When Ms. Karan and I said our goodbyes, she still smiled at me like I was some sort of superhero, but she also embraced me once again like a member of the family. She even said goodbye to the mice on my shoulder, petting each with one finger. I was still struck by how sunny and warm she could be, even as compared to Shion. But I suppose she was also just ecstatic to have her son back with her again. She wouldn't let me leave without choosing some of her baking to take along with me on the road. (I took more cherry cake, of course.) "We may not have much room, but you will always be welcome here, Nezumi-san. Please come to stay with us again."

Shion sometimes straddled, sometimes walked his shiny silver bike (which his mama was so proud to have saved from the Security Bureau's raid) alongside me as we headed, of all places, back to the ruins of the West Block. Shion wanted to see if we could find our old underground home. He thought there was a chance that if he spent some time there, he could salvage books and other possessions that I'd long since decided to leave behind. As far as I was concerned, assuming people could get in there, my old home and everything in it was up for grabs. I thought I'd just forget about it. But to Shion, everything there, and perhaps even the location itself, is like some kind of treasure. And this was Shion's day.

He attaches himself to inanimate objects as much as he does to people.

It's a good thing Lost Town is pretty close to the West Block. The walk was long, but it wasn't all that far, really. At the city limits— near the same spot we should have parted the day before, Shion removed the large backpack he was wearing and we stopped to rest a bit. He didn't want to draw attention, he said, but now that we were out of the city, Shion thought we could save a little time by riding double on his bike. The way he sped around, wobbling over uneven ground while I sat on the rear rack and alternated between lifting or bending my legs to avoid the ground… was just stupidly dangerous.

But I have to admit I trust him… like he so easily did me.

There was trash and broken glass and splintered lumber everywhere but Shion didn't need my help navigating around it to locate a familiar landmark. We did have to dismount the bike at times, though.

The old playground was too filled with debris to play in but, unexpectedly, it was otherwise relatively unscathed. The neighbour kids'— Karan and Rico's— house, however, was flattened and completely ripped apart. I knew Shion would be fervently hoping that his former reading time friends weren't in the same state. But unlike the town and market areas, I could neither see nor smell a single casualty.

It feels like… not a single drop of blood has fallen anywhere near here.

Incredibly, against all expectations, not only was our old home accessible, but it looked as though it could be completely intact. Shion tossed his bike aside carelessly and was about to race down the stairs like a giddy child. I swiftly stepped in to block him.

"Wait here while I go check things out. And don't make any noise." He nodded and watched expectantly as I headed downstairs, drawing a knife. All was silent, aside from my slow and measured steps. There were no signs of a single soul having entered the place. My eyes preferred the darkness, but I thought it a good idea to turn on each lamp as I went. Amazingly, everything really was exactly as we'd left it. Not a speck of dust out of place, and no intruders either. A few books had fallen to the ground, but that was nothing out of the ordinary for us. If someone asked, I would have had to admit that even I was shocked and maybe a little moved to see things just as we left them even after the so-called "Clean-up" operation had crushed and destroyed everything. It actually hadn't been all that long since we left, but our shared nightmare in the Correctional Facility made it feel like years had passed since we left this place. "All right, Shion! Bring your bike down."

The three mice were now the giddy children, racing each other from corner to corner and squeaking with glee. Shion was slowly and carefully laying his bike against the hallway wall now. He didn't make a sound. It seemed as though he thought the place would crumble, or fall apart like a deck of cards if he were too rough. For the second time that day, I couldn't help thinking Shion looked almost graceful. And the familiar phenomenon of his hair catching the lamplight was always so beautiful…

As he looked around at the piano and the books, the look on Shion's face was something to behold. There was no silly, childish grin. The expression was vaguely similar to the one Shion's mama had on when she first saw her son again. Except she was trembling in her happiness. In contrast, if Shion's movements were to get any more elegant, he could have been Eve's stage rival. (Not that I would have allowed him anywhere near the theatre.) What happened to his old shuffling, halting steps?

Shion's lips had relaxed into a faint, but fond smile. Looking up and down the bookcase to my left, he trailed his fingers lightly across volume after volume as he walked forward. Then he turned and drew closer to me. Those attractive red irises of his were glossy now, shining in the lamplight, and meeting my own. He blinked and warm lamplight danced across pretty white eyelashes. "Nezumi," he said as if to gain my attention. Of course he already had it. It suddenly occurred to me I'd been staring…

"Welcome home, Shion." I meant to say it as a joke— I thought it would come out as a tease, but I guess I was still a little amazed to be where I was standing, and Shion was so captivating just then, it came out more like I really was welcoming him... home. His sweet, nostalgic smile grew a little larger. I was vaguely aware I had a smile on myself, and my heart was beginning to beat a little faster as he stepped directly in front of me. I reached for his hair to play with, just out of habit.

"Your eyes are…" he started, breathless. His chest rose and fell as he caught his breath. He looked right into my eyes again, red lights shining. "...they've always been… so beautiful." Odd. He's never stumbled over complimenting me before. I ran a thumb across his reddening cheek and opened my mouth to mock him, but his right arm was suddenly reaching toward me, and he laid his hand over my heart. I froze as he felt it speeding up with his touch. He made a surprise attack and my heart couldn't lie— it wouldn't beat that way out of mild affection or transient kindness. Perhaps satisfied with his scientific observations, Shion brought up-stretched fingers to the sides of my chin, leaned in, and kissed me. Not a pathetic little peck like when we were sitting on the couch just behind and to my right, but a deep and passionate one like I gave him the day before. And god, he really is a fast learner...

