Shion kept his head bowed as he walked home. Though he had expected Dog to remain back with her pack, the canine followed quietly at his side, nudging him gently in the hand with her snout every now and then, as if to just say she knew that he was upset and wanted for him to feel better.

Dogkeeper's words rang in Shion's ears over and over again like the buzzing of cicadas. He could not help but consider what the woman had stated. What if Nezumi really did not want to be found? What if Shion did perhaps try to search for the man, only to find that once he managed to succeed, Nezumi would simply shut him down? He kicked at the dirt below in a mixture of frustration, anger, and a sort of hollow sadness that was gnawing at him—had been gnawing at him for some time.

By the time Shion reached the city it had grown very dark outside. Though hard to see with the glare of the city lights below, the moon and stars now hung overhead, staring down at him as though thousands of watchful eyes. He wandered beneath the lamps on the road, passing in and out of the dark. He found that his mother had left the light outside of their house on for him and followed it blindly, hardly able to pay attention to where he was for all of the confusing thoughts jumbled up inside his head.

Inside, Shion found his mother on the couch, rocking little Safu in her arms. Hamlet sat on the arm of the couch beside her, but scrambled over to meet Shion as he shut the door after Dog.

"What kept you out so long?" his mother asked him quietly, whispering to avoid waking the dozing baby. "And why are you all wet?"

Shion threw off his damp coat on the hanger and stooped down to pick up Hamlet. He put the little mouse on his shoulder and went to sit down on the couch beside his mother. "Went and helped out a friend today," he said dully.

Karan smiled at him, yet the expression slipped into a frown very quickly. "What's the matter?" she asked.

Shion shook his head rather quickly. "Nothing," he said with a grin. "How has the baby been?" he then asked, changing the subject.

Karan sighed, perhaps bothered by her son's abrasiveness towards discussing things with her, but then smiled down at the baby in her arms. "She's been quite sweet tonight. Hasn't made the least bit of fuss."

Shion smiled. "That's good to hear. I'd hate to leave you alone with her if she was much trouble."

The baby gave a little yawn and turned over in Karan's hands, making soft little sleepy noises. "I wouldn't mind even if she was a little trouble," his mother said, looking down at the infant. "It's rather interesting having a baby in the house once more." She gave a little chuckle. "Baby's aren't much of a fuss at all, compared to grown boys that don't tell me things."

Shion blushed and turned his head away quickly to hide the emotion. He focused his attention instead on little Hamlet, stroking the mouse's head gently while the creature squeaked, looking silently at Dog as they appeared to have some sort of conversation simply through sight.

After some rest, Shion's mother hopped up to make a small dinner for them all. Though Shion felt the need to be withdrawn and quiet at the beginning of the meal, Karan had quickly pulled him back into a more talkative state within a matter of minutes. She told him of several very nice people that had stopped by her bakery earlier that day—and then of one not so pleasant, yet very interesting man that she had been certain was terribly drunk. Shion asked her if many Western District people had stopped by, and was pleased when she nodded a yes.

"Several of them, actually," she said. "They seem a bit overwhelmed, but very nice. Just like any people, I'd say."

Shion smiled. He passed on a few crumbs to Hamlet as he bobbed up and down beside his plate, and dropped down a rather large chunk to Dog while his mother looked away. "What do you think of the arguments against them?" he then asked her out of the blue. He felt his smile slip away at his own question.

Karan tipped her head side to side thoughtfully, furrowing her brow in thought. "People are just confused is all—possibly even scared… They'll come around."

His mother's words seemed logical. Only time would heal new wounds, yet… would scars be left over? It was hard to say. Whatever the case, Shion now felt that he would have plenty of time to while away, watching the city change. Dogkeeper's words still hung lively in his head, shooing away any thoughts of looking for Nezumi. No… he'd wait. He'd wait for that change.

After dinner, Shion checked on little baby Safu before turning in. He noticed that the baby's covers had slipped down and gently pulled them back up, tucking the little girl in. He smiled, nearly feeling his heart melt as he watched the baby grab as the blanket with her stubby little digits and give a tiny yawn. He shrank back, hoping that she wouldn't turn towards him and open her eyes, and was delighted when she remained fast asleep.

