Area 11 – Viceroy Palace
"GET ZERO!" Cornelia shouted to the incompetent Vice Minister of Area 11 who decided a party was more important than finding her brother's killer.
She put a bullet in every single one of these idiots if she didn't them to maintain the situation in Area 11. After she dismissed them, she looked back at her sister Euphemia who looked down at the ground with sadness. This made Cornelia sigh.
"Euphie, I know you don't like violence, but as Viceroy I must make sure that I keep a firm-"
"It's not that. I just keep thinking…first it was Lelouch and Nunnally, and now it's our dear brother Clovis. How many more of our siblings must suffer because of our royal name?" Euphie replied as tears started to swell in her eyes.
Cornelia never could stand to see Euphie like this, she walked over to her and scooped her into a hug.
"We don't even know if Joseph is still alive." Euphie said over Cornelia's shoulder.
"We don't know he isn't either. We must keep faith like always." Cornelia replied as she rubbed her sister hair.
"Yes, you're right. Thank you sister." Euphie replied as she smiled at her sister.
"Of course."
While Cornelia thought it was a long shot that she would ever see her brother Joseph again, and even a longer shot that he was still alive, she hoped that wherever he was, he was in good spirits.
…
Joseph was in good spirits!
For today he would start he journey to Ashford Academy and finally see his little brother again. Of course, the question remained.
Where exactly was Ashford Academy? And would this Ashford happen to be same Milly Ashford he, Lelouch, and Nunnally were friends with? Since when did Milly own a school?
Questions for later…
...except that first one.
Well one thing was for sure. Ashford was most likely in the settlement area of Japan, because the place he went dumpster diving was outside the ghettos. And he remembered people giving him dirty looks the entire time, even getting chased by the police at one point. Not that he cared, he actually enjoyed a good chase once in awhile, found it to be good exercise.
However, it was clear if Joseph was going to travel from the ghettos to the settlement, he knew he had to clean himself up a bit.
Thankfully, there was a small pond in the ghettos that he could use to bath himself. Granted it wasn't a clean pond, but it was still water. So he used that time to wash his hair and body bit by bit. Joseph honestly felt refreshed after that.
Next, he found a rubber band on the street and used it to tie a man bun in his hair, unfortunately he couldn't find anything to cut his beard or hair and he didn't want to waste anymore time trying to find Lelouch. So he went on his way after that.
…
"What about Joseph? And the girl from the capsule?" Suzaku asked.
"I don't really know. We got separated during the fray, I tried searching for him but I couldn't find anything. After all, his description is the majority of people living in the ghettos right now." Lelouch explained sadly.
He really did try looking for him too, using his geass to find any witnesses who may have saw him pass by, but it came to no avail. C.C. wasnt much help either, all she said was the last she saw of him was jumping on a building, and he couldnt tell if she was serious or not.
"I guess that's true. Last time I saw him was 9 years ago, I barely recognized him when he engulfed me into that hug. I'm surprised he even remembered me." Suzaku said in embarrassment.
"You're telling me, he's my half-brother and I probably wouldn't have separated him from the people living on the streets." Lelouch said sadly.
"I still can't believe you two are related." Suzaku said surprised.
"Lady Rebecca never told you?" Lelouch asked curiously
"No, Tohdoh just said she was a Britannian Noblewoman who wanted her son to learn some self-defense. And honestly, I was too scared to even approach her, that woman could stare you into a coma if she wanted to." Suzaku chuckled with nostalgia.
"Hehe, yeah that was Aunt Becky for you." Lelouch replied as he remembered that Lady Rebecca was someone you would not want to cross when it came to insulting her son or the extended family she cared for. That included Lelouch and Nunnally.
...
Getting to the settlement was easy enough for Joseph, as he danced along to the beat of "Mr. Blue Sky" by ELO, he jumped along buildings, rode on top of the subway, and briskly walked his way through gun fights to get to his designation. And like always, he got a course of WTF faces along the way.
"I wonder if they've heard ELO before?" Joseph thought to himself as he looked at a map of the Tokyo Settlement that he found on the ground in the middle of the night.
He searches every detail of the map until he came across the words "ASHFORD ACADEMY" in big bold letters and a red dot. Bingo!
He looked to see where the "YOU ARE HERE" dot was and discovered it was still miles away. Probably be dark by the time he got there. Before he could ponder on it more, an announcement on one of the big TVs came on.
it was the Britannian flag and a voiceover.
"And now, his Royal Majesty, the 98th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire!"
This made Joseph excited. He was finally going to see his dad again, it was very rare he did one of these TV broadcasts, and he always loved seeing him.
The TV cut to his dad behind a podium. He looked the same as he did before.
Same stoic look, same powerful stance, same funny looking haircut which always made Joseph smile. His dad always had a funny sense of fashion when it came to his hair. He then began to speak in that booming voice of his.
"All men are not created equal. Some are born swifter afoot, some with greater beauty. Some are born into poverty; and others are born sick and feeble. Both in birth and in upbringing, in sheer scope of ability, every human is inherently different! Yes, that is why people discriminate against one another, which is why there is struggle, competition, and the unfaltering march of progress! Inequality is not wrong, equality is! What of the EU who made equality a right? Rabble politics by a popularity contest. The Chinese Federation with its equal distribution of wealth? A nation of lazy dullards. But not our beloved Britannia. We fight, we compete; evolution is continuous! Britannia alone moves forward; advancing steadily into the future. Even the death of my son Clovis demonstrates Britannia's unswerving commitment to progress! We will fight on, we shall struggle, compete, plunder, and dominate and in the end the future shall be ours! All Hail Britannia!"
