October came and went rapidly. Nobody said anything and Nunnally was busy with her additional workload, but she knew exactly what was coming. Some things were just that simple to predict.
On the 25th, just as she entered the student council room, confetti rained around her. Calls of "Happy Birthday" sounded all around, everyone present and in a festive mood.
"Oh, how fast she grows up," Milly gushed, "fourteen already!"
"You're only seventeen yourself, prez," Shirley quipped from the side, but went ignored.
Meanwhile, Nunnally looked around for her own invitee; Kaguya did not seem to be around yet, though. She was running late. So she made to entertain the others for now, putting on a proper smile in the process. It would not do to seem ungrateful. She also accepted a small party hat onto her head.
"You didn't have to do this, everyone."
"Nonsense," Shirley shot back with a beaming smile. "You only get one birthday a year. We've got to make it special."
Nunnally disagreed with that, but she did not say it. This was harmless fun for them, so she let them have it once a year.
The hugs were nice enough, too; even Kallen gave her one after some nudging from Milly. Lelouch was the last one to embrace her, of course; the most tender of them all. Nunnally melted into his arms for a moment. They were still here, together. The world was okay.
Once she pulled herself back together and Lelouch let go, Milly clapped her hands in delight. Delicate fingers pointed toward a small pile of gifts and a nearby cake. "Now then, birthday girl. Which will it be? Sugary goodness, or the mystery boxes?"
Nunnally tilted her head in response, pretending to think. She already knew she wanted the cake first. But at the same time, Kaguya was still absent.
"I think it would be rude to start on either before my guest arrives," she answered, giving the others pause. Confused looks were exchanged, though Kallen soon started to smirk.
"Did you invite some classmates to your surprise birthday party?" the redhead teased, but Nunnally shook her head.
"Not at all, my classmates detest me," she answered idly, which derailed Kallen's train of thought. The overall confusion only brightened her own smile.
"I invited a friend."
Of course nobody here could take sarcasm at face value, though. Milly hovered over her in seconds, worry written plain over her face. "Is someone being mean to you, Nunnally?" she asked, her concern as genuine as it was unnecessary. "You know you can tell us and we'll take care of it."
The speed at which Lelouch's expression clouded over told Nunnally how that would go. She shook her head at them again, this time a bit more pointedly. "Not as such, but I appreciate it. Nobody did anything since the last time you 'took care of it', but that doesn't make them suddenly like me. The two girls that are friendly definitely just want to get at Lelouch over me, so I don't count them either."
She did not mean to make a jab at Shirley, but the older girl winced nonetheless. She clearly remembered that dressing-down she got what felt like an age ago. But to her credit, she got better about it once Nunnally pointed it out. This was a lot better than what most others would do in the same situation.
For her part, Kallen still seemed befuddled by how the conversation went; Nina quietly filled her in on how the last actual bully had her family's dirty laundry aired anonymously. Her family had to leave the country. Nunnally remembered hearing about that, not to mention the rumours; nobody could pin it on Lelouch, but everybody knew he did it.
"That's harsh," the redhead answered at the end, then made a vague motion and turned to Nunnally. "But not really what I was thinking about. If it's not a classmate, who did you invite? I mean, it's not like you go out much. Right?"
Her gaze dipped toward the wheelchair at the end. Nunnally did not begrudge her that assumption for once, especially because she was correct.
Before she could answer however, a knock sounded on the door. Sayoko stuck her head inside a moment later, the usual pleasant smile on display. She must have noticed Nina taking a reflexive step back, but said nothing of it.
"The young mistress's guests have arrived."
Nunnally's quickly developing smile turned into a bit of a frown. "Guests?" she asked, "as in several?"
She only invited one person. Who were the others?
Something was afoot, the grin Sayoko failed to hide in time only confirmed it. She inclined her head dutifully, not giving anything else away. "Just so. If I may show them in?"
"Of course."
Sayoko stepped aside and faded into the background, all attention now on the door. In came Kaguya, dressed in a pleated navy skirt with a white blouse; her black hair was bound into a thick ponytail, swaying a little with every step.
