Suzaku Kururugi

"Just want you to ask yourself: when you gain results the wrong way, what are you left with in the end? Only dark regret and a deep emptiness that have nowhere to go."

- Suzaku Kururugi

Suzaku Kururugi  (枢木 スザク / くるるぎすざく), Kururugi Suzaku), 17 years old (18 at R2), is the deuteragonist of the Sunrise anime series Code Geass. He is voiced by Takahiro Sakurai, while his child self is voiced by Akeno Watanabe. He is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal in the English dub, and his child self is voiced by Laura Bailey. In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, he was placed sixth with 143 votes, then 19th and 13th, respectively, in the following two.

Appearance
Suzaku is a young man with light brown hair and forest green eyes. He is rather tall, being slightly shorter than Lelouch. Like most characters in the series, he also is rather skinny, belying his extreme physical prowess. In the first season, his face is mostly seen as calm and relaxed. However, after Euphemia's death, his eyes and mouth are typically furrowed, showing his incredible hatred.

In the first season, he is usually clothed in a white knightmare frame battle suit or the Ashford Academy uniform, and is also seen wearing a prison outfit and a soldier's uniform on separate occasions. However, in the second, he often wears regal clothing with a long blue cloak, which becomes black upon becoming the Knight of Zero. He now permanently wears the Zero uniform.

Personality
According to Lelouch, prior to the Britannian invasion of Japan, Suzaku was somewhat selfish, rarely putting others before himself. He also acted in a rather bratty manner when he first met Lelouch, beating Lelouch up and bullying him.

After Japan was conquered and Suzaku killed his father, Suzaku's personality was significantly changed. He dedicated his cause to not endorse terrorism or rebellion, which he believed would only result in pointless killing. Unwilling to sacrifice the innocent, Suzaku held a more positive outlook on Britannia, believing that it could be changed for the better. He also held a strong sense of loyalty, never questioning the orders of his superiors. Despite that, he was shown to be willing to stab them in the back if necessary. Suzaku also wished to take responsibility for his actions, and his ultimate goal was to atone for the killing of his father. Though Suzaku did not openly admit it, both C.C and Lelouch have deduced that more than anything, Suzaku wanted to die to escape the guilt. But when Zero uses his geass on Suzaku when Schneizel cornered them into a suicidal blow, Suzaku become someone who desperately wants to die, but is unable to.

After Euphemia's death, Suzaku developed a firm resolve to kill Zero and, by extension, Lelouch. He considered Zero to be an evil, immoral individual who was only focused on results and cared nothing for innocent lives. Suzaku twice rejected Zero's offer to join him, even when Zero held him at gunpoint. Later Suzaku would continue honoring Euphemia's memory by continuing his quest to change within by becoming the Knight Of One so that he could have the privilege of ruling an area on his own and transform Area 11. He also held a quill given to him by Euphy and customized his Lancelot's shield with a Knight Of Honor as a mark towards her. Suzaku was shown as a corrupt individual whose goal is to change Britannia from within for peace, as opposed to Lelouch's change for realism.

After Zero was exposed as Lelouch, Suzaku began to paint Lelouch with the same brush with which he painted Zero. Suzaku had a hard time acknowledging Lelouch's past actions, such as the Orange and Lake Kawaguchi incidents. This struggle was shown during the time he was transporting Julius Kingsley during the European Campaign. During this time, Suzaku had a more hardened personality and seemed willing to use more underhanded tactics, such as attempting to use Refrain on Kallen, though he discards it soon after. He was not, however, willing to use methods similar to Lelouch's. Suzaku was willing to kill anybody standing in his way, which was shown during the first battle of the Tokyo Settlement for his bloodlust revenge against Zero. While clashing with the Knights of St. Michael, Shin understands Suzaku's true nature that he hates the world and wants to destroy it with the darkness within him. During the E.U. campaign, Suzaku gained the nickname "White Reaper" by the Europeans, as he slaughtered countless people and, in one fight, told the army to surrender but decided to kill them since they refused. During Kaguya's conversation with the Six Houses of Kyoto, Suzaku showed no remorse for the fallen members, as their execution couldn't be helped. Regardless, Suzaku hasn't lost faith in Lelouch, as he wonders why he killed Euphie since there could have been another way but despises Lelouch for casting a Geass on him to live even though it was Suzaku's goal to die. After Lelouch reminds Suzaku of his father's past and their confrontation at the Kururugi Shrine, Suzaku realizes that Lelouch is the kind of person who would take all of the lies to make everyone's dreams into reality, indicating that Suzaku's view of Britannia had started to change. This would lead Suzaku to attacking the Emperor, since the emperor was the one responsible for the chain of events occurring in the first place.

After destroying the Tokyo Settlement with the F.L.E.I.J.A. and causing the deaths of approximately 35,000,000 people due to the influence of Lelouch's Geass command, Suzaku takes some time to reflect within the crater he created. After a one-sided conversation with Jeremiah Gottwald, he laughs maniacally, desensitized by the countless deaths he inadvertently caused. He then abandons his self-righteous nature and resolves to achieve his goals regardless of the means. This saddens Bismark, the Knight of One, who claimed that Suzaku's compassionate core was the source of his strength.

Since both had lost the ones they loved and had sullied their hands with the blood of thousands, Suzaku finally allies with Lelouch, but his experience in the thought realm with Lelouch and C.C changed him. He understands that the cycle of hatred would have to be broken for a peaceful future, and though it can only be done by Zero, no one would accept Lelouch as Zero because of the Geass, and devises the Zero Requiem with him. Lelouch describes him of powerful willpower, as he transforms Lelouch's Geass command 'Live' positively into an energy boost. He becomes shocked with Lelouch when Nunnally is still alive and declares them both enemies. Afterwards, he shows a vicious dedication to its completion, and takes the responsibility of being 'Lelouch's Sword' to conquer both his enemies and weakness. He fakes his death in his battle with Kallen, reappears under the guise of Zero and stabs Lelouch. Lelouch smiles at him as his death draws near, and thinking of the Geass as a gift that allows one to do something the other can't, touches Zero's mask in an affectionate gesture and offers him the Geass of changing the world. He tells him that Suzaku Kururugi is no more, and that there exists only Zero, who should strive for peace and justice, to bring about a brighter future. Suzaku accepts the Geass, though crying as he had killed his best friend. Later, he is shown wearing the guise of Zero protecting Nunnally, with which one can only conclude that Suzaku had truly accepted the fate of Zero and would never lead a normal life as Suzaku Kururugi. With this we can deduce that despite his frequent changes in character when facing grief, guilt and self-loathing throughout the series, he was a dedicated and loyal man who wanted peace.

