Death: Ah, yes. Been a while, hasn't it? There's this thing called Life. And College. They like to keep me very busy. But I have a few weeks left and then I have an entire month off for winter break. And then it's straight back into classes. How lovely. Without further ado, please enjoy.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Stage 07: Behind the Mask

=3=

There were essentially two different reactions within his mind that were so strong he couldn't move. He was at war with himself on whether he should flee or fight. Although he was having difficulty at discovering his own identity, he knew that it was Anghel who wished to flee while Lelouch was the one who wanted to stand ground. Strange, he thought, when this morning it was the complete opposite. Yet now as Zaniel stood before him in the flesh the circumstances have changed.

He was too caught up on how those eyes looked like her's more than his. He couldn't move under that intense gaze of pale violet. It was as if he was under a spell, a power of Geass as he stood frozen in time. But time wasn't frozen. He was still breathing, still blinking, and therefore it was safe to assume the young man before him did not possess the power of Kings.

"By the look on your face, you know who I am." The smile on that handsome face was too much like Lelouch's, it was weird to see it in a face so like Kallen's. "I'm glad. This means we don't have to play the pretend game."

He pulled away from the hand that had a gentle hold on his shoulder and backed away a few steps. It was then he realized that the young man in front of him stood a good foot higher than him. The aspect was frightening when the world became blurred once more. He must have been about to fall when Zaniel reached out to prevent him from falling.

"Easy there, the last thing I need is to explain how you got a nasty bump on your head. They would all think I had something to do with it." The redhead pulled the smaller boy closer so as to steady him.

It was then the Lamorak pilot whispered so softly he could barely hear the words spoken in Japanese. Though in this body it was a first for him to hear the hauntingly familiar language, he understood Zaniel clearly.

"If you even so much as step one centimeter out of line, I will personally see to it you will never see the light of day again."

He barely suppressed a shiver. While that may have been the most cliché threat he ever heard, the tone was enough to get the point across. Terrified as he was there was no way he was going to allow any weakness to show. And this was more than just his pride. As a son of an Earl and an emperor in the previous life, he can play this game.

The pair straightened, Zaniel still holding onto the shorter boy's arm as means of support. Though both knew the gesture was simply a reminder of the threat. Even so the younger instead smiled gratefully.

"Thank you for your help. I believe I can stand on my own now." The smile was beginning to crack under the terror he felt. But if he could welcome death with open arms, then this was nothing. "Now, if you would excuse me, I have to locate a certain green haired witch."

With that the shorter man turned and walked away. He could feel those pale violet eyes burning into his back as he retreated. He had the intense overwhelming feeling to run, but he could not and will not leave and give Zaniel the satisfaction in seeing him weak.

It wasn't until he had left the vicinity of the library did his legs weaken. He leaned against the nearest wall, hand reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose in disgust. It was a stupid move Zaniel did; it was well played, but stupid all the same. While on the outside he gave off the illusion of being a fellow comrade, secretly they were enemies on neutral ground. Zaniel made it clear there was no room for talking things over.

Not that he wanted to clear things up anyway. While he may have the obligation, it would be pointless giving out explanations when Zaniel wouldn't listen. Besides, biologically speaking he was no longer the boy's father. Therefore he didn't have the responsibility setting things right anyway.

'To think he could so easily affect me like this.' His body shuddered. 'He truly is Lelouch's son.'

There was a shadow of smile. It wasn't a smile, just the smallest of tugs on the corners of his mouth that widened into a predatory smirk. Shoulders straightened as he strolled down the hallway with an air of indifference. The smirk was still planted on his face, accompanied with a narrowed eye that seemed to be glaring at nothing in particular.

'Well,' he almost chuckled at the new stage of events that unfolded before him. 'At least I can't say this place won't be boring.'

=3=

Two days later the witch escorted him to one of three hangars that stored knightmare frames in the Lamorak. This particular hangar was where the Black Knights currently stored the Russian prototype he helped steal. He nearly scoffed when members referred to it as such when all he did was acquire it without the intentions of giving it back.

"So, what have you been able to gather so far about this prototype?" Zero was most curious despite the cautious tone in his voice the emulator couldn't hide.

"We're still decrypting the thing, stop trying to rush things." Lloyd waved off. "Thus far we can only go from what we've studied that night when it was its maiden battle. It can camouflage, becoming invisible to the naked eye. However, it can still be seen through heat signatures due to the core. So while as great as a technique this is, it still needs some development."

"What about the Geass portion? Have you been able to get that far in yet?"

