Non Zero Sum Game

By Lord Raa

Disclaim-me-do: If you're a thicko, when people say "index finger" they mean the one people generally use for pointing at things.

Chapter 10

C.C. was having a pleasant dream about a long walk on a sunny afternoon with Lelouch vi Britannia.

They walked through a well manicured park, marvelling at the varieties of flowers and trees. People were looking at them, some were gently scoffing at their handholding, but Lelouch didn't care about their opinions on their relationship.

He only cared that she was happy.

It was so refreshing to find a man who didn't focus on his own gratification these days.

That he was capable of bringing her to leg-shaking orgasm with a light touch to the top of her head was just a bonus.

The dream continued, with Lelouch leaning in to kiss her on the forehead, when a voice entered C.C.'s mind.

"¬Hey, C.C.!¬"

The immortal woman ignored it, her fantasy continuing with the prince about to show her some affection when the voice shouted at her again.

"¬HEY! C.C.!¬"

C.C. sighed as she realised who it was that was contacting her. "What now?"

"¬I met Lelouch earlier! Well, with this body, I did. He's so handsome!¬"

"I know," C.C. replied. "Can't this wait?"

"¬Well, no. This is the first chance I've had to come to the fore today. Not only did I meet Lelouch in person, but he gave me a headpat. Fuck me, I've never had one like it!¬"

"Neither had I until today," the sleepy woman admitted. "But aside from how Lelouch gives great headpats, what else did you want to tell me?"

"¬I have to get my own body back! Momma needs some action, ASAP!¬"

"I can't help with that right now. I haven't even convinced him to make a contract with me."

"¬Right, right. Look, keep him safe. I know that he's got bodyguards, but they can't take hits like you can. If you keep him safe and well and ready for my turn, I'll let you into his harem.¬"

"You'll let me into his harem?" C.C. repeated. "You make it sound like you have any authority when it comes to Lelouch. Besides, his sisters are the ones who are making that decision."

"¬But they want him for themselves… Well, not Cornelia. She only wants Euphie. But Euphie and Nunnally want a sex sandwich with a Lelouch filling. If they're in charge of it, they'll freeze you out!¬"

"We'll see about that. Now, if you don't mind, you were interrupting a nice dream. Good night, Marianne."

Lelouch was looking up at the ceiling of his room as he considered recent events.

It would seem that he was the perfect incarnation for the degeneracy that was his heritage. A man capable of causing people to orgasm with a single touch, able to cause people to lose control and debase themselves.

If Clovis had it, he would use this power to humiliate every married couple in the world. No woman would be safe from his lecherous grasp.

'At least if Cornelia had it, she would only use it on Euphie…'

But then, another thought occurred to the young prince. Having this power meant that he could have some influence over people. He could use it to get what he wanted.

"Whatever that is," he muttered.

Lelouch was not certain what he wanted. Sure, he wanted his twin sister to be safe and he wanted to know more about the circumstances surrounding the death of his mother. After that though? The future was far too hazy for Lelouch to think about right now.

It was like his time back in Pendragon, he was too focused on the here and now to plan things out properly. And now that he had this… blessing? Curse? However you described it, it had only increased the chances of him being sexually assaulted.

Long term planning was not something the Lelouch would have the opportunity to do at the moment. Perhaps it would be best if he lived like a hermit? At least that way, he could remain unmolested.

No, that would be a lonely existence, one that he had no real desire to experience. Besides, Nunnally would be upset if he wasn't in her life any more.

He let out a sigh and rolled over. "I hope that cat is OK."

In her room, Nunnally was reviewing her day's entry in her journal. She'd learned a lot today, and felt it was necessary to make a note of what she'd discovered.

Not only was Lelouch's touch magical, but it was not gender or species specific. Men, women and cats could all be affected by even the most fleeting of caresses from the prince's hand.

'¬To make Cornelia, a woman who dislikes the idea of being intimate with a man, pull Lelouch in for a kiss… Truly he has the divine touch.¬'

'¬It might be possible to use Lelouch's power for diplomacy. Once Father and Schneizel learn of this, they're going to attempt to, if not weaponise it, at least have Lelouch greeting dignitaries at summits and treaty negotiations.¬'

Nunnally knew that as soon as her diary had been locked away, she'd be masturbating herself to sleep. She needed her brother's touch. She let out a sigh as she recalled just how prudish he was.

"Wait…"

The pen was picked up and the princess started to add more to her entry.

'¬I noticed that after Euphie started to rub herself against Lelouch, he started to get a semi. I realise that this must have been a friction-induced reaction, but it was still a reaction! I won't lie, I did think about jumping on him and riding him. It would have been fun, but with Lelouch, we have to go at his pace. To push things too far would cause him to retreat further away from the carnal arts and the pleasures of the flesh.

