Chapter Text
Zanka Nijiku.
A name known to some college students. But, those who have been living in the town for their whole lives know everything about the boy's surname. Popular for their crime stopping as a generation of cops to come.
It was almost odd to hear about police being popular and involved in actual crimes. The Nijiku family has made it their prime target and priority to protect the city and take down underground criminal organizations. How typical for Zanka himself to want to become a police officer as well, right?
Wrong.
Zanka Nijiku does not dream of becoming an officer. They have already forced him into working on small cases, chases, and other investigations. No matter how good he may seem to be at it, it doesn't sit right with him. He wants to be something more. Something that isn't just his family name. He'd rather be a little more invisible, but not too invisible. He wants to be seen for his work, what he's done to get to where he is now. But he doesn't desire to be popular. He wants a normal life, a normal job, normal friends, anything normal.
Unfortunately, the man he meets is not so normal.
It was meant to be a normal day. Zanka had stopped by the cafe down the street of the college he attends. He was supposed to meet Riyo there. Since that is their designated hang out and meet up spot. Their other friends meet there, too. But, it's mainly the two -- being close and all. And the fact they've known each other since they were small. The cafe is more of a boba shop. It has a variety of drinks, food, and partially complicated with the way you would usually order it.
Zanka doesn't drink boba. He'd either get a cup of coffee, or something Riyo would recommend he would like. She is the one who knows more about these things than he does. And she's always ordering something. This time, Zanka's ordering something by himself.
So, here he is. Standing in line. Waiting for his turn. He doesn't care about who's in front, who's behind, or who's working the counter. He wants his coffee, will wait for Riyo as planned and head to their morning lecture together. However, he should've put some care into it, considering he didn't catch the flirtatious comments the employee was giving him.
"Y'know, you could at least try to reciprocate," the employee said after a moment of silence.
Zanka looked up. He hadn't yet registered the fact that this guy was really trying to get somewhere. "...'m sorry?" He had been so busy tuning him out, only a little bit, that he hadn't noticed. All he wanted was his coffee. The usual conversation with the person at the counter would be "What can I get you?", "A coffee.", "Anything else?", etc. The usual conversation that he would experience every once in a while. Sometimes Riyo would be the one to speak if they had the chance at arriving at the same time. Instead, this random is trying to pick him up.
The man leaned forward -- elbow on the counter, cheek smooshed against the palm of his hand. He grinned a mischievous grin. Smiling like he was up to no good. Which, he clearly was not. "Your accent is hot," he stated, voice sounding a little airy to accentuate his interest.
"...Right." Zanka felt...awkward. And a little out of place for the man to be flirting with him so outwardly. What if he had gotten brutally rejected had it not been Zanka? Well, he definitely would've outright been rude if he didn't go to this cafe practically every week. "Can I get a regular iced coffee?"
The male's smile faltered slightly at being promptly ignored, but kept his friendly composure nonetheless. "A thank you would be nice, Mr. Bad Attitude," he said as he typed down Zanka's order.
Zanka felt his eyebrow twitch. Right. A thank you. For what? Having his accent complimented? He tried so hard to keep it on the down low to have people at least take him seriously. And understand him for a reason that people cannot listen correctly. "Do not call me that," he spat out instead of apologizing. Damn, his mouth moved before he could think of a better reply. "Name's Zanka, not...that."
"Zanka." The way he said it rolled off his tongue perfectly like a cat's purr. It made Zanka feel weird. A little creeped out, definitely. A shiver ran down his spine, unable to shake off the goosebumps covering his shoulders and neck. "I prefer Mr. Bad Attitude, though. Ain't that nicer?" He chuckled. Chuckled. As if it were an inside joke.
It's official. Zanka hates this guy's guts.
"I jus' wanna pay fer my drink." Dammit, his accent is beginning to come out thicker. Being annoyed doesn't help because then he can't control it too much. "$7.20, right?" Zanka dug into his pockets, pulling out his wallet to pay.
The man held his hand out. "Nuh uh! We have a handsome discount. You get it for free, Mr. Bad Attitude."
Zanka blinked. "For real?" The thought of getting a free drink was tugging at his selfish desires. He shook his head. No, he can't do that. He's part of a justified family and cannot do something as basically mooching off this cafe because of a discount. It doesn't even sound authentic! He probably made it up. "Sorry, no. I'd rather pay."
Zanka heard of what he thought to be the click of a tongue from the male. "Man, why ya gotta be so stubborn? ...Got a number with us?"
Do they do that here? He hadn't known. Maybe it's new. "Uh, no. I do not."
The man suddenly smirked again. "Wanna sign up for our rewards system? You'll get a discount after your orders add up to $90."
Zanka thought about it. Riyo likes this place. And she has a thing for being a little bit of a cheapskate. Why not? They could use his number for it. "Sure, I suppose." Zanka gave the man his number, watching him type it into the system. Once finished, he gave the man his money. "Keep the change."
He was glad he hadn't heard the man call out to him as he walked away. Maybe he would finally stop pursuing him. What a relief. Just a flirtatious guy. Perhaps he does that to every customer just to get them riled up for some tips. Zanka took a seat that was secluded from the rest of the cafe. His usual spot whenever he would wait for Riyo. It's not an all-the-time thing since they usually get here at the same time. But, Riyo had one of those days where she woke up late and wouldn't get there until much later. She takes quite a while to get ready in the morning.
