Zorome X Miku: The Forgotten Children

44: Relief

"How are you feeling?" Miku asked as the squad all sat in the lounge together. She was talking to Kokoro, who had taken a rare walk away from the room she and Mitsuru shared. The pale-haired girl had dark circles under her eyes and Zorome could tell she was undeniably exhausted from worrying about her partner. "And Mitsuru, how is he feeling?" Miku added gently. 

Zorome, who was sitting at Miku's other side, exchanged a glance with Futoshi, who was sitting on his other side. Both of them knew Mitsuru was still unwell and were wondering if Kokoro had found any improvement whatsoever, as he had stayed in the same state for five days since the last of them had recovered. 

Kokoro shook her head. The poor girl looked extremely stressed and anxious, which was also showing on her physically, as she seemed rather underfed and exhausted. "I'm okay, really. It's Mitsuru...he really, really isn't feeling a whole lot better though. He's hardly eating anything right now and he only stays up for about an hour at a time." 

"I'm sure he'll get better in due time," Ichigo told her comfortingly from her spot on the other couch. "You're taking good care of him and I'm sure that'll help the process." She was smiling reassuringly at her. 

Kokoro let out a sigh. "I hope you're right, Ichigo..." Her voice cracked as she said her friend's name. Zorome felt a pang of sympathy for her as he remembered how he felt when Miku was sick, though the feeling made him feel really awkward and he somewhat wished he could leave the room. He knew he couldn't leave the room, however, and wanted to be there to make sure his groupmate would be okay.

"I know she's right," Zero Two spoke up for the first time during that conversation, much to the surprise of everyone in the room. "I peeked in on him before and, yeah, he's getting better slowly, but that doesn't mean anything. He has a weaker immune system. It's just taking a while, that's all."

Kokoro looked at her. "Really?"

Zero Two looked her in the eye, smiling. "Really." Her tone was friendly and reassuring. 

"Wait, why didn't you tell us this before?" Ichigo demanded, staring at the pink-haired pistil with a surprised look on her face.

Zero Two smirked. "Really? I thought it was obvious. He has a weaker immune system, after all, which we all knew already, but that doesn't mean he'll necessarily die, so as long as he's being taken care of properly, which he is." She gave Kokoro a knowing look.

Kokoro blushed and ducked her head shyly, as she often did sometimes since she was a rather shy girl. "Thank you, Zero Two." Her voice was gentle and filled with warmth and gratitude for their nonhuman friend. 

***

As it turned out, Zero Two was correct. A few days later Mitsuru began to show significant improvement and was slowly yet surely making a recovery, even if it wasn't as smooth and swift as it had been for the rest of them. 

It felt amazing for Zorome not to have to worry as much about things, and not just about the state of his squadmates. Chores had been weighing heavily on the only ones who hadn't been sick at the time while they'd waited for their friends to heal, and keeping up with them was a source of stress and exhaustion. It had been tough to make ends meet for ten people when only four of them had been physically able to take care of them and make sure everything ran smoothly at the same time. 

Now everyone aside from Kokoro was helping out and everything was going smoothly and efficiently once more, with nobody feeling overworked now for the most part. However, Zorome's body was still sore and achy from the effort it had taken him to pull off multiple chores while the others had been sick. Despite the fact that most of them were healed up now, Zorome hadn't had a chance to rest. Things still had to get done and he still had a fair amount of work to do. They had to catch up with the few things they'd neglected during that time as well. 

Five days had passed since the last of the sick kids had recovered. Now, as the sun began to set for the night, the squad was eating a late dinner that had been thrown together by Miku and Ikuno. The two had worked tirelessly to eat that day while Zorome and Goro had slaved away in the garden and even marked some places in the forest where they could scavenge specific foods. 

"It feels amazing to be able to eat again!" Futoshi enthusiastically sighed from his spot on Zorome's left side. He was scarfing down the salad alongside the stew the girls had made. 

"I'm glad you like it!" Miku said cheerfully from her spot on Zorome's right side. "It took all day for Zorome and Goro to find some of the herbs...and it was worth it!" She smiled, beaming at her bowl of stew and plate of salad. 

"I'll bring some to Mitsuru," Kokoro said suddenly. She pushed her chair to the side and grabbed the empty bowl and plate that was sitting in the spot he usually ate. They had been put there so someone would remember to fill it up and bring it to him, and that someone was always Kokoro, who brought it to her partner before she even finished her own food. "I'll be back to finish mine soon!" She filled the plate and bowl with food and left. 

"Good job on finding the herbs," Futoshi said, giving Zorome a friendly nudge with his elbow. "It really makes the soup taste good!"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, smiling. "You and Goro did great!" She shot Goro an admiring look, which caused him to rub the back of his hair sheepishly.

Before Zorome could open his big mouth to brag, Goro did the exact opposite. "It was no big deal, really. Ikuno and Miku are the ones we should be thanking for coming up with the recipe!"

As the squad chatted about how delicious the meal was and ate their food, Zorome had to admit Goro had a point. Miku and Ikuno were amazing when it came to cooking, and that was one trait about his partner he couldn't have any complaints about. When it came to cooking she was absolutely flawless. 

A few minutes later, Kokoro ran into the courtyard, smiling. "Guys! Guys! Mitsuru's better! He just woke up and he says he feels fully better!"