Disclaimer: I don't own Code Geass. I do own the plot. (Also, many thanks for the reviews! You keep reviewing, I'll keep updating!)
Chapter Nine: Paranoia and Battles
School had started back up and Suzaku was less than pleased. With Lelouch's new found paranoia in regards to their safety he spent every break rechecking the barrier charms he'd placed all round campus. If they were moved even a centimeter off from what he swore they were at he'd replace every single one and redo the ceremony required for them to work, which led to Suzaku having to let Lelouch drain his blood. Mythic creature blood was what needed to be used to write the symbols otherwise the spells were utterly useless. Needless to say Suzaku's patience with the other boy was wearing down to a mere hair when they were called in to the Headmistress' office. Despite being raised in a pack setting and having never met the Headmistress, Suzaku knew that a visit to her office was considered to be a punishment. He was shivering, imagining the Headmistress to resemble Master Todo, only in a dress and with breasts. What the truth was left him stunned.
The woman seated behind the desk was beautiful, to say the least. She had long blond hair and tanned skin that made the color seem a bit brighter. Her sea foam eyes glazed brightly at their arrival and a small smirk came to her rosy red lips. "Hello, Lelouch," She said in a high pitched yet charming voice. Her office was simply; the floors and walls were a dark crimson hue with a dark desk and two black leather seats for students. She turned a bit more in her office chair, also black leather. Lelouch slipped in to one seat, nodding his head toward the other. The curly topped wolf blinked and then hastily sat as well, glancing between his Partner and the Headmistress.
"You wanted to see us, Headmistress Rakshata?" The raven topped youth asked smoothly, leaning back in the chair and neatly folding his hands in his lap. The older woman tilted her chair back and smirked lightly at him. It was his straightforwardness that made her so fond of the intelligent blessed human before her.
"Yes, I need to discuss a few things with you," She began slowly as she began searching through a drawer, "involving both the H.A.W.W. and your family." She dropped a manila folder on her desk, opened it, and pulled out a small report that had been resting inside. "According to Kaguya, Nunnally's adjusted pretty well but still misses you terribly. None of your relatives have tried snooping around in search of her but they've been keeping her on the estate grounds just in case." A small smile came to Lelouch's lips at the news his sister was truly safe. He sometimes worried people lied about her safety just so he'd remain focused on his work here. "From what we have discovered your older brother, Clovis, is the one currently watching over you. Scouts have been sent but there's not a trace of Euphemia or her Partner, Yosuke, anywhere near here anymore."
Lelouch's eyes hardened as he thought about the woman's last sentence. "And what do the rest of the Council want done with Clovis?" He asked bluntly, glaring a bit at the older woman. She giggled lightly at this.
"You are a clever boy, Lelouch," She hummed lightly, eyes twinkling with amusement. She then waved a hand and cleared her through, smirk still plastered on. "The Earl of Pudding wants to borrow your Partner for the day. While he's busy with that you are to track Clovis down, get all, if any, answers out of him regarding what your father has planned and then dispose of him as you see fit." She waved her hand and lightened her tone, speaking nonchalantly of the subjects. Suzaku tilted his head, emerald orbs wide sparking with confusion.
"Who exactly is the Earl of Pudding? And what does he want with me?" He asked slowly, cautiously. If he had learned anything from the conflict just passed with his no longer friend it was that people almost always had secret motives behind their acts. He knew he shouldn't be so distrusting of the organization that had helped keep his Partner safe until his arrival and was working so his people, along with all mythic creatures, could be integrated with the human population but that leak of Lelouch's whereabouts came from someone. It had to be someone on the campus, Suzaku and Lelouch had concurred together, and led to their agreement that they could only trust one another.
"The Earl of Pudding is just Headmistress Rakshata's affectionate nickname for Lloyd Asplund," The other teen boy stated. Suzaku's eyes widened even more and he gawked, open mouthed, at the other. A sighing Lelouch reached over and gently popped his Partner's mouth shut. "Yes, as in our math teacher Lloyd Asplund."
