"Ashford Academy? Sounds just like a school funded by the Britannians, all right..."

"It'll be fun, Asami. They've allowed us to go there, and besides, I thought you liked learning."

"I do," I murmured, picking absently at my food. I just don't like those pretentious Britannians.

He reassured me, knowing my deeper anxieties well. "If you're worried they won't like you, don't be. We'll fit right in and no one has to know we're Elevens."

I stiffened up. "Suzaku, we're not Elevens. We're Japanese, damn it. How does being referred to as a number not bother you?"

He looked down. "I'm sorry. Please, sis. It'll be good for you to get out of the house and do something while I'm away. I can go, too, and try to loosen up my schedule."

"Maybe so," I murmured, finishing off the meal. But the thought of being able to go to school, even if it was a Britannian one, with my brother lifted the discontent feeling in my heart.

After dinner, N.N. strolled towards me as I typed away on my laptop. "This age holds some other, strange meaning for coming out of the closet, don't you?"

I laughed. "Yeah, but if you're not familiar with this generation you wouldn't understand it much." I found myself surprised somehow. Was he really immortal? How long had he lived?

"Doing some research on a Britannian academy, I see."

Nodding, I turned to him. "N.N., can I ask some questions?"

"You just asked one, so I don't see why not."

I faked a scowl. "That didn't count. What is this power you've given me, and how does it work?"

"It's called Geass, and it can take several different forms depending on the mentality of the user. It seems yours allows you to cause pain, or perhaps because Geass is typically linked to the mind, it causes others to merely believe they are in pain."

My laptop's hum seemed loud in the silence. "Why me?"

He shrugged slightly. "My belief is that the least happy people have the potential to be the most successful."

I felt my fingers twitch slightly. Who was he to assume I was unsatisfied with my life? "Interesting theory. Is there any limit on my, um, Geass?"

"Who can say for sure? You'll have to test it yourself."

"So you don't know everything about it."

"Like I stated previously, Geass can possess a variety of abilities. I know one who can read minds, as well as one who can make time halt. My understanding is merely that it is a mental ability, and it has proven fairly easy to control."

"Then... I won't end up accidentally using it, will I?"

"The time might come when you lose control for a while, possibly longer than that, but for now there's nothing to worry about."

"Okay," I yawned. "I'm really tired, so as long as you don't for some reason run out on me during the night, I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams, Asami."

The next morning, the teacher announced our arrival with so much enthusiasm the class forgot to be happy about it. (Although I probably wouldn't have been thrilled anyway.) "All right, everyone. Today we welcome two new students, honorary Britannians Suzaku and Asami Kururugi."

We were met with murmurs, mostly pertaining to our late father's status as former prime minister. Suzaku gave a nervous smile, but I stood motionless. ...Except for glancing at a student who called us Elevens, promptly sending a teensy-weensy pain through his body. He yelped and looked around, confused. Don't blame me, it's only self-defense, am I right? The teacher directed us to sit in the empty seats behind and to the right of a student named Lelouch, and as my eyes fell upon him I realized why the name sounded familiar.

A few months before my father died and before the fighting, two of the heirs to the throne had been outcast. Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia had been sent to our father as political prisoners after their exile, and we had befriended them fairly quickly. I cast him a warm smile, genuinely and pleasantly surprised to see my old friend here at a school of which I felt the need to be wary.

Class went on and ended, and as my brother and I descended the stairs out of the school, some of the students had assembled there and greeted us brightly. Tables had been set up, and they scrambled to finish what preparations they were working on.

"What's all this?" Suzaku wondered aloud.

"My name is Milly, but you may call me Madame President! I'm the President of the student council, and we absolutely had to welcome such wonderful new students!"

"You didn't have to go to such trouble," Suzaku laughed sheepishly.

"Nonsense!" Milly cheered. "Now then, as per school rules, you two must join a club, and we would be more than happy to have you, isn't that right?"

A blue-haired student grinned at us. "I'm Rivalz."

The redhead standing nearest to him smiled. "I'm Shirley, and this is Nina." Nina smiled and looked down.

Milly gestured to the two we had already met. "Oh, and these two are Lelouch and-"

"Lelouch and Nunnally," I finished. "We're well acquainted."

"Old friends?" She smiled as Suzaku nodded. "Great! Now what are we waiting for? Let's get this welcome party going!"

After the party we returned home and I flopped on my bed, almost forgetting about the strange flame-haired immortal until I jumped a foot back off the bed when I noticed him lounging in the chair by my computer.

He smirked. "How was that academy? Meet anyone interesting?"

"Well, it could've been worse. The student council really seems to enjoy new faces and making others feel happy and like they fit in. An old friend of ours is attending, too."

"Hmm?"

I still didn't fully trust him, but I saw no harm in sharing trivial details. "His name is Lelouch, and he came to us a while before all the invading and fighting. My brother didn't take too nicely to him at first because he's Britannian, but they became best friends and I came to care for him as one of my closest, and really only, friends."

"How touching," N.N. muttered, not uninterested but more, it seemed, in thought.

"So can you tell me more about those others with Geass you mentioned?"

"All I'll say is that one is an unfortunately unnatural case, another somewhat hopeless..."

"Are there others like you?"

"Who can grant Geass? Only two, as far as I'm aware. My kind were mistreated and slaughtered."

I stood up, walking to the mirror. "Is there any visible sign when you use-"

"I'd be careful," he warned. "You could end up using your Geass on yourself."

"Oh! I hadn't even considered that," I chuckled. "But as I was saying, is there any visible sign when you use Geass?"

"Not to your average human. I can't say for sure, but I do believe those with Geass can see it. And I, of course. Basically," he rolled up a sleeve, revealing a symbol on his wrist, "this sigil appears on the eye, one or both, depending on how developed the ability. Although, should it appear on both eyes, it begins to get to the point where it is uncontrollable. But as I have said, we needn't worry about that until later, probably around the time you and I complete our contract."

"Why won't you tell me about this contract? How am I supposed to fulfill it if I don't know what to do?"

He was quiet a moment. "If you really must know... I want to see the world change."

My eyes widened. "Change? But...how can I change the world?"

He smiled mysteriously. "I would not have picked you had I not thought you could accomplish it."

I would have asked more but my brother called me out for dinner. The meal was silent as I contemplated N.N.'s contract and the faith he had that I, one single Japanese teenager, could change the whole world. For better, or for worse...?