So instead of one entire episode in one chapter like I did on Fanfiction, I split it in two. Anyways most of the chapters from now on are based off from the Darling in the FranXX anime events and timeline, minus some extra parts in between.
Chapter 3 Alone and Lonesome Part One
High above the rocky wasteland, multiple aircrafts were heading towards a particular Plantation. A certain pink haired passenger on the main aircraft ponders in her seat. "...I wanna take a bath." she whined as she aimlessly stared out the window.
Dr. Franxx slightly turned his head back, "Not again. Show some self control." he remarks.
The pink haired girl sniffed her hand, then turned towards a man to her right. She removed the lollipop in her mouth and asked "Hey. How do I smell?" He didn't respond, he probably couldn't in his condition. He was restricted by multiple casts, some bandages on his head and forced to breathe with an oxygen mask.
"Let him rest. He's drained after the last battle." said Dr. Franxx, she ignored the doctor and placed her lollipop back in her mouth. Despite the amount of treatment her stamen was given, it looked like he won't be able to survive another battle. He scoffs "Sheesh. What a high maintenance girl."
Nana walked out from the door behind them, her heels clack with every step, then sat down in front of the stamen. She looked out the window and viewed the facility below. "Does Plantation 13 have an ocean?"
An odd and unexpected request, Nana questioned "An ocean?"
"I wanna swim in some clear ocean water." said the girl.
Nana responded "I'm sorry to say there's no ocean there. Won't a shower do?"
"I'm in the mood for a swim."
One of the crew announced, "We'll be descending shortly. Please sit down and buckle your seat belts."
"Understood." replied Nana. She turned back at the pink haired girl, "Let's continue this later."
The pink haired girl pulled her glove and licked her wrist, murmuring "I hate how I taste..."
Hachi announced, "That concludes today's briefing. Code 703, I need you to follow me back to the Admin building." He turned to the rest of the parasites, "I need Code 016 there too. If he shows up, tell him to go there."
"And if not?" asked Goro.
"If not, a search team will be sent out to find him." He walked towards the door, "Code 703, let's go."
"Ok I'm coming." As she slowly approached Hachi, the room quickly became dreary. Everyone in the room knew that tomorrow was the graduation ceremony but it's also Naomi's last day at the Plantation.
Immediately after she left, Ichigo got on her page and texted Hiro. She texted, 'The briefing was over. Contact me. We need to talk.' there was no response.
Asuna whispered to Kirito, "I'm gonna go prepare stuff for our picnic."
Kirito asked, "Do you want some help?"
She smiled, "Thanks but I don't want to get caught on camera sneaking around the pantry together."
He scratched the back of his head, "Oh right, I forgot." He slumped down onto the couch, "Just text me when you're done and I'll sneak out the backyard door."
She walked to the door, "Ok, see you later Kirito-kun~."
"Bye Asuna." He waved to her as she left the room, then laid back in his seat, looking up at the ceiling. He wanted to go out the window instead for some reason but that would have been too odd to be ignored.
Shortly he started dosing off, Zorome and Futoshi made it harder for him to nap. He glanced over at Futoshi who took out some bread and wondered how he obtained some. Thinking maybe he snuck it from breakfast a couple hours ago. Futoshi questioned "Partner Killer?"
Zorome explains, "Apparently, the girl has horns and fangs and any parasite that rides with her will have his blood sucked and will die after the third time without fail!"
Kirito sat up and gained a sudden interest, "She sounds like some kind of demon." He then examined his hand, wondering if a cut would be pixelated blood or actual blood gushing out like in the Underworld.
"Yikes. I don't wanna ride with her." said Futoshi as he munched on his bread.
"Surely that's just a rumor." comments Miku.
Zorome protests, "It's true! Someone actually overheard security talking about it!"
Ikuno decided not to meddle with their conversation, she looked at Ichigo who was still on her page. She typed again, 'Hey, slacker. Where are you right now? Anyway, you'd better show up for the recruit welcoming ceremony tomorrow. Got that? Too bad about Naomi, but you've been told you can stay, so don't act all stubborn.'
Goro walked behind her and asked, "Did you get a hold of Hiro?"
Ichigo sighed as she viewed his profile, "Nope. I tried countless times but not a trace."
Zorome turned to the pair, "Hey...so is he gonna stay after all?"
"But he didn't attend today's briefing. Maybe that means he's gonna turn down the chance?" said Futoshi.
"Hiro's going to leave? That's so sad, he's been our leader since we were little." said Kokoro.
"Well minus me and Asuna, but I kinda feel like us two caused this in a way. From being their replacements." claimed Kirito.
"But if he doesn't, where does that leave Naomi? She got caught up in his mess. I say Hiro is showing real integrity. It must be hard for him to face us after what happened too. Spare a thought for how he feels." stated Mitsuru.
"God, how forced." comments Miku.
"But he's right though, Hiro lost his purpose in life. Any parasite without their perfect partner become useless for Plantation." said Kirito.
Goro asked, "Are you ok with this, Ichigo?
She huffed, "That idiot."
