Chapter Text
Zanka was about to lose his goddamn mind.
This has been the third time this month that Jabber had interrupted his guiding appointments— and honestly, Zanka is getting real sick and tired of whatever game that he keeps playing. He's been behind schedule all day, and if Zanka hardly had time to catch up with his job before; dealing with a psychotic Sentinel with an undying obsession over him wasn't going to help it go by any faster.
"Jabber, ya do know that S-Rank Sentinels are to be designated ta floor seven. So what're ya doin' here, on floor five, in my office, yet again?" He felt a headache forming as he looked at Jabber, who was casually leaning onto his open office door, arms crossed.
"I thought you said that ya didn't do that intimate stuff, Mr. Bad Attitude." He pouts, "Yer letting him caress your hands 'n shit, and it's makin' ya boy kinda jealous." Unlike his usual animated self, Jabber had a frown on his face. And Zanka almost felt guilty for something he didn't need to be guilty for.
He let out an annoyed groan, "Jealous 'n what way, Jabber. 'm not yer exclusive guide, 'nd yer not the only Sentinel that I guide ev'ryday in the center."
Jabber scoffed, rolling his eyes, "I could be."
Zanka's eye twitched, "No, you can't ya scuzzball." He gripped Follo's hand tighter, earning a small wince of pain from the other. "Did somethin' finally slug ya hard enough that you forgot my occupation 'nd department 'm in? You'd think that after hittin' yer head oh too many times in those gates that it would finally do somethin' about that screw loose in yer brain."
"Maybe, but wouldn't that piss you off?" Jabber taunted, smiling as he has successfully egged on the blonde. "That something or someone hit me harder than you, ZanZan?"
"On the contrary!" Zanka barked back. "I'd be blessed ta finally have people believe that yer as mental as I've been tellin' ev'ryone."
Jabber cackled as he pushed himself off of the door frame, slowly sauntering towards the back of Zanka's chair to lean over it. Jingles of Jabber's cuff accessories cascaded over his head as dark brown locs hung like heavy ribbons on an umbrella.
"Sure, sure, Zan. As if they don't believe you already." Jabber's hands gripped both sides of the armrests tightly. He stared down at Follo and Zanka's hands interlocked together, making the other man turn pale when they made eye contact.
Was Jabber… frowning?
Zanka couldn't tell from his perspective.
For what seemed to be like an intimate— more so possessive— interaction from anyone's point of view; realistically in Zanka's eyes, this was harassment.
First of all, he smelled fucking horrible.
If a skunk ate rotten food from a city dumpster and then proceeded to get run over by a vehicle, all while baking in 38°C (100.4°F) sun— no wind and just straight up humidity, that is what Jabber smelled like right now.
Straight.
Up.
Ass.
Secondly, his locs were crusty.
Pieces of debris and dust were flying onto his body like dander being itched off of a dry person's scalp. Where they came from, Zanka doesn't even want to know. All he does want right now though, is for Jabber to back up, leave, and take a fucking shower. Not that he would still allow him to repeat the same action— if he did so anyways, but if he wanted to be in the same vicinity as Zanka, he would at least need to upkeep his hygiene.
Zanka doesn't need to be a genius to realize that Jabber had just recently emerged from one of those high level red gates either. He most likely did so without stopping to properly clean himself up before coming here. The smell spoke for itself. What's a better way to annoy him right now, other than to come by uninvited and smell worse than the nearest dump in the city.
He let out a tired sigh, nothing was going to go smoothly at all today. He was about to turn to reprimand Jabber for interrupting his appointment— that is, until Follo untangled their hands in a hurry and started snatching his things to leave.
"I-I think I'm good for now!" Follo stuttered all over his words before he made a dash towards the exit. "Thanks for helping me out Zanka!" And before he could say anything, Follo was already out of the door.
The action left Zanka speechless as his hands were left abandoned in the air. He blinked multiple times, trying to make sense of what had just happened within the last thirty seconds of him being lost in his thoughts. It was Follo's first time getting guided since he had recently awakened as a Sentinel. His mentor, Enjin— an S-Rank Sentinel— had delegated Follo's first guiding session to Zanka as he was, "one of the most capable Guides in the center."
He remembered that moment vividly when Enjin had them meet up at a nearby cafe after one of his evening shifts.
