Prologue [Flashback] (Suzaku)

[Lelouch Lamperouge]

The cares of a child are generally looked down upon by the more ignorant adults of our society. Certainly, children tend to have less worries, less stress in their lives than their older counterparts…however, one must remember that this factor depends on the child in question. For a member of royalty, or a noble child, life would be simplistic both during, and quite possibly after their childhood. With the wealth, influence, and opportunity granted to them to succeed, such children are expected to grow into something special…though even if they do not, the rich did, after all, have the money to care for more children; more opportunities for the future of their family name. Such views, characteristic of Britannian culture, have permeated throughout the world at a rate directly proportional to Britannia’s expansion and Imperialist movements. Surely this makes sense. Children are given the opportunity to succeed, and they may either take this opportunity, or waste it, securing their future in the world that seems destined to be united under the name of one nation.

However, analyzing both sides of the metaphorical coin is incredibly important when considering such cultural and, frankly, important factors in a nation’s development. The lower class, the peasantry, the poor; this group does not have the luxury of such a relaxed state of mind. This group, often consisting of minorities around the globe, must deal with the day to day vice that seems to radiate from the aristocracy, with such things as discrimination, arrogance, and corruption serving as the vehicles for their apparently inherent evil. These children must deal with such things, regardless of their age, and therefore grow with a skewed view of honor, justice, and ethics from the time they come into contact with the upper class. This is not limited to Area 11, though our tale shall begin in what was formally known as Japan, but exists throughout the Britannian Colonies.

Though one must also consider that there may be a third group involved. Naturally, I understand that such a thought does not fit the coin metaphor detailed above, but the third side of the coin would contain such children as Lelouch vi Britannia, the boy who, as he gazed around at the destruction caused by the actions of the allegedly “superior” nation of Britannia, could hardly contain his rage. The exiled prince had grown up in something of a sheltered existence, obviously, with his mother, sister, and he living in perfect harmony and joy together…or so he remembered. He’d never been troubled with the day to day affairs of politics, or the ideals of his father, Charles zi Britannia. Engaging only in activities of leisure, such as chess and idle pondering, the boy had always seen his nation as many others did currently; a benevolent nation that provided for all of its citizens. Little did he know, however, that his privileged and simple existence would take a turn for the worst, with the assassination of his mother, Marianne vi Britannia.

Devastated, the boy had been granted an audience with his father, demanding that the issue of the assassination be looked into further. The result? A complete lack of concern from the Emperor himself, and an ignorance that astounded even the young boy, who would ordinarily have thought adults of the family to be his superior. His disillusionment with Britannian aristocracy and Monarchy complete, the young Lelouch threw away his title was an eventual heir to the throne, earning both he and his sister Nunnally isolation from the royal family, and eventual banishment from the mainland. Sent to Japan with Nunnally to be used as a hostage during the Sakuradite Conflict, he had been used by his father, beyond all doubt. Had his mother been used in such a way as well? These thoughts had reverberated within his mind during his time here, and never granted him solace for a single second.

However, upon meeting a young boy around his age, he immediately determined that, although he and this “Suzaku Kururugi” did not necessarily see eye to eye on…well, almost every issue, he had something of a sense of honor and loyalty that the Britannians lacked. The opposite of his father…the opposite of all that that man represented…a better ally could not possibly be imagined. As they spent time together, the three of them formed something of a close bond, and in what was quite possibly the first moment of such significance, Lelouch vi Britannia had gained a close friend based on no notion of wealth, bloodline, or prestige. They simply were…and this, most of all, led Lelouch to hold Suzaku in high esteem.

Now, the term “Area 11” was used earlier on in this exposition, and most certainly, at this point in time no such designation had been given to the land of Japan. Maintaining their freedom, Lelouch found their devotion to the protection and honor of their nation to be astounding, and in stark contrast to Britannia’s conquest and hunger for more power, and influence. This land had grown on him, and as much as he maintained his dignified manner and royal etiquette; he could not deny that there was something in a simple existence such as this. Yet still, the actions of Charles zi Britannia were nothing short of inexcusable, and once more, the question struck him. Had his mother just been a puppet? Was he nothing but a puppet, in the long run? Would his fate amount to the same as her’s?

Well, slowly, Lelouch was accepting that, though this question may never be answered, he could at least enjoy a peaceful existence with Nunnally, and his newfound friend Suzaku. They enjoyed many a day together, with Japan’s beautiful landscape as the backdrop to a day where they made the choices, themselves, not based on privilege, but on freedom and spirit. No Sakuradite conflict could touch them, for in the heart of the country, they were safe from the influence of Britannia, at least for a time. Besides, would the Monarchy truly wish to endanger the life of its very own flesh and blood?

