Lelouch Lamperouge



Lelouch vi Britannia (ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア, Rurūshu vui Buritania) is the protagonist and antihero of Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion and Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion R2, 17 years old (18 at R2). After he was exiled he used the alias, Lelouch Lamperouge (ルルーシュ・ランペルージ, Rurūshu Ranperūji). He is the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire and the son of the 98th Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia. He is the leader of the Black Knights which makes him the real identity of Zero. He is voiced by Jun Fukuyama, while his child self is voiced by Sayaka Ohara. His English dub voice is provided by Johnny Yong Bosch with Michelle Ruff doing Lelouch's child voice.

He was chosen the most popular male character of 2006, 2007 and 2008 at Animage magazine's annual Anime Grand Prix. His seiyū Jun Fukuyama also won the "Best Actor in a Leading Role" award for his portrayal of the character at the first Seiyū Awards in 2007.

Character Planning History
While first designing the concept art design for Lelouch, the series's original character designers CLAMP had initially conceived of his hair color as being white. Ageha Ohkawa, head writer at CLAMP, said she had visualized him as being a character to which "everyone" could relate to as being "cool", literally, a "beauty". During the early planning stages for Lelouch's alter ego, Zero, CLAMP had wanted to create a mask never witnessed prior in any Sunrise series. While developing the character during the initial planning stages, the series' core staff at Sunrise, director Gorō Taniguchi, writer Ichirō Ōkouchi, and the production team discussed numerous possible influences for the character with CLAMP, such as Kinki Kids and Tackey and Tsubasa.

Character Outline
Lelouch was born on December 5, 2000 a.t.b. as Lelouch vi Britannia the son of the Emperor of Britannia, Charles zi Britannia, and the late Imperial Consort Marianne, making Lelouch the Eleventh Prince of the Holy Britannian Empire. He was in line to be the seventeenth heir to the throne prior to his mother's assassination and his sister's crippling in the same incident. A ten year old Lelouch confronted the Emperor afterward and accused him of leaving his mother defenseless, even going as far as renouncing his entitlement to the throne. In response, his father banished him to Japan, where he was used as a political hostage in the Sakuradite conflict.


 * Lelouch as a child, when he was exiled to Japan as a political hostage.]]It was during his stay at the Kururugi household that he first met Suzaku Kururugi, with whom the young Lelouch did not interact initially in a friendly manner, before later becoming friends. However, when Britannia finally developed its Knightmare Frames fleet and decided to invade Japan to seize control of the Sakuradite mines, consequently discarding Lelouch's use as a diplomatic tool, Lelouch, fearing for his and his sister's safety, hid their true identities and sought the help of the Ashford family, who were his mother's allies.

His mother's death and his father's apparent lack of concern in regards to it were huge blows to Lelouch. He always felt that it was unfair for both his mother and sister, and therefore made it his goal to pursue a better world for Nunnally. He also seeks to discover the true reason for his mother's death, as she was murdered in the Aries Imperial Palace, a place terrorists would be unlikely to penetrate successfully without being noticed, if at all.

Appearance
Lelouch's trademarks are his ebony hair, and violet eyes, which he inherited from his mother, and father respectively. Lelouch is somewhat scrawny, having little muscle, and being rather thin. In spite of this, Lelouch is considerably tall, standing at least a head taller than Kallen, and apparently being slightly taller than Suzaku.

As Zero
Shortly after gaining the power of Geass from C.C., Lelouch assumes the secret identity Zero, a mysterious, masked revolutionary dressed in a black helmet and cloak. The helmet has a retractable plate over the left eye so Lelouch can use his Geass. In this guise, he forms the Black Knights, initially composed of the members of Kaname Ohgi's resistance group. The goal of this vigilante group is a campaign against powerful individuals who oppress the helpless, which he eventually expands into reforming Japan as an independent nation.

Lelouch is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish his goal, even if it means lying to his followers and using people as bait for the outcome he desires. However, he has trouble putting those he is close to in harms way for the sake of his goal, which is a weakness as a commander but a remnant of his humanity and sanity. His feelings for Nunnally in particular often hinders his plans, particularly at the end of the first season, where he abandons a massive war with Britannian forces to rescue her, and early into the second season, when he has trouble believing Nunnally is willingly waging a campaign for peace that interferes with his plans. Gradually, however, he has come to embrace the fact that he has to destroy before reconstruction can occur, even if it means harming those he cares about.

