Fanfic: Suzaku of Japan (ch 12)

[inulovinkit.livejournal.com]

Finally, school's out! \o/

Rating: R this chapter (For Suzaku's potty mouth)
Pairing: LelouchxC.C., (implied) Suzalulu, maybe a little Lulu/Shirley in this chapter, too.
Summary: So, what would have happened if Suzaku had received the Geass in Stage 1 instead of Lelouch? We'd have one messed up story on our hands.

Chapter 1 here.



Lelouch had to sit down, slumping into the chair before him. He couldn’t believe it…he really couldn’t believe it that in Britannia C.C. had found…her.

But…it was impossible. She was dead. She was supposed to have died back then…so what was she doing here?! How was it possible?!

“But..she…” he mumbled, unable to comprehend all of it. His brain, that thing that he prided himself so much on; that ability to come up with so many answers—it now left him with nothing. “She is…how can she be…?”

C.C. stood at his side, and with a sigh, she gently touched his shoulder in a comforting gesture. “The answer is simple. She never did die that day. Did you ever see for yourself if she was really dead when they took her away?”

Lelouch racked his brains. Was she really dead then? He wasn’t sure…he was so shocked and out of it then—“She…she might have been still alive, but I didn’t get a good look—I thought for sure that even if she was still alive, she would have died shortly afterward…”

“Well, it appears that she didn’t.” C.C. strode over towards the bed, staring down at its occupant. “In the room that I found her, there was a schedule written up for her care. Apparently all this time, a doctor has been secretly employed to keep her alive. But she’s in a deep coma that she’ll never recover from.”

The witch turned back to him, and there had only been one time before this that she had seen those violet eyes of his filled with so much emotion…so much feeling for this person that he knew he couldn’t help. “You mean…even though she’s alive…she’ll never—”

“That’s right,” she told him sharply; he had to understand. “She’ll never wake up. To us, it’s the same as being dead.”

“But…it’s not dead.” Lelouch suddenly stood, a new light in his eyes. “She’s not dead. Even if she won’t wake up, she’s still alive!”

C.C. sighed. Didn’t he understand? A coma was about the same as being dead as far as they were concerned but…well, that day he thought she died burned sharply in his memory, didn’t it? She supposed that finding out she was alive, no matter what her state, meant a lot to him.

“So, what are you going to do?” she asked. “She’s alive, yes, but if any of the Black Knights find out about this—”

“Then I’ll keep her a secret. I’ll care for her myself, if I must.”

“Lelouch…” She knew this meant a lot to him, but going out of his way to do this, too? With everything else, wouldn’t it be a bit much? Still…she remembered that day when they all thought she had died…the shock, the tears, the confusion; the feeling that everything he had ever known had changed. He never once spoke of that day since it happened, but she could tell as the days went by; every day he thought of it. Though what he thought on it was a mystery to her. Whatever guilt he had on it was never to be shared with her.

Yes…after all, he didn’t remember her from those days at the Villa—she was just an accomplice, nothing more.

Well, not that she could be anything more. He was Zero, Hero of the Elevens. And she was C.C., the witch who had given him his demon power. She wasn’t some schoolgirl pining over a crush. All she wanted…was to protect him. To shelter him from the harsh world. Maybe it was guilt, she didn’t know, but whatever it was…she wanted to keep him safe from the consequences of the mistakes that she made.

More than anything, now that she knew the whole plan, she wanted to protect him from what Charles was planning. She wouldn’t let him be used by that man. Not like he and Marianne had used her.

That alone was her mission.

“C.C.,” Lelouch spoke softly, “Now that we found her…I have to keep her safe. No matter what I…I won’t let anything happen to her, not again. If there is no one left to protect her, then…I will be her knight.”

Maybe it was guilt, maybe it was selfishness—a way to make up the mistakes that had been made, maybe it was pure, familial love, C.C. didn’t know…but C.C. had a feeling it was one of the first decisions he had made in a long time that wasn’t motivated by his lust for conquest. No other motive, except trying to care for a single person.

Hmm…maybe he had grown up from that small boy she once knew.

“It’ll be hard, you know,” C.C. turned back to him. “Caring for a sick person is a lot of hard work. Their entire life depends upon your care. It’s a heavy burden.”

“Even so, I must do it…for her sake.”

The witch chuckled. “What happened to ‘hardening your heart to complete your objective’.”

“This…this is different! Now that…now that she’s out of his hands, I’ll keep her safe! He won’t be able to use her as a hostage against me, but that’s not why I—”

“I know that,” C.C. sighed, stepping closer. A slender hand came to touch his cheek, making him stiffen in surprise. “You really have changed…you’ve grown up.”

“Er…” Well, this was awkward. “What do you mean? I’ve always been…uh…”

“I mean, even in the past year, you’ve grown up. Though you considered people before, there was always another motive.”

“That’s not true! There was Nunnally—!”

“Still, for Nunnally was why you wanted to create this world, isn’t that right? But this…this has nothing to do with any of that. You’re doing it because you care for the other person. No aspect of Zero is tied to it. That’s why you’ve grown up.”

“Er…C.C….”

“Still, be careful,” C.C. removed her hand. “Though that kindness is admirable, since you are Zero, that kindness could come back to hurt you someday.”

And, with that cryptic warning she turned and slowly left the room. Lelouch watched her go, wondering what all that was about.

With a sigh, he returned to the chair at the bedside, and slowly, took her hand. Yes…she had dropped in like this by mere accident, but now, because he had found her, she was his responsibility.

“No matter what happened,” he promised. “I’ll protect you now. Like I wasn’t able to before. I’ll protect you and make sure he can’t get his hands on you again.”

Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought he felt the limp hand he held contract a moment—as if trying to give a squeeze of recognition. They did say that people in comas could sometimes hear the outside would, after all…

Still, even if she didn’t hear, even if she never knew, it was enough. As long as now she was safe, and alive…and out of his reach.




“Sir!”

“Lord Kururugi!”

There was a crash, and a bang, as the door to the governor-general’s office burst open—and the Knight of Seven found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.

