AN:

Samurai Seven: Highly unlikely. The only characters I'm gonna use from Roze are Ash and Norland, but that's exclusively because they're Knights of the Round. If they do show up, it'll be very brief, and won't have any plot relevance.

Ryuto: Even though it's late, I still appreciate your review for the chapter, since reading them are one of my favorite parts of doing all this. As for OT Kallen's, that will be revealed later.

Chapter 93: Discharge

Black Knight Warehouse. Chennai. April 9th.

Lelouch flipped through a stack of papers, each detailing events going on around the world. Most of them concerned uprisings of countless 'Zeros' in Britannian Areas. Though, they were always the same story, with each misunderstanding the true intentions of Zero.

War Imminent. Everything you need to know about Euro Britannia and Europia United.

Boring. Especially considering nothing could be done.

With a Chinese Federation Embassy being established in 'Good faith' inside Area Eleven, here's what you need to know about foreign relations.

An article which only covered surface level details. Rakshata was practically a well of information regarding the political system within the federation. This Embassy appeared to only be a ploy to repair their 'damaged' relationship with Britannia after the Sawasaki incident. Not only would they establish a small territory within Japan, they'd also send a High Eunuch to officiate everything.

Numbers are starting to invade the Knights of the Round.

A story detailing Suzaku and Rai's induction into Knighthood. It was mostly hot garbage, that only a hardcore Britannian would buy into. Those boys are an exception, not the norm. Lelouch didn't feel anything for his former best friend anymore, not since he saw how Kallen had been affected by him after Nikko. Even when the Knight was trying to kill him in Ashford, Lelouch accepted it, because he knew it would happen someday. But when it came to the red head… it was different. Then there was Rai, someone only Mario seemed to have any beef with, considering they've faced each other on numerous occasion's. To Lelouch, the kid seemed alright; not someone who could cause serious problems, unless they were put in the right situation.

The identity of Area Eleven's Margrave is set to be announced very soon. This is who we think would be the best fit.

Another article of pure garbage. Though, it's brought Lelouch's attention to the disappearance of Jeremiah. The Prince had grown somewhat attached to the Margrave, not really knowing him personally, but being thankful for his undying loyalty. "If only I had some operatives in Japan… then I'd be able to investigate." his mind wandered to Sayoko, whom he had to keep guarding his sister, "Ah. I should call her tonight."

"Hm…" C.C's soothing humming broke through his thoughts, "What are you thinking about?" she asked with a Cheshire grin.

Lelouch rolled his eyes, "Don't you have anything better to do?"

"As your 'secretary', I'm obligated to aid you in processing paperwork." she responded while tossing a folder on the table, "By the way, you should read that. It's from a Peace Mark operative."

"Thanks." the Prince grabbed the Manila folder and began sifting through it, "The High Eunuch? I've been hearing a lot about them recently. First the Embassy, now this?" he continued reading on, while C.C scanned his body from top to bottom.

"He seems fine…" she thought to herself while leaning back, "Perhaps it's because he hasn't used his Geass as much; that's why it hasn't gone haywire yet. Still, the clocks only ticking down, so it's only a matter of when." she grabbed another slip of paper, and slyly asked, "Hey, Lelouch. How's your Geass?"

"Fine." he answered almost robotically, clearly engrossed in what he was reading.

C.C nodded as she began feeling uncomfortable from the humidity. Her eyes wandered to the metal mini-fan, whose age was clearly showing from the rust on its neck. She leaned over and turned it on, allowing the machine to do its job with a low setting, "Cute." she giggled as it oscillated.

"Watch it." the Prince mumbled as the papers were lifted slightly, causing him to grab his mask from beneath the table, and use it as a weight to keep everything in place.

"I'm hot." the Immortal retorted while putting her paper on the table, allowing it to be blown away by the little fan, much to Lelouch's annoyance.

"Then why are you still wearing that straight jacket? You had other clothes before."

"Oh my… are you saying that you like seeing me in other clothes? What would Kallen say…"

"I'm saying: if you're hot, wear something more comfortable." he responded with a mark of irritation. C.C puffed out her cheeks and got up to retrieve the fallen paper, making sure to bend over in front of the Prince to get his attention, "You're disgusting." he commented as his gaze never left the folder.

