Hiro walked back to the parasite house, oddly content for once. He had ventured out with some cleaning supplies to wash the bloodied dome panel, the one the bird had impacted the day prior. Thankfully he hadn't seen any traces of the bird itself, which meant really had survived. He was glad to avoid that bit of depression. One of his fellow parasites was sitting on the front steps to the house, rubbing the belly of a cat, which scampered off as he approached.
"Ichigo?"
She had been waiting for him, clearly.
"H-Hiro!" she stammered, leaping to her feet and dusting herself off.
Hiro sighed mentally. He'd always been aware of the girl's feelings for him and felt a bit of regret for letting it go on for so long. But in his defense, it wasn't like he could just tell her about the horned girl he'd broken out of the Garden and then promised to marry, right? It was sort of a "need to know" thing. With Zero Two now here, though, he could hopefully begin working towards setting things straight; the only question was how. He didn't want to break Ichigo's heart, after all.
"You didn't have to wait out here for me," he said.
She turned her head to the side quickly, embarrassed. "It's your fault for running off first thing in the morning. Awkward as it is, you're staying here now. Hold your head high, and make yourself at home."
Hiro lowered his gaze. Ah, that's why. Hachi had apparently told the other parasites of his sudden decision to stay. Growing impatient and knowing his every step was tracked, he had decided to play a little game on the doctor and feigned some suicidal tendencies. His gamble had worked; soon after, Franxx had arrived with none other but you-know-who. After confirming her identity at the lake, the first thing Hiro did was reverse that decision. He still saw Naomi away, though; it was only proper for what he had inadvertently put her through.
"I heard Naomi was all right. She got taken to the hospital," Ichigo said, approaching him.
Her words didn't comfort him. Hiro knew that was a lie.
"Yeah, I heard." He moved to walk past her.
"Were you the one piloting that Franxx?" she called out suddenly.
Oh boy. He was in dangerous waters already. If he confirmed that she'd stress the dangers; despite being his dear friend, Ichigo was still the squad leader. She could keep him out of Zero Two's mech - Strelizia, he remembered its name was. And her crush on him would only compound the issue. What were his options here?
"I don't really remember," he replied, deciding to feign ignorance. "So I want to ride it again to make sure."
"Again? That girl isn't part of our squad, you know."
Yeah, and she wasn't part of their group at Garden either, but when had he let that stop him?
"I don't care, as long as I get to pilot." Well, it wasn't the furthest thing from the truth.
"I heard the rumors about her."
Fuck.
"None of her partners could ever ride with her more than three times. They didn't make it out alive," Ichigo continued, the worry in her voice plain as day. "I don't know if that's true or not, but I think you should stay away from her."
Double fuck! Think fast, think fast!
"But if I can't pilot, I'm as good as dead anyway," Hiro stressed. He moved to walk up the steps. He needed to end the conversation before she forced the issue.
"Hiro..."
The door swung open before he got there, however, and Goro backed out, looking inside before turning to him.
"Hey, Hiro. Get inside quick. That girl's in our mess hall."
Hiro looked up in surprise. Uh oh. Hadn't they planned on meeting up outside? She wasn't good with others! Time for damage control!
He got to his seat quickly and found Zero Two in the corner, absolutely drenching her food in honey. For the first time in his life, Hiro partly regretted that her first "food" from the outside world was candy. He'd created a monster - in the rhetorical sense, obviously. It was clearly doing wonders for the first impressions, too. All eyes were on her. Miku looked like she was about to vomit. Hiro watched as his soulmate, with her hands covered in honey, picked up the slab of meat and simply shoved the entire thing in her mouth without a second thought. The other parasites looked on in disgust.
Judging from the tightness in a certain area, however, Hiro was having a decidedly different reaction. That regret vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. Against his will, his mind was suddenly filled with his recently obtained memories from the lake.
He'd love to lick that honey off of her-
No! Bad! Bad Hiro, no!
He quickly shook his head, trying to bring his thoughts into decidedly safer territory. He heard Kokoro absentmindedly remark that she was a strange person, and then question if Zero Two liked sweets. It was like asking if water was wet, or if Papa was an asshole. But Hiro's eyes narrowed minutely at Miku's reply.
"She's not a person. Not with those things on her head." The girl's hands made a pointing gesture, obviously representing horns. Well, at least he knew where she stood. To her credit, if the remarks bothered Zero Two - and Hiro knew they did, judging from the slight stiffening of her posture - she didn't let it show.
"Cut it out."
The hell? Ichigo was defending her? Hiro blinked, a bit surprised. Perhaps the situation was still salvageable.
"She's our savior, after all."
Miku turned her nose up childishly at the rebuttal, huffing.
