Zorome X Miku: The Forgotten Plantation

30: Found

The search for Zorome continued and after a while, Zero Two had lost his trail. Now, the three former parasites stood in the middle of the woods as the storm raged around them. They could barely see more than a few inches in front of them. Without being able to follow Zorome's footsteps, the three of them were unsure of how to continue on from there. 

Zero Two was standing with her forefinger tapping her chin thoughtfully. Her green eyes were narrowed into slits as she scanned the forest around them. Miku didn't know much about any of Zero Two's inhuman traits. She wanted to ask about them but was worried about offending her or hurting her feelings. She didn't want to come off as insensitive.

"What do we do now?" Futoshi asked, having to raise his voice quite loudly to be heard above the roaring wind. 

Zero Two stood for a moment with her hands in her pockets, regarding the few inches they could see ahead of them. Her eyes were narrowed and she looked like she was trying to use her senses to figure out where Zorome could have possibly gone. 

"I think he went this way," Zero Two said after a long pause as she turned sharply to the right. Miku and Futoshi followed her. As they pushed through the dense skeletal bushes, Miku noticed that some seemed to have branches that were purposefully broken or had been shoved to the side. She could see spots here and there that resembled footprints, though they were almost covered by snow to the point where it was hard to even tell exactly what they were. 

Miku tried to ignore the stinging sensation of cold air blowing at her face while snowflakes hit her as well. The discomfort she felt was intense but her worry for her partner was much stronger. She knew she would have to give him a stern talking to once she found him...if he was okay, that was.

The prospect of finding Zorome hurt or worse caused her stomach to churn. No. I can't think like that. Zorome's an idiot but he's strong enough to probably survive a storm like this. As long as he doesn't try climbing trees like he did that one time the other day he should be fine. 

Miku braced herself as she followed Zero Two through the woods. The harsh wind was causing branches to snap and fall off the trees. One branch even hit Futoshi on the head, causing him to let out a startled cry. A couple of small twigs lodged themselves into Miku's pigtails. Some branches from low-growing trees and bushes snagged at her hair and she noticed that Zero Two was having the same problem, though she didn't seem to notice or care.

"I can see his footprints again!" Futoshi pointed at the ground. Miku and Zero Two went on either side of him and peered down as well. He was right, there were footprints there. Footprints that were visible and hadn't yet been covered in snow.

"That means he just passed through here recently," Zero Two remarked as she straightened up again and stared through the snowstorm through narrowed eyes. "These tracks are fresh. He shouldn't be much farther."

Miku and the others carefully searched the area around them. They poked at each bush and looked in every nook and cranny. Miku's heart was beating loudly in her chest as she desperately tried to find her partner. She didn't understand why he would've run off, nor did she understand why he would do so in the thick of such a harsh winter storm. 

"Zorome?" Miku had to raise her voice as loudly as she could so that she could be heard through the blizzard. "Zorome, where the hell are you?"

"Guys! Zorome is over here!" Futoshi's shout caused Miku to startle. She used her hand to block out snowflakes from landing in her eyes and followed the sound of the large boy's voice. She was squinting to see through the endless white flakes as they pelted down on her from the sky above. It didn't take her too much longer and she eventually saw Futoshi's large frame through the snow. She could see the silhouette of Zero Two standing next to him as well. Swiftly, Miku dodged and ducked beneath some branches so that she could stand at their sides. 

Looking down, Miku saw that Zorome was sitting on the ground with his back against a tree whilst hugging his knees against his chest. He hadn't looked up yet at his squadmates.

"Zorome?" Miku crouched down in front of him and leaned close to his ear so that he could hear him through the noise that raged around them. "Are you okay?"

Zorome shifted and seemed to pull his knees tighter against his chest. He mumbled something that Miku couldn't make out, as it was muffled by both the storm and his legs.

"The squad's really worried." Now Zero Two knelt on the ground to talk to the sandy-haired boy. She was gentle, though she herself didn't seem completely worried or anything. "Miku was especially worried. You should really come home."

Zorome finally pulled his head up to look at the two girls. His eyes were dull and had a reddish hue to them as though he had been crying, though it could've also been the wind drying them out. "Whatdya want?"

Miku found herself bristling. "What do you mean? We want to know why the hell you went off on your own during this storm! You're coming home right now, understand?" She didn't like the way he was dully looking at her. It made her gut feel weird and upset on the inside. She was beside herself with worry.

To her relief, Zorome pulled himself up to his feet and sighed, though he kept his eyes low and avoided looking at her, Zero Two, and Futoshi. "Sure. Fine. It's whatever, I guess."

Miku exchanged an apprehensive glance with Futoshi. She could see her worry reflected in his dark brown eyes. Whatever was going on with Zorome, it was obvious that it was very, very wrong.