Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air was thick with the stench of rotting trash, a low purple haze coating the ground to further signify it was toxic. Miles of abandoned waste piled high and far was already an unwelcoming sight, but the poisonous air kept out most of anyone else.

Despite how desolate this area was, it was not uninhabited.

Just a few minutes of breathing in the fumes would severely damage someone's lungs. Yet some animals flew here to pick at any scraps they could find and lived just fine. To survive was to evolve from what was there prior.

A pile of trash shifted, the air swirling around it as heaps of random items bonded to form a massive creature as it roared to life for the first time. Yet nothing was around to hear its grand awakening.

It had been tossed and thrown out like the trash around it. Unwanted, pushed aside to be unseen and hopefully forgotten about. The trash beast was the rage of an item seen as nothing more than broken and useless.

A shift, then another. A small pitter patter of something small walking along amongst the trash. Something alive, sentient, and nearby. The trash beast honed in on the sounds and wandered over, its maw opening to reveal rows of sharp jagged teeth.

It could hear the person walking closer. A human. The same beings who tossed it aside, who looked down on it. The trash beast charged at it, seeking to kill any human blindly.

It heard the person jump to the side to avoid its attack straight on. The beast turned its head and snapped at the spot it heard the human land on, then felt it climb atop of it.

It swung its body aside, but the human stayed clinging on. A searing pain carved through its body like a cleaver as the human had cut part of it like butter.

In rage, it roared and slammed down into the ground, trying to roll and squish the human to death. They had already jumped off, leaving the trash beast in a vulnerable position on the ground.

How dare this human still look down on it!? It would show them all the wrath they all deserved. To not be thrown out and forgotten. The beast mended itself with nearby trash and stood up, turning its head side to side as it listened closely.

A breath.

The beast slashed one of its claws towards the spot, but it had missed as it heard the pitter patter of feet running along the ground.

From one moment to the next, the beast’s aggression vanished as its body was split in half without a moment to spare.

The metal plates, broken spoons, frayed wires, and other items all began to tumble down to the ground without the rage anchoring it to form the beast.

In the middle of it all, the person picked up the item that had started this all. It was a multi-tool, rusted and well worn. They sat half crouched on the ground and inspected the item carefully, pulling out each tool with care to not harm it.

A small knife, wrench, pliers, and more strange shapes spread out. They closed it up to its default state of those sharp bits being contained in a type of sheath. The boy stood up and dusted himself off.

“Don’t worry.” He spoke to the item as if it was alive. And to him, it was. Even if he hadn’t seen it be a trash beast mere seconds ago. “I’ll get you fixed up.”

The boy hopped off of the fading trash pile and put the multi-tool into his pocket for safe keeping. He fixed his gloves, then walked back over to where he had come from.

Amidst the sea of trash the white haired kid rummaged through it all looking for parts, items, and abandoned things to reuse and love as they had been before being tossed aside.

“RUDO!” A voice faintly echoed from a distance away.

Rudo pulled himself out of a pile he had been scavenging in and glowered into the air. He looked up at the sky where grey clouds always hung, but it was bright enough to be able to tell it was still mid day.

So why was Regto looking for him at this time?

Rudo ran over to his bag he had set aside full of new items he was going to bring back and zipped it up. He slung it over himself and clambered through a few piles until he found one of the paths he cleared up and walked down it towards where he knew Regto was at.

It took a few minutes but he approached their meeting place, which was a random half broken building with a waving orange flag. Just one of a few spots they had found.

“Rudo!” Regto put one hand on his hip. “I told you to not go that far today.”

Rudo just scoffed and brushed past him. It’s not like they were in danger, except if one thing happened.

“Unlike you, I have the foresight of giving a shit.” Regto spoke with a grin, clearly trying to tease him. “The sphere is headed this way soon, so we need to go home early.”

And that was the one thing.

Rudo looked around the building and grabbed what he wanted. They used this as a storage for some items, and Rudo had grabbed some rust remover in a dented can.

“Oh? You find something you want spick and span?” Regto chuckled and turned on his heel, walking back outside and glancing at the sky.

Rudo followed after him, swinging the can from its handle as he did. “No shit. It’s from a trash beast, too.”

Regto looked behind him at Rudo. He was tiny for a ten year old, scrawny even. His mess of white hair and faded gray tips stuck out like a sore thumb in this wasteland. It made it easy to spot if he ever lost him. They were both wearing clothing they had scavenged over the course of a year.

He wasn’t good at sewing, but he had to be since he wasn’t about to try and delegate that task to a ten year old who only used gloves that were too big for him. It was going to get colder soon, so he had Rudo on clothing duty to find any scraps he could.

“Was it hard to kill?” Regto had a toothy grin. Of course, to survive here they had to first get used to the air. ‘Getting used to’ was putting it lightly. They hadn’t lived here for too long, and when they first got here it was horrible. Though over the months their bodies adjusted even if they both knew it wasn’t ideal.

Plus, there were the trash beasts. They used to be a problem, but not anymore. Not with the both of them around.

“Nah.” Rudo glanced at his own pocket. “It’s like all the others.”

Regto slowed his pace down to walk beside Rudo this time as they followed the dirt path they maintained towards their home. It was just a cave in a cliffside, nothing too shabby, but they made it their own.

Since landing here, Rudo’s been obsessed with taking care of items. Regto paused, then shook his head. No, that wasn’t entirely true. Even up on the sphere Rudo had been so compelled to riffle through trash he’d break into their facilities just to rescue some items before they were disposed of.

But down here was different, and they had both changed since being dropped.

Regto reached over and ruffled Rudo’s hair with another grin. “By all the others, you mean it just wants to be loved and cared about again?” Their home was full of important items like a burner stove he and Rudo fixed up, but also full of random items the kid brought in that he found absolutely vital, even if they were.. Unconventional.

Rudo responded with a small huff. He walked up to the door they had which was some random scraps of metal, wood, and plastic bound together to cover the cave entrance, and a rickety door. It kept out most of the wind and cold but not all of it.

Rudo stepped inside first and set his bag down on a table, flopping on a couch and setting the items he had gathered out.

Regto entered after him and tapped his shoes against the rug they had found and walked towards the kitchen side. Finding food was difficult, especially if it wasn’t already rotted, molded, or otherwise. They had a somewhat steady system in place at least.

“Rudo, after the sphere passes by, let's search around in a wide area.” Regto sat in a worn out recliner across from him, watching as the kid was already tinkering with something despite not even getting all the items out of his bag yet.

Red eyes stared into his own, then a small huff. “Obviously.” Rudo would go out in the rain if it meant the sphere just passed by. He had the entire nearby area mentally memorized from exploring it day in and day out by now. Getting new items was sometimes difficult, but when the sphere came by, it meant lots of new things. Even if it brought unwelcome emotions with it.

“Yeah yeah, I don’t gotta tell you. But can you please be on the lookout for clothes and food? Oh, and books!” Regto waved a hand, then rested it on the arm rest.

“I do.” Rudo mumbled unhelpfully, then riffled through his pocket. He took out the multi-tool and opened it up along with the can. Regto leaned forward and picked up the item, curiously analyzing it. “We should let it soak in some vinegar after you apply a coat of that.”

“Yeah? You gonna help with that?” Rudo snorted and picked up a brush, dipping it into the liquid, and then pressing it into the tool Regto was holding.

“Hey! Don’t get that on me, I like to keep my rust!” Regto handed it back to him with a laugh. Rudo looked amused, though he didn’t smile. “You’d need a million degreaser baths before your rust would start to come off.”

“Oh, shut up.”

Rudo got to work taking care of each item and cleaning them up before he fiddled with fixing them. The pitter patter of small trash falling began, then louder as more heaps, bags, and bigger objects slammed into the earth outside.

Neither of them were affected by it.

He let the item soak and moved onto a radio he found the other day. Rudo just needed a few parts to fix it up properly, so he had been focusing on finding a few wires, screws, and a coat hanger. Luckily those were all rather common, just tedious to find since they were so small.

Regto hadn’t realized he dozed off until he woke up to a screeching noise. He opened his eyes to see Rudo had managed to get the radio working, but since they were in a cave and miles away from any potential broadcasts, it was blaring out white noise.

Rudo covered his ears and winced at the sound before he reached out and turned it off. His shoulders were slumped and he was frozen. Since the kid had an extremely hard time expressing the minimal emotions he had, Regto had to learn his subtle cues of body language meant.

He pushed up off the chair and crouched beside him on the ground. “You didn’t break it.” He pat his shoulder, damn well knowing Rudo was extremely close to shutting down. He had such a close relationship with items that it was borderline dangerous, but what was Regto supposed to do?

Rudo still didn’t react, so Regto sat beside him and picked up the radio. “This works from invisible waves in the air, or something.” He didn’t know the exact details, but Rudo was the type of person to absorb any information he wanted to learn around. “Since we are in a cave it can’t pick up on anything. Even if we were outside I’m sure it can’t since we are so far away from anything.”

Finally he saw a reaction. The kid relaxed just slightly. “How do we make it talk, then?”

Talk? Oh! Regto snorted softly and set the radio down. “It will probably work a lot closer to one of those cities. They’d have all kinds of channels to listen to. Or, hm.” He pressed a button on the radio and a flat compartment opened up.

That piqued Rudo’s interest. “What goes in there?” He looked up at Regto with curiosity in his eyes.

“A thing we call CD’s, it’s flat and super shiny with a hole in the middle.” Regto explained, then pushed the compartment back in. They didn’t have any, but it shouldn’t be hard to find one intact. Issue was if it would be clean enough to play since they scratch easily, and that wasn’t really something Rudo could fix.

“Sounds interesting.” Rudo picked the radio up and walked over to a shelf they had that was full of items. Rudo set it down and stepped back to observe his collection.

He had it organized into parts. Firstly, he had his fully completed and repaired items which consisted of stuffed animals that he made Regto fix, a tool box full of hammers, wrenches, bolts, and more, a clock that ticked and chimed every hour, a toy robot, binoculars, several flashlights, two lamps, and a porcelain doll he had repaired.

Secondly were ones he was still fixing up. The radio was the newest addition but he also had a pocket watch, a metal bracelet, a type of console, a few toys that needed some parts like cars, dolls, and more, and a fan.

Lastly was his scrapped items that he could repurpose onto others at a later time with spare parts, scraps, or more. It was full of random wires, screws, coils, and more.

Regto cleared his throat. “I was thinking.. It gets cold in here a lot. Why don’t we try building a heater from a coil powered by the wind outside?” He liked to give Rudo projects since it kept the kid grounded rather than scattered across several different items.

The pitter patter of trash stopped, signaling the sphere was gone.

Rudo stood up and looked at Regto. “Alright, but you’re doing the hard bits.”

Regto rolled his eyes and followed him back outside. Rudo classifying finding the main parts for it to function and carrying them around as the ‘hard part’ was amusing. He had no idea how to make something like that function, so to him Rudo had the real hard part.

“I know you’re excited, but seriously be back here by dark-thirty.” As Regto spoke Rudo was already running off with his newly emptied bag and waving. “I know!”

Rudo left the trash closest to their home alone since that would be the easiest to scavenge through over the next few days. For now.. He looked up at the sky and squinted, watching how the clouds swirled around as they had been disturbed in a clear path just minutes ago.

He tracked the movement and walked along, glancing at all the new items he saw. He had to refrain for now! Rudo always worked backwards, going as far as he could then wandering closer towards home.

When he got about thirty minutes out he began to search for anything new.

For Regto, his most important list went as such: Food, Clothing, Books, and Other items.

Luckily anytime there was anything edible it was rather easy to find. The stench of trash hardly bothered him since he got used to it, so smelling anything new, especially nice, was like spotting a bird in a clear sky. Easy and obvious.

Plus the animals would be able to find the food too and he could just track them and scare them off.

Rudo could see a swarm of crows circling high in the sky above something nearby, so that had been his goal from the beginning. He wandered over and his eyes widened upon seeing more food than he had ever witnessed in one pile.

Of course most of it was splattered or in bags, but it was a haul nonetheless. Rudo ran over and waved his hand to scare off some birds as he pulled out a pocket knife and cut open some bags.

Luckily the sphereites were stubborn and stuck up people. The second they saw an expiration date nearing they tossed it out to keep anything from tainting their image. Packaged goods lasted a long time even after their date, so he shoved as much of those into his bag as possible.

There were a lot of canned foods around, too. Their labels were ripped off, some were splattered or dented, and others looked rusty. He set all the good ones in a pile then moved onto the rest. Old fruit, all far too gone to eat lay like a goop nearby.

He didn’t eat any back on the sphere, but he recognized a few of them. Watermelon, busted and rotted, strawberries like mush or molded, and a few others in random colors. Even inedible, Regto wanted these for their seeds.

Rudo dug into his bag and pulled out a cinch sack and opened it up. He took off his gloves with a wince and pocketed them. It was either get them dirty or this, so he chose pain.

Without the gloves his hands throbbed down to the bone in lingering pain, but it was tolerable at shorter intervals. Rudo picked up parts of the fruit he could find full of seeds and put them into the bag. He was sure Regto would come here tomorrow in the morning, but it was still best to grab what he could now.

When he was done he grabbed the strings and closed the bag up, then wiped his hands off and grabbed everything minus the cans. The birds couldn’t get to them and carrying all of those back the thirty minute walk would be exhausting, so he would leave them for tomorrow.

Rudo walked back home before the sun was set and arrived just as it got dark. He stepped inside and smugly set the bag on the table. “Guess who found dinner?”

Regto was sitting on his recliner sewing together a coat with a big hood. He looked at Rudo's bag, then the one he was holding and smiled. “Oh yeah? What’s on the menu, bud?”

Rudo opened it up to reveal dozens of pre-packaged goods ranging from desserts to snacks with some old meals mixed in. Regto pat his back, then ruffled his hair. “Good job! Where the hell did you find this all? I gotta check this out tomorrow!”

