A/N: First and foremost, I own no part of Code Geass. Although I'm considering Reisdorph XD. I only recently checked my email and I had over 100 messages on this story alone O.O for only a few days I was completely surprised and incredibly pleased. Although the majority didn't review, I'd like to thank all of you just the same, for your time and interest. I truly appreciate it : )

Worst Day Ever

Lelouch looked up at the sun peering out over the massive Ashford Academy. It was nearly time for school to begin, and he could already feel the heat of the sun on his face. He lowered his head, hands in his pockets and continued to the doorway along with the rest of the students who frequented the courtyard before the beginning of school. It was always worth lingering for just a moment, whether to take in the architecture of the academy or to simply hear the latest gossip traversing the school. Unfortunately, being as painfully popular as he was, Lelouch often found the rumors involving him.

"Did you hear about Lelouch and the sick girl?" A girl squeed, flipping her golden hair to one side while clenching her hands to her chest.

"No! You have to tell me everything!" Her friend responded with baited breath.

Lelouch sighed as he continued by, *I've always known the price of popularity, but I have yet to see the value in it.*

"Did you hear about Prince Clovis?" A male student asked in a rather loud tone, as if he were the first on the scene.

"Of course we have, who hasn't? It was all of the news like crazy last night." A girl responded in a condescending tone and a disgusted face, before she left the circle, no longer interested in such a bore.

*At least there's some good news...* Lelouch smirked to himself.

"Lulu! Wait up!" Shirley shouted from behind, jogging up to meet him.

Lelouch continued to walk, still trying to get out of earshot of the gossip yard. "Oh hey Shirley, what's up?" Lelouch smiled in his casual manner. He opened the door and allowed Shirley to enter first.

"Nothing exciting, the Prez just asked me to tell you not to be late to Student Council today. I guess she has some big event planned." Shirley shrugged.

*That's all I need right now...* Lelouch thought to himself, his emotions behind his mask as usual.

"Sounds great." Lelouch smiled as he made his way down the lengthy hall to his locker.

"What class do you have right now?" Shirley asked, her eyes lowering to her foot as she twisted it back and forth on the granite floor of the academy lobby.

Lelouch had to think for a moment, *what is today? Wednesday? Oh god, no...* Lelouch lowered his head quickly, lightly hitting against his locker door. "Gym." He moaned. He was a top notch student, which was why he had so few classes per day. And yet, that single word that carried the weight of a freight train. To say that he wasn't skilled in physical sports was a severe understatement. Yet he couldn't drop out, his pride wouldn't allow him to be held back a year for lack of physical education credits.

*Dang it, that's on the other end of the school. There's no way I could get him to walk me to class now...* Shirley sighed. "Oh. Well you should probably get going then. We don't have a lot of time before the bell." Feeling defeated, she pulled out her phone for the time. She wasn't kidding; they only had a few minutes before the bell rung. "Well I guess I'll see you later Lulu." Shirley said with a sincere smile before rushing quickly to her class.

Lelouch pulled out his gym bag from his locker and drug it towards the gym. Nearly half way there the bell rang, forcing him to pick up his pace slightly. Upon his arrival he went down the west set of stairs, descending into the men's locker room. Lelouch looked around at the display of testosterone, as the guys with chiseled abs and biceps bigger than his thighs took their time getting dressed. They always seemed to. It was like an alpha male display, while students like Lelouch just rushed through the process of changing.

Lelouch climbed back up the stairs leading back onto the gym floor where the large number of students began to gather in a circle in the middle of the room for attendance.

"Hey buddy!" Rivalz exclaimed as he strolled over to Lelouch. "Another fun filled day eh?" Rivalz chuckled out loud.

"You know it." Lelouch tried his best to show an ounce of enthusiasm.

"Have you seen coach Moore? I thought she'd have been here by now." Rivalz asked, looking around.

Lelouch looked around as well, but couldn't see the usual coach either. Come to think of it, he didn't see any faculty member at all. *Could this be a stroke of luck? Perhaps class will be cancelled.* Lelouch hoped to himself. A hope that was quickly shattered, as the heavy gym door swung open to reveal a short and rather plump man. He leaned over for a moment, struggling to catch his breath.