"And you're boring." the Immortal said while returning to her seat, "You know what the others have been saying about us, right?"

"Don't remind me."

"How about I do anyway?"

Lelouch let out a deep sigh, "Why can't you have a serious mode like Kaguya? She what? 13, and already more mature than you."

"We all have our special quirks." C.C picked up another paper, "So, what does Peace Mark want?"

"Our next operation will be dealing with the High Eunuch." he responded, "Apparently, they don't have a favorable opinion among the Chinese Federation. However, due to how impoverished their people are, no one's able to mount a full-scale rebellion."

It also didn't help that China was the main manufacturer of weapons. Sure, India had Rakshata, and were making great leaps and bounds on the technological front. But with no one to man these new creations, they were basically only gathering dust in a warehouse. In short, China had the money, weapons, and power to put all of Asia on a leash.

"So what? It's 100 to 100,000? Those don't sound like good odds for us." the Immortal commented while grabbing a folder, only to get it snatched away.

"That's off-limits. Even for you." Lelouch said while putting it behind his back, "Besides, it's not like they could mobilize the entire army to fight us, so it's more like… 100 to 1,000."

"Still a staggering difference."

"But it's manageable. Especially with what's in that folder."

C.C raised an eyebrow, "Then why don't you let me see it? We're supposed to be partners in all this, remember?" she put out her hand, as if expecting him to hand over the documents without issue.

"Speaking of which… when you gave me Geass, you said something about a contract." the Prince crossed his legs, "I would like to know what it is now. After all, I don't want to get punished for not fulfilling my end of the bargain."

"Oh that? It's not necessary. Not anymore." the woman responded while leaning over, trying to grab the folder, only to get pushed away, "Hey!"

"Don't 'hey' me. What do you mean? Why's it not necessary?"

"Well… things have changed. Just know the details of our contract have changed."

"Why wasn't I notified!?"

"You didn't even know what the original contract was, so I don't know why you're so surprised by this information. In fact, I could make anything up, and you'd be forced to believe me, right? Honestly, I'm being generous by telling you there was a change, and not just lying about the original contract to begin with."

"Again, that's just another reason why I need to know the contract. So, tell me."

"Nah. The details are for me to know, and you to find out."

Lelouch rubbed his face in disbelief, "How can you expect anyone to fulfill their end of the contract, if you don't tell them what it is?"

"We'll get there eventually. Don't worry your pretty little head about it." C.C said while finally snatching the folder, "Now, what's this about?" the Prince didn't stop her as she flipped through the documents, "Ah. It's the Ikaruga… I suppose it makes sense that this would be the equalizer… though… what's this about a sister ship?"

"Are you satisfied?" he asked while finally taking it away, "Rakshata's devoted most of her resources to developing these ships. Their structure has already been formed, so now it's just down to implementing the systems and such. That's going to take the longest, considering they can no longer use Knightmare's for it."

"How long would that take?"

"Same time. Six months… hopeful. The chances of it being extended are high, but six months is our goal."

C.C sighed, before lazily leaning back in her chair, "What about Clara and Rolo? I heard they've come across a… problem."

"For the time being, they'll be with Mario and Maya, with some intervention from myself. I want Rolo to get comfortable in the Black Knights so that he'll be more cooperative in the future. As for Clara… her condition isn't something I can solve." Lelouch explained, "In fact, I don't even know what to do about Orpheus in that regard. We can't just tell him that she was responsible for selling him out, that would only prolong the problem. Then there's Rolo, it's obvious that he has a way bigger role in all this than he's letting on. Yet, no matter how much I ask, he won't budge."

"Did you try saying please?"

"This isn't a joking matter." the Prince retorted as C.C kicked her feet like a schoolgirl, "I'm worried about how this will affect Clara in battle. And, while I highly doubt it, there's a chance Oz will try something against Rolo as well."

"Awe. You're just a big softy, aren't you?" the Immortal poked his cheek playfully, much to his annoyance, "Don't worry, Lelouch. I'm sure this will all be figured out in due time. I'm sure of it."

"Ugh." Lelouch groaned while swatting her hand away, "When's Kallen gonna get back?"

