AN: This is gonna be my last alternative story concept that I post for a while. This idea really, really struck me and I couldn't help but think up a plot for it. I honestly think that this is going to be a main title for me, assuming that I can keep writing and not get burned out. This is a very mild AU, the changes are mostly apparent from the start.
Synopsis: Kallen is starting freshman year at Ashford and her roomie is a mysterious, quiet girl with mesmerizing purple eyes. Kallen and Lulu are the main characters and this story is told primarily from their perspectives. Story will contain Kalulu (Kallen x Fem!Lelouch) friendshipping early on, eventual angst/hurt-comfort, and Romance/Yuri. Slow Burn... or well it's supposed to be slow burn at least. We'll see how that goes. I want this to feel earned.
July 1'st, 2015 ATB
Kallen was staring at a very specific piece of paper on the table in her room with such murderous intent one would think that it was responsible for every problem she ever had in life. Perhaps if she gazed at it long enough, the paper would set itself on fire?
"Kallen, quit staring at it like it killed a puppy, that's not gonna change the situation." She heard he'd Nii-sama quip from his position in the doorway in her room. Her head snapped over to him. She normally didn't argue with Naoto, but this? This was personal.
"I told you I don't want to go to that damn school!" Kallen snapped. "I want to fight for Japan, not sit around with a bunch of snobby Britannians!"
Kallen loathed the idea of spending even more time with even more Britannians, that bitch of a step-mother was plenty enough thank you!
Naoto sighed. "Kallen, you need to make some friends-"
"I have friends!" She cut him off. "I have Tamaki, and Ohgi and Yoshida and Inoue and Minami and Nagata and Sugiyama and-!"
"Kallen." He interjected firmly, shaking his head. "You need friends your age. Spending all your time around us isn't healthy."
"I don't want to be around a bunch of stinking brits!"
"Dad is Britannian." He pointed out. "We're both half-"
"Dad can go to hell!" Kallen spat, causing Naoto to glare at her.
"I know why dad had to leave, and so do you." He replied calmly, he was mature enough to know that getting into a heated argument with Kallen wasn't gonna do any good.
"That doesn't matter. Dad should have stayed if he really loved us!"
"It's because he loves us that he had to go." Naoto said quietly, shaking his head.
"Just-" Kallen was getting more and more frustrated, wanting to pull her hair out. She yelled in frustration and slammed her fist into the table. "Just get out of my room!"
Naoto's eyes hardened. "You're going to school Kallen, that's final."
"You just don't want me to help, you think I'm weak!"
Why couldn't Naoto understand that she didn't want this!? She wanted to fight! She wanted to help her people! She wanted to liberate Japan! She wanted to kill Britannians not make friends with them!
"Kallen." Naoto said her name softly this time, making her simmer down a little as her eyes locked with his. "I don't want you to be consumed with hate, I want you to be happy, to live a normal life and enjoy it while you still can. Am I evil for wanting to protect you from this, for wanting you to be safe and happy?"
Kallen opened her mouth to retort... only to find that she couldn't gather the right words. Every argument that came to mind... at least that she hadn't already said- died out before it reached her vocal chords.
With a huff, she crossed her arms and continued to glare at that stupid piece of paper on her desk. "Whatever..." She grumbled, causing Naoto to sigh and shake his head before walking away.
She could only stare on with apparent agitation at the transcripts for her new prison away from the one she had in this stifling mansion.
Ashford Academy.
She had heard that it was supposed to be a "Liberal" school. But it was a Britannian school, whatever they considered to be Liberal was still far-right as much as she could tell.
Why should she be concerned with the lives of a bunch of stuffy Britannian brats who looked down on everyone?
Kallen's head dropped and she laid her face on the table. Perhaps if she thought about not wanting to go hard enough, the universe would be merciful.
A few days had passed, and much to Kallen's dismay, praying to Kami to not go to this damn school did NOT pay off.
Kallen groaned as she walked through the halls of Ashford with her luggage. Much to her dismay, Naoto had insisted that she not only go to school at Ashford, but LIVE here as well. The nerve! She didn't want to sleep around a bunch of fucking brits! This was getting worse and worse!
With a heavy heart, she made her way to the faculty office. She avoided interacting with any of the other students as much as she could and kept her head down. The less she had to talk to these hellspawn the better.
