It was a beautiful day outside. The birds were singing, the flowers were blooming. A rare dry and sunny day in the middle of July, completely unlike typhoon season.

So of course it all had to go wrong on such a day.

Nunnally's first hint that something was wrong came from Shirley; the older girl told her that Lelouch would be late from his gambling run. He tried not to worry his friends, but Nunnally knew his punctual nature too well. Her suspicions only got worse when she heard that he asked about Shinjuku and the traffic restrictions on the phone, but would not say why.

Yet she could do nothing but wait the day away. Every minute without information was torture on Nunnally. She tried to keep herself busy, even called Kaguya to ask if she knew anything about Shinjuku. Her friend was just as clueless.

At some point she became tempted to send out Sayoko in support of her brother. All that stopped her from doing so was the understanding that even Sayoko would not get through actual danger without information. At least not fast, that was.

So she waited, distracting herself with physical work to empty her mind.

By the time Lelouch shuffled inside, he expected his sister to be asleep. Night fell some time ago and heavy rain drummed on the roof. He barely escaped getting drenched. Moreover, he had a long day and much to think about, which was why her still being in the living room came as such a surprise.

Her face was cast in shadow by the lights when she whirled around to him. Lelouch firmed up in response, ensuring that his weariness did not show.

"Nunnally? Why are you still awake?"

"Don't give me that, I was worried," she snapped back. A sting of pain went through Lelouch's chest at the reminder that she did not hear anything. He parted the distance halfway when she came forward to hug him, holding her wearily.

"Something about the whole thing with Shinjuku just didn't sound right," Nunnally continued, voice softening. "Then Rivalz came back without you, said you fell into a truck because you just had to try helping strangers again. I asked him not to tell anyone just in case, that you will be fine."

He knew she meant it, that she had that faith in him. But the strength in her embrace also told of how much she worried. Lelouch could only heave a sigh in response.

"I'm sorry. I didn't plan for any of this, it all just happened at once. And after escalating the way they did, the only way forward was through."

He was not sure which of them was cradling whom, but holding his sister took some of the weight out of what happened today. It grounded him, reminded him of what he did all of this for.

When Nunnally finally let go, her frown was gone.

"Then eat... and explain," she ordered, interrupted by a stifled yawn. Sayoko set down a light dinner already, then took his jacket the moment he was free.

Lelouch complied with her demand, though the irony in their reversed situation did not escape him. It lifted his heavy mood some more.

Soon after they settled down, the words just started rolling off his tongue. He told himself before that he would keep the secret and Nunnally safe, but it was impossible. The last months taught him that his baby sister was growing up; he could not keep this from her, no matter how hard he tried.

"Clovis tried to purge Shinjuku ghetto," he began, getting no reaction but a slight widening of her eyes. "He was after some top secret project that the terrorists stole. The truck I dropped into was theirs."

He fully expected an interruption or something, but Nunnally listened quietly. The intensity of her attention spurred him to keep going, so Lelouch summarised; the meeting with Suzaku coaxed surprised joy out of her, though that flipped into a snarl and some tears when learning of his death. The girl in the 'poison gas' capsule, he only spoke of with some hesitation. She was also dead, an innocent who did not deserve any of this.

Then he came to the contract.

"I don't know how to describe what happened, but I imagine a drug trip to be something like this. All colours and shreds of memories, and her voice on top of it all. She gave me a power she called Geass before she died. It lets me give orders that people must obey."

Nunnally offered a slow nod in response to that, far too calm for his liking. She believed him so easily that Lelouch almost stopped feeling as if he stumbled into a secret of the world.

"Is it something like mind control?" she asked, breaking her silence for the first time. Lelouch could only confirm her guess.

"I think so, but it stops once the order runs its course. Clovis was himself again after I asked my questions."

The mention of him made Nunnally twitch. Lelouch skipped ahead there on accident and she grew wary. "What do you mean, Clovis? Why did you meet him? How did you meet him?"