Originally, Lelouch is motivated by the desire to avenge his mother's death and construct an ideal world where his sister Nunnally can live in peace. After Nunnally becomes Viceroy of Area 11, and her wishes conflict with his goals, his friends help him to realize that his rebellion is no longer just for Nunnally, but for all the people of the world.

First Season
Lelouch makes his first appearance in the beginning of the first episode of the series, as a child, along with Suzaku Kururugi watching the Britannian Military entering Japan, with the figure of C.C. apparently watching them. After the invasion of Japan, Lelouch vows to obliterate Britannia. He is later introduced to be a student of Ashford Academy where he is a member of its Student Council. He is a brilliant thinker who is quite talented at chess, he lives with his younger sister, Nunnally, and their maid, Sayoko, in the Student Council building of Ashford Academy, where they are looked after by the Ashford Family.

Lelouch and his friend Rivalz enter a room where a chess match was being played, with Lelouch claiming he can turn the situation on the chess table in under 9 minutes. He starts his game by moving the King. He effortlessly crushes him in a short period of time, while the noble gapes at his own defeat. Rivalz compliments Lelouch on his victory, and is happy that the ego of the nobles will force them to pay, which he notes also make them loose. As they walk out of the casino, they are interrupted by Clovis' "heart-breaking" speech which turns out to be an act. On the road, Rivalz accidentally cuts the way of the terrorists, resulting in their vehicle's crash. People gather, but to Lelouch's disgust, they're more interested in placing the blame and gawking over the incident than helping, prompting him to go and assess the situation. As he inspects the crash, he hears a voice, but is then thrown in the back of the truck, as Nagata, one of the hijackers, puts it in reverse for an attempted getaway. However, Lelouch is soon swept into the conflict between the Holy Britannian Empire and the pockets of resistance which oppose it when he accidentally boards a truck being used by Japanese Resistance operatives. To Lelouch's horror, he realizes that he is trapped in a terrorist getaway. Suzaku, who Lelouch had not met for seven years, finds the vehicle and confronts Lelouch, who he mistakes as a terrorist. Nagata opens the capsule, to which Suzaku quickly puts his own gas mask on Lelouch's face. The capsule opens, instead of gas, as Suzaku expected, a restrained C.C. appears. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superiors comes and tells him not to question his briefing, and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When he refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. Lelouch and C.C. takes the opportunity to escape. Just as they seem to have evaded detection, Lelouch's phone rings, giving him away. As they're about to kill him, C.C. jumps in front and is shot in the forehead. A desperate Lelouch now thinks of his impending death, his last thought being of Nunnally. He is grabbed by the hand by C.C., who proposes a contract which would allow him to live and endow him with Geass, the power of kings. He accepts, and stands up reinvigorated, ordering his pursuers to kill themselves, which they do with a willingly. He then retroactively contemplates this moment, noting his life is a lie, but that he accepts it as long as he has the power from it.

Following his actions, Villetta Nu appears in her Sutherland and Lelouch decides to take it and uses his Geass on her as well. After making use of his new power, he attempts to crush the rest of the Britannian Military that are wiping out the Elevens in the Shinjuku Ghetto. He uses Ohgi's Resistance Group and gives them orders in eliminating the Britannian soldiers. He initially gains the upper hand, by uttering defeating almost all of Clovis' forces until Suzaku appears in the newly developed Lancelot. Suzaku defeats most of his forces and eventually finds Lelouch in a Sutherland inside of a building. Unable to defend himself against Suzaku's attacks, Kallen appears in her Glasgow to buy him enough time to escape, stating that she is returning the favor for helping her. Lelouch was able to escape begins his rebellion against the Empire, starting by killing his half-brother, Clovis, after extracting information about the murder of his mother, Marianne.

Lelouch returns to Ashford Academy and recognizes Kallen as one of the terrorists in Shinjuku Ghetto. The limitations to his power are also revealed to him when he attempts to question her and unsuccessfully erase her memory. Both him and Kallen attempt to gain information for each other, but he creates a cunning deception, through Sayoko, to ease her suspicions of his identity. When the death of Prince Clovis is announced in the media, it is Suzaku who is accused of the murder.

