Zero vs. Kira

By

CrossoverManiac

Death Note is the property of Tsugumi Ohbi. Code Geass is the property of Sunrise. This story is a work of entertainment only.

Chapter 7: Retaliation

When the transmission ended, Lelouch took his cell phone out of his pocket and stared. Ohgi, Kallen, and Tamaki each looked the other two and silently asked for a reason for their leader's odd behavior. Kallen built up enough guts to break the ice.

"Zero, what's..."

"Not now!" Lelouch said in a sharp tone. A moment later, the cell phone vibrated in his hand. "Zero here...as I feared...make sure to treat their bodies with the utmost respect."

"Did Kira retaliate?" Ohgi asked.

Lelouch nodded. "Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords."

"You knew this would happen?" Ohgi said.

"Their identities were public knowledge."

Tamaki yelled. "I hate being right. Why did you have to go and piss off Kira?"

"Zero already made that clear," Kallen said defensively, "We can't let Kira be judge, jury, and executioner."

"You're only saying that because your mother's on that registry."

"I...i...it was like that first," Kallen stammered, "but having someone I love on the receiving end of Kira's judgment made me realize that even the guilty..."

"Oh come on Kozuki, you're not fooling me. Besides, if Zero wanted, he could have pulled some strings and gotten her name removed."

"The registry is in Britannia," said Lelouch. "How was I supposed to do that, Tamaki? Ask the emperor nicely; the very emperor who's, more than likely, acting under orders from Kira?"

"Be reasonable," Tamaki said as his arms gesticulated back and forth, "we should be happy Kira's killing off the scum. Hell, the only thing he's doing wrong is killing for the Brits too."

"Oh so my mother's scum now," Kallen stared Tamaki down and, with only the ferocity in her eyes, dared him to speak ill of her mother.

Tamaki backed away. "Oh come on, Kōzuki. I wasn't including her."

"Tamaki," said Lelouch sternly, "I've made my decision. There will be no more discussion about allying ourselves with Kira. Understood?"

Tamaki threw his hands up in frustration. "Do whatever you want. Just don't come crying to me about it when it bites you on the ass."

"Diethard," Lelouch spoke into his cell phone, "contact Rakshata and tell her to give a second look at that machine at the 731th Armory. It's the closest thing we have to physical evidence against Kira."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible," said Diethard, "I had a phone call from HQ informing me that Rakshata is dead. Apparently, her ego got the best of her, and she disclosed her involvement with the Black Knights to the press."

"Oh, I hate being right," Tamaki moaned.

"I'll see about getting a replacement for her."

"That's a tall order," said Diethard. "She was one of the world's most brilliant scientists. The only person I could think of who could hold a candle to her sits on Britannia's throne."

"I have someone in mind, if I can talk her into it."

"Oh one more thing: Some papers were found in Tohdoh's hands. It looks like some sort of informal wills. They knew they were going to die."

"I'll take care of any final requests they made. Get busy with modifying HQ with non-lethals."

"Non-lethals?" Ohgi asked?

Lelouch abruptly turned to Ohgi. "I told you that we may be the villains. Don't be surprised if the people turn against us."

This made Ohgi's eyes bulge out. "You think it'll come to that."

"Let's not underestimate what Kira has done for Japan or his support. Diethard, get in touch with Kyoto House. Their support for the media blackout will be vital...Diethard...Diethard." Lelouch waited for a reply from the other end of the line.

"Hello?" The voice of the end asked. It wasn't Diethard but instead, a woman's voice.

"What happened to Diethard?"

"He collapsed. We're performing CPR on him."

"Don't bother. There's nothing more you can do for him." The cell phone was on the verge of cracking under Lelouch's tightening grip.

Tarou stared out the window watching the skyscrapers moving along the gloomy background of murky gray clouds. The window fogged up as Tarou exhaled. He traced kanji on the precipitate with his finger. In his other hand was a large orange envelope.

"Damn, why did Light send me across town at the last minute to pick a package?" Tarou slumped his shoulders and sighed. "Man, my life can't possibly be worse." But then, two shady figures boarded the bullet train. Both of them were Britannians. One was blonde wearing a red button-up shirt with a dark gray undershirt. The shirt and undershirt was tight-fitting enough that it didn't hide his muscular physique. The other had a black mullet and was wearing a blue button-up shirt and red undershirt, which also a tight-fit around the black-haired Britannian's well-developed upper body. Tarou averted his gaze from the two hoping they didn't notice him. Unfortunately, this wasn't his lucky day.

"Long time no see, fatty?" The blonde one smirked. He marched towards Tarou.

Tarou remembered them all too well. They were at the records office asking for work. When the manager told them that there were no positions available, these two accused the manager of being a racist and denying them work because they were Britannians. "Umm...umm...it's not my fault the manager wouldn't hire you," Tarou stuttered. The blonde Britannian shoved Tarou over and pressed him against the window.

"Can you believe this fat Eleven?" The blonde said to his black-haired friend who was facing towards them with his knees in the seat. "My old man lost his job, and this fat Eleven is working."

"We're not Elevens, we're Japa..." The black-haired Britannian punched Tarou in the jaw. The blow propelled Tarou's head into the window cracking it.

"Who do you think you're mouthing off to, you fat Eleven?"

"Hey Ray," the blonde one said, "maybe he's not an Eleven; maybe he's a pig." Both of the Britannians laughed at Tarou.

