A\N: English is not my native language, I'm sorry for any spelling and/or grammar mistakes that might be ahead.

It's *fan*fiction; therefore- I'm a fan and not the actual owner of No. 6, or any other piece of work that is mentioned in the story.

Act I: Odyssey

Nezumi never really liked Tokyo. He didn't hate it, either; he was just indifferent about the place. Actually, he didn't feel anything toward any place, so he never felt obliged to visit Japan after he finished college, four years ago. He just stayed in England, got a job as a teacher, and lived his plain, boring life peacefully. It wasn't much, but this simple lifestyle fit Nezumi quite well.

Being a teacher was not that bad, actually. The pay was reasonable, he got to talk about his beloved books, and he had vacations quite often. While many people thought that as an English Literature graduate from Oxford, Nezumi could have done much more with his life, he couldn't care less. Not living up to his potential didn't bother him, and he preferred to keep the drama in the world of fiction.

But there he was, in a taxi, in Tokyo. When he first read the emails that asked him to come back, he almost dismissed them instantly. He didn't want to go back to Tokyo, even if it was for a few days. In addition, the author of these messages was someone Nezumi would rather forget. Unfortunately, he didn't forget that person, and worse, he didn't forget the promise they made.

"Have a good day, sir!"

The taxi drove away, leaving Nezumi staring at the five-star hotel that was standing before him. He gently put his luggage down and took a crumpled piece of paper out of the back pocket of his jeans. He suppressed a sigh; the address was correct. He crammed the little note back into his pocket, picked up his luggage, and walked inside.

A woman smiled at him from the reception desk.

"How can I help you, sir?" Like the rest of the female employees in the hotel, her uniform included a buttoned-up shirt with short sleeves, a blue vest, a black skirt, and a blue bowtie. Nezumi snorted mentally. He hated the hotel the moment he saw it, but now he hated it even more.

"Yes, my name is Nezumi."

"Just a second, sir." The woman typed a few things in her computer. "Could you wait just a moment, sir," she said, and disappeared through a door behind the reception desk.

A few minutes passed, and the woman came back, but before Nezumi could ask for his room, another woman interrupted him.

"Nezumi?" asked the woman.
She was young, younger than Nezumi at least, and had brown eyes and short hair whose color matched her eyes. She was wearing a suit with a matching skirt and high-heeled shoes, which made her look more professional than the receptionist. Yet she didn't seem very formal.

"It's nice to finally meet you." She reached her hand to shake his, "My name is Safu."

"Yes, whatever." Nezumi shook her hand hurriedly.

"Just like the stories," Safu said. Nezumi couldn't tell whether she was amused or thoughtful, but she most certainly was not upset at his rudeness.
"I bet you want to cut to the chase," she continued eventually. "Follow me. Leave your luggage here; it'll be taken care of."

Nezumi took a deep breath and followed Safu, who turned around and walked away without checking whether he was behind her or not. He could only hope Safu was showing him the way to his room; he was exhausted. All he wanted to do was to crumble into a bed with a book. Alone. All by himself. But he couldn't lock himself in his room to recover from the horrors of the flight, not now at least, because although he prayed for rest more than anything at the moment, he knew Safu was taking him to his host.

Safu led him to the top floor and then through a maze of hallways. The carpets hid any sign of actual floor, and the pictures on the walls were probably more valuable than Nezumi himself. It was obvious that they were in an area that was off-limits for guests. It was the private property of the hotel's owner—the owner who invited Nezumi over and who had absolutely hated this kind of ostentation when Nezumi had just moved to England, eight years ago.

Safu walked through the corridors silently. Her pace was steady, and she walked without looking around much, as if she had the whole floor memorized.

Eventually, they reached an elegant wooden door, with a sign that said "Waiting Room" in golden letters.

"We're here," Safu said, and put her hand on the rounded knob.

