"Current distance to klaxosaur group: approximately 4000."
"ETA is still 0210 hours."
"Bulwark in the last line of defense now 85 percent complete."
"Estimated to be completed by 2200 hours."
"Squads 26 and 13 are to stand by for combat by 2030 hours."
"They're moving in a pack. Then that huge mass could likely be a klaxosaur, too." Hachi marked the cluster of dots on the display as he continued.
"But I've never seen one like it before. Contact the Doctor for his assessment on the unknown specimen."
Nana nodded as she prepared to send her report to Doctor Franxx.
In the locker room, Kokoro voiced her reservations as the Pistils of Squad 13 prepared to change into their piloting suits.
"I heard the klaxosaur numbers are higher than estimated. Not to mention we're down a unit since Mitsuru is still in the infirmary. Do you think we'll be able to come back here alive?"
She glanced towards the corner where Ichigo was silently changing without a word with her back faced towards the other girls. Her entire form emitted an aura so cold that she could freeze the moisture in the air, if it was possible.
Kokoro bit her lip as she struggled to understand the lack of communication coming from their usually demanding team leader. The lack of Ikuno's presence added to the loneliness of the atmosphere surrounding the locker room.
"We'll be fine. After all, I'm sure we can just let Squad 26 handle everything. You know, since we're dead weight, apparently." Miku huffed out as she complained about her perceived slight from Code 090.
Turning her head towards her non-responsive team leader, Miku noticed that Ichigo had frozen in place, with her fingers brushing against her lips. Everyone who had half their wits around them could already figure out the cause of Ichigo's daydreaming.
Ichigo being such a Miss Heart-On-Her-Sleeve whenever it came to matters regarding Hiro.
Clucking her tongue in irritation at such a sight, Miku prodded Ichigo out of her wandering thoughts.
"You're being awfully timid for once, leader."
At the sound of the jab that Miku shot her way, Ichigo broke out of her reverie with a jolt as she turned to respond.
"I was just thinking about the upcoming mission, that's all."
Miku rolled her eyes at her crappy acting skills.
"Sure sure. Just make sure you don't get distracted like that on the battlefield, leader."
Ichigo bit back a sarcastic reply about Miku's freshly removed bandages from their mock battle as she entered the suiting pods.
"Fighting such a huge pack of klaxosaurs without Chlorophytum, we have to put our best effort forward for this mission." Futoshi spoke as the boys strode down the hall in their piloting suits.
"Hey hey bread boy, don't go wimping out on us now. We've got me, Zorome the Great, on our side."
"Well, that aside, I'm glad that we can count on Strelizia this time!"
Zorome groaned as he saw the marvel in Futoshi's eyes as he immediately latched onto the hope that Strelizia's power would carry them through the upcoming mission. Seriously, did the plump boy have no shame? A real man needs to stand on his own two feet without always coming to rely on others to rescue him!
"Anyway, we're not letting Squad 26 steal all the kills! I plan to take out at least 30 klaxosaurs when we get out there!"
As Goro found himself zoning out from all the mindless chatter between his fellow Stamens, his eyes rested on another pair of green orbs that had just arrived into the hallway from the Pistil's locker room. Memories of their argument last night came flooding back to the forefront of his mind as he found himself consciously slowing down his pace and turning into a straggler from the rest of the Stamens as he sought to avoid Ichigo.
The tension between the two of them was so palpable that even both groups paused to share uneasy glances among each other.
After what seemed to be an eternity of silence, Goro finally decided that enough was enough and gathered up his courage to face her and break the deadlock between them. As his eyes met her green orbs, he realized that she wasn't even bothered by the oppressive atmosphere between them at all.
Because her eyes were already set on something in the distance behind him.
Of course. Nothing else matters to her after all.
Goro couldn't help but allow the bitter thoughts to pollute his mind as he heard the tell-tale click-clacks of Ichigo heels ringing awfully loudly in the hallway as she breezed past him.
Gritting his teeth in frustration, he made his way towards the hangars where Delphinium awaited him.
"Ack, this feels tighter around my wrist than it should be... I need to stop giving in to Zero Two's habit of stuffing me with all that bread and honey..."
Hiro's mutterings were broken by the sharp click-clack sounds of the heels of a rushing Pistil. With a shameful burn in his cheeks, Hiro couldn't help but suppress the butterflies in his stomach as the memories of her confession remained fresh in his mind.
