Author's Note: Hope the last chapter wasn't too weird for any of you guys. This chapter is the first one to hit the seven thousand mark, and it is based on a canon event in Code Geass. The title should be a giveaway (I took it from one of the audio dramas) Just a word of warning: There's going to be some violence and blood in this one.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything over Code Geass or any of its characters. I really don't.

Chapter 7
The Tickets of Dreams

"The school festival was nearly a failure," Milly bemoaned. "Just when we needed the vice-president to operate the Ganymede to make the pizza, he was unavailable because he was busy drowning in the swimming pool."

Kallen shot the student council president a questioning look. "What are you talking about? The pizza was made in the end, wasn't it?"

"Well, yes, eventually it was. However, Lelouch suddenly being out of commission certainly threw a wrench into the works." The blonde insisted crossly. "I hate it when things don't according to the plan. We only managed to narrowly avoid a catastrophe thanks to a capable substitute lurking amongst us! Speaking of that, I didn't know that Suzaku was such an adept Knightmare pilot. He made operating the Ganymede look easy. He's leagues ahead of Lelouch, and should be in charge of making the giant pizza for next year's school festival too."

"Well, I don't think it was a failure even if the giant pizza wasn't made," Kallen frowned. She did not understand why Milly was so obsessed over it. Sure, it was extravagant and certainly eye-catching, but it was not the sole feature of the school festival. "It's just a gimmick."

The student council was gathered in the council room again as they were supposed to evaluate the school festival so that future events could be improved. However, there were only four student council members – Lelouch decided to skip it and went on to gamble and Rivalz accompanied him. Suzaku had military duties to attend to; hence he was missing as well. Milly, Kallen and Shirley were seated around the rectangular wooden table and Nina, as usual, was sitting in the corner, typing away on her computer.

"You can't think of it that way. It was the highlight of the show and helped us to attract many people to attend the festival. If we didn't deliver... it would be terrible! The school's reputation would be at stake! All my planning for a twelve-meter pizza would be for naught!" Milly continued rambling.

"So much for just an oversized pizza..." Kallen muttered, rolling her eyes. Despite her dismissive tone, a small smile formed on her lips. Regardless of her misgivings, Milly's exuberance was to be commended.

"Come on. Where else could you see It wouldn't be the same without the pizza, right, Shirley?" Milly glanced at Shirley, who was looking at an envelope clutched tightly in her hand.

"Mmm…" Shirley replied distractedly, waving the envelope idly in her hand. Her mind was focused on the letter's contents, which was sent by none other than her father, Joseph Fenette. Her eyes darted to the top of the letter once more, reading it for the umpteenth time.

Dear Shirley,

I'm happy to hear that you're having fun with your friends in school. It sounds like the student council members are nice people. Hope you're doing well in school. Do let me know how the school festival went. It must be stressful but exciting to plan such a big event, especially for a famous school like Ashford Academy.

Everything's fine over here. We've received a big project from none other than Prince Clovis himself! Can you believe that? We're in charge of discovering more sakuradite veins and reporting the locations to Prince Clovis's liaison. It seems like he is eager to gather more sakuradite. Perhaps it's because of the rising tensions between Europia United and Britannia. I do hope that they can solve it peacefully without going to war, though.

Oh, and I have some good news to share with you. I have managed to secure two tickets to the Britannian Empire's Seventh Symphony Orchestra's performance in Area 11. It's in the Tokyo settlement and not far from Ashford. Maybe you can go with that boy you've been telling me and your mother about so much? If it all goes well, do try to arrange a meeting with him and us over the weekends. We're always keen to meet boys who interest you.

One last thing, I must be having a streak of good luck lately, for I won the lottery! $8,000 Britannian Dollars! It's not a lot, but it's still something. I guess I should have placed bigger bets back then, but I shouldn't push my luck too much. As I would like to share my fortune with you, I have enclosed $1,000 dollars and the two tickets to the Symphonic Orchestra Concert. Hope to see you soon.

Lots of Love,
Your Father

"Shirley?" Milly inquired again, turning around to regard the slender redhead. Shirley was still unresponsive as she continued to stare at the letter. The taller female smiled mischievously and she stood up, stealthily tip-toeing behind her friend, who showed no signs of noticing the student council president. Without warning, Milly crouched behind Shirley and placed her hands on her chest and squeezed tightly. Shirley instantly yelped in alarm and leapt from her chair, causing the blonde to burst into hysterics.

"Prez! You pervert! What on earth was that for?" Shirley rounded on the council president, who started howling with laughter at Shirley's reaction. Kallen shot Milly a look of disapproval, although she allowed herself to laugh a little at Shirley's expression of indignation.

