This was inspired, as so many of these stories are, by the fact that Lelouch and Ren have the same voice actor, and share many characteristics. Still, I haven't seen a fanfiction with the exact same premise as this one, and I hope all of you enjoy it!
Ren Amamiya was born on the day the Demon Emperor died.
It wasn't something he had ever thought about that much as a child; he had simply enjoyed the fact that he always had his birthday off, as Lelouch vi Britannia's death was an international holiday. When he was very young, he would see the parades through the streets, the loud cheerful speeches, the parties that lasted long into the night, and he somehow got it into his head that all the celebration was for him, that the whole world was celebrating his birthday.
Ren was older now, and knew better. Just like he knew that despite all the celebrations, the newly freed countries, the world peace that had already lasted for fifteen years and showed no sign of stopping, darkness and corruption still seeped into every nook and cranny of the world where the one universal holiday was the celebration of a man's death.
(Not that he didn't hate the man who caused the world so much grief, but it was telling that more people seemed to focus on celebrating the man's death rather than the peace that followed. It was somewhat sickening.)
Ren contemplated all of this as he sat in the police station, waiting for someone to pick him up after hours of rough handling, spat accusations, talk of trials, and possibly Juvie. All because he wanted to step in and protect a woman from being assaulted. Because he wanted to do the right thing.
Everyone talked about how peace had finally been achieved, and how humanity as a whole was finally starting to move forward and better itself. But the truth was that some humans were as petty and awful as they'd always been, and no amount of peace had kept Ren, or that woman, safe tonight.
Footsteps approached him, and Ren looked towards the sound. A part of him was hoping that it would be one of his parents, but he couldn't even muster up the energy to be disappointed when it turned out to be Dojima instead. The detective worked in Inaba, where Ren lived (he was arrested in Okina), and was one of the few genuinely good cops Ren had met. He was also the father of Ren's only friend. That didn't stop anger from swelling up in him when Dojima looked down on him with a disappointed expression, although it did drive him to try and quell said anger.
"I'm here to bring you home, kid." Dojima was gruff as always, and sounded deeply disapproving. Ren wondered if he should ask about his parents, if they knew about what had happened, but decided against it. There was no point, not when he knew they didn't care enough about him either way. Wordlessly, he got up and followed Dojima as the man checked him out of the station.
"Keep your eye on that one," the officer at the front desk warned Dojima as they left. "Don't want him running off before his trial."
"I'll keep that in mind." Dojima's voice was ice cold, and Ren took a small amount of pleasure in that. They got into Dojima's car, Ren sitting in the back rather than his usual seat in the front. He didn't think Dojima would take that very well after tonight.
"I hope you know how disappointed I am in you," Dojima started as they pull away from the station. "You're a friend of my daughter, and I've known you for years. I expected you to know better than to get into fights and hurt others."
So Dojima didn't know the details behind the case, only that he was arrested for assault. At least that means he might listen to the truth. "I didn't want to hurt anybody," Ren refuted. "I saw a man hurting a woman, and I stepped in to try and help."
Dojima, who was drumming his fingers on the steering wheel, stilled. "Is that so?" His voice was quiet, even enough that Ren, who was usually good at reading people, couldn't tell what he was thinking. "Tell me what happened."
And so he did, and Dojima listened, actually listened to him, and it was like a weight was lifted off his chest. Perhaps there was someone who is still in his corner, someone with authority who cared that he was wrongfully accused.
The tale lasted the whole car ride home, with Dojima asking various questions that Ren tried to answer. It was harder than he thought - for some reason, the drunken man's face eluded him - but by the time they pull into Ren's driveway, he was sure he had Dojima fully convinced of his innocence.
"Don't worry," Dojima told him as he parked the car. "I'll do some digging, see if I can find the man who had you arrested. I've got contacts in lots of places - at the very least, I see if I can shorten your sentence."
"Thank you," Ren said gratefully, giving Dojima a small smile as he steps out of the car. Dojima nodded and frowned to himself as he pulls away. Ren walked into his house, finding it as empty as he expected it to be, but hopeful that maybe things wouldn't be as bad as they seemed, that maybe he could find a way out of this.
