The alarm's blare woke him from his slumber.
Ever since Shinjuku, his sleep schedule could best be described as "non-existent"," so he set his alarm clock to wake him up every day at nine a.m.
Of course, since his duties as Zero would often keep him up as late as six or seven in the morning, he didn't usually get more than a couple of sleep, maybe a maximum of three if he supplemented it with day naps when he was in class, but he supposed that such was a small price to pay to destroy Britannia.
Lelouch sighed, rubbing his eyes, as he turned his alarm clock off, silencing the ear-piercing noise.
Reluctantly crawling out of his bed, he went to his wardrobe and garbed himself in his school uniform.
After that, he brushed his teeth and went downstairs to have breakfast.
When he made his way down to the dining room, Lelouch found his maid, Shinozaki Sayoko, making breakfast, eggs and French toast.
When she noticed his approach, Sayoko turned around and smiled at him. "Master Lelouch, good morning. Did you have a good night's sleep?"
Lelouch had been rather busy last night, making Leila Malcal feel at home in what was essentially his basement, so he had only been able to obtain five hours of sleep.
But Lelouch wasn't going to tell Sayoko any of that, as she was just a regular civilian he had no intention of dragging into a conflict that would surely be far too much for her to handle.
Reuben had assigned Sayoko to him and Nunnally a few years after they had arrived at the Ashfords' doors, and she had been charged with taking care of them.
And Sayoko had done well enough at that. As far as servants went, Sayoko was one of the better Lelouch had worked with, though in fairness, it wasn't hard to beat Alice Lohemeyer as a caretaker.
Lelouch had even grown to trust Sayoko, which, to say the least, he didn't freely give to people.
The Japanese woman has been very cagey about her past, but Lelouch could hardly begrudge her that. It wasn't as if he and Nunnally were any less secretive about their own pasts. Besides, he doubted that Sayoko's past would be relevant to much of anything at all.
The woman was most likely a well-trained maid who had found herself employed by Ashford after the invasion. She came from an utterly average middle-class Japanese family.
Lelouch highly doubted that Sayoko was some sort of secret super-assassin with near supernatural fighting capabilities; that would be ridiculous.
Shaking his head as if to dispel his thoughts, he finally replied to poor Sayoko, who had tried to exchange pleasantries. "Good morning, Sayoko. Thank you for the breakfast. Your cooking is always delightful to partake in."
Sayoko seemed pleased by the response. It occurred to Lelouch that he had been rather distant with Sayoko lately, which had probably been of some concern to her. "Thank you, Master Lelouch. Please, have a seat. I should be done shortly."
Seeing no reason not to do as he requested, Lelouch sat at the dining table.
Soon enough, Nunnally joined them, and Sayoko served them their breakfast.
As they began to eat, Nunnally smiled warmly at him. "I'm glad we get to have this wonderful breakfast together, big brother; we rarely get the opportunity to do so these days."
Lelouch smiles at Nunnally apologetically, even if she couldn't see it. "I'm sorry about that, Nunnally. Truly, I am. I've simply been very busy lately."
Nunnally shook her head at his apology, denying it immediately. "There's no need to apologize, Lelouch; I know you're busy; you're an ambitious guy, after all…" Nunnally sighed before continuing. "It's only that…"
Lelouch raised an eyebrow at that. "It's only that…?"
Nunnally clasped her hands together, something she normally did when she was anxious about something or two of her gathering courage, his little sister answered him. "You always stay up so late nowadays, big brother. I'm pretty sure you haven't gotten more than six hours of sleep in months. I'm starting to get concerned for your health."
Lelouch certainly couldn't fault Nunnally for being concerned for him. She only wanted what was best for him, after all, as he only wanted what was best for her, but this recent, unhealthy lifestyle of his was a necessary sacrifice for destroying Britannia and discovering the truth about their mother's assassination.
Of course, Lelouch could not simply tell her that, as he had no doubt that Nunnally would be… Rather upset, to say the least, if she learned that he was Zero and was actively waging a war of terror on their nation and family, whom Nunnally did not hold much of a grudge against, unlike himself, so he had to give her an alternative explanation.
Lelouch sighed at her concern. "I appreciate the concern, little sister. I truly do, but what I'm doing right now is really important to me. Don't worry about me. It's a bit tiring, but I can soldier on. I've survived worse than a little sleep deprivation, after all."
He was banking on the vague half-truth combined with an allusion to the trauma of the invasion of Japan all those years ago would be enough to get Nunnally to drop the issue.
It seemed that he had calculated the conditions correctly, Nunnally gave a sigh of resignation. "Well, I suppose that if you feel strongly enough about this, it'd be cruel for me to force you to stop. Still, be careful, please, big brother? I don't want you to faint in the middle of class; everyone would be worried sick about you."
Well, Lelouch supposed that they would, Suzaku especially, mother hen that he was, so Lelouch supposed that was a good point.
Lelouch nodded, chuckling. "I will keep that in mind, thank you little sister."
Nunnally was about to reply when Leila Malcal walked into the room.
