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It was supposed to be a normal patrol.
Just a check up to see if there were any trash beasts still hiding near the towns that were recently hit by rampages. Just a simple, average patrol, assigned to a simple, average joe.
Nothing had seemed off when he arrived, the town still working through the last of its repairs and renovations. The market had even resumed business as usual, people bustling through rows of stalls as if disaster hadn’t struck just a couple days prior. Zanka strolled through the busy streets, awareness heightened as usual, though guard lowered slightly more than he would like. He couldn’t help it, strolling through the streets of the healing town reminded him that the Cleaners, the Cleaners he was a part of, were the reason this town was still standing with basically minimal damages. He still remembered the warm feeling bubbling inside him when Enjin had praised the team after the mission, unable to suppress the wide smile that spread across his face as large, warm hands ruffled his hair.
Though it wasn’t long before his reminiscent daydream was abruptly interrupted by a voice calling out to him. A familiar one, that sent shivers he would never admit down his spine.
“Heeey~! That you, Mr. Bad Attitude~?”
The lax, drawn-out speech pattern made Zanka’s eye twitch. He didn’t turn around but his hand still tightened around Lovely Assistaff. Maybe if he ignored the nuisance behind him, he would be left alone. The damn Raider was looking for a fight, right? So maybe, just maybe if he didn’t do anything, didn’t give in to the taunting, he would-
Warm hands and cold metal slid around his waist, and Zanka felt his world go still. His body reacted faster than his mind, immediately pulling him out of his stupor, twisting around and bringing Lovely Assistaff above his head. Their eyes met and Zanka could feel himself heat up, though whether it was his blood boiling or some other emotion he refused to name he couldn’t tell.
Jabber wore the same crazed smile and piercing eyes that haunted Zanka on familiar restless nights, fuchsia irises gleaming with mischief and something else that called out to Zanka in a way that pushed all his buttons; exactly the way Jabber intended it, he was sure.
Jabber unlatched himself from Zanka’s waist, jumping back just as the Cleaner brought his Vital Instrument down, avoiding a swift blow that surely would’ve given the Raider a rather long lasting skull injury. Jabber let out a cackle, eyes watching Zanka with twisted joy and rapt interest; the commotion had turned a couple heads in the market, making Zanka flush with embarrassment as he realised they were causing a disturbance. He straightened up, getting out of his fighting stance and taking a sharp inhale: an attempt to collect himself. He willed himself to turn away from the Raider and walk off, hoping that the nosy crowd would disperse and resume their usual activities as quickly as he was walking away. The preferred resolution to all this was that he would walk away, and Jabber would leave him alone when he realised Zanka wasn’t going to indulge in his wants and taunts, but the more probable outcome was that he would probably follow Zanka until he inevitably managed to successfully tick the Cleaner off. No matter, Zanka had a plan either way.
“Man, y’d’nno how much I missed that glare of yours, Zan-zan! You might be ignorin’ me now, but I jus’ know deep down, that beast is rearin’ to go~”
Zanka could feel a vein pop the more Jabber spoke, his grip on Lovely Assistaff tightening until his knuckles turned white as he picked up his walking pace. He tried to tune the Raider out, but the tapping of clogs against dry ground trailing behind him echoed and bounced around his mind like a bell, causing him to grit his teeth in annoyance.
“He~eeey, psssst- Mr Bad Attituu~de, hey-”
Zanka’s footsteps grew heavier, harsher.
“Zan-zaaan~ Stop bein’ such a killjoy, I know y’can hear m-”
“Would it kill ya to SHUT UP!”
Zanka spun around and swung his arm, landing a clean uppercut on Jabber, then twirling Assistaff before harshly ramming her blunt end dead center at the Raider’s solar plexus. He watched as Jabber was thrown back from the hit, landing a couple meters away from Zanka, flat on his back against the dry, dusty ground. Silence wafted through the air for half a second before Jabber’s body started shaking with giggles, giddy laughter ringing in Zanka’s ear as his gaze on the Raider hardened.
“Ohhh~ Zanka, my man! I knew ya had it in ya!”
Zanka readjusted his fighting stance, his grip on Lovely Assistaff firm despite his clammy palms. Jabber took one final laugh before springing up, landing gently on the ground a little behind where he had laid. The two stared each other down, and Zanka could feel the unease settle in the longer he looked at Jabber’s cheshire grin. Then, without a warning, Jabber dashed forward, launching himself from where he stood with terrifying speed, and Zanka had never been more grateful for all the reaction time training that was drilled into him during the Hell Guard Academy. For a split second, everything felt like it was in slow motion. The sudden lack of distance between him and the Raider, how close Jabber’s face actually was to his, how close those claws were to him: it was all dawning onto Zanka quicker than his body could actually move, quicker than his mind could process.
