Chapter Text
A knock on his door brought Rudo back to reality. He had been fixing trash in his room eversince he got out of bed –which was more than three hours ago-.
“Rudo! We’ve got a job! Pack the things ya need, get ready and come to the dining hall, we’re leavin‘ after brekfast!“ Enjin’s voice announced from the other side of the door. “Yeah…“ He called and heard footsteps that indicated the man leaving.
With a huff, the white haired boy got up and grabbed his Cleaner‘s uniform. Getting dressed quickly and throwing a few pieces of fixed up trash he had laying around his room into his bag, he made his way out of his room.
After opening the door, he felt his eyes sting a bit as he stepped into the brighter lit hallway, but dismissed it as simply them being used to the more dim lighting of his room and started walking down the hall.
It didn’t take long for him to reach the cafeteria and when he arrived in front of the door to said room, he placed his gloved hand on the doorknob and pushed it down.
There was a few cleaners and supporters he’d seen around, sitting at tables, eating and talking quietly and at one of the corner tables, sat Enjin, along with Riyo and Gris.
He walked over to the group and sat down at the table in one of the empty chairs. His three fellow cleaners were in their uniforms, while the supporter –who was currently sipping from a cup of what was probably hot coffe- was in his casual clothes.
“Mornin‘.“Riyo greeted, chewing something that looked like a piece of bacon. “Morning.“ He muttered a reply and nodded.
“So, with you here, that makes all of us ready to go.“ Enjin tapped his fingers against the table as he spoke. Rudo looked around, and after not seeing the other supporters from Gris‘ squad he eyed the man himself again before turning back to Enjin.
“But Gris isn’t in uniform yet…?“ The blue eyed man with a scar on his face put down his cup and the yellow eyed man waved his hand. “This job should’t be that hard of a job so the supporters are stayin‘ behind.“
Gris nodded. “Yeah, plus Tomme said she thought she might have a bit of a cold because her throat was kinda scratchy, though it’s nothing serious. She didn’t want to push it.“ Rudo stared at the blonde man and nodded.
Riyo pointed her fork towards the sphereite and with a half-full mouth she said. “You should eat somethin‘ before we leave tho.“ Rudo’s eyes met her green ones and he thought if he should say something.
He didn’t feel praticularly hungry, or in the mood to even really eat something, but before he could say anything, Gris pushed a plate with two pieces of toast in front of him.
“Have these, I don’t think I’d be able to finish them.“ The albino llooked down at the plate and then back at the man. “Okay,… thanks.“ Gris smiled. “No problem.“
Rudo picked up one piece and took a bite, chewing slowly and rolling the food inside his mouth. After a few minutes they all finished eating, and so, the group got up and said goodbye to Gris, before making their way to the jeep.
All four of them got in, with Zanka in the passanger seat next to Enjin, and Riyo and him in the backseat.“This should be an easy job!“ The tattoed man announced.
“We just gotta clean up a few trash beasts that have been getting a bit too close to a small city. After that’s done, we’ll drive a bit more to a different city to get the jeep checked over.“ Rudo looked at him from his seat and the blonde met his eyes through the rearview mirror.
“She’s been makin‘ some odd noises lately and I know a mechanic there who’ll put her back in shape quick and cheap.“ Enjin grinned and turned his head around. “We’ll be spending the night in that city and tomorrow morning we’ll head back, easy peasy.“
With that, the oldest member of the team started the vehicle, causing it to indeed make a odd almost rattling sound before going back to normal, and so they were on their way.
When they arrived at their destination, it looked pretty much like any other polluted zone. Nasty air, piles of trash scattered about. Rudo looked around and stretched, his muscules feeling a tad bit stiff –though that was probably from sitting in the car for two hours straight-. The group moved around slowly.
“Looks like the trash beasts are feelin‘ shy today.“ Riyo huffed through the gas mask with her hands on her hips. “Oh they’ll show up, from what I’ve been told they seem to be movin‘ in circles and are getting a bit closer to the city each time.“ The man leaned against Umbreaker and gestured with his hand as he explained.
“Sounds annoying… the people probably expect them to attack each time they seem closer.“ Zanka added and looked in Enjin’s direction. The youngest member of team Akuta just hummed and kept searching the piles with his eyes for any movement. Then he heard a clank followed by an unpleasant grinding noise.
All four givers turned to stare in the direction and in a matter of seconds, took their stances. “Speak of the devil.“ The tattoed man said, the smugness in his voice clear. “Aight‘ team. Let’s get cleanin‘.“
And with that, nine trash beasts emerged. They were fairly small, not much bigger then the ones Rudo had seen when he first went to watch Riyo work, before properly joining the cleaners. The herd quickly started to approach the four givers who quickly prepared to take them on.
Rudo pulled out a rusty crowbar from his bag, it being one of the things he brought with him to use with 3R. His red eyes took on the red glow as his Vital instrument awoke.
The crowbar was surrounded by the red and black aura of his gloves and soon transformed. Shining red as it took new shape, growing bigger, the pointed edges lenghtening and becoming sharp and jagged.
