Ch. 5: Colonial Oppression

The train came to a screeching halt when it arrived at the train station in Keijō. Lelouch exited the passenger car and immediately headed towards the ticket counter so he could take a train to the northern city of Sinŭiju. According to the railway maps he had read, the train station in Sinŭiju connects with the South Manchurian Railroad.

"Hello sir. I would like to buy one ticket for Sinŭiju please." asked Lelouch.

"Oh I apologize but all trains heading northward today have been cancelled." replied the man behind the ticket counter.

"Cancelled? Why?" Lelouch asked.

"Well according to what I've been told, saboteurs up North have blown up parts of the railroads with homemade explosives. Damage is not severe, but the railroads still need to be repaired before the trains can use them again," said the man.

"Saboteurs? Who are they affiliated with? The Germans? The Bolsheviks?" asked Lelouch.

"No, no, no. Simply just a few native zealots who simply won't accept reality." replied the man.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Lelouch.

"Well, before we came in, this whole Peninsula was practically backwards and poor. So we decide to aid the people here by giving them land reform, industrialization, and protection from China and Russia. And how do these damn Chons repay us for modernizing their society? They promote random acts of terror and total defiance." said the man with frustration.

"Ok. Uhm, thank you." Lelouch said as he left the ticket booth.

Lelouch immediately exited the station and he found himself in a semi-modernized city.

The buildings nearby were multi-storied and had a Western-Japanese style mix to it, similar to the ones he saw in Tokyo.

The streets, though not as crowded as in Tokyo, were full of people commuting from one pace to another. The people seen walking the streets wore a variety of clothing. Some wore Western-style clothing while others wore traditional Korean clothes known as hanboks.

Lelouch decided to find somewhere to stay while he waited for the Northern railways to be opened up again.

As he walked down some of the streets, Lelouch passed many small and large businesses. Most of them had their signs in Japanese, indicating that they were most likely owned by Japanese residents.

Lelouch also noticed some electrical and telegraph poles lining the various streets.

Various different modes of transport could also been seen. Cattle pulling carts of goods, bicyclists, trolley cars, and a few automobiles passed by Lelouch.

"Pretty nice looking city. Seems to be organized and well-built. There's also seems to be access to electricity and decent plumbing." thought Lelouch as he observed his surroundings.

Lelouch then turned onto another street and saw it was wider than the ones seen before. A large archway-like structure could also be seen up ahead. It had a stone based and a Korean-style wooden roof structure on top of it. Wanting to get a better look at it, Lelouch walked down the street in order to get a better look at this giant structure. When Lelouch got close enough, he suddenly noticed it was about three-stories tall and was located in what appeared to be a plaza.

After looking at it, Lelouch immediately knew that the structure he was looking at was the Gwanghwamun, the largest gate of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. Lelouch had recognized it due to reading some books on worldwide architecture when he head extra time on his hands.

"So this is the Gwanghwamun. Looks like its in need of some repair. But still, an interesting example of architecture and ingenuity..." thought Lelouch.

"You stupid Chon! You think you have the guts to disrespect me!" yelled a voice in the distance.

Lelouch immediately then looked around him and saw what appeared to be a middle-aged man dressed in a suit yelling at an elderly man. Since the elderly man was wearing a white hanbok, Lelouch assumed the elderly man was Korean.

"Look, I'm extremely sorry. My...my eyesight is kind of poor and..." said the elderly man with fear and terror.

"I don't care if you're blind! Whenever I walk down these streets, I don't expect your kind to walk on the same side of the street! IS THAT CLEAR!" interrupted the middle-aged man.

"I'm...I'm...I'm really sorry. P-P-Please forgive me. Look I have some money take it and..." asked the elderly man as he bowed on his knees.

"I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY YOU DIRTY CHON!" yelled the middle-aged man. Suddenly, the middle-aged man repeatedly kicked the elderly man while he was in a bowing position. The elderly man started to curl into a fetal position as he was pelted with kicks.

"WE COME TO HELP YOU AND ALL WE ASK IS SOME RESPECT! YET CHONS LIKE YOU DECIDE TO FIGHT US! PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN DIRT!" yelled the man as he kept kicking the bruised elderly man in the chest.

"STOP IT!" yelled Lelouch at the top of his lungs. Knowing that there wasn't enough time for him to remove his contact lens, Lelouch ran towards the two men, and knocked the angry man down by ramming him from behind. The man was suddenly laying on the ground while the now heavily bruised elderly man got up, coughed a little blood, and quickly limped away from the scene.

The man who was knocked down suddenly got up.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?" he yelled.

"FOR BEATING UP AN INNOCENT OLD MAN THAT'S WHY!" Lelouch yelled back.

"HE DESERVED IT! PEOPLE LIKE HIM HAVE TO LEARN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER TO RESPECT US JAPANESE!" the man yelled.

"SO THAT'S HOW YOU FEEL STRONGER? BY TERRORIZING THE WEAK AND THE HELPLESS? SUCH A COWARDLY MOVE!" replied Lelouch.

"COWARDLY HUH? WELL HERE'S SOMETHING COWARDLY TO ENJOY!" yelled the man as he quickly rushed towards Lelouch and punched him right in the face.

"CRAP! Faster than I thought. Didn't have enough time to remove lens from eye..." thought Lelouch as he saw himself falling towards the ground. The impact of the punch made Lelouch feel light headed and dizzy. As he was laying motionless on the ground, Lelouch noticed what appeared to be two Japanese police officers who had just arrived talking to the man that punched him.

Suddenly Lelouch found himself being hauled off by what appeared to be the two Japanese officers.

"Officers...where...are you taking..." mumbled Lelouch

"JUST SHUT UP!" yelled one of the officers. Immediately after he said that, Lelouch felt a painful impact being made on the back of his head. Within an millisecond of the impact, Lelouch blacked out completely.

Author's Note: Remember there is going to be no language barrier between Lelouch and the other characters due to the fact that he probably got a multilingual education while he was living as a Britannian Prince. This fact will also explain how Lelouch is knowledgeable in the histories and cultures of other countries.

Also the term "Chon" that is being used by the Japanese characters is a Japanese derogatory term for Koreans.

Next chapter Lelouch will be find himself dragged into this fight between the Korean resistance and the Imperial Japanese Empire. He will also meet someone in jail who is important in this story.