Guards rushed in and froze at the scene, as the panicked Eleven shouted, “Don’t move! Don’t move or I’ll shoot!”

Surprisingly, the calmest one in the room was the one being attacked. “Don’t,” Suzaku told the guards. Turning back to the man with the gun, Suzaku asked, “Now tell me, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t be so calm, damn you! It’s because of you that my family’s out of work! We had to move out of Shinjuku when your little pet project began, and we’ve been living on the streets for months! Because of you—”

“The Shinjuku Restoration project will be finished soon, and when it is, everyone who lived their previously can move back into government-sponsored areas. They’ll be jobs available at that time too, so just wait—”

“I don’t want to wait! My children are starving now!”

Green eyes narrowed, “Oh? Then why not just join the Black Knights if you want instant—but not long lasting—results. Our plan is built to last, when it’s finished—”

“Listen to what you’re saying!” the man switched over to Japanese at once. “Look at you—born the son of the former prime minister, and now, you’re just a dog for the Britannians! You’re adopting their ways—not giving a damn about even your own people! Just trash to be thrown away once they’re done with you!”

Slamming his hands down on his desk, Suzaku roared back in Japanese, “What I do with my own life is my own business! I’m trying to help you—”

“I don’t want your help! No one wants your help, you pretender!” the attacker clasped his fingers harder around the trigger. “No one wants it when we know it for what it is—a sham! You’re just deceiving us, and eventually we will fall to be little more than dirt under the Britannian boot—boots that you lick every single day—!”

That was enough, this man had gone too far—“I don’t care what you think! But you are—”

“What I am is a bringer of the truth, and you know it! You wouldn’t give a damn about the Japanese unless it had some worth to you!”

That panged in Suzaku’s heart. How dare he—how dare he say that! It was wrong! He cared about the Japanese—after everything he’d done, he was always doing it for them—his own people. Turning his back—how could one even think that after all that he’d sacrificed, after everything he had suffered—how dare that man—!

Suzaku’s hand shot forward to grab the muzzle of the gun to jerk it out of the attacker’s hand, while at the same time, he lashed out, geass lighting up, “You shouldn’t speak of things you don’t understand—“

There was a loud bang, and a cry of overwhelming pain. Guards rushed in to restrain the man as the Knight of Seven fell to his knees, clutching his left eye.

At once, a guard rushed towards his lord, but then noticed something strange—the bullet had gone through the windowpane behind the desk, and there was no blood at all, so why…?

Pain. Overwhelming agony. That was what Suzaku felt—feeling as if something was bursting out for his insides, burning a hole through his eye, ripping his skull to shreds. Needles of pain stabbed from behind his eyeballs, again, and again, as he felt something taking over, something was grabbing hold and wouldn’t let go—he just wanted it to stop, wanted it all to end, wanted it to…to—

And then he fell forward, gasping as it slowly numbed and faded away.

“Lord Kururugi!” others came rushing forward as the man was led away. “Are you all right? What happened? He didn’t…”

Suzaku kept a hand clamped over his eye as he shakily tried to get to his feet. “I…I think maybe it was powder residue…got into my eye…hurts…”

But that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach only deepened…no, he thought he knew what the real cause was, but he would never check here.

“Shall we take you to the infirmary?”

“No! No…I’ll be fine, I think..if I don’t use my eye so much…I’ll go rinse it out, just…bring me an eyepatch or something for now until it heals…yes, that’ll work…”

With that, the Knight of Seven brushed them off, trying to appear calm, but inside, he was panicked. Rushing to the bathroom, he thought, No, no! It can’t happen now! Not like this, not when I still have—

Racing inside, he skidded in front of the mirror, stopping short of ramming himself against the sink. And then, he let out a slow breath as he removed the hand covering his left eye—

Red. Instead of that bright green he knew, the face staring back at him had a red eye on its right—with a glowing geass symbol in the middle.

It had evolved.

“Ha…” Suzaku let out a breath, and then another. Before he knew it, he was laughing out loud—laughing at all of it—how no matter what he did, it would never be right, his hatred for himself, how he didn’t have any happy memories before the war, the fact that his best friend was the one he’d have to kill in the end, how the only person he had ever loved was dead, and now this, how everything, everything was so fucked up—

He slid down to sit on the floor, leaning against the tiled wall, staring up at the fluorescent lights above. Coming down from his laughter, he could only think of one thing—only one person could make sense of it all—

“C.C.” he murmured to himself, crossing his arms over his head, to block out the light. “Got to talk to…C.C…”




“Looks like everything’s ready for the mobilization,” Lelouch told C.C. as they sat in Zero’s chambers. “Our supplies are all hidden in the Tokyo harbor, ready for shipment to our China base. Once there, we can join forces with the Chinese and the EU for the attack on Japan.”

“Seems like you’ve gotten everything planned out.” She answered, holding that stuffed toy of hers.

“Mostly, except for a few little things to work out. If we’re lucky, we could make our big attack by the end of the month. Japan could be freed in as little as 30 days from now.”

“Oh, and then?”

Lelouch smirked. “Once Japan is in our hands, we will take the Area 11 government building and make that the Black Knights’ global base, for taking Britannia. Only when Britannia is erased from the map can we be completely safe.”

“I suppose so.” C.C. sighed, before glancing around, as if she had just remembered something. “By the way, where’s Kallen? Isn’t she usually in on these meetings?”

“She’s in school,” he replied. “We agreed that it was best if we didn’t both appear and disappear on the same days.”

“Ah.” she nodded. “Though, aren’t you worried about her, alone like that? If something were to happen—”

Lelouch shrugged. “Maybe a little. But she can contact us if there is trouble, so she’d be easy to rescue.”

“Ohh, ready to go out on Stallion and save her like a noble prince, is that it?”

“No, that’s not it!” Lelouch glared. “I only meant that Kallen is a valuable part of our organization, and that we can’t lose her.”

“You know,” C.C. sighed, “There’s a lot of people that to you are ‘valuable people’.”

“It’s normal for people to have someone they care about and don’t want to see hurt,” he retorted.

