Here's the second chapter of military training, along with more info on Rayne and Kay Frost, and includes a look into Kallen's, Shirley's, and Nunnally's perspective so that's good. It's also 14 pages long single spaced so that's good, right?
Some humor in this chapter, though not much. Some angst and some assholes that I really wanted to slap or punch in the face while I was writing this chapter...Yeah, I'll say nothing beyond that.
By the way, in case anyone's curious, I'm working on a new Code Geass story that is like a reverse of the canon timeline with everyone's role switched with that of another character and the switches aren't what you would think.
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So, yeah, anyway, since that has absolutely to do with this story—and, frankly, I have no idea why I mentioned it—I'm just gonna go on to thanking my reviewers.
Thank you to Shimmering-Sky, Dragon Silhouette, davycrockett100, ewerntondragon, KK, and Shadow-Shinobi666 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.
I hope you enjoy this chapter and, as usual, reviews are much appreciated.
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September 20, 2008
Frost Manor, Pendragon
Scowling at the overcast sky, Rayne Frost flopped ungracefully into a cushioned armchair, her arms crossed across her chest and a pout on her face. She hated the rain, she always had, and she was bored out of her mind. Her parents were busy entertaining a few noble guests with Gretchen, Matthias, and Parker but Rayne and her brother hadn't been invited to join in for some reason.
She didn't understand though. Parker was allowed to join and he was only eleven, two years older than Rayne and her twin. She glanced toward her brother, Kayden, who was curled up in an armchair, a large book opened on his lap. "What you reading?" she asked.
"A story," Kayden said absently, too engrossed in his book to really pay attention to Rayne.
She huffed. "That tells me nothing," she complained and then glared at the door to the library. "Why couldn't we be with Mom, Dad, and everyone else?"
Kayden shrugged.
"You know what? I'm gonna go find out," Rayne said and hopped off the armchair before leaving the library, ignoring her brother's quiet warning that she would get in trouble if she was caught. She didn't care because she was curious. Besides, if she was caught then that would mean her parents were paying attention to her and that they actually cared.
She crept down the hallway, her bare feet moving silently over the thick carpet. She made her way down the stairs and headed toward the dining room where her siblings, her parents, and their guest were supposedly gathered.
"It really is an honor to have you visit, General," her mother said and Rayne peered into the dining room as a maid served a tall man with dark-green hair in a military outfit. She noticed that it was just the man and her mother and wondered briefly where her siblings were.
"Thank you," the man, the General, said and sipped at his tea. "Why wouldn't I visit some of my oldest friends, Becca? Where's your husband?"
"Oh, he's having tea with Duke Hartford. He'll be joining us soon," her mother said.
"So I hear your daughter has decided to join the military," the General said.
Her mother beamed happily. "We're so proud of her decision. We know she'll make a fine soldier, maybe even a Knight of the Round," she said.
The General laughed. "She is as ambitious as her mother," he teased.
"She's my pride and joy," her mother said proudly. "The best daughter a mother could ask for."
"Don't you have another daughter?"
"Well, yeah, but she's not gonna amount to much," her mother said dismissively.
Rayne frowned at that, feeling hurt by her mother's words.
"She's such a troublemaker! Always getting into trouble. Did you know that she actually purposely poured wine on Duchess Murson's dress last week?" her mother added.
The General sipped at his tea. "Have you ever considered that she's just doing it to get attention?" he asked.
Her mother huffed. "Her reasons don't matter. Her actions reflect badly upon us. Gretchen never, in her entire life, acted like such a hooligan," she said with a shake of her head. "You know, after Parker was born, Victor and I didn't want any more children."
Rayne felt like she had been punched in the gut. Does this mean that Kayden and I are mistakes? She thought sadly.
"Marrying Rayne off when she turns sixteen will probably be the best bet. Hopefully, she won't sully our name too much before then and hopefully her husband will be able to handle someone as rambunctious as her. Maybe she'll calm down by then," her mother added thoughtfully.
"Matthias told me that Rayne's a pretty good fighter," the General said. "Have you thought about her joining the military?"
"Hmph, it'd be better for our name if she gets married off," her mother said.
Rayne didn't stay to hear what the General had to say in response to that. She turned and bolted back the way she had come, tears stinging in her eyes. Even though she was only nine-years-old, she was old enough to understand that her mother didn't want her and was planning on getting rid of her when she was sixteen because she, apparently, couldn't amount to anything other than a bride to give away.
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6
Unarmed Combat and First-Aid
April 18, 2016
Barracks, Basic Training Camp
Rayne splashed some cold water into her face, trying to erase the red, puffiness surrounding her eyes. She had that same dream, that memory, that detailed the conversation she overheard that told her of what her mother truly felt about her. That she and her brother were just a mistake, that they were never meant to happen, and that she would never amount to anything.
