It was a rainy day, thankfully I had brought an umbrella. People huddled under their own umbrellas around me. They were clearly sorrowful, whether the emotion was for the actual dead man or merely the atmosphere of the funeral varied widely from person to person. There was also a third category of sorrow. It only passed by the faces of those responsible for his death, namely Lelouch and Kallen.
Kallen hid it much better whereas Lelouch looked like he was just now realising that his actions as Zero could affect his civilian life. Idiot. The real world always catches up, Lelouch. Though I couldn't help him, it was a miracle he hadn't figured my identity out already, I wouldn't be giving it away for such a reason.
A person I could help did however exist, conveniently isolated from the rest of the crowd as well, who had now begun crowding around the sobbing widow begging for her husband to not be buried again. Joseph Fenette must have been a good family man despite lacking any morals. I guess those who partook in human experimentation weren't always also domestic abusers.
I focused myself back on Kallen, boredom had made my thoughts wander. I turned to observe Kallen better. She was keeping her face blank, maybe trying to imitate me. Unlike me however, her body language told me everything I needed. Slouched slightly forward, legs tense, hands curled so tight her knuckles were white. She was angry and regretful. She needn't be, she had done a service killing this man and his coworkers.
But should I tell her that? What a question right? Should I alleviate her regrets or should I let them fester so that they may stay her hand in the future when it comes to civilian casualties? This was the worst part about being a teacher, knowing when to help the kids and when to let them learn a lesson from their mistakes. Baby them too much and they'll learn nothing, be too inactive and they'll be nervous wrecks with a distrust for authority. I heard a snort coming from a nearby puddle.
I glanced towards Lisa's fake standing right next to my distorted reflection in the puddle. I raised my brow as if asking 'What, am I wrong?'. The sarcastic remark pushed through the odd psychic connection we had. The shadow laughed, a jarring noise in the middle of a funeral.
"Stuck in a conundrum again?" She asked.
I am, aren't I? This girl really might not be worth the trouble since every thought about her ends up in a conundrum.
The shadow smirked, amused at my very real problem. Rude.
"That's what you get for going all 'She's my responsibility! I must be a mentor, I can feel it in my bones!'."
I very much did not adopt Kallen like that, she's a student of mine and I'm going to keep her safe.
"Sure, whatever makes you happy Taylor." The sass was practically dripping from her answer. I didn't entertain her with a response.
The crowd was dispersing now, everyone going their own way. Other than the student council, who were busy consoling Shirly. I didn't approach, merely stood nearby, I was close to my students but I was terrible at consoling people. I was bad at dealing with grief in the first place. I felt shamefully grateful that Suzaku wasn't here, his tendency to say his opinions out loud could've made things awkward.
Eventually the student council began to disperse. Milly along with Rivalz and Nina filed into a black sedan driven by the usual chauffeur, I think his name was Johan. Milly spared me a look to check if I was coming with. I waved her away and she went to sit in the passenger seat.
I searched the crowd for my actual query. A mop of recognizable red hair greeted me in the back. She was heading for what looked like a grey sedan, it was noticeably higher end than the Ashfords' car. I wondered just what title Kallen's father held and what their assets were. I found that my legs didn't move, doubt was holding me back. I didn't strain against the chains, it went against all of my ingrained habits but I listened to my doubt for once.
I watched as Kallen entered the car and left. I left for my own vehicle soon after. I ignored the moment Lelouch and Shirly were having behind me and pulled out my keys. The keys for my recently bought bike. It was a simple touring motorcycle. Painted a dark and shiny grey it wasn't a very large bike but very enjoyable to ride. I found myself smiling at getting to ride it despite the terrible rain and situation.
That joy followed me all the way home.
I sipped from my tea as I worked. My single dexterous hand wrote code with the ease that came from long hours of practice. I would sometimes stumble as my code generated errors that I had only heard of before. Though the solutions came to me. My knowledge hadn't degraded that much but it still took a little while to scrape the rust off, especially when I was working with code I only partially remembered and, in some cases, barely even understood.
I cursed my younger self for naming every variable some manner of 'x', 'y' or one time 'xx2yx' . I still had no clue what the last one did but deleting it made memory errors pop up. I had deigned to let that one be.
Still despite issues like that stemming from my sloppy coding I was keeping record speed, fixing issues and delegating parts to Lloyd and Cecile as I went by. I found that as time went on I was going faster and faster, solutions to problems I had never encountered before coming to my mind almost instinctively.
I suspected help from my Passenger and the happy humming in the back of my head certainly indicated that, though I couldn't guess at the reason. Maybe it was genuinely curious? Regardless of the reason it let me blitz by with the only thing holding me back being my own writing speed.
With the pace we were going the prototype would be ready to fabricate in a mere three days. It was highly unusual, even Lloyd and Cecile thought we would have to cram it for the whole week. I wasn't that surprised, most of the project was done when we began. We only needed to decipher the code and find a way to properly link it up to the nerve connections.
Working on a project with old friends brought back good memories and with my Passenger greasing the wheels the usual issues with coding didn't feel so overbearing. I glanced at the clock of my computer. One A.M, oh boy it's a weekday too. I saved my project three times in three different workspaces on my laptop and finally shut it afterwards.
I was spending every last drop of my free time on the project, so much so the student council and some colleagues had repeatedly asked me what I was doing while on break. I always told them it was a private project and it was in a way. Once Suzaku got his cybernetic I would commission a workshop to make one for my arm, it would require some adjustments to the code but I was confident I could do that on my own. It was the original reason I had started the project after all, to get me a functioning cybernetic.
