AN: I do not own Code Geass

I'm glad you guys seemed to enjoy the last chapter.

For the holiday special, yes, it would've been a Kalulu oneshot.

Chapter 18: A Problem

"Move faster Lelouch!" Coach Villetta ordered as the boy tirelessly ran around the school's track.

"I'm moving as fast as I can!" the Prince pleaded as he passed the teacher on his 30th lap of the day, "Can I please go to lunch now?"

Like a dictator, Villetta denied the boy's request instantly, "No way. I can keep you 15 minutes after the lunch bell rings, and I'm using every second of it to make you pay for ditching me at that accursed theme park!"

After getting lost in the Clovis Mirror maze, the teacher had to be escorted out by staff, as she was in there for almost an hour. Though, that's not where the trouble ended, as she started having nightmares of getting lost in that maze again; haunted by the continuous images of Prince Clovis as he laughed at her misery.

How did Lelouch ditch Villetta you may ask? Well, she did ask him to stay put, so when she was eventually escorted out of the building, she naturally went to the last place she left the boy. However, upon arrival, she realized he wasn't there. Thus, this was his punishment for not following orders.

Though… that wasn't all, "Keep moving! I don't want to be out here any longer than you do! Also, make sure you wash that stupid face paint off once you get in the lockers!"

"Then just let me go inside. Please!" the Prince ignored the last statement, as he was already embarrassed by the tiger stripes.

"Tell you what. If you can complete this lap in the next 8 minutes, I'll allow you to leave."

Lelouch just rounded the final curve, and now, the finish line was in his sight. This challenge was practically over, so he sprinted to the end. "Finally!" he shouted before collapsing on the ground in front of Villetta.

"Nicely done. 2 minutes is your new record for the straightaways." the teacher complimented while walking away, "keep this up, and you might just be a competent runner."

Lelouch was too tired to give a retort, and instead, nearly passed out on the grass as the fluffy white clouds passed above. The scene reflected off his violet colored eyes, making them seem full, while being empty at the same time. A cool breeze blew over his body, cooling down the accumulated sweat on his forehead, allowing for him to sink into the grass just a little bit more.

"You almost look majestic laying down like that," the voice of Kallen Stadtfeld called while holding two sandwiches in hand, along with her schoolbag, "Here. You won't have time to eat if you just sit there like that." she placed one of the plastic-wrapped morsels on the boy's chest, before taking a seat next to him.

Instead of reaching for the sandwich, the boy asked, "Did you enjoy the show?"

The red head smiled, "Greatly."

From the nearby bleachers, Kallen watched as Lelouch ran around the track endlessly, "I honestly can't believe she got you to run in the morning too though. That was really something."

"Oddly enough, it was a punishment for coming to school without my uniform." Lelouch explained as one of the clouds formed into a bunny, "Did you bring it by the way?"

Kallen reached inside her schoolbag, and pulled out an Ashford Academy boys uniform, "Your room's a mess, by the way." she commented while playfully slapping the garments on her friend's face.

"Thank you," Lelouch responded in a muffled tone as he continued to just lay there.

Slowly, the red head leaned back, before stopping once she was perpendicular to the ground, and her shoulders were touching Lelouchs, "If you don't hurry, you'll be late." she whispered

The Prince turned to the side; now, his back was facing Kallen, "In a minute. I'm just so tired right now."

"You haven't done anything all day."

Lelouch stood up, "What are you talking about!? Did you not see me running for the past hour!?"

"Yeah, I saw. And if you were even half as athletic as I am. You'd be able to easily crush those laps without issue."

"What are you trying to say?" the Prince's eyes narrowed.

Kallen sat up, "I think you know." she waited a few seconds before saying, "You're weak."

"Just because I'm not some exercise nut like you or your brother, doesn't mean I'm weak."

"No exactly… but I wouldn't exactly call someone who was easily overpowered by Rivalz strong either."

That insult struck Lelouch's pride. Even though it was true, that doesn't mean he wanted to accept it, "I'm going to go change." he muttered while walking toward the boy's locker room.

"Wait!" Kallen called out, causing the boy to quickly turn around, "You forgot your sandwich."

The Prince groaned before walking back, snatching the sandwich out of her hand. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," the red head replied with a teasing grin.

