AN:

Ryuto: Reading it back, it was poorly worded on my part, especially with how I treated Kallen's reaction to the mask. However, the only reason for Lelouch's confidence was because of the mask, which I've been slowly trying to implement that it's his source of confidence, especially around Kallen. So, eventually there will come a time when Lelouch will be able to tease Kallen without it, and I've already got the plan laid out in my head. Also, Asahina doesn't 'know' Diethard personally. However, he is aware that the man exists as a member of the Black Knights through the battle of Tokyo.

DarkDremora: While I haven't had many chances to implement him, Diethard's last apperance was actual in the Battle of Tokyo. He helped Lelouch with the broadcasts, after all.

Guest: I'm sorry Marrybell, I wasn't familiar with your game. Now I really wish Oz was animated, because seeing that type of raid boss from her would've been sick. Though, the examples of pilots being skilled enough to contend with KGF's weren't exactly good. Especially since in Lelouch's case, he had to jump V.V with the Zero squad minus Kallen, and even then Cornelia had to help with the fighting. Then there's Anya vs Jeremiah, which seems fair at first, until you realize how busted the Mordred is. Of course, I acknowledge Marrybell as a top tier pilot. Thank you for sharing.

Chapter 95: Acquired Taste

"Would you like something to drink? Tea? Coffee?" Diethard asked while taking a seat on a luxurious chair.

Asahina took a seat on the sofa while Nagisa remained standing, "We don't need anything, but thanks for asking." the bespectacled man responded, "So, I'm aware that you're a reporter, correct?"

"Yep. I've been in the industry for over the past decade."

"In that case… you're aware of the Ashford dispute with Britannia, correct?"

The blond smirked upon hearing those words, "How could I not? I still remember how much revenue was generated from milking that story." he leaned forward, "Though… why does something like that concern you?"

"I just wanted to do a bit of research into our backers. Is that so wrong?"

"You're a terrible liar, Asahina." Diethard returned to a normal seating position, "If you were really that interested in researching the Ashford's, then you'd have come to the conclusion that they're here to help us. Now, tell me the real reason."

This time, it was Nagisa who jumped in, "We're looking into their past, since we've recently been made aware that they used to be partners with Marianne the Flash. In addition to that, we'd also like to know who else they worked with."

"Paranoid much? Well, it's not like there's a tangible record I can pull, since most of those business relations are… personal. However, if there's a specific family in mind, then just say the name, and I'll look into it. Though, I wouldn't get your hopes up. I didn't extract that much from my old workplace's database, so my information may be severely limited."

"Lamprouge." Asahina said, "We'll start with the Lamprouges'."

"Lamprouge?" the blond raised an eyebrow, "Where did you get that name from?"

"From a credible source." Nagisa stated bluntly, "Can you do it?"

"Do you… even know what you're asking me?"

"If you can't do it, then we'll find someone else."

"No you won't. The reason you came to me was because you have no one else."

Nagisa furrowed her brow, and muttered, "Smart ass…"

"Anyway, I'll get you information about the Lamprouges, just stay here for a second." Diethard stood up, and walked into another room. This was soon followed by the sound of a printer, which only lasted about five seconds, before completing its task, "And here you are." the blond reentered the room with a Manila folder, "This is everything I have on the Lamprouges."

Asahina took the folder, and peered inside with Nagisa over his shoulder. Though, both of them narrowed their eyes, clearly dissatisfied, "You trying to pull a fast one on us?" the woman asked with a hint of hostility, "We asked for the Lamprouges, not… whatever this is." she took the folder, and threw it onto the table, letting the contents freely fly out, exposing an article about Marianne the Flash.

"Just how clueless can you be?" Diethard crossed his legs with a smile, making sure to move his hands to emphasize his point, "Before she became one of the Emperor's consorts, she was Marianne Lamprogue, dubbed the Knight of Six. I remember that day vividly, because she was the first commoner to become a Knight. This is less concerning, but it's worth noting that she's of French descent - due to her last name - though we couldn't pinpoint how long her family had resided in Britannia. Various blood tests proved that she's fully Britannian, so they've probably been around long enough to have their French blood bred out, but not long enough for their family name to disappear."

