I do not own Code Geass

ALSO - I got my first review, and I literally did a happy dance. GraveDigger123 has made my day.

And probably my brother's because he's been obsessed with Grave Digger since he was about three.

Warm. That was the only word Euphy could think of to describe Suzaku's smell. Breathing in the knights' uniform he had once worn brought back pleasant memories of the day when they first met, when he treated her like a princess before he even knew that she was one. The smell of his clothes, she had noticed, was the same way that a cozy home might smell. Something close to cinnamon, but also a lot like Christmas cookies and homemade breakfasts in bed. It reminded her of the nights when she and Cornelia and Lelouch and Nunnally would stay up late gazing up at the stars, and trying to find patterns. It was a smell that she loved.

But that's all that was left now; the smell of his outfit. There was no body left to wear it, so Cornelia had given it to Euphy in an attempt to make her sister feel a little better, and perhaps sway her from the decision to return to Area 11. But Euphy's mind had been made up.

So, as she sat there with the uniform bundled up in a ball and pulled against her nose, looking out the window of the plane she was riding in, she couldn't help but think of what would meet her when she arrived back in Japan.

Nunnally had been informed of Euphy's situation, and had told Cornelia that Euphy would live at the palace with her, but she promised no one would even know about it, let alone who Euphy truly was. Cornelia was skeptical, but Euphy convinced her to let her go anyway. Despite her sadness, Euphy was actually very much looking forward to letting her sister see her for the first time in so many years. And for seeing her sister's eyes as well. Nunnally had never deserved to go blind, but she had anyway, and it wasn't fair.

But seeing Nunnally was not Euphy's main motivation for returning to Japan. She needed proof, proof that Suzaku was really dead. After all, hadn't she been dead just a week ago? As far as everyone knew. All Euphy needed was to see his grave. To know that Suzaku was in the ground would be enough for her. And the same thing went for Lelouch, who had also been buried there.

Since learning the news of all the death that had happened, Euphy hadn't cried again at all. Not a single tear was shed, no matter how much she thought about it. Normally, Euphy would assume that meant she had accepted it, however, she was smart enough to know the difference now. When Lady Marianne had died when Euphy was a child, Euphy hadn't cried at all until the funeral, or even felt very sad. But when the day came to put the woman who had been like a second mother to her in the ground, Euphy sobbed and sobbed. She guessed something similar would happen with Suzaku, the man she loved, and Lelouch, her older brother. They had been the two most important men in her life, and in a way, her two best friends. She would give anything to have them back. Because if she could just see them, feel there pulse one last time, she knew that after that she would always feel so . . .

Warm.

"Britannia is reconstructing nicely," CC commented as she skimmed over yesterday's paper, which she had found in a trash can right outside the Pizza Hut they had stopped at today.

"Yes, but I trust Cornelia to rebuild the right way," Lelouch said. "Even though there's now no hope for the Japanese liberation, not with Cornelia leading the military."

"You could take her," CC said. "I'm just saying."

"I know I could, and I have before. Old news. What else is going on?"

"'Knight of Zero Screams at Press During Press Conference'," CC read.

Lelouch sighed and hung his head. "Maybe Suzaku wasn't the greatest choice for my successor. Anything else?"

"The competition has already started to see who will become ruler after Cornelia," CC told him.

Lelouch clenched his teeth. "Of course."

"Why do you hate the royal family so much? I mean, you've never seemed to have a particular problem with Cornelia, and I know you loved Euphy and Nunnally," CC said. "So what's your issue?"

"Just because you are born into a family that was at one time successful, doesn't give you the birthright to be better than other people. The most important thing to almost any member of my family is to someday take over the thrown, and it's disgusting. Most of them are too stupid to lead a country, but either way it wouldn't matter, because they were born with the capability to rule an entire nation," Lelouch said the last sentence with heavy sarcasm.

"So when you took the thrown of Britannia-"

"It wasn't because I was born to, it was because I used my own brain and power to take over the previous ruler. That is why I was able to lead Britannia. That and that alone," Lelouch told her.

"So you believe in democracy?" CC asked.

Lelouch shrugged. "In some ways, yes, I believe that democracy is a very efficient way to run certain aspects of government."

"Certain aspects," CC repeated. "And I'm sure that you have an entirely original plan of government in that head of yours, that includes the strongest points of any legal system and combines them into a super-government, right?"