Taking a deep breath, and schooling her features, she knocked on the door to the faculty office. Moments later, she heard a feint "Come in." And turned the knob and stepped inside.
She was met with a blonde haired girl with blue eyes and a bright smile. She was wearing the typical girls school uniform and held a stack of papers, standing next to one of several filing cabinets in the small office space.
"Oh Hi!" The blonde chirped. "My name's Milly! I'm the Principle's daughter so I help out whenever I can. It's nice to meet you!"
Ok... this Britannian was overly friendly... weird, but she supposed that this wasn't as bad as it could have been.
"Kallen." She greeted the Ashford Heiress, and was surprised when the chipper girl held out a hand to firmly shake her own.
"Kallen-Kallen-Kallen- OH! Last name Stadtfeld correct?" She asked, retracting her hand to finger through some of the documents she was holding.
"Yeah." Kallen replied simply. "Uh, I'm here to get the key for my dorm room?"
"Right! Just a sec!" Milly chirped before trotting over to the cabinet on the other side of the room with a skip in her step, opening it up. "Here we go!" She exclaimed, snatching the designated key and tossing it to Kallen who snatched it out of the air.
"Good catch!" Milly complimented. "That's for room number 017F. Make yourself at home and don't be a stranger!"
"Oh- um, thanks." Seriously, the friendly nature of this Britannian girl was off-putting. But she knew if this person ever found out about her mixed heritage they'd have a whole different reaction. It only drove home how evil and fake Britannians were! "See you around." Kallen finished before turning around and closing the door behind her with an annoyed sigh.
She thumbed the key in her hand before walking down the hall. She definitely knew where she was going and absolutely did not get lost along the way. No she found it in record time in fact and she definitely didn't need to ask for help from a teacher or somehow walk around the entire school without finding it.
Because that would have been embarrassing, so Kallen definitely didn't do that and would vehemently deny such a thing occurring if questioned on her sightseeing tour.
'Finally!' Kallen thought with exasperation as she came across the room with a label matching her key. She had never been so relieved to see a fucking door in her life as she quickly inserted it into the lock and opened it. She walked in and took a quick look around before her jaw dropped.
'Oh HELL no!'
There were 2 beds on either side of the room along with matching furniture. Which meant she had a kami-be-damned roommate. Ugh!
With her blood running hot, she began to angrily unpack her luggage. She hated this! She hated everything about this!
She finished unpacking all of her clothes, toiletries and miscellaneous items within about an hour of arriving, including the time it took to organize it all and make sure she put it away properly.
Once that was done, she turned around and sat on her bed, crossing her arms with apparent indignation.
'I don't want to interact with them during the day, why would I want to sleep next to one of these stuck-up prissy little... gah!' She fumed.
She looked up and gazed across to the other side of the room. It looked identical to hers, though with a few distinct differences that made it apparent someone else had already unpacked. There were a few small picture frames kept on the shelf across from the bed, the closet was open showing some clothes... almost all of it black, and there were a few containers beneath the bed with any number of various items held within.
Kallen was tempted to go out of her way to invade this person's privacy and go through her shit out of spite. Only to realize she didn't really care enough to bother. If she was lucky this brit bitch she had to bunk with would stay out of her way and they could ignore each other.
She was cut off from her angry internal debate by the sound of her stomach growling... great, she couldn't catch a break could she? Kallen had eaten breakfast at home but that was at 8, 3 hours before she left. The commute here was almost an hour due to traffic, another hour of searching and a third hour to get her crap unpacked. So it was now 2 PM, and she was a bit peckish to say the least.
'I shouldn't have gone for that jog... damn it...' She lamented.
With a grunt of mild irritation she sat up from her bed and walked out of her dorm room. Looking around a bit before deciding to just pick a direction and start walking. She'd find a school store or cafeteria eventually right?
After somehow not finding either the school store nor the caf and ending up at the entrance to the school, she was about to throw a fit. "This place is huge! How the hell are you supposed to find anything!?" She snapped.
She was pulled out of her tantrum by the sound of a young man chattering away, the sound slowly getting louder as he approached. When she turned around, she saw 2 people coming her way. The aforementioned young man was apparent. He had blue hair and hazel-gray eyes along with a slightly tanned complexion.
It was the second person however that caught her attention. Kallen was not the envious type, but she would be lying if the girl walking with him wasn't pretty by her own definition.
