Chapter Text
Riyo had been plotting, they'd been to the noodle place and a few shops in town, and now, the group was headed to Alice's clinic to pick up some more anatomy textbooks for Eishia.
"Alright, Alice is pretty busy, she called me earlier saying that she doesn't have the space for our full group today, so just me and Eishia are gonna go in, we'll be back in a few minutes. Don't wander off while we're gone." Enjin instructed the other three.
Zanka gave a quiet nod, Riyo and Jabber just kept their eyes trained on each other. Jabber could sense Riyo was planning something, he just didn't know what.
Shortly after Enjin and Eishia left, Riyo saw her opportunity to strike. She casually broke eye contact with Jabber and turned her face away from the two boys like she was unbothered by them. Then, she did the unexpected, and spoke.
"Surprised you Well Boys haven't snapped yet." Her voice was icy.
Zanka didn't speak.
"…Us what?"
She turned back to face them like she hadn't heard what Jabber said. "Hm?"
Jabber approached her, his lanky figure loomed over her, his locs curtaining them. "Us what?"
"Oh, Well Boys. I. Called. You. Two. Well Boys."
The punch came quick, Riyo had stumbled, but didn't fall, she could feel the bruise actively forming on her cheek.
"Jabber!" Zanka yelled and reached for the other boy's arm.
"No Zan, she can call me whatever she wants, but she don't get to talk to you like that." Jabber's tone left no room for argument.
Riyo just watched them as she steadied herself and wiped her lip. She pulled Ripper from it's case like she was in a quick draw. "There it is! The Snap!" She activated her instrument and fed her foot through one of the handles before doing a sweeping kick at Jabber.
"I've been waiting for this!" Jabber gained a manic grin as he activated Mankira just in time to block Ripper's slash. "Show me whatchu got, killer!" His blow was just as low as the one Riyo attacked them with first, it hurt her just as much.
Ripper and Mankira pushed and slashed at each other with vitriol, the cringing scrapes of their metal clashing was tough on all their ears. Zanka promptly activated Lovely, Riyo's insult forgotten, now he was just trying to mediate between the two and keep them from harming one another. Any slash that went towards Riyo he redirected, any cut going towards Jabber he parried. The last thing he needed was him and Jabber getting kicked from the Cleaners due to causing inn fighting!
Zanka was still new to Lovely, Riyo and Jabber had far more time with their instruments than he did, and he was growing tired quick. He couldn't handle the pair for long, and eventually, he slipped.
SLASH
"AH!" Zanka caught a deep cut from Mankira right to his leg. He crumbled to the floor with a whimper.
"ZANKA!" Jabber howled, then froze. While he was distracted, Riyo was able to wiggle her scissor blades around his neck, all she'd have to do was close them and he'd be dead before he could blink.
"S-Stop! Don't- ah- hurt him." Zanka pleaded out from his place on the floor, he was clutching his leg to his chest with one hand, reaching up to Riyo with the other. His expression was the same kind of hollow as it was in the well.
She looked down at him with intrigue, she wasn't expecting him to make a face like that. While her attention was stolen, Jabber stepped back from her blades reach. He crouched down to Zanka, his claws deactivated as he put one hand on Zanka's leg, the other on his back to help him sit up. "What claws?"
"Left." Zanka answered, fatigued.
Jabber's shoulders relaxed a bit at that. Zanka couldn't walk, but he couldn't feel the pain either.
"Just finished up with Alice and- guys?" Enjin and Eishia had just turned the corner on their way back and were greeted with the three battered teens. His eyes widened at the sight of the teen on the floor covered in blood. "Zanka!" He ran to the group. "What happened?"
"M-My fault, got in da middle of them." Zanka huffed out.
"Zanka, no, you did nothing but try an' rein me in. Was me and silent scissors over here. She provoked me, I just did what she wanted, and got provoked." Jabber was still leaning over Zanka, but was happy to see Eishia, he hoped she could heal Zanka quickly.
Enjin turned to gauge Riyo's reaction to Jabber's story. She had deactivated Ripper and was sitting on the curb, her legs brought up to her chest to hide her face, she made a point to not make eye contact with him.
