Why does it seem June is the month of fanfiction necromancy?

Chapter 3

Tea and Bread Crumbs

The morning after was as if nothing ever happened the night before, as Cornelia and Kallen both stood in the room they had appropriated for strategy sessions, Kallen sat in one of the windows, coffee in one hand and lit cigarillo in the other, as Cornelia stared at the map her own coffee in hand.

"What about the Narita Mountains?"

This drew a shake of the head from Kallen, "If they are as intelligent as we believe then we could spend weeks in that area and find nothing if their EMCON is worth even a grain of salt. We just don't have the assets for that."

It had been like this for the last hour, the two poring over the map with Cornelia bouncing ideas off the one person widely regarded as the best scout in the Empire. So far, it had been nothing more than Kallen poking holes in her theories on where the likely bases of the rebels could be.

"You could still set up a listening post if it will make you feel better, but just don't expect any success with the likely level of intrusion in the government."

Cornelia found herself deliberating it for a few moments before the door flew open, and in stalked Clovis looking quite displeased. Eyes roaming over the room, they then came to rest upon Kallen as he stormed over to her.

"Do you have any idea the political shitstorm you have stirred up for me," he hissed angrily.

This caused Kallen to arch an eyebrow in regard to him, honestly the worst thing she could have done to the agitated Prince right now.

"Were you even thinking during that display with the scion of the Kururugi family," he continued in a snarl, "I had Taizo fucking Kirihara in my office this morning demanding, demanding, that I publicly censure your display and have you apologize to Kururugi."

"What right does Elevens have to demand of us," Cornelia was quick to intervene, heading off any of Kallen's wit from further escalating the confrontation.

"Because the Numbers Administration Council has been a large assistance in stabilizing the colony and providing us a cheap labor force for the exploitation of the raw materials we need."

"That does not give them the right..."

"She attacked the son of the former Prime Minister, Cornelia," he snapped, "do you realize what would have happened if she had killed him? We would be lucky if we didn't have an area wide upheaval. They already hold the death of Genbu Kururugi against us, now killing his son, someone they adore," he then shook his head, turning to glare back at Kallen, "You will apologize to him."

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I refuse to apologize to him," she stated firmly, stubbing out her spent cigarillo and glaring at Clovis, "I will not apologize to someone who took the opportunity to offend my honor, Your Highness."

"I don't give a damn about your honor, Lady Stadtfeld. You will apologize immediately!"

"You seem to forget, Prince Clovis," she replied, her tone like acid, "that I am a Knight of the Round, and as such, I only answer to the Emperor and the Knight of One, neither of whom have sought to inform me that I am to apologize to an Honorary Britannian."

"But you are under my command as of this moment," Clovis shouted, "therefore, as your commander, I am ordering you to formally apologize to Lord Kururugi today at noon, or I will be begin formal proceedings to officially censure you and place immediate sanctions upon your station."

Kallen stared at him levelly for a few moments, her blue eyes piercing him, before reaching into her pocket and pulling out a case, retrieving a cigarillo out of it slowly and deliberately, tapping the cylinder on the case with practiced gentleness. She then brought it up to her lips and then pulled her lighter to it, lighting the tobacco and taking a deep inhale of it before letting it out, the sickly sweet smell filling the air.

"Be my guest," she finally said, the challenge readily evident in her tone.

"I'm not referring to your noble station," Clovis replied, a hint of smugness in his tone suddenly making his rage seem like a forethought, "as much as it pains me to hurt my dear brother's status, I can, and will, bring sanctions against the line of your betrothed, since you now represent it as well."

All the confidence in Kallen's expression fled like the shadows in the light, a slight pallor developing as her fingers tightly gripped the cigarillo.

"Clovis...," Cornelia spoke up, her own shock at what Clovis had declared fading quickly, "you can't. You know damn well-"

"You're right, of course, Cornelia, the Emperor will not allow the sanctions. However, how much damage do you think will be done regardless?"

The soft snap of the cigarillo was all that needed to be done to state how serious it would be as Cornelia looked to Kallen who looked ready to kill Clovis where he stood, the expensive cigarillo in halves under her vice-like grip.

"If that is what you wish," Kallen finally stated, her voice more of a low menacing growl than anything else, her eyes narrowed to slits.

"It is," Clovis said, his face breaking out into a smile, "think of it this way, Kallen, you can discover your family's roo-"

"Khodeto bokun," was the angry snarl from the redhead, stunning the Viceroy with the sheer vitriol lacing her tone. Cornelia could only let out a sigh as Kallen then stormed past Clovis and headed for the open door.

"Where do you think you are going," Clovis demanded.

"To apologize," came the snappy reply, as Kallen exited the room.

Clovis looked towards the exit and then back to Cornelia who had her head in her palm, trying to fight back the growing headache that was gnawing at her. Her younger half-brother just had to trigger Kallen by mentioning her half-blood status, now it was going to be ugly whoever Kallen roped in for her stress reduction.

