Dark clouds cover the skies, looming over a desolate, rocky battlefield. The entire ground is sprawled with hundreds of dead bodies of Klaxosaurs, gray, mechanical-like creatures with blue flowing lines around them. They look like a hybrid of a dragon, a reptile, and a dinosaur.
The endless expanse of land is nothing but dead Klaxosaurs. They're everywhere, even when traversing about a hundred miles; it never ends. Some are still alive, but they easily lose their grip on life as they bleed out their blue, glowing blood.
Amidst them, there's an open circle... A giant, towering mech, on its knees, hissing out a huge smoke like a train... Its white, armored body, and its red and orange accents... are splashed with blue blood all around itself. It seemed exhausted.
Inside its head is the cockpit, as a red light continuously flashes and an alarm blares through. There lie two young pilots in their designated spots placed side by side. A male and a female. The former wearing a light-black suit, the latter wearing a white-red. The female, who bears brown, wavy hair, is down on the ground, unconscious...
The male is on his knees, panting in the air, and riddled with wounds. He sports black, shaggy, short hair. His eyes are rich in blue, but they tell a different story no matter how vibrant they are
"Venom!? Do you copy? I need a SITREP! Venom!?" The sound of a man through the man's earpiece blasted through.
"What the hell... how did he do that!?"
"Venom!? Code 016? Venom!?"
As his earpiece continued blasting out noise, the man didn't bother to respond as he continued catching in the air.
He then raises his head... looking at the visual feed of the mech. He sees its user interface, in red and scattered with warnings, showing a diagram of the mech's damaged parts of its body and exclamation marks, saying that it's overheating. But his eyes shifted to what caught him the most... 2 sub-screens of kill count from either side.
The one on the left is the female's. Her kill count is 2. The one on the other side... his kill count... is registered as... 545... Yet he looked indifferent.
"Venom!? Respond goddamn it! Are you there with me!?"
The man still refused to answer. He drops his head and catches in the air... until... he drops his body and closes his eyes, losing consciousness.
...
...
...
The man is jolted awake, finding himself lying on the grass under the trees of a garden... His eyes meet the gaze of the cloudy skies... that are sitting behind a glass dome that's looming overhead and is reinforced with steel. He lays there, with a deep breath...
He is in a huge, enclosed place, that lies a house. Surrounded by grass, and behind lies a forest.
His eyes speak again of exhaustion, even though he just woke up. His entire face, while youthful, felt as if they paint a thousand words. He is wearing a uniform. A gray suit, with the breast area painted in navy blue, separated with an upside-down Y-shaped red pin-like embellishment on the center. All covering his white shirt. Paired with his pants following the same gray color, and brown shoes.
He then lifts himself up as if he just got up from his bed from another late night's sleep. Somewhat groggy yet indifferent. He rocks his head in a controlled motion with his eyes closed...
A loud thud is heard, catching his attention. He finds the dome stained with a small speck of blood. Confused, he gets up and walks his way to it.
He touches the blood with his index and middle clasped together and checks at it. Wondering whose blood it was, he looked around.
He finds a dove bleeding out on the grass from his left, trying to get back to its feet and fly away again. He watches it squirm... until it finally gets back and starts flapping its wings despite its wounds. It flies erratically. He sighed through his nose and wiped the blood off on the side of his pants.
"Hiro?" The voice of a young female called out his name.
He turns to where it came from... and sees a blue-haired, razor-cut woman whose bangs cover her right eye, while the other side is being held up by a white clip. She bears green eyes and stands a little shorter than him. She dons a similar uniform as him. A gray blouse, blue front, and a red pin-like embellishment.
"Ichigo," He replied back with a low, reserved voice.
"Testing will be conducted tonight... if... you're willing to show up. APE really needs that data to refine all of our FranXXs. And—... well you need to keep your training up, of course."
"Okay." He nodded.
He then quietly walks off from Ichigo with his hands in his pocket. She watches him with a silent worry to herself, her lips pressed on a thin line...