The young giver gripped the tool, and rushed to swing at the trash beast racing towards him. All of the other’s Jinki activated and they all got to dealing with the trash beasts.
Rudo used the crowbar to tear away parts of the trash beast’s ‘body‘, hacking away at loose parts of rubbish. It made a move in an attempt to bite him but he quickly stepped back and swung the crowbar, making it connect with the beast’s head.
With one more swing. He brought the two sharp points of the crowbar down right in the middle of the trash beast’s face. Causing it to crack in half, and soon, the body fell apart and started turning into ashes.
Looking to his left, he watched just as Riyo delivered a finishing blow to one of the two she was fighting and then quicky whipping around to strike the other one with Ripper. On his right, another beast emerged, and he didn’t hesitate before smashing it in the head with his crowbar –which caused it to let out a loud grinding screech-.
He dodged the thing’s chaotic attempt of a attack, swiftly stepping to the side and once again swinging the crowbar hard, hacking it into it’s side repeatedly before landing a final strike to the back of it’s head. Then the trash beast fell apart and started crumbling into dust. Not long after that, the crowbar in his hands did the same.
Rudo shifted on his feet and sighed into his mask, before starting to inhale again as he closed his eyes. In the middle of his intake of air though, his breath suddenly caught in his throat.
That caused him to start coughing, his hand instinctively moved to his mask and he sucked in a breath while a few more small coughs ripped through.
“You okay there Rudo?“ Riyo asked and spun her scissors –now back in their normal size- on her finger. “Uh- Yeah!“ He called and cleared his throat which was now starting to feel somewhat scratchy and burned a bit.
Zanka was eyeing the albino boy from a distance and Enjin rose his hand with a thumbs up. “And that’s done! Easy peasy as I said wasn’t it?“ The three younger cleaners each took down two trash beasts while the gold eyed man took down three so- yes… it was indeed easy, too easy almost.
“Yeah it was super easy! Why’d you bring all three of us here when you could’ve handled this easily on your own or with one other person?“ The red haired girl questioned and she was right, this was really too easy of a job for four givers.
In answer to that Enjin sighed and shrugged. “Well it’s always good to practise your skills and since there’s gonna be an overnight stay while the truck gets fixed up I thought it would be a nice trip.“
Riyo seemed satisfied with that answer and just nodded. Zanka, doing the same while Rudo was left staring at them. “Wellp- now that all’s clear I’ll just call Semiu and tell her the job’s done and we’ll head to our next destination!“ The man swung up his umbrella over his shoulder and nodded towards the direction where the jeep was parked.
The jeep made a weird screeching sound when Enjin shifted the gears as they were approaching the city. Rudo stared out of the window just watching the trash filled lands as they got closer to where they were headed.
His throat hadn’t stopped burning since they had finished cleaning up the trash beasts, which was annoying but it didn’t bother him nearly enough that he would pay more mind to it than thinking he’ll just get something to drink when he can.
They entered the city driving past houses and buildings, some more rundown than the others, a typical small city on the ground from what Rudo could tell.
The car rounded one corner before Enjin parked and rolled down the window before honking twice. The umbrella user stuck his arm out the window and poked his head out. The man’s head turned back and fourth before he hummed and his lips pressed into a straight line.
“Is that who I think it is?“ Came from somewhere behind the jeep and Enjin twisted around, almost shoulders out from the window, his lips spread into a grin. “Hey- hey hey my man! I was startin‘ to think that you forgot about us!“
The voice got closer and Enjin kept looking in it’s direction. “Or maybe that you just got lost.“ The tattoed man waved his hand. “Me and lost? Pfft- I think you’re confusing me with someone.“ All three teens stared at the man and tried to see the other person but since they seemed to be on the side where Riyo was sitting Rudo couldn’t see clearly.
“Alright guys, let’s get outta the car! Chop Chop!“ And so they did. When Rudo circled the jeep, he saw Enjin shaking hands with a man, both of them smiling.
The man was a little shorter than Enjin himself, his hair was pretty short though longer at his neck dark blue in color, though it seemed to fade into a shade of gray at his temples. His eyes were dark gray and there was a scar on his slightly stubly chin.
He was wearing a black T-shirt and blue cargo pants with brown work-boots, all well worn by the looks of it, having various stains and sowed up rips and tears.
“Guys, this is Isai. The best mechanic I know and an old buddy of mine!“ The gold haired man shook the other by his shoulder playfully. “I’m 16 years older than you, don’t call me your buddy.“ ‘Isai‘ huffed and bumped his fist into the other’s shoulder.
“Sure thing old man.“ Enjin smirked “Anyway, this is my team of cleaners!“ He gestured to the three teens who just stood there. “So these are your strays hm?“
Strays? Rudo thought and one of his eyebrows quirked up. “Strays-?“ He heard Zanka confusedly mutter under his breath.