"Well, I had to get your attention somehow," Milly gasped, trying to catch her breath. Her stomach was heaving from too much laughter. "What's that envelope you were staring at anyway? A love letter?"

"It's not! It's a letter from my dad…" Shirley said, her voice trailing off as she dug into the envelope, pulling out the two concert tickets. "He has given me two tickets to the coming Seventh Symphony Orchestra's Concert."

"Oh, that sounds good," Milly commented, her eyebrows raised. She leaned forward to examine the tickets in Shirley's hand. "Why the long face then? Not a fan of orchestras?"

"No, it's not that," Shirley hesitated for a moment, but she saw no reason to keep it from her friends any longer. "I'm thinking of asking Lelouch… but I don't know whether that's a good idea."

"Why?" Kallen was confused. Like everyone else in the council except for Lelouch himself, she thought it was rather obvious that Shirley had a huge crush on the lanky, dark-haired teenager.

"If I ask him out… he'll think I like him, wouldn't he?" Shirley blurted out nervously. "What if he rejects me? It'll be so awkward – I don't think we can be friends anymore after that!"

"You mean he doesn't know yet?" Kallen asked incredulously. "I mean, practically the entire student council is aware that you like him! How can he not be in the know?"

"I envy you, Shirley," Milly said wistfully before Shirley could reply to the other redhead. The slightly older female stared at the two tickets clutched by Shirley. "You're able to choose who you can fall in love with."

"Love? Is that what this is…?" Shirley blushed; before Milly's other words hit her. "Wait, what do you mean? Are you not able to, Prez?"

"My parents want me to marry a noble in the hopes of re-establishing the Ashford family," Milly sighed, averting her eyes to the window, looking at the view of the school gardens outside of the room. "The chances are high that I'll wed someone I won't even love."

"Oh, no... That's terrible," Shirley sympathized. She was strongly against such practices. She firmly believed that love cannot be forced. "I wasn't aware that such a thing still existed in today's age."

Milly gave a sad shrug. "Oh well, enough about me for now. No use worrying about something you are powerless to change. So are you going to ask Lelouch out or not?"

"I want to... But…" Shirley shifted hesitantly as she tried not to imagine Lelouch rejecting her. "Oh, why is this so difficult…"

"I think you should, Shirley," Kallen spoke up earnestly, earning glances from the other two. Even Nina's head perked up a little as she listened in on the conversation. "We're not going to be students forever. Once we graduate, it's going to be hard to see Lelouch. Right now when we're students is your best chance to tell him your feelings." Kallen hesitated for a moment, then added quietly, "It's best to tell your loved ones what you feel, for you might not get an opportunity to do so later."

"Ahh, wise words from Kallen," Milly laughed as she nodded energetically. "I agree with her. You best confess to him as soon as possible. Don't worry, we'll support you!" The door slid open and sets of footsteps could be heard. "Isn't that right, you two?" Milly asked, grinning as she turned to regard Lelouch and Rivalz, who have just returned from their gambling activities.

"L-Lulu!" Shirley gasped as she beheld her crush. Lelouch titled his head slightly to one side curiously, his fringe shifting across his handsome features.

"Is something the matter, Shirley?" Lelouch asked, noting Shirley's reddening cheeks and her nervous fidgeting.

"Oh no, everything's fine. She just has something everything important to tell you, isn't that right, Shirley?" Milly asked sweetly, grinning widely. Lelouch could not help but have a feeling of disquiet that the blonde was about to pull some antics again. "Let's go, everyone."

Milly snatched Rivalz's hand, who didn't object in the slightest as the trio marched out of the council room. Kallen nodded, catching on to Milly's plan as she grabbed Nina by the arm and dragged her outside of the room. "Wait! I'm not done with that equation yet!" Nina protested.

"You're doing scientific equations during our student council meeting? Honestly, Nina, you should learn to relax," Milly chided as all four of them exited the student council room, leaving a confused Lelouch and a bashful Shirley behind.

"Um… hi, Lulu," Shirley greeted shyly, not meeting Lelouch's eyes. Her fingers combed the locks of her orange hair agitatedly as she felt her trepidation growing.

"Hello, Shirley. How may I help you?" Lelouch asked. For some reason, he felt a surge of nervousness and anticipation as he pondered what would cause Shirley to behave like this.

"H-how's Nunna?" Shirley attempted to go for a brave smile, trying to make some small talk before popping the question.

"She's doing fine. Why?" Lelouch responded, his brows knitting themselves into a frown as he stared uncomprehendingly at Shirley.

