Zorome's eyes were blinded by the sunlight coming through the window as he opened them. His head ached and felt foggy and dizzy. His throat was sore an dry, feeling as if he's wandered into a desert and tried eating a cactus. He groaned, which causes even more pain to pierce through his throat . This was followed by a violent bout of coughing. He sat up abruptly, his entire body shaking from his coughs and soreness. He also immediately snapped his eyes shut again, unable to handle the light for some reason.

"You're awake!" A relieved voice sighed. "I'm glad. How are you feeling?" It was Miku. She was sitting on the side of his bed with her feet dangling off the edge. They were on a bunk bed.

"Like absolute shit," Zorome admitted to her with a sigh. His shoulders slumped. He hardly had the strength to sit up straight. "I fainted pretty hard out there, huh?"

Miku nodded. Then she narrowed her eyes, giving him a fiercely stern glare. "Don't do that ever again! You worried me sick!" Her voice was harsh yet filled with concern.

"Well I didn't try to faint!" Zorome retorted, his voice raspy from whatever sickness was currently infecting him. He crossed his arms and looked around the room. "Hey, uh, where are the others?"

"They helped me bring you here," Miku explained to him. "Futoshi thought you'd like to sleep on the top bunk so we hauled your body up here. You're welcome."

Futoshi has been correct. Even when sick, Zorome really did prefer the top bunk. He grinned, glad that his friend knew him so well.

"Well, guess I was right," Miku told him with a smug look on her face. "You really did need to go to bed, after all!" She giggled and patted his knee above the blanket. "You should thank me. I know what's best for you even when you don't."

Zorome grumpily jerked his leg away from her. "Don't be stupid, Miku," He grumbled. "You don't always know what's best for me. You don't even always know what's best for yourself!"

Miku flashed him a glare. "Oh? And what's that supposed to mean?" She demanded.

"It should be obvious," Zorome replied. Now it was his turn to act all smug. "Remember when you said you were all better and then ended up going into stampede mode?" Even as he spoke, he felt a pang of guilt deep within, for he knew damn well it was his fault. He also knew Miku would remind him of that.

"That was your fault, remember?" Miku pointed out hotly. "Under normal circumstances I always know what's best." She crosses her arms over her chest and tilted her head up while giving him a look out of the corner of her eyes.

"Yeah, keep telling yourself that," Zorome muttered to her. Then, before she could continue bickering with him, he decided to change the subject, as his throat was in no state to handle an argument. "So...I guess I have the same illness as Hiro and you had, huh?" He let out a sigh and lay down on his back again. "Damnit, I thought I'd be fine. I mean, its been a long time since you were sick. At least a little while. I don't understand why I'm only getting sick now."

Miku shrugged. "Beats me," She replied. "But Ikuno is looking into it again now. We still have some of the medicine leftover from when I was sick. Zero Two is going to bring it as well as something for you to eat." She had yet another smug look on her face.

"Okay, what's with the look?" Zorome asked her wearily. "Don't tell me you think I said something stupid again."

Miku giggled. "It's not that! Actually, I just realized that now you have to try that disgusting medicine for yourself. It tastes absolutely awful!"

Zorome shuddered at the thought, remembering how Miku had told him it was one of the worst tasting things she'd ever put in her mouth. He wasn't looking forward to having to drink it. "Oh, yeah, that stuff."

Suddenly, another bout of coughing wracked his body and he gripped at his throat with his hands. Every time he coughed a surge of pain filled his throat and nostrils. A burning sensation was even beginning to well up inside of his chest. When he was done coughing, he began to gasp and pant. His body was hot and sweaty.

Miku's eyes flashed with concern and she moved closer to him. "Are you alright?" She asked him.

Zorome nodded. "Yes," He barely managed to croak out. "I'm fine. But...shouldn't you be somewhere else?"

Miku seemed to bristle defensively at his words. "Somewhere else? Why should I be?" She demanded. "Don't you want me to keep you company?"

"I didn't mean it that way, sheesh!" Zorome snapped impatiently. "I mean, you don't want to get sick again, do you?"

"Ikuno says that she thinks this illness is something that really only happens to a person once," Miku told him. "You know, sorta like the chickenpox. Zero Two agrees, saying this is similar to an illness she's seen before. So they think I'll be fine. Also, someone has to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't do anything stupid."

Zorome scoffed. "What can I do in this state? I can hardly walk without fainting."

Miku shrugged. "Dunno, but you're the type of person who would still attempt to do things even when you're sick. I mean, I know you, if you get bored you'll probably try climbing the walls or something absolutely ridiculously dumb."

Zorome let out a small cough, then shot her an annoyed look. "What the hell? Climb the walls? I'm not a monkey!"

Miku looked at him with a teasing expression. "Oh yeah? The way you act makes me think otherwise sometimes."