Once he was out of sight, Kallen got up, and began walking toward her next class. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head, "Ah… this again?" she rubbed her temple while continuing down a hallway, "They've been pretty on and off, but I've been getting a lot of migraines recently…" the pain slowly went away, before finally subsiding.

"Kallen!" the cheerful voice of Milly Ashford called out to her, "Where's Lelouch?"

"He was headed toward the boy's locker room, last I checked she then looked at the blonde's hands, where a sizable camera was held, "Though, I think he'll be able to wash off the paint by the time he's done. So, you probably won't be able to get a picture of him."

The President stomped her foot in frustration, "Damn it! Just when I convinced the yearbook club to loan me one of their camera's too." she then looked down the hallway, where Mr. Poole was greeting students with a smile, "By the way, did you hear about the new math teacher?"

"I knew we were getting one, but I haven't heard their name yet."

"Really? Because they're all that Rivalz would talk about this morning, though, with the rumors going around, how could you not?" the blonde then got extremely close to Kallen, "Apparently, she's supposed to be really hot, like, even hotter than Ms. Nu."

Of course, Kallen, already knew her tricks, "Aren't you the one that starts the majority of the rumors that go around?"

This caused Milly to let out a hearty laugh, "That's right!"

"So didn't you start this one too?"

The blonde fell silent.

"Milly?"

Upon hearing her name called, Milly leeched onto Kallen's shoulders, massaging them gently, "Aw Kallen! You've been hanging out with Lelouch too much! You're starting to become as smart as him!"

"While I appreciate the compliment…" the red head shrugged the President off her shoulders, "I'd rather not have you groping me like that."

"What? Really? I thought both you and Shirley were okay with it!" she then gasped, "Don't tell me… is it your monthly?"

"H-how can you say that so easily!?" the red head exclaimed with an embarrassed expression.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, after all, us ladies have to stick together when it comes to these things. Tell me, have you been getting mood swings? Intense cravings? Or…"

"I'm not on my monthly!"

Milly raised an eyebrow, "That reaction wasn't really reassuring…"

"Can't we talk about something else!?"

"Fine… then let's talk about the Masquerade party," the President's tone turned serious, "And how it was ruined." she clearly didn't appreciate one of her beloved events being interrupted, and while Lelouch wasn't around for the earful, Kallen was. "Be honest with me, Kallen. Did you and Lelouch have something to do with the poisoning?"

The red head's eyes widened, "Do you really think we'd do something like that?"

Milly made sure no one was around, before whispering, "I know you two are colluding with terrorists. Now, Lelouch wouldn't tell me your reason for fighting with them, and quite frankly, I don't want to know. However, I want you two to promise me one thing." she now had Kallen's full attention, "Never, and I mean NEVER, bring your conflict to Ashford, do you understand me?"

The red head nodded in agreement, because right now, she was too stunned to speak. "How long has she known? Why didn't Lelouch tell me about this before? No… he probably told her before we made our promise. I'll ask him about it later… but right now-"

"We should probably go to class now," Milly suggested. She then let out a heavy sigh, "I'm going to return this now. Try not to take too big a chunk out of Lelouch when you're chewing him out later~!"

As if a switch flipped, the blonde returned to her teasing self before Kallen could question anything. Little did they know, someone was watching them from the shadows, their long, black hair draped over their eyes as the girls parted ways, "Interesting…" the whispered creepily.

After getting changed, Lelouch left the locker room with five minutes to spare. Though, that wasn't without furiously scrubbing his face in the showers, desperately trying to remove the orange and black substance off his face. Eventually, he did succeed, though, it came at the cost of his gym shirt. Of course, he could clean it later, but that doesn't change the fact that it was now covered in orange and black paint.

After those events, he headed to class while eating his sandwich along the way, "Wait… did Kallen make this?" it didn't taste like the ones from the cafeteria, as there was always mustard on them. But this one only had ham, cheese, lettuce, and mayonnaise. "It's not bad," he then finished off the sandwich with two more bites, before rounding the corner, where Rivalz was waiting for him atop the first flight of stairs.

"Hey, how're you doing?" he asked in a weary voice. Clearly, he was still sick, "Oh! It looks like you finally got rid of that paint. What a shame, I hadn't even got a picture yet…"
"You should really be home right now." Lelouch replied.

