Chapter 8

"There's my favourite sister." Adam spoke brightly as he approached Zero Two who was laying on the hospital bed. Zero Two immediately rose from her bed and beamed a smile at him as he placed a basket of gifts on the tableside before giving her a chaste kiss on the lips and hugging her. Zero Two also eagerly reciprocated his embrace.

"How're you doing, Love? I thought you said you were fine?" Adam's brows knit in dissatisfaction while pulling back from their hug. He frowned as he eyed the bandage wrapped around her head.

Zero Two however, looked at her his face and smiled.

"Darling."

"Yes my love?"

"I want it."

"....." Adam blinked for a second. "....Now?"

"Now." Zero Two answered seriously.

Adam could only smile wryly while shaking his head. But that smile of his faded and was replaced by a predatory grin because, who was he kidding? He also wanted to do it.

Without waiting for another second, he stole her lips.

***

'The day after the klaxosaur attack, the startup ritual picked up where it left off, but in a much quieter circumstances. Papa and the other adults weren't around to witness it anymore.'

'I was told the huge FRANXX I rode was named Stralizia. I had no recollection of anything that happened after I got in. But I still believe that it all really happened, and that I was able to fly under my own power.'

'I'm no longer a nestling. So I swore never to run away again.'

Hiro's inner reflections ended as he stood up from the ground. He was currently in the middle of the forest, near the lake, and standing in front of a small burial grave. It was the grave of the bird that he was following yesterday, the one that injured itself by unknowingly flying right into the ceiling of the plantation and ended up falling from a great height.

The boy didn't know why he buried it and made a grave for it but for some reason, he felt a slight empathy for the powerless bird who sought to fly freely in the sky, only to be stopped by a strong wall.

'Just like me... but not anymore.'

He concluded his thoughts there and left the forest. Walking for a short while, he arrived at a meadow where a fairly large house could be seen. It had white aged wooden walls and ceramic tiles roof with a small brick chimney. It also had  many unkempt vines growing across the walls, except the numerous windows that every room had, allowing the inhabitants to have a clear view outside.

Sitting on the stairs of the front porch was a female teen with soft green eyes, fair skin, and a petite physique. She wears her straight and short blue hair in a razor-cut hairstyle, where her hair hangs lengthier on the right side of her face. She has free-falling bangs that mostly covers her right eye and one long strand of hair on the left side of her face. She also wears a white hair clip holding back the bangs on her left side while donning the standard Pistil Parasite uniform.

She seemed to be playing with a black cat that was lying next to her feet. The black cat suddenly ran away, making the girl confused until she heard someone call out to her.

"Ichigo?"

"H-Hiro?!" The bluenette abruptly stood up straight and began dusting the back of her skirt.

Hiro slightly tilted his head. "You didn't have to wait out here for me"

The blue haired girl, namely Ichigo, wore a stern expression and turned her head sideways saying, "It's your fault for running off first thing in the morning. Awkward as it is, you're staying here now so hold your head high, and make yourself at home."

Seeing the boy's expressionless face and not falling for her haughty act, Ichigo sighed, letting go of her pretentiousness and smiled softly before approaching him.

"I heard that Naomi's expulsion was cancelled and that she has a new partner now."

"Yeah, I know." Hiro replied briefly and tonelessly before walking towards

As the boy passed by Ichigo, who stood in her place, asked, "Were you the one piloting that FRANXX?"

Hiro stopped in his steps and answered without looking at her. "I don't really remember. So I want to ride it again to make sure."

"Again?" Ichigo turned around and looked at him. "That girl isn't part of our squad, you know."

"I don't care, as long as I get to pilot"

Ichigo frowned and spoke with concern, "I heard rumors about her. None of her partners could ever ride with her more than three times."

"They didn't make it out alive." Ichigo continues, "I don't know if it's true or not, but I think you should stay away from her."

Hiro closed his eyes and sighed. He still remembered how Zero Two's previous partner died right in front of him.

"...But If I can't pilot, I'm good as dead anyway." He replied without hesitation before climbing up the porch's stairs.

"Hiro...." Ichigo worriedly looked at the boy's back, unable to find the words to discourage him.

Just as Hiro was climbed half-way the stairs, a tall teen with average build suddenly opens the door while looking behind him. He had blond loose-spiked hair styled into an undercut while wearing blue-rimmed glasses. He was wearing a standard Stamen Parasite uniform.

