Author's Note

I'm sorry for the long break I took without announcing anything. I've been pretty busy for awhile, and was too tired to even write anything for all my stories. Truly sorry. I've been thinking about my stories lately and been gaining a lot of ideas that I want to write and ended up finishing this chapter. So expect all of my stories to contiune. Enjoy!

Abandoned Building

Tizen Naoe, Masaki Ito, and the man they are coming after, Aizen Ito. Those are the names that connect how Haruna went from a normal girl Japanese girl to the person she now. Parts in Haruna's black history.

"My grandfather, when we first met, acted "kind".", continues Haruna with an emphasis on kind, "He told me he always wanted to meet me and glad to finally meet someone from his family, right in front of my uncle and Aizen, his unacknowledged son and grandson. I didn't know that at the time."
"You're dead.", a little voice, booms inside Lelouch's head.
"The police didn't question him. He went to one higher up and they just let him have me.", explains Haruna, "On the way to his home, he explained to me about my father. He told me my father ran away from home and hid under a different name. He looked for my father everywhere, only to find out when it was too late."
Haruna cracks a bit of a smile before continuing, "The house we came to was big as well as in the nice part of town. I was in awe by it before my grandfather told me to come in. There were servants and a different people with suits greeting him and asking him for help. I thought he was some sort of CEO. You should have seen my face when I saw my room. I saw my parents' destroyed bodies hours ago and now I'm in the life of luxury. Just like that."
Her mood darkens as Haruna takes a spit of water from the water bottle Gavin offered her, "The next day, I woke up from that entire day, knowing that my parents are dead and that my grandfather looks like he's a big shot from a company, depressed and confused about what's going to happen next. Then, when a servant led me to the dining room, my grandfather, just him, stood in the head of the table as he offered me breakfast. When I said I didn't want any, he just smiled and said that it means he doesn't have to waste more time."

Haruna looks at the group consisting of Lelouch, Damian, and Gavin in that order.

"He told me the truth about my father.", says Haruna, "He first told me that he's a mutant, with the power to take over a person's body for 10 seconds, absorbing their memories. I was then told that my father is also a mutant, with the power to copy the movements of others and that I might be a mutant. That is the first thing he said to me that morning."
"Wait a minute. Weren't you nine at the time?", asks Gavin in confusion, "How did he know at the time?"
"He figured since I'm my father's daughter and my grandfather's granddaughter, that it's in the blood.", answers Haruna, "When he dropped me with that bombshell, I didn't want to believe it. He then showed me videos of my father, when he was a teenager, to prove it. My grandfather has as much power when he was younger compared to when I met him. He told me he gained power and influence with his abilities. He used whatever influence he has, to get the best killing machines he can get his hands on, the person themselves or on video, and made my dad copy their techniques. He filmed that and some of the kills my dad did on video. Then it made sense on how my dad was so amazing."

Haruna cracks a bitter smile for some reason. She doesn't know why. Maybe it's the irony that a long time ago, she thought her dad was an agent for some type of organization and now, her guess was almost correct.

"My life after that took a complete turn for the worst. I didn't even have time to mourn when I was forced to drop out of school. I was homeschooled by teachers on my grandfather's payroll. I couldn't go outside for a long time. I only saw teachers, servants, and my grandfather who only can check up on me.", continues Haruna as her bitter smile drops, "I hated it. I never saw my friends again and I felt like I gone mad from isolation. Then, when I turned thirteen, that's when sh#t start getting f*cked up. My grandfather took me to an empty room with a screen. I was strapped to a chair as he showed me pictures of the remains of my parents' corpses. I remembered the tears falling down my face when I saw what's left. I was then locked inside a dark room for a month, only allowed to eat so I can survive. When I refused to, I was beaten by these huge bodyguards around him. When I tried to attack him when he came to visit, he had his bodyguards beat me, then have their way with me. I felt like I was dead. When I came out of that crap, I just listened to him. I listened to him and he was pleased. I was trained on how to fight, before training me the same way my father was trained. I just listened, not say a word, and followed. Like a puppet.", bitterly says Haruna as her voice turns soft, "It felt sick. For at least two years, I gave up. My grandfather used his powers to understand and control me. He wanted to make sure I stay under his control, run his ambitions and immortalize his legacy when he's dead. Never leave like my father. Within those two years, I never saw my uncle or Aizen. I never saw anybody, but the same people every day."

