145Whoa. 13 people reviewed the last chapter? Awesome!
Anyway, this chapter was a bitch to write and edit and I'm still not completely satisfied with it. I get this odd feeling this is one of those chapters I'm never gonna feel satisfied with. Still, I hope you like it.
Anyway, thank you to SpheresOfLonging, Shadow-Shinobi666, Fai's smile, Determined Savior, TokusatsuLuv, bob115, sith3p, matronium, patrickthenobleman, Risembool Ranger8, ewertondragon, neostardustdragon101, and Shimmering-Sky for reviewing the last chapter. You guys are awesome!
SpheresOfLonging: Kallen and Lelouch's relationship isn't central to the plot so there won't be any fluff chapters. There will be upcoming fluff moments, such as in Stage 27, but no fluff chapters. It will detract from the plot, unfortunately. And the Student Council...I've gotta look at the upcoming chapters but I believe that we do get a look into their perspective, thought not about Lelouch and Kallen's relationship. Thank you for your review.
Anyway, this is a short chapter. The next chapter was, originally, 25 pages single-spaced and, since I made my cutoff limit for chapter lengths at 24 pages single-spaced (and I can't delete anything to condense it to 24 pages), the next chapter will be split into two chapters.
I hope that you enjoy this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
. . .
He heard Nunnally speaking with Gino a few days before her coronation. Since he was supposed to protect her, as per Lelouch's final orders, he was with her almost at all times. Gino had taken up his position as part of Nunnally's Royal Guard while Anya had gone with Jeremiah to live on an orange farm, though he knew that Gino still missed her.
"...want to visit Big Brother's grave later today. I want to replace the flowers that are already there. Zero will go with me. Just tell the rest of my guard and Sister Cornelia and Brother Schneizel where I've gone should they ask so they don't worry," Nunnally was saying.
"Sure thing, Your Majesty," Gino said with a bow. Unlike the others whom would always question why Nunnally was visiting the grave of the deceased Demon Emperor when she told them that was where she was going, Gino didn't question it.
He always wondered why.
"Thank you," Nunnally said.
"You're welcome," Gino said.
"Can I ask you something though, Sir Weinberg?"
"Of course, Your Majesty."
"Why don't you question me when I tell you I'm going to visit my Big Brother?" Nunnally asked, bluish-purple eyes questioning.
"'Cause it don't matter what he did when he was Emperor, he's still your brother, he's still your family, and I know ya still love him. That ain't never gonna change so who am I to stop you from visiting the grave of someone you love?" Gino said simply.
Nunnally smiled. "Thank you, for being so understanding, Sir Weinberg," she said softly.
"It's just Gino, Your Majesty, and you're welcome."
Nunnally's smile brightened. "Then call me Nunnally, Gino," she said.
"Sure thing!"
Even if Gino didn't approve of what Lelouch did as the Demon Emperor, the young masked man realized that he understood what the others failed to understand. The bonds of family run deep and, while they could be broken beyond repair, there was no denying that the bonds Nunnally held for her family, including her late elder brother, were just as strong now as they were when they were created.
. . .
Stage 13
Knights of the Round
Satoru walked down the street of the Saitama Ghetto, heading toward his house. He had been meaning on visiting his parents after the Second Battle of Saitama since he hadn't been able to see his parents before the battle since he was too busy fighting Cornelia's forces. He just wanted to make sure that they were all right.
Reaching the house, he knocked on the door and it opened to reveal his mother who gasped. "Satoru!" She exclaimed and immediately drew Satoru into a bone-crushing hug.
"Mom…can't…breathe…" Satoru managed to gasp out.
His mother released him with a small smile. "Your father and I have been worried about you," she said, stepping aside to allow Satoru into the house. "You've been gone for so long! You're only fifteen, Satoru. You shouldn't be off on your own."
"I'm fine, Mom," Satoru assured him.
His mother sighed. "Well, at least I was able to see both of my children today," she mused.
"Both?"
"Yeah, Kenji's with your father in the kitchen," his mother said with a smile before she turned toward the kitchen, not noticing how Satoru had tensed at the mention of his big brother, and called out, "Dear, Kenji, Satoru's here."
