The boy's false smile didn't waver. Like that of the weird stranger from earlier, he kept on a mask rich with uncaring indifference. Internally, however, he sighed. 'Oh… come on. What in the hell has she done now?'
The sigh only got deeper when they got on an elevator and the one nearest the closing doors pressed a specially-coloured button that shone in gold and not simple white like the rest of the floor numbers. By the time he got off a floor consisting only of a long hallway that led to a single gaudily-designed door, the corner of the boy's eye was twitching.
"Please, come in." The doorman said, seemingly unfazed by the arrival of the teenager. "The… owner… is expecting you."
Confirming that someone high up had requested to meet him personally, it weighed in on Lelouch's suspicions. He glanced back to see the casino staff that brought him there standing by at the elevator. Whatever Nobu did, she messed up massively that they'd gone to cut off all forms of escape, from what Lelouch understood. Well, apart from the windows, but he didn't need to take that leap of faith until he actually needed it. There was still a chance to absolve this diplomatically. Or he could just use his Geass if need be.
'In any case, let's see what she's done this time…' Lelouch walked past the big doors and inside the main office.
The office room itself was quite large. Nicely decorated, and spacious, a giant window that had a great view of the city spanned wide behind a mahogany office desk in the centre of the room. Like a cliché out of a movie, the largest comfort chair he'd seen yet in this world had its back to him as the owner faced the city's evening skyline.
The absence of a face to address was meant to instil tension and fear, but regardless Lelouch made his presence known with an eloquent tone.
"Good evening. Sorry for disturbing your time, but I was told that you wanted to see me." At his pause, there was no reaction. Not even a squeak from the chair as acknowledgement. "I'd heard it has something to do with my companion. Whatever damage she caused, I'm ready to pay it back in full—"
"Hahaha~! And what exactly can you offer me that I don't already have?!~~~"
The laugh elicited yet another twitch for both corners of his eyes. Before he could respond, the chair swivelled around to face him and he took a good look at what he'd suspected was the casino owner.
There, sitting with one leg swung over the other, the devilish woman wore a victorious smirk. She had changed clothes, top clad with a tight black tuxedo coat that was hugging her upper body, a button strained under the weight of her bosom, while her bottom tight jeans had been replaced with a short pencil skirt and a set of lacey black stockings.
Had this been back at their hotel, he wouldn't have had any qualms about liking what he saw. Now though…
Noticing his gaze, the former warlord kicked her legs over the table, giving him an eyeful but eyeing his sheepishly annoyed smile in turn. Eyes tired of twitching, Lelouch wanted to facepalm so hard.
"Avenger."
"Yes, dear?"
"Mind telling me what it is you're doing?"
"Sitting in the finest office chair this dump has to offer, of course!"
"And… … why?"
"Oh I could tell you, but I was hoping you'd guess my intentions instead for once~~~."
'Haaah…' Lelouch massaged the bridge of his nose whilst crossing his arms. 'Acting like she owns the place, security staffs' mixed expressions, and that smirk of hers…' Lelouch silently prayed that the previous occupant of this office hadn't gotten hurt. Much. Speaking of which, "Where's the owner of the place?"
"Why, you're looking at her, darling~~~!"
"Not you, I meant the person you likely extorted to get that suit and—wait… What?"
"Pffft, have more confidence in me, Lulu," Nobu said smugly as she stood up. Circling the desk, she passed by him, caressing his cheek as she did. "I'm not so crass as to not give the conquered a chance to serve me."
At a snap of her finger, a woman dressed in a maid uniform entered the room from a side door. Her age didn't suit the get-up, appearing a little older than most women in the service industry. But the most prominent thing about her appearance was the cross expression and glare she was aiming at her apparent boss. Pushing a cart topped with a bottle of champagne and two glasses, the angry-looking lady stopped just beside Nobunaga.
"That'll be all, Irene. Thanks as always for the punctual service. I knew serving as a maid was better suited to your skills."
"A pleasure, madam." Said with a low growl, Irene turned to leave.
Lelouch didn't miss the click of the tongue or the heated glance sent his way. Nor did he miss Nobu's nonchalance and ignorant smile as she popped the cork from the bottle. "Champagne, Lulu?"
