"And you know for certain that she recognised you?" Lelouch asked almost tonelessly, somewhere between shock and worry.
Sayoko stood ready nearby, still as a statue for the moment. Her maid seemed to have recovered faster from the whole ordeal than her brother, Nunnally noted. She nodded back to Lelouch while nursing her cup of valerian tea.
"She knew the moment our eyes met, just like I knew it was her."
"Does this speak well of your observation skills, or badly of her disguise?" C.C. interjected from where she lounged on the couch. Her flippant comment was annoying, though Nunnally tried not to roll her eyes.
Her eyes never leaving Lelouch's tight expression, she answered the immortal woman: "Her disguise was good enough to fool everyone except me and Milly. And even Milly only realised when she saw our reactions to each other."
Silence descended afterward. C.C. played around with something she could not identify from the corner of her eye and Sayoko remained in place. This left only Nunnally and Lelouch; he still made that face.
"What are you thinking about?"
A soft twitch followed, then Lelouch was with them again. He immediately made to stand.
"We have to leave."
"What?"
Paying her confused question no mind, Lelouch sternly turned to Sayoko. "Pack everything we will need on the move. Make sure we have the forged papers from our hidden storage. You never learned to drive, correct?"
Nunnally could only watch, dumbfounded. What was going on now?
Sayoko seemed to forget her for the moment as well, inclining her head at Lelouch. "I am afraid not. What about miss C.C.?"
"Everything from carriages to trucks," the other woman retorted idly. Lelouch nodded, mind clearly caught up in something.
"Good. Europia should be-" "Stop that right now and explain."
Her voice cut through the suddenly busy atmosphere. Sayoko stopped in her tracks, even Lelouch hesitated upon hearing that unamused tone from his sister. Nunnally crossed her arms as she waited for his explanation; she would not just accept whatever scheme popped into his head, and he knew it.
Her brother caved in moments, turning back to Nunnally with a motion for the area around them. "If Euphemia recognised you, then our security is compromised. We need to be out of the country before they try to find us. It will be trivial to connect us to Ashford once they know we're alive."
She frowned in response. Nunnally knew he had a point, but she did not like it one bit; all their friends were here, not to mention all the wealth and material Lelouch accumulated over the years.
"I get that much," she began her attempt to dissuade him, "but I disagree that we have to flee right now. Our Geasses will be more than enough if someone does come; you can change any inspecting party's memories to believe we weren't here, and I can protect us in any fight."
"Just don't forget that a sniper rifle can still take you out, girl."
Nunnally made a face at that and threw a glare C.C.'s way, though the older woman remained unfazed.
"Not if my reach keeps growing."
"Explosives."
"I get it already, but that's not my point!"
C.C.'s response was an unimpressed look, but she thankfully kept her mouth shut. Nunnally knew she knew better than to split hairs, especially right now.
Meanwhile, Lelouch heaved a faint sigh. "It's true this will set us back," he allowed, "but I rather take this over the risk to be found and forced back. I won't let them turn you into some trophy wife or worse."
That was all Nunnally needed to understand the crux of the problem: it was her. Of course, what else would it be? So she shook her head decisively.
"No."
"No?"
"No," she confirmed, uncaring for how dumbfounded her brother was now. "I'm not leaving out of paranoia, no matter how grounded in reality it may be. I'm not leaving Kaguya behind, I won't abandon our friends here, and I won't just run away once risks rear their heads. You're the one who runs head-first into danger dressed like a comic book villain, so I don't want to hear anything about not taking risks of my own."
Her tone brooked no argument and she kept her gaze firmly on her brother's face. Lelouch's mouth opened and closed soundlessly, much like C.C. silently laughed at the side.
With both of them not saying anything, Nunnally turned her attention to Sayoko next: "We stay here. And if they come for us, we will let them know exactly what we think of them."
Thus far their maid had been indecisive. Now she offered a resolute nod and stepped back to her previous spot. It was gratifying to have her take Nunnally's order over Lelouch's. Seeing her do so finally made Lelouch find his words, too.
"Now isn't the time, Nunnally. They could be on their way as we speak."
"Then let them come," she answered, unwilling to budge on this.