"And as for what he wants is to conduct some tests," Rakshata stated calmly, earning their attention. She gently placed her hands on her desk, lacing her fingers together and staring at the werewolf sitting across from her. "You see, Suzaku, we've never had a live werewolf in our presence before. Usually any wolf that decide to act with our group is either slain by a Slayer or the other members of it's pack."
"What?!" Suzaku snapped, standing with his surprise and outrage. The other regarded him with cool pale green spheres before looking toward Lelouch. The amethyst eyed boy reached one pale hand up and let his fingers rest on Suzaku's elbow. He looked at him. "What does she mean?" He choked out softly, falling back in to his seat.
Lelouch looked down, eyes turning a bit darker with his sorrow, before looking back up at the frightened boy. "There are werewolves that believe publicity and working with humans will only lead to more death. They claim that it is safer to hide in the forest and kill any who dare stumble on their lands. If a member chooses to revolt they may order their assassination to avoid being detected," He explained slowly, keeping his voice low. He watched the other blink a few times before looking down to the floor.
"How can they not see the good this is doing?" He whispered, not expecting an answer. He was surprisingly thankful neither of them seemed to have one for him. He looked up again, jade spheres hardening before he spoke. "What kind of tests are we talking about?"
"All he wants to do is see how your muscles, bones and organs shift when you change your form," Rakshata explained calmly. The wolf nodded, eyes gleaming with acute distrust. The older woman sighed rather loudly and shifted her gaze again to his Partner. "Can you seriously do something about him? He's worrying me with his obvious suspicion of us."
"What do you expect?" Lelouch shrugged casually, the old apathetic attitude returning. He held up one hand before speaking again. "One of his oldest known friends' stabbed him in the back over vacation, we realized that someone's been keeping tabs on my movements for who knows how long which means someone on the inside is a mole, he has just been told that wolves will kill each other for fear of Slayers and so far you haven't really helped us with any of this. He has good cause to be a little guarded." He ticked each point off on his fingers before crossing his arms. The other woman flushed with rage, grinding her teeth a bit to keep from yelling. "So what are you doing to help us now?"
"For now we think we might have Lady Rin Kururugi come stay with us to help beef up security. She's always been very kind and trusting of our organization and what we're trying to accomplish so her help would be greatly appreciated," She stressed the middle of her sentence with her eyes locked on the scowling wolf prince seated before her. She then leaned back in her chair, folding her hands and gently resting them in her lap. "And for now that's all we can do. We're still having problems tracking any of your family's movements or even locating their main base. All we can do is strengthen our defenses and hope that's enough. Until someone in your family makes a mistake we don't have enough ground. As for tracking down the mole we're going to be doing it discreetly and gradually. It'll take some time but we will find out who it is." She spoke with gentle conviction in her voice.
Lelouch stood, nodded curtly, and headed out the door, Suzaku right on his heels. As soon as they were about halfway down the hallway vert orbs shifted to the pale male beside him. "It's not enough, is it?" He asked calmly, keeping his voice low. The other boy scoffed lightly.
"Not nearly enough. My father can't be tracked because he doesn't want to be. When, and if, he wants to be found it'll be an obviously planned mistake," He stated flatly while looking ahead. He glared at the empty corridor as if he were Medusa with her gaze locked on brave Hercules. "Not only that but the reason we can't find the base is because they don't think I actually remember. If I were taken to the outskirts of your packs land I'd be able to find that bastard's hide out no problem. And their plan to find the mole would be tactically intelligent if it wasn't for the fact that we need to know now. We can't keep delaying our scheduled meetings. If we don't come up with ideas on how to take down that man we'll never be able to prove to Slayers that we're serious about our ideals. In order to drive the message home my family, aside from Nunnally, must be sacrificed. I think we should have been doing more acting than talking since the beginning but, of course, no one listened to me. They seem to not realize I'm basically a walking encyclopedia and strategy guide and copy of the hideout blueprints all in one. I just wish I could figure this out. I want to be able to just get all this done with and spend my days lounging around with you and Nunnally. That's all I want now."
