Welp, looks like this story has just been cut down by two chapters again. So it's now sixty six chapters. Let's see if that'll actually stay true to the end (but, considering I'm on chapter 57 of the prewritten chapters, I think it will). Anyway...(slowly pushes chapter 30 forward) here's chapter 30 (bolts back to the hiding place that she left to deliver the chapter)
Lelouch: (sharpening the flaming machete) this is the first chapter of the third arc and Blaze would like to say that she's taken the liberty of altering a lot of things about a certain character from Lost Colors so his character may not be completely true to his character, and his story, in Lost Colors.
Suzaku: also, she would like to thank harlequin320, DYnoJackal19, Shadow-Shinobi666, OBSERVER01, shadowneko003, Zero L42, Blacksword Zero, Doommajor, DarthMaine, god of all, B-Kira, Scarease, and nexus4123 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome.
Lelouch: Blaze hopes that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
. . .
. . .
Arc III
Sparks
. . .
. . .
"Here we go again
I will not give in
I've got a reason to fight
Every day we choose
We might win or lose
This is the dangerous life."
—"Feel Invincible" by Skillet [Album: Unleashed (2016)]
. . .
March 1, 2013
Cave of the Thought Elevator, Kamine Island
Bright light. That was the first thing the silver-haired boy became aware of as he stumbled and fell to the ground, released from the prison he'd been trapped in for who knew how long. He'd lost all sense of time a while ago, though he felt as if more than just a day had gone by. He didn't feel tired or weak, even though he'd been without food and water for a very long time; it was almost as if he had been in some sort of stasis.
"What is this?" a voice said nearby but his eyes were still adjusting so he couldn't make out who'd spoken.
"He just fell out of the Though Elevator," another voice said in shock.
"How is that possible?"
"I don't know but...His Highness will want to know about this. We should bring him back with us when we leave the island."
"Yes, I agree."
His eyes had finally adjusted and the silver-haired boy found himself kneeling on a stone platform in front of a door of sorts covered in intricate designs. All around him, he could see the stone walls of a cave along with several instruments and computers and Britannians whose clothing suggested they were part of the military. The one who stood closest to him was a portly bald man with a monocle over one of his blue eyes dressed in dark-purple clothing that suggested his status as both a high ranking military officer and a noble.
He didn't know what to feel about that but, then, he was still attempting to figure out why he'd been released from the Thought Elevator to begin with. His memories were a bit sketchy when he thought about that incident but, then, a lot of his memories were rather sketchy. He was only just barely able to remember his own name.
"All right, boy, come with us," one of the armed, he could see the gun holstered at his side, soldiers said, moving toward him.
The silver-haired boy wasn't stupid and he had an odd feeling that he shouldn't go with these Britannians. Besides, he didn't know them and he didn't trust them. He slowly shook his head as he got to his feet and attempted to step back but his legs felt like jelly and he stumbled, falling on his rear instead.
"Don't make this difficult. Just come with us," the soldier said, approaching him again.
"N...No, s..stay away," the silver-haired boy stammered out, panic as the strange armed men approached him. They kept approaching and the boy crawled back, eyes wide with fear and then he felt a faint burning sensation in his left eye.
"Get away from me," He whispered in fear just loud enough for the three men to hear him and he watched, wide-eyed, as a sphere of red light shot away from him to encompass the area around the three men. Their eyes took on a red ring around their irises and they straightened up.
"Yes, sir," they stated monotonously, turned around and hurried away. As they did so, the sphere collapsed and disappeared and the burning sensation around the silver-haired boy's left eye vanished.
He blinked in shock, not entirely sure what just happened, only aware that the portly man didn't seem happy that his men had left.
"Someone sedate him before he does something like that again," the man ordered.
The silver-haired boy snapped out of his shock but, before he could call upon that strange power again to get him out of that cave, he felt a prick in his neck and then he felt very sleepy. Eyes fluttering closed, the silver-haired boy toppled to the ground and slipped into darkness.
. . .
30
The Amnesiac New Student
March 1, 2017
Streets, Tokyo Settlement
The boy stumbled and grabbed hold of the wall to keep from falling. He was tired, beyond tired, and hungry. It was early in the afternoon and it was also a little bit chillier now than it was earlier and the boy shivered, wrapping his arms around his dirt-clad skinny body.
His white clothing was stained with dirt, grime, and blood and had many tears. His silver hair was wild and matted with grease and dirt and his face had dirt and grime covering it. He looked like an inhabitant of the ghettos that he'd just left, which he wasn't surprised by. He'd just traveled through the ghetto to get to the settlement, though he was still unsure of what he was doing there.
He was unsure of a lot of things.
He'd only just escaped from the lab where he'd been kept, using a power that he wasn't entirely sure he could remember how to call upon again if he needed it, and had managed to get clear of the lab. He'd been running for a few days, though without any real idea of where he was going; he didn't know anything nor could he remember anyone that might be willing to help him.
He didn't know exactly when he'd lost his memories. It was sometime while he was in the lab because he couldn't remember anything sooner than when he was in that lab. He didn't even know how he'd gotten that power or why, though he didn't particularly like it; when he'd used it to get out of that lab, he'd just felt cold and horrified as if something was telling him that he shouldn't be doing that. Perhaps something had happened in his past that dealt with that power and that was why he was subconsciously afraid of using it.
Either way, the only reason he knew how to use it was because he hadn't lost his memories of the things that he'd learned how to do. But that didn't mean he wanted to use it, not when he felt that way, as if his mind was saying that he'd done something truly terrible with it.
He was still running and he stumbled again, falling to his knees as the world spun around him. He was so tired, so hungry; his legs were starting to feel like jelly and his breath came out in short gasps as he struggled to calm his pounding heart.
All around him, he could hear the residents of the Tokyo Settlement talking with each other, most of them eyeing him with distaste, some with pity, but no one seemed willing to help him.
"Look at that ruffian."
"He should be in the ghetto with the other riffraff."
"He doesn't belong here."
Forcing himself to his feet, the boy started to walk again, still not entirely sure where he was going. Right now, he just wanted to find someplace safe with people who wouldn't treat him badly and who might be willing to help him. He thought about going to a hospital but he didn't know if he could make it, not with how exhausted he felt.
And then there was the Britannian military.
They were the ones who'd captured him and put him in that lab. He knew that because he'd recognized them after seeing them streaming in and out of the cell he'd been trapped in. He didn't recall a lot of what they'd done to him only because he'd repressed the memories of the incidents, though he did remember snippets and shoved them aside whenever they cropped up.
Either way, he knew that he couldn't trust them.
But that meant it was difficult for him to travel through the streets of the Tokyo Settlement and avoid the military, especially when his appearance automatically drew attention to him.
But he was so tired. His eyes drooped but the boy forced himself to keep moving, making his way down the street, trying to find some place that would keep him safe.
He stumbled again and his legs gave out on him. He grabbed hold of the wall but still lost his balance and collapsed, darkness taking him before he'd even hit the ground.
. . .
Lelouch's Office, Viceroy's Palace
Lelouch peered out the window of his office, lips pressed together as he studied the shadow-drenched city that lay in front of him. For a long moment, he was silent, his thoughts were, currently, on the death threat the Liberators had left him a little over two months earlier. "I don't get it," he murmured, turning around to face the green-haired general who was standing in front of his desk. "Why would the Liberators go so far as to deliver that message to me and then not do anything? It's been two months and nothing's happened, there haven't even been any terrorist threats since the incident at Akita."
"Perhaps it was a scare tactic, Your Highness," Andon suggested.
"Possibly, though I don't see why they would try to scare me like that, especially not when the Liberators did want me alive during the Battle of Sapporo."
"Perhaps they changed their mind, Your Highness," Andon said. "After all, you did defeat them and practically decimated their Eleven cell. They could have decided that you're too dangerous to be left alive."
Lelouch hummed. "I suppose that is possible. We only know that the Liberators wanted me alive during the Battle of Sapporo. It's possible that they changed their minds after they lost," he said. He wasn't as scared as one would think; he knew that his life was going to be put on the line from the moment he rejoined the Royal Family and by defeating a cell of the nearly undefeated Liberators, he knew he'd just placed a large target on his back from members of that organization who might seek revenge.
And then there was Nightfall. Who knew what the psychopathic second in command of the Liberators would do?
