Embroidered and elegant white robes adorned the seven men positioned around the pillars of orange holograms.
"This could be the answer."
Images of Strelitzia in stampede mode, its frame completely red, flashed on the screens floating behind them.
"This might be the fruit we've been laboring for."
A profile page of Hiro is pulled up and sifted through tentatively.
"We've never seen this before. Disgusting."
A long list of those killed in action riding with Zero Two is scanned heartlessly.
"Her condition is worsening by the day, look at the numbers"
Past operation's reports blink into view one by one around the council.
"Is he the solution?"
/
Dust diffused calmly throughout the undisturbed space of the bedroom, no movement present to disrupt its physical search for balance. A beam of golden light fell out of a window sill, filtered through decrepit cloth curtains. The particles of dust frolicced across the rays of the sun in the room, oscillating as if they were surfing upon waves around the wooden expanse of the bedchamber. Beneath the window sill, an oak framed bed was located, piles of weathered books towering up in pillars beside the simple sleeping furniture. A creak from the door being cracked open snapped the thin layer of tranquility that the room possessed. A curious pair of green eyes peered through the slim opening in the doorway so as to ascertain if the owner of the room was currently awake. Gentle green orbs contrasted the room immensely. The sheets of the bed moved and a boy sat up in his bed, the drastic change in the mood of the room alerting him. Upon making eye contact with the questioning eyes present in his room's entrance the man sighed. Knowing that the brief recognition counted as permission, the door peeled away further to reveal a young girl in a standard pistil uniform. Passing through the doorway, the girl shuffled across the room, her short legs matching her strides. Mud-stained boots caused the wood to creak beneath the pressure of her weight. With a bright smile plastered onto her familiar and soft-featured face, she moved towards the light cast into the room from the window and in one fluid motion threw the shutters open. A gust of wind, previously denied, eagerly rushed into the opening, blowing the curtains back along with the girl's chin-length hair, save for the portion fastened by a white hair clip. The boy, who was asleep mere minutes ago, was now fully awake. He searched her expression, her face doused in sunlight and permeating its usual camaraderie. The girl fiddled with her hands behind her back and worked her way over to his bedside slowly, her shadow being thrown onto the faded planks of the floor.
"Feeling better?" her recognizable voice queried, "Hiro?" He turned his face away from her, looking to the window. This had likely been the twentieth visit she had paid him in his quarters since his incident.
Gazing into the clearing outside the boarding house, Hiro responded plainly, "Just as well as I was when you checked on me an hour ago, Ichigo." The girl's smile did not falter at his response, being used to his casual dismissiveness. She shifted her eyes to her feet, her emerald eyes still warm. Knowing Hiro wasn't much of a social butterfly, she decided to keep her visit short.
"I just wanted to let you know that dinner is ready, I tried to get everyone to wait for you to come but I doubt they'll sit still much longer." she notified him calmly, peeking upwards occasionally in an attempt to catch his eyes with her own.
"I'll be there soon, go ahead without me" he declined coldly, his monotone voice uninterested in the one sided conversation. His eyes were still trained beyond the window sill, the glass dome surrounding their confines visible in the distance. He could hear her step out of his room behind him, the door slowly creaking closed. Letting out a breath he wasn't aware he was holding, he buried his face into his pillow, the fabric soft against his skin. As if his mobility wasn't impaired enough already, the actions of the previous day had left his body an aching mess, pain jolting through him with every shifting of weight he underwent. Bandages were wrapped around his lower torso and forehead, binding his bruised ribs and numerous cuts. An ironic brace was securing his right leg, it apparently having been broken in the course of action yesterday. He fought an internal battle against his hunger, trying to stand his ground and remain secluded in his bedroom to avoid the inevitable barrage of questions his peers would attack him with if he went down the hall.
