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LOCKED TO preybeforemeals

[Today was supposed to be just another, normal day in which Naki terrorizes some poor waiter with his awful manners and rude demeanor while Tsukiyama attempts to place nice, all the while probably being disgusted by the sheer amount of sweets Naki will undoubtedly consume.

But no. Not today, apparently. Not today, because Naki's been sitting here at this café, waiting for over an hour for Tsukiyama to show up.

Eventually he calls out five of his Pokémon. It should be of no surprise to anyone who knows this man that they're all Inkays. Naki gives one order "Search party: go!" and points in a random direction and the five squids immediately start floating away as quickly as they can go. Naki leans back in his seat and messes with his 'Gear, waiting for them to return. Apparently they've been trained to respond to that stupid command and they know that it means "find Tsukiyama". Somehow. Naki also releases his last Pokémon, a Malamar, who is presumably one of the two responsible for this set of Inkays (unless Naki kept a third Malamar, which honestly wouldn't be surprising).

It doesn't take long for the Malamar to catch Naki's attention with her frantic tentacle-waving. After relaying her message to Naki, the ghoul goes stiff.]

What-- Are you... You're sure!?

[The Malamar bobs up and down as best she can in a nod. Naki takes off immediately, only pausing to return the Malamar. Unsurprisingly, he forgot - or didn't bother - to pay for the coffee he was drinking.

The forest closest to the northern end of town is still too far away, in Naki's opinion. It takes him much longer to get there than he would have liked, and he seriously misses the speed and stamina being a ghoul had offered. Sure, eating tons of cake probably hasn't helped him with this, but by the time he arrives to where the Inkays have gathered, he's holding his side and wincing.]

Move-- Get out of the goddamn way!

[The Inkays part and let Naki through. He drops to his knees, ignoring the fact that his pants are going to be grass-stained horribly. All that matters right now is Tsukiyama.]

Shit, fuck, are you alright!?

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[The ironic thing is that this time, Tsukiyama isn't even sure what he did.

He's done more than enough to warrant taking serious damage from too many people to count, even in this world; the best guesses he has for now, however, are that either Team Rocket is far better than he'd thought at taking care of their own, or he's gotten entirely too close to working out exactly who 'Seth' is. Either way, his assailant hadn't been a physical match for him - he'd been able to tell that almost immediately - but here...well, here that hardly matters when someone can grab you and tell you not to try anything, and it turns out the words are just a formality since they have a psychic-type Pokémon somewhere ensuring that you'll obey.

He supposes he must have seen the man's face at one point, but much to his annoyance he doesn't remember anything about it; the entire encounter is hazy, really, and he can't really be sure if that's due to something the guy did or just the fact that he's been broken in so many ways that it's really better if he doesn't recall much. But the fact is that he most certainly is broken (hadn't Kirishima-san threatened to do this to him once? ah, but that was such a long time ago, and Kirishima-san isn't here, is she, of course not), and the thought crosses his mind, vaguely, that if he were back home this would certainly take longer than the usual ten seconds or so to heal, and because old habits die hard it occurs to him that he should probably eat something to boost his RC count, and it isn't until he tries to force himself up and his body resists movement in ways that are completely unfamiliar and more than a bit alarming (because it's not like it usually is after a fight, or after he trains too hard - this is dangerous, this is "nothing is functioning anywhere near as it should and that odd splintering sound just now is probably neither normal nor a good omen") that he fully realizes that this may be something he's not going to recover from at all.

In some ways, it's a welcome realization. It's suddenly a valid response to just lie there, anyway, and to let himself drift in and out of consciousness for a while; it's hard to say how long, exactly, though it's certainly long enough for him to take note of the fact that at the very least most of the damage is internal (and why he's registering that as a good thing is anyone's guess, outside of the fact that maybe it's not going to horribly fuck up his appearance before he goes), and to start wondering exactly when his lungs started making sounds quite like that, and he's somewhere between unconsciousness and deliriously questioning whether he'll die via internal bleeding or just flat-out drowning due to said bleeding (because it's getting very hard to draw breath, and there's a familiar taste at the back of his mouth, and even if it seemss strange and different to him here he still remembers very well what his own blood tastes like) when the Inkays show up.

