Chapter Text
He's not sure when it started, not really. One second things were as normal as they could be. The next; he was on a job when he felt it. Eyes watching him. It almost felt like he was being observed, examined.
Evaluated.
Initially, this had caused worry. Usually when there's a consistent feeling of someone or something watching you, you're either right or crazy. Typically Zanka wouldn't deny being a tad bit crazy; but the feeling just wouldn't go away.
After about a week he decided to bring it up with Riyo. Asking if she felt like anything was off. His friend had frowned from where she was sprawled on his bed. Genuinely considering the question before saying nothing felt unusual before asking if he was feeling alright.
Zanka didn't bring it up with her again.
The days continued on. The feeling of wrong becoming more and more evident. It wasn't until about two months in he saw anything confirming his suspicions in the form of a simple silhouette in the corner of his eye. There was a person. Or at least he thought it was a person. They were too far out to make any details and by the time Zanka would notice and turn to address them they were gone.
Maybe he was going a little crazy.
When he tried to point it out one day; he realized quickly no one else could see it. If anything; it only seemed to cause worry amongst Team Akuta. They probably thought his brain was messing with him. That maybe the average joe had finally caved to his own mind. Normally he'd agree. If anyone else had come to him claiming to see shadows he would probably demand they have a talk with Eisha. But if he did that. If he really had lost it. He'd amount to nothing.
He refused to be done in by his own mind. So he did what any totally normal sane person who was absolutely not hallucinating a shadow person stalking them would do.
He steadfastly ignored it.
Surprisingly; it seemed to work. Riyo and him fell back into their norm. Rudo's training continued smoothly. And Enjin who had stared to mother hen since the shadow person incident seemed to calm down. The person was still there. Watching. But he could deal. He'd always find a way to deal.
Maybe that's why he wasn't prepared to wake up in the middle of the god damn night with Jabber Fucking Wonger standing at the foot of his bed. He tried to move. Tried to get up but his body wouldn't listen. His voice wouldn't leave his body. He could only stare into deep burgundy eyes as they watched him. He expected in his terror-filled sleep-addled brain for Jabber to take advantage of the situation. To take the opportunity to inject Zanka with his precious poison.
Maybe he already had, it would explain why he couldn't move. Why his brain was still so sluggish even after registering the threat.
What it didn't explain was the stillness.
As the seconds slowly ticked by Jabber just watched. It was unnerving. Zanka almost felt like a bug on display to be analyzed. He couldn't help but return the favor. He inspected the man before him. He looked almost unchanged from the last time he had seen him in the Trash Beast. And even then it had been so fast paced he never had a moment to just observe.
The man in front of him almost felt like a different person. A warped reflection of who he knew him to be at his core. But that wasn't completely true was it? When they had first encountered Jabber; before he had attacked Rudo and Gris. From the reports given by the other supporters with them the man had been calm. Some even described him as bored.
The Jabber in this moment however, seemed cold. His body which always seemed so relaxed and at ease in whatever environment he was placed in seemed coiled in a way Zanka had never seen. Normally Zanka would say someone so tightly wound was looking for a fight. With Jabber that usually seemed to be the case; but Zanka knew what that looked like.
This wasn't Jabber looking for a fight. This was something else entirely.
Before he could think further he felt his eyelids growing heavy. Damn, definitely got laced with something.
With every ounce of strength he could muster into his frozen body, he forced his eyes to stay open. If he had any say; he wouldn't just let this end without at least some sort of victory. No matter how small. So he stared, his eyes starting to burn from the air and strain of keeping them open and focused on the man before him. He wouldn't last; he knew. There was still a wild sense of satisfaction when he saw an ounce of surprise flash across Jabber's face, as the world around him faded.
________
The next morning Zanka woke with a start. His body automatically screamed at him to fight when his senses returned to him. Hand shooting out to grab Lovely Assistaff before his eyes had fully opened and transforming her into weapon mode.
He was met with an empty room.
Taking a moment to adjust his grip he slipped out of bed and began a sweep of the room. Only to find absolutely nothing. Inspecting his door, his window, hell he even inspected the ceiling and floor and found absolutely no signs anyone but him had been there. A further inspection of his body revealed no new marks or scars.
