Chapter Three: Something Whispered in an Alleyway

Lelouch played with the locket, sending it back and forth on the chain around his neck. He had woken up again, and this time he couldn't convince himself to go back to sleep. Lelouch sighed, letting the locket and chain drop back to his chest, turning his head to stare at the clock. It was six in the morning. He had one hour before he had to get up so that they could catch their flight back. That was, if he still wanted to stick with this plan.

It had sounded good when Kallen had explained it to him back at Aries Villa and when he had thought it over. But it was slowly losing its appeal the longer he thought about it.

For one, he was entrusting his life to two strangers. No, three. Lelouch closed his hand over the locket, taking a deep breath. Suzaku was just as much of a stranger as the rest of them. There was no reason for him to trust Suzaku other than the vague feeling, which could mean anything. Suzaku could just remind him of someone that he had known in the past.

Lelouch grunted and flipped to his side, his back facing the clock. So, he had gotten himself into a situation with three people that he wasn't sure he could trust. But at least they hadn't lied to him about being sent by Lady Marianne, he had made them show identification before he had agreed to stay the night; which left him in a room with two knights of the empire and a guard, the people that he would have trusted anyway.

He narrowed his eyes, pushing aside that issue for the next one. He was essentially risking everything for this; he was disappearing off the radar of the orphanage. All of the contacts that the orphanage had set up for him would eventually give up him, which he was almost alright with. He would be better with this whole thing if there was a way for him to make sure that he would have something to come back to, but Lelouch knew better. What these people were offering him was the best opportunity that he had.

Third, it was a chance to get his memories back. If Suzaku was just vaguely familiar then the possibility of him triggering other memories was better. It was better than his original plan of just wandering around the Aries Villa in the hopes that something would trigger. Although he wasn't sure about how likely either of situations would be. If neither of them worked, he could always count on the information that he would get from the knights. And if that didn't work, then Lelouch wasn't sure what would.

He sighed, dropping his gaze to where Suzaku was asleep on the floor, curling up in a blanket. Lelouch shook his head, sliding his hand under his own pillow. Suzaku had volunteered his own bed and claimed the floor faster than Lelouch had been able to refuse. He was used to sleeping in uncomfortable places, not because the orphanage was abusive in any way, but there were times when it had gotten crowded.

Lelouch glanced over his shoulder at a grunt, watching as Gino curled around Kallen on the other bed. He shook his head. So this was where he gambled and then waited for it all to pay off, it was the only think he could do. And surprisingly, he wasn't regretting his actions yet, he was just nervous about what he was getting himself into.

It wasn't like Lady Marianne was going to kill him for attempting this, right?

He winced, his eyes snapping open as he heard someone sit up. Lelouch startled as a hand landed on the side of the bed, scooting back as Suzaku used the hold to lever himself upright. The guard swayed for a moment, rubbing his eyes before stretching. Lelouch tensed as Suzaku jerked, the man realizing that he was being watched.

Suzaku turned to look at him, giving Lelouch a smile. "Sorry if I woke you, your highness."

Lelouch grit his teeth to keep himself from shouting. "Don't call me that. You guys haven't proven anything yet."

The smile was still on Suzaku's face. "And when we do?"

"That's up for me to decide." Lelouch kept his voice low, settling for a glare. He wouldn't have anyone deciding things for him more than he had to; he was already giving up too much. This was better than just trudging through the rest of his life without a real reason to live. For now, that focus was on his memories. Lelouch would figure out what would come afterward later.

He sat up, still glaring at Suzaku. "For now, I'm just taking a stab in the dark, nothing is proven."

Suzaku just shrugged and walked over to the bathroom, Lelouch sighing and sinking back into the bed, pulling the covers back over his head.

There was another problem that he hadn't thought of, having to be around Suzaku and his hopeful smiles. Lelouch had been on the receiving end of those since Suzaku had gotten over his shock. Lelouch hadn't had the time to talk with the others. Gino had just announced that he had only been able to get an early flight before shooing them all towards bed. But that was one thing that Lelouch had to fix quickly, he had to figure out why they were all doing this aside from their orders, especially Suzaku.

Lelouch's eyes snapped open as he heard people moving in the other bed, peering out from the covers as he rolled onto his other side. It was seven in the morning now, the time that they were all supposed to be getting up. He smothered a yawn and tugged the covers over his head again, taking a couple of deep breaths. He was the one who had wanted this; he had to face the consequences of his choice.

He threw the covers back, quickly averting his eyes as Kallen clambered out of bed, going over to the bathroom door. Lelouch ignored her as she shouted abuse at Suzaku, pivoting in place to face Gino. The blond man smiled, glancing over his shoulder. "You get used to the two of them."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, leaning back onto his hands. With Kallen staking out the bathroom as hers next, Lelouch couldn't really do anything but sit and wait.

