Author's Note (Updated):
Well, it's been 3.5 years. I honestly didn't think I'd ever get back to this story, but here I am. For those of you who read the initial posting of this fic, about half of this is a repeat of the original first chapter. The other half is new content though, so make sure you give this a read as if it were a completely new chapter. I'll finish my update at the end.
Original Note:
So a little ficlet popped into my head while working on my other story Missing Pieces, and I figured, "Well, why not post something short in the meantime?" This takes place during the Ashford school festival of R1 Episode 21. Enjoy!
Kallen really hated Ashford Academy's annual school festival.
It was risky being in public after some of the military had seen her face on Kaminejima, but Kallen had promised Milly and the others that she'd help with the festivities. Out of everything, she'd thought Suzaku would have caused the most trouble, but he seemed to be too thick-headed to care that he was letting the ace of the Black Knights run free. For a moment, Kallen wondered if maybe the festival wouldn't be so bad after all.
Then, Lelouch sent her to the horror house.
Kallen was now stuck slouched over a poorly-lit monitor so she could properly time when she jumped out to 'scare' the patrons. How anyone found the colorfully-painted costume at all frightening was beyond her, but Kallen at least knew the damned thing was hot. Every time a bead of sweat dripped from her face onto the monitor, Kallen hoped that the electronics would go out for good and she could leave.
While Kallen was never so lucky as to have that excuse, she did eventually find a different one.
"Ohgi?"
The cowering man slowly lifted his head. His eyes lit up as he recognized the redhead posed before him, and he relaxed his stance. Ohgi lowered his arms, stating with relief, "Oh, you're back safe."
Kallen blinked. "Fortunately, yes," she responded softly, still not quite sure what was going on, or why her Japanese friend had decided to attend a festival at her Britannian school.
At this, the Britannian woman at his side cocked her head slightly, her strange silver hair brushing her shoulders. "So you two know each other then?"
Kallen immediately turned her attention to the woman, eyeing her suspiciously. Who is she? Ohgi doesn't usually talk to many Britannians that I'm aware of, and for one to be so comfortable around an 'Eleven'…
As both rebels opened their mouths to respond, a small beep sounded. Kallen glanced down at the monitor to see multiple pips meandering the nearby corridors, occasionally pausing at the stations leading up to her own. She gritted her teeth in frustration. Lelouch, I swear, when I get my hands on you… I have way more important things to do right now than man this stupid attraction!
She then turned her attention back towards her brother's friend. "Ohgi, I know we have a lot to catch up on, but unfortunately, I have a job to do right now…" Not for Lelouch though. For the student council.
As she said that, Kallen caught sight of the approaching students arriving at the volunteer down the hall. Instead of screaming as most visitors did, the party walked right up to the 'scary' figure: a quiet girl from her homeroom painted white like a ghost. And then, the group got out their phones. As the poor girl running the attraction stood politely and allowed the boys to surround her and start taking pictures, Kallen began fuming at the blatant disrespect. Damn Britannians…
Kallen stood up and ducked beneath her costume, emerging before Ohgi and his... companion. "On second thought, I can leave now." The girl looked around to make sure the other students were still… occupied. They were. "I'm heading out the back to go change out of…" She motioned to her face and rolled her eyes. "…this. There's a warehouse out back. Meet me in half an hour and we can talk then."
Ohgi looked at her, confused by the sudden change of heart. "Yeah, I mean, sure, if you're fine with that."
The ace of the Black Knights ran out the nearest exit as quickly as she could, having absolutely no desire to entertain the obnoxious boys of Ashford Academy.
Glad to have washed the disgusting red paint from her face, Kallen briskly walked towards the storage facility. Thankfully, Ohgi and… whoever he had with him hadn't gotten lost and were currently leaning against a nearby tree for support. They appeared to be chatting. Kallen narrowed her eyes at how friendly they seemed, even if Ohgi looked a little uncomfortable himself. Does Ohgi have some sort of relationship with this Britannian woman? When's the last time he was even in the settlement?
Ohgi spotted her while raising his head to scan the campus. "Oh, Kallen, you're here." As she came closer, he continued. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?"
The redhead nodded. "Yeah, but we should probably do it somewhere more private so I don't get any weird looks for 'talking to an Eleven'." She rolled her eyes at the last part. "Inside the storage facility should be fine. That's why I brought you here."
She started walking, but Ohgi stopped her before she got too far. "Kallen, would it be alright if she comes with us?"
Kallen paused, looking the woman over another time. She seemed innocent enough, her youthful eyes conveying the appearance of a curious child rather than a seductive Britannian temptress. More concerned with what trouble the woman may get into if she wandered off, Kallen relented, mentally changing what she wanted to discuss with Ohgi. "Sure, if you want."