The room was spacious, with cream-colored couches, an ivory coffee table, and windows that replaced one of the walls. On the other walls were a few TV screens that were turned off and showed nothing but darkness. Out of the corner of his eye, Nezumi saw a bar in the far part of the room. On one of the couches sat a slim figure, wrapped in clothes in the same color as the couch.

"Long time no see, Nezumi."

"Hardly long enough." The tanned woman smirked bitterly at his answer, and Safu, who stood behind her with her arms crossed, rolled her eyes.

"As unpleasant as always," the other woman said calmly, which only added to Nezumi's anger.

"Old habits die hard," he said mockingly. "But it looks like old dogs can learn new tricks, right, Inukashi?"

Inukashi's calm expression turned sour, and she closed her eyes as if to remind herself to stay calm.
"Shut up," she finally said.

"No thank you."

"Now listen you little rat—" Inukashi stood up suddenly, arching her back and baring her teeth. Her appearance now corresponded much more closely to Nezumi's memories of her, although she was thinner and wearing clothes that didn't seem like they were used to wash the floor before she put them on.

"Inukashi." Safu smiled behind her and tried to calm her down, in vain.

"I don't want to hear anything coming out of your rotten mouth until it's absolutely necessary, hear me?! Nothing!"
She sat down, frowning.

Safu sighed.

"You look pretty lively." Nezumi sat on the couch across her.

"Disappointed?" Inukashi asked with a sad grin.

"Quite a bit. But I can take care of this little problem."

"Ha! You wish." Inukashi leaned her back into the couch.

"Seriously now, though." Nezumi crossed his arms. "What's with the walking suit?"
He gestured to Safu's direction with his eyes.

"Excuse me for walking." Safu raised an eyebrow, but Inukashi and Nezumi ignored her completely.
"I'll have as many walking suits as I want, mind your own business," Inukashi said, though both of them knew Nezumi was referring to more than just Safu.

"Should we cut straight to the point, then?" Nezumi asked.

"Well yeah, about that…" Inukashi began to stumble on her words.

"You're early," Safu said, seeing Inukashi couldn't make her point.

"Early?"

"You see? You won't be able to fulfill your promise anytime soon," Safu explained.

"Then… What am I doing here?" Nezumi asked, understanding the horrible reality Safu was presenting to him little by little.

"I didn't think you'll agree so soon, okay," Inukashi defended. "I thought it'd take months and months to convince you to come!"

"So, am I supposed to sit here and wait?"

"You'll be going back to London. Now that we know you'll come when the time is right, we have no problem sending you back." Safu tried to calm the two down.

"Ridiculous," Nezumi snorted. "When am I going back?"

"Your flight is in two weeks," Safu said.

"Two weeks?!" Nezumi could feel his blood boiling, and he stood up.

"Yes, there weren't any tickets available for an earlier flight," Safu explained.

"So I'm stuck here for two whole weeks?!" Nezumi asked, trying to emphasize just terrible the situation seemed from his point of view. He never wanted to leave London. He never wanted to come back to Tokyo. He didn't want to be there, not for so long.

"Stop acting like a spoiled child," Inukashi said.

"Oh? So now I'm a spoiled child," Nezumi asked her angrily.

"You weren't here for eight years, Nezumi. Eight years! I don't have to make excuses, especially not for you!" She stood up as well, and Safu showed no signs of trying to stop her.

"Good, because I'm not interested in your excuses anyway," Nezumi said. "I'm just disappointed, that's all. I thought you were different, but it seems like I was wrong."

"That's enough!" Safu yelled.

All three of them knew Nezumi crossed the line, especially Nezumi himself, who felt a small pinch of guilt but brushed it off immediately. Both he and Inukashi sat back in their seats, followed by silence.

"Oh well, it's not like I need to go back for my job or anything," Nezumi said, trying to defuse the awkward situation. "It's summer break, anyway."

"Everything is good, then." Safu smiled happily, trying to help. "We'll arrange a private plane to fly back to Tokyo when you'll be needed."

"Oh, so you have a private plane as well?" Nezumi asked with mockery.

