I own nothing

Lelouch paced with restless energy around the base of the stairway, where the Matron of the hospital had asked him to wait. He had not returned here since the last time he'd visited his sister, but the whole interior of the reception hall had been redone. The hospital had once been a rather harrowing place, but no trace of the once old and unwelcoming establishment remained.

The medical institution, which once used to be dull and void of noise was now bustling with activity—only reasonable considering its rather substantial expansion, it was no longer sufficient to keep using the same amount of personnel to keep the establishment running. Previously, only a minimum entourage of medical staff was considered sufficient to cater to its rare patients but things had changed substantially with his personal intervention. A few donations to the right pocket were well worth the price of keeping his sister as close to her home as possible without compromising her medical needs.

Lelouch shook his head— he reminded himself that his sister was by no means ill-taken care of. Lelouch told himself that even when stuck here, she enjoyed comforts regular citizens could only dream of. But he was not the sort of man who could deceive himself. He could not shake the impression that the establishment had taken on the atmosphere of a prison and that he was complicit in its transformation.

Raising his eyes to see the cross that hung over the reception hall, a chill travelled down his spine from the inexplicable sensation that inanimate eyes were following him.

"Mister Crowley, the Matron Anna is ready to receive you now."

Lelouch was snapped out of his thoughts by a woman's voice. He nodded and followed the young noise upstairs, echoes of the pair's footsteps from the walls and ceiling enhancing the perception of his vast surroundings. The young nurse led him as far as the double doors of the second-floor office and then took her leave. A moment later, Lelouch raised his hand and knocked once.

"Please enter."

Closing the door behind him, his eyes glanced over the stack of documents on one side and the occupant behind the desk before moving towards the wide window behind which spread the busy London. Resisting the urge to take in the view for a few more moments, Lelouch approached the older woman who had requested his presence, "Matron Anna, I hope you were not too busy."

From what he knew of the older woman, Matron Anna was exceptionally kind to be sure, but she was not so different from others of her age— an old woman who enjoyed socializing and had a penchant for teatime gossip. Yet the woman before him now was not the same as the one he had met a week ago.

Mere days had passed and it was as though all traces of her previous enthusiasm had vanished, replaced by a grim seriousness he had never seen on her face before— clearly, work had taken its toll.

"Rest has been rare even since you got me promoted," The matron nodded and beaconed him to take a seat, "I suppose I should begin by congratulating you on your recent success, Lelouch. No doubt your company would surpass the rest of its competitors with its recent acquisitions in India."

Lelouch lowered his head. Even though he had undoubtedly achieved remarkable success at such a young age, the fact that his company alongside his private investigations left him with barely any time to spare these past few days had put him in a rather sullen mood as of recently.

Thus, he'd been both elated and dejected when the matron had personally asked him to visit the hospital— elated because he'd finally gotten an excuse to pull himself away from work and dejected because he even needed a reason to come visit his sister. But as much as he wished to, Lelouch could not just leave everything on a whim for ensuring that his sister received the best treatment money could purchase required expenses he could not cover through his rather lackluster inheritance alone.

He appreciated Matron Anna's concern but she never should have even felt the need to give him such a reminder and in the hours that followed, the envelope on his desk had felt less an invitation than a disgrace.

"I should've visited more often, Matron Anna. Laura must have been expecting me." Lelouch finally spoke, glancing at the older woman as he took a seat. He recognized the subtle reproach in tone and the young teen simply did not have the courage to refute it.

But the old matron silenced his next words with a raise of her hand. "I have not asked you to come so that I might lecture you. I know why you cannot abandon work and that barely have any time to spare these days. That you somehow manage to visit thrice every week is a miracle in itself, but I've not called you here to talk about that alone."

"Right, I apologize." Lelouch leaned back into his seat and released a long-winded sigh, "How is Laura? What do the doctors say?"

"We've been trying to find a match for her symptoms from the international archives but have seen no conclusive results so far. Some think that it was caused by a mental problem, or perhaps it was a genetic disorder, perhaps a new disease never seen before. But no one knows for sure."

