AN: I don't know if I'm supposed to say this, but I've seen it in other fanfics, so I'll say it anyway.

I do not own Code Geass.

Chapter 4: A Fight for Justice

It was now the weekend; for some students of Ashford Academy, this was their day off, where they could freely spend their time with friends, go shopping, or play video games, however, for others, they had club duties to attend to, this included Kallen Stadtfeld, as she entered the Student Council Room to discuss 'budget distribution' with her friends. "Good Morning Kallen!" Shirley greeted cheerfully while shuffling through papers.

"Good morning, Shirley," the red head meekly responded while taking a seat next to Lelouch, who had fallen asleep.

Of course, the President noticed this, and rolled up a newspaper, before smacking the boy over his head with it, "You're not fooling anyone!" Lelouch's eyes shot open as she continued, "We can't slack off on the budget today, otherwise, my Grandfather's gonna have a serious crackdown on our fun!"

As dire the situation was, Kallen couldn't help but have her mind wander else where, causing her to tap her foot anxiously, "Tonight's the night we're going to steal the Glasgow, and yet I'm… nervous? Why is that? I've been in far more stressful situations while being a part of the Black Knights. Is it because I've gotten used to piloting the Guren that I'm worried? I do feel kind of naked not having the key on me at all times… maybe that's why I'm nervous… or is it because…" she then glanced at Lelouch, "He's not leading me? I mean, it's not like I don't trust Naoto, it's just that… the last time I was under a different commander, I lost… but I shouldn't doubt big brother this much, I mean, we succeeded before, so why would it be different now?"

Little did Kallen know, she was being watched by a specific orange haired girl, who was also deep in thought, "Why would Lelouch dance with Kallen? He's barely known her for a whole day, and yet she's gotten further with him than I have in the past year!"

While the girls were in engrossed in their thoughts, Milly watched them with a frown, "This isn't good. Shirley looks so stressed out… maybe I shouldn't have had Kallen dance with Lelouch, though…" her eyes then focused on the red head, "How did she get Lelouch to dance? When I gave her that task, I fully expected her to fail or flake out, but to think she actually did it… I still can't believe it! That's why I didn't include a reward in the first place, after all. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Lelouch actually opened up to someone, but why her? Is it because…"

"GUTS!" the President shouted, breaking everyone's concentration, "I don't like the mood in this room, pick it up people!"

"That spell again?" Rivalz commented, "Don't you think it's time to put it to rest?"

"Not even close! The day I retire guts, is the day I graduate!"

"Don't worry, Madam President, the spells got me fired up!" Shirley shouted energetically

"That's the spirit!"

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, "All the conditions have been met," Lelouch muttered

"Come in!" Milly shouted

Despite this, they knocked on the door once again, "Maybe it's locked?" Rivalz questioned while getting up to open the door

However, once the door swung open, he was comically run over by a stampede of horses who quickly surrounded the Student Council table, "It's the equestrian club!" shouted Shirley

"That's right!" one of the member announced, "Madam President, we've heard you're giving special treatment to the football club, and we would like to know why!"

"What do you mean!?" the President exclaimed as Lelouch stood up with two folders in hand, "How did you even get that information!?"

"Does it matter? We as the equestrian club don't think it's fair to have our budget cut, just because the football team was willing to comply with one of your shenanigans!" the horses neighed in agreement, "That's why we're here to make sure you don't cut our budget!"

"That's good an all, but…" Rivalz quickly dusted himself off before continuing, "You can't just barge in here on horseback and expect us to heed to your demands!"

Unbeknownst to anyway, including Kallen, Lelouch slipped out of the room in the chaos, speed walking his way to the school's front desk, "It's almost too easy," he thought while handing a Manila folder containing the budgets for the clubs this semester, of which he finished thirty minutes prior, "I just knew the equestrian club wouldn't be all too happy to know their budget was getting cut without reason, and now…" he entered an elevator, clicking the basement button before descending into the depths, "I'm free to roam the settlement as I please."

