It was another splendid day at Plantation 13, Hiro could hear the singing of the forest birds through the window, and it was definitely a good day to be alive. Being lying on the bed full of bandages was definitely annoying, however after such a battle to protect the plantations, it could be said that being alive was a miracle.

Hiro got up from his bed a bit sore, but happy to have done his duty with his squad, and more than anything else, having been able to save her, his partner, Zero Two. It was an unknown sensation for Hiro, to have found the meaning for which to live, a motivation that would lead him to fight with his whole being, and never give up. He felt that right now he was invincible.

There was only one problem ... it had been a couple of days and Hiro had not seen Zero Two since they returned from the last fight, she should have healed already, has something happen to her? Was she OK? These thoughts did not stop worrying Hiro and made him feel uncomfortable, somehow he had already gotten used to hearing the sweet voice of that girl calling him Darling and accompanying him always in his activities.

Hiro decided that today he would look for her. After having promised to fight for her and be her wings, he felt it was his duty as his partner to find her, so after dressing with a lot of effort and with some pain in some limbs, he left the nursing room and began his mission.

Hiro was received with much appreciation by some and with the simple indifference of others after arriving at the dining room, Ichigo and Goro chatted happily with him and Hiro took the opportunity to begin his investigation and find out the location of his partner, but none of Squad 13's members seemed to have an idea of where Zero Two was. This was very problematic since much of his information sources were his squadmates.

Hiro decided to look for the surroundings of the forest, but quickly found failure in his adventure, Zero Two was not there. Hiro tried to looking in the rest of the sectors that he could access, but again he did not find traces of his beloved companion. It was already getting late, almost nightfall, and Hiro had to return to the parasites' rooms without even seeing the beautiful pink hair of his companion. He was not at all happy with this situation, he felt a strange sensation in his chest, an annoying feeling, that showed no signs of disappearing, and worsened with every thought he had of Zero Two. This could not continue… Hiro could not afford to lose Zero Two, now that he was someone so important to him.

Hiro knew very well the rules of the house, the men were forbidden to enter the women's sector, but Hiro had had enough, right now the only thing that mattered was finding Zero Two. Courage and being as quiet as possible, I entered the room of the girls, and stopped in front of the door of 02, it was too late in the night to announce his presence before entering, so he entered quickly taking care not to do any noise. The room was prepared for 1 occupant, bed to the right, closet in the middle, and furniture scattered throughout the rest of the room, this was Zero Two's room. Hiro could barely see with the faint light coming in from the window, but it could be seen that the bed was empty. There were no more options, Hiro did not know what to do, and his chest was about to sink from the vacuum he felt in him until suddenly...

- "You took longer than I expected ... Darling"

The slender silhouette of the horned girl fell from the darkness of the roof and landed directly on Hiro, laying him on his back and settling on him preventing him from getting up.

- "Zero Two! Where have you been all this time?"

- "Waiting for you to find me Darling, you really took your time"

02 released a bit of the grip she had on Hiro and released him, leaving him to stand but turning her back to him to look at the light that came through the window.

- "I was worried 02; I really thought something had happened to you, why were you hiding from me?"

02 turned her forehead towards Hiro and approached him with a mischievous smile on her face

- "You felt that you would not see me again Darling? That you had lost me forever? That you would be alone from now on? How did you feel?

- "So it was another one of your games to provoke me huh? If you really have to know 02, the thought of losing you did not feel good at all, please don't do it again!

While Hiro answered with intensity, Zero Two caressed his chest in random places, like a girl interested in the fabric of his uniform

- "Hmmmm so you were worried about me Darling? That is very good"

- "What do you mean it is ver..."

Suddenly 02 began to corner Hiro against the wall, until finally catching him placing his hands against the wall and looking at him with her beautiful green eyes directly at Hiro's and with a serious expression on his face.

- "You know Darling, you never know when we could die, only the strong can live, and there may come a day when something stronger than me shows up and I cannot defeat it, what do you think would happen then Darling?

- "Of course I would give everything of myself to protect you 02, why would you ask something ..."

- "But can you be strong enough?"

Zero Two grabbed hiro by the hands and slammed them against the wall, holding them in place while also positioning her body to be an obstacle that hiro could not move. Then leaning her head towards Hiro's face she began to move her horns in a menacing way.

- "Can you be strong enough to protect a monster? Don't my horns remind you that im not human and I'm much stronger than any hu ... "

Suddenly 02 lost her balance, but wait a second, she did not lose her balance, she was MOVED ASIDE by an incredible force, 02's body was displaced from being the one trapping Hiro, to being the one BEING trapped against the wall, even thought it took incredible strength to break her poise, her back gently hit the wall and she was left standing there, confused as to the new situation she was now in. Hiro was right in front of her, looking down at the floor and then slowly raising his gaze until she met 02's surprised eyes.

- "your horns? Your horns are the most beautiful I've seen in my life, they are so bright and stand out among your adorable hair that I can barely resist resisting touching them ...

"protect a monster?, if you're going to insist on considering yourself one, then I'll have to be one to protect you.

Hiro started to raise hir hands and placed them against the wall, capturing 02 just like she did in the past

- "I will never let anything hurt you"

Hiro approached his face more and more while 02 was lost in the situation, captured, without escape, being bombarded by words and the proximity of Hiro, she was not in control of the situation.

- "I will never leave you"

- "I will never let anything take you away from me, Zero Two"

Right now Hiro and 02 were face to face, seeing each other's eyes, when suddenly CRACK the sound of wood breaking, the wall broke behind the palms of Hiro, letting his hands slide into 2 small holes

- "Wow, I still have trouble controlling this power ..."

Hiro noticed that now he was actually touching 02s nose with his own, they could not possibly be closer to each other than this.

- "Darling ..."

02 eyes were trembling, this was an unknown feeling to her, depending entirely on the actions of someone else, not being in control, having someone she could rely on. This feeling made 02 ... happy.

- "Zero Two ..."

Hiro's heart was racing, the girl he had pledged his life to protect was right in front of him, in her most vulnerable state, with shining eyes, blushed cheeks and an expression that denoted the happiness that ran through her body, Hiro's body moved on his own, gently grabbing 02's waist, he pulled her closer to him while with his other hand he caressed 02's cheek, with a sense of purpose, Hiro's lips charged forward and passionately locked themselves with 02's expectant lips into an intimate kiss ... a kiss that connected their souls ... a kiss that connected their fates ... a kiss that connected their love.