Chapter Four: The Sakura Wall

Arc One: Child Of War

Opening: "Swaying" - Soraru

"GUTS!"

Suzaku shook as if struck by a bolt of lightning, moving from half asleep to bolt upright like a soldier quicker than John Stapp hit 42 G's, and it left the Japanese student in almost as shaken a state as the human natural disaster that was Milly Ashford hit him like a truck. The effect was visible even to the point that even the normally melancholic Lelouch was smirking at his misfortune from a healthy distance, while busily typing away. The excitable Rivalz complained as Shirley barely took a moment away from her staring at Lelouch concernedly. Nina was barely visible, the poor thing. Each was hard at work in their own way, though as Lelouch finished his personal joke and returned to scowling at a wall of numbers that was just within the Honourary Britannians sight, Suzaku sighed. His friend hadn't been the same since Shinjuku three days ago.

He remembered leaving, having listened to Lelouch's plan, and having agreed it was the best solution, and having to walk home through the streets of Shinjuku, trudging through bodies. Evidently, they had been too slow. Neither teen spoke, both oscillating between thinking and brooding, and trying to ignore the river of blood that was ruining their shoes, trying to ignore the stench of rotting flesh, brushing against their legs as they kept their heads high and noses, to the best of their abilities.

It was all they could do not to gag.

Suzaku, trying anything to force his eyes from dropping to the open graveyard, took a look at how Lelouch was handling it. The dark haired Britannian, unlike his own more passive looks upwards, was passionately fixated on a point in the distance, eyes forced into the horizon through force of will.

Just don't think about it.

It had taken every ounce of mental strength to make it out of the death zone without emptying his stomach. It was nearly dark by the time they reached Ashford, dry blood staining their legs up to the cuffs of their trousers, and a bitter scowl on both of their faces. Reuben didn't even comment, allowing them into their rooms and bidding them goodnight. Even Nunnally seemed to sense the tension, quietly going to Lelouch's room to try sooth him as Suzaku lay in his bed, and began to cry.

What he was crying about, he wasn't certain. But what was undeniable was the salty streams that fell down in smooth lines down his face, growing in intensity. So much death, so much. He hadn't seen it in such magnitudes since the day Britannia arrived.

"Suzaku?"

He felt a waking hand on his shoulder, as he looked up to the concerned faces of the Student Council, from Milly's genuine motherly look of concern, a break from her usual antics to allow a look of worry, followed closely by the always emotional Rivalz, who was also at Suzaku's side trying to see what the matter was. Shirley had taken time from staring at Lelouch to join the group, and even Nina, whose racial sensitivity left much to be desired, gave a look of worry as he'd realised what had happened.

He'd began to cry.

"I'm glad... that we could all be together again. You know, like this."

The line he and Lelouch had fed the rest of them was that they had been caught in the fighting, but made it out, to explain their trousers. Which, as Lelouch commented, wasn't inaccurate. He hoped the line would work and hide his actual thoughts, but as he considered it, Suzaku now began to sob. He looked into the now blurred faces of his… friends, yes friends, and saw them for the valuable treasures they were, now that he was thinking of death… oh gods if they died…

He didn't even want to posit that as a thought experiment of a consideration of a fleeting, momentary bout of true insanity. However, he was comforted by these same people, who promptly surrounded him and lavished him with support, as he gushed his heart out, just like that night.

Returning to that night, he recalled how down he had felt, emptying the wells in his eyes and lying there in silence. For however long, he knew not, he just lay, until Lelouch eventually walked in, anticipating a philosophical lecture. After all, he hadn't spoken in hours.

"Whatever happened to the green haired woman and the rebel?"

This annoyed Suzaku, as it almost seemed demeaning, but at least it took his mind off the issue. Lelouch had spoken in Japanese, which as the language had fallen out of use had become almost a secret code between them, which took his mind astray for a moment. "I gave them back to the rebels."

Lelouch nodded. "You mentioned you were in contact with them?"

Suzaku nodded in turn. Before Clovis had made his announcement, he had made contact and tried to organise an escape without killing anyone, and he still had the radio. He was expecting a lecture again, and unsurprisingly, once again Lelouch failed to deliver.

"We may want to get back in contact with them."

Suzaku remembered his shock, like nothing imaginable but for the day that was in it. Lelouch noted this as he continued "Just to clear some things up, maybe get them to disarm. Their tweaking in the background will be a pain once our plan gets underway."

It made sense, and Suzaku sighed as he resigned himself to lying back. He expected perhaps a sarcastic comment from Lelouch, or perhaps leaving him with nothing. However once again, Lelouch surprised him.

"Suzaku?"

He didn't look up.

"It's going to be okay."

This made him look up, his eyes rolling back to bring the subject of his attention into view just above his fringe, his face in a half-uncertain pause.

