Note: Due to Inukashi's confirmed ambiguous gender, pronouns will be altered in accordance.

'She' or 'he' will be replaced with s(he) or 'they'.

As he awoke, he lacked the certain warm feeling that'd accumulated in the covers overnight. Awakening to that realization, it seemed that Shion was no longer in his bed.

With widened eyes, he scrambled out of bed and slipped his shoes on, dressing himself quickly. "Shion-?" he called, and cursed when he received no reply. He should have known better than to allow a ballistic, air-headed maniac in his home for the night. Who knew what he was up to, now.

"Shion." he called again, scouting the short maze of shelves, and then the bathroom. "This isn't funny."

Rather, his death would probably be very funny to the other. But before he could gather the image of the other attacking him with a knife, all the while giggling like a giddy school-girl, he heard a faint knock at the door. Knife in his pocket, he squeezed the shaft defensively and approached.

If it was Shion, he doubted the other was unarmed. He waited patiently, as if to gauge whether or not the other would become more persistent with the knocks or simply leave it be and depart.

The latter was a laughable notion. The knocks persisted, but they seemed to be in no rush and did not carry the tone of demand that Nezumi would have expected. As he opened the door reluctantly but readily, Shion met him with gleaming eyes and a soft smile. "Nezumi.."

That face didn't match the picture. Shion was covered in bruises, his clothes were torn, and there was a fair amount of blood covering his body. He pulled the other inside and shut and locked the door. "Are you crazy..!" he chided, double checking to make sure that no one had followed him. "Where the hell have you been? And what the hell do you think you're doing, coming here covered in blood? What the hell would you have done if someone had followed you and anyways, why the hell did you leave the house!"

"You yell a lot." Shion muttered, taking a seat on the floor. He held his head in his hands, indicating that he'd either a headache, or a concussion. There was no telling at this point.

Nezumi did not kneel down and coddle him as someone with a heart or morals might have. Rather, he grabbed the other by his hair and pulled him towards the bathroom. "Ow, ow-ow-ow..!" Shion whined, "Nezumi, that hurts..!"

He threw the other in the shower and doused him with water. It was somewhat cold, but that couldn't be helped. Spring had only just begun and the water he was siphoning from the well was a matter of weather and exposure. This place didn't exactly have the luxury of controlled temperature.

"Nezumi, that's cold.." he complained, hugging himself to keep warm. Nezumi grabbed his arms and held them over his head.

"Don't cover yourself." he commanded, "I'm washing the blood off, so you should thank me. It's more kindness than you deserve right now, anyways. Mind telling me what the hell you were thinking?"

"You say that a lot.." he lowered his voice. Nezumi wasn't sure what he was referring to, but it seemed to make sense in Shion's head. "Also I don't like cold water.."

"I don't care."

"You should care..!" he seemed genuinely hurt, and pressed his hand to where his heart might have been. "Nobody ever cares and that's why you should..! Doesn't that make sense..? You're cruel, Nezumi.."

"I don't understand a word you're saying." he shook his head, deciding that overall, responding to the other was useless right now. Anyways, that gleam in his eyes dictated that Shion's sanity wouldn't be returning for a while. Or perhaps this was who he really was and being unhinged simply came naturally to him. That'd make sense, actually.

He turned around and pulled a towel off the shelf. Kneeling down by Shion, he dropped the towel on his head and began to scrub and wipe away at the water. The complaints did not cease; "Nezumi, I don't like that..! It hurts.. You're not gentle.."

When finished, he set the stained towel aside and disappeared into the other room for a moment. When he returned, he tossed a small bundle of clothes at Shion. "Put these on make sure the blood is gone. You'll be cleaning up your mess later and I don't want blood to be an issue. Got it? Idiot." he shut the door behind him, locking it to ensure the other would do as asked of him.

Five minutes later, Shion sheepishly knocked on the door. He was almost reluctant to get up and set his book down, as he figured it was peaceful, keeping the other locked up like an animal (out of sight, out of mind, after all..). Then again, he supposed that the other was used to that and he didn't want to breathe the same air as the scum of No. 6, let alone use the same 'parenting' tactics.

He unlocked the door and opened it. Shion fell over. He must have been leaning. "Care for an explanation, now, your highness?"

