Well, it is March 12th(where I live anyway) and I'm updating! I told you I could do it.
Bakura: whoopie. Would you like an award?
I can do without your snide sarcasm, Bakura, so shut up.
Bakura: by the way, the Suzaku Fans are coming
Shit! Lelouch! Finish the beginning author's note! (Takes shelter in bomb shelter beneath the original bomb shelter)
Lelouch: all right (pulls out piece of paper) Blaze would like to thank Shadowsought, TC9078, OBSERVER01, harlequin320, chimera629, Demons Anarchy of Pride, F.C.C.S., Shadow-Shinobi666, Scarease, Doommajor, B-Kira, DYnoJackal19, and Shimmering-Sky for reviewing the last chapter.
Ryou: also, Blaze would like to point out, in case you didn't read the note in the last chapter, edits were made to the end. The ending was not changed but some things before it were.
Lelouch: (hums) I feel like I'm forgetting something…
Ryou: I'm getting that same feeling…
Lelouch: …
Ryou: …
Lelouch: well, perhaps Blaze will remember
Ryou: maybe. Anyway, even though this chapter is not as long as the last one, Blaze hopes that you enjoy it and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
. . .
. . .
January 20, 2010
Garden, Kururugi Shrine, Japan
"Once upon a time, there lived a prince and his knight. These two were the best of friends and have been best of friends since they were children. Due to the knight having lost his family before, he saw the prince as a brother and that just made their friendship even stronger. The knight was very kind and very helpful, always willing to put others before himself and his loyalty to the prince was strong. He would never let anything happen to the prince, no matter what. He proved this on a cold, winter night when he and his prince were attending a ball thrown by the prince's father. The prince's father had many enemies; enemies who hated the prince's father and sought to hurt him by going after his son and one of those enemies managed to get into the ball."
"Oh no," Nunnally gasped, covering her mouth with her hand, concern on her face. "Was the prince all right?"
Lelouch chuckled at his seven-year-old sister. "He was fine, thanks to his brave knight. You see, while the enemy had managed to sneak into the ball, the knight automatically didn't trust him. He tried to warn the prince, stating that he was in danger, but the prince didn't believe him."
"Why not?" Nunnally asked.
"Yeah, why not?" Suzaku's voice said and Lelouch turned to find his newest friend walking into the garden where Lelouch and Nunnally were seated by the artificial stream.
"Because he was incredibly stubborn and refused to believe anyone would target him," Lelouch replied.
Suzaku sat down next to Lelouch and smiled. "Sounds like you," he said.
Lelouch huffed and shoved Suzaku, though that didn't do much to actually move the other ten-year-old. "Anyway, the enemy sought to get close to the prince to hurt him so as to hurt his father but the knight refused to let the enemy get anywhere near the prince. He always kept the prince distracted, which greatly frustrated the enemy. Finally, the enemy decided to try and hurt the prince from a distance, hoping that the knight wouldn't notice. But what he didn't know was that the knight was paying attention and so when the enemy tried to attack the prince from afar, the knight was ready. He pulled the prince to safety and then shouted for the guards, telling them exactly where the enemy was."
"He saved the prince!" Nunnally said happily.
Lelouch chuckled. "That he did. The prince's father was so thankful to the knight for saving the prince's life that he offered him anything he wanted as a reward; money, the hand of a fair princess, anything. Do you want to know what the knight wanted?"
"What? What?" Nunnally asked eagerly.
Lelouch smiled. "Absolutely nothing," he said.
Nunnally tilted her head to the side.
"Why not?" It was Suzaku who asked the question that time.
"The knight told the prince's father that he was happy with everything that he had and he didn't want anything else," Lelouch said. "He said that he just wanted happiness and a family and he had that with the prince and the prince's family. The prince's father told the knight that if that was the case then he would officially welcome the brave knight into his family, thus making the knight and the prince officially brothers. The end."
Nunnally smiled brightly. "That was a great story, Big Brother," she said happily.
"Where'd you hear that?" Suzaku asked curiously.
Lelouch shrugged. "I just made it up," he said.
Suzaku blinked in surprise but Nunnally chuckled.
"He always does that when he tells me stories, Suzaku," she said. "I like those kinds of stories better. Big Brother, are you gonna get one of those kinds of knights someday?"
Lelouch blinked and then shrugged. "I dunno," he said.
"I hope you find a knight that's like the knight in your story," Nunnally said with a beaming smile and then blinked when a snowflake suddenly landed on her nose. "Oh. It's snowing!"
Sure enough, the sky had turned white while Lelouch was telling his story and snow was starting to fall from the sky.
"We should get inside so we don't get sick," he said.
"I should get going anyway. I have a lesson with Tohdoh-sensei in ten minutes," Suzaku said, starting to get up.
"Can we stay out here a little longer? Please?" Nunnally asked pleadingly, pouting at them, one hand grasping Lelouch's hand and the other grabbing Suzaku's, preventing the latter from leaving.
Lelouch and Suzaku exchanged glances before Lelouch settled back down on the ground and Suzaku, with a sigh, also sat down. "For a few more minutes," Lelouch said finally.
"Thank you!" Nunnally said happily.
. . .
20
An Unofficial Knight
July 11, 2016
City Hall, Osaka Settlement
"Suzaku!" Lelouch cried, swiftly catching his best friend as he collapsed. He had not expected Suzaku to throw himself between him and the bullet but then he hadn't been expecting the attempted assassination. All this time, these people were trying to kidnap him and suddenly they were trying to kill him? It didn't make any sense..
He fell to his knees, Suzaku's body in his arms, while Tadashi fired his handgun once, taking out the terrorist with a single gunshot to the head when the terrorist raised his gun to fire again.
Lila hurried to Lelouch's side and took Suzaku's hand, feeling his wrist. "Still has a pulse but it's fading. We're going to need to get him to the medical transport swiftly. He doesn't seem to be losing that much blood but we should be careful."