"Wait… seriously?" Asahina mumbled while picking up the documents once more, "But… there was nothing about this when I searched it up…"

"Of course not. Most of it's been scrubbed clean. If you want to find anything about Marianne's past life as a Lamprouge, you'll have to either look up specifics, access archives of certain news stations, or ask someone who was there personally." the blond pointed at himself, "AKA, me."

"Fine. What do you know about Marianne?"

"Mind being specific, Nagisa?"

The woman shivered as he called her name, thinking about how disgusting it was, "Kids. Did she have any kids?"

This honestly made Diethard raise an eyebrow, "Oh wow. That is specific."

"Answer the question."

"Very well. To my knowledge, she had two."

"Had?"

"Yes. They're dead now, and any record of them has been washed away with the times. Not even I am familiar with who they are." the blond explained, "Though… there are probably about one or two pictures of them out there."

"Then get them."

"As I said, I'm not familiar. If those pictures do exist, I haven't seen them." he lied, "Take, for example, Sherry Me Britannia. Ever heard of her?"

"Wasn't she the one who married Jugo Sumeragi a few years back?"

"It's a bit more than that, but you're correct. Though, the world has mostly forgotten about her, due to being out of the spotlight in Hokkaido." Diethard shrugged, "It's more of a local story, if I'm being honest. So nobody knows what's going on with them."

"What's your point?"

"The point is, there are things even I don't know, and what goes on in the Royal Families personal lives is one of them."

"So we've reached another dead end?" Asahina sighed, "But we're practically there. Just another push… if one of those kids even looks like Lelouch, we'll be golden."

"Not exactly. From what I've heard, Clovis was quite fond of Marianne, and painted many portraits of her. One of which, was put on display to the public in Clovis land. Although, there were a total of three figures in that image, with the remaining two being just kids. If I had to bet…"

"That's them." Nagisa interrupted, "Asahina, can you find that painting?"

"I could try… but I feel like Diethard is being disingenuous here."

"Oh?" the blond smirked, "And what makes you think that?"

"You've seen it, haven't you?"

"And what if I did?"

"Diethard-"

"Why are you so keen on the Lamprouges? And be real this time. You said you wanted to know who else the Ashford's worked with, but so far you've only be focusing on one family."

The bespectacled man turned to his fellow Holy Sword, "I think we've got everything we need."

"Right." the woman turned to the reporter, "Thank you for your assistance, Diethard. But, we'll be taking things from here."

"You didn't answer my question." he said as his guest headed for the entrance, "What are you two planning on doing with that information?"

"It's none of your concern." Nagisa responded while opening the door, "And remember, as far as you're concerned-"

"Is this about Zero?"

The Holy Swords stopped dead in their tracks upon hearing those words, slowly turning around to face the former reporter with hostile eyes, "What do you know?"

"Oh my… it was just a question." the blond held his hands up innocently, "I was just wondering, that's all."

"Liar." Nagisa charged forth, slamming her fist on the table, "Tell me what you know!"

"Wait! Calm down!" Asahina shouted, holding back the woman as she stared the unflinching Diethard, who still wore a confident smile.

"How about you tell me what this is about first?"

Nagisa sat down in a huff, giving slight relief to the bespectacled man, "What gave it away?" she asked as he took a seat.

"Nothing. It was just a good guess." Diethard lied effortlessly, "Though, what set you on the path of the Lamprouges?"

"We were just given a hint to Zero's identity through a credible source." Asahina told his own lie, "A hint was looking into the Ashford's past, since he was able to get them on his side, through an old connection."

"Hm… that's a pretty good hint. But now what'll you do? Looking into the Lamprouges won't do you any good."

"It was just one loose end that needed tying up." Nagisa interjected, "Now that we've found out who the Lamprouges really are, we'll move onto the next lead."

"Is that so?" Diethard asked skeptically, "Will you need my assistance in that regard, then?"