Her voice rose a little, so Lelouch quickly raised his hands in a placating manner. "I had to get out of there somehow," he reasoned with his sister before she could get too worked up. "I used my Geass to steal a Knightmare and rerouted my stockpiled Sutherlands to the terrorists, then directed them to destroy Clovis' forces. It would have worked perfectly, if not for some prototype next generation Knightmare showing up, so I had to improvise from there."

He at least managed to stop it from getting worse, but Nunnally's frown remained. She held back on whatever she meant to say though, motioning for him to finish explaining. Lelouch grimaced as well as he recalled those minutes.

"So I invaded Clovis' forward base with my Geass and threatened him to call off the purge."

It sounded like absolute madness, threatening a Britannian prince. It would not have worked on many others, but Clovis had always been too soft when confronted. Nunnally lost much of her previous tension, so she approved of his actions so far. Now came the difficult part.

"Then I asked him about Mother's death with my Geass," Lelouch revealed, unwilling to get to the end. "But he knew nothing. Said Schneizel and Cornelia looked into it."

"And then?" Nunnally pressed. She probably somehow picked up on how his gut churned.

"...and then I killed him."

His words hung heavy in the room. Lelouch expected some sort of reaction; shock, maybe sadness or even disgust. Nunnally surprised him with a simple nod.

"Okay. So nobody can identify you?"

To say he was taken aback by her calm was an understatement. Lelouch knew his sister was steadfast, but this just served as another reminder how much she grew up lately.

In the end, all he could do was agree with her assessment. His meal finished, Lelouch then spent some time tucking Nunnally in. Sayoko organised his sister's practice sheets in the meantime, though she then insisted on tucking him in all the same.

"I'm basically an adult," he protested half-heartedly while she draped his blanket over him.

Sayoko smiled faintly at that. "And yet I will not have it any other way. You had a long and harrowing day, Master Lelouch. I will leave a sleeping pill on your nightstand in case you need it."

She then kissed his forehead, which embarassed him despite everything. A moment later, Sayoko was gone as quietly as a ghost.

The next day did not seem to let up on surprises; for Nunnally in particular, she only found out once again from someone else. This time it was Milly whisking her away to meet the student council's new surprise member. The 'surprise' clearly went both ways, considering how neither Kallen Stadtfeldt nor Lelouch seemed to expect the party when they came in.

Unfortunately, Nunnally had no time to talk to the redhead then. A mishap with a bottle of champagne sent the girl into the shower and her uniform into the wash.

While Rivalz got scolded by Shirley, Lelouch subtly took his sister aside.

"Kallen was on that truck," he murmured ot her, too quiet for anyone else to hear. Nunnally understood in an instant, her moment of panic safely confined to the back of her mind. Lelouch seemed equally unbothered, though he must feel similar from his next words: "And there were complications earlier, she suspects me to have been there."

Nunnally's worry turned to certainty with that. Her gaze hardened as she realised what must be done.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" she hissed back.

"I'm sorry, but don't worry. I have an idea how to fix this," he promised, though grimacing at the mess they were in. Then he passed her a recorder and a note. "Get this to Sayoko."

She sought his eyes for a moment, then looked down at what she was given. Both items vanished into a side compartment of her wheelchair. Nunnally nodded faintly, willing to trust her brother on this. She also left him to the whims of a curious Milly, which was punishment in its own way.

A quick call to Sayoko had the maid meet her along the way. With nobody else around, Nunnally could hand it over without worry.

"Lelouch wanted you to have this," she explained. "It's important."

Then Nunnally paused, previous thoughts playing through her mind. Once Sayoko was done reading the note with a blank expression, Nunnally added another order: "And the next time you go into the storage area, please fetch me a proper weapon to defend myself with."

Though her demand surprised Sayoko, there was no refusal. The older woman simply nodded. Nunnally knew her brother would not approve so easily, but she did not care anymore. If he kept things from her, she would just ignore his wishes in turn. His fault, not hers.

Of course things immediately got worse just an hour later. After somehow pacifying Kallen, they found out that Suzaku was alive but framed as Clovis's murderer.