It most likely would have improved the way I was treated in the Homeland. Britannia didn't treat people with impairments well. I hadn't cared about that though, I had wanted to feel less helpless. It wouldn't have changed much, I was grasping for straws by that point though.
I shook those thoughts away as I grabbed my toothbrush. I began idly brushing as I looked through my messages on my phone. It was a flip phone that would've looked out of place back in 2011 on Earth Bet, here it was right at home. Civilian computing technology hadn't advanced much in this world, just like nuclear physics. It was an odd difference as mechanical engineering and many other fields were decades ahead of Bet but people still used flip phones.
The militaries of the World had plenty of advanced computers though. Maybe it was just the Civilian sector in Britannia falling behind. I didn't know much about how the people of the United Republic of Europia lived though, only what the state-controlled media told us. That media predictably spewed garbage.
My musing was interrupted by a series of rapid-fire texts from Cecile. The texts ranged from worried friend asking about my health to cold professional senior engineer demanding progress report type texts. She really should make her mind up about how she wants to treat me. I didn't mind much, her floundering was cute and amusing, but it would've been nice to see if I could actually treat her as an ally or not. My prosthetic stopped moving as I adjusted the way it was holding the toothbrush to brush the other side.
It took some fiddling but I was finally back to brushing and could write replies to the worried Cecile. I sighed as I continued my current nightly routine. For some odd reason I found anticipation welling up inside me. My Passenger was trying to express something to me, which was never good.
The next day Suzaku came to school. I met him at the school gates already guessing at how he'd arrive. I had experienced something similar when I was first adjusting.
I watched him as he dismounted from the unmarked van, his left leg was uncovered by his rolled pant leg supposedly to let me get a look. He was escorted by a pink haired young woman, perhaps an intern or a comrade of Suzaku's. Whatever the case she dressed like an undercover cop. That is to say that she dressed like a civilian in sports wear with a baseball cap and sunglasses.
Though saying that she lacked the usual tells most undercover cops had. Her hair was flowing and wildly out of regulation, as far as I could feel it wasn't a wig either. Her clothes were tight in a way that would draw the eye. And most importantly she just didn't have the vibe of a cop or soldier.
I dismissed my concerns, due to just how supportive she was of Suzaku. She practically clung to him to help him along and provided a stable support as Suzaku moved slightly out of sync. She was here to help Suzaku along with his temporary prosthetic, not for me. I breathed a sigh of relief at that.
Suzaku slowly got better at walking as he came closer to the gates. His temporary prosthetic leg was moving, it must've been powered. He was still adjusting as his mechanical left leg moved with a mind of its own, he missed steps and hobbled as he tried to find the right rhythm. He wouldn't have enough time to properly adjust, his new cybernetic leg would be done and that high-grade prosthetic would soon become obsolete.
Seeing him stumble along only helped by his pink-haired companion reminded me just why I was making sure that his cybernetic would have all the proper bells and whistles. Suzaku would experience hell if the Britannian high command got a whiff of his situation. From how the girl clung to him I chose to prioritise the sense of touch, a little helping hand for my student. I wasn't much of a wingwoman but I felt like I should do something for Suzaku.
I dragged myself from that line of thought back into the present. Now that they had gotten closer I noticed a few more details. Suzaku's left leg had the nerve connection port already implanted, its white and gold a clear contrast to the gunmetal grey of the rest of the prosthetic.
Whoever had implanted it worked fast, that thing was only actually constructed yesterday afternoon. Lloyd and Cecile were actually serious about the time limit, problematic. The Britannians would jump on Suzaku if they sensed weakness. I struggled to suppress my swarm's reaction, it would do me no good if bugs around the school started acting oddly. I took a calming breath.
I waved at Suzaku as he approached, his companion and he responded in kind. Once they were barely five metres away from the gates Suzaku called out to me.
"Miss Hebert! Sorry to trouble you for this." Polite to a fault as always. I let the smile form on my face. I walked forward to receive Suzaku from his supporter.
"I'm only doing what I would've wanted done to me, Suzaku. No need to be formal about this." I said and moved to stand to his left. I didn't bother grabbing hold of him as his companion hadn't let go, she seemed determined to escort him as far as she could.
"Sorry Miss Hebert. Everyone's been being kind to me, it feels a bit odd. Euphy hasn't let go of me since I was released from the hospital and she doesn't care much for my thanks. I feel like I have to thank everyone twice as much as usual."
The supposed 'Euphy' smiled at his words, a kind and caring one. Her face seemed familiar but I couldn't exactly place it. I roamed my fingers over the knife hidden under my coat in slight worry. Nothing to make me act tough.
Euphy spoke in response. "You know how it is with men like Suzaku, Miss. Let them thank you once and then you can't do anything for them without drowning in gratitude." Amusement coloured her words. I didn't reply with anything but a polite chuckle.
We went through the steel gates of the school and stopped. I received Suzaku from the pinkette and turned to face her, holding Suzaku lightly by the shoulder as I did so, just in case he lost his balance.
My eyes met hers and took note of the clear joy within them, they also held something else in them, a spark of something but I didn't understand what it was. She abruptly clapped her hands.
"No matter how much I dislike it, I have to let Suzaku go now. I'm sure Miss Hebert will help you along, Suzaku. I can see that she's plenty experienced." I saw her eyes slide to my crude prosthetic, I didn't care much.