Kirito's page vibrates, he took it out his pocket and flipped it open. Asuna texted him to come outside. He stood up and suggested, "I could try to find him if you want."
"But Hachi said he'll send guards to find him." said Goro.
"Hiro would just avoid them. We look less threatening so if he sees one of us, he might follow me back here." said Kirito.
"That's true, what do you say, Ichigo?" asked Goro.
She sighed, "I guess you have a better chance. Ok, go try to find him."
Kirito grinned, "Ok, I'll be back soon." He rushed out the room and crept down the stairs. Asuna already left through the front door, so he went around and left through the back doorway. He walked casually into the forest and wandered around to find Asuna. He brought out his page again, she texted him to go to the greenhouse. He started walking towards to greenhouse, as he approached the greenhouse. He saw a guard patrolling around it, luckily Asuna didn't seem like she was inside. He crouched down behind a bush and whispered, "Where is she?"
Suddenly something grabbed his shoulder, he jumped and grabbed their arm. He quickly picked up a nearby stick with his spare hand and turned around. In a hushed tone they said, "Wait Kirito it's me!"
Right as he was about to hit them, he dropped the stick when he saw Asuna's surprised face. "Oops, sorry Asuna. I thought you were a guard." He loosened his grip on her arm and moved his hand down to hold hers.
She apologized, "No, I'm sorry that I surprised you. Anyways where's this picnic spot you found?"
"Oh right, just follow me." The two slowly crept away from the guard and concealed themselves in the thick forest. Hand in hand they trekked through the forest, Kirito noticed the basket Asuna was holding. He asked, "Where did you find a picnic basket?"
"Well after I found where the pantry and kitchen were, I tried to find a container for all this stuff. I couldn't find the perfect one until I went inside the other restricted room. There were a bunch of other stuff inside, including this nice little basket." They soon arrived at their picnic spot, it was a little grass patch near one of the lakes and surrounded by countless vegetation.
"And we're here." announced Kirito. Asuna removed a blanket from the basket and laid it out on the grass. The two sat down a set up their picnic, "This place is somewhat hidden here so I don't think those guards will find us."
Asuna looked around and saw some fallen tree trunks near the water. She remembers something and took out a thermos with two glass cups, "Luckily I found something to hold the tea, but I couldn't find any other glasses."
"You actually made some tea too?" said Kirito who was surprised of how much there was in the kitchen.
"Yeah, it's gonna be great with some cookies and these sandwiches." She opened the bag and took out one of the sandwiches, "Yours is spicy as always."
He grabbed it from her hand and unwrapped it. He took a bite and his face immediately lit up, his eyes looked like they were sparkling too. He gulped and compliments her, "This is fantastic Asuna! Your cooking is great in every VR we enter."
She giggled, "Thanks Kirito-kun~. So what did I miss while I was preparing all this stuff?"
"Well Zorome or someone overheard security talking about this pistil that's arriving today."
"Could she be Hiro's new partner?" she bit down on her own mild sandwich.
"Probably not. Unless if he's permitted to ride with a pistil who has horns and fangs for only 2 times." he took another couple bites.
She choked a bit then quickly sipped some tea. Such features would have been normal in other VRMMOs, but they've never seen anyone or anything like that here. "Horns and fangs? She sounds like some kind of enemy or demon. Also why is there a limit?"
He gulps, "That's what I said about her. Zorome said that when someone rides with her for three times, they're guaranteed to die on the third ride. Which gives her the nickname 'Partner Killer'."
"Meaning she's a potential threat or could be a valuable asset." she took another sip.
He snickers, "Already thinking like a Vice Commander, maybe you should take Hachi's job too."
"Thanks but it wouldn't make any difference. We're still fighting those Klaxosaurs and I'd rather be on the front lines."
He finished his first sandwich and licked his fingers "Oh I forgot to mention that we're supposed to search for Hiro."
"But didn't Hachi say that he'll send out a search party?"
He laid down on the blanket, looking up at Asuna "True but it was my little excuse for Ichigo so I could leave the room."
"You could have just left, but" she moved a bit closer to Kirito, "I'm guessing that you actually wanted to help find him." He sits up and nods, "Ok we could go search around in 15 minutes or so."
"Great but for now, let's just enjoy this time alone." He leaned towards her and kissed her cheek, causing her face to turn a shade of pink, "I've been waiting for awhile to do that."
"Me too" she responded with another kiss on his lips.
13 minutes later
The two were laying down on the blanket, admiring the forest and each other's company. Suddenly a fog started forming around the water, Asuna sat up and nudged Kirito who was slowly about to fall asleep. "Kirito-kun"
He groaned, "What is it? We still have... "he checked his page, "another 2 minutes left."
"Well this fog might make searching around this area a bit more difficult." informed Asuna.
He stood up and looked around the lake, it was difficult to see the other side. "Yeah, let's pack up and start searching." Asuna wipes the cups and grabbed the thermos, placing both of them inside the basket with the remaining cookies. She got off the blanket as Kirito picks up the blanket and starts shaking off the crumbs. He folded it and places it on the basket. As they walked away from the water, there was a big splash sound coming from behind.
