Title: Higanbana

Pairing: Ohgi x Lelouch

Summary: The equinox flower symbolized bewitching, unluckiness, grief, parting, and death. Falling in love with an amnesiac Zero; Ohgi wonders if this is Mother Nature's way of teaching him that even the most inauspicious of her creations are still beautiful.

Disclaimer: Sunrise owns Code Geass and all I own is this piece of fan fiction and I make no money writing this whatsoever. So please don't sue me.

Warnings: M-Rated for pr0n, and if I need remind you – Lelouch is a minor, but I'm sure you're willing to overlook that you clicked on the link to read this story. Oh, and take a look at the paring… if that's not your cup of wasabi, please do not read any further and blame me later that you had to gouge out your eyeballs with sporks (if you did, can I have them?)

Additional Warnings: Weirdness. OOCness. Written in spare of the moment, like always, so expect tons of grammar and spelling errors.

Part 1

They looked like spiders. Brittle, blood red, lifeless spiders impaled upon green stems. That was what Kaname Ohgi thought when he saw them in the floral store he had all but been dragged into. When his best friend had insisted he tag along and offer an opinion for his mother's birthday present, he had expecting something like jewelry or perfume… not creepy looking flowers.

"Well, Ohgi?" Naoto Kouzuki asked while holding up the large bouquet of red spider lilies, "think she'll love them?"

He shrugged. "If your mother could love a jewelry box made from our Popsicle sticks back in elementary; I'm sure she'll adore anything you give her."

Upon leaving, Ohgi snatched the receipt that his friend was about to throw away and cringed. "Until she finds out how much you paid for them... Damn, Naoto! You could have just taken her and Kallen out to dinner or buy that music box from the antique store. That would have been more practical than blowing your hard earned cash on something that will end up dying within a few weeks."

The auburn-haired half-Japanese youth just shook his head and gave his friend a patient look. "Even though they'll eventually wither and die; flowers are a gift for all the senses! They're said to pleasantly affect human nature and draw forth memories. You really should try to appreciate the finer things in life."

Pushing back the long lock of curly hair that fell into his eyes, Ohgi sighed and knew he wasn't going to win. He usually never did against his oldest childhood friend.

"So why higanbana?" he asked while scrutinizing the bouquet once more, "why not roses or some other kind of lily that doesn't look like… tarantula legs."

"I find them exotic."

"Well, you're just weird! They're supposed to be poisonous… what if the Statfeld family's pampered pet dies after eating one? Your mother would probably get fired. Also, those flowers are affiliated with death you know…"

Naoto laughed heartily at that.

"You're so paranoid."

Even those carefree days, eventually wither and die.

Kaname Ohgi, former elementary school teacher turned resistance fighter, sat slumped against a thick concrete wall that was riddled with bullet holes. He held a semi-automatic gun tightly to his chest even though his hands felt too stiff, numb from the cold, to aim and shoot. His eyes were blood-shot from not having slept in the past thirty hours. He was afraid, that if he closed them, he may not wake up ever again.

'Breathe in… Breathe out…' Ohgi thought in a mantra for the past hour and it was what kept him sane, or at least from turning that gun on himself. He inhaled the frigid morning air, felt it turn to ice and that ripped his lungs apart, before exhaling through his nose. By breathing that way he didn't have to smell the strong metallic stench of battle, blood, and despair.

'Breathe in… Breathe out…'

Inhale…exhale

'As long as you can still breath in air, you're still alive; physically anyway.'

Not too far from him, Naoto lay unmoving in a growing puddle of crimson. The color reminded Ohgi too much of those scarlet lilies that his friend had paid a lot for. Two years after their high school graduation, no one bought those unlucky flowers for his mother's birthday ever again.

They simply cost too much.

When Zero doesn't respond to his calls, he gives the command for the Black Knights to retreat. Victory is now beyond their grasp and another battle is lost to them. In an explosion that sent smoke and seat water miles into the sky, the Japanese Liberation Front had blown themselves and the Britannians up with their own supply of sakuradite before the Black Knights could provide any assistance. Another mission objective has failed. It was Narita all over again.

Although the JLF's suicide attack had bothered him; he was far more concerned about his comrades (excluding Diethard who ran out after the explosion) who were split up all over the place. He ran, taking cover in the shadows, calling every single Black Knight on his speed dial to make sure they all made it to their designated escape routes. The only person he couldn't get a hold of now was their own leader whom they had not heard from engaging Viceroy Cornelia.

"Zero," he whispered frantically while trying to quiet his heavy breathing. There were still Britannian soldiers in the area and he couldn't afford to be caught, especially if something happened to their commander. "Please… please… still be alive."

It was strange to pray for a faceless individual whom he barely knew. Yet Zero was a brilliant leader who was capable of inspiring the people, followers, and even their enemies into working towards his goals. There was no way Ohgi could ever fill in such an important position. Zero was vital to their cause of liberating Japan and Kallen – Naoto's little sister – knew that and the others would in time.

