AN: Writer's block is tough. The story should also be published on AO3 by tomorrow.

DarkDremora: Well, the NT counterparts could take back control if a major event happened, like I said before. But, for the most part, yeah they won't be able to regain control normally. Of course, if OT Lelouch did merge with his NT counterpart then Nt Lelouch would be in C's world with NT Suzaku and Kallen.

Guest: I was actually thinking of adding an all-you-can-eat pizza competition in the future.

Lady Moonlight: Thank you for the kind words.

Chapter 62: Triple Threat

Ashford Academy. February 17th.

"So that's C.C?" Clara carefully watched as the girl, known as 'Reifu', took her seat in class, "I'll admit… I do see the similarities… maybe that stalker's right…" she shook her head, "No. He's definitely right. After all, he can't lie to me, especially with such a strong Geass command on him."

Lelouch and Kallen noticed the pink-haired stared down C.C, "What's her problem?" the latter whispered, "Has she figured out who C.C is?"

"More than likely, but how?" the Prince questioned while mindlessly tapping his notebook, "I mean… she didn't suspect her for the past few weeks, so what's changed? Perhaps she wasn't being proactive in her case? But that only creates more questions than answers."

"Wanna deal with her?"

"As much as I do, we can't make an aggressive move without alerting Alice."

"And that's a problem because…"

"She's Nunnally's friend."

Those simple words explained Lelouch's hesitation. "So, you're suggesting we wait until Clara strikes first? But what if it's too late by then?"

"She hasn't made a move yet, so there has to be a reason for that. Even still, we'll keep C.C close by, but not close enough to where they suspect us being connected to her."

Though, that was a miscalculation on Lelouch's part. Due to Reifu using Lamprouge as her last name, that automatically made the Prince a suspect, and by extension, Nunnally. Luckily for her, because of Alice, Clara wasn't able to investigate the Princess, otherwise, she'd face the blonde's ire. "Rolo said he'd take care of Lelouch if he tries to thwart our plans. But I just hope it doesn't involve killing him, because that would drag his sister into this. And even though I could probably beat Alice in a fight, her Geass would give me a bit of trouble. Honestly, it's a fight I wouldn't risk taking, but if it comes to it, I won't hesitate to kill her."

Meanwhile, C.C had different concerns echoing throughout her mind. One such, was a strange letter she received in her locker this morning, which promptly read, "C.C! It makes me so happy that we can finally be reunited! Please, meet me by the Narita mountains. There, we can finally be alone…" the end of the letter trailed off to useless rabble about having a future together and living on a secluded island. All of which, the immortal wasn't interested in, as she knew how this had to end.

Her eyes wandered to Kallen and Lelouch, who appeared to be whispering about something, "I can't involve them. Especially Kallen. She'd be the easiest for Mao to manipulate, considering her insecurities regarding Lelouch." her eyes then lingered on the boy, "And I don't even have to explain why it would be a bad idea to include him." despite not wanting to involve him in dealing with Mao, C.C's mind couldn't help but remember how he outsmarted the Chinese man at Clovisland, "No… that's not the reason I don't want to include Lelouch. It's because Mao's my burden. I should've dealt with him in the original timeline alone. But because of my cowardice, Nunnally was put in danger. I can't let that happen again, so I'll deal with Mao alone."

"Looks like she's received the letter." Clara massaged her face with frustration, "Man… it looks like I'm really gonna get put through the ringer by Rolo for this. Wish I could just kill him. But, I'd probably be dead before I could get my Geass command off."

"Um, Ms. Lanfranc." the teacher called, "I sure hope you're paying attention, because this section will be on the test."

"Yes, sir." she responded lazily, "Ugh, maybe that would be a mercy kill actually…"

Lelouch watched as Clara sent a text message with her phone under the table. Unfortunately, he couldn't see the contents from where he was sitting. "I'll confront her with my Geass, like I originally intended. Then, we'll get our answers. And, if it turns out we need to eliminate her; I'll do it without hesitation. Thankfully, after that excursion with Suzaku, it's proved that we can leave school for a week without anyone growing suspicious."

The bell rang, signalling for class to end. That's when Milly burst into the room, and grabbed Kallen by the wrist, "Come on! We're gonna be late!"

"L-late for what!?" the red head questioned while being dragged out the room, much to the class' enjoyment.

"Oh great. Looks like I'll have to confront Clara on my own. Honestly, what's Milly got that so important?"