"But that still doesn't explain why they haven't acted," Lelouch added. Sure, there had been a few assassination attempts made in the last two months—all three of them were foiled by either Jeremiah, Suzaku, or Lelouch's Royal Guard—but none of them had claimed to be part of the Liberators. Considering how the Liberators had left their crest behind when they bombed the Sapporo Military Base and, again, when they'd left that threat at the Christmas Ball, Lelouch would've thought that they would want him to know that they were trying to kill him.
He supposed be might be overestimating them based on what little information he had about them.
"I do not know, Your Highness," Andon said.
Lelouch sank into his chair, rubbing his temples and decided to push the matter aside for the moment. "For now, the only thing I really can do is just subtly increase security around the city in case any terrorists decide that now would be an opportune moment to attack, or if the Liberators decide to strike here," he said.
"That might be best, Your Highness," Andon said.
Andon left soon after that and Lelouch let his head fall onto his desk. He really wasn't able to make sense out of the Liberators' moves. First, they want to capture him alive, even if Nightfall wanted to kill him. Then they kill Brigadier General Stromberg and send that death threat to him. And then they...do nothing?
It really didn't make any sense.
Thinking about what happened at the Christmas Ball suddenly had Lelouch's thoughts turning to Shirley as well as everyone who'd witnessed that gruesome scene with Stromberg. He knew that Shirley was still having nightmares about what happened; the past two months, she'd called him a few times asking him if he was okay because she would have a nightmare of him being in Stromberg's place and it terrified her. As a result, he always spent a good hour reassuring her that he was all right and trying to get her to calm down.
As if on cue, his phone began ringing. He reached for it and answered it. "Hello?" he said.
"Hey, Lulu, um...is this a bad time?" Shirley asked worriedly.
"No, I just finished the only meeting I had for the day so I'm free for now," Lelouch said.
"That's good. Um..." Shirley trailed off, "Um, well, I was wondering...if you can, um, take some time off or something this weekend, 'cause, well, my dad kinda wants to meet you, erm officially since he's met you before, y'know. He and mom invited you over to dinner Saturday night. Ah, I know it's last minute and all but...I can tell them that you can't..."
"Shirley, you're rambling," Lelouch cut her off.
"S...Sorry," Shirley said.
"It's all right. I should be able to go. I don't think I have anything planned for Saturday," Lelouch said.
"Um, great, I'll tell Mom and Dad," Shirley said. "It'll be at seven. Will that be all right?"
"Yeah, that should be fine. If something comes up, I'll let you know," Lelouch said.
"Right, um, well, I'll see you then, Lulu," Shirley said and hung up before Lelouch could respond. He put the phone down and immediately noticed that his Knight and his Royal Guard were all looking at him.
"What?" he said.
"You're not going without security, right?" Rayne asked.
"Yeah, I mean ya do have an entire organization out for your head," Tadashi said.
Lila rolled her eyes. "You could have said that a bit more tactfully but Tadashi has a point," she said.
"Relax, Suzaku'll be going with me and I'll just go in disguise," Lelouch reassured them.
"Still, Your Highness, I would feel better if we were nearby to back you up should it be necessary," Jeremiah said firmly.
Lelouch resisted the urge to sigh and simply raised an eyebrow. Ever since the Liberators had sent that death threat, his Royal Guard, and his Knight on that note, had become rather paranoid and overprotective, not Lelouch-level overprotective—as Suzaku teasingly called his over-protectiveness of Nunnally—but close.
"All right, just don't draw attention to yourself," Lelouch said finally.
"Yes, Your Highness," Jeremiah said firmly.
"We can be subtle," Rayne said.
"Well, most of us," Kay said with a teasing smile at his sister.
"So long as we're not near any dogs," Tadashi said with a grin.
Rayne glared at them both. "You two are never going to let me live that down, are you?" she growled.
Kay and Tadashi exchanged glances and shook their heads, causing her to sigh in frustration.
. . .
Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement
"Ah another nobleman's son won't be bothering me again," Milly murmured to herself as she made her way toward the gates of Ashford Academy, tucking the phone that she'd been talking on with her parents only moments before into her purse. Her parents had set her up with yet another nobleman's son to marry back into nobility, as they've been doing ever since she turned seventeen, and she'd managed to get all of them to decide not to marry her. It was getting irritating, though she knew that they were only doing it because they wanted their noble titles back and, at least, she did have some say. If she didn't want to date or marry the nobleman's son, and managed to scare them off, then her parents wouldn't argue.
That didn't stop them from setting her up again a few weeks later.
She stretched her arms and rested them behind her head as she gazed at the cloudless blue sky above her head, her lips twisted into a frown as she recalled what her mother had just told her. She'd just told her that, maybe, she might be more willing to marry Prince Lelouch, since he was a prince and a childhood friend. Milly had been quick to turn her down, stating that she only saw Lelouch as a friend, and a brother even; she also knew that Lelouch was starting to realize his feelings for Shirley.
That hadn't been as obvious until after the Christmas Ball when Lelouch had brought a shaken Shirley home, kissed her goodnight, and told her to call if she needed to talk. While Milly wasn't entirely sure what happened, the higher-ups were keeping it hush-hush and away from the media, she did see the fondness in Lelouch's eyes when he gazed at Shirley. While it wasn't love, Milly had no doubt that was coming next.
She smiled to herself. "'bout time you stopped being clueless, Lulu," she murmured to herself, lowering her arms and starting to walk again but stopped when she saw something.
Or, rather, someone.
There was a boy lying unconscious, on his side, next to the gates. His wild silvery hair splayed out around him, matted with dirt and grime, his clothing was torn in several places and Milly, to her horror, saw splotches of blood.
She immediately darted forward and knelt down beside the boy, stretching out a hand to feel for the boy's pulse, relieved when she felt it. She sat back on her heels and fished her phone out of her purse, dialing the number to the meeting room. Hopefully, someone was there, even though Milly had to cancel their meeting.
Thankfully, someone was there.
"Hello, Student Council Clubhouse," Kallen's voice said.
"Kallen, thank goodness you're there. I need you to come to the gates. Oh and send word to the nurses. We've got an unconscious injured kid here and he needs help. I also need your help to get him to the nurse's office," Milly said, frowning at the boy.
"All right. I'm on my way. Nina, can you go tell the nurse's that we've got an injured kid coming in?" Kallen called to Nina, who must have been the only other person in the room.
"Um, okay." Milly just barely heard Nina's soft voice before there was a click as Kallen hung up.
As she closed her phone and stuffed it away, Milly returned to examining the boy as best she could. He looked like he was about seventeen years old, though his frame was rather skinny as if he hadn't eaten much in days. She couldn't see where the source of the blood was and it didn't look as if the wounds that had caused those splotches were still bleeding.
The gates opened and Milly turned to find Kallen moving to her side, peering at the silver-haired boy. "Who is he?" she asked. "I don't recognize him as a student."
"I don't think he is. I just found him unconscious by the gates. Here, help me get him up," Milly said.
Kallen nodded and the two teamed up to get the unconscious boy up. Milly slung one of the boy's arms over her shoulders and shifted so that he was mostly leaning on her than Kallen, due to Kallen's weak body, but Kallen did help support his weight at least. They staggered past the gates and across the campus and toward the main building.
The entire journey to the nurse's office was done in silence. The boy didn't stir once but it didn't seem as if moving him was hurting him; either that or he was too unconscious to notice if it was. Kallen was studying the boy questioningly and Milly couldn't help but feel the same way but that wasn't going to stop her from helping the boy.
The two of them reached the nurse's office and Nina and Mrs. Stanton looked up.
"Bring him here," the nurse said, gesturing to the empty bed and Milly and Kallen guided the boy to it.
Once the unconscious boy was laying on the bed, the nurse began examining him, gesturing for them to leave.
"Please let me know when he wakes up," Milly said.
The nurse nodded and Milly, Kallen, and Nina left the room.
"So, um, who was that?" Nina asked quietly.
"I dunno. I found him unconscious right outside the gates. I wasn't 'bout to just leave 'im there. I'd better go tell Grandfather that he's here though," Milly said and waved a goodbye to Kallen and Nina before she made her way toward her Grandfather's office.
. . .
