Thanks to multiple reasons and changes, spring is now an early summer. That kinda scares me with the current and next school year, but like everyone else, we have to live with it. Anyways, yay. Surprisingly I've finished another chapter, kinda proud of myself but now I think it's because this episode only has events happening in two short days. As always, thank you all for the reviews and votes on the poll for non-canon extra stories, (which is still ongoing so go ahead and vote if you haven't) I really appreciate them. So I always misinterpret a lot when I read and I'm not gonna say anymore except that there will be changes but not any drastic ones, well not yet anyways.
Also the timeline I'm basing off from fandom, Reddit, and other sources are really confusing me so its gonna be slightly altered to fit this fanfic along with the canon anime story events, except some odd timing events from ep 17 to 22.
Still don't own anything.
Underlined Italics are Hiro's thoughts
Chapter 5 Fighting Puppet Part One
Nana, Hachi and the rest of the squad awaits as the adults retrieve Delphinium and Argentea's pilots. Both Zorome and Miku looked equally frustrated as they approached the group while the temporary Delphinium pair visibly sulked in their tracks. To some, Ichigo's puffy eyes were difficult to not notice. As for Hiro, with his ruffled black hair covering lifeless eyes, he reminded Asuna of when she first saw Kirito in the Underworld, disabled and confined to the system. They lined up with the rest of the squad, awaiting for any upcoming orders or events.
"Except for Code 015 and Code 016, all of you may return to Mistilteinn." directed Hachi. As told, Hiro and Ichigo remained as everyone else headed towards the elevator. Kirito and Asuna slowly trailed behind their squad.
"What do you think will happen to Hiro now?" wondered Asuna, her voice was barely loud enough for Kirito to hear.
"Don't worry. They won't do anything to him," consoled Kirito. "Besides, Zero Two's affected, too." He glanced behind to look at him. "Who knows what she'll do if something happens to him?"
Nana sighs in disappointment, "Ichigo, FranXX are supposed to be operated in pairs. It's dangerous to operate alone." Ichigo was well aware of her mistake, but a different action lingered in her mind.
Ichigo apologized, "I'm sorry. It won't happen again."
"Tomorrow morning, we'll retrieve both of you for scanning." said Hachi. Both Hiro and Ichigo automatically stiffen up, feeling more pressurized the longer they remain.
"This is just to evaluate the reason for your sudden disconnection." added Nana. Her statement somewhat reassured the two, sadly not as much as she hoped. "Go join the others and get some rest. We'll see you tomorrow." They responded with silent nods before retreating to the elevator, wanting tonight to end.
Boarding House
Immediately after returning, rather than converse of the current issue, everyone divided themselves into their respective gendered wings. But as for Asuna, she'd returned to the stairwell, waiting on the steps for them to return. Wanting to work on his little project in bed, Kirito walked towards the stairway until unexpectedly just to find his IRL girlfriend pondering on the stairs. He walked down and sat next to her. Surprisingly she hasn't noticed him yet. He poked her cheek, snapping her out of a dazed state. "Waiting for Hiro?" he asked.
"Oh, it's you Kirito~kun." She leaned forward and hugged her legs, "Yeah. Maybe it's just the mother part of me but I just can't help but worry about him." She rests her head on his shoulder, "Or maybe I just miss seeing Yui." Kirito placed his hand on her shoulder.
"I know what you mean. I had to live years without seeing you, Yui, or any of our friends." He paused before continuing, "But you're not the only one. Probably some of the rest feel the same about Hiro."
"Yeah..." mumbled Asuna. The Zephilla couple sat quietly for a few moments until Asuna realized why Kirito's still up. "Kirito~kun, how long are you gonna stay up?"
Kirito turned his head, muttering aside, "Just an hour or two."
"I hope so. You're still mentally damaged and I don't want you to push yourself too much."
Kirito rose from the steps and walked down, "I won't."
Asuna smirks as he jumped down, skipping the last couple steps, "Either way, I'm still gonna check later to make sure." Kirito stumbled his landing, he scratched his cheek as he turned his head back towards her, giving a nervous chuckle before heading down to the restricted hallway. Shortly afterward, Ichigo returned to the boarding house. She practically burst inside and briefly scanned the room upon realizing Asuna's presence. As an attempt to avoid eye contact, she rushed up the stairs past her. Asuna called out to her, "Ichigo-"
Ichigo just looked down, almost shouting, "Good night." as she marched down the pistil wing.
"Night..." mumbled Asuna as the door of their shared room slammed shut. Deciding she needed to be alone, Asuna remained in place until the door creaked open, where the other teen digit crept inside. Instead of running away, Hiro walked to the bottom of the steps, calmly asking her, "How come you're still up?"
"Didn't want to until you two came back." Asuna joined Hiro at the bottom, hesitating before asking, "Would you mind if I asked what happened earlier?" Hiro pondered, recalling what happened not too long ago.