"Leave him alone!" Both Britannians looked over their shoulder to a Japanese teenager. He was wiry in statute, with short brown hair and was carrying a duffle bag over his shoulder.

"Oh is he your boyfriend," the blonde chuckled. "We'll get back to you in a minute," the blonde said to Tarou.

"Yeah, don't run off, fat ass," the black-haired Britannian warned, "you'll get an even worse beating if you make us hunt you down."

"Well come on, Eleven," the blonde gestured to the Japanese teenager, "show us what you got." The blonde Brit lunged at the Japanese teenager who did a backwards flip and kicked the blonde in the chin. The Britannian fell and landed on his back. The black-haired Britannian charged the interloper. The Japanese teenager, in one fluid motion, took hold of his collar, fell back, and directed the Britannian's momentum. He landed on his back. The two Britannians picked themselves up.

"Rush the bastard," the black-haired Britannian yelled. "He can't take us both at the same time." Once again, the Britannian teenagers charged, one on each side of the Japanese teenager. The blonde Britannian threw a punch, but the Japanese teenager caught the blow in the palm of his hand. The black-haired Britannian threw a punch, and the Japanese teenager caught his fist as well. The Japanese yanked on their arm, pulled them towards each other, and smashed their faces together. As their neck whipped back from the recoil, the Japanese teenager caught the back of their heads and then smashed their heads together a second time.

The two Britannians held their bloody noses and fled out of the car. The Japanese teenager stood over Tarou and performed a visual examination. "Don't move. You might have a concussion."

"Oh I'm okay," Tarou said with a reassuring smile on his face.

"Just to be sure, let me accompany you." Then the Japanese teenager asked Tarou, "do you know why those two were attacking you?" Just then, the bullet train jolted hard enough to cause the teenager to lose his balance and fall into Tarou. "I'm sorry."

Tarou shook his head. "Don't be. You saved me from those thugs. They were mad because my manager wouldn't hire them." Tarou extended a hand to the teenager. "I'm Tarou. What's your name?"

"It's Kururugi; Kururugi Suzaku."

"Well, thanks for saving my butt Suzaku. Hey, are you a black belt or something?"

"Sorta." Suzaku then peered into the passenger car over.

"Is there something wrong, Suzaku?"

"I'm just wondering what happened to your attackers."

Unbeknown to them, when the bullet train wrenched, the two Britannians that attacked Tarou were crossing between cars. The jolt caused them to lose their footing. The safety lines between the cars just happen to break at that moment. They fell from the elevated train to the street below.

Lelouch's prediction that they would lose their support among the people was proven true. Ohgi was returning from a trip to Osaka when he saw the acts of vandalism afflicted on their headquarters. "HAIL KIRA" and "DEATH TO ZERO" was spray-painted on the entrance into the compound. Ohgi drove though the gate and parked to the side. Burn marks spotted the lawn. Broken glass was scattered over the scorched grass. The air was fowl with the odor of burned alcohol. At least one person showed his disapproval of the Black Knights with a Molotov cocktail. Then he noticed some Black Knights handcuffing a young Japanese boy just outside of the gate. The bleach-blonde punk couldn't be any older no older than 17.

Ohgi hastened across the compound as fast as he could to the gate on the opposite end. He charged the teenager and punched him in the jaw. The punch was enough to knock the bleach-blonde teenager off his feet.

"You little punk!" Ohgi could scarcely be restrained by the other Black Knights. "After all the Black Knights done for Japan and this is how you repay us! Well? What do you have to say for yourself? Threaten Zero, will ya?"

"Sir," said a female Black Knight, "he wasn't the one who did that." She pointed to a black car with the Black Knight insignia on it. Another Japanese teenager sat in the back of the patrol car. The spiky hair kid turned his back to them and bent over revealing the handcuffs around his wrists. He shot the bird at Ohgi and the others.

"Why did you cuff him?" Ohgi asked.

"He attacked the one in the car, sir."

Ohgi, realizing what he had, helped the young man on his feet. "I am terribly sorry about that. I had no idea that..."

"It's okay," the bleach-blonde teenager said. "It was an honest mistake."

"Give me the keys," Ohgi ordered.

"But sir, we have to take them both in..."

"Just hand them over."

"What if he assaults someone else?"

"You promise to behave yourself?" Ohgi asked the teenager.

"I swear on my grandmother's grave."

The female Black Knight reluctantly handed Ohgi the keys. As Ohgi was undoing the cuffs, the teenager spoke up. "Would this be a mark against me becoming a Black Knight?"

"Picking fights isn't the best way to make a first impression, but it's nothing serious."

"I'm Okouchi Goroh," the young man shook Ohgi's hand. "Is it okay if I sign up today?"

"I don't know about today," Ohgi said sheepishly. It was awkward for him to have a friendly chat with someone who he punched a minute ago for something he didn't even do. "But if you give me your contact information, I can see if arrangements can be made."

Goroh's face lit up. "Sure thing," he said. The female Black Knight offered Goroh a pin and a piece of paper to write on.

Okouchi Goroh was on his way to the third floor apartments. He was covered in dirt, from his button-up work shirt to blue jeans and all the way down to the pair of leather steel-toed boots. Around his waist was a carpenter's belt lined with the tools of the trade: hammer, screwdriver, chalk liner, carpenter's pencil. Goroh ducked into one of the rundown apartments.