"She went with Tamaki to the hospital, remember? Something about that girl he saved." C.C explained, "My guess, is that they're bringing her back here."

"We're not a babysitting club. There's no way I'm gonna let a child hang around the base."

"Hm… how old are you again?"

"That's not the point. I chose this life, as did Mario, Maya, and Kallen. The only exception around here is Rolo, but that's a different circumstance. That little girl was forced to join us because Tamaki made that choice for her."

"Even so, he did it with good intentions."

"Good intentions or not, she's in a foreign land with complete strangers. There's no way for this to be good for her."

C.C leaned back, "So what? You want to send her back to Japan? From what I heard, her family was killed in Tokyo, so even if we returned her, what then? She'll find some distant relative, and live out the rest of her life with the festering anger toward Britannia? You know where that'll lead her, right?"

"Not everyone is a vengeful person."

"Aren't you being hypocritical there?"

"C.C." Lelouch put his metaphorical foot down on the conversation, "If she chooses to pursue revenge and join the Black Knights, then that's fine. At least it'll be her choice."

The Immortal went silent for a second, as if trying to scan the boys face for something to latch onto, "How about… we ask her then?"

"What? When she gets here? Herr mind will be clouded by then, there's no way she'll be completely honest if we ask her now."

"Lelouch." this time, the Immortal was the one to put her foot down, "Who are you to decide how she feels? Let the girl make that decision for herself."

With that, the discussion seemed to be over as C.C returned to reading papers, leaving Lelouch slightly confused, "Why do I feel like nobody's listening to me anymore?"

Chennai Hospital.

Tamaki and Kallen's footsteps squeaked along the hospital floor as they made their way to Benio's room. The former feeling slightly nervous, while the latter was relatively indifferent toward the situation, "Do you think I look weird?" the Japanese man abruptly asked while trying to straighten his clothes.

"You're not going on a blind date, Tamaki." the red head responded bluntly while checking the room numbers.

"That's not what I meant." he snapped while clasping his hands, "I mean… didn't I basically kidnap this girl? You know, people go to jail for that, right?"

"People also go to jail for murder, yet…" Kallen turned to her friend, who clearly wasn't amused, "In all seriousness, you saved her from getting killed. She'll probably thank you, or at worst, hate you for taking her away. Though, I doubt that second one would happen." they stood in front of Benio's hospital room, "We'll find our answer once we go inside." Tamaki let out a sigh, before reaching for the door, prompting the red head to ask, "Wait. Are you sure about this?"

"Stop trying to scare me!" the Japanese man retorted while entering the room, which was spotless as if it had just been cleaned, "Whoa. Hospital custodians are kind of crazy…"

"Ah…" by the windowsill, the girl stared at him with wide eyes. She held a small feather duster, and was clearly in the middle of cleaning. "H-hello…" she mumbled while taking a step behind her bed, using it to maintain distance from her guests.

"We're here to get you out." Tamaki stated bluntly, much to Kallen's frustration, which he noticed, "What? Isn't that what we're doing?"

"Yeah, but you didn't have to come out so strong."

"Um…" Benio meekly tried to get their attention, "I…" she bowed, "Thank you for saving me." Kallen gave Tamaki a side-eye, as he smiled gleefully, "But… well…" the girl began choking up as she remembered everything that happened, "I… I want to go home…" she barely managed to get out while on the verge of tears.

The red head took a step forward, only to find Benio trying to distance herself, "Listen… about your home…"

"I know what happened." the girl surprisingly responded, "I just… I don't know what to do…" she looked down, letting her hair cover her eyes, "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful that you chose to save me… but I'm not fit to be a soldier…" she began rubbing her arm, seeking comfort in such a tense situation, "B-but… in the meantime… I can do chores… like cleaning…" she finally looked up, and presented the room, "As you can see… I'm pretty decent…"

"Decent? You call this decent?" Tamaki mumbled, "This place is immaculate."

Kallen lightly struck his side, before turning to Benio, "So, you'll be coming with us, right? Even if you think you can't contribute much, I'm sure you'll find your place in the Black Knights, especially with how current circumstances are…"

Benio nodded, "Th-then… I'll be in your care."

