disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.
characters: Ashford Council members, excluding Nina and Nunnally.
warning: creepiness (a bit, maybe? Or a lot? I'll let you be the judge of that).
inspired by: Yamishibai and xxxHolic.
"Darling, why did you leave me?
Darling, come back to me.
Darling, it's so dark here.
Darling, darling, darling…
I love you.
Follow me…
To hell."
As soon as the words escaped the energetic, scheming, happy-go-lucky, sly, thousands-of-tricks-up-her-sleeves blond Ashford President, Lelouch knew his life was doomed.
"Is this necessary, Madame President?" he managed through gritted teeth, able to control an urge to bring his hands up to massage the bridge of his nose.
Milly slapped a rolled paper onto her palm. "Of course!" she said happily. "This will be a perfect opportunity for us all to forget about the terrorists, the wars, the hardships even for just three days!" She leaned toward the raven-haired teen who was holding a neutral gaze.
"Especially you, Lelouch," she said, tapping the rolled paper on the teen's head, causing him to wince a bit. "You look like you need a vacation. Desperately."
"I do not-"
"I see lines forming."
"That's a lie."
"I see crow's-feet around your eyes."
Somewhere around the long table, a breath was sucked in.
Lelouch narrowed his eyes. "Alright, now you're just exaggerating."
Can't she see it? Can't anyone see it? I can't leave! The Black Knights would crumble without its leader then the rebellion would be for nothing!
This is a waste of time.
More breaths were sucked in this time. Lelouch's eyes travelled around and slowly met his friends' gazes.
Did I say something?
"It's not a waste of time, Lelouch!" exclaimed Rivalz, wholeheartedly taking Milly's side. As usual. "I think it's a perfect time for us all to catch up." He gestured wildly around the room with his hand. "I mean, you've been too busy with your games lately to have any time for us. Kallen's been too sick lately to attend school-" The red head flustered. "And Shirley keeps looking depressed whenever you're not here!"
"I-I don't look depressed!" Shirley let out a squeak. Her cheeks blushed a furious red. She couldn't even hold Lelouch's gaze. "I'm-I'm not clinically depressed because you're barely here and I certainly don't miss you and-"
"Alright, everyone!" Milly picked the perfect time to cut in because Lelouch was feeling totally lost and Shirley's face's color resembled that of a ripe tomato while absentmindedly playing with her hair.
"Sooo," Milly drawled with a grin splitting her face. Lelouch sighed resignedly. "Suzaku will be joining us too, and our destination is…"
This is a waste of time.
xxx
"Rokkenkima?" The witch's cool voice echoed throughout the room. Lelouch slumped into the chair in his bedroom, one hand massaging the bridge of his nose, his eyes shut.
"Ah, a stupid vacation house in Rokkenkima. All council members are required to go. Even Kallen can't ditch this, and I doubt Suzaku can…"
A smirk lit up C.C.'s face. "Isn't that wonderful then? You get to spend time with everyone and pretend for once that your life is normal and doesn't involve Geass, bloodbaths, Knightmares, Black Knights, vengeance, and so on and on."
He darted a look at her. "That means you're also excluded," he pointed out.
She shrugged. "Do I look like I care, boy?"
"Of course not," he sighed, standing up. "Listen, when I'm gone, the Black Knights will wonder where Zero's gone off, right? And we can't tell them that he's going on a vacation so we have to come up with something creative."
"Leave it to me."
He thought for a second. "Creative and appropriate." He thought for some more. "And proper and decent-"
"You're aware you're just using different adjectives for a word, right?" Her voice was deadpanned, same as her eyes as she looked at him.
He shrugged. "I can't be too careful. After all," he smirked at her, "you're C.C."
"You're flattering me, Lelouch." Sarcasm was dripping from her words like honey from a hive, and he recoiled slightly.
xxx
"Darling, why are you doing this to me?
I thought we were in love.
Where did that love go?
Why did you leave me in the darkness?
Darling oh darling,
I'll be reborn… And I'll come find you."
"This is it?" It was Suzaku who spoke as the rest of the group gazed up at the two-story tall white cottage.
