Darling In The Franxx (Story Recap)

What It Means To Connect

Sypnosis:
Despite being able to pilot Strelizia with 002, Hiro has no memories of what happened in the cockpit, leading some of his fellow pilots to be skeptical about what really happened, since it is rumored Zero Two is capable of piloting a Franxx on her own. Hiro's fellow pilots are also wary of Zero Two due to her reputation, especially Ichigo who is concerned about Hiro's safety. Meanwhile, the leadership of APE decide to further test Hiro's abilities and instruct him to participate in a mock Franxx battle, though he is forbidden from partnering with Zero Two or using Strelizia. Ichigo volunteers to partner with him in Delphinium. Zorome and Miku volunteer to be their opponents. During the mock battle, Hiro is briefly able to connect with Ichigo and pilot Delphinium, but suddenly loses his connection with her and is unable to restart Delphinium. This breaks Hiro's confidence in himself and leaves Ichigo frustrated that she can't do anything to help Hiro. 

Plot:
Repairs are in midst of being done to the damage sustained by the Klaxosaur. Hirostands with Nana as the squad commence connecting and activate their FRANXX units. He narrates that the startup ritual resumed the day after the klaxosaur attack, except Papa and the other adults weren’t present for the occasion. Hachi orders the connecting phase and all four FRANXX units activate. Hiro says he was told he piloted Strelizia but he has no recollection of anything that happened after he got in. After activating Delphinium, Ichigo looks at Hiro.

In the woods, Hiro buries the dead bird and walks back to the boarding house. Hiro finds Ichigo playing with a cat on the front porch. She tells him that he shouldn’t run off because, as awkward as it feels, Mistilteinn is his home now. She tells him that she heard Naomi was alright and got taken to the hospital. She asks if he was the one piloting Strelizia. He struggles to recall doing so but wants to try again. She says Zero Two is not part of their squad but he replies he doesn’t care. She then adds she heard awful rumors of Zero Two, in which all her partners die after riding three times with her. He remembers her previous partner but he says, without being able to pilot, he's as good as dead anyway. Goro comes through the door and tells Hiro to come in quickly to their mess hall where they see Zero Two pouring honey all over her food, much to Miku’s disgust. Kokoro is amused how much Zero Two loves sweets. Miku calls her a not normal person because of her horns but Ichigo cautions her to act nice because Zero Two saved them before. Ikuno is curious why Zero Two has a code in the single digits while Futoshi remarks she doesn’t look like what the rumors made her out to be and Goro says that her eating habits kill her looks. Zorome boasts he is the best parasite in his squad and offers to partner with Zero Two, who wipes her honey-soaked hand on his uniform, much to his horror. Mitsuru is not interested and simply looks away from Hiro. Zero Two sits next to Hiro, who asks if he did pilot with her. She confirms he did and calls him darling, and the others are confused by the word. Hiro is amazed that he really did pilot a FRANXX. Nana comes in and announces that she'll be their caretaker, just like she was in the Garden, much to the squad’s excitement. Ichigo asks what's happening with Zero Two, and she says they're awaiting orders from HQ on what to do. Hiro asks Zero Two to let him ride in her FRANXX again. Nana, however, says that it's up to Papa and the rest to give him his orders. Nana takes Zero Two away into an elevator near the city where Nana scolds Zero Two for roaming around. Zero Two says she just wanted to have breakfast with Hiro. Nana tells her to avoid contact with the parasites, as they are nowhere near ready for her league. They arrive at the city, which Zero Two says makes her feel suffocated.