Fic: The Silent Playground 1/2
Jul. 8th, 2012 08:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cloversworldThe Silent Playground, 1/2 by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
clover71
Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
casestory 2012
Fandom: No. 6 (anime) | Pairing: Nezumi/ Shion
Rating: R | Warning:Death of minor characters, inhumane experiments, child abuse, (slight) graphic violence
Disclaimer, Summary, Author's notes and other info: MASTER POST
Part 1
Disjointed sounds of laughter reached Nezumi's ears so he marched down the paved path following the fading noise until all that was left was the soft whistling of the wind.
Aimlessly, he roamed around, not caring where his feet would lead him and rested long enough to lift his face to the sky where a thick mantle of gray was rolling in to shroud the remaining layers of blue and white. He remained that way – face tilted – for a while, lost in the changing colors of dusk.
Shrill voices yanked Nezumi out of his shallow daze and it took a second and a heartbeat for him to recognize the melodic chanting of children, luring him to a playground occupied only by a small group of children. Around seven of them were walking around, hands joined in a circle and a boy with tousled brown hair – about twelve or thirteen of age – stood still at the center, a black cloth wrapped around his eyes.
Nezumi watched them – all innocent faces but there was something frightening in their eyes. The children seemed to be in the middle of a game – a game Nezumi wasn't familiar with. The words they had been reciting fluttered in the air. The hair-raising way they sung, "Kagome kagome, the bird in the cage. When will you come out? In the evening of the dawn, the crane and turtle slipped. Who stands right behind you now?" sent a chill crawling underneath Nezumi's skin.
The children ceased moving as soon as the song stopped and the boy in the middle said, "Hoshi."
The girl behind him, who looked eerily familiar, sniggered, said, "Wrong," and raised her hand. The silver tip of the knife she was holding flashed against the faint ray of the sun.
Nezumi felt his blood freeze and all he could do was watch in horror as the boy removed his blindfold, turned around, and yelled, "Safu, no!"
It was a second too late – the knife had already been plunged into the boy's chest – when Nezumi realized who the boy was. Profound terror and agony tore through Nezumi's soul when he saw the tint of blood spreading on the boy's shirt. "Shion!" he screamed just before a thick, dull fog swirled around him.
Nezumi's eyes were greeted with a thin veil of gray mist billowing around him, heart pounding against his chest, beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face. He blinked, waiting for his vision to adjust, body still thrumming from the after effects of the dream – same one he had three nights ago.
Shion.
Something was wrong and he had to go back, had to find out for sure.
It had been eight months – eight months since Nezumi told Shion that he would be fine. Nezumi believed it, knew that it would be safe for Shion to stay in No. 6. But Nezumi had to leave, had to find himself, had to trek farther west to see what this world had left to offer.
*
His hand trembled when he reached out for the glass of water he always kept on the bedside table. He took a sip to quench the terrifying strain left by the dream, mouth dry, throat hurt from the scream that tore through him.
The light tap on the door startled him, making him flinch, water spilling on his shirt and pajama bottoms. Only when he heard his mom's soft voice saying "Shion? Are you all right?" that he started to relax.
"Yeah, mom. Just a bad dream." Third one this week, actually, but she didn't need to know that.
"Okay." The hesitation in her tone was palpable, as if 'okay' meant otherwise. "Call me if you need anything."
The clock showed it was a quarter before five in the morning and out the window, Shion could see a thin line of pale orange peeking out of the horizon.
His mom was usually up early, making bread and pastries and pies for her bakeshop. Shion felt guilty now for disrupting her work. He ran a hand over his face, vestiges of the dream still clinging on the edges of his mind.
He didn't know what it meant, why he was falling, falling into a deep tunnel. And Nezumi was there to grab his hand, pull him up, save him, save him like Nezumi had more than once.
Maybe it was because he had been missing Nezumi, been wishing Nezumi would return soon. Nezumi did promise he would be back for him.
The usual sounds of the morning started to chirp outside his window. Shion moved out of his bed and dragged his feet to the bathroom. Once his breath tastes like mint and any signs of sleep were off his face, he joined his mom in the kitchen.
"You're up bright and early," Karan said with a cheerful lilt. "You don't have to be at work in at least three hours."
"I thought I'd help you out." Shion grabbed a bowl filled with batter and started swirling the wooden spoon dipped in the mixture.
"You haven't done this in a while." It wasn't an accusation; the hint of teasing caressed every word. And she was right, anyway. Shion had been busy since he got the job teaching at the school where he went to before meeting Nezumi.
"I know. And I miss it."
Shion left before seven, sun already spreading its arms wide across the sky. He always drove to work in the car he and his mom shared but today, he preferred to walk then take the ferry to the other side of the city. It was a nice, clear day and fresh air would do him good.
The school was a couple of blocks away from the station and Shion enjoyed the quiet trek, remembering how he used to walk along this path with his childhood friend, Safu.
Safu. How Shion missed her so. He was certain that if she were alive, she would likewise be offered to teach at the institute.
When Shion stepped inside the building, he was greeted with a commotion at the lobby.
"Shion!" One of his colleagues, Sayuri, rushed to his side, panic clearly written on her face.
Concerned and curious, Shion skipped any formal greeting and asked, "What's going on?"
Sayuri's eyes darted around, as if to check if anyone was nearby to hear them, then she leaned over to whisper, "Another student had been reported missing, second one this week. The Security Bureau now thinks both children may have been kidnapped."
"What?" Shion was hit with a dreadful recollection of his own past, how he was taken by the Security Bureau only to have Nezumi save him and bring him to the West Block while his mom was unmindful of what had transpired.
*
The walls had been completely torn down and a narrow paved road had been built to connect the West Block to the West entrance of No. 6.
Everything looked different but eerily the same at some angle in Nezumi's opinion. Still, he didn't have the heart to tread inside the city so he roamed around the slum area until his feet led him to his old place. He expected it would be cleared out of his belongings, claimed by someone else but he was quite surprised when he saw it was exactly how he left it.
The bookshelves still took up half of the space, books neatly stacked. His bed looked like it had been recently made, floor clean and the table dust-free. He wondered if someone else lived here now.
"Excuse me," a small voice said, startling Nezumi out of his wistful daze. He whipped his head around to see a little girl, the one who often came to see Shion – Karan, Nezumi thought was her name. "Is Shion around?"
Nezumi's eyebrows furrowed, confused. He never liked this girl. She never made sense. "No. Shion doesn't live here anymore."