Character Outline
Suzaku is the son of Japan's last prime minister, Genbu Kururugi. His existence was kept a secret from the public until after the war. Suzaku met Lelouch Lamperouge and his sister Nunnally when they moved to the Kururugi residence as a diplomatic peace trade. At first, Suzaku despised Lelouch because he thought that he was a prince who didn't care about anyone. As time passed by, however, he came to know Lelouch better, and they soon became best friends. They became separated when Britannia invaded Japan, but were reunited in the Shinjuku Ghetto.

When Britannia began its invasion of Japan, Suzaku was mortified by the violence and his father's belief that resisting to the bitter end was preferable to surrender. Unable to change his father's mind, Suzaku murdered him during a heated exchange. The incident was covered up and Suzaku's life was spared, while the government was thrown into disarray and surrendered to Britannia. Lelouch believes that, had Genbu lived, Japan would have likely been torn apart by war once the other major powers decided to intervene. His guilt over the incident causes Suzaku to constantly place himself on the frontlines in the hope of atoning for his actions with his death. It also inspires Suzaku's belief that the ends achieved by using the wrong means are meaningless, since he created peace through murder. However, after firing the F.L.E.I.J.A. warhead under the command of Lelouch's Geass, he decides to achieve his desired results regardless of the means, even if it means joining forces with his enemy, Lelouch, and killing people just to make true his objectives and ideals. Despite that fact, Suzaku is still showed to be interested in achieving a world where everyone can live happy and have a tomorrow, as seen in the last episode, when it is shown that all the acts of Lelouch and Suzaku were to achieve that world.

First Season
Suzaku, along with Lelouch, makes his first appearance in the beginning of the first episode of the series as a child, watching the Britannian Military entering Japan; C.C. was apparently watching them. After the invasion of Japan, Suzaku seemed detached but sad.

Suzaku is later introduced as an Honorary Britannian soldier. Honorary Britannian Soldiers were sent to retrieve the poison gas stolen by the Japanese Resistance. Among them, Suzaku finds the vehicle and confronts Lelouch, whom he believes to be a terrorist. When Nagata opens the capsule, Suzaku quickly puts his own gas mask on Lelouch's face. The capsule opens, and instead of gas, as Suzaku expected, a restrained C.C. appears. Before they can get answers, Suzaku's superiors come and tell him not to question his briefing and to shoot the "terrorist", Lelouch. When Suzaku refuses, he is promptly shot in the back. However, the bullet is stopped by a broken pocket watch belonging to his deceased father.

As a result of Lelouch's rebellion in a counter-attack against the Britannian Army and in a twist of fate, Suzaku is made the pilot of the experimental Knightmare Frame Lancelot, since Britannia wouldn't risk actual pilots on an experimental craft. The Lancelot proves to be far superior to previous Knightmare Frame models, and Lelouch is forced to flee. Just as Suzaku and the Britannian Army corners the terrorists, Clovis orders an immediate cease-fire under coercion by Lelouch.

However, he finds himself under arrest afterwards for the murder of Prince Clovis; though Lelouch was in fact responsible for this, the military needs a scapegoat since they have no idea who was responsible.

Lelouch rescues Suzaku from his impending execution by assuming the identity of Zero and taking credit for Clovis' murder, forcing the military to acquit Suzaku due to lack of evidence. While Suzaku agrees with Zero on the latter's assertion that the Britannian Empire is corrupt and not worth serving, he wants to change and improve the Empire from within, to show that his father's death was not in vain. This is because, as Suzaku claims, achieving results by wrong or illegal methods is meaningless.

Suzaku, having been acquitted of all charges, meets Third Princess Euphemia li Britannia and escorts her around Area 11. In Shinjuku Ghetto, they come upon conflicts with Shinichirō Tamaki, a member of the Japanese Resistance, and Suzaku ends up intervening in an internal pureblood struggle.

From this point on, Suzaku remains the pilot of the Lancelot. He is enrolled into Ashford Academy on Euphemia's suggestion, though he is at first mistreated by other students in events such as how somebody spray paints "Go Back To Your Ghetto, Eleven!" on his shirt. He is later confronted by Lelouch, and they talk about their past; but Suzaku worries that he will only cause Lelouch and Nunnally trouble. Later Lelouch ends up inviting him to Nunnally at the clubhouse, but Suzaku leaves, wanting to make sure to keep their statuses as royalty a secret. Arthur, a stray cat, is later chased throughout the school grounds by the entire student body after wandering into the Lamperouge residence and escaping with Lelouch's Zero mask. Milly announces that the one who catches the cat will get a kiss from any member of the Student Council. Suzaku and Lelouch are the ones who get the cat, and they receive a kiss on the cheek from Nunnally. As a result of this, Suzaku receives a warm welcome from the Student Council and the rest of the student body. The Student Council adopts Arthur and builds a cat house in the council room. Suzaku, along with the rest of the student body, watches Prince Clovis' funeral live. During the funeral, the Emperor of Britannia makes a speech on the virtues of inequality and the social battle for evolution and betterment.

His rank within the military is initially Private, but he is promoted to Warrant Officer by Cornelia when she first arrives in Japan. When Nunnally is kidnapped by Mao, Suzaku helps Lelouch rescue her. When they find Nunnally, they also find a bomb above her that is ready to detonate. Lelouch comes up with a plan and Suzaku is able to defuse the bomb and come to Lelouch's aid. Suzaku then approaches Mao to arrest him; however, Mao uses his Geass and reveals the fact that Suzaku was the one who killed his own father, Genbu Kururugi. After breaking down, Lelouch uses his Geass to permanently silence Mao, who is then killed by C.C. Afterwards, Lelouch takes advantage of this and sways Suzaku to protect Nunnally. However, he is informed that Cornelia changed the executioner for Kyoshiro Tohdoh to him which made him hesitate. As Lloyd is signing papers, the Black Knights attempt a rescue mission. Suzaku comes with the Lancelot and engages in a battle with Tohdoh and the Four Holy Swords. As he is overwhelmed, he is revealed as the pilot of the Lancelot and is forced to use the Harken Boosters to repel the Black Knights. Tohdoh convinces Suzaku to give up, but Suzaku refuses, and Tohdoh declares him to be his enemy and delivers the message that Suzaku must give up his morals in order to achieve his goals. However, he is unable to continue as his Landspinner is destroyed, which allow the Black Knights to retreat with Tohdoh.