He then checked his watch, and remembered back to a few hours ago…

"You're gonna what!?" shouted a yearbook club member

"You heard me the first time," Lelouch commanded, "We're gonna cut your budget by approximately 40% in order to increase the football clubs, I hope you're not angry at this fact."

"Angry!?" roared the club leader, "If we get our budget cut by 40%, then we might not even be able to make a yearbook this year!"

"That sounds like an issue you need to figure out." the raven-haired boy then took out a piece of paper, "According to our reports, your club is using less than 20% of its actual budget on club related activities, in fact, the rest of the budget doesn't even show up on record, would you mind telling me why that is?"

"W-well… there's just not much for the yearbook club… so while we do use the full budget at the end of the year…"

"And that's the exact reason why we need to cut down your budget, it's not fair to the rest of the clubs that function fully all year," Lelouch spoke as the air conditioner cooled the room

"That's not…"

As easy as it could be for the Prince to just take out 40% of the budget without saying anything, he needed something from these people, "Look. I'm a reasonable guy, okay?" he said while putting on his most charismatic smile, "If you want to keep your budget intact, I'm sure I could work something out…"

"Like what!?" the club leader jumped at the opportunity

"Checkmate…" Lelouch thought before saying, "If you delete any and all photos of me during the Cross-Dressers Ball, I'll leave your club alone…"

"That's practically black mail!" another member shouted

"Not at all, in fact, this is more of; you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Of course, if you don't want to comply, I won't hesitate to cut your budget by the full 80."

That's when another yearbook member shouted, but this one appeared to have more brains than the rest of the club, "Hey, you can't just do that! Aren't all budget cuts supposed to run by the President first, then she'll be the one to deem it necessary or not!"

It wasn't a bad point, actually, it would've been an excellent point… if Milly actually did her job. You see, the rolls of the President and Vice-President of the student council are left ambiguous; while Milly can take her job seriously at times, she mostly just dumps work off to either Lelouch, or even Rivalz. To which the boys also slack off on right until whatever needs to be done is due, just like today, that's when the blonde really gets involved, and where it becomes everyone's problem.

In short, if Milly actually did her job, Lelouch wouldn't have any power here, but because she didn't, he held all the cards. "That's an incorrect assumption," the Prince responded, "At the end of the day, I decide what gets cut, or what gets increased. Now, then, do we have an understanding?"

The club leader clenched his fist in frustration, before saying, "We… understand… we'll delete any photos we have of you…"

"I hope you know that also includes any photos sent in too, right?"

"Yes…"

"Alright then, it seems we've come to an agreement!" Lelouch announced with a clap, "I would also like to witness you delete all the photos you have right now, then I'll trust you to delete any that are sent in. And make sure you don't tell Milly any of this."

After five minutes, the exiled Prince left the yearbook clubroom, but he still had one more stop to make before the Student Council: the Science Club, where only one member was present.

"Oh hey Lelouch! If you're here for that thing, it's in that orange envelope," the bespectacled member said

Lelouch walked over to the envelope and opened it; inside, he saw a brown USB drive, "And this'll get me into the Ganymede again, right?"

"Yep! We even programmed the client to jailbreak even a Glasgow, just like you asked!"

"Very good… I trust you won't tell Milly about this either, right?" Lelouch asked with an innocent smile.

"Of course, we all make mistakes, the entire Science club understands that." the boy said while pushing up his glasses, "Still, would you mind telling us the story on how you got locked out of the Ganymede sometime?"

Lelouch chuckled at the question, and responded while waving, "Oh no, it's far too embarrassing to recall."

"Ah, I understand. And I hope you'll also keep your end of the bargain?"

"Don't worry, the Science Club will surely enjoy the new budget, you can bet on that," the Prince said reassuringly while walking out of the room with a smile.

Lelouch finally arrived at the 'basement' of Ashford Academy, though, in truth, it wasn't really a basement, more of a tunnel network that lead off the premises. After all, the Academy was built upon the old Japanese civilization, making sure to solidify Britannia's victory after the second pacific war. Despite the disgusting smell, the raven-haired boy continued to follow a smaller branch tunnel that lead directly behind of Ashford.

