AN: I do not own Code Geass.
DarkDremora: I can say with 100% certainty, that 'love making' between the two won't be happening any time soon. Also, I never even noticed Cecile thought of Suzaku that way.
Samuri Seven: bit early for Lelouch to be thinking like that I think.
Chapter 32: Karma
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The Lancelot Karma: a Knightmare frame built with the collective help of Rakshata Chawla, Lloyd Asplund, and Cecile Croomy. They were forced to work on it under the order of Lelouch's Geass, however, after their use had been fulfilled, its pilot, Suzaku Kururugi, killed them while being under the influence of a Geass command.
Be my slave.
Now, the black and gold Knightmare frame dragged a lifeless Guren through a scorching desert. Its energy filler was beginning to run low, but the pilot didn't care. He didn't care. How could he care? Everyone he cared about, Euphemia, Milly, Shirley, Rivalz, Lloyd, Cecile, and now even Kallen, they all died by his hands. Now, thanks to Jeremiah's Geass canceller, his will was his own once more. "Lelouch…" he muttered as his systems were blaring with messages saying 'low power'.
While his will was intact, his mind was broken. With all the killing he was forced to do, it destroyed him mentally. Now, he had only one goal in mind: Kill Lelouch Vi Britannia.
"Lelouch…" he repeated while staring down the flying battleship Ikaruga, which was surrounded by Black Knight Knightmare frames, who pilots were under the curse of Geass.
One such warrior, was his old mentor, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, "Suzaku, please stand down." he ordered from his Zangetsu, "If you continue on this path… I'll have no choice but to put you down." the rest of the four holy swords surrounded their team leader with red rings around their eyes.
"Please… Suzaku… you have to flee while you still can." Nagisa Chiba pleaded with tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Is Zero in there?" those chilling words were broadcasted throughout the small army.
"Suzaku… just leave. Take a break, and once your strength returns-"
Kosetsu Urabe was interrupted before he was able to finish his sentence, "No! No more running away! I'm killing Lelouch here and now!" the once proud Knight shouted while pulling the Guren's frame forward, ripping out the energy filler, and quickly replacing his own with it.
"Kill him!" Lelouch's voice rung out from the battleship's bridge, "Kill Suzaku Kururugi!"
Tohdoh tried to fight back against the order, but eventually succumbed to the order, much like the rest of the black knights, who recklessly charged into battle. The Lancelot pulled out it's hadron blaster, and destroyed a cluster of Akatsuki Knightmare frames in a single shot. Then, he drew his dual MVS blades and rushed forth, slaughtering dozens of enemy frames within the span of a few seconds.
That was, until he clashed blades with Tohdoh. Now, a real Knightmare duel was about to begin. The began climbing, higher and higher into the sky, trading slash after slash, until they finally reached the pinnacle of the battlefield, which was just above the Ikaruga, "You'll die today, Suzaku!" his mentor shouted while thrusting his sword forth.
The black knight casually parried the attack with his blade, and sent a spinning kick into his opponent's head, knocking him to the right. That's when Nagisa and Urabe tried to attack him from behind, but their attacks were quickly dealt with after Suzaku activated all four of his slash harkens, disarming them of their weapons.
However, the remaining two Holy Swords, Senba and Asahina appeared behind, and tried to deliver two simultaneous downward slashes at their enemy. Despite this surprise, at the last second, Suzaku managed to maneuver in between them, leaving their fully exposed backs open for a counter-attack. But his frame didn't move an inch, instead, he allowed two more Akatsuki's to supply the other two Holy Swords with new blades.
"What's he doing?" Nagisa wondered as she equipped her new sword, "Why isn't he killing us?"
The thought enraged Asahina, "What are you doing, Suzaku!? We're already as good as dead. Zero's already given us the order to kill you… we won't stop until either we're finished, or you're finished." a single tear flowed down his cheek, "So please… just kill us already…"
The four Holy Swords simultaneously launched a strike at Suzaku, which he was forced to block with both MVS blades. "Why am I hesitating? I've already resolved myself once I killed…" he nearly vomited at the thought, "Kallen…"
"Lelouch!" Suzaku shouted as he chased the Prince through an underground bunker, "Where the hell do you think you're going!?" he kicked Lelouch into a cafeteria area, and lifted the boy onto a table.
"Suzaku! Please stop!" his victim pleaded behind the Zero mask.
"Shut up!" with a single strike, the corrupted Knight broke the mask, revealing Lelouch's horrified face.
"Leave me alone!" he shouted while activating his Geass.
But, since he already used it once on his former friend, the command failed, "I'm done listening to you!" Suzaku replied as his eyes caught onto a metal spoon, "First… I'll rip out that Geass," he gripped the utensil tightly, "Then… I'll gut you slowly."
"Please, die!" Lelouch commanded with his Geass active. But… it was to no avail.
"You waste of space," the spoon inched closer to the Prince's eye, "I should've just killed you back at the hotel jacking."
"Please, stop!" another failed Geass command.
