Author's Note: Hey. Sorry for the week long drought of new chapters, but family business intruded and I had barely any time for writing.
My time away from the computer was not unfruitful, however. I spent it developing new Knightmares for use in this story. Look forward to them, by all means.
Now, on to the Fic!
Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass. Please take note of this small fact.
"Kallen"-Speech
'Lelouch'-Thought/mental communication
"{Die}"-Geass Command
"Halt!"-Loudspeaker
"Roger."-Radio/Walkie-Talkie
Chapter 10: Consolidating Positions
Viceroy's Office, Area 11 Administration Building
"I'm sorry, what did you just say?" Cornelia asked hoarsely. She and Euphemia were staring intently at the aqua-haired noble.
"I said that I believe Lady Marianne's children to still be alive." Jeremiah replied. He looked very calm considering the dual royal scrutiny he was under.
"Impossible." Euphy said flatly. The youngest li Britannia had a pained look on her face as she spoke that made her older sister lay a comforting hand on her shoulder in support, "Lelouch and Nunnally were children in a war zone, amongst those that had no reason to show them a jot of mercy. They couldn't have survived."
"I would have to respectfully disagree, Princess Euphemia." Jeremiah replied.
"Based on what?" Cornelia snarled. She did not like thinking about what might have happened to Lelouch and Nunnally seven years ago, so this man had better have a good reason for bringing this up.
"Prince Lelouch was, as I believe Your Highnesses might recall, a veritable genius." Jeremiah replied courteously, "His stratagems in chess were brilliant and innovative. Aside from Prince Schneizel, none could hold a candle to him…as your own defeats should have showed you both."
Both Cornelia and Euphy winced at that reminder. Euphy had been defeated in three minutes, while Cornelia had lasted seven minutes before Lelouch had dealt the final blow. It had been humiliating for the teenaged Cornelia to lose to a preteen, but she had admitted that, considering almost all of her half-siblings had lost in less than three minutes, she had lasted far longer, even earning a compliment on her strategy from Lelouch once the game was over.
Leaving his loss to Schneizel to one side, Lelouch's nigh-unparalleled winning streak was quite the slap in the face to the more arrogant members of the Imperial Family.
Guinevere and Carina especially had been particularly incensed by Lelouch's easy victory over them. Odysseus had taken his loss with a pragmatic outlook and a heartfelt congratulation to his half-sibling. Castor and Pollux had merely shrugged, as chess was not their favourite pastime.
"Chess is one thing, battle is quite another." Cornelia replied stiffly.
Jeremiah raised an eyebrow. "He also had a small hobby that very few people knew about. He used computer programs to emulate armies and famous battles that took place in the past, both land and sea." he said quietly, "He altered the program so that an actual 'Fog of War' existed on the field, so he had no idea as to the full layout of the field beforehand. In this program, he defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Trafalgar and successfully beat back the Britannian forces during the Siege of Yorktown, just to name two major battles he programmed into his computer."
The older princess' eyes narrowed in thought. The Battle of Trafalgar had been the worst naval defeat in Pre-Britannian history. If Admiral Viscount Nelson had remained in command, the battle might have been swung in Britannia's favour. Sadly, Admiral Nelson had been assassinated on his way from Whitehall to Merton by agents of Napoleon Bonaparte, the revolutionary general of France. His replacement had been an incompetent fool and had cost Great Britain both the battle and the British Isles.
The Siege of Yorktown on the other hand had been a victory for Britan in part due to Benjamin Franklin being bribed with land and the title of Earl, thus the Washington Rebellion had not been reinforced with troops from France and was crushed by the marshalled forces of the Duke of Britannia.
"Even if what you say is true, there is no evidence that our siblings survived." Cornelia rallied valiantly, "Even if they didn't die in the crossfire, the damned Elevens probably murdered them." The last sentence was uttered bitterly and with dark vengeance promised for the ones responsible.
"Their Highnesses did not die in the crossfire; neither did they get killed by their guards." Jeremiah said with certainly, "I took the liberty of examining the old Eleven Military files that were confiscated after the surrender. A great deal of it was either missing, corrupted or destroyed outright, but the details of the incident I was looking for were still there."
He paused before continuing, "It seems that a group of Britannian Special Forces assaulted the location where Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally had been staying since their arrival in to Area 11 or as it was then, Japan."
"WHAT!?" Cornelia and Euphemia shrieked in unison, identical looks of anger and disbelief across their beautiful faces.
"That was my reaction as well." Jeremiah said, only slightly ruffled by the anger emanating from the two Princesses, "Evidently the Japanese Army Soldiers assigned to protect their Highnesses were more skilled and determined than could have been expected, as they fought the Spec-Ops team off, albeit with very heavy casualties."
A sigh of relief escaped from the pink-haired princess as she slumped forward at this news. Cornelia gave her sister a comforting squeeze where her hand rested as she gestured for the aqua-haired nobleman to continue.
"Ahem. Yes. Well, I took the liberty of looking back at records for the Spec-Ops teams that suffered heavy casualties during the invasion and was surprised to find that, purportedly, not a single one had even been deployed." Jeremiah said with a slightly nervous look at the younger princess who had sat up again and was boring a hole in him with her eyes.
"None? That's ridiculous." scoffed Cornelia, "Spec-Ops are nearly always deployed behind enemy lines to sow confusion amongst the enemy, especially immediately prior to an invasion on an island nation!"