Isai just smiled and angled himself more towards the three of them. “Well, then as he said I’m Isai. Nice to meet you.“ His tone was kind and steady as he spoke. He looked every one of them in the eyes and nodded.
“I’m Riyo, good to meet ya aswell.“ The redhead smiled. “Zanka, it’s a pleasure.“ The blonde boy said sounding kind of flat but not rude –though… he sounded like that most of the time-. Then it was Rudo’s turn.
He looked at the man and gave a small nod. “Name’s Rudo… Nice to meet you.“ His voice came out a bit quieter and raspier than intended, but who cares about that really? He recalled Regto telling him he needed to speak clear and loud enough so people don’t think he dosen’t know good manners or that he is being rude. But this seemed to be enough, considering the man nodded back in acknowlegement.
“Anywho- I say we get some grub first so we can catch up a bit and then we’ll go find the place we’re gonna be staying at for the night.“ Enjin clapped his hands together. “I won’t say no to food if you’re the one who’s payin‘.“ Isai pointed at the gold haired man.
“Oh still playing that card huh? Jaskass-“ The umbrella user groaned in return but really didn’t seem too bothered by it. “You’re paying for the drinks tho-“
Rudo watched the interaction and Riyo looked back and fourth between the two men before asking... “So does that mean we get free food?“ Enjin looked at her and his lips stretched into a long thin line while he blinked a few times. “Urgh- sure… but don’t get used to it…“ He sighed and ran a hand over his face.
“Alright, a pretty good place is just a few streets over, so I suggest we head there.“ The older man pointed with his thumb behind himself and smiled. The group started walking and Riyo grinned. “Always lookin‘ forward to a free meal!“
The two men walked in the front, with the redhead behind them followed by Zanka and Rudo. The two teens walking almost next to eachother, the albino only about a step behind his trainer.
After about a minute of walking, rudo felt the blonde’s eyes on him, the boy having a subtle grimace to his face, eyebrows etched down ever so slightly.
Rudo ignored him, not feeling very in the mood to bicker or even really have much of a conversation with the other.
“What’s with you?“ The older teen asked, in the ever so candid tone his voice just had, though the question still came through as a question. One of his eyebrows was slightly raised as he waited for an answer. “Nothing…“ Rudo responded, and Zanka hummed, seeming slightly suspissious but dropping it soon and looking away.
The rest of the way, they didn’t talk, both minding their own business, while Riyo looked around and the two men in the front chatted away about something.
Very soon they arrived in front of a small building with a sign handing above the dark wooden door. Isai opened it and nodded inside with a smile. The group entered one by one, walking through a small narrow hallway before entering a dimly lit room.
It smelled slightly of cigarettes, burned oil and other food, though Rudo had the feeling his nose was a bit stuffy and that he was also missing something.
Isai led them to one of the bigger corner tables, which had a patchy tablecloth on it. The five people sat down, the two adults next to eachother on the chairs, with Isai on the end next to Enjin, followed by Zanka, Riyo and on the other end Rudo himself.
Looking around, the place was- kind of nice? Though the lighting wasn’t very harsh it was still good enough to see well, quiet music played from an old black radio that sat on a small shelf above the men.
“Well, to start, if you guys want something to drink, they have some basics like juice and water here and of course something alcoholic, but that’s for the adults.“ The blue haired man waved his hand.
“And as for food- um, they have curry, onion and bean soup, meatballs, natchos, pizza and good pasta with chese sauce, from what I can think off the top of my head.“ He listed on his fingers and Enjin stared at him. “You remember all that?“ In answer to which Isai only huffed.
Everyone picked and although he didn’t really feel like eating since brekfast he chose the natchos and asked for plain water. And Isai ordered it.
After a few minutes they got their food, and Rudo almost immediately went for the glass of water, because beside being thirsty, he hoped it would soothe his still scratchy throat. -Which it did, a little.-
Enjin lit a cigarette and took a long drag. “You know, if this pace wasn’t so far off I’d come here way more often.“ The older man looked at him with an unimpressed expression. “Well, if you don’t want your jeep to fall apart then you should.“ He sighed.
“Awh, you can just say you missed losing in cards.“ The umbrela user laughed and popped open a bottle of some alcohol the two men ordered to share. Rudo watched as the liquid filed two glasses and the men chatted.
Riyo munched away on her pizza while Zanka ate his pasta and the youngest teen poked around his natchos. He forced a few down, but it made his stomach feel way too full already, so he just stared at them.
“So you’re the newest blood on the team?“ Isai asked him and the boy looked up from his food. Rudo nodded. “Uh, yeah.“ The gray eyed man smiled and shook his head, turning to Enjin. “You and your strays…“ What is it with the strays crap? He thought brows furrowing.
Enjin blew smoke to the side. “And you and your machines,…“ the older of the two grimaced. “I’d stop complainin‘ if the guy who’s supposed to be fixing your car is sitting right next to you.“
“Yeah yeah,… She’s been makin‘ weird noises and actin‘ up for no reason.“ Isai sighed and took a gulp of the alcohol in his glass. “I’ll take a look at her and see what I can do.“
Rudo listened to the two, staring at his empty glass. His muscules still felt kind of stiff and his throat hadn’t stopped feeling scratchy yet. He was guessing that today was probably one of those days when everything just kind of feels off.