"With your death, you won't be able to cause any more pain," the spoon was now ripping into the Prince's eye slowly, "Don't worry, once I relieve the burden you've placed on society, I'll join you. As I've committed my fair share of sin too."
"Please… Suzaku… I beg of you… stop!" this time, there was no command. Instead, Lelouch was begging, he didn't want to die. God, he didn't want to die, not yet. Not until he found those who killed Nunally.
"Don't act like we're still friends." Suzaku heartlessly replied as the spoon dug into the Prince's eye socket, causing him to scream out in pain, begging for someone, anyone, to save him from such a terrible fate. But there was no one else around. It was only him, and Suzaku. They were alone, so he could take this nice and slow. Eventually, Lelouch went silent. No, he was still screaming, but now he was hardly making any noise, as if he was out of breath. Of course, this didn't deter Suzaku from continuing, as he severed the optical nerve that connected the Prince's eye to his brain, he felt a sense of relief wash over him.
The Japanese man threw his former friend to the ground, knocking over a couple chairs in the process, "You… you monster…" the Prince muttered while crawling away, "How could you do this to me!?"
However, Suzaku wasn't listening. He was too busy admiring the eye while blood streamed down his face, "To think… such a small thing could cause so many problems…" In an instant, he crushed the orb with his fist, causing blood to splatter in different directions.
Slowly, the deranged man approached the Prince, drawing his broken Knighting sword with his left hand, "Stop… please… think about Nunally! Is this something she would've wanted!?"
Suzaku continued walking toward the pathetic excuse of a leader, emotionless, "I'm tired of hearing you use her name to justify the killing we've done. Nunally never would've wanted any of this." he said while drawing his Okatana.
Just as he was about to deliver the final blow to end it all, the second set of double doors to the cafeteria burst open, and in came Kallen with her gun drawn, "Leave him alone!" she shouted while firing five shots.
Of course, Suzaku saw this coming, and kicked up a chair, which blocked every last bullet, before rushing toward the reckless red head, "It's gonna be okay Kallen!" he shouted while clashing his blades with her dagger, "Once I kill him, everyone will be free from his Geass, including you!"
"I'm not under any Geass command!" Kallen countered while kicking the boy away, but not without him cutting her gun in half.
"What? Then why!? Why're you fighting for him?"
The red head clenched her first dagger while drawing a second, "That's because… I love him!" this made Suzaku scoff, "Lelouch, I didn't really understand it… why was I following you despite killing Milly, Shirley, Rivalz, and Nina." she looked at the corrupted Knight, "And enslaving him." her eyes shimmered, "It wasn't until recently when I realized… I love you, Lelouch!" of course, her thoughts were completely different, "Even if it's a lie… please say it back. Even if it's a lie… I'll follow you to hell, so please… Lelouch, tell me you love me."
The Prince stood up and said while clenching his left eye, "Thank you, Kallen." he gave her a smirk, "I think you've helped me to realize it too. I love you."
That was lie. Just like everything else he told her, like everything they've been through… like everything they've done together… this was just another lie he told to advance his plans. But Kallen Kozuki didn't care. She didn't want to be left alone. Everyone she knew was either dead, or under Lelouch's Geass. The Prince was all she had left, and she didn't want to lose him.
As Lelouch tried to run away, Suzaku readied his sword for a throw, however, at the last second, the red head kicked the blade away, and stabbed the Knight's side, causing him to stumble back. "Seriously!? You know he's lying! So why do you still fight for him?"
"Shut up!" Kallen responded, "I won't listen to anything else you have to say!"
"You're delusional!"
"And you're insane!"
"Damn it, Kallen. Don't make me do this! Not to you too!"
"One of us is walking away from this, and I don't intend to die here, not yet!" the red head charged forth, clashing her dagger with Suzaku's Knighting sword. However, she wasn't finished there, as she went under the blades, and thrust her other dagger into her opponent's chest.
The corrupted Knight reeled in pain while taking a few steps back, then, he charged in once again, this time, he knocked out one dagger with a single swing, and rammed his shoulder into the red head's face. As she was stumbling back, she tripped on a fallen chair, and tumbled across the ground.
Kallen stood once more, and charged in for another attack, this time, led with a sweeping kick in an attempt to catch her opponent off-guard. But, Suzaku casually leapt over her as she slid past him, then he grabbed her by the hair, before slamming the red head into a table. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Too late for that…" Kallen muttered while rolling off the white table. Regretfully, the corrupted knight readied himself for another attack, which the red head happily obliged by sending her dagger flying toward his face.
With his left hand, Suzaku slapped the knife up, causing it to pierce a light fixture. While this was happening, his opponent kicked the table toward him, using the weight to confuse him slightly, "Left or right?" his eyes frantically darted from either side of the table. Of course, as unpredictable as she was, the Kallen chose neither.
Instead, she went from below, delivering an upper slash to the knight's chest, leaving a massive wound behind. Due to this, Suzaku groaned in pain as the table eclipsed his body, slamming him to the ground.
"Would you look at that? Despite your overwhelming strength, you got beaten by a little girl like me." the red head taunted while fiddling with her knife.