"Do you think she really has klaxosaur blood?" Ikuno asked, ignoring Miku. She spared a moment to turn slightly and glance at Zero Two, who was busy stuffing her face - why was she so cute? - with honey-covered bread. "Besides, I thought nobody had single-digit codes."
He could tell she was trying her hardest to ignore all of the not-so-quiet gossip. As if she was reading his mind, Zero Two paused and began licking all the excess honey off her hands. She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye knowingly and put on a show, making sure he could get a full view.
That little...! He'd get her back for that one. He was trying to concentrate, damn it!
"She's nothing like the rumors said," Futoshi whispered, bread already piled into his arms. True enough, Hiro agreed cynically. She wasn't a bloodthirsty stamen killer, for one.
"She's ruining her good looks with the way she's eating," Goro replied, grinning in exasperation.
Hiro disagreed. But different strokes for different folks, right?
"I can't believe all her injuries healed so quickly," he said, knowing he had to contribute something. That was true, but not in the way the other boys at the table probably thought; most of her wounds had healed by the time they'd reached the forest. Hiro had been impressed, but not surprised. He'd seen it happen before.
It wasn't like he could simply forget the torture.
"Hey, there!"
Oh. Zorome was about to make a mistake, apparently.
"It was a real treat to watch your skills in action," the boy continued. Zero Two didn't even spare him a glance. Hiro chuckled internally. It was like watching a house cat try to impress a lioness.
"I, Zorome the Great, shall graciously ride with you if you so desire. I'm sure I can do a much better job than that wuss."
At their table, Mitsuru and Hiro shared a knowing glance with each other; Mitsuru took a dramatic sip from his glass and peered over at Zorome's attempt at "flirting", clearly waiting something to happen.
"Why don't we try... Eek!"
Aaaaand there it was.
She was wiping off her left hand on his shirt. Literally, she was using him as a human-sized napkin. She still wasn't looking at him, either. Instead, she idly licked her other hand - slowly - and spared another glance at Hiro.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Zorome lamented. "Aw, my Sunday best! What are you gonna do about this?!"
Clearly nothing. Apparently she had grown frustrated with his squadmates already; she had gotten up from her seat and was making her way over to him. He waited for her, pretending to not pay attention. He really wanted to see where she went with this.
She scooted him over and sat down in his seat with him, crossed her legs and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. He acted bashful and passive, giving her an opportunity to work her magic, and then glanced up at her to meet her gaze.
"This is really nice and sweet," she said, her voice cool and sly. "Let's eat together, okay?"
Not bad, not bad! So she was trying the "bad girl" persona, eh? It made sense, he thought. With how introverted she really was, acting like a femme fatale would allow her to keep people at an arm's length and control whatever conversation she had to partake in. If the suppression had held, it might've even worked on him. But given how little her actual personality had changed since their separation, Hiro found it mostly cute and not that intimidating. She was such a pure cinnamon roll!
He glanced at her knowingly as she looked down at the food, her eyes half-lidded and tongue curled around her upper lip. She was trying quite hard to maintain the act, he thought, like she wanted to prove to him that she could pull it off. He decided to give her another opportunity to strut her stuff.
"Tell me," he said. "Did I actually manage to pilot back then?"
Getting a bit of honey on her finger, she stuck it in her mouth and sucked on it before turning to look at him. Removing the appendage with a audible 'pop', she then flashed him a flirtacious grin. She brought the same hand to his face and cupped his chin, stroking it.
"You sure did," she whispered seductively. She tilted his head up with her index finger and leaned in close.
"You were incredible," she continued, and then lightly traced his open lower lip, "dah-ling."
A loud 'clink' could be heard over at the girls' table as silverware impacted a plate. Ichigo was pissed.
"Da... 'darling'?" the entire room sounded at once.
"What's that mean?" Miku asked.
"Beats me," Kokoro replied.
Hiro was, frankly, impressed. She had clearly been practicing the act. She tilted her head at him proudly, seeking his approval, and he smiled slightly.
But no way in hell was he letting her get away with it. He needed to pay her back for that show she put on earlier with the honey. Taking advantage of the somewhat distracted room, he snuck his hand around her waist, scooted her closer to him and leaned in, flashing her a cheeky grin. He channeled all he had learned from the doctor's stupid, crass books.
"Mmm... you weren't too bad yourself," he replied quietly, his voice just as seductive as hers. He closed the distance between them, their lips almost touching. His hot breath tickled her mouth.
"...my ho-ney."
...
Zero Two's hand fell away limply, her face glowing. She was gaping like a fish out of water - and was that steam coming out of her ears?
"Wha... wha... da..."
Maybe he'd laid it on a bit too thick? She was staring off into space, as if she'd seen a ghost.
"Da... da... da..."