Gino struggled to pull a shirt over his head, shaking his head as soon as it was settled. "You've probably made the smart move there. Kallen does not appreciate a fine morning like I do."

"I'll show you a fine morning." Kallen snapped.

Lelouch turned around in time to see Suzaku peek out of the bathroom, his eyes widening as Kallen grabbed Suzaku's shoulder and hauled him out of the bathroom, leaving Suzaku standing in the room with nothing but a towel around his waist. Suzaku blushed and scurried to get his clothes while Gino laughed.

"You should have gotten up sooner, Suzaku."

Suzaku just mumbled an answer, digging through his suitcase for a change of clothes.

Lelouch swallowed and looked back over at Gino, not sure how to take the chaos that seemed to be a normal morning for the three of them. And, from the way that Gino was laughing into his pillow, Lelouch wouldn't be getting that answer any time soon. He shifted uncomfortably in his bed and resigned himself to having to deal with it.

In the orphanage, there really hadn't been the chance for companionship like this, or he hadn't allowed it. The schedule that was followed wasn't too strict and there was plenty of time for playing or relaxing. The problem was that Lelouch had spent the entirety of his time with the children who knew that they would never get adopted, the ones that just knew that they were living here until it was time to go out into the streets. The younger kids could be hopeful, but the others had run out of hope, so they just existed. No one got close just because there was the fear that they wouldn't be able to be found again, that they'd forget about their friends in the rush of their new life.

It had been quiet and predictable, nothing like this.

Lelouch swallowed and threw the covers off of him, sliding out of bed to kneel by his backpack. He didn't have much, but it would be enough to get him to London. When they got there, he would have to figure out something else, but he bet that the knights wouldn't let him go without. He refused to acknowledge the quick moment of guilt that came with that thought.

He wasn't tricking them at all. They had offered him a chance to find out what had happened to him, and he was taking it. He hadn't lied to them about anything, although he had been tempted to just to avoid their notice.

He reached for his locket, twirling it between his fingers. He wasn't ever going to second guess his choice. It was the right one after all.

Lelouch pulled out another pair of jeans and a turtleneck, glancing around the room before hissing a curse out. It wasn't like he wasn't used to changing with other people in the room, but at least those people he had known. He took a deep breath before pulling off his shirt and pulling on the turtleneck, quickly struggling into his jeans as he heard the bathroom door open.

He froze as Kallen walked out, the woman absently toweling off her hair as she stared at him. "What?"

"Uh…"

She huffed and threw the towel on the ground. "I'm dressed and there's nothing showing." She rolled her eyes and ambled over to the bed she had shared with Gino, beginning to pack up. "Now hurry up, your highness, or we'll be late."

Lelouch didn't get a chance to respond; barely finishing getting dressed himself before Gino was herding them out of the room with a smile and a friendly reminder to remember their bags. Lelouch just clutched his backpack, feeling very lost. In what seemed like moments he was down in the lobby of the hotel, Gino leaning against the counter and flirting with the woman behind the desk, seeming oblivious to Kallen's glares.

His hands tightened on his backpack, Lelouch taking a quick breath. He just had to repeat to himself that he wouldn't regret this, that it was better than just sitting around and waiting for something to happen. He had done enough of that for ten years.

He jumped as a hand landed on his arm, surprised to see Suzaku smiling down at him. Lelouch barely resisted the urge to pull away, wanting to snap at Suzaku. He wasn't overwhelmed by all of this. It may have been moving faster than he wanted, but he was far from being so lost that he didn't know what to do. But Suzaku just smiled at him, and Lelouch allowed it.

Lelouch sighed and stared at the floor, trying to distance himself from all of this. He had gotten good at it during his time in the orphanage. It had been tough to find some time alone with all of the other kids, so he had just curled up in a corner and stared at his locket, waiting for them to leave him alone. Usually he zoned out before that happened, but it still left him with the illusion of being alone. Back then, he had been willing to take the illusion, he had been willing to take any illusion.

Suzaku's hand stayed on his arm, not gripping but resting there as Kallen finally dragged Gino away and they began their walk outside. Lelouch was tempted to shrug it off again as Gino called for a taxi, but resisted the urge. Suzaku wasn't restraining him in any way or attempting to guide him. Suzaku was just there, standing by his side with that stupid smile on his face. So Lelouch allowed him to remain, Suzaku staying too close to him from the time he got out of the taxi at the airport until they sat down in their seats.

Mao tapped his cell phone against his leg, leaning back on the bench. He stared at the sky, tapping out a rhythm of four before stopping when the sound got too annoying. Mao stared at the cell phone before letting it drop beside him. The cell phone wouldn't be ringing anyway, anyone who knew the number was dead already. He carefully kept his face from showing his emotion, brushing an invisible bit of lint from his pants.

The other three leaders of the Geass Order had died quickly on his way out, but not before they had tried to bargain for their life, the key word being tried. None of them had been able to supply him more information than the files on the boy. From there he had learned that his rival's name was Lelouch Lamperouge. He had been named after the youngest prince that had died on the day of the massacre and had been recently released from an orphanage in Tokyo because he had aged out. There the trail went cold.