Uh… I’m probably just tired… no big deal. He thought but as he swallowed his throat started to burn a bit apart from the scratchiness and with every swallow or attempt at clearing it, it just felt worse.
“Hey Rudo! You gonna finish those?“ Riyo asked and pointed to the natchos in front of him. “Uh- You can have them,…“ She eyed him. “You sure? Well don’t mind if I do!“ She took the food and Rudo eyed the rest of the table.
Isai was finishing his food. Enjin was chewing away at a piece of pizza that he probably stole from Riyo, and Zanka was done eating from what it looked like. I must’ve kind of spaced out… at some point. I should get it together…
“And that’s the place where we’ll be staying the night!“ Enjin pointed with his umbrella toward a building. “Finally…“ Zanka muttered under his breath and Riyo stretched, humming.
Isai had gone back once they left the place where they had food to go work on the jeep. By the time they left though, it was already getting dark.
So, the members of team Akuta made their way toward the building. Once they were inside… the place wasn’t anything extraordinary. Beige walls, old overhead lights that flickered slightly, gray floors with a stain here and there and various types of furniture that were probably changed and added over the years.
There was an old woman behind the ‘reception‘ –just a dark brown table with shelves in front of it, and on top was a cash tray, a weird fighrine of some kind and a stack of papers.
Her gray curly hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she had really thick glasses with a green frame. “Good evening Miss.“ Greeted her Enjin and placed his hand on the table, the group of teens standing behind him.
She looked up and hummed. Enjin smiled. “I was hoping that we could spend the night here, would you happen to have a few rooms available?“ He said almost too politely, Rudo eyed him and then the woman.
“He’s definitely trying to be polite just so he dosen’t have to pay the full price.“ Riyo whispered in his ear. Rudo nodded. “Yeah. It made sense, and especially for Enjin.
“We have three rooms available at the moment…“ The woman said in a raspy voice. “But there’s four of us. Zanka looked at the umbrella user who hummed. “Yeah… so if one of us dosen’t want to sleep outside, we’re one person too many.“
“I am not sleeping outside.“ Announced the staff weilder and the green eyed girl shrugged. “I’m not saying you are, and I don’t think either of us does Zanka.“
Rudo watched silently. He didn’t have anything to add to the conversation, but he also felt that if he spoke his voice would come out scratchy, which he wasn’t thrilled about. Not to mention his throat was burning even more now than earlier, and it was getting harder to ignore.
Enjin put Umbreaker over his shoulder “We’ll take all three rooms.“ The three younger cleaners turned to him. “Alright.“ Sighed the woman and wrote something in one of the papers. “One night?“
“Yes, we’re leaving tomorrow so just one night.“ The man confirmed and the woman got up, her chair creaking. Her bony fingers with long, bright red nails took three keys off their hooks and placed them on the cash tray. “You have rooms 14, 15, and 23.“
“Tkank you, very much.“ He picked the keys up and turned to the group of younger givers. “How do you plan to split that?“ Rudo asked, eyeing the keys with numbers engraved on them in Enjin’s open palm.
“Well, I thought I get some privacy since I’m the adult here, then Riyo gets a room since she’s the only lady we’ve got on the squad, and you and Zanka can share.“ He pointed and waved his index finger between the two boys.
“What?!“ They asked in unison. “Yeah, figured you two boys won’t have a problem being in one room for one night right?“ The man looked at the older one of the two boys. “You’re mature enough not to cause any trouble -hopefully-“ The blonde’s eyes lit up immediately.
“-and you two could use some more bonding time.“ His lips twisted into a grin. “So all settled?“ Enjin asked and his umbrella tapped against the floor. “Sure thing!“ Zanka agreed right away. “Yeah.“ Rudo nodded.
“Then I will have 15 and Riyo will take 14, and since there’s two of you guys will be fine in 23 together.“ He tossed the key towards Zanka. –probably because he is the older one-
“There’s only one bed in each room.“ Croaked the old woman from the reception desk. Rudo turned his head to the other teen, who did the same and they locked eyes. His red eyes staring in the stick user’s blue ones.
Three seconds passed like that in complete silence before both darted towards the stairway. Rudo could hear Enjin say something but he didn’t really care at the moment. All he knew that he sure as hell wasn’t letting turd face get the bed.
Heskipped every other step as he ran up the stairs, Zanka in toe with him. Both huffing like a pair of bulls. Yanking to a halt when they approached the first floor. Running through the hall, the white haired boy‘s eyes searched for number 23 on the room doors.
The blonde cleaner jumped in front of Rudo when they realised that their room wasn’t on this floor. Oh hell no you don’t! The albino grunted and quickly dashed past him on the stairs.
