Yet We Will Have Cloven, Chapter Two
"Welcome home, Lelouch. Who's your friend?"
Lelouch stopped and stared. It was the girl, the one from the capsule, the one he'd seen with blood pooled around her head in Shinjuku. He gaped openly as Kallen responded warily. "Who is she, Lelouch?"
As Lelouch tried to formulate a response, Nunnally interjected. "Ah, hello Kallen. This is C.C. She's a friends of by brother's." Nunnally placed a finger thoughtfully against her temple and tilted her head cutely. "Is she your girlfriend, onii-sama?"
"NO!" Lelouch said without thinking, glancing first at the girl - C.C. - then back at Kallen's frowning face. "She's not-"
"We have made a promise for the future," C.C. commented, continuing to fold her origami crane.
"Ah!" Exclaimed Kallen.
"Really, like," Nunnally paused. "Marriage, onii-sama?" She sounded worried.
Lelouch gestured in a wildly negative way at Kallen. "No, absolutely not, she's just joking Nunnally! It's just a joke!" His head was spinning. He had to escape this situation.
"I hate comments like that," C.C. intoned. Kallen fumed and took Lelouch by the arm.
"Lelouch, what's going on here?"
"Oh my," Nunnally said, her origami forgotten.
Lelouch saw the situation spiralling out of his control. He spotted C.C.'s teacup, pulled away from Kallen, and hurled it to the ground.
Everyone stopped at the noise, although C.C.'s expression remained unchanged. "C.C., look what you've done! You're soaking wet!"
Kallen watched unbelieving as Lelouch's voice became all concern. "Nunnally, we'll be right back. Stay with Kallen for a moment, all right?" He took C.C. and proceeded to haul her out the door, sending a harried and apologetic glance at Kallen as he left.
"Kallen, is everything all right with onii-sama?"
Kallen resisted the urge to pull out her own hair, or run down the hall after them. Instead she gritted her teeth and replied in the most pleasant tone she could muster, "I think he's just a little tired, Nunnally."
"Who are you?" Lelouch asked as he fairly tossed the green-haired girl into his room.
"I'm C.C.," she commented, utterly unconcerned. "Are you enjoying the power I gave to you?"
He stepped back for a moment, reflecting. "So it was you. I thought so. How did you survive?"
"I wonder," she asked absently, falling over into his bed. "At any rate, I'm tired."
Lelouch was incredulous. "You can't stay here! Half the military is looking for you!"
"It's a lot less than half. I'll be fine here. Besides..." She turned to regard him seriously. "We have a contract. I'm not leaving you until you fulfill your end of it."
"What?" He asked hotly. "You can't just stay here!" Ignoring him, she began to disrobe. "C.C.! Stop that immediately!"
"Lelouch!" He heard Kallen's panicked voice as the door slid open. "I heard you yelling and-" She stopped and her eyes went wide as they took in C.C. tossing her clothes aside and getting into bed.
"Ah, you. You may as well leave; I'm going to bed." C.C. turned to the side and snuggled under Lelouch's blankets.
"Wha! What do you mean?" Kallen tried and failed to keep her tone under control. "Why are you in Lelouch's bed? Who are you anyway?" She pointed furiously.
An idly waving hand was her only reply. Kallen took a step forward angrily.
Lelouch meanwhile was feeling a serious cloud of exhaustion replace the panic he had felt a moment before. He tried to come up with a plausible explanation, a clever ply, an easy way out. Should I use geass on Kallen? He wondered. But for what? They were almost equally in the dark here, and he didn't even know what the hell he wanted her to do anyway.
He ground the heel of his hand against his eyes in frustration. "Stop!"
Kallen stopped, and turned to him, shocked out of her anger by his exclamation.
"Just stop, both of you." He sighed tiredly. "Kallen, that's what was in the capsule at Shinjuku." He heard her gasp aloud. "I don't know what they wanted with her, but she's under my protection for now. I make a promise." He schooled his expression to conceal the half-truth, hoping Kallen would buy it.