"Oh good, I'm early," he said while checking his watch, which said 9:37.

Meanwhile…

"Damn that Lelouch!" Milly shouted, "I can't believe he just abandoned us like that!"

Shirley sighed and muttered, "And worse yet, he's probably out gambling again…"

Her worry was then confirmed by Rivalz who said, "Yeah, it is. He's got a game today at 10:10"

"Still… I wonder how the equestrian club heard about my deal with the football club…"

Kallen's eyes widened as Lelouch's words from yesterday rung through her mind, "I think Lelouch told them," she said, "Yesterday, he did mention something about being able to… delete the President's photos-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the blonde in question shouted in agony while bursting out of the room, "No way!"

"What was that about?" Rivalz asked cluelessly

Time: 10:07 AM

"We're cutting it a bit close, but I've made it here regardless," Lelouch thought while arriving in front of a large skyscraper.

Upon entering the building, the attendant immediately recognized the boy and directed him to a large room on the first floor where several men in black suits were waiting, "It's about time you arrived, Mr. Lamprouge," one of them said.

The room itself was all white, and had a single table at the center with two chairs; alone on the table, rested a chess board with black and white pieces, fully set up for a game. In the chair furthest from Lelouch, a man of great stature sat with a smug smile, "Wow, this is kind of ominous," the raven-haired boy taunted.

"For such a grand occasion, we have to have a grand location, no?" the man replied

"This is a grand location?" Lelouch deadpanned, "This room is far too… sterile for my liking."

"Are you saying it's going to throw off your game?"

"Not at all."

Time: 10:30 AM

"Hey Naoto, where are you going?" Ohgi asked as the Kozuki was walking down a street in the Shinjuku Ghetto.

"I'm just going to check on the Glasgow, y'know, make sure it's still there"

"Oh, you mind if I join ya?"

"Sure, I could use an extra set of eyes."

The two resistance members then made their way toward one of the metro stations, which were filled with the Japanese people, now known as 'Elevens', who sluggishly boarded the train. Ever since Britannia had take over Japan, its people had been stripped of their rights, forced to live in ghetto's like Shinjuku or Saitama. This was a fact that resistance members like Ohgi and Naoto couldn't accept. It had to change.

Time: 10:56 AM

Now, the resistance members were currently on a large platform that was underneath a highway, overlooking their target: a massive scrapyard. This scrapyard was mostly filled with junk, such as old war machines that were used during the second pacific war, however, there was one thing taking, and that was a shimmering brown Glasgow that was laid atop a mountain of scrap, "Doesn't that thing look… too good?" Ohgi question as he observed the machine through binoculars

"Like I said before, my informant says the problem's probably internal. Though, if it has something to do with the Yggdrasil drive, then we'll probably have to scrap it." Naoto said as the cars above sped by.

"Tamaki won't be very happy to hear that."

"I know, but we simply don't have the capabilities to repair a Knightmare's Yggdrasil drive right now."

Ohgi looked at his leader and asked, "Hey, would you mind telling who your informant is?"

The red head sighed, "Listen, he promised if we succeed here, he'll reveal who he is to me. But until then, he'll only provide support through finances and information."

"Finances? Is your informant from Kyoto?"

"He could be," Naoto lied, "But until he tells us his name, we won't know. That's why we have to succeed, if he is indeed from Kyoto, then we'll be able to gain even more support."

Ohgi turned to his friend, and asked with a stern look, "Then why'd you include Kallen? I thought you said she wasn't ready for this kind of life."

At the mention of his sister, the resistance leader shifted slightly, "I… I don't know, she just seemed different the other day… like she was wiser than her years. Before, she'd usually just come barging into the headquarters, and demand to be a part of any operation simply because she 'wanted to kill some Britannians', but now… that look in her eyes… it was completely different from before."

"Really? Is that why you had to consult your informant on that decision?"

It was subtle, but Ohgi had delivered a slight jab at Naoto, testing his resolve, and of course, this didn't go unnoticed, "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not saying anything. It's just you wouldn't put your sister in danger like this…" he added, this time with a serious tone, "Are you being blackmailed?"