"He'll take good care of you, I'm sure of it! Our Zanka is one of the best that the Cleaner department has to offer when it comes to guiding." Enjin laughed as he pulled Zanka into a side hug while patting his shoulder with a big smile.
Listening to those words first hand had Zanka's chest swell with pride.
Enjin had entrusted him to guide the newest Sentinel in the Cleaner's Department. The Enjin, had thought that he was the best the Cleaners had to offer for guiding. He was relying on Zanka to be responsible, and he regarded his abilities adequate enough to carry out Follo's first guiding. Zanka had to suppress a giggle as he was practically shaking from excitement— from praise. Even though he regarded himself as a mediocre Guide at best, he didn't want his second-rate self to let neither Enjin or Follo down.
So, imagine Zanka's panic as he failed to do what his mentor had trusted him with.
His heart pulsed with anxiety, because by the sphere, what if Follo tells Enjin about how he didn't get guided properly because a certain poison fiended maniac couldn't leave him alone for five seconds. What if Follo started talking to his other coworkers in the guiding center— about how Zanka had failed to fend that same man off for him, and that Enjin was wrong to even suggest that Zanka should have guide him in the first place.
"Damn," Jabber clicked his tongue, "He didn't even say goodbye."
"Jabber, what the hell is wrong with you?!" Zanka twisted around in his chair, more than ready to give the man a piece of his mind. He was exasperated, anger boiling as he saw the most triumphant smirk painted across the man's face.
Jabber's grin deepened as he moved his eyes from the open doorway to face a fuming Zanka. "Sowwy~"
He didn't look like he was sorry at all!
Zanka was practically steaming from his ears and this freak just made a wider smile, as if he had won something from this interaction.
He started massaging his temple out of irritation, letting out a frustrated sigh as he tried to recall how long this scheme of his had been going on. It's been six consecutive years of Jabber's harassment, and despite voicing all of his hardships to the Ground Center's head administrator— Corvus— and Jabber's team leader— Zodyl— no resolutions have been made.
"Jabber is a free spirit, we can't control him unfortunately," they said.
"Jabber obviously doesn't listen well to orders in and outside of gates, and you know any punishment is practically a reward for him," they added.
Usually, Zanka would follow the rules of authority by the principle of it being his place of employment, and to uphold his image in the community.
Now, does he follow all of the said rules?
That answer is no.
It's easier to follow rules that are mildly agreeable upon his morals, and not push past the controversial ones that would give him a headache later if he violated them. However, both Corvus and Zodyl had given him a plentiful amount of excuses for not reprimanding Jabber for actions. So much so, that he's officially given up on reporting Jabber after all of his complaints fell upon deaf— useless— ears. It was a fruitless effort to try to civilly control a situation that's out of his authority. And for that, since they couldn't do anything about it, that meant they couldn't get angry at Zanka for trying to take matters into his own hands.
"Be the bigger person," they said.
"Don't let him get to you, you're better than that," they chided.
Well actually, since there is still an approximate five centimeter difference between the two of them— Zanka being 187cm (6'1ft) and Jabber being 192cm (6'3ft) respectively— No, there is no being the "bigger" person. Additionally, Jabber was a year older than him too. Another loss in the books— Jabber 2 : Zanka 0. You'd think that a 24 year old man would act his age, but no! As annoying as Jabber is as a genius, he's also extremely irritating as a undisciplined child with a long streak of behavioral problems.
If Zanka had wanted to reflect on what had just happened, sure— interlocking fingers and hands together was a bit more intimate than what Zanka had usually done. Zanka was notorious for being touch adverse with people other than his close friends— his family— in Team Akuta. He had his boundaries, and each time he guided a stranger, he'd equip a face mask and would strictly only allow hand holding for guiding. The last time anyone tried to do more than that, Zanka had brutally kicked them out of a five story window, thus marking Zanka's one and only write up in his career. They had— unfortunately— survived, much to Zanka's displeasure. It was embarrassing, but it left a considerable warning towards anyone who dared to do it again.
Follo was an exception in this case of course. He has been around Zanka's circle long enough for him to not feel any triggers of discomfort. He was respectful, and he felt that Follo would never do anything that would bring unwarranted trouble.
Besides, Zanka was the one who decided to interlock their hands anyways.
