August 31st, 2018. Pendragon. Imperial Palace, mid-afternoon.

As Kanon leads us around a corner in the hallway, it takes a damn quick backpedal to avoid running into the giant of a man coming in from the other side.

Standing well over a foot taller than Suzaku, taller and with broader shoulders than even Bismarck, was a man with long flowing blonde hair framing a strong jawline and a stout chin.

I focus so much on the lower half of the face because the top half is concealed by a fancy black mask with gold trim around the edges.

"Er, sorry about the near miss, Mister…"

The guy stares down at us without a word, prompting Kanon to take a step up. "Ah, you two probably haven't properly met face-to-face yet. Sir Kururugi, this is the Knight of Five – Sir Norland von Luneberg."

I nod in acknowledgement of Kanon's words, while looking back up at the stationary stalwart before us. He's a pretty big guy, but I'm pretty sure Suzaku could toss him around with no trouble… "You seem awful quiet there, Knight of Five. Something on your mind I can help with?"

"There is not."

Our fists clench at the deep voice coming out of that mouth, no matter how softly he speaks. "Dare I assume you have some kind of problem with me, then?"

"I do not."

…okay, admittedly unexpected. If true. "…but something tells me you're not interested in being best buddies either, am I right?"

"I am not."

"Can you speak in anything other than curt negatives?"

Norland doesn't say anything at all in response to that, choosing only to continue walking heedless of the fact that he'll barge into us if we don't move.

"What the–?!"

So we move out of the way, barely quick enough to matter, and I blink as Norland slips a folded paper into our dress uniform pocket without even breaking stride.

Before I can comment on that, Suzaku takes back over the steering wheel and impassively watches as Norland takes his leave. "Farewell then, Sir Luneberg."

"…well!" Kanon says with a clap, the barest hint of relief on his face. "That was refreshingly normal. Shall we continue, Sir Kururugi?"

Suzaku starts to nod, before letting me double take at our remaining conversation partner. "Begging your pardon, but you said that was normal?"

"Normal for Sir Luneberg, at least. He usually deigns not to involve himself much with others, you see…"

"Hm… I appreciate your saying so, Earl Maldini. I'll be sure to make a note of that."

Tokyo central hospital, early morning.

Kallen arrived at the hospital repressing a mess of feelings in her public persona, giving the appearance of the weak sickly girl she displayed to the public as she was directed to her mother's room. There was no escaping, as she went in, the side-eyes she received when she identified herself as the woman's daughter from the hospital staff; she knew exactly what they were all thinking as they looked at her, and it made her blood simmer beneath her meek facade.

Once the guiding nurse left, Kallen was left alone with the sight of her shamefaced mother crying on the bed. "...I... I'm truly sorry, Kallen. It seems that all I've done is cause even more trouble for you again. I know it doesn't help or make it right, but I – I never wanted this indignity for you."

A small part of the hopeless woman is honestly surprised that Kallen even came to see her at all, rather than deny that they're related in any way.

Kallen, for her part, stared at her mother. She wanted to lash out at her, yell at her for being in her situation. But then... she realized that her anger was why she was here to begin with. "I forgive you, and I'm sorry, too. I have been way too hard on you."

Ms. Kozuki turned and stared at Kallen with wide eyes so visibly full of self-contempt that it seemed she was struggling to register what her daughter had even said… at least until a short, broken laugh tore from the older woman's lips. "I really am useless as a mother. I wanted to stay in your life and be there for you, but instead I just... I let things turn out like this."

It was hard for Kallen to meet her mother's gaze. All she could really think about was all the times she yelled at her, berated her for being so weak and submissive, for choosing to be a maid in her ex-husband's home just for the desperate chance to be with him. "You didn't deserve this. You just wanted to be close to me, and I treated you like crap because I thought you were being a simp..."

"If... if even you can forgive me," Ms. Kozuki wept into her hands, "then I need to try and learn from your example. Thank you, Kallen... thank you so much...!"

Kallen hesitated, awash with emotions. Guilt from letting her mother end up like this, bitterness that she let things go this far… most of all, she felt no small amount of indignation and gratitude that her mother was even alive right now because of Suzaku.

"Once they say I'm well enough to come back home again," she continued, "I promise I'll do better! I won't make so many messes, and get better at cooking again so I can make all the things you used to like, and... and–"

The hopeless, lost look on her mother's face sent a flash of anger through Kallen's brain, snapping her out of her self-recriminations. "No! You're not going back to that house as a servant!"