Lelouch's eyes felt like they were about to pop out of their sockets as the girl he had been going to such great lengths to hide walked into his dining room. "Lelouch, sorry for bothering you, but I was wondering where-"
Leila went silent when she realized that they were not alone. A look of horror that mirrored her own crossed her face.
Were Lelouch religious, he would have thanked God for Sayoko having left a few minutes ago.
Still, Nunnally was going to be a problem, as she frowned and cocked her head in confusion. "Big brother, who is this?"
Before Leila could say anything else, Lelouch offered a cover story. "Oh, Nunnally, this is Leila, a European who got lost while trying to visit her family here during Britannia's latest truce with the EU. She got lost, though, and I took pity on her, so she'll stay with us until I can get her situation sorted out."
Nunnally looked surprised at that. "Really?"
Leila nodded. "Yes, it's true. Your brother is very kind, Nunnally. Also, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Nunnally seemed to have accepted the story, though Lelouch could tell she still had doubts about the backstory.
Nunnally clasped her hands together, clearly anxious. "Leila, are you going to be okay living here? A lot of people here really don't like Europeans and your accent is really noticeable, and we all know that the truce with the EU isn't going to last forever. What if a war breaks out while you are still living here? Wouldn't you be in danger?"
Leila smiled at Nunnally, the European officer clearly touched by his little sister's concern. "Thank you, Nunnally, for your concern. You're a lot but don't worry, even if you are away. Evenks out before I can find my family, and while I'm still here, I will be fine; Lelouch has .romised to shelter me no matter what."
Nunnally looked surprised at that. "Is that true, Big Brother? You'll go out of your way to protect her?"
Leila looked at him expectantly, signalling him to back her up; Lelouch nodded and backed her up. "Yes, that's true; I refuse to let Leila here be killed by rabid Britannian nationalists who think killing a European tourist will somehow earn them a Knighthood and a pat on the back from the Emperor himself. As such, I am having Leila stay down in the bunker, and I plan to keep Leila's existence hidden from as many people as possible, so I'd like you to not mention Leila to anyone, Nunnally, can you do that for me?"
Nunnally bit her lip before nodding reluctantly. "Of course, big brother, I won't mention this to anyone. Don't worry; I can keep a secret."
She could; despite all Nunnally's friends, not one hinted about their past.
Nunnally smiled then. "So, Leila, will you be okay with being in Lelouch's harem?"
Lelouch's eyes widened as he panicked at the unfolding situation, rushing to contain the situation.
Lelouch Lamperouge had been a pleasant surprise, a bright spot in the bullshit that had led to her new home in a bunker under an elite Brittanian school.
Honestly, for an agent of Zero, Lelouch had been remarkably pleasant.
With a good sense of humour, perfectly polite, rather welcoming, morally upright, and far more intelligent than his carefree attitude would initially suggest, Lelouch stood in sharp contrast to the unscrupulous warlord he served.
Lelouch's staunch loyalty to Zero actually puzzled her. Did he not realize that Zero would be okay with taking his school hostage to ensure a victory against the Holy Britannian Empire? Or something along those lines?
It wasn't ? as if Zero gave a whit about the lives of Britannian civilians; for a self-proclaimed Knight of Justice, the man was perfectly willing to sacrifice civilians, Britannian and Japanese alike, in exchange for victory or being able to achieve the masked leader's goals and ambitions. And it wasn't as if the terrorist leader's subordinates were much better in that regard, either.
Despite how much Leila liked them, it was clear that Zero's officer corps were predominantly of one mind with Zero on such matters.
Hell, Akito had even recently informed her that the Black Knights' leadership, back when they were operating independently as the so-called Kozuki Cell, apparently named after Kallen's sadly deceased older brother, had been planning to use a chemical weapon that they had stolen from the very joyfully deceased former Viceroy of Area 11, Prince Clovis la Britannia.
And while Leila was sure that Oghi, who had been the leader of the Kozuki cell at the time, would have preferred to use the chemical weapon in such a way that it would only decimate Britannian military personnel rather than Britannian civilians, the fact remains that the Kozuki cell was going to use chemical weapons and were perfectly willing to accept any content collateral damage that may occur in the process.
As such, Zero's officers would likely approve of any of Zero's ruthless plans as long as they bring Japan closer to an independent future.
They probably wouldn't be happy about being culpable for the deaths of civilians, but Leila knew full well that they would go along with it if Zero ordered them to. Zero had cemented himself as an unbeatable commander in their minds, the man of miracles, so they'd gladly go along with a plan to massacre Britannian civilians so long as Zero could convince them it was a necessary act for victory.
All this was to say that Zero would surely sacrifice Lelouch without hesitation if it meant achieving victory, and Lelouch was surely intelligent enough to realize that, so why was he so blindly loyal to Zero?
She could only assume that it had something to do with some incident that had happened to him in the past, one that had involved Zero, but she didn't want to pry, so she had not asked him about it.
Akito's intervention drew Leila out of her thoughts, who had tapped her on the shoulder. "Commander, welcome back. How was the Tokyo Settlement?"
Leila smiled up at Akito from the bench she had been sitting in in the makeshift mess hall of the Black Knights Headquarters. "It was pleasant enough, even if it is a glorified monument to Imperialist greed."
