Darling in the FranXX: The Lost Prodigy

Chapter 7: Vacation

Following the tough battle yesterday, every one of Squad 13 immediately went to sleep after they arrived back at the boarding house.

XXXXXX

APE Central HQ Council – Lamarck Club

"Who would've thought that failure of a special specimen had so much ability?" Lemur states. "Seriously, I wish he'd shown us this from the start," Gorilla complains while footage of the ethereal wings that appeared when you killed the Gutenberg-class Klaxosaur yesterday plays behind him. 

"Our girl's silly search for a man has finally ended. We should be happy about that," Baboon remarks. "But it doesn't change the fact that she still needs to be monitored closely," Marmoset interjects. "I will admit that I had my doubts about Project Lazarus, but it's good to see that this experiment is finally yielding results," Tarsier comments.

"Plantation 13 is hereby declared a top-priority surveillance subject," Papa announces, "Code 023 is tasked with bringing our girl to the Gran Crevasse safe and sound." "The time has finally come," the Vice Chairman adds.

XXXXXX

Plantation 13 – Boarding house

You awake to the warm glow of the sun shining through the window and the sound of birds chirping outside. You reach for your communicator and check the time. "1 PM," you sigh. Then you notice a message from Nana, "Dr. Franxx wishes to speak with you. Meet him in the docking bay at 1400. Don't be late."

I wonder what he wants.

You reach with your hand under your shirt to the spot where the blue growth was yesterday. It is now replaced by a scar on the same spot. "Well, another scar for my collection I suppose," you chuckle to yourself, "But this one is special."

You slowly climb out of bed and take your time to get dressed. Hiro, Goro, and Ryoken are still sleeping when you walk out of the room and gently close the door behind you.

You yawn as you walk through the silent corridors to the staircase.

Guess I'm the first one to wake up.

Just as you exit the boarding house, you can hear someone say, "Darling!" Before you can react though, you are wrapped in a hug by Zero Two. "Hey, Zero Two," you greet her as you return the hug, "I was just on my way to the docking bay." "Really? Me too!" she responds. "Let's go together then," you reply with a smile.

XXXXXX

When the two of you arrive at the docking bay, Dr. Franxx, Hachi, Nana and a blonde-haired boy in a white uniform are waiting for you.

"Ah, Zero Two, glad to see you're okay," Dr. Franxx says as he and his companions meet you halfway. "All thanks to my Darling's efforts out there," she responds, "You didn't have to come all this way though. We would've been fine." 

"Don't be like that," he replies in a fatherly tone. "You're leaving already?" she asks. "Well, I got what I came here for," the doctor answers before he turns his gaze towards you, "(Y/N), I'm glad to see that you took the advice I gave you to heart." "Yeah, you were right. Thanks, doc," you respond.

"(Y/N)," Nana says as she gestures towards the blonde-haired boy, "This here is-" "No need to introduce us. We're sure to run into one another again someday," the boy interrupts her. He then steps forward and stops in front of you. 

"This is the first time anyone's survived Zero Two," he states as he leans forward to inspect you. "Huh... So, this is what you're like. Code 023 wasn't it? I must say, I've taken an interest in you guys," he says with a smile. "Thanks... uhm," you begin but you realize that you don't have his name or code. "Nine Alpha," he replies.