Suzaku grinned, leaned over, and gently kissed Lelouch on the lips, not caring if people might accidently see or not. He pulled away slowly and smiled at him, caressing the side of the raven haired boy's face with his thumb. "It's going to be okay, Lelouch. Don't worry about a thing; I'm here to protect you," He cooed affectionately, his eyes gentle yet unyielding. Lelouch gave a small smile and nodded a bit, closing his eyes and just enjoying the werewolf's sweet, soothing touch. Hey knew it could not last, sadly, and pulled back from another calmly, eyes locking. "I better go talk to Lloyd and see what tests I need to complete."
"And I'll go see what I can find out about Clovis. If I'm lucky I'll find him before he finds me," He said before turning and heading off to get his gear without another glance back. And though Suzaku knew better than to mention anything, watching Lelouch's retreating back left him with an uneasy feeling. He felt like someday he'd watch that sight for the last time and it would be all his fault.
…
Suzaku walked across campus to the large, heavy wooden door of their math professor's room. A sign tapped on the thin glass window read in squiggly handwriting, "In Professor Cecile's room. Come there if you need me! ~3" The young wolf raised an inquisitive brow at this, head cocking to one side, before he sighed and began the march to the staircase. If he headed down stairs and to the end of the hall he'd be at Miss Cecile's room. He always remembered because it was where they first met the infant griffin who would later be known as Vladimir.
At first Suzaku simply worried over Lelouch like soldiers from different platoons stranded together in enemy territory did; they'd try to keep each other alive but if one ended up dead it was just the way things were. He never imagined it would develop any farther than that. He knew the connection between Partners was great, considering the damage his mother took after killing her own, but he never realized he could feel like this toward anyone. Next, after a few other incidents with mythic creatures, the two began acting more like childhood chums, taunting and teasing each other but always making sure to never insult the other to where things would be made awkward or hostile. If someone had told the old Suzaku, the teenage wolf punk who ran around with his friends when he should have been preparing to find his Partner, that he'd end up falling in love with said blessed human he would have laughed right in their face.
But he had and he felt wonderful. When ever he locked gazes with those deep, burning violet pools his heart would pick up a bit of speed. He knew Lelouch's ins and outs now. It was as if the young prince and gifted mortal were specifically born to be with one another, to complete and read one another. If Lelouch said he was fine when he wasn't he'd wince a bit. It was hard to see but the young brunette had caught on to it. Being a terrible liar himself Suzaku was always like an open book, especially to Lelouch. But when he realized only he could read the mysterious dark haired male his heart hammered even harder against his ribcage. And now he had marked the other as his own, made him his, and Suzaku was prepared to give his life to assure he'd never be apart from Lelouch.
There was now an even bigger obstacle in their way, however. And that obstacle was known as the tag-team from Hell, Lelouch's half-sister Euphemia and Suzaku's childhood friend Yosuke. Yes, Yosuke's betrayal stung like a dagger in his chest but when he thought about it later on he felt he should have expected it. After his mother's death Yosuke's father became that much harder on his only son. And as Yosuke tried to plan a way to follow his father's paw prints and be just as magnificent, only using a different tactic, it only caused more sparks to fly between them. When Suzaku had mentioned it to Lelouch, as they were discussing reasons the silver furred wolf may have decided to lash back out at the world, the human compared it to the relationship between Prince Hal and King Henry in William Shakespeare's play Henry the IV. He didn't understand but Lelouch merely explained that it didn't end well for Prince Hal and it most certainly would not for Yosuke either. Not only that but with Lelouch's father, the man behind the mask, now that much more desperate to get his youngest son back to end the lives of all mythic beasts Suzaku knew it was only going to get that much worse.
