Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Code Geass, this is just something I'm doing as a hobby. All characters used in this story belong to their respective licenses.
Chapter 1
May 16, 2017 7:27 AM Ashford Academy, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11 (Japan)
A typical spring day in the Britannian territory of Area 11 usually consisted of cool weather and sunny skies, but recently a large thunderstorm had moved into the area. Rain was pouring down outside of Ashford Academy as the students arrived and scurried inside to attend their final day of the year. Ashford Academy was a very prestigious school that was established in Tokyo after the fall of Japan. It was a secondary school that educated Britannian citizens from the ages of 11 to 18. An expensive looking black town car could be seen coming to a stop outside of the academy's gate.
"We've arrived, Master Noah" said an elderly gentleman sitting behind the steering wheel. The older man looked up into his rearview mirror when he didn't hear a response to see his young ward fast asleep in the back seat. The person in question had blonde spikey hair with jaw length bangs on both sides of his face and dark blue eyes. The old man turned and reached out to Noah and began to shake him awake.
"Wake up young master, or you'll be late for the morning ceremony" he informed the sleeping boy. If anyone else was there they could hear the amusement in the old man's voice as he awoke Noah.
"Ugh, my mistake Walter. You know how the rain tends to make me sleep." Noah said to the now named Walter. The boy rubbed his eyes to get the sand out and then he quickly looked for his red canvas briefcase. He soon found it and began to hastily make his way out the car door before he heard a cough aimed to get his attention.
Noah looked back over to his long time family butler to see him smirking at the young man while offering him an umbrella.
Walter C. Dornez was an older tall gentleman that was usually seen wearing black dress pants, a white dress shirt with a purple tie and a purple vest. Walter had been the butler for his family for over forty years and as long as Noah has known him he's had long dark hair that he kept in a ponytail. He also wore a monocle, something the blonde thought went well with the look he was going for.
"You might need this, sir." Walter suggested to the highschooler. Noah let out a sheepish laugh at his mistake and grabbed the umbrella.
"Thanks Walter. I don't know what I'd do without you" Noah graciously thanked the man who helped raise him.
"I shudder at the thought, sir." Walter jested in good nature.
"Have a good day Master Noah and do greet Miss Milly for me.'' Walter told Noah once he stepped out of the car and opened his umbrella.
"Will do Walter, I'll see you later." The young Ashford said to his family caretaker just before he shut the car door.
There wasn't a whole lot of time left before the school's morning ceremony for the final day started, so Noah quickly made his way up the courtyard to get inside. The school seemed to have this tradition of a morning ceremony on the last day of the school year. While he would be finishing his second year of upper secondary school, it was his first time attending the annual ceremony.
Once Noah made it inside he immediately made his way to his locker, so he could put his umbrella up. The halls were fairly empty, most of the students were in the auditorium, but there were a few students in the hallways. He received friendly greetings from everyone he passed and even a group of girls started giggling when he waved back at them. Ever since he started here people had been friendly towards him, and he didn't have any problems with anyone here.
He wasn't a fool though, he knew that a lot of the sincerity he received was fake. People always seemed to go out of their way to be friendly to him, and he figured out at an early age that it was because of who his father was.
His father Michael Ashford was the Commander of the Britannian security forces here in Area 11. It was a position his father received from the Emperor after the war. Michael Ashford was an exceptional Knightmare pilot for Britannia before and during the war, a Knight of the Round in fact, but he sustained an injury in the war with Japan and was forced to take a desk job. He accepted it with dignity, but his son could tell it was something that still bothered him.
Anytime Noah thought about his father it put him in a sour mood, so he put those thoughts out of his head. It was the last day of school and he didn't want to be in a bad mood all morning.
Noah soon arrived at his locker. He opened it and put his umbrella and a few school books into it, but just before he shut it two hands came around to the front of his face and covered his eyes.
"Guess who?" said a playful voice he had known all his life. Noah playfully rolled his eyes even though no one could see them and smiled.
"Charles zi Britannia" he replied to her with some joy in his voice. The girl laughed, and lowered her hands, so Noah could turn around and greet her.
"Not as important, but close enough" she cheekly replied with a wink.
The young lady talking to him was Noah's cousin, Milly Ashford. Noah didn't have any siblings, so Milly was the closest thing he had to a sister and she was his closest friend as well. Milly was a tall girl for her age, standing at the same height as him. She also had wavy blonde hair that reached to about her shoulders, fair skin and the same blue eyes as Noah. It seemed to be a common trait in the Ashford line.
"What are you doing out in the hall? Aren't you supposed to be in the auditorium getting ready for the ceremony?" The male Ashford furrowed his brows in confusion while he asked her. Milly and Noah started to make their way to the auditorium to join the others.
"I was looking for you actually, we were starting to wonder if you were gonna make it in time. You know that since you're a part of the student council these things are mandatory right?" Milly asked him. Noah rolled his eyes when she asked him this.
"Yeah, I know. I didn't mean to be late, but I slept in this morning. Walter had to wake me up twice. Oh he also told me to tell you hello." He explained to her. Milly's face broke out into a smile when she heard that. It had been some time since she had seen the butler, and she missed him dearly. Her parents and Noah's father had a falling out some years ago and it resulted in all of the Ashford's besides Noah and his father losing their nobility. Walter stayed with Michael Ashford and even though it wasn't said out loud Milly's side of the family knew he only did so for Noah. She missed how things used to be before the war, everything was much better for all of them.
