[TRANSLATED] Scenes from the CODE GEASS novels: "Young Lelouch and Suzaku Talk About Strength"

[rainfall]

What It Is: an excerpt from Mamoru Iwasa's first CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion novel, Stage 0: Entrance, in which a younger Lelouch confronts Suzaku about the change he's undergone since the (as-yet unrevealed, in the novel) death of his father.
Where Is It: At the end of Stage-0:1-Previous Night
Part Of: Scenes from the CODE GEASS Novels

Young Lelouch and Suzaku Talk About Strength

"Here, Suzaku, lean on me."

"Oh, okay..."

The woods were already shrouded in twilight. Two boys walked, arm-in-arm, along the gloomy woodland path in silence. And they were still silent as they headed towards the light of the mansion. The air on their bare skin began to chill.

As for the shopping basket full of strawberries from the elderly couple, Lelouch was now the one carrying it.

They didn't want to worry Nunnally, so they wouldn't be telling her anything — and on this much, at least, both boys were in complete agreement without even needing to exchange a single word. It would be just like any other time they'd returned home, and the three of them would eat the strawberries together in peace.

They had almost reached the dim light of the mansion when Suzaku, still resting his weight on Lelouch's shoulder, broke the silence.

"Lelouch, I..."

But that was as far as he got before Lelouch cut him off.

"When did you first notice those men?"

"Oh, right..." Suzaku fumbled through his reply. "That time, you know? When we went to the beach two days ago."

"I figured as much." Lelouch, on the other hand, was matter-of-fact. "And did you confront them then, too?"

"No. Back then... they were just hanging around the property."

"Hmph. Then you were trying to protect me today?"

"...Yeah."

"What a pain."

Lelouch said it so bluntly that Suzaku, startled, had to check his expression.

Another silence fell between them. Finally, Suzaku hung his head.

"I guess... you're right. It's not like it even made any difference."

"Don't misunderstand me, Suzaku." Lelouch shook his head. "What I mean by pain is that I wish you'd told me about them the first time. If I'd known, perhaps things could have turned out differently today."

"Well, but..."

"Did you think I'd be afraid?"

"It's not that, I just..."

"Don't underestimate me so much, Suzaku. I'm still a Britannian prince, after all. We're relatively accustomed to this sort of thing."

"..."

"Besides... there's no reason for you to risk yourself for my or Nunnally's sake."

Lelouch spoke with no particular inflection. All he meant to do was give Suzaku some impersonal advice... but all of a sudden, the weight was gone from his shoulder.

Puzzled, Lelouch turned his head.

Suzaku had stopped dead in the middle of the path, his eyes cast downward.

Even through the gloom, he seemed somehow frailer than usual.

"Suzaku?"

Suzaku didn't so much as glance up. Instead, he forced out a breathless, "...reason...?"

"Huh?"

"I need... a reason?"

The boy's shoulders were trembling faintly, his fists clenched tight.

Lelouch made a thoughtful noise and tipped his head to one side. He replied frankly: "Yeah, you do."

Suzaku's head jerked up. His gaze on the other boy was reproachful, but also imploring.

"Lelouch..."

Again, Lelouch was matter-of-fact.

"As you might have noticed, Suzaku, I'm a rather contrary person."

"Lelouch..."

"Not too long ago, you said you didn't like my attitude. But there's nothing for it. I just can't believe in charity."

"Lelouch..."

"I am nothing more and nothing less than a product of my birth. Princes and princesses... we're almost invariably like this. Surrounded by nothing but enemies and retainers."

"Lelouch..."

"So, I can't trust charity. What I can trust is mutually-beneficial assistance. Anything else, unfortunately, makes me uncomfortable."

"Lelouch!" Suzaku had raised his voice into a shout.

But Lelouch remained stubbornly serene in the face of his agitation.

"So, if you're still determined to help us..."

"..."

"I'll give you a reason."

"...Huh?"

Suzaku gaped at him, and Lelouch met his bewildered stare with intensity.

Step by step, he closed the distance between them — until they were so close together that their noses almost brushed.

There, so quietly that it was basically a whisper, he said:

"—Suzaku. I don't know what's been weighing on you since that night."

"—!"

"I suspect it probably has something to do with Nunnally and myself. But, for exactly that reason, I'm not going to try to force it out of you. Unless you decide to tell me yourself, I won't even attempt to find out. Even I know to abide by that sort of rule. However..."

"..."

"You said that you'll never again use your strength for your own sake."

"..."

"Well, I think that's awfully dangerous."

"..."

"Or rather, extremely foolish. Someone who believes that won't last long. That's my logic, at any rate." Then, Lelouch cracked a smile. "But I actually like how illogical you are."

Suzaku stared back at him, looking sort of dazed.

But Lelouch wasn't finished yet. "So, I'll tell you this."

"..."

"You won't use your strength for your own sake. Fine — then I... no."

"..."

"I'll¹—"

"..."

"—use my strength for your sake."

"..."

"Give-and-take, reciprocity. How about that? Is that a good enough reason for you?"

This time, the silence that fell between them was much longer. No more words. Lelouch's face was reflected in Suzaku's eyes, and Suzaku's face was reflected in Lelouch's.

The ocean breeze rustled the pine branches overhead, whistled between the trees, and swept past the two boys.

Finally, Suzaku grinned, too. It was a very soft, somewhat bashful sort of smile.

"...You know, talking like that² doesn't suit you."

Lelouch snorted in amusement.

"Well, we're equals, after all."

And no statement had ever been truer.



Notes
^{1 Lelouch swaps from 僕 to 俺 — a more assertive, grown-up personal pronoun for a ten-year-old boy. It's also the pronoun Suzaku uses in this time period, not coincidentally.↩
2 Referring to the 俺.↩}