But those couple of seconds were all Zanka needed, whether he had processed all his emotions or not, his body reacted on instinct and swung Lovely Assistaff up, swiftly blocking an unprompted swipe from Mankira. A loud metallic clang rang through the open air as the two Vital Instruments clashed, and time seemed to resume to normal. Another dash, another hit. Another block, another swing. It was a dance they were both undeniably familiar with by now, a rhythm so well known it was muscle memory. But of course, like the majority of their violent waltzes, Zanka never held the upper hand for long.
Before he knew it, Jabber was suddenly out of his sight, and he felt a harsh kick hit him in the back, knocking the air out of his lungs. Zanka slammed against the ground, body aching with pulsing pain as Lovely Assistaff was knocked out of his grip on impact. She clattered and skidded across the dusty ground a couple feet away from him. Zanka could hear that familiar, godawful irritating cackle of satisfaction and excitement as he struggled to get up. He couldn’t care about Jabber mocking him at this point, he just needed to reunite with his beloved Vital Instrument, quickly think of a plan, and either finish the damn fight and win, or find a way to escape. But before the Cleaner could get up from his knees, he felt the hoop of his earring pull down a little and his eyes widened in panic. He felt the tug before he registered what was happening, and before he could question it, a sharp pain shot through the side of his head, travelling down his neck and arms. A ringing noise pierced through his ears, drilling through his skull like a siren.
He heard a pained yell, vaguely registering it as his own voice, as his breathing became laboured and every noise other than the ringing faded out. With trembling hands, he reached up to touch his ear, only to be met with familiar warm liquid, bringing his hand back to be greeted with a predictable crimson fluid running down his fingers. He slowly turned towards Jabber with wide eyes, staring down the other’s wide grin with an expression that didn’t quite reach shock. His eyes then zeroed in on Jabber’s hand: a familiar blue tassel dangling from the tip of Mankira’s index claw.
The Raider had somehow managed to pull the earring off without soiling it, the only blood visible being on the golden hoop that was torn directly from Zanka’s ear. Zanka sat in eerie silence as he intensely watched Jabber teasingly bring the earring to his own ear, unclasping the small hoop and slowly pushing the needle into his own unused piercing hole. Zanka’s world had narrowed into a dangerous tunnel, blood simmering as the earring settled into Jabber's ear. The Cleaner stayed frozen as he watched the other watch him with a growing toothy grin, teasingly playing with the blue tassel.
Something in Zanka broke as the situation finally settled in. His irritation blew over as he finally met Jabber’s eyes, letting out a laboured growl and clicking his tongue in anger. So, this is how it’s gonna be, huh? An average joe, overshadowed by a natural born genius who never even goes all out when fighting him, a cruel reminder that he just wasn’t good enough, wasn’t worthy enough for a genius fight without holding back. If Jabber was constantly reminding him that he was weak, that he was a disappointment, why was Raider even sticking around? To tease him? To make fun of him? Zanka gripped his fist, nails digging into his palms hard enough to draw blood. He slowly pushed himself up, tussled hair casting a shadow over his eyes as bright blue anima began to envelop him.
His siblings’ faces flashed in his mind for a millisecond, but instead of the usual dread and fear that came with, it instead only fueled his anger. Damn geniuses and their natural talents, always taking the light and hope away from average joes like him who worked arguably harder to achieve the same results. Always taking, taking, taking… Zanka’s eyes wandered back to his earring that now hung from Jabber’s ear. He grit his teeth, but stopped himself from grinding them. Fine, two can play this game.
Zanka shot forward with inhumane speed, fueled purely by anger and rising adrenaline. He hadn’t bothered picking his Vital Instrument back up, Lovely Assistaff still lying peacefully on the ground where she had landed. Jabber’s eyes widened as he was caught off guard by Zanka’s sudden movement, not being given any time to process anything before the feeling of a boot slammed into the side of his face. The force sent Jabber colliding against the ground, the Raider lying against the dusty terrain with wide eyes and mouth agape. He looked up and Zanka’s figure loomed over him, overcast by shadow as the sun illuminated Zanka from the back. Jabber felt his heart skip a step as the memory of the fight in the trashbeast flashed through his mind: Zanka looming above him with Assistaff held high like Jabber’s personal Sword of Damocles, like Jabber’s personal angel sent to take him away.
