This is bad.
The depths of their consciousnesses will connect through Strelizia and merge!
"This is a story of a monster"
That room was the entirety of my world.
A closed world that would never touch what lay outside the windows.
That place was the entirety of my world.
The Garden, a closed world where only children lived.
But that day, I went outside for the first time.
To this day, I haven't forgotten.
To this day, I'd forgotten all about...
How vast the sky up above was.
How warm the hand I held was.
And the promise we made.
"This is a story forgotten"
Who am I?
Back then, that question never even crossed my mind.
I was trapped in that room for as far back as I can remember.
I felt like I had even older memories, but I soon forgot them.
I didn't know what this was, either.
Probably a stand-in for what you'd call a mother.
One day, for the first and only time, she brought me something that wasn't food.
The Beast and the Prince
It was a picture book.
As I turned the pages, its bright colors jumped out at me,
as did various shapes.
It had words, too, but I couldn't understand them.
And after that day, she never showed up again.
Anyway, this book was my first "pretty thing."
The outside world surely had many more.
That's what I innocently believed in that moment.
It turns out that I was half-right
and half-wrong.
Who am I?
Back then, that question was all I ever had on my mind.
I was in the Garden for as far back as I can remember.
We lived there to become parasites who would fight for Papa and the others.
All of us children were referred to by our code numbers.
The lower the number, the higher the child's potential as parasite.
The double-digits up to 099,
the teens in particular, were given special treatment.
I was one of them, and I was told I was special, unlike everyone else.
Are you crying?
Am I a weirdo?
I mean, I'm not like everyone else.
They've all stopped smiling.
They don't get mad or cry anymore, either.
But I still shed tears.
I wanna be like everyone else, too!
What should I do?
Should I get more injections?
Our codes are in the teens, so we were different from the others to begin with.
I don't want that.
Being different is scary.
Hey, want me to give you a name?
A name?
Yeah, I gave myself one.
A unique name like the people in books have, and not a number.
My name is Hiro.
Hiro?
Well? You'll feel better if you're like me and have a name, right?
I'll give you one!
Okay...
Your name will be...
Ichigo!
I-Ichigo?
Yeah.
Because that's how your code is read. 015, for Ichigo.
That's my name?
Yeah. What do you think?
Having a name can make you feel like it's okay to be different.
Really?
Yeah, because it's a unique name that exists for you alone.
For me alone?
Yep. Ichigo.
Can you give the others names, too?
Huh? Sure.
Then let's get everyone in on this, uh...
Hiro!
You can give everyone names!
It was just a game.
I gave many children names.
Samii, Junna, Nakku,
Toshi, Sakuto, Shinya,
and... Mitsuru.
A name is but one way to refer to a person.
But just having one made us feel our anxieties fading away.
What are you doing?
You're not allowed to change your designation without permission.
What's so bad about giving ourselves names?
That's...
One of the teen codes, huh?
Anyway, don't go doing things as you please.
The adults never answered my questions,
and the other children never asked any.
Children were gradually disappearing from the Garden at regular intervals.
The adults never told us where they went.
Meanwhile, I was designated a special research subject,
and I underwent tests at the Lab all by myself.
If I did well, I was given a reward.
But even then, there was still no one who'd answer my questions.
Horns?
Marvelous.
She's leagues better than all of our past specimens.
I can't believe she has developed such a human form.
Oh!
Look! How amazing!
You're an amazing child!
Who's that girl with the horns?
Another question?
Return to your room. That's not for you to know.
That was the first time I'd seen a child with red horns.
And now there was another thing I wanted to know more about.
Oh, I know.
If nobody would answer me, I could just go find out for myself.
You there. The lobby isn't that way.
I guess it wouldn't be that easy after all.
I don't see any back doors, either.
I never knew it was so difficult to look for something by myself.
That's her!
The Beast and the Prince
Wow.
Wow!
For some reason, it made me really, really happy.
Mitsuru!
H-Hiro...
Are you going to the Lab?
Yeah.
What's the matter?
I'm going to get an injection.
If I don't, I won't be able to stay.
All the children there knew what it meant to get an Elixir Injection.
While you could expect a drastic improvement in your aptitude scores,
it had an incredibly low success rate.
And if it failed, you wouldn't come back.
I want to become a parasite with you.
Huh? With me?