However, Lelouch was about to dig in his heels much like her. Nunnally still remembered their last argument and did not want a repeat, so she tried another track: "Zero just got a significant improvement in reputation from what Kaguya told me earlier. We're finally going somewhere after seven years of having to watch it all helplessly. Everyone forgot that I'm dangerous, so there are no repercussions here at school. We don't even know if Euphie will breathe a word of me to anyone. Please stop and think it through again, Lelouch. I will not allow you to throw it all away like this."
He grimaced in response. Not for the backtalk, but because he knew she had a point. Lelouch was too rational a mind to disregard these things once pointed out. So he started thinking.
Of course, this gave C.C. a chance to fill the silence: "You think any sister of yours would be sympathetic to your situation?"
Nunnally tried not to sigh at that; she wondered momentarily if C.C. stirred up trouble on purpose, then realised that the answer was obviously yes. But it was also a relevant question, so she answered anyway.
"If any of my sisters would be, it is Euphemia. We were close with her and Cornelia back then. She didn't actually say anything when we met at the conference, so that's a point in her favour."
"She could have meant to maintain her cover," Lelouch argued, though Nunnally could tell it was half-hearted. He knew Euphie just as well as she did.
"Then she wouldn't have done her best to shield me from the cameras after. Please give her a chance, Lelouch."
He sighed once more and sat back down. Now it was him who received a cup of valerian, from which he sipped absently. "You're right that this is Euphie we're talking about, but she will tell Cornelia at the very least."
That, she could not refute. Euphemia and Cornelia were about as close as she and Lelouch were. But now that she had her brother calmed down, she could offer a compromise instead.
"Let's make some preparations and wait for a bit to see if anything happens. If they try to come for us, we leave for Europia. But only if something happens."
A moment passed in silence. Nunnally worried that he would disagree; that perfidious voice in the back of her head claimed he did not think her capable of making her own choices. But it was all dispelled when Lelouch nodded.
"That's fair enough," he agreed. "Please prepare what we need for travel once you find the time, Sayoko."
"Of course, young master."
She was glad for the resolution they found. It was not perfect, but they would not need these preparations with just a little luck. Nonetheless, Nunnally wanted to change the subject now; literally anything else would do. The incident was resolved a bit over a day ago, but she already had to contend with not just a worried call from Kaguya and the student council's fussing, but also this nonsense.
"Let's review the incident itself," she tried, curious to learn the parts she was unaware of. "We know it was a JLF officer acting against orders to lay low. How did you get in?"
Lelouch closed his eyes for a moment, likely playing through events on his own end. Then he indulged her: "The underground tunnel. I had to use Geass on Cornelia's engineers to ignore my coming and going, and I had C.C. stand guard in case something happens."
That made sense, though it sounded precarious anyway. Nunnally nodded her understanding of that part, then went to the soldiers. "You took them all down with your Geass?"
"I did," Lelouch confirmed, a drawl to his voice. "At first I forced anyone coming my way to follow my every command and had them gather, then I told them to kill themselves."
It was clear that he did not regret giving those orders. At the same time, the way he told it gave Nunnally pause. Not for any notion of cruelty, but because she did not expect it possible.
"If you can give an order to follow all future orders, why haven't you done that before?"
Her brother hesitated, then averted his gaze. "It's too easy," he admitted. "Dominating their minds for a few minutes is one thing, but forcing them under my sway forever is something else entirely. I won't do that outside of special circumstances."
Once again, Nunnally understood him perfectly. It was not just his pride acting up, but also bitter experience. They both were intimately familiar with the feeling of dancing to another's tune. The feeling of not having a choice. Nunnally did not wish that on anyone, either.
"Okay," she agreed, dropping the subject. "I ended up killing the guards using my own Geass to stop them from harming anyone. The civilians were somewhat organised by Euphie and Milly, then you came in. After putting everyone in the room under Geass, they think it was you who killed the guards. Which means the entire JLF splinter force is accredited to Zero."
Lelouch nodded back, though he still frowned.
"But there is only so much I can do with a reputation when it's just me and C.C.."
Nunnally arched a brow at him in response, to which he rolled his eyes. "I'm not taking you along on my back, Nunnally. You know exactly what I meant."