And behind Kaguya came... a box. A big one too, hiding the carrier with its bulk.
Kaguya's gaze flickered around the room before settling on Nunnally for a moment. Then, aware of the small crowd watching her, the Japanese girl dropped a curtsy.
"Thank you for having me today. It is a pleasure to see you all again, as well as to meet those that I could not meet before. I am Kaguya Sumeragi."
Nothing disrupted her introduction, though one could cut the momentary tension with a knife. Kaguya played over it well, pointing behind herself with that polite smile still in place: "I hope you don't mind my bringing a plus one. Can I have this put with the others?"
"Of course," Nunnally agreed instantly. "I'm a little worried what's in this box, though."
That earned her a little wink from her friend. "Only the best present you will get today," Kaguya declared as if it was a foregone conclusion. "And the guy carrying it is the second best, but you can't keep him. His boss wants him back tomorrow."
Nunnally had an idea who the other person was by this point. The long-suffering sigh she heard from behind the box only lent credence to it, as did Lelouch's smirk. He stood at an angle where he could see more than her. The other Ashford students stood in place with varying levels of confusion, though. Nobody quite noticed how Kallen's gaze narrowed, either.
Then Shirley slowly raised her hand.
"So do you mean, like, a stripper?"
And just like that, Kaguya's carefully maintained mask shattered into befuddlement. Her cheeks turned visibly pink in embarassment while Nunnally started laughing.
The man who was halfway to putting down the box stopped dead in his tracks. "Wha-, no! I'm not a stripper!" he whined, making Nina jump from the sudden volume. "Explain this properly, Kaguya!"
Nunnally just kept laughing almost hysterically. Milly joined in over how hilariously dumb this all became. Shirley remained confused while Kaguya fumbled with her words; the sudden embarassment tied her tongue far more effectively than any threat ever had.
When Nunnally's laughter faded, she let out a happy sigh.
"I missed you too, Suzaku," she greeted Lelouch's old friend. "Now put that down already, it looks heavy."
"Right."
She and Lelouch were the only ones to notice Kallen's sudden, laser-like focus on Kururugi Suzaku. Tall, brunet, and wiry. Of course the regular students all recognised him as well. Nunnally worried for a moment, but nothing problematic happened. Nina made to hide behind Milly, only to clench her fist and step back out of the older girl's shadow.
Kaguya cleared her throat then, composure regained. She motioned for him with a polite if slightly wobbly smile and made introductions: "As Nunnally already prefaced, this is my cousin, Suzaku Kururugi. We used to play together when we were little, so I figured Nunnally might like another familiar face around."
"Um, hello."
Suzaku waved a little awkwardly, a feeling that all sides apparently shared. Nunnally did not care for it, so she piped up herself to break the ice.
"You were right," she chirped, "even if you forgot I'm not familiar with his face at all. He never did let me touch it, you know?"
Kaguya winced, Nunnally grinned. Some days it was fun to watch people be uncomfortable around figures of speech. Then she opened her arms wide.
"Now give me my hugs, both of you."
The cousins hesitated, confused by her non-sequitur. Milly sidled by their side and nudged them both forward with a grin, explaining as she did: "Birthday girl gets hugs, it's almost tradition by now. We can do proper introductions after."
Kaguya was the first to get over herself; she readily came into Nunnally's arms at that point, slight compared to everyone else. Nunnally squeezed her extra tight and felt her relax. Her shampoo was different from last time, too; a faint note of citrus instead of the stronger orange she used before.
"I'm glad you made it," Nunnally murmured into her friend's shoulder.
"I would not miss this for anything."
"Now I feel bad we couldn't really celebrate yours."
They only spent some hours together and had cake, not much of an actual celebration. Kaguya giggled softly in response, squeezing back as best as she could. "It's okay, don't worry."
They separated with brighter smiles, completely ignoring how the older girls cooed over them. Nunnally then turned to Suzaku, who just stared at her.
"Wait a second, your eyes..."
