Chapter Text
Sweat beads on his chin, running down his neck into the collar of his shirt. It’s been hours. Hours of training, swinging and imagining Lovely Assistaff digging into a certain raiders head. Envisioning the dent it’ll make and the blood gushing out of his newly disfigured head.
Every time Zanka feels he's had enough training, he thinks of his fight in the trash beasts and feels overcome by a sudden surge of ire that fuels him for another hour.
He frequently thinks back to that day in the trash beast. That day where Jabber Wonger had humiliated him, shattering his fragile ego and left him with an empty shell of a person.
After Zanka had recovered from that fight, he couldn't shake the shame and disappointment he felt. That day just reassured him that he is nothing but an average joe — and if he felt any doubt about that before, Jabber crushed all of it. The humiliation of that day still plagues his mind. And the fact that he was the only one to get injured out of all the cleaners really didn't help. So he trained. He trained and worked harder than ever before.
It got to the point where somebody from Team Akuta often had to come and physically get him to stop training and take a break or eat, since he was constanly skipping meals to replace it with taking missions. He felt that he wasn't worthy of rest yet, it was only for the people who deserved them and Zanka definitely didn't. After all this time ever since he left the Hell Guard, he thought he might actually be worth something...but he was wrong.
He needed to earn his spot with the cleaners…with his family. He wasn't good enough to stand by them, to receive their love and support. Every time they came to check up on him and take him to eat, he couldn't do anything but oblige and give in to their requests. He'd do anything for them, even if it meant tiring himself to the bone. But — no matter how many times he says it for them, he had to admit that part of this was all for his own selfish reasons. He needed to see that genius lose to him. It haunted his thoughts and dreams and it seemed like he was all he could think about.
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The last trash beast falls to the floor with a thud, bringing up all the dormant dust to mix with the already heavily polluted air of the No Man's Land. Zanka looks around at his work with a sigh and deactivates Lovely Assiststaff, mentally thanking her for her hard work. The mission wasn't enough of a distraction that he needed from a certain poison obsessed masochist that keeps invading his mind with thoughts accompanied by an immense indignation that shook him to core. Every time he recalls their last fight, he feels ashamed of how he failed his mission. How he wasn't good enough. Zanka starts to head back to the car where he had convinced the supporters to stay behind, since he needed to be alone and felt completely capable of taking the beasts on himself.
Goosebumps prickle on the back of his neck as he swings his head around to look for the source of his discomfort. He's had this feeling of being watched since he came here but brushed it off before since he was too distracted to really notice. “Who’s there!” Zanka heard a familiar tinkling of metal charms as the wind blew and an image of long dreads adorned with gold charms immediately came to mind before he saw none other than Jabber Wonger emerge behind a hill of trash.
“Zankaaa you caught me man, and I thought I was being sneaky.” Sighed Jabber with faux disappointment, his familiar blood boiling grin pasted on his face.
Zanka reactivated Lovely and pointed it at Jabber “Why the hell’re you here.”
His arms were shaking with barely restrained anger. How dare he? How dare he show his face again so casually, especially after he utterly destroyed Zanka? With how he still destroys Zanka with both his absence and presence.
Zanka couldn't fight him now (as much as he wanted to). There was a chance he would lose or take too long then the supporters would look for him and unknowingly walk towards their grave. Jabber wouldn't spare them and Zanka would feel responsible if he couldn't protect his teammates. He’ll have to find a way out of here.
“Ohh Zanka, you don't understand how much I wanna fight you right now but unfortunately, I cant.” What the hell is he saying? THE Jabber Wonger backing out from a fight?? “The Boss has me out on a mission right now BUT if you meet me at this same spot and time in 2 days then we can have some fun.”
“What the hell makes you think I’ll listen to whatever you say?”
“I know you, Zanka, and I know you wanna fight me too. So be a good boy and do what I say.” Jabber's patronizing tone and knowing smirk fills Zanka up with rage so intense that he doesn't care about anything at the moment besides the man in front of him.
Before he could come up with an insult that wouldn't turn the raider on, a yellow and blue swirling manhole appeared behind the raider. A woman with short blue hair sticks her head out.“Time to go Jabber.” Her lull voice is a contrast to her muscular arms that reach out and drag jabber into her portal. “I’ll see you then.” He yelled with a wave before being fully submerged into the manhole.