He had been in that Franxx, that much was obvious. However, he was told by scrawny man they called the Doctor that his ride with Zero Two was revolting, that it was an unintended and unwelcome use of his creations. He couldn't remember anything, some form amnesia blocking his ability to recall the events inside the Franxx. Only the feeling of her lips against his remained present in his mind. This paired with the rumors of those riding with her dying after three sessions, images of the wounded soldier bleeding out beside Hiro flashing into his mind, had put Hiro on an understandable edge. An endless sortie of questions was ready behind the gates of his tongue, begging to be let loose unto any who could possess answers. Stress and uncertainty was eating Hiro alive in the same way he could eat a whole horse alive if he tried, his stomach writhing in hunger.
This would be a battle he had no chance of winning, unfortunately for him, he realized as his stomach grumbled, bellowing in famine. Groaning to himself, he reached for his wheelchair where it was leaning against his bedside table. Using his arms, he unfolded his transportation beside his bed and pulled himself into the seat, an action he had performed daily for most of his life. He envied those who could run and jump as they wished. Books had failed to make him understand the vicariously unattainable sensation of sprinting and leaping, wind streaming across the face and feet striking the earth. Now as comfortably seated as he could manage to be in his circumstances, he wheeled over to his doorway and out into the hall from his first floor bedroom. The wheels gave off a continuous dreary sound as they rolled over carpet and wood. The dining hall was at the end of hall and on the left, set off in a separate room attached to the foyer of the boarding house. Purposely pushing slowly on his rims, Hiro bided his time in the hallways of his home, not in any particular rush. A sudden cry of shock from ahead, made him raise his eyes from his feet, altering his dejection to confusion. Nothing exciting ever happened here, the most dramatic thing that had happened in months was Zorome falling down the stairs once. Even after telling himself this, he slightly increased the pace at which he pushed himself along, vaguely interested in the cause of the yelp.
Wheeling into the doorway of the dining hall, Hiro scanned the room. Everyone appeared to be looking at one thing, all their faces paled in horror for some reason. Following their stares, he was met with a pair of turquoise eyes staring directly back at him from the corner of the room. Hiro's jaw dropped so far that it was a miracle the earth's core remained intact. Zero Two sat alone apart from the others, her table nearly overflowing with the amount of food placed upon it. Three empty jars of honey sat on the edge of the wooden furniture, their contents having been pourn over all the plates of food. A thick golden glaze covered all the meat, vegetables, bread, and fruit she had before her. The blue-green spectrums of her eyes flickered when meeting Hiro's and while not breaking contact she devoured a large slab of honey coated pork in a single gulp, licking her lips after and smiling at him. Whispers sounded off like suppressive machine gun fire, the hushed gossip ricocheting off the walls.
"Daaaarling!" her voice sounded above the murmurs, silencing all chatter in the room. She stood from her seat quickly, her wooden chair squeaking as it slid against the floor. Particles of honey were littered around her jaw, the light coming through the windows reflecting off the glossy texture of her lips. Hiro struggled to pull his eyes away from her mouth, the exhilaration of their touch still potent in his mind. Skipping over to Hiro's position in the doorway, Zero Two ran her fingers up his arm and across his shoulders as she stepped around him. His skin froze beneath her foreign touch, the pads of her fingers numbing his synapses. Standing directly behind him, she slid her arms down around his neck and continued to explore his chest with her curious hands, slithering across his body until her head was just beside his own. "Would you to prefer to eat me or the food first, darling" she whispered into the nape of his neck, her words like lava running down his spine and searing the valley of his back. His cheeks were coated in shade of peach and he shut his eyes, trying hard to retain his composure.
"Zero Two, I need some answers" he sternly said, his voice shattering her jolly demeanor. His peers were put off by the severity of the tone in which he addressed her, not used to him being so serious. She pouted behind him, and withdrew her arms from his midsection, instead placing them onto the handles of his seat and pushing him to sit beside her at her private table in the corner.
"And I might have them" she pulled her seat to be directly adjacent to his own and held a grape up to his mouth. Feeling resolute in his mindset, he used two fingers to take the grape from Zero Two's hand and ate it himself, persistently keeping his intent eyes on her own, his irises demanding answers.
