Wii Sports, Aries Villa Resort

Kallen Stadtfeld, ~~~~~~ ~~ ~~~

Imperial Capital Pendragon

Three days after Lelouch's accession

"It is done, My Lord! Please accept your newest robe! If I may say so myself it is one of my best work yet!"

"Right, thanks… errm…" Kallen reached down for her wallet only to remind herself that in Pendragon, the rules of economics didn't apply to her, or something along those lines.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd be honoured to take a fitted look at your uniform once you've donned the attire, it has indeed been ages since the last time a Round has placed a custom order of wear!"

Obtaining her new robe from the specialized tailor, Kallen ignored his gleeful excitement of seeing the final product of his finesse stitches be worn by the newly appointed Knight of Ten and hastily retreated to the changing room for her outfit swap. Her ceremonial sword chunkily banging on every table leg or lampstand under the sun.

Knight of Ten… I'm the Knight of Ten now… Slowly, stripping out of her civilian clothing,she slipped into the official regalia for a Knight of Rounds, one of the highest ranks of military achievement possible. The fit was flawless, no doubt a testament to the skill of her tailor, and the shading wasn't too shabby also.

The pattern on Kallen's gown and cloak was mostly the standard shape for all Rounds. Her colour scheme was largely mystic red, a hue brighter than her hair and some bits of black garnish around the edges. If the surplus tint was meant as a sign of her left behind past, that was the most amount of reminder she was allowed.

Lelouch, I know I won't regret this. But you're just seriously… Kallen humbly reminisced Lelouch's first order to her on her arrival at Pendragon. He was still swamped by a sea of chores after his sudden ascension to the throne and had almost no time to share with his personal knight except to bestow her one promotion.

"Kallen, in the battle of Tokyo you slew the Knight of Ten, didn't you? That has earned you the claim to his status, I'm sure it's the Britannia way of climbing the social ladder. If you wish to further your career, simply bring down another traitorous Round that refuses to submit to my rule."

"Yeah sure buddy okay. 'SImPLy brING dOwN AnoTHEr TRaIToRous RoUnd tHaT RefUSeS tO subMIt tO My ruLE.' Goddamn it! Or you can just make me Round of any number other than ten!" While mocking Lelouch's demeaning gift that was surely nothing more than a joke, Kallen smacked her sword around the small enclosed closet and renovated it with a few dents.

Eventually, Kallen recollected herself and felt mildly ashamed of her tantrum while forgetting all too quickly about the Vampire of Britannia. For a man who lasted only a minute against her on the battlefield that deviant sure left a long-term impression on his replacement. Although Kallen supposed it was his un-sanctioned way of conducting himself that made him the first Round to die in quite some time.

"Err… thanks for the clothes… mister? I'll be off now."

"Yes, it is my honour, My Lord! The only gripe I can even imagine would be the unfortunate alternation you ordered halfway through the process, however seeing the final product now leaves me with no doubt that you've made the right choice! Please return at any time!"

The alteration her tailor referred was a vertical strip of red down the centre of her mantle that Kallen had asked to be added. In the first draft of her uniform she thought it'd be funny to print a particular Japanese phrase along the back of her cape. However, she quickly scrapped that idea in the five seconds it took her to comprehend how silly it looked after receiving the finished goods.

"Yeah… thanks, goodbye." And Kallen was off with a refreshingly new presentation.

— —

With nothing of importance left on her seclude and Lelouch busy with whatever an emperor would be busy with, Kallen found no better substitution of relieving her boredom than to adventure through the Imperial Palace, a site of insurmountable importance to the Empire.

Quite a while and a very lost Kallen later, she ventured upon a room near the residential area of the palace and inside was a not-so-familiar face she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to interact with. However, balancing the pros and cons of making a new acquaintance wasn't the Knightmare ace's method of doing things.

"Whatcha doing over here, Alstreim?"

"Recreation, this's the recreation room."

"That's nice, what're you playing there?"

"Just- hold on, let me focus."

So Kallen remained still as a statue while Alstreim was meticulously pressing away on a game controller in her palm, her sight solely focused the sizable TV ahead. The newly knighted girl was adequately enjoying watching her fellow Round contend in some kind of shooting game on screen, that was until Alstreim got engaged by an unseen enemy and quickly killed before she had time to react.

"Did you… get taken out?" For a dozen seconds, Kallen didn't receive her response. When Alstreim finally reacted, she went ahead and placed a call on her mobile phone instead.

