Author's Note: AUGH, DAMN IT! That ending... UGH. It was beautiful and tragic and too fast! Dx They could've dragged it out at LEAST another season or two! I am immensely depressed. I wrote this immediately after finishing Code Geass because DAMN IT, I needed some closure! Too bad I didn't get it. Sigh.
Disclaimer: Too amazing to belong to me. Sigh, Code Geass... Soooo many pairings with Lelouch. xD Hahah, he is awesome though. I wish I owned Code Geass so I could hook up with him hahahah
Nunnally rolled her wheelchair over the smooth pavement, her eyes trained on the unmarked gravestone. Shadows lay over it as a result of the oak tree overhead and miles of a lush grass field surrounded both. The sun was beating down on the area, no clouds floating along the sky. The path she was on was the only other obstruction in the otherwise flat landscape. She rolled directly in front of the grave, reaching out a hand and gently running it down the tombstone. Her hands shook as she did so though her face remained completely calm.
"Konichiwa(1), Onii-sama(2)," she said softly, clasping her hands together in her lap. "How have you been?" She paused as if waiting for an answer, her eyes transfixed onto the blank gray of the tombstone.
"It's been ten years since all of that happened, but it still feels like yesterday." She rested her head against the cool stone and closed her eyes. "Everything you wanted came true. Peace throughout the world. Of course, everything isn't perfect. Even after all this time, there's still some stuff left to fix. But for the most part, your plan has succeeded. As always." She paused again.
"They've called you the Black Prince. Just like you wanted, all the hatred in the world is on you. Even now, during this complete peace, people say bad things about you. I wish I could tell them your true intentions. I wish they wouldn't say anything like that about you anymore. You were, no, you are the greatest of the Britannian emperors. And no one but me and Zero know about it." Her entire body trembled but she kept her eyes shut.
"I wish you would have told me earlier," she whispered. "I wish I could've known you'd leave. I wish I could've had the opportunity to appreciate everything. It's not fair. You don't think I wanted to know all of that?" She opened her eyes, giving the grave an annoyed look. It evaporated quickly as she sighed.
"Of course you knew. You knew everything. You've always known everything. Even now, wherever you are, you probably still know what's going on here." She sat up straight, looking around her at the beautiful scenery.
"It's peaceful here, isn't it?" she asked quietly, as if her voice would blow away the beauty. "I thought you'd like this as your body's resting place. All this time, you've been trying to achieve peace for everyone at your own expense. And the only way for it to happen is for you to be gone. But you never got to see if it worked. So I brought you here, so even if your plan failed you'd only see peace." She turned her attention back to the grave.
"We barely managed to have peace. That short time with Suzaku-kun when we were still young was the only real peace we had together. It was so happy. I remember when you asked Suzaku-kun what happiness would look like if it were given a tangible form. I think we were what it looked like. I miss those years. Even now, all I need and all I'll ever need to keep going is you in my life. I was happy to keep living the way we did as long as you were there. But…" She clenched her fists, no longer wanting to stay on the subject.
"Zero told me about it: Zero Requiem. It was brilliant, to be expected from you Onii-sama. But even though it worked… even though you planned it all, from the very beginning… it still hurts." She put a hand over her heart, as if to dull the ever-present pain. "You're gone, Onii-sama. Gone. I can never see you again. I can never sit and drink tea with you. You'll never tuck me into bed and say goodnight. You'll never hug me and kiss my forehead before you leave because you've already left. You left such a long time ago, but it still hurts.
"Even when I was trying to kill you, even when you used the Geass against me, I couldn't shake off the feeling that everything you were doing was for a bigger picture. Bigger than anything I could understand, that was the way you saw things. You were never just in the moment, all the good and bad that could come from that moment was laid out before you. Somewhere in my heart, I still believed all of this was working towards the goal of world peace." She smiled affectionately, her hands once again clasped together in her lap.
"And I was right, wasn't I? All of the things you did were for the good of the people." A frown marred her triumphant expression. "You piled the problems of the world and all in it onto your shoulders. You destroyed everything and endured all the hatred to make sure your plan was foolproof. And then you died so the creation could begin; leaving the legend that is Zero in your place. Letting Zero have the glory that should have been yours while your name was tarnished completely.
"You should have let me help. You were carrying such a heavy load by yourself. I was always there, Onii-sama. I would've helped as much as possible to spare you even just a few moments of relaxation." She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
"Everything was confusing after you passed. But you knew it would be; of course you did. So you left Zero to sort out the mess, even though I have no doubt you could have done an equally good job. No, you would have done better because you would have known exactly what was to be done and exactly how to do it. But then the creation wouldn't be able to begin, would it?" She sighed, shaking her head.
"I guess death by assassination was the best way for you to go. Your life during those two years was just as dramatic as your death. You needed a big 'bang' to end your life; the life you bargained and gambled like a game of chess. But it was hard for the people you left behind. I couldn't grasp that you were dead for such a long time. In the end, it was Zero who snapped me back to reality. He was the largest source of comfort, the reason why I was able to keep going and complete your plan.
Even then, I still didn't have the closure I needed. It wasn't until I heard about Zero Requiem that I received it. It was only a faint hope in my mind that you were good this entire time. I never knew for sure. Hearing Zero tell me about it, tell me that it was your plan all along, that was definitely it." Nunnally placed both hands on top of the tombstone and stared straight at it, as if she were looking into Lelouch's eyes.
"Onii-sama, aishiteru(3)." Tears finally fell from her eyes as sobs shook her small frame. Her grip on the tombstone tightened as her head fell forward to rest on it. "I know it's much too late to ask but please, wherever you are, wait for me. I'm not planning on following you anytime soon but please don't leave me behind this time. Let me stand with you!"
She lifted her head and stared at the blank tombstone, hoping for some kind of confirmation. But the blank tombstone simply sat there, staring back at her as it has for the past ten years.
Translations:
1: Hello
2: Brother
3: I love you