Kallen looked from Lelouch to C.C., who was looking over at them in annoyance. "Are you satisfied, girl? Now I want to go to sleep. And you," she glared at Lelouch, "boys sleep on the floor."
Lelouch resisted the urge to fall to his knees in frustration. Kallen blinked, and then stared, and then simply shook her head. "I'm leaving, Lelouch."
"Wait, Kallen!" He moved at the irritation in her voice. He did not need her to be angry with him. "Please, don't take anything weird away from this."
She quirked an eyebrow and gestured to the girl in Lelouch's bed. "Weird?" She sounded tired. "I don't even know anymore. Just walk me home."
Lelouch sighed in relief. "Thank you, Kallen." He turned a furious gaze - one wholly wasted - on C.C. "I'll be back."
"Have fun," she said, he voice muffled by the pillow. My pillow! He thought.
He and Kallen made their way silently back down the hall to Nunnally. Kallen had thoughtfully cleared the cup away, and Sayoko was already cleaning the floor. She stood at his arrival. "Master Lelouch, good evening. And good evening to you as well, Ms. Stadtfed." She smiled kindly.
Kallen was uncertain how to respond, so she bowed awkwardly. Sayoko evinced a little confusion at her gesture, resolving to worry about it later.
"Good evening, Sayoko," Lelouch said. Kallen turned in amazement. He had addressed her in Japanese! Lelouch smiled at her expression.
"Onii-sama, did C.C. leave?" Nunnally inquired hesitatingly.
"Yes, she did. I'm about to walk Kallen home, all right? I'll see you when I come back, I promise."
They said their goodbyes and Kallen allowed herself to be escorted down the street. "You really love your sister, don't you?" She focused her expression on the ground.
"I do," he said. "She's the most important thing to me in the world." Feeling his tiredness once again, Lelouch forgot himself. "I imagine that your brother was very important to you." She said nothing, and he began to panic. "I'm sorry Kallen, I shouldn't have-"
"You're very strange, Lelouch Lamperouge." Lelouch relaxed at her interjection. She didn't sound offended. "I never really know what you're thinking." She shook her head and stopped to stretch, looking up at the sky. "So much has happened in the last few days. I don't even know what to say." She turned to look at him, a soft smile on her face. "But you were trying to be kind, and I appreciate that."
He could not conceal an astonished blush, and awkwardly put his hands in his pockets. "Don't think too well of me, Kallen."
She laughed. "Like it or not, we're in this together now." She walked silently for a while after that. Lelouch wondered what exactly she wanted him to say.
Near the gates of her home, she stopped. "I won't ask you now, but you had better tell me the truth about that girl, Lelouch."
He swallowed nervously. "When I know the truth, I'll do my best to tell you."
Her eyes narrowed a bit, and then she relaxed. "Whatever. I'm too tired to suspect you. I'll see you in school, Lelouch." She waved over her shoulder as she opened the gate.
"Good night, Kallen." He said, and turned away back home. He knew sleep would not come as easily, tonight, as he might have wished.
Kururugi Suzaku stopped to survey the street ahead before him, his meager personal possessions slung over one shoulder. As he and Lelouch had expected, he had been more or less cleared of the charge of Clovis' assassination. Not fifteen minutes after he had heard the news himself, an overjoyed Cecile Croomy called to congratulate him.
They said that they would be picking him up at the government building, but as usual Lloyd was not very clear on the exact time. He decided to wait. He was, for the moment, fairly happy. His best friend was alive against all odds, and he had escaped an unjust sentencing. His deal with Lelouch was pretty vague, but his friend had assured him that they would work together, to do the best they could. For now he was free to work with Lloyd and Cecile, who if they were a little odd did seem to be very concerned for his welfare.
Well, Cecile was anyway.
Suzaku's musings were interrupted when he heard a shriek coming from right above him. "Watch out! Please watch out!"
