Author's note: I have nothing much to say here. I just hope you guys find this chapter to your liking. Cheers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass to any extent.

Chapter 2
To the Tokyo Tower

"Checkmate." Lelouch declared to Rivalz, a superior smirk on his face. The blue-haired teen's eyes widened incredulously before he groaned in frustration and threw his hands up into the air.

"I swear you're unbeatable in chess, Lelouch. Why can't I get on your level although you already said you taught me all you knew?" Rivalz complained. He had lost count of how many times he was defeated by his classmate in chess. On the other hand, it was easy to keep track of his wins against Lelouch - it was zero and it was likely to stay that way for a very long time.

They were playing chess on one of the stone tables found around Ashford Academy's lawn. Rivalz, keen in getting better at chess after witnessing Lelouch's winnings during their gambling trips, frequently asked his friend for a friendly match during their lunch break when they're not out gambling. As usual, they were surrounded by a gaggle of excited girls. Rivalz knew the reason they always gathered when he played chess with Lelouch, and he was not deluding himself that they were watching him or even the chess game; they were watching Lelouch… as usual. Rivalz wondered why Lelouch hardly showed any of the girls even a tiny bit of attention. If he was in his shoes, he might try to go out with one of them. "Some of them are pretty good looking after all." Rivalz thought.

Rivalz scanned through the crowd of spectators briefly and did a double take as he spotted a familiar girl with orange hair. It was Shirley. As far as he knew, she never showed any interest in Lelouch. Shirley seemed rather out of place in the group of girls, as she was one of the few without a fawning expression on her face. Rivalz shrugged. Whatever the new girl's reason is to watch them play a game of chess, it wasn't his concern. Perhaps she was a chess player as well. Rivalz was about to leave when the sound of squeaking wheels reached his ears. "Big brother!" a voice sang out sweetly as a young girl with flowing sandy brown hair and light blue eyes, came into view in a pink elaborate wheelchair.

"Ah, Nunnally", Lelouch smiled affectionately at his younger sister before kneeling down, his arms spread to give her a light hug. "Do you need something?"

"No," Nunnally answered as she leaned forward. "I just wanted to see you for a while", Nunnally beamed as she embraced her brother briefly. Nunnally watched as the crowd of girls slowly dispersed, as they made their own way to their afternoon classes.

"You missed me that much?" Lelouch chuckled. "Unfortunately, I have chemistry class in about five minutes. I'll see you later tonight for dinner, Nunnally." Nunnally's face fell, but she brightened up and gave her brother a cheery wave as she scooted away. Smiling to himself, Lelouch gathered up his chess set and was about to start walking back to class when a vaguely familiar voice reached his ears.

"Lelouch, wait!" Shirley called out as she half-jogged towards him. Lelouch spun around and found himself looking at the new student. "What's her name again? Oh right, it's Shirley." Lelouch thought as the girl reached his side. "I have something to ask you", the auburn-haired teen began.

"What is it? I'm in a hurry. As you should be." Lelouch asked as he glanced at his watch. "Four minutes before class starts. This better be good."

"I… um, do you mind… I mean, would you be free this evening, Lelouch?" Shirley blurted out nervously as she felt her cheeks redden. She cursed herself for her reaction, hoping that he did not notice it. "It's not like I'm asking him out on a date or anything… I just want to know him better. And complete the assignment."

"Why?" Lelouch asked suspiciously. "She better not be asking me out on a date. I don't have time for such mundane activities."

"Um, for the history assignment! I mean… since we're working together, I thought of visiting the Britannian Victory Memorial Center. I heard there's a lot of information about the conquest of Area Eleven over there… so I was thinking of going there…" Shirley's voice trailed off as an annoyed expression began forming on Lelouch's face.

"Didn't I say I will complete the assignment for us? Rest assured that it'll get a distinction," Lelouch replied coolly. "I could probably write an essay on that in my sleep since I was in Japan during the war with Britannia." Lelouch was about to resume his admonishment when Rivalz, who was silently standing beside him all this while gave him a nudge in the ribs. Lelouch glared at his friend. Rivalz mutely tilted his head towards Shirley, and the taller male looked at her again. He noticed Shirley's crestfallen expression. He recalled that she was a new student and his heart softened a little at her obvious disappointment. "I guess there's no harm relenting for once...", Lelouch thought to himself.

