００２ 。 VIDEO - backdated a tad to this morning!

[selfmotivations]

[Sup Somarium. Instead of Barnaby's usual sullen expression, he's showing a small, cordial sort of smile today.]

As a new member of Somni's police force, I thought I might attend the Banquet tomorrow evening. But I've been left with a small problem.

[The smile grows minutely as he eyes the camera, ever so charming. He's a celebrity, it's well-

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[action] OH. I SEE HOW IT IS.

[fiveminutefail]

[He only caught wind of Bunny's new job when he had announced it and presented the letter of acceptance to both Origami and himself briefly. When he'd asked questions, he didn't get answers, just half-heartedly brushed off. When he tried to ask other people questions about it... actually, oddly enough he wasn't even able to. How strange...

But this? This is golden. This right here just warrants the old man stumbling carelessly into the room. He's grinning, he might just be laughing a little, too. This is none of his business, but a lot of the stuff he sticks his nose into isn't.

He's only heard the tail end of the broadcast, but not through watching the video. He heard it through the wall, just that one part, and that's all he needs to hear.

And so he exclaims:] Bunny! Are you asking someone out on a date?

[action] EXCUSE ME??

[selfmotivations]

[He hears Kotetsu before he sees him, and the smile withers into something far more dour. Of course. He should have known that the old man would hear about this so quickly. It's like he has another sense, purely aimed at meddling.

But even as he hears the laughter, hears him enter, he thinks of the tidings Judge Petrov gave him. Jake Martinez, dead, whilst running from himself and Wild Tiger.

Kotetsu had told him the truth, and somewhere, in that fight, they'd worked together to stop him.

When he considers it, it seems overwhelming. He considers saying something outright, confronting him about it.

Instead, he settles for playing it off the time being.

Sighing, he looks over at him, setting the dreamberry aside. That question is just too smug, like the old man is pleased with himself for some stupid reason. When he glances up at him, however, it's like he's looking at the old man especially hard, studying him almost openly.]

Is it that surprising? It's expected of me.

[action] YOU HEARD ME

[fiveminutefail]

[And Kotetsu is completely unaware of how Bunny has now had his eyes opened to the truth... the truth he offered, and got discounted and yelled at for. He'll be sure to lightly rub it in his partner's face when he finds out.

For now, he simply takes several excited steps forward, that smug little smile still playing on his lips. He only slightly falters under that unusually hard studying, but it doesn't put a visible damper on his mood.

He approaches the blonde and pokes him ever so invasively in the arm with a long, tanned finger.]

Expected by society maybe, especially at your age, but that doesn't mean you need to find one so quickly!

[Police ball? What police ball? He did only hear the end of Barnaby's proposal, after all. He continues with an all knowing wag of that same finger.]

That's not the proper way to find a date either, Bunny. You need to go out and meet people.

[action] YOU MAKE NO SENSE

[selfmotivations]

That has nothing to do with it, [he says, coldly, batting Kotetsu's hands away from him.] I need a date to attend. [Otherwise he'd be perfectly happy to disregard such matters entirely.]

I'm a little pressed for time to go out and meet people. You seem to think this means more than it does.

[action] YOU JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND ME SOB

[fiveminutefail]

[And his laughing and prodding is cut short -- ]

A date to attend where?

[action] YES I DO YOU'RE OLD

[selfmotivations]

If you're going to listen in, you could at least hear the whole thing.

[A pause, and he favours him with something between a dry smirk and a lop-sided smile.]

There's a banquet being held tomorrow night. Members of the police force need to have a date.

[action] R U D E

[fiveminutefail]

I mean... I heard enough...

[Except he didn't, but like hell will he ever admit it.

But he perks up at mention of the banquet, and he grins and folds his arms.]

Is that so? Well, you can just take me. Problem solved!

[And he's pitched that with nothing but good intention. Is it obvious that he thinks it's the best idea ever? It should be.]

[action]

[selfmotivations]

I already - [He reaches into his jacket, pulling out another ticket, and holds it out, looking at him with an odd mixture of challenge and his usual, scornful deadpan.] - got a ticket for you, if you want it, so don't say such stupid things.

[A pause. He sighs, and then after a moment, stands, hands balling at his sides. There's something more important he needs to talk to him about, though his manner seems a little aggressive.]

I just spoke to Judge Petrov.

[action]

[fiveminutefail]

[He takes the ticket wordlessly, analyzing it with a critical (as critical as Kotetsu can get) eye. He turns it around, reads the back, idly fiddles with the part that gets ripped off upon entry, bends it... much like a child would analyze a brand new toy.

But he can't help the wince that spreads across his paling features at the mention of Judge Petrov, and at the tone of his partner's voice.]

Listen... I didn't mean to land on that car the other day, okay?