After finding out Suzaku is being accused of murdering Clovis, he assumes the mantle of being Zero and reveals himself, in a disguise, to Ohgi's Resistance Group. He convinces them that he will show his power by rescuing Kururugi. During the scheduled public run of Suzaku heading to the courts, Zero appears on top of Clovis' royal transport that was made by Kallen and Ohgi. Debuting to the whole entire whole as Zero, he reveals the capsule that supposedly held poison gas. In exchange for the capsule he wanted Kururugi, but Jeremiah remains steadfast stating that he can't give him up as he murdered Clovis. Lelouch refutes stating that he was the one who killed Clovis. Knowing that Jeremiah wouldn't cooperate, he uses the codeword "Orange" to instill doubt in the Purist Faction and Britannian Military as some sort of bribe or plan in cooperating with Zero. Using this to his advantage, he uses his Geass on Jeremiah to allow them to escape. He later forms The Order of the Black Knights during the Japanese Liberation Front Hotel Incident after rescuing the hostages. He leads the Black Knights becoming a revolutionary and gains popular support amongst the Elevens.

The turning point in his rebellion comes when Euphemia li Britannia declares the region under Mt. Fuji, the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, giving the Japanese people their name and country back, albeit in a much smaller area. This effectively destroys any possibility of the Black Knights' rebellion; acceptance would render them powerless and refusal would make them pariahs. Lelouch confronts her at the opening ceremony and tries to have her shoot him, hoping to make himself a martyr. When she says she plans to give up her title, he surrenders and agrees to work with her. However, at this moment his Geass permanently activates, and an offhand comment about ordering her to kill the Japanese forces her to do just that. Lelouch is forced to kill Euphemia to end the ensuing massacre, but in doing so becomes a hero of the people. Using this newfound support, Lelouch announces the creation of the United States of Japan and is able to lead an attack on the Tokyo Settlement. The attack goes well at first, but when Lelouch learns that Nunnally was kidnapped, he abandons the battle, leaving his forces helpless against the much better organized Britannian forces.

On his way to rescue Nunnally, he is intercepted by Jeremiah who is piloting the Siegfried, but is able to lose him after an ensuing battle. Lelouch and C.C. make their way to Kamine Island to search for Nunnally, but Jeremiah appears once more. Being unable to defeat him as the Gawain has taken its toll in the many battles it has participated in, C.C. decides to sacrifice herself and drops Lelouch off. Using the Gawain's slash harkens and damaging the Siegfried's float system, she drags Jeremiah down to the bottom of the ocean. Afterwards, Lelouch is confronted by Suzaku Kururugi. Kallen appears as well and Suzaku reveals to her that Zero's true identity is Lelouch. Lelouch attempts to broker a truce, but Suzaku is distraught over the death of Euphemia and refuses to listen. An angered Lelouch draws his pistol and both Lelouch and Suzaku attempt to shoot one another. A single gunshot is heard as the screen fades to black at the end of the first season.

Second Season
One year later, Lelouch is once again a student at Ashford Academy. He has had his memories rewritten by Charles zi Britannia, revealed to possess a Geass power of his own, erasing his memory of him being a prince, being Zero, and that he has a younger brother named Rolo Lamperouge, instead of a sister. He is seen running away from Villetta Nu who is revealed to be a teacher now in the first episode. He is able to leave Ashford Academy with Rolo to go gamble at Babel Tower. It is here where Kallen and the remnants of the Black Knights attempt to retrieve Zero. After being cornered by the OSI, C.C. appears. Lelouch's memories are restored by C.C. and he uses his Geass to kill all of them. Afterwards, Urabe and Kallen appear in their respective knightmares and he resumes leadership of the Black Knights. Initially, Lelouch makes his base in the Chinese Federation's consulate, using his Geass on the High Eunuch stationed there so they will be welcomed. They are eventually forced to abandon it, however.

When Nunnally is appointed as Viceroy of Area 11, and announces her plans to reestablish the Special Administrative Zone of Japan, Lelouch falls into depression since he would be impeding her wishes by continuing his rebellion. He nearly begins taking Refrain before Kallen stops him. With the help of Kallen and his friends at the Ashford Academy, Lelouch realizes that his mission no longer revolves solely around Nunnally, but concerns the rest of his friends and the Japanese people as well.