Haruna pauses after that. There was a moment where she looked at the group before flashing a bitter smile.

"I need a few moments to myself.", says Haruna as she gets up and walks to the door, "I need some air."
As Haruna leaves the room, Gavin looks at Damian, then Lelouch, before speaking, "That… was a lot to take in."
Damian just nods as he turns to the door where Haruna left, "I really don't know nothing about her."
Lelouch didn't say anything, but thought one thing that Haruna said, "Like a puppet, huh."

Outside

G heard everything. It's no surprise because of his powers, which allowed him to hear from the top of the roof. He's just laying down on the dirty roof, scanning the moon. He can hear Haruna coming out the door, staying silence before drinking some water. G doesn't know how to react, but he knows her heart was beating like crazy during her story.

Her memories are painful like she wants to forget. G wonders if he did the same thing. That the man in his remaining memories, calling him a "failure", has something to do with it. He closes his eyes sees a figure just like him, standing behind the man. It's the only thing he can remember apart from the man. Then, the figure steps in closer, revealing red eyes and black hair.

G opens his eyes, startled at new memories he gained. This is the first time something like this has happened. The figure, with the same shape and hair, has red eyes and black hair. He doesn't know why that happened, but it happened. As G tries to regain composure, he hears Haruna coming back inside.

Inside

When Haruna enters back inside the room where the rest of the group has gathered, Gavin and Damian feel tense by her presence, but Lelouch just remains silent on his seat. Haruna takes one good look at everyone's facesand smiles.

"You guys need to learn to relax, okay.", comments Haruna, "Stop looking like you have something up your ass."
"She's relaxed now.", thought all three young men as Gavin and Damian feel at ease.
"So…", Haruna says before pausing, trying to the find a good place to continue, "My early life was good until it all went to sh*t, I explained that. For two years, I became a puppet for my grandfather, who's an #ssh*le, all that crappy stuff with my mind and body, yes this is me not trying to make a big deal… even though it is. I guess my boyfriend is next."
"Boyfriend?", wonders Gavin as Haruna looked at him.
"Yes, boyfriend. Opposite of girlfriend. Something I guess you never had, Gavin.", smirks Haruna, as Gavin looks away from the statement.
"You didn't need to go that far.", comments Gavin depressingly.
"Well, he was more than a boyfriend. He...taught me how to live.", says Haruna as she smiles fondly, "Around the time I was fifteen years old, I soon met Aizen, who about eighteen at the time, I think. He had three guys under him at the time. Nami Tanahashi, whose code name is Karasu. Shino Matsumoto, who's another name is Mukuro, and a half Japanese, half Russian guy named Naito Shiba, whose code name is Crow."
"Crow?", wonders Gavin.
"He was the guy. My first everything. For some reason, my grandfather has been letting Aizen more into the main family, resulting in me meeting those four. I was silent at the time.", admits Haruna, "Aizen… he didn't think much of me at first, but he warmed up to me… too much."
"Too much?", thought Lelouch.
"Mukuro was the same, but Karasu became my sparring partner and friend and Naito started making me show more of my personality.", fondly said Haruna, "He's the one who showed me motorcycles and drinking and having fun. He's carefree and a bit of a pervert, which is the reason he was attracted to me in the first place, but he showed more of himself. He's a good guy who loves seeing the people close to him happy. He's loyal to Aizen because Naito was shunned by his stuck up family for being illegitimate, resulting in him living in the streets. Aizen sympathizes with him and gave him purpose."
"I got a question.", asks Gavin with his hand up like a schoolboy, "You said Aizen warmed up to you too much. Why?"
Haruna stood silently before answering, "It started with my first assignment. I was sixteen and I created a fighting style to compliment my powers. My grandfather wanted to kidnap a rival on his and wanted me and Aizen to deal with them. Aizen at the time was my grandfather's final solution. When it was rumored that my grandfather had an illegitimate grandson is a powerful mutant, either they fear him or they want to take him down. We chased after the latter."