"I'm not a child Euphy, I won't shatter like glass if you let go either." Answered Suzaku with a joking tone I hadn't seen him use often. He's comfortable with her then.
"I'll still take care of him regardless." I spoke. Mosty to tease Suzaku.
Euphy sighed with relief and placed right hand over her chest as if to calm her heart. "That's all I can ask, though I hope I can visit the school someday as well." She smiled as she said that, I couldn't tell if it was a joke or not. I remembered something Milly was going on about.
"We have a school festival coming up in a few weeks, maybe you could visit then?" I offered. Euphy's smile turned brittle at that.
"Hopefully I won't be too busy, but I'll visit if I can. Maybe even sooner than the festival. I hope I can rely on your hospitality then." I curled an eyebrow. Specifically, the schools or my hospitality? Judging by the way Suzaku's smile looked a little more strained than usual I guessed at the first. What an odd girl.
"I'd be remiss not to offer. Though…" I checked my watch, five till eight. I sighed, we were late. "Suzaku and I really need to get going." The girl nodded her head.
"Of course, goodbye Suzaku. I'll come to pick you up as well." Suzaku's smile suddenly got even brighter at her words. He timidly bid her goodbye. We turned and began walking towards the main building. I walked a step behind Suzaku, ready to interfere but not interrupting his own efforts.
Still I felt the need to fill the silence. "So… is that girl, a co-worker of yours? Or the daughter of one?"
Suzaku stumbled for a second but regained his footing without my help. He answered me without facing me. "Something like that…" Oh a little cagey, a relationship perhaps. Nice to see that he found someone that cares about him like that.
Hope it goes well. Better than my relationships tend to go at least.
I found my fingers tapping on the wood of the table. That wasn't an unusual thing really, it was a habit I had developed. I knew the cause of course, it was glaringly obvious. I felt the need to do something. I sighed as I leaned back in my seat. My tea mug sat on the table of the student council's club room…
I took a sip, the tea was cold. I sighed again and continued tuning out the student council bantering and gossiping around me. Only Suzaku and Lelouch were missing. Lelouch had practically dragged Suzaku off the second the lessons had ended, the choice of listening in or not wasn't a hard one.
The task wasn't either, the two boys were seated in the garden outside, safe from any human eavesdroppers. Not from my surveillance network though, mine was almost impossible to hide from.
"I'm just saying, if you lost a limb in a workplace accident it probably isn't a good place to work at!" Lelouch's sarcasm was so thick that one could probably taste it in the air.
"It's the best I've got, I'm not exactly swimming in job offers Lelouch. Especially not ones that'll let me attend school and develop actual cybernetic limbs just for me." Suzaku replied. He was surprisingly calmer than Lelouch, I was guessing that Suzaku had anticipated this conversation and either prepared for it himself or been prepared for by someone else, most likely Cecile.
"Don't you find that a little suspicious? I don't mean to insult the people you're working with, but they are Britannian. Think Suzaku, to them you're an 'Eleven'. Even if they are good people they were conditioned to hate you, the-"
"They are also old friends of Miss Hebert, who is someone who wouldn't become friends with that sort of person." Cut in Suzaku and I couldn't help but puff up my chest in pride. He didn't give Lelouch time to speak.
"Hell the student council doesn't care, Miss Hebert doesn't care. Why would Cecile and Lloyd care? They even asked Miss Hebert for help, since the project they are working on is based on her design. You trust her, don't you?"
Lelouch leaned back and massaged his forehead. "I don't trust her Suzaku, I know she won't betray me because she has no reason to, just like I know she'll only help me out because I'm a student of hers. She has easy to understand motives but wild flights of fancy." I felt slightly offended at that but didn't visibly react.
"She has a wild obsession with protecting students and that is most likely the sole reason she even agreed. She is easy to predict, that is why I feel she's safe." Lelouch finished. I felt the need to clap, he said something he could've said with 'yeah, I somewhat trust her' with an entire rant.
"So… that means that she likely has my interests in mind and her old friends are reliable employers, right?" I felt the smugness radiating from Suzaku more than I heard it. I drank from my cold tea solely to hide my smile.
I saw Lelouch's silhouette bring his hand towards his tea and take a steady sip. "Yes… I suppose you have a point. But-" I stopped paying attention when I saw Nunnally and Alice approach me in the council room. Nunna had a smirk that matched my own.
"I should probably put a stop to their discussion before big brother finally finds a reason to make Suzaku back down." She said followed by a small giggle. "Unlikely as Suzaku ever backing down is." Oh, she heard them from all the way here?
"That girl is kind of extraordinary isn't she?" I flicked my eyes over towards the copy of Lisa reflected on the window. She leaned onto my reflection staring at Nunnally. "I'm getting the feeling she knows more than she lets on." Probably, but she didn't have the opportunity to act on her knowledge.
"Yeah, damn shame she could've been interesting." I scoffed internally at Lisa's words but gave no other reaction.
I offered a small knowing smile to Nunnally and watched her be pushed out by Alice, who acted more like a trusted handmaiden than a friend. Always by Nunnally's side, always fulfilling every request she gave. I found it suspicious. Something is up with that girl but she doesn't do anything odd, there is nothing I can act upon…
I found my fingers tapping the wooden desk once again. This anticipation is killing me.
I glanced over at Kallen to see how she was doing and distract myself a little. She was doing something alright. She was sitting on one of the couches to the side of the room hunched over with poor Arthur in her lap. Our mascot feline was being assaulted by steady mechanical patting with an intensity that the little cat most likely didn't like but didn't dare break out of.