He muttered, "Sure." His facial expression quickly changed, surprising himself.
Why did say yes?
Before she uttered another word, Hiro grabbed her arm, begging "But could we discuss this on the porch?"
"Of course." The two stepped out the front door, once again returning to gaze at the serene midnight forest. "So what happened during that timeout?" That moment replayed over and over in Hiro's mind, her petite figure quivering on him and her soft lips forced upon his own, reviving his lingering guilt.
He sighs, "Ichigo kissed me, hoping I would suddenly have full control of the FranXX," he paused before mumbling, "like I did in Strelizia..." Asuna couldn't help but sympathize with the dreadful pair. "I don't know if it was right to tell her about the kiss..." he reverted to the moment when he was still in his seat, hearing Ichigo trying to stifle her tears.
Asuna rubbed his back as he released his frustration, "It probably didn't work because you've already had your first kiss." Hiro turned to face her hazel eyes, wondering what she means. She sighs, "A kiss with someone different just doesn't feel the same as the first. Plus considering how close the two of you are, you're better as siblings." Hiro looked down, thinking of his time with Ichigo in the Garden.
"Siblings..." he muttered.
"A kiss like that doesn't fit well for a sibling bond."
Hiro exhales, understanding what she meant, "I guess so..." Hiro finally manages to crack a small smile, "So is this counseling session is gonna be a thing now?"
"Only if you want it to," Asuna gave him a comforting smile, "but just remember if you need to talk, I'm here for you." Hiro was once again entranced by her motherly aura. Asuna stood from the steps, brushing off the bottom of her nightgown. "Night, Hiro." She opened the front door.
"Night." he motioned with a small wave as the door closed shut. Suddenly Asuna creaked it open once more, startling him.
"Also before you go to sleep, tell Kirito he only has an hour. Ok?" her aura quickly dissipated to a slightly ominous one. He quickly nodded as she smiled before going back in. He exhaled from that odd pressure.
An hour for what?
August 21st
As promised, Kirito heeded Hiro's reminder and had stowed his project away last night before Asuna could check on him. However, for some odd reason, he had woken up earlier than usual. He checked his page, seeing that it was only 5 o'clock in the morning. His yawn turned into a weak cough, thinking it was nothing, he settled his head back on his pillow, wanting another hour of slumber. Unfortunately, after a few moments, other things began to bother him. Rather than tirelessly shuffle in his bunk, he decided to arise and continue working downstairs. He quietly changed into his uniform before trudging down the hallway to brush his teeth. Afterward, he walked down the hall to the stairs, luckily the other stamen was still fast asleep. Kirito felt a sudden chill in the main room, again ignoring it and headed down to the restricted room. He pulled out the wired page from the hidden bed compartment and drowsily sat at the desk. Shortly after mere moments of fiddling with wires, he buried his head in his arms, drifting to sleep.
He reawakens from the faint vibrations originating from his pocket. He groggily rubbed his eyes before checking the time, surprisingly had a miss call from Ichigo. His eyes widen, seeing it was minutes till 7. Without returning the materials, he swung the door open and softly closed it before practically running down into the mess hall. Everyone was already seated in their respective tables with their heads turned to face him.
"There he is, finally." said Zorome.
Asuna stood up and crossed her arms, whisper-shouting "You didn't stay up after I checked on you right?" Kirito scratched the back of his head, realizing he still had bed hair.
"Nah, I just couldn't sleep." Kirito walked over to the boy's table, forgetting about his and Asuna's own table. Instead of reminding him, Asuna returned to her spot at the pistil table as Ichigo began the prayer. As they ate, Asuna took occasional glances at Kirito. He was oddly quieter and didn't eat as much as usual. Kokoro, who was across from her, noticed her staring.
She asked, "What's wrong, Asuna?" Wondering what she was looking at, Miku turned her head in the same direction, where a sluggish Kirito sat.
"Huh?" Asuna slightly jumped, startled from hearing her name. "Oh, it's nothing." She switched her attention to her plate.
Miku rolled her eyes and joked, "What you already miss sitting with him?"
To Miku's dismay, Asuna responds, "Kinda, but that's not entirely why."
"Then could it be why he was in our room the night before?" questioned Ikuno as she ripped a piece of bread. Asuna choked at her question, she quickly grabbed her water and gulped it down to swallow. She looked at the boys' table, luckily somehow none of them had heard her, unlike the rest of the girls at her table. Both Kokoro and Miku were shocked, staring curiously between the busted redhead and her partner.
"Wait, what!?" exclaimed Ichigo, obviously disturbed from knowing a boy was in their room at night. Her sudden outburst gained a few stares from the boys' table. She demanded, "When did this happen?"