"Dad, guess what." He said jovially. "I earned enough money to fix up the..." It was then Goroh caught sight of a familiar face. The person was the very Black Knight that kept him out of jail, Ohgi. He was speaking to a middle-aged man with gray, thinning hair. The older man was thin and wore clothes a size too big for him. The most noticeable feature was that he was missing his right arm. It was amputated halfway between the elbow and shoulder.

"What's this I hear about you picking fights?" The middle aged man ran across the room and got into Goroh's face. The older gentlemen had an intimidating scowl. "This man said you got in a fight right in front of the Black Knights' headquarters. It's a miracle you're not wasting away in some prison."

Ohgi stepped between the two. "Please, Mr. Okouchi, you're taking it the wrong way. That young man stopped some thug from throwing firebombs at our base. He's a hero as far as I'm concern."

"'A hero' you say?" Mr. Okouchi repeated.

The Black Knight nodded. "I came over to interview your son. When I told you what happened, I didn't mean to come off as critical. Interviewing new recruits is Tamaki's job," said Ohgi, "so I'm not very good at it."

"Still, he shouldn't keep secrets from me, especially ones that almost land him in jail," Mr. Okouchi pouted.

"Dad!" Goroh whined.

"Not to say I'm completely disappointed in him. I appreciate the sacrifices you Black Knights have made for Japan, and I'm glad my son could be of some help to you."

"So, Dad, you won't mind if I join the Black Knights. I mean, we don't have to tell Mom, right?"

"My ex-wife wouldn't allow him to get involved in the fighting. She kept him at Kyoto. My son was not permitted to visit me in Shinjuku until after the Black Rebellion. The only problem I have with my son becoming a Black Knight is that he's a slacker and would only get in your way."

"Hey, I work for a living now."

"Only recently, you used to steal for a living."

Goroh looked away from his father. "That was a long time ago."

Mr. Okouch rolled his eyes. "Last year was *not* a long time ago."

Goroh threw up his hands. "You won't let me forget, will you? I can't take this anymore." Goroh stomped out the apartment. He ran down the stairs and was at the ground floor when Ohgi caught up with him.

"Wait up, Goroh?" Ohgi panted.

"You heard the old man: I'm a good-for-nothing."

Ohgi inhaled deeply trying to catch his breath. "That's not true."

"Weren't you listening to him badmouthing me?"

"I heard," Ohgi smiled, "and it's nothing out of the ordinary. My old man was the same way. The ones closest to us are usually the ones that are the most critical. It's in parents' nature to push their kids. They can't help it because they want the best for them."

Goroh stared down at the ground. "Well, mine takes it too far. It's like I can never do anything right, no matter how much I try to make up for the past."

"Look, come back with me, and we'll sit down and talk things over."

"I don't know."

"It wouldn't hurt. If it doesn't help, then you can run off like you're doing now. But if it does, you two will be better off for it. Besides, you don't want him telling your mother why you had a fight." Ohgi winked at Goroh.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," said Goroh.

"By the way," Ohgi asked, "mind me asking what you do for a living?"

"Construction," said Goroh. "We're just finishing some renovations at the records office."

The two went back up to the third floor apartment.

Ohgi busted through the double doors in the middle of a meeting between Lelouch, C.C., Kallen, and the other original members of the Black Knights. The room was designated as the office for the Kira Task Force. Printouts on Kira and maps with red thumbtacks sticking out of them were plastered on the wall.

"Sorry I was late," Ohgi apologized as he bowed repeatedly to the group.

"You're the Deputy Commander of The Black Knights," Lelouch said calmly but sternly. "I'll let it slide this time, but don't make a habit of it."

"Right, I won't let it happen again."

"Don't tell me we have to start the meeting over for Ohgi?" Minami complained.

"I'll give him a quick summary. It won't take long." Lelouch handed Ohgi a newspaper.

Ohgi opened it and said in an excited voice. "I remember this-it's the Voice of the Rising Sun."

"The underground newspaper started during the occupation."

"This brings back memori..." Ohgi frowned upon reading the front page story. He shot up out of his chair and slammed the paper on the table. "After everything we did for Japan, and the Voice of the Rising Sun is calling us 'the new occupation'?"

"The group running the Voice of the Rising Sun has sided with Kira. They've condemned the Black Knights for standing in Kira's way."

"We're the ones who bled for Japan." Ohgi threw down the paper. "All they had to deal with was ink stains on their cheap rag."

"It's worse than that." Kallen said. "They're posting the names of criminals. There must be informants in the Japanese penal system. It's not as bad as when Kira had access to the Britannian criminal database, but he's still passing judgments on the Japanese."

"Oh yeah, such a shame that he killed those guys running the child prostitution ring," said Tamaki.

Kallen marched up to Tamaki. "And what about that innocent man he killed?" Tamaki averted his eyes away from Kallen. "He was accused of rape, but it turned out it was someone else."

"Well...I don't see the problem. Kira killed the right guy after..."

"And what about that innocent man? Well?"

"Everyone makes mistakes."

"Kallen, don't waste your time on Tamaki." Kallen heeded Lelouch's command and went back to her desk.

"Whadda mean don't waste your time on me?" Tamaki objected. However, no one paid him any mind.

"Starting where I left off, the Voice of the Rising Sun has sided with Kira. But we can use this to our advantage. I've uncovered their true identities."

"So, we can stop them from publishing names, right?" Ohgi asked.

"Not quite. I'll convince them to side with us. We'll use them to pinpoint Kira's location. The Voice of the Rising Sun will continue to post the names of criminals. However, next Wednesday, the paper will make twenty-three different prints that will be distributed within each of Tokyo's twenty-three special wards. Each printing will have one criminal unique to that ward. We lack the manpower to do a thorough search of all of Tokyo, but we have more than enough to search a single ward.

