Private To Catch a Troublemaker

Gabe gave the small catboy a pat on the shoulder, but kept the touch gentle due to the weight of the wooden gauntlets around his hands. "It's fine. I didn't think about it when I'm used to having a disguise on me at all times." He exhaled, continuing the walk in the phase dimension to the red-haired boy's dorm room. There was a pit of dread settling into his stomach. He hated this. He hated knowing how to shake down someone for information. It was never pleasant and frankly, he wanted that life behind him. But Yuki was being hurt and he cared a great deal about his partner. He couldn't sit there and do nothing.

"Alright, I'll use the code name Eden. If anything happens, pull me away and we bail out. And remember, you never tell Yuki about what happens here." The two continued before reaching the red-haired kid's dorm and watched as the door shut. Gabe let out a swear, but Gany continue to lead Gabriel through until the two seemed to meld through the door onto the other side. The plant wielder was utterly shocked, but shook it off quickly and focused once again. He could ask about the abilities later, first came the issue with the red-head.

"Okay, get me as close as possible and when I give the signal, drop the bubble and I go to work. You don't have to watch if you don't want to but just listen for me to call in case we have to bail out quickly." It was strange to wander the world without being noticed, but the two kept moving through the room deathly silent with the target none the wiser. He seemed to be looking for something and Gabe knew it was the perfect opportunity to strike. "Nemo, drop the bubble."

The moment the field was dropped and Gabe's vision was clear once more, he quickly moved in from behind to surprise the boy. One hand went tightly over the boy's mouth, the other wrapped around his neck and vines quickly spread and coiled until they were tight but not restrictive of breathing.

"Hello." Gabe stated, his voice distorted and echoing inside the wooden mask. "I need to ask you a few questions, but you cannot scream for help or make any motion to retaliate against me. If you do, I will do unspeakable things to you to get the answers I want before leaving you in the middle of the Forbidden Forest to die a cold, lonely death. Do I make myself clear? Make two noises if you've understood these instructions."

Gabe felt himself clench his teeth in frustration and sickness. This was wrong. It was so very wrong. But depending on this scumbag's answers, it would be entirely deserved. He was caught off-guard and panicked, so forcing answers would hopefully be a piece of cake. It was quick and brutal but utterly necessary.

"So, let's chat then." He slowly pulled the hand away from Hikaru's mouth but the vines remained wrapped around his neck in case of any attempts to fight back. It wouldn't take much to strangle the guy if he attempted to scream. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know. First, I would like your name. Second, why are you targeting these people with these notes? Why have you been spreading these rumors around? How have you been tracking down addresses to post the notes?" Gabe's questions were slow and deliberate, but he felt himself begin to speed up in frustration. With a deep exhale that sounded more like a hiss through his helm, he waited.

"Please answer the questions to the best of your ability. The more helpful you are, the better this will go for you."

Gabe frowned. This didn't sound accurate at all. Did they make the mistake? They didn't even look to see what the note was. Oh no, did they just... attack an innocent person? Oh god. The familiar taste of bile began to rise in his throat but he forced it down. That wasn't enough. They needed more answers.

"Okay, Hikaru. You need to breathe. Relax. The more you stress and struggle, the worse you're going to feel. I need you to tell me everything about this person. What did they look like? What were they wearing? How old were they? I need as much of a description as possible because I think you just got involved in a very serious plot." Gabe hissed, pressing his hand onto the boy's shoulder. "Either that or you're a very good liar and if I find out you lied to me, well... I'll follow through. Now, description. Start talking. The more you give, the better you'll feel. Trust me."

He briefly glanced back to where Gany had been last before Gabe had become visible. Hopefully this wasn't too traumatic for the small cat boy.

Gabe let out a curse as Hikaru wailed and went to clamp a hand over the boy's mouth. Having him cry out loud would be terrible and bring immediate attention to the area. The vines loosened from around the neck and the plant manipulator moved in a little closer to help the red-head focus on his presence. "Hikaru, you need to focus. People's lives are in danger here and you're sitting there wailing like a little baby. It's time for you to take some deep breaths through your nose. Nice and calm. I need you to center yourself and tell me quickly. If the man who gave you the note escapes, he's going to keep hurting people and I can't have that."

He went to turn his head to look back to Gany but... couldn't. His attention was focused entirely onto Hikaru? He tried a few more times but kept turning back to stare at the redhead. What was happening? Was this... some sort of ability? "Shit. Nemo, be prepared to leave if someone shows up. I'm caught in some weird thing so you might have to pull me away if I can't do anything."

"Hikaru, are you ready to comply? And turn off whatever you're doing to me. It's not helpful."

Gabe remained stoic as Gany made an appearance. If Gany stepped out, clearly they'd gone too far. Dammit, Gabe messed up. He messed up bad. He didn't even think of the possibility of this guy using someone else for the dirty work. He just... jumped in head first without thinking about it. All for Yuki and out of fear. He... he was terrible. With another sigh and a shaky step back, he stood next to Ganymede and placed a hand on the cat boy's shoulder. His hand trembled as he spoke.

"...I'm sorry, Hikaru. You... you didn't deserve that. But we need your help. This guy has been harassing all of us for a while and the note you left was the latest one in his sick game. I... I shouldn't have..." Gabe tried to continue but looked to the ground instead. He could feel the breathing in his helmet rattle his skull and all he wanted to do was curl up and just... pretend this didn't happen.

"...We need to find him. Hikaru, I... can you help us? We just need to see who he is. Can you meet him and we'll follow behind invisible and get a picture of him. I don't think I can... do much else for this." He squatted down to the floor, pulling his hand from Gany and wrapping his hand around his stomach. It took everything not to just empty his stomach onto the floor. Or into his mask, more likely.