"I'd have preferred to do this the other day," Lelouch muttered to himself, casually strolling through Ashford's courtyard. But I was preoccupied dealing with Suzaku, and had to rely on Sayoko in order to manage things in a timely manner. But even so… as well as that meeting went, I'm still not satisfied with the information I have available.

"Excuse me," he called out. "Do you have a moment, Miss Stadtfeld?"

The redhead, munching on a sandwich behind some bushes after her hangers-on had just run off for some reason or other moments before, turned to regard him curiously. "I guess so," she said after chewing and swallowing a bite she'd just taken. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Check.

"I'd like you to answer my questions truthfully and with the utmost confidence."

"Of course," a more visibly relaxed Kallen replied as the power of Geass took over her. "Fire away."

Keenly aware that his window of opportunity with the school's lunch period was fast ticking away, Lelouch wasted no time in getting to the point. "You were piloting the Glasgow in Shinjuku, weren't you?"

"Yes."

As I thought. More succinct than I might have fully expected, but I suppose that's what I get for asking such an obviously binary question. "Why are you cooperating with the terrorists?"

"Because although I look Britannian, I'm actually half-Japanese on my mother's side."

Lelouch took a moment to digest her answer, expression softening slightly even as he focused to maintain his Geass. "I see. But still… what pushes you to go so far when you can have an easy life as a Britannian heiress? Is it because you care for your mother?"

"Actually, I hate her."

Lelouch's eyes grew wide in surprise and even a little disappointment at the admission, as Kallen heedlessly continued to speak. "Her weak-willed subservience to Britannia is a disgrace to our pride as Japanese, and to my brother who gave his life fighting for our freedom. He's the one who inspired me to fight, and honoring his memory is my reason to keep fighting."

"...I see. Tell me, then, what are you hoping to achieve? What's your plan?"

"I don't know anymore."

"Explain."

"Before Zero approached us, I wanted to kick Britannia out of Japan and make them bleed every bit as much as they did to us."

"And now?"

"I still want to get rid of Britannia and take my country back, but I'm less comfortable with stooping to their level."

Piloting talent or no, she's not much more than another nationalist clinging to a ghost. Still, there's hope for her; Zero just needs to keep pushing and delivering results… "And do you think you have any chance of accomplishing that goal, one way or another?"

"No," Kallen blankly replied, "but it's better to die fighting than accept living under Britannia."

Lelouch grit his teeth, displeased with the conversation he was getting but glad that he could at least make use of this perspective with so little effort. But she's content to just throw her life away without achieving anything in the process… "And what about those Japanese who submit to Britannia's system for their own survival?"

"It depends. I'm disappointed in Japanese who aren't brave enough to fight, but at least I can respect them enough for staying out of our way."

"And Japanese who joined the Britannian military," Lelouch pressed. "Do you give them the same basic courtesy?"

Under Geass, Kallen's answer remained as immediate as it was toneless and bland. "I don't know that I could ever forgive a Japanese who joined the Britannian military, no matter what their reasons are. If they had any sense of honor or self-respect at all, they'd kill themselves in shame and save us the trouble."

"…not in the least since the Japanese have spent those years whispering behind my back that I should kill myself…!"

Lelouch took a deep breath to steady himself, allowing his Geass to lapse as he closed his eyes at the unbidden memory. I'm starting to understand the conclusion you came to, Suzaku. I shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss your pain, even though it's blinding you to the reality that they can be so much better than this.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Kallen asked.

Back to other business. "You're miss Kallen Stadtfeld, right? Our Student Council's President asked me to come and find you," he casually began.

Kallen did an admirable job of suppressing and modifying her reaction by what might have been ordinary standards, but her split-second of paranoid tenseness still failed to escape Lelouch's notice.

Nor did she fully manage to hide the hasty drooping of her eyes and further relaxing of the rest of her body, as if suddenly remembering she was supposed to be weak and frail from chronic illness. "The… Student President? Is this about my attendance?"

"She didn't really tell me," Lelouch lied outright, "but if you're worried about your parents being contacted or any other kind of disciplinary measures then you shouldn't be. For better or for worse, the President's a big softie and likes to keep campus business contained on campus."