“Yes, normal for most people, you mean, but not for Zero.”

Lelouch could say nothing to that, but merely shrugged. Well, he may be Zero, but he was also human, wasn’t he?

“Let’s see,” C.C. decided to annoy him for a bit. “Of course there’s Nunnally—and then Kallen, and then…maybe that Shirley girl? And who else…your friends at school, and her, and then there’s me, of course.” She smirked back at him, Lelouch only glared, trying to hide the pinkness in his cheeks.

“S-So, what about it? I care about a lot of people.”

“Well, I see you’re not denying any of those, but…” C.C. paused for a minute. “What about Rolo?”

At that moment, the one who was listening outside the room held his breath.

“Why should I give a damn about Rolo?” Lelouch stared at her, unable to comprehend why she would bring him up.

The witch only looked away. So he still didn’t understand… “Yes, of course…silly me…”

It was then that the person outside stopped listening.

“Why should I give a damn about Rolo?” What did he mean by it? It didn’t mean that…no…Nii-san didn’t…He didn’t mean that he didn’t—

No, no! He couldn’t mean that! Rolo ducked into a small room, just in case Lelouch soon left his quarters. He wouldn’t mean that! His brother would never say something like that! Lelouch cared for him, didn’t he? He had said so himself—

Wait.

Wait…A thought came across Rolo. What if he meant…yes, that would make sense. All those people the witch listed were weak—they couldn’t take care of themselves. What if…What if his brother had merely meant that he didn’t need to worry about him…yes, that had to be it. Lelouch had only meant that he knew Rolo could look after himself; that he wasn’t a burden to him.

At once, Rolo’s chest swelled with pride. Of course! He wasn’t a burden, so instead, he was useful to his brother! Lelouch was acknowledging that! How silly of him to think, even for a second, that Lelouch had meant anything else.

A smile came across Rolo’s face at the thought, knowing it now, more than ever, to be true. Lelouch definitely cared about him. He cared so much that he even respected his abilities. He was so lucky to have such a brother, wasn’t he?





“Anyway, I’m going to brief the Black Knights,” Lelouch told C.C., putting on his Zero helmet. “I’ll be back soon.”

“All right,” she nodded. “Bring me some pizza back when you’re done.”

Lelouch chuckled, and then left, black cape flowing behind him.

With nothing else to do, C.C. sighed, and flopped on the couch, holding her Cheese-kun toy. It had only been minutes since Lelouch had left that her cell phone rang.

“Hmm?” the caller i.d. said it was Kallen. What was Kallen doing calling her? What mess did that girl get herself in now?

Answering the phone, C.C. began, “Look, you’re supposed to be in school, don’t they take your phone away if you keep calling like this?”

“Nice to talk to you too, Cera.” Came the answer at the other end of the line. And that person was not Kallen. No…C.C. recognized that voice instantly.

“Hmm, how interesting,” she tried to sound smug and not worried, like she was. “Now how did you get her phone, Kururugi Suzaku? I can’t imagine Kallen willingly handing you her phone to talk to one of her best friends.”

“Hmph. Kallen doesn’t lock her locker when she goes to gym class. Rather lax of someone who’s affiliated with the Black Knights, if you ask me.”

“Oh? So you snuck into the girl’s locker room during her gym class? You’re a naughty boy, Suzaku—”

“Just shut up and listen to me!” Now, that was odd. Suzaku sounded like he was at the end of his rope. And sneaking into a girl’s locker room with the risk of getting caught probably didn’t help, either. “Tonight. Meet me in Shinjuku. Come alone.”

C.C.’s eyes narrowed. Oh, what was this? After all, she remembered that the Britannians were still looking for her, so she proceeded with caution. “You are ordering me around, Kururugi Suzaku? You know that’s not in our contract. How would your superiors feel, I wonder, if thye knew you were trying to order me around like this—”

“You shut up! You will do it, C.C., or I’ll—”

“What, what will you do? Don’t forget that I can’t die. Nothing you can threaten me with will phase me—”

A pause. And then. “There is one thing I can do. Lelouch. You care for him, don’t you, C.C.? All this time, I’ve been ignoring the fact that he comes to school every other day and tries to make himself look oh-so innocent. But no more. If you don’t come tonight C.C.—then I’ll break my silent truce. The next time I see Lelouch, I will drag him away and haul him before the emperor again on suspicion of being Zero. Is that what you want?”

C.C. could say no more. Suzaku had her beat. Even if she pleaded with Lelouch to stay away and hide himself, he would never agree. His pride would be too great, and he would surely challenge Suzaku. And he would lose.

There was absolutely nothing except to answer his request.

“All right. Tell me the place and time, and I will be there.”




“Okay, I’m here.” C.C. answered, as she came across Suzaku that night in the rebuilt Shinjuku. “Now what is it?”

“Did you say anything to Lelouch?” Suzaku demanded, as he came towards her, and she noticed the eyepatch over his left eye.

“Of course not. Now tell me why you called me out here.”

There was a pause, and then slowly, Suzaku reached up and grasped the patch over his left eye. It was lifted off—revealing the demon eye underneath. And not once did CC. look surprised.

“So, your geass evolved, did it?” She rolled her eyes. “I did warn you—”

“Shut up! Tell me—tell me why this happened!”

“I did tell you. It’s because you used it so much—”

“I didn’t use it that much!” Suzaku roared, desperation reflected in his other eye. “Half the time, I didn’t mean to, it just happened! Lelouch has probably used his a hundred times more than mine, so why—”

C.C. sighed. Well, at least Suzaku was curious about the things he didn’t know and she did happen to know. Unlike someone else she knew. “I told you once, it is because your geass is very unstable. It evolves faster than normal, and in a much more painful process.”

“Why is it unstable? Why does it have to—”

“Because,” she cut through his desperate cries. “Your geass was something you weren’t mean to have in the first place.”

He stared at her. What…what did that mean? He wasn’t mean to have it? How did that work?