Milly was brought out of her thoughts when she felt her cousin put his hand on her shoulder to get her attention.
"Hey, you zoned out there. Are you ok?" Noah asked her with concern. Milly gave him a half hearted grin in return.
"Yeah I was just thinking about the old days." Milly told him. The young man frowned when she said this. He tried not to think about his childhood, because it would always be too painful, but he could understand how she felt.
"Well, let's talk about something else then. No need to bring that stuff up right now" Noah told her. Hopefully a change of subject would take his cousin's mind off of those things. Milly smiled in appreciation at her cousin's concern.
"Yeah you're right. We need to get back. Grandfather should be making his speech soon." Milly told him as she started walking again at a faster pace with Noah quickly following close behind.
The two Ashfords could hear the students from outside in the hallway before they saw them. It seemed all the students had finally arrived and were standing around, waiting for the speech. Milly and Noah made their way to the stage to sit with the other members of the student council. They were able to quickly make it to the stage thanks to the crowd making the space for them.
The Ashfords were treated like celebrities at the school, and Milly seemed to enjoy it, but Noah didn't care for it all that much. He had tried to tell the other students to treat him the same as any other when he first started here, but his plea fell on deaf ears. He learned to just go with the flow, it was much easier on him that way.
Noah and Milly walked onto stage and made their way to the designated seats of the student council. The other members were already in their seats waiting on them. Noah was happy to see them, the members of the student council being his friends. Milly was the student council president, so she took her seat at the end of the row.
The order of the seats was determined by the importance of the role each member had. Milly was at the far right end because she was the president, but Noah was on the opposite end. He was the newest member of the council and he didn't have a specific role like most of the others.
Noah was seated next to Nina Einstein. Nina was a small shy young girl with dark green hair that she kept short. She also had two long braids lining down both of her shoulders, and she wore round glasses over her indigo eyes.
He noticed that Nina seemed nervous while she was sitting in her seat. He would have started a conversation with her to help calm her nerves, but he didn't think it would help her much. She was a shy person, a woman of few words. The blonde also suspected that she had a severe case of xenophobia, especially towards Elevens. She always seemed frightened at just the mere mention of them. He had asked his cousin about it a while back and she told him that Nina had a bad experience with Elevens when she visited the ghetto a while back and always seemed to hold an irrational fear of all Elevens. Nina did have one thing going for her and that was her intelligence. Noah was very impressed once he saw just how smart she was, and he didn't have much doubt that she was probably the smartest girl he had ever met. He liked Nina, but he wished that she could get over her fear of Elevens.
Rivalz Cardemonde, the Student Council secretary, was the person seated on the other side of Nina. Rivalz was a fairly short guy with blue hair that went to about his ears, he had bangs that spread out to both sides of his face. He was probably the most easy going guy that Noah knew and he was always looking for a way to have some fun. Rivalz also had a pretty open secret in the student council and that was his crush that he had on Noah's cousin. Everybody in the
Council seemed to know about it except Milly, but Noah knew how smart she was and he wouldn't be surprised if she did know too.
To Rivalz's left was a young girl by the name of Shirley Fennete. Shirley was the Council Treasurer, a position that she took very seriously. She had long orange hair that reached her hips, and a portion of her hair hung down over her left shoulder. Her eyes were a yellowish green and they always seemed to express how cheerful she was. Shirley was a sweet, caring, smart, and outgoing young girl. She was the first person at the school to talk to him and become his friend, besides Milly of course. Rivalz and Shirley shared something in common and that was an unrequited love for someone. Shirley had a big crush on the Vice President of the Student Council, a young man named Lelouch Lamperouge.
Lelouch was a tall young man at about the same height as Noah at 5'10. He had black hair that hung to his chin with violet eyes. Lelouch, while tall, was actually quite skinny, some would say scrawny even. It had been something that the others teased him about from time to time, especially during P.E. Lelouch made up for his physical shortcomings by being one of the smartest people Noah had ever met. Nina was the only one close to Lelouch's intellect, but Nina excelled in book smarts. Lelouch's talent was in social and strategic intelligence. At school Lelouch was sociable, likable and easygoing which made him very popular, especially with the girls, but Noah knew that there was more to Lelouch than that.
Noah and Lelouch had a long history all the way back to when they were children. The truth about Lelouch was that he and his sister Nunnally were actually royalty. The two siblings were the children of the late Imperial consort Marianne vi Britannia and Emperor Charles zi Britannia of the Britannian Empire. Lelouch and his sister's heritage was a closely kept secret that was known only to Noah, Milly and her family. The reason this knowledge was kept secret was for Lelouch's and Nunnally's safety, and that was because of what had happened to the two of them 8 years ago.
Noah was broken out of his train of thought as a hush had come over the crowd. His grandfather had arrived and walked up on stage to approach the podium to address the student body. Noah's grandfather was a serious man with an aura of no nonsense. He had always been this way from the time Noah had known him, but he was also a sensible man with a strong sense of honor. He never had any trouble with the man before and they got along well enough, but because of what had happened between his father and the Ashfords there was always this sense of awkwardness in the air when they were around each other.
His grandfather began the speech by congratulating the students on their hard work for the past year and began to talk about them being good examples of the school during their summer break. Unfortunately for him, Noah didn't care to hear the boring speech and began to drift back in thought to his family problems and what had happened to them 7 years ago.