Naoto shook his head, "No, it's nothing like that. It's just that my informant told me it's gonna get harder to refuse Kallen in the future, so I might as well allow her on such a low risk mission."

"Then I assume you'll also be joining us in the towtruck?"

"Obviously."

Time: 11:00 AM

"I think it's about time we head back," Naoto said while walking toward some nearby stairs.

Ohgi followed suit shortly after, taking one last look at the Glasgow before setting off.

"THERE'S NO WAY!" shouted a Britannian noble as he looked at the board in shock

"A Scholar's mate, just how amateur are you?" Lelouch asked while pulling a notebook from within his jacket, marking another tally, "And that makes eight…"

Suddenly, an old man approached and said, "Thank you so much. And just like you asked, we have your payment right here." he handed the boy a briefcase containing a… considerable amount of money.

Lelouch took the briefcase and left the hotel room. He had just finished his eighth game of the day, and while the other seven he requested his money to be wired directly to his bank account, this one was different, because this money wasn't for him.

After walking for about 10 minutes, the Prince finally reached a train station which was moderately full, with Britannians in casual wear, some talking about vacations, while others were complaining about their week. Nonetheless, their conversations had no impact on Lelouch, as he entered the next train without issue, and sat in a blue seat on the right side, that's when his phone suddenly rang; it read out the name: Milly Ashford. "Looks like the jig is up" the Prince thought while answering the phone

"LELOUCH!" Milly's voice bellowed, "WHAT ARE THESE BUDGETS!?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the boy replied innocently, "You told me to get them done, and so I did."

"YEAH, I DID SAY THAT, BUT WHY'S THE FOOTBALL CLUB'S BUDGET BEEN CUT BY 40%!? NOT ONLY THAT, BUT THE EQUESTRIAN AND THE SCIENCE CLUB'S BUDGET HAS BEEN INCREASED BY 20!"

"Can you please stop yelling, it's hurting my ears."

Milly then let out a long breath, before asking in a frustrated tone, "Lelouch, did you cut the football club's budget just because of what I had them do?"

"Obviously."

He suddenly heard a crash on the other end, "And the Equestrian club… you told them about my plan to increase their budget? That's how you got them to storm into the Council Room, right?"

"That's also correct."

"Then what did the science club do!?"

"They're going to help me on a little project of mine," it wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the full truth either, "I need their help with building a car for class. They gave me the measurements, and I gave them a budget increase."

"You think I was born yesterday!? I know you're smart enough to figure that stuff out yourself! Tell me the truth!"

Lelouch smiled, he knew Milly wouldn't accept the first answer, that's why he prepared a second one that she would indefinitely accept, "Well, you remember how the school festivals coming up, right? And the Science Clubs got something big planned for it, but they've asked me not to tell you about it."

"Really? They haven't forgotten about the pizza, right?"

"Of course they haven't, 10% of their budget goes to that every year; the extra 10% is for their personal project."

"Oh wow, well, I can't wait."

"Yeah, the idea's pretty good too." Lelouch now seemed to be in the clear, "If that's all, I'll be going now, I've got another game to get to."

"Sure, good luck and… wait a minute… Don't think you can weasel out of this!" Milly shouted, bringing the conversation back, "I know for a fact you threatened the yearbook club into deleting pictures of you at the Cross-Dressers Ball!"

"What do you mean? I never did anything like that." the Raven-haired boy responded innocently as the train came to a stop, allowing for some passengers to get off, and more to get on. Then, once the doors shut, the train began to move once again.

"Well… when I went into their clubroom, and asked for the pictures, they said that the drive they were saved on got corrupted, but that's not the weird part, because they apparently only lost the ones that had you in them!"

"Really? That's terrible!" Lelouch said with an exasperated expression

"Shut it! I know you had something to do with it!"

"Until you have some form of proof, I'm innocent, Milly. Now, if you'll excuse me, my stops coming up."