"If we come across another name we don't know, we'll seek you out. Until then, we weren't here, understood?"

The blond shrugged with an amused smile, "Don't worry, I won't be ratting you out to anyone. Just make sure you keep my involvement out of this, too."

"Very well. We're leaving, Asahina." the woman stood up and headed for the door, "And as far are you're concerned-"

"You weren't here." Diethard waved her off, "Whatever. Just be on your way already." Without hesitation, the Holy Swords left the room, allowing the former reporter to ponder the information set before him. "Lamprouge…" he got up, and headed for his office, where he opened a drawer, which contained alphabetically lined up documents of interest. His eyes wandered to the 'L' section, where he pulled up the files regarding Lelouch Lamprouge. Otherwise, known as Lelouch Vi Britannia. Inside, there were numerous pictures of the boy in Ashford, each taken in secret or during a festival, "I wonder how long it'll take until you're ousted as Zero." the blond said with a confident smirk.

While Diethard had no real 'evidence' regarding Lelouch and Zero being the same person, considering all the bits and pieces he had collected on the Ashford boy, it was more obvious than ever. At least to him. After all - in his mind - how could he be wrong?

"I've given those two just enough evidence to figure out who you are, now I'll just have to wait for the grand reveal." he sat down in a fancy office chair, holding back a smile in the process, "And… if they're not smart enough to figure it out on their own, I'll give them a little shove with these." finally, the smile broke through, showing on his face as he said, "I wonder what your next move will be, Zero?"

Black Knight Warehouse. Chennai. April 16th. 3:21PM.

Lelouch sighed heavily, leaning flat against the couch as Kallen went through his closet, "Ugh. Why'd you take all of your bad outfits from Ashford? What happened to the clothes I got you before?"

"It's not like I made the choices. Sayoko packed most of it." he responded while stuffing his face on a throw pillow, "Why are you so concerned with my clothes now anyway?"

"Because I've only seen you wear one set, so it got me wondering what you actually took. Now I know." she said while opening a suitcase, "Seriously? You're still keeping this?" the red head pulled out a Britannian soldier's uniform, fanning it out, allowing a letter to fall from one of its pockets, "What's this?"

The Prince raised one hand, "Bring it here." he mumbled while not moving from his spot.

Instead, Kallen chose to walk over and sit on his back, causing him to groan as she began reading the contents, "Wait… this is from Clovis…"

Finally, Lelouch raised his head slightly, "Oh yeah… that's the letter I had him write for Cornelia. But it's worthless now, especially since we're in India."

"You gonna throw it away?" she asked while handing it over.

"Nah. It might have some use in the future. Under the right context… maybe…" his mind trailed off, "Actually… I have an idea how I'll be able to use this later."

"Mind telling me?"

"Only if you get off first. You're way too-"

Suddenly, the Prince felt his girlfriend grab the back of his neck with an iron grip, "I'm too what?" she asked threateningly.

"T-too light… I'm afraid I might hurt you if I force my way up."

Kallen's eyes narrowed with suspicion, "Uh-huh. That better be it."

That's when the door to Zero's office opened, and in came Naoto, who snickered upon seeing his sister sitting on the Prince, "Did I come at a bad time?" he asked while closing the door behind him.

"What do you want, Naoto?" Lelouch asked as he was finally free of his prison, "It better not be about another spar."

"Wait… you guys sparred?" the red head asked.

"It's not anything like that." Naoto responded, ignoring his sister, "I've just got that report you wanted from Savitri."

"Wait what?" Kallen tried to look at the envelope, only for her face to get pushed away by Lelouch, "Hey! Let me see!"

"Thank you. I'll be sure to look this over later."

The older Kozuki nodded, "Then I'll be on my way." he nodded at his sister, who merely stuck her tongue out in response.

"What was that about?" she asked once her brother left, "The spar, I mean."

"Yesterday, Naoto and I had one briefly to test out the new druid system."

"Is that so?" Kallen pinched her boyfriends cheek, "So you'll duel him, but not me?"

