Broken Valkyrie's Ascent

[Naron]

It was a pleasant day. Bright sunlight shone from the cloudless sky, reflected by countless buildings atop Tokyo Settlement. The topmost layer of the Britannian city literally rose above its surroundings, both a statement and a deterrent. The crowds paid what dwelled beyond no mind, colourful yet ignorant.

To Kaguya, it felt unwelcoming. Though she was part of the crowd, the sneers directed at her revealed what issues hid under the pretty facade. She was not a freedom fighter, nor did she dress outlandish for their tastes. Only her distinctly Japanese features were to their dislike, with Kaguya's long, black hair almost like a signalling post. It drew the eye, from which one then noticed the rest.

Shopping was her guilty pleasure, with emphasis on 'guilty'. Kaguya had the money to afford spending like this where her fellow Japanese wallowed in the slums, or worked themselves into an early grave with menial labour around here. In fact, she could feel the other 'Honourary Britannians' stares boring into her. They could tell from her clothes, a light blouse and jeans that did not look out of place from the crowd. They were fairly new, not like their worn-down things.

She was well aware nobody liked her here, neither her own people nor the Britannians. The casual derision and outright staring had her almost grasp the hidden taser's handle for calm. She felt like some rare animal at the zoo, quietly bemoaning that she refused a guard. Yet being unknown was a greater shield than a goon; having a suit shadow her would signal someone worth abducting to whoever was willing or desperate enough to try. But the constant worry was almost as bad.

This happened each time she came to Tokyo. Each time Kaguya wondered if this was really worth it. And each time she ended up coming back. Vanity was unbecoming, but she could not help it.

Though somewhat lost in thought, her attention remained on the area. She purposefully kept to the main streets, using the crowds for protection from any ruffians. Sneers and snide comments were the worst she had to fear here.

That attention was why she spotted something unusual just ahead of her preferred shopping area: a girl in a wheelchair, head down with an open book in her lap. She seemed unaware of the stares she garnered, almost as bad as what Kaguya got.

That was definitely odd, considering Britannia's stance on disabilities. People like her were usually kept out of sight. Kaguya's attention stayed long enough to notice the sundress she wore, quietly wondering if this was not a little cold for April. Then again, today was rather warm.

The girl's wheelchair had been parked next to an empty bench. All the rest were occupied, but nobody seemed willing to be near her. The sight tugged on Kaguya's heartstrings, a distant reminder of another girl like this. Someone she once called friend. Childish though the memory was, it never quite left.

She was not sure why she approached the girl. There was no reaction given as she drew near, which Kaguya took as a good sign. She took the time to study her a moment longer, but was taken by how that pale blonde hair cascaded down her back in visible curls. It may even be longer than Kaguya's own.

"May I sit here?", she asked in fluent Britannian, clearly surprising the other girl. Her head finally turned up, which surprised Kaguya in turn: her eyes were closed. The familiarity of this encounter began to feel surreal.

The girl herself brightened up. "Of course," she answered. "Please do."

So Kaguya sat and snuck a glance at the book before it was closed; much like she expected, it was in braille.

"Are you out on your own?" she asked next, curious despite herself. The answer was obvious to anyone, but it felt like a decent icebreaker.

The other girl shook her head in response. "Oh, no. My maid is buying groceries, so I asked to come along for some fresh air."

A light frown snuck onto her expression as she said it, though it smoothed out quickly. Kaguya did not really process it anyway, too busy re-evaluating after hearing the word 'maid'. This was not just anyone, but rather a wealthy commoner or perhaps even a minor noble.

The answer was followed by a somewhat awkward silence. Kaguya was stuck, trying to decide whether she should make up a painfully obvious excuse to leave, or risk being chased away once the maid returned. And then there were the renewed stares she now became aware of. People whispered, too quiet to hear for Kaguya. But the other girl's head twitched ever so slightly and her frown reappeared for a moment. It was already gone when she turned back to Kaguya.

"You, may I have your name?"

Though Kaguya kicked herself internally, her rigorous training made her not cringe visibly. She really wanted to, though, after forgetting something that basic.

"Of course, I'm sorry I forgot. I'm Kaguya."

She expected some sort of reaction as a matter of course. Perhaps disgust, or a demand to leave the girl alone. Then she remembered that losing one's sight would enhance the other senses, so the other girl already knew.

"Kaguya," she tested the name curiously. There was an odd tone to her soft voice, but the Japanese girl could not put it right now.

"How old are you, Kaguya?"

"Thirteen."

"So the same age as me."

She started smiling for some unfathomable reason, apparently not at all bothered by sitting next to a Number. Kaguya knew being a Honourary Britannian meant less than the paper it was written on cost. She was an Eleven to most Britannians, just like her once proud country became Area Eleven all those years ago.

But here was this girl, looking back down at her book with this unfathomable smile. The silence at least gave Kaguya a chance to get her bearings.

"What's your name?" she asked back, well aware the other girl had not given hers yet. It made that little smile return at once, as if she were privately amused about something.

"It's Nunnally," she said while facing Kaguya again.

Silence followed her introduction. Kaguya could only stare wordlessly as everything clicked into place. It was supposed to be impossible, but it could hardly be a lie; nobody knew they were once friends. It all fit, too; the invalidity, the blindness, the age, even her looks were similar. The hair was longer, her face lost the baby fat just like Kaguya's did, but it still looked so nostalgic.

She barely kept the emotions from her face. It was too good to be true, which was why she remained wary. Kaguya needed certainty first, so she hummed in thought.

"How is your brother doing these days?" she asked, the non-sequitur not even surprising Nunnally. It may be they played the same game.

"Oh, just as usual. Lelouch sleeps through half his classes because he's so bored, then goes off to gamble on chess matches."

Here Nunnally giggled a little and leaned in conspiratorially. "He even thinks I don't know about those, but it's an open secret at school."

Kaguya's mind raced, eyes narrowed as she tried to figure out what Nunnally meant to tell her here. Moreover, she dropped Lelouch's name on her own. Kaguya had to accept that it was actually true.

"Ashford?"

"Of course. The headmaster was so kind to accept me despite the obvious."

She motioned at herself with something approaching nonchalance, which was unlike what Kaguya remembered of her. The melancholy's grip grew so strong that she did not want to play cat and mouse anymore. But even just the off-chance she was lost in fantasy was too much a risk. She could not just take the plunge.

"Say my name. Please."

Nunnally smiled and did as asked: "Sumeragi Kaguya."

She even did it in the correct order, last name first.

Kaguya only barely did not break down, though she wanted to cry very much. Instead, she shuffled a little closer and snaked her hand into Nunnally's. Her old friend squeezed it gently.

"I never thought I'd see you again," Kaguya murmured.

"Right back at you."

Nunnally had been openly declared dead seven years ago. Meanwhile, Kaguya's fate remained unknown as she all but vanished from public perception. She was still young enough to slip under the radar of business rivals. The one member of the big six not advertised due to age; nobody wanted to risk her getting abducted.

Both of them were smiling now, oblivious of the stares, societal obligations, or anything else.

"I'm glad you're alright," Nunnally said, which Kaguya could only echo. To meet like this was a miracle in itself.

They caught up quietly on the others' life; Nunnally stayed with the Ashfords, Kaguya was squirreled away at Mt. Fuji. Neither of them went out to Tokyo often, Nunnally due to her disabilities and Kaguya because she was swamped in work as head of Sumeragi Zaibatsu. She carefully did not mention anything about Kyoto House, though; being part of a group arming freedom fighters was better kept away from the public.

Despite it all, there was a silent understanding that neither of them had done much of anything. Nunnally was confined in one way, Kaguya in another.

"How fitting for the Eleven and the cripple to waste space together," some middle-aged woman groused in passing. She was loud enough for Kaguya to hear, so Nunnally definitely did. Yet the other girl only moved her head the slightest bit. Kaguya squeezed her hands harder for a moment, uncertain whether it was for her own sake or Nunnally's.

"Sorry about that," she started. "I imagine it happens to you often enough."

Nunnally's smile was reassuring.

"Don't apologise for the actions of others, please. I'm alright and have everything I need. In fact, I have even more than that after getting to see you again."

And just like that Kaguya forgot the insults. Her own lips quirked up as well, almost magnetically bound into a smile of her own. She did not quite get what Nunnally giggled about just then, but it did not really matter. Kaguya was just happy they were still friends, like no time passed at all since last they spoke.

"Actually," Nunnally tried a moment later, a little hesitant, "may I have your number?"

She hopefully held out her cellphone, which Kaguya immediately snatched up. "Of course," she said while putting it in. The dearth of numbers in her friend's address book was graciously ignored.

"Now give me yours?"

Her question was answered with a string of numbers that she put into her own phone. Nunnally had it memorised and did not hesitate to share.

"I see the young mistress is in good company," a new voice announced itself. When Kaguya looked up, phone still in hand, she saw a clearly Japanese woman in a western style maid dress. The lady stood perfectly straight even while carrying a sizable bag of groceries. One could call her plain beside that, with short brown hair and a serene smile.

Kaguya threw a speculative look to Nunnally, more curious than suspicious. The other girl's smile had grown a fraction as she happily motioned for Kaguya.

"We're old friends," she explained. It was the first time either of them said the word, but it just felt right. Moreover, the maid clearly understood what Nunnally referenced here; a sharp look came Kaguya's way, studying her far more intently than before. But then the maid's gaze lowered to where they held hands once more and she relaxed. A small nod of acknowledgement was given to Kaguya, who returned it despite not quite knowing what went through the maid's head.

"I just realised I forgot something the young master asked me to bring," the maid then said, a faint smile on display. "May I ask you to keep the mistress company a while longer, miss?"

Now that she heard her speak longer, Kaguya realised that the older woman's Britannian was flawless; better even than Kaguya's own. She quickly agreed with the request, well aware this was just an excuse made for their sake.

She also noticed the suspicious quiet around them. There were no more agitated whispers from those who realised Nunnally could afford a maid; the implication that she was wealthy kept their tongues in check, though it did not stop the sneers.

Admittedly, Kaguya was curious too.

"You have a maid?"

Nunnally's answer began with a soft nod. "Well, I can hardly expect my brother to do everything. Even if he absolutely would if given the chance. Sayoko has been with us for about seven years now. It took a while for us to really get along, but I know I can trust her with everything."

"Everything?" Kaguya asked, just to be sure she meant it.

"Everything," Nunnally confirmed.

So the maid knew. But at the same time, Kaguya realised that her friend did not change her name. Lelouch apparently kept his, too.

"After all this time, you're still Nunnally," she settled on, a statement to hide the indirect question. Her hopes that Nunnally noticed were answered with a sad smile.

"Some things you just can't give up, no matter what."

The momentary break in her demeanour was wiped away about as soon as the last word was spoken. A contemplative silence followed, Kaguya now certain that the gentle persona was not entirely real. What she did not know was whether Nunnally showed her that on purpose. Then again, she had seen her friend throw vicious temper tantrums in the past; that knowledge may be how she noticed at all.

Kaguya wanted to pry into Nunnally's feelings, but refrained because she was aware it was too early to do so. Instead, she changed the subject to something more benign.

"So how is school? I never had a chance to go, so tell me about it."

Nunnally indulged her graciously. Her accounts might have been a little prettier than reality, but Kaguya as a home-schooled girl could not rightly tell.

They kept chatting for a while, swerving around any even remotely risky subject. Sayoko returned an hour later to fetch Nunnally, who sighed with some disappointment.

"I guess this is goodbye for now. Please call me as soon as you can, yes?"

"Of course," Kaguya agreed. "Does around nine work this evening?"

Nunnally tilted her head in thought before nodding. "It does, wonderful! Then I will hear from you soon, Kaguya."

They squeezed hands one final time while Sayoko dutifully took notes. Kaguya almost wanted to go for a hug, but knew there were still people watching.

"Bye bye!"

She felt she should wave, even though Nunnally would not see it. Instead she watched as Sayoko expertly maneuvered her charge through the crowds. She stayed in place until the pair vanished from sight, already reminiscing. It was not the first time something pleasant happened in Tokyo, but it was definitely the best encounter she had here.

Then she remembered her own shopping and got going again. Nunnally fell from her mind for a time, though their conversation left a pleasant haze behind. Most of her allotted shopping time was already spent, but that was fine. She did not even feel upset when one store turned her away for being a Number.

Another hour later, Kaguya covertly climbed a black car with tinted windows. A single bag of clothes sat on her lap, some Britannian sweets hidden at its bottom. She could never resist those.

"Good afternoon, Takeshi-san," she greeted the neatly dressed driver. "Thank you for the hard work."

"Good to see you in one piece, Sumeragi-sama."

It was all he said before the drive home took up his attention. Kaguya did not mind, well aware he preferred the quiet. Acting too familiar with your boss's boss was obviously not advisable, either.

After a few minutes spent in silence however, he spoke up again: "You seem to be in a good mood today."

"That I am," she agreed readily. "There are still nice people out there."

His snort was a clear enough response, though he did not actually challenge her about it. Japanese people were not well received among Britannians, but not all of them were bad. Many were just indifferent, which she still preferred.

And then there was Nunnally. The mere thought of having met her again felt like a fever dream; the odds of that happening were astronomically small and she doubted that it even happened for a moment. Yet Kaguya now had a new contact bearing Nunnally's name on her phone. She was tempted to call right now.

Then realisation struck her with the force of a sledgehammer. Kaguya's smile froze on her face and her entire body seized up for a moment.

Nunnally was an imperial princess. Even disinherited, that royal blood still meant something.

Kaguya's mind began to race with the possibilities. Backing from a Britannian princess could help the Japanese's fight for independence. She had a decent idea of how reverent people were of the royal family; old man Kirihara took her to several official functions as part of her lessons on how to navigate high society, which gave her great amounts of insight. Especially after seeing Prince Clovis on several of them. Not that she actually spoke to him beyond a faux reverent greeting.

A minute or two was spent fantasizing about the headway they could make with Nunnally's help.

Then reality caught up with Kaguya in a single, damning question: just how much more could be achieved with Nunnally as a hostage?

The thought alone felt heretical and put a severe damper on her mood. It was the prudent option, really. Nunnally would not be enthused about this, she was in hiding for a reason.

Kaguya thoughtlessly stared at the contact reading 'Nunnally' on her phone's display for a time. Then she changed it to just 'N'.

She was ready to give her time, her freedom, even her life for Japan. But this was where Kaguya drew the line. She knew without a shadow of doubt that Nunnally would be in horrible danger if anyone heard a single word of her survival. The Japanese were just as dangerous to her as the Britannians.

And then there was Lelouch. Just remembering he was also alive made Kaguya fully realise the mess she got herself in. She was now aware of a dangerous secret kept by a handful of people; if Lelouch was anywhere near as protective as she remembered him being, then breaking Nunnally's trust would be Kaguya's end.

Fear wormed its way into her heart at that thought. She was afraid of him, but not for her life. She still remembered the fire that burned in his eyes at times. If something happened to Nunnally because of Kaguya, Lelouch might not just kill her. He might finish what Britannia started and break the Japanese.

She knew she was jumping at shadows. Kaguya had not even met him. She never planned to exploit or hurt Nunnally. But the prospect of being responsible despite her best intentions filled her with dread.

She was tempted to delete the contact outright and wash her hands of it all. The screen asking for confirmation burned into her retinas as Kaguya hesitated. Then she cancelled it. She could not do that to her only friend, not when Nunnally was so happy to see her again after all this time.

So Kaguya sat in silence, anticipatory as well as worried. She silently bemoaned what happened to her day off.

She already felt that something irrevocably changed today. Yet she could never have anticipated the events that would follow this chance meeting.

---

And here we go. Time to give Nunnally the agency she has never gotten throughout all of canon Code Geass. And a bunch of other things I will not spoil here.

There is one thing I should mention now, though: while this setup may appear as a For Want of a Nail type story, where everything changes from a singular difference, this is not the case. I have done some background work to make CG canon's lore more coherent. These adjustments are inspired by Slayer Anderson over on Sufficient Velocity, whose CG Quest Semper ad Meliora is concluding after a five-years-long runtime. I can warmly recommend giving it a read.

 

[Naron]

Nunnally's good mood held for days. Even on Friday she still hummed to herself while holding onto some paperwork. She listened to the scratching of pens on paper and the rustle whenever a sheet was moved, receiving whatever came her way.

For once, her inability to do some of it herself barely bothered her.

"Now what do we have here?" Milly's voice disrupted the busy silence. From how it turned a little louder, the student council president must have fully turned Nunnally's way and leaned forward. "A rare cheerful mood from our junior member?"

The sounds of work cut off as everyone paused to indulge their most capricious member. Resistance was futile where Milly Ashford was concerned. Nunnally knew that too, not that she wanted to keep the matter to herself. She agreed readily while turning to the older girl in turn.

Then Rivalz chimed in from the side, just as playful as Milly had been: "Care to share what's got you in such a good mood? Anything Lelouch needs to go threaten someone over?"

Some chuckles followed from around the room, even Nunnally giggled. "Nothing like that," she denied with a little wave. "Though I like to think he wouldn't do that, even if I met someone. Though I technically did meet someone, just not like that."

The silence all around told her enough of everyone's curiousity. Nunnally was in such a good mood that she did not mind sharing at all. Of course Lelouch already knew, but he probably kept it to himself.

"I met an old friend a few days ago. She was just like I remembered her."

"That explains why you were so upbeat the last few days," Shirley mused. Nunnally graced her with a smile in response.

Meanwhile, Milly chuckled. "My, my. A friend we don't know about? When did you meet her first?" she asked, which gave Nunnally pause; the Ashford heiress was the only one here who knew the truth about them. Saying that it was before would make alarm bells ring in her mind.

Lelouch jumped in seamlessly to save her: "A few years back, it's been a while."

He then had to fend off some questions about already knowing, but nobody gave him much trouble about it. Them being close was no secret to anyone here. Nunnally just kept smiling to herself, at least until Rivalz turned back to her with audible confusion.

"Okay, but why haven't you seen each other in so long? Did she move away or something?"

"Or something, yes," she confirmed. "It was a bit complicated."

"And does this friend have a name?" Milly wanted to know next. "How about you invite her over so we can meet her?"

Nunnally nodded back. "I was meaning to invite her sometime soon, her schedule is just rather full at the moment. And I wanted to talk to you about it first."

"Oh, no problem at all. Now tell us more about her, inquisitive minds want to know."

Nunnally knew the older girl was being goofy on purpose, but she appreciated it; being the focus of attention was a rare occasion, at least in a positive sense. Most times people just kept hovering because of her condition, if they were kind about it at all.

Mulling it over, Nunnally put a finger to her chin. "Well, how to start? Kaguya is very sweet and considerate, not to mention smart. She told me she already took over most of her family business despite being my age."

She knew she had to be careful what to say exactly. But for some reason the answer she received was silence, the sort that felt somehow heavier than normal. Nunnally's head tilted ever so faintly, almost of its own volition. She did not give them anything incriminating. Perhaps they just waited for her to keep going.

"'Kaguya'?" Shirley repeated slowly just then. "Isn't that, you know, an Eleven name?"

More silence followed.

While the others waited for confirmation, Nunnally was dumbstruck. Her good mood took an immediate nosedive and familiar bile rose up from her gut. She carefully smoothed out her expression, head slowly turning toward Shirley; with the lack of reaction, she should have managed to hide how much that question upset her. The anger was pushed back down for now.

"Yes. Your point?"

Her response was too curt, but she could not help it. It was all she could dare doing to make her displeasure known. Perhaps it was not enough, seeing how Shirley did not pick up on her mood.

"I mean, it's just... are you sure you're alright? You know how Elevens are."

