Chapter Text
“Thank you, young man. We are eternally grateful to the Cleaners for their help.”
The woman standing before them bows her head. That’s a custom that Rudo doesn’t usually see, but he’s been able to piece together that people who do that are from the same place, and that it’s sort of like a handshake, like a declaration of thanks. He never knows if he should mirror it or not, so he looks to his mentor.
Zanka is standing beside him, completely still.
It’s difficult to tell what Zanka is thinking, unless he’s ticked off. Right now, he’s fairly professional. He has good posture, good enough to act as a visual reminder for Rudo to straighten his shoulders now that he’s looking at him. His hands are folded in his sleeves in front of him, like usual, with his Vital Instrument securely strapped to his back instead of in front of him, and his eyes are focused on the two clients standing before them, who are both about Rudo’s height.
“Glad to help,” Zanka tells them with a nod of his head. He doesn’t bow back, even though Rudo has seen him do it before. Weird. He’ll have to ask him why later.
“Please, let us bring you something to drink,” the woman’s partner offers. Her bright, warm smile is a little unsettling, but Rudo very much realizes that he doesn’t have any room to talk. He hopes Zanka declines, because he’s pretty sure they have to head back to meet Enjin and Riyo, and this woman is giving him the creeps.
“I appreciate it, but we need to head out,” Zanka says. “We have somewhere to be.”
Even though it’s the answer Rudo was hoping for, and the answer he expected from Zanka, Rudo is suspicious.
Zanka’s being weird, the more he stares at him, the more he thinks about it. His posture is all rigid, and he’s not usually like that, and it’s slightly different from the good posture he usually observes from him. He kind of acts like there’s a stick up his ass most of the time, but he’s casual and nonchalant enough that it’s not out of a place of being snotty, Rudo thinks. Is he nervous? Uncomfortable? Rudo thinks for a second that maybe he was injured on the job, but he doesn’t think those Beasts even got near Zanka. He pretty much had all four of them pulverized before they were in his Instrument's radius of him.
“Not even a quick drink?” The first woman says.
“Next time,” Zanka insists. A little too quickly.
And now that he recalls the conversation as a whole, it sounds like Zanka has dropped his accent almost entirely. Rudo has noticed he’ll do that when he’s trying to sound more professional, but he doesn’t ever do that when talking to clients. It’s more with Corvus, or if he’s trying to make himself look cool to Enjin. Super weird. Doesn’t make any sense for him to do it now.
He makes sure to end it after that, politely taking their leave.
Rudo silently follows him away from the pair, away from the cafe they were loitering outside of. Their establishment, apparently. Now that Rudo thinks about it, Zanka was even acting strange when they first met these women before the job, but Rudo was too focused on the actually killing Trash Beasts of it all to notice that. Maybe they were giving off bad vibes that he couldn’t pick up on for some reason.
“Where do we have to be?” Rudo asks once they’re far enough that the clients can’t hear them anymore. Sure, they do have to meet with Enjin and Riyo, but they haven’t heard back from them yet, which means they’re still working. He has a feeling that Zanka made that up, but he doesn’t know why, exactly. They’ve taken gifts from strangers before. Maybe a drink is too risky.
“Nowhere. I'm just not in the business of takin’ things from strangers,” Zanka says. He doesn’t turn to look at Rudo. “‘specially creeps like them.”
At least he’s talking like normal again. That was super weird.
“Fair enough, I guess,” Rudo says.
It’s bright as hell out. And hot.
Rudo’s always been a little sensitive to light. Regto has always said it’s because of his light eyelashes. Most of the time, everything on the Ground is hazy enough that nothing completely shines through, but it’s less cloudy than normal today. Rudo’s found himself squinting a few times, and Zanka too, who has now led the two of them under an awning as he takes out his water bottle to take a few sips. Rudo does the same.
He opens a bottle of something from his bag, takes out two pills, and swallows them with the water he has in his hand. It was really quick, and if Rudo wasn't looking at him, he probably would've missed it.
