Chapter Summary: Nezumi ends up following Shion on an impulse, but was it the right decision for him to make? Is he going too far, and what happens when he comes into contact with a certain University student?

Disclaimer: We own nothing except for the OCs. ^_^

Chapter 1 - New Beginning

Ping, pong.

"We are now stopping at No.5 Central Train Station. No.5 Central Train Station. Please do not force open the train doors. Thank you for travelling with us and have a wonderful day."

Nezumi struggled through the slowly opening doors of the train, feeling a wave of people washing him forward with the tide of the crowd. A hot, unpleasant blast of air pounded his face as he passed under the over-worked air conditioner's exhaust fan. The wailing of an infant split his ears, shrieking above the incessant murmur of people scrambling along the train station platform, chatting frantically on cell phones or increasingly raising their voices to try and be heard by the person right beside them over the drowning noise. Suffocating, clammy bodies pressed against him as soon as he was free from the crowded cabin of the train, pressing him into a claustrophobic, inescapable circle.

Nezumi scowled. He didn't have time for this.

He pressed through the people, ignoring the several loud and none too polite protests he received. His body was knocked side to side like a ball in a pinball machine, bouncing through the swarm of people on their own missions with their own things to do. Sticking his arms forward, he tried to separate a group of overzealous teenagers intent on sandwiching themselves into an impenetrable wall of acne, too much perfume and sweet-smelling deodorant. They fell silent from their frantic conversation and scowled at his impatient grip, but Nezumi ignored their glares and pushed them roughly aside.

He didn't understand people like that. In all honestly, Nezumi was still young himself – he had yet to celebrate the 17th birthday -, but found peers of his age frustrating as hell. All of the sheltered children in the world wouldn't be able to get their little cotton-wrapped heads around the horrors his icy, silver eyes had taken in.

With a small smile touching his face for a moment – which ached from frowning in restraint – he remembered that he allowed himself one exception for that hate of airheads. He slipped one hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around the worn and crushed slip of paper he kept there, finding comfort in its uneven texture against his skin. The information scribbled into it held more importance than his own belongings. Nezumi stepped between two of the teenagers, a pair of heavily tattooed boys, and felt a hand grip his shoulder roughly.

"You trying to mess with us, punk?" spat one of the teens, his heavily styled black hair flicking in his face. Nezumi thought it looked like a skunk had curled up over his face and died there after being smothered in glue. That image made Nezumi smirk indifferently, which only angered the hot-headed adolescent more. "Who said you could push us around? Especially a girly-swat like you." His companion with a mop of dirty-golden locks which were equally as slicked down simply bore holes into Nezumi with a cold, hard stare. The blunette ignored the look completely.

"I'm sorry," replied Nezumi, his voice slathered thick with sarcasm, not allowing a single drop of sympathy to colour his words. That was easy to do, because he felt none. A mocking smirk exposed his teeth. "As I'm sure you do also, I have important places to be, so if you'll excuse me…"

Nezumi turned to twist out of the boy's feeble hold, but was suddenly struck with a hard kick between his shoulder blades. He gasped for air as he was winded, tumbling forwards and crashing painfully to the ground. Somebody nearby gasped at the sudden attack, but Nezumi couldn't care less who had been startled. He winced in agony, feeling a sharp pain pinching his hipbone where he had struck the hard concrete platform. White hot pain exploded in his forehead. The boy sniggered at Nezumi's grimace of discomfort, but was suddenly cut off when a hand struck him across the face. The loud slap of palm against cheek resounded above the thrum of voices, followed by a shriek of annoyance.

"Calm down, Katsuro!" It was an annoyed, impatient female voice. "I don't want to make this trip painful! Hurry up and let's get our bags!"

"Hey, babe…"

"Shush! I don't want to hear it! Just get a move on!"

