started signing 'em."

"Um, okay," Kallen said and took a seat at the table, opening the folder and grimacing when she saw just how many petitions there were. She sighed but picked up the first petition, accepted the pen Shirley handed her, and signed it before going on to the next one.

They were hard at work, doing that, when the door opened again and Nina glanced toward it, eyes widening in surprise at the familiar two people who were making their way into the room. The first was Nunnally. She was dressed in a pink dress with long sleeves with her light-brown hair flowing over her shoulders. Behind her was Lelouch dressed in a black overcoat with golden trim over black slacks.

There was silence for a moment as everyone turned to look at the newcomers.

"Lulu!" Shirley exclaimed, jumping to her feet and practically tackling Lelouch, almost knocking him off his feet had he not been holding on to the handle of Nunnally's wheelchair. Milly burst out laughing while Rivalz and Kallen blinked in surprise at Shirley's reaction and Nina smiled softly to herself in amusement. When she noticed what she just did, Shirley jumped back, blushing in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, uh, Your Highness…" she stammered out.

Lelouch chuckled. "It's fine, Shirley, and didn't I say you could call me what you wanted," he said.

Shirley's blush deepened. "Um, right," she said. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm just dropping Nunnally off. I can't stay long. I have a doctor's appointment and then a meeting with Clovis," Lelouch said.

"But what are you doing back in Area 11?" Milly asked curiously once she got control of her laughter, though she was still grinning.

"Big Brother and I decided to come back here," Nunnally said. "We got to choose whether to stay in Pendragon or come back here so I can finish my schooling."

"What about you, Lulu?" Shirley asked.

"I'm joining the military as soon as I'm medically cleared," Lelouch said. He didn't sound very happy about it.

Shirley's eyes went wide with surprise. "You're joining the military?" she repeated.

Lelouch nodded.

"I never expected you, of all people, to join them military," Rivalz mused. "Especially considering how many times you've skipped out on P.E. and your lack of stamina."

"Thanks for that, Rivalz," Lelouch said dryly.

Nunnally giggled.

"Oh, we got a new Vice President by the way," Milly said brightly.

"So you've already replaced me?" Lelouch said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yup. Didn't take long at all," Milly said with a smirk.

Rivalz blinked. "What are you talking about? We just got a new vice president today, literally fifteen minutes ago," he said.

Lelouch chuckled. "No one wanted the position, I take it?" he said.

"No, not really," Shirley admitted, retaking her seat at the table.

"You were the only one who wanted it honestly," Milly said.

Lelouch's eyebrows rose. "The only reason I got that position is because a certain someone would not stop bothering me until I agreed," he said, looking straight at Milly.

"Why are you looking at me?" Milly asked innocently.

Nunnally chuckled again.

"So which poor student did you drag into being Vice President?" Lelouch asked curiously.

Milly pulled Kallen to her feet and guided the startled red-head over to the prince and princess. "This is Kallen Stadtfeld. She's a new student and, 'cause of her condition, my grandfather decided that it would be easier for her if she was on the student council rather than another club," she said.

"And I take it as soon as she walked in the door, you decided to just dump the responsibilities of Vice President on her because Shirley, Rivalz, and Nina were unwilling to take the position," Lelouch surmised.

"Well, when you put it like that..." Milly huffed.

Lelouch chuckled and held out a hand to Kallen. "It's nice to meet you, Kallen," he said.

"You too, um Your Highness," Kallen said meekly, taking the prince's hand and shaking it.

"Just call me Lelouch," Lelouch said, releasing her hand.

"And call me Nunnally," Nunnally said with a bright smile as she held out a hand toward Kallen who took it and shook it. "I hope we can be great friends, Kallen!"

Kallen's lips quirked into a slight smile. "Yeah, maybe," she said.

The next fifteen minutes that went by was followed by Lelouch getting caught up with the rest of his friends. Nina noted that now she could definitely see Lelouch as a prince; he held himself like royalty and she marveled on how quick it was for the prince to fall back into that role after six years of acting as a genius slacker student. And yet he was still treating them as if nothing had changed between them.