(7 years ago) Tokyo, Japan.
Tick-Tick-Tick-Tick
A ticking sound could be heard and it was coming from an old and ornate grandfather clock that had been nestled into a room. A young boy with a blank look in his eyes was sitting on his bed motionless. This was how it had been for 10 year old Noah Ashford ever since his father and the Britannians had found and captured him and his mother a week ago.
Once the war for Japan had ended and Britannia won, Noah and his mother Kushina had gone into hiding. They moved around alot in the following months hoping to avoid detection from the Britannians, but sadly they were found in an abandoned shopping mall in the war torn Shinjuku district. The mall had been used as a safehouse for Japanese citizens to hide from Britannian patrols while they tried to make their way out of the city, but someone had ratted them out. The Britannians had arrived and raided the warehouse in the middle of the night. There was fighting and it was bloody but it didn't last long before the Britannians won and captured the remaining refugees including him and his mother.
The Britannians moved the two of them to a facility to hold political prisoners, but Noah was only in there for a week before he was released. His father had arrived and pulled some strings to get him to be released into his custody. Unfortunately the same couldn't be said for his mother. She had committed serious crimes against Britannia before and during the war. Sadly there wasn't anything that Noah could do to stop what was going to happen to her today. He had tried to reason with his father, but the man rebuked him every time, he even pleaded with the man, but his father ignored him.
Noah was doing the same thing he had been doing the past two days after the inevitability of his mother's situation became clear to him. He hadn't gotten out of his bed once he realized there wasn't anything more he could do to help his mom and he was devastated. He had cried nonstop the first day, and Walter had come to check on him from time to time but Noah wouldn't answer him. Now the only thing he could do was wait for the inevitable, he knew that Walter would be by to check on him eventually. Noah was supposed to be ready to go to the facility with his father soon, but he just didn't have the heart to put on clothes right now, not when he knew what he was going to see today.
The sound of the door opening broke the silence that had enveloped the young Ashford's room. Noah knew who it was at the door but he didn't bother acknowledging the person, instead he kept his gaze on his window looking outside. "Master Noah, it's nearly time to go. You should be getting ready." Walter gently told the heartbroken boy.
Noah didn't answer the man and did not make a move to get ready like he should. Walter cast his eyes towards the floor and sighed in sadness. The older man hated to see his young ward this way. He had helped raise Noah from when he was in diapers and he remembered just how much joy and happiness the boy radiated when he was younger. To see him like this put a
heavy weight on the old butler's heart. Walter knew that he would have to help the boy muster up the strength he would need, to be able to face this adversity today.
Walter walked over to Noah and placed his hand on the child's shoulder to get his attention. "Noah, listen to me," Walter gently instructed the boy. Noah turned and looked at Walter in surprise. For as long as he's known Walter he's never called him by just his name before.
"I know what you're going through is very difficult right now, but you need to be brave today." Walter told the blonde as gently as he could. He knew what he was asking of the boy was unfair, especially someone so young. The problem though was the boy's father. He was making sure Noah was going to attend this event today and he wanted his son to act like a noble worthy of his station. That strict cold man wouldn't expect anything less from his heir.
Tears began to form in Noah's eyes and he began to weep. "I can't Walter. I can't do this. I won't watch Mom get executed. She's my mother." Noah said in between sobs and hiccups. Walter frowned at what the boy said. It upset him too that the boy was going to have to see this and the thought of Lady Kushina dying brought an ache to his heart.
Walter reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a handkerchief and gave it to Noah to clean his face. "I know what's being asked of you is unfair, but don't do it for me or your father or anyone else. Do it for your mother. You know as well as I that your father will make you go regardless of how you feel. Wouldn't it be better to face this head on. How do you think your mother will feel if she sees you like this? At least that way you can show her how strong you've become. That way she won't be worried about you after she's gone." Walter told the crying boy as he sat down next to him. Noah was trembling where he sat on his bed while listening to the old man's words.
"Be brave for your mother, and by doing so you can give her some comfort. I know that she would want you to be safe, strong and more importantly happy. If you can show her that, then I know you will help her." Walter told Noah with confidence. He hoped what he had said would give the young boy the courage and strength that he needed today.
The old butler waited on his ward to say something for a while, but Walter was getting more worried the longer it took for Noah to say something. Right before Walter was about to speak up, Noah let out a deep shaky sigh. "Ok Walter I'll do it. I'll do it for Mom.'' He said with resolve as he looked up at Walter. The butler smiled, impressed with the strength Noah was showing right now. "Good, now get dressed. I'll run interference on your father and give you some more time." Walter said to him as he got up and walked to the door.
"Walter. Thank you, for everything." Noah called out and told him before he left his room. Walter paused when Noah spoke to him and contemplated on what to say next. "It isn't a problem at all sir, if you ever need anything, know that I'm always here to help you." Walter replied to his young ward with a bright smile, while conveying his care for the boy he helped raise.
Noah smiled back in gratitude as Walter left. He turned and looked at his closet that contained his new clothes that had been bought for him. After his talk with Walter, the Ashford boy felt like he had the strength needed to face what was to come today. With that, he got up and walked to his closet to put on his clothes that his father had picked out for him the night before.
It took him some time but eventually he was able to get on the clothes and make his way down the stairs towards the foyer. Noah made sure to show no emotion on his face as he came down the stairs, because his father was there, waiting for him at the door.