In the end, Dojima's efforts paid off, and he was put on probation for a year, sent off to Tokyo to live with some stranger he's never heard of. Better than juvie at least, but even if he hated this town, with all its gossip and pettiness, all the people disliking him for being part Britannian even though there's been peace now for longer than Japan was even occupied, he was going to miss Nanako, the stray cats on the floodplain he liked to take care of, and about a dozen other little things that made the nowhereness of Inaba bearable.
Nanako met him at the train station before he leaves. The fourteen year old girl was teary-eyed as she gave him a goodbye hug.
"You have to email me every week, okay?" She said fiercely. "Promise!"
"I'll try," Ren said. He didn't know how strict his probation officer and new guardian would be, whether he'd be allowed to keep in contact with anyone from home. He hoped so, but didn't want to make a promise he can't keep.
He told her as such, and Nanako considered it. "Well then, ask if you can, and try really hard, okay? I want to hear from you."
"I can do that," he conceded. The train pulled into the station. Nanako gave him another hug, and Dojima patted him on the back, and then Ren was off, leaving the only place he'd ever called home, the only friends he'd ever made.
It made his heart ache. It also felt like a new beginning.
Tokyo was far noisier than anywhere Ren had ever been before. The trains were absolutely filled with people, and the streets even more so. He couldn't help but pause in the street, looking around at what could be hundreds of people, going about their day all around him, completely unaware of the nuanced lives of everyone they passed. It was almost overwhelming.
A flash of green caught Ren's attention, and he squinted in the direction it has come from. There, on the sidewalk, was a woman with long, bright green hair, in somewhat unusual clothing. She was looking his way. Perhaps it was Ren's imagination, but it felt as though the woman was staring right at him.
He blinked, and she was gone. Ren searched the crowd once more. No sign of the woman. A slight buzz caused him to look down. There on his phone was a strange app, red with a white eye in the center.
By the time he'd recovered enough from whatever the hell that was to delete the app, the green-haired woman was far from the front of his mind.
Yongen was a quaint neighborhood, especially for one located in a city such as Tokyo. Ren felt as though he could explore it forever, but eventually, after a brief stop by the Sakura house and run in with the mailman, he made his way to the café LeBlanc, where his new guardian apparently worked.
LeBlanc was as cozy as the street it's located on, feeling right out of a tv set. A man in a pink shirt and apron sat doing the crossword as an older couple discussed a violent crash that had apparently just taken place. They eventually got up to leave, and the other man waved them out before pinching his forehead.
"Four hours for a single cup of Joe." Ren wondered if the couple was more annoying than they had let on, or if the man just didn't like his customers lazing around his shop without buying. It was pretty obvious that this was the man who owns the place anyhow, which made him Sojiro Sakura.
Sojiro caught his eye, before narrowing his own and standing up. Ren decided it's as good a time as any to introduce himself.
He gave a short bow. "Sojiro Sakura? I'm Ren Amamiya. I'm in your care."
Sojiro looked unimpressed. "You're Amamiya, huh? I was wondering what kind of unruly delinquent would show up, but you're the guy. Did you know? A customer of mine knows your parents, and-" He cut himself off. Just as well, because Ren would rather not think about the fact that the only person his parents could find to take him in was the owner of a shop their friend frequented. "Anyways. Follow me."
Ren let Sojiro lead him up the stairs at the back of the café. They reached the top, a room so dusty parts of the floor look almost white. Bags of assorted broken things littered the floor, old books stacked all over the desk, and a clear sheet laying on top of it.
His box of things was in the middle of the room. Why were his box of things in the middle of the room? Ren had a bad feeling about this.
"This is your room," Sojiro said, as if he was doing Ren a favor by having him stay here. He might as well have slapped him in the face. There's basic common courtesy, there's being a bitter asshole, and then there was this.
Ren looked at Sojiro, thoroughly unimpressed. "I think there's more dust in here than there is floor."
"I'm going to give you sheets for your bed," Sojiro snapped back. "You're a healthy young teenager, you can clean this up yourself."
"Oh, are you going to go to the amazing lengths of making sure I don't starve as well?" Ren snarked, red hot anger flaring up in him. "How noble of you. Is this even legal? Maybe you usually store your trash here, but I'm an actual human being. You can't just throw me away like that." In another time, if he was another person, he might've just taken it all silently. As it was, however, Ren had just about reached the end of his rope when it came to people looking at him like he was dirt on the bottom of their shoe.
Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, as Sojiro ditched the slouch, rising to his full height, making him taller than Ren. "You want to compare your situation to trash? Then this is the dumpster, where everyone, including your parents, threw you away because they couldn't wait to be rid of you. I'm your absolute last resort, and if you try anything funny, then you're going to juvie. Now, clean up your room." And with that, he stormed down the stairs.
Ren curled his hands into fists and tried not to scream. He wondered if there was ever a time he didn't have all this pent up anger inside of him, ready to burst out at any given minute. He had no idea where it came from, but it had always been with him, and sometimes Ren couldn't help but feel like it was consuming him from the inside out.
The only thing to ever go right for him was possibly meeting the Dojimas, and now he wasn't going to see them for an entire year.
He dreamed of a blue jail room, with two twin girls with white hair and golden eyes as wardens, and an old man with an impossibly long nose, telling him about upcoming ruin, and how he must prevent that from happening. There was no specification, no telling exactly what this ruin is, or how he can stop it, or what "rehabilitation" even means in the context that this Igor guy was using it. He wanted to disregard the whole thing, but couldn't seem to bring himself to do so.
The principal of Shujin academy was a fat bald man with the biggest chin Ren had ever seen, and what looked like no neck at all. He was thus dubbed 'Principal Neck' in Ren's head, because with the was the man was sneering at him, Ren really didn't feel like being respectful.
"To reiterate, just so we're clear. You will immediately be expelled if you cause any problems," Principal Neck said, looking at him haughtily. It would be more intimidating if he didn't have to look upwards from his desk to do so, of course. "Honestly, I hesitated on accepting someone like you, but there were circumstances on our side. You might've done a variety of things in hiding in your hometown-" Ah yes, like playing with stray cats in secret. How awful. "-But you will behave yourself here."
Ren forced a mask of politeness onto his face. "I understand."
Principal Neck motioned to the slender woman standing next to him. She looked extremely tired. "This is the teacher in charge of your class."
"I'm Sadayo Kawakami. Here's your student ID." Ren took the ID. Kawakami-sensei's voice was as tired as her expression. "If by chance you cause any problems, I won't be able to protect you." She looked towards the principal, who assured her as such. Ren's mask became a little harder to uphold.
"They're treating you like some kind of nuisance," Sojiro said, as they walked out of the office. "Guess that's what it means to have a criminal record. Turns out your past follows you wherever you go." He looks sideways at Ren. "By the way, if you get expelled, I won't hesitate to kick you out, got it?"
"I think I scrape by." Ren couldn't hide all the sarcasm in his voice. "Of course, if I didn't get expelled for something illegal, you'd be breaking the rules of my prohibition as well by kicking me out." He doubted anyone would take his side over Sojiro's but that didn't mean he was going to let the man walk all over him. "So let's both be careful, yeah?"
Sojiro glared, and Ren savored the taste. "What a brat you are. No wonder you ended up out here. Let's just go."
Sojiro made curry for him his first day of school, and Ren wolfed it down. It was amazing, but he didn't really feel like telling the man that, not after he called Ren trash and made sure he knew the shop owner was only looking after him (for lack of a better word) because he was being paid to do so. So Ren just thanked him quickly before getting out of the shop.
Of course, the universe just has to balance out his luck by making it downpour that day. Ren cursed and ducked under an overhang, running a hand through his hair. Just what he needed, to come to his first day of school totally soaked.
Someone else slipped under the overhang with him, pulling their hood down to reveal flowing locks of what looked to be natural blonde hair, unusual for an almost entirely Japanese high school. The girl who the hair belonged to noticed his gaze, and gave him a small smile. Ren cautiously smiled back. There was something vaguely familiar about her, although he couldn't figure out what it was.
A car rolled up to them, and the small moment passed. The window rolled down to reveal a curly haired man with a strong jawline. "Want a ride? You're going to be late."
"Sure, thanks." The girl said, although she didn't sound too happy about it. She slipped into the passenger's seat, eyes downcast.
