Chapter Text
The wheels of the car rolled on the sand-cemented road. Around the path, buildings crumbled in the distance. Most of them didn’t even have a roof. A weird-shaped mountain was in the distance.
Enjin coolly smirked as he observed the road. He tapped the steering wheel, getting a little impatient about the time they needed to get back home.
Zanka’s Lovely Assistaff leaned against his collarbone. He stared at the long abandoned city. Nobody has lived there for ages and it showed. From far away, it wouldn’t be so easy to tell since the only aspects you’d notice is the amount of broken houses that barely stood horizontally and the amount of bricks on the ground.
Riyō tugged on tugged on Rudo’s hair, who was still shocked about meeting her. She compared his hair with hers, even if they shared no similarities. Hers was long, red, and styled—almost the complete opposite from Rudo’s.
They approached another set of buildings. A frontier fence made of broken cars and tires surrounded it. Enjin drove into a tunnel. The red lights behind and the white lights in the front lit up the dark.
The ride through it was rather short, but when they exited, they were in an entirely different place. His vehicle drifted to a stop with a squeak. It leaned in the air for a second from the momentum.
Enjin watched Zanka peacefully get out of the car. Riyō confidently stepped out and dusted her hands off. Rudo slowly followed, mind blank. He closed his own door too, after making sure the rest got out.
"Welcome to Cleaner HQ," Enjin introduced him, waving at the structure. Zanka and Riyō lead toward it.
The most noticeable thing was the spiky logo hung over one of the windows. It was the same emblem that the three of them wore somewhere on their body. A fly buzzed near Rudo as he looked at the rusty metal above.
A dark-skinned woman sat a huge desk. She ate the last bit of food off her fork and turned a page of her fem porno. Distracted by the entryway opening, she looked up.
"Keep taking care of those locs for me, ‘kay?" Riyō made sure. She walked after Zanka, who headed to another part of Cleaner HQ.
Rudo gasped, consciousness coming back late.
Is she just messing with me or what?
"Rudo," Enjin called. The Sphereite didn’t notice, but he was already at her desk. "Come over and say hi to Semiu, receptionist extraordinaire."
He walked closer.
"She always gives the new guys a once-over," he explained. "You see, she’s got this ability—"
Semiu’s fork shot at Rudo’s face. She stopped mere centimeters from him. He carefully glanced at her and the fork. Two flies were impaled by it. Their bodies gently fell as she retracted her utensil and smirked.
"Mr. Natural. It is nice to meet you in the flesh."
He wanted to quietly say something, but she cut him off.
"Enjin got me up to speed on everything, so I know all about you. Where you are from, your potential, all of it." She adjusted her silver glasses. "But I still need to see it for myself."
My potential? Rudo curiously thought.
"Those glasses are her Jinki. They amp up her kinetic vision, even letting her see what people are made of when she looks in on them," Enjin explained.
Oh, damn. So Jinkis aren’t just weapons.
Semiu’s glasses glowed golden, encased by temporary Anima. She opened her eyes wide to use her power. She looked into Rudo. Not his thoughts—his soul itself. Her vision blurred her surroundings, only focusing on Rudo.
After a moment, she shockingly let her fingers off the temples with a short breath.
"… What’s up?" Enjin turned to him and asked, "Are you a freak or something?"
"Oh, uh…" Semiu blinked. "Sorry about that. Physically speaking, he is in excellent shape, so we won’t need to build him from the ground up. And he’s got a good relationship with his Jinki. That said, it seems his use of it is shady at best. He is gonna need some work before he can draw out his power at will."
"That everything then?" Enjin spoke, unassured.
"Not quite," the receptionist warned. Rudo blinked. "How did you get boo-boo on the back of your neck?"
He touched his nape, incredibly embarrassed.
"For real!?" the Cleaner snorted. "No wonder that fly like you! My boy’s a real doo-doo player, bwahahah!"
"I wasn’t playing with it, jerk," Rudo snapped back, tone aggravated.
