Number 6

It's been two years since Nezumi promised Shion they'd meet again and left No. 6. In this follow-up to the original story, Shion is now the chief of the Reconstruction Committee, where he worries about both the unstable political situation in the city and the mysterious assassin targeting him. Overwhelmed, he longs for Nezumi's assistance, only for Nezumi to reappear just when he's needed the most. Reunited at last, Shion vows that if Nezumi leaves again, they will be going together. But first, can the two boys build a future welcoming to all? And will they be able to find the hope amidst the traps that stand in their way? (Source: Kodansha, translated)

This time, subsequent to the story that wrapped up in Volume 9, is the release of a wondrous "side story"! In response to the many sorrowed voices, the author Asano Atsuko proclaimed, "Then I'll write a supplementary story!" The author herself, recalling her love for the characters, is blazing with ambition at being able to give further life to Shion and Nezumi, who hold such complexity and unfathomable fascination. Cutting out moments from the lives of Nezumi and Shion that she hadn't been able to touch on before, she starts to unravel their secrets...

For Shion, an elite student in the technologically sophisticated city No. 6, life is carefully choreographed. School, study, and the occasional visit with his friend and classmate Safu. One fateful day, however, he takes a misstep, sheltering an injured boy his age from a typhoon. Known only as Rat, this boy is a VC—a fugitive living outside the computerized tapestry of city control—and helping him will throw Shion’s life into chaos and start him down a path to discovering the appalling secrets behind the superficial perfection of No. 6. (Source: Kodansha USA)