A little numb from the shock, Lelouch nodded and Lila let go of Suzaku's hand, shouting at Tadashi to go inform the medics that they had an injured man coming in and the burnt-orange-haired young man bolted away. Lila turned to Lelouch. "Since he's not bleeding too much, we should be able to move him safely."
"I can carry him, Your Highness," Jeremiah offered.
Lelouch nodded. "Major Frost, Lieutenant Frost, accompany Major Nu to escort the prisoners to the military base," he ordered.
"Yes, Your Highness," Rayne and Kay said immediately before they darted off to take Jeremiah's place while Jeremiah swiftly made his way to Suzaku's side and, gingerly, lifting the boy into his arms.
"Keep him steady and try not to move him too much," Lila ordered. "We don't want to risk shifting the bullet since it's likely still in him."
"Understood," Jeremiah said and turned to Lelouch. "Your Highness, you should come with us. We should make sure the drug is really out of your system."
Lelouch nodded. The shock was fading but he suddenly felt exhausted and wasn't sure if it was an aftereffect of the antidote or the shock of watching his best friend take a bullet for him, saving his life yet again in the process.
You just can't stop saving my life, Suzaku, Lelouch thought with a small, rueful smile as he thought about the many times Suzaku had saved his life during the invasion and the three times since they left the Tokyo Settlement.
Lelouch didn't want Suzaku to die though, not when he was such a valuable ally as well as his best friend. He doubted that there were very many people who shared a similar goal to him and Suzaku was one of those. Not only that but he was an Ace knightmare pilot and an incredible fighter. But, more than anything, he was the only person in the entire world that Lelouch trusted as much as he trusted Nunnally. That was high praise when it came to Lelouch whose trust was very hard to come by.
As he followed Jeremiah and Lila toward the stairs, Lelouch thought about everything that had happened; the assassination attempt by the Crimson Sakuras after the battle of Osaka, the kidnapping attempt made by these terrorists—Lelouch made a mental note to figure out which faction they were part of—and the second assassination attempt made by that terrorist. And all of three of those happened in the span of less than two weeks.
Lelouch understood that his life would be in danger the instant his royal heritage was revealed but two assassination attempts and one kidnapping attempt in only twelve days? He shook his head; he doubted that they were by the same group. The kidnapping and the second assassination attempt clearly were.
Either way, Lelouch wondered if it would be best if he created himself a Royal Guard. Most princes and princesses had Royal Guards; some of them fought alongside them, like Cornelia's Glaston Knights, some of them worked like advisors or enforcers, like Clovis's Royal Guard. Basically, a Royal Guard, nowadays, was like the personal militia of a prince or princess; however, their most important duty was protecting a member of the royal family.
Lelouch could also use his own personal militia because they would be loyal to him and him alone and that would help him greatly in his plans to destroy Britannia from within. He would need his own allies, people that he trusted, and his own Royal Guard would certainly be a step in the right direction.
And he already had an idea of just who to ask to join.
As for Suzaku, Lelouch couldn't deny that Suzaku had saved his life more times than the prince could count. He owed him that, especially now that he had actually thrown himself in front of a bullet to save Lelouch. He bit his lip and pushed the thought away; according to Lila, Suzaku wasn't losing much blood and was still alive and Lelouch was sure that he would make it. So, instead, he thought about Suzaku's plan, about how he wanted to rise through the ranks to become the Knight of One and claim Area 11 as his area.
Lelouch's lips pressed together in a frown. He knew that Suzaku would never be able to achieve that; he knew of just how the Emperor was. The Emperor would never allow Suzaku to join the Knights of the Round, even if Suzaku defeated the current Knight of One himself in combat. As it was, the only reason that Suzaku had gotten as far as he had was because Lelouch was willing to go against Britannian policy to give Suzaku what he felt he deserved.
An idea came into Lelouch's mind and he smiled to himself. And I will do that again, he thought.
Suzaku would never be a Knight of the Round.
But Lelouch could, and would, give him the next best thing.
. . .
Hangar, Hidden Base, Island of Olkhon
Noon came swiftly and Unity found himself in the hangar of the Liberators main base of operations, studying the knightmare frame that the genius scientist Alexei Kozar had brought with him. Alexei was one of three geniuses in the world that Unity knew about; the other two was Earl Lloyd Asplund of Britannia and the Indian woman Rakshata Chawla. Nevertheless, Alexei's inventions were certainly unique and this one was no exception.
The knightmare frame stood at just over five meters tall and was painted midnight-blue with silver streaks along its arms, down its side, and over its face as well as silver shoulder-plates imprinted on which was the insignia of the Liberators. Its factsphere sensor rested on its chest, hidden by silver panels, and, held in one of its hands, was a midnight-blue spear with a crystalline diamond bladed edge.
"Ah, Unity, hello," Alexei greeted Unity as he strode over to join him and Adeline, the latter of whom insisted on coming with. Alexei Kozar was a tall, broad-shouldered man in his late twenties with messy chestnut-brown hair and silver-gray eyes.
"Ohh, this is nice," Adeline said, staring wide-eyed at the knightmare frame and wandered over to look at it, running her fingers over it.
"Yup. My newest creation. It's not…exactly…complete yet, I still have some tests to run on the float system that I plan on building into the knightmare frame itself and the pulse guns still has several glitches that I need to work out, but everything else has been tested and works," Alexei said.
"What is it?" Unity asked.
"I call it the Starfire. It's a seventh-generation knightmare frame prototype, based roughly on the designs that I stole of the sixth-generation Gloucester that Britannia uses, but I certainly made it better than that! Runs on the same power source that other knightmares run on and utilizes a landspinner propulsion system as well as a cockpit ejection system but that's where the similarities end," Alexei said and pulled out a piece of paper, holding it out to Unity who took it, realizing it was a schematic of the Starfire.