Lelouch engineers the legal exile of the Black Knights by getting the Britannians to agree to exile Zero in exchange for bringing one million participants for Nunnally's new Japan. By having them all dress as Zero, he forces Suzaku to exile them and The Black Knights escape to the Chinese Federation, where Lelouch begins forging an alliance with the other world powers to create a force that rivals Britannia. He starts by destabilizing the Chinese Federation, returning control to Empress Tianzi from the High Eunuchs.

During his time in Area 11, Shirley is killed by Rolo after her memories are restored by Jeremiah Gottwald, an assassin for the Geass Directorate. Unable to retaliate against either, as they are now his allies, Lelouch instead wipes out the Directorate, in the process learning of C.C.'s wish to die and that the Emperor has become immortal. C.C. would have had Lelouch kill her and take on her immortality, but instead spares him by placing him inside her memories while the Emperor kills her. Lelouch refuses to let her die unhappy and convinces her to live on, but her memories of her life after gaining Geass are erased during their escape.

Once Lelouch's new alliance, the United Federation of Nations, is formed, their first act is to liberate Japan. To insure Nunnally's safety, Lelouch meets with Suzaku in an attempt to convince him to help. Lelouch takes full responsibility for all that he has done rather than admit the truth, but Suzaku agrees to help since he recognized what Lelouch is doing. Prince Schneizel's troops, having been ordered to follow Suzaku, then move in to arrest Lelouch, convincing him that Suzaku sold him out. Lelouch escapes with the help of Guilford, having used his Geass to make Guilford see him as Princess Cornelia, and begins his attack on Tokyo. Rolo and Sayoko are sent in to retrieve Nunnally and Kallen.

The battle initially goes well, but the hostilities are cut short when Suzaku fires Nina's F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb under the influence of the Geass command Lelouch placed on him. Nunnally is apparently among the dead, which leaves Lelouch heartbroken. This is only made worse when Schneizel appears in order to speak to the core members of the Black Knights. Schneizel is able to convice them to betray Lelouch using recorded evidence from his meeting with Suzaku, revealing his real identity of being Zero and his power of Geass. Kallen meets up with Lelouch to tell him that Ohgi wants him to come to warehouse 9. In the elevator, Kallen expresses to Lelouch her gratitude for Nunnally's help when she was captured. Then, they arrive to see that the core members of the Black Knights are betraying him, stating they know his real identity and Geass power. With Lelouch backed into a corner, he reveals his identity and lies that everything he has done was for his entertainment in order to save Kallen from dying with him telling her that she needs to live. As they are about to gun Lelouch down, Rolo appears in the Shinkirō to evacuate him, but dies in the attempt as he overuses his Geass. Lelouch comes to terms with his feelings for Rolo and buries him properly, as the little brother of Lelouch Lamperouge.

Following the betrayal of the Black Knights, Lelouch focuses on defeating the Emperor, Lelouch confronts the Emperor in the Sword of Akasha, where he learns the truth about his mother and Charles' plans. He denies their attempt to create a new world and kills both of Charles and Marianne. One month later he installs himself as the 99th Emperor of Britannia and appoints Suzaku as his Knight of Zero.

As Emperor, Lelouch abolishes all the oppressive laws and class systems of Britannia, frees every colony (thereby abolishing the concept of "Numbers"), and puts down all resistance to his goals. However, the seemingly benevolent acts are a smokescreen for his intention to take over the world, which he calls the Zero Requiem. He announces that Britannia intends to join the U.F.N. At the meeting, Lelouch takes the council members hostage after it is revealed that Britannia's large population would give him a majority voting block. This brings him into conflict with Schneizel and the Black Knights, the former bringing his F.L.E.I.J.A.-equipped floating fortress into the battle. The biggest surprise comes when Nunnally is revealed to be alive and declares herself to be his enemy. Though initially reluctant, Lelouch is convinced that he must fight her for the sake of his plan.

