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

[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.

[siriusly]

[the touch wouldn't have been unwelcome, to be fair! but it's really not Manabu's style to reach for it when he wants it. stupid restraint from stupid patriarchal upbringing.

Manabu meets his eye again with a little smile, brow set with some determination.]

That should've been my line, but...yeah. I'm on the line for an expensive dinner, after all.

[repeatedprayer]

[And that coaxes another smile out of Grey.]

I still need to decide whether we'll be getting steak or seafood.

[He can't help but wonder what Manabu would prefer... But he doesn't really expect they'll go on that dinner date, so it's best not to dwell on it.]

How's your head, by the way?

[siriusly]

[that he'd ask for his preference is a little funny - it's his prize, he gets to order Manabu around! before he can point that out, the ask about his head prompts a pivot of his focus.

huh! he hadn't really been paying attention to pain for a while there. funny.]

Uh, not bad, actually. Maybe I just needed a break from doing goofy poses and head turns...

[repeatedprayer]

[So about those goofy poses and head movements...]

I'm afraid I have more for you to do. Although before that... Have you noticed your dizziness coming from one ear more than the other? Or does it seem to be both?

[From the research he's done, it seems most people have one ear that bothers them more than the other- but most people also haven't had surgery to replace their human ears with dog ears, so.]

[siriusly]

[a wincing smile at that; he figured! but he wasn't going to whine about it - this is part of the deal.

as for the ask, he blinks.]

...Huh. I didn't notice... [he hesitates, catching himself just about to reach up and touch them, but...

that's still too weird. it's too...too strange that those are his ears; it'll make him feel queasy to dwell on. just move forward, Yuuki.]

I'll try to pay attention to it as we go, though.

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey watches Manabu's hand raise, then settles his gaze briefly on those dog ears. Honestly, he's already used to seeing them, but of course it must be different to actually have them.

Grey stands up and holds his hand out for Manabu to grab.]

Here. Stand up, and we'll do a little walking to see if you notice anything.

[siriusly]

[Manabu's on his feet far easier than the day prior - his tail goes out and keeps him from wobbling too much. walking around feels far less harrowing...until he's bold enough to try stepping out without holding Grey's arm.]

Uh--o-okay-- [he stops, closing his eyes, cracking one open after a beat...]

...Left...? I don't know. When things get dizzy, it's hard to tell. [he scoffs a little.] How long is this going to take...?!

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey watches Manabu like a hawk (or maybe that mother hen he mentioned earlier) once Manabu lets go, but otherwise permits Manabu to explore on his own.]

...At a guess, I'd say a few weeks. But I can't answer with more certainty than that because there are too many unknowns in your situation.

[There isn't a lot of recorded medical information on what happens if you surgically move and replace someone's ears. But Grey does have something less dire to note!]

However, you're already showing improvement from where you were yesterday.

[siriusly]

Weeks... [they may not have weeks! not if the survivors move fast. not if there are other victims at play.

he stands in place, looking over toward the window.]

Hey, Grey...if you're able...You can scope out that research building, right? How close do we need to get from here? [where are they in relation to it? he has no idea, honestly. no sense of place, other than laundromat noises.]

[repeatedprayer]

The closer I am the easier it will be, but my clairvoyance has a range of several miles. I should be able to see it from here.

[...It won't be entirely easy but Grey doesn't want to move Manabu yet.

Since Manabu's memories from the night they escaped seem pretty fuzzy (especially considering he passed out partway through) Grey figures he should ask:]

How much do you remember of what I told you about our location?

[siriusly]

That it's outside the city. And that it's designated for research. Other than that... [his tail droops a little.]

[repeatedprayer]

[Grey walks over to the window, to stand beside Manabu.]

It's not far- the drive to the lab was only about twenty minutes. We're currently in the city of Saint Simona, which is one of the largest cities on Ruvinagald. This apartment is being rented to me by the owner of the laundromat downstairs.

[He gives Manabu an aside glance.]

It's called The Laundry Quandary.

[siriusly]

[Manabu's mouth twitches, but he's able to keep from puffing a laugh. the tail gives him away though.]

Right. Ruvinagald. Saint Simona. [he didn't even check what system they're in yet! gotta do that...

beat.]

Do they...only eat dry cereal here? [or was that a Grey choice.]