Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed this story! I have never gotten a response quite like this before, and it's really empowering to know that so many are willing to read my work, so thanks!

Also, if you guys don't know, lately I've been recommending some music to listen to while reading my stories, as I feel like the experience of literature can only be amplified by an external stimulus like music. Right now, I've been absolutely addicted to listening to Something Corporate, so I would recommend Konstantine off of their album Songs for Silent Movies. Just a suggestion, so feel free to disregard it.

Without any further ado, please enjoy the continuation of Code Sekirei!


Chapter 2

"No!" Lelouch's eyes widened in surprise as he felt Kallen's hand strike him across the face, sending him staggering backwards at the force of the hit. He gently touched a hand to the stinging cheek, wincing a bit in pain as the flesh turned a bright hue of pink, blood rushing to the area to repair the damage that had been done.

"Snap out of it Lelouch!" She demanded, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she made her impassioned cries.

"You're Zero now! You carry the responsibility for showing us our dream! Just…keep lying, until you can't anymore!" Kallen begged, weakness beginning to permeate her voice as her on confidence was shaken by Lelouch's display. With tears beginning to stream down her face, she turned and dashed off, feet pounding against the unpaved floors of the site for the new Shinjuku Ghetto.

Feeling guilt well up inside of him for showing such weakness, Lelouch stared bleakly at the shattered bottle of Refrain on the ground, the contents seeping into the ground and leaving nothing more than small bits of glass.

She had been right. He did have a responsibility to carry out his plans to the very end. That was the path that he had chosen, and he was going to have to go through with it, no matter who stood in his way. If he faltered now, then he would not be the man he had proclaimed himself to be. Zero, the hero of the Japanese, could not fall now into a cycle of regret and drug abuse. He had an obligation to the people to fight until his dying breath, and fight he would.

He almost chuckled as he nodded soberly. Why did Kallen have to be so right about everything? It was as if she were acting as his therapist or something. Funny, because for as much as she relied on him for leadership, he relied on her just as much for emotional support. If anything, he was even more dependent on her than she was on him.

For as strong of a front he put on in the face of most obstacles, Lelouch found that he was surprisingly weak at times. Despite his fearlessness onscreen and behind the mask of Zero, he was still a normal human, with normal human fears and anxieties, and all that came with being a teenager doing his best to find his place in the world that he hoped to mold.


Lelouch awoke to find that his arms were as heavy as weights, and no matter how much he struggled, he could not lift them up. In fact, his entire body seemed to be held down by some invisible force that kept him down, despite his frenzied attempts to lift up. As beads of sweat began to form and trickle down the sides of his face, Lelouch gave up, wheezing deeply to supply oxygen to his aching muscles.

"Well, I have no idea what you did yesterday, but it seems that the activity you undertook was too much strain for your body to handle right away. You'll have to be confined to bed for the rest of the day to recover." The doctor sighed as he noticed Lelouch's futile attempts to get out of bed.

"How much longer will this keep up?" Lelouch asked, incredulous at the man's words.

"Well, things are progressing along smoothly, so you should feel well enough to move around by tomorrow, but the road to fighting muscular atrophy is not an easy one. It'll be a while before you're fully ready to move around again." The doctor replied, already motioning to leave the room, but not before stopping to open the window, so that some air could blow through the room.

As he saw the automated doors slide closed, Lelouch gritted his teeth and threw back his head in frustration. He felt so helpless in this moment, and it was frustrating, if not downright infuriating.

As Zero, and as Emperor of Britannia, he had wielded almost unlimited power. He had been the one calling the shots. At his call and beckon, he could move entire nations to wherever he wanted, as if the world was nothing more than a game of chess to him. He had once controlled the destiny of the world, and now, he was nothing more than a weakling of a patient who couldn't even get out of his hospital bed.

He wanted it to end so badly! As far as this world went, there was nothing even remotely worth staying alive for. He was severely limited physically, everyone he had ever known was gone, and he didn't even have one fraction of the power he once had as Zero. To tell the truth, to be cut off from his authority and control was a frightening experience.

Normally, he was in complete command of every situation, and nothing would happen without his word. However, now, he was nothing more than a mere pawn, a shadow of the kind he had once been, with no power, and no strength. Why would he ever want to remain in this world?

He glanced over at the open window, and instantly, the thought came to his head. It was a rash and uninformed decision, he knew. But in this moment, he was so angry, and so confused about what it was he was even supposed to do. Back in his own world, he had always known his goal, and what he was going to do to reach it. But now, he was lost, and without any sort of purpose, something that sent his head spinning as he thought more and more about it.

By now, he was completely fixated on the open space only a few yards from his bed. His fingers rapped against his sheets erratically, reflecting his frenetic state of mind. His vision narrowed, even as his mind began to wonder exactly how high of a jump would kill him, and whether or not his room was even high enough up to accomplish such a task. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to just escape it all, by any means necessary. He just wanted to go back to a place where things made sense, and where he had a sense of what he needed to do.