"Oh – um, nothing..." The redhead's voice trailed away into nothingness. She looked down again. The two teenagers spent the next several seconds in uncomfortable silence. Kallen's recent words of advice recited themselves in her head. Shirley took a deep breath. It was now or never. She mustered whatever courage she had before blurting. "Say, Lulu… would you free this Friday evening?"

"This Friday? I might be. Why's that?" Lelouch pressed.

"W-well, I got a couple of concert tickets to the Seventh Britannian Symphony Orchestra," Shirley stammered as she showed Lelouch the two tickets in her hand. "My dad's job requires him to work from home, so sometimes he sends stuff like this to humour me. So I was wondering… whether you'd be interested to watch it. With me." Shirley blushed again and averted her eyes apprehensively, crossing her fingers behind her back.

"Ah," Lelouch said in understanding. Suddenly, Milly's previous actions made a lot of sense to him now. They wanted to leave both of them alone so that Shirley could ask him out. "She's definitely asking me out on a date, isn't she? Well… it must have required her to gather a lot of courage." His eyes were trained on the blushing schoolgirl in front of him, still not daring to meet Lelouch's gaze. "Sure, why not?"

"What?" Shirley asked Lelouch, her vivid green eyes wide in disbelief. "Sorry?"

"Sure," Lelouch repeated. "I don't see why not." He felt an immense amount of satisfaction expanding within him as Shirley slowly began to smile – the beautiful, radiant beam that she always had.

"Thank you so much, Lulu!" Shirley could barely believe her own ears and had to restrain herself from jumping forward to hug him gratefully. "I guess… I'll see you on Friday evening at six, then!" Shirley bolted from the room almost instantaneously and Lelouch blinked at the speed of her leaving the room. He allowed himself a small chuckle at Shirley's bashfulness as he sat down and reclined in his chair.

"This may foster a relationship between us, though," Lelouch thought to himself in the empty room. He wondered when would the others return, and estimated that it would be in a couple of minutes once they're done congratulating Shirley on her success. Lelouch shook his head. "But I may have to return to Britannia one day… what was I thinking, just accepting her date right off the bat? I already agreed to do so, though. I'll just go along with it for now."

Three days later, 5.57PM, NHK Hall, Shibuya, Tokyo Settlement

Lelouch stood outside of the concert hall, waiting for Shirley to arrive. He was clad in a dark tank top, a maroon leather jacket and dark blue jeans. Lelouch huffed and glanced around in irritation. However, he was not annoyed at Shirley – she could technically still make it on time but at Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald. Upon learning that Lelouch would be going out of Ashford, the Margrave nearly threw a fit. While Lelouch was dismissive of Jeremiah's concerns since hardly anyone in Area 11 knew of his true identity, the nobleman insisted that he accompanied him as his bodyguard. He had sighed loudly back then and allowed him to do so, and Jeremiah made arrangements with the concert organisers to allow him to enter.

Jeremiah had also assured him that he would be out of sight and not interfere, using the noble's own words, 'with Your Highness's date with his beloved girlfriend'. Lelouch had no idea whether Jeremiah was that obtuse or trying to poke fun at him, but nonetheless, it was starting to irritate the prince-in-hiding. He had debated using his royal authority demoting Jeremiah to a peasant if he did return to Britannia. A person who could not follow simple instructions such as 'stop calling her my girlfriend' does not deserve to be a soldier, let alone be a high-ranked noble like a Margrave. He had to admit though, that Jeremiah was doing a grudgingly good job of keeping himself unseen since Lelouch was actively looking out for him while waiting for Shirley to arrive. He could not help but wonder what she would be wearing and realized he had never seen her outside of her Ashford uniform, barring her swimsuit and the ridiculous bunny costume, of course.

As though thinking about Shirley caused her to show up, the redhead arrived at the front doors of the concert hall. She was wearing a yellow dress with white ends that fell past her knees and a white cardigan, complete with white heels. Her attire was modest, but yet there was something that made Lelouch's heart beat a little faster when he saw her.

"Hi, Lulu," Shirley smiled nervously at her crush, brushing a stray strand of hair behind her ear. She could feel Lelouch's eyes on her and she could felt like she was cloud nine right now. "Oh, to have successfully asked him out on a date!"

"Hello, Shirley," Lelouch glanced at his watch. "I was here since ten minutes ago. You're about three and a half seconds late."

"Oh." Shirley had no idea how to respond until a past memory of them going to the Victory Memorial Center came drifting into her mind. "A reversal of our usual roles," she remarked wryly.