Attempting to keep his volume hushed so no others could eavesdrop on the conversation, Hiro questioned her, "Did I pilot that Franxx?" Peering at him sideways, her eyes narrowed in admiration, her eyelashes fluttering. Drifting over to him so that her arm was brushing against his, she caressed his jaw with her fingers, softly running her digits over the plane of his cheek and up into his thick hair.
"Mm, more or less" she answered vaguely, but upon seeing his dissatisfaction with the answer, she continued to elaborate. "It was different" she admitted, her uneasy tone not typical of her. Eyes widening at the possibility of his fears becoming true, he turned to her fully in his chair, rotating so that he was facing her.
"Tell me, please" he begged of her, his voice desperate, begging for the truth. He could feel the eyes of everyone in the room trained onto his back, burning into him. Calculated footsteps coming through the doorway snapped his focus and he turned to see Nana, their caretaker, enter the room.
"Hiro and Zero Two, I need you both to come with me, now" she instructed in a friendly tone. Zero Two sighed and rose to her feet and positioned herself behind Hiro once more, grabbing hold of his wheelchair's handles and wheeling him out of the room, the ogling of the others sticking onto her as she did so. Following Nana down the hall, they eventually arrived at a small room with nothing but a desk and two chairs in it. Nana strode across the room confidently and took a seat in the chair on the other side of the desk, beckoning for them to come closer. Zero Two pushed Hiro to the desk but instead of sitting in the cushioned wooden chair next to him, she fell against his back, propping her head on top of his own with bored eyes. Nana took this as her cue to start.
"Hiro, for a temporary period, you are to partner with Zero Two and pilot the Strelitzia with her" she informed the duo calmly. Hiro couldn't see Zero Two's face above his own, but she grinned in delight.
Hiro's own reaction was more perplexed, "Am I capable of piloting Strelitzia? I still don't even know what happened the last time I was in it."
Nana's eyes softened slightly, and she slowly replied, "We're not sure." Hiro was baffled even more by this admission.
"What I did," Zero two spoke up from behind him for the first time, "wouldn't have been possible without you, darling." Hiro subconsciously leaned back into her, pressing his head into the crook of her neck, the warmth oddly comforting. Looking to Nana for confirmation, he received a blank stare, the uncertainty evident on her face as well.
"This is what Papa wants, Hiro. What happens in these coming weeks will be paramount for all of us" she emphasized honestly.
"And much more importantly, it's what I want you to do" Zero Two remarked, her hands idly playing with his hair, twirling it between her fingers. His gaze once again trained on his feet, Hiro considered his options, and per usual, realized he there weren't any but accepting the order given to him. He had to know. He would do everything in his power to find out if he was capable of piloting the mech, if Zero Two really did take him into the sky or if they flew there together.
"I'll do it" his intense eyes met Nana's with newfound confidence.
"Then you'll immediately take part in the drill with Squad 13, albeit separate from them however" Nana smiled and dismissed them from the room, satisfied with his answer.
/
One by one, the colorful mechs of Squad 13 moved out of the docking bay and into the surrounding desert, each titanic step kicking up clouds of dust into the air. The sophisticated construction of the Franxx allowed for unprecedentedly fluid movements, the machines functioning like organic creatures almost. Ichigo and Goro's white and blue Franxx, titled Delphinium, led the rest of the squad in simple drills involving movement and formations. Miles away in a field parallel to them, Strelitzia sat alone amongst a patch of rough terrain. A transport vehicle had brought the inactive mech to the center of a field in order to avoid any possible damage occurring in the docking bay, what with the effects of their pairing still being unknown. Zero Two was sitting on the edge of the platform that formed when the Franxx's face folded down to allow entry. She was rolling a lollipop around her mouth with her tongue, hair being blown about by the wind that ran freely across the fallow expanse around her. Her legs were swinging idly back and forth, hanging off the precipice of the metal. Within the cockpit behind her, Hiro was suited up in a piloting uniform for the first time in months, placed in the stamen seat.
