In the two weeks following your official appointment to Squad 13, you had begun to develop a sort of routine. In the morning after waking up, you enjoyed walking through Mistilteinn and listening to the tranquil sounds of the forest. After that followed a seven-o-clock breakfast, with the seat that Zero Two stole rotating so that each boy other than Hiro ended up having to sit at the girls table. Then chores would take up until nearly noon. It is hard to describe any chore as being your "favorite," but there are several that are better than others. Cleaning the windows and exterior of the house was by no means among that list, yet it seemed to be your most common task.
When the chores were finished, there was usually extra time before lunch for everyone to enjoy themselves. For you this typically consisted of either sitting in the lounge with Ikuno and reading in silence or you would occasionally visit Mittens with Ichigo. Then would be lunch, bearing the same problem as breakfast. Zero Two somehow managed to steal a different seat at every meal, it was almost like she did it intentionally.
The afternoon was filled with training. The type changed based on the day of the week, but there would always be something new. Usually it revolved around physical training or sparring in the FranXX. Nana had told you time and time again that healthy bodies and minds were required to maximize your squad's numbers. This meant that you were usually pushed to your limits in one way or another before returning to Mistilteinn in time to shower before dinner.
After eating dinner and seeing who Zero Two would boot out this time, everyone had the rest of the evening to do as they pleased. Normally this included at least an hour of everyone socializing in the lounge. Sometimes you'd go for another walk through Mistilteinn before bed to clear your head and think about your day. Occasionally you'd be joined by someone, usually Kokoro or Ichigo. You'd make conversation with whoever came along and as a result had learned more about Kokoro. She is an incredibly kind person with a really open mind. Though there were times that you felt like she had something she wanted to say. But when you'd ask she would always shy away.
Spending time with Ichigo was always pleasant. You had discovered quickly once you two became official partners that there were two sides to the girl. The first was the all business squad leader, with expectations and rules. The second, and more adorable side, was that of a girl who cared deeply for each member of her squad and would do anything to help them. She also had an affinity for things that were slightly girlish such as stuffed animals or the voice she adopted interacting with Mittens or the other animals.
After your evening activities you'd return to the room you share with Hiro. He no longer seems surprised when you enter the room, which was comforting in itself. He was the first to really accept you into Squad 13, and as a result is the closest friend you have among the boys. The two of you usually would have a brief conversation about this or that, then turn in for the evening.
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When you wake up it feels just like any other morning. The sun is just beginning to rise in the distance as you roll out of bed and prepare for your morning walk. However, unlike usual something catches your eye. In Hiro's bed beside him you believe you see a strand of pink hair.
You rub your eyes and dismiss it as nothing but morning grogginess and make your way to the bathroom. When you return after having splashed cold water on your face you realize that your initial observation was not wrong. There is definitely a strand of pink hair in Hiro's bed, an entire head of them in fact.
"Zero Two?" you whisper, trying to comprehend what you are seeing. As you do Hiro begins to stir. He sits up in bed and sees you in the doorway. "Morning (Y/N)," he mumbles. "Hiro," you reply, "Why is Zero Two in our room, and more specifically, why is she in your bed?" "What are you talking about?" Hiro groans as he turns to his right.
Your roommate freezes when he sees the sleeping form of Zero Two in the bed beside him. Hiro immediately turns pink. "(Y/N), I don't know what's going on you have to believe me!" he shouts. Before you can respond there is a yawn and Zero Two begins to rise from the bed. "Morning Darling," she says sweetly. As Zero Two rises the blanket falls away. Fortunately for you she is still facing the other direction so as it does you only see her back and shoulders. Hiro however gets a full view of his partner and turns beet red.
"Zero Two, you're, you're naked!" he shouts. "Is that a problem Darling?" she asks sweetly pulling him closer. "That's it I'm out of here," you announce from the door as you begin to swing it shut. "(Y/N) wait!" Hiro continues to yell. You pause and a moment later he exits the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
"Mind telling me what the hell is going on?" you ask. "I don't know I swear," Hiro replies. "She's never done this before, and you know how she is. Please don't tell anyone." "You want me to ignore the fact that Zero Two was in our room, all night, and in your bed, naked?" you question him. "For all I know you let her in." "I wouldn't do that, you know me well enough by now to know I wouldn't," Hiro begs. "That still doesn't answer the question as to how she got there and why she did it," you press him. "Why don't we just ask her?" Hiro offers. "She's still inside. I told her to put on clothes and wait for me to come back."