Michael Ashford was 6'2 with spikey blonde hair that reached his chin, fair skin and dark blue eyes. He was an imposing man, even more so while in his military uniform and that was what it seems he decided to wear today to his wife's execution. It made Noah sick to his stomach seeing his father like this. He had hoped that maybe he could see or sense some regret from the man, but with one look at his father, he knew that the man felt no such emotion right now.
"Took you long enough boy, any later and I was going to come up there and get you dressed or not." The Ashford patriarch frowned while speaking to his heir. Noah grit his teeth in anger. He was seething inside as he walked up towards the door and stopped before his father.
"I'm sorry father, it won't happen again" Noah answered him with an emotionless tone in his voice. He could tell that his father was testing him. The man knew how his son felt about what was going to happen today and he was agitating him on purpose. 'Probably some sick idea of his to see if I can keep my temperament like a ''good'' noble' Noah thought in disdain.
Michael grunted in return, not particularly happy with the response, but satisfied with it. "Well, let's get going, I don't want to be late." Michael told his son, uncaring about how heartless he sounded.
Noah had to take a calming breath to keep himself from speaking up and lashing out at his father. Even though he knew what the man was doing, it was still extremely difficult to keep his cool. 'I won't give the bastard the satisfaction.' He thought to himself hoping it would help harden his resolve.
The Ashford patriarch opened the door and made his way outside with his son following. The family's black town car was waiting outside with Walter in the driver's seat. Walter looked over towards them when he heard the front door open. He nodded towards both of the men as they approached the car to get in. Noah smiled and nodded back towards Walter to show him that he was doing better now which gave the old butler pride in his ward and relief that has handling this better.
Noah got into the car after Walter got out and opened the driver side backdoor for his father. The tension in the car was palpable once he and his father were seated next to each other, but it didn't seem to bother the older Ashford. Noah was uncomfortable with the tension, so he
decided to take his mind off of it by looking out the window and taking in his surroundings as Walter drove through the front gate of their property.
The area surrounding their new home was in pristine condition because the war didn't touch this area of the suburbs of the former city of Tokyo. The mansion that Noah's father was given was located in a rich and influential neighborhood on the outskirts of the city. The weather they had today really showed the beauty of this place with its bright blue skies and rich green grass along the roads. The fields that ran parallel to the roads were littered with beautiful flowers that his mother would have loved to have seen.
The thought of his mother brought Noah back to the reality of this situation and how he had failed to convince his father to help his mother. He had thought that they cared for each other despite their problems, but he was wrong.
'I was such a fool. Mother never had a chance.' Noah thought to himself in despair as Walter drove them into the city.
'All those years they were married and he never cared for her. He just saw her as a political tool to be used for his benefit and an annoyance when she would oppose something he wanted.' The sadden young boy thought to himself.
The Uzumaki clan's property in Japan housed the largest Sakuradite mine in the world underneath Mt. Fuji and that was the reason Kushina and Michael were married. The Ashfords wanted access to Sakuradite to use as their power source for the Knightmares they were building. The Uzumaki's wanted the opportunity of having access to the nobility of the Britannian Empire and the influence and money that would bring them.
'It was just a business deal that had turned sour.' Noah thought as he tightly gripped the arm rest next to his seat. The thought of how his father and grandfather treated his mother incensed him. If his grandfather was still alive he would have found a way to make him pay for that.
That was something else that he found out from his father after his release from the jail. The Uzumaki's had been rounded up and killed after he and his mother fleed. They didn't spare any one, even the women and children. After finding out the truth of his parents' marriage Noah didn't feel much of anything for his grandfather anymore but it hurt to hear about his cousins Nagato and Karin. They were the nicest members of his family and they deserved better than what they got.
His mother's side of the family weren't the only ones to have had something drastic and unfortunate happen to them. The Ashfords had fallen out of nobility and were no longer living in Britannia. His father had told him that after Lady Marianne was murdered the Ashford's lost their standing in the government.
The Ashfords had rubbed a lot of the nobles the wrong way over the years and once their sponsor had died the nobility didn't waste their chance to get rid of them. There was another reason why they were pushed out, but it was only a rumor. The nobles and the government had suspicions that the Ashfords or someone in the foundation had helped his mother by providing her with the documents she stole. They were never able to prove it, but the suspicion remained. His father was able to avoid losing his nobility and knighthood. He was able to separate himself from the family because the Emperor favored him and also because of his status as a Knight of the Round. He became the next Ashford patriarch by default and since Noah was his son, he became the next heir.
Noah did find out from Walter that his family moved to Area 11 actually. They had decided to open a school for the Britannians children that would be living here now. He hadn't heard or seen any of them since he left with his mother two years ago and he hoped that sometime in the future he could. His father hadn't mentioned where he would be going to school once the school year started. Maybe he could talk him into letting him attend Ashford, so he could see Milly again.
All of this thinking about family did the job of taking his mind off of what was going to happen soon, but reality was slowly approaching. He was starting to recognize some of the buildings they were passing and he knew they were getting close to where his mother was being kept. The facility that housed her used to be a military base Japan had built before the war. Britannia was in the process of renovating it into a maximum security prison that would house the criminals and terrorists that were captured in Tokyo.
Noah was starting to become very anxious as they got closer to the facility. His hands were shaking and he was starting to feel extremely nauseous while waiting in the backseat. The reality of the situation was really starting to sink in and he was starting to doubt that he could go through with this. Noah grabbed his knees and squeezed them, to help calm his nerves. He felt like he was going to throw up any second as he sat there. Noah's near panic attack was interrupted by the sound of Walter speaking for both Ashfords to hear.