"It's the Starfire's armament that truly separates it from the other knightmare frames," Alexei said as Unity scanned the schematic. "The primary weapon is a double-edged Diamond Bladed Spear, utilizing the same material that was used to make the Claws of the Lupi; however, it has an automatic sharpening system installed within it, which prevents it from dulling. It also has two Slash Harkens mounted on its shoulders. Once I figure out the glitches, the Starfire will also have an electromagnetic pulse gun in the palm of each of its hands."
"Electromagnetic pulse gun?" Adeline echoed, wandering back to join them and tilting her head to the side in confusion. "Isn't that something that can fry electronics or something like that?"
"Pretty much, yes," Alexei said. "If I compute the calculations correctly, the pulse guns will 'fry' the electronic components of whatever it hits."
Adeline whistled. "Nice," she said.
"Unfortunately, I haven't tested the knightmare in a real-life scenario yet. I was hoping your sister would be willing to test it out for me," Alexei said.
Adeline's blue eyes went wide with shock and she pointed at herself. "Me?" she said. "B…But I've never…I mean, sure I've piloted a Lupus before but never for very long."
"But it's 'cause of your performance with a Lupus that I think you'll do really well," Alexei said. "Don't worry, it's not like it's going to be actual combat; it's just a simple test here on the island."
Adeline smiled a little. "I think I can do that. Okay," she said.
"Great!" Alexei said with a smile. "Now don't you worry, it's just some simple tests. I just want to ensure that the Slash Harkens can fire properly and that the DBS works like it's supposed to."
"That doesn't sound too hard," Adeline said.
"Well, here you go, Adeline," Alexei said and tossed Adeline the blue-and-silver activation key. "Go ahead and get situated and we can get to work."
"Sure," Adeline said and jogged over to the knightmare frame.
"Send me the results as soon as you have them," Unity said.
"Sure thing, Unity," Alexei said and walked over to the computer with the assistants Unity just noticed had come with him right behind him.
. . .
July 12, 2016
Medical Transport, Osaka Settlement
"He was really lucky," Laura mused, peering down at the sleeping Suzaku. One full day had gone by since the attempted kidnapping and Laura and the medical staff, along with Lila, had been working quickly to help Suzaku. According to Laura's assessment, Suzaku shouldn't have survived that shot but he had because something had gotten in the way of the bullet and prevented him from receiving more damage.
Lila lifted up the broken pocketwatch and turned it over in her hands. "He must have had this in the pocket of his jacket and forgot it was there when he threw it on before leaving to help Prince Lelouch," she said.
"Lucky that he did have that; otherwise, it would have been much more serious," Laura said.
"Why's he still unconscious though?" Tadashi asked in confusion from where he was leaning against the wall of the transport, occasionally moving from his position to fetch something whenever Lila or Laura asked for it. Lila didn't know why Tadashi spent so much of his time in the medical transport but she didn't mind the extra help.
"Possibly shock and he did lose a lot of blood, not enough to be fatal, when we removed the bullet," Laura said.
"Should we transfer him to the hospital?" Lila asked.
"He's not in danger right now," Laura said. "He just needs rest."
"All right. I'll tell Prince Lelouch," Lila said and stood up before stretching. "He did say he wanted to speak to me and Private Akiyama anyway."
"He did?" Tadashi echoed.
Lila gave him a dry look. "Yes, he did," she said flatly and turned to Laura. "Are you going to need any more help here?"
'No, we're fine," Laura said.
"All right." Lila and Tadashi left the medical transport.
. . .
Governor's Office, City Hall, Osaka Settlement
Lelouch studied the background information that he had gathered about Major Villetta Nu. The silver-haired woman had helped Jeremiah and his friends take out those terrorists that were trying to kidnap him. That was why Lelouch was willing to look into her background to see if she would make a good fit for his Royal Guard.
She was a member of the Purist Faction despite the fact that her family had only obtained a noble title a few generations earlier, and she was an above average knightmare pilot and decent sharpshooter. She had been working alongside Jeremiah ever since she transferred to Area 11 and, according to Jeremiah himself, she was trustworthy. However, he wasn't sure whether to have Major Nu as part of his Royal Guard; he didn't know her nearly as well as he knew his friends or even Jeremiah.
Hmm, I suppose I should wait before I decide for her, he decided silently as he put the paper away and looked around the office. He hadn't reentered City Hall until Jeremiah and the Purist Faction had confirmed that it was safe to enter. They, and the rest of the regiment, had also done a sweep of the city and the ghettos and even the military base to ensure that there were no terrorists hidden away.
There was a knock on the door and Lelouch looked up. "Come in," he called and the door opened. Jeremiah walked into the room with Rayne, Dimitri, and Kay just behind him.
"You wished to see us, Your Highness?" Jeremiah said with a salute.
"Yes, though not everyone's here yet," Lelouch said.
"Lila and Tadashi are still helping out with Suzaku," Rayne said. "They should be here soon."
"How is he?"
"Don't know. Lila'll know though."
A few minutes later, Lila and Tadashi made their way into the office and joined the rest of the group gathered in front of Lelouch's desk. Lila saluted and said, "It looks as though Warrant Officer Kururugi wasn't as badly injured as we thought he was and he simply needs rest now but he's going to make a full recovery."
Relief flooded Lelouch and he nodded before he stood up and faced the six gathered in front of him. "That's good news. However, that is not why I have asked you here," he said, walking around the desk to stand in front of them. "After much thought, in light of recent events, I've come to a decision."
He gazed at everyone in front of him. "I want all of you to join my Royal Guard," he said.
Tadashi's jaw dropped while Kay, Rayne, and Lila stared and Dimitri's eyes lit up with surprise.