"You still have it," Shirley said softly, pointing to the locket that hung around Lelouch's neck.

He picked it up and smiled at it. "I almost never take it off. It's a reminder of my promise to you, Shirley," he said.

"Oh?" Milly's eyes twinkled with amusement. "And what promise was this? Did you really take the plunge and not tell me, Shirley?" She pouted.

Shirley went red while Lelouch just blinked, looking vaguely amused but somewhat confused as well. Nina smiled to herself; it was obvious he was still clueless about Shirley's feelings. It was kind of sad that he was that oblivious though. "It…It was nothing like that!" She exclaimed. "He just promised that he'd never forget any of us, that's it."

"Oh, really? Are you sure he didn't just say he would never forget you. Aww, so romantic," Milly said.

"He never said that!" Shirley exclaimed.

"You do know he is standing right here, right?" Lelouch asked with a raised eyebrow.

Milly smirked at him. "And do you know that you're still as dense as ever, Lelouch?" she asked.

"What are you talking about?"

"I rest my case."

Lelouch shook his head. "I don't even try to pretend I understand you, Milly. What time is it?" he asked.

Nina glanced at the clock on her computer screen. "4:15," she said.

Lelouch's lips pulled into a frown. "I stayed here a bit longer than I thought I would. I've gotta go now, Nunnally. My appointments in fifteen minutes," he said, turning to his sister and bending down to give her a hug. "If I can get Clovis to shut up long enough for me to escape my meeting with him, I'll come by later to see you."

Nunnally giggled and, after hugging Lelouch back, swatted at his shoulder. "Be nice, Big Brother," she chided.

"I was. Clovis is a chatterbox. Everyone knows it," Lelouch said. "I gotta go now. It was nice seeing all of you again and it was nice meeting you, Kallen." He gave them a goodbye wave and left the council room.

"So you're attending Ashford Academy from now on?" Kallen asked, turning to Nunnally.

She nodded. "Well, I've been attending Ashford except when I went back to Pendragon with Big Brother but, now, everyone's gonna know that I'm a princess," she admitted.

"Well, that doesn't change anything between us. You may be a princess but you're still our friend," Shirley said firmly and glanced at the rest of the council. "Right?"

"Of course," Rivalz said.

"You being a princess doesn't change that," Nina said softly.

"I've always known and I never treated you any differently so I'm not gonna start now," Milly said with a shrug.

Nunnally's smile lit up her whole face. "Thanks, you guys," she said softly.

. . .

March 22, 2016

Viceroy's Palace, Tokyo Settlement

Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald had been in shock when the news of Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia's survival had reached his ears. After six years of trying to find them following the formation of Area 11, he had nearly given up hope of ever finding the children of Marianne vi Britannia. He did cling on to the hope that they were still alive though, however slimmer it got with each passing day in which there were no results of his search.

Even though he had created the Purist Faction out of pureblood Britannians that were part of the regiment Jeremiah had joined when he came to Area 11, he didn't believe in their stance, at least, not entirely. The woman to whom he had sworn his loyalty was a commoner herself, after all, and yet she had become a Knight of the Round and was one of the strongest fighters in all of Britannia. He had only created the Purist Faction as a front to try and find clues as to who was behind Lady Marianne's assassination as well as try to find her children, since he wanted to believe that the news report of their deaths was false.

And, as it turned out, the news report was, indeed, false.

It was still mind-boggling to think that the children of Marianne vi Britannia were alive and well and had been for the past six years.

With Marianne's death, Jeremiah's loyalty had switched to her children. There was no denying that but, when he was unable to find them, he, instead, gave his loyalty to Clovis. However, now that the vi Britannia children were back, Jeremiah was conflicted; on one hand were the oaths of loyalty that he swore to Clovis and yet, on the other, were the oaths of loyalty he swore to Lady Marianne and her entire family. Though, to be honest, he knew that his loyalty to the vi Britannia family was much stronger but that didn't deny that he still had sworn oaths to Clovis.