"Admittedly, normally I'd be late for thirty minutes, but never mind," Lelouch grinned sheepishly as they started climbing the stairs to the front doors of the concert hall. Shirley giggled as Lelouch had to concede a point against her again. He cast a look around the crowd of concert-goers around him, but much to his frustration, he could not spot Jeremiah as before. "At least he's good at being an undercover bodyguard," Lelouch thought as they entered the concert hall and located their seats. "Good seats", Lelouch commented as he settled comfortably into his designated place. They weren't far from the stage but not too near either, and the seats were in the centre of the hall.

"Well, my father's always trying to pamper me," Shirley admitted. "I guess he tried to get the best seats available for us." She glanced at Lelouch, trying to measure his reaction.

"Really? You never struck me as an indulgent or sheltered individual to me," Lelouch raised his brows as his eyes gave Shirley a once-over again. She was relatively modest compared to most girls in Ashford.

"Probably because my mother's a little stricter than my dad. She doesn't let him spoil me," Shirley laughed as she recalled her childhood years ago in Pendragon, the capital of the Britannian Empire, fondly. "I still love them nonetheless."

"That's good," Lelouch said distractedly. At the mere mention of parents, he started to think of his own dilemma again. It has been a week since Jeremiah arrived at Ashford Academy and gave him the news of his mother's assassins being brought to justice. Both his childhood friend, Suzaku, and little sister, Nunnally, appear to be encouraging him to forgive his father, but he was still hesitant at the thought of returning to Britannia. It was not so easy for him to simply forgive and forget, after all.

"Lulu? What's on your mind?" Shirley asked concernedly, having noticed Lelouch's brooding. Her voice brought Lelouch out of his own musings and he started a little. He looked back into Shirley's peridot green eyes, which were filled with curiosity and anxiety.

"Uh, it's nothing… well…" Lelouch hesitated for a moment then decided to tweak his answer a little. An outsider to his familial affairs she might be, but she was a good friend whom he could confide in. "It's my father. He told me that he wants to see us again." Lelouch squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and he could hear Shirley gasp loudly.

"Your father wants to reunite with you two?" Shirley enquired, sitting up in her seat attentively. "That's a little surprising, but isn't that great? You guys can be a family again!"

"Yea, I guess you can say he wants to reunite with us," Lelouch admitted, tapping his fingers subconsciously on the armchairs. "It won't be the same as before though. To be completely honest… I'm not sure whether I should forgive him."

"Why is that?"

"He abandoned us. Wanting to get back together with us after all these years of hardship isn't a justifiable reason for me to pardon him."

"Lulu… I know this may sound trite, but he's your father. Nothing's going to change that," Shirley's countenance softened with sympathy as she placed one hand placidly on Lelouch's shoulder. Shirley groped around for the right words in her mind thoughtfully before saying, "I hope I don't sound condescending, but I think you should put the past behind you and let go. Only then you can look to the future and move on, right?"

"Putting the past behind so you can progress into the future, huh?" Lelouch paraphrased, tasting the words on his tongue and finding them to his liking. Privately, he agreed with Shirley's idea of forgetting the past to move on into the future. Men who only lived in the past had no place in the future. However, he still needed time to himself to think carefully. His decision would not only affect him but Nunnally as well. "Your advice was simple, Shirley, but it was most useful. Thank you," Lelouch thanked her, and Shirley could hear the sincerity in his words and facial expression.

"You're welcome," Shirley said softly. They spent the next few minutes in comfortable silence, and Lelouch spent most of it brooding on his problem again. As more of the concert attendees poured into the hall, filling up the empty seats, Shirley glanced at the digital clock fixed near the stage. "19:00" it read, and almost immediately, a man with short cropped brown hair and of an average build came walking on the stage, dressed immaculately in his formal wear.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the emcee announced in a booming voice, using the microphone positioned near his ear. "In a minute's time, the Seventh Britannian Symphony Orchestra will enter and the concert will commence. Please be advised to switch off your electronic devices or turn it to silent mode, and eating and drinking is strictly prohibited in this hall. There will be refreshments provided after the concert." The emcee waited patiently until a minute had passed before clearing his throat and resuming. "Ladies and gentlemen, the Seventh Britannian Symphony Orchestra will enter now. Sit back, relax and enjoy the show." The audience applauded loudly as the orchestra came onto the stage, bearing their musical instruments. A moment or two later, they began to play…

8.58PM , outside of NHK Hall, Shibuya, Tokyo Settlement

"All units, please be advised to hold your positions. The mission will commence in two minutes," a heavily accented voice announced over the communications system. A cluster of men in green military uniforms tensed visibly, clutching their weapons tightly - a collection of submachine guns and assault rifles. They were terrorists by definition, although they called themselves freedom fighters, battling to liberate Japan. They were the Japan Liberation Front, the largest anti-Britannian armed force in Area 11. In addition to the soldiers, they had three Knightmares with them, fourth generation Burai frames. Although they were out of date, they were still superior and much deadlier than the average infantry.