The Senior Cleaner pinched his brow and Eishia looked for an out door outlet to plug Type: Heal into. "You're all teenagers, and more importantly, Cleaners. While you wear our uniform, you represent us. We protect people! How would these citizens feel if they saw their so called protectors squabbling in the streets like petty children? How am I supposed to trust any of you if you can't be left alone for even five minutes!" Enjin's voice was loud and stern, colder than any of them had ever heard before, even Eishia, who wasn't in trouble, was trembling as she tried to plug her jinki into one of the outlets she'd found.
Jabber didn't care about Enjin's scolding, it all rolled off his back like water. It was like Corvus and Semiu said, he was an unconventional Cleaner. As he listened, he looked down to Zanka, his expression was grim, he never liked getting in trouble, but what was even more surprising than that, was Riyo. The frightening frigid girl that always wore a blank mask of indifference, was frowning. She was frowning so hard, that Jabber could see tears welling in her eyes… Enjin's words got to her that much?
"…I'm sorry… Enjin." She whispered out.
"It's not me you need to apologize to. Same goes for you two." Enjin turned to Eishia to give them some privacy, and so he could apologize to Eishia for scaring her.
It took a moment before any of them spoke.
Zanka was the first to do so, he turned to Riyo as he shakily shifted to sit on his knees, with the help of Jabber. Blood was still pooling from his leg as he ducked his head to the floor in a Dogeza, his bangs and finger tips dyed red from grime and his own blood. Jabber expected this from Zanka, when he apologized, he made sure it was known.
"We've been rude to you, and yet, you've put up with us… we didn't even try to like you or thank you for the things you did for us… welcoming us in, hell… finding us… I'd be dead if you didn't. Thank you. I'm… I'm so sorry about how we've treated you and Enjin."
After he finished, he stayed in that pose for a moment, before elbowing Jabber in his shin hard.
Jabber kept his eyes on Zanka for a moment before looking to Riyo with slightly softer eyes, they weren't kind, but they weren't as threatening either. "Look, I ain't as formal as him, but like how you don't take insults against tattoos over there, I don't take insults against Zanka. I'll apologize. But you have to apologize to Zanka first."
Zanka elbowed him harder as to say to just apologize anyways.
"No Zan, this is important, you don't value yourself nearly enough and you don't need people kicking you over your vulnerable moments." Jabber stood his ground.
"…You're right." Riyo's voice was quiet and scratchy from her previous tears over Enjin's scolding, all her anger and fear had finally bubbled over into overwhelm, she pulled her legs tighter to her chest. "I did say that just to hurt you… you two scare me. You saw right through me the second we met… no one's done that before… no one but Enjin, Semiu and Corvus knows what I am. What I was. The fact you both know, it terrifies me. If you told the other Cleaners…"
"We won't." Zanka promised with confidence.
"…How am I supposed to believe you." Riyo quietly sobbed out.
Jabber stepped up to her, completely serious. "If I tell anyone you've killed, you can tell them I've done the same. Was marauders mostly, but at the end of the day, it still involves me washing blood off my claws."
"If you have a secret, we'll keep it, no questions asked." Zanka added.
"…I'm sorry I called you something so rude… It's all I called you both in my head. Don't know if I even remember your names." Riyo added, embarrassed.
Jabber smiled and put out a hand. "Well first, let me apologize for calling you killer, not apologizing for the silent part, cuz that's just a fact!" He teased. "And, if you don't remember our names, let's reintroduce ourselves, not like you got to say your own name last time anyway.
Riyo softly smiled, and reached a hand towards his.
~~~~~
"What was it that you called her that hurt her feelings so bad?" Rudo asked Jabber. When he was telling the story, he talked about how Riyo first called them Well Boys, but he tiptoed around what he called her in turn. He was also vague towards the end and didn't share why she was wary of them, or what her secret was that Jabber knew.
His mentors shared a glance, before Jabber responded, "Something nobody would ever wanna be called… related to something that wasn't her choice, something she had no control over, and I took advantage of that fact."
Rudo sat with Jabber's words for a moment before Jabber spoke again.
"Oh, and Rudo?"