Nunnally barely kept her cool through the news report. The scowl was repressed until they were in private, but then her emotions just burst out.

"We have to do something!"

Lelouch seemed more centered than her at the moment, though his brows were creased as well. "Don't worry," he assured her, his voice deceptively soft, "I have an idea. My Geass should give me everything I need. You hold down the fort and tell anyone who asks that I was here all evening."

She glared at him, not that he was fazed by her anger. Nunnally hated very much that she could not come help save an old friend, but there was nothing to do about it. So she grudgingly accepted, then sent Sayoko to shadow him just in case.

While Lelouch kept radio silence, Nunnally ended up calling Kaguya when the broadcast of Suzaku's walk of shame began. Her mood was sour and her friend likely felt little better, estranged though she and Suzaku were.

"I can not help but think this has something to do with you asking about Shinjuku the other day," Kaguya probed. "Did you know something went on there?"

"No, I just heard something was going on and thought you might know more."

A demonstrative silence followed between them. Nunnally knew that Kaguya kept some secrets. Even if it were not fair to do the same, she would not know how to explain Lelouch getting out of Shinjuku alive.

"I don't believe you, just so you know," Kaguya finally said. "But I won't... what's happening?"

She cut herself off when Clovis's own gaudy car rolled in to interrupt the farce of a parade on TV;. Nunnally made a curious noise and clasped the pistol in her lap tighter, more than a little worried now. Then, just as she feared, the Britannian banner hanging from the car went up in flames. It swiftly burned away to reveal a man in dark suit and mask, who introduced himself as Zero.

Nunnally was halfway between laughing and crying at how much of a showoff her brother was. There was no subterfuge in this, he just up and crashed the proceedings.

"Hold on. Is that...?" Kaguya started, only to trail off as events began to unfold. Then she repeated herself: "Nunnally. Is that him?"

She did not respond, unwilling to lie but also unwilling to spill her brother's secret. There were some mechanical noises and the clicking of a lock, but she was too distracted to really notice them. The broadcast itself was too mesmerising, it had her at the edge of her seat when the Purist leader facilitated Zero's getaway. That must have been the Geass, though she would never have noticed if she did not know. It happened so seamlessly.

"No way that worked," Kaguya said slowly. "I am actually feeling a little faint here."

"Same here," Nunnally returned. This had been madness and way too close for comfort. Once the action was over and the broadcast switched back into some studio, she turned off her TV. Then Nunnally fell back into her wheelchair with a sigh.

"Zero just admitted to murdering royalty on live television and got away with it," she summarised what they just saw.

Kaguya hummed her agreement. "So he did, not to mention saving Suzaku. That is one way of making an introduction."

Nunnally wanted to respond in the affirmative, but paused. In the absence of any other noise, she could hear soft breathing. Faintly different from Sayoko's, not to mention from a spot behind her where the maid would bustle around. Sayoko could hardly be back yet.

She did not need her gut telling her that something was wrong. Adrenaline surged sky-high as Nunnally leaned a little into her phone.

"I have to take care of something now. Call you later?" she asked, trying to sound normal even as she clasped her weapon more tightly. Kaguya did not seem to notice anything.

"Can't today, I have an early start tomorrow and need to turn in. The usual time tomorrow?"

"Sure. Good night."

She cut the call before her friend even finished responding. A deep breath was taken, not that it stopped Nunnally's heart from beating against her ribcage. One of her hands idly snuck across the controls of her wheelchair; she had never been more glad it was automatic.

Then, suddenly, Nunnally made it turn as fast as possible and raised her gun. Her weapon pointed at a woman in what looked like a straitjacket.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The lady watched her with faint interest, though the gun did not seem to impress her. "You do realise that anyone wishing you harm wouldn't have given you time to finish that call?" she asked back idly.

"Answer the question!"

"You also realise the safety is still on, don't you?"

Nunnally froze at that. She did not know what that even meant, in her mind one just pulled the trigger. An experimental tug on it had nothing happen, though. No bullet. Ice flooded her veins as her only defense was taken away.