"What did I say," Clovis demanded, still at a loss at just what had taken place.

"Think about it," she found herself simply saying, though immediately she knew that was a mistake, because after only a few moments of thinking, Clovis shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyways, Cornelia, I also wanted to talk with you about an urban renewal project Bartley and I have put together. I want you to be in charge of it."

Immediately she had a bad feeling about this.

"And where is this urban renewal," she asked.

"Oh, it's just the Saitama Ghetto, it shouldn't be that hard. And with our luck, and with you now in command, there won't be a repeat of Shinjuku."

TRoG

"Saitama, huh," Suzaku asked, his gaze not leaving Lelouch as he finished moving his pawn on the chessboard, the ravenette's cheek resting on his fist as he stared at the board, contemplating his next move.

"That's what Jeremiah is reporting. Then again, are you surprised that Clovis and Bartley are doubling down on their failure?"

This drew a snort from Suzaku, showing perfectly well his thoughts on the duo.

"Still," Lelouch continued, his eyes narrowing, "the presence of Cornelia and Stadtfeld could make a repeat of Shinjuku a more difficult endeavor. I sincerely doubt that my dear sister will allow Clovis to run roughshod over every single military sensibility like he did at Shinjuku."

"I'm not so sure that she will be able to do anything, to be honest," Suzaku replied, "according to Kirihara, the relationship between Cornelia and Clovis has been rather strained in recent years. After all, he did fail to make an effort to ascertain your final resting place."

Lelouch merely hummed in agreement as he moved his bishop across the board, Suzaku's eyes tracing the piece for a few moments before returning to the teenager he thought of as a brother.

"What are you thinking, Lelouch?"

"I think relatively little has changed," Lelouch finally said, "sure, players have been added to the board, but it is not something that can't be easily neutralized."

"Even with Cornelia and the Countess," he asked incredulously. It was unusual for Lelouch to discount anyone, especially a duo with such accolades to themselves.

This earned another chuckle from Lelouch as he shook his head.

"Do you honestly believe Clovis will allow them the opportunity to act independently when he is doing his damndest to bury Code R?"

"Still, regardless Lelouch, they are a threat," Suzaku moved his Rook forward three spaces, lining it up with Lelouch's King, "check."

"I never said that they weren't, but you are overestimating then," Lelouch replied, interposing his Queen between Suzaku's Rook and his King, "and that will be mate in five."

Suzaku stared at the board for a few minutes, tracing all of his moves available in his head and Lelouch's corresponding counter-moves, then he sighed as he flicked his King over.

"Besides, Cornelia is a capable commander, but she has no imagination. Everything is a frontal assault because she has never fought an enemy with any sort of parity. And as for Stadtfeld, well, she is her own worst enemy."

This brought a raised eyebrow in query from Suzaku, but Lelouch chose not to answer, instead looking at his phone before getting to his feet.

"It seems the Countess has sent one of her Knights, Suzaku. Undoubtedly with an invitation for her to apologize for her actions at the ball. I'll see you tonight, we'll have a lot to discuss."

TROG

When he had been told that he was being brought to meet with the Knight of Two, he had assumed that it would be some private area in which the woman could promptly apologize to him in order to assuage the fury of the NAC.

At least, that is what he had expected.

Instead, he was surprised to find himself in a room watching as the Knight of Two danced a deadly dance with a fellow swordfighter, the woman who had in some circles been regarded as the next Marianne vi Britannia showing just why she was considered that with the flourish of her blades on an equally skilled opponent. However, unlike her predecessor, the Knight of Two showed her recklessness in the fact that she wore no protective gear against her opponent, almost daring fate to claim her life as she slashed, stabbed, and parried in a flurry of activity that caused even himself to be impressed.

"She's been at this for the last half an hour," one of Stadtfeld's Knight's said to the one that had brought him, the disapproval readily evident in her tone, "I'm surprised Marika hasn't up and stopped this madness."

He acted like he hadn't heard the exchange with the pair, instead focusing upon the redhead who continued her assault, her opponent only barely keeping up. There was something to be said about the skill in which Stadtfeld wielded her blades, what many would see as a reckless abandon with absolutely no rhyme or reason to her attacks,was a carefully calculated dance that feigned openings for the opponent while ruthlessly exploiting weaknesses herself. It was something that he had no doubt Tohdoh would appreciate if he were here to witness this scene.

Then, as if a signal had been exchanged between the two women, Kallen stepped back, her blades dropping out of her hands as she suddenly surged forward as the blade that Marika carried cut through the air as the Knight of the Round turned herself sideways to avoid the blade and exploited the fact that she was inside her opponent's guard, and in only a few moments, Marika was disarmed, thrown on her back, and with a knife hand poised to strike at her throat.