In an instant, the table flew off the Knight's body. Now, he stared at his opponent with an annoyed expression, "Kallen, I'm sorry." without further warning, he blitzed toward the red head, before delivering a punch to her gut.
"Did he get faster!?" Kallen felt her feet levitate as Suzaku followed up with rapid punches, each hurting more than the last, until he finally ended it by slamming her into the harsh ground.
That's when he jumped, and delivered a power stomp to her leg, snapping it like a twig. "We're done here." he said while walking away.
Of course, the red head thought otherwise, as she grabbed his leg and stabbed it, "Not yet… you coward…"
Her tenacity sent a flash of rage throughout the Knight's body, as he delivered a kick to her abdomen, sending her crashing into a wall, "Now, we're done here." he tried to pick up his Okatana, but once again, the red head lunged at him, so he countered with a swift high kick to her face, knocking her into a set of tables. For a second time, he tried to reach for his Okatana, but the red head slid over to the blade, and tried to stab him.
However, Suzaku pinned her attacking arm with his leg, and put his free knee on her ribs, while simultaneously bringing his knighting sword to her throat. "Go ahead." Kallen responded, "End it, you blood lusted freak."
"No." the Knight withdrew his blade, "I won't commit any more murders, not while I have my free will."
"Are you sure about that?" the red head asked while lifting her only free arm, and punching Suzaku in the face, "If you don't kill me now, then I'll just get in the Guren, and once we're in the air, I'll simply beat you in battle." she sent another punch, "After that, I'll return to Lelouch, and I'll make another deal with him, and maybe we'll have some special time in celebration of your death!"
Kallen was hurt. The corrupted knight could feel it with each punch. Lelouch had used her repeatedly, telling her sweet lies that would get her to comply with the killing. Of course, it seemed like she was able to get something out of it, but what exactly is unknown to the knight, "Don't worry, I'll make sure he pays for what he's done." he said while raising his sword, intending to knock her out.
"Pay for what he's done? Like what? To little Euphie?"
This struck a nerve, "Don't say her name like that."
"Like what? Hey… didn't you promise to be little Euphie's knight of honor? And yet… you were the one who killed her," Kallen delivered another punch to the boy's unflinching gaze, "And what about Rivalz and Milly? I specifically remember you telling them that no harm would come to them as long as you're around. And yet… when Lelouch ordered you to kill all Britannian's, you slaughtered them without a second thought."
"Sh-shut up."
"Just like you shut Lloyd and Cecile up? Ironic how they built the Karma for you, and yet you still killed them afterward, why? Because they were trying to find a way to break you free of that command." the red head sent another punch, "I wonder what your karma's looking like right now?"
"But… if I kill Lelouch now, I'll be able to protect-"
Another punch interrupted his sentence, "Protect? Suzaku, you're a failure. A defective product, just like me. You've killed too many people to be preaching that savior crap."
The corrupted knight punched Kallen, "What do you know!? You have no idea what it's like to be under a Geass command! No matter how much I tried to break out… it wouldn't work!"
"That's because you're weak." the red head responded as a stream of blood poured from her head, "I've seen people try to break free, Tohdoh, Ohgi, and even Rakshata. Though, they put up far more of a fight than you did when you were taking Lelouch's commands. Hell, when he ordered the Black Knight's to kill all Britannian's, I could've sworn I saw Ohgi break free for a second. But not you… maybe you always wanted to be the bad guy?"
Another punch landed on Kallen's face, "Shut up!" Suzaku tossed both weapons to the side, and began delivering punch after punch to the girl's smiling face, "You don't know anything! You're just some whore Zero uses for his own pleasure!" Those words, full of malice, left his mouth effortlessly. While he didn't know if they were true, he didn't care. He just wanted to hurt her now.
"That's where you're wrong, Suzaku!" the red head responded while catching his fist, "You see… I was able to protect the rest of the Black Knight's from becoming completely slaves like you! Tamaki, Minami, Naomi, I saved them all! Unlike you, who's saved no one."
"Shut up!" Suzaku clasped his hands together, and with one final strike filled of pent-up rage, he smashed Kallen's skull in. Killing her. Of course, Suzaku was shocked by his own actions, "Wait… no… I didn't mean to-" he looked at his blood-soaked hands with horror, as the light above flickered, "No… no… why did I do that?" he covered his face, "Even after I've been freed… I can't stop myself from killing…" blood leaked out of his wounds, as he collapsed to his hands and knees, "Maybe I should just die here? That way… I won't be able to cause any more problems…" That's when the image of Lelouch smiling menacingly found its way into his mind, "No. Not yet. Not while that monster is still alive. As long as he's around, no one will be able to live happily.". For one last time, the corrupted Knight's picked up his weapons, "I'll kill Lelouch, and anyone who tries to get in my way."
"Kururugi!" Tohdoh shouted as he charged in from behind.
Calmly, Suzaku sent his Lancelot flying down, dodging the four Holy Swords slash, and avoiding his former mentors attack. "I'm sorry… everyone. But I have to kill you." he said through an open channel.