What if questions were always running through his head, making him doubt both Lelouch's strength and his own. What if Yosuke got the better of him? The other male knew all of Suzaku's move but what if the Slayers had taught him so secret arts no other wolf knew? He'd have the upper hand in combat. What if Lelouch sent his older siblings just to make him weaker when Euphemia and Yosuke stepped back up to the plate? If the other siblings attacked while Lelouch was alone there was no way the ebony haired boy could escape unscathed. What if they injured Suzaku as well? Something in the young wolf's heart told him these Slayers would not play fair at all, considering what was at stake for them. But what if Suzaku was left with the option to do something underhanded to protect Lelouch?
"No sense worrying about it now," Suzaku sighed lightly as he reached his destination. He had learned from Lelouch that thinking about things that were troubling you made annoying trips seem faster. He opened the door cautiously and poked his head in. Miss Cecile, the dark blue haired woman with matching eyes he remembered from so long ago, looked over from grading some papers. She smiled brightly upon sight of him and stood, setting the large stack aside.
"Thank you for agreeing to this, Kururugi-San," She stated cheerfully, eyes all aglow with hope and wonder. Suddenly a head covered in pale blue locks with gleaming pastel purple eyes poked out from behind on of the lab tables. The man smirked, pushed his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, and stood quickly, dusting off his white lab coat.
"Now this is wonderful! I can't wait to get the answers I'm looking for!" He sang in a surprisingly high voice. Cecile rolled her eyes a bit and smiled back at Suzaku.
"Lloyd just needs to finish setting up the equipment and than we'll be ready. If you wouldn't mind shifting to your wolf form we'd be very grateful and ready when you are," She explained merrily. Suzaku sighed before beginning to strip. Again the unsettled feeling that Lelouch was in danger bubbled around in his stomach. He only hoped it was nothing but his own paranoia getting the better of him.
…
Lelouch sighed as he walked down the long corridors. He could sense someone else was wandering about, most certainly a relative of his, and he was worried. Were they looking for him? Were they looking for Suzaku? Were they finding the best access points to attack from? Lelouch knew that his father was where he got his intellect for tactic from, though he hated to admit it. As a child he spent his days reading chronicles of the rise and fall of mighty warriors. His father would then gruel him on the plans used and why they failed. If Lelouch got any answers wrong he was given a severe physical punishment. If he got them all right he was still given some physical task that would only cause pain but it was always to a slightly lesser extent. He cringed as he remembered the many times he'd been whipped on the back.
He perked up when he saw a blur of motion. He crept closer slowly, feeling for the small switchblade he'd stuffed in his pocket. How his Partner hadn't noticed him sneaking the weapon on his person he had no idea but was grateful for it. Had Suzaku seen the little tool he would have forced the blessed human to leave it behind, saying it would not be necessary. Lelouch made a mental note to brag in Suzaku's face about this at dinner. He slid a little farther out and looked at the one he was following.
A man with dishwater blond hair, bright cerulean eyes and pale tan flesh was there, looking over one of the paper seals on the wall. Lelouch slipped open the knife very slowly, taking a cautious step forward. The other glanced up and blinked, stunned at the slow approaching raven. "Lelouch!" He said in surprise and mock delight. The smile he then bore was also a lie.
"What are you doing here, Clovis?" Lelouch asked in a venom bathed tone, eyes filled with malice. The other merely chuckles a little bit at this, making the young male growl even more.
"Well I was supposed to be keeping tabs on you, but," He trailed with a little shrug, "I'm feeling rather impatient. After all, I can no longer deal with seeing that disgusting abomination Yosuke following our precious angel Euphemia like a lost pup." Lelouch clenched tighter to his knife, ready to lash out at any moment. "Well, I guess the upcoming plot will have to be good enough." This caught the young blessed human's attention.
…
Suzaku had been through a lot of weird things in his life, especially since leaving the pack and coming to join his human Partner. He had seen terrible things he had been taught of but never really expected to be as horrific as his teachers warned them, like the time he and Lelouch located a unicorn who insane. They had found her eating the entrails' of her newborn colt. Or when they had met the griffin mother of Vladimir, Stuco President Milly's loyal pet. The young wolf made a mental note to chalk this up high on the list with the rest of the strange incidents he would gladly write home about.