Most people thought cats simply uncaring for what their owners did, they would be right. Despite the fact that cats are naturally bastards like that Arthur didn't even try to escape from the brooding teens grasp.
Kallen was so deep in thought that her anger somehow spilled into the real world and made the very atmosphere around her gloomy. I exaggerate, though it certainly seemed like the truth judging from how Nina reacted. Said girl was sitting on the very edge of her seat tensely staring at her work on the computer. Though the fact her mind wasn't on her work was apparent. She kept sneaking glances at Kallen and abruptly turning to her screen again.
I grimaced a little and got up from my seat. I walked up to Nina who was still trying her very best to glance at Kallen without getting noticed. I gently placed my hand on Nina's chair and leaned down next to her. "Kallen's a bit stiff right?"
Nina jumped in her seat and barely held back a yelp. I didn't laugh and instead waited for her to gather her wits. Nina did eventually calm down, though she was still somewhat red-faced when she answered me.
"Y-yes. Ss-something seems to be bothering her!" The embarrassed girl answered and pulled away from me. I hummed non-committedly. Suzaku's missing leg was obviously the reason Kallen was like that. She was the reason it had happened… or so she thought. I would personally blame the piece of shit that used Suzaku like a shield.
Still I should at least talk to Kallen about it. "I have an idea as to what's bothering her… I'll help Kallen out, but Nina could you do something for me?" I asked plainly.
"Yes, I'll do a-anything!" Nina exclaimed with an expression I couldn't place, she looked eager though.
"Great. I'll need you to distract Milly so I can actually talk with Kallen privately." I saw Nina's face suddenly go still and the light in her eyes extinguish. She stared blankly at me.
"Oh, okay." She uttered without even the slightest inflection. The deadpan confused me but I took one look at Milly, who was now approaching us with a rather concerning smirk, and decided that I really could deal with whatever had annoyed Nina later. Though…
"Oh and Nina? You can always come to me if something is bothering you. Privately if you wish." I mentioned mostly out of obligation but also a fair share of concern.
Nina's dead eyes regained some of their lustre at my words and she nodded with vigour. She immediately turned and started fast walking towards Milly. Godspeed Nina, thank you for your sacrifice.
I didn't have much time to be grateful to Nina however as I knew for a fact that Milly could only be withheld for a paltry sum of time. I moved with purpose towards Kallen, snatched Arthur from her lap and set him free. The poor cat bolted away from Kallen as soon as his legs touched the ground and slammed into an unexpecting Rivalz. I ignored his cries of surprise and turned back towards Kallen.
"H-hey!. What was that for?" I didn't respond to Kallen's not really indignant exclamation as it was clear her heart wasn't into it.
"We need to talk, your gloominess is going to be a problem if Milly starts bothering you." I explained and drew her attention towards Milly who was desperately trying to extract herself from the conversation with Nina. I saw Kallen cringe at the sight.
"I see the problem but I doubt just you know talking about my issues is going to help me. A father is dead and Suzaku's without a leg. This isn't high school drama, it's not just going to be solved by just some counselling." Complained Kallen, she had a point. Just talking wouldn't solve anything but it'd help at least. Also I doubted I could help her that much, I'm no therapist. Though I could help keep her secrets.
"You'd be surprised how much talking helps, but my objective isn't really that. It's keeping your secrets safe." I explained calmly making sure to not seem argumentative. I leaned closer towards Kallen. "Right now we really should get out before Milly ambushes us, we can debate whether you need my help or not later."
She took one glance behind me and got up with noticeable hurry. I raised an eyebrow at her sudden willingness to go and took a quick glance myself to see Milly being physically held back by Nina. I made Milly get more interested than usual by sending Nina, should've guessed this would happen. I hurried towards the door with Kallen fast on my heels. I led her without saying a word initially towards my own office but abruptly took a left turn down a corridor and entered an empty classroom. Kallen followed me in and closed the door. I checked with her tracking bug for Milly and sighed in relief at her absence.
I turned and leaned on one of the desks and looked at Kallen, who unsurprisingly was being a sassy teen. "So? What are you going to do? lecture me about how it's not my fault that twenty people died and Suzaku's permanently crippled, how I see it I caused all of that."
I stared at her, clearly unamused. "Well I'm probably the last person who should say anything like that, I've got a real issue with justifying my actions to myself." I let out a hollow chuckle at the memories. "No, I'm not here to tell you that you're not responsible for your own actions. I don't think you're entirely to blame for them but it is true that you and only you pulled the trigger."
Kallen scowled at me with her fists curled tight, she shook with barely concealed fury. "You think I don't realise that? That I don't feel terrible that I killed innocent civilians and somehow also cost Suzaku a non-combatant a leg!?"
So she specifically regrets killing civilians not killing itself, of course. She had probably killed before I had even met her. I can't say it's a good mindset to have but It'll keep her alive… I probably shouldn't explain to her that Suzaku was piloting the Lancelot and the 'civilians' she killed were psychotic scientists conducting human experiments, her regret might make her more likely to think through her actions next time.
"What I'm saying is, think through before you act. You told me you're dedicated to your cause, because your cause is everything to you. But you yourself need to think things through, you can't just keep blindly following the first competent person you see and expect them to do the thinking for you!."
"Zero intends well! He wouldn't lead us astray." She's getting defensive, that's not good.
"Zero is a person with a job to do, he's most likely willing to sacrifice almost everything against Britannia. Honour, morals and the lives of the Black Knights. I might not have an exact read on his personality but he's set on his path but the important question is… are you?" Kallen's face twisted in outrage and incredulity.