The woman chuckled and leaned in, making Nunnally stiffen entirely. A pair of smooth hands closed around the weapon, but there was no violence. Rather, her fingers were guided to a particular button; it produced an electronic noise, then the stranger raised her arm so the gun pointed straight at her chest. They were so close Nunnally could see the whites around her amber eyes.

"There you go," she whispered gently.

Nunnally pulled the trigger without thinking.

A quiet thud followed, then crimson sprayed from the woman's back. She collapsed onto herself, head in Nunnally's lap and the gun buried beneath. A raspy chuckle followed.

"Smart... girl."

The pungent scent of blood drowned out everything else. Nunnally wanted to push her off, but refused to let go of her weapon at the same time.

Then the woman looked up at her with a smirk. "Why did you stop shooting when I'm still alive?"

Nunnally's body acted on instinct, forcing back her hand and squeezing the trigger again. This time blood sprinkled across her front and the woman's back from her skull. The force of it threw her back and onto the ground, motionless.

She stared at the corpse in a stupor, shock slowly abating.

Then the body twitched and her remaining eye opened. She was still smirking.

"You really are new to this," she mused as she sat up. "Always aim for center mass unless you're certain you can hit the head properly."

Her pulped eye opened, the sight of it making Nunnally's stomach lurch. She was too horrified by what happened in front of her to shoot again. The stranger pointed at her destroyed eye.

"Case in point, you angled it wrong and missed again."

Then she slowly rose to her feet. A crimson trail ran down her front, just as it did Nunnally's leg. The sticky sensation was just as nauseating as that still unbroken smirk. She took the gun from Nunnally's numb fingers without resistance, engaged the safety, and put it aside.

"W-Who are you?" Nunnally stuttered, torn between horror and confusion. "H-How...?"

She trailed off, still unable to believe her eyes. Even if she missed the vitals, that woman should not be able to move so easily. She must be in great pain if nothing else.

That smirk finally faded then, becoming more of a faint smile. She said nothing, simply held Nunnally's gaze as pulped flesh and tissue mended back together. It took less than a minute before two healthy eyes looked back at her. Only the blood soaking her clothes and stuck to her skin gave any indicator of prior injury. It was just gone.

"I am C.C.," she introduced herself at last, "and I'm here because your brother made an important promise with me."

Her words barely registered with Nunnally. She was still too hung up on what just happened.

"How are you doing this? You should be, should be..."

Her stomach churned as she realised that she just shot someone. Twice. Nevermind the fact C.C. was still alive, the overwhelming stench in her sensitive nose only added to the nausea.

C.C. did not seem to care overly much, though. She explained idly, her words something for Nunnally to focus on: "You punctured a lung, so I should need to spit out in a moment. Missed the heart, though."

So saying, she walked over to the sink and spit out a distinctly red glob. Glancing back to the horrified girl, C.C. continued to explain: "You will also need to have someone clean your carpet. I recommend oxygen peroxide to actually get the stains out."

Her nonchalant attitude did not help matters any. Nunnally tried taking a deep breath, but it helped precious little. Then she clenched bloodstained fists, unwilling to let this go.

"I just shot you. How are you just fine?"

"Who knows?" C.C. answered coyly. She stepped closer and unclenched Nunnally's hands, then led one to her chest. Right near the collarbone, where there was a clear if bloodstained hole in the cloth.

Nunnally expected some nasty sort of sensation. She vividly imagined her finger sliding into a fleshy hole, only to be surprised when she found half-dried blood and smooth skin. Confusion had her feel around the area for a bit before realising what she did there.

This made no sense, Nunnally's re-engaging mind demanded. C.C. should be dead. But that fact did not seem to bother her any more than the younger girl's hand still lying between her breasts. Nunnally retracted it anyway to be polite while C.C. spoke.

"Like I said, Lelouch made a promise with me," she repeated.