Belatedly realizing what he'd done, Hiro moved to control the damage before people started asking the hard questions. Calmly, he wiped his face with his napkin and stood up. He moved around to the other side of the chair and gently took her hand, coaxing her to stand. She obeyed robotically, her expression never changing and her face redder than the day they'd met. In a way, he found that funny; she was "talking" like she did as a kid, too.
"Wha... da... da..."
"Please excuse us," he said emotionlessly, guiding her to the exit.
"Da... da..."
One could've heard a pin drop. The other parasites watched them as they left the room.
"Uh... does anyone know..." Goro trailed off, unable to find the words to adequately express his confusion and disbelief.
They went silent again upon hearing two voices echoing in from the hallway.
"Wha... what was that! That wasn't part of the plan! DAAAAAARLIIIING!"
Next came the sound of footsteps and Hiro's genuine laughter, something they hadn't heard in a long time. Was the partner killer chasing him across the foyer?
"Y-Your face, Zero Two!" he said, voice distant and faded now. "You should've seen your face!"
"DARLING!" came an equally distant, laugh-filled screech, and then they were gone.
The room was still silent; it was Mitsuru who spoke up at last, after taking a sip of his water. He was utterly unperturbed - almost like he'd been expecting it.
"Lovers' quarrel."
The occupants in the room stared at him blankly. What the hell was a "lovers' quarrel"?
Goro had clearly had enough of the vagueness. He leaned over the table, staring at the other boy. "Mitsuru," he asked, no, demanded. "Do those two know each other?"
It was the question on everyone's mind, judging from the way they all focused on the two stamen.
Mitsuru's look was very telling, but the door opened before he could reply. In walked Nana.
"Okay, keep it down, kids," she said. She clapped her hands to get their attention.
"Nana!" Kokoro exclaimed cheerfully. The older woman cleared her throat.
"I'll be your caretaker, just like I was in Garden. APE HQ has assigned me to the 13th Plantation Corps. My name is Nana. I look forward to your cooperation."
Her announcement changed the mood almost immediately; the strange girl and her possible connection with Hiro was forgotten for the moment... mostly.
"Yes! We got lucky!"
"Yay!"
"Miss Nana," Ichigo spoke up.
"What is it, Ichigo?"
"Is that girl going to be staying here?"
Nana had a hunch of who Ichigo meant, but she asked for clarification anyway. "Girl?"
"The one with the horns. Red uniform, pink hair?"
"We're awaiting order from HQ on what to do with Zero Two," Nana replied. Ichigo narrowed her eyes, looking at her plate. "But in general, she won't be working with you guys."
"And... and Hiro?" Ichigo responded, hopeful.
"He will be receiving his own orders in due time, too."
The girl's eyes widened. "W-Wait! Does that mean that he's being-"
Nana cut her off. "Only time will tell, Ichigo. I'm sorry."
anNoyEdaNNoYedAnNOYedsoOOoooOooANNoyed
"We can't have you running off as you please all the time," Nana told her.
don'tCArecAReCaREjUsTwANtDARLINGDARLINGfUNfOOdDARLING
Zero Two didn't really care about what they wanted. After catching up to the two of them, the administrators had sent her darling back to the house. But they had dragged her off to do who-knows-what arghghgh darliiiiing! Again she found herself wishing for a klaxosaur appearance, but this time for an entirely different reason. The sooner she and her darling could pilot together, the sooner they could prove their compatibility. And then they'd finally leave them alone UGH! She tapped her foot against the elevator in irritation.
"I just wanted to eat with my darling," she pouted.
mMMmDARLINGscENtgOOdfliRTFLirT
And maybe flirt some more, too. That was so much fuuuuuun! She hadn't expected him to be so good at it! The way that word rolled off his lips - she suppressed a shiver.
"Avoid making contact with the parasites. You're too much for them to handle."
bLUewASHboARdTHREATaNNoyEdwATchpROteCtmAtEDARLINGDARLINGPrOTecT
Yeah, well, she wasn't necessarily the biggest fan of them either. She could feel the murderous intent radiating from the washboard the whole time. Was the weird blue flat thing jealous or something? She didn't understand why. Darling was darling, and darling was hershershers! There were plenty of icky not-darlings out there, just go take one of them, geez.
The elevator continued its descent, the glow of the city providing an impromptu light source. She hated it; it was too unnatural, too artificial and fake.
cAN'tBrEAtHEnEEdDARLINGDARLINGtAstEsCEntDARLINGDARLING
"I feel like I'm gonna suffocate in here."
"I'm amazed you managed to fight that klaxosaur," Goro told him. "How was it?"
Abso-fucking-lutely incredible.
He couldn't tell them that, though.
"I don't remember anything about it. But I remember how it felt."
