Alright let's get this started. Here is the first full length chapter. I anticipate having at least one update a week, though sometimes there may be more depending on my schedule. As always let me know what you think or if you have any questions. Enjoy!
Ichigo's POV
"Goro..." Ichigo whispers meekly. For the past two days she had been unable to get him off of her mind. Every time she closed her eyes, he was waiting for her there. Every time she looked at a member of her squad, she saw how badly she had failed them. And every time she thought of him, she began to drown in a sea of endless, crushing emotion. The memory of what happened inside the cockpit of Delphinium that day had been burned into her mind, still just as vivid as when it transpired.
"Hiro!" she shouts as Delphinium rushes to Strelitzia's side. "I told you to stay at your post on top of the transfer pipe!" Strelitzia turns and pouts, her voice thick with protest. "Aw, but we were just having some fun." "Zero Two, go back to your post!" Delphinium retorts. "Humph, so bossy," Strelitzia spits, sounding annoyed before she jets away back to the pipe.
Why won't you just listen to me? Ichigo asks herself as she watches the glow of Strelitzia arc upwards. I'm just trying to keep you safe, Hiro. "Ichigo, on the left!" Goro shouts, but she's still too lost in her own thought to respond. "Ichigo!"
Crack!
Delphinium's head smashes into the ground with enough force to sever Ichigo's connection to Goro. She opens her eyes to find the world spinning after feeling the impact of...whatever that was. The first thing she realizes as the dizziness fades is that she is no longer on the pistil's platform and instead on the floor of the cockpit. Her body is weak as she tries to rise, likely a result of the impact she just suffered, but something else behind her impedes her from moving.
Ichigo looks down to see a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. In the moment, she is lost as to whose they could be and why they are there. A cough behind her, however, tells her that it must be Goro.
"Goro?" Ichigo asks. No reply. She tries once again to stand, but the arms won't allow her to move. "Goro, let go of me! We have to get back out there." Ichigo's words are harsh but she doesn't care, right now is not the time for hesitation, not when their squad needs them.
Ichigo struggles for close to thirty seconds before she finally manages to wrestle herself from Goro's grasp. I am so going to kill him for this later, she tells herself as she turns around to face him. Ichigo gasps at the sight that awaits her, completely unprepared for what she sees.
Before her, Goro is plastered against the base of the cockpit's wall. His back has taken on an unnatural shape and he coughs violently, spitting up blood. It pools in small circles on the floor and coats the front of his parasite suit. "Goro!" Ichigo shouts, falling to her knees and taking his head in her hands.
"Goro, stay with me!" Ichigo pleads. "I'm going to get you out of here!" Goro shakes his head, an almost imperceptible motion, before whispering to her, "Ichigo..." With great effort, he takes her still-trembling hand and smiles. "...You're okay." "Goro, just hang on!" Ichigo sobs as tears now freely run down her face.
"Hey," Goro begins as he cups her cheek with his right hand. Gingerly, he wipes away a tear from her eye. "Everything... is going to be alright." Goro's hand then falls to the floor seemingly in slow motion, and he ceases to hold his head up to look at her. "No!" Ichigo shouts, grabbing desperately onto her partner, willing him to live.
"Goro! Goro please!" Ichigo screams. "No, don't leave me!"
Suddenly, Ichigo is alone. Very alone. Uncountable emotions well up inside of her, each threatening to explode outwards and take control. She can feel her grip on reality growing weaker and weaker. And then as quickly as it had appeared, the haze clears.
Ichigo is left with a single emotion, a pure and unaltered rage. An unwavering aggression that suddenly controls her. Those monsters, the Klaxosaurs, they had done this. She would make them pay, and they'd pay with their lives.
She claws her way back onto the platform and activates Delphinium. The FranXX groans to life around her as the system's power is restored. Ichigo knows that piloting without a stamen is dangerous. She also knows that it could hurt or even kill her. But at the moment, her vision teems with so much red that she doesn't think about it. She doesn't think.