You sigh. "Alright, but you better be telling the truth." Hiro offers an awkward smile and cracks the door before peeking in. He motions for you to follow then opens the door. Back inside Zero Two is now sitting on your bed in a nightgown.
"Darling?" Zero Two asks, tilting her head while her cyan eyes flick back and forth between the two of you. She can likely tell from the expressions on you and Hiro's faces that you are not pleased. But, because it is Zero Two she likely sees nothing wrong with what she has done.
"Zero Two," Hiro begins with a sigh. "Why are you here?" "Because I wanted to sleep with you Darling. It's so much more comfortable that way, don't you think?" she replies. "But you know the rules," Hiro continues. "You are supposed to stay on the girl's side of the house in your room." "I got lonely up there," Zero Two answers. "I thought it would be better if I was with you." She then turns to you, "You get lonely too sometimes, don't you?"
The innocence with which Zero Two asks these questions astounds you. She clearly doesn't see anything wrong with what she has done, which doesn't surprise you. However, you can also see there was no malcontent behind them either. Zero Two had gotten lonely during the night and couldn't sleep, so she determined the method of fixing it was sleeping beside Hiro.
"Yeah, I do," you reply with a hint of a smile. "That still doesn't explain why you weren't wearing any clothes," Hiro presses her. "What's gotten into you?" "I can answer that," you interject. "Haven't you been listening? It was more comfortable." Zero Two nods several times and smiles, clearly pleased that you understand her reasoning.
"But that doesn't make any…" Hiro trails off. "You were having trouble sleeping and I fixed it?" he asks after several seconds. "Mhmm," Zero Two replies, now jumping up and down on your bed. "Darling makes everything better."
You can't help but marvel at how childlike and simple her reason is, but at the same time it makes perfect sense. She had a problem, found a solution, and executed it. It's exactly what they teach us to do as parasites, though I doubt this is what they had in mind.
"Alright," you say breaking the silence. "Now that it is too late for my morning walk, why don't we go to breakfast?" Zero Two hops down off your bed and takes Hiro by the hand. "Come on Darling," she chirps as the pair exit the room. You can faintly hear Hiro telling her to go put some real clothes on as you make your bed. Then, after acknowledging this is likely not the last time you will awaken with Zero Two in your room, make your way down to breakfast.
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When you arrive in the dining room pretty much everyone is already there. Hiro and Zero Two are the last but even then, a seat has already been left open for her at the boys table. As a result, Zorome sits beside Miku with the girls. Both parties complain about it but neither really seems to be genuine with their qualms.
"Hey Hiro, how'd you sleep?" Futoshi asks. Hiro blushes and looks at you. You shake your head, signifying you hadn't told. Before Hiro answers however, Zero Two speaks up. "We slept great!" she says with a smile.
"We?" Ikuno asks. Hiro turns an even deeper shade of red as Zero Two continues. "Uh huh," she beams. "Darling and I slept together." There is a collective gasp as everyone in the room slowly turns to look at the pink haired girl.
"I guess I'm not hearing you right," Miku says with more than a hint of attitude. "Did you say you slept in the same bed as Hiro?" Zero Two continues to smile and nods while Hiro looks ready to die. "(Y/N), is she telling the truth?" Mitsuru asks.
"I can't answer that," you reply. "Can't or won't?" Zorome asks. "Can't," you answer. "I don't know if she slept in the bed with him. What I do know is she was in our room this morning when I woke up." "But, but," Futoshi whispers. "She's a girl, they can't do that." "And why would we want to!" Miku shouts. You boys are disgusting enough as it is, being close to you in a bed would just be, ugh!" Miku cringes.