"I see. Either way, I'm glad you stayed. Maybe you're the type that comes through when it matters most."
He knew he was, but that was besides the point. He unzipped his shirt, grinning as Goro elbowed him.
"Man, you got the jump on me!" he said. Ah, so he had noticed. He was expecting a followup ques-
"Out of my way, dude." Zorome elbowed him, the asshole. "I don't believe for a second that you piloted a Franxx before we did. Got that, you wuss?"
His insults were like water down Hiro's back. He'd experienced a lot worse in his life and seen too much shit for a few words to do much damage. And in the end, it didn't matter anyway. If they piloted before him, fine. If he piloted before them, that was fine too. All he cared about was making sure she was safe and happy.
"Speaking of elite, how about that Hiro? He brings home a girl out of nowhere, and she's already calling him 'darling'!" Miku giggled. "Maybe those two will actually make a good coup-"
Ichigo slammed her hand against the pistil suit dispenser and walked away without a word. She didn't understand her frustration. Why was she so bothered by this? Was it because she feared for his life? That was certainly a part of it - those rumors were no joke! - but she felt there was more to it than that. Was it because she called him 'darling'? They'd never heard that word before the girl spoke it, she didn't know what it meant. But it sounded... personal. Affectionate. Romantic? She'd only read about 'romance' once or twice in Garden, when she was younger. It had to do with emotions, caring for someone else, but beyond that she hadn't a clue. She shouldn't care! Ichigo knew that, but when she saw that girl sit next to him, when she saw him walk out of the room with her - the way he held her hand, the way she blushed so fiercely - she just felt so... so...
Something ugly stirred within her, gripped her heart. She hated this! What was going on?!
Despite its utter uselessness, Hiro somewhat enjoyed his little excursions in the training mech. He didn't actually need to 'practice', contrary to what the rest of Squad 13 thought - excluding a certain someone, of course. After their separation, the doctor had, for some reason, drilled him on controlling how much he 'gave' to a pistil. In an almost humbling amount of irony, his tanking test scores weren't the sign of failure, but his significantly increasing aptitude. He'd learned to manage his own connection, guard his own thoughts, and it was a skill he'd used to both great effect and great personal hatred. He had crimes weighing him down, too; he'd killed Naomi, the only pistil he'd ever partnered with, screwed her over and then watched her get crushed by klaxosaurs.
Sometimes you had to do terrible things in the name of love. It seemed he and Zero Two were quite alike in that regard: they both refused to pilot with anyone else. Choices had to be made. They could repent later.
He opened the training mech's cockpit and watched his squadmates depart on their first drill. He hoped to count Strelizia amongst their number sooner rather than later.
Out of nowhere there was an impact against the head of the mech, followed by more noise. Huh? It almost sounded something was climbing on it! Confused, Hiro stood up to check the situation; he cried out in shock as someone swung into the cockpit, two black-clad legs wrapping around him and pushing him back into the seat. A catlike and decidedly feminine body leaned against him heavily. His eyes widened when a familiar hand reached back and pressed a button on the handle. The cockpit closed with a hiss.
The robot was only meant to carry a single occupant and it showed. It was cramped and they were forced together with little space for maneuvering. But knowing this particular girl, that was probably what she wanted. Hands on his shoulders, she buried her face into his neck and sensually licked a line up to his jaw. Hiro suddenly found it hard to breathe, even as he lifted his head to give her more access; whether it was from the lack of space or her actions, he didn't know. He felt her every curve on him, every part of her body flush against his. Why was she having such a profound effect on him? He'd already seen her nude! It was madness - intoxicating, amazing madness. He didn't want it to stop.
"Zero Tw-mfph." As soon as he'd opened his mouth she was there, lips on his own. She pressed her body into him urgently and wrapped her arms around his neck. The confined cockpit was still too great of a distance between them. Hiro didn't disapprove of her forceful actions in the slightest - in his mind, she could do no wrong. Where someone else would've been uncomfortable at the sudden escalation in passion, he instead returned her fervor in equal measure, wrapping his arms around her back and kissing her just as greedily. Eventually they broke for air; the cockpit was hot and humid.
Slight pink dusted her cheeks when she realized just how close they were, but she didn't move away. On the contrary, she leaned in again, peppering his cheek and jaw with gentle kisses. The way she was moving, the way she felt against him! It felt so... so...! Trying to buy time to gather his thoughts, he pushed back against her and buried his face into her neck, planting his lips wetly against where her collarbone met her throat. He heard her suck in a breath and after a moment moved back to look at her.
