A New Generation: A ZoroMiku Story

17: Silence

Miku

Miku missed Zorome.

She really did. She despised the silence that had come between the two of them ever since that one lame fight they'd have. Every day felt harder to deal with and she just wanted to scream at him, to snap him back to his old self and shake some sense into him. So, after the meeting, she was planning on doing just that.

That was, at least, until Hyaku approached her and asked if he wanted to spend some time with her. 

"Hey," He said, walking over to her with a friendly smile. "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with me again. I hope I'm not as tiring to be around as Zorome."

Miku laughed. "Nobody can be as tiring as him!" Though she was watching sadly as Zorome got up and left the room now that the meeting was over. She pushed her thoughts of him to the side, deciding she wanted to focus on spending some time with Hyaku before she dealt with him. After all, he'd been kinder to her than Zorome had been in days, and if anyone could help her gather the courage to talk to her partner it was him. "So where do you want to go?" She asked him, trying to sound cheerful. 

"Why don't we chat by the beach again?" He suggested. "We've relaxed there before but today I think maybe we should get to actually know about each other more, rather than just play with sticks and all that."

Yep, that was what they'd done. Played idly with sticks and chatted small talk. So Miku was rather looking forward to getting to know him as a friend.

"Sure!"

***

"So, tell me a bit about yourself," Hyaku said as the two of them sat down in the sand and gazed out at the water. "I mean, what was Squad 13 like? I've heard many good things about you guys."

Miku perked up. "It was great!" She replied. "I really loved them. It took a bit for us to get used to each other, I think, but after a while, we all became super close! They're like a family to me." She sighed. "I really miss them, honestly...other than Zorome, my best friend was Kokoro." She'd mentioned Kokoro once or twice to Hyaku before. "I miss her a lot. Bella kinda reminds me of her, actually! Both of them are so sweet!"

Hyaku looked at her and smiled. "You're sweet too, you know? I can't believe Zorome's too dumb to notice."

Miku felt a burst of self-consciousness and blushed a bit. It wasn't very often she was called sweet. She felt guilty for some reason, however, and quickly changed the subject. "What about your squad?" She asked. "What were they like?"

Something in Hyaku's gaze darkened. "They used to be very nice. We had fun and shared laughs together."

"Used to be?" Miku looked at him curiously. "What happened? Where are they now? You said some of them are in charge of the nature stuff around here, right?" 

Hyaku's expression became guarded. "Yes, well, after...after a certain event happened, we all grew apart. I talk to them every now and then but it's not the same."

"What event?" Miku asked curiously.

Hyaku shook his head. "I...I don't wanna talk about it now," He murmured. He then turned and smiled at her. "Why don't we talk about something else? Like how awesome being teachers is going to be!"

Zorome 

Zorome felt an ache in his chest as he sat alone in the house after the meeting. He didn't even feel like going and playing ball. Ever since he'd overheard Miku talking to Hyaku that one day, his heart hadn't felt good at all. It reminded him of how Futoshi had felt after Kokoro had left him to pilot with Mitsuru back when they were still parasites. Now he was sitting on the bed with his back against the wall, doing nothing but sulking miserably. 

Hyaku! Zorome's fist clenched at the thought of the other guy's name. That idiot wants to steal Miku from me! He's dumb if he thinks I'll let him do that! The thought of Hyaku stealing Miku from him was so intense that it caused him to feel almost sick. He hated how it made him felt. It made him want to hurt Hyaku. He was sure that the silver-haired fool was feeding into Miku's grudge against Zorome, whispering shit into her ears to convince her to be with him instead. He didn't understand how she could stand the ass-kissing boy. A part of him wanted to trust her to remember that the bond they had was too strong to throw away...but it was hard, seeing as she seemed to be growing closer to Hyaku. 

"I'll fight him!" Zorome shouted out loud, angrily jumping off his bed. "Right now! I bet Miku's with that jerk! I'll go over to his house and beat him right up!" He fumed. But his hands fell limp at his side. He knew Miku would despise him even more if he did so, rather than be impressed. He felt hopeless, for what seemed like possibly the first time since Papa's betrayal.  

He missed Miku so much. He missed cooking with her, playing ball with her, planning with her, and bickering with her. He missed accidentally falling asleep with her and waking up and blaming each other awkwardly for it. 

This is my fault... Zorome thought to himself, sitting on the bed with his back against the wall once more. His shoulders slumped forward. He pulled his knees close to his chest, feeling like he was almost going to cry. I know it...she is right. Miku is honestly smarter than I am...I'm not sure if I can ever tell her that...she'd probably get all worked up about it...but it's true. She's right. I'm wrong. I just don't wanna act like this is Squad 13! I don't wanna replace my friends...my family! I want Miku and me to lead us...I want us to be the ones who are remembered forever because we started an awesome school. I like our new friends...I just can't replace my squad. I should've never been so cold to Miku. I don't blame her for hanging around with Hyaku.

Zorome knew what he had to do. He had to apologize...

But he just didn't know if he could.