“Listen to me, Suzaku. In addition to all of this, there is one major reason that all geass evolves. Though geass usually has a symbiotic relationship with its user—the truth is that geass is also waging a battle of wits against the user at the same time. One must have an affinity for the geass, and also a wish so strong that they’d do anything to see it realized. That is how your specific geass is chosen. But while using it…hmm, how do I put this? When you have the geass, you have the power to do both great and terrible things. The geass waits for this. If you use the geass and express no regret for what comes of it, then you have won. However, if you regret it, even for an instant—then you give the geass the chance to evolve. The more regret you feel, then the more and more likely it is to evolve until it does.”

Suzaku stared at her, trying to comprehend it all. “Does that explain it?”

“Sort of…” he answered. “But…is there any way to get rid of it? I don’t want—I don’t need the geass, C.C.! Can’t I just—“

“That regret is the reason it evolved in the first place,” C.C. cut him off. “And no. At one point in time, you wished for the power to grant your wish. You are now stuck with it.”

“But…isn’t there anything I can do? Anything at all? I can’t be stuck like this, C.C.! I’m the Governor-General of Area 11! Someone will notice something if I keep wearing this eyepatch, and if they find out—!”

“Oh, you worry too much,” C.C. rolled her eyes. “I know of where I can get you a special contact, one that can block your geass so you don’t set it off accidentally. If you wish to use the geass, then you must take your contact out of your eye first, since you do need direct eye contact for it to work.”

“Like that will happen.” Suzaku muttered to himself, replacing the eyepatch. “When can I have it?”

“Give me two days, and meet me here again, I’ll have it ready for you. But…I will only do it if you promise not to hand me or Lelouch over like you threatened.”

“Yeah, yeah, sure.” Suzaku was about to leave, but then he thought of something. “So, regret is what makes it grow, huh? Heh…the real Lelouch must really be heartless then.”

“That’s not it,” C.C. glared back. “He’s had a lot to be regretful for…he just doesn’t mull over it all the time like you do.” But… thinking back to recent events, and that person that he now watched over. Maybe, if what I fear comes true…it won’t be long before Lelouch’s evolves as well.




Finally, it was her coffee break for the day. Viletta hated this—this life of a teacher, teaching gym to a bunch of high school brats when she should be out leading the forces of Britannia! If it hadn’t been for the purist’s disgrace last year, if it hadn’t been for Jeremiah’s blunder, then she would still—

She pushed open the door to the break room, and then practically jumped out of her skin. There, standing in front of her, was Lord Jeremiah himself.

“You! What—what are you doing here?” she stammered. And then, a hopeful thought came to her. “You…were you sent by the army? Do they want me back?”

“Nothing of the sort,” Jeremiah silenced her at once. “I came to tell you that this may be the last time we see each other.”

Hmm…his demeanor was different than usual. “Oh really? Why?” she asked leaning up against the faculty fridge.

“Because now, I align myself with the Black Knights.”

Viletta’s mouth dropped open. “You…you what? How—how dare you! You’re a traitor to your own country now, too? Wasn’t it enough that you lost all of our jobs in the first place?”

“I never gave a damn about the Purists in the first place,” Jeremiah glared back, orange eyes deadly serious. “You know why I was there, Viletta.”

“Hmph,” she turned away from him, jerking open the refrigerator door and grabbing herself a drink. “I remember. Looking for the murderer of Lady Marianne, was it?”

“Well, after waiting so many years, I’ve discovered that I might find her murderer by siding with the Black Knights, for now. I waited for 9 years, and found nothing. Though now, I might actually be able to uncover the truth, with his help.”

“His?” Viletta raised an eyebrow. “You mean Zero’s—Lelouch Lamperouge, is that right?”

Two feet stopped dead in front of the slightly ajar door. What?

“No, I mean Lelouch vi Britannia—son of the former Lady Marianne. He wants to find his mother’s murderer as well. By working with him is the only way I will ever uncover the truth, I am sure of it.”

“The truth?” Viletta laughed. “The truth has already been obscured enough. That boy has too many secrets, you know it. Hiding the fact that he was a prince, and now hiding the fact that he’s Zero in order to rescue his sister Nunnally—I think he even got our spy, Rolo on his side too—that kid watches me far too much for it to be anything else. He may even be lying to you now, Jeremiah—and yet you’d still side with him?”

Jeremiah shrugged. “I don’t care about a free Japan or the cause of the Black Knights. I don’t want to see Britannia fall. All I want is a single name—the name of the one who killed Lady Marianne. That is all. After that, I’m finished with him.”

Viletta shrugged. “Very well, suit yourself. I won’t tell anyone I met you here.”

Jeremiah smirked. “Likewise.”

Lord Jeremiah slipped out the window, while Viletta merely sighed, sat down, and continued with her break.

But for the one on the other side of the door, however, things were not so calm.

What…what does this all mean? Lelouch…Lelouch is Zero? How is that possible? How could Lelouch be…?

Slowly, it all washed over her…those memories—her father’s death, how much she hated Zero after that, and then, the day of the Black Rebellion when she had seen—

Yes, she remembered it now, under Zero’s helmet had been Lelouch Lamperouge!

But, how…how…how could all this be happening? If Lelouch was Zero then… Tears formed in her eyes. How…How could this be true?! Why did it have to be Lelouch!

She slumped to the floor, trying to contain herself as the shock hit her at once.
Lelouch…Lelouch was Zero…and if that was true…what else wasn’t real?!

Watching as the redheaded girl slowly descended to tears, V.V. smirked, and then slinked away.




“What?” Suzaku snapped, unable to believe what he was hearing.

“It’s just as I said, Lord Kururugi,” the sly voice of Price Schniezel spoke through the phone. “I am coming to Area 11. There has been enough trouble there lately, and I’ve come to sort it out.”

The Knight of Seven clenched his teeth. “Everything has been perfectly fine here. Trade has increased, the economy is rising, and soon the ghettos will be rebuilt so the Elevens can move back into their homes—”

“Oh, are you forgetting the problem of the Black Knights? It’s that that needs sorting out.”

“We’ve been doing very well with out outside influence. Black Knight supporters are being round up, and those that are found to be cooperating with them are put in prison.”

