Disclaimer: Code Geass and all it entails are not mine. I only claim ownership of any OC's and Original Knightmares.

"Kallen"-Speech

'Lelouch'-Thought/mental communication

"{Die}"-Geass Command

"Halt!"-Loudspeaker

"Roger."-Radio/Walkie-Talkie

Interlude: Sayoko and C.C.

Living Room, Ashford Academy Student Council Clubhouse

Sayoko Shinozaki was uncharacteristically nervous. Her Goshujin-sama had gone off to a meeting with an angry and fearful Milly Ashford, leaving her alone with the green haired immortal woman C.C., who had requested that Sayoko remain for a 'discussion' as she had put it.

The maid regarded the immortal woman warily. C.C. was lying on the sofa on her back and wore a look of vast amusement that told Sayoko that she at least suspected (and very probably knew precisely) how and what she was feeling at the moment.

'Well, she does have over seven hundred years-worth of practice at reading people,' Sayoko thought dryly, 'So it wouldn't really surprise me if I am as open as a book to her. Slightly irritated, perhaps, but not surprised.'

Her attention was returned to the immortal as she languidly sat up and stretched, reminding Sayoko of a cat just after its nap. C.C. was dressed in one of Lelouch's shirts and a pair of frilly panties, which caused Sayoko to frown. Hadn't the immortal ordered any clothes yet? She had certainly been flicking through the catalogues with considerable interest over the last couple of days.

The green haired immortal finished stretching and regarded Sayoko with an indolent expression on her face.

"I'm certain that you are perturbed right now, correct?" C.C. said with a hint of a smile in her voice. Sayoko nodded in acknowledgement, not trusting her voice. C.C. gave a tiny grin before she continued.

"There is something that I neglected to mention to both Lelouch and yourself regarding my Code."

Sayoko stiffened slightly. 'Something she 'neglected' to mention? By the sounds of it, it's something she omitted deliberately. But what could it be? And why mention it to me when Lelouch-sama isn't around?'

C.C. had been watching Sayoko closely as she had spoken and had noticed her change in posture. Smirking to herself she dropped the bombshell she had been saving since the first night she and Lelouch had become lovers.

"You see, my Code allows me to track the locations of any and all of the people who are contracted to me, with 100% accuracy." C.C. said conversationally, watching as horror and acute embarrassment marched across the maid's face.

"Imaging my surprise when I find not one, but two contractors near me the last two nights." The green haired woman spoke as if she was only thinking aloud, ignoring the steadily reddening face of the maid standing next to her.

"Is there something you would like to discuss with me, Lady C.C., or are you just content to mock me?" Sayoko spat out between clenched teeth.

C.C. raised an eyebrow.

"I'm merely pointing out that I know that you have been…eavesdropping…on Lelouch and me. I would like to know the reason for it." C.C. said, all signs of teasing gone from both her face and her voice.

Sayoko spluttered out a babble of words that made no sense as her already red face darkens even further, which causes the green haired immortal to throw her head back and give a throaty laugh.

"Pfft…..ahahahahahaha!" the current bane of Sayoko's life was holding her ribs as she laughed. Evidently, she had developed a stitch. "The expression on your face! Ahahaha…Ow, my ribs."

Beet red, Sayoko rebuilds her usual 'imperturbable' mask as the immortal recovers from her fit of laughter.

"Oh my. I haven't laughed like that in decades." C.C. remarks once she has recovered enough to talk.. She notices the slight look of anger in Sayoko's eyes and snorts. "Oh, don't give me that look. I am perfectly within my rights to ask someone why they are stalking me and my lover every time we make love."

Sayoko winces at this absolutely true statement.

C.C. evidently took pity on the maid as her next words were supposed to be comforting.

"Look, I know."

"Huh?" Sayoko answered, baffled.

"I know that you have feelings for Lelouch." C.C. replied simply.

Sayoko just stared at C.C. uncomprehendingly for a moment before her blush returned full force, making her face once again resembles a tomato.

"I…that is…how?" Sayoko stuttered.

"Whenever I make a contract with someone, I gain a general impression of who they are. It is slightly unreliable as it is all condensed into a single burst and can be nigh impossible to decrypt. In your 'burst', one impression stood out among all other things: a crush on your master." C.C. explained matter-of-factly.

Sayoko slumped slightly. "Does this make me in breach of contract?" she asked, half-jokingly.

"That depends." C.C. said thoughtfully. "The precise wording of the contract was that you would not interfere with my relationship with Lelouch. Did you have any intention of interfering?"

"No." Sayoko said firmly.

"In which case, we're good." the immortal said with a shrug.

Silence reigned between the two women for a moment before Sayoko broke it.

"The first night, I had just finished putting Lady Nunnally to bed when I heard a noise." Sayoko shifted uncomfortably as she spoke. "I arrived outside Lelouch-sama's room just as you two, ah, finished. I was stunned that things had developed between you two so quickly."

"A delayed psychological reaction to the stress of combat resulting in physical comfort and intimacy." C.C. recited. She noticed a raised eyebrow on Sayoko and said, "What? Because I'm 700 years old, I can't read?"

Shaking her head, Sayoko continued. "Anyway, after you both dropped off to sleep, I gathered my thoughts for a while before I went off to bed."

C.C raised a single elegant brow. "And last night?" she enquired archly.

Sayoko sighed. "I was jealous, alright? There, I've said it. Are you happy?"

"Yes." C.C. said simply, "But you aren't."

"Thank you for that observation." Sayoko replied sarcastically.

The immortal chuckled. "You know, you don't need to be jealous."

"Oh, do tell." Sayoko snarked. Having confessed her denied feelings, she was in a less than amused frame of mind.

"As you wish." C.C. said with a small smirk, "it's quite simple really. You can just move your relationship with Lelouch to the next level."

Sayoko just looked at her for a moment before asking in a quiet voice, "Are you mocking me?"

"Not at all."

"Lelouch-sama is sleeping with you. I doubt that he would 'betray' you for another woman." Sayoko spoke with pride about her master's fidelity, although there was an edge of sorrow in her voice as she did so.

"Girl, don't play coy with me." C.C. snapped at Sayoko, "you swore an oath that is fairly familiar to me. I was in Japan three-hundred years ago and encountered Shinobi. I learned a lot while I was here, among them the duties of a Kunoichi who swears herself to a master using that particular oath."

Sayoko flushed scarlet at the mention of the word 'duties' but still found the composure to say, "Lelouch-sama would dismiss that particular part of the oath in an instant if he believed it was coercing my behaviour."

"True." C.C. conceded, "but you cannot tell me that you don't wish for this. I have been in your mind, so I can see past your self-deceit and hesitation."

Sayoko could say nothing in rebuttal.

"Look, just give it some thought." C.C. said kindly, evidently deciding that she had made her point, "I will work on Lelouch as well. I just want you to keep your mind open to the possibilities. Unlike me, you will only live for barely a hundred years. That's too short a time to wonder about maybe's and what-if's. Live, Girl. I have seen people like you far too often through the years, sacrificing your own happiness for the sake of others."

With that, C.C. got up and walked out of the room, leaving a thoroughly confused and bemused maid in her wake.

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Authors Note: Sorry for being a day late. I had a serious case of writers block with this chapter.