"I appreciate it, Semiu. I’m gonna take him to say hi to the boss now," he told.
"Have fun," Semiu said, sarcasm leaking through.
Enjin walked over, but he felt like something was wrong. He looked back, only to see the woman boringly slouched over her desk, as if she’d read every magazine in her drawer a million times. He couldn’t exactly do anything so he continued escorting Rudo.
"If you count all the Combatants, Sentinels, and Supporters, which you should, there are about one hundred Cleaners," Enjin announced as they stepped closer to the boss’s office. "But with danger around every corner, you gotta spread out. So it’s rare for everyone to be home at the same time."
He glanced at him.
"Are you up for shaking up some hands real quick?" Enjin cross-examined.
"… Like, all of them?" Rudo asked.
"Nah," he replied casually. "Most everyone’s probably out working." He opened the large metal doors. "This will only take—!"
The library was definitely much fuller than he’d expected. Manue talented Cleaners gazed at him and Rudo opening the door so suddenly.
A young child furrowed his brows even further upon his judging face. The man with the cracked nose behind him gazed menacingly along with a man with a scar. Shikage, as always, had a blanket over him, which made him look more invisible than he already was. A girl in a kaiju onesie was still zoning out, but still staring, so she had no way to actually respond. Her friend on her left looked at them with a neutral, kind of shy, expression. Two black-haired Cleaners with caps exchanged glances. A worker with a huge ash blond bun’s back faced them. Ignoring them, he kept reading a book.
After an awkwardly silent pause, Enjin closed the door with a creak.
"Ah. I was wrong," he deadpanned. "How about we make ‘em wait?"
Rudo and Enjin faced two doors again.
"And here we have the boss’s room," Enjin explained.
"Look," Rudo said, "I’ll be cool, but I’m asking about how—"
He tried catching him off guard by suddenly heading toward it and almost twisting the handle. The Cleaner stopped the determined boy just in time.
"Oh, no, you don’t. Take a breath. Because your face says, I’m about to scream at a guy ‘til I get answers."
Rudo gasped. That sounded pretty close to what he wanted to do…
"Allow me to refresh your memory first," Enjin suggested. "Info is a prime commodity that doesn’t come cheap. Tell ‘im you’ll work for him in exchange, or no one’s getting what they want."
He leaned his hand off of his shoulder.
"Also, wise men don’t ask about the boss’s Jinki. I told you about mine and Semiu’s because I needed you to trust us. And don’t ask anyone else about it because we don’t know—what it is or what it does. We don’t care. None of us Cleaners follow the boss ‘cause we’re scared or weak. It’s ’cause we want to," he sighed. "We can’t win that kind of trust."
The golden handles now seemed even more darkly intriguing. Rudo stared with wide eyes, as if wrenching them would change everything. He took a deep breath before reaching the metal. His gloved hands opened the door. He slowly stepped into the office, only to see… no one? The desk was clean, the green seat was empty, and the window was closed.
Enjin peeked inside, also as confused as Rudo.
"What the hell?" he asked himself.
"Oh, did I not tell you?" Semiu’s voice came. They both turned their heads to her. "The boss is away on business right now. He will not be back for a while."
"Say what?" Rudo exclaimed. "Gone? Really?"
Enjin physically looked down on him. "Damn. That sucks. Well, that’s that. Can’t be helped." He scratched his head. "Got some bad news for you, bud. It turns out the boss isn’t here."
"Yeah, I heard!" he shouted. "So what do I do now?"
Enjin faced Semiu.
"Well, is there an ETA on his return?"
She ignorantly shrugged.
"Of course," he said. "Right after I gave the new guy my spiel about trust and all that kind of crap. Looks like you’re gonna be sittin’ on your hands for a bit, Rudo."
"You could do that." Riyō jumped from the corner near Semiu. "Or… you could tag along and watch me work! You can’t officially join the Cleaners until the boss gets back and gives you the okay." She walked toward an unsettled Rudo. "Get an up-close and personal look at the job. It’ll be fun!"