"We're letting Kira judge more people?" Kallen said with a betrayed tone in her voice. "You said we wouldn't allow Kira to pass judgment on the Japanese."

"Back when we were fighting Britannia, I warned you innocent people will be caught in the crossfire. I know it's hypocritical of me to sacrifice these criminals to stop a vigilante, but we have no other choice. The Black Knights can't keep up the media blackout forever. Sooner or later, it will have to end. Either way, these criminals will die, but if my plan works, Kira's reign will come to an end. Their sacrifice will not be in vain."

"I understand, sir," Kallen sighed.

Nina Einstein stared listlessly at the pile of tangled wires lying on the table while laying her head down on the table and her arms folded underneath. Under the layer of wires was a collection of tiny mechanical limbs, servos, and gears piled up and looking more like a miniature junkyard than a school project. The 'Introduction to Robotics' teacher gave her an assignment in the hopes of snapping her out of the depression that Nina fell into after the Black Rebellion. She held her head up and poked at the parts. A tiny motor caught her eye. Nina dug it out of the heap and examined it. It was the right size to be the servo for a motorized robot arm or for a hip joint. As Nina foraged though the mound, thoughts of Princess Euphemia, her princess, flooded her mind. Nina tossed the robot motor back on the table.

"Nina Einstein, I presume." Nina recognized that infamous electronically distorted voice. She shot up out her chair knocking it over.

"Zero, what are you doing here?" Nina said apprehensively.

"I am in need of your services, Miss Einstein."

Nina glared suspiciously at Zero. "Me? What use could I be to you?"

"I am unable to divulge that information, not until I know that you are fully committed."

"I can't commit to a task that I know nothing about. And why should I trust you anyway?"

"So the answer is 'no'?"

"You're Zero, the enemy of Britannia. I want nothing to do with you."

"That is a shame. From what I heard, I thought you would jump at the opportunity to avenge Princess Euphemia's death." As Zero was turning around to leave, Nina ran around the table and took hold of Zero by the wrist.

"Say that again," Nina said in stern voice. Those eyes held a gaze that Lelouch only witnessed during battle in the eyes of his Black Knight and their Britannian foes. Though Lelouch knew that Nina was enthralled to Euphemia, he never imagined that timid little Nina could harbor such bloodlust. Lelouch cracked a smile from behind his mask.

"If you haven't been keeping up with the news, I've declared war on Kira. It was my hope you would assist in his capture, but if you're not inter...ouch." Perhaps, Lelouch thought, he toyed with Nina too much. She had quite the grip and was cutting off the circulation in his hand.

"You have to let me help you," Nina demanded. "You have to let me help you avenge Princess Euphemia. I won't take 'no' for an answer."

Lelouch pulled away from Nina. "Very well, Nina Einstein, I will accept you as an ally to the Black Knights," Zero said as he rubbed his sore wrist. "Tomorrow, items from the 731st Armory will be shipped to this lab. The equipment is top secret military equipment that was being tested at the armory on the day Kira appeared. There has been speculation that the military experiment is somehow related to Kira, but because the blueprints have been shipped back to Britannia, these suspicions can not be confirmed. Your task to discern the purpose of this equipment and any connection it may have to Kira. Your go-between will be a maid who works on the school grounds by the name of Sayoko. She was one of my collaborators during the occupation. Do you know her?" Nina nodded her head in response to Lelouch's question. "Most important of all, do not tell *anyone*. If word got out that you were helping the Black Knights, Kira will kill you just as he did Euphemia."

"Don't worry Zero," Nina said with determination, "I won't let anyone find out."

Light Yagami slipped into a dark alley. There, in waiting, was a Japanese man. He was a bit shorter than Light, and his face was overshadowed by the sweatshirt hood pull over his head. Light's face was also obscured but by a baseball cap and a pulled-out jacket collar. The Japanese man in the hoodie slipped off his backpack and pulled out a newspaper at the same time Light slipped him a few hundred yen. There, waiting for him was Ryuk. Light glanced over to Ryuk as he took out his cell phone.

"Are we being followed?" Light wasn't really talking on his phone. It was a way for Light to speak to Ryuk without arousing suspicion.

"No. Same as always, Light. I'm getting tired of running all over town to buy the same newspaper everyday."

"We're been through this already. I have my reasons. Now, do you want those Red Delicious or not?"

When they go to the apartment, Light careful read over each of the copies of the Voice of the Rising Sun. "Ryuk, come here."

Ryuk pulled himself away from the manga he just picked up and groaned. "Can it wait? The last issue ended on a cliffhanger, and I've been waiting all day to find out what happened."

"When did you start reading manga?"

"About the time Zero killed the cable."

"I'm about to show you why I've been running around town buying copies of the same newspaper." Light held out two of the newspapers. "At first glance, they look identical, but if you do a side-by-side comparison..."

Ryuk studied the spot Light was pointing to on the two papers. "I don't see the difference."

"Look carefully, Ryuk."

"Oh I see." Ryuk noticed that there were two different criminals in the same spot on the two papers.

"This is insulting," Light said indignantly. "Zero actually believed I wouldn't be suspicious of the one source of mass media left in Tokyo." Light then gestured to Ryuk to come to the table. "Each of these papers varies by one criminal, and I picked them up in different locations in Tokyo."