Mao had spent the day trying to get more information from the contacts that the Geass Order had, but they had all come up with the same answer; Lelouch had essentially disappeared from the face of the world. He hadn't checked in with the contacts that the orphanage had set up nor had he sought out a job. The people at the orphanage weren't worried, they had been told by the woman who had brought him to them that she would take care of him for a few days if he didn't want to settle with a job right away. The orphanage wouldn't be checking in with him for a few days, which meant that this was Mao's perfect chance to strike, if he could find the boy. The fact that Lelouch had disappeared from the face of the earth at this point made it difficult.

He sighed and picked up his phone again, staring at the screen. He wasn't expecting any calls, not since he'd called his people off. It was time to think and regroup, the stage that he hated the most. To sit around and be inactive would push his patience to the limit, but he was willing to do it for C.C.

Mao glanced lazily up at the hotel across the street, watching people pass in front of it. He would have to work on his own for the next part, asking around about the boy and following his trail despite the fact that it was probably cold. And then there was the logistics of the Geass Order to worry about, the whole organization was operating under the idea that they still had leaders and Mao was just under orders. It wouldn't take them long to figure out that their leaders were dead. In that case, he had to be ready to strike out on his own, but he would have to take all of the files with him.

He reached over to pat his backpack, trying to reassure himself that he had everything. He would go back to the Geass Order's headquarters just in case. He wanted to be prepared when the rest of the Order came after him, if they came after him at all. From what he knew about the group, many of them had just joined to have the chance to protest the government. The Order had basically fallen apart after the night of the massacre and become a group of old men grumbling about the fact that they had lost their chance to govern Japan.

Mao sighed, letting his arm drape over the backpack. A trip back to the headquarters wouldn't hurt in any case and it would give him a chance to get some other documents that could come in handy, like those that detailed his missions. It wouldn't be too hard to burn them to be sure that he was never caught. And then there were the plans that Vincent had originally written up, the ones that had detailed how the Order would come into power, they would be useful to him eventually. He could think of five families off the top of his head that would pay him good money for that information, Britannian or not. In any case, he was set, just as long as he found that boy.

He groaned, flipping his phone open again before snapping it shut a moment later. If he continued to sit on the bench he wouldn't get anything done, and the trail would be lost. Mao bent over to grab his bag. He would go over the files one more time before moving on, he wanted to be sure of everything before he started out on his own. It was safe enough to stay here because, if the men from the Geass Order came looking for him, they would start in his usual spots and he was far from any of those. The only way they could catch him was if they followed him from the crematory where he had dropped off C.C's body. He hadn't wanted to have her cremated, he would have preferred to have had her buried, but she had always talked about not being tied to one place. It had only made sense to have her cremated, because then he could scatter her ashes into the wind and let her travel forever. He would be sure to buy a headstone later, just to have something to visit and remember her by. At the moment, he had a mission to do and nothing in mind that would fit C.C. to put on a headstone. He would have plenty of time to think it over.

He sighed and stared at the file, shaking his head. He picked up the picture of the boy, snorting at it. He couldn't imagine what the Geass Order would want with this boy. There was nothing special about him and yet they had a wealth of information on him. Mao could also see the beginnings of a hit on this boy, one that he would have eventually had to carry would, which just left him all the more confused. What about this boy was so special?

He held the picture up, squinting at it. There to be had to be something that would give him a clue, then he could finally understand why C.C. had replaced him with this boy. Mao titled his head to the side, clicking his tongue against the roof of his mouth. He went to put the picture down when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye from the hotel across the street.

Four people were getting into a cab. One of them was instantly recognizable, Suzaku Kururugi. The son of the former prime minister of Japan had disappeared for a few years before being found again. He had eventually sought shelter out of the country with the Britannian family because the Kururugi family had supported the Britannians. It hadn't been safe for Suzaku in Japan until recently when the government had stabilized.

The other two took him a moment longer to recognize. He guessed that they were guards at first from the way that they carried themselves and their general alertness. It was the way that Suzaku deferred to them that made him realize that they were more than guards, they were knights specifically assigned to guard members of the royal family. Mao sighed, shaking his head. They would only be here if there was a dignitary in Japan, which would make hiding that much harder for him. Once the murders of the former members of the Japanese government were found it would be a matter of time before his name came up.

Mao cursed under his breath. He would change his plans depending on when the news broke. He wanted to be sure that he would have to hide before committing himself to that plan.

Mao's eyes widened as she saw the fourth person come into view, staring at the young man. Apparently it was his lucky day, because he had found his mark. The fact that the boy was being escorted by knights of Britannia and Suzaku Kururugi was a bit worrying, but not enough to deter Mao. For all he knew the boy could be a fake to confuse the public or probably a minor son in the house of Britannia. If the boy had been Schneizel's son, there would have been many more guards. But none of that mattered; all that did was that Mao would be able to get the boy away from his guards.