As her smirk etched closer, Rudo’s positive little features faded into nervousness.
"And~ it’s a chance for us to get to know each other, right?" she sang.
Semiu gestured to a map. The other three listened to her explication. "This will be more or less basic maintenance. A town near the Polluted Zone reported that small Trash Beasts have been approaching their barricade lately. They don’t not want to take any chances, so they are asking us for a Cleaning."
"What’s a Polluted Zone?" Rudo asked.
"Enjin," she said, tone the opposite of light-hearted. "What all have you not told him?" Semiu grumbled then nodded. She looked at Rudo. "I’m gonna need you to forget everything this imbecile said."
"Rude," Enjin inserted.
"The Ground is divided into pockets of habitable areas called Safe Zones and Polluted Zones, the latter being the garbage death traps that Trash Beasts come from. While all Polluted Zones are dangerous, some like the ones happened to land in are especially so—a No Man’s Land. Only six No Man’s Lands have actually been confirmed, largely because people die immediately after wandering into one. Plus, they are swarming with Trash Beasts that even Givers struggle with. It is nothing short of a miracle that Enjin found you when he did." She raised her eyebrow. "Speaking of, what were you doing out there anyway?"
"Can’t a man stretch his legs?" he answered broadly. "Last I heard, we could."
"That’s your excuse?" she asked.
Enjin grinned. He shrugged, imitating the movement that she did before.
"Grand idiocy aside, remember to always wear a gas mask whenever you’re in any Polluted Zone." Semiu reached for something in the correct drawer for a second and pulled out a gas mask the next. "Breathing in toxins never ends well. You could become dangerously ill very fast." She handed it to Rudo. "And in a No Man’s Land, you have about 15 minutes until you die without one."
"Huh?!" Rudo thought out loud.
On an edge outside of Cleaner HQ, they overlooked their mission site. Smaller piles of trash polluted the surroundings behind a sturdy wooden fence. On top of it, sharpened logs that were glued to it acted as a method of protection. They slanted up, the jagged ends toward the Trash Beasts’ huge thorny nest.
"Like Semiu said, this will be basic maintenance," Riyō reassured Rudo. "But I still want you paying close attention to everything. Got it?"
She winked and he gasped nervously again. He cleared his throat, distracting himself by gazing at the Polluted Zone.
So that’s a Polluted Zone. It really is just a giant toxic dump, huh? Makes me wonder how long I was in that No Man’s Land without a mask.
Riyō jumped down a long and wide metallic stair. He turned his head toward the commotion of multiple Cleaners loudly stepping on their way down. As he thought, he followed.
It’s weird, but a lot of the Pit’s been pretty much like I pictured it’d be like when I was up in the Sphere. Back then, I thought everyone died in the Pit. He looked up. But there are whole cities down here. Do any of the city folk know about this? I mean, they might and still just dump people down here anyway.
He sighed, realizing that he’s already fallen behind. He walked forward.
But I’m here, and when I really stop to take it all in… It’s treasure as far as the eye can see! I just wanna take it all home and fix it all up!
After reaching the bottom of the stairs, Rudo asked, "You know.. I’ve been wondering, who are they?"
"They’re Cleaners, just like us," Riyō coolly replied. "They’re Supporters, to be exact. They don’t have powers like we do, but you’ll learn quickly how important they are to any job we go on."
One of the Supporters, a tall man with blond hair, reached his hand to Rudo’s, proposing a handshake.
"Very nice to meet you," he said, his mask shining in the faint sunlight.
"Y-yeah, same." He put out his hand. "Nice to meet youhahhaaah!!"
Blondie twisted Rudo’s hand so hard that he started squealing from the pain. His joints cracked involuntarily. This wasn’t a handshake. It was a one-sided hand-twist. Eventually, he jumped away from the squeezing, terrified.
"Blew your mind, right?" Riyō laughed. She cheerfully pointed toward Blondie. "My man’s got mad godly strength. He can bust a Trash Beast shell with one punch. Isn’t that awesome? Coolest guy ever."
