Work Text:
The Doll Festival had been hard on all of them, but it was clear that it had taken a major toll on Zanka and his mental health. Since that day, he hasn’t been able to get any sleep, his dreams filled with nightmares of his failures, of Goka and Hyo looking down on him. Because of this, it’s been taking a toll on his ability to work.
“Zanka,” Enjin says, coming up behind him while he’s forcing himself to eat. “Corvus wants to see you,” he says, causing the boy to look up at the man with confusion. “Uhh, wanna come with me?” He asks, having already clocked the fact that Zanka wasn’t even that hungry.
“Uhh, sure?” He says, his mind coming up with so many different possibilities that it makes his head hurt. Should I ask what’s going on…? He wonders, deciding it best to stay silent, noting how stiff Enjin seems to be. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t starting to get concerned about what was about to happen.
Enjin opens the door for him, and he silently thanks the man, analyzing Corvus as soon as he enters the office, trying to read what might be about to happen from his body language. “Zanka. Enjin,” the man notes, a smile on his face as he sips his tea. “Please, have a seat you two.”
They both oblige, sitting next to each other, not too close to be weird, just close enough to be comfortable.
“Zanka,” Corvus addresses, “do you have any idea as to why I have asked to talk with you and Enjin today?” He asks, and Zanka tries to figure out what this must be about. He tries, he really does, but nothing comes to mind. He seriously has no clue what the boss is talking about.
“No, sir,” he admits, trying to stay calm.
Corvus frowns, grabbing a few pieces of paper and straightening them together before continuing to speak. “I’ve recently had an influx of reports regarding your… activity levels,” Corvus explains, trying to find the proper words to say without causing the teenager to panic. “It has been brought to my attention by Enjin that you haven’t been getting enough rest, therefore causing a lack in your ability to preform.”
He feels himself go still. Was he not good enough? Had Enjin finally realized that he’s just deadweight after all? As much as he doesn’t want to think of Enjin abandoning him, he had Rudo now. A natural talent that could replace him if he wanted to.
“I want you to have a conversation with Eishia or Alice, just so we can get you back in peak condition. But, while we wait for that, Enjin and I have decided to temporarily remove you from going on missions until you get better.”
His blood runs cold. He glances over at Enjin, whose head is in his hands, his posture screaming “guilty.” He looks back up at the boss, trying to come up with something to get the man to reconsider, but nothing comes out.
This is really happening… he thinks. I’m being replaced…
“I hope you understand that this if for your own wellbeing, Zanka, but I also know that this might be a bit stressful for you. I want to remind you that this decision comes from my concern for one of my beast teammates,” the man explains, trying to get Zanka to lighten up a little. On a normal day, the praise would do detrimental things to him, but today… he just wouldn’t feel excited at the praise.
.
.
The day passes in a blur. It’s weird for him to not get any mission requests from Semiu. She usually has him do the jobs no one else wants to do because she knows he can trust him to do them. How many of those did she have right now? How much is he disappointing her?
He’s about to go to bed when he spots some money on his nightstand. Money he hadn’t touched because he hadn’t felt the need to. How much money has he piled up since he joined? He might as well use it today.
Pocketing the money, he puts on a somewhat presentable outfit, combing his hair back slightly. He leaves Lovely propped at her spot against the wall, putting his shoes on before deciding to head out.
“Ima take a walk,” he tells Semiu, who waves him off when she sees that he doesn’t have his vital instrument, going back to reading her prono magazines.
The closest town isn’t too terribly far away from HQ, but it’s still a bit of a walk. Not that he minds. He needs to stretch his legs and get some energy out. After all, he hasn’t done anything today except for rot away feeling sorry for himself.
He notices the bar almost immediately. It’s lit up brightly, people coming in and out of it in a consistent stream. They usually give discounts to the Cleaners, sometimes even giving them a free drink or two. He’s gone there with Enjin a few times before, mostly after missions when Enjin doesn’t want to go back to HQ just yet, and Zanka typically tags along. They never card, but it’s not like he’s far away from being eighteen. In fact, when he goes with Enjin, one of the ladies gives him free drinks even though she knows he’s not the legal age.
A drink or two can’t hurt… he tells himself, manuvering through tthe crowd of people, taking a seat at the bar.
The lady who gives him free drinks just so happens to be there, smiling at him when he takes a seat. “Here all by yourself today, I see,” she notes, handing someone their drink before walking over to him, placing her tits on the bar. He can’t imagine how she lives with those, but he’d be lying if he said they didn’t make his eyes wander a bit.
“Yeah. Just need some time to myself…” he tells her, and she nods, humming slightly and grabbing some liquor from behind her, starting to make whatever drink it is she’s making. “This’ll help ya out with that,” she tells him, sliding the drink over to him and squeezing a lemon in it. Lemons are hard to find down here, so he goes to grab some cash, but she stops him. “It’s on me,” she says with a wink, waving at him as she goes to take care of another customer.
Curiously, he lifts the glass and takes a sip. He saw just how much alchohol she put in this drink, but he can’t taste it at all. It’s fruity in a way, but it’s not too sweat that it makes the drink unbearable. He’d be lying if he said it wasn’t a really good drink.
She walks back over to him, taking his empty glass and making him a new drink. “I’m assuming ya liked it,” she says, and he nods, his head feeling a bit fuzzy. He really wonders what she put in that to make it so strong. He isn’t a lightweight, his family made sure of it, so it’s weird for a single drink to be making him this fuzzy already.
