Chapter Text
"Jian, the bird that shares wings - species who are born only with one wing, making them unable to fly. Or, well, that is before they find a mate, only then will the two become one and finally have the power to gracefully soar into the infinite sky. Some may call such existence pitiful, and I am no wiser, but there is definitely a kind of beauty to it: spending your days with someone who completes you, gliding through the blue sheets that you couldn't reach alone. But what happens to those who fail to find a partner? That is a fate I thought I would never know,"
Code 041 was looking outside Mistilteinn when a Jian bird awkwardly, but determinedly, flew by: Shuichi noticed that it's sole, a bit injured, wing flapping with all it's might. But, alas, already struggling to create any motion in the air, the creature meets the unmoving glass. Shuichi melachonically looked at the poor bleeding soul running away back to the bushes defeated.
"but turns out my inner demons were right."
Squad 13 was sitting in the living room of Mistilteinn, chatting about something. Making expressive gestures and laughing in his foxy manner, Kokichi was telling Miu something, who reacted emotionally, talking and posing nervously; Kirumi was just done serving everyone their tea, now listening to Gonta; Korekiyo and Angie were sitting quietly: one was observing his teammates, while the other meditated. Only Kaede and Maki were standing by the wall.
Suddenly, Kaito barged into the room, somewhat disturbing the calm atmosphere. "Man, have you seen Shuichi? I checked the house, but he's nowhere to be found!" he said, vaguely addressing the girls near the entrance.
"No, he's been missing the whole morning, he ignores my texts," answered Kaede, looking at her communication device with concern.
"If he wishes to be left alone, I don't see why we shouldn't let him," pshawed Maki, seemingly annoyed at her partner's antics.
"I presume he's too upset about not connecting to Franxx," placing his chin on his hand, suggested Korekiyo. "So interesting."
"Yeah, Shumai is probably looming somewhere wallowing in his sadness!" commented Kokichi, snickering and placing his arms behind his head.
"Kokichi!" said Kaito irritated.
"What?" playfully asked code 057.
"Why is he so beaten up about it anyway?" joined the conversation Miu. "APE has this new robot thingy to test our potential or whatever!"
"Exactly, they don't just throw us away now, they need to take 3 tries, probably boils their blood!" agreed Kokichi, gesturing comically but sharply.
"Well, easy for you to say! We can't know how it is for him and Kaede!" stood up for his friends Kaito.
"Kaito, you really shouldn't-"
"I mean, I can understand: what if it doesn't work?" voiced her thoughts Angie.
"Well, then..." Kaito stuttered.
"Then it gets even easier! "Papa" can take out the trash right away!" continued for him short boy.
Deafening silence fell through the room - nobody wanted to think about failing, let alone talk - sure, failed pilots were simply returned to the kindergarten, but for some reason the thought of it made uneasy feelings in the stomach.
"What, am I wrong?" looking around asked 057.
"You shouldn't reference Papa so disrespectfully, but" began Kirumi, trying to keep her composure. "failed pilots return to the kindergarten for additional training."
"Y-yeah, they would just go back to train more, it isn't scary! And besides, that wouldn't happen, I know they can do it!" found his footing code 510.
"Failing again would be unfortunate, but, whatever happens, I'm sure we can deal with it!" caught friend's enthusiasm Kaede.
"Hmm, yeah, sounds right," have found answer to her question, Angie appeared to be satisfied.
"Waa, okay, you won! Ganged up on me, unfair!" whined Kokichi, clearly bored with the argument, before playfully hugging his partner. "At least I don't have to worry about it! Right, Miu? I can't wait to have the real deal!"
"Huh? The real deal?!" blushing, squealed code 210.
"Argh, why did we argue in the first place? He always manages to get on my nerves!" desparetly exhaled Kaito.
"You are just too dim-witted," answered Maki, who decided to not pay attention to the commotion.
"Hey!"
"I'll go find him," informed Kaede, turning around.
"Ah, do you need help?" proposed 510.
"Nah, thanks," she refused.