Violet blue narrowed at the masked figure briefly with a frown of disappointment. He shouldn't be surprised Zero wouldn't want him of all people piloting the prototype. Still, to openly place such little trust in him was like a punch in the gut.

"I'm afraid you won't be able to get rid of me that easily." He casually stepped closer, frown upturned into a confident smile. "While waiting for your arrival I had the opportune moment to go over the basics with its creator."

"And? What did he tell you?" The Lancelot creator seemed most eager for any form of explanation about the prototype.

"He explained everything he could in the most boring and over dramatic monologues I have ever heard." The shortest boy deadpanned. "Not to mention I could barely understand a word he said with that thick accent of his."

"Cut to the chase. What did he tell you?" Zero crossed his arms.

'Impatient, aren't we? Patience was never one of your strong points, Suzaku.' The young man eyed the mask, his eyes burning through the annoying structure that prevented him from seeing Suzaku eye to eye. He silently took pleasure of seeing a shiver run through the masked figure.

"From what I could gather, this knightmare was programmed to be piloted from one person and one person only. The moment it turns on it reads the eye which holds the Geass power. The first Geass it reads stores into memory, forever answering to the individual of that Geass power. If someone else decided to pilot it, even with a Geass power, this knightmare compares the powers and if they don't match up it automatically shuts down and locks the intruder inside."

Zero stared at him disbelievingly. Sure, this would sound like something Lelouch would come up with to ensure the knightmare was to be piloted only by his hands. However, for once the young man spoke the truth. In the back of his mind he thanked the Geass Crusaders for going to great lengths into adding additional features other than the two main abilities that may or may not have worked.

"So you're saying that this knightmare frame will answer to only one deviser. So this was built for one individual in mind." Asplund's glasses flashed as he glanced over his shoulder to study the wolf like knightmare frame. "My guess was that this was meant to be yours all the along."

"Oh?" Violet blue eyes blinked innocently. "What makes you say that?"

"Well just by appearance alone it reminds me of Lelouch. By taking something as simple as a wolf and just in the right hands it can terrify friends and foes alike." Asplund flashed a wide crooked grin. "Not to mention Ambrose already has a personal knightmare to suit him. With the Seraphim in his hands, he has no need for a puny thing like this prototype. He probably had this built just for you since he wanted so desperately to recruit the Demon Emperor on his side."

"He would have succeeded, too." The short boy shrugged. "But he didn't take into account about Anghel."

"Are you saying Lelouch and Anghel are two separate people?" Zero inquired a little too curiously to the young man's liking.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" The young man appeared flabbergasted. "Lelouch and Anghel are one in the same. We're two sides of the same coin, yes, but we're the same coin. About the only difference between the two is that while Lelouch isn't afraid of getting his hands dirty, Anghel has higher set of values than that."

"Then who do you identify yourself as?" The voice immolator failed in covering up the dark tone of the man behind the mask.

'I seriously don't need this right now…Damn you, Suzaku.' The young man frowned as another headache began to form.

"Ask me again when I'm free from this chain." He indicated to the eye patch with disdain.

Feeling this could easily escalate into a heated argument he did the most sensible thing he could. The young man turned and calmly walked out of the hangar leaving behind confused and angry adults. On the outside he appeared as calm as the sea breeze, yet on the inside he was swelling with rage.

'Why do you always have to complicate things, Suzaku? A part of me wants to accept you with open arms while the other wants to take that prototype and flee from this cursed cage.' He seriously did not know how to act around this man.

When he had appeared in tow of C.C. in the hangar, Zero acted indifferently towards him. To top it off the man was treating him like some fragile art piece that should be handled with care. All right, he can concede that he did have his weak moments, but that doesn't mean he can't be treated normally!

It was the Thornberg Manor all over again.

Only instead of an overprotective mother and siblings he had Zero and the entire army of the Black Knights to deal with.

And the one time Zero wasn't treating him like glass, he had pushed too hard. He wasn't sure if the man was trying to test him or truly was that dense and stupid. He was starting to think it was a little bit of both.

In his musings he hadn't paid any attention to where he was going. He stopped upon turning a corner and realized he had no idea where he was. Why was the Lamorak built where the hallways were all the same? It didn't help there were no signs on which way he should go.

"Damn it, if I ever find out whoever planned the Lamorak to be a hazardous maze, I'm going to strangle them!"

