I was hoping to update both this and Rise of the Black King before the end of October but that didn't work out. Ah well. It's only a day late. Both updates will be posted today so I hope that you enjoy it.

On a completely unrelated note, now that I have finished Fall Into Dusk's rough draft, which new CG story should I work on (alongside finishing the final chapters of the rough draft of Rise of the Black King)? The Fire Still Burns or The New Revolution? Your opinion is most welcome but they, whichever one I get further in by this time, won't be posted until sometime after I finish the rough draft of Rise of the Black King.

Bakura: GET ON WITH IT, FOOLISH MORTAL AUTHOR!

Gees. You don't have to yell. Anyway, thank you to Doomajor, DYnoJackal19, OBSERVER01, Shadow-Shinobi666, demedichi, and SunsetDawn420 for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are great.

Happy Halloween everyone and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. Reviews, as always, are much appreciated.

6

A Day of Apologies and Cats

Suzaku yawned as he followed Lelouch into the clubhouse. The days events had taken its toil on him and he was about ready to just eat dinner and go to sleep. Actually, he was tempted on just skipping dinner and going straight to bed. He was glad that Naoto Kozuki seemed to be leaning towards joining up with him and Lelouch and that Lelouch had earned some more of the Kozuki Resistance's trust. That was a good accomplishment. He was disappointed that Shintaro hadn't joined them but he supposed he could understand, somewhat, Shintaro's perspective, even if his new pessimistic attitude was different from the Shintaro that Suzaku had grown up with.

It wasn't as if Shintaro was a completely different person. There was no doubt that some of Shintaro's quirks, such as his tendency to turn from serious to not so serious at the drop of hat sometimes or the steel in his tone when he was defending his family and friends, remained within him. Nonetheless, the last seven years had really changed him.

Then again, Suzaku thought as he followed Lelouch into the East Wing Apartment and headed for the kitchen, I don't think anyone, except maybe Nunnally, escaped the invasion unscathed and unchanged.

"Nunnally, we're home," Lelouch called as he stepped into the kitchen only to freeze.

Suzaku came to his side, wondering what had caused him to freeze in shock and froze himself when he saw who was seated at the table around Nunnally. The first person sitting next to Nunnally and folding an origami crane, was the green-haired woman from Shinjuku, the same green-haired woman who'd gotten shot in the head while protecting Lelouch. The second person was someone that Suzaku also recognized; his golden hair curling at his shoulders and his silver eyes peering at him briefly over the top of the manga that he was reading. It was A.A.

"Welcome home, Lelouch," the green-haired woman greeted him.

"Glad to see you're in one piece, Suzaku," A.A. greeted him cheerfully at the exact same time. Then the two of them glared at each other and the tension between them was thick enough to cut with a knife; as it was, Suzaku could practically feel the fire from their glares.

The greenette broke off the glaring contest, to which A.A. gained a smug grin. He had to quickly duck to avoid getting his eye poked out by the paper airplane the greenette threw at him with surprising accuracy.

"Thank goodness, I was getting so worried," Nunnally said.

"I trust you two have eaten already, judging by your appearance," the greenette added.

Lelouch only nodded numbly while Suzaku just stared, still in too much shock to really do much else.

"Miss C.C. and Mr. A.A. have been waiting for both of you for a while now," Nunnally said with a small smile. "Isn't it funny? They both go by their initials and yet they insist that they're not related."

Both the greenette, C.C., and A.A. shuddered at those words and then gave each other another fiery glare. It was clear that they didn't like each other at all and Suzaku thought that was putting it mildly.

"By the way, Big Brother, I'm just wondering. Is C.C. your girlfriend?" Nunnally asked innocently.

Lelouch started sputtering and Suzaku bit the inside of his cheek to keep from bursting out laughing at his friend's expression. "What?" Lelouch managed to get out.

"He made a promise about our future together, right?" C.C. said with a pointed look at Lelouch who just stared at her; for the first time in a long while, Suzaku was treated to the rare occurrence of a speechless Lelouch.

He couldn't contain it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Shut up, Suzaku!" Lelouch exclaimed, glaring at him. "That isn't what she's talking about. She's just...I owe her a favor. That's it."

"Oh, I see," Nunnally said. "But what about you, Suzaku, and A.A.? Is there something like that between you two?"

"Something like that," A.A. said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I ain't gay or nothing like that, though Suzaku is rather attractive."

Suzaku abruptly stopped laughing and whipped his head to stare at A.A. who just smirked at him. "What?" Suzaku said numbly.

A.A. snickered and lowered his gaze back to his manga, turning the page. "Nah. It ain't nothing like that. I'm just here 'cause Suzaku-chan's gotta do something for me in return for something I did for him." He paused to tap his finger on his chin in thought. "Hmm, now that I think about it, it really is the same as Lelouch and C.C., huh? Never really thought about that."

"You can think?" C.C. said mockingly.

"Watch your tongue, baby bitch," A.A. snapped.

"Or what, ancient asshole?" C.C. shot back.

Lelouch's eye twitched and he stalked forward and, grabbing a tea cup, dropped in on the ground so that it shattered. "Oh, look what you've done, C.C.. You're soaking wet. C'mon, let's get you to the bathroom and into a dry change of clothes." He grabbed C.C.'s arm and practically dragged her away from the kitchen.

Suzaku, deciding to get the talk with A.A. over with and find out just why the greenette survived at the same time, moved forward. A.A. had buried his nose back into the manga so Suzaku snatched it out of his hand.

A.A. gave him a withering glare but Suzaku ignored it. "I'll will see you in the morning, Nunnally," he said and darted out of the kitchen.

"Get back here and give me back my manga!" A.A. shouted and ran after him.

Suzaku led the way to Lelouch's room and darted into it, moving to Lelouch's side and throwing the manga at A.A. as soon as the golden-haired young man entered the room. He then kicked the door closed behind the golden-haired young man and folded his arms across his chest.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow.

"Well, since you told me about your Geass, I suppose it's about time I tell you that I have one too and I figure we may as well try to get answers out of C.C. and A.A. at the same time since I think they are connected somehow," he said.

"You have Geass?" Lelouch said in surprise.

C.C.'s head whipped around to stare at A.A. who just smirked back at her and leaned against the wall, scanning the room as he did so, his manga resting on his arm.

"Not the same one as yours," Suzaku said, thinking about the Geass. He hasn't used it but A.A. somehow knew of which power he'd been granted and told him. How he knew what that power was, Suzaku didn't know. "It's called Absolute Future but I haven't used it yet so I don't know exactly what it does. I just figure it shows me the future 'cause of its name."

Lelouch tilted his head to the side curiously. "It shows you the future," he murmured to himself and then shook his head before turning to gaze at C.C. and A.A., who had entered into yet another glaring contest. "I'll worry about that later. For now, just what are you two?"

"Just as your sister said, I'm C.C. and that ancient asshole is A.A.," C.C. said with a shrug.

"That's not what I meant. Why aren't you…?"

"Dead?"

Lelouch didn't respond but it was clear he did want to know that answer.

C.C. didn't give it to him, though A.A. was snickering for some reason.

"So do you like the power that I gave you?" she said instead.

"Hmm, as I thought and Suzaku pretty much confirmed. It was you. Am I right to assume that A.A. gave Suzaku his power?"

"Yup. That was me," A.A. said while C.C. wandered over to the bed.

"Are you dissatisfied with the power I gave you?" the greenette asked.

"On the contrary, I'm grateful," Lelouch said, leaning against the wall and still observing her. "It allows me to speed up my schedule tremendously, which is a huge help, and having Suzaku work with me is a huge help as well."

"Your schedule?"

"Yes. My schedule for obliterating Britannia. I would've had to wait much longer before I could've made the initial move," Lelouch with a shrug and a smirk.

A.A. seemed to stiffen a little on hearing that.