Nurse's Office, Ashford Academy
The silver-haired boy stirred and blue eyes fluttered open. He squeezed them shut as soon as they were blinded momentarily by the bright lights above. He felt that he was lying on something soft and he could feel band-aids on the little cuts and scraps that he'd obtained during his trek through the ghettos. He blinked open his eyes again, slower this time to allow them time to adjust to the bright light, and looked around.
He was in some sort of nurse's office. He slowly sat up and winced when his head began to hurt. It wasn't painful, more irritating than anything, and he was able to ignore it enough to actually sit up. He looked around, noticing that he was still in his grime-covered clothing, though the shirt was off, most likely so that the nurse could check the source of the blood.
The nurse's office was silent and the rays of sunlight that were streaming in through the windows suggested that not much time had actually passed since the silver-haired boy had passed out on the street. He still felt tired and his stomach was aching from hunger but he didn't feel like passing out again.
"You're awake," a voice said and he turned to find a kind-looking auburn haired young woman in scrubs that told him she was the nurse moving to his side. "How do you feel?"
"T...Tired," he managed to get out. His voice sounded hoarse to his own ears and his throat was dry, causing him to cough. The nurse picked up a glass of water and handed it to him; he, hoarsely thanking the nurse, took the glass and sipped at the water, feeling the cool liquid soothe his scratchy throat.
"W...Where am I?" he asked, gazing around again as he cupped the glass of water in both of his hands.
"You're at Ashford Academy," the nurse said. "Miss Ashford and Miss Stadtfeld brought you here."
He furrowed his brow but nodded slowly, sipping at his water again as the nurse started examining him again.
"Do you feel any pain?" she asked.
"No," the silver-haired boy said.
"Any dizziness?"
"No. I'm just tired."
The nurse hummed. "You only had a few cuts and scrapes on you but you were found unconscious. Considering how tired you look, I think that might have just been caused by exhaustion. When was the last time you slept?"
"Um...yesterday," the boy admitted, remembering that he'd managed to get a few hours of sleep by hiding in an abandoned building. He'd been chased out by the Elevens that found him there though and then had to run because he'd spotted Britannian soldiers. He didn't know if they were searching for him or not but he wasn't going to take the chance that they were.
He didn't want to go back to that lab if he could help it.
The door opened and both the nurse and the boy looked up to find a tall, beautiful blonde woman stride into the room followed by an older gentleman with the same blue eyes as her. "Oh, you're awake. We couldn't have timed that better," the blonde said with a cheerful grin as she came to a stop in front of the boy's bed.
"I'm Milly Ashford. My friend Kallen and I were the ones that brought you here," the blonde said and gestured to the elder gentleman. "And this is my grandfather Reuben Ashford."
"Hello," Mr. Ashford said. "My granddaughter told me that she found you unconscious outside the gates of Ashford and, for some reason, brought you here instead of taking you to the hospital." He gave a long look at Milly who shrugged.
"He looked like he needed help right away," she said. "So what's your name?"
The boy swallowed as he attempted to search what little memories he had for his name. It came to him, surprisingly, very quickly. "Rai," he said softly. "My name's Rai."
Mr. Ashford and Milly looked at each other and Mr. Ashford cleared his throat. "Do you have a last name?" he asked gently.
Rai opened his mouth, closed it, and slowly shook his head. "I...I don't...remember," he said quietly, lowering his head and gazing at his blue eyes reflected in the water of the glass he still held in his hands.
Mr. Ashford and Milly looked at each other with small frowns on their faces before Milly glance at Rai and smiled brightly. "Well, that could be why you were unconscious. Maybe you suffered some head trauma and it knocked you out and messed with your memories," she said. "Do you know if you have any family here in Tokyo?"
Rai shook his head. "I...I don't remember anything," he said softly. "Just that name."
Mr. Ashford sighed and turned to Milly. "We'll take him to the nearest hospital," he said.
"Why can't he stay here?" Milly asked curiously. "He might be able to recover his memories if he experiences the city or the school or, well, anything really."
"You don't know that."
"It's worth a shot, ain't it? Besides, the hospital would just release him into Britannia's custody because he doesn't know who his parents are and he might never regain his memories if that happens," Milly pointed out while Rai stiffened at the thought of being back in Britannia's custody.
"You don't know that either," Mr. Ashford pointed out.
I can't go back there. Not again. Four years was enough. "Mr. Ashford, sir?" Rai said politely, causing the elder gentleman to look at him. "W...Would it be all right if I stayed here? Miss Ashford..."
"Call me Milly," Milly said.
"Um, right, Milly's got a good idea. Besides, aside from that, I'm really not injured at all and I don't want to waste the doctors' time," Rai said. "I...remember everything that I learned so I won't be behind."
Mr. Ashford studied him and Rai tried to keep his face hopeful but also impassive so as to not showcase the fear he was feeling within. He didn't know if he succeeded or not but, eventually, Mr. Ashford nodded. "I'll look into trying to find your parents until then, Rai," he said. "Until then, you can stay in the Student Council Clubhouse's West Wing."
"We're gonna have to think of a last name though. People will be suspicious if he doesn't have a last name," Milly commented. "Can we have him be a distant relative of ours?"
"That might work," Mr. Ashford said. "At least, for now. Rai, would you mind taking on our last name for the time being?"
Anything's better than risking going back to that lab and...I might be able to uncover my memories if I stay here and find out just who I really am, Rai thought. "Um, sure," he said.
"Very well. Milly, you're going to have to tell Lelouch about this, though. After all, Rai will be living in the same clubhouse as Nunnally and you know how Lelouch gets," Mr. Ashford said.
"I know, I know," Milly said with a sigh. "I'll explain things to both him and Nunnally's bodyguard too. Sorry 'bout that, Rai, but...we've got a princess attending school here and everyone's been pretty paranoid since she was nearly killed."
Rai blinked but he nodded slowly, thinking over that bit of information. It wasn't as if he was going to harm the princess, no way was that going to happen, but it was good to know that there was a princess staying there.
"Thank you," he added since he was thankful that he'd been found by people who weren't treating him badly and were willing to help him. He hadn't expected that to happen but he was thankful nonetheless.
. . .
March 2, 2017
Abandoned School Building, Shinjuku Ghetto, Area 11
Kaname Ohgi scanned the letter that he held in his hand. This one had been hand-delivered to him by a member of the Liberators who'd managed to track him down at the old school that he'd claimed as his safe haven since that disastrous day in June. This was the fourth time since that day in December that Reyes or someone sent by Reyes had contacted him and each message was the same; Reyes wanted to talk.
Kaname bit his lip as he reread the letter for the fourth time, seated next to a decrepit desk within an old classroom. He'd managed to gather the Kozuki Resistance back together back in early February, though he still wasn't completely confident in his ability to lead them, only because he did want to try and bring about Naoto's dream. It was the least he could do for his friend.
They hadn't really done anything since they're regrouped, though Tamaki, ever the rash one, had suggested that they strike back at Britannia to avenge Naoto, but reason won out with the rest of the group. There was no denying that the Kozuki Resistance was barely holding itself together by a thread; their numbers had dropped down to eight members, they had no money, they had no base, they had no weapons. They, virtually, couldn't do a damn thing against Britannia. The only thing they had was their desire to fight against Britannia and that was not going to be enough.
And yet...if the Liberators would work with them then they would get access to weapons, money, and, possibly, a base.
But they abandoned us when we needed them the most, Kaname thought, pursing his lips as his thoughts went to that disastrous day in which Reyes and his two men had left them when General Andon and his men stormed the warehouse.
Of course, Kaname knew it was really Tara's betrayal that had caused that meeting to go to hell in a hand basket but the stunt Reyes had pulled had only made matters worse. If Reyes and his men had stayed, they might've had a chance to get out without losing so many lives.
Naoto might have never died.
If Naoto was still alive, the Kozuki Resistance would never have been forced to scatter. He would've been able to get them back on their feet; he was the leader that the Kozuki Resistance needed, not Kaname.
He pushed the thought out of his mind. Naoto was dead and gone and nothing would ever bring him back. All that remained was his dream and Kaname was going to try his hardest to bring his friend's dream true, in honor of his friend's memory.
But could he really ally himself with the very people who had abandoned the Kozuki Resistance in their time of need?
He decided that he would gather everyone together and talk to them, listen to their opinions. One of the things that Kaname had learned from Naoto was that a leader must listen to their followers if they are to be an effective and trustworthy leader.