The tension lifted somewhat with their banter. Nunnally also felt satisfaction over being contrarian, hence why she motioned for their maid standing at the side. "You could take Sayoko."
"I could, but she can be traced back to us. Not to mention that it would leave you on your own. I want someone here to protect you if something happens."
Now that was both appreciated and annoying. Nunnally did not even bother saying anything, she just looked Lelouch straight in the eyes and let her Geass flutter. He shook his head in response, though.
"We already established that this isn't a perfect defense. Its range is less than a hundred metres and it only prevents people from hurting others. They can still move you if they reach, too."
His hovering started to irritate her again, but Nunnally swallowed that feeling. They were splitting hairs right now, which was admittedly her fault. "Fair enough," she allowed. "So you say we need troops?"
Lelouch nodded. "Manpower will be essential to take on any organised foe," he pointed out, which was true. "I took temporary control of the terrorists in Shinjuku, but only Kallen and one other returned to help with Suzaku despite the crushing success. They hold no loyalty to me."
"But if you recruited them properly, had them accept you as their leader?"
Lelouch thankfully took her prodding without much resistance. A little smirk broke through his thoughtful mask, too. "Exactly. Zero's reputation is something I can leverage to gather allies and organise a proper fighting force."
"Many will be alienated by your decision to protect Britannians, civilian or not," C.C. chimed in once more. Lelouch kept quiet for a moment, but Nunnally rolled her eyes.
"And good riddance," she said, prompting Lelouch to swallow whatever he was about to say. Nunnally held his gaze evenly, making it clear that she stood by her words.
Instead of arguing, Lelouch rather answered C.C.: "In turn, those who were alienated by the bloody acts of terrorism may flock to me if I hold up the banner of justice instead."
She smirked at that. "Even if that banner is soaked crimson, yes. Nobody likes to believe themselves the villain."
So saying, she stretched out lazily before glancing between the siblings.
"But what of you two, then?"
"How do you mean," Nunnally asked back. Her brother frowned, just as confused as she.
C.C., however, grinned.
"You raise up arms against the country you came from, plan to train warriors to engage them. Yet you, too, will commit violence upon the population. Perhaps the innocent aren't your target, but eventually they will be hurt by your actions. What is it all for, children?"
Silence descended in the wake of her question.
Nunnally did not like C.C.'s rhetoric, but she could not simply ignore it. C.C. was right, too: neither of them actually said what they wanted out loud, they only gave vague notions of vengeance.
When Lelouch answered, his voice almost echoed in the quiet: "Britannia is a blight upon mankind. Everything this empire stands for needs to be destroyed, so that something better can be built in its place."
His growl was deep, full of loathing that struck a chord within Nunnally. She felt similar, if not with the same target. There was a great irony in how alike they were after all.
"I don't have any high aspirations like you," she said, her soft voice unable to hide the edge to her words. "I just want the emperor dead for throwing us away like he did."
Lelouch inclined his head without another word. Just like she accepted his goal, he accepted hers.
C.C. still grinned, half mischievous and half malicious.
"Revenge, then," she mused.
Neither disagreed, well aware it was true.
"Your wishes are not even mutually exclusive, but they mean death and ruin. Regardless of how many fancy words you use to justify them. Toppling a whole culture and slaying the emperor, each of these will break Britannia. The other superpowers won't wait for their rival to reconsolidate. The equilibrium they cultivated will break and war will follow."
Nunnally made a face at that. She tried not to think too much of the consequences. Her wish for the emperor's death was entirely selfish and she knew it. Lelouch knew it too, though he simply nodded.
"Then so be it," he declared. "We don't have the power to solve all the world's issues with a snap of our fingers."
He was right. There was no one person who could change the world, an act of such magnitude required a god.
And after the life she lived thus far, Nunnally did not believe in gods.
Nonetheless, there was another facet to the situation. One that needed to be considered.
"But we do have Geass."
Lelouch made to talk back, but she pre-empted him: "I don't mean that they make us able to just change the world, but it's worth keeping in mind. If there is anything in this world that can change it, it's Geass. And if we have the ability to make the world better, shouldn't we at least try?"
She could tell her musings drew a grin from C.C., though the immortal woman did not chime in again. She let the silence develop as everyone contemplated. Nunnally knew she was right, though; Geass, especially Lelouch's, could change the course of nations. With time and care, such a thing could make the world better.