It was just a simple cottage by the beach with its titled roof and porcelain-white walls. There were many tall, glass windows paced evenly and the main door was made of oak. It was slightly bigger than the normal size. Surrounding this isolated cottage were palm trees. Too many of them to count and they were rustling, whispering in the seaside wind.
"This is it," smiled Milly. She then spun on her heels to address the group behind her with arms spread wide in a theatrical fashion. A big grin broke out on her face. "Welcome everyone! To Rokkenkima!"
"How are we going to divide the rooms, Milly?" Kallen asked when they all stepped inside. The living room was sparsely decorated, with a couple of simple couches and sofas here and tables there. There were no paintings on the walls. The windows were bare, curtainless, and Lelouch prayed that at least the upstairs windows would provide a little privacy.
Milly took a look around the room before turning to face the red-haired frail girl. "Ah you don't have to worry about that." She grinned. "We have enough rooms for all of us so no sharing!" She then shot Shirley a knowing look with a raised eyebrow that caused the latter to fluster.
"All the rooms are equal size, no one is bigger than the other so we don't have to fight about that. Just take any room you want, understood?" When the group nodded, the blonde clapped her hands.
"Alright! So when everyone's done unpacking and changing, we're going to hit the beach!"
Lelouch picked the last room, one of the two rooms that had a balcony.
"How nice!" Shirley exclaimed from behind him. Lelouch turned around. She was walking toward him smiling brightly. "Your room has such a nice view," she said, joining him in the balcony.
Lelouch looked at her then at the adjacent balcony. "You're not staying in that room?" he asked. Shirley followed his gaze and shook her head. "No, that's Suzaku's."
As if on cue, the brown-haired teen came out onto his balcony, stretched, noticed his neighbors, turned and waved at them.
"Nice view, huh?" he called. His bright emerald orbs glistened in the sunlight.
"Ah."
Suzaku turned to look at his left, frowned, turned back to his friends and said. "Can you guys come over? I want to show you something."
When the trio was standing in Suzaku's balcony, the brown-haired teen pointed toward his left, saying. "Do you see this?"
"See what?" asked Shirley reluctantly as she examined the wall next to his balcony.
Lelouch, however, took a bit longer in his examination. At last, he rose. "There's a big chunk of wall there," he concluded, turning to look at his friends. "Looks big enough to house a small bedroom."
Suzaku nodded. "But this is it. My room is the last one on this side. If there really were a room then its door would have to be built in my bedroom's wall…"
At that thought, the three teens shuddered.
"Maybe it's nothing!" said Shirley in an attempt to lighten up the mood. "We probably think too much of this. Maybe it's just the cottage's design, you know." Her hands clasped together and her eyes shone. "Come on, the others are waiting downstairs. Let's go."
xxx
Milly turned at the sounds of footsteps. She was sitting in the living room on one of the few couches there, and simply staring into space, waiting for the others to join her. When she heard of footsteps, however, she turned her head to look and found Kallen walking toward her.
"What are you holding, Kallen?" she asked, gesturing toward a small vase in Kallen's hand.
"Was there anyone here before us, Milly?" asked Kallen as she showed the blonde a vase holding a single lovely, bright red rose.
Milly shook her head slowly. "The last owners of this cottage had left a long time ago, and ever since then this cottage was made to be rented for vacation." She tapped a finger on her chin, lost in thoughts. "If I recall correctly, the last time anyone's been here is over five years ago." When she saw Kallen's eyes go wide, she hastily said, "You see, Rokkenkima isn't-"
"It's an isolated island."
Both Milly and Kallen turned at the sound and saw Lelouch, Suzaku and Shirley walking down the wooden, creaky staircase. It was Lelouch who had spoken.
"I did some research, Madame President," said Lelouch, anticipating her question. "Rokkenkima used to be very popular during the time when its owners were still here. However, when they moved away or something happened to them – the records aren't clear on that – this island, cottage-" He gestured his hand around. "-became isolated and unused for many years. No one wanted to rent it for vacation, and the last time someone did was over five years ago, marking it the first time it'd been put into use after so long."