"Alright," Lelouch sighed and he ran his hands over his hair, ruffling it. "Don't say I was being a jerk. This evening, five p.m. I'll see you at the front gates of Ashford. I'll bring you to the Memorial Center. Don't be late. I have a dinner to attend later."

"Really?" Shirley perked up and gave a dazzling smile. "Then… I'll see you there this evening then. Thanks, Lelouch!" With that, she sped off in a run towards one of the main buildings of the academy, leaving a puzzled Lelouch behind. The dark-haired adolescent blinked in consternation at the abruptness of the conversation's end, then frowned in confusion as he watched and calculated Shirley's path. "The chemistry lab's the other way!" Lelouch yelled, shaking his head at her.

"Hey Shirley," Sophie nudged her roommate after the school bell rang. "Wanna grab some dinner? I'm starving. I've heard that there's this new barbecue restaurant in the mall. Do you want to give that a try?"

"Hmm?" Shirley said absent-mindedly. She was recalling the earlier events of the day, and she replayed Lelouch's interaction with his younger sister in her mind. "He has a caring side as well, it seems. I suppose that's no surprise, she's his younger sister after all."

"Shirley?" Sophie asked, waving her hand before auburn-haired girl's eyes, startling her out of her reverie.

"Sorry, what were you saying?" Shirley replied sheepishly.

Sophie rolled her eyes. "I said, did you want to get dinner? There's a new barbecue restaurant in the mall."

"Oh, sorry again, but I'm meeting Lelouch today," Shirley apologized. "We could visit the restaurant tomorrow, or on the weekends. Which would you pref-"

"Wait, you're going out with Lelouch?" Sophie interrupted, shocked. Shirley nodded nonchalantly, and Sophie gasped. "Wow. Run along then, I shall not interrupt the time of you two lovebirds." Sophie teased, causing Shirley's face to turn almost the same colour as her hair.

"It's not like that!" Shirley protested. "We're just going to the Britannian Victory Memorial Center to gather information for our history assignment, that's all! You're reading too much into it."

"Even if what you said is true, there hasn't been a single girl whom Lelouch has consented to go out with alone, other than his sister, Nunnally," Sophie continued, her eyes gleaming with excitement for her friend. "Good luck!"

"Whatever, Sophie. Thanks for the luck, I suppose," Shirley waved off her friend's claims, although she felt a small spark of happiness growing after Sophie gave her that tidbit of information. She had accomplished what countless other girls in Ashford did not, and she was not even trying. "I'll see you later tonight." She moved towards the front gates of the academy, with a spring in her step and a small smile on her face. As she reached the entrance of the school, she was greeted by Lelouch. Like Shirley, he was dressed in his Ashford uniform.

"You're on time," Lelouch commented, his eyebrows raised in surprise. True to Sophie's words, this was his first time going out with someone of the opposite gender alone. He heard from many of his male friends about how some females take forever to prepare themselves before going out, and would end up showing up late for appointments with friends. Thankfully, Shirley didn't fit the stereotype. He would be quite unpleasant if her lack of punctuality caused him to be late for dinner with Nunnally.

"Unlike you, when it's time for class." Shirley countered. Lelouch raised his eyebrows further and chuckled at the jest.

"Well, that's more often true than not," Lelouch admitted, shaking his head that he had to concede a point. Shirley felt her lips curve into a smile and there was a moment of silence. Lelouch cleared his throat. "So… shall we get a move on?"

Before Shirley could reply, she was interrupted by the unexpected arrival of another recognizable person. "Hey guys. I'm not late, am I?" Rivalz asked as he strolled along the stone path to join Shirley and Lelouch at the front gate of the school.

"No, you're not. Now, let's go," Lelouch answered and took the lead by starting to walk forward.

"Wait just a moment, what's going on here?" Shirley blurted out. She was bewildered - she had no clue that Rivalz was joining them and hence was not expecting him to tag along.

