A/N: Thanks to Greatratking88 for his work on the chapter including editing and help with the story structure and narrative flow.
I have been contemplating a rewrite of my first attempt at a Fate/Grand Order and Code Geass story, and this is it. This time I got some extra help so the quality of writing will be much better than my last go.
There will be some obvious changes to come, which will make it quite different including some original singularities to come along. However, I am likely keeping the seventh singularity the same as in canon, but it will play out differently too.
One change I should mention is that I have adjusted the timeline of Fate/Grand Order's events to better match my set up.
But unlike my first story I won't be killing Ritsuka this time and he'll likely travel with Lelouch.
Will this be a harem? Probably not as per my original intention with my first try with this crossover, but who will the pairings be? I'll am not going to worry about that until much later in the story where it suits the story better.
Anyway, let's get this story moving so on with the chapter and Happy Thanksgiving.
Chapter 1
Meetings and Farewells
(July 15th 2017 A.T.B.)
"Pardon me, Master Lelouch."
Standing at the doorway to his room was a woman in her early twenties with short brown hair and matching eyes. She wore a standard maid's outfit, complete with a white apron.
"What is it, Sayoko?" the young man asked.
"Miss Milly is here to see you."
Lelouch Lamperouge sighed, adjusting the collar of his white shirt.
"I have a feeling of why she is here."
Before leaving his desk Lelouch took care to ensure the plane tickets he had been examining were tucked away safely in a book. Rising from his desk, Lelouch dusted off his black pants and walked out of his room to greet his guest.
Upon entering the dining room Lelouch was greeted by a young woman, a year older than him with shoulder-length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a fair complexion. She wore a school uniform with a sand-colored coat and a white dress shirt and a black skirt.
"Hiya Lelouch." Milly Ashford said cheerily, before her expression changed, "What's this about you leaving?!"
I knew it, Lelouch thought. He had expected this.
Only known to Sayoko, his sister, and a few others Lelouch was planning to leave school for the summer to work at a research observatory. He had wanted to keep his plans to depart known only to a select few, because Lelouch was concerned some might overreact to his departure.
Milly Ashford, the Student Council President of Ashford Academy was the whole reason Lelouch wanted to keep his plans to leave Area 11- Japan- quiet. He knew once she found out she would use it as an excuse to plan something extravagant. He didn't dislike Milly by any means, but he didn't want her treating his leaving of Area 11 as if it were the last time anyone would see him.
So much for a quiet and simple departure, Lelouch thought.
"I am only leaving for the summer for some work. It's nothing to worry about," Lelouch said hoping to keep things from being blown out of proportion. "Its something I have to do as part of a business arrangement. Rest assured, it's nothing dangerous or illegal. It's a simple job, and once I am done I'll be back home before school starts."
Milly put her hands on her hips, eyeing Lelouch suspiciously. The moment lasted for a full minute before a wide grin appeared on Milly's face.
Putting one hand on Lelouch's shoulder Milly said with a devilish grin, "In that case, you wouldn't mind a little send off."
"Is it really necessary?" Lelouch asked with a look of mild annoyance. "I am only going away for a few months at most."
"Nonsense. As student council president, and being that you are Vice President, I am going to have to insist," Milly replied with a big grin.
Nothing I could say would stop you anyway, Lelouch thought.
Having accepted that nothing would sway Milly from having her way, Lelouch reluctantly admitted defeat.
"Fine, but nothing too over the top, please."
"You got it!" Milly replied before she started to leave. "I'll call you with the details tomorrow. BYE!"
Within seconds Milly was gone, and Lelouch could only sigh. Before he could dwell on whatever malarkey Milly had planned, he heard the sound of a motorized wheelchair entering the room. Turning around, Lelouch saw his siter entering, wearing a light green dress.
"Was that Milly, brother?" Nunnally asked.
"Yes, it was," Lelouch answered. A part of him suspected Nunnally might have been the one who told Milly. "She wants to throw a party for me since I'll be gone for the summer."
"That's wonderful," Nunnally said with a smile before it fell. "But I'll still miss you, big brother. Even through I know you'll be back."
Lelouch looked at his younger sister before putting one hand on her shoulder to reassure her.