His friends were gaping at him like fish caught out of water. It was Suzaku who broke the ensuing silence.
"So are you saying we're the second group that put this cottage into use after the owners left?"
"That's correct."
Silence.
"That's impossible," Kallen said, showing them the rose. "This rose was here before we even got here. I went into the kitchen to put our food in the refrigerator and found it sitting in a corner on the counter. The rose was as fresh as it is now, and there's also the water in the vase…"
"Did you try the water at the sink?" asked Lelouch.
"Y-Yeah. It gave me some trouble but I managed it," replied Kallen.
"Hm" was all Lelouch said.
Another silence followed.
Now, it was Milly who broke it by clearing her throat loudly.
"Well, let me just put it all on the table. Ghosts don't exist." Shirley let out a squeak, eyes befell her, she shook her head and glanced down abashedly.
"Maybe a maintenance worker came by and wanted to decorate the house, so they put the rose there. Voila!" Milly finished, crossing her arms over her chest. "Now, can we please let this go and start enjoying our vacation?"
With her menacing gaze upon them all, they had no choice but to push aside the strange, scary thoughts regarding this mysterious cottage and follow her outside, into the bright, hot and humid weather. The beach lay beyond with its waves ebbing and flowing peacefully.
Rivalz waved at them cheerily as they entered his field of vision.
Inside, the rose stood, forgotten on the table. It slowly titled to one side.
"Darling, how could you?
I've done everything for you…
Everything…
With just one mistake,
And this is my punishment?
I'll show you, darling."
After dinner, Suzaku went upstairs to his room. The excited chattering of his friends soon died down as he ascended the stairs. Every step he made, the wooden panels creaked under his weight, and he thought about what Milly said about the maintenance workers.
They really should've paid more attention to the floor.
It could give in any second.
If the theory of maintenance workers really existed…
Suzaku stopped in his track. He was outside his room, the key in his hand, and he noticed with a start that his strong, brown hand was shaking slightly. Shaking his head and mentally slapping himself, Suzaku steadily reminded himself that he was a man of science. . .
Funny, I'm doubting myself…
The door was opening. Darkness jumped out at him and he was ready to step in when a hand touched his shoulder.
Suzaku probably yelped like a girl but at the moment all his instincts skyrocketed up, and he was ready to throw a punch when a cool voice interrupted him.
"Relax, it's me." Even in the darkness, Suzaku could see his best friend's highly raised eyebrow and amusement written all over his face.
"Gosh, you scared me!" Suzaku stepped aside. "What are you doing here?"
Lelouch took the invitation and stepped in himself. He glanced around the room.
"Is it okay if I take another look at the wall out there. There's something about this that's bugging me," said Lelouch.
"This? What are you referring to? The wall or the whole cottage." Like everyone else but the oblivious Milly and Rivalz, Suzaku sensed a change in atmosphere the moment they stepped inside the seemingly beautiful cottage. Now that darkness had crept in, it made the matter ten times worse.
"It's just a feeling," Lelouch said softly before going toward the balcony. Opening the door, he stepped outside, into the chilly night's air. He took a deep breath, let it out, then turned to the left and examined the wall carefully.
Suzaku joined him from behind.
"Why is the rose so healthy?" Lelouch seemed to be talking to himself. "Kallen said that she had trouble turning on the faucet. If the maintenance workers were really here, you would think turning water on would be an easy task, right?"
Suzaku could only nod, knowing his friend couldn't see him with his back turned like this.
"And this wall..." Lelouch said. He suddenly spun around, ran inside and started touching the room's interior wall with both hands, as if he were looking for a secret door, or a hidden button to a secret door.
"Maybe we're over-thinking this, Lelouch," muttered Suzaku. "It's probably nothing."
When his friend turned to face him, Suzaku felt compelled to continue. "Sometimes, old faucets are hard to turn right? That could be the case with Kallen."
Ghosts do not exist.
Just keep telling yourself that and you might end up believing it.
Might.
