Crow I

"Oof!" Suzaku made a small groan as he accidentally collided against a stranger while he was turning a corner.

"Oh my! I'm terribly sorry! Are you—"

And the stranger stopped their apologetic rambling abruptly which caused Suzaku to look up to the man's face.

The man was glaring at him.

"Watch where you're going, Honorary Britannian." He hissed, the man's earlier pleasant, apologetic voice being replaced by anger and loathing.

Suzaku furrowed his brows. It wasn't just that he disliked that word being said as an insult because it already was, but how did this man know that he was an Honorary Britannian? Suzaku was wearing normal civilian clothing that revealed nothing about him other than that he was living poorly. He only became an Honorary Britannian soldier a few months ago and his pay wasn't good enough to buy anything nice… like a place in the Tokyo Settlement yet. They were on the border of the Shinjuku Ghettos, where there were displaced Japanese men and women lived.

Just where Suzaku belonged.

But this person—man(?) or teen(?)—was so out of place with his brown uniform suit, handsome face, long straight brown, and a gloved hand holding a metallic briefcase. Along with his Britannian companion next to him, the brunette didn't look like he belongs here in the Ghettos at all.

And yet he was definitely Japanese.

"Hey man, chill out. Ann's not gonna like that you said Honorary Britannian like an insult," The blonde Britannian man who was wearing a purple bomber jacket said to his companion. Even though he was Britannian, seemed so causal with the briefcase holding man. "Ya know what she's like dude…"

The brown-haired teen grimaced at the blonde's words.

"Ah, I rue the day when I believed that she was a harmless feline."

And they walked away.

Suzaku was so confused.

What just happened?

.

"Fucking Eleven, strutting around like you own the place! Who do you think you are?!" a yell came out of the alleyways of the Tokyo Settlement.

Suzaku, naturally looking for trouble, headed toward the voice when no one else did.

"How uncultured. You're in my way. I would recommend you to get out of my sight," another, more smooth voice said.

"What?! Filthy Eleven! I'll show you your place!"

And Suzaku stopped the assaulter's blow easily.

"What the?!" Then the man eyed the gun and uniform that Suzaku had on. "A soldier?"

"Stand down," Suzaku said and the Britannian man pulled his arm back with an annoyed expression. Thankfully, the young Honorary Britannian still had his visor on, making it obscure his face. The Britannian wouldn't know that it was an Eleven that was stopping him.

The Britannian man looked like he wanted to fight, but looking at the gun on the Private's holster, he frowned and spat on the ground.

"Tch, whatever. Be careful where you're walking Eleven," The Britannian spat out to the man who he was trying to throw a punch at. He hurriedly walked away.

"Are you okay?" Suzaku asked the person he saved.

However, instead of a thankful reply, all he was treated to was a silent glare from the man looking at him with an irritated expression

Did I see him somewhere before? Suzaku thought as he looked to the man—no, a teen—around the same age as Suzaku.

The brown-haired Japanese teen looked familiar with his brown uniform suit, gloved hands, and silver briefcase that looked a bit too good for even an Honorary Britannian to have.

"Did I ask you for your help, Honorary Britannian?" The man drawled, unimpressed. "My, when did I become a damsel in distress and scream for help? Did you think that I would thank you for what you just did? I remember quite well that I was going to handle the man just fine."

Suzaku raised his brows slightly.

"How did you know I was an Honorary Britannian?" Suzaku was pretty sure that he didn't have a noticeable Japanese accent when speaking Britannian. Even Lelouch told him so years ago when they were just children.

"You're standing up for an Eleven, Private Kururugi. What do you think would have happened if that Britannian was a bit more confident? He would have demanded to know your name so he could complain to your supervisors for standing up for an Eleven. And consequently, you would have to reveal that you are an Honorary Britannian. What do you think will happen next? You'll get fired and kicked out of the Settlement. And that's the best-case scenario."