She was slender and graceful in her gait, walking with an air of arrogant authority. Kallen found this to be annoying to say the least, but nevertheless. She had slightly messy and long stark raven-black hair, and a pale complexion. Though it was not a sickly pale, but rather in the sense of being almost exotic.
The thing that stood out the most however was her striking purple eyes. A pair of vibrant, deep pools of royal violet met Kallen's gaze as they approached.
She kept up the outward facade of being calm, but internally Kallen was angry. This person walked around like they owned the place with such undeserved confidence. Typical nobility, it made Kallen sick! Pretty on the outside but utterly vile on the inside. That's just how it was with these people.
The boy stopped talking just for a moment as they neared Kallen. He stopped and waved, and the other simply continued on walking.
"Hi there!" He greeted amicably while the purple-eyed girl walked right past her. "I'm Rivalz! What's your name?"
"Kallen Stadtfeld." She answered with her fake voice. "I'm new here."
"Oh hey! You're just starting huh? Same!"
Kallen tilted her head to look at the back of the girl who was walking away from them. "Friend of yours?"
"Eh, more like a very recent acquaintance- but I want to be friends with her! She really saved my bacon!"
"Saved your bacon?" She parroted with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah! You see uh... well my parents are both commoners, and they don't make enough to fully pay tuition." He admitted. "So I work to try and pay it off, ya know? But a few days ago a noble challenged me to a chess game and offered up some big money. I thought I could take him on but..." He laughed awkwardly. "It didn't go so well at first."
"Ok... and?" Kallen asked, getting impatient.
"Well that's when she swooped in out of nowhere!" He said with excitement. "I was in the middle of my match and losing bad, and she just shows up out of nowhere offering to substitute. Next thing I know she beats him in like 4 turns. And get this, she predicted every move they would both make on a piece of paper before she started and she got it right!"
"That's impossible." Kallen challenged. Leave it to Britannians to embellish-
"No I swear it's true!" Rivalz insisted. "I even kept the napkin she wrote it on as a good-luck charm! She's crazy smart like you wouldn't believe! I actually heard she's at the head of every class. Top marks across the board."
Kallen blinked. 'Ok... if this is real that's actually really impressive to be honest... tch, no wonder they're so arrogant, they think they're the smartest person in the world and look down on everyone else as idiots!'
"Anyways-" Kallen decided to change the subject. "Do you know where the cafeteria is? I haven't eaten lunch yet and I've not gotten used to this place yet..."
"Oh sure! I can show ya around!" Rivalz didn't seem to mind stopping his story time and opted to help Kallen out, walking with her to help the redhead find something to eat.
As she walked with Rivalz, she came to begrudgingly admit that maybe he wasn't so bad... for a Britannian. He talked her ears off but was friendly, didn't make any inappropriate comments and respected her personal space. So far so good.
When they finally arrived, Kallen noticed that the other girl that came in with Rivalz was also present. She was sitting alone in the furthest corner of the room away from everyone else, writing something down in a little booklet.
"Whats her name?" Kallen asked him, pointing at the raven-haired girl sitting by her lonesome.
"Oh right I totally forgot to say!" He chuckled. "Her name's Lelucia. Lelucia Lamperouge."
"Lelucia huh?" Kallen muttered before looking back at the menu for the Ashford kitchens. "Well, thanks for helping me, Rivalz."
"Oh sure thing! If you ever wanna hang out with Lelucia and I feel free to sit with us!"
"No offense but I don't think she'd appreciate the company."
"Oh no she's fine! Just not very... talkative."
"So, what she's the strong, silent type?" Kallen quipped.
Rivalz shrugged. "Anyway- I got some stuff to do, enjoy your late lunch. See ya!" He offered the casual farewell before jogging off.
Kallen let out a noncommittal hum and turned her head back to look at Lelucia. She found the name to be oddly fitting. It was elegant, and it matched her regal and refined appearance, sans the slightly messy hair that draped across her shoulders and the uneven bangs.
Kallen shook her head.
'Doesn't matter really, I probably won't be seeing her that much and I don't want to make friends with these monsters.' She thought, deciding to leave it at that. She went up and ordered an egg-salad sandwich, grabbing a small bag of chips and a drink on the side and once she paid she immediately left. She would much rather eat in her room.
When she got back, she found that her dorm was exactly how she left it. There was no sign of anyone coming in here since she left. So without further adieu she ate her late lunch in peace and then relaxed on her bed, she laid back and pulled her phone out, dialing Naoto.
