Luna: To MisterSP, Kallen says that because she has heard about the Shinozaki School before (in this AU fanfic, anyway), but thank you for addressing that; I had forgotten to say that she had known. Your second claim is completely valid; however, Sayoko doesn't want to complicate things, so she just lets people live with the fact that she's a 'ninja'. Thank you for criticizing me; I don't get that much, and I've been worrying that my writing hasn't gotten any better. If my answer hasn't satisfied you, please, review or PM me to let me know what I've missed. To united88, glad to hear that you liked it so far! ^_^ To something, thank you! And I'm glad that you somewhat understand why I chose that piece in particular. To Gerren, well, here's Chapter 2. I guess you'll be mad that there's no Chapter 3 yet, though. *mutters playfully* What I do to satisfy you readers… ^_^ To falconrukichi, you'll just have to wait and see! But I will give you this information: It won't only be centered around simple life.

Lelouch: (DISCLAIMER) Luna does not own Code Geass or any of its characters. She also does not own the Music Teachers' Association of California, which includes the CM program (Certificate of Merit). Luna is not entirely sure if it is necessary to show the previous sentence, but she did it just in case.

Kallen was floating… somewhere. She really wasn't quite sure what was going on at the moment. All she knew was that she was surrounded by pitch-black darkness and that none of her body was touching any surface of any kind.

Hence, the floating assumption.

Unfortunately, 'not touching any surface of any kind' included clothing, so she was… err… naked… yeah. However, she wasn't feeling the slightest bit self-conscious. Maybe it was because no one was around her to witness her being bare.

So, here I am, in the middle of nothingness, Kallen thought blankly. 'Blankly' because she didn't feel like anything; that is to say, emotionless. Or nearly emotionless. She felt like a spirit with no meaning… or a spirit waiting for something to happen, something extremely important.

Wait… would this place even be considered 'nothingness'? Kallen wondered. If there's darkness here, that must mean that there's something behind it that the darkness is hiding, right? Or is the darkness just a representation of nothingness? Perhaps darkness is just how I interpret nothingness? Maybe there is something here…

While Kallen was having this philosophical discussion with herself, she dimly noticed that the previously pitch-black darkness had gotten a shade lighter. A feeling- curiosity- took hold of her mind and she looked around, trying to find the source of light. It was quite easy to locate the pinprick of light that indicated where the light was coming from. She hesitated before walking/flying/floating closer to the light source, her curiosity growing.

Suddenly, as she approached the object of her curiosity, the light flashed brightly, blinding her for a moment. When she felt brave and safe enough to open her eyes again, she did so. The first thing she saw was a raven-haired boy her age. He was lacking clothing as well, but for some reason, Kallen couldn't see his… parts (not that she was trying to!). His violet eyes pierced through her gaze, and she felt slightly intimidated all of a sudden.

The young man was taller than her, but he was extremely skinny and gave off the impression of being physically weak yet mentally strong. He was quite good-looking. Kallen thought that he was very familiar, but she couldn't put her finger on his identity.

He smiled at her, and Kallen noticed that the light source she had pursued was the young man in front of him. He was glowing lightly, but Kallen hadn't realized it before then because his already white skin seemed to be right at place on his body, and one could barely tell that he was glowing at all. But now that she saw it, the shine emitting from his body was undeniable.

The light lit up the formerly pitch-black darkness, making Kallen feel warmer and more carefree. Just as she was about to copy the young man's contagious smile, her dream blinked out for a moment. Once everything came back into focus again, the boy was wearing a suit that seemed based off of some superhero. He was wearing a mask that would certainly intimidate many people- but Kallen's dream self didn't flinch. Instead, she felt like running to him…

Kallen blinked her eyes open slowly. Was that… a dream? She yawned and stretched, straining to remember the quickly fleeting memory of the oddly warming dream.

"Kallen!" her mom called from outside her door, knocking on the wood lightly. "Kallen! Wake up! You're going to be late for school!" There were a few more knocks. "Kallen!"

Kallen groaned as her mother's voice completely drove the faint memory of her dream out of her head. "I'm awake, Mom," Kallen called back somewhat grumpily.

"Good. Breakfast is ready, so come on down," her mother told her. Kallen heard the sound of her mother's footsteps getting softer as they retreated down the hallway. The girl sighed and yawned again, her eyes closing. However, just as soon as they did, they shot open again. An image from her dream had suddenly flashed in her mind; one of a teenage boy with pitch-black hair and startling amethyst eyes, who had lit up her dream and defeated the choking darkness…

Was that… Lelouch?

