Secrets unrivalled - Darling In The Franxx

Part 16 - Trauma

It's the first time they have been all together at the table. They were supposed to have a meal yesterday but the nines were busy with house duties.
The table is surprisingly quiet. The sounds of the cutlery clashing against the glass plates And food being chewed. They're having fish from the lake (Zero Two caught it) with a side of potatoes and carrots. It's the first real meal they've had in a while.

"It's good to have everyone back together" says Ichigo as she places her fork and knife in a X shape on her plate.

She lifts up her glass filled with a reddish coloured drink (wine)

"A toast to the new member of our family Ai! And a welcome back to our dearest friend, Hiro!"

Everyone else raises their glasses and they clash and clink together.

"It certainly has been a hard few weeks but I'm grateful to every single one of you here"
Says Goro

They finally got the crops to grow, turns out the soil wasn't good enough for food to grow but thanks to Ikuno, they found livable soil where plants and crops can easily grow without fail.

The silence is stagnant across the table.

"So anyone else wanna know what the heck happened with Hiro? I want answers!" Says Nine Alpha

"We don't discuss this here" says Delta

"Than when do we discuss it?! We've been putting it off for days, you'd think by now we'd get some kind of explanation of what happened" yaps Nine

Zero Two frowns and stands up.

"You have no say in this!" She says

"Oh no! I totally didn't risk my entire life to save your sorry asses who couldn't even save a friend! Look at him now! You didn't even save him, you turned him into the same monster you are! The blame is on you, not us!" Says Alpha

"What did you say?!" Zero Two starts storming towards Alpha but Hiro stops her.

"Enough, both of you" he says calmly

Zero Two stares at Hiro with shock. Hiro holds her shirt.

"It's okay, just sit back down, I think it's finally time I said something"

Zero Two sits back Down.

"Thank god, finally getting some damn answers..." Alpha mumbles. Delta nudges him.

"I can understand exactly why you want answers, I mean, if it weren't for me, none of you would be in this situation right now." Hiro says

"I know I've only been awake for 2 days but I feel like I like this life better than it use to be. We aren't forced to put our lives on the line and fight the klaxosaurs, it feels much safer here than it did out there" he continues

"Of course that's just me. I bet some of you really miss home and really miss the only purpose we ever had."

Everyone at the table staring at him, desperate for answers. He sighs and takes a deep breathe.

"About 2 months ago, I was requested to see Dr Franxx over "important" matters. I had little idea what the situations was about. Over the month, the checkups became more frequent and they started taking blood samples from me and I didn't even know why. I tried to ask questions but they'd never answer me, so I was left in the dark".

"Eventually, I had enough of being pricked and played with so I decided I'd run out of the room and try and escape, of course they caught me and started using strategies like chaining me to the chair. A few weeks later Dr Franxx spoke to me personally about his plan. He said he had ambitions for me, he could make me strong and I could easily protect my friends without feeling like a burden. I agreed to this only to find out that he was lying the entire time."

"After a while I started noticing they'd inject this unusual looking blood in me, I instantly knew what it was and asked Dr Franxx about it but he disagreed and said it was to make me stronger. I said I didn't want to do the experiment anymore and was forcefully put on a medication that made me feel tired and like a robot so I wasn't able to resist, I was told that if I spoke to anyone about what they were doing, they'd kill all my friends, so I stayed silent". Hiro says

"So why the sudden outburst in your room?" Says Goro
"Before you left to see Dr Franxx, Zero Two and I saw the state of your room, why was it turned upside down?"

Hiro stares down blankly at the food in front of him.

Nine Alpha let's out a little tch
"We saved a guy that can't even give us a simple answer"

"I'm so sorry" Hiro says as he runs off to his room covering his mouth.

"Darling!" Zero tries to grab at him but he's too fast.

"You idiot! Why would you pressure him!" She storms off after him.

The table is even more awkward from when they first started.

"Well, so much for a happy little get together dinner" says Futoshi as he eats his bread.

—————————

Smashing sounds are heard in Hiro's room, glass breaking and being shattered to the floor. Zero Two comes running in only to find Hiro in the centre of the room crying. Zero Two comes running in and hugs him.

"It's going to be okay! I promise!" She pulls him in tighter

"Don't feel like you have to relive the whole experience again! We can't possibly imagine what you had to endure that whole time"

They're both crying now.

"I just want things to be okay!" He says
"But it's not okay!" He yells

"If I stay here! I'll hurt everyone!"

Zero Two is shocked by Hiro's words. He said this back in the plantation as well.

"Zero Two, I'm..."

"Shhhh" she says as she pulls his head towards her chest.

"Don't say anything" he calms down and seemingly falls asleep in her arms.

Zero Two flips back the turned over bed and places the sheets on top. She carries Hiro into the bed and tucks him in.

"Goodnight my darling" she says as she kisses him.

————————————

(Sorry about the long ass paragraphs in this chapter, they're really important so read them if you already haven't. Decided to do another chapter on the same day, I want to make it up from my hiatus)