Lelouch began to leave when Damocles continues to fire F.L.E.I.J.A. Shortly afterwards, Lelouch saw C.C and says to her that he is worried about her but then Kallen attacks Avalon and is saved thanks to C.C. Using Nina's countermeasure, Lelouch and Suzaku disable the F.L.E.I.J.A. and the two proceed to board the Damocles. He manages to place Schneizel under his control, then goes to confront Nunnally, who has regained her sight. Lelouch uses his Geass on Nunnally to get her to hand over the F.L.E.I.J.A. launch button and takes over Damocles. With no one left capable of opposing him, Lelouch becomes the ruler of the world.



Lelouch arranges the public execution of the Black Knight leaders and the U.F.N. representatives. Suzaku, disguised as Zero, interrupts and kills Lelouch, the culmination of the Zero Requiem as they had planned. By directing all the hatred of the world onto him, Lelouch's death will serve to facilitate peace. He dies smiling, saying he is the one who both destroys worlds and creates them. Suzaku is left to play the role of Zero. Nunnally can only watch in shock. When Lelouch falls near her, she takes his hand and realizes that he has sacrificed himself on purpose of her dream & world peace. Lelouch dies in the arms of a crying Nunnally, who then succeeds her brother as Empress of Britannia. The aftermath is narrated by Kallen, who ends up forgiving Lelouch as she has realized Lelouch's true intentions were noble and explains how the world is much better off with all the energy being focused on reconstruction. C.C. makes one last remark to Lelouch, during the final scene of the series. Director Goro Taniguchi states that it's up to the viewers to decide how they want to interpret the ending, but that he himself likes to see it as a happy ending. Writer Ichirō Ōkouchi agrees, saying that while some may regard Lelouch's end as a tragedy, he too likes to think of the ending as a happy one because Lelouch created a better tomorrow for those left behind.

Personality
Lelouch is a highly intelligent indiviual who is also calm, sophisticated, and arrogant due to his aristocrat upbringing. While at his school, Lelouch conducts himself a socialible, likable, and often easy going student However, this is a mask to hide his true nature. While as Zero his true nature is expressed, his charisma and beliefs in justice gain him the trust and respect of many soldiers and leaders.

While Lelouch is righteous and noble by nature he is more than willing to do acts that go against his morality; this is due to his belief that he must commit evil to destroy the greater evil.

Many characters have noted that Lelouch is quite selfish as his desire to destroy and recreate the world comes from his revenge for his mother's apparent death and Nunnally's sake however in time he realizes that his goal is not just for them but for the entire world.

Lelouch has a habit of accepting responsibility for actions which he has no fault in. This may be his tragic flaw. Lelouch seems to have an average amount of concern for innocent lives, while he does oppose the concept of terrorism, he does not (or at least not openly) display a great amount of remorse for the collateral of his endeavors.

While Lelouch can be ruthless and often merciless in battle he can be a rather compassionate person to his friends and loved ones. To Nunnally he is a loving older brother and to Suzaku he is a loyal friend despite the fact that the two are enemies. Lelouch, at first glance, seems to have relatively little concern for the wellbeing of his subordinates, but in reality, he does care about them, seeing them as valuable allies. Though he has shown preference on occasion especially with Kallen.

Relationships
Due to his good looks and charm Lelouch is quite popular with girls, however he does not care much for this due to his focus on caring for Nunnally and changing the world. However Lelouch does show hints of romantic feelings for Shirley Fenette, C.C., and Kallen Kōzuki; however he was never able to express how he really felt about them but it is shown that he did care deeply for each of them. He even expressed that Euphemia was his first love, right at the time she died by his hand.

C.C.
Lelouch and C.C. seemed to have developed their relationship during the span of two seasons. In the first season, it seemed more of C.C. advising Lelouch. The two have seen to get along rather towards the end of the season. During the Battle of Narita, he whispered her true name, when she had asked. He seems to be able to deduce some of her feelings rather well, while occasionally becoming confused by her teasing.

Also, Lelouch constantly supplies C.C. with an endless supply of pizza. C.C. seems to have no guilt whatsoever when using her contractee's credit card. C.C. seems to be the only one who originally knows who he is, and accepts him for it. She supports him, while making suggestions where she thinks he is wrong.

When Mao was shooting C.C. at Clovisland, Lelouch went to the rescue.