"Professor Reisdorph?" Rivalz asked in a mix of shock and horror. Surely he couldn't lead the class; he was in worse physical condition than Kallen pretended to be.

"That's... Right.." The professor said, still fighting to regain his breath. He shuffled to the front of the class, his shoes squeaking across the hardwood gym floor, clipboard in hand as usual.

"What happened to coach Moore?" Rivalz asked, trying not to show his distaste for the current situation.

"Coach Moore hasn't made contact with the academy since she won the lottery, two days ago. Until an acceptable replacement has been found, I will be assuming control of this class." The Professor stated casually as he went over the names on his clipboard. "Well it seems almost everyone is here except.. Kallen Stadtfeld?" The Professor asked, pretending to be shocked as he looked around the group of students standing in front of him.

"I'm here." Kallen said raising her hand, still sitting against the back wall.

"Miss Stadtfeld, is there any particular reason you are not standing in front of me?" Reisdorph said, arching his brow. His temper was quickly shortening.

Kallen blinked a few times, slightly befuddled. "I have a medical note, excusing me from physical activities."

"I see, are you unable to stand as well? I could arrange for wheel chair if necessary." Reisdorph retorted sarcastically, a smirk beginning to creep across his round face.

Kallen nearly erupted, *just who the hell do you think you are?* Luckily she was able to find her control and stood slowly. With a spiteful look she walked to join the rest of the group.

The man welcomed her with the largest toothy smile, it was rather creepy. "Lovely, now then let's look at the lesson plan." Reisdorph looked down at his clipboard. "Badminton? How are you supposed to prepare for the cold cruel world with Badminton? Change of plan class, today we will be doing a mile run." The professor said as he ran a thick line through the remainder of the lesson plan.

"Mile run?" Lelouchs' heart sank in his chest as the rest of the students groaned as well.

"I said, MOVE IT!" Reisdorph shouted, a vein bulging from his forehead.

The class drooped their heads in defeat as they made their way out to the track. It was hot out now as the sun rose in the sky, beaming down on all of them. *Amazing how quickly it warms up in the morning…* Lelouch looked at the track; it seemed to stretch forever before circling around to the beginning.

"Alright everyone, take your places." The professor wheezed, rushing the students to line up.

"Excuse me, Instructor Reisdorph?" Kallen quietly asked out, playing to the full effect of her sickness.

"Ms. Stadtfeld, is there something wrong?" Reisdorph asked, almost pretending to care.

"I can't run." Kallen stated plainly.

The professor was trying to stand tall, coming up to her eye level. "But you can walk." He responded, bringing his attention back to the class. "Now run! Make Britannia proud!" The little man cheered, his fists raised high in the air.

Lelouch began to jog as the rest of the class passed him quickly, *you've got to be kidding me? What else do you people do with your lives?*

He was able to make it more than a quarter around the track, before he felt the aching pain in his sides. Lelouch was determined however, he gritted his teeth and continued to the half way mark before his legs began to ache as well.

His breaths felt sharp as he gasped for air, he was nearing the three quarter mark. His legs began to wobble, turning to jelly beneath him, *no come on you can do this!* Lelouch commanded himself. His face was flushed red, and his vision started to blur as he saw the end of the track. Slowing to a crawl now, he held his breath and gave it everything he had. He returned full circle and passed the finish line. He felt that he was going to pass out if he didn't rest.

"Pick up the pace Lelouch, you still have three laps to go!" Reisdorph screamed from the side of the track, nearly throwing his clipboard at him.

*What? Three more laps? Impossible...* Lelouch looked back for a moment as the rest of the students ran past him and Kallen was nearing the three quarter marker. "This is the worst day of my life.." Lelouch pouted as he started walking, Reisdorph still screaming behind him.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lloyd strode down the halls of the ICU, it was uncanny how the man could walk with springs in his shoes even in a place like this.