"I understand, and I sincerely wish you could've come. You know Romani tried," Lelouch offered.
"I know, but still…" Nunnally answered sadly.
"You know why I have go?"
Nunnally nodded, "Its because of that agreement you made with Mr. Animusphere?"
"Yes, it is. But it should be easy enough to fulfill," Lelouch answered.
It had been seven years since Japan had fallen to the Holy Britannian Empire, following a campaign of conquest that lasted a mere month. Lelouch and Nunnally had been exiled to Japan months before the invasion itself took place to serve as political hostages. However, with the war between Japan and Britannia, their usage as political tools was abandoned and so were the siblings. Lelouch was certain they had been left to die in Japan.
Despite being caught in a country at war the siblings had survived against all odds, in no small part thanks to a friend Lelouch had made.
Following the end of the war Lelouch and Nunnally were recovered by an aristocratic family with close ties to his mother, who passed away only months earlier. Lelouch had expected they would be used as a liability insurance, but Lelouch knew for Nunnally's sake because of her disabilities he had to accept it, despite his misgivings.
Or at least that was what he thought at the time.
Shortly after Lelouch and Nunnally were recovered and left with little choice but to say goodbye to their friends, they had been brought to a warehouse. The warehouse was located in Britannian occupied territory. While Nunnally was being taken care of by a maid, Lelouch had been left waiting in a windowless room. The ten-year old child was seated in a metal folding chair by a table, with two ceramic mugs before him.
Lelouch didn't have to wait long until the door opened.
"Good afternoon, your highness. Lelouch vi Britannia, I presume?"
The man who had called Lelouch by his true name seemed to be in his late thirties with pale white hair, dull-gold eyes and a pale skin complexion. He wore a light grey suit with a purple tie. After entering the room, he was quick to sit in the chair opposite of Lelouch.
"Are you with the Ashford Foundation?"
"I am not," the man began, "but please, do not be alarmed."
"What?"
"Allow me to introduce myself," the man began politely. "My name is Marisbury Animusphere, and please be assured that I have no intention of harming you or your sister. In fact, I have an offer that might interest you."
"How can I trust you?" Lelouch said defensively.
"You're right," Marisbury acknowledged with a nod. "As far as you know, I am a complete stranger. You have no reason to trust me. Given everything that happened to you and your sister, I can't blame you for being wary of me."
Between his mother having been assassinated and their father abandoning them, and having to care for his handicapped sister in a war zone, Lelouch's emotional state was chaotic and his capacity for trust quite low.
"What if I could offer you not only protection and state of the art health care for your sister, but something more?"
Lelouch was still uncertain if he could trust Marisbury, but he realized he didn't have many options. He gestured for the man to continue.
"First I can make it so that everyone in the Britannian Royal Family believes you and Nunnally are dead. Those who killed your mother will have no reason to search for you."
"That just puts off the problem, doesn't it? If there are people out there who want us dead, they will find us eventually."
"True," Mairsbury offered calmly in agreement. "But if they do find out, I can assure you I hold considerable influence in Britannia and beyond. You will not lack safety under my care."
"Assuming you could do that, what then?"
"First, tell me- are you aware of the fact that the Britannian Royal Family not only has an old linage, but that it is magical in nature?"
"Magical?"
Marisbury smiled, "Your family is one of few royal families possessing a strong lineage of magi. We have learned you have high quality magic circuits and more."
"Magic. You're joking." Lelouch said in disbelief, but the man before him seemed dead serious.
In response, Marisbury picked up one of the mugs near him before releasing it from his grip. It hit the ground and shattered, much to Lelouch's confusion. Then, Marisbury left his chair to pick up all of the pieces while Lelouch watched him quietly.
"Allow me to give you a demonstration of what you can do. You see, Magecraft is about making the impossible possible, the recreation of miracles," the man explained. He took the pieces, put them in between his hands, muttered a few words and moved his fingers about in a strange pattern, and Lelouch watched with awe as the broken cup seemingly put itself back together. Before long, the broken ceramic was mended, as if it had never broken in the first place.
"You'll need training, of course, but consider this: since you have the talent to use magecraft, which has a number of potential uses for someone like you, wouldn't you seek to learn how to use it? It would be wasteful not to make use of whatever is in front you, yes?" Mairsbury asked.