The fact she knew his name gave some credence to the claim. It was definitely not conclusive, though. Regardless, Nunnally had no means to get rid of her or force her out. So instead she did her best to ignore the weirdness by letting manners take over.

"May I offer you a cup tea?"

"My, how polite. I graciously accept," C.C. chirped while still dripping blood on the floor.

"Please have a seat, I will be a minute."

"I have time."

So it was that Nunnally warily maneuvered her wheelchair around. She cringed when some drips of blood followed her path on the carpet. C.C. made herself comfortable at the table in the meantime, attention on a pair of paper cranes; Nunnally folded one, but Sayoko's was much nicer.

Thinking of her maid reminded Nunnally to contact her. A message was typed out and sent, then the boiling kettle demanded her attention.

The next time she could check what her surprise guest was doing, three paper cranes sat on the table. They each had a folded star accompany them, too. C.C. did not say anything about it, nor did she seem to care for her bloody state. It seemed like she arranged herself to not drip on the ground anymore.

With nothing else to occupy her mind, Nunnally was back to staring and trying to comprehend how that woman was alright.

She wheeled over the kettle and two cups, carefully pouring for her guest first. "I hope green tea is to your liking?" she probed, having picked this one for only needing a short time to steep.

"I do appreciate its fragrance and bitterness," C.C. answered, absently playing with a strand of her green hair as she watched the cup fill. Both of them took their first sip together. Nunnally appreciated having the tea, seeing how its warmth soothed her roiling gut.

"You do origami?" she asked next, trying for conversation just to fill the air.

"On occasion. It's nice enough to pass the time."

"I see."

A short lull followed. Nunnally did not want to ask about the not-being-dead again, thus she had nothing else to ask beyond the obvious. Seeing that C.C. seemed amenable to talk, she followed that subject: "You said you made a promise with Lelouch. Could you tell me more about that?"

"It is a promise for the future," C.C. answered with a faint incline of her head. "To fulfill a wish of mine once he is able to."

Her evasiveness was half expected, but still annoying; in fact, at this point Nunnally's annoyance almost trumped being weirded out from all the rest.

"When did you two meet?" she asked next. Because she would absolutely remember her brother mentioning if he met a gorgeous older woman. Especially one like this, considering the straitjacket.

C.C. did not so much hesitate, but rather took a moment to study Nunnally. Whatever she saw, it made her answer.

"Well, to be exact, yesterday."

Nunnally's eyes widened, which the older woman clearly noticed. Her smirk returned. "You already know where," she teased.

"Shinjuku."

It just slipped out, even though it should be impossible.

"How?" Nunnally demanded weakly. "You died."

"I imagine you can think of a reason," C.C. countered wrily.

Nunnally's gaze lowered to her chest again, then snapped back up. She shuddered one final time before forcing herself under control.

"You gave him Geass?"

She almost missed the moment her guest stilled. The reaction was gone so soon she might have imagined it anyway. Either way, C.C. seemed intrigued now.

"So he told you? How curious."

And as if on cue, the front door opened forcefully. Nunnally could tell the familiar rustle of Sayoko's maid dress with ease. Her maid stopped dead in the doorway, staring at the pair in horror as her eyes traced the blood around the room. Nunnally still had some on her hands, she realised with a wince.

C.C. did not seem bothered at all, though. "Like I said, oxygen peroxide," she reminded. "It's not safe to touch with bare skin and can discolour textiles, but your best bet to get those stains out."

Nunnally could only sigh.

"I'm sorry to put this on you, Sayoko," she addressed her maid, "but could you please clean this up and not ask questions for now? I have no idea how to answer any of them. Would you care to explain?" she tried with a glance to C.C., who just idly drank her tea. Not a word left her mouth, though that grin played around it again.

Meanwhile, Sayoko bustled over and inspected Nunnally from up close. It took several assurances that none of the blood was hers for her caretaker to relent. Even then, the first thing she did was usher Nunnally into the bathroom to strip and clean her. Her wheelchair followed, for which Nunnally was deposited on the couch in her nightgown.