"My name is... Ichigo Akiyama... Code 015... I'm 20 years old and... lead the 'Squad 13' Platoon of the 'Parasities'. A group that pilots the 'FranXXs' for APE... The Apex Protection and Execution Program. An international initiative where we pilot mechs to defend humanity from the monsters named 'Klaxosaurs',
I've been leading them for more than two years. We all met on the same path, sharing the same goal. And in those years... we have distinguished ourselves as an elite unit, a cut above the rest.
But it's not because of what we did... not myself. No...
It's all because of one person—one who I can't properly talk to even if I try. And yet seeing him just worries me a lot."
Her eyes continue to linger on the man walking away. She bore a more worrying expression. Uttering his name alone stings her to this day... not out of spite.
"My best friend... Hiroyuki Räikkönnen... Hiro..."
...
...
...
13 years ago. There comes a country named "Mistilteinn". Situated in Southeast Asia, it sits right below the Philippines. Its capital, "Cerasus" goes on through its usual hours as usual in the nighttime. It is as vibrant as it can be before it rests back to its downtime. Cars hover through the road as many ads are being projected at office buildings and skyscrapers, as people are walking back to their homes.
At the northwestern part of Cerasus, lies a land occupied by apartments. Amidst them is a park, lit by pole lights. Within is a playground, complete with slides, swings, seesaws, and all the usuals.
At the swing by the sands, there are two kids. A young Hiro and Ichigo. Hiro's hair was short, Ichigo's was longer than it is today. Both lightly swing around as they ruminate through the night...
"Hiro?..."
"Hm?... What is it Ichigo?"
"Do you ever?—... Thought what you'd wanna be when you grow up?"
"Yeah! I do! I wanna be a soldier!" He spoke with a very enthusiastic voice.
"Soldier? Why?"
"I want to help people. Protect those who I care about. I dunno how to say it. I feel great when I help people! Remember that one time I had to fight those bullies at the sandbox?"
"Yeah... That's where we first met. And I remember you were beaten up. But you still asked if I was okay..."
"Mhm! *nod* After that, I kept helping other kids who were being bullied too in school!"
"But your mom is always mad at you for coming home hurt every day..."
"I know. But... I learned one thing Ichigo..."
"What is it?"
"When you want to help, always remember that you will get hurt! I think everything you want to do... always gets something in return."
"But I want you to be safe too, you know?"
"I know. That's why I'll keep being alive just to come back and help."
"You're so selfless... it sometimes worries me, Hiro..."
"What about you, Ichigo? What do you want to do when you grow up?"
Ichigo looks up into the night sky. It's clear, yet there are barely any stars. Some glowing bright enough to be even seen.
"I wanna see the stars... I wanna see what's beyond Earth... I'm fascinated to see what's out there..."
She then turns her eyes to Hiro.
"Hiro?"
"Yes?"
"Promise me that you'll protect me when you become a soldier? What if something bad happened to me and I didn't get to go to space?"
Hiro smiles.
"I promise, Ichigo."
...
...
...
Back to the present day. Nighttime. In another enclosed space amidst a desolate, sandy space with roads connecting from one dome to another, lies a laboratory.
Inside is a testing area that's all decked in pure white, Ichigo enters the room. She sees a scientist from APE with her computer. Its monitor has three hologram screens. She takes her attention to Ichigo.
"Zero Fifteen."
Ichigo nodded in return. "Hello. Are we ready?"
"Testing platforms all set."
The two look out the window ahead of where the scientist is. A large open space with two platforms, casting a blue light. Both are being stood upon by Hiro on the left and the woman with brown, wavy hair, on the right.
"Naomi... You've been Hiro's partner longer than any other woman. I sometimes wonder how are you able to put up with him?" Ichigo spoke in her mind.
The scientist then leans over to the mic.
"Seven O'Three, are you ready?" Her voice echoed through the speaker
Naomi nodded as she cleared her throat and repositioned her footing. "Yes, I'm ready."
"Sixteen?"
Hiro nodded, with the same silent and indifferent demeanor.
"Initiating Virtual FranXX Pilot Evaluation Test."
A streak of light flashes at them from above the window, glaring at Hiro and Naomi. They spread their arms apart, palms facing ahead. The light scans both of their bodies, uploading their data to the computer.