There were agreeing noises from Milly and also Nina, their most quiet member. Rivalz said nothing, just like Lelouch. Nunnally could not think about the implications for the moment, too busy fighting for composure.

She did not have problems like this normally. But after just meeting Kaguya again, she absolutely hated the prospect of someone, anyone badmouthing her. Especially Shirley, whom she sincerely expected more of. But she could hardly say that to her face.

While she still fought with herself, Rivalz picked up the conversation to prevent an uncomfortable silence: "I don't know, Nunnally is a good judge of character. Come on, you say something too."

He was clearly talking to Lelouch, seeing that his response followed right quick: "Is there any need to? Nunnally can be friends with whomever she wants to be."

"As long as you approve, of course."

The soft and smooth tone her brother took soothed her nerves a little, as did Rivalz's little joke. Nunnally even managed a weak smile, especially at the telling lack of response from Lelouch.

"But isn't it dangerous?", Shirley pressed, easily ruining their efforts. "You're always so careful with her, why risk her meeting an Eleven like that? Where did she even meet her?"

"P-Please tell me she didn't leave Tokyo," Nina added fearfully, the first time she actually spoke up in this whole thing. Her worry would have been touching, but right now it only compounded on the rising anger.

Nunnally's throat constricted, papers crinkling as she crushed them in her hand. Nobody noticed because they were all too busy talking to Lelouch, which was just typical. The moment he was there, everyone ignored her.

Her composure cracked then.

"I am right here and can be directly spoken to."

Her voice was devoid of warmth, a whipcrack that silenced the room. Nunnally stopped to bother looking sweet, frowning openly at where she knew Shirley stood from scent and sound.

"And Shirley, do please tell me how Elevens are, seeing that you are such an expert."

Nobody else dared interrupt. Shirley herself stuttered a little before actually finding her voice: "N-Now don't be like that, Nunna. I understand that you're happy to make a friend, but Elevens are still super dangerous. You know there's a lot of terrorist attacks, there's more and more each year. I'm just worried about you, we're friends after all."

She clearly meant to calm Nunnally down, but her words only managed the opposite. Nunnally hated being babied. She hated people acting like experts when they had no idea. And most of all, she hated others pretending to be her friends.

Pain blossomed in her forehead, a pounding headache out of nowhere. Nunnally ignored it away beyond a little wince, all her focus on scowling in Shirley's general direction.

"We're friends?" she asked back, voice calm once more. Tranquil and soft.

The immediate "Yes" from Shirley sounded all too self-assured. As if she thought Nunnally agreed, or was moved by a word with no meaning.

"You have a funny way of showing that, talking over my head and insulting someone you never met based on bias you got from the news instead of any personal experience. I would have accepted that from Nina, but not you."

There was a surprised noise from Nina at being addressed, but she did not speak up. Shirley tried to say something, but Nunnally cut her off. Her headache kept worsening, which only added to her foul mood.

"No. Excepting Lelouch, there is exactly one person in this room who takes time to talk to me and ask how I am. There is one other who occasionally spends time with me. You are neither of these two, it's Rivalz and Nina."

Nunnally left a pause for emphasis, the silence she inflicted weighing heavily on the group.

"Even that, I wouldn't call friendship, but they're both closer than you by miles. You're Lelouch's friend and ingratiate yourself with me, no more than that."

"Nunna...."

There was real hurt in Shirley's voice, but Nunnally did not care. If anything, that response only made her angrier.

"I said no!" she shouted back.

And something snapped.

The mental pain peaked, forcing her to pause on what she meant to say. Nunnally put her head in her hands, blinking.

"You don't get to act the victim after... after...."

She trailed off, still blinking at her fingers. The darkness was gone. Shirley said something in response, but Nunnally ignored her over what just happened.

Familiar hands touched her shoulder and she turned on instinct, only to see a familiar face. It changed from when they were little, but those lilac eyes were still the same. She never thought she would see them again.

Everything past Lelouch's face was blurry, so she focussed solely on him. His features were sharper than she remembered, more mature. Nunnally felt it often enough to know he changed, but the sight of it just drove the point home. Unshed tears glistened in his eyes, wide as they were in shock.

Nunnally felt much the same, her anger slowly replaced by surprised joy. She drank in the sight of him, fearful to close her eyes lest they would not open again. Then she had to blink, and they slid open again just as easily.

"Are you even... Nunnally?"

A blonde blob leaned into view, slowly sharpening into focus as a young woman. Milly recoiled and slapped a hand in front of her mouth as she met Nunnally's gaze.

"Stop it, Shirley. Her eyes are open!"

Everyone congregated around her in an instant, talking over each other. They seemed happy for her, but Nunnally could not understand much. To make matters worse, the noise they made added to the increased scent of three different perfumes. Combined with the sudden influx of sight, the overstimulation caused another horrible headache.

Nunnally was happy, but the pain drew her anger back out anyway. She had nowhere to put all these feelings and could not focus enough to get a hold of them.

In the end, she pushed everyone back.

"I need some time to myself," was all Nunnally told them. She received no response, but the noise of retreating footsteps told her they gave that space. Silence followed her as she maneuvered her wheelchair out of the room, eyes closed but peeking every few seconds. The colours were all so unfamiliar and too much, but she knew the way well enough in the darkness.

Nunnally counted seconds along the way as usual. This time however, she could not help but check how close she came to walls and such. Her vision grew blurry with tears, of which she gave no indication until in the safety of her and Lelouch's little flat. Only then did she allow herself to slump and sob. She had no other way to let all these feelings out.

Some time passed like this. Nunnally did not know how much and did not care. She only became attentive to the world when a tissue was pressed into her hand. She grasped it without thinking before looking at Sayoko. Her maid was just as surprised, but Nunnally only smiled.

"I can see now. Let me look at you?"

Reading the older woman's expression was hard; she had not seen anyone's face in years after all. Yet the gentle smile given to her was unmistakable. Sayoko kneeled before her, close enough Nunnally could cup her cheeks.

"Anytime."

This finally dispersed the last dregs of anger; it returned to bubbling in her gut where it belonged. Nunnally ended up feeling Sayoko's face as she studied it, putting sensation to sight.

"I lost my temper," she admitted. "Shirley was talking bad about Kaguya for being Japanese, and I just couldn't hold it in. I know she only means well, but I just couldn't take that sort of hypocrisy today. And then my eyes opened, somehow."

Her hands were dislodged when Sayoko dragged her into a tender embrace. Nunnally accepted it and leaned against her, unsure what to say or do now. A firm hand stroked her back.

"Shall I turn away visitors for now?" Sayoko inquired.

She considered for a moment, but shook her head. "I don't expect Milly or Shirley to come here. Nina and Rivalz might, but that is fine."

With her mind kicking back into gear, Nunnally eased herself out of Sayoko's arms. She tried for a serious look.

"Please find me some beginner's books," she ordered. "I want to read."

The realisation that she could do that now lit a new fire in her chest. Nunnally wanted to do all the things, reading and writing chief among them.

Sayoko did as told. She also tactfully said nothing about the quarter hour Nunnally spent in front of the mirror after washing her face.

Lelouch found her buried in books an hour later, hands aching from the unfamiliar movement of directing a pencil. Her letters still came slow and scrawly after seven years of neglect, but she did not let that stop her. She only realised he was there when a familiar hand clasped her left.

"Your hands will cramp up if you do this for too long. Take a break."

"Hence why I alternate hands every ten minutes," she shot back demurely. Lelouch took the pencil from her hand regardless. Nunnally glowered at him momentarily, but accepted his fussing. It was not like she started from zero, she just did not get far before that day.

For his part, Lelouch hugged her tightly. Nunnally forgave him at once.

"I am so happy for you," he whispered into her ear. "I knew you could get over that mental block."

She heard his faint sniffle, well aware her proud big brother was crying. The knowledge alone drove tears to Nunnally's eyes as well, but she held them in. They held each other tightly, basking in shared joy.

But Nunnally still kept thinking. Right now was a moment her brother would agree to a lot more than normal. She never had to beg for anything, but with her eyes available...

"Say, can I have a gun?"

Lelouch just stopped for a moment upon hearing that. He pulled back slowly and with confusion even Nunnally could identify.

"What for?"

"Protection?" she asked back innocently.

They stared at each other, Nunnally expectant while Lelouch was just dumbfounded. Then he shook his head. "You have a perfectly good taser," he lectured. "You don't need a gun."

"One of these does not work so well when you're sat in a wheelchair," Nunnally argued back. The reminder of her continued invalidity managed to sour her mood a bit; she did not bother hiding the edge to her voice. "We both know the taser was the only option while I was blind."

"That doesn't mean you need a gun."

"Maybe not need, but I want one."

She was not even sure what she would use it for, but she wanted it anyway. Sadly, she seemed to have pushed for too much after all; Lelouch shook his head.

"Still no."

Nunnally crossed her arms at that. She continued to pout at him for the rest of the day, convinced he owned at least one gun. Unfortunately, she had no idea where he hid them.

Everyday life at the Lamperouge residence quickly turned busy after that.

For Sayoko, the sight was envigorating. She had never seen her young mistress apply herself so readily. Even the weeks-long delay in her scheduled playdate with the Sumeragi girl did not seem to bring her down, though her friend being busy was understandable.

"Has she been like this before it happened?" Sayoko asked Lelouch quietly while the mistress worked away her Sunday.

He shook his head in response. "In a sense yes, but not really. She just started her actual tutoring back then. Nunnally was a little hellion as a child, always running around. Mother never scolded her for climbing trees or sliding down the bannisters. She only told her not to do it when guests were over."

He bore a faint smile as he recounted days long past, for once not bitter. Although it faded somewhat when he found back to their conversation: "I appreciate how hard she works, but she might hurt herself if she keeps going like this."

"Worry not," Sayoko reasurred him warmly. One hand found its way onto his shoulder to spend comfort. "Nunnally is a strong girl. She breaks before she bends, and a bit of work is not nearly enough to get her there. Although I noticed that she has grown a touch colder the last two days. Perhaps this is just how much she focusses, but have you noticed anything like that?"

Her change of subject caused a momentary grimace. Lelouch nodded.

"The student council feels it more than you do. Nunnally is perfectly polite with everyone, but she stopped smiling much. I told Milly long ago that she didn't like being a de-facto mascot with nothing to really do, but she didn't listen. I guess now Nunnally actually lets her know it, too."

"We both know the young Ms. Ashford only wished to include her," Sayoko mused gently. "Though I agree. I wonder why the mistress never said anything?"

Her question yielded no answer; she could tell even Lelouch did not know.

Before either of them could actually start theorising, a tap on the ground distracted them. It was not a supicious noise, but unusual enough to warrant attention. Lelouch and Sayoko rose as one to check on Nunnally, only to find her dragging herself into the bathroom on her arms.

Lelouch almost teleported with how fast he appeared by her side. He was not strong in body, but did not care one whit for it as he feebly lifted up his sister; Sayoko stood back to let him have his pride, though she kept ready to catch Nunnally in case his arms gave out. They never did when it was his sister, but caution never hurt.

"What were you doing?" he chided gently. "We're both right here, you could have called."

Nunnally frowned back at him, almost petulant in her response: "I wanted to do it myself."

"But you don't have to, you know that. I don't mind helping and neither does Sayoko."

"It's not about you minding."

"Then what is it about?"

"About doing it myself."

She did not raise her voice through the whole exchange, but there was a hint of a growl to it by the end. Lelouch noticed just like Sayoko, though he was taken aback where she just nodded sagely. Sayoko understood now.

With that new understanding, she wordlessly took Lelouch from the bathroom and closed the door. Once she thought the young mistress was unable to hear them, she explained to him.

"Please consider the matter from your sister's perspective for a moment. While it is true neither of us will mind or hesitate to aid her, she just got a first taste of independence. At the rate she learns, she won't need to depend on me to transcribe her homework before long. She no longer needs others to see for her. Is it any wonder she tries to do as much on her own as she can?"

Lelouch hummed in thought as she spoke. Then he made a bit of a face.

"That makes sense, but I'm not sure I like her thought process. What if she pushes too far and hurts herself?"

How very like him to just keep worrying. Sayoko graced Lelouch with a kind smile in response. "That is what we are here for," she said. "When the young mistress reaches her limits, we will be there to prop her up and raise her beyond them. As a family should."

Her absolute certainty made him calm down at last, it even drew out a chuckle.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're our maid or our mother," Lelouch teased.

"Alas, I can only be your maid."

Her being Japanese did not allow anything else. Then again, official documents had no influence on her feelings, or on his. They both understood that.

Lelouch let the matter drop like this. "So what do we do about Nunnally? Knowing her, she's too pig-headed to stop this anytime soon."

"Perhaps some light exercises for her arms?" Sayoko suggested in turn. "That way we know she can move around on her own if need be. I can oversee her practice."

He agreed readily and, as per usual, spent half the night researching; a training plan was drawn up and Nunnally's diet adjusted to accomodate the exercise. Lelouch then slept through half his classes on Monday, also as per usual. Sayoko simply smiled when she heard about that part from Milly.

 

[Naron]

Nunnally was last to leave the classroom as usual. She was hardly so impolite to force her way through her classmates, which they well knew. The mean comments were nothing new either; they had it out for her hair today.

It all slid off like water on the outside. She growled inwardly, but refused to give them any satisfaction for their bullying. Not like they could do anything that would force her to react; it had been years since any food or drinks 'accidentally' fell on her. Or since someone pushed her out of her wheelchair.

An unspoken agreement existed between her and the rest of the school: as long as they kept it at this minor stuff, Lelouch would not learn of it. She could not and would not hide anything that left marks; nobody forgot about the fact, even years later. No one managed to connect that particular incident to him, though everyone knew he was responsible. Nobody dared put a hand on her since then.

By herself, Nunnally felt a little bad about the disproportionate retribution. She forgot the poor girl's name, not that it mattered; her family had to leave the country after all their dirty laundry found its way to various key people.

Most of Nunnally's feelings were grim satisfaction, though. And worry, of course; not for the girl, but for Lelouch. They might get too much attention focussed on them if this kept on happening, hence this unspoken agreement with her classmates. Nunnally could bear these little annoyances for their safety's sake.

Then again, the week so far had less bullying than she was used to. Her eyes were clearly the cause, seeing how much interest the news of her regained sight garnered. Even the teachers were relieved they no longer needed to give her special treatment and derail the class.

Their feelings were no secret to her, but they ultimately did not matter at the moment. It was Thursday and she still felt that manic energy urging her to do things. So she maneuvered through Ashford Academy, now finally able to see the beautiful structure where she had to rely on descriptions before. It was a sprawling campus full of well-tended gardens and white stone buildings. She knew too little architecture to really compare, but it felt both grand and inviting in some sense. Although the crowd of students herding this way and that was far more imposing to see than it was to hear.

People grudgingly made way for her as she moved toward the administrative building. The downside of being able to see was that she could tell the many glares now, though Nunnally still ignored them.

In truth, she was giddy. Being able to see meant she could actually participate in student council work.

Nunnally entered the room with a soft greeting, absently returned by Rivalz and Milly. Nina sat in her computer corner, Shirley was not there yet, and Lelouch was already busy working. She took the spot by her brother's side, who pushed a small stack of papers her way without even looking up.

The work itself already lost its novelty, but she still kept at it. Unfortunately, Nunnally was slow compared to everyone else; her writing speed still left much to be desired, and she needed a dictionary to look up various words. But she got a little faster each day, so she kept at it.

In addition to being practice, the monotony and occasional chit-chat helped settle her feelings some more. She was not exactly mad at Shirley anymore, though she did not greet the older girl with a smile when she came in, either.

Then her pen leaked ink onto the paper she just spent five minutes working through. Nunnally scowled at it while trying to swallow her anger.

Lelouch's hand landed on hers a moment later, making her calm down instantly.

And just as always, their meeting transitioned into a social gathering after an our or two of catching up on busywork. Milly was the one to start them off, as she so often did.

"So, how are you holding up, Nunnally?"

"I can't complain," she answered non-committally. Transparent though it was, Nunnally appreciated the attempt to include her after she called everyone out on not doing so. It annoyed her at the same time, but she did not let it show.

"I'm glad to hear it," Shirley joined in. She paused a short moment to gauge Nunnally's mood, having walked on eggshells around her all week.

With no imminent eruption in sight, she absently carded through her bright orange hair. "Say," she tried next, "do you want to go shopping sometime? I found this cute cafe in town a few weeks ago. Um."

She shut up before Nunnally even said anything. Her frown must have shown.

The sudden tension was not what she intended to create, but now it was there. Nunnally allowed herself a little sigh and got about dissolving it. Shirley was just being nice, but how that came to be still annoyed her.

"Please let me make something clear," she started, "I do not hate you."

If anyone was not already listening, they were now. Nunnally focussed on Shirley, who seemed genuinely surprised. She did have a habit of jumping to conclusions after all. Nunnally shook her head.

"I'm still upset, but not so much with you as the circumstances. I made myself clear how I feel we stand to each other, and that's okay. You don't need to feel obligated to do anything on my behalf."

It was more true than she thought before saying it. The situation itself was what made her angry more than anything; playing house in hiding, having to fear for her safety at every opportunity. Not being able to even run away if needed. She was still defenseless and she hated it with a passion.

The others kept quiet during their exchange. Shirley nodded sadly.

"I'm glad to hear you aren't mad at me, but I still feel bad because you're right. And I'd like to be friends with you after all, so I got to make an effort."

Her words sounded earnest if nothing else. Nunnally tried for a smile, but it came out more curt than she wanted it to be. She could not quite decide what to say either; the notion made her a little happier, but she could not stop suspecting ulterior motives. Shirley had a long-standing crush on her brother, so she would not be the first girl to try getting at him over her.

"I mean, it's kind of hard," Rivalz interjected into the silence. His usual grin was absent, replaced with something that may be somber. He had their immediate attention and kept explaining his view: "We see Lelouch all the time in class and stuff, so you being the little sister just kind of... happens. And you being as you are makes it hard to invite you anywhere. Shirley just didn't want to bother you with something you couldn't enjoy, then it got out of hand."

"Yeah, that," Shirley agreed somewhat helplessly. "I never stopped to think about how you would see it, and I'm sorry about that."

In the end they were just too sweet to stay mad at. Nunnally heaved a little sigh and smiled faintly.

"I guess so. I believe you, but it's hard to just let these things slide entirely."

Then she had a thought, both a small test and a little revenge: "Actually, Lelouch? Did you tell them about the weekend after next yet?"

He shook his head, so Nunnally almost gleefully took to explaining to the curious group: "Right now I'm a little too busy to go anywhere, but there is something you can do for me. Kaguya is visiting Saturday of the week after next. Please be nice to her."

She noticed Nina seemingly shrink in her chair, but that was about the worst reaction she got. The mixed feelings were difficult to read from the various faces for her still.

Shirley only needed a moment to nod her agreement. "Sure thing. I just... don't really feel like I'm doing anything there?"

"It all starts with small things," Lelouch offered, which did not quite comfort his classmate.

A moment of silence followed, then Milly started teasing him about his philosophical comments. Nunnally only listened at that point, content to soak up the atmosphere. It was a nice enough breather.

They only got back to the subject later while walking toward the elevator. It was just Lelouch and Nunnally, so they could speak more freely.

"Shirley is too honest to deceive you," Lelouch started. He did not need to elaborate, though Nunnally threw him a look over her shoulder.

"As honest as she was when using me as a springboard for your affection?"

He contemplated this for a moment before inclining his head. "You have a point, but I feel she did not even realise she was doing it."

"Thoughtless malice is still malice," Nunnally responded evenly.

"Maybe I have to take your dictionary away."

"Only over my dead body."

They grinned at each other, well aware either side was joking. It was nice to transition between proper discussion and banter so easily. They never had any trouble with it before, but now it felt more seamless.

