Author's Note:

Hey, I'm touching this story again. This chapter is more of a transition, and is much less interesting than the preceding and following ones in my opinion, but I hope you enjoy it regardless. It's also pretty short? I'll see if I want to maintain this chapter length or try expanding them going forwards.

When the Britannian students had ushered him and Chigusa through the school gates earlier that day, Ohgi thought he'd made a mistake by entering the settlement in the first place. He'd wanted to make Chigusa a little more comfortable with her situation, since it had to be hard for a Britannian to adapt to life in the ghettoes, amnesiac or not. Foreign faces, run-down buildings… at least Ohgi's background as a school teacher meant his English was better than most Japanese could muster, even if his accent was a bit thick. Regardless, he'd wanted to treat her… and try to reconcile the fact that he'd only taken her in to learn more information about Zero, information that she might not even have anymore. Once he was surrounded by Britannian students, however, he had no idea what to do. Was he only herded inside because he was escorting a Britannian woman?

Luckily, the festival was a much more enjoyable experience than he'd expected. He wasn't receiving dirty looks or heaving racial slurs flung at him like he usually was in the settlement (or, at least, not as many). In fact, he wasn't even the only Japanese in attendance. From how they were dressed, Ohgi spotted a few groups of Honorary Britannians and a few groups of people visiting from the ghettoes. Since it didn't seem like all of the games or food required money, Ohgi could see them taking part in some of the activities with smiles on their faces.

It was… nice.

He walked past the many booths with Chigusa, receiving free food samples along the way. They paused at several games, including one that involved squirting water at a target. For some reason, instead of being hung, the targets were taped to the chests of two sour-faced boys at the booth.

At least the station wasn't as bad as the one where people were hitting students on the head with mallets as they popped out of holes. Ohgi had no clue what the point of that game was supposed to be, but he imagined it would be painful. A Britannian solider had been over there for quite some time, however, and seemed to be enjoying it.

They settled on the less harmful option and positioned themselves behind the water guns. Chigusa had amazing aim, so she easily won a pink rabbit and managed not to drown the poor boy she was shooting at. Ohgi's 'target' wasn't so lucky, however, and he couldn't tell whether the boy's irritation was from the amount of water dripping from his hair and face, Ohgi's nationality, or some combination of the two. Ohgi sheepishly rubbed the back of his head afterwards.

Chigusa clung to the stuffed toy, but after wandering some more, she gave it away to a small girl passing by. The girl thanks her excitedly, but Chigusa's usual soft smile seemed to also contain a hint of sadness. Ohgi wondered if maybe she'd appreciated having something of her own again.

Then, they'd entered the surprisingly scary horror house and run into Kallen. Ohgi had thought she'd decided not to return to school now that Kururugi knew about her double life, but apparently, she'd come back without incident. Well, it was good that she was receiving an education, even if she was missing a lot of it for the Black Knights recently. Her brother wouldn't have been happy if she dropped out of school altogether. He hadn't wanted her involved in the resistance movements to begin with.

At this very moment, however, Ohgi knew that if Naoto had been around, he definitely wouldn't have been pleased. Kallen had decided to corner some strangers in an isolated location, and when Ohgi had the chance to help her, he'd instead left her alone. Sure, Chigusa needed supervision, and Kallen could probably handle the problem on her own if she didn't act too rashly, but things could always happen unexpectedly. And Kururugi heading towards the building also wasn't a good sign.

Ohgi changed his mind. He had already dropped Chigusa at a tree on the other side of the carnival with instructions to wait for his return. Hopefully, he'd go into the warehouse, help Kallen with whatever situation she'd gotten herself into, then return to Chigusa as quickly as possible.

Hopefully.

As Ohgi started his journey towards the warehouse, the distance feeling longer than it had before, he was already beginning to doubt his half-baked plan. If Kallen couldn't get herself out of the situation, how could he do any better? What was he even about to walk into? It was always so much easier when he could just take orders from someone confident like Naoto or Zero, not that either of them were here now to help him.

Before Ohgi got too close to the warehouse, however, it erupted in a cloud of pink smoke.

He stopped. What just…?

Oh no.

He broke into a sprint. "Kallen!"

Two coughing figures emerged from the smoke. Ohgi slowed as he recognized his friend's sister, though he wondered if he should approach considering her companion from the Britannian military. His concern for Kallen won over in the end as he continued towards her.

The Japanese boy had already made his way to Kallen, however, seemingly checking on her wellbeing. Her coughing had slowed, and she lifted her head to notice Ohgi. The smoke was already beginning to clear.

Kururugi looked him over before turning back to Kallen. "I'm guessing he's a friend of yours?"

She ignored the question, but Ohgi decided that she needed to be pressed regardless. "Kallen, are you okay?"

She sighed. "Yeah, I am but…" She looked around a bit before snarling at Kururugi. "What the hell?"

He seemed genuinely confused. "Don't look at me like that! There must have been a gas leak or something – "

"Suzaku!"

An orange-haired girl came running from the direction of the school. "I had Nina check the Ganymede like you asked, and she said it was fine to just get extra fuel – " She paused, just now noticing the remnants of the smoke and her winded classmates. "What happened here?"

