A/N: Responses to reviews:
Putting to bed the worries about Lelouch being a Gary Stu. I promise that isn't the case. Things are going well for him right now thanks to a bit of luck, and mostly due to the love and support of his found family. Once things start to kick off- and trust me they will in good time- he will have to rely on his friends and allies more than ever because he's gonna fuck things up about as much as he did before, just in different ways under different conditions and circumstances. And he's definetly not gonna win every fight. I promise.
His hatred is still very much there, just buried deep. It hasn't been allowed to fester and grow unchecked but that doesn't mean the seed of malice isn't planted within his soul. He still wants blood deep down, he's just better at controlling it because he has people to rely on and keep that darkness at bay. Remember what they say: "There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man." Lelouch is inherently gentle with those he cares about, but as we've all seen, he is more than capable of unprecedented levels of violence. Just because the circumstances have changed doesn't mean he can't 180 and become even WORSE when the people he loves are threatened, hurt, or killed. We will eventually see this.
I won't lie, this story IS intended to have a happy ending, though it may turn out more than a little bittersweet. The ends justify the means and what matters is the results, so Lelouch would say. He may seem happy and soft now, but just you wait, he's got more than a few mental breakdowns coming his way.
Regarding his physical abilities - I feel like I must say I agree with the crowd that doesn't think Lelouch should be good when it comes to the physical aspects of combat. Lelouch is a ranged fighter and a tactician, we can all agree on this and that's how it's going to stay.
That being said. The way this story is going, it was an inevitability that Kallen would want Lelouch to get in shape. It's the natural outcome. Just because he doesn't like it doesn't mean he can't do it. But as we all know, being in shape doesn't make you an MMA fighter. When it came to the decision for Naoto to have Lelouch learn parkour, it came from the place of: "Ok, Kallen whipped him into shape, what does he do with it?"
True, I could have ignored it all together and just pretended that Lelouch wasn't gonna use it, but then it felt like wasted potential, and a plot hole. So I had to come up with something that would assist him in preforming well at what he is supposed to be good at without removing his key weaknesses.
I landed on Parkour because it felt like the most logical choice. It will help him- as a ranged combatant and observer- to get into/on top of buildings and provide overwatch.
However, once this arc of the story concludes and the future black knights have enough frames (at least 3 Knightmares total) Lelouch will fall into the same role he did in Canon. First as mid/rear line fire support, and once he is elected as the leader, he will fight in the way Zero always has, relying on the more skilled pilots under his command to be his sword and shield while he commands the orchestra of Chaos.
This means that his learning of Parkour will become superfluous by the time we reach the start of the actual show with the Shinjuku massacre. It's a temporary solution to a temporary problem of how Lelouch can support the resistance in combat if he doesn't have a knightmare and isn't the commander.
Granted, I could have just made him the resistance group's financial supporter/accountant to bypass all of this, but then he wouldn't be able to fully earn the trust and respect of the Kozuki group. If a king doesn't lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow?
TLDR: His very limited physical abilities will not be very useful or effective very soon, and will not have any sort of impact on the story as a whole aside from 1 scene prior to the Shinjuku incident that I have planned out. He is by no means overtly muscular either, he still looks pretty twiggy, and doesn't have anything like an 8-pack or something silly like that.
The only permanent changes are an increase to his endurance/stamina- which will have a minimal impact in most story related events- , and making him more physically attractive. Not that the handsome black prince needed the help, Kallen wouldn't have been able to resist him anyway, but it's a nice little bonus. And well... when things heat up between them down the line, that increased stamina will come in handy. Wink-wink, nudge-nudge.
With that in mind, no, Sayoko will not be teaching Lelouch how to be a Shinobi. Her job is to be Nunnally's bodyguard. Everyone has their strengths, weaknesses, and roles to play here, it would be a disservice if I made Lelouch good at everything, so I won't. I want to keep as close to his overall character profile as I can. And that goes for everyone else. Staying true to character but changing the events and circumstances which leads to divergent character development.
That being said I reserve my creative freedom as a writer to take a pre-existing character trait and twist it in the direction I want it to go. Kallen is known to be highly intelligent in her own right- not on Lelouch's level, but still more than competent, she's able to read her opponent's movements, see through their plans, and was an effective squad leader. (All referenced in the wiki and can be seen in the show)
I plan to make use of this pre-existing character trait to make her an excellent vice-commander of the Black Knights. Because I believe that with Lelouch's tutelage, she can adapt her intelligence to an effective leadership role within the organization.