Kallen was still eating her breakfast- toast- when she arrived at Ashford; as she had been lost in thought while eating at home, she hadn't been able to finish it there. Since she had been spacing out on the way to school as well, the single slice of buttered bread that served as the first meal of the day still lived. And if Kallen didn't eat faster, it wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

That guy in my dream was definitely Lelouch, Kallen mused. But what was he doing in my dream? She frowned around the toast in her mouth. And I know there was something… strange or different about him… but what? She rubbed her head and sighed. I can't remember… maybe I will later. But for now… She quickly gobbled up what remained of her breakfast and picked up her pace. It's time for school. Kallen was running through the hallway when she suddenly bumped into something…

"Kallen?"

…someone, Kallen corrected mentally. She looked up at the taller boy and said, "Sorry, Lelouch!" Then, she remembered her dream and immediately turned a hundred shades of red. She averted her gaze and ducked her head, trying to hide her showing emotions from Lelouch. That's right… he was probably in my dream because I… have a crush on him… She blushed some more at that thought.

"Kallen, are you alright?" Lelouch asked worriedly. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her around, forcing Kallen to look at him straight on. He put his hand on her forehead. "Your face is all read, and your forehead is hot. You either have a fever, or…" Something passed in Lelouch's eyes. "Umm… it's got to be the fever. Yeah, that must be it." He quickly let go of Kallen and looked around frantically. "Erm… we should get you to the infirmary…"

Kallen blinked in confusion as her mind raced to think of an excuse. "No, I'm alright, it's just… well, I had something… spicy… for breakfast. Yeah, that's it! So you don't need to worry about me."

"If you say so…" Lelouch murmured. "We better get to class."

Throughout the school day, Kallen kept glancing at Lelouch, not paying any attention to the classes themselves. She noticed that in each class, he seemed distracted by something. Normally, this wouldn't concern her, as Lelouch was almost never attentive in class; he was constantly sleeping in the middle of it (thankfully, he didn't snore). If he wasn't napping, he was staring out the window lazily.

However, Lelouch was neither sleeping nor gazing out the window. Instead, he was tapping his book with either his fingers or his writing utensil, his foot was tapping on the floor, a frown was permanently etched onto his face, etc. The 'symptom' that puzzled Kallen the most was the light blush that occasionally tinged Lelouch's cheeks. She mulled it over when she wasn't watching Lelouch, trying to figure out what it meant.

Classes went by with Kallen being unable to find the answer to her question. She sighed when she heard the last bell ring. As she headed out the classroom door, someone tapped her shoulder. "What is it, Lelouch?" she asked without turning around.

There was a chuckle. "How did you know that it was me?"

Kallen turned around with a grin. "Name one other male who would talk to me with such confidence, let alone dare to make some kind of physical contact with me."

Lelouch shrugged, smiling. "And why is that?"

Kallen snorted. "It happened when I was in eighth grade. A group of sophomores flirted with me for half of the school year, but I managed to ignore it. I guess they got impatient, though, because they cornered me in the hall one day. I sent all five of them to the infirmary, and the infirmary sent them to the hospital in turn; their injuries were too severe for them to treat."

Lelouch backed up in mock fear. "I better get away from you while I still have a chance; I like my health just how it is."

Kallen smirked. "You better be afraid. So, what did you want?"

"I was wondering if Ms. Nu had told you when you were supposed to take your CM. She already called to tell me mine," Lelouch explained.

Kallen nodded. "Same here. I'm doing it this Sunday. I'm supposed to take my practical test at 10:45."

Lelouch smiled. "I'm doing it this Sunday too, but at 11:00. I guess I'll see you there?"

Kallen felt her heart skip a beat. "Y-yeah! W-well, umm… bye!" She sped back home before Lelouch had a chance to say anything back.

As soon as Kallen crossed over the threshold of the Stadtfeld manor, she ran up to her bedroom, threw her school bag onto the floor, and raced for the piano room. Upon entering, she grabbed the piano bag she had left behind in the room the other day and pulled out her piano book. Kallen flipped to the right page as she walked over to the piano. The young woman sat down in front of the keyboard and placed her fingers on top of it. She took a deep breath and began to play her piece.

The Storm, Op. 109, No. 13, by Friedrich Burgmüller.

Kallen pounded down on the piano, making each note resound through her body and soul. She played with the inner strength that she had shown no one, not even those five sophomores she had beat up in junior high. This is the intensity I want to show Lelouch, she decided. I want to show him just how powerful I can be!