Pulling out a lighter from his pocket, Kaname turned it on and set the letter on fire, tossing it into an old wastebasket and got to his feet. He walked out of the abandoned classroom and began heading toward the main doors.
Kaname Ohgi may not be leadership material, at least not in comparison to Naoto anyway, but he would try. He would try to be the leader that the Kozuki Resistance needed because...because he couldn't just let Britannia get away with what they were getting away with. He'd made the decision to fight against Britannia back when Naoto had first asked him to join. Every single member of the Kozuki Resistance had made that same decision. They knew what they were getting into and that they might not survive but they were still willing to do it. They were still willing to fight back. Losing Naoto had not dampened their resolve.
Kaname pulled out his phone as he left the school building and lifted it to his ear as he dialed a number. "Yoshida," he said softly when the person picked up on the other end. "Please gather everyone together at the place. We all need to talk."
"On it," Yoshida said. "Including Kallen?"
Kaname frowned as he recalled that Kallen was at Ashford Academy and he really didn't want to tear her away from her studies. "No. I'll brief her on what we discussed Saturday," he said.
"Okay. What's this about though?"
"I'll explain when we meet."
"Okay. See you in a bit," Yoshida said and hung up.
Kaname hung up as well, tucking the phone into his pocket and beginning to walk away from the abandoned school building.
. . .
Meeting Room, Student Council Clubhouse
Shirley jolted awake when she heard the slam of a couple of textbooks on the table beside her head and blinked sleepily as Rivalz glanced at her in concern. "Oh, hey, Rivalz," she said, covering her mouth with her hand when she let out a yawn.
"Are you okay? You were asleep and you look like you haven't gotten a good night's sleep in a long time," Rivalz said.
"Oh I'm fine," Shirley assured him. It wasn't true, mostly. While she wasn't having as many nightmares about the incident during the Christmas Ball anymore, occasionally she would get them and they would keep her up all night. That resulted in her calling Lelouch to reassure herself that he was all right and then being unable to go back to sleep the rest of the night. That led to her sleeping in class, which had all of her friends worried, since she's never done that before.
She tried to tell herself that she was just being silly. That Lelouch was all right. But when she had those nightmares, when she saw that body again, her fear would take control of her mind and she would find herself picturing something that truly terrified her.
The message on the wall only added to that.
The death threat. A death threat made against Lelouch, against the man that she loved.
She felt scared for him, afraid that what happened to that Brigadier General would happen to him, afraid that she would lose him. She knew that it wasn't likely to happen, that Lelouch was too well-protected by his Knight, his Royal Guard, and the security that had been increased tremendously around the Viceroy's Palace since the threat was made. But still, she couldn't help but be afraid.
And it kept her up for hours at a time whenever she had one of those nightmares.
Thankfully, they didn't occur as often anymore. She didn't know if she would be able to handle them if they had occurred every day.
She was thankful that Lelouch and Prince Clovis had managed to prevent the news of that death threat from leaking into the media. The last thing Shirley wanted was for Nunnally to find out about it; she didn't want to worry the kind girl and she knew that Lelouch didn't want that either.
"Are you sure?" Rivalz asked again.
Shirley nodded, smiling at Rivalz as she reassured him that she was fine. He didn't seem very convinced but he let it drop, for which Shirley was grateful.
"Well, okay. Hey, do you think you can help me on my homework?" Rivalz asked.
Shirley yawned again but nodded. "All right. What do you need help with?"
"Math."
"Mm, okay. Let's see the assignment."
While they worked on that, the rest of the Student Council filed into the room. Adeline flopped into a seat on Shirley's other side while Kallen sat next to her while Tara sat across from Adeline and Nina took her usual seat at her computer.
"So where's Milly?" Rivalz asked as he scribbled the answer to the problem that Shirley had just helped him work out.
"Oh she's getting the new kid settled in. She should be here soon with the new kid," Kallen said. "She told me to tell you all to just get started without her and that we're balancing the budget again and coming up with ideas for the annual spring festival that's coming up."
"New kid? Gees, how many more new kids are we gonna get?" Tara said.
"Speaking of new kids, what happened to ya yesterday, Adeline?" Rivalz asked.
Adeline blinked at him. "Oh, uh, I was just talking with my uncle. And new kid? I haven't been a new kid since November," she protested.
"Kallen and Tara are still considered new kids. Ya gotta be here for, at least, a year before ya can no longer be considered a new kid," Rivalz said.
"When did that become a rule?" Kallen echoed.
"It isn't," Shirley said with a sigh, rolling her eyes at Rivalz who just shrugged and smiled.
"Well, it should be," he said.
The door opened before anyone could respond to that and the group turned to find Sayoko and Briana, with Nunnally being pushed in front of the former, made their way into the room. "Oh, hey, Nunna," Shirley greeted her.
"Hey Shirley," Nunnally said with a bright smile. "Is everyone here?"
"Almost everyone. The Prez is tardy," Adeline said with a shrug. She'd taken to calling Milly 'prez' since she'd joined. "Apparently, we've got another new student."
Nunnally giggled. "Big Brother would say that she's sinking her claws into yet another minion," she said.
Shirley smiled. "Yeah, he would," she said as Nunnally was wheeled to the head of the table and Briana took a spot next to the main door while Sayoko pulled out a book written in braille and placed it in front of Nunnally. Shirley noticed it was one of the books that Milly had gotten her for her birthday.
A few minutes after Nunnally showed up, the door opened again. Briana stiffened, her hand going to the holster at her side but relaxed, a little bit anyway, when Milly came walking into the room with a large smile on her face. She was followed by a nervous-looking silver-haired boy with dark-blue eyes dressed in Ashford Academy's black-and-gold uniform.
"Oh, great, everyone's here! And hey Nunnally!" Milly said brightly, clapping her hands together.
"Hey, Milly," Nunnally replied.
"So this is the new kid?" Adeline asked.
"Yup. His name's Rai. Rai, this is the Student Council."
"Um, hello," the silver-haired boy said nervously, eyes flicking from one person to the next. Shirley didn't know whether it was being in a room filled with so many people that was making him nervous or being in the same room as Briana, who easily looked like she could snap him in two in an instant.
"Rai's got a bit of a...memory issue," Milly said. "So he's gonna be staying here until he regains his memories. I thought we might be able to help him out."
"Oh, uh, you don't have to..." Rai began.
"Nonsense! I'm happy to help," Milly said cheerfully, slinging her arms around Rai's shoulders and hugging him tightly, causing the already nervous boy to look rather uncomfortable, though that could be because his face was pressed between Milly's assets.
"T...Thanks?" Rai said.
"Hey, I just realized something," Rivalz said as Milly, finally, released the poor boy. "I'm not the only guy anymore!"
Shirley smiled a little at that.
"Why don't you take a seat, Rai? Then we can start introducing everyone," Milly said and guided Rai over to a seat across from Rivalz before sitting down herself. She then introduced everyone and Rai greeted them all quietly.
"Now then, let's get to work. We've got about a month and a half before the annual spring festival and we still need ideas as well as to work on the budget so that we can afford all the ideas," Milly said.
Tara groaned.
"I hear ya," Rivalz muttered to Tara.
. . .
Basement, Abandoned Hotel, Shinjuku Ghetto
Kaname looked at the six people that were gathered around him: Inoue, Yoshida, Minami, Sugiyama, Nagata, and Tamaki. They were all seated cross-legged on the ground, since the basement was devoid of any furniture, and Kaname was standing in front of them. He took a deep breath and finally explained the reason why he'd asked to speak to all of them.
"As I've already told most of you, he's contacted me four times already since his message in December. He really wants to speak to us," Kaname said.
"The last time we tried to speak to him, it resulted in Britannia finding us," Tamaki said with a scoff.
"That was more Tara's fault than Reyes'," Sugiyama pointed out.
"I don't trust Reyes," Minami said finally. "He did just up and leave us when Andon attacked when he could've stayed and helped."
"Yeah, who's to say he won't do something like that again?" Yoshida said.
"Also, I still don't see why he's trying to recruit us. Why not a larger group?" Inoue said with a frown.
Kaname shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "But if we want to be able to fight against Britannia, there are things that we need that we don't have anymore; resources, supplies, weapons. We might be able to get these items from the Liberators."
"Maybe," Inoue said, "but they might not be willing to supply us if we don't agree to join them and, frankly, I don't know if I want to join a group who is willing to abandon the people they're trying to recruit."
