Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter! I would first like to thank Unkn0wn.d0rk for the review. You really made my day! I would also like to thank anyone who is following/favoring the story, I'm glad you are enjoying it! And lastly to my beta reader fullmetalangel3265 who is awesome!
.
Ok then on to the story!
.
(Past)
Sion turned in his bed to face his clock again. It had been hours since he had gone to bed, but he still couldn't sleep. If his future self was right, he would get the chance to see Nezumi tomorrow, but then he wouldn't be able to return home…Why wouldn't he be able to go home? Where would he go? Would it be with Nezumi? Where would they go? Did Nezumi have a place to live? Was it outside No. 6? What was outside No. 6? Although Sion couldn't say he was happy with his life now, it was terrifying to think that tomorrow he would be stepping out of his home into the unknown.
"It'll be alright though," Sion thought. "At least I know I will survive wherever I go." But then his mind wandered to his future self's strange appearance and he shivered. He didn't want to change. Whatever happened to him didn't seem natural.
Sion sighed and got up. He wasn't going to be able to sleep tonight after all. He headed quietly down the stairs and into the living space. Sitting on one of the couches facing the window was his future self. He looked up as Sion came in.
"Can't sleep?" he asked as Sion sat down.
"I have too much on my mind," Sion muttered, glancing at his future self. Future Sion smiled kindly.
"So, what are you planning on do?" he asked. Sion was quiet for a moment, staring out the window.
"Mom and Safu don't want me to go to work tomorrow," he admitted. "Safu should be home packing for her trip but instead she's staying here to try to convince me to stay."
"Are you going to stay then?" he asked.
"I don't know. I'm scared, but excited. I feel like my life is going to begin, yet it's going to end. I don't want to lose everything, but I want to see Nezumi again." Sion turned to his future self. "If I leave tomorrow, everything's going to change."
"Yes," Future Sion said calmly.
"Even how I look?" he asked
"Yes."
"How does that happen?"
"You'll find out if you leave tomorrow."
"Did it hurt?"
Future Sion didn't answer. He turned and looked at the window, at his reflection. Slowly, he touched the red mark on his cheek. "Very much," He soon whispered.
"Would you go through it again if you were me?"
"Yes."
Sion sighed and sunk into his chair. He wished he didn't get this choice. He wished he could just go to work tomorrow not knowing something would happen. He wished he didn't have to choose between his life here and the unknown, between his mother and Safu, and Nezumi.
"I think I might still go…" he whispered. "It's been four years. I want to see him again."
"Of course, you do." His future self said closing his eyes. "It's not going to be easy if you do leave but…nothing can change if you stay." Sion sighed and slumped down farther in his chair.
"What are you planning on doing?" he asked his future self.
"Me?" Future Sion asked, surprised, opening his eyes. "I haven't quite figured that out yet…" He looked out the window again. "I can't stay in No. 6, but it will be hard for me to leave. I need to do a few things before I go back to my time… I don't even know how to get back to my time. I don't know how I got here or who was singing. I need to figure that out, but I can't do that hiding in here…. I probably need to leave the city…." he trailed off.
"What's outside No. 6?" Sion asked curiously.
"Reality," his future self said. Sion waited for him to continue, but he didn't. They sat in silence for a little while.
"There are so many things I want to know," Sion said. Future Sion laughed.
"Nezumi always said I asked to many questions." He chuckled then smiled softly. "I miss him. I hope he's not too worried about me." Sion watched his future self. He seemed to be lost in thought again. He wondered what his relationship with Nezumi was in the future. He wanted to know so badly yet….yet his future self didn't seem like he wanted to talk anymore. Sion suppressed a yawn and stood up. He felt tired all the sudden and wanted to sleep, just for a few more hours.
.
(Future)
.
Nezumi looked down at the bag of groceries sitting innocently next to a half-collapsed brick wall. The food was all here but Sion was nowhere in sight. Something was wrong. Nezumi narrowed his eyes and glanced around. He was alone and didn't detect any life…. Perhaps he should look at the ground around here if Sion….
"He's fine," Nezumi growled. "He's no longer a naïve kid from No. 6. He can get away from danger." In the silence he heard an owl hoot and the far away sound of someone singing. Probably from a nearby house. Nezumi started walking looking around for Sion. Somewhere in his mind he thought it might be a good idea to grab the food, but he didn't. Instead, he headed out to find Sion.
