Chapter Text
Dreams never came to you, not very often. Last night was no different. The only new feeling was waking up and not knowing where you were.
For the past 10 years, the only place you would fall asleep (willingly) was in your bed in the headquarters. As you woke, it felt like you were flipped upside down and shook up. Not waking up in the Sphere was disorienting.
The sun was shining through a crack in the curtain, a slight breeze morphs the shape of the light against the wall. The warm air passes over your exposed skin, trying to lull you back to sleep.
The events from the past 24 hours run through your head, mentally catching up to where you are right now. You rub your face with your hands, the ease of sleep leaving your body.
You need to meet Enjin in the mess hall so he can take you to buy you clothes.
Scoffing, you roll your eyes at the fact of Enjin being one of your first thoughts of the day. That man doesn't need to know, his ego is so big he can barely fit through the door.
Your hands run over the soft blanket that Guita picked out the day before. Some time in the night, you had thrown the blanket off and rolled on top of the material. The desert must not stay cool for long, even with no cloud cover at night.
The high pressure system clears the sky's of cloud cover, so the heat created by the UV radiation the day before can escape through the night. It's possible the sun has a longer cycle than the one on the sphere, or the one reference in the textbooks.
There are 24 hours in a day down here, but the sun seems be up a majority of the time. No wonder the land is scorched and people are constantly seeking ways to beat the heat.
After a few more minutes of laying and enjoying the lack of urgency that has graced your schedule, you get out of bed. The pile of clothes Enjin left you is sitting on top of your dresser.
You use the bathroom first, taking the time to freshen up and fix your hair with what little product you have. This arid climate is doing nothing good for you hair or your skin.
Standing in front of the dresser, Enjin's clothes lay stagnant before you. Carefully, you lift the material of the red shirt to hang, the sun's rays making the color seem brighter. You bring the shirt to your nose and gently waft the smell into your nose.
At first, the only thing you could smell was the distinct, pungent scent of cigarette smoke. As you breathe deeper, the muddled notes of a man's cologne wafts in your senses. If Enjin did wash his clothes before he gave them to you, then he must store them close to where he smokes and applies his cologne.
After checking to see if the door to your room is closed and locked, you strip from your sleep clothes and quickly change into the sweatpants and shirt.
Enjin's clothes are very lose around your frame. The only thing that fit was the waist band on the sweatpants, which you had to loosen the strings. His shirt hung loose around you, the form of the shirt making you look like a refrigerator.
After tucking in the red shirt into the front of the grey sweatpants, you lace up your shoes and make your way through the Cleaner's headquarters.
You passed a few people, a lot of which you did not know their names. They are dressed in clothes like yours, some are more revealing, some are baggier than yours.
Mentally timing the walk, it takes about 2 minutes for you to walk from your room to the mess hall. Once you better know the route, you can image cutting down the time.
You push the door open to the mess hall, only two groups are occupying the table.
One group is seated back towards the food, a lot of younger people sit at the table, you recognize Zanka among them. A lone figure stands at the fruit station, contemplating on what to choose.
The man of the morning is sitting with two other recognizable figures. Bro Santa and Gris (Guita introduced you to him during your tour) sit with Enjin, plates of food sit between the three men.
You send the group a soft smile before sitting down beside Gris.
"Good morning! Did you sleep well?" Bro asks from in front of you, a large plate of potatoes, some type of red meat, and eggs sits before the man.
"Honestly, I slept really good! Yesterday must have really wore me out." You hum, shifting your hips to get more comfortable on the hard bench.
"Yeah, Enjin mentioned some of what happened! You really messed with his ego, good for you!" Gris cheers, clapping a hand on your shoulder before returning to take a bite of the bread on his plate.
"Hey!" Enjin protests from the other side of the table, his eye brows raised, jaw dropped.
"Well, I did have other things to tend to that are higher on my priority list– such as making sure a young child doesn't get crushed by falling trash and making sure I don't bleed out." You pluck a pink fruit from Gris' plate and plop it in your mouth. A delighted hum escapes your throat as the refreshing juice satisfies your taste buds.
You pay no mind to Enjin mumbling under his breath, his tatted finger impatiently tapping on the table.