The confession which kept him up all night, tossing and turning in his sheets.
With a flush of red on her cheeks as she wiggled nervously with her hands clasped behind her back, Ichigo shifted her posture as a wave of sweet nervousness flooded her body. Her eyes downcast as she felt a terrible heat burn her cheeks, Ichigo's voice failed her as she placed herself in front of the person who she had poured her heart out to, just last night.
If she wasn't so wrapped up in her shyness, Ichigo would have noticed the blush on Hiro's cheeks as she unwittingly provided an alluring sight to the raven haired boy.
"Um... H-hey there!"
Finally gathering the required courage to meet his lovely green-blue orbs, Ichigo managed to stutter out a greeting. To her joy, it seemed Hiro was having the same difficulty keeping his composure as well.
Turning his head away to cough and cover up his embarrassment, Hiro replied as his heart raced against his chest.
"Ah...Um...Hey to you too!"
An awkward silence soon settled between them as Hiro pointedly tried his best to look at anything other than Ichigo, not helped by the fact that they were in a hallway and she was directly in his path.
Everything is so awkward between us now. This really sucks.
Clearing her throat, Ichigo broke the silence with a pretty tinge of pink on her face.
"The operation starts late at night. Um...Did you get enough sleep? You might get drowsy midway otherwise." Ichigo questioned as she tried to cover her shyness with her usual routine of fussing about Hiro.
Scratching his cheek in embarrassment, Hiro confessed the truth even though he knew it would worry her.
"Nah, I was too wide awake. Couldn't get a wink of sleep last night."
"...Me too." Ichigo giggled nervously as she admitted the same.
Pouncing on the opening she had left wide open, Hiro proceeded to tease his usually straight-laced childhood friend.
"Who knew our perfect team leader was the type to stay up all night excited about an upcoming mission. I expected better behavior from you." Hiro teased.
"I-I wasn't thinking about the mission! You idiot."
Her indignant cry made Hiro's body flush with pleasure as he realized how fun bullying his childhood friend could get.
Maybe Zero Two was rubbing off him after all.
Leaning in such that his height cast a shadow over her figure, Hiro breached her personal space as his eyes locked gazes with her green orbs. Ichigo let out a tiny squeak as she was dominated by his sudden advances.
Yup, she's been a bad influence on me.
"So tell me. What were you thinking that kept you awake, last night?"
At the moment, as Ichigo's face painted itself red to a point where Hiro actually felt worried about her blood pressure, he couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh as he wished that he had a surveillance bot on hand to capture the view of her tomato colored face.
So this is how it feels to bully someone you like. It's... not a bad feeling.
Realizing that she'd been had, Ichigo puffed her cheeks out in indignation as she started bashing her fists against his laughing chest.
"I hate you so much! Hey, stop laughing! It's not funny! Ahhhh I want the nice old Hiro back!"
This was so much better than the previous awkward atmosphere between them.
"Ouch, okay, okay. Just calm down, you can stop hitting OUCH hey stop-"
Grumbling to himself, he borrowed a trick from Goro's handbook in order to calm down the angry blue mass in front of him.
Headpats.
"There there. I'm sorry okay? I just wanted to see your reaction if I did something like that."
As he applied his ultimate technique that he shamelessly stole from Goro's handbook, Hiro noted a flash of red movement out of the corner of his eyes.
Zero Two was glancing at the both of them with a enigmatic look on her face. That was strange, Zero Two was always a creature of passion and emotions.
For her to be so uncharacteristically stoic and unreadable...
It was a look that caused the blood to freeze in his veins.
After that moment which carried boundless unspoken tension between the both of them, she started to walk away in the opposite direction of them. In that slow, sashaying saunter that served to mock him.
Immediately ripping his hands off Ichigo's head at the sudden rush of guilt surging through him, Hiro looked away in shame as he muttered to the shock of Ichigo.
"Let's just... Let's just make sure this operation succeeds."
Ignored the warning bells that rung in his mind, Hiro rushed past her as he chased after the retreating figure of Zero Two. If he had listened to them, Hiro would have turned around to check on Ichigo once more instead of blindly rushing after Zero Two's uncharacteristic retreat.
He would have noticed the harsh glare that lit up Ichigo's eyes under the brightness of the hallway.
And the hissing sounds she made through her clenched teeth.