"Regardless, I found no record of any teams being deployed whatsoever." Jeremiah replied, "This leads me to two possible scenarios: First, The reports were verbal and not entered into the system, which is patently ridiculous from the outset."
Cornelia had to concede that. The Britannian Army placed a lot of emphasis on filling out the proper forms for everything, especially after-action reports (AAR's), so that scenario was unlikely at best.
"The second scenario is somewhat…troublesome." Jeremiah hesitated before continuing, "The second scenario is that the person behind the assassination of Lady Marianne somehow managed to either suborn an entire Spec-Ops team, got them to attempt to finish the job, killed the survivors and wiped all record of their existence from the database, or snuck a completely different team into Japan under cover of the invasion and wiped all record of their existence once they were dead."
"That…that shouldn't be possible." Euphy ventured, "There are almost never enough Spec-Ops teams available, from what my sister has said in the past, and they are all tracked via the Army Personnel Distribution Network, so shouldn't it be noticed if an entire team just vanishes all of a sudden?"
"The alternative scenario is equally unlikely, Your Highness." Jeremiah pointed out respectfully, "Yet I must admit that you are correct. Nevertheless, the fact is an unknown team did attempt to slay their Highnesses Lelouch and Nunnally and that is irrefutable."
"Is anything else mentioned in the Eleven Military report?" Cornelia demanded.
"No, nothing I am afraid." Jeremiah replied, "However, there is someone who can tell us about not only that assault, but Lord Lelouch and Lady Nunnally's entire stay in Japan up to and including the aftermath of the Second Pacific War."
"Who?" Euphy asked eagerly.
"An Honorary Britannian," Jeremiah replied with a small smile, "Who goes by the name of Suzaku Kururugi. They stayed at the Kururugi Shrine for almost the entire six and a half months of their stay. I took the liberty of summoning him, so he ought to be here soon. "
LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
With Suzaku
Corridor Approaching Viceroy's Private Office, Area Eleven Administration Bureau
"And you're SURE that Lord Jeremiah asked for me?" Suzaku asked yet again as they walked towards the Viceroy's office.
"Of course!" Earl Asplund replied laconically, "Would I lie to you?"
"Not lie exactly, but you would fudge the truth a bit, Lloyd." Cecile Croomey said from the other side of Suzaku.
"Dearie me, my subordinates show such little trust in me." Lloyd said dramatically, "Whatever shall I do?"
Both Suzaku and Cecile rolled their eyes at their leader's dramatics.
"Oh yes, before I forget, it seems Prince Schneizel is transferring more funds to our budget." Lloyd said absently, "Evidently he wants to have Lancelot fully armed and armoured on his next sortie."
Suzaku nodded absently as he contemplated his new commander's habit of talking about his experimental Knightmare as an actual person rather than an inanimate object.
"That's good." Cecile said approvingly, "We can probably complete the Variable Ammunition Repulsion Impact Spitfire (VARIS) Rifle with the new funding."
"Ummm…wouldn't a Cockpit Ejection System be a better idea?" Suzaku asked delicately.
Lloyd flapped a hand in airy dismissal, "Oh, I can whip one of those up from spare parts taken from a measly Glasgow, a bit of ablative armour and a lick of paint in a jiffy."
"So why haven't you then?" Suzaku asked bluntly.
"Too busy finishing the MVS blades that you used against the Purebloods yesterday and adjusting the Blaze Luminous to the specs we discussed after Shinjuku." Lloyd replied cheerfully, "Now I'm going to be busy completing the VARIS Rifle, which'll probably take at least a couple of weeks. I'll pencil in the Cockpit Ejection System for after that, alright?"
Suzaku sighed at the lackadaisical way the Earl was treating his safety. "If I die because you didn't install the Ejection System in time, I'm coming back to haunt you Lloyd." he said in a monotone.
"I will have to take the risk, I'm afraid." Lloyd replied mock-seriously.
"Shh!" Cecile hissed at the two squabbling men, "We're almost at the Viceroy's Office!"
"He's only a Margrave, Cecile." Lloyd said lazily, "It's not like it's Prince Schneizel in there. If it was, I would be worried. As it won't be, I have nothing to worry about."
"Lloyd, you are so carefree about the strangest of things." Cecile sighed resignedly as they approached the Viceroy's Office, which had a dark-skinned, silver haired female soldier standing guard outside it. Suzaku thought he recognised her as being the temporary Sub-Viceroy, but could not quite remember her name.
"Private Kururugi?" the soldier asked formally once they stopped in front of the doors. Once he saluted in response, she continued.
"I will warn you all now, be on your best behaviour." she said sternly, "Not only is Lord Jeremiah in the office, but two Imperial Princesses are as well."
"My, my. It seems Princess Cornelia and Princess Euphemia are very Johnny-on-the-spot." Lloyd said with an indolent air about him.
"Lloyd!" Cecile scolded him with a half exasperated, half angry look on her face.
The silver-haired woman glared half-heartedly at Lloyd but evidently, she had heard of the silver haired man's eccentricities beforehand and had seemingly half expected this reaction from him.
"Don't say that I didn't warn you." the woman muttered as she rapped on the door thrice before opening it and ushering the three members of Camelot into the office.
