Code Light Chapter 5:Book Hunt
How did he figure it out? Lelouch knew he had to be wary of Light but this was an entirely different level! It was true that both his and Nunnally's names remained the same but...Lelouch stopped where his train of thought was going. Lelouch and Nunnally? Of course it wouldn't be a coincidence, how many people had those names it was practically a beacon. He would have to find another way to neutralize Light now that he had already been geassed. He couldn't afford to underestimate him again, so Lelouch had to assume there was already a contingency in place in case he ordered someone to kill him. However could that really lead to a detrimental effect to him, the killing couldn't be traced back. It could though, because Light may have planned that in the event of his death he would release Lelouch's identity as a prince, which would endanger Nunnally. He let out a groan and slammed his hand on the table, which caused everyone else to look at him. A bit too late he remembered he was still at the table eating the rice Light had cooked rather poorly.
"What will shall you do sir?" Sayoko asked "He doesn't seem to be bearing any ill will to you or your sister so I doubt he would try anything."
"I don't think he means any harm Lelouch. I believe he will keep his word."
"He will keep his word brother." Nunnally stated confidently "I am sure of it. He means us no harm, I can feel it." Nunnally did have an ability to sense people's emotions, but Lelouch was thinking she'd been fooled for the first time. Light's ability to fool Nunnally's intuition unsettled him and almost made him think that Light wasn't up to anything. Perhaps his suspicions of Light were unfounded, there was no evidence of Light, Kira or not, being an opposition to the downfall of the Brittanian empire. In fact he may even become an asset, Kira killed the criminals of society and while Lelouch could not condone that, for the time being he could be used to rid himself of the powerful opponents. Still Light's geass was much of a mystery and he would have to be wary.
"All right," Lelouch sighed "Although I don't like word of our secret getting out, I trust Nunnally's judgement and I too believe we can trust him. However he is quite an awful cook, so I think I'm going to head back to my room now." He almost rolled his eyes at his pathetic excuse and cast a glance back at Suzaku "Sorry we couldn't really chat longer, it's just a bit on the hectic side.." Suzaku smiled.
"Take it easy Lelouch, I'll see you soon." Suzaku turned to Nunnally and they started talking. Exhausted Lelouch headed to his room, C.C. in tow.
"So what are you planning to do about him?"
"I'm not sure," Lelouch stared at his Zero mask as he sat on the edge of his bed "Perhaps if he is Kira I could use him. Kira strikes mostly at criminals and if Kira and Light are one and the same he would have a rather negative disposition towards the royal family."
"You are the royal family, even Light's figured that out."
"Why must you say things like that? Now I have work to do, Cornelia's looking for Zero so I should start planning ahead now." He turned away from C.C. and strolled over to his computer and got to work.
"I do have your best interests in mind you know, I can't have you dying. But even if you assess his risk correctly, he may be more of a wild card than you anticipate."
Lelouch woke up the next morning his paper ready to be top of his class, his Zero costume tucked away in a hidden compartment and his plans for defeating Cornelia stored in the recesses of his mind. As he headed through the dining room Sayoko had a breakfast of a simple bagel and orange juice. A simple meal, as if to take his mind off the fact his secret had been discovered. Sayoko also handed him two lunches.
"Nunnally insisted that I give you an extra lunch for Suzaku. If it is all right with you, she requests that you would deliver it to him."
"Of course." He couldn't refuse Nunnally's request, but she should know that he and Suzaku weren't supposed to know each other. Well, there was not much to do about it, so Lelouch stepped out on his way to his morning history class. Of course his morning could not be carried out in peace as he saw Rivalz waving at him. It was not so much that he disliked Rivalz, but his personality couldn't be described as intriguing.
"Hey Lelouch, what's going on?"
"Not much at all Rivalz. Just going to class as we do every day."
"Aww, you know what I'm talking about!" Rivalz suddenly hushed his voice "It's only been a couple days but there are already rumors about, people are thinking you're a little too friendly with the Elevens. " Lelouch just looked back at him "Not that I mind but people aren't exactly looking you at the same way, because of how you've befriended them."
"Rivalz," Lelouch shook his head "They are both excellent students better than most of the student body. I enjoy their company and friends should stick together despite discrimination."
"Yeah. Friends should stick together." Rivalz looked crestfallen. Lelouch interpreted that something had happened with Milly and thought best not to bring it up.
"We should get moving Rivalz."
Indeed as Lelouch entered the morning history class, it seemed as if Rivalz may have been right for once. The gazes that fell upon him did not feel as if they were in admiration, but felt as if they were suspicious of him. The sensation discomforted him, being watched so intently. He would never would falter in front of an opponent, returning even the most competent chessmasters glare, but this swarm of insignificant fellows judgement made him feel self conscious. Lelouch mentally reassured himself that the only reason they stared was because of his contact with Light and Suzaku. Suzaku, who he was most likely going to have to eat lunch with. At least Light seemed to be similarly cautious about his interaction with Lelouch.