On seeing her mother's confusion, Kallen coughed and cleared her throat to start over. "You're not a servant," she insisted. "You're my mother, and I should be treating you appropriately. Because... I'm not a hypocrite."

"But... but being able to cook things you like is something I want to be able to do for you as your mother…?"

"And you can do that! But, you're going to do it as my mother, not as a housemaid. And if that bitch tries to give you trouble, then I'll teach her the meaning of the word."

"You... mean you haven't heard yet?" Ms. Kozuki asked. "I was told earlier by a woman working for that Kururugi boy that she's being arrested - apparently on suspicion of involvement in the Refrain trade, among other things. Until your father comes back from his work in the Britannian homeland, you're in charge of the whole estate now."

"…"

Kallen pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. "...you insufferable bastard," she whispered to herself. "Just what kind of heroics do you think you're playing at...?"

Ms. Kozuki turned away from Kallen for a moment, the redhead barely noticing a bashful look come over her mother's face. "You know, Kallen... from what I've seen on the television, he seems kind of handsome. I'm sure that if you were interested in looking for a nice Japanese boy your age, you could do worse…"

It took five full seconds for Kallen to realize that her mother was trying to match-make her with Suzaku Kururugi.

Only the awareness of their being in a hospital stopped a disdainful outburst, long enough to decide to try and derail the subject entirely with a joke instead. "You know what? That sounds like a great idea – I will do so much worse."

The unexpected sarcasm had Ms. Kozuki jerking her head back towards Kallen again, blinking slowly. "Was… was that... a joke?"

The woman let out a sharp, almost hysterical laugh before trying and mostly failing to lunge out of her bed at her daughter with arms wide, forcing a startled Kallen to step in and catch her.

"Whuh–?! Hey!"

As trembling arms wrapped her in a desperate embrace, Kallen suddenly felt a rush of emotion overcome her. It had been a long time, almost too long since she heard her mother laugh, let alone felt her arms around her in such a tight hug. The guilt came rushing back, and with it an anger at herself for denying herself this out of some twisted stubbornness and contempt for something her mother was powerless to do anything about besides what she could. Closing her eyes, trying to keep her tears down, she hugged her mother back.

"Oh, my precious little girl," the woman wept in relief. "I've missed you so much!"

Damn it, now we're both gonna be crying…! "I missed you, too. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, Mom... I won't let this happen again, I won't let you down…"

Ms. Kozuki sniffled, lovingly patting her daughter's back. "You've never let me down, Kallen. I'm proud of you for being so strong even though I failed you."

Kallen's cell phone, quieted but not entirely silent, went off with a text alert.

From the tone, that's got to be Ohgi. He wouldn't reach out like this during the day unless it's something really serious…

"Mom, I want to stay longer, but I need to go." Kallen slowly pulled away from her, feeling all manner of raw emotions when she looked at her face. "But don't worry, as soon as I'm done I'll be coming back here. And... when I'm not at school or attending to the house, I'm going to be here."

"Okay, I... I understand. Promise me you'll be careful, won't you?"

"...I will," Kallen agreed after a short and contemplative pause. Does she know? ...no, there's no way she could. "I promise."

Ms. Kozuki sadly waved goodbye as her daughter left. When Kallen properly checjed her phone, it was an invitation to hang out at the usual place with their new friend – code for everyone to show up at the meeting place for briefing on a new operation. And the "new friend" could only refer to one individual…

Ashford Clubhouse...

Lelouch, frantically at work on his laptop computer, couldn't help a quick glance at his roommate as she moaned around a piece of pizza. "I've begun to wonder if you don't enjoy that a little too much."

C.C. barely even spared him a look in response, content to lick her fingers clean. "Women aren't impressed with a man who's too hurried to appreciate them, you know. Besides, isn't it too short of notice to achieve anything of note at the hotel?"

The prince in exile shook his head with a bitter laugh. "On the contrary; this is likely my last best chance to get Euphemia safely out of my way and put the situation cleanly back on track before things really have to get ugly."

"Oho? No wonder you're all in a tizzy, then… and you're certain that your sister will so easily give up and step aside for you?"

"Even on the chance that I can't make her listen to common sense," Lelouch reasoned, "we're acting on similar intelligence of a JLF attack. It should be a simple enough matter for me to send her running for a vacation in some rural backwater to recover from a brief but severe mental breakdown. She can take Suzaku with her for personal security purposes, neatly removing him as an obstacle in the same breath – surely he can't keep interfering with my operation now that he's on the other side of the planet…!"