"We're here"
Loud applause broke Noah out of his deep daydream. He looked around and noticed that the students were cheering about something that had been said and his cousin Milly was at the podium now instead of his grandfather. Noah was a little embarrassed once he realized he missed Milly's part of the speech, so he started to clap alongside his fellow students in hopes that no one noticed him.
It seems he missed her entire speech because the students started to file out of the auditorium to go to their first classes of the day.
"That was a nice speech Prez, it certainly got everybody excited for the break." Shirley congratulated Milly once the student council walked off the stage.
"Yeah it was a lot better than Principal Ashford's speech. He made me want to go to sleep talking about responsibility and setting examples for others." Rivalz complained while he walked alongside Lelouch. He wasn't too surprised Rivalz found his grandfather's speech boring. The former head of the Ashford family always came across as too serious and Noah knew his speech would be something similar to that.
Milly sighed when Rivalz said that. She knew her grandfather's speech would be too uptight that's why she made sure her's was more upbeat for the students.
"Yeah I know, but he means well. He just takes things too seriously sometimes. It's not something people our age want to hear on the last day of school." Milly responded to Rivalz, acknowledging her grandfather was a little out of touch with the students.
"But enough about that. What do you guys want to do for the party later? Costumes? Games?" Milly turned around and asked the rest of them. This had become tradition with Milly as President, because she couldn't help herself but throw a party for whatever she could. It was that way when Noah joined a few months ago and he figured that wasn't going to change.
"Oh I don't know, they both sound fun though." Shirley said as she put her finger to her lips to think about which to choose.
"I think some games would be fun." Nina meekly offered from the side. Rivalz nodded his head at Nina's suggestion.
"Yeah that sounds better to me than costumes. Where would we even get those by the way?" Rivalz asked Milly in confusion.
"The Drama club owes me a favor, so I'll cash it in for that, if that's what we chose." Milly informed Rivalz and the others.
"What about you Lulu? Noah? Which one would you guys like?" Shirley turned to both and asked them.
"I think a game would be more fun. I don't wanna wear an itchy costume." Noah told her with a grimace. Everybody turned to Lelouch to see what he had to say, but he was typing something on his phone.
"Hey, Lelouch" Noah called out to him a little louder to get his attention.
"Huh what?" Lelouch asked while looking up from his phone.
"We were asking what you would rather do at the party. Games or Costumes?" Noah repeated the question for him.
Lelouch looked like he swallowed a lemon when he heard about the costumes. "There's no way I'm wearing a costume, so I'll say Games." He replied with distaste.
Milly smiled in return, finding Lelouch's apparent dislike for costumes amusing.
"What's wrong? Afraid to dress up with us? Sounds like someone's embarrassed." Milly retorted with a grin. Teasing people was one of Milly's go to moves, but it rarely worked on Lelouch.
"Hardly, I just think costume parties are silly." Lelouch explained while he went back to his phone.
"Uh huh, sure it is." Milly smirked and responded with doubt.
Realizing that they had spent a bit of time in the hallway. Noah looked up at a clock and saw that they only had a few minutes before class started.
"Well since we seem to have that settled, we need to go to class, or we'll be late." Noah informed them with some haste in his voice. The others looked up to the clock he was looking at and saw how close they were to being late. The group said their goodbyes and split up to go to their respective classes.
Mr. Aizen's science class was the first one in the morning for Noah and Milly. Noah always liked Mr. Aizen, and a lot of other students felt the same way. He was always helpful and willing to listen to students with their problems. He was probably the best teacher the school had, and that was because he was able to make learning fun and easy for the students.
Mr. Aizen had brown chin length hair with brown eyes and square rimmed black glasses. Something else that made his teacher stand out was the fact that he was incredibly short. No one knew his official height, but they did know Rivalz was taller than him and that was saying something since Rivalz was 5'6.
Milly and Noah made it into the classroom with only a minute to spare.
"There you two are. I was starting to think you decided to play hooky." Mr. Aizen said to the Ashford cousins as they sat down in their seats.
"Sorry Mr. Aizen. We got preoccupied with some serious student council business." Milly replied sheepishly to the man.
"Well just be sure to be aware of how much time you have in between classes in the future." Mr. Aizen suggested to her as he went to his closet to grab something.
Milly turned to Noah and winked in his direction after she gave the man her excuse for being late. He smiled while rolling his eyes at his cousin's antics.
As Mr. Aizen was preoccupied with setting up a projector for the class, Noah heard some girls over to his right whispering to each other. He looked over and saw someone he hadn't expected to see today. Sitting in the usually empty seat on the row in front of him was Kallen Stadtfeld.
Kallen was a beautiful girl that happened to be a few inches shorter than Noah. She had vibrant red hair that she had comed down to just above her shoulders with some of the prettiest blue eyes Noah had ever seen. She was a noble of the Stadtfeld family, but she didn't attend a lot of school. The reason being was; Kallen was a frail girl who seemed to get sick a lot.
She was a meek, and withdrawn girl who didn't speak up a whole lot, but everyone knew who she was and respected her. Kallen missed a lot of school because of her frailty, but when she did show up Noah took notice. The reason why was because the young Ashford heir had a crush on the girl.
