5: The Value of a Promise

After confirming that Suzaku was alive, I used my Geass to order the guards of Clovis' miniature mobile fortress to let me in. I also had one of the men give me a hand-gun and a soldier's helmet and gear. I used Geass on Clovis, too, to see if he had any clues as to who killed my mother. He informed me that Cornelia, another half-sister, might know the answers. At gunpoint, I made my half-brother order a ceasefire in Shinjuku. Clovis recognized me once I removed the soldier's helmet. He begged for his life.

In order to destroy the corruption of Britannia, however, it was necessary to kill cruel, racist cowards like Clovis. Besides, I couldn't forgive him for ordering the slaughter that took so many lives, and for creating the situation that almost got Suzaku killed. So I shot my half-brother in the head, and he died at once. Because he was my kin, or perhaps because I had never killed anyone before by pulling the trigger myself, I got sick and threw up. Even twenty-four hours later, thinking about Clovis' dead body and exploded head made me run to the bathroom to vomit. I was still soft-hearted. I had a long way to go.

In a dream that night, I relived a memory from seven years ago.

The Britannian invasion of Japan started two days ago, but Suzaku and I try not to think about. We play out in the woods, and when I run out of breath, we go to sit in my favorite glen full of sunflowers. He keeps calling me "Princess." I get playfully angry and try to knock him down using a move I learned from Tohdoh's Dojo. It doesn't work on Suzaku, who has much more experience. He ends up knocking me over on my back, and then loses his balance and falls on top of me. We both laugh. For a few minutes, the boy stays on top of me, as we both enjoy the feeling, being just old enough to want to experiment with our bodies. Suzaku picks a sunflower and tucks it behind my ear.

"You look pretty," he says, too caught up in the moment, and too young, to feel embarrassed over it.

"I don't want to be pretty," I confess, with other matters weighing on my mind. "I want to be strong like you so I can protect my little brother." I reach into my pocket and pull out a half-crushed origami crane. "Yesterday, Nannaru I read about paper folding, and I made some of these for Nannaru."

"It's not bad," Suzaku appraises my work. "You're good with your hands. There's an old Japanese legend, you know. It says that if you fold a thousand paper cranes, you can make a wish come true."

"I didn't know that. Hmm." I think about what I might wish for. I wanted my mother to come back. I wanted my father to love Nannaru and me. I wanted the invasion of Japan to stop. I wanted Britannia to quit being such a domineering, unfair, and corrupt country. I wanted to be Empress so that I could change the country myself. I wanted to make Nannaru happy for the rest of his life. And I wanted to be able to be with Suzaku, my one and only friend, forever.

"I don't think I could pick just one wish," I tell him, liking the feeling of his body on mine, with our faces so close together I can feel his breath on my skin. "Maybe I'd wish to be the Empress. What about you? What would you wish for if you could have any one wish granted?"

Suzaku often spoke before thinking, blurting out the first thing on his mind. "I think I would wish for a kinder, gentler world," he stated. "One where there's not so much war and killing and hate. Hmm. On the other hand." Now he regretted picking his wish so quickly. "If you're going to wish to be the Empress… then I'd like to wish to be your Knight, for forever."

"That's stupid," I grumble, because I'm actually flattered, and embarrassed. I shake it off quickly though, and say, "Ok then, Suzaku. I'm going to try to make your wish come true. I bet I can change the whole world in only ten years. By the time I'm Empress and you're my Knight, the world will be a gentle place without wars. I swear it." It was a ridiculous thing to promise, of course, but I truly meant it.

"Pinky-swear," says Suzaku, and we interlock our fingers and shake them. "Now if you break your promise, according to the Japanese rhyme, you have to swallow a thousand needles." He giggled. "You'd better get folding those paper cranes pretty fast. Otherwise you can't grant my wish for me. I'll personally make sure you swallow a bunch of needles, haha!"

"That's mean." I sit up and push him off me. "Just you wait, Suzaku. I really will change the world."

*****Line Break*****

The next two days felt like eternities. So much happened. In brief, I'll explain. At school, I met Kallen, a girl who had been absent since the beginning of the year. She had red hair and blue eyes, a tall and attractive body, and looked partly Japanese. I realized at once that she was the terrorist girl who had piloted the red Glasgow during the battle at Shinjuku the previous day.

I heard from Rivalz that she was rich because she was the daughter of the late Earl Stadtfield, a Britannian aristocrat with an impressive fortune. She acted reserved and polite when talking to classmates, and she had most of the school believing she had a weak and sickly constitution, leading to frequent hospitalizations and thus absences from school. Of course, I didn't buy any of that. I knew she was really a passionate, outspoken, and courageous fighter in the resistance force. Maybe she did have a weak body, but it was highly compatible with Knightmare frames; she must have had a pilot performance percentage in the 90s.

