Disclaimer: I do not own Code Geass.

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"We got to stop by the market on the way home to get some groceries," Lelouch said to C.C. as they started to walk home. He had to be careful in maintaining the volume of his voice; he really couldn't afford to let people think he'd gone crazy, again, by talking to himself. That already happened after Nunnally's death, and to be honest, it took a lot of effort to let them trust his stable mentality again. He couldn't lose that trust now.

"I assume you cook for yourself," C.C. said.

"Of course. All college students have to, unless they live near their houses or prefer take-out food, which I don't."

"My next assumption is your house isn't around here," she asked while floating next to him, feet dangling freely in the air as if defying gravity and hands resting behind her back.

Lelouch's expression became slightly grim. The topic of his family life was never his favorite if he had to choose. He even felt uneasy sharing it with his closest friends, so let alone a stranger. "I don't want to talk about it," he answered at last.

And to his relief, she only gave a small shrug as if she understood his feelings "Whatever suits you, I don't mind really."

They went into the shop located near the train station, and he quickly pulled out the note that he kept track of all the ingredients in his house and ran through it. It saved him time while going through the aisles. At least he knew what to get instead of taking time thinking about what he needed and what he's running out of. This time was no exception. He went by the aisles like the wind, picking things up and dropping things that he deemed not really necessary. C.C. trailed quietly behind him, taking in his actions, and a mysterious smile crossed her face. This guy was really one of the kind; she had never met anyone who was so experienced with shopping like this before. It's almost like he'd been doing this for years, not just a couple of months in college. And that drew her back to her previous question to him concerning his family life and it dawned on her why he preferred not to talk about it. Suddenly, she felt that they were connected deeper than she'd ever thought, and in more than just one way.

Lelouch paid the cashier after fifteen minutes and walked out of the shop, hands full of grocery bags. Both of them didn't say much on the way home. The walk home from the shop was peaceful and short and for once, C.C. didn't feel the need to break it with her sarcastic comments; she actually felt at peace just breathing in the clear evening air.

Just as they reached a corner that led to his house, a young boy appeared from the behind the pole. First look at him told C.C. that he was lost or maybe homeless? His clothes were dirtied, stained shirt untucked, black pants seemed so worn-out as if he'd fallen countless times and tore it. His black shoes were, of course, dirty as well. Not even his hair was neat. And his dark chocolate brown eyes, they were so… so expressionless for a young boy. Weren't kids supposed to be always cheerful?

"Hey little boy," Lelouch asked gently as he crouched down to level with him. "Are you lost?" Obviously, he had drawn the same conclusion as C.C. from the boy's appearance.

The boy nodded and he boldly reached out and tugged on Lelouch's uniform sleeve. "Can you take me to my house, sir? It's not far from here."

Before Lelouch could reply, C.C. beat him to it. "Ask him why he didn't go to the police." Police station is the perfect place you go to when you get lost. Everyone should know that, even a little kid. And frankly, something about that boy's neutral eyes made her feel unsettled.

Lelouch threw her a look that clearly implied Be quite, and turned to the boy. "Did you go to the police?" he asked and C.C. rolled her eyes.

The boy shook his head, and suddenly he brought up his hands and rubbed his eyes, voice hoarse. "I'm scared. They scare me." Then he cried. Figure. "My mom must be so worried now."

At this point, Lelouch couldn't resist his request anymore. He quickly stood up and transferred all the amount of bags onto one hand as he reached out his other hand, suggesting for the boy to take it, which he did immediately. "Where is it? I'll make sure you get home safely." Lelouch said.

A childish smile crept up his face as he pulled the teenager forward, all the while saying 'thank you' and 'it's not very far from here'.

C.C. could only trail behind. The uneasiness intensified.

"Hm… you live here?" queried Lelouch uncertainly after almost ten minutes when the group reached a neighborhood that was actually far from his house. He cast a look around and realized this was a ghetto place. A place where he didn't know existed before, so let alone setting foot here. All the buildings had a gray atmosphere to them, and their walls filled with ugly and nasty graffiti that he didn't wish to see the second time. The dirty ground was littered with trash and it smelled, badly. There was also no one here, Lelouch thought that the boy's family must be spreading out and searching for him by now, yet there was no sign of anyone doing that.