"You believe you can destroy it simply by using that power?" C.C. asked curiously.

"No. I am sure that I could have done it without this power. That was what I had originally intended after all," Lelouch replied.

"And you?" A.A. asked Suzaku.

"I'm here to help Lelouch create a better world for everyone," Suzaku said simply, "and I'm sure my power can, at least, aid somewhat in that. I hope it'll also save lives."

C.C. hummed and, to Suzaku's surprise, she began to strip down. Lelouch quickly turned away and Suzaku followed suit, though he was curious as to what C.C. was even doing.

"So what will you do now? I'm sure the military is after you," Lelouch said.

"And what about you, A.A.? I don't think the military even knows you exist so you don't really have to worry about that," Suzaku said.

"Not the entire military, only a small fraction of it. So it shouldn't be difficult to find a hiding place. I can make do here," C.C. said and Suzaku glanced over his shoulder and sweatdropped as he saw that C.C. had crawled under the covers of Lelouch's bed, stark naked.

"Wait, you expect to stay here?!" Lelouch protested, turning around to stare at C.C.

"A gentleman would sleep on the floor," C.C. said.

"Normally, I'd be a gentleman but since it's you…Move over, baby bitch," A.A. said, striding toward the bed and, moving the comforter on top of the blanket underneath, plopped down on the bed beside C.C. before draping the comforter over him. There was still some space between the two of them.

C.C. scowled at him. "Get off, ancient asshole," she spat.

"No. I am quite comfortable right here. Oh, and Suzaku? I'm staying here too. I ain't got no one coming after my skin so you ain't gotta worry about anyone coming here for me," A.A. said with a shrug,

"I said get off, ancient asshole," C.C. growled, tugging at the blanket that A.A. was lying on.

"Nope. The bed's big enough for both of us and I ain't gonna do nothing to ya. Baby bitches ain't my type," A.A. said.

C.C. cursed A.A. out and rolled onto her side. "Touch me and I will kill you, bastard," she snarled once her back was facing A.A.

"I wouldn't touch you with a hundred foot long pole, bitch," A.A. shot back, rolling onto his side with his back facing C.C.'s.

Lelouch just watched them with a twitching eye, clearly looking like he wanted nothing more than to throw them out of his room. Granted, he wouldn't be able to do that since he lacked the muscles necessary but it was clear that he was contemplating it.

"You both cannot stay here," he snapped. "Whether the military is after both of you or just one of you, I will not have you endanger my little sister like this."

"Oh don't get so worked up, siscon. Nothing's gonna happen to your baby sis," A.A. said with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"I am not a siscon," Lelouch said irritably while Suzaku smirked a little. "Wipe that smirk off your face, Suzaku."

Suzaku just chuckled in response before he grew serious. "I have to agree with Lelouch on this. This is far too risky," he said.

"Yeah, well, too bad. You're stuck with me," A.A. said with a shrug. "Though I'm all for kicking out the baby bitch."

"Why don't I kick your ass out, ancient asshole?" C.C. shot back.

"Wow, can you be any more unoriginal, moron?"

"You're one to talk about being unoriginal, old man!"

"What a wonderful comeback, kid."

"Don't call me kid, gramps!"

"Well, ya act like one!"

"You're one to talk!"

The two of them had rolled over as their argument escalated and were now glaring at each other while arguing and throwing insults and curses left and right, some of which had drifted into different languages and Suzaku couldn't understand them. He glanced at Lelouch who was shaking his head and found himself wondering if Lelouch could understand what they were yelling at each other.

"You don't want to know," Lelouch said as if he knew what Suzaku was about to ask but, considering it was Lelouch, he probably did. He sighed and wandered over to his dresser, pulling out some sets of clothes. "Do you mind if I stay in your room tonight? I will not be able to sleep if I have to deal with that"—he pointed at C.C. and A.A. who were still arguing and insulting each other in other languages—"all night long."

"Sure," Suzaku said and the two of them left the room. Thankfully, the walls were pretty much soundproof so neither he nor Lelouch heard the argument out in the hallway. "I wonder how they know each other."

Lelouch shrugged. "All I know is that, even if I don't particularly like that they're staying here, it's probably for the best. We wouldn't want them to fall into the enemy's hands, especially if they can hand out Geass," he said.

Suzaku didn't respond to that, since he was still iffy about his own Geass power and he also had to worry about just what it was that A.A. wanted from him. He did say that Suzaku would be required to grant his wish but hadn't told him what that wish was. Granted, Suzaku never asked but he wondered just what that wish was.

In light of Shintaro's arrest and putting everything for their debut to the world as Zero and Lone Wolf into motion, Suzaku hadn't really had time to think about the contract he'd entered into.

Nor had he really thought about the power or just how it worked exactly.

He decided that he would only use it occasionally though.

They entered Suzaku's temporary room and Suzaku gestured to the bed. "I can sleep on the floor tonight," he said.

"I'll take the floor, Suzaku. It's fine," Lelouch said.

"This is your apartment, Lelouch. I insist,." Suzaku said.

"And you are our guest so just take the bed," Lelouch said.

Suzaku folded his arms across his chest and gave Lelouch a stubborn look. Lelouch matched it with one of his own and the two of them just glared at each other, none of them budging.

There was a knock on the door and Lelouch walked to it, opening it to reveal Nunnally. "Nunnally? What brings you here?" Lelouch asked.

"Oh I just wanted to say goodnight to Suzaku. What are you doing here, Big Brother?" Nunnally asked.

Lelouch seemed to think about what to say before he finally said, "C.C. and A.A. are going to be staying for a while and I decided to let them use my room so I'm staying with Suzaku until they leave."

"Oh. It'll be just like the good old days," Nunnally said with a smile. "You remember? Back at the Kururugi Shrine after the two of you and Shin became friends?"

Lelouch smiled a little sadly while Suzaku flinched and looked away at the mention of his family's shrine. He still had nightmares about the day he lost everything.

Well—Suzaku glanced at Lelouch and Nunnally and thought about Shintaro—almost everything.

"C'mon, Nunnally. Let's get you to bed," Lelouch said gently.

"Okay, Big Brother. Good night, Suzaku! Have sweet dreams," Nunnally said with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Nunnally, good night," Suzaku said and Nunnally wheeled herself out of the room. Lelouch followed, taking control of the wheelchair and rolling it away while Suzaku closed the door and walked back to his bed. He, after changing, lied down, scooting over since the bed was big enough for two people.

It would be like back at the Kururugi Shrine. We shared a bed back then too. At least this time we won't be getting kicked off by Shin, Suzaku thought in amusement.

The door opened and Lelouch, likely having changed on the way back, made his way back into the room. "She went out like a light. I think the excitement of Shin's rescue and A.A. and C.C. showing up out of the blue wore her out," he said as he sat down on the floor.

Suzaku nodded in agreement and then rolled his eyes. "Just get in the bed, Lelouch. It's not like we've never shared a bed before," he said. He grinned and added, "And look at it this way. Shin's not here to kick us off."

Lelouch looked faintly irritated, though Suzaku knew it was more because of the memory of that as opposed to anything else before he frowned. "Are you sure?" he asked.

"Oh just get in the bed, Lelouch," Suzaku said with a frustrated sigh.

Lelouch's lips quirked but he said nothing and, instead, climbed into the bed beside Suzaku. "Let's hope Milly never finds out about this. She'll jump to the wrong conclusion in an instant," he said.

"She would?" Suzaku said.

"Yes. If she found out that we're sharing a bed, she'd probably automatically think we're a couple or something."

Suzaku rolled his eyes. "No offense but, for one, I don't swing that way and, for another, I see you as family," he said.

"Yeah, same, but that has never stopped Milly or her wild imagination," Lelouch said in amusement.

The two of them fell silent and Suzaku said, "I've only known her for a little over a week and I have this odd feeling that when I joined the Student Council, I signed my soul over to a devil."