Matronium: Classic, I find a small error in chapter 9, I panic, edit the doc and go to replace the current chapter, end up reposting chapter 9 over chapter 8 instead. Whoopsie-daisy. But I am glad you enjoy the slower pace!
RanVor: "YOU UNDERESTIMATE MY POWER, LELOUCH!" proceeds to spin-kick up the side of a building.
Ghostly: Nope, never seen WCT, as for everything else, don't worry, I already have ideas.
CGFZ117: Yeah I found it weird that she never got ratted out for her drug use in the original show when all the signs where there.
Akuma: I had heard that before, but I wanted to rationalize Clovis' actions a bit more than just "Immortality lol, lmao" and I am glad you like the direction I went for him and Schneizel. As for the name meaning, I stumbled across Kallen's name meanings on accident and thought "Huh, what about Lulu?" only to then be like "Omg him being a sacrifice for something was hinted from day 1" even if it was unintentional.
It was the dark of night, and silence reigned supreme.
Through the shadows of the seemingly empty commercial dock yards, a group of figures slipped between the office and warehouse buildings, speaking in hushed whispers.
The leader of the group had taken point for this operation, grabbing the walkie hooked onto the collar of their jacket, they pressed the button to speak.
"This is K-1 to B-1, come in B-1."
"This is B-1." A voice came from the radio after a second of silence. "Go ahead."
"You have eyes on?"
"A-firm. 3 marks at 2:10 from my position."
"We clear to move?"
"Negative." The voice came back, making Naoto frown. "Sentry is watching that corner, either try to flank them, or wait for my all-clear."
"We don't have time for that, their pickup is gonna be here any minute."
"I know."
Shit.
Naoto peaked around the corner just enough to get an eye on their target, clutching his assault rifle tightly. He saw them, 3 guys, all with SMG's. One was taking a smoke break and staring basically right in his direction. The other two where standing guard by the entrance.
"Do you have a shot?"
"I do."
"Take out 1 of the 2 standing guard, leave the others to us, how copy?"
"I will roger that, but you know I still don't have a silencer for this thing right?"
"I'm aware, we're going loud B-1. Q-1 you remain on standby."
"Roger that K-1." Kallen's voice came through.
"B-1, fire at will."
Lelouch heard Naoto give the order. He was resting on his knees with a pair of binoc's held up to his eyes as he gazed down at the warehouse. Another refrain distribution center.
He lowered his binoculars and laid down on his belly. His weapon, a wooden stock bolt-action hunting rifle, was next to him. He was on top of the roof of a commercial office center that he managed to climb with a good old-fashioned rope and grappling hook.
He shouldered his weapon and peered down his scope, triple-checking the distance.
'That has to be... about 100 meters. Windspeed is null.' He thought to himself.
Easy shot.
Lelouch lined up his scope with the head of the sentry he picked, the one on the left, and put his finger on the trigger. He held his breath to steady his aim, and then squeezed.
There was a loud crack as the gun barked, the hiss of a bullet, and then a splatter as the guard had a chunk of his brain painted over the wall.
He watched them panic with a grin on his face as Naoto whipped around the corner and expertly let 2 bursts of gunfire out, putting down the other 2 guards before sprinting to the warehouse. Tamaki used his shotgun to blow the hinges off the door, and Nagata threw a flashbang inside.
Textbook. Naoto was executing his suggested plan of attack perfectly. Only Q-1 had their tasks remaining after this.
All that was left for Lelouch now was to watch and wait for the radio to come on again. He kinda wanted to check up on Kallen, but he knew he had to maintain radio silence, thems' the rules.
He watched through his scope as the Kozuki group stormed the building and heard the rattle of gunfire as they took down the disoriented gangsters that hid within the walls of the warehouse.
He pulled back the bolt of his rifle, releasing the spent cartridge that would pop out, clatter and roll across the ground with smoke wafting from the opening. Then he slid the bolt back forward to let a fresh round slip in from the magazine with a click.
He didn't expect to take another shot tonight, but just in case.
Eventually, the gunfire stopped, and the radio came back on.
"This is K-1, warehouse clear. No friendly casualties."
Lelouch sighed with relief. He stood up, slinging his rifle over his shoulder and picked up the cooling spent cartridge, slipping it into a pouch.
"That's great K-1." Lelouch spoke into his radio. "Orders?"