The boy couldn't deny the logic behind Marisbury's reasoning, and he had to admit the potential magecraft could offer was worth considering.
I promised Suzaku I would destroy Britannia, but… well, I can do that too, can't I?
Lelouch wanted retribution for not only his mother's death, but for the Emperor casting them to Japan to die. He knew that achieving such a goal would be very difficult to put it lightly, which only made Marisbury's offer more appealing.
Yet there was one thing Lelouch had to ask.
"Let's say I accept your offer. What do you want in return?"
"I only ask in return that you work for my new organization as a Master to command a Heroic Spirit," Marisbury answered.
"What organization? What is a Heroic Spirit?"
Marisbury smiled, "We'll cover the subject of Heroic Spirits in your training, but my organization seeks to ensure the continuation of humanity. I imagine that would obviously be beneficial for you and your sister?"
Intrigued, Lelouch asked Marisbury to continue.
Back in the present, Lelouch was next to his sister, trying to comfort her when the door to the dining room opened. Instead of Sayoko, it was a man in his early thirties with orange hair tied into a ponytail. He had green eyes and a fair skin complexion, and wore a white dress shirt with dark green pants and a coat.
"Hey, Lelouch," he said, "I am not interrupting anything, am I?"
"No, Romani, you are not," Lelouch replied, standing up.
"Good evening, father," Nunnally said. He was their legal guardian, Dr. Romani Archaman.
Archaman was a close friend of Marisbury, who had assumed the role of Lelouch and Nunnally's legal guardian once the siblings had been declared legally dead. Then, under their new identities as Lelouch and Nunnally Lamperouge, they had been adopted by Romani, who became a surrogate father to the siblings. Through Marisbury's impressive connections Nunnally and Lelouch came to not only attend Ashford Academy, but the headmaster allowed them to reside in the Clubhouse at the heart of the campus, giving the siblings some privacy. It was helpful, since Romani would spend months at a time working at Marisbury's organization.
"Good to see you, Nunnally," Romani said. "Mind if I borrow your brother Lelouch for a bit?"
"Sure," Nunnally answered, "Its about time for me to get ready for bed, anyway. Miss Sayoko will help me."
"Don't worry, I'll have Lelouch back in time for him to say good night," Romani assured her.
"I am sure you will." Nunnally replied.
Lelouch and Romani left the dinning room together, before walking across the campus towards the main building of the Ashford Academy. The two said nothing to each other on the way there. What they had to discuss was not something either of them wanted overheard by any passers-by.
Once they reached a freight elevator, Lelouch input a code, while Romani kept a lookout for any students or faculty members.
After the pair boarded the elevator, it was safer to speak more freely.
"So, what is this about?" Lelouch asked.
"Sion wants you to help her test something."
"You mean help with her attempt to create a bootleg summoning system based on Chaldea's?"
Romani nodded as the elevator continued its descent. "Yes. And maybe after that, I thought it would be a good idea for you to work on your usage of Gandr."
Gandr was a simple curse originating from Scandinavia. Depending on the magic put into it, the curse could weaken a target to unconsciousness or potentially even kill them. So far, Lelouch hadn't managed to master it, but he had reached the point that each curse fired from his fingers in the form of a good were close to hitting as hard as a bullet. It wasn't quite enough to kill a person, but it would knock them out instantly.
"Alright, although I am not expecting much from Sion's attempt," Lelouch said as he and Romani stepped out of the elevator.
"Now, don't be like that Lelouch," Romani said teasingly, "you are hoping to summon a Heroic Spirit, aren't you?"
"True. Summoning one outside of Chaldea would give me plenty of uses for one," Lelouch mused.
"Lelouch, you know you can't do anything that could risk exposing the existence of Magecraft to the world," said Romani, caution in his voice.
"I know, but as long as I avoid doing anything that could risk that, the Mage's Association will look the other way, won't they? After all, they allow some of their members to causally kill innocent people for the sake of their research," Lelouch said, with barely restrained disdain.