"Of course," Safu answered.

"Then, why can't it take me back to London?"

"Because it is currently needed for domestic flights, and won't be available for international ones in the next few months."

"So why won't you buy a new one? You surely have enough money, right?" Nezumi asked jokingly.

"Because we don't need another private plane," Safu explained. She obviously didn't get the joke. "And you can't forget that we would need to hire another pilot. With all due respect, we don't intend to spend that much money on you, even if we can afford it."

Nezumi looked at Safu with disbelief.

"You're a real blockhead, aren't you?" He stood up and looked at Safu with a patronizing expression.

"Hey!" Inukashi yelled at him from her seat on the couch, regaining her mood. "Don't talk to my walking suit like that!"

Safu gave Inukashi a warning gaze and she sank back into the couch.
"For a person whose field of expertise is literature," Safu smirked, "your insults are pitiful."

Inukashi grunted, trying to hold in her laughter, but piped down when she received another warning gaze, this time from Nezumi.

"For someone whose field of expertise is wearing suits," Nezumi responded, "you're quite rude."

"Only mirroring your behavior, seeing that basic politeness is beyond your understanding," she answered.

"Is mirroring the only thing you're good for?"

"At least she's good for something!" Inukashi yelled before Safu could open her mouth.

"Oh yeah? What can you do, other than barking?"

"I think I'll show you your room now." Safu said, deciding to end the conversation.

"Yes," Nezumi agreed. "That'd be for the best."

Again, Nezumi followed Safu throughout the hallways. Because he didn't recognize any of the paintings on the walls around them, he assumed they were going in a different direction this time. Only halfway through their trip, Nezumi realized how tired he was. Inukashi hasn't changed much, has she, he thought. That fact made him happy, though he would never admit it or remember it, because in a few minutes he was sleeping soundly, forgetting the walk from the waiting room to his own room.

• • • • • •

Knock knock…

Nezumi wrapped his blanket over his head. Not a single cell in his body wanted to get up. The windows were covered with thick curtains, not allowing a single ray of light make its way inside, and the room had a sweet scent of clean sheets. Nezumi didn't know what time it was and he didn't care. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to wake up at an unreasonable hour, stay in bed awake for awhile, then grab a book, read, and go back to sleep, also at an unreasonable hour. He thus decided to ignore that annoying sound that tried to wake him.

Knock knock…

Nezumi groaned and tore himself from bed. He turned on the lights and regretted it almost immediately when he rubbed his eyes, which hadn't awakened quite yet. The room was too colorful. The curtains, which did their job perfectly by keeping the room dark, didn't look like black, deformed figures anymore, but like silky rivers of red fabric. The walls were painted in red as well, but it was not as deep as the curtains, which had white, gold and silver patterns embedded on them. The carpet on the floor was somewhere between the deep red of the curtains and the soft red of the walls, but it was still red. Whoever designed this room had a terrible taste, Nezumi murmured in his head. The sheets on his bed were white, at least, but they had delicate decorations embroidered on them. Incredibly terrible taste, he repeated.

Knock knock…

"I'm coming!" he yelled. He strode angrily toward the door and opened it with a similar attitude, facing Safu with a saturnine expression.

"What?" Nezumi did his best not to yell at her, but failed.

"I'm here to wake you up," she answered, as if it was obvious.

"Well, you did," Nezumi said. "Now leave."

"I'm not an alarm clock, you know," she said. "If my only purpose was to wake you up, I would have sent room service to do it. Or called your room. There are so many ways to wake you up that don't waste my time or effort."

"What do you want, then?" Nezumi tried to keep himself from strangling her.

"I don't really want anything…" Safu stared into the space above Nezumi, trying to think of a better word to explain that she was only doing her job.

"Will you just get to the point?!"

"Yes, of course," she said, as her train of thought was disrupted. "As part of my duties, I'm supposed to be in charge of your wellbeing during your time in Japan."