Follo was visibly nervous for even looking at him wrong. So, he thought that by initiating the first move, it would make things easier for Follo in the long run. Rightfully so, the man across from him became even more flustered after Zanka had reached out to him first. Zanka knew that if he were in Follo's situation, he would have retracted his hands away and tear him a new one for touching him without his consent.
However, Follo didn't do any of that.
He took a few minutes, but eventually Follo let out a shaky breath and calmed down. Maybe he was also the same as himself, but was adverse to touch others in a private setting. He's seen the black-haired man hug and freely touch other members of the center in public with no problem. The only notable issue between the two of them— that Zanka could think of— is that they had hardly interacted at all. He could understand why Follo would be nervous to reach out to him first. They were practically strangers aside from the amicable "Hi" and "Hello" exchanges when their departments got together for company dinners.
Still, was Zanka that unapproachable?
He didn't think that by keeping to himself, it made others feel wary or uncomfortable in his presence. Maybe Riyo was right, he should smile more and work on his habit of indifference being expressed on his face.
After some time, relief had found its way on Follo's face, and Zanka could tell that his guiding was working efficiently. Follo had started some small talk afterwards, and this made Zanka very happy as he couldn't remember the last time he upheld a conversation with anyone that wasn't in Team Akuta. Even after all these years of interrupted interactions and solitude, he could still talk like a normal person without glitching out like a mess. It would be awkward to guide in complete silence anyways, so conversations were bound to happen to fill up that empty space.
Nothing they did or said was anything intimate since they were just doing the standard guiding process that all guides do in the center. It was simple: they held hands for thirty minutes, corruption levels start stabilizing, and then they part ways once their appointment was completed. Therefore, he doesn't understand why Jabber was acting like a wife catching her spouse cheating with another woman. He found absolutely no problems with what he was doing.
Because hand holding isn't intimate.
Otherwise, how else is he supposed to use his ability as a Guide if he's unable to do skin to skin contact with anyone. Last time he checked, the two of them aren't in a relationship of some sort, let alone dating each other to invoke this "jealousy" that Jabber likes to throw around. Honestly, there shouldn't be any reason for Jabber to be treating anyone he guides that way, especially with the rank disparity between the two of them.
Jabber— the most insufferable genius that he was— awakened as an S-Rank Sentinel, while Zanka— your least favorite Average Joe— ended up awakening as a B-Rank Guide. It had shattered whatever pride he had left in himself since he was disowned by the Nijiku family for his awakening, and had to transfer out of the Hell Guard Academy program to the Ground Center's public facility. He swears that Jabber has had it out for him since the first day they met after he had transferred, too.
Each time there was a change in Zanka's schedule at the academy, Jabber just happened to also be there, waving him down and choosing to always sit next to him during lectures. For every guiding appointment that he had on his time table— ones where Jabber was outside of a gate or had just recently emerged from one— he would just randomly appear to throw temper tantrums and scare out whoever was in his office. Men, women, and all those in between— even animals, it doesn't matter their physical form. Zanka isn't allowed any moments of societal peace when he's aware that Jabber is lurking around every corner, trying to scare off anyone that even tries to initiate any conversation with him. If dealing with Jabber back in his academy days weren't bad enough, he's been tormented by the same man for an additional two years after graduating— and counting!
Zanka felt a headache forming as he dragged his hands down his face and looked at the man above him. His hands fell to his lap as he leaned back, head hitting the other's abdomen. Of all people Jabber could mess with, why him specifically? He's a Guide, and an average B-Rank at that. There's nothing that screams "special" about him, even though the Sentinel kept saying otherwise.
Accessories chimed over Zanka's head as the other started playing with his hair. Jabber was humming as he combed through each and every strand on his scalp, untangling the black hair stick that kept it in a half-up, half-down hairstyle. Long strands of ash blonde and brown layered hair fell past his shoulders in waves. Zanka's hair had grown longer throughout the years, almost reaching his lower back. Riyo had convinced him to grow out his hair so that she could try out new styles on him as she couldn't do it on herself. Different hair types she said. She didn't have much practice on Japanese hair types, and Zanka— being the best big brother he could be— didn't mind as long as she kept his hair healthy.