Without thinking, he caught the person in his arms and saw nothing but a mass of pink hair. A moment passed, and then the person lifted her face to his own. It was a girl, about his own age. She was Britannian.
And she was beautiful.
Suzaku immediately began fumbling for an apology as he set her back on her feet. The young woman stared at him thoughtfully as he did so, before nodding her head. "You know, I'm being … chased! Pursued by bad people!" Her eyes shifted away from his as she spoke. "Please help me to get away!" She paused, then saw his perplexed expression. "Please!"
He couldn't say no. Ignoring his meeting with Lloyd and the neatly tied rope of curtains hanging from the seond story window of the government building, He allowed the the girl to take his arm and lead him down the street.
Over at the corner in a military transport, Lloyd watched with an evil eye as Cecile fretted.
They walked for a block or two in silence before the girl spoke. "Thank you for saving me! My name's …" She paused and looked around, biting her lip. Then she turned back with a smile. "Euphy!"
"Euphy, nice to meet you." Suzaku stopped. "My name is -"
"No, no, that won't do." She smiled again. "You're a celebrity, aren't you?"
"Ah, well," he began hesitatingly.
"Since we got away, how about you show me around to settlement?" With that, she took his arm and headed for the nearest visible shopping district. Suzaku went along, wondering all the while who she was, and why exactly she was hanging on his arm. He had to admit, though, that he was thoroughly enjoying the experience.
They wandered through a few locations, window shopping and eating crepes. Suzaku learned that Euphy was new to Area 11, and that she had been a student in the homeland only the week before.
Alhough he was having a very good time himself, and he believe the same to be true of Euphy, he eventually had to ask her something serious.
"Euphy, why did you lie about being pursued?" He looked over for a response, but she wasn't there. He saw her a few meters away, playing with a stray cat.
"He's such a cute one, isn't he?" She offered the friendly grey cat to Suzaku, who held out a hand in greeting.
The cat bit him. Euphy winced.
While she was cleaning and bandaging his finger, Suzaku was about to repeat his earlier question, but she cut him off.
"Do you like cats?"
"Well, I suppose that the feeling isn't mutual." He looked up while responding to see a large media board showing a report on Zero. He thought of Lelouch for a moment, and worried.
Noticing his change of expression, Euphy stood. "I've had a wonderful day, but I have a request."
"What is that, my lady? Whatever you desire," he said, bowing.
"Take me to the Shinjuku ghetto."
Suzaku's blood ran cold and he looked up, hoping to see her cute smile.
Her whimsical expression was gone. She was placid, even imperious. "Kururugi Suzaku, take me to the Shinjuku ghetto."
It was not in him to refuse her.
Lelouch was still feeling tired.
He had managed to escape Nunnally's questioning expression by eating a hasty breakfast and pleading work to be done in the classroom. Kallen was being sociable with him, which was going as he had planned; it was not going to seem too odd to see the two of them together. Nevertheless... Lelouch looked surreptitiously over his shoulder to see Shirley. Was she angry?
It was difficult for him to tell. He sighed. Dealing with his increasingly complex social relationships was hampering his ability to formulate his plan for the resistance. Mercifully, the lunch period arrived. Lelouch headed for one of the less heavily trafficked avenues with Kallen following behind him. They sat down at a small stone table facing one another, and Lelouch opened his lunch without ceremony. After a moment, Kallen broke the silence.
"Are you all right, Lelouch?" She asked worriedly. "You seem strained."
Lelouch abandoned his lunch and put his hand over his eyes. "I'm still tired, and school life is proving to be more tense than I had expected."
She tilted her head to the side, perplexed. "Are you worried about the others?"
He dropped his hands morosely, abandoning his small pretense of composure. "Yes, I am."
Kallen laughed, not the tiny giggle she usually allowed herself at school, but a full laugh. "You know, I thought it was just Nunnally, but you worry about everyone, don't you?" She smiled.
In response, Lelouch appeared thoughtful. As he reflected, it began to be clear to him that his loyalties and concerns were indeed what was tiring him out; he was concerned about those around him, wanted to avoid strife and unhappiness among his friends.