If I hadn't said anything, maybe Kallen wouldn't have started to suspect me. However, I confronted her in the courtyard of Ashford Academy and ordered her, "Answer a few of my questions." Kallen's body relaxed, and it seemed to me I could see a ring of red around the irises of her eyes: the sign she was under my control. "Why did you pilot that Knightmare in Shinjuku?" I asked.

"Because I am Japanese," she replied at once, in a flat voice. "Even though half my blood is Britannian."

"So your mother is Japanese, then." Next I asked, "Is it the desire for vengeance that drives you?"

"No. I hate Britannia, but what drives me most is the desire for liberty for the Elevens who still live."

"Has Britannia taken something precious from you, besides subjugating your people? I mean, have they done something that hurt you deeply and personally?" I was asking these questions because in my mind, I already wanted Kallen to be a fighter pilot for me and my war against Britannia. But I had to make sure she was fighting for the right reasons, and that she had a good reason to keep fighting no matter what.

"Yes," Kallen answered, still in a dull, even tone. "Yesterday, my brother Naoto was killed in Shinjuku. He was the driver of the truck carrying the poison gas. He was our leader until yesterday."

"Who is the leader now?" I questioned.

"Kaname Ohgi. He's more cautious than Naoto was, but he's equally determined and brave."

"I see." That was all the information I needed at the moment. This was before I knew I only had one shot with the Geass on each person. "Don't speak to anyone about Shinjuku," I tried to command her.

To my surprise, the Geass wore off, Kallen's body stiffened, and that singularly vicious look of hers returned to her eyes. "Shinjuku?" she demanded, voice full of suspicion and aggression. "What do you mean? What am I doing here? And what were we just talking about?"

I managed to dodge the questions and get away, saying I had student council duties to attend to. As the school day went on, though, it became clear that Kallen suspected my identity as the person who united the terrorists yesterday. I had led them to defeat some twelve Britannian Knights with my clever battle strategies. On the other hand, I had abandoned them high and dry once the Lancelot showed up. That didn't bode well for my reputation at all. I wanted the terrorists on my side, but hiding my identity from them would be necessary. They wouldn't follow me if they knew I was a Britannian Princess, or if they thought I was just a no-name Britannian high school student.

Kallen was about my height, which made her a bit tall for a girl. In addition to having more feminine curves and a more ample chest than me, she also had more arm muscle, making her the stronger and heavier one compared to me. Because of that, and because of the savage look that sometimes appeared in her blue eyes, I found myself frightened by Kallen. It took quite a bit of scheming to convince her I wasn't the person who guided the terrorists yesterday. I went home and made a recording of my "terrorist leader" voice, telling Kallen to wait for instructions regarding us meeting. The next day, I had our maid, Sayoko, call the school and play the recording for Kallen to hear. I acted like I had no idea what the phone call was about, and the redheaded girl fell for the act.

(It was a good thing she did, too. Otherwise, I don't know what she would have done to me. I found out she had a knife, hidden in a girly-looking pouch/wallet. Before the phone call assured her I was innocent, she had been holding the knife threateningly against my wrist. I suppose she had reason to act hostile. Even if she hadn't been suspicious about my identity, she was angry because, when I brought her the phone, she was naked in the girl's shower room. Gym class had just ended. Annoyingly, something in my expression always gave away the fact that I'm equally attracted to females as to males. If girls saw me admiring their bodies, they started treating me like a man or, worse, like a sexual predator.)

I was able to relax a little once I was sure Kallen's qualms were alleviated. Over the course of the school day, I ran several tests to better understand my Geass. It didn't take me long to discover that I could only use it on each person once, that it required eye contact, and that it was possible to give complex orders of a continuous nature. After classes, Kallen and I walked to the brick building just to the east of the main Academy campus. Nannaru and I lived in this building with our maid, Miss Sayoko Shinozaki. Our living arrangement was thanks to the continued favor of the Ashfords, which had become a prominent aristocratic family after the war, when they got into the Sakuradite business.

The reason Kallen and I went to my residence was so we could meet up with Nannaru and all the members of the student council. Between the seven of us, we had a fine party celebrating Kallen's induction into the club. All the arrangements were made by the capable and fun-loving Milly Ashford. She cooked Japanese-style curry and Italian-style caprese for us, ordered a pizza, and brought organic fruit juice, along with two bottles of carbonated grape cider.

