Yuuya had turned on the new Code Geass episodes premiering today. It was the last day they'd be doing double episodes; after this, it was switching to one per week. He was a bit disappointed. He'd gotten used to the new schedule. Ever since Code Geass started premiering two episodes weekly, it felt like a mini event. Online, fans were complaining too. "Why switch to one episode a week? We want two!" they said. Yuuya didn't really care. As long as Code Geass delivered an amazing story and animation, he was fine.
He started episode 13. Lelouch, still shaken from indirectly causing Shirley's father's death, used the Japanese Liberation Front as a decoy to weaken Cornelia's forces. But then Lancelot attacked. Zero was caught off guard and knocked out and no one was around,
Except Shirley.
She had been following him after getting a tip that Lelouch might be Zero. She trailed him here. Now she stood there, gun in hand, aimed at the masked figure.
She stepped closer. Saw his face. Fired.
The episode ended without showing who got hit.
Yuuya groaned. "Muzishiro, I'm going to get a heart attack from your cliffhanger." His mind raced with questions. He couldn't predict what would happen next. Today was also the last week Evermark would release two episodes. After this, he would have to wait an entire week, and he already imagined the dread of that long wait.
He hit play for episode 14.
Lelouch suspected Shirley might've seen his face, so he went searching for her. On the train to Nanaita, he and C.C. talked.
"So," C.C. asked, "do you love her, this girl called Shirley?"
Lelouch showed uncertainty. "Don't know."
"What if she really does know?" C.C. pressed. "Are you going to kill her? If you have someone you don't want to lose, you should keep them at a distance."
"So is that… from experience?" Lelouch asked.
Meanwhile, on Shirley's side, a man wearing big glasses and headphones tried to confront her, saying Lelouch is a cruel man.
A flashback showed Villetta learning Lelouch's identity as Zero. She had planned to become nobility by handing Lelouch over to the Britannian Empire. Turning toward Shirley, she promised benefits as well, but Shirley shot her. The flashback ended.
The man with the headphones suddenly said, "So you're a killer, too. Just like Zero."
Yuuya paused. "He seems surprised. He didn't know she had killed someone. Then how did he know? She didn't tell anyone… or was he there? Now he acts like he just realized it. What's happening?"
The man tried to emotionally guilt-trip Shirley for what she had done. The scene shifted, and the Geass symbol flashed on the man.
"Oh shit," Yuuya yelled.
Lelouch reached where Shirley had been, but couldn't find her. His phone rang. Someone challenged him to chess. C.C. spotted him playing and called out, "Mao!"
Lelouch was losing the chess game, but then he came up with fourteen possible identities for himself. Mao confirmed that one of them was correct.
Yuuya thought, "So he has a mind-reading ability. Which is better: mind reading or command-based Geass?"
The scene shifted to Villetta, who had been shot. Ohgi found her, grievously injured.
"Oh fuck, why this bitch hadn't died?" Yuuya muttered.
Mao, using his mind-reading ability, manipulated Shirley's doubts, forcing her to choose to kill both Lelouch and herself.
Mao used his mind-reading ability to manipulate Shirley's doubts, forcing her to choose between killing Lelouch or herself. Both Mao and Lelouch tried to convince her. She fired without thinking, the shot passed through Lelouch's hair. The photo of Shirley he was carrying scattered around. Shirley fired at Mao next, sending his gun flying. Mao jumped into a cable car to grab another weapon, but C.C. started moving it, expelling him from the scene.
[note play: masquerade by Hitomi]
On the staircase, Lelouch held Shirley.
"It's all right now. It's over," he said.
Shirley whispered, "Lulu, I really did kill someone… that's why I'm…"
Lelouch hugged her tightly. "It's because of me. It's not your fault."
She started to cry. "And I shot you with your gun…"
"I'm still alive," he reassured her.
"But! I did it!" she cried.
"Shirley, any sin you committed is mine to bear," Lelouch said.