Suzaku is appointed as Euphemia's personal Knight, granting him the rank of Major, after a televised battle with the Black Knights makes his occupation public knowledge. During the battle on Shikine Island, Lelouch confronts Suzaku after luring him into a trap in order to recruit him by reminding him of his father's death. After reinforcements arrive, Lelouch is forced to use the power of Geass on Suzaku and commands him to "live". As this command gives no time or event limitations, it activates every time Suzaku feels threatened, and he must live by any means necessary. He eventually encounters Kallen at Kamine Island and ends up capturing her only to spend their time being stuck. While spending time on the island, Suzaku and Kallen talk to each other peacefully until Suzaku tries to convince Kallen to abandon the Black Knights, which causes her to retort that Suzaku's ideals will bring nothing but the suffering of the people. That makes Suzaku tell her that he killed his father and wants to atone for what he did. After that night, Suzaku still holds Kallen as a hostage, only to be confronted by Zero and Euphemia when they land in the glowing ruins, leaving Suzaku in a similar state to when he reacted to C.C. Later, Suzaku wakes up and is taken into custody due to insubordination.

After Kawasaki's declaration of invasion of Japan, Suzaku confronts Euphie regarding his actions and dismisses himself as a Knight, telling her the truth behind his father's death. Later, Suzaku pilots the Lancelot Air Cavalry launched by Avalon to attack Kawasaki's forces, only to end up in a dead-end situation where he is forced to use his command to "Live", only to then be saved by Zero. Suzaku later agrees to Zero's alliance. Together they destroy Kawasaki's forces and lead them to be arrested. Afterwards, Suzaku comes back to the villa on top of the Viceroy's palace to talk to Euphie, who gives him back his Knight Of Honor emblem. Suzaku is later volunteered to pilot the Gardmare at Ashford's first annual school festival to make the world's biggest pizza; before that he confronts Kallen, who had been about to dispose him. After Euphie is exposed for wanting to come to Ashford to talk to Suzaku, Suzaku holds Euphie up with his Knightmare's hand. She uses this opportunity to declare her intent to establish the Specially Administrative Zone, which even shocks Suzaku.

Suzaku was at the Specially Administrative Zone questioning Euphie about her actions and when he was trying to act like a subordinate, Euphie denied it. At the Specially Administrative Zone's inaugural ceremony, Suzaku sees Zero and wanting to request Euphie's assistance which Euphie said it was okay. Meanwhile Suzaku sees the Gawain, he had the same reaction regarding C.C. and the moment the two reacted, Suzaku lost consciousness. Suzaku later woke up and sees trouble going around the stadium which he commanded the troops to stop attacking but was denied since Euphie ordered it which shocked him and as a result, he went to find Euphie. Suzaku falls in love with Euphemia, and thus is emotionally crushed by her murder at Zero's hands. He gets a visit from V.V., who explains Lelouch's power of Geass to him. Before heading out to battle, Suzaku calls Lelouch whose number was Euphemia's and discuss about their current actions and they wish both each other luck as friends. This drives him to find and kill Zero at all costs; this is exemplified when he brutally kills anyone who gets in his way, including senior Black Knights member Yoshida. As a result, he is also dubbed the "White Reaper" or "White Death".

He follows Zero to Kamine Island, after Cornelia instructs him to. He meets Zero, and the two have a standoff. Lelouch tries to offer Suzaku a truce in order to rescue Nunnally, but Suzaku is too swept up in his grief to come to a truce and in retaliation, Lelouch reminded him of the time when he killed his father. Enraged, Suzaku exclaims that Lelouch's very existence is a mistake, one he intends to correct and tells Lelouch that he will be the one to save Nunnally instead. Lelouch draws his pistol as well, and both men attempt to shoot one another, at which point the screen fades to black and the season ends with a single gunshot.

Second Season
In the second season, it is revealed that Suzaku managed to take Lelouch alive, leveraging his capture for a promotion into the Knights of the Round, the most powerful order of warriors in the Britannian Empire. It is possibly due to the fact that he spared his life due to their previous encounters. Among its twelve members, his rank is seven. He still holds his desire to kill Zero, even swearing to the Emperor that he alone will kill Zero. However, he seems to still have some faith in Lelouch, and looks forward for a chance to clear his doubts about his friend by asking him about the incident with Euphemia. (This non-hostility was necessary in order to acquire information however.)

Suzaku and the other Rounds' members watch as Zero announces that he will continue his plans to create the United States of Japan. Before returning to Area 11, Suzaku continues his activities to conquer E.U. under Schneizel as the "White Reaper." Suzaku returns to Area 11 as a student in Ashford Academy to discover if Lelouch has regained his memories of being Zero. Suzaku later conversates with Lelouch in the rooftop during the school festival which reveals that his goal is to become the Knight Of One so that Japan would no longer support Zero due to the incident he caused. Unable to find any sort of sign, Suzaku lets Lelouch talk to the new governor of Area 11, Nunnally, which also ends in failure thanks to Rolo Lamperouge using his Geass to freeze Suzaku temporarily. When Lelouch attempts to kidnap Nunnally as she is being brought to Area 11, Suzaku steps in to rescue her, ironically fulfilling the purpose Lelouch had originally envisioned for him. After Nunnally's arrival, Suzaku later was at school helping the student council at the garden and Suzaku wonders if Lelouch did lose his memories and if he didn't, he wanted Lelouch to answer him why he killed Euphie since there could have been another way. Suzaku later got attacked by an infiltrated Japanese Britannian Soldier only to be saved by his "Live" command. At the villa, Anya confronted Suzaku about executing the soldier which Anya took the initiative.