Seeing that he was reflecting, Kallen waited a moment before commenting, "You know, that's a good thing. It's good to care for other people."
He smiled a little, feeling less tired now. "I suppose it is, then." He was about to speak further when suddenly he saw a flash of green hair. He stood up, shocked to see C.C., dressed in his clothes, twirling girlish circles around the quad. "Oh my god."
"What?" Kallen stood as well and turned around. "What is she doing here? Isn't she being chased by the military?"
"C.C." Lelouch growled as he stalked over and took her by the arm. "What are you doing here?"
"I was bored," she replied, her face a mask. She shrugged out if his grasp and started walking for the hallway.
"C.C.! Come back here!" Lelouch hissed.
She made no reply as she walked up the stairwell. Lelouch sighed and shrugged, then gestured for Kallen to follow him.
They found C.C. on the roof, leaning over the railing. Lelouch spoke first.
"C.C., you're going to give yourself away and cause problems for us if you do this sort of thing." He tried not to sound angry.
C.C. leaned lazily backward to address him. "Relax boy, I know what I'm doing. I've no intention of letting you get caught. We're accomplices, after all."
Kallen frowned. "Are you sure you can trust her, Lelouch?"
C.C. smiled. "Are you sure you can trust him?"
Seeing that Kallen was about to respond angrily, Lelouch cut them both off. "Enough. I'm trusting both of you. Now C.C., will you trust my judgement and go back home? Anyone might see you, and that could have consequences I can't foresee."
Kallen backed down, blushing slightly. She had been about to defend Lelouch, or rather her own decision to trust him. His words made her pleased in a way she couldn't quite articulate.
C.C. smiled lazily. "All right, Lelouch. You two have fun. I'll see you later."
She turned and exited the way she came. Lelouch and Kallen watched her go in silence.
"Want to finish lunch?" Kallen suggested. She tried to shake off C.C.'s parting words.
"Sure," Lelouch said. "That woman..." He said nothing further.
They made their way back down to their discarded lunches, only to find that an enterprising group of tree sparrows had taken advantage of their absence. Two of them even resisted the urge to depart at their approach, apparently quite convinced that they were masters of the field.
Kallen rolled her eyes. "It's time we got back anyway. Let's just go to class."
Lelouch nodded, then gently took possession of their lunchboxes.
As they walked back to class, Lelouch noted Kallen shifting back into her sickly persona. "I imagine you don't enjoy that a great deal."
"No," she replied softly, trying to stay in character, "but it's the safest way I think." She paused, thinking. "And it's not so bad anymore."
"Really?" He asked, curious.
"Really, Lelouch." She was smiling as they entered the classroom.
Shirley watched them walk in, a little shocked. Lelouch was carrying both their lunchboxes, and they were to all appearances having a marvellous time together.
By themselves.
Since her freshman year at Ashford, she had been interested in Lelouch Lamperouge. She had yet to actually say anything to him about it; she had been afraid of how he would react. Watching him enjoying his time with the Stadtfeld heiress was almost intolerable, though. She resolved to ask Kallen about it.
Lelouch sat as his desk and tried to concentrate on his plans for the resistance, momentarily quite happy in his school life.
The end of the day came more quickly than usual, and Lelouch resolved to get some more work done before trying to catch up on his rest. He had plenty to think about, and even more to document.
After an afternoon tea with Nunnally, during which he gently denied that he was engaged in a relationship with anyone, he stole away into his bedroom with his newly acquired Britannian military laptop. It was his bedroom. He refused to accept the label their bedroom.
C.C. let him work in peace, though, at least for a while. He was deep in annotations when she spoke.
"You seem to be quite busy." She observed.
"I am documenting my observations about geass."
"Geass?" She inquired, sitting up on the edge of the bed.
"The power you gave me. I heard it when you touched me." He turned to his notes.
"Ooh. What have you discovered?"