'¬I can't let that happen: It would be a crime against sexuality.

'¬I have no reason to doubt that if it was another woman, one who wasn't related to him, Lelouch would have had more of a reaction. I'm going to need a suitable test subject.¬'

Nunnally was about to close the journal for the day when she recalled one last piece of information and wrote it down.

'¬Lelouch mentioned that there was someone who he approved of as a potential boyfriend. Any other twinned prince would have put himself in that position, but with Lelouch, I can't help but feel that he wants more genetic diversity in the ruling line. Lelouch is very protective of me, so it would have to be someone he trusts not to hurt me. I'll get him to tell me more tomorrow.¬'

Euphemia and Cornelia lay sated in each other's arms, their bodies slick with the drying fluids from their most recent act of physical intimacy.

"Euphie…" the pilot said softly, unsure if her lover had already fallen asleep.

"Yes?" came the reply.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," Cornelia said, giving her sister a gentle squeeze. "I know I teased you about Lelouch, but after his touch tonight… Well, I love you and I will always love you. There's no-one I'd rather be with."

Euphie smiled. She recalled her dry-humping of Lelouch, though there was nothing dry about her womanhood.

"I understand, Cornelia. I love you, too," the pink-haired princess sighed happily. "If only we could get Lelouch to join us…"

"Nunnally would be so jealous," the elder sister smirked. There was a pause as Cornelia considered her next words. "Is it bad that I want to make her jealous? I don't mean keep Lulu to ourselves, but imagine the look on her face if she was to walk in on the three of us."

"That'd be so naughty!" Euphie said, shocked by the suggestion.

"Obviously, I'd let her join us, Euphie! I'm not a monster. I just think it would be funny for her to see her twin brother's first time be with someone else."

"I don't know…"

"Don't forget that she talked us into doing it with Lelouch." Cornelia kissed Euphemia on the top of the head. "I'm not going to do anything to hurt my favourite sisters."

There was another pause.

"I know I'm a little overprotective of you, but you are the special person in my life. The reason I get up in the morning and I don't know what I'd do if I lost you. But with that said, I think that I can let you do it with Lelouch and Nunnally. Either of them, together or separately, I don't mind. Just promise me you'll come back to me."

"Of course I'll come back to you!" Euphie said, shifting her position to look her sister in the eye. She kissed Cornelia on the lips. "There's you, Nunnally and Lelouch. And now that we've found them again, we can be together forever!"

Kallen Stadtfeld was unsure of what was going to happen today at school. Now that her parents and her resistance cell were both pushing her to make a move on Lelouch, the pressure was mounting.

Pressure that she wasn't sure she knew how to handle.

She also knew that there was a good chance that Milly Ashford was going to tease her about seeing Lelouch after school. It wasn't like she'd done anything to embarrass herself during the brief encounter with the prince, just a basic greeting and then that cat appeared.

The redhead was beginning to think that coming to school was a bad idea and was about to see if she could duck out of her lessons when Nunnally approached her.

"Hello, Kallen."

"Nunnally, what are you doing here? I mean, hi."

"So, I wanted to talk to you about last night…"

"Ah, well…"

"I approve of you and Lelouch," Nunnally smiled. "Obviously we have to go at the right pace, and there are other factors to consider, but I think you and Lelouch could be happy together."

"Thanks," Kallen smiled, her cheeks colouring. "Though, what factors are you referring to?"

"All in good time," the princess grinned.

In a secured location, Kaname Ohgi was talking with some other resistance leaders. Their conversation was currently about Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi.

"He was a symbol," Kenji Shinozaki said, his heart heavy with what he was about to add. "But I cannot say that I was behind his demand for everyone in Japan to fight the Britannians in a death or glory last stand. It's one thing for us to give our lives for our freedom, but can we expect children and old ladies to fight a Knightmare Frame?"

"I don't think he meant to send out a battalion of pensioners with bombs strapped to their chests in a suicide rush," Ohgi countered. He paused as he could feel that there was still some disagreement about Kururugi and his plan. "We will have to move on from the last days of the war if we're to come up with a decision about what to do about his son, Suzaku."

"What's the public's opinion on Kururugi?" asked Shinozaki. "Senior, I mean."

"How do I put this? There are… certain rumours that circulated," Jiro Tamura said. "Rumours that don't paint him in the best of lights."

"What kind of rumours?"

"Again, these are just rumours, but it was suggested that they should sell a Britannian child to a brothel."

Shinozaki looked shocked at what he was hearing. How could someone in a position like prime minister even contemplate selling a child.

"What? What child? When? And who told you that?" Ohgi demanded.

"It's… Well, the rumours say that it's something that was talked about in cabinet meetings off the record," another cell leader said, shifting uncomfortably. "The child was Princess Nunnally."

