A copy. (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
repeatedprayer) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
thehauntedfrequency2024-03-04 10:16 pm
repeatedprayer) wrote in thehauntedfrequency2024-03-04 10:16 pm
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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He slurps up a mouthful of noodles and considers Manabu's question.]
Er, yes. [The hardest part has just been the uncertainty of Manabu's absence, and the longing that gnaws at his heart every day and night. But that's not really a Tabito-specific problem.] I wouldn't say I have no complaints but on the whole it has gone well.
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[Grey frowns softly, trying to work out what Manabu means.] You mean at the Ruvinagald train station? I don't remember what happened there very well.
[The distance of time and mental protection from traumatic events has a way of making memories feel uncertain. And, you know, the dangerous amount of blood loss.
All that to say he doesn't remember much of anything Manabu did or said at the time, including the hesitation Manabu speaks of.]
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making a mindful effort to gently set a bowl aside:] I wanted to go back and help. The active duty officers. So I hesitated. And when we got outside, they were already taking point to shoot.
[and...he got shot! obviously.]
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[That sounds familiar. Or maybe just sounds like Manabu. He's pretty sure that one of the gunmen was threatening the officers, and that's why he remembers dropping his barrier before they left the station.
But at any rate...]
I think you're placing far too much importance on one moment.
[Grey polishes off the last of his meal and stands up, taking his dishes over to where Manabu is cleaning up.]
And if I had gotten away from the SDF I don't think I'd get to be here now.
[He'd be off god knows where, doing sordid little jobs and worrying about how Manabu was doing.]
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I--I mean, I guess...but...Maybe you could've gotten here just because you wanted to, not...because it was one of the only options you had. That's what I mean. Being sorry, I mean.
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[Grey sets his dishes down on a nearby counter and then steps behind Manabu, wrapping his arms around Manabu in a gentle embrace.]
I don't blame you.
[But he does get where Manabu is coming from, he thinks. The situation isn't ideal. It's just there's a lot of things unideal about their situation that's more than a hesitation being potentially the nail that lost the horse leading to Grey being stuck with a tracker in his arm. Ideally, Grey also wouldn't be a copy and Manabu wouldn't be a traumatized dog chimera.]
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wry:] I-it's okay if you don't; I do. [so if there's blaming to be done, he'll do it himself, to himself.
he lets a dish towel go and reaches to press his hand against Grey's arm, closing his eyes. his tail is lightly hitting at Grey's shin.]
I'll try to make it up to you.
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His eyes shut as well, allowing him to focus better on Manabu's warmth, his scent, the sounds of his breathing and his voice. Grey scoffs a little at Manabu's continued self-admonishing, but at that last promise...]
Well, if you insist I'm sure I can come up with a few ways.
[Grey's voice takes on a teasing edge. Would he be taking advantage of Manabu? Perhaps- but it would be for Manabu's sake as much as Grey's, surely! If doing things to please Grey will help alleviate Manabu's need to wallow in self-blame, then Grey's obligated to humbly accept.]
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tilting his head up:] I, I have to take care of my mom tonight. But-- [but he meant it - that whole day.]
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Mn! I'll see you soon. [for certain this time. not just...the thing you say before vanishing into a facility for so many weeks.
he sees Grey to the door, waving, blocking Shutaro from toddling out after him with a well-positioned foot, feeling lighter than he's felt in...in a while. things aren't perfect, but they're undeniably good. isn't that how life tends to be best? not perfect, but good.
returning to his mother, "good" has to account for the complications that come with facing grief and all the gaps in time to go over in a way that won't exacerbate it. tough stuff, and even though Kana's been through more than enough losses, fresh wounds still hurt. when the slightest notions of "when i get back" - to work, to the SDF - comes up, she hardens, but she bites her tongue best she can. she doesn't mean to, but coming to resent that organization seems only natural, given what she's endured.
it's his life, though, not hers; she just wishes her life had more bearing on it than simply being the one to worry and be left behind. were the two of them better at communicating, maybe she and Manabu could find some solace between knowing the same feelings in their own ways, but...
but for now, half-measures are taken, and Manabu lets her fuss and smother him all she pleases up to the weekend. she gives him some side-eye for saying he's staying over with Grey, but again bites her tongue, not wanting to hear a truthful answer on that just yet. Grey's a good man, so she knows he's not going to be going off into trouble, but still. still.
not perfect, after all.
Manabu gets antsier and antsier before the weekend dawns, and no amount of chores or humdrum activities is mitigating a restlessly bouncing leg or getting him to focus. Kana's doing her best - finding jackets and things for cover-up - but there really is no escaping the oddity. Manabu's an SDF boy, not an outlaw, so looking like a cosplay of the infamous Tochiro Oyama suits poorly outside of Halloween.
the hat is at least better than a knit cap, and makes sense for the searing sun of Tabito... an off-hand joke about making captain so he can get the long coat and hat goes off poorly, and Manabu sighs and just accepts his faux-cowboy fate.
that's what appears at the door when Manabu comes knocking: broad-rimmed hat, long brown coat, and a bag carrying a pair of bento boxes.
with an eager grin:] Made it!