"There's no need." Nezumi tried to brush her off and shut the door, but Safu continued persistently.

"I intend to do my duties," she insisted.

"Not my problem."

"If you think I won't make it your problem as well, you're wrong," she announced.

"Are you threatening me?" he asked, almost amused.

"If you choose to see it that way, then yes," she grinned.

"So what do you want?" Nezumi surrendered.

"I already told you, I don't want any—"

"Yes yes. What is the purpose of this wakeup call?"

"I rented you a car," Safu explained.

"I don't need a car. I'm not going anywhere."

"But I've already rented it."

"So? Cancel the order, then."

"You don't understand," Safu said, frowning. "You will have a car for your visit. It's part of our hospitality, get it?"

"In that case, the car is just going to rot in the parking lot for two weeks." Nezumi crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe.

"You're free to do whatever you want with it."

"So, why do you need me?"

"Someone needs to get it," Safu said, speaking as if Nezumi was a child.

"And you're suggesting that 'someone' is me?"

"Exactly."

"How am I supposed to get there, without a car?" Nezumi questioned her in the same patronizing tone.

"I've got it taken care of, but you'll still need to come in person." Safu smiled.

"Doesn't Inukashi have some other suckers to do this stuff for her?" complained Nezumi.

"She does." Safu answered.

"Then why do I have to go?"

"It's as you said. She has suckers to do this stuff for her." Entertained, Safu looked at the angered Nezumi and turned to leave. "Be ready in fifteen minutes."

Nezumi didn't need much time to ready himself. He pulled a shirt from his trolley case and grabbed the pants he wore the day before. He entered the bathroom to shower, again cursing Inukashi's "finest lodging." Other than the mirror, every single thing in the room was made from white marble with golden decorations. Nezumi bathed as quickly as he could, dressed himself, and left back to the main room with a hurry, as if lingering in the marble room any longer might infect him with some terrible disease.

Nezumi looked at the clock, which hung on one of the walls. He knew he had some time left before Safu would come back to take him from the safety of his room. He held back a sigh. He lay flopped down on the bed, stared at the ceiling, and wondered what he should do in the few peaceful minutes he had left. He straightened up into a seated position. Of course he didn't want to go with Safu, but because he had to, he wanted her to return as quickly as possible so he could get the whole thing over with. Besides, there was very little he could do in such small amount of time. After what felt like forever but was only a minute, Nezumi got out of bed.

Oh well, he thought, if I'm gonna stay here for whole two weeks, I'll have to organize at some point anyway. And it's not like I have anything better to do…

He looked at the room, which was terrifyingly big. By the windows, there were two chairs and a coffee table. There was a door beside them, which Nezumi opened. The room that appeared before him was twice as big as the bedroom. It had a kitchen, a wide table with a few chairs, a sofa, a television, a few shelves, and a desk with a computer on it. Nezumi shut the door. So the main door goes through the bedroom instead of… whatever that room is, he complained. Who is the idiot who designed this place?

Nevertheless, he carried his suitcase to the other room. The closet was in the bathroom, but Nezumi's priorities were different. He stood in front of the shelves in the kitchen/living room/study and began throwing his clothes in different directions until he could reach the books beneath them. He put the books in the shelves carefully, but without any order or logic. Because he brought so many books with him, he managed to put only half of them on the shelves by the time Safu returned.

She led him to the elevator, and pressed the button that said "-3." After an incredibly awkward elevator ride, they both walked into a huge underground parking lot, which, considering the fact that it was occupied only by luxury cars, probably belonged to Inukashi alone. In the middle was a small, blue car and a man, who leaned against it. He was young, probably about Safu's age; he had brown hair and beautiful eyes. He was skinny and very pale, and he was wearing casual clothes and a stupid smile on his face.

"Hello," he smiled. Nezumi was not certain whether the smile was intended for him or Safu.

"Thank you for backing me up again," Safu said with a sigh.

"No problem," the guy reassured her.

