April passed them by, but warmth had yet to settle in. It was a cool Saturday when Kaguya went to visit Ashford Academy; the clouds hung so heavy overhead that she worried typhoon season might start early.

Few students were around at noon, so her arrival by car could not be hidden. She got looks the moment she stepped out of the car. Not unexpected, considering she was just about the only Japanese person around. Kaguya could not help but feel out of place, though. She may be a visitor, but only one or two people here would actually welcome her. Although her attempts to dress properly might at least smooth it over, she reasoned; prim but casual, a white blouse and pleated, navy blue skirt. Almost like a school uniform, with light makeup to complete the look.

If nothing else, there were no jeers or mocking comments. Just curiousity and confusion. Nunnally's maid thankfully arrived before anyone could approach her.

"Be welcome, young miss Sumeragi," she greeted with a bow. "If you would follow me?"

"Of course."

Kaguya exchanged a nod with her driver, who pulled back and drove away. He would return in the evening as they agreed on. He would also most likely report on where she went and who greeted her; be it to her mentor or one of the other heads, Kaguya was not gullible enough to believe otherwise. She had to push for this to happen at all.

She followed Sayoko, feeling self-concious as people pointed her way; the maid seemed unperturbed, but she was clearly used to the area. Nobody gave her so much as a glance. Kaguya wanted to ask about that, but thought better of it. She knew this was Nunnally's maid, yet it felt difficult to start a conversation; what did maids talk about? And even if she subtracted her job, what did this particular maid like to talk about?

Kaguya could at least guess that asking about why she would bear the indignity of serving Britannians would be a bad starter. So they moved across the campus in silence, one of them uncertain how to break the ice and the other content in her quiet.

Minutes passed as they left the main building behind and approached another one, slightly smaller but no less impressive. As they walked along the cobblestone path however, Kaguya spied someone standing in front of the entrance; a girl older than herself, wearing the cream-coloured blazer and black miniskirt of the Ashford High School uniform. Bright orange hair ran down her back in waves.

Overall, she looked well put-together, though her gaze was lowered and she fiddled with her hands.

Kaguya thought nothing of it until the older girl looked down the road and spotted them. Her gaze switched from Sayoko in the lead to Kaguya, then she hesitated for a moment. Kaguya began to worry when the girl started walking their way.

To her relief, Sayoko interposed herself between them without missing a beat. Her voice once again held this serenely friendly timbre.

"May I help you, Ms. Fenette?"

That last name was unfamiliar to her. Kaguya well noticed how the other girl faltered for a moment once impeded, though; then she pushed herself from shying away for some reason. She nodded and made a vague motion toward them.

"Yeah, kind of. She's Nunna's friend, right? I, um, I wanted to talk to her for a minute if that's okay?"

And she was skittish, too. Probably scared of approaching Japanese people at all, yet she did it. There did not seem any malice to the whole situation; she would act far more confident otherwise, even if she did not feel it. Kaguya's guess was a worried friend, seeing how she dropped what must be a nickname for Nunnally.

"I don't mind," she said, pre-empting the maid. If this was someone close to Nunnally, she wanted to make a good impression.

Sayoko stepped aside wordlessly, allowing both girls to take a better look at each other; Kaguya took notice that the other girl was a good bit taller than her and seemed fit. She also appeared relieved about something.

Instead of dwelling on it, the younger girl opened with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kaguya."

"I'm Shirley," she responded without hesitation, "nice to meet you too."

There was even an honest smile with her answer. Kaguya reevaluated the girl to someone who had an easy time getting along with people. Wipe away the nervousness and she had a charming air about her.

Another moment of said nervousness ensued when Shirley hesitated, but then she expelled the jitters with a sigh. "I don't want to keep you long, just apologise," she explained. "I said a few mean things about you without realising, and without even knowing you, that wasn't right."

Now that had Kaguya surprised; she could count the number of times a Britannian apologised to her on one hand. The times one of them up and said it to her directly instead of roundabout were even fewer.

