13 Chapter 13

Oi, is Magenta-kun seriously just going to act like nothing happened?" Lelouch said incredulously while looking back at Class C.

Magenta-kun had gotten back up after being winded by Sunglasses-kun, who had returned to his seat, and was back at the teachers podium lecturing his silent classmates once more.

"He had probably sensed that Sunglasses-kun wasn't a fan of violence from their scuffle," I said.

At least, that was the likeliest reason. Sunglasses-kun didn't do anything that would cause long-term damage, rather he just put Magenta-kun out of action for around thirty seconds and returned to his chair. He probably didn't want to hurt anyone, even if they're trying to hurt him.

"He's not a fan of violence even though he has that body?" Lelouch said in disbelief.

"Not every strong person is bloodthirsty, you know. I'm also a pacifist."

"You consider yourself strong, then?"

"If I wasn't, then I really would have nothing going for me." I said half-jokingly.

Lelouch sighed as he stared at Magenta-kun through the window. The look on his face told me that he was thinking about something - it was a look that I had grown quite familiar with after spending a lot of time around him. After thinking for around twenty seconds, Lelouch straightened his back and started walking towards the 1-C classroom door.

"H-hey, where are you going?" I fumbled over my words.

"It's about time we make our move."

"We have a move?"

Lelouch reached the door and kicked it open, waltzing into the 1-C classroom with no hesitation. I sighed at his antics and followed him through, politely shutting the door behind me.

"Kuku, it appears I have some visitors. Who might you be?" Magenta-kun asked us.

He didn't seem surprised or confused even though his classroom door was kicked open and two random students strutted into his class. Rather, he just looked amused.

"My name's Lelouch and his is Suzaku Kururugi. Who are you?" Lelouch said bluntly.

"You've got some nerve bursting in to my class and asking me questions," Magenta-kun chuckled, "but no matter. I'm Ryūen Kakeru, the leader of this pathetic class."

Lelouch raised his eyebrow at Ryūen's introduction, but quickly returned to his neutral expression. He didn't respond and walked over to Ryūen's empty desk, picked up his chair and brought it to the front of the classroom. The eyes of forty students watched him intensly, but Lelouch kept acting like he was alone with just Ryūen.

"So, why are you here?" Ryūen finally spoke when Lelouch reached the front of the classroom.

Lelouch didn't reply immediately; instead, he made a show of taking his time placing the chair down in front of the blackboard facing the rest of the students. He proceeded to sit in it and crossed his left leg over his right, like an emperor on his throne. Ryūen looked slightly irritated at being ignored, but said nothing.

"You're a funny one, Ryūen. Even after being completely overpowered, your attitude hasn't changed at all." Lelouch finally spoke.

"Kuku, so you've been watching?"

"Yes. I was originally just going to drop by and watch from afar to determine the hierarchy in this class, but I wanted to confirm something."

Surprisingly, Lelouch leaked a fair bit of information to Ryūen. Was this a test? Or was he just trying to build a bond by letting Ryūen in on his intentions? Like usual, I couldn't read Lelouch at all.

"You were surprised by my use of violence which is why you got curious, right?"

"Obviously. Most high-schoolers don't take their entire class hostage using violence."

"Kuku, that's quite interesting reasoning. I thought for sure you would say something else." Ryūen looked pleasantly surprised.

I got the impression I was already out of the loop. These two were clearly playing some kind of word game that was beyond my comprehension. I scanned the room and thought that all the other Class C students were probably just as confused as I was.

"You should be aware, though, that violence is by far the most effective means of making people subservient," Ryūen said that as if he was offering genuine advice. "I could even force you and your quiet friend into submission right now with violence."

"Why don't you do it then?" Lelouch probed.

"Huh?"

"You could gain a pawn in another class, or perhaps you could take all of our points? In any case, isn't beating us down right here the most logical next step?"

"Kuku, I see now. You're so confident in your own strength that you think you would be in no danger even if I did attack you."

"Perhaps," Lelouch said ambiguously.

Neither Lelouch nor Ryūen were letting anything they know slip. Because of the rundown he had given me before we entered the 1-C classroom, I understood that Lelouch was trying to discern the Ryūen's justification for his violent behaviour. Was it merely brazen stupidity? Or had Ryūen already figured out that his classmates couldn't report him?

"Hey," Lelouch addressed the entirety of Class C this time.

"Why don't any of you report Ryūen to the school?"

"... Well that's because--" Green-kun spoke up on behalf of Class C, but was swiftly cut off by an icy, threatening glare from Ryūen.

The edges of Lelouch's mouth curled upwards as he watched that exchange. What could he possibly be smiling about, I wonder?

"Not going to tell me? That's a shame." Lelouch said, seemingly disappointed. "Tell me, Ryūen, do you honestly think you deserve your position at the top of Class C after being so completely overpowered?"