Joseph could hear "All Hail Britannia!" coming from the screen and the Britannians in the area around him. All he could do was frown in sadness at his father's proclamation. While he loved seeing his father, he hated the messages he always sent out. So negative and backwards, and his father always looked so angry and sad when he did it. Maybe not sad for some people, but Joseph could see it in his eyes, it was subtle but it was there.
"Oh dad, the world turned you into such a jerk. Don't worry, I still love you." Joseph thought as he resumed his journey to Ashford Academy.
...
Later that night...
It took a few hours but he finally arrived at the front gates of Ashford Academy. Only problem now it was night time, and he had no idea where to look for Lelouch.
"Well, might as wait here until everyone's up and ready." Joseph concluded to himself.
He climbed onto a nearby tree and decided to rest there until the morning.
...
Next Morning...
Joseph yawned and then stood up on the tree and stretched, he heard voices below him and saw there was a bunch students on campus now. This would definitely make it easier for him to find Lelouch now, maybe the girls below him can help him out in doing so.
So Joseph did the most logical thing that came to mind, which was to jump down from the tree and land a few feet away from them of course. The girls jumped back in surprise from his sudden appearance, giving him WTF faces. Perhaps he could lower their fear with a friendly greeting.
"Morn'in!" Joseph said in cockney accent while grinning and showing his teeth.
For some reason, the girls screamed and ran away from him. This confused Joseph.
"Weird. Oh well. Keep looking." Joseph said as he shrugged and went on his way. Giving a occasion wave to a passerby not really noticing the WTF looks he was getting from people around the campus as he was determined to have his re-reunion with his brother.
...
Student Council Meeting Room
Lelouch has had a lot to deal with the last few days.
First, he accidentally gets kidnapped by a group of resistance fighters which his classmate and now new student council member Kallen Stadfeldt (also known as Kozuki) was apart of, who almost killed him when her suspicions raised that he was Zero. He reunited with his older half-brother who looked like a crazy homeless person and then lost him somewhere out in the ghettos. He gained a power that allowed him to control the will of others with a simple command, given to him by an immortal witch. And his first friend, Suzaku Kururugi, who he saved from impending death by the Purebloods was now a student and also a student council member, per his request after his secret identity was almost discovered by a cat of all things.
In short, it was a strange week for him.
So it was nice to have some normalcy again when he and the other members of the student council were going over the budget for the clubs and upcoming festival.
These members included: Milly Ashford, President; Shirley Fenette, President of the Swim Team; Rivalz Cardemonde, Secretary; Nina Einstein, Technician; new members Kallen and Suzaku, roles still pending he believed; and himself as the Vice President.
"Alright everyone, with our next festival coming up. It only makes sense we dedicate it to our new member: Arthur!" the blonde-haired president exclaimed in giddy joy as she pointed to the cat sleeping on a pillow a few feet away.
"You want to hold a festival for a cat?" Lelouch asked, still a bit ticked off the little furball almost gave away his identity as Zero.
"Of course! Not only was he responsible for our newest team member Suzaku joining us, he gave us one of the funnest days this school has ever had!" Milly exclaimed.
"You're too much sometimes Madam President!" Shirley said as she sighed.
"Well then, would you like to take some of that weight for yourself?" The president asked as she made a groping gesture towards Shirley's boobs, which Shirley quickly covered.
"PERVERT!" Shirley yelled as her face lit up in red embarrassment.
Milly could only laugh.
"Moving on then, Rivalz, you will help Lelouch balance out the budget for the clubs this month." Milly ordered.
"Wha?!" Rivals yelped.
"Milly, you realize I could do that by myself right?" Lelouch asked.
"Yes, but Rivalz needs something to do, he is the secretary after all." Milly said accusingly to Rivalz.
"W-well you know, Lelouch is obviously the smartest one here. It would make sense he do it, I'm more of the go to guy for..."
Lelouch noticed that Rivalz stopped mid-sentence as he was looking dumbfounded at something.
"Wow Rivalz, you really can't come up with an excuse to not work?" Shirley said accusingly
"Uhhhh...guys, there's someone staring at us from outside the window." Rivalz said with puzzlement.
"Come on Rivalz, we're not going to fall foooorrrr..." Milly's sentence dropped from her mouth as she herself was now staring where Rivalz was also staring.
Lelouch turned around to see what they were looking at and his eyes widen in shock.
He saw it was none other than his brother, Joseph Du Britannia.
Staring back at them with his face and hands pressed against the window and a huge grin on his face.
"Oh dear God, why?!" Lelouch thought with fear as this was the worst place his brother could show up unannounced.
"Joseph?" Suzaku asked in confusion.
Suddenly, Joseph started slapping the glass, surprising the council.
"HEY! LELOUCH! SUZAKU! FOUND YOU" Joseph yelled with glee at them, confusing the council even more.
"Another friend of yours?" Kallen asked Lelouch with caution and bewilderment.
"Is the universe out to get me or something?!" Lelouch asked himself in agony.
"HEY! ME! JOSEPH! HI!" Joseph yelled as he banged on the glass some more.
"Should we call security?" Nina asked in fear, even shaking a bit.
Lelouch started to panic a bit, he didn't want that to happen. Because one, it would just give him more unneeded attention, and two, he really didn't want to have his brother thrown out into the streets, especially considering he's probably been through that so many times before. He had to think of some sort of excuse quickly!
