Disclaimer: I don't own anything
"AHHHH"-Normal speaking
'get out of my head!!'-Normal thought
"melon"-Radio chat
Chapter III
Alliance
--
Ohgi stood in the large van that was the mobile headquarters of the Black Knights, scrutinizing, or at least trying to scrutinize, their newest recruit.
He hadn't been too surprised when an unfamiliar Knightmare frame had joined them at the rendezvous point, their enigmatic leader held in one of its clawed hands. Zero had radioed ahead of them to tell them of the knew arrival, but needless to say, Ohgi had been surprised when what appeared to be a highly advanced looking Knightmare frame had followed Kallen out of the Narita area.
Even more surprising was the pilot, who seemed just as enigmatic and mysterious as Zero. The rest of the Black Knights had been quite surprised seeing yet another masked man climb out of the cockpit of the machine. Said man, or older teen possibly, was now standing next to Zero at the front of their van, the latter about to explain the former's presence. Or so Ohgi hoped. The last thing they needed right now was another unknown member of their team. Especially if that member seemed to be very close to their masked leader.
Frankly, the figure was even more foreboding then Zero was. He was garbed in a black cloak like Zero's, except it seemed a bit darker. Under the cloak was what appeared to be body armor of some kind. It consisted of a dark red cuirass, black armored pants and combat boots. The rest was concealed under a black trench coat that rested under the figures cloak. But what most set their newest recruit apart from Zero was what adorned his head. Unlike the large helmet-like mask that made their leader so infamous, the newcomer concealed most of his head with a dark hood from his cloak. And under that cloak was a faceless mask, a mask that Ohgi would freely admit, made the newcomer all the creepier. The mask had a slight T-shape to it, and was a dark crimson with sections that were pure black and seemed to be scared from battle use. Finally, it possessed a single thin black eye-slit going across it that Ohgi knew the man was staring out at them from behind. All and all, while Zero held a foreboding and dark aura, this man seemed downright creepy, like he was some kind of assassin or dark overlord from a fantasy novel.
"So… who is this guy anyway?" Tamaki spoke up, as he was almost always the one to speak up start talking first
"As I told Kallen," Zero began, "this is our newest recruit, Naruto Namikaze. He's an old friend of mine, and his talents and abilities will greatly boost our fighting potential"
Now this truly interested Ohgi. Judging from the name, the man was obviously Japanese, but it was what Zero had just said about him that really caught his attention. If this Naruto person was an old friend of Zero, it meant that he probably knew Zero's true identity as well.
"Zero, forgive me if I'm speaking out of line, but why does he wear a mask like you do? Does this mean we can't know what he looks like either? I think that if we know his name, we should at least know his face" Ohgi said, deciding to broach his concerns about another masked member of their organization.
"Very perceptive Ohgi, but it is not my call. Fortunately, Naruto has agreed to show his face to those here, but his face and name will remain concealed to most others" Lelouch replied under his mask, turning to Naruto to continue.
Bringing his hand up to the mask concealing his face, Naruto spoke. "I usually don't like concealing my identity, but it is necessary. My identity will only be known to the highest levels of the Black Knights, in other words, you. I hope you can keep this secret"
"Of course" Ohgi answered, the others nodding in agreement. "But why exactly is it necessary?"
"Well…" Naruto said as he removed the mask, revealing his blonde hair, blue eyes and scarred cheeks, "While I am Japanese by birth, I've spent most of my life outside the country. I have many contacts and aliases around the world that will come in handy for our efforts. And lets just say some of my contacts wouldn't be to happy to discover that I'm working with a terrorist organization like the Black Knights. And yes, that does mean some of them are Britannian" he finished as he slid the mask into his cloak.
The other Black Knights nodded in affirmation, though most of them were a bit shocked to see such a cheerful face behind such a dark and foreboding outfit. Though curious, Ohgi didn't feel like broaching the topic.
"Hey, so if you're trying to be so subtle, what's with the flashy outfit anyway?"
After all, Tamaki would could always be counted on to ask the stupid and usually irrelevant questions.
"Because it looks badass. Why do you think I wear it?"
'Huh?' was most of the collected thoughts of the assembled Black Knights at that moment. Lelouch simply smiled under his mask and shook his head almost imperceptibly in exasperation. Naruto hadn't changed a bit.
Breaking the silence, Lelouch got back to business. "From this point on, Naruto is my first Lieutenant, as well as our field commander. His skills with a Knightmare will be invaluable to us. Also, due to the fact that his identity must remain secret to others, his codename shall be 'Raven'. I expect you to address him as such outside of our private conversations"
"Really? Just how good is he?" Kallen said, suddenly very interested.