"M-Milly!" Kallen stuttered while being dragged through the halls, "Can't you just loosen your grip a little bit?"

"No way! If I do that, I know you'll escape for sure!" the blonde opened the door to the council room and shoved her 'captive' inside. There, she came face-to-face with Shirley, who evidently was put into the same situation.

"What's this about?" Kallen asked in a semi-hostile tone, "I don't want to confront Shirley right now. Especially after Lelouch rejected her on Valentine's Day. She must be heartbroken, and in the process of healing, so by seeing me, she must…"

"We're going to have a girl's day out!" the blonde shouted while holding up a flyer, "Today at the mall, they're having a special scavenger hunt! We should totally go!"

Nina innocently typed away at her computer as the girls continued their conversation, "Sorry, Milly. But I can't go, after all, I have plans with-" Kallen cut herself short. Not finishing the sentence for Shirley's sake.

"Too bad it's already been decided!" Milly shot down any hope of fighting back, "So, any plans you had for today, consider them cancelled!"

"Th-that doesn't include me, does it?" the bespectacled girl asked innocently.

"Obviously it does!"

Nina looked down with disappointment, knowing there was no point in protesting once the President made up her mind. "Can I at least ask why we're doing this so… abruptly?"

"Isn't it obvious? Because we haven't hung out in forever!" Milly lied. Well, not exactly. While it was true that they hadn't gone out together as a group in a while, her true motive lied in trying to cheer up Shirley, who was still melancholic after being rejected by the Prince. This outing would serve to 'mend' the relationship between the orange-haired girl and red head. Much to the blonde's obliviousness, she failed to realize that what Shirley needed was time alone.

Nevertheless, this was an order from the President herself, so there was no protest. The girls were forced to fall in line. Otherwise, a worse punishment would be waiting for them later down the line. Of course, that didn't stop Shirley from trying, "I'm sorry Milly, but I really don't feel good. Can't we do this some other time?"

"Aw, what's wrong? Is it your monthly?" the President asked in a caring tone, "It'll be okay. We won't be out for that long."

"That's not it…"

"Then what's wrong?" asking that question was a bit cruel on Milly's part. Especially since she knew that Shirley couldn't just say outright what was bothering her, considering her personality. "Honestly, you can say that you just don't want to hang out," she wiped away a fake tear, "But… it'll really hurt my feelings if you do."

It was a typical guilt trip. But these kinds of tactics were ones that Shirley couldn't refuse. "N-no. It's not that I don't want to go-"

Milly suddenly clapped her hands, "Then it's settled! Pack your things, girls, 'cause we're going out for a day of fun!"

C.C casually snuck off campus, making sure she could catch the next train to Narita before it was too late. She was determined to resolve the Mao situation today. Though, unbeknownst to her, she was being followed by a certain pink-haired girl, who was making sure her target would reach the ambush point without any interruptions. She pulled out her phone, and contacted Rolo, who was waiting near Narita, "Report." he commanded calmly.

"We've just left the school, and we're presumably heading toward the train station for Narita. We should be there in half an hour or so. How's Mao holding up?" Clara asked while covering her mouth to conceal her words.

"Your Geass command is still in effect." the assassin responded while watching the Chinese man take a seat on a concrete bench, humming an eerie tune. "Though… he's been shaking for a while now. I suspect he'll break soon."

"Don't worry. We'll have C.C soon, and we can put him out of his misery." Clara answered heartlessly while waiting at the train station, just out of view of the immortal.

"I hope so." with those parting words, Rolo hung up, much to the pink-haired girl's relief.

Unfortunately for her, there would be an extra guest at the party. As, just down the stairs, Lelouch listened carefully for the next train to arrive. "What is she doing?" he wondered while leaning against a wall, "I wanted to interrogate her at school, but if she's just going to up and leave, then I suppose I'll just follow her to a secluded location, and use that moment to Geass her."

Unbeknownst to the boy, he had already been spotted by Clara. The only reason she hadn't confronted him yet, was because she needed an excuse for ditching school in the middle of the day. And who better than a Geassed Vice-President to help? "Lelouch Lamprouge… that's your name, isn't it? You'll be useful for later. But not now, there are way too many witness'." the pink-haired girl smiled as the train arrived at the station, signalling the next stage was near.

A Mall Somewhere in Tokyo Settlement.