"Mission commencing in one minute. Check all your weapons and equipment," the voice called out again, and the group of men – perhaps two dozen, excluding the Knightmares and their pilots, obeyed unquestioningly as they waited. Many of them were staring at their watches as the seconds ticked by, although some were staring at their target – the NHK concert hall. A few of the men muttered under their breaths, expressing disgust that one of their iconic concert halls was now used to house a Britannian orchestra playing for Britannians.

"Mission commencing in five… four… three… two… one… zero. Long Live Japan!" The voice screamed out as the men charged in determination, closing in on the concert hall with their weapons in hand.

The concert's ending was met with thunderous applause, which Shirley joined in, clapping enthusiastically until her own palms felt sore. Lelouch sought to emulate her, albeit to a lesser degree, applauding politely. Shirley turned towards Lelouch and caught him smiling in the lazy, self-satisfied way that he always had. A jolt shot through her as Lelouch too, shifted in his seat to regard her, and their eyes met, amethyst orbs boring into vivid green ones.

At that moment, it felt that all the noise, the wild clapping and cheering, died out, leaving only two of them in the world. Lelouch watched as Shirley beamed at him, as a return to his own grin. Shirley leaned in towards Lelouch, and he could feel his heart rate accelerating. "What's going on?" Lelouch belatedly thought as he could literally hear his pulse pounding loudly, but decided to let it play out. A warm, slender hand clasped his own and he jerked slightly, and then relaxed.

"Lulu… I have something important to tell you," Shirley whispered softly, her other hand clinging onto Lelouch's arm gently. She could feel her anxiety rising, but she pushed it aside. This was her chance to tell Lelouch how she felt about him at last.

"What is it, Shirley?" Lelouch asked. Her hand felt so smooth and soft to his touch. He could feel himself anticipating Shirley's next words, which felt a little strange to him, but he disregarded it. "Is she going to do it…? Is she going to tell me that she likes me? I have no idea how to respond to her if she does…"

"Lulu… I…" Shirley began, tenderness in her voice as she felt heat creeping towards her cheeks, but she ignored it. Now was not the time to act like the shy schoolgirl in Ashford Academy. "Tonight is the night I will confess to Lelouch Lamperouge," she reminded herself.

Lelouch did not say anything in reply, but he tightened his grasp around Shirley's hand in response. It hurt a little, but the tense grip was strangely comforting to her. They did not break eye contact, and Shirley found himself leaning closer towards him. She could count the number of his eyelashes if she wished to do so. "Lulu… would you consider being my-?"

Shirley never managed to complete her sentence. The cheers and applauding reached a crescendo as the conductor of the orchestra bowed. It was so loud that it almost sounded like gunshots. It took the most of the audience some time to realize that there were indeed gunshots echoing through the concert hall. Screams sounded as the doors were kicked open and two dozen gunmen dressed in green military uniforms rushed in, firing their weapons into the air. Shirley's mouth was agape in shock as she watched the surreal situation unfolding in front of her. She had heard of terrorist attacks in Area 11, especially by the remains of the Japanese military forces, but never thought that she would be caught in one!

A hand grabbed Shirley's wrist and quickly tugged her down to the floor. She landed with a muffled thud on the carpeted floor of the concert hall and her initial thought was to scream as shrilly as possible. However, the person who pulled her to the ground was none other than Lelouch, who was kneeling behind his cushioned seat, his violet eyes scanning the armed men warily. "Get down," Lelouch hissed quietly, holding onto her wrist firmly. "They're from the Japan Liberation Front."

"Really?" Shirley tried to sit up from her prone position to get a look, but Lelouch didn't let her, ordering her to stay down as he tried to assimilate the situation. She could not help but feel touched at the show of concern. "What do they want?"

A booming, heavily accented voice answered her, as a well-built Japanese man stepped into view. He had medium length dark hair and a bristling moustache. "I am Lieutenant Colonel Josui Kusakabe of the Japan Liberation Front! We're taking this stand for the liberation of Japan. Stay down and keep quiet and you shall not be harmed!"

"The Japan Liberation Front demands the release of their incarcerated members from the Britannian Military. Lieutenant Colonel Kusakabe has promised us that the JLF will not engage in the wanton killing of the hostages. However, he has specified that for every half an hour, the JLF will kill a hostage if their demands remain unmet." A harried-looking reporter on a portal television screen said gravely.