In the end, her brother uttered a quiet sigh and offered his thoughts: "No plan of this scale is put into reality from the first draft. We will start recruiting and see how things go, then we can look at revising our plans."
"And if an opportunity presents itself?" Nunnally queried, to which he met her gaze evenly.
"Then we take it."
They nodded at each other. Revenge remained their primary purpose, but a backup plan never hurt. Nunnally allowed herself a smile, now that they were done with this heavy subject. It was time for some mischief.
"You do the recruiting, I want to do the budget."
Her demand earned a raised brow, to which she almost but not quite pouted. "I learned enough from Kaguya and the books to do it. Leave money to me."
He still hesitated for a moment, only to nod. "Very well, I will trust you with our lifeline."
Nunnally beamed over his trust. C.C.'s soft chuckle did not change her mood, so quiet only Nunnally heard.
The same went for what she said under her breath: "Brother and sister, what a pair."
She barely managed not to snort. Nunnally knew the sort of team they made, but she would not have it any other way.
With their immediate goal set, the two of them got to work.
Nunnally took charge of the budget as intended; she had to fight some exasperation once Lelouch read her in on his various bank accounts and investments, though. If they were not attempting to destroy an empire, they could live well off of just what he already put aside.
Meanwhile, Lelouch as Zero began recruitment. He carefully put out the word that he sought like-minded allies to aid in his fight for justice. Sayoko was a key figure in this endeavour, covertly spreading the news in a number of key locations.
There was a definite interest in what he was selling, too. However, both Nunnally and Lelouch felt that Zero should come in having something to show; something to impress newcomers.
Which was why, just a week after the Kawaguchi incident, Ohgi Kaname could only stare in surprise when the one-man army strolled into his cell's hideout.
He called ahead, of course. But hearing that Zero came to meet them and having him actually show up were two vastly different things. He followed Kallen inside without a care in the world. Ohgi was the first to spot their guest, involuntarily drawn into an impromptu staredown with the mask.
"Hey, where'd that go again?" Tamaki asked absently, a rifle in hand. He pause upon seeing his leader dumbfounded. "Ohgi? Holy cow, it's Zero!"
Only then did he seem to notice the masked man. Tamaki almost dropped the weapon in surprise, but his shout summoned the rest of their little cell. It also snapped Ohgi out of his funk; he quickly got to his feet and bowed respectfully, a gesture that Zero returned.
"Ah, hello. I didn't think you would be here so soon. Please make yourself at home," Ohgi offered, though he had to hide a wince at the sight of their hideaway. "Well, as best as you can. We don't have much, but may I offer you some tea?"
The pause after his offer was given seemed to drag on for eternity. Ohgi felt like kicking himself for somehow forgetting the man wore a mask, too; how was he supposed to drink tea?
To his surprise however, Zero inclined his head. "Very well, I accept your kind offer."
Sugiyama already slipped away in response to set up the kettle. Inoue, Minami, Yoshida, and Tamaki all crowded closer in interest. Kallen joined them while Ohgi offered their guest a seat.
Once Zero sat at the small table, Ohgi took the opposite chair to face him. Greetings were out of the way, now they could get to the important part.
"I was pretty surprised when Kallen called about you," he began, the question implied. Zero nodded agreeably.
"As you had gone to ground, the previous way we agreed on passing messages did not work. Kozuki-san was kind enough to do so instead."
Kallen stood a little more straight in response, then glowered at Tamaki for cracking some bad joke about her being a messenger. Ohgi did not pay enough attention to really hear it, he focussed on the man in front of him.
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. We decided it's for the best to keep our heads down with Princess Cornelia in the country."
"A wise choice. Cornelia li Britannia is not a foe to be underestimated."
He could only agree. After seeing resistance cell after cell getting crushed, nobody had so much as grumbled over his choice to stay in hiding. Though Kallen deserved the praise for convincing him of it first. Others who refused to lay low were destroyed, some of them groups they worked with before.
"So what's this about, anyway?" Kallen butted in then.
Ohgi fell still, begging the heavens for patience. He just praised the girl and then she let her impatience override her manners. At least Zero did not seem to take offense; if he did, they would probably not survive. And if nothing else, Ohgi did not have to bother about Kallen. Inoue did it in his stead, roughly nudging the younger woman.
