Most of the student council had left by the end of the day. Adelice sat in a chair by the large meeting table as Suzaku continued to work on Arthur's home, adding new parts to it. Lelouch came in and sat beside her, grabbing hold of a magazine.
"Lelouch, honestly... did you go out gambling with Rivalz again?", she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "No. The school nurse informed me that Nunally had a little fever. Sayako was busy so I took Nunally home during lunch to help.", Lelouch said, flipping open the magazine.
"Oh dear, I didn't know. I would have gone to help if you had called me.", Adelice said. "No need, the best thing for her to do is rest.", Lelouch answered. "I hope she feels better soon. I can't very well come over if she's sick.", Suzaku said as he attached a little dangling toy for Arthur on top of the new home.
Lelouch smirked slightly and turned his head a little bit toward Suzaku. "I can't believe you teared up... it's so embarrassing.", Lelouch said, a slight tease to his tone. Adelice leaned over and hit him softly. "Be nice, Lelouch.", she said, giving him a look.
"It's called being honest.", Suzaku said back as he attached another part to Arthur's house. Adelice giggled as she saw Arthur jump down and bite Suzaku's finger. "Honestly, Arthur seems to really love you.", she said sarcastically. She stood up quickly and walked over to Arthur, petting his head softly to relax him.
"Come on Arthur, don't be mean to Suzaku. He's our friend.", she said softly. Arthur purred softly as she ran her fingers through his soft hair and slowly let go of him as his eyes got a sleepy look to them. Adelice smiled at Suzaku. "I think you should wear protective gloves whenever you come into this room, Suzaku.", she said, smiling. Suzaku laughed slightly and held his hand in his other.
Adelice walked back to where she had been previously sitting as Lelouch's eyes peeked at her from behind his magazine. "Well it's a good thing The Black Knights were there to save them...that's all I can say..", he said, reaching to turn the page with the tips of his fingers. Adelice bit her bottom lip at the mention of them again sat down, keeping her blue eyes away from both boys.
Suzaku cleared his throat a little at the comment and then stood up. His green eyes traveled to Lelouch. "If they wanted to catch criminals then they could have joined the police force, you know? Why don't they I wonder...", Suzaku said, making Adelice frown a little.
There wasn't anything the police could do and what did it matter if an independent organization saved them? I mean... either way they would have been safe so whether it was through the police or not didn't really matter. She bit her lip, not wanting to say anything as she rested her head in the palm of her hand.
She couldn't even believe that Suzaku could find it in himself to trust the police or anything involved with Britannia after they had almost executed him. They had been ready to kill him right then and there without hesitation yet, he was still forgiving. If she was in the same position, she would have never forgiven them.
Though, the more she thought about it... that's how Suzaku was, he was always so forgiving. No matter what anyone did, he always seemed to find a place in his heart to forgive them. She admired that about his character. It was something she would never be able to do.
Adelice turned her head to look at Lelouch who had a slight scowl. After a little bit of silence Lelouch finally broke it. "They probably don't think the cops are up to the job. I tend to agree", he answered, looking back at the pictures in the magazine.
His tone had been stern and slightly argumentative. She could see that this conversation going in a bad direction. It was true that these two were best friends but at the same time they definitely had different opinions when it came to justice...but what was that tone in Lelouch's voice? Defensive perhaps? It sounded almost as if he agreed with what Zero was doing.
Adelice got a bad feeling when she saw the look on Suzaku's face. These two didn't usually see eye to eye when it came to things being... lawful. They both had their own definition and were dead set on the idea. Nothing would ever change their thoughts about it. "The police may not be that effective right now but they could evoke change from within.", Suzaku answered back.
Adelice's eyes turned to Lelouch, who had she could see from behind his magazine rolling his eyes to Suzaku's comment. Her eyes fixed on the expression of his face. She could have sword she saw a cross of pure anger hit is face but as soon as it came it disappeared... perhaps she was just imagining things but still...
