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 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.

[siriusly]

Like...you underestimating me? [he half-smiles.]

[repeatedprayer]

And when have I ever done that?

[He gives Manabu's cheek a poke.]

If anything, I think it's been the other way around!

[siriusly]

[he shrinks away, lightly swatting at the hand.]

Th-that's not fair! It's not like I could ever...estimate for superpowers, you know?

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey grins and begins gently swatting at Manabu's hand in return.]

Well now you know, so you'd best get used to relying on me, right?

[siriusly]

For some stuff! [he puffs up a little bit.] You're still technically a civilian, even if you can...project...and stuff.

[repeatedprayer]

You're so stubborn. [Grey says that, but he's still smiling.] Worrying about technicalities like that. What am I to do with you, hm?

[siriusly]

[that remark with that smile...Manabu's face gets hotter and he feels a fluster that prompts him to fidget a little where he sits.]

J-Just get along, okay? We're...we're partners for this, remember...

[repeatedprayer]

I know, I know. [His gaze never wavers from Manabu.] I've never had a partner before...

[Not like this, anyway. The uneasy, uneven relationship he'd had with Eris feels nothing like this team-up.]

[siriusly]

Well... [he rubs the back of his neck, only able to meet his gaze for a second before feeling too flustered and looking askance.] Well, part of it means...knowing each other's strengths and weaknesses, filling in the gaps...but maybe don't harass me as much as the last guy, okay?

[not to drag your name in the mud or anything, Bruce, but you did punch him.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Meanwhile Grey's only slapped Manabu and ruffled his hair a bunch so points to him, maybe???

Grey blinks, tilting his head slightly.]

...The last guy?

[Has someone else rescued Manabu from an illegal genetics lab and teamed up with him to do vigilante takedowns?]

[siriusly]

Oh-- Uh, yeah. [he nods, his expression sobering.] My partner in the SDF. He was the guy who was assigned to train me, work with me on cases or investigations if we had to be off the train. [his mouth twitches a little, glancing back up through his hair.]

No superpowers on that guy, though.

[repeatedprayer]

[Ah. Another member of the SDF, that makes sense.

Grey also recognizes the mood. The way Manabu's acting and speaking reminds him of how Manabu had spoken of his brother and father.]

What happened to him?

[He's pretty sure he knows. "No superpowers on that guy," and all. But the question feels obligatory, like taking an unpleasant tasting pill.]

[siriusly]

[Manabu makes a pass at trying to force a kind of can't-be-helped, thin-lipped smile, but he's never been very good at pretense.]

Killed in the line of duty. [on my watch. i should've been there.] And he was the one who thought...I'd be getting myself killed. [shows what he knows! hah!!!

...hah...

he sits up a little straighter.]

But that's not happening to you, okay? This is different. And any sign that you're gonna get hurt, you bail.

[repeatedprayer]

[And there it is.

Manabu's lost a lot of people, hasn't he? Grey supposes that's one of the downsides of having people to care about.

He has the urge to reach out and take Manabu's hand or hold him, but without the cover of night and the mental fuzz of sleepiness lowering his inhibitions he can't make himself do that.]

...Right. I'll be sure to watch my back.

[Grey wonders. Would Manabu miss him, if he got killed? Or is he just speaking as an SDF officer who feels duty-bound to protect a civilian?]

We're both going to get through this alive, I promise.