When Nezumi stepped outside headquarters, the draft of cold air made him shiver. The color in the sky was beginning to wane and clouds were rolling in from the west. It looked like it would rain later that evening. Nezumi went down the small set of stairs and scanned the shoddy structures on either side of the street. Smoke was seeping out from the tops of some of the roofs and there was the faint tang of fire in the air.

Shion came up beside him and followed his line of sight to the black billows over the rooftops. "Are you okay?"

The question caught him off-guard and he turned to look at the other boy. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"The Hunt," he said quietly.

A burst of cold air almost made him shudder again, but he covered it up with a droll smile. "I've already said it once. Nothing you can say about No. 6 would surprise me. You look like you're handling it worse than I am."

"Believe it or not, the people you saw today are among the most well adjusted. We didn't lose nearly as much as some have."

"I imagine people must have been jumping to join the cause back then."

Shion checked Nezumi's face for sarcasm, but he couldn't read anything he saw on it. "They were. Yoming's charismatic, and he shared their pain. He lost his wife and son in the Hunt a few years back."

"Is that when he went off the deep end?"

"Yoming was always ambitious. The loss of his family just made him more… focused."

"That's one way to put it."

Shion seemed to feel he had shared enough, because he changed the subject and started walking. "By the way, thanks for your help with the maps."

"I didn't actually do anything."

"You brought up some interesting points, though. What made you come up with that theory, if you don't mind me asking?"

Nezumi eyed him speculatively. "Something the officer that arrested me said." Before Shion could inquire further on the matter, he said, "Hopefully it pleases your boss enough that he'll give up putting me on house arrest. In the meantime, I suppose I have no choice but to go back to into my cage and behave until someone has use for me again."

"You don't have to say it like that…"

"Why? I'm just telling it like it is. If hearing it makes you uncomfortable, maybe you shouldn't be in the hostage business."

Shion bit his lip as he stared at Nezumi. "…Maybe."

Nezumi raised his eyebrows. What's this? Is he actually having second thoughts? Shion shifted under his scrutinizing gaze and opened his mouth to say something more, but a voice called out to him before he could.

They turned to see Safu standing at the corner of the building.

"Safu?" Shion blinked. "I thought you left."

"Come over here. I want to talk to you. And Nezumi."

She motioned for them to follow her. Nezumi cocked an eyebrow, but trailed behind Shion when he obeyed without any further questions. Once they were shielded behind the building, she whirled around and placed her hands on her hips.

"What is it you know that you don't want to tell everyone?"

"Safu," Shion said tiredly. "It's not for me to say."

She looked at Nezumi and demanded the same question of him. "I waited until we were in private, and you owe me for getting you out here in the first place. The least you can do is tell me what's going on."

Nezumi pinched the bridge of his nose. It didn't look like she'd allow them to leave until she got an answer.

"I used to work with codes and machines in No. 6," he droned. "If I had the resources and time, I could create the virus you'd need to get into the Correctional Facility. I already did it once." He was feeling too jaded to take pleasure in the surprised looks the two teens gave him. "But before you get any ideas, you should know that the drives I put it on are back in No. 6, and the code took me three years to write."

Although, it only took so long because I had to do it in secret. But I don't need to mention that.

He had originally planned to use the drives to hack into the computer in the Moondrop and escape, but the whole thing had blown up in his face. It was a little depressing now that he thought about it. All that work for nothing.

Years ago the research institution that used to be located in the Moondrop migrated to the Correctional Facility, with the excuse that they needed a separate space in which to carry out their research. A computer identical to the one in the Moondrop, only smaller, was constructed for their use. As this became the mother system, those familiar with the city's technology referred to it as Mother, and its predecessor as Grandma.

Since the two computers were so similar, he could probably use the drives on Mother in the Correctional Facility. If he wanted to, that is.

"Why couldn't you say that in front of everyone else?"

"I like being mysterious. That, and it's none of your business."

For once Safu didn't snap back at him. She seemed to be contemplating something. "The drives are in No. 6? There's no way to get them at all?"

She looked him directly in the eye and he could tell she was expecting to catch him lying. Unfortunately for her, though, he had no need to lie in this case. He smiled blithely.

"Of course there is. All you have to do is walk into No. 6 and ask to search my house. Shouldn't be too hard."

