Nezumi trekked across the wasteland of what remained of the West District after the latest raid, eyeing the corpses and crumbling houses with an unreadable expression. A thought occurred to him as he navigated through the rubble: that raid would be the last if No. 6 had truly fallen. He wondered what other changes were to come to the outer districts as a result of the breaking of the wall that had surrounded No. 6.
It was strange. He knew he ought to feel satisfied that he'd had a hand in ultimately bringing down No. 6, glad that the brainwashed citizens of the damn city had gotten what they'd had coming for them. But somehow, there was no devious glee in his heart. Instead, he felt frustration and anger, but at the same time, he felt...empty.
His lips tugged upwards on one side, giving him a smirk whose glint never reached his eyes. His vision began to blur as his eyes slowly filled with tears. He didn't let them fall; wiping them roughly away, he continued on. He really had lost. He'd lost the moment he'd met the boy who had opened his window to him, offered to patch him up, given him warm food, and a place to stay until the storm let up. A bitter laugh escaped him at the memory.
By the time he reached his home underground, the tears had stopped coming, but the feeling of loss still lingered, and the grip it had on him making his chest ache.
Sitting himself down on the chair in front of the piano, he stared up at the ceiling blankly, and didn't move for quite some time. He wasn't sure how many seconds, minutes, or even hours passed, but eventually, he shifted on the chair so he was facing the old piano he had in the corner of the room, and he began absentmindedly tapping keys, playing an nameless melody.
Nezumi found that he was unable to bring himself to do anything more. He knew he ought to check up on Rikiga and Inukashi and make sure they were alright; thank them too and assure them that Shion was alive and heading back to what was left of No. 6, but...
He ran a hand down his face. Looking back, Nezumi couldn't believe that he'd let Shion into his life so completely. He would never have imagined himself going so far for the airhead. What reason did he have? He'd come this far by believing in the fact that once you find something you want to protect, you lose. But that was just what he'd done. Shion, being the naive idiot that he was, had needed to be protected, needed to have Nezumi look out for him.
Nezumi was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't notice the presence of a person approaching his front door until he heard the creak as the doorknob turned. Immediately going on the offensive, he readied himself to attack the intruder. The door opened, and Nezumi crouched, about to launch himself forward, his right hand tensing in preparation to latch around their throat, but as the 'intruder' came into full view, Nezumi froze, eyes widening.
Shion wondered what Nezumi would say upon his return. The way they'd parted ways had felt so official and so final, but he hadn't been able to deny that he wanted to return to the little apartment of sorts he shared with Nezumi. Even though he'd been so desperate to return to No. 6 and reunite with his mother, it no longer felt like a priority. After all, the threat of the parasite bees were gone. He would go back in due time of course, but for now, he realized, he wanted to go home to Nezumi.
So he walked back to what was left of the West District, Hamlet on his shoulder, his dog keeping pace, and the infant in his arms. It was hard to traverse through the debris, but he managed. It was a gruesome sight, blood splattered or pooling every few feet. Trying to push down the nausea, he carefully avoided the worst hit parts of the block, and focused on just getting back to Nezumi.
Shion also encountered a very tearful Rikiga and an infuriated Inukashi on his way, and he explained as best he could just how he wasn't dead. Recounting what had happened only minutes earlier was surreal despite it all, and while neither of them seemed to fully understand or believe him, they were relieved that he was alive nonetheless. Promising he'd visit them with Nezumi soon, he politely took his leave, asking Inukashi to take the infant for the time being again, who reluctantly accepted the bundled up baby. Shion waved as he walked away, and he could have sworn he heard the baby call Inukashi 'mama'. Suppressing a laugh, he grinned widely, and ran off as Inukashi yelled at him.
A while later, he jogged down the stairs leading to Nezumi's home, finally at his destination. He hadn't even thought much about what he'd say to the taller boy, but when he opened the door and saw how ready Nezumi was to attack, it occurred to him that he might not have been expecting to see Shion again so soon.