"Seriously, Milly? How're we supposed to find this?" Kallen asked while looking at the scavenger hunt list before her.

"What? It's just a chair. We can find that." the blonde answered effortlessly as her group, consisting of Kallen, Nina, and Shirley, took an escalator up.

"But… I thought a scavenger hunt was people just going after knickknacks, not full on household objects." the orange-haired girl added as they stood in front of the department store.

"Exactly." the red head agreed, "Also, we don't actually have to buy the chair, right?"

The girls looked toward the bottom of the page, where it said in fine print, "All objects must be purchased before returning them to the starting area for verification. Participants must also show proof of purchase for the item(s) to count."

"Ugh. This just screams scam." Kallen muttered with disgust.

"Well, look at the bright side." Milly flipped the scavenger hunt paper around, and pointed at the grand prize, "If we manage to find all of our objects first, then we'll win a set of hair dryers!"

"We could just buy our own…"

"No way! That takes away from the fun!"

The girls exited the store carrying a plastic folding chair. Though, it was quite a hassle getting the receipt from the employee, as most stores weren't carrying receipts today for some reason… "This really is a scam, isn't it?" Nina whispered to herself as a red mark of irritation grew on Kallen's forehead.

"Yeah… yeah it is." the red head added while clenching her teeth.

"Come on, girls! Keep your eyes on the prize! We just need three more items, and those hair dryers are practically ours!"

"Oh, you're here too." the voice of Maya greeted the girls. She was soon followed by Mario, who was holding onto a scavenger hunt flyer.

"What's this? Are you trying to skip school? You know I can report you, right?" the President stated as the siblings quirked their eyebrows.

"Seriously? To find us skipping school, you had to do the same." Mario answered blankly.

That's when Milly burst out laughing, "Yeah! You're right. I'm just kidding." her tone then turned into a teasing one, "Though… I didn't take you for someone who cared about hair products, Mario."

"You're just full of jokes today, aren't you?"

Maya giggled upon seeing the exchange, "Don't mind him. The reason we're here today is for me. My hair dryer broke down recently-"

"No. It didn't break down recently, it's been broken for a few months now. You've just been barely maintaining it with whatever little knowledge you have."

"Exactly! So why do I need a new one!"

"Because, this morning, you got electrocuted by it!"

"Aw… are you worried about my safety?"

"As if. I just don't want to explain to Clarice why the apartments on fire."

"What!? It was one time! And there were hardly any sparks!"

"When I entered the bathroom, the shower curtain was on fire!"

"By the way, don't you think it's rude to enter the bathroom while a ladies taking care of her business?" Maya tried to change the subject, "It's very ungentle men-like, even if I am your sister."
"Don't change the subject!"

"She's right, you know?" Milly chimed in, "You really shouldn't walk in on a girl in the bathroom, even in dire circumstances. You don't want to be labeled a pervert, do you?"

"That's not what this is about!"

Mario felt like he was being suffocated, especially with the situation spiraling out of control like this. Not only that, but he was sure that he heard a few passer-Byers call him disgusting from the brief words they heard. Luckily for the boy, at least one person was on his side, "Stop teasing him." Kallen commanded, "I'm really not in the mood, especially with this stupid scavenger hunt."

"Oh, come on, Kally~" Maya wrapped her arms around the red head playfully, "It's just a game, you don't have to be so sour."

"It's a damn expensive game."

"I agree. We shouldn't be spending money on such useless tasks." Mario added, much to his sister's frustration.

"I thought you wanted me to get a new hair dryer?" she asked.

"No. I said I wanted you to BUY a new one."

"But isn't this more fun?"

"If fun is synonymous with tedious, then yes."

"Boohoo!" Maya playfully stuck her tongue out, "If we complete this scavenger hunt together, then we'll all get hair dryers, and if you think about it, we'll be saving a ton of money!"

Mario facepalmed and muttered, "Whatever… it's apparent that no matter what I say, you'll keep playing this stupid game." he put his scavenger hunt in his pocket, "Let's hurry up. I really don't want to be seen hanging out with this group."

"What!? Why not?" the President exclaimed, showing one of the reasons why Mario didn't want to associate with them.

"So… our next item is… a lava lamp?" Kallen announced with a hint of confusion, much to Milly's annoyance.
"Wait! We can't just let him get away with that comment!"

"I think they sell those at the top floor." Shirley added as herself, Kallen, Mario, and Nina headed toward the nearest escalator.