At some point, Zanka had his eyes closed, and he opened them to see magenta eyes meeting his cobalt blue ones. Zanka had unfortunately come to the realization that Jabber has been playing with his hair while smelling like a dump, letting filthy fingers cake his scalp. He had gotten so used to Jabber's antics by now, that he hardly reacted like he used to when they were younger.
What a fucking pain…
He's already covered in dust and grime because of him, and Zanka isn't stupid; he realized that Jabber deliberately messed with Zanka's hair on purpose. Jabber knew that he refused to guide people in a disheveled state, and this was his way to prevent him from continuing the rest of his appointments in peace. At this rate, he'd need to text Semiu later to transfer half of them to be guided elsewhere. There's no way he'll be able to get anything done while Jabber was here.
Zanka rolled his head to the side with a weary sigh, "'m pretty sure that Zodyl told you that yer only supposed to be guided by S-Rank Guides exclusively. Quit causin' trouble fer the both of us 'nd leave already before we both get yelled at, again."
"Awww, don't say it like that, Mr. Bad Attitude~" Jabber chuckled as he moved his hands away from the blonde's head to the ones on Zanka's lap, guiding them to cup the apples of his cheeks, "You know that ya missed me." Jabber nuzzled his face with Zanka's hands warmly. If humans— if Jabber could even qualify as one— could purr, Zanka could have sworn he had heard a low growl from his throat.
Zanka whispered out a curse under his breath before— CRACK!
"YEEEOWCH!"
Zanka shook off his right hand after he shot a fist directly at Jabber's nose. "Ya fuckin' stink like ass, Jabber. Back the fuck up before I throw yer sorry ass out of the window."
Jabber staggered back, giggling as he held his bloody nose with both of his hands. "I'd like that though?"
"Of course you would." Zanka sighed as he dusted himself off. He sent a quick text to the receptionist for all of his upcoming appointments and stretched out his lower back. It was 12:37 in the afternoon. He was supposed to be on break for the next twenty-ish minutes, but with Mr. Freak Show over here, Zanka knew better than to continue with him around. He also needed to take a shower before getting back to work, but dealing with both that and an obsessive maniac wasn't going to end up easy.
Zanka took a glance at Jabber, who was busy wiping stray blood marks off his face. He was wearing his usual Sentinel uniform: a black techwear puffer jacket with purple accent straps over a plain black tee, paired with oversized black joggers that were tucked into worn black combat boots. His fingers were adorned with mix metal rings named, Mankira— his jinki, alongside with black fingerless gloves that reached over his knuckles, leaving his palms exposed.
Zanka would admit it, Jabber would look pretty decent if he didn't look like he took a trash chute slide out of a dump.
He takes a moment before questioning the Sentinel behind him. "You know that as a B-Rank Guide, 'm not even s'pposed ta be guidin' ya. So why d'ya keep showin' up 'ere after ev'ry mission? You get no free guidin'— especially not from me."
Without hesitation, Jabber answered, "You're easy to rage bait."
Zanka felt a blood vessel pulse in irritation as he arched his eyebrow, "Yeah?"
"I… Uhh… Love seeing your face?" Jabber scratched the side of his face, looking off to the side. He was really trying to grasp at some nonexistent strings to find reason in disrupting Zanka's work.
What does he even expect from this fucker…
Zanka groaned. "Don't try to curry favor ta me ya freak. It's been six years Jabber, don't cha get tired of the same shtick each time?"
"Ha! Never~" Jabber lets out a small laugh as he shifts closer. "Not until you give me the beat-down that I've been askin' for. Ya keep turning me down ever since you've been playing coach to all of those newbies. When are you gonna give some time to ya good ol' boy Jabs?"
"Yer kiddin' me right?" Zanka looks at him in disbelief, propping a hand on his hip. "You keep askin' me the same thing ev'ry time. Unless ya want swiss cheese fer a head, we aren't sparrin' with each other. Do I have'ta remind ya that 'm a Guide 'nd not a Sentinel? I deal with weaponry 'nd martial arts trainin' aside from guidin', not fightin' with high level attackers with fuckass superpowers."
Jabber whines, "But you used to beat me up so good back in the day even after our rank evaluations! That's never stopped you!"
"Yeah, but now 'm old 'nd decrepit. I can't deal with yer nonsense anymore, Jabber." He waved his hand, gesturing the other man to follow him.