“Supporters yes, but what about actual members? Have you caught any of them?”

“…A few.”

“A few isn’t enough. I want them all, Kururugi. Down to the last lowly private. Any forms of dissident should be rounded up and put away in order to have a peaceful society, should they not?”

“Well—”

“Therefore, I am coming to Area 11 in order to oversee new advances made against the Black Knights. I trust that you’ll welcome my arrival.”

“Of course,” Suzaku snarled, unable to fake pleasantness. “Though I should remind you, Your Highness—it was the Emperor himself who appointed me governor-general of Japan.”

“And I should remind you Kururugi, that I am a prince of the realm. I believe that in the order of things, Knight of Rounds report to royals, do they not?”

Ohh, he hated that clause. “Of course. How silly of me to forget.”

“Well, I hope you’re not silly by the time I’ll arrive. I’ll be there by tomorrow evening, and I hope you’ll be there personally to welcome me, Lord Kururugi.”

“If His Highness wishes then I will be there. Have a nice flight, then, Prince Schniezel.” He then hung up the phone, perhaps harder than he should have.

The instant his hands were free of that thing, he ran them through his hair, trying to keep himself from screaming in frustration.

Prince Schniezel. Here. Interfering. It wasn’t like he wasn’t perfectly capable of handling Area 11 on his own—he had done it already, and even had time to go to school—sometimes. Besides the problem of the Black Knights, everything in Area 11 was fine so why did that—that bastard have to try to interfere in his territory!

Clenching his fists, Suzaku resolved glaring in the dark of his office. Damnit, if Lelouch hadn’t started his petty rebellion again, then Schniezel would have never dreamed of coming here to Area 11 to change everything he’d worked so hard to create!

It doesn’t matter, he told himself. It doesn’t matter even if he tries to change things—Area 11—no, Japan—is mine, not his to rule!




When Schniezel’s plane landed that day, Suzaku didn’t even try to feign pleasantry. It wouldn’t help anyway—Schniezel would see right through it. As the prince descended the plane, he saw the Knight of Seven standing there with the guards, looking like he very much wished he wasn’t here.

Schniezel could only smirked to himself at that.

Still, Suzaku bowed, as protocol ordered. “Welcome, Your Highness. Did you have a nice flight?”

“A satisfactory one, I guess. But I never really like coming to Area 11 much anyway.”

Good. Then go back now.

They both walked back towards the Area 11 government building. “So tell me, Kururugi, since you were made governor-general of this place, what have you done for it?”

Hmph, you’d know if you looked at any newsstation, Your Highness.

“Well, we’ve managed to stimulate the economy after the small collapse after the Black Rebellion. The Tokyo Settlement is fully rebuilt, and now we are expanding that project to the ghettos in order to give the Elevens a better place to live. If the ghettos are rebuilt, along with places for them to work, then the economy will boost even more, hopefully severely limiting support for dissident groups if the natives are satisfied with their lives—”

“Foolish,” Schniezel cut him off.

“What?” Suzaku glared. Yeah, you just call it foolish, you ungrateful Britannian! I’m working to try and make things better here for everyone and all you people want to do is stuff your own wallet off the blood of the Japanese!

“And how long will it take your little plan to work, two , three years? By then, the Black Knights could have already retaken Area 11! That is why I call it foolish. You need to think of the present, Kururugi, not the far off future. We need to think of how to stop the Black Knights now. I suggest that instead of rebuilding their little city, we round up all the Elevens, and put them into camps, to find out once and for all who is supporting the Black Knights and who isn’t.”

Are you fucking kidding me?!

“Put all the Elevens into camps? We can’t do that! It’d be a massive undertaking, it would be Hell for the State department!”

“Well, it’s probably easier than your little rebuilding plan, isn’t it? Just get a few hundred tents and there you go.”

That bastard! Selfish, stupid Britannian!

“I meant that it’d be Hell for us in other ways. Doing that would only stir up Anti-Britannian sentiment. The point is to make the Elevens tolerate us enough so that they will not support these groups—”

“Frankly, Kururugi,” How was it that Schniezel could be such an asshole and yet skill keep smiling like that? Damn him! “I don’t give a damn whether the Elevens tolerate us or not. I just want results. I want all the Black Knights captured, don’t you understand? I want this war over.”

Suzaku couldn’t take it much longer. “But that’s not the way to go about it! Don’t you even care about the future of the Britannian citizens here, too? Doing this will endanger them as well—”

“Listen here, Kururugi,” Schniezel cut him off, glaring now. “I know how you think. Because you were born a Number, you hold sympathy for the Elevens. But you failed, so swift action must be taken. While I’m here, I’ll also review your position to see if you’re worthy of being governor-general of this state.”

Suzaku could only stare and gape. How dare that man think that just because he was born an Eleven that he was—he was doing it for the good of all people! He was just trying to do what was right! And now that bastard was trying to remove him from office! He’d never let that happen!

“By the way,” Schniezel added, “I’m putting a halt to your little Shinjuku rebuilding project immediately. Building over the area like that might hide rebel hideouts underground. You have to be careful, you know.”

And with that, the suave prince walked to his rooms to rest after that tiring flight.

Suzaku only stood there in the hallway, clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails bit into his palm. No, no! He wouldn’t let this happen. He wouldn’t let that fucking Schniezel el Britannia run his fucking country! All he was doing was making things worse!

He felt that urge—that dark animalistic urge inside him, ordering him, begging him to use that power, the geass—yes, one order from the geass, and Schniezel would see it his way. Schniezel would know that his way was the only way to do things right. Just a few little words and—

No. Suzaku stopped himself, eyes wide at the very thought of it. How could he have thought—use it? Use his power on him? No, he couldn’t do that. His geass had evolved enough already—

And it was wrong. That too. He shouldn’t use his demon power on a prince like him.

Okay, it was wrong, and that’s why he shouldn’t do it, but it didn’t mean he didn’t want to—

Suzaku blinked again. Aww, fuck, what was wrong with him? A few months ago, he wouldn’t have even considered it.