"An effective range of about 276 meters. I require direct eye contact for it to work. Any single command will be accepted. I can only use it once per person." He leaned back thoughtfully. "Also, people seem to forget its having been used on them, perhaps because it does something to their cerebrum in order to implant the command."
C.C. raised her eyebrows appreciatively. "Quite a comprehensive assessment, boy."
"My opponent is an empire which directly governs one third of the globe. Geass is my weapon; I must know all that I can to employ it effectively." He stood and walked to the window.
"Why fight them?" She asked, seemingly innocent.
"Because this world is filled with every kind of torment." Lelouch's voice was bitter. "War, disease, poverty. Bitter hatred engendered by factionalisation and racism." His lips curved downward, trembling in disgust. "And it is all the fault of that man and his policies. The weak fall to the strong, the strong fall to the strongest."
"And the strongest rule, is that right? Is that not the harsh reality of this world, Lelouch?" C.C. leaned over to support herself on one shoulder, watching his back for a reaction.
"What of Nunnally? What of an entire nation like Japan, its people torn from one another and driven to hate their conquerors and each other? Suzaku, cursed to choose a side with no right answers? Kallen, her family taken from her, forced to hide her identity and choose a desperate struggle over a normal life? No one can be happy in such a world!" He clenched his fists in rage and tried to control his voice.
C.C. saw the shaking in his shoulders. "So what is your solution, boy?"
Lelouch turned to his chess board and viciously knocked over the white king. He did not turn from it as he spoke. "When someone wins, the fighting will end. I will win, and then it will be over."
"That's it?" She asked, once more drawing herself upright. "You'll be the victor? What if someone thinks to challenge again?"
He stared at the chess board, at the even grid waiting a fair battle. "Is it so good, then, to be strong?" He mused softly. Suddenly he turned to C.C. "The purpose of the strong is to guard the weak; that is the virtue of the strong. That is how Nunnally's peace will be assured, when the strong are lauded for fighting together, for the weak, and not against one another."
She gave him a lopsided grin and fell back onto the bed. "So you're not in this alone, then?"
He regarded her with a grin. " 'We must hang all together, or else most assuredly we will all hang separately.' "
"And you get to play first among equals?"
"I am the only one who can do it."
C.C. laughed. "You're certainly an interesting one, boy. We'll see how this plays out. But no matter what happens, I'll be waiting."
Staring at the endless series of offerings, photographs, and personal messages attached to the half-shattered wall, Euphemia briefly wondered whether she had overplayed her hand. Suzaku seemed too deep in reflection to respond to any conversation of hers. He seemed so distant.
She had heard of the strange young man accused of murdering her brother. She had looked at his sorrowful face in the news reports when they arrested him, and had followed the dramatic story of his exoneration, kidnapping, and voluntary return to his court martial along with everyone else in the homeland. The son of the last Prime Minister of Japan. More than that, apparent heir to a noble family of his own. He could easily have become the face of the terrorists in Area 11.
Yet he had not, and Euphemia wanted desperately to understand why. She'd escaped deliberately, knowing he was to be released. She had not expected to jump directly into his arms.
She had not expected him to regard her so kindly. Now, looking at the citizen's memorial, she felt that she had done him a disservice in bringing him here. If he was not spurred to speak about his feelings, then she had just brought him unnecessary pain.
Just as she was about to speak, an excited young voice broke out behind them. She listened for a moment; there were two of them, taking photographs of the devastation and chattering happily about the precise armaments of the military deployment. Euphemia felt her hands tighten at her sides.
Before she could take two steps forward, she saw three Elevens approach the two, who she saw now were students. One of them was shouting. When he struck the young Britannian boy, she saw Suzaku go by her in a blur.
"Stop this fighting!"
"Wha! You're that traitor Kururugi!" The red-haired man spat. "Why the hell should I listen to you?"
"Please, there's no reason to fight about this. Just listen-" The other man did not, though, and charged Suzaku. Even as he yelled out a curse, though, Suzaku's hands grabbed his punch surely and guided him in a swift arc overhead into the concrete.