"She is a She-Devil so your feeling isn't wrong."

Suzaku chuckled nervously since he could tell, just by the tone of Lelouch's voice, that he was dead serious.

. . .

Lana was so happy when Schneizel told her that he'd spoken with the Emperor and the Emperor had agreed to give her something to do that would allow her to remain in Area 11. She didn't know how she would handle the duties of being co-Sub Viceroy with the new Sub-Viceroy but she would try her best and prove that she was capable of looking after herself. Not only that but she might be able to access information that would help her find anything on Lelouch and Nunnally.

The new Viceroy of Area 11, Cornelia li Britannia, and her co-Sub-Viceroy, Euphemia li Britannia, had arrived early in the morning and Lana had stayed just long enough to greet them before slipping out of the palace. She'd gone in disguise, dressed in a knee-length purple skirt and long-sleeved white jacket over a white button-down top with her long blonde hair in a high ponytail and a pair of sunglasses over her eyes, and was now exploring the settlement.

Lana had never really had the chance to explore the Tokyo Settlement because she was usually being watched twenty-four seven but, with the brief disturbance caused by Cornelia and Euphemia's arrival, she'd managed to slip away.

Now she was finally getting the chance to explore the settlement.

Unfortunately, she had no idea where anything was or what, exactly, to do.

Sighing, she stuffed her hands into her jacket's pockets and lifted her gaze to the sky above her head as she walked down the sidewalk, not really paying attention to where she was going. She supposed that she could find a store and get a map of the settlement and that might help her find some interesting places to visit.

Thunk!

"Ow!" Lana whined, rubbing her forehead and glaring at the offending pole that she'd just run into.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked and Lana turned, eyes widening as she caught sight of familiar bright blue eyes.

Shintaro Ihara was standing just a few feet away from her; a cap covered his auburn hair and a long dark-blue tattered coat covered his muscular form. He was carrying a duffel bag on his shoulder and was gazing at her in concern. It didn't seem as if he recognized her from that one-sided interrogation the week before though.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," Lana said, rubbing her forehead again but the pain was starting to go away. She bit her lip, remembering that she had decided to apologize to Shintaro Ihara for smacking him for not answering her even though she now knew he couldn't have answered her if he wanted to. But she also didn't want to reveal who she was when there were people around the area as she really didn't want to get ambushed by the media.

So she settled on stretching the truth just a bit. "Hey, I'm kinda new to the settlement. Can you show me around, please? I don't wanna get lost," she said.

"Me?" Shintaro looked shocked as if he couldn't believe that she'd asked for his help. She knew that it was more because a Britannian was asking an Eleven for help but she did want to get him away from the crowd so that she could apologize and this was the best way, or rather the first way that had come to her mind, to do that.

"Yeah, you. I mean, you're an Eleven and, judging by your uniform, you're in the military. You should know this place fairly well, right?"

"Well, I guess. I never really had a lot of time to explore while in the military. I'm supposed to be meeting my new bosses soon though but..." He trailed off and seemed to think about it for a moment and Lana frowned, hoping that he wouldn't tell her 'no'. She was not going to take no for an answer.

"Ah, I can spare a few minutes for a pretty lady such as yourself," he said with a smile as he held out a hand to her. "I'm Shintaro Ihara by the way."

"I know who you are," Lana said before she could stop herself.

Shintaro's smile faltered. "Oh, right, forgot that entire thing had been televised," he muttered.

"It doesn't matter now. You were cleared, right?"

"Yeah...just this morning actually."

"Well then it really doesn't matter. I'm..." Lana hesitated as she took his hand. "Just call me Lala." That nickname had been what Nunnally had started calling Lana when she was seven for some reason, though it could have been in response to Lana's decision to call Nunnally Nana all the time.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Lala," Shintaro said and, to Lana's surprise, he brought her hand to his lips and gently brushed them against the back of it.

She felt a faint blush cross her cheeks. What the…?This is this first time this has ever happened to me, she thought in surprise.

"Um, you...you too," she stammered out.

Shintaro released her hand and gave her a sheepish smile. "Ah, sorry 'bout that. I was raised to treat a lady with respect like that and...yeah, I guess I should've thought before I acted. Sorry," he said.

"Erm, it's okay," Lana said, still a bit surprised by Shintaro's act. "Um, so the tour?" Yeah, focus on finding a place to apologize to Shintaro, she thought firmly. Nothing else mattered right now; even if Shintaro's act was rather nice and proper, a far cry from how Britannians thought Numbers usually acted, it didn't matter now.

"Sure. I'll show you what I can before my boss calls," Shintaro said.

"Okay. That'll work. Thank you," Lana said.

"You're welcome, Lala."

. . .

On the other side of the settlement, near the Viceroy's Palace, Suzaku was having his own encounter. This was in the form of a pink-haired girl falling out of a window into his arms. He stumbled a little but managed to maintain his grip on the pink-haired girl, blinking down at her. She looked vaguely familiar but Suzaku wasn't sure from where he'd seen her.

He'd only come into the settlement to get a few things for himself with the money that Lelouch insisted that he take. Apparently, Lelouch had amassed quite a large sum of money and insisted that the amount he gave Suzaku wouldn't hinder him at all. So, even though he'd protested a few times, despite A.A. insisting that he may as well accept the free money, he'd eventually done just that.

Of course, A.A. had dragged him into picking up something, and paying for it, for him too.

Suzaku hadn't even known that anime was still sold in stores since the invasion ended and he was having a bad feeling now that it was revealed that A.A. was an otaku.

Bad feeling was putting it mildly. Hopefully, A.A. wasn't as bad as some otakus that Suzaku had come into contact with while he was growing up.

Nonetheless, while he was walking around searching for the store that A.A. had told him about, he had arrived at the palace just in time to catch the falling pinkette.

Just why was she jumping out of a window anyway? He thought as he gently placed the pinkette on the ground. She was dressed in a long pink gown that went to her feet with a rose-shaped choker around her neck and long white sleeves. Her long pink hair fell down her back with strands draping over her shoulders and two buns on either side of her head. Her lavender colored eyes were filled with embarrassment.

"Oh. Thank you. I didn't realize anyone was below me," the pinkette said with a faint, sheepish smile.

"You're welcome but why were you jumping out of a window anyway?" Suzaku asked in confusion.

"Ah, well, that's 'cause...a bad man's chasing me. Will you help me get away?" the pinkette said a bit too quickly and Suzaku blinked. She had said that too quickly for him to really believe her but, since he didn't know if she was telling the truth or not, he decided to just go with it.

"All right, I guess," he said.

"Great! You can show me around while we're doing that," the pinkette said with a bright smile. She paused and added, "Oh and I'm...um...Euphie."

"Nice to meet you, Euphie. I'm Suzaku Kururugi," Suzaku said, holding out a hand and the pinkette took it before shaking it in greeting.

She didn't release it as she started walking down the road. "Well, let's go then," she said.

Suzaku chuckled softly as he stumbled after her. "Where would you like to go?" he asked.

"I dunno," Euphie said, releasing his hand as he fell into step beside her as they headed down the street. "I just arrived in Area 11 from the Homeland but I don't really know much about it and I only have today to really explore it 'cause my vacation is ending tomorrow."

"Vacation? From school?"

"Sure."

Suzaku studied her. "I can show you a few places," he said finally. "I have to stop by a store to get something for a friend of mine anyway. We can just go exploring, I suppose."

"That sounds good to me. Thank you," Euphie said.

The two walked down the street and Suzaku scanned the area, looking for the shop that A.A. had told him about when Euphie posed a question. "Are you a student, Suzaku?" she said.

He cast a sidelong glance at her. "Yeah. A close friend of mine got me into school a little over a week ago," he said.

"That's good. I wish I could attend a normal high school myself," Euphie said.

"Do you attend a private school or something?"

