Hiro awoke in the early hours of the morning long before the sun even began to consider creeping its way into the sky. Even though his eyes had only been open for a few moments he already felt restless and eager to get going. Today was the day he was going to retrieve every lost memory of his princess, and nothing was going to stand in his way.

There was a sigh and Zero Two's sweet smelling breath tickled his nostrils as she stirred in her sleep. He smiled. Even while she slept, Zero Two was still the most perfect person in the entire world.

His smile faded a little bit. He had a lot to do today, and as exciting as it was going to be, part of him was scared of what he might see, and what he might experience.

Slowly so that he wouldn't disturb Zero Two he inched his way off the bed and onto the floor. He collected a fresh uniform and was about leave when he thought of something. Walking over to the nightstand he picked up her communicator and typed out a message. When he had finished he gave her communicator a kiss and set it back on the nightstand. Picking up his own he made his way out into the hall. Striping to his underwear he removed his nightclothes and slipped on his uniform. When he was satisfied he reopened the door and quietly tossed his clothes into a corner. Then with the utmost care, he closed the door and began to make his way down to the lobby. While he was walking along the second floor, Goro came out of his dorm and the almost bumped into one another.

"Oh. Morning Hiro." Goro said was a drowsy smile. "You're up early."

"I could say the same thing about you." He said patting his friend on the back. "Whats roused you out of bed this early?"

"Bathroom," Goro answered as they both set off towards the lobby. "You?"

"Oh, nothing much. I just have something I need to do today."

Goro grinned at him. "Off on a quest to impress Zero Two?"

He chuckled. "Something like that. How'd you know?"

Goro frowned at him amused. "Oh come on. You're always doing stuff like this for her. I may be slow, but I'm not that slow."

"Oh come on." He countered. "I'm not that devoted to her."

Goro gave him an amused smile. "Right….. Forgive me if I don't believe you. I'm just remembering a certain someone who'd either hide in the forest sulking or hide in their room attempting to drawing weird pictures of distorted imagery."

He blushed. "I'm just glad those pictures were destroyed. If Zero Two saw them I'd probably explode."

Goro grinned evilly. "Oh some of them are still around. Maybe I should give Zero Two a hint in the right direction?"

"No! No nononononoooo! Defiantly not!" He exclaimed.

Goro grinned. "No promises."

"I thought we were friends." He said as they descended the stairs.

"We are," Goro replied and added with a mock concerned voice. "Plus shouldn't we be open with our partners? It's not good to hide things from one another."

He smirked. "Right….. I'll remind you of that the next time I catch you eyeing Ichigo's breasts."

"Excuse me." Came Ichigo's voice from behind them

"Ichigo!" Both of them yelped startled.

"Umm good morning." Goro stuttered. "What you doing up this early?"

"Going to use the bathroom." She said. "You."

"Same." Goro stuttered.

"Ahh… Isn't that cute." He teased. "Maybe you guys should go together. I hear that a shower is a good place for some bonding time. Maybe add that into the mix?"

"Shut it, Hiro." Both of them said, each of them sounding like they were only saying it because the other person was there.

"Or…." He continued. "How about a nice bath? A morning soak always puts me in high spirits, it would do wonders for both of you."

"I said Shut up." Both of them fired.

"Okay, okay." He said descended a big smirk on his face. "I'll leave you guys to it."

"Ass," Ichigo muttered.

He smiled and winked. "Alright, I'll stop."

As he dismounted the stairs and stepped into the lobby, Ichigo posed a question. "Where are you going? You already have your uniform on."

He ran his fingers through his hair and pulled it away from his forehead as he tried to think of how to explain what he was about to do. "Well, that's a long story…." He said, vaguely.

He looked up at his friends and was startled to see their eyes, wide in shock. "What?" He asked, confused.

"H-Hiro…," Goro said astounded. "Are... Are those horns?"

"Oh.." He said taken off guard. He had completely forgotten about his horns. "Yeah, they are." He patted his hair down but was shocked when he felt the tips of his horns poking through his hair. "They grew…" He muttered.

"What a minute," Goro said still in shock. "How long have you been like this

He shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been keeping track. But it's been happening for a while now."

Ichigo sighed. "I thought so. Ever since you met her you've been changing haven't you?"

"Something like that." He said with smiled. "How long have you known?"

"I've had suspicions for a while now. Your canines are longer than everyone else's, and one time when you were laughing I spotted them. At first, I didn't believe it but the more and more I looked the more certain I became. It's the same thing with your markings. At first, I thought that you were just tried, but yesterday I finally put together that you had similar markings to Zero Two." She sniffed in amusement. "I guess it's official now though. There's no mistaking horns, not even I can pretend that's something else."

Nervously he gulped. "How do you feel about it?"

She shrugged. "I don't really care all that much. I remember the friend who was always smiling, always willing to share his happiness with everyone around him. And I remember the friend who suddenly retreated and spent his life hiding from the world, looking as though part of him had been ripped away."

Goro smiled. "Yeah. I remember him. The difference is night and day isn't it."

"You guy's still haven't answered my question." He said, concerned that they may be trying to hide their true feelings from him.

"Oh, Hiro," Ichigo said slightly exasperated. "Are you really that deaf? We don't care what you are just as long as it makes you happy. Zero Two has done more to bring back the old you than anyone. How could we hold resentment against something or someone who obviously makes you this happy?"

By the time Ichigo finished, he was having to exert a lot of effort to keep his emotions from bursting forth. "T-Thanks guys." He said, his voice thick with emotion. "You have no idea how much your support means to me. I…. I can't thank you enough."

"You don't need to thank us, Hiro," Goro said smiling. "We're just glad to have the real you back."

There were a few minutes of peaceful gratitude as each of them resonated with the bound of friendship and support that they all shared.

"Well." He said after a few more moments of peaceful silence. "I should be off. I have a meeting with somebody and an important task to accomplish."

Goro gave him a confused look. "I didn't think that Plantation 13 had much in the way of important tasks. What could you possibly have to do?"

"We're arriving at the Garden today Goro," Ichigo interjected.

Goro nodded as he was reminded of that fact, but after another few moments, a veil of sadness crossed his face. "You think we'll finally be able to see Futoshi today?"

"Hopefully," Ichigo said.

There was a long pause as they all contemplated Futoshi's injury and any reason why they were being prevented from seeing him.

"You know, I'm starting to get sick of not knowing what's going on," Ichigo stated irritation creeping into her voice. "I hate all this sitting around and I can't help but get this feeling that we're being manipulated."

Goro grunted in acknowledgment. "What I can't pin down is whether or not it's for our benefit or detriment. But I agree something more is defiantly going on."

Both of them looked at him for his input.

He shrugged. "There's nothing I can say that you guys haven't already said. We simply don't have the answers."

He sighed, and they all stood there for a few moments out of things to say.

"Well. I'm going to get going." He said beginning to walk away. "I've got something I need to do. See you guys later."

"Good luck Hiro." They both said with knowing smiles.

He nodded and made his way over to the elevators. The doors opened and he stepped inside, and a few moments later he descended down into the heart of the plantation.

"Today's the day." He said exhaling hard with anticipation at what was to come. The doors to the elevator opened and he stepped out onto the main lobby, the glass wall above the training gym visible even from where he was standing. He looked around spotted the corridor that led to the command center. He was about to start off towards it when a thought made him stop.

It would sure suck to go to the command center and get refused and possibly ruin his chances of getting help on his quest just because he was so early. Maybe it might be better to wait just a few more minutes just to make sure the Doctor would be up.

This thought was agonizing, however. He didn't want to wait he needed to get his memories of Zero Two now! The other side of him was equally as vehement in its position, however. Ruining his chances of ever remember her would be far worse than waiting a few more minutes to eventually remember her.