"Standby for further instruction, Q-1 do you have a read on the enemy convoy?"
"3 blocks out according to Factsphere data, they're heading my way."
"Roger that, smoke em."
Kallen grinned inside the cockpit of her Glasgow.
A trio of large trailer trucks would move at an even pace towards their destination, the driver of the lead truck in the convoy took a sip out of his "big slurp" cup he got at the gas station and tapped his free hand against the steering wheel as pop music played in the background. The man in the passenger seat was taking a nap.
The last thing the driver knew was the sudden screech of tires on concrete before the roof of the drivers cabin caved in.
The drivers and passengers of the second and third truck both came to a sudden stop as they saw a Crimson Glasgow fall out of the sky and land on top of the drivers cabin of the first truck, crumpling it like a tin can before it raised its Knight rifle and fired its underling grenade, blowing up the cabin of the second truck and killing its occupants.
She then raised her rifle a little higher, and mowed down the last 2 hostiles as they tried to flee the truck, 25 millimeter shells did nasty things to human bodies.
Kallen smirked, proud of a job well done. She looked away from her screen to reach for the radio.
"K-1 this is Q-1, targets destroyed, how copy?"
"I read you Q-1, nice work, get ready to RTB."
"Roger-" Kallen responded, but was caught off guard when there was a sudden sound of metal being ripped open. She looked back at her screen just in time to see the fist of a knightmare had punched through the roof of the trailer and was climbing out!
'Knightpolice!? What are they doing here!?' She screamed internally. Simulators where one thing but this was gonna be her first Knightmare duel!
She dropped her radio and immediately went on the defensive as the Knightmare jumped out and started to attack her. It drew its machinepistol and opened fire on her, and she quickly evaded, veering around the corned of a building to break contact and evaluate her situation.
She dumped her magazine into the drivers cabin of the third truck, so she would need to reload her rifle in order to use it again-
Before she could finish her thought process, the Knightpolice interrupted her by following her around the corner, and she decided to just follow her instincts. She fired both of her slash-harkens. The first one knocked the gun out of its hand, but the second one missed. She closed the distance and punched the enemy Glasgow in it's 'face' before grabbing it and slamming the enemy frame into the building, plowing it halfway through the concrete.
With its back turned she grabbed the cockpit with both hands and squeezed, pulverizing it and killing the pilot.
She breathed, feeling nauseous and unnerved by the way she killed her enemy. She opened the release hatch on the Glasgow and leaned over the side, wrenching out of an anxiety attack that was hitting full force as she saw blood leaking out of the crushed cockpit.
She didn't know why she felt this way. She didn't feel anything at first when she killed the truck passengers. Was it hitting her now only because she was in danger? Did that make it weigh more heavily on her, or was it just the adrenaline high that delayed the emotional reaction to her kills?
She would be fine... she just needed a minute...
Kallen was kneeling over the toilet in the bathroom at the Ashford Clubhouse, and Lelouch was sitting next to her, gently patting and rubbing her back, she looked awful, a sickly pale color with bags under her eyes.
"I don't understand..." She whispered. "I was ready to kill them, I wanted to kill them, I was excited to do it... to get back at them for everything they've done... so... so why..."
She stopped, hurling into the toilet once more with a pained and miserable cry, and Lelouch felt terrible for her.
"It's gonna be ok... let it out..." He whispered, a hand moved up to rub the back of her neck, before moving up to her head. He ran his fingers through her silky red hair, massaging her scalp.
She greatly appreciated the level of care and attention he was giving her, it soothed Kallen, the way his hands touched her.
Once she felt like it was over, she sat up, and Lelouch got an alcohol wipe, handing it to her so she can sterilize her hands and he pulled out his handkerchief to dab against her chin and lips.
"Thank you." She murmured quietly, still looking worse for ware, but not as bad as before.
"Of course." He didn't feel like she even needed to thank him, but he also knew she wouldn't accept that.
"How do you do it, Lelouch?" She found herself asking again. "You killed today too, so why-" she cut herself off, it wasn't that she wanted him to feel this way, far from it.
"You want to know how I cope?" He asked. She nodded in response.
He took a moment to think. They where both out and about during the invasion, they both saw their fair share of dead bodies... so the only conclusion was-
"I've killed before, remember?" He asked, and she stopped wiping her hands to look back up at him.
"During the invasion. You and Naoto where cornered by a couple of royal marines, he had you hide in the back of the car."