Euphemia's eyes went wide. Everyone was silent for a second.
"Please, I'm a trained soldier. Don't make me fight my own people!"
"You god-damned traitor! You're not Japanese! You're just a coward hiding behind Britannia!"
Euphemia feared that the three would retaliate, and she breathed a sigh of relief when they went on their way, swearing. She walked a little closer, only to see the two students get up, one with a broken camera in his hands.
"You're a worthless Honorary Britannian. Why didn't you get here sooner before they broke my XLR?"
"Yeah! You should have killed those monkeys! I bet you didn't just because you're one of them!"
"Jerk! Why don't you-"
Euphemia had had enough, and walked forward, not even thinking, to slap the kid cleanly across the face. He stood holding his cheek in shock while she tried to contain her rage.
"You will not insult this man any further!" Her skin was flushed, and the two boys thought better of complaining any further. They turned and walked off, glancing over their shoulders nervously.
"Suzaku," she began haltingly, not able to face him, "I'm sorry I asked you to take me here. I'm sorry you had to endure all of that." She didn't know what else to say, what else she could say that would make up for the incredible cruelty he had just faced from both sides.
There was silence, and she really was afraid that he was simply going to walk away. And then she felt his hand on her shoulder, turning her to face him. He wasn't smiling, but he wasn't frowning either.
"Euphy, it's okay. It's nothing you did. That's just the way things are," he said sadly. "Before the invasion, I was just like that."
She hesitated, a little shocked by that. "Before? Why before?"
"Well, my father was the last Prime Minister of Japan," he looked at her, and Euphemia nodded. "I figured that you knew. Anyway, I was raised to think that we were better, that Britannia was hostile, worthless, and cruel. My father-" Here he broke off, and Euphy watched as he tried to get control of himself. "My father's death ended the war. I don't want that sacrifice to be in vain."
"Why are you in the Britannian military, then?" She asked.
He looked at her, and she could swear that he was looking through her. "I wanted to keep the peace, because I knew that once Britannia had won, the war would be over here, for these people." He frowned. "But Britannia ordered these civilians executed. They tried to kill my friend." Euphemia gasped, and Suzaku took a breath to steady himself. "But my friend is all right. I want to protect him, though. I wanted to protect these people too." He closed his eyes, and Euphemia almost reached out to him.
"Is it so bad to be weak, Euphy? Is that really so terrible, so that the strong should destroy them?"
She did not know how to respond.
"I don't want anyone else to have to suffer. I don't know how to accomplish it, but I think if I trust my friends," he thought of Lelouch and Nunnally, "that I will be all right."
Euphemia smiled softly and took his hand in her own. "I'm sure you will be, Suzaku."
He smiled in response, and she was happy.
Then they heard an enormous crash, and as they turned toward it they saw a section of a broken amphitheater fall. Next they heard a panicked voice cry out.
"Suzaku! Suzaku! Come over here! The Purebloods are having some kind of an internal fight over there!" A woman was gesturing frantically from the door of a transport truck.
The woman glanced quizzically at Euphemia, then turned back to Suzaku, who had not moved. "Suzaku?"
"Well, let's go then," a man in a white labcoat leaned out of the cab. "Hope you've had a nice day, Suzaku!"
"Wait." Suzaku's voice was calm.
"Eh?" Replied the man sardonically.
"Lloyd, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to gather data on the Lancelot?"
"Suzaku!" The woman scolded.
"Oh ho ho ho!" Lloyd cried happily. "Perhaps so!"
"Miss Cecile, I'm sorry." Suzaku turned to face her. "Euphy, I've enjoyed our day together. Now I need to stop that fight."
She tilted her head and looked worried. "Please, be careful Suzaku."
"I will, don't worry!" He called out as he ran with Lloyd to the back of the transport. Cecile followed, exasperated, as the sounds of battle continued.