"Don't you dare hang up on-"

He hung up, and the train came to a stop, announcing its arrival at Shinjuku Station, the Britannian part of the ghetto that was well-kept, and heavily policed. It had a large platform that overlooked the entire ghetto, furthering the difference between the winners, and the losers.

Time: 11:15 AM

"Hey kid!" a Britannian vendor shouted from inside his store, "You lookin' to buy some old Eleven-made clothes? Those bastards may be monsters, but they're really diligent with their hands!" he then showed off a black long sleeved over shirt with white stripes.

"And what makes this… Eleven?" Lelouch asked

"Correction, it's Eleven-made! And it's in the stitching!" the man then went on to ramble on and on about the stitching of different countries, which immediately bored the boy, as he went on to scan the rest of the shop.

The clothes were all actually quite nice, and if you ignore the fact that the people who made them were probably making pennies on the dollar, then you'd actually be tempted to buy it. That's an incorrect statement, nobody cares how something is made, if it's nice, it'll sell, and that's very much the case with every 'Eleven-made' stand in the area. Britannian's enjoy the benefits of Japanese culture, like their food, or clothing, but don't actually care about the suffering of its people. And why should they? The actual condition the Japanese are in doesn't concern them.

"I'll take the shirt," the boy said, before pointing at a hanging green cloth, "And I'll also take that bandana."

After Lelouch left the shop with a red bag in hand, he made his way into the ghetto, taking off his Ashford jacket, and replacing it with the new shirt he bought, allowing for his white undershirt to be shown openly. He placed the jacket into the bag, and put on a green bandana, covering his face.

Now, he was ready for his meeting.

The ghetto was in horrible shape; Lelouch couldn't go a few feet without coming across a refrain addict, some were living in bliss after having just taken a dose, while others were coming off the high, and wondering where they were.

Finally, Lelouch arrived at the meeting spot: A large concrete wall that separated the super dilapidated part of the ghetto from the rest. In this wall, rested a hole, while it wasn't big enough for a human to pass through, it was just big enough for some small objects, such as Lelouch's briefcase.

Time: 11:45 AM

"You're early," a voice from the other side said

"I could say the same for you," Lelouch responded while passing the yellow envelope through.

"Is this it? Doesn't look like much"

"Sometimes, the most deadly weapons come in small packages."

"Is that what they tell you?"

"Oh? So you've got jokes?"

The voice laughed, "Believe it or not, I'm actually a pretty funny guy."

"I don't doubt that. After all, you have to have some level of charisma to create a resistance group from nothing." Lelouch responded while sending the briefcase over, "As for this, you might want to wait a few days before spending it."

A faint click sound was heard, before the voice responded, "What's this for? Didn't you just give me some a few days ago?"

"Are you complaining?" the Prince snapped

"No. More's always good, though… what am I supposed to spend it on?"

"That's for you to figure out. But, there is something interesting at the bottom of the center"

On the other side, Naoto Kozuki kneeled down, sifting through bands of money, until he reached the bottom, "Ah, there's always more, isn't there?" he thought while picking up a small device.

Six Months Ago

It was a day like any other in the Shinjuku ghetto; Naoto was now on patrol in the southern part of the ghetto, after telling the rest of his cell their routes. That's when he suddenly heard a scream, causing him to rush toward the station, where two Japanese men were trying to rob a Britannian woman, who evidently just got off the train. "Hey! Stop that!" he shouted

"Shit, it's Kozuki!" one of the men shouted

"Oh, c'mon, we can take him!" the other protested, "I'm tired of this guy's savior complex!"

The Japanese man then swung his fist at the approaching Naoto, who effortlessly dodged the strike, and countered with an uppercut, sending the man flying into a bush, "Damn it! I told you we shouldn't have tried it here!" shouted the other man as he ran away.

That's when the Britannian police arrived at the scene, their weapons fully drawn, and pointing at the fleeing Japanese, "Stop right there!" they shouted, however, when the man didn't stop, they opened fire, killing the man.

"D…don't forget this one, officer!" the woman who was just about to get robbed shouted, pointing at Naoto.

