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[TRANSLATED] Scenes from the CODE GEASS novels: "Nunnally Contacts Suzaku at Mt. Fuji"
What It Is: an excerpt from Mamoru Iwasa's fourth CODE GEASS: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2 novel, Turn 4, in which Nunnally contacts Suzaku via a Royal Private channel — with devastating results.
Where Is It: In the midst of Turn-4:3-Darkness.
Part Of: Scenes from the CODE GEASS Novels
Nunnally Contacts Suzaku During the Battle of Mt. Fuji
The Lancelot Albion had suspended its futile bombardment of Damocles's unbreachable Blaze Luminous shield, and, in concert with the Gareth squad it commanded, was in the process of falling back.
"What do you want, Nunnally?" Suzaku addressed her over the secure comm line in the Lancelot's cockpit, his voice very calm even as he continued carrying out these operations. "I think it's a little late for us to be talking like this..."
"Maybe so." Nunnally's voice, too, was dispassionate as it emerged from the comm panel. "But I had some free time, so..."
"Free time?"
"Yes. There's nothing for me to do until the next FLEIJA launch."
Naturally, Suzaku's eyebrows shot up. "Nunnally. Don't tell me..." The pitch of his low voice rose slightly. "You're the one who's been...?"
"Yes." Nunnally's voice remained unsettlingly cool. "Oh, dear. Does that surprise you, Suzaku? Did you really think I would be sitting around doing nothing, like I usually do?"
"..."
"That's not who I am anymore. ...Well, at any rate, it really is something, isn't it? With a FLEIJA warhead, even someone like me can take down so many enemies..."
"..."
"And I'm not limited to just one shot. We have so many of them. So—" Nunnally broke off. "And now, I suppose you're thinking it's about time to abandon my brother — wondering if I'll let you join my side?"
Silence filled the cockpit. After a moment, Suzaku replied in a low voice. "Are you being serious right now, Nunnally?"
"What do you mean? I opened this channel to let you surrender, Suzaku! I'm entirely serious. Would that really be such a strange thing, considering the difference between the military strength of our forces?"
"..."
"Well, if you'd rather not, I won't hold back — I'll just crush you, okay? It was a slim hope anyway. I just thought, since you are the Knight of Betrayal, that it was worth asking."
Again, Suzaku said nothing.
Of course he would think she wasn't being serious. Normally, Nunnally wasn't the sort of girl who would say such things at a time like this, and Suzaku knew that well. So, given that she had, there was one obvious question:
...What on earth is she trying to do?
Does she just want to unsettle me? Did Schneizel put her up to this? No, this is too childish for him—
But before Suzaku could take that thought any further, Nunnally piped up again, her tone very different now:
"Suzaku... you're someone who can't finish what he starts, aren't you?"
"?"
"How does it make you feel, by the way? To know that the brother and sister whose lives you saved by killing your own father have both grown up to be fine murderers. You really outdid yourself there, didn't you?"
This time, Suzaku's eyes opened wide with astonishment. As its Blaze Luminous barrier expanded and the Damocles prepared to fire another FLEIJA, he was deathly still. Instead of watching the Damocles, all Suzaku's focus was on picturing the girl who must have been inside it. His mouth worked only haltingly.
"Nunnally... who told you...?"
Her reply came in a split second:
"I've always known."
Silence fell between them. Suzaku looked stunned.
"Unlike my brother, I wasn't asleep at the time, so I saw you immediately after you'd committed your crime. At the time, it was only a vague sense, but as I got older, and really started to think about how you were before and after, I came to have some idea of what had happened."
"But..."
"I've never told anyone, of course. I thought you'd done it to keep me safe, too. ...However. That's exactly why seeing you like this is so irritating for me."
"!"
"All you did was kill your own father, and now you're always unsure of yourself... For those of us in the Britannia family, what you did wasn't even particularly unusual. And you thought you could change Britannia from within? Are you a fool? Wasn't that obviously too much for a halfhearted person like you?"
"...Nunnally..."
"I think you just didn't have the resolve."
While Suzaku could only grit his teeth, Nunnally hurled even more merciless words at him.
"And it's true even now — all you're doing is wagging your tail for my brother in his rebellion against our father. Yes, and before that, you wagged your tail for me. That's the sort of person you are, in the end. Someone who can't do anything by themselves, so you just cling to the coattails of others, expecting them to take responsibility, to supply your resolve—"
Abruptly, Nunnally let out a small, mocking laugh — and finally broached the one topic that should have been completely off limits1.