The matron rested her elbows against the table, leaning forward with her hands folded beneath his chin before sombrely closing her eyes. "We have tried every venue we could find, but the cause behind Laura's sudden sickness remains unknown."

She opened her eyes and watched in sympathy as the implications sunk in for the young boy, who in some ways was more mature than she— though not even an adult, he had not been betrayed by fate far too many times to remain a naive child.

It was the sound of a knock on the door that broke the stifling silence of the room, causing the matron's grey brows to furrow. She sighed and looked away, speaking softly but sharply. "I asked not to be interrupted."

"I beg your pardon, but you wished to be informed the moment Laura showed signs of waking up..."

In less than a minute, Lelouch was moving down the stairs towards the reserved ward where his sister was. The Matron could only follow after the young boy, not knowing what to say as Lelouch stopped just before reaching the front door and glanced back over his shoulder.

"Matron Anna. Could you give us a moment of privacy before you start the procedural checkups?" Lelouch asked, amethyst eyes conveying that this was no request at all. The older woman hesitated at his question but nodded in resignation a moment later nonetheless.

Moving onwards, Lelouch stayed quiet and listened as the Matron contacted a number of his doctors and nurses to discern the situation— the head doctor who had arrived just before they had and the team of physicians who had been asked to constantly monitor Laura at his behest. Those were the only ones stationed in the entire ward, created just for a single patient.

When they stepped out ten minutes later, a doctor and nurse were waiting by the front entrance to guide them to Laura's room. An unnecessary courtesy, for Lelouch was five steps ahead of the small party the entire time, having memorized the hospital's layout and urged forth by the knowledge that his sister was finally coming to after days of rest under artificially induced sleep.

When the door to the war slid open, Lelouch found the interior to be opposite in character to the study that he had stood in earlier that day— sunlight and fresh air filled the room from the window which opened to a garden below. On both sides of the bed were crystal bowls of flowers which had a personal touch about them; regal purple and warm tropical reds.

On the bed, propped up against a number of white pillows was his sister, and Lelouch found himself overwhelmed with relief, for she looked as well as could be, with no signs of discomfort other than the pallor on her face showing. Yet even as watched as his sister's blue eyes widened in a display of pure joy, he had the small sense that something was off, from the moment they entered the room to when his sister turned towards them both

The teen watched his sister smile, torn by the sight of wires and tubes stuck into her frail body. He had once longed for her to open her eyes but feared that she would never be the same again. He used to visit her in the morning, in the afternoon, and sometimes at night— each time staying no more than ten minutes, for it was all he could bear. It broke his heart to see his beloved sister in such a state.

Lelouch slowly opened the door to enter Laura's room, taking extra care to not move too suddenly as he sat down on her bed.

"Brother? Is that really you?"

Lelouch smiled at her and nodded, slowly reaching out and grasping her soft hands in his own. Her hand felt cold to touch, and the warmth rushed in from his hand into her own as he gave it a gentle squeeze, "Sorry for not visiting earlier."

Laura gently shook her head and leaned closer towards the direction of Lelouch's voice. The truth was that she had gotten used to this routine, even though she often laid awake in bed thinking about him. "It's alright. How have you been?"

"Busy." He brushed her cheek with the back of his finger. "I may have some free time in a few days. Perhaps we can do something together then, a picnic at the park or anything else you want."

"Really? Matron Anna wouldn't let me go, and the doctors say I need to remain under observation until I get better."

"Really," He grinned, "I'll somehow convince the doctors and the two of us can escape somewhere where no one can find us. Matron Anna might object but I suppose she'll just have to do without us both for some time."

His sister giggled, and Lelouch found himself smiling alongside her, knowing the moment was fleeting. He had prayed that one day he could bring back her smile, the most beautiful sight in the world.

Lelouch's smile dimmed a bit at the thought, knowing he couldn't spare more time to tend to his sister—with nobody else to manage the business, there was little choice for those left for him but to take on the extra work before an appropriate replacement was found. "Things will get better. The doctors tell me you've been improving, so you wouldn't be staying here for very long."