They met each other a few weeks ago one day in class when he was paired with her to work on a project that Mr. Aizen had assigned to the students. It was a little awkward at first because Kallen didn't speak much, but she opened up to him after a little while. The project lasted for a week, so it was best for them to get to know each other and get along. They had a pleasant time together and by the end of it Noah had a little crush on her, but sadly Kallen had only been to school a few times since then. He would go out of his way to make sure to talk to her when she was here, but because of school he didn't have a lot of chances.
Noah had been wanting to ask her out on a date, but he didn't have a lot of chances to do so, since she was out of school so much. He also had to admit that he was nervous to ask her. Since she was here and today was the last day of the school year, it was now or never to ask.
Noah heard a cough back towards Milly and looked her way. He saw his cousin giving him a teasing grin that made him blush a little. It seems he had been caught looking. He had made the mistake of telling his cousin about his crush a while back and she hadn't missed any opportunity in teasing him about it. He rolled his eyes annoyed at what she was doing, but he knew she wasn't trying to be mean.
Mr. Aizen was talking to the class about what he had on the projector when Noah received a folded up note from his left. He knew it was Milly without even having to look her way, so he went ahead and made sure the teacher wasn't looking before he opened it.
"Are you gonna ask her today?" She had written. Noah picked up his pen and quickly wrote his reply and passed it back. Milly opened it up and looked it over. She seemed satisfied with his answer before writing back.
"That's good. When are you gonna ask?" Milly asked him.
"I'm not sure. I guess after class." Noah replied to his cousin. Noah looked back up towards Mr. Aizen to make sure he hadn't noticed what they were up to before he passed the note back. Thankfully he was still in the middle of explaining what he had on the projector.
Noah grabbed the note once she passed it back and opened it up to see what she had said. "Well you could just ask her during P.E., because of her health she doesn't do anything then. We're gonna have the party later when her class is going on. If you want, you can go ask her then." Milly suggested to him hoping it would help.
"Yeah that sounds better than asking her in front of everybody now that I think about it. You and I both know how nosy the students can be." Noah answered her back.
"Lol, yeah they're pretty bad. You nervous?" Milly asked back with curiosity.
"Yeah a little." Noah answered her back. He knew if there was one person in his life that he could be honest to about his feelings it was Milly.
"Well you shouldn't worry. You're a great guy, and the two of you seem to get along well, I'm sure she'll say yes." Milly wrote back before she gave him the note back. He felt more relaxed after reading her words.
"Thanks Milly. '' Noah graciously replied back once he was sure the coast was clear again.
"Anytime, just make sure to tell me all about it when you get back to the party." Milly told him in return. Noah raised an eyebrow in confusion after reading that last part. 'Doesn't she realize this means she's just as nosy as the other students?' He thought bewildered at his cousin's words. Either way he just brushed it off and told her that he would. It was best to not point that out and let her have this. She did help him out, so it's the least he could do. Not that she would agree that she was being nosy, but that's just how Milly is.
The rest of his classes went by pretty smoothly after that. Noah realized it would be best to focus on school for the meantime, so his nerves wouldn't get to him. Milly helped him out after lunch by getting him excused from the rest of his classes, so he could help set up for the party. She knew getting Noah to be preoccupied with this would take his mind off things a lot better than sitting in class.
The preparations for the party didn't take long to set up with the two of them working together. Noah and Milly were setting up the party streamers when the bell chimed signifying the change of classes. Milly smiled at him and offered him luck as he climbed down from the ladder. He knew that Kallen would be in the gymnasium right now, so he made his way to it. Noah tried to keep his mind off it, but this was his first time asking a girl out. He couldn't help but go over in his head what he should or how he should say it.
Unfortunately for Noah, he couldn't come up with anything before he made it to the gym. Once he paused and mustered up the courage to go in he was greeted to the sight of people playing basketball on the court. It looks like the teacher decided to let the kids have a free day since it was the last day.
Noah knew Kallen wouldn't be out there with the others so he looked for her on the bleachers and he found her easy enough. Thankfully she was by herself, because it would have been awkward if her friends were there with her. He was nervous enough as is, and it wouldn't have helped to have those girls there too.
He started to make his way towards her once he took one last deep breath to calm his nerves. She hadn't looked his way since he entered, she seemed to be deep in thought about something. Just as Noah was about to greet her he heard somebody on the court yelled to 'watch out'. Noah looked over his shoulder and saw a basketball flying towards Kallen, who still wasn't paying attention, but he quickly stepped in before it could hit her and caught the ball.
"Hey! You guys need to be more careful where you're throwing this thing at." Noah reprimanded the students who were trying their best to avoid looking at him. The blonde shook his head and threw the ball back towards them before he turned around.
"Hey Kallen." Noah greeted her after he turned around and saw her. The girl in question was smiling at him and it sent blood to his cheeks seeing her smile.
"Hey Noah, thanks for the save. I guess I need to pay more attention huh?" Kallen thanked him graciously.
"Yeah, that could have ended badly." Noah agreed with her question as he sat down next to her.
"So what were you thinking about anyway? If you don't mind me asking" The blonde asked her.
Kallen was confused for a split second before she realized what he was talking about. She remembered what was bothering her but she couldn't really talk about it. It wasn't Noah's fault, it was just that the reason why was a secret. She didn't want to be rude and brush off his concern, so she tried to think of a way of telling him what was bothering her without revealing the actual details.
