Title: For You

Summary: With their memories erased, Kokoro and Mitsuru's only visible connection to each other are the rings on their fingers. Things begin to change when one of them starts seeing glimpses of their true past. KokoroXMitsuru spoilers up to episode 19

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters.

Don't Don't

Please don't cry

You really should have seen it coming

Open your eyes

Your dying to pick all the pieces up

Well I don't

You make me wanna rip my heart out

For You

For some reason she felt incredibly depressed.

She was back at Mistilteinn, in the greenhouse where she usually mulled over her thoughts and feelings, finding peace amongst the flowers. The sun was setting in the distance, but her eyes were fixated on a bundle of light purple lilacs she had been taking care of.

Her hand was grasping a doll; one she was faintly familiar with. The reason behind its creation was still unclear to Kokoro, but she held onto the doll tightly.

Whatever had been building inside of Kokoro seemed to erupt as she began to shake. The shaking morphed into sniffling, which eventually turned to her crying violently. Her knees hit the ground almost painfully, but she didn't care. Her free hand came up to grasp the collar of her uniform in anguish.

She wasn't sure the reason behind her agony, but she could feel her heart breaking painfully in her chest. The burning sensation that traveled through her body was numbing as she let the grief consume her.

Her violent sobs filled the greenhouse. In that moment she felt incredibly alone, like she was sinking slowly into a pit of darkness that she couldn't claw her way out of. She folded into herself, wishing the pain would end as she clutched her doll to her chest.

After what seemed like an eternity, a comforting hand soothingly caressed her back in circles. Kokoro felt her body calm in reflex, enjoying the feel of the hand moving to hug her from behind. She could feel someone rest their head on her shoulder, placing soothing kisses from her neck up to her cheek, moving her long hair carefully out of their way.

Her back was pressed against a warm, hard chest, that was rocking back and forth with her tenderly, trying to relieve even a little of her agony.

Sobbing turned to sniffles, then eventually to silent tears until even they seemed to slow. Her body slumped back into the hard chest that supported her, the careful rocking never ceasing. She felt herself almost being lulled to sleep as her eyes became heavy.

In the moments before she felt as though she would slip off into oblivion, Kokoro turned her head to peer at her source of comfort and solace.

Deep green eyes greeted her, the slightly familiar face that seemed so oddly out of place now was graced with a kindhearted smile, one she had never seen before. In all of her memories of him, although few, he had never shown such emotions on his face.

And the way he looked at her…

Mitsuru…

With a jolt, Kokoro shot up from her sleeping futon, breathing heavily. She glanced amongst her teammates who were scattered around their room, all in a deep sleep. Her eyes landed on boy that had been in her dream.

He was on his side, turned away from all of them, making no sound. She stared, eyes remaining on his form until she noticed the slight rise and fall of the blanket on top of him. He too must still be sleeping.

Silently, she moved the blanket off of her and tiptoed out of their sleeping quarters. Her head was throbbing faintly and she felt a little nauseous. Making her way to the bathroom, Kokoro made sure her footsteps were light, not wanting to alert anyone of her absence or raise attention towards her.

The communal bathrooms were located in the middle of the hallway on their floor. By the time she reached the entrance, her stomach gave a slight lurch and she rushed for the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach. She hated the burning sensation in her throat, and when she was sure she had nothing left to throw up, Kokoro staggered to the sink and rinsed her mouth out.

She couldn't remember the last time she had thrown up. Was it when she was still at Garden? All those years ago? She was just a child then and had eaten something that didn't sit right in her stomach.

These days however, she was eating much of the same meals over and over and had not had a strong reaction. Was she getting sick? She hadn't heard anything about a stomach bug amongst the other parasites.

She looked at her pale reflection in the mirror, the color had most definitely drained from her face. Something wasn't totally right, and Kokoro began to feel a tinge of fear. How could she be getting sick when Papa had brought her back to her squad to complete their final mission? He was counting on all of them to be able to fight and achieve his dream.

Splashing her face with water, Kokoro breathed deeply and looked at her reflection once again. Her eyes roamed her own face, taking a mental note that she needed to be more careful and to eat as many fruits and vegetables as she could within the next couple of days. She need to be strong, she needed to be able to fight.

There was no way she was going to let Papa down after he had so graciously given her a second chance.

"Doctor," greeted the taller, and younger commander.

The old man, who was basically half a robot, turned to look at the stoic adult. His manufactured eye observing the short haired man closely, retaining the various information it had picked up. "Where is Nana?"