"—Voice verification, Anya Alstreim, Knight of Six. …Give me the Office of Cyber Security. …Locate outgoing internet connection on router two in room one-zero-seven. …Display all users connected to the destination server. …Wait how long?" Around that time was when Kallen sensed something rather fishy.

"Alstreim, just what're you trying to do?" Instead of providing information, Alstreim placed her phone on the settee and clicked on its speaker while she spared some attention back to the next match of her game.

"—We have a list of Ip addresses connected to the target server now, My Lord."

"—Search for username 'NoobMaster69'."

"—My Lord… is this a server hosting the game—"

"-Alstreim, are you actually trying to track down the guy that got you?"

"…No?" Kallen rolled her eyes in unfounded dissatisfaction and leaned over to speak through her phone.

"—Hi, sorry- just forget about that order from Lady Alstreim, she's trying to find the home of whoever killed her in a video game." As the somewhat more responsible adult, Kallen opted to not waste any more time or effort of a government worker.

"—I apologize, ma'am, please identify yourself." The sudden request for confirmation caught Kallen off-guard, even though it was perfectly reasonable.

"— I am… I'm the Knight of… I'm the next-" Words assembled by her brain somehow failed to construct a coherent sentence as it escaped her tongue.

"—Anya Alstreim here, cancel the search. Thank you for your help, return to your regular task."

"—Yes, My Lord. Happy to be of service." Thus, the call disconnected, but Kallen was still stuck in time, frozen by what many would consider a straightforward incident.

"Still breathing, Stadtfeld?"

"-Huh? Oh, yeah. I err- can't believe you used the Cyber Security Agency to track some dude playing a game, were you not taught common sense as a kid?" Kallen snapped out of her stupor and immediately reprimanded Alstreim for her problematic usage of national resources.

"I wasn't."

"Oh… right, did you get your memories back?"

"Yes."

"So how was it?"

"My childhood sucked." To her plain statement, Kallen could only nod in sympathy and compassion.

"But now you can move forward and make new memories, right?" Kallen offered a sincere smile and a gentle pat on the back to the stoic girl, seeing past their old discords and only caring for the young knight.

"…Emperor Lelouch, he said the same thing."

"Because it's the right thing to do, so how did he restore your memories?" Kallen secretly didn't want to dwell too long on Lelouch's kinder self, afraid she'd burst out a blush too deep to hide.

"Jeremiah helped me."

"With his cyborg eye thing?"

"Yes."

"That's cool." Having run dry of small talk to make, Kallen allowed an atmosphere of cringy awkwardness to flow between the two Britannia soldiers.

"Earlier, on the phone, why did you freeze up?" Taking her concentration off her game, Alstreim tagged Kallen in a new topic.

"I'm… not sure if I should give away my name, Lelouch said that… I can still return to the Black Knights as long as I don't make public appearances here, so I can act as a spy and strike them down when their backs are turned."

"…Good excuse, anyone else would've brought it." Alstreim's unperceived wit elicited a small scowl over Kallen's face.

"Why would you say that."

"Emperor Lelouch won't suggest you use yourself. You've been gone for a month now. The Black Knights will be suspicious if you return." There was the one plot hole in Kallen's story and Alstreim struck it with pinpoint accuracy.

"…Fair enough. I actually froze because… being here is still feeling pretty surreal. I regard what I did as the right thing, it's what the Britannian me would've done. But I'm not sure if the Japanese me really approves of my action, I've essentially thrown away everything she and her brother had built up over their entire lives."

"Your other self feels guilty."

"Basically, I've trampled over my brother's dream for my own. I don't regret my decision, but I'm a bit self-conscious about it." Kallen couldn't place her reason for opening up to the Knight of Six. Maybe she'd been fine with anyone willing to lend an ear to her plight, or it was thanks to Alstreim's lack of emotion and judgement behind her tone.

"No use thinking about it, what is done is done. You can't go back to the past, why let it bother you."

"You are… not wrong."

"Want to play video games?" She looked up and said, another controller in one hand.

"…I think I will, thanks Anya."

Five days after Lelouch's accession

Aries Imperial Villa

In due time, Kallen was starting to appreciate the bemusing architecture design of Britannia. Its essence being making everything very big and thus making everyone feel very small, a simple equation capable of demoralizing even the societal elites who resided in Pendragon.