"So that little brat, Rudo, is more higher on your priority list than me?" His poor vocabulary makes you inwardly cringe.
"Obviously, but little miss Guita is fighting for first place on my favorites list. You, Enjin, are close to last." You pluck another piece of fruit from Gris' plate as Enjin pushes his plate away and thumps his head on the table.
The other plates and cups rattle from the force of the blonde man's body hitting the hard surface.
You smirk a little, catching Gris' eye as he hands you the rest of his fruit.
It feels sooo good to deflate this man's ego.
You quickly chew the rest of the fruit, swallow the delicious juice, and stand up, ready to go shopping for some clothes.
"Come on, Enjin. If you are nice today, I might place you higher on my list." You hum and smile at the speed that Enjin lifts his head from the table.
You take a few steps away from the group, waiting for Enjin to take the lead and guide you to the car.
Waving goodbye to Bro and Gris (both return the kind gesture), you walk through the Cleaner HQ. There seemed to be a lot of the Cleaners hanging around, chilling, talking, or training at HQ today.
"Today is like a day off for the cleaners. Except for the emergency team, of course." Enjin waves his free hand in the air, Umbreaker resting on the opposite shoulder.
You walk in stride with Enjin, peaking around his broad body every so often to get a better look at the people you're passing.
"Who's all on the emergency team?" You hum, walking down a few steps into the cement vehicle hanger.
"Me- of course-, Tamsy, Delmon, and Gris. If there are any injuries or casualties, Eishia tags along, although she stays out of the fight until the coast is clear. Something about scene safety." Enjin says, pulling the keys of his car out of the large coat pockets.
He tosses them in the air, the little charms chiming together in a shrill symphony.
The car unlocks and you hop onto the passenger seat, making sure to buckle yourself.
Enjin gets into the driver's seat, slamming the car door shut, and trying to put the key into the ignition. The man multitasks, his free hand working the seatbelt over his shoulder and clocking it into the receiving end. All while the keys are jingling, Enjin still not finding the ignition hole.
The man leans over, finally looking where his keys are before sliding it into the hole.
"I swear, I'm better at filling holes than that." Enjin winks at you as he turns on the engin.
"Sure you are." You dismiss his comment, choosing to look out the window as Enjin pulls out of the hanger.
Quiet pop-funk music resonates from the radio, filling the awkward atmosphere.
Now that the two of you are alone, it seems like nothing is stopping the events from yesterday from playing in your minds.
You hadn't been driving for five minutes before you both speak up.
"Look, I'm-"
"Listen, Ma-" You giggle at the timing before Enjin gestures for you to talk first.
You hesitate for a moment, watching as Enjin pats his pockets before finding his cigarette pack. His long and thick fingers flip open the lid and tap out a cigarette. Enjin brigs the pack up to his face, wrapping his soft, pink lips around the filter end of the cig.
His lips curl, muscle memory taking over as his hand flips the pack shut and throws it back in his pocket. The same hand grabs a lighter and holds it to the end of the cigarette. His thumb flicks the lighter once, twice, thrice before a flame ignites, smoulder the end of the cig.
Enjin rolls down his window, blowing out the smoke.
"Go on, Ma. Ladies first." Smoke trickles out of his mouth as he speaks.
You clear your throat before talking– all of the sudden your mouth had gone dry.
"I'm sorry for hitting you yesterday. You really pissed me off, but it didn't warrant me getting physical." You look down at your lap, your hands folded perfectly.
"Ma, you had every right to slap me. Semiu gave me the abridged version of what you told her, and I feel like an absolute asshole for making you tell me." He take a deep drag, removing the cigarette from his mouth, holding in the toxic smoke.
Your eyes widen at the sincerity in Enjin's voice, his tone full of regret and remorse.
"What I told Semiu was the abridged version. I don't remember a lot of what they did to me – or maybe I don't want to remember – but I remember the face of every single person I've killed." What follows your admission is silence.
Enjin exhales the smoke, taking care to blow it out the cracked window before taking another drag.
You take in a shaking breath before continuing.
"I don't want to be like that anymore, Enjin. I want to help people. I want to save people. I want to be kind to everyone I meet." Enjin cracks a smile, a little huff of smoke trails out of his nostrils.
