Red hurried up the stairs, trying to get up to catch Team Rocket in the act. He instead found himself behind Green who kneeled in front of a tombstone, hunched over. Before Red could get any closer, his rival stood up, reaching up briefly before Red could see his face, turning around. He seemed to try and force the words out, "What are you doing here? Your Pokemon don't look dead…"
Red was about to shoot the same thing back, mouth already open, when he paused. In a sudden bit of dim light, he saw. He saw the bloodshot eyes of his rival, the still glimmering streaks on his paler than normal cheeks. Eyes darting to the left, to the bit of the gravestone he could see that Green had been looking at, he could only make out a few letters, but he didn't need the whole thing to know what it said- 'Raticate.'
Red orbs flickering back up to Green, he barely had enough time to make sure it was really what he was seeing before the other male shoved past him, a barely audible sob sounding, as if he were trying to hide his pain. Grabbing for his wrist instinctively, Red held his rival there, Green with his face turned away.
His lips parted again, but before he could say anything, Green released Pidgeotto, and bolted down the steps, stumbling once before his footsteps faded. Shielding his face from the talons of Pidgeotto, Red quickly subdued it and then held the Pokemon lightly in his arms, running after his rival. His Pokemon was pulled back into the ball, but Red was careful for the Pidgeotto in his arms. If it really was his fault about Raticate, as he feared… Team Rocket could wait. Although he wasn't particularly close with Green, he couldn't bear seeing what he had done to him, destroying his normally cocky rival's snarkiness, replacing it with a sadness so deep that even Red could feel it, even though it wasn't his own.
Finally finding him, curled up in a shaking ball in a secluded area, sobs wracking his form; Red slowly approached, and standing near the boy, he gently set Pidgeotto down, and now that he had full use of both arms, he sat down next to Green; and spoke the first two words he had said so far on the journey, and the last two he would for a while. "I'm sorry." Green became silent, burying his face further into his legs, before replying with a much longer reply. "It's not your fault, it's mine. If only I had rushed a little more…."
Suddenly, without even thinking, Green uncurled, and leaned on the other, face hidden in his jacket, near the base of his neck, gripping handfuls of the fabric. He wailed, legs coming up close to his body. Red, taken by surprise, was still for a moment, before he turned a little towards Green, to make it more comfortable for the other male, arms wrapping around his frame. His jacket was getting soaked, but what did he care? Green may be his rival, but he was still a human, and sometimes humans need comfort from friends, even if they don't know it at the time.