"Speech"

"Radio or calls"

'Thoughts'

Year Three

Euphemia (One month)

Euphemia looked at the video call at her main desk, slamming her hands down on the desk, "What do you mean you have to cut most of my funding?"

Schneizel, on the other side of the call, just looked at her apologetically, "I apologize Sister, but the upcoming war demands a lot of funds. And father has been insistent about the war, so my hands are tied at the moment."

Euphemia just pursed her lips as she looked at her brother's face, trying to see if he was playing her. The last couple years had dimmed some of her idealism, having to watch as Britannian nobles still refused to treat the expanding SAZ with any respect. But her brother's face seemed genuine, sorrow lacing his expression. She took a deep breath, "I need that funding for the SAZ to keep it maintained. The nobles here refuse to support it."

"You know how expensive war is. Cornelia must have beaten that into you." The prime minister of Britannia just sighed, "I can try to get some more…sympathetic nobles and wealthy families in the homeland to donate, but that will be at their whims and desires. I can only push them to help." The princess looked down at her lap, knowing the support of rich families would mean she would have to play by someone else's rules. 'Even if they say they don't want something, I know they will demand changes.'

Euphemia took a second to collect herself, balling her fists. She knew more money would be good for the SAZ, to support the programs needed to help the Japanese people. But that would also put the Japanese people under the thumb of another rich Britannian, and one that even she would struggle to control. As much trouble she had controlling normal nobles, nobles that she owed would be harder.

Determination filled her expression as she looked her brother dead in the eye, "I don't want their money. You know they would take advantage of the Japanese people. I refuse to let them be abused even more than they already have."

Schneizel just sighed, "I can't force you to accept their money, but father's word is bigger than any of ours. Even mine. It's the law." Euphemia grunted under her breath. 'Then why do you care about this empire more than him? Father may demand respect, but everyone knows you run the empire.' Her brother had always seemed nice, but Lelouch's words always bounced around her head.

Her elder brother had the power to stop the war with Europe, but yet he let it happen. She had gotten over her sister leaving, as she would inevitably be called to lead some campaign, but she knew that Britannia seemed to be able to pull money out when they wanted. But as she looked in his eyes, she could see a hint of the truth in his eyes. Her father really had asked him to do what he could to fund this war.

She scowled, and took a deep breath, "I know. But I refuse to sacrifice my ideals for the whims of the nobility. I am a princess of Britannia, and protector of Japan."

A smile cracked her brother's face, a hint of pride radiating from it, "I expected nothing less. I wish I could be so principled as you, but Japan is in good hands. Cornelia would be proud." His voice lowered as he nodded at her, "I'll see what I can do about getting some money, but I can't promise anything."

Euphemia just nodded, and she smiled, "As long as it can't be used to hurt the people, I'll take it." She blushed at his words, and took a second to recover, looking more regal than before, "I'll make sure Japan is kept secure."

"See to it that you do." The call ended, and Euphemia let out the metaphorical breath that she had been holding that entire call. Her brother had been lying to her. About the war. 'Cornelia has been keeping me up to date about the invasion, and has stated she didn't need reinforcements. In fact she claims it's overkill. So why is more money being syphoned to support the military?'

One effect of being the viceroy has been her keeping her ear to the ground in the court. She still had a few old friends and allies in the homeland, and they kept her up to date as best they could. One of them mentioned their brother-in-law wasn't talking about going to Europe, but somewhere else. It was several months out, but her father was planning an invasion of somewhere else.

'Who could it be? China? Africa?' China would be too much of a drain, and even if Britannia had a superior military, the Chinese military had enough forces to delay and hold off them for a while. And Africa had nothing Britannia needed. So what could it be? 'Did he want to strike at Zero?' Zero had been the one enemy that he hadn't bested, and she had no idea what would have happened if the Black Knights had led a major attack against Japan. 'But why would father or brother want to disrupt a peaceful part of the empire?'