"Lloyd what are we doing here?" Cecile asked quietly, feeling uncomfortable about her surroundings.

"I'm searching for a pilot of course, this is a military hospital after all." Lloyd responded peeking in on the rooms he passed.

"But we've already screened thousands of soldiers to pilot the Lancelot." Cecile said trying to keep pace with him.

"Please don't remind me. All that paperwork, it was nearly unbearable. I'd rather share my schematics with Rakshata again, before going through that again." Lloyd raised a hand to his head, just speaking her name made his skull throb. That beautiful thief, of course he had no romantic interest in the woman. He didn't have a single romantic fiber in his being, but he did have to admire her for her tenacity. Lloyd stopped half stride nearly passing an open door. Inside was a man laying in the bed with gauze bandages on most of his face, the nurse was tending to his dressings. Lloyd looked up at the monitor. His heartbeat was steady and strong, his vitals were fantastic given the state he was in.

"Excuse me. Might I have a moment of your time?" Lloyd asked the nurse in his usual inquisitive tone, while adjusting his large glasses.

His voice startled her. "Who are you? What are you doing here? You know this area is off limits to non staff members." The nurse said looking up at him with a glare.

"Yes of course, I'm with the special forces division. This is my assistant Cecile." Lloyd continued to smile as he moved Cecile in front of him, as if to shield him from the nurse's wrath. "I just had a few questions about this young man."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lelouch leaned against the wall as he dragged himself down the hallway, the rest of the students breezing right past him. Rivalz raced past him still full of energy somehow, perhaps he was just running to get away from Reisdorph.

"Don't forget Lelouch, student council starts soon." Rivalz chuckled, looking back for a moment to wave to his friend before continuing down the hall. His infectious smile plastered on his face.

Kallen walked up behind him and lightly put a hand on his shoulder, "hey I didn't know you were on the Student Council."

"Yeah, I'm the vice president. I'm not even sure how I got the title. It's not like we voted or anything." Lelouch said as he arrived at his locker. "Part of me thinks it's just Milly's way to keep me under her thumb." He lazily swung the door open, before heaving his gym bag inside. It felt like he was carrying around a cinderblock, his muscles ached and begged for rest.

"Interesting, I was told to go to the Student Council room as well today. It seems I'm being inducted into the club today, better than any other club I suppose." Kallen shrugged.

*What's going on here, what does Milly hope to achieve with this?.. She couldn't possibly think that.. Nunnally.. She told Milly about Kallen..* Lelouch thought with a twinge of anger, not towards his sister but the situation in general. He wanted to smash his fist into his locker but his limbs wouldn't respond. He could only lean his head into it angrily, a far less effective method to convey anger.

"Come on lets go, it'll be fun." Kallen said, lightly tugging on Lelouch's limp arm.

When they arrived, the rest of the council was already there, along with a rather extravagant buffet of finger foods. Shirley was sitting with her elbows on the table, staring with frustration into her phone. Rivalz was digging into all the food with his hands, his stomach needing replenishment after the mile run. Lelouch on the other hand felt nauseated by the thought of food. Nina was sitting off to the side, minding her own business as she always did, silent as ever. And then, there was Milly, standing at the head of the table, flashing Lelouch an over exaggerated wink. From behind her back she pulled out a camera and snapped a quick photo of Lelouch and Kallen.

*This is the first time that I've ever been prompted to hit a woman.* Lelouch thought to himself, clenching every part of his body that would respond. From a bystander's point of view, it looked rather amusing.

"Welcome Kallen!" Milly shouted as she drew her hand over the food. "Please feel free to anything; it's your welcoming party after all!"

Kallen looked around. Suddenly she felt overwhelmed, being the center focus of the room. "All of this is for me?" She asked sheepishly.

"Of course! A new member is a perfect reason to celebrate, don't you think so Lulu?" Milly asked, a sly smile rising on her lips.

"It seems that everything is cause for celebration these days, no wonder our budget is in the red." Lelouch responded, pulling his mask of indifference back over his face.

