This is a summary of chapter 4 of No.6 Reunion #2. Any errors are my own. Spoilers in abundance—beware!
Previous summaries:
Chapter 1 part 1, part 2
Chapter 2 part 1, part 2
Chapter 3 part 1, part 2
This is the final chapter in the book. Volume 3 is slated to be published in Spring 2026, tentatively around May.
Chapter 4: What I Touch With These Fingertips
Searching for a soul-change,
today, too,
I wandered around an unfamiliar town
- “A Handful of Sand / Sorrowful Toys” by Ishikawa Takuboku
Safely at Inukashi’s, Nezumi and Shion explain why they were late as Inukashi berates them for making a mess of the food they brought.
The explanation comes in the form of a brief flashback: Nezumi and Shion were waylaid by four men wearing all black, two with knives and two with brass knuckles. Nezumi took care of them handily, but one pointed a gun at Shion. Nezumi threw a knife at the man with the gun, who then shot at Shion and missed. The four men retreated into the darkness, and Nezumi and Shion didn’t chase after them.
Back in the present in Inukashi’s hotel, Inukashi is salvaging the stew. They say that Nezumi and Shion should have gone after the men, but Nezumi says Shion stopped him from doing so. Inukashi says that Nezumi probably wouldn’t have gone after them anyway—he’s not the type to do so. Nezumi asks why Inukashi thinks so, and they say that Nezumi hates working up a sweat, especially right before a meal. Nezumi shuts his mouth, completely taken aback, and Shion bursts out laughing.
Inukashi wonders why Shion won’t tell the Security Bureau that he got attacked a second time, and Shion says that the men weren’t after him—they were after Nezumi. Nezumi asks why he would be targeted, and after the three of them discuss, they conclude that one, the men were no amateurs, and two, they all went after Nezumi even though Shion—the Chairman—was right there. It seems they wanted to test how Nezumi would fight if he were protecting someone.
Shion says he needs to hear Nezumi’s story before talking to the Security Bureau, and Nezumi agrees, but says Inukashi’s report takes priority. Inukashi says that dinner is their top priority, and starts ladling stew into bowls.
Rummaging in Inukashi’s cabinets to their chagrin, Nezumi finds two bottles of red wine and a basket of vegetables. Teasingly, he asks where Inukashi stole them from, but Inukashi says they were a gift from Rikiga. Nezumi is briefly caught by surprise. Inukashi explains that Rikiga’s been quite kind to them lately, and even gave them a shirt and shoes for little Shion. Nezumi wonders what Rikiga’s motive might be, and advises Inukashi to return the gifts—Rikiga probably has some nasty job up his sleeve for Inukashi.
Shion interrupts, saying there’s nothing dangerous about Rikiga. Internally, he reflects on Rikiga’s determination to start a newspaper, and thinks that Rikiga probably wants access to Inukashi’s ability to sniff out information, and so is trying to get in their good graces.
Inukashi accuses Shion of scheming with Rikiga to make trouble for Inukashi, but Nezumi says that if Rikiga has Shion’s approval, there’s probably nothing to worry about.
Nezumi suggest they crack open the wine, and while Inukashi initially objects, the combination of the lamb stew and the wine wins them over. As Nezumi uses a small knife to remove the cork of one of the bottles, he warns Shion to take it easy on the alcohol, saying that Shion is a lightweight and is a handful to deal with when drunk. He removes a carrot from the basket of vegetables, and presents it to Shion, telling him to take a bite.
Shion does with no hesitation, saying it doesn’t taste particularly good or bad. Nezumi scowls and says Shion always disappoints him. Shion asks what he means, and Nezumi says Shion let him down. Shion asks what Nezumi could possibly want from him—should he have pretended to be a rabbit?
Inukashi interjects and says the image of the Chairman acting like a cute little bunny is just too funny. They praise Karan’s cooking, then lean back in their chair, hand to their forehead. Shion asks if they’re choking on the stew and hands them water.
Inukashi doesn’t take the water. Instead, they explain their reaction: in the West Block, how good food tasted didn’t matter as long as you had something to eat. People even died because they ate food they knew was bad—their hunger won out over their survival instincts. Nowadays, though, because of all of Shion’s hard work, the West Block has fresh, good food and public utilities. They ask, though, that Shion not change the West Block any more than it already has. They don’t want to lose the West Block they know to No.6.