Among the first things Lelouch had learned upon studying Magecraft was about the Mage's Association, which consisted of three branches; the Clock Tower, the Atlas Institute, and the Wandering Sea. The Clock Tower acted as the primary authority over the Mage's Association in general matters, dedicated to not only the furthering and preservation of magecraft, but expanding their own ability to protect themselves.
However, the Mage's Association was more concerned about the preservation of Magecraft, otherwise known as Thaumaturgy, to the extent that those seeking to further it were allowed to commit murder for the sake of research. As long as their actions didn't threaten nor present a risk of exposing Magecraft to the world, a magus could do as they pleased when it came to research.
Such callousness, and the politics within the Clock Tower, sickened Lelouch. The various families who held sway within the Association were no different from Britannia to him, if not worse in one way or another.
"She is waiting for you," Romani said as he and Lelouch walked through the underground waterways.
"Well, let's get this over with," Lelouch said with a sigh.
The two arrived at what looked like a mere stone wall, but after Romani tapped certain places of the solid stone wall it slid away, revealing a secret passageway. Descending a flight of stairs, the pair faced a young girl around Lelouch's age.
She had long purple hair, tied into long twin tails and a fair skin complexion with matching purple eyes, wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses over them. Her attire consisted of a dark purple and green hat, a purple blazer with a white dress shirt and a green tie. Lastly, she wore a white short skirt with long black leggings and white high-heeled shoes.
Upon hearing their footsteps, she turned around to cheerfully greet Lelouch and Romani.
"I am so glad you two came. Thanks for bringing Lelouch, Romani."
"Not at all, Sion," said Romani courteously.
"So, I am told you might've gotten your attempt at system to summon a Heroic Spirit working?" said Lelouch.
"Maybe," Sion Eltnam Sokaris answered. "The success rate is about forty seven percent, but I need some hard data to resolve some of the issues still present."
"That doesn't sound too promising," said Lelouch.
Sion patted Lelouch on the shoulder.
"Now don't be like that. I am just asking for a little help. And who knows, you might get lucky. Didn't you want to use the chance to summon a Heroic Spirit to benefit you?"
A Heroic Spirit. The spirit of a notable hero whose great deeds and accomplishments were recorded on the Throne of Heroes upon their death. Through a summoning ritual it was possible to summon the spirit of one of these heroes stored on the throne. Lelouch had heard from Romani that some Heroic Spirits were noteworthy military commanders or even scientists whose accomplishments drastically changed the world.
With this in mind, Lelouch knew that not only would summoning one give him a powerful bodyguard, but depending on who was summoned, Lelouch could learn a great deal from them. It was one of the reasons Lelouch had ultimately accepted Marisbury's offer, since Chaldea's missions required summoning a Heroic Spirit to aid them and protect them from any dangers a master of Chaldea could face.
"I suppose. But if it fails, I trust nothing unfortunate will befall me?" Lelouch asked, eyeing Sion suspiciously.
"Don't worry, it's completely safe. I tested it myself, but sadly I wasn't successful," Sion said reassuringly.
"So, you want data from a different summoner to help you then?"
Sion nodded eagerly.
"Okay, let's get this over with," Lelouch said with a sigh, letting Sion led him to another corner of the workshop she had established below Ashford Academy.
"Don't worry, nothing will harm you. At worst, it might get a little smokey in the room, but I made sure to improve the ventilation system," said Sion.
Sion was from the Atlas Institute, one of the three organizations that collectively made up the Mage's Association. Atlas' core members were alchemists, supposedly all descended from the goddess Isis, the ancestor of magi in Egyptian mythology. Unlike the Clock Tower, the magi of Atlas did not use magecraft, being more dedicated to their craft as alchemist, compensating for their lack of magical ability by crafting powerful weapons and devices.
As such their bodies and minds were honed since birth to specialize in thought partitioning and thought acceleration, techniques that made use of the human body as an arithmetic unit.
Their mantra was Faster, Stronger, and More Accurate.
Because of how potent and destructive their creations could be, a rule had been put into place that decreed that whatever was created in Atlas would stay in Atlas. This was especially true for the tools meant to prevent the end of the world. Their director had once foreseen the end of the world, which had sparked the quest to build the best weapons and tools to prevent every imaginable possibility of that happening. Unfortunately, their efforts led to some of their own creations being potent enough to potentially destroy the world as well if misused. They were the most independent of the three magi organizations, but their alchemists almost never ventured outside of Atlas unless there were special circumstances.