Lelouch and Rivalz exchanged a look. The dark-haired teenager sighed. "Well... when you asked me to go to the memorial center, Rivalz was there, wasn't he?" Shirley nodded slowly. "According to him, his partner for the history assignment is hopeless. And he's right, Dennis is about as bright as a broken lightbulb. So he's coming with us to visit the memorial for the sake of his assignment, just like you. I trust you have no problems with that?"

"Um... I guess not. It was just unexpected..." Shirley answered, but the note of disappointment in her tone, while slight, was obvious to her companies.

"It'll be fine, Shirley," Rivalz said cheerfully. "The more the merrier, after all. And don't worry, I won't be getting in the way of you guys. I won't copy your work, if that's what you're afraid of. Let's go!" With that, the two male students began striding forward. Shirley groaned, but had no choice other than to follow them.

"So, Britannia managed to conquer Area 11 largely due to its technological superiority, huh?" Rivalz remarked, reading one of the sign boards. The three of them, Lelouch, Shirley and Rivalz were at the memorial center and they were examining the various exhibitions, all of them depicting the Britannian war against Japan. Rivalz snorted in amusement. "Seems like their superiority does not extend to their architecture, this place still looks like crap on the outside. I never understood why this center is so ugly, it looks like a tower with the top half blown off by explosives."

"Because it is one," Lelouch replied, rolling his eyes at Rivalz. "This used to be the Tokyo Tower. As its name implies, it was not built by the Britannians, but by the Japanese before they were conquered and renamed as Elevens. It was damaged in the war and the Britannians never bothered to fix it. They simply renamed the tower to the Britannian Victory Memorial Center and left it unrepaired, as an affront to the Elevens' pride. Typical of the Britannian Empire, really." Lelouch sniffed in disdain.

Shirley was examining another exhibition when she heard Lelouch made the comment about the Britannian Empire, noticing his tone. She looked over at Lelouch in mild surprise, wondering why would a fellow Britannian hold contempt for his own empire, but the expression on Lelouch's face, a half-concealed mixture of sorrow and bitterness, convinced her not to ask.

"So, Shirley, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you end up at Ashford?" Rivalz asked curiously as he quickly grew bored of the museum's exhibits.

"Well, I moved to Area Elven from Pendragon recently," Shirley explained. Out of the corner of her eye, she observed Lelouch staring at a portrait of the Britannian Emperor, Charles zi Britannia. "My dad was looking for a job after his previous company folded and he found a job as a geologist… but it required him to work in this Area, so my family was relocated here. My parents said they heard good things about Ashford Academy, so they found me a spot in the school. And how about you, Rivalz?"

"Hmm? I was born and raised in California. After my parent's divorce, I moved to Area Eleven with my mother about four years ago," Rivalz responded amiably, despite his less-than-perfect sounding past. "She wanted me to get the best education available in Area Eleven, so here I am. I work part-time in a bar to help with the school fees, though". Rivalz's gaze shifted to Lelouch, who was still gazing at the painting. "Hey Lelouch, how about you? I actually never knew much about your background."

"It's a long story, Rivalz," Lelouch did not take his eyes off the portrait. "A very long story…" his voice trailed off, his eyes glazed over as he thought of his bittersweet past of his life as a Britannian prince and his exile to Japan, now known as Area 11.

"We have time to listen, Lelouch! Come on, we wanna know. We're all friends, right?" Rivalz persisted in his efforts.

"Is it really necessary?" Lelouch muttered. He did not like to reveal his past, for even if he left out the part of being royalty, his childhood was bittersweet and ended in tragedy.

"Come on," Rivalz cajoled, tugging on Lelouch's sleeve slightly. Lelouch sighed, turned towards his long-time gambling partner and witnessed Shirley nodding in agreement.

"Very well then," Lelouch narrowed his violet eyes at his companions, his voice tightening. "It all began when I was nine, when my mother passed away. My father sent Nunnally and I to Japan, effectively deserting us." He paused as Shirley blinked in shock at this information, and while Rivalz also looked appalled, his expression quickly changing from inquisitiveness to dismay.