As the scan completes, the light goes out. Their full names and information appear on the right screen.
NAOMI WILLIAMS
AGE: 20
SQUAD 13
CODE - 703
FRANXX - FRX-7 "STRELIZIA"
DOB: 21/08/2106
MISSIONS: 100
KILLS: 19
HIROYUKI RÄIKKÖNEN - "VENOM"
AGE: 21
SQUAD 13
CODE - 016
FRANXX - FRX-7 "STRELIZIA"
DOB: 16/01/2105
MISSIONS: 100
KILLS: 666
From another screen, a diagram of a FranXX is shown. A target text displays over it. "IGNITION READY"
"Scanning procedure complete. Proceed to ignition."
Naomi nodded. With effort and a grunt, she shut her fists. The platform let out a bright glow.
The FranXX in the diagram of the left screen has been halfway filled with pink on the right side. "PISTIL - ONLINE"
Hiro shuts his fists with barely any effort with a brief groan escaping... at the expense of Naomi. A surge of energy overwhelms her. Inflicting her with a brief but nightmarish, sharp sting in her heart and mind. She raises her head, eyes closed, letting out a wail of pain that echoes the room..., whilst Hiro remains the same.
The other half of the FranXX diagram is filled with blue. "STAMEN - ONLINE" ... "FRANXX IGNITION READY."
Ichigo and the scientist hovered their eyes on the middle screen. It shows two energy readings from both Hiro and Naomi. A clear imbalance. Hiro's energy is consistently spiking as opposed to Naomi's normal conditions.
She cleared her throat before holding her breath. She has expected this and yet... is still in disbelief. The same goes for the scientist.
"Hiro... his 'Battle Spirit' still overpowers against Naomi's. It's maddening. Not even 'The Nines' can hold a candle to his..." The scientist remarked...
Ichigo turned her eyes to Hiro. Seeing his blue eyes. It's the same as ever. No reaction but weariness... yet focused...
"The FranXX... it's our weapon. Our fighters. Named after Dr. FranXX, it was built with the same philosophy as a Klaxosaur, yet being more agile... Its strength is dictated by the pilot's 'Battle Spirit'. Their determination, their conviction, their confidence... It's what it needs for the FranXX to be effective. It's why elite groups like us or The Nines are capable of piloting these... It must always be piloted by a male and a female together. A philosophy of unity and compensation over each other's weaknesses with their strengths..."
"Initiating virtual battle sequence!" The scientist said over the speakers.
The surroundings around Hiro and Naomi transform into a desolate battlefield at dusk. They are now virtually piloting their FranXX: Strelizia.
A titanic mecha. It sports a mainly feminine body with wide thighs, armored shoulders, pointed feet, and a white body with red and orange accents. And it wields a spear, being held in its right hand. Opposite of it bears a wrist guard. Its feminine face, looks very alive, as it's emotive to a human.
Ichigo sighed through her nose.
"Hiro... his Battle Spirit is like no other... He withholds a unique and unmatched level of his Battle Spirit... No female in The Nines are willing to pair with him... as strong as they can be. It is because Hiro's Battle Spirit is unstably high... but has been highly effective to APE's liking. And all they ever do is make Hiro maintain that same tenacity since he still falls in line with the standards of 'excellence'.."
"Okay, you two. Let's see what you can do. Summoning Klaxosaurs!" The scientists then spawns in 4 Klaxosaur AIs. They appeared charging before Strelizia. Naomi prepared herself as Hiro's eyes slowly sharpened, but not to the point that it looked as if he was focused...
Ichigo's eyes slowly drift away from Hiro with a pained expression. She fixes her hair. Her fingers briefly trailed through her white clip.
"Everybody knows what Hiro has done as a pilot... They know how and why they call him 'Venom'. Some know why he is like this, or at least an idea of it... But no one knows the full story why... No one but us... especially me..."
...
The world holds its breath. Hiro watches the AI Klaxosaurs charge in at them. He clenches his fist as his breathing is measured.
Then... he began to hear the sounds of buildings crumbling... a thousand footsteps rumbling through the pavement, cars alarming, people screaming in terror... all in his mind...