"While I agree with that, there something you haven't considered," Kaname said. He'd been thinking about it a lot while he was waiting for his friends to show up at the designated space.
"What's that?" Tamaki asked with a frown.
"Reyes is not the leader of the Liberators. If you'll remember what Naoto told us, he told us that he was going to go speak to Reyes who had asked to speak to him after convincing his boss to help us."
"In other words, Reyes is like a medium we can use to speak to the Liberators' leadership without risking exposure of just who the true leadership of the Liberators is," Sugiyama realized.
"Exactly. That's why I think we should listen to him, or rather what the true leadership has to say through him. At the very least, we should see what he has to say and then decide, for ourselves, whether we want to accept his help or not," Kaname said.
The six of them were silent for a long moment.
"I still don't trust 'em," Tamaki said finally.
"Neither do I but...we could use the supplies and weapons," Minami said.
"Not to mention the backing of the Liberators could go along way of getting people to see that we're serious," Sugiyama admitted. "I mean, the Liberators may have lost on Hokkaido to Prince Lelouch and his Black Knights, and to Prince Schneizel in Cambodia, but they still have an impressive streak of wins."
"They've certainly got a reputation that would help us," Inoue admitted reluctantly, "but I still don't see why they're choosing to help us."
"We can ask Reyes that if we agree to hear him out," Kaname said and studied his friends. He could tell that, while they weren't exactly thrilled to be attempting to speak to Reyes, after their last meeting had ended in drastic tragedy, they were starting to lean in favor of it, if only because it could help their cause.
"I don't like it but I'll agree," Yoshida said finally. It wasn't long before Sugiyama, Minami, and Inoue agreed as well.
Tamaki scoffed. "Fine," he said. "But I ain't gonna let ya go speak with him alone. I'm going with ya."
"I think we should all go," Inoue said.
"If you want," Kaname said. "Okay, the meeting is tomorrow at noon at the old subway tunnel."
"What about Kallen?" Minami asked.
"I...think it would best if I just debrief her on it Saturday," Kaname said finally. "Besides, she'll be at school."
"She's not gonna like that," Yoshida said.
Kaname grimaced. "I know," he said.
. . .
March 3, 2017
Old Subway Tunnel, Shinjuku Ghetto
Kaname and the rest of the remnants of the Kozuki Resistance made their way into the subway tunnel about fifteen minutes until noon. Tamaki and Yoshida were bringing up the rear of the group, holding their guns, which were among the few weapons they'd managed to keep after the incident last June, while Kaname and Sugiyama walked at the head of the group. They edged along the edge of the tunnel in its shadows, heading away from the station they'd used to enter it.
They walked in silence, their footfalls crunching against scraps of paper or crunching against gravel were the only things that broke the silence. They were trying to be as quiet as possible but it wasn't possible to do so in the ruined tunnel.
They finally reached the rendezvous point that Reyes had given Kaname to find that there was no one there and he glanced at his companions. "Well, we are a bit early," he said.
"True. I wonder how they're gonna get here without anyone knowing," Minami mused.
"Well, I don't think Britannia's keeping an eye on the Shinjuku Ghetto since June so they might be able to just slip by everyone," Inoue said thoughtfully.
"Possibly," Kaname said.
They waited for a little while longer before they heard the sound of a small group of people approaching. Tamaki and Yoshida immediately clicked the safety off their guns and pointed it at the tunnel that lay ahead of them as two people approached them. All of them recognized Reyes in an instant, though they were unsure of who the other was. The one walking alongside Reyes was a tall, blonde man with broad-shoulders and dressed casually in jeans and a white button-down shirt.
To Kaname's surprise, the blonde men was the one who stepped forward, greeting them with a slight bow. "Hello, Kaname Ohgi," he greeted them politely. "I am Michal, the leader of one of the Liberators' cells here in Japan."
"Cells?" Tamaki echoed. "Ya mean there's more than one?"
Reyes scowled. "Not anymore, not since Sapporo," he said. "It would be that fucking bastard's cell that'd still be around." He started cursing quietly in Spanish and Michal, sighing, shook his head.
"Ignore him. He has a bit of a...history with the leader of the other cell here in Japan. To put it simply, they hate each other...intensely," he said. "However, while we may be one of the few to have survived the battle in Sapporo, the Liberators, as a whole, are still strong, numerous, and united."
Reyes cut off his cursing and snorted before muttering something in Spanish.
Michal gave him a warning look. "We have come to speak to you on behalf of Unity, the leader of the Liberators," he said, returning his attention to Kaname. "And I must extend my deepest apologies for what occurred last June. While it will not bring your old leader back, it is the least I can do. Reyes should not have left you as he had." Here, he gave another glare at Reyes who groaned and threw his hands over his head in frustration.
"I've already been scolded by both Unity and the bastard, twice! I don't need you scolding me too. Yes, I fucked up, yes I made a mistake. I'm only human, damn it!"
Kaname frowned to himself. Just based on what he'd heard so far, it was clear that the leadership of the Liberators weren't too happy that Reyes had left them when they had.
"I know you likely don't trust us because of what this idiot did," Michal said and Reyes scowled at him. "But we do wish to help. We do wish to give you the supplies and the weapons you may need to fight back against Britannia. And we do want you all to become part of the Liberators."
"Yeah? What if we don't wanna join ya?" Tamaki demanded.
"And why are you recruiting us anyway? Why not recruit the JLF or the Yamato Alliance or any of the other rebellions that've cropped up? They're much larger than us," Inoue said with a frown.
Michal shrugged. "Unity wishes to recruit you because you are not as large as the ones that you've mentioned. Due to you being relative newbies and small enough that you may be overlooked, you can help us with our plans for Tokyo itself," he said. "Naturally, I will not force you to join. I am simply here to offer you our support and supplies and weapons that you may need. You do not have to join us to obtain these supplies and weapons. That was one of the conditions that Unity set when he asked me to pass on his offer."
Kaname frowned. Weapons and supplies and no strings attached?
"No strings attached? Tch, it sounds too good to be true," Tamaki said.
"I've gotta agree with Tamaki here," Minami said with a shake of his head. "You must want something in return for us accepting these supplies and weapons."
Michal inclined his head. "You would be correct. While you do not have to join the Liberators if you don't want to, there is a price to be paid for our support. One from me and one from Unity. My price is simply this: one of my spies has recently reported to me that he's discovered something that Clovis is creating and I want to know what."
Kaname frowned. Could it be that poison gas that Naoto told us about last June? He thought.
"Okay, if that's what you want, what does Unity want?" Sugiyama asked.
"He wants Prince Lelouch."
"What?" Tamaki said, his voice confused and Kaname couldn't help but feel confused as well. "He wants the Demon Prince?"
"Dead?" Yoshida asked.
Michal shook his head. "No. He wants Prince Lelouch alive," he said.
"Why?" Inoue said confused.
"He has not told me. All he's said is that he wants the Demon Prince alive and as unharmed as possible," Michal said.
"Yeah, so don't let the bastard anywhere near him," Reyes muttered and then winced when Michal elbowed him hard in the side and glared at him. "Ow! What?! Oh...I said that in English, didn't I?"
"Yes," Michal deadpanned.
"Okay, you two are keeping something from us and, frankly, I don't like it," Tamaki said.
"I've gotta agree. What aren't you telling us?" Minami said.
Reyes sighed and folded his arms across his chest, leaning back on the balls of his feet. "Just tell 'em, Michal. If they do decide to join us then they've gotta know just what's going on," he said.
Michal sighed but nodded. "I suppose you're right. However, what I am about to tell you, you can't tell anyone. It would ruin our image in the eyes of everyone else," he said. "On your honor, I want you to swear you won't tell anyone of what I am about to tell you."
"Wow, must be pretty big if ya gotta say that," Tamaki said.
"It is," Michal said darkly.
"All right, we won't tell anyone," Kaname said finally and glanced at his friends who were looking at him. "The Liberators are the biggest threat that Britannia has ever faced; they are probably the ones that stand the greatest chance of actually winning against Britannia but that could be ruined if this secret gets out."
"It would because Britannia would use it against us the instant they found out and loose lips may spill it to them, even if you don't do so intentionally," Michal said. "Or spies or eavesdroppers can hear you say something incriminating."
"He's got a point," Sugiyama said.