The girl tilted her head, forehead wrinkling. "But he was just here the other day. He sleeps here sometimes, during the weekend mostly. And he comes once in a while, too."
The revelation threw him off, and Nezumi gaped at her, stunned, for a moment. Then his heart started racing. Shion had kept the place. Shion.
"Mister?" Karan's voice broke through his musing. "I'm gonna go. Maybe Shion will come back this weekend." She was gone before Nezumi could even think of a catty response.
He felt so detached from this place as though he'd been gone for eight years instead of eight months. His wistful trek led him to the old hotel where Inukashi lived. Nothing had changed much, not that Nezumi expected anything to change in the West Block after the downfall of No. 6. They may have destroyed the Correctional Facility and the main computer, which consequentially deactivated most of the computers that controlled the city. The walls surrounding No. 6 may have fallen down. But Nezumi never assumed it would change anything drastically.
"Well, well. The prodigal son returns." Inukashi was cloaked in the shadowy corner when Nezumi sauntered inside. Nezumi could see him though, could see him draped in the same filthy clothes he wore the last time Nezumi cast a hostile glare upon him. "So what brings you back to this dreadful place?"
Nezumi held her gaze, expression tamed close to unfathomable. "Something's going down in Number Six." He didn't tell Inukashi about the dream, about the children in the playground. The underlying meaning still was a mystery to him.
Inukashi gave a contemptuous snort. "Since when did you give a shit about the city? I thought you were done with it after we've destroyed the Correctional Facility?"
Eyes downcast, Nezumi muttered, "Shion is still there," like Shion was his lifeline that he needed to hold on to.
There was palpable sympathy in Inukashi's eyes and her shoulders sagged as if defeated. "I'll see what I can find out."
"No." Nezumi pivoted around. "I'll go there myself."
*
There was this girl in his class – Akina – who has short dark hair that bounces against the back of her neck, eyes filled with eagerness and determination and a profound intelligence. She reminded him of Safu. She was as bright as Safu was, always volunteering to speak in front of the class.
"Thank you, Akina. That was an excellent presentation," Shion told her and asked for her to return to her seat. He glanced at the clock, saw he had five minutes left before he should wrap up his last class for the day. "Do you have any questions?" he asked and was pleased to see his students shake their heads. There wasn't any doubt these twelve and thirteen-year-old kids were able to grasp that day's lesson on the basic principles of ecology. They were, after all, ranked as elite who possessed high level IQ.
Homework had been given by the time the last period was over. Shion watched the students file out of the room then worked on his daily report as soon as he was alone. Not wanting to dawdle, he left after he had sent the necessary files to Principal Yamada, hoping to get home early so he could help his mom at the bakeshop.
It was when he got off at the station near Lost Town that he felt this sudden weight of foreboding. He could feel a presence looming over him like an ominous shadow, could feel the grip of someone's gaze.
When he made a quick survey of the area though, he found nothing suspicious. But the trepidation remained a thick mass in his chest. Shion hurried his steps until he made it home safe.
Paranoia urged him to look out of his mom's bakeshop window as soon as he stepped inside but only saw regular passers-by, nothing too out-of-place.
"Shion?"
He spun around, startled, only to find his mom standing by the counter.
"Something wrong, Shion? You look like you've seen a ghost." Concern undulated on Karan's eyes.
"Yeah, Mom. I just thought I saw someone I know, but." Shion shook the perturbing thoughts out of his mind. "Do you need help with anything?"
Karan's scrutinizing gaze kept him in place, watching him as if he was about to sprout another head. Then her eyes softened. "I just took out a tray of cheese muffins. If you can arrange them in the counter, that will be nice."
"Sure, Mom. I'll just go change."
Shion's room wasn't that big so it was easy for him to keep it in order, always neat, books and gadgets in the right places, windows closed when he wasn't around. So when he stepped in and found his windows open, curtains billowing against the gentle wind that crept in, his first instinct was to grab something – a hardbound book – and raised it, ready to strike.
There weren't any spaces to hide in his room. The closet was too narrow that even a child as small as Lili wouldn't fit. So when Shion was sure there wasn't any sign of break in, he placed the book back on the small table.
He had just taken his shirt off when someone spoke behind him. "You're still as thin as a stick, I see."
That voice. Shion's heart began to pound wildly. He whirls around, knees turned weak when his eyes rest on the boy – man who walked out of his life several months ago. "Nezumi."
Nezumi strode over like a thief crawling into Shion's personal space. "And you haven't grown an inch. What have you been doing for the past eight months, eh?"
Shion had always imagined how he would react once he saw Nezumi again, always thought he would be thrilled and maybe, run into Nezumi's arms. But he wasn't feeling any of that. All he felt was a boiling rage inside him and thoughts of you left me. You. Left me, you, kept swirling in his head.
Once Nezumi was standing at arms length, Shion's clenched hand moved on its own accord, swinging a punch right across Nezumi's face. Then Shion took a step back, shocked at his own action.
"You said you wouldn't be gone long," poured out of Shion's mouth. "It's been eight months."
*
Nezumi stilled, hand cupping his cheek and eyes narrowing into slits.
Shion's jaws seemed tight, as if expecting that Nezumi would strike back and Shion was merely holding his ground, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
But Nezumi didn't raise a fist. He couldn't. His lips slanted into a sly smirk. "I probably deserve that," he said and it was true. Probably. "You've gotten stronger, I see. That actually hurt."
Something went past Shion's face, a tinge of remorse maybe. Then his shoulders sagged, as if crestfallen. Only then did Nezumi notice the shadows under Shion's eyes and when Shion said, "I've been waiting for you to return. Day and night and day," the tone weighed with melancholy stabbed right through Nezumi's chest.
I'm sorry, Nezumi wanted to say, words balancing on the tip of his tongue. What came out though was a defensive "I told you that you would be fine."
"But I wasn't." Shion's head dropped, voice slipping to an almost whisper. "I wasn't."
Nezumi took a deep, cleansing breath. The sight before him melted the sheath of ice around his heart. He reached out, hooked a finger under Shion's chin and coaxed Shion to lift his gaze then brushed his lips against Shion's. Lightly. Gently. Lovingly.
Shion wrapped his arms around Nezumi. "Stay."
"I will." Nezumi couldn't tell Shion that he was back because he could sense that something was about to crack the now proverbial wall around No. 6. Or maybe… maybe Shion already knew.