"You know you've got a point Lulu. Nina, be a dear, make yourself useful and fix the budget." Milly said losing her usual cheer, refusing to break her gaze. Her soft blue eyes had a way of conveying more power than most. Like they were steel one moment, then shapeless puddy the next. Lelouch had no trouble returning her stare. Most would cave under her but not Lelouch, not after the day he'd been through. He eagerly accepted the stubborn duel.

Nina did as she was told and began work on the budget, typing away on the computer in front of her. Kallen was surprised at the tone in Milly's voice, and appalled at how Nina just sat there and took it. *My god, could you be a weaker woman? You're just like my mother...* Kallen thought in disgust. She made a vow long ago to never turn out like her mother.

"Well you know what every celebration needs right?" Rivalz exclaimed, in an attempt to break the rising tension. He raised the bottle he'd kept hidden till now directly into Milly's face. It was a cheap brand of Champagne.

"Alcohol?" Milly interjected, no longer locked with Lelouch's eyes.

"You can't be serious Rivalz! We could all get in huge trouble here!" Shirley fumed as she lunged from her seat to take the bottle from his grasp.

"Aw come on you gotta loosen up every once in a while." Rivalz laughed, wrestling Shirley off with a fair amount of ease. "Hey Lelouch! Catch." There was no pause between his words and his actions. He threw the bottle in Lelouch's direction, just before Shirley was able to get a hand on it.

Milly laughed, this was the kind of excitement she had been hoping for. She pulled her camera back up to her face. *These would look great in an album* she thought to herself.

Lelouch was stunned for a moment by the flash of Milly's camera as the bottle soared through the air towards him. It was actually a very good throw, everything considered. The bottle landed neatly in his outstretched hand. He could feel the tension building inside the bottle. Clearly this wasn't the advised way to serve the beverage.

Shirley shoved Rivalz to the ground and turned her rage on Lelouch. It was a side of her he had never seen before, but he didn't have time to take it in as she was upon him in moments. "You're not going to get away with this either Lulu!" Shirley shrieked, clawing at the bottle.

Lelouch tried to keep it out of reach, just to calm her down for a moment. It wasn't like he was going to drink any. His limbs still weak, he was unable to throw the bottle back to Rivalz who was waving his arms in the air. The constant struggle for the carbonated beverage proved more than the cork could handle.

Lelouch felt the bottle tense in his hand and looked down just in time for the cork to explode off the bottle head. With a heavy thud it struck him in the forehead and knocked him clean off his feet. He was airborne for a good second or two, before hitting the ground hard. He was then instantly welcomed by a spouting wave of champagne.

The rest of the student council could only contain their laughs for moments as the bottle emptied itself completely on Lelouch's chest and face. Even Kallen couldn't stop herself from giggling, although she did feel bad for him. After all, that had to hurt his already sore muscles quite a bit.

"Ouch..." Lelouch said staring at the ceiling, another flash from Milly's camera.

*It's just one of those days...*

"Maybe you should take a shower Lulu. You don't want to stink like alcohol on campus." Shirley said, containing her laughter, if only for a moment.

"Yeah, a shower sounds great right about now." Lelouch stood up slowly, dizzied by the impact. He wondered off, liquid dripping from his normally pristine clothes, his friends still unable to stop laughing. Once out in the hallway, he headed down to the individual showers. He wanted to be alone at the moment.

Kallen followed him out the door unnoticed. Only a few people were in the hallway at the moment. She'd only intended to make sure he was alright. She rounded the corner to see him entering the room that contained one of the private showers.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Cornelia was tapping her fingers madly on her throne inside the armored transport. *I don't know who you are.. But I swear, I will avenge the death of my brother.* she vowed to herself. Her soldiers working busily around her like ants, laboring for their queen. Euphemia was near the window of the vessel, staring out over the land. Her face was soft, yet incredibly determined.

"Who is acting in command of area 11 at the moment?" Cornelia demanded, clenching her gloved fist.