"Yeah?"
"Don't go poking around asking her or anyone for details on her past, got it." Jabber lightly threatened with his sharp eyes. Even Zanka was peering at him sternly like he was just a grubby brat!
"G-Got it!" Rudo stuttered out in slight fear.
"Good." Jabber said with a smile and a nod.
"…So how'd you grow to like the nickname?" Rudo asked to get their conversation back on track.
"That was Zanka's idea, he wanted to be empowered by it, remember who and what got him where he is today. Now it's just what Riyo calls us when she's too lazy to say both our names."
"Like how Enjin sometimes calls us Claws and Tassels." Zanka added.
"Or Blue and Purple-"
"-Even though it's magenta."
"He also calls us-"
"-Okay, I get it." Rudo cut off their rambling, it seemed that his mentors were tired of the stilted air and wanted to bring back their usual casual tone. And after the scare Rudo just got from them, he saw no issue with that.
~~~~~
"Right, Rudo, you ready to get some of that fiery rage out?" Jabber's voice beamed with excitement!
The three were in the Courtyard, and after some mandatory warm ups enforced by Zanka, they were now ready to take notes in Zanka's case, get beat up in Jabber's, and beat up Jabber in Rudo's.
"Feel free ta go fer anything, head, below the belt, wherever ya want, already told Eishia that we'd be visitin' her later, so go crazy." Zanka explained routinely to Rudo while doing more intense stretches he didn't require the other two to do. Holding up Lovely and Jabber was hard work, but he took great pride in it.
Rudo cringed, "You mean I could even kick him there? What kinda freak are you? And wouldn't you, like, be afraid that you wouldn't be able to have kids if I kick you there? Though I can't picture anyone crazy enough to wanna procreate with you in the first place." If this whole thing was for him to fight Jabber, he figured verbal lashings also counted.
"Nah, don't want kids, too messed up and busy to take care of them." Jabber responded with a shrug.
"Plus, brats are annoying, an' we already got you. Yer more trouble than ten kids." Zanka added matter of factly as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.
Rudo forgot his previous qualms and focused his building anger on Zanka. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Exactly what it sounds like it does," Zanka answered dully, "yer troublesome."
"You asshole-"
"-But I like troublesome people." Zanka smiled, his eyes half lidded. "Ya really think I could spend half as much time with Jabber as I do without liking all the negative an' positive qualities 'bout him? He's trouble, yeah, but he's my trouble."
"Awe Zan, that was sweet, but you're getting too sweet. If someone don't punch me soon, I'll be testing out Kira's new blend on both'a you." Jabber began to jump from toe to toe eagerly while flexing his fingers.
"Ya heard him, kid." Zanka crossed his arms and looked to Rudo. "Be a good student, an' hit yer teacher."
"And he'll… enjoy it?" Rudo's face scrunched up in disgust.
"Yup." Zanka popped the p in his response as he spoke.
"Gross!" Rudo didn't think he could lose any more respect for his teachers, yet somehow, they found a way.
"I'm getting bored over here." Jabber groaned as he threw his head back.
"Come on, hit him, or he won't stop whinin'." Zanka prompted.
"Well, if feels weird to just hit you, I'm not really mad enough to fight."
Jabber's head snapped up from it's slouched position, he had the eyes of a predator, "I can fix that."
"Jab."
"Nah Zan, he needs a push, I'll give him a push. Hm, what to bring up first, your bad sense of fashion, or that scowl you call a smile…"
Rudo's eye twitched at Jabber's taunt.
"Nah, too easy." Jabber's eyes then flickered with an idea. "Oh I know, your old man, Regto, right? That guy did not raise you right! Just going around with your mean face, taking people's stuff, and demanding something from everyone? Talk about rude!"
Rudo saw red, he found himself swinging for Jabber's nose before he could think better of it.
The crunch of bone beneath his fist sounded delightful, in any other instance, he'd cringe, but now, it just spurred the raging inferno in his chest! Rudo felt his mouth lift into a sneer, it wasn't a smile, but it damn near felt like one!