He slipped the file back into his backpack, watching as they got into a cab. Mao got to his feet, hailing a cab of his own. Mao gave the orders to go to the airport, hoping that his guess was right. To give the order just to follow the other cab would be too suspicious, especially since the cab had Britannians and he was very careful to avoid suspicion.

When he was sure that the cab would keep him with his quarry, Mao sat back with a sigh and took out his phone. He would transfer what funds he could before switching to his other cell phone. He would then dump the phone given to him by the Geass Order to avoid being tracked. In the meantime, he would stack the odds in his favor. Killing the boy, whether or not he was an important part of the house of Britannia or not, would cause another uproar in Japan and he preferred to avoid that. But another dead Britannian in Britannia or the EU would be another thing entirely.

Nunnally looked up from her book as Rolo cleared his throat, smiling at the sight of Euphemia rushing in, leaving the maid to handle the tea tray. Nunnally stood up and caught Euphemia in a hug, the two of them smiling at each other before sitting down at the nearest table, Rolo bringing over the tray.

"Thank you." Nunnally cut a slice of cake and added a sandwich to the plate before gesturing to one of the cups. "Go on and take your break Rolo."

"But-"

"You don't have to leave. I'm just asking you to take a break while we talk and enjoy yourself. Euphy and I can't eat all of this on our own."

Rolo looked like he was going to refuse for a moment, but he bowed. "Yes, my lady."

Nunnally smiled, turning her attention to her half sister, sure that Rolo would listen to her. Despite his nervousness and over protectiveness he was a wonderful guard. She just wished that he would talk more often. She was sure that Rolo would be as good as Jeremiah once he got a little more experience. He was still very young.

From the information given to them from Rolo's mother, he wasn't the biological son of Lord Haliburton but one of Charles' illegitimate children. Lady Haliburton had wanted the reminder of the scandal out of the house before her marriage had collapsed further. Because of this Rolo was constantly afraid of being dragged out into the spotlight as a member of the Britannian family or failing as a guard, which was the only reason that Nunnally was holding out on knighting him. More recently, however, she had been considering keeping him as a guard until he requested to become a knight.

Euphemia gave Rolo a wave and settled back in her chair. "Oh, it's good to sit down. We've been on the move since yesterday."

"But you had no problems?"

Euphemia shook her head. "Not while traveling. Although Empress Evelina is close to throwing a fit because Kanon has returned from his family business."

"I thought that they had settled that."

"So did I." Euphemia sighed. "But now that she's empress, Evelina doesn't want to be upstaged by a minor noble and a man at that, despite the fact that she was fine with Schneizel's relationship with Kanon before. In fact, Evelina hadn't cared for Schneizel before he became emperor. Even Schneizel's son prefers Kanon to Evelina. I sense some trouble coming from Pendragon soon."

Both of them winced. Schneizel didn't deserve trouble on top of the running of the empire.

The empire had nearly crumbled when Schneizel had taken the throne. Factions had tried to push forward Guinevere and Cornelia as alternates despite Cornelia's adamant refusals and the fact that Guinevere refused to come out of hiding for the first two months after the massacre. Even when Guinevere had refused the position the other branches of the family continued their attempts, beginning to drag up scandals in the hopes that people would demand that he would abdicate. And Schneizel had weathered all of the attempts, even when they had pulled out his continuing affair with Kanon, even though it had been public since Schneizel's college years. The attempt had just gathered support for Schneizel, even to the point where there were calls for him to end his marriage to Evelina, something that Schneizel had refused to do. Nunnally had never asked for his reasons, just because she thought that he deserved some measure of peace on the matter.

The attempt that had ruined the entire effort was the push to prove that Schneizel had a part in the massacre of his family. Schneizel had denied these claims vehemently and put even more effort into finding those who had killed members of their family. That had really secured his position as emperor, but it was still a struggle, especially with the former wives of Charles zi Britannia, a handful of them still jockeying to get their children onto the throne of Britannia.

Nunnally sipped at her tea. "Will Evelina cause more trouble for him? She has everything that she wants."

Euphemia shrugged. "That's probably why Cornelia wanted to get out of Pendragon. Schneizel and Kanon will be able to handle Evelina themselves, but this might be what brings about their divorce no matter what Schneizel wants. That and she was getting on Cornelia's nerves about Guilford. Apparently it isn't right to be engaged to a lowly soldier, not even if he is one's knight."

"I thought that Dalton was her knight."

"He is. Guilford stepped down when their relationship began to get serious, but Evelina doesn't seem to care." Euphemia rolled her eyes, leaning back in her chair. "I wish that the two of you would come back to court, I'm sure that Marianne would be able to keep Evelina in line. Gabrielle would have…" Euphemia swallowed, dropping her gaze to the table. "Katarina isn't doing so well herself; the doctors say that she had months left to live."