During the 25th episode of the first season, she first kisses him. This is due to the fact that he sees some of her past, and she is caught up in it that she returns the feeling. Lelouch seems rather shocked at this sudden movement. Also, in the first season, they both pilot the Gawain together.

In the second season, their relationship becomes more close. C.C. kisses him to awaken his memories in the beginning, causing the barriers put up by Charles to be destroyed. When she was about to be granted her wish (to end her immortal life) by Charles, Lelouch stated that he knew her one true wish. He promises her that he would make her true wish come true, and that she would die with a smile on her face. This causes C.C. to seal off her own Code.

When Lelouch finds out how C.C. had lost her memory, he seemed devasted. He treated the amnesiac C.C. more kindly, perhaps sensing how delicate she was at first. He saw her memories and how she came to get her Geass, which gave him a true understanding of her. When he accidentally took his anger out on her, he immediately regretted it and gave her a band-aid. He even ordered pizza for her while she was suffering from amnesia.

While in the Sword of Akasha, Lelouch was somehow able to sense that C.C. had regained her memories. The two seem to know what the other is thinking, even when they have not communicated. At the finale of the show, C.C. is showing to be praying in a church for all the things Lelouch has done. A single tear rolls down her eye. She seems to care for him dearly. At the end, she is seen ridden on a haycart with a mysterious driver. She states her little monolougue about Geass, then smiles as she asks a question to Lelouch.

Kururugi Suzaku
Kururugi Suzaku is the first and last true friend Lelouch had ever had. Lelouch trusts and has faith in him more than any one else (excluding Nunnally) in the world. He is even willing to go down on his knees to beg him to protect Nunnaly because Suzaku is the only person he could trust and find help in, despite the fact that they were already enemies at that time. Lelouch was also hurt deeply when Suzaku decided to turn him in to the emperor and when he thought Suzaku had betrayed him again in the Kururugi shrine.

They had many face downs and Lelouch often could not bring himself to hurt him after finding out that he is the pilot of Lancelot and tried time and again to get him to join his side. He is also the only person aside Nunnally who Lelouch is unwilling to use geass upon,even when he did, he did not order Suzaku to obey him or join his side, but to "live on".

As Suzaku once said "there is nothing we cannot accomplish together." They are able complete many impossible missions when they choose to cooperate with each other. The accending to the throne and the plan to take over the world to complete Zero Requiem was the best prove of how strong they can be when working together. Lelouch eventually entrust Suzaku with everything, including the final step of the Zero Requiem, the peace of the world afterwards and Nunnally.

Suzaku has very mix feeling for Lelouch. He also sees Lelouch as his best friend, but he disagrees with his methods. He had suspected Lelouch was Zero before their confrontation but chose to trust his friend, thus he was more disappointed than surprised when he finally faced the truth of Zero's identity. He also could not forgive Lelouch for killing Euphemia and smearing her name as a mass murderer. He is also furious that Lelouch views people as pawns, and how he forced him to "live on" when his secret desire is to die and the geass often forced him to do things he has no desire in. But after the face down at Kururugi shrine, the explosion of F.L.E.I.J.A. and the encounter with the emperor in the world of C, he chooses to fight side by side with Lelouch as a faithful knight to complete Zero Requiem together. His silent tears when executing Lelouch showed that despite all that has happened, he still cares deeply him and their friendship never completely died.

Kallen Kōzuki
Of all of his relationships, this was possibly Lelouch's most complex. In the first season, they shared a complicated bond with Kallen despising Lelouch's student persona and admiring him as Zero. As Lelouch, Kallen saw him as an arrogant Britannian student who could not be bothered about the state of the world, while as Zero, Kallen saw him as a symbol of hope against the Empire and was willing to lay down her life to protect him.

To Lelouch, Kallen was his most loyal follower and held her in high regard due to her abilities as a Knightmare pilot, though he was not above irritating her while in his student persona. This behaviour may have stemmed from his own frustrations with possessing a double life, and a desire to see more of the "real" Kallen, as she had difficulties pretending to be a sickly Britannian when she became emotional, and a desire to converse with someone who shared more of his opinions than the people he usually interacted with.

When she found out that Zero and Lelouch were one and the same, she became confused and heartbroken by his true identity and unbalanced and obsessive behaviour that made him seem like neither Lelouch nor Zero, and left him at Suzaku's mercy.

