Lelouch enters his quarters in Ikaruga and removes his Zero mask, taking great care in placing it on its shelf. Unclipping his cloak and hanging it in the closet, he loosens his collar and sits tiredly on the couch after a long day of planning and strategizing with Tohdoh and Ougi – his eyes automatically closing.

Despite having the emperor locked inside that system, Lelouch cannot fully relax on executing his plans especially when Nunnally is still not with him. As long as his younger sister is out there, Lelouch will continue to fight and destroy those who would attempt to endanger her well-being.

But still, it is a welcomed relief to have his enemies reduced. His greatest enemy to be removed.

"W-Welcome back, Master."

A soft, hesitant voice infiltrates his already resting mind. Opening his eyes, he finds C.C. standing beside the book shelf. She wrings her hands while waiting for an order from him. That's how she functions nowadays, through orders and commands and Lelouch finds it hard to accept that the once stubborn, selfish, willful witch had become someone who only lives if she is only told so. Become. No, that is not the right word. C.C. returned to how she was before acquiring geass. And he is badly hoping that this wouldn't be permanent.

"C.C. how long have you been standing there?" he worriedly asks. She makes herself so small that he cannot feel her presence anymore.

"Since you left, Master."

Since he left? But that was three hours ago.

"Come here." With shaky legs, the girl slowly makes her way to him until she is standing beside Lelouch. "Sit down." She obeys.

"Why did you stay like that? You should have sat down or taken a nap," he gently tells her.

"I… I need to guard Master's belongings," is her simple answer.

Lelouch sighs. "I told you, no one can enter this room aside from me. Are you hungry?"

C.C. shakes her head. "Can I do anything for you? I can massage your back or your feet. Master seems tired."

It is a tempting offer but no, Lelouch cannot accept that from her. He cannot let her be more of a slave when she isn't anymore.

"I'm fine. I'll tell Sugiyama to cook some food for us."

"I can cook!" C.C. appeals at which Lelouch raises a brow. "... A little bit," she says weakly. "My former master said that the food I made were good enough to eat."

"As long as you're with me, you are not a slave, C.C. You are free to move however you wanted without orders. I am not your master so you can stop calling me that."

The girl gasps, her innocent golden eyes widening. "I can't do that, Master. Master is the kindest master I've ever had and I cannot disrespect you like that."

"C.C…."

"And Master even gave me a new unique name." She blushes.

In a different circumstance, he would have find the situation amusing – empowering even – for he had made the immortal witch blush, something she had never done during their stay together. But this is not her. And he hasn't come to terms if this side of hers is something he can get used to in the long run.

Suddenly, the intercom switches on making C.C. jump.

"Zero, this is Tohdoh. I have some papers that I need to consult with you."

Standing up, Lelouch retrieves his mask. Before wearing it, he motions for C.C. to hide behind the shelves.

The plan was to face Tohdoh and invite him to the conference room where they would discuss his problem. He has been keeping C.C. from the Black Knights for the meantime, telling them that she is sick. The current state of the witch is too delicate and vulnerable to be surrounded by the rowdy members particularly Tamaki.

But his plan immediately vanishes as soon as the door opens and Tamaki who is with Tohdoh, enters his quarters without any qualms and sits on the couch.

"Wow! So this is how it looks like in the inside. This is nice and comfortable. Yo, Zero, can we also have our own television in our rooms?"

"Tamaki," Lelouch warns.

"Zero, here is the plan for getting the viceroy and retrieving Kallen. I made some adjustments with the teams since we added more members."

Taking the papers from Tohdoh, Lelouch decides to conduct the meeting here in the fastest way possible. At the very least, he can monitor Tamaki's movements. He just hopes that C.C. is fine behind the shelves.

They gather around the center table with Lelouch examining Tohdoh's proposal.

"Actually," Tohdoh starts. "I'm also here to ask for clarification in another plan with C.C. Can she give us a little time to discuss it with her?"

"She's still not well. Let me see." The older man gives him another folder with the words 'Operation Pepperoni' printed at the cover. He smiles at the silliness.

"I can't believe that a bitch like her can get sick. Maybe her sassiness got the better of her."

Tamaki should be thankful that Lelouch's hands are full right now. Fortunately, Tohdoh has the initiative to reprimand his subordinate.