Kaname continued to gaze at his friends as they agreed not to breathe a word and then turned to Michal. "So what is this secret?" he asked.
Michal sighed. "The Liberators are divided," he said. "Following the Battle of Sapporo, our forces have been split nearly in half; half of the cells we have throughout the world support Unity and the other half support Unity's second in command, a man..."
"A complete, sadistic psychopathic bastard, you mean," Reyes said with a growl.
"...named Nightfall," Michal said. "And...he's exactly as Reyes has described him. His and Unity's views started conflicting after Sapporo only because they both disagreed on what to do with Prince Lelouch. Nightfall wants him dead. Unity wants him alive."
"Why? Wouldn't it be better if the Demon Prince was dead?" Tamaki asked.
"Normally, yes, but Unity doesn't believe so. He believes that the Demon Prince might be a very powerful asset against Britannia. That is why he wants the prince brought to him alive. He believes that he may be able to convince the prince to help the Liberators and, considering the prince has proven himself a militaristic genius at Sapporo and Akita and even Osaka, he would be a strong asset."
"He's a prince though. Why the hell does this Unity think he'd ever turn against his own country?" Tamaki scoffed.
"Little things that he's noticed based on what he's managed to learn about the prince," Michal said. "We also have a spy that is attempting to find more information on the prince. Unity has decided that he won't side with Nightfall's decision regarding the prince until he has concrete evidence that the prince would never turn against his own country," Michal said.
"And Nightfall's just a psychotic bastard," Reyes put in. "He's only sore 'cause of the loss at Sapporo and that's the only reason why he wants the prince dead. He just wants to finish what he tried to do at Sapporo and he probably doesn't even care about the Liberators' cause anymore."
"That's debatable," Michal said.
Reyes snorted and muttered something under his breath in Spanish. "All we're saying is that we shouldn't judge the prince just based on his heritage or on what he's done so far. Sometimes, people would do anything to protect the ones that they care about and the prince may, very well, be doing just that."
"The way you're talking, it's as if he doesn't have a choice but to fight for Britannia," Inoue said.
"I'm saying that's a possibility but we won't know for sure until our spy can find out more information because, frankly, there's virtually nothing about the prince other than his mother was assassinated when he was ten and he and his little sister were sent to Japan as bargaining chips during the Sakuradite Crisis," Reyes said with a shrug.
"Wait, what? They were used as bargaining chips?" Minami echoed in shock. "I hadn't known that."
"Neither did I," Kaname said in surprise. I always knew the Emperor was bad but to use your own children as bargaining chips?
"...I think I said too much," Reyes said.
"Obviously," Michal said dryly.
"How do you even know that?" Inoue asked.
Michal sighed. "One of our late members was constantly visiting the Kururugi Shrine, where Prince Lelouch and his little sister had been sent, and overheard quite a bit during his time there in the days before the invasion," he said. "But that's not important right now. Right now, will you accept those conditions? As we've stated, in return, we will give you resources and weapons and you will have our support as you fight back against Britannia."
Kaname frowned. "Can we have some time to talk about it?" he asked.
"Of course," Michal said. "When you're done, or if you need more time, we'll be over here." He and Reyes walked away and only when they were out of earshot did Kaname turn to his friends.
"This is a lot to take in. The Liberators being divided. Unity wanting the Demon Prince alive. The possibility, however slim, that the Demon Prince is not fighting for Britannia of his own free will, it's a lot," Sugiyama said finally.
"Not to mention them being used as bargaining chips," Inoue said with a disgusted shake of her head. "What kind of father would do that to his own children?"
"You've gotta admit though, Sapporo, Akita, and even Osaka are very good examples of just how brilliant a military strategist the prince is," Minami said. "If the Liberators could get him on their side, it would help them greatly, especially since he's both Britannian and a member of the Royal Family."
It wasn't a secret that the Liberators wasn't just made up of any specific group of people. There were people from all over the world that were part of the Liberators; they'd even admitted that they had cells all over the world and Kaname honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were able to sway some Britannians to their cause. Well, maybe a little bit considering how Britannians were.
"It's for that reason that I don't think it's gonna happen," Sugiyama said. "I mean the possibility of him being forced to fight for his country is slim at best."
"But, in regards to the offer, can we really pass this up? I mean, Michal's condition doesn't seem like it'll be that hard. We already have one of Naoto's spies keeping an eye on Clovis anyway. Unity's condition is a bit trickier but can we really pass this up?" Minami said.
Inoue chewed on her lower lip. "I'm starting to think that we shouldn't," she said finally. "It's...It's just too good an opportunity to give up and...whether we like it or not, we do need their supplies and their weapons and their support would definitely help us. We might never get another chance like this."
Tamaki snorted. "I don't like it, not one bit, especially the part 'bout capturing the Demon Prince," he said. "They better not double-cross us again."
Kaname, knowing that was Tamaki's way of voicing his own support, glanced at Yoshida who sighed and nodded.
"It's too good an opportunity to pass up," he said. "I don't like it and I still don't trust them but if we wanna actually be able to fight back against Britannia again then we need what they're giving us."
"Then we're agreed?" Kaname said.
"You haven't given your opinion, Ohgi," Inoue said.
Kaname turned to gaze at Reyes and Michal in the distance. "I don't trust 'em but I agree that we need them and, perhaps, they're right about the prince. I don't know but it's not like we really have to have anything to do with the Liberators. We just have to find out what Clovis is doing and capture the prince and, while I'm positive the latter is not going to be easy whatsoever, that's all we have to do and we'll get the things we need to pick up where we left off. For Naoto's dream, I will agree to this. Michal!"
Michal walked back to join them with Reyes behind him. "So have you come to a decision?" he said.
"We have and we'll do it," Kaname said firmly.
. . .
March 4, 2017
Fenette Apartment, Tokyo Settlement
Lelouch yawned as he made his way down the hallway toward Shirley's apartment with Suzaku walking alongside him. He'd been lucky he'd managed to get the evening off. He hadn't expected it but Clovis had just grinned at him when he told him that he had something planned and then wished him luck on his date.
It wasn't as if Lelouch was behind anyway. He'd actually gotten ahead on his work enough so that he wouldn't be behind when he went back to work the next day.
Besides, there really wasn't much to do anyway.
But he was tired mostly because of working late into the night again; that had quickly become a bad habit of his. Thankfully, Jeremiah and Suzaku still insured that he got a few hours of sleep at least.
He reached the Fenette apartment and knocked on the door. The door opened and Shirley smiled nervously in greeting. "Hey Lulu," she said softly, opening the door all the way. She was dressed in a beige blouse and a dark-cream-colored skirt with her hair in a high ponytail. "Dad, Mom, Lulu's here. Come in, you two."
She led the way into the modest apartment and Lelouch followed with Suzaku trailing after him. Joseph and Emily Fenette met them in the living room; they hadn't really changed much since Lelouch had last seen them. Shirley had gotten her looks from her mother as Emily had the same orange-colored hair and the same yellowish-green eyes; Joseph was a tall man with thick, curly brown hair and a stern expression on his face.
"Lelouch," he greeted Lelouch cordially.
"Mr. Fenette," Lelouch replied equally as cordially. "Thank you for the invite. I hope you do not mind that my Knight has accompanied me."
"Not at all, Lelouch," Emily said with a kind smile at both him and Suzaku. "Shirley told me that you and your Knight would be coming so I made enough for everyone." A ding sounded and Emily looked up. "Oh, looks like the cookies are ready. Shirley, dear, will you come help me?"
"Sure thing, Mom. Daddy, please don't scare Lulu away," Shirley said and jogged after her mother.
"I make no promises," Joseph called after his daughter, not taking his gaze off Lelouch.
"Suzaku, go help Shirley and Mrs. Fenette," Lelouch ordered.
Suzaku looked like he was about to protest but decided against it and bowed slightly. "Yes, my prince," he said and turned, cloak swirling around his feet, and disappeared into the kitchen.
"Now, you might be a prince but, when it comes to my daughter, I don't care about that," Joseph said firmly. "I know you, Lelouch. I've known you since Shirley first introduced you to me and I liked you then, even if you were rather clueless about Shirley's affections until recently. That is why I don't feel this warning is necessary but I'll still say it. I don't care if you're a prince or the Emperor himself, if you hurt my daughter in anyway, I will kill you."