However, the garden she was in now brought about a feeling of tenderness and tranquillity. As if it was detached from Britannia's oppression.

"C'mon, why aren't we there yet?"

"We'll be there soon. Have some patience."

"…How about now? Are we there yet?"

"I'll proceed to ignore you now, Kallen."

"Wow, when did you become such a buzzkill?"

"I guess you just don't know me well enough." Deep down, Kallen could tell there was no animosity in Suzaku's reply. It could be that, like her, he was unsure how to interact with someone who used to stand under the opposite banner for so long.

Perhaps it was because Lelouch understood the fierce rivalry embedded between the two Knightmare Devicers that he had arranged for them to share minimum contact. Alternatively, he probably found it hilarious to watch the two adversaries avoid tearing out each other's throat and therefore demanded Suzaku pick up Kallen for his delight.

"Suzaku, do you hate me?"

"…I don't."

"But you don't like me either."

"That's not the case. You're brave, Kallen. You're following Lelouch from the bottom of your heart, you've forsaken everything else valuable to you and made your decision. I can respect that devotion." Suzaku pushed open a set of doors leading to a field of green, behind him Kallen hid a small smile from his compliments. "And we're here. Now you can go."

"Your Majesty, Knight of Ten reporting for duty." Seeing her king in the distance, Kallen picked up the pace and took a knee, displaying her dedication to Britannia's new crown. A trivial giggle escaped Suzaku's lips as he watched her run past, but for the time being Kallen didn't preoccupy herself with figuring out why.

"You don't have to do that here, we're the only ones around." Lelouch smiled adoringly, his gesture benevolent as she directed her eyes to the surroundings.

True to his word, there was not a single soul in sight as far as she could see. The marvelous villa treasured by his late mother never lost an ounce of wonderment in the years of its occupant's absence, it was a place of childlike purity as if untouched by the outside world.

"So can I…"

"It's been a while since we last talked like this, Kallen. I've missed you." The Emperor greeted his new knight, inviting her to join him on the lawn bench.

"Lelouch!"

Practically tackling Lelouch from his seat, Kallen affectionately slung her arms around her leader's shoulders and gladly recognized his warmth as her reward. She snugly rubbed her cheeks up against his face and glowed in a crimson blush from their closeness but not shying away from demonstrating her sentimentality. Every inch of the charming prince, from his dazzling purple irises reflecting infinite profundity to his enigmatic smile capturing her heart a thousand times over was brought to the surface of her memory and matched perfectly to his current self.

"Kallen, it's good to see you too."

"I've been wondering when you'll summon me, Lelouch. I've missed you also."

"-Heh, I too was wondering why it suddenly reeks so strongly of virginity. Was it from the foolish girl drowning in self-gratification after missing her crush for less than a week?" As if the depths of hell spat out its spawn, a green menace dressed in her classic white straitjacket manifested itself from thin air to ruin Kallen's reunion.

Fast as lighting, embarrassment overtook the lovesick pilot and she pushed off Lelouch's laps to fling herself out of arm's reach, dislodging her oversized sword as clumsily as she ever could. Unfortunately, her sensible logic knew it was all too late and her deed of intimacy was to be turned into a bullet for her foe.

"Why don't you shove it—" However, as Kallen caught a glimpse of what she assumed would be C.C.'s smirking features, all she could fixate her sight on was the dead golden eyes giving away hints of misery.

"What's the matter? Already given up on thinking of a retort?" As quickly as it came, the next second her scent of sadness dispelled following a few blinks.

"I just don't want to deal with your nonsense all the time."

"How cute, I'll let you have it your way this time." Sitting down herself, C.C. made sure to nestle up against Lelouch's arm. The witch's provocation drew an irked growl from Kallen, who convinced herself to regard it as another one of her antics and nothing more.

Seizing the opportunity to pause the festering squabble of his two companions, Lelouch poured three cups of tea with a swift motion and invited Kallen to take the seat across from him. Reluctantly, the Knight of Ten gave up overthrowing her opponent from her desired spot and settled for the suboptimal result.

"Tell me what you think of my mother's villa, Kallen." Lelouch spoke sombrely, his gaze spread over the endless grass in the distance.

"What? Oh- I think it's a… pretty beautiful… and a very calming place. It just has that atmosphere, making things very soothing." Improvising her response, Kallen put some thoughts into further inspecting Lelouch's childhood home.

"How would you feel about moving here?"