With what little free will he had left, Tohdoh said, "That's alright. We understand. Thank you."
"Stop talking with him, and kill Suzaku already!" Lelouch ordered, completely drowning out every single Black Knight's remaining conscious. Now, they were replaced by zombie-like killing machines, who would stop at nothing to kill Suzaku.
A group of Akatsuki's approached Suzaku from the left, only to be destroyed in the next second by his hadron blaster. Then, Senba and Urabe approached him again, only this time, Suzaku didn't leave them any time to attack, as he nearly blitzed past them, delivering several critical slashes to their Knightmare's, causing them to explode.
Next on the chopping block were Nagisa and Asahina, who began their assault by leading with a flurry of slashes, attempting to break through the corrupted knight's guard. Despite combining their strength, it wasn't enough, as Suzaku skillfully took both of them on at once. First, he dispatched of Nagisa by cutting her sword in half, and kicking her away, then he quickly broke down Asahina's defenses by cutting off both of his arms. Of course, due to his Geass command, the four Holy Sword member continued to fight despite the disadvantages, forcing the knight to end the fight by shoving his MVS blade through the bespectacled man's cockpit.
After a hefty explosion, Suzaku moved onto his next opponents, which were a group of Akatsuki's heading his way from the Ikaruga, "Get out of my way!" he commanded while equipping the VARIS rifle, firing a single round that decimated his foes in an instant.
Lelouch watched with horror from the ship's bridge, muttering, "That damned Knightmare… I should've destroyed it when I had the chance!"
Suddenly, Suzaku's rifle was cut in twain by Nagisa, who managed to find another sword, "Kill… Suzaku Kururugi!" she shouted in a pained voice.
Without thinking twice, the corrupted knight effortlessly cut through off the woman's arms, legs, and head, before delivering a final strike to her cockpit, bisecting it horizontally.
Just as he thought everything was over, Tohdoh came in from behind, and delivered a cut that severed the Lancelot's right arm, forcing it to retreat. "Kill… Suzaku Kururugi…" his former mentor muttered as his Zangetsu clashed with the Lancelot's remaining MVS.
The rumbling of Suzaku's cockpit reopened his wounds, which were poorly closed with a bandage, now, it was only a matter of time before he passed out, and moments after that, he'd be dead. Whether it be by bleeding out, or by Lelouch finishing the job himself. Either way… "I'm giving this everything I've got!" as if picking up a second wind, the Lancelot Karma pushed back the Zangetsu, leaving an opening for him to fire a slash harken. However, Tohdoh did the same, and their projectiles clashed midair, entangling the duelist together. Now, this thread alone kept their battle going, there was nowhere to run for either of them. It was do-or-die time.
The Lancelot fired its second slash harken into the Zangetsu's arm, severing it in one hit, then they clashed blades once again, "With one more shot, this will be over!" Suzaku muttered as he rolled his controls sticks roller, aiming his slash harken at his opponent's remaining arm. However, at the last second, Tohdoh moved his frame down, causing the harken's route to be disrupted as the Lancelot was tossed up in return. Now, the wire wrapped around the Karma's left arm, limiting its range of motion significantly.
With his opponent tied up, the Zangetsu brought its sword to the right, hoping to go for a horizontal slash, but just as it was about to swing, the Lancelot fired its two remaining slash harkens at it, severing its remaining arm, and bisecting it across the waist. "I'm sorry Tohdoh…" Suzaku muttered while cutting the wire that glued them together, "Now… it's your turn!" he faced the Ikaruga as his mentors frame entered a free fall.
"Fire the hadron cannon." Lelouch ordered.
"Yes sir." the mindless crew parroted while programming the Ikaruga's hadron cannon's to fire upon the Lancelot.
"Everyone, hold Suzaku down, don't let him escape!"
Upon receiving their new orders, the Akatsuki's shifted their focus from attack Suzaku, to holding him down. At first, the Lancelot fared quite well, using its remaining slash harkens to cut down the opposition with ease, even ditching its MVS blade for its more crowd-control oriented VARIS. But that wasn't enough. Soon, Suzaku was overwhelmed, "Damn it… I'm too weak!" he cursed as dozens of mechanical arms covered his screen, pulling him back to earth, further and further away from the Ikaruga.
"Good riddance, Suzaku." the Prince muttered.
The corrupted knight felt his consciousness fade as his body reached its limit, "I've lost too much blood…" he touched the wound Kallen gave him earlier, "Even if I got out of this… there's no way I'd make it to the Ikaruga in time…" his eyes sorrowfully looked upon the Black Knight's battleship as it began glowing red, "You were just too far out of reach… you demon…"
Suddenly, a voice whispered in his mind, "Would you go back in time if given the chance?"
"Back in time?"
"Yes. You could stop the Prince from becoming a demon. You could save your friends, Euphemia, and Nunally."
"I could change… everything…"
"Exactly."
"If I went back in time… and killed Lelouch… none of this would've ever happened."
"That's right, kill the Prince. Save everyone." a second, corrupted voice added.
