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i.
Semiu is the first to notice. Of course, she is.
The first time it happens, nobody's around when suddenly the door slams open and she sees familiar faces entering the building.
Zanka looks like he has just gone through a hurricane, face all beaten up, walking limp as he's supporting someone is clearly twice his size, half- from the look of it.
She taps the choker immediately, informing Eishia that she will have two potential patient heading their way.
When Zanka arrives at her table, he slides a piece of weird, metal object on it, that looks like a part of Trash Beast organ.
"Enjin says, Corvus might want to see it," he shifts Enjin's arm around his shoulder. "He says, it might shine some lights on his mission."
Semiu nods, taking the object off the table and deposit it in the safe box. She doesn't have any chance to ask about their condition, when Zanka already leaves her table, hauling Enjin, to what she hopes to be in the infirmary.
For someone who's smaller than Enjin, Zanka seems like having no trouble, dragging his Leader through the corridor. Especially because Zanka also has the Umbreaker hanging in his left arm.
She doesn't think much about the incident, but at that time, she just thinks, it's pretty admirable that the younger Cleaner is able to possess such strength.
ii.
Then, it happens again.
This time, it's a mission of four. Zanka, Enjin, Follo, and Rudo are assigned for this. From the way their chatty conversation carries to her table, she expects the mission to have gone very successfully.
And it's proven with Follo and Rudo immediately brag about it when they reach her.
Enjin and Zanka are exchanging words quietly behind them, but Semiu can tell, they're satisfied with their mission.
Only then, Semiu sees it.
Zanka is having the Umbreaker in his hand again. He doesn't hang it in his arm like the last time Semiu sees him. But this time, he uses it like a cane. His Lovely Assistaff is still safely strapped on his back, just like usual.
"What happens to your legs?" Semiu doesn't bother to beat around the bush, interrupting Follo and Rudo who are arguing about which Trash Beast is attacking them.
They stop talking and turn their head, following Semiu's gaze.
Zanka looks like a deer caught in headlights, immediately straightening his posture, even if the hand that still perches on Umbreaker's handle doesn't escape anyone's eyes.
"Bad reflex," Enjin is the one to answer, hand sneaking behind Zanka's back. Zanka jerks at the touch, but Enjin doesn't let him go. "Too busy trying to smash the head, he fails to see the tail."
That seems triggering something in Follo and Rudo, and the two of them jump back to the conversation, fighting for a chance to tell Semiu about what actually happens.
Semiu gives Enjin a questioning look, through her glasses. But the Akuta Team Leader merely mouthes back, "I've got this."
So, Semiu doesn't dig further.
iii.
The third time, it happens in the Mess Hall. She doesn't feel like going to the bar or reading magazine in her room, that she opts to hang out with everyone available. It's quite crowded night. So many people are just finishing off their mission, and they take the opportunity to winding down.
She immediately spots Enjin and Gris in the corner of the room, and she doesn't think twice to go to them.
They are sitting across each other in the sofas with Bro, shuffling the cards. Nothing spreads on the table, so it must mean the game has just begun.
"Semiu!" Enjin grins, rising his glass of beer. "To what we have the honor of you, hanging out with us, the peasant?"
Semiu doesn't hesitate to smack him with sofa pillow which gains an amused snort from both Gris and Bro.
"Ignore him, Semiu," Gris is quick to offer his own glass of beer, signaling that he'll fetch another for himself. "Care to join us for one round?"
Semiu accepts the glass and proceeds to sit down next to Gris.
"Be prepared to get your ass smoked," Enjin glares at her, while Bro shakes his head as he distributes the cards.
Enjin has his one leg lifted on his thigh, his left hand tapping on it as the right inspects the cards.
Only then, Semiu realizes that he doesn't have the Umbreaker with him.
Which is weird because Enjin and the Umbreaker are inseparable, he never once leaves the jinki, even if it's just for a free night like this. However the absence of the jinki is no longer a mystery, when Semiu happens to catch something that really stands out from the corner of her eyes.
Zanka is having the Umbreaker in his hand, unraveling the bandages.
The young Cleaner is surrounded by a group of much younger Givers, like Guita, Dear, and Rudo. She can't catch what Zanka is saying, but it seems like he's in the middle of explaining something with the Umbreaker.
"Semiu, your turn," Gris nudges her, forcing Semiu to return her attention to the game. Semiu glances at her cards and doesn't think much about her move.