"I like being more independent," Nunnally mused. She got tired of craning her neck, hence why she missed the complicated expression on her brother's face. He did not respond, either. She could only hear some tapping on his phone, just as they entered the service elevator she used to traverse the building. Then, instead of the ground floor, Lelouch entered another destination.

"Where are we going?"

He kept quiet, not answering her question. This worried Nunnally even more once Sayoko slid into the cabin on another floor. She waited with curiousity and budding anxiety as they descended.

The sound of running water hit her ears through the walls about as soon as the doors opened. Everything else was dark, though the audible tapping of feet on concrete gave her a basic idea of the corridor ahead.

"Lelouch," she tried again, this time more pointed. "Why are we in the sewers?"

A lamp was lit. Sayoko took over pushing her while Lelouch led the way. He explained as they walked, complete with exaggerated motions for the sprawling area.

"I made sure even the blueprints don't show how big this place actually is. The lift needs a special password to even come down here, only Sayoko and I know it. I'll tell you later so you can memorise it. This secret area is two things mainly; first a retreat for us in case things go pear-shaped, second a storage for things nobody should see at school."

Nunnally listened attentively, though her gaze still raked across the area. She could not see anything forbidden yet. Her anxiety had melted away and let curiousity take over entirely. But Lelouch, ever the tease, stopped in front of another locked door. It looked completely unassuming before he slid a hidden panel away to insert a key.

Before he pushed open the door however, he turned around and knelt in front of her.

"I had to do some soul-searching the last few days," Lelouch began gently. His eyes never left Nunnally's, full of warmth. "Seeing you put so much effort into catching up made me realise that you're growing up. You will always be my little sister and I will always love you, but I feel you don't want to be just my ward forever."

It was heartwarming and a little surprising that he noticed on his own. Nunnally nodded, unable to vocalise her agreement. Lelouch smiled in turn.

"So I figured I should show you what I have been working on for a while now."

So saying, her brother put in a twenty-digit password before opening the door and showing them in. The lights went on automatically to reveal... a lot of stuff.

There was a complete computer station set up down here, cables vanishing into the walls. A filing cabinet with Lelouch's usual neatness of files stood right next to it. And then there were many caches of goods, most of them still in their boxes and crates. Nunnally tried to glean anything from the codes on each crate, but they told her nothing.

"This is where I store some of the less bulky things I got my hands on," Lelouch offered by way of explanation without actually saying anything.

Seeing that he took his sweet time, Nunnally cast a glance to Sayoko. Their maid was not surprised by anything in here. She even smiled upon noticing Nunnally's gaze.

"I was the one to bring most of this down here, young mistress. As per usual, nobody thinks anything of a maid carrying or pulling cargo."

Nunnally hummed in thought at that. The rustling of paper drew her eyes back to Lelouch, who started rifling through files. He prepared this, whatever it was. It was clearly not legal either, else it would not warrant hiding.

"How many weapons do you have down here?"

"Enough."

That was all it took to make Nunnally look back at the various crates. She considered asking for a gun again, but decided to wait for what Lelouch was planning. Maybe he even decided to give her one. She rather indulged her curiousity instead.

"What else do you have down here?"

He pulled out a particular file and straightened up, then began explaining as he checked the crates: "I started a few years back, but most of my efforts were focussed on funds. By now I have all the basic necessities; rations, firearms, ammunition, explosives, the like. The one thing I had to stash elsewhere is a platoon-sized complement of Sutherlands."

His nonchalance in admitting it made Nunnally gape. She figured where this was going halfway through, but the last part just left her dumbfounded.

"You got your hands on Knightmares?"

Lelouch glanced back with a little grin that made her feel a mite embarassed. She still underestimated her big brother. At the same time however, Nunnally was still exasperated. It deserved extra emphasis: "No, really. How did you get your hands on state-of-the-art Knightmare Frames? Did you steal them right from the factory or something?"

This time he scoffed in response, though more for effect than anything. He did not even stop his search as he answered her: "Of course not. I bought them. Corruption is such an awful yet helpful thing."

The quip coaxed a giggle out of her, after which Lelouch finally found the crates he was looking for. Nunnally took note that there were two dozen identical ones while he indicated to Sayoko. Their maid was suspiciously efficient with the crowbar, too.

"Anyway," Lelouch distracted her under the noise of creaking wood, "let's have a little history lesson. Some Britannian entrepreneurs tried to develop military power armour a few years back. The idea was to get a middle-ground between regular infantry and the Knightmare Corps. Less cost-intensive than a full frame, so that more soldiers can field it."

"Let me guess," Nunnally interrupted, though he did not seem to mind. "It failed. I'll even go out on a limb and guess the nobility did it because they didn't want their elite Knightmare pilots being weakened in station."

They stared at each other for one long moment. Lelouch let the tension build on purpose, only to smirk back at her.

"Full marks. You're completely correct. However, I got wind of the project in time to buy the whole stock before the manufacturer went under. Discreetly, of course. Thanks to the nobles trying to bury this avenue of research, nobody knows I have them.

"That could be useful," Nunnally mused, and she meant it. Knightmare Frames had issues maneuvering in urban combat that a person-sized suit did not have. At least if one wanted to keep the infrastructure intact.

"Do they work?"

"Yes, but not well. That's not really why I'm showing them to you either. The technology is new, but maybe if we find someone to refine it...."

Lelouch trailed off and nodded to Sayoko, who revealed a bulky full-body suit. It was still in Britannian blue and gold, but otherwise what one would expect; the design was not aesthetically pleasing to Nunnally's eyes, she liked the sleek curves of Knightmares better.

Squinting at the suit did not tell her why Lelouch would show her that in particular. Nunnally needed a few seconds longer before it clicked, but then her head snapped back to him.

"No way. I, I can use it?"

His expression softened in response to her hopeful tone. He came over to clasp her hand tightly. "I reviewed the specs. It should theoretically work. With how much you must miss walking, we can at least try."

The tears were wiped from her eyes before they could even fall. Nunnally sniffled once, then got herself under control and beamed up at him. Then she started turning her wheelchair, possessed by a sudden, frantic air.

"What are we waiting for? Put me in it, let's go!"

Her brother and maid both chuckled at her immediate turnaround, but they complied. Lelouch lifted her up and held her while Sayoko attached the suit's lower half according to his instructions.

It felt alien to be upright at all. Nunnally made her peace with the feeling because she had no hope it would ever change, but now she was here. Had she not been held so tight, she would vibrate with anticipation. Soon she spread her arms for the upper half.

Magnetic clamps clicked shut and she was inside.

It felt a little stuffy in this suit, what with her dress bunched up to fit inside. She was too giddy to even take it off. She also still could not move her legs, though she felt the comfortable stuffing in each leg piece.

Lelouch carefully explained how to activate the armour then, a manual in hand. Nunnally was surprised to notice they were almost the same height, but that did not stop her from listening intently.

Once the introduction was done, she put on the helmet. Her brother double-checked that it slotted in right, then activated the suit. A visor plinked to life and the half-dark was banished by sensor equipment. She could see the entire room in stark detail, even the shadowy corners.

The operating system was not configured yet, but she managed well enough. It was built with ease of use in mind, so all Lelouch needed to help with were some technical terms. Nunnally still just stood around for a while as everything was set up, but that helped her get used to it.

First she tried moving her arms, which followed the motions well enough. Then she held her breath and tried with a leg... and it moved! Her foot rose and slid across the floor in a lumbering step. Nunnally beamed and took another, then another. Her legs were still as before, but the machine made up for them.

"How does it feel?" Lelouch asked as she slowly made a round around the room. His voice came in clearly despite the thick helmet.

"Amazing," Nunnally answered breathlessly.

That one word carried all the emotions she could not express otherwise; her anguish at not having this of her own power. Her joy at being able to walk again. Her overflowing desire to just keep walking. She could say no more, too entranced by mobility she thought lost forever.

Nunnally made another round, then did a little hop. Coming back down with a loud thunk taught her not to repeat that one. But she kept on walking after; even if the space limited her severely, she loved every second. Lelouch and Sayoko stood aside, watching her with indulgent smiles.

She returned to them after ten minutes of walking and hugged them tight. Her soft "Thank you" and the tender gesture were at odds with the heavy mechsuit, but neither of them seemed to mind.

"It's a start," Lelouch reasoned. He rubbed her armoured shoulder soothingly, a sensation not felt but seen. "You can't wear this outside, though."

"I guess so. It's too unwieldy and conspicuous."

So saying, Nunnally hummed in thought. She remembered their earlier conversation and threw her brother a curious look. "Do you have any scientists who could improve it?"

He shook his head at that. "Not yet. Like I said, I focussed on material to start with. Troops and staff are on the list."

Even now he did not say what all this was for, though he did not need to. Nunnally could guess well enough, seeing how there was only a single possible reason. She let go and fully turned to her brother, not that he could see her face right now.

"You know I'm going to help you, right?"

Lelouch's expression froze up somewhat; it was the only sign of his surprise and quickly smoothed out.

"I don't want you in harm's way, Nunnally. I'd rather have you safe and happy."

"You can only have one of the two," she argued back. There was no way she would let him risk his neck without her. "Or you give up on this and stay safe with me," she added with a sweeping motion for the stuff around them.

Suffice it to say, Lelouch was not amused. Their impromptu staring match did not quite work out because Nunnally was still suited up, though. She still tried willing her feelings to him, just as he probably tried the same thing to her.

Sayoko interrupted evenly after a few seconds: "Perhaps this discussion is better had another time. Preferably when we are outside of a secret hideout."

She had a point, though Nunnally was hesitant to agree. She kept making use of her newfound mobility for a while longer, then Lelouch and Sayoko helped her take the whole thing off. Nunnally sighed heavily once back in her wheelchair, already longing for that freedom again. At the same time she felt a fledgling hope, now that she knew the technology existed. All it took was refinement.

Then again, this was not the main subject right now. She still had to mull over her short argument with Lelouch. They both probably agreed that getting into fights was out of the question for Nunnally. Maybe she had to start a little slower, just to get him used to it. Her gaze gravitated toward the filing cabinet, full of information she wanted.

"I want to look through the files," Nunnally declared. The other two paused where they still put the armour away once she spoke. "I want to know everything you got your hands on, and I want to know what you're planning to do next."

Lelouch hesitated. She could tell exactly what went through his head, that he did not want her to get involved. But when he met her determined gaze, his expression shifted.

"Alright, you can read them. But after dinner."

"Thank you so much, big brother!"

Nunnally beamed at him and all was right with the world. Though in the sanctity of her mind, she thought that he was too easy sometimes.

 

[Naron]

April passed them by, but warmth had yet to settle in. It was a cool Saturday when Kaguya went to visit Ashford Academy; the clouds hung so heavy overhead that she worried typhoon season might start early.

Few students were around at noon, so her arrival by car could not be hidden. She got looks the moment she stepped out of the car. Not unexpected, considering she was just about the only Japanese person around. Kaguya could not help but feel out of place, though. She may be a visitor, but only one or two people here would actually welcome her. Although her attempts to dress properly might at least smooth it over, she reasoned; prim but casual, a white blouse and pleated, navy blue skirt. Almost like a school uniform, with light makeup to complete the look.

If nothing else, there were no jeers or mocking comments. Just curiousity and confusion. Nunnally's maid thankfully arrived before anyone could approach her.

"Be welcome, young miss Sumeragi," she greeted with a bow. "If you would follow me?"

"Of course."

Kaguya exchanged a nod with her driver, who pulled back and drove away. He would return in the evening as they agreed on. He would also most likely report on where she went and who greeted her; be it to her mentor or one of the other heads, Kaguya was not gullible enough to believe otherwise. She had to push for this to happen at all.

She followed Sayoko, feeling self-concious as people pointed her way; the maid seemed unperturbed, but she was clearly used to the area. Nobody gave her so much as a glance. Kaguya wanted to ask about that, but thought better of it. She knew this was Nunnally's maid, yet it felt difficult to start a conversation; what did maids talk about? And even if she subtracted her job, what did this particular maid like to talk about?

Kaguya could at least guess that asking about why she would bear the indignity of serving Britannians would be a bad starter. So they moved across the campus in silence, one of them uncertain how to break the ice and the other content in her quiet.

Minutes passed as they left the main building behind and approached another one, slightly smaller but no less impressive. As they walked along the cobblestone path however, Kaguya spied someone standing in front of the entrance; a girl older than herself, wearing the cream-coloured blazer and black miniskirt of the Ashford High School uniform. Bright orange hair ran down her back in waves.

Overall, she looked well put-together, though her gaze was lowered and she fiddled with her hands.

Kaguya thought nothing of it until the older girl looked down the road and spotted them. Her gaze switched from Sayoko in the lead to Kaguya, then she hesitated for a moment. Kaguya began to worry when the girl started walking their way.

To her relief, Sayoko interposed herself between them without missing a beat. Her voice once again held this serenely friendly timbre.

"May I help you, Ms. Fenette?"

That last name was unfamiliar to her. Kaguya well noticed how the other girl faltered for a moment once impeded, though; then she pushed herself from shying away for some reason. She nodded and made a vague motion toward them.

"Yeah, kind of. She's Nunna's friend, right? I, um, I wanted to talk to her for a minute if that's okay?"

And she was skittish, too. Probably scared of approaching Japanese people at all, yet she did it. There did not seem any malice to the whole situation; she would act far more confident otherwise, even if she did not feel it. Kaguya's guess was a worried friend, seeing how she dropped what must be a nickname for Nunnally.

"I don't mind," she said, pre-empting the maid. If this was someone close to Nunnally, she wanted to make a good impression.

Sayoko stepped aside wordlessly, allowing both girls to take a better look at each other; Kaguya took notice that the other girl was a good bit taller than her and seemed fit. She also appeared relieved about something.

Instead of dwelling on it, the younger girl opened with a friendly smile. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kaguya."

"I'm Shirley," she responded without hesitation, "nice to meet you too."

There was even an honest smile with her answer. Kaguya reevaluated the girl to someone who had an easy time getting along with people. Wipe away the nervousness and she had a charming air about her.

Another moment of said nervousness ensued when Shirley hesitated, but then she expelled the jitters with a sigh. "I don't want to keep you long, just apologise," she explained. "I said a few mean things about you without realising, and without even knowing you, that wasn't right."

Now that had Kaguya surprised; she could count the number of times a Britannian apologised to her on one hand. The times one of them up and said it to her directly instead of roundabout were even fewer.

Shirley remained unaware of her thoughts, taking the silence as a bid to continue: "I'm just really worried for Nunna; she was so excited about you, I don't want her to get hurt. So please be good to her, okay?"

The puzzle pieces began to array themselves properly now; Shirley never met any Japanese people and immediately thought up horror stories in her head. It seemed that the effort to dress appropriately did its part after all.

Kaguya hid her relief about an easy solution and offered a halfway real smile in turn. "It's okay," she assured. "I get being worried. I worry about Nunnally, too."

The older girl's shoulders sagged with obvious relief at that. "Thank you for being so understanding. That was really all I wanted, so don't let me stop you."

She stepped inside with a wave and the other two followed a moment later. Kaguya's mind was torn between admiring the lavish decorations of what might be a ballroom and musing about some Britannians not being awful after all.

Then they stepped onto the main staircase, keeping up with Shirley. It was a bit of an awkward moment after she just said goodbye, but in the end she huffed.

"Right, I forgot you also need to go this way."

Seeing Kaguya's confusion about why the girl was here too, Sayoko explained without prompting: "The young master and mistress live in the administrative building instead of the dorms. This is also where the student council sits, of which Ms. Fenette is a member of."

Shirley agreed with a hum. "It's for Nunna's sake," she added. "She couldn't really live in the dorms."

She seemed to believe that too, but Kaguya knew better. This was more than just care for Nunnally; the siblings were sequestered away for secrecy's sake as well.

Kaguya was about done working through those implications when they passed a side corridor and Shirley turned her head back in confusion. "Erm, the student council rooms are this way? Nunna should be at home."

Sayoko nodded evenly. "While that is true, Master Lelouch requested a minute of young miss Sumeragi's time as well."

"O-Oh."

"Oh boy," Kaguya added her own clever commentary. She fully expected a shovel speech of some sort, being in on the real secret and all. Her comment also drew Shirley's attention.

"You know Lulu?"

The question brought Kaguya up short for a moment. That sounded so... undignified for the proud boy she remembered. Kaguya could not help but ask back: "...Lulu? Is that what people call him here?"

Shirley quickly shook her head, though. "No, that's just me. I just don't like these stuffy names, so I try to give them something a little more cute."

"Ms. Fenette is the reason young Millicent is generally spoken to as Milly," Sayoko provided helpfully and without any further explanation.

Kaguya was still confused, but nodded slowly to play over it. She momentarily wondered what sort of nicknames one could make of her own name, but came up blank beyond a basic 'Ka-chan'. That sounded more like a pun for if she ever had children, not to mention something no Britannian would ever come up with.

"Anyway," Shirley started, only to be immediately interrupted.

"What's this? Do I hear my favourite underling in the hallway?"

And a mane of blonde curls poked out of a nearby doorframe with those words. They framed a heart-shaped face bearing an impish grin. Sharp eyes took in the three young women outside and their owner continued without breaking stride: "Oh my, and Sayoko too. And you must be Kaguya."

A moment later she was shaking hands with a far too cheerful woman. Taller than her, more curvy than all of them, and clearly aware of her beauty.

Though surprised, Kaguya caught herself quickly and returned the handshake with equal pressure. "Millicent Ashford, I presume?"

"The one and only, but just Milly is fine."

She then proceeded to shoo Shirley into the room with a hefty clap to the butt. The other girl made a startled eep and fled while Milly turned back to Kaguya and Sayoko.

"Why come this way, though? Oh wait, Lelouch?"

Sayoko nodded, prompting another mischievous look from the blonde. Kaguya felt a little wary of her after what she saw so far; unfortunately, aligning herself more with the wall to protect her backside would give that worry away.

Thankfully, Milly made no such attempts and simply turned back. "I'll go get him," she said. By which she meant leaning back into the door and shouting inside: "Lelouch! There's a cute girl here for you!"

Kaguya kept her gaze on the blonde's hair instead of the flash of panties under her miniskirt. Britannians really were different.

She thankfully had little time to be embarassed because the man himself strolled outside. He seemed aloof as he glanced between them, then pushed Milly into the room without a word. She made a token protest, yet let herself be moved.

Then they stood in front of each other. Kaguya had to look up notably to meet his gaze; she could tell there was something calculating underneath the calm from this close.

She was not prepared for this. Even after going through potential arguments for weeks, trying to imagine how he might act, having him right in front of her just made all those words flee her mind. The fact he was so handsome did not help it any, either.

In the end, all Kaguya got out was a shy "Hi".

Lelouch sized her up momentarily, but then a faint smile played around his lips. She could not tell if it was actually real, though his tone was just as pleasant: "It's been a while, Kaguya. I'm glad to see you safe and healthy."

The lack of aggression was a relief to Kaguya, who nodded. "Right back at you. I had no idea where you two went."

"We didn't know where we were moving at the time, either."

Lelouch shrugged while saying it. Kaguya understood the code just fine and dropped the subject. She felt she knew the important parts already. So instead, she tried to play over it with something lighter.

"Say, do you know who put miniskirts on the high-school dress code?"

Lelouch stared at her almost blankly in response, then spoke a single word that explained it all: "Milly."

A subdued cackle from the aforementioned girl alerted Kaguya to several people peeking out from the doorframe. One of the four immediately fled once Kaguya looked, otherwise she knew Shirley and Milly already. The last was a curious boy wearing a little grin.

Milly chirped cheerfully, completely immune to Lelouch's unimpressed look: "If you didn't want us listening in, you shouldn't be talking right outside the door."