"Delphinium's para-capacity is dropping below required levels. Connection broken!"
Goro crossed his arms, looking away as Ichigo did the same. The tension that they encountered between them at the hallway, if anything, had increased to the point where the oppressive atmosphere could be sliced apart with a knife.
"Ichigo, Goro. What seems to be the matter? Does Delphinium require emergency maintenance?" Nana's concerned voice came through the intercom.
"No. We're just having..." Ichigo trailed off and glared at Goro as he finished her excuse for Nana.
"Internal issues. We need a moment." Goro sighed.
Releasing herself from the Pistil terminal with the usual unlocking sounds, Ichigo turned to face Goro head on with a glare in her eyes.
"What's the matter? Hurry up and get moving. We need to get out there and protect Hiro." Ichigo flatly stated.
Goro eyes narrowed at the attitude shift that had occurred in Ichigo after they had their falling out last night. He had grievances of his own as well! Ichigo had slighted him on numerous occasions and he bore it all without complaint, all for the sake of Papa and Humanity.
"...You're not the only one who wants to protect Hiro, you know." Goro pointed out.
"If you truly believed that, then you would be on my side."
"I am on Hiro's side."
"So am I."
A deadlock between the two childhood friends. Over the one person they both loved in common.
It was truly a tragedy.
The silence that followed was oppressive to the extreme, as both childhood friends struggled to come to terms with their new relationship. For Goro, the attitude shift was particularly painful as he held a torch towards Ichigo. A torch he knew would never be lit and reciprocated as he knew more than anyone how much Hiro meant to her. He knew, better than anyone, that his chances were less than hopeless.
It was with this, that Goro found himself in the painful situation of arguing with his first crush.
"You don't have to make it so obvious all the time that you would prefer piloting with Hiro over me." Goro bitterly complained.
Ichigo arched her eyebrow at that. Was Goro truly so sentimental? Franxx was just a tool of warfare, to be piloted by Parasites for eliminating klaxosaurs. It just so happened that this particular tool of warfare required the connection of two hearts to operate, with it's strength reflecting the power of the bonds between the partners. With that logic, she would perform at her peak if she piloted only with Hiro and no one else.
"Would you prefer if I lied to you instead?" Ichigo pointed out the hypocrisy surrounding his arguments.
"It's not that simple. Did you ever consider how I might feel? Everyone knows of your wish to be Hiro's Pistil once more, even Futoshi who has his head stuck in the bread basket."
"I don't see the need to pretend. In my point of view, that just makes me seem like a fake."
"You have to consider the feelings of others! Not just Hiro!"
"Goro, in this world, life is fleeting. We're Parasites. We go out with the knowledge that every sortie could be our last. That's why I hold what's precious to me close to my chest and never let go, because if I do, I risk losing it in an instant." Ichigo continued,
"Protecting everyone sounds like a noble ideal, but reality doesn't work that way. As for me? My goal is simple. I just want to protect Hiro. I don't care about anything else."
Goro's eyes widened at her impromptu speech. There was a quivering fear in his heart as he realized his beloved childhood friend, his first crush, had just gone to a dark place that he was unable to follow along with her.
And for the first time, Goro had no idea how to pull Ichigo out of her dark place.
"...I didn't think it was this bad. Ichigo, you're broken." Goro spat out.
Ichigo's eerily clear green eyes shone in the darkness of Delphinium. Those clear green eyes that weren't clouded by emotion, passion or rage.
But they scared him all the same.
Because it held a certain spark of madness within them.
"Then I guess, I'm just a broken girl in a broken world."
Goro's heart felt like as if it was stabbed over a dozen times at Ichigo's declaration. With his face in his palms, Goro fought the urge to sob as he realized that in a way, he was going to lose not just one-
But two of his best friends.
"I... I don't agree with you. Ichigo, you've changed. Alot."
"So have you. And while you might not agree with me nor enjoy piloting with me. We can both agree on one thing, if nothing else."
"Which is?"
"We both want what's best for Hiro. The more klaxosaurs we kill out there tonight, the less weight will be on Hiro's shoulders and the safer he'll be." Ichigo continued as she turned her back towards Goro and reinserted herself in the Pistil terminal.
"Then it's settled then. We'll pilot this thing. Not because we want to, but because we both want to protect Hiro. Nothing more between us but a common interest." Goro spat out once more.