"Yeah, I know. I had to follow you all over..." Then Ryuk chuckled in delight. "Oh, I get it. Zero was narrowing down your location."

"I think I'll give Zero a taste of what I gave L."

Lelouch worked hard to maintain an aura of superiority for his Zero persona. Not to lord over the Black Knights as much as to give them confidence. Their leader has to be infallible, never conflicted or troubled by self-doubt even if it was a façade. So, it was a shock to Ohgi to see his leader slumped over the prisoner reports resting his head on his knuckles grumbling to himself.

"Zero, I was wondering if your plan..."

"No it didn't."

"Oh," said Ohgi. "What happened exactly?"

"Kira figured out what we were up to," said Kallen. "The day after the paper was distributed, all twenty-three of the prisoners died. So, I guess that means Kira got a paper from each of the special wards. Though what's really weird was the inmates all wrote cryptic messages before they died." Kallen took out her copy of the inmate reports. "Let's see: 'zero-it is all my life is worth-I am ready to die' and 'apples are the forbidden fruit I have tasted and now God will punish me for eating them' and there's..."

"That's enough Kallen!" Zero snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate."

Kallen pulled Ohgi down just low enough to whisper in his ear. "One or two of them even wrote their message in their own blood." Ohgi cringed when his imagination conjured an image of an inmate lying in a pool of his own blood after slitting his wrist and smearing blood on the wall with his finger. "Zero thinks Kira can control people he chooses to kill."

"No way!"

"I said keep quiet," said Lelouch.

"Zero also said if Kira can control a person's action, he may be able to kill by using other means like suicides," Kallen whispered.

"But what is Zero doing?"

"Those weird writings might have a coded message."

"Why would Kira give us coded messages?"

"How the hell am I supposed to know? I think Zero's on to something." Kallen pointed to Lelouch arranging the messages in different orders."

"I think the first word of the message is the key." Zero circled the first words with a red pen. He was almost finished when he dropped the pen and slammed his fist on the conference table. "Pardon me. I need to go for a walk."

"Zero," Kallen asked, "what did the message say?"

"It's nothing important. Kira's just toying with us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Ohgi looked over the messages. "Zero," Ohgi read out loud, "don't you know shinigami..."

"What about 'shinigami'?"

"It's in the coded message." Ohgi circled the first word in the last two messages. "Zero, don't you know shinigami loves apples? Zero was right. The bastard is toying with us."

"What do you mean he can't join?" Ohgi complained. "I interviewed the kid myself."

"You heard Zero's orders: no new recruits," Kallen scolded Ohgi. The two of them were in the break room of the Black Knight Headquarters.

"But he's legit, and I spoke with his father. They're both supporters of Zero from the beginning, and his father lost his arm defending Japan from the Britannian invasion back in '10. There's no way he's in league with Kira."

"Look, Ohgi," Kallen said, "if you need to win other people's approval so badly, then maybe you shouldn't have went against Kira."

Ohgi raised an eyebrow. "And what's that suppose to mean?"

"That Goroh guy is a crutch to you. For the first time since Japan was liberated, people are questioning the existence of the Black Knights. People aren't as accepting of us as they used to be, and you're letting it get to you."

"If you think I became a Black Knight because I'm some sort of glory hound, you're mistaken."

"I didn't say that Ohgi."

"Then don't imply it."

"I'm just saying you're unsure about capturing Kira and that you need someone outside the Black Knights to reassure you."

Ohgi palmed his forehead. "I don't believe I'm hearing this. After what Kira did to Chigusa, you think I'm being indecisive about killing Kira!" A young female Black Knight that was passing by paused in from of the break room and peered inside. "This is private," Ohgi barked. When the rank-and-file Black Knight went back to her business, Ohgi picked back up when he left off. "Look, Kallen, we gave Zero a chance," Ohgi paused to glance over his shoulder, "and he's a Britannian," he said just low enough for Kallen to hear. "Why can't we give Goroh a chance?"

"We're facing a different kind of enemy, Ohgi. That's why," Kallen said solemnly.

Goroh beamed in wide-eyed amazement at the Black Knights' motor pool. All around him were dozens of Knightmare Frames. He dotted his head left and right taking in the awe-inspiring view.

"Mr. Kaname, this is awesome!"

"I take it you like what you see," Ohgi smiled.

"Do I ever? You got Burais, Gekkas, and even some Britannian models as well." Goroh pointed to the Sutherlands. He then ran enthused across the motor pool to a group of Knightmares, untouched by time and battle, looking as though they came straight off the showroom floor.

"Hey wait up!" Ohgi yelled. "I can get in trouble if they find out you're here."

"I've never seen that model before," Goroh said while panting for air.

"It's the Akatsuki. They're manufactured in India."

"You think I could get to pilot it someday?"

"Don't see why not?" Then Ohgi called out to Yoshida who was inspecting the new Frames. "Yoshida, come over here and meet our potential recruit. Goroh, this is Yoshida Ta..."

"Ohgi!" Yoshida yelled. "You know the rules!"

"Oh come on! I did a background check on him. Goroh can be trusted."

"That doesn't' matter." Yoshida set his palm top on the foot of the Akatsuki and walked over to Ohgi and Goroh. "You know Zero won't allow it."

"Didn't I tell you I checked him out?"

Yoshida palmed his forehead. "So, your name's Goroh."

"Goroh Okouch, Yoshida-sempai," Goroh said with a bow.