Letting out a tired sigh, Lelouch ruffled his raven locks before giving in. "Ah, you're right. I guess we're just all tired from the long trip." He glanced down at his illuminating watch. "I've got to call Nunnally or she'll get worried," he said then made a beeline for the door, leaving Suzaku standing in the dark. It took the latter another three seconds to realize that he should probably turn on the lights.
xxx
"Big brother!" Nunnally's happy voice reached his ears and he felt a wave of relaxation hit him. He let out a contented sigh.
"Hey, Nunnally. How are you today? Are you feeling better?" he asked, sitting down on his bed.
"Yes, big brother. Sayoko has given me medications like you'd instructed and I'm feeling better already." He could even hear a smile her voice. "It's so unfortunate that I caught a cold though. I wish I was there with everyone."
He sighed again.
You do not want to be here, Nunnally.
Maybe catching a cold isn't so unfortunate at all…
This kind of atmosphere will make you sick.
"Big brother, are you okay?"
Realizing with a start that he hadn't said anything, Lelouch quickly said, "Ah, I'm fine. I guess I'm just tired from the long trip." He hated himself for lying to his sister but there was no helping it. "I think I'm going to sleep soon. I just wanted to check up on you."
"I'm fine. Really, brother!" She giggled. "You worry too much. Rest now, brother, so you can regain your energy for the rest of your vacation. I'll see you back at home soon!"
"Ah, see you soon. Good night, Nunnally. Remember, big brother loves you."
She giggled again. "I know. I love you too!"
The line went dead. Lelouch quickly dialed another number.
She picked up on the third ring. "You should be used to my sleeping time by now, Lelouch, and this is way past my bedtime." The witch's voice sounded from the other end and judging from her tone, she was nowhere near being remotely sleepy. Lelouch frowned.
"How did it go?" Straight to business.
"I told them what you wanted me to say," replied C.C. coolly.
"No fabrication? No adding? No sugarcoating? No-"
"None of those." Her voice was so venomous that Lelouch unconsciously wrinkled his nose. The frown never ceased. He stood up.
"If I go back and something inappropriate comes up-"
A yawn. A yawn? "Listen, boy, if you're so paranoid then why did you even agree to this trip? Moreover, you owe me big this time because they were getting very suspicious that both Kallen and the mighty Zero are taking the same days off."
Lelouch froze. "What did you tell them?"
"I said," she drawled, prolonging each word, knowing how much it annoyed him, "that you and the Ace Pilot decided to elope together."
Lelouch's breath hitched in his throat. "What?"
"Enjoy your vacation, Lelouch." Was that a purr he heard? Then the line went dead.
"Oi! Damnit." He made to furiously dial the number again when there was a knock on the door to his bedroom. He stopped, composed himself, turned and said, "Come in!"
It was Kallen. The timid Kallen. The headstrong pilot.
"You and the Ace Pilot decided to elope together."
Lelouch's breath hitched in his throat again and he swallowed.
"Hey are you okay?" she asked concernedly. "I was on my way to my room when I heard some shouting from here, so I just wanted to make sure everything's alright."
"Yeah, everything's okay," said Lelouch. He managed to give her a reassuring smile. "Really."
Kallen nodded, bade him goodnight then left, closing the door softly behind her.
Sighing loudly, Lelouch fell onto the hard mattress, not caring to call the witch again because he knew she would never pick up.
"My love, darling,
Is like a rose.
Darling, don't you know?
If you don't know how to touch it properly,
Its thorn will pierce your skin.
My thorn is poison.
My love is poison, darling.
It will kill you, darling."
That night when the full moon was high up there in the sky with many, countless stars littering the infinite space, there was a bloodcurdling scream that woke every current inhabitant of Rokkenkima.
Shirley was huddled in the corner, arms wrapped around herself. Her eyes were wild when the group approached her. Her usually tidy, long orange locks were now in a disheveled state.
"Shirley! What happened?" Milly gasped at the sight in front of her.
Tremblingly, the orange-haired girl croaked out. "R-R-Rats…"
"Rats?" repeated Kallen, eyes wide.
