CHAPTER III

"Umm. . ." Lelouch mumbled as he woke up to the scent of a freshly baked pizza.

He pulled himself to a sitting position and saw a woman with long lime-green hair, eating pizza happily on the table. He couldn't help himself but grin to the thought that this woman was stabbed deeply in the chest yesterday.

". . ."this woman noticed him and did nothing but stare at him.

She came closer with a piece of pizza in her hand.

"Le . . . louch?"

Lelouch got shocked after hearing this woman say his name. He filled his head once again with thoughts that made him rather confused.

"Lelouch!"She said as she leaned closer to him that zapped him back to reality.

"W . . . What?"He stuttered.

"Why do you know my name?"He continued as he quickly fixed his expression.

This woman was silenced by that short phrase. Her face portrayed emotions filled with sadness and pain.

"Lelouch, Do you . . . know who I am?" She asked hopelessly.

"That's one of the things I want to ask you."He answered immediately after hearing her question.

She gripped her hands near her chest and lowered her head. After that, she went towards the table and continued eating.

"Hey, are you okay now? Was your wound okay?"

She answered him with silence and continued munching on a slice of pizza.

"Can I atleast know your name if you don't want me ask about your wound? You do know that you are a total stranger to me."He asked as he stepped out of the bed and started folding the sheets.

"You can call me . . . C.C." She said as she took a glimpse at the man near the bed.

After successfully fixing the bed, he went to the bathroom and washed his face.

"C. . . C. Where have I heard this name before?"He wondered.

He exited the bath with the word C.C. running in his head, trying hard to remember when he heard this name. Suddenly, C.C. asked him.

"You are Lelouch. . . right?"

"Yeah, Lelouch Lamperouge. . . "

He passed by her and grabbed his clothes, which caught the attention of the witch.

"Where are you going?"She asked out of curiosity.

"I am going to work"

"Can I –"

"NO!" He said while avoiding the truth to be exposed.

"Hmm. . ."She said as she pouted.

"Where are you going, anyway?"Lelouch asked

"I don't have a definite place to go"

"You're traveling?"

"No, I just don't have a place to go."She answered

"Stay here for now. Think of it as payment for saving me yesterday." He said as he walked towards the bathroom once more and entered.

After getting dressed, he went off. Leaving C.C. behind.

"Hime-sama. I would like to report what had happened during the first part of my mission"

"Umm. . . Andrew, it's way too early to wake me up."She mumbled as she sat up.

"I exposed the identity of Lelouch to three men who had a grudge against him for the loss of their sister. They were able to corner him but a man with blonde hair appeared that led to the failure of the first part of my mission"

"Well, Failure always comes before success so I won't blame you but you better make sure that you will be successful next time." She said as she stroked her long silky black hair.

"I understand, Hime-sama" He said as he bowed down before leaving the room.

"Things are getting quite more interesting "she said as she lay down on the bed once more.

She opened the TV again and started watching the hard working Lelouch.

"Hey, Lulu. A V.I.P. customer on table nine wants you to be her host for today. "

"Yes, manager" he said before walking towards table number nine.

After several hours of work, he went to talk to his manager. He wanted to tell him that he would quit the job to continue in his journey

"Sir, I would like to quit."

"Why? Is there a problem?"

"Actually, I am a traveler. I need to continue my search before my time runs out"

"Okay, I understand. Here's your salary."He said as he handed him a white envelope.

"Thank you so much."

He went off after receiving his pay. After he left, a group of people passed by the club. All of them were drunk from alcohol except for a lady with red hair.

"Hey, be ready to face hell tomorrow."She said as she took a glimpse on one of them.

"Hey, isn't this my buddy?" Tamaki said as he pointed his finger on a poster outside the window of the club.

Her eyes widened after seeing the late emperor of Brittania. She ran towards the building and entered it with the hope that this man was Lelouch.

"Is Lulu still here?"

"Sorry ma'am but Lulu already left and we are already closed"

"Damn!"She said in a loud tone.

Meanwhile, Lelouch was walking towards the hotel when he passed by a pizza hut store. He remembered the want to eat one of these before so he went inside and bought four boxes. He didn't know why he bought that many but his instincts told him that he should buy four boxes. He reached the room after walking for a few minutes.

"I'm home."