Suzaku leads the Britannian Navy to wipe out the Black Knights to ensure that Nunnally's plans of re-establishing the Special Administrative Zone of Japan will not be dismantled, but is completely surprised when the whole Navy is wiped out. In a surprising twist, Zero announces that he will accept Nunnally's offer in exchange for exile. This is revealed to be a clever ruse when Zero has all one million Elevens participating dress exactly like him, leaving Suzaku no choice but to exile the entire group to prevent another massacre. Standing on an empty stage, Suzaku realizes that Zero must know him very well, having banked on the fact that Suzaku wouldn't allow a massacre to take place.

Suzaku is deployed to the Chinese Federation's capital, where the First Prince of Britannia and the Empress Tianzi are to be wed; Suzaku later reunites with Kaguya discussing about their past and how Zero managed to save him once but refuses to acknowledge it. He stops Nina from attacking Zero during a chess game against Schneizel but was remind about the incident. Later, Zero kidnaps the Empress during the ceremony. Britannia's aid is requested in recovering Tianzi, and Suzaku personally has Kallen Kozuki transferred into Britannian custody before heading into the battle. Lelouch, who had became closer to her, was angered seeing it as Suzaku's way of taking everything he can from him.

Suzaku later gets contacted by Shirley Fenette just for their private conversation but coincidentally encounters Lelouch. While walking with Lelouch and Shirley, Suzaku wonders what Lelouch have been doing up until now and his suspicions regarding him as Zero. Shirley was about to fall but Lelouch and Suzaku caught her in time. After saving Shirley, all of them were relieved except that Suzaku can't forgive Lelouch for what he did to Euphie. Lelouch gets a call from Rolo regarding Jeremiah and Suzaku is about to confront him about it only to be interrupted by Shirley who grabs him to discuss somewhere. Shirley and Suzaku talks about Lelouch and Shirley asked if Suzaku forgives him and he says that he can't but in response Shirley says that nothing is unforgivable and that she forgives Lelouch only to shock Suzaku. After hearing an incident at the train station, Suzaku tells the security to keep Shirley safe as he goes into the building. Suzaku later finds Shirley's body and takes her to medical care who concluded that she commit suicide. Suzaku is later shown at Shirley's funeral mourning her death. In the aftermath of Shirley's death, Suzaku investigates Shirley's supposed suicide and comes to the conclusion that Lelouch murdered her. He decides to question Kallen about Zero's true identity, threatening to use Refrain if she does not cooperate. Kallen refuses to cooperate, but Suzaku does not use the Refrain, realizing that by doing so he would be no better than Lelouch. She beats him severely during their next meeting in retaliation, which he does not fight back. Frustrated, he goes to confront Lelouch personally and discovers that the Intelligence Agency is under the effect of Geass, confirming that Lelouch has regained his memories. However, he is hesitant on reporting this information to Charles because he knows he will use Nunnally as a hostage. He is later seen talking to Nunnally again as Nunnally progresses Area 11's status. Nunnally uses this time to ask Suzaku who that person was she was talking to on the phone but Suzaku steps back as she tries to touch his hand only to say that he is the same as Lelouch.

After hearing the news about the Emperor's disappearance, Suzaku is confident that Nunnally should be safe for now but wonders about Lelouch and suspects that he may be behind the disappearance of the Emperor. Just after the creation of the United Federation of Nations is cut short by the Emperor's appearance, Suzaku was shocked. Suzaku is contacted by a desperate Lelouch, who asks him to protect Nunnally from the Emperor. He confirms he has regained his memories. Suzaku agrees to his request, but only if Lelouch meets him alone at the Kururugi shrine. The meeting starts off with the inevitable confrontation of Zero's sins, and even as Lelouch bows down for the first time in his life, Suzaku merely steps on his head as well as pushing him when he asks him why he geassed him to live that's been contradicting his convictions. But while Lelouch answers Suzaku's questions such as saving him when he was held for Prince Clovis' murder and saving the student council at the Lake Kawaguchi situation, Suzaku recognizes Lelouch's face as someone who does not tell the whole truth to accept punishment since it was the same face Suzaku had after he'd killed his father. Suzaku finally extends a hand to Lelouch, saying that Lelouch could atone for his lies by making them into truths and before Lelouch could reach out, Schneizel arrests Lelouch, which makes Lelouch believe that Suzaku sold him out again. Schneizel gets Suzaku to reveal what he knows about Geass, and Kanon tells him that the world doesn't exist to make him alone happy. Suzaku is left pondering if he will have to use the Lancelot, equipped with Nina's F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb, on Lelouch.

During the second battle of Tokyo, Suzaku is attacked by Jeremiah Gottwald and Guilford under the influence of Lelouch's Geass. Suzaku asked Jeremiah why he is fighting and Jeremiah replied by saying by thanking him by saving him but now that he serves his lord despite the people around them. Though both are drawn away from Suzaku, he is forced to battle Kallen in her improved Guren. Though Lloyd advises him to flee, Suzaku insists on dealing with Zero. As Lloyd has upgraded the Guren far beyond what the Lancelot is capable of, she easily parries his attacks and significantly damages the Lancelot. Kallen was ready to finish off Suzaku under Lelouch's order due to their broken trust. Driven to the edge, Suzaku realizes he cannot win and comes to terms with his death as an atonement. In doing so, Suzaku's Geass command activates and forces him to use the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb. Kallen dodges and the bomb instead hits the government complex, wiping out the entire government building and most of the surrounding area. Suzaku later reflects on what he did and during that time, Jeremiah has a one sided conversation with him reminding him about Nunnally whom he had accepted as dead. Following the battle, Suzaku can only laugh madly at the destruction he has caused.