And that was why he was in the office of the Viceroy of Area 11 with General Bartley of Clovis's Royal Guard and General Branden Andon, Commander-in-Chief of the 11th Division stationed in Area 11, discussing the increase in terrorist activity in areas outside of the Tokyo Settlement.

"What made them reveal themselves now and then just vanish without a trace without waiting to see the results of their handy work in Sapporo and Hakodate?" Andon said with a frown. He was a quiet, unassuming dark-green haired man in his late fifties, though he certainly didn't look his age; despite his modesty, he was a superb fighter and a slightly above average pilot.

"Perhaps scare tactics," Bartley suggested. "Especially since they did target the civilians in Sapporo while they only targeted the military base in Hakodate."

"Possibly, though that leads me to wonder if the attacks were done by two different groups of people since both are incredibly different. Sapporo can be seen as scare tactics and sending a message but Hakodate seems like a coordinated attack," Andon said thoughtfully. "Still, there really isn't much we can do so long as the terrorists remain hidden."

"I want this problem solved quickly, gentlemen, and before the Liberators get involved themselves, if they haven't already since it's unclear just who was behind these attacks," Clovis said firmly. The Liberators was the current largest and most powerful terrorist organization in the entire world, according to some sources anyway; they were definitely larger than the Japan Liberation Front. They had many cells, one, if not more, of which was in Area 11. "Is there any way you can draw the attackers out of hiding?"

"It's possible but it will take time, Your Highness," Andon said.

Clovis rubbed his head. "Just do it, General," he said.

"Yes, Your Highness."

A knock sounded on the door and Clovis glanced toward it. "Has the time really flown by that fast?" he mused out loud. "Come in."

The door opened and Jeremiah watched as Prince Lelouch made his way into the office, amethyst eyes scanning the people gathered. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked.

"No, we were just finishing up. Gentlemen, you're dismissed," Clovis said as he stood up and walked out from around the desk.

Jeremiah walked past the prince, who cast a sidelong glance at him, a contemplative look in those amethyst depths, before he returned his attention to his brother. While he wanted to speak with the prince, to apologize and beg his forgiveness, he knew that he would have to wait until later.

As he walked out of the office and down the hallway, his phone rang. Fishing it out of his uniform's pocket, he placed it against his ear. "Hello?" he said.

"Hey, Jeremiah. Kewell and I are heading out to lunch. Do you want to come with?" Villetta Nu's voice asked on the other end.

Jeremiah glanced at the time and saw that it was a little after noon and he was starting to feel hungry. While he did want to speak to Prince Lelouch as soon as he could, he doubted that he would get his chance that day.

"All right. I'll meet you at the base. I just finished my meeting with the Viceroy so I'll be heading back now," Jeremiah said.

"All right. See you in a few," Villetta said and hung up.

Jeremiah closed the phone and slipped it into his pocket before he left the Viceroy's Palace.

. . .

"So how's Nunnally?" Clovis asked as Lelouch relaxed in his seat across from his half-brother.

"Happy to be back and adjusting quickly. Everyone's treating her the same and she's glad for that. It makes her more comfortable," Lelouch said.

Clovis hummed. "And how about you?" he asked.

"I'm fine. I was medically cleared yesterday so I'm going to have to enlist as soon as possible," Lelouch said.

"I'm surprised Father decided to have you join the military," Clovis mused. "I would've thought that he would have you go into politics."

Like he would ever give me that much power, Lelouch thought scornfully. Politicians held a lot of power themselves, especially if they were good at their job like Schneizel was. Even if the Emperor probably would never give him that much power, Lelouch knew he had to prove himself more than just useful to the Emperor in order to protect Nunnally. The more he proved his worth the more Nunnally would be kept safe. That was what Lelouch figured. After all, the Emperor believed in the strong devouring the weak and Lelouch had to prove that he was strong if he wanted to protect the ones he cared about.

"I think I'll drop by and visit Nunnally while you're away," Clovis added.