Enjin seems delighted with his own cards, that Semiu can't help herself from asking.
"Where's your Umbreaker, Enjin?"
Enjin has just pulled his card and put it down, before he uses his chin to point at Zanka's direction.
"Zanka is changing the bandages," he says, chugging his beer. "He wants to show the kids how to take care of the jinki."
That isn't strange.
Except, it doesn't sit right with her too.
Zanka is known to be very protective and careful with Lovely Assistaff, but Semiu doesn't remember if he has ever shown interest in any other jinki. She also doesn't think that Enjin is forcing him to do something that Zanka doesn't want to do, but then again, she knows the younger Giver pretty idolizes him.
Unfortunately, she doesn't have time to analyze further, because apparently Semiu really sucks at multitasking and she would be damned if he hears Enjin whistles one more time, about how he would smoke her ass.
iv.
Semiu knows, she isn't supposed to be here.
She doesn't even mean to go through this corridor, she should take her usual route, if only she doesn't feel the need to stretch her legs. This is one of those rare moments, when Semiu absolutely regrets her decision.
Because once she makes a turn, she happens to hear the yell.
"And what, Enjin? You think your life doesn't matter?"
Semiu widens her eyes, quickly taking a step back, before she is seen. She surreptitiously glances at the corridor she was meant to pass, and catches the sight of Zanka, to her surprise, holding the Umbreaker right to Enjin's chest.
The leader of the Akuta Team is beckoned to the wall, both hands are lifted in defeat but even from where she stands, Semiu doesn't see any ounce of guilt on his face.
"Zanzan, you know that a good Leader always puts his crew's safety first—"
Zanka slides the Umbreaker down, the tip of the umbrella hits the concrete so hard, the sound echoes around them.
"Next time, you want to commit suicide, don't do it in front of me."
And with that, he returns the Umbreaker to the owner roughly, before he walks away. Lucky for Semiu, Zanka takes the opposite direction of the intersection she is currently at.
Semiu watches Enjin take a deep breath, as if he tries to compose himself, before he pulls a cigarette out of his pocket.
"He'll come around," Enjin says to the jinki. "He always does."
Semiu wonders, if this time, Zanka will ever do.
v.
That night, to no one surprise, Semiu bumps to Enjin in the bar she usually goes to.
Though, bumping is not the right word. The presence of the blond man just naturally stands out that Semiu can't help but see him the moment she enters the establishment.
The man must have been drinking for a while, she can tell from the way his shoulder slump down, and how he doesn't inhale cigarette as excitedly. The glass of liquor in his hand also clearly has been refilled. She's very perceptive of this kind of thing, especially to someone she has known for years.
"I'll have the usual," Semiu tells the bartender, before she takes a seat next to him. She hops in the bar, hoping to take some breather and to get laid if the fortune is in her favor, but it seems her presence is needed elsewhere.
And by elsewhere, it's right next to this guy who slurs, "Heya, Semiu~" in his flirty tone of his.
Semiu frowns.
"Does Zanka ditching you turn you into this miserable?"
Enjin whips his head, with comically horrified expression that Semiu can't stop herself from laughing.
"Zanka ain't ditching me," Enjin squints before he takes a drag of his cigarette. "Don't talk nonsense."
The bartender gives her the drink, and Enjin flags her to refill his glass, as well. Semiu has known Enjin long enough that Enjin's alcohol tolerance is pretty high. He can handle his drink just alright.
But right now, he doesn't seem to be in a position to do that.
"Alright, dude, talk to me," she turns her chair to fully face him. "What's happening?"
Enjin huffs the smoke in another direction, before he mutters, "Nothing."
Semiu pulls the glass out of his reach, when Enjin is about to chug down the content again.
"Don't give me, nothing," Semiu says. "I saw you two fighting in the corridor this afternoon. It's clearly not nothing."
Enjin turns his head, his attention is completely caught by Semiu's words.
"We're not fighting," Enjin grumbles. "We're just having... some disagreement. Nothing to worry about."
Semiu rolls her eyes. "Sure you do. Is that why you're sulking here, trying to get alcohol poisoning over something nobody should worry about?"
Enjin gestures her to shut up. "Knock it off, Semiu, it's not your business, okay?"
Well, that's new.