"Yeah." Ichigo coldly retorted.
As Delphinium powered up to life, Goro realized that he would never come to like Ichigo ever again.
And Ichigo was fine with that.
Zero Two was ignoring him, he noted.
This was really bad, she never ignored him.
Even at her peak of frustrations, she would merely wrestle him down to the ground and start biting him so hard that it left marks on his skin.
But as Hiro approached Zero Two as she stood waiting in front of Strelizia's open cockpit, he felt like a prisoner marching towards death row as Zero Two pointedly ignored the sounds of his footsteps ringing off the steel catwalk.
All this while, Zero Two's glare never left the open cockpit of Strelizia Custom.
Gulping to himself, Hiro recognized that he had messed up, big time.
Alright, you have one chance, Hiro. One chance. DO NOT screw this up.
Sliding up behind her, Zero Two continued to ignore him, the only sign of her noticing him was the tensing of her body. Breathing deeply, Hiro prepared to calm his raging princess.
Wrapping his arms around her from behind and pulling her into a loving embrace, Hiro nuzzled the crook of her neck and indulged himself in her musky scent as he cooed into her ears.
"Honey~"
The muffled moan and shudder as Zero Two relaxed herself in his embrace had made Hiro inwardly celebrate his success. Seeking to push his current advantage, he hugged Zero Two even tighter then ever, physically pouring all of his love and affection into their shared embrace.
His heart melted as he felt her gently stroking the place where his hands were interlocked on her tummy.
Crisis averted!
Or so he thought.
The sudden feeling of Zero Two's body tensing up once more was the only alert that he received before Hiro felt her break out from their shared embrace and drag him into Strelizia's cockpit. He winced as he felt like a savory piece of meat that Zero Two was dragging back to her den.
As the door to Strelizia's cockpit hissed shut, Hiro heard the locks of the cockpit sealing.
Sealing his fate.
Landing on the Stamen seat with a poof as Zero Two not so gently shoved him in place, Hiro found himself awaiting his execution in the darkness of Strelizia's cockpit. Strelizia was still inactive and the darkness barely gave him enough light to see past a couple of feet in front of him.
Blinking his eyes as he tried to readjust to the lack of light, he heard the clinking sounds of metal hitting the ground.
Shining red eyes and horns lit up in the darkness and approached him.
Her eyes can glow red!? That's...
"I thought we had a really good thing going, darling~" Zero Two cooed in a sweet, honeyed voice as her blazing red eyes forced his gaze to lock on to hers.
Hiro audibly gulped as she continued.
"I was worried all day about this mission being your 3rd ride. I was so worried that I think even my canines grew out a little." Zero Two purred as she set her hands over his.
The gentleness of such an action contradicted the fact that those hands were currently serving as his handcuffs. With Zero Two as his personal jailer and Strelizia being his cell.
Hiro's breathing increased rapidly as his heart hammered against his ribcage, as if it would burst any moment.
"And then I see you having fun with that blue-haired fangirl of yours, petting her head while she swooned off her feet." Zero Two growled huskily as her shining red horns pressed into his forehead as she climbed onto his lap.
"So tell me, darling, was I was worrying too much? Maybe, instead of wondering if you'll survive this mission, I should just go ahead and suck you dry-... Are you seriously hard right now. Like seriously."
That's super hot. Glowing red eyes were totally his thing!
Zero Two facepalmed as she felt the tell-tale sign of her attempt at intimidation completely fail on her pervert of a darling.
She even took off her headband to scare him! That was how pissed off she was when she saw the both of them flirting in the hallway.
As Zero Two looked at the bright, lovestruck eyes on his face along with his shallow panting, she groaned into her palms.
"Figures... I always knew that only a weirdo could get along so well with a red-skinned beast child..."
Even as Zero Two grumbled, she couldn't help but squee at the shiny, watery and lovestruck eyes that shone on darling's face. He might be a weird pervert that lusted over her red horns and eyes, but darling was her weird pervert.
"Eh? Did you say something, Zero Two?"
"Never mind... And stop looking at my horns like that. You're making me self-conscious."
"I really like your horns, Zero Two. They're so pretty!"
Shifting from her position in his lap, Zero Two rolled her eyes.
"Yes, yes. I can feel exactly how much you like them."
