I own nothing.

Everyone in the classroom had been startled out of their lesson by the sudden opening of the door, but it became quickly apparent that they were more surprised by the appearance of the teenager who had stepped through the door.

Though it was not apparent at first glance, Lelouch had discovered that Sobu High School bore a striking resemblance to his alma mater in imperceptibly subtle ways.

The western architecture and expansive open grounds of Ashford Academy would have made for a campus quite out of place in the otherwise conformist Japanese town of Chiba but the comforting undertone which permeated the rooms of Sobu High School bore a striking resemblance to the academy that he had once called home.

When he'd laid eyes on the school, the vice grip of nostalgia had seized him, locking him in place as he could only stand there and gaze at an unreachable past. A dozen reasons to walk away made their way into his mind, but as he stepped through into his class wearing the pristine uniform that could be found on all students of Sobu High student, the only thought that stuck was how some things never changed.

He had expected the noticeable attention he was receiving as he stepped into that classroom but what he hadn't expected was quite so much of it.

The first thing that people usually noticed about him was the luscious raven locks that cascaded down his head, two dark bangs framing his clear aristocratic face whose distinctly foreign features were only accentuated by his enthralling amethyst eyes. Lelouch knew he must have made quite the sight.

His foreign features broke the monotony of distinctly Japanese faces which made up almost the entirety of the classroom, and as he stepped further into the classroom it quickly became apparent that even his height was higher than average— taller than the homeroom teacher who had been openly observing him all this time. Hiratsuka Shizuka, if he remembered correctly.

"I apologize for the interruption but I believe this is class 2-F, right?" Lelouch asked, his voice uncharacteristically soft as he quietly observed Hiratsuka-sensei in return without turning around to observe everyone else in the room with his bag slung over his shoulder.

Hiratsuka-sensei who had been busy peering into his amethyst eyes curiously was finally snapped out of her thoughts by his question as she registered what he'd asked in nearly perfect Japanese. "Indeed, it is. May I ask who you are?"

"Lelouch Lamperouge, a foreign exchange student. I was told to join this class by the administration," Lelouch answered, understanding at once that she had not expected any newcomer today.

The second year had already begun and his arrival had been delayed by almost a week, even if by his own indecision.

"Ah, the exchange student," She muttered to herself though her voice was loud enough to reach his ears, pausing for a moment before her piercing eyes found his once again as she continued somewhat more sternly this time, "I must inform you that the school term began almost a week ago."

"I apologize for my tardiness, but some personal problems had kept me busy," Lelouch responded, giving her a short but sincere bow in apology to which she raised only her brows curiously before sighing in acceptance.

"Please introduce yourself to the class," Hiratsuka-sensei sighed, rubbing her temples as she finally stepped aside and made a gesture toward the rest of the class who had been watching the exchange quietly.

Lelouch finally turned towards the rest of the class and faced his peers who would be accompanying him for the next few years, most of them curiously peering at the foreign face that had suddenly entered their classroom.

It all seemed strange to him— Japan was independent and the Americas had seceded from the British Empire almost two centuries ago which had long been relegated to the status of an antiquated moniker and joined the history books as the name Britannia had before it.

What had once been the Holy Britannian Empire was now to a mere constituent of the United Kingdoms, a name that served as a reminder of the dominant empire his nation had once been— a nation encompassing a near quarter of the world's landmass before the colonies had moved out of its iron grasp as sand would through clenched fingers.

This world had not seen a full-scale war for the better part of a century. There had been strife and hardships, as there always would be but life here was a peaceful affair for the majority of the inhabitants of this world.

An entire generation of people existed who were unfamiliar with the sound of live gunfire and the concept of warfare. It was the kind of world he had wanted for her, his beloved sister Nunnally.

Lelouch supposed he had a decent upbringing— even as an orphan. He had a place to live, enough food to eat, had created a working business to keep himself busy, and had previously graduated from what was perhaps one of the most prestigious schools on the British Isles.

Some might call him privileged and in most cases, they would be completely right.

But he had always been struck with a strange sense of monotony. A strange numbness and an overwhelming nostalgia that never seemed to fade away. The feeling was not exactly foreign to him either— it had been a constant companion throughout most of his life, even before the early death of his parents and his subsequent expatriation to his old orphanage on the distant British Isles.

He'd never let the emotion overwhelm him, of course— he could list a hundred names off the top of his head, friends and enemies, people who for better or worse had intertwined their lives with his in inseparable ways.

But it had always remained and that was why he had abandoned his recent gains and moved to Japan. Transferring from his prestigious school to the nostalgic but ordinary Sobu High even when sealed invitations from more than a hundred other academies had already graced his study.

"My name is Lelouch Lamperouge, a pleasure to meet you all," His introduction was brief but Lelouch allowed a rare smile to grace his face as he gave another small bow to his classmates before standing up straight again.

So cute! Do you think he has a girlfriend?

Ah, he's so handsome.

He must be popular in his old school…

Lelouch only raised a brow in response, which strangely seemed to stimulate the whispers even more. It appeared that his introduction had garnered far more enthusiasm from his classmates than he had expected.

He somewhat knew how disarming the polite and charming demeanor he carried himself with could be when coupled with his appearance but he was oddly surprised when most of the females started whispering furiously at his appearance whereas most boys exchanged uncertain glances, only some of them remained unfazed.

The reaction was surprisingly bearable though, he had grown used to glances and this was tame compared to most of his experiences in Ashford.

"Lamperouge-san, you can take a seat beside Hikigaya-kun." Hiratsuka-sensei continued, pointing towards an empty seat beside a blond girl who looked away when his eyes met hers.

Walking over to his table, Lelouch took a seat beside a blond teen and another raven-haired boy whose dull eyes quietly observed him for a moment before closing once again in slumber.

A moment later, he sighed and mimicked the boy by resting his head on his arm in a languid slumber and closing his eyes much to the surprise of the onlookers. In the week subsequent to his acceptance into Sobu High, he had been browsing through what he was expecting from the second year of a high school syllabus.

A passably challenging curriculum that he would almost certainly ace with a bit of effort. He had already covered most of the topics before even though it was interesting that the English of this world contained many subtle differences from the Britannian of his old world whereas the Japanese remained more or less the same.

Lelouch never had graduated high school properly but he could already taste the deep nostalgia accompanied by a dash of anticipation that the uniquely charming atmosphere invoked within him. How refreshing, to experience youth once again.

Thanks for reading, I have always wanted to try my hand in this genre- Lelouch has always been my favorite character and Oregairu has my favorite romcom. Hopefully this turns out to be something interesting.