Suzaku had never seen such a grand room before. The entire room was bigger than the entry hall of the old Japanese Diet Building and luxuriously furnished. The window at the back of the room offered a stunning view of most of the Britannian Tokyo Settlement and the various artworks on the walls were tasteful and well suited to the room.
One painting in particular drew his eye, one that had the familiar forms of Lelouch and Nunnally as they were over seven years ago, before the violence that took their mother from them and trapped Nunnally in a wheelchair.
"I see that you recognise the subjects of that painting, Private Kururugi." an amused voice said from behind the desk and Suzaku snapped his head around to see Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald regarding him with amusement.
"Y-Yes my lord, I do." Suzaku replied after he saluted the man again, "That's Lelouch and Nunnally."
"PRINCE Lelouch and PRINCESS Nunnally you mean, Eleven." a commanding voice came from the side as Cornelia li Britannia strode out of a concealing shadow she had been standing in, followed by someone who could only be her younger sister, Princess Euphemia.
Suzaku immediately saluted her, to which she merely nodded in return.
"With respect Your Highness, Lelouch and Nunnally told me that they didn't consider themselves members of the Imperial Family anymore, so they all but ordered me to never refer to them as royalty." Suzaku replied formally.
A hurt look flashed across the two sisters' faces. Before anything further could be said by them, Jeremiah delicately inserted himself into the conversation.
"If I may, Your Highness, I have a few things to say to Private Kururugi before we begin questioning him." the nobleman said politely.
After a moment, the Goddess of Victory nodded begrudgingly and stood back to allow the Margrave to speak.
Jeremiah looked Suzaku in the eyes as he spoke, his agate coloured eyes serious and a touch apologetic.
"First, I feel I must apologise to you for allowing Commander Kewell to accuse and arraign you without the slightest piece of evidence." Jeremiah said, "Unfortunately, internal regimental politics were at play and I was left with little option but to allow him to proceed with his…distasteful plot."
Suzaku was momentarily stunned, but recovered. "It's alright, my Lord. It was out of your control as you said. And you did clear me of all charges with prejudice after all."
"'With Prejudice'? What does that mean?" Euphemia asked with a frown.
"Because I dismissed the Trial before hearing the evidence against Private Kururugi -which amounted to 'He's an Eleven, so he did it!'- , there was a pretty good chance that someone would try to bring the whole thing up again, insufficient evidence or not." Jeremiah explained to the pinkette, "By dismissing the charges with prejudice, no-one, not even a member of the Imperial Family, will be able to charge Private Kururugi with these specific charges again."
"He couldn't be accused of them again anyway, surely?" Cecile asked with a frown, "Double Jeopardy would apply here wouldn't it?"
"I ended the trial without coming to a full and proper verdict," Jeremiah replied, "So I'm afraid that the Double Jeopardy clause didn't apply in his case."
"Ah." Cecile muttered with an expression of understanding on her face, "So you made certain no-one could call for a retrial by dismissing the charges with prejudice."
"Quite." Jeremiah said with a wry grin, "To move on, it was late yesterday that I discovered that Prince Lelouch and Lady Nunnally stayed at the Kururugi Shrine. Is that an accurate statement, private Kururugi?"
As the Margrave spoke, Lloyd gently tugged Cecile back until they were a fair distance away from the table. The eccentric Earl could tell that things were going to be spoken of that were not any of their business.
Suzaku stiffened. "Yes, it is." He replied cautiously. They couldn't find out that Lelouch was still alive. Thankfully, Suzaku had no idea where Lelouch was and thus couldn't tell them even if he wanted to.
"Princess Cornelia and Princess Euphemia were both great friends with Lady Marianne's children." Jeremiah had carried on speaking, so Suzaku quickly brought his attention back onto the man before him. "I myself was a Guard at the Aries Villa and admired their mother. What we would like to ask of you is for you to tell us how their Highnesses coped while they stayed with your family."
"They didn't stay with my family initially." Suzaku corrected him in a low voice edged with anger, "They had to be hospitalised for three weeks before they could move to the house that was prepared for them."
This statement took the rest of the room by surprise, Suzaku noted clinically. Both Cornelia and Euphemia blanched slightly and Jeremiah looked taken aback.
"Hospitalised? What for? Nuna should have been close to fully healed by the time she was sent to Japan, and Lelouch wasn't unwell either." Euphemia said, worry in her voice.
Suzaku had a disbelieving look on his face. "You seriously don't know?" he asked incredulously.
"Evidently we do not, Private Kururugi, so I would advise you to enlighten us." Cornelia growled at him.
"Nunnally had an infection that developed into a fever that wouldn't break. It was touch and go for a moment." Suzaku replied slowly and carefully, "Lelouch had been severely beaten. He had a mild concussion, several bruised ribs and a couple of minor fractures."
The two Princesses faces went blank with shock, while Jeremiah Gottwald's eyes narrowed in anger.
"Was the infection deliberately introduced into Princess Nunnally's system or was it mere malpractice?" the Margrave barked the question out with restrained rage in his voice.
"I don't know." Suzaku admitted, "I only heard about it when the doctor in charge of their treatment came to give a report to my father. I was…curious and listened at the door, so I missed a word or two here and there."
"Lelouch…was beaten?" Euphemia whimpered as she grabbed her sister's hand. Cornelia held on to her younger sister just as tightly.
"Private Kururugi, how old were the marks on my brother's body?" Cornelia asked in a deadly quiet voice.