"You just weren't around… that's it. Besides, even if you were, we might not get a good reading, due to how much better you are."

"You think I can't hold back?"

Lelouch rolled his eyes while swatting her hand away, "That's not it, dummy."

"Hm? Well, lucky for you, we won't be training tomorrow."

"Please don't tell me it's because you're mad."

Kallen giggled at the suggestion, before responding, "It's nothing like that. We're just taking Benio out again."

The Prince raised an eyebrow, surprised by his girlfriend's sudden willingness to take care of her new-found responsibilities. In fact, he was impressed that she was actually caring for Benio on a daily basis, instead of just showing up once-in-a-while. Though, he also felt a bit of mild disappointment that she would skip their training because of it. Of course, he'd never admit that out loud, fearing of having the regiment increased, "Where are you going?"

"The beach." she joked, earning a strange look from her boyfriend, which was very amusing, "I'm just kidding. We're going food hunting. Yesterday, Benio said she really liked the chicken she had, so we decided it'd be a good idea to give her the chance to try something new."

"That's nice." the Prince said while trying to get up, only to be pulled down in the next second, "Hey, what are you-"

"Is that all you have to say?" the red head pulled him close, and began acting melodramatic, "Your beautiful, gorgeous, and amazing Girlfriend is about to leave you all alone for a second time this week, and all you have to say is 'that's nice'?" he tried to escape, only for her iron grip to keep him still, "Oh! How you break my heart, Lulu~"

"And here I thought I escaped Milly's wrath by leaving to India." Lelouch mumbled, only to hear his girlfriend gasp in response, "What is it now?"

"How dare you think of another woman while in my arms." she playfully slapped his chest, "I didn't know you were such a womanizer."

The Prince closed his eyes and rested his head on her chest, "I'm too tired to play right now… can we please go to bed?"

"Awe. Look at your eyes." the red head began fawning over her sleepy boyfriends face as he tried to desperately stay awake, "So cute. I wish I could take a picture."
"Don't."

"Oh? And what are you going to do to stop me?"

Lelouch's face reddened as he tried to reach for his mask, only to get rolled toward the inside of the couch, trapping him with Kallen on the outside, "Stop… it…"

"Hush… just go to sleep." the red head whispered, "I like seeing your face, especially when you're blushing."

"Is this some kind of revenge?" the boy mumbled while trying to press his face against the couch, only to be turned over, exposing his embarrassment.

"Yep. This what you get."

The Prince groaned while closing his eyes, "Just go to sleep…"

Kallen closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep alongside her boyfriend. However, curiosity got the better of her, and she poked his cheek, causing him to cutely glare at her.

April 17th. 8:00AM.

"We'll be back by 12." Kallen announced as she, Benio, C.C, and Maya headed down the pier, slowly fading from Lelouch's sight has he made sure they - particularly Kallen - were safe.

Though, due to him waiting so long, Naoto came up behind him, accompanied by Tohdoh, "You look like a puppy who just sent his master to work." the Kozuki commented with a chuckle, "Don't worry, she'll be fine without you."

Lelouch rolled his eyes while turning around, "Don't you have anything more productive to do than watching me?"

"Not really. Today, gonna be slow."

"Slower than usual?"

"Yeah, especially since Maya's gone. I'm pretty sure she's single-handedly responsible for 80% of workplace accidents around here." Naoto joked, "Though… I'm pretty sure all those incidents involved her brother…"

Lelouch turned to his left, trying to leave for his office, only to be stopped by Tohdoh, "Zero, if you don't mind me saying, it's come to my knowledge that you haven't trained today."

The Prince sighed heavily, "And how did you procure such information?"

The Miracle Worker eyed Naoto, before returning to Lelouch, "Let's just say, it was a very credible source."

Zero glared at the Kozuki, and muttered, "Eavesdropping isn't an admirable trait, you know?"

"I was just making sure there was no funny business between you two."

"It's still weird." the Prince threw back his cape dramatically, "Now I have to install cameras to make sure I'm not being spied on."

