A New Generation: A ZoroMiku Story

37: Miku's Fear

Miku

When the nurse came in at sunrise, she checked Miku over and gave her some food, telling her she'd need to stay at the infirmary for a while till she fully healed. She was around Miku's age and reminded her quite a bit of Kokoro. Zorome continued to sleep in the chair and she let him, knowing he needed sleep after the crazy night they'd had. 

As she ate her food, she couldn't help but pick at it. She felt more nauseous than hungry. She found it absolutely abhorrent to think about Hyaku and the memory of having almost been killed by her was haunting, to say the least. She couldn't brush it to the side however much she tried and it made her feel absolutely sick to her stomach. She couldn't bear to think about how someone she'd trusted, someone who had been her friend, had tried to take her life. Why? She didn't understand his motives. Did he really think she was his former partner in some way? If so, then why kill her? It didn't make any sense to her. She knew he had to be insane.

Her stomach churned and she set her food to the side. It was only half-eaten but she wasn't sure if she would even be able to keep down the food she already had eaten, never mind try to eat more.

What's going to happen? Is Hyaku going to be let out? What if he comes after me again? What if my friends here aren't what I thought they were? Questions swarmed through Miku's head. She was hurt, confused, and afraid. She didn't know what was going on anymore. At that moment, she just wanted to be with Zorome and her old friends again, friends she knew would never turn on her as Hyaku had. As for her other fellow teachers, how could she ever be able to trust them? What if one of them turned on her or Zorome as Hyaku had? Would she ever be truly safe or would she have enemies in places she least expected them to be? Did anyone else harbour thoughts of pure insanity that caused them to want to harm her? She didn't know. She wasn't sure how she'd ever be able to know. Everyone seemed to be a wolf in sheep's clothing to her. The only one who wasn't, aside from her old friends, was Zorome. 

After seeing Zorome fight so hard to protect her, Miku knew she could trust him with her life. Then again, she'd known this for a while. They'd partnered Argentea together and had a connection strong enough for her to know with full certainty he would never harm her. Despite their frequent bickering, they were inseparable and would do anything to help each other in times of need. They were partners. 

Miku winced as she tried to sit up straighter. She was extremely sore from what Hyaku had done. Being dragged against the ground had caused her to receive many cuts and bruises. Her neck also hurt like hell from the grip he'd had on it. 

Zorome 

Zorome had been relieved when he'd woken up to see that Miku was awake. Now the two of them were talking together about hospital food. Miku hadn't finished her food but had given the rest of it to him. Thank goodness she did, because he was starving! However, the food they'd been given wasn't exactly the tastiest.

"I think these people could use Futoshi's taste here," Zorome commented as he finished the last bites of his food. "I mean, this shit is so bland! If I had to eat this stuff every day I'd go nuts!"

"Ugh, definitely," Miku agreed. "I mean, I already wasn't very hungry when I woke up and this bland food made it worse. These people definitely need to take cooking lessons from Futoshi. Well, actually, our entire squad was good at cooking...yep, any of us would be good at teaching these people how to make food."

After they were done trash-talking the infirmary food for a while, an awkward silence grew between them. Zorome could tell that Miku was still weak and unwell. There seemed to be more bruises showing up now and every single one of them, as well as the cuts, stood out due to the paleness of her skin. She was not doing very well at all.

"Hey, Zorome? Um, thank you, I guess," Miku was averting her gaze as she spoke. 

"Huh?"

"You idiot! T-thank you for fighting Hyaku and making him let me go. If you hadn't been there..." Her voice trailed off.

"Y-yeah, of course! We're partners!" Now Zorome's face was flushing. "I'm just glad he's locked up in some building."

"Do you know how long he'll be there for?" Miku asked quietly. She sounded afraid. "I...I don't think I want to see him again. He's...scary."

Scary was an understatement in Zorome's eyes. He was a monster and an absolute freakshow. "No," He admitted. "But I'm gonna try to make sure he stays in there forever! I mean, he tried to kill you! Who would let a freak like that ever get loose again?"

"I hope you're right," Miku sighed. "But...what if he does?"

"He won't," Zorome said darkly. "And if he does, guess I'll just have to beat up his stupid ass again." He was satisfied at the thought of how he'd punched that monster in the eye. He hoped he'd get a black eye from it. He supposed that him going blind was too much for him to ask for. Oh well, at least he'd given him a sound beating. He was sure he'd be able to do it again. It would be even more satisfying.

"Are you sure?" Miku's voice was trembling a bit. "I mean it. I don't want to see him again. Z-Zorome...I don't think I can handle it." Her voice cracked and she began to sob, covering her eyes with her hands. Zorome felt awkward and afraid. He didn't like seeing his partner like this. She seemed so...broken.

He didn't want anyone to ever make this happen to her again.