Once they emerged on the second floor, the spherite saw the number 23 in white letters on a black door just a few meters away. Ha- I got it! He thought as he was ahead of the other teen, but then, a sudden hard tug abruptly yanked him back by his hood and made him fall down straight on his ass.
He grunted as he landed hard and Zanka ran past him to the door, already ready with the key in hand. “Hey!“ Rudo snapped and quickly scrambled up, though the other was already fumbling with the key.
Rushing behind him, Rudo stumbled and and pulled himself in by grabbing the doorframe. Only to see Zanka sitting on the bed catching his breath after the sudden race.
“Asshole you cheated!“ The boy barked as he also caught his breath -each passige of air slightly stinging and tickling in his throat-. “Nobody said there were rules. So I didn’t cheat, brat.“ The older boy huffed and crossed his legs one over the other.
“But it’s unfair! I didn’t pull any shit like that.“The albino grumbed and looked at Zanka’s hand holding Lovely Assistaf. “Suck it up, life ain’t fair, and it’s one night, you’ll survive.“ Rudo responded with a ‘tsk-‘ sound but didn’t argue further.
He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. It was smaller than his room, but the layout was roughly the same. The bed was pushed up against the wall under the window, next to it was a bedside table with a lamp and across from the window was a very old looking wardrobe.
Zanka sighed and leaned back on the bed, placing the staff in his lap. Rudo walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, curiosity leading him to it.
The door of the wooden piece of furniture made a boud long creak that pinched the boy’s ears slightly, and a cloud of dust stirred from inside it. The sphereite accidentally breathed it in and the dust made his already burning throat sting harshly.
He coughed into his forearm, each one feeling like grains of sand were scratching the soft tissue. After a few coughs he held it back, because Zanka started staring at him. “What’re doing?“ He said sounding annoyed.
The white haired boy swallowed harshly and quietly tried to clear his throat. Then his eyes landed on the folded sheets of fabric on the bottom of the wardrobe. “Hey- uh… I think these are the sheets.“ His voice cracked a bit before he bent down and picked up the small stack of folded fabric.
“Hm?“ Zanka’s expression shifted a bit when he looked at the pile in Rudo’s hands. “Oh, well… that’s at least something.“ The boy carried them over to the bed and put them down, taking the top piece and unfolding it.
It ended up being two blankets and pillows coincidentally, the second pair probably being a spare. Zanka tossed the other blanket and pillow at Rudo “Looks you aren’t gonna be sleeping on the floor, you even have a pillow. Lucky you.“
Rudo grimaced at the blonde’s jab and hummed. Not that he minded that much… although with his muscules feeling still kind off stiff he hoped to sleep on the bed, but Zanka’s commentary was annoying.
Regto was also annoying sometimes, but… that’s just how he was sometimes, in the end he cared deeply, and Rudo knew that well…
There was a knock on the door and before the both of them could respond, the door already swung open and Enjin was standing there, grinning.
“Hey! So, how are you two doin‘ here? Everythin‘ good?“ He invited himself in and soon Riyo also appeared in the doorway, -both of them without their uniform jackets on.
“Uh- yeah, it’s fine.“ “Yeah, good.“ The two boys answered at the same time. “I’m guessing Zanka won the bed-race? Lucky they have spares in each room ain’t it?“ Enjin smirked and Rudo shot him an unamused look. Not needing to hear the same thing again.
“Wow your guys‘ room is even smaller than mine.“ Riyo looked around and put her hands behind her head. Enjin chuckled and nodded. “True.“ He pushed the open wardrobe door and it creaked loudly. “Damn you two really lucked out!“ He laughed.
“Though I must admit the last time I stayed here this place looked better, especially the receptionist she was a babe.“ All three teens looked at the man with a mix of terror, disgust and confusion.
“That old lady?!“ Riyo questioned. “She’s like- 90!“ Rudo screached “Did you get drunk while you were here?“ Asked Zanka and the moment the questions hit the man his expression souered and eyes widened.
“What?! NO! There was a completely different chick back then, the hell‘re you brats thinking?!“ The man yelled. “I don’t even know who that lady is! The receptionist was like 20- something, not 80!“
He sighed heavily. “You kids I swear-… Of course I didn’t mean her… besides, I’m not gonna discuss this with you lot.“ Enjin rubbed his forehead.
“I mainly came here to tell you that if you wanna look for the bathroom there’s a shower on the right end of each doorway and a toilet with a sink on the left end, if you haven’t searched for it yet.“
Rudo nodded and Zanka hummed. “Okay, thanks Enjin.“ The man huffed and then yawned. “Aight‘ if that’s all I’mma head back to my room cuz I’m beat, the allnighter in playing cards with Semiu and Bro yesterday paid off though. All the money I spent on the food and our stay here was their‘s before they lost to me.“ He said the last part as smugly as he probably could and then yawned again.
“Or it’s the fact you drank like two bottles of who knows what with Isai.“ Added The redhead and Enjin waved his hand. “Eh, who knows. Anyways, I’m goin‘ to bed. Night‘ yall.“ The man opened the door, waved and walked out.
