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Visiting Alice isn't anything out of the ordinary. The team somehow always ends up making a stop here on the trip back from a battle; even when the worst of their injuries is a scrape, Enjin insists. Zanka would be touched by his care for the team but he's also half-certain Enjin just likes having an excuse to chat with Alice, the both of them operating on the same bizarre wavelength.
It's not typical for them to meet the Stilza siblings here, though. August is all over the place, scattered like the wind and never sitting still long enough to be anything other than an after image. Eishia is the opposite, rooted to the med wing, her hands just as important as her jinki – an integral piece to keeping the Cleaners afloat. Zanka can't remember the last time she'd taken a vacation day, her head buried in medical textbooks whenever she gets some free time.
"We pass by sometimes," she says, her voice trailing off in the way it always does whenever she chooses to speak first. "Our parents–" Zanka tilts his head, not flinching when August and Alice get into another loud verbal volley. He watches Eishia instead, takes note of the twist of her hands, all those excess nerves having nowhere else to go.
"It's not the healthiest family dynamic," Enjin comments, like this is news to anyone with functioning eyes. Zanka would snort if he were any less outwardly nonchalant. As it stands, he takes a step forward.
"Are we going to be treated any time soon?" Zanka asks, his firm voice cutting through the argument with planned precision. All heads turn toward him, Alice's included.
"You need some patience, boy!" Alice points at him and then at Eishia. "You can start with him. It'll be quicker if we split the work!"
***
Eishia isn't really the type of person to engage in mindless small talk. Zanka isn't either but he finds himself trying anyway, sat on a stool while she busies herself with a tray of equipment. "When did you get here?"
"Early this afternoon," Eishia murmurs, her eyes downcast so he can't even make out any pink. "We left not long after you did..."
"I'm surprised you weren't busy with work." Zanka pulls his sleeve up to showcase the bruise running down his arm, an unflattering purple that looks worse than it feels. Eishia grimaces. It's charming in its own way, a change from her tepid frowns which are just as much about appeasement as they are about anything else. "That bad?"
"My brother convinced me to push my studies until tomorrow. You should be more careful. This could have been broken if it were any worse. Assistaff would be useless then."
Zanka only shrugs while she applies cream to the area. "Sorry you're having to do this on your break."
Eishia pauses, the medical tape in her hand almost fluttering away before she gets a firmer grip. "It's no trouble. When you're hurt you should be treated. Don't apologise." As she secures his arm, Zanka wishes he could have been hurt a little more, if only to prolong the time he's sat here, her gloves rough against his skin. But Rudo is already moving to take his place and Zanka can just flash a smile, unsure of why he's feeling so tense, his jaw locked in place as he stands.
"Let me know if there's any discomfort." Eishia's gaze is wide now, pressing into him like a setting sun.
"I will."
***
Regardless of whatever she says, Eishia's wilting by the time she gets through all of them. It's Enjin's fault in a way, dominating so much of Alice's time that Eishia ends up having to pick up the slack. Zanka feels his arm pulse under his sleeve as August begins to ramble again.
A victim of that unhealthy family dynamic. It's obvious always but even moreso now. He has to wonder if Eishia ever resents being drowned by the two more dominant voices in her life, her parents now a non-entity. Wonders if it's okay for him to still be quietly envious. Her voice might be small but at least she has one, at least she tries, and is leagues braver than him. All he managed was to run away. Run away from home. Run away from battles. Run away from his own thoughts even though they follow him.
Eishia is stronger than she knows, her hands always steady when she pulls a bandage tight.
"We'll get going then," August announces, after sneaking a few more of his grandmother's snacks. Enjin nods and follows August through the door, a sign for the rest of them to do the same. Zanka's never trusted motorbikes but it's August's preferred mode orf transport and he settles onto it as Enjin mutters something quiet.
"I'll see you at home," Zanka says abruptly before Eishia can get on too. His mouth is weighed down by cotton that melts when she smiles, small and measured.
"See you."
August finishes up with Enjin, already flipping the kickstand and getting into gear. The night sky is a dark backdrop behind their bright hair and Zanka is entirely empty. It's been a long day, really. Too long.
***
Back at HQ, after Team Akuta have finished their reports and been dismissed, Zanka takes the long way around to his dorm. It's coincidence that this hallway goes by the infirmary and it's coincidence that he slows down by the open door. There are some bodies in the beds, patients hooked up to monitors and chattering away in hushed conversation. The lights have been dimmed though there's a lamp on at the desk where Eishia is, snoring lightly with a textbook cushioning her head.
She didn't leave her studies until tomorrow. But then Zanka never believed she would.
He doesn't linger.
He wants to.