"And miss the debut of our new math teacher? No way!" the blue-haired boy replied while leaning onto Lelouch's shoulder, "I heard she's smoking hot."

"I thought you were into Milly?" the Prince questioned

"Of course I am!" Rivalz replied rather… loudly, "That's why I'm here! To show the Prez my dedication!"

"That must be sad…" the Prince replied while shrugging his friend off his shoulder, "What if she doesn't acknowledge you?"

"Why're you always so negative, huh?" this reply made Lelouch tilt his head, "I mean it! It's like you don't even believe in me, man! You already have Kallen and Shirley, and now you want Milly too? Leave some for the rest of us!"

Now, the Prince was more confused than ever, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You can't be that clueless!" of course, the answer to that question was obvious, "Kallen and Shirley are having a full on war over you, and you don't even know it!"

In order to fully focus on taking down Britannia, Lelouch had to sacrifice that part of his life. He figured he could worry about such a thing once everything was over. "Why would they be fighting over me? I'm no one special."

Rivalz groaned in frustration, "Somehow, you are the smartest guy I know, and yet the dumbest at the same time!"

Before the boy could continue his explanation, a creepy aura appeared behind him, "Are you guys talking about some secrets…" the aura whispered

Both Lelouch and Rivalz jumped back in surprise. "Who are you?" the latter asked

"Oh me? I'm just your new math teacher… Jasper Evilvans. I'll be subbing in for Mr. Wilson, as he's caught a terrible cold."

Jasper was a lanky man with long black hair and baggy skin, it was almost like he was a hundred years old, yet he somehow managed to sneak up on them. He was very quiet, to the point that if you didn't give him your full attention, you wouldn't hear a word he'd say. "So… this is the smoking hot teacher?" Lelouch whispered

"Hey! Those were what the rumors said!"

"Are you talking about me?" Jasper appeared behind them once again.

"Can you stop doing that!?" Rivalz shouted in fear

"Why? Am I scaring you?"

They wanted to answer yes, but feared the repercussion, "No… it's just not very…"

"Polite to sneak up on others."

"Oh? Is that right? I'm sorry." suddenly, the bell rang, "It looks like you boys better get to class. I believe you actually have my class next, correct?" they nodded, "I'll see you there soon."

Rivalz spared no time in running up the stairs, while Lelouch slowly followed behind, however, was stopped when Jasper raised his voice, "Lelouch." the Prince faced the teacher, "Could you give this letter to your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend? Is he talking about Kallen?"

"Your face says you're confused. Is she no longer your girlfriend?" Jasper whispered while reaching into his long black hair, and pulling out an equally black envelope.

Lelouch hesitantly descended the stairs, and took the letter, "No… we're still… together…" he replied, "Though… how do you know about such a thing?"

"Oh… the rumors go around… around… around…" with each addition, his voice grew quieter and quieter, until he finally stopped for a breath of fresh air, "Anyway. I hope your relationship prospers, no matter what hardships may follow because of this."

Lelouch as the teacher skulked up the steps, leaving him with those parting words, "What does that even mean?" he looked at the letter from the back, to the front, "Nothing about it gives away the contents… should I open it now? No, I'll let her open it. If she finds out I didn't trust her with this, then I'd be opening another can of worms I'd rather not deal with right now."

Class, for the most part, was normal. Jasper wasn't creepy at all, and acted as a normal instructor would. Commanding the class with force despite his odd posture and disgusting black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in days. Nevertheless, no one questioned him.

After that, the day passed by as normal. Now, Lelouch and Kallen were walking toward the Stadtfeld manor, making sure to look over each other's shoulders every once in a while to see if they were followed. "Good Evening Mistress Kallen, and… Lelouch? What brings you here?" Ms. Kozuki asked with mild surprise.

"We just decided to hang out this afternoon, that's all." the Prince replied

"Will you be staying over?"

"I don't plan to."

"That's a shame. I planned on making curry today in celebration… after all… it's been so long since Mrs. Stadtfeld has been out of the manor."

"Well… now I can't exactly say no, can I?"

"Actually, I would like to stay over." Lelouch replied with a gentle smile that even surprised Kallen.