Suzaku concludes that the ends are more important than the means to reach them, and becomes more focused on becoming Knight of One which upset to the likes of Cornelia and Gino. He suggests to Schneizel that he could assassinate the Emperor. Schneizel agrees and Suzaku heads to Kaminejima to complete his mission. When Suzaku is on his way, he is contacted that there are survivors of the Geass Order who are slain by him. Suzaku confronts the Emperor himself blaming him for what he has done to Euphie and that Geass is behind it along with pushing Lelouch and Nunnally to danger. Suzaku attempts for revenge but Suzaku's attempt to kill the Emperor is derailed by the Knight of One. When Lelouch attacks the island, Suzaku considers the task his burden to bear and heads off to find Lelouch, only to have the ground knocked out from under him by a stray blast. He is recovered by Anya, who is possessed by Marianne, and C.C. Suzaku enters the Sword of Akasha with C.C. who was told that Charles is already immortal, and looks on as Lelouch defeats his parents and stops Ragnarök. He thinks about taking revenge for Euphemia right after, however Lelouch tells him that nothing is unforgivable, mirroring the conversation Shirley had with Suzaku before she died. The time shift one month later reveals that he became the Knight of Zero under his trusting friend Lelouch vi Britannia, the 99th Emperor of the Holy Britannian Empire.

When four of the remaining Knights of the Round attempt to remove Lelouch from power, Suzaku battles them single-handedly. With the new Lancelot Albion, he easily defeats and kills all of them, sparing only Gino's life asking what he should be fighting for. He later assists Lelouch in taking the UFN leaders hostage. Following the destruction of Pendragon by Schneizel and the revelation that Nunnally is alive, Suzaku is stunned.

Despite Lelouch's concern for Nunnally, Suzaku insists that their objective has not changed. He tells C.C. that he is Lelouch's sword, and will remove his enemies and weaknesses and ask C.C. to be his shield since they are accomplices. He attacks the Black Knights to prevent them from reaching the Avalon, but was too late. He joins Lelouch in boarding the Damocles, holding Gino off while Lelouch goes ahead. Suzaku comes out victorious defeating Gino, but Gino's last attack opens the shields and allows Kallen to take over. Suzaku fights Kallen to a standstill, eventually taking a blow to the chest which causes his Knightmare to explode while she loses consciousness. He is believed to have died in the blast, but later shows up as the new Zero to kill Lelouch, now the tyrannical Emperor of the world as part of their plan for world peace. With the Zero Requiem complete, Suzaku weeps silently as Lelouch dies. As his final order and punishment, Lelouch tells Suzaku that he is dead from this day on, forced to exist as Zero and sacrifice his happiness for the sake of the world, an order Suzaku accepts. Suzaku becomes Nunnally's protector in the following months, aided by Schneizel, who Lelouch ordered to specifically obey Zero, the new leader of the Black Knights.

In Turn 25.01, Suzaku (Zero) and Nunnally visit Ashford Academy to meet theirs friends from the Student Council. They see fireworks lit off by Jeremiah and Anya as a promise from Lelouch. He holds Nunnally's hand, while he ponders if Lelouch is somewhere watching, and on everything that he has done and promised.

Lelouch vi Britannia
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Nunnally vi Britannia
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Euphemia li Britannia
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Kaguya Sumeragi
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Abilities
While Suzaku possesses no outwardly superhuman powers such as Geass, his physical prowess is top-notch. He possesses superior hand-eye coordination and has extensive military training in both firearms and hand-to-hand combat. Before Britannia's Invasion of Japan, Suzaku was trained by his instructor, Kyoshiro Tohdoh, in martial arts, and has spent most of his time training to become stronger. He is also skilled in the art of kendo despite the fact that he had quit Kendo. His physical prowess seems almost inhuman at times; such as, when Mao kidnaps Nunnally, Suzaku manages to destroy a camera-mounted machine gun with a lag time of 0.05 seconds without being struck once. At the time he assassinated Lelouch under the guise of Zero, he was also able to dodge incoming gunfire from 6 separate Knightmare Frames.

As the pilot of the Knightmare Frame Lancelot, Suzaku is an extremely skilled pilot, with a 94% efficiency rating from Lloyd based from his simulator scores. His lack of tactics and strategies baffles Lelouch, since he fights with instinct instead of thinking or using his mind. The mecha's superior abilities also help, as few other Knightmare Frames can match its astonishing speed or overcome its considerable defenses even if they outnumbered the Lancelot by a tremendous degree. This has been mitigated as of the year 2018, wherein newer Knightmare Frames have filled the technological gap. Even when Lelouch managed to predict his movements, Suzaku's reflexes allowed him to narrowly escape what would have otherwise been certain death. As seen during the Britannian massacre of the Shinjuku Ghetto, he got the Lancelot to perform a mid-air kick, the same move he used on Lelouch in the underground tunnels.

Despite not possessing a Geass power, Suzaku does have an unusual ability to detect those who grant the power, such as C.C.. C.C. speculates that this is either due to her using her abilities on him or another as-yet unidentified factor. Following the events of Shikine Island, Suzaku is also placed under a command by Lelouch to "live." As this command gives no time or event limitations, it activates every time Suzaku feels suicidal (or otherwise accepts his death as an inevitability) and forces him to survive by any means. It also activates to a lesser extent when his life is in immediate danger, but Suzaku is able to resist such activations. He can also use the command to his advantage, allowing him to react faster than he would normally be capable of. An example during his battle with Kallen aboard the Damocles, using the power of the command, Suzaku is able to fight on par with Kallen's Guren S.E.I.T.E.N. Eight Elements in his technologically inferior Lancelot Albion. By the end of the fight, although the Lancelot explodes, the Guren is essentially destroyed as well, having lost both of its arms and its head.

Suzaku's abilities aren't solely physical, as Lelouch has stated, Suzaku has a impressive mind, not only because he was able to disarm his plans many times but because Suzaku can make use of the Geass command used on him to fight more effectively. He also shows to have a very good instinct, as seen when he made accurate guesses about Zero's identity and, based on that, predict what Lelouch is likely to do. During his time as the Knight of Zero, he showed a more casual use of the "live" Geass command used on him and his ability to know what Lelouch is thinking and how to act based in that, as seen during the final battle when both of them stopped a F.L.E.I.J.A. from detonating in the small window of 19.04 seconds.

Lost Colors
In the video game spin-off, if the player uses Rai's Geass on Suzaku to make him join the Order of the Black Knights, Suzaku joins and brutally fights off the Britannian forces. He also participates in the Black Rebellion. However, in forcing Suzaku to join, the player angers Lelouch, who wanted to recruit Suzaku without using Geass. Lelouch puts Rai into an eternal sleep, resulting in a game over.