"Wha-? Of course I am! I told you already, haven't I?" I bit back a sigh.
"Yet your resolve is already weakening. Do you know why? Because you don't think! You act and then are surprised when the consequences hit you. Being resolved doesn't mean acting like an idiot and ignoring that your actions have consequences, it means regarding those consequences and acknowledging what they are." Kallen stared at me. She didn't say anything and she was clearly still somewhat furious but was thinking about what I had said. Good, we're finally getting somewhere.
Kallen finally sighed. "You're probably right, but I can't just take my time deciding everything. It's literally life or death. If I stop to think about every order I get, doubt my every action people I care about will die."
I huffed and shook my head. "I'm not saying doubt Zero's orders or doubt your own instincts. Zero is a reliable commander and from what I know of him you specifically are unlikely to be sacrificed for the greater good or something. And your own instincts in combat are peer to very few. You should only start doubting them if one warns you about the other."
I stopped leaning on the table and walked towards Kallen who tensed up as I approached. I stopped a few feet away from Kallen. "You shouldn't doubt in combat, your survival is always more important. You think about consequences before you ever fight. Sometimes in the middle of a battle you'll…" I banished the images of Golem's sister from my head and took a deep breath. "You'll have to do things you might regret, but if you are already ready to face the consequences, you'll at least be ready for them."
I turned towards the door of the classroom ready to leave, this conversation had been exhausting. Before I even took a single step Kallen interrupted me.
"Tonight Zero demanded my presence, we are going to be meeting with Kyoto. I thought you might want to know…" Kyoto? What like the city? She said it with such weight that it must be some sort of organisation.
I turned around abruptly but as I made to ask what Kyoto was but something or rather someone made me stop. There just outside of my usual range but inside my currently extended range -Had I felt that pressured?- was a girl wearing a school uniform. She had long green hair, tied so technically not against our lax school rules. She normally wouldn't have been suspicious had it not been for the fact that she was staring directly at us. I didn't panic and acted normally. Though I did try to warn Kallen.
"Kallen, I want you to not react to what I'm about to say, okay?" She looked confused for a second but gave me a tentative nod.
"There's someone watching us from the outside. They're wearing a school uniform, green hair. I need you to keep talking to me as I move to the windows." She raised her eyebrows in surprise but quickly played along. I sighed a bit more dramatically than before and moved towards the windows. Our stalker hadn't moved, she remained standing in the shade of a tree.
"Can you describe her to me? I know someone with green hair, though it's odd that she'd be here." I began fulfilling her request without delay, if she knew them they probably weren't that dangerous but better err on the side of caution.
"She has long green hair, looks to be somewhere between seventeen to twenty years old, I can't tell her eye colour with my bugs. She's around your height, maybe a bit shorter and very thin. Recognise her?" I heard Kallen sigh in relief.
"I do, you weren't there when I saw her but she's with Zero, sometimes appears around him during briefings but rarely and usually stays out of sight. I think most Black Knights don't know of her but I've seen her a few times, usually when you're not there." A cautious one then… Still some ally of Lelouch's that I don't know of certainly puts me on edge… If she usually avoids me but is still here then she probably doesn't know of my identity or she's confident my range is stable and doesn't fluctuate.
I'm hoping for the first one, the latter would make her dangerous. I wouldn't leave it to chance. My identity is public enough already. I turned towards Kallen. "Alright then, if she's here for you I'll leave how to deal with her to you." A lie, but I couldn't just say I was planning on dealing with her to Kallen. She's loyal to Zero and me killing an associate of his might rub her the wrong way. "Commit what I told you to heart, I've gone down a path like this before."
She chuckled a bit and replied with sarcastic incredulity. "You've been a freedom fighter before?" I smiled.
"Ehh…Something like that." Her eyebrows rose and she took a step back.
"Wait seriously? Where would you even…" I didn't answer her question and simply left her in the classroom. I began tracking down my target as I did so. She hadn't moved much while standing under the tree. Simply watching the classroom and only left when Kallen did. That did set my mind at ease but I still began trailing the stalker. The world had a different plan though.
My tracking bug on Milly turned a corner and stopped for a second. I knew what was about to happen, she had asked where I was to some student and would quickly close in on me unless I made myself scarce. I picked up the pace but Milly, unlike me, didn't have to worry about her reputation as a teacher and started running in the halls. I couldn't afford to take turns to avoid her, the stalker would get away…
It was a lose lose situation. I sighed and discreetly marked the stalker with gnat. I would find her again eventually. Now to face the music.
"Miss Hebert! You didn't tell me you were working on Suzaku's new leg! How could you deprive me of material like that!?" In response to Milly's cries the entirety of the hallway turned into a mess of gossip, questions and chaos. Damn it Milly. She was smiling at me with a cheshire grin as well. This was revenge for sicking Nina on her, wasn't it?
Two can play that game.
Kouzuki Kallen Determined Revolutionary
Ohgi, Tamaki and I waited within the ruins of an old town from before the invasion. It was moderately sized but somewhat remote, perfect for the purposes of those that had invited us here.
Ohgi and Tamaki were talking about how Zero didn't trust us again. It had become a common matter of debate among the old core group. I understood their concerns but it was plain old stupid. I wanted to know Zero's identity too, I wanted him to trust me. However, I wasn't so stupid as to think we could force him into it. We needed him and most of our new members were loyal to him first and for a few of them to Miss Hebert second. The unofficial 'yatsukahagi' squad was vocal in their opinions and well respected for their accomplishments. That was important in an organisation like ours.
