Marcus's little sister was looking around the government building in Tokyo. What she was seeing was similar to what she remembered all those years ago.
However, some of it was different. The girl saw different banners, and different soldiers were patrolling the corridors of the building.
After dinner, Marcus was 'enlisted' to work as the older brother and show everything around.
"Let's explore the city! I haven't seen what Tokyo looks like!" Nunnally said with an excited tone.
"Sure." Marcus smiled. He was feeling happier now that his little sibling could finally see. That means she could develop means of self-preservation instead of relying on others. He could develop thousands of means of self-preservation, but the best one was always to allow oneself to protect oneself.
Not long after, a limo arrived to pick them up.
"So where should we go?" Euphemia smiled as she joined the trip as well! She could finally take a breather and have some time off!
"Obviously, a Japanese restaurant and get some food. It's one of the perks of removing Britannian rule from these lands." Marcus said with an obvious tone.
"That's a good idea! I have no idea how it turned out! I do recall approving those buildings!" The Pink Princess perked up.
"I am interested as well. I had tried out their food in Solomon Base. We have a rotation of chefs over there." Leila commented as well. The girl recalled all of those times she tried different foods.
It's like each time they take a new land, they add a chef to their roster.
"Then let's go." Marcus pulled his blonde beauty closer to himself as Nunally could finally see how her brother was behaving around his females.
"Leave it to me. I do know what you should try out, guys." Kallen confidently said to the whole group.
"...didn't we just finish dinner?" Nunnally commented. She was a bit worried.
"Don't worry, we didn't eat anything that filling!" Euphemia said with a smile, not leaving her face even for a moment!
But this is what worried her.
The limo took them to the recently built districts; they're dominated by the Japanese.
Kallen was the most excited about this, next to Nunnally, as they watched different styles of buildings being built.
There is a bit of resemblance to Britannian style, but that's because they are efficient. Not as blocky, a bit of touch of elegance, they are known for before the conquest.
'It has only been a few months, but there are entire sections of buildings already finished!'
Kallen was awed by what she saw. This was the robotic efficiency of Anaheim at its full display.
Eventually, the car stopped at a special-looking neighbourhood.
"No way! These look like Japanese temples!" Kallen jumped out of the car as she walked towards the wooden temples.
"Not bad. They rebuilt it to this extent." Marcus followed after her and looked around. The girls did the same.
"But how?" Kallen asked as she turned around and looked at him.
"Artificial intelligence. I used the internet and books to recreate some of the designs. If something was missing, we enlisted the help of locals and listened to their stories while recreating such buildings." The Exiled Prince explained while enjoying the sight before him.
"Amazing… you had time for this?" The crimson-haired girl exclaimed in disbelief.
"And you had no time for me?" Nunnally puffed her cheeks as she walked over.
Marcus turned around and looked at his little sister.
"I did. I made sure Milly and Euphemia were watching you over. Same with the temple, I relegated specific people for this specific job." He explained in a matter-of-fact tone.
"..."
"I don't think this is what your little sister meant," Leila commented after observing the exchange.
"I know exactly what she meant." He rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. "And I replied how it was." The Prince then looked at his little sister.
"I helped you the best way I could, and I know you wanted me around. However, I needed to pursue my goals. Otherwise, I would have died from the inside out, a slow death."
That comes double as he had double the drive!
"...I know." The girl in the end replied with a small nod, though she was sad.
"Now that you have your sight back, I can put you to work." He smiled at her, making the little girl a bit worried.
"Lelouch! Let Nuna adjust first!" Euphemia puffed her cheeks! She knows what kind of slave driver this guy is! Not everyone is mad like him!
"Relax, she will have fun with Kaguya." Marcus smiled even more. Having two cute girls run diplomacy is the best thing.
Who would possibly think that they are part of a warmongering nation that wants to rule not the world but entire space and time!
"Kaguya? You mean Kaguya Sumeragi?" Nunnally perked up hearing that name.
"Yep, she is trying to become your sister-in-law." The Prince rolled his eyes. His comment caused a pair of girls to twitch for a second. There was a reaction from Leila and Kallen.
"Oh… she always was fond of you." Nunnally ignored the reaction from those two and went down memory lane to recall her interactions with that girl.
"Yes. Now let's explore. I want to see how much people have rebuilt."
He motioned for them to start walking.
The group soon began to explore. Nunally swiftly noticed how many people wanted to speak with her brother and sister. Both Euphemia and Lelouch were incredibly popular among the locals.
Lelouch is the one who pushed Britannia out of Japan and Euphemia for her efforts to help the locals rebuild.
She never thought she would see something like that. Well, she always knew that Euphemia was kind, but her brother?
He was always doing something and never staying in one place. Either he would train in the dojo or she would hear the sounds of keyboards coming from his room.
