News of the tragedy that occurred within the Special Zone during its opening ceremony spread far and wide throughout Japan in an instant.
The tragedy that killed more than two thousand Japanese, and injured thousands more had once again reignited the conflict between Japan and Britannia.
The Black Knights, who came to support the third princess and protect the Japanese, and Britannian soldiers under the command of the third princess fought and neutralized the radical and extremist Purist Faction, who had planned and caused the massacre.
They had purposely acted on their sinister plan during the opening ceremony of the special administrative zone, knowing the Japanese people who had registered for the program would be gathered in one place on that day. It was the perfect time to eradicate as many "scum" that dirtied the world in one fell swoop.
Fortunately, their carefully laid plans were quickly ruined and all members of the Purist Faction were dispatched and arrested by the Black Knights and the third princess of Britannia, before more Japanese fell victim to their atrocity.
However… Too much Japanese blood had been spilled, and their rage would not be so easily quelled.
The heartfelt and tearful apology from the third princess of the Holy Britannian Empire, and the execution of every single member of the Purist Faction who took part in the atrocity, were akin to a drop of water trying to quell a burning building.
Hundreds upon thousands of Japanese, many, who previously chose to simply try and adapt to the life of being under the Britannians, had realized that their lives and the lives of their loved ones would not be safe if the Britannians were to continue to stand on the land they called home.
Tens of thousands have decided to join the Japan Liberation Front and take up arms to protect their homeland and the lives of their family and loved ones. And in addition to the increase of support from the Kyoto Family in light of the tragedy, the JLF began recovering their strength rapidly.
Similarly, thousands have also decided to join the Black Knights, most of whom were present at the site of the tragedy and saw how valiantly the jet-black knightmare and the other members of the Black Knights fought and protected the japanese.
With this influx of people willing and eager to fight for their freedom, and anger towards Britannia, conflict…. Seemed to be unavoidable.
All of Japan had united in one spirit and one goal, to no longer let Britannia spill a single more blood of their people in this land.
Days quickly turned into weeks as the chaos from the aftermath of the tragedy remained, causing multiple outbreaks of conflicts to occur in various parts throughout Japan.
The JLF prepared for an upcoming major offensive on the Britannians to force them out of Japan, taking advantage of the chaos that currently took place within their ranks. While the Kyoto House exerted pressure politically and economically through the Sakuradite mining businesses and various businesses and exports onto the Britannians.
And the Black Knights, who could be considered the tip of the spear of Japan's counterattack, were similarly preparing to get their revenge for the lives lost in the tragedy.
A cold, night's breeze blew through a darkened, abandoned, warehouse near the coast of the Tokyo Bay.
Columns of moonlight shone through the holes from the rooftops, lighting up the old, dilapidated interior of the warehouse.
The stale, freezing air within the warehouse seemed to sparkle dully on occasion, as the moonlight hit the dust particles that were picked up by the wind and danced in the air, and reflected off them.
A heavy, cold silence that could only be felt from a long, abandoned space filled the compound.
When suddenly, a pair of footsteps broke the heavy silence that had persevered for too long and resounded within the warehouse.
Heavy, dragging footsteps echoed throughout the emptied, long abandoned warehouse.
A man, dressed in a dark shirt and pants underneath and a black cloak to cover his countenance and figure, entered and made his way deeper and deeper into the compound.
*Step* *Step*
His footsteps soon came to a halt, and the figure looked up to the hole in the ceiling.
The hood of his cloak fell down and he basked in the light of the moon. His brown hair shone with a glimmer from the moonlight, while his green, emerald eyes that would normally shine in determination and optimism, seemed to look at the dark night sky dully as dark bags hung below them.
How did it come to this…?
A heavy sigh escaped his lips as his hand clutched onto the four-winged medal he had been holding on thus far.
Memories of the tragedy flashed across his mind, and with every second, the guilt and pain he felt gnawed at his heart more and more.
Tears would've given him a sweet release… But it seemed, even his own tears had decided to punish him by not giving him the release he wanted from the pain in his heart.
Just then, another set of footsteps echoed throughout the abandoned warehouse. This time, there were two pairs.
Suzaku looked down from the sky and turned towards the direction of the sound, and saw Zero and Mordred approaching him; their faces uncovered.
A look of melancholy pained their expression, a far cry from the smile they would've shared while they were in the academy.
But now, those carefree days seemed so far away…
Though they were not gone, those memories seemed to be just far away enough to be unattainable and become a reminder. A reminder of what they could've experienced if nothing had happened during the opening ceremony.
The two stopped a few meters away from Suzaku. Their figures shone upon by the moonlight that came through another hold on the ceiling above them.
"...You look exhausted, Suzaku."
Leloch pulled down his cloth mask that covered the lower half of his face, and showed a small, melancholic smile as he looked his childhood best friend in the eyes.
Even in this low light, Suzaku's complexion was obvious to everyone.
He could see dark bags under his eyes. His face looked a bit pale, and the air he exuded couldn't be more far from how he would seem in the academy.
Suzaku's lips curled into a helpless, exhausted smile as he responded.