If it isn’t Mr. Bad Attitude!
The déja vu sent shivers down Jabber's spine, his eyes rolling back at the memory of that beautiful blue staff smashing his skull in. A groan escaped his mouth as he giggled, grin stretched wide across his face despite the burning pain from Zanka’s kick. Jabber braced his hands on the ground as he watched Zanka raise his leg, promptly rolling away as Zanka brought his foot down. The dry terrain cracked where Zanka aimed, spelling definite danger (and pleasant pain) to Jabber if he hadn’t rolled away. Jabber leapt up, recovering quick as always, but it seemed a Zanka fueled by pure anger was a Zanka without inhibitions. Jabber dashed at Zanka, but the Cleaner ran lower, avoiding Mankira and landing a solid blow right to Jabber’s stomach. Saliva flew out of the Raider’s mouth as a firm fist collided with his abdomen and before he could recover, Zanka grabbed his arm in an armlock, twisted and bent down, bringing Jabber down as well. A sickening crack rang through the humid air as pain shot through the Raider’s body. He felt Mankira shrink as the sensation of his arm started to go numb, but it seemed Zanka wasn’t done yet. Jabber felt a hand press on the back of his neck, keeping him down while Zanka continued to hold his arm up, and shivered as Zanka moved the hand holding his arm, calloused fingers dragging against his skin.
Zanka grabbed ahold of the silver bangles and roughly yanked them off Jabber’s wrist, not caring if they could’ve gotten caught on Mankira’s ridges (he knew she was tougher than that). Her now shrunk form made the removal easier, the aggressive removal of the silver bracelets causing no damage save for a small nick against Jabber’s skin. Bracelets now in hand, Zanka gripped the bangles tightly and readjusted his grip on Jabber’s arm; removing his hand from Jabber’s neck only to wrap his arm under the Raider’s bicep; promptly twisting around and flipping Jabber over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground.
Jabber could see spots in his eyes as the air knocked out of him, ears filled with a high pitched ringing as he just barely registered the sound of footsteps nearing him. Zanka stopped beside Jabber’s head, shadow casting over the Raider’s face, before slamming his now reacquired Vital Instrument dangerously close to the other side of Jabber’s head. Despite the threat, it seemed Jabber was a bit… distracted. His pupils dilated rapidly, delirious smile stretching wide as his breathing became laboured, all his blood rushing down to his lower half. His eyes had zeroed in on Zanka’s wrist, the Cleaner’s arm held over him as Zanka gripped Lovely Assistaff. Wind blew and the gentle twinkling of silver against silver drifted through the air, causing Jabber to let out a groan as he restrained his eyes from rolling back, unable to take them off the sight above him. Slim, sleeved wrists; normally bare, now sported two familiar bangles, arrowed indents gleaming in the sunlight as they dangled teasingly high over Jabber’s face.
“... Heh, how’s that fer a ‘beast’?”
Zanka’s condescending smirk was the last thing Jabber remembered before whiting out, and when he came to, the Cleaner was long gone. He sluggishly reached for his now bare arm, tracing where the bangles once were, just to make sure it wasn’t a dream. He then slowly reached up towards his ear, eyes widening as he felt the soft strings of a familiar tassel still attached to his earlobe. Giggles began to bubble up and out of his throat as he twirled and played with the silky material.
Oh~, Zanka…
Rudo startled as he caught sight of Zanka talking with Semiu, mission report papers being exchanged between the two. Though, that wasn’t what caught him off guard; it was the roughhoused and disheveled state his mentor was in that took the younger Cleaner by surprise. Though it felt like there was something more; something was different, something a little off in a way he couldn’t decipher whether good or bad. Rudo’s eyes finally landed on the glaring absence of a second earring, before also catching the glint of two clearly new additions to Zanka’s wrist. They were, again, clearly new, and therefore expectedly unfamiliar, but Rudo couldn’t shake off the feeling that he had seen the two silver accessories somewhere before.
“...Hey, Zanka-”
Zanka turned around at the sound of his trainee, and Rudo immediately froze at the sight of the unusual expression on his mentor’s face. Zanka had what could only be described as a satisfied, nearly pleased expression, a lax yet almost smug smirk on his face.
"Wh't's up?"
Rudo shivered, unease crawling up his spine. In the end, he couldn’t bring himself to ask the question.