That was what she remembered.
'But now… it made sense…' Her eyes went up. She could see literal spaceships floating above the city. These were the result of that work.
After speaking with locals, they went to try out some food. Marcus went with ramen, something he barely had a chance to taste.
Sadly, Sushi was not back yet on the menu. It takes time for the fishing industry to return. Something he is investing in and working on.
Britannians took their ships when they retreated, something Marcus completely forgot about. Well, it makes sense… he is more of a flying type of guy, not a swimming one.
After Ramen, they explored more of the streets. There were some vendors, such as a small shop, that had started to pop up as well.
Eventually, the group returned to the Government building.
As everyone relaxed after sightseeing, Nunnally went to see her brother, who was already at work. From the looks of it, he was talking with the military personnel.
"...The cadets will soon graduate from the pilot academy here in Japan."
"Are they loyal to us or Britannia?" Lelouch asked after listening to the whole explanation.
"...That is difficult to tell… some of them have a connection to the nobles on the other side of the Pacific. However, most of them who moved here came from smaller, less influential families.
They have a greater opportunity with us than with Britannia." The officer reasoned as the Prince pondered on this as well.
"I see. We can always test these cadets on the front lines." Marcus casually commented. He still hasn't mentioned to the majority of people that if pilots try to go rogue, the mechs can move on their own.
The AI is designed to inflict the maximum amount of damage if the pilot tries to bring the machine to its enemy. It could detonate the battery/reactor to go on a killing spree inside the enemy base.
That is much better than simply trying to return.
After talking with their Leader, the officers left the office. It was the two siblings who were left in the room.
"Is there something you want to talk to me, my dear little sister?" He asked with a small smile.
Nunnally walked over and took a seat on the couch. A bit away from the office table, he was working.
"...I was thinking what you said."
"I said quite a few things. You need to be specific, Nuna." He sighed, reminding her that they had talked quite a bit today.
"What you said about helping you alongside Kaguya. I think I would like that." A small smile appeared on her lips as she recalled some of the memories she had with the Sumeragi Princess.
"That can be arranged. At the moment, you should practise piloting a mobile suit."
The girl looked a bit conflicted when she heard the latter part of the sentence.
"...I don't know. I don't want to pilot one of those machines." She frowned as she imagined something.
"You haven't even seen a Mobile Suit or any of my creations yet. They are designed to fulfil our will. It depends on what you want them to do.
What I want is for one to protect you. Before this, it was Milly and her Flidais, and then it was Euphemia and her Brigid.
Now you can protect yourself. Because god knows what we will be facing." Marcus said that, as he recalled, reports of insurrections in Indochina, China, and India.
Even as far as Middle Eastern areas.
'That reminds me of that little city-state of Zilkhstan.' He noted that the little country down is problematic, as he doesn't want any states on the planet except for his.
That is how it should be when one plans to move to space.
"You are making a lot of enemies, Lelouch." She frowned while saying that.
"Well, my little sister. I don't want internal conflicts in space or different points of interest. I want one single fist that could be humanity."
"...And you could achieve that through a dialogue."
He chucked when he heard that. It would seem his little sister is still an idealist.
"I am sure. I want to see you talk with a lion or a tiger. I am sure they want to hear you talk."
She puffed her cheeks when she heard that!
"I am talking about people!"
"And who said that everyone is like that? Some people may look like humans, but I assure you, they are not." He rolled his eyes, recalling some crazy nutcases… like the rapid dog he put down not long ago.
"..." Nunnally looked conflicted for a second.
"Leave those for the military and Cornelia, you should focus on the ones who want to talk. Just remember, our goal is complete dominance of the world.
That means there can only be one country before we move out to colonise space." He said with a smile. Just talking about space makes him excited.
There are so many projects that he wants to start working on!
"...I understand. I will do as you say." The girl in the end resigned.
"Just stick around with diplomacy, my dear sister, don't think about other things. As they say, don't stick your nose in the things you don't have a clue about."
She puffed her cheeks again.
"You are the one who wants me to pilot a war machine!" Nunnally exclaimed.
"Wrong. They are not war machines. They are tactical weapons capable of ending nations." He clarified with a matter-of-fact tone, as if teaching a child in a class.
"It's the same thing!" She complained to him. "Semantics!"
"There is a difference. A simple war machine can be dismantled and beaten by lucky people. These cannot be beaten. We took the entire subcontinent in less than a day." He proudly told her what happened to India.
"Ugh… whatever makes you happy, Lelouch." In the end, she sighed in resignation.
"So as I said, you will have one of your own who could protect you when you have one of your moments of empathy and decide to help an enemy."
Nunnally blushed when she heard that. Is she that predictable? How did he even come to that conclusion! It's crazy to her!