"Aw, man… why are my subordinates ignoring me!?" on the surface, the President was indeed annoyed that her friends were ignoring her. But on the inside, she was happy that Shirley seemed to be fine. She wasn't having fun, but she wasn't moping around like before. It was a small bit of progress, but it was progress nonetheless.

Unbeknownst to the group, however. In the background, three men wearing comical plushie masks skulked behind a corner, observing the mall's crowd with a watchful gaze. "Alright, you know the plan, right?" the one wearing a bear mask asked as someone gave them a look of disdain before activating a vending machine.

"Why the hell are we doing this again?" another, wearing an onigiri mask with two beady eyes and a playful smile, questioned.

That's when the man wearing the bear mask took his off, revealing himself to be Tamaki, "Idiot. We're here to win those hair dryers, duh."

"But why? Can't you just buy one for yourself?"

"Nope." the final member, wearing a tiger mask, answered. Soon, he took his off, revealing himself to be Ohgi, "Why would we waste OUR money on grooming products, when we could win them in a competition, having fun in the process."

The last man took his mask off with a sigh, revealing the face of a disappointed Naoto, "Seriously, then why are we getting them anyway?"
"I thought I told you before! We're trying to swoon the new recruits with this brand-spankin' new hair dryer!" Tamaki answered with the confidence of the sun.

"Shh, keep your voice down." Ohgi whispered while putting his mask back on. The others did the same.

"Fine. You want to swoon some girls, but what does that have to do with me?"

"You're kidding, right?" Tamaki wrapped his arm around the resistance leader's shoulder, "Dude, don't you wanna get her something nice?"

"Why would I do that?" Naoto asked, assuming that her, referred to Kallen.

"Oh, you poor dense fool." his friends shook their heads with disappointment, "Women love gifts, especially free gifts as long as you don't tell them it was free."

"What the hell does that even mean?"

"It means, women love the concept of getting stuff for free, but getting a gift from someone who got that gift for free is a big no-no." Ohgi explained as if he was talking to a child.

"Once again, what does that have to do with me?"

"Didn't you go on a few dates with Naomi? I'm sure she's expecting a gift some time soon, especially since, if I remember correctly, you've been on three dates so far."

"You're keeping track?"

"Ah-ha! So those were dates!"

Not being able to reject the accusations any further, Naoto was forced to confess, "Fine. Yeah, I've gone on a few dates with Naomi, but I really don't see why I wouldn't just buy her a hair dryer, and save myself the hassle."

"Oh, Mr. moneybags over here." Ohgi mocked.

"Since when is it okay to make fun of someone for having money?" the resistance leader scratched the back of his head.

"Dude, it isn't just about the hair dryers. It's about having fun with your friends." Tamaki placed an arm on his friend's shoulder, "And what more fun could there be than playing a scavenger hunt with the boys?"

The resistance leader sighed once again, "Fine." he surrendered, "Let's just get this over with, what do we need?"

Shrine at the Top of the Narita Mountains.

"What the hell is going on?" Lelouch questioned as he peered around a corner, where the immortal was being confronted by a man wearing a green visor, and Clara, "Why is C.C here?"

"Mao, why are you here?" she demanded an answer from the man, "And most importantly… why are you working with her?"

Clara smiled sadistically, "Isn't it obvious? I've Geassed him to do my bidding." she answered effortlessly, "I'll say this, the guy's completely obsessed with you. Once I put a command on him, all the beans spilled, and it was almost too easy to track you down. Then, there was the matter of putting that letter in your locker. But I felt like I should've delivered that myself." she put a finger to her head, "And… it looks like it all paid off in the end."

"Who sent you?" C.C asked as Mao struggled to free himself from the Geass command.

"Isn't that obvious?" Clara asked ominously, "If not… then let's just say he's an old friend of yours."

"V.V?"

"You said it, not me."

"How'd she get a hold of Mao so easily? I know he can be a fool at times, but thanks to his Geass, there's no way they could get the jump on him. So what happened?"

"I wouldn't think too hard about it." as if reading her mind, the pink-haired girl abruptly interrupted C.C's thoughts, "After all, that's how we got a hold of your boyfriend over there."

"We!? There's a second assailant sent by V.V? Where is she?" the immortal's eyes darted around the surrounding town, making sure to scan each balcony, corner, and tree with maximum effectiveness. Though, she came up short.