She would have to tell Lelouch about this development. Maybe he would have a better idea. Even with her improving, it was clear that Lelouch still had a much better grasp on the bigger picture than she did. She filed the thought away as she looked at her computer, her messages with Cornelia the first thing she spotted. Her sister noted invasion was progressing well, the British Isles falling and southern Italy firmly in Britannian hands, but the rest putting up more resistance than expected.

The main complaint was she was being forced to stay in the backlines, Guilford acting as her main commander. She was itching to get in frontline combat, but her knight and Schneizel had convinced her she needs to create a better foothold in France and Spain till she could get involved.

But she took a deep breath, and looked at the requests in her inbox, knowing she would be busy with emails and policy for hours. Pushing the growing concern on her mind, she opened the first request, knowing this would be a long day.

Lelouch (Three Months)

Lelouch sat at a job in the R&D wing, smiling to himself. Ever since he had graduated, he had secured a job under his cover name, and thankfully no one so far had suspected anything. Lelouch had been a common name at the year of his birth and a few years after, and he suspected most people weren't looking for the lost prince ever since his supposed death.

The graduation at Ashford had been emotional, and watching his group of friends having to separate, as separated from his true identity as they were, was still upsetting. He knew Milly had already gotten a job as morning television host in the Tokyo Settlement, and Nina was headed to the homeland to study at a prestigious scientific firm, being recommended by Suzaku's former superior. Rivalz was also headed back to Britannia, but Lelouch wasn't sure what job or career path he would have.

And him and Kallen had settled in an apartment in the settlement, Kallen's mother moving with her. Lelouch was happy to live relatively anonymously, using his girlfriend's status to secure himself a job at the R&D wing of the palace. The irony of that was funny, but Richard was being surprisingly supportive of his daughter. 'Much better than my father at least.'

And he was surprised at how little he was watched, seemingly below suspicion as he typed out a report. His eyes glazed over the pointless report, counting the days till he gathered the intel he wanted. He had no desire to stay here longer than he needed. 'The rest of the Black Knights can keep good order while I do this.'

A thump at his desk turned his attention to the person or object that did it, and he looked up to see a curvy blonde woman, gold eyes shining as CC looked at him bored. She wore a well-fitting suit, looking at her nails as she looked at him, "Well besides getting the head of the department to talk, the defense director of the Settlement is going to get a tour of the place. More agents have gathered some info, and his route will take him to a place where you can catch him alone."

Lelouch just smiled at her, "What would I do without you?"

"Probably still be a poor little boy desperately raging underneath a cold exterior. But you're welcome." A smile came to her ruby lips, and he couldn't help but chuckle as CC jumped off his desk, pushing out the creases in her skirt, "Now do you need any more of my help, or can I get back to manipulating that poor boss of yours?"

Lelouch nodded, "Go ahead. Honestly, he probably doesn't deserve this, but we need info." The head of the department was a weedy man, very nervous and not very confident. He had no idea how the man had become the head of the R&D here, but that only made his job easy. 'I suspect he either has connections or someone prefers someone like this in charge.'

But he stood up, watching CC leave, a few others workers watching her sway her hip, knowing that he didn't care about the consequences. It would just look like a lazy slacker not wanting to work, and that would risk Richard's wrath, though he didn't want to make the man look too bad. There was a file on his desk, and it noticeably had the tour route.

He smiled as he carried the folder under his arm, pretending to be going somewhere. The tour had already started, and he headed towards spot where he could ambush him the best. And only a few minutes later, he could see a small group of people headed towards him. There were a few man in suits, guns at their side, a small woman in office clothing, and a brightly dressed middle-aged man.

He was balding at the top of his head, and very much had the aura of a pompous nobleman. His expression was even, but it was very obvious that he didn't want to be here. Lelouch waited against the wall as he saw the group approach, with mentions of topics like the efficiency of sakuradite and moderate improvements in basic knightmares.

Lelouch had already sent that information to the Black Knights through the use of Geass, and here he knew he could grab a much bigger prize. And as the tour passed by him, he cleared his throat, "Excuse me Lord Marshall?"

The man turned to look at him, scowling, "Can you not see that I have a tour going on? I don't have time for some…peon to interrupt me."

