A/N: Hello everyone :). Oh! Starting thursday, I probably won't be uploading due to AX :D. Maybe I'll do longer chapters to make up for it :3 Thank you for the reviews and alerts!

I DO NOT OWN CODE GEASS.

Chapter 4

When I saw Rivalz dragged Milly in the spring along with him, my life flash right before my eyes. I could see Ohgi's and Suzaku's faces who are unable to comprehend what has just happened a few moments ago.

"This is not going to end well" I chuckled to myself.

I saw Milly popped out of the water and she's frantically looking for Rivalz. Her expression wasn't the happiest.

"Rivalz when I find you, you're dead!" she screams out.

I couldn't help but laugh at the sight of it. Suzaku and Ohgi followed my laugh. Suzaku then took his shirt off, revealing his muscle toned body. He then takes a few steps back and then ran to the spring. He jumps up and lands into the spring, causing some of the water to splash out from the spring.

"Hey!" Milly yells at Suzaku as he pops up from the water.

"Sorry Milly" he gave a shy smile and flips his wet hair. He then looks around, "Where's Rivalz?".

Before I knew it, I saw Rivalz underwater creeping behind Milly. He jumps out of the water and hugs Milly from behind, "I got you!".

Milly gives a loud scream and struggles to let go of Rivalz grasp, "Hey let go!", you can tell she was having fun.

Ohgi then joins in the fun. He jumps into the water, causing an even bigger splash than what Suzaku made earlier. I secretly gave a smile to the group of friends I had and just jumped in with my clothes. I didn't want Milly to be the only one with wet clothes, so I went along with it too. The afternoon was spent quite well. Suzaku was very athletic compared to the rest of us. He climbed up the vines near the waterfall and reached the top. He jumped off from the waterfall and landed in the spring. I was awed by such ability and gave him a standing ovation.

"Lelouch can never do something like this" I mumbled to myself.

Lelouch probably had a reason why he didn't know how to swim, but I didn't want to go into any detail. Maybe if I ever see him again, I could ask him that question. We had fun swimming back and forth and I could see the romantic tension between Milly and Rivalz.

"Ah young love" I thought to myself.

Before we knew it, the afternoon passed by quickly. We got out of the spring and are our late afternoon lunch. Rivalz and Milly got up and gave us a sheepish smile. I could tell that they wanted to have some alone time so we just excused them. The through the tough bush Milly and I fell through earlier and told us that they weren't gonna go too far. I nodded, signaling that I got their message. It was just Suzaku, Ohgi and I eating our snacks.

"Do you think you're ever going to get someone special Ohgi?" Suzaku joked.

I could see Ohgi choke on his bread and then tries to spit it out. He then gave Suzaku and glare and let out a big sigh, "Maybe someday".

"You better get one soon, you're already so old" I joined in because I have nothing else better to do.

"Kallen!" he whines.

Suzaku and I laughed at his pouty face. Ohgi was at least ten years older than me. He was 27 whereas I was only 17. Of course Suzaku, Milly and I were the same age. I could see the sun going down but it wasn't setting yet. I was getting worried at the fact that Milly and Rivalz didn't come back yet.

"I'm going to find them" I got up and told Suzaku and Ohgi.

"Alright, but if you get lost just scream and we'll find you" Ohgi told me.

I nodded, "You sound like an old man".

I gave a small chuckle and then head towards the forest. Everything was so beautiful. Nature has its own beauty itself. The only bad part about it is the fact everything else looks the same. I was beginning to worry that I got lost. I passed by the same patches of flower two times in the row.

"Maybe I'm getting lost" I told myself.

I shook my head. I just got to find a way out and hopefully I'll find Milly and Rivalz along the way. I came upon a small light and heard towards it. It wasn't what I expected but it was still pretty. It was a small clearing. Surrounding it were patches of purple pansies and daisies. I look scanned around to see if there was Milly and Rivalz, but I saw nothing. Then I heard a noise. It was a noise of strumming strings.

"It sounds beautiful" I thought.

I looked around more to see where the noise was coming from. Anxious I gave a loud yell, "Hello?".

"Okay I heard you".

I heard a voice replied to mine and I looked around some more. I still see nothing.