"I'm glad." Laura drew herself closer to her brother's hand as she continued in a soft voice. "Even though Matron Anna looked after me, I felt lonely when you were away."

Lelouch knew better than anyone how hard Laura tried not to be a burden to him. She never demanded any of his time, understanding the many obligations he had, all of which made her confession lodge deep into the prince's conscience. "I would not just leave you and I would always return even if I do. You know that, right?"

"I know," His sister smiled sadly as she gave his fingers a small squeeze before slowly leaning against him and closing her eyes once again.

The young girl blinked, and forbearing despair began to grow in the pit of his stomach as he watched the shadows behind his sister darken the moment she closed her cerulean orbs. His heart sank as the gorgeous locks of gold spread around his sister moved unnaturally in motions only he could see.

Lelouch winced as his shoulders suddenly buckled. They did not bend naturally but were forced to by the oppressive pressure that spread with the air, his body suddenly finding it hard to support its own weight beneath it.

Her long blonde hair echoed the Heavens above— an endless void, deep and heavy which twisted and turned into symbols that resembled Van Gogh's abstract landscapes.

Inside the murals reflected on the hair, Lelouch saw something insidious twisting alongside the radiant stars and constellations. Its very presence was crushing, so powerful that it felt as if the hand of a giant was pushing down on his shoulders. It was the face of a demon taking shape, dreadful to behold.

It was said that insidious demons could be found inside the long locks of women, preying upon the innocent. Lelouch knew the legend to be true, for there was a sinister demon concealed inside his sister's hair, one only he could see.

This was the scene Matron Anna arrived to find, the young boy with shoulders shaking as he sat on the edge of the bed, covering his unconscious sister's hands with his own and assuring her with a forced smile and clenched teeth that everything was well and that he loved her more than anything in the world. That he had merely gotten some dust in his eye on the way in, which explained why they were so damp.

Lelouch left the room soon after her arrival, barely acknowledging the elder woman on his way out. He strode down the hallway, turned a corner, and threw up on the floor, unable to contain the ill feelings and wretchedness that pooled in his chest.

Later, after he had cleaned himself, he had to go back inside and listen to the doctor explain the probable cause of her problems might perhaps be psychological trauma, for which there was no cure but time. He listened quietly as the matron presented the reports of the damage that the recent seizure caused to his sister's brain— knowing that the actual cause was something no normal healer in this world could cure, a disease that no mundane doctor could understand.

An hour later, arrangements were made to transfer his sister back to his mansion the following week. The matron showed great reluctance to let Laura leave despite his assurances that funding to the hospital would continue regardless of circumstances and seemed determined to stay and watch over Laura herself until Lelouch finally coaxed her with a promise to let her personally visit every other day.

The young teen did not return immediately upstairs but remained outside in the hall long after every nurse in attendance had passed out of sight.

"The mundane knowledge of mankind holds no answer to your quandary." An ethereal voice whispered in his ear. The question could have referred to many things, but somehow, she knew he would not mistake the meaning in her ethereal tone. "What would you do now, Lelouch?"

The fact that she would always express her interest in him so openly was unexpected and surprised him deeply. Lelouch did not hesitate to answer though, not even glancing at the angel beside him, " I would save my sister, but I can only learn and accumulate knowledge for now."

"No being of the surface world can challenge a Great Demon of the Abyss through mortal means alone, and even true miracles might fall short against Coronzon," The ethereal voice stated in response, closer this time even as Lelouch closed his eyes.

Deep down, the young boy recognized that he had been called upon. Every pressure was on him to walk away, to ignore the darkness beckoning him with sweet whispers of salvation— yet he knew that once he started down that path there was no turning back. He was her brother, meant to protect her when nobody else would. If he did nothing now then he would always remember and question, always asking himself what he could have done to make things right until the day he died. He would regret it forever.

His hands clenched by his side— so it fell to him, as he'd always known it would.

Lelouch's sister is directly named Laura here, this varies from the previous version where her actual name was only eluded but not outright stated for a long time. The Toaru novel readers would know who she actually is.

Thanks for reading.