"I'd rather you give me an explanation first." He accepted the glass pushed into his face but refused to take a sip even as Nobu downed her first drink.
"Fiiiine~~~. I'll talk." Setting the glass down, she circled Lelouch, not dropping that smile. "I bought this place last week while you were wasting time on another business deal. It was on sale and I thought 'why not?'. Don't worry! It wasn't really expensive, not after the price fell significantly because some… mysterious fires turned away potential buyers." Sitting on the edge of the desk, she licked her lips. "But I'm not one to be deterred by small fire hazards, of course. Irene was happy to let me have it for cheap! And, in turn, I offered her a nice job to stave off her boredom till retirement!"
That explained the woman's murderous look. Had she had any choice, she might've had them both kicked out of and barred from the establishment until the end of time. Maybe even prosecuted by the city. But when up against Nobunaga, mortals stood little chance at getting the easy way out. More than likely, landing a stint as her new buyer/boss' maid was Nobu humiliating her for daring to resist.
Frankly, Miss Irene was getting the lighter end of Nobu's punishment. She, being a mortal, just wasn't aware of how bad things could've gotten. Not that Lelouch had many issues with it aside from his darling demon's willfulness almost getting the better of him.
"Right, so you stole this place—"
"Bought it."
"—So you say. And? Now what? Why on earth would you go so far as to acquire a casino out of the blue?"
"Oh, it was just a little something I thought I should do." She smiled so sweetly that Lelouch's scepticism was quick to refute the whimsical implication. His suspicion peaked when she suddenly started pushing him towards the large window.
"What are you—"
"Hey, what time is it?!"
He took a glance at his wristwatch but barely paid attention. "Nearing midnight. Nobu, what are you—?"
FWHEEEEEEEE… BOOM
Interrupting his question, his gaze turned to the bright lights off in the distance. Whistling and wheezing streams flew into the sky like a barrage of missiles forming intricate patterns of smoke and embers. When they exploded, vibrant patterns began to form. Slowly, those images flickered and sparked before being replaced by a dozen more fireworks shot in succession.
The most prominent of images though was the winged symbol that dyed the dark sky a deep crimson. Fleeting as it was ephemeral, the mark of Geass soon faded, replaced by other patterns and images. They all looked familiar, as though he'd once seen a fireworks display like it once before. But… smaller. More a humble batch of streamers than the celebratory explosions set before him now.
'Like… the fireworks display… of the student council…'
He remembered now. Just before everything had turned from complicated to the worst-case scenario. That time when he'd been separated from his sister, hated his best friend, and despised his false younger brother… That time… it was so long ago by now. So, so long ago that nostalgia had forced a tear to streak down his cheek.
'I wonder… Can Nunnally enjoy the fireworks now? Can she and Milly, Rivalz, Kallen and Suzaku… watch them… and look back at the past with a smile.' He could. It was a sad smile, but one he kept on all the same. Taking in a deep breath, he turned away from the nostalgia-inducing light show to meet the expectant gaze of the apparent organizer. "So this was your intention, was it?"
"Hmhm, watch as the mighty Demon Emperor, a tyrant who tore the world asunder, cries at the sight of mere fireworks! You're quite adorable, showing your soft side so easily like this!" she sneered but her eyes spoke of relief. Relief that he didn't hate her gift.
Yes. Her sneaking about. Her insistence on the time. The emotions her prepared show induced in him. It was all coming together. Granted, had he not been so distracted mere hours ago, he would've noticed, but leave it to the former strategist that brought alliances to their knees to know how to pull the wool over his eyes.
"You expect I'd keep my composure when you throw me a surprise birthday party? How crude of you to assume I do not have a heart, my love."
"Never in a million years." Nobunaga slipped under his guard and snuck a peck at his lips. "Happy birthday, Lelouch."
He didn't wait to reciprocate a deeper, more thankful one back.
Dinner and a date had been on his mind, but when the Demon King gave him a plate with a cake on it, the design was yet another surprise. Designed like a chessboard with chess pieces made of white and black chocolate, he recognized their designs differed from this world's variant of the game. They more resembled pieces from his world, deducing that Nobu sifted through his memories to recreate each piece before having a baker and confectioner mould them for this day.