"I could never forget that day even if I wanted to, which I don't, because that's the... well not the first time I met you, but the day our fates where intertwined." She recalled the peach incident with an amused smile.
He let out a short laugh. "Yes well, when I saved your brother, I had to sneak up on the soldier assaulting him with a pair of scissors. Then take his pistol and shoot him in the face at point blank range. I got my first kill when I was 10. I've grown desensitized to the idea of taking another's life. This was your first time."
She let out a quiet hum.
"So it gets easier?" She asked.
"A little..." He said with a shrug. "It still hurts. But you need to remind yourself of why you're doing it, and who you're doing it to. You may have killed 7 people today, but the people you killed where likely killers themselves." He suggested, crossing his arms
He then continued. "Drug dealers don't shy away from murder Kallen. I bet at least half of them committed the act upon multiple innocents. Some of them could have even been rapists praying upon the addicts that couldn't defend themselves. You brought justice Kallen. It may have been bloody, but their deaths where at least quick and relatively painless, a mercy compared to the many other ways they could have gone out."
She drank in his words and found some measure of solace with them, but still looked worried.
"Kallen." He said softly, grabbing her chin and tilting her head to look at him.
"You where very brave today. You fought well, executed that attack perfectly. There's a reason Naoto decided to let you be the pilot of our only Knightmare. And I don't think less of you for reacting this way. I'd be more worried if you weren't torn up about it." He consoled her.
She nodded, letting herself relax as she threw the alcohol wipe into the trash can.
"Lulu?" She asked softly.
"Yes Kally?" He asked with a playful tone, hoping to lighten the mood a little.
It worked as she smiled a little, a hint of color coming back to her cheeks before she looked away, flustered.
"I um... I don't want to be alone tonight so... can we lay together...?" She mumbled, her face flushing red, and his face began to match hers.
She shook her head suddenly. "Y'know what nevermind its stupid, I'll be fine-"
"Kallen." He cut her off. "Do you want me to sleep next to you?"
She bit her lip and nodded. She was worried about the kinds of nightmares she'd suffer if she slept alone.
"Ok." He agreed simply, offering his hand to her as he stood up, she took it and he helped her up.
"I'll let you get changed, I'll be right outside alright?"
She nodded. "Yeah, I'll grab a change of clothes really quick... and uh..." She brought a hand up to her mouth, blowing some air out before sniffing it and wincing.
Yup, vomit breath.
"... A toothbrush." She finished.
He nodded, patting her shoulder before walking out of the bathroom and letting her walk past him after that. She went to grab some pajamas and her aforementioned toothbrush before heading back to the bathroom.
In the meantime, Lelouch got changed as well. A simple T-shirt and some sport shorts. He laid out some sheets on the floor and grabbed a spare pillow from his closet, setting it down at the top of his makeshift bedding.
Kallen finished brushing her teeth and tongue, and got changed, making sure she smelled fresh before walking over to Lelouch's room. It was tidy as always- except for the stuff on the floor, why was that there?
"Uh... what are you doing?" Kallen asked, staring as Lelouch finished setting up the floor-bed.
"Oh, don't worry, this is for me." He said assuringly. "You can have the bed."
"Thats... not what I meant..."
'Huh?' Lelouch thought to himself, staring at her and being all confused until he understood what she was getting at.
Oh...
His eyes widened
OH
He blushed. "I-im sorry, I... didn't realize you meant we would both be-"
"No-no its fine I... I meant like-"
Neither of them could finish their own sentences as they tip-toed around the issue.
Eventually, Kallen got flustered enough that she let herself act like a tsundere.
"Just get in the damn bed!" She snipped indignantly, her face was as pure of a crimson as the hair on her head.
He gulped, and nodded, walking over to his bed before awkwardly sitting on it.
"Um... do you want the left side or the right?"
"Left." She answered after a moment. And he nodded, since his bed was in the corner of the room that meant he wouldn't be able to get up until she did, since she had the 'aisle seat' as it where.
He scooted in to the other side of the bed and she joined him wearing her baggy pink and white pajamas.
They both laid down then, him on one side, her on the other. They both stared up at the ceiling, watching the fan rotate as they both felt extremely awkward, unsure of what should be done next. They had spent nights together like this as kids, but not for the past couple years, and given their new relationship status it was... well...
Kallen decided to be brave, making the first move, she turned onto her side and faced him, her hands moving up to hold onto his upper arm.