“Northeast.” Rudo pulled out one of the items and opened it up, munching on it. “Theres a lot of cans too.” He set the seed bag in Regto’s hands. “Fruit too, none edible.”

“They never are.” Regto sighed. “But hopefully we can grow them. Or I can sell these.” He waved the bag a bit before setting it down and grabbing his own bit to eat.

It was a difficult life to scavenge for food like this all of the time, especially after their uprooting to be cast down into this hell, but they made it work.

“I’ll plant a few of those later. Next week let's go to one of the towns with your radio and see if we can sell a few things.” Regto spoke with his mouth full. Rudo glared at him before sighing.

They had a system to survive. Scavenge and fix what they could, sell any excess and buy what they needed. Rudo didn’t like going into town. It was better than the sphere, but he still felt completely out of his element there.

“Fine, fine.” Rudo waved his hand. “Just stop speaking when eating, you’re gross.” Rudo also fixed items up that they could sell even if he had grown attached to them. Maybe they could sell the radio? He was curious about the CD’s though, and channels that Regto had mentioned.

“What, like this?” Regto leaned closer, chewing with his mouth open to very clearly tease him. Rudo pushed him away with a glare. “Get the hell away from me! What is wrong with you?!”

This made Regto burst out laughing, then choked on his food a bit. “Hell, it's just funny to mess with ya! Give me some slack.”

Rudo threw another pre-packaged snack right into his face. “Shut up.” He flopped on the couch and closed his eyes. Regto got up and threw a blanket over him. “Stop going to sleep without one, idiot.” He walked to the other side of the room and laid down on his own bed made from an old mattress they struggled to haul here and several boxes to form a foundation off the ground.

It didn’t take long for the both of them to fall asleep with just the sounds of soft wind outside blowing.

Chapter Text

Regto had his hands on his hips while admiring his work. “Not too shabby, huh?”

Rudo looked down at himself and pulled at the clothing he was wearing. It was a jacket Regto had been sewing together from scraps of thicker cloth and leather for weeks to prepare for the cold. He looked up at him and crossed his arms. “And where is yours?”

“Do you think so low of me, Rudo?” Regto turned around and pulled out a longer coat he had been making for himself as well. Regto slipped it on and did a fun twirl. “How do I look?”

“Ridiclous.” Rudo reached up and flipped his hood over his head. It was lined with some faux fur that was soft and tickled against his skin. The inside of the jacket was also fluffy. He didn’t feel any chill. “Thanks..” He grumbled out.

“Well I had to repay you, hm? You finally got that heater working.” Regto walked over to the heating coil that was warming up the cave from the harsh weather outside. “Lucky for us we live somewhere windy, huh?”

Rudo rolled his eyes and picked up his empty backpack. He went over to his shelf of items and picked up the multi-tool that was completely fixed up as well as a broken pocket watch.

“Come on, Rudo.” Regto walked over. “We should sell some of these and buy you a treat in town!”

Rudo glanced at the radio, then to the floor. He had been trying to find a CD for weeks now without much to show for it. Regto and him had long since gathered up the remaining cans and food nearby, so it was time to pick up everything they needed and walked the half a day hike into town to sell it all.

“I know you hate it, but we need to do it.” Regto leaned down to stare into his eyes. “What if that radio sells for good money and you can get some sweets, hm?”

“Shut up.” Rudo pushed him away with a grumble. It was already so early in the morning that the sun wasn’t out yet, and they wouldn’t be home until late into the afternoon when it was setting.

“Fine fine. Come on, let's get the wagon.” Regto stepped outside and picked up a wooden horse sculpture with a buggy he carved a few days ago in preparation for this. Regto tossed it to Rudo when he approached and nearly fumbled dropping it.

“Hey! That was uncalled for!” Rudo huffed out, then thumbed the rough and jagged wood. Before Regto allowed him to hesitate and get attached, he nudged him. “Come on, we gotta put it to work. I have a few big items I wanna sell!”

Regto walked into their front yard which was just a flat dirt patch with several dozens of items they collected from all over. He enjoyed furniture and items of all kinds that could be useful like couches, chairs, tables, chains, tires, and more. Some of them actually sold for a lot.

“We better be getting some candy.” Rudo held the wooden sculpture out and activated his gloves. Red lightning coated the item and began to zap as it grew, then began to creak as it moved. There in front of them stood a wooden horse with a flat trailer behind it and wooden wheels. It hadn’t been perfect or finished, so Rudo could easily work with the things Regto made to assist them.

“Look at that beauty!” Regto walked up to it and pat its snout. “I think my wood carving skills are getting better, don’tcha think?”

Rudo frowned at him, turning his back and picking up some items to put onto the trailer portion for them to bring to town to sell.

“Aw, come on Rudo.” Regto whined. This happened every single time without fail. Regto would carve them something to help move items into town, but Rudo would always grow attached to it.

There was a main reason why he refused to allow Rudo to keep any of the wooden sculptures. Because when they were done with the item it would dissipate into dust rather than stick around.

And truth be told, it was clear to see that Rudo vehemently detested seeing objects be reduced to nothing.

“I make them specifically to be used once.” Regto tried again, now hauling a fancy looking couch onto the buggy where they had fixed up one of its arm rests. “That’s the point of them!”

Rudo sent him a glare, but it lacked its usual bite when he was truly pissed off. He understood that was the point of the item, but that didn’t mean he could just will his feelings away. He looked over at the wooden horse to see it sniffing the ground curiously.

“Its a new chance for the item to fulfil a goal it couldn’t complete without your help.”

Rudo looked up at Regto with wide eyes. Seems he struck gold with his words. Regto grinned at him and ruffled his hooded head. “Look at it, Rudo! It’s happy to help, especially since I treated it so nicely when carving it.”

“Ok, I get it, old man! Shut the hell up.” Rudo walked past him to the horse and looked up at it curiously. It leaned down and bit his hood, then began to chew it.

“Hey! Hey! Don’t let it do that! Rudo!” Regto ran over and shooed it off of him, though Rudo looked very amused. “Oh? Why not? You hand crafted this coat too, I bet it's envious!”

“Oh, shut up you!” Regto playfully nudged him aside and pat the horse. They began to walk the trail they made towards the closest settlement: Canvas Town.

It would take several hours of walking to reach there, then more to sell, and at least one to wander around looking for food, and then to return back home. They left these trips to be about once a month since it was so draining mentally and physically, though mainly on Rudo himself.

Speaking of..

“Rudo, five seconds left!” Regto called out loudly.

Of course it was unsurprising that Rudo always wanted to explore the trash so far out that he could hardly get to. The issue was he didn’t want to get too far away, so he gave Rudo a time limit of one minute to rummage through it.

After five seconds he heard the quiet thumping of a small kid running back towards him. Regto glanced behind him to see Rudo was fumbling with his bag while heading back. He was panting a bit when he finally neared and slowed down to a walking pace.

“So what caught your eye?” Regto questioned, glancing at his now closed bag.

“Another broken pocket watch.” Rudo said with a bit of excitement. Small complex and metallic objects were rare to come by and had dozens of useful gears inside. He’s been attempting to fix the one in his pocket for months now.

“Well, let's hope this one has the bits and bobs you need then.” Regto spoke with a smile, especially when Rudo nodded.

That’s typically how the rest of their hours long walk went. Every few miles Rudo would spot something and Regto would give him a minute to search then run back to catch up.

By the time they reached town Rudo was exhausted and his bag was already half full.

“Kid, how many times do I gotta tell ya to slow it down with all that?” Regto reached down and picked the bag up, a bit surprised by how heavy it was. “The hells in here, a damn bowling ball?” He slid it over his shoulder.

“Shut up! I would not grab a bowling ball in this situation!” Rudo argued, then looked over at the wooden horse.

“Knowing you, you would.” Regto muttered moreso to himself, then sighed. Hurdle number two was here, and that was for Rudo to deactivate his power without getting upset. He watched the white haired kid reach up on his tippy toes to pat the horses snout. It huffed softly, pressing into his hand.

“Come on, kiddo.” Regto nudged him forward. “Lets take it to our usual meeting spot. I know you can’t keep your power up that much longer.”

Even with just the walk here Rudo was already quite exhausted. It didn’t help that he was also using his jinki the entire time and for hours, but he was used to activating it for longer periods of time. He followed Regto into town quietly, keeping his hood up as he stuck beside him and the cart.

The atmosphere inside a town versus the wild expanse of the trash fields was like night and day to Rudo. He felt a bit stuffy, but that was because he was used to open space for miles. It didn’t help that it somewhat reminded him of life on the sphere.

Regto took them down a few streets to a scrap yard where he talked to a few older looking people. Rudo genuinely couldn’t care less. He sat on the side of the trailer and stared at the ground while his hands were in his lap, fingers intertwined.

The noises around sounded muted yet loud and ever present. He could hear people talking but not make out the words. The soft pitter patter of groups of people walking around nearby echoed quietly along the winding streets.

He felt out of place here. Like a broken light bulb in a room of bright ones. It felt weird. Wrong. He didn’t like it much.

“-ey. Hey? Rudo?”

He blinked a few times before looking up at Regto, then back towards the now empty trailer. Oh, he had spaced out for a long time it seemed.

“It’s time to go, we have a lot of time to wander the town today.” Regto waved a cinch sack of coins in front of him. “They really liked our stuff this time! Let's see if we can find a treat, alright?”

Rudo hopped off the wooden trailer and looked at the horse. His hands were trembling, and not from physical pain. Regto put a hand on his shoulder to ground him.

The wooden horse stared at him with an unreadable yet soft expression as it fizzled into dust.

Regto reached up and gently ruffled his hair. “You ready?” It was really a question of ‘are you alright?’

He didn’t respond and just silently followed Regto down a few other tight knit streets. Every other road had several people spray painting or marking up the walls in some way. It was all so colorful and unique, full of shapes and things he didn’t really understand but it looked nice.

Rudo didn’t really memorize the layout of the town. It was like an ant hill, all complex systems that led to various places he didn’t know or care about. That was Regto’s thing. Anywhere Rudo was weak at, Regto seemed to excel in, and vice versa.

“I asked the guys back there about a shop you may like.” Regto spoke up, trying to make conversation and distract Rudo from any exhaustion he may still be feeling. “They said a new shipment of sweets came in. Expensive, but they are in stock.”

Last time they were completely out since sugary foods were always in demand. Rudo looked up at him as a newfound wave of energy appeared out of thin air. “Well hurry your ass up then! I am not being late to it!” He began to shove Regto forward with as much strength as possible, making the older laugh heartily.

“Alright alright.” Regto picked up the pace just a bit and found the store he was looking for. An import of a special foods type. He walked inside first and held the door open for Rudo. It smelled light and sweet, full of baked goods that all had various flavors.

Rudo was practically drooling.

“Hey, remember your radio?” Regto questioned, beckoning to it. Rudo nodded and grabbed it from his bag. “This shop doesn’t deal with money all the time. They like to trade.”

Oh. Rudo was very bad at trading. Regto had tried to train him at home the value of money and objects, but it never clicked with him. He understood why food, water, and clothes were important, but not how that corresponded to how others valued things.

To him, this radio was worth half of the store. He had spent a good few weeks searching for the right items to make it work and then some to try and find Cd’s and other things for it.

“Oh, is that a radio?” Someone perked up from behind the counter. Rudo looked up to see a man with spiky black hair styled both up and down stare at him with soft eyes. “Does it work?”

Rudo didn’t respond. He wasn’t sure it did.. He set it on the counter and pressed the button to turn it on, bracing for that loud white static noise. Instead, it was a low buzzing.

“Whoa! May I?” The guy had a hand out to the radio. Rudo nodded, watching as he spun the device around and fiddled with some knobs. It squealed, then as the noises mellowed out the sounds of a person's voice came through talking about the weather.

“How helpful!” They beamed, then changed another knob and music began to play from it. Rudo’s eyes widened. He had no idea how it was producing actual sounds, but it was really nice.

“Are you trying to trade it in?” They leaned over the counter at him. Rudo glanced back at Regto who was giving him a thumbs up.

“Yeah, I guess.” Rudo mummered, looking at the shelves of sweets and baked goods.

“Alright, whatcha value it at? Also, names Gen Hajua.” He held out his hand to Rudo who tentatively took it. Regto walked up with a grin. “Rudo would probably say it's worth half the store, he’s not used to trading tit for tat.”

The shopkeeper mulled over that, then rested his head in his hand while staring at the two. “Well, workin’ radios aren’t cheap or easy to come by. How about you pick out some things and I’ll tell ya if it's worth it, then we decide?”

“Deal.” Rudo almost took that as a challenge. He grabbed Regto’s sleeve and yanked him towards the shelves. “Help me pick out some things.”

“God we are going to be here forever..” Regto complained with a tired smile. It did actually take half an hour for Rudo to decide on a few items and discuss with him the value of things and why. At least he was learning the value of things and getting something out of it.

Finally the trade was done and both sides were happy. Regto took the bag of goods before Rudo could. “Nope, no. Don’t look at me like that. We are going to get a proper meal and rationing this out to ourselves for the next few weeks.”

Rudo was glaring while frowning at him in a horrid attempt to try and get what he wanted, which was at least one of them to snack on. “You are so evil and cruel.” But it was spoken flatly with no ounce of hate, just mild annoyance. Regto rolled his eyes. “The first time we did this you ate them all in fifteen minutes then got sick! Like hell I’m going to let you do that again!”

Regto took him a few streets over to a little dine in place that sold warm hearty food, quality of it being questionable, but who cared? Food was food at this point.

Rudo sat across from Regto and crossed his arms on the table. “Kid, take off your hood. It’s warm in here and you may get it dirty.” Regto was staring down at him but just sighed when Rudo refused to move, keeping the hood on.

Fair enough, he supposed. His mess of white hair often attracted some unwanted stares, even if they meant nothing by it. Rudo just wasn’t a fan of attention, especially after what happened up in the sphere. At least down here was far better in comparison.

Regto ordered for the both of them and tapped the table while staring at the other patrons in the room. He grinned when he got an idea. “Wanna play our usual game?”