[He's assuming the worst, obviously. Fines. He scratches nervously at the back of his head, not even registering the fact that Yuri showed up only recently and probably wouldn't have known. This is just his instant reaction.]

[action]

[selfmotivations]

[He's suitably caught off guard by that remark, and stares at his partner for a moment with a look of disdain and shock, as if to say already? Under other circumstances, he'd surely berate him, but the thought comes and goes and he shakes his head in frustration.]

It's not about anything like that.

[Another sigh. Squaring his shoulders, he meets his eyes again.]

He remembers, too. He remembers what happened to Jake Martinez.

[action]

[fiveminutefail]

[He'd breathe a sigh of relief, since that's one less thing to worry about, but he can't. Instead, he frowns, the idea that his partner believes the Judge's story, and didn't believe his when he offered it a little hard to swallow.

He pockets the ticket, and his hands fall into place at his sides. All his prior enthusiasm leaves his voice, replaced with a harder, more serious tone.]

Did our stories match up?

[action]

[selfmotivations]

[He looks at him, scrutinizes him, studies him as he often does, as though looking for some discrepancy to show on the older man's face. Even Barnaby suspects, for a moment, that he's being overly suspicious. Petrov's report, and, admittedly, Kotetsu's sheer conviction are too much to ignore. But the problem is not wanting the old man to be wrong. The problem is not that he's truly expecting a lie, that he was in the first place (Kotetsu had been too open when he said it, too earnest).

The problem, the thing that has him searching Kotetsu's expression, is a cursory unwillingness to believe that it could have happened. It's too much, too good to be true. After a lifetime of hitting dead end after dead end, he may, indirectly, have finally fond the way out. Justice. Vengeance. A closure he'd been denied for twenty years

[action]

[fiveminutefail]

[He hadn't asked what Bunny last remembered, what specific part, just knew that he wasn't up to speed with the knowledge he'd brought with him. Bringing it up would've incurred nothing but anger, and with rocky waters finally starting to settle, he didn't want to rock them again with pointless prodding.

He'd had his answer, simple as it was to conclude. Unfortunately, convincing someone who couldn't remember was a task he wasn't prepared to deal with, and he didn't know where to start.

He allows the scene to quietly unfold before him, watches his partner bonelessly collapse in his seat, listens to the pleading (which, admittedly, throws him off a little). With a brief, slightly defeated sigh, he makes his way over to seat himself next to the younger in close proximity.

He takes a moment to organize his thoughts, arrange them in a hopefully concise manner. He likes the way he explained it previously, but he knows that it won't cut it this time. Not with his partner like this. Not when he finally understands how this place works.]

[action]

[selfmotivations]

[He listens. He can do little else. His attention is rapt, his gaze unfaltering, as if in looking elsewhere he'll miss something. He hears 'took me out' and blinks, shocked. You were losing. He pales, confused, even as Kotetsu continues his explanation. The old man's familiar pride - his lips curl, just for a second, like a little kid hearing a story. He almost interjects to chide him for his boastfulness, for his foolishness, but he can't. He is silent, though his lips part in shock at the mention of Jake's other power

[action]

[fiveminutefail]

[He doesn't exactly know what he should do, the situation delicate, his partner finally understanding, listening to him. It is overwhelming, he couldn't imagine being in that position. Two decades spent fighting, lonely and lost, clinging to an image tattooed on the back of the hand used to kill the most important people in your life. His mind drifts back to the desperately fabricated collection of images the younger had showed him.

He shifts a little closer, touches his shoulder to the quivering one next to him, hopes that the touch is grounding, and sits there. He'll sit there as long as he needs to, as long as his partner needs him to. He doesn't need to deal with it by himself, he won't let him.

Kotetsu.

At the mention of his name, he can't help but laugh. His bright honey eyes gleam and his lips curl as the tension from his explanation leaves his body. He places a hand on one of his partner's arms, rubs up and down in a calming motion.]

You know, you called me that everyday before I showed up here. [He leans down, tries to

[action]

[selfmotivations]

[He feels like a child again, sitting there, Kotetsu's voice reassuring him more than the words do. The words don't make sense to him - to call him by his name all the time, to smile more, the very idea that things get better. These all seem so alien and outlandish. They all seem so utterly beyond his reach.

Especially here, in Somni. Here, in Somni, where he can't even be the man he was. At least, it doesn't feel that way. Barnaby is so fixated on finding that justice, that vengeance, that he almost equates himself as being little more than a tool.

Here, ripped from that - what is there left?

It's done. Things get better. The soft pride in Kotetsu's voice does not go unnoticed, and once again, he's left wondering why it's there.

Eventually, he looks up at him. There's a clear confusion in his eyes, but beyond that there's some kind of gratitude when he looks at the old man. It's bordering on suspicious, resigned at best - but it's there.]

You were there with me, then.

[He'd always thought he'd be alone then