He had been expecting simple tasks from the peculiar professor known as Lloyd Asplund, considering he spent an hour in his class everyday. But when he'd been forced to run naked, in human form, on a tread mill for fifteen minutes straight as fast as he could without slowing down he began to seriously wonder how sane the man truly was. Perhaps the man's degree from the prestigious American college called Harvard was just a photocopy from some poor man the blue haired freak had killed years ago. He was now staring at the other with large green eyes and a slacked jaw. "You want me to what?!"
The other man merely snapped on a pair of elbow length latex gloves and smiled at him. "I said bend over and let me stick a finger up you an-"
"Don't repeat yourself!" Suzaku nearly shrieked with detest, stepping back a bit. Lloyd laughed while Miss Cecile, clearly the normal one of the pair, tsked at him like a mother to her disobeying child.
"Now Lloyd, don't tease Suzaku! He doesn't know what a lot of modern day medical examinations are!" She chided with an almost pout on her face. Suzaku perked up when his nose caught a strange scent. The sweet flowery smell of his precious Lelouch mingling with a strong metallic scent. He immediately knew it to be blood. And, from how thickly it was surrounding his Partner, it was almost as if the raven haired male had recently bathed in it. Suzaku began frantically throwing on his clothes, having learned from a previous incident that running around naked, if it was just to make sure the other male was safe, was not at all acceptable by Lelouch or anyone else on campus. "Oh now look what you've done, Lloyd! Suzaku, please don't be insulted by him! It's just a little medical test!" She yelped worriedly.
"I need to go! Something's wrong with Lelouch! He declared before grabbing his bag, stomping in to his sneakers, and running right out of the room. The two adults watched him go, one in amazement and the other with a somewhat goofy grin.
"I think he's just afraid of being on the receiving end. Something tells me that he may be a wonderful werewolf specimen but he's gay as sin," Lloyd hummed lightly before removing his gloves, ignoring the shrill cry released by his female assistant.
…
For a moment he was too stunned to say or do anything. He just remained frozen where he was. And finally, when a gurgling gasp came from the form beneath him was he able to move. Lelouch Lamperogue, blessed human who had seen so many gruesome things in all his seventeen years, stumbled back and vomited behind a nearby bush. He stood their, hands on his knees, as he panted, eyes wide. He then blinked the daze from his appearance and looked back over. He had done that. His stomach gave another lurch but he refused to again toss his cookies.
It was Clovis' fault. His older siblings were all so cocky, so arrogant, but Clovis was by far the most pigheaded of them all. When they were small Clovis used to play chess with Lelouch and tell him if he won he'd convince father to let him go outside the manor grounds for a few minutes. He always permitted the raven to win and when he did, he didn't make good on his word. Instead he would tell their father he had tried to escape. As a penalty his father would force him to leave his feet from the ankle down in a pit of large hot coals for twenty minutes and any time he made any pained noise five minutes were added on. All because Clovis liked to watch poor Lelouch suffer.
But they were no longer children and Lelouch was no longer bound down by the same restrictions. Clovis got careless and, like always, told Lelouch too much. That was what led to Lelouch learning his fate and his escape. And that was what led to this incident as well. That was why Clovis now lay there, his chest split wide up and face covered in mutilating gashes and half his throat carved through, Lelouch's switchblade still buried deep inside, and why Lelouch's clothes, hair and face were sticky and damp and warm with the other man's blood. Some part of Lelouch, a part he liked to pretend had died off long ago, was afraid of what Clovis would do to make sure he never told anyone what the blond had accidently relayed to him. Lelouch's inner child was afraid and this led to the momentary lapse in his usually better judgment. He had acted like a wild animal and lashed out to protect not only himself but his Partner, Suzaku. Because he wanted Clovis to just shut up and not tell him everything. Because this time everything could completely crush the young werewolf's whole world.
