When the Incineroar started to sniff him, Chu-e laughed softly and tried to pet and hug the pokemon back. "Bigglesworth! I missed you, too!" He would laugh softly at the attention before he was led deeper into the club. A bundle of nerves was in his stomach at seeing dorian westcliff, no, his best friend again. When he stepped through the door, when Dorian was there in the flesh, alive he nodded quickly and took his own step forward.

"It's me." It was kind of small, the way he said it, but he couldn't fight the stupid smile off his face. Chu-e would look... like shit, honestly. A shadow of the man Dorian had last saw. All his muscle was gone; where before he had been kind of a manlet, now he was just scrawny, in that brittle kind of way like his holding him too tight would break something. He was pale with that pallid look like he was sick rather than just avoiding sunlight.

But he waited before stepping further, wanting to see how the other would react to him. If he was angry or upset. If he would welcome him with open arms.

A laugh bubbled out of Chu-e. Before dorian westcliff could pull away too far, he threw an arm around the other and gave his own weak hug in return.

"Kalos. They didn't kill me, man, they experimented on me." He says it with a hint of bitterness, motioning to himself. "Interpol busted the lab down before they could kill me. Didn't know who I was. I've been in an intensive care hospital until recently."

Since Dorian seemed happy to see him, Chu-e wandered over to one of the seats and sat down, groaning softly as he did. Man, even this small trip had tired him out. It was a damned shame. "How have you been, man? I've missed looking at your mug."

dorian westcliff's disbelief was earned. But, Chu-e only grinned, sharp, like he was sharing a juicy secret. "Ah, I said they didn't know who I was. Not that they didn't recognize me."

Reaching into his pocket, Chu-e pulled out his wallet. He slid his ID over to the other- his false ID, the one that labeled him Ji-Hoon Ki, a part of the Sinnoh Rangers. He would allow the other to look it over at his leisure before putting it back in his wallet and putting it away. He wouldn't explain further unless Dorian asked; but he would explain if the other wanted to know. As far as the League was concerned, Chu-e was a part of them. It did go deeper than just a false identity but... well, life was often complicated.

But, he sighed and leaned on the bar some. "Damn. I wish I had been here...." Not that he had been able to help it, given all that had happened to him. Even if he had been in hard recovery from his injuries the last year and a half or so, it didn't make it fun to think his friend had been having a rough time while he had been laid back in the best hospital bed the League could offer to a 'Prisoner of War' in Kalos.

"I just came back to Hoenn to live a normal life, actually... but then I met Cillian Quinn by chance. Offered me back into the fold. I took him up on it." In the coming weeks, his and Gavin's partnership would blossom, which would have Chu-e rise swiftly through old ranks. For now, he is just a man still looking for his place in the 'club'.

"I think that our, uh... 'book-club' can be even better than before, you know?"

Chu-e can't help but grin a bit at the questioning. dorian westcliff was always so thorough like that. Some people would have just accepted the ID at face value, not even questioned it any deeper. That's part of what Chu-e had always liked about him. Being willing to push for that information.

"'S all me." He poked at the picture of the ID, humming.

"My brother-in-law is the head of some fancy division. Real high up there. He contacted me." For a moment, he's pensive, quiet and almost hurt in his voice- a rare vulnerability. "Got this stupid idea I'd use my brother or... or my niece against him." A bitterness is there. After knowing Dorian so long, the other man should know how he feels about his family. Everything he did now was to keep them out of harm's way as much as he could.

But, Chu-e wanted to catch up with his friend. Not be upset over... that whole can of worms.

"I tried to, but this kind of stuff is just ingrained too deep. Shame, too, on your end. You've got good hair. If you had brats they would have been adorable." Chu-e just grins at the other, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Oh? Anything you're alright with sharing? I promise to bite my tongue when needed." He even made a 'cross' motion over his heart.