Zorome scowled at her but Zero Two walked into the room before he could give Miku a stinging retort. She was carrying a tray with a bowl of soup, cup of water, and a smaller cup of green liquid medicine.

"You're awake! That's a good sign, I suppose." Zero Two commented, looking up at Zorome with a friendly smile on her face. "I hope you're hungry! This soup is just what you need!"

Zorome frowned. Eating would likely bring his throat immense pain and the thought of simply swallowing anything right then made him queasy. "Not really," He rasped. "I'm not very hungry. Throat hurts like hell."

"You should still eat something," Zero Two told him. She hoisted herself onto the top bunk to join him and Miku with ease, not even a drop of soup spilling over the sides of the bowl. "It helps a lot with human illnesses, I know."

"Yeah," Miku nodded and faced Zorome with a stern expression on her face. "And I'm not leaving you in peace until you do!" She grinned at him devilishly. "I know how badly you want to sleep off the pain, teehee!"

He scowled at his partner. Sometimes she really was a big pain in the ass, always knowing exactly what to say to get him going. But he supposed it was good sometimes. At least she was trying to take care of him.

"Fine," He sighed. "But if it hurts I'm spitting it out on you." He inhaled a sharp and painful breath before grabbing a spoonful of soup. Although it felt like his throat was on fire as he swallowed it down, the warm liquid actually felt a little bit soothing, especially once he was used to the stinging in his throat. He finished it off in no time, hardly aware of Miku and Zero Two watching him with faintly amused looks on their faces.

"Don't forget to take your medicine!" Zero Two told him.

"Oh, uh," He frowned at the green liquid that sat in the tiny cup. It didn't look like much but at the same time it somehow looked like a lot. He lifted the cup to his face, sniffed at it, then grimaced at the smell. "Ugh, it smells like butt!" He grunted.

"Just wait till you taste it!" Miku teased.

Sighing, Zorome made a face as he brought the cup up to his mouth and gulped down the medicine. Then he put the cup down onto the tray again swiftly and gagged. "It tasted as horrible as it smells!" He shouted, which caused him to let out a few hacking coughs.

Miku snorted and glanced at Zero Two. "Look at him! I took the taste way better than he did!"

"Hey," Zorome whined. "Stop making fun of me right in front of my face!" He glared at the two girls, bristling defensively. His face was still set in a grimace from the disgusting taste of the medicine. His tongue felt almost violated from it. 

He groaned and rubbed his face, which was hot, sweaty, and a bit puffy feeling. "Ugh, man, I wish that stuff would kick in, like, now." 

"Don't be silly," Miku said with a scoff. "You just took it! It'll take a while to kick in still. And you have to take another dose at least every six hours or so. Ikuno made me do it like that, at least." She glanced at Zero Two, who was watching their interaction with obvious amusement. "Anyway, I think we should leave him alone to sleep. Even though he just woke up I think he'll probably fall asleep anyway. I did when I was sick." There was a hint of sympathy in the red-haired girl's voice.

Zero Two nodded. "Guess so," She replied, almost sounding disappointed. "But maybe we should make him drink some water first." 

The thought of swallowing anything more made Zorome wince inwardly but he knew it would be good for him to drink some water, especially if it would help him wash down the disgusting taste of that medicine they had given him.

Zorome huffed as he snatched the cup and ruthlessly guzzled down the wonderful liquid. It didn't hurt as bad as he'd initially expected it to as it splashed down the walls of his inner throat. 

"I'm done," He wheezed as soon as he was finished inhaling practically every drop of water. He put the cup back onto the tray beside the bowl and the empty medicine cup for Zero Two to bring back. "Take it. If I see that medicine cup any longer I might-" He briefly broke off with a cough. "-vomit. Just...take it." 

Zero Two nodded, taking the tray from his lap before gracefully leaping off from the top bunk. "Alrighty then! C'mon, Miku! Let's go see what the others are up to. I think Ichigo will want us to bathe so we don't infect anyone else." 

"Suits me," Miku said before climbing down to join the horned girl. "I'll visit you later, 'kay Zorome?" She suddenly frowned and turned to Zero Two. "Wait, uh, if I'm coming back, does it make sense for me to even bathe? I mean, then I'd have to bathe again before I go to bed..."

"How about you visit him tomorrow?" Zero Two suggested to her brightly. "He'll still be here. I'll leave his food outside the room." She looked up to where Zorome was lazily watching the two of them, feeling exhausted from the illness he was going through. "Got that, Zorome? I'll knock too if I have to, to make sure you eat your food!"

"Yeah, yeah," Zorome mumbled sleepily into his blanket, his voice becoming quite muffled from doing so. "Sure, got it. Cya tomorrow or something." He closed his eyes as the two girls left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

Almost immediately as soon as the girls left the room, Zorome found himself beginning to fall asleep again. Miku was right. His illness was forcing his body to sleep whether he wanted to or not, making him way more tired than he'd ever felt in his life. 