The young girl dragged her boyfriend away, ignoring his protests. The other teenagers from the group fell silent, watching their incredibly vocal departure, before reluctantly disappearing into the crowd after them. Passers-by gaped at the blunette in horror and uncertainty, worried about the young man on the floor but reserved about interfering in an obviously unbalanced situation. Slowly, the circle of bodies around him trickled away. Nezumi remained on the cold ground, feeling a spiteful smirk touch his face. So women really are tough in confronting situations…

His head began to pound like a club against a giant drum, and Nezumi gritted his teeth when he felt a drop of hot blood dribble down his skin. Damn it. He pushed me down harder than I thought… The sound of a pounding heart thudded loudly in his ears, but it wasn't his own. The ground seemed to rise and fall beneath him, twitching uncomfortably as though he were forbidden to stand on the earth.

Nezumi froze. Oh no…

He quickly propped himself up on his grazed hands, feeling his stomach twist awkwardly when he found a young girl curled up beneath him. Her backpack had flown from her shoulders, and lay on the ground beside the pair, several books and sheets of paper sprawled out on the platform. She groaned in discomfort, delicate and pale hand clutching at the side of her purple sweater. Her short, auburn hair concealed her face. Nezumi gawked in disbelief. The image of those fearless, brown eyes burned in his vision, the sight of that girl calmly confronting her unavoidable demise. The girl who Shion once knew so well.

No… But Safu is…

The girl sprang up abruptly, nearly smacking her forehead into Nezumi. He scooted back off her just in time, and in the process nearly launched himself back into the buzzing crowd. His chest thumped in surprise as the girl brushed her hair back from her face with pale, slender fingers.

A huge sigh of relief escaped his lungs. He was not met with an unwavering hazel gaze, but a quiet and observant green one. Even so, the startling resemblance to Safu sent a chill through his body.

"My god, are you okay?" she cried, suddenly grabbing Nezumi's shoulders and shaking him repeatedly. Nezumi gasped as he was flung back and forth like a mindless fabric doll, her amazingly solid grip digging deep into his flesh. As soon as she stopped shaking him and he allowed himself to analyse her properly, he realised how completely different her appearance – besides her face - was to Safu.

Startlingly red streaks slashed through the hair around her face, a few crimson strands becoming caught on her multiple facial piercings. She had two diamond-encrusted rings around her eyebrows and a shining silver stud in her nose. She was like Safu… but gone wrong.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" grunted Nezumi, quickly pushing her hands away. He felt somewhat violated with that vice-like grip on his body. Funny, how he couldn't care less being abused by a mindless teenage boy, yet become so meek and uncomfortable at the simple touch of a girl. "Don't worry about it."

The girl bored those solid emerald jewels of eyes into Nezumi's passive grey ones, and he quickly averted her gaze. That jade contemplating look seemed to be able to absorb every fibre of his being within a millisecond. Everything about this pierced young lady seemed violating, all knowing, mysterious…

She fascinated him.

"Please!" she said with a grin, quickly gathering up her things and stuffing them back into her bag before slinging it over her shoulder and scrambling up from the cool, concrete platform. "See, you're hurt…" She ran her fingers over Nezumi's forehead, making him flinch, and held her tiny fingertips before him to reveal the rich smudges of blood. The blunette dismissively shrugged her off, feeling a chill pass over him at her touch.

"Leave me alone," he grunted, turning away. He didn't need anybody's company. This was something he needed to do alone. Becoming involved with anybody, even merely speaking to them, would only throw him off his path. His trek through the wild desert of his needs towards the one thing he wanted to get right, above all else; facing Shion once more, completely free of regrets of what had torn him up in the past. Something had stopped him from talking to the airhead that sun streaked evening in Lost Town, and that something – as he now knew – was himself. Some unstable part of him beneath that hardened exterior wasn't ready, was afraid of messing the innocent teenager up more than he already had. Long ago, his resolve was to never show empathy for anybody, be as selfish as the twisted human mind desires if it means your own safety. Now, he was willing to throw even his own life away if it meant the burning embers of Shion's ruby eyes could witness another day. Days that were free of corpses, blood and anguish.

However, certain guilt had settled in his stomach.

This desire for Shion to remain unharmed, unchanged, had somehow morphed into a sort of… obsession.

Far enough that he was almost… stalking him.

