Gachiakuta One-Shots

Zanka

"Wow!"

"Spectacular!"

"They must be a genius."

Day in and day out, I get called a genius. There's nothing that special about me. I'm good at fighting and that's pretty much it. I don't think I have ever met an actual genius in my life. I want to see the pedestal people put me on, I want to know why they stop and stare. I have never really been good at handling praise. The next day came around. As I arrived back at HQ from another mission, I saw one of my coworkers sitting outside on a bench, reading a book.

Who was it again?

"Zanka, is it?" I asked him.

"Hm... yes, can I help you." He inquired.

"No-no, I don't need anything," I said waving my hands side to side. "I just saw you and wanted to say hi."

"Well, hello..." he replied. He didn't seem like he wanted to chat at all as he went back to reading.

Feeling awkward, I decided to leave. I was just about to walk away, but then I was blocked by a big red bow. Moving my head to the side, I saw two little kids holding what seemed to be a gift basket. Confused, I moved to the side thinking I was in their way, but they followed me as I turned.

"This is for you!" they said in unison.

"M-me?" I said, confused as to why I'd receive such a gift. They passed me the basket, smiling and giggling as I held it.

"We wanted to say thank you for saving our farm!"

"Your farm?" you asked, remembering your previous mission.

"Well, more like a garden. But we worked hard to grow stuff. Those trash beasts have been messing things up for so long." One of the children said.

"We made this gift for you to show our appreciation." The other added.

The kids went on about how cool you were fighting the trash beasts, even going as far as to recreate the moves you did. As blood started to rise to your face, you started feeling sheepish. You looked around for help and landed on the boy you talked to earlier, Zanka. He happened to be watching the conversation between you and the children. You tried to signal for help, but he ignored it by looking in the opposite direction. Sighing, you realized you had to wait for them to finish.

One of the children jumped up in excitement, "You were amazing out there, like, like... like you were some genius!"

A jagged smile formed on your face, feeling embarrassed by what you have been called. "Please don't call me that."

"Why not! You are." One of the children proclaimed.

"I'm, I'm really not." You said, scratching the back of your neck, feeling a sweat coming down.

"It's getting late, I think you kids should head home." You shooed away the children.

As the kids left, you rested your hands on your hips, taking a deep breath and exhaling. "What is all this genius talk about..." You mumbled.

You looked back to the coworker you supposedly called for help still reading his book. You walked up to him, taking a seat next to him on the bench. You tried to make eye contact with him, but his eyes were still focused on the book.

"Thanks for the help back there." You sarcastically said.

No answer from him. Again, feeling awkward, you decided to leave but was stopped when you heard his voice.

"Did those kids call you a genius?" He asked.

"Huh, y-yeah, I guess they did." You replied, still feeling awkward from earlier silence.