Jabber stayed up, just thrown off balance by the punch, when he refocused his attention on the smaller boy, he saw another fist flying towards him. As fun as it sounded to take the blow straight to whatever Rudo was aiming at, he decided it'd be a bit better to tire the boy out first, so instead, he back stepped out of Rudo's reach.
Rudo, expecting to be stopped by making contact with Jabber's body, continued his forward momentum only to then feel Jabber's shoe kick him in the back sending him careening to the floor. It didn't hurt, but damn did it piss him off!
"Grr, get back here, you bastard!"
"Gotta catch me first~"
Rudo went back to his swinging, Jabber dodging, practically dancing around the younger boy. Rudo looked for anything to attack with, but the Courtyard was freshly cleaned and emptied of it's old paint cans. He glanced over to Zanka and found him hastily writing notes. His eyes were focused on the fight, but his pen moved quick on the page.
That's when Rudo got an idea. If there were no conventional weapons, then he'd just make his own!
He began cornering Jabber over by Zanka, who was stationed on the other side of the painted white line out of combat, but Rudo had no intention of fighting him, so he deemed his idea fair. With a swipe of his gloved hand, Rudo had grabbed Zanka's pen and activated it with his anima. It grew to the size of a dagger, it's long tip sharp and dripping with ink.
Jabber manically giggled at the enraged kid before him, "Man, I like the way you think!"
After Rudo's stunt, Zanka pulled a new pen from his pocket, he expected something like that to happen. "Resourceful, that's good, 'specially with his ability, but will he try ta overcompensate fer his slowness by makin' his instrument do all the hard work?" Zanka mumbled to himself as he continued to notate the fight.
Rudo continued to swipe at the other, occasionally throwing ink on him and the ground making Jabber slip and get stuck. If he couldn't keep up with Jabber, he'd slow him down instead!
"Zanka, he pulled a blade on me, what if I get hurt! I think I should activate Kira to even the playing fields, don't you?" Jabber begged while fighting his way out of an ink puddle that acted more like a tar pit.
"Jab, this is fer him, not you."
"Nah, pull out your blades! It'll just make it that much more embarrassing when I beat you!" Rudo mocked cockily.
Zanka sighed and closed his note book. After that stupid claim from Rudo, he knew that stopping Jabber was no longer in the cards and this fight was about to be over. He'd try to make it as painless for Rudo at least. "Jabber, use Toxin Two: Tired Time."
"But Zanny," Jabber whined having already activated Mankira the second Rudo told him to, "he's already got a taste of that one, it'd be boring."
"Please, Hun." Zanka asked kindly, his accent thick, eyes doe-like.
A full body shiver ran through Jabber as he saluted in response to Zanka's request, Mankira's activated blades centimeters from giving his eyebrow a second slit. "Yes, Sir!" He squeaked out red with joy. He then turned back to his target, his prey. "See you for your welcome party, Rudo."
Rudo couldn't react before Jabber was upon him and the cold blades of Mankira were at his neck again. He could only watch as his stiff body and instrument fell to the floor in a heap, his instrument turned to ash and softly blew into the wind. Rudo's eyes closed shortly after that, though for just a moment, he could hear the other teens' voices before he lost consciousness.
"Enjin's not gonna be happy when he finds out."
"Enjin don't gotta know."
"Shikage has cameras in the Courtyard, Jab. He probably watched this all go down, an' after that prank ya pulled on him last week, he's got it out fer ya."
"…Aw, damn…"
~~~~~
Rudo's eyes weakly opened. The ceiling above him had bright florescent lights and the air had a clean chemical smell, not too different from the one that wafted off of Jabber. Suddenly, he found his vision full of the other teen he was just thinking of.
"Morning, sleepy head, welcome to the Infirmary." Jabber whispered close to Rudo's face.
"…Shouldn't your nose be broken?" Rudo grumbled out.
"My sweet Zanka reset it for me! Isn't he just the nicest?" Jabber reminisced as he leaned his cheek on his intwined fingers to come across as coquette.
"Quit crowdin' him." Zanka pulled Jabber back by his hood.
Slowly, Rudo sat up and observed his surroundings. Like Jabber said, he was in the Infirmary, the room was plain and sterile.