The only ones in the core group who had a following even like that was either me or… surprisingly Tamaki, since he oversaw dealing with new recruits.
"I'm just saying that we shouldn't have let that guy just walk all over us" Tamaki had begun complaining again, meaningless words that he wouldn't act on… but dangerous ones. I doubted Zero would 'remove' him but still it might stir up trouble.
"Shut up, we need Zero too much to go against him. He's worth more than any of us for the cause." I found myself speaking ruder than I had intended. It shut both of them up but drew their attention to me. Even Ohgi looked surprised.
"What? Can't I say what I want?" I snapped and Ohgi immediately tried calming me down.
"No, no! It's just that you are usually more… soft. I didn't think you'd say things like 'worth more for the cause' before." I grimaced a little. If Naoto had ever heard me say something like that he'd flip. But he isn't here now, dead because we failed him.
"That kind of doubt and indecisiveness will get us killed. I'm done with my old ideas of what we were doing, this is war and we can't afford to doubt each other against Britannia. Discussions like yours could form a rift among us and get people killed." Tamaki suddenly cringed, even he could realise what the problem was. Ohgi was naturally more affected, suddenly glancing towards Zero to confirm he wasn't close enough to hear and breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing that he hadn't reacted.
I relaxed a little as well. "For now just don't cause problems, we want Zero to trust us. We need to earn that trust just like he earned ours by providing victory after victory."
My demands earned two reluctant nods from Tamaki and Ohgi. We descended into awkward silence. Thankfully I didn't have to bear with that for long as Zero signalled for us to follow him. I led my brother's old friends into the black limo after Zero had gotten in and settled in for the ride. Zero said nothing, Ohgi said nothing and even Tamaki said nothing. It was awkward but peaceful. I took the time to think over the meeting we were going to have.
The Six Houses of Kyoto had requested our presence and I was still in shock about that. I mean it's fucking Kyoto the shadowy supporter and organiser of freedom fighters in all of Japan. It seems impossible that the group would put their support with all of the Knightmare frames and heavy weapons included behind us. But they did because we were winning battle after battle and the JLF, their main beneficiary, were in chaos with their leadership and forces scattered to the winds. Though I didn't believe for a second that they would consider supporting us without Zero. The Black Knights were important and we were expanding rapidly but there were more reliable organisations out there. They intended on testing us, just like they had with Narita.
I had thought of this and came prepared. Under my uniform jacket a simple pistol and knife were hidden. I had to be careful how I moved due to the… tightness of my uniform but as long as I didn't stretch much no outline would be visible. My paranoia made me bring my visor as well. I had only realised recently but Zero and Miss Hebert hiding their eyes hid their facial expressions as well. It gave them an edge in conversation and CQC.
To be honest I didn't like the visor much, it felt heavy, but it was useful. I could get used to it… only outside of my Guren though. I sighed as I held the visor in my hands. If things got ugly, I might need to kill Japanese people, beyond that they were necessary for the war. I sighed deeply and drew the attention of all the occupants of the back of the limo. I didn't meet their eyes and did as Miss Hebert had said. Thought about what I was going to do.
Remove all those that stood between us and a free Japan. If those people were Japanese it made no difference, Kyoto had consistently failed for seven years. They were important but… Zero was more important, Japan needed him.
My stress flooded out of me, I took note of what I must do. I would protect Zero. Everything to keep the war going and pave the way for a future where I could live among my friends without hiding who I am.
"We've been going for a while. Just how far are they taking us anyway?" My attention was brought back to the real world by Tamaki's usual whining laced with some uncharacteristic worry. I leaned back and threw one leg over the other.
"Don't freak out, they probably just take their security seriously. You cause a commotion and we'll all be embarrassed." I drawled.
Tamaki tried to retort but the limo suddenly stopped and I tensed immediately but instead of a Britannian ambush I felt the limousine start moving upwards.
"What the hell?!" Exclaimed Tamaki. I had to agree with him.
"We're going up?" I asked inadvertently. But before we could get a grasp of the situation the upward movement stopped and our ride exited the supposed elevator. We were greeted by a uniformed bodyguard, who opened the doors.
"Sorry for the inconvenience. The master is waiting for you." He said in one of the most 'neutral' tones of voices I had ever heard. We exited quietly into a large room almost like a warehouse and I made sure to not let the bodyguard out of my sight. However, eventually Ohgi caught my attention.
"The Fuji Mines?" He whispered with awe.
"That's impossible. C'mon, we can't have gone there." Reasoned Tamaki but there was no mistaking it. Even I was simply staring with surprise at the view. Mount Fuji stood there with half of it covered in mining and refinery facilities. Desecrated.
"There's no mistaking it. This mountain… The scenery is definitely Mount Fuji!" I said unintentionally.
"So, you're saying we're right over the Sakuradite deposit? The reason Britannia invaded in the first place? Intruders here are killed without question." Tamaki's worried muttering was right. Intruders here are hunted down fast. Yet we were here to meet Kyoto. Just how influential are they?
Ohgi also came to the same conclusion I had. "Their power reaches this far?" He muttered with awe.
Our musings were interrupted by a wizened voice from behind. "It's a disgrace." The screens in front of us suddenly shut down. I hadn't even realised they were screens at first. The voice came from a seat with a veil in front of it hiding the occupant from view. The old man sat cross legged upon an elevated seat with a Zabuton and held an oaken walking stick across his lap. Neither he nor his two, armed bodyguards to the sides reacted to us suddenly turning to face him. He went on like nothing had happened.