Rudo sighed and leaned back against the chair. He was bored, tired, and exhausted just waiting on food.. It would be a nice distraction. “Fine.”

“Alright. Which one is a Giver?” Regto questioned, only staring at Rudo. He hadn’t looked away from him since entering, yet seemed to already know enough about everyone in the shop.

Their game was an observational one. It started by just being curious about others and to log if they were threats or not, but once Rudo got to doing that automatically anywhere they went he had to up the challenge of the game. Spotting suspicious people was easy to them now, but more specific things like this was harder.

Rudo tilted his head a bit. “That’s a trick question, Regto.” He locked eyes with his foster father. “Everyone at that table is a Giver.”

Regto’s smile grew wider, showing more teeth. “Do tell?”

Rudo glanced at the table he was talking about. He could see a few interesting faces. A guy with a worn umbrella and tattoos absolutely demolishing some meat, a red head with an interesting hairdo picking apart some fries, and another guy with a monotone expression eating some soup.

“Two are obvious. His umbrella is a dead giveaway. The stick is a little less clear, but from how protective he is over it it’s easy to say.” Rudo felt his stomach growl. He crossed his arms over his middle in a feeble attempt to hush it.

“And the girl?” Regto tilted his head a bit.

“I dunno her item, but it's safe to say if she is hanging out with two Givers then she is one too. Especially with how she holds herself.” Rudo shrugged. They all looked very confident, like they understood more things than the usual person.

“Good job! I’m quite proud of you.” Regto dug into his bag and pulled out one of the baked goods, handing it to Rudo who instantly took it and began to eat it without any hesitation. It was one of the best things he had ever tasted.

“What you're eating is called banana bread.” Regto zipped up his bag and looked around the room again. Not many other people were in here except the Givers.

Rudo licked his gloves clean of any crumbs and gave him a confused stare. “Banana bread? Like, the fruit?”

“Exactly.” Regto nodded. “One of my favorites, and quite easy to make as long as you have some bananas.”

Rudo looked to where Regto was staring, watching as a waiter delivered their food. He grabbed a fork and dug in without waiting.

“Rudo, it’s hot!” Regto chastised, though it fell on deaf ears. The second he bit down he hissed in pain. Regto burst out laughing and held his own stomach. “I told ya it was hot! Jesus kid,” Regto wiped a tear from his eyes. “At least blow on it!”

Rudo was sending him several death glares. Rather than do as he said he moved the fork back and forth to let the motion cool it down.

“Yeah whatever, do it your way, just don’t burn yourself again.” Regto stabbed his own and blew on it before eating it. He then pointed his fork at Rudo. “We are gonna go to one more place after this.”

Rudo silently chewed. The taste wasn’t great but that wasn’t the point. He was starving and this was filling him up, so he ate rather fast.

“I swear if you get a stomach ache from this..” Regto mumbled. “And don’t get your damn coat dirty!”

Rudo rolled up his sleeves to reveal just his gloves and bandaged arms. “Happy? Now shut up, you old fart!”

They ate in silence for the next few minutes, but a nice one. Rudo was really thankful that Regto always went out of his way for him like this. After he finished a bite he looked up at the other. “So where are we going?” He poked at the food, then took another bite.

“Hm? Oh, a book shop. You like collectin’ items, I like reading. It’s why I have you trying to find books, too.” Regto was still speaking with his mouth full which was a trait Rudo really disliked, but he also did things that pissed Regto off, too.

“You have books at home, though?” Rudo questioned, not fully grasping the difference. Regto sat back and hummed. “Well, you get to go out and find new things all the time, right? I like new books.”

“Hmm.. fine. But I’m not carrying any.” Rudo stole the last bite before Regto could get to it and snickered seeing his fake face of playful betrayal.

“Alright, but I’m still carrying the snacks we got.” Regto got up and paid, then walked back to him. “Let's go pipsqueak. It’s almost your bed time.”

Rudo flipped him off. “Asshole! Are you being a dick on purpose?” He stepped outside with him and followed him towards an old looking building. The second he was inside he sneezed from the amount of dust. It was way too dark, quiet, and stuffy for his liking.

“Ugh, Regto I’m gonna wait outside.” Rudo mumbled, then turned and left as Regto called out after him. “Ok, but don’t go far!”

Like hell he would. He was not about to get lost in this place. Rudo walked around to the back of the building and instantly searched through some of the trash cans. He picked up some discarded books and flipped through them. They were waterlogged, torn, and some pages were missing.

While he did like fixing items, there were some things he couldn’t. Pages of a book were one since he didn’t know what the original words were, but another was glass. Things shattered were hard to put back together like that, especially something like a snowglobe.

He picked out the books that just had extremely bad spines or covers yet most of the pages were still intact and put them in his bag. Rudo then picked up some clean cardboard and lined his bag with as much as he could fit.

The town was great for restocking on things that were uncommon out in the trash fields. A glimmer caught his eye and Rudo picked up a broken alarm clock, one with the bells rather than being a digital display one.

Rudo pulled out his multi-tool and opened it to the screwdriver part and undid the backing of it. He scooped the old batteries out and dropped them from an inch above the ground, observing how it bounced. It hardly did, so the battery was full.

That was good, and rare. He slid them back in and turned the clock around again. So this was tossed out not because of a power issue, but something else. Something he could probably fix, too. He put it in his bag to examine later and got up, leaving the alley to go and sit outside the bookshop.

He boredly watched as some people walked by, all in different directions, attire, and ages. He played the observational game by himself, noting that none of them looked like Givers. It made Rudo wonder why three of them were sitting together in one place.

When he had fallen here with Regto he had learned a lot about the objects he loved. That people could be Givers to objects that they gave extra attention to. The thing was, Rudo had cared about items long before he even knew they could harbor souls. And knowing they could be alive in a sense.. It made him angry for them.

It pissed him off to no end that they got tossed out. That he got thrown away, too. First by his birth parents. Then secondly by the spherites.

Rudo pulled his legs up and hugged them close as he gripped the multi-tool in his glove.

It had all been a misunderstanding. A mishap. A mistake.

He and Regto had been framed for murder of a spherite guard when a weird cloaked guy in a creepy mask killed him right in front of them.

The set up was intentional. And the murderer had been in the crowd watching as they were both cut from the ropes and fell into the pit.

Rudo buried his head into his knees more as the uneasy emotions and rage filled his veins remembering what happened almost a year ago.

They were supposed to die. He didn’t know how or why they were alive, but that didn’t really matter. He had Regto. They had gone through hell in the first few months here figuring out how to survive together.

“Oi,” Someone’s voice cut through his spiraling thoughts.

Rudo looked up to see the umbrella man from before. He slowly unfurled from his position, but kept his defense up, not letting the guy get a good look at him since his hood was still up.

“I asked you a question.” They stood back up tall, leaning against the umbrella. Casual, nonchalant, and unassuming. Just a genuine and factual statement with no real emotion behind it.

Rudo could sense his power, however. He was a threat even if he didn’t seem like he was. “What?” Rudo’s voice came across as a bit too raw for his own liking. Shit, he was tired.

“I asked if you were alright.” He stood up and tapped his umbrella against Rudo's shoe. “Weren’t you with a guy? Don’t tell me ya got lost or something.”

It would probably look that way, but no. Rudo rested his chin on his knee. “I’m fine, he’s in that shop though.” Rudo waved lazily behind him, gesturing to the building he was waiting outside of.

“Hmm.. Alright, if you say so.” He pulled his umbrella back. “Couldn’t help but notice something..”

That made sense. If this guy remembered Rudo and Regto from the shop and recognized him then odds were he observed a lot more. He didn’t feel like a threat, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t one. Regto was far better at spotting real dangerous people and while Rudo was getting better at it he wasn’t perfect.

“Your jinki.” He motioned to the multi-tool with his umbrella, “You should be a bit more careful with it.”

..huh? Rudo looked up at him with shock and confusion. This multi-tool was a jinki, like his gloves? The hell? He looked down at his hands, staring at the item in awe for a moment.

“Uh.. thanks, I guess.” Rudo mumbled, turning his head away from him.

“You ain’t great with conversations, huh?” A beat of silence with Rudo refusing to answer or fill the air by speaking. “Names Enjin.”

“Rudo.” He mumbled quietly. “Why are you talking to me?”

Enjin snorted and had a grin that was far warmer than any Regto gave him, full of an emotion Rudo couldn’t place or describe. “Man you’re blunt! Ha, it just isn’t every day you come across another Giver, let alone two. I haven’t seen you both around either.”

Rudo glared at Enjin’s shoes as if that would scare him into running away. He curled his fingers around the multi-tool again and held it close to him. “And?”

“And? Damn, kid.” Enjin reached into his pocket and took out a cigarette. “I know a lotta folks, especially Givers. What hole did you crawl out of?”

More like fell into.

Rudo stood up and dusted himself off. He was clearly done with this conversation.

“I’m not gonna do anything, kid, damn. Can you blame a guy for being curious?” Enjin lit his cigarette and took a puff, making sure to blow it away from Rudo’s location.

Rudo glanced at him, then towards the door of the shop. He didn’t know why this guy wanted to talk to him, but maybe he could learn something..? Regto liked to gather information regarding anything, especially people, so maybe he could get some intel for him.

“Curious about what?” Rudo huffed out, turning to face him.

Enjin gave him a blank stare, his eyes piercing into Rudo’s but without any malice. “About where the hell two Givers come from outta nowhere.”

Rudo rolled his eyes. He could tell this guy was fishing for information now. “I’ll only answer that if you give me something in return.”

That got a laugh out of the other. A real and hearty one that lasted just a moment. “Holy hell you’re something else! I’m not giving you money just to learn your life story.”

Rudo glared at him. “I don’t want money.” He then glanced to the guy's belt where he had some smaller items were dangling from, but more notably he wanted one of the metal clamps on it.

Enjin looked down to see what he was looking at and snorted. “The hell? Whatever.” He pinched the metal and slid off one that he wasn’t using and tossed it to him. “So?”

Rudo caught it and stared at the rounded shape. He pressed on one edge to see it open up, then snap closed. This was incredibly useful.

“We live in the trash fields, uh,” Rudo squinted when he looked around, then motioned towards a vague direction he thought they came from in. “That way. North of this place.”

Enjin did some mental calculations before tensing up. “The hell? That zone is heavily polluted! I don’t even see a mask on you.”

Rudo shrugged. “I’d rather breathe that than the dust in there.” He motioned to the book shop again. Enjin snorted, finding it rather amusing that this kid would rather breathe and live in toxic fumes than go into a book store.

“Hm, well, if you’re ever in town again don’t hesitate to say hi. I wanna chat with ya both.” A pause. “For a price, I assume?”

If it meant more metal clips, then Rudo would happily divulge. “Sure.”

Enjin waved lazily before leaving down the road. Rudo leaned against the wall and looked back at his multi-tool. He wondered who cared about this thing before, and how it got lost from them. It had clearly been out of use for a while with the amount of rust it had on it..

“RUDO!” Regto slammed the front door open with a wide smile. “I got an amazing deal! Lots of books. I need you to help me carry some!”

“Like hell I will! I said I wasn’t!” Rudo hissed at him, then groaned when Regto stepped out with just a handful books. “You’re a fucking ass.” “And you love me!” He nudged Rudo with a shit eating grin now. “So what’d you do while waiting on me? Hold on, lemme guess. You went dumpster diving.”

Rudo flipped him off. “Shut up.”

“You have an addiction!” Regto teased, unable to stop himself.

At least they got a lot out of today.

..

Regto held the door open and watched Rudo sluggishly set the bag down then flopped on the bed, out like a light within moments. He rolled his eyes and grabbed a blanket, tossing it over the kid and picking up his bag and properly setting it down on the table.

He’d like to sleep too, but he had things to do. Regto set his new books on a shelf to get to later, put away the snacks they bought today, and opened Rudo’s bag.

Regto paused when he saw all that was inside of it. He slowly pulled out a worn out book, then looked over at Rudo who was still dead asleep and probably would be for a long time.

Of course Rudo had gone out of his way to find some books after their conversation about them.. He smiled to himself and shook his head, setting the few books Rudo found aside. Knowing the kid he wanted to try to fix the spines and covers.

Regto reached in and pulled out a few more things. A broken pocket watch, an alarm clock, some cardboard, and a few other random items. He set them on the table carefully and closed the bag.

He sighed softly and pushed himself up and off, walking over to the bed. He should organize the place, or maybe pick up, but he was tired too. Regto needed to do this before sleep anyways.

He sat on the mattress without disturbing Rudo and grabbed his vital book, a pen, and flipped it open to an empty page, writing ‘Gen Hajua’ and a few other names he learned today into it and activated the book.

Even if Rudo wasn’t bone dead exhausted he shouldn’t wake up to this anyways.

He got to work.

Nearly every day since Rudo was born he found it impossible to stay asleep for long periods of time.

This had been an exception.

He slowly cracked open his eyes as all of his thoughts came slowly chugging back to full alertness. He slowly sat up and rubbed his face, then lazily looked around, his mind still struggling to catch up to reality as it rebooted and came back online.

“Regto?” Rudo called out after not seeing him. He swung his legs over the bed and stood up. It was quiet, which meant he was outside. Rudo walked over and pushed open the door, wincing when the light shone in. He blinked a few times, then paused at what he was seeing. “Regto..?”

Regto was in the yard digging up some dirt with a spade, planting various seeds. He looked up at Rudo and grinned. “Finally decided to wake up, eh? I was starting to get worried you’d just sleep for an entire day there!”

Rudo trudged over and kneeled beside him staring at the dirt. “Don’t plants need more than this to grow?”

Regto pat down some of the dirt and hummed. “Well, yeah, but this is a start, don’t ya think? Give them time to adjust to their surroundings.” He stood up and grinned at him. “Today’s gonna be a chill one. How about you do your tinkering outside while the temperature isn’t that bad?”

Rudo sighed, then groaned. “Can’t I just go back to sleep? Why the hell do I have to stay up?”

