A quiet desperation
is building higher, i've got to remember this is just a game

Lelouch had killed Clovis after revealing himself and demanding who was behind the assassination of his mother. However, Britannia announced to the public that Suzaku had been accused of the murder of Clovis, and brought to a mock court. In the anime, this is where Lelouch first learns that Suzaku is still alive, and was determined to save him.

Lelouch, now wearing a mask, interrupted the march on the way to the court where Suzaku's trial was to be held, and announces that he, Zero, was the one who killed Clovis. He then revealed the fake poisonous gas capsule to everyone and asked for an exchange: the capsule for Suzaku. When Jeremiah Gottwald, who headed the investigation on Suzaku, refused, Lelouch used his Geass on Jeremiah to free Suzaku. In the anime, the saving Suzaku scene is complete with Lelouch taking Suzaku into his arms and jumping off the bridge. :p

Although Lelouch (as Zero) offered for Suzaku to join him in fighting Britannia, Suzaku said that he didn't approve of Zero's means, and that he was going to change Britannia from the inside. Suzaku said he was going back to be tried, despite knowing that the trial was rigged. Lelouch called him an idiot, and Suzaku mentioned that his friend (referring to Lelouch) used to tell him that often.

In the anime, Suzaku was acquitted for Clovis' murder due to lack of evidence, and eventually, after getting the idea from Euphemia, Suzaku enrolled in Ashford Academy. Lelouch, surprised, gave a signal to Suzaku that they made up during their childhood days. The signal meant "Let's talk at the rooftop". Unlike in the manga, Lelouch already knows that C.C. is alive and feigns innocence when Suzaku asks about C.C. Furthermore, Suzaku is unsure of what to call Lelouch, since he's one of the few people who know that Lelouch is an heir to the Britannian Empire.

After visiting Nunnally, Suzaku told Lelouch that it was better if they pretended like they didn't know each other in school, to Lelouch's obvious disappointment, because Suzaku was afraid that Lelouch's identity as the Prince of Britannia would be revealed. Still, Suzaku mentioned that he was happy.

When Zero's mask got stolen by a cat, Suzaku and Lelouch both ran to the rooftop, trying to chase the cat. suzaku was about to reach the cat but Lelouch slipped, so Suzaku rescued him from the fall. After the cat was retrieved (Zero's mask fell from the cat by then so no one got to see it), Lelouch admitted to everyone that Suzaku was his friend, and asked Millay to take Suzaku into the Student Council, which Millay approved of.

During the course of Lelouch's role as Zero, he had this sort of dual relationship with Suzaku. There was Suzaku, his closest friend who was now with him at the Student Council in Ashford Academy, and the pilot of the Lancelot, whom he considered as one of the gratest hindrances to his success in the battlefield. For a great deal in the anime Lelouch didn't know that his close friend and the pilot of the Lancelot were one and the same.

When Nunnally had been captured by Mao, Suzaku offered to de-wire the bomb on top of Nunnally and told her that nothing can't be achieved if he and Lelouch worked together. Lelouch trusted Suzaku to do this, even if the bomb was highly sensitive and one false move could cause it to explode. Lelouch and Mao played a game of chess, wherein Lelouch lost and the bomb atop Nunnally would supposedly have had exploded. However, Suzaku was successful in detonating the bomb, and Lelouch realized that he had used the Geass on himself to make him forget about agreeing to let Suzaku de-wire the bomb.

Suzaku then entered the place where Mao and Lelouch were, and confronted Mao. In the process, Mao showed Suzaku a bit of his past, where Suzaku had killed his father, Kururugi Genbu. C.C. revealed herself to Mao, so Mao left Suzaku and Lelouch alone and ran out to meet C.C. Lelouch then talked to a distraught Suzaku and stated that if his father hadn't died, then the resistance would have fought to the bitter end. Eventually, Lelouch decided that due to Suzaku's self-sacrificing nature, Suzaku would be the best person to become Nunnally's knight. Lelouch thought that Suzaku would be the best person to take care of Nunnally, in the event that something happened to him while leading the Black Knights in the war against Britannia.

Suzaku as the pilot of the Lancelot was finally revealed to everyone in the battle against his former teacher, Kyoshiro Todo. When Lelouch found out about this, he ordered everyone to retreat, since he couldn't fight his friend. He had also been devastated to learn that Suzaku was the pilot of the Lancelot, and his plans of asking Suzaku to become Nunnally's knight vanished. Instead, Euphemia chose Suzaku as her knight.

Still, he refused to have Suzaku assassinated when this was suggested by Diethard, and prevented Karen from assassinating Suzaku. In the Shikinejima Island, Lelouch and the Black Nights tried to capture Suzaku and the Lancelot with the help of Laksharta and the Gefjun Disturber, but as Lelouch was trying to talk Suzaku into joining them, Commander Colonel Hairi, under Prince Schneizel's command, told Suzaku to hold Zero hostage while the Avalon fires missiles at their location.

Since Lelouch was still being held at gunpoint, Lelouch tried talking Suzaku into letting him go and retreating, but Suzaku was determined to follow orders. This is where Lelouch was forced to use the Geass on Suzaku, commanding Suzaku to "live". Suzaku retreated, although he has been accused of going against orders shortly afterwards.

(Read on)