In his blind panic he began running in random directions, hoping he could find something familiar. Just as he rounded a corner he ran straight into someone. The impact didn't seem to bother the walking wall compared to the young man who was now sprawled on the floor rubbing his forehead. He mumbled something along the lines of "undignified" when he opened his eyes to see a familiar face kneeling beside him.

Violet blue widened. "T…Tohdoh! I, um…I got lost and I couldn't find anyone."

'Oh yeah, nice recovery.' He mentally chided himself.

"The Lamorak is vast. It even took me two weeks to understand the layout." Tohdoh of Miracles offered a hand.

Confused at the hospitality from a usually stoic man, the young man accepted the offered help. Once on his feet he regained enough composure to study the former ally. Tohdoh has aged with streaks of gray in his hair, though there were still a few stubborn black streaks near his temples that refused to age. Wrinkles had sprouted mostly around his grey eyes than on his cheeks but even so he appeared just the same as the young man remembered.

"My, my, time seems to have done you some justice. Don't you have a spitfire of a daughter, though? I wonder if she's the cause of some of those grey streaks you've got." He couldn't help but jest. He wasn't sure if this man was still a friend or not.

"And time has been too kind for you it would seem." Tohdoh didn't smile, but his voice was genuine.

"It helps when I've been reborn into a new body." He let a smile come to fruit, but it lasted merely a few seconds before faltering. "Tohdoh, can I ask you something about Zero?"

"Depends. Are you asking about Zero, or Suzaku?" Tohdoh didn't meet his eye as he led the way. Mutually the young man followed seeing as how he had no idea where he was.

"…Suzaku, I suppose. I probably shouldn't be this surprised with the way Zero's been treating me. But I have yet to see him as Suzaku."

"All right, ask away and I just might humor you."

They were silent for a moment, both taking solace in the sound of their footsteps echoing around them. The young man was trying to figure out how to word his inquiry. Of course he wanted to know what changes have taken place in Suzaku, but it wasn't that important. Well it was, but he had something more worrying on his mind.

"Tell me, Tohdoh. Is the Suzaku I know dead, is he just a mere ghost wearing the mask? Or is he simply hiding behind the mask as means to mess with my head?" He paused in walking, staring at the floor with a strange look in his visible eye.

Tohdoh had taken roughly five more steps before stopping. He half turned to see a face he had admired as one of the greatest strategists of the century, someone he could respect and bow to even though Lelouch had used Geass to achieve the impossible time and time again. He was not used to seeing the face of Lelouch who was born with an air of confidence have such a defeated expression.

It made him appear more human, reminding Tohdoh that even those born to lead had their limits.

"I will admit that time has changed him, yes. But I think the burden of carrying the mask is starting to take its toll on him. And now with you reborn and your memories returned, the burdens he's carrying by himself have tripled in weight."

"Tripled, and not doubled?" The young man scoffed. "He always has the tendency to over react. It would seem he hasn't changed too much. But I had hoped…"

'I had hoped he would put the past behind him. See the mask as his way of rebirth, even if he didn't have a new body physically. What a fool I was to believe he could understand the orders I gave him.'

"While this may be an inappropriate time to ask, but do you see yourself as Lelouch, or Anghel?" Although Tohdoh wore a cautioned mask of his own, his voice was gentler than that of Zero's earlier.

The visible eye widened for a second. The young man lowered his head so the bangs overshadowed his eye while his hands clenched into tight fists. While the question still struck him to the very core he didn't have the same response as he did last time. He was not shown hostility, therefore he was not given a reason to flee or fight. Tohdoh understood him more than Suzaku.

"…When I think about Ambrose and the Geass Crusaders I can't think of nothing else but to demolish them, to crush them for what they've done. They may have tortured me, drugged me, while they hurt my pride that doesn't matter compared to how they interrupted the peace that I had. The peace I deserved after repenting all the sins of Lelouch. They deserve to be annihilated, reduced to nothing but a memory!"

"So then why are you hesitating in going down this path? You've been down this road before, what's stopping you now?"

"I want nothing more than do that! If it were under the same circumstances as last time, I'll gladly become the Demon Emperor the world knows of! It doesn't matter if I don't have the mask, I'll just become an emotionless tool!" He didn't know where these words and thoughts came from. All that mattered was getting them out in the open even if this man could easily say the word and he will never be part of this war. Suzaku admires and respects Tohdoh, he would gladly take any advice the old man would give seriously.

"But you can't do it. You said 'under the same circumstances', you mean the circumstances of the family you were born to don't you?"

The boy gasped, raising his head to peer at the old man through his bangs with a wild look.