“Sleeping that much will throw you off your game!” Regto waved a hand around. “Plus you and your shitty sleep schedule will get even worse. Just like a plant, you gotta take care of yourself to grow properly in such a harsh environment!"

“Stop spewing out motivational quotes you read in your new books.” Rudo mumbled and finally stood up. Regto looked at him then cocked his head to the side. “Let's fix up your bandages first.”

Damnit. He was hoping Regto would have forgotten about that.

“Come on.” He walked around back and picked up a bucket of water. They had a well with water somewhat nearby, but it was still a few minutes walk. Regto had prepared for this. “Wash your gloves, too.”

Rudo glared at him a bit, mumbling some curses under his breath.

“What was that? Insult me louder so I know how to retort back against ya.”

Rudo flipped him off. “Stop using new words, damnit! I can take care of myself!”

Regto snorted and set the bucket down, looking rather amused. “Is that so? Then start taking initiative and wash your gloves without me telling you to.” Rudo sent him a deathglare that just made him laugh.

He took off his gloves and grabbed a bowl, pouring some water into it and soaking them into it. While they did that, Rudo undid the old and dirty bandages. He winced a bit when the throbbing pain started back up. It just felt like a fresh wound hitting open air, raw and dull pain.

Despite the pain he still took a great deal of time and care to thoroughly clean his gloves, especially since he used them all day every day. When he was done he set them out to dry and grabbed the bandage roll they had.

“You ready?” Regto tilted his head a bit. “Start with long wraps, then go around your fingers and back down.” He guided Rudo, pointing and explaining each movement to make sure they were firm but not painfully so. Rudo did one arm fine enough, then repeated the process on the other. It was a bit sloppy, but better than last few attempts.

“That’s great!” Regto ruffled his hair. “Your gloves won't be dry for a while though. Don’t go putting your newly bandaged hands in them, you’ll soak right through it.”

Rudo moved his hand in a blabbering motion with his four fingers opening and closing to meet his thumb. “Yeah yeah, I know.”

“You say that but you've done it several times!” Regto pointed at him. “Seriously, don’t!”

Rudo stood up and went inside. He picked up the alarm clock and multi-tool then walked back outside, sitting down on some boxes they had lying around and got to work tinkering on the item to figure out how it worked inside and out, then locating the issue and repairing it.

It was a good distraction, even if it meant using the hands that hurt.

After an hour his fingers were twitching with any movement he tried. It felt like electricity zapping through him and hurt enough that he could no longer ignore it.

Rudo looked up to see Regto was still in the garden, having just finished watering the seeds he just planted around. He looked back down at the alarm clock still in several pieces, but he had located the issue. One of the gears was bent slightly out of whack, as if the item was dropped or thrown.

He could fix it if his hands would just cooperate.

Rudo tried to grab the multi-tool and glared as his hand twitched, dropping the item and sending waves of pain down his entire arm.

He slowly laid down against the wooden box and closed his eyes, giving up with a sigh. His gloves were still wet and he couldn’t use his hands, so he’d just nap away the time..

“Rudo?” Regto questioned, making Rudo slowly open his eyes. His head felt muddy. How long had he been asleep? Not that it mattered. He didn’t move to react, just stared at nothing. The pain in his fingers was constant now, making him hyperaware of his hands and forearms.

“I told ya not to sleep. Are you really that tired?” Regto questioned, hopping up to sit on the boxes beside him. He picked up a part of the alarm clock. “How’s this going?” There was silence. Regto blinked, staring at the item. He then looked down to see Rudo’s dull red eyes looking at nothing in the distance.

Regto reached down and gently pat his head. The pain must be bad then. He got up and grabbed his gloves, mentally sighing when he felt they were still a bit damp. Still, he couldn’t not give them back to the kid at this point.

Any time he went longer than an hour without them he went back to.. Before. Practically emotionless, no energy for anything, and in constant pain.

Almost completely broken, but not unmendable.

He crouched in front of Rudo to meet his gaze, but the kid still didn’t look at him. “Rudo? Hey.” He waved the gloves in front of his head. Finally a flicker of life behind those eyes, though now he was just boredly staring at the gloves. No urge to grab them despite knowing they’d take away the pain.

Regto felt his smile faulter just a bit as a pang of guilt rang through his chest, curling there like a rope seizing his heart.

It hurt a lot to see Rudo like this. He sat beside him again and helped Rudo sit up. If he was this bad then he wouldn’t even put the gloves on himself. Regto grabbed his elbow and lifted his arm up. At least Rudo brought his fingers together to make putting on the glove easier.

“Jesus, kid. What would you do without me?” Regto half heartedly teased, speaking quietly as if being any louder would make Rudo shrink more in on himself. Rudo reached over holding up his other arm for Regto to put on the other glove. Thinking still felt like walking through a mud pit, but the pain was subsiding into a numb buzzing. He flexed his fingers a bit, fitting them back into the gloves. It was cold since it was still damp, but it was better than nothing.

“We should find a way to dry those off faster.” Regto pat his leg then got up. “You sit there and enjoy your alarm clock, just holler if you want anything. I’ll grab it.”

Rudo watched him walk away then looked back at items laying across the box. He slowly picked up the multi-tool and turned it around in his hand. That guy, Enjin, had said this was a jinki, but how did he know? Rudo held it up, a dull wave of pain shooting down his arms and lingering near his chest.

He focused on the item to distract himself from the pain. The multi-tool was closed up except the screwdriver part poking out where he had been using it before his nap.

He gently pushed it back in and rolled it around his hands. The multi-tool didn’t feel any different than any other item. It didn’t look special at a glance either. It was just an object to him, but one that he loved just the same as any others, jinki or not.

“Regto?” He called out, glancing over to see the other look up from what he was doing. “How do you tell when something is a vital instrument?”

“Huh? Why do you ask?” Regto looked at the item he was holding. “All items can be vital instruments. Clothes, objects-”

Rudo shook his head and lowered his hand. “No, I mean, if an object is one, how do you tell?”

Regto hummed and put a finger to his chin. “It’s hard to explain. Sort of like a feeling in the air? Once you know what it feels like it's hard to miss, but it's difficult to spot at first. It’s probably hard for you since you're surrounded by so many all the time.”

Rudo stared at him blankly, then furred his brows. The fuck did that mean? “The hell? Stop being cryptic and tell me point blank.”

“Aw come on! I was being cool!” Regto got up and walked back over to him, setting the spade he was using earlier in Rudo’s other hand. “Focus on both of these. How do they differ?”

Rudo stared at the spade’s wooden handle, then down to its blunt and dull metal plate in the shape of a half curved triangle. It was covered in dirt and well used, but not loved and maintained for years on end. He looked at the multi-tool he was still holding and noticed all of its dents, scratches, and how it had clearly been repaired more times than it should have, outliving its normal wear and tear.

“You’re just looking visually.” Regto picked up both the items. “Close your eyes. I’m going to hold these in my hands, and tell me which one the jinki is in.”

Rudo stared at him before sighing, slumping his shoulders a bit. He closed his eyes and focused on the feelings around him. Not that he could sense much. He could hear Regto moving around, the shuffling of clothes, the sounds of wind blowing in the distance, and the ambient noises of the landfill.

“Alright, where is it? No peeking.”

Knowing Regto he had neither item in his hands. Rudo kept his eyes closed and tried to focus on the area around him. He reached behind him to the left and wrapped his hand around the multi-tool. Rudo opened his eyes and stared at Regto. “I still have no idea how to sense them.”

“You do. It’s how you sniff out so many of these, even when they aren’t trying to kill you first.” Regto waved his hand. “You may just not be fully aware of it, but you do know if items are jinki’s or not.”

Rudo looked back down at the item, then frowned. Regto loved to be cryptic as much as he enjoyed mentoring him. It was annoying and he would never let Regto know he secretly liked it sometimes. In times like this it was still frustrating.

He turned his attention back to the alarm clock and got to work on fixing it now that he had the energy to, especially with the pain being soothed to a dull humming now. He bent the gear back into the correct position and slowly put everything back together, taking his time.

After a few minutes he messed with the small buttons on the back of it and set it on the box, waiting eagerly. The air began to chime loudly as the alarm clock rang to life, the small metal hammer hitting the two bells back and forth rapidly.

He grabbed it to muffle it and flipped the switch to stop it. Rudo hopped down and went inside with the two items, setting it on the completed shelf. He watched the clock eagerly tick on every second that passed, then turned and went back outside with his empty bag. “I’ll be back before dark!”

Regto was in the middle of moving some old tires around. He looked over at Rudo and chuckled. “Alright, go find me some books while you’re at it!”

“No promises!” Rudo waved to him and took off in a direction he hadn’t explored in a while. It was getting colder with each passing day and the chill would slow him down, but it was tolerable enough for now. Plus, the coat Regto made him was keeping him extremely warm.

He wandered around the trash fields for several hours, slowly sifting through any sections he thought would have items they were looking for. Books were rare, but if he did ever find them they would normally not be broken, just old and rough around the edges.

Rudo picked up an old pot with a broken handle and his eyes widened with shock. This was still extremely useful and something he had been searching for months now! He instantly put it in his bag beside a few other items that he didn’t know what they were.

One was an off white color, mainly plastic, with lines and clearly took batteries to work. Another item was black and made of plastic and rubber with a rod, clearly made to be held for some reason.

He found a few other items before the sun went down too low, like a remote full of buttons, a computer mouse, and some type of strange red line covered with glass and plastic.

On his walk back home he took out the multi-tool and opened up the remote to see if it had any batteries. Unsurprisingly, it did not.

The trash beside him shifted and Rudo looked to the side to see the mist and items shifting around.

Great, just what he needed right now. He was cold and it was getting dark. He’d need to rescue this item quickly.

The trash beast roared as it came to life. It resembled a turtle with how low it was to the ground, wide, and had a curved beak rather than sharp rows of teeth. Rudo reached down and picked up a metal pipe on the ground, red lighting flickering through it as the metal bent and grew to an “L” shape.

Rudo ducked out of the way when it tried to snap at him, the crunching sound nearly deafening with how fast it was. At least it was mostly stationary, so he’d just have to be wary of the jaws.

He ran around the trash beast to get away from its head, almost keeping pace with it as it slowly turned around. One yellow eye stared at him with a piercing gaze as the only thing it was feeling was rage in this moment.

Rudo pressed off the ground and swung the pipe straight into its leg, cutting it clean off. He jumped up and grabbed onto the beast, climbing up it and looking around its flat back. It was just like Regto said, he didn’t purposefully know where items were like this. It was just a feeling.

He looked up and leapt out of the way just as another snap of its jaws clamped down on the spot he was just standing in, a low hissing sound coming from it. Rudo wondered if it was spring coiled somehow. One direct blow and he would be dead.

He didn’t want this thing to suffer any longer than necessary. Rudo stabbed his pipe into the beast as far as he could and watched as the black and red lightning spilled out from it like a lightning rod, coating the trash beast and freezing it in place.

It dropped onto the ground and began to fade away into nothing along with the pipe he used.

Rudo pat himself off and looked around, then spotted a glimmer. He reached down and picked up the item, turning it over and noting it was a camera. Using his glove, he wiped off some of the dust from the lens and looked through the peep hole.

“Oh, wow.” Rudo mumbled to himself as he could see his surroundings quite well. It was a bit muted since there was still a layer of dirt and grime on it, but this was working well enough. It had buttons on one side, a loop to attach it to someones wrist, and seemed entirely intact overall.

Rudo turned it over and rolled his eyes. Of course. It needed batteries to work. He wondered how many things the spherites threw away just because they ran out of power. Rudo pulled out the multi-tool again and unscrewed the battery compartment. He took out the old ones and put them in his bag.

He had live ones at home and hoped that it would work on the first try, though that was rarely the case. He brushed some dirt off of it again, then set it in his bag and zipped it up.

When he looked up he saw it was quite dark by now. “Shit.” Rudo hissed to himself, running back the way he came to hopefully get home before Regto would start to worry.

Of course when he arrived the man had his arms crossed and looked annoyed.

“A trash beast attacked me! Don’t look at me like that, damnit.” Rudo huffed out. “I found some items that I dunno what they are.”

Regto sighed softly and glanced to the sky. It wasn’t too late, and he trusted Rudo. “Let's warm up inside, let me look at them.”

When Rudo set all the items out on the table, Regto was grinning ear to ear. “You found a pot! Finally.” He picked it up and spun it around. “Needs a bit of a fix up with a new handle, but she can still work as new!”

Regto looked at the other items and hummed. He pointed to the off white item. “Smoke detector, we don’t need it personally. Walkie talkie, this is a thermostat– whoa! It still works, look.” Regto had picked it up to look at it closely, then handed it to Rudo. He observed the red line slowly going down.

“Thermostat? Another long ass word I have to learn.” Rudo muttered. “What’s it do?”

“It tells us the temperature. When I held it, it picked up on my body heat.” Regto grinned. “We can hang it up on a wall to see the exact degree."

Rudo kept staring at it as the red line kept going down, then stopped at a number.

“Oh, hell! Rudo, where’d you get this? Even up in the sphere these things were expensive as shit!” Regto laughed softly, very amazed. Regto had picked up the camera and turned it around a few times with an excited hum. He walked away and grabbed a battery, sliding it in and closing it up. The screen lit up, then displayed their surroundings.

Regto pointed the camera at Rudo and clicked a button, then turned it around to show him. There on the screen was an exact photo of Rudo. He picked up the camera and looked at himself in shock. One item he refused to let into the house was mirrors. Rudo didn’t particularly enjoy looking at himself, so he rarely saw his own face.

But here on this tiny screen it was crystal clear as if it captured a slice of time. He pointed it at Regto and snapped a photo, then stared at the image. Regto leaned over him and hummed. “Not my best angle.. Or lighting. You got yourself a rare item! I bet that thing alone could buy out that entire sweets store.”

Rudo looked up at him in shock, then back to the camera. Was something like this really worth that much? To snap bits of reality and keep them?

