Darling in the Franxx: Insurgency

Ch. 10: Debriefing

Seven men, clothed in regal gold and white, contemplated in silence as they watched over the footage of Zero Two's escape. Sitting above them all, his golden ape-like mask glittering as the sun shone down from above them, a man sighed as the footage played over and over again.

"How could she have broken through our defences so quickly?!" One man angrily asked, turning to the man in the high chair,

"Surely there must have been someone on the inside-" The same man then began, only for the man in the high chair to raise his hand,

"That's enough, Vice-Chairmen. There was no plot for her escape, she merely broke free using her own power." The man interrupted, silencing the Vice-Chairmen as he spoke,

Sitting back down, the men contemplated once more for a few moments; before another man stood up. Bringing up Alpha's file, with bold letters reading, KIA, written in bold red lettering; he turned to the man in the high chair,

"If I may, Papa. Nine Alpha's Pistil, Nine Delta, is still currently alive. Due to the fact that she was the ultimate inhibitor to Alpha's combat ability, therefore resulting in his untimely death, I believe that she should face the same fate." The man put forth, turning to the other men,

"Am I wrong?" The man added as the other turned to each other; nodding in agreement.

Papa, standing up and turning to walk out of the room, merely raised his hand in agreement before disappearing.

"So it shall be." He commanded, disappearing into the darkness afterwards,

The sounds of troops loading full-magazine clips into rifles echoed across the empty room, where Delta sat; a bandage covering her eyes while a large red target was painted on her heart. Looking into the chamber, the other members of the Nine's watched in horror as the troops aimed down the range. Delta, knowing full-well what was to become of her, smiled warmly at her comrades; while tears fell from her eyes.

"Fire!" An officer roared, at which a large flash and a spurt of blood signalled Delta's execution,

Toying with his food, Zorome groaned while the other members of Squad Thirteen ate. Turning to look at them, Zorome groaned once more as the downtrodden mood of the room began to irritate him.

"So what if Hiro and Zero Two went AWOL? All that matters is that they're gone." Zorome then blurted, unaware that he was thinking aloud,

Ichigo flashed a dirty glare at Zorome while the other girls did the same. Turning to the boys, as if hoping for some reprieve, Zorome found both Goro and Mitsuru looking at him in disdain. It was at that moment, however, that Nana appeared in the room. Turning to her in surprise, Ichigo stood up as Hachi followed Nana inside the room.

"You're all going on leave as of this moment. Prepare for debriefing." Hachi ordered, his cold tone sending shivers across the room as he spoke,

"Also, I'm sure you are all aware of the latest at APE." He then added, only for Ichigo to shake her head in confusion,

Looking a little taken aback for a few moments, Hachi sighed as Nana stepped forward; holding a datapad in her arms,

"As of this moment, Nine Alpha and Nine Delta have been declared KIA. Alpha was killed in combat, while Delta was just executed for failing to support Alpha." Nana informed them, while looks of horror began to appear across the members of Squad Thirteen,

"Papa...decided that?" Goro exclaimed as Nana averted her eyes while Hachi remained stoic.

Later, as they all sat in the common room, Kokoro entered; holding a tray of homemade cookies in her arms. Smiling at her attempts to raise the morale of the Squad, Ichigo picked up one of the cookies before staring at it for a moment,

"I know it's been hard, losing Hiro. But we need to keep our heads up." Ichigo began, as the others began to dig in,

"If it's true...that Zero Two killed Alpha, going AWOL with Hiro and committing treason, then we have no choice but to bring the two of them to justice." She then necessitated, at which Goro turned to her in shock,

'Wait...she means...'

The mood didn't improve as night turned to day. Going about their daily routines, Goro found himself staring into space as he thought about Ichigo's words from the previous night while sitting on his bed. He then looked across the room to Hiro's bed, walking over and picking up the picture of Squad Thirteen from his bedside table. Gazing as the cheerful smiles of a much younger Squad Thirteen, with Hiro wearing the leader's sigil, he then steeled himself, placing the picture face-down as he turned away,

'I'm sorry, Hiro.'

Finding Mitsuru in the library, Goro sat on one of the nearby tables while Mitsuru picked out another book from the large shelves. Walking back to Goro's table in silence, Mitsuru found himself unable to concentrate. Finally looking up, Goro noticed visible distress on Mitsuru's face.

"I know I called him defective..." Mitsuru began, looking down as his hands began to tremble,

"But, that's only because he forgot. He forgot the promise we made." He then explained, thinking back to when they were just freshmen in the Franxx Academy,

"We promised to ride together...but he just forgot!" He added, placing his head against the table as he spoke,

At this, Goro smiled as he patted Mitsuru on the back. Sharing his stress, his uncertainty, and his sadness, Goro continued patting Mitsuru on the back silently as Mitsuru trembled. Ichigo, who had spent most of the day organizing a trip for the duration of Squad Thirteen's leave days, sighed as she also found herself unable to concentrate.

'If only she didn't come into his life.'

Shaking her head a little, she continued about her daily routine after completing the necessary paperwork for the trip she was planning. Kokoro, Miku, and Ikuno, who were taking their time while occupying the baths, soon let out a collective sigh.

"Still though, I never expected Hiro to just up and leave like that." Miku reflectively exclaimed, looking through the steam as she spoke,

"It's because he loves her, doesn't he? Even if he isn't like he used to be, that one emotion still remains." Kokoro softly presumed, looking down as Miku and Ikuno stared at her in shock,

"I'm not saying what he and Zero Two did was right at all, I mean...they killed Alpha and Delta." Kokoro then stressed, waving her hands frantically as the two girls continued to stare at her,

Nodding in agreement, Ikuno tilted her head to the side as she averted her eyes, sinking lower into the water as she did so.

"Though, it's the first time that his actions reminded me of how he was back then," Ikuno noted, still looking away,

"He was boisterous, caring, and he'd do anything for us. Until that day." She distantly reflected, standing up afterwards,

"C'mon, let's go get ready."