His father entered the living room, wiping his hands on a cloth while Kenji followed suit. Kenji hadn't changed much since Satoru had last seen him; he was still dressed in the clothing given to him by the military. He paused when he saw Satoru. "Satoru," he greeted with a smile.
"Kenji," Satoru replied icily. The memory of their last talk was still fresh in Satoru's mind, along with the emotions he had felt during it.
Kenji sighed. "I've missed you, baby brother," he said.
"Not my fault," Satoru said coolly. "You visit home even less than I do, too busy playing dog to Britannia."
"Satoru!" his mother exclaimed.
"I don't want to fight with you," Kenji said. "It really is good to see you after so long, baby brother."
"Hmph." Satoru may care for his brother but that didn't mean he had accepted his big brother's decision and he never would. The only good thing, now that they were enemies, was that Honorary Britannians were less likely to actually be part of a battle against the Black Knights simply because Cornelia didn't like having them fight.
His mother glanced between the two of them, feeling the icy tension that existed almost tangibly in the air around them. "Why don't I make you something to eat?" she suggested with a smile. "Have you eaten yet?"
"I just ate before I left the barracks. Sorry," Kenji said apologetically.
"I had a quick breakfast before I came here," Satoru replied.
"Oh." His mother sounded disappointed and Satoru winced.
"Umm, but it was a really light breakfast and an omelet sounds good," he added quickly.
"Yeah, same here," Kenji said.
His mother brightened. "I'll go make them right away," she said and darted off.
"I'm going to head off to meet up with Kimiko and see about getting some more food for the house," his father said. Kimiko was one of his parents' newest friends. He then glanced at Satoru and Kenji. "Satoru, Kenji, try to get along and try not to get into a fight again."
"Yes, Dad," the brothers responded and their father left the house.
While their mother cooked in the kitchen, filling the house with the smell of cooking eggs, Satoru and Kenji stood across from each other in silence, trying to figure out something to say that wouldn't bring them back to the reason why they had gotten into a fight the last time they talked.
Neither of them could figure out anything to say. They had been separated for several months, with Satoru working with the Yamato Alliance and Kenji finishing up basic training, and it just seemed as if they were strangers to each other.
"So, do you have a girlfriend yet?" Kenji asked.
Satoru sputtered. "What?" he said surprised.
"Just coming up with something to talk about," Kenji said with a shrug. "So do you?"
Satoru huffed, folding his arms across his chest. "Do you?" he asked.
"Unfortunately no," Kenji said.
"Yeah, me neither. Made some good friends though," Satoru said.
"That's good," Kenji said.
They fell into an awkward silence again.
"I think I'm going to check out my old room," Satoru said finally.
"Yeah, me too. I'm getting bored," Kenji said.
"You get bored too easily," Satoru noted.
"It made basic training a nightmare honestly," his brother admitted, leading the way down the hallway toward their room, not noticing the way Satoru tensed at the reminder of where his brother's allegiances lay.
With the monsters who destroyed his country and killed his family.
That feeling of hate for Britannia welled up again and Satoru shoved it aside. Hating Britannia was one thing, hating his brother for serving Britannia was another thing entirely; Satoru just couldn't find it in himself to hate his brother for his decision. Disappointed in him, yes, angry with him, yes, but hate him? No. Satoru could not hate one of the only members of his family that he had left.
After exploring the old room that they had shared in the years between the end of the invasion and when Kenji went off to basic training and Satoru joined the Yamato Alliance, they were called into the kitchen for breakfast.
His mother was quick to talk with them, asking Kenji how the military was; though she didn't exactly approve of Kenji's decision, she hadn't tried to stop him, and asking Satoru just what he had been up to. Satoru didn't respond; he was a teenager so his mother could take his silence as teenage rebellion or whatever. It wasn't as if he could respond; the last thing he wanted was for his brother and his mother to know about him being part of the Black Knights.
But it was a rather relaxing morning. Satoru may not visit his family as often as he probably should but the times he did were memorable, even if they were simple and nothing interesting happened. It was just the fact that he was able to see his parents, alive and well, that was enough for him to make the visit memorable.
. . .