Sion was one of those alchemists, as well as brilliant inventor and engineer, and furthermore the daughter of the current Director of Atlas.
Lelouch had tried to learn about her relationship with Marisbury ever since he had been introduced to her five years ago, and in the years since Sion had seemingly not aged a day. What Lelouch knew for certain was that Atlas was a major sponsor for Chaldea, having provided much technical support, and Sion had been assigned to help Lelouch further his understanding of magecraft while teaching him the fundamentals of alchemy. Sion was more dedicated to Atlas' unique brand of alchemy, but she was still highly knowledgeable in magecraft, teaching Lelouch when Dr. Romani was not available.
"Here it is!"
Sion proudly showed Lelouch and Dr. Romani a large machine that occupied much of the room, but Lelouch knew these devices were the result of mystic properties infused with technology. The device was spherical, with a large circular platform. Various wires and cables connected it to the wall for power. Near the door was a computer terminal that Sion had set up to collect data from Lelouch's summoning attempt to help her work out the bugs.
"So, we can start whenever you are ready," Sion said, offering Lelouch a blank piece of paper where the summoning chant was written.
"Alright," said Lelouch, accepting the paper before taking a few minutes to read and memorize the summoning chant he would need.
"Just take it nice and slow, Lelouch," Dr. Romani advised.
"Understood," Lelouch said, handing the paper to Romani before he approached the summoning circle on the platform. Taking a deep breath, Lelouch began reciting the summoning chant.
"Let silver and steel be the essence," he began. "Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation. Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall."
Blue magical energy began emanating from circle.
"Let the four cardinal gates close. Let the three-forked road from the crown reaching unto the Kingdom rotate. Let it be declared now; your flesh shall serve under me, and my fate shall be with your sword. Submit to the beckoning of the Holy Grail."
The energy began glowing more intensely. Seeing nothing amiss, Lelouch pressed on.
"Answer, if you would submit to this will and this truth-" he incanted, but before he could finish the spell, something went wrong as an alarm sounded from Sion's monitor. The ritual came to a sudden end as the accumulated energy blew free, nearly sending Lelouch tumbling to the ground. Stumbling, he just about managed to catch himself. He was coughing, as was Romani and Sion, as they each waved their arms to push away the smoke. Sion quickly activated a series of fans in the room that sucked the smoke out. Within seconds, the room was cleared, and Lelouch was feeling more annoyed than he was before. Not only had he suspected the summoning would fail, but had the ritual gathered more energy he might have been seriously hurt by the resulting explosion.
"Next time you want me to test this out, I will agree if you can at least raise the success rate above eighty percent." He said sharply.
"Sorry about that," said Sion apologetically, "But I got some interesting data, so that will help me figure out how to better fine tune this summoning system. It will be error free in good time."
"I'll hold you to that," Lelouch said with an amused smile.
Romani gestured for him to follow, while Sion went to work to examine the machine and its various devices to determine the source of the problem. Once the pair were out of earshot, Lelouch spoke up.
"You know, I am surprised that as a member of Chaldea, you are okay with Sion attempting to create a bootleg copy of your organization's summoning system for Heroic Spirits."
"Well as I have mentioned, we have had problems summoning servants, so I hoped Sion's attempts could help us figure out the problem. Only three servants have been successfully summoned at Chaldea," Romani answered.
"And Chaldea needs Heroic Spirits to accompany the masters on their missions, so that would be a serious problem. I am surprised they haven't been more aggressive in resolving the issue."
"We're working on it, and maybe we can fix it by the time you arrive," Dr. Romani said, trying to sound hopeful.
The duo arrived at a part of Sion's workshop that had been converted into a small shooting range, with target dummies set up a distance away at various points.
"Alright, let's try to get three shots in rapid succession," said Romani.
"Very well," Lelouch said as he extended his right hand before aiming two of his fingers in a gun-like fashion. He used his left hand to help study his hand for a better aim.