What the hell just happened and why does he think I would actually meet up with him. Jabber's words echoed in his mind. As he began his walk back to the car he thought about Jabber's offer. He tossed and turned it around in his head to try and find a hidden meaning in his words. ‘Will he ambush me? No he wouldn't, the maniac likes to fight too much. Then why was he so sure that I would meet with him-’ His train of thought was interrupted by Follo yelling his name.
He shook his head to try to clear his thoughts (it didn't work) and approached the supporter with a smile. “Why’d you take so long? We were about to come for you.” The black haired supporter tilted his head in concern. “Oh, I just got distracted, sorry.” Zanka flashed his best smile at him to hide his inner turmoil and didn't notice the blush that dusted the supporters cheeks.
The ride home was a blur. He barely remembered any of the conversation that occurred since he zoned out, occasionally making a comment or two but not really paying attention. Once home he collapsed into his bed and thought about his whole day. How did it go so wrong?
Zanka suddenly shot up and decided to take a shower. He tossed its clothes off and stepped into the scalding hot water, imagining it washing Jabber's words out of his head and down the drain. Once out and dressed he plopped onto his bed and held Lovely Assistaff across his lap and meditated before heading to bed early, deciding to skip dinner.
Lying in his bed, he stared up at the roof in thought. He pushed Jabber's words, Jabber's voice, Jabber Jabber Jabber, all pushed away deep down into the darkest pits of his mind. Zanka's head hurt with all the thinking before his eyelids slowly drifted closed and his breathing evened out. While he slept, he failed to notice the raider he was just thinking about, outside his window. Peering in through his still open curtains.
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The next day was just a regular day. Zanka got up early and began his daily training and stretching before heading for breakfast. After that, Semiu had assigned a trash beast cleaning mission for team Akuta. All of them, including the two supporters Gris and Follo all got into the car with Enjin (unfortunately) taking his place at the driver's seat with Gris in the passenger seat. The ride was just like every other. Zanka and Rudo arguing over absolutely nothing with Follo sitting in between them while Riyo laughed at their usual antics in the back. Gris and Enjin talking in the front and ignoring the pair behind them bickering while Enjin drove like a madman.
Once there, they were met with herds of trashbeast resembling elephants surrounding them. They all split us and finished quickly, Rudo being the last of them and Zanka using that for his training by yelling instructions. Once done everyone gathered back to the car in the same spots with Gris and Enjin swapping.
Gris’s soothing driving accompanied by their newfound fatigue from the mission caused everyone to fall asleep. Rudo and Zanka’s head rested on Follo’s shoulder but he only noticed the blonde. He's been enamored ever since he first saw him fight, the graceful but strong swipe of his staff sent his heart racing. Follo stared at his serene expression on Zanka's face until sleep pulled him under.
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The next day, it's Zanka's day off. By the time afternoon rolls around, he's dressed and packed to go to the same spot as two days ago. He tells himself that he's only going because Jabbers bound to cause problems later. If Zanka didn't show up he'd probably go looking for a fight with a random person later, so he needed to keep him in check. That's what he keeps telling himself. Zanka heads out through the front of cleaner HQ walking past Semius's desk. It seems she isn't there which is good since it saves him from unnecessary questions. The walk is about an hour from the cleaners hq which is also good since it avoids Zanka being spotted. His luck is off the charts today.
Zanka snapped his mask once he entered No Man's Land. As he continued his trek to find Jabber, his skin buzzed with anticipation and a bit of anxiousness. Zanka realised that maybe he should have brought a first aid kit or something but he deliberately didn't because it would've hurt his pride too much. Bringing it would mean practically admitting defeat before the fight even started, that he truly is inferior to that genius—and that is one thing Zanka refuses to do.
A step behind him pulls him from his thoughts. Zanka swings his head around and narrowly side steps a very familiar pair of glowing magenta claws. “Hey I knew you’d show up, Mr bad attitude!” Zanka regained his footing and pulled Assistaff out, pointing her at the raider in front of him. The blue glow of Zanka's anima paired with his deadly glare sent shivers down Jabber's spine. Once Assistaff was fully sheathed, his response finally came. “I only showed up cause I knew you'd be a menace otherwise!” That's the fib he kept telling himself and now Jabber. Of course the other man immediately saw through his lie but chose to ignore it…for now.
