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yeah that parts easy

ill be there soon

[And true to his word, he'll be knocking on Togusa's door about twenty minutes later! Hopefully Togusa will be happily surprised when he opens the door, because Dante actually doesn't look that bad? He's pretty obviously come from campus, if the messenger bag slung over his shoulder is anything to judge by, though his left arm is in a sling after everything that went down Sunday night. But aside from that...]

Hey.

The little sound of jingling tags is behind the door first, before Togusa can back Daisuke up enough to open up and let Dante in. He looks Dante over dubiously while Daisuke is vigorously sniffing at Dante's shoes.

"Hey yourself."

Togusa steps back, gestures towards the couch, but he is watching Dante's arm. "Guess I forgot to ask how much of a number Cleo did on you. Didn't want to make a big deal out of it." Maybe he should have.

He really wants to offer Daisuke pets like he usually would, but frankly, bending down to do so would be a little too painful even if he didn't have his phone in his hands. He gives a one-shouldered shrug as he comes in, heading for the couch and swinging his bag off his shoulder.

"I'm all right," he says, but it's a pretty obvious lie as he takes his time sitting down, holding his breath and lowering himself to the couch cushions gingerly. "Grell made me let her take me to the hospital."

And is going to kill him when she finds out what he's done, but...

"That's... actually why I'm here." Dante at least has the grace to look a little bit embarrassed as he admits it. "I think I might've messed it up again last night--the arm, at least."

That is okay, Dante, you sit down, the puppy will come to you! Daisuke uses his little step-stool to hop up onto the couch and flop right over next to Dante expectantly.

Togusa frowns slightly. "Oof. Hard to take it easy when things keep happening, hunh?" Togusa moves to the couch, as well, nudges Daisuke to go to Dante's good side. "You're right, let's...keep this off the network." Cleo feels guilty enough as is.

Before he even dares to touch Dante, he is looking over how much Dante is moving, can he close that hand, that sort of thing. "What happened initially? What did they say at the hospital?"

Dante will happily give Daisuke the attention he's seeking! His phone goes to his lap, and he'll be giving the pup scritches and, if he can convince him to stay put, belly rubs!

"A couple of broken ribs from the first swing," he explains, only semi-distracted by Daisuke. "Broken arm on the second one. I got a couple of memories to go along with them, too."

He frowns, thinking back to the pair of memories. They'd both hurt, badly enough that it's hard to tell what was the memory and what was the actual breaking. Had it been the force of Cleo's strike that made him feel like his side was exploding from pain, or was it the strike he's taken from that strange man and his beamsaber-looking weapon?

"But don't worry, I'm not saying anything about it on the network. There are a few people that might get upset if they found out."

Togusa hisses in sympathy, but he puts a lid on his reaction quickly and nods. "Those old stories about Musashi doing more damage with a wooden sword than a metal one might not have been exaggerating," he comments.

"All right, let's have a look at it," he gestures to Dante's arm, he'll let him be the one to take it out of the sling.

"But you remembered something off of them? More of that other world?" He is hesitant to bring the idea up, Dante's last batch of memories from there were completely unpleasant. But, if Dante wants to talk, he'll open the door for the opportunity.

Dante nods, pulling his arm out of the sling. Luckily, thanks to Souji's healing, he only has a thermoplastic cast for his arm, so he pulls up the long sleeve of his shirt to undo the velcro strapping (convenient for showering or other such tasks; not as ideal in that it had allowed him to take it off to deal with Malik...). Once the cast and the cotton sleeve he wears beneath it are in his lap, he extends his arm toward Togusa, shrugging.

"I guess it was," he says in response to the other's question. "In the first one, he was fighting this guy--silver hair, orange eyes, this weird coat... he and Sora were fighting together against him. He--I--got hit and thrown out of the way. The guy went to kill Sora, but I... I got in the way. I don't know how I moved fast enough to get there, but when he swung to try and take his head off I was there to block it." His right hand comes up, demonstrating the block: thumb toward the floor, so the tip of his sword would have been pointed down as well.

"The problem is, this guy had two weapons." The corner of his lips quirks up in a sardonic smirk; he doesn't know how his other self wouldn't have been prepared for that, if they'd been fighting... "So I shoved Sora out of the way, but while I was doing that, it gave him the chance to attack me from the other side."