“We can get those printed out. Or we can find something called a polaroid camera, but those are rares among rares and require specific types of film.” Regto shrugged a bit. “Anyways, I have dinner ready. It will be cold if we wait any longer.”

Even if this item was rare, Rudo loved it just the same as all the others.

They were all precious to him.

Chapter Text

Rudo was perched up on one of their landmark storage buildings. He was using the binoculars he had to survey the area per Regto’s orders. Apparently something big was going to happen soon they had to be prepared for.

Not that he knew what. He was just used to trusting whatever Regto said for the most part. He was never wrong.

If he said the sphere would come by soon, it always would. If he said it would rain, the wind would be too bad to go outside, or trash beasts were angrier than normal, then that very thing would happen. Either he knew the future or what he said actually happened.

Rudo looked around, but only saw trash. Not even the birds were around. To Rudo, that meant they knew about whatever was going to happen, too. He lowered the item down and sighed. Rudo was bored out of his mind.

At least this was better than being trapped inside with Regto. Anytime they were cooped up too long the other would start to teach him, making him read, write, study, and learn about anything he could. If it wasn’t teaching it was playing games he could never win, especially cards.

Rudo laid down on the rickety roof and stared up at the clouds overhead. Not once have they cleared up enough to be able to see the sky above that.

Rudo didn’t miss living on the sphere, but he missed the clear sky. Seeing the sun, moon, and stars.

He dug into his pocket past the multi-tool he always carried around now and pulled out a working pocket watch. He had fixed it up a few weeks ago and knew it was extremely valuable to other people, enough where they could probably buy enough food for a month, but Rudo couldn’t depart from it.

He had spent months getting it to work, testing all types of gears, using tweezers and magnifying glasses with careful small movements just to get it to work again. It was more than just hours of hard work. It was an item he got to work again and it ticked proudly.

Rudo opened it up and watched the small metal arms tick on. It was close to the time Regto said to return home. He pushed up off the roof and hopped down, staring at the watch as he walked. It was mesmerizing to see the hands slowly move. This specific model had some of the gears behind it visible, so it was possible to watch them spin slowly, all layered on one another just for this item to manually show the time in a small form.

He closed it and put it in his pocket, entering their house and flopping on the couch. “Nothing.”

Regto looked up from his book and sighed. “Rudo, that isn’t a report.”

“Trash, trash, dirt, me, trash, and a rock or two.” Rudo turned his head to face him, staring at him. “I saw nothing.”

“Hmm.. alright.” Regto closed his book and set it on his lap. “Well, a trash storm is headed right this way. It isn’t a horrible one, but you know it brings about dozens of trash beasts.”

Rudo slowly blinked at him, then sighed. This meant most of those beasts wouldn’t have an item in them. They’d just be the rage of nearby ones combined. Nothing he could fix up and try to quell their emotions.

“Tedious.” Rudo mumbled and buried his face into the couch cushion. Regto snorted. “Don’t worry, I’ll help out this time.” He waved his book. “I have a plan.”

Rudo sat up and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t you dare! I know last time was life or death, but I’m still pissed at you!”

Regto tilted his head a bit at him. Whenever he used his jinki against trash beasts, they’d be completely obliterated, items and all. Regto knew Rudo detested that since he always enjoyed finding what items possessed enough anima to be angry to fix them up, practically turning them into pseudo-jinki’s.

Not that the kid realized what he was doing. Regto had never heard of it either, but it was fascinating to watch.

The trash beasts appearing this time around were not going to harbor such items for the most part, and he didn’t want Rudo to deal with them alone like he almost always insisted.

This was mainly due to Regto cleanly disposing of them. So partly his fault, in a way. Regto rested his head on his hand, eyeing the kid. “I’ll only kill the ones without specific items. Sound good?”

Rudo slowly relaxed a bit, then crossed his arms. “You just wanted to show off a new idea you got with you and your stupid book.”

That got a laugh from the other. He got up and sat on the couch beside him, wrapping an arm around him. He set the book in Rudo’s lap. “Me and my stupid book help you learn the crap you want to know about! How else am I supposed to learn the inner workings of a damn pocket watch? It’s not like that information is obvious or commonplace.”

Rudo’s ears turned red and he growled, facing away from him. “Shut the fuck up, asshat. I don’t need a damn manual to figure out how to fix things!”

Regto let go of him and reached over to a nearby shelf. He grabbed a small cardboard box and opened it up. “Let's play some cards before bed. If you win against me even once I won’t make you do any studying.”

“Like hell you will dare to make me study.” Rudo sneered. Regto’s idea of learning was to read books and tell him things he learned that weren’t directed to his interests.

Regto shuffled them and they began to play various games, all of which Rudo lost over the course of hours. Rudo was skilled and knew various types of ideas to win, but Regto was never going to let him win just for the sake of it. He wanted the kid to earn it on his own.

Regto turned around to look at the door and frowned. “The storm is here.”

Rudo glared at him. “Right when I’m about to win?” That was a lie, he had a few cards left but knew Regto had some type of plan to one up him.

“In your dreams.” Regto got up and grabbed his book. “Come on, let's deal with them sooner rather than later.”

Rudo put the pocket watch on the shelf but kept his multi-tool. He grabbed a few random items to help him fight and followed Regto outside. The wind was blowing rapidly, sending dust and debris flying across the landscape. He could see several gray and purple tornados in the distance, all whipping up trash as they ripped across the land.

Regto pat his head. “You know I could take care of this in a few minutes-”

Rudo slapped his hand off of his head and walked away from him and towards the threats. “Shut the hell up.”

Regto understood he wanted to try and salvage the items that made up those beasts to a worrying degree, but ultimately that’s just how Rudo was. “Alright, yell to me if you need any help!” Though he rarely if ever did.

Rudo grabbed a computer mouse with a cord and activated it. The wire began to grow and whip about as the plastic part sharpened out. He looked the item over, noting the scroll wheel was like a saw blade jutting out as the edge of the wire looked like a needle. A part of his jinki was understanding the items he was handling to a degree that he knew their abilities instantly.

Rudo waved the mouse and controlled the wire to wrap around Regto’s middle and lift him into the air.

“HEY! You little shit!” Regto was laughing still despite how worried he looked. Still, Rudo didn’t move.

Regto looked out into the distance and squinted a bit. “Oh man. There's one really big one with–” His eyes scanned the horizon. “Thirteen medium sized ones. Think you can take just the big one down? It looks kinda stronger than normal.”

Rudo set him down and rolled his eyes. “What do you take me for, a weakling?” He took off, running right towards where the beasts were. Regto scoffed and opened his book. “That kid is something else..”

Rudo waved his hand and stabbed the wire into a piece of electronic trash that grew from the items around it, forming a missile made out of metal bits. He clicked the button on the mouse and it detached, shooting straight at the beasts and piercing the big one's arm, making a hole in it.

That certainly got their attention.

The ground shook from the weight of the biggest one stepping closer despite how far away it was still. Rudo could see the smaller ones rushing towards his location, but he knew Regto had those covered. He waved his hand around, sending the cord to wrap around his own torso as he threw himself towards the biggest one just to avoid the hoard.

Rudo landed on the beast's back and watched as thousands of items formed in sync, shifting with each micromovement the creature took. It roared low, rumbling the air around it as it reached around to claw him off. He kicked off some trash and ran down its back while moving his hand to pierce the wire directly into the monster.

Rather than try to shock it he reversed the flow and tried to draw out its energy into the mouse. The scroll wheel began to spin rapidly between his fingers, charging up.

The trash beast whipped its body around, then sharp metal plates jutted from its back in an attempt to stab Rudo. With it being the size of several buildings he was like a flea to it.

Rudo stepped back when one appeared at his feet, losing his balance. The side of his body slammed into the creature as he slipped off of it, plummeting to the ground. He whipped his hand around and used the wire to wrap around one of the spikes. Rudo held onto the mouse as he looked down at the ground dozens of feet below him, dangling there.

The beast took another step towards where Regto was and Rudo had a clear view of how one of its hands squished entire piles of items without even trying. He looked farther away to see a blue haze from where Regto was and all of the smaller ones fizzling away as he had killed them all instantly.

Rudo grabbed onto the beast and climbed back up. Like hell he’d like Regto show off like that. He stabbed the beast again and absorbed even more from it as the saw that was still spinning revved up even faster, a loud humming purring out from it. He aimed down its spine and clicked.

The scroll wheel saw detached from the mouse and shredded the trash beasts back down to its head where it lodged into its neck and sliced straight through it.

The beast shrieked and reared up like a horse, sending Rudo and dozens of items tumbling down its back. He blindly reached around to grab on quickly before he could be impaled by the metal spikes or fall to his death. The cord stabbed into its back again and he held on for his life as he dangled off the edge for a split second.

The monster slammed the ground with its front legs, cracking the earth and forming a crater from its weight. Dust, debris, and items flew out from it right when Rudo smacked back into the beast. His hold slipped and he dropped the mouse.

Rudo’s vision was blurry and his head was ringing as he laid on the beast's back. Pain was coming from somewhere, but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact location. He just knew it hurt.

He pushed himself up and crawled towards the mouse, grabbing it again and ripping it out of the beast. He took hold on the needle side and began to swing the mouse end around in a circle. As he did, it sharpened to an axe-like state, and Rudo swung it straight into its side.

The mouse sliced through half of the beast's body, but it hadn’t been enough to cut it entirely. In a blind panic, the monster began to shake rapidly, and Rudo was finally detached from it.

Rudo looked down at himself to see his coat had a few tears and the multi-tool was flying away from him, landing somewhere nearby.

He slammed into some trash on the ground and felt the world spinning now. Rudo had seen red, too. He was bleeding but didn’t know how much or where.

He looked to his side and grabbed the first nearby object which was a metal desk fan, the blades bent or snapped off. Rudo activated it and aimed it at the beast as the blades began to grow, sharpen, and spin, kicking up even more dust around the area.

The creature looked down at him and lifted its arm up, then began to slam it down right atop of where he was.

Rudo let the fan go.

It shot out of his hands and tore threw its entire arm, sending trash raining down all around him. He rolled onto his side and pushed up and his body nearly gave out. He winched in pain as he stumbled into a standing position and looked around for another item, blood dripping down and splattering beside his feet.

Instead, the trash around him shifted.

It wasn’t the trash beast he was fighting.

It was a new one.

Rudo slipped and fell as a new monster formed right under his feet, sparks zapping around the item that caused it: the multi-tool.

He wrapped an arm around his middle as a blinding hot pain shot through him. Moving would be difficult, so he looked around wildly for another item, but panic was seizing him.

Shit, he needed Regto.

A familiar looking beast loomed over him, its jaws clicking together right above him.

If he just stayed quiet maybe he would live. He needed to shout for Regto, though. Was he going to die?

It slowly turned and faced the bigger trash beast, then it was gone as it took off.

Rudo felt his heart racing in his chest that he was sure it would break a rib. He let out a breath and looked over at it. Was it because he had been quiet like before since it was blind? No, he was panting and he was sure he was making noises.

To his shock, the multi-tool beast attacked the bigger one.

The trash beast roared and toppled over, slamming into its side away from where Rudo was. With a missing arm and severe damage to it, the beast was finding it hard to recover and attack back. The smaller newer one bit into its underbelly and ripped out the random trash from it, spilling it into the crater it lay in.

The bigger beast kicked it away, and Rudo could only watch as the trash swirled around the newer beast and formed a new one he hadn’t seen before. It was a cheetah with razor sharp claws and a long tail.

“RUDO!”

Rudo winced when he heard Regto running over to him, then a wave of pain ran through him when he was picked up. “Rudo, the hell did that thing do to you?” He was trying to be comforting, and it was working, but he could hear the strain in his voice.

“‘m fine.” Rudo curled his arm tighter around his middle. His coat was soaked with blood and it felt much colder now than a few minutes ago.

Regto carefully walked around and away from the two beasts fighting, and despite the threats, both of their eyes were watching as the newer beast transformed into several kinds of different animals and tore the massive one apart.

Rudo saw everything blur into nothing all at once, then darkness.

He was shaking. Rudo tried to curl into a ball, but the instant wave of pain stopped him from doing that. He slowly opened his eyes and looked down to see his chest was bandaged up with brown and red stained bandages.

He slowly looked around the room and spotted Regto half sitting on the floor, half laying on the bed beside him, asleep. He looked exhausted.

Rudo reached over and weakly shoved his hand into his face. “Reg–Regto?” His voice was dry and it hurt to speak, so he swallowed a few times.

Regto shifted, then sat up instantly. “Rudo!” His hands twitched, clearing wanting to hug him with relief but debating against it due to the wound. “God, kid, I thought you were in a bad state. It looks bad but you didn’t even need stitches.”

Rudo dropped his hand and closed his eyes, only offering up a meek hum in response. It didn’t hurt as bad as his arms, maybe equal but in a different way. He felt and heard Regto get up and go into their kitchen section to get something warm made.

He had dozed off without realizing, only waking up again when Regto was helping him sit up carefully. Rudo tiredly stared at him, then to the soup. He took the bowl and lifted up the spoon, slowly eating.

“That was an interesting fight.” Regto scratched the back of his head. “Though I think I should train you a lot more. So nothing like this happens again.”

Rudo stared at the floor, still slowly eating. He suddenly frowned a bit. “What happened?”

“Well that new beast tore that thing to shreds.” Regto smiled weakly at him, glancing at the door. Rudo looked at his gloves, his frown deepening.

Rudo swallowed down another spoonful of soup. It was warm and tasted better than most of the slop they usually ate. He easily picked up on how Regto was not telling him the entire story yet.

The older rested an arm on his own leg and hummed. He got up and grabbed two items off the shelf, then sat beside Rudo again.

Rudo instantly set the food down and picked up the two items. First, he looked over his tool. It was fine, no new things to fix up. Then he looked at the other one. “This is..”