"I'm over here!"

I then followed a voice and I looked up to one of the trees. I saw a young man who was around my age strumming a small guitar. His face was covered by a white hat. His attire consisted of a white long-sleeved shirt and black shorts. There were ruffles surrounding the collar of the shirt and the ends of the sleeves. He had shiny blonde hair and there were three small braids resting on his shoulder.

"Who are you?" I yelled at the figure sitting in the tree.

He gave a small smile and took off his hat revealing his glowing blue eyes.

"I'm just a humble guitar player of this forest" he laughs and continues strumming his guitar.

I could hear the melody of each strum. It sounded like the water drops dripping from the leaves in an early spring morning. Ironically it's not spring, but summer.

"It sounds so beautiful" I complimented on his playing.

He gave a huge grin showing his pearly whites. He gives me a thumbs up, "Thanks!".

He scoots over and pats the branch of the tree signaling for me to join him, "Why don't you sit here so you could hear it better".

I thought about it for a while, "A few minutes wouldn't hurt".

I came to the tree he was sitting on and slowly climb up. I guess doing all those stunts when I'm stealing from the nobles finally pulled off. I sat on the spot the man patted on while he leaned on the side of the tree. I could hear the strums of the instrument closer compared to the grass I was standing on. I closed my eyes to hear the music better.

"Gino"

I quickly open my eyes and turn to him, "Huh?".

"Gino Weinberg is my name" he continues to strum his guitar.

He sticks out one of his hand and in response I put my hand on his hand. He gripped it tightly and shakes it up and down.

"Um.." I stuttered, "My name is Kallen Kozuki".

We disperse our hands and he puts his hand on his guitar, "Kallen huh?" he then gives me a long stare.

It kind of made me nervous but I had to break the silence, "Umm.. Why are you staring at me?".

"You must be a peasant right?" he quickly responded, "Judging by the outfit you are wearing" he then points at my attire.

I gave him and pouty face and crossed my arms, "So? Why do you care?".

He smiles at me and then looks at his guitar, continuing his strumming, "I just think you're very pretty that's all".

I didn't know how to respond to that. I just gave him a confuse look. I quickly turn to the grass floor I was standing on earlier so it doesn't make it anymore awkward. I continue to listen to the melody he was strumming. I'm not sure how to picture the melody but it sounded quite more peaceful than before.

"You're not from around here are you?" I asked him

He gives me a smirk, "Maybe I am, maybe I'm not".

I didn't continue to question him after, instead I just wanted to listen to the peaceful melody he was playing. Not too long after the melody stopped and I looked at him.

"It seems like he's done for today" I thought to myself.

Wondering what time it was, I looked up at the sky. I quickly jolted up, "Oh no! It's almost sunset! I have to meet back with Ohgi".

I turned around and look at Gino, "I'm so sorry but I have to go!", I quickly jump from the branch.

He gives me a small wave and smile, "I hope we meet again someday, Kallen".

I suddenly felt another sense of de ja vu from that farewell, but I shook my head during the process, "I hope to see you again someday!" I shouted at him. I quickly retraced back my steps from the clearing.

I didn't want it to get too dark since I didn't have a lantern with me. Surprisingly everything looked so familiar to me and it became easier to recognize things. I finally found the thick bush that I went through to the waterfall. As I got to the other side I found Suzaku,Ohgi,Milly, and Rivalz waiting for me. They looked really exhausted.

"Why are you guys so exhausted?" I questioned.

"When you left not too long after Rivalz and Milly came back" Suzaku panted.

"And we got really worried and we went out looking for you, but we got lost ourselves" Rivalz huffed.

Milly points at Rivalz, "This idiot fell into a pitfall and I had to find some branch to help him up, I almost fell in myself but it was a good thing Ohgi found us and helped us up" Milly said in one breath.

"Then we went on a long search to find Suzaku and we finally found him" Ohgi explained, "We then came back here not too long ago" Ohgi continued.

They must have been so worried about me. I kind of felt bad for being gone so long, but if I didn't went to go look for Rivalz and Milly I wouldn't have found that guitar player. He was quite the charmer I must say.

I closed my eyes and bowed down, "I'm sorry!".