A single candle was sticking out of the black king piece. Nobu took it upon herself to light that with a snap of her finger.
"It is officially the 5th of December in this time zone. You were born in this land back in your own world, hence making it a place of your birth." Nobu coyly said, finding amusement at how lost Lelouch was at the moment. "I wanted you to celebrate your first birthday with me and prepared this surprise for you. The casino is part of the gift. Knowing your fondness for gambling, I've partially fulfilled my promise for you to experience every pleasure this world had to offer."
He scoffed lightly. "Why does it sound like you're crossing off items on my bucket list?"
"But isn't that what we're doing love? Counting down the clock of what free time we have in this immortality, enjoying the days pass whilst fulfilling every want our hearts had desired in the past?"
It was true. They had been doing that.
Nobu continued. "I saw glimpses of how you celebrated this day with your friends before. Even when your surface thoughts were focused on providing for and improving Nunnally's life, you still had a good time with those people you called friends. And since being separated from them permanently, wouldn't it be only natural for it all to fall to myself, the mighty Demon King of Six Heavens, to prepare the perfect birthday party for my man?"
"I—… I don't know what to say right now." Lelouch had surprise parties before thanks to Milly. But all of them were subdued, or minimized partly in thanks for the others who tried to rein in their wayward and eccentric school president. This though… This was something else entirely.
Lelouch had often been reminded of his birthday, more so by how none of his friends could completely hide a secret and less of how Nunnally was the first to remind him of it. They never let him forget. Ever. But after taking up the mantle of the tyrant, he was quick to forget about everything unnecessary. In his mind, celebrating this day was all in the past, back when there were people he could enjoy his normal life around. They… weren't with him anymore. And Lelouch saw little reason to cling to sentimentality.
'But Nobu wouldn't allow that, now would she?' No. She definitely wouldn't. Despite her grandiose and haughty approach, she was still a maiden in love. And what was this if not her most genuine attempt at comforting his lonely heart?
"What's the matter, Lulu? Cat got your tongue?" Nobu circled around him as he stood up from the table to walk back to the giant window. "Come on! I prepared all of this and the least you can do is start singing praises to your beloved and only Oda No—Mmph!"
He'd stolen yet another kiss from her lips. He was doing it more and more this time around, he noted. But it's not like Nobu was bothered by it. In fact, she relished in the afterglow. Even as their lips parted, she was flushed just as much as he. It was all so alluring but more so serving as evidence that he was here. He was alive and in her arms as was she in his.
"Nobu."
She understood that it wasn't time for jokes and calmly responded. "Yes, Lulu?"
"Thank you for giving me a second chance in life."
After all, if it weren't for her, Lelouch didn't know if he could find the reason to keep on living. Living for the sake of life, for the sake of your own desires. That is what Oda Nobunaga did in her life. That was what she wanted him to do. So simple, and yet for the Demon Emperor who used even his own death for the sake of world peace, making himself a lamb of slaughter for the sake of his little sister's peaceful like… That concept had been so alien in the past.
But now though? Standing with his lover and watching the night sky lit up with lights that he couldn't share with friends anymore, Lelouch could positively say this was worth it.
"Me? All I did was offer you a perspective," Nobu's palm rested on his chest, forcing him to lock eyes with her. "You choose it yourself."
"Sure, and you didn't do anything else like offer yourself and journey of conquest."
"That was more of my wish. A selfish request to keep me the company that you agreed to on your own." Nobunaga licked her lips as a devilish smile formed on her face. "If you're so easily influenced by someone you knew for less than a month, that's on you, love! I just offered my hand and you took it. Overall, it was a win-win situation." she raised her hand to scratch his face. "We deserved the second chance to live life as we wished, and we won it in war, even I have complaints about it foundation—"
Lelouch wrapped his hands around her torso and brought her closer, silencing her mouth with his own once again. Nobu, to her credit, surprised him back with a tongue twisting that had them snogging till the end of the fireworks show. It was in that silence that Lelouch offered a smile.
"Thanks to you my second life isn't a dull one. It is hell, but with you by my side, it is a warm, lovely one."
"Anything for you, Lulu." Nobu rested her head on his shoulder but noticed his breath hitch slightly. Being possessive as she was, she could immediately sense some slight tension that yet remained within him. "Something is wrong, Lelouch?"