Yoshida raised his eyebrow. "Cut the sempai crap will ya. Just call me Yoshida for the time being. You're not a Black Knight."

"Not yet, but he will be," Ohgi said defiantly.

"Well, that's not up to us. That's up to Zero." Yoshida noticed Ohgi's sour look. "Look, I'm not saying he can't ever be a Black Knight, but Zero said no new Black Knights until Kira's capture, but if it makes you two feel better, Zero promised to start back recruitment once we get Kira."

"I don't have a problem with him joining." Ohgi, Yoshida, and Goroh looked overhead. Tamaki lowered himself down.

"Goroh, this is Tamaki Shinichiro," said Ohgi as Tamaki shook Goroh's hand. Yoshida shook his head in disappointment. "Tamaki is the leader of our second special squadron."

"That's some sort of elite group isn't it," Goroh beamed.

The unintended flattery made Tamaki smile. "I like this new guy, Ohgi," Tamaki said. "I have to run some diagnostics on the Burais. Wanna help me?"

"Oh would I eve...!" Goroh blurted out before he regained his composure. "If it's not much of a bother," said Goroh in a failed attempt to hide his childlike enthusiasms.

As Goroh and Tamaki were tending to a Burai's cockpit control, Yoshida said quietly but sternly, "What is your malfunction, Ohgi?"

Ohgi looked shocked and hurt at Yoshida. "What's wrong?"

"Telling my name and Tamaki's? You know what happens if that boy is Kira."

"He's not Kira, Yoshida."

"How would you know?"

Ohgi didn't have an answer for Yoshida's question. "Oh all right!" Ohgi looked away and sighed. "When he and Tamaki are finished with the diagnostics, I'll tell Goroh that he'll have to wait to become a Black Knight." And then he stared Yoshida in the eyes. "But I'm not giving up on Goroh."

It was a bittersweet day for Goroh. Though he didn't become a Black Knight as Ohgi promised, he did get a grand tour and the promise that, once Kira has been defeated, he could become one of them. It was a lot for Goroh to think about while traveling back to his father's apartment on the maglev. Then he thought about his mother, for whatever reason, he had the urge to tell her. He wanted to show her that he could make an adult decision about his life. Then he noticed a man, not much older than him, sitting right next to him. He had on a sports jacket with the collar up, blue jeans, and a baseball cap. A blue tablet and a pencil were in his hands.

"Sorry to bother you," he said to the person sitting next to him, "but I was wondering if I could borrow a piece of paper from you. Also, can I use your pencil too?"

"Sure, why not?" The man said. Goroh accepted the pencil and paper. "Here, use my notepad to press on." The man then offered Goroh his notepad.

"Thanks!" Goroh placed the notepad underneath the paper and wrote:

Dear mother,

I decided that it's only fair to tell you that I'm made a decision about my future. I want to be like dad and defend our country. I'm joining the Black Knights. Not in the immediate future, but I will someday. I know you don't want me involved with shady thugs as you called them, but they're not the criminals that you make them out to be. They're good people. I made friends with two of them. The first one is Ohgi Kaname. Kaname-san was the one who vetted me. He's probably one of the most clean-cut guys I've ever met. Kaname-san used to be a teacher before the invasion. Hell, I'm more of a thug than he is. The other one is Tamaki Shinichiro. Tamaki-san showed me the cockpit for the Burai and their new Frame the Akatsuki. Ohgi introduced me to one other Black Knight: Yoshida. He was sort of hard on me, but I think I can win him over.

Kallen and Ohgi made their way down the hall. On the other end was the side door to the tactical command office, that once held the balls thrown by Clovis during his reign as viceroy. Ohgi held his head down with a glower look on his face. Kallen's face was red despite her dark complexion.

"Zero's going to bust you down all the way to Knightmare washer if you keep going behind his back," Kallen scolded. "Bringing that Goroh guy here was a mistake. And telling him Tamaki's name is even worse." Ohgi's eyes shot wide open. "Yeah, Yoshida told me, and if you only knew how pissed off he was, you wouldn't show your face around him anytime soon."

"You don't know Goroh like I do," Ohgi huffed. "You didn't even give him a chance."

Kallen took a deep breath. Her face was no longer beet red once she had the chance to calm down. "This isn't just about him. I've known you since you and my brother were friends, which is why this is hard for me to say this but: you can't be a Black Knight and not put your faith in Zero. I don't normally butt into someone else's love life, but that woman you were with *was* a Britannian soldier, and now you're keeping this kid a secret from Zero."

"I know what I'm doing is wrong, but this is different. Not letting Goroh join the Black Knights isn't right."

"This is only temporary, Ohgi. If he's that dedicated, he'll wait." But Kallen didn't get an answer. "Ohgi? Ohgi? Ohgi!"

Goroh returned the man's pencil. "Thanks, I owe you one." The train came to a stop. "Well, this is where I get off. You take care." Goroh hastily grabbed his bags and hurried off the train. Unbeknown to Goroh, the letter to his mother was left behind. The man reached over and grabbed it before Goroh noticed.

"You too," the man said. When the man reached his stop, he removed his baseball cap revealing himself to be Light Yagami.

"Damn," Light cursed as he looked over the paper, "only two names. I was hoping for more. But you weren't a total waste of time, Okouchi Goroh."

