As long as you live... Nothing else matters.

The next morning

The group was preparing a wedding ceremony and Zerotwo was in a bad mood because it wasn't for her but Kokoro and Mitsuru. Hiro was helpless and told her that he would make an even bigger one for her with much more people. He even promised.

She told him if he didn't he could forget about even holding hands, sending a cold sweat down his back.

Hiro put all the food seeds and flower pods into a sac and kept them for later, a good parting gift... He hummed to himself and prepared one more gift for Goro specifically.

He looked up and jumped up to the balcony, startling Zorome and Futoshi. They could jump high too, but not as high as Hiro. Speaking of Futoshi, the fatty had really become a muscle man. His fat was thrown away and exchanged with pure muscle. He looked like a big bear with muscles everywhere.

It was kinda scary actually.

Hiro opened the door and walked into the room, taking a chair and blocking the door from the inside. He turned around and looked at Ikuno, who was laying on the bed. He knocked on the bed frame and said "Hey! What are you lazing around here for?"

She said "What do you care?" Hiro leaned over into the bed and said with a grin "Upset because of what I said yesterday?" she was silent and he added "Just because you like girls doesn't mean its IMPOSSIBLE..." she snapped her head to him and said "What are you talking about!?" she was hyperventilating, not having a good time.

Hiro chuckled and took her glasses, putting them on himself and stumbling around as he said "Fuck! Are you legally blind!? What the fuck prescription are these!?" he tripped over a ladder and slammed into the ground.

Ikuno was stunned before giggling. Hiro got up and snorted, patting his clothes and saying "Hmph! Hmph!" she laughed and he smiled slightly saying "You don't have to be upset because you're attracted to girls. Your not broken or whatever, at least you don't think you're a guy. Then you would have a mental condition known as Gender Dysphoria."

She said in confusion "Gender Dysphoria?" Hiro nodded saying "The psychological illness where an individual believes they are truly a different gender from the one their body is. For example: You are a girl, but in that case you would believe yourself to be a boy on the inside. It's very strange and very dangerous."

She tilted her head "Dangerous?" he nodded replying "Suicide rates for Gender Dysphoria sufferers is as high as 67% Anyway, you don't have to worry about that. You don't display the signs or symptoms of Gender Dysphoria, you just like girls. Now what do we do about this..."

She said quickly "You.. You won't tell the others will you!?" Hiro shook his head and said "Of course not. Why would I do that?" though he did remember once upon a time where we was ready to throw Ikuno under the bus to Dr. Franxx. Hais... Times really change.

He actually liked Ikuno, she was quiet, smart, and knew when and when not to talk.

He sat down and held his chin, crossing his legs as he looked at her. She said nervously "So then..." Hiro said "If given the chance would you like to be a Male?" she jumped and said "No! Nononononono." while waving her hands quickly.

He sighed and muttered "Artificial insemination it is..." he had prepared just in case and took out a book and a small sack. He said "Hide these. Inside the sack is a bunch of pills... Don't take them until everything is over, there's instructions inside, but I much prefer if you wait to open it until everything is done. As for the book... You could say I'm grooming you. It's a complete recollection of my Medical knowledge, as well as a little extra just for you."

He patted her head and returned her glasses before standing on the railing in the balcony saying "You're not the only one, Ikuno. A lot of people are like you, there are even boys that are the same but opposite gender. Don't feel too bad about this, it's not something you can control." he looked over his shoulder and gave her a 'Zerotwo' grin before jumping off.

Ikuno looked at the gifts in a daze, she was much smarter than the rest. She looked at the window and muttered "Where are you going, Hiro..."

That night

Hiro walked into Zerotwo's room to see her hyperventilating on the floor. He walked over and pulled her into his chest, sitting on the floor as he soothed softly "It's okay... Nobody can hurt you when I'm here. Not the dead Stamens, not the Klaxosaurs, not VIRM, not anybody." she woke up and found herself in Hiro's arms.

She heard his voice in her visions, everything melted away when he called on them, leaving the only thing to be Hiro, standing in front of her, holding up the giant hand from crushing her.