That was weird.
He really wants to ask what that was, but he has a strong feeling Zanka will shut him down. He's been more short and snippy than usual today, and Rudo doesn't feel like arguing for no reason. So he decides to drop it. The bottle Zanka took out of his bag disappears as soon as it was taken out.
At least it was a quick job.
They’re headed back, on foot, to the vehicle. Riyo and Enjin ended up splitting off from them to take care of a larger, single Beast on the other side of town that a different client called in. Two birds, one stone, Enjin said, even though it was technically five birds, four stones. He doesn’t think Enjin’s using that phrase correctly.
He notices Zanka purposefully hanging around the shadowy parts of the street on their way back, but at some point, they run out of luck. It’s too bright for Zanka to walk without keeping a hand over his eyes, and even though it’s not quite that bad for Rudo, he still feels bad for him. Sure, he hasn’t lived a day on the Ground that has been as bright as days on the Sphere with actual sunlight, but people from the Ground probably just aren’t used to days that are a little brighter.
He imagines Zanka and the others would probably need sunglasses if Rudo ever managed to get them up there. It’s a silly thought, but it gives him an idea.
He turns his satchel to his front as they walk, digging around for something to use. He doesn’t have any sunglasses, but he dig for the compact umbrella that he picked up a few days ago. The handle is broken, making it a little impractical to use, but it’s still useful. Rudo can make it useful.
Maybe he can use his ability on it. He’s only used 3R once today, and they don’t anticipate any jobs after this one, even though it’s super early in the day. So he can try to make this useful enough for Zanka to hold.
He tries. He holds it out while they’re walking, and it transforms into something much edgier looking, with a handle exactly like Rudo had pictured. Maybe a little too practical. It’s ergonomic and everything, and he realizes the thought he put into it materialized pretty perfectly.
Zanka stops and stares at him in confusion, his eyes wandering around like he’s wondering if he missed something. Rudo stretches out his arm and hands it to him as they stop walking.
Zanka blinks, his eyes now scanning the clouds around them, as if maybe Rudo knows something about the weather that he doesn't. He doesn’t take it.
“No. For you.”
Zanka still doesn’t seem to understand.
“Since it's so bright,” Rudo says, vaguely gesturing to the sky.
“Oh,” Zanka says, his shoulders deflating a little. “Y’sure? I don't wanna take your stuff.”
“If it's useful to someone else, it's fine.”
Rudo sounds a little more sentimental than he means to, but it is genuine. If it's useful to Zanka, then it's okay.
Surprisingly, Zanka doesn’t manage to turn that into an insult. He takes it, gingerly, and they continue their walk back to where the vehicle is parked.
At some point, Enjin phones in on Zanka’s choker, letting him know that he and Riyo are finished and on their way back after a brief summary on how it went. He reminds Zanka to write down a quick report, since they don’t have any Supporters with them today.
The feedback and metallic ringing from the choker seems to bother Zanka, too, but the conversation is short enough. Rudo wonders if maybe he didn’t get enough sleep the night before, but he certainly won’t ask him.
They arrive back to the covered garage, and as Zanka moves to hand the umbrella back to Rudo, it disintegrates in his hand. They both stare at his hand, before staring back at each other.
“Interestin’,” Zanka murmurs. “Works the same way for every day stuff, too.”
That’s good to know. It’s not just useful for fighting, then.
Zanka sits against the tire of the vehicle, using his as a surface for his notebook, scribbling things down about the job like Enjin asked him to. Usually, he’ll make Rudo do it, or at least tell Rudo what’s important for them to write in, but apparently he just wants to get it over with. He doesn’t say a word to Rudo the whole time, so Rudo just ends up standing around and observing their surroundings.
Is now a bad time to ask? Hey, what were those pills?
Are you okay?
He can’t just ask him that straight up. Zanka would totally hit him upside the head with Lovely.