As soon as they were out of sight, Euphemia turned toward the amphitheater and ran.
She heard the white Knightmare Frame launch and saw it fling itself into the open theater with a slash harken. She ran faster.
By the time she got into the entryway, the sound of the fight had intensified, then suddenly died down. She heard voices yelling, about Gottwald's betrayal of the Purebloods, and about revenge. She broke into the open and saw several Sutherlands retreating. One of them hurled something into the air.
Her breath caught in her throat as it started to deploy, and it took everything she had not to fall to her knees. Se recognized the mine - she knew what was coming. But suddenly the white Knightmare was there, in front of her, somehow deflecting every bit of shrapnel that came her way. The noise was deafening.
Finally it stopped. She waited a moment to make sure it was clear, and then held herself rigid. She walked out in front of the white Knightmare, not even bothering to check whether Suzaku could see her.
"Stop this this instant!" She commanded angrily.
"Stop!" She called again. "I order it in my name, third princess of the Empire of Britannia, Euphemia li Britannia. Stop this fighting at once!"
As they heard her and saw her expression, every Knightmare sank to one knee in respect. The began calling out disordered apologies.
A moment later, she heard footsteps behind her. "Euphy?" Suzaku said wonderingly as she turned around to regard him, an expression of regal anger still dominating her features. He looked, and then knelt before her. "Princess Euphemia, I apologize. I had no idea that it was you."
Her expression turned a little wistful. "Kururugi Suzaku, rise." He did so. "Will you help me, to make sure that no innocents die in a needless war? Will you accept that command from me?"
He looked up, astonished, and then responded with all the emotion she had not seen when he gazed silently at the memorial wall. "Yes, my lord!"
"Then I so order it, Kururugi Suzaku." And with that, she turned away and strode toward the participants in the battle. Cornelia would be furious, she knew, both at her actions and her words. But in that moment Euphemia found that she was not very worried about it. She believed Suzaku's words about Britannia's role in the massacre. She knew her sister too well to think that Clovis was entirely innocent. Whoever this Zero was, it was clear that Suzaku thought he had acted to stop that massacre. And for her, just at that moment, Suzaku's opinion counted for a great deal.
She schooled her expression as she moved to accept apologies from the knights. It wouldn't do to give too much away.
AN: Another chapter completed! I really liked planning out the changes in Lelouch's attitude here. Writing from Euphemia's perspective was quite enjoyable as well. I'm really looking forward to Suzaku seeing them at school next; I can hardly wait to get that part done!
Thank you all for your kind reviews and thoughts.
M3RCURI4L: I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Nightwing of the Azure Shadow: Thanks! I'm trying to avoid reiterating things, and instead focusing on the significant changes in the attitudes of the characters.
nanoman79: I've wondered that myself about the sequence with the Student Council. I elected to stay quiet about it since I figured that it worked quite as well in my story as it did in the series. I plan to change Nunnally's dialogue in the last chapter, as you are quite correct! I hope you enjoy how the changes play out!
Kyogre: Thank you for the compliment ^^ I was really happy when I determined on that particular point of departure with Clovis. The reason I had Kallen agree was that early on, she has little reason to doubt Lelouch, and every reason to look for a friendly face in her hostile school environment. He speaks first. As for Suzaku, I read his devotion to his friend Lelouch to be very deep indeed. Canonically he does not know that Zero ordered the cease-fire; Lelouch can play on his friendship even more strongly because Suzaku does not yet have any commensurate loyalty to Britannia - he has yet to meet Euphemia. But don't worry - it will not be all roses between Lelouch and Suzaku. I have some great plans there!
Ragez: Thanks! I hope this chapter does not disappoint!
Drakyndra: I love the idea of Lelouch dealing with his trust issues. He has so much trouble taking anyone into his confidence; it will be fun to see what happens when he encounters those challenges having already decided not to go it entirely alone. Also, I plan to try not to advance too quickly. Seeing how the characters react is a big part of the fun!
Thanks for reading ^_^
-wedgegeck