Page 97

"Y-You...?! How...? H-How are you... alive...?!"

Color drained from Taizo's face as he stared at the revealed countenance of "Mordred" with widened eyes.

He must've been mistaken... No, it must be a mistake!!!

But unfortunately, it was impossible, for he had inherited the appearance of both his mother and the Demon of Britannia, the madman who created weapons of mass destruction. The devil who led the crusade against those who are not of Britannian blood. The demon lord who he took part in taking down...

"H-How... I-I was sure..."

"Alexander" let out a soft smile at the stunned old lord.

"A miracle, Lord Kirihara. A simple miracle. And worry not... I have not come to exact revenge. Instead... It is the opposite."

"...Huh?"

The old man looked at the figure of the young man before him, that reminded him of the hellish pain and suffering many of his comrades had gone through due to the Devil of Britannia and his minions, in confusion. And when he bowed, the old lord froze in shock.

"Thank you very much for bringing that monster down. He is not someone who should be allowed to walk this world. Now, the world is one step closer to peace thanks to your actions."

"..."

Kirihara Taizo doubted his ears for a moment. Did such words truly come from the son of Arthur von Morningstar...? The Devil himself? And towards him, the one who arranged the "disappearance" of the Morningstar family...

"Are you... Truly... his son...?"

"Unfortunately..."

"Alexander" nodded with a sad smile as the old man scrutinized his every expression, words, and actions as he clenched onto his wooden staff.

"...Do you not hold a grudge against me, boy?"

"Of course not. As I said, you did the right thing. And if you didn't... I would've done it myself."

"..."

Taizo looked the young man in the eyes. Eyes that were beautiful beyond words and charming enough to disarm even the most guarded person before him.

His heart swayed. He had seen through the true nature of many charismatic devils in his lifetime. And though no one had the charisma on par with the young man before him, he was still experienced enough to discern the truth from the lies that came out of his mouth.

And to his shock, he found nothing but the truth and genuine gratefulness.

He turned towards Lelouch.

"...Do you trust him?"

"Of course. He is one of my closest friends and trusted confidants."

Lelouch nodded immediately. If he couldn't trust even his comrades and friends in the Chat Group, whose true nature and life he had seen through their life "stories", then there was no one in the world worthy of his trust.

"...Very well."

Lord Kirihara nodded and turned his gaze back at Yuuji.

"So? You've revealed yourself to me. What do you want?"

"I am simply here to convey a message. A message from "Shiba"."

Once again, Taizo's eyes widened in shock as the last word "Alexander" uttered reverberated like thunder in his mind.

"Shiba...? Do you mean... That Shiba...?"

"Indeed. Their son is alive, and he wanted to thank you for your efforts in supporting them and protecting them until their last moments."

His hands began to tremble along with his entire body. A single tear flowed down the eyes of the weathered old man as the figure of a handsome man and beautiful woman, both black of hair, pure of hearts, and kind beyond words appeared in his mind...

"How... Just how...? I was sure..."

"It is yet another miracle, Lord Kirihara. Their son had grown up and their legacy was also still intact. They've left the location of their legacy to their son."

Both of the Shiba were the brilliant, steadfast, and shining light of hope that would've illuminated the future of Japan. And when he failed to protect them, that light disappeared along with a part of his heart.

The moment he received news of their death, the death of those he had considered his own flesh and blood, a part of him died along with them.

But now... He finally found it once again. A new light... A new hope.

"I see... I see. That's good..."

Taizo closed his eyes and collected himself. He took in a deep breath and let it out through his mouth before looking at "Alexander" once again.

"I assume he's with the Black Knights as well."

"Alexander" nodded.

"Indeed. But it is not time for his parent's legacy to be revealed to the world. Lest, we'll attract the attention of the powerhouses of Britannia."

Taizo nodded in agreement.

"Good choice. You are still few and weak. If you used it, you would've been akin to a child wielding a gun fighting against a trained veteran. Wait until you can stand on your own two feet. Then use it to bring this war to an end."

"Yes, Lord Kirihara."

"Mm. Until then, we shall assist you in this war."

"I appreciate it, Lord Kirihara."

Lelouch donned his mask of Zero once again and turned around, his cape fluttering in the air.

"Alexander" bowed one last time before his devilish mask closed, hiding his true countenance from the world, and followed after "Zero".

And as they walked away, Taizo watched their back recede in silence.

Finally... The winds of victory had blown in our favor...

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

After finishing their business, Zero had Karen, Ohgi, and Tamaki return to Tokyo Settlement by themselves while he and Mordred took care of some remaining business in Kyoto.

Zero didn't say what their business was when they asked. And when Karen asked Mordred in private, she too failed to get an answer, leaving her disappointed as the three made their way back to Tokyo on their own.

Once they're gone, Zero and Mordred go to find a hidden place. They arrived at a quiet street near the outskirts of the Kyoto settlement, and after making sure no eyes, human or machine, had their sights on them, they changed from their suit and armor into regular, civilian's clothing.

Where previously stood two conspicuous looking men, now stood a pair of eye-catching handsome young men, the taller one dressed in a black shirt, black leather jacket, and long black jeans, and the other dressed in a caramel jacket, black shirt, and dark pants.

"Are you ready?"

"Yes. I just got a text from Shirley that she's about to head to our meet up point. She'll probably arrive in less than an hour."

Yuuij nodded with a confident smile.

"No problem. We'll arrive even faster. What about her protection?"