"CAN! YOU! HEAR!?" Joseph asked with his hands around his ears to suggest deafness.
"WAIT! GOT IT!" Joseph exclaimed again, as he balled his hands into fist and slammed them into the window.
Completely shattering all the glass on it.
"Crap..." Was all Lelouch could think as this day was already going from bad to worse.
"What the hell?!" Rivalz asked with fear as he started to back away.
"Shirley, security!" Milly ordered.
"Wait, no! That's not necessary!" Lelouch tried to explain.
Lelouch looked back and saw Joseph was about to climb through the window.
"Hey! Re-reunion, little bro-" Joseph didn't get to finish his sentence, for he was tackled by two security guards.
...
The universe seemed like it just did not want to reunite Joseph with his little brother.
He was pulled up by the men who tackled him, who both looked very stern and unfriendly.
"Jeez, woke up on the wrong side of the bed today?" Joseph thought in puzzlement
"Alright you bum, how about we take a tour down to the police station?" One of the security guards asked.
"Meh, nothing special" Joseph responded as he waved his hand to gesture so.
The guards gave confused looks at each other and then looked sternly at him again.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to deal with it won't you." The other security guard said.
It was clear that these men were not going to let Joseph re-reunite with Lelouch. While he didn't want to resort to violence, he didn't want to miss another opportunity to see his little brother again or to meet his friends from the looks of it.
Thankfully, Lelouch came up to the shattered window.
"Wait! It's okay guys, I...I know him..." Lelouch sighed with defeat as he vouched for Joseph.
"Thanks little bro!" Joseph grinned.
Now the guards looked befuddled.
"Are you sure Lelouch? This guy was spotted wandering aimlessly around the campus by several students and he just shattered a window and was about to climb in to get to you guys." One of the security guard said.
"He can be a little overzealous and absentminded sometimes, but I can assure you, he's not going to cause any more trouble. Right?"Lelouch asked Joseph through gritted teeth.
Joseph could only smile. He raised his hand up to his head, palm facing forward towards Lelouch in a salute.
"Abso-toda-lutely!" Joseph exclaimed.
Lelouch only closed his eyes and sighed.
"One more thing, gentlemen."
Joseph then saw Lelouch subtly look behind him and then back at the security guards and Joseph, his left eye then began to turn red like back in Shinjuku.
"When you leave, could you please keep this incident to yourselves. No reason authorities need to be notified." Lelouch "suggested" to the security officers.
Joseph looked at him in surprise but also small excitement as he got to see him use his powers again. But he also noticed that he made sure his friends didn't see him use it. Which meant either they didn't know he was Zero, or he didn't want to accidentally mind control them. The former seemed more reasonable, after all, it was a secret identity.
The guards relaxed and let go of Joseph.
"Sure, not a problem" One of the security guards said in a less stern voice.
"You folks have a nice day now." The other security guard left.
After they left, Joseph looked back at Lelouch, grinning widely.
"Influencer!" Joseph thought with excitement.
Lelouch just looked at him in annoyance.
"Joe-" Lelouch tried to say something but Joseph didn't give him the chance, afraid the opportunity or reuniting would be gone again.
Therefore, he decided to push himself into the window and got inches from Lelouch's face.
"Lelouch!" He exclaimed before falling face first into the carpet below him.
He quickly jumped back up and grabbed Lelouch into a tight hug.
"Found you, little bro!"
...
"Damn it all! Why here? Why now of all times?!" Lelouch cursed as his brother held him in a tight grip like the last time they reunited. He didn't smell as bad or look as dirty as before, but still could use a bath. It looked like he put his hair in a bun as well, not a really good one but it kept his hair up.
Joseph let him go and was able to suck in some breath.
"Took forever! But here! So how been?!" Joseph asked
"Uh-" Lelouch tried to explain before he was interrupted again.
"Suzaku! Made it man!" Joseph exclaimed as he walked over to a bewildered Suzaku and gathered him in a tight hug as well.
"Same school as Lelouch? Awesome-possum!" He exclaimed as he released him from his grip.
"Wound okay? Infected?" Joseph asked as he turned Suzaku around without warning and pulled up his shirt to where he got shot.
"Nope. All good!" Joseph said as he turned Suzaku back around and gave him a thumbs up.
"Uh..." Was all Suzaku could say at the moment.
"So! New friends? Coolio!" Joseph said as he clapped his hands and walked over to them.
Lelouch could see the student council was bewildered by his brother's strange behavior and were still trying to decipher just who he was. That's when Milly decided to step in.
"Um...excuse me..who-" Milly tried to ask before being interrupted again by Joseph.
"Milly? Milly Ashford?" Joseph asked. Milly blinked in confusion, surprised this man knew who she was.
"Milly my Billy! Get here!" Joseph exclaimed as he rushed over and also grabbed her into a tight hug.
"Long time!" Joseph exclaimed in excitement.
"Right. Long time. Can't breathe sir." Milly said in strangled breath.
"Oh, sorry." Joseph apologized as he put her down.
Lelouch had to think quickly, come up with some excuse to get him away from his friends.
"Hopefully he won't reveal who he is just yet." Lelouch thought to himself.
"Um, sorry to be rude. But, who are you exactly?" Shirley asked with slight caution in her voice, still reeling from the earlier actions of Joseph.
To which then Joseph strutted his way to Shirley and stuck out his hand to her.