With a determined expression, Lelouch called upon all of his focus and willpower to rise up from his prone position. His back muscles clenched tightly as they struggled against their extreme fatigue to bend to their master's wishes, and Lelouch found that he was actually making progress. His fingers grasped the covers of his bed and pulled with all of their might, helping to lift him up so that he was bent at a ninety degree angle.

With some serious difficulty, Lelouch swung his legs out of bed and found solid footing, resolving to reach the open window. As he tried to stand up on his own two feet however, he found that there was no strength to be found in those muscles and he crumpled to the ground, banging his elbows against the tiled floor and causing Lelouch to hiss in pain as he rolled over weakly onto his back, massaging his bruised elbows.

The sweat was now a full pour, as it dampened his hair and his chest heaved up in down, trying its best to pump as much blood as possible to the starving muscles that ached in pain. However, despite the pain, despite the urge to just lay there until help came, Lelouch would not be stopped as his body once more rolled over and his pushed himself up, gripping the corner of his bedside table for support. There was only a little bit further until he reached the window.

"She'll be disappointed if you do that." A stern voice chided, and Lelouch's head jerked up to see Uzume sitting in the open window, blocking his path perfectly. She was dressed entirely differently than she had been the last time he had seen her, with large white strips of cloth acting as her only clothes, covering up some of her more necessary spots, but leaving the large majority of her skin exposed, not that Lelouch really paid it any mind.

"I…" Lelouch stammered, suddenly realizing that there was one person who did care about him in this new universe, and she was likely waiting for him even now. She was the one thing that he could understand in this world, as foreign and frightening as it was, and that was enough to give him pause.

He leaned up against the table in a way so that his legs were relieved of their duty of holding him up, "I don't know if I was seriously ready to do it. But it would have been nice to feel like I had some control over my life again like that."

"So that's what you were willing to kill yourself over? Some crazy exercise of power? Are you really that pathetic?" Uzume spat, venom in her words, burning Lelouch with the amount of disgust that he sensed in her voice.

"You don't understand! I was once a king! And now, I'm nothing. I can't even get out of bed. There's no point for me to keep on living a life like this." Lelouch retorted, his voice faltering as he went on. The truth was, even though he had been ready to give it up, he sort of loved playing the part of the hero and allowing himself the escape of Zero's costume. In there, he was beloved by everyone, and Nunnally couldn't see him for what he had really been, a liar and murderer.

Even up to his death, he had been selfish in his desires. He had played the hero, up until the very end. A few select knew the truth of the Zero Requiem, and the idea that he would be sacrificing himself for the sake of the world, like he was some twisted Christ figure had been appealing, he had to admit. True, he had wanted to make Nunnally's dream a reality, but at the same time, he wanted to do it on his terms and to play the role of savior to her.

Now, when he was stripped of all of that and left as nothing but a mere man, it was all coming out. He was no selfless hero, as he had always wanted to think of himself as. No, he was every as selfish and power hungry as those pawns that he had despised and arrogantly declared himself better than in his past life. And, at least for now, he was no longer afraid to admit it. He was ugly, in every sense, and it was clear that he could no longer hide it from the world.

"Listen to yourself!" Uzume screamed, shocking Lelouch with the ferocity at which she had yelled at him.

"I don't care how much you think that your life sucks and how the world seems to have it out for you. I've heard that before, and I don't care one bit about your own insignificant problems. But if you think that I'm just going to sit idly by while the one person who has made Chiho truly happy kills himself, then you have another thing coming!" Uzume snapped, picking up Lelouch by the throat and tossing him violently back into his bed, the mattress creaking as his body slammed into it.

"I have no idea what she sees in you, but for some reason, you make her happy. I don't care what happens to you when it's all said and done, but as long as Chiho still has time, you're going to keep her happy, got it?" Uzume asked threateningly, making it clear that Lelouch had no choice in the matter.


Following a familiar path that he had already treaded several times before, Lelouch rolled his wheelchair up to the same automatic sliding door he had rolled up to every day for the past week. He found that, as he did so, his arms were surprisingly resilient, not feeling any of the fatigue he had felt for the past few days as a result of pushing his arms past their limits, weak as they were.

He passed by a few doctors, who gave him nods of acknowledgement as they usually did when they saw him, his status as an apparently important patient already well known. As he rolled up to the familiar door, his eyes strained upwards, confirming the identity of the room's current occupant. The white card had the name, "Chiho Hidaka" printed out, giving Lelouch confidence that he had the right room before he entered.

The metal doors hissed open, sliding away to allow him access inside, an invitation that he gladly accepted, enthusiastically wheeling the chair into the room where the smaller girl was currently lying in bed, dressed in a crisp white dress that made Lelouch's eyes squint in displeasure as they adjusted to the brightness of the cloth.

Coupled with the brightness of the sun from the open window besides her bed, it seemed as if the girl was exuding some sort of heavenly glow, with her brown locks softly sweeping in the light gust of cool air that ventilated the room. The light framed her face perfectly for a moment, and Lelouch felt his mind go blank for a moment as he realized that she looked like an angel of some sort, with a warm and inviting smile on her face and her lively hazel eyes beckoning him to come closer.