The two stared at one another for a long moment, both completely frozen and unsure what to do. Shion ended up being the one to break the ice.
"Hi." he said, shuffling forward to shut the door behind him. He saw Nezumi's posture relax until he was slumped in the chair, and Shion could feel the gray eyes following him as he let himself further into the room. Glancing over his shoulder at the other, Shion noted that Nezumi was still staring at him with an incredulous look.
"What are you doing here?" the dark haired boy finally managed, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
Shion was quiet as he weighed the question carefully. That was definitely a good question, and though Shion knew the answer, he didn't know how to word it.
Nezumi had been more than shocked to see Shion walk in like it was perfectly normal; as though the past few hours hadn't happened. Hadn't he gone off to return to No. 6? Hadn't he gone home to his mother and his previous life? What the hell was he doing back here?
"I wanted to come back." Shion said at last. "No. 6 is no longer threatened by the bees, and I know Mom's safe." He gave Nezumi a smile, to which the taller boy simply stared, dumbfounded back at.
"So you just... Came back?" Nezumi asked stupidly. Shion fidgeted, wondering if he shouldn't have after all. He watched as Nezumi's brows drew together, his mouth falling open as though trying to find something more to ask.
"Should I not have?" Shion asked a little defensively. That certainly got a reaction out of Nezumi.
"No!" he yelled suddenly, startling both of them. Hurt flickered across the shorter boy's face, and Nezumi wanted to take it back. That's not what he'd meant. Not no, he shouldn't have come back. "I mean, yes. I mean-" he stammered, his cheeks warming. He felt like an idiot. Sighing heavily, he held his head in his hands, giving up on speaking for the moment. The room was silent for a long while, until Shion quietly made his way to Nezumi, his footfalls sounding strangely loud in the relative silence.
"Nezumi?" He crouched down beside the other, his knees against his chest as he tried to get low enough to peer up at Nezumi's face.
Gritting his teeth, Nezumi huffed in more frustration than anger, and stood abruptly, startling Shion. Managing to get back up on his feet, Shion looked at Nezumi worriedly as he glared back at Shion. This airheaded elite, coming back without warning like that. What was he even trying to do? And yet, as irritated as Nezumi wanted to be with the idiot, all he could feel was relief that he had returned - that he had come home to Nezumi.
Shion opened his mouth to ask if something was wrong, but before he could even begin to speak, Nezumi's arms pulled him into a firm embrace, and he could feel the taller boy nuzzle into the crook of his neck. It took a moment before Shion could reciprocate, bringing his arms up to wrap around Nezumi's lithe body. Shion wasn't sure if he was imagining it or not, but he thought he felt the rapid beat of Nezumi's heart against his chest.
Nezumi eventually pulled back, a hand coming up to cup Shion's cheek, tracing the end of the ribbon of a scar with his thumb. Gray eyes moving to meet red ones once more, both had a distinct softness to them. Nezumi didn't hesitate to lean forward and bring Shion's lips to meet his.
"Thank you for coming back." Nezumi mumbled, breaking the kiss first. Any doubt the shorter boy may have harbored were gone, along with the emptiness Nezumi had felt earlier. Shion smiled up at him with tears swimming in his eyes, and planted another kiss on Nezumi's cheek.
"No more kisses goodbye?" he said firmly, not so much a question than it was a plea.
"No more kisses goodbye." Nezumi repeated with a nod. "I promise." A laugh that sounded a bit like a sob escaped Shion, and he smiled up widely at Nezumi, unrestrained affection in his gaze.
A/N: A friend convinced me to watch No. 6 a few days ago, and I've been consumed by it since. (Actually, I ended up ordering the first novel from Amazon just because I wanted to read it untranslated to get a proper feel of these characters.) This is one of the ideas that came to mind after I finished. So basically my take on what happened afterwards. Or rather, what I wished would happen. I just want these children to be happy...
This was my first attempt at NezuShi. I hope I didn't butcher the characterization too horribly. (I'm sure I did though.) Reviews are very much appreciated, as is constructive criticism!