Jeremiah, however, immediately strode forward and knelt down, crossing his fist over his heart, his eyes locked on Lelouch's. "I am honored, Your Highness. I, Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, do swear my loyalty to you as a member of your Royal Guard," he stated firmly and sincerely.
Lelouch wasn't surprised by this. He figured that this would happen; all Jeremiah's words really did was make the loyalty he felt toward Lelouch more formal than anything.
"A member of your Royal Guard…?" Kay murmured and then moved forward, kneeling down, and swearing his own loyalty to Lelouch. Dimitri and Lila followed suit and, after a moment of thought, Rayne also moved forward. Tadashi, once he got over his shock, also moved forward.
Lelouch smiled, satisfied.
Now, as soon as he woke up, Lelouch would speak to Suzaku.
. . .
Hangar Bay, Hidden Base, Island of Olkhon
Adeline Pelletier had to admit that she absolutely loved the Starfire. It was a natural fit; all the tests that Alexei had been having her do over the past day were done easily and Adeline was able to sync with the knightmare frame quickly. When she moved the knightmare, it was as if she was moving her own body; that was how natural it felt. Alexei told her that it was because she was a natural knightmare pilot but Adeline was sure that the training the other Liberators had given her was what really helped her to adjust quickly.
Sure, the Starfire was not like the Lupus but it was still similar in terms of how everything worked and where everything was. The only difference was that it was easier to find the armaments on the Starfire. Not that Adeline minded; she liked the Starfire just the way it was.
"I love this knightmare," she said giddily when she jumped down from the cockpit.
"You certainly sync with it very well," Alexei said with a smile. "And all the tests have come through positive. This knightmare frame is gonna be ready for combat in no time! I wonder if I can convince Unity to let you be the knightmare's pilot when it comes to finally test it out in actual battle."
Adeline shivered just a little but she still smiled at the thought of testing the awesome machine in battle. Even if she hadn't completely gotten over what happened to her when she was young, she had managed to not let it affect her too much, especially when it came to piloting knightmare frames.
"I'm not sure about that," Unity said with a frown.
Adeline pouted. "But, Big Brother, I'm a good pilot," she said.
"Fighting isn't going to be easy and you're still only fourteen."
"I know that, Brother, but...I've been wanting to help out more with the Liberators for a while now and this could be my chance to do so!"
Unity sighed. "I'll think about it," he said finally.
Adeline, knowing that was the best she was going to get, nodded in agreement and returned her attention to the knightmare frame. It really looked nothing like the knightmares that occasionally haunted her dreams.
. . .
July 13, 2016
Tokyo Settlement
Tara was starting to get irritated by her constant failed attempts to get to Princess Nunnally at Ashford Academy. She thought that if she could just get into that dance that those three students mentioned then she could take out the princess but that was just the thing. She had no idea how to get into that dance.
She thought about asking one of the students to go with her to the dance but she couldn't very well just walk up to someone and ask them. She wasn't a student and she was sure that they would notice that she wasn't a student. Pressing her lips together, Tara wondered if, perhaps, she could pretend to be a student like she had done to get close to Clovis at the museum.
The only problem with that was that the students had clearly noticed that she wasn't one of them at the museum. It was very likely that they would feel the same way should she suddenly just show up at Ashford Academy without anything to her name.
But maybe as a transfer student, she thought, pressing her lips together and she pulled out the cell phone B.B. had bought her a few years earlier. He told her that she was only to use it in an emergency but she felt that this was an emergency, at least for her.
Dialing B.B.'s number, she waited as it rang.
"Yes?" B.B.'s calm voice sounded on the other end.
"Hey, I have an idea," Tara said.
"...What kind of idea?" B.B. sounded wary but then Tara's ideas had a tendency of blowing up in her face. It was why the attempted assassination of Prince Clovis and Tara infiltrating the small resistance cell in the Shinjuku Ghetto had all been B.B.'s plans and went off, somewhat, without a hitch.
"Is it, at all, possible to get the papers necessary to make it seem like I'm a transfer student to Ashford Academy?" Tara asked.
"And why would you want that? You hate school and interacting with others your age," B.B. said.
Tara grimaced since she knew that was true. She wasn't very social nor was she very good at making friends with people her own age. She had tried with Kallen in that resistance cell but Kallen never trusted her, just like her older brother, and it never worked out.
"I know but I've got a lead on Princess Nunnally," Tara said quietly as she moved over to stand in the mouth of an alley, watching the many Britannians that were on the street wander past. "If I can get into Ashford Academy in time for this dance that one of the students is holding for the princess this Saturday then I can get at her and kill her."
"So you still are set on that plan?"
"Of course I am. One less royal to worry about. I would've thought you'd be happy about that," Tara said. "I mean, you hate the Royal Family after all so why wouldn't you want them all dead? I mean, you did give me that task of assassinating Prince Clovis after all."
Without waiting for B.B. to respond, she added, "So can you get the paperwork needed?"
A sigh sounded at the other end. "I will likely need to speak to the principal personally and act as your guardian but I should be able to get them done," B.B. said.
"Great! I'll let you do that. I should probably go find something to wear for that dance," Tara mused as she hung up, left the alley, and headed toward the nearest clothing shop that she could see.
. . .
Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement
...You're actually going through with this?…
"I may as well. I can ask her to spy on the princess first and that kind of information could come in handy," B.B. said without moving his lips as he made his way across the campus toward the main building. In his hand was a folder filled with expertly forged documents detailing Tara's 'homeschooling' from 'Area 5'; he mused that it wasn't quite as hard as he thought it would be.
...Are you so sure that she'll be willing to spy on the princess before taking her out? And do you really want her dead? That really doesn't help your plan all things considered…
"She said that she'd take her out during the dance this Saturday. That will give her the rest of this week to get information and Tara's too stubborn. I wouldn't be able to talk her out of her plan if I tried, and I have. Perhaps getting to know the princess will stop her from going through with her plan," B.B. replied, opening the door and making his way into the building.