"First you wanted to hang out at my place unexpectedly, now you want to stay over? That's not even mentioning the fact that you're kissing up to my mother now! What're you planning?"

Little did she know, Lelouch wasn't planning anything.

Not yet anyway.

After Ms. Kozuki happily sauntered toward the kitchen, Lelouch and Kallen headed to the red heads room, where a quick interrogation would begin, "What's this about?"

"It's just a slight problem," Lelouch replied while reaching into his schoolbag, pulling out the black letter in the process, "That new teacher, Jasper, gave this to me. Told me to pass it on to you."

"Oh? Well, tell him I'm not into old men."

"I don't think that's what this is about," Lelouch replied bluntly, "Just open it."

Kallen sighed, "Fine. But if purple gas pops out, I'm tossing it to you, got it?"

"Hurry up."

The red head smiled teasingly, "What's the rush?" she shrugged, "This can wait until after dinner."

"This could be serious. Remember, this is the replacement for Mr. Wilson, meaning this letter is from a soldier. A soldier, which, by the way, was sent from the capital." Lelouch reminded.

"I think you need to lighten up."
"You've been hanging out with Milly too much."

"Why? Are you afraid of my innocence being tainted by that blonde?" Kallen said with a teasing tone, "Besides, I could say the same to you, especially since you told her about our 'activities'."

The Prince's eyes narrowed, "So she told you, huh?"

"Yes, she did. Now, when exactly were you going to tell me about that?"

"When you brought it up."

"So now?"

He went silent for about a minute, before finally replying, "Hey Kallen, Milly knows we're rebelling against Britannia."

Kallen sighed, "Thanks for the heads-up," she muttered sarcastically, simultaneously opening the envelope, pointing it at Lelouch in the process.

"Did you point it at me, just in case there was gas?"

The red head didn't answer, instead, she pulled out the contents, and read it silently. Once she got about halfway through, her eyes widened in shock, "It says… they want me to get them in touch with the resistance leader I'm working with… I think they're talking about Naoto."

Lelouch immediately leaned forward with a serious look, "They know about us?"

"R-relax…" the red head took in a deep breath, then another migraine hit, "we haven't been arrested yet, so-"

"You're shaking," the Prince replied, touching her hand in the process, "let me read the rest," he took the note out of her hand, quickly scanning the contents within a few seconds, "I see… they want to work with us."

"That's not going to happen, right?"

Lelouch smiled, "Correct. As things stand, we have to get rid of Jasper, and…" he looked at the bottom of the letter, "Casmir? He's in on this too?"

"What went wrong? Why is everything changing so much?" Kallen began to shift slightly, taking a seat on her bed, "Did saving Naoto create all this? No… I don't see how that would initiate such a reaction. There has to be something, I don't know… does it have something to do with the sword of Akasha?" she looked at the raven-haired boy as he joined her on the bed, "I haven't heard from that Lelouch for a while… so maybe he has something to do with this." she shook her head, "No, I highly doubt that. In fact, I still don't know if that was a dream or not. It definitely wasn't a memory, that's for sure…"

The red head felt the world crashing down on her again. Time travel was stressful, and while going out to the amusement park with Milly took her mind off it for a while, the subject was bound to come back in full force. Just before they could continue their conversation, they heard a knock at the door, "Kallen? Lelouch? It's time for dinner." it was Ms. Kozuki.

"I'm not hungry-"

"We'll be down there in a minute," the Prince cut Kallen off from completing her response.

"Very well. Just don't let the food go cold."

Once they heard the maid's faint footsteps disappear, the red head asked, "Why did you do that? We have to decide our next move right now!"

"While I wholeheartedly agree, we can't make logical decisions under these circumstances. Let's have dinner first, then we'll discuss our next move."

"Why is he being so calm? The Lelouch I know would be clocking his brain into overdrive right now!" Finally, Kallen stood up, and grabbed the boy's hand just as he was about to reach the door, "What are you hiding?"

Lelouch tilted his head in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You're way too calm for this situation. What're you hiding?"

"I'm not hiding anything. After all, why should we be worried?" he held up his phone, which was on a contact labeled 'Jeremiah', "We have the ultimate trump card."