"I… I see," Kallen murmured.

The following walk passed in a faintly awkward silence; neither of the pair was fully comfortable with the other's presence, but neither could Kallen think of anything to say that might not risk her cover. She had enough on her plate anyway with that Zero character. Forsake revenge and fight for justice? It was a sick joke if she'd ever heard one… wasn't it?

The quiet was broken, however, when she realized they were heading for the clubhouse instead of the main building. "I thought we were going to the office?"

"The President prefers not to use it except for budget-balancing and other business matters like that. …she complains that it's stuffy and boring in there," Lelouch huffed as though exasperated, "when she's the one in charge and can do whatever she wants to change that. It's crazy, you know?"

Lelouch punctuated his question with a conspiratorial smile he knew would disarm any other girl on campus, and wasn't disappointed when the faintest hint of tension rolled out of Kallen's body. "Yeah, totally. The way some people act these days just doesn't make any sense..."

You say that because your worldview is small and restrictive, Lelouch noted to himself, and until recently you haven't bothered looking at reality through anyone's perspective but your own. …but then again, I suppose I only have so much room to talk about that myself.

Playing the part of a would-be gentleman schoolboy, Lelouch stepped up to open the clubhouse atrium's door for Kallen. "Hey everyone," he called out to his friends inside. "I brought Miss Stadtfeld!"

Crossing the threshold to hold the door open for her, Lelouch faced a moment of genuine confusion at the look of surprised recognition and then complete and utter hatred that momentarily stole over Kallen's face…

"...seriously? Damn… sorry guys, but I've gotta run after all. Duty calls, and all that."

…until he heard Suzaku's voice behind him, most likely pulling an excuse to run and hide from out of his ass. Of all the damned–! You can't so much as breathe without causing me trouble, can you, Suzaku?!

On the one hand, there was no telling when he might get another chance to try and salvage things with Suzaku. On the other hand, Lelouch knew that Kallen was actually a terrorist with little more than the worst of intentions for Britannians, and chasing Suzaku would mean leaving her unsupervised in knifing distance of what precious few Britannians he actually cared about.

…oh, right; Sayoko was in the clubhouse taking care of Nunnally; if the worst came to worst and Kallen decided for some stupid reason to make herself a problem, it wouldn't go unresolved for long. More likely that Milly would work her magic before it came to that, though, and perhaps Kallen would behave herself and prove his cynicism misplaced.

Damn it all… I'm going to need to bring Milly in on my plans, aren't I?

Still, it would raise too much attention if Lelouch tried to run after Suzaku without a clear reason; as Vice President, he was expected to actually contribute some effort to–

"Oh Lulu," Milly called out from the balcony above, very nearly but not quite pinning Suzaku in his tracks. "Perfect timing! Since you're not doing anything right now, I need you to go fetch me that recipe book I printed off in the copy room!"

If not for all the eyes on him, Lelouch might have laughed. Throwing me an opportunity like that… if I didn't know any better, Milly, I'd think you were already onto me.

And since Suzaku had already said he had to leave and report to his commanders, now he was forced to commit to that story. The soldier didn't have any reasonable choice but to pass by Lelouch on his way out.

Trying to lie your way out of dealing with me was a foolish move, Suzaku. Not only are you poor at it, but you can't see far enough ahead to keep from getting yourself trapped. "You're in a hurry, right? I'll hold the door for you," Lelouch generously 'offered'.

Judging by the anxious twitch on Suzaku's face before it immediately smoothed over, Suzaku was just as aware of the situation he'd put himself in. "Thank you, I appreciate it."

If Kallen happened to notice the byplay between them, Shirley all but dragged her into the clubhouse before she could act on it while Suzaku purposefully stepped past Lelouch.

The instant Suzaku had passed by and Lelouch shut the door, the former was already lengthening his stride and about to run like a rabbit fleeing a hound –

"Suzaku, I was wrong the other day! I owe you an apology!"

– and almost immediately had to skid to a stop, turning back to fix Lelouch with a wary glare. "I know you're a performer," he growled, "but I'm in no mood for stand-up comedy."

