Page 102

The night was silent.

The sound of the gunshot didn't reverberate throughout Ashford Academy's courtyard as the bullet that ended Mao's life traveled through the silencer he, himself, had prepared.

It was barely louder than a footstep on grass.

Yuuji held C.C's hand after he took the gun from her. The hand she used to pull the trigger.

It was trembling. Her whole body was trembling, and it wasn't from the cold of the night.

She looked down onto the dead man before her, his eyes still opened in shock yet lifeless.

She stared at them silently, when Yuuji suddenly turned her around and pulled her into a warm embrace, averting her gaze from Mao.

"You should return to your room and take a rest, C.C."

"...What about you?"

"I'll deal with him."

"I'll he-"

"No."

Yuuji tightened his arms around her, before he began stroking her smooth, lime-green hair.

"No... You can go first. I'll follow after I'm done."

"...Okay."

She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him as tightly as she could before removing herself from him.

"...Don't take too long."

Yuuji nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I won't."

C.C glanced at Mao for a bit, looked at Yuuji, and turned around to make her way back to her room.

Yuuji continued to watch her back recede into the distance until she was out of sight. Then, he turned towards Mao.

"You would've caused much more misery... And hurt C.C even more than you have. I hope you know that at least you won't be hurting anyone anymore after this."

A golden gun appeared in his hand, aimed right at Mao's lifeless body.

"I wish you happiness in your next life."

He pulled the trigger, and with that, the spell > was activated, ripping every single molecule and atom of the lifeless body into smithereens.

In less than a blink of an eye, Mao's body disappeared into nothingness, along with the blood that had seeped into the ground and grass.

The golden gun disappeared from his hand as he lowered them. Then, he pulled out his phone from his pocket and began texting a message.

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Mao decided to attack tonight. C.C and I took care of him. I'll be back as soon as possible to give you the details."

After sending it to Lelouch, Tatsuya, and Satoru, he closed his phone and let out a sigh.

Then, he felt his necklace tightening around him and the obsidian diamond-shaped crystal rising up to his neck and moving back and forth as if trying to caress him.

"Ah, thank you for comforting me, Alice, Aria..."

He rubbed the two Yin Yang Slimes, who were in their necklace form, with his fingers and kissed both of them.

The chain, which Alice had turned into, began to shake in pure happiness, while the obsidian diamond, which Aria had turned into, began to shimmer even more. But then, she immediately slid back down into his shirt, hiding in embarrassment.

He chuckled softly at slimes' adorable behavior.

Yuuji then took a deep breath, and let them out slowly before making his way back to C.C's room as promised.

He messaged Lelouch as he approached the Student Government building where Lelouch lives.

Yuuji tapped the door twice with his knuckle, making sure it was just enough to be heard from the living room. And a few moments later, the door opened and revealed Lelouch, dressed in a simple black shirt and long pants.

A weak smile appeared on Yuuji's face as he faced Lelouch.

"Hey... May I come in?"

Lelouch stared at him for a moment before nodding and made way for him to enter.

"Go. She's in her room. We'll talk about it tomorrow."

Yuuji nodded gratefully and went inside.

He made his way silently to C.C's room, and when he arrived, he tapped the door twice, even softer than he did before.

Silence fell for a few moments, before the clicking sound of the door unlocking was heard, and the door opened.

C.C was still in her jacket and outing outfit from before. And she looked up to him with eyes almost devoid of emotions. But Yuuji knew she was simply suppressing it as much as she could.

No matter what he said to her before, a few words wouldn't be able to heal the scar in her heart that had been present for decades, or perhaps even centuries.

But, even knowing this, he'll keep on doing it until they heal.

"C.C..."

Without a word, C.C moved towards him and wrapped her arms around him and buried her face to his chest.

Yuuji embraced her back and the two stayed like that for a while.

"You should take a rest, C.C..."

He pushed C.C's shoulders softly and looked down to meet her eyes.

After what had happened, she'd need some time to process it... A good night's sleep to help her clear her mind.

He leaned down and touched her forehead with his.

"I'll come again first thing in the morning tomorrow..."

Yuuji whispered, but when he was about to leave, C.C wrapped her arms around him again, preventing him from moving away.

"Stay... Didn't you say you'll stay with me...?"

His eyes widened for a moment, surprised by the unexpected force she was hugging him with. It was as if... she was afraid he would disappear.