"Judging by your reaction, it looks like I said too much." Clara snapped her fingers, signaling for Mao to pull out his handgun, "Don't miss."

The Chinese man shook as he aimed the pistol at the woman he loved. Though, her eyes hardened with resolve. She knew they couldn't kill her, so all she had to do was avoid being completely disabled. However, thanks to the memories of the past timeline, she'd be able to effortlessly defeat her assailants. If things stayed as is, then this fight would be a piece of cake.

"Is this who you were looking for?" Rolo asked while walking out of a nearby corner, holding Lelouch by the hair, "I honestly don't know what kind of crush would drive you to stalking a girl all the way here, but Clara said love makes people do strange things." he looked at Mao, "Maybe there's some truth to that."

"Damn it… if only I could make eye contact…" Lelouch struggled to try and face his assailant, but eventually gave up, "That girl, Clara, she's got a Geass too. And, from what I understand, it seems to have similar conditions to mine. Since she doesn't know I have one, I should be able to get the jump on her if I play my cards right."

The pink-haired girl turned to Mao with an annoyed face, "Hey, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and shoot her already!"

The man's body shook in response, before he fired a bullet at the immortal. To everyone's surprise, she ran for cover, narrowly avoiding the projectile as it struck the Buddha statue that sat next to her. "Did he miss on purpose?" Clara wondered as she gripped Lelouch by the face.

"What are you doing? Let's focus on C.C." Rolo suggested while his partner activated her Geass.

"No. This boy will be a useful bullet sponge. We'll use him to capture C.C, then wipe his memory."

"And here I thought you wanted him alive." Rolo muttered as his teammate looked their captive in the eyes.

"Lelouch Lamprouge, you will-"

However, before she could finish her common, the Prince shouted at the top of his lungs, "DIE!" with his Geass active. A bird symbol flew into Clara's eyes, causing her to stumble back in shock.

"Damn it!" she groaned in agony while fighting off the command, "He has a Geass… is that why he followed me? Was he here to save C.C?"

Rolo sighed as he pulled out his gun, "Well, that took a turn for the worst."

Though, just as he was about to execute the Prince, a bullet shot the gun out of his hand, instantly drawing his attention to the one responsible, "Ah, with Clara out of commission now, you feel like you've got your life back, huh?" the assassin stared at the shaking Mao as he aimed his pistol at him. Of course, he'd by lying if he wasn't prepared for this exact situation. Using his Geass, he stopped Lelouch, Clara, and Mao's perception of time, using this moment to approach the Chinese man. But, before he could kill him, stray bullets launched by C.C forced him to temporarily retreat. Releasing those in his hold.

"What was that?" Lelouch shook his head, "No. I can't worry about that right now. I have to get out of here. My life's in serious danger now."

The Prince ran away in the chaos as Clara screamed in agony. C.C did the same, leaving Mao to fend off Rolo, "I won't let you harm C.C!" he sent a punch toward the assassin, who effortlessly dodged the strike, and countered with a punch to the gut, causing Mao to fall to his knees. Dropping his gun in the process.

"Idiot. You should've just kept your distance." Rolo muttered as his partner reached for the gun. Though, it wasn't to aid him, but so they could fulfill the command Lelouch bestowed upon them. Seeing this, the assassin grabbed their partner by the hair, and led them to a nearby hand cleansing station, where the crystal clear reflection of the duo would allow Clara to use her Geass on herself. Now, it was just a matter of getting through to her. "Clara." he called, "Clara. I don't know if you can hear me right now, but I seriously need you to snap out of it. You don't even have to completely recover. Just fight enough to the point that you're able to use your Geass." the girl fought hard for control, but looked like she was going to succumb to her command. So, Rolo gave her extra motivation, "If you can't fend off such a simple command, then it looks like Master V.V has no use for you."

While Clara was a relatively cool person on the surface, she too still had fear. Being abandoned by those around her was one of them. To wash away these fears, she continuously searched for ways to have fun. At least that way, she'd be able to forget about her problems temporarily. Though, the crash would always happen, and she'd be cruelly reminded of the lie she was living. And Rolo knew this more than anyone else, even V.V himself. Because, he had this same fear too. Using the last of her willpower, Clara activated her Geass and shouted, "Clara Lanfranc… I command you to… LIVE!"