"Or something. Oh, look, there's a clothing shop over there. Let's go take a look," the pinkette suggested and Suzaku followed her gesture and noticed that the clothing shop she'd pointed out was right next to the shop that A.A. had told him to find. Two people, one carrying a duffel bag while the other was walking slightly in front of him, were walking right past the stores.

"All right. It's right next door to where I'm heading anyway," he said and the two headed for the crosswalk. They walked across the street once it was safe to do so, past the couple who were walking in the opposite direction, and Euphie studied the mannequins that were on display contemplatively. One of the mannequins was posing while wearing a long purple dress and Euphie tilted her head to the side before mimicking the pose.

Suzaku couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

Euphie pouted at him, which only caused him to laugh harder.

"What's so funny?" she protested.

"Nothing, sorry," Suzaku said as he managed to regain control of his laughter.

Euphie huffed, still pouting, but she didn't look angry. She just looked slightly irritated and that was fading rather quickly. "Should we go get the thing that your friend sent you out to get?" she asked.

"Sure." Suzaku led the way into the store that appeared to sell Japanese-related things; how they got away with having a Japanese-themed store in the heart of the Tokyo Settlement, Suzaku had no idea but they somehow managed it.

The bell chimed as he walked into the shop, holding the door open for Euphie who immediately began scanning the area. Suzaku also looked around as he made his way across the floor; the shop brought back bittersweet memories. Katanas rested on stands attached to the walls and fans rested on the counter-tops along with mangas and box sets of various kinds of anime, some of which Suzaku recognized from his childhood.

"Good morning," the shopkeeper greeted Suzaku. He was Japanese and easily in his late thirties with short-cropped dark-brown hair.

"Ohayo gozaimasu," Suzaku greeted him with a polite bow.

The shopkeeper looked surprise and then smiled. "What can I do for you today, okyaku-sama?" he asked.

"I'm here to pick up an order," Suzaku said.

The shopkeeper nodded and moved over to his computer. "What's the name on the order?" he said.

"It should be A.A.," Suzaku replied and the shopkeeper typed it in before nodding.

"I will be right back with that," he said.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Suzaku said and the shopkeeper disappeared into the back of the shop.

"That's Japanese, isn't it?" Euphie asked, coming to Suzaku's side from where she'd been examining a pink kimono with a pattern of white lotus flowers on it. "It's a really nice language."

"It is," Suzaku said.

"Why did Britannia ban it?" Euphie wondered aloud.

Because they took everything from Japan anyway so why not also take our language? Suzaku thought bitterly but pushed the thought out of his mind as the shopkeeper came back.

"That will be twenty five seventy two," he said after he scanned the box set and slipped it into a plastic bag.

Suzaku counted out the appropriate amount before handing it over to the shopkeeper, repeating his thanks in Japanese as he took the plastic bag.

"You're welcome. Yoi ichinichi o," the shopkeeper said.

"Yoi ichinichi o," Suzaku replied with a slight bow before he turned and left the store, Euphie falling into step beside him. He glanced at her. "So where do you want to go next?"

"I don't know." Her stomach growled a little and she, flushing, added, "Erm, I am getting a bit hungry though."

"Then let's go get something to eat," Suzaku said and led the way to a hot dog vendor that was working nearby. After buying himself and Euphie a hot dog, the two of them walked over to a bench overlooking the park they'd reached and sat down. The park was pretty empty save for the couple from earlier who were laying on their backs on the grass nearby.

"So why did you lie earlier anyway?" Suzaku asked after he and Euphie finished eating. "There was no one really chasing you, right?"

He didn't hear a response and, instead, heard meowing. Turning, he spotted Euphie kneeling in front of a small dark gray kitten who seemed to be favoring one of his paws. Euphie pouted. "Oh, he's injured. Here, let me help you," she said and meowed at the cat as she tore off a strip of her dress and reached out a hand toward the cat. The cat hissed but then paused as if noticing that Euphie wasn't trying to hurt him and padded closer. She gently picked up the cat and wrapped up its paw with the strip of fabric.

"Isn't he just so cute?" she said, turning and holding up the cat toward Suzaku.

"Yeah, he is," Suzaku said, stretching out a hand toward the cat only to wince when the cat bit into his finger. "Ow."

"Oh, you have trouble with cats?" Euphie asked as she sat down, the cat resting on her lap.

"I like 'em just fine," Suzaku said, stretching out a hand toward the cat again only to yank it back when the cat hissed at him. "The feeling's not mutual apparently."

Euphie giggled. "I was always told that unrequited love is the sign of a good person," she said just as the cat hopped off her lap and bounded away. She pouted. "Aw, kitty ran away."

Suzaku chuckled before he grew serious. "So why did you lie earlier, Euphie?" he asked.

"Oh? Are you worried about me?" Euphie asked, glancing at him.

"Um, well, yeah," Suzaku admitted.

"Well, then you can accompany me a bit longer," she said as she jumped to her feet and Suzaku, smiling a little since it was hard not to smile at Euphie's energy and enthusiasm, stood up and nodded.

"All right, for a bit longer," he said.

. . .

Lana led the way down the street, not really sure where she was going, only paying attention to the places that Shintaro was pointing out to her as they walked. She walked a little ahead of the Eleven boy, trying to gather her thoughts and find a good way to apologize to him. They walked past a clothing shop and a store that sold Eleven-related stuff and Shintaro's comment about how he was surprised that Britannia was allowing such a store to exist brought Lana out of her thoughts.

"Why do you say that?" she asked as she fell back to walk alongside Shintaro as they neared the crosswalk.

"Well, that's the only shop I've seen that sells stuff related to Area 11 before the invasion and I've never seen other stores like that in the settlement itself. They're usually only found in the ghettos and, even then, there are few in number. I mean Britannia went to such lengths to create Area 11 so why would they keep something to remind everyone of Area 11 pre-invasion?" Shintaro wondered.

Lana blinked as the crosswalk flashed, saying that it was safe to cross. "I hadn't thought about that. It really is weird. Maybe they just think that there are some things about Area 11 pre-invasion that shouldn't be lost, art wise or anything like that," she said as they walked past the crosswalk, passing a couple that was going in the opposite direction.

"I mean," Lana added, "my brother used to be inspired by artwork and the like from Area 11 pre-invasion for his paintings." Her eyes filled with sadness as she thought about the loss of her big brother and she blinked away the tears.

Shintaro glanced at her in concern, briefly taking in the tears she was trying to suppress. "I'm sorry for your loss. Were you close to your big brother?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lana admitted, wiping her eyes. "Closer to him than the rest of my family and I miss him. I guess...I shouldn't be surprised that I still miss him. It hasn't even been two weeks since he was killed after all." She knew that Shintaro didn't know that she was talking about the prince that everyone thought he had killed and she was going to keep it that way for the time being. They were still around too many people and she wanted them to be in relative privacy for when she apologized to him and revealed her identity.

"I'm sorry," Shintaro said, resting a hand hesitantly on her shoulder as if trying to comfort her.

She smiled slightly at him, surprised by the gesture. You really aren't like how most Elevens are painted by Britannia and you've proven yourself to be really nice. Now I feel even more bad for hitting you, she thought. "Thank you," she said out loud.

"You're welcome," Shintaro said with a nervous smile before he removed his hand from her shoulder as the two continued down the sidewalk they'd started walking on a few minutes earlier. "Um, what do you want to do now?"

Lana scanned the area until she spotted a park in the distance and pointed to it. "Why don't we go to the park?" she suggested.

"Okay," Shintaro said and the two of them headed down the sidewalk toward the park.

Lana folded her arms behind her head as they entered the park and gazed around at the stalks of grass that waved in the slight warm breeze, at the tall, slender trees that rose between benches, at the winding stone pathway that cut through its heart to the fountain at the park's center. "This would make a good setting to draw," she commented as she wandered over to a patch of grass and flopped down, gazing up at the sky.