She won't categorize herself as the best friend of anyone. But if there's anyone who's close to that title, then Semiu would say, she won't hesitate to name Enjin as his first choice. Their friendship has been built over years on trust and their mutual love for girls, she had been thinking of Enjin as a brother she can't get rid of.
Maybe not just a best friend, but Semiu would think that their relationship is as close as brother and sister, in a sense that she will never have to think twice to kick his brother's ass, if the said brother is acting like a dick.
And right now, Semiu is so close to do that exact thing.
"Whatever that is, it's not like you to mope around and get drunk, Enjin," Semiu says. "You don't have to listen to me, but at least, get your act together."
Enjin huffs, looking away. Semiu regrets she acknowledges his presence, instead of enjoying the night like she's supposed to.
"You're a fucking leader, start acting like it," is her last words before she gets up from her seat, taking her drink with her.
She doesn't make it far, before Enjin grabs her wrist.
"Semiu, wait."
Semiu sighs, turning around. "What?"
"How do you fix something unfixable?"
Semiu frowns at the question. She puts her glass down. Instead of answering, she responds with another question.
"Is it unfixable because you can't fix it, or is it unfixable because it doesn't need to be fixed in the first place?"
Upon hearing her words, something flashes on Enjin's face. He stubs his cigarette to the nearest ashtray, before he pulls out several bills out of his pocket and slide them on the table.
"For me and for her, whatever she orders," he tells the bartender.
Without warning, Enjin pulls him into a sideways hug.
"Thanks, I owe you one," he whispers, before he lets go and bolts out through the door.
It takes several seconds for Semiu to realize that during their interaction, Umbreaker is nowhere to be seen.
"Does he leave something?" Semiu asks the woman tending the bar. "An umbrella, perhaps?"
The bartender shakes her head.
+i.
Apparently, Semiu is pretty lucky, tonight.
The woman she happens to have a conversation with, turns out to be very, very interested interested in continuing their conversation somewhere more... private.
Semiu tries to think of this, as the deserved rewards for a whole week of chaos, endless paperwork, and piles of report. But honestly, it's hard to think, when the woman seems just as adamant to make her lose her ability to think.
"I know a place," Semiu begrudgingly pulls back, when the woman pushes her to the wall with a mission of smearing more red lipstick on hers. She tastes like a cherry, as she looks like one too. With her red hair, and red lips, and flushed cheeks, and flushed chest peeking out from her low-cut dress.
She's everything Semiu wants to think about.
"Mmh, you can show me," the woman grabs her waist, aiming for her lips again and unfortunately, Semiu is very weak when it comes to pretty lady taking what she wants.
She indulges her partner, letting their lips clash against each other, bodies flushing like a puzzle finds its companion pieces, ignoring the sirens of the consequences doing this in public.
"Enjin, I hear someone—ah!—there—"
The voice is like a cold water doused over her head, she pulls back abruptly.
"What's wrong?" Her partner frowns, but it's hard for Semiu to focus on anything else, when she hears very, very questionable sound from the same alley she and her partner are in.
Her partner giggles.
"Seems like we're not the only one getting lucky."
Semiu wishes she can appreciate the humor when she hears the comment. She can just ignore, pretending like she doesn't hear anything, doesn't see anything.
Instead, she disentangles herself, before signals her partner to wait. She gets a confused frown as a response, but Semiu couldn't careless.
She has to get to the bottom of this.
And apparently, the answer is just right around the dark corner of the alley.
"Look at you," Semiu can never mistake that voice, even if it's in tone she has never heard before. "Grinding on my Umbreaker like you're desperate for it."
Semiu hopes she misheard but the whine that echoes only confirm her suspicion.
Something that she should have seen coming from miles ago.
And yet.
Under the dim streetlight, what she sees is impossible to be misinterpreted, impossible to be taken in wrong context, impossible to be mistaken for something other than the reality.
It is what it is.
Enjin nudges the Umbreaker between the open legs of someone Semiu is very familiar with.
She hopes she is wrong.
She hopes she doesn't see right.
But, it is what it is.
"Very impatient, aren't you, Zanzan?"
Semiu shrieks, stumbling back, her hips hitting the trash can rather painfully. She makes a run to her confused partner, before pulling her away from the particular alley behind the bar.
"You look like you have just seen ghost," her partner says, bewildered by the sudden action, but still following her lead through the night street.
Semiu groans. "I wish, I just did."