She made her way to the warehouse without looking back and assumed the strange couple followed behind her once she heard two pairs of footsteps. The half-breed really wanted to ask the older man about this entire situation, but the last thing she wanted was for the sick girl to be caught in public interrogating a interracial couple. At least the warehouse was only a few steps away. Then, she'd get her answers.
As they approached, Kallen began to faintly hear voices arise from inside. At first, one spoke softly enough so she couldn't make out words, but the other – a boy's – rang clearly enough. "I'll bring you some, now wait in your room!"
Damn, someone's already in there. The voice sounded familiar, probably one of the Ashford boys trying to get with a girl after the festival. Regardless, it would probably be best to wait until the current occupants left before they entered. She turned back to Ohgi, putting a finger to her lips to signal quiet. Though the woman seemed confused, Ohgi nodded silently, having heard the commotion himself, and followed Kallen to the wall adjacent to the door. The woman eventually picked up on the hint and followed after quietly enough.
"Right now, I have a school festival and a coup d'état to run!"
Kallen froze, only really processing one part of the sentence. Did he just say 'coup d'état'? Kallen glanced at Ohgi, and, based on his shocked expression, it seemed she hadn't been mistaken. Luckily, the silver-haired woman still seemed oblivious, so at least no one's cover would be blown. Yet.
Great, one more problem to deal with today.
Kallen lowered her voice and addressed Ohgi behind her. "Take her into the festival and meet me back here, okay?"
"Kallen, this could be dangerous."
"I know. That's why she needs to leave right now. Don't worry, Ohgi. I can handle myself."
Ohgi paused, not wanting to leave Naoto's sister alone with someone potentially dangerous. But, if he mentioned a coup d'état, maybe he would be an ally… Eventually, he sighed. "Alright. Just don't do anything stupid." He turned to his companion. "Kallen needs to do something so we're going to leave her alone for a bit, okay? Let's go back to the games for now."
The woman blinked. "Oh, okay. It was nice meeting you, Kallen!"
Kallen nodded stiffly, inwardly groaned at the formality, and tried to tune out their footsteps as they left. Mystery woman aside, there were now much more pressing matters to attend to. Like a supposed "coup d'état" being run by someone at Ashford's festival…
Ohgi held loosely onto Chigusa's arm and guided her back towards the festivities. "I'm sorry for the small detour with Kallen. We haven't seen each other in a while, and I'd been hoping we could catch up."
Chigusa laughed lightly. "Don't worry! It's no problem at all! I'm sure she's got her hands full helping with the festival."
Ohgi glanced nervously behind them to where Kallen still lingered by the entrance to the warehouse. "Yeah…" Switching the subject, he began to say, "You know, I hear there's supposed to be some sort of giant pizza later…" He trailed off as a pair of Ashford students passed them by. The orangette didn't seem particularly noteworthy, but Ohgi immediately recognized the Japanese boy that accompanied her. Kururugi? Where is he…?
Ohgi paused and turned, watching in horror as the pair made their way towards the warehouse.
Kallen, I hope you know what you're doing.
"I think the spare fuel tanks are kept in the storage facility out back…"
"Sure, let's check there then," Suzaku agreed, letting Shirley lead him to the desired location.
The knight looked around as they walked, taking in the ongoing festival. It was really… quite amazing. Although Milly was still working the student council past their limits (God only knew what Lelouch as coordinator had to deal with for this), the festival had turned out to be something much better than just another goofy day of celebration at Ashford Academy. Even in these uncertain times, everyone from the settlement was coming together for a peaceful day of fun. He'd seen Britannians, Elevens, and even some members of the military, like Miss. Cecile.
This is what the world should be like. A place where we can all just set aside our differences and get along. Suzaku spotted someone dressed up as the Lancelot. And I get to be a part of making that dream a reality. He smiled as a chatting Eleven and Britannian couple (who looked oddly familiar) passed them by, proving his point.
Then, Suzaku paused as they neared the warehouse. A figure hung outside the entrance, seemingly poised in a fighting stance, one hand gripping the doorframe and the other tightening at her(?) side around something. Taking notice of her uniform and dark red locks, Suzaku's eyes widened.
Is that Kallen?
He took in her posture, questioning whether she was also holding a weapon. I thought it was just a little while ago that I told her I'd overlook our… history while at school. If she's not going to hold up her end of the bargain…
"Is something wrong?" Shirley asked as they stopped, beginning to draw her attention towards the warehouse.
Suzaku grabbed her arm quickly. "Shirley…!"
"What is it?" She turned to him, thin brows rising.