Rivalz was extremely disappointed to find out that the fizzy cider had no alcohol content whatsoever. Nevertheless, he was in good enough spirits to flirt with Milly. Shane talked to Nina in a futile attempt to understand the physics research the young girl genius was conducting. When that got old, Shane lectured me endlessly about how I should be a better student, and plagued me with questions about where I had been all day during the Shinjuku incident. Nannaru was delighted to meet Kallen and spent most of the time talking to her. I chatted a bit here and there with everyone, with a false demeanor of cheerfulness. My mind wandered elsewhere.

I remembered my promise to Suzaku so many years ago, and his wish for a gentler world. I was sure that Nannaru wanted the same thing. I grew up telling myself I was going to destroy Britannia someday, and at last, the opportunity had been given to me. With my sharp mind and the power of Geass, perhaps my ambitions could be realized. I would need help, though. It was critically important to arrange a meeting with Kallen, the other members of the resistance, and their apparent leader, Kaname Ohgi. I had to make them work with me while keeping my true identity secret. I'd need a mask, and I don't just mean presenting a persona of a powerful, bold, and confident leader; I would also need a real mask to hide the face of Lelucia vi Britannia. So, that afternoon and evening, I worked hard gathering the right materials, making the right adjustments, and putting them all together to make a heroic costume.

It was past Nannaru's bedtime, but that night he stayed up later than usual, listening to the news reports on the television. Just as I was finishing my Zero costume, my little brother called to me an urgent voice. I came running to see what was wrong, but Nannaru just pointed in the direction of the TV. Then I saw it: the news headline that read, "Kururugi Suzaku arrested for the murder of Prince Clovis." There was footage of him walking with his hands tied behind his back, escorted by two bulky Britannian guards. One of them hit Suzaku in the face. I was grateful Nannaru couldn't see that. But he had clearly heard the announcer say Suzaku's name, as well as the fact that he had been arrested for murder. To make things worse, the newscaster ended the report by saying, "The evil Eleven who killed our beloved Viceroy is sentenced to be publicly executed tomorrow night."

If Nannaru hadn't been there, upset and panicking, I doubt I would have held myself together very well. The guilt and fear were enough to crush anyone; Suzaku was being blamed for a crime I committed. Even with the Geass I cast on him ordering him to live, he wouldn't be able to help it if people more powerful than him subdued and executed him. Since he was a member of the military, Suzaku would be shot to death by a firing squad. But because Nannaru was there, I was able to mask my distress.

I placed my hands on my little brother's shoulders comfortingly and told him that of course the news wasn't true; Suzaku would never do something like this. There had to be some mistake. Nannaru asked if there was anything we could do to help our old friend, and I had to tell him we were powerless. In my head, however, I was already thinking of a plan to save Suzaku. There would be no point in remaking the world if he were no longer part of it. Maybe it's strange that I treasured Suzaku so much and held him so dear in my heart, given that we had been apart for so many years. But I couldn't help how I felt. Suzaku had been my one true friend after my banishment. He saved me during the invasion of Japan. Even though he had joined the army, he disobeyed orders and got himself shot because of refusing to kill me. Because of who he was and all he had done, Suzaku was probably the person I cared most about in the world, next to Nannaru, of course.

*****Line Break****

I left the house before sunrise the next day to make all the necessary preparations for my meeting with the terrorists. I called Kallen from an untraceable phone and told her to bring Ohgi and any other resistance leaders to Tokyo Tower. There, I arranged it so they would pick up a walkie-talkie at the front desk, and I gave them further directives through that. As instructed, Ohgi, Kallen, and two others boarded a train I specified. Virtually everyone on the train was under the effect of my Geass. I ordered Kallen via walkie-talkie to come with the others to the front car. I had cleared everyone out of that car with Geass, and removed any cameras. I put out the lights, too. Now all I had to was wait.

I changed into the costume I had made the previous night. The pants and the dress-shirt, with its long, pointy-ended coat-tails, were a dark indigo color with golden trimming. At the collar I wore a white cravat. The boots and gloves were black. My helmet, with its five spikes on tops, was also black, except for the front part, made of an indigo-tinted plastic. I could see through this plastic but others could not see my face from the outside. There was a retractable plate over my left eye so I could use Geass while still wearing the helmet. Over it all was a cape, black on the outside and red on the inside, and big enough to wrap around my whole body like a cloak. I always kept within my dress coat the hand-gun with which I had killed Clovis. A supply of ammo had been easy to find in Shinjuku. With my small breasts bound and a voice modifier installed in the helmet, there was no easy way to tell my sex.