"That's what we do here at the Cleaners. You're at a good place to make that change, Ma." Smiling wearily at Enjin, you look back out the window, spotting the town on the horizon.
With in minutes (to be exact, two songs that Enjin sung under his breath), he had parked the car on the outskirts of the town.
You exit the car, and Enjin locks it behind you. Walking up beside him, Enjin begins to lead the way through crowded streets.
"So what type of clothes do you want, Ma?" He guides you to an open plaza, many open booths selling all types of food and drink.
"I need comfortable things, like what you gave me – and undergarments." You pull at the shirt you're wearing as Enjin snickers from beside you.
"Dude, undergarments is such an old person word." Enjin chuckles, his hand placed on your mid back to point you in the correct direction.
"Oh, so I'm 'dude' now?" You glare at the man, kind of growing attached to the previous incorrect nickname (which he will never know about).
"Sorry Ma, won't happen again." Enjin takes his hand off of you to solute you, swearing his word.
As you walk through alley ways and between crates stacked high, you feel the sun beat down on you. The buildings may be tall, but without proper coverage, the sun's rays can penetrate anything.
The skin on your shoulders is warming through the thick material of the shirt, a thin line of sweat perspiring at your hairline.
"This shop is a one-stop for all of your clothing needs. Please, don't look at the price tags, I got it covered." You huff, a half attempt at a laugh as Enjin leads the way into the store.
The inside of the building is larger than you would have thought from outside. The brick walls and small doorway were very misleading.
The store itself is lined from wall to wall with racks of clothes. The walls themselves have shelves full of folded material, spools of cloth are at the back of the store, lines of racks fill the rest of the space.
Enjin takes your hand and guides you to the back of the store. You note the wide variety of clothing you pass through, some of the fashion you saw on the people outside.
"The women's section is back this way." Enjin walks sideways through the narrow isles, his shoulders bumping into your own with every twist and turn.
"You seem to know this place like the back of your hand." It feels like Enjin is guiding you through a labyrinth, taking sharp turns and even having to retrace his steps – not because he made a wrong turn, but because someone was blocking the most direct path.
"I helped a buddy of mine fix this place up. Which included hauling all of the clothes in." You hum in acknowledgement, slightly shocked at Enjin volunteering his time.
"How'd he pay you back?"
"I got a year's supply of cigarettes." You snort and roll your eyes.
Yeah, that makes sense.
Enjin then stops and drops your hand to hold up his own in a 'behold' gesture.
"This is what you're looking for, Ma! The-" Enjin cuts himself off with a choked laugh. "-undergarments are the next row over. Imma go say hi to my bud. I'll be at the front when you're done." Enjin then leaves you to find your clothes.
You already knew what you wanted to find. You needed some shorts for the hot climate, and some soft pants to sleep in. A tee-shirt, tank-top, and a long sleeved shirt should also suit for other outfit combinations.
What took the longest was finding something in your size. Not everyone was Riyou's size (ahem, anorexic) but there had to be some people that had an actual body on them.
All of the sizes you found were too small, too tight, or too cropped. Alas, after searching for over an hour, you got all of your clothes (and the comfiest matching undergarments) up to the front of the store.
Enjin really did know this place well, cause it took you over 20 minutes and multiple routes to find your way to the front.
The man of the hour was where he said he would be, chatting with the middle aged man behind the register.
"Hey, took your time." Despite his words, Enjin seems very happy that you spent as much time as possible looking for your clothes.
"Did you find everything okay? If not, I can always have Enjin back over to help me rearrange the place." The man behind the register has a very kind face. Brown hair, brown doe eyes, and tanned skin. His smile is contagious, making you crack a grin as well.
"Oh, Enjin lead me to the right section, so I found everything okay. Although, those isles do need some work." You set the clothes on the counter as the man begins to fold them and tally up the total.
"Hey, don't start signin' me up for shit." Enjin scoffs when the man shares a look with you.
"The little shit probably never gave you my name. I'm Jinu, pleased to make your acquaintance." Jinu holds out his hand for you to shake and you place your hands in his, expecting a soft grip.
Instead, he turns your hand in his own, and brings it to his lips.