It wasn't until he heard his name being called that he again snapped from his thoughts and the daze this had caused him to fall in to. He stood, walked over to his older half brother's limp body, and nudged it with the edge of his shoe experimentally. He knew the other wouldn't respond but some part of him almost wished he would, just so Lelouch had a chance to erase this sin from his heart. And then Suzaku ran over, looking flustered and panicked, and Lelouch had the strange urge to both laugh and cry right then. "Lelouch," His voice was feather soft and just as relaxing. But Lelouch hid the way his knees trembled under him from both fear of Suzaku being disgusted and the knowledge now within him.
"Suzaku, I... I did this… And I meant it," He whispered in a low, cold voice. He felt a strange tingling all over his body, as if Novocain had been injected in to each of his limbs and was taking over. Slowly he looked down at his mutilated work. "Pretty, isn't it?" He laughed hollowly, his fear over feeling nothing gradually fading in to morbid humor.
"Lelouch," He heard Suzaku repeat but his gaze remained downwards. He could hear the other approaching with slightly rushed steps but didn't respond. And then he was being hugged tightly, his face pressed in to the tanned boy's collarbone. He burrowed his face down and shivered slightly. He latched on to Suzaku as if he was a drowning man and his Partner was a floating piece of debris. He closed his eyes and tried to regain himself, to shake away the bitter cold taking over. But he was also afraid. Because soon he'd be delivering a crushing, earth shattering, heart breaking development to Suzaku.
…
Charles took a long, deep drag of the cigar between his lips and fingers. His eyes examined the terrain coldly, speculating that once all was said and done he'd build his dream home here. The entire forest, rivers and all, would be his. He'd tear down the trees and build a phenomenal, large castle for his five children to enjoy. One wing would be for Schneizel, another for Clovis, a third to Cornelia, number four to Euphemia, and the fifth sector to be handed out would be for precious Nunnally. As for Lelouch? A smirk came to his lips as he blew out a long, thin plume of gray smoke. There was no point preparing a room for the dead.
A large, brown pelted wolf approached slowly, eyeing the Slayer warily. "You're late, Genbu," He stated coldly as he took the cigar out of his mouth and flicked a bit of ash on to the werewolf's head. He shook his head and glared up at him, which only caused the Slayer to smirk cruelly. "Now, Genbu, what news do you have for me?"
"Lelouch has killed Clovis," The wolf responded evenly. Charles plopped the cigar back in his mouth, eyes darkening as he rolled them.
"Clovis was always a big mouth, just like his mother," He stated as if discussing the weather. He took in a breath and then exhaled another puff of smoke. "That's why I had her silly tongue ripped out and left her to gag on her own blood in the slums, though. Loose lips sink ships, after all." Genbu shivered under his fur coat. Even he, who had seen battle more terrifying than conflicts seen by most men, was revolted by how casually this human could speak of murder so casually. "And, of course, there was the tenderhearted mother of Cornelia and Euphemia. It was almost funny when I ripped that gentle heart from her chest as she took air, and how I squeezed it before her glassy dead eyes until it finally stopped beating. And then there was Marianne…Oh, Marianne, she was perfect. Beautiful body, intelligent mind, closed lips and a heart as cold as ice. But then, of course, there was the liability of your wife." He snarled the last bit at the wolf he seemed to be speaking to.
"I've assured you your revenge in exchange for my reward," He explained flatly, speaking as a true business man. The human laughed at the thought of a business wolf but nodded.
"As promised, in exchange for the locations and weaknesses of every wolf in all the packs in these woods, including your own, I'll pay you ten million dollars to do with as you see fit. So you're basically selling me lives," He chuckled before dropping his cigar and walking off. Genbu stood for a moment and then looked down at the little garbage left behind. He hadn't even bothered to stop out the little ember on the end of his cigar.
End
I am so so so so so so sorry this chapter took so long to come out! September was a very busy month! I hope to never, ever ever make you all wait that long for an update again! I hope you thought this chapter was well worth it though. Also, remember our deal on reviews. You give me some feedback and I'll answer your pleas as rapidly as I possibly can. Again, sorry this took almost a month to get out to you!