[PRP] Let's Start Over

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Having spent enough time out of the room of injured Rockets, Grunt Nakura finally decided to return. Much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he felt somewhat guilty for not having been there for the others during the time of Yveltal's attack.

Having been unconscious seemed to have kept him from the action as well as the danger since he remained one of the (if not the) least hurt of them all. He'd also heard from the medics and others on the way back that they hadn't even been able to use their pokemon for very long due to some strange device, so he wouldn't have even been of much use in that department.

Still, though...to have avoided such terror and suffering even at the expense of others' would have previously been a relief to the informant. He would have counted himself lucky. And yet this time he found himself feeling more angry and frustrated than fortunate. Was this what wanting to be a part of a team was like...? Had this been how Jerome felt when all his fellow gang members had fallen?

Granted, none of the Rockets had died on this mission, but he still felt terrible. Nakura could only guess at the kind of survivor's guilt that the tattooed agent had been living with all this time. Seating himself on one of the chairs beside a bed, the black-haired man looked upon the newer grunts. Would they ever even want to go on another mission like that again? Kyle, Lu, Riley, and Zacharie...had they already begun to regret their decision to join this organization?  

[Venti Mico]

Being stuck in bed for well over a day had Lu feeling... not much better, honestly. Maybe even a little worse, as the amount of pain medication they had him on was waned as his condition stabilized. It was surprising just how tired you could feel when all you were doing was sleeping and laying down, only getting up with help from a nurse when you had to go to the bathroom. Then again, perhaps it was exhausting to have a nice sized cut on your stomach trying to heal. Lu still hadn't had the chance to look at the damage done, not that he particularly had the courage to look at it yet. The thought of looking at it grossed him out; he knew it wasn't a big open wound anymore, but the brunet couldn't get the image out of his head, and so he'd avoided looking whenever his cut was checked on.

Looking at his cut wasn't Lu's biggest concern right then anyway. His biggest concern was figuring out why Grunt Nakura was sitting by his bed, being awfully quiet and lacking that usual grin that made him look like he was up to no good. ...Actually, that was his second biggest concern right then; his first was getting some food; his stomach said with a loud growl, hello, feed me you ignoramus, feeeed me! Unfortunately, he didn't want to burden anyone asking for a snack, so Lu decided to address his second concern.

"...Are you feeling okay?" Lu asked Nakura quietly, reaching over to nudge the man in the shoulder. Lu wasn't... particularly enamored by Nakura, but he couldn't let a sad-looking person be without trying to help.  

[Kitomyx]

Lu's quiet question didn't seem to reach past Nakura's subconscious until the bedridden grunt had touched his shoulder. Startled, the black-haired man jumped, jerking his leg, which caused him to cringe slightly. Realizing he had an audience, however, he quickly recomposed himself and attempted to give Lu a (mostly) pain-free smile.

"Ah...Lu-lu-puu - ! You're awake," he said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry, I didn't notice; must have been lost in my thoughts. Hope I wasn't the one to wake you." Inclining his head, he continued, "Nevermind me; you're the one in bed, heh. How are you feeling?"  

[Venti Mico]

Lu started when Nakura jumped, pulling his arm back and looking apologetic. He must have been pretty out of it, Lu thought; he wondered if Nakura should be in a bed himself, maybe he was still drowsy from pain medication... Lu returned Nakura's smile with a concerned frown. He watched the black haired grunt for a few seconds, blinking slowly.

"Oh, I just... kind of drift awake every now and then," he said, wondering why Nakure would think he'd woken Lu up. He hadn't been making a sound, just sitting there and looking kind of sad. "Um... I kind of feel like... like how a banana feels when it gets tossed around and all bruised up..? Like that, I think." Lu paused, thinking about the comparison; yes, yes it was accurate. He liked that comparison- but oh, right, he was talking to someone, no time for getting distracted. "Are you sure you, um... you know, okay? I don't want to pry, or something, but uh, you look like of... you know how at the store the beat up apples always get left on the rack..? You kind of look like that..."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Ah...I think I know what you mean," the older grunt answered with a dry chuckle. "This time I was lucky, but I've ended up worse in past missions thanks to my stupidity." Considering this a minute, he added, "Still...it gives you time to think and reflect, doesn't it? We're all so busy around here most of the time that it's odd when we're forced to just lie in bed and do nothing."

His gaze had become distant again, but he refocused upon Lu's question. "Oh...do I?" He forced another smile, this one less emotionless than the last. "That's funny...I like apples. Heh, but I must look pretty bad, then. Still, bananas are more sensitive, ne?"

Resting his chin in his palm and his elbow on his knee, he leaned forward to beam warmly at Lu. "So how is this banana feeling about Team Rocket right now? I don't think I ever found out how or why such a gentle soul decided to become part of an infamous criminal organization."  