*
Just as Shion had expected, Nezumi still refused to stay with him in Lost Town. It was, after all, still in the vicinity of No. 6. So Shion lodged alternately between Lost Town and the West District.
It had been busy at the institute so he hadn't seen Nezumi for days. With the upcoming qualification test for the special track, a handful of elite students decided to stay longer for a group study after their last class had ended.
Shion saw it fit to stick around in case the students would need help. Akina, the girl who looked like Safu, often consulted him about certain topics in Ecology as well as in Biology.
It was near sundown when Shion left the institute. He drove off, taking the shortest route leading to the west road so he could go straight to Nezumi's place.
Several blocks away from the institute, Shion spotted three of his students – Akina being one of them – strutting down the paved street. He slowed down, waved at them and hollered, "Careful on your home, kids!" before heading further down the road.
Nothing much had changed in the West Block even after what Shion referred to as the 'meltdown' of No. 6. The district still looked neglected, its residents still poverty-stricken. Only difference Shion noticed was that the people here no longer lived in fear – fear of man hunt or the other horrors that the former government of No. 6 had carried out in the past.
Nezumi wasn't home, which wasn't usual. He was always gone, sometimes would creep inside the room at the crack of dawn.
So Shion didn't bother to wait up. He had dinner, read a few pages of 'Pride and Prejudice' then snuggled under the covers. He was too tired that he was soon engulfed in a deep sleep.
A loud scream pierced through the thick night air and Shion's name reverberated like a distant siren. The face of a child – a girl – warped before Shion, fading into mist.
Shion jerked awake, the remnants of the dream still held on at the surface of his mind. The warm body pressed on his back reminded him where he was, that he wasn't alone.
Nezumi grunted in his sleep and he shifted, snuggling closer to Shion, fringe of blue hair falling over his eyes, breath warm against the side of Shion's neck. Shion watched him for a while, eyes tracing Nezumi's beautifully sculpted face. Gradually, Nezumi's soft, even breathing lulls Shion back to sleep.
*
The smell of mold and rotten flesh permeated across the stuffy atmosphere of the cave. Nezumi breathed through his mouth instead of his nose. This was the last place he wanted to be, but he needed answers and there was one person who knew more about the secrets buried in No. 6.
The elder looked weary, hair silver more than gray, the lines on his face had increased since the last time Nezumi laid eyes on him. "It seems the evil that lays dormant beneath Number Six is beginning to stir," he said, gaze gripping Nezumi's as if he required Nezumi's full attention. "And I believe the missing children are the link to this mystery."
Nezumi didn't come here for riddles, only sought for a more rational explanation to the disappearance of a few elite children. It shouldn't be his concern, really. But he had a feeling that this was somehow connected to the dreams that had been haunting him for the past months.
"The Security Bureau is clueless. The sole information they have is that most of these children attend the same institute," Nezumi narrated the exact information Inukashi had provided.
"An elite. Hmm." The elder fell into a contemplative silence once more. This dilemma seemed to throw him off balance. He used to hold full knowledge of No. 6, always had hidden data to help destroy the monster he had helped create. But now….
"It couldn't be," the elder said after what seemed to be a long stretch of the hour. He snapped his fingers and one of his companions handed him a microchip. "There's a machine," he started to explain, handing Nezumi the microchip. "It was built as a back up system, in case the main one breaks down. It hasn't been activated since."
The elder didn't say anything more, just gave a nod to his companions and the wooden raft where he sat was carried away.
Nezumi stared at the microchip sitting on his palm. "Wait. What does the machine have anything to do with the missing children?"
The elder raised a hand and the men carrying him halted. "The answers you seek are in that microchip." Then he made a gesture for the men carrying him to continue and they all disappeared beyond the curtain of darkness.
*
When Shion woke up that morning, Nezumi was already gone. He wondered whether feeling Nezumi's body beside him was just a dream. He was certain it wasn't because he basked in the comfort of Nezumi's arm around him when Shion woke up in the early hours before sunrise.
The sun had barely taken its rightful place in the sky when he drove to the city. There was an eerie silence that draped over the campus when Shion arrived at the institute. It was still early, so the place being nearly empty didn't come off as peculiar.
Sayuri was the first one he ran into when he sauntered inside the building. She had this look of horror in her face, shoulders held stiffly and she kept wringing her fingers.
"What is it?" Shion asked though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. This was like déjà vu, the scenario pretty similar to last week except the lobby was void of students.
"There's uh… another child had been taken, Shion," she said with a crack in her voice. "It's the girl from your class."
Shion's heart dropped. This was the third one. "Who?"
"Akina."
*
Rikiga was the last person Nezumi wanted to see. But he was the only one who could possibly crack or decode whatever shit was in the microchip that the elder gave him.
"I still don't see why this concerns you," Rikiga said. "It’s nothing more but a blue print of a machine they built to run the city without needing the network of computers blah, blah, blah. I don't even understand these technical details"
I'm not surprised. Nezumi fought not to roll his eyes. "But the elder said it was supposed to work as a back up.""
"That's not what it says here." Rikiga's eyes were glued to the computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard. "According to this, it was never activated because— Oh, shit."
Nezumi peered over Rikiga's shoulder to see what the old man had discovered. It was a clear illustration of how the machine would work. "No wonder it was never activated.
"Whoever invented this thing is sick." Rikiga leaned away from his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The elder said something about the evil that lays dormant beneath Number Six is beginning to stir. Could he been referring to this machine?"
"I don't know, Nezumi. Why didn't you ask him?"
"He pisses me off with all the riddles spilling from his mouth."
"I don't think he meant the machine though. Could've been something figurative."
The crease on Nezumi's forehead deepens. "How do you know?"
"Because data shows the machine isn't located within the city. They kept it hidden outside Number Six."
"Where exactly?"
"It doesn't say here. It's not in the West Block, that's for sure. Or I would've heard of it."
There was something else, something the elder left unsaid. He wanted Nezumi to find out about this. For what reason, Nezumi didn't know. It was as if he was given a piece among a thousand pieces of puzzles that he had to solve.
*
Three Security Bureau officials hovered around him like he was some criminal. Their unwavering gazes made Shion want to melt in his seat.
This pointless interrogation had been going on for about an hour now. The authorities had practically asked the same questions thrice already.
"No, I didn't see where they went," he said, exasperatedly. "I just drove by, waved at them and went ahead."
