Zorome X Miku: The Forgotten Plantation

29: Into The Storm

Miku tapped her foot as she and the others sat in the lounge. She had just gathered everyone to tell them the news about Zorome. Everyone had admitted that he had been acting weird but most had assumed he simply had been in a pissy mood for one reason or another. Now, however, everyone was concerned and each of them was trying to figure out where he could've gone and why he would've gone missing in the first place. Sure, Zorome wandered off on his own sometimes but something about him doing it at that particular time made everyone uneasy. Something wasn't right with him. 

"I have an idea," Zero Two announced out of the blue. "I'm going to go see if he went outside."

"How?" Miku perked up and hopefully looked at the tall pink-haired girl. If anyone could find her partner, she was sure Zero Two could.

Zero Two stood up from the sofa she'd been sitting on and strode over to the entrance. "I'll see if I can find any footprints. Some of them are probably snowed over but not the ones under the shelter outside in the courtyard."

She stepped outside the door and came back inside in mere moments. A few snowflakes were intertwined here and there in her bright pink hair. 

"Yep, just as I thought. I saw a bunch of footprints outside. Only one set of footprints. They have to be Zorome's." Zero Two looked rather proud of herself as she went to stand by Hiro.

"Where were they heading?" Ichigo asked her.

"To the woods," Zero Two replied. "We should go look for him before his trail is fully covered by snow."

"Should we all go out and search for him?" Kokoro asked.

Miku already knew that she would be one of the ones to look for him. He was her partner and she wouldn't be able to rest until she saw that he was safe and sound. She also wanted to know why he had gone off on his own again like an idiot. And during a storm! Zorome's going to be in serious trouble when I find him!

"No. Some of us should stay here." Ichigo looked around at her squadmates. "I think Zero Two should lead the search party."

"I want to be one of the ones to go!" Miku volunteered quickly as soon as Ichigo had finished her last sentence. "He's my partner. Also, he needs me to tell him not to be so reckless all the time!"

A slight smile crept across Ichigo's face. "Alright, you can go. I think maybe one more person should go with them, just in case."

"I'll go." Futoshi stood up. "I'm kind of getting bored sitting around in here anyway without anything to eat. Zorome usually keeps me entertained."

Ichigo nodded. "Alright, then. Now it's settled. Zero Two, Miku, and Futoshi are going to go search for Zorome."

"We'll be back before you know it!" Zero Two seemed rather enthusiastic about the situation, though Miku guessed it was probably because she was beginning to get rather bored having to stay cooped up indoors.

Miku made sure her coat was on before putting her gloves on. Then she set off with Futoshi and Zero Two in search of her partner.

Upon opening the front door and stepping outside, Miku was immediately taken back by the harshness of the blizzard. Snowflakes slapped her in the face, making her feel like she was being hit by dozens of tiny ice-cold needles. She gritted her teeth as she marched out into the open and put one arm out to protect herself from the endless assault of wind and snowflakes. She had never been in a storm quite like this one. 

"Follow me." Zero Two seemed unfazed by the storm and smoothly began to follow a trail of footprints that were already beginning to fill up with snow. Miku and Futoshi both followed her, though they were having much more trouble walking through the storm than she was. 

Zero Two kept a brisk pace, though she did stop a few times to allow for the other two former parasites to catch up to her. Fighting against the storm was exhausting but Miku was not going to return to the boarding house. Not until Zorome was found.

The sound of wind roared in Miku's ears, making it hard for her to hear anything else. She wished that Zorome would just make himself known so that they could all go home and warm up. Her muscles ached with the extra effort it took to push against the powerful wind. She silently cursed her partner for making her have to go to such lengths to make sure he was alright. 

Zero Two continued leading Futoshi and Miku farther into the woods. She claimed she could still see a faint trail and was quite confident in her ability to find the missing boy. Miku knew there was no reason for her to lie and felt a bit better knowing that she had her on her side. It made her feel even guiltier about the times she had mocked her behind her back. 

Suddenly, Futoshi let out a startled yelp and fell over. His arms slammed into Miku's legs as he hit the ground, causing her to stumble and fall beside him. 

"What happened?" Miku asked, glancing anxiously over at the brown-eyed boy. 

"I caught my leg on a branch," Futoshi grunted as he scrambled back to his feet. "It's not a big deal though. Let's go." He helped Miku back to her feet and they continued to follow Zero Two, who had gone to walk on after they had both gotten up.

I have to find him. I have to make sure he's alright and give him a piece of my mind for worrying me! Miku was determined to seek her partner out. She felt like she would do it even if it resulted in her ending up with a cold or something worse. She had to know why he had run off and if he was okay. He better be okay. 

She didn't want to think about what would happen if he wasn't.