Nunnally winced and stared down at her tea. She couldn't imagine how Schneizel would handle the loss of his mother. They were all very sensitive to the loss of anyone close to them. She sighed and put her cup down. "I don't think mother would want to. She's said that she doesn't want to go back to Pendragon, that she doesn't feel safe there. And…she still wants to find Lelouch."

Euphemia's cup shook. "Lelouch? You mean his body or…"

"No, she thinks he's still alive." Nunnally leaned forward, covering her face with her hands. "I got her to stop though; I got her to stop looking. It was killing her to keep listening to all of those impostors. So at least she's stopped seeing them."

"That's…good."

"It isn't! You didn't see her face." Nunnally looked up, sorry that she had yelled at Euphemia. She folded her hands into her lap. "It was like they had announced that he was dead again and I was the one who got her to do it."

"I don't think Marianne will stop."

"No, she'll never stop looking on her own, but she's not going to try." Nunnally bit her lip. "We went out to the theater yesterday and there was a man who looked like Lelouch, but she didn't even look at him. She spent the entire time staring straight ahead."

Euphemia reached out, resting a hand on Nunnally's. "You did the right thing, Nunnally. Perhaps she can get over his death now."

"Death?"

"Nunnally…" Euphemia shifted nervously in her seat. "He fell out of the car. Lelouch could have survived the fall, but the villa was surrounded by people who wanted to kill us. I…I don't think that Lelouch would have survived that. I'm sorry."

Nunnally sniffed, ducking her head so Euphemia wouldn't see her cry. "I know that. I do. But I just don't want to say it, because it will feel like I've given up. And I don't want to give up."

"I know. I would feel the same way if it was Cornelia. But it's for the best. You don't want to end up like-" Euphemia cut herself off. The cup and saucer rattled as Euphemia set them back on the table, Nunnally looking up at the sound.

She knew what Euphemia had been about to say, she didn't want Marianne or Nunnally to end up like Suzaku, which was a valid worry at this point. Nunnally was sure that Marianne would mope around their mansion for a few days more before going out into society like before; she had only gone out the day before because they had already planned that outing. She was sure that Marianne would recover and begin to move on, if not forgive herself. Nunnally wasn't so sure about Suzaku. In fact, she had put off calling the team back for the sole reason that she had no idea what she would tell Suzaku. Even if he obeyed the order to return, Nunnally was sure that he would resign the next day and continue to search on his own.

"Nunnally, I'll stay if you want." Euphemia leaned forward. "Cornelia wants to spent some time alone with Guilford, but I'll stay. Sometimes it's better to have another person around."

"I'd like that. Thank you."

Euphemia nodded. "You're welcome. And, between you and me, I'd rather not have to spend time with Cornelia while she attempts to flirt with Guilford. It can get painful."

"Well then you're welcome to stay." Nunnally smiled, wiping her cheeks. "I'm sure that Milly would love to see you again, especially since it means more parties for her to plan."

"Oh, I haven't been to a Milly party in ages." Euphemia grinned, reaching for a cookie and nibbling at the edge of it. "Is she still engaged to that fifty year old man?"

"No, she managed to wiggle out of that. Now she's after someone her own age." Nunnally allowed her mind to wander as she reported the latest gossip. She was more focused on what to say to the knights that they had sent out, and she was sure that Euphemia could tell that her mind was not on the subject. But her half sister wouldn't object, she would just try her best to keep Nunnally from brooding to long on the subject.

She would contact the three out in Area 11 after dinner, when she was sure that Euphemia would distract Marianne. Nunnally didn't want her mother to change her mind at the last minute. It was better just to give up on this one matter, because they could move on with their lives. Nunnally didn't want to forget about Lelouch, forgetting her brother was the last thing on her mind. But she did want to be able to move on, to be able to look out the window and not jump because she saw someone that looked like Lelouch. Most of all, she didn't want to become like her mother or Suzaku, always waiting for someone that she knew was never going to come back.

Nunnally swallowed, glancing back at Rolo before returning her complete attention to Euphemia. Between her and Euphemia, they were going to make this work out.

Suzaku woke up at the steady pressure on his shoulder. He turned his head, surprised to see that Lelouch had leaned over to use him as a pillow and had fallen asleep. Suzaku smiled and reached up to ruffle Lelouch's hair only to jerk his hand back.

This wasn't his Lelouch, no matter how much Suzaku wanted him to be. He wasn't going to let himself be too hopeful, he had promised himself that after countless failures. But it was hard, especially since Lelouch looked so much like his friend. He even had the royal eyes, the deep purple color that was acknowledged to be a Britannian trait. Even the Duke of Britannia, the first emperor of the current royal line, had had the strange color. That had to be enough evidence to prove that this Lelouch was somehow related to the royalty if not the missing prince. And if he wasn't the lost prince, then Suzaku could go on searching knowing that he had managed to do one thing right.

