12 Chapter 12

Suzaku's POV

It was currently half-past three in the afternoon, and I was standing in a corridor observing a room from a moderate distance away. The room in question was the classroom for Class 1-C, and the events unfolding through the window certainly betrayed my expectations. I had pictured ordinary high-school classrooms as having a somewhat relaxed yet upstanding atmosphere. Perhaps it was just Class C in particular or maybe all classes at this 'special school,' were like this, but this was nothing like what I'd expected.

The raven-haired boy leaning against the wall next to me seemed to hold a similar opinion. His name was Lelouch vi Britannia or, as he goes by now, Lelouch Lamperouge. I first met him seven years ago and, while we didn't get along very well at first, we quickly became close with each other. The two of us, along with Lelouch's little sister Nunnally, share a great number of blissful childhood memories.

We were eventually seperated and lost contact due to circumstances out of our control, and I'd thought I'd never see Lelouch again - that's why I was very surprised when I walked into the Class E classroom and saw him sitting there, looking as apathetic toward the world as ever. We quickly ended up bickering after our reunion, which was nostalgic to say the least.

Thinking about how I would be spending the next three years here at this school with him, I couldn't help but crack a smile. I'd been through thick and thin with Lelouch, after all. Having someone like that that you can trust with anything, it was impossible to not be happy.

"What are you smiling at? We're on a mission here, you know."

Lelouch scolded me in a hushed tone, but this only made me grin further.

"Sorry, I was just reminiscing about seven years ago. It's crazy to think that we were reunited at this school by pure chance, isn't it?" I said in a low voice.

We spoke quietly so that no one could hear the actual contents of our conversation if they happened to pass nearby. To be honest, I didn't fully understand why it was so imperative for Class E to gain intel on the other classes without being discovered; I'd understood from the two conversations our class has had so far that this school was by no means ordinary, but these advanced schemes were well beyond my understanding. Lelouch, on the other hand, looks to be thriving in this environment and actually seems like he's enjoying himself, at least somewhat.

"Yeah. I sure was surprised when you walked through the door. I had to do a double take." Lelouch chuckled.

There was a short lull in our conversation, so I decided to ask him the question I had been wondering for the past day.

"What made you decide to enroll here, Lelouch?"

"Well, just the fact that it was renowned for being great, I guess. I must say, it's surpassed my expectations though. The living standard is very luxurious for a high-school student and I actually feel like this school might just give me something to put my all into - a goal that I can work towards with everything I've got."

"I see. It's definitely strange seeing you, who was always apathetic towards mundane life, looking like you're enjoying yourself."

Lelouch laughed quietly, but then started talking with a twinge of melancholy.

"Originally, I applied to this school and got accepted. I almost decided not to come at the last minute though."

"Really? Why's that?" I asked.

"Nunnally would most likely never get accepted into this prestigious school. Normally it wouldn't be that big a problem if we attended different schools, but when I learned this school had strict policies forbidding students from leaving campus or contacting the outside world I instantly dropped my plans of enrolling here. I only ended up coming in the end because Nunnally was so insistent that I should do what I want to do and stop worrying about her. She said it would be much more painful to her if I couldn't follow my ambitions because of her than if she couldn't see me for three years."

Lelouch explained with a bitter smile. I couldn't help but smile myself during the latter half of his explanation.

"That certainly sounds like something Nunnally would say," I said.

It must've been hard for Lelouch, making the decision between his ambitions and his sister. In the end, he came to ANHS after being nudged by Nunnally but there's no doubt that Lelouch still feels sad at not being able to see his treasured sister. I internally vowed to help make sure Lelouch's time at this school was worth it.

"Yeah, it was just like her," Lelouch said.

I was about to respond, when he started talking again with a nod towards Class C's classroom.

"Looks like something's about to happen."

Getting back to the scene that was out of place in what I'd imagined a high-school to be like, a tall boy with straight magenta hair that stopped just before reaching his shoulders was standing at the teachers podium while all the other students sat listening to him in silent apprehension.

A boy with dark green hair suddenly stood up and said something we couldn't make out in a raised voice. In response, the magenta-haired boy came down from the teacher's podium and calmly approached him.

"You don't think he's going to..?" I whispered to Lelouch, who was watching the scene unfold with curiosity.

"On the contrary, I really do think he's going to," he whispered back.

Upon reaching the green-haired boys desk, the magenta-haired boy reached over the desk and grabbed him by the collar. He said something, and Green-kun hesitated before throwing a pretty lousy punch at Magenta-kun. Magenta-kun easily blocked it and laughed; then he proceeded to forcefully drag Green-kun out of his seat.

I shot towards the classroom without thinking, my insticts telling me that I should stop any violence that breaks out, no matter what. There's no reason for people to fight each other.

"--!"

A firm grab on my arm abruptly stopped me, and I almost fell.

"Lelouch! What are you doing?"

"What are you doing? You can't do anything. If you raise your hand towards him, you'll get yourself in trouble. There's a surveillance camera in every classroom you know." he hissed.