...I suppose that's possible but I highly doubt it...
As it was in between classes, quite a few students were in the hallways. Many of them turned to look at B.B. but he ignored them as he meandered his way through them; it was a good thing that he was Britannian and he really wasn't that much older than the oldest students at the school.
"Hello, mister," a cheerful voice said and B.B. turned to find a tall, blonde girl with mischievous blue eyes walk toward him with an orange-haired girl pushing a wheelchair on which was the light-brown haired princess just behind her.
"Hello," B.B. said.
"I couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit lost. Can I help you find someplace?" the girl asked.
"Yes, actually. Do you know where Principal Ashford's office is?" B.B. asked.
"Of course. Right this way. I'll see you at the council meeting Shirley, Nunnally," the girl said.
"All right, Milly. C'mon, Nunna, is there anything you wanna do since both our classes are canceled today?" the orangette—Shirley—asked the princess.
"Can we go to the gardens?" Nunnally asked sweetly, turning her face toward Shirley.
"Sure," Shirley said and guided Nunnally out of the chair.
The blonde—Milly—took the lead and led the way down the hallway and B.B. walked after her.
"You're the Heiress to the Ashford Family, aren't you?" B.B. asked casually as he walked. He recognized the name as the family that had fallen from grace following the assassination of Empress Marianne. As he told Tara, any information found could be useful, especially if it was related to the Imperial Family.
Even if his vendetta wasn't against the family itself, as Tara seemed to think it was, it was still good to know about the family itself. After all, in his quest to avenge his fallen family, he would need to get through the Imperial Family in order to get at the person at whom his desire for revenge was mostly aimed.
...And yet you continue to let her believe that it is the Imperial Family itself that you hate…
She merely jumped to that conclusion herself and, at the moment, the Imperial Family is the one standing in my way, which is why I just let her continue to believe that, even if she is blowing everything out of proportion,B.B. thought, since he didn't want the young heiress to hear him talking to himself, and especially not about the Imperial Family. Even if the Ashfords had fallen out of favor with the nobility and stripped of their noble titles, B.B. wasn't about to risk his somewhat treasonous words reaching the ears of the Emperor.
"Yeah, I am," Milly said, answering the question that B.B. had proposed earlier.
B.B. hummed. "I heard that your family supported Marianne vi Britannia and her death was what caused you to lose your noble status," he said. That was a matter of public record so B.B. knew that the young woman at his side wouldn't be suspicious.
"Yeah. Here we are," Milly said, coming to a stop in front of a door and knocked on it. "Grandfather, there's someone here to see you."
"Go ahead and send them in," Rueben Ashford's voice sounded on the other side.
Milly stepped aside. "I'd better get to class," she said.
"Thank you for showing me the way, Miss Ashford," B.B. said with a slight bow.
"You're welcome...um..."
"B.B."
Milly raised an eyebrow. "Oh I see. You don't like your real name, huh? That's why you've got a nickname that you'd prefer to go by, eh?"
"Yes," B.B. said. It was best to just go with that since the truth was he had been going by the name B.B. for so long that he couldn't even remember his real name. That was what happened when one lived for centuries using only initials for his name. He mused that C.C. was probably in the same predicament, though she was much younger than he was.
He entered the office after Milly left and Rueben Ashford looked up. "Hello, what can I do for you?" the principal asked, folding the folder he'd been looking through and fixing blue eyes, like his granddaughter's, on B.B.
"I simply came because I was hoping that I could transfer my cousin to Ashford Academy. She's been homeschooled the past couple of years but, recently, she's been wanting to experience attending an actual school," B.B. explained.
"And so you decided to enroll her into Ashford?"
"Yes, if at all possible. Paying the tuition won't be a problem either," B.B. said. He had saved up quite a bit, even if he wasn't getting them through legal means but when one didn't age, one had to do what he could to survive in a constantly changing world, even if it meant stealing.
"I don't see why not. Do you have her transcripts and the necessary paperwork?" Ashford asked.
"Right here," B.B. said, handing the old principal of Ashford Academy the folder.
He looked through it and nodded. "Everything seems in order. Are you her legal guardian?"
"Yes."
"Then I will need a few signatures here and here." He pointed to specific portions on the paperwork and B.B. scrawled a messy signature that no one could decipher before handing the papers back.
"I'll input everything into the system and get her a class schedule as well as everything else she'll need, like a uniform and her school supply list. She can start tomorrow. Have her come by my office tomorrow morning by eight," Ashford said.
"All right. Thank you," B.B. said.
. . .
July 14, 2016
Medical Transport, Osaka Settlement
It was early morning when Suzaku finally stirred. His chest ached and he felt tired but, other than that, he felt all right. More importantly, he could tell, simply by the pain in his chest, that he was alive. He was pretty sure the dead didn't feel pain and that made him wonder just how he survived getting shot in the chest.
His eyes fluttered open and Suzaku blinked them a few times as they slowly adjusted to the bright fluorescent lights that shone into them. His movement attracted the attention of a familiar blonde girl who immediately moved to his side.
"Good morning, Suzaku," Lila greeted him calmly as she went to work removing the bandages around Suzaku's chest and studying the injury, which wasn't as bad as Suzaku thought it would be. "How do you feel?"
"Tired, my chest hurts," Suzaku said, wincing as he pushed himself into a sitting position. Lila helped him up.
"Tadashi, a roll of bandages," she called. "And, after that, inform Prince Lelouch that Suzaku's awake."
"On it," the burnt-orange-haired boy called back as he moved around the small transport toward the cabinet and began digging through it for a roll of bandages while Lila dabbed some water on the wound.
"You were lucky," she said. "The bullet didn't hit anything vital. In fact, it just barely pierced your skin since something blocked it. Your chest's bruised and will probably hurt for a while though."
