Absence from those we love is self from self - a deadly banishment. -William Shakespeare

Chapter 25- Relinquish

C.C

The first signs of human habitation appeared as a few squalid buildings that seemed to grow amongst the crispy weeds that were everywhere. Next a shanty, then clusters of them. Bundled in Anya's winter coat C.C padded warily behind her partner; collar turned-up and recognizable hair safe beneath a hat. The outskirts of Shinjuku ghetto was late to rise and so far this morning they had only seen a handful sleepy people lining up to buy food or few frostbitten children sleeping in doorways.

Lelouch kept up his determined stride, staying as close to shadows as he could. "Remember what we planned. Get in, get out. Meet at the Pizza Hut on Surama Street within twenty-four hours."

"Mhm."

Apparently that wasn't a strong enough agreement so he continued his directions as they crossed a street corner that was devoid of cars. "You'll find the closest facility for medical assistance and ask that they perform the necessary tests to see if the baby is in perfect health, and don't hesitate to use force if they-"

Having heard this numerous times already she tuned him out. Such simplicity isn't Lelouch's style. Though I don't blame him for being a little off. With a pang she remembered telling him about the incident with Tobasco, how the despaired widening of his eyes had been made more obvious by a thin film of tears that he'd quickly blinked away. That had been two days ago as the journey to Shinjuku by cart had taken much longer with the weather and she had no idea if they had run out of the time needed (to save my daughter? What if- no, no use thinking like that. The accident could have been harmless for all I know. I landed on an awful lot of snow...rhymes.)

"I can handle a plan as easy as that, Lelouch. Even if I forgot the street name I could probably sniff out the pizza..." Tearing her eyes from the snowy ground she noticed he had stopped, and looking ahead realized why. In a makeshift tent pitched at the side of the road Brittainian soldiers were distributing blankets and government-issued bread coffee. At least they're doing something to help all of these people. Lelouch had retreated to the deep exterior shadows of a crumbling building and she followed him to the darkest corner. Now he thinks that he's gone far enough into the ghetto, and will leave me. Sure enough, when they had covered the last few steps and were shielded from the road Lelouch drew his arms around her. Kissing the top of C.C's head he whispered a final warning. "Be careful."

Ignoring how chilly his hands were C.C smirked. "I won't talk to strangers."

He moved his hands to her cheeks and covered the witch's ears, shutting out the world as their lips met. She was shaken by an unexpected shiver that had nothing to do with the cold and when they broke apart, C.C had to clamp her mouth against dangerous words, the exact kind that are hard to take back once they've been spoken. "I used to be unable to think that I would ever love someone"...Maybe those words are impossible, and she felt heartily embarrassed that they would ever cross her mind. Lelouch's hands relieved their almost non-existent pressure on her ears and retreated to his sides, because Lelouch vi Brittainia likes to be heard. "Make sure to hide the colour of your hair lest someone harass you or discover your identity."

"Uh, sure." Released from the safeness of his embrace she banished any seemingly senseless thoughts and was returned to the cold, not able to resist and eye roll at his paranoia. Settling for a weak "Goodbye" instead of frilly love professions she dodged the soft pat he aimed at her midsection and as calmly as she could walked into a city inhabited solely by enemies.

After three hours of being lost, C.C was getting tired. Her strategy of sticking to alleyways had been fruitless and they all seemed to be purposely made into a maze. How hard is it for a hospital to put up a sign? Even going to a mission would do at this point. Adding to her worry was the fact that she hadn't felt the baby move today, and when the yawning stretch of her current path proved to be another dead end she felt the onset of tears. It shouldn't be this hard! And all because of a damn birthday cake... Following the forlorn trail of her footprints back to the nearest off-branching path she spotted a huddled figure in one of the doorways. Heart twisting with hope she ignored the hunger cramps that were beginning to start and ran towards the person, who the frail daylight revealed to be a young-looking man.

She forced confidence into her voice. "Excuse me..."