The woman looked at Lelouch, "I'm sorry, but he is correct."

Lelouch just shrugged, "I was told that I had to give a message in private from Lord Claremont." He looked around at the group, "I promise that I don't need much time."

Lord Marshall continued scowling, "And why would Lord Claremont ask you to do it?"

Lelouch's voice filled with annoyance and he pursed his lips, "I have no idea. I was just told to send the message along."

The man looked at his group, and groaned before nodding, "Fine. The rest of you wait while I deal with this annoyance." The man aggressively shoved Lelouch, which the terrorist barely held back a scowl. A few years ago that may have knocked him over, but having to workout with Kallen had made him much stronger.

He just rolled with it and found a quiet corner out of the sight of the rest of the group, and with no cameras. The nobleman looked at his expectantly, "Spit it out boy. What does that plague of a man want?"

Lelouch just smirked, and Marshall scowled harder. Lelouch's voice filled with his normal confidence, and he removed the contact in his eye, "Lelouch vi Britannia commands you to follow my order whenever I say liberation!" The man's irises were surrounded by red rings, and his expression became neutral, his words quiet, but powerful.

"Yes, my lord!"

Suzaku (5 Months)

Suzaku looked at the large party in the palace, guests spread throughout the designated areas. Everyone was dressed fancy, and even he was in his formal knight uniform. He tended to not enjoy this, but his wife wanted to keep the nobility on her side.

His wife was currently in a relatively conservative dress, which had become more of her style since she had married him, only showing a hint of her cleavage. It was pink and hugged her curves, her hair ornately done up. She had a glass of wine in her hand, and the princess was laughing at a joke being told by one of her friends.

Suzaku was about to approach her when Cecile approached him, in a more revealing dress. She didn't have a drink in hand, and a smile was on her face as she spoke, "Hello Suzaku. The princess certainly knows how to attract the nobility."

Suzaku couldn't help but smile at the maternal woman, "Hey Cecile. She has been doing her best, especially since she has been put under pressure to garrison some of the European forces." Cornelia had decided to launch an attack into Siberian Russia, hoping to catch the EU by surprise, and northern Japan was being used to support them till all the forces could go over.

Cornelia had been at the initial launch point, and only a third of the army was left to ferry over. Cecile nodded, "Lloyd has been asked to do some of the maintenance on the more elite machines. Specifically the designs based on the Lancelot. But he's not exactly happy." Suzaku hummed at that, knowing Lloyd was still a bit peeved his model had become a standard officer knightmare frame, called the Vincent, though still less capable than the Lancelot. But he was funded by Schneizel, so he had no choice in that.

Suzaku just laughed, "So how much have you had to force him to work."

The woman chuckled, "Well it took a bit of work, but the threat of Cornelia cutting off his funding for the Lancelot kept him in line." Suzaku spotted some eyes trailing over Cecile's body, but the woman either didn't notice or didn't care that she was being ogled. 'Euphie is the same. Though she's starting to realize it a bit more.'

Suzaku hid a chuckle as he looked over at his wife, and instead of seeing some pudgy nobleman sucking up to her, he instead saw a tall and dashing blonde man leaning down and kissing the back of her hand, his lips staying there a second too long for his taste. Euphemia's cheeks were pink and she giggled, and his eyes flashed red. The man wore a knight's uniform, even fancier than his, and he couldn't be much older than Suzaku.

Suzaku lips formed a straight-line, and the only thing stopping him was Cecile putting her hand on his shoulder caused him to turn towards her, "Suzaku. I know what it looks like, but please don't cause a scene. The princess might be doing diplomacy or playing nice." He could see the plea in her eyes, as well as the understanding, and huffed.

"I'm just going to talk to the princess in private. Don't worry." He breathed from his nose, and he could see Cecile reluctantly pull her hand from his shoulder. He pushed through the crowd, barely avoiding knocking over people's drinks, and soon reached his wife and the blonde man, quickly drawing attention to himself.