Growing up, Rayne and Kay had experienced a lot of neglect at the hands of their parents. They were often ignored and overlooked in favor of their three older siblings and, more often than not, their parents simply forgot they existed. The maids were the ones that took care of Rayne and her brother, making sure they were fed, had clean clothes, got to school on time, finished their homework, and went to bed at a reasonable hour. They acted more like parents than their own parents did.
But Rayne wanted the attention of her actual parents, even if it was as simple as a pat on the shoulder or a smile or a hug. By the time she was eight, she realized that this wasn't going to happen and so she started acting out. She started getting into trouble on purpose, from throwing her food around to pouring water on Gretchen's head while she was doing homework to pushing Parker into a puddle of mud, just to get the attention of her parents. Because, if they wouldn't give her affection, at least if they were scolding her, it would mean that they cared enough to tell her that what she was doing was wrong.
But it never came. Instead, her parents would just look at her and then turned to the head maid and tell her that she was in charge of Rayne's punishment.
But that didn't deter Rayne and she started getting into more and more trouble, acting out when her parents had important people over, for example, or getting into a fight with some nobleman's kid. It got to the point that she was spending more time in her bedroom after a stern scolding from the head maid than out of it.
And, still, her parents didn't pay attention to her.
Rayne gazed at herself in the mirror; midnight blue eyes in a heart shaped face framed by short-cropped pale-blue hair. She had gotten her eyes and her hair from her mother, she knew, though her height was from her father. She traced her fingers over her face and her still slightly puffy eyes.
When she was sixteen, Rayne had made the decision to run away from home. It was more to get out of the arranged marriage that her parents were getting ready to set up for her but it was also because she just couldn't take her parents' coldness anymore. Seven years since she learned of what her mother really thought of her and her brother had been enough and she didn't think she could handle anymore.
The door to the bathroom opened and Rayne shut down the water, turning around and plastering a fake smile on her face when she saw Lila walk into the room. "Oh, good morning, Lila," she greeted her.
Lila studied her. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"You look like you've been crying."
Rayne's fake smile vanished from her face and she sighed, turning her gaze back to the mirror. "I just had a bad night," she said softly. "Nothing to worry about. I'll be fine once we get into training. We're doing unarmed combat today, right?"
Lila nodded. "You know, um, if you wanna talk, I'm a good listener," she said.
Rayne cast a sidelong glance at the blonde girl and smiled a little. She may not know Lila that well but she was touched by the offer. "Thanks, Lila," she said. She turned the water back on and splashed her face again before she dried it. "Wonder if the boys are up yet?"
"Last I saw, Akiyama was still asleep," Lila said, wandering past her and disappearing into the stall to get changed. She came out a few minutes later and began running the brush she brought with her through her hair before working to put it in a tight bun.
"Let's hope he doesn't end up late. Sergeant Greene wasn't too happy with him for walking in late to our last classroom session on Friday," Rayne said. She didn't really care for Greene; actually, the correct word would be she absolutely loathed Greene. Not only was he extremely prejudiced towards Elevens but he was also sexist. Rayne had even caught him saying that he wanted things to go back to a time when women "knew their place".
He just pissed her off and she knew that she would have to keep her temper in check for the next eight weeks if she wanted to stand a chance at graduating.
"Ready?" She asked Lila who nodded and the two of them left the bathroom and headed over to join the boys. While they had met the other girls who had joined, neither of them had really connected with them, and Rayne much preferred hanging around guys anyway. Though the main reason why she was hanging around her brother was because of who her brother was hanging around, more specifically Prince Lelouch.
Rayne had to admit she was curious. She idolized Lelouch's mother and she had to wonder if he was anything like her.
"Morning Lila, Rayne," Suzaku greeted them as the girls joined him, Kay, and Lelouch, who were watching the lump that was Tadashi who was still sleeping in his bunk.
"Shouldn't you be waking him up?" Rayne asked, gesturing to Tadashi.
"For once, he can actually sleep for a few more minutes. We all got up early," Kay said.
"Not willingly," Lelouch muttered under his breath, looking tired.
Suzaku glanced at the prince in concern but Lelouch, noticing the look, waved it off. "I'm fine. I just woke up at three and couldn't get back to sleep," he said but didn't explain why and Suzaku didn't push.
The friendship between Suzaku and Lelouch was actually surprising, Rayne would admit. She was surprised that an Imperial Prince somehow knew an Eleven and had become friends with him six years ago, which would have been around the time of the invasion, and even more surprised by how close they were, especially since they hadn't seen each other in six years.
Kay moved over to the bunk. "Tadashi, wake up," he called.
Tadashi mumbled and rolled onto his side, his eyes cracking open. "What time is it?" he mumbled, voice still heavy with sleep.
"Four thirty."
"Five more minutes."