"At the time, they were preparing me to kill. They brought kidnapped rival gang members for me to fight and kill. They even gave them weapons and brought more than one to make it even. That day, it felt like everything went in a blur as we enter a four-story building, killing everything that could either kill us or report us. That's also the day I learned I really like the scythe.", comments Haruna with a bit of a smirk on her face before returning to her frown, "Everything was going great until the guy we were after, instead of trying to escape like the normal bad guy, tried to take the opportunity to kill Aizen to weaken my grandfather's power. Aizen ended up killing him."
"My grandfather was pissed when he heard that he died. He got information my grandfather needed and someone was going to pay. I knew my grandfather didn't care about Aizen and only saw him as a powerful weapon that might backfire one day. I knew that and said that I did it.", Haruna revealed, "I lied and said he was among his henchman, resulting in me mistaking as cannon fodder. My grandfather used his powers to discover the truth. We were both punished, but Aizen's punishment was bad, but it wasn't as bad as I thought since I kind of lowered that. We created a better relationship after that."
"And how did he warm up too much?", asks Damian.
Haruna pauses for about 10 seconds, which felt like 30, before answering, "My uncle wanted my grandfather's power. Since my dad died, he would have become the sole heir if I didn't exist. So, my uncle wasn't so warm to me. And since Aizen was powerful, my uncle tried to control Aizen by making him depend solely on him."
"His existence wasn't his own… that he's made to serve his father or grandfather.", cuts in Lelouch.
"Aizen those years ago, was nothing like he is now.", continues Haruna as she stares at the window, "Or… he hid his real self. He was quiet, obedient, and tries not to cause trouble. I heard that he was isolated almost all his life and never learned to read or write until he was 8. When I came to his life, I tried to decrease the distance between us. I wanted to get along with him. But I think he had other ideas. He clings to me every time we see each other. He would always stare at me if we're across from each other. He saw me and Naito one day and had a jealous look on his face."

Gavin and Damian looked a bit disgusted while Lelouch expression remains the same, not really bothered by that sort of things happens within the history of Britannian royal family. Although Lelouch can understand why people seem to revolt against it.

"Then one day, Aizen decided he had enough. He caught me and Naito in Naito's bed. There, he killed Naito, his friend, on the spot, crushing him like a paper ball.", explains Haruna, with an enraged look on her face, turning red, "I can still feel the blood on my cheek when that happened. Then the bastard pinned me to the ground with his powers, going on and on about how much he wanted me, that he needed me, that everybody in his life either wants something from him or owes him, but I came to him because I wanted to. He tried to. He tried to rape me, but just stopped and said: "Nothing will come out of this unless I get rid of the old man". I ran out of that house, where from the distance, I saw my grandfather's room exploding. I hid in Chiba for a few months, found a boat heading to the U.S and snuck in. When inside that boat, I felt I was free, but then realize that I can never be free, as long as any member of that family is alive."

Haruna's voice seems to calm little by little after she said her grandfather died. Everybody looks at her, anticipating more, but she catches on.

"That's it. That all. My crappy life in a nutshell and the truth you guys wanted.", says Haruna, as she goes for a bottle of water, "God I wish I have a real drink."

Nobody knows how to react to her story. They know it's terrible, but Haruna's attitude just softens it a bit. Lelouch starts thinking heavily about what he heard. The monarch of the Naoe Crime Family, Tizen Naoe, is dead, along with his legitimate heir and bastard. Replacing him is his illegitimate grandson, Aizen Noae, who's completely emotional unbalanced from what Haruna has been saying. The criminals of Japan fear the name Tizen Naoe and believe that he's still alive, not knowing he was simply replaced.

