2008-11-11 01:38![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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code_geass
inulovinkit.livejournal.com in code_geassIf you like LOTS of SuzaEuphie, and jealous!Lelouch, then this is the chapter for you. :3
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: LelouchxC.C., (LOTS OF IT IN THIS CHAPTER!)SuzaEuphie, (implied) Suzalulu
summary: So, what would have happened if Suzaku had received the Geass in Stage 1 instead of Lelouch? MOAR ANGST, is what!
Chapter 1 here.
Euphie is so a stalker. You know it to be true. "Oh, I think I'll jump out of a window when a hot looking Eleven comes by..." PFFFFT.
Oh, and does anyone actually read this story anymore? XD I seem to hear the crickets chirping more and more often lately...
“So, what do you think?”
“This…this is incredible! It’s not nothing I’ve ever—”
“Hmm, that’s what a lot of people say, giggled the blue-haired woman. “At least, those who’ve never piloted a knightmare before.”
“And for someone who’s never piloted one before, you’re surprisingly good at it,” chuckled the man beside her. “Only a few practice trials, and you’re already at 85% efficiency! Are you some kind of quick learner or something?”
“Something like that,” Suzaku laughed, as he stepped out of the knightmare simulator. “But Lloyd-san, will the new knightmare be like the simulator?”
“Hmm…,” the man called Lloyd thought a moment. “Well, in basic controls, it’s pretty much the same, but there are few extra functions that are different. The Lancelot is a 7th generation knightmare frame, so of course it will be a little different than the Sutherland simulator.”
“It should be finished and ready for test runs within a week,” the other woman, Cecile, told him. “We’re just putting on the finishing touches right now.”
“Yes, we’ll be needing you a lot more often after that, Warrant Officer Kururugi,” Lloyd chuckled. “You won’t be getting any long breaks from us, mind you.”
“That’s all right,” Suzaku nodded. “I’m grateful that I was chosen for this duty, Lloyd-san. If it wasn’t for your kindness—”
The scientist laughed that silly laugh of his. “No need to cry about it. And you can thank Her Highness Cornelia for this. She doesn’t usually approve of giving such positions to former Elevens, but, well, you did save Her Highness Euphemia’s life and all…”
Ah, Euphie…that strange girl he had saved back then…only to find out soon afterward who she really was. Princess Euphemia. Princess Euphemia li Britannia. 3rd Princess of the Britannian Empire.
And it was rightly done that her rescue was kept under wraps. After all, the very idea than an Eleven—even if an Honorary Britannian—had rescued one of the highest Britannian princesses was something that the die-hard purists could barely handle. And if the Elevens ever found out—well, they would start getting ideas, as some of the Purists had put it. Ideas that perhaps they were above the system, when it wasn’t true. Only those few “exceptions” could rise above the system that had been stable for seven years.
And now, Kururugi Suzaku was one of those “exceptions”. But that was as far as anyone expected him to go. They thought he would take his small position and be happy with it. They didn’t know of his higher ambitions—didn’t know what he had promised to himself that he would succeed.
But now, even with his promotion to the lower knighthood, that goal seemed almost even more unattainable. Suzaku had been briefed upon what his new job contained. He would be a test pilot for the new generation knightmare frames that this Lloyd Asplund had developed. But he was to be kept strictly out of combat except for emergency situations. The army didn’t want to promote the rising of status for Elevens, after all.
So now, even with this new promotion, he was shifted towards the side, to be forgotten. So much for the quick rise to fame like had thought.
And also, now, it would be even harder to see Euphie again…and to thank her for what she did for him…
“Well, Suzaku-kun, I think that’s it for today,” Lloyd told him. “Be sure to come bright and early tomorrow for the next couple of tests. We’ll be trying to get the new simulator online so you can see how well you pilot the 7th generation knightmare frame next!”
Picking up his bag, Suzaku laughed, “Well, you’ll have to call my school then to get them to let me off for the day—they’re pretty strict about skipping class.”
“That’s right, you go to Ashford Academy, don’t you?” Cecile, smiled. “That’s such a nice school, right Lloyd-san?” she spoke with a warning note in her voice.
Something about that tone of voice seemed to scare Lloyd just a little bit. “Of…of course! Such a wonderful school filled with wonderful students…”
Suzaku stared, not getting it. Well, maybe it was just a quirk of theirs.
“But don’t worry about it,” Cecile assured him. “We’ll call your school tonight.”
“Thanks,” he told them, walking out of the lab, and stepping out into the sunlight. Giving a small stretch, Suzaku thought, It’s still early…I guess I could stop back by the barracks before going to meet Lelouch like I promised…
However, as he took another step, Suzaku suddenly felt that familiar feeling up his spine…a feeling like someone was watching him. Alarmed, he suddenly turned around, seeing something move in the shadows. Following his instincts, he charged and grabbed the would-be assailant sharply by the arm.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Suzaku stopped dead. He knew that voice. He let go at once as Princess Euphemia herself, dressed in normal clothes, stumbled back.
“Euphie—P-Princess Euphemia!” he gasped, falling to his knees at once. “I’m terribly sorry, please forgive me Your Highness, I did not know—”
“It—it’s all right Suzaku,” Euphie told him, regaining her balance. “You just gave me a scare, that’s all.”
“But…Euphie…” he said, slowly standing up once he knew it was okay. “What are you doing here? Does Princess Cornelia know—”
Euphie folded her arms, “Hmph, I found a way to ditch my bodyguards. Onee-sama won’t let me out of their sight for a second now.”
“Well, she does have that right,” Suzaku scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Besides, you almost died back there, I’m sure she’s just worried about you.”
“That was just a bit of bad luck,” Euphie pouted. “I’m perfectly fine on my own, anyway. Not many people here know who I am, so it’s all right for me to walk on my own once in a while.”
“I guess that’s frustrating…” Wait…why was she here anyway? “So…Euphie…why did you come here? I mean, if you’re going to walk on your own, there’s more interesting places to go—”
“But this was the first place I wanted to go,” Euphie smiled. “It’s been two weeks since the accident, and I haven’t seen you since then…”
“Well, you had to recover—”
“I fully recovered a week ago.”
“And I’ve had my duties, you know…and I’m sure you’ve had a lot to do, too.”
“Not really,” Euphie sighed. “It’s like Onee-sama thinks if I even get too near a stack of papers or pile of official reports, I’ll end up like I was again. It doesn’t make any sense—after all, once she’s got the Black Knights sorted out and Area 11 is peaceful again, she’ll be leaving.”
“Aha, yeah…” Suzaku scratched the back of his neck nervously once more. If anyone ever found out his full relationship with the Black Knights…well, he suspected that even Euphie wouldn’t be that forgiving.
“But like I said, once she leaves, I am going to be the next Governor-General. Why is she trying to keep me from my duties now if I’m going to have to perform them later?”
“She’s just trying to protect you, like any older sibling would do towards their little sister.” Suzaku thought of Lelouch for a moment…and then the fact that he was supposed to meet Lelouch soon flared up in his mind.
“Listen, Euphie, anyway, shouldn’t you be getting back to the Government building soon? I’m sure Her Highness Cornelia will be looking for you soon.”
Euphie suddenly looked nervous. “Actually, Suzaku, I came because I have something to say to you.”
He stared. “Really? What—”
“I…I wanted to say Thank You…for saving my life, I mean. If you hadn’t been there, then I—”
“Ah, it was nothing…” Why was he blushing? “I’m in the army; it’s my job, after all.”
“But didn’t you say before…that you didn’t rescue me because you were in the army, but because you wanted to?”
“Well…” He did, didn’t he?
Euphie giggled at his flushed face. “It’s all right. I appreciate the thought anyway, Kururugi Suzaku.”
“Anyway…” Now he was really nervous. “Shouldn’t you be getting back soon? I mean, it was nice seeing you and all, Euphie, but—”
She shook her head, pink hair sparkling in the sunlight. “Hmm, I don’t really feel like going back right now.”
“You…don’t?”
“Nope. I’d like a little walk through the settlement, if you don’t mind. I haven’t seen it at all since I came here…”
“You…you would?”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “And it would be nice, you know…if I could have an escort along the way…just to make sure I stay out of trouble and all…”
“Well…” He did have to meet with Lelouch…they had plans for the next operation, but…
Suzaku smiled. “I guess I could show you around.”
“Okay!” And with that, Euphie grabbed onto his arm, pulling him away.
“Hey, wait!”
“Come on!” she smiled back. “I want to see everything!”
Suzaku stared. She surely was an excitable one, but…maybe that was a good thing…
“So, they still serve Japanese food here?”
“In some places. I guess the Britannians like a taste of something exotic every once in a while,” Suzaku explained, as they passed a noodle shop. “Most of the old delicacies are hard to find, but the noodle shops are still open—and they aren’t bad.”
“Hmm…Suzaku, what’s this?” Euphie asked, pointing to an item on the menu posted outside of the shop door.
“Oh, that?” he gave a small chuckle. “Sushi. It’s a really old dish. Basically, you take a fish, and wrap in raw in almost anything, and you eat it with—”
“Ewww!” Euphie looked horrified. “You really eat it without cooking it? That’s disgusting!”
“That’s what a lot of foreigners say,” Suzaku laughed. “But it really is good. And they usually boil it for a bit to get rid of any impurities, but they won’t tell you that. It’s pretty safe to eat, actually. You should try some sometime.”