They stared at each other, glaring cerulean eyes boring into excited magenta ones. There they stood, in between mountains of trash in an unspoken challenge passing between them. It felt as if the whole world held its breath. As if the universe solely belonged to the two of them. The moment almost felt intimate.
Zanka's already mad and wants nothing but to bash Jabber's skull in, no matter how much the man would've liked it. Jabber’s no different, all he wants to do was fight and stop stalling so he took matters into his own hands. He immediately unleashed mankira to her full form–knowing Zanka could take it and launched himself at him.
He swung like a madman, with no particular technique. Jabber just fought, observed and adapted – his unpredictable fighting style paired with Mankira's poisonous claws makes him such a strong opponent.
Zanka’s fighting style was the complete opposite. Every swing and hit is a technique he built from the ground up with his Lovely Assistaff. The way he fights is meticulous, almost graceful especially with the way he knows his Jinki better than himself. He knows every grove and how to shift his weight to hit the hardest.
Jabber sliced and Zanka blocked. It went on like that for a while before Zanka got used to fighting with full Mankira. He slowly started incorporating more offensive attacks and pushing Jabber back. He giggled in delight. Nobody could push him like this, nobody but his Zanka. Yes, Zoydl is strong but fighting with him doesn't bring the same thrill since there's such a big power difference – so it isn't as fun as it is with Zanka!
The Blue eyed giver saw an opening in Jabber's assault and swung at his rib, just like in the trash beast. A sickening crack followed as jabber was launched into the mountain of trash near him that collapsed with his weight.
The dreadhead dug his way out the rubbish and gazed up at Zanka with nothing but pure adulation. “Zanka, you're so perfect for me.” The raider sighed. The sadist to his masochist, the yin to his yang, the blue to his pink. Zanka's lip curled in disgust as he stared jabber down, a sneer stuck to his face– Jabber almost came at the sight.
The raider jumped and their battle resumed. Their weapons clashing against each other in fast movements that you could barely see them. Zanka was gaining more and more jabber, slowly getting the advantage. It seems his endless training after their encounter at the trash beast paid off.
As their fight went on Zanka felt…excited, exhilarated? Unlike their last fight, there was nothing on the line. Not their teammates or their own lives, so there's nothing to focus on but them. Adrenaline buzzed through his veins and thoughts became instinct. He stopped second guessing himself and started moving however felt right. This went on for what felt like forever and no time at all. Zanka got a hit on Jabber and Jabber hit back, reminiscent of a dance between lovers.
Jabber jumped in close with his arm for a wide swing and Zanka stopped in his tracks. Jabber used his hesitation and launched towards Zanka, nicking him in his lower abdomen with his right claw. It wasn't a deep cut but it was enough to push poison into his body. Zanka ignored the attack and used proximity to swing wide and bash Assistaff into the side of his head. Jabber went tumbling again to the side again, his head bleeding profusely now. Ignoring his dripping head wound, Jabber shot up with eyes wide in surprise. He definitely didn't expect that.
It seemed whatever high Zanka was riding quickly disappeared as he stared his injury down. “Zanka! Don't tell me you're backing out just from a scratch.” Jabber's smirk and condescending tone rubbed Zanka the wrong way. Assistaff swung towards Jabber's head and hit nothing but air. Jabber crouched under Zanka's attack and swept at his leg but Zanka evaded. “The poison I have in my claws today is a paralytic poison. It usually kicks in about 10-30 minutes but for you I'd say about 40.” Zanka ignored him as he kept talking about the poison he used. All Zanka was thinking was how to beat him. How 40 minutes was all he needed.
As they fought their movements became more frantic with the limited time they had before Zanka became paralysed. There! Zanka saw an opportunity and jumped for it. He swept Jabber off his feet and pinned him to the floor with Assistaff caging his neck. Zanka straddled Jabber's torso and pinned his arms under his knees. Jabber beamed up at Zanka, ignoring Assistaffs spikes surrounding his neck. The sight of jabber pinned underneath him, face bloody and battered, knowing that was done by him brought him with a satisfaction so full it could fill him up and explode. “Zankaa” Jabber moaning his name under him brought him back to his senses. The sound of his name slipping from Jabber's mouth in such a sultry tone brought warmth to his face.