"Damn it!" Suzaku swore loudly, slamming a gloved fist against the interior of his cockpit as further footage of the hostage incident was displayed. He was in his Knightmare, Lancelot, and his entire division was moving towards the NHK concert hall. Several minutes ago, he had received calls from none other than Milly and Rivalz, who told him that Lelouch and Shirley are currently attending a concert there and it was highly likely they were caught up in this incident. "Damn it, Kusakabe, doing things this way won't result in anything meaningful!" Suzaku snarled as he swerved his seventh generation Knightmare Frame along the road. They were deployed from the Viceroy Palace of Clovis la Britannia and would only arrive at the concert hall in thirty-five minutes. That means that a hostage will most definitely die.

Suzaku found himself praying that neither Lelouch nor Shirley would be the ones who would suffer the JLF's wrath, and then he berated himself for his callousness as that meant he would be wishing for someone to die in their stead. A life was a life. "Hang on, Lelouch, Shirley. We'll get there in time," Suzaku thought as he attempted to reassure himself.

Kusakabe glanced at his watch impatiently, his nostrils flaring with irritation as negotiations with the Britannians have gotten nowhere yet. The Britannians were quick to repeatedly ask him to 'come out to talk', but he recognized it was a delaying tactic and therefore he refused to do so. It has been thirty-two minutes since he had issued his ultimatum to them. He stood on the hall's stage as he switched his gaze over to the cowering Britannian civilians and grimaced in distaste. He did not like involving civilians into this as it smacked of dishonor, but he found that he could not feel sympathy towards them. After all, most of them were haughty and disdainful towards his people, the Elevens, who toiled under the Britannian's harsh rule.

A JLF solider marched towards him hastily as he sought to bring urgent news to his leader. The Lieutenant Colonel leaned towards his subordinate as he whispered frantically in his superior's ear. "It's the Britannians, sir. Our scouts have spotted a full squadron of Knightmare frames moving towards us, including a new model which looks like a prototype. It is estimated that they will reach in six minutes."

"That's too soon," Kusakabe scowled, annoyed at the Britannian's show of force. He should have expected such a reaction from them. He then looked around the vast concert hall, calculating the number of men he needed to remain here. "Send twelve men here to the front doors. We need as many troops as we can spare so we won't look like we'll be so intimidated easily. The situation's under control here anyway."

"Yes, sir," the JLF soldier saluted briefly and passed on the instructions to the others. In less than a minute, a full dozen of the JLF soldiers left the concert hall, bringing their assorted weapons with them. Kusakabe glanced at his watch again. Perhaps it is time to show the Britannians that he meant business. He did declare that one hostage will die for every thirty minutes their demands remained unmet after all.

"You," Kusakabe rasped, pointing a finger at a young woman with brown hair in the front rows, who recoiled in fright, clinging onto her friend, a blonde woman, tightly. "Get over here." The woman only whimpered and after a moment of stillness, she shook her head, cringing nervously as the Lieutenant Colonel glared at her, drawing his katana in the process. Kusakabe glowered at the subject of his ire and motioned towards his remaining subordinates, who seized the woman by her arms and forcefully dragged her towards him.

"No! No! Let me go!" the woman screamed as she thrashed wildly in the grip of the terrorists to no avail. Kusakabe sighed and his subordinates threw the woman bodily, who landed at Kusakabe's feet. Lelouch tensed visibly, unwilling to let such a vile act proceed before his very eyes. However, for all of his intelligence, he was both weaponless and outnumbered in a room without resources to fight back, so he could only grit his teeth and watch.

"I prefer not to do this, but I need to show your countrymen that I mean business," Kusakabe tightened his grip around his katana and raised it, which glinted wickedly in the dim concert hall. He was about to bring his sword down to impale the woman through her heart when a gunshot rang out among the audience. Instantly, Kusakabe opened his mouth to admonish the fool who discharged his weapon needlessly when a second gunshot was heard, the bullet hit him square between the eyes. The katana dropped from his suddenly nerveless fingers to the floor with a loud clang beside the shrieking civilian and Kusakabe slumped over, blood spilling from the hole in his head, quite dead.

Chaos ensued as the other JLF members yelled in shock at their sudden leader's death and sprang forward, their angry eyes roaming the crowd to locate his killer. They did not have to search for long, as a huge, dark green-haired man with nondescript clothes leapt from his hiding spot, a large caliber pistol clenched in his hand.

Lelouch and Shirley both sat up and watched in amazement as Jeremiah burst forth like one of the heroic knights of old. The Margrave fired his handgun twice more, each of the shots finding their targets. His aim was both accurate and deadly. One of the bullets ripped through a terrorist's chest, sending him sprawling to the floor while the other was a headshot. Shirley winced and fought the urge to vomit as the huge caliber bullet literally blew the terrorist's brains out, gray matter and gore splattering on the floor. Lelouch looked hardly better as bile rose in his throat as he examined the firefight brewing around them.