"You told me to wake you up at four thirty. I woke you up at four thirty. Do you want to be late?"
Yawning, Tadashi sat up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Okay, okay, I'm getting up," he said tiredly as he climbed out of his bed, though he did smile when he saw Rayne. "Morning, beautiful."
"Morning," Rayne said with disinterest. He had been calling her that, or something like that, ever since they first met and, frankly, it was annoying.
"And good morning to you too, beautiful," Tadashi added to Lila who gave him an icy look, her arms folded across her chest, but she said nothing.
Apparently undeterred by Lila's coolness, Tadashi yawned and wandered over to his footlocker to grab his clothes and get ready for their training that day.
"Are you okay, Rayne?" Kay asked, studying Rayne.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Rayne assured her but, considering the look in his eyes, it was obvious he didn't believe her. Unlike with Lila, who had caught Rayne right after she finished crying, Kay just knew that something was wrong. Having growing up together, and being as close as they were, he always was able to tell how Rayne was feeling; some may say that came from being twins, that they were more empathic toward each other than other people. Rayne supposed it was true, since Kay almost always seemed to know what she was feeling, even when she was trying to hide it.
However, while Kay obviously knew that she wasn't as fine as she was letting on, he also knew that it would be best to just leave it alone. Rayne hated talking about her parents and that was the cause of her distress. So he said nothing, for which Rayne was grateful.
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Training Field, Basic Training Camp
"All right, recruits, listen up," Sergeant Greene stated, his hands clasped behind his back and his eyes stern as he gazed at the crowd of recruits that were gathered in lines in front of him. "Today we are going to start our unarmed combat unit."
Oh hell, Lelouch thought with a grimace. He mused that, maybe, he should have paid attention during the time that Tohdoh had allowed him to sit in on his training sessions with Suzaku back at the Kururugi Shrine. Then, he might have learned something that could help him in this situation. As it was, he didn't know much and suspected that his face was going to be eating dirt a lot today.
"Frost! Moore! You two will be first," Greene stated, gesturing to Rayne and Lila who looked at each other but shrugged and walked out onto the training field. Greene stepped back, watching the two impassively as they stood across from each other, preparing to fight.
It became clear within the first couple of minutes that Rayne knew how to fight. When she began grappling with Lila, she was easily able to get the upper hand. She had Lila pinned to the ground within a few minutes. However, Lila was agile, able to slither free from Rayne's grip, flip to her feet like an acrobat and dance out of the way of Rayne's next attempt to take her down, forcing Rayne to front-flip to avoid falling flat on her face.
"That's enough," Greene said, as they both spun to face each other, striding forward and studying them with cool eyes. "Hmm, I suppose you did all right, for women. Next pair: Duncan and Storm."
Rayne looked pissed but held her tongue as she and Lila walked over to the other side of the field so that they could keep watch but also to show Greene that they had already gone.
Lelouch, on the other hand, was thinking about Rayne. Even for the short fight that he had just witnessed, Rayne had showed that she was a good unarmed fighter. He would save his judgment for when he got the chance to see her in action for a longer time. He turned his gaze to Dimitri who was holding his own against his opponent, a larger, burlier man named Nathan Storm, but it was clear that hand-to-hand combat wasn't Dimitri's forte.
Suzaku, on the other hand, was as good at unarmed fighting as Lelouch expected him to be. He was paired with Tadashi and it was clear he had the upper hand from the very beginning but Lelouch knew that was probably due to his upbringing and the martial arts training that he had received from Tohdoh. The influence was obvious in the fluid way that Suzaku moved but Lelouch doubted that anyone was aware of the martial arts from Japan before it became Area 11; he only knew due to the almost year he spent at the Kururugi Shrine.
"Vi Britannia! Frost!" Greene called.
Lelouch glanced at Kay at his side; even though Kay was small, Lelouch was not stupid enough to underestimate him, especially seeing how fast he was. Though whether he was as good a fighter as his sister seemed to be had yet to be determined.
At least, that was the way it was until Lelouch found himself eating dirt within only a minute of the fight.
"Vi Britannia! You gotta work harder than that. Remember, you ain't gonna get special treatment just 'cause of your status," Greene called as Lelouch, taking Kay's hand when he held it out to him, pulled himself to his feet.
"Yes, sir," Lelouch said.
They fought for a while longer but it became clear that Lelouch knew next to nothing about hand-to-hand combat. He was going to have to work on that if he wanted to stand a chance at making it through the week.
They joined those who had gone ahead of them a few minutes later as the next pair stepped up and Suzaku grinned at him.
"I told you that you should have paid attention to Tohdoh's lessons," he said.
"Shut up, Suzaku," Lelouch huffed.