But I couldn't just stand there and watch innocent students who were just trying to live their lives and stand up for themselves get beaten by that tyrant.

"I'll be defending another student!"

"The school won't see it that way! Plus, that guy clearly has Class C under his control. He could easily threaten the student you defend and force them to speak against you." Lelouch explained the situation rationally.

"If he tries to threaten them, I'll protect them." I said stubbornly.

"Don't be a fool! You can't watch over them around the clock! There's nothing we can do. Even if you stop this conflict without incurring a punishment yourself, he'll just wait until you're not there and do the same thing again!"

I tried to think of a retort, but my mind went blank. Everything Lelouch said was spot on. In this situation, recklessly barging into their intra-class conflict would benefit nobody.

"Ah, I didn't think it through. Thanks for stopping me," I said, my voice low.

"Don't worry about it. For now, let's just watch and try to decipher that Magenta-kun as much as possible. He's either really stupid or really smart and I'd like to find out which it is."

Lelouch said inquisitively with narrowed eyes. I didn't even bother asking how he came to that conclusion; if I did ask, he would explain it and then it would seem obvious and I'd feel like an idiot. I'm better off just trusting what he says.

Lelouch and I both returned our full attention to the scuffle. It seems that during our brief back-and-forth, Green-kun had been defeated and he now sat slumped im his chair with a visible red mark on his face.

"Shouldn't we record this with our phones or something? Oh, and that reminds me, you pointed out the surveillance camera right? Why is he doing this in plain view of it? Is he stupid or just oblivious?" I voiced my genuine confusion.

"That's what I meant by 'He's either really stupid or really smart,' earlier. Class C can't report Magenta-kun to the school because he's in their class, meaning there's a chance their own classmates who were involved in the fight would also be punished. Additionally, there's a non-zero possibility that this school punishes entire classes for just a single students actions. Recording this with our phones would be equally pointless, as we can't do anything as outsiders to the situation. The only way it would be useful is as evidence for if a Class C student complained to the school but, as I just mentioned, they can't do that."

Like always, Lelouch had an answer to explain the situation. He was very reliable in the sense that he could quickly analyse situations and identify what could and could not be done as well as short-term objectives that would be necessary to overcome the situation. Being able to give a concise rundown like that is an extremely useful skill in scenarios where teamwork and man-management is necessary.

So he can seriously just do whatever he wants and no one can stop him?" I asked in slight disbelief.

"Well, I wouldn't say there's no one that can stop him." Lelouch said, pointing through the Class C window.

I refocused my attention on the situation after having averted my gaze to take in what Lelouch had said. I saw straight away what Lelouch was alluding to; a very largely built young man with sunglasses and a dark skin complexion stood up from his desk and looked to challenge Magenta-kun.

"Obviously, I'm nowhere near as knowledgeable as you when it comes to things like this. Do you think that Magenta-kun can beat Sunglasses-kun?" Lelouch queried, glancing over at me with his sharp amethyst eyes.

"No, I think he has no chance. Magenta-kun was only able to seize power because he wielded violence without hesitation - the other students like Green-kun are clearly hesitant to fight which is their main weakness." I replied.

In combat, your mental state is equally as important as your physical state. If you didn't want to fight and you were against someone ready to strike you without mercy, you would lose almost every time unless you have a very big physical advantage.

And a very big physical advantage is what Sunglasses-kun happens to have over Magenta-kun. Even though Magenta-kun holds the mental advantage, he doesnt look trained which means he's learned a unique style from fighting a lot in the past. Consequently, it was extremely unlikely that Magenta-kun had any knowledge of how to take down a much bigger opponent with a massive build like Sunglasses-kun.

Magenta-kun didn't show any hesitation even when faced with a massive opponent like Sunglasses-kun, and approached him fearlessly. The moment he was within striking distance, Magenta-kun's right fist shot out like a bullet and flew towards Sunglasses-kun's throat. Sunglasses-kun blocked it with his massive right hand and whipped his own left hand out in retaliation, which Magenta-kun narrowly managed to avoid.

The difference in power was as clear as day but Magenta-kun didn't seem to care at all; he launched a kick which buried itself in Sunglasses-kun's abdomen. However, it was an attack that he had intended to receive - Sunglasses-kun used the opportunity to grab hold of Magenta-kun's leg and pull him in close.

A look of panic washed over Magenta-kun's face and he could do nothing to stop Sunglasses-kun from grabbed him by the collar and forcefully slamming him into the wall. Magenta-kun dropped to his hands and knees, below the window where we could no longer see him.

"It seems you were right. As expected of you," Lelouch complimented my prediction.

"It was a simple deduction, nothing more." I replied.

"Maybe to you, but to me who knows nothing about hand to hand combat it was an impressive insight backed by sound reasoning. You should know what it's like to be in that position, right?"

It was true. For students like Lelouch and Sora, reading situations and deducing information based on what they know even if they don't have much was probably second nature. But to me, it was amazing no matter how many times I saw it. Lelouch probably had a similar feeling when he saw me fight and perform athletics.