She clutched his shirt and said nothing, just falling asleep in his arms with a warm smile.

The next day

Hiro was sitting in a chair outside as Kokoro and Mitsuru were getting married on a stand with Futoshi as the priest. Zerotwo hand her hands together with a sweet smile, Hiro leaned back in his chair with his hands behind his head as he said "Futoshi. Hurry up."

Ichigo said "Rude." Hiro said "If you don't hurry up, you won't have a chance. After all... Hehe~ They're here already." Zerotwo frowned and Futoshi said "Seal your vows with a kiss!" Kokoro and Mitsuru kissed and the doors to the backyard from the Residence were kicked open and dozens of armed men appeared surrounding Squad 13.

Hiro leaned back in his chair and whistled as 25 guards had their guns of him alone. He cracked a smirk and said "So much attention? I'll blush~" the men said "Surrender or die!" Hiro rolled his eyes and said "Do I look like I'm moving jackass? Just take who you came for and scram."

They took Mitsuru and Kokoro, everybody looked at Hiro saying "What's going on?!" Hiro said "The doggies returned to their master with the knowledge of the book. Obviously reproduction and weddings are taboo. So they're being taken away."

Mitsuru roared "This isn't fair!" before getting knocked out with the butt of a gun stock.

Hiro's voice rang "Life's not fair. This is the reality of those with no power. I tried to prevent this but alas... Someone got in the way." Ichigo was having a mental breakdown and started crying, everyone glanced at her with cold eyes before looking away, ignoring her.

Goro sighed and cleaned his glasses.

Hiro dug into his coat and red dots lit up his body. He chuckled "Relax. So tense~ I'm just getting a cigarette." he took out a cigarette and lit it, exhaling a mouthful of smoke and humming to himself, not worried at all.

Futoshi said "Aren't you going to do something?!" before getting smashed to the ground by the armed men. Hiro said "Nope. I said I wouldn't interfere." he turned his eyes and said "You remember, don't you, 015?"

Complete mental collapse.

Hiro snorted and the armed men left with Mitsuru and Kokoro, the 9s smiled and left with them. The only people left were the rest of Squad 13 and Hachi, who watched everything happen. The group was brought back inside and told to pack up their stuff as they were going to the Parasite camp.

The next day

They were all on a transport ship, flying to the Parasite camp.

Hiro roamed around the ship before coming across a door. He opened the door and saw a listless Nana inside a small room. He walked inside and said "Do you remember what I told you? What's the point of staying like this." he sighed and added "You're needed for the next generation of Humans."

She didn't respond and Hiro's finger glowed white. He pressed on her forehead and her entire body flashed white, she held her head in pain at the resurging memories and emotions. Hiro hummed to himself "So all at once is painful... Good to know..." he turned around and left her in the room with her memories and emotions returned to her.

He mainly used her for a test, after all, Mitsuru and Kokoro were going to get their little memories erased, that won't do. Isn't this too sad? He didn't like sad things, he much preferred happy things.

He walked back to the group, who were all listless and silent. He smiled to himself and looked out the windows, everything was under control. He was getting closer to Strelizia, he scratched his neck as he watched the scenery change.

His hand was slapped away and he turned to see Zerotwo next to him. She stood by his side and said "You can fix it?" He smiled "No need to worry." she was silent for a moment before replying "Is that why you didn't do anything?"

He turned to the window and said softly "Everything I do is with your safety in mind. Even if I have to sacrifice others to keep you alive, I will. I want you to know that in the face of everything, only you are my top priority. The rest is only by convenience."

He paused for a moment before adding quietly "I hope you're not mad at me..." she replied gently "How can I stay mad... All you care about is me. I could feel how tense you were... if anybody even stretched a hand towards me they would've died..."

He was silent and she looked at him saying "Am I worth destroying the world for?" Hiro said without hesitation "Absolutely." she really didn't know what to say, despite expecting that answer. She looked down and held his hand, caressing the red ring on his finger as she said gently "You're such a fool..."

He replied "Even so. As long as you live, nothing else matters." she hummed and leaned her head on his shoulder, watching the clouds pass by in the window silently.