[Partnership... all Hajime could think of with that word were the ones gone away. X had surely provided more balance for Zero than Hajime could start to understand. And Kiyotaka... gone back to the place that killed him, while Hajime moped. He'd said he'd return, and yet...

Hajime sat up as best he could, with his ribbon-plugs set in.]

Zero, how... old are you...?