Chapter Twenty Six: 51% Permanent Majority

Arc Seven: Reawakening

Opening: "I'll be back" - Da-ICE

"In conclusion, it is in my view a summary of all we have gained, both physically, symbolically, and in opportunity, that today we can claim such a site of natural heritage as Mt. Fuji back for ourselves, and that we may have it for our own as part of our still young gift of self determination. This mountain stands in opposition of those who complain with closed eyes, and claim that the world is static. Time continues to pass on, and it does so in favour of all of us, not those who would seek to be exclusionary or insular. Deals can only be made between two partners, as it's pretty easy to agree on things when it's only you at the table. To them, this mountain bids a challenge, but to you, I bid a very gracious thanks, and farewell for now."

The crowd of a thousand or so civilians interspersed with journalists, both Natives and Britannians, all erupted into applause, with minimal booing even in spite of the rather direct assault on the political opposition towards the last few seconds, as Prime Minister Suzaku Kururugi bowed to conclude his speech and stepped down from the stage, followed shortly by the various Ministers who had come to attend the event, including Minister for Finance Lelouch Lamperouge, who had given a far shorter speech earlier in the day, to a far less decisive reception.

Not that he minded; as Lelouch gave a slight wave to the crowd, he wore his slight yet shameless grin as he stepped down from the stage. After a brief meeting confirming everything, proceedings were concluded and the attendants dispersed to their various affairs.

Lelouch himself took a few minutes to ensure the finer details of the ledgering was all in order, meaning that it was a good ten minutes before he left to return to Parliament, stepping out into the back exit where a familiar face awaited him.

"Afternoon Jeremiah."

It had not been easy by any means, and he had had to wait for several months until no one was looking until he could bring Jeremiah back from the Homeland. Jeremiah had always hinted to Suzaku that he had wanted to work with Lelouch again, and Lelouch liked Jeremiah, and so he had been quietly brought in as Lelouch's Chief Of Staff. Lelouch didn't have many close allies that were not already in a very high position in Government, and enjoyed both Jeremiah's counsel and company.

"Good afternoon sir. I trust the venture was productive?"

"Naturally enough."

"Wonderful."

Of course, there was a very good reason Lelouch didn't have many close allies. Beyond the fact that he was easily the most divisive Representative in Parliament, something he secretly took a guilty pride in, he also had a second role within the Ameliorates that went without saying. While Suzaku was a huge fan of trying to persuade and compromise with party members who got cold feet before a vote, Lelouch swore that the young Prime Minister enjoyed referring them up to "The Finance Minister's Office" for the Stick to Suzaku's Carrot. While he was on a very short leash in these instances, and it didn't help with his internal popularity, there were few things Lelouch enjoyed more than playing the party whip.

In truth, he preferred the way things were; the Black Sheep, the Phantom Of The Opera, prowling about the place ensuring all was in order. While he operated under Suzaku's strict control, there was something fundamental in Lelouch's nature that abhorred being in power. He loved to challenge it, being the thorn in the side of whoever was in charge, but he had learned that Schneizel's curious comment that he would have to eventually get off the horse and govern was far wiser than he had once considered.

And, he knew now, that he had indeed inherited the mind of a great revolutionary, but no Governor.

This was not to say he did not do well in his position. He had a head for numbers and finance, and putting on a cape and rattling sabres, whether in an aggressive speech or in a private chat with a Representative who wasn't toeing the line every once in awhile, and it kept the job engaging. Being Kururugi's pitbull was perhaps not the most dignified of roles, but he wallowed in it.

The question of Kururugi himself was far more complex.

However, it was a question he could, as ever, put off, as they arrived at the Parliament building, at which point Lelouch returned to a businesslike state of mind in a snap. Nodding to Jeremiah as he left the car, he grabbed his briefcase and stepped up and into the building.

It was far nicer than their first Parliament building, a blend of classical architecture in its construction with just the right blend of modernism in its shape to avoid it looking out of place in the heart of Tokyo. Lelouch appreciated it as a place to work, and was intricately familiar with its backwards routes and halls like an old quirky friend; two lefts, down two floors by stairs, up three by escalator, then a third left to the dark, brown office of Prime Minister of the Second Government of the Representative Protectorate of Japan, Suzaku Kururugi.

"Go grab a coffee, this shouldn't be too long." Lelouch explained to Jeremiah, who seemed fine enough to take his leave, before Lelouch turned to tug at the door handle, only to discover it locked.