"Like, permanently? Like living here?"

"Why not? You can relax under the sun and trend to the gardens as my mother once did."

"No, I think I'll pass. It's a great offer, Lelouch. However I prefer to be closer to you so that I can get there whenever you need me." A firm resolution from Kallen with no room for argument. Lelouch studied her expression with a keen interest but said nothing more, letting a moment of gentle harmony cradle the three vastly different souls.

As the trio relaxed under the sunshine of a late-summer afternoon, serene wind blew among them and sent Lelouch's dark locks into a fluid dance. Without catching his glance, Kallen discreetly admired his soft features, imagining to herself how fascinating their future could be as long as she would remain close. When their eyes eventually met, the bashful youth quelled her self-consciousness and offered her king a mellow smile that only grew as he was the one who flustered first.

"Nonetheless, this garden is one of the few things the Empress did that was motherly, even if not directly. Go with C.C. and have a look around the place, maybe you'll find something that changes your mind." Almost an eternity later, Lelouch said.

"Okay…? Why don't you come with us? We'll have a good time together, and Suzaku can tag along too, I'm feeling a bit bad that he's just standing there."

"I'll have to refuse, for myself and Suzaku. We have matters to discuss. But you two can have some fun, you've deserved it.

"Sure… but is that it? You called me here to sell me real-estate?" Kallen, feeling rather offended, asked with a skeptical pout.

Her reply came first from Lelouch's hand instead of his words, his fingers carefully caressed her puffy cheeks and left behind a lingering sensation mesmerizing Kallen with just one amorous touch.

"I just wanted to see you, Kallen. That's enough for me."

"O-oh, of course, Y-Your Majesty." Seduced by Lelouch's dreamlike charisma, Kallen hastily lowered her face under the collar of her cloak to hide away her reddened cheeks. C.C. who saw that their tea party had come to a close, pecked Lelouch once on his neck and departed with an annoyed Kallen.

Kururugi Suzaku, Knight of Zero

"Have you seen what it says on the back of her cloak?" Suzaku approached Lelouch and heeded his question after the two ladies rode off on a pair of horses to explore the uncharted land.

"Yeah, it's faint and covered by the red stripe, but I can see it says 'World's strongest' under there." Recalling the amusing trait of his fellow knight, Suzaku hid his curiosity while Lelouch softly laughed.

"Was it a good idea to bring Kallen with us?" Once the short span of merriment passed, Suzaku took on a serious attitude.

"I hope it is."

"You didn't consult with any of us."

"Where is there a need to reveal every negligible detail?"

"She is a core member of the Black Knights, her existence here could compromise us." To Suzaku's proposed threat, Lelouch's stern manner only hardened.

"Kallen has proven herself to be loyal to me without a doubt, why are you so uneasy, Suzaku?"

"It's precisely because of how loyal she is she'll be a danger to our plan. She'll not accept Zero Requiem."

"In time, it will not be a matter of her opinion." When faced with the incommoding truth, Lelouch chose silence over a poorly constructed argument.

"Her opinion might determine the outcome of everything, what if she steps in and disrupts us at a critical moment?"

"Then I'll ensure that doesn't happen! Why must you be so persistent, Suzaku!" Lelouch's sudden outburst didn't even faze the Knight's cold demeanor.

"I stand as your sword. I shall purge both your enemies and your own weakness. Currently, Kallen is your weakness." Instantaneously tensed by the brown-haired soldier's connotation, Lelouch shot up a murderous glare and was challenged by one just as fierce.

"You will not bring harm to Kallen."

"That is for you to decide. You have the means to do so, Geass her into abandoning her love for you." The ping of agony brought about by merely entertaining the idea for a fraction of a second immediately caused Lelouch to cease all further imagination.

"I will never force upon her a Geass so contradictory to her very core."

"You have the gall to say that after everything you've done? Your hypocrisy truly knows no bounds." Suzaku's words were as loathsome as they were factual, Lelouch created many ripostes to counter his agreement but replied none of them.

"…Enough, Kallen's infatuation might be a hindrance, but not insurmountable. When the time comes, I'll deal with it."

"If that time is ever to come." Suzaku took a step closer, his stance firmly shedding a shadow over the white robe of the monarch. "Since you took power five days ago, you've done nothing other than toppling some statute of Emperor Charles. At this rate, we'll never reach world domination."