Without hesitation, Ichigo maintains the connection to Delphinium as the FranXX finishes its activation. Once the systems are online, the unit checks for the connections of the pistil and stamen. Finding only the pistil, the machine shifts into its second configuration, Stampede mode.
There is a slight burn at first as Ichigo commences the transition into Stampede mode. That small burn is followed by a lance of pain that shoots through her abdomen. It starts as a tight cluster of pain before growing, spreading across her body like a fire on the open plane. Soon her entire form feels like it has been doused in hot oil and then lit aflame. Ichigo screams, but doesn't dare release her grip on the controls. She will have her vengeance.
Delphinium writhes and contorts on the ground as she makes the transition into Stampede mode. Her twin swords fold up into slots on her arms where the blades break apart and move to her now paw-like hands. The armor begins to shift and fold as portions of the neck fan outwards, resembling a mane. The FranXX's faceplate morphs, and reveals a snout that comes from within that's lined with two rows of razor-sharp teeth. Finally, the wolf that is now Delphinium throws back her head and unleashes a guttural howl to the sky.
From that moment onward, Ichigo had decimated the Conrad-class Klaxosaurs that had still littered the battlefield. She recalled shredding through them with her teeth and claws until there was nothing left. Then, during the fight with Target Beta, she had refused to relent under its immense fortitude. She had harassed the creature alongside the rest of her squad until Hiro and Zero Two had returned to save the day. Finally, when there was nothing left but the scattered corpses of Klaxosaur and rivers of their blood, she had collapsed.
Ichigo remembered the burning sensation she had felt when Delphinium first transitioned into Stampede mode. As terrible as it had been, it was nothing compared to the guilt that weighed down on her now. Goro was dead, and it was because she had gotten distracted. Her partner had sacrificed his life to ensure that she wouldn't be hurt when the Klaxosaur had taken down Delphinium. When she had been too absorbed in her own world to keep Goro safe.
The others had tried to make her feel better. Ikuno and Kokoro had checked up on her regularly because she refused to leave her room. Hiro had come by to talk with her multiple times, though she chose only to ignore him. Futoshi had even offered to share his special food from Papa with her. None of it was any use to her. Nothing could stop the pain that she felt from the hole in her broken heart.
She had been best friends with Goro since they were little, back in the Garden. It was so long ago, but Ichigo still remembered the day they had first met. Goro had picked a fight with several of the boys in the playroom and had subsequently gotten roughed up pretty badly. One of the boys even went so far as to step on his glasses.
Ichigo had hated to see what he was doing to himself, so she had tried to help him. Together they had been able to stop the boys from doing anything more to him. Then, Hiro had showed up and smoothed things over like it had never happened. Ichigo had always admired him for that, in fact, it was just one of many things she admired about the boy.
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Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Ichigo?" a male voice asks from the other side of the closed door. After close to a minute without a response, Ichigo hears the door slowly creak open. "Ichigo, it's me," the voice repeats.
She recognizes it immediately, belonging to Hiro. Currently lying in her bed and half covered by the sheets, with only her nightgown on and clinging to her stuffed animal like a small child, she would normally be embarrassed. Right now, though, she simply just didn't have the energy to care. "I came to talk," Hiro continues, the worry evident in his voice.
His words are accompanied by another creaking sound as he walks across the room and sits down on the bed opposite her. "Could you look at me?" he says tentatively, almost begging her to listen. Ichigo slowly rolls over and faces Hiro, still hiding part of her face behind the stuffed animal. "How are you feeling? ...No, that was a stupid thing to ask," Hiro chides himself.
He takes a deep breath and looks into her eyes. "We're worried about you, Ichigo. You haven't left this room in two days and you're barely eating." Hiro motions to the untouched tray of food beside her bed. "If you keep starving yourself like this you could get sick, or worse."