"About…three days old from when he arrived in Japan." Suzaku replied blandly.
"The Audience…of course, after what Lelouch said to father, he must have sent men to…educate him!" Cornelia snarled in anger, "Damn it all!"
"Not…men." Suzaku corrected her softly, "Lelouch told me, after he got out and we became friends, that it was the Emperor himself who administered the beating."
The shock on the three Britannians faces would have been hilarious under other circumstances. The look of absolute disbelief they wore was almost comical.
"Our…our father beat Lelouch personally?" Cornelia finally asked, in a surprisingly hoarse voice, "You are certain that is what Lelouch said?"
"And I quote, 'That old bastard who calls himself my father beat me in a fit of rage at what I said to him.'" Suzaku replied his spine ramrod straight as he spoke.
"My god." murmured Jeremiah, "I had no idea."
"Nor did any of Lelouch's siblings, Lord Jeremiah, so don't blame yourself." Surprisingly, it was Euphemia who spoke these words, bitter anger roiling through her voice as she spoke, despite the tears that fell from her eyes, "We were all unaware and Lelouch paid the price yet again."
The room was silent while the occupants digested Suzaku's revelations and Euphemia's words.
At last, Jeremiah broke the silence with, "Well, that certainly was an unexpected revelation by you, Private Kururugi. Was His Highness depressed or angry once he got out of hospital?"
Suzaku frowned in thought. "I…couldn't say. I didn't know Lelouch before his mother was murdered and Nunnally crippled, so I have nothing to compare him to." he replied hesitantly, "What was he like before?"
Cornelia gave a small smile as she remembered her brother. "He was…kind. He, Nunnally and Euphy used to play together all the time in the Aries Villa's gardens. I didn't like him at first though."
Euphy playfully glared at her sister. "I do recall you almost strangling him the first time you both met." she teased her sister.
"How was I to know he was Lady Marianne's son?" Cornelia protested with a small blush, "I thought he was some noble's son who was trying to get close to you!"
The pink haired princess rolled her eyes as she spoke, "As I remember that day, I was uncomfortable at my first big Ball and a kind, gentle boy, with the most fascinating violet eyes, offered to dance with me." Euphy's own bluish-violet eyes sparkle with remembered joy, "He twirled me around that dance floor expertly. By the time the next song began, my worries were long gone.
Then a green-eyed monster came along and tried to throttle him, at least until Lady Marianne stopped her." Euphy finished her recitation with a small grin, leaving her usually unflappable sister blushing brightly.
"I remember Lelouch telling me about that as well." Suzaku commented, "He also said that the 'cute pink haired girl' he danced with glomped him every chance she got after that."
This time it was Euphemia who blushed. "How did that come up?" she asked.
"My cousin, Kaguya Sumeragi, decided she wanted to marry him." Suzaku replied dryly, "So she showered him with attention at every possible opportunity, including one time when she tried to sneak into the bath with him."
"Why that little…!" Euphy started to say, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"Euphy, calm down." Cornelia ordered, "Private, how old was your cousin at the time?"
"Eight going on thirty." Suzaku replied whilst he kept a wary eye on Euphemia.
"Precocious?" Jeremiah queried with a smile.
"Just about the only time Lelouch ever voluntarily exercised was when Kaguya chased him around the shrine." Suzaku replied dryly, "It drove Todoh-sensei up the wall."
"Wait, Todoh as in Kyoshiro Todoh? The Phantom of Itsukushima's Miracle?" Jeremiah asked sharply.
Suzaku nodded. "He was my personal martial arts instructor. He tried to instruct Lelouch as well, but Lelouch spent most of the time dodging him and calling him colourful names whenever he was forced to actually do the exercises."
Cornelia snorted. "That sounds like Lelouch alright. He preferred to use brainpower rather than muscle power."
"It sounds like you and His Highness were good friends." Jeremiah observed.
"Not at first." Suzaku admitted with a chuckle, "We both disliked each other because of who our fathers were, but it was Nunnally that helped us to stop squabbling and become friends."
"Nuna was good at doing that." Euphy smiled as she remembered her favourite half-sister, "Though I always used to argue with her over spending time with Lelouch."
"Nunnally argued with someone?" Suzaku asked in surprise.
"She could be far more stubborn than anyone gave her credit for being." Cornelia replied dryly, "If she decided on something, she would get her way, come hell or high-water. Wasn't she like that when she was staying at the shrine?"
"No, not at all." Suzaku replied, "She preferred to stay near Lelouch as much as possible and rarely had a bad word to say about anybody. In order to get Lelouch to do something, all she usually had to do was pout cutely and he'd cave."
"Ah, that look." Cornelia and Euphy chorused in unison.
"She used it on me as well." Suzaku said ruefully, "It worked so well that Kaguya started doing it too."
Jeremiah cleared his throat. "Now, I'm afraid we'll have to move on to less pleasant memories. The Invasion, the day afterwards and what happened after the Formal Surrender."
Suzaku took a deep breath before starting. "Lelouch and I were climbing a hill at the back of the shrine to get…flowers, I think it was, for Nunnally, when we saw the Britannian Air Force approaching en-masse. We were surprised and a bit shocked so we ran back to the house."
"Naturally." Cornelia said with a nod, "The Earl of Marlinspike, the commander of the invasion, designed that initial advance for maximum intimidation value."