Shirley remained unaware of her thoughts, taking the silence as a bid to continue: "I'm just really worried for Nunna; she was so excited about you, I don't want her to get hurt. So please be good to her, okay?"

The puzzle pieces began to array themselves properly now; Shirley never met any Japanese people and immediately thought up horror stories in her head. It seemed that the effort to dress appropriately did its part after all.

Kaguya hid her relief about an easy solution and offered a halfway real smile in turn. "It's okay," she assured. "I get being worried. I worry about Nunnally, too."

The older girl's shoulders sagged with obvious relief at that. "Thank you for being so understanding. That was really all I wanted, so don't let me stop you."

She stepped inside with a wave and the other two followed a moment later. Kaguya's mind was torn between admiring the lavish decorations of what might be a ballroom and musing about some Britannians not being awful after all.

Then they stepped onto the main staircase, keeping up with Shirley. It was a bit of an awkward moment after she just said goodbye, but in the end she huffed.

"Right, I forgot you also need to go this way."

Seeing Kaguya's confusion about why the girl was here too, Sayoko explained without prompting: "The young master and mistress live in the administrative building instead of the dorms. This is also where the student council sits, of which Ms. Fenette is a member of."

Shirley agreed with a hum. "It's for Nunna's sake," she added. "She couldn't really live in the dorms."

She seemed to believe that too, but Kaguya knew better. This was more than just care for Nunnally; the siblings were sequestered away for secrecy's sake as well.

Kaguya was about done working through those implications when they passed a side corridor and Shirley turned her head back in confusion. "Erm, the student council rooms are this way? Nunna should be at home."

Sayoko nodded evenly. "While that is true, Master Lelouch requested a minute of young miss Sumeragi's time as well."

"O-Oh."

"Oh boy," Kaguya added her own clever commentary. She fully expected a shovel speech of some sort, being in on the real secret and all. Her comment also drew Shirley's attention.

"You know Lulu?"

The question brought Kaguya up short for a moment. That sounded so... undignified for the proud boy she remembered. Kaguya could not help but ask back: "...Lulu? Is that what people call him here?"

Shirley quickly shook her head, though. "No, that's just me. I just don't like these stuffy names, so I try to give them something a little more cute."

"Ms. Fenette is the reason young Millicent is generally spoken to as Milly," Sayoko provided helpfully and without any further explanation.

Kaguya was still confused, but nodded slowly to play over it. She momentarily wondered what sort of nicknames one could make of her own name, but came up blank beyond a basic 'Ka-chan'. That sounded more like a pun for if she ever had children, not to mention something no Britannian would ever come up with.

"Anyway," Shirley started, only to be immediately interrupted.

"What's this? Do I hear my favourite underling in the hallway?"

And a mane of blonde curls poked out of a nearby doorframe with those words. They framed a heart-shaped face bearing an impish grin. Sharp eyes took in the three young women outside and their owner continued without breaking stride: "Oh my, and Sayoko too. And you must be Kaguya."

A moment later she was shaking hands with a far too cheerful woman. Taller than her, more curvy than all of them, and clearly aware of her beauty.

Though surprised, Kaguya caught herself quickly and returned the handshake with equal pressure. "Millicent Ashford, I presume?"

"The one and only, but just Milly is fine."

She then proceeded to shoo Shirley into the room with a hefty clap to the butt. The other girl made a startled eep and fled while Milly turned back to Kaguya and Sayoko.

"Why come this way, though? Oh wait, Lelouch?"

Sayoko nodded, prompting another mischievous look from the blonde. Kaguya felt a little wary of her after what she saw so far; unfortunately, aligning herself more with the wall to protect her backside would give that worry away.

Thankfully, Milly made no such attempts and simply turned back. "I'll go get him," she said. By which she meant leaning back into the door and shouting inside: "Lelouch! There's a cute girl here for you!"

Kaguya kept her gaze on the blonde's hair instead of the flash of panties under her miniskirt. Britannians really were different.