"...Alright."

He embraced her once again and stroked her back with a helpless smile, and only then did she loosened her hug slightly.

C.C enjoyed his embrace for a few moments, before pulling him inside.

She sat on the bed, which was even more bedtossed than usual, and patted the place next to her.

"Sit here..."

The two met gazes for a few moments, before Yuuji made his way to her bed and sat down.

And the moment he sat, C.C pushed him down onto the bed and laid down next to him, resting her head on his chest.

"...Let me stay like this for a while."

"...Alright."

Yuuji wrapped an arm around her shoulder and began stroking her hair softly. The sensation of her silky smooth hair was very comforting, perhaps even more so than what C.C was experiencing. Though if C.C knew what he was thinking, she would simply snort and comment on how stupid he was for being so wrong.

But, as they enjoyed the comfortable silence, C.C broke it with something Yuuji would've never expected.

"...Tell me about yourself one day. Your true self..."

His hand stopped, and he turned to look down at C.C on his chest.

He looked at her in silent surprise, his eyes widened in shock. But after a while, Yuuji let out a sigh and rested his head back on the bed.

"Since when did you find out?"

C.C snorted through her nose softly.

"Someone with that kind of face and a geass appeared out of nowhere and was so chummy with someone like Lelouch enough to become a trusted member of the black knights and become the ace pilot with a knightmare thought to be lost for decades... It'd be more strange if I think nothing was wrong."

"...It does seem strange when you put it that way."

Yuuji sighed deeply and began stroking her head once more as C.C adjusted herself to snuggle even more against him.

"I promise I'll tell you everything about me sooner or later... But not now. I'm sorry."

"Mm. It's fine... I promise I'll also tell you my name... My real name, by then..."

"Alright."

A few moments of comfortable silence fell upon them. And before he knew it, he noticed that she had fallen asleep.

He looked down to her and saw her peaceful resting face, breathing in and out slowly on his chest, and smiled. He kissed the top of her head before laying back down with a sigh.

I really fall in love too easily...

The figure of a certain tomboy with red hair flashed in his mind. But he shook his head, pulled C.C even closer, and continued to stroke her hair while staring at the ceiling, replaying the events that transpired that evening.

And before he knew it, he fell asleep along with her.

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Karen laid on her queen-size canopy bed.

After a long day in the base, preparing for the black knight's next operation, she would've normally fallen asleep, especially when the bed she was sleeping on was the high quality bed in her Britannian parents' mansion.

But she kept moving from side to side, changing positions, and looking up at the ceiling of her canopy bed, unable to fall asleep.

Her mind was filled by the hateful idiot who she could never get out of her head even though she had never seen his face.

He was currently undergoing a secret mission from Zero that no one, not even the black knights executives like herself and Ohgi knew.

And because of that, he hadn't been able to come to the base and help them with their preparations for their operation, even though he was one of the most important and vital members of the Black Knights, given he's the pilot of one of their two most powerful units.

At the very least, he should've told her where he's going and when he's going back!!!

Suddenly, Karen got up to her knees, turned around, and began pounding on her goose feather pillows.

"Arrgh...! That stupid idiot...! Why am I even thinking about him?!"

In her mind, she imagined that pillow to be the man clad in a full-body suit armor and devilish mask. She continued to punch it for a few moments, before plopping back down to her bed and hugged the pillow tightly.

"Just what are you going that you can't even tell us...?"

She understood, with her logical mind, that Mordred couldn't have shared anything about his mission. It was a secret mission from Zero, and if Zero deemed it unnecessary for others to know about it, then it will stay between the two.

But... No matter how much she wanted to deny it, deep in her heart, she couldn't help but worry about him.

Seeing as his mission was of a higher priority than even their operation in Port Yokosuka, there's an extremely high chance that the mission he's undergoing was extremely dangerous.

And if he got into trouble... No one would be able to help him.

What if he got captured? What if he got hurt? What if he got into danger and needed help, but she's not there with him?

Countless scenarios that clenched her heart from just the thought of it continued to circle around her mind.

Then... even more thoughts about the time she had spent with him, idling, sharing a meal, conversing, working on Guren, and playing around with the others in the Black knights soon replaced them.

A myriad of expressions began to appear from Karen's face. From nostalgic, to angry, to embarrassed, and finally, happiness.

In the end, all she could do was let out a sigh and laid on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"...Be safe. Idiot."