"Had ta come here ta fix Jab up after our spar, we were gonna let you watch after yer fight with him, but ya had ta get all cocky. Yer lesson fer today was gonna be knowin' yer own power, but instead ya learned not ta get arrogant when fightin' yer opponent."
"Especially when your opponent has long venomous claws and is way faster and more experienced than you!" Jabber added happily.
"Yeah, that too." Zanka nodded in agreement. He was sitting cross-legged on the bed next to Rudo's, Lovely held tightly in his arms. He leaned his head against her wood. "Eishia'll be in ta check on ya in a minute."
"Then we're cleared to go to your welcome party!"
"…Jabber…" Rudo mumbled out.
"Yes, dear student?"
"I hate you."
"Awe, you're making me blush~" Jabber brought a hand to his face in mock innocence.
"Don't worry, he'll grow on ya. Like a bad rash." Zanka teased.
Rudo scowled, "I'd rather he didn't."
Jabber let out a chuckle at Rudo's words before his expression fell to something kinder. "Y'know, I didn't mean what I said during our fight, right? Was just trying to egg you on, get you in a fighting mood. I don't know anything about Regto besides what you told us, nothing negative I say about him should ever stick in your brain, cuz I never knew the guy." Jabber threw up his hands as he explained his point. "That's something to keep in mind. Strangers don't know you, so of course they're not gonna have a good judge of your character. Like me and Zan, we can come off as mean or cold, but we're also the same guys that read botanical textbooks and history novels before bed together in our pajamas."
"Same logic applies ta you. Sure, ya can't smile well ta the point that people think yer snarlin', but we know ya enough ta know that yer tryin'."
"And my insults were based on things I knew weren't true anyways! You didn't know what Lovely was when you grabbed her, you're just asking questions about things you don't understand, and me and Zan aren't the easiest people to get along with. All things considered, you're actually super civil and nice!" Jabber complimented him.
Rudo was stunned by their words "…You… you don't mean that." He couldn't allow himself to believe what they were saying.
"We know that fer a fact. Jab had ta force a fight outta ya. When we first showed up, we'd be happy fer an excuse ta beat someone up.
Rudo's perspective of the two before him was again flipped on its head. He got so caught up on it to the point where it took him a moment to realize that there was a newcomer in the Infirmary.
"Oh, you're awake, hello." The new voice was feminine and soft.
Rudo looked at the girl that had just entered the room, she was around his age with short blonde hair in a nursing gown, he recognized her instantly.
"You're that girl from the picture." Rudo pointed at her.
Eishia's brows fell in question.
"Y-Your brother, August, he showed me a picture of you guys at a restaurant." He answered to clear the confusion.
"That sap, he still has the birthday picture?" Jabber mumbled out, clearly surprised.
"Ya say that like ya don't have it on yer lab desk." Zanka teased.
"Well, yeah, makes sense for me to have a picture of one of the happiest days of my life, don't get why he has it though…"
"W-Well, he's very sentimental. Still talks about that day all the time, he remembers the strangest details about it, like how you were wearing mismatched socks." Eishia recalled with a nod.
"Ha! Right, always made sure they were different colors to piss off Mr. Bad Attitude!"
"And that's why all yer socks are black now." Zanka rebutted with his eyes closed, he was trying to enjoy the last few minutes of serenity before the party.
"Well anyways, you ready to do a final check up on him so we can head to his party?" Jabber asked Eishia.
"Yes, right!" The nurse approached Rudo's bed side and began his check up, she checked his eyes, listened to his heart beat, and did other general nursing tests she'd been taught by her grandmother. Jabber helped hand her instruments along the way, it was second nature to him after working with her and being hospitalized so much. He'd gotten to the point of handing her tools before she'd even ask!
After those minor checks, Eishia locked up as she tried to muster up the courage to ask Rudo something.
"Rudo, can you- you… Jabber!" Eishia's face went red as she white knuckled her dress and cried for her friend.
The teen sitting beside Zanka on the neighboring bed let out a sigh. "Eishia, this is something you gotta get better at, I won't always be here on check up days." He lightly chastised.
"Please, just this time." She pleaded.