With a breath he forced himself to relax his grip on Lovely Assistaff and swiftly got ready. Just because there wasn't a sign he was there didn't mean it didn't happen. He knew what he saw. Jabber was in his room and there was no doubt in his mind.
Dressed for the day Zanka briskly left his room. He found his feet rapidly carrying him down the stairs to the reception desk. Lovely Assistaff humming and preparing to be drawn at a moment's notice.
When he got to the front desk he was greeted by Semiu who was in casual conversation with a small team of Supporters. The woman's head immediately drifted towards him as he approached and her previously relaxed expression morphed into one of concern. They stared at each other for a few silent moments. The small group seemed to sense something about the vibe and dispersed before Semiu spoke up with a simple “You look like shit.”
That made any previous thought leave his brain. He had gotten ready fast; so he hadn't taken the usual time to keep his put together appearance. Clearing his throat and avoiding her eye he found himself mumbling out a weak "Couldn't Sleep.”
She simply raised a sculpted brow and he felt his face start to heat out of sheer embarrassment. Business, he was here on business not to be called out for his current state.
“Do you know if there was anythin’ weird last night?” He forced out “Like did anyone see anythin’ suspicious? People not where they're supposed to be?”
That gave Semiu pause, she stared at him a moment longer, the concern seemingly growing. “I haven't heard anything. Got all the reports in for the night and no one noted anything unusual. Why is something wrong?”
Zanka found his face drifting into a frustrated scowl "You're sure? Shikage didn't notice anythin’ did he?”
“If he did he would have said something immediately.” She leaned forward and he noticed her glasses start to glow “What's wrong? It's not like you to suddenly be all freaked out about our security”
Did he really look that ruffled? He watched as her eyes drifted lower to his hands and realized with a start he was shaking. The fuck? Why was he so frazzled? Taking a steady breath and clenching his hands into fists he brought himself to meet her gaze.
“Yeah” He found himself mumbling, willing the trembling to stop “Yeah sorry; Jus’ Had a bad dream is all” It was a dream. That's what he'd tell himself. If Jabber had broken in, someone would know. There would have been something.
Semiu watched him for a second longer before sighing and relaxing, seeming to accept the answer for now. “Why don't you take it easy for the day? Grab some food and relax a bit.”
He scowled at that and she let out a small chuckle “Yeah okay I know you don't exactly know how to relax.” Before Zanka could argue in his own defence she continued on “How about this then; We've been getting lots of reports this last week about a strange trash beast. Tomme had a thought that we've gotten reports about it before but it never stood out. So, she's going through some old reports; she could probably use a hand?”
That. That actually sounded okay. He felt his body relax, he could use the distraction and training right now probably wasn't the best idea. He gave a nod and Semiu smiled.
“Perfect. Now go fix your face and grab a bite. You've both got a bit to comb through.”
Semiu, he decided as he bid her goodbye and headed to his room to make sure he didn't look dead on his feet. Was one of his favorite people.
_____
Semiu was evil and enjoyed torturing his brain.
‘A Bit’ turned out to be months worth of old reports. It had taken nearly all day but he and Tomme had finally managed to work out a system for the madness. To anyone else the room they had chosen to occupy probably looked like a paper explosion had gone off.
At some point they had started taping important documents to a far wall; starting to find a correlation between some of the older reports. Not wanting to lose any important notes lead to the commandeering of a few large movable whiteboards. Two had been coated in notes regarding abnormalities, while another sat in the far corner depicting anything they noted that meant a case definitely didn't revolve around the beast.
Some reports had begun getting strung to the wall near the boards, to help keep track of their main points of reference. Thus far they had three things that indicated what they were starting to call the ‘Abnormality’:
First, most reports always seemed to mention an ‘Ominous blue glow.’ At first they had brushed it off; it was such a vague detail and it was always just a small mention. Lots of things could cause a blue glow; and ominous was hardly a descriptor for a color. It wasn't until Tomme re-read an old job that reported a civilian claiming to have been ‘watched’ by a beast with glowing steel blue eyes, that they noticed anything amiss.