Their gazes followed him and then Riyo spoke. “Well, I’ll head to my room too. So you guys can have that ‘bonding time‘.“ She said tasingly and spun on her heel. “Good night.“And with that she closed the door on her way out and the two boys were left in the room alone again.
Zanka sighed after a moment of silence. “Well, if there’s a shower, I’ll go use it- wait, are here any towels?“ Rudo looked in the still open wardrobe. “Uh, no?“
The older giver cleaner sighed. “Great… well, nevermind then.“ He got up from the bed and propped his staff against the wall at the foot of the bed.
Rudo wasn’t sure if it was because of the temprature of the room or some other reason, but he has been starting to feel a bit warm in his clothes, though considering both Enjin took off his coat and Riyo her jacket, it was probably this warm everywhere.
Both of the teens over the next few minutes took off some pieces of their clothing, getting ready to also go to sleep.
Rudo put his blanket on the floor by the opposite wall to the bed, spread it out, and put the pillow on it, he was really getting tired and he hoped he would be able to fall asleep easier than usual.
“You better not snore. I’ll throw a pillow at your face if you do.“ Zanka said as he took off his shoes and pulled his legs up on the bed.“ Ugh… that just makes me want to snore on purpouse you turdface!
“Same goes for you.“ Rudo replied sitting down on the blanket and also taking off his shoes. From the corner of his eye he thought he saw the blonde’s eyebrow twitch slightly, but none of them said anything else.
The older boy then turned off the lamp on the nightstand and covered himself with his blanket, turning his back to the younger boy. Rudo also laid down, and turned to face the wall. He hesitated before speaking. “Night…“
Zanka was quiet for a moment and then huffed quietly. “Night.“
And then, soft quiet breaths became the only thing that could be heard in the room. Rudo closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, the presence of his mentor didn’t make his already difficulty with falling asleep any easier.
He didn’t mind the other’s presence very much… but he just… didn’t know how to feel about it very much. The last time he slept with the same room was back at the Sphere, back when Regto was still alive.
So now it just felt a bit odd.
Though that wasn’t the only thing. He still felt weirdly warm, despite wearing only a tanktop, the pants from his cleaner uniform and his gloves.
Talking about his gloves… his hands were starting to hurt. Not by a drastic much more than usual, but he felt the familiar dull ache in them. Hopefully it won’t get worse.
Rudo stirred, opening his eyes to see the wall in the darkness of the room. His eyes stung slightly as he woke up more. His body felt colder now, almost uncomfortably so, muscules even stiffer. His throat felt hot and sticky, his lips cold and dry and his nose stuffy, but the most annoying part- his hands hurt more.
He huffed as he shifted on the blanket, dull pain that was more obvious with each move and ran from his fingertips to his elbows and even made his head throb- though… that wasn’t probably just because of his hands.
A shiver ran through him and he slowly reached behind himself to pull the part of the blanket he wasn’t laying on over himself. But a wave of pain shot through his hand as his gloved fingers grasped the hem.
He grunted softly and his grip on the blanket twitched, but he pulled it over himself and bit back the pain. Damn, I sure hope this passes till morning. He thought.
He had lived and felt way worse, don’t get him wrong. But it was never pleasant when his hands hurt like this even with his gloves on, especially now that he just felt shitty overall.
The feeling of his fingers being cold under the bandages and the thick fabric of his gloves was really unpleasant and send small chills all throughout his body.
He curled up under the thin piece of the blanket that barely held or provided any warmth. The floor under him was hard and cold, even colder at the areas that weren’t warmed up by his body in the time he slept and didn’t move.
Rudo licked his dry feeling lips and pressed his eyes shut, trying to force himself back to sleep so at least something would ease the pain and cold. Another flutter of pain coursed through them as rudo curled his arms to his chest.
Shit…
There came a quiet sound from behind him. His senses hightened just a little as he listened. For a moment… nothing. And then he heard it again. And then another pause, before again. The sound repeated with small pauses between it.
And as the boy listened longer, he recognized the sound. It was snoring. Quiet and soft, but snoring.
Oh yeah… I’ll be the one who’s snoring hm? The red eyed boy thought a bit bitterly. Honestly, if he wasn’t feeling as shitty as he was now, he’d probably even throw his pillow at Zanka to prove he isn’t the one who does it.
But right now, he just wanted to sleep. For the pain in his hands to subside, for his throat to stop burning, for his head to stop hurting, for his body to warm up.
He wanted those warm, big, calloused hands to run through his hair. The familiar, kind blue eyes to look at him and put a warm blanket over him moments before he fell asleep.
Rudo was running. Feet thumping against the ground as he made hurried to his and his dad’s house.
But he already knew, what was waiting for him there, and it wasn’t Regto’s dumb face staring at him as he opened the door.
He ran through the street that lead to their house.
It will be right there, his father’s dying body, with a sword etched in his chest in a puddle of blood. And that damn angel…the fucking piece of shit who was at fault for that.