"Hey, Hiro." The tall youth said as he looked at Hiro. "Get inside quick. That girl and a mysterious boy is in our mess hall."

"Huh?"

***

Inside the Parasite Boarding House's mess hall, clattering noises could be heard as a beautiful girl in her late teens, with long pink hair with straight cut bangs, messily gathered various food in her plate before devouring it greedily. The mess hall was a relatively small dining area, just enough to fit three long tables. It has a "homely" feel to it as the tables and chairs were made of authentic woodcraft, while the walls were decorated with a comforting aesthetic designs.

Sitting beside the pink-haired lass was a handsome white-haired youth who was also in his late teens. He had a radiant warm smile as he watched over his sister who seemed to be drowning her food in syrup.

"Really... you never change...." Adam says with a nostalgic look. He didn't seem put off in the slightest by his sister's savage table manners. "At least eat with the spoon and fork, not with your hands."

"Hmm?" Zero Two turns to him with a slab of meat coated in syrup in her mouth. She looked at him with a questioning face, not having properly understood what he said since she was too immersed in eating.

Adam released a soft sigh and simply shook his head.

"Nevermind. Enjoy your meal."

At those words, Zero Two shrugged her shoulder and enthusiastically resumed eating her food with her bare hands. Meanwhile, Adam wasn't the only one watching his sister's spectacle as there were other teens in the room. Namely the squad 13, who were occupying other tables while eating their lunch. Some of them were losing their appetite upon watching Zero Two's display. It was worth noting that except for Adam and Zero Two, all of them wore the standard parasite uniforms.

Zero Two wore her usual red-military overcoat uniform whereas Adam was wearing a white military uniform with black and blue accents which matched well with his physical appearance.

Moving on, the male pilots of the squad 13 sat on the table before Zero Two and Adam. They watched the pair curiously, though their stares were mainly on the beautiful girl who was eating her food with her bare hands. Hiro also sat in the same table. He too, was watching the the girl's savage display.

Meanwhile, the female pilots of squad 13 sat on the table adjacent to Zero Two and Adam, and they were completely appalled. The bluenette teen, Ichigo also sat with these girls.

The girl sitting next to Ichigo watched as Zero Two drown her food with syrup before grabbing them with her hands. The girl could not help but cover her mouth in disgust as she tried not to throw up what she already ate.

"Why is she still here?" The girl complains. She was a petite girl with auburn red hair and sea blue eyes. Her hair is done up in girlish pigtails, more commonly referred to as "twintails", with a small cowlick at the top of her head.

Her name is Miku; codenumber 390. She is a confident, blunt, spunky, and outspoken girl who tends to lash out at others if their personal habits bothered her.

And the pink-haired girl's current manners was definitely warranting her disgust.

"What a strange person." Another girl comments. This girl was an attractive fair-skinned teenager with wavy hip-length ashen-blonde hair that has long bangs framing her forehead on either side with a lacy blue headband to keep her hair out of her face while she has chest-length hair strands hanging on either side and calm, rich blue eyes.

Her name is Kokoro; codenumber 556. She is a very kind girl who has a gentle and optimistic personality to match and she is interested in plants and she is very knowledgeable in the "language of flowers". She doesn't speak too often, choosing to think before speaking and thinks about others more than herself.

"I wonder if she likes sweets." Kokoro questions after seeing Zero Two putting syrup all over her food.

Miku narrowed her eyes and leaned forward to the ashen-blonde teen sitting in front of her, whispering, "She's not a person. Not with those things on her head." gesturing two horns on her own forehead with her hand.

"Cut it out." Ichigo chided the red head. "She's our savior, you know."

"Hmph!" Indignant, Miku sat back and looks away stubbornly. She wasn't wrong for what she said, you know? The new girl literally had small red horns on her head. How can she be human?

Plus, with the way she eats doesn't resemble a human one bit.

"Do you really think she has klaxosaur blood?" Another teen asks, sitting next to Kokoro. This girl has deep purple hair tied into a short ponytail with a blue butterfly clip and bangs on either side of her weary green eyes. She wears a pair of black-rimmed glasses and has freckles on her cheeks.

Her name is Ikuno; codenumber 196. She is an intelligent, logical, mature, and a slightly playful girl. She would often be the "big sister" figure of the squad as she always looks out for her squadmates and makes it her personal hobby to tease them.

