"Now, kids, please listen up as we give you guests instructions," said Hachi. "It's important for all of you, including Squad 13, to listen attentively." "Ahh, well, I'll check out your coat later," Ryūko whispered to Zero Two as they took seats beside one another. "I guess it'll be a little bit of a reprieve from the needle, too." "If darling says so," replied Zero Two. She was visibly nervous at the sight of the hypodermic syringe, but much to her relief, Hiro put his arm around her. "I'm always here for you, Zero Two," he soothed her. "Even if other people want to tear us apart." Zero Two smiled, catching his dirty look at her horns. "Darling, you pervert..." -here she gently caressed his chin. "Grab onto me and never let go, okay?" Aww, now she's trying to get cutesy, Ryūko groaned inwardly. I'm not looking forward to interacting with this horned b*tch. In the meanwhile, Hachi had been issuing orders to the newcomers. "Code 015 will be guiding you around your quarters during your stay here," he said, much to Ichigo's listless agreement. "We will be giving you more information as time passes, so there is no need to rush settling into your new environment." "Furthermore," the doctor added, "it is important that your presence not be taken with suspicion by the parasites and the geezers, so be sure to keep a low profile when interacting with anyone outside this room." "Understood," Satsuki replied. "I figured that would be the nature of this mission. After all, Elite Four," she said to her core command, "we did go over the top for keeping our motives under wraps in the battle against Ragyō, and I think this one will require the same degree of stealth." "Mmm?" Aikurō reacted. "I certainly wasn't ready for a spy mission. But," he said, unveiling his glowing nipples, "if that's our objective, I'm all in." Tsumugu nodded. "Nudist Beach has always been undercover, after all," he murmured with a wry smile. "This is nothing new to me." "The only problem, of course," Inumuta observed, "is that should you members of the original Nudist Beach faction begin developing a stealth Dotonbori Robo-" "DTR," growled Aikurō. "DTR," Inumuta repeated, rolling his eyes. "Anyway, I was trying to bring up the notion that should we attempt to construct DTR's within the jurisdiction of this regime, we could be in severe trouble." "I think so, too," said Hiro, who had taken Zero Two and laid her head on his bosom. "Papa and the adults wouldn't be pleased about such a thing. Doctor," he turned to Werner, "is there such a place where our newcomers can carry out operations without Papa knowing?" Franxx hesitated a moment before answering. "None where our lives are threatened by no one," he replied thoughtfully. "My fabricated intent of this experiment is to tell the geezers that Squad 13's test group will be expanding to test out para-compatibilities of parasites from the past who have not been injected with yellow blood cells. "Now, while all that information is true, it's not all of it. In fact, I am working on perfecting a squad who can match our special forces pound for pound without undergoing extensive treatment." "Ah, I see," Himeko spoke up. "So basically we're a control group, are we not? That would seem to make sense." "Not all of us, I think," replied Mitsuru. "You girls are the pistils Hiro brought back, right?" "You bet we are!" said Yuzu in her typical spitfire fortitude. "We'd kick butts better than you think!" "Thanks, but I'm not looking for a fight," he coldly replied. "The doctor has some strange ideas about this whole experiment, though, and I can't read his mind. He knows what's best for us, I guess." Mitsuko frowned and turned to her younger sister. "I'm quite suspicious of where this is going, so watch your step, Harumi," she warned. "Don't trust anyone outside our group, okay?" "Yes, Onee-chan," Harumin replied. "I'll be careful." Hachi now stepped to the front of the room. "Your objective for today is quite simple, Squad 13. Welcome your new squadmates and escort them to their living quarters. You are dismissed." ~~~~ That afternoon, Ichigo was leading all the newcomers to their respective quarters. When she had led Yuzu and her friends into their quarters, Ichigo spoke up. "Is there anything else you need help with?" she asked. "Not really," Yuzu replied. "Although, I do have one request. I want to talk with Hiro a little bit to ask him about something. Could you get in touch with him?" "Certainly," Ichigo replied with a smile. "I can't help but be curious, though. What is it you want to ask him? Girls can keep secrets amongst themselves, you know." "Well, it's about his girlfriend, really," said Yuzu with an answering grin. "He seems to have an interesting taste." "Ha ha ha! I'm sure you've already found him to be quite an interesting person, haven't you?" Ichigo replied. "Yes, indeed," replied Matsuri, who'd previously been rather listless during the course of the conversation. "He's a very lovable soul." "But, back to what I was saying," Yuzu said, backtracking the rabbit hole they'd gone down. "Could you call him? Have him and his girlfriend join us, and stick around, too!" "Well, I guess I would be glad to," replied Ichigo. "I'll admit, life as a parasite in the Birds' Nest is pretty dull." She paged Hiro to come meet them in the room as she said these words. In the meantime, Harumin was pacing around the monochromatic white room. "Y'know, Squad Leader," she began, "I wonder how society as we know it became so apocalyptic?" Ichigo was taken somewhat aback. She had never heard that question asked before, as she had never considered humanity's long-lost past ever since Squad 13 explored the abandoned beach city. But she gained confidence as she spoke. "My name is Ichigo, by the way," she said with a beaming smile. "Yours?" "Harumi, but Yuzu here calls me Harumin." "I like the second one better," said Ichigo. "But this may surprise you, Harumin: We parasites never consider the past. In fact, the only ones who may actually know the answer to your question are the doctor, Papa, and the other APE higher-ups. Heck," she snorted, "I don't even know how long it's been between your time and ours." "Very interesting," the elder Taniguchi spoke, rising from her chair. "I find that rather disturbing, too. Tell me, Ichigo, do these people whom the parasites protect tell you anything, or do they hide secrets?" Ichigo paused a little, before answering with a darkened brow and a wrinkled forehead. "We parasites are told almost nothing besides our battle objectives." TO BE CONTINUED