"And that's why you couldn't even... protect one person — my beloved sister, Euphy."
"—?!"
"Oh, yes. And to think, I once said I wanted you to be my knight. Well, today I would like to take that back. For you see, every person who has ever wanted you to be their knight has had awful judgment. I decline to repeat my sister and my father's mistake. I'm only grateful I know better now."
"..."
"But you don't understand yet, do you? We might both be murderers, but you could have chosen me instead of my brother, Euphy's killer. Have you lost your mind? Or did you only ever see my sister as a means to advance your station in life? In that case, I'm sorry."
For my sister. Having said everything else without pause, Nunnally finally stopped there.
The silence that stretched out between them was deeper than any ocean. So deep that even the resounding explosions of the battlefield around them seemed muffled by it.
Suzaku had a white-knuckled grip on the Lancelot's yokes. The blood throbbed in his hands and wrists. He spoke in a voice that was no more than a whisper, yet full of strength.
"All right... Nunnally. It's confirmed2 — you're an obstacle for me and Lelouch."
Nunnally let out a short, scornful sound.
"This late in the game, and you still weren't even prepared for that much? This is why I've been calling you halfhearted."
"..."
"I've had enough. You're an eyesore, so please do your utmost to remove yourself from my presence. You're nothing but a nuisance standing between me and defeating my brother."
"—Nunnally!"
Even knowing it was futile, he prepared to fire the Lancelot Albion's main armament, the V.A.R.I.S. Hadron Blaster, straight ahead.
At that, Nunnally cut off her end of the transmission.
Notes
1 The Japanese here is idiomatic for broaching a topic that's off limits, but literally speaking Nunnally tracked mud into Suzaku's inner sanctum, which is a lovely image.↩
2 This is a variation on Suzaku's "catchphrase", There's something I want to confirm.↩
Where Is It: In the midst of Turn-4:3-Darkness.
Part Of: Scenes from the CODE GEASS Novels
Nunnally Contacts Suzaku During the Battle of Mt. Fuji
The Lancelot Albion had suspended its futile bombardment of Damocles's unbreachable Blaze Luminous shield, and, in concert with the Gareth squad it commanded, was in the process of falling back.
"What do you want, Nunnally?" Suzaku addressed her over the secure comm line in the Lancelot's cockpit, his voice very calm even as he continued carrying out these operations. "I think it's a little late for us to be talking like this..."
"Maybe so." Nunnally's voice, too, was dispassionate as it emerged from the comm panel. "But I had some free time, so..."
"Free time?"
"Yes. There's nothing for me to do until the next FLEIJA launch."
Naturally, Suzaku's eyebrows shot up. "Nunnally. Don't tell me..." The pitch of his low voice rose slightly. "You're the one who's been...?"
"Yes." Nunnally's voice remained unsettlingly cool. "Oh, dear. Does that surprise you, Suzaku? Did you really think I would be sitting around doing nothing, like I usually do?"
"..."
"That's not who I am anymore. ...Well, at any rate, it really is something, isn't it? With a FLEIJA warhead, even someone like me can take down so many enemies..."
"..."
"And I'm not limited to just one shot. We have so many of them. So—" Nunnally broke off. "And now, I suppose you're thinking it's about time to abandon my brother — wondering if I'll let you join my side?"
Silence filled the cockpit. After a moment, Suzaku replied in a low voice. "Are you being serious right now, Nunnally?"
"What do you mean? I opened this channel to let you surrender, Suzaku! I'm entirely serious. Would that really be such a strange thing, considering the difference between the military strength of our forces?"
"..."
"Well, if you'd rather not, I won't hold back — I'll just crush you, okay? It was a slim hope anyway. I just thought, since you are the Knight of Betrayal, that it was worth asking."
Again, Suzaku said nothing.
Of course he would think she wasn't being serious. Normally, Nunnally wasn't the sort of girl who would say such things at a time like this, and Suzaku knew that well. So, given that she had, there was one obvious question:
...What on earth is she trying to do?
Does she just want to unsettle me? Did Schneizel put her up to this? No, this is too childish for him—
But before Suzaku could take that thought any further, Nunnally piped up again, her tone very different now:
"Suzaku... you're someone who can't finish what he starts, aren't you?"
"?"
"How does it make you feel, by the way? To know that the brother and sister whose lives you saved by killing your own father have both grown up to be fine murderers. You really outdid yourself there, didn't you?"
This time, Suzaku's eyes opened wide with astonishment. As its Blaze Luminous barrier expanded and the Damocles prepared to fire another FLEIJA, he was deathly still. Instead of watching the Damocles, all Suzaku's focus was on picturing the girl who must have been inside it. His mouth worked only haltingly.