“Yep. A battery recharger. It’s busted to hell, but if we can get this working all those old dead ones can be reused.” Regto was grinning more. “Musta broken and got royally pissed off, huh?”

Rudo turned the item around in his hand. It looked burnt and charred in some places. Probably overused? It would take a lot to salvage if that was even possible, but he was determined.

Rudo looked back at the multi-tool as if he could peel back the layers that made its entire being and understand what happened.

“So,” Regto wanted to fill the silence by speaking. “That thing became a trash beast again.” He pointed at the multi-tool. “It uh, well, how do I put this.” he looked away, gazing back at the door. “I brought you here and got you patched up. A few minutes later it showed up at our door and dropped the battery charger down, then fizzled away.”

Great. Cool. That explained next to nothing. Rudo sighed softly and set the items down to pick up his soup and eat it again. “That’s never happened before.”

“Nope.” Regto was grinning wide again. “I think it was protecting you, though.”

Rudo glanced up at him with furrowed brows. That.. made sense, but he couldn’t fully picture why. He was still tired and in pain.

“Oh come on, it's obvious!” Regto wrapped an arm around his shoulders. “You spruced it up back to new and have been using it for months! It clearly loves you, so it protected you!”

Rudo glanced back at the multi-tool and his expression softened. He lifted the bowl to his lips and drank the rest of the lukewarm soup then set it aside. “I’m too tired to think about this in depth.” He laid down and half curled around the two items as much as his body would allow.

“Nope, no sleeping. Let me change your bandages first.”

Damnit it was never ending with this guy!

“Rudo, there's too many.” Regto rarely put his foot down about things, especially with items, but this was getting ridiculous.

They had lived here nearly three years now, Rudo was nearly thirteen, and he had more stuffed animals than a rich person in a penthouse. They literally lined up one entire wall of the cave, across the floor, and some on the bed, all sat and displayed carefully.

After a few dozen that he had to repair himself, he forced Rudo how to learn how to sew. He regretted that now since it opened the kid up to gathering any and all he got.

“They insulate the cave!” Rudo spread his hands out in a defensive manner. “And it makes it look friendlier than rock walls!”

Regto pinched the bridge of his nose and clinched his eyes closed. It was never ending with this kid. “The ones on the wall are fine.” He pointed at the floor. “I’m talking about the ones we literally don’t have spots for!”

Rudo crossed his arms and scoffed. “You’re just envious.”

“OF WHAT?!” Regto half laughed out. “God, I’m not saying get rid of them! Make one of those storage houses a plush one to keep them in because we have no damn room in here. Seriously, deal with it or I will.” Rudo sighed and rolled his eyes. “Whatever, asshole.” He picked up the ones that were along the walls and laying on furniture. To be fair, they did take up a lot of the cave. It wasn’t his fault the spherites used them once or twice then tossed them aside!

He grabbed a dozen or so and carried them outside, setting them on a few boxes, and going back in until he got enough out that Regto would no longer be claustrophobic in his own house. Cave? Whatever, it was their home.

Rudo grabbed a rope and carefully tied all of the stuffed animals together so he could carry them easier. Before he picked them up, he dug into his pocket and pulled out the multi-tool, tossing it into a pile of trash nearby.

The items swirled around to form a small metallic bird that flew up and landed on his shoulder.

“What? No! I wanted you to help me carry these!” He held out a smaller bundle he made specifically for his multi-tool to carry. The trash beast just blinked at him.

“Ugh, asshole.” He picked up the bigger one and slung it over his other shoulder. Rudo already had a storage house in mind, but the trek would be difficult since he hadn’t maintained a trail there in two weeks.

He walked on, ignoring Regto’s smug stare as he left. “And don’t you help Rudo out, this is a problem of his own making!” He spoke to the trash beast that just ruffled its wings.

When they were out of sight and earshot, the bird flew off of him and landed on another trash pile that shifted and grew. It formed the shape of a wolf, though it was as big as a horse.

“Hell yeah! I knew you were gonna help me!” Rudo put the pile of stuffed animals on its back and walked with it over piles of random trash. He made a mental note to fix up the trail here today.

It took almost an hour since they had to traverse up and down unstable piles, but up ahead was a brick building with a torn up green flag on its roof. Rudo took the stuffed animals from his companion and entered the building.

They used this for extra items they didn’t use day to day, so it was somewhat empty and rarely visited. He untied the stuffed animals and set them around carefully on all the cabinets, shelves, and storage boxes they had.

The trash beast nudged him. Rudo looked at it, then towards where it was staring. A few yards away lay a plastic net and a semi-broken shelf. He walked outside towards them and dragged the shelf inside, setting it against a wall. He crouched down to inspect one of the broken boards, noting it was only missing a notch that would hold it up.

Rudo looked around the room and found a flat metal notch and took it. He glanced back at the trash beast, slightly amused when it blinked, then was gone. He picked the item up from the pile of rubble and maneuvered the metal notch into place using the multi-tool.

When he was done he tossed it back into the pile and dusted himself off as it reformed into the wolf it was before.

Ever since that day with the big trash beast, the multi-tool had been doing this. Since Rudo was terrified to use it with his gloves lest it become dust, he let it do what it wanted. Which was, oddly, to become various beasts from trash and keep him company.

He reached up and pat its head.

“We still have time to kill..” Rudo mulled over his thoughts. Regto would be rather happy if he fixed up the trail from here to their home. Maybe even worth buying him a sweet next time they went into town.

Rudo went outside and got to work moving items out of the way of the previously made trail they had. The trash beast rarely helped, but when it did it was for bigger items Rudo couldn’t move on his own.

It took half the day, but when he was finished there was a walkable path to the storage building. He walked the rest of the way home, but was stopped by the beast biting his hood.

“What?” Rudo turned to look at it, noting its pupils were tiny, showing mostly bright yellow eyes staring at the cave. Then Rudo heard it. Someone speaking that wasn’t Regto.

He waved his hand to the beast and it fizzled away with Rudo catching the item before it fell on the ground. He dusted it off and pocketed it, approaching the door.

Rudo slowly opened it and glared at the sight of Regto and another person chatting away happily.

“Oh, Rudo! Guess what I found?” Regto chuckled as if this was normal. He looked at the visitor to see a familiar face. It was the shop keeper they saw once a month for sweets and baked goods.

“Rudo! As pissed off as ever I see.” Gen smiled a bit at him, though it was hard to tell since he was wearing a mask for breathing. Rudo liked him only because he would trade him candy for items he fixed up. They had built up enough trust to the point Rudo and him would discuss items or food they wanted for next time if possible.

Currently, Gen was on the hunt for CD discs which Rudo has only found a handful of since he traded the radio to him.

“What brings you here?” Rudo was curious, who could blame him? He had never seen anyone travel out this far in the years of living here.

“I was nearby and recalled Regto said you both lived around here. I travel for my work, gathering skilled persons who can make these and bring them to various towns.” Gen waved a hand around. “Oh, that reminds me.” He dug into his pocket and tossed something at Rudo.

He caught it and his eyes widened when he saw it was a puff pastry. Rudo looked up at him. “How much for it?”

Gen shook his head. “For free, or I suppose for hospitality.”

Good enough for him, Rudo didn’t care. He opened the package up and dug into it without hesitation. The rest of the night he stayed on the mattress tinkering away at a few items he found while only half listening to Regto and Gen ramble on about random topics.

It didn’t interest him, but he did like that Regto seemed happy.

Sometime later, Regto sat beside him and playfully shook his shoulder. “Rudooo? You here on the ground?” Regto teased, knowing Rudo had been so absorbed in what he was doing he hadn’t noticed their guest left a while ago.

Rudo looked up at him, then to the empty couch. “I fixed up the trail.”

“Ha, I’d bet. You’ll be using that a lot to store your stuffed buddies in. Speaking of,” Regto rummaged around his pockets and pulled out a spool of thread. “Bought this from him just before he left. You were running low, right?”

Rudo took it from him and nodded once. Regto was always good at keeping track of their stock and what they were running low on. He wondered how much the older guy thought about anything and everything. Rudo slid off his bed and grabbed the items he had been tinkering with on the shelf.

“We should go into town soon, especially if he’s gonna be there selling sweets.” Regto looked over their items and hummed. “Do you have enough you want to sell or trade, though?” Rudo shrugged and grabbed a blanket, flopping on the couch and curling around it. He had a few potential items but felt like they weren’t ready yet. It was hard to describe what he felt when he looked at or held an object, but it was like he knew what they wanted in a way? Some items didn’t want to be sold or traded while others wanted to see if they could find a new owner that would take care of them.

The multi-tool felt heavy in his pocket suddenly. He was hyperaware of it a lot of the time nowadays. Rudo reached into his coat and wrapped a hand around it. Really, he was happy there was something else protecting him and Regto.

He knew it wasn’t his jinki, but it felt like it was.

Chapter Text

The cleaners had gotten a job to go and check out the poisonous fields of trash near Canvas Town. This was strange for several reasons. Ever since up until a few years ago, there had been no sightings of trash beasts, but the toxic fumes got worse.

Enjin supposed that they were just worried since it’s been so long and wanted them to check it out. Fine by him, he was curious about something as well.

He assumed it would be a simple easy job so went alone, a quick in and out check up. That’s how it was supposed to be.

He stopped his car at the edge of the area and got out, looking towards the vast lands of mounds of trash, some going as tall as a small mountain. The entire area had a thick purple haze, definitely deadly to breathe in.

Enjin slipped on his full face mask and started his trek.

Normally the deeper you went into a hazard zone the more trash beasts would be seen lingering around, especially since they hadn’t been around here in a long while, but there was genuinely nothing.

It was eerie.

From what he recalled, this specific spot was miles wide. If he had a road to drive on he could cover the entire expanse in one day at max speed. Though that wasn’t the case, plus he had to watch his step.

Maybe the trash beasts were some type of lurking one rather than roaming? Enjin tapped some trash with the tip of his umbrella. Only silence and wind greeted him.

Well, he had some information regarding this area. It was time to see if it was true.

It took him a few hours to spot anything out of the ordinary that wasn’t just piles of garbage. A few yards away was a building with a waving orange flag on it, though it was half falling apart. He approached it and tapped the door open with his umbrella.

“Anyone here?” He called out, poking his head in. Nothing still. He looked at the ground and saw the dirt was a bit trampled. Definitely used, and recently enough. He looked around the interior to see all kinds of items, mainly repair ones. It felt like a shed of some sort.

Enjin sighed to himself and exited the building, scanning the ground. He heard something metallic land behind him and looked up to see a small trash beast perched on the roof.

He slowly tilted his head at it, processing what he was looking at. Never had he ever seen one this tiny. Its yellow eyes pierced into him before it suddenly took off, flapping into the wind towards another direction.

“Well this just got interesting.” Enjin smirked to himself, walking where the beast took off. Quite easy to do since he could see it in the distance and there was a clear trail from that building to somewhere.

It didn’t take long for him to hear some people.. Talking? No, that wasn’t it. They were yelling but it didn’t sound particularly aggressive. He knew to be cautious, so stayed unseen as he carefully poked around some trash to observe what was going on.

How was he supposed to react to what he saw?

An older guy was on the ground laughing so hard he was crying while pointing at an ash-white haired kid who was tangled up in rope.

“STOP FUCKING LAUGHING YOU ASSHOLE!” The kid shouted loudly while trying to wriggle out of the ropes.

“I– can’t!” The older one wiped some tears away, still giggling. “How the hell did you fuck up that badly?!” He looked up again and burst out laughing for a second time. The kid finally got an arm free and undid the rope, then grabbed the closest item which was a tire and threw it straight at the other.

“RUDO!” The adult yelled out in pain as it whacked straight into him and bounced aside. He hugged his middle and dropped onto the ground.

The kid, Rudo, walked over and crouched beside him. “Stop faking you asshat! Get up and teach me how to tie a knot properly, damnit!”

Rudo.. Enjin remembered that name, and not only that but it lined up with the information he had. This kid hadn’t lied when he said he lived out here. He tensed up when he heard the trash beast from before land on the pile he was hiding behind and caw loudly.

Rudo stood up and dusted himself off, looking over at the bird. “What?” The beast cawed again. Rudo looked at Regto, then took a step forward. Regto stood up and yanked him back as they began to whisper harshly to one another.

Enjin had quickly deduced the beast was making an alarm call. He was definitely found out, then. He stepped out with his hands up to signal he didn’t want to fight. The second he locked eyes with the adult he saw the man’s demeanor change from his goofball attitude to a deathly serious one.

“Hey, I’m not here to fight or anything. I was just checking up on why there's no trash beasts around.” Enjin didn’t walk closer since this was their territory and he was invading it, technically.

Rudo looked him up and down, then his eyes landed on the umbrella and widened into shock and curiosity. “Are you.. Enjin?” He then stepped in front of Regto. “I talked to this guy before, so he may be a bit more trustworthy than others.”

“Yup.” Enjin nodded, taking off his mask. He coughed when the toxic air filled his lungs, though around this area wasn’t too bad.

“Regto.” The adult finally greeted, nodding at him, though both were still cautious. “And what brings you here this far?”

Enjin rested his mask under his arm and he glanced at the trash bird that was still staring at him. “Like I said, I was lookin’ for beasts to kill. Strange there’s none around, but that’s not my business or concern.”

Regto looked at Rudo, then whacked him lightly, very playfully but with a hint of seriousness. “Rudo! When the hell did you meet this guy? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I forgot, damnit!” Rudo hissed out and punched his side. “It was one of the times you went into that dusty ass bookshop. We just talked outside and he left.”

“Hm…” Regto looked Enjin up and down again before sighing. “Stop standing far away, I’m sure you walked a good few hours.”

Enjin approached them and looked around, noting how well cared for this entire place was. Plants of all kinds were growing and there were hundreds of all kinds of items in various states of repair all around. He kept his guard up since anything could still happen.

Rudo walked back where he came from and picked up the rope he had been tangled in, looping it around his arm in a circle then setting it down.