After a few more moments of arguing the cautious side of him won out and he resigned himself to the fact that he should wait a few more minutes before going to the command center. Sighing he walked over to the big glass wall and looked down at the training gym attempting and failing to keep himself from keeping track of every second that slipped by.

He stood there for what felt like an eternity desperately trying to keep himself from counting the seconds as they slipped by. Irritated he began tapping on the glass fighting to keep his anticipation under control. Just then he heard the hiss of the elevator doors behind him, which was immediately followed by the echoing sound of footsteps as somebody entered the lobby.

Curious he turned and spotted Ikuno, in workout clothes making her way towards the gym facility. When she spotted him however she changed course and began to make her way towards him.

Realizing that he was probably going to be drawn into a conversation with her; he fulling turned to face her.

"Morning Hiro," Ikuno said, a few moments later drawing up next to him. "You're up early."

He smiled glad of the distraction Ikuno was providing him. "I could say the same to you. Do you usually workout this early?"

Ikuno shrugged. "No, I've just been having a hard time sleeping all night and I need something to keep me from dwelling."

He pondered what that meant for a few moments and deduced correctly that Nana's comments about Naomi, had been the cause of Ikuno's sleeplessness.

"How about you?" She inquired. "What are you doing up this early?"

He thought for a few moments, wondering how much he should tell her. "I have a meeting with Dr. Franxx. I'm just waiting for him to wake up."

Ikuno nodded considering, looking as thou she was piecing together pieces of a complex puzzle. "Are you searching for something?" She asked, in a tone that suggested that she already knew the answer.

"I don't know." He said noncommittally. "But I know that I've been missing something, for a long time; so I guess maybe I am."

Ikuno nodded and looked down at the training gym. "It has something to do with her, doesn't it." She stated.

He too glanced down at the training gym. "Yeah. At least. I think it does."

Ikuno sniffed in amusement. "Oh, I'd be willing to bet it does. You two have weird connections that nobody else in the squad has. There's gotta be something special between you two."

He smiled. "We're not that different." He protested.

She gave him a disbelieving look. "Right… When you two take a step beyond what anybody else has done, maybe I'll point out your guy's difference from everyone else."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He said in a confused voice.

"Oh, I don't know." She said in a voice that sounded like she knew more than she was letting on. "You guys do weird things."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose we do." There was a long pause. "But I just can't help it. Zero Two needs that love an affection… She needs somebody who she can depend on, and not have to guard herself against."

Ikuno watched him curiously, and he could tell just by the way she was looking at him that she really wanted to know more. At the same time, she didn't want him to know that's what she wanted.

"Do you think, she'll ever come to see the rest of us that way?" Ikuno asked cautiously.

"I hope so." He said with a sigh. "She really is a sweet and loving person, and I really hope that she'll eventually be comfortable enough one day to share that with you guys."

Ikuno smiled. "You don't need to convince us about her Hiro. We see her in action every day." A small smirk stretched across her face. "We've all noticed that honey is now your new favorite food, thanks in no small part to a certain somebody."

He blushed, his face turning a deep shade of red. "Hey what can I say it's delicious. It's sweet and soft, and is just a joy to have in your mouth."

"Kinda like Zero Two?" She said with a completely straight face.

He had thought, that it would be impossible for his cheeks to flush any darker. Ikuno's comment however quickly taught him the error of his ways, and he felt like he was about to explode. "Wh-what makes you think t-that?" He stuttered trying to cover his embarrassment.

"Oh, nothing." She said with a smirk. "I've noticed your guy's intense kissing sessions in what you guys think is discreet locations. If you guys like sticking your mouths together so much, she must taste good."

Desperately he began looking everywhere except at Ikuno. He was one hundred percent sure that if he looked her in the eye right at this moment he was going to die from embarrassment. Luckily for him, Ikuno seemed to take pity on him and began to walk away.

"Well good luck Hiro." She said with a smile. "I hope you find what you are looking for."

"T-Thanks." He stuttered still trying to recover from his embarrassment.

"No need." She said walking over to the lift for the training gym. "Don't keep her waiting too long. You know she doesn't like being away from you."

He smiled. "I won't. Just keep her busy until I get back."

"Then you'd better hurry. We can buy you a few minutes but don't expect anything more than that."

He chuckled and turned towards the hall that led to the command center. After walking for a few minutes he eventually came to the command center. Nervously he stared at the door, its pale white surface projecting an almost unnaturally sterile aura. He took a long deep breath and closed his eyes.

"I got this." He whispered. Everything was going to go smoothly. By the end of the day, he could return to Zero Two, give her a kiss, and tell her everything he remembered about her. "Alright. Let's go."

As he stepped forward the doors to the command center slide open, and he looked into a room full of display screens and workstations, all of them project mind-boggling amounts of information.

"Hello, Hiro," Nana said as he stepped into the room. "Dr. Franxx told us to expect you."

He gulped nervously. When he spoke, however; his voice was under control. "Yes, I do. Do you know where I might find him?"

"Right this way." She said gesturing for him to follow. "He wanted to see you as soon as you arrived."

Excitedly he stepped fulling into the command center and began to follow Nana, as she crossed the room towards a door that led off the side of the command center. She stopped right before the door and turn to him.

"Go on in." She said gesturing towards the door.

"Thank you." He said. Taking one final deep breath, he walked forward and the door to the office opened with a quiet hiss. And sitting at his deck was Dr. Franxx, his arms folded as he waited.

"Good morning Hiro." Dr. Franxx said kindly. "I was wondering when you'd show up."

"Sorry, Sir." He said slightly nervous. "I didn't want to wake you."

The doctor nodded. "I thank you for your consideration." And then he added with a kind smile. "Now let's get down to business, you don't want to keep her waiting for too long."

"Is this really going to work?" He asked, more as a way to tell himself that it would.

"Well, I think it will…" The doctor said after a moment. "Tell me, Hiro. What prompted you to ask about regaining your memories? It may help me answer your question."

He thought for a few moments. "Well… I don't really understand it, but since I've met Zero Two, I've been getting weird visions of a little girl with red skin and horns. At first they were blurry and distorted but eventually, they became clearer as I retrieved more and more fragments. Eventually, I was able to piece together that the little girl was Zero Two, and I surmised that everything I had seen was real and not just a dream."

"Is that why you asked for "The Beast and the Prince" for present day?"

"Yes. That book seemed important to the girl, so I wanted to test and make sure that Zero Two really was that little girl."

"And is she?" The doctor asked, sounding as if he already knew the answer.

"Yes. Yes, she is." He said with a smile.

"Did you tell her that you remembered her?"

His smiled faded. "No… No.. I didn't."

"Why?" The doctor asked sounded confused.

"I…. I wanted to do something special for her. I know she'd be happy just knowing that I remember that we were together. But I think it would be far more special if I went to her with all my memories back."

The doctor nodded and smiled. "I understand… So now you're wondering if there's a way for you to regain all those memories."

He felt his stomach clench in anticipation. "And is there?"

"Yes, I believe you can." The doctor said rifling through his jacket pockets. "My theory is that if you visit certain places in the garden that and significant to your guys' past, you will be able to recover all your memories."

He felt his heart sink. "But I don't know where that might be." He said sounding desperate.

The doctor smiled and placed a sheet of paper on the desk between them. "I do. It took an extensive amount of research through reports, and archive footage, but I think I was able to compile a suitable list of locations that are significant to the two of you."

Awed, he stared at the list between them. Was the answer to all his questions really contained on that piece of paper? Would he finally be able to remember Zero Two?

He was about to reach for it when a thought stopped him. "Why would you do all this for us." He asked cautiously.

The doctor's face took on a pained expression and his voice became filled with sadness. "Because I owe Zero Two a debt I can never repay. And you're the only thing she's ever wanted."