Closing his eyes, Zorome sank into a long, deep, dream-filled sleep. 

"What the hell is with you guys?" Zorome asked, frowning as he watched Hiro and Zero Two walk around the place in their swimwear. They seemed to be acting rather lewd, which was something he didn't want to see at all. He would rather just have them do their own thing in private.

Zero Two giggled and winked at him. "We're having a good time, of course! We're gonna go bathe together in our swimwear before Nana makes us practice using the FranXX together." She giggled and gave Hiro a playful poke. "Come on, Darling!" She grabbed him by the wrist and cheerfully dragged him in the direction of the bathing room. Hiro smiled, looking more than happy to be pulled by the pink-haired being.

"What the heck?" Zorome muttered as he watched them go around the corner. "What has gotten into them?" He put his hands on his hips.

Although he didn't have an idea why, something within was urging him to follow the pair. He had no clue what was making him want to do so, but he obeyed the urge and crept silently after the couple. He guessed they'd be up to something weird, something he didn't want to see, yet he couldn't stop himself from peeking in on them. 

When he poked his head into the room, he saw that the two of them were splashing around in the bath together giggling. They were still in their swimwear, thank goodness, and appeared to be having a blast. He watched as the two of them laughed and flung droplets of warm and soapy bathwater at each other. He was shocked yet grateful that neither of them noticed his presence as he continued to lurk there, eyeing their every move for reasons he didn't quite understand. 

Suddenly, the two of them stopped playing with the water and looked into each other's eyes. It wasn't anything new. Zorome had seen them do that plenty of times before and, frankly, found it quite weird. It gave him goosebumps. He didn't want to watch them get all weird but his body seemed to be forcing him to. Something seemed to be forcing him to, at least.

Zero Two suddenly began to slather soap on Hiro's scarred torso. The black-haired boy blushed and moved closer to her and allowed her to do so. Zorome put his hand over his mouth to stop from shouting out in pure horror and disgust. What the hell are they doing?! 

"This feels so good," Hiro told her as he took his turn massaged soap onto her shoulders, not caring that he was also slathering her bikini top as he did so.  "I feel like this is what partners are supposed to do. Am I...am I right?" He blushed a little as he spoke.

Zero Two smiled at him seductively. "You sure are, Darling." 

"Zorome, you perv!" A cheerful voice whispered from behind him, sending him nearly tumbling onto the ground in surprise. Turning around, he saw that Miku had come over at some point. She was also in her swimwear, which caused him to become immediately flustered, and she was standing with her hands on her hips. "Watching them getting in on the action, huh? How lecherous!" 

"I-I don't want to be here!" Zorome snapped hotly in response. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest.

Miku raised one eyebrow doubtfully. "Oh? Then why are you here, then?"

"I...don't know," Zorome admitted. "I wish they would have blocked the entrance or something and just continued doing this shit in private! I don't even know why I'm here."

Miku smirked at him. "Thought so," She said. Her amused expression suddenly turned into one that Zorome found odd and, frankly, absolutely terrifying. It was the same expression Zero Two often gave to Hiro. "That'll be us soon. After they're done." She put one finger under Zorome's chin, causing him to wordlessly sputter.

Zorome snapped awake, immediately wincing from the fiery pain he felt in his throat. He clutched at it, wishing that Miku and Zero Two had left water in the room for him to drink. Neither of them had come to knock on his door yet, it seemed.

That dream was so weird! What the hell was that all about?! He thought. This sickness must really be something else if it's making me have dreams like that! He stayed lying on his back, deciding that he didn't care to be awake when his body screamed at him to rest. 

Never in his life had Zorome felt so tired and heavy. His body felt like dead weight and didn't match the normal energy of his mind. He despised it. He hoped he'd recover faster than Miku did. Maybe as fast as Hiro did, although he had his own different reasons for recovering so soon.

Zorome rolled onto his side, deciding he was tired of sleeping on his back and hoped that lying in a different direction would stop him from having weird dreams. 

Simply put: it didn't.

"Why is Argentea in stampede mode with nobody in it?" Zorome asked as he and the others watched the pink-and-white FranXX frolic about in an oddly serene field of flowers. The FranXX was batting at butterflies and other insects with its huge robotic paws. It was truly something to behold.

Futoshi and Mitsuru laughed at him as if he had said the funniest joke in the world.

"What?" He asked, thoroughly confused. "I'm lost here...what the hell is going on?"

"You idiot," Miku said in an amused yet affectionate tone. "Argentea has a mind of her own now."

Okay. This time Zorome knew he was dreaming, which immediately caused him to wake up by default.

Zorome sat up and rubbed his sweaty forehead. Okay, what the heck is with these dreams? They're too much for me. Maybe I'll try to stay awake for a bit, at least until someone brings back something for me to eat or drink.