He gave her a peculiar stare that prompted her to shakily continue.

"My daughter has broken her leg and I need to know where I can get a doctor-"

"Don't bother." he scoffed. "Only the stinkin' rich get a doctor. And since you're wandering 'round these parts you're obviously not."

I must have some... she jammed a hand into her pocket to search for the meager sum of money that Lelouch had brought with them. On the day of their departure he had been against stealing from his ex-comrade-at-arms and has instead told him that he and C.C were going to go buy wedding rings in a nearby village, so they'd be gone for a few days. Lelouch must have been mortified...she relished the mental picture.

When she found only a few coins in her pocket and frustrated by the man and her dilemma she kicked the dirty snow with irritation. A stupid idea was dredged from her mind. It's not gonna happen but at least I've gotten some information out of this. "I don't have enough..will you give me the rest? My daughter, she's in so much pain..." Her voice broke on the last word and she watched the man's face.

He laughed, then coughed a smoker's cough into his stained mittens. "As if. But I am willing to buy if you are willing to sell..."

She caught his leer, and disgusted to the point of physical nausea she had the urge to destroy his mind with the touch of her hand but decided she better not leave a trail of bodies behind. "No!" Her shout echoed on the greasy brick walls that lined the alleyway. Eager to get away from there she started to walk away from the despicable man.

"Wait!" C.C heard the rustle of his coat as he started to follow her and waited until his heavy footfalls were at their loudest to spin her clenched fist right into his face. The punch hit home and he stumbled backwards, blood gushing from his spilt cheek. Expecting a retaliation C.C was confused to why he was the one who seemed triumphant.

"It is you! I knew it!" From the ground he pointed to her forehead, where C.C felt with a stab of dread that a single green lock of hair was poking out from her hat. "The eyes, the hair...you're Lelouch's-"

Not wanting it to be said out loud, as if everyone would find out though they were alone C.C smashed the palm of one death-carrying hand into his forehead. He hit the ground and his eyes rolled back, paralyzed as the very recesses of his soul were invaded and destroyed by the witch's power.

Faster than a frightened animal and not wanting to be caught C.C ran from the scene. After what seemed like hours the labyrinthine network of alleys grew wider until C.C could hear the traffic noises of some sort of main street. There ought to be a hospital wherever a lot of people are, even in Shinjuku... Winded, she turned the last corner and found herself looking out onto what was definetely the ghetto's heart only to have her view latticed by an ugly, rusted fence. Surveying it's height she noted the formidable curls of razor wire and evil-looking spikes that stretched across the top and wondered if she could climb all ten feet of it. Though the necessary footholds are here it's terribly high. As she pondered this she received what she thought was a good omen, for sure enough across the street from her standpoint glowed the red cross of what looked like a private clinic. Here goes.

The rusty chain link fence shuddered as she clawed to the top after briefly testing it, and inched one leg over the pointed top and to the other side and began to hoist herself over. From this alarming height the wind was surprisingly stronger, and being that high up her heart almost stopped when the poorly secured metal gave an ominous ripple. C.C scrambled to the other side and was about to shimmy down when a gust snatched the cap off her head, and as green strands of her hair cascaded around her shoulders the hat was caught in the icy breeze. She frantically grabbed at the airborne cap and lost her balance, making a blind grab for the fence as she was obstinate not to fall.

The force brought her arm raking through the razor coils and even worse, across the pointed top. The metal shredded her sleeves and seemed to stab all the way through her arm, and releasing a loud hiss of pain C.C steadied herself and needing the hat thought in those few seconds about trying to catch it with the other hand, but the injured one wouldn't hold on to the fence as she wanted it to. Inching down with one good arm she ignored the dark red that was already spreading across the destroyed sleeve.. Reaching the ground on the street-side of the fence C.C pulled the shreds of coat away from the horrific wound that actually steamed in the open air; wallpaper-like tatters of skin flapping gruesomely at her touch. Feeling slightly faint C.C clutched the still bleeding wound and scampered across the sidewalk as she cursed the trail of scarlet drops behind her. Now I really need to find help. She tucked her hair down the back of her coat and made it a few steps before realizing this was probably a good thing. A cut this bad would be a more than decent excuse to see a doctor...I just need to find one who will see me for almost no money.