Suzaku yawned as he crawled out of his bed and shuffled toward the bathroom. Five days had gone by since the Second Battle of Saitama. Lelouch and the Black Knights continued their quest in standing up for the innocent, though they did so on a smaller scale, probably because Cornelia was now actively hunting them. That meant that many of them were laying low for the time being.
With Narita only three days away, that was probably for the best. Suzaku had to wonder just how Lelouch planned on preventing the tragedy that occurred at Narita. If he recalled correctly, it was because of the Radiant Wave Surger in Kallen's new Guren Mk-II that the landslide had occurred. And yet the landslide had been the reason why Lelouch was able to hold his own against Cornelia's forces before Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords joined in the fight.
There was also the fact that Lelouch no longer needed to capture Cornelia since he already knew who murdered his mother, and didn't really care after learning that his mother had been in league with Emperor Charles since the beginning. Even Suzaku didn't really care for Marianne vi Britannia after what he learned in the World of C.
Still…
He did find it amusing that it would appear his rivalry against Kallen was, apparently, destined to happen since it had happened in this timeline as well.
At one point, I didn't believe in destiny or fate. Now look at me, he thought in amusement. Then again, he didn't believe in supernatural abilities either and now he had one himself and Lelouch had one as well.
Speaking of that, Suzaku hadn't really had a chance to use his Geass recently, nor had he had a chance to talk to Lelouch about it since he knew that Lelouch was curious, and he figured he might as well get it over with.
He was, admittedly, curious to know what Lelouch's number was. If he counted the number of days correctly, the Zero Requiem was a little less than six hundred days away. It seems like a long time and yet it went by so quickly last time, he thought.
He supposed that if the number above Lelouch's head was the same as the number of days until the Zero Requiem then it might mean that the Zero Requiem would end up happening. Of course, with how much that has changed since he was sent to the past, there was no telling if the old timeline was entirely reliable anymore.
He frowned. So far, everything that happened last time was occurring at the same times as they had in the old timeline, just with different outcomes and some new events tossed into the mix. But he would keep that in mind. He had a feeling that, eventually, there will come a time when the changes he and Lelouch have made would change the future so much that they won't be able to rely on their memories of the old timeline anymore.
He also decided that he would check the numbers of the other student council members again. Nina's would be around 13 unless something happened to change her fate but he wasn't sure about the others. All their numbers had been high when he last checked them but they could have changed since then.
Speaking of the student council, Suzaku then noticed the time and realized he only had an hour to get to school.
He quickly got ready and left his room with backpack in hand, saying goodbye to Cecile when he walked past her and heading toward Ashford Academy in the distance. He always left an hour early because it was a good half hour walk if he was lucky and Suzaku didn't like being late.
Increasing his speed in an attempt to get to school on time, he was unprepared for the sudden bluenette that had been rounding around the corner at the same time as him. With a grunt, both of them ended up on the ground.
"Sorry," Suzaku said quickly, scrambling off the familiar form of Kenji who sat up, rubbing his head.
"It's fine. Man, we just keep running into each other, eh?" Kenji said with a smile.
"Well, not literally before today," Suzaku said with a small smile. "What brings you to the settlement so early in the morning?"
"I think my division has made me their permanent food delivery boy," Kenji said with a grimace. "And I don't even get paid for it."
Suzaku chuckled.
"But at least I get something to do. Akio and Ken, two of my bunkmates, are probably getting as stir crazy as I am with barely anything to do," Kenji added. "Though I'm worse, apparently. It gets to the point that Akio and Ken literally kick me out of the barracks and tell me to track down our commander and get something to do, even if it's just getting food that doesn't suck."
"Well, you've always been unable to sit still or do nothing, even during basic training," Suzaku noted.
"It's a wonder I actually graduated, though I think our drill sergeant was just trying to get rid of me."
Suzaku chuckled. It was nice talking with Kenji again. They had gotten along great during basic training and had been lucky enough to be assigned to the same division before they were chosen for that mission into the Shinjuku Ghetto. Unfortunately, Suzaku never really got to know too much about Kenji in the old timeline; then, he had been killed during the Shinjuku Massacre. And, while Suzaku was able to talk more with Kenji since he had survived this time, he still didn't know much about him.