The JLF members were not idle, of course. They brought their automatic weapons to bear, firing with wild abandon at the lone Margrave, who leapt, twisted, ducked and rolled with astounding agility. Several of the bullets struck him, but were surprisingly deflected with pinging noises. "Thanks for the cybernetics, Camelot," Jeremiah smirked as he returned fire, his aim unerring and ruthless as more of the JLF members dropped lifelessly to the floor, their heads or torsos in bloody ruins as he mercilessly exterminated them with perfect aim and extreme prejudice. After all, his liege's life was in danger and it was his duty to protect him at all costs.

A stray bullet whizzed past Shirley's head by the barest of millimeters, sniping a bit of her bright orange hair off. She heard and felt the bullet whistling past her and she cried out in shock, causing Lelouch to envelop her in a tight embrace as they dropped prone to the floor again. "Shirley! Are you alright?" Lelouch asked anxiously as he frantically searched for any sign of injury.

"I'm fine," Shirley gulped as she once again found herself on top of Lelouch. "Oh, why on earth do I think of such things now?" she thought as she tried not to concentrate on Lelouch's arms wrapped around her tautly. The firefight continued to rage around them with the sound of gunfire growing deafening as she attempted her best to shut out the noise to the best of her ability.

Jeremiah ducked for cover as the remaining four terrorists continued to spray their submachine guns wildly, shooting the stuffing out of the cushioned seats. Just as he sought to reload his now empty pistol, he heard one of the JLF members call out, "Britannian! Come out of there with your hands in the air and walk towards us! Or we will execute the hostages like lambs to the slaughter!" Jeremiah grimaced. Damn terrorists never played fair. The nobleman peeked from the chair he was hiding behind and true enough, two of the JLF members were holding onto a hostage each, who shivered and squirmed in the terrorists' grip uncomfortably, the cool metal of their weapons pressed against their temples. The other two remaining so-called freedom fighters trained their weapons on Jeremiah's hiding spot.

Jeremiah fished in his pockets for his communicator and whispered into it, "Take care of the two with the hostages while I surrender, Villetta. I have a plan. Tell the Knightmare squadron outside to destroy the JLF forces outside." Villetta Nu, the head of the swimming club in Ashford, was also a secret service agent employed by Charles to help keep track on Lelouch shortly after Jeremiah located the prince. She agreed to accompany Jeremiah for the concert as part of her mission and when he expressively told her to remain hidden from the terrorists until he needed her help. "That move has certainly borne fruit, it seems," Jeremiah thought as he calmly rose to his feet, putting his hands in the air as he dropped the pistol to the ground and addressed the JLF members. "I hear you! I hereby unconditionally surrender. Please do not harm the hostages while I approach." Jeremiah then began his slow walk towards the terrorists, the beads of sweat on his face belying his calm composure.

"Get on your knees!" one of them barked, still pointing his weapon threateningly at Jeremiah's head. Jeremiah complied for a moment, bending his knees before he lunged forward, a sword unsheathing from a hidden wrist guard on his right hand. He slashed at his target's neck, cleanly decapitating him. The surprised look on the terrorist's face did not die as his head dropped to the ground, a fountain of red liquid shooting from the stump of his neck. At the same time, Villetta picked off the two terrorists holding onto the hostages in quick succession with her pistol, and they fell limply onto the carpeted floor with gore trickling from their heads. The last JLF member shrieked in a mix of outrage and shock before he attempted to gun down Jeremiah, the bullets of his assault rifle deflecting uselessly off Jeremiah's enhanced cyborg body. The Margrave closed the distance in a split-second, impaling the hapless terrorist through the stomach on his sword. The blade burst forth from the man's back, severing his spine.

Jeremiah viciously kicked the JLF member off his sword with his full cybernetic-enhanced strength, rupturing the organs of the dying man as he flew several feet before crumpling into a gory mess on the concert hall's floor. "Damn terrorists," Jeremiah spat with loathing, eyeing the corpses around him. The thunderous sound of explosions and gunfire was briefly heard from the outside of the hall before it died down suddenly, the massively numerically superior Britannian forces wiping out the JLF forces within a heartbeat without a single word of negotiation exchanged. They have received news from two secret intelligence agents that the threat in the concert hall has been neutralized, after all, and hence there was no need to broker with a toothless enemy.

Lelouch and Shirley, together with several civilians, slowly rose from the ground, as they observed the aftermath of the brief battle. All of the audience members were surprisingly yet thankfully only shaken but unharmed. Shirley breathed a sigh of relief, although she felt a pang of sadness when she witnessed the dead bodies. "Why did they have to do this in such a way?" Shirley murmured to herself. The doors were slammed opened again, causing most of the audience to look up in alarm, only to relax when they saw it was the Britannian military forces.