"He took on, and overpowered the White Knightmare from Shinjiku"
Kallen's eyes widened in surprise and just a little bit of jealousy. If he could do that, then he was at the least equal in skill to her, and from what she could see from his Kightmare, she could guess that it was certainly on the same level as her Gurren Mrk. II.
"Now that introductions are taken care of, there is the matter of the repair of our units…"
--
Marcus Hawkins sighed as he sat in the guard booth of the Ashford academy gates. Today had been slow, as always. I mean, who would want to break into a school of all places? All his job consisted of was checking the passes of elevens or any other suspicious characters who wanted in, and send them away if they weren't in order. The elevens didn't cause much trouble around here, not like around the getto.
In other words, though he did get paid well, the job was still boring as hell.
''sigh' maybe I should have enlisted like dad wanted. Then again, with all the Zero business that's been going on, maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea. But at least that might be more interesting then this job- wait whose that?'
He was brought back to reality as he realized someone was approaching the gates. School had already been let out for the day, so the only people who should be coming were either faculty or those affiliated with the Ashfords. Like Lelouch and Nunnully Lamporage, who were living with the family who owned the school.
And this guy didn't look familiar at all to Marcus.
The boy looked to be around sixteen to seventeen years old, and though he looked to be an eleven, he certainly wasn't dressed like one. He was wearing the standard black school uniform, along with a large backpack. In his left hand and slung over his shoulder was a large briefcase. The teen looked to be an eleven, but as Marcus scrutinized his face further, that didn't seem so much the case. He seemed to have the appearance of someone of Britannian descent as well. So maybe he had Britannian and Eleven parents then?
Even so, the fact that Marcus had seen everyone that went to this school and this kid was not one of them warranted checking his papers. Afterall, he was pretty sure he'd never seen anyone with that kind of spiky blond hair his life, let alone anyone who went to the academy.
"Hey kid!" the man called out as the boy walked past the guard station, immediately getting his attention. The boy looked to him with a curious expression.
"I need to see your papers"
The boy seemed to take a minute to register this, before scratching the back of his head with a sheepish expression.
"Oh. Well you see…" he said with a guilty tone, which made Marcus cross his arms and scowl.
"Look you eleven" Marcus said, interrupting, "just because you're a half-breed doesn't mean you're any different from the other eleven scum. So unless you've got the papers to prove it, get out!"
"Well about that…" the blonde replied as he brought his hand away from his head, "You don't need to see my papers" he finished as he slowly waved his hand in front of him.
"I don't need to see your papers" Marcus replied monotonously. And it was true now that he thought about it. The boy was absolutely right. Why would he need papers? He was obviously a Britannian. His clothes proved that. And why would an eleven be trying to get into Ashford Academy anyway? The boy was completely right.
"I'm free to come and go however much I like" the boy said again, waving his hand again.
"You're free to come and go however much you like" Marcus agreed.
"You want to go home and rethink your arrogant Britannian ways"
"I want to go home and rethink my arrogant Britannian ways"
Marcus Hawkins at this point immediately got up and walked out of the guard station, intending to do just that. The boy had made such a valid point after all. I mean, the Britannian ways were quite arrogant and self-centered. The argument the boy made just seemed so compelling.
As the mindless guard left his post, Naruto chuckled to himself as he walked through the gates.
'I just love doing that'
--
Lelouch sighed as he shut down the computer in his room. It had been a long two days. First there was the battle at Narita and all of the wrap up afterwards which had taken all night. Then he had had a few tests that day as well, all of which he was pretty sure he hadn't done too well on. In short, he was about ready to hit the sack. He had seen neither hide nor hair of Naruto since the meeting too. The blonde had merely said that he had to 'tie up a few loose ends' and had left, leaving his Knightmare with them. It got Lelouch wondering just where Naruto was staying, something that wasn't very common for the blonde. He was quite the drifter apparently.
Lelouch continued to think and rethink the future plans for the Black Knights as he walked down the stairs. It was almost time for dinner after all. And Sayako's meals were certainly something he didn't want to miss. The woman was an amazing cook.
But as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked up in curiosity as the doorbell rang.
'Odd. I wonder who that could be. Nobody from the student council said anything about needing to come over. And C.C. already got her pizza for the day, though with her I can never be too sure'
Calling out to Sayako that he had it covered, Lelouch calmly strode over to the door to open it. In the past, he might have been a bit more paranoid about such an open maneuver, him being an exiled Britannian prince after-all, but with his Geass, he wasn't too worried.