Lelouch didn't bother suppressing his grimace at how those words stabbed into him like a cold blade, knowing that Suzaku had fully intended to hurt him… and more than willing to offer up a pound of flesh if it might incline his wayward friend to hear him out.

Although to be honest, Lelouch might have preferred a literal sword through the chest as an alternative to the desperate fear and hostility emanating from arguably the best friend he'd ever had.

If he were really pressed, Suzaku has more escape vectors than he's likely aware of – and yet standing here now, I feel like I'm staring down a cornered animal. Such dark desperation in his eyes… I can only wonder: how much of that damage did I inflict on him myself? How much was already there, buried, and merely brought to the surface?

"It's not a joke," Lelouch promised, taking deep breaths to steady himself. Keeping his hands low and open, Lelouch approached with one slow and deliberate step. When Suzaku didn't immediately react other than to note the movement, the prince in exile took that as a small sign of encouragement. "I've had some time to think about our discussion the other day, and I've since come to understand that I failed to take you seriously. I'm still not convinced of your cause, but I at least think I can understand your reasoning. In the eight years since the invasion, the Japanese resistance have been fighting Britannia almost nonstop and they have only a mountain of corpses to show for it. With that in mind, the prospect of starting another rebellion and expecting it to end differently must seem like abject insanity to you. Isn't that right?"

"...my problem isn't that you'll fail to topple Britannia," Suzaku explained after a short moment. "It's that too many innocent people will pay the price for your ambitions."

So it really isn't a question of ability, Lelouch deduced. He completely seems to believe that I can fight the entire world and win; apparently even if he opposes me. That's… both heartening and worrisome.

"My chief objectives are twofold," Lelouch continued, "and while an argument can be made that pruning my family tree would bring justice to a majority of the world, I freely admit that my motive for doing so is self-centered revenge. But I'm also trying to create a kinder world for Nunnally, one that she can grow up and thrive in. …can we at least agree that the world as it stands right now won't allow for that? We can agree that it's rotten and needs to change, can't we?"

Suzaku didn't answer at first, and for an instant Lelouch wondered if he'd tried to move too hard and too fast – until Suzaku let out a breath and hissed at him. "Nunnally doesn't fucking care how gentle or kind the world is unless you're in it with her, you stupid idiot!"

If Suzaku's earlier rebuke had cut into Lelouch like a blade, that statement chilled his blood like he'd been locked in a freezer. Then… does that mean in the world Suzaku sees, giving Nunnally the world she asked for means I have to leave her behind?

"If… if that's the case," Lelouch reasoned, "then why don't we work together? Obviously I'm going to make mistakes, but if you can see them ahead of time then we can correct for that–"

"Because there's a lot of information I don't trust you with," Suzaku snapped.

Lelouch wanted to snap back that Suzaku wasn't likely to do better in identical circumstances, but tactically held his peace. "...and after I completely ignored a lot of what you were saying the other day," he forced out through gritted teeth, "it's hard to even blame you. You opened up to me… revealed vulnerabilities I could scarcely have imagined. And I failed to meet the moment. By all rights, you shouldn't be quick to forgive or trust me again."

Suzaku stepped back, gripping his head like he was on the verge of some kind of episode, and Lelouch took that chance to rush up and grab him by the shoulder.

"Get off me–!"

"But even knowing what you did, even knowing what was done to you, I still have faith in you! I know that whatever you're struggling with, you're better than the pain!"

"You shut the hell–"

Even as Suzaku's Geass abruptly flared back to life, Lelouch pressed on, using the full force of his presence to make himself heard. "If you want me to stop short of obliterating Britannia at large, we can talk about that! If you want revenge on the Japanese that screwed you over, I'll help you get it! But I refuse to accept you as my enemy!"

Lelouch punctuated his decree by closing what little distance remained and wrapping his arms around Suzaku in the firmest embrace he'd ever given anyone other than Nunnally since That Day. "I refuse to accept you as my enemy," Lelouch repeated in the badly-shaking Suzaku's ear.