His hand pressed down the doorknob and he forced his eyes closed. He had seen it so many times already. With his own eyes, in the moments where the memory flashed in front of his eyes, in his nightmares… so many times he has seen it.
And still… every time it twisted something in his chest. It made his heart beat stronger and fingers twitch in his gloves.
Right now… he didn’t want to see it. But his eyes opened on their own and there he was… Regto, on the floor. His white clothes soaked with blood. Face pale and twisted in pain and terror.
Rudo forced his eyes closed almost immediately, but he still saw it. His dad… the last time he had ever seen him.
When he opened his eyes again- he wasn’t at the Sphere anymore… no. He was in a building… a building he and Zanka along with Gris, Follo and Tome had fallen into. And there lay Gris. Bleeding.
He heard Jabber’s manic laughter but he could only stare at Gris’s pale face twisted in pain as he bled onto the floor from a wound in his chest.
No…
He heard a woosh of air beside him and he whipped around, expecting the masochistic raider to strike him.
But when he turned… he was in a different place yet again. The Apostels stepping into their house, grabbing him, yelling at him, forcing him onto the ground.
They hung him by the arms. And all that he could hear was the chants of people. “Send the filth to the pit! Send the filth to the pit!“ Of the rotten shitbags who didn’t know aything. Of the pathetic- bags of skin and meat that- drop.
Rudo gasped and his eyes flew open. And before he could even proces anything, pain.Terrible, twisting, burning, pulsating, almost numbing pain, shooting through his arms. He bit back a groan as his fingers twitched and trembled inside of his gloves.
Apart from the pain, not only in his arms, but whole body –though the one coming from his hands being the worst-, his skin felt hot. Very uncomfortably and stickyly hot.His eyes burned, along with his throat, dry and like the roughest sandpaper. The tank top he had on, and strands of his hair sticking to his skin due to sweat.
His temples throbbed when he turned his head and looked up towards thewindow. It was still dark, the sun wasn’t even rising yet. The boy tried to take a deep breath, but the stuffy nose and burning throat made it hurt.
His lungs heaved. And a cough threatend to rip from him but he managed to at least half-stifle it against his upper arm, though not fully. Silent coughs kept escaping his throat and were muffled only by the thin blanket and his own hot clammy skin, making his eyes water.
He continued to lay there like that for minutes… but with every passing minute, he just felt worse. Water… He thought. Water will help…
Rudo shifted his arms, every movement sanding waves of pain through them, making them shake as he weakly pushed himself up. He had to bite his lip to keep himself from groaning and crying out.
When he managed to sit up, his head felt light and spun slightly. Making his stomach turn awfully and his vision swim.
He didn’t even bother with the thought of putting on his shoes, and when he somegow managed to get on his feet and stand up. The cold floor a almost freezing against the hot skin of his feet, and sticking to it with every wobbly step he took.
He pushed down the doorknob with his elbow, whincing in pain, of course it was locked… So after painstakingly fumbling that Zanka had thankfully left in the keyhole, the teen managed to open it.
He stepped into the hallway and closed the door just enough that he wouldn’t have to press down the doorknob again and will only need to push it open and click it closed once he comes back.
The automatic lights flickered on and the sudden harsh light made Rudo whince. Causing his headand eyes to throb. Ugh- which end of the hallway had a sink? Right- or was it left? Left… left he said left, right?
The boy and turned and started to pad toward the left end of the hallway, swaying slightly every few steps. He made it to a white door that had shittyly written ‘restroom‘ on it. He pushed open the slightly ajar door and there was a small dark room with another door next to the sink.
He pressumed that’s where the toilet is and looked to the sink. His head decided to sway in that moment and made him dizzy enough for his mostly empty stomach to flip. He leaned back against the cold wall, heaving a deep breath.
After a few scratchy inhales and wheezy exhales, he regained his footing and stepped to the sink. Cold water could soothe his hands a bit sometimes, though it wasn’t by much.
He decided that if he could soak the bandages on his arms in cold water, it would hopefully provide at least a bit of relief for a while. -He knew his bandages were supposed to stay clean and dry, but what other choise did he have right now? He had to do it.- After that, he could drink and wash his face a little.
Rudo pushed the tap handle up with the back of his hand, biting his bottom lip at the pain it caused. Then with the help of his teeth he managed to pull off the gloves and place them on the sink.
The moment they were off, agony started rattle through his arms with the force of a tidal wave, shooting into his entire –already aching- body. He had to bite his lip so hard it bled to muffle the cry that threatened to escape his lips.
He struggled to keep his knees from buckling and quickly pushed his bandaged hands under the running water. Then- instant regret. The millisecond before the stream of water hit the guaze on his hands, he knew he fucked up, and that now he’ll pay the price.
Hot- excruciating pain, took over his arms, and he felt his blood run cold as he let out a strained, high-pitched whine and yanked his arms back.
Tears spilled from his already burning eyes as his back hit the hard wall and he panted through gritted teeth.