"I'm sure she'll love that," Lelouch said, knowing full well that Nunnally would love visits from Clovis. He was one of their favorite half-brothers after all; he and Schneizel were the only ones of their half-brothers that Lelouch actually liked. He really couldn't stand the others.

"Also, I'm thinking that when you get out of basic training, we can have that party that I've been wanting to do since you came back. What better way to formally introduce you to the nobility here in Area 11?" Clovis added with a grin.

Lelouch cringed at the thought of attending a party full of noblemen and women too lost in their own little worlds to care about the world around them. "Is that really necessary, brother?" he asked.

"Of course it is! You'll need to learn to socially interact with nobility anyway so what better way to start?"

Lelouch grimaced at the thought but sighed since he could see the stubborn gleam in his brother's eyes. Clovis wasn't going to take no for an answer and Lelouch knew that, when it came to stubbornness, Clovis was matched by very few. At least it's not for another nine weeks. Maybe I'll get lucky and Clovis will forget about it.

He doubted Clovis would forget but he could hope, right?

. . .

April 11, 2016

Basic Training Camp, Five Miles North of the Tokyo Settlement

Almost a full month had gone by since Lelouch and Nunnally returned to Area 11 and Lelouch spent most of that time with his sister at Ashford Academy. He was beyond thankful that Clovis hadn't revealed that he was back in Area 11, otherwise he was sure he and Nunnally would be hounded by the media day and night.

Also, during the past three weeks, after he was medically cleared, Lelouch had worked hard at trying to get at least somewhat in shape. He knew that if he didn't at least do that than basic training was going to be killer. As it was, he just barely passed all the required physical tests that were necessary for him to begin basic training.

His Drill Sergeant, Sergeant Ethan Greene, was a lean man with sandy blonde hair and a scar running the length of his neck. While he greeted Lelouch with respect upon the young prince's arrival to the training camp, he made it clear that he didn't care that Lelouch was royalty.

"While you're here, you're just one of them other grunts. You won't be getting no special treatment from me," Greene stated firmly.

"Understood, sir," Lelouch said, keeping his voice level and his face expressionless.

"Then get to your barracks, recruit," Greene said.

"Yes, sir."

Finding the barracks wasn't that hard, though finding a free bunk was harder. It looked as though Lelouch was among the last to arrive since many of the bunks had already been filled. Scanning the area, he finally found one that was empty and made his way toward it, kneeling in front of the footlocker to put the stuff he had brought with him away.

"Hey!" A cheerful voice said and Lelouch glanced toward the source to find a young Japanese boy who looked around Lelouch's age with burnt-orange hair that spiked in all directions and gray eyes peering at him from the top bunk of the bunk bed next to his.

"Hello," Lelouch said neutrally, finishing putting his stuff away and closing the footlocker.

"I'm Tadashi Akiyama," the boy said. "And you are?"

"You don't watch the news, do you?" a soft voice said and Lelouch turned toward it to find a small boy that looked no older than thirteen seated cross-legged on the bottom bunk with a book open on his lap. He had short-cropped silvery-blue hair and midnight blue eyes.

"Tch, why would I? It's boring," Tadashi huffed.

The boy rolled his eyes and turned to Lelouch, closing his book and standing up. He barely reached Lelouch's chest and Lelouch briefly wondered why the military would allow someone so young to join. "Hello, Your Highness. I'm Kayden Frost but call me Kay," he said with a bow.

"You don't have to bow, Kay," Lelouch said. "And call me Lelouch. While I'm here, I'm not a prince, I'm just another recruit."

"All right, Lelouch," Kay said softly and returned to his bunk while Tadashi blinked in surprise and Lelouch moved to sit on his bunk.

"Whoa, you're a prince! What're you doing…whoa!" He had leaned too far over the edge of the bed to get a better look at Lelouch and toppled off it to land in a heap between the bunks. "Ow!"