"It's not that serious…"

Tohdoh broke through the discussion, and brought it back to his point, "Zero, since you haven't trained today, I highly suggest you join us. Persistency is key when it comes down to it."

Lelouch rolled his eyes, "I'll train with Kallen later, but thanks for the offer."

"What if she's too tired by then?" the Miracle Worker asked, hoping to play on his care for the girl, "You won't want to be a burden, would you? By getting your training done with myself and Naoto, Kallen will be free to relax once she gets back."

The Prince was about to retort, until he realized Tohdoh had a decent point. Though, he wondered how Kallen would react to such information. Of course… he also thought about how he'd impress her through learning something new with Tohdoh. Surely she'd be proud, right? Or maybe she'd be offended. No. That can't be possible. She wants him to apply himself more in training, and what better way to show that, than to train even though she's not around?

In Lelouch's mind, this was pure genius.

"Very well. Just for today, I'll join you."

"Excellent! Where is your preferred place to train?"

Benio watched with awe as the chef cut meat from the gyro, revealing the inside, which was waiting to be cooked by the heat lamp. The chef then dumped the meat onto a pita bread, along with tomatoes, onions, and an orange sauce, before handing it over, "So… this is a Gyro?" she mumbled while taking a bite of her wrap.

"It's pretty nice, isn't it?" Kallen asked while taking a bite of her own, "It originates from Greece, and while the Middle East has their own version, I'm partial towards Greece."

"Why's that?" Benio asked while stuffing her face, getting sauce on her cheek, which the red head cleaned with a napkin.

"Probably because it was in larger quantities in Japan. After all, I hear Britannia's big on this stuff in the homeland, so that must be why there were so many Greek Restaurants in the mall."

"Huh. I didn't know that." Maya said as they strolled the streets of Chennai, "So, what are you craving next, Benio?"

The little girl finished off her Gyro and began scanning the scenery for something to catch her eye. That's when C.C butted in with her suggestion, "Why not Gyoza?"

"What's that?"

"It's a Chinese dumpling."

Kallen facepalmed, "That doesn't tell her anything, C.C."

"Well, it looks like we'll just have to show her, won't we?" the Immortal stated confidently, "Follow me, I know a good place."

With the witch leading the way, Maya walked up to Kallen's side and whispered, "Isn't this kind of suspicious? I mean, since when has she eaten anything other than Pizza?"

"I know. We best be on our guard. The last thing I expect is C.C expanding her taste buds in any capacity."

"Even in your timeline?"

"Yes. Even there, she was like this." Kallen responded, almost forgetting that Maya knew about her 'circumstances'.

After a short walk, the group arrived at a small shop, tucked away below ground level. They walked down the sandstone stairs and reached a door which had an 'open' sign, "How did you find this?" Maya questioned as they headed inside, "This seems so… out of the way…"

C.C happily took a seat along the long table, where a chef was cutting a few vegetables for another order, "We'll take four Pizza Gyoza's." she ordered, to which the man didn't respond.

"Pizza Gyoza? That sounds disgusting." Kallen said while taking a seat, "If you want, we can leave, Benio."

"N-no… I want to try it…" the little girl meekly stated.

"You're scared of Kallen, aren't you?" C.C asked while trying to move closer to Benio, only for Maya to take the seat between them. Of course, this didn't stop her from continuing, "If you want, you can sit over here. I swear, I don't bite~"

The red head was about to step in, only for the brown-haired girl to say, "I… I'm not scared of Kallen…" she looked at the table, "Just a little nervous… that's all."

"Awe. There's no need for that." the red head tried to comfort the girl by patting her head, "It's not like I'm gonna get mad at you."

"I…" Benio put on a faint smile, "I understand."

Suddenly, four plates of Gyoza were placed before them, shocking Maya as she asked, "Already?"

C.C smirked while taking her chopsticks, "Now, prepare to be blown away." she happily took a piece and plopped it into her mouth, smiling ear-to-ear while chewing.

Kallen hesitantly picks up her own, and bites off half, observing the inside, which consisted of meat, cheese, and sauce, "You know what? It's not bad."

