Turn 2.3

There are far worse ways to wake up than a naked greenette clutching you like a teddy bear.

Unfortunately, even as dog-tired as I am, I still have to deal with something I had long thought I had put behind me.

High school. I shudder.

Oh damn, I woke her up. "Sorry about that."

"Why the shudder?" she queries with an inquisitive look.

"Thinking about the mindless drudgery of normal high school."

"Ah. I never actually went."

I chuckle to myself. "It's not all bad. Just very boring. And my boss on the Student Council is very bubbly and fun."

She raises an eyebrow, "Somehow, the way you say the word 'bubbly' strikes me as odd."

I look at my alarm clock, seeing I just have time for a shower and a quick breakfast. "You've never met Milly Ashford, then."

Her face takes on an impish grin. "Oh, Reuben's granddaughter? How much does she take after him?"

I yawn as I drag myself to the bathroom. "Just as big of a party animal, and a massive pervert besides."

CC pulls the covers back over. "I'm surprised she hasn't seduced you yet."

"Not for lack of trying, m'dear. Prior to our first encounter, however, I wasn't much of what you'd call a receptive audience."

CC yawns and snuggles into the covers. "Wake me when breakfast is ready."

I walk out, Ashford standard uniform on. "You'll have to fend for yourself today. I'll tell Sayoko to let you sleep. Is pizza an acceptable substitute?" I ask with a wry grin.

Huh. That's impressive. She all but teleported into my arms. "I knew I was going to like you," she says, snuggling into my arms.

"Two things. One, this card has a credit limit. So save the receipts so I can make sure it stays good," I say as I hand her a credit card.

Bank of Britannia. 'Britannian standards for Britannian money.' I wish I was making that up.

She snatches the card out of my hand. "And two?"

I lift her chin gently. "Be nice to my sister and don't corrupt her," I say with an exasperated sigh.

I walk out of the room quietly. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear her giggling.

I check in on Nunnally. Still sleeping like an angel. I'll grant your wish, little sister.

I close the door...and wow, that was fast. Sayoko is already behind me.

"Master Lelouch? Is something wrong?"

Hmm. I think I'd better defuse this.

"Sayoko of clan Shinozaki," I say with a regal tone as I turn to face her. "I have a favor to ask of you. One that I would not ask, were I not absolutely certain of your loyalty."

She's alert and attentive. Not surprising. I was pretty charismatic before. And Lelouch is, of course, a natural.

"Hai, goshujin-sama."

I walk with her to the kitchen. "Do you think what happened to Japan was right?" I ask as I warm up leftovers to eat for breakfast.

She blinks at the odd question. And her eyes narrow in anger. "No. Even if our leaders were fools that chose to provoke Britannia, their butchery of our culture and nation was unforgivable."

I turn to her and nod with a vicious grin. "Yes, exactly. Their actions were, and are, vile and corrupt. As such, I finally took the first steps to rectifying this state of affairs yesterday."

She's thinking about where I was...and there she goes. "Shinjuku. That was you, wasn't it?"

I nod. "Yes. Clovis perpetuated a massacre. I ensured that he paid for that transgression with his life."

Huh. She's kneeling. "I Sayoko, 37th successor of the clan Shinozaki shinobi, do hereby pledge my loyalty to Lelouch vi Britannia and his cause."

Yahtzee! Ok, let's see. Lelouch should have the right protocol for this...there we go.

"I accept your oath of fealty and your pledge of knighthood."

Damn, don't have a sword. I look at the spatula in my hand. Well, I suppose that will...oh, there we go. She's holding out a ninja-tō.

I take the blade and unsheathe it slowly, mouthing a silent thank you at her. She winks and lowers her head.

"Do you swear to be my sword and shield?" I tap her left shoulder gently with the blade.

"I do."

I tap her other shoulder. "Do you swear to fight in my name and pledge your loyalty to me?"

She salutes with a hand over her chest. "My sword is yours, goshujin-sama."

I tap her left shoulder and return her sheathed blade to her. "Then rise, Sayoko Shinozaki, knight of the Vi Britannia line."

She's crying. Dammit. I can't stand seeing people I care about crying. "Thank you. My experience has changed me. But I am still the master you swore yourself to," I say as I hug her.

I sigh. "Let tell you exactly what happened yesterday."

Obviously, I leave out the extra personality shoved into my head, but she's surprisingly accepting of everything else. Even the crazy magic eyeball.

Of course, now she's guaranteed to give me shit about the green-haired seductress. But, eh, like I said, I prefer it when the people I care about call me on my bullshit.

So now it's off to class. Hoo-fucking-ray.

Student Council meeting was pretty chill. Though Milly's wake-up with the newspaper sucked. Not too sure how to handle her just yet. Lelouch clearly didn't understand that the only way to fight a tease, is to tease back. Thankfully, I'm much better at not giving a shit.

Ah. Kallen. The red lotus. Okay, so I really don't think I need to Geass her. But I do want to get her attention...Ah, hell with it. I'll wing it.

I walk by her. I whisper as I pass, "If you want to know about Shinjuku, follow me."

Bait set. ...Aaaand, she's hooked. Hi-ho, hi-ho, to Milly's lair we go!

The Student Council seems to like her. Rivalz is always happy to have another girl in the club, of course. Shirley is ever smiling.

She really isn't my type. Too passive. But she doesn't deserve getting shanked by Rolo.

Nina. Hoo boy, that's a bomb waiting to go off. I really don't want to Geass her, but worst case scenario? I'll take her and FLEIJA for myself.