"I think you should be in charge of Benio." Tamaki whispered to Kallen as they approached the warehouse. Benio stayed a good distance behind them, still in her head about the whole situation.

"Dumping your responsibilities onto me? I wouldn't expect anything less from you." the red head joked while noticing Naoto getting tossed around by Tohdoh.

"No, I mean… it's kind of weird for someone like me to… hang out with a child, you know?"

"Why are you making it weird? Are you just worried that the others are gonna call you a sissy?"

"Wh-where did you get that from!?"

"It was just a question." Kallen giggled at the man overreaction, "Still, I suppose it would be nice for me to help Benio around. However, I can't stay with her twenty-four seven. Since she stated she could help with chores, I think it'd only be right for the head custodian to show her the ropes."

"Ah… I am the head custodian…" Tamaki looked down, "That's right! Zero's counting on me to keep this place clean! He can't count on anyone else but the Tamaki!" the Japanese man smirked confidently while slowing up to meet Benio's pace, "Cheer up!" he pointed at himself with almost too much confidence, "As long as I'm around, you'll fit in just fine! I guarantee it!"

The young girl gave him a faint smile, "Th-thank you…"

Finally, they reached the main warehouse in search of Zero. However, they couldn't find him in his office, so they went next door where, the masked man was present in the Knightmare bay, "All systems are looking good for my Sougetsu!" Maya announced as Mario gave her a thumbs up.

"Great. I'll need you to work on the Guren next." Lelouch ordered, "Sorry, Mario, but it takes priority."
"No problem. When the time comes, I'll just steal Maya's Sougetsu." the boy joked as his sister gasped in disbelief.

"How dare you! You don't even understand what it takes to repair one of these things! There's no way I'm letting you anywhere near my precious Sougetsu!"

C.C giggled at the interaction, before noticing the red head, "Well, look who's back. You wouldn't believe the things Zero said about my body-"

"Shut up." the man in question entered the conversation, "Kallen, Tamaki, welcome back." his eyes wandered to Benio, who hid herself behind the red head, "And this is… her, isn't it?"

The brown-haired girl took a deep breath, and suddenly jumped out, hitting the best salute she could, while saying, "B-Benio Akagi!" everyone tilted their heads at her display, but she continued regardless, "I… I'm not good at much, but if you want, I can do chores!"

Lelouch sighed heavily beneath his mask, as C.C smiled victoriously in the background, "I don't need a maid." he turned to Kallen, "Since Tamaki was the one who brought her here, she's his responsibility."

"Why are you telling me this?" the red head asked with a cute head tilt.

"Because…" he poked her chest, "You're also responsible for saving her. So, you two will be taking turns watching over Benio, until we return to Japan."

"What happens after that?"

"Then, she'll be free to choose whether to stay with us or not."

"You… don't want me here?" Benio meekly asked.

"It's not like that. I'm just wondering, if you had the choice, would you want to be here?"

"I mean… I'm not really a violent person… so the Black Knights aren't really for me. And I'd obviously would rather be with my family…" she gazed into Zero's visor, only seeing her reflection with its tint, "But I'm here now… that's all that matters…"

Lelouch shook his head, "She's your responsibility, Kallen, Tamaki." he waved them off before exiting the warehouse, heading back to his office as Naoto managed to finally push Tohdoh back, only to have his arm twisted, and used to toss himself into the ocean.

"Damn it! Almost had you!" Naoto shouted once he resurfaced.

"You're getting better and better with each match." the Miracle Worker said while extending his hand, helping the man back onto the platform

"I honestly don't see the appeal to being thrown around all day." Lelouch interjected, "But to each their own, I suppose."

"You can act all high-and-mighty, but at the end of the day…" the Kozuki flexed his arm, "It's the guy who's being thrown around that's gonna save you."

"Thank you, Knight in shining armor. I'll remember that the next time I see your Knightmare in the repair bay." Zero joked as Tohdoh stepped forth.

"Would you like to join us? I'm sure a bit of training could do you some good."

"Nah. I had my fill this morning." the Prince responded while noticing his girlfriend approaching from the side, with a mischievous smile, "Didn't I tell you to-"

"Tamaki's taking his turn." she responded while poking his shoulder, "By the way, did I hear something about training?"