The account had initially been brushed off. After all, if the civilian had truly come face to face with a Trash Beast he likely wouldn't still be alive to tell the tale. But the more they read. The more it lined up.
That swiftly led them to their second point; the ‘Abnormality’ was never seen up close and seemed to keep its distance. Even in reports and closed cases of previously disposed trash beasts; occasionally there was an odd account of another beast being in the area, that was however quickly dismissed when nothing was found.
The final point to the ‘Abnormality’ was it never reappeared in the same place twice. At first they suspected maybe it was staying in its specific territory. However when they read over a near identical report of it miles away from where a previous report had been just days later they started to note the pattern.
It was moving somewhere. Whether it had a specific goal in mind or it was just aimless wandering was their current conundrum. They ended up dedicating two whiteboards and an entire wall just trying to track its movements. Working to narrow down its timeframe and path between locations.
That was how Riyo and Gris found them. Surrounded by reports and debating over a small map depicting the safe and polluted zones near the North Ward.
"I'm tellin’ you. It doesn't make sense for it to have gone around the zone. Unless it can somehow fuckin teleport” Zanka grumbled out; a headache long since building at his temples. Lovely Assistaff was learned nearby. Set to the side as the maze of documents became more and more hazardous to navigate.
Tomme huffed; she had long since disregarded her usual cap. Opting to tie her hair back and out of the way. They had been arguing over the same route for over thirty minutes and both parties were getting tired. “We still haven't figured out how fast it is. If it's able to vanish without people getting a good look it very well might be teleporting"
“Why would it take th’ time to go around though? That doesn't make a damn lick of sense. It risks detection if it takes a longer route. If it cuts through the polluted zone no ones going to think twice bout’ seein a Trash Beast roamin’ around”
Tomme quickly went to retort but stopped when Gris gently cleared his throat. Both heads snapping to the two in the doorway. Riyo was clearly holding back laughter, what she found so funny about the hell they'd been through the last few hours neither could guess.
“How about” Gris started gently, hands slowly raising like he was trying to calm a startled animal. Riyo snorted. “We call it here for now? You've both been locked in here all day and look like you could use some rest.”
Silence filled the air as the two seemed to stare the man down. As if slowly processing his words. Riyo piped up from behind him “I can see the eye bags from here. We saved you both some of the stew that's being served for chow. If you don't get going now, Rudo's probably going to eat all the leftovers. Don't know how long Follo can keep him at bay for, he's a growing boy after all.”
That spurred the two into action. Without another word they were up and grabbing their personal items, rushing past the duo. They both knew the threat was more than likely an empty one, Rudo wouldn't eat anything that was left for someone else unless he was explicitly given it.
It did however bring them into awareness of their own hunger, having gone the whole day without stopping in their work. Tomme most definitely hadn't eaten since breakfast. The usually responsible woman was so drawn into the case of the ‘Anomaly’ she had genuinely forgotten to eat.
Zanka tried to recall in his brain whether he had eaten this morning at all and his brain came back empty. That would explain the headache then. As they drew near the mess hall he felt his stomach tighten at the thought of food. The growing nausea is a familiar feeling in his throat.
A voice sounding surprisingly similar to Enjin chimed in the back of his brain. Eat it said you won't be able to accomplish anything on an empty stomach.
So with a grounding breath he slipped into the seat near Follo and graciously accepted the bowl he was handed. After the first few bites he felt his stomach calm, distantly noting Rudo and everyone else weren't even in the mess hall. He glanced at Follo and was surprised to find the man's eyes already on him.
Zanka didn't need to ask before Follo let out a nervous chuckle, a small blush coming to dust his cheeks as he looked away. “Everyone else already turned in. It's already super late and when we didn't see you guys we wanted someone to make sure to save some so…”
Shoveling another bite into his mouth Zanka let out a hum of gratitude. Follo must have volunteered to wait while Gris and Riyo went to grab them.
