Unbelievable.

Hiro couldn't believe Zero Two, who looked like a wreck, was able to kick the thugs' sorry asses into submission. He could never forgot the murderous glint in her eye as she almost beat them single handedly.

With some assistance with his lucky umbrella of course.

Once Zero Two went on full rampage, the thugs cowered in fear, instantly running away from the two of them.

Well, that didn't mean he and Zero Two didn't acquire a few more hits.

Aside from her previous injuries, Zero Two had a few small scratches on her arms. Meanwhile, Hiro fared a whole lot better, with just bruised knuckles and a shallow cut on his cheek.

Speaking of, seeing her wounds, Hiro decided on bringing Zero Two to a nearby clinic.

Taking hold of her hand, he gently pulls her along with him. "Let's get you to a clinic, Zero Two."

Zero Two doesn't budge. "It's fine. I'll take care of myself." She says, motioning towards her injuries with her free hand, but Hiro was taking none of it.

"No, I insist." His grip on her firmer. "I can't let you go looking like that."

"But-"

"I told you earlier, haven't I? I'm not letting you walk alone from now on, so let's go."

Zero Two sighs, ultimately following the raven haired teen's orders.

However, with their hands locked together, she couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in her chest. It was as if, her hands were made to be held by his.

'What if…'

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOO

Luckily, the school's clinic hasn't closed yet, although there was no nurse to attend to their wounds.

'Looks like I'm gonna have to do it myself.' Hiro notes.

Leading Zero Two to one of the beds, he signals he to wait for him as he rummages through the cabinets, searching for a first aid kit.

'Ah! There it is!' He exclaims to himself before grabbing the white, wooden box.

Hiro grabs a stool and sits in front of her. Dabbing some water on a fresh cloth, he starts washing away the blood from Zero Two's skin, a comfortable silence ensuing between them.

He notices Zero Two looking down the whole time; she looked so timid as opposed to how she acted earlier.

'Perhaps this is another side of her.' Hiro thought while gently dabbing her wounds with some disinfectant, making her wince over the stinging sensation.

"Hey.." she says softly. Looking up, he is greeted by her piercing teal eyes gazing at him intensely.

Hiro gulps. "Y-yeah?"

"Why were you crying earlier?"

He reddens over her embarrassing question. 'She must think I'm some sort of wuss!' He internally panics. His eyes shifts towards anything but her.

"I..uh...well you see..umm.." He had himself tongue tied when she suddenly speaks again.

"It's been a long time since someone cried for me…" Locking eyes with her one more time, he feels his insides soften.

"I couldn't stand seeing you get hurt, plus...the thing you've said about being alone? I, um, kinda understand how you feel…"

Suddenly, Hiro finds himself opening up to her.

"You see," he starts while wrapping her wounds in bandages, "Back when I was a kid, a lot of people seemed to look up at me. It was like, I was some kind of hero, y'know?" He smiles.

"But the pressure of being some kind of role model...it kind of weighed on me as I grew and I ended up hating this perfect image the saw in me...So, I destroyed it..that image..leaving me with nothing to hold onto.."

"And you know, once I started behaving as someone far from the person they once knew, one by one, those who looked up to me and praised me started leaving me because I couldn't offer what they expected from me. I could see it you know...pity, frustration, disappointment..all of these are reflected in their eyes everytime they spare a glance at me…"

"I guess it's my own fault why I ended up being alone." He finishes, looking up at Zero Two who had an unreadable expression on her face.

Suddenly, a thought enters his mind, making him blush.

'But meeting you...I don't feel so alone anymore..'

"-and besides! You asked me if I wanted to be your darling, so I assumed y-you wanted to be friends, right?" He stutters, his blush getting heavier by the second, when suddenly-

"No."

'W-what?' Hiro pales.

A tense silence fills the air, only to be broken moments later by a soft chuckle belonging to Zero Two.

"You should've seen your face!" Her cheeks puffed up in amusement before letting out a hearty laugh.

As soon as she managed to calm herself, Zero Two couldn't help but flash a smile towards Hiro for his kindness, plus, she's kind of happy understanding him more.

"Anyways, you did save my life earlier. I appreciate that." Her smile widens when she sees his blush coming back.

"Thank you."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

When they exited the school, it was already raining hard.

"Do you have an umbrella?" Hiro asks. Zero Two shakes her head.