Finally, the man seemed to notice that Ren was there as well. "You want a ride too? He offered. Ren shook his head. Something about the guy was off, and he'd rather follow his instincts on the matter. Still, it was odd, watching the car drive away with that girl. He couldn't help but feel like he was missing something.
"Dammit!" A voice called out from behind him. Ren turned to see a boy with bleached blond hair running up to him, face screwed up in frustration. "Screw that pervy teacher!"
"Pervy teacher?" Ren repeated, almost in alarm. If that girl had gone with some sort of predator…
The vulgar looking boy turned back to him with a defensive glare. "What? You planning on ratting me out to Kamoshida, or something?"
"What?" Ren frowned. "I have no idea who that is." Unless. "Is he the man in the car? The one you called a Pervy teacher?"
"Yeah, that's him," the blond scowled. Then his his lit up with curiosity. "Wait, you're saying you don't know Kamoshida? Are you for real? You are a student of Shujin, right?"
Ren shrugged. "This is my first day. Transfer student. Haven't really gotten myself acquainted with most of the staff yet, save for my homeroom teacher and Principal Neck."
"Principal Neck?" The blond gaped at him for a moment, before bursting into laughter. "Oh, that's a good one. I like you." He stuck out his hand. "Ryuji Sakamoto, but Ryuji's fine. Fair warning about Kamoshida, since you're just starting here, he thinks the school is his castle, and that he can do whatever he wants there."
"Ren Amamiya. Ren is also fine. Thanks for the warning." He pulled away. "We should get to school."
"Yeah. Ishikawa-Sensei would tan my hide if I'm late again." Ryuji laughed lightly. "Could be worse though. 'Least the rain's not to bad."
They started to walk again, but something hit Ren like an invisible wave, causing him to clutch his head as dizziness rushes over him.
Ryuji seemed to feel it too. "Ugh, this sucks. I wanna go home." But the feeling faded away, and they proceeded forward, taking the shortcuts Ryuji seemed to know by heart. At one point, something in a puddle of water caught Ren's eye, but when he turned around, he saw nothing. Ryuji had gotten ahead of him, so he decided to ignore it and keep going.
They turn the last corner to what Ren hoped was the school, and when Ryuji yelled out in surprise, Ren honestly couldn't blame him.
Instead of a school, a giant medieval castle from a Britannian or European storybook loomed over them. The sky had gone from gray to an ominous red. There was an industrial sign right outside that said "Shujin", but everything else was wildly different than what it had been like the day before. Something like unease clenched in Ren's gut.
"How- we didn't come the wrong way!" Ryuji glanced backwards, as to make sure of his statement.
"There aren't any giant castles in Tokyo, as far as I know. Then again, I'm new here," Ren commented, trying to keep his own worries down. "I'm guessing Shujin doesn't usually look like this?"
"What?" Ryuji looked at him strangely. "Of course not! This is super weird!" He looked back at the castle. "Should we just… go in?"
It sounded like a terrible idea, just walking into this strange otherworldly place. On the other hand… "Do we have much of a choice? Where else are we going to go?" Ren pointed out.
"Y-Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Let's do this." They made their way into the castle, and Ren tried to ignore all the little alarms in his head.
The inside was even darker and gaudier than the outside, with stone walls, velvet curtains, and low hanging chandeliers. At the top of the ornate staircase in front of them was a painting of the man from the car, Kamoshida, wearing elaborate clothing frequently used by Britannian royalty. Something dark turned over inside him.
"This has something to do with Kamoshida, he murmured to Ryuji.
"Dude, are you sure?" Ren pointed towards the painting, and Ryuji grimaced. "Okay yeah, fair point. This place is giving me the creeps." He checked his phone. "Out of service? Where did we end up?"
The clanking of footsteps drew their attention over to a metal clad knight, who was carrying a sword and shield. The figure made their way over to them without saying a word. Ryuji looked up at them curiously. "Hey, are you dressed for something? Do you live here? Can you tell us what's going on?"
"I don't think they're here to talk," Ren muttered, spying more knights moving in on them. Ryuji sucked in a breath, moving behind Ren to cover his back. Not that Ren was sure they could take on these knights in a fight anyways, but he appreciated the thought.
Sure enough, one of the knights slammed Ryuji in the stomach with their shield, and Ryuji fell to the floor, gasping for breath. He turned back to Ren, eyes wide. "Get out of here, these guys are serious!"