Soon my guests arrived, and Kallen began at once by asking if the ceasefire and the murder of Clovis two days ago had been my doing. I ignored her question and said to the five terrorists, "I welcome you. On this train ride, you should have seen a view of the new Tokyo on your right: a city of Britannians built upon the sacrifices of the Japanese. On the left you should have seen the crumbling ruins of the old Tokyo, your own city, a place sucked dry by the Britannians. There exists between you and Britannia an insurmountable gap. It's enough to make anyone despair."

"And that's exactly why we fight," said Ohgi boldly, fists clenched. He was tall and buff, with skin a little darker than the others, and black hair similar in appearance to a small afro, with sideburns next to his ears. It was rare to see a Japanese man with traces of African, several generations back. The terrorist leader wore a red headband and a bulky, reddish-brown coat that made him look even bigger. "We of the resistance," he said, "will defeat the Britannians or die trying."

I told him, "It won't do anyone any good if you 'die trying.' And you're mistaken at the core of your mission. Acts of terrorism are not enough to stop Britannia. Your terrorism is nothing more than childish harassment. Remember this. Your enemy is not 'the Britannians,' but the Empire of Britannia. If you're going to fight, then fight a war! Unlike with terrorism, war tries to avoid involving civilians. Prepare yourselves and consider the weight of justice."

"Don't f*** around with us," Kallen spat, insulted. "Maybe you're right, but that's easier said than done! You want to lead a war? Ha! How can we believe in someone who won't even show us his face?!"

"That's right," Ohgi agreed, though much more calmly than Kallen. "Please show us your face."

"I will do that, in a way. But I won't be literally showing you my face. I'll show you the face of my power. I'll show you my face as someone who brings results. If I work a miracle, it should win you over." I smiled inside the helmet. If I could convince three or even two of the terrorists to go along with my plan for tonight, we would win. We could save Suzaku. My Geass, along with a certain bluff I had up my sleeve, would ensure victory. All I needed was another pair of hands to help with the practical side.

Reluctantly, Ohgi and Kallen agreed to help me. The former was a man of discernment, who could tell there was a chance that I was not lying: that I really could make the impossible possible. The former was a stubborn but loyal girl; she volunteered for the mission simply to show that she was a follower of Kaname Ohgi. As we spent the day preparing for the rescue mission, Kallen said over and over that there was no way this could be pulled off by only three people. She was about to see just how wrong she was.

The first step in the plan was stealing Clovis' personal transport, which wasn't very well guarded now that he was dead. It was a breeze to use my Geass to acquire the flamboyant white-and-gold vehicle. Finding the "poison gas" capsule that the green-haired girl had come out of three days ago was also easy. I had Ohgi and Kallen help me move it onto the back of the vehicle. Then the three of us scouted out the area where Suzaku would be paraded through the streets. We found a suitable escape route and set up several hammocks of trampoline material at certain locations. Finally, I did some information gathering and research and discovered that the person in command during the ceremony would be Margrave Jeremiah Gottwald, a member of the "Pureblood Faction" of Britannia. Since Clovis' death, the Margrave had been appointed Deputy Governor General, and nobody at execution could disobey him. Based on what I learned about him, it would be a cinch to manipulate him and his "pureblood" friends.

Before we set out that evening, I found myself alone with Kallen, while Ohgi was fetching guns for all of us from his base in Shinjuku. "Kallen Kozuki." I addressed her using the last name of her mother, which I had found out during my information gathering stage. "What do you think of the value of a promise?"

She had to think a minute before answering. "A promise made by a person of honor is sacred," the redhead stated. "My brother Naoto never went back on his word, and I never will, either. Naoto made me promise to keep up the good fight if he died. I'll gladly sacrifice my life to keep that promise."

"I feel similarly," I confessed. "I made a promise long ago to a person I love. A promise to fulfill that person's wish. I'm willing to do anything imaginable to make it come true. I'll keep my word, even if it means starting a war." I noticed that Kallen looked sympathetic, but confused. Why was I telling her this? "I simply want you to know that I'm just as motivated as you and Ohgi," I explain. And it's true. I was driven by three strong reasons. Firstly, I wanted a world that was more fair and just, because Nannaru and every other disabled or weak person would be happier in such a world. Secondly, I wanted to destroy Britannia because of how much I hated that crooked country and its despicable royal family. Thirdly, and most importantly of all, I wanted to fulfill my promise to Suzaku.

"I bet I can change the whole world in only ten years. By the time I'm Empress and you're my Knight, the world will be a gentle place without wars."