The air was as thick as fog, you could just about slice through it. "I need... to get some water.", Adelice said and quickly stood up from her chair, walking out of the room swiftly with both boys staring after her. Adelice quickly made her way down the hall away from the tense room. Why was Lelouch getting so defensive when Suzaku even hinted about The Black Knights or Zero?
She bit her bottom lip and crossed her arms over her chest. Now that she thought of it.. Lelouch had asked her what she had thought of Zero. She had found it to be a weird question but after being caught in that hotel situation it hadn't even registered in her mind.
Perhaps he thought that Zero's actions were all justified...but how could Lelouch ever think that after that man killed his half-brother. She knew Clovis wasn't perfect but still.. there wasn't any reason to kill him. After all, there were things that he did good as well. Her heart sank a little as she thought about Clovis.
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Lelouch slowly scrolled the scroll-bar down to see more of the information on The Black Knights Membership files. Zero and The Black Knights were certainly making a buzz in the community, even the world. He had more and more members every day... whether he could trust them or not was a completely different story.
"Isn't it wonderful how the number of recruits keeps growing?, C.C. commented. "And it was simpler then I ever expected. While I bitterly hate the Britanians.. I don't condone terrorism." "Then basically elevens support The Black Knights for the most part.", she added. Lelouch nodded to her statement.
"Which in turn makes it easier for us to operate as a whole. It's a huge help that the people don't report our activities to the Britannians. Plus Kyoto has offered to send us some Knightmares. It seems the Japanese can't resist jumping on the band wagon.", he said with a slight smirk and he clicked through more applicants.
"So that's your plan then, is it? Avenge your mothers murder and protect the ones you love from Britannia.", she asked. Lelouch slowly nodded to her comment but didn't say yes or no. "I've been wondering about something Lelouch, why are you 'Lelouch'? You and your sister changed your family surname but not your first name. Why?"
Lelouch ignored her and clicked through the next applicant. "How interesting. You can't let go of the past or was it just to benefit your sister and protect her from the shame of having to hide your identity even further.", C.C. commented.
Lelouch closed his eyes a little, he was not even going to bother answering that question. "Why are you keeping it a secret?", C.C. asked looking out the window. "I plan on telling her.", he simply answered. "When?", C.C. pried.
Lelouch closed his eyes in annoyance. "The situation has to be handled carefully. I can't just come out and reveal my identity. I have to introduce Zero into her life slowly.", he answered, opening the internet browser window on his laptop. "Really? And Pointing a gun at her? Was that part of your 'slow' plan?"
Lelouch frowned at the question. "There wasn't anyway around the situation.", he said, a little anger in his tone. "I don't think that's a very good way for her to feel safe around Zero.", C.C. said smugly. Lelouch ignored her again. "Are you planning on making her part of The Black Knights?", she asked. Lelouch frowned more.
"I don't know.", he answered. "Are you willing to put her in danger or perhaps you think she is safest with you?", she continued to pry. "I don't know.", Lelouch answered again, trying to not get angry from all the questions.
"Why don't you just use your geass on her to make her accept Zero? After all, I gave you the power. Why not use it to solve all your problems?", C.C. asked. Lelouch hit his hand on the table. "Absolutely out of the question.", he said, feeling his anger growing just at the thought of using geass on Adelice.
Silently, C.C. shrugged and stared at Lelouch as if trying to see just exactly he was thinking. "And that boy?", she asked, prying even more. "Suzaku will be harder to convince then Adelice. He has strong beliefs in the police. It blinds him.", Lelouch answered.
"And you have already tried once to recruit him. You know his answer, so why are you still trying?", she asked. "I need to make plans for the future and to do that I need the closest people to me to carry out my plan. Suzaku is a vital part that I must convince as well as Adelice.", he said. Silence fell over them again as C.C. looked back out the window.
"So even the outcast teen Prince has the same problems a teen commoner would have."