A hint of confusion graced Hachi's face. "I have sent Nana to explain the drill to Squad 13. She's-"

"You know of which Nana I'm talking about," he sharply cut him off.

Hachi grit his teeth. "She's being kept separated from the population."

The doctor released an unsurprised sigh. "I see." His hand rubbed his metal chin. "Take me to her."

"What?"

Both hands now rested on his cane. "You heard me."

The group had risen, bathed and dressed in their uniforms before heading to the mess hall. They had been seated in their usual spots as they ate silently. Ichigo had mentioned to the group that they were to have a meeting with a new caretaker after breakfast, and they had all silently acknowledged her words.

Kokoro was trying to eat as much as she could, but she didn't find much of her meal appetizing. She ate all the fruit on her plate, but everything else just gave her the feeling that it would be coming up later and she definitely didn't want that happening.

"Why aren't you eating, Kokoro?" Ikuno asked from beside her.

The blond shook her head, trying not to bring too much attention to herself. "I think I'm still full from dinner last night."

Ikuno gave her a curious look before glancing between their trays. Finally, she pushed the fruit that had been on her tray onto Kokoro's. "Here, eat the rest of my fruit. Today it seems really fresh."

Kokoro gave her an appreciative look, "Thank you."

Her fork speared a piece of a melon as she glanced at her partner, who was bringing and appropriately sized piece of meat into his mouth. He didn't bother looking at her, focusing on his meal.

Blue eyes fell to his left hand and she almost dropped the melon onto her tray. His finger that once held the band that was the twin to her own was no bare, a faint mark was the only evidence that it had even been there in the first place.

Kokoro felt her breath catch in her throat, her heart lurching in her chest. Her eyes fell, not wanting to look suspicious or as usual, catch the prying eyes of her fellow teammates who would most definitely question her. She forced herself to bite and chew on the piece of melon.

She looked down to her lap where her left hand had been resting. She shifted her hand and the small silver band caught the light and flashed faintly. Turning her hand over, she let her thumb caress the piece of metal.

The group had told them about the meaning behind the rings, that they had been a symbol of their strong and deep bond. They had apparently exchanged them at their 'wedding.' She, of course, had no memory of such an even, and neither did Mitsuru.

It had meant something though, to the group, and especially the pair.

But now, it seemed as though Mitsuru had not believed them, or maybe he didn't even care about what they had said and had decided to remove the symbol of their bond from his finger.

Her brows furrowed. If he had easily been able to take it off, why was she finding it harder to do so? Was she an idiot for feeling a little reluctant to take it off?

It had become her habit to touch the small ring while she mulled over her thoughts and feelings, trying to decipher the scattered images that would appear in her mind. She still hoped that it would one day help her jolt her memory into fully returning.

But the simple fact that Mitsuru appeared to be uncaring as to whether or not his memories would return honestly hurt Kokoro. Had she meant nothing to him?

Did he really have no desire to regain his memories that would put the puzzle pieces together?

If they had made such an apparent serious commitment before, could he really forget about it so easily?

She shoved the rest of her fruit into her mouth, taking a great effort to chew her food before swallowing. This time, she was the first to declare herself finished and she rose to her feet, excusing herself.

With so many parasites around, she didn't think any of the Nines would try to corner her. Kokoro made sure to keep to the hallways that were busy and didn't care if anyone paid attention to her, or that her teammates had looked after her with worried expressions on her face.

She entered the teams room and found a spot on the floor to sink onto. With shaking fingers, Kokoro twirled the ring around her finger, willing it to try and once again give her some sort of information form the past. Anything, she wanted anything to come up and try to help her make sense of things.

No matter how many times she spun the ring, or silently wished it would do what she asked, she had no answer. There was nothing. Gritting her teeth, Kokoro forced the ring off of her finger, it caught slightly on her finger before she successfully removed it.

Should she throw it away? Give it to Miku to hold onto? She didn't know.

Glancing around the room, she found the doll that she had been sleeping with since arriving at the Bird's Nest. That too, was something she had been told that she had made in the past. The dolls hair had been tied into pigtails, and before Kokoro knew it, she was placing the ring just behind the string holding the hair in place. She would figure out what exactly to do with it later.

Her hand felt bare, and now instead of a matching silver ring, she and Mitsuru had matching marks of where their rings had been.

It was like fate was silently laughing at her.

A mysterious lady was standing in front of the group, she was tall and had short purple hair. She was reading the paper on her clipboard robotically, explaining that their final mission was approaching and that they were to go out into their Franxx for a practice drill. It was important for all of them to participate as it was to prepare them for their large scale battle that was going to be greater than any fight they had been in. They were to encounter some klaxosaurs today, however they would not be as strong as what was to come.