What the hell… Everyone’s on a completely different level than me, Rudo thought, comparing the scarred adult to himself. I’ve got to watch and learn everything I can, even if this is just an easy job.
"Riyō, Trash Beast incoming," Tomme announced, squinting to see a bit better from the binoculars.
The girl in question seriously turned to the wooden fence, sensing that fun is near.
Twongolden pupils dilated from the short thorn forest—a Trash Beast.
Rudo blinked, noticing them too.
The animalistic monster’s garbage extras jingled as it emerged from the dark place. To none of the Cleaners’ surprise, many, many more appeared, metal heels clinking in the dirt.
"That many!? Hey, do something," Rudo begged. "No one said about fighting a whole herd! How is that easy?"
"Untwist your undies, dude," she nonchalantly told. "These types are slow and weak. Nothing to be scared of."
The herd’s leader, the one that showed up first ran into your protecting wall, horns bumping into it. Seeing the failed attempts, its subordinates started doing the same thing over and over.
"You see? And that’s the, actually trying to put a dent in that barricade! This is such a perfect opportunity for you to watch and learn. You’re so lucky, Rudo."
"I am?" he double-checked.
I guess so. These Trash Beasts are milder than the ones from before. There really are all kinds out there, like animals, if they all wanted to kill you.
The creature looked to its partner. The partner also glanced, confused by the large sound behind them. All of a sudden, a bull-shaped Trash Beast came out of the thorn forest, as mad as a real bull. It still resembled the previous ones, but it was enough to make Rudo shudder for a moment from the fear.
A bunch more copies of the large Trash Beast soared out of, following the first monster. At its command, they all crashed into the barricade repeatedly.
"Oh, crap!" Rudo exclaimed. "Now their buff friends are here. What’s the plan, Riyō? ‘Cause they’re denting the hell out of that barrier!!"
"Ah… don’t worry about it. It’s fine," she “reassured” as the planks that them gradually bent. ADN then burst open, letting all of the monsters in.
"Wh-what are you talking about!?" he vigorously asked. "They’re coming right for us. We need backup or something!"
"Nah, those are just bigger versions of the little guys," she said calmly. "And them being here doesn’t change much." She peeked at Rudo. "This is still a perfect training opportunity. So watch, learn, and trust the pros. Besides, now that we’ve fished out the big ones, I seriously doubt the herd will get tougher."
Rudo voice sarcastically told, "Like it wasn’t big enough already."
"You know," Riyō cut him off, "if we play this right, we can round up these guys early and head home. Ooh, idea—we can throw you a welcome party when we get back! What’s your favourite food?"
"Uh, that’s nice, but I’m not officially in the Cleaners," he responded.
"Then, um, Welcome To The Ground party," she suggested.
"Huh!? How are you not freaking out?" Rudo demanded, he himself freaking out. "Aren’t you aware that you’re risking your life here!?"
"Rudo. If you wanna survive in the Cleaners, or simply survive life on the Ground, it’s crucial to not really lose your head that much. You’ve just gotta learn the importance of keeping it cool!"
Yeah, that’s right… He trembled. Enjin wasn’t fazed by anything either. Is the secret genuinely that basic? All right then, time to lock it the hell in!
Just as Rudo confidently hyped himself up, a humongous Trash Beast crashed into the barricade with its long jaw, making it seem like it was nothing but a toy.
Even under her cool demeanour, Riyō gasped. The thumbs-up that she held up faltered. Rudo blinked in sync with the creature. As its purple eyes moved all across its sclera, the disgusting sound of squelching resounded in Rudo’s ears.
"This is fine," he murmured, wide-eyed. "I am fine… Gotta keep my cool, and it’ll all work out. Right, Riyō?"
He turned to her, but her expression wasn’t what he expected.
Excitement?
Rudo’s eyes were wide from fear, but hers were wide from a positive emotion.
"Oh-oh, what the hell is that?" she asked, voice quivering with a sadistic undertone. "I’ve never seen a Trash Beast look so good." She walked forward. "It’s terrible teaching material, though."