The Honorary Britannian didn't give a response… but as several seconds passed and threatened to become a minute, he didn't break out of the hug, either.

As Suzaku continued to tremble in his arms, Lelouch released a sigh of relief. It looks like I might have finally gotten through to him…

"...say all the right shit and then wrap it up with a heap of affection," Suzaku drawled. "I guess you thought it'd be just that easy to start fucking around with my head, huh?"

…damn it.

Recognizing the need for a tactical withdrawal when he saw one, Lelouch let go of Suzaku and gave him his personal space back. "If that's really what you think, Suzaku, then I won't waste time arguing with you. Let me ask instead: what do you want from me?"

Suzaku opened his mouth to respond, only to pause and stare at Lelouch as if he could hardly even imagine the question posed to him. "...I want you to sit down, stay with Nunnally, and stop making my job harder," Suzaku eventually decided, looking away and scratching his head. "I don't have a clue how we're going to deal with the last Viceroy being assassinated yet, but as long as you stop making the mess I have to clean up bigger, then I can have something figured out–"

Lelouch's mouth set in a thin line as Suzaku kept talking. "...I'm afraid that's not on the table, Suzaku. Even if you might be right about benevolent or sympathetic forces in Britannia's military and government, you still haven't given me a satisfactory answer to the obstacle he presents to everything we both want. The more time you spend flirting with internal change, the greater the difficulty of deposing him externally will become."

Suzaku closed his eyes, seeming for all the world not so much upset anymore as tired. "...so this is how it has to be. You think I'm worthless except as a tool at your command."

"That couldn't be further from the truth, though I imagine there's nothing I can say that will satisfy your skepticism in me."

"...there probably is," Suzaku admitted to Lelouch's surprise as he turned to walk away. "I just can't think off the top of my head what the hell it would be."

Briefly reflecting on their discussion thus far, Lelouch had some suspicions... but kept them to himself. If I'm to get him on my side, the absolute last thing I can afford to do is directly lie to him. "Nunnally misses you, too, you know. I know that in front of the students we'll need to act like strangers, but it would mean a lot if you'd come back some evening and at least visit her, even if you'd rather have nothing to do with me."

Suzaku didn't turn back… but he did pause for a long moment and gazed up at the ceiling, or perhaps beyond it. What, did he think that any kind of God that would allow the atrocities of the world they live in might give him answers?

"...seventy meters," the soldier eventually said.

What? We're certainly not that far from each other–

"That's the typical effective targeting range of Absolute Obedience."

Absolute–? Is he saying that not only are there other people in the world with Geass, but there are those whose powers are similar to mine?!

"It can only be used on a given target once," Suzaku continued. "A command issued and received must be obeyed and will be obeyed in the way that the target understands it, no matter how contrary to their wishes, moral principles, or personality it may be. However, if obeying a given command is physically impossible for someone – like telling a toddler to run a four-minute mile – then they won't be bound by it. Commands not issued by line of sight will fail to take effect; while Geass can be bounced off of sufficiently reflective surfaces at sharp angles, its ability to effectively pass through lenses or visors without refracting or diffusing appears to be minimal as far as I know. Commands of Absolute Obedience don't have inherent time limits; an instant command will be obeyed instantly, a triggered command will take effect when its trigger condition is met, and a continuous command will continue indefinitely until the target either dies or is no longer physically capable of obeying it."

Lelouch took a moment to digest the brief lecture, picking his next response carefully. "I appreciate the show of faith, but it isn't clear why you're telling me this." Or at least, if at all possible I'd rather get him to admit it out loud.

"...what if you sarcastically told someone to go jump off a building, and then they happily went to go do that without you intending it?"

Now that could explain a great deal, Lelouch thought with a scowl as dread settled in his gut like an iron weight. "What happened? What did I do? And to whom?"

For the first time in what almost felt like an hour, Suzaku turned back to stare Lelouch in the eye. "If you're even a fraction of the man I hope you are, telling you that would destroy you. If you can't stay out of my way, then at least accept my warning and watch your damn language."

