Zorome X Miku: The Forgotten Plantation

38: Into The City

Miku was so excited that she could hardly sleep the night after the squad had finished planning their trip into the city. She was looking forward to the expedition and she couldn't wait to poke around and see everything that she hadn't been able to that one time they had received awards for how well they'd fought against the klaxosaurs. The thought of going back into the city after all this time felt almost surreal to her. She was shocked that nobody had proposed the idea sooner. It wasn't like they didn't have access to the city anymore. There was no electricity to keep up the barriers that had once prevented them from going there. 

The next morning, Miku was so excited that she could hardly keep her hands still when trying to help Kokoro and Ikuno make breakfast for the others. Zero Two had gone out early to catch some fish for them all to eat that morning and Kokoro still had herbs that weren't quite wilted yet. The meal had been delicious, though Miku had trouble keeping it down due to her belly feeling like it had butterflies in it from all the excitement.

When they finished breakfast and cleaned everything up, Ichigo finally decided that it was time to lead them into the city. She let Zero Two walk alongside her since she knew the area better than anyone else. 

It took a little bit of effort to get down to the city. They had to climb down a fair bit, though it wasn't too steep and Ichigo was confident that they would easily be able to bring their plants down. As soon as they safely reached the ground of the city, Miku couldn't suppress a startled gasp.

Looking around, she saw that the city was nothing like it had been the two times she'd seen it. It was no longer glowing with the magma energy that had sustained it so long and had given it life. Instead, the city was extremely dark and dead. The only light source was the sunlight that streamed in from the destroyed roof of the plantation. It was almost more eerie than it had been the last time Miku and the others had been there, which was quite odd considering it had already been creepy before. She couldn't see any sign of life. Instead, all she saw were dilapidated buildings and rubble from the attack. There were still a few buildings, however, that didn't appear to have been completely destroyed by the klaxosaurs.

Stupid klaxosaurs. Miku thought as she gladly gazed at the rubble around her. I can't believe how much damage they caused sometimes. 

"Come on." Ichigo's voice was grim as she began to walk deeper into the city. "We can't stand here all day. We should get going. It might take us all day to find a place for our plants."

Silently, the squad followed Ichigo and Zero Two deeper into the city. Miku felt almost sick as she regarded the falling buildings around her. It was devastating to see what had happened after the klaxosaur attack and her stomach churned with guilt and dread. She cursed herself for having failed to protect the plantation. Even though she didn't mind the freedom they had as much as she used to, she hadn't ever considered the fact that the squad's failure had led to the deaths of other residents of the plantation. Residents that had been relying on them to make sure that they didn't die. 

Everyone else seemed just as upset by the sight as she was. Zorome's eyes were glimmering with grief and horror. Futoshi's eyebrows were creased in visible concern and fear. Ikuno's expression was grim and she appeared to be trying her hardest not to look at the damage that surrounded her. Mitsuru's eyes were dark with fear and he had one arm wrapped protectively around Kokoro, who looked like she was going to be sick. Ai clung to her mother's leg and nervously looked around at the horrible sight of the destroyed city. Hiro and Goro both looked sad. Ichigo's gaze was fixed firmly ahead of her.

The only one who didn't seem visibly devastated from what she was seeing was Zero Two. She continued to guide the other former parasites through the fallen city as though she saw nothing wrong with it. She seemed completely unbothered by the fact that the place they had sworn to protect had fallen apart entirely. Miku wondered why it didn't seem to bother her as much as it did the rest of them. Surely she felt horrified by what the klaxosaurs had done as well?

Zero Two halted at the entrance of one of the buildings that were still standing. She put her index finger to her chin and thoughtfully tipped her head up to gaze higher at the building, which stretched taller than any of their FranXX had ever stood. 

"What is it?" Ichigo asked as she stopped at Zero Two's side. "Do you think this building is suitable for our plants?" 

"Possibly." Zero Two didn't look at Ichigo as she spoke. Instead, she kept her head tilted up as she gazed at the top of the towering building. "There seems to be enough sunlight to reach the windows here. It looks like it might be pretty warm on the inside. The city isn't even nearly as cold as our home back there."

Miku realized that the pink-haired former pistil had a point. It was true. It really wasn't all that cold in the city in spite of the fact it was winter and the city was open to the sky. She wondered why. 

"Let's go in, then." Ichigo pushed open the door, which was barely even hanging onto its hinges. She stepped inside and Zero Two immediately went in after her, followed by the rest of the squad members. 

Upon entering the building, the squad was faced with a long hallway with many doors on each side. The doors were metal and had authorization panels that no longer worked. Some of them, however, had fallen off or were barely hanging on to their hinges. At the end of the hallway were an elevator and a flight of stairs beside it.

Ichigo and Zero Two went to inspect one of the rooms. 

"We should check each room to see if there's anything helpful," Ichigo said.

As they entered one of the rooms, however, Zero Two stiffened and Ichigo let out a cry of dismay.

"What is it?" Miku hurried over to their side.

Then she saw what was in the room and let out a horrified shriek.