There was no doubt in Joseph's voice that he would follow through with his threat.
"I understand, sir," Lelouch said evenly.
"Now then, my main question is what are your intentions with my daughter?"
"I care about her a lot, Mr. Fenette," Lelouch said. "Maybe I'm falling in love with her. I don't know because I've never fallen in love before but I do know that I care about her enough to never hurt her. My intentions? At the moment, my intentions are to get to know her better. That's it at the moment, though. I don't want to pursue a romantic relationship with her, not now anyway."
Joseph frowned. "Why?"
Lelouch glanced toward the kitchen, eyes softening as he watched Shirley set up the table and smack Suzaku's hand when he attempted to snatch a freshly made cookie off the table. He cast a sidelong glance at Joseph and decided to tell him the truth. "I have a pretty large target on my back at the moment, Mr. Fenette. There's a very powerful enemy out there that wants me dead and I don't want Shirley to get caught in the crossfire nor do I want her to get hurt just because my enemy might be willing to use her to get at me if they found out about our relationship."
"You want to protect her," Joseph said.
"Yes."
"I can understand that," Joseph said finally. "All right, Lelouch. Whether you pursue a relationship with my daughter now or in the future, I'll give you a chance."
"Thank you, sir." That actually went better than I thought it would. I suppose that's probably because I've met Shirley's father before, Lelouch thought as Emily told them that dinner was served.
"These cookies are good," Suzaku commented later as everyone moved to the living room and Emily had placed a plate of cookies on the coffee table. The TV was on in the background, though no one was paying attention to it. Lelouch and Shirley were seated on the couch beside each other while Suzaku stood just behind the couch, chewing on one of the cookies he'd grabbed.
"Oh thank you," Emily said with a smile. "I enjoy baking and experimenting with different kinds of recipes. I didn't know how white chocolate would work with cranberries though."
"They are good, Mrs. Fenette," Lelouch said, chewing on his own cookie with an arm around Shirley's shoulders as the orangette rested her head on his shoulder. How they got into that position, no one knew; it just sort of happened.
"If you want, you can take some with you, Lelouch," Emily said.
Lelouch hummed. "I think I might. My Royal Guard might like to try them," he said. "And I know Nunnally would.
"I'll go get a bag ready for you for when you leave, Lelouch," Emily said and left the living room.
"Oh, Lulu, I forgot to tell you," Shirley said, lifting her head off Lelouch's shoulder. "Well, Milly was supposed to tell you herself but we haven't really heard from you the past few days."
"I've been rather busy," Lelouch admitted. "What's this about?"
"We got another new student."
Lelouch raised an eyebrow, amused. "New students just keep coming out of the woodwork," he mused. "All right, who's Milly's newest minion?"
Shirley giggled. "His name's Rai," she said. "He's got amnesia and Milly decided to let him stay at Ashford Academy and attend as a student until he gets his memories back. He's staying in the clubhouse, in the opposite wing as Nunnally and Nunnally's bodyguard has already been informed."
Lelouch had been about to demand why they would place an amnesiac they didn't know in the same place as his little sister but was mollified, slightly, by the fact that Nunnally's bodyguard knew, at least.
"I'll want to meet him," he said.
"I know. We kinda figured that. If you can come by the clubhouse on Monday, we can introduce you but I think he's an all right guy," Shirley said.
Lelouch hummed. I'll be the judge of that, he thought. When it came to his little sister, he was paranoid and overprotective to a fault, and he was still trying to find the person who attempted to assassinate Nunnally. Even if this Rai kid hadn't been a student when that assassination attempt happened, that didn't mean that Lelouch was going to trust him. But then, earning his trust was very hard to do.
. . .
March 6, 2017
Meeting Room, Student Council Clubhouse
Tara paced in the meeting room, glaring out the window. Months had passed since she'd severed ties with B.B. but she still couldn't help but be furious with him. She still couldn't believe that he didn't want her to go after everyone who was related to the Emperor. But she was sticking with what she told B.B.; she was going to do things her way.
And, now, after five months, she would finally have her shot. She'd gotten to the meeting room early and she knew that only Briana was with the princess today since Sayoko was buying groceries. All she need to do was get them alone, then she could use her Geass to throw something at Briana and knock her out, then she could use the knife she'd stolen from the clubhouse's kitchen, and kill the princess.
This time, my plan is foolproof. I just have to do it before the prince comes by since Shirley did mention that the prince would be coming by to meet Rai, she thought and tightened her grip on the knife that she had in her hands.
She paused in her pacing and tucked the knife away as the door opened and turned toward it, watching as Briana and Princess Nunnally made their way into the meeting room. The princess tilted her head to the side. "Am I early, Briana? There doesn't seem to be anyone here," she said.
"No. Tara's here," Briana said.
"Oh, hi Tara," Princess Nunnally said with a sweet smile that made Tara want to scream. How could anyone be that nice? She's the daughter of the Emperor. She shouldn't be nice! She'll just turn out like the Emperor if I let her live. I won't let her live, Tara thought furiously but plastered on a fake smile.
"Oh, hello, Nunnally. I'm here early too, apparently," she said brightly, waiting for them to move away from the door. She already had her eye on what she would throw at Briana's head and if she focused hard enough, she should be able to get it to hit Briana hard enough to knock her out.
Finally, they'd reached the table and Tara jumped into action. Her left eye burned and she focused on the globe at the far corner of the room, jerking her head and, with her mind, she threw it as hard as she possibly could at Briana. The globe crashed into her head hard enough for the globe to crack and Briana to stumble back.
Damn, not enough! Tara used her Geass to throw everything she could think of at Briana. Briana, snarling in fury while Princess Nunnally cried out, wondering what was going on, dodged the things that Tara threw at her.
Ignoring the slight pain in her head, she continued to use her Geass, throwing everything she could possibly think of in the meeting room. Briana managed to dodge all of them swiftly but Tara, frustrated, yanked out the knife and threw it at Briana, using her Geass to grab hold of the knife with her mind and ensure that it met its target.
Briana gasped, a gurgle, as the knife sank into her throat and she sank bonelessly to the ground, hands attempting to stop the bleeding.
Tara huffed. "Finally," she said and turned to a terrified Princess Nunnally.
"Briana?" she called.
"She's dead and soon you will be too," Tara said coolly, walking around the table and yanking the knife out of Briana's throat before advancing on the princess.
"B...But...why?" the princess asked in confusion.
"I'm finishing what I started in the museum," Tara growled.
The princess gasped. "Y...You're the o...one who s...shot Big Brother?" she stammered out, white-faced and terrified and defenseless. She couldn't do a damn thing and Tara was going to take advantage of that. She let out a laugh as she glared at the princess.
"Yes. Shame he's still alive. But you won't be anymore, you worthless bitch," she growled and lunged at Princess Nunnally.
The door slammed open at that moment and Tara, with a scream, found herself tackled away from the princess. Both she and the person who tackled her went tumbling into the chairs, supplies, and bookcases that lay between the large windows and the meeting room's table.
She attempted to stab her assailant with the knife, only to scream in pain when her attacker grabbed her arm and, with a sharp twist, broke it. The knife went flying, skidding under the table and out of sight and Tara finally got a good look at her attacker; blue eyes framed by golden hair.
Adeline.
"You little…Kallen was right about you. You really are a bitch. No, you're worse than a bitch!" Adeline snarled, slamming Tara's head hard enough into the floor to cause stars to snap into existence in front of Tara's eyes. "How dare you? How dare you try to kill someone who is innocent and defenseless like Nunnally?!"
"She's a member of the Royal Family. She deserves to die!" Tara screamed, slamming her knee into Adeline's stomach and throwing her off. She slipped to her feet and dove at Adeline who dodged out of the way and crashed a roundhouse kick into Tara's head, throwing her off her feet again. Scowling, Tara activated her Geass, grabbed hold of a chair with her mind and threw it at Adeline who, yelping, quickly dodged out of the way and chair sailed over her head to crash and break into pieces against the wall.
Her head throbbed but Tara ignored it as she used her Geass to grab another item and threw it at Adeline who dodged out of the way again. As she did that, Tara edged her way around her, heading around the table toward where she could see her knife resting on the ground. She threw a third chair at Adeline who jumped to the side to avoid it and scowled when Tara dived toward her knife, grabbing it in her uninjured hand and jumping to her feet.