Within his own room, Shion headed straight for his bed and flopped down fully dressed. He buried his head in his pillow and sighed, feeling the weight of the day pour over him.

Working with Dogkeeper again had been amazing, but all memories that revolved around the brute woman carried thoughts of a certain long haired boy. Lovely memories, yet painful in that the person within them was now absent. He rolled over, closing his eyes as he thought of that boy. He ran over living in a home filled with all of the books he could ever hope to read, waiting for him to come back every day. He had had no trouble waiting then, but perhaps it was because he knew that, at the end of the day, Nezumi was bound to return. Yet now… there was no set time for this occurrence.

Shion suddenly sat up and wandered over to his dresser. He rustled through the clothes, digging until he found what he was looking for. It was a long piece of dark fabric, tattered and worn from use. The cloth was very thick and warm and—though very faint—still held a wonderfully familiar scent. Nezumi's scarf…

The white haired boy flopped down on his bed once more, this time with his face buried into the scarf rather than his pillow. He felt a little daft for doing so—a little creepy too, actually—but the simple scent calmed him. Closing his eyes, he could easily drift back into that library of a home with Nezumi… Oh, how he felt like a girl drifting into such thoughts.

Shion would have fallen asleep there, content to remain where he lay, were it not for a quiet little squeak. Shion rolled over and lifted his eyes from the old scarf. He instantly saw a little flash of white as Hamlet raced across the carpet in a mad dash of scurrying paws—followed by a very similar blur of brown.

Shion sat up straight and alert at the sight. He quickly threw aside the scarf and stooped down to greet the two mice as they wandered close. To the boy's delight, he was happy to find Cravat in a much better state than he had found the mouse in the time before. He was nowhere near as ruffled this time, and had a bright little spark in his eyes that seemed nearly mischievous and playful. A look all mice ought to hold, Shion thought.

"Have you got a message for me?" Shion instantly asked. After asking, he felt a bit rude for just jumping right into business. Yet… what sort of a conversation was he supposed to carry on with a mouse in the first place? Was he supposed to first ask about his travels, the weather, and what he had seen, waiting for a squeak of a response? Highly logical.

Cravat bobbed his head up and down. "Show me!" Shion said, delighted.

With baited breath, Shion watched quietly as Cravat found a clear stretch of wall and directed his gaze towards the empty space. Hamlet wandered up close beside the brown mouse and gently tapped down on his head as he had done the time before. A second after, the familiar blue light shined from the small rodent's eyes, coming to rest against the wall. There was a slight blip of blank light that wavered, before an image shone brightly against the wallpaper.

This time Nezumi was not within the image. Instead, there was a similar view to the one before, the same rainy weather within a forest, yet this time a large tree stood as the focus, rather than a chunk of stone. Carved into the tree, with the same jagged writing of the message before, were the words:

"Be patient. Soon."

Shion felt rage engulf him very quickly as he read the words. It was infuriatingly cocky, he thought, Nezumi telling him to be patient; such a simple, emotionless reply to Shion's own message. He hadn't even bothered to include an image of himself… So careless.

He felt anger boil up in him—felt it consume him until he was very close to tears out of just frustration alone… but then, it suddenly subsided.

The message did say soon. How long soon was, he couldn't say, yet it was a bright little spark at the end of a very long, very dark tunnel, he thought.

The message that Shion sent back this time was nearly as simple as Nezumi's own. He had Cravat simply take a picture of a single sheet of paper rested against Nezumi's scarf. The paper simply read "Soon." Nothing more, nothing less. He could have written paragraphs upon paragraphs describing how much he wanted Nezumi to just fulfill his promise quickly, yet he felt that the single word alone would do enough justice for his plight. It emphasized, if anything, his desire for Nezumi to carry out his own word.

He watched quietly as Cravat darted away beneath his door, thinking himself foolish as his throat tightened with emotion. He felt completely helpless, and nearly as worn down as the scarf still lying back on his bed. Without much thought, he sank down into his bed once more, coming to rest with the scarf just before his nose. He had a brief thought of shoving the fabric away, perhaps even tossing it clear across the room, but found himself instead hugging it very tightly.

And outside he heard the faint pitter patter of rain.