His head drooped to Zanka's shoulder as he accepted defeat. "Fine. Rudo, can you strip to your underwear for her so she can finish her check up. Me and Zan can leave or turn around if you want."
"A-Actually just your shirt and the top half of your body suit! Please leave your shorts on!" She corrected Jabber hastily. "…But you will have to take your gloves off." She added softly.
In cases of emergency, she was so focused on doing her job that having someone undress in front of her didn't cross her mind, but in casual moments, she had a far harder time asking her patients to derobe.
Rudo, just as red as Eishia grumbled out, "Fine, but you two are turning around!" He began pulling up his shirt.
Jabber nodded and spun around in his spot to face away from Rudo, Zanka just fell back on the bed, his eyes still closed, he was gonna savor every last quiet moment before that dreadful event people called a party.
Eishia turned away from Rudo and fiddled with her equipment until Rudo gave her permission to turn back. She looked him over with a critical eye, asking someone to undress was embarrassing, but checking them after the fact was easy, she was just analyzing him. She mentally wrote out her report in her head.
Scrawny, clearly underfed, but lean, he stays active, pale complexion, but not sickly, likely from his albinism… and… bandages?
He was bandaged from the middle of his forearms down with an additional bandage on his upper left arm.
"No injuries or bandages on your lower body?"
"No, just my arms."
She nodded at his response, "Can you take them off?"
He looked at his wrapped hands… maybe she could heal him? Reluctantly, he unwrapped all his bandages.
She gently took one of his hands and traced her fingers down the middle of his forearm to his wrist.
"Ack-" Rudo softly cried.
"Sorry!" She released her grip and redirected her focus to his other wound. "I-Is that a bullet wound?"
"Yeah, damn Apostle did it."
"Okay, well I can heal the gun shot, but I've never seen scars like these before, I-I'll see what I can do." As she spoke, she plugged in Type: Heal and let her energy flow through Rudo, and for just a few seconds… he was at peace. It was quiet, warm, and painless, but after his breath of comfort, the familiar sting came back harder. It was unforgiving and rude, it shrieked at Rudo that he dare leave the pain for even a moment.
"Gr- C-Can I put my gloves back on?" He moaned out in pain.
"Yes, here let me help you rewrap your arms."
~~~~~
After she helped Rudo rewrap his arms and let him get dressed, she concluded his checkup. "Sorry that took so long, but you didn't have the chance to meet with me yesterday, so I did your full routine Cleaner check up now. Next one is in six months."
"Oh, uh, thanks." Rudo responded, a little unsure about where to go from there. This made the second doctor visit in a week! Up top, he rarely visited the doctor, they could never afford it, the few times he did go were when the injuries were too much for Regto to fix on his own. Afterwards, Rudo remembered smaller portions of food… he couldn't recall if Regto got to eat back then during those times… "How much do I owe you?" Rudo asked with a wince, he was gonna lose all his money.
The nurse just stared at him with some confusion before she realized what he meant. "Oh! You don't pay me."
"Huh? But how-"
"She gets paid same as us, she's hired by the Cleaners' to be a nurse here for all of us, which is different than that old bad Alice you visited yesterday." Jabber explained as he leaned against the foot of Rudo's bed.
"Ms. Alice works fer herself, so she gets paid by her customers. Eishia's paid by Corvus ta live at HQ an' go on missions when fatalities are possible, she's even part a' our team, Akuta." Zanka added.
"That means visiting me doesn't cost a thing." Eishia said with a small smile.
"That's… good to know." Rudo answered, still a little perplexed.
Slam
"Oh Rudo~ you ready for your party?" Enjin and Riyo ran into the Infirmary, wide grins on their faces. Before he could respond, he found Riyo and Enjin on either side of him, they began to pull him out of the bed by his arms.
"What- no I'm not-"
"See you at the party, Rudo, it was nice meeting you!" Eishia waved to Rudo as he was carted off.
"We're gonna help Eish pick up, see you soon, Rudo~" Jabber hollered next to Zanka, they both joined Eishia in her waving, sending the Spherite off to his doom.
"Wait! Let go of me!" Rudo cried, but Enjin and Riyo didn't hear him over their own giggling.