She slides the drink back over to him with a wink, this time not leaving to talk to someone else. “So,” she starts, tracing his hand with her finger. “Why do you need some alone time? I always see you with one of your Cleaner buddies, usually the blond one with tattoos. Enjin, right?”
He nods, taking a sip from the drink. “Just… kinda wanna be away from them right now… Somethin happened,” he says, not really wanting to air out all of his dirty laundry, but also realizing that he doesn’t really trust himself to not spill all of his thoughts if he starts talking.
“I get that,” she says, lifting his hand slightly, inspecting it almost. “I like to have some alone time myself. Away from everyone, just getting wasted without thinking about what tomorrow might bring,” she admits, a saddened look on her face. He hums, downing the last of the drink, sliding the glass back to her. “You’re drinks are on me tonight, ok?”
Zanka nods, not expecting the woman to then lean in and kiss him on the cheek before making him another drink.
.
.
How long has it been since he got here? Someone is running their hands through his hair, but he doesn’t know who. The hands are too soft to be Riyo’s… Too soft to be any of the Cleaners, actually. He looks up, realizing it’s the woman whose been supplying him free drinks.
“You with me again?” She asks, and he sits up, regretting it almost immediately when he starts gagging. She slides a bucket over towards him, and he vomits in the bucket without a second thought. “To be honest, I was suprised that you made it this long without going down. Never seen someone drink that much and keep going,” she says with a laugh.
He looks over at the clock, his mind filling with panic. He needs to get back to HQ. Now. “Gotta go…” he manages to say, his words slurring together. The woman gives him a confused look, opening her mouth to say something, but Zanka is gone before she can say a word. Or maybe she did and he just didn’t hear her.
This is a bad idea… he tells himself, his hand going up to his choker. He should tell Riyo he loves her. That’s a good idea.
“Hey! What’s up, Zan? It’s really late, where are you?” she questions. He goes to answer her, but he throws up instead, hearing her start to panic. “Riyo…” he manages to say. “I love ya,” he adds, feeling himself start sobbing. “Hey, hey, hey, what’s going on?” She asks, but he hangs up.
His feet don’t feel real, his legs feeling like jelly. He legs end up giving out, and he falls to the ground. He doesn’t know how far away he is from HQ, but he can’t find it in him to call anyone.
It’s cold… He thinks to himself, feeling his teeth start chattering. He forgot how cold it gets down here at night. He realizes that he might’ve fucked up big time, his body feeling less and less like himself.
He can’t stop shaking. He can’t get warm. It hurts to breath. His choker buzzes a few times but he doesn’t answer, trying to warm himself up. He’s crying. He regrets everything. Why did he even do this in the first place?
All of his thoughts are washed away by how cold he is. It’s all he can focus on. He looks down at his hands, which look a gross purple color. He really fucked up. Like, really fucked up.
I’m so cold…
.
.
“Zanka!” A voice shouts, and he opens his eyes to look at whoever is saying his name. He’s still shaking, freezing from how cold it is. It also doesn’t help that he lacks so much body fat. “Sphere, ya scared the shit out of me, Zanka! Riyo called me. C’mon, lets go back to HQ.”
It’s Enjin. He tries and fails to stand, vomiting yet again. Enjin looks concerned, pulling Zanka up and wrapping his jacket around the boy. “Zan, you ok?” He asks, starting to worry that Zanka got sick and went out without telling anyone.
“E..Njin?” He manages to say, trying his hardest not to slur his words, leaning against Enjin when he starts to stumble again. Enjin grabs his face in his hand, opening his mouth forcefully and smelling it slightly. It grosses Zanka out, but he can’t pull away or protest, too tired.
“Dammit Zanka, are you fucking drunk?” Enjin asks, and he feels himself start to cry. He didn’t mean to make Enjin upser. “Ok, ok, hey, look, I’m not mad at you, ok? Do you understand?” He asks, and Zanka nods his head weakly, his teeth chattering.
Enjin remembers one time when Alice scolded him because he had drank too much and his body started to get cold. He doesn’t remember what she said exactly, but it had something to do with alcohol fucking with your bodies temputur control. That coupled with how cold it already is surely can’t be doing the kid any good.
“Lets get ya in the car, ok? I’ll turn the heater on,” Enjin says, worried because Zanka isn’t shivering despite how cold it is, meaning that the kids body is literally unable to create body heat despite how cold he is to the touch. He really hopes that the kid doesn’t have hypothermia…
Zanka nods slightly, giving in and letting Enjin basically cary him and place him in the backseat, laying him down, arranging the buckles so that he’s strapped in as best as he can.
.
.
He knocks aggressively on Alice’s door, hopping to wake her up. He’s carrying Zanka bridal style, so it’s a bit hard for him to knock as hard as he wants to. Thankfully it seems to do the trick, and Alice opens the door in nothing but a robe, a single boob spilling from it as she looks at Enjin with eyes as sharp as daggers.
“He needs help,” he tells her before she can start scolding him for waking her at this time. “He’s drunk and was lying in the cold,” he explains, and Alice quickly moves aside, ushering the two in, telling him to place the boy on the cot as she fixes her robe.
She grabs a thermomiter, sliding it between the unconscious teens lips. “How long’s he been like this?” She asks, and he shrugs. “Riyo woke me up because apparently he drunk called her, telling her that he loves and shit shit, and she got worried, so I went looking for him. That was almost an hour ago I think,” he says, watching the old woman closely as she examines the boy.
“He has hypothermia… It’s a good thing you found him when you did, Enjin. It’s still treatable, but if you found him any later…” she pauses, taking a deep breath. “If you found him any later you’d probably be brining me a corpse, Enjin…”