She thankfully had little time to be embarassed because the man himself strolled outside. He seemed aloof as he glanced between them, then pushed Milly into the room without a word. She made a token protest, yet let herself be moved.

Then they stood in front of each other. Kaguya had to look up notably to meet his gaze; she could tell there was something calculating underneath the calm from this close.

She was not prepared for this. Even after going through potential arguments for weeks, trying to imagine how he might act, having him right in front of her just made all those words flee her mind. The fact he was so handsome did not help it any, either.

In the end, all Kaguya got out was a shy "Hi".

Lelouch sized her up momentarily, but then a faint smile played around his lips. She could not tell if it was actually real, though his tone was just as pleasant: "It's been a while, Kaguya. I'm glad to see you safe and healthy."

The lack of aggression was a relief to Kaguya, who nodded. "Right back at you. I had no idea where you two went."

"We didn't know where we were moving at the time, either."

Lelouch shrugged while saying it. Kaguya understood the code just fine and dropped the subject. She felt she knew the important parts already. So instead, she tried to play over it with something lighter.

"Say, do you know who put miniskirts on the high-school dress code?"

Lelouch stared at her almost blankly in response, then spoke a single word that explained it all: "Milly."

A subdued cackle from the aforementioned girl alerted Kaguya to several people peeking out from the doorframe. One of the four immediately fled once Kaguya looked, otherwise she knew Shirley and Milly already. The last was a curious boy wearing a little grin.

Milly chirped cheerfully, completely immune to Lelouch's unimpressed look: "If you didn't want us listening in, you shouldn't be talking right outside the door."

She had a point, but it was still rude to eavesdrop. Kaguya was a little tempted to address the blonde in person, but then she decided to instead play her game. Thus she turned back to Lelouch with an impish grin of her own.

"So she flashes people on purpose?"

A quiet "Did I?" sounded from the door, underlined by two exasperated sighs. Lelouch just huffed.

"Sometimes she does to fluster someone, though you're a bit younger than her usual targets."

Kaguya could imagine that most of those targets appreciated it, but she decided that was enough for her to know. She did not think far enough to have an idea how to get out of this subject smoothly, but Lelouch saved her with a simple nod.

"I'm not going to keep you any longer. Sayoko will take you to our home. Please be careful."

She inclined her head gratefully and said her goodbyes, aware this was the best case scenario. The maid then led her back and around the corner Shirley pointed out earlier. It was a full minute later before the subtext of Lelouch's comment sank in; he definitely meant something else with the 'be careful'.

It was a conflicting thought and worry, but all of it faded away when she was led into a decently sized flat. Not the sort of palace one would expect royals to dwell, but it seemed cozy. Very clean, too. Sayoko certainly did her work dutifully.

And then there was Nunnally, sat at a wooden table and dead to the world as she wrote. Kaguya could immediately tell the sense of energy to her, something that was not there before. Nunnally did not write fluidly, but with tenacity. Page after page of paper lay next to her, each containing carefully drawn letters and digits.

With no reaction to her entry given, Kaguya decided not to interrupt. Instead, she took a seat and waited for Nunnally to notice on her own.

It took until she completely filled her current sheet and paused to stretch her fingers.

Soft purple eyes focussed on Kaguya in complete non-recognition. Nunnally looked different with her eyes open, less gentle and more regal. The two stared at each other like this until Nunnally broke the silence.

"How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Kaguya answered kindly. She took a sip from the tea Sayoko brought to tell her friend she was underselling it. "I did not want to interrupt."

"Oh. Thank you."

Nunnally maneuvered her wheelchair around the table and approached Kaguya; they clasped hands in greeting, each soft in the other's. Then Nunnally leaned in and studied Kaguya from up close. It felt weird to be stared at so hard, but she bore with it for now.

Nonetheless, Kaguya could not help but say something.

"Do I look that odd?"

"I don't know," Nunnally answered absently. "I only had sounds and smells for so long that I can't really say what looks odd and what doesn't."