Conveniently, just a few steps away, was my bed. Without breaking that kiss, I walked backwards, pulling him by his hips around the coffee table. When we reached the bed, I slid my hands down to the seat of his jeans for good measure, while he let down my hair. He ran his fingers through, exploring, and it felt great as I slid my mine slowly up his back, lifting his shirt off along the way. "See, told you I'm taller." I began to place a line of small kisses along the red mark on the front of his neck as he tilted his head back in pleasure.

He spoke to the ceiling through heavy breaths: "I still say… we're about… the same… height." More clothes were removed in a blur, and it felt as though we were following a masterful script or some sort of godly choreography, the way every little kiss and caress and lick and bite were so perfectly timed and placed and executed. Shion's gasps, cries, and moans were the best music I've ever heard. I've always secretly loved how sweetly he'd say my name, but the blissful way he was sighing it now just drove me crazy. I never knew there were so many things I wanted to do with his body and evidently he had no shortage of things to do with mine.

Shion at his best, freely following feelings and impulses...

What happened to that shy virgin who couldn't handle an offer of sex? Was it because we held back all this time? Perhaps we each stored up our own secret cache of fantasies about each other? Or was he sneaking peeks at Rikiga's magazines? It truly felt as though we'd both subconsciously mapped every spot we'd like to lick or kiss or stroke. And Shion was striking each with mathematical precision. Shion… an angel, a bringer of miracles… and his charming snake.

That's right… so often over these last few months, I'd run my thumb along the red mark tattooed across his cheek, just as I so often found myself fondling his hair, or stroking his head. I couldn't resist. More often than not, I'd start to do it without even realizing it. And Shion loved it. He'd smile and relax into my touch, every time.

Did he ever realise that if he touched me back, I wouldn't have been able to stop?

It seemed we were both content to spend the entire day in bed. Well, almost. I had to laugh when that oblivious natural decided he really wanted to at least take a few books back with him when he returned, so he started perusing the shelves, seeking his favourite volumes… in his birthday suit. I teased and watched him fondly. I traced over that gorgeous snake of his with my eyes, committing to memory the exact shade of red, the exact trajectory it took around his body… and how uniquely fetching he is overall.

We put on clothing to eat our packed lunches, only to tear it all off again soon after we finished. I napped a bit while he did some reading. He napped while I had some tea and flipped at random through Shakespeare's sonnets. I found myself distracted watching him sleep, soundless and peaceful.

Right now he is just as much poetry to me as what is written on these pages.

But the sun was going to be setting soon. I was going to be late moving on. I was inspired to go to the piano to wake him. As I began to play, Shion stirred and got up. Catching glimpses as I improvised, he was still a vision; only now a vision with sound— the sound of a growling stomach! His cheeks reddened a bit, but I knew how to get them redder: "You really are insatiable, aren't you?"

We shared some evening snacks. It wasn't a complete meal— but it was still enough. And we still had so much more to spare. I sat back at the piano again.

Do I really need to leave right now?

"Shion," He looked at me, and it pained me to see the desperation with which he attempted to keep the concern off of his face. "Don't get the wrong idea…" He looked away, crestfallen.

"I know you can't stay…" His voice was dejected and his eyes downcast. "I know I can't ask for you to stay any longer." His voice shrank to a whisper during the course of that sentence.

"You're right, you can't ask me to stay any longer… but can I ask you?"

He looked up, confused. "Ask me what?" I began another tune, playing idly.

"I've stayed one more day, for you. I know you have a phone now and… maybe you can…" Now my face was heating up. I looked back toward the piano and cleared my throat slightly. How could he bare his heart so easily to someone like me, when it's as hard to do as this? "Shion, will you stay here one more night, for me?"

At first he was speechless, mouth agape, but then... that smile. His happiness infected me. This was my night.

"I'll take it that's a yes? Then we must have revelry! May I have this dance, your majesty?"

—

We went separate ways this morning, but Shion and I will one day be reunited. Without a doubt. He understands my resolve now— I put it into one word, whispered in his ear.

"Nezumi, is that… Is it your real… ?"
"Yeah it is. —Hey, what's wrong? Don't cry."
"Nothing's wrong. I'm just… really happy."
"You should be. I am… you survived."

With the rest of the West Block gone I have no place to return to. And I need to finally put some distance between myself and the lingering stench of No. 6. I need to find my new purpose. Once I do that, I'll know when I can return to the one who waits for me. The Northern Forest will be the first stop on my search.

Sitting down for a rest at the edge of the North Block, I notice a crumpling from one of my cargo pockets. Did Shion slip something else into my pants? How did I not notice this before? Could it be… a love letter? Penned on paper from our former home? Written with his grasp of language? Does nothing embarrass him?

Reunion Promise
I'll watch for you always;
Your dripping silhouette.
Enter at my window
And stay another night.
Bring back your lips to mine;
Your silver eyes, my fire.
Bring back the heat to me
With which all humans live.
My heart beats in your chest,
My soul floats on your breath
Though now, we're not as one,
But equal halves instead.

"Ugh, terrible! Just you wait, Shion. I'll never let you live this down."

Idiot. We were already equals. And next time we meet, we'll be as one again.