He reciprocated by turning to face her, and they both stared at each other, silently asking one another countless different questions.
Was this good? Too much, Too little?
Kallen leaned in eventually, lowering her head and burying her head into the crook of Lelouch's neck, and he responded by wrapping an arm around her, hugging Kallen tight. He felt her soft hair and warm breath tickling his skin.
Still... this was immensely satisfying, holding Kallen so close, and she felt the same way. It was so comforting. The awkwardness of the situation began to drop as they both realized they where ok with this level of contact.
Lelouch closed his eyes and let himself drift off into sweet oblivion alongside Kallen.
Neither of them slept quite this good until now.
After many good hours of blissful slumber, Lelouch awoke, and slowly opened his eyes. He blinked, feeling the presence of another next to him.
'So that wasn't a dream...' He thought to himself. 'Good... I would have been sad if it was.'
He would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the intimate contact, it was... relaxing. It made him feel warm and fuzzy inside and he didn't want that feeling to go away.
Perhaps, for the moment, it was ok to be just a little selfish? Besides he was sure Kallen wouldn't mind if he let her sleep a while longer. He was perfectly content to lay here with his girlfriend in his embrace.
So he laid there for a while, his eyes closed but his mind waking up slowly as he cuddled with her.
Part of him wished he could stay like this forever, he didn't want to let her go. Kallen, much like Suzaku, had wormed her way into his heart and he couldn't imagine not having her by his side. He sighed lightly with content as he allowed himself to just relax a bit.
After a little while longer, he felt Kallen shift, and heard her let out a very small groan, before letting out a cute yawn as she stretched her legs a bit.
Then she remembered where she was and stopped, pulling her head back out of its resting position under Lelouch's chin to see him laying there.
He cracked an eye open and then smirked.
"You make an adorable noise when you yawn, squeaky like a pup."
She flushed red, smiling and swatting his chest.
"Whatever, we're awake, so now what?"
He hummed.
Today was Saturday, no school, so...
"Why don't we just hang out today? Think we deserve to treat ourselves after our operation last night."
She seemed to like that idea. "Sure." She agreed readily. "Got anything in mind?"
"Welllllll..." He began slowly. "I can make us some breakfast... then we can relax a bit before heading out to maybe see a movie and hang out at the park. Grab lunch after that, and then spend the afternoon at the new Amusement park that's opened up?"
She snorted.
"You mean Clovisland?"
"What can I say? My half-brother is a narcissist."
"Runs in the family it seems." Kallen commented cheekily, making him snort.
"Oh trust me you've seen nothing yet. Anyways... after Clovisland we could come back here, hang out, and I'll make us some dinner."
"This sounds like less of a hang out day... and more like a date."
"Well- I um..." Lelouch stammered
Kallen hushed Lelouch by leaning up to capture his lips in a small kiss, before pulling away.
"I'd love to." She smiled as she reassured him.
He smiled back
"Great." He said, and the pair stayed there, staring at each other before Kallen spoke again.
"Lelouch?"
"Yes?"
"I can't move while you're hugging me."
Oh
He flushed red and pulled his arm away quickly.
"Sorry."
"It's ok." She promised, pecking him on the cheek this time before scooting away and off of the bed. "I'm gonna go take a shower, see you in a bit."
"Right."
After Kallen finished in the shower he would take one as well.
As soon as Kallen was done...
In the shower.
Kallen in the shower.
Lelouch had to grit his teeth and force that mental image away. Kallen was more important to him than that, she was not a piece of meat for him to ogle!
'Damn these hormones!' He cursed internally
His sperm donor had 108 wives- 107 now that his mom was dead unless the old man was at it again. It shouldn't surprise Lelouch that he had a strong libido, he was bound to inherit SOME things from his father and it looked like his... promiscuous nature might be one of them.
He contemplated over weather that was a good thing or not.
Lelouch then realized that sleeping next to Kallen regularly was a distinct possibility.
He was in for a LOT of cold showers... oh yes, he could see it now, the next couple years where going to be hell.
He sighed, deciding to get a head start on the day. He got up out of bed and walked down to the foyer of the student council room, rubbing the side of his neck with one hand, his other hand on his hip as he tried to think about how to make the day special.
Of course, Kallen was very down to earth herself. She may have been a Countess but she didn't act like a prissy noble at all. She was... well ok she wasn't normal, not by a long shot, and neither was he. They where kindred spirits in their collective weirdness.