"There's nothing to be sorry about" Ohgi told me, "You're safe now and that only matters" he gave me a small smile.

I couldn't help but smile at my friends. We all got up and took our stuff and retraced our steps back to our village. We all went to our separate ways. I knew that I had to steal tonight so I quickly went home and put my stuff away. I waited until the sky turned dark and that my mother was asleep. I could see that she was wearing the blue dress I bought her yesterday. I smiled and quickly went out of my home. I brought my lantern with me so I could see the street Ohgi wanted to meet me at. The street wasn't too far from the usual spot but it was secluded enough so that no one can see us. Everyone in my village fell asleep early, maybe because they have nothing else to do. I saw Ohgi waiting and gave him a wave.

"You're finally here" Ohgi whispered.

I nodded and we began heading toward the north village. A mile walk later we reached the end of the town. I scanned around to see if I can find some silvers that the nobles dropped.

"Nothing yet" I told myself.

The first place we were going to steal tonight was from a house that lived near the castle. It was kind of risky and nerve-wracking to steal near the castle due to the amount of guards.

"I hope you're not scared Kallen" Ohgi quietly teased me.

I then kick his leg, "Shut up Ohgi!", I quietly giggled after.

We've finally reached our destination. It seems like no one was home.

"Thank god!" I screamed in my thoughts.

Ohgi went around the back to see if there was anyone there. He then gave me a signal for me to come in too. We quietly unscrew the windows and lifted it up. It was a little trick I learned from Ohgi who learned from my brother. Since I was smaller, I went in first and scans the room.

"There's no one here" I thought to myself.

I quietly sneaked through the house and made sure no one was here. After a turn down the hall I found the kitchen. I open the cabinets and took all sorts of bread and fruits. It was a good thing I grabbed one of my storage boxes from my home. I put the goods in there and then I opened the pantry and took the salted meat in bags. I didn't take much so it doesn't look suspicious. I then took the pots and pans out from the other cabinets and grabbed the dirt from my pocket and scattered it everywhere so it looks like animal prints.

"Phew, we wouldn't want them to think that other fellow humans stole their food" I let out a relieving sigh.

It was a perfect plan Ohgi as Ohgi describe. We would sneak into the houses of nobles, steal their food, and make it look like wild animals did it. Ohgi told me it was a plan my brother devised but Ohgi sort of polished it a bit better. I quickly went back to the window Ohgi was at and climbed out. I gave Ohgi the box of food to pass out to the villagers back in the south. As a reward Ohgi took an apple from the box and hands it to me. I gladly accepted it and took a bite from it.

"Yummy, my late night snack" I said with my mouth full.

We then went back to the bridge and then I stopped in my tracks. Ohgi turns around and gave me a confused look.

"You can go ahead and pass out the food in secret to the villagers, but I'll stay here to see if I can find any silvers" I gave him a thumbs up signaling him that he could go.

He nodded and understood my signal. I then handed my lantern to him so he could find his way into the village. He then gave me a worried look, "Are you sure?".

"Yeah I'm sure, I'll probably be back at the crack of dawn anyway" I took another bite from my apple, "Expect me to be late at the usual spot tomorrow".

He understood and then walked ahead to the bridge. I stared at his back until I couldn't see the light from my lantern no more. I then took another bite from my apple and went for a walk up in the noble town. It was a good thing the lanterns were lit in the village otherwise I would have been lost. I took another bite from my apple and scan the floor to see if there were any silvers.

"Nothing yet" I mumbled to myself.

I then kept on walking and found something shiny on the floor. I gave it a closer look and picked it up. It was a shiny gold coin.

"Wow am I lucky" I made a goofy grin.

I continued to scan the floor to see if there was anything. After a few turns I made on the streets, I have found nothing.

"Maybe there's nothing left" I gave myself a sigh.

As soon as I know it I was near the edge of the northern village. Any further would be castle territory, which I am not allowed to go to. I gave my body a turn and continued eating my apple. Somehow I liked savoring my food instead of rushing it. Food is limited in my village so it's best to savor it when you can. As I was walking I found another shiny object on the floor. I quickly rushed to it and gave it a look.

"Wow am I lucky!" I quietly giggled.