"Once a pride of our nation and a natural wonder of freshwater and majestic scenery now tarnished by the careless industry of the foreigners. It's continued rape stands as a symbol of what has happened to Japan. It is shame incarnate." The voice's rage wasn't hot but cold, calculating. A schemer instead of a fighter.
"I apologise for not showing my face but I'm sure you understand as the Black Knights have a tendency to hide their faces as well." I felt his gaze on me for the briefest moment yet it set off a whole host of instincts in me. This man felt dangerous.
"I must be sure though. Sure of who you are." He continued and made me clench my fists in anger. No way is he going t-
"Therefore… You will show me your face!" He did… I whipped my head around the large room we were in. Knightmares, Burais specifically, were approaching us with weapons at the ready. I had no hope of defeating four Knightmares with only a pistol, but I did still have a way out of this. Yet I didn't act just yet. Zero still hadn't reacted at all. Did he have a plan?
I refrained from pulling my gun just yet. The old bastard spoke once again. "Which of you is Ohgi?" He called and Ohgi answered.
"T-that's me sir!" I bit back a sigh and stepped slightly away from Zero. I would need the room to move. I prepared myself to act as the old man spoke again.
"Remove Zero's mask!" He ordered and from my glance I could see Ohgi debate eternally. I glared at him essentially warning him of what I would do if he did try. He got the message.
He hesitated but still spoke back. "I-I won't sir. I will not betray Zero." I held back my smile. The old man grit his teeth so hard that I could hear it from here.
"Fine, so be it. Loyalty is a virtue." He said and motioned for one of his bodyguards to move towards us. Perfect the left one. I tensed myself but held back to see if Zero would do anything. He simply didn't react. What was he even thinking? I forced myself to look towards my three targets instead of glancing at him.
I waited a second for the bodyguard to get within five metres of us and did something that was probably stupid. I had heard that Miss Hebert had done this before, and she had a damn arm missing. How hard could it be?
In less than half a second, I moved. My hands caught onto my knife and gun and pulled them out. My knife was flung through the air as I aimed for the jugular of the approaching bodyguard and my pistol's retort echoed through the cavernous room as I shot at the remaining bodyguard's chest only to hit him in the right shoulder instead. My knife hadn't even reached the other dumbass before he fell backwards bleeding all over the floor. Turns out throwing a knife accurately was quite hard. The tactical knife I threw was never meant to be thrown and as such spun rapidly in the air and instead of punching through the jugular of the bodyguard it missed and slashed across his face shattering his glasses and opening a wound over his nose and cheek, his eyes were unharmed. A nasty wound but not enough to take someone out.
Before I could even click my tongue in dissatisfaction, I had to dash forwards because of what I saw in my peripheral vision. A 20 mm sabot impacted where I had been before, and I fired wildly towards the old man to stop the rest of the goons from acting up.
"STOP, she'll shoot the Master!" Screamed one of the knightmare pilots now distinctly aware of the hostage situation I had placed them in. I breathed a sigh of relief as the closest, wounded bodyguard was tackled by Tamaki and the Knightmares reluctantly stood down. I kept my gun pointed at the old man and waited for Zero to act.
After a painful second where nobody acted, 'Zero' laughed. It was a distinctly feminine laugh. "Oh, this is hilarious. He hadn't thought you'd be this bold Kallen." She said as she took off Zero's mask and a pale face framed by golden eyes and green hair emerged from underneath.
"Zero's a woman!?" Shouted our resident idiot and I sighed deeply.
"That isn't Zero, I've seen her before! She was with him before around the base and sometimes even on missions." My answer caused the tension to somehow increase.
The old man apparently hadn't gotten the memo that he was a hostage as he continued ordering us around. "You, girl! Is this true!?"
"Yes" Replied the green haired woman with total calm as if the current situation was nothing out of the ordinary.
"And you aren't Japanese either, are you?" His question made a small, self-satisfied smile appear on the woman's face.
"Indeed, leader of the Six Houses of Kyoto… Taizhou Kirihara." A sudden silence descended upon the room. There was shock but no one could act. A heartbeat passed and then two 'bangs' were heard and the two closest Knightmares had one of their legs blown off. A small sakuradite tinted explosion had hit them and thorn their joints asunder. I hadn't seen the projectile, but it wasn't a rocket.
"What th-?!" The remaining frames tried to turn behind and meet their attackers, but two more shots came from both sides, the two gunmen blew off their arms first and continued picking off the limbs of the Knightmares one by one. It was sadistic yet clean, efficient. Six shots later and the Burais couldn't do jack. Finally, only then did the shooters reveal themselves.
Two groups of five Black Knights slowly walked out from both sides of the room. They were wearing their visors and on their right shoulders I could see a patch. It was too far to see details, but I already knew what the patch was, a grey spider with red eyes inside of a red circle with black background. They had given me one as well, but I hadn't sown it in. The 'yatsukahagi' squad came out of the darkness most of them carried assault rifles pointed down yet ready to be brought up but two of them had long and thick rifles almost two metres in length they carried by resting them on their shoulders.
I didn't recognise the rifles, they weren't standard Britannian gear nor old Japanese ones. Just where the hell had Miss Hebert's groupies gotten them? Finally, Zero emerged from the middle of the left group, the men literally parting around him. I huffed in relief at the sight and put my gun away.