Given that the death of her mother sparked the war, selling Princess Nunnally to a brothel would have signed the death warrants of everyone in Japan, even with the rumours of what the Britannians got up to in their bedrooms. What the Romans did to the city of Carthage would have looked like a polite disagreement between two friendly neighbours compared to what the Britannians would have done to the archipelago.

"Speaking of Princess Nunnally, I have an operative in her and her brother's class at Ashford."

All eyes turned to Ohgi.

"Ah, yes, you mentioned this. You were looking to gain influence over him, how's that going?" Shinozaki asked.

"Not well. I mean, my operative is trying the 'school romance' angle, but it seems that Lelouch is a complicated fellow."

"Complicated as in he's got so many fetishes, that he gets bored easily?"

"More like he doesn't have any," Ohgi answered. "Obviously, I haven't met him, and I'm only going on what I'm told, but he's not really like any other Britannian. He's… well, not perverted."

There was some mocking laughter. A Britannian who wasn't perverted? That was like finding a fish that hated water.

"I'm serious, K- my operative tells me he doesn't leer at his classmates. Not even his twin sister."

"I've met your operative, and she's cute. If Lelouch isn't interested in her, you need to find a man who's willing to seduce him."

"He's not interested in men, either," said Ohgi. "But, there is something else that I need to tell you. Apparently, Lelouch has a magic touch. He's skilled at headpats. Like, he can make you weak at the knees with them."

"Preposterous. The only way a headpat can make you weak at the knees is if you're getting head at the same time!" Tamura sneered. "Your operative is just a sexually frustrated schoolgirl."

"She saw male classmates get boners from a single headpat. How do you explain that?"

"They're Britannians: They're all fucked up."

"Gentlemen, please," Shinozaki appealed for calm. "We'll deal with the headpats later. What we need to do is formulate a suitable seduction plan. Shiro, go get us some fresh tea. We may be here some time."

Schneizel el Britannia was reading through the evening BELI briefing report he'd been handed. He was surprised to learn that headpats were causing a stir in Area 11.

'I thought the Elevens were more into their groping on public transport and bukkake,' the prince mused as he looked at the trends that had shown the greatest movement. It was then that he saw the section that would be redacted for the general publication.

"Lelouch can make you climax from a single touch?"

Further reading indicated that the moniker 'Prince of Headpats' was circulating from several sources and they all referred to the lost prince, Lelouch vi Britannia. The redaction was for security purposes, but the reference that there was a young man with a divine hands that could bring pleasure with a single touch would be published.

Schneizel placed the report down and reached for his drink. "The gods have played a cruel joke on Lelouch to do this to him. For such a prude to become a god of foreplay…"

The prince shook his head before taking a sip of his drink, a blend of Caribbean coffee and rum.

"Wait, we might be able to use this…"

Placing down his cup, Schneizel started to draft a memo, hoping that his father would approve of his plan to quell rebellious sentiment in Area 11. After all, there was that incident with a secure facility in the Tokyo region that was still under investigation. Who knew what the strength of the rebels was? They might have some old Knightmare Frames. Which, while not a real match for the latest models the Britannian Army was fielding, it could still cause them problems.

Especially if Clovis' troops were too focused on keeping their viceroy's hands of their girlfriends.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Emperor Charles zi Britannia stepped into the office, his large frame looking particularly intimidating that evening.

"What can I do for you, Father?" the Prince asked, rising from his seat.

"I want to talk to you about the latest BELI report."

"About the 'Prince of Headpats'?"

"Yes," Charles confirmed as he took a seat. "Do you really believe that Lelouch might be some kind of foreplay savant?"

Schneizel nodded. "The gods can be cruel, and I think they would have cursed Lelouch like that. I imagine he would make an excellent all-round lover, but be quite poor at the mechanical aspects of sex."

"A two pump chump?" the Emperor asked, slightly amused by the rhyming couplet. "He might even be unable to have children. But that's for another time. It's his headpats that we need to investigate."

"I was just thinking the same thing, Father. In fact, I was drafting a memo. I want to use it to help placate the Elevens."

Charles smiled. "Excellent work, son."

"But what about Lelouch?"

"What about him?"

"Well," Schneizel said as he reached for his coffee, "Shouldn't he have some say in this? Won't Nunnally protest at her brother being used in such a way?"

"Perhaps. But duty to the Empire comes first," the Emperor replied. After a moment, spoke again. "Tell Lloyd Asplund he's got a new priority for his research. Research that might require Nunnally's help."

"Ah, I see," the Prince nodded knowingly.

During a meeting of the Student Council, Milly Ashford was casting a couple of speculative glances at Lelouch and Kallen.