"Hey!" cried the pierced, dyed bouncing ball of a girl. "Don't be so rude! They were being completely unreasonable. At least let me walk you out of here!" She swung her arms wide as though trying to embrace the irritated Nezumi, and nearly smacked a passing old woman in the face. The shuffling, wrinkled lady opened her glassy eyes wide, and the naïve girl lost her balance in her attempt to avoid knocking the elderly citizen to the ground. She tumbled forward, elbowing Nezumi hard in the ribs. Her fumbling hands dug into his jacket, desperate for something to cling onto and regain her balance. Who is this clumsy woman…?!

"Just who the hell do you think you a-" Nezumi clipped off the end of his frustrated growl when he saw the priceless, folded piece of paper slip from his pocket and flip lightly through the disturbed air. The scrap disappeared among the swelling crowd.

"Ah! Stop!" he cried, quickly shoving the babbling girl off of him, not bothering to listen to her constant, trivial rambling. The stark colour of the paper burned into his vision, the world colourless and insignificant around the swirling material. Diving between the swarming people, he seized the scrap in his fist before his frantic heartbeat could get out of control. A gasp of air burst from his lungs; he hadn't realised he'd been holding it.

Calm down, Nezumi. You've got it. It's okay.

"Man, you're so weird!" Dammit. She's following me, isn't she…

Whipping around, the girl gazed into him again with those passionate emerald orbs. Nezumi held the gaze, determined to not let her get the better of him. Distract her. Get away. Get back on track. Stop stalling!

"Oooooh, what's that?" she asked with a cheeky wink, thrusting her hand forward and lurching toward the paper in Nezumi's hand. The blunette tried to snatch it away, but her seemingly deft fingers grabbed the edge of the white scrap and pried it from his grip. Nezumi grit his teeth.

That has everything I need on there…!

Although he denied the fact he was shadowing his white-haired companion, Nezumi had spent days gathering information on Shion's destination from various sources, and had discovered he was headed for an elite university situated in No.5; SkyLink Central College. He'd also found out several details like Shion's plane and train tickets, boarding unit and contact numbers. After thorough research, he had discovered that this particular campus circulated its teachings around further development of the "utopia" cities, as well as the reconstruction and improvement of deceitful failures like the wretched No.6. Creating an ideal world without deformity, without any rot on its perfect structure. It all seemed like bullshit to him. Something seemed fishy. Or maybe he was just being paranoid.

Pushing aside his gut feeling, he had followed Shion to No.5 in the most discreet way a sneaky rat possibly could. So far, he had not been detected by any form of authority in the slightest.

Seeing this outlandish, exceedingly curious girl's olive eyes scanning through this vital information made this swollen pride at anonymity shatter right before his eyes, unravel like a broken thread on the loosely woven blanket of the unpredictable future.

"SkyLink?" she whistled, making Nezumi flinch, her round, innocent face pinched in puzzlement. "That's where I'm headed." Nezumi's stomach sank. Is she destined to be further intertwined in my future? If so, I may as well shoot myself right here and now. Seemingly disinterested by the other scribbling on the page, she folded up the strip and placed it back in Nezumi's outstretched palm. The blunette closed his fingers around the slip of paper, an idea suddenly welling in his head. With a quick glance at the now instantly recognisable logo – a shining globe supported by a swirling, mystical cloud – on her backpack, his assumption was confirmed.

This girl was a student at SkyLink.

She could get in and out of the college without seeming suspicious at all, since she is legally allowed to enter the residence as a pupil.

He could use her to get information.

Use her to get close to Shion.

Stuffing the paper back into his pocket, a wicked grin spreading across his face, he grabbed her slender, bony shoulder in his gloved hand causing her to yelp in surprise. Leaning in close to the shell of her ear, feeling the heat radiating off her skin, he whispered in a voice laced with exuberance at this sudden enlightenment, but also heavy with seriousness at the strict procedure that he would be required to go through to make it work.

"You're definitely a student there?"

"Huh?" She stiffened against him. "Oh, of course… Why?"

"What's your name?"

"Rioka Setton."

"Rioka… Are you good at keeping secrets?"

The bustling groups of people pushing by along the platform quickly began to disperse as people shuffled onto trains and left for their own destinations in No.5 or elsewhere. With less people to mask his hushed questions which he was muttering into Rioka's ear, more eyes were drawn to their close figures and Nezumi's secretive glances. An alarm bell sounded in Nezumi's head, the honed sense a rat like him possessed instantly alerting him of possible detection. Rioka clutched her bag closer to her back as he quickly but casually led her away, out of the station, breathing into her ear quickly before standing fully erect again; "It's not safe to talk here."

