Disclaimer: I do not own No.6

A/N: For purpose of this story, the year of the rat and snake are right beside each other making the order: Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar, Rat/Cat, Snake. The order will not be necessary information, but this is just in case I there is any confusion. Thank you and I hope you enjoy. If you like this please send a message to Faiofseresu, she played a big part in this story. Thank you!

Chapter 1

Nezumi was a street rat, born on the streets, will probably die on the streets, stole what he couldn't afford (Which was everything), and even had fleas.

Yes, fleas.

It's a long story, but Nezumi had inherited the spirit of the rat zodiac. In total, there were 13 spirits. The spirits were the Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Horse, Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Boar, Rat, Cat, and Snake. Children were randomly chosen by the spirits to house them. The capital of the grand utopia, No.6, sheltered and cared for all 13 of the hosts and the leader of the spirits, Elyrius. Elyrius never aged, but she cared for each spirit and treated them nicely. Being under the capital's control, the zodiacs were kept to strict rules, one rule being that they could never leave the manor where they were house until New Years when they were looking for a mate. Another rule was no premarital sex, which was the rule Nezumi's mother broke. Nezumi's mother was the past processor of the sheep. When the capital found out about her affair, they banished and replaced the sheep zodiac with the cat. She only found out later that she was pregnant with a little boy.

Nezumi's mother died during child birth, but her son lived. A friend of Nezumi's mother cared for the little boy who was born with the spirit of the rat. The friend took care of Nezumi until she became sick and passed on as well.

At age 7 Nezumi was orphaned with no one to care for him. He had no idea who his father was and he was scared. He was tough, and the friend of his mother's taught him how to read and write. He became a skilled actor and earned some money through odd jobs. But it was never enough, he couldn't afford anything with the pocket change he was given.

In the west district, it was survival of the fittest and Nezumi never forgot that.

The curse of a zodiac is a hindrance at times though. Nezumi was able to shift into a rat at will, but whenever he got weak, sick, or touched the opposite sex he also turned into a rat. He hated it and despised the other zodiacs.

The friend of his mother's took Nezumi as a child to the capital and she showed them Nezumi, but they refused to take a bastard child as a zodiac.

For that, Nezumi hated the capital and all the zodiacs. The capital kept them fed, clothed, healthy, and educated. They had no idea what a tough time even is.

Nezumi scurried along a vendor's kiosk with a sliver of jerky in his mouth. As a rat, he had a beautiful black coat with bare paws and a tail that are gray. He carried his jerky into an alleyway and ate. If he ate in that form, something such as a piece of jerky would fill him compared to his human form.

Horns blew and a capital official announced the New Years ceremony would be tomorrow, asking all young women and men to attend, the Cat, Boar, Snake, Tiger, and Horse were looking for mates.

Nezumi finished his breakfast and returned home. He transformed, completely naked and put some clothes on. He sat down with a script for his performance of Macbeth and began to read. He studied his script for a long while until he looked at the time. He grabbed his coat and walked out the door.

####

Shion was born with the spirit of the snake, he was also a stillborn, but the snake's power brought him back. After his birth the strain of the snake's power affected his body, turning his brown hair white, his eyes turned red, and a birthmark of a red serpent wrapped around his body developed. Zodiac hosts are considered some of the prettiest people on the planet, but Shion did not feel that way. He was an embarrassment to the other zodiacs. Shion's body could not handle much activity, so he constantly fell ill and succumbed to any sickness or strain. Compared to him, the other zodiacs were gods.

He wore a white slumber pants and a shirt as he sat in bed, reading a book when his mother entered.

Karen was carrying a tray for her son filled with some stew from the kitchen, some tea and some medication Shion was on as the capital worked on improving his health. "How is your fever?" She asked, setting the train down in her son's lap.

"Better, thank you." Shion answered.

Karen put her hand to Shion's forehead and felt his temperature. Shion did not shift into a snake, as his mother Karen shared a bond with Shion, true love. Shion's appearance did alter, but not significantly. His pupils narrowed and elongated to become snake-like, his canines extended into fangs and a few scales appeared on his skin in random patches. Zodiacs transformed in such a way when they touched anyone who they share a true love bond with, even their mates. All a zodiac has to do is react when touching someone and they know who their mate is, it was an interesting thing, but Shion highly doubted he would ever find his own mate.

"It seems like your fever his broken." Karen confirmed.

Shion ate his lunch as his mother sat beside him. He ate only half and forced the medicine down.

"Elyrius asks that you try to make it to the dinner meeting tonight. So she can go over tomorrow with everyone."

Shion sighed and nodded. He looked up at the window. The view was not much, just the stone wall right outside. "I want to go outside."

"I don't know. The garden is pretty cold right now and you are just overcoming your fever and with it being winter and all…."

"Please?" Shion asked softly.

Shion's mother sighed. "Oh, alright. Get up. I am going to bundle you up so you are nice and toasty."

Shion put on shoes as his mom got her son a coat, hat, scarf, gloves, and even a blanket to wear.

The spirits of the animal within each host affected their needs, attitudes, and even habits. An example of that is the cat; cats tend to sleep during rainy days, so the possessor of the cat does the same.

Well, Shion was the snake and snakes tend to hibernate during the cold weather, so he was always groggy from November to about March.

When Shion was bundled all nice and warm, he walked out with his mother.

The house was one giant square with a beautiful garden in the center.

Shion walked through the garden, during the summer he would sunbath here as a snake. He gently touched a petal of a poinsettia. "What's it like?" He asked, curious.

"What do you mean?" Karen asked.

"Outside, beyond the manor."

Shion, like the rest of the zodiac, had never been outside the manor before; the only interaction he had with the outside world was this tiny garden. He wanted to know what his mother's world was like. The day he was forced to come to the manor was the day his mother abandoned that world to stay with her son.

"It's definitely different." Karen smiled and pulled down Shion's hat so it covered his ears a little better. "Some places it is peaceful, and others are violent and nasty."

"I want to know more." Shion smiled and quickly covered his mouth as he coughed.

Karen checked Shion's temperature. "Not with that fever." She sighed. "Let's get you back in bed."

####

Everyone sat around a large rectangular table saying nothing. Each member of the zodiac was present except one.

"How useless." A zodiac muttered.

"I am surprised the capital hasn't kicked him out yet for being such a waste." Another said.

The zodiacs continued their whispered conversations, until finally the spirit of the cat finally snapped. "He is sick! He wasn't born healthy like you. Lay off! He has every reason to show late or not at all!"

"Calm your fur down kitty, or you will get your tail tangled." A teen said.

Safu huffed and sat down.

"I believe he will come." Elyrius said,

Safu looked at Elyrius. "You believe in Shion?"

Elyrius nodded and smiled.

Shion came in with a scarf and hat on, he was obviously not feeling well, but he sat at his assigned seat beside Elyrius and bowed. "Sorry I am late."

"We have not begun yet." Elyrius said, forgiving him.

Dinner was served and as the zodiacs ate, Elyrius covered how the ceremony would occur.

Shion listened to his part, he was to attend the ceremony and look for a suitable mate. He would be allowed to leave if his health was not failing. Shion agreed and returned to his quarters when the meeting was dismissed. He returned to his room and called it a night.