Perfect, pale green eyes stared at him. They roamed over him hungrily, lovingly, recording his every detail and feature with those beautiful crimson pupils. Her blush deepened. Arms still around his neck, Zero Two leaned in again, but this time didn't go to kiss him. She lowered her head and ever so gently nudged her horns against his forehead. He didn't know what it meant - but judging by the way his heart was pounding, his body certainly did. Something had just happened on an instinctual level. She leaned back, biting her lower lip hopefully, and resumed searching his face for any sort of approval or sign.
Hiro felt an overwhelmingly desperate urge to return the gesture. But without horns of his own, he couldn't. So instead he leaned forward and pushed his forehead against hers before tenderly reconnecting their lips. A moan of happy joy escaped her and she pushed back against him immediately; the war resumed as they struggled against each other, longer this time, and they didn't stop until their lungs were deprived of oxygen. They broke apart again with mere inches separating them.
"I didn't think... I'd be this obsessed..." she told him, trying to catch her breath. He gently took a wayward lock of her gorgeous hair and positioned it behind her ear. She slightly shifted her position in his lap, getting more comfortable. She wasn't planning on leaving any time soon. He was perfectly fine with that.
"It's okay," he whispered back. "It's the same for me. I can't get you out of my head."
"I can't even think anymore if I don't have your taste on my tongue, darling. Every time they separate us it makes me go insaaaane."
He grinned at her, relieved that she was experiencing the same thing. "I think I'm addicted."
"So am I. I think I have a problem!" she giggled, returning his smile.
"How'd we ever manage to survive all these years?"
"Beats me!" Zero Two replied cheerfully, before eagerly leaning in for round three.
It would be a while before the training mech moved again.
ooOOooOsogOodsogood nnnn darling's taste yumyum! Yumyum!
She barely suppressed a moan as she sucked on the lollipop. There was something increeeeedible about the way the candy's flavor and her darling's taste swirled together and mixed. It was a green lollipop, too - sweet apple, the same kind he'd given her all those years ago! Two of her favorite things combined into one? Yupyupyup, she'd be okay for a while! "A while" in her case meaning, like, an hour at most. She was sososoooo addicted to his taste and scent, and, andandand, on top of that, he was such an... awesome kisser. How was he so good at it? She knew he'd never kissed anyone else; that kiss in Strelizia was his first time, and hers as well! Eeeeee, how romaaaantic! Maybe he was just a natural-born kissing prodigy? She could believe that! He was her darling, which meant he was perfectperfectperfect! Obviously that'd apply to his kissing skills as well, right? Right! Yupyup!
"Hey, tell me something. Why'd it have to be Hiro?"
huhwhAtwhO? Hirodarling DARLINGDARLINGwhocaLLDARLING?
Oh, she was in the hangar. And that blue washboard girl was making a ruckus again, ugh. What was her name? She couldn't be bothered to remember.
wAsHBoARdDARLINGmeMories? nnnntOOhArDwAntDARLING
"Hiro? You mean my darling?"
The shorter, flatter pistil stared daggers at her. Touchy! "There you go, calling him that again."
cONfuSED HiroDARLINGDARLING aLwaYsDARLING DARLINGDARLINGleSSHiroMorEDARLING
Well, yeah? What else was she supposed to call him? There were only three names she held dear to her: darling, Hiro, Zero Two, in that order! Coincidentally, two of those three names belonged to the same person, and the third was a gift from him as well. Hiro was his name, sure, but darling was his identity. His soul, his heart, his mind and body andandand! That was why she never called him Hiro and why he was never bothered by it. Calling him Hiro would be an insult, and asking her to insult him would be like asking her to stop breathing or eating or loveloveloving him! He was so much more than that - he was darling. Her darling! Yupyup darlingdarling.
DARLINGDARLINGaLwAysDARLINGfoReVErFoREverMarRyDARLINGgOnnAmArrYmAteDARLINGyayAyAY
"I'm grateful to you for defeating that klaxosaur," she continued. "But I want you to stay away from Hiro from now on."
THREATTHREATTHREATTHREATTHREATTHREATTHREATtODARLINGnoNoNONOnoONONoonONO nOtOKayENEMYwaShboARdENEMYcHaLLenGeRDARLINGDARLINGseCUrEmAteSecUREmaTEDARLING
nEeDtOleArNaBouTChaLLENgerQuICklYprOteCTDARLING
It took her a moment to calm down and think of a not-so-violent reply. "...Why?" Zero Two finally decided to ask.
"Because you're not part of our squad. If you're gonna up and leave one day, don't get Hiro's hopes up."
leAVeDARLINGleAveDARLINGwHaTnOnOnEvERUnNACCeptABle alWaySsTAyLoVEprOTecTDARLINGDARLING
She licked her lollipop quickly and swished the combined taste around in her mouth. The candy was suddenly an impediment; it was clouding over darling's pure taste - something she kinda needed right now! She needed darling's taste! Comeoncomeoncomeonnnnnn wherewasit! Okayokaythinkthink she could do this. The sooner she solved this, the sooner she could get to darling! Nnnnn she was stressiiiing.