"Speaking of doing nothing, I really wish we could do something to help," Kenji sighed. "Like against those Black Knights. I mean, they mean well and all but to actively go against Britannia?" He shook his head. Unlike the idealistic fool that Suzaku had once been early in the old timeline, Kenji had been more of a realist. Suzaku had thought at the time that Britannia could be changed from within. Kenji understood just what Britannia was like but thought that it was better to serve Britannia then to go against them because if he were to go against them, he would put his entire family on the line, and he wasn't content with just living beneath the radar like his parents. He never spoke about his family often and always sounded incredibly sad whenever he mentioned them.
Unlike Suzaku, who had nothing left to lose by joining the Britannian Army—his family disowned him and he had killed his own father—Kenji had everything to lose and was not about to put their lives on the line.
"I'm worried about my family with these Black Knights running around," Kenji added with a sigh.
"Zero did say at Lake Kawaguchi that they would only fight to protect the innocent," Suzaku pointed out.
"Yeah? But how long before that changes? They may be working towards protecting the innocent and fighting against injustice but they are also actively going against Britannia, they are actively provoking Britannia. And if they gain enough power and enough attention then Britannia will retaliate." Kenji closed his eyes. "I don't want Area 11 to have to suffer through the same devastation as it had during the invasion."
Neither do I. Memories of the .I.J.A. incident flashed through Suzaku's mind and he shoved it away.
"Besides, isn't there that old saying: absolute power corrupts absolutely? If they do gain power, whether they are seeking it or not, then who's to say that it won't corrupt them?"
"You do raise a good point," Suzaku said and he did. Suzaku had seen firsthand just what could happen when someone obtained absolute power; the Damocles and Schneizel and the F.L.E.I.J.A. came to mind. If he was being truly honest with himself though, Lelouch was probably the only one who did not completely succumb to corruption due to the absolute power he had been given due to his Geass and when he took the throne. That was probably only because of the two of them actively working on the Zero Requiem and because he had an actual goal, a goal that drove him. Lelouch may have acted like a heartless, tyrannical dictator when he was Emperor but that had all been part of the plan, a plan to create a peaceful, safer, gentler world, a chance for the world to start rebuilding.
"By the way, where were you heading in such a hurry?" Kenji asked.
Suzaku blinked and then cursed inwardly as he realized he had spent a good ten minutes talking with his friend and now he was going to be late. "Damnit! I'm late. I gotta go, Kenji. Nice talking with you," he said and darted past Kenji, running toward the academy in the distance.
. . .
Kenji watched as Suzaku darted off, heading in the direction that he knew Ashford Academy lay. He frowned to himself. He wondered just what Suzaku was doing there; while it wasn't against the law for Numbers to attend school, attending a prestigious school like Ashford Academy, in which the student population was about ninety-nine percent Britannian, was something they didn't do, even if they were Honorary Britannians.
He shook his head and turned around, looking for that restaurant his commander had told him to get their breakfast from. As he walked toward the restaurant once he spotted it, Kenji's thoughts drifted to his words to his friend. Suzaku hadn't sounded like he was defending the Black Knights when he spoke about what happened at Kawaguchi—and Kenji again felt that kernel of jealousy at the thought that Suzaku got to be at Kawaguchi whereas Kenji was stuck doing nothing with his division, especially when they were both Honorary Britannians and weren't much different skill-wise—but he had to wonder just why he would point that out.
It didn't matter if the Black Knights were protecting the innocent and fighting injustice, as they said they would, it mattered that, as Kenji had told Suzaku, they were provoking the Holy Britannian Empire and Kenji feared what would happen when the Empire struck back.
Memories of the airstrikes that leveled Tokyo seven years ago flashed through Kenji's mind. The explosions, the trembling ground, the screams of those unfortunate enough to get caught in the attack. Kenji remembered watching terrified Elevens running away from the flames of buildings caught in the first wave of bombs. He remembered holding his younger brother Satoru close to him while he cried in terror. He remembered his mother and father shouting at them to get to the cellar. He remembered them just barely getting in there when a bomb took out their original home. He remembered spending days within that cellar, with little food and water, while they waited for the invasion to end, his parents risking their lives to leave the cellar to find him and Satoru food to eat and water to drink while the invasion was still going on.