Taking a deep breath, Lelouch focused on the magic circuits within his body, the source of his ability to use Magecraft. Within moments, a small black sphere of magical energy gathered at his fingertips before releasing. Firing like a bullet, the curse struck its first mark, knocking the dummy back. Lelouch quickly readied another shot, taking aim and trying to beat his past record.
"Nice shot, but you got two more targets."
"Working on it," Lelouch said, trying to focus.
Lelouch released another shot hitting the chest of his second target.
"A little low, but good."
The young man ignored him, focusing on his task before shooting the last target in the neck.
Romani stopped a stopwatch he had to examine the time; he had discreetly activated it without Lelouch's notice.
"Not bad, you were three seconds faster than last time." Romani said, clearly pleased with Lelouch.
"I said it once and I'll say it again, for someone incapable of magecraft you have been a capable teacher."
"Well, I did study a lot at the Clock Tower. I might've failed in my ability to use magecraft like my classmates, but I am very well versed in it enough to teach others," Romani replied.
"I got a few days left before I have to head to Chaldea. How much more training could we squeeze in?"
"I am not sure, but we can make the most of the time we got. Sion and I will be traveling with you to Chaldea so you won't be alone."
"That will be nice," Lelouch remarked.
If I do succeed in summoning a Heroic Spirit, I hope it'll be one I can spend some productive time with, Lelouch thought with a smile.
Lelouch recalled the first time he and Nunnally would meet their new legal guardian. It took place three weeks after Lelouch's meeting with Marisbury, which in that time the man made good on his promises to ensure the former royal siblings were taken care of. The siblings were quietly relocated to Hawaii- otherwise known as Area Seven- where they would stay for the time being. Their present location was chosen in part because Chaldea had an observatory on the top of Mauna Kea, the island chain's tallest mountain on the largest of the Hawaiian Islands. Lelouch and Nunnally had been dropped off at a set of condos located near a private beach in Kona on the island of Hawai'I, known alternatively as the Big Island. The complex had elevators, so it wasn't an issue for Nunnally as Lelouch pushed her wheelchair. Following them with the sibling's luggage was a black suited bodyguard as the siblings stepped off the elevator.
"What kind of person do you think he is?"
"I am not sure, Nunnally," Lelouch replied shrugging his shoulders. "All I know is he is a close friend of Marisbury's, so he was chosen since he trusted him the most."
"I hope he's nice."
Lelouch was hesitant to say something at first until he replied, "Me too."
Although he did not give voice to it, Lelouch was more concerned about their new legal guardian being more trustworthy than nice. Marisbury had not revealed much, deciding to let the siblings judge for themselves, but he had assured Lelouch the man was trustworthy.
Arriving at their destination, the bodyguard pushed the doorbell.
"The door is open!" A voice from the other side called.
The bodyguard opened the unlocked door, before silently gesturing for Lelouch and Nunnally to enter.
"WELCOME!" Romani announced flipping on the lights as confetti was showered onto Nunnally and Lelouch's heads. "My name is Dr. Romani Archaman, but you can call me Roman if you like."
Lelouch was speechless and confused, as his eyes began scanning the room. The living room had been brightly decorated with colorful streamers, and there was even a banner with the words 'welcome' printed upon it.
"What's going on, brother?" Nunnally said seemingly just as confused, but likely the reason was different from Lelouch's.
"Well, compared to the welcome we got in Japan, this is quite the opposite," Lelouch said, just about managing to word a proper answer.
"Sorry if this seems over-the-top like that," Romani replied with a nervous laugh, "I heard about uh, the rough couple of months you had, so I wanted to try to help to assure you two things will be at least a big improvement from your previous accommodations."
I can't argue with that, Lelouch thought. He remembered Prime Minister Kururugi and his son, Suzaku. They had got off to a rough start.
"So, who wants cake?"
"Cake, what kind?" Nunnally asked excitedly
"Strawberry Cake," Romani answered.
Lelouch wanted to say something, but the words wouldn't come. It almost felt too good to be true, facing this degree of kindness and warmth. Still, he was not about to sour his sister's good mood. The welcome celebration went on for hours, and while Lelouch remained skeptical, he kept quiet about his misgivings for Nunnally's sake.