"What!? I was just trying to help!" the red head argued

"That's not true! I saw it! He viciously attacked one of the men who robbed me, and I have no doubt he would've used that same strength to threaten me!"

One of the police officers then pulled out his baton, and struck Naoto in the chest, knocking the wind out of him, "You're safe now, Ma'am, we'll take these savages into custody so you won't ever have to see them again."

Of course, if it had been his sister who had saved the woman, she would've been very thankful, since Kallen looked more Britannian than Japanese. Naoto, on the other hand, was the opposite, now, whether it was because he was older is neither here nor there; the point is he looked Japanese, and was treated as such.

It was painful. The boy couldn't do much due to his heritage, but with what little support he got from his friends, he decided to act as the police of Shinjuku Ghetto, keeping order between the Japanese people, helping those who had an addiction to refrain, stopping crime whenever it was committed, and patrolling the streets to make sure everyone was safe. He and his group were seen as heroes inside, but outside… they were nothing but terrorist.

As the iron doors of his cell closed, the officer who apprehended his taunted, "You better hope that lady doesn't press charges, otherwise, you'll be in a world of trouble, then again… it's not like you're getting out of here anytime soon! Hahaha!"

"Why couldn't we just live together in peace?" Naoto thought as he sat on the cold, concrete ground, "No one should be treated like a criminal just because of their race. Japan needs to be free… but if we use the same ruthless tactics as Britannia, then we'll just be…"

"This is all your fault, you know that, right?" his cellmate said, "If you weren't trying to play goody-2-shoes for the Britannians, we would've gotten away with it."

Naoto looked at the man in disbelief, "Why would you say something like that? You're only playing into the role Britannia has pegged us with: being savages."

"So what? We can't change it. To them, we're just numbers. We might as well act like savages, since being civilized hasn't gotten us anything."

The argument was sound; while it's true that numbers could apply to become 'Honorary Britannians', the real, full-blooded Britannian's didn't have to show them any respect. It's more of a sign of surrender than anything else… but it does have some perks at least; such as being able to work a real job. Sure, you might get mistreated at work, but they can't fire you for simply being a number… of course… that does open other avenues for framing, though.

All-in-all, Naoto decided that becoming an Honorary Britannian, or rather, fully embracing his Stadtfeld heritage would only further alienate himself from the Japanese people. So even if he tried to help the Japanese through political moves, they might only see him as trying to use them.

"Well, would you look at that!" a guard shouted before coming to a stop in front of Naoto's cell, "It's your lucky day, a Britannian noble has paid a handsome sum to let you out, red head."

As the guard unlocked the cell, Naoto's cellmate cried out, "What!? I knew it! You were just some Britannian lapdog the whole time! And now… my friends dead because of you!"

Before he could take a step forward to attack the Kozuki, the guard quickly pulled out his pistol, and shot him, "Looks like you'll be joining your friend sooner than you thought." he taunted while opening the door.

Naoto shuffled past the dead body, looking down in shame, "He died because of me…" he thought while the guard led him to the possessions claim.

It was a hassle for Naoto to get his stuff back, mainly because the guard in charge continued to ignore him, opting to instead talk to someone on the phone. However, once the 25-minute debacle ended, he was surprised to find an additional item in his claim.

"What?" the red head muttered, "I didn't have two phones when I came in here."

The guard looked at Naoto with an eyebrow raised, "Are you sure? That noble from earlier said it was yours."

"That noble again? Just who is this guy?" Naoto wondered while looking at the yellow phone.

30 minutes earlier

The Police Chief was currently sitting in his office; his feet rested comfortably on his desk as he played on a small game device, "Sir," the intercom blared, "There's a nobleman who wants to see you."

"A noble?" the obtuse Chief questioned, "Send him in."

That's when a loud knock echoed throughout the room, "He's already there."

The door slowly opened, allowing for light to creep into the dark room, blinding the Police Chief with its radiance, "Who are you supposed to be?" he asked the silhouette of the noble; he was currently holding a silver briefcase, and wearing a student's uniform.

