The Human Element

Chapter 1

As tiring as the Student Council work was, Rivalz Cardemonde usually couldn't complain. He was the only male in a club full of young female students, most of which were first years like him, which usually got his blood flowing. However, today was rough. The two hour long meeting had just finished, and Rivalz just realized that his dad was going to meet more nobles tonight, which meant that he had to make dinner for himself. As this realization hit him, Rivalz groaned in annoyance.

"Is something wrong?" Shirley Fenette asked him while looking at him curiously. Shirley was one of the many girls in the club, and in Rivalz's humble opinion, the tied for second on his list of "Hottest Girls of Ashford Academy".

"Oh, it's nothing," he responded. "I just realized that I need to make myself dinner since my dad is meeting some important people tonight, but I'm already too tired to do anything."

"Oh, what does he do?"

"Well, he's a bartender in a really fancy bar. Lots of nobles and other important figures come by often, so my dad's got lots of connections." Rivalz tried to say it in a really humble way, but it ended up sounded slightly pretentious.

"Look at Mr. Fancy Pants over here, then!" laugh Milly Ashford, the Student Council President, the granddaughter of the Headmaster, and the "Academy Queen". Rivalz knew that aside from those titles, Milly did have a lot going for her, if you catch his drift. She was first on his list for sure, and Rivalz knew that he was crushing on her hard.

Across the table, Lorraine Lamperouge looked on and smirked at Milly's loud banter. Lorraine was tied with Shirley on Rivalz's list, but unlike the bubbly and outgoing orange haired girl, Lorraine was often cold and unforgiving, giving her the title of "Ice Queen".

Rivalz was smiling too. "Anyway ladies, I should be leaving now before I pass out due to exhaustion. Later!"

"Bye Rivalz!" Shirley and Milly exclaimed. However, Lorraine appeared to be lost in thought. Rivalz frowned slightly but quickly cheered up, knowing that he could get her to smile another day. But man, she's way too cold, he thought.

Rivalz headed towards the students' parking lot, where he had left his motorbike. The bike was a gift from his father, who shared Rivalz's love for motorbikes and automation. However, the finer details of auto mechanics were lost to his dad, but Rivalz had more time to practice the craft. As he was about to hop on the bike, he heard footsteps behind him.

"Rivalz," said the authoritative voice of Lorraine Lamperouge.

The boy in question turned around quickly, not expecting to see his fellow club member. "Yes?"

"Would you say that your father has many connections to nobles?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. Why do you ask?" Rivalz was beginning to get very confused. Why the heck is she interrogating me about this?

"Good. Now, for the final question. Are you willing to gamble, Rivalz?" Lorraine asked him mysteriously.

"...Pardon?"

"I said gamble. With money." came Lorraine's response to his confusion.

"Well, as long as I don't get cheated out of anything and as long as both me and my dad are safe, then sure." Rivalz answered tentatively.

"Good, now we can set up appointments. You know of Baron Claude, correct?" Lorraine questioned him. Rivalz hesitated for a second before nodding. At this, Lorraine's grin widened. "I want you to set up an appointment with him for this Thursday, at 5 p.m. Tell

him that the stakes are 100,000 pounds for both parties. The game will be chess."

"This Thursday, sure thin—wait, did you just say 100,000 pounds?!" Rivalz exclaimed. This girl must be kidding. Where on earth were two first year high school students going to find 100,000 Britannian pounds?!

"Yes, 100,000 pounds." Lorraine responded, unbothered by his outburst. "Everything will be fine."

"But where on earth are the two of us going to find 100,000 pounds?!"

"Well," she grinned at him mischievously, "if we lose, then Milly will be very very mad at the two of us." Without missing a beat, Lorraine turned on her heels and began walking away.

Rivalz watched her walk away for a while before he turned back and faced his prized motorbike. I knew she was cold, but now I know that she is absolutely crazy, he thought. However, it was not like he was unwilling to gamble. After all, 100,000 pounds is more than enough money for any student. He sighed and climbed on to his bike before Rivalz remembered something important. She didn't even say thank you!