"Once we got back to the house, Lelouch was cornered by Todoh-sensei." Suzaku continued, "He put a pistol to Lelouch's head and asked him if he had any knowledge of Britannia preparing to invade Japan prior to his leaving Pendragon."
Cornelia's hand clenched into a fist at her side. How dare he threaten her little brother!
Euphy was trembling, whether from anger or retroactive fear for her brother Suzaku couldn't tell, while Jeremiah maintained a strict poker face, with only minor twitches showing that he was unhappy at this revelation.
"And how did Lelouch respond?" Euphy asked tightly.
Suzaku smiled wanly. "He said that had he known of such preparations, he would have informed my father as soon as he possibly could have and done so with glee at a chance to spite his father. As it was, he had no knowledge that such an attack was planned and was of the opinion that it had been planned after his departure from Pendragon as a deliberate move that made use of Japanese complacency now they had 'hostages' that were essentially expendable to Britannia."
"Good god, he hated father." Cornelia muttered absently as her mind raced through Suzaku's recounting of her brother's words. Lelouch had struck solidly on what she personally believed their father had done, yet there was a flaw to the reasoning.
Preparations for an attack and occupation of then-Japan had not begun until three months into Lelouch and Nunnally's exile, abruptly and for no divisible reason other than Japan's price hiking of Sakuradite and blockade of Britannia, along with the Chinese Federation.
Those reasons alone were not enough for an invasion of a country, especially one that you were in the middle of delicate negotiations with and also held two members of your own countries ruling family hostage.
Something was very fishy here.
"Todoh-sensei said the same thing as he holstered his pistol and walked away." Suzaku said, "Now that I think about it, Lelouch was amazingly unruffled by the entire incident. I think he knew Todoh-sensei wouldn't kill him. He could make snap-judgements like that."
"He had balls of steel is more like it!" Cornelia exclaimed, looking slightly pale.
"I tend to agree with Her Highness on this one." agreed Jeremiah. He looked slightly impressed with Lelouch's daring in the face of a weapon being levelled at his head at the tender age of ten going on eleven.
"Me three." chimed Euphemia, who also looked rather pale.
Suzaku stifled a chuckle at his own memory of the incident. Lelouch had maintained his cool exterior until Todoh had left the room before falling heavily on his rear and breathing deeply for a couple of minutes before letting Suzaku help him up and they both went to apologise to Nunnally for not getting her flowers.
When he related this to his listeners, Cornelia was still not happy that Todoh had threatened her brother. Neither were the other two.
"So, to sum up the day before the attack, Prince Lelouch discovered that his country had invaded Japan and he and his sister were at the tender mercy of their hosts, a point that was reinforced by Todoh, his teacher, holding a gun to his head, regardless of whether he intended to actually use the gun or not." Jeremiah said with repressed anger, "Is that an accurate summation of events, Private Kururugi?"
"Err…yes." Suzaku said nervously.
Euphemia pinched the bridge of her nose to fend off a headache. "I am not looking forward to hearing what happened the next day." she muttered to her sister quietly, who nodded in agreement.
"The next morning, two platoons of soldiers arrived and reinforced the original platoon that was guarding the shrine." Suzaku continued at a reluctant gesture from Cornelia, "It was a good thing they arrived when they did, because the assassins struck at midday."
"At midday?" Cornelia asked, confused, "That makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Any greenhorn in Spec-Ops knows never launch any assaults at midday unless you want your team killed. The optimal times are just before dawn and just after dusk. What was the commander thinking?"
"I wasn't complaining." Suzaku replied dryly, "There were only fifteen of them, but they had body armour that absorbed bullets like sponges and attacked with some strange machine guns that had three barrels. If they had actually attacked at dusk or dawn, Lelouch, Nunnally and me would be dead.
As it was, eight-tenths of the soldiers died before the last assassin went down. Those that were only badly wounded put a pistol in their mouth and pulled the trigger."
Euphemia looked green at the description, but both Cornelia and Jeremiah frowned.
"I have never heard of such effective body armour." Jeremiah opined.
Cornelia nodded seriously in agreement. "Nor have I heard of Tri-barrelled handheld machine guns. Are you sure of your facts, Private Kururugi?" she asked intently.
"Yes Your Highness." Suzaku replied, "One managed to break through the soldiers and find where we were hiding. He had his gun levelled at us, but three Japanese soldiers came up behind him and emptied a clip each into him. He still managed to twist around as he fell and tore one of the soldiers into mincemeat with his gun before he died."
"What happened afterwards?" Jeremiah asked intently.
"All the guns exploded about an hour after the last assassin fell." Suzaku replied, "That killed a couple more soldiers who were guarding the pile of weapons."
That titbit made both Cornelia and Jeremiah's eyebrows shoot up. What kind of moron would issue guns to their soldiers that could blow up if hit in the wrong place? Moreover, what kind of imbecile would actually use a gun that was packed with explosives?
"What is it with this country? It's full of strange goings on!" Cornelia growled in exasperation.
"So it would seem, Your Highness." Jeremiah agreed wearily.
"Suzaku, what happened after the surrender? What happened to Lelouch and Nunnally?" Euphemia pressed, her eyes broadcasting urgency.
Suzaku started slightly. The pinkette was leaning towards him imploringly and he remembered Lelouch telling him that if he ever met Cornelia and Euphy together, never check Euphy out in front of her sister or Cornelia would give you a guided tour of hell.