Ikuno recalls, "I think it was sometime around 3 or so."
Miku couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Are you sure it wasn't Zorome or the other boys?" she questioned, knowing how perverted her partner and possibly every stamen in their squad is.
Ikuno explains, "Except for Zorome, the others would never try to intrude our room at night. Besides, if it was him," She gestured her fork towards Zorome, "He would have been loud enough for Ichigo to hear. Also, the boy in our room didn't have light brown hair." Miku immediately jumped to conclusions and marched over to the boys' table, specifically in the direction of Kirito and Zorome.
Barely able to say a word, Asuna managed to utter "Wait, Miku!" She didn't falter by her call.
Noticing Miku quickly approaching, Kirito began to ask, "Hey Miku, what do-"
"You pervert!" yelled Miku as she curled her fist and hammered the top of his head. Kirito was slow to react but yelped a bit at the sudden abuse.
He rubbed his head, "What was tha-"
"And you!" Miku cuts him off again and did the same to her partner, immediately provoking him.
Zorome growled, "Why did I get hit!?" Asuna was dumbfounded by this wake-up call, not expecting this to spiral out of control so quickly.
Miku crossed her arms, claiming "I doubt Kirito would sneak in one of our rooms without being under your influence." The boys practically had the same reaction as their partners, even Mitsuru was slightly affected by the sudden news. Kirito realized what she was referring to, instantly feeling targeted from all sides.
"Hey, I didn't do or say anything to him." said Zorome, defending himself from further accusations.
"Then maybe he's getting it from Zero Two" wondered Ichigo, barely loud enough for her table to hear.
"Right..." Miku turned back to the culprit, "But why were you even there?"
Kirito was oddly calm in this predicament, he shrugs "I just needed help with something."
"At 3 in the morning?" she questioned.
Kirito forgot that little detail. "Yeah?" he gulped. He cowered in his chair, not wanting to say anymore.
She shifted her attention to his roommates, "Did you two hear anything?"
"Not really," said Goro, returning to his food. Hiro stayed quiet, knowing he was just knocked out cold. Miku sighs until Goro jolted from a certain memory, "Actually now that I think about it, Kirito was never in our room that morning."
"Oh, yeah and his bed was still messed up," added Hiro. A thought just popped into Miku's mind as Asuna quickly perceived where this was going.
Before either Miku or Kirito could say another word, Asuna appeared behind Miku, placing her hand on her shoulder, "Could we drop it until after breakfast?" Kirito sighed, glad he didn't have to make up something again. Miku looked up to speak but suddenly paused, realizing something.
"Fine." The two walked back to their table, Miku stopped Asuna and whispered, "Must have been nice that night." her statement caused Asuna's cheek to turn a light shade of pink, "Can't wait to hear more." she teased.
After Breakfast
Once everyone finished, Kirito slowly got up from his seat and walked behind the other stamen as they headed towards the door. Miku noticed him lingering within their little cluster. She warns, "Where do you think you're going, Kirito?" Upon hearing his name, the boys moved out of his away, not wanting to get involved as Kirito forced himself through towards the door. Unfortunately, Futoshi didn't understand the memo. His arm was elbowed, losing his bread loaf to the floor. Ichigo, being the closest to the door and still wanted answers, shockingly assisted Miku, attempting to block him from the exit. Sadly for them, Kirito easily evaded her and zoomed out of the mess hall, escaping further interrogation.
"Get back here!" shouts Miku, as she tried to pursue into the main room with Ichigo following behind. Miku quietly but frantically examines the room, hoping to find any signs of movement or even an echo of a door closing. Ichigo briefly checked the front porch, finding nothing but little critters roaming around. As the rest exited the room, Asuna concealed herself in the corner, in hopes they won't check back for her. Ichigo and Miku trod back to the middle in defeat. They were unable to figure out where he went but little did they know that the bed head intruder was just camping away in the restricted bedroom, gathering the supplies for his project.
Ichigo sighs, "Great, we lost him." Miku groans and looked around, forgetting about his partner in crime. Everyone, except Goro and Hiro, had already dispersed and headed towards various locations.
Her eyes widen, "Wait, where's Asuna?" questioned Miku.
Before they began their search, Ichigo asks "Goro, could you check the mess hall?"
"Sure." Goro creaked open the door, just enough to peek his head through. He scanned the room and spotted Asuna standing against the corner. She placed a finger on her mouth and made a soft shushing sound towards him. Receiving her message, he closed the door without responding and reported, "She's not in there." Asuna sighs in relief as Miku groaned until interrupted when two alerts went off. Simultaneously Hiro and Ichigo had received a message.
"Time to go?" questioned Miku.
Ichigo nods, "They're outside on their way." On cue, the door swung open with Nana and Hachi behind.
"Hiro, Ichigo, follow us." said Nana. Ichigo silently nods and walked towards their caretaker.
