Author's Note: Just a wee interlude to keep you lot going until the next real update. Enjoy.

Interlude: Actions of Reactionaries

A Week before the Battle of Port Yokosuka

Private Elder's Retreat, Yoshida Clan Section of Six Houses of Kyoto Base, Fuji Mines

"Lelouch vi Britannia…" Hiroyosi Yoshida growled. "That brat from seven years ago is Zero?!"

He sat with crossed legs, facing his two guests, Tousai Munakata and Tatsunori Osakabe. They had just informed him of Zero's identity, wilfully ignoring the edict to keep the masked man's identity a secret.

"Indeed. The child is walking cockily with that slip of a girl and senile old man backing him." Osakabe snarled in fury. "As it is, we cannot do anything against him without hurting the effort to liberate Japan. It makes me want to vomit up blood just to think about it."

"Tch. What is Taizō thinking of, making a Britannian, a Royal no less, the de-facto military ruler of the Japanese?!" Munakata spat. "He should step down and let someone who isn't delusional take the reins."

In truth, the three old men were the next best thing to powerless in the Six Houses now that Akira Yoshida had made it clear that he would not be a puppet ruler and mouthpiece for Hiroyosi. The solid alliance of Sumeragi, Kirihara and Yoshida, as well as the occasional support of Kubōin, who valued logic over emotional rhetoric, was dominating the Six Houses at the moment.

"Knowing Taizō, he's made preparations to fully hand over control of his company to Kaguya Sumeragi when he dies." Hiroyosi growled. "He may even invite that brat Lelouch to become a part of the council!"

"Even Taizō wouldn't do that." Osakabe disagreed. "The Six Houses have guided the fate of Japan since the Meiji Era, and only the most noble and distinguished families, as well as those with the most power, have ever been able to join. Even if he views the vi Britannia brat as a grandson, the house of vi Britannia only lasted a single generation and is now defunct, regardless of the survival of the two children. He isn't eligible to be a part of our great Six Houses by our own rules. As reckless as he can be sometimes, Taizō knows when he can and can't get away with things. The same can be said of that chit of a girl."

"We cannot allow Taizō's faction to continue unabated." Munakata said, ignoring his colleague. "Hiroyosi, knowing you, you've reached out to Major Kadzuki, haven't you?"

The old man smirked. "Yes, he has agreed to place his forces under my command in exchange for supplies and some financing. The man is a rabid dog, being a member of Kusakabe's clique, but he has his uses."

"Kekekekekekekeke…I'll help you out with that." Osakabe chuckled darkly. "With only your personal wealth, it'll be hard to pay those greedy soldiers."

"What equipment are you going to issue them?" Munakata asked with a raised eyebrow. "If memory serves, the most advanced Knightmare that Kadzuki has is an early production Burai-Kai. Those things still have a couple of bad servos."

"Well there's no chance that I could tear away a Jinrai." Hiroyosi curled his lip in distaste. "Not only is the Pre-Production Type being rebuilt from the ground up, but the designs are being altered and improved. Bah, and that irksome woman Chawla is more tight-fisted than a miser on his deathbed when it comes to her precious prototypes. All I can do is fully equip them with Burai-Kai. Humph, even the Black Knights have stopped using regular Burai."

"Do you have the influence to do that?" Osakabe asked sceptically.

"Ha. This old man has greased the wheels for more than enough men and women to do this." The former head of the Yoshida Clan cackled. "All of them will be marked as going 'into storage' or something along those lines. Twenty or thirty Burai-Kai won't be missed."

"Has that man decided on what to call his new group yet?" Munakata asked.

"Humph. The man is as pretentious as a Britannian." Hiroyosi grumbled. "He's calling them the 'Neo Shinsengumi' of all things!"

"Of all things…" Osakabe snorted. "Why name his group after those wild animals…?"

"He probably has his reasons…not that I care!" Hiroyosi scorned. "As long as he moves as I command, I could care less if he called his group the Dancers of Uzume!"

Later

Commander's makeshift Office, Base of the Neo Shinsengumi, Unknown Location

"Commander, the men have finished their sword drills." A man saluted.

Major Kadzuki was a tall man with a pointed goatee and well-trimmed moustache. His sharp brown eyes were scanning the paper on the desk he was seated behind, not on the subordinate reporting to him. Rather than the uniform of the JLF the soldiers had previously worn, they now sported hakama and haori in the colours of the old Shinsengumi.

"Very good." He spoke in a light tenor. "Send Sergeant Minazuki in."

"Yessir!" the other man saluted and quickly left the room. A few seconds later, a statuesque woman dressed in the same fashion. Her black hair was cropped short and she had a look of steel in her eyes.

"Sergeant Ayako Minazuki, reporting." She stated crisply, giving Major Kadzuki a sharp salute.

"At ease." The breakaway leader looked up. "How are the troops taking the relabelling?"

"They are enthusiastic, sir." Minazuki replied after a moment. "The uniforms are giving them a sense of pride and purpose that they have lacked greatly since the fall of Japan. Morale is higher than ever. The name is also popular."

"Good." Kadzuki grunted. "I got in contact with a former member of the Six Houses who has an axe to grind against Zero. He's willing to supply Knightmares, equipment and funding to us in exchange for nominally being under his command. I accepted."

"Sir?" Minazuki blinked in shock.

"Oh, it'll just be the occasional raid on Britannian warehouses to make the Six Houses nervous." The man waved dismissively. "The old man has no clue what our real goal is. Eventually, we'll discover the location of the main base of the Six Houses…and when we do, we'll march in and take what is ours from them, and put the old fossils out to pasture. Or to the sword if they're stubborn. Without the support of the Six Houses, those…Black Knights will be forced to bargain with us for what they need."

A dry smile crossed his face. "And I plan on taking Zero's head a priority. As long as he is alive, the Black Knights will not bend, bow or break."

"Understood, sir." The woman nodded. She and most of the JLF who had accompanied Kadzuki also agreed with him that the Black Knights were not acting in a manner befitting Japanese Warriors. Thus, one of their main goals was to supplant and absorb them.

Unlike Kusakabe, who had been very much mediocre when it came to strategy and tactics, Major Kadzuki was very skilled at both. He was no Todoh, but he was miles ahead of the competition in the JLF. He had merely been smart enough to keep it hidden from everyone and had patiently waited for his chance to take the stage.

Now was that chance.

"That reminds me, I've had scouts report that Todoh has had his remaining men holed up in Port Yokosuka." Minazuki remembered. "The masked woman Augur was also reported to have been seen in the area."

"Zero's obviously absorbed the main portion of the JLF." Kadzuki snorted. "I'm willing to be that eventually there'll be a battle at the port to announce that fact…"

A sinister smile bloomed on his face. "I think we should be present to offer our congratulations, wouldn't you say?"