Hiro takes the muffin in his hand and unwraps it. He breaks off a small piece and puts it in his mouth. "See? It's good." He then offers a piece to Ichigo, but she's having none of it. Just leave me alone.
Hiro sees that Ichigo won't relent about the food and chooses to set it back on the tray. "Look, Ichigo, I know you're still upset about what happened to Goro. He was my best friend too, after all. Being his partner is going to make the hurt worse for you, and I get that, but if you don't eat then you won't last much longer. I want to help you through this."
Ichigo does nothing in reply, simply looking at him over the ears over her stuffed cat. "Could you please try? For me?" Ichigo doesn't move. "Alright," Hiro sighs, appearing to finally have reached the reason for his intrusion. "Nana said your new partner is arriving late this afternoon. They want all of us there."
"I don't want a new partner," Ichigo snaps, speaking for the first time. "I want Goro." Hiro bows his head and then stands. "Please come. I don't want them to force you." With that, he quietly exits the room and shuts the door behind him.
Ichigo is unable to explain Hiro's actions after he goes. How could he possibly be so calm about this?! Goro hasn't been gone two days and they're already trying to replace him? Who are they even going to replace him with? He couldn't possibly be as good as Goro was. Goro always put me first and saw to my every need when it came to piloting. He was what enabled me to fill the role of squad leader when Hiro failed. He always supported me.
But, now they wanted me to just blindly trust some new parasite and act like nothing happened? That isn't right! I can't and I won't do it! It's as if Goro had never mattered at all. To Papa and the adults he was just some pawn to be sacrificed for their queen, like in chess.
Ichigo lies there for another several hours in relative silence, though her thoughts still torture her. Eventually another knock comes at the door. This time, it is Ikuno telling her that it's close to when everyone should head for the hangar and meet the new squad member. Ichigo slowly rises from the bed and shambles toward her clothes, not wanting to incur Nana and Hachi's wrath, but also not motivated enough to move any quicker.
She continues to move slowly as she dresses herself, getting some help from Ikuno who runs a brush through her hair. When Ikuno is finished, Ichigo dons her shoes and takes the small part of the muffin Hiro had left on the tray. He's right, I'll starve if I don't eat something. She pops it in her mouth and forces herself to chew, before following Ikuno out of the door. All of this done without a single word spoken between the two.
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Failure. If you were asked to summarize your life up to this point in a single word, that would be it. You had failed as a child and been subjected to great pain because your body wasn't strong enough to be a parasite. The almost constant maintenance you had underwent had seen to that. Then, when you were older, you had failed again when trying to connect with your partner. That had granted you with the prestigious demotion to the replacement division. But now was your chance to make all of that right, as you had been assigned to a plantation and given a new partner.
I wonder what she'll be like, you ask yourself as you look out the window of the transport ship. It carries you to your new home of Plantation 13, a thought that excites you in every aspect. I'm sure she's going to be really nice. I could use someone like that. You frown, before thinking to yourself, I can do do this. I have to do this. If I fail again, Papa will throw me away.
But, my new partner is one of the teen codes, you tell yourself, smiling once more. Code 015. She must be incredible. I bet she won't even need me, but she'll be nice and work with me as I try and get used to things in Delphinium.
Yeah, you tell yourself, I finally have a FranXX. Delphinium. I've never heard of a FranXX having a name before, but they told me she fights with two swords instead of a spear, too. I've only ever seen the FranXX of the 9's fight with something other than a spear. Though, they are special forces. It makes sense for them to have different equipment than the standard.
"Hi," you say while sticking out your hand in practice for when you arrive. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Code 015. I anticipate a productive partnership between the two of us and and a bright future together." You shake hands with the air. Yeah, just like that and everything will go smoothly.
As the journey continues, you find yourself imagining what it will be like to fight in a FranXX that uses two swords instead of the spear you're familiar with. You had a large knowledge of combat and fighting from the countless books available to you back in the Garden, and you had eagerly devoured each when you found it. From your capable knowledge of military weapons and history, you know that because of this armament that Delphinium will need to get much closer to her opponents than you are accustomed to. She is likely much faster as well, needing the agility to position herself in range of her blades and to swiftly avoid attacking Klaxosaurs.