"Satoru-san had both "Momonga" and "Peroroncino" guard her stealthily. Mao won't be able to touch her."

"That's good. Well then, shall we?"

"Mm. Thank you for doing this, Yuuji."

"No problem. Let's go."

The two began to float up into the air as their appearance slowly vanished. Then, as the literal space around them bent to propel them forward without the need to fight against air resistance and gravity, the two head towards Tokyo with speed surpassing even a fighter jet.

And less than 30 minutes later, they arrived near Lelouch's meeting point with Shirley as promised.

"Wow, we really did arrive in less than half an hour... So this is your top speed."

"My top speed is still a bit faster. I didn't want you to get a headache from seeing the sight around you move so quickly, so I held back a little."

Yuuji undid his invisibility spell and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"Alright then, off you go. Good luck on your date. And have fun. You deserve it."

Lelouch smiled and nodded softly.

"Thank you. Then, I'll be going."

Lelouch went straight towards the plaza and stood in front of a fountain. This was the place he had agreed upon with Shirley for their meet up point.

And after waiting for several minutes, Yuuji saw the two meeting up and went towards the concert hall like a regular young couple. And after knowing what kinds of things Lelouch had to go through, the sight brought a smile to his face.

You deserve happiness, Lelouch... And now that we're here, we'll help you obtain it.

Yuuji took out his phone and texted Satoru.

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Satoru-san, did Mao approach Shirley?"

Soon, a reply came to him.

Suzuki Satoru: "He did. He tried to approach her while she was on the way to their meeting point. But I had "Momonga" put him to sleep before he could reach her. He's been dragged away by a few policemen who found him."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "That's great. Thank you, Satoru-san. Lelouch has also met up with Shirley, so they should be fine now."

Suzuki Satoru: "I'm glad. I'll leave "Momonga" to watch over them and have "Peroroncino" return to be a look out for the base."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Alright. I won't be returning to the base tonight since I told them that Lelouch and I have business in Kyoto. So I will return to our home tonight."

Suzuki Satoru: "Sure. Tatsuya-kun said he will be staying at the base tonight to continue studying Excalibur and the Guren. But I'll return hom. See you there."

Tsubakihara Yuuji: "Alright, see you, Satoru-san."

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

Under the clear blue sky, a serene beauty stood atop the rooftop of the academy building as the breeze blew her beautiful leaf green hair that was tied into a twin tail.

Her golden eyes gazed into the distance, seemingly to view something even further. Something... intangible. Something in the past. Her past.

If she were to describe her life up to this point, she could easily describe it with just two words.

"Pain" would be the first. And the second, "Suffering."

She had seen all the pain and suffering humanity went through. She had experienced the cruelty of man and the world, endured its pain with her immortal body, and experienced the despair that turned her heart numb.

Her eyes remained tranquil even as memories of her "deaths" recur in her mind like a never ending nightmare. In fact, most of, if not, all of her dreams were nightmares. She was simply used to it that it didn't wake her up at night any longer.

At this point... She was simply tired of it all.

She was tired of this never ending life...

"Hm? What's wrong?"

The leaf green-haired beauty uttered those words into the wind as a breeze blew over her, sending her twin tails swaying in the air.

"What? Are you that bored that you started caring about that?"

"Yes yes, I know already. You're a helicopter mom."

"How could you even deny that? You asked me to watch over him. And now, you're asking me to observe his friend!"

An exasperated sigh escaped her lips as she shook her head.

"I get it, already... But you know that I can't reveal myself to just anyone, right? Even for you, I won't risk being turned into a lab rat again just so I can tell you about your son's friend."

"T-That was just an accident. I didn't-"

Just then, as C.C glanced down onto the courtyard, she saw the figure of the "most handsome student in Ashford" looking up towards her with eyes widened in surprise.

Her body immediately froze. And in the next moment, she immediately run away as her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

C.C quickly made her way back to the Student Government Clubhouse, where Lelouch and his little sister were staying. She immediately went to her room, locked the door, and slumped down onto her bed.

"Hah... Hah... Shut up... I know it already!"

C.C at the voice in her mind as she panted in exhaustion.

This would be the second time "he" had seen her... And this time, he definitely saw her since they even made eye contact.

And to make things worse, he was the "friend" they voice in her head was referring to.

Lelouch and Alexander had gotten close ever since the latter became an "honorary" member of the Student Council. It seemed like Alexander had been helping Lelouch with his work and the two grew closer because of that. And before long, they got along very well and could also be seen talking with each other and even having lunch together.

And now... She, whose identity and existence were supposed to be unknown by anyone in the academy, had been seen twice by him.

If things go wrong, her connection with Lelouch might be revealed.

"How... Did you even come to that conclusion...? My heart is beating fast because I ran all the way back here...!"

"His appearance doesn't matter...!"

"What...? What nonsense are you talking...? Love at first sight...? Hah... It seems your brain have rotted since you haven't been using them much lately, huh?"

"...Alright alright, I get your point. But I disagree."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later."

C.C let out another sigh as the voice in her mind left. She rolled around in her bed and hugged her favorite pizza restaurant mascot plushie called "Cheese-kun".

"Love... I've long since lost the heart to love long ago, Marianne..."

She closed her eyes, and memories of her torturous past filled with death, pain, and suffering flashed across her mind.

But fortunately for her, darkness quickly claimed her consciousness as a single tear rolled down the corner of her eyes, with the final image in her mind being the countenance of the boy she met eyes with previously.