By the time they had been finished being briefed, Kokoro was feeling nauseous again. This time, when she heaved herself towards the bathroom, her fellow female teammates followed after her.

"Kokoro, are you okay?" they were all concerned, watching as Kokoro threw up into the toilet. How embarrassing.

She felt someone patting her back, trying to help her body bring up whatever had made her stomach go sour. "Did the food taste bad to you today?" asked Ichigo who was bent beside her.

Kokoro wasn't sure what had caused her to feel this way again. When she ate her food earlier, they had both tasted delicious at the time. But any excuse was good enough for Kokoro. She didn't want the group to worry about her, they had a drill to complete anyway.

When she finished, she flushed the toilet and stood up, trying not to let her legs shake too much as she straightened herself.

"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Miku meekly, worry written all over her face. She moved aside to let Kokoro pass.

"Mm, I'm okay now."

The group glanced at one another as Kokoro cleaned her face, unsure of what to do next.

"Don't worry about me, everyone. I feel much better now!" She forced a smile on her face, hoping the others wouldn't question her further.

A moment passed between them before Ichigo nodded curtly. "Let's go, then."

Ikuno and Miku lead the way out of the bathroom heading towards the changing rooms. Kokoro felt a hand lightly grasp hers and she paused next to Ichigo.

"Don't push yourself too hard today," her words were stern, but also laced with trepidation. Not only was Ichigo her captain, she was also her friend.

"I won't."

Their changing room was enormous, being able to allow all the female parasites to change into their piloting gear without feeling like a can of sardines. There was talk of excitement from the surrounding squads of being able to pilot again, having been forced to stay on the ground for weeks. It appeared as though they couldn't wait to get out onto the field again, and were equally eager to start their final mission.

Her uniform felt a little tight, Kokoro noted, especially when she sat down. The skin tight material was meant to cling to her body, but for some reason today it was a little uncomfortable. She pulled the fabric away from her stomach to let herself breath more comfortably before she released it, letting it snap back to being flush against her skin.

She braided her hair as she followed the other girls out and onto the docks where their male partners waited for them. It had been a long time since Kokoro had been in a Franxx, and as she looked up at Genista, she began to mentally prepare herself.

Mitsuru hadn't bothered to say anything to her, only giving her a slight nod before turning to face the Franxx. When all of Squad 13 were prepared, the cockpits of the Franxx opened, and they all made their way into the core.

The familiar feeling of connecting to Genista coursed through Kokoro's veins and when she opened her eyes, she was looking out into the dock of the Bird's Nest rather than inside of the core.

Both she and Mitsuru were silent as the large metal doors opened, releasing all of the remaining parasite squads. They had been given a location and Squad 13 began their journey, following the coordinates. Lifting off the ground, Genista began flying in formation with the rest of their squad.

Kokoro was trying to be as focused on their mission as possible, also trying to reign in her thoughts and feelings about the current situation. Here she was, piloting with someone she thought she barely knew, meanwhile everyone else understood them to be quite close.

His motions were focused and trained as he piloted Genista from behind her. She didn't dare try to look at his face, but she imagined it would be blank of any emotion he might be feeling on the inside.

There was a flash on the screen and Ichigo's Franxx face popped up. "We are almost at our location, everyone prepare!"

Mitsuru made a sound of acknowledgement before the screen disappeared in a flash.

"Code 326, up ahead!"

For some reason when she said his name, it felt bizarre. The words did not roll off her tongue as nicely as she thought they would. She was used to saying the given names of her teammates, but she wasn't sure how exactly she should address her partner. She still felt a distance between them.

For now, she would continue to use his code name.

"Thanks, Code 556."

Soon they were upon the small group of klaxosaurs and the fighting commenced.

"This is too easy!" Zorome shouted, slashing a klaxosaur in half and watching it explode.

"Shut up and stay focused!" Miku hollered.

Their Franxx were gliding almost beautifully around the klaxosaurs, wasting no time in ridding the ground of the black and blue monsters. It was all too easy.

Strelizia was plowing through them one after another like it was a kind of game, her laughter being heard by all of Squad 13. Suddenly, she struck the ground, sending klaxosaurs flying, some explosion while others flew through the air with minimal damage.

A medium sized klaxosaur flew through the air and collided with Genista, knocking it slightly off its feet. There was a cry of worry from her fellow pistils, but Mitsuru was able to regain their footing before any serious damage could be done. Shoving the cannon into the klaxosaur, Mitsuru pulled the trigger and blue liquid sprayed everywhere.