"It's funny, hearing those words coming from you." In hindsight, Suzaku could agree how it sounded unfitting for him to utter such an ambition.

"You know what I'm saying, are you stalling for time?"

"So what if I am? It's the reason I enlisted Nina's help. With one simple move, I've placed Schneizel in check. Your urgency is unnecessary. Besides, I've also greatly reduced the authority of the aristocracy and given more lenient treatments to all Numbers around the world. Most of all, I've kept Schneizal's promise of returning Aera Eleven the people of Japan, are you saying it is not enough?" Update on Lelouch's progress eased a few of Suzaku's concerns.

"Perhaps for the time being, but we must create bigger waves to shake the foundation of the world." Confronted by Suzaku's endless pressure, Lelouch placed his face in his palms and sighed.

Suzaku didn't want to believe he was gleaning pleasure from seeing his former friend so distressed and uneasy, but a dark corner of his heart took pride in driving the Emperor up a wall using nothing but phrases and sentences. Lelouch had deserved whatever torment came his way after all the crimes he committed, so add another match to the fire was hardly too extreme.

"…She asked me to be more considerate, you know." Still somewhat clouded by turmoil, Lelouch said with his gaze downwards.

"Who did?"

"Kallen. She said that people aren't inherently evil, it is our circumstances that shape our choices and force us to turn against each other. I'm sure she'd hope that if people can just change, there'll be no need for all of this."

"A futile dream. I had the same wish in mind once and look where it led me. To just hope for betterment won't change a thing, the only thing that matters is the result." Suzaku grimaced as he remembered the same scene of a dying Euphie, had he chosen differently at any point and prevented her from reaching the end that doomed her, she could still be around.

"And on that, we agree. However, I still want her to have a dream to believe in, that's why I'll pretend to be what she wanted; a just and be gracious Emperor. You understand my feelings, right? You've done the same for my sister, after all."

"Do not speak about Euphie with me, you'll never understand what we had. And for her, I was ready to change…! I had changed!" Controlling his emotions, Suzaku was infinitely close to snapping at Lelouch for using his one love as ammo.

"I won't say I do, but I have something of equal value. I… I love Kallen… or I want to think I love her, I'm not sure myself. Every time I see her, I cannot help but wish to protect her, protect the future that she deserves."

Suzaku remained quiet as he observed Lelouch's unreadable guise to no avail, the ex-prince only put on a composed look and a glint of reminiscence in his eyes. The former Zero wasn't lying about his fondness for the redhead, unless he was completely hollow on the inside and capable of emoting whatever he wanted down to the smallest detail, however the Japanese man hoped to deem it as impossible for him to be so far gone.

"For now, I'll believe that your feelings are real. Still, it changes nothing, we must do what we've set out to do."

"Then listen to my one request, Suzaku. It is not an order, just something I want you to understand."

"I'll hear it."

"Obtain a Geass from C.C., it's the only way you can ensure Zero Requiem come to fruition."

Outrage and resentment overwhelmed Suzaku's rational method in the shortest instant possible, he forcefully grabbed Lelouch by the collars off his seat and reeled his fist back for a strike. However, when the pupils of his worst enemy and best friend only signalled nothing other than pure solace, it drenched the burning hatred lying in wait within Suzaku's heart just as quickly as it ignited.

"…Why do you suggest such a thing to me, out of everyone?! Despite knowing how I feel?!"

"You know, Suzaku. Isn't Geass something akin to a wish? It's a request to someone to give you the power to achieve what you can't on your own." Suzaku pondered Lelouch's example, watching the Emperor who owned one-third of the world spoke earnestly yet he only saw desolation in his words.

"You've never used it like that."

"And I wish to start. Where I am, I'll no longer rely on the power of Kings to reach my destination. So, I want you to take on one yourself, it might end up being your only way of stopping me."

"What do you mean?"

"I will grow attached to the world, I can feel those sentiments rising; slowly at first, but in time I won't be able to stop myself. I'll grow to regret agreeing to Zero Requiem and my own demise, I'll become too attached to… too attached to offer myself for world peace." Such frankness, even for Suzaku it was his first time seeing it out of Lelouch.

"All of this, because of Kallen?"

"You've done far better… and worse things for love." Again, Suzaku reflected on the Emperor's words.

"And you push this responsibility onto me. Why not use Geass on yourself?"