"I know what happened… what we saw in Shinjuku…"

Now Suzaku was sitting up. Lelouch was at a loss for words, which sold the genuine nature of the speech. The slender, pale teen sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"We aren't those people. We can only look at what we are able to to do from here. We can save lives, and make them better. It will be okay in the end. You're involved. Remember, you made this happen. Imagine what'd happen to either of us if we went our ways. Here, we have each other to count on. The world won't know what hit it."

Suzaku suddenly felt fuller, blown away. Lelouch's speech wasn't complete, or whole, like his usual. It was terribly delivered, with pauses, stutters, and looks aside to find words that were momentarily beyond Lelouch's reach, which formed the core of its believability.

Both there and somewhere very far away, he suddenly found his eyes dry, and his gaze distant, as he heard the words of kindness from Lelouch and the student council, encouraging and reassuring his worried mind. And in both places he smiled a thousand bright, shining smiles, lips stretching across his wet cheeks that thoroughly failed to express his relief and gratitude to the friends he couldn't thank enough in a lifetime. Once, Lelouch's surprising placating tones, and now, the entire student council with their varied linguistic efforts to cheer him up.

"Thank you.. So much."

Both there and far away, he caught a glimpse of Lelouch smiling with the edge of his lip, before returning to work.

However it was only in the student council room that the conversation continued, with Shirley suggesting "Perhaps we should do something to cheer Suzaku up!"

"You can't get out of budgeting that easily Shirley!"

The orangettes only response to being called out was a disappointed harrumph, but their antics cheered him up enough to chuckle. Lelouch's fleeting attention on the situation had already been lost once again to the computer screen. Suzaku couldn't blame him.

He'd never had a head for the kind of numbers Lelouch was working through. Still, the council largely went unabated, with Lelouch doing all he could to evade Milly's traps.

"Just the once-"

"No."

"Look, you just need t-"

"No."

"Look, the suit won't look so bad once you have it on-"

"Why don't you go bother Suzaku?"

"Because that man has no shame! He might eventually give in if I ask hard enough, and I can't use that for blackmail! Besides, he's just had severe emotional trauma!"

"I'm having severe emotional trauma right now!"

"You two remember I'm right here?"

Suzaku's query was met with a unanimous "Yes" from the both of the occupied teens that had him in stitches. Lelouch and Milly were a fearsome pair, but their unending focus on defeating each other kept the threat of a fascist coup of the council at bay.

Not that Milly needed a coup to gain control of the council.

Still chuckling, his mind shifted to the day after the Shinjuku incident. It took them considerable effort to greet the hot, bright day with any enthusiasm, but once they had showered and cleaned, an occasion that never ceased to brighten their day with active rows and shouts of who got the hot water, they got dressed and departed.

Classes that day seemed slower than usual, even Suzaku finding the lectures of an English professor all too obviously on his twelfth coffee of the day to be losing its clarity, its definition, as if he had been viewing the world through contact lenses he had forgotten to pick up that morning. Given that it had since faded, the Suzaku of the now concluded it was a lack of focus. It made sense; this meeting was playing on his mind like a musician playing in the background, drawing his attention from his work. Still, after a long, drawn out day, like a note on a violin played into oblivion, until none but dogs and Suzaku could hear it play its course, they were free. They met outside the schools front ate drawing the amused smirk of Milly and the scorn of Shirley as they departed, just fast enough to avoid a firm piece of the latter's mind.

The aging sidecar dragged them down the motorway at a speed that allowed Suzaku to watch his nails grow, as they did their best to ignore the ghetto parallel to the road. It seemed odd at the time to Suzaku, having lived in the shadow of the ghetto in the eyes of Britannia, to now be avoiding its glance like the plague. It frustrated Suzaku to no end. Lelouch was impossible to read, with eyes buried in scribbles contained within a 2x4 ledger handbook.

The meeting point was the remains of Tokyo tower, standing tall up to its open knees up to where it had been ripped from the halfway point and up, like it had been hit by a giant golf club and the top sent flying into the ocean, which on the day that was in it, filled the horizon with a brilliant blue of a limitless ocean meeting a boundless sky. A bird could fly forever.

Being a clear day, it was also a hot day. Sweat bled down his face vividly, like they were evacuating a ship, impervious to his continued swipes away. The heat was heavy, and almost impaired his ability to think about anything else.

Seeming to notice his suffering, Lelouch suggested they sought shade, something the weary Suzaku leapt on. Several trees had grown around the ruined tree, and they sat at the base of a trunk, taking shelter in the natural Sakura blossoms. Suzaku had nearly fallen asleep before Lelouch grabbed his shoulder and shook him.

There they were.