Akito nodded at that. "As you say, Commander."
Leila looked at him expectantly; she knew full well that Akito wouldn't have sought her out for mere small talk. "Was there anything else you wished to ask me about, Lieutenant Hyuuga?"
Akito nodded at her once again. "Yes, Commander, there have been some… concerns amongst the Squadron."
No rest for the wicked, Leila supposed. She could guess what concerns those were. "And I presume that these concerns had to do with Zero and our mission from the EU?"
It wasn't a question that needed an answer.
Akito answered her like it was one, though. "Yes, they've been asking why we shouldn't just outright join the Black Knights and defect from the EU entirely."
To think things were deteriorating this fast, Leila supposed that she should be grateful that they wanted her to defect along with them rather than betraying her to Zero and then the Black Knights, but it was still rather disheartening.
Leila frowned at Akito's report. "That is rather concerning, but are they at least willing to remain loyal now?"
Akito wasted no time in answering her question. "Yes, Commander, they are under the impression that you just need a little time to come around on Zero, so for the time being, they are content to wait before doing anything meaningful."
Leila nodded at Akito's words. "I see, is there anything else I should know about?"
Akito nodded at her question as if to answer yes without words before answering her properly. "Yes, while you were gone, Commander, the Four Holy Swords, an Elite squad that was previously a part of the new defunct Japan Liberation Front, approached the Black Knights. Apparently, their leader, Tohdoh Kyoshiro, was captured by the OSI and has been scheduled for execution by Britannia. They said that if Zero saved this Tohdoh from execution, they would join Zero."
That was rather noteworthy. Having the Miracle Worker and his famous band of warriors join the Black Knights would undoubtedly enhance the Black Knights' legitimacy in the eyes of the Japanese.
Leila gave Akito a questioning look. "I see, as I recall, European Intelligence believed that the Japan Liberation Front and the Black Knights could come to blows. Do you think that these Four Holy Swords could have some misgivings about Zero?"
If they did, they could obtain them as allies of a sort.
As if he had read her thoughts, Akito answered in the negative. "They dislike Zero, but they despise the EU for standing by and allowing Britannia to conquer Japan even more; they won't be of any help to us, Commander."
Their conversation was interrupted by C.C.'s arrival. "Commander Malcal, Zero requests your presence at the upcoming meeting."
Leila shakily nodded at Zero's mistress, silently hoping that the woman hadn't overhead her and Akito's conversation. "Very well, lead the way."
And without another word, Leila followed C.C. through the Black Knights' headquarters and entered the makeshift meeting room.
Within, Leila found Zero, his usual officers and advisors, and four people that she had never met before that could only be the Four Holy Swords, they were all staring at her intently.
They were all clearly waiting for her and Leila felt herself blushing out of embarrassment under their scrutiny.
Leila bowed her head apologetically. "I apologize for making you all wait on me."
Zero nodded in acknowledgement of her apology. "There's no need to apologize, Commander Malcal. The fault lies with me. I sent for you last, after all." Zero paused for but a moment before resuming. "Anyway, Leila, these are the four Holy Swords: Urabe, Chiba, Asahina, and Senba. Urabd, Chiba, Asahina, Senba, this is Lieutenant-Colonel Leila Malcal of the Wyvern Squadron. The EU volunteered their aid in our fight against Britannia."
Leila smiled at the four soldiers. "Hello, it is good to meet you all."
Three of four of the Holy Swords did not bother to respond to her greeting; the only one to reply was Asahina. "It is good to meet you as well, Commander Malcal."
With the introductions out of the way, Leila took her seat.
With all relevant parties now present, Zero started the meeting. "Thanks to the Four Holy Swords, we now know that Britannia is holding Tohdoh, the miracle worker, within a maximum-security prison within the Tokyo Settlement. I have agreed to aid their efforts to rescue Tohdoh in exchange for himself and the Four Holy Swords."
Tamaki spoke up first. "Wait a minute, if Tohdoh is in prison, then how can these dudes promise that he'll join up with us after we bust him out of prison? What if he just refuses?"
Chiba scowled at Tamaki. "Tohdoh would understand why we made this deal with you all; he'll join your organization after you go out of your way to save him, proving your honour."
Tamaki threw his hands up as if surrendering before the soldier's intense glare. "Alright, alright, I get it."
Zero sighed, Leila got the feeling that he was desperately resisting the urge to facepalm his helmet, it was rather shocking that she could relate to Zero for once. "I will lead a strike force consisting of the Four Holy Swords and Kallen Kozuki to rescue Tohdoh; meanwhile, Leila shall lead the Wyvern Squadron in an attack on the Prison itself; Cornelia will likely select a high-ranking soldier to execute Tohdoh, perhaps her Knight, Guilford, or her second in command, Darlton, their goal will be to assassinate them, is this plan acceptable to you all?"
The Four Holy Swords nodded their ascent; Zero then turned to her expectantly.
Leila nodded as well. "It seems a sensible enough plan."
Hopefully, Leila and her allies could strike a crippling blow against the Empire.