“Maybe…but only if you’ll try the black pudding like I told you about.”
“Now that’s gross.”
They were walking down one of the streets in the settlement, casually chatting, Suzaku having long forgotten about his meeting with Lelouch. As they were talking, they passed a couple of rough looking guys—who noticed Euphemia first.
“Well, look what we have here,” one of them said, staring at her. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be walking around with a guy like that.”
Suzaku’s eyes narrowed. He could smell it already; drunks. “Come on,” he told Euphie, turning her away, but the two just wouldn’t let them go.
“Hey, come on,” the other said, stepping in front of their path. “Really, a nice girl like you shouldn’t have to lean on an Eleven like that. There are much nicer Britannian guys who’d be happy to show you around.”
Euphie’s eyes narrowed. “Thank you, but I’m fine with Suzaku.”
“ ‘Suzaku’? Ha!” the taller of the two laughed. “You mean that kid who killed Prince Clovis? He’s a dangerous kid! Now, if you’re looking for danger, we could show you a lot more than—” The man took one move towards her, reaching for her arm, and that was when it happened.
Suzaku charged towards the man, grabbing him by his own arm and throwing him back. Startled, the man feel down on the street, while the other stared. “Damn you, kid!” the other charged, but was no match for Suzaku. Suzaku delivered one quick kick to the gut, and the other fell down, joining his friend.
“Suzaku…” Euphie gasped as he stood protecting her, the second time he had saved her.
The threat was over. Suzaku should have calmed down, but something…something inside demanded that these men pay. Without hardly thinking, the geass in his left eye lit up. “How dare you insult Her Highness Euphiemia li Britannia!” he roared. “Men like you don’t deserve leniency!”
The red glow came to both men’s eyes as Suzaku blinked. The order was cast. And he didn’t even care.
Timidly, both men got to their feet, looks of remorse upon their face. “Yes…we…we’re sorry, Your Highness…” they both bowed deeply. “We deserve punishment for our disrespect…we deserve the harshest…”
“No, no, it’s…” Euphie started, but Suzaku stopped her.
“Come on, Euphie, it doesn’t matter,” he told her. “Let’s just go…”
“But…”
“They’ve apologized, that’s enough,” he told her, as he led her away. Secretly hoping she didn’t figure out what he had done…and what he didn’t feel sorry for.
As he walked away, Suzaku was sure that those two men would soon turn themselves into the authorities. A few days in prison and then community service was the charge for minor disrespect to a royal. And Suzaku was surely going to look into that later to make sure their punishment was given.
Dark was coming fast in the sky when Suzaku finally made it back to Ashford Academy, though he promised to be there hours before. After making sure Euphie was alright, he had to take her back to the government building, and only then could he head back to Ashford. He had to make sure she was alright, after all.
And, after she had gone back, she had mentioned something about seeing him again…
Stepping into the clubhouse, Suzaku saw that Lelouch wasn’t in the main room. Hmm…well, he probably had gone back up to his bedroom, so there was no reason to sit around.
As Suzaku walked up the stairs and turned in the hallway, he managed to bump into someone he hadn’t seen in a while. “Oh! C.C….you’re still here?”
“I have nowhere else to go,” the green haired witch spoke. “And Lelouch puts up with me.”
“I…see…”
“He’s upset, you know.” She spoke at once. “That you didn’t come when you promised.”
“Well, I had other—”
“But you did promise,” her golden eyes seemed to go right through him.
Suzaku sighed. “Yeah…I did.”
C.C. seemed satisfied, and looked as if she was about to walk away, but then stopped, starting straight back at him. “…What?”
Coming closer, she stared at his left eye. “Did you use your geass recently?”
Suzaku gulped. Why did she have to be able to tell? “…Maybe…”
“Hm, I thought so.” She stepped back, a serious look on her face. “You know, after observing your geass, I really should warn you—”
“Warn me of what?”
“Be careful. Your geass is powerful, Suzaku. Almost too powerful…you need to be careful when using it.”
Annoyed, he tried to walk past her. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind—”
“I mean it,” she cut him off. “Your geass is too powerful, Suzaku…which means it is likely to be unstable. Nothing may ever happen, but you need to be prepared. If you’re geass were to be used too much, it is likely to get out of control—”
“I don’t plan on using it that much,” he turned back to tell her. “It’s just…I’ll use it only if I have to. I don’t want to depend on it where it becomes a crutch. But I won’t let it get out of control, understand me?” With that, he marched off angrily.
C.C. sighed. “I did warn you…”
Suzaku knocked on Lelouch’s door. No answer. After a moment, Suzaku sighed, and marched in.
Lelouch was there, seated at his computer chair. He acted as if he didn’t hear Suzaku.
“Lelouch,” Suzaku began, not knowing quite how to begin. “Look…I’m sorry I came late…I had some…unfinished business to attend to—”
“Unfinished business like seeing Princess Euphemia around the town?” Lelouch accused nastily.
“Wait…how did you…?”
Lelouch turned around in his computer chair, pointing to something on the screen. A website labeled “Royal Gossip” had a new headline entry—“Princess Euphemia Seen in Area 11 At Last!”—with pictures. Lots of them. Pictures of Euphie and Suzaku as they walked through the mall, pictures of them down the streets of the settlement—and even pictures of the little scene outside the noddle shop! A hidden photographer must have followed them through the whole time! How did he not notice?
Thankfully, though, the article did not name him. From the angle of the photos, he was unrecognizable, anyway. But not unrecognizable to the person sitting in front of him.
Suzaku tried to explain—“Euphie came and found me at the lab. She said she wanted to see the settlement…I mean, she doesn’t get out much, so I figured I might as well—”
“What? Might as well what?” Lelouch demanded. “Might as well try to win the hand of the princess as well as becoming the loyal knight?”
Damnit, why did he have to blush at the most inappropriate times? “You…you’re out of your mind! I just extended a courtesy, I didn’t mean—”
“Sure you didn’t.”
“Le—Lelouch! I just—”
“We agreed that I would help you on your way to glory, Suzaku. Are you telling me you want me to help you try to romance my little sister as well as that? Is that what you want?”
“That’s not what I want!” Suzaku snapped. “What happened today is irrelevant to any of this! I probably won’t ever see Euphie again, thanks to your other sister Cornelia! Besides, you’re not mad because of Euphie, you’re just mad because I missed this little meeting and put someone ahead of you for once!”
Lelouch still boiled with rage—and now he raged even more knowing that Suzaku understood nothing! Ha! You think that’s it, Suzaku! You really don’t understand me at all! How dare you suggest that—
But…Even though he wished he could vent it all here, yell at Suzaku exactly why he was mad and why Suzaku need to listen to him for once…no, it wouldn’t help. Last time something like this happened, Suzaku had stormed out on him. He couldn’t have that again. Sighing, Lelouch slumped down to sit on the bed. “Look…it doesn’t…let’s not talk about this anymore…we have plans to go over.”
“Right.” Though Suzaku still kept that angry glare on his face, he sat down in the chair as Lelouch began explaining the next mission.
“The Black Knights have some new intelligence about an operation by Cornelia to take place in Narita, and now that you can pilot a knightmare frame, it will be a lot easier. The Black Knights will have a surprise attack, aided by the landslide we will create—”
“Lelouch, this landslide—” Suzaku cut in, “I understand it will cost the lives of soldiers. I am prepared for that. But you’re planning it on a mountain near a major city. If the city isn’t evacuated—”
“If the Britannians care at all about their citizens, they will evacuate Narita on that day,” Lelouch assured him. “And I’ve calculated, to a degree, the displacement of this landslide. It should only extend a few feet into the town, if my predictions are correct. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Hmph,” Suzaku thought, leaning back. He wasn’t so sure about this…
“Anyway, the Black Knights will attempt to capture Cornelia. With no other units able to get to her, you will be the only hope. Convince them to send you out, come to her aid, and chase us away. Victory will be yours.”
“What about that new knightmare frame on your side? The one that Kallen’s piloting?”
“Oh, the Guren? Don’t worry too much about it; she’s a skilled pilot, but if what you tell me about the Lancelot is true, then you’ll be about evenly matched—I’ll tell her to back off eventually, so we can make our retreat. You save Cornelia, and then you’ll have another honor to your name. Cornelia won’t be able to refuse giving you that honor now.”
But Narita wasn’t quite as planned.
“Lelouch!” Suzaku roared over the special transmission he had smuggled into the Lancelot. “You said the landslide wouldn’t hurt innocent civilians!”
“It wasn’t supposed to, Suzaku! I must have miscalculated—”
“How can you say something like that! A miscalculation still costs innocent lives!”
“Suzaku! Don’t worry about that now! The mission, don’t you forget—”
“How can I forget, damnit!” he continued to roar as the Lancelot sped across the landscape. “It was because of this damn mission that I let you do this!”
Turning a bend, Suzaku came upon them; Princess Cornelia’s knightmare was on its last leg as she was surrounded by the Black Knights. Shutting off the transmitter Suzaku had been talking to Lelouch on, he charged; fueled by his rage at what he had just seen his best friend do for his sake.
“You again!” That new knightmare—the Guren—charged towards him.
But Suzaku wasn’t to be stopped. So full of anger, he hit her once—and nearly knocked her off balance.
“What the—this guy is strong!” Kallen called back. “Zero, what do we—”
“Hold him off, Karen,” Lelouch told her. “While we make our escape.”