Birds were chirping, a cat's quiet meows could be heard, and a shallow wind fumbled the hair. Through the glass ceiling, there were mostly clear skies with the exception of a few clouds very slowly moving their way, a few airships were flying by; some were probably arriving to their recruit welcoming ceremony. Despite taking up such a huge perimetre, Mistilteinn seemed to be quite small: a chunk of nature and parasites, surrounded by endless desert. But they really should be gratefull - animals, plants, fresh air, and all their needs are met by invisible helpers - everything to make them feel at home; they had it at the kindergarten, but that felt different, more supervised. Walking on the trope, looking around at the scenery, there were only so many places where Shuichi could be. He seemed to be favouring the lake they had and, by the sounds of splashing water, indeed, there he was: code 041 wasn't exactly known for his unpredictability.
"Hey," Kaede said, sitting next to the boy and looking him in the eyes.
"Aah!" he flinched, startled, before realizing the situation. "Ah, it's just you. You scared me!"
"Well, you scared me way more!" feignedly said code 333, showing him the text screen.
"Ah, o-oh, sorry about that..." apologized the brunette awkwardly, hiding his face under his hat: it was an item of their official ceremonial uniform, but, for some reason, he found comfort in it.
"Tch," Kaede relaxed a bit, making her position more comfortable. "What are you doing here anyway?"
"Just... throwing rocks, I guess..." indefinitely said the boy, picking up and releasing another rock as sort of an example, which bounced off of the water a couple of times, creating captivating circles, before inevetiably sinking; reflections of the maybe-parasytes flowing like in a distorting mirror.
After silently watching the boulder bounce, the blonde began, "Look, I know it's hard, I'm in it too, but..."
Shuichi sat still, not saying anything, but listening to what she had to say.
"i just don't think isolating yourself and keeping everything in, swallowing you slowly, is a good idea... And we all worry about you..."
"Especially Kokichi, I assume," half-smiling commented Shuichi.
"He does care, in his own way," Kaede said.
"Perhaps," let it that 041. "I know that isn't good for me, but I can't just bring myself to be like you or Kaito..."
"You know, maybe I should leave now and don't waste anyone's time..." he continued after a pause.
"What are you saying?!" protested Kaede, shaking him lightly by the shoulders. "Shuichi, don't think like that, you're not wasting anyone's time! Everything will be alright, okay?"
"...Y-yeah, okay," he looked somewhere below the girl's face. "I'm sorry, you are also like me, how are you holding up?"
Letting out still worried, but less so, sigh, she replied, "Don't think that I'm doing much better than you: its natural to feel off in this situation. In general, fine, I guess. I mean, of course, Its hard, but I believe that, no matter what, everything will make sense somehow and we'll make it through!"
Kaede stood up, shaking off the dirt off her clothes, then reached her hand to her friend, "So, how about it? Let's go, the ceremony will start soon!"
"Mhm, okay, I don't know where you get this optimism from, but its better to see it to the end," smiling more reassuringly, Shuichi took her hand, getting up. "I wanted to see everyone's proud faces anyway"
"They get so excited in official uniforms," laughed a bit 333.
"And, Kaede... thank you."
The place where the ceremony was held was truly impressive and gorgeous: a huge stadium with, covered in royal red color, floor, as well as some other parts; the rest was white, which, while not particularly original, surely created a sense of space and importance; a couple of big posters with different emblemas printed were hanging everywhere; all the seats were taken by adults, interestedly watching the parasytes and in the middle; behind a tall chair, there was a Dad himself, giving the big speech; - in general, the place was pretty minimalistic, but it still managed to give an impression. And the centre of attention, a newly founded squad of parasites, of course, were all standing in line, enjoying all the attention in their uniforms, which made them seem both more solid and childish. They were divided into pairs, connected with rings: without each other they didn't matter that much, only a code, but together they could be useful, form a powerful weapon to protect adults. And, to solidify it, the only teammates missing from the picture were codes 333 and 041, who were put aside on a balcony, too far for anyone to notice.
The view might not be the best in the world: everyone looked so small and Dad's speech came in parts, but they could see their friends graduate, how proud of them everyone seemed, and that is already worth something.
"Even if we couldn't attend the ceremony like that, I'm happy to see them graduate," said Kaede, leaning on bumpers with her arms, balancing her head in her palms.