"It sounds like Lord Jeremiah was the commander, but we have yet to hear from him since he fled the scene of Clovis' death." A man to her right reported, reading the news flashing across the screen before him.

"I didn't ask for a story, or an excuse. I asked for a name." Cornelia said. Her calm demeanor betrayed the feelings welling within her.

"Lady Villetta is assuming control until we arrive, Malady." The same soldier responded, this time in a more respectful and cautious tone.

"Contact her immediately. I want to discuss something with her." Cornelia calmed. She gathered her thoughts and unclenched her fist to gaze at her gloved palm. *How someone could simply kill Clovis in cold blood is beyond me. What grave mistake was made here?*

"This is Villetta." Her image shown on the large screen before Cornelia.

"Do you have any information regarding the terrorist faction responsible for the Viceroy's assassination?" Cornelia asked, skipping the pleasantries.

"We were able to intercept a majority of their communications during the battle. Most of them were referred to as letters and numbers, it sounded like the leader was a young adult male. And the name Kallen came up a few times." Villetta reported.

"Context?" Cornelia asked, not caring to mince words.

"Orders, but without a last name-" Villetta began.

"Don't be a fool. Search the local data for the name Kallen, in a radius 50 kilometers from the attack point. Also, search flight purchases within the past two days." Cornelia interrupted, once again resuming her cold tone. Her dull violet eyes also reflected that same emotion. They weren't dull for lack of depth, but more for the wall she placed around her. She played her cards very close to her chest.

"But Princess Cornelia that would mean that-" Villetta started to sound worried.

Cornelia tilted her head back, elongating her chin, as if to demonstrate her superiority. "That civilians will be involved as well? This is true. However, one of those we collect will belong to this terrorist group. Capture everyone by that name within the next 4 hours. Tonight we will announce that there will be a series of executions, make sure their faces can be seen on television. The person responsible will come, I promise you." Cornelia continued.

"Understood, Princess Cornelia." Villetta saluted as the connection blinked out.

*Is she seriously thinking about killing all those people?* Villetta thought, *whatever she's got planed it's clear she's serious about it...*

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Lelouch had been in the shower for nearly ten minutes, when he heard a knock at the door. "Hello? Lelouch? It's Kallen." She called from the other side of the door. "May I come in?"

Lelouch was fairly surprised, *Kallen? What could she want?* "Yes, you may come in." Lelouch replied, running his fingers through his hair and massaging his scalp.

"I-I um, I brought you a change of clothes." Kallen stated as she stared at the curtain, his figure was fairly visible with the backlight shining through the curtain. It was distracting to say the least.

"Hm? I hadn't thought about that, I appreciate the thought. I just came in here to be alone. It's been a long day." Lelouch rubbed his shoulders and thighs under the hot water, trying to relieve the tension.

"Oh," Kallen suddenly felt like an intruder. "Well I'll leave you alone then, I'm sorry to have bothered you." She rested the clothes on the counter and turned towards the door.

"No, it's fine. I can be alone with you here. Actually I'm glad you came, I wanted to talk with you about something." Lelouch turned the handle on the shower head, focusing it to a stronger spray as it hit him in the back. He turned up the heat even more, causing the mirror to begin to steam over.

Kallen felt slight butterflies dancing in her stomach, *he wanted to be away from everyone else but me?*

"I wanted to tell you that I've created an outfit and a persona for myself. I'm calling it Zero." Lelouch said holding his bruised forehead directly under the stream.

Kallen's stomach calmed, seeing that this was a business talk, although for some reason she felt the slightest hint of disappointment. "Zero? Why'd you decide on that?"

"Because although it is empty, it also contains limitless possibilities. It seemed to sum up my life to this point." Lelouch said honestly.

"That's rather depressing," Kallen said raising a brow.

"As the truth most often is. It's unfortunate, that in this life I wasn't dealt a comedy, but a tragedy. Yet, the show must go on." Lelouch's fingers poked outside of the curtain and drew it back slightly, enough for him to peek his head out. "Kallen my phone is in the pocket of my uniform. Could you grab it for me?" When he pointed it forced the curtain open slightly more, exposing his shoulders and chest. Water slipped down his pale skin and Kallen could feel her cheeks reddening at the thought of him. She did her best not to look directly at him, but he was still in the corner of her eye as she looked at the scattered uniform on the floor, including his boxers.