It's not a great memory, and it makes him wince a little bit just remembering. The strike to his ribs had been hard enough that his entire body had seemed to curve around the man's weapon, collapsing inward toward the site of impact. He'd already been midair, jumping between them, but it had been hard enough that it would have taken him off his feet entirely...

It's a far cry from the stuff he remembered last month, and it's nothing that he thinks will affect him, but it's still tough.

Togusa is listening patiently as he gently reaches out to touch Dante's arm. Best he's got is the first aid training that came with the job, so he can only determine so much, but he'll give it a try. Fingers run along the bones, only the slightest pressure to feel them. Sharply looking for physical bruising.

"You and Sora were helping each other," Togusa emphasizes. "Why is that the part of the memory I'm having the hardest time believing?" Smartass. But he has finally had a longer talk with Sora and understands that just because the two have memories of each other, Sora doesn't give Dante the sort of leeway about his attitude that other people to (Togusa included).

Togusa's fingers stop at a specific point midway along the bone that feels weaker. "Here?"

Dante shrugs, even if he's not quite looking at Togusa while he answers. "Aren't you the one telling me we don't have to be the same people as we're remembering? Apparently the other me was fighting alongside him at some point."

To say nothing of the dual attack they'd both remembered in the convention center... but that would take more time than it's worth to explain right now.

The sharp intake of breath as Togusa presses lightly on a certain spot should be answer enough, but still he nods, brow furrowed. "Yeah. I think that's where they said it was." Ow...

"I'm standing by that, but I'm allowed to think it's funny, too." Togusa comments. "You're not him, he's not you, Sora's not Sora. We can all be in agreement on that one."

Dante gets a cold dog nose bonked against his side in response to the sound he lets out. A tiny whine, and Daisuke's tail thumps lazily against the couch. Somehow the pets can just tell when something is wrong.

"Don't know how bad it was before, but this is definitely bad. Would need to go get it imaged to see if it's a hairline crack." Togusa glances at Dante's face. "The break happened at training, then you got it healed, but not all the way, because haha, Ardyn, no, we know you mean well." Pause. "Can I take a second to point out how strange a sentiment that still is? Not getting used to this."

But back to the point. "So is this a re-injury, or still bad from before?"

Daisuke is best dog. Dante's fingers curl slightly in response to the pain, feeling the coarse fur beneath them. It's something to focus on instead of how it feels like a sharp wire in his arm that the pain seems to follow, and he takes a deep breath as he returns to paying his attention to the pup.

"I don't know how much the break healed in the first place," he admits, glancing Togusa's way. "I don't know if the prof even knows exactly what happened; it was Souji that healed it, not him."

Ardyn's only had a couple chances to notice, if he hadn't been told...

"And it's... a re-injury. I did something pretty dumb."

Togusa is trying to do his best to distract Dante, too, but Daisuke is the pro at this. Togusa nods. "Heard that Souji popped up with the same power set as his brother. I didn't get anything this bad for Yu to handle, though." Togusa frowns in contemplation. "At some point, those two are going to want to know their limits."

Togusa gently lets Dante's arm go, and hops up for a second, disappearing into the bathroom. "Taken anything in the last while?" Still important to keep the inflammation down, even if the cast is going to add the compression.

And then he pokes his head back out, keeping his tone oh-so-casual. "And define pretty dumb?"

"This morning. I'd been planning on stopping at home after classes, so I didn't bring them with me."

Togusa's voice when he asks what Dante did might be casual, but Dante knows better than to trust that. Even though Grell had taken things pretty well in stride, he doesn't expect Togusa to do the same. "I... well, I... dangled a guy by his ankles off the roof of one of the warehouses on the outskirts of town."

There is a very long silence in the bathroom, a palpable pause hanging in the air. It breaks with the sound of water running for an instant, the click of a medicine cabinet and the rattling of pills. Togusa very slowly and deliberately comes back out, one step at a time, with a look on his face that is difficult to read. It's not the probably expected exasperation, nor is it fully any kind of disappointment. Togusa sets the glass of water and pills down on the coffee table, and tilts his head to the side, as if continuing to ponder his words.