Lelouch was silent, which gave CC her answer. Yes. Yes he did.

Cornelia gazed out the window of her bedroom, wondering how much longer it would be before she finally received the phone call from Nunnally that Euphy had arrived, safe and sound. After everything her younger sister had done, Cornelia wasn't wrong to worry that anyone who recognized the Massacre Princess would surely take action. What she did was horrid, even most Britannian's thought so.

"Miss, maybe you should just go do something else to take your mind off it," Gilford suggested. He was standing by the door, ready to protect his Empress at all costs.

"What if I miss the call?" Cornelia asked, sounding a little paranoid.

"Cornelia, I doubt that will happen."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because Pri-Euphemia's flight left five minutes ago," Gilford told her.

Cornelia's eyes shot to the clock on the wall. Gilford was right. Silently curing under her breath, Cornelia rose to her feet and nodded. "You're right. I need a distraction. Let's go take a walk through Marianne's garden . . . That always calms me down."

"Yes, my lady," Gilford said, and he followed her out of the room.

"Princess Nunnally, who will you be waiting for at the airport?" Zero asked.

Nunnally grinned. "Just an old friend. I need to get her myself because her being here is a secret."

"So wouldn't you going to get her make it a little obvious?"

Nunnally shook her head. "You've got it wrong, I won't be going into the airport, I'm just going to wait in the car to make sure she gets here all right. I'll send in someone to get her."

"Why won't you let me accompany you?" Zero asked, sounding very worried. He had promised Lelouch to keep Nunnally safe, he couldn't go back on that now.

"Oh, it's just a small errand, and I owe you some time off. Spend the day however you'd like, Zero. Please . . . You never do anything for yourself," Nunnally told him. This answer was partially true. She really did want to give Suzaku the day off, but at the same time, there was no way she could let him see Euphy. She knew that would tear him apart inside, and Euphy's fate wasn't even determined yet. It was very possible that she wouldn't be able to stay in Area 11 for very long, or worse, she could be assassinated while she was here. But, then again, Euphemia could be assassinated anywhere she went, after what she had done to the Japanese. Nowhere was safe, and that's why her life was being kept a secret.

Euphemia Lamperouge, Nunnally thought. Will anyone suspect? Lelouch and I ended up being alright, and everyone still thought we were dead. I could talk to Milly and ask her to pull some strings, I'm sure she'd understand. Euphy could finish her last year of school, and then maybe get a job. Live a somewhat normal life, and hopefully no one will notice it's her. No one noticed Lelouch or me.

But, then again, Lelouch and I hadn't really made our public debut yet, Euphy has.

Lelouch and I were all over the papers when our mother died though, so it's not like no one knew what we looked like.

Euphy will be fine, she decided. I'll make sure that my big sister is safe.

"Princess Nunnally, please don't go on your own," Zero begged. "If something were to happen to you while I wasn't around . . ."

"Nothing will happen," Nunnally told him. "I'll bring Gino, okay?"

Since his planned execution, Zero had advised that Gino immediately be put back in his place as Knight of 3, and Nunnally had full trust in him. So much trust in fact, that Gino even knew who Zero really was. Because, well, Nunnally had to spill the beans to someone, and she figured someone who knew Suzaku and had been his friend was best. She knew that he and Gino hadn't exactly left on great terms, but upon talking with Gino she learned that he felt as though Suzaku was still one of his best friends, even though they had battled nearly to the death twice and that Suzaku was "dead". That's when Nunnally broke down and told him. Gino wasn't actually that surprised, which came as a shock to the young viceroy.

"Well, I had my suspicions when he requested I be reinstated," Gino has said. "And I'm glad that he's still alive."

Nunnally wished the world was a better place. A place where Euphy and Suzaku could both be alive, and a place where Lelouch could still live with her and be her older brother, and Lelouch and Suzaku could be friends, and Suzaku and Gino could be friends, and that there was no war and Japan was still it's own country and that everyone got along and someone else ran the country, so Nunnally wouldn't have to be "Princess Nunnally" anymore. She could just be Nunnally.

But these wishes were irrational. The world is a screwed up place. People fall in and out of love, people die, friendships end, countries fail, wars start and cause tragedy, and someone had to to be the leader; always. It was the cold, hard, truth.