She finished the piece with three 'D's, each note octaves apart from each other. The notes hung in the air, lingering for as long as they could before dying out. Kallen sighed breathlessly, both content and relieved at the same time. The Storm was, by far, her favorite song (the Moonlight Sonata came close, but only when it was played by Lelouch). In fact, it was her song. It was one of those few things that she could relate to, which was why when Ms. Nu introduced the piece to her and played it, she immediately insisted that The Storm be one of her CM pieces.

The door opened, causing Kallen to jump in her seat. She turned round and exclaimed, "Onii-chan! Don't scare me like that!"

Naoto simply smirked. "Haven't heard you play The Storm in a long time. Well, the way you play it, it should be called The Tempest." He closed the door behind him and took a seat.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Kallen smiled.

"Of course you would," Naoto laughed. His face became more serious. "Listen, do you remember what I told you about 'fighting back'?"

Kallen's eyes grew wide. "You mean… you finally…"

Naoto looked around to see if anyone was nearby before replying, "Yeah; I went around for possible recruits, and I managed to organize a resistance group. As of now, I'm the leader."

Kallen grinned. "How many? Do I know any of them?"

"I can't say how many right now," Naoto responded. "But there are a few you might know… remember my friend Kaname Ohgi?"

"Ohgi-san? But he seemed to be more of a pacifist to me…" Kallen remarked.

Naoto shrugged. "You're right; he's not much of a soldier, but he's a 'people' person, and we need people like him to help with the recruitments and such."

"Ah," Kallen replied, understanding. "Anyone else?"

Naoto hesitated. "Erm… Shinichirō-"

"Shinichirō Tamaki?" Kallen screeched. "Onii-chan, are you out of your mind? That idiot is a clueless, arrogant disruption who fills his head with vulgar and inappropriate thoughts and reveals them at the most random and wrong times!"

"So, I take it that you still remember his last visit…?" Naoto mumbled.

"Who wouldn't?" Kallen huffed. "No one can forget that loudmouth, let alone his visits."

"…so you think he's annoying," Naoto stated.

"…annoying made extreme," Kallen corrected.

"Well, he's fiercely loyal, even if he doesn't look it," Naoto explained. "And you know that he absolutely loathes Britannians." He paused and chuckled. "Not to mention that after a long day, a good old 'Tamaki party' could do us some good and help with stress relief."

"Yeah, and he'll get you all so drunk that you'll all have hangovers in the morning. Where's your stress relief?" Kallen muttered under her breath. However, even Kallen knew that what Naoto had said about Tamaki was true. But that didn't mean that her side wasn't right…

"I think that those two are the only ones you've personally met," Naoto said. "But pretty much everyone else is acquainted with me somehow. They all respect me, so you'll get along with them just fine, since you're my sister." He smiled. "And once they really get to know you, they'll respect you for who you are."

"Wait- once they get to know me?" Kallen asked with anticipation. "You're not going to have them trooping through here, are you? They'll get suspicious…" 'They' being their father, Earl Stadtfeld, and their stepmother, of course.

"No, silly," Naoto laughed. "You're joining us. Unless, of course, you don't want to…"

"I do! I really do!" Kallen exclaimed quickly. "It's just that… well, I thought that you wouldn't let me become part of the group…"

"You would keep insisting if I didn't," Naoto dismissed. "Or you'd sneak in as a new recruit. Besides, it's neither good nor healthy to keep you from the real world; you've seen it already, anyway, so there's no use in doing it. And protecting you? You'd hate that. Not to mention that you'd get into even worse danger if you didn't get into this one."

"You know me too well, eh?" Kallen beamed. "Thanks, Onii-chan!"

"No problem. For now, carry on with your normal life. I'll bring you to our headquarters- yes, we have a headquarters- when we're organized and ready."

"Hai! Arigato, Onii-chan!"

Kallen stood nervously in the hallway, frantically playing her songs on an imaginary piano. The piano books that she was required to show her evaluator lay on the floor beside her. She had been dropped off at the designated site for both her CM tests: practical and theory. Since she could take the theory test at any time, her stepmother had brought her to the site at 10:30 A.M., giving her fifteen minutes to practice for and worry about her practical test, which did require her to come at a specific time.

Presently, it was 10:43, and Kallen was listening to the person before her, who was playing what was presumably her last piece. Tick, tock, tick, tock… The clock seemed to become louder with each passing second. Before Kallen knew it, the music had stopped, the girl before her had left, the evaluator was calling for the next person, and her stomach was churning…

No! Kallen! Calm down! she rebuked herself mentally. You won't be able to play like this, and then you won't be able to show Lelouch what you're made of! You practiced these pieces over and over again, memorized them, and practiced some more! You can do this! She breathed in deeply, exhaled, and walked into the room. The door closed quietly behind her, and the evaluator looked up.

