Darling in the FranXX: The Lost Prodigy

Chapter 12: The Garden

"Hey, where is it? I don't see it at all," Miku complains as you stand alongside the rest of Squad 13, minus Zero Two, at the edge of the birdcage, looking out the dome as the Plantation slowly moves forward. Everyone is wearing winter coats due to the fact that the temperature in the birdcage dropped earlier, emulating winter.

"Did you really spot it?" Ikuno asks. "I definitely did," Goro answers, not averting his gaze.

"I see it! Over there!" Futoshi exclaims as he points to a large structure in the distance that is barely visible due to the snowstorm. "Goro was right. That's..." Ichigo mutters. "The Garden..." you remark with a hint of melancholy.

There is a small chirp. Ichigo takes out her communicator to read the message she just received and announces, "Nana wants us to meet her at the exit of Plantation 13. Let's go."

"I'll get Zero Two, you go on ahead without me," you say as you take the route back to the boarding house. "Alright, see you in a bit," Hiro says before you part ways with the others.

After a few minutes, you reach the boarding house and enter the atrium.

She's probably in her room, you think to yourself when you suddenly hear a loud thud coming from the second floor, the library if you had to guess.

You rush up the stairs and open the doors to the library, "Zero Two, are you al-" You stop for a moment as you see that the big table in the library was flipped and hundreds of books lie scattered all around. "-right?" you finish your sentence after a brief pause.

"No picture books..." Zero Two mutters to herself from the other end of the room.

"Zero Two, it's obvious that something happened recently," you say as you approach her, "Please, talk to me instead of bearing it all by yourself."

"Kiss me," Zero Two utters, her back still turned to you. "Huh?" you say at this sudden request. "Kiss me now," she responds in a neutral tone as she turns towards you.

"O-Okay," you reply as she approaches you. She moves almost aggressively towards you, though you don't back away.

I'd be lying if I said that I don't feel a bit uneasy right now, but showing any sign of fear towards her would be the worst thing I could do right now. Especially since she views herself as a monster already...

She closes the distance between you and leans forward. As she opens her mouth, you can see fangs peeking out among her teeth.

Your lips connect. This kiss feels nothing like the one you had with her the first time you rode in Strelizia however. It feels empty, hollow even. It feels as if she is looking for something.

It stops as quickly as it began and Zero Two pulls back, a hint of disappointment visible on her face.

"Zero Tw-" you begin but are interrupted by her before she walks away, "Never mind."

XXXXXX

Later

Once everyone arrives at the exit where Nana is waiting she motions for you to follow her. After a short walk through the snow, your group passes the massive gate around the area and walks towards the giant black structure that resembles a tower to your right.

"I saw the Lab every day from afar, but I'd never gone inside before today," Miku exclaims as you enter the atrium of the Lab. The interior is similar in design to the Plantations, mostly white and a hexagonal pattern decorating the ground.

This place brings back old, painful memories I'd rather forget...

"Very few children actually got to come here, right?" Kokoro asks curiously. "I think Hiro came here a few times," Futoshi remarks. "Yeah, I was a designated special research subject back then," Hiro explains. "Pff, damn teacher's pet," Zorome scoffs. "And Mitsuru and (Y/N), too, I guess," Futoshi adds.