"No. No, you didn't." Lelouch turned around, only for the red head to follow him like a puppy.

"Are you sure?" she nagged, "Because I can't help but feel like you're trying to get rid of me by using Benio."

"What?" Zero turned around, genuinely confused, "Where did you get that idea?"

"I dunno…" Kallen coyly began fidgeting with her fingers, "You're just so cruel sometimes… it's like I hardly know you…"

"Quit joking." Lelouch sighed as the red head laughed, putting an end to her charade, "Like anyone would believe you anyway."

"You almost did."

"Almost? Wasn't even close."

"Yeah, right." Kallen rolled her eyes, "But in all seriousness, can we train again?"

"I just made fun of Naoto for getting tossed around, there's no way I'm gonna let him have that same opportunity." he responded while heading upstairs, "And it'll be even worse cause it's you."

"Oh come on." the red head followed the masked man as he went into his office, "Nobody's gonna even notice. Naoto's too busy doing his own thing, and Tamaki's taking care of Benio. The only real problem is C.C, but when isn't she a problem?"

The Prince took off his mask, prompting his girlfriend to ruffle his hair playfully, "Stop that. I'm not a cat." he swatted the assailant away, only for them to continue, "Hey, I said stop."

"Make me." Kallen responded with puffed out cheeks. When she saw her boyfriend only respond with a glare, she continued her teasing, "Exactly. You can't."

Lelouch continued to be unamused as his girlfriend went from ruffling his hair, to poking his sides, to finally playfully punching his back. Eventually, he had enough and softly pushed her away, eliciting a mischievous grin from her face, "Oh my… don't tell me the great Zero is getting annoyed?"

"Kallen…"

"Yes?" she leaned forward, getting close to his face.

"Ugh. Fine. 20 minutes."

"Make it 30."

Lelouch raised an eyebrow, "Quite the negotiator, aren't you?"

Kallen pulled down his face mask and took a step back, getting into a fighting stance, "I learned from the best. Now it's your turn."

Benio watched as Tamaki came out of the warehouse with two brooms. His red bandana on full display as he proudly passed her one, "Alright. First lesson: sweeping." he dramatically slammed the bristles on the ground, before moving it back and forth in a rhythmic motion, "Be gentle yet firm, otherwise you'll hurt the bristles."

"Um… okay." the girl began following his lead, sweeping to-and-fro as they made their way up and down the dock, sweeping the pathway with great zeal.

Eventually, they returned to their starting position, and wiped the sweat off their brows. "Not bad." the Japanese man commented with a smile, "You've certainly got more talent for cleaning than the other custodians I have to train. They just don't get the art of cleaning." he clenched his broom tightly, "And if they can't even get cleaning right… how can they expect to succeed in battle!?"

Suddenly, he began swinging the broom wildly like a staff, making whooshing sound effects with each swipe, before spinning it in a 360 degree motion, earning an applause from Benio. Now that his ego was pumped up, Tamaki decided to get riskier. Putting the broom behind his back, he began twirling it toward his front, where he would switch hands and move it to his back, earning an 'awe' from his assistant. He would repeat this motion twice, before turning around, thrusting his weapon forth, causing the bristles to come in contact with Naoto's face. "Gah!" the girl gasped as her teacher slowly backed up.

"Uh… h-hey… Naoto. Sorry about that…" the Head Custodian said while nervously scratching the back of his head, "I didn't see you there."

However, the Kozuki kept an unimpressed gaze, "Tamaki, what the hell are you doing?"

"Hey! Don't swear around our newest member!" the Japanese man retorted, "And we're sweeping."

"You're sweeping?" Naoto reiterated, "Outside the warehouse? You're sweeping the dirty concrete, instead of the nice warehouse floor?" he looked at the broom, as Tamaki held his chest in pain from the harsh truth, "And you were sweeping with that broom? The same broom you just stuffed in my face?"

"Hey, it was an accident!" the Custodian responded as he noticed multiple specs of dust on his friend's face, "Besides, I was just using the outside as an example for Benio to follow. We're not cleaning the inside yet, since I already did that this morning."

"Uh-huh…" Naoto sighed, and turned to Benio, "Has he… actually taught you anything?"