Euphemia's eyes lit up as she saw him, and grabbed his arm, looking at the blonde man, "I was going to try to find him, but it seems I didn't have to." She gestured to Suzaku, "This is my knight, Suzaku Kururugi." She held him close, and that anger he felt fled immediately, guilt flooding in as he looked between the blonde man and his beautiful wife.

The blonde man spoke with a generous smile, "Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three." Suzaku's eyes went wide at the mention of his title. 'One of the knights of the round? What is he doing here?' Gino just chuckled, almost seeing the question in his eyes, "I'm on a break from the front. It's been a hard fight to establish a solid beachhead, but I finally got the time to leave the front. So I wanted to meet this pink princess."

Euphemia blushed slightly, and that jealousy surged up a bit, but the way she held him kept him from focusing on it. The man had a confident and fairly carefree look his face, and Suzaku couldn't but feel that sensation. Suzaku spoke casually, "So it sounds like the campaign is going well."

Euphemia spoke up too, "Cornelia is satisfied with their progress. A second front means weakening European forces."

Gino nodded, "She's wishes she could be there herself, but the resistance in France is taking all of her attention right now." He laughed, "But Suzaku is the lucky one, getting to spend time with the wonderful princess." He leaned forward, "And if I was Suzaku, I would made a move."

The married couple blushed, and Gino couldn't help but laugh again, "It seems the princess's knight has something he's hiding. And maybe the princess too?" There was a tap on his shoulder, and he glanced back to see the aide of a commander, "Yes?"

"General Johnson wishes to talk to you in private."

Gino rolled his eyes but nodded, "Go tell him I'll find him in a minute. I have to give a proper goodbye to the princess." He turned back to her and gave her a proper bow, winking, "It was wonderful to meet you, and I hope I can come back here after we crush the Europeans."

Euphemia nodded, "You are certainly welcome to come back here. Any of the Knights of the Round are a guest of honor." The blonde man just chuckled and moved to follow the aide, and Euphemia's eyes turned towards Suzaku, "Why don't we talk in private? I can see something is on your mind."

He nodded, sighing as shame filled him. The crowd parted to let them move to a private room in the palace, and her look only added to his shame, a pure look of worry on it, "Love, what's wrong?"

The Japanese knight looked at the ground, and after a few seconds, he spoke, "When I saw Gino kissing your hand, I got jealous. You were blushing and I just…"

He placed a hand on his face, softly kissing him, "Oh, I'm so sorry."

Suzaku shook his head, breathing faster, "No, I shouldn't have been jealous. You are free to-"

Euphemia put a finger on his lips, "Are you worried I'm not interested in you? Or that my father is planning something?" Suzaku let out a long breath, his wife hitting the nail on the head. Gino was a classically handsome knight, and one of the youngest in the Knights of the Round.

Euphemia kissed his cheek, holding him tight, "Suzaku, I married you. I love you. You don't have to worry. Both Schneizel and Cornelia know I have no interest in getting in an arranged marriage, and father doesn't care about doing that."

Suzaku just grunted, that guilt not growing away. A smile grew on Euphemia's face, and she pulled him in for a kiss, a heat filling it. Her eyes promised pleasure, and Suzaku couldn't help but moan as he pressed her against the wall. His hands went under her hips, and he lifted her up, pressing against her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, making sure he couldn't break the embrace.

Their moans echoed in the room as they forgot the world around them. The haze filled both their minds, and her hair went into his hair and around his neck as he gripped her ass. Their bodies only grew hotter as this continued on for minutes, before they broke the kissing to get some air.

Euphemia smirked, and Suzaku flushed pink, "Does that tell you how I feel?" He nodded dumbly, and she kept her legs around his waist, "After this party, let's try that roleplay you wanted to try." Suzaku blushed even more, and nodded.

"Ok."

Kallen

"Checkmate." Kallen's boyfriend's smug voice echoed in the living room as he looked at the redhead, knocking over her king as she grit her teeth. She looked down at the board, and she swore she had the upper hand. But here Lelouch was, trapping her. He just smiled, "You have gotten much better. It took me thirty-five moves to beat you."