"Besides, I thought nobody had single-digit codes." Ikuno adds.

"Ugh. Nevermind the new girl." Miku says, not wanting to talk about the mannerless girl anymore. Instead, she put her gaze to the boy next to the pink-haired girl. Her eyes sparkled in admiration as she observed the handsome boy who had a gentle and amiable demeanor.

"So... so handsome! Who is he?!" The more she looks at him, the more she could find herself drawn to him. His face was simply that immaculate. "Now that's a stamen pilot I definitely want to be paired with!"

"Unlike that." She disdainfully glanced at a certain boy on the boys' table. Irritation could be heard from her voice as she even refused to refer to the boy as a person.

"Come now, Miku." Kokoro, the kind girl, chided her best friend. "Although Zorome-kun is a little bit immature, he is still your partner, you know?"

"Ugh..." Miku groans at her unfortunate reality. Why can't she just be paired up with a dreamy guy like the white-haired boy?

"Though, I have to admit that man is very handsome. I wonder who he is. He seems to be close with that girl." Kokoro said as she continued to stare at the white-haired boy and pink-haired girl.

"Ara? What's this?" Ikuno raises a brow in interest as she looked at Kokoro beside her. "Is our Kokoro finally showing interest in a boy?"

"!!!" Kokoro quivered and a light blush appears on her face. Fumbling her words, she answers hastily, "N-no. Of course, not! I was merely stating facts!"

Miku and Ikuno found her reaction adorable and unable to resist the urge, they continued to tease the flustered girl. Poor Kokoro could only suffer under the teasing of her two best friends.

Meanwhile, the boys on the other table were having a conversation of their own.

"She's nothing like the rumors said." An overweight boy with a hefty build and kind face commented while grabbing several buns of bread.

He has short auburn-brown hair that hangs lightly over his forehead. His thick, stumpy eyebrows and round, playful eyes give him an approachable quality. He is quite tall, being the second tallest next to the boy wearing glasses- at least that was the case before Adam was there. Adam was just the same if not, a few centimeters taller than the bespectacled boy.

Moving back to the overweight teen, this boy's name was Futoshi; codenumber 214. Futoshi is a very kind, polite, and optimistic person. These characteristics make him an easily likeable member of the squad and he forms an instant friendly relationship with Kokoro. He gets easily motivated by his desire to do his absolute best and he has a strong love for food which he doesn't hesitate to hide, as he tends to keep pieces of food stashed away in his own bed and his locker to snack on later.

As for the tall bespectacled boy, his name is Goro; codenumber 056. He had been close friends with Ichigo and Hiro since childhood. He tends to be optimistic and friendly due to wanting to avoid conflict, and he is considered to be the second unofficial leader of the squad for these characteristics. He is more mature than the other boys.

Goro chuckled wryly while glancing at Zero Two. He turns to the table and sighed, "She's ruining her good looks with the way she's eating."

"I can't believe all her injuries healed so quickly." Hiro mumbled sitting next to the bespectacled boy, not minding the latter's comment.

"Hey, hey!"

Just then, everyone's attention was grabbed by an energetic immature voice. They saw a teenager with a short stature, standing only at 161 cm. He had purple eyes and unruly light brown hair which flares out on the sides and back. He has long bangs which mostly cover his forehead. He also has an "ahoge" on top of his head which seemed to be his most distinctive feature other than his short height.

Standing beside the pink-haired girl, he placed his hand beside her plate and spoke arrogantly, "It was a real treat to watch your skills in action. I, Zorome the Great, shall graciously ride with you if you so desire." He points to himself with his thumb, as if to emphasize his greatness.

"I'm sure I can do a much better job than that wuss." The boy said confidently. "So why don't we try... Eek!"

His words were cut off by the pink-haired girl suddenly wiping her syrup drenched hand on his stomach, using it like some convenient towel.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Zorome exlcaimed but Zero Two continues wiping her hand on his uniform while licking the syrup on her other hand. "Aw, my Sunday best!" Zorome despaired.

"Sister." Adam spoke to Zero Two with a strict voice, "That's not nice, you know? If you want to clean your hands, use a proper towel or just wash your hands in the sink."

Zero Two looked at her brother and smiled suggestively. She raised her syrup stained hand, the one she was licking, towards him and said, "Darling, This is really sweet. So let's eat it together, okay?"

Adam looked at her and reciprocated her smile. "Do you mean your hand or do food?"