"Joseph Du Britannia. Nice to meet!"
"Why me?!" Lelouch thought miserably
Joseph's proclamation surprised everyone except Lelouch and Suzaku.
"Joseph? Is that really you?" Milly asked in a surprised tone.
"Wait. Britannia? As in the royal family Britannia?" Kallen asked in bewilderment.
Joseph looked at Kallen and recognition spread across his face. Lelouch eyes widen.
"Shit!"
"Hey you-" Joseph was about to say Kallen's name when he was interrupted by Lelouch.
"Joseph! How about you and me catch up after we get you properly cleaned up. And then I can introduce you to everyone. Okay?" Lelouch said trying to lead him to the doorway.
"Already bathed." Joseph said.
"With what? A dirty rag?" Lelouch asked pointedly.
"Nah. Dirty pond." Joseph replied with his dopey smile.
Lelouch gave him a deadpan look and turned him to face a mirror, to which to Joseph saw how dirty he was.
"Oooooooohh." Joseph said, finally understanding.
"Yeah...Sayoko." Lelouch called out.
To which then his maid appeared.
"Yes, Master Lelouch?" Sayoko asked, ready to take orders.
Instead of being shocked by her sudden appearance, this just made Joseph excited and started to ponder.
"Maid? Fast like Flash?...Got it, The Lightning Servant!" Joseph proclaimed.
If Sayoko was confused or bewildered, she certainly didn't show it. Lelouch could only sigh.
"Sayoko, could you please find some new clothes for Joseph to wear when he's done showering. Also a shaving kit if you can, he could use a trim." Lelouch asked.
"Of course, my lord." Sayoko bowed.
"And could you take his coat and clean it as well as you can? I know it's a lot to ask but that coat is very important to him."
Lelouch apologized for the multiple tasks he was giving Sayoko, but if Joseph was going to be here, the least he could do was make him look more presentable. Not like a noble, God no, but at least to the point where he doesn't look he climbed out of a garbage can.
However, Joseph gripped his coat and pulled it tighter around him at the suggestion someone take it away from him.
"My coat!" Joseph said with a stern voice.
"It's okay Joseph. She won't throw it away, she's just going to refurbish it is all. You can trust her." Lelouch reassured him.
Joseph looked at Lelouch than back at Sayoko and smiled.
"Okay. He trust, I trust." He was about to take his coat off when he it looked like he remembered something.
"Wait! Stuff."
He walked over to the meeting table and started to pull things out of his pockets.
First was his Walkman, then a bunch of cassette tapes(around 20-30 to be exact), a couple of small plastic bags that contained some sort of material that Lelouch could not identify, a piece of paper which actually revealed to be a picture of Lady Rebecca after Joseph unfolded it and kissed it, and finally some loose change.
But then it looked like he was poking at something inside of his mouth with his tongue and then reached into his mouth with his hand and pulled out a very yellow-brownish looking tooth.
"Loose tooth." Joseph said with a smile before flicking it into a trash can.
Lelouch and the others(excluding Sayoko) could only grimace.
"Uh...right. So, how about you give Sayoko your coat now." Lelouch suggested.
"Okey-dokie." Joseph said as he pulled off his coat, revealing something that Lelouch or the student council did not expect to see.
And it happened to be scars and bruises that lined across his arms. Some looked old, some looked fresh, it all indicated that Joseph has had more experiences with the real world than Lelouch thought.
"Joseph...what has this world done to you?" Lelouch thought as Joseph walked over to Sayoko and gave her his coat.
"Arigato." Joseph thanked Sayoko in Japanese and bowed to her. This surprised Kallen and confused the Student Council.
"Dōitashimashite." Sayoko replied back with a smile and a bow.
"Alright! To bathing!" Joseph exclaimed as he grabbed Lelouch's hand and dragged him out of the room, who was spluttering his words.
This left one question on everyone's mind that Rivalz sounded off.
"Can someone explain to me what the hell just happened?!"
...
"Joseph, do you even know where you're going?" Lelouch asked exasperated.
"...Nope." Joseph responded as he kept checking doors to other rooms and checking the doors inside those rooms.
"Then how about you follow me instead?" Lelouch suggested as he got Joseph to stop walking for a minute.
"Sure!" Joseph responded happily.
Eventually, they made it to Lelouch's room despite the multiple questions he kept asking like: "Have Bat Signal?" "Underground base?" "Other superheroes? Like X-Men? Justice League?"
"What are you talking about?" Lelouch asked confused by the related superhero questions.
"Zero, right?" Joseph asked as he tilted his head in confusion.
Lelouch eyes widen in shock, he couldn't believe his brother figured it out so quickly.
"H-how...?"
"Psssh, bro. Super obvious. Superpower. Superhero costume. Skinny build. Theatrics. Only answer!" Joseph proclaimed as if it was obvious. Which made Lelouch's eye twitch a bit in annoyance.
"Theatrics?" Lelouch couldn't help but ask.
"Yep!" Joseph said as he reenacted what Lelouch did as Zero when he revealed the canister C.C. was in.
"Come on bro! Dramatics. Right. Here! Who else?" Joseph asked as he made similar dramatic poses as he did when he was younger when he would tell Lelouch and Nunnally stories.
"I was not that dramatic..." Lelouch said grumpily, to which then Joseph squished Lelouch's cheeks together.
"(Sighs)...Taught well." Joseph proclaimed in happiness.
"(Yawns), What's with all the noise?" C.C said sleepily as she came into the room.