That being said, Kallen would probably be happy just to have him around. Because she was Kallen.
He smiled, then perked up as he heard Nunnally rolling out of her room in her wheelchair.
"Lelouch." She called out. "Are you there?"
Things have been so hectic lately that he didn't get to spend a lot of time with Nunnally. It made him feel guilty...
"Yes Nuna, I'm here." He answered, and she smiled.
"Oh good! I'm glad that you and Kallen are spending so much time together, she's been so good for you!" The little girl insisted.
"She has." He admitted.
"Mhm, and there's been so much going on. Sayoko told me she made a new friend, it's Kallen's mom, Hina!"
"That's wonderful Nunnally. I'm sure she could use a friend after everything she's been through."
Nunnally seemed to wince. "Yes, I heard what she was going though, it's so sad..." She sighed. "And to be honest I'm still getting used to Kallen being here. Not that I mind! It's just that there's only been the 2 of us for so long. Speaking of, how are you Kallen?"
When she didn't get a response, Nunnally frowned.
"Oh, Kallen is in the shower Nuna."
"She is?" Nunnally seemed confused. "That's so weird, her scent is really strong out here, I thought she was still on the couch." She said before sniffing with her nose.
What the hell, has her loss of vision turned Nunnally into a bloodhound?
Lelouch wasn't sure how to answer as Nunnally's chair got closer, and she kept sniffing, until finally she stopped, seeming to realize something.
Kallen's scent was all over him.
"Lelouch..." She began in a wary tone. "You aren't already making me an auntie are you!?"
Lelouch spluttered, turning a deep shade of red and choking up, looking completely gobsmacked.
'I FUCKIN BLAME YOU MILLY, YOU CORRUPTED MY SISTER!'
Jeramiah was enjoying his day off. Sure as the leader of the Purists he could probably get away with having a few weeks of leave right now, but Kewell was a shark. If he smelled blood he would pounce and he had been itching for higher levels of rank and responsibilities in the Purist faction.
He couldn't afford to step away for that long. Too much risk of a power play being made.
But, at the same time, for that same reason, this wasn't actually a day off, not really. He had a meeting to attend to.
He got a letter in the mail. Unusual, unless it was state business that needed to he handled discreetly. But when he read it, it said that this letter was written by an anonymous, long standing ally of the Vi Britannia family.
The moment he read those lines, he knew he had to see exactly what was going on.
The offer was written simply. To show up at the designated meeting point at the designated time, and he would converse with whoever it was who wrote the letter.
The sender gave him 2 weeks worth of notice, so he had time to mark this day for R&R.
He stepped out of his car after parking it. True, he could absolutely have someone play chauffeur but he liked driving his own vehicles when he had the chance.
He walked into the rather classy club he had been invited to. It seemed mostly noblemen where visiting. Without hesitation he stepped towards the bar area and nodded to the barkeep.
"Can I help you sir?" The barkeep asked Jeramiah.
"Looking for someone. I was told to meet them here, they said they go by the moniker of Prez?"
The barkeep nodded, looking at a corner booth by the entrance and pointed Jeramiah towards it.
"My thanks." The former guard said before walking over to the booth and sitting across from his contact. They wore a sun hat that covered their face at the angle they had it tilted.
"Prez?" Jeramiah asked, and the person tilted their head up.
"Hello Margrave." A young blonde girl greeted him. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Millicent Ashford. My grandfather is-"
"Ruben Ashford." Jeramiah finished with a smile. "How's the old bugger doing?"
"Oh you know, a cocaine fueled bender here, a royal ball there, good times."
Jeramiah barked out a laugh, oh yes this was definitely Ruben's granddaughter.
"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I don't think we've met before." He greeted her.
"The pleasure is all mine Lord Jeramiah. I'm here to proposition you something."
"Propose away." He insisted. If it where anyone else he'd be suspicious, but even though he hadn't seen Ruben for a long time he knew the man for years. He was good people.
"The foundries of the Ashford Foundation are roaring back to life. I plan to bring us back up to the top of the food chain. There's just one problem."
"Oh?"
She nodded.
"I need contracts, licensing. RPI has a monopoly on knightmare production. I think some healthy competition is in order."
Jeramiah rubbed his chin. He DID have some sway over the viceroy, and Clovis was closer to Lelouch and Nunnally than a lot of other royal family members had been before. Perhaps the nostalgia of the Ashford name would swing a vote in their favor?
"I'll see what I can do."