She squinted her eyes at him and smiled even more. "What does darling think?"

Meanwhile, all the other teens paused as they questioned in their mind

'Darling?' x9

"Wait, what does that mean?" Miku asks her friends.

"Beats me." Kokoro answers.

"Do you know?" The tall bespectacled boy asks the overweight teen in front of him.

The latter shakes his head. "Nope. It doesn't sound like it's a food."

"I wonder what it is...."

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" Zorome shouts to Adam and Zero Two, but the two seemed to be stuck in their own world.

Adam only smiled and licks the syrup off of Zero Two's hand. His actions immediately surprised the other teens, as they couldn't believe that a handsome gentleman would do such a thing. To girl no less!

Miku's mouth gaped, completely bewildered at the sight of the white-haired boy licking the pink-haired girl's hand like it was a delicious meal. Kokoro's face slightly became red while watching this scene. As for Ikuno and Ichigo, they only felt odd at their intimacy, wondering what exactly was the relationship of those two.

Just then, Hiro suddenly stood up and walked towards Adam and Zero Two. Standing next to their table, he calls out to pair of siblings.

"U-um... excuse me!"

Zero Two was smiling, enjoying having her hand licked by her darling. But then she frowns at Hiro who intruded in their special time. Adam also stopped what he was doing and looks at the boy.

"....Hiro-kun, right?"

The boy slightly smiled and nodded. "That's right." He somehow felt happy having his name remembered by the handsome man.

"What do you need?" Adam asks while Zero Two openly showed her displeasure.

Hiro felt awkward when seeing Zero Two look at him like that, before gathering his courage and bow his head to Adam.

"Thank you, Adam-san."

"Hm? For what?"

"For taking Naomi as your partner."

"Ah, that. No worries. She's a fine parasite." Adam said while gesturing him to stop bowing.

"No! I must offer my gratitude." Hiro insisted and continued in a sincere tone, "Naomi is a very good girl with a hard working personality. She deserves a better partner than me."

"I agree." Zorome commented from the side but nobody paid attention to him.

Adam nodded his head and said, "Naomi is indeed, a very good lass. That's exactly why I chose her. And I didn't make her my partner because of you or anything. I chose her on my own after seeing her potential and her own merit. That's why your gratitude is unneeded."

Hiro slowly raised his head and looked at Adam.

"...Okay."

"Right.... Do you need anything else?"

"Actually..." Hiro turned his gaze at Zero Two and being met with her frown, he glanced sideways and scratched his cheek awkwardly. "I was hoping to speak to Miss Zero Two."

Adam raised his brow and turned to his sister.

"You heard him."

Zero Two narrowed her eyes at the youth. "What do you want?"

Her voice was rather unfriendly, making Hiro think that he was disliked.

And in reality, he truly was. Zero Two has a bad impression of him due to the fact that not only does the boy interrupt her moments with her brother, but he was also a pervert who stole her panties.

How dare he?! Those belongs to her brother and no one else!

Ichigo was trying to feign ignorance, but in truth she was paying close attention to the scene and seeing Zero Two's attitude towards Hiro made her feel unpleasant. A little offended even.

"Um..." Met with Zero Two's unfriendly tone, Hiro couldn't help but feel timid now. But after taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, he asked her his question.

"Tell me. Did I actually manage to pilot back then?"

"Yes." Zero Two answered blandly.

'I see...' Hearing her confirmation, Hiro's face lowered and his gaze became distant. His hands crumpled subconsciously as he thought, 'So I really did pilot that FRANXX back then!' he couldn't help but feel a little happy about it.

The corners of his lips curled upwards a little. 

Just then, A tall buxom woman with long, wavy brownish-red hair that reaches to her upper back entered the room and clapped her hands.

"Okay, keep it down, kids."

"Nana-san!" Kokoro excitedly calls out.

Nana clears her throat and addresses the teens.

"I'll be your caretaker, just like I was in Garden." She smiled and introduces herself, "APE HQ has assigned me to the 13th Plantation Corps. My Name is Nana."

She looked at the kids and smiled confidently, "I look forward to your cooperation."

"Yes, we got lucky!"

The boys cheered as did the girls. Miku celebrated with Kokoro while Zorome cheekily and blatantly leered at the buxom woman's large chest. Nana doesn't seem to care about the boy as she turned to Ichigo who called out to her.