He skidded to halt when he saw the wreckage of a Burai. His eyes widened in both hope and fear when he recognized the distinct head that was different than the other Japanese modeled Glasgos.

Zero!

Ohgi glanced around frantically for the cockpit block and found it several yards away… and felt his heart fill with dread upon seeing two armed Britannians females standing over the still form of his leader. From a distance he couldn't even tell if the masked-man was alive or just unconscious. What was he to do in this kind of situation? They were armed… they were women, and one of them looked like she was around Kallen's age!

The older one stepped close, grasping Zero's mask and ripping it off his face. No! If he was still alive they could either kill or capture him, and it would be all over for the Black Knights! Without a second thought, he drew the gun from his holster and aimed.

Praying silently that it wouldn't be a fatal shot, his plea fell on God's deaf ears as the silver haired Britannian slumped to the ground with a hole through her head. The young girl shrieked and ran off without looking back. Ohgi sighed in relief as he rushed over to the now mask-less leader of the Black Knights, and his jaw drops open at the sight.

They smell as fragrant as any other flower, but they're supposed to drive unwanted pests away.

Zero is lying unconscious in his bed. It sounds stranger than it looks. Who would have thought that the 'Enemy of the Empire', their fearless and ruthless leader… was a teenager who didn't look like he was old enough to drink? Certainly not him, and definitely not anyone else if they managed to look through his completely covered windows. Without the mask and cloak (both of which Ohgi has stowed away in the back of his closet), Zero looks like a Britannian kid in a fancy dark purple jumpsuit… with blood seeping from exposed wounds.

Shit!

Where did he put that first aid kit? Oh wait… its right in front of him. After all, he had just treated Zero's bleeding head wound. Ohgi resisted the urge to smack his forehead; disgusted by his own brief stupidity, and quietly stands to lean over the bed.

With slow and deliberate hands, he begins to unzip the front of the suit. Gently taking that lithe body in one arm, he lifts Zero up a bit and slowly peels the top portion away. He thinks about simply leaving the jumpsuit half way on but decides against it. Zero probably wouldn't appreciate sleeping in ripped-bloodied clothes and may have more injuries that needed to be treated that Ohgi couldn't see. Carefully, he lowers the younger man back onto the bed before pulling the outfit down a pale mid drift (Zero was fortunately wearing undergarments), passed slender legs, until the heels of the suit slipped off his feet.

He ended up stuffing the costume into his hamper, not sure how he'll wash it later; but just wanted to make sure it was out of sight. Taking the first aid kit, he began to treat the various bruises, cuts and scrapes that marred pale skin. Fortunately, the wounds didn't appear as bad as the head injury he had treated earlier, and the shallow cuts would probably heal without scars. Once finished, all he had to do next was to wait for Zero to wake up.

After collapsing back into his chair, Ohgi buried his head in his hands and suppressed a groan. It had been a long night, and even though he was exhausted there would be no sleep for him. Not until he was sure the injured teenager lying on his bed was all right. He was also too busy wondering what the hell he was going to say once the boy woke up and discovered his identity had been exposed. Would Zero abandon the Black Knights?

He paled at the thought and looked up over his clasped hands to see the boy still out cold. Zero was still breathing quietly as his chest gently rose and fell. Pink tinged lips parted and inhaled and exhaled at a relaxed pace. How Ohgi envied him, wishing he too could close his eyes and loose himself in his sleep.

"Why?" he asks the question that cannot be said out loud, "why are you fighting against Britannia? Who are you? How are you able to pull off these miracles?"

The Japanese narrowed his dark eyes and studied the youth for the first time. Fine black raven hair… ivory skin; the boy could very well be Japanese if it weren't for his aristocratic Britannian features. Even though Zero had claimed that he was not Japanese to the messenger from Kyoto, Ohgi wondered if Zero was in the same boat Kallen, being both half Japanese and half Britannian. That certainly would explain a lot. But why hide his face under a mask to his own resistance group? They already acknowledged him as leader at Narita, and trusted him with their very lives. Did he not feel the same?

Frowning, Ohgi rubbed the sleep from his eyes before checking the unconscious boy's head bandage for the fifth time. He just couldn't stop from worrying, wondering whether or not he should take the unconscious boy to a hospital. Leaning close, he made the mistake of inhaling through his nose and was overwhelmed by the fresh clean and almost floral scent. Obviously Zero's shampoo, he thought dismissively while backing away.

Ohgi left his bedroom and headed straight for the kitchen. Coffee… he desperately needed something hot and caffeinated that would keep him awake and would waft through his apartment; ridding the smell of antiseptics, blood, and red lilies.

End Part 1

Author's Note:

This was supposed to be a long one-shot but I thought that splitting it up in parts would be easier to read.