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April 19, 2016
Meeting Room, Student Council Clubhouse
Kallen glared at the paperwork in front of her, trying to set it on fire with her eyes but it didn't seem to work. When she had been given the responsibilities of Vice President of the Student Council as soon as she had stepped into the meeting room, she hadn't thought much of it. Signing those petitions hadn't been that hard after all, there had just been a lot of them, but she didn't realize just how much paperwork the Vice President was assigned. At the very least, it was split between her and Milly.
She really didn't know why Naoto had insisted that she go back to school for a while. She knew that they weren't doing much since they hadn't been given any opportunities to strike back at Britannia and she also knew that Naoto was just trying to protect her. Being the older sibling, Naoto always took that job very seriously and had basically been the one that Kallen has always gone to when she needed help.
It wasn't as if she could go to her parents. Her mother was her maid, having insisted on remaining at Stadtfeld Manor when her father had remarried and clinging on to her old love with Kallen's father. Kallen's father was back in Pendragon, doing some work or other—she really didn't care enough to know exactly what her father was doing—and her bitch of a stepmother was…well…a bitch.
Staying at Stadtfeld Manor with the bitch was another reason why Kallen hadn't wanted to go back to school. Stadtfeld Manor wasn't her home; her home was her brother's small apartment in the Shinjuku Ghetto, her home was with the resistance cell that Naoto had started six months ago, her home was with Tamaki and Ohgi and Inoue and all the others whom had joined Naoto's resistance. She wanted nothing more than to return there.
But here she was stuck doing paperwork for the student council that the principal had insisted she join, since her health—a front so that she could leave school when she wanted to and join her brother in the ghetto to help him out—made it so that she couldn't join other clubs.
It wasn't that she didn't like the Student Council. She really didn't care for Britannians in general, since many of them were asses, but she found that Milly, Rivalz, Shirley, and Nina were different. Milly was rather eccentric, Rivalz was so in love with Milly that it wasn't even funny, Shirley was a bit of a ditz, and Nina was rather anti-social, always sequestered away with her computer. But they were nice enough.
And then there was Nunnally, the honorary member of the Student Council. She was an absolute sweetheart, always smiling despite being physically impaired and unable to see, and her smiles were rather contagious.
The only problem was that she was a princess.
Kallen cast a sidelong glance at Nunnally who was happily chatting with Shirley nearby. It seemed that ever since her older brother, the prince Lelouch, had left for basic training, she had been hanging out in the meeting room whenever she wasn't in classes.
Kallen didn't know what to think about the thought-to-be dead prince and princess. Nunnally was a sweetheart and Kallen had no idea just how she could be related to someone like the Emperor; however, as Kallen had just started at Ashford Academy, she knew next to nothing about Lelouch, only what the other students said about him. He had a fanclub and a lot of fangirls. That much Kallen did know. She had also learned, from Nina when she had asked her in an effort to try and gain information—she had nothing better to do and the information might come in handy—that Lelouch had been a slacker who was one of the ones with the highest grades in his entire year. Nina said that he was a genius and she didn't sound in awe; she sounded like she was simply stating a fact.
Still, he was a prince and that meant that he was part of the family that had been responsible for the invasion of Japan.
She just didn't know what to do with this information other than tell her brother. She doubted Naoto would do anything about it; he was rather pragmatic and going after a prince and princess was not something he would do. Besides, they didn't seem like they were a threat, though Lelouch joining the military might make him one.
"I got a letter from Big Brother today," Nunnally said.
"How's he doing?" Rivalz asked, looking up from the paper he was writing on.
"He's doing good," Nunnally said with a smile. "Apparently, they just started unarmed combat yesterday."
Milly snickered. "I wonder how many times Lelouch was eating dirt during that," she said.
"I say twenty," Rivalz stated.
"Twenty five," Kallen put in, since she had seen Lelouch and honestly couldn't see the scrawny prince as a good unarmed fighter.
"That's not very nice, you guys," Shirley scolded.
"I say thirty," Nina said quietly.
"Not you too, Nina!"
Nunnally giggled. "He didn't say but I'm happy. He said that he met up with an old friend that we met six years ago and I'm so looking forward to seeing him again," she said with a bright smile.
"That's good. Anyway, let's get to work on finishing these assignments and don't forget to be here bright and early tomorrow so we can get to work on the budget again," Milly said brightly and pulled out another piece of paper and scanning it.
Kallen turned her gaze back to her stack of paper and scowled at it.
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April 20, 2016
Basic Training Camp
Lelouch ached but he felt rather proud of himself that he had learned to, somewhat, defend himself in unarmed combat, thanks to Kay. Kay had been quick to teach him some moves during training that prevented him from face-planting the ground all the time. That first day of unarmed combat had seen him eating dirt thirty times and it irritated Lelouch. He hadn't realized he was that out of shape.
And it didn't help that Suzaku found it incredibly funny.