A few meters away from Rudo, Riyō took out a small pair of scissors from the maroon pouch on her waist. "Hey, there…" She shone the schissors at the Trash Beast. "Why don’t we give these guys a show they’ll never forget?"
The herd ran faster, charging at the pack of Cleaners. The thorns were completely demolished alongside the barricade. The giant Trash Beast’s pipes that resembled locs whooshed in the air around its deformed face. It roared, and Riyō took that as an answer.
"Sounds great…" Rudo whimpered, not believing the sight before his eyes after his encounter with the Trash Beast that Enjin saved him from. "I’ll stay here, keeping… cool…"
Scissors…?
"Before we start dancing, big guy," she chuckled, "I think I better spruce up the stage a little bit."
She took her Jinki up to her face, showing off her green Anima. Her cold pupils went white.
The smaller leader of the herd jumped aggressively to show the sign to attack. Garbage trickled down a small hill in the background.
Riyō threw her scissors in the sky. They spun before transforming into a giant pair of an object usually used in schools and crafting. She jumped as high as it did and caught one of the handles with her foot. She plunged down onto the battlefield, hitting multiple Trash Beasts.
"Cleaning time!!" she yelled.
Riyō twisted her foot and then her body. She spun her leg around, in which she “held” the Jinki. In the middle of it all, she closed her scissors. Afterward, the enemies around her shrieked, disintegrating into purple dust.
Rudo’s breath caught in his throat. What kind of destructive technique is that?
Hah!? What just happened? Seriously, what?? Did she swing those scissors with her foot?
"Oh, yeah," Blondie recalled as she continued fighting the Trash Beasts. "They’re Riyō’s battle Jinki—the Ripper. Conventional wisdom dictates that you use scissors with your hands. But clearly, Riyō is not that conventional… “Brash” would be a better word."
So even how Givers use their objects is up to them, Rudo thought, distracted.
"Hey, keep your head in the game," he called. "Don’t drop your guard just because you’re observing."
A Trash Beast slickly appeared behind the Sphereite. It roared, warming up for its prey. It ran toward him, and he barely noticed in time. Just as he prepared for the worst, Blondie roughly pushed it by its skull. Rudo fell on the floor with a thud as he watched the Supporter’s “wrestling match” with the monster.
Blondie enforced his fingers into its forehead, slowly making it lean to the floor. After it immobilized, he threw the heavy creature to Riyō’s direction with a lot of momentum.
Riyō noticed with a small glimpse. "Mm, there we go."
She positioned a top of the Ripper into the ground and the silver end in the air, open. With the little airtime that it got, she smirked. Just as the mechanical bull landed on them, she closed her scissors, cutting it in right half. The softening materials kept slipping away from the sheer force of Blondie’s throw.
"Hey, send a few more my way, please and thank you!" Riyō gleefully shouted to them.
"Yes, ma’am," Blondie and black-haired supporter with a cap correspondently said. These tow guys don’t have Jinkis, but they’re still so powerful…
Cappy had a hammer. It wasn’t the construction kind—it was modified just for fighting. He swung it at a Trash Beast’s eye, then its temple.
Blondie knocked a monster’s consciousness out with a single knuckle sandwich. Once on the floor, he grabbed it by its back and swung the Trash Beast toward the red-haired Cleaner. Some other creatures watched as their teammate got sent into the heavens.
Supporters can’t defeat Trash Beasts without powers, Rudo acknowledged. But they can disable them so it’s easier for Givers to take them out.
Riyō cut another one in half. She gazed at the horizon, where there were even more enemies incoming.
The Cleaners fight as a team.
"I wouldn’t say I joined, it’s kind of more like I’m lending a hand until I get what I want from you guys."
Rudo tensed. Taht wasn’t even an excuse anymore. Like Enjin said, he had to join the Cleaners to get any ounce of information. It was obligating now. He paused in thought.