"Seaweed! Here too!" Joseph exclaimed as he went over to C.C. and hugged her tightly.
"Oh great..." C.C muttered in strangled breath. Clearly not happy to see him again, Joseph didn't seem to notice though.
"Course here! The Jedi Master!" Joseph exclaimed as he put her down and pointed at her, then he pointed at Lelouch.
"The Padawan!"
Lelouch could only look in exasperated dumbfoundedness. But then deciding it wasn't important, he shook it off.
"As much as I love to hear you spout more pop cultural references Joe. There's a few things that need to be cleared up. Okay?" Lelouch started to explain.
"OK!" Joseph said gleefully.
"Number one- Lelouch started
"Wait! Almost forgot." Joseph interrupted
"What?" Lelouch asked, wondering what he had to say now.
To which then he received a karate chop to the head, HARD. Lelouch gripped his head and groaned out in pain,
"OW! What the hell was that for!?" Lelouch asked in an angry, confused and painful tone.
"Why you kill Clovis?! Own brother man!" Joseph asked angrily.
"Shhhh. Keep it down." Lelouch ordered, you never know who might be listening.
"Don't shush me! MAKE ALL NOISE I WANNA! WOO-HOO! YIPPEE! YAY!" Joseph yelled out to the world.
...
Meanwhile across the Ashford campus
Students were looking towards the student council building in confused fashion as they heard muffled yelling and cheering.
"...the hell?" A random student asked.
...
Back to Lelouch's room
"WOULD YOU CHILL OUT!" Lelouch yelled back.
C.C. couldn't help but chuckle seeing how annoyed Lelouch was getting with Joseph.
"Then explanation!" Joseph said crossing his arms in waiting.
In an annoyed sigh, and then with a calm breath, Lelouch gave it.
"I'm sorry. Killing Clovis is not something I'm proud of, quite the opposite actually. But you have to understand Joseph, he was leading a massacre in the Shinjuku ghetto, slaughtering Japanese civilians just to hide his own secrets." Lelouch explained while giving a look towards C.C. As well as did Joseph.
"In container because Clovis." Joseph in a statement rather than a question.
"Yes. He experimented on her because of her immortality and kept her imprisoned. So when I confronted him, I confronted him as I would an enemy of the battlefield. Because when you're in war, that's the mindset you have to have or you'll lose dearly."
Joseph starred at him a few moments, as if analyzing him and what he just said. After a while, he went over to C.C. and gave her a gentle hug, which surprised Lelouch and C.C.
Joseph looked at her sadly
"Sorry." Joseph said quietly
Then he looked back Lelouch and nodded his head.
"Ok...still, pay respects." Joseph ordered.
"But-"
"RespectssssssSAH!" Joseph hissed at him.
"...Fine." Lelouch sighed. "Now can I please give you some instructions?"
Joseph nodded with a smile.
"Number one. Stop. Yelling. Everything." Lelouch said through his teeth.
"Got it." Joseph said as he gave him a thumbs up.
"Number two. Kallen doesn't know I'm Zero, so please, don't tell her." Lelouch said.
"But sidekick bro. Sidekicks know superhero identity." Joseph explained.
And before Lelouch could reply, Joseph had another thing to say.
"Oh yeah. Why she sidekick? Sidekick right here!" Joseph exclaimed as he pointed to himself and then made a bunch of karate moves.
"Joe, she's not my sidekick. She works with a group of resistance fighters and I just happen to lead them on two missions so far. As for why she doesn't my identity, I'm not exactly at a trusting range with her yet. She can be a little bit of a live wire." Lelouch explained.
"...Still, need trust, give trust, right?" Joseph asked.
Lelouch only looked at him blankly, knowing it was never that simple.
"We'll see...and number three. Besides Milly and Suzaku, nobody here knows I'm a prince, me and Nunnally both go both by our mother's maiden name, which is Lamperouge. So when you see the student council again, be sure to make no mention that we're related." Lelouch explained.
Joseph tilted his head in confusion.
"Why bro?" Joseph asked.
"It's...it's complicated..." Lelouch said quietly.
While Joseph looked like he wanted to push, he decided to hold back on it.
"If say so. Lamp-per-rougggge." Joseph said as he air-quoted Lelouch's last name.
Lelouch could only sigh.
"Look, just come back to the meeting room when you're done and I'll properly introduce you to my friends." Lelouch said.
"Aye-aye." Joseph said as he saluted.
With that, Lelouch took his turn to leave.
"WAIT!" Joseph shouted.
Which startled Lelouch and forced him to turn around in surprise.
"What!?" Lelouch asked fearfully
"Your name...needs work." Was all Joseph said in a causal tone.
"...What?" Was all Lelouch could think of replying with.
"Zero. Too simple, boring. How about...Captain Zero!" Joseph said as he dramatically walked backwards to the bathroom while sticking out his hands dramatically as well.
Lelouch could only stand there in confusion.
"Keep trying." Joseph reassured as he gave a thumbs up and then closed the door to the bathroom.
"You sure you two share the same DNA?" C.C. asked cheekily
"I don't need to hear any snark from you 'Seaweed'." Lelouch came back with, which annoyed C.C.
"In the meantime, can you please make sure he doesn't go anywhere he doesn't need to." Lelouch asked as he started to leave.
"I'm not a babysitter you know." C.C. said annoyed.
"Would you rather I take away your cheese-kun?" Lelouch asked.
"...fine." C.C. said defeated.
...