"No, no it is just… There was a man in a casino when I was playing, but… He felt wrong to me. Reminds me too much of my older brother Schneizel. Perhaps… he's a magus from London. He even openly admitted to investigating the fire we started in Fuyuki."
Meaning their free time was severely limited. If they wanted results, setting up precautions and investigations would have to take precedence over playing around. Lelouch expected his Avenger to explode in anger or at least react aggressively. But instead, she mused with a neutral face before shaking her head.
"We can look into it later. If he is indeed a magus, then we kill him. If you feel uneasy around him then it is for a reason. We have the minions and resources to burn should you desire to go on a manhunt and silence the interloper. But…"
She held her pause for a moment longer, yet he spied the smirk she beheld for him. "'But'?"
Her tone changed to a more playful and sultry one. "Tonight, we're celebrating your birthday. I won't allow anyone, let alone some creepy magus occupy your thoughts." Her attention switched to the cake she prepared for him before she dragged him back to the table. "Now, Lulu. I put a lot of effort into this little beauty. so you better enjoy it."
He blinked. "You made this? I didn't know you could cook." Let alone design confectionaries, he didn't say. If so, that meant shooting down all his earlier assertions and implying Nobunaga did all this during her free time the past week. Which was a lot considering… "You never cooked anything in the kitchen—!"
She sent him glares, pouting as her pride was wounded. "Because I prefer it when others cook for me, especially you! But, yes, I can cook. Used to do it more frequently when I was alive during my teenage years. Why do I know how to make well-made sweets? My niece Chacha liked the—… erm… Actually… I—" A rare blush had her looking away from him. "I… sorta forgot that cooking can be fun… when you do it for your family."
Lelouch merely smiled. "I can share the sentiment." Truly, he could. He remembered the joy of cooking for Nunnally back in the day, and even for Rolo when his memories were yet sealed. Such things… they were but one and the same, as an action taken for those they loved…. "So, this cake looks amazing. Was it your first try making modern sweets?"
"Obviously not." She sheepishly glared at the wall. "I burned a lot of them before this one was made. Wanted to prepare sweets from my time. But… while my dishes would have been amazing, I… I regretfully have to acknowledge that modern pastry is… superior to 16th-century ones.
Lelouch held back his laugh as the word was emphasized with pain. "Shocking."
"Hush you." Nobu took a spoon with cake and pressed it against his lips. "Now, open your mouth and enjoy my hard work!"
The Demon Emperor obliged. Lelouch had to admit, it didn't just look incredible. It tasted so! He looked astonished while the baker herself started to laugh, proudly and haughtily.
"Be it battlefield, bed or kitchen, this Oda Nobunaga is incredible in anything I do! Fufufufu! As expected of the best me—Hey! Leave some for me as well, you glutton!"
Cutely and oh-so rarely, Nobu complained as she tried to get some of the cake before Lelouch could devour all of it. The Demon Emperor started to walk—nay, run away with his desert from his lover but forgot that between her other variants, the Nobunaga he landed was far more physically fit. Then the others and himself. She didn't play around and merely lunged like a hungry beast, pinning Lelouch against the wall behind him.
Unfortunately, the cake took a tumble off his plate and splattered all over his face. Lelouch winced at the loss of the delicious treat. "Happy now?"
"Not my fault you were resisting." Nobu eyed him. Her Lulu was lying before her, nowhere to go and his face covered in her sweet cake. "Actually, no! I am happy right now. In more ways than one!" her voice was with the familiar low edge that Lelouch knew all too well. He had a good guess where her thoughts were going. Even felt it as she rubbed the rest of her body against his.
"Nobu, there is chocolate on my face. Let me take clean myself or go shower first—"
"I… think not, Lulu." Nobu dangerously licked her lips. "You just stay here for a while… Yes, just like that. Good, good! Let this Demon of Sixth Heavens devour you whole, my dear Lelouch."
The last thing Lelouch tasted that night was the bittersweet chocolate that filled Oda Nobunaga's mouth. Her tongue did a number on his fetishes, even giving him a new one as it did its job cleaning him from head to toe. Like animals, they fell into a carnal frenzy on the eve of his birth.
Not that he complained.