Chapter Text
Fuck.
That’s all Zanka Nijiku could think in that tired little brain of his as he stared down the 87% on his chem introduction test. The blue light from the laptop threatened to burn through his retinas. He didn’t understand; why had he failed?
Now, Zanka wasn't out of touch. He knew that this would be an amazing grade for most other students. But it was a FAILURE to him. Nothing more, nothing less. He had just started the year off, and he knew he shouldn’t be so hard on himself. But this was so much less than expected for someone of his academic status, a Nijik— His train of thought is abruptly forced to a halt by a slam of the front door of his dorm and a loud, annoying groan. As he peeks out of his room door, bright magenta eyes catch his own turquoise irises. “Oh, hey.” The stranger’s expression goes from annoyed to friendly. And it changes just as quickly as Zanka opens the door more, revealing his form. He’s in an untied kimono-style navy satin robe with an authentically hand embroidered great blue heron on the right side of the front, white tank top, and grey basketball shorts, with his hair down (and frankly a mess). The other man’s expression is now that of disdain as he looks him up and down, with a hint of something else squirming around underneath. He moves on down the hallway, Zanka’s confused gaze following after him.
“Jabber. That’s my name, by the way.” The brown-haired guy mutters as Zanka enters the kitchen after him. He must be hungry, he just got here and he’s already making food… The blonde thinks to himself. “Zanka.” “Oh, I know.” Jabber… “snaps” back. It’s not inherently aggressive, per say. Just a little bitter. “What’re ya makin?” The Nijiku hovers over the taller one’s scarred shoulder (moreso hovering around it), noticing his purplish styled undercut exposed by his loose bun of beautiful, well taken care of locs…… LOCK IN ZANKAAA!!! He snaps himself out of his definitely just sleep deprived daze, not even hearing what Jabber says he’s making.
“Hm.” He mutters, stepping backward and leaning against the kitchen counter far behind Jabber. This isn’t natural to him, hovering so close around a stranger. He’s just… used to people being interested in him.
As for Jabber, he doesn’t care nearly as much. He thinks Zanka is a fraud; not really as smart as he’s rumored to be. Just good in the grades, not the brain. He’s not interested in people like that. So when Zanka asks him his major, and practically begs him for chemistry help… who’s he to pass up the opportunity to find out how smart the famous Nijiku really is?
And that’s how they got where they are now. Sitting on the couch with Zanka’s chem papers splayed between the two of them, Jabber laid a little too comfortably across the L shaped side of the couch with those long legs of his. “Man, you’ve got a short fuse!” The pink-eyed man is an inch away from rolling off the couch and hitting his head on the coffee table, purely from laughing so hard. “You’re not as bad as I thought, Zan.” He flashes a genuine smile, completely different from the manic, crazed smile Zanka has come to know very well during these past 3 or 4 hours. Speaking of, it’s nearly 10… “Ya thought I was bad?” Zanka feigns offense, leaning his head back to rest against the couch cushions.
“Well, I did think you were a dumb prissy rich prick who wasn’t actually smart and just used his name and friends and such to get good grades……” Zanka winces HARD at this, no matter how much he tries to hide it. “But now I know better. You’re a prissy rich prick with some brains in that gorgeous head of yours that houses your beautiful hair. At least when you brush it…” Jabber prattles on energetically, now upside down and dangling his head over the edge of the couch, looking a very flustered Zanka right in the eyes as his dark brown locs pool up on the fuzzy light grey rug. “Whatever.” The blonde stands up from his spot on the couch, beginning to gather his papers. “Where’d you get that robe? I don’t even wanna guess the price.” Jabber inquires, not even realizing how rude that sounded.
“Ah,” Zanka smiles down at his robe wearily. “My… biological sister bought it fer me.” He runs his hand along the heron design. “M’ real sister Riyo embroidered this fer me. ’s my favorite bird.” He tugs his tank top down a bit to reveal a dark blue lined collarbone tattoo of a heron in flight, the body in the center of his chest, the wings over his collarbones themselves, with the head turned to face whoever was looking at it. “Kyouka– my bio sister– hated the heron. Tha tattoo and the embroidery, that is.” The tattoo design was sketched and inked by Enjin himself, Zanka’s tattoo artist friend (and father figure). Zanka said he wanted a tattoo of his favorite animal, and Enjin said he thought the boy needed a watchful eye. Zanka didn’t mind, he liked how creepily endearing the tattoo’s protective stare was. Not like anyone saw it anyway, other than his mirror and maybe some people in his gym in the outside area on a particularly hot day.
He lets his shirt go, allowing it to spring back into place. Jabber just stares intently as he talks, soaking up the few words Zanka has spoken to him since they’ve met that weren’t to do with anything school related. “Yknow, you seem pretty cool when you’re not in stick-up-the-ass mode, Zan-zan~” He teases, audibly lightheaded from losing circulation in his head from his dumb ass position on the couch. “Ugh, whatever dipshit.” Zanka finishes collecting his papers. “And sit up before ya’ pass out. Ion need to carry yer probably heavy ass to yer room t’night, I'm already exhausted.” “Sir yes sir.” Jabber does a mock salute as he sits up, giggling when this earns a grumble from the already annoyed blondie. “Night, Jaba.” “Night Zan.” And with that, Jabber is alone with his silence. This doesn’t last long, however, the second he finds Youtube on the living room television.