But a couple of days of training wouldn't make him an expert, and that was proven by the fact that Kay still got the better of him every time they fought. Sergeant Greene, at the very least, had been considerate enough to let Kay be the one that Lelouch trained with once he found out that Kay was a natural teacher, and that Lelouch was somewhat hopeless in that area of fighting.
"When someone comes charging at you, using their momentum against them will help you. Even if you don't have the strength to throw someone over your shoulder like Suzaku just did Tadashi,"—Kay gestured toward where Suzaku had, indeed, just thrown Tadashi over his shoulders so that he landed, hard, on the ground behind the Japanese boy—"you can still use their momentum against them. Here, let me show you. Just run at me as if you were going to tackle me."
Lelouch eyed him warily but nodded and did as he was told. Kay was fast, dodging to the side and slamming a kick to Lelouch's gut that not only threw him off his feet but knocked his breath out of him. He ended up on the ground for the third time that day.
"Seems…simply enough," he said as he tried to get his breath back.
"Just be aware that they might be expecting that," Kay said, holding out a hand and Lelouch took it and pulled himself to his feet.
"Got it," Lelouch said and he and Kay started another practice fight. Kay was as swift as ever, keeping out of Lelouch's way but, even if he was physically lacking, he was good at predicting another's moves. That was one reason why he had been able to hold his own against Kay once Kay started teaching him and he started paying attention to the way Kay fought. Granted, there were times when Kay was unpredictable but Lelouch, at least, could last for five minutes before his face met the ground.
"Not bad that time around," Kay said, helping Lelouch to his feet.
"I'm going to be thankful when this part of training is over," Lelouch muttered.
Kay chuckled quietly.
After training ended, an aching Lelouch, Kay, Suzaku, Tadashi, Rayne, Lila, and Dimitri headed back to the barracks. Lelouch wasn't the only one who was aching; Tadashi was rubbing his back with one hand and his jaw, since Suzaku had landed a spin kick to his jaw during their last practice fight, and glaring at Suzaku who gave him a sheepish smile.
"Boy am I glad I'm on your side," he said. He glanced at Rayne and added, "Though you're an awesome fighter. Just where did you learn to fight like that, beautiful?"
"I'm mostly self-taught," Rayne said. "And are you ever going to call me something other than beautiful?"
"How about gorgeous then?"
Rayne rolled her eyes but said nothing.
. . .
April 21, 2016
Meeting Room, Student Council Clubhouse
Shirley yawned, rubbing her eyes as she studied the numbers that lay in front of her but couldn't make much sense out of them. They were originally going to do the budget the day before but Milly's parents had decided to set her up with another nobleman's son and so she had to postpone it. There didn't seem to be much to do with the budget, except find ways to raise money; their last festival, six days earlier, had taken a large chunk of the money and supplies that they had stocked up on.
"So we're down to our last supplies and we're running low on funds. We're gonna have to come up with a way to raise some money for all the clubs. The Equestrian Club has already told me that they're going to need some money for new saddles before their next competition," Milly said, putting down the paper that she had been scanning.
"I thought we made quite a bit with our last festival," Rivalz said with a frown.
"We did but it all ended up going to pay the rental costs for the booths and the other things that we had to get," Milly said. She clapped her hands together and added, "Okay, we're gonna have to just inform the clubs that all of them are gonna take a slight cut in their budget until we can solve this financial crisis. Now, does anyone have any ideas for how we can do that?"
There was silence for a long moment.
The door opened and Kallen made her way in. "Sorry I'm late. I was doing homework and lost track of time," she said as she made her way to her seat and sat down.
"No problem, Kallen," Milly said brightly. "Do you have any ideas?"
"For what?"
"Ways to get us out of the financial jam the last festival put us in," Rivalz explained.
Kallen blinked but frowned in thought. "I'm not sure. Maybe we could do a fundraiser," she suggested meekly.
"That'd be a good idea but what kind of fundraiser?" Shirley wondered.
"Maybe a bake sale?" Nunnally suggested. "We could make the treats ourselves and then sell them to the student body or to anyone who wants to buy them."
"An excellent suggestion, Nunnally," Milly said with an enthusiastic grin. "We can even set up in the mall or outside a store or something. But who would do the cooking?"
"I'm a terrible cook so I'm out," Rivalz said.
"Sayoko can bake some things," Nunnally said. She smiled and added, "I wish Big Brother was here. He's an amazing cook. He even knows how to bake."
"H…He does?" Shirley said, surprised because she couldn't see Lelouch as a cook or a baker.
"Aww, your man is both a cook and a baker. Looks like he's a keeper, Shirley," Milly said with a teasing grin.
Shirley went red. "W…What are you…? He's not…I mean…I don't…ah…" She stammered out.
Milly laughed and turned to Nunnally. "Do you think you can ask her if she'd be willing to bake some things to sell?" she asked.