He was kind of taken aback by that answer. "Why do you owe her a debt?"

The doctor sighed sadly. "I don't have the heart to explain right now. All I can do is beg that you take that list and give her what she's always wanted."

Cautiously he reached out and grabbed the list. Part of him was very suspicious of this whole situation because he couldn't fathom why Dr. Franxx would do any of this for him or Zero Two. At the same time however the doctor was showing a surprising amount of sincerity, and for the moment he had no other lead for finding his memories.

"Okay, I'll go find my memories of her." He said in a controlled voice. "When are we going to dock at the Garden?"

"We're already here." The doctor said with a smile. "Just exit at the loading dock and you'll be in the Garden. Oh and make sure to grab some snow gear on your way out. Currently, it's snowing pretty heavily and you'll be doing a lot of walking."

"Will, any of Papa's security guards try and stop me?"

The doctor shook his head. "I'll take care of that. You just focus on finding your memories."

He stood up and looked Dr. Franxx in the eyes. "Thank you. If this really gives me back my memories I'll be in your debt."

The doctor smiled. "You're not indebted to me Hiro. Just make her happy."

"I will." He promised.

Turning he made his way over to the door, but as it slid open Dr. Franxx called after him.

"Hiro." The doctor said looking miserable. "When you regain all your memories." The doctor paused looking as if he was fighting back tears. "Just…. Just remember that I'm the one who brought you back together again."

"Oh.." He said a little startled. "S-sure I'll do my best."

The doctor gave him a sad smile. "Good luck."

He nodded and walked through the door, and with a hiss, it slid shut behind him.

Zero Two as dozing in her bed, still half asleep but her mind dancing with half-awake fantasies. Her sense of relaxation was helped along by a warm pleasant feeling in her pelvis as her body finished regenerating a new life nurturing lining deep within her most intimate place. This sense of relaxation and love was fueling her most intimate dreams of love and connection with the person who was the center of her entire world.

"D-Da…rling." She murmured sleepily.

In her dream, she rolled on top of him kissing and pressing herself against him in an effort to be close to the person she valued above everyone else..

"I remember you Zero Two." He whispered in the sweetest most loving voice. "You're the most precious, most perfect person in the world."

She hummed happily and as a wave of pleasure washed over her. "I love you so much." She whispered back her voice thick with emotion.

He smiled he squeezed her gently.

She shivered with pleasure, and rolled to the side so that she could wrap her arms fully around him. Unfortunately however.

"Thud." She rolled off the edge of the bed and hit the floor, jerking her out of her dream and sharply back into reality.

"Ouch." She yelped, her arm throbbing from where she had fallen on it. Sitting up she nursed her arm, hoping that she hadn't damaged anything too badly. As she sat there, however, she got the feeling that something was missing. And after a few moments, she realized that what she was missing was Darling. Darling almost immediately jumped to her aid even when it was completely unnecessary. So where was he?

"Darling?" She called looking around.

To her dismay, however, she couldn't find Darling anywhere. He had already left.

She sighed in disappointment. She liked it when she woke up in Darling's arms. It reminded her so much of that day that had forever changed her life. The day somebody had shown her kindness and love.

"Wait a minute!" She yelped her brain remembering what she was supposed to show Darling today. "We're at the Garden!"

Scrambling she disentangled herself from the bed sheets and flew over to a fresh uniform folded in the corner of the room. She needed to get dressed and find Darling as soon as possible. Today could be her only day to find a way to get Darling's memories back and she needed every last second. Hurriedly she stripped and began to haphazardly pull on her uniform, sacrificing neatness for speed.

"Stupid thing." She cursed. As her uniform zipper jammed. Why did things always have to go so wrong? And how could she have been stupid enough to not have set an alarm? On the one day that she actually needed to get up early, she had ended up sleeping in way later than she had planned. The suns morning rays were already knifing their way into the bedroom, meaning that some of her precious hours had already elapsed into nothingness.

"Stop it Zero Two and slow down!" A voice sounding remarkably like Darling said in her head. "You're only making this worse for yourself."

Slowing down she put on the rest of her clothes and combed her hair in a slightly more controlled manner. It would be faster and she could get to Darling quicker if she made sure she did everything correctly now. Satisfied with her appearance, she walked over to the nightstand and picked up her communicator. As she did so she spotted text written across its holographic surface. Curiously she began to read, hoping that maybe it held a clue to what Darling was doing. It did.

"Good morning Zero Two. I'm sorry I'm not here, I just have something that I need to do today. I'll be back as soon as I can." Darling had drawn a little heart, in the free space under the text.

Her heart stopped as she read that message. What did this mean? What did Darling need to do that was so important? Was there even the slightest chance that he had begun to remember her, and was off trying to recover his memories?

"Darling…" She said confused, but at the same time hopeful. "Please tell me that you remembering me."

She looked over at the Beast and the Prince, the very book that had been so important to them; was the book that he had gotten her. It could have been anything. But he had given her the one book that mattered. Of all the books in the world, he had chosen that one.

"Darling.." She whispered. Turning she charged out of the bedroom, and began to fly down the hallway towards the stairs. She needed to find him. She needed to find him now! She leaped the landing, and slammed into the wall, ignoring the pain she charged down the hallway and skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs into the lobby.

Ikuno and Ichigo were standing in the lobby having a conversation when she skidded to a halt. Noticing that she had rather abruptly appeared, the turned to greet her.

"Good morning Zero Two." Ichigo piped up.

"Morning." She said as she began to descend the stairs, trying to regain a semblance of composure.

"You seem to be in a hurry," Ikuno commented with a knowing smile.

"Do I?" She said, knowing that she wasn't fooling anybody. "What gives you that impression?"

Both Ichigo and Ikuno looked at each other, little smiles on their faces.

"There's only one thing or should I say, person that would make you leap stairwells," Ichigo said smiling at her.

She flushed with embarrassment. Maybe leaping down the stairs hadn't been the best idea. Resided to the fact that her rouse was up, she asked for the information that she was dying to know. "Do you know where Darling is?" She asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo replied apologetically. "I saw him this morning and he said that he had something really important to do."

She felt her heart hammering in her chest. Was there any way that he was looking for his memories of her? Could her precious Darling really be trying to remember her?"

"Oh, I saw him down by the training gym, this morning too." Ikuno piped up. "He told me that he had a meeting with Dr. Franxx."

Ice flooded her stomach. Dr. Franxx…. What could Darling possibly hope to gain from meeting with that man?

"Thank you." She said, beginning to descend the stairs. She needed to find Darling as quickly as possible. If anything happened to him…..

"Good luck." Both Ichigo and Ikuno smiled.

"Thanks." She answered, giving them a sweet smile. If their information was accurate, she owned both of them big time.

Quickly she dashed over to the elevators, and practically slammed the button for the main lobby. She waved to Ichigo and Ikuno as the doors shut, but as soon as the doors shut she started biting her fingernails nervously.

"Oh, Darling…. Darling…. Darling…" She muttered. "Please tell me your okay…"

Before the elevator doors had fully opened, she dashed out and began to charge off towards the command center. Not even bothering to knock or give any indications that she was entering, she dashed into the command center, her hair flying as she skidded to a stop.

Nana yelped in surprise at her sudden appearance, and Hachi jerked his head around as he heard his partner in distress.

"Zero Two." Nana said startled. "You scared the crap out of me. What are you doing here?"

"Where's Darling?" She demanded without preamble.

Dr. Franxx's voice interjected before Nana could answer. "I know where he went Zero Two. Please come with me. I'd like to talk to you."

Wary, she walked over to him and followed him into his office. Dr. Franxx gestured for her to take a seat, so she did, keeping herself perched, on the edge just in case she was forced to jump into action.