"Um… well, I…" Suzaku knew he couldn't let her see Kallen, but he hadn't thought far enough ahead to come up with an excuse. As much as he didn't want to lie to his friend, he needed to get to that warehouse without her. "I... it's that… I just remembered… that I might have left the Ganymede on before we came."
Well, he supposed it was possible.
Her eyes widened. "Oh, is that a bad thing?"
Not really. "Well, I don't know how long its battery is going to last. And if it runs out of power – "
Shirley gasped. "Then we can't make the pizza!" Suzaku startled, since he'd just meant to say he didn't want to change the battery, but this was fine too. She grabbed his hand and started pulling him in the opposite direction of the warehouse. "Let's go back and check...!"
Suzaku didn't budge. "But what about the fuel tank?"
"We can – "
"Why don't you head back and check on the Ganymede while I quickly grab one from the storage facility?"
Shirley cocked her head. "But… I don't know how it works!"
Suzaku blinked. Oh. He hadn't thought about that. I'm pretty terrible at this, aren't I? "Then, just ask…" Who would know about Knightmares? "…Nina! Go ask Nina. She'll be able to help you."
The student council member still didn't seem convinced. "I don't know… it would probably be easier if you came with me – "
"No!" Her eyes widened. Was that too sudden? He backpedaled. "What I meant was… you can do this Shirley. I know you can."
She blushed a little, and Suzaku pulled away. "Now hurry! Hopefully it hasn't been left on for too long!"
Shirley blinked. "R-right!" She turned and started running towards the festival. "I won't let you down, Suzaku!"
The knight breathed out a sigh of relief. That was too difficult. If only Kallen hadn't chosen to wrap herself up in this Black Knight business, Suzaku wouldn't have had to lie to one of his friends. Well, hopefully I'll never have to do that again.
He turned back to the warehouse and realized Kallen had disappeared from where she'd been standing.
Did she already go inside?
A few minutes earlier…
The ace of the Black Knights could hear some shuffling from within the building. "We're going. I'll have Sayoko bring you a piece right after it's made if that'll make you happy. Just stay out of the festivities, and don't let yourself be seen."
Sayoko? That name seemed familiar, but Kallen wasn't focused on it at the moment. It sounded like the guilty party was about to leave the warehouse, and that couldn't be allowed to happen, not yet. Kallen had wanted to wait for Ohgi to provide backup, but it looked like she might not get another chance to figure out what was going on. Is someone else at Ashford involved in the rebellion? The girl reached into her pocket and slowly pulled out her pouch.
Well, it's now or never.
Taking a deep breath, Kallen leapt out from behind the wall and simultaneously unsheathed her tiny blade from its hiding place. "Don't move!" she yelled, positioning herself between the guilty party and the entryway. Then, she froze, suddenly realizing the situation she'd been caught in, and why the voice had sounded so familiar.
The raven-haired youth in front of her widened his violet eyes slightly in surprise, and he seemed, for once, unable to find what to say. Kallen, though, could only think of one thing. She choked out his name. "L-Lelouch?"
A smirk sounded, and Kallen's eyes then rested on the girl beside Ashford's student council vice president. Though she now wore a school uniform instead of a straight-jacket, Kallen could still easily identify the striking lime-green hair of Zero's mistress. And, unlike Lelouch, she seemed fairly amused by the situation in front of her.
"Honestly, boy," C.C. purred, "this is what happens when you make a fuss over my pizza."
Original Note:
So, this is a canon divergence scenario. Every time I watch this scene in the series, I always think, "Wow, Lelouch was pretty loud when talking about his coup D'etat. How didn't Kallen, Ohgi, or Villetta hear him scolding C.C.?" Then, I think, "Wait, they know C.C. If they saw him with Lelouch..."
Anyways, I thought this scenario would be interesting to get down on paper. I don't plan on continuing this thread any time soon, but I could possibly attempt it once I've finished with Missing Pieces. Let me know in a review if you'd like to see more or even if you'd like to try continuing it yourself. Sorry for only the short teaser, but I hope you've enjoyed it regardless!
Author's Note (Updated):
Okay, I'm still about 90% sure I won't end up finishing this story, so please don't get too attached. I figured that if I enjoy reading unfinished stories, other people probably do too. The good news is that I have the next three chapters done and will be posting the next one in the next few days. Stress writing has led me to revisit some old fics, and I figured my writing wouldn't be doing anyone any good by sitting on my laptop until the end of time.
A second piece of good news is that I'll be posting an update to my other fic Missing Pieces relatively soon, so be on the lookout for that as well. I'm trying to get back into writing, and I'll see where it leads me. Hope everyone has been staying as happy and healthy as they can! I'll be back with another update soon.