It's the sort of bizarre, quizzical thing that most might assume is a hallucination; Tsukiyama, on the other hand, is highly familiar with how Naki does things by now, and it dawns on him after a moment that he must have sent the search party. How like him...it takes him another moment to decide that he can't let himself slip back into unconsciousness now, simply because Naki probably doesn't need to arrive here to find him unresponsive - it'll just give him the impression that he can't leave him alone for five minutes, it'll worry him, and besides, what sort of impression would that be? Really, it's just going to come across like he can't take care of himself.

...And after all of that crosses his mind, it occurs to him that he really must be delirious, but he can't really bring himself to care.

And then there Naki is, and the question that shoots out of his mouth at first is exactly as stupid as Tsukiyama had expected, and he admittedly has no idea what to do with it.]

...I've seen better days.

[The words are strange, breathless; he's not seeming like he's going very far, let's put it that way.]

Well, yeah, obviously!

[Naki can't seem to decide what to do with his hands. He finally settles for resting them on his knees while he examines Tsukiyama. He's not a doctor by any stretch of the imagination and he barely knows anything about first aid. The only things he ever had to worry about were his own injuries (which never took that long to heal) and the injuries of the people he or Yamori were torturing, though that was something else entirely and something he hasn't even thought about in a long time.

(It's a surreal thought though, and not one he's going to focus on right now.)

Tsukiyama's injuries are severe, he can tell that much just by looking at him and listening to him. There isn't any gaping, gushing wounds, but he knows better than to think that this is a good thing. Internal injuries are usually worse. It's obvious that Tsukiyama isn't okay, but he can't think of anything else to ask or say.]

What... What happened?

[He finally decides to focus on that. The Inkays are pushing in tighter around Naki, though they're staying away from Tsukiyama. They know just how serious this is and they're aware of just how badly Naki's going to take this. He's aware that these are serious injuries, but whether or not he's aware of what's going to happen to Tsukiyama isn't something the Inkays can figure out. Reading Naki's mind is normally no issue for them, but he's gone strangely blank now and that's worrying them.]

[It takes him a moment to respond; for a moment it seems like he isn't going to, though he's definitely still breathing and he doesn't seem to have passed out again.]

Ah...it seems someone from that...Team Rocket organization doesn't like me very much, that's all.

[He's not exactly sure why he's handling it this way; there's no sense in being flippant about it, really, he's fairly sure Naki is aware of what's going on, but just the same...it's easier, he supposes.]

[For a moment Naki and his five Inkays all hold their breaths, waiting to see if Tsukiyama will speak again. When he does, they all sigh in relief and the Inkays crowd closer. Naki doesn't move from his position, though his posture has gone rigid and his shoulders are hunched inwards.]

Do you remember who? I'll make that fucker pay!! You better fucking believe I won't let them get away with this shit!!

[It's easier to be angry than it is to let himself feel anything else. Still, despite the words and the rage behind them, Naki's already tearing up. He knows exactly what's going to happen, whether the Pokémon around him realize that or not.]

...I don't remember, no.

[That answer comes a bit more quickly than the last one, though that isn't saying much; he shifts a bit, like he's considering trying to get up, but it doesn't take long for him to decide that whatever he's contemplating is probably a bad idea and he resettles.]

We'll...we can work on it tomorrow, right...?

[Naki winces at that and he does reach out, but ultimately he doesn't touch Tsukiyama and sets his hand back on his knee. He wants to tell Tsukiyama to knock it off, that it's only going to make it hurt worse, but he doesn't need to. Tsukiyama already knows that, and he's fully aware of what's going to happen, judging by that statement.

That's what gets Naki to cry, though he immediately reaches up to try to wipe away the tears with his sleeve. His jacket is going to be disgusting by the time he's done (if he manages to stop crying any time soon, which isn't likely), but he doesn't care about that right now. He manages to nod and force out an answer through the tears and uneven breathing.]

Y-Yeah-- Yeah, 'course. T-Tomorrow. We'll... We'll figure it out and-- and we'll fuck 'em up!!