"Sure. She makes amazing cookies and brownies," Nunnally said.
"I can bake some things too," Shirley offered, the blush on her cheeks slowly fading. "Some banana bread and I can do cookies too."
"Sounds good," Milly said. "Now we just need to find a place to hold this bake sale. If we do it in front of a store, we'll need their permission, though I don't know if you should come with us, Nunnally. It might be dangerous for you to be out in public without a bodyguard."
"I can talk with Brother Clovis. He might be willing to lend me one of his men," Nunnally suggested.
"All right. So I'm thinking if we get everything settled, we can do this next weekend," Milly said and turned to Kallen. "Are you free next weekend?"
"I think so," Kallen said after a moment of thought.
"Can you help out?"
"Probably."
"Great." Milly clapped her hands together. "Then you and I can focus on drawing in the crowds!"
"And just how do you plan on doing that?" Nina asked quietly.
Milly grinned.
Kallen shivered and Shirley, noticing, couldn't blame her. She did not like the look on Milly's face and she had a bad feeling about whatever it was Milly had planned.
. . .
April 22, 2016
Basic Training Camp
Suzaku glanced at Lila with a frown of concern marring his face. The blonde girl looked terrified as she gazed up at the Victory Tower that they were supposed to complete. They were supposed to navigate a set of several obstacles at extreme heights, such as climbing rope ladders, traveling across rope bridges, and rappelling down a fifty foot wall to name a few. Suzaku wasn't scared of heights so he doubted that this would affect him that badly but he could tell by her white face that Lila was terrified of doing this.
He moved to her side and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it'll be all right," he said, hoping he sounded reassuring.
Lila swallowed and glanced at him before nodding. "Y…Yeah, I gotta do this," she said and took a deep breath, her eyes filling with determination but there were still traces of fear lingering in her light-brown eyes. She squared her shoulders though and her eyes narrowed as she gazed at the rope ladder that would take her to the top of the tower.
Even though she was still scared, she was putting on a brave, determined face. It was almost as if she was trying to convince herself that she could do it. Suzaku wondered if that had to do with how Greene treated her and Rayne, like they didn't belong there. In truth, the Japanese boy had noticed that the Drill Sergeant seemed to treat Lila and Rayne, along with all the other girls, worse than he treated Suzaku and Tadashi.
He frowned to himself because the Drill Sergeant shouldn't be doing that, especially not when Lila and Rayne had proven themselves time and again since basic training had begun. They were clearly going to make wonderful soldiers but Suzaku pushed the thought away, deciding that the Drill Sergeant just needed time to truly see the strengths that Lila and Rayne had to offer and Suzaku was sure his attitude would change after that.
Though that day wasn't today if the cold stare that Greene was giving Lila and Rayne as they gathered with the rest of the batch of recruits waiting for the exercise to begin was any indication.
"And begin, soldiers!" Greene shouted.
"Sir, yes, sir!" The recruits shouted back, snapping crisp salutes and darting over to the rope ladder and beginning the course. Suzaku went behind Lila as she reached the rope ladder and began to climb it, her hands clenching the rope tightly and her eyes flaring with determination.
At least, until she got to the top of the tower and made the mistake of looking down.
Then, her entire body seemed to freeze, her pupils dilated, and she looked on the verge of having a panic attack.
"Moore! Get moving!" Greene barked out.
Lila didn't seem capable of moving, the terror, that she had managed to quench earlier, flared in her eyes. Suzaku was about to go to her, hoping that he could help her, but Kay got to her first. The small silvery-blue haired boy launched himself past Suzaku and onto the rope ladder, scurrying up it rapidly like a squirrel climbing the trunk of a tree, and crouching next to Lila. He murmured quietly into her ear and Lila swallowed but nodded, her limbs slowly unfreezing and unwinding as she stood up. She turned to Kay, gave him a grateful smile, and darted off.
Kay followed her swiftly.
Suzaku, who had started on the rope ladder himself, was relieved that Lila looked like she was going to be all right. He scrambled to the top and darted off to the next obstacle, briefly glancing over his shoulder, curious about whether Lelouch was still behind him or not.
No surprise that the prince wasn't.
Even if the past week and a half since basic training began had done some wonders for Lelouch's stamina, there was no denying that he still had less stamina than the rest of the recruits.
Suzaku darted over to the rope bridge and made his way across it rather swiftly, noting that Kay seemed to be keeping pace with Lila, occasionally glancing at her in concern. Lila just kept on moving, nimbly navigating her way around each obstacle, her gaze fixed straight ahead as if she wasn't fifty feet off the ground and hadn't had a slight panic attack earlier.