In the darkness of the room, with only a limited bit of light from the hall lighting the room, and his overall tired, hurting, dizzy state, he didn’t notice that the tap was turned on it’s hottest setting. A stupid- idiotic mistake, that he was paying for now.
His whole body was wrecked with shivers and his knees shook, but he couldn’t fall down, because he knew that now he wouldn’t be able to get back up again.
He is hands shook violently and he pushed his back off the wall with as much strength as he could. Then he slid his hands into the gloves and the tinsiest sense of relief washed over them. He used his forehead to turn off the tap and panted. Droplets of sweat running down his clammy skin.
One of the deep breaths he drew caused him to start coughing again. Harsh, raw coughs, ripping from his throat, barely muffled against his armpit. Shit- His throat burned, dry and sharp pain coursing through it.
He stayed there, just leaned over for what felt like minutes, just trying to stay upright and get it together. Peering towards the hallway that had filled with darkness yet again after there wasn’t any movement to trigger the automatic light.
I’ll just go back to bed-… then I can sleep it off,- hopefully… Rudo shifted on his feet to stand properly, bit his lip from the inside and staggered out of the small room. The lights in the hallway flickered on again, their soft buzz being drowned out by the cotton feeling in his ears.
As he walked, he felt his head spin again and stumbled, his side and shoulder along with the right side of his head hitting a wall painfully. His eyes stung at the harsh brightness of the lights and his vision blurred as his eyes watered, head swimming and thoughts melting together.
Finally, the boy made it back to his and Zanka’s room. He stumbled and pushed the door back, making it click closed, he didn’t care about the lock, he probably didn’t even remember the key in it now.
His feet shuffled across the floor toward his blanket on the floor and felt his knees grow weak as he slowly crouched down. His legs shook and soon he lost balance and his knees gave out under the pressure of his body.
He flopped down onto the blanket face-first, thankfully not landing directly onto his arms, but they still hit the floor hard enough to make him grunt and bite the inside of his cheek in pain.
He let out a small cough and patheticly forced him body to curl up, or atleast attempt to. He sucked in a shallow breath and hissed quietly when his hands twitched painfully.
“Keep it down would ya?“ Zanka murmured from the bed, still facing the wall. And normally, Rudo would’ve… or he would bite back with something, or -if his hands hurt less- maybe even apologize, …but now? He could only let out a high pitched groan as the awful white pain coursed through his arms and shot into his entire body while his skin was on fire. White strands of hair that faded into black at the ends clung and stuck to the child’s forehead due to sweat.
The air around him felt too hot and yet cold at the same time and he couldn’t do anything else but draw wheezing pained breaths through his mouth and aching throat, his lungs feeling heavy.
“Ugh- hey! I wanna sleep, can’t you stop whatever you’re doing and be quiet?“ The boy asked, sounding annoyed, voice gravelly from sleep and sat up, judging from how the bed creaked.
It was understandable, probably nobody likes being woken up by grunting and huffing of another person in the middle of the night. Or just being woken up in the middle of the night in general…
But Rudo couldn’t exactly help it… he was doing his best to keep his voice down when every pulse of his veins felt like his hands could explode from pain alone.
Zanka turned on the lamp on the bedside table. Suddenly bathing the room in a yellow glow that made the sphereite whince again. The light, although not harsh, caused his eyes to burn and head to throb.
“Hey, you’re awake right? What are you doing?“ Zanka yawned and the bed creaked again as he got up. “Ugh- I’ll beat your ass in training tomorrow for this.“ Rudo heard the older teen’s feet shuffle and pat across the floor towards him and then stop.
“Hey.“ He saw the taller boy’s shadow fall onto him as he stood over him. Rudo didn’t respond though, didn’t react. He didn’t have the energy, nor the will to do it. “Mr. Natural.“ Zanka pushed his foot against the boy’s lower back in an attempt at getting a response out of him or something, but that only caused Rudo to groan and bite his lip.
The other went quiet, that was probably when he noticed Rudo’s body shaking. There was a shift in the air and suddenly something cold- Zanka’s hand, grabbed Rudo’s shoulder. “Hey what’s-“ Rudo muffled a whine as his body was tilted to the other side.
The blonde’s hand released him and jerked back. “Jesus your skin is burning, what the-…“ The albino gritted his teeth and only a quiet “Damnit-“ slipped from his dry lips. His trainer studied Rudo’s expression. “What’s going on?“
The boy sucked in a shuttering breath. “I- I feel li- shit … m’hands-“ Just the few words made him break out in a coughing fit. His lungs and chest throbbing painfully with each harsh outlet of air.
“You look terrible and sound even worse…“ The staff user frowned and the younger giver continued to cough. “Shit… I’ll go get Enjin, … try not to die.“ He said getting up from where he was crouched behind Rudo. It probably should’ve been a joke or a jab, just teasing… but, there was concern in his voice when he said it.
There were sounds of movement and shuffling of fabric, probably Zanka putting on his shoes before quickly leaving through the door, clicking it shut behind himself. Rudo only curled up a bit more, teeth grinding in pain.