"I-I…" She swallowed. Milly strode forward to wrap an arm around the shaking girl's shoulders. "I was g-going to the bathroom w-when I felt something touching my ankle." She shook her head. "M-Must be rats! C-Can't be anything else…"
Silence engulfed them.
When Lelouch spoke, he didn't think it was his voice because it was so cool and calm.
The advantage of being the leader of a rebellious group, I suppose.
"When you said 'touch,' clearly you don't actually mean a physical grip," he said. When he felt eyes staring at him, he continued, "You probably meant a rat brushed by your ankle. Seeing how old this building is and hardly anyone comes by to clean it, there must be some nests of rats around here."
Realizing Lelouch's true intent, Suzaku was eager to jump in. "Ah, that must be it, Shirley. It had to be a rat," he said, offering her a smile, "a rat that ran past your leg and brushed your ankle with its tail. That must be it."
The atmosphere seemed to be lifted slightly.
"Let's get you back to bed, Shirley," Milly said.
"I-I still need to go to the bathroom," Shirley said meekly, eyes downcast and her cheeks were painted red and emitted heat.
"I'll go with you," Kallen offered. "I also need to use the bathroom."
Nodding 'thanks' at the red head, the three girls turned on their heels and strode toward the shared bathroom on the same floor at the other end of the hall.
"Suzaku," Lelouch said quickly when the girls were out of earshot. "Come on." He gestured with his head for his friend to follow back to the brown-haired teen's room.
"What are we doing in my room?" Suzaku asked, bewildered.
When he saw his friend touching and trailing the wall with his hands again, Suzaku shook his head. "Come on, Lelouch, we went over this. It's just rat-"
"Do you really believe that?" he snapped.
Not really, but…
Ghosts do not exist.
Great, now I sound like a five-year-old reciting the same mantra over and over again.
Wait, where's Rivalz?
He's probably still sleeping with those headphones of his on.
That's why he couldn't hear anything…
"If anything strange is happening, it should happen outside of my room, right? Like in the hall, like where Shirley…" Suzaku let himself trail off. The thought was too crazy and bizarre for the man of science like himself to even consider. He let out another sigh as Lelouch totally ignored him and went on with his quiet search.
"You won't find anything- Hey!"
Lelouch was shouldering the wall, with his legs dipped as he went in to give himself some strength. He stopped after one try, turned to Suzaku and gestured with his head. "Can you try to break this wall down?" he asked. Such an innocent request. Lelouch might as well ask Suzaku to murder someone.
Suzaku's eyes went wide and his jaws slacked. "Are you insane? I can't just break the wall down! That's… that's property damage!"
"Trust me." Lelouch's voice was so calm and cool and commanding that suddenly Suzaku felt an urge to obey. Besides, he also felt curious as to what was hidden behind this very wall. What could that empty space have housed?
Bracing himself and gritting his teeth, Suzaku ran at the wall. Simple as that. He ran at the wall with all the force he could have mustered, and it easily gave way.
As the wall crumbled under the soldier's weight, Suzaku would have fallen into the darkness of the unknown had Lelouch not caught his flailing arm in time.
"Thanks." Suzaku gasped while steadying himself. Lelouch proceeded to step forward.
Just like what he had expected, the wall outside had given an impression that it was big enough to house some sort of room, and now with the help of the feeble light coming from the moon high above and its many neighbors in the form of stars, Lelouch and Suzaku were able to detect the silhouettes of a toilet, a sink and a bare bathtub.
"W-What's this?" stammered Suzaku as his eyes glued to the wall and one trembling hand placed upon it.
The feeble light couldn't tell the teens what was on said wall, except the rough texture that it gave the one who touched it.
"Feels like…" Lelouch began.
A shriek, a scream and a gasp echoed behind the two teens and they spun around, coming to face Milly (who must have shrieked), Shirley (screamer), and Kallen (gasper). The three girls were covering their mouths with their hands, eyes wild and wide, not bothering to hide their expression of fear and intrigue.
"What is this?" Milly said loudly. "What have you done!?"
