Epically Long A/N:

(Insert usual disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass… Blah Blah)

Special thanks to Terlander and several unnamed reviews, whose awesome comments regarding my chapter improvements inspired this rewrite. I can now say that I am happy with this fanfiction as a whole, and not just updates from the last few months. This fic was started in 2012, and went on hiatus in early 2013. It stayed that way for over a year before I picked it back up.

When I did start writing again the style, and also my story conception changed. This was originally going to be an action/adventure crossover between Code Geass and Romeo x Juliet (hence the original name.) Well, it's just Code Geass now with inspiration coming from all formats: Anime, mangas, and also some other fics in this space. It is also now categorized as Romance/Drama. There are still battle scenes, but it's definitely CG with a Josei inspired spin.

Some chapters have drastically changed in format, while others stayed mostly the same. This does not, however, affect the plot of current chapters. I'm not that much of a dick that I'm going to made my subscribers re-read 70,000+ words unless they want to The most drastic difference are more descriptive battles, scene changes, and lovey-lovey content. Major revisions include chapters 1-6, beyond that is general editing.

Also, a request: Stay with me till next chapter. Prologues are always awkward.

On August 10th of the year 2010 of the Common Era, the Holy Empire of Britannia invaded Japan. In the face of Britannia's new weapons, the Knightmare Frames, the Japanese defenses crumbled, and its citizens lost their freedom, their rights, and their pride. Even their name was taken. Eleven: That cold designation was the new name given to the Japanese.

The chilled air felt even colder against his flushed skin. The rhythmic sound of his breathing calmed Suzaku in spite of the loud insults. It was a surprise that his superior stayed to watch his punishment be acted out. Most would have left, assuming that the order was acted out to avoid a charge of insubordination and death.

"You run like a girl, private, move your lazy ass! If you want to be ever be considered anything other than a dirty Eleven pick up those legs!" The Lieutenant yelled at the top of his lungs. With his broad shoulders, short blonde hair, and hard face, he was the stereotypical soldier. A large vein popped out of the man's forehead, and to the boy in question it looked like he was ready to kill. That was to be expected though. It didn't matter that Suzaku had received his title of a Honary Britannian already; He knew that wasn't going to change how he was treated right away.

In terms of hazing he felt that he should be grateful that the only thing he had to endure so far from his new unit was an extra fifteen laps around the track. In boot camp his group were treated like animals, and not the kind that were kept as pets. It could have been worse though, he heard a story from when Numbers were first permitted to enter the military. Purists would enlist as drill sergeants, and put Elevens through hellish conditions to prove that they weren't worthy to fight in along side Britannians. Never mind that the men in those units were barely given any food, water, and were forced to do three times the activities as their Britiannian counterparts.

"Sir yes, Sir!" Suzaku yelled out.

The rest of the group had already retired for the night but strangely he didn't mind doing the extra work. Eventually he would be recognized for his skills as a fighter, it was only a matter of time. He was the fastest, most agile soldier of anyone he knew and recently a special experimental section of the military had taken interest in him. Others told him that it was because the military wouldn't risk a true Britannian on a faulty knightmare; however, the fact that they would consider an Eleven to pilot a knightmare was astonishing. Usually even simulation training was off limits to Numbers.

When Suzaku finished his final lap his superior only scoffed and walked off without any other acknowledgement. By this time the base, which was devoid of any emotion in the first place, would be ghost town sans for a few soldiers that were given guard duty for the night. Formally this position was supposed to break up any fights among Eleven and Britannian soldiers but that rarely ever happened. If any altercation were to happen, the victim would always be blamed and dishonored. For most of the Japanese soldiers, joining the military was dishonor enough; their families didn't need any more embarrassment. The fact that it was the only way out of the ghetto was overlooked. Due to being shamed by both native Britannians and their peers, most would retire early rather than drink and socialize at night.

Suzaku was under age, and didn't have any friends or family so it didn't matter much to him either way. He gave up both those rights with his selfish actions. Still, He couldn't help but smile at the thought as he wandered absently though the empty streets. There were no restrictions on age when it came a person dying for the Empire, but that same person had to be at least nineteen in order to order alcohol to take the edge off.

His infantry boots crunched against the uneven pieces of gravel of the path towards the dorm building. With his new status, he could have chosen to get an apartment in the settlement, but decided against it. The small room he shared with Jiro was enough, and it couldn't hurt to save money. He past the space without much thought and climbed the stairs at the end of the hall.