Ohgi inched backwards, hoping the girl wouldn't associate him with the others, not that Kururugi even knew who he was.

Kallen took the initiative and quickly adopted a weak smile before replying, "I'm sorry, Shirley. Suzaku was helping me reach some supplies for the horror house, and we accidentally knocked over a gas cannister. I hope you guys can still get whatever it is you need."

The girl – Shirley – blinked a few times before gasping. "Oh no, it's not a big deal! I was just worried because of all the smoke… I know you can get pretty sick Kallen."

Kallen nodded slightly as Kururugi grabbed the girl's – Shirley's – hand. "Let's get the fuel from the warehouse now. I think the gas has cleared up enough."

Shirley seemed hesitant. "Oh, okay. But, Kallen, are you sure you…?"

Ohgi wondered how Kallen keep smiling meekly for so long. He wasn't used to seeing her like this. "Please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

The girl brightened, reassured. "Alright! See you later!"

Ohgi saw the smile fall from Kallen's face as the pair turned the other way. He watched them leave in silence, but the moment Shirley and Kururugi entered the warehouse, Kallen grabbed Ohgi's arm and started pulling him back towards the festival.

"Hey-!" he started to protest.

"You didn't happen to see any other students leave the warehouse, did you?" Kallen whispered harshly as he shook his arm free. "A boy or a girl?"

"No, I didn't. Why?" He thought a second about why Kallen went in there in the first place and internally berated himself for not thinking of it sooner. "Were they students we heard talking earlier?"

"Yes." She paused. "Well, no. Sort of."

Sort of?

Kallen glanced around to make sure no one else was listening. Ohgi took the chance to do the same, noticing that the other two teens had already disappeared back into the storage facility. The rest of the crowds were busy at the carnival.

She breathed deeply and hesitated only slightly before continuing. "The person talking was a classmate of mine. He's a member of the student council."

Ohgi's eyes widened. "A Britannian? And he was talking about -?"

Kallen nodded once. "Yeah, as Britannian as they come. And the person he was talking to… was C.C."

That… was entirely unexpected. Ohgi actually took a step back at the proclamation. "C.C.? The same C.C. who's always with Ze – our boss?"

"How many other C.C.'s do you know?"

"I don't know every foreign name! For all I know it's more common in Britannia or the E.U. or wherever she's from… why would C.C. be here at a school festival of all places?"

"She's apparently been living with the classmate I mentioned before, Lelouch. Speaking of which…" Kallen scanned the fair. "…where the hell did they run off to after he set off the gas?"

Ohgi repeated the strange name. "Lelouch…"

Kallen turned back, barely leaving him time to think. "I'm going to go hunt them down while I still can. If I remember correctly, Lelouch has been coordinating the festival, so he can't have gone too far. Milly would have his head otherwise."

One detail was still bothering him. "Wait, you said he set off the gas?" Ohgi felt like he was missing something important.

"Probably. I mean, I didn't see him do it, but he and C.C. were definitely trying to make a quick exit at the same time. Thankfully, Suzaku didn't seem to notice…" Kallen growled. "Damn it, that traitor is going to try and find either Lelouch or me by the end of the day too, isn't he? Just means I have to do this quickly."

She turned to leave, but Ohgi grabbed her by the arm before she could. "Kallen, I want to come with you. You're trying to corner both your classmate and C.C. alone again. I think you could use backup this time."

Kallen shook him off. "I was fine until the Britannian lapdog showed up. As long as I catch up to them before he does, I should be fine. Suzaku should be busy with the pizza for at least the next hour anyway. I doubt he has the time to continue interrogating Lelouch. Luckily, I have nothing but time as I'm definitely not going back to the horror house." Kallen thought for a moment. "I think Milly wanted me to hold something for the Ganymede, but I'm sure she can get someone else to do it… she does think I'm sick, after all. And this is a lot more important right now."

Ohgi backed off, unsure of both the situation and himself. "What else did you hear in the warehouse?"

"I – " Kallen grit her teeth and shook her head. "Sorry, not right now. I wish you could come with me, but having my cover blown by walking around with 'an Eleven' –" Ohgi could tell she was uncomfortable even referencing the word in passing "– is not something I can afford. I'll fill you in later." She blinked. "What happened to the Britannian you were with anyway?"

Ohgi wanted to kick himself. "Oh no, Chigusa! I was so focused on the gas that I almost forgot. Then we started talking about C.C. and the mystery classmate…" He groaned. "You're right. I need to go back and take her home. I'm sorry, Kallen."

She shifted from one foot to another and looked back towards the festival. "You never told me who she was."

"Chigusa?" Ohgi laughed a little, hoping it didn't sound as nervous as he felt. He said the excuse he'd practiced hundreds of times in his head. "She's just a friend from the settlement. I helped her find her way out of the ghettoes a while back."

"And her name is… Chigusa?"

"It's… a nickname," he admitted lamely. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kallen, I need to go make sure she's alright." Why did everything need to happen on the same day?

Kallen smiled, and Ohgi hoped that it wasn't as fake as he feared it was. "Sorry about what? I was the one who just told you to leave."