That got the usual reaction from her. "I got it. There's no reason to be sarcastic." She huffed. "You guys should go back. Thanks for the help, even though it wasn't much."

Oh? She actually bothered thanking me semi-seriously.

"What?" she said, taking in his amused expression. "You managed to not be a complete jerk today and at least tried to help. That deserves some acknowledgement, even though your personality still sucks." Nezumi smirked. "Anyway, I'm heading out. You didn't remember anything else about that Elyurias thing by any chance, did you?"

"No."

Safu clucked her tongue. "Figures."

She said goodbye to Shion and disappeared between the buildings. They began walking back to the bunker, though neither was in a particular hurry. Barely a minute passed before Shion struck up a conversation.

"I didn't know you made something like that. Were you planning to escape No. 6?"

Nezumi shoved his hands in his pockets. He was tired of talking today. "Why would I do that? No. 6 was such a wonderful place to live and I had a lot of good friends there."

Shion was silent and Nezumi blew out a breath. The air fogged lightly in front of him. Winter would be upon them soon.

"Do you want to go for a walk through town?"

"Huh?" Nezumi stopped and faced Shion.

Shion shrugged like he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. "Well, I thought since we're already out you might like to explore a little. But if you'd rather not, we can just go back to the room."

Nezumi's mouth curved into a smile. "Won't your boss be pissed?"

Shion thought about it, frowning slightly. "Yeah," he said, but then continued in a small, almost secretive voice, "If he found out."

Nezumi's eyebrows shot up. He might have more backbone than I gave him credit for. But just in case, Nezumi waited before answering. Shion did not sneer sarcastically or take back his words; he only seemed to be growing more self-conscious the longer the quiet stretched between them.

Shion fidgeted and went to rub his neck. "If you don't want to, that's fine. I just thought—"

"Sounds like fun. We can get me a jacket while we're out." To illustrate his point, he pulled the superfibre tighter around his shoulders.

"Oh. Yeah, we can do that." Shion knit his brow and Nezumi wondered whether he only just realized how sparingly he was dressed. "We'll get that first, while the shops are still open."

He led the way down the narrow side street from earlier. There were still people loitering, but there were less of them. They let out of the alley and Shion turned left onto a wide dirt road. The biggest contrast between the back streets and the main road was that, while the back streets were dingy and seedy, the main road was seedy and cluttered. It was just as dirty and the air still smelt like a combination of garbage, sweat, and rotting meat, but now the sights and smells were more concentrated. The buildings that lined the sides were a hodgepodge of shapes and textures, like whoever built them just threw the pieces one on top of the other and glued them together as they fell. Electrical lines crisscrossed overhead in an intricate web, and Nezumi wondered whether they might be the only things holding the towering buildings upright.

There were people milling about in the middle of the road, but even though it wasn't packed, Nezumi felt a slight discomfort at the sight of so many people moving with so little organization. In No. 6, street traffic was orderly, with strict rules on where, when, and which way to walk. No one ever bumped into each other and accidents were almost nonexistent. But the West Block had no such order and the streets were a mess of jostling, cursing, and leering. It would eat him alive if he wasn't careful.

"Stick close," said Shion as he pushed his way through the throng.

Nezumi did his best to keep up, hesitant at first to force himself past people, but after being elbowed roughly, and thoroughly cursed out by a lean teenaged girl, he decided to throw manners to the wind. Once he did so, he found getting through the crowd was much easier. He felt a light tug on his sleeve and turned to see Shion motioning to a tent. It appeared to be a used clothes shop, judging by the garments lining the walls and hanging from the ceiling.

"I know the lady who owns the place," Shion confided in a low tone. "The clothes are a little overpriced, but she has the best we're going to find."

A large woman suddenly appeared out of the shadows at the back of the tent. Her eyes found Shion first and she pasted a cloying smile on her face. When they roved to Nezumi, the smile widened even further. The appraising look she was giving him made him feel dirty.

"Well, if it isn't Shion. Nice to see you again. Ah was beginning to worry you'd found another supplier, Ah haven't seen you in so long."

"That would never happen. Everyone knows you have the best merchandise in West Block," Shion said, with an equally saccharine smile plastered onto his face. "I was busy at work. I'm sure a businesswoman like youself can understand."