"Where were you at about ten thirty last night?" one of the men asked, for the fourth time now.
It was a feat not to release a frustrated sigh when Shion said, "I told you, I went home."
"We just sent someone to check with your neighbors and they said they didn't see you come home last night."
"That's because I didn't spend the night in Lost Town. I was at the West Block."
"Is there anyone who can testify you were there?"
Shion parted his lips, yes brimmed on his lips, but then he wasn't even sure if Nezumi did come home last night, if he did feel Nezumi beside him or if it was just a dream.
"Shion?"
"Yes." Shion met the authority's eyes head on, unblinking. "Nezumi. The person I live with."
The authority scrutinized him for an excruciating stretch of a minute before he cleared his throat and said, "Very well. We'll check with this Nezumi. I guess an apology is called for. This is the fifth disappearance and anyone in contact with the children could be considered a suspect."
"I understand." It was a lie because truth was, Shion would never understand how the system worked. He thought they had been successful in eliminating what Nezumi claimed as parasites in the government of No. 6. But it seemed some strains of the judicial virus had been left feeding off the weaknesses of the citizens.
Because of the incident, all classes ended earlier than usual and the students were either escorted home by mentors or picked up by their parents.
Shion was supposed to spend the night at home but his head was still reeling with unsettling thoughts. He didn't want to worry his mom any more than necessary. So he just dropped the car off and told her he was taking the public transport to the West Block. That was one of the few things that improved after they had set No. 6 free. The connection between the west, east, and south districts via public transport had been implemented.
From the public transport station, Shion had to walk a couple of kilometers before he reached the desolate ruins. He caught the whiff of something that smells delicious when trudging along the empty hallway.
Nezumi's home! Shion rushed inside the apartment, heart stuttering, and found Nezumi hunched over the small stove, stirring something in the pot.
"You're home!" Shion exclaimed and had to restrain from throwing himself at Nezumi.
"Yeah." Nezumi beamed at him, smile soft and heartwarming. "And you're just in time. Dinner is almost ready."
*
Something was bothering Shion and he could feel it as if their minds and hearts were linked. But Nezumi didn't pry, just waited for Shion to talk.
They were lying next to each other, Nezumi about to doze off, when Shion said, "I'm worried, Nezumi."
"Hm?" was all Nezumi offered in response, thought it was enough to coax Shion to go on.
"There have been three children missing at the institute I work for," Shion began and the slight pause was the kind Shion often made whenever he was about to ramble. "Not only that, we heard there were two other kids from a higher education facility who likewise disappeared within the last two weeks. The Bureau claims they have no leads to these children's whereabouts but that's impossible. It's not like Number Six is vast. Worse is the authorities had marked us, the mentors, as suspects."
Though the news wasn't alien to Nezumi and he shouldn't really be surprised with the mentors-tagged-as-suspects part but his head still snapped to face Shion. "What? How could they think that?"
"They say it's because the mentors are the ones these children have last interacted with."
"I think they're just making excuses to cover up the fact that they don't really know who is behind these disappearances," Nezumi said.
"You may be right."
"I see nothing has changed in Number Six. The system still sucks." Nezumi shifted so he could lie on his side and face Shion. He traced the shape of Shion's nose with his finger. "Shion?"
Shion twisted his head and when his eyes met Nezumi's, something stirred in Nezumi's chest that he had to swallow before saying, "Did you miss me?"
The corner of Shion's mouth curled up and he brought his hand up to Nezumi's head, brushed away the lock of hair that fell over Nezumi's eyes. "Of course I did." Then Shion's lips was on Nezumi's, lingering longer than the chaste kisses they had shared in the past. It wasn't a goodnight kiss, not even a farewell kiss. It was more like I'm here. With you. Always.
*
It felt like there was a foreboding cloud hovering above him since that morning and Shion couldn't fight the paranoia creeping in. He felt he was being watched, being followed. But every time his eyes would sweep around to check, he found nothing out of sorts.
Few students went to school that day. Most parents feared for their children's safety. Shion couldn't blame them, would do the same if he had a child of his own. He was worried most about Akina, wondered if she was fine. He just hoped that history wasn't repeating itself, recalling the dilemma he went through when Safu was abducted.
There must be something he could do to help. The Bureau didn't seem to be doing their jobs. Three weeks and no lead. That was near impossible.
Or maybe. Maybe Nezumi was right, that this was another conspiracy and that the Bureau was involved somehow. Shion no longer hold the same loyalty over the city, so he entertained the consequential possibility.
After school, he decided to pay Akina's mother a visit. Maybe she would know the status of the investigation. Shion knew that dipping his head in a situation like this would get him into serious trouble. But he had to know, else, he'd lose his sanity.
The ten-minute ferry ride to Chronos felt like hours. The anxiety was thrumming in Shion's veins. A lot seemed to have changed in this area, once his home but now it felt more like an outside world.
It didn't take long for Shion to find Akina's house. He was greeted by Akina's mother, who looked young in her late thirties, without a trace of gray hair. She had the same bright hazel eyes as Akina, dark brown hair tied in a neat bun.
"The authorities had only been here twice," she said once they were comfortably seated in the living room with a cup of tea in hand.
"Twice?"
"Yes. The night she didn't come home and the morning after to ask a few questions." The cup in her hand began to quiver. She settled it on the table, the light brown liquid spilling on the wooden surface.
This wasn't news to Shion. He knew the Bureau following protocol was far from reality. He reached out, rested a hand on her trembling ones and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll find her soon." If only Shion could believe his own words, but that was the only way he knew how to console her.
He left Akina's house with a heavier heart.
Dark clouds began to roll in when he got off the station. There wasn't any storm warning so Shion presumed that was nothing but rain clouds that would least likely bring any drizzle over the city.
His thoughts wandered back to Akina's mother, to Akina herself, to the missing children, unmindful of the vehicle trailing him. He was a block away from Lost Town when the car made a sudden stop, startling Shion out of his contemplative daze.
Two men got out, both garbed in the same dark outfit that Bureau officials wore.
It took a while before the alarm bells in Shion's head went off and one of the men was already saying, "Shion? We need you to come with us," then he grabbed Shion none-too-gently by the arm.