Jabber's eyebrows furrowed as he trailed after the Guide, "… Zanka, you're twenty-three, and I'm literally older than you. That doesn't mean anything."
"It means somethin' when I have'ta deal with yer dumbass on a day to day basis. Ya age me by decades with yer bullshit that 'm already considerin' early retirement." He stops walking and turns to face Jabber, who was surprisingly quiet as he followed him down the hallway. "Now, are ya gonna go take a shower now, or are ya going to go file a report for Zodyl before he chews off yer head again."
Jabber stared out of a window with a frown. "Probably shower first and get that report done before the boss gets ta me." He shifted his gaze to the other, face looking more serious than what Zanka was used to. "Hey, Zanka. I know that I've asked a lot from ya for the past couple of years, but I have something that I want to confirm."
Well this was new. Jabber was never the type of person to wear a serious expression like that.
"Somethin' to confirm?" Zanka tilted his head, confused. Exactly what in the world would Jabber need to confirm with him for? "What for?"
Jabber took a deep breath, "Are you sure you don't want to do a Guide and Sentinel compatibility examination with me?"
"What?"
"Are you sure that you don't want to take a compatibility examination with me?" Jabber clenched his hands at his side, now looking away from the other. "I know that I've asked you about this multiple times before, but I really want to try it with you."
Zanka stared deeper into Jabber's apprehensive eyes to see sincerity, and it honestly scared Zanka for how out of character he was being.
"Jabber, I— We both know that even if I do agree, Zodyl wouldn't approve of it. And even if he did—" Zanka paused as he let out a deep breath. "He doesn't want a low-rank nobody to match with his high-class somebody."
He hung his head low. He knew what Jabber was implying, but Zanka had already accepted that he wasn't good enough for someone like him. He's tried— he really did, but an Average Joe like him doesn't have the ability to guide someone of his caliber efficiently. It took him 30 minutes to stabilize an A-Rank Sentinel, and that was already too long of a time at his level. Too long, if he were in one of those red gates in time of emergencies, where immediate guidings are life or death situations.
He understood the reason why Zodyl only wanted high-rank Awakeners on his team. The Raiders are a high-class, S-Rank party that consistently cleared red gates that popped up around the Ground. They have a high clear rate percentage and work like a well oiled machine with the members that they already have. There's no reason for them to carry along lower rank Guides like himself when they had two, more-than capable ones in their backline.
In other words, it would be beyond his capabilities.
His chest tightened. There was no need to have someone who was inferior— mediocre at best, an average, dull, ordinary Hell Guard dropout that ended up being a disappointing low-rank Awakener— join a team that was far beyond his league. He was an unnatural anomaly— a normal nobody to his blood-related family, where he had failed to upkeep expectations that was placed upon him. Expectations to never be an Awakener by the order of his elder sister, brother, his father; even though it was completely out of his control to do so. An Awakener within a family of non-Awakeners. How could a deviant like himself even consider to—
"Zanka!"
"Huh?" He felt Jabber's hands shaking him by the shoulders, snapping him back to reality. At what point in their conversation did he disassociate from. What were they talking about? Did Jabber say something to him while he was zoning out—
"Zanka, are ya listening to me man?" Jabber shook him again for a few times more before cupping his cheeks to make Zanka look at him, pulling him in closer to his face. "Hey, snap out of it. Focus on me, you're getting into yer head again."
Zanka raised his shaking hands to cover Jabber's, breaths staggered. His eyes were still on the floor, actively trying to avoid direct eye contact with the other. How long was he out for? He feels dizzy and light-headed, but that shouldn't matter now— he needs to calm down. Zanka closed his eyes, taking in a few deep breaths as he focused on the warmth spreading over his cheeks. Silence veiled over them, leaving only the sounds of a failing air conditioning motor and Zanka's breathing slowing down.
"I-I…" He lets out a shaky exhale as he meets the other's eyes. "'m… fine, Jabber— thank you."
"Thank the sphere, I thought I lost you again." He rested his forehead on-top of Zanka's with a sigh of relief.
"Again?"
"I—"
Zanka's phone rang.
He guided their hands down from his cheeks and pulled out his phone to look at the caller ID. It was a direct call from Enjin, but he usually didn't contact him around this time of day. Not unless it was an emergency or a heads up on a new gate exploration assignment with Team Akuta.