Student Council Meeting Room
As soon as Lelouch returned to the student council room, he was immediately surrounded by Shirley and Rivalz.
"Okay, Lelouch. What's going on? Who is that guy? How do you know him?" Rivalz asked.
"Is he really a prince?" Shirley asked with awe.
"And how on Earth did he shatter an entire window with just his fists?" Kallen asked.
"He recognized you, Milly, and Suzaku. And Milly insisted that we wait for you to get back. So one of you better start talking." Rivals demanded.
Shirley agreed with determined nod.
Seeing how Lelouch was not going to be able to get out of this without giving answers, he drew in a breath and gave out a sigh of defeat.
"Alright. You're all going to want to take a seat. This will take awhile." Lelouch told them.
As they proceeded to sit, Milly decided to sit next to Lelouch as she had her own explaining to do. How she planned to do that all depended on what Lelouch told them.
"To answer one of your questions Rivalz. Yes, he is indeed a prince. Prince Joseph Du Britannia, 50th in Line for the Crown, son of the 98th Emperor of the Realm." Lelouch started to explain.
Everyone besides Milly and Suzaku were looking at Lelouch agape. An actual prince in their presence.
"So wait, he's not some crazy homeless guy? He's actual royalty?!" Kallen asked shocked.
"While crazy is yet to be determined. I can't argue whether or not he's been homeless. Judging from his appearance, I would most definitely say he's hasn't been living a stable home for awhile. I can't be sure though, it's been years since I've seen him."
This just confused everyone further.
"Bu-but he's a prince! Why would he be homeless?" Nina asked shyly
"Yeah! I thought the royal family was living it up." Rivalz asked.
"It was a choice he made seven-and-a-half years ago." Lelouch explained.
The student council looked at him curiously, even Suzaku didn't know anything about this. Lelouch only sighed.
"I'll start at the beginning. As I'm sure most of you know, Milly's family took me and Nunnally when we were at a young age. They were also once high in nobility, and having a high ranking meant having connections, connections such as the royal family. Connections, such as Lady Rebecca, Joseph's mother. And it was often the three of us would come visit him and her." Lelouch explained.
Milly started to see where this was going and decided to contribute.
"Yes, my grandfather was one of her supporters, they known each other for long time and she often enjoyed having us over, especially Joseph. Besides a few of his siblings, nobody really wanted to be his friend." Milly went on.
"Because of the way he acts and talks?" Rivalz asked.
"Rivalz!" Shirley yelled at him.
"What? I'm just asking." Rivalz said.
"You can be more polite about!" Shirley lectured before turning her attention back to Lelouch and Milly.
"But if I may ask, what is with his speech pattern? Is he..um..." Shirley was afraid to follow-up, as it always is an awkward subject to bring up.
"Mentally challenged?" Lelouch finished for her, to which Shirley looked down ashamed but nodded.
Rivalz also looked a bit awkward himself.
"That's a little harder to explain." Lelouch said as he looked down sadly. Milly decided to step in again.
"When Joseph was born, it was actually premature. He didn't get enough oxygen coming out of the birth carnal, and they had to but him in a ventilator for five days." Milly explained.
"Oh God..." Shirley said quietly as her hand came to her mouth.
"The doctors told Lady Rebecca that Joseph was most likely going to die, but she would not accept that. So instead what she did, at least according from what she and Joseph have told me, she took him out of the hospital, kept an oxygen tank on her for him to breath at all times, and went to find a cure for her son. Two weeks later, she came back to Pendragon with Joseph, looking healthy as a horse." Lelouch explained.
"That's amazing!" Rivalz said excited.
"She did that for her own child?" Suzaku asked in shock.
"You'd be surprised what lengths a mother would go through..." Milly said in a somewhat sad tone.
That statement caused a downward cast no one seemed to notice was coming from Kallen.
"So what was the cure?" Shirley asked curiously.
"No one knows, Lady Rebecca always said that 'if she told us, it would ruin the mystery.' in a sly tone." Lelouch said nostalgically
Shirley took the photo of Lady Rebecca that Joseph had on him and looked at it.
"Is this Lady Rebecca? She has a very kind face." Shirley said in a sweet tone.
"Yes she does." Lelouch agreed as he looked at the black and white photo that showed Lady Rebecca holding a baby Joseph.
She had smooth tannish skin and silk brown hair and a sweet smile on his face as she looked upon her child with so much love. She had a silk dress on, nothing flashy but pretty.
Lady Rebecca was one of the only Emperor's consorts that Lelouch actually liked. She treated him and Nunnally like they were her own children and would often watch them when his mother was out of town on business. Always giving them the same suffocating hugs that Joseph would.
He even held admiration for her. While she was nobility, she chose to use her status to invest in companies and non-profit organizations, whereas most nobles would spend their wages frivolously on parties and flashy clothes that made them look ridiculous.
Not Lady Rebecca, she chose to live in a small two bedroom home that kept her and Joseph nice and comfy.
And she was one who had a big bark and bite when it came to pranks, Lelouch remembered the one time she dosed Cassius' drink with laxatives at a party for picking on him and Nunnally while their mother wasn't looking. Everybody could hear him spewing his pants that night.
"For a while, Joseph's come back from near death was a sensation. Media called him the 'Miracle Prince', fan mail was sent to Lady Rebecca and nobles wanted to be in her company. That is until, they all realized the effects the birth had on his brain." Milly explained.
"His brain?" Nina asked
"Due to the lack of oxygen his brain was getting, half it was, and probably still is, just dead matter inside his skull."
