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.]
no subject
it takes more intentional prodding for Manabu to admit to pain with little winces, exhaling with a withered sound.
fingers on the back of his neck give him goosebumps and cause to chew on his lip, feeling his face get hot again. this isn't the kind of handling that ever came to mind in the past, but the tactile memories are going to linger and influence, surely...]
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Once he's satisfied he's gotten as much information about Manabu's head and ears as he can from looking and touching, Grey withdraws his hands.]
It looks like your injuries are healing well. By the look of things, I'd estimate the surgery was done about a month ago.
[He's guessing he'll find similar results with the tail, since it looks like it came from the same donor as the ears... Not that he's a dog expert by any means.
Of course, now it's time for the part that even Grey has to admit is going to be awkward.]
I need you to turn around and lie on your stomach now. I'm going to examine your spine and tail.
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[he hesitates, the awkward kind of leadening his limbs for want to avoid said awkward.
not like he can really make excuses to avoid it, can he? would it be less embarrassing were it Yuki? maybe.
despite being a slug about it, Manabu does comply, smushing his face into a pillow. this is humiliating...]
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Making things considerably worse, Manabu's shirt and boxers are going to be in the way. The shirt isn't so bad, Grey can just push the fabric up to Manabu's shoulders- and an exposed male back surely isn't a big deal? It's really only the pace that gives him pause. Moving too slowly feels like it would be overly intimate, but the idea of just yanking it up doesn't feel right either. He'll have to aim for a good midpoint.
As for the boxers... There is no way to pull a person's underpants down that is going to feel normal. Grey figures he'll just have to pull them down enough to get Manabu's tail free, without completely exposing the buttocks.
Right. He's got a plan now. Grey at least has the decency to give Manabu some warning before going for it.]
I'm going to adjust your clothes now.
[He does not, however, have the decency to let Manabu provide or deny permission. He grips the bottom of Manabu's shirt and pushes the fabric up, then begins to examine Manabu's spine. It's much the same process as with Manabu's head, but with less movement required- gentle touches, lots of quiet looking, and the occasional increase of pressure to find areas of soreness.
It's also just a little harder to feel professional about this, rather than like a weirdo who's fondling his partner in crime.]
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mostly altogether.
his tail does lash out in a vent for his anxiousness, something that just makes him tenser.
he turns his head to utter:] I'm not doing that on purpose!
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Hm. That's good to-
[PAFF. The tail swats him directly in the nose.]
-know.
[Fur. In his face. Manabu, why.
Grey edges away from the tail, deciding that he needs to double-check the upper part of Manabu's spine. Just in case! He does notice how tense and hard the muscles feel under his fingers, even without much prodding.]
Your back's very tense. Is that from the pain?
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So it's awkward for Manabu as well? Maybe that should be a relief, but it just exacerbates Grey's own embarrassment to know. He's glad that Manabu probably can't see Grey's face reddening from this angle.
But maybe if he pretends really hard this is Normal, Actually, he can trick Manabu into believing it! It isn't as if he's doing anything actually untoward, right?]
Do you not get physical exams like this very often?
[Of course, when Grey says that, a terrible thought occurs to him, and his brow knits with concern.]
...Is this, perhaps, reminding you of your experiences in that lab?
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[mortified, he smashes his face into the pillow again, yelling a muffled "IT'S FINE."]
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...Right.
[Press X To Doubt.]
I'll try to finish this up quickly, then. We're going to loosen your tail now.
[And since that tail's swishing and lashing about all uncooperatively, Grey is going to carefully grab it so it can't move around too much while he pulls down Manabu's boxers. Just enough to get the tail free and expose the base of Manabu's spine! He's attempting to leave Manabu with some dignity.
He's probably not succeeding, but it's the thought that counts, right?]
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but if he moves, he'll have to account for an indecent-sounding groan that escapes him in the process, and there is no way he can do that!!!]
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Manabu? Are you alright?
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Umh... [he does push himself up a little, his face scarlet.] Ye-yeah? It just...feels kind of...intense. Is all. [hoo.]
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So it isn't painful, exactly, but more of a case of overstimulation? Perhaps it's because it's an entirely new body part... Your body's not used to processing the sensory signals from it.
[That sounds plausible enough, doesn't it?]
Can I touch it again? Perhaps we can figure out what the threshold is.
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he gulps.]
Um, sure, but--but don't get on my case about it if it's weird, okay? It's weird!
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[Grey reaches back out, experimenting first with touching his fingertips to the fur. How does it react to the lightest brushing of his fingers? Can he even feel it through the fur?]
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That's...no big deal. Nothing, really.
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I see. What if I try brushing the fur back?
[Grey goes and does just that, stroking the fur the wrong way so that it gets a little ruffled.]
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That bad is it?
[Another thing to keep in mind, perhaps. For his next test, Grey shifts his hand so that his palm is underneath Manabu's tail and curls his fingers- not actually touching it unless Manabu's tail happens to twitch against his hand, but definitely in position to encircle it.]
Alright, next I'm going to try grabbing it. That seems to be where you have the most trouble. I'll gradually tighten my grip, and you let me know when it's too tight.
[And he starts on that, wrapping his hand around Manabu's tail properly.]
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it feels really good! and that's extremely embarrassing.
after a puffed breath:] I, I-I don't know if...if it's a good thing or not, that...that it feels like this?
no subject
The shudder and the shortness of Manabu's breath make it seem like it might be too much already, but Manabu hasn't told him to stop yet... His explanation is a little vague as well.]
What do you mean?
[Grey begins to squeeze a little.]
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he catches his breath with a gasp.]
Ss, s-s-sorry! It, it-itit's messing me up a little, uh-! [do it agian?
...wait no don't.
but maybe?]
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-I'd say that's too much, then.
[It's messing Grey up a little as well, truthfully. He's not entirely clued in to what Manabu's going through, but it's pretty obvious that it's intense and, well. Having Manabu squirm and gasp beneath his hands is difficult to ignore, particularly when Grey's gone and exposed so much of the poor man's body. The sense of control is heady, giving him a rush of exhilaration no matter how much he wants to be clinical about this.
He fixes his gaze at a random point on the wall, and takes a moment to do some mental arithmetic. Twelve times twelve is one hundred and forty-four. Twelve times eleven is one hundred and thirty-two. Twelve times ten is...
He can't do it for very long though, or else the pause will get awkward. Awkwarder?]
...So. It seems to be pressure. That causes the reaction.
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[that felt good. too good. that was bad. he's going to have to lay face down like this for...for how long?!
he gulps. all this blood rushing about and none of it to spare for his poor, frazzled brain cells.]
Good to...good to know...
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