Milly had always felt that there was something faintly exotic about the redhead. It was quite alluring, but the student president never had the time to explore things further. However, her grandparents had told her that if something was important, you should make the time for it and that advice was now being put into practice.

Kallen was a good girl, though not exactly a prime candidate for the average Britannian Prince. She was beautiful, buxom and had a feisty streak. The sort of young woman who was desirable to many but was too much to handle for most admirers.

Aside from his long standing habit of being horrified by displays of human sexuality, Lelouch was the sort of person who would take the path of least resistance. The sort of person who would put in the minimum amount of effort possible. His grades were good, but nothing spectacular. He avoided physical exercise whenever possible. He was not the sort of person who could handle a firebrand like Kallen.

And yet, the more Milly thought about the two, the more she felt that they might actually be more compatible than many people might think.

Kallen seemed to share Lelouch's distaste of normal Britannian behaviour and, in a way, they were both rebels.

'It helps that they're kind of cute together…' the blonde mused. A thought occurred to her. 'Maybe I should push them together? Not lock them in a bedroom, but arrange for them to spend more time together?'

Nunnally threw a questioning look at Milly before gesturing at her brother and Kallen. She gave her approval with a single nod. The was a lull in the meeting and the princess took the opportunity to ask a question that she had been wondering the answer to since last evening's dinner with her family.

"So," Nunnally said casually, "I believe that there's one last order of business that we need to discuss before ending today's meeting. Something that came up during dinner with the Viceroy."

"Oh?" Milly asked.

"Yes. Lelouch, last night, you said that there was someone you might consider suitable for dating me."

"I did?" Lelouch blinked in surprise. He'd expected there to be more talk about headpats today, and had spent most of his cognitive function trying to figure out ways to avoid touching people. The mention of a potential suitor for his sister had taken him by surprise. "Oh yes, I did. Sorry, do we have to do this now? It's just that I don't want people to think that I'm trying to force someone into doing something they don't want to."

"I think we all want to know who meets your standards," the princess replied.

"I… Well… I haven't talked to them about it yet."

"Well, since this is unofficial, we'll leave this part out of the minutes," Milly said, gesturing to the secretary.

"Promise me that you won't confront them or try to bully them or basically do anything about this," Lelouch said solemnly. "If you do, I'll consider a personal insult and an attack on Nunnally."

Nunnally shivered in pleasure at the way her brother was trying to keep her safe. It was his protective nature that was part of his appeal. That and his handsome face and now it turns out that he had a magical touch. 'If only he had tried the old "it's safe in my bed" ploy…'

The rest of the Student Council agreed to Lelouch's conditions.

The Prince of Headpats took a deep breath. "I… The person I think that might be suitable for Nunnally's boyfriend, and I hasten to add that I haven't made any final decision on this, is Suzaku Kururugi."

"Wait, what?"

"Who?"

"An Eleven?"

Kallen blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Lelouch to be so open to an interracial relationship; perhaps she did have a chance to get close to him after all?

"Suzaku Kururugi?" Nunnally repeated. A smile forming on her delicate lips. "Yes, I think I'll ask him out later."

"Seriously? He's an Eleven!"

"He is cute though," the princess countered. "He's a soldier, too. He can protect me. And I'll literally be princess carried!"

Milly nodded. Being carried in the arms of a strong man was a classic fantasy and if Suzaku Kururugi was a soldier, he would certainly be strong enough to carry a slender girl like Nunnally.

"So it's decided, Nunnally will ask out Suzaku later and after that, we can start focusing on the draw for Lelouch's date for the festival. How many entries have we had so far?"

"Almost every girl at Ashford," Rivalz answered. 'Would have made me fat stack of cash, too, if you hadn't intervened!'

"Any teachers?" asked Shirley. It was bad enough that the odds of winning the draw were now one in a thousand, but a teacher might try to manipulate the result.

Everyone had seen the beauty that was Villetta Nu. Tall, toned and with an exotic appeal, the newest member of the faculty was an object of desire for many at Ashford Academy. If Lelouch's reluctance to be intimate with someone was because of their age and technical inability to consent, a woman like Ms. Nu would be the perfect solution.

"We thought about that, but it turns out that the law states that we have to limit it to students," Milly answered. "Teachers dating students is still technically a crime, after all."

"It's ridiculous!" Rivalz complained. "Hey, Nunnally, maybe you can ask your brother to make a 'Hot For a Lady Teacher' exemption for us? Even if it's only for festivals, it'll be better than a complete prohibition."

"I can try," Nunnally said, but her tone told everyone that she wasn't convinced it was going to work. "But the equality laws state that it'll have to be the same for everyone regardless of their gender. Rightly or wrongly, people have more issues with men dating their female students than women dating their male students."

It was then that shouts of commotion and the occasional gunshot started to ring out on the campus.

To be continued…