Withous us
"Yeah, such a beautiful scenery," said Shuichi, slightly leaning on bumpers with one of his arms.
"And they managed to give us a place on this balcony - a bit far for my taste though," she continued.
They are ashamed of us
"Well, it's just us here - a private spot!" he noticed.
"We're pretty much VIPs! But, honestly, the main focus shouldn't be ceremonies - we gotta protect adults, right?" said 333, standing straight and holding her hand against her chest, turning to her friend.
If we're able to...
"That is the goal," agreed 041. "Hey, I, uh, need to go to bathroom, you watch the graduation for me."
"Oh, okay, don't get lost," jokingly said Kaede, before Shuichi left.
Closing the door behind him, he didn't move, standing in place, covering with his palm where his heart supposedly was, breathing heavily, swallowing air. Then he stopped, letting out a sigh, face showing no expression. He started walking, casually but somehow weirdly, as if there was nothing in the head of his, but, by all means, there was, there was a lot in his head. The plantation was huge, with rooms, floors, stairs - much like one big maze and pretty empty, with only guards in some places. But, despite the complexity, it seemed Shuichi knew where he was going, passing a door by door, looking straight ahead.
"Positive impulse wasn't found. Factor P is lowering. The signal wasn't found"
Sharp gasps filled the cabin, mixed with the partially vaporizing wetness of sweat and tears, the saltiness of which was the last problem on the pilots' minds. How long were they here? It felt like a never-ending nightmare they couldn't wake up from. It wasn't supposed to go this way. They showed so much promise. So why? Code 041's hands were holding the controls like for dear life, even though the sweat had managed to move past the gloves and nervous shaking had taken over his arms. His gaze followed from ventilating Kaede to his squad: the pale faces they made were utterly terrifying - so gloomy, so scared, so full of despair. No, it isn't over! Right? It can't be! They can't fail!
Kaede was on the edge of her power, but she wasn't the one to give up.
"It will be better without me"
They couldn't see each other's faces, which was both worrisome and comforting in a way, but even then it was obvious neither were doing great. Since they could remember, they were attached at the hip, so why? Isn't one of the most important thing when operating a Franxx closure with your partner? All it did was make them feel so much worse - not only a disappointment to themselves, but the other person they had known for many years.
The same cold voice echoed through the room, "Signal wasn't found. Try number 6."
He stepped onto an elevator, walking.
"A disappointment, a failure, so many years on someone like me"
They didn't know how much longer they could keep up or how many chances they had left. The strength was leaving their bodies as they begged for it to stay just a little while longer.
"Code 333 and code 041 - failed."
Leaving the cabin felt like leaving life itself - before they all take their places, everybody tells each other that they will do it with utter confidence, because they'll likely will. But there will always be those who couldn't, right? Silence filled the room, or, even if there was noise, Shuichi couldn't hear it over his racing incoherent thoughts. Still not having a tight grip on time, he wasn't aware if it was seconds or hours, before they were asked to exit the machine.
The first floor was reached!
"Nobody needs to see another reminder of my uselessness"
The outside was littered with balconies and platforms: didn't feel safe, didn't look the prettiest either, but they accomplished their tasks. Among the jungle of what seemed to be metal, Shuichi knew the exact one he needed, walking in a quiet atmosphere, the only sounds being of his own feet, the muffled noise of the ceremony and some machinery. Finally reaching the end of the road, he stopped, facing the great lands of sand along with departing plants.
"Ah, another one?" questioned the guard. "Hey, what's your code?"
"041. Code 041."
"Okay, the next plant should be here soon," an adult informed.
The wind ruffled the boy's hair a bit as he was standing, full-headed and at the same time dull - his world was falling at the seems and he only helped the motion. He decided that it's probably okay. A few minutes passed and his transport arrived.
"Aren't you supposed to have your stuff with you?" the guard asked.
"I don't need anything," he answered, stepping on a little platform.
There wasn't much inside, just an empty space with a handrail. This is it, he is going away, away from his friends, the life he knew, the life he never got to know, but that's for the better, everybody will be happier, and Kaede, she will find a way, a new partner, nobody really needs him. Yeah.