It would… destroy me? He… he can't be talking about Nunnally, can he?! Setting aside that I'd never act that way in front of her, even an accidental Geass would fail to work for obvious reasons – does that mean I unwittingly used Geass on Suzaku?! With his superhuman physicality, he really might be capable of untold destruction… and with the unexpected connections he has in Britannia now, a hypothetical future version of him with authority of his own could amplify that using the military…!

The prince opened his mouth to demand a clarification on what the hell he'd forced Suzaku to do, only to blink at the realization that he'd run off while Lelouch was lost in thought.

"Tch… didn't even let me thank him," he scoffed. "Being abandoned by the Japanese and then raised by Britannia… it's really left you twisted, hasn't it Suzaku?"

"So, who was that Eleven guy?" Kallen casually asked, forcing down bile at being forced to use that foul word to blend in.

"He's a hero who stopped a bunch of goons from taking over the Area a few days ago," Shirley explained with honest-to-Eden stars in her eyes. "He even saved the Princess, and showed everyone how crazy those Blood-Purist weirdos are! I can't believe he's going to be attending our school soon, it'll be great!"

Milly turned to the auburn-haired girl with a raised eyebrow and a widening grin. "Oho? It's unusual for you to follow the news, Shirley; tell me, should Lulu be worried about your interest in another man?"

"Wha-wha-wha-whaaaat?! It's not anything like that!"

While Shirley stammered out objections that only made the blonde grin wider, Kallen briefly noticed a skinny girl with glasses and a braid step into the room with a covered tray – only to get a panicky look on her face when they locked eyes, before setting it on a table and running off with some hurried excuse about fetching something else from the kitchen.

What a weirdo, the redhead thought. She looked kind of familiar – oh hell, she's that nosy one that wanted to go through my bag the other day, isn't she? Of course she'd run off like a coward the second anything got tough… wait. Running off? Isn't that what he did when I came in?

Either way, Kallen was more than happy to let herself stay in the background and let these other girls keep throwing information around like candy – even if it might well be just as much junk.

Milly, for her part, was keenly aware that Shirley was panicking more about her feelings for Lelouch being challenged than being mistaken for an interest in Suzaku – but she wiggled her eyebrows anyway just to tease her. "Hey, you know I'm the absolute last girl to shame; he is quite a stud... and compared to a chronic lazybones like Lulu, this Suzaku fellow might be an even better catch~"

"Madam President," Shirley explained with a huff, "it's not that he's cute or had this weird look like a puppy that needs love and attention; it's just that hanging out with a celebrity like him is probably as close as any of us will ever get to meeting royalty, and I thought that'd be a cool experience for all of us!"

"I know, right?!"

Rivalz came in from behind the corner Nina had escaped to, carrying a bucket full of ice and a corked bottle suspiciously missing its label. "Who could have ever imagined regular kids like us getting to rub elbows with the creme de la creme, even if there's technically a middle man involved?"

"Rivalz," Shirley drawled with narrowed eyes and a dangerously low voice, "is that champagne?! You know we're all underage!"

"C'mon and live a little, Shirley! You're not a narc, are you?"

"That's totally not the point!"

Milly just sat back with a smile and let the pair bicker, content for a moment to bask in the irony that Shirley and Rivalz had the privilege of hanging out with actual royalty at least five days a week on average and didn't know it.

Kallen was smiling too, until with faint horror and disgust she realized it and promptly set her prior neutral expression back in place.

So the good news is that these chicks are too boy-crazy to catch onto me, she summarized, and in theory I should have as many chances as I want to kill the traitor while we're both attending school here – but the bad news is that catching him alone will be a chore if he's surrounded by a fan club, to say nothing of the harpies that keep following me around…

As Shirley made a grab for the presumed alcohol and the teens started to struggle over it, Kallen decided it might be in her best interests to intervene; as crazy as the last few days had been, it wouldn't have surprised her if the two would miraculously get the cork to pop off in her direction before the booze sprayed all over her. "I don't know how much hanging out either of you are gonna get to do if he keeps running off like that," she said aloud. "If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think he faked that call for a chance to leave."

