thehauntedfrequency

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.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[squint.]

...Favors for some other restaurant-owner? [is that more plausible than him conning old ladies or swiping wallets? it is to Manabu, because Manabu's only seen evidence of the former!!]

[Murmured, after swallowing his food:]

If the restaurant were a front, perhaps.

[This topic maybe shouldn't be discussed in public, however, so Grey takes a sip of coffee and casts about for a change of subject.

He absently looks at his plate and thinks.]

...You know I still can't look at a plate of food without remembering the clock reference system.

Eh-? [blink. blinkblink. successfully derailed!] Clock? Huh?

It's a method for keeping track of where your food is when you have low vision or are entirely blind. [Manabu may or may not recall Grey mentioning that he used to be blind during that whole tearful "Rezo used me as a lab rat," confession.]

You think of your plate as the face of a clock with the top rim- [Grey picks up a nearby butter knife and taps the top of Manabu's plate.] -representing twelve o'clock and the bottom rim being six o'clock. So if I handed this plate to you I could tell you that your omelet rice is at six o'clock, your salad greens are at eleven, and you have some tomato slices at one.

[Manabu needs a few seconds to get it, because, honestly? when's the last time he looked at an analog clock and read it? but it clicks fast enough...for him, anyway.]

Ehhh... I didn't know that was a thing. [and, admittedly, he often forgets Grey struggles with his vision! the guy carries himself with such certainty that it doesn't translate.

after munching one of those tomato slices:] Do you use that idea for things other than food?

No. But one has to eat everyday, so you get plenty of practice.

[He goes back to eating, albeit slowly, so he can demonstrate more:]

Your food moves around as you eat, so you periodically have to use your utensils to check where everything is, and push it back towards the center if anything is getting close to the edges. It can be easy to spill things without realizing.

[Grey's not sure why he's suddenly telling Manabu this, besides not wanting to talk about his dubious career history? He's not sure if Manabu would be all that interested either, it's just... It's a part of himself that's there but he generally doesn't advertise, for many reasons.

And he wants Manabu to know him better. And, hopefully, still like him.]

[he does still like him! it's definitely not a notion Manabu would've ever come up with, but that makes Grey stand out more in his mind. still bound in his pantleg, his tail twitches for want to twitch.]

I know a few people who could benefit from that trick, heheh...! [definitely not himself. ignore the rice spill at one end of the plate. shush.]

Oh, do you?

[Grey's expression softens further at the sound of Manabu's laugh, prompting a warm expression that absolutely nobody and nothing else is capable of eliciting from him.]

Why don't you give it a try? After closing your eyes, of course.

[he only closes one eye, suspicious.] If I mess up, you'll just make fun of me. Why would I set myself up for that, huh?

And what if I promise I won't? [Because lbr he can always find other things to make fun of Manabu for.]

[now both eyes squint:] You wouldn't give up the chance to tease me, though. [so that'd be lies!!]

I'll have you know I hold back plenty. [At least. He holds back sometimes.

A little more gently:]

You can trust me.

[dammit, you can't hit a sincere guy with the sincerity and not expect all his suspicion to wash away!! naturally Manabu's mollified by the assurance, even if his mouth purses with hesitation for a beat.

inevitably, he does close his eyes - immediately cracking one open to double-check his plate before committing, naturally.]

Okay, so...you said the omelette's at six...?

[Grey also flicks his gaze over Manabu's plate, as if the food might have suddenly launched itself across the room while neither of them were paying attention.]

A little closer to seven now, I'd say, but yes. Some of the rice is close to falling off the rim.

R-right...

[attempts are made. they're not bad! mostly because most of his plate was already cleaned of food to begin with, so there's less risk of shoving things off onto the table. the real pain is the tines of his fork scraping the plate here and there in his errant stabs and coasts along to find the other time places.

suffer for sharing, Grey. suffer with your ears. (it's surely fair if Manabu's ears suffer, too)

after a few attempts, Manabu gives up with a sigh:] Okay, I get it...a special skill I'd have to actually practice to make use of.

[Grey keeps to his promise not to make fun of Manabu, despite the assault on his hearing from the clumsy scraping of metal against ceramic. There's not much guidance he can offer, but he watches patiently while Manabu hunts for the remnants of his meal.

Though after Manabu gives up, Grey does offer a dry rebuttal:]

Isn't any skill like that? Even sighted people have to learn how to use a knife and fork at first.

[Thanks to Rezo's memories, Grey at the very least can recall what it was like having to clean up after every single one of a toddler's meals. Though perhaps that's not the most flattering comparison for a grown man like Manabu.]

Though it's unlikely you'll ever need to use this one.

[he shrugs, pushing the last of his rice into a pile he can scoop onto his spoon.] It's nice to know anyway. I mean, it's what you know, so it's nice knowing a bit more in that sense.

[innocuous sentimentality, the Manabu Yuuki special, drops out of his mouth just as quickly as the food gets shoveled in. it's just sense to him, unfettered by his fraught feelings over the past few months; the normalcy of the space they're in, the daylight...it goes a long way.]

[And Grey in turn responds to such sentimentality with only the most eloquent of words.]

Oh.

[There may be a faint flush on Grey's face at that moment. This damn, nonchalantly sentimental man-!

It's good to see Manabu in a better mood. But it's another reminder to Grey of how important it is for Manabu to get back to his old life, his family and friends in the SDF.

When the last of the rice has been inhaled Grey glances at the remnants of food on his own plate, then back at Manabu.]

-Are you ready to move on?