"Err…Well…after the assassination attempt, Lelouch and Nunnally were moved to a more secure location to prevent possible reprisals by angry members of the populace." Suzaku said nervously, keeping his eyes fixed very firmly at a point far above Euphemia's head.
"When my father…committed suicide…I joined them and we made our way to the coast with our escort. We heard about the surrender via the mil-net." Suzaku said with pain in his voice when talking about his father, "When I woke up a couple of days later, after we moved to Gunma Province, Lelouch and Nunnally had vanished, leaving only a note telling me not to worry about them and thanking me for helping them while they were in my families care."
Suzaku reached under his uniform and pulled a small pouch slung on a cord from around his neck. Opening it, he pulled a worn, folded piece of paper from it and handed it to Euphy.
Hands trembling, Euphemia unfurled the paper to see the familiar handwriting of her long-lost brother on it. The writing was slightly sloppy, but then it was probably written in a hurry.
"They're alive!" she whispered in delight as she passed the note to Cornelia, who smiled as she too recognised Lelouch's writing.
"It seems so." Britannia's Goddess of Victory replied as she carefully refolded the paper and handed it back to Suzaku with a nod of thanks.
"Well, we now know they were alive and well up to a couple of days after the surrender at the very least." Jeremiah thought aloud, "I severely doubt Prince Lelouch would risk travelling alone with his sister without a destination in mind, so we can presume that he had a plan when he departed."
"I agree. Lelouch loved Nunnally too much to put her at any great risk." Cornelia agreed, "Private Kururugi, you said they vanished in Gunma, correct? What was the precise location?"
"Umm…A couple of miles over the border from Saitama Prefecture." Suzaku strained his mind trying to remember, "We used trucks to get from the Ibaraki Prefecture coastline, passing through Mito-cho and Tochigi Prefecture, before heading south into Gunma."
Suzaku saw a map of the Kanto Area of Japan on the wall, walked over to it, and placed a finger on the thin part of Gunma that was sandwiched between the two prefectures to the east, Saitama and Tochigi.
"Here. Somewhere along this part of Gunma." he said confidently.
"So from there…" Jeremiah said as he walked up beside Suzaku, "…They could go West, towards Maebashi City; North-East, towards Utsunomiya City; back East, into Ibaraki Prefecture or South, towards Saitama City or Tokyo."
"Lelouch wouldn't go west or North." Suzaku said firmly, "He'd never been to Tochigi or Gunma before."
"What about Ibaraki?" Cornelia asked, "Doubling back along your own path is a classic way to fool pursuit."
Suzaku shook his head. "If he had transport, I'd say yes, but they didn't even have a wheelchair for Nunnally; she had to leave it behind in Ibaraki. Lelouch wasn't exactly strong, so his destination would have to be somewhat close by."
Euphy nodded in agreement. "I think his eventual destination would have been Tokyo." she said firmly, "There were a couple of thousand or so Britannians in Tokyo before the invasion, so he would have tried to blend in with the crowd."
"This is corroborated by my investigation." Jeremiah nodded, "I've been making quiet enquiries over the last seven years and eliminating cities in Area 11 that their Highnesses could be in. The only city I left unchecked was the Tokyo Settlement."
"Why?" asked Cornelia.
"I…I assumed that Prince Clovis would recognised his self-declared chess 'rival' if Prince Lelouch was in Tokyo." Jeremiah admitted.
"A fair point." Cornelia conceded. Clovis had had many faults, but he had possessed an excellent memory, as evidenced by the painting that hung on the wall. He would have recognised Lelouch or Nunnally in a heartbeat.
"Now, now. Before you all go charging off on your white steeds, I would like to pose a question." Lloyd called across the room.
Cornelia regarded the Earl with scant favour. "What?" she asked frostily.
"What if Prince Lelouch has no desire to be found?" the Earl asked.
This question seemed to stun the other Britannians and even Suzaku.
"What do you mean 'if he has no desire to be found'?" Cornelia spat out as she glared at the man, "Lelouch is my family! I love him, Euphy loves him, and we want him and Nunnally home."
"Ah, but what of Prince Lelouch's feelings towards the Emperor?" Lloyd pointed out astutely, "I'm certain that, had he felt inclined to do so, he could have come forward at any time in the past seven years and been welcomed back by Prince Clovis, swiftly followed by the rest of the Imperial Family.
Yet he hasn't. Why? I'm certain his abiding dislike and grudge against the Emperor is one reason why he has remained in hiding. His sister is another, I suspect."
"Nunnally." Cornelia muttered. Yes, Nunnally would be a strong motivator for Lelouch to hide his heritage. The second Nunnally was back in Britannia, their father would marry her off to a close ally of his, using her wellbeing to browbeat Lelouch into obedience and coerce his conformity to the will of the Emperor.
"Another point might be Lady Marianne's assassination." Jeremiah put in grimly, "Prince Lelouch's tirade against the Emperor made it clear that he suspected his father of at the very least being complicit with the puppet master of the whole incident."
"He thinks father had his mother murdered?!" Euphy gasped in horror.
"The night before the assassination, Lady Marianne ordered me to pull my security detail back." Cornelia said abruptly, her eyes narrowed in thought, "Lady Marianne was very cautious and trusted precious few of the Imperial Court to be truly alone with her aside from certain members of the Imperial Family…including the Emperor."