Shion asks if other people in the West Block share Inukashi’s opinion, but Inukashi brushes him off, saying that the reason no one’s complained about the Restructural Committee until now has been because of how grateful they are to be able to live without fear of death, starvation, and the cold. Inukashi wonders, however, how things might change in the future. No one in the West Block has forgotten what No.6 did to them, and this incident with the fire might stoke old hurts. Because the fire department was quicker to arrive to the fire sites in the city than in the West Block, Inukashi heard people muttering that the Restructural Committee was treating them like an afterthought, or discriminating against them.
They trail off, and Nezumi presses them for more information, saying they’d better spill before Shion’s dead drunk. Shion complains that Nezumi is calling him a bad drunk, and Nezumi says he is one—he’s experienced it firsthand.
Steeling themself, Inukashi continues their story. They say that people are used to loss in the West Block, and Nezumi agrees. Inukashi says that even though people suffered immense loss in the fire at the Anthill, people didn’t seem too anxious about it—the murmurs of discontent that Inukashi had heard had come later. Meeting Nezumi’s eyes, Shion asks if a bad actor might be sowing discontent on purpose.
Inukashi doesn’t confirm outright, but says that one of their dogs caught a whiff of an unfamiliar smell at the evacuation sites and at the burned remains—a smell that wasn’t of the West Block.
Shion wonders if maybe the smell was from personnel from the city like firefighters or doctors that came to help, but Inukashi denies it. This smell is an entirely new one. They also have one more piece of information to share—one of their dogs found a knife like the one used to attack Shion in the park at a vacant house at the western edge of the Anthill. The vacant house was next to a bar, and so drunkards would sometimes sleep in it, making campfires to ward off the chill.
A corpse burned beyond recognition was found inside the house, and one of Inukashi’s dogs saw some men enter the house just before the fire started. Nezumi wonders that if those men had deliberately started the fire, why not wait until nighttime when it was less likely that they’d be seen? Shion answers that they were taking advantage of the evening wind from the west—the house was to the west of the Anthill, and the wind was blowing from the west, so the fire spread very rapidly as a result.
Shion starts to panic internally, wondering what he should do to solve this problem, but Inukashi pulls him out of it by saying that people’s complaining has largely died down thanks to Shion coming by to the West Block incident sites, listening to people’s needs and informing them of the concrete steps of the recovery plan. They say Shion should be able to breathe easy for a bit. Shion says he can’t breathe easy yet because there are too many unknowns.
Little Shion wakes up from his nap, and Inukashi asks adult Shion to go get him a new diaper from Inukashi’s room upstairs. Shion leaves to go do so, and Nezumi is alone with Inukashi. Inukashi has two updates on the job Nezumi tasked them with: first, they didn’t hear any rumors that the man in the hologram Nezumi had shown them had been seen at the Anthill. Second, they got a short video of the man talking to another man on a West Block street corner. None of their conversation is audible. They also got a photo of him getting in a car. That’s the limit of what Inukashi is willing to do for two silvers.
Inukashi muses again on the incredible things Shion has been able to accomplish, calling his ability to calm the anxiety of West Block victims of the fires akin to magic. They say Shion can control reality as he wills, even though he may not have noticed that he’s doing it. Nezumi agrees.
Inukashi asks how things will go with him in a year’s time—does Nezumi think Shion will truly be able to leave No.6? Will No.6 be able to stand on its own without him? Will the status quo deteriorate into fighting and taking sides?
Nezumi asks why they’re thinking about No.6’s future, and Inukashi counters that they’re thinking of their own future—they don’t want to raise their Shion in a world like the old No.6.
Shion comes back from upstairs. Inukashi comments that one of the wine bottles is already empty, and accuses Nezumi and Shion of drinking all of it. Shion says he only had one glass, and Nezumi says he should keep it that way—he doesn’t want to carry a drunk Shion home on his back. Inukashi tells them to stop arguing in front of their kid, and little Shion happily says “Drunk! Drunk!” The three of them burst out laughing as the dogs and little Shion look on in confusion.