"...Why?" Quiet, but very drawn out, and almost amused on the end of it. Because, if there's anything that Togusa has started to figure out, it's that Dante's stories are going to contain an element of the ridiculous.

He was expecting that. Honestly, how do you respond to that, especially if you're the type of guy that always plays by the rules like Togusa does?

Dante waits until Togusa comes back out, hoping to get a sense of the other man's response from his face, but it's uncharacteristically tough to read, though neither is it worrying.

So he explains: "There's this girl on the network, Ayano. She's new this month. I think... she thought all of this was a game at first. A guy I know started giving her shit on the network post from Wendy, but she wouldn't believe him when he was yelling at her about how she was a nobody and nobody cared about her. She got it in her head the two of them were supposed to be rivals, even though he was getting more and more worked up and angry."

There's a pause as Dante remembers--he'd told her that Malik was harmless then. Maybe he bears a little bit of the blame for her getting hurt, too.

"Yesterday she was looking for makeup help to try and hide a black eye. She was trying to say that she'd walked into something, but I know a black eye when I see one. She didn't want to tell me who it was, but I got her to tell me it was a guy on the network. He'd been trying to convince her how bad a person he was and Ayano tried to call his bluff by telling him to hit her as hard as he could."

Needless to say, Malik had done it.

"That's why."

Togusa’s expression loses the slight amused curiosity when Dante says the girl’s name. “Tateyama?” he clarifies, but falls silent again to listen. He gives a small, very slow and deliberate nod when Dante mentions the network post. There is a tension to his gaze and the grip of his left hand. It was impossible to not know what that post was really about.

Togusa slides the glass of water a little closer to Dante to make sure that it’s within his reach when he’s done. He takes out a very long calming breath through his nose before he can get his speech back to himself.

“Thank you.” Pause. “Because I doubt she’s going to.” He glances at Dante sideways. “He under eighteen?” That makes things more difficult. His voice gets a little distant and analytical. “Was banking on it being somebody from school. You don’t talk about it publicly if it’s somebody closer than that, close friend or family. If it’s another kid? Can’t step in unless it gets reported in school decides that they want to treat it as a criminal assault and all that ridiculous red tape.”

Togusa moves back to the couch and sits back down with a deep sigh. “Crappy part about being a cop. When you know somebody’s doing something but you can’t get the victim to speak up about it. Not officially allowed to do anything, and that’s the exact point that even good cops stop walking the line.” Another tight frown. “But there are things I just can’t abide anyway.”

“I wouldn’t have helped matters.” Togusa looks at Dante straight on. “Do you think you actually did?” He holds up a hand. “This is not a lecture question, this is a ‘how did the guy react’ question.”

Edited (Shhhh I only pasted my post you saw no math notes there ) 2017-09-28 21:41 (UTC)

"Probably not," Dante admits. Even though Malik's never really let him in, he can recognize enough of his own pain in the other boy's behavior to make some guesses. "He's the kind of guy that's got a chip on his shoulder and he doesn't want to take it off. He blames the rest of the world for the shit he does and then gets pissed off when there are consequences. I wouldn't be surprised if he thinks it's Ayano's fault he punched her. But I've been talking to him for a while now, trying to get him to figure it out. So... maybe it'll make him think about it for once."

Probably not, to be honest, but Dante couldn't just let Malik off without getting any sort of comeuppance for that.

Togusa snorts. “Believe me, you dont have to explain the type.” There’s a bitterness to his tone. “They pick their victims carefully, convince her it’s her own fault, convince himself the same thing. Like two seconds of control was too much for him.” He visibly sneers in disgust.

“If you’re worried it’ll escalate, then keep an eye on him. Best thing to do is not keep quiet about it. Social punishment can work better than one guy with a badge. Especially in high school. Dangling him from a rooftop might be more fun,” Togusa concedes. “And somebody should keep an eye on Tateyama, herself. He plays the victim card, it can make things worse.” Togusa’s mouth forms a tight line. “Seen this play out before.”

If Togusa's snorting, so is Dante. "You're giving him too much credit," he says, shaking his head. "He doesn't pick his victims; he just lashes out at whoever's nearest at the time. Malik's not the kind of guy to put that much thought into things."

