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Zanka Nijiku was tired. That's what happens when you don't do much outside of: train, work, eat, train some more, sleep, then wake up and repeat the next morning. Maybe that's why he didn't put up much of a fight when it happened. That's what he'll claim anyway.
Team Akuta was in and out of the base for weeks. The Team hadn't paid much mind when one early morning August came into the commons and started taking measurements. It was just who the man was after all, who were they to question his creative moments.
So that was why, a couple days later. After Zanka was returning from a mission with Rudo, when August burst into the entrance of the cleaners base and grabbed Zanka to take him to his lair; no one really stopped him.
A couple seconds into their descent through the halls; Zanka finally felt the energy to be confused and spoke up.
“Um-” He frowned “Mind tell’n me what you've got cooked up?”
August for his part didn't falter, just kept his strides full of purpose as they neared what was surely Zanka's impending doom.
“It's a surprise!” The eccentric man chirped, a large grin plastered across his face. “I had a moment of inspiration a few weeks ago when I saw you training. Just bear with me for a while and if it's not a vibe we can always mix it up. Kay?”
He couldn't really find himself to protest as he was pulled into the lair and forced to play ‘dress up’ for the next few hours.
___
When August had finished, Zanka couldn't stop himself from, weirdly enough, feeling a bit exposed. He frowned at himself in the full length mirror, August a little ways behind him and clearly proud of his work was absolutely beaming.
Choosing to ignore him, Zanka continued to inspect himself. He found his frown deepening, while it wasn't as different from his usual look it still felt strange.
For starters his normal high collar was gone and his poor shoulders felt exposed. The modification reduced his full coverage top to an off the shoulder version of his normal attire. If it weren't for the tight sleeveless black turtle neck he would be utterly humiliated.
He found himself slowly turning from the mirror to face his captor and could only utter a single question.
“Why”
August simply beamed brighter if that was even possible “Why not? You're always so covered up and a few days ago I noticed you got warm when you were training; With this, it lets the air flow more naturally.”
Zanka scowled at that. He could smell the bullshit from miles away; Yet he still found himself turning to assess himself again.
“Look” August spoke again; His voice surprisingly softer now. “Just wear it for a few days. If it still feels bad then we can switch back yeah? Plus it's been getting warmer as of late; just take this as the first draft of many new fits.”
He remained silent for a few moments. It sucked that the man had somewhat of a point. The months were getting warmer and as they did so he found his original uniform trapped sweat in more than it offered some breathing room. Usually leaving him feeling grimy after a long day.
“Fine” he grumbled; much to August's delight. “But only one week and that's it, after that if its not up to performance I'm changing it back.”
He ignored August's positive comments as he re-attached Lovely Assistaff to her holster and stalked out of the room.
Hopefully he found his mind musing. It won't be as much of a big deal as im thinkin.
___
Unfortunately for him; if the absolutely piercing squeal Riyo let out when he stepped out of the room and into the corridor was any indication, It was in fact a big deal.
He hadn't even known his best friend was there waiting for him. As he turned to address the person in question and have her ‘please not’ he was frozen to the spot at the pure joy in her eyes. His moment of hesitation was all she needed; she was on him like a bloodhound.
“So this is what you were doing! When Rudo said August kidnapped you i’ll be honest I wasn't expecting" She covered her manic grin with one hand and waved at him in general with the other “This.”
He found his initial scowl deepening. The play dumb, play dumb, play dumb as the repeating mantra in his head was the only thing saving him from breaking. If his cheeks flushed at all then no one had to know why.
“This? Care to elaborate? He quipped back, folding his arms across his chest was the only thing he could think to do to place a barrier between them.
His best friend simply raised a brow and cocked her head innocently. “You know; just that it almost feels like I'm committing a crime right now.”
Zanka's scowl morphed into a confused frown at that before she continued on.
“Almost makes me feel like a peeping tom seeing them all… Exposed”
At that Zanka choked on his own spit and found himself doubled over. Riyo quickly rushed over giggling and patting his back “Sorry, Sorry couldn't help myself. For real though, I like it! It's a nice mix up for you I think.”
After a few moments when his lungs felt like they could properly take in air he mumbled out a soft “You think?”