This struck him as highly bizarre. Suzaku had rarely locked his door even when they had lived together, and there was no way he was out; Lelouch was the last back from Mt. Fuji due to his having to crunch numbers, and Parliament was not currently in session. He gave his signature quad knock on the door, before shouting in.

"Suzaku? What are you playing at?"

His cock eyed question shouted through the wooden door seemed to evoke a shuffle on the other side, initially jerky but eventually more coherent, before he heard a voice respond "Sorry Lelouch, one sec!"

Wondering what government official in their right minds would say "One sec" to the supposed Lord of Darkness Lelouch Lamperouge, he was swiftly answered by the pink blur that was his sister, Euphemia, who had been Suzaku's Secretary since the Commonwealth act was enacted. Somewhat startled, but more than capable of containing himself, he looked down at the 27 year old with some confusion, still wondering why the door was locked, a sentiment he had no issue voicing.

"Oh, it's fine!" she perkily waved off, before explaining "Just a few private calls to be made to Governor Sumeragi, not the sort of thing you want others walking in on!"

Lelouch paused, before nodding. The explanation made sense, as for legal reasons Kaguya could not actually enter Parliament, and thus no noting was required.

Lelouch kept extensive notes about everything and everyone. These ranged from memos on meetings to observations and proofings of almost every Representative in the party, all filed accordingly. The huge filing cabinet behind Lelouch's desk was a frightening object for many, as several scandals could easily come to light if he were to ever get itchy fingers near that cabinet. It was all part of the show, part of the act he put on when people were sent up to his office, though the damning notes were very real. While Lelouch would never release them preemptively, he would hate to be caught with his pants down if someone got uppity.

Still, that was still firmly in the "As yet unneeded" category of things he had at his disposal, and so he entered the room following Euphemia's enthusiastic invitation, as he asked "So how is Kaguya?"

"Fine enough, though I suspect she is growing bored." Suzaku explained. "Meeting with the Britannians combined with relative isolation will do that to you."

Lelouch nodded. Kaguya Sumeragi had been a rather inoffensive pick for Head Of State, being well respected among moderates and Britannians and beloved by Revanchists, even in spite of her own moderate views that were closer to Suzaku's if nothing else. She acted as a go between for Suzaku and the Emperor, and was by all accounts quite good at it, being very perceptive and sneaky for her age.

"So what did you need?"

"Your blessing. I just did out all the numbers for the budget, and I'm going to pass it all through the system downstairs in a minute."

Suzaku gave an "Mm" in understanding as Lelouch fished his columnar scribbles out from his briefcase and passed it across the desk, before Suzaku chuckled.

"Imagine what Milly would think; we're still just doing budgets."

"I try not to focus on what Milly might think; that tends to lead to very uncomfortable places."

Appreciating the joke, Suzaku gave the paper a once over and passed it back saying "All seems to be in order. You have it in Bill form?"

Bristling slightly, Lelouch responded "Yes, it's a standard budget amendment, but do you not want to read it?"

"It's a standard budget amendment. I've got slightly more important things to get on as Prime Minister."

There was a tense moment as they stared at each other, Suzaku sat behind a desk and Lelouch leaning in from above. From aside, Euphemia pulled at Lelouch's shoulder to try and back up Suzaku. Lelouch looked between the pair before sighing and shrugging.

"You're the Prime Minister."

Suzaku nodded, as Lelouch took back the papers and continued "Make sure those things go well. We're all relying on you."

Suzaku looked down for a moment, a slight downward flit of the iris at most, before smiling and responding "Of course!"

Lelouch paused uncertainly, before again leaving it be and moving to depart with a wave, before Euphemia asked "Oh, and how is Nunnally?"

"Oh, she's fine." Lelouch affirmed with a sudden smile. "She's actually finishing college in a few weeks, Music Theory. She's over the moon."

"Ah, wonderful! Congratulations to her from me!"

"I'll make sure to pass it on." Lelouch replied to Euphemia as he turned away to leave, shutting the door behind him ambivalently, before continuing down the hall towards his own office to transcribe his notes into something that Parliament could vote on, while mulling over Suzaku. Suzaku was his superior, and Lelouch, having been central to the formation of the Government, had the utmost respect for the need of proper order, unitary executive doctrine, rule of law and various other buzzwords like that, and understood what he ought to do bureaucratically, and was not against it in principle.