She turned to Shintaro who stood awkwardly by her and patted the spot next to her. "C'mon, I won't bite," she said.

Shintaro sat down next to her, still looking a bit awkward and nervous and he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "Sorry. I guess I'm still not entirely used to being treated like this by a Britannian, ah, no offense intended," he said.

"None taken," Lana said, turning her gaze back to the sky as a flash of guilt went through as she recalled that she hadn't treated him that well when she first met him.

She turned her head to gaze at the kind Eleven boy who had one leg stretched in front of him while the other was bent and his chin was resting on his bent knee. She scanned the area but there were still people around that occasionally glanced at her and Shintaro. She noticed, now, that it seemed as if her spending time with an Eleven was attracting people's attention, even if they didn't know who she was.

Well, this isn't exactly private. Guess I'll just find another spot but, for now, I'm comfortable and I don't want to move, she thought. She studied the clouds for a moment before pointing to one that looked like a lopsided ice cream cone to her. "I think that cloud looks like an ice cream cone," she said.

Shintaro followed her gesture and blinked. "Really," he said, laying down and gazing at the cloud. "I don't see it. I do see one that looks like a puppy though." He pointed to one of the clouds.

Lana scanned the cloud that he'd gestured to and frowned. "That's not a puppy. That's a tiger," she said.

"A tiger? Really?" Shintaro sounded amused. "It's a puppy. I'm sure of it."

"You're blind. It's clearly a tiger."

"How is that a tiger? Its face is the face of a puppy."

"No, it's not."

"Yeah, it is."

"That is not the face of a puppy."

"Well, I don't think it's the face of a tiger."

"Look, it's got whiskers."

"Those aren't whiskers. Those are just stripes on the puppy's face."

"It's not a dang puppy. It's a tiger!"

"No, it's a puppy."

The two of them stared at each other as they argued over what the cloud actually looked like and Lana was quick to realize the silliness of their argument. She bit her lip but the giggle she was trying to suppress came out anyway.

Shintaro seemed to have realized how silly their argument was as well because his own laughter joined hers.

"Were we really arguing over what a cloud was shaped like?" he asked once he managed to get control of his laughter.

"I know, right? Why were we arguing about that of all things?" Lana said around her giggles as she sat up, stretching her arms above her head.

"I haven't the slightest clue," Shintaro said with a shake of his head, a small carefree smile on his lips as he sat up as well.

Lana smiled. It's really weird that I can act like a regular teenager here and yet not at the Viceroy's Palace. I suppose it might be because I'm not getting treated like I'm younger than I actually am, which is a welcoming relief, she thought. But now I think it's time I found a place to apologize to Shintaro for hitting him.

She stood up and Shintaro glanced up at her. She glanced at him. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"Where to?" Shintaro asked, getting to his feet and grabbing the duffel bag she hadn't noticed him drop at his side.

Someplace where I won't be hounded by the media when I reveal who I am, she thought and wracked her mind until she came up with the perfect option. "Will you take me to the Shinjuku Ghetto?" she asked.

Shintaro started, staring at her in surprise but she held his gaze. Even if he couldn't see her eyes because of the sunglasses, she hoped that he could see that she was not going to back down from her decision.

Besides, in light of recent events, she did want to see the ghetto and pay her respects for those who had died there, including her brother since her brother had been killed in that ghetto. She hadn't had the chance to pay her respects because of the whirlwind of activity that followed her brother's assassination so she may as well kill two birds with one stone.

"All right," Shintaro said finally. "I'll take you there."

"Thank you," Lana said.

. . .

Suzaku yawned, covering his mouth as he and Euphie made their way out of the park and headed deeper into the settlement. Euphie glanced at him with a faint smile on her lips. "Are you getting tired?" she asked.

"A little. We've done a lot of walking around today," Suzaku said.

"Yeah. Thank you for accompanying me though, Suzaku," Euphie said with a kind smile at him. "I've had a lot of fun and I'm glad for the chance to explore the settlement and there's still a lot of places I haven't seen yet."

"Well, maybe during your next vacation, you can check out the sights that we miss today," Suzaku suggested.

"Maybe. I don't know when my next vacation will be though," Euphie said with a small pout and Suzaku couldn't help but admit that she looked rather cute when she pouted like that. He blinked as that thought crossed his mind and quickly shoved it aside, though not before his cheeks heated up a little.

"Well, whenever it is, if you want, I can finish the tour we started today," Suzaku said.

"Really?" Euphie looked excited and she gave him a hug. "Thank you so much, Suzaku."

"Y...You're welcome," Suzaku stammered out, the slight blush on his cheeks growing as he cautiously patted the pinkette's back.

She blushed as well and quickly released him when she realized what she'd done. "S...Sorry about that," she said quickly, looking away in embarrassment.

"It's...It's fine," Suzaku said also in embarrassment.

The two of them stood in an awkward silence before Euphie took a deep breath and straightened up, turning to gaze back at Suzaku. He was surprised to see steely determination in her eyes. "Suzaku, there's one more place I want you to show me today," she said quietly.

"As you command, my lady," Suzaku said with a bow.

"Show me the Shinjuku Ghetto," Euphie said.

Suzaku blinked in surprise. Out of all the places that Euphie could have suggested, he had not expected her to suggest that.

"Suzaku Kururugi, take me to the Shinjuku Ghetto," Euphie repeated firmly.

. . .

"I used to live here," Shintaro said as he led the way into the ruined ghetto, walking past fallen buildings, torn up roads, and broken pieces of knightmare frames. "It was only briefly before I joined the military but...I suppose it's kind of hard to see it like this."

Lana nodded absently, gazing around at the devastation. It was much worse seeing the destruction firsthand rather than hearing about it on the news and she found herself wondering if she'd made the right decision in coming here. She shivered because she knew that she was treading upon the graveyard of so many lives and she felt anger at the terrorists who'd caused this destruction and all of these deaths.

"It's so quiet," she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. "Too quiet. I feel...I feel like I'm trespassing but...my brother died here so I just want to pay my respects to him and yet..."

"Then don't worry about it, Lala," Shintaro reassured her. "You have every right to pay your respects to your brother."

"Yeah." Lana chewed on her lower lip before she took a deep breath and turned to face Shintaro. She could see that she was alone and she decided that now would be the perfect time to apologize to the kind Eleven for hitting him.

She never got the chance.

"Your Highness!" A shout sounded and Lana resisted the urge to groan in frustration as she turned to find two Britannian soldiers of the 1st Regiment, the regiment her big brother had been in charge of before his untimely passing, hurrying toward her. One of them spotted Shintaro, who was staring at Lana in shock, and pointed his gun at him.

"Step away from Her Highness, Eleven," he said firmly.

Shintaro held up his hands defensively but stepped away.

"Put your weapon away now. This boy is a soldier who is, by my request, acting as my bodyguard," Lana said firmly, removing her sunglasses and tucking them into the pocket of her jacket as she fixed blue eyes on the two soldiers.

Shintaro's eyes went wide as he gazed at her. "It's you," he whispered.

The two soldiers exchanged glances but the first soldier lowered his gun. "Your Highness, is that really wise? He's an Eleven, the same one who was accused of murdering your brother," he said.

"He was acquitted of all charges and is now acting as my bodyguard today," Lana said firmly, drawing herself up to her full, but still diminutive, height. "I, Lana la Britannia, order you to leave. I have no need of your services as of right now."

"The Viceroy wishes for you to return to the Viceroy's Palace immediately, Your Highness," the first soldier said.

"I will return in a little while. There is something that I must take care of before I return," Lana said firmly.

"Your Highness, it is far too dangerous for you to remain out in the open."

"I can take care of myself and I have a bodyguard. I will be fine." I am not a little kid anymore who needs to have a babysitter everywhere I go. I'm seventeen years old, damn it! "Tell the Viceroy that I will be back before dark. You have your orders. Leave now."