I have picked up two gold coins. I've never picked up this many gold coins in my life, however due to the "shopping spree" I had yesterday I only have three gold coins and five silver coins making it a total of 20 silvers.

"I still have a long way to go" I let out a big groan.

Even though nobles stayed up later than the peasants, they mostly spent their time inside. They probably had hobbies such as playing an instrument or making crafts. Some have nothing else to do and travel to different kingdoms and waste their hard earn money there. Just thinking the thought of wasting money shivers my spine. As I was scavenging for dropped money I started hearing noises. I quickly turned around and see no one there.

"Strange" I whispered.

I quickly turned around and continued eating my apple, which was almost done. I started to walk faster because the noise kept growing nearer. As soon as I know it the noise grew even more near. I felt a hand touch my back and I couldn't help but give a small yelp and turned around. I punch the figure and I heard a small yell.

"Wait a minute.." I thought, "It couldn't be".

The figure came closer and it turns out to be Lelouch wearing his commoner clothes I saw the yesterday. I waited for a few minutes to comprehend what has just happen. He let out a sigh and rubs on the arm I punched at, "You must be in 'deep thought' again, am I right?".

I had another urge to punch him, but I kept control of my actions. I finally finished my apple and walked over to the nearest trash can and went back to where I was standing.

"What are you doing here late at night?" I questioned him.

"I should say the same thing to you Miss Kallen" he retorted.

"But I asked first" I stuck out my tongue.

He let out a sigh, "Let's go find a bench or something".

And so we found nearest bench and sat down. Of course he offers me to sit down first but I pushed him down so that he can sit first. I then sat down and stared into the sky. I couldn't see much of the stars since the street lanterns fill up the darkness around here.

"To answer your question, I sneaked out to have a nice walk around town" he said, "I don't like staying inside the castle all the time so a breather would be nice" he explains.

I then pointed at his attire, "Are you sure people don't recognize you in that outfit?".

He gives me a small chuckle, "People wouldn't think twice about a prince wearing commoner clothes and plus-" he turns his head to the side and points at the small pony tail he tied up (A/n:like those small male pony tails :3), "I have a pony tail".

I let out a small scoff, "Oh please, I easily recognized you!".

"And that's because you saw me wearing commoner clothes before" he quickly retorted back.

"Oh fine" I turned around away from him.

He let out a small cough, "So, may I ask you why you are here late at night?".

I didn't want to swallow my pride and tell him, "It's none of your business".

"You don't play fair Miss Kallen" he whispered in my ear.

"Hey, quit saying Miss!" I quickly turned around and saw Lelouch a few centimeters from my face. I couldn't help but blush, "Oh how many girls would love to be in my place right now" I thought to myself.

He was coming closer and closer and our lips were almost touching. I could hear my heart beat faster and faster. I closed my eyes for impact and was getting my hand ready to punch his face. Then I felt the presence of his lips leave from the one centimeters of space we had between our lips. I opened my eyes and saw him laughing at me. Oh how much I wanted to punch him right now.

"Haha! The look on your face was priceless" he held his stomach to contain his laughter, "You thought I was actually going to kiss you!".

"Oh please" I was infuriated with him.

"Hey look don't look sad now" he told me in a comforting voice but I can tell his that tone was just teasing me.

I didn't want to look at him. Being with him made me feel like such a kid. I finally swallowed my pride, "I was here because I was looking for money on the floor okay!", I got up from my seat and walked away from him.

I could hear his footsteps gaining on me, "Curse to whoever made men faster than woman", I thought. The footsteps then stopped. Out of curiosity I turned around to see if he was there. He was but he was out of breath.

"He's tired already?" I thought to myself.

I let out a big sigh and went to him and bend down so I could be in his eye level. I could hear him breathing heavily.

"You're not the most athletic or fit person out there huh?" I told him.

"Yeah, it also explains why I couldn't swim yesterday" he panted, "Since they've always locked me up in my castle I've never had the chance to go out and do as I please" he panted even more.

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him a bit. It also explains why he got a cramp and almost drowned yesterday. He's not used to this kind of stuff. Out of sympathy I gave him a pat on his shoulder. I still thought he was an arrogant bastard, but he might have not been really bad after all. He finally regains his breath and stood up and I also did the same.

