15. The Walk

It was easy bringing Shion to the kids' place, but it sure wasn't easy to get him out of there.

After what seemed like forever, we finally managed to get the heck out of the cramped flat – before of course making promises to those children about returning there to play again some time. I meant, Shion made the promise, and I grunted my non-committal non-approval to it.

It was cold by the time we left and the September night wind was strong enough to knock down a skinny girl – like Shion, for example. I zipped up my jacket and tightened the shawl around my neck.

"Nezumi? Are you cold?"

"No."

I could feel Shion rolling his eyes as he started to unbutton his own jacket. He said, "Here, have mine. I'm not cold."

I snorted, "You need that extra coat weight, Shion, I don't want to have to chase for your body flapped away by the breeze."

Shion seemed to be insulted because he huffedly re-buttoned his coat – I noticed his trembling hands as he did that – and shoved against my side with his shoulder.

"What was that for? Could Your Highness be unhappy about something?"

"Bring me to your house."

"No."

"Why?"

"It does not welcome you."

"I've never even met it."

"Well you'll never."

"But I miss the books."

"What books."

Shion gasped loudly. "You didn't. Nezumi, tell me that you still have all those books!"

I bit the insides of my cheek to keep from smirking and looked straight ahead coolly.

"Nezumi! The Shakespeare, Woolf, Oscar Wilde?!"

"I see Your Highness has learnt several English names. What a remarkable achievement."

Shion looked positively terrified now, eyes wide and hands clutching at the front of his coat. I bit my inner cheeks harder.

I saw Shion's legs kind of wobble and his mouth hanging open without producing any sound, and clicked my tongue. "Yes, they are rotting away and smelling like mould in my underground cave, waiting until your unblemished hands touch them again for the ten thousandth time. Sheesh."

Shion's sudden beam annoyed me more than it had used to. My stomach turned with something a little different from annoyance then.

"Do you not even have those in No. 6 now? I thought the city has lifted its stupid ban on classical literature and arts. Are they still backwards until now?"

"They did. More and more book shops and libraries are popping up. Sometimes I do part-time librarian jobs, they are really fun."

"You mean you get paid for reading books while ignoring anyone who talks to you. Like a true librarian."

Shion's cheeks definitely reddened at that. Indignantly he defended himself, "I- I…!" but he seemed to have found zero defense, so crestfallenly he continued, "… well, yes. I was reprimanded that last time for not being a good assistance to the customers… Hey, don't laugh!"

I ended my snicker with a snort. We have left the quieter part of the town and just reached the outskirts of the privileged area of Chronos. The night lights brightly shone on the pavement and pristinely-kept roadside plants. It was rather quiet but lively, particularly outside the theatre that must have just finished a show.

"That reminds me, Nezumi, which theatre did you go to earlier today when I was at school?" Shion was staring at the theatre, reading the titles on the show posters put up on the exterior walls of the building. He turned to look at me, meeting my gazing eyes.

I shifted my stare. "Nowhere."

Shion sounded legitimately irritated right then, "Are you ever going to tell me anything, Nezumi?"

"Probably."

"Or are you going to ask me anything about my life? Or are you telling me you've been spying on me again all this while."

I turned to him, and apparently he was getting better than before at meeting my sharp glare. "Aren't you a confident brat."

"As are you."

I narrowed my eyes threateningly, which he responded with as much boldness as empty-headedness. I surely made the wrong choice to reappear in front of him two days ago.

"Just…" he quietly took a hold of the sleeve of my jacket, "promise me you will tell me everything. About you. About the past years. I want to … know. … about you."

I slowly let out a sigh. Lifting up my arm, I gave his fluffy white hair a quick ruffle. "Fine."

His face broke into a small, sweet smile, and he joined his hands behind his back contentedly. "Ah! I forgot to let mother know that we didn't have dinner at home!" He hastily flipped out his phone, freaked out when he saw several missed calls from Karan and hurriedly keyed in his home number.

I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jacket, strolling comfortably next to Shion who was currently apologising to his mama about forgetting to call and it was all Nezumi's fault – clearly he needed to work on assigning blame accurately, thank God he wasn't anything close to the legal industry. It was a cold, pleasant evening, and I both feared and was excited about what kinds of days were to come.

I guess I could still convince Shion to ask his mama to heat up some of the dish she cooked for dinner.

His kick to my shin proved otherwise.

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