“Thanks; we appreciate it” was his simple response after swallowing his current spoonful. Follo sputtered and if possible grew even redder. He went to reply but was interrupted as Riyo plopped down on Zanka's other side, placing a cup of water in front of him. Gris mirrored her, ensuring Tomme got her own.
“He was real quick to offer the role of food guard. Said he hadn't seen you all day and wanted to make sure you ate.” Riyo stated, slowly leaning herself into Zanka. He found himself relaxing at her touch.
“It wasn't- I was just- we were all worried! Enjin and Rudo also offered to stay but they got dragged away by team child!” Was Follos sputtered defense. Zanka found himself frowning as the flush rose higher on his face. Almost on instinct he raised a hand and placed it on Follo's forehead. The man seemed to freeze, his whole body tensing and his eyes going impossibly wide.
“You okay? Yer’ actin’ pretty weird. You ain't gettin sick are ya?” Concern worked its way past the exhaustion. If Follo wasn't feeling well they'd need to get him checked out.
The two men stared at each other for a long moment. Zanka with a bit of worry, and Follo with something in his eye Zanka couldn't place. A loud snort cut through the moment and seemed to spur Follo into action. The man quickly stood, sputtered out a goodbye and sped out of the mess hall.
Zanka could only stare at the doorway he'd disappeared through his hand still raised dumbly before three bouts of laughter cut through the air. He dropped his hand and his head whipped towards the other three occupants of the table. Tomme and Gris were doing their best to contain their laughter. Tomme's bowl now empty and her hand covering her mouth to stop any giggles from escaping.
Riyo had no such success; her silent laughs shook her whole body as she doubled over, clutching at her stomach. Zanka frowned and set down the near empty bowl “mind sharin’ with the class? What's so funny?”
Gris was the first to recover “Nothing! Nothing! Sorry about Follo, he's definitely feeling alright. He was super concerned, so I'm sure seeing you out of the room was reassuring for him.”
A scowl slowly slid onto his face, that made no damn sense. He was about to voice this when Tomme stood; her face slightly flushed from trying to hold back her laughter. “Well this has been a great dinner but i think its time we turned in! Night guys, see you tomorrow Zanka!”
Before he could reply, Tomme tugged Gris’ sleeve and the man was quick to follow. Muttering a quick goodnight before they too vanished from the mess hall.
With a sigh of defeat he felt his gaze slowly fall back towards the rest of his food. His body suddenly felt so heavy, exhaustion catching up and appetite suddenly gone. He started as a hand fell on his arm, head snapping to see Riyo's concerned green eyes scanning his face.
Whatever she was searching for she seemed to find as she stood, tugging Zanka with her. “Let's get you to bed. I'm sure you'll be holed up again tomorrow so you'll need any brain power you have left.”
He found himself following her without complaint, her arm linked in his a grounding presence and comfort. He was safe when he was with her, he knew. She would do everything she could to protect him and he would always return the favor without question. They were family now, and that held such a weight neither of them dared voice aloud.
By the time they reached Zanka's door he could feel his steps growing sluggish. Riyo gave his arm a small squeeze and stepped back offering a soft goodnight as he stepped inside.
It wasn't until the door closed behind him with a quiet click; plunging his room back into that gentle darkness that the events of the previous night came back to him.
Shit.
Deftly pulling Lovely Assistaff to his hand he began a sweep of his room. Part of him felt ridiculous. There was nothing out of place when he left. Someone would have known if anyone was here last night. And yet; he couldn't help but remember the gaze that had bore into him. Watching. Waiting.
When his sweep revealed no new changes he let out a sigh. It probably was just a dream. Nothing to really worry about. He'd wake up in the morning, train, eat, and get back to work helping Tomme. Eventually he was sure he'd forget all about it. That's what he had to keep telling himself anyway.
After that; his night went as usual. He got ready for bed, made sure to tend to Lovely Assistaff and take the time to meditate with her and re center his focus, before slipping into bed and letting sleep consume him.
____
He was watching him. That was the first thing that Zanka's brain supplied when it woke in the dead of night again. Eyes opening and immediately speaking and landing on Jabbers piercing burgundy eyes. It took everything in him not to panic this time. To save his energy for when he could fucking move.