"Give me a moment, Jabs—"
"Nah, it's good, you should probably take that. I'll see you later, Zanka." Jabber swiftly turned foot, briskly walking away before stopping to look back. "Just, think about it okay?" He gave a short salute before opening up a window and jumped out.
Wasn't this still the fifth floor?
He disregarded the thought before answering the call, voice sounding more tired than intended. "Hello?"
"Zanka~! Hey, you doing okay bud? You don't sound too hot." Enjin's voice echoed concern over the speaker.
"'m fine, don't worry about it." He hears a sound of a yelp as car tires screech in the background of the call. Well that clarified everything, his mentor was calling and driving at the same time. "I can hear the sound of a car in the background, Enjin. You should focus on driving, it's bad to be distracted with how yer on the road."
"Hey, have some trust in your big brother, Za—." Zanka let out a quiet laugh as he hears a tire pop— panicked screaming coming from multiple voices cursing the other. "Anyways, good for you to pick up during your break. I got a surprise for you!"
Zanka chuckled as he made his way to the stairs to the communal showers floor. He should clean himself up before he meets the team later for a late lunch. "Yeah? And what's that?"
"I found—" Another tire pops, "an exceptional talent!"
He stopped in his tracks, "An exceptional talent?" Great Sphere above, this isn't going to be another one of those adopting situations again, is it? "Is that so?"
"Yup! I happened to pick up this lil' bugger in an orange gate in No Man's Land, can you believe it?!"
And there it is.
Zanka let out an exasperated sigh, fingers massaging the temple of his forehead. "I guess I have no choice but to believe ya. 'nd what're you gonna do with them when you get here?"
"Well, I'm sure you can already guess, Mr. Mentor of the year." Oh no, he isn't— Zanka can already picture a winning smile being painted over the tattooed man's face. Enjin knows that he can't say no to him.
"Yer lying to me."
"Nope!" The other cackles as high pitched tire screeching spikes in his ears. "He's going to be under our care once we get clearance on him joining the Cleaners— and get this! He's actually got powers, and they're not your everyday variety ones either. I think you'll find him very interesting."
Zanka felt like he's aged another twenty-three years. He's already dealing with three mentorees being: Dear, Follo, and Guita, a poison crazed Sentinel freak that's obsessed with him— Jabber, and now he's going to be scrapping on another serving of trouble being an "exceptional talent" on top of that.
"Sphere, early retirement sounds so good right now…" he mumbles.
"What was that?"
"Nothing, Enjin. Jus'— when are you gettin' here?"
Enjin hums before hearing someone in the back shouting at him, "Delmon says that it'll be another thirty. Will you be ready by then?"
Thirty minutes. That means he has time to shower, get a new change of clothes, and get there a couple minutes earlier in the lobby if they speed faster than they anticipated. "Yeah, that works perfectly fine."
"Nice, I knew I could count on you, Zanka." A smile shivered onto Zanka's face. "Anyways, you'll get to meet them soon. Talk to you later."
"Yeah, later, Enjin." He hung up the phone, completely collapsing onto the nearest wall beside him.
What a day it was, and it isn't even two in the afternoon yet. He thought back to Jabber, and conceptualized the outcomes of what could happen if he went through with his request. He either accepted and go through with what the Sentinel has been begging him to do for the past couple of years, or outright reject him again with the reason of it being Zodyl saying "No."
Zanka runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. Sphere, why was he thinking so hard for. There's no reason for him to do what Jabber says— even if he begs on his hands and knees for it. The rank disparity is too big, and the end result would be obvious. They wouldn't be compatible, and it would be a waste of time for them to go through the entire process. Besides that, he needs to get ready to meet Enjin and the new recruit soon. He shouldn't be sitting down against a wall moping over what could have been, even if he were a little bit more competent than he was now.
"New exceptional talent, huh? I wonder what they're like." He muttered, attempting to get out of his depressing mindstate. Now's not the time for listing out his incompetence. He's got to focus up, and lock in.
With a deep breath, he lifted himself off of the floor and started walking towards the showers. He's got a new objective on hand, and that's to meet this new kid and show them the ropes of working with the Cleaners. He begs to the Sphere above that they're easy to work with, it would be aggravating to have another ill-tempered mentoree to manage alongside the ones that he has already.
"I hope I know what 'm gettin' into after this."