Such a question was answered, and such beliefs refuted with the creation, and deployment of the vehicles commonly known as the Knightmare Frames. Breaking through Japanese defenses with these metal monsters, the tiny island nation seemed helpless against such vast innovations in technology. Finally, on a day that should have been like any other, Lelouch and his closest friend observed the Britannian force as it appeared over the horizon, darkening the skies, blotting out the sun, and erasing all hope for a truly peaceful existence.

Now, a very short period away from the events depicted above, the young, former prince watched as his friend’s face seemed to lose all traces of hope. The horror of war…the destruction…the chaos. The very landscape of Japan had changed, and that, most of all, would have hurt Suzaku the most. His home desecrated beyond all repair, and his future bleak, Lelouch could not blame him. Yet through all of this…in all of his rage, and anger, and sorrow…Lelouch vi Britannia gained a sense of understanding. Yes, it was all very clear to him now…to do what was necessary for the betterment of your own ideal…to succeed for the sake of success, for the sake of momentum, to abandon all thoughts of human emotion in favor of calculation in battle. He could not have grasped the morality involved in war at such a young age…but he understood theory. Clenching his fists, these thoughts both sickened and intrigued him. His own interest in the topic, most likely instilled in him via his bloodline, was what hurt the most. He would never forgive them for doing this to him…to Japan…to Nunnally…to Suzaku! His face twisted from despair, remorse, and fury, he could no longer shy away from his past. His eyes had been opened.

”I swear…I swear, Suzaku, so help me!” The young man began, his words ablaze with a righteous wrath.

”I will one day…Obliterate Britannia!”

[Suzaku Kururugi]

How... could this have happened?

The young boy had been sitting in the same spot for the past fifteen minutes or so, just staring at the ground. Anything else in this world, apart from that one spot on the ground, was too much for his already overfilled head to comprehend. His world was crashing down around him, his country, destroyed, his life, decimated, his people, slaughtered. Nothing made any sense anymore. Naturally, being the son of the Prime Minister, he'd been well educated in world affairs and politics, but the Empire of Britannia had never annexed a country so violently, and so efficiently, with these new mechanical monsters, the Knightmares, a name fitting of such terrors.

He'd already seen some of the wounded, some of the battle-scarred. His old mentor, Kyoshirou Toudou had always been a man of war, a man who would be one to rely on in a time of crisis. If only here were here now... Nothing in the world had been so breathtaking, so surprising, so sheerly stunning as the invasion of the Britannians. He'd learned about the Britannian culture, and their history, as well as many of the other nations, but he'd never imagined that his home would be subject to the imperialism that he now understood all too well.

For a slight moment, his mind went blank, and he found the capacity to take in the situation at hand. He sat upon a small box, among the wreckage, his childhood best friends at his side, Nunally and Lelouch. They were prince and princess of the Britannian royal bloodline, claiming a seat to the throne, the number, Suzaku could not remember. For a moment, he felt a burning hate for them, they represented the same nation that killed his future, his present, and all the memory of his past. Momentarily, he had the urge to act violently out against the boy, but it faded. He remembered what the boy had told him of his family, the violence within the bloodline, the hate and banishment. He knew that Lelouch and Nunally no longer affiliated themselves with this imperialistic monster known as Britannia.

Everything around him seemed to fade away, until all he could hear was one thing. ”I will one day…Obliterate Britannia!”

He looked up for a moment, Lelouch's face was as angry as a man could be, frustration and hate littered his face. For a split second, Suzaku was happy. His friend was with him, and somehow, he knew he always would be. He let out a slight, forced chuckle, before saying, "Obliterate? Are all you Britannian's this violent?" Followed by more forced chuckles, before fading out, and he returned his gaze to the spot on the ground. What do I do now...?

[Lelouch Lamperouge]

The invasion had come so quickly, and with such ferocity that even the young boy’s experience with his nation’s Imperialistic barbarism couldn’t have prepared him for experiencing it firsthand. It seemed as if the very nature and beauty of Japan had been lost to a fiery inferno of death and shattered dreams. For a moment, Lelouch could not help but blame himself for this attack. Although logically, Britannia’s onslaught against other nations would have continued regardless of his occupation in Japan, this irrational thought pervaded through his every being. Through all of the pain, all of the anger he felt with every fiber of his being, a pang of regret and pure sadness stabbed through the essence of his soul. Suzaku’s words struck a chord within him, and he found himself pondering what exactly his lineage meant in the grand scheme of his life.

Was he nothing more than the son of Charles zi Britannia? Would he be forever doomed by his bloodline, by the nature that he shared with his brothers and sisters, to cause destruction and crave bloodletting? Is the very race he was born into nothing but a pack of wild and vicious monsters? Is there some inherent flaw in his genetic makeup that causes him to be more ruthless than the seemingly peace-loving Japanese? He realized that things were not so clear cut in most instances, but at the same time, he felt as if Suzaku was on to something. Perhaps it was in his nature, and the thought frightened him, even if the fright was only miniscule in comparison to his outrage.