She wanted to run to the clinic but managed a casual-enough speed walk, or as casual as you can act with a mutilated arm. Only the guilty run. The snow coating the streets was already well-trodden and everything within sight seemed to be some variant of grey, including the low building that bore the red cross and a sign stating in Japanese 'Dr. Hatori Shumi, M.D.' Pushing through what she thought to be the emergency door she entered the dingy waiting room and sat nervously in one of the hard plastic chairs. Though the bleeding was already slowing her clothes were still bloodstained and she looked disheveled enough. The room was completely empty save for a scowling receptionist and few other people, by the looks of them all wealthy Brittainians, who listlessly cradled emaciated kids. But the receptionist ignored them and called C.C to her chipped desk.

"Here for that?" she jerked her head towards the gashes on C.C's arm. When she nodded the receptionist continued. "Do you have money?"

"A little, but-"

"Dr. Shumi stopped giving out charity months ago. We can't help you."

"Please, I cut myself on something rusty and just look at all the blood!" The desperation in her voice wasn't at all fake and she frantically looked to other occupants of the room for support, but no one said anything.

"I doubt that, you probably tried to kill yourself, did you dear? We get that quite a lot in this district... just try harder next time and you won't have to make a doctor go through the trouble of fixing you up. Now leave."

Shocked and angered by her extreme cruelty C.C dashed out the door. If you're not going to let me through then I'll force my way in! She walked around the back and searched for a delivery door, positive that she could smash it open with a brick or something and saw a graffitied door marked 'Staff Only' emerge from the wall of painted profanity and open to a lab coat-clad man who was carrying an empty pizza box. He didn't notice C.C and the witch thought she had found the perfect opportunity to snag a handy set of keys, and besides her mouth watered when she saw a single slice of pepperoni-laden heaven peeping through the cardboard. And the stupid man is taking it to the dumpsters!

"Can I have your pizza?" C.C burst out, unable to control herself at the smell of it. Walking up to him C.C read the gilded tag that was attached to his lab coat. "Are you Dr. Shumi?"

"Depends on who's asking." Dr. Shumi was a Japanese man with the light hair of a Brittainian, and C.C wondered if he was of mixed parentage. His face was strangely scarred for a doctor but underneath that he looked young as only a few faint wrinkles traced around his eyes.

"Can I have it?" she asked again, slightly ashamed to be begging.

The doctor glanced at C.C's bloody arm. "After I look at that."

"I haven't any money-"

"It's my lunch break, and I'm not too keen on eating right after my last patient was for malnutrition. Come with me."

Relieved, C.C followed the man down a light yet narrow hallway that was painted a sickly green and went into the room he unlocked. As Dr. Shumi closed the door behind them C.C tried not to show her nervousness at this confinement.

Dr. Shumi rifled through a drawer for bandages and C.C sat awkwardly on the paper-covered table, this being her first time formally seeing a doctor in more than half a millennium. If it was back in my day he would have pulled out leeches and bled me.

Finding what he needed the doctor washed the blood from her cut, which made it seem less serious but more awful. The raw, pink gashes were already forming liver-ish red scabs and he smeared them with disinfectant and unsheathed a needle. I don't know if I should mention the rust... It won't hurt me and most likely not the baby. How will I get around to mentioning Lucca? "This is for pain." he said, and a swift prick later C.C's arm went numb. The uniform stitches closed the ragged edges of skin and the doctor covered them with fresh gauze. C.C's eyes flicked to the pizza.

He handed her the doughy lump and returned to rifling through the drawer. "You can eat while I talk." C.C began scarfing it down.