And with those two out of the picture, Lelouch remained convinced that Cornelia would either assume or outright be given command and start overcompensating for Euphemia's perceived weakness, breaking any illusion of a so-called 'peaceful resolution' to the last eight years of conflict.

The immortal spun in their bed as she properly sat up, before elegantly crossing one leg over the other with a hair toss. "Sounds like you've got it all planned out, Lelouch. And your school friends won't be in the way?"

"They're Britannian schoolchildren, so Euphemia will do everything in her power to keep them out of danger once it's confirmed that things are going to get hot – and with my forces on the scene, even the worst sort of military incompetence should be accounted for. Nunnally's agreed to play sick today and stay home, Shirley volunteered to stay behind and take care of her while I'm at a fake job interview, and Sayoko will be going with Milly, Nina, and Rivalz in disguise to personally help them escape in case of unexpected developments. Every reasonable precaution has been taken to ensure they won't be hurt, short of using Geass to cancel the student council field trip altogether."

That wasn't quite what C.C. had asked, but it sounded like matters were indeed well accounted-for.

The question now would be whether Lelouch's desperate ambition and planning would pay off…

Pendragon, Prime Minister's office…

Schneizel el Britannia stood and smiled as his aide opened the door and led Suzaku Kururugi inside.

"A pleasure to meet you at last, Sir Kururugi. Kanon, would you step out and bring us some tea?"

"The pleasure's all mine," the Honorary Britannian replied in a tonal equivalent to boilerplate, his peripheral vision following the other brunette on his way back out.

Stepping out from behind his ornate desk to remove it as a physical barrier between the two, Schneizel gestured to a smaller table with two plush seats and an already-prepared chess set. "May I interest you in a game while we wait?"

Exasperation. Helplessness. Annoyance. Perhaps even a little contempt. So many interesting emotions playing out in Kururugi's eyes…

"I know the basic rules, but it's hardly my game of preference and so I've never put much thought in studying chess in depth. Not that I mind indulging you, of course. Might I have the honor of going first?"

"I don't mind at all," the Second Prince replied. "Playing black could be a refreshing change of pace for me…"

The pair sat down, and Kururugi immediately moved a pawn to F3.

"No consideration at all?" Schneizel asked.

"White has the initiative, but there's no way to immediately turned this neutral situation into an advantage. Why waste time?"

Schneizel's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as he moved his own pawn to E5. "Why indeed… you said a moment ago that chess isn't your game of preference. Would you mind expanding on that?"

Kururugi leaned against the back of his seat, tapping an index finger against his cheek in a way that uncannily reminded Schneizel of himself. "I'd like to begin by saying I'm entirely aware that chess is a game that functions as metaphor, and that I can acknowledge and respect its various thematic applications. It's fun enough to think about. But as a game to be played, I find it too basic and limited to really enjoy."

"Take the Fool's Mate as an example," he continued with a nod at the board. "In a strictly turn-based game where only one player can exert their will at a time and only upon one unit at a time, moving my pawn to G4 will allow your queen to immediately checkmate me. But in real life, no leader worth their salt is going to surrender to an enemy force over one opening in their defense that hasn't even been exploited yet and can easily be covered."

Schneizel crossed his arms and leaned back in his own seat, placid amusement on his handsome face. "That does sound unrealistic, yes. Suppose we adjust the rules so that the King must be tipped for checkmate, then?"

"Then your queen walks headfirst into an obvious trap and is captured by the pieces surrounding her on all sides before she can even touch the king," Kururugi replies without hesitation. "At which point my queen seduces her and convinces her that, in light of the black king's single-minded blundering, the best way to protect her people's lives and interests is to oust him from power."

The Prime Minister could have stopped himself, but chose not to.

Instead, he laughed, openly and honestly. Out loud, from the gut. "Is that so, Sir Kururugi?! I must admit, I've underestimated you!"

A man who sees the world in terms of narratives, as a vast and epic story playing out in real time… a refreshing change of pace indeed!

"Then shall we move on to business, Your Highness?"

As discussed a moment earlier, Kururugi moved his pawn to G4, opening the door for Fool's Mate in totality.

Rather than have his queen step through through that door and claim victory, however, Schneizel palmed the piece in his hand. "You're aware it's poor sportsmanship to throw a game because you're not interested in playing, yes?"

The young man across the board crossed his arms, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. "It's at least as ill-mannered to extend a game that's already decided just to show off your own excellence against a lesser opponent. You're a strategic genius and literal chessmaster; I'm anything but. Of course, I think we both know by now that this game was never really about what's happening on the board."