It wasn't until he was standing on top of the roof that Suzaku realized that he was feeling nostalgic. Normally he would burry memories of the past by keeping active. Maybe that's why he never minded running; subconsciously he felt if he ran fast enough he could forget the atrocity that he committed as a kid, an impossible feat.

"Would you have still asked me to protect you if you knew what I did that day, Lulu?" He whispered and leaned against the flimsy railing.

When the sky was clear and full of bright stars, he would think of Lelouch and Nunnaly. His mind would wander to the time that the three of them snuck out to catch a ghost. Suzaku would never have admitted it, but at the time he was just as afraid as Nunnaly to be out in the pitch black of the woods. Lelouch, on the other hand, showed no fear. Rather, a lengthy explanation as to why ghosts couldn't exist was given.

They stayed out until dawn eventually falling asleep the same time the first rays of light ascended the horizon. Lelouch was determined to treat Nunnaly like a normal girl back then, including her in all the games they played. They took turns carrying her, as they made travelled to a nearby clearing. Of course no ghosts appeared but that wasn't what Lelouch was really wanted. Instead her desire was the heavens, to be able to see all the stars.

She thought that if enough were visible, she would be able to find her mother. The child didn't believe in anything otherworldly, but the idea that Marianne became a ball of gas in the sky caught her attention. When she read that some cultures believed that the dead turned into something tangible, something that she could connect with; she had to test the theory. It wasn't until the end she was certain that her younger sibling was asleep that Lulu told him the real reason for their adventure, and that she couldn't find the one she sought. The stars were not a sea of adults at party; the naked eye could not distinguish one from another.

Suzaku considered searching for his friends when he was reassigned to the Tokyo Settlement: the place that Lelouch and Nunnaly were headed. There were allies in the city that could take care of them. Take care of them better than Suzaku's relatives could, at least. With the racial separation that followed the war, it would be odd for two Britannian children to live with him. They were no longer considered equal no matter how important the Kururugi house was before the war, and before he destroyed it.

"I hope you guys made it okay."

"This used to be a lot easier to hide when I was a kid." Lelouch mumbled to person gazing back at her in the full length mirror.

It was a beautiful young man with lavender eyes and sloppy jet-black hair. He was short, though not so much to draw attention to the fact; however, that paired with a lean frame made him look positively feminine. Thankfully that sort of thing was in style, and the girls at school were absolutely enchanted with how he reminded them of their favorite girly boy anime characters.

Everything that the girls loved about Lelouch were the traits that caused the male students to hate her. Well, scratch that, 75% of the male students hated her. The other 25% voted to dress "Lulu" up as a girl during any festival, school play, or casual Friday. Freshman cultural festival was the only time that the class voted by a show of hands and Lelouch was still bitter about the experience. At least, at thirteen there wasn't much to hide. After that experience Milly would use her influence as the dean's grandaughter to persuade the class president to take votes by ballot and skew the numbers.

"Big sister, are you going to eat breakfast before you leave?"

"I'll be done in a minute, Nunnaly. Go ahead and start without me!" Lelouch yelled back and readjusted the ace bandages one more time before throwing on a white undershirt and school jacket. It was becoming harder and harder to hide her breasts lately. It was bound to happen eventually Lelouch wasn't going to stay flat chested forever. Until last year she was starting to give up hope that she was ever going to hit puberty, even if her body was still lanky.

In hindsight if Lelouch was going to disguise herself as a boy it was silly to wish for a beautiful curvaceous form. Logically, and she prided herself on her analytical mind, Lelouch knew that she should be grateful that her boyish figure lasted as long as it did. Instead, when no one was looking she couldn't help but dream about what she would look like with long hair flowing down to her waist wearing a flirty dress on her first date.

That could never happen though. She made this decision to protect her and Nunnaly. There wasn't much that could be done to hide her blind and crippled sister other than keep her in physical hiding, which is what had been done. Nunnaly had never left Ashford academy since their arrival almost seven years prior. She could go to her classes and participate in school activities but that was about it.

A wave of guilt washed over Lelouch. Giving up her gender was a small price to pay considering everything that Nunnaly had lost. Sometimes she wondered if keeping Nunnaly like a caged bird was really giving her freedom but she seemed happy. They had made a home in the student council clubhouse and the members had become their family.

A/N: Revised 10/15/2014