"I'll see you later." said Goro as he pats Hiro's back.
As he joined the three, Miku asks "Have you seen Kirito on your way here?"
Hachi viewed the outside surveillance on his tablet, " Ever since we left the Admin building, he hasn't appeared on any exterior cameras." He saw a sudden while blur just after answering. Without mentioning it, the four exited the building, leaving Miku frustrated with Goro still "guarding" the mess hall.
Miku pouts, "Back to nothing." She looked around, finally acknowledging Goro's presence and pointed at him, "Goro, you take Ichigo's place and help me."
He flinched, "Wait, what?" He sighs and slowly approached Miku, suggesting "How about you stop for now and rest a bit? Probably rethink this situation?"
Somehow she easily gave in, "Yeah, maybe..." Goro sighs from her response. "Besides, they'll have to come back for lunch anyways."
Goro gave her a slightly forced smile, "Good idea." She smiles before leaving the room into the hall, heading towards the courtyard door. The moment she left, Goro looked around, making sure no one was passing by the stairwell before opening the mess hall door. Asuna quietly crept out, looking obviously relieved to Goro but feeling a mix of concern along with it.
"Thanks, Goro. I owe you one." said Asuna
"No problem, but you know avoiding her isn't going to be an option later." warned Goro.
She crossed her arms and sighs "I know. I'll try to come up with something until then." His curiosity began to peak, noticing how much effort Asuna's putting in just to cover their secret.
"Is this secret of yours that serious?" he asked.
She pondered on his question. "Well, I just don't want this to become a problem outside of Mistilteinn," She admits. "With Zorome and Miku being the loud ones, Ichigo being leader, and concerns with the rest of our squad. This could get leaked to Papa and the others."
"Hmm..." Goro rubbed his nape, "Well am I trustable enough to know?"
Asuna giggles, "Of course." An idea popped into her head. "But first, do you like sandwiches?"
Goro was thrown off by her sudden question, "I guess so. Honestly, I'm not picky so I could like sandwiches."
She smiles, "Ok, perfect." She walked up to him and placed her hand on his shoulder, "I recommend eating light for lunch tomorrow." She headed off the same direction Miku went, leaving Goro puzzled in the main entrance. Knowing exactly where her partner could have fled to, Asuna creaked open one of the restricted bedroom doors. Unexpectedly her troublesome partner wasn't tinkering at his desk or even in the room for that matter. Asuna knelt down to check his supplies where it's supposedly under the bed but ended up finding nothing. Perplexed, she walked over to the other restricted bedroom, realizing the tapes were ripped rather than reapplied like he last time she'd entered the room. Other than the wrinkled sheets and the ripped open, bare top-bunk mattress, everything was the same as she found it. The picnic basket still remained under the table and lilacs continued to wilt near the window. Asuna walked up to observe the decayed flowers, mumbling to herself, "Maybe I should replace these someday." Suddenly they moved along with the curtains. As a breeze flows inside the room, it took a moment for her to register where he'd gone. She peeked outside before shutting the window, luckily Zorome and Futoshi weren't occupying the courtyard yet. She crept outside and softly closed the door.
"Looking for someone?" asked a faint voice. Asuna whipped her head to find Ikuno casually sitting in a chair with her nose in a book.
Asuna sighs and sat down, briefly joining the purple-haired pistil, "Yeah. Did you see him?"
"Seen him crawl out that window, but he scurried away in the forest. He was covering his face while holding some kind of sack" replied Ikuno.
"Thanks." She stood from the wooden seat, "Could you keep this a secret?"
"I could," Ikuno lowered her book, glaring directly into her hazel eyes, "but if you two are gonna keep meeting up, just don't let him in our room." Asuna mutely nods before hurriedly running off, blending within the lush forest. She lagged her pace as she got farther from the boarding house. Along the way, she noticed a white sheet between a pair of tree trunks near the water. Rather than call out, Asuna snuck towards the makeshift hammock. A lean figure sat up and scooted himself to the middle, dangling his legs to barely graze the grass below.
Kirito fiddled with the wired page along with his own, inserting and shifting lines of code. He sighs as a slender hand landed on his shoulder. "I'm guessing Miku had no luck either," Kirito faltered as Asuna sat down on the hammock. He placed his project back inside the box onto his lap as she slid right against him from their combined weight.
She turned to look at him, "We'll have to say something to her soon."
Without bothering to look straight into her eyes, he mumbled in a monotone voice, "I know..." It took a bit for her to notice the bags slowly forming under his onyx eyes.
She slowly raised her hand up to his forehead, "You know you can take a break once in awhile." He suddenly swung his legs up into the hammock and laid his head down on the pillow with his back facing towards her. He stretched his arm down to gently lower the box on the ground.