"See? And to think you were doubting me moments earlier."

"I mean… I thought it would be over-the-top, but this is surprisingly normal." the red head added while eating the rest of the piece, "Yeah. I can eat this. How about you, Benio?"

Meanwhile, the little girl was practically entranced by the confection, due to her expectations being rock bottom due to Kallen's forewarning. But now that she was eating it, she thought it was great.

The girls finished their meal and headed out, wandering around town for their next food adventure, when the topic of Zero was brought up by Benio, "So… what's like?"

"He's a pretty cool guy." Maya said, "He lets me have my fun with the Sougetsu, so that's a big plus. Oh, he's also very close with Naoto, so if you wanna know more about the guy, you'd best ask him."

"What about Kallen?" the girl turned to the red head, "I heard from Tamaki that you and Zero have a 'special relationship'."

"Wait… what?"

"Yeah. He was boasting about how he and Zero were best buds. That led to him explaining how you and Zero were… 'Close'. Like… very close."

Kallen put a hand on her hip, "Don't be so gullible. Tamaki's just an idiot who looks at things at face value."

"But he said he knew Zero's identity."

Now, the red head was intrigued, "Did he tell you who Zero was?"

Benio thought about it, before saying, "N-no… he just said that you knew Zero from school." upon hearing those words, Kallen's eyes widened with shock, "I-I mean! It's not like I care… I understand everyone's situation is different… and honestly, that information doesn't tell me anything."

"Has he told anyone else?"

"No!" the little girl shook her head, "He said I'm the only one he's told-ah." she looked down and began fidgeting with her fingers, "He… also told me to keep it a secret… oops."

Kallen sighed and put a hand on the girl's shoulder, "Thank you for telling me."

"You're not mad?"

"How could I get mad at you?" the red head gave her a genuine smile, "Although… I've got some serious questions for Lelouch. How the hell did Tamaki find out his identity? There's no way that idiot just strolled into his office one time, right?"

Zero's Office.

"Achoo!" Lelouch sneezed, breaking his meditation, much to Tohdoh's chagrin, "Sorry. You know… I don't remember you being this strict."

"And you know, I don't ever remember you willingly attending my classes." the Miracle Worker said without opening his eyes, then he struck Naoto in the back with a bamboo pole, jolting the man awake.

"Woah… I didn't even notice you fell asleep." the Prince mumbled as the Kozuki yawned.

"Naoto, you're giving us a bad rep in front of Lelouch." Tohdoh said while getting up, "Just so you know, this isn't what training's normally like."

Lelouch glanced at Naoto from the corner of his eye, which earned him a head shake in return, signifying that training - was indeed - normally like this. "So… now what?"

"Now, we get onto the physical aspect of our training." Tohdoh said as the Kozuki got up eagerly, as if anticipating this moment since the beginning.

"Finally!" he shouted, "So what? It's me versus Lelouch again?"

"Correct." the Miracle watched the Prince reluctantly stand up, "Just know, I have no idea what training you and Kallen get up to, but if I had to guess, Naoto's gonna be treating you rougher. Is that okay?"

"Oh, trust me, Kallen doesn't hold back when we spar." Lelouch said while rubbing his side, "I can still feel the move she pulled on me from last week."

"Wait… she actually hurts you during training?"

"No. Not at all." Lelouch quickly clarified to the Kozuki, "It was just an accident, which she apologized for. Though, it does get a bit rough sometimes; not because she pressures me into it. If I felt uncomfortable with that kind of training, or was getting hurt, I know she'd change our regiment in a heartbeat."

"Oh. That's good." Tohdoh nodded, "Then… you'll be okay with Naoto being a bit rough?"

"Sure. As long as he doesn't leave any marks that Kallen would question."

Naoto got into a low stance - mimicking Tohdoh's stance - preparing for combat, while Lelouch opted to take more of a brawler's stance by keeping his fist forth - mimicking Kallen's stance - while keeping his body closed up. Upon the Miracle Worker's signal, their spar began, with Naoto first testing the waters by slapping the Prince's fist, earning a swift parry, which caused him to be extra cautious.