"Nunnally... who told you...?"
Her reply came in a split second:
"I've always known."
Silence fell between them. Suzaku looked stunned.
"Unlike my brother, I wasn't asleep at the time, so I saw you immediately after you'd committed your crime. At the time, it was only a vague sense, but as I got older, and really started to think about how you were before and after, I came to have some idea of what had happened."
"But..."
"I've never told anyone, of course. I thought you'd done it to keep me safe, too. ...However. That's exactly why seeing you like this is so irritating for me."
"!"
"All you did was kill your own father, and now you're always unsure of yourself... For those of us in the Britannia family, what you did wasn't even particularly unusual. And you thought you could change Britannia from within? Are you a fool? Wasn't that obviously too much for a halfhearted person like you?"
"...Nunnally..."
"I think you just didn't have the resolve."
While Suzaku could only grit his teeth, Nunnally hurled even more merciless words at him.
"And it's true even now — all you're doing is wagging your tail for my brother in his rebellion against our father. Yes, and before that, you wagged your tail for me. That's the sort of person you are, in the end. Someone who can't do anything by themselves, so you just cling to the coattails of others, expecting them to take responsibility, to supply your resolve—"
Abruptly, Nunnally let out a small, mocking laugh — and finally broached the one topic that should have been completely off limits1.
"And that's why you couldn't even... protect one person — my beloved sister, Euphy."
"—?!"
"Oh, yes. And to think, I once said I wanted you to be my knight. Well, today I would like to take that back. For you see, every person who has ever wanted you to be their knight has had awful judgment. I decline to repeat my sister and my father's mistake. I'm only grateful I know better now."
"..."
"But you don't understand yet, do you? We might both be murderers, but you could have chosen me instead of my brother, Euphy's killer. Have you lost your mind? Or did you only ever see my sister as a means to advance your station in life? In that case, I'm sorry."
For my sister. Having said everything else without pause, Nunnally finally stopped there.
The silence that stretched out between them was deeper than any ocean. So deep that even the resounding explosions of the battlefield around them seemed muffled by it.
Suzaku had a white-knuckled grip on the Lancelot's yokes. The blood throbbed in his hands and wrists. He spoke in a voice that was no more than a whisper, yet full of strength.
"All right... Nunnally. It's confirmed2 — you're an obstacle for me and Lelouch."
Nunnally let out a short, scornful sound.
"This late in the game, and you still weren't even prepared for that much? This is why I've been calling you halfhearted."
"..."
"I've had enough. You're an eyesore, so please do your utmost to remove yourself from my presence. You're nothing but a nuisance standing between me and defeating my brother."
"—Nunnally!"
Even knowing it was futile, he prepared to fire the Lancelot Albion's main armament, the V.A.R.I.S. Hadron Blaster, straight ahead.
At that, Nunnally cut off her end of the transmission.
Notes
1 The Japanese here is idiomatic for broaching a topic that's off limits, but literally speaking Nunnally tracked mud into Suzaku's inner sanctum, which is a lovely image.↩
2 This is a variation on Suzaku's "catchphrase", There's something I want to confirm.↩
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This novel has a lot of extra scenes with Nunnally -- there's a lengthy "interval" chapter before this one which starts with the "sword and shield" scene, then has several scenes with Nunnally, Kanon, Schneizel, and Beatrice. Nunnally learns that Schneizel wants to make her Empress. The whole thing ends with one of the characters (I was skimming because I wanted to figure out the novel timeline) narrating internally that they used to think Nunnally was just like Euphy, but she's not; she's "scarier".
I get the sense that Iwasa really liked Nunnally and wanted to explore her more -- her narration also opens the first R2 novel, where she reflects that she used to feel like she couldn't do anything herself because of her disabilities, and finding out Lelouch was Zero left her feeling lost and helpless. Since the anime is from Lelouch's POV almost exclusively, and is hiding Nunnally from both us and him until the dramatic moment, it doesn't really go into what the last year has been like for her, losing someone she was dependent on...
I suspect that she put on the bravest face she could for this conversation and tried to take Suzaku out of the fight, recognizing that the Lancelot was Lelouch's strongest asset, but since I haven't yet translated the rest of the chapter that's just a guess. :')
Thank you for commenting!
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I'm not sure whether or not you'll get that wish. :) There's so much I still need to read here.
P.S.: Thank you again for those scans!! I'm excited by them. ♥