She didn't waste a moment before she was nodding her head vigorously “Of course I think! You just need to sleep on it. Gain some confidence. It's not like you're walking around fully naked”
He snorted at that and found himself slowly relaxing under her reassurances. “Yeah… Okay we’ll give it a shot. August told me to try it for at least a week.”
Riyo smiled “He's a smart man, I think you should listen to him. Why don't you head to your room and get some sleep. I'll tell the team you clocked out early.”
Zanka found himself smiling softly at her and nodding “Yeah, Okay. Thank you Riyo” She gave him a smile and shooed him off down the hall.
This He mused This is why she's my best friend.
___
When he woke up, the next day he found himself feeling better about the outfit. It was, in fact, more breathable and felt kind of nice to have the open air on his bare skin.
As he went through his morning training session he found himself ruminating less and less on the new form of clothing. The feel of the fabric brushing his collar bone as he moved seemed to help lull him into a more meditative state as he twirled Lovely Assistaff around. His Morning training seemed to come to a calm and uneventful end.
It wasn't until later in the day, when he joined some members of Team Akuta for lunch that he was reminded of his change in style. This abrupt reminder was brought forward by Enjin himself who honest to god choked on his food the moment Zanka sat down.
“What” The man wheezed out “the fuck are you wearing.”
Zanka frowned and went to respond; but before he could Riyo plopped down next to him.
“This; is August's new masterpiece” Was her simple response.
Enjin scowled; Gritting his teeth as he sent a nasty glare around the room. “That; gives me the feeling I'm going to have to punch some people's teeth in.”
Riyo absolutely cackled at that; while Zanka frowned and glanced around. He didn't miss the way a few heads snapped briskly to look away from their table.
After a few moments Enjin let out a deep sigh. The scowl never leaving his face “I think I need to have a good ol’ conversation with August. He's going to get people distracted and killed pulling shit like this.”
Zanka could only raise a brow in confusion “does it look bad?”
Follo was, surprisingly, the first to respond to the question “No! It looks good, it's just…” he trailed off and looked away, a flush rising to his cheeks out of pure embarrassment.
“Just? Just what?” Zanka found himself gritting out, impatience starting to work its way up his spine.
The table remained silent for a few beats before Enjin's face finally relaxed a fraction as he let out a deep sigh “It feels like; illegal for you to have any skin exposed. You're normally so covered up; and the fact that you have a tendency to make people your age question their sexuality doesn't help”
Zanka… Didn't know how to respond to that. He found himself opening his mouth to protest but found he couldn't when he noticed Follo nodding his head at Enjin's statement, His face practically glowing from how red he’d turned.
He felt his own face start to redden as Enjin continued “With the amount of people gawking, I might have to start beating up pursuers just to like… Defend your honor or something. Don't want anyone thinking they have a shot with you. Not if I have anything to say about it.”
Zanka was stunned by the murderous intent radiating off of Enjin. To be honest, he found himself at a loss for words as Riyo cackled beside him. The few seconds of silence came to an end as Gris appeared behind Enjin with a humorous look on his face.
“We get it, you're protective of your kids. Don't go around scarring anyone who approaches though. Might be a good experience for him.”
Enjin, who had calmed slightly under Gris’ touch, immediately snapped back to attention and seethed out. “Experience? I'll give them the experience of my foot up their ass if they even think about-”
He was abruptly cut off by Gris’ hand covering his mouth “aaand you're done” He bodily pulled Enjin from his seat all while his hand was still firmly placed over the man's mouth not budging an inch.
Gris beamed at those left at the table “Him and I are going to go have a quick chat; don't worry yourself too much Zanka im sure you'll get used to the new outfit in no time”
With that; Enjin who still had a glare plastered on his face and eyes scanning the room, was dragged away from the table that still contained a cackling Riyo, a surprisingly pale Follo, and a completely bewildered Zanka.
_
Gris’ words rang true if nothing else. Over the next few days Zanka found himself growing more and more comfortable with the attire; as well as the few lingering glances he'd noticed. Riyo in that time had been nothing but supportive, however he had seen her sending a look in a few people's directions. He briefly wondered if Enjin put her up to it.
Speaking of the man, after his ‘conversation’ with Gris he didn't make any other comment about the current situation besides a single, ominous “If anyone tries anything send em my way” stated to the entirety of Team Akuta after a short debrief.