Anything for a friend of his lady.
"Do you have any other requests?"
"Yes." Milly answered. "I understand that the Gloucester was made the main elite unit but there was a higher spec prototype that outperformed it?"
"From what I've heard, aye. The Gloucester won out due to lower production costs and ease of manufacturing. It's capabilities where deemed adequate, but the ones on the competitor clearly outmatched it."
"Any chance you could get me that prototype? The one that lost the bid?"
"I probably can." Jeramiah said with a nod. "From what I understand it's currently at an auction, no buyers yet. But a Euro-Britannian Knight House was also leering at it."
"If you can get me that frame it'd be much appreciated." Milly said in a cornered tone.
"Consider it done."
Milly sighed with relief.
"Thank you, lord Jeramiah."
"Think nothing of it lady Millicent. All is for lady Marianne."
The Ashfords where quite likely the only thing left of Marianne's inner circle of allies. They where the last of her legacy, now that her children where...
No, no he could not bare thinking about that, not now. He had a job to do. Because no matter what anyone said, everything he did was for her, his lady.
All was for his Empress.
Lelouch and Kallen where freshly dressed now. The former was wearing a sleeveless black T-shirt and blue jeans, while Kallen was rocking a yellow tube top and shorts. It was a warm summer day after all. Lelouch stuck with more casual gym shoes and Kallen had sandals on.
After breakfast with Nunnally- in which she thankfully didn't bring up anything she said about Lelouch and Kallen sharing a bed- the pair headed out to the park and sat down on a bench together. It was still kinda early in the morning so the zoo wouldn't be open for a while.
For a moment they just sat there next to each other. Enjoying the chirping of the birds the early morning sun, all of it.
"Hey Lelouch?" Kallen asked, earning a thoughtful hum as he turned to look at her.
"Yes Kallen?" His tone of voice was the kind he typically reserved for Nunnally. So much more gentle than his usual. That tone, the way it felt, that's how she knew she was speaking to the real Lelouch.
"I want to know more about you, what you think. I know you're smart, like... really insanely smart... so, tell me, what's on your mind?"
He hummed, looking away and back into the park, but not really looking at anything in particular as he thought.
"A lot of things." He admitted. "Sometimes I have so much going on in my head even I don't fully grasp what I'm thinking until after the fact. Calculations, predictions, cold logic on the most likely threats or having my identity compromised. I've been living a lie for 5 years now. And while I've found solace in our companionship there are still days where I fear the worst. I always second guess every decision I make, every thought I have. Its... maddening at times. Quiet places like this help me sort out the clutter."
Kallen looked sad.
"I... think I get it. Being so afraid all the time, you learn to be paranoid." She hummed. "You're your own worst critic. You always have to watch every word you say, every step you take... it's no way for someone to live."
"No." Lelouch admitted quietly. "It's not..."
Kallen decided the subject matter was a bit too heavy. She saw the sullen look on his face, the way his jaw was set, she didn't like seeing him this way.
"Tell me about Suzaku." She said suddenly, and she saw him brighten up a little.
"Suzaku and I... we had a rough start."
"Rough how?"
"He punched me in the face the first time we met." He said simply, and the words made Kallen mad, but she didn't say anything.
"He was... loud, stubborn- incredibly so, and annoying as all hell when he decided to do something if it involved you."
Kallen's respectful silence urged him to continue.
"We fought for weeks." Lelouch mused. "I won every verbal debate we had of course, but that usually made him mad and he hit me for it."
Again, Kallen didn't like what she was hearing, but if Suzaku was supposedly his first friend- his original best friend before her, there had to be something to this.
"It stopped suddenly, one day, when Nunnally fell out of her wheelchair. It rolled down the flight of stairs at the Kururugi shrine. I thought the worst."
Kallen sat pensive. Of course she knew Nunnally was ok, obviously, but hearing that the poor girl might have gotten hurt again made her uneasy.
"As it turned out, she didn't fall down the stairs. Nunnally fell into a small ditch and passed out, and her chair rolled all the rest of the way. She was alright in the end, but she gave me a scare."
Kallen smiled at that.
"So what happened? With Suzaku?"
"He found her first." Lelouch answered. "He sheltered her from the rain that was coming down that afternoon. And then pulled me in with them... I don't know what came over him then, but he suddenly began to apologize for the way he treated me... earlier when he found out Nunnally was missing I told him to stay out of it. Said that being Britannian or Japanese didn't matter. That he didn't need permission to save who he wanted to save or do what he wanted to do."
