doggone

[repeatedprayer]

[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.]

Comments

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey smiles. It's a little thin, but he's genuinely enjoying Manabu's astonishment.]

It has its downsides. While I'm using it, I can't see or hear anything that's actually going on around my physical body. I keep my sense of touch within my body, though, so I'll notice if anyone touches me.

[siriusly]

Huh. So like... [...] Like zoning out in a class, imagining you're somewhere else...but you kind of are somewhere else, but only a little?

[repeatedprayer]

[That's actually not a bad analogy! Grey's eyebrows raise, impressed that Manabu is understanding all this.]

Right. I've heard about other psychic users who are able to send their senses of touch and taste away from their bodies as well, but I've never tried doing that. It doesn't seem as useful. And having a few senses stay in your body keeps you grounded, otherwise it would be difficult to return.

[Which is a problem if you're getting attacked- or someone notices you and thinks you've lost consciousness and tries to rouse you. (RIP to that random nurse that Grey slapped way back when.)]

[siriusly]

[the idea of getting lost out of one's body is a bit too high a thought for Manabu to easily visualize, so after a beat of scrunching his nose to consider it, he lets it go.]

Radar and scanner analytics would probably be safer and less stressful... [if they had them!!!!] But if it's something you're okay with doing and it doesn't hurt anybody, I can't say it's a bad idea. [because if it involves exploding more people, Manabu's out.

his attention pivots to the tablet he has balanced on one thigh while he's picking at the last few non-crumbs of cereal.]

...No public obituaries about career medical professionals. Hruh. Coverup? Or those people never did licensed work here to record...

[repeatedprayer]

I'll be safer doing it than I usually am if you'll be there to watch over me. [That feels a little embarrassing to admit to, um.] And I enjoy doing it, actually. It's something I've gotten a lot of practice at, during times when I had nothing better to do.

[That also feels a little personal? But it's basically what Manabu said, zoning out in class.

Anyway, tablet.]

Parish was licensed. I don't know about any of the other people I killed, but I'd assume so. Some of the research they were doing wasn't necessarily suspicious.

[Which would suggest there is a cover up being done, if only in the form of waiting to announce the deaths so they aren't saying "By the way several medical professionals died on the same day. Don't worry about it."]

[siriusly]

[killed...]

...

[Manabu keeps his gaze down, even as he fills an ominous feeling in his stomach. the blood, the screaming. even though they were armed, some ran...

Grey, STOP!

he exhales, pivoting his attention to the empty-save-for-crumbs bowl, setting it aside.]

Is that building a medical one in general? Or private residence...

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey remains oblivious; he can tell Manabu's pensive, but he assumes the man's thoughts are entirely centered around the problem they have.]

It was operating as a research institute and the building itself didn't seem to be a secret beyond being out of town. Parish specifically told me he wasn't working for a hospital or a university and described it as a "private research center," so while it's possible the center has ties to either of those it probably wouldn't be under their authority. Either it's operating under its own authority, or that of the government or a corporation.

[That narrows things down a little, hopefully?]

[siriusly]

Mmn. Okay. [so he can narrow scope to 'private research - Ruvinagald' and see what that yields and branch out from there. more homework. man, if only Louis were here, she's so much better at this back-end study stuff than he is - he's more a go-and-gettem sort.

not a lot of going and getting in the state he's in, though.]

And what about those exercises you mentioned?

[repeatedprayer]

We can start on those now, if you like.

[Grey reaches over and takes Manabu's cereal bowl, so it's out of the way.]

Some of it involves just getting you used to movement again and rebuilding your strength, but we'll also be doing some eye exercises. Your vision itself should be fine but since it works in conjunction with your vestibular system to give you a sense of movement and balance, that will need retraining as well.

[He deposits the bowls in the sink, then returns to business.]

We'll start with the eye exercises, since I believe those will be less physically strenuous.

[siriusly]

[eye...exercises? like blinking harder than normal? or squinting? Manabu's squinting already, but Grey's the only one who actually read up on this, so...]

Okay. What do I do?

[repeatedprayer]

You stay seated, first of all.

[Grey sits next to Manabu.]

Extend your arm, with the thumb raised. Keep it straight, directly in front of you, not at an angle. Now, focus your eyes on your thumb... Keep your gaze on it.

[Now for the ~tricky~ part.]

Now, while keeping your eyes fixed on your thumb, turn your head from the left to the right.

[Yeah. The eye exercises? They're all going to be like this, pretty much.]

[siriusly]

[like a good dog, Manabu does what he's told, even if he's bewildered while doing it. but it just takes one interval for him to hesitate and squint at Grey.]

...You promise you're not gonna be making any of this up just to make me do weird stuff for a laugh, right?

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey bristles, genuinely offended.]

No. I'm not- these are legitimate exercises to improve vertigo difficulties!

[He's very serious about this, dangit!]

[siriusly]

[he bristles back!]

O-okay! Just! Just checking... [because he's putting a lot of trust in this guy's words, doing these funny moves...]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey walks Manabu through several more exercises, pretty much all of which involve keeping focus on something (usually Manabu's thumb) while the object moves or Manabu's head moves, or switching focus between two objects (both of Manabu's thumbs) etc. The last one is the weirdest, since it involves keeping focus on something while having his eyes closed.

Once Grey's finally satisfied with the amount that Manabu's been doing:]

I think that's enough. How are you feeling?

[siriusly]

Auuhhhh...

[he slumps forward with a groan.]

My head hurts... [too many concentrate, not enough action stimulus!]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey watches Manabu thoughtfully.]

Then we'll take a break until your head feels better.

[The canalith repositioning can wait until later- if they do that while Manabu's got a headache then it'll increase the risk of Manabu throwing up during it. (Already a decent possibility, from what Grey has looked up.)]

Do you need any painkillers? Water? Or anything-

[The realization hits him then and Grey sighs, briefly burying his face in his hand.]

Good God, I sound a complete mother hen, don't I.

[siriusly]

[Manabu blinks, then laughs.]

Or a nurse! Eheh-- [he clears his throat, tail wagging a little.] Sorry. It's funny. You scowl all the time, so at a glance you wouldn't think--

[repeatedprayer]

[Despite Grey's best efforts, some of Rezo's medical training has had an influence beyond just being a source of knowledge. But the existential horror is at least softened by Manabu's oblivious good cheer, and Grey gives him a rueful look.]

Do I really scowl all the time?

[Huh. Didn't Manabu make a similar observation before?]

[siriusly]

Weeelll... [he scratches at his cheek sheepishly, face getting pink as he looks askance.] No, not all the time. But enough that the smile stands out, you know?

[repeatedprayer]

Hah, well.

[Grey's feeling rather sheepish himself, and he's not sure why. Is it just the idea that Manabu's been paying attention to his expressions?]

In my line of work, it's useful not to look too approachable. I suppose it's similar for the SDF?

[Although Grey finds it hard to imagine Manabu actually being intimidating. srry manabu]

[siriusly]

Eh? [he looks back over, blinking.] What do you mean? Nobody would come to us for help if we looked unapproachable!

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey mirrors the surprised look, not having considered that angle.]

I- suppose not, but what about when you're fighting people?

[siriusly]

Well... [he tilts his head slightly.] I think...looking intimidating doesn't really help one way or the other, right? If I'm already fighting. The goal there is to stop the fighting as fast and safely as possible, so...how I look isn't as important as what I can do.

You know?

[repeatedprayer]

I suppose.

[Grey looks at Manabu for another moment, considering.]

And it can be useful to be underestimated, sometimes.