They had nearly gotten killed and Kenji feared that they might not be as lucky if Britannia lashed out after being provoked.
Corner a rat and they attack and Britannia was much more powerful than a rat.
Entering the restaurant, Kenji was quick to place the orders of his commander and his bunkmates and then took a seat at a nearby table while he waited for his order to be fulfilled. Once again, his thoughts drifted.
Even after having suffered through the invasion, Kenji still refused to go against Britannia, something that his younger brother just didn't understand. While his younger brother was incredibly naïve in some aspects, he truly believed that the Elevens should fight back. Kenji, on the other hand, was older and knew just how fruitless that struggle would be and just how much danger anyone associated with those Elevens who fought back would be in. On the other hand, Satoru didn't think about anyone else, he only thought about his desire for vengeance.
Kenji wasn't blind. He knew that Satoru hated Britannia with a passion, blaming them for the deaths of their family and friends during the invasion, and wanting to avenge their deaths. That burning desire for vengeance was what drove him and was what made Kenji worry about him constantly; ever since they were little, Satoru had always been one to hold grudges. He would just let it fester and grow stronger.
Kenji was afraid that Satoru's hatred and grudge against Britannia had grown so strong that it threw his common sense out the window.
"Order for Kenji Sato," the cashier called and Kenji stood up, walking over to join the cashier, noticing that a pink-haired girl had walked into the restaurant at that moment, typing on something on her phone.
She glanced at him with quiet light pink eyes but said nothing as she took a seat next to the counter.
Kenji, himself, was in shock. He knew this person. Anya Alstreim. The Knight of Six.
What is a Knight of the Round doing here? He thought.
He winced when a flash of light erupted in front of his eyes and blinked, rubbing them as Alstreim lowered her camera phone, uttering a soft, "recorded," and then returning to her typing.
Flushing as he realized he had been staring openly at a Knight of the Round, Kenji was quick to apologize.
She waved it away dismissively but didn't say anything.
"Yo! Anya! Where'd you run off too?" Another voice sounded and Kenji turned to find a tall, muscular young man with blonde hair draping over his shoulders in braids and bright blue eyes. Kenji recognized him as well: Gino Weinberg, the Knight of Three.
Everyone knew about the legendary Knights of the Round, the best of the best that were loyal only to the Emperor. To become a Knight of the Round was one of Kenji's extremely unattainable dreams; he would never be able to achieve that level of prestige simply because he was a Number and Numbers would be lucky if they were promoted out of Private, like Suzaku Kururugi had been.
"Got hungry," Alstreim said, typing at her phone and then looking at Kenji. "What would you recommend?"
He blinked, surprised that she would actually ask his opinion. It was obvious that he was an Eleven, Honorary Britannian status aside. "Um…"
Weinberg laughed. "You gotta learn how to articulate your words," he said, though he was grinning broadly.
"We are surprising him," Alstreim said nonchalantly. "Possibly because we are speaking to him like a person rather than a Number."
"Ahh, that whole thing. Eh, I don't really care if you're a Number or not," Weinberg said with a shrug. "So what would ya recommend?"
Kenji decided to just go with what he had ordered for his bunkmates.
"Sounds good enough for me," Weinberg said, plopping down in the seat next to Alstreim while Kenji picked up the take-out bag and started for the door. "Oh, hey, wait, I didn't get your name."
"Oh, I'm Kenji Sato, my Lord," Kenji said.
"None of that 'my Lord' business," Weinberg said, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm Gino and this is Anya. Nice meeting you."
"You as well." And it was nice meeting the two Knights of the Round and not being on the receiving end of the cruel insults that most Britannians always spewed at him. Weinberg was different but Kenji found that he was grateful that he didn't treat him like trash simply because he was a Number.
. . .
"He's an interesting person," Anya said, sipping at her glass of water and using her phone to snap pictures of the various paintings and photographs on the wall of the restaurant.
"Who? That Kenji guy?" Gino asked, glancing at her curiously. "How'd you figure that?"
"Looked him up," Anya said simply. "He's an Honorary Britannian but it says that he scored the second highest score in the Knightmare stimulation test during basic training, second only to an Honorary Britannian named Suzaku Kururugi."