"I heard you apprehended an Eleven earlier today. I want him released." the boy said, getting straight to the point

"Didn't your parents teach you any manners!?" the Chief exclaimed, "Answer my question!"

The boy then tossed over an ID card, which read out, "Alan Spacer". "As I was saying, I want that Eleven released."

As the Police Chief looked over the ID, a greedy grin plastered itself onto his face, disgusting the boy as he took a seat, "So… Alan… your father's a duke I see… well, as you know, releasing a Prisoner isn't easy, after all, there are TONS of paper work I'd have to do, and quite frankly, I just don't feel motivated enough to do anything of the sort."

His predatory gaze then landed on the briefcase, "A bribe I see… just as I predicted" the boy thought, before saying, "Name your price."

"60,000."

"Done."

The Police Chief was flabbergasted at how fast the boy agreed, expecting him to haggle a bit, but as it turned out, he was more than prepared with the money. Alan lifted his briefcase onto the table, and opened it, pulling out six bands of money, "I also expect you to keep this off the records…" he said while pulling out another four.

Once the boy slid the money over, the Chief counted each of them individually, before saying, "Very well. I'll send someone to retrieve your 'pet', and as you asked," he gestured at the extra four bands, "This'll be off the records."

The sun was now beginning to set, and Naoto finally arrived at the meeting location his 'savior' set for him through text. It was right on a concrete path by a river which overlooked the Britannian city to the left, and the Ghetto to the right. Just as the sky turned orange, a figure approached in the distance, dressed in a student's uniform, with a black bandana over their face and a briefcase in hand, "Are you the one who saved me?" Naoto asked while staring at the Ghetto.

"Yes," the boy replied as the sun finally set, making it very hard to even see the color of Naoto's hair, "And I assume you're the Japanese I saved?"

"You called me Japanese, why?" the resistance leader asked while still staring at the ghetto, his hand reaching into his right pocket.

"Because I know what you really are, rebel."

That's when the Kozuki finally snapped, and drew a pistol out of his pocket, pointing it at the boy, "So what? You freed me just so I could go back to my cell? Like some sort of wolf with a tracker!? Well guess what!? That ain't gonna work!"

"What's got you so on edge? I thought you were different from the others," the boy replied, while mockingly putting his hands up.

"You've got a lot of nerve, coming to the Ghetto looking for trouble!"

"Who said I wanted trouble?"

Naoto's eyes widened, "Explain."

"Much like the Japanese people, I do not share the same views as my kinsman; I don't believe the weak should be forced in submission like this."

"Then we're in agreement," Naoto said while slowly walking toward the boy

"Precisely, but the way we go about treating it, are completely different. You believe that by biding your time, hoping you'll gain the opportunity if you're patient. But when's enough, enough?"

"You don't know me!" contested the red head

"Oh? Then why save that Britannian woman? You gained nothing from saving her, and you'd've also gained nothing from ignoring her."

"You obviously don't get it! Always looking down at others from your ivory towers, you have no idea what helping represents!" Naoto slammed his left hand against his chest, "What we need… no… what JAPAN needs, is a symbol of Justice!"

"A Symbol of Justice?" the boy thought with wide eyes

"A Symbol of Justice that'll defend the weak! And topple the strong! No one deserves to get mistreated simply for existing! That's why MY resistance group doesn't attack Britannians!"

Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew over the duo, causing the boy's bandana to slip out of its poor knot, and fly away, revealing a wide smile, "That's right…" he started in a whisper, dropping his case in the process, then he shouted, "YOU'RE SO RIGHT!"

Naoto's eyes once again widened in shock, "This resistance member… he's better than anything I could've dreamed… no… CONCEIVED OF! For someone to hold such views, he's too perfect!" the boy thought, "With his help… I'll be able to…"

"Hey… are you okay?" the red head asked

Then, the boy's purple eyes snapped onto his dull blue ones, "Say… if you had support, how far would you go? What kind of war would you wage on Britannia?"

Those words shook Naoto to his core, "War? Sure, I've thought about it… but… are we ready to do something like that so soon?"