However, once they reached the wall they were supposed to grapple down back first, Lila's fear decided to rear its ugly little head again, causing her to freeze on the edge of the wall. It didn't help that Greene was shouting at her to get moving, which lead to Tadashi, who had come up to Suzaku's side by this point, to glare at the Drill Sergeant—thankfully, Greene was too focused on Lila to notice—and huff.
"He could, at least, offer some encouragement. It's obvious Lila's terrified of heights," he said.
"It's his job to be strict with us, Tadashi," Suzaku reminded him.
"Strict is one thing, deliberately discriminatory is another thing entirely, Suzaku," Lelouch's out of breath voice said and Suzaku glanced over his shoulder as the prince joined the two Honorary Britannians. "Lila is not the only one who hesitated or showed fear before grappling down, from what I saw when I finally got up here, and yet she's the only one that's being scolded. Greene is deliberately calling Lila out and drawing attention to her fear." Lelouch shook his head with a disgusted sneer.
Suzaku blinked at him but, before he could say anything, Greene was shouting at them to get a move on. He turned his gaze away from his old friend and darted toward the grappling area, noting that Kay and Lila had gone down at the same time and Lila looked much better now that she was on the ground.
Suzaku grappled down without problem as did Tadashi and even Lelouch, though going down was always a lot easier than going up. Lelouch still looked worn out when he joined them though.
"I think it's gonna take a lot of luck for you to get through basic training in one piece, Lelouch," Suzaku said.
"Shut up, exercise nut," Lelouch growled without much heat.
Suzaku chuckled and looked at Lila. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.
Lila nodded slowly, her face closed off. "Yes, I'm fine," she said calmly.
. . .
April 23, 2016
Gardens, Viceroy's Palace, Tokyo Settlement
Nunnally smiled sadly as the familiar smells of the garden brought back nostalgic memories of a time before she and Lelouch had been forced to leave Pendragon, before her mother had been killed. She remembered the gardens of the Aries Villa very well; they were always her favorite place to be, something she had in common with her mother. It was for that reason that Nunnally enjoyed being outside in the gardens of the Kururugi Shrine when she and Lelouch had been staying with the Kururugis. While the gardens at the Kururugi Shrine had not been the same as the ones she was used to, they were beautiful in their own right, filled with cherry blossoms and other kinds of flowers and plants native to Area 11.
Nunnally had learned the name of many flowers and plants native to Area 11 from Suzaku. The Japanese boy had been kind enough to tell Nunnally when she, being the curious seven year old she was, had asked him what they were.
Even if Suzaku hadn't gotten along with Lelouch at the very beginning, he was always kind to Nunnally. Nunnally supposed that it was because of her that Suzaku and Lelouch were able to get over their instant dislike of each other, especially after Lelouch's tenth birthday. And they had grown so close in the months following and closer to the point of almost inseparable during the invasion.
The only reason that Lelouch and Nunnally had separated from Suzaku was because they had come near the Tokyo Settlement and had decided to head out to find the Ashfords. Suzaku had insisted that they go by themselves, stating that the Britannians would be less likely to help them if Suzaku was with them. While neither of them had liked it, Lelouch admitted that Suzaku had a point and, after telling Suzaku to take care of himself, he and Nunnally had gone their separate ways.
Nunnally had always worried about Suzaku after that and she was more than a little relieved to find that the Japanese boy was all right and with her brother.
"Ah, Nunnally, I'm so glad that you could join me tonight," Clovis said and Nunnally felt his hand take hers gently. She smiled. She had come here because her brother Clovis had invited her to dinner in the gardens on top of the Viceroy's Palace. Since she didn't mind spending time with her brother Clovis, she had agreed. Besides, she wanted to talk to him about borrowing a guard so that she could participate in that bake sale for the student council a week from Saturday.
"Thank you for inviting me, Brother Clovis," Nunnally said as she heard Clovis stand up and Sayoko wheeled her to a table. "This garden, the smells bring back so many memories."
"I imagine that it would," Clovis said as Nunnally heard Sayoko pour her some tea and then hand her the cup. She brought the cup to her lips, blowing on it when she felt the steam rising from the hot liquid, and then took a little sip.
"Why's that?" she asked, lowering the tea cup and tilting her head to the side curiously.
"I modeled them after the gardens in the Aries Villa," Clovis admitted. "They always were my favorite place there. They were your mother's too, if I recall."
"Yeah, and mine. Big Brother wasn't really a garden person but he liked them, except when he fell into the stream," Nunnally said and giggled at the memory. That had happened when she and Euphie had been chasing him around and he hadn't noticed the rock and tripped over it, landing in the artificial stream.
Clovis laughed. "Ah, yes, I remember that. He was rather put-out after that and sulked for a good hour," he mused.
Nunnally smiled and sipped at her tea again. "I hope Big Brother's doing all right," she said softly. "His last letter said that he was but…I guess I just worry too much. I'm being silly."