"Don't look so surprised. While Zero and the rest of the Black Knights were hunting down the base those crusaders held you, I decided to do a deeper background check on your family and the circumstances of how you were raised. Although you were haunted by Lelouch's crimes, you were surrounded by love and affection from all around. We both know that if you walk down this path you will be turning your back on your family after all they've done for you. You know this, and so it would seem you have matured somewhat since the last time we met."

"It's more than just my family that's at stake! It's all the friends Lelouch made! Having all of his memories, they're my friends too! Now that the whole bloody world knows about me, time will tell when they're going to make inquiries. And then there's Suzaku. He keeps complicating everything! How the hell am I supposed to act around him when he keeps giving me mixed messages? The bloody fool! If he wants to regain our friendship from a lifetime ago, then he should have the audacity to say so!" At the last shout his eyes began to water. No, he will not show any weakness. Not here, not now, not in front of Tohdoh of Miracles.

For several moments the old man was speechless. He simply stared at the boy before him with shock. There was nothing else he could do with all of this ranting and revelations. He suspected it was the witch, the woman who was always by his side, who received all of the shouts when the boy was like this. But the boy standing in front of him wasn't Lelouch, therefore she didn't have the responsibility anymore. Tohdoh didn't know why he was the one the boy ranted to, but perhaps everyone needed a shoulder to lean on.

Although he hoped the boy wouldn't always turn to him, this conversation revealed to Tohdoh that things need to be cleared out between him and Suzaku. And preferably before these two butt heads, hopefully knightmare frames wouldn't be involved.

"It would seem you do have a heart after all. It just took someone like Anghel for it to be revealed. I'll see if I can have a talk with Suzaku. In the meantime, I think I may know how you can take your mind of these things." Before the boy could ask Tohdoh reached for his phone and dialed in a number. "Shiori, are you free at the moment?"

=3=

'How in the world did I end up like this again?'

He wasn't complaining, really, as he stared at the chess board in front of him. He just didn't expect such strange turn of events. First he was ranting his head off at Tohdoh of all people, next thing he knew he's having a chess match against the man's daughter Shiori in the now empty game room. Normally he didn't have this much luck concerning his relationships with those in the Black Knights. Maybe it was all due to the mask.

"So, you play chess exceptionally well." He noted, as she captured one of his castles. "It's been a while since I've had a challenge."

"What, didn't expect a girl to give you a hard time in the field you are best at?" She taunted him, mock glaring.

'She has guts, I'll give her that.' Though Shiori may have taken the after her father in appearance, her eyes were like that of Chiba's. Pale blue eyes had no effect on him, when compared to green or dark grey.

"No, of course not, I'm just surprised you show an interest. So when did you start playing?" He moved his black knight as set another plan into motion.

"I've been playing since I was eight. To be honest, I didn't like it first."

"Oh? Then why start playing at all if you didn't like it?" The young man raised an eyebrow.

"I actually played because Suzaku needed to get a better understanding of chess. He needed all the practice he could get so I volunteered." She moved her queen closer to the knight he moved earlier. "We eventually learned that the game is more than just a game. It's a game of strategy and tactics, something similar to the battle field. Once we started thinking like that something in us clicked. It was as if we were enlightened, and from that we began to enjoy chess. Since then we played whenever we could."

He stared at her thoughtfully. At one hand he was glad to hear Suzaku had taking a liking to chess. On the other hand it was clear that Suzaku didn't completely lose himself into the mask. Still, this only dampened his spirit even more.

'Why am I sulking, anyway? It's not like I shouldn't even be treated like someone normal. Still, what does having memories of my past life make me any different from this girl?'

He almost laughed out loud at that train of thought.

'It's because I was Lelouch.'

"Hey, you all right?" Shiori waved her hand in front of his face, interrupting his thoughts. He jerked away too suddenly, a reaction to being handicapped with an eye patch over one perfectly good eye. An eye with the power of Geass within, but still an eye was an eye. "Oh, sorry, didn't mean to frighten you."

"No, it's fine. I just…spaced out, that's all." His smile wavered at the hard expression she gave in response. It was as if this girl could read him like an open book. "I'm sorry. I just have a lot on my mind. I can't seem to let these worries rest like I usually can."

"You mean with remembering who you were in your past life and all that?" Shiori didn't like skirting the issue. "You're not the only one adjusting to something as big as this, you know. There are many in the Black Knights who wish to lock you up. Others want for you to never see the light of day."

