4 and a Half Years Prior

A younger Kyouko and Yasuto, both about 13, watched over a small newborn that looked all around its surroundings, wondering what was going on, in a hospital wing, wearing medical scrubs, masks, and rubber gloves. "So this came from a parasite?" Kyouko was curious as to what the newborn was.

"I guess so," Yasuto replied. "09-, or, Kyouko, this must be what the Adults were referring to when they mentioned that that pilot had human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, a while back. However this little... human... was made, it secretes hCG while inside the parasite." He then waved hi to the newborn. "Hello there."

Kyouko then picked the newborn up and huddled it close to her body, carefully carrying it. "It... Or, well, she... Doesn't appear to speak. The Adults did mention that humans don't learn language until they're about two years old. Anyways, Code 383 didn't look happy when she was taken. Maybe there's some sort of connection that she has with whatever they'll number this little thing." She then looked down at the newborn, which had bright blue eyes, and felt a connection to it. "It feels weird when I hold her. It's as if I have some kind of bond with her already." Suddenly, the newborn tried to reach for her chest, startling her slightly but not letting go of her grip on the newborn. "Huh? It's trying to reach for my chest? Didn't we see it do that with 383 when they let her have it for like an hour?"

"It began to actually try to drink something from the chest," Yasuto replied. "You know how milk comes from udders? Well, I guess pistils make milk, too, but only if they're..." The word for pregnancy escaped Yasuto's mind. "Whatever that word is for when this happens." For some reason, he began to feel an attraction to his partner, not as a fellow pilot, but as something much more. "They're called breasts, I guess."

"I see," Kyouko replied, surprised by the info. "I've always wondered why they started growing like that last year when we were still in the Garden."

Then, an Adult walked in. "Code 085, Code 099, we'll take care of the newborn for now. Thank you for watching over it." Kyouko then gave the newborn to the Adult, almost reluctantly. "She will make a great addition to the Garden."

"What about 383?" Yasuto was curious.

"She will have to go in for some retraining," the Adult explained. "Along with her partner, Code 197. They'll be back out in the field soon enough, and they'll be fine."

"Before you go, sir," Kyouko asked. "How was she made? Am I capable of the same thing?"

The Adult paused for a few seconds as he contemplated his decisions. "I shouldn't be telling you this, but..." He then turned around. "You know how animals mate?" Both of the parasites nodded. "Well, it's the same for humans, or, it was. You guys, being that you're medical and IT apprentices, will know about this eventually, but I'm not supposed to be telling you any of this, so keep your mouths shut. Code 383 and Code 197 had sex, or, well, mated. Thing is, parasites are not supposed to do that, because it may lead to pregnancy, which is what makes this newborn, or baby, or child, or infant, or whatever. That's why their memories have to be altered when they get retrained. We'll take good care of their child, though. She will make a good pilot one day."

Kyouko was at a loss for words. Yasuto immediately replied, "Is there a way to prevent that?"

"We are supposed to terminate a pregnancy if we catch it," the Adult replied. "They're rare. This is the first time this year this has happened, and the first time in three years a pregnancy got carried to term. Those two parasites ran from their plantation, and we didn't catch them until it was too late. That's about all I can tell you, unfortunately."

Kyouko replied to him, "Thank you." As the Adult walked away, Kyouko looked back at her partner. "Yasuto, I feel something. It's odd." She then looked around to see if there were cameras, and noticed none. She then got up and locked the door to the room, preventing anyone from seeing or coming in or out. "Ever since we were in the Garden, I've thought about you every single day of my life. I've always wanted to get close to you, but now, I feel like I need to get closer. You're in my very soul, tormenting me." She then took her gloves and mask off before slowly taking Yasuto's mask off as her face reddened. "I can't hold it in much longer. I wish I could just tell these feelings to go away so I could focus on piloting, but I can't. That experience with the newborn drove me over the edge. It feels like I'm suffocating, and I need to get my words out." By now, she was beginning to plead with him.

As she lightly pushed Yasuto to the ground, she knelt above him, breathing heavily. Yasuto asked her, "Kyouko... What is it that you feel?"

"I think it's love," she replied. "But... How do I express it? All I know is that I feel the need to be physically closer." She the instinctively reached down and gave her partner a long and passionate kiss, to which he returned. The two then rolled over, with Yasuto now on top of her. As they split, Kyouko noticed how he was pushed into her chest, but didn't care.

"Kyouko," Yasuto replied. "Code 099, I have felt the same way. I think this is what drives animals to mate." The two then blushed before Kyouko gave out a chuckle. "What is it?"

"It's nothing, silly," she replied as she smiled. "It's just that last line was so weird. But... You do seem right... The door is locked, and we have nothing to lose." She then began to slide her arms out of her scrubs through the collar before pushing them down. "This isn't the first time you've seen them, I know."

The two then laughed. Yasuto followed up with, "It is the first time I've seen them voluntarily, though." The two then began to kiss again as they felt each other's bodies with their hands, desperately reaching for each other more as Yasuto ran his fingers through her light brown hair. "Let's do that thing, if we can figure it out."

Present

In the showers, Ichigo poured water from a wooden bucket down onto herself while sitting on a bench. As she put the bucket down, she sat still and looked at her reflection in the mirror, contemplating her decisions up to that point. "Am I really the right person for this?"