"Don't worry," the boy said reassuringly after seeing the confusion on the rebels face, "We'll start off small, first, with minor raids on supply bases, then we'll"

"Wait!" the resistance leader shouted, "I haven't agreed to anything yet!"

"Are you saying now's too early? I'm offering you any support you want; logistics and financing, but you're saying no?"

"That's not what I'm saying!" Naoto then took in a deep breath, calming himself while putting down the pistol, "I want this… I really do, but… my people, I'm not sure if it's what they want."

"You say your resistance group doesn't harm Britannian's, right? That tells me they believe in your dream, unlike other cells who believe committing violence is the only way to win back Japan. If you told them to march towards hell, I'm sure they'd only ask when and where." he then extended his hand, "The only question is, are you ready?"

The resistance leader looked at the boy's hand for several minutes, "Is this really what's best?" he wondered, "I know I said I wanted this… but now that the opportunities in my face…why am I hesitating?" suddenly, an image of his sister flashed in his mind, "Ah, I know… it's because of her. If I die… then Kallen will be all alone." then, another image flashed in his mind, this time, it was him rotting in a cell, "But… if I continue to follow the path I'm on now, then I might just end up back in that cell, never to see the light of day again…" now, he was starting to reach for the boys hand, "At least this way… if I die… I might be able to inspire others… to fight too… and maybe then…" an image of his sister in a wedding dress, smiling with a man in a tuxedo, flashed by, "Kallen won't be alone"

"Tell me your name," he demanded

The boy smiled, "My name's Lelouch. That's all you'll get for now."

"Then my name's Naoto. That's all you'll get for now." he said, miming Lelouch

Lelouch smiled, as he saw a fire light up in Naoto's eyes, "I take it this handshake means you've-"

"Yes. I agree to your deal."

"Good." the raven-haired boy said, still clenching the Kozuki's hand, "I'll also expect you to keep my identity a secret for now."

"That's fine. But someday you'll have to reveal yourself to my group."

"Of course."

"Even back then… the deal seemed too good, but Lelouch kept to his word. Every two weeks, we meet up here, and he hands me a silver briefcase full of money. I originally assumed he just got it from his parents, he's a noble, after all, but at this frequency, even his parents would assume something was amiss, so it must come from a different source." Naoto thought.

"That device, it'll allow you to listen in on police broadcasts, but beware, because it's only a one time use," Lelouch informed as the red head looked at the small device, "After today, their frequency will change, and I'll have to procure a new one. However, assuming everything goes right today… then we won't need another for a month."

"If you say so."

"Is there something wrong?"

Naoto looked through their exchange spot and asked, "Is there a reason why you're wearing that ridiculous outfit? Every time we meet, you're always wearing something different."

"It's called a disguise. I know it's something foreign to you, but for someone like me to visit the ghetto like this, it's very suspicious, so I have to make sure no one sees my face."

Naoto closed the briefcase after putting the money back in, "Then I assume we're done, right?"

"That's correct. Hopefully, I'll see you soon."

"Please don't jinx it. This mission's already nerve racking enough, without your input."

"Just don't worry about it. If everything goes as planned, then you'll be fine."

However, instead of reply, all Lelouch heard was silence, so he called Naoto's name, then looked through the hole, only to see his partner in crime gone.

"Well, that's a first."

AN: In canon, Lelouch did say he was going to defeat Britannia without Geass; it's very headcanon, but I like to think that Lelouch was trying to get into contact with some resistance cells to begin his plans. However, in the end, he was unsuccessful as the only resistance leader he came into contact with, that also shared the ideology of the Japanese public (with the whole, they don't like how Britannia treats them, but they don't condone terrorism), died. That restistence leader being Naoto.

I also want to point out that, Lelouch doesn't actually know what Naoto looks like in canon. The first picture of Naoto was destroyed in the truck Nagata was driving, while a few others are in Kallen's room, which Lelouch never visits.

What do you think about Lelouch and Naoto teaming up? Do you think it makes sense? And if you have any other questions, feel free to ask through a comment.