"I wanted you to be kind to me," Shirley admitted.
"What's wrong with that?" he asked.
"Even though my father died…"
"Don't worry. It's time to forget all the bad things that have happened to you," Lelouch said.
"But I can't!" she cried.
"Yes, you can. I'll help you forget all of this."
"Impossible," she whispered.
"Shirley, I'm sorry about your father. If I could be reborn into a new life, I would…" Lelouch's eyes flashed with the Geass.
"Lulu… No, don't!" Shirley cried.
Yuuya groaned. "How could you, Muzishiro? He had the only person who loved him unconditionally. How could you do this to her? She was his anchor to the normal world. Now what will he do?"
That night, Shirley was paying respects at a memorial. She turned and saw someone.
"Oh, hello. Um, did you lose someone in your family, too?"
"No, not someone from my family. It was a friend. Someone, well, very important," Lelouch replied.
"I understand," Shirley said softly.
"But I didn't know," Lelouch admitted. "I didn't know until after I lost her. Then I realized how much she meant to me… how her smile saved me… and how I'll never be able to argue or laugh with her like that again."
"I see. You loved her, didn't you? You must feel terrible," Shirley said.
"Right now… I don't know anymore," Lelouch admitted.
"Well, the morning always comes again," she said.
"What?" Lelouch asked.
"I have to say it's funny," Shirley said. "I know I came out here for some reason, but I can't remember exactly what it was now. Maybe it's because I've already put the whole thing behind me, something I wanted to let go of. Maybe it was something I thought I couldn't forget. Maybe I was full of sadness. But morning still comes, right? That's why you shouldn't try to hold back your thoughts like that."
"Yes, you're right," Lelouch said as he turned away. "I feel the same way now. Thanks a lot for everything."
"Huh?" Shirley asked.
Yuuya had tears in his eyes, his body covered in goosebumps. "Now Lelouch won't have anyone to anchor himself to the normal world."
Needing a lighter feeling, Yuuya turned to online discussions. People had mixed reactions to Lelouch's decisions:
"Yes, now he can be with C.C. and leave all this annoying stuff behind."
"What do you mean? You don't even know. C.C. might be using Lelouch for her own gain. Shirley is the only one who has shown unconditional love to Lelouch."
"What about Nunnally? She also loves her brother."
"Not as much as Shirley. I don't think she would accompany him if she knew Lelouch was Zero. Shirley is the only unconditional love he had."
"Heroine killer strikes again. This time with even more brutality. All the heroines Muzishiro killed loved our MC, but this time, it's not clear if she'll still love him in the end... or die forgetting everything."
"God, anyway, we have so many other options now. We have Kallen, C.C., and other possible partners to choose from."
"How can you say that? If anyone thinks Shirley doesn't deserve Lelouch, then none of you deserve real love."
"Man, this isn't close to Miko from Anohana or Tomoe from Rurouni Kenshin, but it hurts deep. Please don't turn her against the MC and break his heart."
Most of the online chatter was about Shirley and those final five minutes between her and Lelouch. Discussions about Mao or the other big developments in episodes 13 and 14 hadn't even started yet.
Haruki was scrolling through comments when his phone rang, Kotone's caller ID flashing.
"Hello?"
"Hey, are you free tomorrow?"
"I'm free in the afternoon. What's up?"
"I finally finished the manga I've been working on. I want your thoughts."
"What is it about?"
"It's about a troubled high school student who finds meaning in life through new friendships, love, and deep emotional challenges."
"Oh, what's the title?"
"Clannad. So, are you coming tomorrow to see the work?"
"Yes, I'll be there in the afternoon."
[Note: I was waiting for this moment to write about. I think this was one of those moments in Code Geass when I was truly invested watching it for the first time. I hope this brings back memories.]
Shout out to Eric Pope, Me3-3los for joining my p-atreon! your support means everything to me.
(TL:- if you want even more content, check out p-a-t-r-e-o-n.com/Alioth23 for 60+ advanced chapters)