The two soldiers still hesitated but, apparently, they hadn't been ordered by Cornelia to drag Lana back kicking and screaming, or something along those lines, because they saluted, stated, "Yes, Your Highness," and walked off. However, they both did cast another set of distrusting glares at Shintaro as they went.

Lana relaxed with a sigh and turned to face Shintaro. He knelt down, crossing his fist over his heart and lowering his head. "Your Highness, I apologize, I did not..." he began.

"You have no need to apologize, Shintaro," Lana said. "I didn't tell you who I was on purpose. Besides, I'm the one who should apologize."

Shintaro lifted his head and gazed at her in confusion. "What?"

"For striking you," Lana said. "I didn't know that you weren't responsible for my brother's death. I just wanted to know why and I now understand that you didn't answer me not because you were being disrespectful or stubborn or just out of anger but rather because you didn't know how to answer."

"Don't apologize, Your Highness," Shintaro said as Lana trailed off. "You only wanted to know why and I don't fault you for that. Besides, I'm used to that kind of treatment so it's not like it really mattered..."

"Why didn't you tell anyone that you were innocent?" Lana blurted out before the auburn-haired Eleven could go on.

Shintaro was silent.

"Did you think they wouldn't believe you?" Lana pressed.

"Would they have believed me if I did?"

Lana sighed, folding her arms across her chest. Shintaro was right and she knew that he was. "I suppose not," she muttered and frowned at the Eleven who was still kneeling in front of her. "Oh stand up already."

Shintaro did as he was told but, before he could say anything else, an explosion sounded nearby and he whipped his head around as a plume of smoke rose up in the distance.

"What just…?" Lana began in confusion but broke off as a large and long trailer suddenly drove into the area in front of them with a tarp-covered mech attached to the back of it. The door opened and a woman with indigo-colored hair hopped out of the trailer's cab.

"Shintaro, there you were. Quick, you and Her Highness had best get inside," she said.

"Major Croomy?" Shintaro said in surprise. "I thought you and Earl Lloyd were going to call me."

"Oh we were," a man with pale-blue hair and glasses resting on the bridge of his nose said, poking his head out of the trailer above the woman, Croomy. "But we saw you with Her Highness and decided to wait. Oh and shame on your acquittal 'cause you're stuck working for me again."

Shintaro sweatdropped. "Yeah, you already told me that earlier," he said just as another explosion sounded in the same area as before.

"What's going on?" Lana demanded.

"Oh, just the purists having a little disagreement. Don't think they realized that the new Viceroy arrived earlier than expected 'cause I don't think they'd be doing something stupid like this if they knew. Eh, not that I care or anything since it's got nothing to do with my projects," Lloyd said with a shrug.

"Get inside, you two. It's safer," Croomy said and gave Lana a polite little bow before gesturing to the trailer.

Lana frowned, gazing at where the plume of smoke was rising. She didn't like this, not only because the soldiers were actually fighting each other but also because they were doing so in the same place were so many people had already lost their lives. It seemed very disrespectful to her.

"Why are they fighting each other? They're on the same side," Shintaro said bewildered as he climbed into the trailer and held out a hand toward Lana. She took it and pulled herself into the trailer as well. "And for them to be fighting here of all places. That's just showing a lot of disrespect for the innocents who died here less than two weeks ago!"

Lana blinked and then smiled, glad someone agreed with her. "We need to stop this fighting," she said firmly. "Earl Lloyd, was it? Take us to the location of this fighting. I'll stop it myself if I have to."

"That is really dangerous, Your Highness," Croomy said.

Lana scowled because she knew that the major was right.

"But another knightmare could try to stop the fighting, right?" Shintaro said suddenly and turned to Lloyd. "Why don't you let me use the Lancelot to stop this? I mean, you want battle data, right?"

Lloyd grinned. "Good idea," he said and, pulling out a white-and-gold activation key, he tossed it at Shintaro who caught it and turned to Lana.

"Stay safe, Your Highness," he said and darted toward the mech.

Good luck, Shintaro, Lana thought.

. . .

When Suzaku saw the explosion and the plume of smoke that it had created far too close for comfort, he decided that leaving the Shinjuku Ghetto would probably be the best thing to do. "We should go," he said to Euphie.

Their walk in the ghetto had only resulted in one confrontation, in which Euphie slapped the Britannian who'd insulted Suzaku and mistook him for an Honorary Britannian, and Euphie had gotten to look around. She hadn't asked any questions about what happened but, every time they passed a cross or a picture of one of the fallen, she would stop and bow her head.

She didn't talk about what happened, only paid her respects for those who had fallen and continued to walk through the ghetto. He had followed her, quietly talking with her about his time in the Shinjuku Ghetto before he left, leaving out anything that had to do with his work as Lone Wolf, when she asked him if he'd ever been there.

"It looks like someone's fighting," Euphie said, darting over to a window and Suzaku followed her. The window provided an excellent view of the clearing beyond since the rest of the house had been flattened at some point, likely during the battle, and only the wall on which was the window was left standing.

Just as Euphie said, Sutherlands—the Purists judging by the maroon shoulder plate that separated them from other Sutherlands—were fighting each other. Their jousting lances, Stun Tonfas, and Slash Harkens clashing with each other. It was an uneven fight, Suzaku could see; one against three with the one being badly damaged.

Suddenly, another Sutherland shot into the clearing and fought alongside the damaged one.

They were still outnumbered but, to Suzaku's surprise, the white knightmare frame he'd fought against at Shinjuku, suddenly entered the fight, causing the fight to even out. "Looks like it's even on both sides," he said and turned to Euphie. "C'mon, I don't think there's anything we can do now."

Euphie bit her lip. "They shouldn't be fighting. They're allies! I'm gonna put a stop to this," she said firmly and started for the alley that would take her to the clearing.

"Wait, how are you going to stop them?" Suzaku asked, reaching out to grab the pinkette's arm.

She turned to him and gave him a small smile. "If I tell them who I really am, I can take command of this situation. I'm sorry, Suzaku. I didn't tell you who I really was because I wanted to remain anonymous. My real name is Euphemia li Britannia, Third Princess of the Holy Empire of Britannia."

Suzaku let go of Euphie's arm and stared in shock and she patted his arm. "Thank you for taking me on a tour of the settlement, Suzaku. I really am grateful and, hopefully, I can get a break from my duties and take you up on your offer to show me the rest of the settlement. But, for now, I have to stop this."

Without another word, she turned and darted down the alley.

Suzaku started to go after her as he overcame his shock, remembering that Euphemia was the half-sister that Lelouch cared about the most; Lelouch would probably kill him if he let something happen to Euphemia. His phone suddenly began blaring and he stopped, fished his phone out of his pocket, and answered it. "Hello?" he said.

"Where the hell are you?!" A.A.'s furious voice shouted loud enough for Suzaku to yank the phone away from his ear.

"Ow. You didn't have to yell," Suzaku said dryly, watching as Euphie disappeared into the clearing.

"Get back here. I'm having anime withdrawals," A.A. whined.

"It's only been an hour. Get over it, otaku bastard," C.C.'s voice snapped.

"Oh shut up. Get back here with my anime, Suzaku, and hurry up!" A.A. said firmly but Suzaku was surprised when he detected a note of unease and...was that fear?...in his voice. The brunet blinked but, before he could reply, a series of explosions sounded nearby.

He ducked instinctively and turned to find that one of the knightmares had released a chaos mine but Euphie was, thankfully, protected by a glowing, diamond-shaped green shield. Relieved that Euphie was all right, Suzaku decided that he may as well head back; Euphie seemed to be safe for the moment and he was sure that, once she revealed who she was, she would be even safer.

"All right. I'm on my way back," Suzaku said into the phone.

"Good. Make it quick! I wanna know what happens next," A.A. whined.