"But…the assassination happened the next day!" Euphy protested.
"That doesn't mean that something didn't happened on that night." Cornelia countered, "No, Earl Asplund has a point. We will have to be discrete when conducting our search. By my authority as Second Princess of Britannia, I order all of you to secrecy. You are not to mention the hunt for my siblings to another soul without my permission. Understood?"
"Yes, Your Highness!" Jeremiah, Lloyd, Cecile and Suzaku responded with salutes (a very sloppy one in Lloyd's case, but a salute nonetheless).
"Understood, Viceroy." Euphemia nodded her acquiescence firmly.
"Now, I will be busy taking care of various resistance groups in the Tokyo area for quite some time." Cornelia said with a feral grin, "Euphy will be handling the review and correction of Area 11 internal policies that it seems is required.
Jeremiah, you have impressed me considerably. You have managed, on your own, to pinpoint Lelouch's general area in seven years, in addition to maintaining yourself to the standards expected of a former member of the Royal Guard. I am hereby placing you in charge of the search for Lelouch and Nunnally. You are to track them down and bring them into protective custody as soon as possible. Tell me, do you trust Villetta Nu?"
"With my life and the lives of Prince Lelouch and Princess Nunnally." Jeremiah responded instantly.
"Good, because it is their lives you might be putting at risk by telling her of this." Cornelia said sternly, "You may bring her into your confidence, but anyone else who questions your search's target or purpose is to be told that you are searching for a person of interest in an ongoing investigation."
"That does have the novelty of actually being true." Jeremiah mused.
"I despise politics, but even I know that the best way to confuse someone is to tell at least part of the truth." Cornelia replied. She then turned her attention to Suzaku, who stiffened to attention.
"Private Kururugi, I am going to be blunt with you." she said slowly, "I do not like or trust Numbers. I never have since my siblings were declared MIA in this area, and that dislike has gotten somewhat worse since Clovis was murdered.
However, you were friends with Lelouch and Nunnally. You have given my sister and I hope that we will be able to meet them once again. In addition, you have displayed great loyalty to Britannia in returning after Zero released you from that idiot Kewell's dog and pony show. Consider yourself promoted to Warrant Officer, Second Class as a reward."
Suzaku's face displayed his shock at this sudden elevation. He had just been jumped six entire ranks from Private to the lowest rank of Warrant Officer, something that usually took a Number decades of loyal service to achieve.
"Th-Thank you, Your Highness." he stammered out.
"Don't thank me." replied the new Viceroy of Area 11, "It does mean a lot more paperwork for you. Higher ranks always mean more paperwork."
"I think I can handle it." Suzaku replied dryly, "At least it'll give Lloyd plenty of time to finish the upgrades he promised to make on the Lancelot."
"Yes, yes, I take the hint." Lloyd sighed, "Cecile, draw the parts when we get back to the Hanger."
"Right." Cecile pulled out a pad and made a note.
"Suzaku, I am curious." Euphemia said, "When was the last time you were in school?"
Suzaku appeared startled by the question. "Umm…not since before the invasion. Afterwards, the was no point. Numbers do not get many job opportunities that require qualifications." he replied warily.
"Well, that won't do!" the pinkette huffed to the amusement of her sister.
"Ah, Euphy's going into 'mother hen mode'." Cornelia chuckled, "Been a while since she's done this."
"Huh?" Suzaku said in a perplexed manner.
"Once she decides someone needs something, she becomes more determined than me in my Gloucester." the Viceroy explained wryly.
"Jeremiah," Euphy said, ignoring her sister's ribbing as she turned to the Margrave, "What is the most liberal High School in Tokyo?"
"Ashford Academy." Jeremiah replied instantly, "I believe that Reuben Ashford is the Dean. You may recall him from when he used to bring his granddaughter to the Aries Villa for play dates with Prince Lelouch."
"Oh yes. Millicent." Euphy smiled, "I'll go and have a word with him tomorrow. Ms. Cecile, kindly requisition three sets of Ashford Academy's uniform in Suzaku's size by the day after tomorrow."
"Yes, Your Highness." Cecile said as she scribbled down yet another note on her memo pad.
"I believe that is everything we can cover tonight." Cornelia said firmly, "You are all dismissed."
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Same Time
Lelouch's Room, Ashford Academy Student Clubhouse
Lelouch grinned as he removed the headphones he had on his head. The hidden microphone that he had instructed Jeremiah to install in Clovis' painting of himself, Nunnally and their mother worked like a charm. He could hear everything that transpired in the office, which would provide a vital tool for spying on Cornelia's operations.
He smirked at Suzaku's likely reaction to being sent back to school after a seven-year absence. A little payback for being such a stubborn fool.
'Well, at least Nunnally will get to have him visit more often. That ought to soften up the blow for Suzaku. Boy is he going to be surprised.' Lelouch thought as he made his way to the dining room.
C.C. was sat at the dining room table, helping herself to a pizza when Lelouch walked in. She went through those like a beaver through wood.
'Pizza Hut must love her.' Lelouch thought dryly.
The immortal was wearing some hip-hugging shorts, a t-shirt and knee-high boots that, in Lelouch's esteemed opinion, made her look sexy as hell.