Rivalz was, understandably, very nervous. In contrast, Lorraine looked like the very image of indifference as she sat in his motorbike's side car. The tension in the air was very obvious.

"Um..." started Rivalz in an attempt to lighten up the mood, "Are you sure that we're going to win?"

"Of course. Chess is my specialty," she responded, without even looking at him. Now, Rivalz knew that she was smart. Everyone in the first year knew, for after all, Lorraine had some of the highest marks in their grade. So, her interest at chess was not exactly a surprise to him. However, he couldn't help but be doubtful. After all, they were putting 100,000 Britannian pounds on the line; money that neither Rivalz nor Lorraine possessed.

"Lorraine, watch out. The road is going to be a bit bumpy up ahead because of some construction," Rivalz warned the girl. She didn't respond verbally, but he knew that Lorraine understood.

Part of the road gave way to large construction vehicles and men dressed with standard bright orange vests. Soon enough, the road's smooth asphalt ended and the bike began to shake. But right now, as much as Rivalz wanted to pay attention to the road, his eyes were currently assessing Lorraine's large, bouncing...assets. Lorraine paid him no mind, instead, she watched him in amusement. However, her fun soon ended as the vehicle began to drift slowly.

"Rivalz," she warned him. "Keep your eyes on the road."

The pervert in question blushed furiously before turning back to the road. "Sorry, I jus—"

"It's fine," Lorraine interrupted him, before telling him sweetly, "Make sure it doesn't happen again."

"O-of course!" Rivalz answered. Man, she can be scary.

The rest of the ride went smoothly, both literally and figuratively. Aside from small comments about the weather and changes in the settlement, silence reigned. Soon enough, the two first years found themselves in front of a large business building, the main office of Baron Claude. The baron ran a large textile company, one that supplied many smaller companies in Area 11. As such, the building was huge.

Lorraine was unfazed.

She marched straight up to the main desk with Rivalz in tow. The secretary on duty barely had the change to look up before Lorraine was upon her. "We have an appointment with Baron Claude."

The secretary looked surprised, not many people had this type of boldness and audacity. "Y-your name?" he stuttered slightly.

"Lorraine," came the response.

The secretary looked down at his desk before finding the appropriate time and name. "Ah yes, Baron Claude is expecting you on level 200. He will be notified of your arrival."

Lorraine nodded to signify her thanks before turning towards the steel elevator doors. Once again, Rivalz could do nothing but follow her. After a short wait, the doors opened, revealing a stylish steel interior with mirrored walls and golden accents. Lorraine pressed the button labeled "200" and they were on their way.

Rivalz, who was still nervous, asked her, "So...do you have a strategy or something? To win?"

"Of course," she smirked. "Win."

Rivalz was slightly disappointed, but only voiced it with a small, "Oh."

Before long, a small ding was heard, and the doors opened. It revealed quite an intimidating sight; the room was brightly illuminated, with body guards at attention by the doorway. What could only be assumed as the Baron's desk was placed at the back, near large windows that had a magnificent view of the whole Tokyo Settlement. Baron Claude, in all his large glory, sat behind a behind a small table with a standard chess board in top. Lorraine was not impressed. However, Rivalz was shaking in nervousness.

The baron called out to them, "My, my. When I received a challenge, I didn't expect my opponents to be two young school children." His voice reeked of privilege and greed, two things that Lorraine hated.

"I guess the match should be no problem for you, then," countered Lorraine.

Baron Claude looked surprised for a second, before throwing his head back and laughing an obnoxious laugh. "It seems as if you have lots of spirit." His eyes narrowed at her, "But I don't mind putting you in your place."

On this inside, both Lorraine and Rivalz were disgusted, but neither showed it. Instead, she did not reply, which seemed the amuse Claude.