"I've done enough of lying to myself. If I lie again, I won't be able to trust anything I'll do after that. Besides, you said you're my sword to destroy my enemies and my weakness. But weakness isn't something to be destroyed; it is to be conquered. The current me doesn't have the willpower to conquer it, maybe I never will." Hearing his candid explanation, Suzaku released Lelouch from his grip.

"I will consider it, but I will never become like you."

"All the better, I only hope you can understand through its power why I did what I did. And in time… I'll tell you the entire truth of that day in the SAZ, everything that I regretted." It always came back to her, the one moment in Suzaku's life that altered the course of history.

"Don't attempt to entice with your biased truth."

"You won't understand without experiencing it yourself. In that sense, Geass is like a fire, paramount to mankind's survival yet devastating in the wrong hands."

"And whose hands do you have?"

"I have the worst hands to entrust this power to of them all."

Kallen Stadtfeld, Knight of Ten

"Pull!"

Two white targets burst into her view from separate sides and varying degrees angles of the range. The round clay followed a defined trajectory governed by the laws of physics, landing themselves dead centre in Kallen's sight as she rapidly pulled the trigger of her shotgun twice.

"Two kills, I'm up by fourteen points now."

"…All brute and no delicacy, typical." C.C., pouted dismissively, even through her eye-protection goggles Kallen could still spot some residue of her frustration from defeat.

"Sounds like what a sore loser would say. This is what happens when all you do is lazy around and eat pizza, you'd have died so many times on the battlefield if it wasn't for—"

"-Pull!" When C.C. lost, she didn't lose with grace.

Watching the green-haired woman shoot wildly into the air as the clay disk flew by harmlessly until they shattered on impact far away, Kallen wondered to herself how she got roped into this sport anyhow. Apparently, Marianne's villa included all sorts of entertainment she enjoyed. So of course, C.C. was the one who understood how to activate each and every one of the games.

"I hate guns."

"You need to line up the foresight with the rearsight and the target, don't just guess where the pallets could go."

"I don't need this lecture from someone who can't properly wear their sword around their waist."

"It's just too big, alright?! And wearing it around the waist is dumb anyway. It just bumps into everything and I can't even sit down."

"Just wear it on your back then. Actually, you do know that you don't have to lug it around everywhere you go, right? It's just for show, not for combat or anything."

"That's- that's… alright, I'll take your advice this time." Kallen sneaked a peek past the smirking C.C. at her cape and weapon sitting comfortably on the racks off to the side, not a single person around too close to disturb their relaxing time.

Not even Lelouch was there, who she secretly hoped would drop by and visit, maybe catching some of her peak accuracies and praising her for her marksmanship.

"What do you suppose Lelouch is doing right now?"

"Discussing his precious little strategies for the Empire with Suzaku, that's my guess anyway."

"So he's keeping you out of the loop too, huh?"

"Definitely not as much as you." Shaking her head, Kallen puzzled about how anyone could communicate with the ageless witch without contemplating suicide, or murder.

"Why won't he trust me…? Is it because I've failed him before?" Not particularly seeking C.C.'s outlook, Kallen muttered to herself.

" 'Those you care about are best kept far away.'. If you believe that then maybe there's your answer." C.C. said, perplexing as she ever was.

"But that's not fair to me! If he keeps me at an arm's length forever, we'll never truly understand each other."

"Because you want him to love you?"

"I should say no, but it's too obvious to hide it… it's why I followed him here." By her statement, C.C. couldn't help but gawk at the young girl so intently confessing the contents of her heart. However, the red-haired ace only seemed interested in perfecting the art of skeet shooting. "Pull!"

"How unusually mature of you, Kallen."

There was no reply to C.C.'s playful taunt other than the echoing resonance of two buckshot shells ringing in the air, Kallen aimed dexterously at the flying targets and sniped them out of the blue once again. Afterward, she broke open her over-under shotgun and retrieved the empty casings from its barrel.

"You know, it's just- I don't want to play the game anymore, there's no point in keeping it going."

"You're the one who suggested this sport, awfully irresponsible for you to abandon it halfway."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about, C.C.! I love Lelouch, I truly do. I love him so much, I left behind everything that defined who I am to be with him, to protect him and serve him." C.C. heedfully strode over, her blank expression never betraying her reactions.

"And you do, thus you're here. What of it?"

"Well, the me right now can tell that you love him just as much, C.C."

"Is that your professional opinion?" Golden irises clashed against azure lens, neither willing to give an inch of ground.