A light laugh sounded at that moment and then a pale-blue haired girl that bore an unkindly resemblance to Kay flopped onto the bed beside him. Lelouch knew that the barracks were co-ed, though he hadn't seen very many women around before this girl.

"Did you push your poor bunkmate off his bunk already, Kay? It's not even the first day yet," she teased.

"That's something you would do," Kay said monotonously, his eyes fixated on his book again.

"No, I wouldn't," the girl said with a pout and then glanced at Tadashi. "Are you going to get up?"

"Nah, it's actually pretty comfortable down here," Tadashi said, lifting his head and then his eyes widened. "Whoa, you're very pretty."

"That's sweet," the girl said apathetically. "So, Kay, aren't ya gonna introduce me?"

"You're perfectly capable of introducing yourself," Kay said, still not taking his eyes off his book.

The girl huffed. "Fine," she said and turned to Tadashi and Lelouch. "I'm Rayne Frost, this idiot's sister."

"Nice to meet ya, pretty lady, I'm Tadashi Akiyama," Tadashi said brightly.

Rayne gave him a disinterested look and turned to Lelouch.

"I'm Lelouch," Lelouch said.

"I knew you looked familiar," Rayne said with a bright grin. "You're Marianne "the Flash"'s son, aren't you? You look like her. She was my idol growing up, y'know?"

Lelouch wasn't surprised by that. He knew that many people looked up to his mother. She was a commoner who rose through the ranks to become not only a Knight of the Round but also an Imperial Consort. She had many people who saw her as their idol, Cornelia was one of them.

"It's nice to meet you though, Your Highness," Rayne added.

"Just call me Lelouch," Lelouch said.

"Sure thing." Rayne leaned over and peered at the book Kay was reading. "You're reading Hamlet again? Gees, how is it that you haven't memorized that play yet?"

"It's good," Kay said with a nonchalant shrug.

"It is a good play," Lelouch said. "It's actually my favorite out of all of his works."

"Really?" Kay looked up at Lelouch. "I personally prefer A Midsummer's Night's Dream."

"Yeah, that's a good one too but I just better relate to Hamlet," Lelouch admitted.

"Mm."

Tadashi finally got to his feet and stretched, cracking his neck and gazing around. "Huh, looks like there ain't many more recruits. Man, I really was hoping that there'd be another Honorary Britannian around. I don't wanna be the only one in these barracks," he muttered. "I'm just glad that none of ya are treating me like crap 'cause I'm an Eleven." Without waiting for a response to that, he scanned the area again and then his eyes lit up. "Yes! I ain't the only Honorary Britannian here! Hey, you! Over here!" He waved toward the person who had just walked into the barracks.

Lelouch glanced toward it and was surprised when a very familiar brunet with bright emerald green eyes made his way nervously over to join them. There was no denying that face and yet Lelouch was surprised that, of all people, he would be there.

The boy had spotted him as well.

"Lelouch?" he said surprised.

"Suzaku?" Lelouch said also in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" They said at the exact same time.

Tadashi snickered. "Okay, I take it you know each other," he said.

"No, duh," Rayne said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, yeah, but it's been about six years since we last saw each other," Suzaku admitted, glancing at Tadashi before he returned to Lelouch. "But, wow, I wasn't expecting to see you here, Lelouch. I thought you'd gone to find the Ashfords after we separated."

"Long story," Lelouch admitted, not wanting to talk about in front of three people he had just met.

Suzaku must have understood that because he didn't push. Instead, he asked, "How's Nunnally? Oh, and do you mind if I take the top bunk?"

"That's fine and Nunnally's fine. She's attending Ashford Academy right now," Lelouch said.

"Glad she's doing all right," Suzaku said, walking over to the second footlocker and putting his stuff away.

"You got a sister?" Tadashi asked Lelouch. "I bet she's really hot!"

The vicious 'don't you dare get any ideas' death glare that Lelouch gave him had him cringing and backing away, his hands held up defensively.

"Ah, I didn't mean anything by that. Just, ah speaking without thinking. Yeah, I do that a lot," the burnt-orange-haired boy said quickly.