Zanka shot up, pulling his Jinki with him but quickly tumbled back down to how he started. “Oh, it looks like the poison has started kicking in! It's a new one and I wanted you to be the first to try it.” Jabber twisted and flipped their positions so Zanka was laying down. “So Mr bad attitude, how does it feel – you gotta tell me!” Jabber yelling in his face only managed to tick him off. “Dont call… me that.” Zanka's tongue felt heavy in his mouth and his throat started to swell, constricting his airflow. Jabber wanted to ask him to clarify what he meant but with the condition he's in, he seems like he couldn't answer him.
Jabber settled himself beside Zanka to watch how his poison is taking effect, with the occasional note taking. With the fatigue taking the better of him, Zanka's eyes drift closed. Despite the pain roaring in his body and the colours flashing behind his eyes–he falls asleep. Jabber notices the way his breathing even outs and takes note of that too. “No way he fell asleep on me! Maybe the poison wasn't strong enough...”
The raider sat there observing the boy on the ground. The way his breaths in and out, the occasional flutter of his eyes when the poison hits, the way his long lashes brush against his cheek. His two toned hair that makes jabber just want to rake his hands through it. His gaze drifts down to his chest, the way it goes up and down in a steady rhythm to where he just wants to lay his head above his heart and hear his heartbeat. Wait.. what is he thinking!? Jabber violently shakes his head and jumps up. He's not made for thoughts like that, not someone like him. Jabbers dangerous and not capable of domestic thoughts like that. He looks back down at Zanka and places his hand on his chest to feel the way his heart races. What's wrong with him today? The raider turns away and heads home– leaving Zanka paralyzed, but not before exchanging blood on their chokers.
Zanka sits up with a gasp, eyes flitting around to search for his vital instrument. His gaze lands on Lovely next to him, he grabs her and holds her towards his chest. His head pounds and his muscles feel stiff. Pushing himself up off the floor, he dusts himself off and swings his head around to look for the raider but finds nothing but trash.
Zanka angrily stomps his way back to HQ. How could he just leave him there?! He doesn't know what he was thinking but he thought that Jabber would at least wait for him. Zanka's heavy steps are the only sound as he makes his way back home. He pushes the door open and drags himself inside.
Hello there.” Semiu’s voice echoes throughout the room. Zanka stiffens immediately and turns towards her. He greets her with a grin and mumbles something incoherent about heading to his room and rushes out. Semiu sits there confused but shrugs and goes back to the new magazine she bought.
Zanka immediately goes to shower then collapses on his bed. The sun has already set and now could be about the time he usually went to sleep. He thinks about how he was able to pin Jabber down and a faint smile appeared on his lips. After a few minutes, his exhaustion from the fight still lingering, he's pulled into a sound sleep.
Zanka slowly peels his eyes open and immediately squints from the golden rays of morning light pouring in from the peek in the curtains. The light illuminates the room in a warm golden hue. Zanka stretches his arm above his head and swings his legs off the bed. He feels well rested for the first time in a while. He washes his face and gets dressed, making sure to meditate with Lovely Assistaff before he heads out. Zanka makes his way to the cafeteria with an extra pep in his step and a smile on his face. What can he say? He feels great after a much needed good night's rest.
He swings the cafeteria door open and heads to collect his food. He looks around and finds his friends sitting ona table near the back corner and heads to them. “Good morning guys!” His teammates greet him as he takes a seat and starts chatting with the others. Enjin, Riyo and Gris all exchange glances at Zanka's sudden mood boost.
“Hey Zanka, are you feeling okay today?” Zanka looks up, startled. “Huh? Yea I'm good.”
“Oh Semiu told me you came back late yesterday, is that why you're so happy?” Riyo chirped, excited for new gossip.
Zanka's face immediately drops before he makes an excuse about training and heads out the cafeteria, leaving his teammates stunned. “Do you think it's a girlfriend?” Follo suggests with a frown on his face. They all burst out laughing at the suggestion.
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“Nghh – ahh- that hurtss.” Jabber lays on the floor with Jabber beneath him, Lovely digging her spikes into Jabber's stomach. They had slowly established a routine of meeting up about once a week, said fights usually include fighting until Zanka gets hit with a poison specially prepared for him and Jabber talks his life away with the cleaner writhing in pain next to him.