While there might've been a better command to give that would've completely cancelled out Lelouch's order, none of those came to the girl's mind. At that moment, she was concerned with her survival, and telling herself to live, seemed like the most logical option. Of course, this meant that the Prince's command was still dormant in her mind, waiting to be reactivated with the word 'Die'.

"Not bad." Rolo muttered while tossing his partner to the ground, "But don't get too comfortable. It looks like C.C's gotten away, but if we use Mao effectively, we can still catch that boy, and find out why he was chosen by C.C as a contractor."

"How do you know C.C was the one who gave him a Geass?" Clara asked through struggled breaths.

"I don't see any other masters here."

"True…"

Rolo faced Clara with stern eyes, "Now, hurry up. I don't want to sit twiddling my thumbs any longer."

"Jeez, who knew lava lamps could be so expensive?" Shirley muttered as she carried a small box containing their desired object, "I mean, 15 bucks for this small thing is outrageous!"

"Maybe this really is a scam…" Milly added as they took the escalator down.

"You think!?" Kallen exclaimed, causing the orange-haired girl to fumble the box slightly, "Be careful. If you drop it, I'm going home."

"Don't be so mean, Kally!" Maya pleaded with a playful tone, "Besides, all we have to do is bring this back to the starting area, and those hair dryers are as good as ours!"

Just as she said that, three men wearing masks slid past them on the escalators railing, "As if we'd let you!" one shouted while carrying a small box containing a lava lamp.

"Gah! No way!" Milly began running after the trio, "We have to stop them!"

"Damn. This is kind of cruel, ain't it?" Naoto thought to himself as his feet hit the ground, "Nonetheless, a challenge is a challenge. Sorry, sis."

Kallen and Shirley raced to the bottom of the steps, easily outpacing the President, who took dainty footsteps. Meanwhile, Maya enjoyed the show from above, while Mario explained that if that group turned in the stuff first, they'd win the hair dryers, "Oh shit! We can't let that happen!" the sibling duo then ran down the escalators, leaving poor Nina behind in the chaos. Or, perhaps this was for the better, as the green-haired girl preferred time alone anyway. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a Chinese restaurant advertising free Wi-Fi, so she decided that's where she would hunker down.

"Stop them!" Milly commanded her minions as Naoto's team inched further away. Luckily, Kallen managed to catch up to them, much to her brother's surprise.

"Woah, hey! Take care of her, would'ya!?" Tamaki exclaimed as the red head was hot on their heels.

"The hell you want me to do? Fight my own sister over hair dryers?"

"Preferably, yes." his friends answered with blank stares.

The Kozuki rolled his eyes before coming to a dead stop, coming face-to-face with his sister, who had an annoyed look, "Seriously, is that you, Naoto?"

"Uh… I don't know what you're talking about." he responded in an unnecessarily deep voice.

"Oh, if that's the case, then I'll simply rip off that stupid mask and see for myself if you're telling the truth!"

Beneath his mask, Naoto began sweating profusely, "Damn it… why'd I agree to do this again?"

In an instant, Kallen burst forth, taking her brother by surprise, as he raised his arms to narrowly block an incoming strike aimed for his chest. Then, she dropped low to the ground, before hitting him with a sweeping kick, forcing the man to leap away. Gaining distance. "All this over a hair dryer, huh?" she taunted while grabbing him by the collar, and tossing him into a trashcan, "You're really fighting me for a grooming product?"

"I haven't even done anything yet!" Naoto shouted while dodging an incoming flying kick, "You're the only one fighting! And, by the way, you're doing so a little too eagerly!" he ducked a punch, before getting hit by another, causing him to stumble away, "Is this revenge or something?"

"No!" Kallen lied while grabbing her brother by the arm, and slamming him into the ground. In truth, she always wanted a good reason to get back at her brother for all the shenanigans he somehow gets her involved in. Especially those that involved interrupting her time with Lelouch. And, while it may seem like she went a bit overboard, she made sure that she wasn't actually hurting her brother, "My leg!" he cried comically.

"Shut up." the red head kicked her brother in the side before smiling, "Welp, that felt… therapeutic."

"Whoa. How'd you catch up to him like that!?" Shirley exclaimed as the resistance leader ran away, "Ah, he's getting away again!"

Milly ran after the man, finally entering the main plaza, where his friends were already waiting on the podium, "Hey! Look! We did it! We actually won the hair dryers!" they handed one box to Naoto as he climbed on stage, and the men childishly celebrated their victory.