The next several minutes are filled with various arguments but one thing becomes abundantly clear, Zero Two will continue to do as she pleases. As Zorome and Miku reach the height of their disagreement on whether the boys or girls are more disgusting, the door opens.
"Alright kids, that's enough," Nana says with a clap as she enters the room. "But Nana, Zero Two-" Ichigo begins. "We'll deal with that later," the caretaker replies. "I have an announcement to make. Starting today we will be resuming the lessons you received at the Garden."
"Like math and history?" Zorome questions. "Yes," Nana answers. "You will be learning math, science, and history, as well as some additional topics. The lessons will be in the briefing room each morning." "Why haven't we heard of this before?" Ichigo asks. "It is standard procedure to let parasites settle into their role as protectors of the plantation before beginning," the woman responds. "You have ten minutes to finish breakfast then we will proceed to the briefing room and conduct your first lesson."
After that Nana walks out of the dining room, leaving each of you in shock. As you take in the faces of your squadmates the reactions are mixed. Ikuno looks almost thrilled and Ichigo and Mitsuru don't look disappointed. Meanwhile Zorome, Miku, and Futoshi look like Nana just told them a Gutenberg Class Klaxosaur was bearing down on the plantation.
"Well, you heard her," Ichigo says as she begins to quickly finish her breakfast. "Let's move it."
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A short while later when Squad 13 arrives in the briefing room things are not at all as you expect. Starting from the bottom row and alternating every other there is a table set up in front of the step. This is repeated across the half circle shape of the amphitheater, creating three columns of desks.
At the front of the room is a single table with a chair sitting before the large monitor. Seated at that table is Nana. She takes a moment to look over your group and once she is satisfied, speaks. "Now that you are all here take a seat." She gestures to the desks that have been set up.
"Zorome, Futoshi," Nana says as the boys move to the back of the room. "You two will sit here," she places a hand on the front right desk. "And here," she walks to the front left desk. The boys look ready to complain but quickly do as they were told.
You proceed to the desk on the left side of the second row and take a seat. Ichigo takes the one beside you, and Ikuno the one beside her. To your front and rear are Hiro and Futoshi leaving Zero Two and Kokoro at your one and five o'clock.
Once everyone is seated Nana returns to the desk and activates the monitor used for briefings. "Now that we are all settled," she begins. "Like I said before it is time for you children to begin the second set of lessons expected of parasites. This will consist of the topics I mentioned earlier, as well as some others."
Ichigo's hand shoots into the air. "Yes, Ichigo?" Nana asks. "What other topics will we be covering?" she asks. "In addition to the academic topics we will be teaching you of some more practical pursuits as well," Nana answers. "One example would be a basic understanding of the FranXX and how they operate."
"But we already know how they operate," Miku says tilting her head to the side. "You know how to pilot them, not how to maintain them," Nana replies. "You will be taught how to maintain the FranXX in the event you are sent on a mission for several days or that you become separated from the plantation. We won't be expecting you to understand everything, or to build a new one, only that you can keep them from breaking down in the field."
It makes sense, you tell yourself. If I am reading what she is implying correctly we may be expected to undergo missions that will require us to be away from the plantation. Are they training us to be special forces like the 9's? Is this what was required of them to become the elites?
You return to reality as Nana continues. "For today we will begin with biology. You should remember the basics from your time in the Garden. Now," she presses a button and the monitor springs to life, holding a slide with pictures of the creatures found in Mistilteinn. "Let us start with…"
About two hours later Nana finishes her final slide. You had spent most of the time discussing the basic concepts of biology such as organisms being made of cells. Just when everyone is about to breathe a sigh of relief the door to the briefing room opens.
A tall man with a buzzcut and expressionless face enters, Hachi. "Are you finished?" he asks, looking toward Nana. "Yes," the caretaker replies. "Children, your next lesson will be with Hachi." There is a slight amount of whispering before Nana steps aside allowing Hachi to stand beside the desk. As Nana exits the lights of the room grow dim.
"I will try to keep this brief," Hachi says as he types on his computer. "That is a relief," Zorome grumbles. "What was that Code 666?" Hachi asks. "Nothing sir!" Zorome hastily replies.