"Shut up kiddo."
"What? Why?!"
"Not our place to ask the questions right now."
Zero thankfully interrupted before the redhead and blunette could really start to argue: "It is quite alright, I appreciate forwardness as much as I do good manners."
Not only did he mollify Kallen with praise, there was a rebuke in his comment at the same time. Ohgi was quietly impressed and nodded his own appreciation.
Sugiyama came back with the tea at this point, a steaming kettle in hand. "Sorry about the low quality, it's all we got," he apologised. "Still gotta steep a few minutes."
Something about what he said gave Zero pause. His hand twitched, then he reached into a bag Ohgi did not even realised he carried before.
"And now it is I who has to apologise for my lack of manners," he said, pulling out a glass jar of leaves. "Please accept this humble gift for receiving me."
All eyes were on it in an instant. They saw the industrial Britannian label first, but there was a handwritten Japanese one right beneath. Ohgi could almost feel the greed from his friends, much like his own throat was dry.
This was green tea.
It had been years since Ohgi had any. He almost cried at the sight of it. Tamaki actually had to wipe away some tears. In fact, everyone but Kallen got a little emotional; she just seemed confused.
"A-Are you sure?" Ohgi asked, even though he wanted to snatch the jar from Zero's hands. "This must have been hard to get your hands on."
"Please accept it as a token of appreciation. I have not forgotten your assistance during the Kururugi incident."
This time he took the jar. Ohgi wanted to clutch it to his chest like a newborn, mind rattling. If they used as few leaves as possible, this may last them for months.
"Then I will accept your gift. Thank you very much."
He could hardly bear handing it off to Sugiyama, who received the jar with a reverent expression. The other man carried it away carefully. Zero waited until everyone finished staring after their retreating treasure, hands clasped on the table now. Ohgi reluctantly tore himself away to get back on track.
"So what can we do for you?"
The other man let the silence drag on for a second. Tension rose while Ohgi felt like he was being sized up.
When Zero spoke, it was in a measured tone: "I arrived today bearing an offer for you and your cell, Ohgi-san," he began, already having everyone's full attention. Ohgi simply made an agreeing noise as he waited for what came next. "Trouble is brewing for Japan, even so far away from the thought of liberation. Princess Cornelia's presence and current attempt at pacifying the country gave you a taste of what Britannia is able to do once provoked."
"Isn't that 'cause of you?" Tamaki chimed in, only to get nudged harshly by Minami and Inoue.
"Dude, shut up!" Minami groused, which at least stopped any complaints.
"Rude, but correct," Zero judged without so much as looking over. "Though it was only a matter of time. All of you ought to understand that any significant progress toward liberating Japan will draw this kind of response. Britannia clasps Japan in an iron fist and will not let go easily."
He left a pause that Ohgi used to pour the tea. The other man said nothing of it, he simply nodded his gratitude. Then he picked up his cup, only for several people to hold their breath. Ohgi was among them, far too curious to see what was below the mask.
Only for a small slit to open at the mouth.
A muttered "You can't be serious" sounded loud in the exasperated silence. Everyone tried to peek into the opening, but it was too dark inside to see anything. He thought he spotted the faintest edge of a smirk, but by then it was already too late.
"I, too, am nearing the limit of what I can do on my own," Zero continued severely. "A loosely connected group of resistance cells is easy picking for a fully organised army with competent commanders. Hence why I have begun recruiting those willing to an organisation of my own. A fighting force to face Britannia when the time comes, and walk away the victor."
This was a bit of a bone to chew on for him. Ohgi got that Zero wanted to recruit them well enough, even if it came as a surprise. But his words made him anxious, too; there were still plenty of cells left, though the purge was not over. Ohgi had little pride left after scraping in the dirt for so long. Yet admitting that they could not achieve much of anything still hurt.
"And you want us to join you?" he asked, mostly for clarity.
"Yes."
Zero's complete lack of tells became off-putting by now. He sat still like a statue and had no face to read.
Just as Ohgi thought that, the other man stood. He made a sweeping motion for the area behind their small storeroom turned hideout. "It is impossible to face Britannia divided. Only united can we achieve our goal!"
