The Lost Number (A Darling in the Franxx male reader insert)

Prologue 1

Prologue 1: The garden

The other children were likely returning from dinner, meaning you only had a few minutes left to make your way inside. Holding your breath you made your way through the opening you had created, only to pass by the gate and alert the guards, who immediately grabbed you and roughly started bringing you back inside the main complex of the Garden, shouting at you all the while. While it was painful it was necessary, since no one dumb enough to make such basic mistakes could actually get away.

Once inside you passed by your room and reached beneath the mattress to pull out a notebook. Back in the common room you looked at everyone, scanning for new faces or any missing children. With nothing to write this time you just jotted down a quick symbol in your binder and went out on the halls to continue your diary somewhere where people were less likely to bump into you.

The code numbers… They had been vague on everything but that. Not that anyone ever had success with asking anything. Much less people with higher numbers. The most important kids were given lower codes after all. They were known by everyone and admired even by the higher numbers. Especially since said higher numbers were always shifting around.

Well for the most part. There was one constant within the upper codes, not that you were certain anybody knew about it. Code 999… you. The highest in the garden based on your months of observing and writing down the different codes and their changes. Among 89 new children at the orphanage, barring moving to plantations, not once had a code 1000 appeared.

Though you wouldn't have known this without your notebook. What had started as a way to figure out which of the children might actually notice your existence had turned into a habit with no real purpose. Perhaps it felt better to write down your thoughts than being stuck with them.

You had tried to make connections with the others, but since the children looked up to the adults, which were not interested in you at all, solitude seemed better. Especially after your past attempts. Lack of interest didn't mean lack of punishment, as you had found out the hard way. Stable enough compatibility scores were keeping you in, but you weren't sure how much longer that would last. So you had started work on a plan.

While you usually used the library to write down things this time you wanted to stay away from the adults as well. Besides, most of the information in there was useless. Your education was centered around Franxx utilization and some carefully selected extra facts. While you knew, for example, what seas, mountains, hills, etc. were, geography did not include anything akin to a map. So with the library out of usable information you had begun your trips outside, with the intention of making your own.

Moving through the garden you made your way to a tree. Probably the tallest one in the area, right next to the Lab. While being found here would be bad, the fact children were not supposed to be around the lab was quite effective cover. All you needed to do was climb high enough for the branches not to support an adult. Once there you began writing down the progress of the day and sketching the updated map. However, climbing down while glancing at the rooms, caused something to catch your attention. A red blur moving through one of the windows.

Making your way to the pane of glass you looked closer, seeing a small figure in clothing similar to your own. Other than a strange pair of horns she looked rather normal. And distressed, running around the room, clenching something. You knocked on the window, trying to get her attention. With a quick jerk her eyes fixated on you, her pupils contracting, in spite of the dark.

You gave a tentative wave and pointed at her, before mimicking her position. She looked down at the object held against her chest, slowly letting it loose and raising it to the window. It looked like a book of sorts. You smiled and raised your notebook, opening it at a random page. The girl looked at it, rather confused, her head tilting to the side. She then opened her book, showing a picture of a landscape, alongside some text. Your eyes widened, which seemingly pleased her. She flipped to the next page. In response you looked throughout the notebook, flipping it to one of the maps you were creating, which got a much better reaction out of the girl.