"I will," he muttered. Silently, Asuna attempted to lightly brush his hair with her hand. She refrained as Kirito twisted himself, looking up into the tree's swaying leaves. "I'm fine, Asuna. I'll just sleep it off." he reassured her with a weak smile. She hesitates before replying with a fake one of her own. As she swung off the hammock, Kirito grabbed her hand, "Just say something like we or actually I accidentally fell asleep in the lounge and makeup whatever you need to. It'll be fine." She nods as she slowly distanced herself. Kirito sat up realizing something, asking "Do you have your page?" Asuna checked her pockets, revealing the slim device to him.
"Yeah. Why?"
He extended his arm, "I'm adding something to make this easier to set up."
"Ok." She placed the page in his palm, "Just text me through Goro."
He flinched in confusion, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah. I'm kinda planning on telling him tomorrow." She shrugs, "He covered me earlier, so I was gonna thank him with some food."
"Ah, ok." Kirito laid back in his makeshift hammock with his hands folded behind his head. "It might be best having him know."
She warns him, "But I think Ikuno's catching on fast thanks to you earlier."
Kirito mentally facepalmed himself and groans "Right...I didn't notice her outside. I just ran away from the camera."
She walked back to him, kissing his damp forehead, "Just be more careful. I don't want this to end within our first month here."
He chuckles, "Alright." She finally left her partner. As she trekked through the vivid forest, her pace falters after hearing a faint, husky cough echo from behind.
"Hiro, you can go first." announced Nana over the speaker. Hiro stripped down, changing into a pair of white shorts before entering the scanner. As the scanner activated, he closed his eyes suddenly recalling a faint memory from the Garden.
The nestlings had a dream.
A dream of soaring the skies.
*Flashback Starts*
"Name?" questioned Code 015.
"Yeah, I gave myself one," said Code 016. He introduced himself, "I'm Hiro." Hiro sat on top of a pile of cushions. There were other children from the garden with him, most of them, he couldn't recall their faces.
Code 15 sat confused in front of Hiro, holding a fluffy stuffed bunny. "Why am I Ichigo?" she asked.
"Because that's how your code is read. 015, for Ichi (1) go (5)."
Ichigo lit up, "That's my name?" she mumbled. Shortly after, other children dropped their toys and gathered around Hiro, all asking for a name.
"What about me, then?"
"Think one for me, too."
Within their dark, cramped nest,
they clung onto one another
and waited for their parents who would never return.
Code 326, a timid boy with short, nicely trimmed brown hair walked up to Hiro with a blue ball in hand.
"Hey...Give me a name, too." he asked.
Hiro gladly accepted, "Sure thing!"
*Flashback Ends*
Hiro stood in the middle of a pearl white room where neon orange and green lasers moved back and forth, scanning him.
But we believe
that great blue skies awaited us outside.
The procedure ended, the lasers powered off, allowing Hiro to open his eyes.
"Hiro, you may exit the chamber and return to Mistilteinn." ordered Nana over the speaker. Hiro complied and exited the scanner. He proceeded to dress himself back in his parasite uniform before entering the hall where a certain pistil awaits to be scanned herself. The door slid open, Hiro walked out as Ichigo enters, waiting to be called back.
"All done?" she asks.
"Yeah. They said they didn't find anything."
Ichigo grabbed her left arm, "Oh. That's good to hear." A few moments of silence passed.
Hiro stared blankly at her, thoughts of yesterday still pestered him. "Hey..." His gaze fell onto her lips before looking away once again. "Ichi-"
"Ichigo, get ready." alerted Nana from the speaker, interrupting Hiro's attempt to speak.
Luckily for Ichigo, she was able to avoid that matter, "Roger." she said as she passed through with the door sliding shut behind her. Unable to continue, Hiro retreated to the elevator where he gazed at the gilded Inner City. Hachi and Nana debriefed his results in the monitoring room.
"He's the first sample that's ever piloted with her and taken so little damage." said Nana.
"He failed to common connect with Delphinium, but he was compatible with Strelizia, even though he wasn't conscious." said Hachi.
Nana held her chin and pondered on the fact, "The only thing that could explain it is..."
"...the special specimen?" wondered Hachi, finishing her sentence.
Lunchtime
It was already noon and everyone had already gathered in the mess hall. Asuna fidgets in her seat, wanting to contact him with her page. She patted her pockets, mentally cursing herself from realizing her little trinket was still in his possession. Goro lingered near the pistil's table. He asked Ichigo, "Should I go search for him?"
Ichigo sighs, "Don't bother. I'll mention to Hachi. Besides the food's getting colder the longer we wait." Goro trod back to the stamen table as she pulled out her page. Suddenly from her left, Asuna loosely clutched her wrist.
She pled, "I know where he is, so please don't tell Hachi."
"He still needs to eat sometime soon though." cautioned Ichigo.