Shion looked confused, and somewhat frightened. "N-Nezumi..!" he looked up at him with a face full of concern, "Are you alright..? There's so much blood in the bathroom and I don't know what to do..! I'm sorry.." His gaze fell on the ground. For a second, Nezumi thought he might have been crying.

"Pathetic.." he muttered under his breath. The "assassin" didn't seem to catch that. "You made a mess. I asked you not to do that and you made a mess. Don't you know that I won't treat you like royalty, here? Clean up after yourself!"

He flinched and seemed to stiffen at the words. His gaze returned to Nezumi, and it appeared that tears were in his blood-red eyes. It was evident that the gleam was gone, and Nezumi realized that he was no longer dealing with someone who couldn't understand the value of human life. "Get off the ground."

"Sorry, Nezumi.." he repeated, "I didn't mean to make a mess, but.." he clenched his fists, then began to pull himself up. "I'm in pain and I don't remember a thing. Will you help me..?"

"That seems to be the case with you. Alright, if you want me to help you, allow me to put you out of your misery." One to instigate, the knife was no longer sheltered in his pocket. Pressed against the younger's throat, the blade lightly dug into his skin.

He did not expect the smile that sprung from the other's formerly lifeless features, nor the light in his eyes that accompanied it. "...You'd do that for me-!"

The knife was gone in an instant, and the joyfulness faded out quickly.

Once he'd explained to Shion that he must have disappeared some time in the dead of night, a slight gleam flashed in his eyes. He assumed that this was an indication of the memory he was prodding at.

"Can you tell me the name of your target?"

"I can't." the gleam was speaking, "It's not like it mattered. It's dead now, anyways."

"It matters because I have to know what sort of crowd you're attracting. If you killed one of the higher-ups in No. 6, for example, and they decided to retaliate. They'd follow you here and I'd die because of your actions."

"I don't care about that.." he admit, twiddling his thumbs with a small smile. "Sorry. I don't like you. You're mean and I don't like you."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you." he let out a short, impatient sigh and continued his interrogation, "You don't recall having any weapons on your person as you left? I doubt someone like you would parade around the city un-armed. Especially during a mission. I don't care how distorted your head is."

"Yeah, you're right..! Ah wait.. Where are we again?"

He was growing tired of these circulatory answers. "West Block. You were sent here by your organization and they hired you to kill someone, that first day. A trafficker. I don't know how long you've been here or how many people you've killed, but it needs to stop. Tell me about your organization."

"No..!" Shion stood up and nearly fell. Though he hadn't vocalized his complaints on account of Nezumi's contempt, his body was sore and it hurt to move so suddenly. "I won't..! I won't go back..!"

"Someone who hasn't broken away in the first place has no right to even think about rebellion. As you are, you're nothing more than a puppet designed for their personal gain. But I guess that can't be helped; They made you that way, right?"

He sat back down after he appeared to calm himself. Though his body remained stiff and his troubled eyes avoided Nezumi's gaze. It was difficult to tell who he was at this point, but he assumed he was receiving a mixed assortment of responses from either side of the kid. "You work for the city. You told me that you came from an underground system of tunnels, right? Where are those tunnels and how are they accessed? You should know."

Shion shook his head and protested like his life depended on it. "I can't..! I won't think about it..!" The brightness in his eyes won over for a moment. Carmine irises exuded a pink-tinted gleam, and his smile returned. This sort of smile didn't belong on the face of someone who looked at Nezumi as though he were prey. "Sorry. I'm not sorry. If you want to figure it out so badly, shouldn't you turn me in? You'll surely get compensation for your troubles and also, they might not kill you. Then again I guess it's beyond someone like you to roll those dice, right?"

"Shut your mouth." he spat, though he didn't seem particularly angry. Angrier than he naturally was, at least. His grumpy demeanor remained, unscathed by the other's taunts. "I'm asking you because you're insane and I want to know what the hell I'm harboring. I'm not even sure you're human and a little clarification would be nice, don't you think?"

"I watch people die and I like it. I am human." he affirmed, "Is that wrong? Ah.."

The gleam disappeared. Trouble eyes remained, "Nezumi, I'm sorry I can't answer your questions.. I don't know anything at all, I guess." he looked down at his feet, "...The tunnels.. You asked about the tunnels, didn't you..."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, no..!" this string of 'no' sounded more apologetic than the others, which were flat-out rejections. "I'll tell you as much as I can, alright..? It's just difficult to recall, I guess.."

