It's been two weeks since Ichigo confronted Zero Two about the whole Hiro thing. During those days, she hasn't found it in herself to approach and apologize to the pinkette because one, even if she knew she had her own faults, Zero Two's hurtful words still seems to bite her in the chest, and two, whenever she did muster up the courage to speak to the horned girl, it feels like Zero Two was purposefully avoiding her by clinging to Hiro.

Ichigo sighs; the situation was hopeless.

As a result, she waits and gives Zero Two time, and maybe, when both of them has probably cooled down, then they could talk it out and hopefully get to know the other better- all for Hiro's sake.

Meanwhile, Hiro and Zero Two's relationship was growing closer as each day passes. True to word, Zero Two managed to tone down the affection she gives Hiro when in public, but during their more, private moments, she opts to cuddle against him or intertwine her fingers with his, whether they were at the rooftop or at a secluded part of the library. In Hiro's case, he was starting to grow more comfortable with Zero Two's touches and teasings, managing not to blush all the time. He was also starting to unconsciously crave for her touch that leaves him feeling warm all over, instantly feeling cold whenever they part.

What hasn't changed though, was that his heart would race whenever he was with Zero Two, in fact, he feels like his heart was beating much faster than before.

'Somehow, there's this fleeting pain in my chest whenever I'm with Zero Two…' Hiro clenches his shirt with his fist, feeling the erratic beat of his heart as his gaze wanders to the pink haired girl sitting beside him. Zero Two notices him staring and instead of teasing him as usual, she gives him a bright smile.

Smiling back, he thinks to himself 'Whatever it is...it makes me feel alive.'

"Man, just look at them being all lovey dovey again." Zorome half gags while eyeing the two 'love birds'

"Jeez! Stop being such a baby!" Miku teases. "In fact, aren't you being a lot more soft these past few days with you-know-who?" she smirks while motioning towards Hiro.

Truth be told, ever since the two of them spoke about their feelings, Zorome became much more friendlier with Hiro in a, well, Zorome kind of way; from ditching the 'wuss' nickname, to asking him to play ball with him and Futoshi to which, the boy would politely decline.

"S-shut up! It's not like I'm trying to be all chummy with him…" Zorome flushes, making Miku snicker over the boy's stubbornness. "Yeah, yeah..you and your tsundere tendencies.."

Again, like any other morning, the two engage in another ahoge battle, "Ehhhh..who're ya calling a tsundere? Wasn't it you who had a boy crying because you told them they weren't good enough for you, EVEN IF YOU HAD A HUGE CRUSH ON HIM?"

"Please, that was in the eighth grade! Besides, at least SOME people have crushes on me, unlike you…" Miku scoffs at his face

"Well FYI, I have you known a lot of the seventh graders send love letters to my locker!"

"Ohoho~ So you're a lolicon eh? I sh-"

"Mou, would you two please keep quiet?" Ikuno scolds while rubbing her temples. "Ikuno's right, you two are starting to attract attention." Ichigo says.

"Honestly, I think you and Miku would make a great couple, Zorome." Futoshi snickers, bread in between his fingers, like usual.

"They'd be a stupid couple, that's for sure." Mitsuru adds coldly. Meanwhile, Kokoro giggles lightly over the possibility of her best friend dating Zorome.

'It would be like some sort of TV drama sort of romance!' she thinks happily to herself.

"Ne darling, you've got plans this Saturday afternoon?" Zero Two asks while lying on Hiro's lap, her eyes staring at him widely. "I don't usually go out, so no." Hiro answers, absentmindedly twirling a piece of her hair with his fingers. "Is that so…."

Sitting up, Zero Two grins, their faces just inches apart. "If that's the case, let's hang out!" she beams. Hiro thinks for a moment, since he hadn't really hang out with the others in a long, long time. 'A day with Zero Two….alone..' a light blush spreads across his face before he answers, "S-sure..sounds fun.." Zero Two lets out a small 'yay!' and hugs him quickly but for Hiro, it was enough for him to enjoy her warmth. "Where we going though?" he asks once she lets go. With her fingers rubbing her chin, Zero Two puts on a thoughtful expression. Suddenly, her eyes brighten as if she's gotten an answer for a difficult question. "I know!"

"We can chill at my apartment!"