Though his eyes widened slightly when he found that it wasn't one of his classmates or a pizza delivery person, but a grinning Naruto at his door.
"Yo"
Lelouch raised an eyebrow in curiosity as he wondered briefly how Naruto had gotten a school uniform, but was quickly reminded that this was no normal human he was dealing with. Naruto had a penchant for surprising people.
"So, what's up?" Lelouch asked, his mind already beginning to formulate all the possible answers he expected from Naruto.
"Well what do you think? I need a place to crash for a while" Naruto replied nonchalantly as he walked in, carrying the large briefcase that Lelouch just noticed.
Said boy just shook his head. He had a feeling Naruto might do something like this. He did have a habit of mooching of other people for living arrangements. Rather like C.C. now that he thought about it. He also didn't care too much where he had to sleep either if memory served.
But even then, Lelouch was a bit reluctant. He was already renting out the house to one roommate after all.
"Couldn't you just rent an apartment?"
"Yeah, I could. But then it'd be a lot harder for us to discuss strategies. The only other way we could meet would be at school, and I don't want Kallen getting suspicious" Naruto answered, turning to face his former student.
Lelouch could only nod in agreement. The other thing the blonde had a habit of doing was making a compelling argument.
"That, and how can I resist the prospect of free food?" Naruto finished with a grin.
'And a habit for mooching off people whenever he can' Lelouch thought as he sweatdropped. His mentor certainly hadn't changed one bit. But he still had made a compelling argument, and then maybe C.C. would have someone other then himself to annoy.
"And in all seriousness, I did want to see how Nunnely was doing"
"Right" Lelouch answered as he closed the door, recalling that Naruto was quite fond of his little sister.
Telling Sayako to set another place for their 'guest', Lelouch led Naruto to the study where Nunnely was playing with C.C. Probably folding paper cranes like she loved to do ever since Sayako had taught her soon after they had moved in.
"Sayako? As in Sayako Shinozaki?" Naruto asked as they walked down the hall.
"Yes. You know her?"
"Not personally. But I have been keeping tabs on their heirs. I didn't think you'd have one working as your maid"
"And how are you affiliated with the Shinozaki clan anyway?" Lelouch had been long familiar with Sayako's heritage of being the heir to a great clan of ninjas. And she was quite skilled too. It was the primary reason the Ashfords had put him and Nunnely in her care.
"I started it. The shinobi style anyway"
Lelouch was now looking at Naruto, slightly agape. He kept forgetting just how old Naruto really was. Though he could easily visualize Naruto doing something like that.
"Just how old are you anyway?"
Chuckling in amusement, Naruto answered.
"I'll tell you someday"
--
Nunnely Vi Britannia was having an enjoyable day.
Apparently, her older brother and C.C. had had some business to take care of and had not been around the day before. Today however, they had remained and she had had a nice time playing with C.C.
She still refused to believe that she wasn't Lelouch's girlfriend as both had been so apt to inform her. The fact that she was living with him and how they always seemed to leave on 'business' made it obvious. And while she may not have been as smart as her older brother, Nunnely vi Britannia was no fool. It ran in their family, or so their mother had told her.
And now it seemed like they'd be having a guest over for dinner. She had heard Lelouch tell Sayako that they'd be having a guest, which made her extremely curious as to who it was. She hadn't heard anything about it earlier, and it was extremely rare for them to have a dinner guest at such short notice. The last time it had happened was a few month ago when Suzaku had come over, and Lelouch had only kept in the dark as a surprise.
"Lelouch, welcome back" she said as she heard the door open the distinct sound of two sets of feet step through, "So who's our dinner guest tonight?"
Nunnely became curious when Lelouch didn't answer, and even more so when she could faintly make out his chuckle. She then heard the soft steps of someone walking forward. She might have lost her sight, but her other senses had compensated to the point where she could still get an accurate description of what was happening in the room. And she could tell that whoever the other person was, they were now kneeling in front of her.
"It's been a while, Nunnely-chan"
Those words made the girl gasp in shock. The crisp, mirth filled voice she heard could only belong to one person. And only one person in her life had ever called her name with that suffix.
"N-Naruto?" she asked, hardly able to believe what she was hearing.
"Yeah. It's me"
"Oh this is wonderful!" Nunnely spoke up in happiness, "It's so good to hear from you again. I thought we'd never see you again"
"Yeah, it's good to see you too Nunnely-chan"
"What are you doing here?"