The shared laughter that filled the air melted any tension between the couple as Hiro nuzzled against her horns once more and stared lovingly into Zero Two's turquoise eyes. As their gazes intermingled, his eyes were glued to the soft pinkness of her lips as they parted. No matter how many times they had kissed, Hiro still found himself drawn towards the soft warm wetness of her lips and the playful tongue that lay behind her beautiful canines.
He wanted to taste them everyday for the rest of his life.
"Don't think you can get away by sweet talking me, I'm still going to punish you."
Grumbling to himself about ruined moments, Hiro surrendered and offered access to his neck in anticipation for Zero Two's usual bites.
"Oh, not that. I have... a better idea for your punishment." Zero Two purred. Her sultry tone causing the hairs on his neck to stand and pinkness to flush against his cheeks.
Before he could ask about what she had in mind, Nana cut in on the intercom and interrupted their alone time.
"Hiro, Zero Two. What's taking so long for Strelizia to sortie?" The demanding tone of Nana caused Hiro to wince as he realized that they might have been spending too much time fooling around in Strelizia. There was an ongoing mission, after all.
As he was about to apologize and wave Nana off, a soft finger pressed against his lips and shushed him.
It was accompanied by the most devious smirk he'd ever seen on Zero Two's face.
Oh. I'm so dead.
Reaching over to the console and flipping the communications channel to "OPEN", Zero Two remained seated on his lap as she decided to enact her punishment right there and then.
Besides, she always wanted to try something like this on her darling.
"Nuuugh! Yesssssss! Ride me harder, Darling!" Zero Two cried out.
Hiro's jaw dropped at the utter audacity of the girl on his lap. Hurriedly, he made to shut off the comms until he felt a hard grip on his wrist lock him in place. Zero Two's playful eyes told him that he was going to be punished, whether he liked it or not. Squeaking in embarrassment, Hiro shut his eyes and went to his mental safe space as he awaited for his personal hell to end.
For some reason, the deafening silence on the other end of the intercom made it seem that much more painful as Zero Two continued her unashamed moaning.
"You're so intense, Darling! I can't even feel my hips anymore! If you keep ramming me like that, you'll leave me numb!~ Ahhnn!"
Just kill me already. End my suffering. Let me just put my head into the jaws of a Moho-class and close it.
Idyllically, he wondered how many people were listening in to this.
Ah well, his life was over anyway.
"It feels really good! I can feel your love inside me, Darling! Keep going! I'm so close!"
If only the situation wasn't so messed up, Hiro would have enjoyed how Zero Two writhed in his lap as the motions she was mimicking in her acting brought a pleasurable friction to his lower body.
If only.
"YES! YES! That's the spot! Put it all the way in there! Fill me up as much as you want, Darling! Make me yours!", Zero Two moaned out her fake climax as she finished off Hiro's punishment with a wide grin on her face.
"Paint my baby making room white with your seed, Darling!"
"HOLY SHIT CUT THE COMMS, DUMBASS!"
Zorome's shrill screeching came through as Zero Two panted directly into the intercoms to seal the deal. Hiro could only mimic his best impression of a shell shocked veteran as he blankly stared ahead of him, the burning redness on his face doing it's best to heat up the chilly air inside Strelizia's cockpit.
On the bright side, Hiro knew that he would have enough fuel for his fantasies to last for an entire lifetime from what had just occurred.
Not that he even needed to have fantasies, considering Zero Two always made it clear that she was happy and more than willing to put out if he ever so desired.
If he could first find the courage to crawl out of the endless pit that represented the remainder of his self dignity, that is.
"Code 016 and Code 002."
Now even Nana was addressing them by their piloting codes instead of their names. She never did that, ever. Hiro groaned to himself as he felt the coldness from Nana wash over and freeze everything in it's path.
Could his day get any worse?
"Get. Strelizia. Sortied. Right. Now."
"Roger-"
Nana shut off the communication channel without even bothering to wait for their replies. Distantly, Hiro could feel the sheer disgust emanating from her, even though they were separated by hundreds of meters of steel and concrete.
This was a new low, even for him, he groaned.
That was how screwed they were.
"Let's Fly! Dar-... What are you doing?"
"...Looking for the self destruct button, I remember it's supposed to be under the panel here..."
Zero Two rolled her eyes as they launched from the linear rails towards the direction of the battlefield.
It would be their first and final sortie in Strelizia Custom.