Yet as he thought on it, the idea of this mindset being something he was born into sounded more and more…intriguing. Yes, if there was nothing he could do to prevent himself from thinking in such terms, then he would merely have to take advantage of his situation. After all, the key to any good strategy is the ability to adapt when faced with overwhelming odds, is it not? The Britannian Empire has dealt him at least three unforgivable blows over the course of his life, and he would take one of those wounds and turn it against them. Turning from Suzaku to once more survey the landscape, as if affirming that what he saw was reality, he slowly nodded to himself. If the royal family would attack with such cowardice and indiscrimination, then their deeds will be repaid sevenfold.

The boy sitting in front of him, Suzaku Kururugi, was enduring one hardship after another with the invasion of Japan, the death of his father, and the absence of the man who was once his mentor. Lelouch had to admit that when he was first sent to this nation, he felt a sense of superiority over these people. In fact, there was still an inkling of pride in him, as he felt as though Suzaku merely did not understand the way the world worked sometime, and felt as if he needed to enlighten him. Some might call this cultural Imperialism, but it was nothing more than a desire to help Suzaku see things from his own point of view, one filled with logic and cold hard facts. The boy always countered his arguments with his pride, and his desire to make the world a better place for all. Lelouch could not understand his idealism, even for a young boy. In order to change anything, one has to be ready to soil his hands without pause or hesitation, and Suzaku seemed to be under the impression that a nice talk with the Britannian royals would straighten things out. Although such terminology does sound bitter, Lelouch truly enjoyed talking with Suzaku of such things. It made him feel…challenged.

Looking around, it made him incredibly sad, knowing that everything Suzaku had ever known was about to be tossed asunder. He and Nunnally were used to adapting to their environment, they had not been truly home since they had been sent to Japan in the first place, and they would get by. But Suzaku had nowhere to go without his father, and even his nation itself would no longer be a safe haven for him once the occupying forces began the “rehabilitation” of what was once a beautiful nation.

Area.

Such a cold word, with none of the human elements of nation and none of the prideful elements of country. This is merely a slab of geography to the royal family, and they treat it with a cold and heartless hand. Typical for the family that he so despised, and the father that threw away all thoughts of the royal family being a true “family”, in any sense of the word. Just as his father had tossed him away…tossed Nunnally away…tossed his own wife away, so too would he handle affairs such as this with a disgusting and perverse lack of concern. And those who loved this nation, people like Suzaku who merely wished to live their lives in peace and try to instill their naïve sense of justice and peace onto others, they had to suffer for his father’s amusement. The very thought of his smugness was sickening.

Walking to Suzaku, he knelt down slightly as he felt his anger fading into something softer, something very similar to sorrow. The boy would not look him in the eyes at first, and seemed enthralled with his own thoughts, gazing blankly at the soil of the country he so loved. ”If I am a violent Britannian” The young prince began in a soft yet determined voice, ”then the future of Japan may rest of fighting fire with fire.” He didn’t truly have any stake in Japan itself, on the contrary, the Britannians could colonize and his standard of living would not decrease in the least, but Suzaku deserved some form of consolation and at the moment, all Lelouch had to offer were thoughts of revenge.

”Things will return to how they were. Just like the seasons pass, Japan will be reborn, and Britannia will be a thing of the past. A relic of a violent era, and I will make sure of it.”

[Suzaku Kururugi]

Suzaku's hands tightened around the keepsake his father had left him, a small brass pocket watch, a family heirloom as it were. It was all he had left of his father, and even though he'd been the one to grant him his last seconds, the Kururugi boy would treasure it dearly for the rest of his life. He loved his father, he never intended to end his life, he was just a confused boy faced with a lot of larger-than-life issues. There was no telling how his frail mind would take it. If only Prime Minister Kururugi had understood that.

But that was in the past, what's done is done as they say. Nothing would bring his father back, and nothing that he could conceive would change the situation he was in now, so there was nothing to do but sulk in sorrow, or so he thought. But still his friend refused to let him wallow in grief. He made promises that Suzaku knew that he could never keep, and yet somehow, if there was anyone who would grow to do the things he described... it would be Lelouch. Sure he could be arrogant at times, and even reckless, but such are the characteristics of any young boy. Not to mention that his intellect far surpassed any shortcomings his rashness would bring.

His mind flashed back to the first time Lelouch arrived, he had been so angry all the time, rejecting his new lifestyle, yet always holding a high amount of love for his sister Nunally. It was the only thing he seemed to care about for awhile, and Suzaku couldn't blame him. To be uprooted from your life and thrown into a foreign land after your mother is brutally murdered and sister horribly crippled would do a lot to a young boy's mind. Yet still the two conflicted, and fought. It was in this fighting that they became such good friends, rivals in every sense of the word.