Panicked, he asked, "Wait. What's this about?" while trying to resist but the man yanked him towards the car with such force that Shion almost tripped, and the other man pressed something cold against the side of Shion's neck. The last thing Shion felt was the electrifying chill surging down his spine then the world around him was suddenly cloaked in darkness.
continued in Part 2
clover71Written for
casestory 2012Fandom: No. 6 (anime) | Pairing: Nezumi/ Shion
Rating: R | Warning:
Disclaimer, Summary, Author's notes and other info: MASTER POST
Part 1
Disjointed sounds of laughter reached Nezumi's ears so he marched down the paved path following the fading noise until all that was left was the soft whistling of the wind.
Aimlessly, he roamed around, not caring where his feet would lead him and rested long enough to lift his face to the sky where a thick mantle of gray was rolling in to shroud the remaining layers of blue and white. He remained that way – face tilted – for a while, lost in the changing colors of dusk.
Shrill voices yanked Nezumi out of his shallow daze and it took a second and a heartbeat for him to recognize the melodic chanting of children, luring him to a playground occupied only by a small group of children. Around seven of them were walking around, hands joined in a circle and a boy with tousled brown hair – about twelve or thirteen of age – stood still at the center, a black cloth wrapped around his eyes.
Nezumi watched them – all innocent faces but there was something frightening in their eyes. The children seemed to be in the middle of a game – a game Nezumi wasn't familiar with. The words they had been reciting fluttered in the air. The hair-raising way they sung, "Kagome kagome, the bird in the cage. When will you come out? In the evening of the dawn, the crane and turtle slipped. Who stands right behind you now?" sent a chill crawling underneath Nezumi's skin.
The children ceased moving as soon as the song stopped and the boy in the middle said, "Hoshi."
The girl behind him, who looked eerily familiar, sniggered, said, "Wrong," and raised her hand. The silver tip of the knife she was holding flashed against the faint ray of the sun.
Nezumi felt his blood freeze and all he could do was watch in horror as the boy removed his blindfold, turned around, and yelled, "Safu, no!"
It was a second too late – the knife had already been plunged into the boy's chest – when Nezumi realized who the boy was. Profound terror and agony tore through Nezumi's soul when he saw the tint of blood spreading on the boy's shirt. "Shion!" he screamed just before a thick, dull fog swirled around him.
Nezumi's eyes were greeted with a thin veil of gray mist billowing around him, heart pounding against his chest, beads of sweat trickling down the side of his face. He blinked, waiting for his vision to adjust, body still thrumming from the after effects of the dream – same one he had three nights ago.
Shion.
Something was wrong and he had to go back, had to find out for sure.
It had been eight months – eight months since Nezumi told Shion that he would be fine. Nezumi believed it, knew that it would be safe for Shion to stay in No. 6. But Nezumi had to leave, had to find himself, had to trek farther west to see what this world had left to offer.
*
His hand trembled when he reached out for the glass of water he always kept on the bedside table. He took a sip to quench the terrifying strain left by the dream, mouth dry, throat hurt from the scream that tore through him.
The light tap on the door startled him, making him flinch, water spilling on his shirt and pajama bottoms. Only when he heard his mom's soft voice saying "Shion? Are you all right?" that he started to relax.
"Yeah, mom. Just a bad dream." Third one this week, actually, but she didn't need to know that.
"Okay." The hesitation in her tone was palpable, as if 'okay' meant otherwise. "Call me if you need anything."
The clock showed it was a quarter before five in the morning and out the window, Shion could see a thin line of pale orange peeking out of the horizon.
His mom was usually up early, making bread and pastries and pies for her bakeshop. Shion felt guilty now for disrupting her work. He ran a hand over his face, vestiges of the dream still clinging on the edges of his mind.
He didn't know what it meant, why he was falling, falling into a deep tunnel. And Nezumi was there to grab his hand, pull him up, save him, save him like Nezumi had more than once.
Maybe it was because he had been missing Nezumi, been wishing Nezumi would return soon. Nezumi did promise he would be back for him.
The usual sounds of the morning started to chirp outside his window. Shion moved out of his bed and dragged his feet to the bathroom. Once his breath tastes like mint and any signs of sleep were off his face, he joined his mom in the kitchen.
"You're up bright and early," Karan said with a cheerful lilt. "You don't have to be at work in at least three hours."
"I thought I'd help you out." Shion grabbed a bowl filled with batter and started swirling the wooden spoon dipped in the mixture.
"You haven't done this in a while." It wasn't an accusation; the hint of teasing caressed every word. And she was right, anyway. Shion had been busy since he got the job teaching at the school where he went to before meeting Nezumi.
"I know. And I miss it."
Shion left before seven, sun already spreading its arms wide across the sky. He always drove to work in the car he and his mom shared but today, he preferred to walk then take the ferry to the other side of the city. It was a nice, clear day and fresh air would do him good.
The school was a couple of blocks away from the station and Shion enjoyed the quiet trek, remembering how he used to walk along this path with his childhood friend, Safu.
Safu. How Shion missed her so. He was certain that if she were alive, she would likewise be offered to teach at the institute.
When Shion stepped inside the building, he was greeted with a commotion at the lobby.
"Shion!" One of his colleagues, Sayuri, rushed to his side, panic clearly written on her face.
Concerned and curious, Shion skipped any formal greeting and asked, "What's going on?"
Sayuri's eyes darted around, as if to check if anyone was nearby to hear them, then she leaned over to whisper, "Another student had been reported missing, second one this week. The Security Bureau now thinks both children may have been kidnapped."
"What?" Shion was hit with a dreadful recollection of his own past, how he was taken by the Security Bureau only to have Nezumi save him and bring him to the West Block while his mom was unmindful of what had transpired.
*
The walls had been completely torn down and a narrow paved road had been built to connect the West Block to the West entrance of No. 6.
Everything looked different but eerily the same at some angle in Nezumi's opinion. Still, he didn't have the heart to tread inside the city so he roamed around the slum area until his feet led him to his old place. He expected it would be cleared out of his belongings, claimed by someone else but he was quite surprised when he saw it was exactly how he left it.
The bookshelves still took up half of the space, books neatly stacked. His bed looked like it had been recently made, floor clean and the table dust-free. He wondered if someone else lived here now.
"Excuse me," a small voice said, startling Nezumi out of his wistful daze. He whipped his head around to see a little girl, the one who often came to see Shion – Karan, Nezumi thought was her name. "Is Shion around?"
Nezumi's eyebrows furrowed, confused. He never liked this girl. She never made sense. "No. Shion doesn't live here anymore."
The girl tilted her head, forehead wrinkling. "But he was just here the other day. He sleeps here sometimes, during the weekend mostly. And he comes once in a while, too."