It was very late now, Nezumi could feel it. The night was still and there wasn't any movement at all. Everything was asleep and still. It was just him and whoever was singing. The singing had been getting louder and louder. Nezumi stopped suddenly. What was he doing out here? If he had come out here to look for Sion why did he go straight towards the singing without looking around first? The song was still too far to hear but Nezumi knew he recognized the song. It filled his mind and seemed to be calling him.
"Sion's there" he dimly realized as his feet moved forward without his command and the world swarmed around him.
.
(Past)
.
Safu woke up to the sound of beeping. Groggily she got up and clicked a button on her bracelet. A screen pop up showing the face of her grandmother.
"Grandma," Safu said yawning, "Morning."
"Good morning to you to." Safu's grandmother said, frowning slightly, "I know you wanted to say your goodbyes to Sion, but you really need to be home packing."
"I know." Safu said, "I'll be back soon. I just want to check on Sion."
"Alright then," Her grandmother said as her face softened. "I'll see you when you come back."
"Bye." With that the screen turned off and Safu stretched. As she got up she ran through the events that happened yesterday. It was hard for her to believe that white haired man was really Sion's future self. If it wasn't for the fact that he could make the exact same face expressions as Sion she would of flat out denied it.
"This is crazy," She muttered as she pulled on her shirt. "It just doesn't make sense." She headed to the door and walked into Sion's family's living room. There she found Karan sitting on the couch, looking frightened. Her pale face resting on her shaking hands. Next to her sat Sion's future self looking lost.
"What's going on?" Safu asked worriedly.
"He's gone." Karen said. "He just left."
"He'll be fine." Sion's future self said. "You know he will…" he trailed off, looking uncomfortable. It was clear he had no idea how to comfort his grieving mother. Safu clenched her hands. This was not what she wanted. He couldn't just leave. She had so many things she wanted to talk to him about. She wanted to tell him yesterday that she liked him, loved him. She knew it was just her hormones speaking but he was special to her. With everything that happened she didn't find time but today she wanted to tell him but….
He had chosen Nezumi over her. Was this person really that special? Was Sion really that unhappy here?
"Who is Nezumi?" she finally asked. Future Sion didn't answer. She rounded on him. "Tell me!" she pleaded, "Who is Nezumi? Why is this person so important to him? To you? Why didn't you try to stop your past self?" Sion's future self didn't answer. He just looked out the window.
"Things will be really tough for him from now on." He finally said. "It's not going to get easy for many years."
"Then why didn't you stop him!?" Safu asked again. Future Sion turned and looked at her.
"Because, I don't regret it." He said, "Sion won't ether. He'll find things out, about the world, about himself, about Nezumi. Some things wonderful, something things terrible, and something things…" his eyes clouded over for a moment. "He'll wish he could forget. But when it's all said and done he'll be happy." Safu glared at him. His vagueness on the matter wasn't helping. It seemed to make it worse. What exactly was going to happen? Safu marched towards the door.
"I'm going to get him," she said. Karan and future Sion looked up, shocked.
"What?" Future Sion said surprised.
"I'm going to go find Sion," she repeated.
"You can't do that!" Future Sion shouted, looking worried. "You need to go to No. 5 and stay there!"
"Sion's in trouble!" Safu said. "He needs help!"
"He'll be fine!" Future Sion said standing up. "Nezumi will get him."
"I don't know who Nezumi is!" Safu said angrily. "How can I trust him with Sion?" She stormed towards the door. Future Sion rushed forward and grabbed her arm.
"Please." He said desperately. "Don't go after him. Stay in No. 5 until after the Holy Day. Don't return no matter what…." He paused, his eyes staring at Safu.
"I will find a way to end this without you being there on the Holy Day!" he promised, "So please stay safe until then!" Safu was at a lost.
"This isn't about me," she said confused. "This is about Sion. He's in trouble."
"Sion will be fine." Future Sion interrupted. It was quite in the room for a few minutes.
"I should open shop," Karan said quietly standing up. "If what you say is true…If my son is really safe… How will I know?"
"You'll get a message soon." Future Sion promised.
"Alright." Karen said reluctantly.
"Then I'm staying here as well," Safu said, crossing her arms. "Until I know Sion is alright."
.