"...I am. But… Euphie is suffering even more than I am right now… And I need to be strong for her…"
The tragedy had affected him even more than he could imagine…
The powerlessness he felt… The guilt of being unable to protect the people he was fighting for…
Even in his sleep, he could see lifeless bodies strewn about on the bloodied grass field, their faces, eyes devoid of life, their screams…
It was truly a nightmare… A nightmare that he couldn't simply wake up from and that continuously raked on his heart.
But… Euphie had been suffering even more than him.
Ever since the tragedy happened, there rarely comes a time when Euphemia wasn't bursting into tears and cried her apologies to the Japanese people who had decided to give her their trust and lost their lives because of it.
He had been cooped up into her room ever since, unable to leave. And whenever he would come and visit… he could always hear her cry from outside her room.
The only time she did not weep… was when she fell asleep out of exhaustion.
Yet, everytime he wanted to comfort her and assure her… That everything would be alright, he was reminded once again of his own powerlessness.
There was nothing he could do… Not then, not now.
All he could do… was bear his own heartache and appear strong, so that at the very least, he could be someone Euphie could rely on.
"She… She's no longer the sub-viceroy of Japan. Her highness, princess Cornelia, would be sending her back to the mainland as soon as possible. And I… will be joining her."
"I see…"
A heavy silence fell within the abandoned warehouse once again, before Lelouch began to speak.
"The Japan Liberation Front, with the support of the Six Houses of Kyoto, had begun planning their move to drive away Britannia from this country.
In wake of the tragedy, many Japanese had decided to join their cause. Their numbers are increasing rapidly, even as we speak.
And with our help as well… There's a large chance that even Cornelia's army would not be able to withstand our offensive. Not with her army and the Britannians still in chaos during the aftermath of that tragedy.
No… Even if they have, there's no stopping the Japanese people from taking their revenge."
Suzaku bit his lips and clenched his hands tighter.
He had prayed that this tragedy would not lead to further conflict… Even if there's only a slim chance, he wished no more wars would happen between Britannia and Japan.
But… Lelouch's words felt like the blade of the guillotine that had cut the one string of hope he was clutching onto.
His head fell as he looked down at the dusty cement beneath his feet.
"The traitors… Every single one of them had been executed for their crimes of going against the direct order of a royal family member and massacring civilians who were under Britannia's rule…
His highness, the second prince, had also returned to the mainland to begin planning to give Japan compensation for the tragedy and prepare a peace treaty that would calm the situation."
"... What about Cornelia…?"
"...She will stay in Japan as its Viceroy, and also become a tether for his highness Schneizel to communicate with Japan, while defending their position here."
"..."
From Suzaku's words alone, Lelouch could easily tell what Schneizel planned on doing.
By leaving the Chief General of the Britannian Army in a ruling position in Japan, he wanted Britannia to keep hold on Japan even if the JLF, Black Knights, and all ruling bodies in Japan would unite to drive them out.
At the very least, he wanted enough time to prepare the treaty and make it ready to be negotiated by Japan after giving them compensation.
It would certainly be… a more peaceful approach. And Lelouch knew that this would result in the least amount of blood shed by both nations.
But… it would only resolve the problem in the short term.
"...Suzaku, have Cornelia return to the mainland as well. Because this time… the Black Knights won't be holding back."
"..."
Suzaku clenched his teeth and lowered his head to Lelouch and Yuuji in a deep bow.
"Lelouch, Alexander, please… I beg you, please help return peace to Japan… I may be powerless to do so, but the two of you… You can… So please…"
At last… a drop of tear managed to drop down from the corner of his eyes. But for some reason… he could not feel the comfort of release when he finally cried.
Instead… he felt his heart constrict even more as he cried out of desperation.
The sound of footsteps echoed once more as Lelouch stepped forward and approached Suzaku.
"Euphie… She still wants to try and make peace with Japan and apologize to them. I will also try to help her and the second prince to make it come true, no matter how little! So please…"
Lelouch placed his hand onto his shoulder and raised him from his bow. His eyes looked at the crying visage of his childhood best friend with sadness.
"...We will. But showing weakness here and acquiescing to everything Britannia does will not end well in the future for Japan. We will be known as a nation that could not do anything, even when other countries kill our own people, if we don't retaliate now.
Schneizel's plan will only stop the fighting in the short term. But in the future, Britannia might try to take over Japan once more, and war would start anew.
So… We need to show Britannia and the world that Japan now is no longer the defanged wolf they defeated.
Only when they know that we are equal… can an agreement be made on equal grounds."
If Japan showed weakness here and did not retaliate, Britannia would see it as them still fearing the military might of their empire. And although Schneizel and Euphemia would try their best to keep peace between Japan and Britannia, they would not be able to stop the greed of their fellow countrymen, and Japan will be oppressed once again in the future.
"..."
Suzaku peered into the eyes of Lelouch for a few moments, and nodded heavily.
"I understand… Then, I'll leave this… to you."
"...Mm. Let's meet at a better time later."
Suzaku nodded, thanked them one last time, and left with a sad smile.
The echoing sound of his footsteps grew softer and softer, before finally disappearing completely as Lelouch and Yuuji stayed in silence.
"... Let's go back, Lelouch. There's still much to do."
"Ah… Let's return to Amaterasu."