The revelation threw him off, and Nezumi gaped at her, stunned, for a moment. Then his heart started racing. Shion had kept the place. Shion.
"Mister?" Karan's voice broke through his musing. "I'm gonna go. Maybe Shion will come back this weekend." She was gone before Nezumi could even think of a catty response.
He felt so detached from this place as though he'd been gone for eight years instead of eight months. His wistful trek led him to the old hotel where Inukashi lived. Nothing had changed much, not that Nezumi expected anything to change in the West Block after the downfall of No. 6. They may have destroyed the Correctional Facility and the main computer, which consequentially deactivated most of the computers that controlled the city. The walls surrounding No. 6 may have fallen down. But Nezumi never assumed it would change anything drastically.
"Well, well. The prodigal son returns." Inukashi was cloaked in the shadowy corner when Nezumi sauntered inside. Nezumi could see him though, could see him draped in the same filthy clothes he wore the last time Nezumi cast a hostile glare upon him. "So what brings you back to this dreadful place?"
Nezumi held her gaze, expression tamed close to unfathomable. "Something's going down in Number Six." He didn't tell Inukashi about the dream, about the children in the playground. The underlying meaning still was a mystery to him.
Inukashi gave a contemptuous snort. "Since when did you give a shit about the city? I thought you were done with it after we've destroyed the Correctional Facility?"
Eyes downcast, Nezumi muttered, "Shion is still there," like Shion was his lifeline that he needed to hold on to.
There was palpable sympathy in Inukashi's eyes and her shoulders sagged as if defeated. "I'll see what I can find out."
"No." Nezumi pivoted around. "I'll go there myself."
*
There was this girl in his class – Akina – who has short dark hair that bounces against the back of her neck, eyes filled with eagerness and determination and a profound intelligence. She reminded him of Safu. She was as bright as Safu was, always volunteering to speak in front of the class.
"Thank you, Akina. That was an excellent presentation," Shion told her and asked for her to return to her seat. He glanced at the clock, saw he had five minutes left before he should wrap up his last class for the day. "Do you have any questions?" he asked and was pleased to see his students shake their heads. There wasn't any doubt these twelve and thirteen-year-old kids were able to grasp that day's lesson on the basic principles of ecology. They were, after all, ranked as elite who possessed high level IQ.
Homework had been given by the time the last period was over. Shion watched the students file out of the room then worked on his daily report as soon as he was alone. Not wanting to dawdle, he left after he had sent the necessary files to Principal Yamada, hoping to get home early so he could help his mom at the bakeshop.
It was when he got off at the station near Lost Town that he felt this sudden weight of foreboding. He could feel a presence looming over him like an ominous shadow, could feel the grip of someone's gaze.
When he made a quick survey of the area though, he found nothing suspicious. But the trepidation remained a thick mass in his chest. Shion hurried his steps until he made it home safe.
Paranoia urged him to look out of his mom's bakeshop window as soon as he stepped inside but only saw regular passers-by, nothing too out-of-place.
"Shion?"
He spun around, startled, only to find his mom standing by the counter.
"Something wrong, Shion? You look like you've seen a ghost." Concern undulated on Karan's eyes.
"Yeah, Mom. I just thought I saw someone I know, but." Shion shook the perturbing thoughts out of his mind. "Do you need help with anything?"
Karan's scrutinizing gaze kept him in place, watching him as if he was about to sprout another head. Then her eyes softened. "I just took out a tray of cheese muffins. If you can arrange them in the counter, that will be nice."
"Sure, Mom. I'll just go change."
Shion's room wasn't that big so it was easy for him to keep it in order, always neat, books and gadgets in the right places, windows closed when he wasn't around. So when he stepped in and found his windows open, curtains billowing against the gentle wind that crept in, his first instinct was to grab something – a hardbound book – and raised it, ready to strike.
There weren't any spaces to hide in his room. The closet was too narrow that even a child as small as Lili wouldn't fit. So when Shion was sure there wasn't any sign of break in, he placed the book back on the small table.
He had just taken his shirt off when someone spoke behind him. "You're still as thin as a stick, I see."
That voice. Shion's heart began to pound wildly. He whirls around, knees turned weak when his eyes rest on the boy – man who walked out of his life several months ago. "Nezumi."
Nezumi strode over like a thief crawling into Shion's personal space. "And you haven't grown an inch. What have you been doing for the past eight months, eh?"
Shion had always imagined how he would react once he saw Nezumi again, always thought he would be thrilled and maybe, run into Nezumi's arms. But he wasn't feeling any of that. All he felt was a boiling rage inside him and thoughts of you left me. You. Left me, you, kept swirling in his head.
Once Nezumi was standing at arms length, Shion's clenched hand moved on its own accord, swinging a punch right across Nezumi's face. Then Shion took a step back, shocked at his own action.
"You said you wouldn't be gone long," poured out of Shion's mouth. "It's been eight months."
*
Nezumi stilled, hand cupping his cheek and eyes narrowing into slits.
Shion's jaws seemed tight, as if expecting that Nezumi would strike back and Shion was merely holding his ground, waiting. And waiting. And waiting.
But Nezumi didn't raise a fist. He couldn't. His lips slanted into a sly smirk. "I probably deserve that," he said and it was true. Probably. "You've gotten stronger, I see. That actually hurt."
Something went past Shion's face, a tinge of remorse maybe. Then his shoulders sagged, as if crestfallen. Only then did Nezumi notice the shadows under Shion's eyes and when Shion said, "I've been waiting for you to return. Day and night and day," the tone weighed with melancholy stabbed right through Nezumi's chest.
I'm sorry, Nezumi wanted to say, words balancing on the tip of his tongue. What came out though was a defensive "I told you that you would be fine."
"But I wasn't." Shion's head dropped, voice slipping to an almost whisper. "I wasn't."
Nezumi took a deep, cleansing breath. The sight before him melted the sheath of ice around his heart. He reached out, hooked a finger under Shion's chin and coaxed Shion to lift his gaze then brushed his lips against Shion's. Lightly. Gently. Lovingly.
Shion wrapped his arms around Nezumi. "Stay."
"I will." Nezumi couldn't tell Shion that he was back because he could sense that something was about to crack the now proverbial wall around No. 6. Or maybe… maybe Shion already knew.