Future Sion was impressed how well his mother was able to act like nothing was happening. He watched her talk to customers as they came to buy bread. No one would know that she knew her son was in danger.
He felt horrible about the situation. He knew that he had made it worse. He had forced Sion to make a choice and worried his mom and Safu. He knew it, but he didn't know what to do about it. He always hated when he was left in the dark. Hated when Nezumi did things behind his back without explaining anything. But by telling them they asked a lot of question. Some he didn't want to answer because it would scare then but others he didn't want to answer because Sion needed to figure it out by himself…
"Maybe that's how Nezumi felt." Sion thought. "One question lead to another and a lot of questions are unanswerable. Then need to be experienced to fully understand."
That didn't change how bad he felt for his mother and Safu. He knew that Sion would be alright…he remembered being in the same situation himself, but he couldn't tell them how hard it would be. He couldn't tell them that he wanted to die when that bee was in his neck or that how on the first day of wandering the streets he had nearly been killed. He also couldn't tell them that he had broken into the Correction Facility. No, he still couldn't talk about it with his mom even in his time. He still woke up in the night drenched in sweat and would think, for a moment, the he was back in the Correction Facility. He knew he wasn't the only one affected though, Nezumi would sometimes, in the middle of the night, shake him awake calling his name. He would only stop after he confirmed that Sion was indeed alive.
Sion broke out of his thoughts and glanced at the clock. It was almost time. He pulled his hood over his head and headed to the door.
"Where are you going?" His mother asked him, alarmed.
"Outside for a moment." He muttered. "I'm not going far." He walked out the front door and stood on the side of the street watching the cars going by. A minute ticked away, then another. Finally, he saw what he was looking for. A government official's car rolled past him. He got a glimpse of his past self struggling. Their eyes made contact for a moment and he nodded at his past self. Hopefully he got the message that this was meant to happen…that he would be meeting Nezumi soon. Sion went inside and walked to the living room where Safu was waiting. His mother joined him a few minutes later with sandwiches.
"Thanks!" Future Sion said happily taking one and biting into it. "This is good." He complimented her, chewing happily. His mother didn't smile.
"What was that about?" She asked worriedly.
"Sion past by a few minutes ago in a government official's car." Future Sion said taking another sandwich. "He'll be meeting with Nezumi soon."
"Government officials?" Safu asked worriedly. "What did he do?!"
"A lot of things at this point," Future Sion said, chewing thoughtfully. "Questioning the government, witnessing something he shouldn't have. If you add that he harbors a criminal willingly four years ago then it's not that surprising in hind sight that they want him to disappear." He stopped talking at the terrified looks on their faces.
"Ahh but it's going to be alright!" He said quickly waving his arms around wildly in front of him. "He's me after all. Nezumi will save him. He will just have to lay low for a while in the West Block."
"West Block?" Karen said looking even more frightened. "Is that safe?"'
"Nezumi will keep him safe." He said reassuringly. "You have to trust me on this one." She still looked unconvinced. Before she could say anything, there was a knock on the door. All three of them turned around to look at it. Karan looked around quickly and spotted a supplies closet.
"Safu, Sion, in there quickly." She said pointing at the closet. They hurried in and Karen closed the door. The heard her footsteps walk across the room towards the front door. In the closet they could hear the humming of voices. Although Future Sion couldn't make out exactly what was being said he caught a few words like "criminal" and "Your Son". He guessed that they were telling his mom that Sion was arrested.
After a little while Sion heard Karan walk to the door with the strangers. He heard the door shut and Karan sigh.
"You can come out now," she whispered. Sion opened the door and was startled to see how pale his mother looked.
"It's going to be ok." He said again as she sunk to the floor and hid her face in her hands. Future Sion looked around helpless hoping to see the rat that would bring the message of Sion's survival. He wished he could prove to her that it would be alright. He wishes he could do more. It was like the wall had fallen all over again. Back then his mother was also worried about him. She didn't want him to go out. She wanted him back, safe and sound. There was nothing he could do then and there was nothing he could do now. Suddenly from the storage room Sion heard a small squeak.
"Finally!" He sighed, rushing over to the storage room door and pulling it open. There was the small rat that he was waiting for. Karan and Safu watched as he picked up the small capsule that was in the rat's mouth and handed it to Karan. She opened it up and read the message inside.
Sion is Safe
.
Please review!