Still…he was right. He was right and he knew it. If he had a power like this…why not use it to get rid of those who would stand in his way?

Because it’s wrong.

Ha! Who was to say what was wrong and what wasn’t in this world?




“And so, citizens of Area 11, today I will be inspecting this country that Lord Kururugi so graciously ruled for us over this past year. I will be reviewing the policies and perhaps making some changes to the system, but rest assured, it’s all for the better. Soon, we will be putting all our resources into capturing the Black Knights—”

Lelouch, in his quarters aboard the Black Knight’s ship, stared at the tv, watching intently. Not that he really cared about Schniezel’s speech—he figured that one of them might show up in Area 11 sometime after he started causing trouble—but because he had noticed something odd about the person that stood next to him.

Suzaku was usually calm, and reserved when he stood and spoke to the people of Area 11, always aware that someone would be reading his emotions. But not now. No, if anyone looked at all at the governor-general of Japan, they would had read him instantly—green eyes glared hatred at the prince speaking, while his hands were balled into fists, hidden under the cape.

Lelouch smirked to himself, amused. Hmm, well, it was to be expected. Suzaku never liked things being taken away from him, after all. And he considered Area 11 his territory. No no no, he wouldn’t like Schniezel meddling in his affairs at all.

The door to his quarters slid open, and Lelouch didn’t bother to get up from his seat—only a few people knew the code to get in here, after all. He had hoped it was Kallen or C.C., to report on how progress was going—

“Ah, Nii-san, what are you watching?”

Oh. It was just Rolo. Lelouch tried not to look disappointed. “Look at that,” he said. “Looks like Prince Schniezel wants to come play in Area 11, too.”

Rolo glanced at the screen. “Is that…is that a problem, Nii-san?”

“Ah, probably, but the plan is far enough along not to worry too much. Actually, I’m more interested in that,” he smirked, glancing at Suzaku again, who now looked like he was trying to contain himself from bursting out in anger. “Poor Suzaku, what will you do now that your country has been taken away from you?” Lelouch chuckled in relish.

Rolo tried to laugh with him, but just couldn’t. Why did his brother care what the governor-general of Japan—their enemy—thought?

“Still, maybe I feel a little sorry for him,” Lelouch mused. “Now that Schniezel has taken this away, maybe he’ll understand what the Elevens truly feel. Maybe he’ll understand how wrong he was now. Maybe he’ll finally see why siding with Britannia means everything you love is taken from you.”

Lelouch continued to watch Suzaku, and Rolo could only stare back at him. It seemed now that Lelouch…almost pitied him? Rolo had only met Kururugi Suzaku a few times, but he didn’t care about him that much to be interested in him now, so why would his brother care—

Rolo froze when he heard the words on his brother’s lips, “Maybe now you’ll understand me.”

What? What did that have to do with anything? Why would his brother care what Suzaku thought of him? Kururugi Suzaku was their enemy! An enemy to be killed! So why—

Rolo continued to stare at Lelouch, looking at his former friend with pitying eyes. And somewhere there, there was sadness…and a longing. A longing to be with that person once more. To be understood. To be friends. To be allies.

But…his brother didn’t need Kururugi Suzaku! He had him, didn’t he? Why would he need him?

No…

A pang echoed in Rolo’s heart. It couldn’t be…it couldn’t be that—

“Sorry, just a moment,” Schniezel’s voice cut through both of their thoughts. “It seems we’ve just received word that someone has found the location of the Black Knights’ supplies for an attack on Area 11. We will launch our attack now.”

Lelouch stood up abruptly, eyes wide. “Shit!” he cried, grabbing his Zero helmet and darting out the door to alert the Black Knights.

Rolo was about to follow him, ready to take orders, but he paused, watching the rest of the broadcast as he heard Kururugi Suzaku cry out. “Your Highness,” Suzaku burst out, not even caring that they were being taped. “I did not authorize—”

“It doesn’t matter, Kururugi, I authorized it for you,” Schniezel smiled widely, making a harsh snarl forming on the governor-general’s face. “Now, don’t worry, all will be taken care of. Though, I suggest you get to your knightmare at once.”

“Your Highness—”

“Didn’t you hear me, Kururugi? I said get to your knightmare.” He was no longer smiling.

Though anger boiled up in Suzaku, and for a second, he felt like bursting out in rage, but he was on camera. He would have no other choice. “Yes…My Lord.” He spoke, and without bowing, turned his back on the prince.

This situation was getting worse all the time…and with nothing to be done about it!





Warning sirens echoed in the air as all Britannians were evacuated from the harbor as the Britanninan knightmares closed in, except for one person.

Ducking through the alleyways, Shirley ran towards the harbor, knowing she had no other alternative.

She couldn’t ask Lelouch at school. He’d lie to her again, like he lied to her all this time. She’d have to see it for herself. She’d have to see if this Zero—the one who had killed her father—really was Lelouch.

She didn’t see the harbor yet, but she could already hear knightmares zooming about, shots being fired. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, one thought in her mind—I have to see, I have to know! Lulu, are you Zero?

Finally, down an alleyway and she came to the harbor. The docks and warehouses were already a battlefield, as several Black Knight knightmares emerged from boarded up factories. Planes flew overhead, dropping more knightmares on the scene, and she covered her ears as the sound of the shots and explosions grew louder and louder.

Got to find Zero, got to find Zero!

But where was he?

A large, black knightmare emerged from the sea. It was the Shinkiro—the newest model created for Zero personally. It was a true commander’s knightmare—a two seater, for Zero and his accomplice, C.C.

“Group 1, cut them off before they can land! Shoot the planes if you have to!” Zero roared into the communicator. “Do not let them get the supplies at all costs! Group 3, it’s your job to move it out of the warehouse and back to base! Group 2 will cover you!”

More and more Black Knights emerged as the battle continued, with many rushing the Britannians as they continued to land.

“Hurry, get the supplies and then get out of there! Retreat—!” The knightmare turned slightly, just so the angle could be perfected, when Lelouch fell silent.