"Code 041?" a new voice appeared; turning his head, Shuichi saw a short robot with white hair, trimmed to the side; they were looking at him with big blue eyes and a neutral expression - a new Franxx technology?
"Yes"
"The Recruit Welcoming Ceremony is over and nobody knew where you were, so they send me to search. It's time for tests," they explained.
"Ah," freezing in place, opening and closing his mouth akin to a fish in an unability to find the words, Shuichi then moved from the pod in yet another on-the-spot decision.
"Okay."
"Wait, you aren't supposed to leave?! What did you think you were doing?! Never come here again unless you were sent!" furiously nagged the guard, swearing to himself to always check everything from this point forward.
"Apologies for the confusion, APE will try to avoid such situations in the future," said the robot, bowing to the mumbling adult.
With that, they turned around and walked back to the main part of the plantation. The robot wasn't saying a word, neither was Shuichi. His mind was blank, he didn't have a clear answer to why he was doing his little plan or why he stopped, maybe the mundane and the end of the ceremony brought him back to Earth. He's still not sure about everything, but for now he'll try to just go with the flow.
"You aren't supposed to leave without permission or an order," broke the silence tester, while they entered the building.
"O-oh, yeah, sorry," apologised code 041, not knowing if it really meant anything. "Please, don't tell anyone."
"I'm working in accordance with the protocol," they cut. "You technically didn't leave the plantation, so I won't report that, but I need to inform about parasite's self-destructive behavior"
"R-right," he said, guessing he was going to be in big trouble, but it's too late to run now.
The walk was tidiously long and he could only think of what awaited him at the end of it: he had an excuse to his crewmates, though a weak one, so he hoped they would just go with it, Hachi will probably be furious, but besides everyone, the tests will begin, that's why his companion is here. So that's how those robots look: to be honest, he expected something more machine-like, but this is better - would feel more natural; Shuichi also didn't expect them to be quite short - not the shortest he has seen, but still. Overall, the design seems pretty elegant. Every capable parasite can connect with them. Would he really be able to connect with them? Shuichi didn't know if he could survive another failure, especially in these circumstances.
They finally reached Mistilteinn, only door separating him and reality. Well, whatever goes.
"I found code 041," announced the robot, walking in.
"Shuichi!!" screamed Kaede, hugging her friend tightly. "Where were you?! You got us worried!"
"Yeah, ya got Kaediot and big dumbass really worked up and we had to listen to aalll of it! I think the latter is still somewhere searching!" whined Kokichi.
"Oh, uh, I'm very sorry, I... got lost," putting his hand behind his head, he claimed.
"Shuichi! I was joking!" facepalmed code 333. "Don't scare me like that again!"
"Hah, y-yeah, alright," agreed code 041.
Coming back defeated was code 510, "Well, guys, I don't know where he could... Shuichi?!"
"Kaito, we already figured everything out!" Kokichi explained.
Everybody laughed, the rest of the team greeted him and started sharing their ceremony experience; the mood slowly but surely lit up, Shuichi was relieved that at least that was going well. Though, in peripheral vision, he could see his companion saying something to Nana, who he learned was their caretaker from now on, quietly, to which she responded with a not-very-reassuring face, before collecting herself and approaching the parasites closer.
"Alright, everybody, we are all happy about the graduation and, khm, code 041 returning," she started, trying to get attention. "But as you may know, some of you didn't connect and were assigned an additional test. We should proceed to the testing grounds."
"Right now?! And I wanted to eat!" said code 057.
"Shut up, I'm invested!" refuted his partner.
"Everything in time, young parasite," said Nana, leading to Kokichi mockingly repeating her words.
The testing grounds haven't changed one bit from last time, collecting dust and memories. Suddenly, it was cold. Shuichi was scared, very, the chill was flowing back and forth from his feet to his head, he could still hear the monotone voice, faces of his teammates, Kaede. Kaede, right now she didn't look much better than him: at times she would breath in and out, but it wasn't helping; she gave him so much.
Shuichi took Kaede's hand in a comforting gesture. She turned to him, slightly surprised, then smiling a soft unsure smile.