He trailed off, looking from Nunnally to Kaguya. His cousin tapped a fist to her forehead with a mischievous grin. "Whoops, I must have forgotten to tell you."
Nunnally sighed fondly and made to speak up. Seeing the actual tears in Suzaku's eyes gave her pause, though. He quickly knelt before her, calloused hands gently grasping her cheeks. Having him so close and staring into her eyes made her feel a little embarassed. He smelled rougher, a little sweaty, but overall natural beside the trace of oil. What was more, he slowly began to beam at her.
"You can see!" Suzaku exclaimed. "I can't believe it!"
Nunnally just huffed and leaned forward to hug him. That was all the prompting Suzaku needed, he followed through immediately. His hold on her was far more gentle than everyone else's, though; almost hesitant, as if squeezing too hard would break her.
Nunnally allowed it this once.
"I could do it for a few months now," she explained softly. "But you're not alone, I can still barely believe it either."
Suzaku said nothing for a little while. He simply held her, then pulled back with a teary smile. "Happy Birthday, Nunnally."
Once they separated, Milly immediately jumped back into the conversation. This time she did it with a mischievous grin that put Kaguya's earlier one to shame.
"My, the big, mean soldier turns out to be a total softie."
Suzaku could only rub the back of his head with an awkward chuckle. He did not stand a chance against Milly's cheerful nature. Shirley and Rivalz quickly crowded around him to say hello, too. Nina and Kallen stayed back, though Milly introduced them as well; Kallen offered a simple nod in greeting, Nina shied away.
Much to just about everyone's surprise however, Nina slowly came forward a little while later. Milly was halfway into explaining how shy Nina was, only to be cut off by her approach. The other girl managed a few steps toward Suzaku, grimaced, and swerved aside to aim for Kaguya instead.
"Um, w-we didn't get to talk last time. N-Nice to meet you."
Being approached like that surprised Kaguya for a moment, but she took the offered, shaking hand anyway. Nina tried her best to keep her eyes on Kaguya's face, but they widened a little when the japanese girl clasped her hand with both of hers.
"Nice to meet you too, Nina. You can not believe how happy it makes me that you try so hard."
Her earnest words and genuine joy coaxed a tiny smile from the more timid girl. Nunnally smiled as well, happy for both of them.
Rivalz gave them a moment before speaking, turning to the new presents as he did. "But seriously, what's that thing? It's huge!" he called while slapping the box Suzaku carried in.
"I'd like to know that too," Suzaku answered a little awkwardly. Which meant all eyes turned to Kaguya, who grinned and put a finger on her lips.
"Oh come on!" Rivalz pleaded. "Please? Just a hint?"
"Nope~"
She popped the P with clear relish, hands clasped behind her back after letting go of Nina. Kaguya knew full well what she was doing, Nunnally knew.
She joined in on the fun with a finger placed on her chin: "And now that everyone's here, I feel like having cake first. You two are in for a treat."
The mention of cake made Kaguya perk up.
"Oh? Another one of Lelouch's?"
"Why, of course," Milly crowed with a clap. "Only the best baker we have gets to make Nunnally's birthday cake."
"Or any cake I eat," Nunnally added cheerfully. "Or, well, everything I eat, except when Sayoko makes it."
Milly pouted at her while Suzaku stared at his old friend in surprise. Lelouch smirked back, then produced a large knife. Once he took the first step toward the cake however, he mulled over something and turned around.
Then that same knife was carefully presented to Nunnally, handle-first. Something unsaid came with it, a sense of trust that delighted her. She took it with a beaming smile. But at the same time, she felt like playing around a bit. Perhaps doing something fun would relax the situation some more, too.
"Finally, a knife!" Nunnally crowed. "I always wanted to reenact a slasher movie. Sayoko, lock the doors! My first victim is the cake!"
Her maid dutifully locked the doors. Meanwhile, Nunnally approached the huge cake under giggles from the sidelines; it was a monstrosity of whipped cream and chocolate, with lots of strawberries on top.
