Disclaimer: Code Geass is property of a company beyond me. It is not mine. Understand that or die.

Okay, I know I am still in the progress of writing Now and Forever. I still am, but I also felt like writing this. The idea has been in my head for months already so I just had to act on it.

Sincerely,

Toph the Trickster.

Code Geass: The Perfect World

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Chapter one:

A Life Among the Legends

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In the year 2017, it was a well known fact, throughout the world, that Ashford Academy, a school situated in Tokyo, Japan, had the world's elite under its wing.

The Ashford's, who owned the school (as the name might suggest), were a very noble family to begin with. They once spearheaded the research and development of early generation Knightmares, ones that were no longer utilized majority of the world's military today. Despite this, they managed to stay in high favor with the emperor of Britannia thanks to the recommendation of the empress, who entrusted to them the care of her children.

There were many well known people, if not just their sons or daughters, that were part of the school's student roster. Although a majority of them were merely Britannians of high nobility, there were some of them who stood out from the rest.

As the reader must know, just like any other school, Ashford has a form of student government. This takes the form of the popular Ashford Academy Student Council. It is in this group that Ashford's most prominent students are brought together.

Before I continue any further, I would like to ask for your forgiveness. Where are my manners? To merely approach you and speak without first introducing myself, I must say that it was very rude of me.

I am Christoph Trick, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. But this tale you are about to hear does not revolve around me; in fact, I take absolutely no part in it.

Although, I am sure, you have all heard the tale of Lelouch vi Britannia, the Demon King. It was a tale of bloody war, trickery, deception, loathing, and little bit of love on the side. It was a beautiful tale, expert in its conception, and graceful in its telling. But what you shall hear is far from what we have witnessed; away from the strife, the pain, and the death.

I shall tell you a tale of a Perfect World.

~ TtT ~

"Alright everyone," A blonde student said as she entered one of the many rooms in the student council clubhouse, which was, in all actuality, akin to a very large mansion. "Let's get this meeting started. We have a lot of ground to cover before we can celebrate the schools foundation day." She took some time to look around the room. "Is everyone here?" Milly Ashford asked no one in particular.

Now, Milly was the granddaughter of the schools superintendent. Or was it principal? I forgot. She had been the student council president for the past three years of her schooling. Although many people were against the idea of a freshman leading the school, when she first took office, she managed to prove herself as a leader, and no one has gone against her since.

Well, it is not unexpected that someone would mistake Milly for your typical spoiled brat at first glance. I would have to disagree greatly. She is, in fact, on a whole different level. I shall not bother to explain anything more of her character to you, dear reader, as I believe actions speak louder than words.

"Lelouch, Nunnally, and Rivalz are missing, president." Nina Einstein, another member of the school's student council, said. She was declared a technical genius for her research on Sakuradite. She was currently working a part time job as assistant to the well renowned Count Lloyd Asplund, Head of the R&D division of the Britannian military. She ran her hand through her emerald green hair, and readjusted her glasses as she said this. Nina was known as the shy-type among the group, but that did not hinder her progress in anything she set out to do. And with the ever blunt count Asplund as her mentor, she was slowly leaving her xenophobic self in the world of the past.

A snicker was heard throughout the room as a brown haired student decided to voice his opinion on the matter. "Lelouch, no doubt, has gone on another gambling expedition with Rivalz. But that doesn't seem to explain Nunnally's absence as well, though."

Milly looked to the speaker, as though regarding his words. She pinched her nose in exasperation, and said.

"You may be right, Suzaku. But I don't honestly think that Lelouch vi Britannia, a prince, would be out gambling. He worries too much about his public image to do that."

Kururugi, Suzaku just shrugged at the statement. Being the son of Japan's current prime minister gave him the opportunity to meet with many prominent political figures. And that, of course, meant that he had also met with several members of the Britannian royal court, even some members of the royal family.

"But we all know that Lelouch doesn't really care for his image. He just doesn't want to disgrace his family." He told the Ashford heir, a slight smile gracing his lips.

"Though what you say is true, Suzaku, my brother is not out gambling today." Everyone in the room turned to the door to see Nunnally vi Britannia walk in, accompanied by a blue-haired male that we all recognize as Rivalz Cardemonde. Despite being a princess of Britannia, she came to Japan to study. Although most people would have expected a member of the royal bloodline to have taken to tutoring, the children of Empress Marianne were the only exception to that. "We received a call from father this morning, instructing Lelouch go to the airport on some important pretence."

"Wait," Milly raised her hand, stopping the middle schooler from continuing any further. "Your father…" the silence in the room was almost deafening as the realization hit.

"You aren't referring to the emperor, are you?"

"Milly-neesan," Nunnally was well known throughout Ashford for being gentle and kind, very unlike her older brother. "I only have one father, don't I?"

"Despite that, Nunnally," Suzaku spoke, gaining the attention of the assembly of well-known students around them. "Aren't you worried, Lelouch did just receive a direct order from the Britannian emperor? Don't you think it might be political trouble?"

Nunnally shook her head in response.