"Where is he?" She demanded. She needed to be forceful with this man. He was one of Papa's pets, and if she wanted anything from him, she would probably need to take it.

"He's in the Garden, as far as I'm aware." The Doctor looked down at his watch. "Actually he should be in the forest by now."

"Don't play games with me." She snapped. "Why did Darling come to meet with you, and where have you sent him?"

"All I did was point him in the right direction, for the answers he was looking for." The doctor said calmly.

"Don't screw." She snarled. "You no longer have any leverage over me anymore. I have what I want, and you're never taking him way again. Do you hear me!? You law one finger on him, and you'll feel my wrath."

The doctor smiled sadly, and she was momentarily taken aback by the sight of a tear sliding down his face. "I know…."

Her anger flared again. "You know! YOU KNOW! After everything you've done to me, you have the gall to say that to me! I swear if you hurt him, or touch him in any way; there won't be anything of you left to find."

The doctor nodded silently, tears streaming down his face. When he finally managed to speak his voice was thick with emotion and pain. "You have my word, that no harm will come to him."

She was about to snap at him again when she thought better of it. Currently Darling was not in a place where she could protect him, and she realized that letting her anger out on him while Darling was vulnerable was a bad idea. It also intrigued her that man who had experimented on her and then shipped her off to Papa, was now sitting in front of her sobbing like she had done after so many sleepless nights without Darling.

"Where did you send him?" She demanded, barely managing to take the hostilely out of her tone.

"I'll have him tell you that." The Doctor said, wiping the tears away from his eye. "I think he's been wanting to tell you that for a while."

Her new found patience was beginning to wear thin, again. "No. You're going to tell me now."

The doctor reached out and grabbed her hand, holding it with his non-mechanical hand. Disgusted she made to tear her hand away, but became momentarily startled when she spotted the pure expression of pain, and remorse etched on the doctor's face.

"Zero Two, please just this once I need you to trust me." The Doctor begged. He reached out with his other hand and began to cling to her as if his life depended on it. "Please, just this once, that's all I ask." He gulped and she could tell that whatever he was about to say, was going to cause him a great deal of pain. "If you want, you don't ever have to see me again... But please just this once, trust me."

She sat there stunned that the man that had tortured her and experimented on her, was sitting here, tears in his eyes, begging her to trust him. Why was he doing this? Why was Papa's right-hand man practically groveling at her feet begging for her trust?

"Why are you asking me to trust you?" She asked with only the slightest edge in her voice. "Better yet, why should I trust you?"

The doctor smiled sadly and thought for a few moments. "Because I made a mistake and the only way I can fix it is give you back what you always wanted..." The last few words trailed off in a sob.

The doctor took a few moments to compose himself and then looked up at her. "Go..." He said with a smile. "He'll be waiting for you, under the tree where you last saw him."

She was stunned. Darling... He was waiting for her...

"Why?..." She mumbled.

The doctor shook his head, "Go and don't look back. He's waiting for you." The doctor pressed a button on his desk, "Nana. Bring Zero Two a set of snow clothes."

A few moments later, Nana appeared holding the gear. Walking over to her, she placed it on her lap.

"You'd better hurry, or you might miss him," Nana said smiling. "His location has already been marked on your communicator's map."

Stunned she looked at Dr. Franxx. "Why would you do all this for me? Aren't I just your puppet?"

"No Zero Two. You aren't my puppet, and you'll never be."

"But.."

"No buts." He said cutting her off. "Just go. Go and reunite with him."

Hiro stumbled through the forest. His head felt like it was going to explode, and nothing made sense. Everything was a massive jumble of thoughts and emotions, he couldn't sort it all out. Nothing made sense. What had happened? He looked down at his communicator and the piece of paper in his hands.

"Please tell me that this final location will solve everything." He begged. "I need to remember her!"

Fighting to remain upright, he fought his way through the snow, trudging closer and closer to his destination. A few minutes later his communicator beeped, as he arrived at the marker that he had set on the map. Bewildered he looked around, searching for whatever trigger was here for him to find.

"Where is it?" He muttered.

As he looked around and spotted a clearing up ahead, and trudging through the snow, he made his way over to it.

"Where…."

As he looked around his eyes focused on a massive tree, in the middle of the clearing. For some reason, it looked familiar but he couldn't pin down why. Walking over he stood beneath it.

"Interesting." He muttered. "I wonder why…" Suddenly he was assaulted by pain, that made him feel like his head was going to be split in two. He let out an agonized scream, as his head throbbed and pulsated. Then suddenly he felt all the memories he had collected start aligning themselves and forming a clear picture of events. As this happened he stubbled and felt himself falling backward. The last thing he heard before he passed out was somebody's agonized, horror-filled scream of. "Darling!"

He sat against the blank wall, staring off into space thinking. He had so many questions that nobody ever answered. Every time he asked why he couldn't do something or questioned what he was being told, the caretakers always dismissed him with some worthless explanation about why he didn't need to know. And that was at the best of times. Usually, they just ignored him.

"Hiro!" Naomi called, her chestnut hair bobbing, "Come play with us."

He smiled. He was still getting used to thinking of this girl as Naomi instead of her code number. Even though he had given her that name, the hard part was remembering it. "I would like nothing better, but the caretakers said that I have an appointment soon."

"Yeah but now's not soon!" She bubbled grabbing his hand. "Come on."

He chuckled and allowed himself to be led away. As they walked towards all the balls in the corner of the room, Naomi called out to other members of their playroom.

"Come on guys, let's play ball." She sang.

"I want the red one," Zorome shouted jumping to his feet.

"That's the one I wanted," Miku complained.

"Too bad, I'm going to get it first." Zorome teased.

"No your not!" Miku shouted running for it.

Ichigo let out a tiny chuckle as she led a contented looking Goro by the hand, towards the balls that now everyone was converging on.

Everyone for what seemed like an eternity they had fun tossing the balls back and forth, playing games and other such physical activities. He was having so much fun with everybody that he didn't even notice what time it was until the caretaker came to get him.

"Code 016." The caretakers called. The caretakers all had the same style of clothing. They all wore long blindingly white uniforms and lab coats. Their heads were covered with a white hat sort of thing that gave their heads a blocky appearance. Not even their faces were visible due to the fact that they all wore masks, that gave them all the same expressionless face. The only thing that distinguished them from one another was the rank strips to indicated who was in charge.

"Coming." He called. Turning to his friends he waved. "See ya soon."

"Later." The all waved.

Walking over to the caretakers, they escorted him out of the playroom. As the walked, the caretaker gave him, a snow coat.

"Am I going to get injections today too?" He asked slipping on the coat.

"Yes, Code 016." The caretaker answered shortly.

Without saying another word both of them exited the orphanage and walked along the path that led to the lab. A blanket of snow covered everything except the path, leaving the entire surface of garden glistening. As they were about to enter the lab, he stared at the massive tree, that grew alongside the lab. He liked this tree. It just seemed to resonate an impressive aura, but at the same time was easily climbable which didn't make the tree intimidating.

"Come Code 016." The caretaker demanded.

Following along the caretaker led him to an elevator and the rode it up a few floors before disembarking. Not saying a word the caretaker led him to a room with a blank white bed and some tables with injections needles on them. The caretaker gestured from him to take a seat so he did so.

"I'm going to be giving you some injections, you'll be here for about a half an hour."

He nodded and the caretaker began preparing with needles and other medical equipment.

Half an hour later the caretaker placed two hard candies into his hand and dismissed him. Exiting the room he looked around for the caretaker that would escort him back to the orphanage. The caretaker wasn't there, however. Not that it really mattered, he knew he to get back on his own. He as about to turn right back towards the elevators but something made him hesitate. For some reason, he had a burning desire to turn left down the hall and see what was at the other end. The way back to the orphanage was to the right but he had always been forbidden from going left. Was it worth the risk? Who knows what could lay at the end of the hallway.