However, all these legal arguments seemed to flake away whenever Suzaku would do his downwards, uncertain looks and quiet mulls of indecision. Suzaku had an uncanny ability to draw sympathy and market himself as a peacemaker, and all these things had been true back when they worked out of Ashford. However, what had also been true was the other aspect of Suzaku's imperfection; a lack of confidence in himself and his ideas, and a constant need for Lelouch to push him to do anything dramatic, which would only serve to draw scorn from Suzaku and Ohgi. It was incredibly frustrating to witness Suzaku's personal thoughtfulness, which was admirable, hurt them again and again, dating back to instances such as when he accidentally called Zero and leaked Cornelia's attack in Saitama.

Which was a shame, because even in his distraction Suzaku was far from unlikeable, and they still enjoyed what Lelouch at least considered a good friendship. However, Lelouch could only worry as to his method of ruling, and in turn Lelouch was acutely aware of Suzaku's lack of trust in him, for reasons that Lelouch could guess at. Lack of sound ethical structure, a willingness to do less than moral things, and general fixation on achieving the task at hand. Lelouch didn't see what was ultimately wrong about that, so long as it was contained, but even he knew Suzaku was not a fan.

As he returned to his office, considerably more modern than Suzaku's with a leather couch hauled up by hand to spite Suzaku and his corduroy monstrosity that still resided in the lounge after all these years, which he sank into lengthways with his locally produced laptop, flipping it open to his draft amendment, which he always kept in an open tab, with a live broadcast of Parliamentary proceedings which had just begun playing in another tab into his earphones.

As he swapped in digits, the faraway buffering cleared and Lelouch's ears were greeted with a grating voice, speaking grating English in an angry tone that took Lelouch aback for a moment. While it was certainly allowed, it was rare to hear anything but Japanese on the House floor. It took him a moment to recognise the scratchy voice of Claudio S. Darlton, and it made much more sense, as Lelouch was forced to sigh in irritation as the second adopted son of Andreas Darlton continued his speech.

"It is in my view a shame to see these attitudes expressed, that we would forgo the protection of the Empire that has provided for us, and spit in the face of the many favours they have granted this Government and pursue a policy of independent mobilisation. To me, and the constituents I represent, it seems clear that this is an attempt by the jingoistic, flag-waving forces of patriation and backwards chauvinism to seek further separation to the continued pain of the common Britannian citizen, whom regardless of birth ought to be united under the grand united alliance felt among all peoples to go towards a brighter future, rather than the divisive, separatist policies this government is partaking in."

He could go on, and he did, as Lelouch eventually tuned out. Claudio would more often than not deliver some variation of this speech whenever his turn came round. He represented the Unionist Party, hovering at about a tenth of the population which almost exclusively made up of Britannian natives, compared to the half and rough third between the Ameliorates and Revanchists respectively. While they were good for the occasional laugh, he did wish the Unionists would put up a slightly more imaginative candidate, as Claudio was certainly not picking up any Japanese voters, and the only people who hated him more than Lelouch were the Revanchists. Still, he got his 10% of the vote from the leftover Britannian nobility, cashed a paycheck at the end of the month and continued to pass go on behalf of Britannian interests.

One of Lelouch's many fears was the prospect of a Revanchist-Unionist Alliance. While they seemed fundamentally opposed, their actual fiscal policy as well as Reactionary belief in the "old ways" had kept Lelouch up at night more than once. Another fear was the jingoism of the Revanchists, with some actively encouraging violence against the state.

Lelouch was often worried these days, and he was often worried about being worried. He then would proceed to worry as to the reasons why he was more worried than he ever had been. He had not fretted back when they were escaping the Kururugi residence; he had a plan, and he was in control, even for his age. But that explanation made no sense; Lelouch had plans oozing out of his ears, ranging from campaign stratagems for the upcoming Third General Election to his files of personal secrets. He knew he hadn't worried even when running a literal insurgent campaign of strikes and fraud against the Government; so why now?

The reason, as far as Lelouch could figure, was twofold. First, he had lost the initiative; he was no longer on the forward foot, pushing his plans and machinations in secret among an enemy he could approach at his leisure. Instead, he was static, waiting to respond to issues there was a half chance he would never predict. This uncertain waiting and inability to act had not sat well with Lelouch, who had lived since exile as an active rebel in some form or another. In a sense, he hadn't had the time to worry in the past. Right now, all he could do was wait in anxious silence.

Secondly, he had vastly more to lose now. Back in the day, it had been him, Nunnally, and Suzaku, the latter of whom could look after himself and the former of whom was covered by so many contingency plans that it could almost qualify as funny.