"Y-yes…" the brown-haired girl nodded vigorously, "Tamaki's been a great teacher…"

"Seriously? Never thought I'd hear that." the Kozuki rubbed his face, unknowingly smearing dirt over his cheek as his friend tried his best not to laugh, "Don't let him push you around, okay? If he ever tries pushing his responsibilities onto you, let me know and I'll set him straight."

"Why do you have so little faith in me!? You know this is a collective effort between myself and Kallen, right?"

"Says who?" Naoto asked, nearly snapping his neck as he turned to face Tamaki, "Don't you dare push this gig onto my sister."

"It wasn't me! Z-Zero was the one who said it was her responsibility too, since she saved Benio too!"

"Did he?" the Kozuki straightened his back, "Then I'll ask him myself."

"Go ahead! I'm not lying!"

"I didn't say you were."

Tamaki watched as his best friend headed off to the main warehouse, presumably to confront their leader. This allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief as Benio asked, "So… that's Kallen's brother?"

"Yeah. He can be an idiot at times, but he's a good guy." the idiot stated, "With Naoto around, the Black Knights have a strong core."

"But… is he really going to be okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, he seemed pretty angry, almost like he was going to yell at Zero. Is that really a good idea? What if he-"

"Ah, don't worry about it. Zero ain't gonna do nothin' to Naoto. Those two have known each other since the beginning of this whole thing. There's also another reason why they can't hurt each other, but that's a secret."

"A… secret?"

"Yeah, but it's not that important. Anyway, it's getting late, so I'll have Maya show you where you'll sleep."

"Zero." Naoto entered the man's office just as he was thrown to the ground by Kallen, "Bahaha!" the Japanese man began laughing uncontrollably.

Lelouch looked at the Kozuki and sighed, "Ugh… I knew this was a bad idea…" he slowly got up, only to wobble slightly, earning more snickers, "Laugh it up, Naoto-"

"Oh, don't worry, I will."

The Prince sighed as he was interrupted once more, causing him to simply wait for his guest to tire themselves out. However, with each cackle, his patience grew thinner and thinner, until he eventually shouted, "Quit laughing!"

"I'm sorry, you're right. You're right." Naoto wiped a tear from his eye, "I just don't see the appeal to being thrown around all day."

"Fuck you." This response caused earned another howl of laughter, before the Prince asked, "Is there a purpose for you being here?"

"Hm? Oh, right." the Kozuki calmed down while his sister cutely crawled into bed, leaving them to converse alone, "Tamaki said you put Kallen in charge of Benio, is that true?"

"It's a shared responsibility, yes." Lelouch responded, "Obviously, I could've left him to deal with her alone, but I don't think it would be a good idea for her to only hang around a man. Don't you?"

"Oh… that's… I thought he was lying." Naoto rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I'm glad you thought that far ahead."

"Who do you take me for?"

"I know. I know." with a light chuckle, the Kozuki turned around, "That's something I should expect by now."

"By the way, Naoto." Lelouch called, "You've got some dirt on your face." he motioned toward the man's face with a laugh. In the background, Kallen giggled from beneath the sheets, as if trying to stifle her own chortles this whole time.

To check, Naoto looked at himself in a nearby mirror, which was less for Lelouch's convenience and more for Kallen's, "That son of a-" he clenched his fist, before storming out of the office, closing the door behind him, "Tamaki!"

The Prince shook his head with a smile while removing the covers from the bed, and sitting next to his girlfriend, "You're not gonna stop him?" she asked while wrapping her arms around his waist, and resting her head on his chest, "We might find Tamaki's body hanging off the balcony tomorrow."

"It'll be fine. At most, I'll just have Tamaki banging on my door about how much his side hurts."

"Yeah, I doubt Naoto would actually hurt him." Kallen added with a giggle, "Goodnight, Lelouch." she snuggled into his chest as he brought the blanket up to cover them.

"Goodnight, Kallen."

?