In the following year she began again to see his worth, and not yet willing to abandon him entirely, she joined with C.C. to rescue him. Later after Zero's return, Kallen was uncertain whether her loyalty to him was as a result of Geass or her own free will and confronted him at gun point. When Lelouch claimed she was following her heart, their relationship became more personal, though they still retained some of their old bickering.

By this time, Kallen had evidently grown feelings for him as she was willing to die so long as she was with him. When Lelouch betrayed the world, even as she fought him, Kallen did so with tears in her eyes and upon finding out his plan, she screamed helplessly as he was stabbed.

On Lelouch's part, it was clear he had cared for her and was visibly stunned when Kallen was captured by Xingke and swore to rescue her with his own hands furiously cursing Suzaku for taking away everything that had "belonged to him." When the Black knights betrayed him, despite her attempts to defend him and desire to remain with him Lelouch lied to her that she was just a chess piece but told her to "live on" just within earshot.

When Kallen finally kissed him, although he remained quiet, he was deeply touched whispering his farewell when she left and this was in his quick reflection of his life moments before his death. Lelouch had been grateful for her loyalty and friendship and he cared for her well-being, and so refused to involve her in his scheme, which would have made her betray her own country that she spent the entire time fighting for.

Nunnally vi Britannia
His younger sister Nunnally was the reason Lelouch began his quest to overthrow the Britannian Empire, and for most of the series creating a world she can live peacfully in is his driving motivation. Lelouch loves his sister over all others (even Euphemia) and her safety and comfort were always his number one priority to the point of him abandoning his allies to save her when she was captured. He once lost his intention to live after thinking Nunnally was dead. Despite his love for her (or perhaps because of it) Lelouch was willing to do whatever it took to bring peace to the world, even to the point of using his Geass on her and having her hate him in order to bring the Zero requim to fruition. The Zero Requiem was actually planned by Lelouch (the enemy of the world) to have him killed by Suzaku disguised as Zero to end the cycle of hatred and to bring peace to the world. Part of the reason Lelouch sacrificed himself was for the dream of Nunnally to make the world peaceful ending all the focuses on war and altering it to reconstruction and negotiation.

Euphemia li Britannia
Lelouch and his younger half-sister, Euphemia, were extremely close when they were younger, with innuendo stating that Lelouch had a crush on her, and she may have felt the same. When they met up in the present day, it showed that he still cared for her deeply but whether or not he still had the same romantic feelings is unknown. He accidentally uses his Geass on her, forcing her to kill. It was one of the greatest burdens and sins on his soul and something that he was never able to forgive himself for.

Geass
Lelouch's Geass, bestowed upon him by C.C., gives him "The Power of Absolute Obedience", allowing him to plant commands within a person's mind upon eye contact in a manner comparable to hypnosis. Activation of his Geass is visually represented by the manifestation of a Geass sigil in his left eye. Commands dictated in this state are written into the minds of the designated targets once the sigil projects from his eye to theirs. Lelouch could initially toggle Geass activation at will, but subsequently lost this control and suffered from an affliction known as "runaway Geass" near the end of the first series. In the second season, C.C. gives Lelouch a contact lens that blocks his Geass, but indicates that his Geass will eventually grow powerful enough to render it ineffective. Lelouch's Geass evolves to cover his other eye in episode 21, but he receives a second contact lens to cover it. Of all the Geass abilities in the series, Lelouch's has been explored the most, and also seems to have the most restrictions and side effects of any Geass introduced:
 * Only affects the nervous system.
 * Commands must be issued verbally.
 * The victim must make direct eye contact for commands to be issued. The maximum effective distance is 272 meters. Line of sight via a reflective surface is sufficient for the effect to occur. After his Geass evolves, he can give commands to the victim without maintaining direct eye contact. The effective range has also been increased.