"Good morning Lelouch!" Chiho greeted happily, setting down a notebook she had in her hands onto her lap so that she could wave at Lelouch, who returned the wave with equal gusto, still somewhat in a stupor.

As his head cleared and he could feel himself refocus, Lelouch replied, "Hello Chiho. What are you doing?"

"Working on some schoolwork." Chiho explained as Lelouch lifted himself out of his wheelchair, feeling his legs steady themselves for a mere moment of triumph before they buckled under his weight. With disappointment at his legs, which were still on the road to recovery, Lelouch struggled to maintain his balance long enough to stumble onto the bed, where he nearly fell on top of Chiho, if he hadn't managed to hold himself up long enough to lower himself onto the mattress with some control over his body.

As he eased himself into a seated position next to Chiho, Lelouch noticed the notebook, which was filled to the brim with notes, all taken in Chiho's neat and orderly handwriting. At this, he smiled, finding her handwriting to be entirely appropriate for her.

"So, what exactly do you do about school?" He asked, finally finding a comfortable posture next to Chiho.

"Since I can't really attend classes, the school sends me materials to work on, and I get graded by that work that I turn in." Chiho sighed, a bit of disappointment in her voice.

Lelouch felt Chiho's pain. When he had spent time moonlighting as Zero, he had been forced to abandon school for large stretches at a time. To be separated from your classmates and to try and maintain an education while extenuating circumstances kept you separated was not an easy thing to manage. That Chiho had seemingly done so well on her own was an astounding accomplishment.

"Do you want to go to school?" Lelouch asked, although he already knew the answer.

Chiho nodded softly, "I do. But it isn't all bad here. At least I have more time here to learn the material. It's not really easy, and I could use the extra time to learn it on my own."

Suddenly, Lelouch felt an idea come to him as he glanced over at the side of her bed, where a small table lay with a stack of heavy looking textbooks.

"Then, would you want me to help you?" Lelouch suggested to a wide eyed Chiho.

"Really? You would do that?" She asked excitedly, already entranced by the idea.

"Well, you've already helped me out. I suppose that I should pay you back." Lelouch replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head as he refused to meet her gaze.

"Thanks!" Chiho exclaimed, latching onto Lelouch in a tight hug that caught the older teen by complete surprise. He could feel his heartbeat quicken as he realized the fragile and thin arms surrounding his figure belonged to Chiho, who pulled away, leaving Lelouch feeling oddly cold, despite the automated temperatures of the hospital.

"Right." Lelouch cleared his throat, deciding to go straight at the first subject. He reached over and grabbed the first book he saw, placing on his lap and allowing Chiho to lean into him so that she could get a better look at the text. As her soft hair gently grazed his exposed skin, Lelouch shuddered at the sensation, struggling to stay focused on the task at hand, although it was a futile exercise, especially considering how his senses were going haywire at the moment.

"Let's start here." He said in a shaky voice, pointing his finger at the first paragraph he saw on the page, trying to ignore the fact that Chiho was obliviously driving him insane with her contact.

Chiho nodded, just happy that someone was willing to help her, "Transference is a form of projection in which the patient redirects his or her feelings about some significant person in his or her past from that person onto the therapist."

Lelouch merely nodded along, too lost in his sensations to really hear any of the words being spoken aloud. For some reason that he couldn't understand, just being in the girl's presence calmed his soul, and brought an end to the voices of doubt and fear ringing in his head. Around her, he wasn't afraid, and he wasn't confused. Her presence was like a small oasis in the desert, empty and desolate dunes of sand being broken up by a small yet powerful spring of water that cleared his mind and kept him at ease.

He didn't know why or how exactly she was affecting him like this, and frankly, he didn't care. What mattered was that he wasn't so preoccupied with his motivation, and his worries were worlds away. All that mattered was that he was here with Chiho, and there wasn't anywhere else he would rather be in that moment.


I know that it might seem a bit out of character for Lelouch to attempt suicide, but, as I referenced in the beginning of the story, there have been times when he has shown weakness and given in to that weakness. It is true that he overcame some of that over the course of the season, but, at least in my opinion, that was due to the fact that he was confident in what his goals and motivations really were, and in Code Sekirei, at least so far, he has no idea what he wants to do with his new life. As such, I interpreted that as reason enough for him to attempt such a thing, as he is feeling lost and has no confidence in what he wants to do with life.

Anyways, I hope you guys understand my reasoning behind this chapter, and if you really want to understand what exactly transference is, I would look it up to find out some really fascinating information about Freudian psychology. If you want a better idea, it is sort of like a reversal of the Florence Nightingale Effect, in which the patient is the one projecting his or her feelings upon the caretaker.

Also, I don't want to be that guy, but I would appreciate it if you guys checked out the blog I've started writing for. It's called SushiGoKart, and I'm Kevani, so please, check out our site and give us a read while you're at it! I'm just starting out, but if you enjoy my writing and want to hear my opinion on some newer anime series, check out my reviews!

As usual, keep the reviews and PMs up if you guys want this story to continue! I really appreciate any and all thoughts I can get! Thanks for reading!