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"Adelice.", a voice called to her making her turn around. She smiled as she saw it was Suzaku. "Hey.", she greeted, giving a warm smile. "I'm sorry about earlier today...", he said as his shoulders dropped a little. "I suppose we both have pretty strong opinions. Neither one of us meant to drag you into that awkward situation."
Adelice shook her head. "It's fine, really. I am not mad at either of you. I just didn't want to be dragged into the conversation myself.", she said with a small smile. "Like I said, the four of us get asked questions all the time about Zero and the whole being hostage thing... I guess I just didn't want to hear anymore of it.", she added with a small shrug.
"I completely understand. I was really worried about you all. I was actually stationed there, I was just outside the tower.", Suzaku said with a warm smile. "Ah... then... I suppose you saw when they started dropping the hostages of the tower..", Adelice said quietly.
Suzaku's smile turned to a frown quickly as he nodded slowly. "I saw the first one.", he admitted. Adelice nodded a little and crossed her arms over her chest. "Things got hectic there's part of the story that you don't know though.
I was just waiting to tell you in private but.. Euphemia was there and she saw me.", Adelice said biting her bottom lip a little. "The Princess? Is your identity going to be revealed?", Suzaku asked surprised by this new information, staring at her wit his big green eyes. Adelice shook her head to his question.
"No. I had a talk with Euphemia, I didn't tell her about Lelouch but I told her that I was happy with my life and that I wanted to stay this way... she promised that she wouldn't tell anyone and... I believe her.", Adelice said, smiling a little.
The bell rang loudly and startled her as it broke the silence between the two. "Swim club, Suzaku. I have to run. You should come over again sometime. Nunally really does miss you.", Adelice said with a smile. Suzaku nodded and waved to her. "I'll be sure to stop by."
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"A three day vacation?! What for?!", Adelice moaned, as she frowned. She slowly slipped her arm out of the wet bathing suit and held the phone with her shoulder. Lelouch ran his fingers though his hair. This one really was going to be hard to convince her. He had to make it seem like everything was perfectly normal and not suspicious at all.
"It's for a study in Geography.", he answered, trying to make it seem real. Adelice rolled her eyes as she held the phone tighter to her ear. "Lelouch... you're always gone.", she said, sadness coating her words. "I know, I'm sorry but this can't be helped.", he answered her back.
"What on earth am I going to tell Nunally, she hates it even more then I do when you are gone?", Adelice asked, feeling a little bit angry about the whole situation. Lelouch was always gone whether it was in the morning, at lunch and during the night. Adelice was at his home and with Nunally more then he was. Lelouched frowned more and played with the chess piece in his hand.
"Tell her that I promise I will be home as soon as I can and when I do, then we'll go somewhere and I'll even invite Suzaku if you two want... hopefully his military duties won't get in the way during that time.", he answered, hoping that would suffice.
Adelice stayed silent for a moment as she slipped her other arm our of the bathing suit. "One second, I'm getting changed.", she said into the phone and then set it down in her locker. She slowly slipped off the bathing suit and then put on her white school button up shirt and a pair of panties. She bit her lip as she thought about Lelouch being gone for three days. Though there wasn't much she could do, if it was for school then it was for school.
Adelice sighed and ran her fingers though her hair as she held the phone back to her mouth. "I don't like it but I guess I have no choice.", she said, grumbling a little. "Stay with Nunally while I'm gone, you two can keep each other company.", he added. Adelice frowned more. "Shouldn't that be your job?", she asked him sarcastically.
She heard a sigh from the other end of the line and regretted saying it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. I just get frustrated because it seems like more and more you aren't around us and... whenever you are you are horribly tired... you always end up falling asleep and you don't seem to want to tell me what's going on.", she whispered, leaning her back against the locker.
"Adelice please, it's only this once. After when I come back I'll be home for awhile. I promise.", he said, trying to sound as sincere as he could, all the while ignoring some of the points that she said. "Alright. I don't like it but I suppose that if it is for school, it can't be helped.", she answered, finally giving in.