"I don't care about the tunnels." he shut his eyes as he calculated something in his head, "I just wanted to get your head on straight. Can you tell me anything at all about the man you killed? Without freaking out."

"The man I.. killed.." the words left a bad taste in his mouth, and nausea filled his stomach. "...I don't know who he was.. He was just.. a guy that wasn't important anymore... That's wrong!" he yelled at himself, "Everyone is important no matter what! Value cannot be measured in-"

"Calm down." he warned, "Do you want to screw yourself over again? I don't think so. Just breathe."

It couldn't be sure if Nezumi genuinely wanted to see the other calm down, or if he simply didn't wish to deal with the assassin's nonsensical rambles. Either way, Shion complied and took a deep breath. Swallowing reluctantly, he continued. "...He was responsible for organizing drug rings in the city and fled to West Block for a while. But he sold some dope to a city official and he overdosed and that's why I was after him.. Revenge.."

The color in his eyes shifted. Before Nezumi could worry, the complacent one began, "-And that mission was unauthorized! Ah, whoever issued this assignment will be in trouble, I bet. Blood and more blood will rain over us, don't you see? So don't go against! And also I might have to kill him with my own two hands.." he squeezed and opened his hands as if he could practically feel the flesh of his enemy already.

"Eagerness isn't a pretty color on you. Calm down."

His expression changed and suddenly his hands were folded in his lap with his head bent, "So I guess the mission was unauthorized and maybe that's why I don't know much about it. But I do know that I have to return to the city soon to clear this up and I.. don't want to.."

"That won't happen." he assured.

"Really? You're so kind.. Ah.. I'm glad.. If I return, I might be beaten again for disappearing and if they find me, they'll kill you.. I don't want that to happen, Nezumi..!"

"It won't happen." he reassured, crossing his legs. He seemed awfully confident for someone who was hardly five feet away from someone who'd kill him in a heartbeat and forget about it within the next moment.

"But how are you planning on evading...! You can't just hide me out here for the rest of my life, y'know, I'm a liability.. I'll kill you or they'll kill you or either way someone will die and I'm tired of that.."

"That won't happen because it's kill or be killed. So I'm going to kill them before they have the chance. You think I lived this long just so I could be offed by some organization that can't even manage their underlings?"

"Manage their.. Nezumi, what does that mean?"

"Forget about it."

Shion did not seem amused. "What was your question and why are we here?"

On that note, Nezumi stood up and excused himself.

Going on midnight

He wasn't surprised to find Inukashi up so late, tending to their dogs. Nezumi hopped off of a mound of broken junk and stomped on the ground by their feet. (S)he didn't seem surprised; (s)he'd seen him coming. "Piss off, Nezumi." (s)he muttered. "What do you want? Wait, you're getting more money out of me!"

"Keep your money. I want you to dig up as much information on the underground tunnels in No. 6 as possible."

"That's impossible. Even with the help of your rats, I haven't been able to uncover even a little bit of information regarding any underground tunnels. They just don't exist."

"We haven't been looking in the right place." he decided, "What's with the cold feet, anyways? One of the city officials give you a hard time or something?"

"No." (s)he would have taken care of that. "I just don't like getting involved with the city when I don't have to. That place is just a bunch of demons wearing human skin."

"I couldn't agree more." He bet Shion could vouch for that. "That's why we have to take it down. And that's why you'll do as I say; Because if you want to stay alive, you better be damn sure to have someone on your side."

"You're not on my side. You're on the side of whoever has money and that's what worries me."

"Yeah, you don't have any room to criticize me. You've been scrounging off Rukiga how long, now?"

"Piss off!" (s)he spat, "I wouldn't have to if this place wasn't such a living hell! And who promised that you were going to do something about it? Right, you did! I haven't seen a damn thing change, Nezumi. Just admit it- You have no idea what you're doing!"

Nezumi promptly grabbed Inukashi's throat and slammed them into the ground, straddling him loosely. "Any more complaints? I swear, it's like you're tired of having a tongue." A blade joined the argument. It dug into the other's skin, and Inukashi began to squirm. "You crazy son of a- Get off me!"

