Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters/places/anything mentioned from Zone of the Enders and everything belongs to its respective owners.

Note: This fanfiction contains spoilers from Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, so I would advise you to play the game before reading this :)

Identity

As he spent more time with Ken, Dingo was quickly learning that everything unexpected came out of her mouth. One day, she mentioned cutting her hair to him, prompting the most unlikely situation.

"Cut your hair?" he repeated, glancing over at her from where he was seated. The notion was so unexpected, especially after they had just got back from helping the UNSF with another SOS mission. What had caused her to think of cutting her hair during a time like that?

"Yeah," she answered, nodding with a thoughtful expression, "I think maybe it's time for a change."

He gave a short laugh at her words. "Why are you talking to me about this? Shouldn't you go find one of your other friends that would give their two cents about your hair?"

She walked over to him and playfully smacked his arm, releasing her long hair from its bun as she sat down next to him. Some strands came dangerously close to his face, making him swat it away.

I definitely don't want her hair in my mouth; the thought was almost as absurd as the conversation that had caused it.

"Be quiet, Dingo," she scolded, running her fingers through her hair to untangle the knots, "you just happened to be the nearest person when I thought about it, that's all."

He shook his head, finding her reasoning to be strange. So, something on the mission had caused her to think about cutting her hair? Either that, or she was more distracted than he thought.

It would explain her lack of ability to pilot Ardjet without an AI, he mused, inwardly cringing as he remembered the process it took to upload a new AI to her Orbital Frame. Otherwise, the frame would have never been used, but it had taken so long that Dingo wasn't even sure if it had been worth it at the time.

"What made you think of cutting your hair anyway?" he asked, and then regretted it, seeing the look on her face that meant 'you actually are interested in this conversation.'

"Oh, I don't know," she leaned back slightly, staring at the ceiling lights, "I guess it's sort of a complicated subject."

He thought she would leave it at that, and really wished that she would have, but sadly he was mistaken. When she was in one of her 'moods,' it could last for hours.

"I guess it's sort of like trying to find out who I really am."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked, giving her a look. This prompted her to jab him the ribs.

"I wasn't done explaining," he was getting tired of her 'abuse;' she was most likely doing more damage to him than Nohman had, "It's sort of like I know that there's something I have to do with my life, but I'm trying to find out what. I know that helping the UNSF is one of the things, but…"

She trailed off, giving an unsatisfied sigh as she leaned forward again and held her knees. He released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.

She's a handful that I can barely manage on my own, let alone with other people helping.

"It's sort of like you're a rock," her explanation made him glance over at her again, making him wonder where in the world she was going with this; "and every time something happens, a chip is knocked off. The more chips of rock that are knocked off, the more you become you're true self."

If Dingo was honest with himself, Ken didn't seem so sure of her explanation. The way her eyebrows sort of knitted together as she thought and her eyes stared upwards again gave her away.

"So, I'm a rock?" he asked, tearing her concentration away from her thoughts. The peeved look she gave him made him laugh again.

"The hardest rock of all," she punched him again, but her fist lingered, opening up so that the palm of her hand was resting where she had hit him; "but you'll get there someday."

There was something strange in her gaze as she stared at him, making him look away. Suddenly he wanted the conversation to end…

"So, what do you think I should do?" her hand retreated from his arm as it went to comb through her hair one more time. He finally found his grounding again and glanced over at her.

"Do what you want," he answered, trying to come across as indifferent. A small voice inside him, however, whispered, but I like it just the way it is.

"Remind me that I can't ever come to you for advice," she said as she stood up, heading for the hanger door that eventually led to the cafeteria.

"You say that every time," he countered, causing her to increase her stride. He stood up a few moments later, thinking over the conversation with a smirk.

Sorry Ken, but I already know who I am.

When I first figured out about Zone of the Enders, I thought that, for some strange reason after watching the opening, Ken was paired with Leo (I knew names but almost nothing about the initial plot, so my mind sort of made one up). The whole reason for me telling you guys this is that I thought that I had doomed all of the pairings for Zone of the Enders to be KenXLeo, but I was wrong! :) I can actually write KenXDingo! Anyways, I wasn't sure how to approach this subject… it is kind of tricky like Ken said. And I wouldn't want Ken to cut her hair anyways, but I thought it was a good conversation starter. Also, I have a small deleted scene that I might put into another chapter for this during the conversation, but I'm not sure yet (it was supposed to be added when they were talking about the rock being chipped, but it just ruined the mood when I tried to fit it in). Please tell me if you guys would like to see that and what your thoughts are in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9