"Mitsuru, Kokoro, are you alright?" Goro's face appeared on their screen.

"Yes," they both responded in unison.

"We're almost done here, lets clean the rest of this up and head back."

Kokoro had been so caught off guard by the klaxosaur that she lost focus of her thoughts and let an image that had been a revived memory flash through her mind. It was of them at a happier time, preparing the salad from weeks ago. If she could shake her head, she would have just to try and get rid of it for the time being.

Again their teammates focused on the klaxosaurs and just when Genista was about to take a step forward, then froze.

Quickly, she appeared on the screen and for the first time during their battle, was looking at him sitting in the cockpit. "Code 326? What's wrong?" she quickly asked, afraid that something could have been damaged from the impact of the klaxosaur.

The look he gave her was quizzical, and his eyes slightly narrowed as he studied her face.

"Code 326?" she questioned again, silently urging him to answer her. She could tell there was something that had disturbed him, but wasn't sure exactly what had happened.

After a moment, he shook his head. "It's nothing," and they both returned to battle.

This time when they battled, Mitsuru was faster, quicker, and rougher with his controlling. It didn't hurt, but Kokoro could feel that whatever had caused them to stop, was now something occupying his thoughts.

Mere moments passed and then it was silent. The group of klaxosaurs had been destroyed, their remnants laying scattered on the ground in pieces and splashes of blue liquid. Hachi's face appeared on all of their screens, telling them to return, and so they did.

The journey back was just as quiet, but this time Kokoro could feel the awkwardness between them. She could tell he had become upset and it worried her if she were the cause of it. She hated feeling responsible for upsetting someone and she was beginning to feel anxious.

They returned to the hangar and powered down. He made his way down and out of Genista and Kokoro silently followed, unsure if she should pry or not. Their fellow teammates were also exiting their Franxx and making their way out.

When they made it to the dock platform, he turned to her, his eyes still narrowed as if he was looking at a puzzle that seemed impossible to solve. Some form of inner struggle seemed to be plaguing him.

Just when she thought he would say something, Mitsuru turned and began walking away. She followed him at a distance, her hands clasped between her breasts.

He didn't turn to look at her again the rest of the day.

At night, Squad 13 were sleeping as peacefully as they could in their futons. Their soft snoring played in the background as Kokoro lay awake, staring blankly at the ceiling as she mentally mulled over what had happened that day.

Especially the way Mitsuru had looked at her when they returned to the dock.

Her stomach seemed to twist with the image of his expression in her mind, and she physically turned over to try and lessen the pain.

Why had it hurt her so much? Why was she having such a reaction just by the way he looked at her?

Of course it had something to do with their apparent past, but there was nothing she could do to force herself to remember things. There was no light switch to turn on where she could retrieve all of her lost memories, there was no magic drink she could take to restore them either.

That was what frustrated Kokoro the most.

Nothing. There was nothing she could do.

She only knew what she could do now, what all of them could do now.

They could fulfill Papa's dream and win in the final battle that awaited them all in the coming days. That was something she was sure she could do.

It was something she had been raised to know, to fulfill. There was no mystery behind it and it didn't come to her as a shocking memory.

She was born to fulfill Papa's wishes and his biggest dream was something she could help to fulfil, to fight and win. She would even give up her life in order to help fulfil his goal.

Maybe her memories would eventually come back to her, but she was tired of trying to push herself and was mentally exhausted by the frustration and helplessness of the whole situation.

It was then, that in the dark of night while most of the parasites slept, that Kokoro decided she would solely focus on their upcoming battle.

Whether or not she regained her memories would be decided later.

If she even made it out of the final battle alive.

The doctor followed Hachi down the long, isolated hallway. The sounds of his cane clicking against the ground vibrated all the way down the hall, the only noise that could alert others to their movements. There was no need to worry however, there wouldn't be any interruptions from anyone else. The doctor had made sure of that.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a door. Pressing his hand against the side, Hachi's prints granted them access and the door opened, revealing Nana. She was sitting in the dark, knees brought to her chest with a blank look on her face.

She didn't turn to him at first, remaining in her dazed state.

Dr. Franxx stepped forward, into the doorway, resting both hands on the top of his cane.

"Nana," he began and waited. It seemed as though his voice registered with her as she turned very slowly to look at him.

Her eyes were distant, face pale and unhealthy. She needed to eat a proper meal, and the doctor made a note of it. She was, after all a key component to the future.

"Come with me. It's time."