[Venti Mico]

It was weird indeed; Lu had random bouts of feeling like he should be up and cleaning, or volunteering for cafeteria duty, or anything else, but that was and wouldn't be an option for a while to come. "It'd be nice to have time off like this, but without the... bruised and broken part," he murmured, giving a soft huff of a laugh.

Lu frowned again, resting his head on his shoulder as he looked over at Nakura. "No, I didn't mean you look bad, just... y-you know... I... don't know. We're all kind of like beat up fruit..." Lu paused then shrugged, wincing at the movement. Maybe not a good idea. "I think bananas are more s...squishy. But apples and bananas both break if you throw them at a wall... or the ground, or at things in general..." Lu trailed off, not sure where he'd been going with that sentence and pausing to think. "Apples get squished too, I think... yeah." He nodded slightly, figuring that was as good as his little speech would get.

...How was this banana feeling about Team Rocket? That was a tricky question. Lu glanced down the bed towards his feet as he tried to think of an answer. He didn't fit in with the crowd, he knew that much. "I... I think it's probably not the right place for a banana- I-I mean, me. I guess I never realize the severity of it..." He'd always kept in his own safe little bubble, avoided conflict and anything uncomfortable. He'd never learned a lot about Team Rocket, and maybe if he had, he wouldn't be here. He turned his head away from Nakura's gaze at the last part, brows furrowed.

"...It was a mistake, mostly. A r-really stupid one..." Lu mumbled as quietly as he could. He was hesitant to tell the truth about why he'd joined; it was embarrassing and no matter how you looked at it, it was stupid. "I don't think you can call someone gentle soul if they're here..."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Yeah...hehe, but don't worry. When you get promoted, I imagine you get more time off." Granted, that extra time off was probably to balance the extra stress and responsibilities put on you as an agent, but now didn't seem like a time to mention that.

"Even if it's less, you still get time off as a grunt, though, don't you? What do you do with those rare days off?" If they'd even been given them, lately. Nakura knew that was the norm, but with the moving of the base and all, perhaps time off hadn't been permitted while everyone was so busy.

Chuckling a little at Lu's attempt to shrug, the black-haired grunt tilted his head contemplatively. "Mmm...apples have a tougher skin, too, I think, so it's not as easy to tell they've been bruised or battered as, say, bananas. But you're right. We all have our breaking points." He reached out to ruffle Lu's hair before deciding against it. The larger grunt was probably still wary of him and perhaps the action would be painful if it moved him or touched a sensitive area.

Instead, he patiently waited and listened intently as the brunet confessed to not having known the full extent of the dangers he'd be getting into. That it was a mistake and that there were no 'gentle souls' in Team Rocket.

It didn't escape Nakura's notice that this wasn't a real answer to his question, but he didn't press Lu about it. They each had their reasons and some were more secretive about them than others. "We all make mistakes. It's how we learn~" he said brightly, beaming. "But I'm sure you know that. The important thing is to not regret those choices but to take what we can from them. There's always something to be gained."

"Regarding 'gentle souls', that may be the stereotypical view on Rockets," the crimson-eyed grunt agreed, "but you're one of the privileged few with an insider's view." He gestured at the various beds of other re-cooperating, resting Rockets. "Look around. You attended Agent Aulus' class on self-defense, didn't you? Got to know Agent Tambrey, who picked you for the mission? Fought along side several of these ridiculously brave idiots when that 'dark bird of doom and death' was reigning hell upon you?"

"I wasn't awake to see, but I'll bet you anything that even defenseless without their pokemon, even when they were expecting to breathe their last breaths and see their lives flash before their eyes, they were still doing all they could to protect one another." He continued to smile at Lu. "Even having seen and experienced that, is that really your belief about them? That none of them are 'gentle souls'?"

The grunt shifted his gaze to the cast on the taller grunt's ankle. "I don't know about you, but I'd disagree. I entered this organization thinking I'd find a bunch of ruthless, immoral thieves who didn't think twice about stealing from others or causing them harm. To my surprise, I found exactly the opposite. And you? Whatever your reasons for joining...I think you fit right in."  

[Venti Mico]

"Oh- I, um, I don't think I'll ever get promoted... I'll make due with what I get, it could be a lot worse, so I shouldn't complain," Lu said, feeling a tad guilty for kind of complaining. Really, they could work everyone to the bone and pay them even less, and not bother to give them medical attention... it could definitely be worse.