C.C. watched her from the table, staying put to not spread her own blood further. Nunnally looked back, watching her in turn like one would a rare animal.

"Is there anything else you want to talk about?" she tried, though C.C. gave not much of a visual indicator.

"Not really. When do you think Lelouch will get back?"

Nunnally opened her mouth to respond in the negative, only for noise from the front door to pre-empt her. She sighed and rubbed her forehead, listening to the steady tap-tap of Lelouch's feet on the floor. She could tell the exact moment he entered line of sight from its sudden stop and the choked noise in his throat.

"Welcome home," Nunnally greeted mirthlessly.

Sayoko looked up from where she prepared to scrub the carpet. C.C. put her cheek in one hand. Lelouch kept standing where he was, taking in the scene.

"Just to make sure," Nunnally continued, daintily pointing over to the table, "is this the woman you met in Shinjuku?"

Considering that her brother turned chalk white at the sight of her, she felt the answer was yes.

They all just stared at each other for a time, the only noise in the room the sound of Sayoko's scrubbing.

Lelouch eventually broke the silence between them: "What exactly happened here?"

With C.C. clearly comfortable saying nothing, it fell on Nunnally to explain: "I, erm, thought we had a burglar or something. And I shot her. Now we have blood around the room, she isn't dead, and I have a lot of questions."

"Hold on, how did you shoot her?"

"With a gun, boy. It's what they are for."

C.C. ignored the heated looks both siblings threw her, more amused than anything by their reaction. When Lelouch turned back to Nunnally for answers, she shrugged.

"I got one right after you told me about Shinjuku. And no, I'm not giving it back."

"We talked about this-" "And I disagree, end of story."

Her flippant response clearly took him aback. Nunnally felt a little bad for snapping at him, but this evening was just a lot for her frayed nerves. She did not want to discuss this any further tonight.

"Let's talk about something else, please. How did it go?"

Lelouch hesitated for a moment and glanced to the other two women. Then he sat down next to her, where Nunnally's hand immediately snuck into his.

"Well enough," he started, "except Suzaku is being a stubborn fool. He up and went right back to his own trial."

Nunnally stared at him in incomprehension for a moment.

"He did that?"

Lelouch sighed heavily in response, a reaction only Suzaku could ever get out of him. "Yes. At least Zero publically claiming the death of Clovis means they can't make him the scapegoat anymore. Maybe things will work out for him."

Nunnally made an agreeing noise, though she already worried for Suzaku again. He was stubborn to a fault, but never stupid like this.

Sayoko finished her first cleaning run soon after and approached C.C. without hesitation. "I have to ask you to change, miss," she requested in a tone that made it clear this was no request. "Your clothes will be washed and mended."

C.C. did not react to her words beyond looking at her, much to Nunnally's confusion. It was Lelouch who figured out the problem: "She has nothing to change into."

"Then I will fetch a school uniform. Excuse me."

Sayoko walked out with those words, after which C.C. idly sipped her lukewarm tea.

"You have quite the dedicated servant," she commented.

Lelouch nodded faintly. "We do. But that doesn't explain how you can just come back from the dead."

The fact he got that same coy smirk made Nunnally feel a little better about it. "Don't bother," she cautioned, "she won't tell."

"And what do you want?" he seamlessly switched the subject. This only made C.C.'s grin widen a fraction.

"Why Lelouch, did you already forget our contract?"

"You said to fulfill your wish, but not what it is."

"You don't need to know it yet," C.C. deflected, a little less playful than before but not fully serious either. "I will tell you when the time comes for you to fulfill it. For now, I just need you to stay alive... and considering where I found you, I get the feeling I have my work cut out for me."

Nunnally was not amused by her antics. Yet no amount of annoyance or pointed looks could make C.C. stop saying pretty much nothing in far more words whenever they tried prying answers out of her. In the end it took Sayoko suggesting that everyone turn in and get back to this the next day.

Sayoko also supplied a sleeping pill to Nunnally, but she did not take it. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow anyway, regardless of her previously racing thoughts.