It appeared excessive flattery was the order of the day in these types of transactions.

"Mah, you're sweet talkin' me, Ah just know it." Her looks turned thoughtful. "Ah don't suppose you know what's goin' on up the street?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, there's been an awful racket since earlier. Word is Mister Yoming and those Disposers are at it again."

Shion pressed his lips together. "It's possible… There have been a few incidents."

It occurred to Nezumi that such an incident might have been the reason for Yoming's absence earlier. When he glanced at Shion, he could read in his eyes that he was thinking along the same lines.

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," Shion said to the woman.

"Oh, no, 'course not. 'Long as it don't affect my business." She was all smiles again. "You must be looking for something special. Something for this lovely gentleman, Ah suppose? A coat or a sweater? It is awfully cold outside."

"A coat," Nezumi said tersely.

He suppressed a look of disgust when she raked her eyes down his body again. Instead, he smiled pleasantly at her, and she hummed in approval before flitting to the back of the room to pull out a stack of clothes.

"Choose whatever you like, sir. They're all the very best qualitay goods."

Nezumi sent Shion a weary look when her back was turned and the other boy grinned. He sorted through the pile, but none of them looked like they were of the "best qualitay." Half of them had stains or tears in the seams, and the other half looked like girls clothing or stuff Shion might wear, but he wouldn't be caught dead in. He shook his head at Shion and the other boy nodded.

Shion made a show of inspecting the goods and then looking disappointed. "I have to say, I'm a little insulted. I've been here before—I know you have better goods than this. Or do you really want me to take my business elsewhere?"

"Oh mah, no, sir. 'Course not. Ah do apologize," she drawled. She was trying to keep her tone professional, but he could see her smile tighten a little at the edges. "Let me… Oh, yes, Ah almost forgot! Ah've got something really fine in the back that Ah've been saving. Ah'll go and get it right away. You boys don't go anywhere now."

She disappeared behind a dirty curtain and came out with a jacket. "Here it is. Fine, isn't it?"

Nezumi stepped forward and took the article from her. It was a leather biker's jacket, and although worn, it wasn't in bad condition. He unzipped it and pulled it on. It fit snugly to his frame, and seemed warm and durable enough.

"Oh mah! Don't you look just the handsomest!" the shop owner enthused.

"Mm. Not too bad." He zipped it up. "How much?"

"Ah, well, for you Ah'll give a special deal of only three silver coins. A very reasonable price for a one of a kind jacket."

Shion raised his eyebrows. "Three silver coins? Did you steal it from someone in No. 6?"

"Why, Ah'd never." The woman looked positively aghast. "It's only that it's a jacket of the very best qualitay."

"I'll give you two silver."

The woman puffed up like a disgruntled bird. "It is a very special item. Ah just cannot allow less than three silver."

Haggling was not something one did in No. 6, but the concept was easy enough to pick up on. It was all about countering and manipulation, and since his life in the city had revolved around nothing but those tactics, Nezumi figured it couldn't hurt to try his hand at it.

Nezumi gave a sigh, loud and heavy enough to attract attention, and unzipped the jacket. "Shion, it's fine. If she won't sell it for cheaper, it doesn't have to be this one." He shrugged it off and handed it back to the woman with barely a glance. "Come on. I think I saw another clothing store a little way up the street."

Shion looked like he was about to argue, but Nezumi gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder. He was hoping it'd look encouraging, when really he was trying to signal Shion to play along. The boy was startled by the familiar gesture, but fortunately seemed to suspect enough not to be obvious about it.

"Yeah. It's probably best to shop around," he agreed after a split second. "No point in spending that much without checking other stores first."

"Exactly." He offered the plump shop owner a winsome smile. "Thanks anyway, Miss. I'm sure you'll find someone rich enough to buy that jacket in no time."

They turned to leave. There were only two possible outcomes: 1) they would be called back and she would take the money or haggle for another deal, or 2) she would be stubborn and let them go, in which case they probably would go to another store. Either way, he wasn't losing anything. He liked the jacket, but it was fine if he didn't get it so long as he got something.

"Now wait just a minute," the woman called. He smirked inwardly, and glanced over his shoulder. "What if Ah threw in another item? A hat or gloves for the winter. It'd still be three silver coins, but you'd get one extra item. Very generous—you won't be able to find a better deal than that, Ah promise you."