Noah saw that Kallen seemed pensive after he asked her that. It looked like she was hesitant about answering him, but just before Noah was about to apologize Kallen spoke up. "I..had an argument with someone yesterday, and it was the same kind of argument I have with them all the time. 'I'm doing this for you Kallen' 'I trying to protect you and keep you safe Kallen'. I'm just tired of him being so protective of me, it makes me feel so helpless, and I'm not!"
Noah was a bit surprised by her reaction. He didn't expect for her to go on a bit of a rant towards the end, but he understood where she was coming from. Even if someone has good intentions doesn't mean what they're doing is the right thing to do. He also noticed that she slipped up and mentioned a 'he', so it must be her father she's talking about. If Noah had to guess Kallen and her father had an argument about something and he was being too overprotective of her because of her frailty.
"Do you feel better now?" Noah asked her once she had finished talking.
Kallen blinked and then realized what she had done. She blushed a little in embarrassment, because she didn't mean to go off on a tangent like that. Noah didn't seem to mind though with the way he was smiling at her. She did feel a little better though.
Kallen smiled and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled. "Yeah I do. I guess I just needed someone to listen while I got that off my chest. Thanks." She told him.
"It's no problem, I'm happy to help." The blonde told her.
"I meant to ask you if you were feeling better and I can see now that you are, that's good." Noah told her, happy to see that her health had improved.
"Yeah, I've been feeling better lately and I decided to come today even though it was the last day. It can get pretty boring at my house when I'm stuck in bed all the time." She told him with a sigh. He was empathetic to how she felt.
His father would force him to train after school whether it was with a Knightmare or in hand-to-hand techniques nearly everyday. He didn't have much of a life outside of school and that's why he enjoyed the time he spent at school. The time he spent here was the most freedom he was able to have.
"I can understand how you feel. The most enjoyment and fun I get is from being here during the day." Noah revealed to her.
Kallen wasn't surprised to hear this, Noah didn't act like typical Britannian nobles from her experience and it didn't surprise her that he found being here more enjoyable than attending noble parties and dinners. Nobles were mostly the same, arrogant, haughty and snobbish. The atmosphere of their little get-togethers was always unbearable to Kallen, not to mention any time she got to spend away from her stepmother was a welcomed relief.
"So is that why you're here? To check up on me and keep me from being bored?" Kallen smirked while asking him playfully.
Noah laughed at first once she asked him that, but that quickly faded once he remembered why he was there. The nervousness he had felt earlier had returned in full force and he was caught a little flat footed on what to say next.
He started to rub his hands together to maybe help calm his nerves, but it wasn't having much of an effect. Kallen was watching him after she asked that and was surprised by what she was seeing. The confident and cool Noah Ashford seemed nervous about something. From the time she's known him he's never had trouble with saying what was on his mind and it was a trait she liked about him.
"Well..I guess you're partially right. I did want to see you and check on you." Noah blushed after saying that realizing how that sounded but he decided to push through and say what he wanted to ask.
"But I also was wanting to ask you something, and I think it would be a good way to keep you from being bored now that you mentioned that." Noah said to Kallen to her curiosity.
"Kallen I really like you, and I was wanting to see if you'd like to go out with me sometime." Noah mustered up the courage to look her in the eye and asked her. Kallen was completely shocked by his admission and thrown off guard. Her face turned as red as her hair once what Noah said really sank in and she didn't know what to say.
Her mind was racing with what to say. She liked Noah, don't get her wrong. He was a nice guy and fun to be around, but she couldn't have a relationship right now while she was in the resistance with her brother.
The truth of the matter was Kallen was actually a member of the Japanese resistance that was stationed in Shinjuku. Kallen's reason for joining the Resistance was because she was half-Japanese and her brother was the leader of the local resistance cell. The story of her having a weak and feeble body was just a cover to explain all the days of school she missed.
'I have to come up with an excuse but I don't want to hurt his feelings either.' Kallen frantically thought to herself. She brushed some of her hair behind her ear as she was thinking on what to tell him. Noah could tell she was thrown off by what he asked her and he could see that she was blushing pretty hard right now.
The problem was the longer she took to answer the more he was starting to feel a bit foolish for asking. Thankfully for him Kallen had figured out what to tell him, so it wouldn't be so awkward for both of them anymore.
"Well I'm flattered. I didn't know you felt that way Noah. I think you're a great guy, but I can't be in a relationship right now. The truth is my parents have me scheduled to go see a specialist next week back in the Homeland. We're going to find out if I can get on this new medical trial. It
has a good chance of helping me, at least that's what my parents tell me." Kallen told the young man. It wasn't at all what Noah wanted to hear but he could understand why she said no.
He was happy to hear that she was going to try this new trial and he really hoped it helped her. It still hurt being rejected by her though, but Noah felt like he should let her know that he was happy for her, so they didn't end on bad terms.
"I understand, but I'm glad to hear that you're going to try this new treatment. I really hope it works out and helps you, maybe you'll be able to come to school more next year. I know everyone will be happy if that happens." Noah gave her a weak smile as he told her. He hoped that she understood that he had no hard feelings towards her for saying no.
Kallen faintly smiled back at him. She knew that what she said wasn't what he wanted to hear, and she wished that things were different, but being a part of the resistance was more important right now.
"Yeah I hope so, it would be nice to spend more time here." Kallen said in return.