Gino whistled. "Man. That means he's probably one hell of a pilot. Shame we can't see it for sure ourselves," he said.
"Yeah."
"So why'd you look him up anyway? Are ya crushing on him?"
"No," Anya deadpanned. "He reminded me of…someone…but I'm not entirely sure who. I feel I've met him, or someone like him, before but…I don't know why."
Gino fell silent, blinking sympathetically at Anya. For more than seven years, Anya had been subjected to some memory loss. It hadn't been as often when she was a child but, recently, it seemed to occur as much as three times a week. Gino had met Anya at the Academy; they had studied together, trained together, and graduated together, despite Anya being two years his junior. Anya had been made a Knight of the Round months before Gino, who had only been knighted a few weeks ago, but they had maintained their friendship. He was the only one who knew about her frequent memory lapses.
"Well, I dunno 'bout you but I wanna see him in action in a real Knightmare frame," Gino said, changing the subject back to what Anya had originally brought up. He knew that Anya didn't like having frequent memory lapses and always grew a bit upset when they happened so he always tried to steer away from those topics whenever conversation drifted toward them.
Anya said nothing, just turned to her food as it arrived, snapping a picture of it, putting her phone away, and tasting the food tentatively. Gino also started eating, thoughtful. "Hmm, maybe I can ask Princess Cornelia to let him pilot a Sutherland or something," he said.
"Doubt she will agree."
"Truuuuueeee but it won't hurt to ask."
. . .
Lelouch yawned, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes as he gazed at the teacher. He wasn't paying attention, but then he rarely ever did, but this time it was because he hadn't gotten much sleep last night. It has been a long time since Lelouch actually had a nightmare that was powerful enough to keep him awake for hours but then usually Lelouch's dreams weren't about a future that could still come to pass.
His head was also hurting. It seemed to hurt a bit whenever he thought about the memories from that other timeline. Mostly, he would just mentally glance at them to remind himself of what was coming up next and the outcome and any other important information. He didn't view them in their entirety; whenever he did, that was when the headaches would strike.
It had been particularly bad last night when his dreams had been filled with memories of the destruction of the Tokyo Settlement due to the .I.J.A. and the utter despair he had felt when he thought his little sister had been caught in the explosion. He had woken up barely stopping himself from screaming and with a throbbing headache that had yet to go away.
C.C. had actually tried to comfort him to get him to go back to sleep but, with his head throbbing as painfully as it still was, he hadn't been able to get more than maybe three hours of sleep. He hadn't yet told C.C. about what Bree's Geass had done to him because of said memories; according to them, C.C. was connected telepathically with Marianne vi Britannia and the last thing Lelouch wanted to risk was Marianne—he refused to call her his mother—learning that he knew more than he was supposed to.
Rubbing his head, Lelouch noticed that Suzaku was actually absent. He blinked, wondering where his friend was but his answer came a moment later when an exhausted-looking Suzaku walked in at the very beginning of their first class after homeroom. He wandered past the chairs and flopped into the seat beside Lelouch.
"You look like you just ran a marathon five times. What happened to the 'exercise nut'?" Lelouch asked casually.
"You try running two miles, trying to get through large crowds of people, and nearly getting run over by traffic and not feel exhausted at the end," Suzaku huffed, pressing his forehead into his desk. "Why is it that mornings is when the crazy drivers come out?"
Lelouch chuckled. "Was that why you didn't make it to homeroom?" he asked.
"That and I ran into an old friend from the military. We got to talking and lost track of time," Suzaku admitted, lifting his head off his desk. "By the way, later, we need to talk."
Lelouch nodded and returned his attention to the front of the classroom.
During lunch, Lelouch and Suzaku once again found themselves on the roof of the school building. Lelouch was leaning on his side against the railing, studying Suzaku who was looking out at the city below. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked.
"My Geass," Suzaku said, turning to gaze at him. "You've been wanting to know about it, right?"
"Yes, but I suppose I didn't think you would actually tell me," Lelouch said. That had been a thought that had briefly crossed his mind whenever he thought about questioning Suzaku about his Geass.