Goroh was making his ways up the stairs when he was greeted by an unwelcome visitor. It was the teenager that threw Molotov cocktails at the Black Knight headquarters.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," he said as he plunged a blade into Goroh's heart before fleeing down the stairway. Goroh fell to his knees trying to pull the knife from his chest, but the knife was a survival knife with a saw tooth edge that gripped Goroh's flesh. Not that it mattered, Goroh's life essence poured from the wound and spilled on the walkway as a deep red liquid. Before collapsing and expiring, Goroh could hear gunshots coming from the street below. The punk who stabbed Goroh was gunned down by Black Knights on patrol.

The eleven members of the Second Squadron stood at attention next to their Akatsukis waiting for their squad leader. It was now mandatory practice for the Knightmare squads to go on training exercises every other month in the mountainous regions of Narita. Another Akatsuki, which emerged from the thick forest bush, pulled up in front of the squads. Yoshida rose from his opened cockpit.

"Hello, for those that don't know me, I'm Yoshida. I'm sorry for the last minute change in command, but your squad leader, Tamaki, couldn't make it."

"Is he okay?" One of the recruits asked. "Is he sick or had an accident?"

"It's nothing for you to worry about. Keep your mind on the training exercise. Don't think you can be careless just because we're using paint rounds. Even a stray paint round can kill a person and we have the occasional onlooker to worry about. Also, please do not switch on your revolving blade swords. The "on and off" switch may mean the difference between scratching up the paint job on your team mate's Knightmare and running him through by accident. Now mount up."

"Does anyone know why Zero called a meeting on short notice?" Inoue asked. She and most of the founding members of the Black Knights were in the conference room waiting for a surprise announcement concerning the Kira case.

"Zero didn't say," said Minami.

"Kallen, do you know what's going on?"

"I don't have a clue, Inoue."

"Hey Kallen," said Sugiyama, "what happened to Ohgi?"

"What are you talking about? He's right there." Kallen pointed to Ohgi who was sitting at the far end of the conference table. Ohgi then turned his nose up and turned away from the others.

"No, I mean why's he..."

...acting like a spoiled brat?" Kallen finished Sugiyama's question. "Ask him yourself."

"I'm afraid to."

"Then don't worry about it. I'm not." Kallen said in a condescending tone. Suddenly, everyone dropped their conversion and stood at attention when Zero entered the room.

"You may be seated."

Everyone waited for Zero to break the big news to them, but instead he took a seat at the conference table with the others.

"Excuse me, sir," Minami spoke up, "we were told you had some news on the Kira case."

"I don't. In fact, it was Tamaki that asked for this meeting."

"Tamaki?!" Kallen said with a facial expression stuck between shocked and bewilderment.

"You don't mean our Tamaki right?" Inoue asked.

"Yes, I mean that Tamaki."

About a minute later, Tamaki entered the room with a video disk in hand. His expression appeared void of any thought or emotion.

"Tamaki, Zero said you had some news on the Kira case," Kallen said. "Is it true?"

Tamaki ignored the others and proceeded to load the disk into the conference video system. The words KIRA flashed on the screen.

"Greetings Zero," the electronically synthesized voice spoke over the conference loudspeakers. "I apologize for taking so long to respond to your...ultimatum, but you've made yourself rather scarce as of late. I was afraid you went into hiding. If I recall correctly, your Black Knights should be holding their training exercises just outside the Narita city limits. My messenger Tamaki Shinichirō will pause the video for you while you check on your Second Squadron."

Kira knows Tamaki's identity. How? How did find out? That single line of thought echoed in Lelouch's mind. Then it occurred to him: Kira is controlling Tamaki? That means Tamaki will...

"I suggest you hurry before it's too late," said Kira before the video paused.

"Inoue," Lelouch said in a frantic tone, "who's taking over for Tamaki?"

"It's Yoshida."

"Patch him through! Hurry!" The monitor went blank for a moment before switching to the interior view of Yoshida's cockpit. "Yoshida, has anything happened to your squad?"

"Is there something wrong sir?" Yoshida asked.

"Has anything happened to your squad?"

"No, sir. Nothing out of the ordinary."

"Order your men back to the Narita base, now!"

"Yes sir?" Yoshida studied his instrument panel for a moment. Then, the muffled sounds of many voices talking all at once.

"What's going on? Is there something wrong, Yoshida?"

"All of the Akatsukis except Red 2 are shutting down. Their Yggdrasil drives are going offline."

"What about Red 2? You said it was still working."

"Kami-sama! No!"

"Yoshida!" This time it was Ohgi who was in a panic. "Yoshida!"

"It's Red 2! I have to stop her!" Yoshida leaned to the right as though he was turning his Akatsuki around.

"Inoue, switch to the front view! Hurry!" Inoue followed Lelouch's instruction and patched the video from the Akatsuki's front camera into the conference room viewer. To their horror, Red 2 was thrust its revolving sword into the cockpits of the immobilized Akatsukis. More specifically, at the very front of the cockpit. At that moment, the Akatsuki that was stabbed sprang to life and jerked forward widening the cut made by Red 2.

The others watched as Yoshida's Akatsuki fired its arm cannon at Red 2 covering the entire front of the Knightmare with red paint including his forward cameras and Factsphere. The momentary lost of visibility was enough for Yoshida to capitalize on. He plunged his revolving sword between the power relay and the energy filler.

Yoshida, as well as Lelouch and the others viewing the tragedy, was trying to catch his breath when screams of agony filled his cockpit.

Lelouch, out of pure emotion, raced to the conference monitor "Yoshida, are you being attacked by another Knightmare?"

"No, sir. I don't know why they're screaming." Then suddenly, everything went silent.