"So what's stopping them from doing it? Or are they just waiting for the opportune moment to strike like the snake in the grass?" He scowled, though honestly he wasn't surprised at all.

"They're all just talk, all bark no bite. They won't try anything when Zero won't take action against you. Yes, he's limited you, handicapped you, but he lets you roam about freely. An action like that speaks much louder than words. In all these years, Zero has gained the full trust and respect from all members of the Black Knights, old and new."

'Good to know he at least accomplished something that I couldn't with that mask.' Still it was a hit on his pride. He created Zero. He made Zero a symbol of all that was hope. And yet he couldn't hold the trust of the Black Knights for very long.

"If he's being so generous towards me then why does he act like I should be locked up in a mental institution?"

Shiori responded with a look that read 'Are you kidding?' "In your previous life you were Lelouch vi Britannia, also known around the world as the Demon Emperor. You created fear that chilled the world during your brief reign of terror. In this life you threatened Zero when you sought our help. I don't know about you, but all of this qualifies for you to at least be evaluated."

"Okay so I may have gone a bit overboard when I sent that message." He sighed, shoulders slumped. "But I was taking a risk. I didn't know if he was going to see me as someone who is worth saving from the Geass Crusaders."

"Of course you are. You're the son of Earl Vincent Thornberg, the only noble within the EU to give the Black Knights his full support. He personally called us and requested us to find and rescue you. Or at the very least retrieve your body if the Geass Crusaders deemed you a too great of a threat." She narrowed her eyes in a Tohdoh like fashion it was almost disturbing.

"But is that enough? One cannot ignore that I am Lelouch, the one sole enemy to the Black Knights. At the time I was simply acting on the hope that the Black Knights symbolize the salvation for the world."

"Are you just saying that because you know it's the Black Knights duty to defend the weak? Or is the real reason why you've been lashing out is because you sought me out as a friend and all I've given in return is short to your expectations of friendship?"

=3=

Suzaku was just going through the security footage to track down the troublesome brat when he heard the door open. He didn't turn around, too accustomed to C.C. walking in at random moments. What he didn't expect was that this visitor wasn't the witch.

"No you cannot have pizza." He blurted out, as he knew it would be one of the first few things C.C. would say. The woman hasn't ordered any pizza for the last two days, not since the boy was rescued.

"Last I checked I'm not an immortal woman." A different voice rang in the air.

"Huh?" Suzaku twirled his chair around to see Tohdoh standing in the doorway. "Oh! Sensei! I…I'm sorry, I didn't know!"

"Perhaps we should drop by more often if you're predicting the witch." The old man said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, that would be great. I miss having chess matches with Shiori." Suzaku smiled even though his face was hidden. "So what brings you here, sensei?"

"You don't need to search through the footage, the boy literally ran into me when he got lost. I took him to set up a match against my daughter in the game room, actually." Tohdoh informed as a matter of factly.

"Oh, really? Sounds like it's going to be an awesome match if I ever heard of one." Suzaku chuckled, knowing full well those two would butt heads. "Well, thank you for telling me. I should get back to my other duties as Zero."

"There's another reason why I'm here."

By the tone of his voice, this was serious. Suzaku stared at his former sensei in astonishment.

"Am I in trouble, sensei? I haven't heard that tone of voice since that one time I bullied a couple of kids when I was ten."

"You may well be in trouble, but it has nothing to do with me. What do you intend to do with the boy?"

Suzaku blinked. "Honestly? I have no idea. I would like to just hand him back to his family, but knowing who he was in his previous life, he wouldn't do so willingly."

"That's it? You're not even considering that maybe he needs to remain with the Black Knights?"

"It's for his safety. He has to go back to his family. I just need to figure out how to convince him. Why are you suddenly interested in this matter, sensei?"

"I'm asking because he had a temper tantrum. Some of it involved on whether or not he identifies himself as Lelouch, but most of it revolved around you. He's confused on whether or not you view him as a friend or an enemy. And because of this uncertainty he is afraid. From there he's only going to become paranoid. It will be a matter of time before he lashes out with actions, not just words." Tohdoh studied his pupil's body language carefully. While he cannot see Suzaku's face, there was much the body can tell. The way the masked figure was fidgeting was all the veteran needed to know his pupil was nervous.

"That's why I have to send him back to his family. So he can live a stable life again."

"Do you honestly believe he will become normal again? A part of him wishes to extract his revenge, and yet he's held back because of the family that raised him. But it's not just them who are haunting his conscience, you also play a part."