"I know about yours and about you being Zero. It's only fair that you know about me being a time traveler and about my Geass," Suzaku said. "It's called Absolute Fate and it's just an informational Geass. It shows me the number of days someone has left to live and, on the day that their number is zero so long as I know them or have seen their number before, I get a vision of how they will die."
"And then what?" Lelouch asked.
"Well, that's it for the Geass. Then I try to prevent my vision from coming true. So far, it's only happened once," Suzaku said and explained about how he had prevented Shirley from getting hit by a car during the first Battle of the Saitama Ghetto.
"Who gave it to you?" Lelouch asked.
"The Divine, the same person, er entity, that sent me back in time," Suzaku said and then studied Lelouch who was thinking about the information. Suzaku's left eye suddenly started glowing with the red bird-like sigil of Geass around its pupil. He looked up above Lelouch's head and sighed, the Geass-symbol fading.
"What? Did you see my number?" Lelouch asked curiously.
"Yeah…"
"What is it?"
Suzaku raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"Would I have asked you if I didn't?" Lelouch asked dryly.
Suzaku hesitated. "…595," he said finally.
Lelouch did the math in his head, lips turned in a frown. "If the Zero Requiem occurs this time as it had in that other timeline then that day would be the very day the Zero Requiem is fulfilled," he realized.
"I don't know if this means that the Zero Requiem will still happen or not," Suzaku admitted.
"Neither do I but we can change that," Lelouch said. "I'll find some way to accomplish our goals without having to resort to the Zero Requiem. I made a promise to Nunnally, that I wouldn't be going anywhere and I don't want to break any of my promises…not again." He closed his eyes at the pain of how his actions in that other timeline had driven him away from the little sister he was trying so hard to protect. Everything he had done had been for her and yet those actions had driven a wedge between them that was only removed at the moment of his death in the old timeline. He winced, his head throbbing as it always did whenever he thought about those memories.
"We'll figure something out, Lelouch," Suzaku said softly. "I…don't want to have to go through with the Zero Requiem again either. For now, shouldn't we be thinking about Narita?"
"I'm still running through ideas for Narita," Lelouch said thoughtfully. "Evacuating the city would be the simplest idea but that might raise Cornelia's suspicions and there's no telling if they would be willing to listen without me resorting to using my Geass."
"Is there any way to make the landslide not as powerful as it was in the old timeline?" Suzaku asked. "Like dial down the power of the Radiant Wave Surger or something?"
"I can see. I'm not an expert on Knightmare technology. Rakshata was the one who made the Guren. Hmm, maybe I could get into contact with her somehow," Lelouch murmured to himself.
The bell rang and Suzaku glanced up. "We should get to class," he said.
"I'll see you later at the student council meeting," Lelouch said, digging out his phone.
"You're skipping class again?"
"I have more important things to take care of."
Suzaku sighed but made no attempt to persuade Lelouch to go to class; it would be a fruitless pursuit and they both knew it. "I'll see you at the meeting," he said and left Lelouch alone on the roof.
. . .
Suzaku stared, an uneasy feeling going through him. After classes had ended for the day and Suzaku had attended the Student Council Meeting, he had gone back to the A.S.E.E.C.'s base, only to find two people he hadn't thought he would see this soon in the timeline there.
Gino Weinberg and Anya Alstreim.
The former had been Suzaku's closest friend among the Knights of the Round, even if he was prone to constantly giving Suzaku one-armed hugs whenever he had the chance, while the latter had also been a good friend. Both of them were skilled Knightmare pilots but there were two things wrong with this situation.
One, Anya Alstreim was currently the host of the soul of Marianne vi Britannia.
And two, they were both Knights of the Round.
What are they doing here? He thought.
"Oh, Suzaku, welcome back, how was school?" Cecile asked when she spotted Suzaku.
"It was good. What's going on?" Suzaku asked.
"So you're Suzaku?" Gino exclaimed, bounding over to join him, grinning broadly.
"Um, yeah?" Suzaku said, feigning confusion.
"Man, I heard ya got the highest score on the Knightmare stimulation and then got to pilot the first seventh-generation knightmare frame. That's awesome," Gino said with a bright smile.