After a few rings, he picked up. "Hey sis, what's up?" He asked.
"Don't 'what's up' me." She grumbled. "I already hate it here. Too many stuffy Britannians."
She could practically feel him rolling his eyes at her through the phone. "Uh-huh. Have you actually spoken to any of them?"
"Yeah, I met 2 of them... and maybe another I guess."
"You guess?"
"I dunno, I spoke to a girl named Milly and a guy named Rivalz. They were both... ok, I guess."
"You guess?" He asked again, teasing her. This time it was her turn to roll her eyes.
"Yeah."
"Friendly?"
"Enough." She answered.
"Uh-huh." He replied with amusement. "What about the other one?"
"Right, I haven't actually spoken to her yet, there's a girl named Lelucia Lamperouge."
"Lelucia huh? That's a nice name."
"It is." She admitted. "Like I said, didn't talk to her, the guy- Rivalz, he was walking with her when I met him. She just ignored me and kept walking. Stuck up, prissy little..." She trailed off, earning a laugh from Naoto.
"Right, not a fan, got it. Otherwise how's things?"
"Could be worse."
"Did you get lost?" He asked knowingly with humor in his tone.
She pouted. "No..." Kallen told a little white lie.
"Of course not." He said playfully.
"When can I come back to Shinjuku?" She demanded, trying to change the subject.
"Kallen..." He sighed. "Look just... stay in school for a while ok? We aren't ready to make any moves, your time is better spent safe and sound at Ashford ok?"
Kallen flopped on the bed, dismayed at her brother's dismissal of her plea. "Yeah, fine. Whatever... love you, bye."
"Kallen-" She hung up before he could finish his sentence and curled up on the sheets, closing her eyes, she set the phone down on her nightstand and sighed.
This sucked.
She laid like this for a while, unsure of what to do. She didn't really feel like doing anything, but she wasn't tired either. She was in a sort of limbo here.
Unable to really do anything else. Kallen opted to leave the room yet again, and simply wandered. This time she actually found something on her own in this huge ass school without directions. The library.
"Well at least I have a library card so maybe getting a few books will help me pass the time." She mumbled to herself, opening the door and stepping inside.
'At least their library is good.' She thought to herself as she looked around. Her shoes lightly brushed against the carpet and she enjoyed the quiet. The only ambient noise was the steady thrum of the air conditioner in the background and the occasional whispering between students as they walked by her. Kallen perused the fiction section, picking out a handful of interesting looking books she found before meandering around to find a place to read in peace.
Low and behold, she found a nice little spot by a window with a beam of sunlight coming through. There where a few chairs and a small coffee table. However, out of the 4 seats available, 2 were taken.
'Small world.' Kallen thought to herself as yet again she found herself gazing at one Lelucia Lamperouge. She was sitting on one side of the table with the sun at her back. In front of her sat a chess board, and on the other side of the chessboard was another student she didn't recognize.
Kallen sat down in one of the remaining free chairs, but couldn't help notice that Lelucia seemingly wasn't even paying attention to the game. Instead she was reading a book. However every time her opponent moved, she immediately moved her own piece with casual confidence without so much as looking at the board.
The young man across from her was sweating and twitchy, his fingers moving from one piece to another attempting to figure out the best move to play, and when he did, she immediately moved again, and he seemed to grow more nervous.
This continued for several more turns, until finally-
"Check." Lelucia declared. Her voice matched her appearance. Soft, but eloquent and high-mannered. It carried weight even when she was speaking in a calm and neutral tone as she was.
Now in full panic mode, her opponent moved his king, only for Lelucia to speak again.
"Illegal move."
"Wha-"
"My bishop." She cut him off casually. He saw how the bishop would still put him in check and moved to a different space, only for her to position a rook.
"Mate." She said simply and turned the page of her book without looking at the board or him.
He groaned. "How the hell do you keep doing this? I'm the president of the chess club and here I am being made to look a fool..."
"Good game." Lelucia said simply.
"Yeah... good game. Listen are you sure you don't want to join the chess club?"
"I'm sure." She responded.
He sighed. "Alright then... see you later." He said his goodbyes, standing up and walking away.
Lelucia's eyes remained transfixed on her book while she leaned over and gingerly plucked the Black King chess piece off of the board. She held it idly in her free hand and ran her thumb across the smooth exterior and slowly twirled it around between her dexterous fingers.