Suzaku's eye twitched. That whining was going to get on his nerves. He wondered how Lelouch was dealing with A.A.'s whining right now. He supposed he'd ask when he got back. "I'll be there soon," he said and, hanging up, headed down the street.

He paused when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck prick up and he turned around, looking around because he had this odd feeling that someone was watching him. He saw nothing though and, blinking, wondered if he'd just imagined it.

"That was weird," he murmured as he turned and began jogging down the ruined street.

. . .

"Hmm, so you're his counterpart in this timeline," the black-clad figure murmured. He leaned back against the wall of the elevator shaft on the roof of a building near where the fighting was taking place. "You seem similar to him based on what few observations I've made."

He continued to watch the brunet as he walked away. "Will I be able to use you in my game of revenge? Or will your fate be the same as it was last time?"

He didn't know.

But he would think about that later.

Without another word, the black-clad man turned and was swallowed by the darkness of the elevator shaft.

. . .

Lelouch was about ready to hit something, namely the annoying whining otaku A.A. so it was a good thing that Suzaku arrived when he did. A.A. had immediately brightened up like a kid in a candy store when Suzaku handed him the boxset he'd gone to get for him and darted off with a happy "Thanks a bunch."

Lelouch glared at Suzaku as the two of them were left alone in the kitchen. Nunnally was in the living room listening to the radio with Sayoko.

Suzaku blinked at him in confusion. "What?" he said.

"Never leave me alone with an anime-deprived A.A. again," Lelouch growled.

Suzaku smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't think he'd be that bad," he said.

"He was worse than bad," Lelouch huffed and sighed. "What took you so long anyway? I thought you were just going to the shop to pick up his order."

"Well, I was but then I ran into someone who asked me to show her around the settlement and, since I didn't think I needed to be back right away, I agreed," Suzaku said with a shrug. "By the way, I ran into your sister."

"You did? Which one?" Lelouch asked.

"Euphie, I mean Euphemia," Suzaku said, a light blush on his cheeks when he said the nickname before quickly correcting himself.

Lelouch raised an eyebrow at the use of that nickname before he narrowed his eyes. "If Euphie's here then Cornelia is either also here or not very far behind. Hmm, that means that it's likely Cornelia is the new Viceroy," he murmured. "That...might make things a bit difficult but I should be able to work with this news. So how did you run into Euphie anyway?"

"Erm, well, she kinda...fell on me."

"Fell on you?"

"She was jumping out of a window and I caught her before she hit the ground," Suzaku clarified.

"Why was she jumping out of a window?" Lelouch said bewildered.

"I have no idea."

Lelouch sighed. "Well, no point in worrying about that. It's almost time for dinner so could you go let the annoying otaku and C.C. know?" he said.

"Why me?" Suzaku said.

"I have to finish dinner," Lelouch said with a shrug and wandered over to the oven, smirking as he heard Suzaku grumble about how he didn't want to deal with the annoying otaku. Payback for leaving me with him for the past several hours, he thought as he turned off the stove once it beeped telling him the main course was ready.

. . .

Shintaro swallowed his nervousness as he stood uncertainly in front of the principal of Ashford Academy. Three days had gone by since he'd met Lana; it was now Wednesday morning and Shintaro was also tired on top of being nervous. That was because he hadn't gotten much sleep the night before because of his nerves.

The only reason why he was in this predicament was because Lana had found out that he didn't have much schooling and, as payment for being her bodyguard all day, she'd pulled some strings to get him to attend school. He wasn't entirely sure why but he couldn't exactly tell the princess no.

But he hadn't been in school since before the invasion and so he was going to be behind. Lana had assured him that wouldn't be a problem and that she believed he could catch up quickly enough, though he wasn't sure if she was right.

He sighed inwardly. He didn't know what to make of Lana la Britannia, the princess who'd smacked him when he refused to answer her questions and then actually apologized for smacking him. It just didn't make any sense; what Britannian ever admitted they were wrong, and to an Eleven at that?

I guess not all Britannians are like that, he thought.

"Since you're part of the military," the principal, Reuben Ashford, said, "you'll be excused from your classes whenever you have a mission or have to work. Your schedule is the same as most others your age but don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it."

Not like they would give me any anyway, Shintaro thought. "Thank you, sir," he said out loud.

"You may head to your first class. Mrs. Everest has already been informed so you will just have to introduce yourself to the class."

"I understand. Thank you," Shintaro said and, turning around, he left the office before heading down the hallway and looked around for his classroom. He found it just as the tardy bell was ringing and made his way into it, immediately aware of the shocked looks he was receiving from everyone else.

"Ah, Mr. Ihara? Principal Ashford said you would be joining us today," Mrs. Everest said with an uncertain smile. "Why don't you introduce yourself to your classmates?"

Shintaro turned to face the class, noticing that most of them were staring at him in disgust and whispering amongst each other. He was surprised to find a familiar pair of amethyst eyes amidst the sea of faces but was relieved to know that Lelouch was all right. He was also surprised to find the familiar brunet form of Suzaku seated beside Lelouch.

They're both all right. Thank goodness, he thought. "My name is Shintaro Ihara. It's nice to meet all of you," he greeted them politely and ignored the murmurings that were going on among the rest of the students.

"Thank you, Mr. Ihara. Um," Everest began and scanned the students.

Shintaro saw Lelouch lean over and murmur something to Suzaku. Suzaku cast a sharp glance at him but Lelouch just nodded once. Suzaku let out an inaudible sigh and nodded once before murmuring something back.

Then Lelouch stood up. "Shintaro can join Suzaku and I, Mrs. Everest," he said calmly.

That caused all the murmurings and whispers to halt in an instant and everyone whipped their heads around to stare at the black-haired young man.

Shintaro was startled himself. Why are you doing this, Lelouch? If people know that you know me then it could risk your secret, he thought.

"Are you sure, Mr. Lamperouge?" Everest asked warily.

"Yes. Like Suzaku, Shin is an old friend of mine," Lelouch said casually.

"Oh...Okay then. Mr. Ihara, you may take a seat with Mr. Lamperouge and Mr. Kururugi," Everest said, stumbling a little over Suzaku's last name.

"Ah, sure, thanks," Shintaro said and moved over to take a seat on Lelouch's other side. He glance at him, opening his mouth to question him but Lelouch gave him the slightest shake of his head and a slight tug on the collar of his uniform.

Meet on the roof.

It had been a while since Shintaro had seen the use of the secret language he, Suzaku, and Lelouch had created in order to help them survive during the invasion. He nodded once in response before turning his gaze back to Everest as she began speaking.

. . .

I was not expecting this, Lelouch thought, leaning against the railing and overlooking the campus. Suzaku was seated on the ground with his back resting against the railing and his chin resting on his bent knee while his other leg was stretched out in front of him. It was lunchtime and the two of them were gathered on the roof waiting for the arrival of their friend.

"What're we going to do?" he asked.

"I don't think there is anything we really can do at this point," Lelouch said. "I don't know how he got into this school but I suspect that someone with connections pulled some strings behind the curtain. We'll see when he joins us, supposing he hasn't changed completely."

The Shintaro that Lelouch had met was honest to a fault and if that hadn't changed then he would tell Lelouch and Suzaku of just how he'd gotten into the school. Lelouch was curious about just how he managed to do that; even though it wasn't illegal for Ashford to allow Japanese to attend their school, it was against policy and Ashford usually adhered to it, unless strings were pulled behind the scene.

The door to the roof opened and Lelouch turned away from the railing as Shintaro made his way onto the roof, his hands tucked into the pockets of his pants as he kicked the door closed behind him. He gave them a smile in greeting, though his eyes were much more distant than what Lelouch was used to.

"Didn't think I'd see you here. Glad to know you got outta that mess in the Shinjuku Ghetto all right, Lelouch," Shintaro said and nodded his head in greeting to Suzaku who pushed himself to his feet. "And hey Suzaku. Been a while."