Maybe it’s an old injury. They looked like pain medication, but not the kind Rudo has gotten used to seeing. Or maybe it has something to do with him apparently being a little sensitive to light and sound right now.
Enjin and Riyo reappear soon enough, and Zanka stands once they come back, handing Enjin his notebook once he asks to see it. He seems a little reluctant to hand it over.
Enjin skims over Zanka’s report. He squints as he reads it. Rudo does know that Zanka’s handwriting is terrible.
“What's this about traffickers?” Enjin says.
Rudo blinks. He looks to Zanka. There’s a weird silence.
“The clients?” Rudo asks. He can’t think of any other humans they ran into.
“Yeah,” Zanka says.
“Wh…huh?” Rudo says back, trying to think of anything that could have tipped him off to that. Zanka has told him what those guys usually wear, the caravans they travel with, the sort of things they’ll say and do. He didn’t pick up on anything like that, even in hindsight.
“I've met ‘em before,” Zanka mumbles. “One of ‘em.”
Enjin narrows his eyes. “They didn't recognize you?”
“Nah. The woman's basically blind now. Her partner was new,” Zanka answers.
“And…when’d y’meet these people?” Enjin asks him, lowering his voice a little, like he’s nervous to ask.
“It’s…” Zanka starts, his eyes shifting over to Rudo, like he’d rather not recall a story that other people don’t know about. Rudo wouldn’t blame him at all. He doesn’t like thinking about his brief encounter with Traffickers either, when he first got to the Ground.
Riyo speaks up. “Those are the people that drugged you, right? And…”
There’s a brief silence.
Zanka huffs. “Yeah.”
Enjin’s face twists up in confusion. “Zanka, y-”
“Listen, there’s no point in reportin’ these people,” Zanka bites back, with a lot more venom than he’s ever heard him use against Enjin. “The Hell Guard’ll get ‘em out. They use ‘em for intel all the time.”
Rudo’s vaguely heard about this story, but only in the form of a warning, with the added context that it had something to do with Zanka. Enjin has explicitly told them in the past not to take drinks from people. It didn’t matter how hot it was, or how thirsty they were. He said he’d rather have them treated for a heat stroke than have them kidnapped.
That explains why Zanka’s been acting so weird.
“Seems pretty backwards for those guys to use criminals for intel,” Enjin grumbles, handing Zanka the notebook back. He doesn’t seem upset with Zanka, but he’s definitely pissed about the situation. “Are they still out there?”
“They're gonna do whatever serves ‘em. Intel’s more important,” Zanka answers, avoiding eye contact completely.
“They still out there, Zanka?” Enjin repeats, tilting his head. His voice is stern.
Zanka doesn’t say anything. Rudo feels like he should answer, but he doesn’t. He pays close attention to Zanka’s defensive posture.
“Why aren’t you answering?” Enjin asks.
“Can we just go?” Zanka says quietly. “‘S not our job to deal with those people.”
“Zanka’s right,” Riyo interjects, taking a step toward Enjin. “Our job is to kill Trash Beasts. The point of the reports is to give that information to the Hell Guard, and we’ll do that. If they do something, they do something.”
The silence in the air is almost poisonous. Rudo doesn’t think he’s ever witnessed an argument between Enjin and Zanka before, although he doesn’t know if this even counts as one. Enjin’s eyes go from Riyo’s, to Zanka’s, to Rudo’s, before he takes a breath, and apparently gives up.
“Guess you’re right,” he says. “This conversation isn’t over, though.”
Rudo wishes he had more context, but maybe he doesn’t want to know.
They start the brief checklist of preparing the car for a three hour trip back to headquarters. Making sure it’s running properly, it’s got enough fuel, and that it hasn’t been rigged while it’s been unattended - apparently a common issue. Rudo sees Enjin apologize to Zanka, but Zanka doesn’t give him much of a reaction.