Nana, Hachi and the tester were standing in front of the group.
"Okay, firstly, we gotta introduce to you testing robot, a new Franxx technology to determine your potential. If a child is able to operate a Franxx in any capacity, they will connect with them. There is a shortage of parasites, so Dad decided to give rejected ones a second chance, a hope. Their name is Kiibo, they can be a pistil or a stamen," introduced Nana.
"It will go almost exactly like the initial test: you will go one at a time and try to connect. If you succeed, we will search for a new partner, there will be three tries. If you fail with Kiibo or all of the three partners, you will not be considered a parasite," explained the rules Hachi. "Understood?"
"Yes, sir!" silmutaniously answered troubled children.
"Alright then, code 333, you go first," Hachi said, going to the monitors with Nana.
"Welp, it's time, I guess," nervously laughed Kaede, slowly letting go of Shuichi's hand.
"Good luck, you'll do it!" he reassured her.
"Mhm, thank you," she said, moving to the cabin.
Stopping for a moment before entering the make-believe Franxx, Kaede nodded to herself and smiled. Kiibo checked their uniform, then following code 333 into the cabin.
Then they were readily waiting for the start.
"Project Hope: code 333 and Kiibo, begin the trial," instructed Nana.
There comes a moment of truth. Shuichi was the most visibly worried, but even a glance could reveal the rest of the team watching, frozen in place, smiles changing into serious concerned faces. But the main part of this spectacle was Kaede, who furrowed her brows, concetrating on the Franxx and trying to not let distracting emotions in - if she fails now, this is game over.
Kiibo takes the controls, starting the mission. Good several seconds pass before sounds indicating how well the process is going are heard.
3 - everybody tensed up, Kaede breathes in.
2 - Kiibo moves the controls, Kaede breathes out.
1 - connection began, tester's bar filling almost instantly.
"Code 333 and Kiibo, connection successful, trial successful, you may disconnect"
Everybody sighs of relief, cheerful expressions returning to them. Kaede disconnects from Franxx, pulling her hands up in victory, before leaving the cabin and walking up to the cheering crowd.
"You did it!" exclaimed Shuichi, pulling her into a hug.
"Shuichi, you're gonna choke me!"
"Yes, you go girl!" cheered Kaito, patting her on the back.
"I'm most relieved and happy for you, Kaede," said Kirumi.
"Sheesh, you all thought she could fail? I never had a doubt!" snickered Kokichi.
Everybody came forward to congratulate the new parasite, hugging and laughing. But the relief was short-lived as there were two of them.
"Alright, squad 13, it's not over yet," started Hachi, trying to gather attention. "Code 041, it's your turn."
"Yes, sir," Shuichi felt his heart stop and restart with full speed. The team stopped cheering, looking worringly at their friend.
"Hey, Shuichi," Kaede placed her hand on his shoulder. "You got this, okay? Don't overthink it, just do what you normally would. I managed, and you're in the fiftieth codes, it just has to work! We believe in you and you believe in yourself!"
"Don't sweat it!" smiled a confident smile Kaito, occupying his other shoulder.
"You made a whole spectacle about it. If you fail, I'll lock you in this Franxx until you succeed," comforted him Maki as she could.
"Hah... Thank you, everybody. I'll... try my best," he was still unfathomably anxious, but, with his friends' support, the tremble in his body didn't feel as bad. "Here we go."
Looking back at his squad, who looked tense, but still smiled at him, except Kokichi, who did his best to show how absolutely bored he was and Miu, who couldn't bring herself to smile, Shuichi felt a bit better - no matter how it will go, he's glad to have known such a bunch and at least he tried. After collecting himself and calming his heartbeat to the highest of his abilities, code 041 entered the machine, sitting in a pilot's seat. He awaited Kiibo, who added a headset pistils wear to their costume. Finishing up with the uniform, they entered the cabin.
"Good luck, code 041," they said calmly, before lying on the pistils seat.
"Ah, thank you," said Shuichi, almost saying "you too", but remembering they can't really fail. Unlike him. Maybe it's him trying to enjoy his last moments, but they seemed really pretty to him. Unlike- okay, some people actually told him he looked not bad.