The challenge excites you. Of course, you will have to build a relationship with not only Code 015, but with Squad 13 as a whole. Since you are going to be working with them you will need to get along at the very least, though you would prefer to actually become friends with them. Hopefully, you think, they'll be able to accept me as someone, not just a backup from the replacement division.
"We are approaching Plantation 13," a voice reports over the intercom. "All crew, prepare for landing." Outside, you see the massive domed structure that is Plantation 13. You are somewhat in awe of its size. Having never left the Garden until now, you aren't accustomed to the large mobile fortresses or their workings.
As the plane closes in you notice that a portion of its outer plating recedes, revealing a huge hangar within. A landing pad extends and the transport hovers above it momentarily before softly touching down. You have officially arrived at Plantation 13.
You gather your things, which only takes you a few seconds. It amounts to only a single suitcase, and you take it in your left arm. You then proceed toward the front of the transport. As you wait for the gate to be let down so you can exit, one of the nearby APE soldiers gruffly says, "welcome home, kid."
There is a rush of air outwards as the cargo hold depressurizes and the gate swings down. The late afternoon sunlight rushes into the hold, momentarily blinding you. Taking a moment to let your eyes adjust, you take your luggage and walk out of the transport.
The hangar is bustling with life as you go, surprisingly so. Uncountable pallets of supplies are steadily unloaded, not to mention the amount of cylindrical drums containing all-important magma energy, the lifeblood of a plantation. You walk carefully to avoid being crushed by the heavy machinery used to transport the cargo, and soon enough you find yourself looking at a group of familiarly dressed individuals.
As you approach the group, you take stock of their appearances. For the stamen, there are four. The first is a tall and somewhat wide boy, who for whatever reason is carrying part of a baguette. The second is short by male standards, with curly dark blonde hair. The third has hair that looks to be gelled back, and the way he holds his head with his nose up tells you he has a high opinion of himself. Finally, there is a boy with shaggy dark hair standing at the front of the group beside the Caretaker and Defense Commander.
As for the pistils, they are gathered in a small group around a single girl. On her right is a blonde girl who seems to be caringly supporting the one in the middle. Behind her is the tallest, one with glasses and violet hair. A redheaded girl with pigtails looks up at you from the left of the girl in the center, her eyes a mix of sadness and anticipation. The girl these three surround looks at the ground so her deep blue hair covers her face, and you notice she has her hands knitted together.
You also recognize three of the individuals in this group. Two by station, the third by reputation. The Plantation's Defense Commander, Hachi, is the first. A tall and muscular man with a buzz cut, the stereotypical military type. Beside him is a woman with long, red hair similar to one of the young girls. You know her to be Nana, Plantation 13's Caretaker, named just like all the others.
The one you recognize by reputation is behind the group leaning against the wall. In her mouth is a lollipop and on her head, sticking out from beneath her bright pink hair, are two red horns. It is none other than the partner killer: Code 002, or as her former faction addressed her, Nine Iota.
"Ah, I am glad to see that you have arrived," Hachi says as you finish your approach. "I am Hachi, Plantation 13's Defense Commander." Crisply, you snap your heels together and salute. "Present and reporting for duty, sir!" With a hint of satisfaction in his voice, Hachi replies. "At ease." You drop the salute, taking a wider stance and holding your arms behind your back.
Nana steps forward beaming, her voice much more welcoming than the Defence Commander's. "Welcome to Plantation 13! I am Nana, and I will be your caretaker." "Thank you, ma'am," you reply. "This," she motions to the group of parasites standing behind them, "is your new squad."