"And he will," stated Asuna. She eased her grip until completely releasing her wrist, turning back towards her plate, "I'll take care of it later." Ichigo curiously observed the redhead before beginning their usual prayer once more. Immediately, Miku sparked up a topic everyone, other than the pair in question, wanted closure to.
"Ditching a meal doesn't sound like Kirito, right?" She smirks, "I didn't expect him to let you spill alone." She lightly nudged Asuna's side. The other girls, rather than pester on, simply spectated their little discussion.
Ignoring the jabs to her midsection, Asuna maintained a calm composure. "There's nothing to share honestly."
Miku put on a sly grin, "Oh really? And what was he hiding last night? Hmm?" Asuna 's expression shifted, unexpectedly looking rather concerned.
"Probably his fever..." she admits, gaining confused stares from her tablemates.
"That's odd. Child fever rarely occurs around this month." informed Ikuno.
Asuna explains, "Kirito's been in mental rehabilitation before we've joined the squad and he's losing sleep from studying late at night." She poked at her food, trying to remember the excuse they'd agreed on through Goro's page. "He asked me for help and I saw him leave but in the morning I found him sleeping in the lounge still wearing his pajamas with the book on the floor." She glanced up and luckily the girls were buying it so far.
"Mental rehabilitation?" questioned Kororo, finally decided to utter a word.
"Why did he need rehab?" inquires Miku.
"Miku!" silently warned Ichigo.
"It's ok." Asuna reassures, "I don't know why either, but he's been sick in some way recently. Whenever that was mentioned, it was the only time when we were separated in the Garden." Soon her expression was no longer a facade, as her lie was more of an altered truth by now. "He always gives everything his all, even if he hurts himself in the process." She recalls the countless times in all VR worlds where he claimed the hero title. Even in AR or the real world, he was bruised and bled from protecting her. The entire mood at her table shifted, where their suspicion stares became sympathetic ones.
Miku didn't know what to say, beginning to regret her original motive. She turned away with a sorrowful expression, "Sorry...Forget I even asked."
Asuna reverted back to a small smile, "Don't worry about it." Wanting to change the subject, Asuna made up another detail, "Actually he needed help with botany but I couldn't really help." Asuna turned to Kokoro, "He should have gone to you, Kokoro-chan." With the change of topics, Kokoro and Miku returned to a bubbly kind of mood. The two suddenly began to ramble on about the greenhouse, forgetting the tension overall. Since then, lunch became like every other day, minus one stamen. Although he wasn't present, Goro's page started vibrating in his pocket and after seeing that it was Kirito, he wandered back to the pistil table.
He tapped Asuna's shoulder with his page. "It's Kirito." whispered Goro. She glanced at his page before grabbing it and walking out the room.
She leaned against the wall and answered the call, "Why didn't you call earlier?" frets Asuna. "Are you almost here?"
Unsure what to say, he mumbles, "Sorry, I fell asleep and no, I'm still laying in the same place."
"Stay there. I'll bring your lunch soon." she sighed before questioning, "You're not gonna skip dinner too, right?" He remained silent, struggling to hold back a cough. Through her groan, he can sense her disgruntled expression. "I'll bring dinner later."
"No, I'll come. Besides, I have to show you how to set this up later."
"Ok, but please stop for now. I don't want you to get sick during a mission."
"I'll stop, I promise. Love you."
She paused before responding, "I love you too." Simultaneously, they hung up. Asuna returned to the mess hall, giving Goro back his page before heading back to her seat.
Dinner
Thankfully he was true to his word, Kirito showed up in the mess hall just barely before 5. Other than a minor scolding from both Ichigo and Asuna, dinner was going smoothly. Kirito remained at the boy's table, being questioned by his table while the pistil table was somehow calm and quiet. Once dinner ended, Hiro was first to leave with Kirito and Asuna close behind. Hiro snuck off outside, heading towards the Admin building while the Zephilla pair rushed off to the restricted bedrooms. Kirito grabbed the box, the blunt knife, and, for some reason, asked Asuna to rip off some of the tapes on the door before redirecting towards the kitchen.
"Before we go in, give me the tape and open the timer on your page," ordered Kirito.
"Ok," said Asuna nonchalantly. After Kirito returned her page, the buttons felt loose as if he'd removed and placed them. She did as told and opened the timer, but at first glance, it seemed like nothing changed at all. "So what did you do to make this easier?"
"Just keep that on and follow me." As before, it was still pitch black, but unlike last time, it felt warmer inside and a faint fragrance lingered throughout the room. Kirito carefully walked under the camera and hauled himself onto the counter. Asuna remained on the ground, concealing the light from her page with her body. Kirito used the knife to pry the camera off the ceiling, he felt the wires, and luckily they're still intact as last time. He rearranged the wires with the spare page but this time, he taped the page inside the ceiling before remounting the camera. Kirito slowly climbed off the counter.
