A New Generation: A ZoroMiku Story

40: Dampened Spirits

Miku

Knowing that Hyaku was going to have a trial that could potentially lead to him being released made it even harder for Miku to keep down the stale food that the nurse kept bringing her. She felt even more ill now. She didn't like that she had to go there as well and the thought of seeing Hyaku's face made her want to bury herself under her covers and never come out again. Having Zorome around, however, made her feel a tiny bit better. Yet she was worried about him as well, knowing that Hyaku would've absolutely killed him as well. 

"Hey, Miku, I know you're upset about the trial but at least you have a week to prepare for it," Zorome told her, nudging her with his elbow. When she didn't respond, he added: "...Right?"

"I don't think that's enough time," Miku murmured. "I've never been so scared in my life. Not even when fighting klaxosaurs. I truly thought he was my friend. I thought he'd understand my connection with you, even if he didn't like that I couldn't be his partner." She felt tears beginning to form in her eyes. It hurt her badly that a good friend of hers had betrayed him, even if she'd only known him for a short amount of time. He had supported her during the fallout with Zorome and had been eager to be a teacher alongside the rest of them at first. Now she'd never be able to see him in the same light. She'd lost a close friend for good now. If she even ever was a friend in his eyes. He acted as though she'd been nothing more than her property, somehow given to him as a replacement for his first partner, 998. The fact he'd ruined her trust and made it harder for her to trust other people now was agonizing as well. Why did that have to happen to her? Hadn't it already been bad enough when Papa and the adults had betrayed everyone? 

"I'm sorry," Zorome told her. He sighed. "Miku, listen, I hate seeing you like this. It makes me feel even guiltier for not being there early enough to stop him. I don't like it."

Miku wasn't sure what to say to that. She was tired and she felt so confused, afraid, and hopeless. "I don't know who to trust," She admitted. "Other than you and our old friends. I want to be able to trust the other teachers so that we can be successful but it's hard. I trusted Hyaku and then he betrayed me." She sniffed and fought back tears. 

"Same here," Zorome sighed. "I mean, Hyaku always seemed a bit off to me but I never thought he'd go after you. I kinda thought maybe he'd try duking it out with me, I dunno. Didn't think he'd take it that far, though."

"What if he gets loose?" Miku whispered to him. "If he wins this trial, he might try to kill me."

"Well, then I'll just have to keep a closer eye on him," Zorome said darkly. "Trust me, Miku, I won't let that happen."

Zorome

Zorome's spirits felt crushed. One of his former teacher pals had betrayed him. What would he do if he got out? Would he go after Miku and Zorome immediately? Would he find some friends and then turn them against the two of them as well? He wasn't sure. He hoped he wouldn't ever have to find out and that the trial went well and kept him away from them for good. He didn't think he'd be able to hold himself back from fighting the boy when he saw him at the trial. 

It was hard for him to feel his normal enthusiasm and energy. His body ached from the fight as well as having slept in that uncomfortable chair. The betrayal had destroyed their celebration and had turned what was supposed to be a night of fun and joy into a night of horror and near-death. How would they be able to go on with their school now, knowing that one of the former would-be teachers had tried to murder them? He would always have to keep an eye out to make sure nobody else tried anything like that. 

He missed his friends. He knew Goro and Ichigo would have come up with some sort of idea by now, at least something that would've comforted him. All he wanted was a safe school. Was that too much to ask?

Knowing that Hyaku was getting a "fair trial" made him feel even more drained. He didn't think it was fair at all whatsoever. Hyaku deserved a terrible punishment, not a trial. It had been blatantly obvious that he'd been trying to kill Miku! He had said it out loud multiple times. Why did that jerk need a trial! Zorome knew he'd been right all along about Squad 13 parasites being superior. It appeared that everyone else was braindead. Why the hell are we having a trial when we already saw what he did? Why does he need to be heard out? Just toss the guy away and throw out the key! 

"I hope we can go back to celebrating again," Miku sighed. "But...this makes it harder for me to feel happy now. I feel like we've somehow regressed. I want to move forward from this but it'll be hard."

Zorome had to agree with her on that. How would they ever be able to celebrate the future opening of the new school if they didn't even know they could trust their fellow former parasites?