Hiro gulps. Being alone, with a girl like Zero Two, in their apartment, ALL ALONE. What if she attempts to kiss him again? What if she takes things further? 'W-what if we….!' he feels something wet gushing out from his nose, which doesn't go unnoticed by Zero Two, who immediately grabs her handkerchief and wipes the blood away. Snickering, she says,

"Darling you pervert! I'm not talking about that. What I meant was, we could go watch some movies and play video games!" Hiro immediately reddens over his lewd thoughts. "T-that's right...I'm sorry.." she just laughs at his cuteness and flops right back on his lap, her hands mindlessly sketching something on her pad. Curious, Hiro tries to take a peek at what she's drawing.

"Hey, Zero Two, you seem to like sketching huh.." he's noticed how she would keep sketching even during classes, or sometimes, when they walk home together, she'd stop and look at some materials from any art store they pass by. "What are you making?"

"Mou, I haven't really shown anyone my sketches before…" Zero Two smiles sheepishly, "But if it's darling, then it'll be alright.." slowly, she lifts up her pad and reveals a realistic drawing of a bird with its wings spread wide, flying towards the sun's rays. "Wow, this is amazing, Zero Two…" he compliments, but as Hiro further examines the sketch, he notices the bird had two heads but shared one body.

'Is this..?'

"That's a Jian." Zero Two says as if she had read his mind. "Someone once told me that a Jian bird only possesses one wing, and unless a male and female pair lean on each other and act as one, the-"

"-...Are incapable of flight…" Hiro finishes, leaving Zero Two surprised. "You know it too?" he nods, smiling a bit, "I read it in a book once…"

'Could he really be..?'

'But then, why…'

"So.." Zero Two starts, "..what's your opinion on it?" she asks slowly. "The drawing? Well, I'm not some artist but I-

"I mean, the Jian's legend.." Zero Two cuts him off, a serious expression adorning her sharp features. "O-oh..well I.." Hiro thinks for a moment before giving her his answer, "To be honest, I think they're pitiful creatures…" he panics when he sees Zero Two's gaze falter, "B-but! It doesn't really matter since it's just a legend, right?"

"..Is that so…" she whispers,

"Zero….Two?"

Shaking her head, she looks back at Hiro and smiles sadly, "I'm fine darling, it's just...for me, even though they're incapable of flight; even though they're Imperfect, incomplete creatures,"

Imperfect, incomplete creatures

"But for some reason, their way of life struck me as profoundly beautiful."

Saturday finally came, and Hiro found himself waiting on the front porch of Zero Two's home. He decided to wear something casual, donning a plain black shirt and some ripped denim jeans. Also, based on Zero Two's request, he brought some snacks, as well as her favorite candies. He knocks, the door instantly opening, revealing Zero Two in a fit white shirt, black shorts and her hair tied up in a ponytail. Surprisingly, she didn't have her muffler on.

"Thanks for inviting me." he greets.

"Come in darling, I have everything all set!" she grabs his hand and leads him inside, dragging him to her living room. "Have a seat darling!" she chimes.

"B-but, let me put down the snacks first…" he says. "Oh no, let me do it for you, since you are my visitor!" Zero Two grabs the snack in his hands. "Aw, you got me some candies! How sweet of you, darling!" she gushes while prancing towards her kitchen to set down the food. Hiro sees her bend a little forward, slightly making her behind look more pronounced, plus the way her hair was tied left her white, smooth nape bear for him to see.

Hiro blushes. 'Now's not the time for that!' he mentally berates himself.

Zero Two comes back and notices his red face. "Darling, are you okay?" she asks, leaning closer. "A-ah...it just feels a little hot in here.." he tries reasoning out, averting his gaze. "Really? Then would you like to stay in my room? There's an air condition there.."

'Z-zero Two's….room?!' his mind spins over the thought of entering a girl's room.

"N-no! It's fine! I..I'll get used to it!" he reassures her.

Blinking twice, Zero Two can't help but wonder how weird her darling was being in her home.

"So, what are we gonna watch?" Hiro, who was now sitting comfortably in her sofa, asks. A part of him expects her to put on some random action or horror movie. Zero Two searches intently on her laptop. "Aha!" she exclaims before grabbing a cord and connecting her laptop to her TV. "We're gonna watch, 'The Lion King!'"

"Lion King?" he sweat drops, clearly not prepared with that surprise.

"Mhm!" She smiles, "I love Disney with a passion…" Zero Two says rather excitedly. "They have wonderful stories and their animation is just so colorful and vibrant and SMOOTH, SUPER SMOOTH! Plus, they have wonderful romances and, OH! Don't get me started on their songs! I've downloaded every single soundtrack of every Disney movie, starting from Pinnochio to-

Hearing Zero Two ramble about her love for disney with stars bursting out of her teal eyes, Hiro couldn't help but let out a small chuckle over how endearing she looked. 'This is another side to her I haven't seen till now..'. Patting on the seat beside him, he tells her, "Alright, I get it, you love Disney. Now let's go watch that movie so we could watch as much as we want."

