A New Generation: A ZoroMiku Story

29: Late

Miku

It didn't take Miku that much longer to get herself pulled together. She was grateful to have peace and quiet as opposed to Zorome whining and trying to get her to hurry up, which was ironic because he hadn't hurried up when she had asked him to! He was like that though, she supposed. 

At most, it took Miku about ten minutes to fully pull herself together. She knew she wasn't late and would likely still be early if she left the house now. She looked at herself in the mirror once more, ran her fingers through her pigtails, and smiled. 

"I look perfect and I didn't even take too long! Not bad, if I say so myself!" She bragged to nobody out loud. She left the bathroom, turned the switch off, and walked over to the door, turning the light there off as she opened it as well.

The moment she stepped out of the house, however, a boy walked from around the corner and stood in front of her. "I knew I'd finally get to be alone with you again."

Miku yelped in surprise, nearly falling backward into the house. It was Hyaku! 

"Oh, uh, what're you doing here?" She asked, rather startled, closing the door behind her so that she didn't fall inside by accident. "And why aren't you in your uniform? Your formal one, I mean. You're gonna be late, you know!" 

Hyaku had a dark look in his eyes. He smirked. "I'm not going to the ceremony, that's why," He said to her. "I have other plans for the night. Something I've been wanting to do for a while now. I simply haven't had the chance."

Miku was confused and a bit concerned as well. "Well, why didn't you tell any of us? This is an important thing!" 

Hyaku chuckled darkly. "Oh, this isn't something they'd want to know about, believe me. It has nothing to do with them. I don't really care if they get mad at us for not coming."

"Us?" Miku asked, feeling confused. "Who else is going with you?" 

"You, silly!" Hyaku let out a laugh that chilled Miku to her very core. "You're going to be coming with me tonight, whether you like it or not. I'm taking you to the beach, the more deserted part of the beach, where nobody will interfere with our affairs." 

Miku wanted to take a step back but was now trapped against the door. Her hand was shaking too much to reach for the knob as he took a step closer to her. "N-no I'm not! I'm going to go to the ceremony. I don't have time for this, Hyaku! If you want to leave the teacher's group or do your own thing, whatever, just tell us!" She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her wrist harshly and twisted it, causing her to cry out in pain.

"Again," Hyaku said, gazing into her eyes with his own crazed ones. "You're coming with me whether you want to or not."

Zorome

"Let's just go onto the stage" Zorome sighed impatiently. "She's gonna be late anyway at this point." The group of teachers were sitting on the benches closest to the stage in the main room of the Meeting Centre and were waiting for Miku to arrive so they could get things started. 

"Won't she be, like, furious if we start without her?" Raven asked. 

Zorome shrugged. "Well, it's her own fault. She's the one who took her sweet time coming here. Everyone else is already here now."

"Hyaku isn't," Pondo pointed out. "We should probably wait for him too."

"Nah," Zorome was dismissive. "I saw him hanging around by himself, not even wearing clothes for the ceremony on my way here. Didn't look like he was even headed here and he was just standing like an idiot close to my place. What a weirdo!"

"Wow," Raven looked impressed with him. "Didn't know you hated the guy that much! I've never been fond of him myself, though I guess I just try working with him because it's best for us. I mean, the rumours about him could very well be true." 

Zorome snapped his head around to stare at the dark-haired girl. "Wait, what rumours?" He asked. 

"Oh, those rumours!" Bani piped up. "About him nearly killing the last person he partnered a FranXX with because she was nothing like the partner he lost in a Klaxosaur battle?" 

"HUH?!" Zorome's eyes widened in shock. He had not been expecting to hear that!

"Yep, those ones," Raven said, nodding. "Supposedly that's the reason he's always alone. A lot of people fear him. And why do you think his squad is never around? I mean, the fact he never sees his former squadmates is a bit odd. He never mentions them either." 

Zorome felt uneasy. "Yikes, I didn't know that." Man, I already didn't like the guy but now I have more of a reason to hate his guts! 

They waited for a while longer until Zorome got impatient. 

"Y'know what? I'll just go home and get Miku myself! Don't start without me." He stood up and grouchily made his way out of the building, muttering about how he would make her explain everything when he saw her.

He couldn't believe that the girl had taken her sweet time. He knew she was just excited about the ceremony as he was! 

Seriously, how long does it take for a girl to get ready? Ha, and she thought I was taking too long! He shook his head in exasperation as he marched away from the Meeting Centre and headed for his house, which was a good fifteen-minute walk or so. He realized that he'd have to pick up the pace if he wanted to fetch Miku in time...well, he guessed she was already late so not in time, but he didn't want it to take longer than it already was. Sighing, he broke into a run, deciding he'd be royally pissed if his uniform got all sweaty from having to hurry back home.