"Alright I'm gonna get outta here. The student council has a party going on and I don't want to miss all of it. It was nice seeing you again Kallen and I hope everything works out." Noah told her as he stood up to leave.
Kallen looked like she wanted to say more but she decided not to make this any more uncomfortable than it already was and just let him go.
"Thanks Noah." Kallen did say to him as he left.
Noah was pretty disheartened when he left the gymnasium. There were a few students in the hallway that greeted him but he didn't pay them any mind. He was hoping that whatever Milly had planned for their party was entertaining enough to take his mind off of this.
He made it to the student council room soon enough and found Shirley and Rivalz playing table tennis. Lelouch and Milly were playing chess off to the side while Nina was in her usual spot on the computer. He looked around and saw a few board games scattered around the table and a Twister mat on the floor. It seems like they were having a good time with each other.
Milly and the others looked up when they heard someone enter the room and they were happy to see their final member had finally arrived. They all greeted him warmly as he walked in, but what surprised Noah was there weren't a lot of questions about where he had been. He found out that Milly had told them that he was taking care of some personal business and would be here as soon as he could. He would need to make sure to thank her later.
Noah was able to quickly fall into the fun the others were having. Rivalz, Milly and Shirley were the ones really keeping the party going, with Lelouch seeming disinterested and Nina typing
away on her computer. It took some time but his friends were able to lift his spirits again even though they didn't know he needed it.
Milly finished their party with all of them, even Lelouch and Nina, playing musical chairs. That was easily the best part of the party because of how competitive it got. Nina even pulled a chair out from under Rivalz before he could sit in it causing everyone to break out into laughter. Noah was incredibly thankful for his friends, the time they spent that afternoon was wonderful and it really helped him forget about what happened with Kallen and thinking about his mom.
The day was coming to an end and the party was starting to whine down. The others had started to clean up, but Milly grabbed a hold of Noah and pulled him off to the side for some privacy. He knew what this was about, and he wasn't surprised by how she was acting.
"So what did she say?" Milly excitedly asked him once they were far enough away.
"She said no." Noah sighed after he told her, clearly dejected. Milly eyebrows shot up in surprise when she heard that.
"Damn, I thought she would have said yes. The two of you seemed to get along well." Milly said to her cousin showing her disappointment.
"What exactly did she say?" Milly asked him in return, she couldn't help but be curious now that she knew Kallen told her cousin no.
Noah sighed, not happy having to go over it again, but went ahead and told his cousin what happened anyway. Milly was frowning after her cousin explained what was said because even though technically Kallen didn't say no to Noah. She still said no, so she could understand how her cousin would be feeling right now. She was a victim of an unrequited love as well, so she knew how he felt.
"I'm sorry Noah, I wish that didn't happen." Milly said, offering Noah some comfort.
"Yeah I know, but it is what it is." Noah replied to her. He figured now the best thing to do would be to focus on his training at home to take his mind off of things. Once Walter had picked him up and he made it home that's what he planned to do for the rest of the night.
The bell rang shortly after signifying the end of the day to the joy of the students. All of the students made their way outside and it was a bit hectic. People were walking home, some were driving off in their own vehicles and there were a few cars waiting for students including Noah's butler Walter.
Noah greeted his old friend as he walked up to the car and got into it. He and Walter talked to each other about how his day went, but he left out the stuff about Kallen. It wasn't that he didn't trust Walter about something like this, it's just he didn't want to talk about that anymore.
Noah's afternoons after school usually consisted of the same thing almost every night. His father would have Walter take him to the local Britannian Military base to train in either Knightmares or some hand to hand with a soldier of his choosing. That was where Walter was taking him right now. He couldn't help but think about why his father wanted to train him like this and why he was willing to go along with it.
Noah's father wanted him to follow in his footsteps and become a Knight of the Round. He pretty much wanted his son to follow in his footsteps and carry on the family name. Noah realized years ago that his father wanted to make Noah an exact copy of himself and to live vicariously through him now that he was crippled.
Noah truly hated his father, the Britannian Empire and everything it stood for. After his mother was executed, he swore revenge on his father and the nation responsible for her death. He decided years ago that he would hone the skills that his father taught him, so that one day he could exact his revenge and free Japan.
The reason he wanted to free Japan was simple. He was half-Japanese and the time he spent here with his mother before the occupation was the best time of his life. He came to love Japan and its people while he was here. Japan didn't have a disgusting society centered around the discrimination of other people and the weak. The idea of being a part of a system that would treat people like his mother, Nunnally and Kallen like that made him sick. Just because they were different or weaker than Britannians didn't mean they should be treated like trash.
As they drove by the ghettos outside of the Tokyo settlement, he had to admit that it broke his heart to see what had become of the one proud Japanese city. It was his home and he couldn't stand what had become of it. To see Tokyo split in two between the ghettos and the settlement was just another reminder of the Britannian way of life that pissed him off to no end. One day all of the training that he had done would pay off and in a big way, he just knew it. He just hoped it would be soon. He didn't know how much more of seeing all this he could stomach. Either way he would get justice for his mother and he would free the Japanese from the oppression of the Britannians.
A.N.
This is an idea I came up with a while back that I have been wanting to do. The idea of a Code Geass crossover is something I found to be exciting and I hope that those of you who read this will come to like this story. I also want to say that this story is not going to take away from my other one. I'm going to release the 3rd chapter of it very soon. I've got other stories I want to write but for the time being I'm going to focus on these two.