"Now what?" whispered Asuna.
Kirito pointed at her page, "Look at the screen." The timer on her page changed, it was automatically set to one hour on the timer. "Now press start." Once she began the timer, the red light on the camera powered off. Before Kirito could continue, Asuna pressed reset and the red light reappeared.
"I guess your work really did pay off." silently praised Asuna as she started the timer again. Kirito grins until realizing he had forgotten something.
"But the page has to cool down at least half an hour or so until you can use a whole hour again," added Kirito while she turned on the lights. He flinched at the sudden brightness. He rubbed his eyes and scanned the pristine kitchen, especially the appliances, "Wow, that'll be fun to use."
"I know right! I can't wait to get started again!" She looked back at her page, asking him "Can you control it with your page?"
He shook his head, "Nah, I broke my timer while testing how long the page will last." He tried opening his page to show her. The moment he opened the timer, his page turned off, refolding itself. "The extra page shocked me and began to short out after an hour and five minutes passed."
"Ah...but that means you're done now right?" He nodded in response. "Good, now go get some rest" she started pushing him out of the kitchen.
"But-"
"Don't worry I'll return the stuff, so just go take a nap." He didn't bother to argue. He still felt cold and groggy from swimming in the lake earlier during his break.
"Ok, ok. I'm going." He headed straight up the stairs towards the stamen wing.
"So what happened to that talk about Hiro possibly becoming a parasite?" asked Futoshi. Kirito paused upon hearing his roommate's name.
"He could only connect a bit at the start, so I don't like his chances." answered Ikuno.
"No way he's getting in with that weak shit." snickers Zorome, putting on a confident grin. Rather than join in, Kirito lingered in the doorway, eavesdropping on their conversation.
"I don't know about the ones who only managed to draw against that, either." comments Mitsuru. He immediately wiped the smile off Zorome's face.
As a response, he accused his partner, "Huh? That was Miku's fault for randomly falling over."
"Excuse me? Don't you remember what you said back then?" argued Miku, pointing at her selfish partner.
Zorome shrugs it off, "Why would I? Waste of time." Miku stared at him with a disappointed expression.
"You're unbelievable." mumbled Miku.
"Don't fight. It'll affect your numbers." advised Kokoro.
Reverting back to the original subject, Ikuno states, "Either way, I don't think Papa's going to accept a parasite who can't pilot."
"Yeah," said Futoshi as he shifted to a grim look and surprisingly refraining to bite on his baked snack. "We saw so many kids disappear from the Garden due to that."
"It was so sad." comments Kokoro. There was a moment of silence remembering them.
Miku broke the silence, "Ichigo's no better, though. Don't you think she's being too biased toward Hiro? She's supposed to be our leader. I don't know how Goro's putting up with it as her partner."
"What does Goro have to do with it?" asked the blue-haired leader who overheard the conversation from the doorway. Kirito flinched from their leader's sudden appearance behind him. Somewhat startled, Miku crossed her arms as she slightly turned her head towards her. Goro, who was slightly behind Ichigo had heard his name.
"What's this about me?" he wondered. Ichigo left the two stamens and walked along the wall.
Ichigo concludes, "If Hiro becomes a parasite, he'll be a great help to us. That's all there is to it."
Miku points out, "If he does."
"He still has a chance." objected Ichigo.
"I'm not so sure. He couldn't even get it done with you." reasoned Miku. "I think it's over for him."
"But he did pilot Strelizia," noted Ichigo, despite hating the fact. "Even if he was unconscious, he did save us back then. I believe in him."
"Ichigo...I understand why you'd want to stick up for him, but given that he was unconscious, he was only taken along for the ride." surmised Mitsuru.
"We don't know that for sure!" Ichigo insisted, trying to defend him.
"Sure, Hiro was special. Even among the double-digits, he was a cut above," affirmed Mitsuru as he stood from the couch. "We were all certain that he'd be our leader and show us the way. But reality had other ideas. Hiro couldn't become a parasite." His speech softens to monotone, with hints of disappointment. "He's not who he used to be." His words struck a nerve in Ichigo, but she unable to say anything. "We must give up and cut our losses. I don't want to see this pathetic side of Hiro anymore."
"What pathetic side?" questioned Kirito. Mitsuru glanced at the Hiro look-alike. "No one has a pathetic side, just undiscovered."
"What do you know?" rasped Mitsuru.
"Look, I may not have known Hiro from the Garden but I know he's strong." Kirito looked around at everyone in the room, "So you all thought Hiro was gonna be leader, right?"