"Goddammit," the protection-clad opponent huffed, slamming her fist upon the mat and choosing to remain on her back as Kallen rose back to her feet and proceeded to retrieve her blades, resheathing them in such a practiced manner that it almost seemed artistically choreographed. That done, she brought her hand up to the head and brushed a few mussed hairs back into place as she turned to him, her gaze intense that only hardened into something more fierce as her eyes became hard like chiseled sapphires and her lips turned downward into a momentary scowl before morphing back into a neutral expression that happened so rapid that for a moment Suzaku actually had a small moment in which he questioned witnessing her displeasure.

"Kirney, is the study prepared for guests," she asked, her eyes leaving him to focus upon one of her knights situated behind him.

"It is. I'll prepare some tea."

"Thank you," the redhead replied, before refocusing upon him, "If you will follow me, Lord Kururugi."

Without further wait, she then spun around and calmly strode out of the room, thought to every present it was evident that forced simply for appearances. Though, Suzaku did follow her in spite of the obvious faux pas of her behavior, knowing that to push the issue would only add to the fire.

So it was once they entered into the study, that Kallen motioned him to a chair as she herself placed herself in one across from him, resisting the urge to give into the simmering anger that was reminding her exactly why they were here in the first place. Grinding her teeth, she simply stewed in the silence, awaiting Kirney to retrieve the refreshments

Only, it seemed that Suzaku wasn't going to allow that, as he shifted in his seat, his gaze firmly locked upon her.

"Unique sword style," he mused aloud, causing her teeth to audibly grind.

"I developed it myself," she ground out, not wanting to talk beyond merely offering some refreshments, an apology, and then tossing Kururugi's ass out.

"Strange. I would have thought that the Knight of the Rounds wouldn't condone such a reckless style or behavior."

I'll show you reckless, you pencil-dicked shit, she wanted to roar, but instead the only sign of duress was the deep inhalation she made through her nose to control her rising ire.

"My results speak for themselves," she offered acidly, thanking whatever deity above that Kirney chose that moment to join them, placing a tray beside the both of them. Job done, she walked to the side and merely watched the both of them, fulfilling her duty as one of her Knights.

"Indeed," Suzaku agreed, proceeding to add some cream and a pinch of sugar to his tea, surprising Kallen that he had accepted the tea. He then took a sip from it, "However, if one would listen to the whispers in Pendragon, one would find that prevailing view is that your results are rather—how should I say it—un-Britannian in nature."

Kirney's hissed intake of breath was a sound that almost echoed like a gunshot in the room. Her hand fell to her sword as she watched her liege, waiting for her to explode. She had known that this entire apology was a mistake, but Kururugi seemed to have a death wish on top of everything.

Instead, to her surprise, she watched as Stadtfeld merely offered a bitter smile, setting her cup down and folding her hands.

"Honor is a luxury for aristocrats," she replied cooly, not averting her gaze from Kururugi, "I'm in the business of war, where you either win, or you go home in a wooden box, if you are lucky. What you in your ivory towers think is irrelevant to my concerns."

"Touché," Suzaku murmured.

"Now that we have our refreshments," Kallen fought to keep the growl from her tone, "I think we should cut straight to the chase, as I doubt you wish to be here–"

"I wouldn't necessarily say that," he returned with a smirk, before taking a sip from his tea.

"–As I was saying," she continued, ignoring the snarky comment, "I would like to offer my apologies for my actions last night. It was wholly disproportionate to disrespect you inflicted upon me."

"That doesn't sound like an apolo–"

"It's the best you will get," she retorted, deciding that it was only fair that she interrupt him, "while you may be important in Area 11, that does not give you the privilege to flaunt my personal affairs for public consumption. If you were anyone else, I would be challenging you to an honor duel instead of offering you this."

There was a tilt of the head, and a narrowing of green eyes. For a moment, Kallen wondered what was going through his head. She couldn't get a read of Kururugi, one moment, he was trying to bait her ire, and the next, he was the very model of Britannian citizen. Just what his game was she couldn't put her finger upon it. But it was almost like he was testing her.

"Now there is the type of woman Lelouch would be attracted to."

"And how would you know him you fucking Eleven," she snarled, coming to her feet, knocking the fine china off its tray in her fury, shattering upon the ground. She towered over him as she resisted the urge of finishing the job

Suzaku didn't even budge, staring at her with an inscrutable gaze, before finishing off his tea. Placing the cup upon the saucer, and then upon the tray, he rose to his feet, straightening his Ashford Academy uniform.

"Because I was his only friend when he stayed at the Kururugi Shrine before the invasion," he declared, his voice calm and collected, even in the face of the a woman who had already nearly killed him once, "It is because of him that I am alive today."

With that, he simply turned, and strode towards the door, leaving Kallen behind him frozen in surprise. He then nodded in respect to Kirney, "Thank you for the delightful tea, Miss Slane."

And with that, he continued on walking.

Short chapter, but it's meant more to set the stage for the next few.

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Next Update Planned is Papiergeist