Zanka had to sleep through System of a Down and Rage Against the Machine on full blast all night long as Jabber did his missing assignments for every class that wasn’t pharmaceuticals; the only class he cared for.
—-----------------------------------------------------------------------
“Enjin puhLEAASEEEEE!!!!!” Rudo begs annoyingly, practically bouncing off the walls of the shop. “Rudo, just wait a few months. I have a strict 18+ tattoo policy, and you’re no exception.” The older blonde man chuckles as he ruffles the boy’s hair. He’s been begging for this wolf sleeve tattoo since he was 15, he even learned how to draw JUST to convey the image adequately. “COME ONNNN DADDDDDDDDD–” He’s cut off swiftly by jingling bells of the door opening. “Hey y’all.” “ZANKA!?” Riyo finally swivels around in her chair, straightening up for a better view of the door like a cat. The ashy blonde waves timidly at all the eyes on him suddenly. “Seems like you guys missed me.” “Damn right we did!” Enjin smiles, happy to have one of his kids back. He’d been up in Japan with his family training for the summer before this next year of college, and he hadn’t seen his real family for 2 months now.
He didn’t feel bad in the slightest for disparaging his biological family while down here. They were strict, abusive in many ways, and simply a pain in his ass. They were able to keep him reined in while legally still under their guardianship as a minor, but not anymore. Right around 17 is when he realized what they would do to him was abuse, and the way he was treated was wrong. He swore on his life he’d leave that terrible household once he turned 18. And 18 is when he came across Enjin and Riyo on vacation. He quickly bonded with Riyo, and soon enough they were his ticket to a better life. A happier life. But those people from his past still practically breathed down his neck with every habit he had and every bad thought about himself that his mind threw at him. He was going to prove to them he was worth it, prove he could succeed in a major they thought wasn’t good enough. That’s why he strives so hard for absolutely flawless marks. But he can’t help but think that maybe part of it is his father’s echoing voice in his head saying B students never made it, knowing damn well even a high B was rare for Zanka. He always made As.
Being here with his true family was a huge weight off of his shoulders. As Riyo and Rudo shower the boy with questions, Enjin looks on proudly. He knew he could count on Zanka to make it out of there in one piece. “Okay you two, that’s enough. I bet our boy Zan-zan is real tired from all his moving in stuff, and his first day at school.” Enjin thankfully saves Zanka from the younger two’s barrage. “Hey, it was my first day at college EVER!” Riyo says, hands on her hips. “Oh yeah, how’d that go?” Zanka asks, head tilting slightly. “Some bitch boy already hates me… All the girls are already cool, but this one dude has it out for me, I swear.” Riyo drabbles on, her expression clearly irritated. “What’s’s name?” Zanka pries, trying not to look as interested in the tea as he really is… (gotta stay nonchalant ig bro) “Follo, or something. My new friend and I, Noerde, just call him Follicle.” The redhead fiddles around with her fountain pen. Zanka nearly chokes on his own spit in laughter. “FOLLO??? FOLLO HATES YOU?” “You know him?” “Yeah, dude wouldn’t hurt a fly. Ya must’ve really struck a nerve or somethin!” Zanka explains through giggles and coughs. His lungs haven’t been so good since he picked up smoking weed. Sometimes he considers edibles, but they really do mess him up a lot more than just smoking. They make him feel funny.
Riyo crosses her arms. “Hey, don’t try and distract me from how your first day has been. Who’re you roomed with? I got this real quiet girl named Momoa.” “Ah, got some dude named Jabber. ‘S a real pain in the ass, but he’s crazy smart with chemicals n’ shit like that…” Zanka trails off. Riyo raises an eyebrow. “You’re terrible at hiding your emotions, y'know that?” “I ‘ve no emotions toward ‘im, I’ve known ‘im for a day, God sakes Yo-yo.” Zanka avoids eye contact, staring at his tapping boot on the floor. He wishes he could explode. So what if his roommate was annoyingly gorgeous, the key word is ANNOYING. He’s just his ticket to that A in chemistry he so desperately needs. “Whatever you say, gayboy.” Riyo ruffles Zanka’s hair, who quickly goes to fix it. “I ah… Other than that, I got a B+ on my chemistry progress test. Really sucks.” “Only you’d be worked up about a B+, Zan.” Riyo teases, elbowing him in the arm. “Is that how you found out your new booooooyfriend’s into chemistry?” “SHUT UP!” Zanka flusters, looking to Enjin desperately for some support, but the man is way too busy with a pestering Rudo practically latching onto his arm begging for his tattoo.
Riyo and Zanka continue chatting about classes, gossiping about people, Riyo asking Zanka for deets about some of her older classmates that he knows of. Turns out the boy wasn’t really a friend-maker, rather just well known on campus, but nobody ever DARED to talk to him first. Neither did he. He always wondered if it was his fault, if maybe people found him weird. But that couldn’t have been further from the truth. As he’s halfway out the door when it’s time to go, Riyo makes a little comment. “Good luck with your new crushy wushy~” She giggles. Zanka sputters, whipping his head around to lecture her, so distracted that he doesn’t notice the blur of locs and purple in front of him…
BAM!
Zanka runs right into Jabber, though making sure to keep the door open so it doesn’t hit his roommate in the back, the overhead bells jingling aggressively at the impact.
“Hey uh, heard from a little birdy that a certain someone might work here.” Jabber grins, holding up a grocery bag.