Eventually, they all climb into the car, and Enjin starts the car without issue, and pulls out of the parking garage. Riyo has taken the front seat, and Rudo is in the back with Zanka, with Zanka behind Enjin. He doesn’t usually sit there, and Rudo has to wonder if he’s trying to avoid any more confrontation with Enjin.
“It's too early for dinner, but I guess we can get lunch,” Enjin says as they get on the road. “Probably something in town, since it’s…still nine in the morning.”
“I'm gonna skip,” Zanka says, “if that's cool.”
“Takeout?” Enjin offers a compromise.
Zanka pauses, then shrugs. “Sure.”
The car ride is fairly quiet, aside from Enjin’s usual radio blasting. There’s brief conversation about a missing Too Lily CD in the front half of the car, but Zanka never joins in or reacts to anything they say. His eyes are fixed out of the window most of the time, but that’s not really out of the ordinary for him. Rudo tries not to spend too much time staring at him, because he knows it’ll piss him off pretty quick if he notices, but he was so weirdly docile in that tense conversation with Enjin that he’s not totally sure.
About an hour in, Enjin and Riyo decide on a restaurant for take-out that they like. Food from the place Zanka is from, apparently. They’re still a little under two hours away from headquarters, but this is a place that’s apparently super good, so they decide they’ll order and heat it up again when they get back. Enjin disappears inside for a while to order, leaving the three of them in the car outside.
Riyo turns around in her seat, staring at Zanka for a few seconds to try and get his attention. Eventually, he notices he’s being stared at, and turns to look at her.
“You okay?” Riyo asks him quietly.
“‘M fine,” Zanka mumbles, “didn’t need to make a big deal about it.”
“You know he’s just worried.”
“Yeah. I know,” Zanka huffs. “It was like, a year ago, ‘n I’m fine.”
“Okay, okay,” Riyo says, apparently now deciding to give up. Zanka’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want this situation to continue.
After about five minutes of awkward silence, Zanka speaks.
“Riyo,” he says, “y'got any water left?”
“Some,” she replies, reaching back from the front seat to hand it to him.
Rudo watches him do it again right after Riyo turns around. The same thing as earlier today. He slyly takes two pills without Riyo noticing. This time, he definitely wants to say something, but is it right to? He’s obviously trying on purpose to not get anyone’s attention, and as much as Rudo doesn't care about pissing him off, this isn't territory he's familiar with. Especially with this already weird existing tension.
He decides to keep his mouth shut.
Enjin returns, putting the bags of food into the back of the car before getting back into the driver’s seat, cranking up the music and driving off.
Rudo continues secretly eyeing Zanka for most of the drive.
Zanka’s still being weird. He hasn’t said a word since he borrowed Riyo’s water. He was pretty normal this morning, maybe with a little less bite than usual, but normal nonetheless. He was sort of squinting before, but now his eyes are totally screwed shut. He looks like his head his bothering him. Rudo wonders if that’s what the pills were for, but if it is, they clearly aren’t working. He’s sweating, too, Rudo can see it dampening his hairline. It is kind of hot out, sure, but the car is pretty well air conditioned.
Enjin reaches over to the radio to turn the nob, and quiet down the music.
“Did we report it to the Hell Guard the first time? When those people drugged you?” Enjin asks, his eyes shifting to look at Zanka through the rear view mirror, but Zanka doesn't reply.
Should they be talking about this right now? He thought Zanka made it pretty clear that at the very least, now was not the time, but he doesn’t even turn his head to look over at Enjin. He’s gripping Lovely pretty tight.
“No, he told us not to,” Riyo reminds him.
“Why're you so sure they wouldn't do anything about it?” Enjin asks. “Even if they don’t give a shit what happens to us, if they’re targeting us, it probably means they’re targeting civilians, too.”
Rudo turns his head to Zanka, because he’d honestly like to know the answer too, especially if it’s something Enjin’s concerned about. He doesn’t say anything, but it sounds like he’s breathing deeper.