On his time off Lu always holed himself up either in his room or somewhere on the base where there weren't many people. He hadn't explored the new base enough yet to find a good place, so he stayed in his room most of the time. "I...read, and knit. I like to go to the gym too, but I can't do that for a while, probably... mostly I knit when I can." He didn't have a lot of books to read, and it wasn't really the season for knit goods, so he found his off time tended to be a bit...boring, lately. Lu usually didn't like to talk about what he did during his days off, hence why he stayed away from people if he could. He had always thought he'd get laughed at, but since rooming with KO and finding someone with a similar interest, he was a little more confident in it. Something about Nakura seemed different now, too. He was perhaps, more sullen after the mission, or maybe something had happened in his personal life... whatever it was, he seemed... kinder, in a way. It was comforting, he seemed more trustworthy. "Kind of lame, really... h-how about you? You probably have hobbies too, right?"

Listening to Nakura's speech made Lu feel guilty for his earlier statement. He'd spent time with the others, made friends(or at least acquaintances), so who was he to pass a judgement like that on them? "I guess not... when you put it that way, I feel like a jerk. For the most part, e-everyone here has been kinder to me than back home, and I can't really call that place home anymore. People here are... they're a lot more decent than the people outside of Rocket. I guess I should appreciate that more... Kind of feel like I should apologize to everyone now. I think joining was probably one of the better mistakes I've made..." Lu said with a small snort, then lowered his head at Izaya's last bit. The brunet was quiet for a moment, eventually reaching up and wiping at his eyes and keeping his head down, wishing he could hide. "...No one's ever really said I fit in anywhere, I-I'm sorry... Sorry, u-um, just got emotional, probably the medication..."  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"Ah? How come?" he inquired, looking curious. "You don't want to be promoted?"

"I see, I see. Well, at least you can read and knit! That's good, right? I like to read, too," he admitted. "If you want any particular books, I can get them for you while you're in here. Just let me know what sort you're interested in. I think Tam-chii enjoys reading for pleasure as well, so you two can be reading buddies~!" He considered the knitting. "Do you have knitting needles here? What sort of things do you make?" Eyeing the stitched up cut on Lu's right arm, he added, "Ah, but it would probably be somewhat painful to do something like that right now, huh?"

When asked about his own hobbies, the informant stared back blankly for a moment before laughing quietly. "Of course! Though...my favorite pastime is considered rather perverse by most. I like to watch humans go about their everyday lives, you see. At least knitting isn't thought of as creepy like the hobby of observing people is."

"Hmm?" Felt like a jerk? Exhaling with a sympathetic sigh, Nakura shook his head. "Lu-lu-puu, you really need to work on your self-esteem. It's good you can consider these people your family. A lot of them, like my partner, feel the same way. Still, though, that doesn't mean you're obligated to feel grateful. Not everyone around here is a saint in disguise, after all." He forced another laugh, somewhat amused by Lu still referring to his joining as a mistake, before realizing the taller man was crying.

"E-eh? Lu-lu-puu...?!" Nakura sat up, looking alarmed. "Just because I said that...? Ne, are you okay?" Sure, he'd guessed the banana was sensitive, but he hadn't realized how sensitive. "Should I leave? Gomen, don't cry!"  

[Venti Mico]

When Nakura reacted to him crying, Lu felt worse and quickly wiped his eyes then reached out and put a hand on Nakura's forearm, gently in case he was hurt, hoping he wouldn't run off. "N-no, no, I'm not- I'm not crying, it's- um, sorry, I'm just k-kind of overwhelmed about everything, you don't have to go! Unless you want to, th-then you can go- oh, s-sorry-" Lu pulled his hand back, grabbing a handful of blanket and balling his fist. He was so stupid, crying in front of someone; he was an adult and here he was crying like a little kid. Surely, Nakura was going to think him pathetic now, probably take back everything he'd said and leave. Lu pulled the edge of the blanket up and wiped his eyes with it, using it as a good excuse to hide his face. "I'm fine, just tired..." he said, muffled through the blanket.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

Calming a little at Lu's reassuring touch to his arm, Nakura remained where he was, but still appeared unsure of what to do. Again, he was met with an unfamiliar feeling and an uneasiness at the recognition of it. Since when did he care about upsetting anyone? If anything, he used to enjoy it!

There isn't really any sport in upsetting especially sensitive people, though, he told himself inwardly. Reaching across a table, he grabbed a tissue box and offered it to Lu. Opening his mouth to speak, he closed it again when he realized he didn't know what to say. Maybe it was just better to let the younger grunt get it all out of his system.  

[Venti Mico]

Lu accepted the tissue box, slowly putting down the blanket and using a tissue instead. Better to get boogers on a tissue than a blanket... Lu blew his nose and crumpled up the tissue, still staring down at his lap. Nakura hadn't left or made fun of him, but he hadn't said anything either... was it safe to try to get past the whole, 'I'm an emotional cry baby and you said something so nice it made me cry' thing?

Only way to find out was to test the waters. "...I, um, I have a lot of books at my old home. Mostly about plants and kn-knitting, I want to go back and get them sometime..." he mumbled, shoulders drooping a little. "I can knit pretty much anything... n-not that I'm bragging- I just knit a lot. I like to make sweaters, though."