"Yeah it has. You look good, Shin. Military life suits you," Suzaku said.

The sarcasm was so strong that it caused Shintaro to cringe and Lelouch to raise an eyebrow.

"Well, it ain't like I had another choice," the auburn-haired Japanese boy muttered. "It was just better for me."

"Better for you?" Suzaku repeated incredulously. "How was working for the bastards who murdered so many of our people, including my entire family, be better for you?" The last words were all but shouted out.

Shintaro looked away, chewing on his lower lip. "Look, I didn't come up here to talk with ya about that. I made my choice," he said.

Suzaku still looked upset and angry but, before he could say anything else to make that reunion more awkward and tense, Lelouch intervened.

"So how did you get into Ashford Academy to begin with?" he asked casually, leaning against the railing and studying his second best friend.

"Funny story actually," Shintaro said with a faint smile, though he looked relieved by the change of subject. "I had just gotten acquitted for the murder of Prince Clovis and was just walking around the settlement when I spotted a girl run into a pole. Like seriously, she ran right into it. She was cute though, which was the only reason I didn't laugh...much. But I asked her if she was okay and I got dragged into giving her a tour of the settlement. We ended up in the Shinjuku Ghetto and that's when she told me who she was. You know, Lelouch, you've got some good looking half-sisters? She really was cute and good at acting. I didn't expect her of being a princess at all!"

"Who are you talking about?" Lelouch asked. Well, Shin's tendency to ramble at times is still there, he thought.

"Oh, right. Her name's Lana la Britannia," Shintaro said.

Lelouch blinked. He knew that Lana had traveled to Area 11 the year earlier to shadow her elder brother and learn more about the political side of Britannia but he hadn't expected the small seventeen year old to actually run into his second best friend. But then he was surprised that Lana was still in Area 11 to begin with; Lana and Clovis's mother was usually very protective and he was surprised that she hadn't pulled Lana out as soon as Clovis's death was made public.

He shoved the memory of the cause, that had drifted into his mind, out. "And how does this explain how you got into this school?" he asked.

"That's simple. Lana found out I didn't have much schooling and pulled some strings to get me into Ashford Academy. Apparently, she's gonna be the new co-Sub-Viceroy," Shintaro explained. "But, hey! I'm happy 'cause I never thought I'd see my two best friends again." He slung an arm around Suzaku's shoulders, nearly knocking the emerald-eyed Japanese teen to the ground.

"Shin! You know I hate it when you do that," Suzaku exclaimed as he struggled to regain his balance. At least it seemed he had gotten over his earlier anger over Shintaro's decision.

Lelouch snickered.

Shintaro shrugged, releasing Suzaku's shoulders. "I know it annoys ya. That's why I do it," he said and slung his shoulders around the still snickering Lelouch, causing him to nearly lose his balance.

His snickering stopped and he gave Shintaro an irritated glower but the auburn-haired Japanese boy just waved it off as he released him. "You're as scrawny as ever, Lelouch," he said, poking Lelouch's arm. "Do ya still hate exercise with a passion?"

The way he's acting now is not like how he acted when we met in the Shinjuku Ghetto or, again, when I spoke with him as Zero. It's how he used to always act back when we first met, Lelouch thought, not really paying attention to Shintaro's question. I suppose he was just wearing a mask in Shinjuku and again after I saved him from his execution. It could simply be something that he crafted to get him through military training because, frankly, that is the only explanation for how someone like Shintaro could actually make it through basic training.

"Hello?" Poke. "Lelouch?" Poke. "Anyone in there?" Poke. "Suzaku, he's not responding!"

Lelouch pulled himself from his thoughts and gave his annoying goofball of a friend a glare as he swatted his hand away before the auburn-haired boy could poke him again. "What?" he said.

"You're alive!" Shintaro exclaimed dramatically as he slung his arms around Lelouch's shoulders and hugged him. "I'm so glad!"

Lelouch's eye twitched. "You're as annoying as ever, Shin," he said, pushing his friend off him.

"I do try," Shintaro said brightly. "And you never answered my question."

Lelouch hummed. "Simply put, yes, I do still hate exercise with a passion," he said.

"Speaking of that, lunch is about to end. Don't we have P.E. next?"

"Yes," Suzaku said just as the bell ending lunch rang. The emerald-eyed Japanese boy stretched his arms above his head and turned to Shintaro. "I'll show you to the gym, Shin."

"When classes are over, take him to the clubhouse. I'm sure Milly won't mind having another minion...I mean Student Council member," Lelouch said, turning back to the railing and folding his arms on top of it.

"You aren't coming with?" Shintaro echoed.

"It's P.E., are you really surprised, Shin?" Suzaku said dryly. "C'mon, let's go or we're going to be late. See you later, Lelouch. Try not to skip the rest of your classes again today."

Lelouch waved a hand in dismissal, his gaze still fixed on the campus below.

"It's still a wonder just how you're managing to pass all your classes."

"He's passing all of his classes even though he, apparently, skips a lot of 'em? How the hell?" Shintaro exclaimed.

"It pays to have a very good memory," Lelouch said with a smug smirk.

"C'mon, Shin," Suzaku said and he and Shintaro left.

After they left, Lelouch let the smug smirk fall from his lips as he wandered over to the shadows of the building and pulled out the phone that had vibrated earlier, indicating that he'd received a call. There was only one person who would could call him on that phone; he had only given that number out to two people, Suzaku and the leader of the resistance within the Shinjuku Ghetto.

He sat down and pulled out his phone, dialing the number that had called back and resting the phone against his ear. "Yes?" he said quietly, his voice lower and slightly different due to the modulator attached to his phone.

"Zero," Naoto Kozuki greeted him. "I was trying to reach you earlier."

"Yes, I know. What is wrong?"

"We've received reports from a few of our allies. The Blood of the Samurai has been destroyed," Naoto said calmly. "It's likely that the new Viceroy is seeking to destroy all known resistances in the area and some of my members are worried that she'll target us next."

Lelouch hummed. "What other resistances are there in the area that Viceroy Cornelia may go after?" he asked.

"The only one that I know of is the Yamato Alliance but they aren't nearly as big as they once were. They were pretty big until a mistake by their former leader led to Prince Clovis's men nearly succeeding in eradicating the entire resistance. Their new leader, Matsuo, is much more level-headed and they have only been doing simply raids for supplies and food since then," Naoto said.

Lelouch hummed in thought, his mind turning cogs in his mind. "Very well. I will keep an eye on the situation and inform you once I have further orders," he said.

"Sure thing. I believe it would be best if we remained hidden for the time being," Naoto said.

"I agree."

Lelouch ended the conversation a few minutes later and, stuffing the phone back into his pocket, headed for the stairs.

. . .

Next Time: Vision of Annihilation

. . .

A/n what do you think?

Blaze: so The Stolen Mask episode did not go as it did in canon, to the point of being taken out entirely because it just didn't fit in with the story's plot, but I still hope I got a few laughs out of Lelouch, Suzaku, and Shintaro's interaction with each other. That was fun to do.

Bakura: eh

Blaze: ...why do I keep you around again?

Bakura: because I'm your favorite Yu-Gi-Oh! Villain

Ryou: I actually think it is because she likes me

Lelouch: I suspect it is both. So what will happen next?

Blaze: a very different version of Saitama and the identity (i.e. name) of that mysterious person from the end of chapter 4 will be revealed. I still won't tell you who he is, truly, as you will just have to wait and see but he will be named in the next chapter. Plus Satomi will finally make her debut into the plot (since the first chapter is more of an introduction to her character) and more stuff.

Bakura: and how long will we have to wait? Five months?

Blaze: shut up, Bakura. Also, the Japanese may not be right (I researched translations in the hopes of getting it correct) so sorry if it's not. Anyway, I hope to update both this story and Rise of the Black King again before Thanksgiving. We will see if it works. Anyway, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.