"Oh no..." Shirley said sadly.
"So that's why he talks like that? He just can't learn to function new words?" Kallen asked.
"He knows the words that need to be said, I think it's more the brain won't let him process it into speech, so he does so in the fewest words possible. He can still take his experiences and learn from them, it's just more internal than external. If anything, it's his personality that won't mature, not his thinking." Lelouch explained as best as he could to them.
"Wow, that's really something else." Rivalz said.
"Indeed...and of course, like true Britannian fashion. They made a mockery of him. They scorned him for existing, they spewed hatred for Lady Rebecca, saying she should have just let him die. From the 'Miracle Prince', he became 'The Dimwitted Prince.' Lelouch said with anger.
The student council looked at him in shock, Milly looked down in sadness.
"B-but it's not her fault he ended up like that. She wanted her child to live, how could they scorn her for that?" Suzaku asked.
"In case you forgotten Britannia's policy Suzaku, it's 'The Strong survive while the Weak are Devoured.' And everybody, the media, the nobles, even his family, saw him as weak." Lelouch said grimly.
"The nerve of some people, doing that to a poor child and his mother!" Shirley exclaimed, angry that her own country would do something like that. Even Kallen looked angry too.
"Yes...thankfully not everyone in his family shared that ideal. While I only saw them on occasions, Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia were both quite fond of Joseph and maintained a good relationship with him. And as I said before, me and Lelouch would often visit him and his mother, making many fond memories." Milly continued.
"Is that why he called you 'little bro', Lelouch? Rivalz asked.
This caused Lelouch's eyes to widen.
"What?" Lelouch asked, not sure he heard that right.
"When he first came in here, he called you 'little bro'. Is it because you two hung out all the time?" Rivals asked.
Lelouch panicked for a second before calming down.
"I forgot he said that, damn it Joseph!" Lelouch thought angrily. Still, Rivalz did just give him the perfect excuse.
"Uh, yeah. After a few visits, he started calling me that, the name just stuck. And he was like a big brother at times actually. Always looking after Nunnally and me, playing games with us, giving us a dance or two." Lelouch remembered happily.
"Dance?" Shirley asked.
"That's something Joseph will have to show you in person." Lelouch said as he chuckled at the Student Council's confusion.
...
Lelouch's bathroom
Joseph happily let the warm water rinse the dirt off his body. It had been so long since he had a shower like this, and he was enjoying every second of it.
Still, one thought kept coming back to him.
"Why is Lelouch keeping his identity a secret, is it because he's a superhero now? And why didn't he mention Aunt Mary? So many questions to ask!"
But Joseph was sure he would get them soon.
...
Student Council Meeting Room
"So wait, why did he leave Pendragon then?" Rivalz asked.
Lelouch's face became one of sadness again, as did Milly.
"Around the time Joseph was 13, Lady Rebecca was unfortunately struck with Leukemia." Lelouch sadly said
He vividly remembered Lady Rebecca getting a bloody nose on the dance floor and Joseph catching her as she fell to the ground, screaming "MOM!"
"No..." Shirley said as tears started to come out of the corners of her eyes.
"Ah man." Rivalz said sadly, now feeling bad he bluntly asked about Joseph's condition.
Suzaku just looked down in sadness.
"For awhile, Joseph was heartbroken. He barely ate, he didn't talk to anyone, he always had a slumped posture." Lelouch continued.
"How did he learn to move forward?" Suzaku asked.
"We're actually not sure. One day he walked off without telling anyone where he was going, some time later, he came back and was all cheerful again. Whenever one of us asked what happened, he just give us that same smile Lady Rebecca would give us and say 'No ruin mystery.'" Lelouch explained.
...
Lelouch's Bathroom
After Joseph stepped out of the shower, he saw a pair of clean clothes waiting for him, as well as a shaving kit. There was a note attached that said "For when you're done." signed by Sayoko. Joseph smiled.
"What a nice woman. I can see why Lelouch recruited her into his superhero team. Now, let's see if I know how to do this." Joseph thought to himself as he grabbed the scissors.
...
Student Council Meeting Room
"It was after that, Cornelia decided to enroll in classes for Etiquette. He was a Prince after all, and she expected just as much. And I'm sure after what you've seen from his character, Joseph was not the type of guy interested in any of that. But Cornelia insisted and he begrudgingly went along with it...for awhile." Milly continued.
"Until one day he had enough and decided to leave." Lelouch finished.
"Like he denounced his royal name?" Rivalz asked.
"No, more like he one day just decided to pack his belongings in his coat and announced that he was leaving." Lelouch said in a casual manner.
"...that's it?" Kallen asked
"That's it. He said his goodbyes to his loved ones and went on to leave." Lelouch said.
"But...why?" Shirley couldn't help but ask.
"Because I think he wanted what his mother always wanted for him. Happiness. Not to be barred down by the emperor and the royal family and do what was expected of him, he wanted to be free to make his own choices and follow his own path despite the consequences that might have followed. And perhaps he got what he wanted, because all these later, he's still that same ball of energy he was seven years ago." Lelouch said.
"...Wow, that's really nice actually. I can understand wanting to have that." Milly said with a subtle sad tone
Lelouch just nodded.
"Soooooo, how did he end up here then?" Rivalz asked.
"Well remember that day we went to shinjuku-" Lelouch started to explain before being interrupted
"When you ditched me." Rivalz said in annoyed tone
"Y-yes... do you remember the man we saw walking on the ledge of the highway?" Lelouch asked.