Then she stopped in front of it, stared up at it, and blew out a sigh. Knife in hand, she turned back to the others. "Someone hold me up so I can stab this cake, please. I promise whoever does it gets a slice before it's their turn."
More grins and giggles went around, even while Shirley stepped forward. "Sure, I'll do it. But honestly, you're too cute for this even with a knife in hand. I just can't see you hurting anybody."
Nunnally pouted for appearance's sake. Inside, she was darkly amused by the irony of that statement; she still remembered the gobsmacked, almost fearful look Shirley had after watching Nunnally kill six people.
She was lifted out of the wheelchair and held up with surprising strength. Shirley held her tight, arms locked around Nunnally's waist so she could move freely. Swimming must build a lot of muscles.
So secured if a little wobbly, she started cutting. It was not perfect, but such was life. At least she got cake.
Kaguya and Suzaku both watched the convoluted procedure; she with all thoughts hidden behind a polite smile, he with badly disguised sadness. The latter annoyed Nunnally, but she swallowed those feelings for today. They already came together to celebrate, she would not ruin the mood of her own party.
Once Nunnally was done and back in her wheelchair, Shirley shook out her aching arms. The sight drew a laugh from Milly, who held a plate out for their junior member.
"Maybe we should put you on a diet," the blonde teased. Then she turned to Shirley with mock seriousness: "Is she getting chubby?"
Nunnally rolled her eyes in turn. "No, Lelouch makes sure I eat healthy. All I have is a big butt because I sit on it all day."
She started eating while the girls laughed. Kallen just shook her head at their exchange in the background. Nunnally paid no mind, too absorbed in her treat.
"Huh, I guess we need to give you more chances to show it off," Milly kept on teasing. Her banter only prompted an impish grin from Nunnally.
"By all means, carry me around all day," she shot back drily. The retort drew an actual chuckle from Lelouch, even. Kaguya seemed amused as well.
The group dissolved a little over the cake from then on. Lelouch talked quietly with Suzaku for a time, only to be joined by Milly a few minutes later. Rivalz and Shirley were with Nunnally, Kallen a bit more reserved overall.
Kaguya soaked all of this up while enjoying her slice. She still remembered how nice the one Lelouch made for her birthday was; this tasted equally as good. It was hard to hold back from filling her stomach to the brim with this sugary goodness.
She also clearly noticed Nina approaching her somewhat cautiously. It was a pleasant surprise to have the older girl reach out despite her clear timidness, so Kaguya did her best to accomodate her.
"So what kind of hobbies do you have?" she asked to break the ice.
Nina fidgeted a little at first. "Well, I kinda like to read?" she tried, slowly getting more animated. "And I play some games, too. Have you ever heard of Dungeons and Dragons?"
Unfortunately, Kaguya could only shake her head. "I'm sorry, I just don't really have time for much in terms of hobbies," she explained. Someone would probably throw a fit if she got invested in games. "But I like to read on occasion, too. My favourites are romance novels, how about yours?"
Nina deflated a little at first, but the last part had her perk up again. It was kind of cute how much of an open book the Britannian girl was.
"Oh, um, mostly science fiction. I like all the ideas of where humans could be in a few hundred years, or meeting aliens and stuff."
Kaguya nodded along with that. It sounded nice in the abstract, though her mind quickly supplied questions of what Britannia would do to aliens of all things; they already spat on other humans after all. The thought never left out her mouth, though.
"I can see how that is interesting. Can you recommend anything for newcomers to the genre?"
Nina brightened considerably in response, then began babbling about various titles that Kaguya never heard about. She cut herself off after a time, brow creased in thought. "Have you read Frankenstein?" she asked next. "That's technically science fiction, too. Just a bit more of a classic."
Kaguya definitely heard that name before, but no more than that. She could only shake her head again.
"I can give it a look sometime."
She added the name to a set of notes she started writing earlier. Kaguya doubted that her time budget would allow to really work through Nina's recommendations, but she could at least give the genre a shot. A good book before bed always helped her mind settle.