Shion nodded when Nezumi checked for confirmation, but instead of agreeing immediately he hummed thoughtfully and pretended to think about it.

"I suppose I can check if you have anything worth the extra silver." He scanned the piles of gloves, hats, and socks and pulled out a pair of thin leather gloves. "These'll do."

The woman's face was sour, but she didn't dispute him, even though it was clear that she wanted to. She probably regretted offering the deal the minute the words left her mouth. Her loss, he thought smugly.

"Pleasure doing business with you." He fixed her with a final grin after the money and the articles were exchanged. She didn't bother responding and stomped sulkily back into the shadows of her clothes piles.

Once they stepped out of the tent, Nezumi found himself growing more satisfied with his recent purchase. The sun was beginning to set, and the temperature had dropped even lower. He zipped the jacket all the way up underneath the superfibre cloth and pulled his gloves on.

"Should've went for the socks."

"Huh? Why?"

"You'll go through them a lot quicker, especially in the winter. And they're a lot more useful than gloves. You can even wear socks as gloves if you needed to."

"I'm not wearing socks on my hands."

Shion shrugged. "Suit yourself. But anyway, nice job back there. You pick things up pretty quickly. I'm impressed."

"Don't be. I told you before; I'm not inept. I have many useful skills, maybe even more than you."

"You think?" Shion said with a note of amusement. "I wonder. I've had to work my whole life for everything I have, but you've always had everything given to you. I'm pretty sure I win when it comes to life experience."

"Just because I lived in No. 6 doesn't mean I lack life experience. Escaping detection in that city requires finesse, especially when I knew I was being watched 24/7, and I managed to do it for my entire life. My experiences should probably count more, because the odds were always against me."

"I'm not going to bother pointing out the irony in that sentence. So, what skills do you have that I don't?"

"I'm a better liar, for one. I don't know how you can claim to be a veteran of the West Block and still suck as much as you do."

Shion frowned. "I'm not a bad liar."

"Then you must be a better actor than I am."

"Hey! It's Shion!"

At first, Nezumi didn't know where the shout came from, but then a young girl and boy pushed their way out of the crowd and barreled toward them. The girl looked older than the boy by a few years, and they had the same brown eyes and slightly wavy hair. Shion seemed surprised by their exuberance, but receptive nonetheless.

"Hey, Saki. Hey, Eiji. You're looking better. Is the cold gone?"

The little boy grinned, revealing a few gaps where he was missing teeth. "Yup!"

"That's great."

The three grinned at each other like old friends.

"Do you know everyone in the West Block?" Nezumi asked.

"Of course not."

The children looked at him curiously, and the boy, Eiji, even took measures to step behind his sister. The girl for her part squinted up at him with a serious, although not unkind, expression.

"Who are you?"

"Nezumi."

"Nezumi?"

The girl blinked and then turned to look at her brother to see if he found the name as strange as she did. He giggled and came out from behind her. Apparently Nezumi was less frightening now that the child knew his name and thought it was funny.

"Does Shion take care of you, too?"

"Uh…" He raised an eyebrow at the teen in question.

"Nezumi's not a patient, he's my friend. Although… I guess I am taking care of him. For now." He sent Nezumi an amused smile, in response to which Nezumi clicked his tongue.

The little girl looked him over with pursed lips. "He doesn't look like your friend. He looks mean."

Shion chided the girl for being rude, but he was chuckling while doing it, so it lost all its authority. Nezumi scowled. He never liked children much and it was precisely for this reason.

"It's late," he said, refusing to rise to a child's taunt. "Won't your parents be worried?"

"Don't got any," Eiji replied.

Neither the boy nor the girl looked saddened or offended by this fact, so Nezumi didn't bother apologizing, but he felt a little awkward for bringing it up.

"Nezumi's right, though, guys. You shouldn't stay out much longer. It's getting cold, so make sure you keep together tonight, okay?" The children nodded.

"'Kay. Bye, Shion! Bye, Nezumi!" The little girl took her brother's hand and led him away while he waved.

"You take care of sick orphans?"

"I take care of a lot of people," said Shion, starting to move through the crowd again. "That's my job."