"Yeah, what about...oh shit, that was him wasn't it!?" Rivalz realized.
"What he's talking about?" Shirley asked.
"After another one of our gambling trips, me and Rivalz both saw a figure on the highway back to Ashford. This figure looked similar, and wanting to scratch that itch of curiosity, I decided to investigate. Turns out it was indeed Joseph and we got reacquainted. I told him if he ever wanted to stop by and visit he could. Though, if I had realized he was going to make his entrance the way he did, I would asked him to use the front door." Lelouch explained, but then he noticed something.
Kallen was gone.
"Uh, where did Kallen go?" Lelouch asked.
"Oh, she said she had to go to the bathroom." Nina said.
"Shit..." Lelouch thought to himself, considering she was technically a "terrorist", a prince in the same place as her could be seen as an all out prize for her group.
"Well I better go check to see if Joseph is having a hard time shaving. He didn't have much of a beard the last time I saw him." Lelouch said as he went on his way to prevent Kallen from making a grave mistake.
...
Hallways
Kallen was usually not one for kidnapping, but when it came to Japan's freedom, she was willing to try anything. Milly herself said that the Viceroy had a good relationship with this Prince Joseph. If she could get her hands on him for this Zero guy, they could use him as a negotiating tool. She pulled out her hidden pouch knife, she didn't want to hurt the guy as she did actually gain some sympathy for him, now knowing more about his past, that killer instinct gone. But she also remembered how he broke the entire window with just his fists so she wasn't taking any chances.
"Now let's see, Lelouch's room was here somewhe-"
BAM!
A door swung open and hit her square in the face. She hit the ground with a red mark on her face in pain.
"Ow..." Kallen quietly said in agony
It's then she heard singing.
"Can't say 'pfft' on radio
Can't say 'pfft' on radio..."
Joseph walked out of the room with him still putting his new shirt on, and Kallen eyes widen when she saw what were more scars and bruises on his chest and abdomen.
"What the hell has this guy been through?" Kallen asked herself.
Outside of that, he actually had a pretty nice build on him. He still had his beard but it was much shorter than before and he had his hair styled like Star-Lord from Guardians of the Galaxy.
"Damn, he's actually not that bad looking..." Kallen thought as her cheeks flushed.
It was then Joseph saw her on the ground. A wide smile grew on his face.
"Oh hey! Red-haired girl!" Joseph exclaimed as he helped Kallen up.
"It's Kallen." She quietly said, wanting to maintain her "sickly persona".
"Right! So, question. Zero, what like?" Joseph asked.
"...I'm sorry, I don't understand." Kallen said in a confused but fearful tone.
"Zero! Work with! Helped Suzaku escape!" Joseph said in excitement.
Kallen eyes widen in shock and fear at this statement.
"How did you..."
"Same red hair." Joseph simply said as he pointed to her hair.
"My giveaway was simply my damn hair!" Kallen thought angrily as she brought her pouch closer to Joseph. There was no way she was getting ratted out by a moron!
"You and Zero, so Awesome!" Joseph exclaimed.
This halted Kallen's thinking process.
"Huh?!" Was all Kallen could say.
"Yeah, the rescue, so badass! When Zero did (does a snapping motion) and car (makes a noise describing the car revealing the bomb) then all three (jumps in the air down to the ground and back up again to emphasize when they jumped off the bridge into the trampoline that was set up.)So cool!" Joseph exclaimed.
Kallen could only watch him in dumbfoundedness as she had no idea what to make of this. Then all of sudden, he came close to her and squeezed her cheeks together.
"Listen Kallen. Sidekick now. Sidekick important to Superhero. Zero equals Superhero. Therefore! Zero's sidekick. Must not let down. Must be there beckon call! The flaps in the night! Garfunkel to Simon! The Doo to Scooby!" Joseph exclaimed as he shaked her head back in forth before bringing her in close to his eyes.
"Don't. Screw. Up." Joseph said in quiet intensity.
"Uhhhhh..." Was all Kallen could say in quiet fear.
"Don't worry. Give trust, get trust. Doing good." Joseph said in a reassuring tone as he let go of her cheeks and gave her a thumbs up.
Kallen was completely flabbergasted
"Is everything okay here?" A voice asked.
Kallen turned around and saw it was Lelouch, looking just as confused as her. Before she could get a word in, an arm suddenly wrapped around her neck and tugged her close to Joseph, mushing their faces together.
"Making new friends!" Joseph exclaimed.
"Um, okay? Well, how about you come and officially meet the student council." Lelouch suggested as he gestured them to follow him.
"Cool beans." Joseph responded as he let go of Kallen before taking her hand and tugging her in his direction at a quick pace.
"WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED!" Kallen yelled in her head.
To be continued...
*Whew* That one took me a while. So now Joseph has found Lelouch and "met" his student council friends while also giving "advice" to Kallen about being a sidekick. This chapter was intended to go on longer but I didn't want to keep postponing adding a new chapter any longer, so here's the first half of Joseph making new friends with the student council. I also wanted to give a bit of an insight to Joseph's backstory and his mother, which will be explored more in later chapters. As for the explanation of how his brain functions, just so all of you know, I'M NOT A DOCTOR NOR DO I HAVE ANY MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE, HIS BRAIN CONDITION IS JUST SOMETHING I MADE UP. Anyway, hope you all enjoy the chapter and send a comment if you have any thoughts.