 * Commands may be issued only once to any given individual, but any number of commands may be issued at initial application so long as eye contact is unbroken. Since Jeremiah's Geass Canceler negates all Geass effects, those exposed to it may be commanded once again.
 * The victim will not perform any action disallowed by their physical or mental capabilities, though they will try to carry out the command to the best of their ability. For example, a victim will not be able to correctly answer a question they don't know the answer to, but will direct the user to someone who can if they are able. However, commands that affect the mind or consciousness, such as telling the victim to forget something, will take effect despite the fact that the victim could not normally force themselves to do so.
 * An action will be carried out for as long as dictated in its command, or upon the indicated conditional circumstance. Eye contact does not need to be maintained for command execution to occur. No upper limit has been established, but the conditional command Lelouch gives Suzaku is still in effect more than a year later.
 * The victim's memories for the duration of command issue and execution are sealed and cannot be recalled.
 * As demonstrated in Princess Euphemia's response to the command that she kill the Japanese, a victim may resist a commanded action to some degree if it is utterly repugnant and morally incomprehensible to them.

So long as the above conditions are met, commands may be issued to anybody besides those that had gained immortality and to any number of individuals at once. Those under the effect of Geass have a red outline on their pupils, presumably a visual cue for the viewer since the characters never point it out.

Intellect and Chess
Even without his Geass, Lelouch is a formidable opponent. He is highly intelligent, possessing a genius-level intellect, and is capable of devising and executing strategies with incredible speed and precision. The series repeatedly demonstrates Lelouch's mental acuity; ranging from his superb skill in playing chess, to an incident in Stage 14, when Mao says C.C.'s name, Lelouch instantly comes up with fourteen different possibilities for Mao's identity - including the correct one. His intellect is also shown when he was able to programe the F.L.E.I.J.A. countermeasure in 19 seconds typing at a incredibly fast speed. In the audio dramas, Suzaku says that, when they were children, Lelouch devised a secret sign language containing over 500 words. In Stage 17, Lelouch proves his tactical ability by predicting the Lancelot's actions exactly thanks to his study of past battles, allowing Kallen and the Four Holy Swords to almost defeat the Lancelot (only Suzaku's reflexes saved his life). His intelligence is also parodied in one humorous Sound Episode, which has the Student Council members acting suspicious, and Lelouch racing through possible explanations and cover-ups with increasing speed (though it turns out that they were acting strange because he had some rice on his cheek from his lunch).

Physical
Physically, Lelouch is underwhelming. He possesses the physical prowess of a teenager who engages in little to no strenuous physical activity. Thus, one of Lelouch's traits is the inability to run very fast or for any substantial period of time. Within the series, this is usually played for comedic effect, as Lelouch is constantly outpaced by his classmates in every situation, and even the most simple tasks requiring manual labor exhaust him before he manages to accomplish anything significant. This joke is taken to its logical conclusion in the second season, where it is revealed that Lelouch is supposed to attend remedial physical education classes, but skips them as often as possible. This creates problems when Sayoko poses as Lelouch: she is a master of martial arts, and hence far more athletic than Lelouch himself. Lelouch laments the problem and decides to have Sayoko attend his gym classes to fix it. By the middle of the second season, Lelouch seems to have gained a bit of physical ability however, as he is able to hold onto Shirley when she fell off the roof of a building.

Lelouch is also shown to be very talented at most domestic skills including cooking and sewing; it has been stated that this comes as a result of his taking care of himself and Nunnally for seven years. He has been shown to be an excellent cook, and is usually the one cooking the food for parties held by the Student Council, both because the others (except Milly) are terrible cooks and nobody else can meet his exacting requirements (such as measuring ingredients to three significant decimals).

Lelouch also has some skill with firearms, usually brandishing a Britannian pistol when threatening someone. His Knightmare piloting skill has been shown to be proficient but not exceptional; he is a capable pilot by himself, though he tends to be overwhelmed by Suzaku and other pilots with more advanced Knightmares at their disposal. When Lelouch pilots a standard Knightmare on the battlefield, he is typically accompanied by Kallen, who is an elite Knightmare pilot and the leader of his personal squad, Squad Zero. After commandering the Gawain, Lelouch co-pilots it with C.C., controlling the weapons and command functions while C.C. handles navigation and flight. After the Black Knights are exiled from Japan, Lelouch pilots the Shinkirō, which has the most powerful defense of any Knightmare. He also shows a level of ambidexterity as he is able to control either side of the Shinkirō's keyboard-based controls with both hands. Though he could not defeat them, Lelouch managed to hold his own against the Knights of Rounds during the second battle of Tokyo.