Moments later an image appears on screen. It is once again of an animal, but this is not one that lives within Mistilteinn. The large creature is canine in appearance and covered in thick grey fur. Beside you Ichigo gasps, "Del… phinium."
"What you see before you is Canis Lupus, also known as the wolf," Hachi steps out from beside the desk and begins to pace. "Now you may be wondering why I am showing you this image." Hachi stops. "Would anyone like to take a guess?"
The room is silent for close to thirty seconds. "Unlike Nana," Hachi resumes. "I will not be teaching you basic knowledge. I will be bestowing you with wisdom that will keep you alive on the battlefield. Now, can anyone tell me why I would have chosen the wolf for your first lesson?"
You slowly raise your hand. "Yes," Hachi says as the room's focus turns to you. "It's because the wolf is known as one of nature's fiercest predators. Ancient civilizations looked to them as a symbol of cunning and hunters often revered them for their tracking ability." Hachi appears somewhat surprised by your response. "That is correct," Hachi states advancing the slides. The next shows multiple wolves surrounding a moose.
"In addition to what was just said, wolves are known for their pack tactics when hunting. Similar to how FranXX fight in a squad, when hunting all wolves in the pack would attack the same target, slowly wearing it down until the killing blow could be struck. This allowed them to take on animals many times their size."
Hachi continues to advance through the presentation talking about wolves' tactics and what you could learn from them. You however are more interested in something else. Throughout Hachi's lesson, beginning after Hachi showed the first image of a wolf, Ichigo has been distracted at best. You heard her whispering to herself but had been unable to make out most of it.
When the lesson is concluded, lunch is called. Everyone proceeds out of the briefing room and makes their way back to Mistilteinn. You walk with Ichigo and attempt to talk but she seems lost in her own world. Ikuno seems to have noticed this as well but unlike you she remains quiet.
Ichigo remains silent during lunch and afterword she disappears. Sensing from earlier that Ikuno might have some idea of what is going on, you track her down.
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You find Ikuno sitting in the lounge reading. No surprise there, you tell yourself as you enter the room. "Hey Ikuno," you say taking a seat on the couch opposite her. The violet haired girl simply nods to acknowledge your presence.
"I have a question," you continue. Ikuno flips a page, "About?" "Do you know what was going on with Ichigo earlier?" you ask. Ikuno slowly closes her book. "That is probably something better left alone," she warns you.
"What? Why?" you question her. "Why would wolves cause Ichigo to panic like that? Surely you saw her during the lesson as well." "I am telling you that if she hasn't said anything about it to you then you don't need to know," Ikuno replies calmly. "What kind of crap is that?" you retort. "How am I supposed to be a good partner and help her if I don't know what's wrong?" You are a little louder than you had intended with your statement, but Ikuno doesn't flinch.
"Ichigo is probably thinking about Goro," Ikuno sighs. "Goro," you whisper. "Her old partner, why?" "She probably associates wolves with how he died," Ikuno answers with a frown. You don't reply, sensing there is more to come. "Goro died during the kissing with another plantation," Ikuno continues. "I don't quite know what happened, Chlorophytum wasn't right there, but Strelitzia was. Hiro said that Delphinium was blindsided and taken to the ground. A minute later we all heard screaming over the coms. When we looked back to where Delphinium was, a wolf had taken her place."
Ikuno stops, clearly seeing the confusion on your face. "Do you know what Stampede mode is?" she asks. "Only that it is dangerous," you reply quietly, reading the mood. Ikuno sighs. "Stampede mode is what happens when a pistil connects to the FranXX without a stamen. The pain is said to be excruciating without a boy to balance the system. But, if the pistil remains connected the FranXX will transform." "Transform?" you whisper.
Ikuno nods. "When Stampede mode is engaged the FranXX will transition into a bestial appearance. So far only two have done it, Delphinium, and Strelitzia. I have wondered what Chlorophytum's would be, but the price for finding out isn't worth it. Also, while in this state the pistil can only act based on lower order thought, most would call it instinct, similar to animals."