It finally began to register with him. Ohgi had trouble picking his jaw off the floor as he fully comprehended: the man who fought Britannia on his own and won wanted Ohgi's little cell to join up with him.
"Now hold on a sec!" Tamaki interrupted before Ohgi got so much as a sound out. "Last time I checked, you killed a bunch of ours too!"
Ohgi blinked, a little surprised by the lack of rebuke from the others. All eyes turned to Zero, whose head tilted minutely.
"You refer to my eradicating the JLF splinter force under Lt. Colonel Kusakabe at the Kawaguchi conference?" he asked, likely to remind them who they were dealing with. Ohgi winced, though he silently admitted that Tamaki had a point.
"And you all call that group 'one of yours'?"
There was some awkward shuffling in response. Nobody seemed quite sure where he was going. Kallen started to frown for some reason, though Minami simply nodded. He was the one to answer, too.
"I mean, yeah? They're Japanese."
"And so you condone the meaningless slaughter of innocents as long as they are not Japanese?"
Now Ohgi knew where this was going. He winced again, much like everyone else was given pause by the pointed question. Zero looked between them, radiating disappointment. It weighed heavier than one would expect from a near stranger.
Then, with a swift motion, the masked man spread his arms. His cloak billowed out behind him.
"That is unacceptable," he declared. His voice was perfectly even, but he may as well have shouted with how heavy his judgement fell on the room. "Beliefs like these, that nobody but your own people matter, are what gave rise to Britannia in the first place. It is true that much needs to be sacrificed for a chance of freedom, but have you already left your morals and humanity behind?"
Nobody dared argue. Ohgi was among those shuffling awkwardly now, unable to really meet Zero's gaze even without being able to see it.
"The youngest of the hostages was thirteen years old," Zero added quietly. Another added weight onto the tension. Kallen twitched at the notion, Tamaki and Inoue were staring at the ground. Ohgi was tempted to do the same, but he managed to stop himself.
"I can not and will not abide by a paradigm that overlooks crimes like these just because they were committed by the 'right' side. Neither will I condone such behaviour from those I work with."
That sounded very much like a dismissal, him retracting his offer. Ohgi wanted to say something, convince the man to reconsider. But he kept silent, feeling that the well had been poisoned by now.
Yet by some miracle, Zero did not just walk out. Rather, he folded his cloak back up with an almost dismissive motion. The snap of cloth was like a shock to the system.
"What say you, Ohgi-san? Will you accept this desire of mine and join my cause?"
That came as a bit of a surprise. Ohgi stared dumbly for a moment, confused they got the offer at all. They barely knew each other, too.
"Hold on, isn't this going a little fast?" he asked, albeit worried this was their only chance. Zero simply inclined his head, though.
"Perhaps it is, but time remains of the essence. Yours is the only group I sought out in person, Ohgi-san," he admitted, which made Ohgi straighten up unconciously. "I offer you and yours access to my funds and intelligence, as well as competent leadership and a cause to rally behind alongside anyone who will follow. In turn you will accept my orders and provide your talents to that cause."
Ohgi stood still as the terms were laid out. He could scarcely believe that Zero would choose them first out of everyone. The offer felt good, too.
Thankfully, Yoshida bapped his shoulder in reminder before he could get ahead of himself. Ohgi quickly showed a grateful smile. "Ah, well, that sounds incredibly generous. Can you give us a few minutes to discuss this?"
"Are you not the leader of this cell?"
He had to chuckle a little awkwardly in response to that. "Yeah, I am. But we all go way back, so we usually talk things out before I make the call."
Silence followed, though Zero eventually inclined his head.
"Very well, take your time. I shall partake in another cup of tea."
They did just that and huddled together at the other side of the room. Kallen was with them, too. Ohgi quickly started them off: "Okay, so you heard him. That's a big offer. What do you think?"
"I say we take it," Minami went first.
"Just like that?" Yoshida asked of him. "We don't even know who he is."
A motion was made toward the masked man, who seemed perfectly at ease sipping tea on his own. Yoshida had a point there, so Ohgi turned to Kallen. "Anything you know about him?"