This neighborhood was really degrading. Too terribly degrading, as matter of fact. How could a young boy live like this?

"So you live here?" Lelouch tried again when the boy didn't respond to him earlier. A small nod came from the boy and he never ceased pulling him forward. By now, the uneasiness in C.C. had transferred to Lelouch; its amount magnified.

Suddenly, without warning, the boy let go of his hand and ran forward. "Hey!" Lelouch called, alarmed. "Where are you go-"

His sentence was cut sharply as he saw a figure appear from the shadows cast by the tall, hideous buildings.

The new guy was tall, muscular. His copper-colored hair a mess, and was as dirty and unclean as the young boy's, only he looked more intimidating and scarier. To make it all worse, a sadistic smile was on his face. A face that you definitely don't want to ever see again in your whole life. A face that spelled trouble, death, and was pierced here and there. A face that wouldn't take mercy on anyone.

"I don't like where this is going," murmured C.C. Seemed like Lelouch was catching up on the situation, too.

Deliberately, he took a step back and was ready to flee at a moment's notice when he bumped into another figure behind. Swirling around, he met another thug, less scarier but still too bloodcurdling for his taste.

"Where you think you going, buddy?" asked the second thug. He then grabbed Lelouch's shoulders and threw him backward, sending him tumbling to the ground. A snicker erupted from the gangster. Apparently, he's taking pleasure in seeing that.

"Don't destroy him," the first thug warned, but judging from his tone it's obvious that he's enjoying himself too. "This type is way too easy to break. And I wanna toy with him for a little while."

"What do you want?" Lelouch managed without stuttering or sounding like a fool himself as he tried to stand up, though staggering slightly. But still, he wouldn't show weakness to these guys; he knew they loved to see that in their victims.

The first thug laughed as if it were the funniest and trendiest joke ever. Stupid. "What do we want?" he repeated. "Your money of course, but before that, we'll beat you up. Man, we haven't beaten anyone up in a while, right?" he asked his companion, to which the second thug nodded vigorously. "Man, I haven't heard a plea and a blooding scream in soo long, I missed that!" the second thug answered zealously, laughing.

Being cornered by two physically strong guys, guys that couldn't be reasoned with, Lelouch knew he was as well as dead. If he couldn't survive a playful attack by Suzaku as a child, how could he survive a serious brawl fight between senseless guys who enjoyed fighting and probably killing? No way in hell.

"You can fight, right?" someone asked and he recognized that voice right away. C.C. A hint of hope evident in her tone; a hope that would get destroyed as soon as it's born.

"You think so? Of course not!" he almost screamed, and the thugs looked at him oddly.

"Who you talking to?" the two thugs asked in unison, and Lelouch didn't feel obligated to answer that, so he remained silent.

Then they laughed. Annoying. "I see he gone crazy," said one of the thugs while laughing. Then, out of the blue, he grabbed Lelouch's shoulder and planted a heavy kick in his stomach. The raven-haired teen let out an agonizing scream. He then crumbled to the ground, holding his stomach as tears sprung to his eyes, blurring his vision.

"That's what you get for not answering us," chided the first thug, who seemed to be the leader, as if they were in a traditional classroom and what happened was merely a mild, harmless punishment for disobedience.

Without waiting for a reaction from the gagging teen, the leader nodded to his companion, who grinned maniacally as he bent down and picked up the victim. Pleasure was too evident on his ugly face that C.C. wished she could kick it in, deforming it in the process.

"Huh," he said, studying the bruised Lelouch with mild interest as if he were a broken lab rat. "Doesn't seem like he gonna fight back."

"Doesn't seem like that type," the first thug observed, then he chuckled. "Our boy did a good job in bringing a defenseless man to us, no?"

Our boy? C.C. thought, bewildered. Could it be… Oh gosh, why didn't I see that earlier? Searching the whole darkened valley in desperation in spite of the setting sun, which would make the feat more difficult, her eyes finally rested upon a familiar young figure hiding behind the gray building, observing the whole scene with both interest and fright mixed together, though the former more obvious.

C.C.'s eyes widened as everything fell into place. These gangsters weren't particularly aiming at Lelouch as their sole victim. They were aiming at anyone- anyone who foolishly believed that kids would be scared of police, that is. The boy played the decoy role. He would stand around, try to look pathetic and sorry, so that whenever anyone passed by, he could pull the child-getting-lost act. And again, who foolishly believed his story would get trapped inside the dangerous net, like Lelouch.