"Kill… Lelouch…" every bone in the corrupted knight's body was crying out to make Lelouch pay for what he's done. Before, he thought he could change his friend. He thought he would listen to reason. But the actions he's taken in the past year… it's opened Suzaku's eyes to the truth: Lelouch would never listen to reason. Lelouch would never change. His hatred for Britannia would make him burn everything in his path, no matter what it was, no matter who they were. Lelouch was, no… IS the embodiment of evil. An evil that Suzaku has deemed himself responsible to purge.
"So… would you do it?" the original voice asked.
Without hesitation, the corrupted knight answered, "Yes."
Suzaku's eyes closed for one last time as his consciousness faded, the sound of the Ikaruga's hadron cannon firing in the background was drowned out by his own thoughts.
"Where… am I?" Suzaku asked as he awakened in the middle of C's world, "I'm here again… is this where you go once you die?"
Behind him, the sound of the sword of Akasha screaming broke him out of his trance. Though, it wasn't until the sound of a familiar Prince's voice, did he lock in, "Ah good, you're here too."
"Lelouch…" Suzaku turned around, and saw his old friend wearing a white robe, "Lelouch…"
"I need your-"
"Lelouch!" the knight attacked with a spinning roundhouse kick, knocking him back.
"Wait… you're not-"
"I'll kill you!" Suzaku shouted while sending several punches at Lelouch's face, only from them to fall short as his victim turned tail and ran away, "Get back here, Lelouch!" the corrupted knight shouted while chasing after his friend, "Have I travelled back in time? It certainly seems like it… this place looks completely different from how I left it." in particular, he was referring to the looming planet overhead as they ran endlessly through C's world. The planet had that same retched Geass symbol that Suzaku loathed so much, "I don't know what's going on, but I have to kill Lelouch… if he dies, everything will be solved! I feel it in my bones!"
January 1st, 2017. 5:00AM.
"That hurt." Suzaku muttered as he felt an ASEEC member kick his face. "Everyone's sleeping like a rock…" he muttered while getting up, grabbing his Okatana in the process. "I still can't believe we managed to fit everyone in this room." the Japanese man walked out of the room, only to come face-to-face with Kallen, who was holding two cups of tea. "G-good morning."
"Morning." the red head dryly responded before heading back to her room.
However, Suzaku wouldn't let it end there, "Uh… is Lelouch awake?"
"I'm about to wake him up." she opened the door to her room, where he saw a black room divider that separated the girls from the boys.
"Lelouch…" Kallen gently called the boy, "Wake up. It's time for your morning exercise."
"No." the boy responded while rolling away from his girlfriend.
"Aren't you the one who said it was his New Year's resolution to become more active?"
"I did say that, but…" he faced the red head, "That can wait until tomorrow, right?"
"No way." she replied while pushing her cup of tea in front of him, "Drink this, it'll wake you up."
With only a single whiff, the Prince's eyes widened, almost as if the tea breathed life into his very being, "What the hell is that?" he asked while sitting straight up.
"Ginger tea. Come on, you can drink it outside, we don't want to wake everyone up."
Unfortunately, since he was wide away now, Lelouch had to follow Kallen outside, where he met with Suzaku, who said, "Never thought I'd see the day. Lelouch voluntarily doing exercise? If you told me that when we were kids, I'd've called you insane, and beat you over the head till you got your senses back."
Instead of responding properly, the Prince merely said, "Nice sword."
This comment took the Japanese man aback a bit, as he wasn't expecting it. Nonetheless, he followed the couple as they sat next to a kneeling table. "Do you mind if I join you?"
"Yes. I do." is what Kallen wanted to say, instead, she went with, "No, of course not. The more, the merrier."
However, Lelouch noticed the slight change in her tone, "Kallen, is something wrong?"
"I'm just cranky." she replied while taking a sip of her tea.
"Oh… is it because you had to wake me up this morning? If so, I'm sorry."
"No, it's not that, not at all." the red head said reassuringly, "For me, I don't see a problem in waking you up early, in fact, I think it's nice." she leaned forward, "Especially when I imagine the reason you want to exercise is to spend more time with me."
Suzaku coughed upon hearing the suggestion, "Sh-should I leave you two alone?" he asked with a light blush.
The red head leaned back, "If you'd be so kind."
"I'd actually like your support today," Lelouch told his friend.
"Oh? Is my support not good enough?"
"N-not at all! I mean… it'd be nice to have my childhood friend help with my exercise… that's all."
Kallen's eyes narrowed with skepticism, "Do you think his presence will make your training lighter? If so, you're sorrily mistaken." the Prince gulped, "I'm gonna make sure this is the hardest work out of your life. It'll make Villetta's laps around the track look like a cakewalk."
"W-wait! This is the first time I've done any real exercise in a while, shouldn't the first day be getting me settled into it!?"
"He's right, Kallen." the red head shot a glare at Suzaku, "I mean… what's the point of training him if he breaks down the first day? It seems counter-intuitive."