She had a point, but it was still rude to eavesdrop. Kaguya was a little tempted to address the blonde in person, but then she decided to instead play her game. Thus she turned back to Lelouch with an impish grin of her own.

"So she flashes people on purpose?"

A quiet "Did I?" sounded from the door, underlined by two exasperated sighs. Lelouch just huffed.

"Sometimes she does to fluster someone, though you're a bit younger than her usual targets."

Kaguya could imagine that most of those targets appreciated it, but she decided that was enough for her to know. She did not think far enough to have an idea how to get out of this subject smoothly, but Lelouch saved her with a simple nod.

"I'm not going to keep you any longer. Sayoko will take you to our home. Please be careful."

She inclined her head gratefully and said her goodbyes, aware this was the best case scenario. The maid then led her back and around the corner Shirley pointed out earlier. It was a full minute later before the subtext of Lelouch's comment sank in; he definitely meant something else with the 'be careful'.

It was a conflicting thought and worry, but all of it faded away when she was led into a decently sized flat. Not the sort of palace one would expect royals to dwell, but it seemed cozy. Very clean, too. Sayoko certainly did her work dutifully.

And then there was Nunnally, sat at a wooden table and dead to the world as she wrote. Kaguya could immediately tell the sense of energy to her, something that was not there before. Nunnally did not write fluidly, but with tenacity. Page after page of paper lay next to her, each containing carefully drawn letters and digits.

With no reaction to her entry given, Kaguya decided not to interrupt. Instead, she took a seat and waited for Nunnally to notice on her own.

It took until she completely filled her current sheet and paused to stretch her fingers.

Soft purple eyes focussed on Kaguya in complete non-recognition. Nunnally looked different with her eyes open, less gentle and more regal. The two stared at each other like this until Nunnally broke the silence.

"How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Kaguya answered kindly. She took a sip from the tea Sayoko brought to tell her friend she was underselling it. "I did not want to interrupt."

"Oh. Thank you."

Nunnally maneuvered her wheelchair around the table and approached Kaguya; they clasped hands in greeting, each soft in the other's. Then Nunnally leaned in and studied Kaguya from up close. It felt weird to be stared at so hard, but she bore with it for now.

Nonetheless, Kaguya could not help but say something.

"Do I look that odd?"

"I don't know," Nunnally answered absently. "I only had sounds and smells for so long that I can't really say what looks odd and what doesn't."

Her admission made Kaguya wince; she did not mean to remind her of this. Nunnally clearly noticed as well, but she only smiled. "I like that perfume you use, it's subtle and smells fresh."

Now she was squirming instead; compliments were not rare when one was a pretty girl surrounded by men, but this situation was different. Nunnally was not expected to be kind to her, not to mention how unorthodox her praise was. She just squeezed Kaguya's hands reassuringly.

"Did you make it here alright? Was there any trouble?"

Kaguya took the change in subject with grace; her mind flashed back to the sudden apology from Shirley and Milly's antics, but she shook her head. "All good. I met Lelouch on the way, though. When did he become so handsome?"

Nunnally giggled in response. "He was wonderful for about as long as I can remember, so you'd have to ask someone else," she chirped back, then added a teasingly scandalised lilt. "Why, could it be I may get a sister-in-law soon?"

Heat pooled in Kaguya's cheeks and her ears flushed. She quickly shook her head no, though the thought itself was not unappealing.

"Do you think he would make a good husband?" she could not help but ask, only for Nunnally to snort.

"Ha! No."

Her immediate denial dragged Kaguya from her fantasies as fast as she entered them. Nunnally simply shook her head, more serious now.

"Maybe that's just me, but Lelouch never seemed interested in any girls so far. Or boys. And it's not for a lack of options, I think he's ahead of Milly in being the most desirable student here."

Kaguya's brow rose in response. She smelled gossip and she wanted it.

"So he's not a playboy?"

"More like the opposite. He turned down everyone who asked him out to this day."

That was a bit of a surprise to hear. Kaguya heard rumours about promiscuity among the nobility and royal family; of course she was kept away from most of these things as a proper, Japanese young lady should, but some slipped through regardless. Were these rumours wrong, or was Lelouch just the odd one out?

She did not ask, not that Nunnally gave her the chance: "So from what you told me before, I take it you aren't spoiled for choice where dates are concerned?"

"Nope," Kaguya answered easily. "Everyone I work with is an adult or super old."

"But is experience not a charm point in itself?"

The comment drew a startled noise out of Kaguya, which in turn prompted Nunnally to laugh. "Just kidding," she clarified quickly. "I guess it makes sense, not that you have the time for dating anyway."

Kaguya pouted at her, though she dropped it in favour of a sigh.

"Yeah. I still have a lot to learn and even more to stay on top of."

Nunnally nodded along, clearly understanding and sharing her plight. Then however, her smile turned mischievous again. "So were there any boys who caught your eye on the way?" she probed, to which Kaguya slowly shook her head. Nunnally leaned in. "Or maybe a girl?"

That just reminded her of Milly again. Kaguya shook her head a little faster to disperse the mental image.

"Now now," Nunnally tutted teasingly, "no need to be embarassed. Girls are just as great as boys."

"I'm not sure I agree there," Kaguya answered slowly. She had enough of the teasing and decided to push back: "How would you even know? It is not like you were dating anyone before, or went further than that."

She only realised afterward how insensitive that sounded, though Nunnally did not seem to mind. In fact, she shrugged.

"I don't mind the thought of running my hands over a girl's body. And I have done that before... just not in that way."

"...explain."

She did as asked, raising both hands in emphasis: "The only way I could really get an idea what someone looks like without seeing them is by touching them. I rarely felt close enough to anyone to ask, but the few people I did ask said yes. So yes," she finished, her confident facade crumbling into shepishness now. "I probably know Milly Ashford's body better than anyone but herself. Same for Sayoko and Lelouch."

Her words were a little heartbreaking, but mostly intriguing. Kaguya felt morbid curiousity about how well acquainted her friend got with their bodies. Then she remembered the maid was stood nearby and saw the faint smile playing around her lips. Kaguya turned bright red, ineffectually hiding it behind the teacup that never ran out even through constant sips.

Still, she could not stop herself from asking: "So did you cop a feel?"

"Maybe?"

"From which of them?"

Nunnally averted her gaze, cheeks dusted pink. It was adorable to see, though Kaguya felt this was far enough for now. She reluctantly let it go.

They quietly relocated to Nunnally's room, in part to play over the silence. It definitely did its part in distracting Kaguya, who took a few moments to soak up the place; it was not what she understood as girly, but definitely pleasant. A soft scent hung in the air, barely strong enough to be smelled. The ground was kept completely clean and not a single edge protruded from the furniture.

Nunnally had her wheelchair slot neatly into an open space near her bed, which she offered to Kaguya with a wave. The moment the Japanese girl sat down, she loved the thick and fluffy blanket.

"Maybe I need some more furniture," Nunnally mused with a quick glance around; the room was somewhat sparse, holding only the bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and a bookshelf. There was ample space to move around.

Kaguya agreed in part, but she felt there was something else amiss. Something important.

"What you need is plushies."

"What for?"

"And you call yourself a girl?"

"Last I checked, having plushies does not decide if I'm a girl."

Kaguya rolled her eyes good-naturedly. She almost missed the heat behind the last bit in her faux annoyance, but let off on insisting on that. "Well, no. But you still should have some."

"How many do you have then?" Nunnally demanded.

She held up three fingers, well aware of her friend's unimpressed look. Kaguya crossed her arms petulantly. "I want more, but the old people keep telling me no."

Nunnally huffed at that, but let it go. Kaguya meant to continue extolling the virtue of plushies, but she spotted something on Nunnally's desk that distracted her. Curiousity drove her to get up and grab the familiar taser. Then she chuckled at the sight of it.

"What's so funny?"

Kaguya pulled out her own taser by way of explanation, right from the holster beneath her skirt. "Same model," she explained, which drew a laugh from Nunnally as well.

Kaguya put both tasers back down after. She felt safe here, so there was no need to carry it on her. Though she once again felt sad that they both needed this to feel remotely safe outside.

"How are the Japanese doing these days?" Nunnally asked, prompting Kaguya to look back at her. "And please don't lie to me like Lelouch tries to."

Their thoughts may have gone down similar roads with the tasers. Kaguya nodded and sat back down with a sigh. She never even considered lying.

"What's there to tell? The one good thing is that we're still alive. Outside of that, uh... poverty, hygiene issues and little access to medicine, few job opportunities, the occasional police brutality and disappearances that the elders are pretty sure are slave traders."

She almost counted off her fingers while Nunnally listened with a stony expression. Kaguya was just tired of it all. "Then there is the crime rates. Can we talk about something else, please? I was kind of hoping not to have to think about any of this today."

It was not a lie, but she also did not want to go into the freedom fighters she helped back. Just in case, seeing how there was no use in risking to let her know that right now.

Nunnally considered for a moment, the silence hanging heavier than anticipated. Her expression gave little away, complicated as it was. When she did speak, it was another non-sequitur.

"You're in business management, right?"

"Yes? Why do you ask?"

"Can you teach me about it? Or recommend some books for a beginner?"

Now this was a surprise. Kaguya's brows rose, though she saw no reason to refuse. "Sure, but why? Do you want to go into that field later?"

The other girl allowed herself a soft sigh, then motioned at herself. "I figured it may be worthwhile to know. That can only help in the long run."

Kaguya distinctly felt that something was left unsaid, but she could not tell what. All she could do was move things along.

"Well, sure. I'm not sure I will be a good teacher, but I can try to teach you the basics. And I think I have a few books lying around, I will message you the titles... for the Britannian ones, assuming you can't read Kanji?"

Nunnally threw her an unamused look in response. Then she seamlessly switched into fluent Japanese: "As much time as I may have had, I never saw a reason to learn Kanji I could never read or write."

"Alright, I get it," Kaguya placated her with a giggle. "Stop being grumpy already, I already agreed to help you."

At least this got Nunnally to switch back to Britannian, expression softer. "And I'm grateful," she said before hesitating a moment. "There was one other thing, but I'm not sure if you can help with it."

Seeing that she had Kaguya's attention, Nunnally asked the most loaded question of the evening.

"Do you happen to know any scientists or engineers?"

Now Kaguya had to reevaluate: did her friend know about what the Six Houses of Kyoto did? Was that the message, or did she actually mean the question straight-up? Either way, she tried to play it off nonchalantly: "One or two, but it depends on the field you are interested in. More studying?"

Nunnally shook her head in response. "No. You see, my brother acquired a few prototype power armour models. The project since went under after sabotage by nobles with stakes in the KMF industry."

She left a pause for Kaguya to take that in, whose eyes widened at the many implications there. Especially the part where Lelouch had enough money to buy something like that.

"So we're looking for someone who can adapt the technology into something more leight-weight for civilian use."

And all her expectations promptly went out the window. Kaguya was plain confused now.

"How exactly? Sorry, I don't follow."

After heaving a sigh, Nunnally spelled it out for her: "Kaguya, I can walk in these stuffy combat suits. And I want someone to make a version I can put on outside without immediately setting off warning bells."

"Oh. Ohhh."

Now it all made sense. The idea had merit, but it also carried risks equivalent to the opportunities. Kaguya had just the woman in mind to pull off such a feat. She would most definitely be interested in the subject, too. Yet Kaguya hesitated, sizing Nunnally up. This girl was her friend, but Doctor Chawla was busy improving Knightmare designs for the resistance movement. Not to mention the costs proper R&D would cause.

"I know someone I can ask," she ventured carefully, "but they are pretty busy. And, you know, stuff like that isn't cheap."

Thankfully, Nunnally did not seem upset. "I can fund it," she declared with a simple nod. "With Lelouch's money, mind, but I can."

She clearly saw that Kaguya still looked troubled. "What is it? Tell me what's wrong, please."

So she just laid her worries bare: "I want to help, believe me. But the person I'm thinking of is so busy that I don't know if anything will come of it."

The tiny sigh that admission coaxed out of her friend sounded more defeated than anything Kaguya heard so far. Then however, Nunnally's focus returned. Her gaze sharpened once more, revealing that same sense of danger she felt from Lelouch earlier.

"Is it a matter of incentive or principle?" she asked, not at all deterred by the confused noise from Kaguya. "If, say, I remind you that this also comes with access to all the blueprints and the power armour technology. And if, say, a pair of brand new Sutherland-class Knightmare Frames made their way into your hands as well?"

At first her eyes only widened at the blueprints, but by the end she was plain shocked. This sounded too much like a play on knowing her affiliations. She was wary to confirm anything right now.

"I'm not sure I understand," Kaguya told her, trying to play for time. Nunnally saw right through it.

"I have no idea what you are involved in and what not, but I refuse to believe you just sit content in luxury while others suffer. You wouldn't work that hard at thirteen-years-old then. So even if you're not directly involved, you could pass these things into hands that are."

She clearly did not say who or what on purpose, but it was difficult to be more direct without saying it outright. Moreover, there was not a word of disapproval or anything. Just a plea and a dressing down in the same statement. Though unspoken, the show of support made Kaguya's eyes quiver with tears. She barely managed to hold them in.

Then she leaned back to think.

"Assuming I agree to this, I would be robbing you," Kaguya explained after some consideration. The businesswoman in her reminded that beggars could not be choosers, but she suppressed it. "Making you pay out the nose and also the other things on top-"

"Take them. This is dear to me. I always had more love for the Japanese people, anyway."

And now she was just blatant about it. Kaguya up and hugged her, more for the emotional support than the promise of materials.

"Thank you so much. It means a lot that you understand. I will write it up as a proposal and ask the people I know."

"That's all I ask," Nunnally murmured gently as she hugged her back. "Thank you for doing this."

All tension fled the room like that and the pair quickly returned to chatting about harmless subjects. By herself however, Kaguya vowed to get the ball rolling on this as soon as possible.

Then it began to rain and they transitioned to just watching it pour for a while. Looking out at the Britannian settlement, Kaguya could not help but feel things would change in the future.

 

[Naron]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Nunnally? Why are you still awake?"

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

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

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

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

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

When Nunnally finally let go, her frown was gone.

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

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

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

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

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

Then he came to the contract.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"...and then I killed him."

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

"Okay. So nobody can identify you?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"We have to do something!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Sure. Good night."

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

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

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

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

"Answer the question!"

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

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

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

"There you go," she whispered gently.

Nunnally pulled the trigger without thinking.

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

"Smart... girl."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"May I offer you a cup tea?"

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

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

"I have time."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I see."

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

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

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

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

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

"Well, to be exact, yesterday."

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

"Shinjuku."

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

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

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

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

"You gave him Geass?"

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

"So he told you? How curious."

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

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

Nunnally could only sigh.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Welcome home," Nunnally greeted mirthlessly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Hold on, how did you shoot her?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Nunnally stared at him in incomprehension for a moment.

"He did that?"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

[Naron]

Breakfast was an awkward affair.

Where it was normally just Lelouch and Nunnally, C.C. joined them today as if nothing were amiss. Moreover, her state of dress quickly caught Nunnally's attention.

"Isn't that one of your shirts?"

Lelouch's long-suffering "Yes" told her all she needed to know. C.C. smirked throughout their little exchange, though it grew more mischievous when she caught Nunnally peeking.

The younger girl quickly turned back to her brother to distract herself from the scantily clad beauty at the table. "So what happened yesterday? You said something went wrong with Kallen, right?"

Lelouch nodded in response, explaining between bites: "I need to test my Geass for limitations. Yesterday blindsided me when I found out that I can only use it once per person, which tipped Kallen off."

"Tipped her off to what?" Nunnally prompted. They both ignored C.C. becoming attentive over the subject, well aware she knew it already anyway.

"That I know something about Shinjuku. I alleviated her suspicions a little, but it took the whole deception with the recorder to get her off my back. Anyway, what I already figured out is the once-per-person limit, and that whatever way the Geass works prevents the target from remembering my using it."

Nunnally hummed in thought at that. It sounded like a decent starting point, though the 'tipping off' part reminded her of last night. There was one other problem he did not even know about.

"Kaguya knows you're Zero," she told her bewildered brother. "We were on the phone when it happened and she, erm, guessed it in a minute or two."

C.C. chuckled at that, but remained ignored. Lelouch himself seemed uncertain now, not quite sure what to say. "Is it that obvious?" he asked slowly, to which Nunnally shook her head.

"I think it's because she already knows about you... and that we're planning something, considering the Sutherlands I traded her."

He clearly acknowledged that she had a point; Nunnally knew it too. There were all of six people who knew their true identities, including Sayoko and maybe C.C.. Neither Milly nor her grandfather would suspect something like this to happen. Suzaku was just gullible, though.

With that settled, she changed the subject: "Anyway, what did you use your Geass on Kallen about?"

"I asked some questions. Turns out the Stadtfeldt heiress is half Japanese and a terrorist."

"So we have blackmail if we need it?"

Lelouch nodded at that, slightly taken aback by how nonchalant she was about it. C.C.'s attention turned to Nunnally as well while the younger girl chewed on a piece of apple. "How cold of you to say that," she probed in a faux horrified tone. "Would you really go ahead and ruin the girl's life like that?"

To that, Nunnally could only shrug. "I might not like it, but I will if I must." She hardly knew Kallen and Lelouch was at risk, after all.

"Let's leave that for later," Lelouch cautioned. "Right now she may be useful."

He made a face even as he said it. Nunnally noticed as well and looked at her brother to bear his heart. But he kept hesitating, even when she up and asked if something was wrong. Lelouch studied her, looking somewhat lost while she kept munching on fruit.

C.C. had no such compunctions. She chuckled and interrupted their conversation again: "It seems your darling brother did not expect to have candid conversations like these with you, girl."

Nunnally shrugged once more. She felt surprisingly calm despite the subjects at hand, and she blamed last night on it. "I can understand why he would be," she admitted, eyes falling to the table. Her apple was gone. "I was basically dead until a few months ago, just going through the motions and hoping to live another day."

C.C. arched a brow at that, though she did not contradict her.

"We both were," Lelouch answered quietly. He immediately had everyone's attention. "Just living corpses shambling along, just like he said back then."

Nunnally's gaze softened, but the fire in her gut alighted again. Lelouch smiled back at her, likely feeling the same. "You woke up from that sleepwalking dream before me," he said, then gave a nod to C.C.. "I only managed it yesterday. And I have to thank you for that."

"You do not mind being forced into a contract?"

C.C.'s question prompted a faint smirk from Lelouch. "The circumstances forced me, not you. Why would I complain about receiving a power such as this?"

He chuckled then, a hint of darkness in the noise. "This Geass moves up my schedule by years."

"I don't like the sound of that," Nunnally commented.

This time Lelouch arched a brow at her.

"Well, how did you say it? I disagree, end of story."

The pettiness of that retort did not impress her, even though she already knew something like this would happen. She knew it ever since she heard about the Sutherlands.

Lelouch's phone went off then, cutting off any further banter or arguing. Lelouch flipped it open to check at once, only to huff and shake his head in exasperation.

"Who was that?"

"Suzaku. I got my hands on his contact information and he just responded. The hearing is later today." There he heaved a sigh that his sister echoed. "He said he will try to make some contacts among the infantry, especially the young Britannian soldiers that have yet to start climbing the ranks."

"How unexpectedly shrewd of that boy," C.C. commented. "He did not seem to have a dishonest bone in his body."

Lelouch shrugged in response. "Suzaku is straightforward and pigheaded, but not stupid. Maybe yesterday did change his outlook."

"Maybe he was just like us?" Nunnally suggested next. "Going somewhere without really knowing the road or the goal?"

A contemplative silence followed, during which Nunnally decided they would not get answers. So she spent it finishing a second slice of toast instead. All the while the information about Lelouch's Geass kept percolating in her mind.

