Downward Spiral

Chapter 2

A week later, it was the morning of Nunnally's funeral. It was only the emotional support from his friends on the Student Council that kept Lelouch from going completely insane with grief. He hadn't spoken much over the past few days, except for when he absolutely had to, and, even then, it was one or two word answers to questions. He also looked like hell due to not being able to sleep. When he wasn't crying, he was lying awake in bed, unable to get to sleep. So, he looked pale, more than usual, and exhausted, with dark circles under his eyes.

Sitting in his room, he stared at the note that had been left for him, part of his mind trying to work out exactly who wrote it. It had to be someone connected to the royal family somehow, but he couldn't figure out who.

Sighing, he looked up when he heard someone enter the room. It was Sayoko, looking just about as miserable as he felt.

"I'm so sorry. I failed you, Master Lelouch," the maid said sadly. Lelouch shook his head as it to tell her that it wasn't her fault. No one could've known the two of them had been targeted by someone power-hungry enough to kill a young girl. As he turned his head, something on his dresser caught his eye. It was the origami crane that Nunnally had been working on when she died. Fighting against a fresh wave of tears, he stood and walked over to pick it up before looking over at Sayoko.

"Teach me...teach me...how to...finish this...Nunnally...Nun..." he began, his voice choking off toward the end of what he had to say, but Sayoko could easily finish what he was trying to say.

Nunnally would've wanted it that way. She loved making those paper cranes. Oh, Master Lelouch...I'm so sorry I wasn't able to protect her. She was a sweet girl who wouldn't hurt anyone. Who could've done this?

"Of course," Sayoko said, her tone soft, as she tried to be of some comfort to him. She'd been doing her best to help him, but she couldn't do it alone. She was worried that, if left alone, he could try to hurt himself. It seemed like he'd simply given up.

They still had a couple of hours until they had to be at the cemetary for the funeral, but she figured that, at the moment, Lelouch needed something to focus on as a distraction. So, she walked over to him and began showing him how to finish the paper crane.

"I-I...want to...b-bury this with her," Lelouch murmured, his tone sounding almost broken.

"I think she'd like that," Sayoko said as she gently guided the boy's hands, and, before long, they were finished. Hearing footsteps entering the room, they both looked over at the boy who'd just walked in.

It had been seven years since Lelouch had seen him, but, to him, Suzaku looked pretty much the same, except older.

"Hey, Lelouch. It's been awhile, huh?" he said and Lelouch could only nod, not trusting himself to speak. Suzaku noticed that something didn't seem quite right. Usually, Lelouch was a little more talkative than this.

"What's wrong? Where's Nunnally?" he asked. The way Lelouch sudden;y seemed to be fighting back tears told him all he needed to know. There was only one thing that could put him in such a state and that would be if something happened to Nunnally.

"Oh, Lelouch...I'm so sorry," he murmured. For the time that they'd been together when they were younger, Nunnally had almost been like a little sister to Suzaku, as well.

"I wish...everyone...would stop saying that," Lelouch murmured.

"E-everyone's 'sorry'...but...after the funeral...everyone will just...r-return to their normal lives."

"When's the funeral?" Suzaku asked, hoping he hadn't missed it.

"I-in a...couple of...hours."

I didn't miss it, then. Lelouch looks terrible and the maid looks exhausted. Knowing how stubborn he can be when he doesn't feel like doing something, I can imagine that it hasn't been easy for her to make sure he eats enough and everything else. I'll stick around and help until he snaps out of this. Knowing how close he and Nunnally were, it'll take awhile.

During the funeral, Lelouch remained very quiet, Suzaku standing by his side, along with the rest of the Student Council. When it came time for the actual burial, he slowly approached the freshly dug grave and knelt to place the paper crane on top of the casket. He stayed there for a minute, just staring at the casket, almost unbelievingly, before Suzaku walked over and gently had him stand up before guiding him back to the small gathering to watch as the gravediggers began filling it in. Lelouch's reaction was immediate; he broke down again...badly. Without thinking, Suzaku gently pulled him into a hug as he cried, his face buried in his friend's shoulder.

The Student Council members all slowly went their own ways, deciding to leave the two alone. They figured that Suzaku had things under control.
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A/N: And now Suzaku is in the story. I still haven't named the guy who's obviously after Lelouch yet and he probably won't make an appearance for quite awhile. No, Suzaku doesn't know about the note yet, and any suckage in this chapter is from me running out of ideas and jumping straight to the funeral...that, and I'm kinda forcing this through a minor case of writer's block. So, I apologize for any amount of suck or fail in the chapter. ^^;