Asahina hastily entered his hotel room, making sure the door was locked before setting up his laptop on the bed. He rubbed his face with frustration while taking a notebook from his bag, opening it to the first page, where he had crossed out numerous search topics, ranging from the simple, but obvious 'Lelouch Lamprouge' to burial sights, where he would search the Lamprouge name, only to find the task too daunting to follow through with. With a sigh, he turned the page, and wrote 'Ashford'. "Let's see… how about Ashford Academy…" he looked up the name, scratching his head while visiting the school webpage, which had plastered the announcement of its temporary closure due to the bombing.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing of value was gained from sifting through the website. He crossed out 'Ashford Academy', before getting up to make himself a cup of coffee, "Ashford… if I remember correctly, Lelouch said they aided him during the second pacific war. Then, at some point and time, they eventually met Tohdoh and Taizo…" he felt like his skull was being crushed by two imaginary hands. Frustration was building up due to him having started his investigation only two days ago, leaving the contents of Lelouch's reveal mostly a mystery. Once his coffee was finished brewing, he took a sip, burning his tongue in the process, "Wait… he said there was a dispute between Britannia and the Ashford's, right?"

Asahina moved to his laptop, and drew a blank on what to search up, so he thought of phrasing it like a court case, "Ashford V. Britannia." After a moment, nothing about a court case showed up. Sure, there was plenty of information regarding the Ashford's that showed up, but no court case. That's when his mind wandered to Rakshata, who vaguely mentioned something about a Knightmare that was in the Ashford's possession. On a whim, he gave the Indian woman a call.

To his surprise, she actually answered. Or at least… her assistant answered, "Hello?"

"Um… this is Shogo Asahina. I helped test Rakshata's Gekka before, do you mind if I speak with her?"

The other line went silent, before the young girl responded, "The Holy Sword, correct? What is your business with Ms. Chawla?"

"I just needed to ask a question."

More silence followed, before a familiar tone finally answered, "I'm busy, so this better not be a complicated question."

"It's not… or at least I hope it isn't. Do you remember that Knightmare you told me about that the Ashford's had?"

"The Ganymede? Of course, who could forget that."

"Ah! I remember now. That was the one Marianne the Flash used." the bespectacled man felt his mind start clearing, now that he finally had a lead, "Do you remember why it's under their care now?"

"Ugh. I thought you were smarter than that." Rakshata replied boorishly, "For a time, the Ashford's were at the forefront of Knightmare research and development, as they made the very first iteration without a Yggdrasil drive. It was a very impressive piece of technology, considering what limited resources they had."

"Really? Well, what happened? It sounded like they were set up for success."

"Their test pilot died. Plain and simple. As you should know, Marianne Vi Britannia was the only person who could pilot the Ganymede, and with her support gone, Ashford became dead in the water, as they had no other allies." the Indian woman explained, "This eventually turned into a tug-of-war between who had the right to own the Ganymede. In the end, Ashford had to give up the Knightmare and all technology related to such developments. However, as you know, the former was a lie, considering the original model was still kept at Ashford Academy."

"How do you know it was the original and not a replica?"

"It had plenty of scuff marks, like it was used for something other than being on display. Obviously it's not concrete proof, but it's proof enough."

"I see…" Asahina tapped his foot before coming to a realization, "Wait… you said Ashford had no other allies?"

"Correct."

"Are you sure?"

"Asahina, the reason the dispute happening in the first place was because Marianne - and Marianne alone - was the only person keeping Ashford's royal status. Now, they're just a privatized school group that teaches the next generation about Britannia's history. The very history they were erased from."

"I see… thank you very much." Asahina hung up, and put his phone down, "Damn it. I've reached a dead end. Actually… the more I think about it, the more Lelouch's story doesn't make sense. How did he know to head to Ashford Academy? It's not like they'd be announcing they were some kind of refugee camp for Britannians. I would've found an article about that by now. And why would they even take them in the first place? Surely not out of kindness, the Ashford's are from the heart of Britannia, meaning they're greedier than most. Hell, the fact that they chose to opportunistically side with Kyoto is proof of that." he laid back in bed, slamming his fist on the mattress, "Damn it. I've reached a dead-end. If only I had more people like Rakshata, who could help me construct a full timeline of events." his eyes widened, "Well… there's one guy… but I don't want to talk to that weirdo. Though… what other choice do I have?" he rolled onto his side, "I'll ask Nagisa about it tomorrow."