"Call your dogs off." he noted the amount of vicious growls that'd accumulated. "Call them off now." He applied more pressure to the blade, drawing just a bit of blood.

"You're the one that woke them up! Can't you take responsibility for one damn thing? Gah! Get off me and I'll call them off!"

"That's bullshit if I've ever heard it. Do you think I'm stupid?"

Their eyes met and one another sought nothing but a weakness. Finding nothing tangible, they simultaneously broke apart as if the fight had merely been standard. With a fair distance between the two, Nezumi gave a short wave as Inukashi dismissed the offended animals. "Check in when you've run a quick recon and search every crevice of that city. I'll lend you a rat if you make a deal with Rukiga. I wouldn't slip him any information about Shion if I were you, by the way, no matter the size of the penny. My neck's already on the line here. Though, I guess you could join me if you want."

It was a joke, but his voice meant business. Inukashi retorted with a growl, "As if. Anyways, I've had enough of your damn games. You said you were going to help me survive and I expect you to uphold your end of the bargain. If you die, I swear to God I'll engrave 'Bastard' on your tombstone!"

"Isn't that cute?" he muttered as he walked away, tossing a gold coin in Inukashi's direction. (S)he caught it. "Assuming I'll be given a proper burial if I'm caught by that city? Let's face. You and I are headed in one or two directions; Glory, or a pile of human bodies headed straight for the incinerator."

"You're disgusting.." (s)he muttered, then grabbed his shoulder. "Wait. That assassin- planning on keeping him out of the loop, or are you just that stupid? Odds are, he already knows what we're planning-"

"That's fine. Let him know. Clearly you weren't listening when I said he's in no position to be a threat to us and I meant that. And he won't return to the city, if that's what you're thinking."

"...What are you planning?"

"You know what I'm planning. That city thinks it can use us as it's dumpster without a second thought, but they underestimate the fact that they can't see what's going on right under their thumb. We've got a pretty sick advantage at the moment, so I suggest you stay loyal to your end of the deal unless you want to end up Shion's next victim."

"Are you training Shion? He's not a dog, y'know." (s)he chuckled. That notion was laughable. A human pet.

"You could say that. Rather, I'm utilizing my resources. Something you should learn to do if you want to stay alive. Things are about to hit the fan pretty soon and I'm sure someone like you will want to take shelter underneath the mosquito net, right?"

"So you're planning to use him against the city, right?"

"That's right." he grinned to himself. Things were falling in place. At long last, he had something that the city didn't- a ripple in the fabric of the city that'd let him see the gross, hideous underbelly. A product of something so sinister, he could almost cover his eyes.

Well, of course not. But the idea of holstering a bit of humanity wasn't bad, sometimes. "We won't even have to hunt down the city. The city will come looking for us and when it does, we'll use Shion. Once we're inside, we'll break the city apart by exposing it for what it is. We'll have front row seats when the time comes, and we'll watch the city destroy itself."

"So your plan is to let the city ruin itself on the inside, right?"

"That's right."

"And what do you plan to do with Shion when this is all over? You don't think the 'assassin' will be a little peeved that you used him to tear down his city?"

"Nationality won't be a problem here." he slipped his hands into his pockets and turned away. It was about time to head home. For all he knew, Shion was already out and about, again. "And he won't be a problem, either. I'm going to snuff out every inch of that city. When we're through, I'll kill him."

Inukashi froze on the inside, but every ounce of their body was shaking. "Y'know, I've never seen you so bloodthirsty. You're one sick bastard, you know that?"

"I've been pining for blood ever since that day and you know it. The fact that you aren't bloodthirsty only serves to convince me that you'll be the first to die when that place is headed for hell."

"Liar. You said you'd help me survive."

"And I will." he assured, shrugging slightly with a yawn. "Unless you get in my way."

The dogs began to growl as if they sensed something wrong, but Nezumi didn't worry. They probably smelled fear. Inukashi's fear, that is.

"Just get out of here." Inukashi turned away and dismissed their dogs, "You owe me. Do you understand?"

"You'll owe me when I save your ass." he retorted plainly. He was already halfway home when Inukashi unleashed a continuous scream of threats and curses in Nezumi's direction, even after his departure.