The player may choose to pursue Suzaku as a friend by joining the Britannian military. In the All Hail Britannia route, Rai becomes Suzaku's partner in battle and receives a Knightmare Frame of his own similar to the Lancelot. He may use his own Geass to stop Euphemia from ordering the infamous massacre portrayed in episode 22-23 under Lelouch's accidental Geass. After ordering the Princess to stop and then ordering the crowd to forget her order, Euphemia's plan to create the Special Zone of Japan succeeds. Rai and Suzaku are then known as the new country's two White Knights.

In the Black Knights path, if Rai stops Princess Euphemia from following through with Lelouch's accidental Geass (an alternate version to episode 22-23), Suzaku (who is standing nearby) will catch the princess as she suddenly collapses. She wakes up in his arms without any recollection of being under the control of Lelouch's Geass.

Nightmare of Nunnally
In the manga spin-off series, Suzaku's appearance is changed slightly. Some parts of his hair are down, and his eye colour is blue instead of green. Both his knight outfit and his pilot outfit are also customized with a blue samurai arm gauntlet. Suzaku also owns his own Ōkatana with a custom Britannian hilt.

Suzaku first appeared in chapter 7 of the manga series, and has received approval from Schneizel for Euphemia to have Suzaku as her knight. In the manga, Suzaku is shown to have an ability to sense the power of other people with Geass. When Suzaku first fought against Lelouch as Zero in his Lancelot Knightmare Frame. He is almost defeated when engaging Nunnally's Mark Nemo, and fought Mark Nemo on several occasions. When Nunnally is to be executed by Nightmare of Nunnally's Rolo, Suzaku stops the execution on Euphemia's orders and proceeds to fight Rolo and his knight, Anya Alstreim, only to be defeated by Anya's Tristan Knightmare Frame. Suzaku in Nightmare of Nunnally discovers Zero's identity far earlier than in the Anime. After Alice flees with Nunnally and Emperor Charles zi Britannia declares the Holy Nation of Eden Vital, Suzaku is arrested along with Euphemia, Cornelia and Guilford (who had also attempted to stop the execution). He is rescued by Zero and, despite his mistrust of Zero (due to the knowledge of the identity), helps him make Euphemia the Empress of Britannia. Having lost his original Lancelot, Suzaku deploys the Lancelot Albion against the Emperor's Knights of Rounds (a bunch of immortal zombies). Suzaku and his Albion are almost defeated, but are saved by Charles' defeat. Suzaku remains as Euphemia's knight at the end of Nightmare of Nunnally.

Suzaku of the Counterattack
In the manga spin-off series shows Suzaku as the main protagonist, wearing a bionic combat suit and going by the alias Lancelot. Suzaku also develops a close friendship with Lloyd's assistant Mariel Lubie, and later meets her father, Lenard Lubie, who requested Suzaku to take care of her. After a renegade Black Knights faction had attacked the Lubie automobile, which killed Lenard and injuring Mariel when the wrecked car was destroyed, Suzaku was fuelled in anger as he seeks to defeat Zero. Fulfiling Lenard's request, Suzaku is taking care of Mariel until she gets better.

It is revealed that he had killed his father Genbu, but it was done when Suzaku found out that he and the Emperor of Japan were willing to collaborate with Britannia and kill off anti-occupation Japanese officials and civilians. In a fit of anger, he stabs Genbu in the chest.

When Suzaku meets Schneizel he is moved by his words that he wished to create a world where everyone is an equal and in which he was surprised to find out that Schneizel wants him to be his Knight, which he later accepts believing that Schneizel can end the fighting.

When an Art Gallery, with the Emperor Charles, was in control by the Black Knight, Suzaku was sent by Schneizel to try and prevent any civilian from getting hurt and was surprised to find that Kallen was a member and revealed that she is half Britannian-Japanese, but left her when he realised that Zero is after the Emperor. When he arrived he saw not only the Emperor dead but saw Schneizel being shot by Zero, which caused him to pick up his gun and shoot at his mask, which cracked and was shocked to see that it was Lelouch as Zero. When he demanded why he did it, Lelouch replied that he only did it for the both of them. Suzaku finds it hard to believe as the two point their guns at each other and fire, with Lelouch missing the shot and Suzaku shooting away Lelouch's gun, but later one of the Glaston Knights shot at Lelouch and left him injured.

Code Geass: The Manga
Suzaku is present in the manga adaptation with many differences. He was already a student at Ashford Academy from the start. He was not present with Lelouch when C.C. was revealed to be in the capsule. Finally, he met Euphemia while at the Academy and not on the streets. He still believes that he can change the world from within. He later becomes Euphemia's Knight and accompany Euphemia to the Ashford School Festival. He captures Zero after wounding him with the gun at the garden of the government bureau during the first assault of Tokyo Settlement. Later he sells Zero out to gain Knight of Seven. He gives orders to Rolo to overseer his activities regarding Lelouch. He appears during the Chinese Federation dispute and does not appear in Area 11 until the formation of Area 11 by being deployed along with Gino and Anya. He fights Jeremiah at Avalon and when he is about to lunge for a kill, Suzaku hits the FLEIJA trigger to nuke the settlement. He joins Lelouch during Zero Requiem as well.

The Miraculous Birthday
In a special Code Geass Picture Drama episode, Suzaku arrived at Ashford Academy with Nunnally, Shirley, and Nina, and had met with Lelouch, but also brought C.C. with him and commented if she's Lelouch's girlfriend, to which she replied that he proposed to her, and suggested a wedding being held at the Kururugi Shrine for them. However a battle erupted in school grounds by the Neo-Chinese Federation and took everyone hostage.

While everyone escape to the student council room, Lelouch thought of a plan to defeat the enemy, but requires assistance from the others, to which Suzaku agreed with the plan and went with Kallen. After defeating all of the Chinese soldiers in the school's east hall, the two reflect on each other's performance, with Kallen talking about Suzaku's spinkick move that he also used on the Lancelot, to which Suzaku revealed the name of his spinkick move to her as "Hinoboru-ryu Makoto-ichi-Shiki Hurricane Kick", to which he commented from his former Master, Kyoshiro Todoh, that most kids find it hard to say and named it "Suzaku Kururugi spinkick" instead, to which Suzaku has taken a shine to it. The two arrived at the school's chapel, acting as the Neo-Chinese's HQ, and confronted the leader, but was tricked and their souls were absorbed into mystic item known as the "Thousand-man Silver Vase". However Suzaku manages to return to his body with Kallen, with help from Lelouch who used his Zero persona, and used his spinkick on the eunuchs.