...I'd like that.

[And in contrast to Naki's tears he's smiling a bit, and the thought seems to relax him, though his body is quick to tense up again - his breathing is getting labored as hell, and he can taste blood again.]

Come on, monsieur...there's no need for tears right now.

[He continues to scrub at his eyes, slowly shaking his head.]

Asshole... You know-- I can't just... turn it off!!

[He's making an effort though, which is much better than normal. With his free hand Naki reaches out to grab Tsukiyama's, gripping it tightly. It's getting harder to hold onto anger because he knows what's coming. It probably won't be long.]

...I know.

[For a moment he doesn't seem sure of what to do with that grip on his hand, though he does seem aware of it; he isn't reciprocating very well at first, though that changes abruptly as another spike of pain courses through his system.]

I...I'm glad you're here, you know.

[He's not really aware of what causes the sudden grip on his hand, but Naki returns it; clearly he's not going to be satisfied until someone's bones are broken. Hopefully they aren't yours. Sorry, Tsukiyama. Between that and the words, he manages to stop sobbing for long enough to compose a reply.

...He is sort of hiccuping now though.]

Y-Yeah?

[...]

Well, well yeah, of course I mean... I'm awesome.

[It's a failed attempt at acting like everything is okay, which is just absurd considering the fact that he's still in tears and he can't breathe properly, but he's making quite the effort.]

Mhm, you are.

[...look, he can appreciate the fact that you're trying, all right.

That said, though, unconsciousness is looking like a really lovely place to be; his grip will be going slack soon enough, and it won't take him terribly long to slip under. He likely won't be waking up again once he does.]

[To absolutely no one's surprise, Naki starts crying again as soon as Tsukiyama's grip goes slack. He's perfectly content to keep scrubbing at his eyes and holding the other ghoul's hand for a minute or two before something occurs to him.]

Shit, should I have-- should I have asked if he wanted me to--?

[The squids don't seem to follow Naki's train of logic, but he's looking panicked at Tsukiyama. He moves to shake Tsukiyama's shoulders, like this will somehow help.]

H-Hey, Ameri-- Tsukiyama! Tsukiyama, don't you fucking dare--

[Don't you dare leave me, asshole.]

Are you-- Do you want me to-- I can-- I don't want you to fucking suffer, you son of a bitch!!

[Well, it seems to slowly be dawning on the Inkays what Naki is trying to ask and they all look horrified.]

[The shaking isn't going to wake him up enough to answer, though it does get a response out of him; the reaction is purely physical and most likely involuntary - what would probably have been a sharp intake of breath normally comes out strange and choked-off, though it doesn't take long to return to the shallow, labored pattern from moments ago.]

[That's all the response he needs. For a moment, Naki attempts to bring out his kagune before remembering that that's not possible here and he has to do this some other way. That's about the point where he wonders how the fuck he's supposed to do this without resorting to punching Tsukiyama in the ribs and hoping it's enough to kill him.

...Well, no one said Naki was any good at this, so his default, panicked reaction is to punch Tsukiyama in the fucking ribs.

I am so sorry.]

[Well, that's one way to do it, isn't it.

That said, however, it's going to be more than enough to kill him; as it always is with these things here, the lack of a body after the moment of death is enough to indicate that the mercy kill was successful.

...It's arguable how merciful it actually was, but at least it was quick.]

[It probably wasn't very merciful at all, knowing Naki. Whoops. At least he tried?

Tsukiyama's body fades quickly and Naki's left sitting there blankly. The Inkays move to float in front of him, trying to get his attention, but nothing really sinks in for awhile. The crying is subdued and occasionally he hiccups, but otherwise he doesn't seem aware of anything for a long time.

Finally the Inkays manage to catch his attention and they lead him back to the base like a lost puppy (two of them even take his hands so he doesn't get separated from them or lost) and once Naki's back in his room they make sure he'll be okay by bringing him cake. Because you know, they're very supportive and attentive little things who don't understand that humans need to live on more than cake. At least they tried.

It'll be okay though. Tsukiyama will be back tomorrow and they can figure out who did this and who they need to kill a few hundred times over. Everything will be okay.]