As Lelouch scans 'Operation Pepperoni', he realizes that he cannot decipher C.C.'s codes and terms. What does 'attack with hot sauce' mean? And this 'activate cheddar cheese'? Then another statement that says, 'hit with molten mozzarella'. Good gracious, what had the witch been doing whenever he was in school?

"Tohdoh, are you certain that this is the plan?" he asks.

The man looks at him seriously. "Yes. The first part was already executed without any trouble. Now we are on the second stage, but Tamaki lost the 'Definition of Terms' page," Tohdoh answers while glaring at Tamaki.

"Hey, it's not my fault that C.C. used those dumb codenames for that critical plan. If only she spoke like a normal human being, we won't be needing that page."

"Tamaki, could you lower your voice?" says Lelouch calmly.

But the rebel does not heed. "Where is she anyway? What is her sickness?"

"Shut up, Tamaki, and sit still," Tohdoh tells him. "So is it possible to talk to her? We are approaching the scheduled time for execution and we won't be able to begin without clarifying this matter."

Closing the folder and placing it on the side, Lelouch sees from his peripheral vision that Tamaki had stood up and is now inspecting the bookshelf.

"I'll just relay this to her when she wakes up. I'll also just send you my findings in the adjustments that you made." He stands up, ending their discussion quickly. "I'll see you – "

"Found you!"

Tamaki's boisterous voice catches their attention and when they turn to him, Lelouch finds him holding C.C. by her arm and dragging her out of her hiding place. C.C. whimpers and tries to resist the man's hold but she is just too weak against him. Without any thought, Lelouch approaches them and pulls Tamaki's hand away from her. He puts himself between them, completely hiding the trembling girl from his audience. Lelouch can clearly feel the fear and panic of the witch behind him.

"Enough of your childishness, Tamaki!" he shouts, stunning everyone.

Tamaki, realizing that he had gone too far and pissed off their commander, backs off. "H-Hey, I'm sorry, Zero. I was just messing with her. Yo, C.C.!" He jumps and tries to look over Lelouch's shoulder. "Hope you'll get well soon!"

"Let's go, Tamaki. I apologize for this scumbag, Zero. I'll wait for your assessment."

As soon as he is certain that the pair has left, Lelouch removes his Zero mask and turns around to check on C.C. The poor girl is cowering with her arms up infront of her. When Lelouch attempts to calm her down by touching her shoulder, the girl steps away from him. "I'm so sorry," she whimpers.

Gently, Lelouch grabs her wrist and slowly puts down her arm until he can clearly see her face. Eyes, turned down, lips in a frown, C.C. refuses to look at him. "They're gone now. And you didn't do anything wrong."

Finally meeting his eyes, C.C. nods and follows him to the couch. She worriedly eyes the papers and folders on the table while Lelouch makes a call to Sugiyama to bring them food. Upon doing so, he notices the reddish mark on C.C.'s skin where Tamaki had grabbed her. That dumbass. No wonder the witch was too afraid earlier.

As soon as their food arrives, Lelouch quickly devours his. He doesn't realize how hungry he is until he had a taste of Sugiyama's cooking. He is almost half into his food when he notices that C.C. isn't eating. He sighs. She still does not move on her own.

"It's okay. You can eat."

"Yes, Master."

She enthusiastically takes a scoop of the soup and her subtle squeal of delight does not escape Lelouch's ears.

"It's delicious, right?"

"Yes! I never had a food this delicious and much. Thank you, Master!"

Lelouch frowns at the thought. "Your former master didn't treat you well?"

She shakes her head as she chews on the meat. "They only let me eat two meals a day with very little amount. Mostly leftovers from their table."

"And what do you do for them?"

"Uhmmm. Everything. I clean the house in the morning. Feed the animals, wash them and their pens. Then I tend to the garden. On the weekends, I wash their clothes and beddings. Sometimes, they would bring me with them when they go hunting so I could take care of the carcass."

"Where do you sleep?"

"In the shed, together with the horses. Uhhh… uhmmm. They put chain around my ankle so I couldn't escape."

Lelouch remembers what he saw inside C.C.'s memory – a young girl, battered and weak trudging alone on the road, falling right infront of him. A young C.C. not knowing what her purpose on living but not wanting to die. C.C. who deep inside her heart just wanted to be loved and accepted by other people. For a person with a tragic childhood like hers, a genuine love from someone is the most precious gift she can ever receive.