“Right!” And charging, the Guren fought back, slashing away and the Lancelot while the other knightmares crowded around Cornelia.
“Oh no you don’t!” Suzaku roared, backing up to protect the princess while loading the VARIS. One shot—that was all he needed. One shot while Kallen was on the edge of the cliff. Her Radiation Wave blocked it, but the force was too great—and forced the earth to crumble and her to fall off the cliff.
“Karen!” Ougi yelled, as the other Burai crowded around.
“She’s all right!” Zero yelled over the transmission. “But we’ve lost our best fighter…The other Glaston Knights will be here soon…Damnit…We’ll have to retreat for now…”
“But, Zero…”
“I said retreat!” he yelled back. “Or would you rather all of us were captured here and our crusade ended like this!”
No more words were spoken, as the Black Knights scattered in all directions. Suzaku made the Lancelot kneel down towards Cornelia. “Your Highness.”
“Don’t mind me! Go after Zero!”
“What?” After Zero? But that wasn’t—!
“Did you hear me, Kururugi! That’s an order! Capture Zero!”
Capture…Zero…Capture…Lelouch…An order from Her Highness Cornelia…Swallowing, Suzaku said, “Very well.” And turned, speeding off to where Lelouch had retreated.
Lancelot was faster than any knightmare the Black Knights had, save Guren. It was easy to catch up to him.
The transmitter was off—if it had been on, Suzaku was sure he would have heard Lelouch yelling at him to follow the mission once again.
The mission…Hell with that!
One fire with the VARIS was enough to cripple the Knightmare. The Burai fell, unable to move anymore. Suzaku stopped and, eyes narrowed, pointed the gun directly at the cockpit—towards Zero.
“Zero,” he said over the outside communicator. “Get out of there. Now.”
“Suzaku…” Lelouch had turned out his outside communicator as well.
“Did you hear me, Zero?” Suzaku threatened. “I said out.”
It was only a second before the back of the Burai opened, and out stepped Lelouch—Zero. He kept his helmet on.
After all, what if someone else were to see?
“What is this about, Suzaku?” Lelouch growled under the mask of Zero. “A change of mind?”
“More like a change of heart,” Suzaku glared, stepping out of the cockpit of the Lancelot as well, his own gun pointed directly at him. “Lelouch…you told me the mission wouldn’t hurt any innocent civilians. You promised me.”
“It was a calculation,” he explained. “Miscalculations happen. When they do, you have to suck it up and get over it.”
“Well, I won’t!” Suzaku yelled, as he walked towards him. “I’ve had enough trouble dealing with what I’ve been doing with you to help myself, but enough is enough! I won’t be an active participant in terrorism!”
“Idiot! That’s what you’ve been doing all along! Every time you went along with the little missions and allowed us to escape, you participated in it! Isn’t that the Britannian law? Allowing terrorism is the same as doing it!”
“Well, screw that! I’m finished!”
Even while dressed as the mighty Zero, Lelouch stepped back, “Finished…?”
“That’s right, I’m done with this! I made my own way—I saved Euphie, and now I saved Cornelia—any more promotions I can get, I will get myself!”
“So, is that it, then? You will get another promotion by turning me in, right?”
“Do you really think I’m like that?” Glared Suzaku. “Like you?” He lowered his gun. “I won’t do anything of the sort. But—Lelouch, if you continue to do things like…like this…then I will be forced to become your enemy.”
He could see Lelouch’s fingers clench in anger, and then release. “Fine…but I’m warning you, Suzaku…without my help, you’ll stay in this position forever—you’ll never become Knight of One!”
“We’ll see about that,” Suzaku spoke, turning back towards the Lancelot. “Make your escape. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Lelouch.”
Suzaku was sure Lelouch was raging, but had no time for it to schedule his grand façade. Seems Zero always kept a smoke bomb on him, and escaped into the trees. Amazingly, the Lancelot’s heat sensors were malfunctioning.
Zero escaped to plan for another day.
And oh yes, how he would plan…
“So, after one little mishap in Narita, Suzaku is your enemy,” C.C. mused when Lelouch came home that night.
“Not my enemy,” Lelouch growled. “He’s still acting like we’re friends! And after that! After denying everything I’ve done for him, he’ll just turn his back on me and—” With one swipe of his hand, Lelouch threw the chess pieces upon the floor, the white knight still continuing to glare up at him.
“So what are you going to do? Let him go?”
Lelouch slumped on the bed, holding his head in his hands. This would be so much easier if he had his own geass to work with! Then he wouldn’t need Suzaku…he wouldn’t have to worry about it if Suzaku started using the geass for his own ends…
No…if that was the case, then Suzaku would have never agreed to work for him…and would have always been his enemy…he didn’t want Suzaku as his enemy, he wanted Suzaku on his side, the right side! If Suzaku realized which side was the correct one, and began working for him then…yes, then he wouldn’t need this charade. With Suzaku beside him, they could do anything…even free Japan. Even destroy Britannia.
“I need to convince Suzaku that fighting for Britannia is wrong.”
“And how will you do that?” C.C. asked. “You know how he feels about it. He won’t turn his back on his morals…”
Lelouch thought a moment. “He would turn his back on his morals…if he realized to what lows Britannia would sink…and if protecting what he held dear could only be accomplished through the Black Knights…”
“Oh? You have something in mind?”
Lelouch sighed, “Yes…but…”
Onboard the submarine that the Kyoto group had produced for them now that the membership of the Black Knights had grown, Zero walked down the dark halls, late at night. Everyone else was asleep, preparing for the next mission, but he knew he would find someone…someone must still be awake.
Aha! He heard a noise. Stepping inside the main storage room, he saw someone.
Oh yes…a new recruit—‘Makoto’ or something was his name…he was caught before stealing rations, it seemed he was at it again.
A smirk came upon Lelouch’s face—yes, he would do nicely. Sneaking up behind him silently, Lelouch suddenly placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. He jumped, turning around with a fright. “Ah—Zero! What are you—no, I wasn’t do anything here, I was just counting—”
“And I’m sure you were doing a good job of it,” Lelouch continued to smirk under his mask. “However Makoto…I came because I have a special assignment, just for you.”
“A…special assignment?”
“Yes…exactly. It’s a hard mission, but can you do it?”
“Of—of course! I’ll do anything for the glory of Japan, Zero-sama!”
“I’m sure.” He passed him the uniform…and the special gun. “I need you to wear this Britannian army uniform—it comes with an id tag, so you’ll get past basic security easily. You need to infiltrate the Area 11 Government Building. Infiltrate, and find Princess Euphemia. Then…” he played with the gun for a moment. “Kill her.”
Makoto stared. “Ki—kill her?”
“She is a threat to our plans, Makoto. Once she is out of the way, the Black Knights will be able to move much easier. As long as she is around, charming the Japanese, we cannot gain any ground.”
“If…if you say so, Zero-sama.”
“Also, one more thing, Makoto,” Lelouch laced it on. “If you happened to be captured, you must say you were paid off by insiders in the royal family.”
“But—”
“On pain of death, you must do this. If it is traced back to us, there will be trouble, now. But do not worry, I am sure you can handle it. When you come back here successful, you will be honored above all Japanese.”
Lelouch could see the sparkle in Makoto’s eyes, and knew he had him. “I…I will. Of course. I will be successful, Zero-sama!”
“Good. Leave at once. And tell no one of this mission. Secrecy is vital to your success. Don’t let me down.”
“You aren’t really going to assassinate your sister, are you?” C.C. asked, the second Lelouch walked back into his quarters.
“Of course not,” he said, taking the helmet off. “The gun I gave the man won’t work, as he will find out. But the act is enough—when he is captured and said to have been paid off by the royal family to make it look like terrorists, then Suzaku will see the truth of how cruel the real Britannia can be. My mother was killed in a similar way—if Euphie is threatened, then Suzaku will see the truth for himself.”
“And? What then?”
“Then, Cornelia will assign someone to be Euphie’s knight and bodyguard. He will never see her again. I will offer a proposition to Suzaku to join me, and offer protection to Euphie in exchange. He knows I will never hurt Euphie, so, at a time when he is vulnerable, I will get him to agree. Once he is on my side, he will see—he will see that he made the right choice. And if Suzaku wishes for Euphie that much, then after I take over Japan, I will release her to his care—and he can protect her then. He will have no complaints.”
“It seems like a good plan…if it works,” C.C. piped back.
“It will work,” Lelouch glared at her. “I know Cornelia. It will work. Once another man is assigned as Euphie’s knight and she is confined to the Government building, then I will have him.” Lelouch grinned, “Love does make fools out of everyone, doesn’t it? It’s such a marvelous thing…”
“I’m surprised, Euphie,” Suzaku told her, as the lay in the grass on the garden on the top of the government building. “I thought Her Highness Cornelia didn’t want me around.”
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Euphie smiled back, making the smile on Suzaku’s face fade.
“But Euphie…if she does…?”
“Well, what’s the harm?” she laughed. As a knight, its perfectly acceptable for me to ask you here. There’s nothing wrong with it—”
Suzaku was about to say something else, but then…out of the corner of his eye, he saw it…he saw something…something black, crouching in the bushes. Something human…crouching in the bushes…with a gun!”
“Euphie!” Suzaku yelled, shoving her down, as he leapted for the man. The man rose the pistol he had to fire, but he was too late—Suzaku kicked the man down and held him, yelling, “Euphie! Get out of here!”