“Rudo isn’t a great talker.” Regto waved a hand, then leaned up against some boxes, making sure to never have Enjin out of his sights. “You’re a Cleaner, right?”

Enjin leaned against his umbrella and hummed. “Exactly that.”

Rudo climbed up on the boxes beside Regto and sat on them with crossed legs. “Regto told me about you guys! You fight trash beasts with your jinki’s too, right?” He sounded a bit interested, so Enjin took that as a good sign. Plus, the kid said ‘too’ which meant he fought those beasts.

Really he got his information already. There were no trash beasts to worry about in here, though.. He side eyed the metal bird that flew over and landed on Rudo’s head.

Regto picked up on his curiosity easily. “You could consider me and Rudo the cleaners of this area, then.” He then grinned. “So as someone who knows a lot about trash beasts, what do you think this one is?”

Enjin’s eyes flicked from Regto’s face towards the beast, then Rudo and back. He grinned a bit, putting the pieces together. When he met Rudo the kid seemed interested in items. Taking into account the stuff around and what he saw in the shed, they definitely recycled everything.

“That’s his jinki, the multi-tool.” Enjin knew he struck gold by their reactions, though he noticed they seemed a bit conflicted.

Rudo looked at Regto as they had a silent conversation with just their eyes. Enjin wondered if something was supposed to stay a secret. “Look, I met the kid about a year or so ago when you were in that book shop. Thought he was lost. We talked, I gave him a metal carabiner, and noticed he was holding a jinki.”

He could easily tell Regto was the type of person to learn as much as possible before acting, so not knowing stuff clearly put him on edge.

Regto sighed softly and rested an arm on the box. “Rudo I swear it’s like you make it your job to try and give me a heart attack.”

Rudo rolled his eyes and reached up, picking the metallic bird off his head and setting it aside. Enjin watched as the bird fell apart into items, then he picked up the multi-tool and put it in his pocket. “You make it easy to stress you out.” He hopped off the boxes and approached Enjin.

“Didn’t you say last time you wanted to talk you’d pay us for information or something?”

Damn he forgot how blunt and forward this kid was. He snorted and shook his head with amusement. “Rudo!” Regto chastised instantly. “Sorry, I’ve been trying to instill manners in him for years without much success.” Regto spoke up and walked over, grabbing Rudo’s shoulder.

Enjin shrugged. “It’s fine, I deal with worse.” He smiled at the two. These guys were very interesting. Why live out here like this? Why fight the beasts? Did they have to? Probably not.

“You know, we are always looking for new recruits. It’s not every day you meet Givers.” Enjin locked eyes with Regto, wondering what he was thinking.

“Eh? Do you guys get paid?” He looked down at Rudo and hummed, thinking. Rudo was still extremely sensitive to items buried in the beasts that were rage induced. If he fought with strangers, how would he react if they broke the item right in front of him, especially during a battle?

“I don’t know if I want to be a cleaner.” Rudo crossed his arms. “Plus it is weird you came out of nowhere to check up on this area then ask us that.”

Fair. Enjin chuckled and nodded in agreement. “That is a good argument.” He looked up at the sky and sighed. “I should probably head out soon.”

Regto shook his head. “Not a good idea. The sphere is coming by, you’ll just endanger yourself.”

Oh great, he’d be forced to stay. Not only that, but how the hell did this guy know when the sphere was headed this way? Even if he didn’t care much about it, he knew like everyone else did in that its movements were random and unpredictable.

Rudo had excitement in his eyes. “Fuck yes! When is it coming? I’m getting the bags–” Before he could turn and run off, Regto grabbed him by his hood. “About an hour and a half, and no way in hell I’m letting you rummage in the trash at night again.”

Enjin watched curiously, though said nothing. It was blatantly obvious this kid loved scavenging for items. The odd part was that he’d want to go out at night just to search through it all.

“I didn’t mean to intrude. Now and prior.” Enjin clarified, glancing behind him where he had hidden a few minutes ago.

Regto shrugged, understanding his situation. “I don’t blame you. You can stick around for as long as you need, and as long as you aren’t a danger or anything.” A subtle threat, but he knew why. This was their home and he was an uninvited stranger.

“I’d never even think of such a thing.” Enjin knew this was a Giver, he had to be, but he couldn’t sense his item. The multi-tool was clearly the kids, but something felt.. Off. Not that it was bad, but his instincts were tingling.

Enjin stayed passively watching and observing the two as Regto attempted to teach Rudo how to tie various knots with all sorts of ropes. He could see why he stumbled upon Regto laughing his ass off earlier. Rudo was a tough student when he wanted to be.

In the distance he could see a shadow looming overhead as a duststorm miles away picked up. Regto sighed when he noticed it. “Alright kiddo and–” He mulled over a nickname to give Enjin “..’Jin, lets head inside.”

“Very creative.” Enjin partially teased as he stood up and followed them in, being the last one to enter.

It was worse than he imagined, holy shit.

Every inch of the place was covered in all kinds of items, much smaller than the ones outside. He knew damn well to not touch anything, but it was a bit overwhelming to see this much stuff. Not only that but items that were clearly well cared about even if not used daily.

He was almost certain there was at least one other jinki in here that didn’t originate from either of them, though he couldn’t tell if these two knew about it or not.

Rudo took his spot on the couch and stared at Enjin. “What’s it like?”

Enjin didn’t miss the wave of annoyance from Regto at that, most likely from how Rudo stated his question too vaguely. He sat on the other side of the couch and kept his umbrella close. “The cleaners?” He questioned, but the kid just stared at him without responding. Enjin glanced at Regto.

The other sat on a recliner and sighed. “Sometimes getting him to talk or even express things properly is difficult. He doesn’t do it on purpose.”

Right. That explained more than he knew. Enjin relaxed a bit and looked around the room, his eyes scanning every item. “Well we probably fight similar beasts. Big, made of trash, and annoying.” Enjin looked over at Rudo. “I can normally take them out in one blow.”

Rudo tilted his head to the side. “How do you know where to hit?”

Enjin glanced at Regto, then shrugged again. “Observation. Seeing where the beast is guarding the most, and it's always buried in the center.” He took a mental note of the kid. When he saw him the first time he was tiny, even when wearing big looking clothes. It’s been a while since then and he still looked scrawny.

His eyes landed on the kitchen area. He could see enough food for two people if they were careful, but it was probably just enough to get by. For living out in the middle of nowhere, these two were doing quite well for themselves.

“And what do you do after?” Rudo was glaring at him.

Regto sighed softly, interjecting into the conversation. “Rudo, stop. It’s probably obvious but Rudo collects… things. Especially from trash beasts.”

Enjin thought over his words carefully, then nodded. Odds are the preteen disliked things being destroyed. That was easy enough to put together through context clues. “Most of the time we can’t find whatever's in a beast.” Not that they actually looked, they just killed them. What was this kid seeing that they couldn’t? Maybe there was a reason there were almost no trash beasts here.

Was Rudo taking in any object that could harbor anima and rage and quelling it somehow?

Regto rested his head on his hand and looked between Rudo and Enjin. His son didn’t look as stressed as before upon realizing they didn’t intentionally destroy things, but.. The other. He had most likely figured out what was going on around here.

He looked the Cleaner up and down carefully, taking note of how he presented himself. Chances are he wasn’t a current threat, but Regto had taken great lengths in keeping just anyone far from their new life. He had to be careful about who he let near, and why.

It was a bit amusing, though. What they did to this section was exactly what the Cleaners did. He should have expected they would have come investigating sooner or later.

Rudo scoffed at Enjin’s response and got up. He picked up a camera and pointed it at him, snapping a photo before he could react. Enjin blinked, a bit confused, but watched on curiously as Rudo sat only slightly closer to him and turned it around so he could see the image.

Enjin stared at him, then looked at the small screen. Cameras were almost unheard of, and here this kid was using it like it was nothing. He was interesting, that was for sure. “I look cool, don’t you think?”

Rudo rolled his eyes at him. “Not at all.” A very obvious lie. “I got this from a trash beast.” He gently waved the camera to indicate he was talking about it. Enjin glanced towards Regto to see the man was writing in a very old looking book with a cardboard cover over it, though he could tell he was paying attention even if his eyes weren’t on them.

“I can only imagine.” Enjin leaned against the couch more and looked over at his own umbrella in thought. The kid was rough around the edges but he had a charm about him. Regto was similar, though more guarded.

His interest was definitely piqued if it wasn’t before when he overheard them in the diner the first time he saw them. He took his team to that specific place more often than not. Mainly because it was quiet and he had known the workers there for a while.

So of course he’d notice two new people, especially with them being louder than normal with laughing and yelling. But it was familial banter. Ones Enjin was accustomed to. And he had noticed that the both of them felt like they were Givers.

He had been a bit shocked to stumble upon the kid along a bit later that day, but he had learned some information from what he gathered.

He saw something approach him in his vision and looked over, noticing Rudo was offering him the camera. “Do you want to look at it?”

Enjin stared him, then his hand. The white haired kid wore some oversized but very maintained gloves. He had to be aware of the value of a camera, right? He reached over and gently took it from his palm, bringing it close to himself.

It didn’t weigh much, but he could still tell this thing had dozens of tiny parts in it to make it function. He glanced at Rudo to take note of his reaction. The kid had only shuffled just a bit closer, staring at him with a neutral but hopeful expression.

He turned back to the camera and pressed a button, flipping the screen to the previous image which was a photo of the kids glove holding an old and broken electric toothbrush. He pressed it again and the next image was of a trash beast that was like a snake mixed with a porcupine with wires all over it.

Enjin realized in that moment the kid took the camera out with him when fighting beasts, taking before and after photos of them. This was literally a catalogue full of trash beast information.

This camera was worth more than its abilities, the information inside of it would send half of his team into insanity from the revelation of it.

Fucking hell.

Just what was this kid?

Fixing up all of these items, some of which he could feel were either jinki’s or close to it. The camera, his multi-tool, his personality, their situation, and even more Enjin was thinking over. Either he found these items or was a mass murderer, but Enjin could tell he was not a killer. Which just made him wonder what Rudo did with all of these objects to make them how they were, because it was beyond just a simple fix up.

Enjin snorted and offered the camera back to Rudo. “You really are something else. You sure you don’t want to be a cleaner?”

Rudo took the camera back and turned it off, then shrugged. He didn’t know what he wanted, really. Rudo wanted to live, Regto, and to eat sweets. He liked rummaging through the trash and fixing things up, but he rarely wanted.

Whenever he found a new item to fix up, he had a goal. Get it mended if possible. He wanted it complete. But when it was, that empty feeling would creep back in until he found a new project.

Regto told him he was distracting himself on purpose, but from what? He didn’t know.

Rudo looked over at Enjin to see him smiling a bit. It was warm in different ways compared to when Regto smiled at him, emotions he couldn’t even begin to describe.

“It’s not like you have to. Only Givers can kill trash beasts and you both seem quite skilled at it despite starting only a few years ago.” Enjin rested his head on his hand.

Regto finally looked up from his book at him, then glanced to Rudo. “Can you heat up some dinner for us?”

Rudo huffed and stood up, setting the camera down on the shelf and went to the kitchen.

Enjin and Regto stared at one another, both of them trying to figure the other out.

“What would joining entail?" Regto broke the silence first, his eyes flicking to the umbrella for a moment. Was he actually curious about possibly helping? Enjin was sure there was an ulterior motive there, though he sensed no malice.

“Free lodging, though we all live in the same building.” Enjin sat up a bit and swung one leg over the other. “Food, dealing with trash beasts, the like.” He shrugged. “Probably exactly what you are expecting.”

Regto hummed, then looked back over to Rudo.

Enjin realized why he had asked now. He was thinking of ways to better the kids life. He was curious why he didn’t just live in one of the towns, but then again just looking at the situation he could see at the surface it was more complex than that. He rested an arm over the couch backing. “Then again it has its ups and downs.”

Regto tilted his head a small degree, visually showing interest and curiosity without verbalizing it. The pen he wrote with was still in his hand, loose against his fingers.

“Living with the team can sometimes be annoying, but at least we aren’t alone.” Enjin tapped his fingers against the cushion. “Even when we are at one another's throats we take care of one another no matter what, even the young ones.”

He saw a flicker of realization flash across Regto’s eyes. Bingo. Enjin hit the bullseye. He was doing his best to try to convince him to join. Sure it was dangerous and would be a hassle ultimately, but there were pros and cons to everything.

Regto spun his pen around and tapped it against the book rhythmically, debating. “You send kids out there?”

“So do you.” Enjin quipped back. “But they aren’t alone, obviously.”

“..obviously.” Regto muttered, casting his eyes down towards his book.

That made another thing clear to Enjin. Either he allowed Rudo to go out alone, or the kid was so stubborn he went out by himself. The more they spoke the more he’d learn about the two. Outside, he could hear the familiar dull whacks of items hitting the ground at mach speed.

He wanted to figure out how this guy knew the sphere would be by, but he was sure that answer would only come about once they trusted one another enough.

Rudo walked in carrying two bowls, first hanging one to Regto then walking over to Enjin and staring at him with an emotionless gaze as he offered it to Enjin.

He’d seen a lot of people in his life from all sorts of backgrounds and ages, but looking into this kids red eyes he swore he saw something he had never seen before lurking just beyond that gaze. Enjin couldn’t tell if it was a beast about to rip him to shreds or a tiny feral kitten. Maybe something in between, or both.

He took the bowl with a smile. “Are you the chef around here?”

“Hell no.” Rudo snapped instantly, turning around and walking back into the kitchen to get his own bowl of soup. “Regto said he’d manage the food as long as I kept everything up and running. He has the hard part!”

Enjin and Regto shared a similar look of amusement. Seems the kid had some things backwards, but was that such a bad thing sometimes? If he found some parts easy that others thought were difficult, then who was to say?

He took a bite of the soup right when the debris outside picked up rapidly. Their home made wall of scrap keeping the outside from the inside began to rattle, yet the both of them didn’t look bothered.

Rudo sat cross legged on the couch while leaned over his bowl as if he was an animal guarding his food.