Zanka took out his phone, beginning to scroll on social media. Flipping through stories, watching posts and videos, a few dumps here and there to symbolize the start of a new month. Zanka doesn't post much. Mainly because he never got the appeal of wanting followers. He only lets his friends follow him.
Each time the entrance of the cafe doors opened, Zanka would look up and hope it was Riyo. Unfortunately, it would usually be someone leaving or it wasn't Riyo. This time, however, it was Riyo who came in. She glanced around the cafe before spotting Zanka who waved at her. She waved back, much more enthusiastically than he did. Instead of walking to him, she walked up to the front to place her order.
He noticed it was the same man taking her order. He pointed over at Zanka, making Riyo look. Their conversation lasted a lot longer than Zanka liked. What could they be talking about? Him? What's so interesting about him sitting down? Their conversation had ended and Riyo headed over to join Zanka.
"What was that about?" He asked as soon as she sat down.
"Oh, he just wanted to know more about you. I didn't tell him much without your permission, though," she answered.
"Like what?"
"He asked if you were gay. And, because you're not exactly out, I said no."
Riyo hadn't been right one wrong. He was out. Just not his parents. He doesn't care if a handful of people know he's gay. He only cares if they know his parents enough to tell them about his sexuality. If they find out he's not actually into women, he'd definitely be disowned. Which wouldn't sound too bad, but he doesn't have money to move out into a dorm or apartment. Let alone a job to get said money.
"Thanks. He is a little...strange," Zanka said. He eyed behind Riyo, watching the man at work. He didn't do much. Just stand there at the register...staring back. Zanka immediately looked away. That was awkward.
"Strange how?" Riyo questioned.
Zanka sighed, leaning back in his chair. "He's...he was flirtin' with me. Straight up. Not givin' up in trynna take me on a date or somethin'. I tuned 'im out, but I can assume that's what he wanted."
Riyo hummed. "Maybe he's actually into you. You never know unless you give this one a chance," she said.
"Remember when I did that last time?"
"...Sorry." Her expression faltered into one of a sad cat. Until she spoke up again. "But, what if he's different? You have to give him a try, Zanka."
The male shook his head. "Not my type."
"You don't even know what your type is."
Zanka stiffened. "I...know. I know what I like."
Riyo could only sigh. "C'mon. He's into you. Seriously. He didn't even ask me what I wanted first. He asked about you."
"But all players do that. They make ya think they want you and then a week later, they're kissin' some other-"
"Yo, Mr. Bad Attitude!! Your coffee's ready!" That same annoying voice bursted through Zanka's eardrums. Deaf people are really blessed to not be able to hear his voice.
Riyo echoed the nickname in confusion, staring at Zanka. The Nijiku stood up from his chair, begrudgingly stepping over to the counter where the stubborn guy stood with a smug face. "Hey, Mr. Bad Attitude. I made this just for you!" He pushed the cup closer. Hand still on it. Waiting for Zanka to take it.
"Hope it ain't poisoned," he remarked.
The employee perked up at this, his smile getting wider in an uncanny and impossible way. "Did you want it to be poisoned?" Again. The way he rolled words off his tongue so naturally as if he were a siren trying to lure a sailor into the water.
Zanka held the urge to roll his eyes. "No. And my name's Zanka," he repeated. He reached to grab his coffee, fingers brushing against the man's. However, he hadn't taken his hand off of just yet.
"And my name's Jabber," he said. "Remember it, yeah? I love it when pretty boys like you know who I am."
Zanka felt another shiver crawl up his spine. Seriously, this guy gets on his nerves. He didn't say anything. Only snatched his drink and walked away. Did he glance back? Yes. Did he regret it? Absolutely. Because Jabber was waving at him. Like they were friends. Their odd interaction did not mean they were friends.
"What'd he say?" Riyo interrogated almost immediately once Zanka sat down.
"His name. Jabber. Weird name to call yer kid, ain't it?" This time, Zanka didn't dare look back at where he left the guy. Honestly, he wants to forget this encounter had ever taken place.
"Jabber?" Riyo said. "That is a little odd. Kinda like you!"
Zanka's grip on his coffee tightened. "Excuse me?"
The girl would only laugh. "Kidding, kidding!" She waved her arms in front of her, feigning mercy. "But seriously, Zanka, you need to talk to more people. It's just me, Tamsy, and Rudo. You barely talk to Enjin anymore." Zanka tensed. Riyo noticed. "Sorry. I don't know what could've happened between you two. If you need to get your mind off something, there's another party coming up next Friday if you're down to go."
Zanka sighed. "I guess. Maybe. I'll think about it."
"Great! You'll have fun this time, I know it!"
Once Riyo got her drink, they decided to leave before they were late to their lectures. "Goodbye, Mr. Bad Attitude! Don't forget to call me!" Zanka heard when he exited the building.
"You gave him your number?" Riyo asked.
"No." But he did. Through the rewards system. "Agh, wait, I did! Fuck..." He dragged his hand down his face, feeling the exhaustion of the day already catching up to him. Maybe he shouldn't go back here.