You don't have to be alone anymore

Zerotwo left and Hiro was escorted back to a building. He went to see their guardian and went through plot to get sent away. After all, if he just suddenly didn't want to leave, wouldn't that be weird?

A while later

He was standing on a metal scaffolding, looking at a girl, whom he called Naomi. She cried and blamed him for getting her sent home. Hiro watched with emotionless eyes as she cried. They failed their testing and it was his fault, basically. But really it wasn't. The one who failed was the old Hiro, not him.

Naomi got on a ball-like ship. She cried and said "Why did you have to be my partner?!" the guard said "Knock it off!" Hiro raised his hand and the guard was startled, Hiro looked at her and said "We're both at fault, it's a team effort. A Pistil and a Pilot have to work together, even then a Pistil can take charge and make up for the work the Pilot may or may not be doing. To solely blame me is a very immature thing to do."

Naomi was startled and said "But if yo-" Hiro said coldly "If I what? Was able to Pilot? If I was able to Pilot, would you be able to be my Pistil? My partner? I'm sorry. The answer is no. You were never my partner. Just a failed stranger. Goodbye, Code 703."

Naomi started crying as the door shut and the pod left.

Hiro stepped back on the platform and watched with emotionless eyes as the pod rolled into the distance. Another Pod came and the guard said "What's wrong, kid?" Hiro said "I'm going to stay. I mean, if not going to kill myself going into that pod right?" the guard was confused and said "Wha-" before the earth shook.

The duo looked out into the distance to see a giant black monster with glowing blue horns and various other glowing blue parts. It crushed Naomi's pod and killed her, there wasn't even a fluctuation in Hiro's eyes.

He had an internal debate.

'If you knew this would happen, why didn't you stop it?!'

'Naturally, I won't stop someone who wishes me harm. She was destined to die, I only have one partner. You need to realize this isn't a game. This is real life. Heroes die. I'm not dying again.'

'She was our friend!'

'There is no we. I am Hiro, you are my subconscious mind that still lingers from the soul union. When we merge completely, you will understand. Not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Sacrifices must be made to keep me alive and I will sacrifice anyone who gets in the way.'

'Even her?'

'Don't you ever say that again. Never her.'

'You're a hypocrite! You pretend to not care but you do! You think I don't know? I've seen everything, I've seen who you really are!'

'Then you know that I will do anything to make sure that never happens again. The inexplainable feeling I have comes from both of us. You feel it and I feel it too. If I'm a hypocrite because I will sacrifice people I don't care about to survive and live with her, then so be it. Now shut up, the plot is continuing.'

There was no response.

Hiro smacked the guard's shoulder and said "Wake up." before running back, leaving his suitcase behind. Are you kidding? Was he supposed to get into a fist fight with a Klaxosaur!? You're insane. He wasn't going to jump into the fray, but he felt a rush in his bones.

Fighting giant monsters?!

In giant robots?!

Fuck yeah!

He strangely felt no fear at all, only excitement, which even Hiro thought was strange. He hopped off a fence and ran across the side of the Plantation, already knowing where the Klaxosaur was going. The Plantation bombarded the Klaxosaur with cannon fire to no-avail.

The Klaxosaur took out the platform Hiro was standing on before, Hiro said "There goes that guy..." as he continued running. The Klaxosaur ran from behind him and quickly passed him, Hiro looked over and the world went in slow motion as a Franxx passed him.

It was Zerotwo's Franxx, Hiro sped up and heard a 'Ding!' in his brain along with [Daily Quest objective: Run 10 Miles- Completed] Hiro chuckled to himself, he didn't even realize the distance as he was literally running for his life from a giant Klaxosaur!

He was a bit disgruntled and said "Clank, turn off Dings. If I get one when I'm doing something important, wouldn't I die right away?" Clank snorted and muttered "Asshole." Hiro shook his head and replied "Come on, don't be like that. We're friends. Good friends, yeah? When we get back, I'll complete the Daily Quest just for you, okay?"

Clank roared "You! You! You're humiliating me!" Hiro chuckled and didn't deny it as he stopped running when Zerotwo's Franxx tackled the Klaxosaur. He watched in awe at the giant energy beam and said "Hey! A Pokémon battle in real life!" he suddenly saw a shadow and looked up before saying "Fuck!" and running back quickly.

Zerotwo's Franxx smashed where he was just standing and kicked up a bunch of dust. Hiro coughed and covered his eyes, when he opened them the hateful guy was on the ground covered in blood. Hiro looked at him, should he be happy? Public enemy no.1 was dead! Rejoice! Oh no, wait he was still breathing.

A sneer appeared on his face 'Too bad I used the healing potion already, eh bro?' Hiro heard a voice "Forget about him, he's gone." Hiro looked up and smiled "Hey! What are you doing?" Zerotwo smiled and said "What does it look like? I'm going Monster Hunting, of course."

Hiro frowned and said "You're gonna pilot this thing? All by yourself?" Zerotwo said "I gotta go.." Hiro jumped and said "Hey, hey, wait a minute!" he caught her as she fell and said "Quickly, you can't pilot alone! Y-" Zerotwo shook him off and said "I'm always alone."

Hiro stood rooted on the spot. How long had he been alone for? How many bitter pills had he swallowed? How many methods had he tried to cure his loneliness? He kicked the old guy off the Plantation, plummeting to the ground and splattering, as he took a step forward with determined and hopeful eyes.

Hiro grabbed her arm and said "Zerotwo." she turned her head and Hiro said firmly "I'll come with you." Zerotwo was a bit dazed and Hiro grabbed her hand as he said "You don't have to be alone anymore." she mind trembled and she pulled him into the Franxx, like a dream.