"No, it couldn't be."

"What makes you say that, Nunna-chan?" Milly queried

"Big brother looked quite happy when he put down the phone, and I don't mean his regular, cheerful front either. He almost looked ecstatic."

"Do you know why?" it was Suzaku, this time, who spoke. Nunnally just sent everyone in the room a dazzling smile. It was rare to see the renowned Black Prince excited, so naturally, everyone wanted to know why.

"It's a very personal matter for my big brother; and, although, I may know what was talked about on the phone, Lelouch-onisama would rather not let anyone know of this secret." The way she said this made everyone subconsciously add a 'yet' at the end.

~TtT~

The remainder of the student council meeting was uneventful. Even the, usually, nosy Milly Ashford did not have the courage to snoop around the reasons behind Lelouch's absence.

It was an order from the emperor! Of course she would be intimidated my that sort of thing. Now, it's not that Milly, or anyone else for that matter, found it surprising that Lelouch was given an order from the emperor. He was a prince, after all, a very favored one at that. Although he was eleventh in line for the throne, he still held high in esteem by his father. Milly was very happy about this, of course, since everyone knew that the Ashford's were backed by the Legendary Empress Marianne the Flash, who just happened to be the boy's mother. That, and the added fact that Marianne vi Britannia was Charles's favorite among his many, many wives.

She decided to ask her grandfather about this at a later time. Her grandfather, who still managed to remain in contact with the empress, despite the former being away from the capitol city for nearly seven years. Milly knew that her grandfather would be able to squeeze the answer from the warrior queen.

The president subconsciously licked her lips as she thought of the possibilities that accompanied Lelouch's absence and excitement.

~TtT~

Lelouch vi Britannia, so dubbed The Black Prince by his peers in the social arena of the Britannian empire, was also dubbed as the school's heartthrob. Whenever Milly, the ever enthusiastic girl when games and festivities are of discussion, presented the school with anything that had to do with getting something from the student council (that something being either a kiss, date, or even a temporary relationship), Lelouch was usually on the receiving end of any and all efforts made by Ashford Academy's female population.

Shirley Fenette, another member of the prestigious council, was no exception. On my personal note, I have even come to call her Lelouch's number one fan girl. The teenager just doesn't understand the fact that he is not interested. I am sure many of the readers remember her personality in the story of the Demon King. She got herself shot for trying to be involved too much, all for foolish infatuation.

Either way, it is not my place to judge.

Let's return to the story, shall we?

Shirley fell on one of the few exceptions to the trend social of the student council, the only other being Rivalz Cardemonde. She comes from a family of nobility, of course, but nobility, alone, cannot determine popularity in the world. Her family had never done anything of note, and thus, have not raised any favor in court, or gained favor from any of the Legends either.

The Legend was a title given to any member of the empire who has done deeds of note, or achieved a status so early in life that it can only be declared as something of myth. Shirley recalled some of the names that she encountered in the list of Legends in her notebook, since it was a part of their class in recent events:

Schneizel el Britannia, the white prince,

Cornelia li Britannia, the witch of Britannia,

Empress Marianne vi Britannia, Marianne the Flash,

Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three, the Apollo Knight.

Luciano Bradley, Knight of Ten, the Vampire of Britannia,

Anya Alstreim, Knight of Six, the Pink Prodigy,

Kururugi, Suzaku, The white Grim Reaper.

Shirley took a pause here; remembered that Suzaku had been given honorary citizenship for test driving a newly developed Knightmare. His induction as a Legend only served to strengthen the alliance between Japan and Britannia. Shirley also remembered that Gino and Anya were also in the student council.

Gino's parents sent him to Ashford to let him have a, slightly, normal lifestyle outside of the military.

Anya, although, was engaged, and was sent to Ashford to be closer to her fiancée. Despite only being fifteen years old, thirteen years younger than her fiancée who was twenty eight, she had already developed a strong bond with the man, and neither had any objections to the engagement.

Shirley continued her listing off of Legend names until she came across the name of the person she admired most.

Lelouch vi Britannia, the Black Prince.

She remembered that her teacher at the time, Jeremiah Gottwald, had mentioned to them that Lelouch had several other nicknames, ones that were only used when the situation deemed fit. As her thoughts dwelled on the man of her dreams, however, Shirley recalled another person who was well known to have always been correlated to the Black Prince, one that was connected despite taking no part in the prince's affairs:

The Grey Witch.

There was no name given; her identity, a well kept secret. As Shirley kept her mind on the thought, something occurred to her that caused her eyes to widen like dinner plates. She immediately ran, toward the Ashford residence to tell the president about what she had concluded. More for her own reasons than Milly's

As she ran, it never occurred to the girl to just use her cell phone…

Absent minded no?

I tried a different approach to this fic, literally turning myself into the narrator.

So that ends the first chap of a Perfect world. Did you like it? Send me feedback, please. And ideas are much appreciated as well. To those who would like to discuss the pairings, just post opinions through your reviews, thank you.

Sincerely yours,

Christoph Zar, the Trickster.