"Strelitzia, commence startup" a assertive voice echoed through the speakers of the piloting chamber. Hiro was clawing at the tight material of his uniform, not used to the compression his body was currently experiencing from the suit. Zero Two pulled the lollipop from her mouth with a loud pop and flicked it over the edge to the earth below. Rising to her feet she walked back into Strelitzia's cockpit and settled down on her seat, facing Hiro.
"Feeling alright?" she asked genuinely, her head tilting in an effort to catch the gaze he was casting nervously towards the ground. Hiro was sitting in the same exact spot she had placed him when they entered the cockpit back in the plantation's docking bay. She had taken great pleasure in being commanded by her superiors to pick him up and place him in his seat herself.
"I'm ready" he steeled himself, "I have to be sure whether I can or can't do this. I'm counting on you, Zero Two." His words caused her signature coy smile to reappear, and turning around playfully she slid into position to commence the startup, her hips movement intentionally accentuated by her. Hiro's legs had been sheathed in the slots that would be used to establish the neural connection between him Zero Two, but he was still confused about some aspects of how they would do this. How would the mech even start? He hadn't been able to generate even a small amount of positive pulse in any of the tests he underwent with Naomi, all energy had been derived from her side of the para-capacity meter.
"Here we go then, darling. Leave it all to me" Zero Two said, the last part of her sentence fading into a whisper as she leaned forwards in her seat, the hatch sliding over her head from its storage unit on her back. Hiro inhaled deeply and shut his eyes. He saw images of chocolate eyes, blood, and explosions behind his eyelids. He rallied his mind, he would do this he commanded himself. And exhaled his breath only to see his world go black.
Zero Two's suit lit up along her spine, orange lights illuminating the otherwise dark chamber. She turned her head slightly to look over her shoulder and saw Hiro passed out behind her, not dissimilar to the first time they had flown together. She had questions of her own and would make sure to get answers during this trial run. Nothing like this had ever been seen or done before and she knew that. Her darling was special and she would find out to what extent.
/
A falcon soared high above the desolate landscape, wings undulating in the currents of strong wind that fanned the earth. It scanned the ground, searching for any morsel that could possibly be present, food being understandably scarce. The falcon's eyes were keen, likely the sharpest of all creatures on the food chain. In this hell of an earth, he was the natural apex predator. He thought at least, until a flash of red metal blinked in and out of his vision in split seconds, the only mark left on the dry dirt to signify it had ever been there was a tall column of dust rising in a line streaking behind whatever creature had sped past. Zero Two was the true apex predator, both of Hiro's heart and all other creatures that plagued the planet.
Zero Two panted quickly, her heart racing, face blushing from exhilaration. This power. This raw power she was feeling. Droplets of sweat rolled across her face and dripped from her pointed chin to the floor of the cockpit beneath her. This speed was impossible. The velocities she achieved were not meant to be reached by mankind. She let out a holler of joy, her darling was amazing. This euphoria he induced her with would make any sane woman fall head over heels. She wasn't mad with rage, she was only madly in love. Her control over the Franxx felt sharper than it had ever been.
Though, Strelitzia was in stampede mode, she thought to herself. Rarely was she able to control it so effectively and she most definitely was never able to push it to the extent that she was currently at, not to mention so easily. She knew this was unusual. But what about her wasn't. Her and her darling could climb any mountain together. They could soar into the sky higher than the birds that had once mocked their inability to join them in the clouds. She looked back once more to see Hiro still unconscious in his seat, his head leaning against the cushions behind him. If only he could share this experience with her. This happened the last time as well. Bliss was lost upon him in his current state. She would engrave every detail of it into her mind; she would not lie to him the next time he asked her what had happened.
/
"Doctor, are you seeing this?" Nana's worried voice sounded over an intercom.