And ah, yes. Lu remembered why Nakura had made him uncomfortable in the first place. He'd said something odd about 'humans' before when they'd met, and that'd confused Lu, made him uneasy. Maybe the way Nakura said it made it seem creepy, lots of people liked to 'people-watch'. And Nakura had said something about being in Intelligence on the boat during their mission... "I guess watching people isn't too weird... I-I mean, when you say humans, it kind of sounds weird, but it's part of your job, right..? Watching people? ...But maybe, you should try knitting. Then you'd have another hobby a-and I don't think people would call it 'perverse' or anything... I could teach you..?"  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

If he had gotten into so much trouble for simply knocking out an agent, taping him down to a chair, and cutting Asch's hair, Nakura didn't want to think of what kind of consequences awaited him for making an injured, bed-ridden Rocket cry. He swallowed as he waited for Lu to recompose himself somewhat, listening as the man began to speak again about his favorite hobby.

"Ahh...I see. There are lots of books on plants here, though. And...perhaps knitting," the crimson-eyed grunt added with a small laugh. "That's quite a talent, though. Sounds like you could make a living off of just that."

Taking in what the brunet said about how he referred to people as 'humans', he nodded with a grin. "I guess that feeds into what others might still consider a perverse love of mine. Because I love all humanity," he added. "That's awfully nice of you to offer to teach me about knitting, but I'm afraid my other hobbies and work demand too much of me. I'm not sure I'd be able to find the time to learn, let alone knit anything."

"The closest I've gotten to knitting is braiding hair, but I think that's about as much as I need to know." He chuckled bitterly. "Besides, I don't really mind what others think of me. If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the 'favorite' Rocket around there. There's a reason I've stayed a grunt for years, and it's not because I don't want to be promoted."  

[Venti Mico]

"There are..?" Lu asked, looking confused. He didn't know they had a library here, or any sort of collection of books. Perhaps he should have explored a bit more... most of his books were quite old, maybe Rocket had newer things in their library too. The curiosity helped distract him from his little moment of being over emotional, at least a little- now his nose felt runny and made him sniffly, but at least he'd capped the waterworks.

"My roommate thinks so, too..." Lu mumbled, still keeping his eyes averted. "I doubt it. I just do it for fun..." No one but his family(and even then, only his mother and older brother) had ever asked him to make things for them, so he was doubting anyone would buy from him. KO thought different, but Lu still wasn't confident in selling anything.

Well... alright, Nakura was still weird. And his loving humans thing, that was weird. Not necessarily bad, still odd. Lu figured Nakura wouldn't want to try knitting, it was dumb to have asked. "I guess if it uh... makes you happy, then it's good, probably?" Lu said, hoping to sound positive. He didn't like people making fun of his hobbies, so he wouldn't do it to others. "A-ah, sorry, I should have guessed... it's kind of stupid anyway, I really shouldn't bring it up- what kind of criminal knits, huh?" He laughed anxiously, reaching up with his uninjured arm and running his hand through his hair, tugging on the ends.

"H-haha, you could braid my hair, it's all kinds of messy," he joked, confused about the bitterness in Nakura's voice. Nakura's tone made him uneasy, and maybe just a little suspicious that it wasn't completely true he didn't care what others thought of him. "Ah, um... well.. I mean, I guess we can be grunts forever together, then...haha?" It felt like dangerous territory to question him, so Lu tried to avoid the subject and not sound too skeptical.  

[lZAYA ORlHARA]

"There should be some in the library. Or, er, depending on how much they salvaged from the old base's library," he corrected himself. "In any case, I'm sure Zachie-chan would know. He spends more time in there than I ever did. You can ask him sometime."

"Roommate?" he repeated, not having considered who Lu's roommate might be. "A guy, huh...?" Interesting that another male Rocket would see the potential in a skill like that. "Sounds like he's got vision. Well, if you ever feel like making a little extra money on the side, though, since being a grunt doesn't pay much, sounds like a good place to start."

"Isn't that the ultimate goal of most people? To be happy?" Nakura giggled. "I would hope that's a good thing. No need to apologize, though. In regards to your question - a human criminal does." He winked. "Humans like what they like, after all, whether they be law-abiding citizens or convicts of the worst kind. Why should we let what we are influence who we are? That's what makes us unique."

Glancing at Lu's hair, he was quiet for a bit, his gaze becoming distant as if seeing right through Lu. "Hehe...I can understand if you wouldn't want to shoulder the burdens that come with promotion, Lu-lu-puu, but as for me, I have no intention of remaining a powerless grunt for the rest of my Rocket career." Fixing his usual emotion-concealing smile upon his lips, Nakura scooted his chair forward.

"Now...let's see what we can do about all that hair."