A New Generation: A ZoroMiku Story

21: Old Friends

Miku

Ever since she and Zorome had reconciled, things seemed to be going quite well. The teacher meetings were progressing more and the purple-eyed former stamen was back to his old and excitable self. Though he still obviously got ahead of himself, he'd pay Miku more heed when she put in her two cents about something and was even listening to their group members.

However, it seemed like Hyaku was distancing himself from everyone. The boy didn't talk much and his tone was colder now when he spoke to Miku in particular. She knew for a fact it was because of the discussion they'd had at the beach. She didn't understand what his problem was, honestly. Didn't he have any loyalty to the partner he'd lost? Or maybe the partner he'd drifted apart from?

Whenever Miku attempted to start a conversation with Hyaku, he'd ignore her completely and sometimes walk away. His coldness wasn't the same as Zorome's, as in it didn't affect her as much as it did when her partner had acted distant. But it still made her feel a little bit uneasy. 

Two weeks had passed and the bond she and Zorome had was stronger than ever. One day, as they were chilling inside their small house challenging each other to a posing contest out of boredom, they heard a knock at the door.

Miku immediately answered it, abandoning the stupid pose she'd been trying to do, and was startled to see the former members of Squad 13 all gathered outside her door. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"Hello!" Miku cried happily. 

"Hey, guys!" Zorome eagerly ran over to the door and gave Futoshi a hearty thump over the shoulder, grinning widely at his old friend. "How's it goin'?" He was practically on the tips of his toes trying to noogie Futoshi, who was batting him playfully away.

"It's going great!" Kokoro said with a smile. She was holding hands with her daughter Ai, who looked extremely happy to be there.

"Ai!" Miku ran over and leaned in front of the young girl. "How are you doing?"

"Good!" Ai smiled up at her with dimples that Miku found adorable.

"That's great! I'm glad to hear it. I've been doing good too." Miku was fond of children, especially Kokoro's little one, who reminded her a lot of her childhood friend. It also reminded her that she was thankful that Kokoro's childhood memories of her had never been lost during the memory wipe. 

"Come inside!" Miku stood back up to her whole height again and ushered her old friends inside. She was smiling from ear to ear. The only member of the squad who wasn't there was Goro, who was obviously still out on his adventures away from them. But that was to be expected. "How is everyone doing?" She asked. 

"We're doing great!" Kokoro told her happily. "Everything's been fine, honestly. We just came to drop in and see how things are doing!"

"Yeah," Ikuno nodded. "How's the new school coming along? Zorome hasn't destroyed any chances of success with his stupidity, has he?" Her tone was teasing yet smug.

"Hey!" Zorome barked indignantly.

Everyone laughed at this as they filed into the house, with Mitsuru politely and gently closing the door behind him.

Zorome

Zorome and Miku had retold the tales of their adventure so far, including the rift between them and the friends they'd made. They told them that they'd made up but left the sappy and embarrassing details out of it. Zorome personally didn't think he'd be able to survive any teasing Futoshi would do if he'd known about how he'd begged Miku to forgive him! 

"I'm glad that the school's coming along nicely," Ichigo said after they'd talked for a while. "Not much has been going on with us back at Bird Nest, really, though Futoshi is definitely becoming the top baker! He's even been talking to a girl!"

Everyone turned their attention to Futoshi. Zorome's eyes widened. "Woah, really?" He was in awe. His chubby friend had once been so in love with Kokoro that it had caused him to have nightmares when she'd switched with Mitsuru to pilot the FranXX. He had been down about it for quite some time and had struggled to accept that she didn't love him back. It was nice to know that he'd moved on for some new girl, he supposed.

"Learning lessons from old Zorome, huh?" Zorome elbowed his friend in a friendly and teasing way. He poked at his belly, then added, "Who knew a fatty would be such a lady's man!"

"ARGH, don't call me that!" Futoshi nudged him away from him. Zorome giggled devilishly and plopped down on his bed. "Anyway," The brown-haired boy continued. "She and I bake together...it's really fun! She makes the best cake ever!" He was practically drooling as he spoke. "She was busy today but she may come with to visit some other time!"

The old squad talked to each other for a while, reminiscing about the good old days and enjoying each other's company. It felt like they hadn't missed a beat and Zorome hoped they'd be able to visit like this a lot in the future. He realized that nobody would ever be able to replace them. They had made history with the help of Hiro and Zero Two. Zorome and Miku would always be remembered as a part of that, regardless of whether or not their titles as teachers got slightly merged a bit with the other teachers. Still, he wouldn't allow them to be anything but the head of the school! 

After they hung out together for a while, the former squad said goodbye to each other and left once more. It had felt amazing to be with them again. It felt...right. He was deeply glad and touched that they'd visited. He and Miku would have to pay them all a visit as well.

Zorome left the house a while later to use an outhouse. Apparently, according to what Ichigo had said during the visit, the water system and electricity would be done in about a month in that section of the housing area!

On his way there, however, a voice called out to him. A voice full of panic and desperation. Glancing up, he saw that Jasper was running over to him. He must've been coming over to his house. He could tell by the expression on the taller boy's face that he was panicked.

"What's up?" Zorome asked him.

"It's...it's Bella!" Jasper panted, catching his breath as he halted in front of Zorome. "She's very sick right now. She's getting medical help but she isn't doing good. I...I don't know if she can come to the meeting tomorrow but she wants you and Miku to visit just in case."