Hiro flew through the air and Zerotwo smiled widely as she said "Alright! Become my Darling~!" before pulling him in and kissing his lips as they fell back into the Franxx. Hiro closed his eyes and pulled her waist to him as the entire inside of the Franxx lit up, as if lighting their dark worlds together.

The door closed and the Franxx started changing as the Klaxosaur smashed into it.

The Franxx stood up and Hiro spun Zerotwo around, his eyes bursting with blue light for the first time in both his lives. Zerotwo was dazed, looking at Hiro's bright and elated face. Her heart throbbed in excitement and something she didn't quite know what to call.

They both thought the same thing 'Is this... Love?'

Zerotwo smiled and said "Let's do this, Darling~!" as she got in her Pistil position, Hiro grinned and sat in the stamen chair as he said "Time to hunt, Angel~!" she paused and looked back before smiling even more brightly and turning to the interface.

Handles came out from her suit as her plump cheeks were right in front of him. He stared at them and resisted the impulse to touch them as he grabbed the handles and everything about how to handle a Franxx flashed in his mind.

Obviously he wasn't wearing any gear but that wasn't an issue. He engaged the handles and grasped them firmly. The walls around the duo lit up, seeing the outside world. Hiro said "You ready?" Zerotwo smiled "Yes, Darling~" Hiro grinned and said "Good."

The Franxx changed into it's true form and a spear appeared in it's hand. Boosters shot out of the back as it flew towards the Klaxosaur like a bullet, thrusting the spear into it's open mouth. Hiro clicked a button and said "Come up with a catchphrase, quickly!"

Zerotwo said "Game over." as the spear fired through the Klaxosaur's inner core, piercing right through it. The Klaxosaur exploded and Hiro laughed, feeling excitement bubbling up in his veins. An alarm sound went off in his mind at this moment.

[WARNING!]

[WARNING!]

[Klaxosaur blood has been stimulated due to proximity with the Klaxosaur Princess!]

[OVERLOAD WARNING]

Hiro suddenly felt the world spin as he said "Hehe... Let's... do... this.. again" before passing out. He missed another notification as Zerotwo shouted "Darling!" while the Franxx flew back to the Plantation.

[Fresh Blood Achievement Unlocked! You've finally tasted your first Klaxosaur kill! Rewards: Initial merging of Klaxosaur Hybrid Bloodline. Starting fusion process immediately.]

Hiro was completely unconscious and Zerotwo checked his breathing before letting out a breath of relief. The hatch opened and Zerotwo brought Hiro out with her, stunning the other cadets at the sight of him. Zerotwo dropped him to the ground and looked at his smiling face with a touch of complexity on her own.

This was her Darling, the connection was amazing. Unlike anything she had ever felt before. She crouched down and caressed his cheek with a smile of her own as she said "I've finally found you... My Darling~"

The next day

Hiro woke up in a cold sweat, he looked at his status and saw a notification. He said "Open" and there was a screen that popped up.

[First Kill Achievement Unlocked! You've killed a real live human! Congrats! Rewards: Random Talent (Rarity: SS)]

Hiro was stunned and said "When did I- Oh right, that hateful guy..." he didn't really feel anything, which was a huge plus! But also a very chilling feeling, not because he killed someone in cold blood, but because he was lonely. Afraid everything was just a dream.

He said "Clank, activate the Random Talent." Clank said "Do you want me to explain it too?" Hiro said "Isn't just a randomized talent selection? What do I need an explanation for? Judging from the rarity rankings there's F, E, D, C, B, A, S, SS, and SSS rarity. If I get a shit one, it's fine. I do have a question though. Is there an X rarity?"

Clank grunted in frustration, confirming his thoughts. Hiro hummed and said "Roll it, then." a roulette table appeared with a bunch of talents all around it. Hiro took the ball and spun it inside the roulette table. The entire table spun extremely quickly, blurring the talents.

Hiro left it and walked to the bathroom to get ready for whatever the day had in store. He suddenly paused and muttered "I fucking missed the Daily Quest yesterday! Damn it!" before he got down on the ground and started doing push-ups, sit-ups, and crunches angrily.

The roulette wheel was still going strong, Hiro guess he must've spun it too hard. Hopefully it doesn't break... Wait, if it breaks can he pull a Karen and ask for the manager to get more benefits? Maybe he can get 2 spins!?

He secretly shouted in his mind 'Break! Break! Break!' as he finished his sit-ups and started on his crunches. Soon after he finished them as well and got up, before brushing his teeth and noticing that his canines were slightly more pointy than before and his eyes were more blue.

He hummed and gargled water in his mouth before spitting it out and taking a shower, typing in the Discord.

Monkey Godking: @everyone Goodmorning!

Death Elder Smith: Morning

True Disciple Jack of Diamonds: Morning

The Russian: Да да, утро, у меня 19:32

Death Elder Smith: How goes avoiding becoming a lab rat

YAIDS: Morning

Monkey Godking: Good. Haven't made a splash yet

Adonis Creed: Morning, salve migos

Death Elder Smith: Splash? Oh so you met pinkie then. Be honest! Did her horns light a fire somewhere~

Monkey Godking: COUGH Do you want the truth?>

Death Elder Smith sent a gif

Monkey Godking: lol

YAIDS sent a gif

Hiro finished his shower and heard a knock at the door and a voice "Code 016? It's time to leave." Hiro said "Yeah, hold on a sec." as he typed again.

Monkey Godking: idk how they dont get hard in those Franxx.... anyway I gotta go.

Before putting his comms away and getting dressed. He looked himself in the mirror and clicked his tongue in displeasure. This outfit was truly ugly! He tied up his hair in a messy bun again and finally...

[Congratulations! You've acquired....]