"Me? How? Sensei, I don't understand…"

"That's for you to figure out. This is between you and him. I don't want any part of this. The only reason I'm bringing this up is because I'm starting to question whether or not you're making the right decision with him." Before his pupil could respond Tohdoh walked out and left in a similar fashion as the boy did several hours before.

With an exhausted sigh, Suzaku lifted the mask off his face and set it aside on the table. The door opened again, this time it was the witch. She casually walked in and sat down in an empty chair. Without another word she opened her fresh box of pizza.

"Tohdoh is right, you know." C.C. said after her first initial bite. "You need to start talking to him as Suzaku, not as Zero."

"And if I don't?" He threw back, annoyed about being told what he should or should not do with the reincarnation of Lelouch. He knew Lelouch, that's why he decided to always wear the mask in the boy's presence.

"Then he will take that Russian prototype and leave. Even with a large group of Black Knights at your disposal it will be easy for him to escape with the combination of invisibility and Geass."

"Why would he take such measures then? I don't understand why he would even consider it after all we've been through rescuing him." Suzaku groaned as he began to rub circles over his temples.

"As Tohdoh pointed out, he doesn't know about your intentions with him. With uncertainty comes the doubt of whether you are his friend and ally. We both know important an ally is to Lelouch. But you should start viewing him as not Lelouch."

"Must you speak in riddles, witch?"

"What I am saying is that you need to stop thinking of him as Lelouch. Stop behaving as if he was Lelouch, come back from the dead." Her voice became stern as her pale gold eyes glared at him.

"But he is back from the dead! Maybe not in his original body, but even so he's back." Suzaku glared back.

"That's my point, boy. Lelouch was reincarnated into a family that loves him, a proper family who nurtured him despite the drawbacks they had to face from the moment he was born. Have you ever stopped to consider that maybe because of this Lelouch has changed, perhaps even into a better person? If you continue to treat him as the Lelouch you remember then he will become what you fear most."

"And what if that's all a mask? Just a front he's putting up to –" Suzaku didn't have time to finish when his chest and lap suddenly became very sticky and messy.

"What the!? C.C.! Why the hell did you throw pizza at me?"

"Insolent boy. No wonder you two have a love hate relationship." The green haired witch mumbled as she gathered her box and promptly left him to his disaster.

He cursed under his breath, promising the witch will pay for the mess she created, and quickly headed to his room to change. To his luck he met no one along the way so he didn't have to explain anything about the messy predicament. Still, C.C. did strike a chord with him.

'Maybe I should just sit down and talk to him.' Although he was terrified at the idea, it could very well be what the both of them needed.

After a quick shower he put on a white haori and a dark blue hakama. Once he was ready Suzaku quickly made his way for the game room, hoping the boy was still there in his chest match against Shiori. Just as he came to the doorway that was slightly ajar he could hear their voices. Realizing they were talking about him, Suzaku hung back quietly listening.

"If he's being so generous towards me then why does he act like I should be locked up in a mental institution?"

'Ouch.' Suzaku flinched at those words. Did the young man seriously think he would do that to him?

He smiled a little when he heard Shiori defend him. She made some really good points in his opinion. And while she was right, Suzaku did rescue the boy as a friend should. But maybe he didn't quite make his actions clear enough. Suzaku stepped into the room at that point, ready to greet them with a sile. But they didn't realize he was there as the boy continued to argue.

"But is that enough? One cannot ignore that I am Lelouch, the one sole enemy to the Black Knights. At the time I was simply acting on the hope that the Black Knights symbolize the salvation for the world."

'Do you really think that, Lelouch? Perhaps it is time we talk things over face to face.'

=3=

Death: I feel like there's a lot of pent up drama going on here and less action time. But as the major theme of this chapter, Suzaku and Lelouch/Anghel need to talk things over.

Like a very long and serious talk. The kind that's going to be awkward and...yeah. One of those.

However, we do get some interesting things going on. We've learned more about the prototype for one. We are beginning to understand the tip of the iceberg that is Shiori, which is the whole reason why Tohdoh sort of becomes the middle man between Suzaku and Lelouch. I hope I didn't make him too OOC. I love the guy, but he's difficult to grasp in writing.

As for C.C. throwing pizza well...

Impulsive, yes, but it's hilarious. The imagery came to me as I was writing this since I felt like throwing something at Suzaku myself. So I decided to add it in. Plus it's a good excuse to get him out of the Zero outfit, don't you think?

Anyway, please review my lovelies and have a happy and safe holidays~