"We haven't done anything," Suzaku said hastily, then glanced at the crumbled wall. "Well, maybe except for destroying that wall… But Madame President-"
"Anyone have a flashlight?" Lelouch interrupted.
"I do," Kallen said breathlessly. "It's in my room. I'll go fetch it real quick." Then she ran off, and that left Milly to growl and advance toward the two males like a lioness advancing on her cornered prey.
"Explain to me why you decided to break down a wall, boys. Breaking down vases or destroying couches, tables is reasonable enough, but walls!"
"Please Madame President," Lelouch said idly. Even in the darkness, anyone could have seen the way his eyes rolled back in impatience and his hands dug in his pajamas' pockets that showed authority. "You're treating us like mere children," he continued, "we would not make a fuss like this for nothing. Please give us some credits." He glanced around. "So this is the bathroom."
Suzaku followed his gaze, nodding. "So the shared bathroom at the other end of the hall isn't the only one here. That makes sense since there are six bedrooms here; having only one bathroom isn't logical. But why would anyone go through the trouble of walling it up?"
"Why indeed," murmured Lelouch as he placed a hand over the rough texture. It felt like…
His thoughts were cut short at the sound of thumping footsteps on wooden floor and Kallen came into sight. For such a frail girl, she certainly didn't have any problem at all running. "Here you go," said Kallen as she handed Lelouch her plastic flashlight and he turned it on at once.
"W-What is this?" shrieked Shirley, hands moving up to cover her mouth again.
"Darling, if you die along with me,
Would you go with me to hell?
To an eternity of punishment?
Darling, I love you.
This rose is my last gift to you, darling.
Use it well.
Let it poison your heart, darling.
Like you poisoned mine."
"Words," Lelouch said quietly as his hands trailed over the rough texture. "So many words…"
"They were carved onto the wall," observed Kallen. A breath was hitched in her throat. "By some sort of sharp object, I assume," she said.
"Adulterer," Suzaku read the words on the wall aloud. "Punishment… Eternal love… Hell… No more… I despise you… I loathe you… I will have my revenge… Roses… I love you… I curse you…"
"Enough!" Shirley gasped. Milly moved closer and wrapped her arms around the trembling girl who was so close to bursting into tears.
"What does it all mean?" Milly asked quietly, breathlessly, tightening her hold on her friend. "Who could have written this?"
Lelouch shone the flashlight over the walls as he spoke, "I'll take an educated guess and say that this work belongs to the last owners of Rokkenkima. The reports say that there used to be a man and a woman living here for some years, then suddenly the woman disappeared and some time later, the man wasn't to be seen again. That's why there isn't anything clear on their disappearance because it's so mysterious and sudden."
Lelouch thought for some more before going on, "I'll go as far as to say that the husband probably imprisoned his wife in here, walled this bathroom up, taking away her only means of escape, and let her rot."
The silence that followed his words was so suffocating and dizzy that it caused Shirley to at last burst into tears. She brought up her hands to cover her wet face. Her shoulders shook violently.
"T-That's why no one knows about this!" Kallen said, gasping. "His crime was walled up and well hidden, and since her body wasn't discovered, the police couldn't say that foul play was involved.
"Correct," Lelouch nodded. As expected of the Ace Pilot. Despite the grim circumstances, he allowed himself a small smirk.
"How horrible," Suzaku said, wide-eyed. "Who could have done that? That's completely inhumane!"
Lelouch turned back to the walls. "Adulterer," he murmured, "adultery was involved, most likely the wife's fault, or the husband was being unfaithful and wanted to hide his wife away from his mistress's eyes. That means…"
"That means…" Kallen, Suzaku, Milly, Shirley's eyes all went wide with anticipation. Chills were running down their spines and goosepumps were crawling uncontrollably on their arms. They all shivered in unison.
Lelouch's flashlight slowly travelled around the room and when it came to rest upon a dusty, cobwebbed skeleton dressed in a maroon-colored, silky long gown that Shirley let out another bloodcurdling scream that pierced through the curtain of silence.
"Darling, you came back to me.
I'm go glad, darling.
Together, we will suffer in our eternal love,
In hell, darling."