She knew there's something very wrong with his eyes the first time she saw him. Those weren't innocent eyes, they were the devil's eyes.

And for an incredibly smart guy, Lelouch was definitely not smart in these kinds of situation.

C.C. was quickly pulled out of her deduction as another bloodcurdling scream echoed throughout the empty valley. Glancing sideways with a gasp, she saw her companion once again fall to the ground, hand clutching his bloody jaw, only this time the thug that hit him held him in place and elbowed him in the side, knocking air out of the poor guy. This time, there was no cry or scream. Just a silent grunt as Lelouch collapsed to the ground slowly, and laughter from the two hooligans filled the dirty valley. She could swear she'd heard some ribs breaking just now.

Staring at his beaten face, C.C. suddenly felt like her heart being squeezed to the point she could feel the blood coming out of it. "Lelouch?" she called, reaching out a trembling hand. It was a mere reflex; she knew too well she couldn't touch or feel him. However, when her hand touched his body, she let out a small surprised gasp as a cold sensation surged through her transparent form.

"No… Lelouch… you can't…" Complete sentences were so stubborn to obediently come out.

"Hey, you're dead?" asked the first thug, and C.C. threw him a deadly dagger-look that if he could see her, she's sure he'd have a heart-attack right now and then. "Oi, don't die yet. We're not done with you."

"Don't touch him!" C.C. snarled, though she's pretty sure he couldn't hear it. Just as he reached out his foot to touch Lelouch's still body, C.C. felt something bright and warm developing inside of her. Something so extraordinary and strangely sweet evolved inside her heart and mind. And it's so overwhelming that it engulfed her thoughts.

Oh gosh, I'm dying… came a distant voice. The organs… they've stopped working…

L-Lelouch? Okay, this was weird. This was her mind, this was inside her head, and yet she could hear his voice? Clear as day to boot. She wasn't imagining things right?

C.C.? His voice sounded just as puzzled as hers. What's going on? What are you doing in my head?

No, answered C.C. mentally. This was seriously weird, she realized. You're in my head.

Impossible, it's my he-

Listen, we can talk about this later, she interrupted as more urgent matter pressed upon them. Right now, we should think of how to save you.

Save me? He chuckled, and it sent a shiver down her spine knowing that she could feel his chuckle in her mind. Unless those guys can be settled over a chess match, I don't see any other alternative.

I can save you, she thought firmly, trying to push the fierceness through the bond to show that she truly meant it.

Impossible.

C.C. took in a deep breath and nodded mentally. Remember how you got me out of your dream by believing in me?

His mental nod implied he remembered, and she continued her train of thought. Do it again. I can only materialize when your believing in me reaches beyond the limits.

She wouldn't blame him if he brushed that aside as being absurd. Even to her, it sounded just the same. She knew that he'd been able to pull her out of his dreams because she had miraculously saved him that morning, though even now she herself wasn't sure how she did that. But right now, the chances of her materializing looked quite slim, but they had to try. Like he said, there's no alternative.

You can do it, she sent a soft and encouraging thought to him through the bond, I know you can, Lelouch.

It was beyond describable what happened next. Right after she said that, C.C. could feel a strong pull imposed on her, forcing her mind to expand and her body suddenly got even warmer. The previous sweetness that initiated this strange bond was still there, only intensified this time causing her to close her eyes to enjoy the delight. And C.C. never felt more alive.

"I think he's dead," chuckled the gang leader, his voice showed no remorse whatsoever.

His buddy shook his head, sighing. "Aww too bad. I wanted to have more fun with him. These types are so easy and fun to toy with, but they so fragile!"

"I know rig- Urg!" All of sudden, he staggered. Then bringing up his hand to hold his stomach, his dark eyes widened in surprise. "What the?"

"What's the matter?" asked the second thug as he saw his friend's strange action. Then he, too, let out a yelp. "Something hit me!" he said, touching his chest.

"Who's there?" yelled the first thug. He and his hooligan turned here and there alarmingly with eyes searching desperately for the source of attacks. Just as they spotted a very, very, and almost invisible white spot push past them, a quick and heavy kick knocked both of them off their feet.