Leading the group of Britannian armed forces was Suzaku, urgency written all over his face as he anxiously searched the crowd. "Lelouch! Shirley!" Suzaku yelled loudly as he raced around the concert hall, trying to locate his friends.

"We're here, Suzaku. We're fine," Lelouch called out, waving his hand at the frantic Suzaku, whose face broke into a huge grin of relief as he ran towards them.

"Thank goodness you two are alright," Suzaku sighed, pulling them into a group hug. Both Shirley and Lelouch smiled despite their ordeal. "I got such a fright when Milly told me that you two were attending the concert when the terrorist incident occurred."

"You mean you wouldn't care if we weren't?" Lelouch chuckled as he allowed himself to relax a little after the terrorist attack was over. "I wonder what your superiors would say if they heard that."

"That's not what I meant. You're my best friend, Lelouch," Suzaku punched Lelouch on the shoulder, although he joined in the laughter. His good mood lasted two seconds as Suzaku noticed the dead terrorists scattered around the concert hall. "What happened here?" Suzaku asked, examining the wounds of the JLF members.

"Jeremiah saved us. He was quite… efficient," Lelouch replied, in an equally quiet voice.

"Your family friend is certainly interesting, Lulu," Shirley muttered as she glanced from the blood-soaked Margrave, who was cleaning the gore off his extendable wrist blade, to her crush, who now looked stricken. Lelouch shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another as the uneasy silence stretched on. Even Suzaku was staring at Lelouch, he knew Jeremiah's true role but he felt that it was Lelouch's right to reveal that to Shirley.

"He's my bodyguard," Lelouch decided to give a half-truth. "He has ties to the Britannian military, although he isn't a soldier anymore. My father decided to employ him to guard me after he expressed his desire to reconcile with me."

Shirley's brows furrowed in confusion as she continued to stare at Jeremiah, who noticed it and gave her a half-hearted wave. "Still, he looks quite extraordinary to me. The bullets were deflecting off him..."

"Shirley," Lelouch said softly. As much he hated to do so, it was necessary to keep her in the dark for now. "I'm sorry, but it's hard to explain. I promise I'll tell you everything when the time comes, alright?"

"Alright," Shirley hesitated for a moment before nodding. While Lelouch's reason was to not explain everything fully to her right now was unknown, she decided to trust him. Besides, pressuring him when he was reluctant to tell the truth might simply result in him being dishonest.

"Anyway, what was the important thing you were about to tell me before the terrorist attack?" Lelouch couldn't resist but probe, although he was fairly certain that it was a confession from her.

"Oh… um, Lulu… I…" Shirley blushed as she felt not only Lelouch's eyes on her but Suzaku's as well. She felt rather uncomfortable as they were within earshot of Suzaku, but according to Kallen, the whole student council knew that she liked Lelouch anyway. "I wanted to tell you…"

"Shirley. It can wait, right?"

"No, it can't," Shirley thought as she opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. After a period of strained quietness, she finally nodded. "It can wait," Shirley said simply, staring into Lelouch's amethyst eyes with her green ones. "I guess I'll see you at Ashford, Lulu." Lelouch smiled and squeezed Shirley's hand gratefully before she turned and shuffled her feet silently as she made her way out of the concert hall.

"Why didn't you let her confess?" Suzaku questioned Lelouch, who was staring after Shirley's disappearing figure. Like most of the student council, He could tell that Shirley has feelings for the raven-haired teenager. "Do you dislike her or something?"

Lelouch shook his head. "Perhaps it is for the best," Lelouch replied cryptically in a hushed voice before he turned to approach Jeremiah. He could scarcely believe that the Margrave was not entirely human, as shown by his near-superhuman performance. Perhaps he was fueled by sakuradite. His mind briefly shifted over to Shirley's disappointed expression before she left the concert hall, and he sighed.

It was a long day for him. It was an even longer day for Shirley.

Author's note: And with that, that's the first slice of action you're going to see in this fic. Hope it wasn't too lacklustre or a bit too much for a T-rated story. Do let me know what you guys think about this chapter, especially Shirley's advice and Jeremiah's asskicking.

Oh... and I just realised I screwed up the canon timeline pretty badly. The Lake Kawaguchi incident (Kusakabe's attack) should take place before the concert, and the school festival occurs some time after the concert in canon. Oh well. I kind of did want a bit of action in between the chapters, though. I never really thought of this event serving any extraordinary purpose other than to push Shirley's confession back a little, and maybe to build the relationship up a little.

Till next time, folks.