"Welcome back, Lelou-"She stopped after seeing the boxes held by Lelouch.

"Could that be pizza?"

"yeah"

She stared straight at the boxes and said

"No, I don't want some"

A giggle managed to escape from Lelouch's lips that made the green haired witch irritated.

"What wa-"

"Let's eat together, okay?" He said as he lightly patted her head.

She stared at him and asked herself

"Is this really Lelouch?"

"What are you staring at?"

"N . . . Nothing"

She sat on the chair by the table and happily opened a pizza box. They ate quietly while still thinking about the odd things that happened today. When suddenly, C.C. decided to break the silence.

"Why did you buy four pizza boxes?"

"I don't know either. I just thought that maybe you would like them cause you were eating some of these early this morning"

"Oh~"

After finishing the boxes of pizza, Lelouch stood up.

"You can use my bed, I'm gonna sleep in a futon."

"Mm. . . Thanks. . . "

He entered the bathroom after cleaning the table. and after he bathed, he prepared his futon.

"Good night" He said before closing the light.

Meanwhile, the red haired girl went directly to the empress of Britannia and reported what she saw.

"Nun . . . I mean your majesty. I want to inform you about what I had seen today."

"What is it, Kallen?"

"I saw a picture in a host club café here in Tokyo."

"And so?"

"Here it is your majesty." She said as she presented her a rolled poster.

Shock filled her face as she saw Lelouch. Her eyes got watery and her body trembled.

"Onii-sama. . . "

"Yes, your majesty. As soon as I saw this picture, I ran towards the building and looked for him but I was unable to find even a glimpse of him."

"Summon Zero." The empress said as she wiped the tears that fell from her purplish eyes.

After a few minutes, Zero came.

"What is it, your majesty?"

"I heard that someone who looks exactly like my brother is now roaming around the city. I want you to find him and bring him back here so that we can confirm his true identity."

"As you wish, your majesty" He said as he tried his best to hide the shock he had from deep within.

And from the Brittanian palace, a cold wind traveled to the room where Lelouch and c.c. are staying at. Making the young lad shiver.

"Hrrrr."

"What's the matter Lelouch?"

"No, Nothing." He said before closing his eyes and slowly falling asleep.

After three months, the girl in his dreams finally appeared. This time, he saw this girl while she was strolling around the green house. It had a fountain in the middle of it and a table beside it. It was a perfect place to relax at noon time. The girl suddenly stopped and looked at him. A brilliant smile spread on her lips as she moved closer to him. She gave him a hug. The shocked Lelouch then opened his eyes and found C.C. beside him, hugging him tightly.

"What . . . is she doing here?"

"Hmm . . . . " She mumbled.

He carried her to the bed and poked her lightly on the forehead

"So careless."

He then went back to sleep. When morning came, Lelouch started packing his things.

"Where are you going?"

"I am traveling so I need to move on."

"Oh, "She said as she pouted.

"Do you want to come?"

"Can I?"

"Well, carrying another luggage is not that painful so . . . Let's go."

"Pack your things and we will be moving on" He continued.

They moved on and continued his search. While they were on the way to Chiba Yokohama, C.C. couldn't help but ask.

"Why are you travelling?"

"That is because I have to look for someone "

"Do you know where that person is?"

"No?"

"Then how will you be able to find that person."

"The only thing I know about her is that she lives in a mansion where a green house is located. There is a fountain inside that green house, and it is the best place to relax."

C.C. stopped for a moment and recalled some things that happened in the past.

"My lady, here's you tea and pastries." A young girl with lime-green hair said.

"Now, now. You know that I don't like waiting" A lady said.

"I am really sorry" the young girl said as she stood by a fountain in the middle of the green house

"Sorry is not enough. You know, I, Raven Stoneheart von Farleigh Hungford, Doesn't accept such mistakes. Now go sit beside that tree and reflect on your actions. You are not allowed to leave that place unless I say so." the lady said before leaving.

This girl stayed there for three days, still reflecting on what she had done without food or water.

"Hey!"Lelouch said as he held her by the arm and shook her lightly.

"What?"

"You have been spacing out for a period of time now."

"I just remembered something."

"Oh, geez. Come here."He said as he pulled her into his embrace.

"The only thing you need to do when you remember things like that is to place your attention on others."

She hugged him back.

"I guess you're right, Lelouch."