The boy who had been next to Nana and Hachi steps forward and offers his hand. "Hi, I'm Hiro." You take his hand and shake it, and he proceeds to introduce you to the remaining members of Squad 13. "That's Futoshi, Zorome, Mitsuru," he lists off the stamen, before moving to the pistils. "Kokoro, Miku, Ikuno, Zero Two, and," he hesitates slightly before indicating to the girl who the others have surrounded, "this is Ichigo."
The girl in question doesn't lift her head or give any other sign that she even heard the boy's introduction. Hiro gives you a weak smile, trying to lighten the mood. The situation doesn't surprise you, however. You had been warned beforehand that the coming of replacements such as yourself was rarely met with open arms. The loss of a partner was excruciating, especially when as fresh as this.
You place your suitcase on the ground and step forward. "Thank you for the introductions. I look forward to working with each of you to defend Plantation 13," you say, reciting the lines you had practiced over and over in your head. First impressions are important, after all.
You then go off script and walk toward the quartet of girls. The three watch you as you approach, while the fourth continues to stare at the ground. Making the conclusion of who's your to-be partner, you speak directly to the small girl with blue hair.
"Code 015, it is nice to meet you," you begin warmly. The girl doesn't move. "I anticipate a productive partnership between the two of us and a bright future together." Slowly, the girl's head rises and she looks you in the eyes.
This gives you the first good look you've had of your new partner, and her appearance is striking. Her deep blue hair is cut in a bob and her bangs are held up by a clip, revealing most of her face. The most attention-grabbing feature is her bright emerald eyes.
"I don't need you," she snaps. Her tone is cold as ice and sharp as steel. "I don't want you. All I want is Goro."
With that, she turns on her heel and walks out of the hangar.
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You walk into your assigned room following your tour of Mistilteinn and place your suitcase on the single bed. Behind you, the boy calling himself Hiro takes a sharp breath. You turn to him expectantly. "Sorry," he whispers, "that was Goro's bunk." Was. That means this belonged to the parasite I am replacing. "I'm sorry," you reply, picking up the bag and preparing to move it to another location. "I didn't know." Hiro quickly speaks following your remark, making a negative gesture with his hands before saying, "no, no, you can leave it there. The wound is just fresh, that's all."
You give him a knowing look. "I understand. Parasites like me usually accompany such emotions." Hiro skips a beat upon hearing this. "What do you mean, like you?" he asks. "I'm from the replacement division." "Replacement division?" Hiro cocks his head. "Yeah, we're parasites kept around for when someone is lost. Our job is to fill that position in whatever plantation we are sent to."
"That's…efficient," Hiro says quietly. He looks a little shaken by what you've said. "I am sorry for your loss," you say as sincerely as you can. "It is never a good thing when one of us shows up." Hiro gives you a small smile before continuing. "Thank you. Since you're going to be staying with me, maybe we should get to know each other better. How long have you been a parasite?"
"That depends. I wasn't officially a plantation parasite until two days ago when I was told I would be coming here. Before that I waited six months." "We haven't been parasites for long," Hiro offers. "Maybe six months. Do you have any experience?" You make a small movement with your head. "Fighting Klaxosaurs? Once. When a group got too close to the Garden they sent us out to deal with them. Other than that, it's all training matches against other parasites."
"My partner," you say in a melancholy tone, "I believe you called her Ichigo, she was the short one with blue hair? The one that stormed off after I introduced myself?" "Yeah," Hiro replies, nervously placing a hand behind his head. "Ichigo hasn't been doing well since we lost Goro. None of us have, but she's taking it the worst."
"If it isn't too much, could you tell me about her?" you ask. Hiro gives you a puzzled look. "What do you mean?" "I know nothing about any of you, though I can tell that you're clearly one of the important ones around here. If I were to guess I'd say you'd be the squad leader, but other than that each of you is a complete mystery to me."