Though she asked another question first, though. It felt more important: "The thing with 'Orange' you did to the Purist leader, what was that?"

He smirked in response, happy to explain: "Oh, just something I read about. A baseless claim that nobody knows has no base. Add to it that Gottwald immediately released Suzaku and then helped me take him out of there, and you get a lot of suspicion levelled at him."

"I see," Nunnally mused with a grin of her own. "That is mean, but I can see its use."

With that out of the way and her brother buttered up, she went back to her other thought: "That aside, what do you think about immunising me to your Geass? If, say, you had to use it on a crowd I was in, I would not be affected then."

Her brother made a face in response. Nunnally knew he would not like the idea, but he had no reason to refuse her here. There were no downsides beside having to follow his orders. C.C. seemed more curious than anything, not the mischievous or amused look she would have if it was a bad idea.

"Alright," Lelouch conceded after a moment. "Do you have anything in particular you want me to do?"

"I don't know, can you say anything?"

That was a bit of a snag. They looked to C.C. as one, but the immortal only transitioned into the expected amusement. "I can not tell you the limits of your Geass. The Power of Kings can be applied however its user sees fit."

It was a non-answer and a little disappointing. Nonetheless, it clearly gave Lelouch an idea.

"So perhaps, theoretically, I could improve someone's retention or attention span by giving the correct order," he reasoned.

Nunnally saw his speculative look and immediately shook her head. "Which you're not giving me. I want to do these things on my own, not with another crutch."

He accepted her demand without much fuss. Then he tapped on his phone for the stopwatch function.

And suddenly, between two blinks, his expression changed to a concentrated one as he peered at that same phone.

"Did something happen?" Nunnally asked, which made Lelouch's brow climb. He stopped the clock.

"About ten seconds after the order completed," he announced. "What is the last thing you remember?"

"You setting up the stopwatch."

"So about thirty seconds previously and ten after, it took you about twenty to count."

"Count what?" Nunnally asked, confounded by this sudden shift.

"Count to ten. I told you that will be the order before giving it."

She had no memory of this. Not even a niggling feeling that something was missing. Whatever memory was there had simply vanished. It felt a little scary, even when it came from her brother. And who said he was the only one with a Geass? Could others do the same thing?

That thought had her turn back to C.C. with a question on her lips: "Say, do you have any other contractors out there?"

It was worth a try, though she already expected not to get a response. C.C. simply dabbed her lips with a napkin, much to Nunnally's annoyance and exasperation. The younger woman just sighed and got ready for class.

She only learned later that Lelouch once again slept through half of his classes. Hence why he was degraded to holding the fort with Nunnally and Kallen while the rest went shopping. To their credit, they did invite Nunnally; she declined because wanted a closer look at Kallen. The redheaded girl dodged the shopping trip with her sickly act.

So it came that the three of them were working quietly in the student council room. Nunnally made certain to get her share of the work done, if just to show she could. She still snuck glances at the newest member, whose brows creased every once in a while.

At some point Kallen broke the silence of her own: "This sort of student council isn't normal in the homelands."

It was merely an observation, but they both heard the question underneath. Knowing that Kallen was half Japanese, Nunnally had a good guess where the thought came from. She still let her brother field the question, though.

"You can thank Milly for that. She took it from the local school system and ran with it. The amount of power we have over the school is almost comical."

"I just wish it came with less paperwork," Nunnally quipped, mainly to lower Kallen's guard. It earned a lazy smile from Lelouch if nothing else.

"It is what it is," Lelouch said, tone perfectly even. Then he squinted at another sheet. "And I need to go talk to the croquet team about this request here, someone clearly misfiled it."

"Good luck!"

Lelouch left and now it was just the two of them, exactly what Nunnally was waiting for. Kallen clammed up somewhat, letting them talk more than being part of a conversation. Now she started out ignoring her in favour of work. That would not do.

"How about we take a little break, too?" she suggested, which surprised Kallen for a moment. She was sharp enough to catch onto her choice of words, glaring at the closed door.

"Wait, is he just going to slack off?"

Nunnally giggled in response, falling back into the cute persona. "Maybe a little bit? Knowing Lelouch, he will take a walk around the longer path to waste a few minutes."

"What a jerk."

The flippant comment annoyed Nunnally, though she did not let it show. In truth, she could kind of see it too. Still, nobody insulted her brother but her.

"You seem lively," she said instead to switch the subject and refocus Kallen's attention. "I was worried you might have another sick spell coming, so I'm glad you hold up so well. Please do tell me if you need anything."

Of course she knew full well it was an act to hide the older girl's real affiliations. Then again, this made them similar in a sense. Kallen's expression softened somewhat in response, unaware of her ruminations.

"Thank you, but I'm fine for now. What about you?"

"All good," Nunnally assured, then put on a little grin. "Though I do think Lelouch has the right idea. Milly already dumped her work on us, so we may as well take our time with it."

Kallen just groaned and put the pen down, prompting a giggle from Nunnally. The redhead seemed just as exasperated with Milly as Lelouch, if in a more vocal way.

"At least there is one noblewoman here who does not shirk her duties," she quipped. This earned her a scathing look which made her worry about overstepping, but no rebuke followed. She was on a razor's edge regardless, she realised; attention on Kallen would draw attention to the rest of the student council and may well expose her and Lelouch.

Despite that realisation, Nunnally decided to press forward. Kallen herself was the more immediate problem.

"Do you happen to play chess?"

"I do, but not well," Kallen said. She seemed to want to say more, but stopped herself. Nunnally's smile grew a fraction.

"Then we match, I only played a few rounds the last few years. Would you indulge me?"

It was an innocent enough request. Nunnally could tell the exact moment her friendly demeanour cracked Kallen, too; her shoulders slumped in something akin to resignation. "Alright, fine," she agreed. "But just one."

"Of course. Just a moment."

She rolled over to the shelf where she knew Lelouch kept one of his chess sets. Then she had to stare up at it, clearly out of reach. Why would he put it that far up?

Silence reigned as Nunnally kept staring with a blank expression, thankfully faced away from Kallen. The redhead shuffled from her seat a moment later.

"Wait, let me."

Nunnally decidedly did not want the help, but she kept those thoughts off her face. Instead she smiled and offered a "Thank you".

Kallen smiled back as she joined her side, rather more genuine than the younger girl. "Don't worry about it," she said kindly.

On one hand, Nunnally could appreciate that someone came to help her instead of waiting for her to come begging like most. On the other hand, she loathed needing it in the first place. She shook the thought off while they set up.

"You want to play white?" Kallen asked when Nunnally grabbed those pieces without comment. She paused at that, realised what she did, and averted her gaze sheepishly.

"Well, I'm used to play white. Lelouch always made me the few times we played as children because he likes playing black more. At this point I like it better as well."

"Okay," Kallen agreed without any fuss. "Your turn then."

Nunnally did as told and the first few turns went by in silence. Only the tapping of wooden figures on the board could be heard.

Soon after their opening however, Kallen spoke up: "I don't get what's so great about him. Lelouch, I mean. The way everyone talks about him, like he's the best thing that ever happened to them."

"You mean the girls?" Nunnally asked with a quizzical glance, still half busy pondering between developing a knight or a pawn.

"Yes, the girls."

Kallen rolled her eyes in response, not even realising she slipped from her persona.

Nunnally giggled once more and placed her pawn. "I'm obviously biased," she lead in to diffuse the tension, "so please forgive me for saying that he definitely is the best that ever happened to me. Few people would care enough to take care of me as I am, even as their sister."

She could not quite get the bitter aftertaste out of her voice, but that did not matter. Nunnally was genuinely happy with him. Kallen made an understanding noise as she moved her own piece.

"Any good sibling would, regardless of the circumstances," she said. There was an odd note to her words, a tone that Nunnally felt was longing. She had no idea why, though. Perhaps Kallen was not an only child after all? Or maybe she always wanted a sibling.

A few turns passed quietly as they left the opening. Nunnally claimed the center, but Kallen castled before her and continued to set up faster. So Nunnally decided to gamble, advancing a knight right into the older girl's half-built formation.

"But to get back to your question, for the girls crushing on him I think it's in part that they want what they can't have."

Kallen paused with a knight of her own in the air, surprised. "He's seeing someone?"

"No," Nunnally denied, shaking her head with a little smile. "But he is handsome, aloof, a little mysterious, and has turned down any girl who ever asked him out. The few boys that tried, too."

She paused to consider the board, then took a bishop with her own. Kallen captured hers with a pawn right after, grinning now. "Looks like something's happening at last. I was getting bored of us staring at each other there."

Nunnally huffed in response, fairly sure the other girl would not be as happy in a moment. She advanced her knight into the now unguarded space, chirping "Check". Kallen's eyes bugged out at that and she leaned forward to study the board more closely. Then she stared at Nunnally, who wore an innocent look on her face.

"You tricked me!"

"I would prefer if we said I lured you out," she shot back cheekily.

Kallen made a face at that. It only grew more pronounced when she realised that the knight threatened both the black king and queen; she could only save one and must move the king out of check. So she grudgingly moved him, which was followed by Nunnally taking the queen without hesitation. Kallen hissed in agitation before taking the knight with her rook.

"Okay, so why does Lelouch turn everyone down?" she tried, partly in curiousity and partly to distract herself from getting tricked. "Is he waiting for the right person to come along or something?"

Nunnally stopped her pondering at that. She glanced back up at the redhead with a teasing grin. "Why, are you interested?"

"No! I'm just curious and if anyone knows it's you!"

If nothing else, Nunnally could certainly appreciate the chance to tease someone else for once. Usually she was just a bystander, sometimes the victim. Then again, she was pretty sure Kallen did not have that sort of interest in her brother. Or at least not yet.

"I honestly don't know," she admitted. "Many seem to expect Lelouch to be some sort of playboy, but I have never once heard any mention of him seeing anyone for any reason. I have to admit I didn't ask, either."

Admittedly, part of why she never asked was worry. The mere thought of him saying he would abandon her for someone to start a family with kept her awake some nights. Nunnally made sure not to show any of those complicated feelings on her face when she continued: "Sometimes I worry he may restrain himself for my sake. Goodness knows there are enough girls trying to get at him by being nice to me."

"That's-" Kallen made to respond, only to interrupt herself when she spotted another forked knight attack brewing. "Hey! Not again you little shit!"

Nunnally could not help but laugh at how easy Kallen was to rile up. "Can't fault a girl for trying," she chirped while sticking out her tongue. Kallen quickly cut off the free space Nunnally needed, so she advanced her queen instead. The older girl did not seem mad though, if anything she was a little amused herself.

"Milly said he loves you a lot," Kallen commented as they kept moving their pieces. "But... wait. This isn't some sibling relationship you got going, right?"

Before Nunnally could so much as open her mouth, Kallen immediately shook her head and raised both hands defensively. "On second thought, pretend I never asked. It's not really my business."

It was kind of cute how quickly she dropped the subject like a hot potato. Nunnally gently shook her head in turn. "It's not that, Kallen. Lelouch just has a bad habit to prioritise me over his own needs. A girlfriend or boyfriend would monopolise his time, which means he could spend far less of it on me."

"Ah."

They sunk into a companionable sort of silence after that. The game continued to advance while Nunnally kept ahead on figures; she made her own blunders, some caught and some not, but Kallen was not a good enough player to make up for her lost queen.

"Is there anything you want that you can't have?" she asked Nunnally after some time. Likely she referred back to her earlier comment on why Lelouch was popular.

Nunnally considered the question for a moment. She wanted Britannia to burn, for one. She wanted all the bad people in the world to drop dead. She wanted Kaguya to be safe and happy, same as Lelouch. Some of these things she could work toward, but she could tell Kallen none of them. But if she considered her own wants, there was something.

"...I'd like to play basketball."

It was a quiet admission. Not even Lelouch heard it before. She did not plan to tell him, either.

Kallen seemed confused at first. "Why is that-" she started, only to cut herself off with a quiet "Oh". Her gaze flickered down to where Nunnally's paralysed legs were hidden by the table. "Sorry."

"Don't be," Nunnally told her kindly. "If anything, I'm glad I could make you forget for a moment."

Lelouch returned only seconds after she finished, effectively bringing an end to their candid conversation. He put the forms he carried down once he saw what was going on, though; taking a spot next to the table, he began to watch the match.

"It's been a while since you played anyone, Nunnally," he commented.

She threw her brother a cheeky grin in response. "Yet I am winning."

Kallen for her part rolled her eyes. "I'm somehow starting to doubt you're actually a beginner," she quipped drily.

Her comment drew a smirk out of Lelouch as he stood over them. "Oh, she is," he assured with worrying certainty. "Do you want a hint?"

The redhead opened her mouth with visible annoyance, but something gave her pause. A glance was thrown to Nunnally, who shrugged. She did not mind, this was just for fun after all.

"Okay, sure."

"Checkmate in two. For black."

The revelation had both girls explode forward in a bid to find it. There was still a number of pieces on the board, so it took Nunnally a minute to notice. Once she did, she felt mighty stupid: after castling, her king stood near a corner behind a line of pawns. Which meant that the free rook on Kallen's side could simply march all the way down and her king could not evade check. Only her queen could block the rook, but then Kallen just took the piece for checkmate.

Nunnally groaned and slumped back into her wheelchair. Such a simple mistake was embarassing, Lelouch took all of two seconds to see it.

Kallen needed a minute longer to find it. Even then she stared at the board as if she could not believe it herself. Then the redhead gingerly dragged her rook forward.

Heaving a defeated sigh, Nunnally tipped her king over. There was no use sacrificing her queen first.

"Good game, Kallen. Thank you for the match."

"Sure. You're better than you said you were, though."

Her prim and polite mask was back in place. Now that Nunnally got a glimpse behind it, she could pick it out more easily. She herself returned to the cutesy act and the day petered out like that. Nunnally was not sure what to make of Kallen by this point. The other girl was smart, but clearly not quite there. It felt as if her mind were off elsewhere half the time.

The next few days revealed that her efforts bore fruit: Kallen seemed more relaxed around her. She even smiled on occasion, almost unguarded. If she turned out to be an enemy later, she would never see Nunnally as a threat until it was too late.

Unfortunately, their bonding moment went both ways. Nunnally was reluctant to consider killing the older girl as well. It appeared she could not win them all.

With her self-appointed task successful in spirit, Nunnally spent some time each day training with that pistol of hers. The situation with C.C. remained fresh in mind and she did not want to repeat it. Hence why she allotted two hours a day at the improvised gun range Lelouch and Sayoko set up in the basement.

Most of the time she was left alone, but today was different.

"Day after day of mindless practice and work," C.C. greeted as she entered. "What exactly are you trying to achieve with this?"

Nunnally lowered her pistol and engaged the safety, then looked the immortal woman's way. She felt she should be more cagey around strangers, but it only took a week of living together for C.C. to become a fixture. The other woman integrated herself into their life almost naturally, even though she mostly just teased both siblings. She sat with them for meals and was generally just there.

Despite herself, Nunnally answered from the heart. C.C. already knew more about her than most either way.

"I could do nothing but think the last seven years, so there's nothing wrong doing little thinking for a while."

It was an excuse. C.C. knew it too, if her arched brow was any indication. "You're adamant about staying up late to read or study, girl. Not just that, you also practice to wield a weapon. What purpose do they serve to you?"

Her words hit deeper than expected. Nunnally felt exposed, as if the other woman could chart the depths of her soul with a single glance. She hunched slightly, the gun still in her hands.

"I doubt I will have to fight anyone, but I want to be prepared just in case."

"Are you lying to me or to yourself?"

Nunnally's brows furrowed now. Her everpresent anger surged back up in a wave of bile at the audacity. "How is it any of your business?" she snapped back.

So lost in pushing back those feelings was she, that she did not notice the pause. It was uncharacteristic for C.C. to hesitate, yet she did. Her expression contorted into a grimace for just a moment, perhaps even guilt. Then it was washed away like footsteps in the sand.

"It concerns me because your actions influence Lelouch's," C.C. said in the end. "So to keep him safe, I need to watch over you as well."

It was the wrong thing to say. Nunnally had only just gotten a hold of herself when the excuse incensed her again. This time she outright scowled at the surprised woman.

"Then take your concern and force it on someone else," Nunnally spat, eyes blazing. "I'm sick and tired of people only looking at me because of Lelouch. I want to be me, not someone else's sister. If you can't even acknowledge that much, I have nothing more to say to you."

Once finished, she immediately turned around and went back to practice. She meant what she said, too.

However, the quiet buzz of magnetically accelerated bullets could not quite hide the footsteps approaching her slowly. Nunnally knew that C.C. could be completely silent if she wanted, but did not care to appreciate the gesture right now.

Instead of saying anything or perhaps even deigning to apologise, C.C. merely took position behind her. She watched on as Nunnally worked; the younger one was still a beginner, though the comment about center mass stuck with her. She kept aiming that way, though her aim itself was still unreliable at anything beside close range.

At this point her target was riddled with holes, too.

The moment Nunnally engaged the safety however, C.C. already strode past her. Not a word was spoken as she switched the target with a fresh one. And when she turned around, Nunnally could see her contemplative expression.

"Independence then," C.C. said at last, yet remained where she stood. "But that is not all, is there?"

"It's still none of your business."

"And yet I am oh so nosy, girl."

She looked Nunnally up and down from fifteen metres away as she mused out loud: "Catching up on your studies and life skills makes sense with the reasons you gave, but this is different. You're preparing for war."

It was not even a question because they both knew it for a fact. Nunnally growled, the only acknowledgement she dared to give. Then she disengaged the safety on her weapon.

"Step aside."

C.C., however, smirked.

"Can you take a life when the time comes?" she asked coyly, spreading her arms wide. "You are not scared today. I am no threat to you. Do you have what it takes to kill me anyway?"

Nunnally had this niggling feeling that C.C. still knew more than she let on. Either way, the thought of shooting her made Nunnally a little sick.

Yet C.C. literally asked for it, so she took careful aim.

The intrigued immortal stood perfectly still, all but challenging her to do it when Nunnally hesitated.

She gently squeezed the trigger.

C.C. was pushed back by the force of impact, a splotch of red blossoming on her recently mended straitjacket. Nunnally followed up with three more shots, two of which hit center mass. Each one cast out a crimson cloud from behind C.C., who dropped to the ground lifeless. She lay in a slowly growing pool of blood that stained her clothes totally.

Then she rose again, dripping lifeblood as one would water. She grinned, which was perhaps the most eerie part.

"You pass."

Then she looked down at herself, sighed, and dropped her clothes into the puddle. A few clean strips were used to wipe her feet, then she strolled by the faintly embarassed Nunnally.

"Is that supposed to be my reward?" she bantered back in an attempt to play over her unease. She was still a little confused by the situation, though her anger calmed. The previous horror did not manifest, though her own willingness to kill worried her a bit.

"My, how forward~"

Nunnally could hear some rustling while she slowly disassembled her weapon for maintenance. Soon enough C.C. leaned over her shoulder, now clad in a loose shirt and pants she absolutely pilfered from Lelouch's wardrobe.

"When did you regain your sight?" she asked after watching for a while. Nunnally returned an absent shrug.

"A few months ago," she told the immortal, almost ready to ask why C.C. would even want to know. She ultimately went with something more curious: "Are you going to tell me who you are now?"

Unfortunately, the smirk that question caused was palpable; Nunnally knew it was there without even looking. She merely sighed and decided to stop trying then. It had been a full week of no answers, they would likely never get one.

She finished up her work and reassembled the pistol. It still took too long for her liking, but her certainty with the parts improved on each repetition. An experimental shot at the target showed it in working order, too. This, however, drew her gaze back to the bloody puddle and caused a small pang of nausea.