Ah...

[move on. the meal starts to sit a bit heavier in him, no longer as delicious as it was mere moments ago. ever the anti-pokerface, Manabu looks somber for a few beats before he double-takes back at Grey and catches himself, straightening up.

he puts his utensils on his now-empty plate and nods.]

Let's do this.

[time to try and set some of this right.

...the things that need to be set right.

Manabu's reminded of the tail with the ache in his spine as he climbs to his feet, reminded of himself as a body with the weight, the tension starting to course back into him. but it's time to go.

though, once outside, he hesitates.

warily:] We...can walk there, right? [not that flying is inconvenient. but--but it makes him nauseous!

and walking is slower.]

[Grey nods. Time to take care of things. Whatever consequences they're going to face for this whole affair, they can expect to face them very soon.

But it's hard not to brood speculatively on those consequences, so Grey is quiet and stern as he sets his cutlery aside and accompanies Manabu to the door. Thinking about where he'll go. Before all this, what had he even been planning on doing next...? And if they get caught at the station...

He notices Manabu hesitating and turns, momentarily concerned.

Oh, walking.]

Right, that's fine.

[Grey's a little concerned about how well Manabu's stamina will hold (one more thing to brood about.) It's a fair bit longer to the train station than it was between here and where they spent the night- but he would prefer Manabu not horf up breakfast, so.]

Just stay close to me.

[At least he can be on hand if Manabu's overestimated himself.]

[having a proper meal and some daylight goes a long way to helping Manabu overestimate how well he is, because in his mind, surely a week or two was enough to recover from everything that can be recovered from - being spoiled by the SDF's advanced emergency care can't help matters; he was up and running minutes after being stabbed multiple times! drugs are great.

drugs are not involved right now, and he feels troubled and annoyed that he doesn't feel as brisk as he needs to be, but to voice complaints now is akin to conceding defeat, and he's not about to do that. and while he notes when Grey slows his steps, it only compels him to work harder to keep a steady pace.

that just brings them closer to the station sooner. along the way, his thoughts are entirely forward and elsewhere, missing the way some bodies seem to be going in the same direction (it's a public train station, why wouldn't people head for it?), keeping up with them.

his heart starts thumping when they reach the building, scanning over it. every station is unique to the city they're in, so not everything is always in the same place. some things are, though.]

There should be an interface terminal inside I can use to send the data and ping Big One. Civilians aren't supposed to use it, so... [he glances up to Grey.] So you think you can keep the officer stationed by it busy for a minute or two?

[Grey's a little more wary of the people around them during the walk over, but it is a public train station indeed. Nobody's acting in a particularly suspicious way or doing more than absently glancing in their direction. Grey does his best not to glower at anyone he sees, aware that they need to keep a low profile. Half his attention is on Manabu anyway, in case the other man starts flagging. It's impressive how steady a pace Manabu manages to keep, really.

The St. Simona train station is bigger than Tabito's, but rather modest for a city this size. A two story, narrow brick building shields a station that consists of three platforms and four tracks. Grey's of the understanding it exists primarily as a requirement for Ruvinagald's connection to the SDF, and the building's a tad shabby without being in actual disrepair. A pair of robots guard the front entrance, the sort that are shaped like floating salt shakers. They aren't stopping anyone from going in, but they could be a problem. Fortunately, Grey knows from experience that they're easy enough to take out when needed.

Manabu speaks, and Grey glances down. In a low voice:]

Peacefully busy? I'll see what I can do.

[He supposes he can keep up a dense tourist facade for the requisite minute or two. Improvise some bullshit about being confused by train schedules or lost luggage.]

[Manabu has to do a belated double-take when "peacefully" busy hits; why did that need clarifying! there's no reason to fight anybody here in public! Jeez...

he'll shake his head a bit, sigh, and square his shoulders. Right. The Big One code is...

...gosh, he hopes he remembers it right; it's been so long! time to try.

he separates from Grey, walking askance of the information station, trying to stay out of direct view of the officer on-duty behind the plexiglass while nearing the terminal he can use to pick out a call. once Grey's engaged the officer, he'll draw near, bypassing the passenger UI with an SDF code. the data stick goes in, the code for Big One tapped in...]

[To be fair, Grey wasn't just thinking of fighting- explosions can also be very distracting things! But he's sure Manabu would rather he behave. So he heads directly towards the information station and makes full use of his size as he leans against the plexiglass with one arm and asks a random question:]

Excuse me, what time does the train to Zoana arrive?

[The employee on duty is a youngish man who had a vague air of boredom that steadily changes into one of flustered irritation as Grey proceeds to ask him a series of questions about the train schedules and how the lost and found works, refuses to let the officer redirect him to any of the passenger terminals or official sites and feigns utter confusion with every bit of technology mentioned, and repeatedly sidetracks the conversation into talking about Grey's (non-existent) sons and the officer's thoughts on having kids. Just really reaching within himself to channel the late Rezo in full Obstructive Old Man mode.

Grey's a good actor and liar, but it takes a lot of effort to seem relaxed. He constantly has to hold back the urge to glance Manabu's way, in case something happens while Grey's not looking. Foolish, really, since he knows he'll hear if something is wrong.

God, how long is it going to take for Manabu to send the data...]

[not that long! he just...needs to remember his password, link this to his ID--]

Ah--

[It's still active... that makes him weirdly emotional. throat tight, he swallows, watching to make sure the transfer completes, then turns and calls:]

Grey, all set over-- [he bristles, seeing the glint of a weapon.]

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