But as he looked up to make sure she was alright, he missed the man’s other hand reach for the gun. Suzaku looked down in time to see it pointed directly at him—
“Suzaku!” Euphie cried, but she was too late—the man pulled the trigger.
A shot fired. Euphie screamed. Suzaku had braced himself for it but…after a few seconds, opened his eyes again. Staring back down, he saw nothing. No blood…nothing…The would-be assassin looked surprised as well.
The gun was loaded with blanks.
But Suzaku didn’t let another moment slip by like that again. Forcing the man down and making sure both his arms were behind his back, he yelled, “You are under arrest for High Treason to the Empire!”
Security came running after hearing Euphie’s scream. As soon as Suzaku was sure the would-be assassin was in better hands, he let go, and then Euphie came running into his arms. “Suzaku!”
“I’m alright, Euphie,” he sighed, holding despite the looks of disapproval from the rest of the guards. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room, you’ve had a fright—”
Wiping the tears out of her eyes, she shook her head. “No, not yet…”
“Euphie?”
She stepped away from him for a moment, turning to all the staff that had shown up at the scene. “I…I have an announcement to make.”
“Euphie, is this really the—”
“As you all know, this man, Kururugi Suzaku, has saved me on more than one occasion—three times now, in fact. He also saved Her Highness Cornelia when she was in danger as well. I think he has more than proved himself as loyal to me and to the crown.”
Even so, Suzaku couldn’t help but blush. “Euphie, what are you…”
She didn’t answer his question, but continued, “Her Highness Cornelia has been pressuring me to choose a knight to be my personal protector. And today, I have chosen. Kururugi Suzaku,” she turned to him at once. “I hereby appoint you to the position of my personal knight. Do you accept?”
Princess Euphemia’s Personal Knight? But that was…that was a job a real knight was supposed to do! He had only been a lower level knight for only a month, and yet— “Euphie, why are you…”
She leaned closer, and muttered under her teeth, “Once this status is appointed by someone of royal blood, it cannot be taken back by any other royal out there. Do you understand Suzaku?”
He understood perfectly. Cornelia. But…was this right? Cornelia wanted someone else to be Euphie’s knight…someone more qualified…
But, it was Euphie, and…He remembered his goals. This was it. That was what he was waiting for. Euphie would soon be Governor-General, and he…he would be her personal knight…By Euphie’s side, he could do it! He could save Japan.
This was it! Everything he had waited for—!
Kneeling before her, Suzaku spoke, “I accept, Your Highess. As you wish, I shall be your personal knight.”
The staff around held shocked faces, never having seen something like it before. But Euphie smiled back at him. And that was enough. “Thank you, Suzaku…” she smiled, as he took her hand and kissed it formally, lingering a little too long to be all formality.
The phone only rang for a moment before it was picked up. “Lelouch?”
“Oh, Suzaku, it’s you.”
“…Did you hear the news?”
“Yes...I…I would have never thought such a thing would happen. To…to Euphie, too! Thank god you were there, Suzaku, or—”
“Lelouch, they’re saying it was someone from the Black Knights that did it.”
“That’s…that’s impossible! I never ordered—!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! Do you think I want my own sister dead?”
“I never thought you did. But Lelouch…did they report about the man’s gun? The man had a gun, and it was filled with blanks.”
“Blanks?”
“Yes, blanks. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t even be here right now.”
“Oh…thank goodness for that, then.”
“Lelouch. I know you don’t want your sister dead. But ordering someone to assassinate the Britannian princess and giving them a gun full of blanks—”
“That would mean the person behind it wanted them to get caught, yes. A foolish move. The man was just a scrapegoat for someone else. Who did he say did it?”
“He said he was hired by someone in the royal family—”
“There you go, then. Suzaku, I told you before, it’s always this way in the royal family. Someone wanted Euphemia dead—”
“But why give a gun full of blanks?”
“I dunno…maybe it was instead to blame it on someone else?”
“Oh? Like who?”
“The Black Knights, of course. If we were pinned with an assassination attempt, then our popularity among Elevens would fall. There. That’s a logical explanation.”
“It makes sense, but…I’m not quite sure I believe it.”
“Well, then don’t believe it. All you have to know is that it failed and we have one very stupid assassin on our hands.”
“Lelouch…I didn’t call to talk about the assassination attempt.”
“Really? Then what about?”
“I think you know what I mean.”
“…I don’t so, unless you—”
“I’m calling because I’m finished.”
“Finished?”
“Finished. With all of this. I won’t be participating in your little missions anymore.”
“Yes, you already told me that. In Narita, remember?”
“Back there, I told you I wouldn’t participate. Now I’m telling you that I’m done harboring terrorism. If I come across the Black Knights again—I will fight them, and fight them to the best of my ability.”
“Su…Suzaku…”
“I cannot call myself loyal to the Britannian Empire if I do not follow through with it at all times.”
“So…is this it? Are you saying we’ve become enemies, Suzaku?”
“It depends upon what you will do. If you give up being Zero, and disband the Black Knights—then we will be as we always were. If you will continue on this destructive path, Lelouch, then yes…you will be my enemy.”
“…”
“…Lelouch?”
“May I ask…What brought on this sudden change of opinion?”
“Euphie.”
“Euphie?”
“Yes. Her. Today, after I saved her life, she granted me the position of her knight. Her personal protector.”
“…She…she did?”
“Yes, Lelouch, she did. And I cannot protect my princess in good conscience if I am harboring terrorists at the same time. So I’m asking you again, Lelouch…will you become my enemy?”
“…Suzaku…Do you know how…hard it will be to give up everything like this?”
“I’m sure you can handle it.”
“No, not like that. If a leader leaves the group he created, after he did all he could to make them believe in him, they will get angry, rebel—no telling what they could do. If I pulled out of Zero now, then do you know what that could potentially cause? Complete chaos all over Area 11 is what! Now tell me, do you think that’s wise?”
“Fine, how long then. How long will it be until you can, without threat, stop being Zero?”
“…It’ll take some time…I need to set up a succession…have a new leader ready to take over…I cannot simply disband them, you see…then I suppose a faked death could do it…end it on a note where they would mourn, but then move on. And I would be out of the picture.”
“You will do that?”
“Don’t trust me, Suzaku?”
“Lelouch…I just want to know. After this, will you be my friend, or enemy?”
“…We’ve been friends for seven years, haven’t we? I can’t give that up now.”
“…Fine…Let me know once I can stop turning a blind eye—and for your sake, I hope its sometime soon.”
“Of course…since you are my friend.”
And the phone clicked off.
Seconds after the conversation was over, Lelouch slammed his fist into the wall. Damn him…damn you, Suzaku! You think you can tell me to quit after I’m finally starting to achieve what I wanted after so long! How dare you think that I would—
“Giving up Zero to stay Suzaku’s friend…you really do want to be his friend that badly, huh?” C.C. asked, as she stepped into Lelouch’s room.
“It’s not that! I…”
“You what?”
Lelouch didn’t answer. Instead, he turned back to her. “C.C….I need…I need you to give me the geass.”
“What?” she took a step back. “Lelouch, I told you before that—”
“Things have changed! Now that Suzaku is determined against me, if I don’t have the geass, then I’ll be forced to do as he wishes! I cannot be Zero without my miracles! And I cannot make the miracles without this power! If I wish to continue on as Zero—to complete what I told myself I would—I need this power, C.C.! If nothing else, so that if Suzaku chooses to attack me with the geass, I have something to counter it with!”
“Lelouch…”
“Please, C.C.!”
That single word brought back so many memories for C.C….but one vivid one was year ago, yes, about ten years ago, in the Imperial villa…as she watched a young black haired child laugh and play around the grounds. “Please, Miss C.C., come and play!”
“Don’t ask me to give you the Geass, Lelouch…” C.C. turned away, hoping that would be it. “The Power of the Kings only leads to sorrow.”
“I don’t care about that!” Lelouch, in a pleading gesture, took her hand…
“Come on, Miss C.C.! I found some baby kittens this morning, come and look!” when the little boy had grabbed her hand…
“C.C., if I don’t have the geass as a precaution, then do you realize what could happen to me if they find out that I am Zero? If Suzaku really does go back on his word and betray me, then I’ll have nothing left! For my own sake, I—”
“Alright!” C.C. pushed his hand aside, knowing she had no choice. Slumping down to sit on the bed, she began, “All right…if…if you are sure…if this is entirely your own will…then I will grant the geass to you.”
“It is. I have no other motive for it but for my own protection—and to make the impossible possible. Your wish as well, C.C. I will grant that.”
But she didn’t want him to grant it…
“Lelouch,” she sighed. “The Power of the Kings…it will lead you to sorrow…even so—”
“Even so,” he kneeled down before her, like a knight to his liege.
“Lelouch…you must know this…any geass you receive—” She stopped suddenly.
“…C.C.?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. A geass is a powerful weapon no matter what the form. There are dangers associated with it. And you still…”
“Yes,” Lelouch took her hand. “Grant me that power C.C. The power to change the world. Then, when I am able, I will grant your wish.”
For a single moment, C.C. closed her eyes, sending a clear warning to the only person who could hear her. He will be a contractor under me…that means he had to stay alive…I know what you are planning, and hear this—I won’t let you hurt him.
“Very well. You shall have that power—but…”
Just as she took them into the other plane of existence, C.C. thought to herself,
I think I have made a terrible mistake.
Chapter 5 here.
I <3 motherly C.C.