"Sayoko may go on strike if we keep having her clean these messes."

"So she may, though she seems a bit too loyal for that," C.C. mused. "Isn't it delightfully paradox, a pair who care for the Japanese holding one as a servant?"

Nunnally turned to cast a sharp look at the older woman. "Sayoko is employed and basically family," she said firmly. Yet C.C. simply smirked, their noses almost touching.

"If you say so."

They kept staring at each other a while longer. Nunnally did not feel as awkward as she thought she should.

Then an idle thought pressed to the forefront of her mind, likely called up by C.C.'s presence. A question she asked herself several times, yet never dared voice before.

"Are you limited in how many people you can give Geass to?"

From this close she could clearly spot the momentary surprise in C.C.'s expression. The older woman arched a brow in interest, but Nunnally kept her mouth shut until she answered.

And this time C.C. did give an answer: "I can have however many contractors I want, though I prefer to focus my attention on a single one."

Her grin was gone now, replaced by a blank look that expertly hid all emotions. "Is that what you want, girl?" she queried quietly. "Your blind grasping for every shred of power makes you reach for Geass?"

"And what if it is?" Nunnally asked back, her own voice just as calm. "I'm tired of being unable to do anything on my own, is it that wrong to want power?"

C.C. inclined her head in acknowledgement, though her words were anything but: "Yet power for power's sake is not an answer. Many great men and women have destroyed themselves in that pursuit. How would you be different?"

It almost seemed like worry, which surprised Nunnally for a moment. Then she realised it was more likely to be a test, so she took some time to consider her response. C.C. remained draped over her shoulder the whole time, their gazes locked still.

"Because... it's not for power's sake. You already figured out that I want revenge. Revenge for my mother's death, revenge for being thrown away like so much trash. I want to pay back every single injustice I ever suffered with interest."

She paused for breath there. Nunnally's voice never rose or gained inflection, her emotions held tightly under control. "But more than that," she ended, "I don't want Lelouch to slip away from me. I can't stay by his side without the power to keep up. He's going to leave me behind eventually."

This was the prospect that scared her more than anything. They were together for so long that imagining a life without her brother was impossible. Nunnally beared her fear to C.C., daring her to laugh. Yet she never did.

The older woman's quiet held a while, just like she held Nunnally's gaze. Those amber eyes seemed to stare at the bottom of her soul again.

Whatever it was she saw, C.C. rested her forehead against Nunnally's, who closed her eyes on reflex. It was an oddly intimate sensation.

"What happened for you to regain your sight?"

Nunnally hesitated, thinking back to that day. "Shirley," she said, "she was talking bad about my friend. It just made me so angry and then my eyes just... opened."

It had never fully made sense, though C.C. seemed to understand. Her chuckle reverberated through Nunnally as much as she heard it.

"The straw that broke the camel's back, then. Burning anger and an indomitable will. Are you certain you want to carry the burden that is the power of kings?"

She was hyperaware of C.C.'s iron scent by now, almost as much as the warmth of her skin against Nunnally's.

She only needed a moment to put away her hesitation.

"Lelouch already carries that burden. I can do at least that much."

C.C. was too close for Nunnally to see her smile, a more gentle one this time. The world fell away a moment later.

Within the inky black, Nunnally fluttered through a sea of colours on wings of imagination. C.C. was nowhere to be seen, but her voice echoed all around: "Like your brother before you, do you swear to fulfill my wish when the time comes?"

"Yes."

"Yet where circumstances forced his hand, you sought out this power of your own volition. Your path is inevitably separated from others now. But you already knew that, didn't you?"

Nunnally did not answer, for none was required. The light coalesced and she came to with full awareness of her new power. C.C. seemed somber as she pulled back and stood normally.

"Peace," she mused, "how delightfully contradictory."

Then she hesitated, staring down at Nunnally with another unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry."

"Do not be," Nunnally assured her. "I asked for this."

She had the feeling she missed something, what with how C.C. looked at her in response. But she could not tell what. Nunnally did not like the atmosphere between them now, though. Hence why she leaned forward.

"Can I convince you to help with my aim?"

Her request washed away the forlorn expression. That prior grin returned and C.C. heaved a theatralical sigh.

"Give her a finger and she takes the whole hand. Alright, I was bored anyway."

Subject change successfully, Nunnally was content. She could already imagine Lelouch's reaction to finding out, but that was a worry for later.

 

[Naron]

Leaning back in her comfy office chair, Kaguya stretched her arms with a content noise. It was only a short break between reviews, but she felt she earned it.

Her mind took to wandering once she was no longer busy; there was little time to daydream of late, seeing how she had her own duties and took some time to tutor Nunnally once a week on top. Their daily calls were dialed back to twice a week, now that they were caught up and had little to really talk about.

At the same time, Kaguya felt that something would happen in two days' time. She had no idea what, but for once she was not worried.

The tenth of August loomed. Her fourteenth birthday.

It had been over three months since her chance meeting with Nunnally in Tokyo. A lot changed since then, yet everything remained the same. Looking back down at the paperwork still to be done only reinforced that notion.

Kaguya heaved a sigh and decided to procrastinate some more. She was hungry anyway.

After checking that she was presentable, she left her office. Head held high and shoulders squared, Kaguya made sure never to drop the faint smile on her lips. Workers and guards she passed often brightened somewhat at the sight of her, even though they all bowed their heads respectfully. She gave up trying to talk to them years ago; lifting their spirits was an acceptable second place. Nonetheless, it was also a reminder of how much she missed having a real friend.

Nobody batted an eye at her presence in the cafeteria anymore. Kaguya was more comfortable here than when sitting secluded on one of the terraces. On top of that, her coming to eat here communicated that she did not see herself as beyond the staff. She technically was, but it felt like the right thing to do.

Not that anybody really talked to her here, either.

She barely managed not to sigh. The simple truth of it was that nobody her age was here. No children or teens of any sort beside her. The divide between her and the adults slowly melted as she grew, but Kaguya remained fully aware of it. Even here she was alone in the crowd.

With nothing else to occupy her time as she ate, her thoughts wandered back to Nunnally. Even after they cut back on their chats, the other girl easily remained her most frequent social contact. She worked on catching up in her studies like a woman possessed; Nunnally often read deep into the night and practiced her spelling until her fingers cramped up. The only reason Kaguya even knew was that she pressed her friend on it after an errant comment by Nunnally's maid.

She worried about Nunnally. Yet at the same time, Kaguya knew her friend would be fine. She enjoyed a strict education herself, after all.

She also knew that she clung to Nunnally more than a little. Having her felt different than anyone else; their relationship was not one of convenience or necessity, it just... was. Moreover, it continued to be a reminder of kinder times, when they were just dumb kids who did not have to worry about anything.

Kaguya enjoyed their chats, the tutoring, even the few times they confided in each other over the months. She never celebrated as much as she did when hearing that Nunnally's sight returned, if just within her own mind.

With her meal finished, Kaguya rose wordlessly. The idle thoughts were left behind alongside her dishes, although she decided to make another detour. She still did not feel like working right now.

Her feet carried her to old man Kirihara's office, not too far from her own. The old secretary waved her through with a smile that Kaguya returned gratefully. Her soft knock an the door was answered as usual, with a strong voice.

Entering, Kaguya found her mentor in much the same state as herself earlier: sifting through reports and evaluating business proposals. His robes were light and loose, clearly chosen for comfort where her own displayed elegance.

The papers were put aside the moment he saw her. A rare, honest smile showed as well.

"Ah, Kaguya-chan. Are you procrastinating again?"

"Not at all, grandfather," she lied. "Just had an early lunch and decided to extend my break."

He was not impressed, but calling him 'grandfather' immediately softened the attempt to seem strict. They were not related, but they might as well be with how much time they spent together.

Kirihara ultimately shook his head at her. "You can call it whatever you want, it remains procrastination," he teased. "But we all need a break from time to time."

So saying, he clasped his hands and offered her his full attention. "Is there something on your mind that you want to talk about?"

Kaguya considered the question, well aware of that knowing look on his face. He had it for a while now, yet never demanded she tell whatever it was he suspected.

"There is a lot on my mind, grandfather," she settled on, then flashed him a cheeky grin. "Maybe just as much as on yours. Do we know what is going to happen with Japan now, with Prince Clovis dead?"

At first he graced her with a tired smile, but his expression turned into a frown at the end. Kaguya waited patiently while he sorted his thoughts. If anything, he looked more grave than before when he began to speak: "I received advance warning about that yesterday and meant to bring it up during next weekend's meeting. Apparently, Cornelia herself is coming."

Kaguya's breath stuttered at the news. Her pulse picked up in moments, heart running a mile a minute.

"Princess Cornelia? The Witch of Britannia?"

Kirihara nodded gravely, confirming her fears. "The one. She is to take military command to guard the new viceroy."

"And stamp out rebellion in the country," Kaguya finished for him.

The old man sighed heavily in response. "Indeed. We have a week or two at maximum before she is slated to arrive, so we need to increase our operations before laying low afterward. Zero may have bought us a window of opportunity, but now we have Britannia's full attention."

Now she felt slightly uncomfortable. Although the enigmatic masked man came up every week since his appearance a month ago, Kaguya still kept his identity secret.

"Do we have anything on him?" she asked in a bid to deflect from herself. All it earned her was a searching look, as if Kirihara knew that she knew something.

"No. He did not reappear since that stunt, though some of my contacts insist he must be planning something big."

Kaguya nodded back. She knew Lelouch depleted his small stockpile of Knightmare Frames in Shinjuku; he was currently low on options and waited for opportunities.

"I see. Do you believe Zero may be able to break some of the obstacles in our way?"

"Perhaps," he allowed thoughtfully, only to caution himself and her right after: "It is too early to say. For now we will inform the Japan Liberation Front, to ensure General Katase uses this window of opportunity before laying low. Britannia's complacency protected us thus far, but I worry that these days are about to end."

She nodded once more, though the mere thought of Cornelia's imminent arrival opened a cold pit in her stomach. Her mentor thankfully changed the subject then, perhaps having noticed her discomfort.

"But enough of that. Are you still certain you want to visit that boy?"

It took a moment for her to switch tracks, but she knew her answer well enough. "I am. Knowing he is alive, I do feel he can make a valuable contact within the Britannian system."

"We both know that's a lie, Kaguya-chan," he scolded her lightly in response. There was no actual rebuke, just like he did not call her out on it when she fed the same line to the other houses at the meeting. His expression was unreadable.

"How so?" Kaguya tried, knowing she was caught but trying to deflect anyway.

Kirihara shook his head at her, though that faint smile returned along with the motion. "You know better than most how little sway Honourary Britannians have in their society. That boy will make little of anything, yet you decide to try visit him. On your birthday of all days."

She ducked her head reflexively as he laid out her flimsy logic. Yet even now there was no rebuke. If anything, Kirihara seemed understanding.

"I am not going to stop you for as long as you are careful," he told her gently. "He is your last living relative. I do not begrudge your wanting to see him."

The kind words were unexpected, what with the general dislike of Suzaku over joining the Britannians. Kaguya had to wipe away a tear before it could smudge her makeup.

"Thank you so much, grandfather. I know I must be cautious with my position, but I just can not bear knowing where he is without reaching out."

"As is your right," he assured. Then he squinted at her under some sudden thought, putting his chin in one hand.

"Although I have to ask: do you have any intention to reinstate that betrothal?"

That confused Kaguya a little, even as she shook her head. "None at all. I may not have much choice in terms of who to wed, but my own cousin is quite low on the list of options I would pick from."

She tried her best to be matter-of-fact in her assessment, though acknowledging the lack of choice still hurt a little. Meanwhile, Kirihara huffed in response.

"In a great sense of irony, you may have been the one person to benefit from the way the subjugation came about," he said. No elaboration was given, nor did she get a chance to ask what she missed. "But rest assured, unless there is truly no other choice, you will be free to marry whomever you wish."

Kaguya barely did not cry. She really wanted to believe him, but did not dare get her hopes up.

"The venerable Munakata and Yoshino both made some comments about my being given to prominent members of the JLF as a bride. General Katase and Lieutenant Colonel Tohdoh were their respective candidates."

It was a decent counterpoint in her opinion, though her mentor let out a derisive snort. The vulgarity of it surprised Kaguya, not that he cared for it. "And I will block any attempt to marry you off for as long as I live, Kaguya-chan," he told her earnestly. "You are head of Sumeragi and will remain as such until a time comes where you willingly give it up."

There was force behind the words. For just a moment she could see the man her mentor used to be; strong of will and with his head held high, no matter what. Age bent him, but experience shored up his sharp mind while his body continued to decline.

Kaguya did not really think, she just stepped forward and embraced the surprised elder. He held her tenderly, all pretenses of station thrown away for the moment.

"I am grateful to have you, grandfather," she murmured into his chest. Kirihara chuckled ever so softly before petting her head. She allowed it this once.

While she righted her hair, her mentor leaned back in his chair.

"I do think you are too worried about this," he reasoned. "Kubouin and Osakabe stayed neutral on the matter since it was first brought up. I drank with them often enough to know they don't like the prospect of making you a trophy any better than we do. Although they want you independent to maintain equality between the houses."

She arched a brow at that to mask her surprise. "You mean to say the other two aim to get more sway among our council by turning Sumeragi into their subordinate house?"

It was tantamount to betrayal of their goals to seek personal dominion. Kaguya did not even consider this angle yet, another reminder of her youth.

Kirihara gave a moment's pause as if torn on actually saying it. Then he nodded anyway.

"It is the clearest reason we see to even consider engaging you to men several times your age. Be wary, but do not fear. It will not come to pass."

She smiled in response, mood improved yet still clouded by what she learned. "I shall endeavour to follow your advice, grandfather."

By herself, Kaguya thought that she had more allies than her mentor knew. She doubted for only a moment that Nunnally would help; Kaguya wanted to believe that she would. But the type of help she could give related mostly to vanishing.

"I may just have to flee if it ever comes to this." she admitted hesitantly. Her mentor did not seem perturbed for some reason.

"Which would tear the houses apart, though it is your prerogative."

"...How so?"

"Though our number was a coincidence, I found that having six houses is quite the boon to our decisionmaking. As you know, we require a simple majority for most decisions; that means at least four houses must be in agreement at our current size, which vastly reduces the number of bad decisions we make."

He left a short pause and motioned for her as she worked through his reasoning. "If, hypothetically, Sumeragi Zaibatsu left us, then a majority only requires three to agree. Anyone with a harebrained scheme only needs to convince two others to go along with it instead of three."

It sounded so small, but Kaguya knew that a decent number of proposals had failed on that one person. "I see your point," she agreed. "Not to mention that draws are no longer possible."

The sharp discussions following a draw were one of the few things she enjoyed during council meetings.

Unaware of her personal thoughts on the matter, her mentor nodded slowly. "As head of Kirihara Industries, I have to advise you against seceding from Kyoto House," he said. Kaguya nodded sullenly, only to look up when he grasped her hand in his bony one. "But as your guardian, I understand if you do it anyway."

She could only sit there for a moment, another tear threatening to escape and ruin her makeup. She carefully wiped it off and squeezed his hand to convey her gratitude.

"I will keep that in mind. Again, thank you, grandfather."

They exchanged tender smiles between themselves. It was a great relief to know someone here was unquestionably in her corner. She knew it before, but doubt had a habit of creeping through the smallest cracks.

Now that the subject passed by, Kirihara went and asked about her studies instead. He also offered advice about anything she needed it for, company or no.

Another half hour passed before Kaguya left her mentor's office, heart a little lighter.

The next stop should be her own office, but now she felt like being naughty. And like visiting more people, at that. There was one other that she had not spoken to in a while.

Hence why Kaguya's feet carried her to the science department, Kyoto House's most well guarded secret. It took three elevator rides and two separate passwords to reach the hidden facility, quite a ways away from the mines on Mt. Fuji.

As usual, she was noticed the moment she walked in. Some of the scientists offered respectful nods or little waves, all of which Kaguya returned. Her black hair just stood out between the white of their labcoats.

The lady in charge strode out of one lab only seconds later, standing out just as much if not more. Everything about her screamed 'foreigner', from her dusky skin and light blonde hair to her facial features. Of course Kaguya knew she was Indian, and she cared about that as much as Rakshata Chawla cared about politics.

The lead scientist greeted her with a little smirk, absently twirling an unlit smoking pipe through her fingers. "Ah, young miss Sumeragi. Always a pleasure."

Kaguya bowed respectfully in response. "Good afternoon, Doctor. I hope I do not interrupt anything?"

The older woman shook her head. "You do not. I take it this is about our little project?"

"Naturally," she lied. She just liked visiting Rakshata and they both knew it. But pretenses had to be kept up, in case anyone asked. "Do you have something for me?"

She was motioned forward with the pipe and a grin. The two wandered deeper into the labs, now on their own instead of surrounded by a number of people.

"It's been a while," Rakshata mused along the way. "We're still busy refining the technology. So far we managed to remove the upper body portion and installed some of my own systems. The whole thing was based on a prototype to read nerve signal inputs I made in University, quite outdated. The next step is to reduce the weight further and make it less conspicuous."

Kaguya nodded along, well aware the older woman dumbed it down for her. "It sounds like you're making good progress," she offered in commentary as much as inquiry. Rakshata nodded.

"We do, even if it is a side project. As much as I enjoy my work, creating something not meant to kill people is a nice change of pace."

Neither of them laughed at the dry comment. Rakshata's analytical gaze strayed back to Kaguya after she said it. "But to ask for a civilian exoskeleton, specifically for the legs? I am still curious who our mystery sponsor is."

A part of Kaguya wanted to tell her, even though she knew it was a bad idea. They were alone, so now was an opportunity to do so. Still, reason prevailed in this instance; Kaguya met Rakshata's gaze calmly.

"I think you already know the kind of person who would ask for this. You don't want to know any more than that, beyond that I trust them."

The older woman seemed almost coy at that. She clearly considered to try wheedling something out of her. Kaguya drew her phone in response, both to ward her off for a moment and to pass on what she learned about Cornelia earlier. It was only a quick message that she heard a witch would come to Area 11; Rakshata clearly saw the contact named 'N', but that would not tell her much.

Nunnally replied with a number of shocked emojis and a quick thank you.

When Kaguya looked back up, Rakshata wore a knowing grin.

"Could it be you made a friend?"

Kaguya could not help but smile at being asked so bluntly. She coyly put a finger to her lips and said nothing.

Rakshata accepted her response. She led Kaguya along without another word to inspect the various projects. The exoskeleton was not ready for testing yet, but Kaguya still got a glimpse at it. Otherwise, Rakshata mainly prepared a juiced-up Sutherland chassis; not as elegant or powerful as her Guren, the crimson Knightmare still in storage for its fine tuning, but definitely beyond their Burais.

A second team was also improving the power armour designs for military use, mainly easier production. The six houses quickly recognised how pivotal those designs would be for guerilla warfare; being far less resource intensive than Knightmare Frames, they could be produced in greater numbers. They were still superior to any conventional armour, not to mention small enough for urban combat without damaging the infrastructure.

Not once did Rakshata talk down to her during the little tour. She treated Kaguya like a proper adult and always had since they met two years ago. This was the main reason Kaguya liked her. Aside from them getting along, she was also one of the few other women in a leading position.

And going by the fact Rakshata never shooed her away, to the point she wore a faint smile when Kaguya did take her leave, the feeling was mutual.

With her social visit over, Kaguya finally got back to work. It was about as boring as expected.

After whiling away a few hours, she called it a day. It would certainly repeat, although Kaguya eagerly anticipated her birthday for now.

That particular day started sunny, for which she was grateful. Half a load of work in the morning was followed by a drive to Tokyo; dropping in on Nunnally was tempting, but her friend had school. Instead they made their way to the military compound she learned Suzaku was stationed at.