Yes, Malik, Dante's dropping the name.

"I don't think he'll care if people tried to ostracize him for it. That'd only tie back into the complex he's got about the rest of the world being against him." He shakes his head again. "He'll ignore anything that doesn't fit in with that mindset."

Noted. Hmm. Oh, that was the kid who helped bring James in. ~~AWKWARD~~. That was Togusa’s only knowledge about the guy, though, so he couldn’t make a judgement call one way or the other.

Togusa shakes his head at Dante. “Not about getting through to him, it’s about minimizing his opportunities to do this to somebody else. Guy with a big enough victim complex will find reasons to decide that the world hates him. Damage control is the name of the game.”

Togusa exaggeratedly shrugs. “I dont know, get him some help, and maybe he calms the hell down when he’s gotten a little older. That starts with a social setup that keeps too much of an eye on him to try this again.”

"And how do you do that? He's in foster care."

Dante leans forward with another slight wince, reaching for the pills and water Togusa brought out. Might as well go ahead and take those, since he doubts Togusa would let him refuse (and it's just medicine, it's not that big a deal).

"I don't think he'd go, either."

Togusa leans back in his seat. "That actually sets him up with more of a chance to make it mandatory. Foster care, under 18, he'll still be associated with a social worker, even if he's in someone's home. He gets sent back to a group home situation, same thing applies."

"If you're still concerned, the person you might want to float this whole situation past is Tatsuo. CSI, so he doesn't have to act if you tell him things, but he's also personally familiar with the foster system in Recolle."

Togusa pauses. "What do you want me to do and not do about this? I'll trust you on this and respect your wishes and not butt in to a case that would probably be handled by the school, unless you did want me to get involved."

"Maybe I'll ask him."

Dante frowns, leaning back against the couch, going back to Daisuke. "I don't know. Mostly I wanted to see what someone else thought about the arm. It's been sore ever since last night, and I didn't want to ask Grell or the prof. I thought Grell would be mad at me, and the prof..." he shrugs. Togusa already covered that one. No.

"I think..." He lifts his good hand, turning it over to look at his palm. "I don't think I can make that choice. It was Ayano he hit, not me. If she doesn't want to make a case out of it, I can't force her to do it. I can't take away her choice like that."

If he did... would that make him any better than Ansem? Than the man, the force that had been controlling him? He's experienced what it's like to have one's agency taken away, what it's like to feel all your control being wrenched from your grasp. It might be a different situation, but there's still a similarity that prickles worryingly at the base of his neck.

"Grell cares about you. Ardyn cares about you, too, but he'd do something dumb in response. I will actually advise that you show this to Grell anyway, but I'm not gonna rat you out to make you do it. I just can't tell the difference between 'bone bruise' which would be nothing, and 'hairline fracture' which would need some more care. Any yelling out of Grell would be the 'because you scared me, Dante' yelling."

Togusa closes his eyes and nods at Dante's words. Difference between him and Dante, even when there are times where Togusa wants to leave the choice in someone else's hands, is that sometimes the job says to do differently. "Then be her friend. Be there for her. Step in if you think she actually is in physical danger again. Get her other friends in on it, so she doesn't meet with that asshole alone again. But otherwise, the best you can do is open the door for her, she has to walk through it."

"But I'll keep out of it unless she comes to me. Promise." Holds up his hand in a mock-salute.

"I know they do." Dante's voice is soft as he answers, eyes still cast downward. "Believe me, I know."

If there's one thing he's come out of last month understanding, it's how much the people around him apparently care for him. He still doesn't understand exactly why, but it's not something that he can change--or that, perhaps selfishly, he would want to.

"Thanks, Togusa. I'll try and watch out for her where I can, but there were a lot of people on that post calling her bluff. I think she'll have a lot of people trying to make sure it doesn't happen again."

For a moment he falls silent, but then Dante shrugs, looking over toward Togusa. "They both found out about it, anyways," he says. "Retrospec decided to send part of my text to Grell, and I messed up and texted the prof instead of Ananth. They wouldn't leave me alone until I told them what happened. ...I already promised Grell I'd go over to her place and let her check it out later."

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