In the aftermath, Suzaku watches Lelouch's body disappearing and was thanked by him before giving him an inspirational speech. When the group realized Rolo, Shirley, and C.C. were gone, Suzaku realized the date being December 5 being Lelouch's birthday. Suzaku once again donned his Zero persona and commented that he still won't say thanks to Lelouch because of everything that has happened, but still says Happy Birthday to him in respect.

Another Century's Episode: R
The fourth installment of the Another Century's Episode series, Another Century's Episode R will feature Suzaku with his Lancelot. The setting in his world will be an alternative version of the event of R2. A brief plot was revealed in the second promotional video in the official website and a short detail of the event set in the A.C.E. R main planet, Eria.

Set in an alternative event of the second season of episode 06, Suzaku arrived with Gino and Anya when a Britannian ship was attacked by the Black Knights and were confronted by Kallen, and was overpowered by her. While Suzaku wishes to continue, Gino however convinced him to return to the Chinese Federation to regroup. After the eunuchs defeat in the Chinese Federation, Suzaku arrive with the three Rounds member, Gino, Anya, and Luciano, and a fleet of Britannian Knightmare Frames led by Schneizel. As they are about to fight the Black Knights an unknown black energy appeared and was suddenly transported to Eria, were he was separated with the other Britannian forces and the other Rounds, but manage to board the Avalon with Lloyed and Ceclie, who were also sucked in. In Eria, Suzaku and co have appeared on a mountain landscape, were Cecil discovered Zero near their area. After finding Zero, he encountered different mechs who are with him. Kei and Olson D. Verne from Super Dimension Century Orguss, and Kei ask whether he would join them, which Suzaku refuse because of their alliance with Zero and prepares to attack, but was interrupted by one of the Seasons, Spring One, in her Core unit, Sea Plant, with a group of Icon units. When Spring offered them allegiance, Suzaku hesitated because he won't forgive Zero, but won't trust anyone who would try to kill Zero, and he refuses. After Spring ordered the attack, Suzaku ordered the Avalon to assist Zero and his new allies. After her defeat and the appearance of more Icons, he and the others witness Macross Quarter from the Macross Frontier series, with the Ark Alpha, and witness it destroying a fleet of Icon. As the Macross Quarter captain, Jeffrey Wilder, offered the group to join up with them, Zero agreed and asked Suzaku to come with them, which he hesitated but accepts.

Later in their first mission together with Zero and the others, Suzaku and the others fought against Spring One in her Core unit, Sea Stand, which Autumn later delivered the final blow in her Core unit, Alpharto, causing Spring to escape. When Zero question if she is really human, Suzaku was surprised when Autumn revealed she isn't but an android.

Suzaku, along with Alto Saotome and other mechs from the Macross Frontier, followed Brera Sterne, who had also sided with Seasons along with Grace O'Conner, to a ruined city, were he was shocked that Gino and Anya, along with some Britannian forces had sided with the Season. and tried to convince them to stop, which Gino replied if he enjoyed being a Black Knight and tells him to come to their side, leaving Suzaku in doubt. However Zero manage to convince him that the battle is not about Britannia or Japan but their worlds, leading Suzaku to reject Gino's offer and fight along side Zero and defeating both Gino and Anya.

As the plot progresses, The group later encountered a group of Gareth Knightmare Frames, along with the Knight of Ten, Luciano Bradley, and surprisingly Li Xingke, who have sided with Seasons. With Xingke beginning the assault, Suzaku, along with Zero, C.C. and Kallen, have fought and defeated him, but when Xingke was about to be killed by Bradley, Suzaku had blocked his attack and saved him, leading Xingke to switch sides and defeating Luciano, leading him to his death.

Suzaku and Co then confronts the other four Season's in their Core units and later Dr Shiki, in Winter's body, piloting the ACE Core. After his defeat and Autumn using all of her powers to prevent the hole to expand, Suzaku returns to his own world along with Zero, Kallen, and others. Suzaku was then requested by Zero that the two discuss, and later went their separate ways, knowing they'll be enemies again.

Another Century's Episode: Portable
Suzaku appears in the sequel with his Lancelot Albion.

Super Robot Wars Z2
Suzaku and the rest of the Code Geass R1 cast will make their debut to the Super Robot Wars franchise in this game, using their R1 Knightmares. Despite a short period where Suzaku becomes playable on orders from Euphemia, following Kaminejima, the events of the game strongly follow the series.

If players choose to have the Black Knights betray Lelouch, Suzaku's fate is mostly the same, except he eventually gives the mantle of Zero back to Lelouch after his resurrection. If the Black Knights don't betray him, Suzaku serves as the only Knight of the Round to ally with all the other characters against Schneizel, Nunnally, and the rest of the Round at the Battle of the Damocles.

Code Geass: Akito the Exiled
Suzaku makes his first debut in Episode 2 of the OVA, The Wyvern Divided (episode). He was revealed along with C.C. during the preview of Episode 2. Suzaku is a Knight of Round in this OVA. He is seen accompanying  Julius Kingsley, arriving at St. Petersburg. This was ordered by the Emperor. In OVA 3, Suzaku's Lancelot's shield is adorned with a custom made Knight Of Honor emblem to honor Euphemia. Julius and Suzaku were granted authority to take command of Euro Britannia thanks to the Imperial Sceptre granted by the Emperor. Suzaku continues to show hostility towards Julius Kingsley. Later Julius launches his campaign "World Liberation Ark Fleet" as a ruse to causes chaos amongst the E.U. This causes a feud between the higher ups of E.U. regarding innocents and as a result, the Archduke of Verance was arrested thanks to Shin's support. While Julius and Shin were playing chess, Suzaku stood by until Julius started to breakdown. Shin later confirms that Julius is a terrorist Zero and that Suzaku is the greatest proof. Suzaku pointed a gun at him by refuting the fact and that Zero was executed by the Emperor but regardless Shin started to deduce what happened back in the attack of Japan before becoming Area 11 by comparing him when they both killed their parents. The Knights of St Michael attacked to protect Shin but were completely outmatched against the Lancelot. His ruthless and devastating defeat of the knights gained him the title "White Reaper". While Suzaku is fighting Jean, Shin asks Suzaku what it takes to change the world. After sparing both Jean and Julius, they were imprisoned in OVA 4 with the Lancelot imprisoned and during that time Lelouch begins talking to Suzaku by hallucinating his past memories. In the Final OVA, Lelouch asks Suzaku for some water. Suzaku gives him the water jug, then he tries to avenge Euphemia by choking him to death. Lelouch begs him to kill him as Suzaku sees a tear from his Geass eye, but then he releases him. Lelouch tells Suzaku to go together and see Nunnally.