A startled gasp leaves your lips, your free hand brought to your chest to clutch your metaphorical pearls.
"Yeah, alright, that's enough." Enjin grasps both of your wrists, freeing you from the hold of the very kind man.
"My apologies. It is not too often we see such a beautiful woman, I must have lost myself in your gaze."
"Hey, don't pull me into this man!" Enjin exclaims, looking for his bag of money to throw at Jinu.
"You were just telling me about how distracted you get by seeing her in your–" Enjin slaps his large hand over Jinu's mouth, the latter's face dwarfed by the sheer size of Enjin's hand.
Enjin's free hand pulls out a small bag full of coins and places it on the counter.
"Here is enough money to cover her clothes and for you to shut the fuck up. Kay?" Enjin's voice is low, sending weird tingles to your lower stomach.
Enjin is quick to load your clothes into a cloth bag, unceremoniously shoving the half folded items into the pretty red bag.
You're quick to follow him, the taller man carrying your bag in one hand, his other quickly reaching for another cig.
"You might run through your year supply if you keep chain smoking like that." Enjin gives you major side eye as he lights the stick, taking a fast and deep drag, almost choking himself.
"You can keep your opinions about my addiction to yourself, Mamas." The both of you pass through the center plaza again, multiple people are out now, bargaining for food.
There are booth full of fresh fruit, some similar to the ones on Gris' plate this morning. Other booths are selling pastries, sweet and savory, and some have grills, frying up kebabs full of marinated meat and vegetables.
Your stomach growls very loudly, alerting Enjin feet away from you.
He looks back at you as you sheepishly look down to the ground.
"Come on, I'll get you lunch too." Enjin waves for you to join him walking around the booths selling food.
You settle on a pastry filled with dark meat and veggies, and a skewer packed to the brim with meat.
Enjin got nothing himself, smoking his cig to suppress his apatite.
You sit at a little bench tucked in a side alley, the sound of the bustling market dampened by the walls of the buildings surrounding you.
Enjin finishes his smoke as you chow down, making sure to not let a single scrap of food to go uneaten.
The two of you make your way back to the car and take off again. This time, Enjin takes a different route to get back to the Cleaner's HQ. He points out all of the surrounding towns, naming what useful places each civilization has.
By the time you get back to HQ, a party had started to welcome you and Rudo to the ground.
Enjin and you parted ways at the mess hall. The man gave himself the task of taking your clothes to your room so you had more time to mingle.
The music bombarded you as you open the double doors. There were a lot of people, more than just the Cleaners. Guita, Riyou, Zanka, and Dear are all standing in front of the food, talking with their plates full.
Bro and Gris are by the drinks, a small conversation between them. Their eyes are looking across the room, full of concern.
You trace their gaze, and there you see the boy of the hour, Rudo. He is sitting at a table all by his lonesome, his head slumped on the hard surface, similar to Enjin this morning.
You move to the troubled boy, noticing Gris doing the same. Gris pulls out a chair opposite Rudo while you take a seat beside the kid.
"We haven't talked since yesterday." Gris sighs, setting down his glass of beer. You rest your hand on Rudo's shoulder, encouraging him to look at the man talking to him.
Once Rudo sits up, you rest your hands in your lap, waiting to hear about Rudo's problem.
"You did good out there yesterday." Gris continues, folding his hands in his lap similar to yours.
"I didn't do shit yesterday." Rudo looks back down to the table, his gloved hands clenched in a mean fist.
"You saved Follo from a trash beast."
"Who?" Rudo looks back up, following Gris's pointed finger.
"The kid in the goggles."
"Oh." Rudo boils in the silence, the issue becoming a forefront in his mind.
"But I couldn't use my powers! I needed you and Riyou to save me!" You hear the creaking of his gloves, the leather stressing under the force of his grip.
"Rudo," You start calmly. "I struggled with the same thing." Taking in a shaking, deep breath, you start your story.
"My mamma passed away when I was young. Her funeral is one of my first memories. I remember my father trying to walk me away from her casket. I slipped my hand from his and I ran all the way back to my mom." You look down at your hands, wringing your fingers together as you fester those memories.
