A/N: This chapter has been revised and updated. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own No. 6


Chapter One:


Shion waited outside the broken walls of the No. 6 district. The wind howled in the pastel grey sky. The boy swung the white bangs out of his eyes with a flick of his head, a habit he had developed a while back. Crouched down among the filth and junk, Shion gazed at a tunnel in the wall where Nexumi had once freed him from the cruelty of district six. It was a wide pipeline for sewage and used water that connected to all the districts and the outer lands. A putrid stench reached out five meters from it and Shion had to force back a gag.

Nezumi had gone inside to rescue a little girl as a favor from DogKeeper. In return, the money was worth the risk of his life, but only just. Nezumi had seen where in district 6 he was asked to go and nearly declined outright.

Shion remembered when they were at the dog hotel and Nezumi acted strange at Dogkeeper's request. Nezumi had been handed the map location of the prisoner.

He had thrown it down in anger and would have nearly strangled the dog-boy to death if it wasn't for Shion pulling him back. "You want me to go THERE? Are you OUT OF YOUR MIND?"

DogKeeper had snapped right back with a venom to his words. "I would never have come to you if you weren't the ONLY one who was familiar with that route!"

Nezumi's eyes had grown hysterical, and Shion had been shocked to see his confidence crumble like a wilting flower. "They know who I am! It's not like when we broke into the compound a year ago. This is the trade route between districts six and three!"

"I'll pay you ten gold pieces." Dogkeeper had said, holding up the amount in his hand for Nezumi to see. Shion had noticed with interest the water tearing up at the scruffy dog-boy's eyes. "Please. ...I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't very important to me."

They had stood like that for several minutes until Shion was convinced they were statues. Finally, Nezumi had sat back down, his expression of bitter hatred unchanged. "Double the money and show me her picture."

A small piece of paper was handed to Nezumi. As DogKeeper dug out his silver stash, Nezumi had looked at the picture. His eyes had widened at the image that sat calmly on the page.

"Who is she to you?" Nezumi had asked skeptically.

"...My sister." DogKeeper had confessed, glaring back at the dark-haired teen, now holding ten gold and twenty silver. His expression had softened when he saw Nezumi look back at the picture. "You look like you've seen her before."

"A long time ago." Nezumi had deadpanned, not allowing further talk on the subject.

He had shoved the picture in his pocket and snatched the gold from Dogkeeper's hand.

"I'll take the job."

Shion shivered from the cold outside the crumbled walls. He had offered to go in with Nezumi, but was strongly rejected. Nezumi's voice from that time echoed inside Shion's trail of thought.

"You're not coming. Not this time."

"But I want to help you!" Shion had said.

"Don't you dare go near district six and three's trade route! Stay home Shion. This time, it's just too dangerous."

Shion chuckled. To hell with that. There was no way that Shion was going to let Nezumi take on such a dangerous mission all by himself. Shion looked to the tunnel and saw Nezumi disappear into the sewers.

Shion followed him.


Nezumi quietly stood at the exit of the sewers, facing the inner terrors of the trade route. On this other side of the sewers, a bustling low-end town with tents and markets stood had grown from the collapse of the walls surrounding district six. The wall around the sewage system had been modified to brace the sewage tunnel, so it had withstood the collapse. The people along the trade route had been living there long before the incident. What kept them alive and profitable was their main export: slaves.

His back to the wall, Nezumi slid into the shadows of the foliage around the tents. His black rat skittered out from under his super-fiber cloth and onto his shoulder.

Nezumi leaned his head to the little robot of his which Shion had named Moonlight. "Go see if she's there."

It nodded and jumped off him to the ground, skittering off towards the tents. Nezumi threw the hood of his grey cloak over his head. Lowering his hand to his pockets he checked his inventory: knife, bombs, triggers, chloroform, papers for secret messages, and his other two robots. Cravat and Hamlet shuffled impatiently in the inner pockets of his dark blue jacket, awaiting his order.

A thought occurred to Nezumi. He tagged Hamlet with his finger and it ran up to his shoulder. "Go check on Shion. Report back if he's safe, if not then stay with him."

Hamlet squeaked and ran off, his tiny claws clicking quickly over the cement sewer walkway.

Nezumi let out a breath. He had forced himself to forget this place; his past was not worth remembering after all. What happened in this place nearly crippled him back then. Now, he was no longer the frightened child on the run. Nezumi was stronger, his fangs were sharper, and his experience gave him the power he lacked back then.

Yet, the phantoms of the past persisted. With all these years of swallowing his pride and emotions, Nezumi knew that fear was not easy to push away. Fear was vital when it came to survival, but this irrational fear that was haunting him now could get him killed.

He shouldered the troubling thoughts and pushed on.