Suzaku was still blinking in shock. How did the man know that it was him under the visor?

"You're the only one stupid enough to pretend to be altruistic enough to help," The brunette sighed and shook his head in exasperation, answering Suzaku's unspoken question. As if he didn't care for interacting even a second more, the man brushed past Suzaku without even say a word of goodbye and walked down toward the darkened alleyway.

The Honorary Britannian furrowed his brows, unsure what to make of this.

He remembered this rude Japanese teen from the ghettos a few months ago, but how did he know him?

Suzaku never remembered meeting a guy like him before. The young Honorary Britannian would remember if he did something rude to him.

But the teen definitely seemed like he knew Suzaku.

And what was his deal?

.

Suzaku didn't care to even ask who the intruder was before he fired two shots.

Because seriously, asking who the intruder would be such a novice thing to do.

"Trigger happy much? So uncivilized, just like your friend." The intruder said from the shadows.

Suzaku narrowed his eyes. He didn't know who this man was but he had a feeling like he knew what the intruder meant by his friend. His only friend was Lelouch. But that was still a statement he was still conflicted about.

"Are you a Black Knight?" The Knight of Seven questioned as he kept his aim toward the voice in the shadows.

The intruder snorted softly.

"A Black Knight? How insulting." The intruder said in an offended tone as stepped out of the darkness, revealing himself. He was wearing a red mask with a long nose and a white, flashy uniform. His hair was distinctly straight, long, and brown. How the man was able to hide his bright costume in the shadows was a complete mystery to Suzaku.

"I am Crow," the man said as he smiled underneath his mask. "And what an honor it is to finally meet Japan's last prime minister's son."

The Honorary Britannian paused and bit his lip.

"I've let go of that title years ago."

"Ah yes, because you killed Prime Minister Kururugi yourself, didn't you, Knight of Seven?"

Suzaku froze in place, his lips opening and closing yet unable to make a sound.

"How… how did you know that?" He managed to finally get out. Who exactly was this man in front of him that knew his secret?

"Oh, was it a secret? My apologizes," Crow said even as his smirk didn't show any signs of remorse. "When I found out, I thought you might have some potential. I was even going to let you live, even though you stole my target." the brunette's smile then curled into a frown. "But you were as daft and selfish as Japan's previous leaders. How unfortunate."

Suzaku's shock twisted into anger.

"What do you mean?" he said with narrowed, fiery eyes.

The man hummed and brought his gloved hand to his lips as he was concealing a smirk. "Do you remember a man named Shido Masayoshi?" Crow asked, answering the Honorary Britannian's question with one of his own.

"Shido Masayoshi…?" The Knight of Seven felt like he heard the name before a long time ago, but he couldn't remember exactly where. "Who is he?"

"You don't remember? Like I said: you're stupid and ignorant."

Suzaku bristled again at the insult. The masked man opposite of him didn't seem to care about the gun in Suzaku's hand and his finger hovering over the trigger ready press it again the moment the man dared to say another insult.

"Do you really want me to shoot you again?"

"Shido Masayoshi, the prime minister before your father. The man who was a prime minister for less than an hour before he was assassinated during his inauguration speech." Crow replied without even caring about Suzaku's gun aimed toward him.

Suzaku's eyes opened wide.

He did remember the name now.

"Well you see," Crow drawled out. "That was me that killed him. With the help of a friend of mine." He said the last sentence as if he just remembered the pretty significant detail.

The Knight of Seven continued staring at the masked man, disbelief painted across his face and his jaw hung wide open.

"Well look at us! The two men who assassinated two Japanese Prime Ministers."

But Crow's eyes that were hidden under his mask seemed like he was withholding some information.

The two sons who committed patricide against two Japanese Prime Ministers, Crow bit his bottom lip with a smirk.

"But take a look at yourself, Knight of Seven. Instead of taking up the mantle of one who rightfully executed a corrupt leader who planned on sacrificing innocents while parading around the word called honor, you waste your life doing nothing."