"Oh?" she asked, approaching and grinning to mask her emotions. "What are you to my darling?"
"I'm the leader of this squad."
pAcKleADerPaCKlEaDeR nONOnOtMatTeRDARLINGisDARLINGDARLINGaLwAySherDARLINGnOtPaCkbeLonGtOHeRhErDARLINGDARLING
"Hmm..." She leaned in close to take a good sniff. That wasn't a very good answer! But what other answer was there? Darling belonged to herherher! She was his mate, no one else. She was his Zero Two! So who was this stupidbigdumb flatblue washboard of ickiness and whyyyyyy was she so obsessed with something that didn't concern her at all? Her scent was kinda interesting though. She did smell darling's scent on her, but it was very faint and not something to be concerned about because darling was her darling and no one else's yupyup, yupyup. Probably from just from being around him over the years? Darling's scent was sooooosuperduper strong and amazing so it'd make sense. He'd always been a part of this stupid parasite squad, right? If it wasn't his, she wouldn't have even noticed it. But she should probably get a lick, just to check. Checkcheck.
"H-Hey..." the boy said nervously. Zero Two paid him no mind and licked Ichigo's cheek. The other pistil recoiled immediately, thoroughly creeped out.
StRAnGetAstEnOtbADsTRAnGEtAStenoDARLINGnoDARLINGgOoDgOOdnOtCHaLLenGeDyEtgOOdDARLINGDARLINGsAfEprOteCTDARLING
Zero Two licked her lips experimentally. Hmm hmhmhm. Notbadnotbad. Darling's taste wasn't there, only a bit of his scent, so it really was from living in the same house. Not that she'd ever doubted him because darlingdarling, her darling! He only had eyes for her and she knew that and was most definitely proud of it, yup mhm! But still, her taste wasn't - jealousy! So she was interested in darling! That would be a problem, she'd have to watch washboard. The girl had good taste in men; too bad he was her darling!
"Hmmmm," she thought, squinting her eyes and touching her chin. "Interesting taste."
The issue resolved, Zero Two stuck the lollipop back in her mouth to reset her taste buds and walked away without a care. Ichigo glared at her, still reeling from the decidedly strange behavior. Goro placed a firm hand on her head in reassurance and grinned when his partner batted it away with a huff.
"Will we be able to fight like that one day?" Futoshi asked. "Fight the klaxosaurs like the Franxx Hiro piloted, I mean."
Mitsuru thought it to be an innocent enough question. Sadly, the answer wasn't quite the same.
The answer was no.
Those two were... Mitsuru knew he was relatively special himself. "Second-hand special", he called it internally. Physically, he was quite the ordinary parasite, maybe even below average given his issues with connecting. But due to his circumstances, he ended up knowing quite a bit more than almost anyone else.
Like secrets.
Mitsuru knew a lot of secrets.
And that was fine with him. He considered it an honor, even, to enjoy the trust and confidence Hiro put in him, to know he had his friend's ear. He had a role to play, as they all did, and he thought himself quite good at it.
"Say what? Just so you know, that doesn't count as piloting. There's no way that loser could pilot a Franxx," Zorome replied irritably.
His ignorance somewhat irked Mitsuru, but it was to be expected. None of his fellow parasites knew the capabilities of those two like Mitsuru did. The doctor had made sure he knew how important their compatibility was before issuing him his assignment.
Basically, Zorome didn't know what he was talking about. Such a thing was the status quo, really.
"But it did move around," Futoshi continued. "And Papa seems to have taken an interest in Hiro, too."
What a surprise that was.
"Well..." Zorome trailed off.
Nevertheless, Mitsuru knew he needed to buy them more time. Hiro had told him Zero Two wasn't ready for integration into the squad yet, though progress was being made at a decent enough pace. He mentally marveled at the connection, the bond needed for such a thing to occur so quickly. To be able to trust someone so completely, to listen so readily to their every word and not suspect an ounce of betrayal or a hint of an ulterior motive, despite having such legitimate trust issues...
No one would blame Mitsuru for being slightly jealous of his friend. He hoped to have such a relationship one day.
He decided to convince the boys of Zero Two's strength. If they respected her, they might be more willing to work with her in the future.
"I hear that pistil called Zero Two has the special ability to pilot a Franxx by herself," he said confidently. "You two saw its four-legged form, didn't you? So basically, Hiro was only taken along for the ride."
He knew Hiro would forgive him for the slight against his substantial ability. He needed to sow the seeds for her acceptance. It appeared his hunch had worked, at least with Zorome.
"See? I'll never accept that he did it before us."