"Project Hope: code 041 and Kiibo, begin the trial"
Okay, time to get mind in the right place. Shuichi shook his head and sighed heavily. Glancing at Kaede and the others one last time, he refocused and took the controls. His hands were shaky, sweaty, but he tried to be at least somewhat confident. Now or probably never. It should be easy in theory, right?
He watched as Kiibo's bar went up to the top. Shuichi started to connect. First what he noticed was that it felt easier, which is unsurprising, but is certainly relieving. Considering his partner's nature, he wasn't sure whether he had to experience something, but if he had to describe the process, Kiibo's mind felt calm, not much, just calm welcoming energy. But that's no time to relax. As he moved his gaze to the connection metre, he noticed that his was pretty high, not enough, but higher than he had produced before, which gave him assurance. Well, it's time to push through!
...The line didn't budge.
Let's try harder!
...Line was still.
Another try!
No changes.
Again!
The metre didn't show a gimpse of progress. No, it can't be, it has to work, everything was perfect! Panic and anxiety filled Shuichi's mind, his hands frantically twitching the controls. In his head, he unconsciously counted the seconds before the verdict, he didn't want the possibility of the incident happening again.
As he heard the first note of Nana's voice, he froze. "Impulse wasn't found, connection failed"
Failed... Well, what was he expecting? He knew how it would go. Theatrics over.
"Trying again"
Huh, another try? Right, it was the same with Kaede, they fought for a pretty long while, before deemed insufficient - he just thought it was different this time. The feeling of being incapable was sitting deep in him now, but giving up now was disrespectful to everyone: Kaede, his teammates, Nana, Hachi, Papa and, mainly, himself. And Kiibo - they might be just a testing robot, but at this time they are his partner. He fidged the controls, signaling another try.
Metre filled up as it was. Setting a serious focused mindset, he used all of his remaining power. Line changed a bit - it was higher on one! Shuichi felt like an energy covered him, it was so close!
Three. Two. One. There goes!
Nothing. An unchanged line stared at Shuichi back.
"Impulse not found, connection failed. Trying again."
Shuichi's heart filled up with a dark viscous feeling called despair. All for nothing. Dad, why was he even alive? Code 041 served no purpose, he wasn't worthy of a name, even a number. At kindergarten, they put so much effort into him - they thought he was special - code 041, pretty impressive. Their kindergarten was a bit special too, Kaede gave everyone names, she could have given it to someone else, someone worthy. Feeling numb, like an empty wrapper, like just another number they will have to cross out, code 041 pulled on controls.
Nothing, nothing changed. He started crying; he didn't mean to, but tears were rolling on their own. It was the end, he closed his eyes, not bearing to witness neither the metre nor his team.
"I'm sorry..." 041 didn't know where the voice came from; he tried to remember whose voice sounded like that and found a match with... Kiibo? Well, they were almost connected after all. But why? It was him who should be sorry - they can sync with anybody, their bar is full since second one, it's him who is stuck in one place, unable to move forward, useless. He couldn't find the strength to move his lips, he wasn't sure if his thoughts would transfer to Kiibo, but he wanted to say that it is him that is sorry. Do they even understand? Well, he did hear the apology somehow, and, to be honest, right now code 041 didn't feel more human than them. Why? He had nothing else to do, but attempt to understand his partner. He tried putting himself in Kiibo's shoes: doesn't really feel great, he assumed - you're sitting here, fully connected, unable to fail, symbolising hope, while the person in the back feels nothing but despair, achiving zero progress, preparing for the end and, while code 041 felt like the worst of the worst, he assumed that he probably wasn't the only one who failed, who experienced such devastation - so much for a last hope. Horrible. He felt horrible. They would feel horrible. But he knew it was just a feeling, there wasn't even a bit of blame on them. However, from first hand, code 041 was also aware of how real it seems. And he didn't want to cause this pain again. He wanted them to know the truth: 041 is the one who is responsible for his own demise.
Straightening up, he firmly grabbed the controls - he was going to try his absolute hardest, and if after that he doesn't connect, it's him. He will certainly fail, but he's going to try to make at least one person feel better about it. Not only that: if he just gave up, he couldn't bear to look Kaede or Kaito in the eyes. And Maki - well, she wouldn't let him out of the Franxx anyway, wouldn't she?