"I can't just leave you," Ren protested. You're the only person that's been decent to me since I got here.
The point turned out to be moot anyway. Another one of the knights slammed something into Ren, and he knew nothing.
"Hey! Are you okay?"
When Ren came to, he was in a dungeon, straight out of some medieval book on torture. The "bed" was a solid slab, the walls were mossy stone, and different cuffs and torture devises hung on them. Bars separated the small room from the rest of what must've been the basement, where rushing water could be heard.
Ryuji was leaning over him, looking worried. "Hey, you're awake!" He stepped back so Ren could sit up. "How are you feeling?"
Ren groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Like I just got hit in the head. But I'll be fine. You?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine too." Ryuji looked around their cell. "Guess this isn't a dream. Dammit." He ran over and banged on the cell bars. "Hey, what's going on? I know there's someone out there! Let us out!"
Ren grimaced at the loud noise. "Somehow I doubt the people who locked us up are going to let us out just because you yelled at them."
"Shut up, smartass." Ryuji didn't look pissed at him, so much as worried. They both jumped as someone screamed in pain from another cell. "This shit is real, this shit is effin real. What the hell are we going to do?"
"Look for a way out, obviously." Ren pulled himself to his feet, shaking the final bits of dizziness away. "You check one side, I check the other?"
Ryuji nodded. "Yeah, sounds fine to me." Ren turned his attention to the stone walls, examining them for any holes, any weak points to be exploited. If this was modeled after some sort of story, it might make sense for the cliché escape routes to be there. Unfortunately, there weren't.
"Hey, someone's coming." Ren jogged over to the bars, where Ryuji was already looking out. More of the knights where marching up to them.
"Be glad that your punishment has been decided upon," One of them said, in an almost echoey voice. "You have been charged with trespassing, and unlawful entry. Thus, you will be sentenced to death."
Seriously?
"Seriously?" Ryuji echoed Ren's thoughts out loud.
"No one is allowed to do as they please in my castle." The knights parted and out walked Kamoshida, wearing nothing but a crown, a cape of Britannian nobility, with hearts instead of any particular noble's patterns, and a tight pink… yikes. No wonder he doesn't want anyone coming in his castle.
"K-Kamoshida? For real?" Ryuji gaped. "What are you doing? And what the hell are you wearing?" He slammed his hands against the bars again. "You bastard, let us out!"
"I thought it was some petty thief, but to think it was you, Sakamoto." Kamoshida turned to Ren, and Ren saw golden eyes instead of brown, like before. "And you brought a friend this time, because you can't do anything by yourself." He sneered at them. "Not only did you enter my castle without permission, but you committed the even graver crime of insulting me, the king! The punishment for that is death." He turned to his knights. "Time for an execution. Take them out!"
The two stumbled away as knights swarmed into the cell, Kamoshida right behind them. Ryuji's eyes darted from Ren to Kamoshida, before she charged into one of the knights, sending it tumbling to the ground. "I ain't down for this shit. Let's get out of here!" Before he could make another move, however, another one of the knights slammed into him, knocking him over with a pained groan. Ren ran over to help, but was thrust backwards.
"Just go, get out of here!" Ryuji gasped in pain. "These guys are serious."
Kamoshida looked over him snidely. "Oh? Running away, are we? Some friend you are."
"He's not a friend, we don't even know each other," Ryuji snapped back. "Go!"
"Like, hell. I'm not leaving you here." The burning anger in Ren's gut was getting stronger, more powerful than it had been in all of his life. He felt like he was almost burning up, like he was going to burst. And for once, he had something to target it towards. He glared at Kamoshida. "Like I'd just let this crazy bastard kill you without a fight."
That wiped the smile off Kamoshida's face real fast. "You know what? Keep him here. After the pheasant, it's his turn to die."
Two of the knights slammed Ren to the other side of the cell while Kamoshida gleefully beat on Ryuji, mocking him the entire time. He slammed the blond boy to the ground. "Where'd you energy from earlier go? Scum like you isn't worth beating." His grin widened. "I'll have you killed right now."
One of the knights lifted Ryuji up by his throat. Ryuji kicked as hard as he could, but the grip holding him was firm. The knight lifted up their sword.