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: LelouchxC.C., (LOTS OF IT IN THIS CHAPTER!)SuzaEuphie, (implied) Suzalulu
summary: So, what would have happened if Suzaku had received the Geass in Stage 1 instead of Lelouch? MOAR ANGST, is what!
Chapter 1 here.
Euphie is so a stalker. You know it to be true. "Oh, I think I'll jump out of a window when a hot looking Eleven comes by..." PFFFFT.
Oh, and does anyone actually read this story anymore? XD I seem to hear the crickets chirping more and more often lately...
“So, what do you think?”
“This…this is incredible! It’s not nothing I’ve ever—”
“Hmm, that’s what a lot of people say, giggled the blue-haired woman. “At least, those who’ve never piloted a knightmare before.”
“And for someone who’s never piloted one before, you’re surprisingly good at it,” chuckled the man beside her. “Only a few practice trials, and you’re already at 85% efficiency! Are you some kind of quick learner or something?”
“Something like that,” Suzaku laughed, as he stepped out of the knightmare simulator. “But Lloyd-san, will the new knightmare be like the simulator?”
“Hmm…,” the man called Lloyd thought a moment. “Well, in basic controls, it’s pretty much the same, but there are few extra functions that are different. The Lancelot is a 7th generation knightmare frame, so of course it will be a little different than the Sutherland simulator.”
“It should be finished and ready for test runs within a week,” the other woman, Cecile, told him. “We’re just putting on the finishing touches right now.”
“Yes, we’ll be needing you a lot more often after that, Warrant Officer Kururugi,” Lloyd chuckled. “You won’t be getting any long breaks from us, mind you.”
“That’s all right,” Suzaku nodded. “I’m grateful that I was chosen for this duty, Lloyd-san. If it wasn’t for your kindness—”
The scientist laughed that silly laugh of his. “No need to cry about it. And you can thank Her Highness Cornelia for this. She doesn’t usually approve of giving such positions to former Elevens, but, well, you did save Her Highness Euphemia’s life and all…”
Ah, Euphie…that strange girl he had saved back then…only to find out soon afterward who she really was. Princess Euphemia. Princess Euphemia li Britannia. 3rd Princess of the Britannian Empire.
And it was rightly done that her rescue was kept under wraps. After all, the very idea than an Eleven—even if an Honorary Britannian—had rescued one of the highest Britannian princesses was something that the die-hard purists could barely handle. And if the Elevens ever found out—well, they would start getting ideas, as some of the Purists had put it. Ideas that perhaps they were above the system, when it wasn’t true. Only those few “exceptions” could rise above the system that had been stable for seven years.
And now, Kururugi Suzaku was one of those “exceptions”. But that was as far as anyone expected him to go. They thought he would take his small position and be happy with it. They didn’t know of his higher ambitions—didn’t know what he had promised to himself that he would succeed.
But now, even with his promotion to the lower knighthood, that goal seemed almost even more unattainable. Suzaku had been briefed upon what his new job contained. He would be a test pilot for the new generation knightmare frames that this Lloyd Asplund had developed. But he was to be kept strictly out of combat except for emergency situations. The army didn’t want to promote the rising of status for Elevens, after all.
So now, even with this new promotion, he was shifted towards the side, to be forgotten. So much for the quick rise to fame like had thought.
And also, now, it would be even harder to see Euphie again…and to thank her for what she did for him…
“Well, Suzaku-kun, I think that’s it for today,” Lloyd told him. “Be sure to come bright and early tomorrow for the next couple of tests. We’ll be trying to get the new simulator online so you can see how well you pilot the 7th generation knightmare frame next!”
Picking up his bag, Suzaku laughed, “Well, you’ll have to call my school then to get them to let me off for the day—they’re pretty strict about skipping class.”
“That’s right, you go to Ashford Academy, don’t you?” Cecile, smiled. “That’s such a nice school, right Lloyd-san?” she spoke with a warning note in her voice.
Something about that tone of voice seemed to scare Lloyd just a little bit. “Of…of course! Such a wonderful school filled with wonderful students…”
Suzaku stared, not getting it. Well, maybe it was just a quirk of theirs.
“But don’t worry about it,” Cecile assured him. “We’ll call your school tonight.”
“Thanks,” he told them, walking out of the lab, and stepping out into the sunlight. Giving a small stretch, Suzaku thought, It’s still early…I guess I could stop back by the barracks before going to meet Lelouch like I promised…
However, as he took another step, Suzaku suddenly felt that familiar feeling up his spine…a feeling like someone was watching him. Alarmed, he suddenly turned around, seeing something move in the shadows. Following his instincts, he charged and grabbed the would-be assailant sharply by the arm.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Suzaku stopped dead. He knew that voice. He let go at once as Princess Euphemia herself, dressed in normal clothes, stumbled back.
“Euphie—P-Princess Euphemia!” he gasped, falling to his knees at once. “I’m terribly sorry, please forgive me Your Highness, I did not know—”
“It—it’s all right Suzaku,” Euphie told him, regaining her balance. “You just gave me a scare, that’s all.”
“But…Euphie…” he said, slowly standing up once he knew it was okay. “What are you doing here? Does Princess Cornelia know—”
Euphie folded her arms, “Hmph, I found a way to ditch my bodyguards. Onee-sama won’t let me out of their sight for a second now.”
“Well, she does have that right,” Suzaku scratched the back of his neck nervously. “Besides, you almost died back there, I’m sure she’s just worried about you.”
“That was just a bit of bad luck,” Euphie pouted. “I’m perfectly fine on my own, anyway. Not many people here know who I am, so it’s all right for me to walk on my own once in a while.”
“I guess that’s frustrating…” Wait…why was she here anyway? “So…Euphie…why did you come here? I mean, if you’re going to walk on your own, there’s more interesting places to go—”
“But this was the first place I wanted to go,” Euphie smiled. “It’s been two weeks since the accident, and I haven’t seen you since then…”
“Well, you had to recover—”
“I fully recovered a week ago.”
“And I’ve had my duties, you know…and I’m sure you’ve had a lot to do, too.”
“Not really,” Euphie sighed. “It’s like Onee-sama thinks if I even get too near a stack of papers or pile of official reports, I’ll end up like I was again. It doesn’t make any sense—after all, once she’s got the Black Knights sorted out and Area 11 is peaceful again, she’ll be leaving.”
“Aha, yeah…” Suzaku scratched the back of his neck nervously once more. If anyone ever found out his full relationship with the Black Knights…well, he suspected that even Euphie wouldn’t be that forgiving.
“But like I said, once she leaves, I am going to be the next Governor-General. Why is she trying to keep me from my duties now if I’m going to have to perform them later?”
“She’s just trying to protect you, like any older sibling would do towards their little sister.” Suzaku thought of Lelouch for a moment…and then the fact that he was supposed to meet Lelouch soon flared up in his mind.
“Listen, Euphie, anyway, shouldn’t you be getting back to the Government building soon? I’m sure Her Highness Cornelia will be looking for you soon.”
Euphie suddenly looked nervous. “Actually, Suzaku, I came because I have something to say to you.”
He stared. “Really? What—”
“I…I wanted to say Thank You…for saving my life, I mean. If you hadn’t been there, then I—”
“Ah, it was nothing…” Why was he blushing? “I’m in the army; it’s my job, after all.”
“But didn’t you say before…that you didn’t rescue me because you were in the army, but because you wanted to?”
“Well…” He did, didn’t he?
Euphie giggled at his flushed face. “It’s all right. I appreciate the thought anyway, Kururugi Suzaku.”
“Anyway…” Now he was really nervous. “Shouldn’t you be getting back soon? I mean, it was nice seeing you and all, Euphie, but—”
She shook her head, pink hair sparkling in the sunlight. “Hmm, I don’t really feel like going back right now.”
“You…don’t?”
“Nope. I’d like a little walk through the settlement, if you don’t mind. I haven’t seen it at all since I came here…”
“You…you would?”
“Uh-huh.” She nodded. “And it would be nice, you know…if I could have an escort along the way…just to make sure I stay out of trouble and all…”
“Well…” He did have to meet with Lelouch…they had plans for the next operation, but…
Suzaku smiled. “I guess I could show you around.”
“Okay!” And with that, Euphie grabbed onto his arm, pulling him away.
“Hey, wait!”
“Come on!” she smiled back. “I want to see everything!”
Suzaku stared. She surely was an excitable one, but…maybe that was a good thing…
“So, they still serve Japanese food here?”
“In some places. I guess the Britannians like a taste of something exotic every once in a while,” Suzaku explained, as they passed a noodle shop. “Most of the old delicacies are hard to find, but the noodle shops are still open—and they aren’t bad.”
“Hmm…Suzaku, what’s this?” Euphie asked, pointing to an item on the menu posted outside of the shop door.
“Oh, that?” he gave a small chuckle. “Sushi. It’s a really old dish. Basically, you take a fish, and wrap in raw in almost anything, and you eat it with—”
“Ewww!” Euphie looked horrified. “You really eat it without cooking it? That’s disgusting!”
“That’s what a lot of foreigners say,” Suzaku laughed. “But it really is good. And they usually boil it for a bit to get rid of any impurities, but they won’t tell you that. It’s pretty safe to eat, actually. You should try some sometime.”
“Maybe…but only if you’ll try the black pudding like I told you about.”
“Now that’s gross.”