Milly, on the other hand? She knows me. She can tell I'm different. Really need to talk to her.

Probably have to table that 'till after I save Suzaku's delusional ass.

And Nunnally. Ever innocent. Ever smiling. Hard to believe she's as devious as I am. Unlike canon, I intend to confront her with the truth. That's going to suck righteously.

...I really hope she can forgive me for this.

Kallen is giving me a dirty look. I look to the side and whistle nonchalantly. The wet clothes look works for her.

I set the clothes down, considering my options.

I could go the canon route. Except I know exactly where that leads: Lelouch-kebab at Suzaku's hands. No, not this time.

The Lelouch part of me is telling me this is a terrible idea, but Lelouch is also a gambling addict. And the potential prize if I succeed...I can't deny that it's worth the risk.

"Can you hand me the pouch right there?" Kallen asks.

I quirk an eyebrow. "You could always wait till you're out of the shower to do your makeup or check your phone."

She sputters. Ha! She clearly wasn't expecting that.

I grab the pouch and hand it to her. "You know, Q-1, people might get the wrong idea if they walked in right now," I say in my 'Zero' voice. And the wheel of fate turns onto a detour.

Aaaaaand I have a knife at my throat. She's clearly confused, outraged, and scared.

Perfect.

"So ungrateful. Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" I mutter.

I know I shouldn't be provoking her. But it's just too much fun.

"Who are you? Why did you help us?"

I smirk that devil's smile that I do so well. "Because I want to obliterate Britannia and its vile ideals," I say in a venomous whisper oozing with hate.

Ah. That got her attention. "You're Britannian. Why do you care?"

Let's see how smart she is. "You saw my sister, correct?"

The loving sibling card. That gives her pause. She nods.

"The answer to all your questions, lies in what happened to us in the past...and who I was."

I take a deep breath. Here goes nothing. If this works, Kallen will be absolutely loyal to me and I'll have another partner to keep me from going full-on crazy.

If it fails? Well, ROB doesn't get any more entertainment and I get a bad end.

Fuck you, Nasu.

"There was once a prince, who lived in a faraway kingdom. He was happy and carefree, not knowing any hardship."

I look her directly in the eyes. "He had a cornucopia of siblings, so he never wanted for companionship. He was smart, cute as a button, and possessed a kind heart."

I sigh. Shit. One thing I keep forgetting, Lelouch's emotions on certain things affects my perspective on them. And this? This is his biggest sore spot.

"Until one day, when everything changed."

My eyes harden as I lose myself in memories. "His mother murdered. His sister crippled, rendered blind from shock. And his father? Declared them both to be worthless and cast the prince and his sister into exile in a foreign land."

I grip Kallen's arm, my eyes burning with hate. "The prince became friends with the foreign ruler's son...only for his former homeland to invade less than a year later. The three fled into the countryside, avoiding soldiers from both sides. Wandering through wastelands and mass graveyards."

Hmm, clearly Kallen has memories of her own of that time.

"Eventually, the three of them made their way to Tokyo...and the prince made a vow."

She's figured it out. I can see the lightbulb going off in her head. "You can't be..."

I draw myself to my full height. "Yes. I am Lelouch vi Britannia! The exiled prince, son of Empress Marianne and Charles zi Britannia. And I vowed to OBLITERATE BRITANNIA!" I roar out, my eyes burning with rage.

I pull the knife towards my neck, shocking her. "You could kill me here, now. You might even get away with it. But...whatever dream of freedom the Japanese hold, would die with me," I say with a blasé expression.

Using the word 'Japanese' seems to have given her pause.

"But give me soldiers, and I can craft strategies. Give me trust, and I can create an army. If you place your faith in me Kallen Kōzuki-Stadtfeld...I will give you back your country, and together, we shall set Britannia ablaze." I kneel as I say this last part, my eyes blazing with ambition.

Starstruck. Yes! It's working.

And now she's straddling me with the knife at my throat again. I'm going to relish reminding her about this later.

What? She's hot, I'm a guy, and fuuuuck that is a great ass. And those tits! Her muscle tone is rapturous...

Right. Knife. Focus, Lelouch.

"How do I know you aren't using us to get to the throne?" she says angrily.

I shake my head slowly, "I don't want the job. It's an immense headache and there are people who deserve it more than I do."

She's incredulous. Understandable, I suppose. Most of the royal family are cutthroat monsters and/or incompetent.

"What I want, Kallen...IS REVENGE," I say, teeth bared.

"What I want, Q-1, is Britannia destroyed and the Area system with it."

I sit up, looking her in the eye, face to face. "So you can shut up with the questions about my commitment to this cause. Because I assure you, Q-1, I have hated Britannia long before anyone else in Japan ever did," I hiss out.

She's shaken. Whatever she was expecting to happen in here, this wasn't it.

"Now, are you with me, my Red Queen?"

She steels her expression and nods. "I'll trust you for now. But if you betray us, I'll make you suffer before you die."

I give a curt nod. "Excellent. By the way, do you want me to take my pants off and join you in the shower?"

She looks confused and then looks down, seeing that's she's straddling me.

"I do love natural redheads," I say smoothly with a cheeky grin.

I walk out of there with a hand slap print on my face, a punch to the gut...and the beginning of a good relationship with my new Queen.

Worth it!

Oh hai Suzaku. How you lasted this long in the Britannian military, I'll never understand.

End of Turn 2.