The trio of Kallen, Lelouch, and Ms. Kozuki sat around the long diner table in the manor's large dining room. While the table was big, they kept as close to each other as possible, only taking the seats next to, or across from each other. "So… how was school?" Ms. Kozuki was the first to break the ice in an otherwise silent room.

While it wasn't normal for a maid to be eating at the dining table, this was a special occasion, as the one who found the most issue with it, was out of the house. "It was like hell…" Lelouch was the first to answer, "One of the new teachers forced me to run around the track endlessly. I felt like I was going to die of heatstroke at any moment."

Kallen rolled her eyes at the comment, before Ms. Kozuki replied, "Well… it's certainly good that you're getting cardio in, right?" she was a bit awkward, but she was able to hold her own in a conversation, "Have you done anything to anger your teacher?"

"I mean… yeah. But it wasn't my fault."

"While it might've not been your fault, you should still apologize. Because they wouldn't be mad at you unless they thought it was."

It was an option that only hoped to mediate the situation, instead of actually solving it directly. This reaction was to be expected from Ms. Kozuki, as her way of staying with Kallen, was due to this exact line of thinking. So who could fault her from thinking it would work with everything?

Lelouch, that's who. "It's a wonder how Kallen and Naoto share a blood-line with this woman. How can she remain so passive all the time? Especially when she's being berated by the step-mother. Speaking of which…" While he wouldn't say such things out loud, as he didn't want to anger Kallen or Ms. Kozuki, he was free to think it. Of course, he didn't have a full grasp of the situation, thus, his judgment of the maid. "Where is Mrs. Stadtfeld?" he changed the subject.

"Oh… well, she's at the hospital. Apparently, she's contracted a serious case of food poisoning. She's been there for the past few days."

"Ah, so that's what happens when you use two drops instead of one."

"Back to the topic of cardio, Lelouch, I'd suggest doing some proper exercise on the side," Kallen chimed in, "After all, if you're able to run the laps without issue, Ms. Nu might just stop giving those to you as punishment."

"Then she'd just move on to push-ups, what's your point?"

The red head put a spoonful of curry in her mouth. It had carrots, potatoes, and meat; each of the pieces were tender and practically melted in her mouth, "I don't have a point. It's just a suggestion."

"Well… I'll keep it in mind. Though, I'm not some exercise freak," he glared at Kallen, "Like some people"

"Why don't you have Kallen help you out?" Ms. Kozuki suggested, "I'm sure she'd be able to help you out. Especially since you're together so much."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, while the red head in question nearly dropped her spoon, "What do you mean by that?" the Prince asked

"Exactly what I said. Nearly every time I see Kallen, you're always following shortly behind; it's gotten to the point I'm starting to doubt you two being 'just friends'."

Kallen couldn't help but feel a blush form on her cheek as she continued to eat her curry in silence, "I can assure you, that status hasn't changed."

That comment from Lelouch made the red head stop eating immediately, "Not even a little bit?" she muttered, catching the Prince's, and her mother's attention

Suddenly, the manor's doorbell rang, "Please excuse me. I'll go get that immediately; though, it seems like you two have some issues to air out."

Ms. Kozuki left the dining room, leaving both Kallen and Lelouch alone in awkward silence. This silence continued for another few seconds, until the red head broke it, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." Normally, she wouldn't have apologized. However, the time wasn't right for such a conversation, and she knew it.

"No. Let's get it out of the way now." Lelouch surprisingly reacted, "So… I assume this is about our fake relationship, correct?"

Kallen nodded, "I heard you told Shirley that we weren't dating. Wouldn't that ruin the illusion?"

"Shirley won't tell anyone else. She might be very outgoing at times, but she's still a reserved individual."

"I see…" the red head looked down at her plate, "We only just made up for his outburst from before… could I really ask him such a question right now?"

Lelouch heard the heavy footsteps of someone approaching from behind, so he turned around to see who it was. "Lelouch, the Margrave says he needs to speak with you," Ms. Kozuki's soft voice took him by surprise. Her presence had been masked by the dominant pressure of the man who stood next to her.

"I'll be right out," the Prince replied upon seeing Jeremiah.

"Do you mind if I come with you?" Kallen asked

Lelouch nodded in response, and the trio headed outside, leaving Ms. Kozuki with two empty dishes.