'Maybe I should try watching more Disney as well…'

Currently, they were watching 'The Little Mermaid.', which was their fifth Disney movie in a row. In 'The Lion King', Zero Two was bawling over Mufasa's death (even if she had watched the movie for like, fifteen times.), and practically, made him dance around when 'Hakuna Matata played, not to say he didn't enjoy it.

Next in play was 'Mulan'. Zero Two marvelled at the last part where the protagonist was fighting against the villain at the emperor's palace and both of them tried to stifle a laugh when 'A Girl Worth Fighting For' started playing.

After that, they watched something more recent, 'Descendants'. Zero Two told Hiro how she really loved the romance between Mal and Ben. When he asks why, she simply tells him it's because Ben falls in love with her, regardless of who she was. "It reminds me of a story I've heard back then.." she says. "Maybe I'll tell you some other time, darling!"

Once that was finished, they opted for a more, sci-fi and action type of feel; 'Big Hero 6.' Let's just say both of them were utterly mesmerized with the graphics, especially with how surreal San Fransokyo felt. Also, Hiro felt a connection with the protagonist, who also shares his name, because of both being called a 'prodigy and the emptiness they both felt, though due to different circumstances, until they met a special someone. To Hiro, he saw Zero Two as his own personal Baymax, sans the chubby body. Meanwhile, Zero Two, who suddenly felt a craving for warm hugs after watching, tackles Hiro on the sofa, and is now on top of him, snuggling against his chest.

Now with the new movie rolling, he could feel Zero Two's light snores rumbling against his chest. He peeks down to see her eyes fluttering closed and her rosy lips forming an 'o'. 'She's cute when she sleeps' he muses to himself, smiling. Until now, he still doesn't know why his heart beats strange when he's with her. Yeah, he found her attractive and yeah, he likes it when they touch, but what was this feeling burning inside him whenever she smiles or reveal her inner most passions to him?

Well, whatever it was, he didn't hate it.

Unconsciously, his hands go up and down her back and his fingers find their way to her silky locks, gently combing it, earning a soft moan from the sleeping girl. Hiro blushes at the sound and peeks at her face, his eyes going down to her lips, entranced by how red and shiny it looked. His throat goes dry and he gulps.

'M-maybe if I could…?'

Before he could even comprehend what he was doing, Hiro gently cups her cheeks and leans in, but just before their lips could touch, Zero Two's eyes fly open, gazing at him mischievously.

"Ehhhh~ Darling you pervert!" Like a bolt of lightning, she quickly straddles him and begins tickling him in different places. "That's what you get for being perverted!" She teases, tickling him on his sides.

"STOP-AHA-IT, ZERO TWO!" Hiro pants, writhing under her, but she ignores his pleas and tickles him harder, laughing over how flustered Hiro was getting.

"P-plea-ahh-se, AHA! Stop it!" Hiro grits his teeth.

"NEVER!"

With a quick surge of adrenaline, Hiro manages to grab Zero Two's arms and flips the over, with him being on top this time. Heaving, he says, in a tone that comes off much huskier than he intends to, "Stop it."

Still laughing with her eyes closed, Zero Two slowly opens them and finds Hiro's bare arms right in front of her,

Then she sees it.

Her laughter slowly dies down and she stares silently at the horizontal scars that painted her darling's flesh. She notices a few were still fresh, probably only a few weeks old. 'It couldn't be..' she tries denying to herself, but it all made sense with how her darling was more pessimistic compared to others, and how willing he was to give up his safety for her back then with those thugs. Hiro notices her gaze, realizing she has found out about his habit. Immediately, he distances himself from her and sits at the far part of the sofa, trying to cover up his scars.

"Darling…" she says softly,

"N-no..it's not what you think.." he says weakly, suddenly feeling an itch on his arms

'I have to…'

"But-

"This….it's nothing!" his surroundings spin, making him want to throw up and pass out

'I'm weak, I'm helpless…'

.

.

.

"Darling!" Zero Two calls out loudly, making him turn to her. Her. everything was blurry except her.

He stares at her with unfocused eyes, slowly taking in how she hesitantly lifts up her left arm, slowly revealing the same gruelling marks he has on his own, albeit more faded and fewer in number. 'She did too?!' his mind says in disbelief.

"Darling…" she says, her voice soft and calming, "We have to talk."