Reception
In the 29th Anime Grand Prix, Suzaku was sixth place with 143 votes, then 19th and 13th, respectively, in the following two. In the 2007 Seiyu Awards, Takahiro Sakurai was a nominee in the category "Best Actors in supporting roles" for his portrayal as Suzaku, but lost to Akira Ishida and Kouki Miyata.

Critical reception to Suzaku has been mainly positive. Anime News Network's Bamboo Dong regarded Suzaku as a likeable character, contrasting his role and personality with Lelouch's. Kevin Leathers from UK Anime Network agreed with Dong, as Suzaku "counter-balance[s]" Lelouch's alterego due to how he does not wish violence. Moreover, IGN's D.F. Smith described Suzaku as Lelouch's "opposite number", and also gave praise to the friendship the two share. While reviewing an episode from the series, Ramsey Isler found comical and disappointing how was Suzaku forced to stay at school for extra hours having just finished a highly dangerous mission. His confrontation against Lelouch in the first season's finale was praised mainly because of Suzaku's mentality and his feelings regarding Zero's identity which he confesses he denied accepting such revelation.

Trivia

 * Both Suzaku and his father, Genbu Kururugi, have the same names of two of the Four Symbols in the Chinese constellation; Suzaku being the Vermillion Bird of the South and Genbu being the Black Tortoise of the North.
 * In  Code Geass Novel 0, Suzaku kills his father months before the Invasion of Japan. The prime minister plans to hand over the country and execute Nunnally to gain favor with the royal family. In an attempt to stop his father, Suzaku kills him with a sword Todoh had in the family training hall.
 * Due to Suzaku's physically impossible and unintentionally humorous signature spinning kick attack, fans have given him the unceremonious nickname of "Spinzaku". This in turn has led to an Internet meme where fast-paced gifs of the kicks are set to the song "You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)" by Dead or Alive, such that it looks like he is twirling in place while in mid-air.
 * Suzaku (スザク) (Korean : Ju-jak /주작) (Chinese :Zhū Què / 朱雀) means vermilion bird; It refers to the Four Symbols of the Chinese constellations.

Quotes

 * "A victory won through dishonest means is no victory at all."
 * "I am his sword. I will slash away his enemies and his weaknesses. So, C.C., you become his shield. Protect him."
 * "I've remembered something. I killed my own father, and I was never punished for it. I just lived on like nothing happened. And right now? I'm being protected again while soldiers die and Elevens suffer; I'm unscathed. A person like me doesn't deserve this."
 * (Monologue) "Is it bad to be weak? Back then, when I was 10, the world seemed like such a terribly... sad place, a world without any hope at all. Disease; Racism; living in a never-ending cycle of hate. The cycle must be broken; somebody has to do it. Of course, it's doubtful that the one who does it will make the bad things go away... no one should lose more of the people they love. At least, a world without war. I don't know how you would do it, but if I stop trying, then my father's will have been in vain."
 * (To Lelouch) "Nothing that happens now is any of your concern! Your very existence is a mistake! You need to be erased from the face of the earth. I'll take care of Nunnally!"
 * (To Lelouch) "No! You're hopeless! I know you - at the very end, you'd betray the entire world the way it's betrayed you! I'm not going to let your sick, twisted dream be realized!"
 * (To Lelouch) "To desire some results, one must take actions."
 * "A soldier must always follow his orders! [...] I made rules that I need and have to live by!"'
 * (To Charles Zi Britannia) "Your majesty, I have a request. Please, sire, allow me to join the Knights of the Round, the twelve strongest Knights of the Britannian Empire."
 * (To Lelouch) "This Geass I do solemnly accept."
 * "The Geass you used on me that drives me to live has corrupted my convictions! Why would you put such a curse on me?"
 * "Stop, please! I warn you - I've been trained for military combat. Don't make me fight against my own people."
 * (About Lelouch, and indirectly himself) "The look in his eyes - I know that look. The look of torment that comes from bottling up a lie. That's why I joined the Britannian Army: for redemption. So that the tragedy wouldn't repeat itself."
 * "If my reputation goes down for doing what's right, I don't need it."
 * "The world and the people in it - they will never be what we want them to be."
 * "Your Geass power is quite convenient, isn't it? You get to hide in the shadows while others take all the blame for doing your dirty work. You're just an arrogant coward. That's your true nature, the real you."
 * "Denying everything in our society is pointless! Once I make them trust me, I'll have the power to change it!"
 * "After everything you've done, you really think this is sufficient? You believe some bowing and begging is enough for me to forgive you?!"
 * "I prefer the logic of systems to individualist emotions."
 * "Even struggling with my shame... I still search for a reason to go on living."
 * "I called because there's something I want you to tell everyone for me... The sky; make sure no-one looks up at the sky. Lelouch... is there anyone you could ever hate so much that you'd actually want to kill them? ...I used to feel that sort of thinking was unacceptable, that unless you follow the rules, killing someone was just murder. But now... it's hatred that's guiding me. I'm fighting to kill someone. I'm going to become a murderer in the skies of Tokyo."
 * (To Lelouch) "I understand. I'm telling you to promise not to be mean to girls anymore."
 * "Lelouch. I won't thank you. Your sins are that grave. But, just for today [...] Happy birthday, Lelouch."