"Gino, perhaps you should introduce yourself. You're confusing him," Anya said, not taking her eyes off the phone she was typing on.
"Oh, right, I'm Gino Weinberg, Knight of Three. This is Anya Alstreim, Knight of Six," Gino said, waving to himself and to Anya who looked up, snapped a picture of Suzaku with a murmured, "hello" and went back to her typing.
"The Emperor sent them here to help Viceroy Cornelia out," Lloyd said, sounding put-out.
"He's just upset that, with Sir Weinberg and Lady Alstreim here, it's unlikely that Cornelia will ever launch the Lancelot in any upcoming engagements," Cecile explained.
"Well, I sure hope she does! I wanna see just what this badass mecha can do!" Gino said excitedly.
Gino hasn't changed, Suzaku mused but he knew he would have to warn Lelouch about this. His old friend was going to have to take into account the fact that Cornelia was not only going to have the Lancelot at her disposal for the Battle of Narita but she will also have two Knights of the Round to aid her.
That was supposing they weren't given another set of orders from the Emperor.
Lloyd's eyes lit up. "Maybe you can convince Cornelia to let the Lancelot join in any engagements we get into," he said brightly.
"I can try," Gino said with a shrug.
Gino and Anya left a couple of hours later, Gino promised to come by the next day because he still had questions about the Lancelot, and Suzaku disappeared into his room, stating that he had homework he needed to do. At around a quarter after midnight, he deemed that the majority of the people on the base were probably asleep and pulled out his phone, dialing the number.
A groggy voice muttered, "Zero" followed by a "tell whoever the hell just called you this late that they are an asshole" that was followed by a tired "shut up, witch" and a "I'm trying to sleep. Get out of here" and then a thud followed by a string of curse words.
"Sorry about the late-night call but I've got something that I felt you should know about," Suzaku said, lips quirking just a little bit at the exchange, once Lelouch left the bedroom and told him that he was alone.
"What is it?" Lelouch asked around a yawn.
"The Emperor sent two of his Knights of the Round here," Suzaku said.
"Which ones?" Lelouch asked, sounding more alert.
"Gino Weinberg and Anya Alstreim."
Lelouch swore. "Damn it. Of all the Knights to choose, he chooses them? I thought Weinberg was only knighted five months before you," he said softly.
"He had been, in the old timeline. That must have changed for some reason," Suzaku said. "I have no doubt that they'll be at Narita."
"Agreed," Lelouch said, sounding frustrated. "This will alter my plans a bit for Narita. Dealing with you is one thing, dealing with two Knights of the Round at the same time is another thing entirely. I don't want to kill them though." He yawned again and added, "I will have to alter my plans a bit to incorporate this new threat."
"All right. Goodnight," Suzaku said.
"Goodnight," Lelouch said and hung up. Suzaku rested the phone on his desk and rolled onto his back, gazing up at the ceiling. Narita was fast approaching, only two days away, and Suzaku had to wonder just what Lelouch was planning to do to prevent the number of causalities that occurred last time.
. . .
A/n what do you think?
Blaze: I'm sorry that this chapter isn't that great but I did my best. The convo between Gino and Anya plays a small part in what will happen in my version of R2 by the way
Suzaku: so what's gonna happen in the next chapter?
Kallen: next chapter is part one of Narita, isn't it?
Blaze: yup
Suzaku: where's Lelouch?
Blaze: playing chess with Yami
Yami: (moves knight forward) face it, you're no match for me
Schneizel: (peering over Lelouch's shoulder at the chessboard) He does nearly have you outplayed, brother
Lelouch: (picks up his knight) silence, bitch! The real fan-favorite is making his move!
Schneizel: (raises eyebrow) real fan-favorite? (Lowers voice) Oh we'll see about that
Lelouch: (moves knight) checkmate
Yami: (stares at the board, which, indeed, was a checkmate)
Bakura: the fucking Pharaoh...lost? (Burst into hysterical laughter)
Yami: SHUT UP, BAKURA!
Bakura: (stops laughing) no (starts laughing again)
Suzaku: (sweatdrops and shakes head) anyway, Blaze doesn't own Yu-Gi-Oh or Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V Abridged again and she hopes that you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, as always, are much appreciated.