"What blocked it?" Suzaku asked, bewildered. He hadn't been wearing a kevlar vest and the only thing that he had on was his jacket. Even if it was zipped closed, due to him not wanting to get that drenched in the rain, it still wouldn't have been able to block a bullet.
Lila took the roll of bandages from Tadashi who then patted Suzaku on the shoulder, said, "Glad you're awake, Suzaku," and darted out of the medical transport before the young Honorary Britannian could reply.
Lila began winding the bandage around Suzaku's chest as she said, "You had something in the inner pocket of your jacket that caught the bullet. I don't think you noticed it when you put your jacket on 'cause you were too anxious to help Prince Lelouch."
She finished with the bandages before reaching for something resting on the side table and held it out to Suzaku. He took it, immediately recognizing it as his father's pocket watch, with the glass shattered and the time frozen at a little after one in the morning.
"That must be pretty important to you if you keep it close to you," Lila noted.
"It is," Suzaku admitted, resting the pocket watch on his leg and another question entered his mind. "Is Lelouch all right?"
"I'm fine, Suzaku," Lelouch's voice sounded and Suzaku and Lila turned to find the prince walking into the transport, cloak swirling around his ankles as he moved, his amethyst eyes fixed on Suzaku. "You saved my life again. I swear that's becoming a bad habit of yours."
Suzaku's lips pulled back in a slight smile. "I would've thought that would be a good habit," he said. Besides, with the blood of my father on my hands, I don't deserve to live, he thought bitterly.
Lelouch scoffed and muttered something under his breath before he turned to the others in the medical transport. "Excuse us for a while. I would like to speak to Warrant Officer Kururugi alone," he said.
"Yes, Your Highness," Lila and the other medical personnel said and left the transport.
Lelouch waited until the door had closed before returning his amethyst gaze to Suzaku. "You've saved my life more times than I can count, Suzaku," he said.
"I'm just doing my duty," Suzaku said.
"You didn't have to do that during the invasion," Lelouch pointed out. "You went out of your way to ensure that Nunnally and I got to Tokyo in one piece and you're probably the only reason why Nunnally and I survived the majority of the invasion."
Suzaku shrugged. "You're my friend. You would've done the same thing for me, actually you did do the same thing for me if I remember right. Besides, considering how weak you were, you needed all the help you could get."
"Haha," Lelouch said at the jab since Suzaku wasn't being serious—Lelouch was far stronger than he looked—and he knew that Lelouch knew it.
Lelouch's face then became serious. "Suzaku, what is your goal?"
Suzaku frowned at the sudden seriousness in the prince's eyes and posture. "You know the answer to that already, Lelouch," he said.
"Humor me."
His frown deepening, Suzaku decided to just answer the prince's question. "My goal is to rise through the ranks of the military and prove myself so that, someday, I can become the Knight of One and claim Area 11 as my area to protect it," he said. "But, like I said, you already know that. What's this about?"
"Your goal," Lelouch said simply. "You want to be a Knight of the Round, Suzaku. Unfortunately, it won't matter what you do, you will never achieve that goal. I know my father,"—he spat out that word as though it were a curse, his eyes glittering with barely-suppressed hatred—"and he is prejudiced to a fault. Even if you were to defeat the Knight of One himself in battle right in front of him, he would never acknowledge you nor would he ever make you a Knight of the Round, let alone the Knight of One."
Suzaku gritted his teeth at that. He knew that Lelouch wasn't saying this to be mean, he was simply stating a fact and Suzaku knew that, even though he didn't get along with his father—which was the biggest understatement ever—he definitely knew the Emperor better than Suzaku did. "But I have to try," he insisted. "I have to try!" It's my fault since I killed my father to stop his call for a do-or-die resistance. I thought it would end all the killing and prevent more from dying, as well as protect Lelouch and Nunnally who would be in danger from my father's call. And yet...I have to atone. If I could gain control of Area 11, I could protect it and prevent the conflict from escalating more than it already has.
"Change is possible if one works within the system and I have to try and prove that true," he added.
Lelouch continued to observe him calmly, his eyes unreadable. "No matter how much you try, Suzaku, you will never become a Knight of the Round. However," he began and trailed off for a moment. "We both have a similar goal, Suzaku. As I told you during basic training, we both desire change and, together, I believe we can make that change a reality. After all, we proved during the invasion that, if we put our minds to it, we can do anything together."
A small smile crossed Lelouch's lips as he said softly, "You may never become a Knight of the Round, Suzaku, but I can give you the next best thing, something I believe you have earned many times over."
Suzaku was not expecting the prince's next words.
"Suzaku Kururugi, I want you to be my Knight of Honor."
. . .
Meeting Room, Student Council Clubhouse
Kallen made her way into the council meeting room, yawning. She hadn't gotten much sleep the night before with the nightmares of her brother's death still plaguing her, even though over two weeks had gone by since his death. The memorial that Naoto's resistance had held for him certainly helped but Kallen knew that it would take time to truly come to terms with it.
She noticed that Nunnally and Shirley were the only ones there at the moment, the latter was working on a homework assignment while the former was reading a braille book. Both of them lifted their heads when Kallen entered the room and Shirley smiled.
"Hey, Kallen," she greeted her.
"Hey," Kallen said and moved over to sit beside the friendly orange-haired girl. "So what are we doing today?"
"I dunno. Milly said something about welcoming yet another new member to the council. Apparently, she just started today and Milly, naturally, decided that she wanted another student council member," Shirley said.
"In other words, she saw a potential new minion and sank her claws into her before anyone else could," Rivalz said, walking into the room just in time to catch what Shirley had just said.
"Should we warn that poor girl?" Shirley wondered aloud.
"We didn't warn Kallen," Rivalz said.
Kallen bit her lip to keep from grimacing since none of them had warned her of just how much of a...a She-Devil Milly was; the memories of the bake sale and the fairy-tale-themed ball came into her mind and she shivered. Now I know why the prince likes to call Milly a 'she-devil', she thought.