"The duty of a leader isn't to be the strongest out of all his men. It's to lead them to victory by formulating strategies, outwitting his opponents and managing his subordinates." Ryūen responded.

"You're wrong."

"Kukuku, so you think that the leader always has to be the strongest and smartest out of all his subordinates? Your logic is--"

"That's not what I meant,"

Lelouch cut him off and closed his eyes smugly before continuing to speak.

"I agree with what you said about the duties of a leader. What I meant was that you had mistakenly labelled yourself as a 'leader,' when in reality you're nothing more than a pathetic dictator,"

Lelouch opened his amethyst eyes and stared deep into Ryūen's, before saying his last two words in a menacing and arrogant tone:

"Ryūen Kakeru."

Silence befell the room as everyone took their time to digest what Lelouch had said. The Class C students looked especially astonished, likely because at this point they were used to Ryūen only talking down to them and ruling over them with fear and violence; seeing someone speak to Ryūen like Lelouch just did left them dumbfounded.

Around a minute of silence passed and Lelouch kept his gaze fixed firmly on Ryūen the entire time, patiently waiting for a reaction. Just when I began to think he wasn't going to say anything, he laughed.

"Even if you label me a dictator, that doesn't undermine my point."

"Yes it does. A leader's followers follow him either because of admiration and respect or because of absolute trust. In the former case, the leader has proved himself capable of getting results, so people come to respect and eventually follow them. In the latter case, the leader is well-liked and trusted completely by their allies; they are able to lead because their followers all know that they have their best interests in mind at all times."

Everyone listened attentively to Lelouch's monologue, even including Ryūen himself.

"You however, Ryūen, only rule because you wield violence and force people to follow you. Now that a figure has emerged who can defeat your violence, nobody has any reason to follow you anymore."

That was the conclusion that Lelouch had come to. If a ruler uses force to make their people follow them and then that force one day disappears, their followers will no longer have any reason to listen to them. No one would willingly follow someone who has neither respect nor trust, especially one who had previously threatened them into submission and treated them like dirt.

The Class C students stared at Lelouch with a mixture of awe and bewilderment while Ryūen pondered Lelouch's words. I doubted that he would change his ways in one day just because some unknown student lectured him, but it's a start at least.

I turned towards Green-kun and approached his desk.

"Are you alright?" I asked him.

"H-huh? O-oh, yeah. I'm fine..." he muttered awkwardly.

"I'm Kururugi Suzaku." I held out my hand.

Green-kun looked at me in apparent amazement, blinked a couple of times and then grasped my hand.

"Ishizaki Daichi," he said lowly.

It seemed that he had yet to regain his confidence after being beaten by Ryūen.

"Nice to meet you, Ishizaki." I gave him a smile before moving back to the front of the room.

"You all probably want to leave now, right? He's kept you here for nearly an hour now," Lelouch said glancing at the clock that read 15:53.

Nobody had to ask who he was, because we all already knew. All the Class C students nodded, to which Lelouch motioned to the door.

"Then get going," he told them with a smile.

Ryūen didn't even try to stop them - he just watched the scene unfold while leaning his upper body over the teachers podium.

Once all the other Class C students had left, Ryūen spoke up.

"Do you think that's the end of it, Lelouch?"

"Throughout history the reigns of those who ruled through fear and oppression have all ended in the same way, and it's certainly not a pretty one. Don't let yours be the same."

Thud! A loud bang reverberated around the room as a result of Ryūen punching the blackboard behind him.

"Who the hell are you to lecture me?! Do you seriously think that I'm going to listen to your shitty advice?" he shouted.

"Perhaps not. I just wanted to give you something to think on, I guess."

With that, Lelouch left the classroom and I followed suit, shutting the door behind me and leaving Ryūen by himself.

"Why the hell did I do that?" Lelouch agonized once we were in the corridor.

"We went in to get information, remember?" I reminded him.

"No, not that! Why the hell did I try to help him? I'm not the type to try and help others grow, nor am I the type to save a bunch of random students I've never seen before! Just what was I thinking?!"

He put the base of his palm to his forehead in frustration. It seemed that he couldn't understand his own actions, but I felt like I knew exactly why he did what he did. After knowing him for so long, it was only natural that I'd come to understand his nature even if only a little bit.

"You said earlier that you found your ordinary life boring and came to this school in hopes of reigniting your ambitions, right? Don't you think that in your heart, somewhere, you thought that by helping them now they could develop into opponents worthy of your effort and recognition in the future?"

"..."

We began to walk side by side in silence down the corridor. Neither of us knew where we were going, but I suppose it didn't really matter right now. I looked over at my best friend and couldn't help but feel truly happy for the first time in seven years