"What the hell! Who's there?" the leader screamed at the top of his lungs as frustration filled up his head. They were being ambushed and there was no clue who's attacking them. This could drive anyone crazy.

The second thug got up, massaging his forehead. "I thought I saw something," he said quickly, before another punch landed on his nose, breaking it in the process and a following deafening cry echoed the valley.

"Hey! You okay?"

"It hurt!"

"Screw this," the first thug muttered. He then got into position with fists holding up in front of him and back to the wailing buddy, ready for any kind of attack. Little did he know that this kind of attack was not what he'd expect at all. "Come out, you coward!"

Standing in front of the male teenager protectively, C.C. watched the scene with amusement. They had finally got a taste of their own medicine; she wondered what it must feel like. "Lelouch?" she said, turning around to look at the form lying behind her. And to her great relief, he stirred ever so slightly. He's still alive, that's all she needed to know.

"Listen, I need you to do me a favor. These guys won't give up unless you show them what you're capable of. Just tell me what to do, like where to hit. If they think you can do something supernatural, they'd run away with tails between their legs," said C.C.

Slowly and painfully, Lelouch propped his upper body up on his elbows. One of his violet eyes was horribly swollen to the point he could barely keep it open, while the other was just hardly doing fine. "To… to the right," he whispered in a very low voice even for a whisper. But C.C. caught that. She quickly ran toward the first thug who was staring at Lelouch with a slight bewilderment. While his attention was semi-focused on the other teen, C.C. got down and swept him off his feet the second time. As he's going down with a gasp, she got up with the speed of a cheetah and spun around skillfully to kick him in the right side. Hard.

The thug let out a low, painful grunt as his arms brought up and wrapped around his side, face clearly showed agony as he slid to the ground. C.C. looked back at Lelouch and nodded. Lelouch had to inhale deeply and a grunt came out, followed by his next sentence. "Second guy… arm…"

"What the… you…" The leader struggled as if trying to understand what's going on here while his eyes were seeing white spots dancing.

Silently complied, C.C. walked toward the other collapsed gang member who still held his broken nose and tears trailed down his face. Looking down at him, she couldn't hide her disgust. "Have a taste of your own medicine yet? Now you know what it feels to be beaten and tortured right?" And with that, she jumped down on his arm with as much force as she could muster. Another bloodcurdling scream bounced around the buildings.

"Stop! Stop! Please. Enough…" the second thug gagged as he rolled around, clutching his arm as though he thought by doing that he could heal it.

"Please stop. Stop whatever you're doing! We're sorry." cried the leader. Puzzlement, dread, and nervousness all evident on his sweaty face as he pleaded for Lelouch to stop.

Without waiting for another order, C.C. ambled toward him and kicked him again in the back.

"Ah!"

Tossing one last look at the pathetic hooligans, C.C. said dryly, "Serves you right." Then she started toward Lelouch. Bending down next to him, she could feel his uneven breathing; as if he had trouble getting air in and out, as if his lungs were too exhausted and wished to work no longer.

"We have to get you out here before more of them show up. Where's your phone? I'll get it for you."

No answer.

"Lelouch? Lelouch, can you hear me?"

That's it, C.C. A thought flooded to her. A gentle thought of his in spite of the situation and his messy physical state.

What are you saying?

It's so dark… but peaceful here.

What are you saying? she repeated mentally. Panic in her voice. No, she couldn't let him die; not after everything they had just been through, after her efforts of trying to save him.

No mental reply. Lelouch was drifting toward the familiar abyss of darkness. Scared? Of course he's scared, but there's also something else there, something comforting coming his way. He's dying, but he wouldn't be alone. He'd be with his most beloved person in the world: Nunnally.

Falling and falling, Lelouch reached out his hand as if trying to grasp hold of something before darkness finally closed in. A voice, maybe. A voice that was calling his name, desperately. But he couldn't help it. His eyelids were so heavy all of sudden, and irresistible sleepiness was creeping up on him.

It was like falling deeply into an awaiting dream, only this time he wasn't sure if he'd ever wake up.

Thank you so much for reading and reviewing!

Keep those reviews coming and the next chapters will come out quite fast, I can guarantee you that lol ^^