Prime Minister and Knight of Ten observed each other for a moment, before the former smiled and tipped his own King rather than commit to the offered checkmate. "I concede your point, Kururugi. Though I expect you'll sooner consider this a stalemate."

Even as I've gained some appreciated insight into his psychology, so too does he enjoy some grasp of mine… regardless of his means for achieving it.

Kururugi offered only a nod in response, and Schneizel accepted it without concern as he stood back up and returned to his proper work desk. "Very well, to business then. I anticipate, from your career to date, that you'd like to maintain unfettered access to the Lancelot and its engineering staff. From how my head scientist has only just stopped short of literally singing your praises as its test pilot, and given the abject panic in his eyes when I asked about having you replaced? I'm inclined to offer you a deal."

Producing a datapad with pre-drafted language on it from within a drawer, the Prince turned and offered it to his younger peer in politics. "I will continue to fund maintenance of the Lancelot and its related projects and personnel for a period of six months, while the background logistics are changed over to draw in equal part from your new accounts as Knight of Ten. During and after this period, you will be given the independent authority to deploy and make use of said assets as you see fit free of my interference or oversight, with the advice and consent of ASEEC leadership. In exchange, all I require from you is continuing unfettered access to experimental research data from ASEEC and any successor organizations, and right of priority for the development of any innovated technologies."

Kururugi took the datapad and looked it over slowly, visibly taking his time to read the matter in its entirety. "I appreciate your restraint with the legalese on this for a first draft, Prime Minister. Although frankly, those terms are unnervingly generous…"

The young man's eyes flicked up to meet Schneizel's, narrowing in suspicion. "You must be expecting one hell of an ROI from whatever the Lancelot has in it that makes me so special in Lloyd's estimation."

He's chomping at the bit to cut as close to the chase as possible, but still has just enough sense to beware that the walls may have ears…

Rather than answer immediately, Schneizel reached back into one of his desk drawers and produced a small black box, setting it on the desk and pressing a switch on it. "This, in layman's terms, is an audio scrambler. I doubt you'll be concerned with the technical principles on which it operates, but rest assured that it serves the function to render an area within a five-foot radius entirely safe from known electronic monitoring technology."

Schneizel's smile deepened ever so slightly into a smirk. "In short, you don't need to concern yourself with anyone eavesdropping on the admission that research into Geass is of considerable interest to me."

The Knight of Ten understandably declined to relax. "What do you want from it?"

It would ordinarily have been easy for the Prime Minister to sell a lie or some placating half-truth… if he weren't speaking to someone he knew had a special power to gain information by independent means. Someone demonstrably proven not only to know things he shouldn't be able to, but who was more than willing to act on that knowledge by wildly throwing punches above his sociopolitical weight class.

"It's a mysterious and ill-understood power," Schneizel began. "Researching Geass in order to defend against it is motive enough… though I won't deny a potential interest in other applications, depending on what I can learn. Chiefly, I may find a use for it against the Emperor–"

"He already knows more about it than either of us do."

No hesitation in the warning at all, hurried enough that no fewer than two confessions had slipped in on its coattails.

"…so you're certain that the Emperor has a Geass himself," the blonde noted, leaning back and tapping his cheek. "I had my suspicions, but your confirmation is appreciated." As is the admission that you consider me at worst a secondary threat, and a potential ally against Charles. "No doubt that whatever mysterious secretive project that consumes so much of his time is related to it as well."

"…you said you want me to continue giving you access to any research data on Geass," Kururugi said slowly, his eyes widening only to narrow again a moment later. "That means restricting it from you is within my authority."

Ah, so he noticed the bait I threw out. And clearly looks ready to bite, at that…

To Schneizel's pleasure, the young Japanese obliged him in fairly short order. "If you want me to look the other way while you do God-knows-what with Geass technology, then I'm going to need more from you than just financial backing."

"Very well, name your price."

From what Schneizel had seen and heard so far, the soldier's occasional flashes of interesting insight didn't tend to betray particularly grandiose or visionary desires. Most likely he'd just ask for more political support for Euphemia in her efforts to address the Area Eleven situation, which certainly –

Suzaku said his piece, and Schneizel's eyes shot open in surprise. "You want me to help you what?!"

The newly-promoted Round stood up from the chair he'd been given, and slowly leaned across to loom over Schneizel's desk like an approaching storm. "So that there's no room to misunderstand, Prime Minister… Your Highness… I'll say it again."