The more Kallen observed this girl, the more interesting she became. She couldn't really explain why, there was just a strange sort of appeal that the redhead just couldn't nail down.
But Kallen came here to read, not to stare or engage in conversation. So read they did. Lelucia and Kallen both sat across from each other, reading in peaceful silence for some time. The half-Japanese countess got to enjoy her books in peace for the next few hours. She was comfy in her seat, and didn't leave it until a little past 7. At which point she made a pit-stop to pick up a salad for dinner and brought that back to the dorm room along with the books that she checked out. She ate in peace and got to read her books for a little while longer. It wasn't until just before curfew that Kallen finally heard the doorknob being fiddled with and then opening. Revealing her roommate.
Blue met Purple.
'Well, she's quiet, so I guess that I don't have to worry about her going out of her way to piss me off.' Kallen sighed internally, resigning herself. 'Strange, I don't hate that she's my roommate. But I probably will soon.' She mused. 'Stuck up brit.'
Lelucia didn't say a word, only briefly glancing at Kallen before averting her gaze. She set her things down, putting them away before grabbing a set of sleepwear and heading for the shower.
Kallen grunted, rolling onto her other side and facing the wall before closing her eyes and letting sleep take her.
Lelucia entered the shower and turned on the hot water, letting the revitalizing warmth of the gentle stream wash over her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head up to let it cascade across her face and down the rest of her body.
'It's not enough... Nunnally's treatment is...' She brought her fist up and lightly hit the wall.
"Tch." She hissed quietly in agitation. "I need to get higher payout games. These lower level nobility offer nothing more than pocket change compared to the capital I require."
But in order to make money, she needed to have money. She did have money but she was saving a lot of it. She never knew when it could happen... she never knew when she might be exposed, when that man would send his goons after her and Nunnally. In order to escape and live off the grid she needed a nest of eggs she could keep hidden away just in case. But now that she had a small fortune in savings, she had to get to work on paying for Nunnally's treatments. But the hospital bills were outrageously expensive. She could never afford them working a normal job even if she wanted to try.
Besides, robbing nobles blind over her favorite game was too much fun. Therapeutic, really.
'Cockroaches.' She seethed. 'Parasites born with silver spoon in mouth, they work for nothing and expect to be waited on hand and foot.'
At the rate things were going, she wouldn't be starting her Rebellion for at least a couple decades. It was unfortunate but she currently did not have the means of affecting any sort of change in any impactful way. She had no power, not enough funding and no soldiers to her name. It was her against the world.
It was frustrating, being powerless, being weak, having no control over he life. She lived in a constant state of fear. The fewer people she interacted with the safer she was.
'Damn you Milly.' She grumbled.
She didn't want to make friends, she didn't want a roommate, she didn't want anybody to know her. It was a security risk. She was perfectly happy living with Nunnally in the clubhouse so why was Milly so insistent on shoving her out of her comfort zone?
Lelucia's eyes opened and she looked down at the shower drain, still deep in thought. 'That girl, Kallen, she's a noble.' The exile thought with disgust. She didn't want to share a room with a privileged brat.
Vermin, all of them, and soon she was going to be an exterminator. But for now, she had to get finished with school. Once she graduated she wasn't exactly sure what she would do. Obviously she had a multitude of plans but a lot can happen in 4 years so it left her exact course of action in question.
Deciding that lamenting her dreary situation in the shower was no longer getting her anywhere, she decided to finish cleaning up. She wasn't exactly vain, but she liked looking and smelling good, so she scrubbed herself clean from head to toe before liberally applying her favorite shampoo. A fragrant herbal and slightly sweet smelling mixture of lavender and vanilla graced her nostrils as she paid special attention to her hair. Nunnally loved the feeling of her hair.
After that, she stepped out, dried off, combed her hair in her preferred 'messy-but-cool' style and got dressed. She stepped out to see her roommate already asleep.
Good, she didn't want to deal with this wench right now.
With that the princess gently laid back in her bed and fell asleep, knowing that tomorrow would be a lie just like the past 5 years of her life. Hopefully, the nightmares wouldn't come tonight."
AN: And there ya have it, both Lelucia and Kallen currently expect the worst of each other and Kallen is not only deep into her closet racism but also closeted in her sexuality. But as I am sure you can all tell, they will both come to have their expectations proven wrong as they interact with one another.