Suzaku reached up to trace the shape of the tattoo on his neck through the fabric of his shirt. What he really wanted to do was hold onto his pin, but that was stowed carefully in his carry on bag, which was out of his reach. He wanted the reminder, just to tell himself not to get too emotionally involved. There had been hundreds of people claiming that they were Lelouch before, he didn't want to get his hopes up.

He glanced over to where Gino and Kallen were sitting, a bit disappointed when he saw that Gino was fast asleep and Kallen was immersed in the thriller novel that Gino had brought along. Suzaku sagged in his seat, trying to look out the window to avoid looking at Lelouch.

It was unfair to rely on them for a distraction, especially since the two of them obviously had something between them. While Suzaku was happy for the two of them he felt like the odd one out, like he had when they had been knighted and he had remained a guard or when they were chosen to escort Lady Marianne and Nunnally. Logically he knew that it wasn't their faults or even Marianne's fault, but that thought didn't help, especially when all of them were giving him sympathetic looks. Suzaku understood that he was messed up and that finding Lelouch had become an obsession, but it was the only thing he could do now. He couldn't go back to Japan, now when the entire country mourned his father's death while he knew the truth. He had no purpose in life anymore, aside from finding Lelouch. Then maybe he would earn the right to make amends for what his father had done.

Suzaku froze as Lelouch shifted against him, watching as the young man out of the corner of his eye. Lelouch would be out of his hands as soon as they landed in England. Gino and Kallen would introduce Lelouch to his mother and sister while Suzaku went back to the barracks. The only thing that he had to look forward to was the request he would make.

Lelouch muttered something in his sleep, Suzaku tensing as Lelouch grabbed onto his wrist. He shivered as the pads of Lelouch's fingers slid against his wrist.

That was another reason to stay away.

The therapist assigned to the barrack had told him repeatedly that his attraction to Lelouch was something that he had made up. It was a combination of his unhealthy obsession with finding Lelouch and the feelings associated with their friendship. Suzaku wasn't quite sure that he believed her.

He knew that he had loved Lelouch as a friend, but he had never gotten the chance to see if it would have been something more. Suzaku had always been nice to Lelouch's sisters and the girls that his father had been considering for him and a handful of them had caught his attention completely. Euphemia was one, even now he was still in awe of her and her ability to get things done while pretending to be completely naïve.

The problem was that, even as a child, Lelouch had commanded so much of his attention. Lelouch had even held his version of court, gathering his friends and those that he trusted around him and lavishing them with his attention. The most dangerous and addicting thing was that the affection had been genuine, not faked or forced like the true court. It had been Lelouch's place to be his true self with special attention paid to Lelouch's sisters and Suzaku, which had meant that Suzaku was always by Lelouch's side as his preferred companion. And somehow, despite Lelouch's compulsion to be in charge, things had worked. Suzaku was allowed to be himself and not watch that he wasn't as smart as he should have been or that he was a bit goofy.

It had been nice.

Suzaku was more willing to believe that these feelings for Lelouch had been there all along instead of the therapist's explanation. He had been playing knight to Lelouch for so long that he didn't know how to exist otherwise. Despite the fact that he had know Lelouch would have protested, he had become a soldier because he wanted to save people. He had seen enough death on the night he had killed his father to last him a lifetime.

He shifted carefully, making sure that Lelouch wouldn't fall off his shoulder. As much as he didn't want to get attached too fast and without proof, he wanted to believe in something, he wanted to have something resembling hope. Suzaku smiled as he felt Lelouch move closer to him, the fingers around his wrist tightening. Suzaku rolled his eyes, leaning his cheek against the top of Lelouch's head.

He had never been able to resist Lelouch, not even when he tried. When they had first met they had hated each other, and yet, they had still become friends.

Suzaku sighed, closing his eyes. "I'm going to do it, aren't I?" He kept his voice to a whisper, keeping the words between Lelouch and himself. "I'm going to charge in without a plan and hate myself for it later. I should have stayed away."

He should taken the seat next to Gino when Kallen had put up a half hearted struggle, then he wouldn't have been close, wouldn't have been falling. This Lelouch was good looking enough, but Suzaku was imagining his Lelouch's personality along with that. Suzaku shivered and clenched his eyes more tightly shut. He was every inch the idiot that everyone called him. He could already tell that this was going to end badly, but he couldn't stop himself either way.

Gino stretched his arms over his head as he walked back to where the others were sitting. They still had another few hours left in their layover and Gino was inclined to leave the others to their business. Lelouch had looked completely content to read the hours away and Suzaku looked happy enough where he was.

Gino was seriously contemplating pulling Kallen away to one of the restaurants in the airport to attempt a date or a little alone time for the two of them. Suzaku would guard Lelouch and keep him from wandering off; they could trust him on that. He would make it up to Suzaku later although, judging by the way Suzaku and Lelouch had been leaning against each other earlier, Suzaku wouldn't mind being left alone with him.