"I can tell you do. We're immensely different people, it must be why I can notice our only similarity." C.C. continued to appear mystifying, not shifting her brow at Kallen's declaration.

"So what? Proud of your own bluntness?"

"In another three weeks it'll be one year since Lelouch rescued me at Shinjuku, I'll confess my feelings to him on the anniversary of our first encounter. You can do with that knowledge however you will."

"What do you suppose I do with this information."

"If you can ever be honest with yourself, you'll tell him how you feel." The widened eyes C.C. shot back at her put a few cracks in the witch's mask of aloofness.

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Are you not tired of this, C.C.? Always having that persona of being so remote, I think I understand you well enough to know it's not how you really are. But I guess that's just from my perspective." Kallen snatched her hair with her free hand, unsure of how to word her intentions without overstepping her boundaries.

"Hmph… you and Lelouch are the only ones who claim they understand me… awfully presumptuous of you two, honestly."

"I don't know… I just want to do something kind for a friend, unless that's not who I am to you…" Another wholehearted revelation which threw C.C. off her game. "I think you deserve to be happy too, C.C., that's it, really."

"A friend, huh…? you out of all people are willing to call me that… I truly have been—" C.C.'s train of thought derailed by the catchy ringtone of her phone. Not just hers, but Kallen also received an incoming call.

"—It's me, go ahead." Kallen returned her shotgun to its original spot on the rack, emptying out the cartridges she carried in her pouch as well.

"—My lord, you're ordered to head for Operation Centre, Section Two. We have confirmation of incoming forces consisting of four Knights of Rounds including the Knight of One, His Majesty will debrief you on-site."

"—Understood." Kallen hurriedly hung up her phone, arranged for the servants to clean up their game of skeet shooting and draped her cloak over her shoulders, making sure not to catch it on the sword she wore behind her hack.

"You heard what I heard?" C.C. asked, guiding a pair of horses by their reins over to the Knight of Ten.

"Yeah, I have to go, maybe earn a promotion too."

"Good luck with your ventures… my friend, Kallen."

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Author's note

In many fic I've read on Code Geass, people often describe Lelouch's eyes and how beautiful they are. But if you think about it after SAZ only one of his eye colours is real and after becoming the Emperor both of his eyes are just contact lens, that's kinda funny.

I think this chapter is actually pretty solid. The plot moved, the characters kinda developed, stuff is happening that isn't super boring. I think often fanfics lose stream because they become too unrelatable to a majority of readers who doesn't really care how the plot continues after it divulges from canon, (literally speaking from experience.) but it's also a totally unavoidable problem. What I try to do is incorporate canon elements to a plot that'll eventually become different, it probably won't work and the same issue will probably arise, but I tried so yeah.

The comical part at the start might be a bit cringe honestly, but I wrote it and don't want to get rid of it. Besides it serves a bit of purpose other than making bad references so there's that. Other than that I was gonna handwave some plot elements but I actually just forgot, so let me know if you wanna complain about anything or make suggestions.

Now to reply to some reviews that brings up things I actually want to address, to everyone else thanks for writing a thing for me.

For Imperator's slave, talking about the F.L.E.I.J.A standoff and pairings and trash talking C.C.: Honestly shoutout to Hideo Kojima for teaching me what the cold war is, Snake Eaters best MGS my dudes. (although the last chapter reference was to MGSV but don't worry about it.) And I don't have plans to develop any more relationships beyond Lelouch/C.C./Kallen, don't really think I can handle a harem that big or there's anyone else with enough canon interest in Lelouch to make it work. But I do wanna say my opinion on C.C. is very subjective, because I don't personally find her to be prime GF material doesn't mean she's a bad pair with Lelouch, I should've made that clear.

For Terran14, talking about me making Kallen be somewhere else while Lelouch became the Emperor: Dude, you actually caught me, I handwaved that so hard last chapter I'm surprised my prints weren't on it. Of course I can come up with excuses for why she wasn't there, like saying it took them a long time to actually find Nina because she tried to be sneaky or so that Lelouch, Suzaku and C.C. have time to discuss Zero Requiem. (Actually that's a very good excuse, and it makes sense too.) But stuff like this will fall apart if you think too hard about it, honestly the whole story will if you analyze it. So please don't do that, and sorry for plot holes, durrrrrrrrrrr.

So yeah, thanks for supporting my little work here. Still pretty surprised how fast it grew, you guys are pretty cool, mostly.