That was kind of hard when your brain was clouded by sleep but Zanka did his damndest.
Jabber was closer this time; it was the second thing his brain decided to supply, which was just great. Definitely what he needed at the moment. Not his voice, not the functioning of his limbs. Just Jabber who was now to his right and near where his feet lay.
He did everything to convey the rage he felt, the hatred. Whatever fucking game the other man was playing with him it wasn't appreciated. Jabber's eyes seemed to search his face, before his face softened ever so slightly. That was the fist shift of movement yet, and it was fucking weird.
That was all he did however. Just stayed. Watching.
Eventually Zanka lost the battle of wills again. Sleep inevitably consuming him. Once again, Jabber didn't move, didn't speak. Just watched.
___
It became somewhat of a routine much to Zanka's annoyment. He'd wake up in the morning, do a sweep of his room, get ready, check with Semiu to double check there hadn't been anything abnormal, train by himself, train with Rudo, eat, then spend the rest of the day either helping Tomme or taking on a job.
Every night he would wake up with Jabber in the room. Every night they would just watch each other. After about a week Zanka started to use it as a chance to take in as much detail as he could in the other man. He'd realized on day nine that Jabber had the faintest smile lines, and that his eyes always seemed wide in a way, open.
Day eleven provided the detail of how relaxed Jabber always seemed to keep himself. Always seeming to do his best to go with the flow; even like this, when he was doing nothing but observing. He gave the presence of comfort in a place he was definitely not allowed to be.
Day fourteen he noticed Jabber had a small mole poking out from under his shirt. Along with some scarring, though he only caught a glimpse before they vanished beneath the collar of his uniform.
By the time Day twenty had rolled around he had begun to expect it almost. The nightly visits.
He still felt insane, unable to find how the man was doing it. Plus if Jabber was the same person watching him when he was on jobs, that brought a whole new well of concern.
Either way he had started to understand what to expect. So when he woke up and Jabber's face was inches from his own he felt that same fear from the first night reinforce itself in his heart. Blood pounded in his ears. There was nowhere to look but up in the deep burgundy of his irises.
It felt like an eternity yet no time at all. They both just stared, Zanka, however unwillingly, yet refusing to show any sign of reaction to the gentle breaths he could feel ghosting his cheeks. Why now? It had been weeks and Jabber hadn't done anything up to this point. Was he finally bored of whatever this was? Was he finally going to put an end to the nightly inspection he seemed to put Zanka through?
Suddenly, he could only watch as Jabber slowly leaned back. The curtain of his hair slowly falling away from where it surrounded Zanka's face.
The man didn't give him a moment to catch his breath however, when suddenly a firm calloused hand was resting on Zanka's cheek. Jabber's fingers felt like ice, burning a cold brand into his skin, only intensified by the bite of Mankira's soft kiss. If he had any doubt before of this being reality. It was swiftly doused in this moment.
“You're so much better than I ever could have hoped.”
The statement left Jabber's lips, slowly dissipating into the crisp night air. Where he would have expected any words to disturb the terrifying quiet; they seemed oddly at home there, existing only in the space between them. They seemed to hold a weight. A reverence he couldn't find a name for.
Without warning, the same weight as the previous nights started to tug at Zanka's eyelids. He forced them to stay open; he would not let it end like this. Whatever Jabber's intention, if he didn't do everything in his limited power to fight back, he would regret every second of his pathetic existence.
Tears began to well in his eyes as time seemed to drag on. The sting of the air cutting into Zanka's eyes; trying to force him to submit. He could feel some drops slip free as his body refused to listen, his eyelids struggling to try and stay open. Jabber's thumb reached up and ever so gently brushed away a tear.
“Cant wait to see the waves you make. Be sure to put on a show, yeah? It took a lot of effort to find you.” Jabber leaned forward once more, the curtain of hair slowly re claiming the space around Zanka's head. The feeling on Jabber's forehead barely registered as they were eye to eye once more. “Give em’ hell little blue bird.”
The last thing Zanka noticed before the darkness took him was the spark of blue that flashed deep in Jabber's burgundy eyes.