"All right, you all have your papers to turn in? Cool. Do so now." Lelouch whipped his head upwards and noticed that there was a substitute teaching. He should have noticed earlier, he felt like he was getting slow, he needed to stay more alert. Lelouch tried to notice anything he may have missed. Light had not arrived yet and though he usually showed up late, this was later than he would usually arrive. Where could he be?
"Where are we headed, Light?" Ryuk asked looking out the window of the plane.
"Ryuk, do you pay any attention at all to what I am doing at any moment in time? We are going to the birthplace of Sakuridite. It seems that the symbol on C.C.'s head is the same as one from an old religious order. She doesn't act the way a new age cult member would, so I'm doing some research."
"Do we really got to fly all the way there? How could you even come up with enough money for this fancy can of yours?"
"Even the scum of the world can accumulate money, Ryuk. I simply putting it to a more noble use now." He pressed a small button on the side of the chair "Land now."
"Yes, sir."
"Ryuk, it really is a good thing I can control a person for 23 days before they die or else I have no idea where I would find all the volunteers to do so."
As his pilot waited aboard the jet, Light strolled throughout town searching for the library in search of records. As he came to the place he was unsure wether it would be any help to him. It lay wedged between two stores, one sleek and from modern times, the other looked like it had never undergone reconstruction. An absolute shack lacking even the rustic charm that seemed so pervasive in these countrysides. As Light slipped through the door he slipped in edgewise to avoid knocking over the towers of books that seemed to cover every available space. Now it seemed to him that this place would have the information he needed, but he would never be able to find it. Trying to make his way to what appeared to be the front desk a long manuscript caught his eye. The Enigmatic Cult of Geass and its Surrounding Tales. Weighing it, it seemed to be several hundred pages of old, musty parchment.
"Excuse me," a female voice asked "but do you need any help finding anything? I'm afraid that the owner is away on business for an undetermined amount of time, but I will help you if I can." Light turned to see a young woman also of Japanese descent in her late 20s with black hair and dark eyes that glinted with an intelligence.
"No." Light responded mellowly "I believe I have found what I am looking for."
"Ah, wait let me see what you have there." She quickly slipped through the columns of books "So you were specifically looking for something like this? May I ask what for?" She seemed to have a point driving her inquiry, so Light cut her off.
"School research project. May I take this and look at it for several hours? I'd hate to have to read it in this cramped space."
"Go on right ahead. This is actually a private collection and the owner loves it when people shows interest in these old stories, so I am sure he would be fine as long as you eventually return it."
"It won't take too long." Light said already scanning through the book. As he stepped outside he walked over to a bench and began to read.
"Man Light, you seemed a bit cold compared to how you usually act. She was just trying to make some conversation."
"No, in fact she was not. Had you noticed the entire place was covered in dust except for this document here. By the way she asked about it, she had been recently reading this trying to get some information out of this. When I came along wanting this book she thought she could get something out of me, so I decided to play it safe and get out of there."
"So what are you figuring out in that old thing?"
"Well, it seems C.C. may have been the one to start the geass religion. If she is as old as you say, that puts her at the time this religion began. It only existed for a few short years before collapsing along with its fanaticism in the early days a phenomenon. Religions don't simply spring out of the ground for several years. According to this villagers of this town met a beautiful green haired girl, who attracted the attention of all she met. However it seems their devotion to her collapsed and they turned on her burning her at stake. The thing is her body was never found." Light continued to finger through the pages pointing at various photographs that had been clipped in with original older documents. "The author has already compiled original sources with his own hypotheses and look at these pictures. In each of them a girl remarkably similar to C.C. it could very well be the same person. Now according to this author..."
"Hey Light." Ryuk interrupted. "You may like your book and all but in case you haven't noticed there are some shady guys around." Light taking heed of the Shinigami's warning and feigned looking at his book while his eyes flicked across the park. Five in his field of view wearing dark and face obscuring clothing moved slowly towards Light in a non-direct zig-zagging way. Slowly standing he tried to make his way back to the book store, nonchalantly. He crossed a street and as soon as a car blocked their line of sight he took off in a dash.
It was a problem running through a small town, the crowds were thin and impossible to diappear into. Light wondered what his pursuers might want and if he could reconcile his escape if he was caught. No, he would not be caught. As he hurdled a pile of rubbish in an alley he was pleased with his resolutions to keep physically fit. One strong of mind, but weak of body is only half the man he could be. Landing gracefully he turned to an empty street. Congratulating himself on a job well done, he fell unconscious.
Author's Note
Sorry this one is out so late, I try to get at least 2k words per chapter. If you hadn't noticed I am trying to put Lelouch in the spotlight more, but it's difficult because while Light is a chessmaster of the up close and personal kind, Lelouch is usually more adept at battlefield tactics. There is some difficulty in pitting the two against each other so I hope you understand if some posts are late.