Her admission made Kaguya wince; she did not mean to remind her of this. Nunnally clearly noticed as well, but she only smiled. "I like that perfume you use, it's subtle and smells fresh."

Now she was squirming instead; compliments were not rare when one was a pretty girl surrounded by men, but this situation was different. Nunnally was not expected to be kind to her, not to mention how unorthodox her praise was. She just squeezed Kaguya's hands reassuringly.

"Did you make it here alright? Was there any trouble?"

Kaguya took the change in subject with grace; her mind flashed back to the sudden apology from Shirley and Milly's antics, but she shook her head. "All good. I met Lelouch on the way, though. When did he become so handsome?"

Nunnally giggled in response. "He was wonderful for about as long as I can remember, so you'd have to ask someone else," she chirped back, then added a teasingly scandalised lilt. "Why, could it be I may get a sister-in-law soon?"

Heat pooled in Kaguya's cheeks and her ears flushed. She quickly shook her head no, though the thought itself was not unappealing.

"Do you think he would make a good husband?" she could not help but ask, only for Nunnally to snort.

"Ha! No."

Her immediate denial dragged Kaguya from her fantasies as fast as she entered them. Nunnally simply shook her head, more serious now.

"Maybe that's just me, but Lelouch never seemed interested in any girls so far. Or boys. And it's not for a lack of options, I think he's ahead of Milly in being the most desirable student here."

Kaguya's brow rose in response. She smelled gossip and she wanted it.

"So he's not a playboy?"

"More like the opposite. He turned down everyone who asked him out to this day."

That was a bit of a surprise to hear. Kaguya heard rumours about promiscuity among the nobility and royal family; of course she was kept away from most of these things as a proper, Japanese young lady should, but some slipped through regardless. Were these rumours wrong, or was Lelouch just the odd one out?

She did not ask, not that Nunnally gave her the chance: "So from what you told me before, I take it you aren't spoiled for choice where dates are concerned?"

"Nope," Kaguya answered easily. "Everyone I work with is an adult or super old."

"But is experience not a charm point in itself?"

The comment drew a startled noise out of Kaguya, which in turn prompted Nunnally to laugh. "Just kidding," she clarified quickly. "I guess it makes sense, not that you have the time for dating anyway."

Kaguya pouted at her, though she dropped it in favour of a sigh.

"Yeah. I still have a lot to learn and even more to stay on top of."

Nunnally nodded along, clearly understanding and sharing her plight. Then however, her smile turned mischievous again. "So were there any boys who caught your eye on the way?" she probed, to which Kaguya slowly shook her head. Nunnally leaned in. "Or maybe a girl?"

That just reminded her of Milly again. Kaguya shook her head a little faster to disperse the mental image.

"Now now," Nunnally tutted teasingly, "no need to be embarassed. Girls are just as great as boys."

"I'm not sure I agree there," Kaguya answered slowly. She had enough of the teasing and decided to push back: "How would you even know? It is not like you were dating anyone before, or went further than that."

She only realised afterward how insensitive that sounded, though Nunnally did not seem to mind. In fact, she shrugged.

"I don't mind the thought of running my hands over a girl's body. And I have done that before... just not in that way."

"...explain."

She did as asked, raising both hands in emphasis: "The only way I could really get an idea what someone looks like without seeing them is by touching them. I rarely felt close enough to anyone to ask, but the few people I did ask said yes. So yes," she finished, her confident facade crumbling into shepishness now. "I probably know Milly Ashford's body better than anyone but herself. Same for Sayoko and Lelouch."

Her words were a little heartbreaking, but mostly intriguing. Kaguya felt morbid curiousity about how well acquainted her friend got with their bodies. Then she remembered the maid was stood nearby and saw the faint smile playing around her lips. Kaguya turned bright red, ineffectually hiding it behind the teacup that never ran out even through constant sips.

Still, she could not stop herself from asking: "So did you cop a feel?"

"Maybe?"

"From which of them?"