The scene transitions to Nezumi and Shion alone in the underground room. It’s Nezumi’s POV. Toweling his hair dry after a shower, Shion comments on how nostalgic being in this room together with Nezumi feels. Nezumi asks if he wants to turn back time, and Shion sits down on the bed. He says, after a long moment of silence, that he wished that countless times these past two years, and it exhausted him because he knew that wish could never be granted.
Internally, Nezumi agrees—for him and Shion both, time can’t be turned back.
Shion continues, saying that he doesn’t want to chase after some past Nezumi. He wants Nezumi, wants him as he is now.
Nezumi sets down his book and stands in front of Shion. He comments that Shion’s sending him mixed messages—sitting on a bed and saying words like that sounds like Shion’s propositioning him. Shion says that he doesn’t mind if Nezumi thinks he is.
Nezumi shoves Shion in the chest, and finds Shion falls back all too easily. Nezumi climbs on top of Shion, straddling him, and remarks that Shion’s become quite bold. Shion says it’s because he’s drunk, and Nezumi says his eyes aren’t those of a drunk person. Nezumi thinks, though, that his eyes aren’t those of a person propositioning someone, either.
Shion calls his name, asking Nezumi what he and Inukashi had been talking about after they got him to leave the room. Rather than answering, Nezumi touches Shion’s neck, sliding his fingers leisurely along his red scar. He feels warmth, but also that Shion is trembling. He presses harder to crush down that trembling.
Nezumi finds himself pondering two choices: he could caress Shion or strangle him. He wonders which Shion will choose.
His voice perfectly level, Shion asks Nezumi what he’s been hiding from him. Nezumi asks him if he wants to know, and Shion says yes. His expression is one Nezumi knows very well—Shion’s eyes always look like that when he says he wants to know something. Nezumi recalls all the times Shion’s looked like that while saying that to him before.
Nezumi considers his two choices again: to caress Shion, or to strangle him. He wonders which one he himself will choose. He digs his fingers into Shion’s neck harder, but then sits up. Shion also slowly sits up. Nezumi says it’s about time he told Shion what’s been going on—starting with his two years away. He begins to speak.
Director said "take five", but Himaruya heard "change lives"
LIVES WERE CHANGED WITH FRANCE'S NEW LOOK OMG HOW IS HE SO BEAUTIFUL
And EXCUSE MEEEE can we talk about THIS FRUK MOMENT?!?!?! France leaning backwards to look for England's approval, England looking at him WITH THAT SWEET SMILE AND FRANCE BLUSHING??????? AAAAAAAAA
(all my theories will probably contain spoilers for all of TMA)
OK so, we can all agree that was Jonah Magnus writing, right? At least a Magnus. "The Institute would not have been founded, nor would my fellows have selected me for its leadership, much less its name"
If Augustus really is the voice of TMA's Jonah, this would be the first instance of someone from the TMA Universe giving voice to it's TMAGP's Universe counterpart. And that's pretty cool.
He also mentions "Boyle's meddling inheritors", pretty sure he's talking about Robert Boyle, founder of the Royal Society. How long has it been since?
The Royal Society was founded in 1660, and Presumably Jonah Magnus writes this in 1845. Saying "we have been undertaking this great work for three decades", does that put the foundation of the Institute around 1810? That's almost two centuries after the foundation of the Royal Society. But both organisations are definitely connected. Perhaps the Insitute was created to take the Royal Society experiments to the next level, to have the philosophers work together.
More things:
-TREVOR fucking HERBERT MP?? Speechless.
-Celia getting an email, and the address looks like "gibberish". That probably rules out Jon? When Sam got Jon's email, he didn't mention the address being gibberish... ARG friends, do we have any suspects?
-Do we think Celia knows what's in Hilltop? She def knows she's not from this universe, but does she know she came through Hilltop's crack in reality? Does she know about it?
I am also incredibly excited about Hilltop Road (if I didn’t have a migraine I think I would have genuinely screamed aloud) and the Minister and the mysterious emails being teased again, but I need to spend five hours processing my beautiful wife Jonah being back from the war before I can even start to touch on that, alas.
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