Plastic and other contents hissed as they turned to dust from Riyō’s Jinki.
"Looks pretty spick and span to me," she sighed, resting ont the Ripper. "All right, big guy."
The giant Trash Beast crashed its jaw onto Riyō’s surroundings.
"Let’s have some fun!"
Blondie and Cappy averted their attention to the distant battlefield. They heard explosions as she fought the threat.
"Riyō’s going after the big one," Blondie explained. "Let’s focus on taking apart the smaller ones. Make sure to stay out of the fight."
"Roger that, sir," he said.
They ran away on a mission. Rudo approached moodily from the back. He looked at Blondie heading his way.
Just as he passed a smaller, thought dead, Trash Beast, it ominously opened its eyes with a clear target. It barely moved its head to make Cappy trip over its horns. At the right moment, he didn’t notice the minor obstacle in his path. As expected, he tripped and fell with a yell.
The somehow alive Trash Beast attempted to crush the Supporter.
With the help of his incredible intuition, Blondie saw him. "Hey, keep moving!" he shouted.
"No way!" Cappy denied. Maybe it was too late.
The monster elongated its neck and opened its nasty mouth. Under its attack, he held up an arm—as if that could actually protect him.
Rudo leaped in front of him with yet another pipe in his reach. He stopped it from injuring the Cleaner.
"Rudo?" Cappy exclaimed.
"If I’m gonna get what I want," he strained, "I need to join the Cleaners. That means I need to pull my own weight! I’m not just going to be a burden!! So-so I’ve gotta have you guys’ back too!!"
From his heart to his gloves, red Anima cracked into the pipe like lightning.
"And I’m gonna prove to you I can!!"
It was getting hard for Rudo to keep holding this thing back. Luckily for him, he was a Giver. Surprisingly for him, the stick he held multiplied. Similar to a spiderweb, other new sticks came out of the original stick. Rudo’s magical object temporarily engaged the Trash Beast.
Cappy shuddered—one of the spikes landed right between his legs, almost stabbing his knee.
Rudo uncertainty asked himself, "What the hell just happened?"
Wait, is this—no way. This is my power. What’d I do to trigger it this time?
The Trash Beast fixated Rudo as it almost broke the cage not too long after it appeared. More pressure was applied to him and his hands. Both the malnourished human and the inhuman being struggled to beat each other.
Its yellow started moving uncontrollably. One second it faced the sky, and the next, the horizon. It was definitely preparing for work special attack.
Riyō flew sharp-Jinki-first into the animal’s neck.
"Rushing in to save someone?" she coolly asked. "I’m liking what I see, Rudo."
A last resonated near them, indicating its actual death. The body of the Trash Beast disintegrated and crumpled to the floor, just like the rest of them. Leftover dust nearly entered Rudo’s eyes.
"Riyō! Rudo!" Blondie called in the low visibility. He ran toward them, alarmed. Once the dust settled, he approached the three. "Let me see. Are you hurt? Hah, thanks for the save. Riyō what’s going on the big one? Did you Clean it up?"
"Well, I did cut it in half. Couldn’t get it to stick, though," she explained.
"Huh?" Rudo mouthed.
Riyō turned to the big one. "It’s so annoying. I keep carving it up, but it just won’t go down."
They gazed at the regenerating thing.
"It’s impervious to Jinkis?" Blondie asked.
"I know, it’s weird, right? A Trash Beast’s weak point is usually in the same spot as a living being, so cutting it in half with a Jinki should make it super dead. Hmm, well, it can’t be helped. It’s still a Trash Beast at the end of the day, so I can just dice it up until it can’t move! Let’s try that."
"Since it’s a new type of Trash Beast’s weak point, Tomme will need to log and file a report," he told. "First, we’re gonna go warn the surrounding towns about it."
"Have fun, you guys," Riyō sang as the two Supporters went away, leaving Rudo alone with her.
She started walking toward the her opponent as Rudo said, "Riyō, how, um, uh—"
No use in even trying to complete that sentence when the question doesn’t have a definitive answer. He deeply looked at his gloves. The wind howled.