"R-right. I'll see you later. Let me know what happens, and call me if you need help."

"I will. I'll be fine, don't worry." She turned back towards the festival and walked briskly into the crowd, disappearing from sight.

As Ohgi watched her leave, he wondered briefly what Naoto would do now, if he would allow his sister to rush into danger alone, and whether he would approve of the Britannian Ohgi was returning to.

Today was not going as Lelouch would have preferred.

Milly had decided months ago that he'd act as the Festival Chairman. This on its own wouldn't have been a problem originally, but now Lelouch was stuck on campus organizing club leaders to entertain people from the settlement when he was clearly needed by the Black Knights to solidify upcoming battle plans. He'd already cut Diethard off once earlier, and though Lelouch knew that the man wouldn't be slighted by a single occurrence, he also worried about what Diethard would try to accomplish if left unleashed for too long. The shrewd man had already tried to undercut his orders once when he 'encouraged' Kallen to assassinate Suzaku. Keeping him occupied seemed to be the best strategy to avoid any additional surprises.

Then, there were the camera crews. They were swarming all over campus to cover the largest carefree event to happen in the colony since Zero's first appearance. Staying away from crowds would already be in Lelouch's favor during an event like this, but their presence just added another group to his list of people to keep track of during the day.

Milly, the club leaders, Diethard, the press; it was only a matter of time before something happened to his detriment.

That 'something' was currently crouching with him in the bushes as they watched Kallen and Ohgi outside the warehouse.

"Ohgi, hm?" C.C. wondered. "Won't he and Kallen together pose a problem?"

"Quiet," Lelouch hissed. "We're only in this mess because you couldn't just do what you were told and stay in my room until the pizza was made. Campus is crawling with both the press and the military. Someone was bound to spot you eventually."

"Says the one who was speaking just a little too loudly when he was reproaching me for not being discreet."

Lelouch seethed but remained silent.

C.C. continued. "You were also speaking quite freely to your classmates, almost as if you wanted them to be suspicious."

He settled his anger and breathed. "That was intentional. I told them about our history to satisfy at least some of the mystery." He focused on the warehouse. "Beyond you, Suzaku shouldn't have learned anything he didn't already know. The new information will hopefully satiate him for the time being."

He returned his gaze to the pair of Black Knights. "As for Kallen, I only gave her so many more hints because I figured a quicker confrontation would be more beneficial in the long run. Sooner or later, she'll learn about my involvement with the Black Knights. At least now I have the opportunity to somewhat control the conditions of her discovery. Since she's incredibly suspicious, she'll try to find me before the end of the festival, while she still knows where I am. If I'd left her with less clues, there was a greater chance that she'd think before coming after me, giving her enough time to contact someone like Ohgi and discuss her suspicions." Lelouch narrowed his eyes. "I wouldn't have thought Ohgi would be attending the festival."

"You could always use your Geass on him, couldn't you?"

Lelouch almost refused automatically but then paused to consider the option. He'd been reluctant to use his Geass on the members of the Black Knights, more out of fear for the effects it would leave behind than hesitation in using the power itself. Besides, there'd never been a good enough reason to justify its use. Until maybe now. While Lelouch thought he could likely reason with Kallen once his identity was revealed, he couldn't yet form a reliable appraisal of Ohgi. Maybe this would be the best time to use his power.

"Oh, she's leaving."

"To try and find me, no doubt." Lelouch sighed. "At least she and Ohgi split apart. She still wants to maintain her public image, and it returns us to the original position of a confrontation between only the two of us." Assuming Suzaku doesn't appear again to ruin my plans as he's been apt to do recently…

On cue, he watched as Suzaku and Shirley left the warehouse with a tank of fuel. Lelouch wondered if maybe he should consider fleeing from Ashford earlier than anticipated.

Once all parties were gone, Lelouch rose, tugging C.C. by the arm up with him. He found himself irritated in her choice of apparel. "I put this uniform in your room for emergencies, not for your convenience."

"Most boys would be flattered to see me wearing their gifts."

Lelouch was not amused. "Go back to your room. For now, I need to deal with Kallen alone."

C.C. carefully grasped his arm and removed it from her own. "Fine then, but I won't forgive you if you forget my pizza." She stepped out of the bushes, brushing the brambles from her uniform, then walked back towards the clubhouse.

"Impossible woman," Lelouch muttered to himself. He eyed the control booth, where he knew Kallen would eventually find him. On to the next stage.

Author's Note:

I think I have a little too much fun writing C.C. interactions. Once again, sorry for the mostly boring chapter. I wanted to get it out of the way before Kallen and Lelouch meet back up again. This plot also necessitates snowballing in a ton of other characters too though, some of whom will be seen next chapter.

I have finished my other fic, Missing Pieces, so if I choose to write, it'll now probably be for this fic. Well, I say that, but I've also had a Code Geass sequel fic on the backburner for years, so maybe I'll post some of that too at some point.

Thank you for all of the support for my previous chapters. I never expected this fic to blow up like it did. I've been more interested in writing recently, however, so I'm hoping that this will be continued sooner rather than later. Thanks again for your readership!