"Y'know what? You're right." Kallen said, "Fine. We'll start easy." she pointed at the gravel road, "Milly wants us to get snacks, the only problem is, the nearest convenience store is at the bottom of this mountain. So, we're gonna run all the way down there, buy the snacks, then run back up here. Sound good?"
"Hell no!" Lelouch shouted while pointing at a nearby closed snack stand, "Why don't we just get it from him?"
"First of all, he's not even open right now!" the red head retorted, "Secondly, even if he was, he sells smaller versions of the snacks we're going to get, at higher rates. About 200% if I remember correctly!"
"H-how scummy…" Suzaku muttered
"Right? That's why we're going into town to buy our snacks."
"But can't we just take the bus?"
"Lelouch, did you ignore everything I just said? You're the one who wants to get in better shape, so that's why we're going to run to the bottom of the mountain."
"Damn you Naoto!" the Prince cursed internally, "I can't believe I made such a resolution because of you…"
A few days prior to the trip, the older Kozuki approached Lelouch, and told him to get Kallen to train him as his New Year's resolution. Of course, the raven-haired boy disagreed, saying that he was getting enough training in from Villetta. That's when Naoto pulled out the big brother card, "B-but my little sister… she just enjoys spending time with you, and I think she would really enjoy it if you picked up a hobby she enjoyed."
Obviously, this was just a ruse, even Lelouch knew it. But he couldn't reject such a statement from the Kozuki, otherwise, it would paint him in a bad light, so, while reluctant, he agreed to it.
Now, he was running down a steep mountain while sweating bullets, "How much further do we have to go?" he asked while panting heavily.
"Lelouch, we've barely crested the second hill." Kallen replied casually.
"God… why's this so difficult? And why're there so many hills!?"
"That's why it's called training. It's not supposed to be easy."
"But… running never felt this hard while going around the schools track…"
Suzaku chuckled at the interaction and slightly pulled ahead of the couple, "Keep it up, Lelouch. You're doing way better than I expected."
"What's that supposed to mean!?" the prince exclaimed.
The red head silently pulled ahead of Suzaku, leaving her boyfriend slightly behind. "C'mon Lelouch, hurry up."
In turn, the Japanese man pulled ahead of her, to which she did the same. "I don't mean anything, I'm just impressed, that's all." he said while overtaking Kallen once more.
Now, the two were in a full on race, leaving Lelouch in the dust as he watched them crest the next hill within seconds, "H-hey! Wait for me!" he shouted as his legs began to buckle, "Damn it… this is just too much…" The Prince came to a dead stop, heaving in and out with great difficulty.
That's when he heard something honk behind him, "Do you want a ride?" it was the bus that would take passengers into Mount Hiei, except, this one was on its way out.
"Perfect." Lelouch muttered with a smile.
"Hey, are you sure it's okay to leave Lelouch behind like that?" Suzaku asked as he and Kallen ran side-by-side.
"He'll be fine. There's nothing out here that'll eat him anyway." she responded while pulling ahead of Kururugi.
The Japanese man pulled up to her side in turn, "She sure is competitive, huh?" that's when he shook his head and asked, "Hey, I noticed how close you are with Lelouch. After all, I don't think I could even get him to exercise." a smile appeared on Kallen's face upon hearing such praise, "That's why… I've gotta ask, what's your relationship with him?"
The red head smirked, "Well… we're in full-on relationship, of course."
It felt good to say that. Kallen had wanted to say such a phrase for the longest time, and even though Lelouch did make her promise to not tell anyone about them, she just couldn't resist seeing the surprised look on Suzaku's face. But this… was just too much.
"What!?" he exclaimed while tripping over a rock, tumbling down the hill helplessly, before recovering upon reaching the bottom, "L-Lelouch is in a relationship!? Are you sure we're talking about the same guy?" he ran up to the red head's side again.
"Yes. We are."
"H-how did you manage to do that?"
"I don't have to tell you that."
Suzaku and Kallen watched as a bus passed by them with a honk, asking, "Do you need a ride?"
"No, thank you, we're just going for a quick jog." Kallen responded with a smile.
Little did she know, Lelouch was taking cover inside the vehicle, praying that she wouldn't get on. "If you say so miss." the bus driver said while closing the doors, and driving off.
"Thank god for that." the Prince muttered while getting back in his seat.
Though, it was just a little too soon. "Is that Lelouch?" Suzaku questioned.
Instantly, Kallen's eyes narrowed while darting over to the passing bus' seats, there she saw Lelouch breathing a sigh of relief. Of course, upon feeling her gaze on his back, a sharp tingle made him turn around instantly.
The couple locked eyes, and the Prince felt beads of sweat drip down his forehead, "Uh oh."
"Uh oh is right, you idiot." the red head thought, as if being able to have a conversation with her boyfriend telepathically, she continued, "You better not let me catch you."
"Y-yes ma'am…" Lelouch slumped into his seat as he felt his heart drop, "My life's basically over."
Much to Suzaku's surprise, once the bus rounded the bend, Kallen's figure disappeared. It wasn't until his eyes locked onto the bend, where he saw the red head chasing after the bus, "H-how's she moving like that?" he muttered while chasing after her, but it was to no avail. She was just too fast.
