Part Five:

"The Demanding Knight"

A cool breeze whisked Suzaku's brown, mop top hair, as he stood in the front courtyard of the Ashford Mansion late at night. The mansion was adjacent to the academy.

This is where Lelouch lived. A favor from the Ashford family - a wealthy and powerful Aristocratic family - who at one point knew of Lelouch's lineage as a prince of Britannia, but now had forgotten and something else was inserted in its place, brainwashed with Geass. But whatever the Emperor implanted in the Ashford family with Geass, it still prompted Lelouch to remain at the residence, along with his appointed guardian from the Special Intelligence Service Branch.

The appointed guardian was assigned to be Lelouch's brother, replacing Lelouch's sister Nunnally, for whom the Emperor stole from Lelouch's memory. It was but one punishment for his rebellious and insidious insurrection against Britannia in being the terrorist leader Zero.

The dossier Suzaku read on the appointed guardian had his name as Rolo Lamperouge, but his last name was just a subterfuge for his cover. His real name was unknown. In fact, Rolo was probably just a codename itself. He was an operative of the Britannian Secret Intelligence Service, and a trained killer, skilled in a variety of weaponry, explosives, poisons and other deadly devices. He was also bred with the power of an unusual form of Geass from age six: the ability to freeze time - but for an insurmountable length of time. It's one weakness was it also stopped his heart. It was potentially a fatal flaw, that could contribute to an abnormal heart rhythm and ultimately lead to his death.

And Rolo wasn't the only one with unusual Geass powers. There was a colony of children stationed in a top secret location, from which Rolo originated from, each with a unique form of Geass now being trained to utilize their powers for future use. It was but one of many of the Emperor's pet projects. And Suzaku wagered once Rolo out lived his usefulness, he'd be disposed of.

But Rolo was an elite soldier. He was young, but his expertise were diversified, especially when it came to cloak and dagger missions. And after countless assignments and all of them successful, he held special merit as one of the Emperor's favorites, therefore he was kept alive.

This mission was his most important one to date. Watch Lelouch, pretend to be his younger brother, but if he gets his memory back - kill him. These were Rolo's prime orders, Suzaku recalled. And it came directly from the Emperor.

Suzaku didn't agree with the Emperor on some things, especially when it came to killing his own son for subversion.

He obeyed His Highness nonetheless and kept his opinions to himself. But he found himself disgusted by Britannian politics more each day.

As a Knight of the Round, the Emperor's elitist guard, he was compiled to obey the Emperor's orders. If he wanted to continue to stay as one, he would have to carry out anything the Emperor wanted. And if that meant one day killing his best friend Lelouch, someone he had known longer than anyone he was presently acquainted with, then he would have to, to keep the peace Britannia now shared despite under a iron fist of Britannian rule.

I am a villain, after all. No, that's the mindset of a sociopath. I'm not that far gone, I think.

The lights were out in the mansion. He had informed Rolo that he would making a special trip this night to check up on Lelouch, especially after the incident with Hachikou Chika.

Rolo had assured him that Lelouch had never been out of his sight during the incident in question. However, Lelouch was very resourceful. If he did regain his memory, Rolo wouldn't be privy to his tricks. I know Lelouch better than anyone, Susaku thought. And once I look into Lelouch's eyes, I'll be able to tell if he's lying. The eyes are the window to the soul, after all.

The front door opened, and out stepped a small kid about fifteen. He had brown hair and was thin even for his age. He looked like any other innocent, shy teenager in school.

Suzaku disliked him. It wasn't a personal hate, more disdain for what Rolo represented. A lie. Nunnally was Lelouch's sister. Rolo was an impostor. He was replacing a sweet, innocent girl, in his best friend's heart. Lelouch loved Nunnally more than life itself.

I also love Nunnally. She's one of my best friends. Damn the Emperor!

Rolo shut the door quietly behind him and walked out to the courtyard. It was dark, save for a dim bathing of moonlight through a whisper of cloud cover.

Rolo gave a slight bow when he reached Suzaku. "Greetings, my lord. As I said to you in conference, Lelouch is not Zero, not any longer. I've watched him very closely."

"Where is he now?" asked Suzaku.

"Sleeping. He had an exhausting day."

Rolo went through Lelouch's itinerary, reading it off his computerized daily planner than he borrowed. But he didn't get far.

Suzaku snatched it from him, scrolling through it. What he wanted was a week ago today, when Zero rescued him. He read through the entire day. Lelouch was meticulous in his daily activities, but he noticed a slight discrepancy between 11am and Noon. Each completed activity had a green check mark next to it except for PE. "What happened here?" he asked, showing Rolo. "You never told me about this hour."

"Oh, that was when Lelouch got injured and hurt his knee and had to visit the nurse. He missed PE that day, but he's okay now."

Suzaku scowled. "That was important. It was approximately the same day I was..." He stopped. He didn't know if Rolo had been told about Hachikou Chika. It was when Zero had rescued him, during that precise hour. Lelouch could have easily used Geass on the nurse and made her lie that he was obtaining medical attention for a fake injury. The fact of the matter is, if Lelouch did regain his memory, how did he know where to find me? And then, how did he know that I had been kidnapped? There's a mystery here I can fathom. "And I see before then, he's missed other PE classes. Why?"

Rolo appeared to swallow nervously. "He doesn't like PE. But I can vouch for his whereabouts each time. He was gambling, except for last Friday."

"Lelouch likes to gamble?"

"He says it offsets boredom. He has a very analytical mind. It's common with people with his personality traits. He likes to challenge strong opponents. And he never loses. He's an excellent chess player."

Suzaku shoved the daily planner back to Rolo. I didn't know this about Lelouch. I must include this information in the database at HQ when I return.

Rolo took a step back from the impact. He looked taken back by Suzaku's abruptness. "My lord, have I done something to offend you?" he asked, slightly skittish at the moment.

Suzaku eyed him harshly. He could see agitation in the kid's eyes. The Knight of the Round were second only to the Emperor and they were psychologically feared. Despite Rolo possessing Geass, he wouldn't dare use it on me. But of course, with his strange Geass, I wouldn't know it if he did.

"Just take me to Lelouch," he demanded. "I want to see him."

"Of course," said Rolo.

He followed Rolo to Lelouch's bedroom, opening the door slowly.

Putting an arm out, he halted Rolo from entering. "I'll go in by myself," he said quietly. Rolo nodded and stood back.

Suzaku walked quietly to Lelouch's bed. It was dark, but his eyes soon became accustomed to it. He looked down, something didn't look right. The sheets were flat. He yanked them back, throwing them to the floor.

Gritting his teeth with anger, he looked back at Rolo. "He's not here, find him! Now!" he ordered.

To be continued...