Ryuji… was going to die. He was going to die, nononohecouldn'twatchsomeonedieagain-
"This is truly an unjust game," A young woman's voice murmured. Ren could swear he saw a blue butterfly floating above him. "Your chances of winning are almost none. But if my voice is reaching you, there may still be a possibility open to you."
"What's the matter?" A new voice called out, silky smooth, and almost the exact same as his own. "Are you just going to watch as the one person here who cares suffers and dies? Are you really going to do nothing? Were your previous actions a mistake then?"
Unbidden, memories of the night he was arrested returned to him. The fire inside Ren burned. "No," he hissed. "It wasn't a mistake. It was right."
"Very well then." The voice sounded pleased. "Then we can forge a contract. I am thou, thou art I." The burning sensation flared up over his entire body, making him twist in pain. Images passed through his mind, and although most made no sense, the green woman from yesterday was there. "Thou art willing to perform all sacrilegious acts for thine own justice! Show the strength of thy will, though thou be chained to hell itself!"
The burning was still there, but more manageable now. Enough for Ren to hear Kamoshida calling out for Ryuji's execution.
"That's enough, he growled. Kamoshida turned his cruel gaze to him, and the knight dropped Ryuji.
"Huh? You really want to die that much? Fine." He motioned for his knights, who slammed against him with their shield, and pinned him to the wall.
There was something like a release of power from within Ren, and a burst of wind sent to guards flying away. When it faded, he could feel something heavy on his face. He touched the sides of it. A mask.
I have to get it off.
He ripped at it, as much as he could. It's stuck! He pulled further, feeling pain and blood as the mask started to come off, taking the skin underneath with it. But when it was off….
Ren smiled. Fire burst in existence all around him, covering him, although he felt no pain. Save, strangely enough, for one of his eyes. A figure, a persona, rose above him, covered in black and gold and red. Ren raised his hands, and Arsene swept out his wings, sending everything flying.
"I am the pillager of twilight, Arsene!" His persona announced. "I am the rebel's soul that resides within you. If you wish, I will grant you the power to break through this crisis."
"Yes," Ren agreed. "Lend me your power."
"Very well then."
"Who the hell are you?" Kamoshida hissed. "Guards!" The knights rose once again, twisting into odd pumpkin figures with lanterns. Jack-o-Lanterns?
"Detest the enemies before you," Arsene announced. "Change that animosity into power - and unleash it!"
Ren knew what to do. "Eiha!" Magic flowed out from Arsene, dissolving one of the Jacks.
"Swing your blade!" Arsene commanded.
Ren had taken gymnastics and dance for as long as he could remember. He was never sure what had created the drive he had to stay in shape, but it certainly came in handy now. Finding a knife appearing in his hands, Ren danced around the second Jack, slicing it to ribbons before it too dissolved.
"This power of mine is yours! Kill them however you want. Run wild to your heart's content." Without Ren keeping him solid, Arsene vanished. Still, Ren could feel him, inside his heart, in place of all the burning anger that had been there his entire life.
It was… nice.
"What - what was that just now?" Ryuji asked aloud. He seemed to be looking at Ren's clothing. Ren looked down to see that his school uniform was gone, and in its place was a long dark coat, vest, and bright red gloves.
"Kamoshida finally brought himself to his feet. "You little…!"
Ryuji slammed into him as hard as he could, sending him flying. "Oh yeah? You like that, you son of a bitch!?"
Ren scanned the room. "Ryuji, the keys."
"Hm? Oh yeah!" Ryuji snatched them off the ground and they ran out of the cell, locking Kamoshida in. The horribly dressed teacher slammed against the bars, to no avail. "There we go! Come on, let's get out of here."
And here we have the first chapter! Although it's started off very similar to the game, things will start to move away from canon events as time goes on, due to this taking place in a very different Japan, and a Joker who used to be Lelouch in a past life. Of course, he isn't the only reincarnated Code Geass character, nor the only one among the Phantom Thieves. One of the other's might be obvious, but many more have yet to show up!
Parings for this story have not been decided yet, so feel free to pitch in with what you would like the main pairings to be, and why. All comments regarding will be taken into consideration when deciding.
With all that said, I hope you enjoy, and please review, let me know if you liked it!