“Right, Zanka?” Enjin says.
Zanka still doesn’t say anything. That’s super unlike him. He would have certainly said something by now.
“Everything okay over there?” Enjin asks, and Riyo turns out of her seat to look at Zanka.
“Zan, you look super nauseous,” Riyo says, sounding surprised to be making that observation.
“Shut up,” he mumbles.
“Do I need to pull over?” Enjin asks.
“I'm gonna say yes,” Riyo decides.
Pulling over is pretty easy on these long stretches of what can hardly be considered a road between the populated areas, so all Enjin has to do is slow down and stop the car, which he somehow manages to do without jostling everyone around. Rudo didn’t think that was possible. Zanka covers his face and groans, apparently hating everything about the situation, and apologizes.
Zanka doesn’t waste any time getting out of the car once it’s stopped, swinging the door open and turning the corner of the car with a hand braced against it, before he gags and throws up into the dirt. He coughs and sputters, and Riyo stands next to him, a hand on his back. It’s probably everything they had for breakfast. The arm that isn’t braced against the car is wrapped tight around his middle.
Rudo tries to put the pieces together. It almost seems like, on the surface, that this is somehow related to what they were talking about in the car and before they left, but it doesn't add up. It doesn't explain how much he's been squinting, and the pills he keeps taking, right? He gets out of the car at the same time as Enjin, just a few seconds after.
Zanka’s legs are shaking enough for Riyo to try and convince him to sit down, and she manages to do that without any pushback.
“‘M sorry,” Zanka mumbles, spitting into the puddle of vomit in front of him, his eyes screwed shut and very obviously in pain. Rudo wonders if this constitutes him needing to go to a doctor, but he supposes Enjin will make that decision.
“I'm gonna run you over if you keep apologizing,” Enjin teases, but there’s a pretty clear undertone of concern. “How long were you feeling sick for, Zanka?”
“Not long,” he mumbles, but Rudo isn’t sure he completely believes him. His face is really pale, and Rudo thinks he’s been looking like that for a while. His face suddenly pales again, and a gag against his will forces up more vomit into the puddle. His whole body shudders afterward.
Riyo manages to guide him over to the back of the Jeep, where they’re in the shade, and Zanka sits against it. He’s sitting completely still, his hands covering his face, taking slow, intentional breaths. Riyo still sits beside him, rubbing his back. Zanka definitely doesn’t look like he feels any better.
“Lemme see,” Enjin says, crouching down in front of him and laying the back of his hand against his forehead once Zanka moves his hands out of his face. He frowns. “A little warm. You’re sweating, too.”
“‘S hot out,” Zanka mumbles defensively.
“Yeah, kinda…” Enjin says, but apparently not entirely satisfied with Zanka’s excuse.
Zanka sits against the Jeep, taking small sips of water from Riyo's bottle, but after a while, he crosses his arms over his knees to hide his face.
“Okay, two options. Either we take you straight back, if you think you can handle the drive, or we stop in the next town,” Enjin says.
“‘M fine. We can drive straight back,” Zanka mumbles after lifting his head.
“You do not look fine, Zan,” Enjin tells him sternly.
Zanka deflates, hearing that. Rudo definitely agrees, though, and Riyo’s expression tells him she thinks the exact same thing. He’s still super pale, and he can’t seem to keep his eyes open, even while they’re sitting in the shade.
“Stop…stop treatin’ me like ‘m fragile,” Zanka mumbles back at him.
“I’m not doing that, Zanka,” Enjin says with a sigh, “I’m…listen, I’m just trying to make sure you’re using your head and not making decisions based on…trying to hide that you’re sick.”
“‘M not sick,” Zanka growls back at him.
Apparently, that’s enough for Enjin to give up. He sighs. “Okay. Fine.”
There’s that weird tension again.
After a few minutes, Zanka reiterates that he’s feeling fine now, even though nobody believes him. He doesn’t take anyone’s help to stand up, and seems to get back in the car without a problem. Riyo gestures to Rudo that she’s going to switch seats with him, clearly, because she doesn’t trust Zanka.