They were obscured through the branches and leaves, but there were never many people around Tokyo tower, and to see the exact number of people had said would come (Five, including the two they knew), made it almost certain. Lelouch called out beyond the cover of the pinkish-white leaves "Stop there!"

The figures instantly halted as if frozen in place, as Lelouch continued "You can send the man we met in to verify our identities. The rest of you will stay where you are."

The figure at the rear, with a slight limp, moved forward through the hues and fabrics forming a curtain between them, eventually reaching them, still sat at the foot of the tree. Giving a slight nod, perhaps of thanks, perhaps of acknowledgment, he called back "They're here!"

"Thanks Nagisa, come on back."

So his name was Nagisa, Suzaku reflected. That was worth noting, as the apparent leader, a woman who hadn't spoken yet, called out "Thank you both for your services yesterday. So what did you want to talk about?"

Lelouch placed his hands in a thoughtful pose, and began.

"What is it you hope to achieve?"

This question seemed to surprise their audience, who responded angrily "We want freedom, we want Britannia out!"

Lelouch gestured Suzaku to write this down on his notepad as he responded "No shortage of ambition. As it happens, I'm no fan of their regime either. I'd be extremely curious about what your tactical masterstroke is."

It would be fair to reckon, Suzaku assumed, that whatever the rebels were expecting, this wasn't it. Still, there was no signs of fluster in the woman's reply of "We have the backing of Japan. People don't know it can be done. In a few successes, we can grow!"

"And how did that work out last time?"

Before the group could reply, Lelouch, with a slight snarl creeping into his otherwise calm voice continued "In 2010 Brittania proved its military might. Genbu Kururugi, a man I knew well, couldn't save this island, and nor can you. The idea that you, with a single Knightmare, can hold a candle to the economic infrastructure of the entire North American continent is absurd."

"But its not the same!" came the reply, not angry, but frustrated. "We can fight on our terms, hitting infrastructure and important sites, and get out before they can!"

"How selfish."

The response was a single, sharp inhale of air from the rebels.

Lelouch smirked. "What do you imagine happens? Britannia implements harsher Military police, resulting in their continued mistreatment and misery. If you wish to engage in a race to the bottom at the expense of those you supposedly wish to protect, I must seriously question your motives."

"Then they will see the need to fight for freedom! This is a good thing!"

"Wrong again."

"What did you say?"

It was a man this time, one who hadn't spoken yet. His voice was grating and harsh, and quickly silenced by a wave of the woman's hand, visible by silhouette through the tree.

"For those of you at the back" Lelouch resumed demeaningly "I said that, once again, you have been wrong in your assumptions not just of your enemies, but of your allies. You think a show of force, a ray of hope, or some demonstration that Britannia, a country that has occupied the home islands for seven years, is far worse than they have already observed, will have them up in arms? A resultant worsening of circumstances will only hurt your popularity as people begin to see you as getting in the way of their continued relative safety. What do you think motivates people?"

"People want their country-"

Like John McLaughlin, Lelouch interrupted with "Wrong again. The Hierarchy of Needs, Maslow's unless I'm mistaken, places self actualisation as the highest rung, alongside your notion of patriotism. Someone struggling to put meals on the table will not risk it all for a motivation higher than that meal. The Japanese people are not united under the flag of patriotism. Some feel anger, some frustration, and some are trying to live with it. If you are trying to gather the Japanese people with that flag alone and think that's going to work, I have a bridge to sell you."

"Well what would you rather do?"

"Good question, you're learning." Lelouch confidently replied, causing Suzaku to silently chuckle at how demeaning he was being to the terrorists. "So, let's reexamine. What motivates people? People like to have a better lot in life, more opportunity, and more representation. Your plan centres on retaking your country for your country's own sake, which is why it is of limited scope and ambition. People will not join you unless you make them a better offer. Your key issue is that you promise combat, but not resolution. Any hope of military revolution was crushed 7 years ago, when the then Prime Minister refused to give in until the end, destroying any infrastructure we could have used to combat it when we reorganised. The time for violent revolution will never come. The people will not join it for anything short of a messiah. We need more. We need a Fiscal Revolution, where we actually achieve functional independence, rather than just a fancy title or status."

He paused for dramatic effect, placing a hand on Suzaku's knee to apologise for scolding his father.

"You claim you fight the enemy on your terms. This is not true. You are fighting an enemy at their full industrial and economic capacity, while not addressing the people you seek to represent. Fighting them on your terms would be reducing their capacity to address your threat to your level. The epitome of martial excellence isn't winning every battle, but winning without fighting, and so we must do all we can to level that playing field before making overt moves. This is why you will never win. You went with the standard, guerrilla terror tactics. You lack ambition, imagination, and any semblance of audacity, the cornerstones of revolution. I intend to destroy their economy while building ours and leave them no choice but to submit to me. I intend to leave them with no choice but to cut their losses as their colonial profits dwindle to nothing!"