He saw flashes of himself running at a destroyed street covered with rubbles and fire. Another is in a car rolling through the air. He remembered the smell of sweat and rubble... then... a roar of a Klaxosaur.
...
And as soon as things get back to normal... without hesitation... Hiro lunges Strelizia forward by dashing ahead. Taking Naomi by surprise again. She tries to catch and synchronize herself with Hiro's moves.
As Strelizia nears the Klaxosaurs, Hiro jumps and dishes out a dropkick, with Naomi following suit with her best efforts. Strelizia follows the move and dropkicks a Klaxosaur. Its feet crash tearing through its face, gushing out blood before being sent into oblivion.
Strelizia hits the ground and immediately gets back up. The scientist checks the FranXX's readings. She sees the temp gauges rising.
"He's overheating the FranXX again."
Strelizia pulls out its weapon, a spear, against 3 Klaxosaurs.
Hiro cracks his neck. And without hesitation, he goes to swing the spear into the 3 with such speed and mastery. Naomi tried to replicate it but began to struggle, as it put a strain on her.
Strelizia fights off the 3 relentlessly. The blade of the spear tore through their rocky-like surfaces. As the scientist and Ichigo watch the FranXX overwhelm the monsters, Naomi's readings begin to falter.
"Williams, are you alright!?"
"Y-yeah! I'm fine—"
Strelizia stabs a Klaxosaur thanks to Hiro. As it cries in pain, Strelizia hops onto the handle of the pole before it can get flanked by the other two.
It jumps off into the oncoming Klaxosaurs. Hiro puts both its hands interlocked together, forming into one fist, as he puts it behind him, ready for an overhead swing. Naomi follows, dictating Strelizia to do so.
"HMPH!-" Hiro timed the attack and sent out the attack, slamming it down into the Klaxosaur's head and crushing it.
Without any pause, Strelizia transitions to grab hold of the other Klaxosaurs and drives its knee into the monster's head. It then starts rapidly bashing the head with the knee... as done by Hiro.
He lets out one final bash, and Strelizia does so. It's enough to stagger the Klaxosaur back and reveal its face to be beyond recognition.
Strelizia pulls a side kick into the Klaxosaur, sending it into the air. It then grabs its spear that was plunged into the other Klaxosaur and throws it to the former.
The spear chases the flying Klaxosaur... before piercing through its body as it hits the ground, with it plunging through even further.
Strelizia begins to hiss out smoke from its innards, as it stands within all the dying Klaxosaurs.
"Ending virtual run! Battle time... 1 minute and 43 seconds!"
Their surroundings disappear and transition back to white. Naomi drops to the ground. She coughs hard as she tries to regain her breath. Hiro watches her... indifferently.
His face bears no deliberate sign of remorse, yet any gesture that belittles her strength... He just seemed... there... Don't know what to do... even if he knew it was always like this.
Ichigo enters the room and rushes to Naomi. "Are you okay!?"
"I-I'm fine!— *cough* *cough*"
She gets Naomi back up. Hiro looked away as he sighed through his nose.
...
...
Half an hour later, Hiro and Ichigo are together in the car, being driven by an APE employee. Hiro, on the right, lays his shoulder by the window and rests his head on his fist. Ichigo, from the opposite, watches. The air of silence hovers around the car, with nothing but the hum of its electric engine and the hovering units.
"Are you okay?" Ichigo asked.
Hiro nodded lightly. His uniform let out a slight noise of ruffling.
"Okay..." She looked away.
Hiro then gets his head off from his fist and grabs for something from his pocket... A small white case holding a pair of AirPods Pro 2 and a 6th-gen iPod. He puts them on his ears and turns on noise canceling as he boots up his player. He scrolls through his music, his thumb circling around its wheel... and stops where he wants to listen. He clicks the play button.
"Every Day Is Exactly The Same
Nine Inch Nails
With Teeth
6 of 15"
...
...
The music blasts in his earphones... Ichigo hears it.
"I believe I can see the future... 'Cause I repeat the same routine... I think I used to have a purpose... Then again... that might have been a dream..."
Ichigo sighed through her nose. She then taps at her earpiece from her right ear... It then starts to make a beeping sound.
...
...