A copy. (
repeatedprayer) wrote in
thehauntedfrequency2024-03-04 10:16 pm
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doggone
[In the time following his departure from Tabito and Manabu's company, the alias "Grey" has wound up sticking.
Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.
By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.
It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.
He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.
And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.
Until the day it does.
SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]
* * *
[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.
Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.
He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.
The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.
But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."
Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]
Interesting?
["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]
Nothing would please me more.
[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]
Not that everyone calls him that, he's used a few other aliases since then, but it's what he's wound up thinking of himself as. If Grey had taken the time to think about it a bit more he might have picked something with a little less connection to Rezo's name, but it's still leagues better than thinking of himself as "Rez- wait, no, just a copy." And maybe that's why he's felt significantly calmer since he left Sairaag.
By his own standards, Grey has been laudably well-behaved; sure, he's been mostly doing under-the-table psychic work, often on behalf of criminals, but! He's been trying to keep a low profile so it's usually things like clairvoyant spying rather than anything violent, and he's been making a point of not doing anything that directly impacts the galaxy railways.
It would be extremely awkward if Manabu Yuuki had to try and arrest him, after all.
He's found himself frequently thinking about Manabu, much to his annoyance. He has no serious expectations of ever seeing Manabu again, so it's simply a waste of mental bandwidth to find himself wondering what Manabu is doing right now or where he is, or to reminisince over their incredibly brief acquaintanceship. Grey can only suppose that because Manabu was the first reasonably normal person he got to know after leaving Sairaag that Manabu is going to stick out in his mind for a while.
And it's probably because of the real estate that Manabu is hogging in Grey's mind that he's been very aware of every mention of the SDF that crosses his path. He hasn't exactly been tracking the SDF's activities deliberately, but he does pay attention to the news and the SDF frequently winds up in there, even if Manabu's name in particular isn't normally dropped.
Until the day it does.
SDF Officer Taken Hostage By Pirates]
* * *
[It's taken several weeks of investigating, but Grey has been able to track down The Huntress's client, a Dr. Parish and associates. It must be a small galaxy, because Dr. Parish is someone Grey knows. Sort of.
Rather, Dr. Parish was a colleague of Rezo's who collaborated with the man on chimera research (and other unsavory things) in the past. Not only that, the man was an ardent admirer of Rezo's superior psychic prowess, and desperate to improve his own meager abilities.
He'd had quite a shock when Grey approached him in town, but after the initial surprise it had been sickeningly easy to convince Dr. Parish that he was the real Rezo. Grey can only surmise that the man wants to believe too badly to let himself be properly suspicious. It had only taken a day for Grey to be invited to tour Parish's laboratory.
The lab's located on the grounds of a former Marquess's estate, a ways out of town and secluded by trees, a high wall, and a long drive. Grey's done a little recon before, but actually being here is different, especially since he has to navigate by cane at the moment. Grey is doing his best to politely nod and smile as Parish guides him from room to room, explaining their work and occasionally handing him things to examine himself.
But evidently Parish realizes that "Rezo" isn't entirely interested, because he stops partway through an explanation of some stem cell experiments he and a few others have been working on to say "Of course, the really interesting specimens are kept in the basement floor."
Grey already knows this. He hopes his expression seems the right sort of eager.]
Interesting?
["Something along the lines of what we did in the past. Would you like to see them?"]
Nothing would please me more.
[Grey can practically hear Parish's delighted grin. To soothe the surge of irritation, Grey reminds himself that he's going to kill this man before the end of the day and allows Parish to guide him out into the hall and to the basement entrance at the back of the building.]
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[Grey says that to tease Manabu- they're already fucking so it's not like the idea of being on a date should be too shocking- but immediately after saying it he starts feeling flustered himself and hurries on ahead.]
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[multiple dates... that sounds a lot like not simply dumping Manabu back at HQ and evaporating from his life entirely. not that he ought to jump the gun here, but Manabu's starting to hope Grey's going to be more willing to try this integrate-into-society-better thing than at first blush.
such a notion does make him forget being tired - it's downright exciting in a funny way; his tail would be wagging if it wasn't currently pinned to his leg as it is.]
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They reach the one kilometer goal soon enough, or at least Grey does. Grey glances back at Manabu, possibly waiting for him to catch up. Either way, once Manabu's at his side, Grey remarks:]
Already halfway done.
[After a bit of thought (re: picking the first place that looks acceptable) Grey settles on a nearby coffee-and-tea shop for the break he's mandated.]
Let's go here.
[It's a respectable but not ritzy establishment- the sign is decorated with a cartoon jaguar and through the windows one can see that somebody brought their dog inside.
so surely manabu will not be denied entryClearly expecting Manabu to follow him, Grey forges on ahead and holds the door open for Manabu.]
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he steps inside at Grey's behest, blinking around, holding gaze with the dog for a beat before carrying on.]
Well, ah...get what you want. I'll save a seat.
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Grey opens his mouth to protest when Manabu speaks- he's intending to tell Manabu to order something!!!- but then realizes it'll probably be harder for Manabu to refuse sustenance after Grey's already bought it. So he nods instead.]
Ah- Alright, thank you.
[Grey heads up to the counter and chats for a little bit with the staff about what's available, since the overhead menu is still a pain to read. After placing his order it's a brief wait for it to be prepared, and then Grey goes to find whatever table Manabu has picked out.]
Here.
[Manabu is handed a cup of tea, and a ham sandwich. Grey sets his own, exact same order, across from where Manabu is seated and sits down to await any demurring from Manabu.]
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Hmh-? [he double-takes from people-watching to see what's set in front of himself.] Oh, but I didn't... [ask for anything...
but he is hungry, now that he sees the spread, humble though it is.]
Mn. Tha-thanks...
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It's awkward when only one person is having something.
[So it's not like he did it for you, baka!
He pops open the lid of his tea and blows gently on it before attempting to take a sip.]
Tss-
[Tragically, it's too hot to drink right off the bat.]
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Anyway, since Manabu's started on his sandwich Grey will follow suit. Munch munch.]
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after getting that down:] That's not sense at all. You don't know you'll not like something unless you've tried it!
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[Not that Grey has any solid thoughts on what he'd make Manabu do, but hey. At the very least it potentially gives him something to lord over Manabu.]
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