No. This can’t be…

Shirley. He didn’t know why, but she was there—hiding in an alleyway between two warehouses. Two of the warehouses where they had stored their supplies. If anyone saw her, a Britannian watching, they’d shoot her on sight!

Shit! He couldn’t let her be there, but…what was he going to do! He couldn’t tell her he was Lelouch and get her out of there…no, wait, if he was Zero, wasn’t it Zero’s job to rescue the weak, be they Britannian or Japanese? Yes, that was it, as Zero, he’d take her to safety, saying he didn’t want the innocent caught up in this, yes, that would work, now, to pull it off, how could he do it…

Shutting off the communicator, he said, “C.C., take over!”

“What?” she stared, “What are you doing?!”

“I’ll be back soon, just make sure nothing happens until I’m back!” He opened the hatch, and though the witch called back to him, he didn’t hear her. He dropped on the ground and took off in a run, something a bit hard for him, but he didn’t care.

He had to get her—stupid girl!—to safety, no matter what. He didn’t want to lose anyone else!

There she was! It was a good thing that all the fighting was between knightmares, and no one bothered to look at the ground, or they would have seen easy prey.

He came to the back of the alleyway, and ran for her, she barely had a chance to turn as he grabbed her.

She screamed. “Zero!”

“Shh, shh, be quiet!” he shot back at her, realizing how ridiculous that sounded in Zero’s voice. “Er…you shouldn’t be around a battlefield like this! I’ll let you go free, but you could be killed or captured if you keep wandering around dangerous places—”

“I don’t care about that!” she yelled. “I came here because I wanted to meet you, Zero!”

Huh? Meet…him?

“Now tell me, once and for all—Are you really—?”

She never got to finish. Whether a Black Knight had spotted her or a Britannina had spotted him, he didn’t know. But at once they were fired upon, the blast hitting him from behind. Lelouch felt himself flying through the air, landing hard on the ground. Something came lose. Maybe it was his mask, he didn’t know—he felt the cold ground beneath him and then, fell unconscious.

Shirley had been blasted back too, but she didn’t take it as hard as he did. Looking beside her, she saw the once-proud Zero lying motionless on the ground, broken mask having slid off.

His hair was jet black.

She felt the bile rise up in her throat. No…was it really?

Sucking in a breath and preparing herself, she crawled over, to look at his face—

It was him.

She shrunk back in shock, hardly able to comprehend it. So…it was all true! Lelouch…he really was Zero! He was the one that had killed her father! It was all as she had remembered it that day, when his mask had been shot off!

But…why? Why was he Zero? Why didn’t he ever—

Another blast, this time coming to hit her. She saw it—a ball of fire aimed straight at her, and then she knew nothing.

That second hit was enough to shake Lelouch from it. Coughing, he managed to lift himself, muscles aching all over. Well, his mask was gone, but he’d figure out what to do about that later. “Shirley?” he asked, and then looked up to see her lying several feet away from him—covered in blood.

“Shirley!” he cried, running towards her, holding her in his arms. “No, Shirley, please don’t be—”

She wasn’t breathing, but…a pulse! He could feel it! She was still alive! But what to do…CPR, that, right, and…He grabbed his phone. He didn’t even care if he sounded suspicious as he dialed 911. “Hurry, quickly, there’s someone—a civilian—she’s injured at the docks! Yes, hurry, she’s still alive, but she’s not breathing! I—” He switched his phone off the instant they asked for a name, and called the second person he could think of.

“C.C.! Get over here, now! I need you—I don’t care! C.C., please!”

Lelouch continued to yell in desperation, attempting to perform CPR until Shinkiro descended upon the scene. Not that far away, Rolo watched, violet eyes narrowed, glaring in hatred.





Her lungs had been punctured by the blast. That’s what he was told. She needed a machine to breathe, for now. Shrapnel had wounded her all over—she was lucky to still be alive.

But she was that—alive.

Lelouch sighed, as he leaned against a chair in the hospital waiting room. Alive. She was alive. Right now, that was the greatest news he had ever heard.

Rolo sat emotionlessly beside him, playing lazily with that little heart-shaped keychain on his phone. He didn’t see what was so great about one girl being alive, but whatever.

A voice cut through both of their thoughts, “Lelouch Lamperouge?” Lelouch turned, to see a doctor there.

“She’s asking to talk to you.”

Lelouch stood up, and asked, “Is she…okay to talk?”

“She’s conscious, and we’ve got a respirator on her, so she’ll be able to speak. But try not to get her too upset. We don’t want anything interfering with the respirator, since she needs that thing to breathe, understand.”

Lelouch nodded, and followed the doctor into the room.

There she was—lying on the hospital bed, bandaged all over, hooked up to so many tubes—there was even a tube inserted into her throat, and then he heard the soft beep, beep of all the machines—much like the machines back on the sub that kept her alive.

“Lulu…” Shirley said as she saw him, looking as if she was almost unable to believe he was really there.

“Shirley,” he said, sitting at her bedside, almost unable to look at her in this state. “Why did you do it? Why did you have to go there! You could have been killed! You almost were!”

“Because, I had to know,” she answered, taking a deep, raspy breath. “Lulu…you’re Zero, aren’t you?”

Lelouch paused, violet eyes wide. During the pause, Rolo rolled his eyes, and sat in a corner of the room, forgotten.

She had already been hurt. He couldn’t afford to lie to her anymore. “Yes…” he finally spoke. “I’m Zero.”

She let out a breath. “I knew it. But…Lulu…did you…” she paused. “Did you really kill my father?”

He nodded, averting his eyes. “It’s true, all of it…I’ve done many things, and I can’t be forgiven for what I’ve done. But even so…even if it’s painful, I have to do it. I have to create a better world.”

Shirley sighed, and leaned back against the pillows. “I won’t ask you your reasons…I know if it’s you, they must be good ones. And…when I get better, I won’t turn away.”

Lelouch stared, “When…?”

“Mother wants to send me to Britannia to recover.” She told him. “It might take me a while to recover, but when I do, I’ll come back here. Lulu…I know being Zero must be a heavy burden, but…when I get back, I’ll support you, no matter what.”