"Do it." A part of him urged.

Rebelliously he turned left and started off down the hall, his eyes and ears straining for any sign that he might be discovered. Lucky for him, nobody came to interrupt his quest and he was able to proceed without resistance.

Far ahead he saw an open door, a bright light obscuring what lay beyond. As he got closer, he heard the deafening whine of engines as something began landing in whatever lay beyond that bright light.

Afraid that he might miss whatever was landing he began sprinting down the hall, unconcerned with how much noise his feet were making. As he approached he was able to make out what he thought was one of APE's transports. Currently it sounded like its engines were powering down, and just ahead he could see a line of caretakers all waiting for whatever was going to disembark from the transport. The thought that he was running straight towards the caretakers who would most defiantly spot him, didn't even cross his mind. For some reason, he just knew that he needed to see what was about to disembark from that transport.

Bursting through the door he instantly realized that the room he was in was a giant hanger, and just as he had suspected, the whining noise was from one of APE's transports. Curious as to what everyone was waiting for he stealthily snuck up behind the caretakers. He made it just in time. As soon as he had taken position behind the caretakers, the transport's door opened with a hiss, and a massive ramp descended to the hangar floor. A few seconds later, a man with a half-mechanical face and leaning on a walking stick descended the ramp to the hangar.

When he got to the floor he turned and looked back towards where he had just come.

"I'd like to do some tests before the sun is down." He said irritably. "If she won't come on her own, then put the collar on her and let's go."

A few moments later, he heard something give and agony filled scream, proceeded by a torrent of guttural hatred filled hisses and growls. Those sounds almost made him cry out, in an attempt to soothe whatever could be filled with that much pain and hatred. He made a start forward but was startled into stopping when he saw a caretaker, walk down the ramp a chain in her hand. She didn't get very far however, because after walking a few steps the chain became taut and she was forced to stop to keep her hold on the chain. Turning the caretaker grabbed the chain with both hands, and yanked hard. There was an agonized choked scream, and out of nowhere a girl wearing a ragged black coat and about the same age as him was yanked out of the transport and was sent crashing head first onto the metal ramp.

He whimpered. How could anyone treat someone else like this? He made to start forward again, but as the girl stood up, he was shocked back into stillness. She didn't look like a normal human. Her skin was a regal shade of red, and cherry blossom pink hair cascade down her back. The part that fascinated him the most, however, was the ruby red horns that adorned her head, sticking up in defiance of the world around her.

The caretaker began walking again and this time the girl followed without resistance. She looked absolutely exhausted, and he could tell just by the way she was walking that she was on the verge of collapse.

As the girl was led further down the line, he began to follow them, trying to catch gasps of the girl between the caretaker's legs. As they got closer and closer to the main exit, he started to feel more and more desperate. He wanted to tell her that she wasn't alone, and somebody was here for her.

"Hey." He called out desperately, not knowing what else to say.

The girl's head whipped around, and as she looked for the source of the noise their eyes locked. He let out an audible gasp. The girl's eyes were breathtakingly beautiful, sparkling deep emerald green, as she stared at him.

He stared back at her completely transfixed. She was so unique. But instead of being repulsed by it he found himself drawn to her. He couldn't pin down why, but he just got this feeling that she was special in some way.

As they continued to stare at each other, he saw the girl's face slacken a little bit, and some of the anger and hostility seemed to have left her face.

The chain became taut again as the girl slowed to examine him, so the caretaker gave a yank, to urge the girl back into movement. The girl chocked, as the collar tightened around her neck, and he watched horrified as her face became a mask of hatred and pain once again.

He started forward, if nobody in this line of people was going to help her then he would! His presences here seemed to finally have been noticed, however, because a caretaker grabbed his arm, and hauled him back.

"You're supposed to be back in the orphanage." The caretaker said her voice stern.

"That girl!" He yelled, afraid as to what might happen to her. "Where are they taking her? What are they going to do to her?"

"That's none of your business." The caretaker said. "Besides don't you want to be with the rest of the children?"

He whipped around and frantically began to try and find the girl. By the time he did, however, the last thing he saw was the girls struggling to get away from the caretaker, as the main exit's doors closed sealing her away from him.

"Code 016." The caretaker said. "It's time you return to the orphanage."

He stared at the door for a few more moments before he let himself be led away. He realized that if he struggled he might be punished for it.

"She fought though." A little voice said in his head.

As they walked back to the orphanage, he obsessed over that thought and resolved to never forget that girl and to find some way to see her again.

Serval days pasted. Serval long days. He had also begun to notice a pattern. Every day they'd take him out of the orphanage and over to the lab, where'd they'd run tests on him, or inject things into his arm. The part that kind of bothered him was that he wasn't exactly sure what they were doing to him. What made it even more suspicious was that all these new tests had started the day after he had first seen that girl with the red skin and ruby red horns.

"Alright Code 016, you're free to go." The caretaker said giving him two pieces of hard candy.

"Thank you." He said, faking gratitude.

Getting up he walked over to the door and stepped out into the hallway. He waited a few seconds waiting for the second caretaker who usually escorted him back to the orphanage to call his code. After a few more moments of waiting, he looked around and saw that nobody was standing there waiting for him. A flush of excitement ran through him. Was nobody really here? Was this the opportunity that he had been waiting for?

Excited and nervous he looked back at the caretaker who had just injected him. Luckily for him, she was preoccupied with cleaning up after his appointment and was too busy to notice anything he was about to do. Scanning the hallway one last time he turned left away from the exit back to the orphanage, and deeper into the heart of the laboratory. Nobody made any move to stop him, and after walking for a few minutes he was confident that he had escaped anyone's notice.

His new found confidence began to fade after he had spent over ten minutes walking without any sign of the red girl. He realized with a sense of dread, that even though he had escaped the caretakers, that didn't necessarily mean that he would just find what he was looking for.

"Darn it." He muttered, walking blindly forward having no idea what he was going. "Where is she? And how can one building be so massive?"

Just then he heard voices of two caretakers having a discussion, from the hall ahead of him. Startled he frantically looked for the best place to hide. Today was his lucky day. Currently the lights in the hall he was in where off, so if he could manage to conceal himself in some shadows, he should be virtually invisible to anybody who gave the hall a cursory glance. Hurriedly he backed up, and retreated into the shadows of a doorway, hoping beyond hope that nobody would walk down this hallway and find him.

Realizing that he had nothing better to do, he listened in on the caretakers' conversation.

"When do you think we'll manage to break her?" One caretaker said.

"I hope soon rather than later." The other one said. "That monthly bleeding of hers. Do you have any idea how hard it is to clean her when she fighting you every step of the way?"

"Haven't had to do that job yet." The first one said. "Shouldn't we just put her in a room with a shower and let her deal with it herself?"

"I've suggested that to him. But I think the doctor is still trying to break her through isolation. That room has a toilet and nothing else, if we can manage to break her will, we'll have her under control for sure."

"Wait a minute doesn't she have that book? Why don't we try taking that away?"

"We threaten her with it." The second one explained. "If it's the only thing she cares about, and we take it away, she'll do anything to get it back. Dr. Franxx wants to build her dependency on it some more before we take that step."

"So then why don't we give her a shower and forgo the cleaning duty, if we're just using the book?"

"It all stacks on top of each other. Tools that don't cooperate need to be broken, and for her, we've had to resort to this trio of misery to hopefully break her."

There was a pause. "You know I've been wondering something. Why does this creature that Dr. Franxx made have Franxx bleeding before she's ever touched a Franxx?"

"Please." The second one said. "She's barely a step above being an animal. Don't except human logic to apply to a monster."

"Why are we even bothering with her anyway?"