"Thank you" he shot me a charming smile.

"I'm not going to fall for that charming smile of yours, and you don't need to thank me anyways" I turned away, "I was just curious of how your state was".

"Haha" he gave me a shy laugh, "Sorry for the stunt earlier".

I couldn't help but feel mad again, but I let it go, "It's okay, it is just not good for my heart" I let out a sigh, "To think I meet you again though".

"Back at you" he giggled, "To make you actually think I was going to kiss you, you should I already know I wouldn't do that anyway".

I don't know why but I felt a sharp stab in my back. I wasn't probably appealing to him anyway. After all I am a peasant while he is the prince of this kingdom. I shouldn't be feeling so disappointed by hearing those words.

"At least that guitar player didn't care about my status" I thought and then gave a smile, "Gino was his name I think" I continue to think.

"Hey what are smiling about?"

I suddenly snapped back to reality and realize Lelouch was still next to me. I couldn't help but feel disgusted by looking at his face.

"What's with that disgusted face now?" he sounded irritated.

"Oh nothing" I turned away from him, "I have to go back now, it's going to be dawn soon".

"Wait!" he grabs my arm, "Before you go I want to ask you something".

I turned around so I can face him. He then bends down on one of his knees and grabs my hands and kisses it.

"To show you how much I appreciate that you saved my life, would you like to be my knight?"

My eyes widen. I didn't know how to respond. He wants me to become a Knight because I saved his life? Well it seems like a noble task but I only saved him once.

"I only saved you once, it shouldn't really matter" I cleared my throat.

"And that only matters", he gets up and takes both of my hands and kisses it, "If you weren't there last night I would have been dead".

If I accept his offer I don't really want my peasant life to end. I love hanging out with Milly and Rivalz and I also loved stealing with Ohgi. If I become a knight I would have to leave my peasant life behind, and I won't be able to do what I want freely anymore. It's too much devotion and obligation for me.

"What do I get in return?" I made my voice sound disinterested in his offer.

"Well, what do you want?" he gives me a bright smile.

I could say that I want him to help the south village and rebuild it but it kind of hurts my pride. I want to change the village in my own way and with Ohgi's help. Becoming a knight would also end my robin hood streak with Ohgi. It's kind of depressing.

"Maybe I don't have to ask for anything big" I thought to myself.

"So what do you do when you're a knight?" I asked Lelouch.

"Well, all you have to do is be loyal to your kingdom and protect it with your life" he explained to me, "And most importantly you have to protect the prince and princess in this kingdom" he thoroughly explains it to me.

"And if I die?"

"You have served your kingdom in the highest honor and people will always remember you" he tells it with a bright smile.

It sounds kind of harsh having a life as a knight. My father was part of the royal knights and not too long after he passed away, however people would always remember him as being a great knight. By doing this I would be following my father's footsteps. I shook away the negative thoughts and thought of mother. If I become a knight I could finally have my mother live a good life instead of being in a rundown alleyway, but if I die she'll be lonely. I'm going to take the risk. I just have to be careful and not die, however it sounds simple now until I encounter a horrible situation.

"I accept your offer in these conditions" I sternly tell Lelouch.

I could the see the softness of his smile, "Yes, what is it?".

"One, I want my mother to come live with me in the castle. I'm assuming that since I'm going to be your knight I have to live in the castle, am I right?".

Lelouch nodded, "Yes I heard your first condition".

"Second, I want my friends to come live with me too. They don't have to be pampered or anything, just find a job for them to do because I know they'll be bored being in a castle all day anyway"

"How many friends?" he asks.

I thought about it for a while. Maybe I should just say Ohgi, Rivalz, and Suzaku since Milly is already of nobility.

"Just three" I responded.

"I see.." he heard my second condition.

"And third, please stop kissing my hands" I said it in an irritated tone.

"Why?" he gave me a pouty look.

"Well since I'm going to be your knight you don't need to be kissing my hand and I just feel uncomfortable with it" I responded.

"Fine" he then gains his composure, "Consider it all done!".

This is going to be an interesting life from now on. I wonder what is going to happen from tomorrow. For all my friends.

"Well I just have to find out myself" I told myself.

A/N: YAY DONE!