"Ugh" The Doctor let out in revulsion, "What a sick way to use my creation." Before him on a screen, an image of Strelitzia was present. The mech was in stampede mode, it looked like at least, but it was different somehow. The alloys that made up the Franxx were all colored completely red, no white present on the machine, the eyes shining an intense orange. The Franxx was setting records at the moment, speeding across the desert flats and craggy terrain at incomprehensible speeds.
Turning to another nearby terminal, The Doctor analyzed the graphs of para-capacity in the mech, trying to deduce what produced this disturbing effect. The positive pulse that was normally generated by a stamen was at 0% which was typical for a Franxx in stampede mode though unsettling since the boy still seemed to be connected. The part of the screen glaringly obvious compared to other details was the negative pulse, which seemed to be actually be off the charts, the small bars not being able to correctly graph the amount of energy being generated. The Doctor's eyes widened and his jaw dropped in understanding at the flickering screen, error alerts appearing, "Impossible…"
"Doctor? What is it? How is this happening?" Nana tried again over the intercom, helplessly lost as to the cause of this anomaly. The Doctor concluded to himself that the boy was amplifying Zero Two's negative pulse somehow, and the drastic increase in negative pulse and disbalance regarding its contrast to positive pulse had created a sort of super stampede mode, that he was now currently observing. But for some reason, Zero Two still seemed to be in total control of the mech, her normally primal rampage not occuring. He created the Franxx in an attempt to bring two humans together and have their connection create a force powerful enough to combat the klaxosaur threat. Such one sided control over his brainchild was viewed as sacrilege in his eyes, his distaste for the monster girl growing ever more.
Trying to avoid letting his personal emotion cloud his work he finally responded aloud to Nana, "That boy is special. I'll notify the sages immediately." Zero Two's condition had been decreasing for years now and this discovery could be a huge step towards their goals he judged levelly. He would need more data. This was absolutely paramount, which he hated on the inside. "Continue to analyze the boy and the girl, this is now the primary focus of our organization. See to it they are maintained well" The Doctor ended the call abruptly, leaving Nana shaking her head in confusion.
/
Hours later, Hiro laid in his bed, unconscious, for the second time in days. Zero Two was laying beside him, her arms wrapped around his head and pulling him into her embrace. Her legs were entwined with his and her head snuggled against his own. The soft feather pillow they shared made her feel as if they were dozing atop clouds. Her hair was spread out over the sheets around her, the locks fanning out in a arc about her head like a crown, her horns ornate jewels atop the pink diadem. She leisurely entertained herself by coiling his hair around her long fingers, waiting for him to awake.
Hiro rustled in his sleep, and Zero Two smiled passionately, nothing in the world could shatter the ice she had erected to freeze herself in this moment forever with him. Or so she thought, as she heard a small eep from behind the slightly cracked door of the bedroom. The blue haired girl and her entourage had been trying to peep into the room for a while, and now had disturbed her peace. She groaned loudly and the glass walls she had mentally fabricated shattered into countless shards around her. Her vocalized chagrin had ended up stirring Hiro from his slumber. His femininely long eyelashes battered a few times, the intense blue behind them partially visible. His eyelids slowly began to pry themselves apart, a loud yawn escaping his open mouth. Zero Two seized this opportunity and with a giggle brought her face nose to nose with Hiro's, her eyes peering into his..
"Darling" she hummed to him, "open your eyes." Hiro didn't completely comprehend the words she said but he eventually cracked his eyes wide enough to see two ginormous turquoise orbs looking right back at him. With a start he shouted, recoiling away from Zero Two's form only to have her arms pull him back into her cuddly embrace. "Good morning, darling" her flirtatious tone flustering him in his already susceptible state. At this, the door was swung open furiously, slamming into the wall adjacent to it and coming to a stop. Eight people stood in the doorway and their short leader's green eyes were burning into her. Ichigo was a prime image of teenage fury. Hiro shook his head, the flood of countless questions returning to him once more. Zero Two's smile could only continue to grow. She could get used to this.
(AN- I've always been told that my style of writing is over the top and that it hurts me, but since this whole little project is for fun, it's really warming to see people take interest in my writing. ty guys .)