WHAT!? Anime-chan, your alive? Haha, yes, I AM BACK! And let me just say somehing - I"M SORRY! So... I know that I haven't updated in a long time... And I'm really sorry! I'm actually writing this on the way home from my trip to Europe over Easter holidays. We went on a band trip to Germany, Austria, and Hungary. It was amazing! Anyway, I doubt that you want to hear about my holidays, so I'll get to writing!
Disclaimer: I definetly do not own No. 6. If I did, I probably would have made it longer, with a definite conclusion.
Chapter 7: Information
"What the HELL?! How did they even hold an election?" Sion demanded angrily as he paced around their room.
"I don't know" Nezumi mumbled back.
"The city is in shambles, and there isn't any real democracy anymore! So how the hell is he convincing everyone that he was actually voted in as mayor?!"
"I don't know"
"And why would he want to be mayor? Where does that get him? It's not like-"
"Sion, shut up! I'm trying to think!" Nezumi shouted. He had been listening to Sion rant about the impossibility of it all, and he was getting tired of hearing it all. He had been thinking about it himself, and it also seemed very unusual that Zala would run for mayor. He turned to Sion, who had quieted down, and seemed to be more calm. After they had seen the poster in the market place, they had high-tailed it out of there, and ran back to the ware house. That had been nearly two hours ago, and Nezumi was still baffled as to why Zala would run for mayor. Nezumi sighed, and opened his mouth to tell Sion his thoughts on the situation.
"Here's what I think. First of all, when was this election held? There was no mention of it after I arrived here, and -"
Sion cut Nezumi off. "And there was no mention of it before you arrived. I would have known, being all over town and listening to the best sources." Nezumi raised his eyebrows at this, not knowing Sion's sources. He pushed back the growing sense of curiosity, and returned to his original train of thought.
"Yeah, as I was saying, there was no mention of this at all. So this either means the only the people in the main part of the city knew about this, or the whole election was staged, and kept a close secret so word wouldn't get out. Because an election could mean the possibility of losing, it was most likely one of these options. Zala wouldn't run unless the chance of success was very high. Also, if it was a real election, then why would people vote for him? They mustn't have known who he really was. He must have hidden his true identity, and tricked the people into voting for him. This would probably have been one of the only ways to win. The first thing we need to do is find out how he won the election. If it wasn't real, then if we expose that, and damage Zala's reputation." Nezumi took a deep breathe and waited for Sion's reaction.
Sion remained silent for a moment, and then he smiled at Nezumi. "I think I have just the person to help us."
Sion and Nezumi walked silently down the crumbling alley that was all too familiar to Nezumi. He ha walked down it nearly every third day of the week before the wall fell. Together, they slipped into the old opera house, where Nezumi had performed as Eve, and he been renowned for his amazing singing voice. Sion pushed open the old door, and they both remained silent as the door swung open. They moved deeper into the old building, and soon Nezumi began to hear voices. Sion opened another door, the one that had once lead backstage and the voices became much louder. They entered the room, and Nezumi stared in carefully concealed amazement at what was before him.
The room was filled with people anywhere between the ages of eight and sixty-five. The younger children were running around, occasionally stopping to whisper something into the ears of the people who sat at tables, and then scurrying off to sit on a bench. They were approached by people between the ages of fifteen and early twenties, who gave them scraps of paper, fabric, and even small bits of wood. The receivers of these messages left in a hurry, and every time one left or returned, a bell rung.
At the tables, people in their late twenties to their sixties, sat with people around them, and a cup of something or other within reach of their hands. They seemed to be telling the people gathered around them about important pieces of information, and gave them scraps of paper with scrawling writing on it. Nezumi watched with confusion as all of these different exchanges occurred, and only when Sion tapped him on his shoulder did he divert his attention back to Sion. "Welcome to the information bureau. This is my source."
Sion lead Nezumi through the crowd, right up to the main tabled. Men were gathered around a smaller man ...no wait, was that -
"Well Sion, you were back later than I expected. What kept -" Karan's mouth closed, as she caught sight of Nezumi. Nezumi was in a similar state. How could the young girl who Sion had read stories to when she was just a child, and had given his sweater to, become the scion of information brokering in West town?
"Well look what the cat dragged in (she will never know how literal that is, Nezumi thought). What kept you for so long prince charming?" Karan asked with a smirk on her face. Nezumi didn't respond, but just looked at the tough young woman who had the whole business under her thumb.
Sion cut off Nezumi's thought process. "Karan, lay off Nezumi, he just got back to this hell-hole. But never mind that. I need information on a man named Zalachenko, he runs a gang here in West town.
Karan looked back to Sion, and smiled. "Coming right up, onii-chan", and with that signaled one of the young children sitting on the bench. The boy of around eight ran over, and listened to the request. After Karan finished her sentence, he ran out of the room, the bell clanging as he exited the room.