"Lelouch!" the red head called out, "I'm gonna kill you!"
"I-is she catching up!?" the Prince thought aloud as the girl's figure grew closer and closer. Luckily, they reached the final stretch: the slope that led into the mountain, this was where the bus finally pulled ahead, as Kallen had to slow down in order to not trip up. At least, that's what Lelouch thought until the red head jumped onto a nearby roof, which she used to traverse the landscape. Eventually, the bus came to a stop where a few old ladies were patiently waiting for it. That's when Kallen landed next to them with a thud, cracking the sidewalk.
"Oh my, young lady, are you okay?" one asked as the red head brushed a few leaves off her shoulder.
"I'm alright. I'm just here to pick up a certain idiot." Kallen replied as the doors opened, "Lelouch! Get out here now, otherwise, I'm coming in there, and dragging you out myself!"
The Prince's head slowly showed itself from one of the windows, "Promise you won't hurt me."
"I can only promise that I won't leave any permanent marks."
Lelouch sighed, "Looks like I have to face the consequences of my actions…"
After he left the bus, Kallen grabbed him by the hair and began rubbing her knuckle into his skull, "Why did you lie, huh!? It's the first day, and you've already broken your resolution!"
"No! It's not that, I swear!"
"Then why?"
"I just… got tired, and I was afraid I wouldn't be able to catch up otherwise…"
The red head sighed, "I'm sorry I left you behind like that. I shouldn't've tried to compete with Suzaku in a race. By doing that, I completely forgot about your goal."
"Wh-why're you apologizing?"
"Because, if I hadn't left you, you wouldn't've taken the bus. It was partly my fault for why that happened."
"Well, would you look at that? You can be mature."
Lelouch suddenly felt the red head strike his head playfully, "Don't push your luck. We'll still be running back to the hotel after getting the snacks. This time, I'll make sure we take adequate breaks."
The Prince smiled upon hearing the word 'break', but then realized something, "Hey… where's Suzaku?"
The Honorary Britannian in question was currently speeding down the mountain with sweat dripping down his brow, "They're already down there!?" his eyes landed on the couple, who were waiting for him at the bus stop.
"What took you so long?" Lelouch taunted as Suzaku came to a stop in front of them.
"Don't give me that!" he responded, "At least I ran the full way!"
"Don't worry, Lelouch's going to run the full way back too." Kallen said reassuringly as they walked toward the convenience store, "Let's just focus on buying the snacks."
The red head picked up a little basket, and they began their shopping, "So… when were you going to tell me you had a girlfriend?"
Lelouch looked at Kallen as she picked up a green tea bottle like nothing happened, "I suppose it's fine since I was planning on telling him anyway."
The red head glared at him, "Why's it okay for you to tell other's about us, but not me?"
"I… no, you're right. That's no fair of me. I'm just worried the wrong person's going to spread rumor's, then this is going to turn into a whole fiasco. Though, I trust Suzaku. He's not the type of person to blab on."
"Wow. Thank you Lelouch. That means a lot." his friend replied with a genuine smile.
Though, that was until the second half of his sentence rolled in, "And even if he was, he has no one to tell."
Suzaku sighed, "You could've just left that part out…" he picked up a bag of shrimp-flavor chips.
"Why're you grabbing stuff?" Kallen asked.
"Ah… sorry."
"Hey… I think that's a bit rude," Lelouch chimed in, "I mean, Nunally would surely love Suzaku's company. And I'm sure Milly won't mind his presence."
The red head sighed internally, "You're right. Even now, I'm sure Milly's cooking up some sort of crazy plan that'll have us running around all day."
8:35AM
"Wait… what?" the trio asked while staring at the blonde, whose hair was in a mess.
"You heard me." she slammed a poster on their kneeling table, "There's a festival in town! And they're gonna have a REAL fireworks show!"
"Were our fireworks not good enough?" Lelouch asked while taking a sip of his green tea.
"Listen, Lelouch. While I did enjoy our fireworks fun yesterday, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind when celebrating the New Years, you know?"
"Ah, I've heard of this." Suzaku said while looking at the colorful paper, "Every year, the Kyoto group celebrate the birth of a New Year under Britannian rule with this festival."
Of course, the actual celebration was humiliating for any Japanese participants, as it mostly served as a reminder of what they lost during the war. As a result, the festival itself is split into two halves. One side of Kyoto would be decorated with many Britannian luxuries, catching the eyes of many nobles and regular citizens alike. While the other side would have traditional Japanese decorations, making sure that it didn't stand out too much, as to not draw too much attention from their Britannian counterpart.
Obviously, each side was catered specifically to each tradition, but it was only the Britannian side that would be advertised, leaving the Japanese celebration a rumor amongst the losers.
"Hey, Suzaku, do you wanna go? I heard they have a traditional Japanese celebration hidden away in the party. Would you mind showing us around?"
The Honorary Britannian looked down at the paper, "Oh… I don't know. It's been a long time since I've been to such a festival, so I don't think I'd be much help."