She also became aware once again that Kallen glared daggers at her. She had not stopped doing so for a while. Kaguya wanted to sigh, but kept it down. The xenophobic girl made a step toward overcoming her fear, but now there was another who just hated her guts. Kaguya had half a mind to confront her directly, but there was nothing to gain; Kallen was a noble heiress, so Kaguya could only lose.
Instead, she hoped for the best and kept entertaining Nina for as long as the poor girl managed in her presence. Once her hands started shaking, Kaguya excused herself. She left Nina alone with more cake to soothe her nerves, approaching Nunnally instead.
In truth, the overall reception was much better than she could have hoped for. Even Suzaku was treated like a part of the group. Rivalz managed to snatch him away from Lelouch at some point, talking eagerly at him with lots of hand motions. Poor Suzaku seemed more confused than anything.
Some time later, Milly clapped her hands with great cheer.
"Now that we had all the sugar we could want, it's time to open presents!" she declared, then immediately grabbed the handles of Nunnally's wheelchair. Kaguya watched her approach the pile of presents, overshadowed by her own.
She also saw that mischievous look on her friend's face when she started with the presents from her schoolmates instead.
Nunnally herself enjoyed even the trite presents for once. She used to squeal and say thank you for anything she got, no matter what. It was wonderful not to have to keep pretending like that. Most presents were just as usual; a new purse she did not need from Shirley, or another set of earrings from Milly.
Partway through, Suzaku passed a small, badly wrapped bundle onto the pile. He was clearly embarassed, explaining shily when Nunnally's eyes found his: "I didn't really have much time to get you a present, sorry."
It was sweet of him to bring anything at all. Nunnally did not want Suzaku of all people to feel uncomfortable, so she put down the halfway unwrapped box in her hand. Reaching for his gift immediately, Nunnally unwrapped a keychain for her cellphone; it was adorned with some cartoon character she did not know.
"I appreciate it nonetheless," she told him with a smile. "Thank you very much."
If anything, this embarassed him more. Boys.
The unpacking kept going a while longer until, at last, the small mound of presents was opened.
"Finally!" Milly cheered. "Way to keep up the tension, Nunnally! Now let's get to the big one and see if it's all our dear Kaguya makes it out to be!"
Going by the smug smirk Kaguya wore, so unlike her usual polite expressions, she did not worry in the slightest. It smoothed out soon after, though Nunnally saw it just fine.
The others crowded around when Nunnally began to undo the wrapping. There was no bow on it like most of the others, just some neat wrapping paper. It was done so well and the box too heavy for her to figure out how to undo it properly, though. After some trying and failing, Nunnally rolled her eyes and started tearing it off.
Inside was a metal box, promptly turned around by Sayoko to show the front. Nunnally undid the latch and opened it up, only to find a pair of... metal legs?
She needed a moment to recognise the straps and understand these were frames. Her eyes blew wide open, head snapping to Kaguya.
"Is this what I think it is?"
Her friend offered a nod, more gentle now. "Still a prototype, so the doctor would like to get some feedback," she cautioned. "They might have missed some errors during testing. But yes. Happy Birthday."
The others were staring in befuddlement, uncertain what they saw. Lelouch understood as a matter of course, but so did Nina. The timid girl's eyes were wide behind her glasses, almost as wide as Nunnally's.
When she kept staring at her gift, Sayoko and Lelouch came to Nunnally's side. Her brother grabbed the provided manual, then their maid started to attach the exoskeleton to her waist in accordance with his instructions. The faint pressure of straps being pulled tight all over her legs was odd, but she bore it stoically.
Those watching quickly began to understand what was happening. A sense of anticipation built among them.
While the siblings were busy, Milly turned to Kaguya with curiousity. "Okay, I got to know: did you seriously spend a boatload of money on having this made for her?"
The younger girl's smile turned a little wistful in response. "As much as I would like to say yes, that would be a lie," she admitted with a soft shake of the head. "One of Sumeragi Saibatsu's investors asked about something like this, so I decided to make the best of it and get the first model to Nunnally. It went through testing, but probably still has some bugs that they didn't find yet. So I sold it as her being a volunteer for advanced tests."