They were walking down one of the streets in the settlement, casually chatting, Suzaku having long forgotten about his meeting with Lelouch. As they were talking, they passed a couple of rough looking guys—who noticed Euphemia first.
“Well, look what we have here,” one of them said, staring at her. “A pretty girl like you shouldn’t be walking around with a guy like that.”
Suzaku’s eyes narrowed. He could smell it already; drunks. “Come on,” he told Euphie, turning her away, but the two just wouldn’t let them go.
“Hey, come on,” the other said, stepping in front of their path. “Really, a nice girl like you shouldn’t have to lean on an Eleven like that. There are much nicer Britannian guys who’d be happy to show you around.”
Euphie’s eyes narrowed. “Thank you, but I’m fine with Suzaku.”
“ ‘Suzaku’? Ha!” the taller of the two laughed. “You mean that kid who killed Prince Clovis? He’s a dangerous kid! Now, if you’re looking for danger, we could show you a lot more than—” The man took one move towards her, reaching for her arm, and that was when it happened.
Suzaku charged towards the man, grabbing him by his own arm and throwing him back. Startled, the man feel down on the street, while the other stared. “Damn you, kid!” the other charged, but was no match for Suzaku. Suzaku delivered one quick kick to the gut, and the other fell down, joining his friend.
“Suzaku…” Euphie gasped as he stood protecting her, the second time he had saved her.
The threat was over. Suzaku should have calmed down, but something…something inside demanded that these men pay. Without hardly thinking, the geass in his left eye lit up. “How dare you insult Her Highness Euphiemia li Britannia!” he roared. “Men like you don’t deserve leniency!”
The red glow came to both men’s eyes as Suzaku blinked. The order was cast. And he didn’t even care.
Timidly, both men got to their feet, looks of remorse upon their face. “Yes…we…we’re sorry, Your Highness…” they both bowed deeply. “We deserve punishment for our disrespect…we deserve the harshest…”
“No, no, it’s…” Euphie started, but Suzaku stopped her.
“Come on, Euphie, it doesn’t matter,” he told her. “Let’s just go…”
“But…”
“They’ve apologized, that’s enough,” he told her, as he led her away. Secretly hoping she didn’t figure out what he had done…and what he didn’t feel sorry for.
As he walked away, Suzaku was sure that those two men would soon turn themselves into the authorities. A few days in prison and then community service was the charge for minor disrespect to a royal. And Suzaku was surely going to look into that later to make sure their punishment was given.
Dark was coming fast in the sky when Suzaku finally made it back to Ashford Academy, though he promised to be there hours before. After making sure Euphie was alright, he had to take her back to the government building, and only then could he head back to Ashford. He had to make sure she was alright, after all.
And, after she had gone back, she had mentioned something about seeing him again…
Stepping into the clubhouse, Suzaku saw that Lelouch wasn’t in the main room. Hmm…well, he probably had gone back up to his bedroom, so there was no reason to sit around.
As Suzaku walked up the stairs and turned in the hallway, he managed to bump into someone he hadn’t seen in a while. “Oh! C.C….you’re still here?”
“I have nowhere else to go,” the green haired witch spoke. “And Lelouch puts up with me.”
“I…see…”
“He’s upset, you know.” She spoke at once. “That you didn’t come when you promised.”
“Well, I had other—”
“But you did promise,” her golden eyes seemed to go right through him.
Suzaku sighed. “Yeah…I did.”
C.C. seemed satisfied, and looked as if she was about to walk away, but then stopped, starting straight back at him. “…What?”
Coming closer, she stared at his left eye. “Did you use your geass recently?”
Suzaku gulped. Why did she have to be able to tell? “…Maybe…”
“Hm, I thought so.” She stepped back, a serious look on her face. “You know, after observing your geass, I really should warn you—”
“Warn me of what?”
“Be careful. Your geass is powerful, Suzaku. Almost too powerful…you need to be careful when using it.”
Annoyed, he tried to walk past her. “Well, I’ll keep that in mind—”
“I mean it,” she cut him off. “Your geass is too powerful, Suzaku…which means it is likely to be unstable. Nothing may ever happen, but you need to be prepared. If you’re geass were to be used too much, it is likely to get out of control—”
“I don’t plan on using it that much,” he turned back to tell her. “It’s just…I’ll use it only if I have to. I don’t want to depend on it where it becomes a crutch. But I won’t let it get out of control, understand me?” With that, he marched off angrily.
C.C. sighed. “I did warn you…”
Suzaku knocked on Lelouch’s door. No answer. After a moment, Suzaku sighed, and marched in.
Lelouch was there, seated at his computer chair. He acted as if he didn’t hear Suzaku.
“Lelouch,” Suzaku began, not knowing quite how to begin. “Look…I’m sorry I came late…I had some…unfinished business to attend to—”
“Unfinished business like seeing Princess Euphemia around the town?” Lelouch accused nastily.
“Wait…how did you…?”
Lelouch turned around in his computer chair, pointing to something on the screen. A website labeled “Royal Gossip” had a new headline entry—“Princess Euphemia Seen in Area 11 At Last!”—with pictures. Lots of them. Pictures of Euphie and Suzaku as they walked through the mall, pictures of them down the streets of the settlement—and even pictures of the little scene outside the noddle shop! A hidden photographer must have followed them through the whole time! How did he not notice?
Thankfully, though, the article did not name him. From the angle of the photos, he was unrecognizable, anyway. But not unrecognizable to the person sitting in front of him.
Suzaku tried to explain—“Euphie came and found me at the lab. She said she wanted to see the settlement…I mean, she doesn’t get out much, so I figured I might as well—”
“What? Might as well what?” Lelouch demanded. “Might as well try to win the hand of the princess as well as becoming the loyal knight?”
Damnit, why did he have to blush at the most inappropriate times? “You…you’re out of your mind! I just extended a courtesy, I didn’t mean—”
“Sure you didn’t.”
“Le—Lelouch! I just—”
“We agreed that I would help you on your way to glory, Suzaku. Are you telling me you want me to help you try to romance my little sister as well as that? Is that what you want?”
“That’s not what I want!” Suzaku snapped. “What happened today is irrelevant to any of this! I probably won’t ever see Euphie again, thanks to your other sister Cornelia! Besides, you’re not mad because of Euphie, you’re just mad because I missed this little meeting and put someone ahead of you for once!”
Lelouch still boiled with rage—and now he raged even more knowing that Suzaku understood nothing! Ha! You think that’s it, Suzaku! You really don’t understand me at all! How dare you suggest that—
But…Even though he wished he could vent it all here, yell at Suzaku exactly why he was mad and why Suzaku need to listen to him for once…no, it wouldn’t help. Last time something like this happened, Suzaku had stormed out on him. He couldn’t have that again. Sighing, Lelouch slumped down to sit on the bed. “Look…it doesn’t…let’s not talk about this anymore…we have plans to go over.”
“Right.” Though Suzaku still kept that angry glare on his face, he sat down in the chair as Lelouch began explaining the next mission.
“The Black Knights have some new intelligence about an operation by Cornelia to take place in Narita, and now that you can pilot a knightmare frame, it will be a lot easier. The Black Knights will have a surprise attack, aided by the landslide we will create—”
“Lelouch, this landslide—” Suzaku cut in, “I understand it will cost the lives of soldiers. I am prepared for that. But you’re planning it on a mountain near a major city. If the city isn’t evacuated—”
“If the Britannians care at all about their citizens, they will evacuate Narita on that day,” Lelouch assured him. “And I’ve calculated, to a degree, the displacement of this landslide. It should only extend a few feet into the town, if my predictions are correct. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Hmph,” Suzaku thought, leaning back. He wasn’t so sure about this…
“Anyway, the Black Knights will attempt to capture Cornelia. With no other units able to get to her, you will be the only hope. Convince them to send you out, come to her aid, and chase us away. Victory will be yours.”
“What about that new knightmare frame on your side? The one that Kallen’s piloting?”
“Oh, the Guren? Don’t worry too much about it; she’s a skilled pilot, but if what you tell me about the Lancelot is true, then you’ll be about evenly matched—I’ll tell her to back off eventually, so we can make our retreat. You save Cornelia, and then you’ll have another honor to your name. Cornelia won’t be able to refuse giving you that honor now.”
But Narita wasn’t quite as planned.
“Lelouch!” Suzaku roared over the special transmission he had smuggled into the Lancelot. “You said the landslide wouldn’t hurt innocent civilians!”
“It wasn’t supposed to, Suzaku! I must have miscalculated—”
“How can you say something like that! A miscalculation still costs innocent lives!”
“Suzaku! Don’t worry about that now! The mission, don’t you forget—”
“How can I forget, damnit!” he continued to roar as the Lancelot sped across the landscape. “It was because of this damn mission that I let you do this!”
Turning a bend, Suzaku came upon them; Princess Cornelia’s knightmare was on its last leg as she was surrounded by the Black Knights. Shutting off the transmitter Suzaku had been talking to Lelouch on, he charged; fueled by his rage at what he had just seen his best friend do for his sake.
“You again!” That new knightmare—the Guren—charged towards him.
But Suzaku wasn’t to be stopped. So full of anger, he hit her once—and nearly knocked her off balance.
“What the—this guy is strong!” Kallen called back. “Zero, what do we—”
“Hold him off, Karen,” Lelouch told her. “While we make our escape.”
“Right!” And charging, the Guren fought back, slashing away and the Lancelot while the other knightmares crowded around Cornelia.