If Enjin had bruises on his knuckles during the days that followed no one said a thing.
By the time the week had reached its end; and after a couple successful missions hunting trash beasts Zanka decided it couldn't hurt to remain in the attire; much to August’ delight. The man stating he had a few modifications in mind for the future.
A few weeks later; a mission took part of Team Akuta further from their usual job sights and to a town closer to the south branch. After a long day investigating peculiar trash beast sightings Zanka found himself being dragged out to explore a nearby town by Riyo and Follo.
As he followed the pair around he rapidly found himself on alert. A cold feeling of discomfort rolling down his neck. He debated bringing it up to his teammates but upon seeing Riyo enthusiastically inspecting a nearby stand Follo close behind he decided against it.
If neither party had said anything, he was probably being paranoid.
After about an hour of trailing behind the pair, the feeling started to evaporate. Maybe that's why he wasn't prepared to be violently pulled into a nearby alleyway and slammed against a wall with such force it left his head reeling.
Quick to recover his hand flew out at his aggressor; unfortunately for him they were prepared, and he found his wrists swiftly clasped between two large hands and pinned to the wall.
He was about to try a different counter attack, but found his blood turn to ice as his vision cleared and he was met with the face of Jabber Wonger.
They stared at each other for a few short seconds, a slew of insults preparing to roll off his tongue when Jabber cut him off. “Thats not very nice of you Mr. Bad Attitude. Why do you gotta go throwing off my whole mission like this?”
Zanka scowled in confusion, and that confusion only escalated the longer he studied Jabber's face . Was he, the fight eccentric Jabber, pouting?
Despite his confusion at the current predicament, he found himself sneering out at the man “Im sorry, What the fu-”
Jabber cut him off again with a long groan “Yeah! You should be sorry! Are you just try’n to make shit difficult for me?!”
Zanka, still confused as shit, was quick in his response this time “Fuck’n what?! How the fuck am I makin this difficult for you?! You Fuckin jumped me!”
Jabbers pout morphed into a scowl “Well I wouldn't have had to jump you if you didn't go around doing shit like that.”
“Like what? As far as i know i was out having fun with my friends then you just decided, ‘Oh you know what? This looks like a great time to pick a fight!’”
Jabber glared down at him and remained silent for a second and just as Zanka was gearing up the energy to either knee him or retaliate, Jabber leaned in close, their foreheads nearly touching, and suddenly it was hard to breathe.
Zanka found himself staring into Jabber's vibrant eyes, words caught in his throat as the man just watched him. The tension was so thick he couldn't bring himself to break it, not fully knowing what the other man was thinking.
After what felt like hours Jabber spoke, his soft breath ghosting across Zanka's face. “I didn't like the way people were looking at you. Had to do something before I found myself ripping people's damn eyes out just for look’n at you.”
What the fuck? That was the only thought entering Zanka's brain at that statement. It was the only thought he felt could describe the whole situation at hand.
Jabber must have taken his baffled silence as permission to continue, the bastard.
“Do you even know how distracting it is? To see you suddenly appear dressed like this? Too many people were looking at you like that. Only I'm allowed to look at you like that.”
“Like what?” The question left his lips unwillingly, and he found all thoughts leaving his brain as Jabber suddenly leaned forward and pressed their lips together.
The kiss was brief and surprisingly soft. Jabber's hands had, at some point, left his wrists and came to rest on his bare shoulders, Mankira's cold mettle digging into his skin. Before Zanka's brain could catch up Jabber leaned back.
Both parties remained silent, Jabber's fingers starting to apply more pressure before suddenly falling away from his shoulders.
Jabber took a step back, his hands, why couldn't he stop looking at his hands? Went and dug into his dreads, his face falling into a mix of a scowl and pout.
“Seriously” Jabber grumbled out, and only then did Zanka notice the rapidly approaching footsteps and semi-frantic calls of his name. “Keep this up and I don't know if I'll be able to restrain myself during our next fight.”
Before Zanka could snap his mind out of the spiral of what the fuck, Jabber was gone and he was sandwiched between a fretting Riyo and a frantic Follo.
Later that night, when his brain had finally settled, if he decided that he would wear the clothes on occasion, and maybe give in to August's whims more often.
Well that was, quite frankly, no one's business but his own.