"I had expected to do this with a little bit less blood shed but I hadn't thought that my subordinates would be this eager." He chuckled a bit. "Though I suppose I should be happy I can inspire such action." He walked right towards Kirihara without any kind of worry.
"Taizou Kirihara, founder of the leading company in the sakuradite mining industry, practically a monopoly really. You were one of the staunchest supporters of the Kururugi administration. Yet after the defeat you did everything you could to support the Britannian occupation, becoming an active collaborator with the colonial administration. Eventually you became known among the Japanese as 'Kirihara the Traitor'."
"You speak as if what you're saying is anything new boy my men are bleeding on the ground. Get on with it." The frustrated voice interrupted. Zero unexpectedly chuckled at his attitude and motioned for one of the groupies' medics to help the man I had shot. I cringed at the situation but well… It should be fine.
"Very well. In actuality despite your apparent traitorous actions you're one of the leaders of Kyoto. A double agent so to speak… How cheap. Not something I would've expected of you."
"You speak as if I wished for this, I do merely what is needed for my People. Even if they despise me for it." Zero spoke with distaste.
"I remember you being a lot more headstrong and determined. Did your age catch up to you?" I blinked at the sudden tonal whiplash as Zero changed tone without any regard suddenly talking with one of the Six Houses' leaders like he was an old acquaintance.
Kirihara took it about as well as I did. He scoffed. "You talk as if you know me personally yet I remember none like you."
Zero opened his arms and spread his cloak briefly. Flaring it out as he did so. "But I do know you, Lord Kirihara. I knew you for only a year but you were certainly a good host when I first came to Japan." 'First came to Japan' that confirms it Zero isn't Japanese… I knew it was likely but it still somehow shocked me. I hadn't internalised the possibility. It didn't seem possible.
I couldn't see Kirihara's reaction but his muttered words were audible inside the silent chamber.
"A good host? You… You can't be Japanese yet you're someone I hosted with a hatred for Britannia. You're young and arrogant too…" The old man let out a laugh. Rambunctious and filled with amusement. "I see… Oh I see!" He said with amusement and excitement in his voice.
Zero replied calmly. "Indeed, Lord Kirihara." Zero slowly leaned forwards and to
everyone in the room's shock reached for his mask. "It has been a while." Zero finished as he took his mask off. I felt my heartbeat spike and looked around for anyone who might be able to see. Thankfully his raised collar hid his face from both us and the bodyguards.
Seeing that his identity wasn't in danger I relaxed a little… Still Zero must be someone important to know of someone like Kirihara, a beyond rich industrialist… Supposedly he knew him from before the war too. God damn it I want to see Zero's face but I can't betray him like this. My eyes were glued to the bit of black hair visible from the top of the collar. It felt like he was taunting me.
"So, it is you. The boy whom they sent as hostage eight years ago." He chuckled amused. Zero didn't share his humour but he spoke back with respect I hadn't heard from him until now.
"Yes. I appreciated your hospitality back then."
The old man didn't care for Zero's pleasantries. "If it wasn't me, who came were you planning on taking our messenger hostage?" Kirihara asked suddenly.
But Zero displayed humility that was almost entirely out of character. "Hardly. The only thing I can do is ask for your help." The old man didn't answer for a second.
"The flower planted eight years ago has survived the winter and finally bloomed…" Said the old industrialist. He started laughing. Echoing, loud and full of joy, maybe even relief.
I casually pulled Tamaki back who was trying to sneak a peek. No matter how tantalising Zero's identity was we couldn't betray him like that.
"Ohgi!" Shouted the old man and caused our vice-leader to perk up.
"Y-yes, sir!" Ohgi called back.
"This person is without a doubt an enemy of Britannia. I am also satisfied with his reasons for not revealing his face." Easy to say when you've already seen it! Damn it Miss Hebert probably knows too, with her powers she'd need to actively avoid looking to not know. Ugh. I forced myself not to show my annoyance on my face and probably failed. Hopefully everyone was too focused on Kirihara's speech.
"I assure you that you should follow Zero, though it seems you need no advice on that department." His gaze flicked onto me and I met it with a soft glare. He chuckled in return. Damn old bastard.
"We will offer strategic and logistical support along with assisting in cover-up operations." I let myself fully relax now that we had their support.
"Thank you, sir!" Ohgi said with perhaps a touch of relief.
"I appreciate it, Lord Kirihara." Zero said and put on his mask. He turned to leave but Kirihara had one more thing to say.
"You go to walk the path of blood?" Zero stilled. For a heartbeat he did not answer. Then… "I have already begun." He said with finality. He began walking towards us, done with the conversation. The yatsukahagi squad also began to converge on us but Zero sent them away with a gesture. The green haired woman followed them as they left from the sides of the room.
Zero led us back towards the car and we followed him silently. Just as Ohgi and Tamaki got in the car. "Kallen, I appreciate that you care for me and are willing to protect me with your life but please do not throw your life away for me, what you did was too risky. Still good work." He entered the limo silently afterwards. I stood there with a slight smile on my face.
I was shocked by the chastisement by Zero but the little praise at the end… It made me feel content, happy. He cares! I stood there like an idiot until Ohgi called me. Zero's identity… just who he is, his past, they can wait until he trusts me more. I don't need to know his identity to earn Japan its freedom… but if I get him to trust me enough along the way and learn his identity…
Well... that's just a nice little bonus isn't it?
An: Sorry for the delay! I'm moving this week so everything is a bit hectic and the chapter kind of flew out of my hand. It was originally going to be like 5000 words but… yeah.