“Oh no you don’t!” Suzaku roared, backing up to protect the princess while loading the VARIS. One shot—that was all he needed. One shot while Kallen was on the edge of the cliff. Her Radiation Wave blocked it, but the force was too great—and forced the earth to crumble and her to fall off the cliff.
“Karen!” Ougi yelled, as the other Burai crowded around.
“She’s all right!” Zero yelled over the transmission. “But we’ve lost our best fighter…The other Glaston Knights will be here soon…Damnit…We’ll have to retreat for now…”
“But, Zero…”
“I said retreat!” he yelled back. “Or would you rather all of us were captured here and our crusade ended like this!”
No more words were spoken, as the Black Knights scattered in all directions. Suzaku made the Lancelot kneel down towards Cornelia. “Your Highness.”
“Don’t mind me! Go after Zero!”
“What?” After Zero? But that wasn’t—!
“Did you hear me, Kururugi! That’s an order! Capture Zero!”
Capture…Zero…Capture…Lelouch…An order from Her Highness Cornelia…Swallowing, Suzaku said, “Very well.” And turned, speeding off to where Lelouch had retreated.
Lancelot was faster than any knightmare the Black Knights had, save Guren. It was easy to catch up to him.
The transmitter was off—if it had been on, Suzaku was sure he would have heard Lelouch yelling at him to follow the mission once again.
The mission…Hell with that!
One fire with the VARIS was enough to cripple the Knightmare. The Burai fell, unable to move anymore. Suzaku stopped and, eyes narrowed, pointed the gun directly at the cockpit—towards Zero.
“Zero,” he said over the outside communicator. “Get out of there. Now.”
“Suzaku…” Lelouch had turned out his outside communicator as well.
“Did you hear me, Zero?” Suzaku threatened. “I said out.”
It was only a second before the back of the Burai opened, and out stepped Lelouch—Zero. He kept his helmet on.
After all, what if someone else were to see?
“What is this about, Suzaku?” Lelouch growled under the mask of Zero. “A change of mind?”
“More like a change of heart,” Suzaku glared, stepping out of the cockpit of the Lancelot as well, his own gun pointed directly at him. “Lelouch…you told me the mission wouldn’t hurt any innocent civilians. You promised me.”
“It was a calculation,” he explained. “Miscalculations happen. When they do, you have to suck it up and get over it.”
“Well, I won’t!” Suzaku yelled, as he walked towards him. “I’ve had enough trouble dealing with what I’ve been doing with you to help myself, but enough is enough! I won’t be an active participant in terrorism!”
“Idiot! That’s what you’ve been doing all along! Every time you went along with the little missions and allowed us to escape, you participated in it! Isn’t that the Britannian law? Allowing terrorism is the same as doing it!”
“Well, screw that! I’m finished!”
Even while dressed as the mighty Zero, Lelouch stepped back, “Finished…?”
“That’s right, I’m done with this! I made my own way—I saved Euphie, and now I saved Cornelia—any more promotions I can get, I will get myself!”
“So, is that it, then? You will get another promotion by turning me in, right?”
“Do you really think I’m like that?” Glared Suzaku. “Like you?” He lowered his gun. “I won’t do anything of the sort. But—Lelouch, if you continue to do things like…like this…then I will be forced to become your enemy.”
He could see Lelouch’s fingers clench in anger, and then release. “Fine…but I’m warning you, Suzaku…without my help, you’ll stay in this position forever—you’ll never become Knight of One!”
“We’ll see about that,” Suzaku spoke, turning back towards the Lancelot. “Make your escape. I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Lelouch.”
Suzaku was sure Lelouch was raging, but had no time for it to schedule his grand façade. Seems Zero always kept a smoke bomb on him, and escaped into the trees. Amazingly, the Lancelot’s heat sensors were malfunctioning.
Zero escaped to plan for another day.
And oh yes, how he would plan…
“So, after one little mishap in Narita, Suzaku is your enemy,” C.C. mused when Lelouch came home that night.
“Not my enemy,” Lelouch growled. “He’s still acting like we’re friends! And after that! After denying everything I’ve done for him, he’ll just turn his back on me and—” With one swipe of his hand, Lelouch threw the chess pieces upon the floor, the white knight still continuing to glare up at him.
“So what are you going to do? Let him go?”
Lelouch slumped on the bed, holding his head in his hands. This would be so much easier if he had his own geass to work with! Then he wouldn’t need Suzaku…he wouldn’t have to worry about it if Suzaku started using the geass for his own ends…
No…if that was the case, then Suzaku would have never agreed to work for him…and would have always been his enemy…he didn’t want Suzaku as his enemy, he wanted Suzaku on his side, the right side! If Suzaku realized which side was the correct one, and began working for him then…yes, then he wouldn’t need this charade. With Suzaku beside him, they could do anything…even free Japan. Even destroy Britannia.
“I need to convince Suzaku that fighting for Britannia is wrong.”
“And how will you do that?” C.C. asked. “You know how he feels about it. He won’t turn his back on his morals…”
Lelouch thought a moment. “He would turn his back on his morals…if he realized to what lows Britannia would sink…and if protecting what he held dear could only be accomplished through the Black Knights…”
“Oh? You have something in mind?”
Lelouch sighed, “Yes…but…”
Onboard the submarine that the Kyoto group had produced for them now that the membership of the Black Knights had grown, Zero walked down the dark halls, late at night. Everyone else was asleep, preparing for the next mission, but he knew he would find someone…someone must still be awake.
Aha! He heard a noise. Stepping inside the main storage room, he saw someone.
Oh yes…a new recruit—‘Makoto’ or something was his name…he was caught before stealing rations, it seemed he was at it again.
A smirk came upon Lelouch’s face—yes, he would do nicely. Sneaking up behind him silently, Lelouch suddenly placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. He jumped, turning around with a fright. “Ah—Zero! What are you—no, I wasn’t do anything here, I was just counting—”
“And I’m sure you were doing a good job of it,” Lelouch continued to smirk under his mask. “However Makoto…I came because I have a special assignment, just for you.”
“A…special assignment?”
“Yes…exactly. It’s a hard mission, but can you do it?”
“Of—of course! I’ll do anything for the glory of Japan, Zero-sama!”
“I’m sure.” He passed him the uniform…and the special gun. “I need you to wear this Britannian army uniform—it comes with an id tag, so you’ll get past basic security easily. You need to infiltrate the Area 11 Government Building. Infiltrate, and find Princess Euphemia. Then…” he played with the gun for a moment. “Kill her.”
Makoto stared. “Ki—kill her?”
“She is a threat to our plans, Makoto. Once she is out of the way, the Black Knights will be able to move much easier. As long as she is around, charming the Japanese, we cannot gain any ground.”
“If…if you say so, Zero-sama.”
“Also, one more thing, Makoto,” Lelouch laced it on. “If you happened to be captured, you must say you were paid off by insiders in the royal family.”
“But—”
“On pain of death, you must do this. If it is traced back to us, there will be trouble, now. But do not worry, I am sure you can handle it. When you come back here successful, you will be honored above all Japanese.”
Lelouch could see the sparkle in Makoto’s eyes, and knew he had him. “I…I will. Of course. I will be successful, Zero-sama!”
“Good. Leave at once. And tell no one of this mission. Secrecy is vital to your success. Don’t let me down.”
“You aren’t really going to assassinate your sister, are you?” C.C. asked, the second Lelouch walked back into his quarters.
“Of course not,” he said, taking the helmet off. “The gun I gave the man won’t work, as he will find out. But the act is enough—when he is captured and said to have been paid off by the royal family to make it look like terrorists, then Suzaku will see the truth of how cruel the real Britannia can be. My mother was killed in a similar way—if Euphie is threatened, then Suzaku will see the truth for himself.”
“And? What then?”
“Then, Cornelia will assign someone to be Euphie’s knight and bodyguard. He will never see her again. I will offer a proposition to Suzaku to join me, and offer protection to Euphie in exchange. He knows I will never hurt Euphie, so, at a time when he is vulnerable, I will get him to agree. Once he is on my side, he will see—he will see that he made the right choice. And if Suzaku wishes for Euphie that much, then after I take over Japan, I will release her to his care—and he can protect her then. He will have no complaints.”
“It seems like a good plan…if it works,” C.C. piped back.
“It will work,” Lelouch glared at her. “I know Cornelia. It will work. Once another man is assigned as Euphie’s knight and she is confined to the Government building, then I will have him.” Lelouch grinned, “Love does make fools out of everyone, doesn’t it? It’s such a marvelous thing…”
“I’m surprised, Euphie,” Suzaku told her, as the lay in the grass on the garden on the top of the government building. “I thought Her Highness Cornelia didn’t want me around.”
“What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her,” Euphie smiled back, making the smile on Suzaku’s face fade.
“But Euphie…if she does…?”
“Well, what’s the harm?” she laughed. As a knight, its perfectly acceptable for me to ask you here. There’s nothing wrong with it—”
Suzaku was about to say something else, but then…out of the corner of his eye, he saw it…he saw something…something black, crouching in the bushes. Something human…crouching in the bushes…with a gun!”
“Euphie!” Suzaku yelled, shoving her down, as he leapted for the man. The man rose the pistol he had to fire, but he was too late—Suzaku kicked the man down and held him, yelling, “Euphie! Get out of here!”
