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After Miku informed the rest of us in Squad 13 of the video Zorome had posted online, we all became very concerned about him. It wouldn’t be until a few hours later that he had attempted suicide, and if it wasn’t for the help from the runaway daughter of the Revocs CEO and her friend, we could’ve lost him. Zorome’s actions sent shockwaves to everyone, and soon everyone at Franxx Academy, let alone all of Cerasus had heard about what happened.
While we were all upset, there were four of us in our group of friends who were the most upset by his near-death experience. In the past year, Miku and Zorome had grown closer together, and while she was indeed very upset, that sadness was shown through her usual anger. The two had always argued with each other, and while their normal bickering could always be either frustrating or amusing, on this occasion I felt sorry for Miku. She truly did care about Zorome, and knowing how his trauma had led to that situation, she was mad that he not just tried ending his life, but that she wasn’t there to stop him.
Then there was Zero Two’s response, which was not too different. She’s always been supportive of helping others with mental health issues, especially considering her mother had committed suicide when she was very young, and also wished that she could’ve done more for him. As I reminded her, Ryuko and Senketsu – the two people who saved him – were fortunately there.
Ikuno, while not as bad as the previous two and the next one, became very anxious. As she soon told us, her mother had always had anxiety problems, and she feared that it could lead to her potentially doing what Zorome did. She became very protective of her mother, but as she was soon told, her mother has never had suicidal thoughts, even when she felt at her lowest. Ikuno was reassured she was fine, and her care was much appreciated.
Lastly, there was Kokoro, but her response was nothing like the others. She was always a quiet person, too afraid to speak what was on her mind, and was never really good at handling stressful situations. As if Miku wasn’t the most upset about Zorome, Kokoro seemed even more upset than everyone else, and she would later tell us why. The emotional trauma she’d developed from the shock of her cryptic pregnancy’s revelation had soon made her develop her own thoughts about suicide. She’d been having these thoughts for quite some time, but was too afraid to tell anyone. There were days when she felt as though she was not fit to be a mother, and was plagued with the guilt of not just not knowing of her pregnancy, but how her daughter Ai was born premature and ill. We all encouraged her to seek help, and we all made sure what happened to one of our own never happened again.
That was eleven years ago now. So much has changed not just for all of us in Squad 13, but to our families, friends, and even former teachers. I have since become a high school teacher, while Zero Two is an artist. We have our own children – non-identical twins; one boy and one girl – and we married a year before they were born. In fact, most people we know seem to have families of their own now.
Ichigo and Goro have a daughter. Ichigo became a vet, while Goro became an archaeologist. He’s often away from home but, if anything, the distance between them all makes it more rewarding when he does return.
Mitsuru became a police officer, while Kokoro is a preschool teacher. To everyone’s surprise, not just did they decide to have more children, but out of everyone we know, they had the most. The second child was a son, the third a daughter, and their most recent one was another daughter. As a whole, Kokoro seems a lot better than she once was, and while she has admitted to having the odd low moment, she feels better overall than she did years ago. Meanwhile, Mitsuru’s relationship with his mother has long since improved. As it turns out, she soon realised how terrible she’d been when she learned the truth about Zorome’s father. By all accounts, she’s a kind and caring grandmother to her grandchildren, and she gets along well with Kokoro.
When she was old enough, Ai learned the truth about the circumstances of Kokoro’s pregnancy with her. She was also taught about her mother’s mental illness, but was reassured she was not at fault for Kokoro’s trauma.
Futoshi ended up with Mari, and it was with her that a secret of his was revealed that not even those in Squad 13 knew of: He had bulimia. Mari and the rest of us helped him overcome his disorder, and the two of them have since been raising a son and two daughters. His obsession with bread led to him starting his own baking company, while Mari is a chef, and it isn’t uncommon that the two collaborate on what they make.
Ikuno and Naomi entered a relationship just before Zorome’s suicide attempt, and are both now pharmacists who make new drugs. Naomi carried their first child, who was a son, while Ikuno carried the second, who is a daughter.
To virtually nobody’s surprise, Zorome and Miku got together and ended up having a son, who was born not long ago. Zorome became a video game developer, where he runs his own studio, while Miku has since gone public about how she really is the viral animator CODE390. She’s now made a career out of what she does online and earns a lot of money from it. Elsewhere, Zorome’s mother has long since been in a relationship with someone she works with, and according to Zorome, she wishes she’d met the man a lot sooner. Meanwhile, Miku’s mother has been cancer-free since her diagnosis and operation years ago, and is a happy grandmother.
A few years after we all graduated from Franxx Academy, Zero Two moved out from the home she lived in with her Uncle Tomi and Aunt Ikumi. With her gone – and with plenty of years knowing how to raise a child – they had a son, who we occasionally visit or vice versa.
Hiroshi (formerly Alpha) and Eriko (formerly Delta) became entwined, with the former now a radio host while the latter is a successful children’s author. They have a daughter, who is one of the nicest children her age I’ve ever seen. As it turns out, Hiroshi used to antagonise Zero Two not just because of his past angst about himself, but his envy of the attention she received after she’d been rescued many years ago. The two have since been on good terms, but the same can’t be said for Hiroshi and Eriko’s former friends the Nines. However, while they cast them both out, in recent years they realised they’d been too harsh on Eriko. While their frustration with Hiroshi was justified, they comprehended their treatment of Eriko was disproportionate and wished to make amends. She turned down their apology, but not because of how they refused to forgive Hiroshi (again, that was justified) – she could not forgive them considering they’d viciously attacked her previously. After all, I wouldn’t forgive someone who did that to me.
Something that surprised everyone was that two of our homeroom teachers – Ms. Nana Matsumoto and Mr. Hachi Kato – would end up together. Not just would they tie the knot, they’d later have a son. However, Ms. Matsumoto left Franxx a few years after we left, which makes sense why the two aren’t working in the same place since they’re married.
A month after his suicide attempt, Zorome befriended Ryuko and Senketsu as thanks for helping him. Ryuko has since taken on her dream job as a motorcross racer, while Senketsu is now a haematologist. Ryuko’s older sister Satsuki is currently the manager of a Revocs store, and will one day replace either her father as COO or straight up replace her mother as CEO. She has also apologised to Ryuko and her non-identical twin Nui for how she bullied them as a result of her own trauma caused by her former boyfriend Junketsu, realising she’d been too harsh towards them. Nui, much like Satsuki, now works in a Revocs store, but is currently a deputy manager.
A friend of Ryuko’s named Mako has since become a very energetic TV show host and, to everyone’s surprise, is in a relationship with a friend of Satsuki’s called Gamagoori. He’s not involved with her work, and is instead involved in a family member’s ironworks. The two of them are such a contrast; by all accounts, she’s rather small and dainty, while he’s incredibly tall and muscular.
It's only now that I’ve realised everything changed the day Zero Two arrived at Franxx Academy. There were many ups and there were many downs, but at the end of the day, everything turned out fine. If anything, if it wasn’t for some of the bad things that happened, the good would’ve never followed.
And I definitely wouldn’t have had our lives go any differently.