"Figured as much," Kallen took a sip from Lelouch's green tea, "So… do you even know where this Japanese festival is located?"
"I'm sure if we just walk around long enough, we'll find it." Milly replied nonchalantly.
"Well… I'll have to ask Lloyd and Cecile first…" the blonde nodded upon hearing his response, "And if they say yes… then I'll gladly join you."
"All right! This is gonna be so much fun!" the President shouted earnestly, "We're gonna have to buy some Yukatas if we want to fit in… but where are we going to get some?"
"Fix your hair first." Lelouch commented while lying on his back, "I can still feel the sweat from that run on my back…"
"Don't be so grumpy, Lelouch," Kallen said while rubbing his stomach like a cat.
"I'm not grumpy…"
"Shh… just eat your croquette."
Suzaku chuckled as he watched the red head stuff her boyfriends mouth with a curry-filled croquette. "Maybe we could just ask around? I'm sure the locals would know of a place where we could get some Yukatas." he suggested as Lelouch choked on his food.
"Did I hear something about buying a Yukata?" the owner, who was an old woman, asked while entering the room.
"Yes! Do you know anyone who sells them?" Milly asked while taking a seat next to Lelouch, beginning her raid on the snack bag.
"Know? They're my friend. Sure, they live quite a ways away in town, but they're good people. Just tell them I sent you." she explained while writing on a piece of paper, "Here, I'll give you the address."
"Thank you so much!" the blonde graciously took the paper and read the address in her mind.
"Ah, you're up early, aren't you, Suzaku?" Cecile greeted while walking in on the group, "Oh, and I see your friends are here too."
"Good morning, Cecile." Suzaku returned her greeting as Kallen pushed Milly's greedy hands away from her chips, "I was wondering if it was okay for me to join my… friends in going to this festival." he handed the flyer over.
"Hm… a festival? I think that's a great idea!" the indigo-haired woman responded, "Why don't we have all of ASEEC go to this?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down there Ms. Croomy," Lloyd's voice cut in, "If you don't remember, we spent the excess budget from the Lancelot repairs on this trip. We definitely can't afford any admission to such an event."
"But there isn't any admission." Cecile said while showing off the flyer, "Festivals are mostly a public event that anyone can join for free. Of course, the issue lies in buying refreshments from the vendors, who usually hike up their prices at such events."
"Jeez… I bet you're real fun at parties…" Milly muttered while taking away Kallen's entire bag of chips.
"Give that back!" the red head shouted while trampling her boyfriends body.
"Nuh-uh." the blonde continued to snack on her friend's chips until the last moment when Kallen finally got a hold of them. "Hey! I was eating those!"
"They're MY chips."
"Kallen, could you please get off." Lelouch pleaded as her knee dug into his ribs, "It's starting to hurt now."
"Oh… I'm sorry."
"I'm not!" the President stole the red head's snacks once again, this time, she made sure to run away with them.
Soon, Kallen chased after her, leaving Cecile, Lloyd, Lelouch, and Suzaku alone as the old lady silently left the room. "If it's like that… then I suppose it would be okay. After all, it'd be a shame to not properly enjoy ourselves in Kyoto while we can." the mad scientist explained.
"Are you going to join us this time?" Suzaku asked.
"Perchance. Though, I'm not one for celebrations, so don't count on it."
The Prince sat up and said, "This sounds like it's gonna be a lot of fun. Hopefully Milly doesn't force anyone to wear some ridiculous costume, or participate in a stupid game."
"Don't jinx it." Kallen said, reentering the room with her chip bag in hand. Clearly, she was victorious.
Suzaku smiled upon seeing the interaction, "Didn't think I'd actually see you get that close with someone. It's nice to see you throw away those ambitions for bringing Britannia to their knees in favor of a normal life."
Of course, he couldn't be more wrong. If anything, Kallen was the one helping Lelouch the most in that instance. But Suzaku wouldn't know that, no… he wouldn't. Because for now, Lelouch and Kallen were just playing the role of Stadtfeld and Lamprouge. Normal kids who enjoyed their friend's company. A normal couple that enjoyed teasing each other.
"I hope today's gonna be a good day," Suzaku watched as the rest of the guests flooded into the room, drawing an even wider smile to his face. "I wish moments like these could last forever."
AN: Yeah, this chapter confirms that it was indeed, Karma Suzaku who's trying to kill Lelouch. The reason why I included him in this story, was because I haven't seen him in any other fanfiction despite how interesting of a character he is (in my eyes at least). Also, while not much is known about the Karma timeline, I took some liberties when describing certain events. For one, the Black Knight's being Geassed into cooperating with Lelouch is definetly something that would happen considering that he did force his best friend into becoming his slave. Also, the slave command doesn't completely make someone an emotionless monster, as they're 100% concious of what they're doing at all times, but can't do anything to stop it.
I've decided to give this trip to Kyoto one more chapter (Thanks to a certain suggestion or two). I was planning on including the festival in this chapter, but it didn't feel right considering the heavy plot oriented first half, so expect the festival next chapter.