"No, you aren't, Nunnally," Clovis assured her. "My sister worries about me occasionally too, you know? You remember Laila, right?"
"Yeah, she was really nice and always called me Nana," Nunnally said.
"It's only natural for siblings to worry about each other," Clovis added, "especially if they're close and I suspect you and Lelouch have been through a lot and likely aren't used to being apart for too long. To think that you survived the invasion." He sighed and added, "I wish I had been able to help you more during that time."
"You didn't know, Brother Clovis," Nunnally assured him, smiling and decided to change the subject, not wanting to think about the war. She may not have been able to see what happened, nor did she understand completely what happened until years later, but she had her own share of nightmares from that incident. The scar on her arm from when she had been shot was proof that even she hadn't escaped the war unscathed.
Lelouch may have tried to shelter Nunnally from the horrors of the war back then but Nunnally had still experienced it; heard the sounds of gunfire, smelled the stench that she could now recognize as blood and death, felt the pain of a bullet wound. Ever since she had gone blind, all of her other senses had been amplified; that was one reason why she was always able to sense whether someone was lying to her whenever she held their hand.
"So how's the painting of Mount Fuji coming along, Brother Clovis?" Nunnally asked curiously, recalling that was her older half-brother's newest art project.
"Oh, it's turning out wonderfully," Clovis said, the happiness shrouding the sadness he had been feeling earlier, and went on to talk about the process that he was implementing, such as the colors that he was using. He always got excited whenever he spoke about his art, even when they were younger; it usually bored Lelouch almost to tears and Nunnally, while not an artist herself, always smiled when she heard Clovis talk so passionately about the hobby that he loved.
I wonder if I could find a hobby like that, she mused and briefly recalled the second reason why she had agreed to accept her older half-brother's invitation. When Clovis paused for a moment to regain his breath, Nunnally said, "Brother Clovis, may I ask you something?"
"Of course, Nunnally," Clovis said.
"Well, the Student Council at Ashford are holding a bake sale a week from Saturday and I was wondering, do you think I can borrow one of your men as a bodyguard so I can help out?" Nunnally asked.
Clovis was silent for a moment. "Well, I don't see why not," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, Brother Clovis," Nunnally said with a gentle, beaming smile.
"You're most welcome, Nunnally," Clovis said.
. . .
Basic Training Camp
The final unit that the recruits were going to cover that week was about first aid on the field and Lelouch noticed that Lila seemed to be a natural. She grasped the basic concepts rather quickly and admitted that her parents had wanted her to go into the medical field and her mother, who was a doctor herself, had taught her a number of things.
"She wanted me to have a headstart but I never really wanted to go into the medical field," Lila admitted.
"Why not?" Rayne asked curiously, casting a sidelong glance at Lila as the blonde girl shifted a little, her eyes focused on the dummy that she was practicing the first aid techniques on.
"I just…wanted to do something more. I wanted to fight but…my parents…they're just so overprotective. They feel that I'd be safer in a hospital," Lila admitted.
Rayne smiled at her. "Them being overprotective just shows that they care," she said.
"Sometimes I think they care too much," Lila said.
"At least they care about you." The blue-haired girl sounded bitter as she worked on putting her dummy's 'broken arm' into a makeshift splint.
Lila blinked at her. "What…?" she began.
"I don't want to talk about it," Rayne said shortly.
Lila closed her mouth and said nothing more.
Kay cast a sidelong glance at Rayne, a small frown on his lips before he turned his attention to his dummy.
"Is she all right?" Suzaku asked.
Kay nodded. "She's just…she's always been one to hold onto resentment," he admitted quietly.
"Sometimes, things happen that you can't let go of or, more likely, don't want to let go of," Lelouch said, working on his own makeshift splint, his voice bitter as he thought about his mother's murder and the hate he felt toward the Emperor for seeing him and Nunnally as little more than political tools.
"That's true," Tadashi said with a nod, his brow furrowing in concentration as he worked. He didn't say anything beyond that but his brow did furrow and his lips turned into a small frown as he focused at the task at hand.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: well, at the very least, I think I ended it a bit better now than in the first version, still not much difference though
Suzaku: I liked it
Lelouch: what's going to happen in the next chapter?
Blaze: a look into Lila's backstory, Jeremiah makes another appearance, we take a look into the perspective of both Schneizel and another OC antagonist...I really do have a heck of a lot of OCs in this story...guerilla exercises, the bake sale, and a look into Naoto Kozuki's perspective
Lelouch: oh coolness
Suzaku: in that other story you're working on, are there a lot of OCs?
Blaze: only to fill up the lack of canon Japanese people that are around yours and Kallen's age but they're not gonna be major characters, not entirely anyway
Suzaku: oh okay
Blaze: well, that has nothing to do with this story so I'm gonna shut up about it. I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