"Finished spying on your sisters?" the green haired immortal asked as the exiled prince stole a slice of pizza from her and took a seat as he bit into it.
"Yes. Everything is going according to plan." Lelouch said after he swallowed the mouthful of cheese and tomato, "Cornelia was impressed enough with Jeremiah to assign command of the search to him and Suzaku stirred up Euphy's mother hen instinct and he's coming to school here the day after tomorrow."
C.C. arched an eyebrow. "Time for my big debut then?" she asked.
"I think so." agreed Lelouch, "Suzaku needs a serious reality adjustment and I'd say the best person to give him one is you. Once I've convinced him to not run to the Viceroy, anyway."
"Is he really so naïve as you make him out to be?" C.C. asked.
"Unfortunately, he is." Lelouch said, almost growling as he recalled Suzaku's self-righteous and utterly defeatist words the previous day.
Shaking his head, he changed the subject. "Have you thought about your disguise?" he asked. The immortal had been avoiding giving him a definite answer for the last couple of days.
"Oh, yes. Here." The immortal reached into a bag that Lelouch hadn't seen until now, drew out a manila folder, and passed it to Lelouch, who flipped it open and scanned the contents briefly.
"This is…interesting." He said finally, "A juxtaposition of contrasts?"
"Also thumbing my nose at Charles." C.C. confirmed, "The mask is something only he and V.V. will recognise. It will make my position to them absolutely clear beyond any shadow of a doubt."
The immortal chewed her pizza thoughtfully for a moment before asking, "I take it Sayoko gave you Shūrin then?"
"Yes, she did. She came all the way to the junkyard in order to give it to me." Lelouch answered warily, "Why do you ask?"
"It's a particular part of the oath she swore to you." C.C. replied, "She first swears the oath, then gives you the sword. She hasn't completed the final part though."
"Which is?" the ebon-haired young man asked warily. His danger meter, so astute at alerting him to Milly's pranks, was going haywire right now.
"She has to give her body to you." the immortal said diffidently.
"You're joking." Lelouch said blankly.
"Seriously." C.C. said, "It's an relatively unknown aspect of the Loyalty Oath that she gave you, one that only applies to kunoichi."
"There is no way in hell I am going to force her-" Lelouch started heatedly.
"Do you really think that Sayoko didn't know about that portion of the Oath when she swore herself to you?" C.C. interrupted him, "Just off of the top of my head, I can think of at least half-a-dozen different oaths that would leave out such a requirement, ones that I am certain that Sayoko knows of as well, yet she chose to swear that particular one. Can you think why?"
Lelouch was stunned for a moment before his brain kicked into gear and, with it's usual efficiency, began exploring reasons for Sayoko willingly swearing such an oath to him. Less than five seconds later, several answers popped into his head.
He did not like what the most likely answer was.
"She likes me?" Lelouch asked slowly, disbelief colouring his voice.
"Bingo!" C.C. clapped her hands sarcastically, "Give the man a coconut."
"Be serious C.C.!" Lelouch snapped.
"I am." C.C. shot back, "It has been obvious to me from the moment she made that Oath that Sayoko likes you. How you missed the signs is beyond me, but the point stands: Sayoko swore the Oath to you with full knowledge of what it required of her because she likes you."
Lelouch regarded his lover with a dubious look in his eyes. "And you're willing to let her sleep with me? Just like that?" he asked carefully.
C.C. snorted. "Lelouch, I am immortal. Over the centuries, I have seen many relationships, although I haven't partaken in any of them…until now. Anyway, the point is that I am technically your mistress, correct?"
"Yes~~" Lelouch said slowly.
"Well, Sayoko is your sworn liege-woman with whom you sleep with occasionally as a confirmation of your oaths to one another." C.C. explained in a very matter-of-fact manner, "Her relationship with you will be equal to and separate from mine to you. See?"
The exiled prince continued staring at C.C. for a moment before massaging his temples with an exasperated expression on his face. "C.C., are you determined to drive me up the wall?" he asked softly.
"Only if you don't stop being an idiot." C.C. replied with a victorious smirk, "Besides, it isn't all that much of a chore, is it? Sleeping with not one, but two gorgeous girls simultaneously. Most boys would kill to have such good luck."
"Most boys aren't planning to topple the Superpower that dominates most of the globe." Lelouch pointed out dryly.
"A point." C.C. conceded, "But I would give you the benefit of my several centuries of experience at this juncture. Care to listen?"
"As you wish, Augur." Lelouch regally inclined his head as he called her by his code-name for her for the first time.
"Why thank you, Lord Zero." C.C. said with a smile, "My advice is this: The life of a mortal is too short, fleeting and fragile to spend wondering about ifs or maybes. Sayoko likes you and wants you. You like her and I don't think you are adverse to the idea of sleeping with her. Your main issue with the concept seems to stem from the idea that she was being forced to do this by an Oath. You now know that isn't the case."
"True." Lelouch admitted reluctantly.
"The other sticking point is your idea that such an arrangement between Sayoko and yourself would anger me." C.C. said with a mocking smile, "As I just told you, it will not. As long as you remember to treat both of us as equals."
Lelouch sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll give it some thought, OK?"
"Good boy." C.C. looked like a cat that had just drank an entire bowl of cream, "I knew you could be trained."
Lelouch glared at her before helping himself to another slice of pizza.
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Next Chapter: White Knight and Black Prince