But as he looked up to make sure she was alright, he missed the man’s other hand reach for the gun. Suzaku looked down in time to see it pointed directly at him—
“Suzaku!” Euphie cried, but she was too late—the man pulled the trigger.
A shot fired. Euphie screamed. Suzaku had braced himself for it but…after a few seconds, opened his eyes again. Staring back down, he saw nothing. No blood…nothing…The would-be assassin looked surprised as well.
The gun was loaded with blanks.
But Suzaku didn’t let another moment slip by like that again. Forcing the man down and making sure both his arms were behind his back, he yelled, “You are under arrest for High Treason to the Empire!”
Security came running after hearing Euphie’s scream. As soon as Suzaku was sure the would-be assassin was in better hands, he let go, and then Euphie came running into his arms. “Suzaku!”
“I’m alright, Euphie,” he sighed, holding despite the looks of disapproval from the rest of the guards. “Come on, let’s get you back to your room, you’ve had a fright—”
Wiping the tears out of her eyes, she shook her head. “No, not yet…”
“Euphie?”
She stepped away from him for a moment, turning to all the staff that had shown up at the scene. “I…I have an announcement to make.”
“Euphie, is this really the—”
“As you all know, this man, Kururugi Suzaku, has saved me on more than one occasion—three times now, in fact. He also saved Her Highness Cornelia when she was in danger as well. I think he has more than proved himself as loyal to me and to the crown.”
Even so, Suzaku couldn’t help but blush. “Euphie, what are you…”
She didn’t answer his question, but continued, “Her Highness Cornelia has been pressuring me to choose a knight to be my personal protector. And today, I have chosen. Kururugi Suzaku,” she turned to him at once. “I hereby appoint you to the position of my personal knight. Do you accept?”
Princess Euphemia’s Personal Knight? But that was…that was a job a real knight was supposed to do! He had only been a lower level knight for only a month, and yet— “Euphie, why are you…”
She leaned closer, and muttered under her teeth, “Once this status is appointed by someone of royal blood, it cannot be taken back by any other royal out there. Do you understand Suzaku?”
He understood perfectly. Cornelia. But…was this right? Cornelia wanted someone else to be Euphie’s knight…someone more qualified…
But, it was Euphie, and…He remembered his goals. This was it. That was what he was waiting for. Euphie would soon be Governor-General, and he…he would be her personal knight…By Euphie’s side, he could do it! He could save Japan.
This was it! Everything he had waited for—!
Kneeling before her, Suzaku spoke, “I accept, Your Highess. As you wish, I shall be your personal knight.”
The staff around held shocked faces, never having seen something like it before. But Euphie smiled back at him. And that was enough. “Thank you, Suzaku…” she smiled, as he took her hand and kissed it formally, lingering a little too long to be all formality.
The phone only rang for a moment before it was picked up. “Lelouch?”
“Oh, Suzaku, it’s you.”
“…Did you hear the news?”
“Yes...I…I would have never thought such a thing would happen. To…to Euphie, too! Thank god you were there, Suzaku, or—”
“Lelouch, they’re saying it was someone from the Black Knights that did it.”
“That’s…that’s impossible! I never ordered—!”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course! Do you think I want my own sister dead?”
“I never thought you did. But Lelouch…did they report about the man’s gun? The man had a gun, and it was filled with blanks.”
“Blanks?”
“Yes, blanks. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t even be here right now.”
“Oh…thank goodness for that, then.”
“Lelouch. I know you don’t want your sister dead. But ordering someone to assassinate the Britannian princess and giving them a gun full of blanks—”
“That would mean the person behind it wanted them to get caught, yes. A foolish move. The man was just a scrapegoat for someone else. Who did he say did it?”
“He said he was hired by someone in the royal family—”
“There you go, then. Suzaku, I told you before, it’s always this way in the royal family. Someone wanted Euphemia dead—”
“But why give a gun full of blanks?”
“I dunno…maybe it was instead to blame it on someone else?”
“Oh? Like who?”
“The Black Knights, of course. If we were pinned with an assassination attempt, then our popularity among Elevens would fall. There. That’s a logical explanation.”
“It makes sense, but…I’m not quite sure I believe it.”
“Well, then don’t believe it. All you have to know is that it failed and we have one very stupid assassin on our hands.”
“Lelouch…I didn’t call to talk about the assassination attempt.”
“Really? Then what about?”
“I think you know what I mean.”
“…I don’t so, unless you—”
“I’m calling because I’m finished.”
“Finished?”
“Finished. With all of this. I won’t be participating in your little missions anymore.”
“Yes, you already told me that. In Narita, remember?”
“Back there, I told you I wouldn’t participate. Now I’m telling you that I’m done harboring terrorism. If I come across the Black Knights again—I will fight them, and fight them to the best of my ability.”
“Su…Suzaku…”
“I cannot call myself loyal to the Britannian Empire if I do not follow through with it at all times.”
“So…is this it? Are you saying we’ve become enemies, Suzaku?”
“It depends upon what you will do. If you give up being Zero, and disband the Black Knights—then we will be as we always were. If you will continue on this destructive path, Lelouch, then yes…you will be my enemy.”
“…”
“…Lelouch?”
“May I ask…What brought on this sudden change of opinion?”
“Euphie.”
“Euphie?”
“Yes. Her. Today, after I saved her life, she granted me the position of her knight. Her personal protector.”
“…She…she did?”
“Yes, Lelouch, she did. And I cannot protect my princess in good conscience if I am harboring terrorists at the same time. So I’m asking you again, Lelouch…will you become my enemy?”
“…Suzaku…Do you know how…hard it will be to give up everything like this?”
“I’m sure you can handle it.”
“No, not like that. If a leader leaves the group he created, after he did all he could to make them believe in him, they will get angry, rebel—no telling what they could do. If I pulled out of Zero now, then do you know what that could potentially cause? Complete chaos all over Area 11 is what! Now tell me, do you think that’s wise?”
“Fine, how long then. How long will it be until you can, without threat, stop being Zero?”
“…It’ll take some time…I need to set up a succession…have a new leader ready to take over…I cannot simply disband them, you see…then I suppose a faked death could do it…end it on a note where they would mourn, but then move on. And I would be out of the picture.”
“You will do that?”
“Don’t trust me, Suzaku?”
“Lelouch…I just want to know. After this, will you be my friend, or enemy?”
“…We’ve been friends for seven years, haven’t we? I can’t give that up now.”
“…Fine…Let me know once I can stop turning a blind eye—and for your sake, I hope its sometime soon.”
“Of course…since you are my friend.”
And the phone clicked off.
Seconds after the conversation was over, Lelouch slammed his fist into the wall. Damn him…damn you, Suzaku! You think you can tell me to quit after I’m finally starting to achieve what I wanted after so long! How dare you think that I would—
“Giving up Zero to stay Suzaku’s friend…you really do want to be his friend that badly, huh?” C.C. asked, as she stepped into Lelouch’s room.
“It’s not that! I…”
“You what?”
Lelouch didn’t answer. Instead, he turned back to her. “C.C….I need…I need you to give me the geass.”
“What?” she took a step back. “Lelouch, I told you before that—”
“Things have changed! Now that Suzaku is determined against me, if I don’t have the geass, then I’ll be forced to do as he wishes! I cannot be Zero without my miracles! And I cannot make the miracles without this power! If I wish to continue on as Zero—to complete what I told myself I would—I need this power, C.C.! If nothing else, so that if Suzaku chooses to attack me with the geass, I have something to counter it with!”
“Lelouch…”
“Please, C.C.!”
That single word brought back so many memories for C.C….but one vivid one was year ago, yes, about ten years ago, in the Imperial villa…as she watched a young black haired child laugh and play around the grounds. “Please, Miss C.C., come and play!”
“Don’t ask me to give you the Geass, Lelouch…” C.C. turned away, hoping that would be it. “The Power of the Kings only leads to sorrow.”
“I don’t care about that!” Lelouch, in a pleading gesture, took her hand…
“Come on, Miss C.C.! I found some baby kittens this morning, come and look!” when the little boy had grabbed her hand…
“C.C., if I don’t have the geass as a precaution, then do you realize what could happen to me if they find out that I am Zero? If Suzaku really does go back on his word and betray me, then I’ll have nothing left! For my own sake, I—”
“Alright!” C.C. pushed his hand aside, knowing she had no choice. Slumping down to sit on the bed, she began, “All right…if…if you are sure…if this is entirely your own will…then I will grant the geass to you.”
“It is. I have no other motive for it but for my own protection—and to make the impossible possible. Your wish as well, C.C. I will grant that.”
But she didn’t want him to grant it…
“Lelouch,” she sighed. “The Power of the Kings…it will lead you to sorrow…even so—”
“Even so,” he kneeled down before her, like a knight to his liege.
“Lelouch…you must know this…any geass you receive—” She stopped suddenly.
“…C.C.?”
She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. A geass is a powerful weapon no matter what the form. There are dangers associated with it. And you still…”
“Yes,” Lelouch took her hand. “Grant me that power C.C. The power to change the world. Then, when I am able, I will grant your wish.”
For a single moment, C.C. closed her eyes, sending a clear warning to the only person who could hear her. He will be a contractor under me…that means he had to stay alive…I know what you are planning, and hear this—I won’t let you hurt him.
“Very well. You shall have that power—but…”
Just as she took them into the other plane of existence, C.C. thought to herself,
I think I have made a terrible mistake.
Chapter 5 here.
I <3 motherly C.C.
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