"Oh, well I ran into Lelouch and C.C. in Narita, and after we left, I thought I'd check up on you two. And I have some business in Tokyo so I thought I'd crash here for a while. I hope you don't mind" Naruto responded.
"Of course not. We'd love to have you staying with us. Right Lelouch?"
"Yeah. You mooching off us for a while. Just like old times eh, Naruto-sensei?" the dark-haired boy teased with a smirk.
"Hm. Well I certainly don't have a problem with it" C.C. spoke up, a bit miffed at being ignored by everyone.
But Lelouch had long forgotten that attempting to tease Naruto was just asking for trouble, and C.C. didn't have any experience with the blonde at all.
"Oh? I'd say both of you owe me after that little incident at Narita eh?"
Lelouch's eyebrows raised slightly. Just what was Naruto playing at? He knew that the blonde wasn't stupid enough to reveal their activities as the Black Knights to Nunnely. He had already told him that she was still in the dark. But before he could do anything, Nunnely's insatiable curiosity was perked.
"Hm? What happened at Narita?"
Lelouch then paled slightly as he caught the evil smirk on Naruto's face. He knew what was coming now, and he should have known not to tempt Naruto's prankster nature.
"Well… let's just say it involved those two, a secluded cave, a hot spring, and golden blackmail material if anyone other then me had seen 'em. In fact, it's thanks to me that they weren't… interrupted you could say"
Now Lelouch had gone from pale to bright red in under two seconds. He really should have known better. Even though known of what Naruto had been implying had happened, all of the facts he had given were there. It had been the two of them, in a secluded cave, and the cave had had a hot spring in it if he hadn't been mistaken, and it was thanks to him that they knew Kallen was coming to find them and didn't blow Lelouch's cover as Zero. The only thing that hadn't been there had been the so-called 'Gold Black-mail material' Naruto had mentioned. Unless…
'Damn. He did see my face flush'
"Oh…" Nunnely spoke, her own face flushed slightly as the implications of what Naruto was saying pieced themselves together.
Now Lelouch was no stranger to this kind of teasing. Naruto had turned his relentless prankster and teasing nature on him multiple times during the two years the three of them were together (though never on Nunnely he had noticed), but it was still embarrassing. But it was then that Lelouch noticed the silver lining to his currant predicament. A rather big one at that.
C.C. was flushed as much as he was.
Now this had Lelouch making a dark and evil grin. He might not have enjoyed being the subject of Naruto's merciless teasing, but if it could affect C.C. in a similar matter, that was a small problem. It was about time he saw his normally stoic accomplice squirm like that.
Naruto on the other hand, was observing both his new superior and his partner with a dark smirk of his own. A look that, had anyone had seen it, promised far more incidents like this.
'Man, I don't think I EVER got that good of a reaction out of Lelouch before. And C.C.'s practically pulling a Hinata. Heh, and I thought Cornelia and Guilford were fun to mess with. The stoic emo's are ALWAYS the most fun to play matchmaker with. And the best part is it's actually part of the contract. Sweet'
--
AN: Sorry if I seem to have ignored my own polling. I know most of you wanted me to have Naruto going to Ashford, but I found that the story just flowed better if he was known by some of the Black Knights other then Lelouch and C.C. And fear not, I might just find a way to have him going to Ashford as a student anyway, so everybody's happy.
And on the topic of Lelouch and C.C., yes Naruto is going to hook them up together. And the mysterious 'contract' Naruto mentioned? Well let's just say that'll be revealed later. And C.C. will be playing a much bigger role in the Black Knights. I might even give her a Knightmare at some point (and not just some random cannon fodder Akatsuki or Burai like she gets in R2).
Oh and Naruto's Black Knights outfit is basically Darth Revan's robes, hood and mask from KOTOR (from the cinematics of the game, not the ones you get on the Star Forge). And to anyone who also read the latest chapter of my 'Roku Naruto' fic, yes, I have gone a little Star Wars crazy. Blame Force Unleashed and my just beating KOTOR again.
Next Chapter: Naruto gets adjusted to life at Ashford, Lelouch and C.C. (try to) get adjusted to life with Naruto (teasing the hell out of them), and the physical training regimen from hell shall be released upon the world once again. And maybe some other stuff will happen too.
Lelouch: PLEASE SOMEONE END THE PAIN!
C.C.: Heh heh heh. Oh crap! Now he's looking at me! (runs in fear)
Naruto: MWHA HA HA HA HA HA HA!! Fear the power of YOUTH! (chases C.C.)
You WILL Read and Review (waves hand Jedi style).