"I unintentionally used by power to run up to her." Taking a deep breath, you look at the table, boring a hole in it with your gaze. You feel Rudo and Gris looking at you with their full attention.
"The day I finally understood my power – my vital instrument – I had to save my dad from the government officials that owned me. Once I understood that feeling, I then fully grasped how to activate my vital instrument."
"I'm sorry for you loss." Gris whispers. You send him a soft smile before resting your hand over Rudo's clenched ones.
"You just need to find your motivation." Rudo looks up to you, his red eyes full of curiosity– like he is beginning to understand what you mean.
"Rudo, I wanted to thank you." Gris speaks up, now drawing your and Rudo's attention.
"When people interact with us supports for the first time, they normally look down on us. They see us as extra baggage, and useless in comparison to Cleaners. But I guess you're different, Rudo." Rudo tilts his head in question as Gris sips his drink.
Gris lifts the mug to his lips, taking along sip. His scar moves with the stretch of his face, the light tissue shining differently in the light. Gris sets the mug back down before pointing at someone in the distance.
"Look at him. Follo joined the Cleaners because he wanted to get rid of all of the trash beasts. Since you can't kill trash beasts without a power, he is taking care of a precious object so that he can be a Giver. He says that even after becoming a Giver, he will stay a supporter to show them that we're not as worthless as they think. He is actively working on that dream." Gris rises the mug to his lips again and takes a small sip before continuing.
"Rudo, put aside the thoughts of getting stronger and getting revenge. There must be something you've always wanted to do." Rudo tilts his head in confusion again, looking like a lost puppy.
"Huh? I don't understand." Gris smiles at the confusion, a sad smile without reaching his eyes.
"Rudo, before you came to the ground, before all of those events happened, there had to have been something that made you say 'I want to do that'. Think back to those memories, and it will come to you." Gris smiles again, this time the smile is genuine, reaching his eyes.
The man stands up from his seat, leaving his drink at the table. Gris reaches across the table and rests his hand on Rudo's head before shaking the kids head a little.
"Have some faith in yourself, okay?" Gris walks over to the food, leaving you and Rudo at the table.
Silence graces you both for a moment. The music was switching songs, the conversations lulled as more and more people sat down with merry drink and food.
Then a tall shadow loomed over you both. One tattooed hand dropped on Rudo's head, then the matching hand dropped on your shoulder.
"Hooooh man, I'm beat." Enjin says from above you both, his heavy body leaning on yours a bit too much.
"Enjin?" Rudo tries to push Enjin's slinking body away from his own – inadvertently pushing the blonde into yourself. You tolerate the invasion of your personal space, mentally thanking Enjin for lightening the sour mood.
"What's wrong? Haven't you eaten anything?" Enjin finally stands to his full height, his body still connected to yours, his large hand gripping on your shoulder.
"Yeah! Rudo you're the guest of honor! You need to eat before the food runs out!" Riyou and Zanka approach the table, Riyou shoving a spoon full of a colorful jello into her mouth.
"Come on brat, let's go gorge ourselves. After you Mamas." Enjin holds out a hand for you to take.
Soon, the entire table is covered to the brim with food and drink, extra seats pulled up so everyone can sit.
Rudo sits to your left, and little Dear sits to your right– downing a cup full of juice. Riyou, Zanka, Guita, and Gris are all to your left as Semiu and Bro fill the remaining seats to your right.
Enjin sits right in front of you, an entire pizza placed in front of him. The air is filled with idle chatter as everyone eats and drinks to their heart's content.
As the night goes on, people dismiss themselves gradually. Semiu, Riyou, and Guita are the first to leave, claiming the water to themselves.
Bro, Gris, and Enjin are engrossed in a very high-stakes game of cards. Amis the game, a certain someone's boot clad foot slotted itself between your legs. He didn't move his boot at all, simply content with the contact.
The stakes? Who has to clean the cars next. Gris was currently losing.
Rudo sits beside you, his movements slowing down, but his hands are still shoveling food into his face. Zanka is not far behind Rudo, his own eyes getting heavier and heavier.
Little Dear has fallen asleep beside you, his head on your lap, his feet on his father's lap.
You take a deep breath, savoring the atmosphere and the newfound warmth in your heart.