"Clovis is going back to the homeland?" Lelouch parroted what the Margrave told him.

"That's correct. Apparently, he wants to reconcile with his sister, Lila."

"Were they always on bad terms? I find that hard to believe; last I remember, she was always chasing Clovis around the villa."

"Things can change in just a few years," Kallen added, "Though, this is good for us, right?"

"Yes. With Clovis gone, the position of Viceroy will automatically fall on Jeremiah, due to General Bartley also taking the holidays off."

"What are you planning to do, my Lord?"

"I plan on getting rid of a few loose ends." Lelouch responded while staring at the night sky, "We'll start with the teachers: Jasper and Casmir." he handed over the envelope to Jeremiah, "They know Kallen and I are working with the rebels. Though, their information is definitely limited, giving how vague the note actually is."

Jeremiah read over the note quickly, "I see… it says here they have information regarding a special chemical plant somewhere close to the Shinjuku Ghetto."

"Correct. Which is why I want to ask you: who are they? Because judging from your reaction, this is the first you've heard of it. This either means one of two things; 1. They're only communicating with the Viceroy for a covert operation, or…

"They're operating on their own," Kallen finished his sentence, "If the latter is true, then that means-"

"It's treason! That's what this is!" Jeremiah nearly shouted, "They want to sully Clovis' name by pushing forward with such an operation."

"Regardless of their intentions, they're too dangerous to keep alive." Lelouch explained, "We'll set up a meeting between them and Naoto."

As Lelouch continued to explain the plan, Kallen's thoughts eventually drowned his words out, "I have to take extra precautions that day. I can't afford to lose either Lelouch or Naoto. Especially not now…"

"By the way, Jeremiah," the Prince's voice turned serious, "When the time comes, if I have to kill Clovis, will you stay by my side?"

Without hesitation, the Margrave answered, "Of course. My fealty is to you and you alone, my Lord."

"Good. Quietly leave before someone spots you." he then turned to the red head, "Kallen, there's still that 'other' topic I want to speak to you about."

She tensed up, knowing what he was referring to, "Can we just let it go? It's really not worth it."

"You're right, it's not. However, I have a feeling bottling up such thoughts would only hinder your performance in the future."

"Wait a minute… the way he's speaking right now," Kallen looked at the boy, and saw his Zero costume overlap his body, "I know they're the same person… but why does he already sound so much like him?"

"If you would like," his intimidating stature suddenly shrunk, and his Zero costume faded, "In the future, I'd like to give the whole… relationship thing… a try."

Kallen was utterly stunned by the proposition, "What do you mean?"

"I said-"

"No. I heard you. But I mean… why?"

"It won't be in the near future. Perhaps… in a year or so… then we'll see where we are." Lelouch replied while looking off to the side, clearly flustered by what he was suggesting.

"Could that change?" Kallen asked hopefully.

"It's… certainly a possibility…"

"Was he being honest? Surely… he is, right? Hopefully… he is… right…?" a relationship with Lelouch was something Kallen had a hard time accepting, after all, she betrayed him in the last timeline. And while it may not have been her fault, that didn't stop her from feeling the guilt. Guilt of giving up on someone, who continued to fight for the world, even though the world turned their back on them. No. It was far more personal than that, more personal than what could be put into words. She loved him, but didn't feel like she deserved to be loved back.

Kallen had an inferiority complex to Lelouch due to this. It was something she had to overcome to truly grasp the person known as 'Lelouch Vi Britannia'. Otherwise, she'd end up right back where she started.

"Then it's a promise?" she asked while holding out a pinky.

Lelouch sighed, "Yes. It's a promise," he grabbed her pinky with his own, before singing the chant, and letting go.

Of course, this inferiority complex didn't stop her from teasing him at times, "Does this mean we'll be sharing a bed tonight?"

"Only if your mother allows it," to which the Prince fought back cheekily

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well…" he leaned into the red head's ear, and whispered, "the last time we slept in the same bed… your mother saw us."

Kallen's face turned red out of embarrassment, before she shouted, "What!?"

AN: A bit of insight into Kallen's thought process when dealing with Lelouch.

Other than that, not much going on since we're transitioning to the next stage.