"Miss Kallen Stadtfeld, I presume?" the evaluator, who turned out to be an elderly lady, asked. The lady glanced back down at the papers in front of her and frowned slightly. Kallen braced herself for the snide comment that was sure to come. She knew that the lady was looking at the information about her parents. Not her guardians, but her birth parents.

Most people just assumed that she was full Britannian on sight (she didn't have the classic 'black-hair brown-eyes' combination that was expected of Japanese people), and even if some managed to notice the few Japanese features she had, they quickly dismissed it as coincidence (Earl Stadtfeld had a Britannian wife, after all, not an 'Eleven'). However, whenever her real heritage was revealed to others (which was rarely- of course, all her CM evaluators knew, but it still happened with others), she was treated like any other 'Eleven', even though she was only half (she wished she was full), by the Britannians.

And the elderly woman in front of her was most definitely, without a doubt, Britannian.

With plenty of negative expectations in her head, it was no wonder why Kallen was so surprised (in a good way) when her evaluator turned her frown upside-down and said, "Or should I say Miss Kallen Kozuki? My, my, Villetta wasn't exaggerating when she said that you would be the loveliest girl I would ever see. Even better than my children, I have to say. As for my grandchildren- well, I'll have to wait another decade…" She chuckled. "But I must say, I don't think my grandchildren will ever hope to compete with you, and that's saying a lot, considering that I'm a doting grandmother."

Kallen stood there, confused and overwhelmed, throughout the old lady's long comment. Once she finally finished, she choked out, "You- you know Ms. Nu? And why aren't you treating me like- like I'm Japanese? You know I'm half…"

"Villetta didn't tell you about me?" the evaluator asked. "I'm her former piano teacher, Natasha Kempenton. And I share the same beliefs concerning the Japanese with Villetta. In fact, I think that I may have been the one to influence her…"

Kallen was still mystified, but she went along with it. "Umm… ma'am, it's an honor to meet you and all, but shouldn't we be getting along with my CM Test? Not to be rude or anything, but that is the reason to why we're both here…"

"You're right, of course," Mrs. Kempenton smiled. "Please forgive this old soul for rambling on. Now, may I see your books?" She gave a pointed look at the books Kallen was holding."

"Yes, ma'am!" Kallen handed her books over to Mrs. Kempenton and sat in front of the piano. She saw that the Level 7 technique and sight reading were already placed in front of her, so she glanced at Mrs. Kempenton and asked, "May I begin?"

"Go ahead," Mrs. Kempenton replied.

And Kallen did.

When Kallen finished playing The Storm, she saw that Mrs. Kempenton had her mouth agape, her papers forgotten. Kallen couldn't help but allow herself satisfied smirk. It seems like I was right to choose The Storm as my 'grand finale', she remarked silently.

Mrs. Kempenton finally found her voice. "Miss Kozuki, that was incredible! I see that Villetta wasn't exaggerating when she said that you were a musical prodigy, either!"

Kallen merely nodded and said, "Thank you, ma'am, but the credit all goes to Ms. Nu for teaching me so well…"

"So humble, too!" Mrs. Kempenton smiled. "Come on now, you should be at least a bit proud of yourself! You played your technique wonderfully, your sight reading was fantastic, and you memorized and played your three pieces without a single flaw!"

"Ma'am, I appreciate your praise, but it's getting quite overwhelming…" Kallen mumbled. "And aren't you supposed to be writing my results right now?"

Mrs. Kempenton's eyes widened. "Oh, dear me! I forgot!" She chuckled. "I never thought that I would have a young high school student telling me how to do my job, but there's always a first!" She pointed at the door. "Would you be so kind as to lock the door, Miss Kozuki? It wouldn't be good for either of us if you were caught being here after your time slot and I was caught slacking off."

"Alright," Kallen responded. As she locked the door, she glanced through the small window that was situated on the top of the door. Piercing violet eyes flashed, accompanied by a warm smile, and Kallen ducked, unable to meet Lelouch's eyes. Did he hear me play The Storm? She wondered, feeling her face grow hot.