"Dr. Franxx thinks she will be some sort of super soldier. How he plans to get her to cooperate is beyond me, but I'm sure he'll think of something."

There was another pause. "By the way do you know what room Dr. Franxx is doing his experiments in today? I'm on duty in a few hours and I forgot the room number."

"Uh…. I believe they're in Room 215 If I remember correctly."

"Thanks." The first one said.

Hiro had a very uneasy feeling about that whole conversation. He had barely understood any of it, but he instinctually knew that he didn't like the sound of it. They were doing something to that girl, and he had a gut feeling that it wasn't good. He now, however, had the information that he had been looking for. The girl was in Room 215. Excited, he looked at the room number he was hiding by. Room 185. That meant he was relatively close. Bringing his attention back to the caretakers he noticed that their voices had begun to fade off as they continued to walk down the hall. Cautiously he worked his way out from his hiding place and towards the juncture where the two halls met. Taking a moment to scout he saw that the room numbers increased if he went right. Taking one last look around to make sure he wasn't followed, he started off down the hall, hoping that he would find the room where they were keeping that girl.

Cautiously he silently made his way down the hall, counting each room numbers as he pasted it.

"205, 206, 207, 208." He whispered.

Abruptly he heard somebody ahead shout. Ice flooded his stomach, and he froze glued to the floor. Had he been discovered? Carefully he listened to the shouts trying to distinguish what they were saying.

"Strap her down!" Somebody shouted.

"Give me a minute, I can't get her arm to stay still!"

He heard the girl's screams of hatred and pain, as she fought to be free of her captors.

"Would somebody knock her out please!?" The second one shouted.

"No." A mechanical voice said over the girl's screams. "I want her conscious for the upcoming tests."

"Can we at least gag her." One of the caretakers panted.

Whoever was giving the orders must have given consent because after a few moments the girl's screams were cut off to the point where he couldn't hear them.

There were another few moments of struggling as he heard somebody wresting to control what he presumed was a failing limb, but eventually, he heard the caretakers give a sigh, of relief.

"Alright, let's hook her up." Said the person with the mechanical voice. "Attach the electrical pads first, but leave her hand free, I'd like to test her healing factor more."

"No…." He whispered horrified. He'd only ever seen the girl once, but that one time was enough for him to know what it sounded like when she was in pain. The memory of how they had treated her was carved into him. He would forever recognize that sound.

Quickly and forgetting completely about stealth he ran the rest of the way to Room 215. He was about to try and open the door when he saw that the side of the room was a glass wall. Inching his way over he peered in, and let out a pained grown at the site before him.

The girl was naked and strapped to an operating table so tightly that she looked like she could barely move. Somebody had wrapped some sort of strap around her mouth and tightened it so that if she couldn't make more than muffled screams. Some sort of thing with sharp looking needles every few inches was strapped to her, the scariest part about it was that wires ran from needle to needle and he knew that device was going to cause more pain than just stabbing.

"Alright, let's get started." The person with the mechanical voice said.

Out of nowhere a machine descended from the ceiling and shone a laser on one of her exposed hands. Powerless to do anything to prevent it, he stood frozen in place. Helpless, he heard the machine give a click, and something was fired into her hand, blowing a hole straight through it. The girl let out an agonized scream and tried to struggle uselessly against her bonds. Tears of pain and anguish, cascade from her eyes and rolled down the side of her head.

"Wonderful!" The person with the mechanical voice shouted. "Her healing abilities, are even more phenomenal than I thought!"

He poked his head even further around the corner and saw just in time the hole that the machine had made, healing leaving nothing more than a few drops of blood. If it wasn't for the fact that he was watching this poor girl being tortured, he might have been impressed, but right now all he could feel was anger and disgust towards all the people who were doing this to her.

"Let's test her nerves." Said the mechanical voiced figure. "Activate on my mark."

One of the caretakers started touching a panel and he saw with great trepidations the device strapped to her body lit up.

"Mark."

The needles electrified and stabbed half their length into her body, searing large patches of nerves discoloring parts of her skin, as cells died. The girl writhed in pain, and let out a blood-curdling scream. She screamed and screamed and screamed until she started choking on what was gagging her. Desperately she dragged in air, doing everything she could to keep herself alive. Even while she was choking however, her body again healed itself again, restoring her skin and replacing her dead cells.

He watched her, his lips trembling as tears cascade down his face. How could they do this to her!? What person could possibly inflict this kind of treatment upon someone else!? His face contorted in pain and fury. He was going to put a stop to this. This was not okay! Nobody had the right to do this to someone else!

Determined to put an end to this he rushed over to the door and slammed the controls. The door opened with a hiss, and he dashed into the room, already yelling for them to stop hurting her. "Why are you doing this to her!? Please stop, can't you see you're hurting her!? What did she do to deserve this!?

"Code 016!" Shouted one of the caretakers. "What are you doing here!? Return to the orphanage this instant!"

"Not without her I'm not." He demanded thinking fast.

He scanned the room noting everybody's expressions. The caretakers wore their same expressionless face, but right now that face looked stern and disapproving. The man with the half mechanical face was giving him an interested look, almost as if he was examining something. Lastly, he looked at the girl lying on the table. She stared at him anger and pain piercing through him, as she glared at this newcomer.

"Code 016." The second caretaker said sternly. "Leave now."

"No!"

The caretakers started forward, closing in on him so that they could forcibly remove him from the room.

Desperately he launched himself forward ducking under the caretakers before they could grab him.

"It's going to be okay!" He sobbed to the little girl, running up to her. "I promise you'll be okay."

The girl stared at him her eyes filled with pain and anger.

Desperately before they could grab him, he gently stroked her cheek, trying to communicate through feeling alone that somebody was here for her. As he stroked her cheek her eyes went wide and he saw just for a moment her eyes lose their anger and hatred, replaced with curiosity as she felt this feeling of kindness and tenderness for the first time.

"I promise it's going to be okay." He sobbed into her ear.

Just then the caretaker's grabbed him and forcibly dragged him away from her.

"Let go of me!" He yelled furiously

"Sir, I recommend sending Code 016, for reconditioning." A caretaker said, pinning his arms behind him.

The man with the mechanical face still stared at him, with immense interest, almost as if studying him. "No…. Just return him to the orphanage, this is quite an interesting anomaly, I'd like to investigate it further when I have the time." He turned to another of the caretakers. "Make special note of this one, and set some reminders in my schedule. I'd like to test him, whenever we manage to control her."

Fear and anger flooded his stomach. So he was their next test subject? After they finished with her they were going to come for him. Almost instantly millions of thoughts rushed through his mind. How was he supposed to get out of this? Maybe he could appeal to Papa, and get him to put a stop to this. Surely the man who cared for all the children would stop this injustice. But then, wasn't everybody under Papa's command? If that was the case then maybe he knew about this and was allowing it to happen. No! That couldn't be possible. These people must have joined the Klaxosaurs and were trying to overthrow Papa. But wait a minute! How did this mechanical faced man, convince all the caretakers to join him. Everybody was loyal to Papa. This one man couldn't possibly have convinced all these caretakers to join him on his evil quest. But that left the only explanation being that Papa was aware of this and allowing it to happen. But how could he have allowed this to happen!?

"As you wish Sir." They said dragging him away.

They forcefully cared him, all the way back to the orphanage and practically threw him into the room, where everyone else was. He crashed to the floor was a meaty smack, and before he could even recover, the caretakers locked the enclosure so he couldn't get out.

"Hiro!" Ichigo said startled.

Groaning he picked himself up and stood. By now everybody in the enclosure had gathered around him, all curious as to why he had just been forcefully thrown into the room.

"What's going on Hiro?" Goro asked.