She tried to be delicate, sifting through his liquor stained clothes. "I found it," She picked his phone from the pocket, averting her gaze as she held it towards him, not wanting him to see the redness in her face. Luckily the steam was building, making it difficult to see very far without focusing.

Lelouch shook his head and waved his hand. "Not for me, I want you to put down a number where I can reach your partners should I need to organize anything. After all if we are to work together, I need to be able to contact everyone. Just put the name in as team, so I know where to find it." Lelouch pulled his hand back and ducked his head back in before quickly popping back out again. "Oh, and put your number in there as well, in case I need to contact you for any reason."

Kallen couldn't help but wonder at what he meant by that last comment. *Why do all of his words have to be so damned convoluted? It's like he enjoys toying with me..* She sighed as she punched in Ohgi's number; it was by far the best way to contact the group as a whole. If the rest of the group wasn't with him, he could easily spread the word to them. When it came time for her to enter her number she realized he didn't tell her what to put her number in under, Kallen? Q-1? *No, Q-1 might be suspicious if his phone is ever found or stolen.*

Lelouch turned off the shower and reached out for the towel he left on the seat of the toilet, exposing him down to the waistline. Kallen's eyes went wide as she turned her head away. *How can he be so comfortable with all of this?* She thought, waiting for him to walk out, the towel now wrapped around his waist.

"That felt great." Lelouch stretched his arms out. His hair formed together like hundreds of sharp claws, sending beads of water crashing to the floor. Drops ran down his angular jaw line meeting at his chin. His eyes shimmered in the dim light, showing a hint of vulnerability, or perhaps it was just a mirage in the steam. His skin was slick and smooth, his muscles were rather small, but they gave his body a certain shape that was charming. The overall effect forced Kallen's heart to skip a beat and her breaths became heavy, or had they been due to the steam and she only just noticed?

Suddenly it felt very hot in the room and her uniform seemed a bit too snug around the neck. "Well there you go." Kallen said, placing his phone on the counter. She had to leave immediately. She made a bee-line for the door and exited the room.

Lelouch saw her starting to leave and went to follow her, he got to the door and opened it. "Kallen what's the rush? Did I do something wr-" Lelouch bit his tongue seeing nearly a dozen people in the hallway, himself still in his towel. Both him and Kallen turned a bright red as he quickly retreated and slammed the door shut. Even through the door he could hear the roar in the hallway. *Shit...* Lelouch cursed.

Kallen could no longer take the embarrassment, she hid her face as best as she could and made her way to the school exit. In a school like the Ashford Academy this was going to be a juicy bit for everyone to pounce on. She was going to be the talk of the school, and not in a way she cared to be.

Once free of the school she quickly made her way home, she just wanted to sit in her room and cry. God did she want to just cry, but she couldn't let anyone see it. She had to keep herself guarded at all times, very few were privileged to see the real her.

She turned the knob on the front door of her house and it opened rather easily. The lights were all off; this was strange, especially since her real mother was always out and about doing chores. Kallen's heart began to pick up pace. She reached out to turn on the living room light but something grabbed her wrist, hard. She tried to swing at the shadow, but she was quickly slammed against the wall with her hand raised high behind her back, threatening to dislocate her shoulder. All she could do was try to scream but another hand quickly covered her mouth.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

*Officially the worst day of my life...* Lelouch thought walking into the living room.

"Lelouch have you heard the news?" Nunnally exclaimed as her brother entered the room she was waiting in.

"Does it have anything to do with me?" Lelouch grumbled.

"No, they said on the news that they caught one of the members involved in the Viceroy's death."

A/N: This is the last chapter that will be rated T. From this point on it will be M, as the next chapter is quite traumatic.

As always I would treasure a review, but I appreciate your time none the less.