The door opened again and Nina made her way into the room, greeting them quietly and then moving over to her computer. "Um, Milly's on her way here with the newcomer," she said quietly, logging on to her computer and starting to type.
The door opened at that moment and Milly walked in with a bright smile. "Hello everyone," she greeted happily.
Kallen was about to greet her as well when she caught sight of the aqua-haired girl that had walked into the room beside her. Her eyes went wide with outrage. "You!"
"You!" Tara, the girl that had betrayed Naoto's resistance and was the reason why Naoto was dead, snarled back and the two glared at each other.
"Um, you two know each other?" Shirley asked worriedly.
"No. She just reminded me of a bitch I came into contact with recently," Tara said, barely able to control her emotions and adopting a mask.
Realizing that she was also risking blowing her cover, Kallen quickly fought to regain control of her temper, though Tara's insult had not helped matters. "Yeah, same here," she said meekly once she got her temper under control.
Milly blinked but then shrugged. "Well, anyway, this is Tara Archer. She just started here at Ashford today and I thought it would be a good idea for her to join the Student Council," she said brightly.
Nunnally giggled. "If Big Brother were here, he'd say that you just did that to get a new minion," she said.
"Yeah, he definitely would," Rivalz said with a chuckle and turned to Tara. "I'm Rivalz by the way, the secretary of the student council."
"I'm Shirley. I'm on the swim team too," Shirley said.
"Um, I'm Nina," Nina said shyly.
"Kallen, the Vice President," Kallen said, barley able to keep her voice steady, though she was burning with anger.
"Kallen took over Big Brother's duties since he'd been the last Vice President," Nunnally said. "I'm Nunnally."
"She's our honorary member since she's still in the middle school division," Rivalz said.
"It's nice to meet all of you," Tara said, though Kallen noticed her eyes narrow a little when she gazed at Nunnally. The red-head then recalled that Tara had actually asked Naoto for permission to assassinate Nunnally and she pressed her lips together. She liked Nunnally; she thought the princess was a sweetheart and certainly not a threat, despite who her father was.
I won't let you harm Nunnally, she thought, biting her lip to keep from glaring at Tara.
"Well, why don't we put our work on hold and hold another welcoming party for Tara?" Milly suggested.
"I'm all for not working," Rivalz said.
"I swear you are just as lazy as Lulu used to be," Shirley said with a scoff.
"Speaking of Lelouch, has anyone heard anything from him?" Milly asked and turned toward Nunnally who nodded.
"He called me a few days ago and told me that he's doing fine but won't be returning for a while," Nunnally admitted.
"Well, that's just too bad. I guess you're gonna have to wait a while longer to get your next date with Lelouch, Shirley. Hmm, maybe I should find an outfit to make it extra special," Milly said as a perverted smirk crossed her lips.
No one missed the implication of that statement.
Shirley went red. "M...Madame President!" She cried.
. . .
Medical Transport, Osaka Settlement
Lelouch watched as a mixture of emotions surged across Suzaku's face at his words, the strongest of which was shock. His jaw had been unhinged and his eyes were wide as if he couldn't believe what Lelouch had actually said. Lelouch didn't take it back though; he truly believed that Suzaku deserved this and it would definitely help them in their goals.
It was well known that being a Knight of Honor was the second highest honor that any member of the military who was not part of the Royal Family could obtain—the only thing higher was being chosen to join the Knights of the Round—and it was a title that was never given to a non-Britannian. There was no law against choosing a non-Britannian but it was against Britannian policy.
Knights of Honor were the personal knights of a prince or princess, chosen by said prince or princess and no one could countermand their choice, and loyal to them first and foremost. It was well known that Knights of Honor were often chosen to protect their prince or princess but some, such as Sir Guilford—Cornelia's Knight of Honor—fought alongside their prince or princess. It was also well known that someone who was chosen to be a prince or princess's Knight was someone that said prince or princess trusted with their lives.
That was one reason why Lelouch had chosen Suzaku. It wasn't just that Lelouch trusted Suzaku with his own life, he also trusted Suzaku with Nunnally's life and it was rare for Lelouch to give that kind of trust to anyone. Besides, as Lelouch had already mentioned, Suzaku had saved his life more times than he could count, and nearly lost his life in this most recent save.
The other reason was that they both shared a similar goal and they were both striving to fulfill that goal. Lelouch wasn't lying when he told Suzaku that he felt that if they worked together, their goals could be realized. He felt that if he had Suzaku at his side then his goal to destroy Britannia from within would work.
"Y...You...What?" Suzaku managed to get out, breaking into Lelouch's thoughts.
"It's just as I said, Suzaku. I want you to be my Knight of Honor," Lelouch said.
"B...But I'm a Number! A Number can't become a knight, and especially not a Knight of Honor. It's just not done," Suzaku insisted.
"There's no law against it, Suzaku. It just goes against Britannian policy and I've been doing that since the moment I decided to transfer you and Tadashi to the 11th Regiment," Lelouch said.
"No one will like your decision," Suzaku argued.
"Yes but it won't matter. It's my decision. No one can make it for me, nor can anyone countermand my decision. I want you to be my Knight of Honor and I don't care if everyone else has a problem with my choice," Lelouch said. He knew that his reputation would take a huge hit when knowledge of him choosing a Number as his Knight of Honor was released to the public but he was willing to risk it to give Suzaku what he deserved and secure a valuable ally at the same time.
Besides, he knew that if he continued to prove himself useful to the Emperor, the Emperor won't care who he chooses as his Knight as long as Lelouch continued to be useful to him.
Lelouch couldn't care less about what the nobility thought or even the common Britannians thought. He didn't even really care what the Emperor thought. As long as he remained useful to the Emperor, Nunnally would be safe and that was all that mattered.