However now the world he had been talking about where Nunnally could live safely was a lot less hypothetical, and its size and fragility was now clear for him, perhaps better than anyone else, and he felt a responsibility for it that caused great irritation whenever he felt duty was being neglected.

Which neatly returned him to Claudio's speech, which was wrapping up. The content, if one were to subject oneself to analysing it, represented a far greater threat than Lelouch's quote unquote forward approach to politics ever could. Hell, some Revanchists were even hinting at a need for their supporters to take up arms against an illegitimate Government! If there were ever a threat, these terrorists turned politicians represented it wholesale!

Alas, Suzaku remained a weeping fortress.

Not that he could comment.

"Are you alright?"

Lelouch paused to look up from his internal musings to see Jeremiah, coffee in hand, standing over him evidently concerned. Lelouch smirked up, before removing his headphones and replying "Fine Jeremiah, just a little worried is all."

Jeremiah, who knew Lelouch about as well as it was possible to, displayed uncertainty, which certainly seemed to be a theme today, before commenting "Unlike you. Are you well… perhaps a visit to the doctor...?"

"No!" Lelouch responded angrily. He had enough problems, and abdicating them to visit a doctor was irresponsible. Still, he took a moment to breathe in, and ask "So what news?"

The elder Margrave appeared momentarily uncertain, before clearing his throat and moving on. "So you've probably heard Claudio have his go, and I've booked us a slot for tomorrow so you can submit that."

Lelouch nodded, before shutting the laptop and adding "Shameful carry-on."

Jeremiah nodded in turn as Lelouch stood up, still shorter even after having finished his growth several years ago and replied "Aye. Did you hear him go after Guilford?"

Lelouch had, recalling the tirade from a talk show the other day. Guilford, who had combined a healthy image with military prowess to become Marshal of the Japanese Protectorate Army, and had recently called for more independent investment, which Claudio had railed against. In truth, it was far more likely true that Guilford and the Darltons had never really recovered from their fight during the 2017 strike, and Claudio hoped to engage in some vengeance by proxy.

"Such a pity. Anyway, anything else?"

Jeremiah looked briefly thoughtful, before adding "There were several OSI members reporting to Suzaku earlier that there is a firefight in process at the Babel Tower. Apparently Black Knight remnants were hoping to intercept a package, and the OSI members were asking to take command from the local counterterrorist unit."

"Bizarre."

"Agreed."

"I assume you still have… contact with Guilford? I mean you used to work together."

Jeremiah paused uncertainly, before responding "I do… why?"

Lelouch paused, before peering out the window at the far side of the room and answering "I don't like this one bit. They've been too quiet for this not to be important, and the OSI confirms it. If it's not too much trouble, try talk Guilford into having Ohgi send in the Army. That should tie the OSI into enough of a bureaucratic mess for our lads to have a good idea of what's happening. If we hurry, we may even be able to seize them ourselves."

"It will be done."

"Just don't tell Suzaku."

Milestone; first chapter I rewrote from scratch. Initially, it was from Suzaku's point of view, and was meant to portray how uncomfortable he was in his position as PM, as well as his paranoia over Lelouch. In that draft, Lelouch was far more confrontational, and arguably more malicious, which was significantly out of character, to the point where I scrapped two weeks work to amend this.

Lelouch, as I have made plain, isn't power hungry for its own sake, which was a major problem for writing this chapter from Suzaku's perspective. Lelouch, if he were to… stretch ministerial authority let's say, would do so to in his eyes help the country. I don't tell Suzaku about this one thing? Greater good. I start this new side project? Greater good.

It is very hard to explain this if you are not Lelouch, and assume he's just like his father.

In any instance, I like this version much more, as it shows a more playful and less evil Lelouch. This chapter is more of a "Day in the life" than a plot chapter, though it is that too, and attempting to begin with Lelouch coming into real conflict with his superior would send the message that they have been doing so for 7 years, which they absolutely have not. One could copy paste this Chapter of seven years and still get a decent ideas of the running of the RPJ, which would not have been the case in the original version, with bitterness, fighting, and anger. I hope I better portrayed the fact that Lelouch has nothing but love for Suzaku, though he still holds some reservations over how he governs, which is not new news in any sense of the word. What may be news is SelfAware!Lelouch, but hey, I'm a sucker for exposition. No literally, send help.

So yay me. So glad I wrote this all in bulk, or I would be facing some pitchforks for lateness. Still, I must subject you to further waiting until we get Chapter 27 of For Hearts And Minds, Fall From Grace, so until then, all the best, rate and review, and don't forget to follow regular Parliamentary order.

~Eth0