Kaguya made certain to clear this excursion with the acting viceroy weeks in advance. She got a signed and stamped letter with the imperial seal to ensure there would be no funny business. Money changed hands as a matter of course, but that was a small price to pay for this.

Nonetheless, she felt unsafe the moment she stepped out of the car. Many eyes were on her. A decent number of them were Honouraries, but not all. She barely stopped herself from clutching her taser, unwilling to give anyone even a hint of an excuse.

The guards at the entrance sized her up with something close to neutrality. They were all Honouraries, which was a bit of a relief. They did not like her, but Kaguya doubted they would attack her. In fact, they were taken aback a little when offered a polite bow. Kaguya made it a quick one so the Britannians did not suspect any 'Eleven business' or anything like that.

"Good afternoon," she greeted kindly. "I have come to visit Warrant Officer Kururugi. Here is my permit."

She handed the letter to the guard, who scanned it curiously. The motion cut off once he glimpsed the official seal at the bottom. A nod was given.

"This seems to be in order. Your name, miss?"

"Kaguya Sumeragi."

The second soldier at the computer paused alongside his companion. It was almost imperceptible, but she noticed. The slightly wary looks, the mixed feelings, they were the same here as everywhere else. People knew her name and the betrayal it stood for, even if they did not know her face.

Yet despite her worries, the two did their job and let her inside with a little visitor's badge.

"Kururugi is in hangar C, down that way," the first soldier explained. Kaguya nodded her understanding.

"Thank you, sir. Have a good day."

She got no response and moved along. The pair of gazes boring into her back gave her goosebumps, but Kaguya bore it stoically. She was a little surprised to not be escorted, but this could be anything from negligence to a sense of superiority.

Regardless, Kaguya kept her head down and hoped not to encounter any Britannian soldiers along the way. She was lucky enough that the one who did cross her path was busy carrying stuff around; all he did was scoff at her presence.

Surreptive glances were cast around, taking in as much of the layout as possible. Kaguya may be here on private business, but she knew to use the opportunity. Even a partial map of the compound's layout could be valuable for the Japan Liberation Front. Then again, attacking the Britannian army at their bases might be too much for even the JLF.

She put the thought aside with a reminder that she was not going to see anything they did not already have. It only distracted her from finding the way and dodging anyone who could make trouble.

The uncertainty made her minute-long walk feel like hours. Every unexpected sound made the hairs on her neck stand up. Kaguya was used to feeling this way whenever she went out, though; she tried her best not to let it show in remembrance of her lessons. People were more incentivised to push if they sensed weakness or fear.

Then she entered a large hall filled with heavy clanking and other machine noise. Hangar C.

Looking around, Kaguya spotted a number of Knightmare Frames in various states of assembly. All were Sutherlands, with not a single of the older Glasgow models in sight. It appeared like the engineers were exchanging damaged parts. They were so busy that they paid her no mind at all, if they even noticed her.

Kaguya began walking down the vast hangar, hoping to just spot Suzaku. She had little luck at first, but was unwilling to risk asking for directions. That would alert people to her presence after all.

She also knew that she should look at the Knightmares to maybe bring back some insight, but that would draw even more attention.

What she did notice in this place was curious, though. The workers and engineers were predominantly Britannian, with a handful of Japanese mixed in. Yet where one would assume the latter to be exploited mercilessly, they seemed to be quietly accepted. Everyone did their part, the line between their nationalities all but gone.

At the same time, Kaguya figured that if something did go wrong, the Japanese would be the first to be blamed. She quietly wondered how this cooperation came to be.

"Excuse me?" a female voice disrupted her musings. "Are you lost, miss?"

She startled upon being spoken to, head snapping aside. A blunette in uniform stood almost right next to her. Kaguya relaxed slightly upon realising she was confronted by a woman, then a little more upon spotting the friendly smile she bore. There were signs of wariness as well, but she could live with that.

Turning back to acting demure, Kaguya nodded. "O-Oh, yes. I am sorry to waste your time, miss. I was told Warrant Officer Kururugi is stationed around here?"

The older woman blinked owlishly at that. Her clear surprise was replaced by a more honest smile rather quick, though.

"Oh, you're here for Suzaku? I had no idea he had a visitor coming. Right this way!"

She led the way without another word. Kaguya hurried to keep up with her longer stride, once again wondering what they fed these Britannian women. How did they all grow this tall?

What came out of her mouth had nothing to do with that, though. She responded softly to the other woman: "I thought someone would call ahead on it, but I guess this works as well. It makes for a nice surprise."

She hummed in agreement, then glanced back at Kaguya with a more measured look. "It does, this is the first time he gets any visitors. How do you know him, if I may ask? He doesn't really talk much about his life. A girlfriend, perhaps?"

Kaguya was not quite sure where this was going. She decided to repay the kindness of showing her the way regardless and explained a little: "We are cousins. I did not even know he was alive until, well, recently."

The blunette had relaxed somewhat, but the last bit drew a sad sigh from her. "Ah, that. I see now. At least we can be glad that Suzaku was found innocent."

She used his first name again. Kaguya kept having to remind herself that this was just what Britannians did. At the same time she wondered how close this lady was with Suzaku. She did not ask, that would be rude at the moment. Not that she needed to.

"Oh, but where are my manners? I am Cecile, assistant of Dr. Asplund and member of the Camelot Institute. Suzaku was transferred to us a few weeks ago to assist in engineering tasks."

So a coworker, maybe a superior. Probably a superior. Kaguya remained a little wary, but she played along as they entered a separate hall. Only a single machine was here, covered by a large tarp.

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Kaguya."

The older woman gave her a kind smile, then bid her to wait a moment.

"Suzaku, there is a visitor for you!" she called ahead.

And an unfamiliar voice answered from a nearby office, clearly surprised: "Really? Who is it?"

It made sense in a way; Kaguya had not heard her cousin's voice since they were children. This was not the squeaky voice of a boy. This was the pleasant baritone of a man.

Cecile smirked, unaware of her musings. "Why," she chirped back, "a sweet young lady came all the way here to see you."

No response came at that. Kaguya stood there awkwardly, only getting a grip once she spotted Suzaku appearing from the office. He was clearly confused at first, then outright dumbfounded upon actually spotting her.

"Err, Kaguya? What are you doing here?"

She quickly clutched both hands behind her back to feign nonchalance. It felt nostalgic strolling up to him like that, she could not help but tease a little.

"My, how rude. We haven't seen each other in years and this is what you say to me?"

Her faux upset had Suzaku almost swallow his tongue in his haste to apologise. It was kind of cute, completely unlike the rude brat he used to be. Cecile snickered in the background, but left them be. So Kaguya dropped the prim and proper act to give Suzaku a quick hug.

"You could have at least let me know you're alright, you know?" she scolded next. "I had to learn you're alive from the news recently."

Suzaku winced in response, as he should. "I'm sorry," he said, not even really defending himself. "I didn't think anyone would want to hear from me."

"Which is why I am not mad at you. I understand," she told him kindly. And she meant it. Kaguya was not fighting for Japan's enemies directly, but she was little better in the public eye.

He seemed pained for some reason however, giving her this subdued look.

"You shouldn't be here."

She knew. Even now Kaguya barely felt any safer than earlier. But at this point she came too far to just turn around; not to mention that this was a great chance to tease, if nothing else. Hence why she cocked her hips and pressed a hand into them, radiating disbelief.

"Are you serious? I come all the way here to see you, on my birthday no less, and you want to tell me to just leave?"

The effect was immediate. Suzaku stumbled over his words again and apologised. Bullying him like this was mean, she knew, but it was also fun. Perhaps too much fun, she realised.

"My, that can not do," Cecile joined in next, sidling up next to them with her hands clasped cheerfully. "You really need to learn how to treat a girl, Suzaku."

But before this could deteriorate, another voice cut them off. A male one, coming from the same office Suzaku was in earlier.

"Finally! Ready up everyone, we can do the next set of tests!"

All three looked that way, where an auburn-haired man in a white labcoat strolled out. Kaguya knew the look well enough to tell the scientist, the spectacles only emphasized it. This was most likely Cecile's superior.

He made a curious noise upon seeing Kaguya in turn, though she spotted not a shred of aggression or the like. "Now who do we have here?" he asked airily, which prompted Suzaku to jump in and make introductions.

"Right! Mr. Lloyd, meet my cousin Kaguya Sumeragi. Kaguya, this is my boss Lloyd. He insists we call him that."

The way he did not seem to care one whit about Suzaku being casual intrigued Kaguya. For his part, Lloyd appeared more and less interested at the same time.

"Oh my. Sumeragi, you say?"

He peered closer at her then. There was something clinical to his gaze, but Kaguya still tensed up on reflex. She expected something bad to happen, only barely not shying away.

That was, until Cecile bapped Lloyd's side and hissed at him: "Stop staring at her already!"

Her admonishment did not faze Lloyd, who tapped his chin in thought. "You are younger than you look, are you not?" he asked Kaguya, completely ignoring his assistant.

She stared back in confusion, wary about what she should tell him. Knowing that Suzaku would tell him at least this much anyway, she nodded slowly. She had been mistaken for an adult a few times before.

"I turned fourteen today, sir."

Lloyd's brow rose for just a moment, but then he clapped his hands with a grin. "My, congratulations! And to be head of a business giant at such a tender age, too!"

Kaguya froze up a little, an action Suzaku mirrored. This man knew, but neither of them told him. The pang of hurt at the reminder of her parents' death did not even compare to the icy fear of Lloyd knowing how valuable she was.

Yet contrary to her expectations, he seemed utterly disinterested in doing anything with that knowledge. In fact, he started walking away, talking to himself as much as her: "Is it not curious how some parts of your society resemble ours, even though those terrorists always claim we are completely separate?"

Suzaku made the confused noise Kaguya did not dare utter, prompting Lloyd to glance back with another grin. "Aren't you just the same as a Britannian noblewoman? Bred to excel and trained to lead from the cradle?"

Kaguya grit her teeth at the comparison. She did not like it, even less so because she could see his point. She tried to find a good counter, but Cecile cut off any potential argument with another bap to Lloyd's side.

"And that's enough of that. Those tests you wanted can wait an hour or two. Let's give those two some space to catch up."

"B-But then we will fall behind schedule! I wanted to-"

"Lloyd."

"...fine."

And then she watched as a pouting adult man was firmly led away. She wordlessly stared at Suzaku, pointing after the pair. He shrugged in resposne.

"They're always like that, kind of," her cousin admitted, then heaved a sigh. "And I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. This here just isn't a place you should be and I stand by that."

This time she agreed with a wordless nod. Yet Kaguya braved this place anyway, so she would make the most of that. "So how about you make being here worth my while? Tell me how things are. Is work okay? What do you do in your free time?"

His chuckles were a pleasant sound, she found. Suzaku led her over to a small table in the corner and started fielding her questions once they sat down: "I can't complain, really. Being with Camelot means I'm not in the infantry anymore. It helped my standing with the other troopers, too."

After saying that however, he paused and made a face. Then, after a quick glance to where his superiors vanished, he leaned in closer.

"I was there in Shinjuku, you know?"

She figured from the allegations about Prince Clovis, but having it confirmed made her feel a little weary. Still she nodded, unwilling to let it show.

"How bad was it?"

"Really bad."

He seemed to want to say more, but stopped with another look at Kaguya. Perhaps some of her feelings shone through after all, or maybe he just wanted to spare her the gruesome details. Him holding back peeved Kaguya a little, but she also accepted that she probably did not want to know.

"But Zero brought a stop to it," she said instead.

Suzaku grimaced immediately. "He did, but at what cost?"

It felt like a betrayal, especially when she knew who was under the mask. But at the same time Kaguya could not disagree; not when she knew Cornelia was inbound. So she inclined her head again while Suzaku rubbed his in thought.

"Either way, seeing what happened there rattled something in me. I spent the last few years just... going through the motions, hoping to stumble on an opportunity. After Shinjuku, I started to spend more time with the other troopers. The Honouraries and whatever Britannians don't mind me."

Kaguya's brow arched delicately in response. The way he said it sounded a little familiar, but she could not quite put her finger on why. The last bit was intriguing, too. "There are Britannians like that?"

Suzaku nodded, showing a little smile. "A few. More now than at first. I don't think they see me as an equal yet, but I feel they will come around sooner or later. There's definitely more of them talking to me by now."

"And for what purpose?" she inquired, genuinely curious now. "You mentioned waiting for an opportunity?"

The look she got in response carried a surprising amount of conviction. It was completely unlike anything she saw from him so far. Suzaku's words were just as serious: "I want to rise through the ranks and change Britannia from the inside. Improve relations by tearing down the prejudice and racism internally."

This was a surprising turn of events. For just a moment she thought he was joking, but the severity in his tone told her otherwise. He was too serious to have her on.

Kaguya doubted it was even possible, but did not dare say it. Instead she ventured more carefully: "That does not sound like an easy task."

"It's not, but I have to at least try."

So despite everything, she realised, he went about making things better in his own way. Kaguya still did not see it working. But at the same time, she did not come here to exchange plans. They could argue those things some other time.

"Then I wish you the best of luck. Now please tell me about something less daunting. Any girls in your personal life?"

Her little tease made the poor boy flush a little, so Kaguya decided to keep going in that direction for a while. It certainly drove the more serious subjects from their minds.

Overall, she enjoyed the afternoon a great deal. Suzaku was good company and mellowed out a lot over the years. He even acted the gentleman, escorting her back to the entrance once it became time to leave.

Kaguya then proceeded to cap off her birthday with a visit to Nunnally. Lelouch baked her a cake too, which completely blindsided Kaguya.

She never had a birthday as good as this one.

 

[Naron]

Nunnally was wound up something fierce. Her tension only grew with each passing day, to the point she could not hide it from her family anymore. Or C.C., for that matter. And of course she had to bring it up during breakfast, the one time she usually remained quiet to enjoy the food.

"And what exactly has you so worked up, girl?"

Nunnally just gave her a look.

"I told you that Cornelia is coming here."

She broke out in a cold sweat when Kaguya let her know two weeks ago. Lelouch was busy brooding ever since she passed the information on. He was tense in his own way and neither of them had an outlet for it.

"And you fear her?" C.C. pressed. "The Witch of Britannia?"

"Yes."

"Good."

C.C.'s response took the wind out of Nunnally's sails. Lelouch was aware enough to be taken from his own thoughts, too. Nunnally stared for a moment, head tilting.

"Pardon?"

C.C. took a sip of tea and leaned back in her chair, immediately slipping into lecture mode. "Fear is a primal force that informed our lives since mankind's conception," she explained. "It keeps you alive as long as you hold onto it, but it can just as well destroy you if you allow it to rule your actions."

It was novel for her to be helpful. It may just be Nunnally's imagination, but this sort of advice had begun coming more often since their contract. She understood what the older woman meant, and so did Lelouch.

"And Cornelia of all people is fearsome indeed," he added with partly forced calm.

Unfortunately, the subject itself was not a nice one. Nunnally's tension faded as a dull depression took its place; she could ever so vaguely remember their half-sister being kind to them. Cornelia even took time out of her busy day to play.

"Though it's sad she has to be our enemy," she mused. "We used to be close, didn't we?"

Lelouch nodded back with a small frown of his own. "We were, yes. But Cornelia's priority is and always has been Euphemia, so I can't tell how much of that was her indulging Euphie."

"I guess blood is thicker than water after all," Nunnally answered with a wry grin.

This, however, prompted a derisive snort from C.C.. "A Britannian misuse of the proverb," she told the siblings once she had their attention. "Though it nicely underlines their stance on bloodlines and nobility. The original version says 'The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb'."

She did not elaborate further, even when the pair and Sayoko all stared at her in wonder. Nunnally rolled the apparent original around in her mind for a little while as she grasped its meaning.

"So it actually says the opposite?"

"Yes," Lelouch confirmed. He must have reached the same conclusion. "The family we choose are more important than those we are born to. I can agree with that."

He gave a little nod to Sayoko when saying it. This time a smile cracked her serene expression when she nodded in turn. "I as well. Though the Japanese put similar emphasis on family, I believe there is no greater bond than the service one willingly enters. That the both of you welcomed me into your family is only the cherry on top."

Her tension slowly unwound as they spoke. The reassurances around her only reinforced that she was not alone; there were people who loved her and whom she loved. But there were two more, outside of this room.

"It's similar with Kaguya and Suzaku, isn't it?"

Lelouch agreed without hesitation. C.C., however, showed that mischievous grin again. A glint of playfulness to come, which was never a good sign. "Oh? So you do not count your school friends into this circle? Neither of you?"

She knew this was a touchy subject and poked it anyway. And with all the subtlety of a piledriver at that. Going by the outright smirk she showed at the face Nunnally made, this was intentional.

Lelouch thankfully took the initial response off of her, articulating the issue better than she could: "It's hard to say with them. They don't know any of our important secrets, and I don't want to burden them with those. They have a chance to live ordinary lives, far away from danger."

"We don't," Nunnally added, resolute at first but then a little forlorn: "It was always going to end this way, wasn't it? For me, it's more that they still don't feel like my friends and more like yours. Milly is the only one who knows about us being royalty, but she seems happy to be far away from that life."

"I thought I overheard mention that they invited you to join them at the Kawaguchi Conference?" Sayoko interjected, curious but not in contention to her words.

Nobody made a real issue out of Nunnally's stance on Lelouch's friends, which she was grateful for. She nodded at her maid. "They did and I appreciate that they make an effort. I just wonder how much of it is wanting to spend time with me and how much is something else."

"You shouldn't waste too much time on worries like these," Lelouch cautioned her gently. "People always look at themselves first."

Nunnally hummed in agreement at that. "I guess you have a point there. We will see how things go from here. Maybe I can call them all friends at some point, too."

Her brother smiled in turn, notably more relaxed than before. "That reminds me," he started in a bid for some more mischief. "Rivalz talked about your little episode recently. He worried that him spending time with you would make me think he was making a pass at you."

Now that was a bit of a surprise, though not an embarassing one. Nunnally blinked back at her brother in bewilderment, a flash of sheepishness drowned under wonder.

"I mean, I wouldn't mind if he did?"

It was both the truth and the perfect response to coax a deep sigh from Lelouch. "That was not where I was going with this," he muttered.

Sayoko hid a smile behind her hand while Nunnally stuck out her tongue. "I know, but still. What did you tell him?"

"That I trust him not to do anything you don't want. Maybe I should have worded that differently."

Nunnally giggled now. She threw her brother a wink, well familiar with his protective streak. "So now he has permission to make a pass at me? My, what would the girls think?"

"Something unflattering," Lelouch shot back, his calm not entirely genuine. "Please consider his position in all this, he is seventeen and you are thirteen."

"I will be fourteen soon enough, but point taken." She then huffed at Lelouch and shook her head. "You act like my being interested means I will spread my legs on the first date."

Her teasing earned a startled noise she rarely heard. Sayoko added a faux scandalised gasp while C.C. broke into laughter outright. Nunnally grinned as well, now that she managed to get one over her brother. It was not an important thing on her mind at the moment, though she did think Rivalz was cute.

"This subject is now over," Lelouch declared.

And of course, it was C.C. who pushed further. "Aww, could it be you are embarassed thinking about dear Nunnally's budding sexuality?"

"Over."

Nunnally could barely stop herself from laughing before that. Now she broke down entirely. Lelouch just looked tired about the whole mess he was currently in.

"I regret giving you the talk," he groused, though there was no heat to it.

"As if you would have let Milly do it," she shot back. He knew she knew that he would never let that happen.

That information made C.C. perk up, though. "Oh? That seems rather early."