"Lelouch, I...Are you really sure about this?" Suzaku said. "I mean, I'm sure there're others that're more worthy of this position. Kay or Jeremiah even. Why not them?"
"I trust Kay and I do trust in Jeremiah's loyalty to me; however, the trust I have for them is not as strong as the trust I have for you. I trust you with my life and I trust you with Nunnally's life. That is a trust that I rarely give to anyone, as you already know. More than that, I believe you deserve this position. Besides, it will help you out in your goal, Suzaku."
"Huh?"
"You want to change Britannia from within by working within the system," Lelouch explained. "However, in order to do that, you need power, a power that you can only get through status, which is only earned through rising through the ranks. That is something that you would never have been able to earn on your own simply because of Britannia's policy of discrimination. So I've decided to give you what you deserve. I am granting you the status and the rank that will help you accomplish your goal, a status and rank that you've earned many times over. Is this not what you wanted? You may not be a Knight of the Round but if you become my Knight of Honor, you will be the next best thing."
He fell silent, watching as Suzaku thought about his words. He still looked reluctant and uncertain but Lelouch could see that his words were getting through to his old friend.
"I ask you, Suzaku Kururugi, will you be my Knight of Honor?" Lelouch said.
Suzaku was silent for a long moment, his eyes now fixed on the broken pocket watch in his hands, before he closed his fingers over it and slowly stood up. He rested the pocket watch on the bed and lifted his head to face Lelouch.
Then, he knelt down and crossed his fist over his heart. "I would be honored to be your Knight of Honor," he stated.
Triumph went through him but all Lelouch did was state, "Then I, Lelouch vi Britannia, Eleventh Prince of the Holy Empire of Britannia, do dub thee Sir Suzaku Kururugi,"—he brushed two of his fingers along each of Suzaku's shoulders in an unofficial knighting—"Knight of Honor."
He retracted his fingers and gestured for Suzaku to rise, adding, "The official knighting ceremony won't occur until we return to Tokyo. For now, it would be best if you simply act as you normally do. I don't want me choosing you as my Knight to become public knowledge until after the official ceremony."
Lelouch knew that no one would mess with Suzaku once the official knighting ceremony was concluded because everyone knew that any attack on an official Knight of Honor was seen as an attack on their prince or princess and was considered high treason against the Royal Family. However, he also knew that the same could not be said for before the official knighting ceremony.
Suzaku nodded, wincing as he stood up.
The door opened and Tadashi poked his head into the medical transport. "Your Highness, General Andon is here. Margrave Gottwald is showing him to your office," he said.
"I will be there in a few minutes," Lelouch said.
"Yes, Your Highness," Tadashi said and left.
Lelouch turned to Suzaku. "Get some rest. I expect we're going to be heading out soon," he said.
"Yes...my prince," Suzaku said, trying out the new honorific. He smiled a little and added, "I think it might take me some time to get used to that."
"I don't doubt that," Lelouch replied and left the medical transport, heading toward City Hall to speak with General Andon and leave his new unofficial knight to rest.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: (pokes head out of double bomb shelter) see? Suzaku's all right! You can all put away your weapons now
Mob of Suzaku Fans: will Suzaku get hurt again in a future chapter?
Blaze: (thinks about where she is in the story, pales, and dives back into the bomb shelter)
Mob of Suzaku Fans: (readies weapons)
Lelouch: wouldn't it be better to wait until that specific chapter happens before going after her?
Mob of Suzaku Fans: good point (puts weapons away and strides off)
Blaze: (pokes head out of bomb shelter) I don't know whether to be grateful that you scared them off or angry because they're going to be coming back now
Lelouch: both. You should be thankful my fans haven't showed up calling for your blood
Blaze: or Nunnally's
Lelouch: (pulls out freezing chainsaw) why would Nunnally's fans be out for your blood?
Blaze: ah, well, it's just...oh, look, there's the Emperor
Lelouch: (glances towards the Emperor) I will let it go for now. I haven't killed the Emperor in a while (grins sadistically at the Emperor)
Charles: (takes off running)
Lelouch: (chases after him)
Blaze: phew, that saves me for a little while. Anyway, I have a question to ask all of you. Now that twenty chapters have gone by, I would like to know. What do you think of Rayne, Kay, Lila, Tadashi, and Dimitri? They are still being developed [and yes I realize that some of their character arcs (Rayne's and Kay's) are longer than the others but they are all being developed little by little] but I am curious about what you think about them.
Ryou: I remember now!
Blaze: remembered what?
Ryou: what we were supposed to mention in the beginning author's note. It's about B.B.
Blaze: oh yeah. Okay, so I know people probably are going to like B.B. even less after this chapter but I would like to say that he is blinded by the familial love he'd developed for Tara after coming to see her as a daughter after he'd lost his own family and that is why he believes that she can change (even though it is clear to the readers who've actually delved into Tara's mind that the psychopathic bitch [who does not want to die!] cannot change). He may not be likable now but I plan on having him grow, develop more, and get at least somewhat better hopefully.
Ryou: and Tara?
Blaze: that bitch is gonna die because she's really pissing me off. She took her character arc and ran with it and does. Not. Want. To. Die! (Scowls in fury)
Suzaku: but aren't you controlling her?
Blaze: (pats Suzaku on the shoulder) poor naive Suzaku. That's not the way it works. Writers do not control their characters. They just write down what their characters decide to do and which path they decide to follow. Writers have no say in how the story goes. This is the reason why I can never follow an outline. I write an outline, my characters decide that they don't like how the outline's going halfway through the story itself, and I have to scrap half the outline. That is why I had to scrap the last six (yes, six. It was originally three) chapters of ARC III and all of ARC IV and completely redo them three times.
Suzaku: oh I see
Blaze: well, this author's note is getting far too long so I'm gonna end it here before I go off on another rant. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated and thank you for reading.