She lunged at the terrified Nunnally but Adeline jumped onto the table and dived at Tara, sending both of them tumbling through the door that was still open from when Adeline had entered the room. Tara's knife sank into Adeline's arm but the golden-haired girl ignored the pain as she slammed her hand into Tara's injured one, causing her to scream in pain and wildly stab at Adeline, nearly planting the knife in Adeline's neck.
The golden-haired girl jerked her head back and hissed in pain when the knife nicked her neck. She grabbed Tara's wrist but Tara kneed her in the stomach and then, activating her Geass, grabbed her and threw her away. Adeline sailed across the ground to crash into a pillar and slump to the ground but, as Tara used her uninjured hand to push herself to her knees, Adeline scrambled to her feet.
Tara, her head hurting more than ever, gritted her teeth and deactivated her Geass. The pain in her head was reaching migraine level, which she knew was her body's way of telling her that she was using her Geass too much.
She would just have to rely on her own skills rather than her Geass.
. . .
Adeline hadn't exactly been expecting anything to happen when she arrived at the clubhouse early for the meeting. She figured that she would just get to work on her homework or start working on finding activities to take place during the Prez's annual spring festival. When she'd heard the cry of confusion, she'd started running toward the meeting room without even realizing it, mostly because she'd recognized the cry as belonging to Princess Nunnally.
In the months it's been since Adeline started going to Ashford Academy, there was no denying that she'd gotten close to the student council and to Princess Nunnally. At first, she'd done so primarily to get close to Prince Lelouch and find out more information about him, since very little was actually known aside from him being a tactical and strategical military genius who's mother was assassinated and who'd been in Japan before, during, and after the invasion. She also was trying to figure out if her big brother was right and Prince Lelouch did hold a strong resentment toward the Royal Family.
But, after the past five months since she'd joined, Adeline started to see the student council and Princess Nunnally as her friends. She'd never really had friend beyond the Liberators and, even then, she wasn't entirely sure she could count them as friends. The student council and Princess Nunnally were a different matter; she wasn't even sure when she'd become friends with them but she felt that she had.
So when she heard Nunnally's cry, she burst into action. She neared the door just in time to hear Tara's familiar voice declare that Briana was dead and that, soon, Nunnally would be too. Something inside her snapped and Adeline launched herself through the door and at the aqua-haired girl.
And that was how she found herself in her current situation; her arm was bleeding from the knife that Tara sank into it and her back hurt from its collision with the pillar. Tara held the knife in her left hand, her right arm hung uselessly next to her and her eyes glittered with pain. Tara's eyes flicked to the meeting room and, in that moment, Adeline launched herself at her, slamming another roundhouse kick into Tara's head and throwing her off her feet again.
Tara was quick to get to her feet though and jumped at Adeline, knife outstretched but Adeline, taking advantage of the aqua-haired girl's reckless move, grabbed Tara's uninjured arm and flipped her over her, slamming her onto her back. She then grabbed Tara's uninjured arm and wrenched the knife from her hand, throwing it away.
Tara snarled as she swiftly rolled away from Adeline, her aqua hair curtaining her face as she used her uninjured hand to push her to her feet.. "Why must everyone keep getting in my way? That princess should've fucking died in that fucking museum!" she screamed.
"She is an innocent disabled girl," Adeline shouted, blue eyes flaring with rage. "How dare you? How dare you?!"
It wasn't just because of Princess Nunnally being disabled and innocent that Adeline had snapped as she had when she heard Tara shout that Nunnally was going to die. It was also because of the bad memories it brought back; she could still remember the day her and Unity's village had been destroyed by Britannia, about how the Britannian soldiers actually laughed and stated that the villagers were going to die, many of whom were just as innocent as Princess Nunnally.
To see someone she thought was her friend acting like the Britannians that destroyed her home had just been too much for her to handle and she snapped.
"She's a member of the Royal Family. She deserves to die!" Tara shrieked. "And if you get in my way, I'll kill you too!"
"Try it because I won't let you kill an innocent girl. You are just as bad as the Britannian soldiers who destroyed my village!" Adeline screamed as she lunged at Tara.
"I am nothing like Britannia!" Tara shouted, dodging out of the way and tackling Adeline, sending them both tumbling to the ground again, exchanging kicks, punches, and scratches as they rolled around the ballroom's floor.
"You are a fucking hypocrite if you think you're nothing like those Britannian soldiers who destroyed my village!" Adeline shouted, slamming her fist into Tara's side.
"Britannia destroyed my family and my home too!" Tara shouted. "You should understand me. We've both lost things to Britannia! The Royal Family must pay!"
"It was not them that killed my family and destroyed my village and it most certainly was not Princess Nunnally!" Adeline shouted back.
"She's a daughter of the Emperor."
"Who cares? She was not the one who pulled the trigger, she was not the one who set fire to my home, she was not the one who bombed houses and buildings to root out terrorists! She did nothing like that."
"She's a child of the Emperor. Her crimes are her father's!"
"No child should be blamed for the crimes of her father!"
"Are you really that stupid that you can't see that I'm right?"
"Are you really so stupid that you can't see that I'm the one that's right here?"
All the while they were shouting at each other, they were exchanging punches, kicks, and scratches, rolling across the ballroom floor that was dotted with blood from Adeline's wound. She didn't even notice the pain; her mind was blank with fury so she felt numb to everything else.
"Why do you protect Britannia after what they did to you family and your village? Why don't you seek revenge?" Tara shouted, attempting to knee Adeline in the stomach again.
"Because I don't want anyone else to die for no good reason! Soldiers walk onto the battlefield knowing that they may die and I respect that, that's their decision, but that doesn't mean innocent people who've never seen the battlefield deserve to die!"
"She's part of the Royal Family! She's the Demon Prince's sister."
"So what? She's still innocent. Yes, her brother is the Demon Prince but her brother chose to step onto the battlefield, even though he knows that he might not step off it alive, but she didn't! Her brother chose to fight for Britannia! That was his decision and I respect it because I find it very honorable to fight for one's country!" Or one's freedom, she thought and, realizing what she'd revealed to Tara earlier, she cursed herself. She hadn't meant to reveal that bit about her past but she pushed the thought away. What's done is done. "But Princess Nunnally did not! She is just an innocent student who wants to get through high school and you are a fucking hypocritical bitch for going after her like this."
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Tara screamed as they continued to roll around the ballroom floor.
Adeline, pinning Tara down and putting pressure on Tara's injured arm, glared down at Tara. "You are the worst sort of person to ever exist in this entire world," she snarled. Worse than Nightfall and that's saying something, she thought.
Tara spat out a series of curses at Adeline. "You're no miss angel yourself, bitch," she snarled as she struggled to break free.
"I'm not an angel. I never said that I was. Princess Nunnally is the angel and I will not let you harm her," Adeline spat furiously.
"Try and stop me," Tara spat. "You can't do a damn thing!"
"I know the truth," Adeline snapped. "I'll tell Prince Lelouch. I'll tell him everything that occurred here. Princess Nunnally can tell him everything that I missed. Who do you think he's going to believe? Me and his little sister or you?"
"He'll never believe you!"
"Oh? Are you so sure about that?" The new voice that echoed in the ballroom caused Adeline and Tara to freeze in shock.
Slowly, Adeline lifted her head and Tara tilted her head back.
Standing in the doorway of the ballroom and watching them with burning amethyst eyes filled with a hatred and an anger that made Adeline cringe was Lelouch vi Britannia, the Demon Prince of Britannia.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Suzaku: Blaze is still in hiding from Nunnally's fans who are out for her blood so Kallen and I will take care of this ending note
Shirley: why won't Lelouch?
Euphie: you're kidding, right? He's leading the band of Nunnally's fans who are out for Blaze's blood
Shirley: oh
Kallen: by the way, where did Lelouch get those dragons?
Suzaku: I honestly have no clue. Anyway, Blaze knows that there's a cliffhanger and she hopes that she will be able to update again within the week but she makes no promises
Kallen: the next chapter has a very important scene in which B.B. is explored a bit more thoroughly but that's then and this is now
Suzaku: do we have anything else to say about this chapter?
Kallen: ...I don't think so
Suzaku: well, I guess I'll just go ahead and end it. If we remember something, we can just mention it in the next chapter. Blaze hopes that you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are much appreciated, and thank you for reading!
