The Boy In The Scroll

Chapter 10: School

"You know, you look a lot like Lelouch vi Britannia. The deceased eleventh prince."

The world seemed to freeze at the man's words and Lelouch felt a cold chill creep it's way up his back. "I'm not worthy of such a compliment," Lelouch said. He meant it to sound certain but it sounded more like a whisper. Damn it! He couldn't even bring himself to meet the man's eyes! Was this it? Would the world finally know he's alive? Or… at least alive in a sense?

"Yes, he would have just turned seventeen a few months ago. Unfortunately he was assassinated at a young age," Ruben sighed. He didn't even notice Lelouch's rigid state as he typed in a few things on his computer. "I hope you're aware of our school's requirements. Every student is required to take a certain amount of classes as well as join a club."

"I plan on joining the chess team," Lelouch nodded, inwardly sighing in relief at the change in topic but still reluctant to look at the man. It was said that the eyes could never lie, and having very little experience with lying Lelouch didn't feel confident looking the man in the eye.

Ashford looked up from his computer. "It's been a while since I've played chess. Care to indulge an old man in a game?" Ruben didn't even bother to wait for Lelouch's answer as he already took out a chess board and began setting it up.

This was an odd request. Something in the back of Lelouch's mind told him to refuse, but he ignored the feeling. It had been a long time since he played chess. With the creation of the Black Knights, the boy hardly had any time to himself anymore. It'd be nice to relax a little and actually take the time to enjoy a small game.

"Your move."

Startled out of his thoughts Lelouch looked at the board, noticing that the old man had already moved his first chess piece; a pawn. Lazily, the spirit reached for his knight not really giving the game much thought as the two of them traded blows and made sacrifices.

"It's a stalemate," Ruben stated after a while. Finally causing Lelouch to study the board.

"Not quite." Lelouch picked up his king. A small smile crept its way onto his face. He always loved the feel of the king in his fingers. Most people hated moving the king since it was as useless as a pawn in term of movements, but Lelouch always appreciated the tall figure.

"If the king does not lead, how can he expect his subordinates to follow."

Lelouch stilled as his words were echoed back at him. His head snapped up as their eyes finally met.

"I knew it was you," Ruben stated with a knowing smile. He leaned back in his chair and settled his hands onto his lap. "Come now. You didn't expect me to just drop the topic, did you? I would have recognized you anywhere, Prince Lelouch. And you've just erased all doubt I had of your identity when you quoted me."

Ah, defeated in his own game of wits. Lelouch should have known better than to underestimate the wizened man. Pushing away his horror stricken thoughts, the boy diverted his gaze to the ground before looking up again. It wouldn't do for a prince to look defeated. While he would have liked to keep his true identity a secret from everyone, it felt like a big responsibility had been lifted from his shoulders. Ruben Ashford is a trustworthy man, and Lelouch owed his life to the principle for saving his sister, Nunnally.

"Please, call me Oliver. After all the eleventh prince is dead, and has been for seven years now."

Ruben nodded at Lelouch's request. "Tell me are you the same Oliver William that Milly has been talking about?" Lelouch nodded and Ruben's ancient blue eyes sparked with happiness at seeing the prince again. All this time, Ruben had thought Lelouch to be dead, and to see the boy - no the young man there in front of him gave him hope. Shaking his head, Ashford asked, "I take it you're here to see Nunnally?"

"Not at all," Lelouch shuddered as the lie escaped his mouth. Ashford gave him a doubtful look and Lelouch silently scolded himself for letting the old man catch his fib. "I would like to see her again, but I'm afraid it might it might do her more harm than good. I'm not sure how long I'll be able to stay and if I suddenly disappeared I wouldn't want her to worry about me. For now I'll watch her at a distance."

Nunnally was Lelouch's life. If something happened to her, he wasn't sure what he'd do. However with him being what he was, he wasn't entirely sure he should talk to her. She'd undoubtedly ask for his hand if she ever felt something was off, and in doing so would more than likely freak when she felt how cold and dead he felt. As a spirit, Lelouch didn't have a heart beat, even when he thought he could feel his heart pounding from the adrenaline rush it was all just in his mind. As much as it hurt him to stay away, it would hurt him even more if he was the cause of Nunnally's scare. It was better if he stayed away from her. It was for her own good!... Somehow that felt like a lie though... As if he was only trying to convince himself.

"I see. In that case I'll set up a student account for you." Ruben turned away from Lelouch as he swiveled his chair toward a desktop computer. Lelouch nodded his thanks as the older man began to work. It didn't take very long for the printer at his side to begin printing out a schedule.