He sniffed quietly to himself in amusement at the reply he was about to give. "Oh, I've just been getting some extra special, treatment." He said, his voice ladened with sarcasm.

He looked up, Ichigo and Goro looked unconvinced, and everyone else just looked confused.

Zorome took his answer at face value and said his voice incredulous. "But I performed better than you did on our piloting demo, why are you getting special treatment?"

"Oh because I'm just an anomaly." He said bitterly, think of what that mechanical faced man had said.

"Hiro, you're starting to scare me," Ichigo said, sounding immensely concerned.

He took a deep breath. He needed to keep his cool. Nobody else knew what he had seen and they all still thought that the caretakers were here to nurture them and help them prepare for the fight against the Klaxosaurs. After what he had seen however, he knew that something more was going on. Something far darker. Whether Papa was attached to it he was unsure. But he did know now that, dark things could take place at the Garden, and nobody would ask questions or even notice it at all.

"I'm fine." He said leveling his voice. Thinking fast he tried to come up with an explanation that would appease everyone around him. "I had an appointment and Papa said that he had big plans for me. He didn't go into specifics but he said it was a great honor. In truth, I was a little scared but I'm all better now."

Quickly he scanned the faces of everyone around him. It seemed that his story had passed for a satisfactory examination. With the sole exceptions being Ichigo, Goro, and Zorome. Both Ichigo and Goro looked disbelieving, and he got the uncomfortable feeling that they knew he was lying. It's was Zorome's face that hurt the most, however. The look of jealousy and resentment that Zorome gave him, was terrifying. Instantly he knew that he had messed up, and messed up bad. He was an idiot for not remembering that Zorome was extremely self-conscious about his high code number, and was constantly working to prove to the caretakers that he was worthy of becoming a parasite. And due to the fact that Zorome was working so hard, he got extremely jealous of anybody who was stealing the spotlight away from him thus hurting his chances of becoming a parasite. Because he knew this information he could see why Zorome was going to be extremely resentful of him. He had just told Zorome that the supreme spotlight, Papa had personally talked to him and told him that he was bound to do great things. To the egocentric Zorome, that news was bound to cut deep.

For a moment, just a moment he thought about tell Zorome that what he just said was a lie. At the last second, however, he thought better of it. The girl who he had just witnessed being tortured deserved his attention and affection. Zorome would just have to learn to deal with it and move on for once.

"Are you sure you're okay Hiro?" Goro asked still concerned.

He sighed. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little overwhelmed."

"Well tell us if you need anything," Ichigo added.

He nodded. "Sure thing… Thank you."

Serval more days passed, and throughout that time he had been subject to, even more, rigorous testing. Luckily they hadn't started testing him as they had done to that poor girl, but the fact that they were testing him still made him uneasy. They also no longer took any chances that he could explore the lab again. A caretaker was always by the door waiting for him and would escort him out of the lab, and then lock the lab door behind him. Thankfully they hadn't started escorting him all the way back to the orphanage. I liked that few minutes to himself to just think without anyone else around, and lucky those few minutes he had been allowed to preserve. Even if he was thankful for the few minutes to walk alone that he was allowed, it didn't change the fact that they had now made it impossible for him to try and find that girl.

"Hey, Hiro did you notice that Sasha was just removed from our ward?" Goro asked.

"No, I didn't," He asked concerned. "When did that happen?"

"Just this morning," Goro answered. "While you were in the lab, they took her away."

"Did you ask why?" He asked knowing the answer.

"No, I didn't," Goro said. "I figured that Papa needed her for something and decided to remove her."

He sniffed in amusement at his ability to predict that answer. Nobody around here ever asked any questions.

"Hey, guys!" Ichigo called running up to join them. "What are you guys up to?"

"Nothing much," Goro answered. "I just left a book I was looking for by my bed and Hiro decided to accompany me."

"Nice." She commented falling in line with them. "I left one of my teddy bears behind."

Hiro smiled. If Ichigo was fond of one thing it would be her teddy bears. Although, now that he thought about it. Goro might be up there too. Ichigo seemed to have a special fondness for him, that seemed kind of different from normal friendship. He wasn't quite sure what it was, but he was reasonably certain that if she had to choose between her two friends, Goro would probably be the favorite.

As they turned into the ward, they immediately noticed that something was off. The bed of one of the children that had slept with them was empty, and a caretaker was removing the sheets leaving the bed completely barren.

"Another one," Goro muttered.

"It's such a shame to keep losing our friends like this," Ichigo said sadly.

He had enough. Why did the adults never answer his questions? Why was he the only one asking them?

Irritated he marched into the room and grabbed the caretakers sleeve. "Where is Tania?" He demanded.

"That is none of your concern. Papa will take good care of 979." The caretaker said brushing him off and leaving the room.

"Typical." He muttered. "Nobody ever gave him answers. They just ignored him or refused to answer his questions.

He was so sick and tired of this crap. The stuff that the caretakers were doing needed explanations. Never answering his questions, taking children away, and by far the worst torturing that girl. If he didn't get answers soon, then he was going to make them.

Late that night he was lying awake in bed unable to sleep. The last vestiges of his patience had run out about halfway through dinner. And ever since then he had been obsessing over how to find that girl with the red skin. He was through with this sitting around and waiting. He was going to do something about it, and if the caretakers decided that he was no longer worthy of piloting a Franxx then he would get to find out where all those children disappeared to. The hard part now would be finding a way to see that girl again.

"Then what?" Part of him asked. "What do we do if we find her?"

"We rescue her." The other part stated firmly.

Even he was surprised by his own daring. Was that even possible? And even if it was, what would be the consequences of that action?

"It doesn't matter what the consequences are. It's the right thing to do."

He let out a sigh and rolled over. "Alright. Let's do it." He looked up at the ceiling and pretended that his words would reach the red girl's ears and whispered. "I don't know who you are or what you are, but I while find a way to save you from the caretakers. I don't know what I'll do, but a will find a way."

With that, he rolled over and fell asleep. He was going to have a long few days coming up. It was best to get some rest.

"Hey, Hiro," Naomi called. "Are you going to put in your request for present day?"

Right now everyone was gathered around a small console where the could submit their requests for present day. He, however, had no idea, what he wanted. As he stood there thinking a thought washed over him. Maybe he could request that red girl. That thought was instantly shot down, however. The chances that they would give her to him were slim to none, and that's if he was lucky.

"I'll think of something." He said giving Naomi a smile. Starting forward he stood at the back of the line, still having no idea what to request.

As he stood in line a thought occurred to him about his plan to rescue the girl. What am I going to do once I manage to take her away from the caretakers? He stood there mulling that thought over in his mind as he slowly inched forward towards the console. But before he even knew it, it was his turn, and he was still had no idea what to ask for. Absentmindedly he began searching through the suggested section, having no idea what to pick. He wasn't scrolling for long when a suggestion jumped out at him.

A backpack. For some reason, that suggestion caught his interest. He shrugged.

"Why not." He muttered. Clicking on it he chose the style and color that he wanted. He ended up going with, a red backpack that had numerous sets of pockets and sleeves. Satisfied he made his way over to where Naomi and all the others were sitting and began playing cards with them.

It wasn't long however before the caretakers came to collect him, for his next set of injections. Resigned to his fate he followed them out towards the lab. Nothing of interest happened on his way there, aside from the fact that he pocketed two pretty looking stones along the way. They were nice and smooth and easy to hold in the hand. They would be a nice addition to his collection of pretty looking things.

About a half an hour later the caretaker booted him from the lab and locked the door behind her. Sighing he began to work his way back to the orphanage but something made him stop. Curiously he looked around and his eyes came to rest on the massive tree.

"Hmm." He grunted. More out of boredom than anything else he let his eyes climb the trees bare branches as he slowing examined just how tall this thing really was.