"How does Stampede mode end?" you ask. "It ends when either the pistil is disconnected, usually because she is unconscious, or when the FranXX runs out of fuel," Ikuno answers. "To think that Ichigo went through that," you say sadly. "Does anyone know what happened to cause it?" "Ichigo fought alongside us until the end of the kissing. After that she passed out and didn't wake up for a full twenty-four hours," Ikuno says. "But no, she hasn't told any of us about how Goro died. No one knows what happened in Delphinium's cockpit."
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Ichigo's POV
Swish!
Ichigo casts the fishing line out into the lake from her seated position on the dock. She's been here for close to an hour now, but she has just managed to get the lures and line figured out from the notes Goro had written on the tacklebox. I don't know what came over me earlier, she tells herself. I guess seeing the wolf just reminded me of Delphinium, and, Goro.
Ichigo sighs. Time to get to the reason I'm here. "Hey Goro," she says aloud. There is, of course, no response but she hadn't expected one. "I hope you're doing well," Ichigo continues. "It's been a while since we last talked, sorry about that. Things are ok here. (Y/N) was made my official partner, I gave him a chance like you told me to and you were right. He's actually a lot like you. We've been on a couple missions now and he always does everything he can to make things easier for me. He even helps me lead the squad like you used to."
Ichigo finishes reeling in the line and prepares another cast. "I can see why you liked this so much," she says, letting the line fly. "It's really soothing. I was feeling bad earlier, my mind was a mess, but this has helped," Ichigo whispers. I still mis-"
Suddenly there is a yank on the pole, almost pulling it from Ichigo's hands. She quickly tightens her grip and begins to pull back against whatever is on the other end of the line. The battle continues for a minute or so before Ichigo finally manages to pull in the line.
When it emerges from the water there is a small fish dangling from the end. Ichigo lets out a small cheer as she brings the line closer to remove the fish. Once her hands touch the fish's scaly exterior however, "Ew, gross!" Ichigo shouts, dropping the pole and allowing the fish to escape back into the water.
"Dang it," Ichigo mumbles. Ichigo is about to retrieve the poll when she becomes aware of laughter behind her. Turning around she finds its source, Hiro. "That wasn't too bad," Hiro laughs as he takes a seat beside her. "Were you watching the whole time?" Ichigo pouts looking away. "No, I just got here," Hiro answers. "It sure took us a while to find you."
"You were looking for me?" Ichigo wonders aloud. "Yeah," Hiro replies. "We have been for a little bit now, though I'd say the search is over." "Why?" Ichigo asks. "(Y/N) said he was worried about you, something about you acting funny after the lesson with Hachi," Hiro states. He was… worried about me? For some reason that statement makes Ichigo have a warm feeling in her chest, not that she knows why. "So, he asked me to help him find you," Hiro continues. "We split up and started looking around Mistilteinn. Speaking of," Hiro pulls out his communicator and begins to type out a message.
"No wait!" Ichigo shouts grabbing his wrist. "What is it?" Hiro asks. "It's just," Ichigo mumbles. "I kinda wanted to be alone for a bit, that's why I came out here." Hiro nods, understanding clear in his eyes. Afterward he stands. "Ichigo," he says as he turns to walk away. "I miss him too." "I don't know what you are talking about," Ichigo retorts.
"Huh," Hiro huffs. "That's funny. That pole was Goro's, and so was the tackle box." Ichigo flinches, Crap! He caught me. "This was Goro's favorite spot to fish," Hiro continues. "He brought me here once. We sat on the dock for a couple hours. I didn't catch one fish, you believe that? Goro probably caught ten. He must have brought you out here at least once, because I'm guessing you came here with that stuff on account of you feeling like you're still close to him here. Anyway, I'll tell (Y/N) that I didn't find you."
Hiro's final words before leaving confirm just how long he had actually been watching her. "Tell Goro I said hi." Ichigo can't help but smile as Hiro walks away. "Thank you," she says aloud, but there is no chance Hiro hears it.
"Hey Goro," Ichigo says continuing her conversation. "Did you hear that? Hiro said hello. Oh, and I forgot to tell you, Delphinium almost beat Strelitzia in a mock battle..."