"Barely a year passed and the Britannian Empire declared war on Japan. Nunnally and I had to learn to survive on our own throughout the entire war," Lelouch continued, with barely concealed resentment. "After Area 11 was established, we sought aid from anyone who would help us and the Ashford Family kindly took us in. And that's how I ended up at the academy." Lelouch finished his sentence with another glare at the Emperor's portrait. "Or at least, it's a half-truth. The Ashford Family took us in because we were Marianne's children."

"I'm sorry," Lelouch looked up as Shirley apologized, sympathy written all over her face. "I didn't know you had such a hard past, Lelouch". She tried for an encouraging smile. Lelouch returned it, but Shirley could see that the smile did not extend to his eyes; they were still filled with hurt at his own tragic past.

"How did your mother pass awa, Lelou- Ow!" Rivalz yelped in pain as Shirley stepped on his foot and shot him a glare for his lack of tact. "That hurt!" Rivalz grumbled, massaging his foot while he hopped one-legged on the other one.

"Murder." Lelouch's reply was cold. Shirley's act of stepping on Rivalz did not escape his notice, and Lelouch felt a small surge of gratitude towards her, for she did it out of concern for him. "It was murder. Our house was broken into by robbers and Nunnally was crippled in the very same attack. We could have still gotten by, but our father decided to abandon us. He left us to fend for ourselves. Damn hi-", Lelouch's fists were clenched, then suddenly all the anger and bitterness seemed to bleed out of him, and he was back to wearing an expression of calm.

"Are you okay, Lelouch?" Shirley was concerned. Currently, Lelouch seemed nothing like the arrogant and carefree person whom sat beside her during school. "Stupid question", Shirley berated herself. He looked almost depressed and like he needed a hug a few moments ago. "Of course he's not okay, he just dug up a bunch of painful memories."

"I'm fine. I just let my emotions get the better of me and ended up saying too much," Lelouch brushed off her concern. "It was foolish of me to reminisce about my past. It won't happen again."

There was a long moment of awkward silence. Rivalz was now mentally berating himself for asking his friend such a painful question. Shirley hesitated for a brief moment before she patted her classmate softly on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him whatever way she could."I'm sorry to hear it. I hope you'll make peace with your past one day," Shirley said and gave him another sunny smile.

Lelouch was silent for a long moment. He already regretted divulging bits of his past, even if they weren't entirely true. "Thanks, Shirley," he said quietly, his voice no longer shaking as he regained control of himself. He then straightened his posture and asked in a louder voice, "Now, are we done here? I have something to attend to at home."

"Wait a sec, we should take a group photo before we leave," Rivalz exclaimed as they exited the centre, digging into his maroon backpack and coming up with a camera. "Hold on- hey, d'you mind helping us take a photo?" Rivalz requested a passer-by who just entered the memorial. The stranger was taken aback, but he nodded mutely.

"Thanks!" Rivalz uttered as he passed the camera to the stranger. "Now guys… smile!" Rivalz held up his hands enthusiastically in a victory sign, while Shirley cast a look of askance at him and Lelouch simply kept on his look of disinterest. The passer-by took the photo and passed the camera back to Rivalz, who eagerly searched for the picture and pouted. "You guys look so unhappy", he complained crossly. "Bunch of killjoys."

"Let's just return to Ashford, Rivalz," Lelouch sighed in annoyance. "I have plenty of other better things to do." Lelouch led the way back, with Shirley constantly glancing at him with a worried expression. It was clear that Lelouch was hiding something about his past.

"There was something in his eyes which tells me that just now," Shirley thought. "He's a very interesting person alright. So haughty on the outside. But on the inside... he seems broken and bitter."

With that thought, Shirley felt determined to get closer to Lelouch. Perhaps one day she can understand him, help him and even fix him.

Author's Note: I wasn't too satisfied with how I ended this chapter, but I wanted it to go along the lines of this. Do let me know what you guys think. FYI, I aim to upload a chapter every week and we'll be looking more into Lelouch's past in the AU next chapter.