*
Just as Shion had expected, Nezumi still refused to stay with him in Lost Town. It was, after all, still in the vicinity of No. 6. So Shion lodged alternately between Lost Town and the West District.
It had been busy at the institute so he hadn't seen Nezumi for days. With the upcoming qualification test for the special track, a handful of elite students decided to stay longer for a group study after their last class had ended.
Shion saw it fit to stick around in case the students would need help. Akina, the girl who looked like Safu, often consulted him about certain topics in Ecology as well as in Biology.
It was near sundown when Shion left the institute. He drove off, taking the shortest route leading to the west road so he could go straight to Nezumi's place.
Several blocks away from the institute, Shion spotted three of his students – Akina being one of them – strutting down the paved street. He slowed down, waved at them and hollered, "Careful on your home, kids!" before heading further down the road.
Nothing much had changed in the West Block even after what Shion referred to as the 'meltdown' of No. 6. The district still looked neglected, its residents still poverty-stricken. Only difference Shion noticed was that the people here no longer lived in fear – fear of man hunt or the other horrors that the former government of No. 6 had carried out in the past.
Nezumi wasn't home, which wasn't usual. He was always gone, sometimes would creep inside the room at the crack of dawn.
So Shion didn't bother to wait up. He had dinner, read a few pages of 'Pride and Prejudice' then snuggled under the covers. He was too tired that he was soon engulfed in a deep sleep.
A loud scream pierced through the thick night air and Shion's name reverberated like a distant siren. The face of a child – a girl – warped before Shion, fading into mist.
Shion jerked awake, the remnants of the dream still held on at the surface of his mind. The warm body pressed on his back reminded him where he was, that he wasn't alone.
Nezumi grunted in his sleep and he shifted, snuggling closer to Shion, fringe of blue hair falling over his eyes, breath warm against the side of Shion's neck. Shion watched him for a while, eyes tracing Nezumi's beautifully sculpted face. Gradually, Nezumi's soft, even breathing lulls Shion back to sleep.
*
The smell of mold and rotten flesh permeated across the stuffy atmosphere of the cave. Nezumi breathed through his mouth instead of his nose. This was the last place he wanted to be, but he needed answers and there was one person who knew more about the secrets buried in No. 6.
The elder looked weary, hair silver more than gray, the lines on his face had increased since the last time Nezumi laid eyes on him. "It seems the evil that lays dormant beneath Number Six is beginning to stir," he said, gaze gripping Nezumi's as if he required Nezumi's full attention. "And I believe the missing children are the link to this mystery."
Nezumi didn't come here for riddles, only sought for a more rational explanation to the disappearance of a few elite children. It shouldn't be his concern, really. But he had a feeling that this was somehow connected to the dreams that had been haunting him for the past months.
"The Security Bureau is clueless. The sole information they have is that most of these children attend the same institute," Nezumi narrated the exact information Inukashi had provided.
"An elite. Hmm." The elder fell into a contemplative silence once more. This dilemma seemed to throw him off balance. He used to hold full knowledge of No. 6, always had hidden data to help destroy the monster he had helped create. But now….
"It couldn't be," the elder said after what seemed to be a long stretch of the hour. He snapped his fingers and one of his companions handed him a microchip. "There's a machine," he started to explain, handing Nezumi the microchip. "It was built as a back up system, in case the main one breaks down. It hasn't been activated since."
The elder didn't say anything more, just gave a nod to his companions and the wooden raft where he sat was carried away.
Nezumi stared at the microchip sitting on his palm. "Wait. What does the machine have anything to do with the missing children?"
The elder raised a hand and the men carrying him halted. "The answers you seek are in that microchip." Then he made a gesture for the men carrying him to continue and they all disappeared beyond the curtain of darkness.
*
When Shion woke up that morning, Nezumi was already gone. He wondered whether feeling Nezumi's body beside him was just a dream. He was certain it wasn't because he basked in the comfort of Nezumi's arm around him when Shion woke up in the early hours before sunrise.
The sun had barely taken its rightful place in the sky when he drove to the city. There was an eerie silence that draped over the campus when Shion arrived at the institute. It was still early, so the place being nearly empty didn't come off as peculiar.
Sayuri was the first one he ran into when he sauntered inside the building. She had this look of horror in her face, shoulders held stiffly and she kept wringing her fingers.
"What is it?" Shion asked though he had a feeling he already knew the answer. This was like déjà vu, the scenario pretty similar to last week except the lobby was void of students.
"There's uh… another child had been taken, Shion," she said with a crack in her voice. "It's the girl from your class."
Shion's heart dropped. This was the third one. "Who?"
"Akina."
*
Rikiga was the last person Nezumi wanted to see. But he was the only one who could possibly crack or decode whatever shit was in the microchip that the elder gave him.
"I still don't see why this concerns you," Rikiga said. "It’s nothing more but a blue print of a machine they built to run the city without needing the network of computers blah, blah, blah. I don't even understand these technical details"
I'm not surprised. Nezumi fought not to roll his eyes. "But the elder said it was supposed to work as a back up.""
"That's not what it says here." Rikiga's eyes were glued to the computer screen, fingers flying over the keyboard. "According to this, it was never activated because— Oh, shit."
Nezumi peered over Rikiga's shoulder to see what the old man had discovered. It was a clear illustration of how the machine would work. "No wonder it was never activated.
"Whoever invented this thing is sick." Rikiga leaned away from his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The elder said something about the evil that lays dormant beneath Number Six is beginning to stir. Could he been referring to this machine?"
"I don't know, Nezumi. Why didn't you ask him?"
"He pisses me off with all the riddles spilling from his mouth."
"I don't think he meant the machine though. Could've been something figurative."
The crease on Nezumi's forehead deepens. "How do you know?"
"Because data shows the machine isn't located within the city. They kept it hidden outside Number Six."
"Where exactly?"
"It doesn't say here. It's not in the West Block, that's for sure. Or I would've heard of it."
There was something else, something the elder left unsaid. He wanted Nezumi to find out about this. For what reason, Nezumi didn't know. It was as if he was given a piece among a thousand pieces of puzzles that he had to solve.
*
Three Security Bureau officials hovered around him like he was some criminal. Their unwavering gazes made Shion want to melt in his seat.
This pointless interrogation had been going on for about an hour now. The authorities had practically asked the same questions thrice already.
"No, I didn't see where they went," he said, exasperatedly. "I just drove by, waved at them and went ahead."
"Where were you at about ten thirty last night?" one of the men asked, for the fourth time now.