Suzaku snickered as he closed the footlocker. "Word of advice. Lelouch is extremely protective of his sister," he said.

"Thanks for letting me know now," Tadashi huffed.

Lelouch relaxed and turned his gaze to Suzaku again as the other boy stood up and, stretching, introduced himself to the others. Why is Suzaku here? Why would he actually join the same military that destroyed his country? We had, along with Nunnally, nearly been killed by Britannia and yet Suzaku's serving them?

He didn't have any answers to those questions but resolved to get some as soon as he could.

He was relieved that Suzaku hadn't been killed when they had gone their separate ways though and was happy that his first and best friend was there. It might make basic training more bearable.

. . .

Suzaku Kururugi lay on the top bunk of the bunkbed within the barracks. Light's out had been called and the following day they would start basic training and Suzaku knew he should get some rest. He didn't know if he could though since he had too much on his mind and what was on the forefronts of his mind was Lelouch.

He had been more than a little surprised when he had come across his old friend here of all places. He had never expected Lelouch, of all people, to join the military. Not only did he have very little stamina and physical strength when they had first met, and it didn't look like that had changed, but Suzaku knew that Lelouch didn't particularly like Britannia, which was putting it mildly.

Someday, I will destroy Britannia.

Those words had been the last thing that Lelouch had told Suzaku before they had gone their separate ways and the Japanese boy had no idea if he still desired to do that. It seemed unlikely since Lelouch was actually in the military.

That just brought about the question: what was Lelouch doing there? He had said that it was a long story when Suzaku asked and Suzaku knew something had to have happened. He resolved to ask Lelouch as soon as they could get a private moment.

Rolling onto his side, Suzaku thought about his own reasons for joining the army. He had done so partially because he didn't know what else to do. He had no family to go to since his mother had disowned him after the invasion ended, his father was dead—Suzaku shivered at the memory of that particular incident. Even if he felt he was doing the right thing in stopping the do-or-die resistance, he still felt incredibly guilty—and anyone who might have helped him had gone into hiding or had been killed.

But he had also joined because he hoped that he could change Britannia from within; the system needed to be changed so that Numbers were no longer discriminated against, so that everyone could have the chance to be what they wanted to be. He wanted to change many things, especially for Area 11. He was planning on rising in the ranks to become the Knight of One; then, since the Knight of One was given one area to control, he would claim Area 11 as his area.

That was his goal.

He didn't know how he would obtain it but he would. He wanted to free Japan, yes, but he didn't want to be like those terrorists. Those terrorists were just spreading violence and destruction. Violence wasn't the answer; it would just continue the cycle of hatred and nothing would ever change.

But if he worked with the system, Suzaku was sure that it could work out.

He rolled onto his back and gazed up at the ceiling of the barracks, curling an arm under his head and tried to relax. He needed sleep, especially since they would be starting basic training in the morning.

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: short chapter and, yes, there wasn't much interaction between Suzaku and Lelouch. There will be more in the next chapter but three important OCs have been introduced. Their characters will be developed throughout the course of the story and we will receive looks into their backstories in the prologues before the chapters begin, starting with the next chapter

Bakura: and?

Blaze: oh and fair warning. I actually did some research on how military training went and while I got what is done down, the interactions between characters may not seem very realistic and I am sorry about this. I did try my best but this next section isn't so much about the military training as the establishment of bonds between my characters and the start of development for my OC characters

Bakura: whatever

Blaze: oh go blow something up

Bakura: (grins and takes off to go blow something up)

Lloyd: don't you dare touch my Lancelot! (Chases after Bakura)

Suzaku: okay then. When's the next chapter gonna be posted?

Blaze: next week sometime, or the week after that. I don't really know. It just depends.

Lelouch: what about Divergence?

Blaze: I'm not exactly satisfied with my version of the Refrain episode so I'm gonna go back and rewrite it and I have no idea how long that'll take

Lelouch: oh

Blaze: well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter, even if it was short, and reviews, as always, are much appreciated