Rudo gets in the front seat next to Enjin.
“How long's the drive?” Zanka asks from the back.
“It's two hours back,” Enjin reminds him as he restarts the car. It’s already gotten super hot inside from just the few minutes they were stopped for.
Zanka groans, leaning his head against the seat.
“We can stop somewhere if y’want. Like I said. Get you some medicine,” Enjin says, his eyes peering back through the rear view again.
“Don't need any,” Zanka murmurs, leaning his head against the window.
Enjin pauses for a second. “You sure?”
“Mhm,” Zanka mumbles.
“‘Kay, fine…”
Zanka really only looks worse the further they get into the drive. It’s weird, because he’s technically seen him in worse shape, but he just looks really bad right now. He just really looks like he doesn’t feel well, and Rudo assumes that’s the look that tipped off Riyo into thinking he was nauseous earlier.
Enjin talks about the possibility of food poisoning. Most of them had the same thing from the cafeteria last night, and Zanka was the only one feeling sick. He said bad batches were always possible, food poisoning is a serious killer on the ground, but it doesn’t really line up enough with what’s going on with Zanka for him to land on that with certainty. Zanka doesn’t argue back, but Rudo doesn’t think he’s even paying attention.
Eventually, Zanka very meekly asks everyone to stop talking, and they oblige. Enjin even turns his music completely off, which Rudo didn’t even know was an option.
At some point, Rudo hears a bag rustling, and before he can turn around, he realizes Zanka is hunched over and throwing up into a plastic bag that he’s holding open. Riyo has scooted closer to him, ignoring her seatbelt, a hand on his back. He sounds totally miserable, between the gagging and just the way that he’s breathing. It lasts for several minutes, and happens again about half an hour after that. The second time, Zanka really seems like he’s in pain, curling in on himself, Riyo holding the bag open for him. It lasts longer than the first time, too. He’s apologizing profusely, but Riyo just shushes him.
It’s confirmation enough that what happened back there wasn’t just a one-time thing, that Zanka is probably sick like Enjin was suggesting. Rudo has noticed the crease in his brow deepen.
They manage to make it back without it happening again, parking in the headquarter’s garage. Enjin asks for Rudo’s help to get the food out of the back of the car, and Zanka’s the last one to step out. Zanka’s not really steady on his feet at all as he steps out of the vehicle, his foot nearly slipping on the edge.
Enjin opens his mouth to say something to him as he shuts the trunk door, but his sentence dies completely when Zanka halfway bends over with an arm wrapped around his middle, choking up bits of whatever is left in his stomach onto the garage floor.
Four times now. There’s no way he’s not sick.
Riyo’s standing next to him, rubbing his shoulder again. It’s a lot less productive this time, mostly retching that doesn’t bring anything up, but it sounds painful and miserable all the same. Rudo notices his legs shaking again, but his arms and his hands, too. He can’t tell if it’s pain or something else. He’s seen his hands shake when he’s anxious before.
“Just gi'mme a minute,” he mumbles in between pained breaths. “Sorry…”
“I'll make sure the infirmary’s r-”
“No infirmary,” Zanka murmurs, cutting off Enjin’s idea. “Don’ need'a bother Eishia with this.”
Rudo can see Enin biting the inside of his lip. Riyo gestures something to Enjin that Rudo doesn’t quite catch, and Enjin looks at Rudo, and tilts his head in the direction of the door.
“C'mon Rudo, let's get this heated up,” Enjin says, lifting up the bag of food he’s holding.
A very clear let's leave them alone, but Rudo agrees. He imagines Zanka probably won’t join them for this, then. He follows Enjin out of the garage, peering back at Zanka for just a second before the door closes behind him.
“Dammit,” Enjin murmurs to himself, but just loud enough that Rudo can hear, “totally screwed that up.”