Asuna turns around, "What was that?" she walked back to their picnic spot, Kirito quickly followed behind her. The water ripples on one side of the lake, where a lone fallen tree trunk laid with clothing on top of it. "I think someone is swimming here."
Kirito observes the water, "Is it Hiro?"
"I'm not sure, no one popped out the water yet." She tried to get a better look at their clothing, "Their clothes don't look like ours, it's more red than gray." As she looked around, someone's poked their head out the water, the two caught a slight glimpse of red and pink before it submerged back underwater.
Then something started rapidly swimming towards them, Asuna leaned closer to the water. Kirito pulled her hand, "Asuna, get away from the water." A feminine figure swam by, she slowed her paced as she got closer to Asuna. Kirito looked at her, she had long pink hair with small red horns poking out on top. Her eyes locked onto his, he mumbled, "The Partner Killer..."
Asuna faced towards him, loudly whispering "She's the Partner Killer!?"
He shrugged, "She matches the description Zorome said earlier and she's not a parasite or anything like Hachi and Nana."
She backed away from the water and turned to the forest, "Ok then, we shouldn't get involved with her then. Let's go find Hiro."
"But isn't that him right there." He points towards the fallen tree trunk where the Partner Killer's clothes are.
Asuna turned and saw Hiro looking at the Partner Killer as she dived down underwater. "Should we go get him?"
Kirito pulled her behind a tree, "Let's wait, I wanna see what she'll do to him."
"What if she attacks him?"
"Then we'll rush in."
Suddenly Hiro ran into the water, until she jumped up in front of him with a fish in her mouth. Asuna covered Kirito's eyes, "Asuna, why are you covering my eyes?"
"Oh, so I'm not bothered by the fact that you're looking at a naked demon girl."
He turned away from them, "Got it." She removes her hand, "Just tell me what's happening."
"Well it looks like they're just talking. Now she's pointing at him. Hiro quickly turned away from her and is now giving her something which made her laugh."
He sat down against the tree, "Doesn't sound so bad."
"Ok now she getting dressed so you can look in a bit."
He got up and turned back towards Hiro, he was sitting down and throwing a rock at the water as the girl behind him placed something white on her head. Then she grabbed Hiro, her face looked like it touched his cheek. She pushed him down and landed on top of him, "Should we interfere?"
Asuna shook her head, "No, it looks like she just kissed him."
"But I thought none of them knew about kissing and stuff that we do."
The girl stood up and looked down at him with her hand stretched out to grab Hiro's. He sat up and reached out to grab hers but she turned around and was greeted by a bunch of guards with an injured man.
A pair of guards approached the two, "I think we should go now." whispered Kirito.
They quickly ducked down behind the bushes. Luckily both guards walked pass them, Kirito heard one say, "Code 016 spotted."
As they continued pursuing Hiro, Asuna and Kirito swiftly snuck away from them and walked back to the house. Asuna pouts "I wish we had more time for our picnic."
"Maybe we'll be lucky next week." reassured Kirito.
"I hope so. Also when we get back, I'm gonna return the thermos and cups. Could you stow away the basket in the other restricted room?"
"Got it and how about we take a scenic route back." suggested Kirito.
She smiles, "Sounds great." About roughly 13 minutes later they arrived at the boarding house. Asuna walked in through the front door as Kirito looped around and entered through the back door. He walked down the hall to the farthest restricted room and carefully opened the door. He stretched his arm and eased the basket through the tapes, placing it gently on the desk. The door softly creaked as it closed. Kirito ignored the camera and made his way back towards the stairs as Asuna headed up to the stamen living room. She opened the doors, "Sorry Ichigo, we weren't able to find Hiro."
Ichigo closed her page and approached her with a confused look, "We? I thought Kirito was the one looking for him."
Kirito quickly rushes into the room, "I saw Asuna outside and asked her to help me look around, but still no luck."
Ichigo sighs "Oh, that's ok. Thanks for trying though."
A ball was shortly thrown to Kirito, "Hey Kirito! Do you wanna go play outside with Futoshi and I?" said Zorome.
He grinned, "Yeah sure. Race you outside!" Asuna quickly moved from the door as Kirito dashed past her.
Zorome quickly rose from his seat and followed Kirito with Futoshi trying to catch up. "No fair! You got a head start!" shouted Zorome.
"Kirito! Wait for us!" shouted Futoshi.
"Geez. Does everything have to be a competition to them?" said Miku.
Asuna mumbled "I'm glad he's having fun with some guy friends." She then left the room and headed back to her shared room.
Ichigo carefully watched her as she left. She walked back to Goro and whispered, "Do you notice it too?"
"How long it took for them to get back or often they spend time alone?"
"Both actually." She opened her page to an alert Hachi sent over 15 minutes ago, 'Hiro found'. "What do you think they're doing?"
"Kirito did mention something called a date before. Maybe it's something more than what he said."
"A date? Hmm...I wonder..."