Lelouch smiled a little. "Good girl, I'll make it up to you two.", he said, setting the white queen chess piece down. "Lelouch are you going to at least come home today?", she asked into the phone, a little worried about the possibility of him saying no. "Yes.", he answered her.
"Alright, I'll go ahead and pack a suitcase for you.", she said. Lelouch's violet eyes shot open. The Zero outfit and mask was in a suitcase under the bed. He couldn't take the chance that she would find it and open it. That would ruin everything.
"No!!", he shouted into the phone, startling her. "I mean, don't trouble yourself Adelice.", he said, correcting himself and trying to remain calm. "Lelouch, really it's not that big of a deal. I just got out of swim club, I'll be at your home before you are.", she said, raising an eyebrow, wondering why he was acting so weird.
"Don't worry about it, I'll take care of it. I'd rather you take Nunally out walking. Her fever should have gone down now.", he said, trying to grab for any reason he could keep her from packing for him. Adelice shook her head slightly and shrugged. "Alright, if you say so.", she said
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Adelice stepped through the door to Lelouch's home, being careful to not wake Nunally if she was still sleeping. She slowly dropped her heavy school bag on the floor and walked through the kitchen to see Sayoko there. "Good afternoon Ms. Adelice.", she greeted.
Adelice smiled. "Good afternoon Sayoko, how is Nunally feeling? Lelouch told me that she had a bit of a fever.", she asked, leaning against the counter. Sayako nodded. "She did but she is doing much better, I checked her temperature about an hour ago. It is returning to normal."
"Ah that is good to hear. Lelouch wanted me to take her for a walk in the park to get some fresh air if she was feeling better. Though I really wanted to help him pack for his little vacation.", Adelice said, rolling her eyes. "Oh is the young master going on a vacation?", Sayoko said, a little surprised.
"Apparently, he just sprung it on me too. It's something for school.", Adelice said, shrugging her shoulders. "I can take Nunally out for the walk, Ms. Adelice. That way it would free up your time.", Sayoko answered, giving a warm smile.
"Oh that would be wonderful Sayoko, I really wanted to help him pack since he's always so tired. He's bound to forget something if I don't do some of it for him.", she said waving a hand as she headed for Lelouch's bedroom.
She slowly pulled open of the dresser drawers and got a him 4 sets of clothes to change into and laid them on his desk, making sure to grab a jacket for him just in case it got cold. She walked over to the bathroom and got some pain medication from the medicine cabinet and put them into a little box that he could take with him, just in case.
Honestly, what was the big deal with her helping him pack. If he had done it himself, he never would have remembered the pain medication or to take a jacket just in case it got cold. She sighed softly as she got down on her knees, looking under a bed for a suitcase.
A long steel gray suitcase lay resting next to a small blue one. Probably the larger one was a better bet just in case he had to take a lot of school work with him. She reached to grab it and pulled it, surprised out how heavy it was when she tried to pull it from under the bed. He must have left things in here from another previous trip.
She heard the front door open, Lelouch was home. She was a bit surprised she hadn't expected him to be home for a little while longer. She smiled a little, perhaps he came home a bit earlier so that he could spend more time with the both of them before he left.
"Nunally? Adelice?", Lelouch called out as he set his own school bag down. Adelice smiled and set the heavy suitcase on the bed and reached down to open the little latch that locked it. "I'm in here!", she called to him.
"Sayoko took Nunally out for a walk so even though you didn't want me to I still decided to pack-", her words caught in her throat as she saw the contents of what was in the suitcase. She stared at the Zero outfit with her mouth wide open. Her eyes traveling to the mask that lay to the right of it. "No...", she whispered to herself as she continued to stare at it.
"Adelice I told you, you didn't have...to...", his words trailed off as he saw that she had the suitcase open and was staring at it. Her blue eyes slowly looked up at his. "Adelice, please let me explain.", his words came out crackly as his throat ran dry. Her hand slowly stretched as she pointed to the outfit and mask.
"What is that?"
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End of Chapter 14