About halfway up his eyes were diverted by a weird horizontal window that looked like it took up most of the wall on a room that was jutting out from the rest of the structure.

"I wonder what that is for." He muttered.

More because he was bored and had nothing better to do he made his way over to the tree and did his best to climb. It was tediously slow going, but eventually, he managed to work his way up to a branch where he could look into the room. Before he did, however, he glanced around from his high vantage point around the Garden. In the distance surrounding both the lab and the orphanage, a massive forest of evergreens stretched out for so long that he couldn't see the end. Besides that however, everything else was covered in a thick blanket of snow.

"What an amazing view." He whispered.

After a few more minutes of gazing around, he brought his attention back to the room that was in front of him. The whole room from floor to ceiling was the most boring grey he had ever seen, and after a few moments of looking at it, he quickly got tired of it. Searching the rest of the room, he noticed that it was completely empty with the sole exception being a toilet. His heart leaped into his mouth. He knew of a room that had been described exactly like this one, and if he was correct the very person that he had been looking for resided in this room.

Quickly he scanned the room again, to see if he could spot the girl, but to no avail. Still, he was willing to bet that this was her room, and the reason for her not being here was that the caretakers had her elsewhere.

He sat on the branch thinking. This would be the easiest way to rescue the girl. If he could break the glass then all he would have to do is get the girl out the window and they could be free. First, however he needed to check to see if this really was glass. Pulling one of the stones out of his pocket, he threw it at the window. A moment later he heard the rock hit the window and make a "tink" sound.

"Good.." He muttered. "At least we know it's glass."

As he sat there thinking about what to do next, the door into the room opened, and a caretaker was visible in the doorway. Scared out of his mind, he flattened himself against the branch and held his breath, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed. The caretaker, however, wasn't paying attention to him and was fighting to drag something into the room. A moment later he spotted the red girl, trying to escape from the caretaker, struggling to get her hand free. Heartbroken he watched as the caretaker hauled the girl into the center of the room, and released the girl. Before the girl had time to recover from being freed, the caretaker reached down the girl's coat and pulled out a book. Turning the caretaker began to walk away. He watched sicken by what he was seeing, as the girl let out an agony filled horrified scream, and desperately launched herself at the caretaker, grabbing the book and refusing to let go. The girl fought refusing to let go of the book, sobbing and crying, with an expression of pure unadulterated fear. Finally, the caretaker seemed to give up, and let go of the book. Instantly the girl hugged the book to her chest and collapsed into a ball, shielding the book so that there was no chance that it could be taken away again. The caretaker seemed to lose interest and walked out of the room, the door hissing shut behind her. Once the caretaker was safely clear of the room, the girl relaxed her guard and held the book out in front of her so she could look at. For the first time, he saw it. Pure joy washed over her face, and tears of relief and happiness slowly fell from her eyes.

He sat on the branch completely transfixed by the slight of her smile. It was the cutest, most adorable thing he had ever seen. The face that she was making right now. A face of pure happiness and joy was something that needed to be preserved. He vowed at that moment that he would protect that smile. If he had any misgivings about trying to rescue this girl, all of them disappeared the instant he saw her face. It no longer mattered how he would do it. All that mattered was that he did do it.

As he sat on the branch watching the girl, the final parts of his plan starting coming together. When he had finally finalized it he reached into his pocket.

"There's only one last thing I need to test." He muttered, grabbing the last stone from his pocket.

Taking aim at the corner of the glass window, he threw the rock as hard as he could.

It hit the corner, and he heard a loud "crack". Eagerly he inspected the damage he had done. A large crack had formed from were his stone had hit. He smiled elatedly with his success. If his little smooth stone had managed to make a crack that big, then he could defiantly break this window. All he would need was a bigger rock, and he would probably bust right through.

His testing of the windows strength had not gone unnoticed, however. When the girl heard the sound, her head jerked up and she let out an angry growl, searching for whatever might threaten her or her book. As she searched for the threat their eyes locked. Instantly her lips curled in a snarl and anger flashed across her face. But as they stared at each other, her face began to relax slightly. She recognized him. Even if she didn't know who he was, she recognized his face. It was the face that had touched her with the gentlest and most caring touch she had ever known.

He gazed completely transfixed by her beautiful emerald green eyes. He just couldn't look away. Every time he tried he found himself being drawn further in. Almost without his knowledge he found himself scooting farther and farther down the branch until he was pressed against the window. At the same time, the girl stood up, and made her way over to the other side of the window, still clutching her book. Transfixed they both studied each other, he marveling at how adorable she was, and she studying the person who had treated with an emotion that she had never experienced before.

Trying to be close to her, he reached out his hand and touched the glass right in front of her. Although he knew that she would never hear him, he said. "I'll find a way for you to be free. It'll just be the two of us. Everyone else might be content with living like this, but I know that we're different." He took a deep breath. "Would you be willing to escape from the garden with me?"

Miraculously the girl reached up with her little hand and touched the glass on the other side of his hand. Maybe it was just coincidence, or maybe she was just curious, but the fact that she had reciprocated his gesture filled his heart with hope. Smiling he leaned his forehead up against the window, smiling at her. Mimicking him she attempted to press her forehead, against the glass, but her ruby red horns got in the way making it impossible for her to touch her head to the glass. Confused as to why it wasn't working she banged her head against the glass trying to force her way through, but her horns foiled her plans again. Irritated that she couldn't touch the glass, she kept banging her horns against it; thinking that eventually, it would work.

He smiled. This girl was absolutely adorable. Content he drew his head away, to keep her from hurting herself, and instead just stared into her eyes, as she stared back at him.

After serval long minutes, he slowly began to back away. The girl seemed to protest and made an angry grunting noise. It was clear that she didn't want this person who was making her experience things that she'd never experienced before to go.

"I'm sorry." He said to the girl. "I need to go. If I'm gone too long they'll get suspicious."

He reached out his hand one more time and imagined that he was beaming his words into her mind. "I'll come to rescue you; I promise. I only need a little more time… I will come for you. I promise."

This time when he began to back away, the girl didn't protest, instead, she just watched him. Slowly and not taking his eyes off her more than he needed to, he made his way back down the tree, and to the ground. Reluctantly he began to make his way back to the orphanage. About halfway back, he stopped and looked back at the girl. She stood at her window watching him.

"I promise." He whispered.

Turning he continued his way back to the orphanage, on the way however the sight of one of the walkway lights stopped him. The walkway light looked pretty heavy and was only being supported by a thin stand. Pretending like nothing was wrong he walked over to it and gave it a hard kick with his boot. It bent. Quickly he checked to make sure that nobody was watching him. Spotting nobody, he gave the light a few more hard kicks and with a crack, he heard the fragile stand break. Elated that he had his heavy object, he picked it up.

"This should do.." He said with a smirk.

Carrying it, he walked back to the orphanage, but just before he got to the door, walked off the path and buried the light in some snow, on the right side of the door.

"Remember that it's here." He muttered, smoothing out the snow and walking back to the main path.

Standing front of the orphanage door, he turned and looked to where he knew the girl was standing.

"I'll come for you soon." He whispered to her. "Just give me a little time to prepare and when I'm ready I'll come for you."

Turning around he walked back into the orphanage.

Author's Note:

Thank you for reading Chapter 13 of The Jian Bird.

Sorry for the delay I had some college finals that were really eating at my time.

As you probably guessed, This is part one of the Beast and the Prince. My original plan was to do this all in one chapter, but as I kept writing I realized that If I was to do that this would be a ridiculously long chapter. So I've decided to split this up into two parts. I'll try to get the second part out as soon as possible. Currently, I'm on spring break so I'll be able to produce the next chapter faster.

Stay tuned for Chapter 14 of The Jian Bird: The Beast and the Prince Part 2