"Nezumi, this is Shion." Safu gestured at Shion's direction. "He'll take you from here."

"It's nice to finally meet you," he said and shook Nezumi's hand.

"Yeah, let's just get this over with." Nezumi pulled his hand back and walked to the car. He sat inside and looked at Shion and Safu, who were too busy with their friendly conversation to pay him any attention. He rolled his eyes, praying for this day to end soon. Eventually, Shion entered the car as well.

He started the car and began to drive it toward the exit, not overwhelmed at all by the awkward silence or Nezumi's earlier hostility.

"Inukashi said a lot about you." Shion tried to start a conversation with the person beside him. "Well, maybe not 'a lot', she only said you're a 'blasted bibliophile with a pretty voice'."

Nezumi didn't respond. He was too busy looking outside the window and being as unfriendly as possible so that strange kid would stop talking to him.

"How did you two meet?" Shion tried to keep their very one-sided conversation alive, with little success.

"We went to the same high school," Nezumi replied, hoping the answer would satisfy the younger's unexplainable need to talk.

"Oh, you've been friends for so long," he asked with wonder, only angering Nezumi a little more, with both his persistence and his question.

"We're not friends," he answered, speaking as coldly as possible. Shion, however, seemed to lack the social understanding that was required to understand Nezumi's attitude. But then again, Nezumi was the last person to talk about social understanding.

"Sure you are," he said. "If you're not friends, why would you come all the way from England?"

"We made a promise. I'm only here to keep it," Nezumi found himself explaining, although he had no intentions to converse with that airhead just a few seconds ago. He still didn't have any of these intentions.

Shion giggled.

"What?" Nezumi asked, obviously pissed, and then reminded himself that he didn't want to talk with that kid.

"It's just, that I thought you'd be more romantic," he said with a stupid, wide smile on his face.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, you came all the way from England, Inukashi is your friend from high school, you're all serious and cold and stuff…" Shion talked as if he was in his own world.
"It seems like perfect settings for a romantic person. But looks like you're actually a tsundere."

"A tsundere?" Nezumi couldn't help but to tear his gaze from the window and look at Shion. "Your vocabulary isn't very developed, now is it?"

"Nothing wrong with calling you a tsundere if you're a tsundere." Shion insisted. Nezumi looked back at the window.

"You're quite queer, you know that?"

"That's not a nice thing to say."

"It wasn't meant to be nice," Nezumi said, hoping that this time Shion would be offended and stop talking with him. But he was not.

"You might want to put that tsundere attitude on a leash or something. Someone might take you seriously," Shion told him.

"That's the whole purpose," Nezumi whispered, and then said aloud, "you should do something about your vocabulary, honestly."

"Only if you'll do something about your tsundere attitude."

"Stop calling me that."

"Why?"

"Because it's stupid."

"See? That's exactly what I'm talking about." Shion parked the car. "We're here."

Shion left the car, Nezumi right after him. They talked with the manager, who brought Nezumi's new car in a matter of seconds. Nezumi's day just became worse and worse; his new car was painted gold and had an open roof. Nezumi could swear that Inukashi had told Safu to order that specific car on purpose. At least I'm not really going to use it, Nezumi thought.

"Well, it seems like I can go now." Shion looked at the new car, satisfied. He pushed a small piece of paper into Nezumi's hand. "If you need anything, call me."

Nezumi stared at the little note that contained a series of numbers. As if I'll ever call you, idiot.

"Oh, by the way," Shion called from his own car, which was already started and ready to go. "Safu is too busy with her duties, so she asked me to take over as your babysitter."

Shion drove away, and Nezumi's eyes followed the car until it vanished. He was horrified.

Oh no, he thought.

Nezumi had a feeling that he was going to have a terrible relationship with this guy.

A\N: So… that was the first chapter :D It'll probably take me a very long time to publish the next chapter… Over a month sort of long time. I'm sorry ^^" Thanks a lot to color2413 who helped me with my English :) See in a month!