Both Lelouch and Suzaku were standing now, slowly rising with the crescendo of Lelouch's bold statements until he was nearly roaring from the edge of the leaves. It clearly pained him, that he had waited so long for his chance, now that these uppity rebels were trying to do what he once dreamed of, but Suzaku knew what side he was on. He paused once more, allowing the terrorists to swallow what they were being told as well as allowing Suzaku to appreciate the Sun Tzu reference and what it implied. He was reminding Suzaku of that day, and the agreement they had made. Suzaku nodded to show he understood. Before Lelouch concluded with an angry high.

"I will make Schneizel El Britannia himself bow in submission without firing a shot."

And right on cue, gasp. Suaku of course knew the entire plan from when Lelouch had explained it to himself and Clovis, to promote native industries within the ghetto's to sever the people's ties to Britannia, while weaning Britannia off the free labour they were enjoying. Still, it did sound absolutely outrageous, audacious even, which was the point. The woman, recovering first, shot back at this idea.

"And you can do this?"

"Of course."

No gap, no delay, it was straight off his friends tongue like he'd prepared it. The leading woman and the scratchy voiced man seemed positively fuming, Nagisa and the green haired girl seemed neutral, and the taller one seemed the most uncertain. Suzaku spoke for the first time, taking his cue to bring in a human element "We want the Japanese people to be free just as much as you do, we just feel you're going in the wrong direction. We need to be the better people. Please, your aid would be invaluable."

The group stood still for a few seconds, before turning into a brief huddle. After sharing a brief discussion, they turned back, and the woman said quietly, just loud enough for Suzaku to make it out, "It's your choice."

"You know where I'm goi-" the green haired woman responded instantly, before being interrupted by the man with the irritating voice saying "I'm staying here!"

Nagisa agreed more quietly, leaving the tall one, evidently torn. The leading woman told him quietly she wouldn't hold it against him, which seemed to swing it, as he stood more straight, and began to walk across into the leaves. They came face to face as the tall man, ethnically Japanese with a brown overcoat lined with wool that was sending him into a fervent sweat. Even now, he looked uncertain, especially his visible reaction to the fact he'd turned his allegiance to a pair of teenagers stood at the base of a tree.

"Your name?"

"Kaname Ohgi."

"Welcome aboard."

And that, Suzaku mentally concluded, was why they had a wanted terrorist going through a mass of filing cabinets hauled up to their shared home detailing stock histories of Sakuradite as Milly continued to harass Lelouch down in the student council room, where reality resumed. All in all, Suzaku felt like it had gone about as well as it could have.

Which was why, given the nature of things, once things did start to go wrong, he somehow did not react with surprise. It began almost in slow motion, with Rivalz saying something amid the chaos that caught his attention for its shrill surprise. The room slowly looked towards the blue haired teen with increasing panic, their voices slurred and movements alien.

"Viceroy Clovis's been found dead!"

Boom. End of arc.

This whole arc has been about the growth in maturity of our leads, as the move from being affected by the world to affecting the world around them and coming into their agency. All along this arc, things happen to them such as the invasion, or the massacre. From now on, we're going to get the full nine yards of protagatory action.

Before I continue, some points. First, I'm aware Ohgi is the leader of the rebel group, however there were four key reasons I transitioned him to Team SuzaLulu, all centered around the plot to come. He will have a key role, especially in later arcs, as a proxy for our protagonists. The other reasons are too spoilerific to even go into here.

Secondly, you'll notice I reused a line of dialogue when Suzaku cried, when he said "I'm glad... that we could all be together again." In the context of the show, it is a sombre moment of Suzaku realising all he has to lose, at least if we take him at his word. Here, he is diverting away from his true emotions. I headcanon Suzaku as a compulsive liar, but not one that realises it, and this is a little nod to how he is, in spite of having a better plan in this universe, is neither perfect nor pure. While if he realises he is lying he will fret, he doesn't realise it nearly enough. Food for thought.

I saved the explanation of Lelouch's plan till the end, as I knew Lelouch would have to explain it to the rebels, and in line with the Principle of Conservation of Detail, you must never say exposition twice. This also served to bookend the arc, which was nice. At the end of each chapter, he was asked in the beginning what his plan was, then he nearly dies due to no planning, then announces he has a plan, then explains his plan. It's small, but its the small things that matter.

Thank you all for reading, and I welcome you all to the Beneath the Red Table Arc, beginning in For Hearts And Minds, Chapter 5; And his name was Zero, following a brief Flashback. While you wait, stay safe, be careful with your plants, and please rate and review!

~Eth0