Sion led Nezumi to a corner and began to explain the system of the information bureau. "The youngest kids are known as runners. They run around town, collecting the info requested by clients. This info can be anything and everything. The older teenagers bring the requests from the representatives to the runners. The representatives are the people who are the face of the organization. They are the people you give your requests to, and Karan is at the top of the representatives. Because I knew her before all the chaos, I get special treatment -"
"Oi, Sion! Info's back!" Karan's voice carried across the crowded room. They stood, and pushed their way through the packed room.
Karan laid out papers on the table, and as Sion and Nezumi sat down began to explain. "Zalachenko isn't his real name. He uses it as an alias so that his real name doesn't get sullied. His real name is Michiru Zansu, and he-"
Karan was cut off by Sion gasping quite loudly, and standing up, pulling Nezumi with him. "Sorry, Karan, but we have to go. Thanks for the excellent information as always." And with that, Sion pulled Nezumi out of the centre of information exchange in West town, and back to their old home.
Sion ran into the cellar room, and began digging through the boxes of old letters and pictures, leaving Nezumi in the doorway. "What is it Sion? Did something -"
This time, it was Sion was the one to shush Nezumi. "Be quiet for a minute, I need to focus."
Nezumi followed Sion's direction, but he huffed at being reproached. Normally it was the other way around. They remained silent for a few minutes until -
"Got it!" Sion yelled, pulling an old photograph out of the box. It was the picture with Sion's mother and ... In it. Sion turned it over, and read the names on the back of it. "Here it is! Michiru Hiruga, a co-founder of No. 6!"
Nezumi dropped to the floor alongside of Sion and read the photograph. In his head, Nezumi put the pieces of the puzzle together. "So you think that Zala is the son of this man? It would make sense. In this photo, Hiruga seems older, and the age that he would have had Zala would make sense. So what now? We know only a piece of his past, what are we -"
Nezumi cut himself off, and looked at Sion. They stood together, and started the walk to see Karan, Hiruga's former colleague and Sion's mother.
When they finally reached Sion's old house, the sun had set, and the moon was slowly rising into the night sky. Nezumi looked across at Sion, and looked at his face. The last time he had seen his mother had been before his kidnapping, and before his change. He wondered wether he should hold his hand, but Sion made the decision for him. Grabbing Nezumi's hand, he strode up to the front door, and rapped on it with a steeled expression on his face.
Karan opened the door, and for a moment stared at Sion. Then, in a great swooping motion, gathered her son up in a bear hug, tears running down her face. She backed away, and looked down at their entwined fingers. She then turned to Nezumi and smiled at him. "Thank you for bringing him home."
They entered the house, and went upstairs to their living room. Karan prepared tea, and sat down on the mats. After Sion caught Karan up on what happened to him (excluding the worst of it, of course), they got down to business.
"Okaa-San, hove you ever heard of Zala?" Sion asked his mother, and her face clouded.
"Why? Have you met Zansu?" Karan asked, her face a mask of confusion.
Both Sion and Nezumi were speechless. "Okaa-San, you know Zala?"
Once again, Karan seemed confused. "Yes, his father and I worked on the... the project together. He was somewhere around my age, and was always kind to me. Zala was Zansu's nickname."
"Okaa-san, this Zala man is the one who kidnapped me. He beat me, and is now mayor of No. 6!" Sion said, a look of horror on his face.
After learning this, Karan face turned to horror as well. They explained what had happened concerning Zala, and what they had learned from their visit to the information bureau. "I hadn't heard of an election, but then again I wasnt really interested in the gossip spreading around the city. Well, I guess it makes sense that the people of No. 6 would vote for someone they knew was a son of a co-founder of the 'peaceful' utopia that was No. 6. It would bring a false sense of peace, I guess."
Nezumi ran this information through his head, and voiced his opinion after a few minutes of deliberating. "If having him as a leader gives the people a sense of peace, or stability, or whatever, then all we have to do is shatter their opinion of him."
Sion and Karan looked at Nezumi, and Sion voiced the question they were thinking. "How?"
Nezumi smiled. "We're gonna catch him in the act."
A/N: so, what did you think? Was it worth the wait? I hope it was, I put a lot of thought into this chapter, and into the details (I alos tried to make it a little longer then normal as an apology to you guys, but I think it's around the normal length!). Hope you all have a great Easter / Spring break! Also, I had this chapter written on Thursday, and I had planned to update it when I got home, the next day. But, the WiFi was down since we had just gotten fibre-op, and I couldn't get online! So I'm sorry that it's a little (cough, cough, lot...) late, but I'll try to be a little bit more on time. I LOVE YOU ALL!
Also, just a quick note, in the names Michiru Hiruga and Michiru Zansu, the family is Michiru, and the given names are last. Just a note!
Anime-chan!