Nunnally averted her gaze, cheeks dusted pink. It was adorable to see, though Kaguya felt this was far enough for now. She reluctantly let it go.

They quietly relocated to Nunnally's room, in part to play over the silence. It definitely did its part in distracting Kaguya, who took a few moments to soak up the place; it was not what she understood as girly, but definitely pleasant. A soft scent hung in the air, barely strong enough to be smelled. The ground was kept completely clean and not a single edge protruded from the furniture.

Nunnally had her wheelchair slot neatly into an open space near her bed, which she offered to Kaguya with a wave. The moment the Japanese girl sat down, she loved the thick and fluffy blanket.

"Maybe I need some more furniture," Nunnally mused with a quick glance around; the room was somewhat sparse, holding only the bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf. There was ample space to move around.

Kaguya agreed in part, but she felt there was something else amiss. Something important.

"What you need is plushies."

"What for?"

"And you call yourself a girl?"

"Last I checked, having plushies does not decide if I'm a girl."

Kaguya rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She almost missed the heat behind the last bit in her faux annoyance, but let off on insisting on that. "Well, no. But you still should have some."

"How many do you have then?" Nunnally demanded.

She held up three fingers, well aware of her friend's unimpressed look. Kaguya crossed her arms petulantly. "I want more, but the old people keep telling me no."

Nunnally huffed at that, but let it go. Kaguya meant to continue extolling the virtue of plushies, but she spotted something on Nunnally's desk that distracted her. Curiousity drove her to get up and grab the familiar taser. Then she chuckled at the sight of it.

"What's so funny?"

Kaguya pulled out her own taser by way of explanation, right from the holster beneath her skirt. "Same model," she explained, which drew a laugh from Nunnally as well.

Kaguya put both tasers back down after. She felt safe here, so there was no need to carry it on her. Though she once again felt sad that they both needed this to feel remotely safe outside.

"How are the Japanese doing these days?" Nunnally asked, prompting Kaguya to look back at her. "And please don't lie to me like Lelouch tries to."

Their thoughts may have gone down similar roads with the tasers. Kaguya nodded and sat back down with a sigh. She never even considered lying.

"What's there to tell? The one good thing is that we're still alive. Outside of that, uh... poverty, hygiene issues and little access to medicine, few job opportunities, the occasional police brutality and disappearances that the elders are pretty sure are slave traders."

She almost counted off her fingers while Nunnally listened with a stony expression. Kaguya was just tired of it all. "Then there is the crime rates. Can we talk about something else, please? I was kind of hoping not to have to think about any of this today."

It was not a lie, but she also did not want to go into the freedom fighters she helped back. Just in case, seeing how there was no use in risking to let her know that right now.

Nunnally considered for a moment, the silence hanging heavier than anticipated. Her expression gave little away, complicated as it was. When she did speak, it was another non-sequitur.

"You're in business management, right?"

"Yes? Why do you ask?"

"Can you teach me about it? Or recommend some books for a beginner?"

Now this was a surprise. Kaguya's brows rose, though she saw no reason to refuse. "Sure, but why? Do you want to go into that field later?"

The other girl allowed herself a soft sigh, then motioned at herself. "I figured it may be worthwhile to know. That can only help in the long run."

Kaguya distinctly felt that something was left unsaid, but she could not tell what. All she could do was move things along.

"Well, sure. I'm not sure I will be a good teacher, but I can try to teach you the basics. And I think I have a few books lying around, I will message you the titles... for the Britannian ones, assuming you can't read Kanji?"

Nunnally threw her an unamused look in response. Then she seamlessly switched into fluent Japanese: "As much time as I may have had, I never saw a reason to learn Kanji I could never read or write."

"Alright, I get it," Kaguya placated her with a giggle. "Stop being grumpy already, I already agreed to help you."

At least this got Nunnally to switch back to Britannian, expression softer. "And I'm grateful," she said before hesitating a moment. "There was one other thing, but I'm not sure if you can help with it."

Seeing that she had Kaguya's attention, Nunnally asked the most loaded question of the evening.