"Hey, here’s a thought," she suggested. "What do you say we give you a nice trim and clean that angry mop of yours?"
The Cleaner’s Jinki rammed into its forehead.
"You look so good with a high top!"
The Trash Beast growled in pain. It watched the girl deeply scratching the part around its eyes.
"
A full crew cut?" she laughed whilst it shook its head. "Ah, well, if that’s really what you want!"
Riyō let go of its damaged scalp and threw herself into the air. She landed on its head, in between the “hairs”.
"Now, I don’t have my clippers, so this might take a bit."
The Ripper swung around the tubes, neatly slashing them. Green explosions happened all over its head. It shrieked in agony, hollow cylinders falling off.
"Look at that snazzy doo!" Riyō gushed after completely cutting them all off. "Um, sir, you got something shiny back here. My, my. Watcha hiding?"
The bald Trash Beast growled jerked its head to get rid of Riyō. In response, she only giggled and correctly positioned her scissors for an attack.
The tubes floated to their separated ends. After the last one reattached, its eyes glowed, as if it got a power-up.
Enraged, the Trash Beast knocked its long jaw against the hard dirt, pulling multiple cracks in the ground. It did the same action over and over a dozen more times before crazily howling.
Riyō continued to chuckle as she wounded the monstrosity.
Rudo saw from afar. Suddenly, the shockwave from the Trash Beast headed in their direction.
"It’s gonna hit us!" Blondie gasped.
The Sphereite put his hands in front of his face to shade himself from the dust. Squinting, he watched.
The creature slammed its jaw and locs into the ground. The locs approached a bit nearer than Rudo had anticipated, making the terrain go in shambles. The impact drew near him. He froze, not moving an inch.
Ignoring the falling dry soil, he kept the world to himself. His fell and his legs gave up on trying to step on a rock to climb back up.
Alone in thought, Rudo debated himself.
I said I was gonna beat the ass of the guy that killed Regto. And then go beat the shit out of all those assholes up in the Sphere.
But… I don’t understand my own power.
I can’t stop even being a burden.
I can’t do anything.
I’m trash.
At th last moment, Blondie reached his hand out for Rudo. He barely held on the edge of Theo hole with his other arm. He slowly pulled him up, back to the above Ground. He took his second hand to hold Rudo up.
"Get it together!!" Blondie yelled as he carried on his back and ran away. "I know whatever made you freeze up has to be big. But you’ve got something you want, so run after it while you still can. If you learn anything, let that be it."
Rudo looked up at Riyō’s battlefield. The monster roared when she cut its artificial hair. She slashed all over its skull. She leaped into the air and put her feet on the Ripper.
"Keep singing for me, big guy. Because I know exactly what that song means. I found your sweet spot!!"Riyō kicked her scissors and plunger down into the Trash Beast’s brain. She flew through its skull and out the mouth. Her Jinki directly hit the small shining spot. She crashed into the ground and the giant Trash Beast finally disintegrated.
Blondie stopped to admire Riyō’s work and what was left of it. "Well, look at that," he said. "She beat it."
Amidst the dust, she gazed at the origin of the shining spot. Blondie and Rudo quickly caught up to her.
"Riyō! You’re good?" asked the man. "What’d you do to put it down?"
"I found this, stabbed it, and it died," she answered after a pause. "Best I can figure, this ol’ pocket knife is what was powering it. Kind of hope not."
Blondie gasped again. "A Jinki? What’s a Jinkidoing in a Trash Beast? How’s that even possible?"
Choppy opened his eyes. He faintly saw the purple glow of a television screen.
"Where the hell am I?" he whispered. "Last I remember, that Sphereite kid kicked my ass, and then— hm?"
After he took his head up, he looked at the hooded man sitting on the couch in front of the television.
"Excuse me? Who are you?" he nervously quizzed.
The stranger slowly moved, revealing long locs of black hair.
"First, tell me about that Sphereite who kicked your ass."