"Your grandfather seems to hold much power in the criminal world before his death. How much has Aizen inherited?", asks Lelouch.
"Don't know. Aizen is good at fighting, but he wasn't raised to be a leader. If anything, he's surviving using the name Naoe Tizen and stealing and selling stuff like that mutant cure.", answers Haruna.
"In that case, the moment it's revealed Tizen is dead, The Naoe family's power would demolish greatly.", guesses Lelouch, seeing it as the most predictable outcome, "The moment that happens, Aizen would be at his weakest. No support from the outside except his group. Are the members of Tizen's inner circle aware of his death?"
"I'm guessing yes. Aizen has no way of imitating my grandfather. He might be threatening them to work with him.", guesses Haruna as a sly smile appears on Lelouch's face.
"If the rumor of Tizen's death were to spread, it would cause some of the Naoe family's associates to distance themselves. The inner circle might start seeing opportunities to walk away as Aizen tries to salvage whatever power he has to keep his whatever influence under control.", guesses Lelouch.
"And how are we gonna spread that a rumor as big as that?", asks Haruna.
"Gavin, are you able to access Minamoto's laptop again?", Lelouch asks as he turns to Gavin.
"I don't know. If it's on I think I can but…", Gavin says, pausing a bit, "What is your plan."
"If we can make a fake email about the death of Tizen, the police will probably investigate it. Any officer under criminal pockets will probably report this to any associates of the Naoe family.", explains Lelouch, "Soon, it will reach not their ears, but Aizen as well. If Aizen wants to regain as much control as he can, he'll have to remain in Tokyo to start salvaging as well as locate the source of the leak. That's when we move."
"That… might work.", says an astonished Haruna.
"This will give us more time to train in powers and formation. As well as give us more time to plan. I already have an idea on how to deal with his allies.", adds Lelouch, before Damian interrupts.
"Lelouch, I just realized something. What are the chances that teacher at the school are looking for us right now.", asks Damian as Gavin's eyes widen after the realization.
"Oh crap!", shouts Gavin so loud, it started G, "We're dead! Of course, they realized five of us are gone!"
"Well it's not like they'll find here in Japan of all places.", comments Haruna before Lelouch shakes his head.
"The truth, they probably figure it out where we are by now.", announces Lelouch as everybody eyes widen from the potential possibility, "What are the chances that Frost scanned our minds and gained Aizen's face and connected the faces in the video of the attack on Benetech labs. Because of our history with Aizen, they might figure Japan as a logical guess on where we are. If that's true… they might be on their way now."

It took a few seconds for all of that to process for the others before their faces range from shock, fear, and annoyance.

"They better not ruin this.", snarls Haruna.
"If that's true, the X-Men are no joke.", comments Damian.
"We are so f*cked.", dejectedly says, Gavin.
"I already have a new base of operations planned in case.", calmly explains Lelouch, "We'll move the morning after tomorrow after training, but be prepared to move suddenly. G, are you listening?"
Lelouch spots a thumbs up from the glass ceiling before continuing, "Here are the formations I want us to work on."

Lelouch gives the group written papers about 10 pages.

"Crap you want us to memorize all this?", complaints Gavin looking over all the pages.
"If it isn't possible-", says Lelouch before Haruna interrupts.
"Which it is.", adds Haruna
"-then just memorize the first page at least. It has the simple formations as well as possible battle tactics against a man who can control gravity. Right now, our objective is the capture of Aizen Ito, whose power is beyond anything he faced in our lifetime. To add to this, is his allies, the yakuza, police, and the veteran heroes called the X-Men. The only thing we can count is our wits, our strengths, and our will to make the outcome ours. That's more than enough."
Lelouch finishes with this, "The five here, will be the mightiest group they ever encountered."

Many elements working against the team, even so, Lelouch won't give in. Fate took him there and his determination is creating a path to his destination. Not just him. Vengeance drives Haruna, pride drives G, heroism drives Gavin, and justice drives Damian. What destination will they reach as they prepare to fight everyone? Next time!