"Do you happen to know any scientists or engineers?"

Now Kaguya had to reevaluate: did her friend know about what the Six Houses of Kyoto did? Was that the message, or did she actually mean the question straight-up? Either way, she tried to play it off nonchalantly: "One or two, but it depends on the field you are interested in. More studying?"

Nunnally shook her head in response. "No. You see, my brother acquired a few prototype power armour models. The project since went under after sabotage by nobles with stakes in the KMF industry."

She left a pause for Kaguya to take that in, whose eyes widened at the many implications there. Especially the part where Lelouch had enough money to buy something like that.

"So we're looking for someone who can adapt the technology into something more leight-weight for civilian use."

And all her expectations promptly went out the window. Kaguya was plain confused now.

"How exactly? Sorry, I don't follow."

After heaving a sigh, Nunnally spelled it out for her: "Kaguya, I can walk in these stuffy combat suits. And I want someone to make a version I can put on outside without immediately setting off warning bells."

"Oh. Ohhh."

Now it all made sense. The idea had merit, but it also carried risks equivalent to the opportunities. Kaguya had just the woman in mind to pull off such a feat. She would most definitely be interested in the subject, too. Yet Kaguya hesitated, sizing Nunnally up. This girl was her friend, but Doctor Chawla was busy improving Knightmare designs for the resistance movement. Not to mention the costs proper R would cause.

"I know someone I can ask," she ventured carefully, "but they are pretty busy. And, you know, stuff like that isn't cheap."

Thankfully, Nunnally did not seem upset. "I can fund it," she declared with a simple nod. "With Lelouch's money, mind, but I can."

She clearly saw that Kaguya still looked troubled. "What is it? Tell me what's wrong, please."

So she just laid her worries bare: "I want to help, believe me. But the person I'm thinking of is so busy that I don't know if anything will come of it."

The tiny sigh that admission coaxed out of her friend sounded more defeated than anything Kaguya heard so far. Then however, Nunnally's focus returned. Her gaze sharpened once more, revealing that same sense of danger she felt from Lelouch earlier.

"Is it a matter of incentive or principle?" she asked, not at all deterred by the confused noise from Kaguya. "If, say, I remind you that this also comes with access to all the blueprints and the power armour technology. And if, say, a pair of brand new Sutherland-class Knightmare Frames made their way into your hands as well?"

At first her eyes only widened at the blueprints, but by the end she was plain shocked. This sounded too much like a play on knowing her affiliations. She was wary to confirm anything right now.

"I'm not sure I understand," Kaguya told her, trying to play for time. Nunnally saw right through it.

"I have no idea what you are involved in and what not, but I refuse to believe you just sit content in luxury while others suffer. You wouldn't work that hard at thirteen-years-old then. So even if you're not directly involved, you could pass these things into hands that are."

She clearly did not say who or what on purpose, but it was difficult to be more direct without saying it outright. Moreover, there was not a word of disapproval or anything. Just a plea and a dressing down in the same statement. Though unspoken, the show of support made Kaguya's eyes quiver with tears. She barely managed to hold them in.

Then she leaned back to think.

"Assuming I agree to this, I would be robbing you," Kaguya explained after some consideration. The businesswoman in her reminded that beggars could not be choosers, but she suppressed it. "Making you pay out the nose and also the other things on top-"

"Take them. This is dear to me. I always had more love for the Japanese people, anyway."

And now she was just blatant about it. Kaguya up and hugged her, more for the emotional support than the promise of materials.

"Thank you so much. It means a lot that you understand. I will write it up as a proposal and ask the people I know."

"That's all I ask," Nunnally murmured gently as she hugged her back. "Thank you for doing this."

All tension fled the room like that and the pair quickly returned to chatting about harmless subjects. By herself however, Kaguya vowed to get the ball rolling on this as soon as possible.

Then it began to rain and they transitioned to just watching it pour for a while. Looking out at the Britannian settlement, Kaguya could not help but feel things would change in the future.