[Under normal circumstances, Naki would be the first person Tsukiyama called upon waking up the next morning - both because he's gotten used to reassuring him and because in all blunt honesty, Naki is the only person here who knows what actually happened, short of whomever did the killing. Tsukiyama knows Naki well enough than to think that not calling him immediately is even an option; the message would come early, and it would be over video (to give him visual confirmation, to let Naki see him), and all would be well quickly enough.

But that call doesn't seem to be coming this morning, and any attempts to contact him - whether it's by calling or over text - will be met with the same error message.

GEAR ID NOT FOUND.

Of course, the nurses in the Center don't seem to have a solid explanation, either, but maybe that's to be expected; they have no idea how the foreigners come and go from this world, after all.]

[GEAR ID NOT FOUND.

It's those words that get Naki to respond faster than anything else. He figured Tsukiyama was just being difficult when he woke up to no new messages. He couldn't imagine why Tsukiyama would be difficult after something like that, but it was the only explanation that made sense. Seeing that message terrifies him because it's all too familiar.

It's the same message that displayed when he tried to contact Henry, after all.

He rushes to the Pokémon Center to try to get information from the nurses, but as always, the people here can never answer the questions he needs them to. Naki is unceremoniously thrown out of the Center by security after shrieking at the nurses for longer than anyone really should. It isn't their fault, but like hell if he can acknowledge that right now.

Naki continues to try to call Tsukiyama's 'Gear for the rest of the night and well into the next day.

GEAR ID NOT FOUND.
GEAR ID NOT FOUND.
GEAR ID NOT FOUND.
GEAR ID NOT FOUND.

The message keeps repeating every time he tries, but maybe, maybe things will change the hundredth time he calls, or maybe even the thousandth.

It doesn't matter how long it takes. Surely something will change and he can talk to Tsukiyama again. He's not sure what he's going to do if Tsukiyama really is gone, so he simply refuses to allow himself to think about it.]

[He can call as much as he likes, for the duration; the message remains consistent. The fact that it's not a mechanical malfunction is made plain by the broadcast that comes the next day, made by that odd wispy blonde girl that Tsukiyama had been staying with; she has no idea what's going on and it's obvious, but she's trying to remain composed about it - she wants to know what's wrong with his device, why it isn't answering when she calls.

GEAR ID NOT FOUND.

The response doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.]

[Somehow Naki doesn't snap when he sees that post to the network. Somehow he manages to keep it together (well, not really, he's only barely hanging on) and he doesn't destroy the 'Gear. He doesn't even attack anyone, he just sits on the bed with his head pressed to his knees and doesn't move. He stays like that for a long time before finally deciding that he has to move.

When Yamori died he had to do what Aogiri told him. He doesn't want to end up weird and sad like Tsukiyama, so he has to do something.

Naki doesn't do anything productive, however. He spends most of his time picking fights so that he can hurt people, and when he's not hurting people he picks fights so he can scream at people. This continues for a long time. Getting angry and lashing out is far easier than dealing with whatever emotions come from losing his best friend here. Naki withdraws completely, scarcely appearing on the network (only to antagonize people, of course) and refusing to talk to anyone for very long. He doesn't want to make any more friends because they'll just leave. He doesn't want to deal with anyone unless he's yelling at them.

The only thing he can hope for is that Tsukiyama's at least gone back home to something good and that maybe someday he'll return here. Naki's hopes aren't very high.]

["I'm sorry, Tsukiyama-san, I can't trust you. But...it wasn't bad, having a comrade like you.

Please continue to lend me your sword."

It takes him a moment to wake up fully; the first thing that strikes him is that the weather is wrong.

The thought has no sooner hit him than he realizes that he isn't sure why he thinks that; it's bright outside, the sun is out in full force, and that isn't unusual for July - just the same, it's wrong, and it takes him a while to understand why. The building is wrong but the weight of the snake draped across his abdomen is familiar, and the last time he was here it'd been getting warmer but everyone had yet to shed their winter coats, and Alessia's acting like she hasn't seen him in ages but it seems so recent to him even though back home it's been a little while...