"Inoue, patch us into the interior view of the other Knightmares." One by one, the images of Black Knights, bathed in the red glow of the emergency lighting, flashed on the monitor. Their limp, lifeless bodies slumped against their seat restraints. Some of them, including the pilot of Red 2, were clinching their chests. Then Tamaki restarted the video message.

"Zero, you should know by now that it was I who decimated the Britannian command structure on the day of the Black Rebellion and that I can kill by means besides a heart attack and control those who I choose to kill." At that moment, Tamaki fell to his knees and collapsed. The others ran to his side. Ohgi rolled Tamaki over and shook him in a vain gesture brought on by denial and the disbelief that his long time comrade-at-arms was dead.

"Zero, here me out," Kira proclaimed, "I am able to bring your armies to a grinding halt just as I did to Second Squadron. I can do to your Black Knights what I did to the Britannian occupation. I can kill without heart attacks and even will your men to shed the blood of their fellow soldiers on my behalf. This is just the beginning unless you cease defying my will. End the communication black out. Then step down as leader of the Black Knights and name this man as your replacement. You should know him quite well, Zero."

It was then a picture of Ohgi flashed on the conference room monitor.

Flashback

Tamaki was about to turn after a long day of running diagnostics in the new Knightmares when received a knock on the door.

"Go away! It's after 2100 hours!" Tamaki yelled. The person continued knocking.

"Whoever you are, I'm kicking your ass." Tamaki swung the door open. "I'll make you this is the last..." Then Tamaki loss his will to fight. He just stood at the door with a vacant stare.

"Since you didn't die of a heart attack," said Light to Tamaki, "It's safe to assume I got the right Tamaki. Now let's see if this works." Light gave Tamaki a few sheets of regular notebook paper. "Now, write down the names, approximate age, and physical description of the members of your squad, starting with your second-in-command. Then you will do the same for as many Black Knights that you know."After Tamaki was finished, Light handed him a DVD.

End of Flashback

Light exited the stairwell and went straight to his and Tarou's room on the fifth floor of this dilapidated apartment complex. All that was left to do was to wait and see if his plan came to fruition. Just outside his door were two people talking causally to one another.

"Oh hi Light," said Tarou, "how was your evening? Did you find that thing you were looking for?"

"I'm not sure," answered Light, "but the results are looking promising so far." Light stopped and glanced at their guest. "Who's your friend, Tarou?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce you two. Light, this is Kururugi Suzaku-the guy that saved my butt on the bullet train." Tarou then turned to Suzaku. "Suzaku, this is Light Yagami."

Suzaku jumped off the couch and shook Light's hand. "So, you're the genius Tarou brags about."

"Tarou tends to exaggerates."

"You're too modest, Light," said Tarou. "Hey Suzaku, did I tell you that Light reprogrammed our entire filing system...in one week! We had a bunch of guys on it for weeks, and the system kept crashing. And get this-Light never used that program before. Is he awesome or what?"

As Tarou and Suzaku lightheartedly conversed with each other, Light contemplated on the next steps in his plans. Tarou, you did well. You befriended the man that saved your life on the train, as I planned. Thanks to you, I'm one step closer to killing Zero.

Nori Osamu was busy filing papers when he received a knock at his office door.

"Oh now what!" Nori bellowed.

A frail, skinny face peered inside. "Sir, there's a Britannian here to see you."

"A Britannian?! Tell him we don't have any openings."

"It's a her, actually. Her name is Milly Ashford and she wants to speak with Light Yagami.

Will Lelouch give in to Light's demands? What are Light's plans for Tarou and Suzaku? And what unforeseen difficult will throw Light for a loop? Find out in the next chapter of Zero vs. Kira.

I want to apologize for getting some of the Death Note rules wrong. The deaths of Tamaki and his squadron was based off a combination of two scenes from the Death Note manga/anime and one scene from the live action Death Note movie. I won't go into detail until I post chapter 8 because I don't want to give away too much. But I will give an explanation on how Light can appear to go against the Death Note's "no collateral damage" rule.

PS: I should tell you why I took so long to post this chapter. I have several reasons.

1). Writer's block. I had an idea of how things would turn out, but from my point of view, it kinda sucked story-wise. It was only recently did I finally came up with an idea that I believed to be worth writing about. I may be wrong about this, but I think it's better not to finish a story or at least wait for the right idea to come up than to finish a story, badly. I know it sounds hypocritical coming from a guy whose stories are littered with grammatical errors and missing words, but why compound the problem by rushing through a story? Hey, at least grammatical errors are easier to correct than an ill-conceived plot.

2). In real life stuff. For awhile, I was going to college and working full-time at the same time. Everything crowded out my writing.

3). My Little Pony. My head was full of ponies.

3a). Rebel Against the Night. In addition to magical talking ponies, my other Code Geass crossover had something that Zero vs. Kira didn't have-most of the main cast still breathing. It can't really be helped. Light can kill anyone whose identity is known to him and Japan's worst enemies are public figures. They would be the first to go followed by anyone else who got in Light's way, including the Black Knights. With my other story, I had a chance to write about the characters that got killed off in Zero vs. Kira. Alas poor Emperor Charles, Cornelia, Euphemia, Schneizel, Villetta, Guilford, Darlton, Tohdoh, Chiba, Senba, Asahina, Urabe, Diethard, Rakshata, and Tamaki, I didn't get the opportunity to write you well. For Light Yagami wrote you off and no one writes people off quite like Light Yagami.