Though, this didn't mean the Kozuki wouldn't attack, as he opted to start his assault, by putting a leg between Lelouch's, grabbing the boy's shirt in the process. In an instant, the Prince soared through the air, crashed onto his back, as Naoto went for a takedown. However, Lelouch wasn't done yet, as he used the opportunity to wrap his legs around his assailants neck, successfully achieving a leg-lock. Or so he thought, as the actual move itself wasn't restricting Naoto's airways, thanks to him placing an arm between his precious neck, and the Prince's leg.

"Not bad. Kallen taught you well." Tohdoh complimented the boy as Naoto tightly gripped his opponent's shirt, "But you still lack the experience to properly pull these moves off."

In an amazing feat of strength, Naoto lifted Lelouch with one arm, planning to slam him into the ground as hard as he could, but just before he could execute his plan, the door to the office swung open, followed by a loud gasp. The men turned to see who it was, finding the red head standing there with an angry expression. "Uh-oh…"

"Naoto… Lelouch… Tohdoh…" the girl mumbled, trying her best to keep calm, "This better not be what I think it is…"

Her brother gently put Lelouch on the ground, before facing his sister, "We were just sparring, that's all. You don't need to worry about-"

Just as he was about to finish his sentence, Kallen puffed out her cheeks in a show of cute anger; pointing at the door, silently signaling for the men to get out. Now, she was alone with her boyfriend, who stared at her, "Um… are you mad?" Without answering, the red head walked past him, and leapt into bed, covering herself with the sheets, as if hiding herself away from the world. "Kallen…" Lelouch walked over, "Are you mad?"

The red head cutely poked her little head from beneath her hideaway, perfectly encapsulating her pouty face with puffed out cheeks, trying to seem as threatening as possible, only appearing endearing to her boyfriend. "Cheater."

"What!? How am I a cheater?"

With a "Hmph", Kallen retreated beneath the sheets, "You sure found a replacement for me quickly, didn't you?"

"Kallen… it's not like that." the Prince explained, "I was just trying to impress you by learning something from Tohdoh."

"But why? You don't need to do that." the red head said in a muffled tone, "I'm happy just training normally… you don't need to learn something special to impress me." finally, she popped her head out, with the sheets holding back her hair, leaving only her cute forehead visible.

"Awe…" the Prince caressed her face gently, "I'm sorry… I didn't know. Is there something I can do for you?"

The red head thought about it for a second, before throwing off the covers, "There are a couple of things… firstly… a massage is in order. If I remember correctly, you've owed me some for a while."

Lelouch sighed with a smile, "Fine." he hesitated, not knowing where to place his hands at first, opting to start at her shoulders, and work his way down. Kallen smiled as she felt him slowly relieving pressure, eliciting a small giggle from her lips. Though, she eventually ordered him to go lower, which he obliged by going to her shoulder blades.

The red head smirked, before saying, "By the way, the second thing I want… is for us to go to the beach next week." this made the Prince freeze, only for her to remind him, "Don't stop."

"The beach… why there?"

"Well, I want to go there with you, and today I found a good excuse. You see, there's supposed to be some kind of festival going on down there, and Benio wants to taste the food there. However…" from the corner of her eye, she gave her boyfriend a sly look, "I don't want to go without my boyfriend."

"Awe… thanks. But if Benio's there, then how will I-"

"Which brings me to my next point." this time, Kallen's words were stern, as if approaching a serious topic, "How does Tamaki know your identity?" once again, Lelouch froze, "Don't stop."

The Prince cleared his throat with an awkward laugh, "Well… just… don't get too mad…"

"Don't worry, I'm already mad. Especially since you didn't tell me. However, if you tell me every last detail about how he found you out, then I'll let you off the hook, understand mister?"

"Y-yes…"

"And I said, don't stop."

Lelouch returned to massaging her, before beginning his story, "You see… after the battle of Tokyo…"