"It was," Nunnally agreed easily. It had been early, but necessary. "And Lelouch was not happy. But when you have sensitive ears like me and are constantly around older girls, you're bound to pick up enough to ask questions. So he took me through it two years ago. Sayoko helped with explaining the girl specific things."

Unfortunately, that reminded her of bad things to come. Nunnally grimaced. "I am not looking forward to my first period," she muttered, not caring to speculate why C.C. appeared smug after hearing that. Instead she followed Lelouch's example and got ready for classes.

And as if some god heard her words and decided to punish her for her hubris, Nunnally got that first period just the next day. Suffice it to say, she was miserable. And for the first time in her life, Nunnally truly appreciated her wheelchair.

That day she at least had blessed quiet at work. With only Kallen and Lelouch for company, Nunnally could go through the paperwork without many interruptions. She tried not to show discomfort as best as she could.

"How often do they dump everything on you two?" Kallen asked at some point, somewhere between curious and annoyed. Nunnally ignored her, leaving it to Lelouch to respond.

"Once a month at the least. Sometimes twice. I'm more surprised Nina went along again, she doesn't like going out much."

Kallen shook her head at that, through which she managed to spy Nunnally grimace as another cramp hit. The redhead leaned forward then. "Did something happen? Shirley tried to invite you earlier, didn't she?"

Nunnally did not want to talk to anyone, much less someone she needed to watch her words around. The annoyance was suppressed with some difficulty while she gave a stiff nod. "She did, but today was just bad timing. I guess I still have the Kawaguchi Conference in two weeks."

"You okay?"

"As well as I will ever be, I guess," she groused with a sigh.

When Nunnally said no more, Kallen slowly turned to Lelouch in search of answers. He kept methodically going through his own paperwork and answered without even looking at her: "Girl problems."

At least that seemed to get the point across. Kallen winced in sympathy, then paused as the way he told her registered.

"I'm a girl too, you know?"

"I am aware."

"Please stop flirting and keep working," Nunnally disrupted curtly.

Her interjection prompted Kallen to sputter: "I, I'm not!"

Lelouch was unaffected, though. "She knows that," he said without much more inflection than Nunnally used before. She did not deny it, which made Kallen grumble. The older girl did thankfully get back to work.

The following minutes heard only the scratching of pens on paper, though the silence did not keep as long as Nunnally would have liked.

"Out of curiousity, why are you here if it's that bad?"

It was a justified question to ask. Nunnally admitted that to herself as well and put down her pen for a quick break. Looking to Kallen, she swallowed a sigh before it could escape. "I didn't expect it to be this bad, to be honest. But now that I'm here, I am not going to just push my part on you two."

"Aww, how sweet."

While Kallen all but melted for some reason, Lelouch just cast a worried glance his sister's way. "You know I don't mind. Just say if you need to rest."

"Well, I don't."

Nunnally glowered back, though it had no effect on him. It was a white lie in truth; she did not need the rest, but Nunnally would prefer to be at home. She refused to go back on having others do everything for her, though.

"He's right though," Kallen added her opinion with a hint of worry. "You don't have to force yourself. Wait." A look was thrown back to Lelouch, who remained working throughout. "Is that why you're tearing through these?"

He did not acknowledge the question, but they all knew it was exactly his reason. Nunnally rolled her eyes in response and went back to work as well. Kallen's muttered "Is that what she meant" was so quiet that Nunnally figured it was not meant to be heard. Nunnally left it uncommented.

Then her phone rang. Even when she saw the caller-ID as Kaguya, Nunnally still looked at it in bewilderment. Then she glanced to the other two, only for Lelouch to shoo her away. Nunnally nodded absently, maneuvering her wheelchair away as she took the call.

"Lamperouge speaking?"

A flurry of Japanese greeted her in turn: "Did you hear yet? She's here, they're here!"

"I understood that," Nunnally answered drily, "but I have no idea what you mean."

Kaguya seemed to realise the problem as well, seeing how she switched to Britannian. Her tone did not lose its undercurrent of urgency, though: "Turn on the news!"

"...okay?"

Putting the phone down for a moment, she called to Lelouch and Kallen to do as Kaguya asked. Kallen followed the request after a moment and they tuned right into a speech by the new viceroy.

Euphemia li Britannia.

Nunnally stared at her for a moment. Not a single word from her half-sister registered, nor were any spoken in this room. Longing and anger warred within Nunnally at the sight of Euphemia.

"The new viceroy?" Kallen wondered. "And a princess at that?"

"So it seems," Lelouch agreed tonelessly. Kallen thankfully did not pick up on their upset, too caught up in her own worries.

"Do you see it?" Kaguya asked next.

"I see it. Thanks for telling me."

"No problem. Uh, you aren't free right now, are you?"

"I still have some work here, sorry."

"All good, I know the feeling. Call you tomorrow?"

"Sure. Stay safe."

"Right back at you. Bye-bye!"

Nunnally said her own goodbyes and ended the call with a sigh. The other two were watching the news report that followed Euphemia's speech. Her emotions were still in turmoil, she did not know whether to rejoice or to despair.

Lelouch mused out loud in the meantime: "So her highness, Princess Euphemia takes over civilian affairs while her highness, Princess Cornelia is in charge of the military for now. It seems a storm has come to Area Eleven."

Kallen threw him a sour look in response. Only Nunnally spotted it, though she also saw the worry worming at her. "This isn't good," the redhead answered, almost thoughtlessly. Then she quickly followed up to hide her blunder: "For the terrorists, I mean."

Her recovery was good. Neither of them would have caught the initial mistake if they did not already know her true allegiance. Lelouch did not show that, though. He instead engaged Kallen's point with a nod.

"It really isn't. Her highness is known for perfection in her subjugation campaigns. Prince Clovis' death must have rattled the hornet's nest, now one of our best has come to burn down opposition in the Area."

His assessment, camouflaged as idle musings, did its part in worrying Kallen more. Nunnally had an inkling what her brother tried there, so she played along.

"I can understand it, at least in the sense that Prince Clovis was her half-brother. She must care at least a little bit, so it's personal on top of everything else."

"Not to mention that her full-blood sister is also here," Lelouch agreed.

With Kallen already off-kilter, it was simple for Nunnally to direct the conversation. "So what do you think the terrorists will do?" she asked in wonder, well aware Kallen was listening intently.

Lelouch tapped his chin in thought, primarily for show.

"If they're smart, they will dig a hole and hide in it until Princess Cornelia leaves to fry bigger fish. I may be projecting, but I feel any go at Princess Euphemia will bring down the hammer on the perpetrator, regardless of success or failure."

There he paused for a moment, then let out a soft huff. "Maybe the storm was a more fitting analogy than I thought. Their best bet is to wait it out and hope."

"You really think so?" Kallen asked with a smigden of audible curiousity. "Even though they somehow made it through seven years without being uprooted?"

She acted the discussing schoolgirl well, Nunnally had to acknowledge that. Not that either of them minded her fishing. Lelouch nodded once again and indulged her.

"So far it was the occasional terror strike and reprisal, maybe some skirmishes if one of the larger cells is involved. But now a royal heir died in the process. Even if the homelands can't mobilise a full army to stamp out the terrorists, Cornelia will bring and mobilise enough material to outgun everyone else on the island. Add to that her strategic expertise and I believe you see the problem."

Kallen nodded back wordlessly. She thankfully did not catch Lelouch messing up and dropping Cornelia's title in the middle of it. Too distraught by the danger for her comrades.

"I guess you have a point. I never thought of it that way."

She looked back to the newscast, but it was over by now. Kallen let out a quiet sigh and reached for the last of her paperwork.

"Right, let's- hey!"

Only to grasp at nothing. Lelouch cheekily finished off the last of her forms, his own and Nunnally's already gone. Both girls threw him stink-eyes, but he did not let that bother him. Rather, he stretched his fingers before putting everything in order. Then he stood.

"To celebrate, I gift the ladies an early closing time," Lelouch teased with a mocking bow and that lazy smirk of his. "Will you be fine walking home on your own, Kallen?"

"How do you kn- oh. Yeah, I will be fine. Thanks for asking."

Lelouch nodded back at her and joined Nunnally. "Then I will now take my sister home and make her lie down to rest. Have a good day."

"You too. See you, Nunnally."

"See you!"

She managed a somewhat cheerful wave while being wheeled out of the room. Kallen followed right after and left first; Lelouch locked up the place in silence, which lasted until they were sure she was far out of hearing range.

"You think they're going to keep their heads down?" Lelouch wondered then. He cast a curious look Nunnally's way, who arched a brow at his insecurity.

"I hope so," she answered after mulling it over for a moment. "Cornelia will cut them off otherwise."

A bit to her own surprise, she did not like the thought of Kallen dying anymore. Or of the older girl having to go through such a loss.

Lelouch took her assessment with a quiet nod and began pushing her along. Just as promised, Nunnally was all but forced to lie down; a warm towel was spread over her abdomen, too. She felt that it helped. In addition however, Lelouch and Sayoko were hovering. Their constant walking by to check on her and asking if she needed anything annoyed Nunnally as much as it pleased her. She was tempted to throw something at them

Although she ultimately refrained, the torture continued into day two without remorse. Nunnally bore it a little better by now, but her mood remained awful. She suffered quietly through classes and her work with the student council.

The overall eventless day was interrupted about as soon as she and Lelouch got back home. A message from Kaguya told her to check the news, where they learned that Saitama ghetto was being blockaded.

The siblings watched quietly, neither sure what to think. Lelouch's brows were scrunched up while Nunnally bore a blank expression.

"She only just arrived and it already started," Nunnally commented.

Her brother nodded and walked away without a word. C.C. strolled after him with a hard look in her eyes. Nunnally was left on her lonesome, staring at the broadcast but barely listening to the explanation of traffic rerouting. She had an odd sense of deja vù; something niggled at the back of her mind, though she could not tell what at first.

It took several minutes of wracking her brain before realisation came: this was the same as Shinjuku, all the way down to the flimsy justification for blockading the ghetto. Except that Cornelia would not make such a simple mistake that even Nunnally could spot it.

Just then Lelouch left his room, face blank. The big bag with his suit and mask was slung over his shoulder.

"It's a trap," she said.

Lelouch nodded solemnly. "I know. And in knowing this before I spring it, I will outmaneuver her."

"No."

Her refusal gave him pause, to the point he almost missed a step. Nunnally felt her composure crumble at such a stupid plan; it terrified her that he would knowingly walk into this.

"No?"

But more than that, the terror morphed into anger.

"No. You're not going."

"Yes, I am," Lelouch retorted, unaffected by her demand.

Nunnally shook her head in response. "No. Don't you see this is exactly what she wants? This isn't another Clovis!" she snapped, voice growing louder now.

Lelouch's mouth twisted into a frown in response. "Even Cornelia isn't unbeatable," he ground out. "I have Geass and surprise on my side."

As the tension between them grew, Nunnally faintly noticed C.C. and Sayoko standing nearby. Neither of them seemed willing to interfere, and good riddance. She crossed her arms at her brother, tried to will him to change his mind. "Geass and surprise are not enough to deal with Cornelia. In case you forgot, yours doesn't protect you from bullets."

Lelouch scowled at that, but he did not argue the point. Neither did he give, though.

"This is still something I must do."

That was when Nunnally understood.

They were both just going through the motions for years; she woke up from that dreamlike state first, when meeting Kaguya. Lelouch only truly woke up in Shinjuku. Yet back when Nunnally came back to her senses, she felt that same urge to do something. An incessant desire not to fall back into this awful play-pretend of normalcy. She worked through this feeling with all her practice and exercises, but Lelouch still felt it now. That urge to go out even though she knew better.

Except that for him, this could be lethal. Or worse.

Nunnally's expression softened a little, though emotions still roiled in her gut. The cramps only added to her brittle state. "You mustn't take fights you can't win, Lelouch," she reasoned with as much calm as she could muster. "Doesn't The Art Of War say that, too?"

"I can win it," he argued back, still not willing to give. Nunnally simply shook her head.

"No, you can't. And I won't let you get yourself killed there."

Her words made something snap in Lelouch. His expression turned livid as he threw out his hand, shouting now: "Then what else am I suppposed to do?! Sit back and twiddle my thumbs like I did the last seven years?! Keep playing house with Milly?! Cornelia is here and she is here now, but apparently you don't have any faith in me to begin with!"

Silence reigned after his outburst.

Nunnally twitched slightly, but her own burning anger buried the smidgen of fear at being shouted at by her brother.

Lelouch barely had time to realise what he just did; she could see the horror on his face, as if he thought she could not take it. That thought made her own feelings boil over. She pushed herself up on the arms of her wheelchair, then shouted back.

"Maybe if you got your head screwed on right I could have faith in you! I don't care about your stupid pride, I care about you being safe! I even accept that you're going to risk your life in the future! There's no safety in war, I know that! But springing a trap like this isn't a risk, it's plain stupid and so are you!"

Nunnally took a deep breath in the ringing silence. Lelouch stared at her with wide eyes while she forced the anger back down to simmer. Her scowl remained in place, though.

"There will be other and better opportunities," she snapped, "but you won't be able to take them if you get yourself killed today. But sure, if you don't care about anything else, go and do it."

She could not stand to look at him anymore, and she did not want to cry. So Nunnally turned her wheelchair around and left.

Nobody followed her as she made her way down to the hideout in the sewers. If nothing else, practice would help getting a grip on her feelings.

Unfortunately, aiming steadily was even harder with abdominal cramps. So Nunnally ended up reading files for several hours to calm down.

She glanced up when the door swished open, only to find Lelouch standing there. His expression was tight, though the conflict shone through. He needed to start three times before any words left his mouth.

"Dinner is about ready. Come on up, please."

With her anger evaporated, Nunnally was simply tired. She gave a nod and a soft "Okay" before following her brother.

The awkward atmosphere between them persisted all the way back. It had never been like this before; they never fought like that. Nunnally did not like it, but even now she was too stubborn to crack first. Lelouch did not say anything either, he just stared glumly at the floor.

Back home, she was greeted by the tantalising scent of home-made lasagna. Her favourite, with copious amounts of cheese. Nunnally's lips twitched up before she even saw the food; this was clearly an apology. The vanilla muffin waiting nearby to be her desert only emphasized it.

Moreover, C.C. was nowhere to be found. Neither was Sayoko.

The two took their seats in silence. Lelouch plated up, putting Nunnally's portion first as he always did. Then, with a sigh, he finally looked at her properly.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you. You were right, I had a stupid idea and didn't think it through."

And just like that, all her leftover tension faded away. Nunnally relaxed, relieved that he did see her point after all. "It's okay," she said. "I'm sorry too. I felt just like you a few months ago, but I took it personally anyway."

Lelouch cracked a smile in response before motioning for the steaming food. "Let's talk about how to proceed later, dig in."

She had no problem with doing just that. In fact, she stuffed herself as much as she dared without vomiting; the rest of the evening was spent lying around feeling full, but this was absolutely worth it.

For the following two weeks, they lay low and observed Cornelia's movements. Resistance in Saitama had been eliminated, which just showed her acumen; even though the actual target of her trap failed to appear, she still got something out of it. She kept her cards close to the chest afterward, too; no further attempts were made to lure Zero out of the shadows.

Even C.C. and Sayoko agreed that Cornelia was planning something, but none of the four could see her exact goals. She hammered terrorists down wherever they cropped up. Their current suspicion was a strike against the Japan Liberation Front, or perhaps a deeper dig into leads on Zero. Maybe both at once, even.

Of course some resistance cells had taken the constant heat as a challenge. Much to Nunnally's utter befuddlement, these people hit smaller targets or left graffiti, then ran for the hills before Cornelia's organised forces could arrive. And so far they got away with it.

If nothing else, the lack of moodiness and despair from Kallen's end implied that her cell was not among those caught in the retaliation. Yet.

"I still can't believe we're here!" Shirley cut off Nunnally's musings. The older girl seemed over the moon, looking around with great interest. Nunnally had to give her that the Kawaguchi lakeside building was definitely impressive. It stood tall and proud, with few others all around to appear even larger.

Milly huffed in response. "As if this was difficult for your president," she preened.

"You act like this is a vacation," Nina chastised quietly. "We're here to observe the conference."

In turn, Nunnally tugged on Nina's sleeve with an indulgent smile. "Let them have their fun. It will be fine."

Nina nodded slowly, her own smile slightly hesitant. She stayed closer to Nunnally, who was on her own today. No Sayoko, mainly to attract less attention. The mousy girl appointed herself something of a handler, which Nunnally allowed.

Meanwhile, Shirley crossed her arms at them. "Oh come on, you two! How often do we get the chance to get out to a place like this? We got to enjoy it at least a little bit!"

"And hit all the tourist traps to spend our allowances!" Milly added cheerfully.

Some people threw them side-eyes, though Nunnally heard the quiet huffs and chuckles going around. Milly once again proved that people just could not be mad at her. Nina just shook her head at the exact words though, being a frugal girl.

With Milly ushering them along, they soon entered the main building's lobby to mingle. As they were still looking around however, Shirley spotted something in the crowd.

"Hey, isn't that? Oh, what a coincidence! Come on, Nunna! This way!"

She seamlessly slid behind Nunnally's wheelchair and started pushing her. Milly and Nina followed in their wake, just as curious as Nunnally herself. Their destination seemed to be a pair of women in business suits, one of them brunet and the other with pink hair held in a tight bun. The second one seemed familiar, but she could not put her finger on why fast enough.

"Oi, Euphie!"

Nunnally's eyes widened in shock, then horror. She had no way to escape the pinkette when she glanced over at being called. At first she even began to smile, but it froze on her face the moment her gaze dipped down to Nunnally. Behind her, Millicent Ashford also realised what she missed the exact moment their eyes met.

Nina and Shirley had no idea what just happened. They both greeted the pinkette kindly.

"I didn't expect to see you here at all," Shirley told 'Euphie' with a bright smile. "Why did you come?"

The other young woman's expression smoothed out, tone pleasant and even. "I'm glad to see you all again. My internship includes this conference, though I am only an observer. I take it you are here for that as well?"

"Yup. And here, meet Nunnally; she's our student council's junior member. Nunna, meet Euphie. We met her in town a few weeks back, her family moved over to Area Eleven a little while ago."

Nunnally had her features under control and a proper fake smile in place. "A pleasure to meet you, Euphie," she said while feeling like hitting herself. How could a different hairstyle, a business suit, and a pair of cosmetic glasses fool her? How many pinkettes did she know outside of Euphemia?

Yet the worst did not come to pass. There was no immediate reveal of her identity, no tearing down their carefully maintained masquerade. The aide by Euphemia's side scowled, but Euphie herself seemed to smile honestly.

"The pleasure is all mine," she answered gently. The moment their hands touched, Nunnally could faintly feel her pulse thrum; Euphie's heart was racing, but none of it showed in her posture or expression.

"Um, good to see you again."

"And you, Nina."

Euphemia only hesitantly let go. There was not a shadow of doubt that she recognised her. But why did she not say anything?

Nunnally found no answer to these questions. The aide cleared her throat and tapped her wristwatch. Euphie nodded back at her and offered the group an apologetic smile. "It seems that duty calls. Hopefully I can get a chance to talk to you all later."

"Let's hope so," Shirley agreed. "And good luck!"

Milly jumped in somewhat lamely: "Yeah, good luck."

Euphemia was pulled away to be questioned about giving a cripple the time of day, only to deliver some strong reprimands about her aide's tone. In the meantime, Milly took her group and Nunnally away; she profusely apologised once it was just the two of them, not that she needed to. Nunnally forgave her easily, still too busy trying to figure out what game was played. She felt she needed to talk to Euphemia again to understand.

Unfortunately, the sudden bellowing of Japanese voices and fearful screams completely screwed up that plan.