"I promise you that you shall not experience those things in here," he declares. "You are free and you are your own person. You will sleep on the bed and eat as much as you want. You can tell me whatever you wanted to say and I will listen."

"L-Like a friend?" she asks innocently. Her round golden eyes looking up at him in wonder.

"Yes. Like a friend."

Another blush and a shy smile. "Thank you. You are my first friend, Master."

Lelouch does not know when he dozed off. He is just suddenly awakened from his nap by soft mumblings. Slightly opening his eyes, he realizes that he is still on the couch, though he is already lying down with a pillow under his head. He looks around for the source of the mumblings and finds C.C. sitting on the floor infront of the table, pen and paper in hand, trying to read the folders that Tohdoh brought earlier.

"I can read a little."

Silently, Lelouch watches her as she struggles to read the words on the paper.

"Gef… Gefj… Gefyun… Gefjun dis…tur… ber. Gefjun disturber." She copies it on her paper.

"Hye… Hi…" Her brows furrow. "Hay? He… How do you read this?" she mumbles. "Hy… dro? Hydro… canon? What is that?" Scribble, scribble.

"K… K-N-I? Kn… Knight…mare. Knightmare."

"One, two, five, eight. One hundred two five eight. One twenty-five eight. One two hundred five eight." She frowns. "I don't know how to read this number. How can I help the mister if I don't know what he was talking about?"

Mister? Oh, she must be referring to Tohdoh. She must have heard that Tohdoh was looking for her earlier. So she is doing this to help him. Lelouch finds it quite considerate and adorable of her. Adorable? He wants to laugh. He can't believe that he just used that word to describe C.C. That witch would have mocked him endlessly if she hears his thoughts. Ah, damn it. He can't believe that he is actually missing her.

When he wakes up again from another nap, he finds C.C. sleeping with her head on the table. Lelouch gets up and tries to shake her awake but the girl is so deep into dreamland. With no other choice, he puts his arm under her legs and carries her to their room, careful not to wake her up and caused another panic. He lays her down on the bed and covers her body with the blanket. Then, he exchanges his Zero outfit with a more comfortable white polo and pants and gets under the blanket with her.

As soon as his back hits the soft cushion, the stress for the day immediately evaporates making him groan in pleasure. A movement on his left makes him stiffen, afraid that he had awakened her. But no, the witch just moves nearer him and snuggles at his side like a child snuggling to her parent. She murmurs incoherently in her sleep with only the words, "Thank you, Master," as the audible ones.

Lelouch gazes at her peaceful face and recalls the fright and panic he had felt when he thought that C.C. was going to die. How his mind desperately searched for words to convince her not to leave him alone in this battle that they started together. He recalls the moment when realization dawned on him. That C.C. acted so cold during their confrontation at C's World so that he would hate her, so that he would leave her, so that he wouldn't get to have the curse of immortality just like what she did to her past contractors. They despised and left her after showing them glimpses of her past, hating her without knowing the truth. Because after all this time, she is just too soft-hearted. For a selfish and willful witch, C.C. has a heart as soft and fragile as a child.

And look where her stubbornness brought her. He does not know what she had done to get reverted to her slave self. Heck, he does not know if she still has the code or where her code is now. If she is still immortal. He carefully lifts up her bangs and gazes at her smooth blank forehead. Did Charles succeed on acquiring her code? Is she a normal human being now?

If so, then he cannot have her on the frontline of battle anymore. He cannot risk her getting hurt and injured, or worse getting killed. Lelouch closes his eyes. C.C. dying? That is such a foreign concept to him. No matter how many times he had seen her die over and over in her memories, he still cannot stomach the thought of her dying. That's why he always cautioned her whenever she would go out in a battle. It still hurt her, she had said. She could still feel pain despite being immortal. But now…

Ah, he cannot lose her now, can he? Be it the witch or the slave who is with him, he cannot lose C.C. He cannot imagine being alone in this fight. She had been a permanent fixture in his life now – his guardian, reason, conscience and even antagonist. His accomplice. She is his… what was he trying to say in C's World back then? He cannot remember.

When they finally get Nunnally back, he will find a safe place where she and C.C. could reside without being hurt by anybody. He had another person to take care of but he won't complain.

After all, C.C. had been taking care of him all this time. It is time to show his deep gratitude to her.

Before going to sleep, Lelouch whispers her real name, strands of her green hair move along his breath, and a gentle smile appears on her lips.