There were a few murmurs in agreement. "Well not every leader can just be given the title, they have to fight for it." Kirito walked over to the window as a bird flew by. "Hiro's way of fighting is in Strelizia. With Zero Two's help, he'll become a parasite," He suddenly pointed at Mitsuru. "Someday you'll realize the leader in him and that so-called pathetic never existed. I promise that it'll happen."
Mitsuru scoffed, mumbling under his breath, "I doubt it." He watched as Kirito exited the room. From the back it's easy to mistake him for Hiro, painfully reminding him of the last time he'd made a promise.
Sadly the person they spoke of was currently in the training room where he was still controlling the same yellow training unit, except a pink-haired pistil viewed him from above, waiting for him to finish. Once he was satisfied with his training, Hiro changed back into his uniform and soundlessly traveled back to the elevator. He paused upon seeing Zero Two hugging her knees as she sat up against a column. Slowly he walked up to her, assuming she was asleep, he leaned a bit closer to observe the two small red horns on her head.
"Darling, you pervert."
Startled from her words, he blurted "Eh?" She looked up to see his face.
"Quit staring." said Zero Two, sounding slightly annoyed.
Hiro immediately stumbled back, "S-Sorry!" he stuttered.
She smiles, "It's fine. The doctor said parasites are better off being a little pervy."
He questions, "Still, why does that make me a pervert." Ignoring his question, Zero Two rose from the floor and stretched her arms above her head.
"I was tired waiting for you. Let's go." She walks off as Hiro subconsciously followed her.
"Huh? Go where?" She remained silent and continued down an endless looking hallway. Hiro refrained from asking and aimlessly trailed behind. After walking down the ivory corridor maze, they finally stumbled upon an access gate. The gate flashed green, permitting Zero Two to go through and continue down the hall until stopped once an alert went off. She turned to see her darling behind the red "No Entry" gate.
"We children have restrictions on where we're allowed to go." stated Hiro. "Nearly all of this area is off-limits to us."
"Oh." Zero Two turned to him, putting on a smirk as she showed her gloved left palm.
Puzzled, he leaned closer, "Is that an S-class ID?" he sputtered. Her heels clacks as she walked back through the gate, getting behind him. "W-What are you doing?" She grabbed his torso and positioned him to mirror herself.
"If we go in together, like this..." she held his hands and synced their steps through the gate. Shockingly it flashed green, allowing both of them to pass through.
Speechless, Hiro mumbles, "I got in!" Zero Two detached herself, walking forwards before facing him while bending forward with her hand folded behind her back.
She gave him a cheerful smile, "See? Piece of cake, right?" The two proceeded down the hall towards an upcoming sliding door. The door slid open, revealing a balcony overseeing the Inner City. A surge of wind ruffled Hiro's hair as headed towards the railing, gazing in awe at the breathtaking sight. The city was pitch black but illuminated by hundreds of golden lights. Through the odd gasses, Hiro could see bodies of water flowing in a ring around the entire city.
"How'd you know about this place?" he asked as a breeze passed by.
"All plantations have similar designs. This is nothing special."
"Really? But I've never set foot in the city before. We've only ever known the birdcage and a few other facilities." Hiro redirected his attention to Zero Two, who viewed the city until sensing him staring again.
"Why are you staring at me again?" she asked.
"I'm trying to think up a name for you."
"A name?"
"I'm really good at naming people."
"Huh...Well, I'm fine with Zero Two."
"But doesn't it feel kinda lame to go by your code number?" Before responding, Zero Two grasped the railing before hauling herself over and walking down the narrow metal beam. "Huh? Wha-" She continued with her arms fully extended at her sides, "Wait, don't!" Hiro extended his shaky hand.
"Once we die, we'll only be a statistic. It won't matter what we are called." She paused and softened her tone, "Just look at this lifeless city." She was barely audible for Hiro to hear. "There's no skies or oceans here. It's isolated on a one-way street to nowhere, a dead-end of life."
Ignoring her words, Hiro yelled out to her, "Look, that's not safe! Get back here!"
"Darling," Zero Two turned around to face him. "Wanna run away with me?" Her teal eyes staring into his dark cerulean ones. "I can get you out of here, darling." Hiro watched her, perplexed by her last statement. As the wind rushed once again, Zero Two fell back, scaring Hiro until she performed a series of flips back to the balcony. Hiro stared speechless in shock as she stuck a flawless landing.
She leaned forward, with a playful smile, "Just kidding."
The part where Asuna and Hiro talk is really similar to when Hiro and Goro talk so I didn't want to include a repeat.
Now Goro's slowly getting in the mix...leave a review and guess who's next. And don't worry, whenever I type up an episode, I tend to complete all the events for that episode. This means that when I split a chapter, the 2nd half will come out probably a couple of days later.
For some reason, I'm really excited to do the chapter for episode 13 even though its a memory episode. Also, I really wish Darling in the FranXX was on Netflix, which would make this whole thing easier and faster...