They both look forward to their meetings but for entirely different reasons. Zanka just can't wait to bash the raiders head in, and Jabber believes their meetups are peak quality time.
But putting that aside, let's go back to the present. Zanka currently straddles Jabber, Assistaff in one hand–wrapping around Jabber's torso, and his other hand holding both the raider’s wrists in a tight grasp. Zanka pushes his weight down further, pulling another lewd moan from the man beneath him that echoes in the abandoned ruins around them. Looking down at him, an unexpected realisation came to Zanka's head.
Jabber’s really pretty.
Zanka’s not dense. He had noticed before that Jabber is an attractive guy but he hadn't noticed how much. Looking back at him , his flushed cheeks and locs that surrounded him like a halo brought a flush to Zanka's face.
With Zanka sitting on Jabber's hips, he had been feeling something poking him but pointedly ignored it. What the hell are you supposed to do when your supposed enemy has a raging boner from fighting you? With his frustration rising he delivers a strong punch to jabber, feeling his nose break beneath his knuckles. Blood immediately starts rushing out this nose, painting the lower half of his face in blood. Jabber's plump lips glisten with red and he looks up at the cleaner with unfocused eyes that only add to Zanka's arousal.
He doesn't know what got into him but he leans down and licks a strip of blood from Jabber's lips, a gasp parts the raiders mouth when he feels Zanka’s saliva replace the blood from his still leaking nose. When he pulls back the two just stare at each other. Magenta eyes that always seem to sparkle around him locking onto his cerulean ones. Slowly Zanka leans back down, their breaths mingling from the proximity and chests pressed together, he doesn't remember removing Lovely Assistaff but that’s the least of his concerns right now. Their kiss was slow at first–hesitant, testing, before it turned more desperate.
Jabber fisted Zanka's shirt while Zanka's arms caged him in from both sides. One of Zanka's arms trailed down and slipped under Jabber's shirt before pressing down on his fresh wound. The raider whimpered against his lips and bucked his hips to meet Zanka's — their erections grinding against each other, earning a gasp from both of them. He pulled back, a string of spit connecting them, and started peppering kisses down his neck while his hands trailed down his body. He lifted Jabber's shirt up, feeling the grooves of lean muscle under his hands and his small but defined waist. Zanka leaned down, placing soft kisses down the raider's hip before moving to the wound where he lightly kissed and licked the blood around it.”You're so beautiful." The words slipped out his mouth without his permission before he could top them. Zanka brought their hands together to intertwine their fingers together. He kissed just above the waistband his pants, tongue swirling in sensual circles against his sensitive skin. Pink flushed lips sucked light hickeys agains honey brown skin. Jabber made a strangled sort of noise from above him that made Zanka glance up. Now that he thought about it, Jabber had been awfully quiet.
When he looked up Jabber had this conflicted expression on his face, something so foreign on his face. “Man what are you doing?” Jabber’s usually loud voice wavered a little as he spoke. “Be more rough with me, cmon!" Zanka tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowed and assessing. This is a new expression he's seen on Jabber, it makes him curious. "I wanna be good to you, Jabber." His big calloused palms continue their exploration on the raiders body. "Zankaa! I know you wanna hurt me, so what are you doing?" The frustration in Jabber's was attempted to be covered up with his teasing but he failed miserably. With his anger building with each second, he pushed Zanka off of him and sprang up.
“What are you talking about?” Zanka felt nothing but confusion at his sudden change in mood, which only added to Jabber's anger.
“You're just like everyone else, huh?” His words sounded thickly coated in dark sticky betrayal.
Before Zanka could reply, his choker started ringing its obnoxious ringtone. Suddenly Jabber turned around and started walking off but his was caught before he could take a few steps.
”Wait, Jabber! Where are you going?” When he looked back he had an unsettlingly blank expression on his face, eyes dimmed down without their sparkle. The expression on his face made Zanka drop his hand from Jabber's wrist and watch as he walked away without a word, locs swaying in the wind behind him.
Zanka stood alone with nothing around him but trash and broken homes, the sound of his choker echoing in the awfully quiet day. He felt an anger rise in him as the sound kept playing, suddenly sounding awful to his ears. He smashed his choker onto the floor and started his walk back home.