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"Is she going to stay here?" The bluenette asks, referring to Zero Two.

"We're awaiting orders from HQ on what to do with Zero Two." Nana states, "But in general, she won't be working with you guys."

"Eh?" Hiro blinked, having overheard their conversation.

But before he could say anything about it, Ichigo continued to her inquiries.

"What about him?"

"Him?" You mean Adam?"

"Adam?" Ichigo repeats questioningly. 

Hearing such an odd name garnered the attention of all the girls in the table.

Nana nodded at Ichigo. "Yes. His name is Adam. He is a special unit, the same as Zero Two and he will be with us for the duration of the doctor's stay. Though I'm not sure of the specifics, but just like Zero Two, he also wouldn't be working with you guys."

"But how come?" Ichigo asks, "His partner is Naomi, isn't she?"

Miku eagerly nodded her head and looked at Nana. "Yes. Yes. How come?!"

Even if Miku can't be paired with him, she would certainly love working with him. She could just stare at his face cam all day while piloting her robot. That would make piloting with less sufferable with her pathetic excuse of a partner.

Again, Miku glares at the boy, Zorome, who was still perversely blatantly staring at Nana's chest.

'Seriously, so disgusting.' Looking at that filth makes her want to bleach her eyes.

Miku's attention was then drawn back to Nana as the older woman answers her question.

"Well, you see, Naomi and Adam aren't officially partners yet. There's a bunch of paper works to take care of but it has already been approve by the higher ups." Nana explains, "With that being said, they technically aren't part of the squad 13 unless HQ decided so."

"Which I doubt they would..." Nana added in a low mumble.

Since Ichigo was sitting near her, she heard what Nana mumbled but didn't pry on it further. Instead, she asks, "How is his name Adam? Did he name himself that?"

Ichigo can't help but wonder that since she knew that parasites were usually referred to by their code numbers and the only reason why their squadmates have names was because Hiro gave it to them when they were younger. The other girls around the table were thinking the same thing because they knew for sure that 'Adam' isn't a code number.

Sensing their curious gazes, Nana sighed softly as hint of sympathy could be seen on her face when she looks at Adam's direction.

"You might find it surprising but the name 'Adam' was actually given by Papa himself."

Nana's words made the teenagers gasp, this included the boys on the other table as they were listening into their conversation.

"Really?! Papa did?!" Miku exclaimed excitedly.

"Woah..." Kokoro was amazed.

"...." A hint of both admiration and curiosity could be seen on Ikuno as she glanced over at Adam.

As for Ichigo, she couldn't believe what she heard. Who was Papa? He was the most respected and revered individual in all of APE! He was simply the greatest and to be by his side and work for him is what all parasites strive to do.

He was their sole purpose!

"....Really, Nana-san?" Ichigo questioned again.

"Yes." Nana nodded. "He is the very first parasite who received a name from Papa. That alone should tell you how special he is."

"Why exactly is he special?" Ikuno asks with an intrigued tone. "Aside from his looks, I mean."

"Ah! So you also admit that he is handsome!" Miku points at Ikuno, hoping to tease her too.

"But it's true." Ikuno answers simply before smiling at Kokoro beside her. "But at least my face isn't turning red, unlike a certain someone earlier."

"No, I wasn't-"

"In any case," Nana speaks up, "You two should ask him about that yourselves. But personally, I recommend that you girls don't get too close to him."

"Huh? But why? Nana-san?" Miku asked, making all the girls look at Nana with confused faces.

Nana looked at them with a complicated expression. She knows that Adam had the tendency to charming and seducing his female squadmates and it was well known that he had succeeded in doing so. Heck, even she, herself was attracted to him and they weren't even actively interacting with one another.

Therefore, she didn't want her children to fall for him, which is admittedly quite inevitable if they were going to be seeing him on a daily basis. Nevertheless, she still had to warn them since she didn't want them to undergo "procedure" with Adam unless it was absolutely necessary.

Nana feared that they might end up just like Zero Two who would indulge in lust-filled love making with Adam every time they were allowed to. Really, she still can't forget when she barged into their temporary room and forcedly separated the two just so they can eat breakfast and attend the start-up ritual.

But it's not like she could just tell them this, so in the end, all Nana could say was, "Just don't get too close to him, okay?"

She was speaking to them not as their caretaker or teacher, but as a mother who took care of them for the entire duration of their Garden years.