And he finds that he's very, very confused, and he has no idea what the date even is; it could have been a matter of weeks, he could have been gone over a year, he has no way of really knowing, does he -

First things first; he gets the snake off of him. Goes downstairs and is promptly ushered out by Mom, who doesn't seem to recognize him. (Not like that's much of a surprise, since Mom seems to start a new day every five minutes.) It seems New Bark hasn't changed much; it's both welcome and a bit unsettling.

He can't say he minds.

Afternoon finds him settled on that low wall that he'd first been sitting on when he'd made that first broadcast to the network all that time ago; this time, he's not broadcasting to everyone.

He's using video, however, because it's important that he lets Naki see him.]

Ah, I have no idea if you're still here, monsieur - but if you are, call me back, s'il vous plait? I'd like to hear from you, if you would.

[They say that time heals all wounds. Naki would really like to have a few words with "them" because there's no way in hell time is going to be healing these wounds.

He's actually not near the 'Gear when Tsukiyama calls, but by now that's not unusual. Naki rarely keeps the 'Gear on him unless he's going to post something or he's fighting with someone over the network. So it goes straight to voicemail (the same voicemail he's had since he first showed up here, he never bothered to change it).

He might not be around to answer it, but some familiar faces are.

The video opens to too many Inkays. No really, there are a lot of them. It looks like Naki must have ditched the base at some point because a fully-furnished room comes into view (though it is about as plain as it can get, since Naki clearly has no idea what to do with decorating). Since it belongs to him, he can keep more than six Pokémon out at a time in and... well... it looks like Naki might have gone a little overboard on the Inkay breeding. There are way too many Inkays in this room. Someone should call this cops, this should be illegal.

The few Inkays directly in front of the camera are waving their tentacles happily in a greeting that only another Pokémon would understand. They're very happy to see you again, Tsukiyama! They're sending a message to their trainer right now and he'll be back soon!

If you're content to look at the Inkay party over there for another twenty minutes or so, you'll be greeted by the sight of Naki practically breaking down the door, tripping over half the Inkays and landing on top of the rest of them.]

Son of a fucking bitch-- Get the fuck out of my way, fucking hell--!!

[He reaches out and... gets an Inkay for his troubles. Naki makes a face at it and sets it down beside him, which is at least better than him throwing it over his shoulder like he probably would have awhile ago. He finally manages to grab the 'Gear and pull himself upright. He absently straightens his suit - at least that much hasn't changed. Though the color is a bit... brighter than normal. It's red. Not a painfully bright red or anything, but it's definitely not white.]

Is that really you, Americano? Fuck, I thought you'd never show your face around here again.

[His voice is much more controlled than it was mere moments ago, though Naki is very obviously not looking at the camera. He's kind of afraid that if he gets a good look at Tsukiyama he'll start crying.]

[...Some things never change, do they.

That said, apparently some things do - he's well aware of the suit color, and honestly it strikes him a bit strangely; he isn't sure what to do with it, but he imagines he'll ask once he's verified that it's...actually him and all.]

Didn't I always tell you that you can't rush a gentleman?

[And while there's a light laugh behind his words it isn't a cruel one; he doesn't seem inclined to correct the usage of 'Americano', either -

Tsukiyama! Tsukiyama, don't you fucking dare -

...because while the memory seems more like a hallucination than anything that really happened, he can vaguely remember hearing his name the last time he was here, and he doesn't like it.]

It's good to see you again, Naki.

Yeah.

[There's a moment where his shoulders shake violently, though it's not clear if it's because he's suppressing a laugh or the urge to start sobbing. Naki isn't even sure what it is, but after a moment he forces himself to look up. He's grinning, but it's obvious that he's already tearing up.]

You sure took your sweet fucking time getting back here! But I'm... I'm really glad you're back!

[For the first time in a long time, everything hurts but in a confusingly good way. He kind of wants to cry forever, but he's trying very hard not to get started on that so soon.]

...So it would seem. Tell me, then - how long have I been gone?

[However long it's been here, it hasn't been nearly as much so back home, he knows that much already.]

LOCKED TO preybeforemeals

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