The throng was beginning to thin out as people ducked into food tents or made their way home. The noise of the street had faded to a low buzz, punctuated by seductive coos from dark alleyways and the occasional bout of drunken laughter.

"So you're the Resistance's medical man? That explains why you're so fixated on my physical condition. You're slightly less of a creep now." Shion looked offended, but Nezumi shrugged and continued, "Were those kids in the Resistance, too?"

The girl couldn't have been more than ten or eleven years old, but from what he'd seen and experienced of the West Block so far, he wouldn't be surprised if they let children into the Resistance. It seemed no one was too young for the cause.

"They aren't. Children aren't allowed in the Resistance. I just know them."

"You know, I thought it was just a coincidence, but after today I'm beginning to wonder. Why is everyone in your group so young?"

"People don't exactly live long here," Shion answered as a matter of fact.

That was enough to stunt the conversation. As they meandered down the street, Nezumi studied the people along the side of the road. A woman, who was either drunk or otherwise impaired, staggered to the side of a building and doubled over. He averted his gaze before he witnessed anything unpleasant. A cloud of smoke billowed out of a tent and a group of teens coughed and growled in annoyance as they passed. The men eating inside snapped an angry retort at them. So far it seemed that downtown West Block was just as No. 6 envisioned it: dirty, loud, and coarse.

The only thing missing is the rampant crime.

BANG!

He and Shion froze on the spot.

"Was that…?"

"Maybe we should—"

BANG!

"Definitely run," Shion blurted. "Come on."

He spun around and took off running the way they came. Nezumi followed suit, pushing past anyone who got in his path. He felt he was running a lot lately, but that was fine by him; he'd rather flee than stick around and get shot. Besides, it became a little exhilarating once you got over the possibility of your death should you fail to escape.

He looked ahead of him and realized Shion wasn't anywhere to be found, which wouldn't be cause for concern if he knew how to get back to the bunker from this part of town. But he didn't, so he slowed and scanned the crowd.

"Nezumi!" He turned and saw Shion jogging behind him. "You're faster than me," he said with a degree of surprise after he'd caught up.

Nezumi peered back down the street, but there didn't appear to be any dangerous goings-on. "It would seem so."

"Huh…" Shion's brow furrowed. "I kind of feel like I lost somehow."

Nezumi snorted. "Don't be so petty. Besides, it's only natural I should be faster. I am taller than you."

"What?" Shion leered at the top of his head. "No way. We're the same height."

"Yeah, if you stand on your toes maybe." Nezumi began walking and the other boy hurried to follow alongside him. "Hey, we can add that to the list."

"What list?"

"Of skills I have that you don't."

"Being tall isn't a skill," came the bitter reply.

"Have it your way, then," he conceded, already having lost interest in the conversation. "Hurry up and take the lead. I didn't come this far just to get shot standing in the middle of the street because you can't get over your inferiority complex."

Shion grumbled a predictable line about having no such complex, but walked ahead nonetheless. Nezumi focused on memorizing their route for future use, and felt satisfied with his effort when they reached a part of the neighborhood that was familiar to him.

"Nezumi," Shion said without turning.

Nezumi felt a sense of foreboding at the address. Whatever Shion meant to say, he instinctively knew he wasn't going to like it.

"About your theory." Now he did turn, and the expression on his face was grave. "Was No. 6 experimenting on you?"

The question left Nezumi cold. All the evidence suggested that the city had been; there was no doubt about that. The only question was what benefit or disadvantage was there in admitting this to Shion?

"Of course," Nezumi said with a wry smile. "The whole city is one big social experiment, and I was a Petri-dish elite. Conditioning by the government comes with the territory."

Shion furrowed his brow. "You're deflecting. There is something, isn't there? What did they—?" All traces of humor evaporated from Nezumi's face, and Shion flinched at the steely glint that came into his eyes. "I—I'm sorry," he swallowed. "It's none of my business."

"You should do something about that interrogation habit of yours. I may be stuck with you for the time being, but I'm not going to put up with you sticking your nose into my personal life. Let's get something straight: we're not friends, and I don't trust you. We're strangers, and the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be for the both of us."

He brushed past Shion and strode a few paces forward. "Oh, and Shion?" he added, twisting back to face him. "Why don't you take another walk?"