It was a feat not to release a frustrated sigh when Shion said, "I told you, I went home."
"We just sent someone to check with your neighbors and they said they didn't see you come home last night."
"That's because I didn't spend the night in Lost Town. I was at the West Block."
"Is there anyone who can testify you were there?"
Shion parted his lips, yes brimmed on his lips, but then he wasn't even sure if Nezumi did come home last night, if he did feel Nezumi beside him or if it was just a dream.
"Shion?"
"Yes." Shion met the authority's eyes head on, unblinking. "Nezumi. The person I live with."
The authority scrutinized him for an excruciating stretch of a minute before he cleared his throat and said, "Very well. We'll check with this Nezumi. I guess an apology is called for. This is the fifth disappearance and anyone in contact with the children could be considered a suspect."
"I understand." It was a lie because truth was, Shion would never understand how the system worked. He thought they had been successful in eliminating what Nezumi claimed as parasites in the government of No. 6. But it seemed some strains of the judicial virus had been left feeding off the weaknesses of the citizens.
Because of the incident, all classes ended earlier than usual and the students were either escorted home by mentors or picked up by their parents.
Shion was supposed to spend the night at home but his head was still reeling with unsettling thoughts. He didn't want to worry his mom any more than necessary. So he just dropped the car off and told her he was taking the public transport to the West Block. That was one of the few things that improved after they had set No. 6 free. The connection between the west, east, and south districts via public transport had been implemented.
From the public transport station, Shion had to walk a couple of kilometers before he reached the desolate ruins. He caught the whiff of something that smells delicious when trudging along the empty hallway.
Nezumi's home! Shion rushed inside the apartment, heart stuttering, and found Nezumi hunched over the small stove, stirring something in the pot.
"You're home!" Shion exclaimed and had to restrain from throwing himself at Nezumi.
"Yeah." Nezumi beamed at him, smile soft and heartwarming. "And you're just in time. Dinner is almost ready."
*
Something was bothering Shion and he could feel it as if their minds and hearts were linked. But Nezumi didn't pry, just waited for Shion to talk.
They were lying next to each other, Nezumi about to doze off, when Shion said, "I'm worried, Nezumi."
"Hm?" was all Nezumi offered in response, thought it was enough to coax Shion to go on.
"There have been three children missing at the institute I work for," Shion began and the slight pause was the kind Shion often made whenever he was about to ramble. "Not only that, we heard there were two other kids from a higher education facility who likewise disappeared within the last two weeks. The Bureau claims they have no leads to these children's whereabouts but that's impossible. It's not like Number Six is vast. Worse is the authorities had marked us, the mentors, as suspects."
Though the news wasn't alien to Nezumi and he shouldn't really be surprised with the mentors-tagged-as-suspects part but his head still snapped to face Shion. "What? How could they think that?"
"They say it's because the mentors are the ones these children have last interacted with."
"I think they're just making excuses to cover up the fact that they don't really know who is behind these disappearances," Nezumi said.
"You may be right."
"I see nothing has changed in Number Six. The system still sucks." Nezumi shifted so he could lie on his side and face Shion. He traced the shape of Shion's nose with his finger. "Shion?"
Shion twisted his head and when his eyes met Nezumi's, something stirred in Nezumi's chest that he had to swallow before saying, "Did you miss me?"
The corner of Shion's mouth curled up and he brought his hand up to Nezumi's head, brushed away the lock of hair that fell over Nezumi's eyes. "Of course I did." Then Shion's lips was on Nezumi's, lingering longer than the chaste kisses they had shared in the past. It wasn't a goodnight kiss, not even a farewell kiss. It was more like I'm here. With you. Always.
*
It felt like there was a foreboding cloud hovering above him since that morning and Shion couldn't fight the paranoia creeping in. He felt he was being watched, being followed. But every time his eyes would sweep around to check, he found nothing out of sorts.
Few students went to school that day. Most parents feared for their children's safety. Shion couldn't blame them, would do the same if he had a child of his own. He was worried most about Akina, wondered if she was fine. He just hoped that history wasn't repeating itself, recalling the dilemma he went through when Safu was abducted.
There must be something he could do to help. The Bureau didn't seem to be doing their jobs. Three weeks and no lead. That was near impossible.
Or maybe. Maybe Nezumi was right, that this was another conspiracy and that the Bureau was involved somehow. Shion no longer hold the same loyalty over the city, so he entertained the consequential possibility.
After school, he decided to pay Akina's mother a visit. Maybe she would know the status of the investigation. Shion knew that dipping his head in a situation like this would get him into serious trouble. But he had to know, else, he'd lose his sanity.
The ten-minute ferry ride to Chronos felt like hours. The anxiety was thrumming in Shion's veins. A lot seemed to have changed in this area, once his home but now it felt more like an outside world.
It didn't take long for Shion to find Akina's house. He was greeted by Akina's mother, who looked young in her late thirties, without a trace of gray hair. She had the same bright hazel eyes as Akina, dark brown hair tied in a neat bun.
"The authorities had only been here twice," she said once they were comfortably seated in the living room with a cup of tea in hand.
"Twice?"
"Yes. The night she didn't come home and the morning after to ask a few questions." The cup in her hand began to quiver. She settled it on the table, the light brown liquid spilling on the wooden surface.
This wasn't news to Shion. He knew the Bureau following protocol was far from reality. He reached out, rested a hand on her trembling ones and said, "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll find her soon." If only Shion could believe his own words, but that was the only way he knew how to console her.
He left Akina's house with a heavier heart.
Dark clouds began to roll in when he got off the station. There wasn't any storm warning so Shion presumed that was nothing but rain clouds that would least likely bring any drizzle over the city.
His thoughts wandered back to Akina's mother, to Akina herself, to the missing children, unmindful of the vehicle trailing him. He was a block away from Lost Town when the car made a sudden stop, startling Shion out of his contemplative daze.
Two men got out, both garbed in the same dark outfit that Bureau officials wore.
It took a while before the alarm bells in Shion's head went off and one of the men was already saying, "Shion? We need you to come with us," then he grabbed Shion none-too-gently by the arm.
Panicked, he asked, "Wait. What's this about?" while trying to resist but the man yanked him towards the car with such force that Shion almost tripped, and the other man pressed something cold against the side of Shion's neck. The last thing Shion felt was the electrifying chill surging down his spine then the world around him was suddenly cloaked in darkness.
continued in Part 2