Their youngest member shook her head, a displeased frown on display. "All I know is that he somehow called my cellphone. Whoever he is, he must be well connected if his contacts can get at that."
Some nods followed her assessment, then Inoue prodded their most forward and stubborn member. "Oi Tamaki, any objections?"
"I dunno," he muttered, clearly conflicted. "It's hard to forget the thing with the JLF, you know? He's right that it wasn't the best thing they could've done, but I get the feeling he'll ask us to shoot at Japanese people too."
It was a good point to make and others agreed with him, as did Ohgi. The mere thought at shooting his countrymen made Ohgi sick. At the same time, his sensibilities were firmly in Zero's camp on the moral argument.
"Walk me through that one," Kallen asked, part grim and part thoughtful. "If you see a gangster pushing a girl down, you beat up the gangster. Doesn't matter if he's Britannian or Japanese, or which the girl is."
Tamaki made to argue the point, but no words came out at first. Then he offered a slow nod.
"Okay, yeah. You got a point. It's just, it feels different."
"It is different," Yoshida chimed in. "Because there are far less Japanese left, especially those willing to fight. More and more just... give up and accept being oppressed like this. The rest gets more desperate for results."
The others turned to listen to his quiet explanation. He was right as well, Ohgi knew; this was not a situation with good answers.
Sugiyama took over from there, having just listened so far: "But he had a point nonetheless. What do we actually gain if we somehow beat Britannia like this and end up becoming just like them? Isn't that just them winning anyway?"
"And then there is the part where Zero pulled off this madness three times," Inoue added with a grimace. "We already fought under him in Shinjuku and came out alive, even after that white Knightmare came in to ruin everything."
She nodded to Ohgi and Kallen, her blue hair almost forming a curtain in front of her eyes from the motion. "Those two were all he had for the thing with Kururugi and he still came out on top. Then Kawaguchi... I say we give him a shot."
"So you're fine with taking orders from a stranger?" Yoshida asked of her, to which she nodded.
"I'm fine if you guys are."
"Besides," Tamaki said then, "we're kinda low on cash. Not much work to go around and stuff."
He earned some exasperation for that one, but nobody contested the point. Tamaki was in charge of the money, so he knew best how they stood in that regard.
Having heard most of them, Ohgi decided to offer his opinion next. He took to doing it like Naoto before him, who once explained that the leader's word weighed heavier. His late friend was right on that end like he was so many others.
"I think that, at worst, Zero is someone who won't screw us over. At best, he can actually do what he says. We, well, we haven't really achieved much recently, have we? So what do we actually lose if we join him?"
The following silence was almost oppressive, compelling him to keep going: "Listen, I know you guys trust me, but I'm not a great leader. That was always Naoto."
Kallen's face scrunched up over hearing her brother's name; Ohgi felt similarly awful to remember his death, but he made himself keep talking to get the point across: "I kept us going, but I don't have the vision to know where to go from here. Zero has a plan, he has equipment and money. He has what we need, but he needs manpower to get there."
Everyone looked around to see what the others thought for a moment. Ohgi felt they reached a consensus, though. There really was little to lose for them.
"I think you have a point," Sugiyama offered after mulling it over. "I'm not sure I like the idea of following him, but maybe I'll come around. How about you try getting a temporary thing that we turn permanent later? And I definitely want some good reasons to shoot at Japanese people."
Basically everyone nodded at his words, so Ohgi agreed and they broke up their huddle.
Zero uncrossed his legs and stood when the group walked back to him. An empty cup was placed down with a soft click.
"We have come to a decision," Ohgi started, though he could not help but smile. "If you'd have us, we would like to work with you. But for now we prefer to have it be temporary, in case things don't work out."
"That can be arranged. Although I will have to hold back on information that could compromise me if you do decide to part ways."
"That's fair," Ohgi agreed with a nod. Then he glanced back to Sugiyama before adding the other stipulation: "And we'd like you to properly explain why if you ever tell us to fight our own people."
Once again, Zero did not argue the point. "Very well. I understand it is not easy to stand against those you deem your own with a clear conscience. Is there anything else?"
"No, that's it."
The moment he said it, Zero offered his hand. Ohgi took it.
"Then so be it. A pleasure to work with you, Ohgi-san. Welcome to the Order of the Black Knights."