He paused as he phone rang. Gino stepped to the wall and opened his phone, staring at the caller ID. He couldn't think of a reason that Nunnally would call them unless something had happened and Gino hadn't heard anything on the news recently. He shrugged to himself and flipped the phone open. "Princess?"

"Gino? Where have you been?"

"On an airplane. My phone's been off because of that." Gino glanced around. "I'm in an airport in Germany at the moment on our way back from Japan. Do I need to pull rank to get back faster?

"No." Gino relaxed, relieved that there wasn't an emergency. He leaned back against the wall, listening as Nunnally continued to speak. "Nothing more than a visit from Euphy and Cornelia."

"I'm sorry I'll be missing them."

"They're going to be here for a while." Nunnally cleared her throat. "But I have new orders for the three of you, but it may be easier now that you're on your way home."

"New orders?"

"We're stopping the search for Lelouch. I honestly don't think that my mother can take any more disappointment. I can't either. I don't want this to sound horrible but…"

"It's been ten years." Gino swallowed before pushing away from the wall and waling back towards where the others were. "I understand. I'll pass on the orders."

"Thank you Gino. I'm sorry to send you out and then call you back like this."

Gino nodded, slipping into the waiting area. "Don't worry about it, my lady. But I think you should know that-"

The call dropped, Gino pulling the phone away from his ear and staring at it, hissing when he realized that it was dead. He pushed his phone into his pocket. He would borrow Kallen's phone to call Nunnally, but not before talking with Kallen. They had to figure out what they would do with Lelouch with these new orders.

He walked over to where Kallen was sitting, flopping down with a long sigh. Kallen just glanced at him before elbowing him in the side. "Would you look at that?"

Gino glanced over at Suzaku and Lelouch, watching the two of them talk. Suzaku was leaning close to Lelouch and smiling. Gino tipped his head to the side, jumping when Kallen elbowed him again.

"I've never seen Suzaku act like this. You'd think that they've know each other forever." Kallen laughed. "Still, do you think that we should keep them apart?"

"Why?"

"If this doesn't work out he'll be crushed." Kallen rolled her eyes. "I've known Suzaku longer than you have and he'll keep doing this to himself, getting his hopes up and then crushed. I don't want to have to try to talk him down from something stupid. Damn it, he deserves to be a knight just so he could have something to do."

Gino shook his head and gestured at his pocket. "Princess Nunnally just called." Kallen sat up at that, Gino raising an eyebrow when she tried to talk. "It was nothing bad, just new orders. We've done hunting for Lelouch."

"But…but we're bringing this guy back!"

Gino winced and grabbed her arm. He looked over at Suzaku, not surprised that Suzaku was aware of them despite his focus on Lelouch. Gino gave Suzaku a wave before pulling Kallen away. Suzaku nodded slowly and turned his full attention back to Lelouch. Satisfied, Gino led Kallen to a safe distance.

He came to a stop in line for one of the fast food restaurants, Kallen coming to lean on his arm. She smiled up at him. "Explain faster, I hate having to play innocent and cute."

"And I prefer it when you are threatening me." Gino patted her arm. "I didn't get a chance to tell Nunnally about our Lelouch, my phone died. But I don't think that it will change our orders."

"So, what now?"

"We bring him along." Gino shook his head at the shocked look that Kallen gave him. "We can't just send him back to Japan after this."

"You can't believe that he's the lost prince."

"I never said that. I just think we would give him a chance." Gino shrugged. "He fits most of the criteria."

"So we just give him a chance?" Kallen huffed, turning her attention to the menus hanging over the counter. "Do you know how impossible that it will be now? Nunnally won't see him."

"So we plan." Gino let the conversation drop as they stepped up to the counter.

He let Kallen order for the both of them, giving her an annoyed glare when she gestured for him to pay. Gino thought about giving her a playful shove in revenge, but thought better of it. She was carrying the food after all. Without a chance for retribution, Gino just trailed her to a table, poking listlessly at his food.

They sat in silence for a while, Kallen pausing in the middle of raising a forkful of pasta to her mouth. She dropped the fork back into her plate, leaning her cheek on her hand. "So do you have a plan or will you just depend on me to come up with something?"

"Well, I was going to resort to charm and persistence to get that interview."

Kallen snorted. "That won't work. We'll be as bad as those imposters. No." She reached out and poked his arm. "Here's the plan. You tell the princess what we have and convince her to grant us an interview on her terms."

"But she'll never grant us that. When Nunnally makes up her mind there's nothing we can do to change it. Besides, it was an order."

"As if you have ever just followed orders." Kallen grimaced and took a sip of her drink. "Besides, you could just charm her, you're good at that."

Gino stared at Kallen, slowly shaking his head. "I would, but this is Nunnally we're talking about. She's the only one that can send me on guilt trips."