Huh...
"It started to just kind of click after that. Our friendship felt natural, like we where opposites compelled to attract one another. We made a good team, and we made Nunnally happy, he and I. She was the linchpin that held us together I think."
Kallen smiled a little, of course it was Nunnally, nobody- no sane person at least could handle being mean around her.
"He did the best thing though, something I never could manage on my own." Lelouch admitted somewhat scornfully. "He got Nunnally to laugh."
"What do you mean?" Kallen asked. She was a bit confused. Nunnally seemed to laugh every day.
"After our mother... after she died, Nunnally stopped laughing..." Lelouch admitted quietly."For weeks. The assassins didn't just take Nunnally's legs and her sight. They took her smile too." He closed his eyes.
"No matter how hard I tried, whatever joke I cracked, none or it seemed to work. It made me so afraid... so very afraid that Nunnally would never be able to feel happy again."
Kallen reached out to hold one of Lelouch's hands, she was the look on his face.
"It wasn't just her smile that they took, was it?"
"... No." He eventually answered. "No it wasn't." The message was clear.
Lelouch stopped smiling too.
Kallen wrapped an arm around Lelouch to hug him, pulling the prince in close as she rubbed one hand along his arm.
"So, did he return your smile to you?"
"He did." Lelouch replied, his tone lightening back up just a little. He brought his free hand over to lay on top of hers.
"Suzaku managed to drag it out of me by giving Nunnally's back. Seeing that she was able to smile and laugh again. That she was able to express joy... Suzaku did that. I was grateful, so grateful that I started to smile and laugh too, like it was infectious. Suzaku's honest laughter made her laugh, and her laughter made me laugh."
"I see..." She mumbled. "I suppose I understand then, why you consider him a friend still."
Lelouch nodded quietly.
"Do you think he survived?" Kallen asked in a soft tone, leaning into Lelouch.
"I hope so." The prince answered instantly. "I hope that one day we meet again, he might even join us. You, me, Naoto, Suzaku. The 4 of us together? I feel like we'd be unstoppable, that we can do anything once we put our minds to it."
"You make it sound like you can make miracles happen when together." She quipped.
He smirked ruefully. "We certainly thought so at the time. We where much more idealistic about things before the invasion."
She nodded. "What about during the invasion? What happened?"
"We got separated..." Lelouch said quietly. "We where going to a rally point. Some men where going to take me and Nunnally to Ashford for us. But one night it all just... fell apart during our journey. A firefight broke out between local militia and Britannian marines. I had Nunnally with me at the time." He paused, and sighed as he recanted his memory.
"We where going to leave as a group but then artillery came in, there was fire, smoke, explosions... dead bodies, blood, severed limbs. I was terrified. My instincts kicked in and I just ran. I ran faster and further than I ever did with Nunnally on my back. I must have sprinted for at least a few miles. By then I had to put Nunnally down and throw up in a sewer grate."
Kallen's arm reached up to the back of Lelouch's head and she pulled him down to her level as she hugged him tight.
"You're very brave, you know that?"
"I don't think so... but thank you Kallen."
She frowned.
"Stop that."
He flinched a little.
"Lelouch... you are very brave, understand me? It takes real courage to face what you had to face, to do what you had to do..." She sighed. "You can second guess yourself as much as you want, but I'm always going to be around to tell you you're wrong to do so. I wont let you put yourself down Lelouch. You deserve to be loved, and you have all of mine already. I want you to learn to love yourself too ok?"
Lelouch nodded quietly, his body beginning to relax. Hearing Kallen say those things helped to boost his waning confidence just a little, he smiled.
"Ok."
They sat in the park like that for a little while longer, the normally fearful lamb; the black sheep of the royal family, enjoying the presence of their beautiful lotus.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed.
Also, been doing a lot of thinking about the whole C.C. thing. I cant say for certain but It's seeming more doable by the second. I just feel so torn. On the one hand, pure Kalulu would be great for this fic, on the other hand, I don't think I've ever seen a Poly fic for CG that had the chance to feel natural and organic without feeling forced, and I still love the Pizza girl.
AAAAAAAAAAA
Curse my indecisive nature!
Otherwise, glad to have more Kalulu fluff. I am coining this ship "Lamb and Lotus" and you cant fuckin stop me!
As a side note, cookie to whoever can guess what KMF prototype Milly is pining after!