"Ichigo," Kyouko suddenly called out as she walked over. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" The bluenette turned around. "Kyouko-oneesan..."

The older pilot was slightly taken aback by Ichigo's politeness. "Uh..."

"My apologies," Ichigo replied to her. "Maybe that was a bit too formal. It's just... All of us at Squad 13 have really grown on you and Yasuto-oniisan. Anyway, Kyouko, have you ever been made to do something that still sticks with you?"

Kyouko had many, many ideas, but few that she could tell Ichigo lest she be arrested for insurrection. "Well, me and Yasuto have made decisions in the field we've come to regret due to them negatively affecting the outcome of a battle."

"I feel like at times I'm too focused on Hiro," the leader explained to her. "I need to zoom out and focus on the team, but..."

"I understand," Kyouko replied as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder to comfort her. "By the way, you don't mind me doing this since we're... You know..." She made a mental note in her thoughts, "All the girls on this team are pretty good-looking, I gotta say. Of course, nothing comes close to my dear Yasuto."

"No, not really," Ichigo assured her. "It's fine."

"You and him were close in the Garden," Kyouko explained to her. "It's perfectly normal. However, you are right in that you do need to take a step back and look out for your whole team at times. Ichigo, I have full confidence in you."

The bluenette smiled. "Thank you..."

"We have updated intelligence on the Klaxosaurs," stated Joint Dispatch over the radio network as Squad 13 gathered in formation outside the Kissing Link between Plantations 13 and 26. "Aside from the many Conrad-class Klaxosaurs, we also have an unknown new type in the middle of the formation. This one has never been seen before, so it will be nicknamed Target Beta for now. Due to its size, attacking it is out of the question for now. Instead, prioritize the Conrad-class Klaxosaurs instead."

Delphinium, Argentea, Chlorophytum, and Genista stood behind the rest of Squad 26 plus Heliconia, who stood by Code 090's Franxx unit. Strelitzia watched the proceedings from atop the Kissing Link itself as the Rapid Intervention Team. Kyouko turned to 090's Franxx in Heliconia and noted to it, "That thing is fucking huge."

"Tell me about it," his partner replied through their Franxx. "And to think, me and 090 thought we had seen it all."

"For this mission, Code 090 will have Incident Command, and Code 085 will have Operations."

"Understood," both 090 and Yasuto replied over the radio. "Squad 26, Heliconia, let's do this."

The rest of Squad 13 began to watch in amazement as Squad 26 and Heliconia began to methodically kill each Conrad-class they came across. Squad 26's 5 Franxx units would wrap the Conrad-class up with their harpoons, immobilizing them. Then, Heliconia would jump up in the air, strike down on the Conrad-class, and then fire off its shotgun shells in its harpoon, destroying the Klaxosaur. The process was relatively fast, and by the end, they had easily destroyed at least 34.

"Guys," Kyouko said through Heliconia to Squad 13. "You got one or two coming up to ya!"

090 then transmitted a private message to Heliconia. "Code 085, I wonder... What's a parasite like Code 015 doing on such a makeshift team?"

"Makeshift?"

"They even have Code 016," 090 noted. "It just seems odd they'd place two highly-ranked pilots in a squad like that, but even moreso since you're in it."

"Ichigo personally requested to be placed in the squad," Yasuto explained to him. "Both because of her friends and because she wanted a leadership challenge. I can't blame her."

"Joint Dispatch to 090," said a dispatcher as he interrupted the conversation.

"090."

"We have a second wave coming in to your 10-10," he explained. "Do you want to roll with a third alarm?"

"Negative at this time," 090 replied back. "We can take on the second wave. I will advise you if things change." He then addressed Squad 26 and Heliconia. "Squad 26, form up on me and take out the second wave. Heliconia, join up with Squad 13 for now, and we'll rotate you back in later."

"Got it," Kyouko replied. She then switched to stealth mode and sneered to herself, "Really? We were doing fine."

Meanwhile, up top, Zero Two looked out from the opened cockpit of Strelitzia and admired the sights of the battle. "Man, being RIT sucks." She then turned to Hiro. "Darling, take a look."

Hiro, who was sweating and clutching his chest in slight pain, looked up. "Huh?"

"Seems like they're having a bit of trouble with the battle," Zero Two replied as she stretched her arms. "I wish we could just jump in."

Hiro then thought to himself for a minute before asking a question that had lingered with him ever since he met Zero Two. "Hey, why do you want to fight klaxosaurs so badly? You always seem to have so much fun. Is there a reason?"

"Maybe it's because I'm a monster," Zero Two replied unnervingly cheerfully. "And I want to prove my humanity. But enough of my dumb reasons. What about you?"

"Well," Hiro said as he recalled his own reasons. "We were born to fight. It is our purpose in life to serve Papa and the Adults in the plantations."

"Huh... How boring, to be honest... No offense." Zero Two thought to herself, "It's the same damn reply I get from every stamen that pilots with me."

Hiro and Zero Two then looked each other in the eye as an awkward silence began. Hiro spoke first to break it, saying, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Exactly," she replied as she hopped in. "Screw RIT! Let's join in, Darling!"