"As the title says this is an alternate storyline that focus on Naomi after she left Plantation 13. All content of Darling in the Franxx belongs to Trigger, A1 Pictures and their respective authors. Vegetal and number metaphors coming"

Chapter 1: Black and dead eyes.

Naomi opened her eyes slowly the only thing she saw was a white cellar and a drain bag hanging, the beep of the monitor next to her finished the last of her dream. she attempted to raise but her body still hurt, she could barely hold her head while the terrible memories of the klaxosaur attack came to her.

The fear, the impotence and the pain of the vehicle collapsing over her head just minutes before she left the security of Plantation 13 make her aching body shake, she had barely survived the brute force of the beings called klaxosaur but still there was something that, unlike many of her bones, hadn't been crushed: her desire to pilot a franxx.

But as the painkillers disappeared of her blood she remembered her failure as a pistil, the coldness of the caretakers giving her a white piece of paper, as white as the cellar over her head, where she was formally rejected. She remembered the many tears she drop as she and her stamen were unable to synchronize in the franxx.

All her life had been trained to accomplish that mission, all her life had been waiting for that day, but in the moment of truth she had utterly failed. She closed her eyes and cried again. *Why I didn't die?* at that point Naomi desired that klaxosaur had killed her, she didn't have any purpose in life.

"This girl is suitable to pilot bring her to the Greenhouse as soon as she recovers".

"Ehhh" Naomi raised her head, she was sure she had heard it, an adult saying she was suitable for piloting, or she was dreaming, she stop crying, she saw to the half open door of her room where the voices com from.

"But this girl was recently rejected"

"I know, I have read her records, but I think she is suitable for piloting under the chastity program". replied a female voice with authority and after that the sound of high heels walking got lost in the hallways.

Naomi was confused but happy as the hope to achieve her dream was alive again, she didn't know what was the Greenhouse or the chastitychastity program all she cared was that she had a second chance.

He stared by the open spot of the room's door trying to peep something that might confirm what she heard, with a lot of effort she stood up and walked to the door holding her weight on the wall, her eye saw by the half open door, but then she was surprised as her vision got blocked.

In front of her were the black eyes of someone else, someone who probably was with the woman who had just recruited, Naomi and the other person peep each other from different sides of the door.

Being face to face with someone -or better said, eye to eye- her legs shook and she fell on her butt "ouch", she said, but from the other side was no answer, the brown eyes remained still and indifferent. Only two disappear after few seconds without a single word.

Some weeks later Naomi was better and had left the hospital and was boarding an airplane to the place called the Greenhouse. She had asked to her guards and the plane crew what was the Greenhouse, the only answer she received, besides their silence, was "it is classified information".

Except by the pilots and the guards the rest of the airplane was empty, Naomi felt lonely. In the hospital she had been told she could contact her former teammates of Plantation 13 once she reached the Greenhouse, she took a picture of them from her bag, there were the 8, the quiet Ikuno, the soft spoken Kokoro, the energetic Miku and Ichigo, also Goro, Futoshi, Tsurumu and…

She balled up her hand as she stared at Hiro. But though her hand had became a fist her smile didn't disappear, Hiro had costed her chance to be a pilot but he was also a good friend and the one who gave her a name "Naomi". She was a bit angry on him, but as she was going to become a pilot anyway there wasn't reason to remain angry. She relaxed *as soon as I land I'll contact them and tell Hiro there are no hard feelings and wish him good luck in piloting too*, she giggled with this thought.

"Five minutes to land in Plantation 39"

The announcement brought her back to the reality, and a guard came to her and gave a white hooded trench coat that Naomi saw surprised. But as soon as the doors were open the chilling cold of the outside force her to quickly wear the trench coat.

"Code 703?" asked a female voice under another white trench coat with goggles that gave a mysterious appearance. Though Naomi could barely hear that woman under the strong cold wind she recognized she was calling her by her codename.

"Yes, it is me". replied Naomi with some shyness in her voice.

"Good morning, my name is Natsuki, please come with me". said the woman without another word or even without the answer of Naomi she turned and walked to the interior of the Plantation 39, Naomi simply followed her and though the teenager continued asking her questions about the place, the woman called Natsuki simply replied "It would be informed when we reach at the Greenhouse".

Naomi stopped question as it was clear that the woman was like talking with a wall and instead followed her to an elevator where there was no need to wear the trench coat, but the coldness didn't disappear and Naomi shivered.

With the sound of a bell, the elevator started its way down, Naomi was confused and missed the cheerful mood of her friends in Plantation 13, but then the sound of a bell marked the end of the trip to the basement.

"This is our stop, I will show your bedroom and tomorrow will start your introduction as a pistil to the chastity program. Follow me".

Naomi followed the girl again, but as they left the elevator other two persons entered, Naomi could see them only by the corner of the eye, one was a woman in her 30's, in a white laboratory coat with blonde braided hair and thick glasses, and with her was a teenager boy of brown hair with a uniform dominated by the dark blue and with boots and gloves, but what caught Naomi's attention was his black eyes.

Naomi didn't know why but she suddenly turned to see those eyes black and dead as the bottom of a well, the doors of the elevator closed slowly as she stared at him.

There was no mistake, that boy was the same she had seen in the hospital. As the doors closed she felt something, something that she couldn't describe after seeing the eyes of the boy. She shivered again, but this time she knew it wasn't by the cold.