Kallen growled and crossed her arms, "I swear I had you." She slammed her hand down on the table, hissing.

"You certainly had me nervous, but you overplayed your hand." Lelouch chuckled and placed a hand over hers, caressing it as he radiated warmth. Kallen glared and pursed her lips, but warmth filled her and a few seconds later she blushed deeply.

"Well if you weren't so smug, then maybe you might be more popular." She knew she was wrong, but she couldn't let him get the upper hand.

Lelouch just moved to her side, and pulled her in for a soft kiss, cupping her chin as Kallen melted into it, moaning softly as she leaned towards him. He tasted so sweet, and she basked in the sensation, pressing against him. He broke the short kiss, and she pouted, wanting to bring up that anger, but that kiss causing it all to fade.

She let out a sigh and leaned against him, Lelouch kissing her forehead, "Hey, you are getting good. I have no doubts that you could beat most of the nobles I challenge."

Kallen rolled her eyes and pecked him on the cheek, "Your ego is going to get you killed." Lelouch laughed, but then his phone started ringing. Kallen looked between him and the phone, "Need to take this?"

"Yes. It's Ohgi." Kallen nodded and the two separated, Lelouch moving to their bedroom, and Kallen moved to the window. She gripped the windowsill as she looked out into the city. The capital of Area 11 was bustling like normal, like nothing had changed, but at the edge was the growing SAZ, the construction obvious.

Over the past couple years, more and more people had joined. It had expanded and many people had been happy to be called Japanese. 'Though we still need to earn it for ourselves. We cannot be under the boot of Britannia, even if it's by a kinder royal.' Her mind drifted to Euphemia, who she had become friendly with, if a bit more distant. For a while it had done well, but the past couple months were showing some wear.

Money had been drying up, and many construction projects had been delayed or cancelled. The Black Knights had tried to shore it up as best as possible, but it certainly wasn't easy. Violence had been going up, and after Lelouch had 'talked' to a few of the men, it was clear that noblemen and women were paying people to attack visiting Britiannians. It was clear they weren't the only ones doing it, some wanting to get revenge on those who had persecuted them, but it wasn't helping the growing rumors among the people living in the Tokyo Settlement.

She wished she could do something, anything, but many of the advanced knightmare frames had to be hidden, and she couldn't risk her identity acting as a cop. She could be Lelouch's bodyguard and training troops, but she could only wait till she could fight the inevitable Britannian response, which she could feel in her bones was coming. All of the bases around the country were being prepared, and she could only hope their numbers would boom once something happened.

Light footsteps entered the room, and Kallen turned to see her mother smiling at her, "Hi dear. I heard you lost again."

Kallen spluttered a bit, but the smirk on her mother's face just caused the redhead to pout. Kallen's arms fell to her side, "He's not exactly a graceful winner."

Sayla just laughed, "You have been dating him for three years, and you still expect him to not be that way?" She shook her head, "I forgot what it was like to be so young and in love."

Kallen groaned and sat down on a chair, letting out a breath, "Aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

Sayla followed her lead, sitting down on the couch, "Of course I am. But when you are trying to beat your lover at the things he's good at, and lose, I can't help but tease you a bit."

Kallen put her hand in her head, her face red as she just looked at the board on the table. 'He'll never let me live this down.' Sayla looked at her daughter, a warm smile coming to her face, "The best way to get back at him is to…tease him in other ways." The older woman had a coy look in her eye, and Kallen couldn't help but smile at that.

"I can think of something." Kallen laughed, then relaxed, "So mom, how's your lover doing?"

Sayla blushed slightly, and rested her hands on her lap, "Your father and I are being cautious at the moment. He still can't show me too much attention or his peers might learn about what's going on. But I still missed him." Kallen frowned, her doubts still filling her. 'Then why didn't he try to keep you around before?'

"And we are taking it slow. Both of us have our own issues given to us by time." If her mother caught onto her thoughts, Sayla didn't say anything, and a loving smile filled her face, "It will never be the same as what we had before, but your father means so much to me. Thank you for letting him visit here." Kallen took a deep breath, tears welling up as her mother's words hit her heart.