Lelouch reached for the document and raised an eyebrow at the classes. They were for an average student, the only class that was advanced was the P.E. course. Great…

Well, at least he could just fly through whatever activity involved physical fitness. Thank you spirit abilities!The spirit still couldn't stand on his own without his ability to float. In fact he collapsed every time. It was quite sad actually.

"That's your schedule," Ruben said suddenly, breaking Lelouch out of his thoughts. "Since you don't seem like you're actually here to get an education, I've given you the same classes as Suzaku Kururugi. He's one of Nunnally's care takers and the one who brought her here. If you want to get closer to Nunnally without interacting with her it will be best to befriend Kururugi," Ruben explained.

"Thank you sir."

"It's no problem. You can even start classes today if you want to. It's period B right now, so you have your science class."

"I'll be going to class then," Lelouch stated as he began to stand.

"Oh! I also wanted to ask if you needed a place to stay."

"I'm staying with," Lelouch paused, thinking over his answer. He couldn't just say he was living in a scroll owned by rebels. "A few friends," he said at last.

"I see..." Ruben frowned before shaking his head while blinking. "Very well, it was nice meeting you Oliver. It's best you get to class now." The old man gave Lelouch a knowing wink.

"Yes, thank you for your kindness. I'll be sure to do your school proud."

x~XXX~x

Lelouch groaned as he rubbed his head. It was the end of classes, and Lelouch could say that his head hurt. Not because of the lectures, or the endless amount of information the teachers tried to pound into his head but because of- Wham!

…That, and…

"I swear you're going to drop out of school before the first exam!" Kallen shouted, waving a folder in one hand while the other held a text book. The text book from hell to be exact. With a mouth fitted for harpies teamed with the textbook from hell, any boy would cower in fear. Even spirits, and Lelouch was no exception.

"Yeah, yeah," Lelouch mumbled. "Now if you don't mind I'd like to get back to base."

Kallen frowned and stilled her hand that was about to strike. "No, you're coming with me. Since I had to bring you to school, you owe me. Until you go to your first meeting with the chest club, you'll be interning with the student council."

"I could have gotten here myself," Lelouch argued back. "It's not like I asked you to babysi-" Whack. "Ow!"

"You're helping me, and that's final!" Kallen shouted, but her eyes told a different story; if he dared to say no, he would have another encounter with the hellish textbook.

Waving the girl to lead the way, the spirit sighed. Let it never be said that Lelouch didn't honor a lady's wish. He would humor the girl for now. After all, it couldn't be any worse than the papers piling up for Zero to fill out.

"So what do you do for the student council," Lelouch questioned, hoping to distract the girl from hitting him.

"According to the President I'm The Public Relations Director," Kallen began. "But it seems like Milly takes care of that just fine, instead she has me helping Nina with taking notes and getting the right contacts for new events."

Lelouch hummed in thought. That sounded like the overly cheerful blond. It was just like her to take the job that she wanted but still have the title she wanted.

"We're here," Kallen announced, shaking Lelouch out of his thoughts as she swung open the door and allowed Lelouch to enter.

Almost immediately the friendly chatter seized into nonexistence. Lelouch couldn't help but gulp as five pairs of eyes fell on him with questioning looks.

"Hi," Lelouch waved. "It's me, Oliver."

"Ollie!?" Milly gasped, blinking a few times. "But I thought- how did- but you…."

Right, they never saw him without his bandages on. Lelouch grinned nervously. "I got plastic surgery," he easily lied. "And my guardian thought it would be a good idea to begin socializing with kids my own age after the whole accident. So here I am, in school."

"So you're a student?" Shirley asked.

"Yep."

"And you just started today?" Rivaltz asked.

"Yep."

"I thought I noticed you in all my classes," Suzaku grinned.

"Well you were right."

"You-" Milly broke off. A thoughtful frown met her lips as her eye brow's knitted in concentration. "You look like an old friend," she said at last. Had she been talking to anyone else, the falter in her words and the fluttering of her eyes, as she risked a glance at Nunnally, would have gone unnoticed. But Lelouch noticed, he knew what Milly was thinking and he also noticed the death glare Kallen was shooting at him. No doubt, the red head would blow up as soon as they got back to the cruiser.

It would seem that no matter what, Lelouch's life would always be wrapped up in lies.

A/N: The next chapter will come out sometime during winter break :) And I'm really sorry for the late update as well as the shortness. But this chapter was necessary to set a few things up.