“I don’t think it would be a bad idea.” Rudo mumbled, and while it was hard to hear from the rumbling outside, the both of them heard it loud and clear. “Do you guys get candy?”

Enjin snorted softly, not surprised one bit that this kid liked sweets. “Yeah. We aren’t savages.”

“Are you really considering this, Rudo?” Regto quirked up an eyebrow at the other. Rudo sat up and they stared at one another. “I know you are thinking about it otherwise you wouldn’t have asked him.”

Enjin decided not to chime in and continued to silently eat his soup. He was sure he already had them intrigued enough to at least want to check it out. They always needed more people, and if they were able to keep such an area like this clear of trash beasts, then he wondered just how strong they were.

Regto pointed his spoon at Rudo. “I was asking because I was curious!” “No the hell you weren’t! I know you’re ‘I’m passively learning’ questions, and this isn’t them!”

They got into a bickering match Enjin was all too familiar with. He heard those start up a lot from everyone on base. It was almost shocking how well these two would fit in with the rest. He was suddenly reminded that a few of them had a running joke that Enjin liked to pick up and adopt “strays”.

..Seems he was still not beating those allegations.

“--you fucking serious right now? I’m fine! We have been through worse, upending our life again is nothing, especially if we do it willingly!” They had each hardly eaten his soup from all the back and forth they were doing.

Regto sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head in defeat. “I’ll leave it up to you what we do, then.”

Silence.

Enjin set his spoon in the bowl, the only sounds now were still coming from outside.

Rudo leaned over his soup and began to eat again, this time more tense than before.

Enjin was staring at Regto, wondering what type of game he was playing at, then looked to the kid. “It’s not like you have to decide right now. There's no time limit, and you don’t even have to.” He shrugged softly. “An offer is just that. An option whether you take it or not. If you’re this stressed about it, don’t think too much regarding the outcomes.”

The kid looked to be, what, eleven? He didn’t know his past but living in this toxic hell was not ideal, nor did he get a lot of social interaction. Plus he and Regto were in similar boats of wanting to help others if they could, but in his case it was just for Rudo.

“How old even are you?” Enjin rested his other hand in his lap, glancing at Regto to also direct the question to the both of them in a sense.

Regto grinned, showing a bit more teeth than usual. “Try guessing.”

Rudo set his bowl aside and sighed, stretching his legs out and sitting semi-normally on the couch now. “Stop making everyone play your observational games.”

Well that made Enjin have a lot more questions. He hummed and looked over Rudo again. The clothes he wore were stitched together fabric they had probably salvaged. It was big on him, but not as an accident or to grow into. The kid clearly enjoyed big clothing even if it meant more work when creating new things to wear.

Even still, he could see how tiny he was. His feet didn’t touch the ground when sitting on the couch, though his toes could scrape against the ground if he tried. If he compared him to Guita or Dear, then Rudo was probably around their age. “Uhh,” It was better to go higher than lower, so.. “Twleve.”

Rudo gave him a seriously sour expression, one that bordered genuine rage. Enjin held up his hands in defense, awkwardly laughing. “Kidding, kidding. Fourteen.” There was no way in hell someone that small was that age, though.

The kids shoulders relaxed just a bit and he crossed his arms. “Thirteen.”

Fucking hell. He did the mental math and realized the kid had been around eleven when he saw him, but he looked far younger than that. He glanced at Regto to see him have a look of silent understanding. This kid needed to eat. Enjin glanced to the bowl Rudo set aside, duly noting he hadn’t eaten it all.

He got an idea.

“Is there still some food left?” Enjin questioned, though he wasn’t actually about to get seconds. “There will probably be a lot of new trash beasts to fight through when I leave, so I need all the strength to deal with them, and I can’t do that on an empty stomach.”

Regto picked up on what he was planning, realizing Enjin was quite cunning.

“We can walk you out of here easily, you won’t have to lift a finger. I bet Rudo’s gunning to show off to you as well.” Regto teased, very much not pointing out how the kid had reached back over to pick his bowl back up and slowly eat the rest of the remaining soup he had.

The tips of his ears were red with embarrassment. “I do not, shut the fuck up!”

Enjin tapped the back of the couch again with his fingers. “I don’t doubt Rudo can take out some of them, but it's easier to just avoid them.”

“SOME?!” Rudo’s voice grew louder. He pointed at Enjin. “I can take on just as many as you can!”

Hook line and sinker. He and Regto chuckled at the same time, making Rudo turn even redder. “What the fuck are you two laughing about?!”

Regto covered his mouth with his hand. “If we told you you’d just get more pissed.” “Assholes!” Rudo angrily slumped into the couch, crossing his arms tightly and refusing to look at either of them.

Enjin watched as Regto got up and sat beside Rudo in the middle of the couch. He grabbed Rudo and pulled him to lean against his shoulder. “Getting angry isn’t going to solve anything.”

Rudo glared at the floor, unmoving. Regto sighed and let go of him then turned to face Enjin. “You sure you wanna deal with a fireball like him?”

Enjin’s eyebrows went up at his response. He could see Rudo tense up from worry at whatever his response would be.

He ran a hand through his hair. “No one's a complete fully functioning machine, we all need constant maintenance. I’m sure he’d quickly humble some guys we have.” A specific teen came to mind..

“Oh, I like him.” Regto elbowed Rudo who had relaxed just a bit and scoffed. “Shut up, he may dethrone you for motivational quotes.”

Regto got up and walked over to one of the cabinets and shuffled some items around before pulling out a small cardboard box of cards. “Wanna play?” He held it up in between his fingers and shook it at them.

Rudo scoffed and turned his head away which was his way of saying yes without looking desperate. Enjin grinned and leaned forward. “I don’t have anything to really bet with.”

“That’s fine, Rudo’s going to be in debt for a thousand years at the rate he’s going.” Regto teased, sitting across from them and shuffling the cards, chuckling even as Rudo began to curse him out once again. They played for a good few hours with Rudo getting close to winning a few times, but never actually doing so.

Enjin noticed the level they played at. It wasn’t casual. Rudo could easily hold his own against Gris, hell, maybe even Corvus too.

Regto could easily demolish anyone with a passive smile, and if real bets were on the line he would have been fucked. He glanced at Rudo, watching the kid stare at his own cards, then to the decks as he mentally calculated another plan in trying to win.

“You’ve never won against Regto?” Enjin asked as he put the next card down.

Rudo shook his head, the mess of white and gray hair shifting when he did. He set his own card down and sent a glare to Regto that was full of real anger. “I have never won. He’s been playing like this since I could remember! He’s such a fucking ass.”

“Hey now!” Regto put his own card down and waved the few he was holding like a fan. “Wins have to be earned, not given.”

Enjin drew a few cards since he couldn’t play any and shuffled them around. The trashfall outside was dying down where, if he had to guess, within the next few minutes it would be over.

Rudo played another card, his glare not leaving the other. “You’re just a sore loser!”

Regto playfully rolled his eyes and grinned as he played his next to last card. “That’s what makes me a winner!” He then glanced at Enjin. “I’m not a sore loser, he just thinks I am.” Enjin placed down another card and sat back against the couch. “Well, when Rudo finally wins against you I can only imagine the yelling and celebrating he is going to do.”

Regto deflated a bit and sighed. “Is there such thing as a sore winner..?”

Rudo growled when he had to draw some cards, then groaned when Regto played his last one down. “Damnit! I swear you cheat every single time!”

“Nope, just skill. And don’t blindly accuse someone of cheating unless you have evidence, especially in front of guests.” Regto gathered up all the cards and shuffled them again, looking over to the door. “Seems to have calmed down.”

Rudo stood up as fast as a missile and ran over to it, throwing it open, then groaning in even more annoyance than when he lost the card game.

It was dark outside.

“This sucks ass.” He shut the door and turned to Regto. Both he and Enjin saw the moment Rudo got an idea. “What if I take all of our flashlights and put them in a trash pile for the multi-tool to use?”

That… wasn’t a horrible idea, actually.

Enjin rested his head on his palm, his gaze flicking between Regto and Rudo. He has had a front row seat into their usual day to day life for hours at this point and frankly, it was amusing.

Regto pushed up off his knees and stood up, sighing. “God, kid, fine. And one hour.”

“ONE?!”

Enjin looked over at Rudo without moving. “You should be happy he’s lettin’ you out at all. It’s dark and the sphere just passed by. No tellin’ what kind of beasts are out there.”

Rudo glared at him now. He stormed over to one of the shelves and grabbed three flashlights and went outside, slamming the door behind him half heartedly. Just to make a statement.

He flicked the flashlights all on and scanned around, then set them down in a pile. Rudo pulled out the tool and placed it on top of it as he watched the trash move around to form a snake.

He picked it up and let it laze across his shoulders. “Keep those lights pointed all around, I have to find something to make Regto regret only giving me one hour!” And to also show off his skills to Enjin, but he was never going to say that out loud.

Back inside, the two were staring at one another. “Mind if I smoke in here?” Enjin questioned, pulling a pack out of his pocket. Regto debated it, then shook his head. “Air’s already bad as it is, but let's go outside.”

He got up and grabbed his umbrella, stepping outside first and leaning against the wall as he lit it up and took a puff. A few yards away he could see some lights moving about in the dark hills. He was almost amazed by how far Rudo had gotten that quickly.

Regto stood nearby staring at where Rudo was. He sighed softly and glanced over at Enjin. “I don’t want a lot of attention our way. Is that guaranteed if we join?”

He blew out some smoke away from the other and looked up at the sky, watching as the dark clouds coiled and twisted around far above, never once giving way to the sky above them. “Realistically, no. It’s not like we are personally well known, but we do garner some notability wherever we go. I dunno why you two are practically in hiding and I won’t ask, it isn’t my business, but you both will definitely not be in danger. Other than the trash beasts, I suppose.”

Regto stayed silent as he thought about this. It was possible to just live here like this forever, but it wasn’t ideal. Rudo deserved better than this, but realistically they didn’t have many options if they tried to make any other kind of life down here. At least, not without serious and proper planning beforehand.

“We have others like him.” Enjin stated simply, flicking the ash off his cigarette. “Kids and teens, kinda lost. Finding their way. Adults too, me included.” He shrugged and glanced over to Regto. “We don’t really care about one another's past. Lots of things hidden. But we trust one another, you know?”

For the first time, Regto looked at Enjin. Even in the dim lighting his eyes were practically shining, like he was seeing past every fiber of he being down to his soul and beyond.

A shiver went down Enjin’s spine, though he didn’t show it. He brought the cigarette to his lips and took a long drag.

“I may take you up on the offer then.”

Fuck, maybe he made a mistake. Regto seemed to be the type that looked unassuming but was secretly a deadly weapon. Rudo too, now that he really thought about it.

However..

“Rudo’s an interesting kid.” He blew the smoke out and squinted, staring at the distance where he could hardly see the lights from the kid now.

“Do tell?” Regto pressed, though his tone had several layers of emotion in it. Fondness, proudness, and curiosity.

Enjin rested his head against the wall and lowered his hand. “Hard to express in words. Everyone's unique, sure, but..” He shook his head. “I don’t have the smarts to explain it.”

Regto got up and walked a few feet into the yard, grabbing two plastic chairs and returning. He set one down then sat on the other.

“He’s going to be gone longer than an hour, isn’t he?” Enjin couldn’t help but smirk when he saw Regto cup his hands around his mouth and nose in defeat, his shoulders slumping. “Easily all night.”

He was soft on the kid. Enjin turned the chair a bit and sat down. “Not like I’m in a rush.”

Rudo was sat cross legged on a broken air conditioner as he held up some jewelry with a scowl. It glimmered in several places as the trash beast snake kept some lights on it.

“Man, all of this stuff is different than normal.” He set the items down in his bag and lazily looked around. Nothing was really speaking to him. He didn’t have anything to show off to Regto yet!

Rudo pulled out his pocket watch and froze when he saw the time. “Oh he is going to kill me.” It was almost three hours later. Rudo hadn’t even realized it since he had been so absorbed. Well, Regto was probably already pissed, but he hadn’t come out to haul him back.. What's a few more minutes?

It was nearing hour four by the time Rudo opened the door. He did so very slowly and quietly, hoping that despite everything they were asleep.

“Rudo.” Regto’s flat and firm voice came from the side.

He slowly looked over and awkwardly shrugged. “I lost track of time.”

Regto pinched the bridge of his nose. “I am seriously not letting you out at night again. Just– be quiet.” He motioned to the couch where Enjin was sleeping on. Rudo nodded and walked around them, setting the bag on the table and quietly digging through it. When he was done putting the new items away he kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed, curling up in a blanket and looking to where Regto was.

“Aren’t you going to sleep?”

Regto shook his head and sat in the recliner, pulling out a book to read. “Not tired.” A lie. Even if Enjin was trustworthy, that didn’t mean he would allow himself to let his guard down like that right now.

Rudo stared at him until his eyes felt too heavy. Even if he fell asleep now, odds were he’d wake up on and off throughout the night like he normally did, especially since Regto wouldn’t be asleep either.

Regto kept on one lamp that dimly lit up the cave but it wasn’t bright enough to be a nuisance. He didn’t expect much when he wrote Enjin’s name in the book, but for it to do nothing had never happened before. Which meant his real name wasn’t Enjin.

He looked up from his book at the sleeping adult. The blond was laying flat on his back with his umbrella resting against his chest and his fingers loosely connected together over it. He was tall enough that his feet dangled over the edge, though he hadn’t complained about it.

Regto glanced at Rudo when he saw the boy jolt a bit, his body twitching once as if struck by lightning. He really hoped he wouldn’t get any nightmares tonight. He rested his head against his left hand and tapped his pen against the pages.

Well, he wasn’t going to allow himself to sleep. Might as well contemplate if he really should go through with this.

Regto got to writing out all of the pros and cons along with a plan from start to finish if he and Rudo were going to truly start working with the Cleaners.

Seems things would work out if they did actually decide to.