Shirley and Rivalz turned in surprise to face her with almost outright scandalized looks, while Milly just hummed in thought. "You know, you might be onto something there Kallen; he did seem in an awful hurry to leave; I don't think it would surprise me if that 'duty calls' bit was just an excuse – oh, I know what the issue is!"

Shirley and Kallen blinked, silently bidding her to elaborate, to which the blonde spun and gave Kallen a leer and a soft pointer finger. "He was already having issues with how sexy we all are before you came in; you must just be too hot for him to handle~"

"Get real, Madam President, I doubt he's as horny as you are! If anything's up at all, he's probably just shy with new people or something."

"Yeah!" Rivalz agreed. "There's no way a real genuine larger-than-life war hero would get himself in a panic over being around girls."

While the formerly bickering pair of teens were rolling their eyes at Milly's incessant teasing, Kallen gave the idea some critical thought. If I got the traitor to take me on a date somewhere private, that would give me a perfect opportunity to kill him; I could dispose of the body somewhere and tell everyone he ghosted me if any questions came up. It's not exactly the proudest idea I've ever had, and given the equipment to do it I'd rather kill him in the cockpit – especially if it'd help keep these idiots out of it, harmless enough as they seem – but am I really going to argue with results?

At that moment, the sound of a motorized whirring cut through Kallen's thoughts as a small girl in a wheelchair with two Pizza Hut boxes and a plate of cupcakes rolled into view. "I'm sorry to ask, Shirley, but could you please set these on a table for me?"

Almost before her name was even called, Shirley was already perking up and getting to her feet. "Oh, thank you, Nunna! I'll be right there!"

As the swim club representative suited words to action, Kallen couldn't help but stare at the new arrival.

"This is Nunnally," Milly explained as she went back to setting up tableware. "Lelouch's little sister!"

With an embarrassed smile, Nunnally placed a hand over her heart. "I'm still in middle school, so I'm not actually a member of the student council…"

"But we love ya anyway," Rivalz proclaimed without hesitation. "You're an honorary member of the council in our book!"

"She's…" a cripple, Kallen thought to herself while suppressing a twitch at the boy's innocent qualifier. So helpless and weak…

"...just darling, isn't she?!"

Shirley's unexpected and enthusiastic answer very nearly startled Kallen out of her seat, moreso when she noticed how keenly Milly was observing in her peripheral vision.

"A-absolutely," Kallen agreed with more cheer than she really felt at the moment. But – but Britannians hate weakness more than anything else! Some little disabled girl with no eyes or legs can't have friends like this, it doesn't make any sense! "So… Lelouch is your big brother, is that right?"

Nunnally beamed at the mention of his name, her smile so pure that Kallen felt genuinely uncomfortable in the face of it. "Yes! I love my big brother more than anything! …did he go somewhere?"

And for an instant, the rebel suddenly felt like she was looking in a mirror.

"I'm sorry, Nunna," Milly explained with a wince, "but I had to send Lulu off on a quick errand, hopefully he won't be too long coming back. Our other guest had to unexpectedly run off, too; I'm sorry I didn't exactly get a chance to introduce you…"

Though clearly disappointed for a moment, the young girl nevertheless smiled. "Well, I know my brother will come back soon, and I'm sure there will be lots of chances to meet the new transfer student if I'm patient!"

With everyone else's attention off of her, Kallen took a moment to glance around at her new acquaintances – at Milly, at Shirley, at Rivalz, and most of all, at Nunnally.

Zero… is this what you meant before, when you said that our enemy was Britannia's systems and not its people?

As Shirley playfully nuzzled against Nunnally while hugging her from behind her wheelchair, Kallen clenched a fist behind her back.

If there really are innocents among Britannia, she thought with a pit forming in her stomach, then fighting for true justice would have to involve protecting them too… but it's real easy to talk big with a secret identity, and that voice changer makes it impossible to know if he really is the one who helped us at Shinjuku in the first place!

"Very well," the commanding memory of Zero's voice echoed through her skull as though he were standing right behind her. "I'll show you. But rather than my face, bear witness to my power. If I deliver to you the impossible, then I might have earned your trust."