No.6 Discussion Board

To add to that discussion, I recently had a thought:
We established that Nezumi lacks the mindset of an abuser although his behaviour can be seen as abusive. His intention isn't to control Shion and making him dependent on himself but to make sure Shion survives. And Nezumi only ever resorts to violence (physical or psychological) when he's either afraid of Shion doing something that might very well end up killing him or when he fears for his own life because well, Shion easily triggers him.
Now, considering that Nezumi grew up in the West Block, was thrown into the underground of the Correctional Facility and lived in those caves until he could flee, I'd say that Nezumi's only reaction to fear is either fight or flight (which is basically the most normal response to fear of any kind. All humans have those same instincts and the decision isn't even made consciously).
Holding a knife to Shion's throat is really a no-go and I think we all agree that that's pretty ****ed up (I mean, apparently fist fighting isn't that big of a deal between boys? I see that with the male friends of a friend of mine. They're pretty much okay with that. A knife on the other hand is something totally different.) Okay, where am I going?
So, Nezumi was afraid (no way he wasn't; Shion making a serum out of his blood and going back to No.6 where he would surely be executed). But there wasn't a possibility to flee the situation. It was his home. If he flees from his home where should he go? Where should he feel safe again? With the flight response out of the way, the only way left was fighting. We all know how that ended (with Shion not being very impressed and Nezumi being very confused).

Ehm ... yeah, I hope it made as much sense as it did in my head. It's really hard to bring thoughts like these to paper :/ It's hot in Germany too so my brain is kinda fried.

I think whether or not a relationship is abusive depends on the offender's intentions and the victim's reactions for me. And Nezumi isn't a typical abuser (I might say; I'm not an expert on the topic) and Shion definitely isn't a typical victim of abuse. And saying that Nezumi's physical abuse triggered Shion to strangle Sasori and shoot Rashi ... Shion nearly choked Rikiga before and you can't tell me that little brawl that ended up with nearly-nose-biting could have made such a big impression on Shion. Shion wasn't a lamb to begin with and he wasn't all that mentally stable either.
Though I don't doubt Nezumi's influence on his break down after realizing he killed Rashi.