Oh, speak of the devil. There he was now.
"Don't think you're hot stuff, you hear me?" Zorome muttered. He eyed his target and kicked the basketball at Hiro. It hit the boy's shoulder and bounced away; Hiro dropped his towel after grunting in pain.
"Bingo! I'm the best!" he called out, the epitome of pride and arrogance. "Sorry about that. I really expected you to dodge." Hiro grunted in mild frustration and dusted himself off as Zorome walked over.
"Were you cranking one out all by yourself in a training unit?" the boy asked snarkily. "That's perfect for you, a wuss who just hitched a ride with a girl!"
That was one way of describing what he'd been doing, Hiro thought, but Zorome was a bit off the mark. He wasn't 'all by himself', and it was the girl who'd hitched the ride.
To his credit, Hiro wasn't tempted by the brat's words. He rolled his eyes and picked up his tower before walking towards the door. He shot a knowing look at Mitsuru, who greeted him with a slight grin and nod. Ichigo and Goro had come out as well, sensing a commotion but finding none. The squad leader looked around questioningly and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a beeping in her pocket. She took out her communicator and activated the holographic display.
"It's Nana," she said.
"A mock battle with me in a Franxx?" darling questioned.
Zero Two would've jumped up and glomped him if she wasn't in "business" mode. Yes! Finally! They could show off their stuff! Piloting with darling, piloting with daaaaaah-LING!
"That's right," Nana replied.
"Depending on how you do, we're considering promoting you to parasite," Hachi continued.
DARLINGDARLINGsUcceSSyayayAyAyayaygoDARLINGgoDARLINGwoohoo
YES! YES! That's her darling, yeah! The boy she'd seen before - bitchy washboard's stamen? - leaned up to him and congratulated him. What was his name? Goro, right! Yeah, he was cool too! Congratulate darling, he deserved it, yupyupyup!
"Pick your partner."
Darling's eyes were already on her, but she spoke up anyway. Now was her time to shine! piLoTiNGwIthDARLINGDARLINGwooooooooo
"I'll do it," she said immediately.
"Zero Two..." he replied with a grin. She eyed him with a smirk, seeing an easy chance to flirt.
"I mean, you are my darling."
He knew what she was doing, she could tell. She hoped she got more kisses and cuddles out of it as 'punishment' mmmmm!
"One moment."
Wha-?!
"Let me be his partner," the flat annoying one said with that stupid, high-pitched voice of hers.
CHALLENGEDCHALLENGEDCHALLENGEDCHALLENGEDCHALLENGED sHehAdBEenCHALLENGEDnOnoNononoONONOnonONOnoNONOoBADBADBADNOnoNOo tRYinGtoSTEALherDARLINGnOtOkAYDARLINGhersDARLINGhersDARLINGhersSeCUrEDARLING
"Ichigo?"
She could hear the annoyance in his voice. Right?! She was such a bitch! A manstealer, a homewrecker! Justlethempilotcomeoncomeoncomeonnnnnn.
"She doesn't belong to our squad," the other girl continued. "Also, if you're only measuring Hiro's aptitude, it should work with me as his partner, too."
NONONONOonnonoNOnONoNOnONONoNONoNoNoNonOnONONONoNOnonONOnoNonONONonoNONOnONONonONoNO herDARLINGherDARLINGherDARLINGalWaySAlwAySherDARLINGTHREATTHREATTHREATTHREATTHREAT
"Then why does it have to be you?"
NononONONOnoONNOnonoDARLINGwAItWaiT, wHOwAsthat? Ohyeah - DARLINGDARLING nnn... darling had told her about him. Mitsu... Mitsuru? Yeah, right. He had gotten himself involved with darling at the same time he'd rescued her - darling told her they had promised to pilot together! That was so cuuuuuuuute! He was darling's friend, then?
But this slutty annoying homewrecker was starting to try her patience. Couldn't she see darling wasn't even interested? Why would he be? He was darling! Ugh!
"You already have Goro as a partner, and you want to ride with Hiro?" Mitsuru continued, questioning her. Yeah, that guy was cool! Definitely cool soletthempilottogether seCUrEDARLINGherDARLINGherDARLINGDARLINGchALLENgEDcHaLLenGedforDARLING
"Pipe down," Nana called out, interrupting any further conversation. "Don't go running your mouths now."
Then the woman turned to her. "Zero Two, HQ hasn't authorized the use of Strelizia. So Hiro will have to take the test with someone from his squad."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhERhErhErHErHerHeRDARLING onLYherDARLINGnOoNeelSesONLYherDARLING
She grit her teeth.
HATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEHATEWAshBoARdTHREATwAshBOaRDTHREAT noToKAyBADBADBADBADBADBADBADtrYinGtoTAkeDARLINGDARLINGDARLINGDARLING
"Wait, what?!" darling called out, visibly annoyed.
