Downward Spiral

Prologue

Lelouch Lamperouge had just finished another game of chess against a Britannian aristocrat. Shamed at having lost to a mere high school student, the man had paid a lot of money, possibly hoping both Lelouch and his friend Rivalz would keep quiet. Little did he know that Lelouch couldn't care less; all he cared about was making the world a better place for his little sister, Nunnally. They'd been sent to Japan by their father, Emperor Charles, not long after their mother had been killed and Nunnally crippled in the same attack. They'd been intended to be sent to the last Prime Minister of Japan as political hostages, but they'd ended up becoming best friends with the Prime Minister's son, Suzaku Kururugi.

It had been 7 years since they'd parted ways with Suzaku and Lelouch had no clue whether he was even still alive. That thought had always been at the back of his mind, and it still was even as he climbed into the sidecar of Rivalz's bike to go back to school. He knew he'd get another lecture from Shirley about gambling again, but just about everything else bored him. Chess was the one game he not only enjoyed, but was very good at.

The ride back to the Ashford Academy was quiet, and, once they arrived, Rivalz dropped Lelouch off at the entrance.

"I need to go park my bike, I'll see you later, Lelouch!" the other boy called out and Lelouch nodded.

"Alright, I need to go check on Nunnally before I go to class," he said before chuckling.

"I wonder what the President has planned after school; probably another planning session for her latest scheme," he mused aloud.

Rivalz laughed.

"I don't know, but knowing her, it'll be strange. Anyway, see you later, Lelouch," he agreed before riding off.

Still chuckling a bit as he headed toward the clubhouse, Lelouch just shook his head before wondering what Nunnally had been up to all day. She was always learning one Japanese custom or another from Sayoko, who looked after her while Lelouch was in class. He was always looking forward to checking up on the girl; she always told him everything Sayoko taught her throughout the day over tea. Nunnally had still been working on trying to make one thousand origami cranes when he'd left that morning.

When he stepped into the clubhouse, he waved a "hello" to Millay, who was just walking into the Student Council room, as he headed into the dining room of the little suite they had.

Lelouch's room was on the second floor of the building and Nunnally's was on the ground floor due to her wheelchair. Stepping into the dining room area, he looked around, wondering at the silence in the room. Sayoko was out, and he assumed she was shopping, but Nunnally usually greeted him as soon as he stepped through the door.

"Nunnally? Aren't you going to greet your brother?" he asked with a grin as he stepped into her room. Seeing her in her wheelchair, he walked over, still grinning.

"Aren;t you speaking to me?" he asked as he gently rested his hand on her shoulder to let her know he was there. Just as quickly, his eyes widened as he pulled his hand back. Something didn't feel right.

"Y-you know, i-if you're cold, you sh-should get a blanket," he stammered, sounding almost desperate as he made his way around to kneel beside the wheelchair, like he usually did. Gently taking her hand, which was cold to the touch, in his, he used his other hand to feel for a pulse, trying to fight back panic.

"Nunnally? Speak to me...you're okay, aren't you?" he asked, feeling his heart sink and his world crash down around him as he knew the answer. Nunnally had died.

"Nunnally...NUNNALLLLLLY!" he shouted before letting himself drop forward so he was leaning against the arm of the wheelchair, the dead girl's cold, dead, hand in his as he entire body shook from wrenching sobs.

Meanwhile, in the Student Council room, Millay and Shirley, having heard the shout, came running to see what was wrong and gasped when they saw what happened. Shirley was at Lelouch's side in an instant, trying to pull him away from his sister.

"Oh, Lulu...I'm so sorry," she whispered as she tried to keep from crying, herself. Millay just watched in solemn silence, making a mental note to go easy on Lelouch for a little while. If he missed the Student Council meetings for a few days, she'd understand.

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A/N: This has to be the most depressing story I've ever written, and it's just the prologue. ^^;

This was in response to a challenge, but, even though the challenge seems to have disappeared, I'm still calling it a challengefic. It gave me a very interesting plot bunny to play with and I'm running with it. This is my first yaoi Code Geass fic, so any suckage could be because this is only my second time writing for this fandom. My only other Geass fic(that I really need to continue) is in my Livejournal.

Comments are welcomed and I'll try to get the next chapter up soon(same with "An Unlikely Couple" in the FMA section). ^^;