Kallen just nodded, "I'm happy you two are getting along better. It's like…"

"The past." Sayla breathed a sigh of relief, "Your brother would have loved to see this. He always complained to me that your father should have treated me better. Naoto wasn't wrong, but he was always hot headed. He felt he had to protect me, protect you."

Kallen swallowed heavy as she looked down at her lap, a shuddering breath leaving her. 'Naoto.' Her talk with Lelouch years ago, and subsequent conversations with her mother and father had mostly cleared up the guilt of his death, but a nugget of doubt always sat in her mind, especially since Lelouch had been giving her a crash course in how to lead and command.

"Would I be able to…lead like he could? Make people follow me like him?"

Sayla looked her daughter in the eyes, their shared blue eyes bringing a welling of regret in Kallen, "Kallen, Naoto was always hot headed. Always the troublemaker. And you are like him in some ways, but you will always be different." She stood up and steadily made her way over to the redhead, placing a hand on her daughter's hand, "I have no doubt you will be able to do what your brother did. I never learned exactly what he was doing, but it annoyed your father to no end. But don't feel you need to do what he did. If you want to take charge, take charge in your way. I would rather you crash and burn following your own path than feel forced to be your brother. But why are you worrying?"

Kallen forced back a tear, not saying a work as a trembling smile filled her face. Her mother's bright eyes showed no doubts, only maternal love. She sniffled and wiped her nose, a nostalgic smile crossing the redhead's face. She simply nodded. 'Lead my own way, huh? I don't know what that even means.' She hadn't even had a chance to truly lead a force, the closest she got was commanding the Zero squad and a few police strike forces in a knightmare.

But Lelouch had beaten in into her that commanding like he did demanded more than knowledge of the battlefield. It required knowing how each unit functioned, who were the best squad leaders. How supplies were organized. Delegation could only get her so far. It was so simple to simply take commands, but to have so many people's lives in your hands was a weight she hoped she was ready for.

Kallen just reclined on her chair, "Just something Zero told me about." Her mother just smiled at her, knowing what she meant. After they had moved in, Kallen had spilled as much as she could to her mother, only hiding the fact Zero was Lelouch. That was his decision, not hers. Her mother's smile said she knew something she wasn't saying, but Kallen didn't want to push it further.

Lelouch walked back into the room, and he focused on the two women, his eyebrow quirked, "Did I miss something important?"

Sayla just hummed, "No, just discussing how good a son-in-law you would be." Lelouch couldn't hide a blush as Kallen was once again caught off guard by her mother. The woman just smirked, "It's rude to make a girl wait so long, you know."

Kallen looked to Lelouch, internally panicking a little, his eyes showing the same confusion at her. 'How does my mom stump us like this?' Kallen looked to her mom, "Listen, I don't need him to. I love my boyfriend and-"

"When things have settled in Japan, it would be my honor to marry your daughter." There was very little shaking in his voice and Kallen's face matched her hair as Lelouch's eyes smoldered, love and affection filling them. She couldn't speak, only making mutes sounds as her mother smiled.

"Well it's good you are thinking about it. I trust my daughter with you." Sayla pulled up her daughter from the chair, and shoved her towards Lelouch. The tall Britannian caught her, the redhead's hand falling onto his chest, feeling his now appreciative amount of muscle. She rested her head in the crook of his neck.

"Do you mean it?" Her heart skipped a beat as she looked into his eyes, and couldn't help but wrap her arms around him. His voice lowered, becoming husky, "Once Britannia is dealt with, I will propose. You have my word."

She just smiled as she kissed his lips, "You better."

Author Note

And we come to the end of the time skip! Events are going to come faster, and the real drama will start. I hoped you guys enjoyed these. I will give a heads up the next update will come out in a few months, as I want to build up more chapters and a solid outline of the whole story before I post. I promise I'm not abandoning it, just don't like posting chapter by chapter. I'll see you guys next time and please send more reviews and comments!