"... Fine," she muttered under her breath. She got up and stomped over to the other girl. She had to lay down some ground rules. Leaning down over the washboard, Zero Two grabbed her shoulder with an iron grip.
"I will let you have him this one and only time," she whispered to Ichigo venomously. "Darling is mine. Take care of my darling, okay?"
The other girl glared at her. Good. She straightened and spared a desperate glance at darling before walking out. She'd still watch the 'battle', of course. She knew darling wouldn't connect with the other girl, but she wanted to see washboard's face when she failed miserably. And she needed to protect her darling.
hErDARLINGchALLeNGeDforDARLINGheRDARLINGsEcUReDARLING
Mitsuru swallowed nervously as they waited for the mock trial to begin. Should he? He didn't know if this was sanctioned nor not - after the incident with Naomi, the doctor had told him to use it if Hiro was ever partnered with anyone else. He'd tried to convince Ichigo to back off and change her mind, but...
This qualified, right? This couldn't have his approval!
Biting his lip, he shakily reached into his pocket and pressed a button.
"Just focus on connecting, Hiro. I'll take care of the rest," Ichigo told him.
"Got it."
She was becoming a problem.
Right when they'd both thought they'd gotten a chance, Ichigo's crush got in the way. He really did care for the girl, that wasn't to be doubted, but not in the way she wanted. Ichigo didn't understand him. He was taken, he had his soulmate, and he was tired of this game. But how could he convince her to back off? She wouldn't take no for an answer, that much was clear, and he was readily aware of how thickheaded she could be. Words wouldn't work.
Right then, his mind took him back to the kiss with Zero Two.
Hell no, he wouldn't kiss her! That would only make their problems worse! But it was what came after that had grabbed his attention. He'd seen Zero Two's memories - but more importantly, Zero Two had told him that she'd seen his.
Could he... maybe...
He focused. If he showed her the previous days and hours...
"Begin the mock battle," Hachi said.
On the other side of the ring, Argentium started up immediately, its faceplate flashing to life. "We're good to go," Zorome said mockingly.
"Focus," Ichigo told him. They still all thought he was a failure, but that's not what he cared about.
He closed his eyes, gripped the controls, and pushed.
For a split second, Dephinium's faceplate activated. Ichigo looked around tentatively, seemingly pleased, and took a step forward.
"Read-"
But then the face expressed shock, disbelief, and vanished. The mech fell to its knees, silent. After taking a moment to process the situation, Argentium took a few steps forward, looking down on the robot.
"Ha! I knew it, the wuss didn't have it in him after all!" Zorome called out, jeering. In the makeshift observation area, a panicked screech sounded from Nana's tablet, which was monitoring the activity of Delphinium's pilots. She looked down, eyes widening.
Ichigo's pulse had flatlined - from 83 to 0 in an instant. But not Hiro's; the stamen's pulse was skyrocketing, his sync rate rapidly rising beyond anything ever seen or recorded in a male pilot.
100.
110.
125.
144.
158.
165.
"What is..." she muttered.
Delphinium began to shake... and move. Like a chained beast struggling against that to which it was bound, it leaned forward, jerking itself against an unseen collar. It twisted and convulsed, inhuman and beastlike.
"H-Hey..." Miku stammered out, backing away cautiously. "Guys? Ichigo? Hiro? Are you alright?"
Zero Two's eyes had widened. "Da... Darling?" she whispered. She took a step forward, trembling. The parasites looked, worried, from her back to the mech.
Something was wrong.
"Hey! Ichigo! Hiro!" Goro called out.
Something was very, very wrong.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
All eyes turned to the new voice. It was Doctor Franxx. The man had clearly gotten there as fast as his old legs would take him. He was panting and leaning heavily on his cane.
"Who authorized this?!" he bellowed. "Hachi! Where is the boy?! Is 016 in there!"
"Yes sir," the administrator replied swiftly. Immediately the scientist's lone eye began searching for someone, panicked and frenzied. His pupil was dilated and hyped up on adrenaline; it rapidly shifted over the assembled group before finally spying his target.
"Zero Two!" he barked swiftly. The girl's gaze snapped to him. She visibly tense and stressed beyond belief. Her lips were curled, canines visible. She didn't know what was happening and she clearly didn't like it at all.
"Get him out! Now!"
Faster than anyone saw, she was off, her legs carrying her like the wind.
Delphinium leaned back on its knees, its hands reaching up to clutch at its head in vicious agony. The faceplate had turned into a solid wall of static, nothing visible except for a churning mass of grey and black.
Unhinged and uncaged, the Franxx looked towards the starless night sky and howled.