"What will you take?" the baron asked them.

"Black," was Lorraine's response. At this, the large man's grin grew slightly wider.

"As you wish," he answered mockingly. Again, she did not reply. The two of them began to arrange their pieces in their proper positions.

When they finished, Lorraine turned back to her partner and said, "Don't get too comfortable. This shouldn't take much time at all." He nodded back to her, yet he was still very nervous about the outcome of this match.

Across the table, Baron Claude's face was slowly becoming red with anger. "Don't underestimate me, girl! You're much too young and much to arrogant to be challenging me like this!"

Instead of being intimidated or showing fear, Lorraine raised her eyes off of the board slowly. "We'll see about that, Baron. However, it is you who is underestimating me."

(Line Break)

Rivalz was still in shock. He hadn't said a single word since the elevator ride down, which was rather unusual for him; he was normally much more talkative. However, this time he had good reason to stay quiet. Ahead of him, Lorraine walked with purpose, as if nothing had just happened. The briefcase clutched in Rivalz hands said differently.

As the two of them approached the motorbike, it all began to sink in. "Oh my god..." Rivalz whispered.

Lorraine stopped her march. "Yes?"

"We won...we won!" he exclaimed with joy. We made it out of their alive!

Lorraine watched him with amusement. "Technically, I won the game," she corrected him.

Rivalz wasn't deterred in the slightest. "We still won!"

And they had. Lorraine had beaten the noble in under ten minutes, something that Rivalz had only dreamed of doing. The girl's natural talent and cunning for chess was absolutely amazing to watch. The way that Lorraine tore Baron Claude apart was frightening. Rivalz was glad that he was not on the opposite end of that deal. Instead, he was now much richer.

"Now," Lorraine started, "You will receive 30% of the winnings. I will take 50%, and Ashford Academy will receive the remaining 20%. I hope you have no problem with this."

"Of course not!" Rivalz responded quickly. "I feel literally 30,000 pounds better!"

She smiled at him, a genuine smile this time. "I would also like you to arrange further meetings with various nobles for me in the future. Your 30% cut will remain the same. Unless you're unwilling to do so, that is."

Again, he responded without hesitation. "Just drive you around and make arrangements? Of course! I'd have to be stupid to turn down such a good offer."

Lorraine's smile, one that most people at Ashford Academy would probably never get to see, became even wider.

"Well, Rivalz Cardemonde, I hope that this is the start to a wonderful business relationship."

And it was.

Author's Note:

Well, Shiranai Atsune, I hope that you enjoyed. This one is for you.

Now, some of you may be confused as to why Fem!Lelouch has such a different name. I know that many other stories with a similar premise give her names like "Leloucia" or "Luluko" or something like that, but I wanted to do something different. To me, Lorraine Lamperouge is more like a different version of Lelouch, so to speak. Different version, different name. If I stuck with a name more similar to Lelouch, so would the personality of my character. The different between Lorraine and Lelouch will eventually present itself more in further chapters.

I also chose Lorraine for more reasons than just that. Lorraine is a French name, which is fitting because Marianne vi Britannia was a French commoner. It makes sense. I also chose Lorraine for its phonetic sound. When said outloud, Lorraine sounds similar to "la reine", which is French for "the queen". The symbolism explains itself.

I chose to write the beginning of Lorraine's and Rivalz's relationship because I thought it gave me more opportunities to present something new. For example, Lorraine's mysterious and cold behavior towards people who she would eventually become close friends with. It's nice to add my own take to the regular CG Universe and canon.

Now, I'm going to start working on the next update of Thoughts of Truth. When that's all wrapped up, I'll work on the next installment of The Human Element. I'm trying to alternate between the two to keep myself interested.

As for myself, nothing much happening. I'm trying to figure out my schedule for uni, and I may or may not be going out of town soon. We'll see! Thank you all for reading, I really appreciate it. I'll see you guys in the next update.

DYFM out!