She froze beneath his touch, but continued walking. Despite her obvious discomfort and uncertainty at a stranger leading her away, she did not resist. She seemed to sense his intentions, which were far from ill. Her previously unsilenced mouth was now clamped closed, jaw set. Nezumi thought he saw a snide smirk touch her glossy lips, but it was just a trick of the light.

They walked briskly but without haste out of the station, Nezumi's hand resting on her stiff shoulder the entire time. Stopping on a side street with nobody else around, windows of stores closed for the day bathed in afternoon glow, her silent air quickly vanished. Nezumi dropped his hand as she took a deep breath, before bursting out a stream of questions at him.

"Just who are you? What is it that you want? I thought you were a little odd, but this is a bit extreme. Why are you being so pushy? How are you involved with SkyLink? And what was this about secrets?" All of her words blurted out in one go, her lips moving in a blur. Nezumi rubbed his temples. She seems a lot like a little someone I know…

"Look," he sighed, holding up his hands to silence her, "it's a little complex. But… I really need someone taken care of."

"Woah, woah, woah!" she stammered, her red streaks flying as she shook her head frantically. "I'm not some hired killer!"

"No…" clarified Nezumi, releasing yet another sigh. He really needed to get out of that habit. "I'm not asking you to take care of anybody in that way. I mean, somebody very important to me is at SkyLink. Could you keep an eye on him?"

A frown crossed her face, eyebrow piercing digging into her puckered eyebrows. "Why can't you just go there yourself? Or is it that kind of important to you?" A snide grin crossed her face, followed by a cheeky giggle.

Nezumi gritted his teeth. Man, she was getting on his nerves. One minute she looks right into your soul with piercing yet innocent eyes, then the next she's mocking you! "I'm… not supposed to be here right now. I entered the city without permission."

"Oooooh, a fugitive!"

Nezumi ignored the comment.

"His name is Shion."

"Shion?"

"Yes. Can you remember it?"

"Of course."

Nezumi tore off an edge of the paper holding the information he had gathered over his travels, wrote on the number for the micro-telephone installed into Cravat's robotic body, and handed it to her.

"Contact me as soon as you find him."

"Yes."

She turned, amber and chocolate locks swaying slightly in the breeze and catching the glowing sun as easily as a resilient spider's web snares an unsuspecting insect. A slow, melodious tune whispered from her lips in a cheerful hum, her sneakers squeaking slightly on the surprisingly smooth path.

Suddenly, her tune was cut short as she whipped around once more, that solid emerald gaze once again snapping onto Nezumi's grey, peaceful one.

"Oh," she breathed, slipping the piece of paper into her backpack. "I never got your name."

"Nezumi."

"Nezumi…" she repeated, savouring the name on her tongue as a gourmet might relish in the taste of a fine wine. She smiled gently at him before turning away, a bounce in her step as she walked off. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Likewise." A smirk exposed Nezumi's pearly teeth, even long after Rioka had disappeared into the distance. Even his murky shadow on the ground seemed to cheer.

Jackpot.

kitzabitza: Hello guys, we're back! My god, I am so sorrrrryyy. I didn't die, I am still alive here... ;A;

Yuki: Helloo all~ I'm super sorry about our lateness but I was busy moving and we were out of contact for a time but now we're back. *ahem,polite speech now over* HEHEHEHE How do you like it? we promise much mystery and in the following chapters :3 so kitzabitza got anything to add?

kitzabitza: I guess all I have to say is how sorry I am for my writer's block. I lost nearly all inspiration for this story, even though Yuki and I have it all planned out! You moving is no excuse! ;A; Errrr, anyways, what did you guys think of this chapter? And people who have stumbled across this, this is a sequel to our story Words From Afar! It won't make much sense as to you if you haven't read that already, so go check out my stories and power through that before you continue reading here! :p

Yuki: haha anyway thanks for your continued support and i hope to see you all at the next chapter~ Bye~

kitzabitza: See you all soon!