"I'm not doing nothing! Who do you think you are to judge me like so? I've been changing the System from the inside!" Suzaku said, instantly remembering what he himself said to a certain brunette girl some time ago.

Suzaku didn't know exactly what she was doing, but he knew what he was doing.

He was a Knight of Seven, already changing the Britannian System.

"Yes, at the expense of what? Your friend? You said that you would change the System from within but you merely used an outside source to demand your position. Do you really think that you would have gotten to where you were if it weren't for Zero?"

Suzaku flinched. The public knew that he killed Zero and then became a Knight of Rounds due to his accomplishment… but he used his friend to get to where he is.

How did he know what Suzaku gave up in order to get his revenge?

"Truly, how disappointing." Crow paused to shake his head disapprovingly. "We left you alone even after you stole our target from us all those years ago. I wanted to kill you. You see, compared to my friend, I don't take kindly to getting my targets stolen in front of me. Especially when you choose to fester away your pathetic life after you did something worthwhile. So this is your one and final warning, Kururugi Suzaku. Do not kill Zero."

"Target? Warning? Don't kill Zero?" Suzaku huffed as he furrowed his brows. "I already did."

He didn't… yet.

"No, I don't think so," Crow said in a sing-song voice. "You and zi Britannia made people believe you did. I know who Zero is. We know who Zero is. He's our target, and if you try to steal our target, we'll kill you first. I will never let you steal a target from me again. I'm unfortunately very petty like that."

"Who are you talking about? Who do you mean, we?"

"We are the Phantom Thieves. Goodbye now, Knight of Seven," the Crow said Suzaku's title in a mocking tone—as if it was another insult.

"Wait, Phantom Thief!" Suzaku said as he dropped down his gun aimed at the intruder and ran toward the Thief.

The Phantom Thieves killed Euphie. They killed her with Lelouch's help and her body was never recovered.

"Give me back Euphie. Give me back her body!" He demanded, running at the Thief to get answers or anything that was left of Euphie.

"Oh, ye of little faith. Do you really think we killed her?" Crow said as he evaded Suzaku's attack and jumped into the shadows.

Suzaku stopped in his tracks.

"What? Is she… is she still alive?" His voice became hopeful.

"No. She's dead."

And he disappeared without seeing Suzaku's anguished face and hearing his angered scream.

Suzaku's knees fell to the ground and he clenched his fists together as he cried, calling out the name of the girl he loved.

Euphie… Euphie... Euphie…

.

"Repeat after me. Japanese are friends. Not human targets."

"Japanese are friends… not human…"

Euphie then lifted up her gun and shot at the man who tried to hypnotize her. He gracefully leaped away from the bullet's path.

"Another day wasted. Dammit… Morgana!"

"What?!" A cat's meow responded back from inside a black shoulder bag.

"Looks like we need a few more days in the Metaverse. Let's get some supplies before we go in."

"Sounds good. Oh! Joker, can we get tuna sushi after this?"

"Morgana… Last time we had tuna, you made us late in getting our target." The Phantom Thieves' leader released a sigh and gave a small pat on the cat's head. "Tuna only on days off. Or when we successfully steal a good target."

The mascot of the Phantom Thieves sighed in a dejected tone. "Okay, you're right. It was kinda annoying that the princeling got to our target before us."

"Exactly. It's definitely not because you love eating the most expensive fatty tuna at all."

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Author's Note:

Crow is such an angry ball of anger... but an adorable one nonetheless. P5 Royal just made me love him more and more.

This is the last chapter of Part I! Thank you all for reading so far.

I wasn't going to add Ryuji or Akira because for the other chapters, it was supposed to be mostly a solo story for each of them. However, I thought that it might be fitting to make it like this as we transition to Part II of We're Thieves, NOT Assassins.

Updates will be less frequent now... And I'll have to finish the last few chapters of my other fics while I'm at it...