“Shirley…”

Rolo glanced up, and then turned away. Lelouch was giving the girl a grateful sort of smile. He only gave that smile to two other people, Kallen and C.C.. And even though he had done for him more than all of them, he had never given him that smile.

Shirley coughed. “Are you all right?” Lelouch asked.

“Yeah,” she tried to smile it off. “Just…could you get me some water? It kind of hurts, you know, with this thing—”

“Of course,” he sait at once, getting up to go get some.

As soon as he left the room, Rolo rose from his chair, to stand in front of her bed. She noticed him and, when she stopped coughing, she asked, “Oh, you’re here too, huh?”

“Nii-san takes me everywhere,” Rolo spoke up. “I will always follow him.”

“But, you’re not his real sibling,” Shirley said at once. “I remember now—his real sibling is Nunnally! So, what are you?”

Violet eyes narrowed. “So, you beat the geass. For him, huh?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I know that you’re not supposed to be here. So what are you? Are you just pretending to be his brother? Are you trying to hurt him?”

“I wouldn’t dare hurt Nii-san! Nii-san is the most important person to me!”

“Liar! If you knew that, then you’d try to reunite him with Nunnally! What did you do to her, if you hurt her, then I’ll—”

“What?” Rolo couldn’t help himself, he laughed. “What will you do, in a bed like that? You can do nothing!”

“Still, if you’re planning on hurting him, I’ll do something! I’ll expose you for the fake you are! I’ll make sure Lulu knows the truth! I’ll help him get Nunnally back! I’d risk everything to keep a replacement like you from—”

She was cut off as Rolo grabbed her collar and wrenched her forward, drawing the knife in his belt. She stopped, staring down at the point as it was narrowed at her throat, right below her breathing tube.

Fire crackled in Rolo’s violet eyes, rage urging him to do it, to do it now, get rid for this girl that was taking Lelouch away from him and threatening to keep him away from his brother—yes, get rid of her, get rid of the interference and—

He heard footsteps. Lelouch was coming back. Rolo released her at once, and was back at the other side of the room as his brother came in, carrying a cup of water. “The nurse told us visiting hours are over, so we have to go now.”

“Of—of course.” Shirley tried not to seem too shaken up. “Thanks for visiting me.”

“No problem,” Lelouch smiled for her, and then motioned for Rolo to follow him out.

But Rolo did not follow right away, he lagged behind, to glare at the girl in the bed. He knew he couldn’t lose control again—this was a hospital after all, but…

The fire crackled in his eyes once more.

He walked over to the other side of her bed, by the machines that kept her alive.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Shirley demanded, “What—”

She knew what he was doing the second she heard a plug being pulled—the one hooked up to her respirator.

Rolo emerged, glaring down at her, plug in hand.

In an instant, her hand flew to her throat, as she tried to breathe, and couldn’t. She tried again, taking a raspy breath, but her lungs felt so empty, squeezing and desperate for air. No…wait!

Her cheeks flushed red as she gasped again, but she couldn’t…tears were in her eyes, on her cheeks, as the boy dropped the plug lazily on the floor and walked out, as the warning beep on her monitor flared behind him.

He could hear her struggling. breathless screams behind him, as he slid open the door and walked out, while nurses raced in.

Finally, finally that stupid girl had been shut up.





“So, Shirley’s going back to Britannia,” Lelouch spoke as they left the hospital. Clearly he hadn’t heard of the little “mishap”.

“Yeah,” Rolo muttered, uncaring. At least he had gotten his point across to her.

“Well, at least she’ll be safe there.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Still, that leaves only one person—”

No, don’t, don’t say it—!

“What am I going to do about Nunnally?”

The fire crackled in the young boy’s eyes once again.





“So, what story do you want to read now, Nunnally?” Alice asked, as she sat by Nunnally in the princess’s room.

“Hmm, what about that one about the princess and the pea? I like that one—”

Before Nunnally had a chance to finisd her sentence, the door burst open. In came several guards—and V.V.

“What is the meaning of this?” Alice asked, stepping forward. “You shouldn’t disturb Princess Nunnally when she’s—”

“This doesn’t concern you,” V.V. cut the girl off, stepping closer to the princess. “Finally, finally, I know what’s been going on.”

“What do you mean you’ve—” But V.V. strode past Alice, stepping closer to Nunnally.

“Now Princess Nunnally, it’s time that you and I have a chat.”

“Like hell you will!” Alice grabbed the small knife at her belt, lunging for V.V. “Get your filthy hands off her!”

A gunshot rang out. “Ah—!” was the only cry from Alice as she fell to the ground, unable to protect her princess anymore.

“Alice!” Nunnally screamed in terror—and then her screams changed, to ones of pain. She clutched her head, falling limply to the ground.

When she got up, her purple eyes were open for the first time in nine years—and there were red rings around them.

V.V. smirked, glaring down at the girl on the ground. “It’s been a while, Marianne. Who knew you’d decide to hide in Nunnally?”

It was Nunnally’s voice—but it was Nunnally no more. “I had to do what was necessary.”

“Still, you even fooled us. But no more of this foolishness. You know, Charles has missed you. He missed you so much that he—”

“I know what he’s done; I helped plan it!” Mairanne spat, trying to shrink away and finding it hard with Nunnally’s limp legs. “But you two betrayed me, and now you’re going so far to use my children in ways that I never—”

“Enough of that, Marianne, we’ll have plenty of time to talk later,” V.V. smirked. “For now, we need to clean up this mess. You there,” V.V. ordered a guard. “Take her to the dungeons, and keep her under surveillance!”

As Marianne was being carried away, V.V. smirked. “Now, then, now that this has been taken care of—now it’s time to take care of Lelouch.”



Chapter 13 here

Meh, Shirley got spared because I didn't feel like waving the deathstick today. But also because I guess in the real series, that was the OMGSHOCKROLOMUSTDIE moment, wheras I'm saving that for something later.

Also, god I love angry Suzaku. <3