"When you're finished with the pizza, you'll tell me the real reason for your visit." A glob of cheese caught in C.C's throat and she coughed violently. "That cut is days old by the look of it, you're unmarried, poorly dressed, and with my trained eye I'd estimate you are well into your second trimester."

Can I trust him? A cold trickle of panic trickled down C.C's spine as she opened her mouth to speak. Well I can always knock him out if things go wrong. "Yes...I was looking for help after having an accident." she confessed. "I visited my nephew's farm, and was riding his mare when it kicked me off."

"When was this?"

"Two days ago."

"How hard did you fall?"

"Hard enough to hurt."

His face turned grim. "You've had abdominal pain? Possibly bleeding?"

"Neither, just wanted to be safe."

"Huh." His medical training was extensive and he knew what he was talking about. "As far along as you are I'd say that you're fine...plenty of bones to keep baby safe. Do you mind if I take an ultrasound to be sure? It'll be free, but my lunch break is almost over so that's all I'll have time to do."

She was stunned by his generosity and her heart leapt with excitement yet pounded with anxiety. "T-thank y- I mean, yes." Now I can see that it's a girl! It's foolish to wish that Lelouch were here so he could see...I vow to bring the picture home so he can.

As he opened a locked closet and dug around for what seemed like an eternity Dr. Shumi rolled the slightly dusty machine beside the examination table. As C.C was peeling up her shirt who she assumed to be a nurse popped her head in and called for the doctor.

"Can't you see I'm with a patient?" he snapped. "And an important one, at that. Make Mrs. Ozaki see Rika, I can't do her physical right now." He dripped gel onto C.C's snowy skin and gasped but stayed silent as the doctor fiddled around with the machine and eventually touched the transducer to her belly. After zooming in on the nonsensical blur he pointed to the vaguely human-shaped outline that appeared on the screen.

"That blobbish thing there is the head." he pointed to a section of the fuzzy picture.

Rather dissapointed and eager to get the first glimpse of her child C.C couldn't help sounding whiny. "I can't see anything."

"Sorry about that, this machine is old." He adopted a look of firm concentration and studied the image closely, the lines carved into his forehead smoothing. "Heart rate looks normal, no visible abnormalities...do you know the baby's gender? You can tell what it is just by this image."

C.C took a deep breath. "No..." She thought of what Lelouch had said and smiled serenely, absolutely sure that her perfect family would come true. A girl can't inherit the throne...in a few years we'll have our own baby girl... "But It's very important to the father."

Dr. Shumi mildy wrung his hands."I should think so."

"What do you mean?"

As the doctor spoke his eyes suddenly flashed a peculiar red. "It's him, right? Abolisher of numbers, hero to the people..." he looked like someone who was in church and praising the patron deity. "The late ninety-ninth Emperor, Lelouch vi Brittainia."

IT'S NOT LIKE GREEN HAIR IS THAT UNCOMMON! She thought with exasperation as she made the snap decision to deny it. I need to see if that baby is my Lucca, then I'll take care of this guy and grab a better disguise. Keeping her expression placid and forcing a stiff laugh she acted as if he were joking. "Oh please."

He seemed insulted. "Don't deny it! I had the honor of serving His Majesty as a soldier for justice, and have seen you with him several times." He sank to a bow as tears dripped down his face, bringing to a close the devastating accolade of his former master. "If only His Majesty were alive today! Then I could have given him the wonderful news that his unborn child is a son, just as he wanted."

Sepulchral

Ramblings:

After re-watching r2 episodes 20-25 (sob) and seeing all of Lelouch's epic speeches that he gives in a !YELLING VOICE! I realized that if the situation demands it from now on I'm going to have to write them. I wish there was more canon to analyze the heck out of, just how complicated and deep the discussions are that come out of the original about characterization, motives, morality...the list goes on and on. Isn't it incredible how...expressive... a recording of somone's voice paired with a drawing can be?

Reviewer of the Week: Erythrina Cristagalli

Shirley as a Black Knight...genius!