Hiro gives a small chuckle. "No, I'm not the squad leader. Ichigo is, actually." Wait, I'm partnered with the squad leader? "She hasn't been herself since we lost Goro. I'm sure she would be appalled at the way she behaved this afternoon if she was. She's usually really driven and caring. She's the best at tactics out of all of us, and Delphinium could take on anyone short of Strelitzia. Maybe even her, so long as Ichigo is piloting."
"I promise what you saw today wasn't normal," Hiro offers. "Please allow me to apologize on her behalf." You begin to reply, saying, "it was not unexpec-" before being cut off. "That still doesn't make it right," Hiro counters. "Oh, and you actually are partially right. I was supposed to be the squad leader, but until six months ago I couldn't even pilot. Then Zero Two showed up and fixed everything for me."
"The partner killer," you echo, referring to Hiro's partner. Her reputation is not lost on you, and the fact that this boy claims to be her partner without even a hint of fear means something is off about him. Perhaps he is unstable. "I wish they would stop calling her that," Hiro sighs. "She's my partner now. She won't ever do that again."
Now it is your turn to look surprised. "I survived," Hiro says as he lifts his shirt. Below it there is a faded blue mark that covers the upper left portion of his chest. "My third ride with her was two days ago. We are official partners now, so she shouldn't hurt anyone anymore." The boy's tone is melancholy, but at the same time sweet. It is clear he cares for the girl in question and merely wishes to protect her reputation, not claim himself some kind of god amongst men. Maybe he wasn't so unstable after all.
"Allow me to congratulate you," you tell him. "I have seen more than one of my counterparts in the replacement division left lifeless after riding with her." Hiro looks ready to respond, but the clock chimes signaling that it is growing late. "Forgive me," you tell him, "but I have been instructed to report to Defense Commander Hachi first thing in the morning for briefing and testing. Perhaps we could continue this at another time?"
Hiro nods and begins preparing himself for bed. You quickly unpack your things, though you don't have much. Just your clothes, a book on military history, and some other odds and ends. You go to place the book on the shelf by the bed but stop, seeing a shining piece of metal. Upon further inspection, it appears to be a woman's hair clip in the shape of a bird. You are confused as to why the bed's previous owner would have such a thing, but dismiss it as you place the book alongside it.
A short trip to the bathroom later and you are prepared for bed. You pull back the covers and are pleasantly surprised to find that the beds here in Plantation 13 are significantly more comfortable than those you had been given in the Garden. With that in mind, you situate yourself and prepare for a good night's rest.
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Ichigo's POV
"Ichigo?" Ikuno asks, turning to look at the dejected form of her roommate. Ichigo doesn't respond as she climbs into bed and turns out the light. Ikuno give an audible huff in the darkness behind her.
"Alright fine, if you won't talk, then you can just listen," Ikuno says sternly. "What you did today was wrong. We all miss Goro and none of us like the thought of him being replaced. But that boy did nothing to deserve what you said to him. He was trying to be nice and you were needlessly cruel to him. He doesn't know any of us and he's just trying to do his job. I know this isn't what you want to hear right now, but it needed to be said. You owe him an apology, and deep down you know it too."
The sound of Ikuno laying back in bed confirms she is done with her lecture. What does she know? If she feels that way, then Goro obviously didn't matter to her that much. But then, Ichigo remembers the stunned look in your eyes as she spoke. She could see the effect of her words was immediate.
In the matter of seconds that she had briefly spoken, your entire demeanor had changed. The smile you had initially offered had quickly disappeared from your face. Your shoulders had slouched and your eyes moved to the ground. I made him feel guilty for even being here.
Ichigo buries her face in the pillow. What do I do? Ikuno is right, I was cruel and targeted him with my feelings. I should tell him I'm sorry and try to work with him. But... is that betraying Goro? This is all so complicated!
Having gained at least some understanding of why the rest of the squad had treated her so coldy after the new parasite's arrival, Ichigo continues to wrestle with her feelings. Unable to resolve the maelstrom in her mind she eventually fades into sleep, resting before the testing she will be required to undergo in the morning.