I don't think Zero is 13 years old?
Regarding Zero's plan I think you may have forgotten about the fact that Zero left the group, after Love left. Though he is manipulative, his plan was not to lose Love..
Zero and Love both, in the flashbacks, are described as being in their third and final year of middle school - what most in the US would call junior high. It would be 9th grade if you count all the years from 1st to 12th consecutively. Making him 13, maybe 14 at most. The mental and emotional difference between a 13 year old and a 14 year old only seems great when you are 13 or 14. From an outside and adult perspective, they are so close as to be identical.
I think you are the one with the misunderstanding. This isn't a friendly group of guys that hang out together at karaoke and McDonald's. This is a gang and they are depicted as nothing like "Love's Army". They are depicted as far closer to a real gang. You don't just quit a gang because you "don't feel like it anymore" or because your heart is broken. Zero's disappearance from the group would have been brought on by A.His being arrested, injured or suspended and unable to attend school, or have freedom to move about, for an extended period of time - like Lion. B. His expulsion from the group by fellow members - this typically ends with the leaving member severely injured or dead. C. He moves up in rank in a bigger, stronger gang or D. Graduation/Moving far away. Nothing else. Even graduation will still keep you bound to the gang if you remain in the same school with the same people. Moving away is also only a temporary hiatus from being in a gang, unless it is extremely far away. They found Love, didn't they? We don't know why Zero left the gang, they only mention that he did. We also don't know if this is true. The phrase, "He left because of you.", can be interpreted in many ways. Was the person lying to Love to lure him back through guilt or a false sense of relief? Did Zero get suspended and has blamed it on Love? Did Zero have to move away to escape trouble and the gang blames it on Love? Did Zero get nabbed by police for something and the gang thinks Love gave the police information? Did Love figure out that Zero was planning to have him stab the "boss" and warned the guy ahead of time which lead the boss to put Zero in the hospital instead? Did Zero leave his old gang to lead a bigger, stronger gang thanks to Love's "help"? We only know that Love is blamed for being the reason Zero left, but we don't know the details of that reason. Not yet. Whatever the reason is, it won't be because he "cared" about Love. He is not capable of such feelings for anyone except himself. If he were, he certainly wouldn't volunteer the person he "cares for" to be a sacrificial rape victim for the boss of a rival gang, just to gain favor with him. Nor would he put the person he "cares for" in a position where they may be forced to commit, at best, assault with a deadly weapon and, at worst, murder. Ask yourself if Peach would do that to Love. Those are not, "Gee, I made a mistake. Can you forgive me?", situations. There's no going back from that. Look, maybe you dig the bad boy type and find it hard to see the truth for what it is. That's cool, I dig them too, but Zero is NOT a bad boy type, he is a stone-cold, serial killer type. There's a big difference. With the "bad boy" type, the bad side is all an act and the "soft side" is who they truly are - like Peach and King. The only "soft side" Zero shows is all the act to manipulate others or to APPEAR to be a good guy. The "bad guy" is who he is through and through. Zero won't save an abandoned puppy in the rain, he'll stomp it to death and tell everyone watching, "It was for the puppy's own good." Learn this distiction now, through manga, because you never want to be involved with the second type in real life.
I am not that familiar with the Japanese school system, but it seems like Love and Zero met when they were about 13 -14 years old (second year middle school), but Love is 16 when he meets Peach and the gang. And we don't know when exactly Zero asked Love to stab/get raped by that guy. We just know that they are maximum 16 years old at the time..
It's true that we cannot yet confirm, if Zero really left because of Love, but that is what other members of Love's previous gang think, and that's the best clue that we have for now. That's why I believe that Zero's disappearance is related to Love's, but only because he needs Love's fighting skills (what else does Love have to offer to a gang?). However, you are over analyzing what I wrote. I never disagreed with you that Zero wasn't a calculative sociopath, and I never said that Zero left, because he ''misses'' Love or something like that. He only needs him for fighting, and my personal guess is that his status is dependent upon having Love by his side, and that something went wrong for Zero/the gang after Love left, and now he is needed, so things can be fixed.
Also, I had to laugh at the last part. I don't dig bad guys (≧∀≦) I prefer the cute type..
The Japanese School system consist of three levels - 6 years of elementary school; 3 years of middle school and 3 years of high school - four if you count university. That isn't a guess, it's a fact. But I think you have missed my point entirely. I wasn't trying to determine Zero's age. Children in middle school range in age from 12 to 14. What number falls between those two? That's right, 13. Zero didn't get his position or learn to be this conniving two weeks before the flashback. He's been doing this for a while. I'm almost 50, so whether a kid is 12 or 14, they are a thirteen year old kid because emotionally, mentally and psychologically, they are all the same. And for a kid in that age range to be that ruthless and conniving is pretty impressive. So, unless Zero is 30 years old in middle school, my statement stands and is still valid, since I was never trying to calculate his actual age to begin with. I was using the mean (middle) age for middle school students.
Perhaps it is the fact that Love's name is what it is, but no matter how many times I read your reply, it felt like you were saying Zero wanted Love back due to his feelings for him. It's strange how putting a familiar word in as a name can change one's perception of a sentence. My apologies. I understand what you mean now. And I'm glad I could give you a laugh.
Ah yeah, I get your point now. Thanks for clarifying and for the laugh ;)
He'd make a damn good ranking member of an organized crime gang. You do realize this is all a set up to get Love to seriously injure or kill the "big boss" so that Zero can move in and take over. Love could never be an outright assassin for Zero. Love has never felt that much loyalty for Zero and he doesn't enjoy it, or feel apathy, when he fights. He fights out of fear and self-protection. Zero knows this and the best way to turn a less than loyal "fear" fighter into a killer is to drop them into a situation where they are fighting for their life. The fear of being raped is second only to the fear of being killed. You ARE fighting for your life. Zero has calculated this whole situation to be to his benefit. His disloyal "problem child", Love, will no longer be an issue because he will be on the run, in prison or dead and the empty place left by a dead or seriously injured boss will be ripe for the picking by Zero. The other gangs won't even think to come after Zero or his gang for revenge because Love, who is the perpetrator, was already alienated and exiled from Zero's gang before the incident. It's a pretty genius plan for a 13 year old kid. Sociopathic and seriously disturbing, but genius. I think Zero has had this little "project" in the works for a while. It was the whole reason he started alienating Love from everyone in the first place. This was his plan all along. So, yeah, Zero would make a great ranking member of an organized crime gang. He's already a complete, calculating sociopath at age 13.
Understand, I don't admire Zero. Personally, if I were Love, I'd take the knife out of the box and stab him where he stood, knowing I was doing the world a favor. But you have to admit, for a 13 year old kid to think, plan and manipulate people around him, to that extent is amazing. Horrifically disturbing and scary, but amazing. Zero will, no doubt, go on to either get involved in organized crime or become a serial killer. Or both. He needs to be permanently institutionalized or dead, like, NOW for the sake of every other person he might encounter.