He smiled, before giving his best.
"Impulse not found, connection failed. Trying again."
No, he isn't getting out this easily! He didn't know how many tries he had, but they wouldn't see him leave until the very last second!
His face was dripping with sweat, his breathing was heavy, heart pounded at a worrying rate. The concept of time left his mind - it might have been one second or ten minutes, he didn't care.
Nana's voice was heard far away, even though she was relatively close. "Impulse found. Code 041 and Kiibo, connection successful, trial successful, you may disconnect."
Huh? Successful? Code 041 opened his eyes and focused on the metre - it was true, his bar was full. He stared at it with unbridled shock, then letting out a nervous laugh. He did it!
So happy about these news, he didn't even want to disconnect; nonetheless, he couldn't be here all night. Tiredly falling onto the seat, he was calming down, smiling like crazy. Then he finally stood up, followed by Kiibo. He met their eyes, they looked at him like he was some sort of ghost, with a bewildered expression. Code 041 still wasn't sure if what they exchanged was real or he had just completely lost it, but gave them a soft smile anyway.
Leaving the cabin, he threw his hands up in the air like Kaede did, which was met with very loud cheering and overall noise. He couldn't tell if he walked up to them or they walked up to him, but he sure became the centre of attention.
"Shuichi!! Oh stars, we were sick worried, congrats!!!" practically screamed Kaede, pulling him for a hug, tears rolling down her face.
"Dude, you can't believe what we were feeling! I mean, you probably do; you must felt so much more!!" greeted Kaito, also crying and hugging him from the other side.
"Ah, aw, you guys, I'm sorry for getting you worked up! I'm so happy right now!" apologised Shuichi, hugging them back.
"Don't expect a hug from me, but congratulations, I was sure I had to follow up on my threat," said Maki, to which code 041 nodded.
"Getting two bitches hanging from each side, are we?" laughed Miu, whose face was nonetheless tired and red.
"Man, Shumai, you must've seen your face! You looked so dead serious, it was so damn funny!" Kokichi imitated the face Shuichi was allegedly doing.
"Huh, but I didn't hear you laugh, Kokichi," budded in Gonta.
"How could you hear it over your loud crying?" refuted code 057.
"That's a good point," agreed code 543.
"It was admirable how you kept going, I'm happy you made it," congratulated Kirumi.
"Humans' perseverance is truly beautiful," said Korekiyo.
"You did really great and will be rewarded for your hard work," assured Angie.
"Thank you, everybody, I don't think I could've done it without the thought of you," Shuichi said.
After congratulating Shuichi, everyone started sharing their experiences and just talking. Great relief was felt in the group now that this whole thing is over.
"Alright, squad 13, now you're free to go back to the Mistilteinn. Congratulations to new parasites!" said Nana, marching to the exit as well, while typing something in her notebook.
"Finally, I became even more hungry!" cheered Kokichi.
"You are still thinking about food?!" Miu exclaimed, catching the laughter of her teammates, who were happy to hear the familiar bunter of the two.
But, besides food, what all of them, especially Shuichi and Kaede, needed was sleep - such an eventful day invited a great deal of tiredness. Not many thoughts were in 041's head: he was curious about the potential partner he would be introduced to, but today was enough for him to be somewhat more easy-going. He was walking in the back of the crowd, adding something to the general conversation from time to time. Behind them followed the staff in faces of Nana, Hachi and Kiibo.
He noticed the latter approaching him slowly. They faced him, gaining Shuichi's attention; they opened their mouth like they wanted to say something, but struggled to, their expression unsure, in the end they closed it before finally speaking. "...Good job, code 041." their face became the usual calm neutral, then they stepped back to where they were a bit awkwardly, if Shuichi could tell. Kiibo seemed quite interesting to Shuichi, not exactly what he expected from a tester robot.
Shuichi didn't know what his future held, but he would do his best - after all, if he had left that day, he wouldn't have known that he would actually succeed. So, no matter what, he is ready to face whatever comes head on! For himself, for his friends and adults in the city!