Lelouch hadn't seen her this happy in a long time. They had been forced to scrounge up a living in a war zone for months not long ago, and that was just the tip of the iceberg on the long list of terrible tragedies Nunnally had endured ever since their mother was assassinated.
It wouldn't be until later that evening, after Nunnally fell into a blissful slumber, that the two would finally have a chance to speak.
"I had a feeling you would be out here," Romani said, joining Lelouch out on the balcony of the condo.
Lelouch looked over his shoulder and said nothing to Romani. The doctor sighed.
"You probably don't trust me, don't you? I am not exactly shocked, given everything I was told you and your sister went through."
"At least you understand. Yet… I never saw Nunnally that happy. Although with Suzaku she was smiling more, but…"
"The problem is you can't tell for certain if someone is showing you genuine kindness or it's a deception. That's what you are thinking, isn't it?"
When Lelouch said nothing, in turn Romani took it as confirmation.
"Well, I doubt words alone is going to convince you, will they?"
"Probably not," Lelouch replied.
"I'll work on earning your trust anyway I can," Romani offered.
"You seem quite determined to do so," Lelouch remarked, looking up at the night sky.
"Normally I am more of a pessimist, but I said I would take care of you and Nunnally and that's what I'll do. Besides, I have a good feeling you'll be capable of some great things in the future," Romani offered.
"How so? I am not exactly planning on living an…" Lelouch sad, recalling the promise he made to Suzaku during their last meeting.
I swear one day I'll obliterate Britannia!
"An ordinary life." He finished severely.
"I don't expect that you would, but trust isn't something earned in a day. It shouldn't be either. But I promise I'll work on building a foundation for that between us," Romani answered. He offered his hand to Lelouch.
"Alright, but I won't make it easy for you." The boy said, accepting it after some hesitation.
"Like I said, you shouldn't make it easy for anyone to gain your trust."
And in time, Romani made good on his promise.
Once Lelouch had finished his evening training, he returned to the Ashford Academy Clubhouse where Nunnally was waiting in the living room. Sayako was kneeling down next to her, helping her create origami.
"I am back, Nunnally," Lelouch said, announcing his presence.
"I am glad you are back, big brother."
"Sorry for leaving like that. Me and Romani had some business to discuss," Lelouch said apologetically, before sitting down in one of the chairs by Nunnally.
"Is it about your trip?"
"Yes."
Partly, but Nunnally wasn't aware of Lelouch's intention to summon a heroic spirit and his training in magecraft. Dr. Romani had been reluctant to keep Nunnally in the dark, but he had agreed to Lelouch's request to not tell Nunnally of his training.
"Brother, I wish you wouldn't have to go." Nunnally said sadly.
"Neither do I, but this is part of the agreement I made with Mister Marisbury. I'll be gone for a couple weeks to a month at most. You'll have Miss Sayoko and Milly to keep you company. I'll try to bring you back something nice." Lelouch said placing a hand on Nunnally's in an effort to comfort her. Nunnally said nothing, seeming saddened.
"Anyway, what are you making Nunnally?" Lelouch said, trying to change the topic to something more positive.
"Well Miss Sayoko is teaching me origami. By folding paper in certain ways, you can make almost anything from boats, birds and more," Nunnally explained with a smile on her face.
Relieved to see Nunnally's mood brighten, Lelouch thought,
I promise I'll try not to be away for too long, and maybe whatever is happening at Chaldea will not be a easy to resolve issue.
He spent the rest of the evening by his sister's side, having no idea what fate had in store for him.
A/N: A soft start, but given the amount of characters to begin appearing next chapter with a lot to cover this is a good cut off point for now.
One thing I should note about updates it will depend on how fast I can produce chapters and when Greatratking88 can get to them and go over them. I already have chapter two being checked over at the time of this chapter's posting so it shouldn't be too long. Going forward I thought I should share that in the event of unexpected delays.
I already have the first servant for Lelouch in mind, and it will be both different a real surprise to be shown in the next chapter. I will thank Seerking for his help on that one at this time.
Next chapter Lelouch will arrive in Chaldea as we get closer to events of Singularity F, which will likely happen in chapter three.
Thank you all in advance for reading, I hope you'll enjoy this story.
