The Jian

Chapter 18: Eclectica

WARNING

The following chapter and possible/future chapters ahead will contain references of suicidal actions, written out in words, reader discretion is advised

'Noooooo! No no no no no, nooooooooooo!' Zorome cried and cried over his defeat. 'What did I ever do to deserve this losing streak! I can't even remember the last time I won for a change!'

'With failure comes learning and experience, Zorome.' laughed Goro. 'It's your fault for not picking up your mistakes and learning from them!'

'Hmph!'

Zorome glanced back at the table behind them, seeing if somenoe may have noticed his outburst. No one did.

Young love.

Up next was Futoshi and Goro, Futoshi wanted rematch against the current master of the squad.

Hiro walked into the room.

'Hiro!' said Goro. 'Where have you been all day?' he asked sarcastically. If they weren't such close friends it may have sounded rude or like an attack, but Goro rarely made it sound it that way even when he meant it to be negative.

'I was hanging out here,' he replied, a little coldly. ' because you guys had left without me! You always talk about us staying together as a group, but you ditch me once I ask Zero two a question or two! If I do recall it was you Ichigo who was supposed to help Zero two around, when it's me who feels the most inclined to do anything for her! You guys are all really racist, you know.'

Heads went down in shame with Hiro's words.

'Hiro-' Ichigo began.

'No, listen to me.' Hiro cut in. 'None of you know Zero two like I do, and I don't even know anything besides her name and the fact that she didn't enjoy being at APE! It was our responsibility to help her and you've gone and done the thing that happens all the time in schools with new students. You'll get introduced by the teacher and then after a day or two, you never speak to each other again... Zero two is different, though... She may seem different but truth be told, we're all different!'

'Hiro... You don't get it...'

'What don't I get. Hm? Because it seems to me that something happened between you and her that makes you act the way you do. And I hope that the alternative of you thinking that she's dangerous just because she looks different scares me... You're all my friends, very close ones at that... but this morning when I went to go and see if she was alright - if there was anything that she would like to get off her back - I noticed how you guys responded. You all asked for me, I replied saying that I would be only a minute or two, but then you guys leave the moment I disappear off with her. We're all curious... I'm the only one who has the balls to do anything about, it instead of whispering behind her back acting, as if she is some sort of... thing!'

'...'

There was no response. No one had really expected their Saturday afternoon to go by like the way it did.

Hiro left, taking towards what was presumably the dorms. His absence only made the silence worse.

'I was going to tell him...' muttered Ichigo. 'If he would just lis-'

'Listen?' sneered Mitsuru. 'You really think he would have listened? It's Hiro we're talking about here. You know he's been drifting further and further and further away then ever before! Why would you expect anything from Hiro? All he does is stay closed off from us, nursing his suicidal depression-'