Kallen rubbed her forehead. "Then I guess that it just comes down to if you believe that Lelouch deserves a chance. Even if he isn't the prince we were sent out to find, he has enough of the hallmarks of royal blood to be considered for testing. Lady Marianne and the other wives have made their stance about illegitimate children clear. They don't care about the circumstances of their birth they just want to make sure that the royal family doesn't die out completely. Lady Marianne did take in Rolo."

"So, we pass him off as an illegitimate child?"

"If we have to." Kallen considered her pasta before making a face. "We'll bow to Nunnally's orders not to bring another Lelouch, not until she gives us the go ahead. Until then, you will convince her to have the interview and we'll have the chance to show off our find." She took another bite of her food, pointing her fork at Gino. "And we'll keep our promise to Lelouch."

Gino chuckled, taking a sip of his drink. "What would we do without you?"

"Well, you would be flirting your way through the barracks. And Suzaku would be…" She trailed off, glancing back towards where they had left Suzaku and Lelouch. "Is he just going to keep looking if we've proven wrong?"

"Probably." Gino made a face. "He's not going to stop until he finds Lelouch. His determination is admirable."

"Or a concerning kind of obsession." Kallen shook her head. "He'll keep going until he dies and it's destroying him."

"Is this one of those pre-Schneizel Britannia hatred things?"

"No. This is a worrying about my friend thing." Kallen pushed her plate away, reaching up to adjust her headband. "He was my only friend when I came to Lady Marianne and he's still the only one that really believes that I got this position on my own instead of relying on my father. And what has he done to make his situation better?"

"Kallen, you know it isn't like that."

"Then what is it?" Kallen leaned across the table, glaring at him. "I know he wants to be Lelouch's knight, but what if that never happens? Will he just allow himself to slip quietly away?"

"That might be the best, from a political stance." Gino sighed as Kallen sat up straight. For all her brilliance in strategy Kallen still didn't quite grasp political situations fully. "Listen, Japan doesn't want him; it reminds them of the attack that nearly cost them their freedom. Britannia, speaking as a country, doesn't want him either, because of what his father did. Individually, Suzaku could probably live safely with Marianne or in Schneizel's court."

"But he doesn't want to."

"No. He wants to slip quietly away." Gino reached out to grab her hand, hoping that Kallen would take the comfort instead of resisting. To his relief, her shoulders slumped slightly. "Suzaku isn't meant for making huge political statements like you are."

"He hates himself."

Gino could only nod. They both knew the official story of what happened to Suzaku which was just a dry sequence of events. That said nothing about how Suzaku felt about what had happened, and Gino didn't want to push.

Kallen sat back with a huff, crossing her arms over her chest. "At least we know what to do with our little project. We still need to figure out Suzaku."

"Keep him close." Gino shrugged. "What else can we do? I doubt that either of us could keep him away. And he seems happy enough now."

"So, fuel his obsession?"

"Maybe this will get it to stop." Gino draped one arm over the back of his chair. "He's probably torn between believing and holding back right now, and it won't help that everyone thinks that he's a lost cause."

Kallen shook her head. "You're going to have to deal with the fallout."

"Don't I always?" Gino smiled. "Now, I'm going to watch over the rest of the group. You call Nunnally and report everything, except for the fact that we think that we found Lelouch. Give me time to think of a way to speak to her about it."

Gino rose and gathered their trash, pausing when Kallen reached out to grab his wrist. "Do you think that he's Lelouch?"

"To be honest, I don't know, but I'm optimistic. If you think that it's him, then I'd be willing to believe you, because you're the steadiest out of all of us."

"Really?" Kallen laughed. "Then we're in trouble. I still haven't talked to my mother in years because…Well, we're in trouble."

Gino smiled at her, taking the trash and leaving her at the table. She would come back when she was done. He gave Kallen one last glance over his shoulder before tucking his hands into his pockets and walking back towards Suzaku and Lelouch.

Now that Kallen had been brought up to date he felt more confident. He wasn't the best at planning ahead; he never had to do it until his father had kicked him out of the house. He had always assumed that he would have the protection of the Weinberg family and a good supply of money. Being a knight to Lady Marianne had taught him better, but he was still secure no matter what happened. He was the heir to the Weinberg family, so there was always a place for him.

Kallen had more of an incentive to succeed than him. Not only was she supporting her mother but she was coping with the pressure of being the most popular person in Japan at the moment. Kallen had shown the world that relying on a noble name was not the only was to become a knight. Her noble father had only tried to claim her as his own when she had been knighted.

Gino slowed down as he approached the waiting area, surprised to see Suzaku and Lelouch laughing about something. Gino tipped his head to the side, fighting back a smile.

This was the happiest he had seen Suzaku, and he didn't want that to change. Gino respected Suzaku's desire to remain invisible, but worried about what that would mean in the end. At least now he looked alive for once, and Gino was willing to do anything to keep Suzaku that way.