On the other hand, Milly looked down with disappointment, "No. Not again. My plans got ruined again. This was supposed to be a day where, Kallen and Shirley could amend their friendship. The hair dryer would be a symbol of that, and yet…" tears welled in her eyes, "I failed…" she began to break down crying, much to Shirley and Kallen's surprise.

"Hey, what's wrong, Madam President?" the orange-haired girl asked sympathetically.

That's when the blonde grabbed Shirley by the shoulders, and told them everything. Her plan to win the hair dryers, get Kallen and Shirley back to normal. Everything. However, it all ended unexpectedly, when the girls in question said, "What are you saying? There's nothing wrong with Kallen and I."

"Yeah. We don't hate each other or anything like that."

"B-but what about Lelouch? I thought you'd be sad or angry that you didn't win him over?" Milly asked the orange-haired girl as she scratched the back of her head.

"Ah, well, about that… I am still sad that I didn't win over Lulu, but I can't change his feelings. That's something I have to accept." Shirley explained while putting a hand over her heart, "Truthfully, I'm still in the process of recovering. But I'll be okay." she gave the President a hug, and said, "But still, thank you for trying. Thank you for trying to cheer me up."

Kallen smiled at the exchange as they heard a familiar voice call overhead, "Hey!" it was Maya, "It's a shame that we didn't get to win those hair dryers, but you know what? I think we've found something even better!" As it turned out, the second Maya realized that they stood no chance of winning the hair dryers, she decided that they would join Nina in the Chinese restaurant, which was advertising not just free Wi-Fi, but an all-you-can-eat gyoza competition.

The girls headed upstairs to the place, and sat themselves across from the green-haired girl, who was too engrossed in her computer to notice, "Excuse me! We want to take on your gyoza competition!" Milly said aloud. The establishment was quite small, so it was pretty embarrassing to sit next to her considering how loud she was. Nonetheless, they soon got their table filled to brim with ten piece gyoza plates. "Admission was kind of high, let's hope these are good." the red head muttered while looking at the food, "This is nothing like how it happened last time. So, there probably won't be a prize for this…"

"Hey, Kallen, Shirley, I bet I can eat more than you!" Milly boldly declared, much to Maya's enjoyment.

The orange-haired girl, fired up from seeing her friend recovered from the sad state from earlier, proclaimed, "No way! Then let's have a competition. Whoever loses, has to wash the other twos laundry for a week!"

"Oh. There it is." Kallen giggled at the prospect, "Very well. Let's begin."

Random Park in Tokyo Settlement.

C.C shook as she stared at the image of a captured Lelouch on her phone, with the ominous words, "Shinjuku Ghetto. This Saturday. 9:00PM. Don't be late." attached to it.

She sighed heavily, muttering, "I've failed." she turned to her contact list, where Kallen's name stood out like a sore-thumb, "I can't drag her into this. Of all the people I could call, she'd be the most vulnerable." her mind then flashed to Suzaku, who helped last time with Mao, "No. I can't call him. He hates Lelouch's guts, the chances of him showing up just to personally kill Lelouch are way too high. I guess… I have no choice but to tell Kallen." she looked at the seemingly empty sky filled with dark clouds and muttered, "Why did it have to turn out like this?"

The Prince laid across the cold, concrete ground as Rolo paced outside his door, "Seriously? Does his Geass command really have you in such a bind?"

"Yeah, it really does." Clara told a half-truth. "Just by coming in contact or even thinking about him, it might cause the Geass command to trigger. So I don't want to risk it." the latter half of that statement was obviously a lie, but Rolo currently had no way to prove otherwise.

"Fine. I still don't see how this doesn't allow you to use Mao to read his mind, but it's obvious I won't be able to convince you." the assassin replied while cursing on the inside, "It's a shame. Finding out what makes this guy, so special will greatly aid us in capturing C.C. But now, the question lies in why? Why is Clara refusing to use her Geass to the fullest? Is she afraid or something?"

Little did he know, but he actually hit the nail on the head. It's been a while since she felt it, but Clara was afraid to die. Not necessarily the pain that comes with it, but the emptiness. Today reminded her of that emptiness. And that same feeling was draining her power due to the fragile mental state she desperately tried to cover up with living such a frivolous life-style. Though, this wouldn't affect her ability to face-off against C.C. Or at least… it shouldn't.