"Well then," opening his umbrella with a click, he raises it on top of their heads to protect themselves from getting wet.

"Stay under here and let me walk you home." Zero Two doesn't responds and only stares at him with big, questioning eyes. It made Hiro slightly uncomfortable.

"What is it?"

"You do know the implications of sharing an umbrella, right?" She teases lightly.

Realizing what she meant, Hiro blushes for the nth time. It was embarrassing yes, not that she wasn't girlfriend material, but as an act of chivalry, he couldn't let Zero Two walk in the rain. Her bandages would get wet and her uniform…

Yeah, she seriously couldn't get wet!

"It isn't like that!" He panics. "I just don't want you to catch a cold."

"But just so you know, I've never caught a cold." She presses further.

"J-just come on!" Zero Two grins over Hiro's cuteness.

"Yeah, yeah. I'm coming!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"So, where do you live?" Hiro asks. Both of them were walking on a path based on Zero Two's directions.

"In an apartment, all by myself, since my gramps forced me out of his a year ago." she answers while twirling a lollipop with her fingers.

"Why?" Did she do something incredibly bad that even her own grandpa would disown her?

"I set the kitchen on fire." she says simply.

"What?!" To Hiro, that was completely unexpected.

"Weeeelll, I wanted to cook some rice, then BOOM! His Italian granite goes bye bye." Zero Two snickers at the memory.

'So she's a bad cook…' Hiro thought grimly.

"Don't worry though, we're still close. In fact, he's the one supporting me with my finances!" Zero Two exclaims with a grin.

"Really? That's good to hear." Hiro says, genuinely glad for Zero Two.

"Mhm! Thanks to him, I get to study at FranXX!"

"And why is that?"

"He's the headmaster." She tells him like it was no big deal.

"WHAT?!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, sitting in his office, Doctor Werner plays with a ceramic bird in his hands.

"Ahhh~ Aren't you so beautiful?" He muses while stroking it lovingly.

All of a sudden, the doctor sneezes hard, making him drop the ceramic figure onto the floor. The bird smashes into tiny, white pieces.

Feeling all the life sucked right out of him, the Doctor could only kneel over his figure's demise while clutching his chest.

"M-my Apus…!" He howls.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"-yeah, my gramps loves his ceramics so much, he actually has a room full of it!" Zero Two laughs while talking about the Doctor. "In fact, he never allowed me to enter that room, even now!"

"I never knew the headmaster could be so...weird." Hiro sweat drops. They continue walking through the rain when finally, Zero Two comes to a halt. "Here's where I live."

"Eh?" Hiro makes a sound of astonishment, making Zero Two turn to him curiously, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, it's just...I kinda live just beside you." He says while pointing to his own apartment. "That means we're neighbors…"

"That's great news! We can walk to school together, then." Zero Two beams happily.

Hiro's relieved seeing her back to her cheerful self.

"Y-yeah anyway, I better go before Goro-" as he turns away from her, he feels her yank him towards her, spinning him until he feels something warm and moist press against his lips.

She was kissing him!

And it was his first kiss!

It was only for a few seconds, but boy did he feel like he was being set on fire. Feeling her soft body pushed against him while her lips moved slowly made his insides feel like combusting into flames. His heart was beating rapidly, he felt like it was about to burst.

When Zero Two pulls away, she gives him a cheeky smile, placing a finger on his lips.

"See you tomorrow, darling~"

He could only stutter incoherently as she waltzed back into her home.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Hearing someone knock, Goro opens the door to find his best friend soaking wet, despite having an umbrella in his hands.

"Hiro! What took you so long?" he asked, slightly worried over how red his friend looked.

'He might've caught a fever..'

Wide eyed, Hiro still couldn't find it in himself to function properly after what Zero Two just did.

"I….I.." His mind suddenly thinks back to how soft and sweet her lips were, as well as how soft her body was against his chest. The weird, fiery sensation within him grows more intense, burning hotly especially in his groin area.

Hiro's eyes widen.

"Um, Hiro? You okay, dude?"

"I GOTTA TAKE A SHOWER!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, Zero Two was leaning in her door frame, her fingers lightly trailing over her lips.

'His taste...it feels nice.' She smiles fondly, thinking about the kiss they shared.

Closing her eyes to relinquish in her feelings, she whispers to no one in particular.

"Found you, my darling."