"Well, thank you, Lelouch, but I really dont see anything like that happening any time soon...

[Lelouch Lamperouge]

Hearing the less than thrilled response of his Japanese friend, Lelouch supposed he couldn’t really blame Suzaku for not having his mood lightened by talk of the future, and of Japan’s eventual rebirth. After all, in the face of such a catastrophe, rhetoric could only do so much. Before he would be able to feel even the slightest ray of hope, Suzaku would need to see something in the way of results. It was one thing for Lelouch to claim he would destroy Britannia, but quite another for him to actually set out on the path that would lead to the imperialistic nation’s obliteration. Clenching his fists and looking upon the wreckage that Suzaku could not bring himself to view, Lelouch felt something he had not felt since he’d been exiled and sent to live in Japan. He truly felt the effect that his young age had on both his own capability and on the way in which the world perceived him. To Suzaku, and surely to any others he might have mentioned this to, Lelouch may as well have been a little boy pretending he was some sort of great conqueror. He felt so helpless, so inconsequential. What would it have mattered if he himself were counted among the dead that lay scattered around the once beautiful landscape of Japan? Would anyone have grieved? Surely his own family already believed that his demise had come and gone. What would it have mattered if he’d passed away with the thousands of nameless Japanese that died this very day?

Casting a sidelong glance to his right, Lelouch took a moment to reconsider this train of thought. There sat his sister, Nunnally – blissfully unaware of the severity of the situation, and yet he was absolutely sure she had sensed something was wrong. She had heard everything he’d said to Suzaku, and yet she sat to the side, as he had told her there was nothing to worry about. Unable to move without assistance, or see for herself – even if all others cared little for him, and his own family had abandoned both he and his sister to an early grave in the conflict that had ensued, he knew that there was one person who truly mattered to him through all of this. Without him, Nunnally would be absolutely unable to have a life that allowed her to experience all of the joys he so wanted her to feel. She would be unable to visit places she so loved, or begin to picture sights she was unable to see. That, above all else, made his survival absolutely essential. Walking to his sister’s side, he placed a hand on her shoulder, and looking into her innocent face, for the first time since all of this had started Lelouch felt the tug of a smile on his features. Saying nothing to her directly, as he was sure any conversation or explanation the two might share was better saved for a later date, Lelouch instead once more turned his gaze to Suzaku before seeing a car drive up quickly and come to a rapid stop nearby, a man opening the door and stepping out.

“Oh, thank heavens I found you! I’ve been sent by the Ashford family to retrieve you; we will make sure you are kept safe, please, let us leave.”

Lelouch wasn’t surprised at all. He had expected the Ashfords, stark supporters of his mother, Lady Marianne, to come looking for them. Although they had been stripped of their noble status, they maintained some dignity in these hard times, and for that Lelouch was grateful. However, without having to ask Lelouch could tell that the offer did not extend to his friend Suzaku, regardless of his family situation, or lack of shelter. Turning once more to his friend, with eyes that mirrored the sorrow he felt in his heart, Lelouch cleared his throat and spoke in a far more calm voice than before, gathering himself. ”Where will you go?” He asked, a simple question and yet one with huge implications for the two young friends. Although Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi had many allies, he also had many enemies. If Suzaku were unable to find someone to take him in, he would become a target. As much as Lelouch and Nunnally were valuable as hostages, the son of the late Prime Minister could also prove to be quite the bargaining tool. And if there were one thing Lelouch had come to realize as of late, it was that Britannia had no shame in regards to its tactics.

It was a sad thing for Lelouch to imagine. Suzaku was the first person he considered to be a true rival of his in a very long time. Although they were truly friends, it seemed as though Suzaku possessed every trait which he himself lacked. Whereas he excelled in mental exercises, Suzaku possessed extraordinary physical prowess even for a child. The contrast between the two could be further documented, but there wasn’t much of a point of thinking further on it. Was Lelouch supposed to just accept the fact that his greatest friend, and his greatest rival, could just be destroyed by Britannia? That his father would have not only the life of his mother on his hands, but also that of Suzaku? He refused to believe that such a thing could come to pass, and yet the logical part of him continued its cold analysis of Suzaku’s chances. If he could find someone to stay with; a true ally of his father, then he might live through this. If not, Suzaku would likely end up as another casualty of the conflict. Regardless, Suzaku would grow up not as a proud Japanese citizen, but as a Number. Japan would be assigned a randomized number, and Suzaku would be defined by it. Such despicable practices were commonplace in Britannian culture, and their presumptuous nature continued to sicken the former eleventh prince.

”Do you have anywhere in mind?”