"Miss Kozuki, is there someone out there?" Mrs. Kempenton asked. Kallen turned and saw that the old lady had a knowing smile on her face. "Let's see…" She looked at a piece of paper. "Lelouch Lamperouge, age seventeen, black hair and purple eyes, one younger sister, Nunnally Lamperouge, age fourteen, is blind and crippled, both siblings are orphans, parents unknown," she recited. "You've got a mysterious one here! And judging from his picture, you've got good taste! You have a good chance, too; he goes to your school!"

"Mrs. Kempenton!" Kallen exclaimed before clapping a hand to her mouth.

"Don't worry; the only sounds that can get through these walls are the notes played on the piano," Mrs. Kempenton assured her. "He won't hear you admitting to have fallen in love with him on first sight."

"I know him, Mrs. Kempenton," Kallen murmured.

"You do? Does he know you?" Mrs. Kempenton asked. When she was met with silence, she laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be sticking my nose into a young lady's personal life, eh?" She held out Kallen's piano books. "You are dismissed."

Relieved that she didn't have to answer the old lady's questions, Kallen grabbed her books and rushed out the door. She was almost immediately stopped by Lelouch, who smiled again and said, "You played beautifully, Kallen. Especially that last piece. I never knew that you could play that intensely."

Kallen stammered out her thanks as she ran out of the building.

Lelouch liked my playing! He understood the message I was trying to convey! Lelouch complimented me! Kallen felt dazed. This is one of the greatest days of my life- dang! Now I'm turning into one of those fawning fangirls, aren't I? Must- keep- emotions- under- control-

Before Kallen knew it, she was standing in front of the building in which she was supposed to take her theory test. She sighed and walked inside. This test will be a piece of cake. She tried to make her footsteps as quiet as possible as she walked through the hallway; she knew from experience that this hallway made every little sound echo, and she didn't want to disturb the other piano students who were taking the test.

Kallen entered the room, ignoring the usual stares from all the other test-takers, and headed for the table in the front of the room, where volunteers were working. One of the volunteers, a woman, lifted her head as Kallen approached and whispered, "Name and level?"

"Kallen Stadtfeld," Kallen whispered back. "Level 7."

The lady nodded and flipped through the many Level 7 tests that were organized in a stack and in alphabetical order. "Stadtfeld… Stadtfeld… oh, here we go." She removed a single test from the huge stack and slid it across the table to Kallen. "Please have a seat over there." She pointed at an empty seat near the back.

"Thank you," Kallen replied. She walked over to the indicated seat and sat down. The clock on the wall next to her ticked away in the silence (besides the constant scratching and rubbing of pencils and erasers), but this time, it wasn't as loud. The only thing I hate about theory tests is the abnormally long time it takes to fill in each answer, Kallen thought. I mean, I know how to do all this, but it takes forever to work out!

Kallen continued to work on her test. Minutes went by, and eventually, she heard footsteps coming from the hallway. She refused to look up at the newcomer with everyone else. "Name and level?" she heard the woman who had helped her ask in a hushed voice.

Just as Kallen had expected, the newcomer replied, "Lelouch Lamperouge, Level 10."

There was some shuffling of papers. Then, Kallen heard the woman tell Lelouch, "You can take the seat next to that young red-haired lady over there."

Kallen stiffened. She swore that she could hear Lelouch smirk as he walked over to the seat next to her and sat down. "Well, what do you know," he whispered, making sure that no one else could overhear him.

Kallen blushed, ducked her head, and wrote a few more answers on her test. Afterwards, she reread her work.

'Write the meanings of the following musical terms.'

Amore- love
Appassionato- with passion
Expressivo- expressive
Misterioso- mysterious
Patetico- with deep feeling
Fuoco- fire

Not again, Kallen moaned inwardly.

Luna: know that there isn't a CM in Japan (or at least, that I know of, but I'm 99.9% sure that there isn't), but this is a fanfiction, right? ^_^ Also, I'm pretty sure that that much personal information isn't given to the CM evaluators. Or at least, my teacher never told me that… I just added that in. Oh, and the terms that I put on Kallen's theory test aren't actually part of the Level 7 curriculum, but they are musical terms. And if you didn't realize beforehand, when Kallen rereads her work, the italicized words are the 'questions', and the bolded words are Kallen's answers. Plus, Kallen's thought at the end is indicating how Mrs. Kempenton teased her about her crush; she feels as if the test is teasing her, too.

Ah, love makes people naïve. Even the most intelligent of people can fall victim to its power of ignorance…

Kallen: Normally, I would be able to know what Lelouch's 'symptoms' meant, but no, you had to make me like- like this!

Luna: But you're enjoying this, aren't you, Kallen?

Kallen: …no comment.

Luna: Please review! All criticism is welcomed! ^_^