"Alright, we found our mystery trainer, and you're right, Fuyuhiko, he does seem to be connected to Team Alpha, or rather, Gulus," Hajime said as everyone sat in the office, listening to him talk.

Duri found that he couldn't really focus though. The battle from before kept on echoing in his mind, rewinding again and again.

He had tried to avoid battling as much as he could for a reason...

He flinched. He hated thinking about that time, yet he couldn't help but remember the incident that led him to shut himself in.

He had helped his brother in fighting off various threats in Hoenn before, and that was how he had met Fic. While usually he preferred working from behind a screen, his dad had been firm when giving him Y that he had to be used wisely, and so Duri found himself fighting the many villains.

But the frustration, the pain of his own unresolved trauma had boiled over in such a powerful way, triggered by the most primitive of emotions. 

Fear. 

"Obochi! NO!"

Pain pain pain, fear, anger, rage-

"LET HIM GO YOU NO-GOOD VILLAIN!"

His memories of that time were vague, but the results of said time became blatantly clear once he regained himself, a black tail growing from his back, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.

The day he awakened his ghoul side... was the day he killed someone.

Sure that someone had harmed his family, but Dr. M hadn't deserved death as the result of his actions.

Maybe it was self-hatred, maybe it was guilt that led him to be a shut-in, working from home, his trainer license unused for 2 years.

But whatever it was, he had tried to snuff out the flame battling gave him, and it had worked... until Fuyuhiko called him a spoiled brat.

He hated how the other could egg him on, making him do stuff he didn't want to. It felt like he was trying to push him to be a trainer again, like how the others had following that fight. 

So maybe he fibbed and followed them from the store. Duri still tried to fight and lost.

He hated it. He hated that the fire that he had kept dormant for 2 whole years had been reignited by this... this bad person. How could he even be part of the team?

Well, now he couldn't do anything. The memories didn't shut up anymore. They just attacked him like crazy-

"Duri?"

He nearly fell off his chair, only to catch himself while Fuyuhiko had a frown standing there as he asked, "Hey, you okay?"

With a start, Duri realised that the meeting must have ended while he had been thinking, which was proven as he saw everyone talking to each other far away from where he was.

"W-What does it matter to you?" Duri snapped.

"Whoa take it easy-"

"Excuse me? Take it easy? TAKE IT EASY!?" He could feel the kagune, his eye glowing red but for once, Duri didn't care as he grabbed Fuyuhiko's tie. "YOU'VE HATED ME SINCE YOU MET ME! WHY THE F*CK DO YOU CARE ABOUT ME NOW?! STOP ACTING AS IF YOU CARE! THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED..."

"Duri, are you okay?"

"Oppa it's fine, stop asking me." 

"But-" 

"Save it, Oppa. Let's just take down Dr. M."

"THE LAST TIME IT HAPPENED SOMEONE DIED!" Duri yelled angrily, tears streaming down his cheeks. He vaguely registered the kagune wrapping its tendrils around Fuyuhiko but he couldn't bring himself to care anymore. It hurt too much. "SO STOP PRETENDING! I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE PRETEND TO CARE FOR THEIR OWN SELFISH NEEDS-"

"Thun thun!"

He froze, kagune instantly retracting at Y's voice, "Y-Y?..."

He then realised with another start that... that Y and his other 2 Pokemon seemed worried, with everyone else looking at him.

"Duri...." Fic walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, but he flinched and backed away, fear now wrapping its evil coils around his mind as he gripped his head, "No, please leave me alone..."

"Duri, please..."

He shook his head, "I-I can't... help you fight Team Alpha anymore... I-I just... can't... I'm sorry but... Please, I can't!"

Without thinking, Duri pushed Fic and Fuyuhiko aside before rushing out of the office.

He had done it now.

Everyone would think he was a monster.

But then again, he was one, right?

Nothing could erase the blood on his hands. The blood of Dr. M, no Aebuel-liang.