Of course Nunnally heard them; she had to keep herself from grinning over how expertly Kaguya twisted the truth there. Milly whistled quietly, none the wiser. Suzaku looked impressed as well, muttering to himself about asking a 'Lloyd' about making something similar.
Then she was strapped in and Lelouch ran her through how to turn it on. Nunnally followed the instructions easily, soaking up every scrap of knowledge. She could still feel as normal, though her legs were now twice as thick from all the metal and plastic.
After so long, getting her leg to so much as twitch took a moment of focus. Then, slowly, she slid her foot forward. The metal shoe it was fit in clonked onto the ground. The other foot followed.
Sayoko kept a hand on her shoulder as she slowly rose up. Nunnally tried to find her balance, the task eased just a little by the braces. She wobbled and waved anyway, the sensation of standing straight now alien to her. A change in perspective almost as sudden as being able to see again, now that she was on eye level with everyone.
Nunnally looked around in wonder, leaning on Sayoko as she took it all in. Shirley had tears in her eyes and Suzaku was in the process of tearing up. Lelouch looked like he wanted to join them, but he held back with the brightest smile she ever saw from him. Nina and Rivalz stood in silent awe, Kallen plainly dumbfounded.
And then there was Kaguya, whose smile turned wry at the sight of her. Her friend, who gave her this beautiful gift.
Servos whined softly as she took a shaky step, but they kept her steady. Nunnally slowly walked to her brother first, all but falling into his arms; Lelouch held her tight, silently sharing her elation.
Then she let go and walked to Kaguya on her own two feet. Sayoko let go halfway through, after which Nunnally's gait became more wobbly. Yet she kept upright, focussed straight on her goal.
Kaguya basically melted into her embrace, head nestled against Nunnally's chest.
"It's so unfair that you're taller than me, too," she needled wrily, even though she did not seem to mind it much. Nunnally giggled in response and started ruffling her raven hair to upset squeaks.
Then Milly wrapped her arms around both of them. Shirley jumped in a moment later.
"I guess you were right," Milly conceded. "This is hands down the best present anyone brought today. And it sounds like we need to have another party. A bigger one."
As much as Nunnally loved this, the blonde's words were like a bucket of ice water. She did not need to be this close to hear the gears turning in Milly's head. Reality asserted itself, reminding her that she could not have nice things without a new downside.
"Actually, I don't think we should."
"Why not?" Shirley asked giddily. "It's incredible that you can walk again, Nunna!"
Now that she stood upright, Nunnally realised that she was taller than the older girl. She smiled back at her sadly, an excuse on her lips: "Because people will ask a lot of questions if we make this public. The technology is brand new, I didn't even see any advertisements yet. Letting others in on its existence will make a lot of trouble for Kaguya and her staff."
Unsaid was the part where she as the wearer would also be publicised. Any media attention at all was a terrifying thought, so they could not allow this. Nunnally really did not need to be found that way.
Shirley's brows knitted themselves together, but she did not contest the point. Milly pouted.
Catastrophe averted, Nunnally went back to what she was doing. She slowly raised one leg, but quickly put it back down when she began to sway. It produced an audible click on the floorboard.
"Besides," she added, "this exoskeleton is incredibly obvious. I can't wear it outside."
"Make it more inconspicuous, noted," Kaguya muttered. "Now please save me?"
She was currently being smushed in Milly's chest. The older girl somehow wrangled Kaguya out of the group hug earlier, cuddling her with sisterly affection. The plea only drew a giggle out of her, much as it did Nunnally.
"I mean, you are where a lot of people would love to be. Do you need saving?"
Her quip prompted some laughter, though Milly let go of Kaguya a moment later. Her smile may be one of the brightest, though Nunnally's easily beat her out.
This changed so, so much. Even with the restrictions she had on using this exoskeleton, Nunnally knew that it was the best present she ever got from anyone. It would only take a bit more refinement to become even better, too.
Plans began to form in her head. There was so much to do.