If I come back alive, will you pilot with me?
Of course!
Again?
It's 494 this time.
It was 367 before that.
We just spoke yesterday.
Papa threw them away.
Will I be next?
I'm scared!
We gotta do something.
But Papa and the others made the decision.
There's nothing we can do.
Code 016.
Get ready.
Um, where do the kids go—
Get ready.
U-Uh...
His sensitivity is becoming a problem.
It might affect the other children.
Shouldn't we increase his yellow blood cell dose?
Leave it as is.
Sir?
I'm very interested in what kind of parasite a child like him will grow up to be.
What are you doing here? Return to the Garden.
S-Stop doing that. She's in pain...
That's none of your business.
Come with me.
B-But... But...
But...
The things I wanted to know kept growing in number.
Who are we?
Why can't we give ourselves names?
Where did the kids who disappear go?
Will Mitsuru come back?
Who is that girl?
Why don't the adults give me any answers?
Why isn't anyone else asking any questions?
Why is she...
I didn't understand anything, but...
Get away from the window!
Come this way!
I can get you out of here!
But you...
You smiled back then.
In this world where questions and answers fell on deaf ears,
you shone brightly in my eyes.
That was my first experience of the outside world.
It was covered in white and cold.
Everything around me was unfamiliar.
Wh-What are you eating?
N-No! Don't swallow it! Spit it out!
Ow!
You meanie! I was only trying to...
Wait, do you not understand what I'm saying?
I'm Code 016. Hiro.
What's your code number?
Man, does she not understand me at all?
Hey, you're barefoot.
002? I've never seen a code in the single digits.
002...
Oni? No, Zero Two?
Not very good, huh?
Eo To!
Huh? Do you understand what names are?
Eo To!
I should've thought of a better name.
Let's go, Zero Two.
Let's go somewhere far away!
I didn't understand his words, but I knew his voice called to me.
I saw things with him.
I walked with him.
And it was so much fun.
Here you go.
It's food.
Wait a sec.
There.
Say, "Aah."
What? Are you sure I can see it?
Thank you.
The Beast and the Prince
The Beast and the Prince, huh?
In the deepest, darkest part of a forest lived a tribe, hidden from all. They had large wings on their backs and were beautiful, but they were what would be called beasts. Among them was their princess, who had huge, ashen wings. Their law said that once one turned sixteen, they would be allowed to fly outside the forest.
Wow, these pictures are so pretty!
Let's see... "In the deepest, darkest part of a forest..."
Yeah, no doubt about it.
They're in this area.
They should still be nearby. Look for them.
Sir.
R-Relax. They'll let us off if I talk to th—
What do we do about Code 016?
002 takes priority. If he resists, you may kill him.
Don't worry.
I'll protect you.
the Prince
"In the deepest, darkest part of a forest
lived a strong and beautiful beast princess.
Beckoned by the moonlight,
she wandered into a country of humans,
and in the moonlit garden of a small castle, she fell in love with a prince.
But the princess was a beast.
She had ashen wings on her back.
Not knowing what to do, she went to see
a witch who lived at the edge of the forest
and said, 'I want to live as a human. I want to be united with him.'
The witch replied like so:
'I can help you if you offer me your wings.
But keep this in mind.
No matter how you disguise yourself, you are a beast,
and you will consume the prince's life one day."
And so, the princess went to see a witch who lived in the same forest and said, "I want to live as a human. I want to be united with him." The witch replied like so: "I can help you if you offer me your wings. But keep this in mind. No matter how you disguise yourself, you are a beast, and you will consume the prince's life one day." The princess ripped off her wings and was assaulted by pain far more intense than she had ever felt. She could never fly again.
Even so, she smiled happily, with tears of joy streaming down her face. "I'm human! I'm human! I'm the same as him now!"
Sorry. I was just thinking how sad this story is.
Is it because one of them isn't human that they can't get married?
Awwi?
Yeah. Two people who love each other promise to be together forever.
If they were both human...
Nothing. Come on.
Let's walk some more.
Are you okay?
Let me see.
It's blue?
A-Anyway, I need something to...
Endure it!
I read in a book that animals lick their wounds to heal them.
Awwi?
Awwi.
Awwi?
Yeah. Once we get out of here.
I want to be with you forever, too.
And then, I'll be your da...
Da...
I don't know why, but tears flowed from my eyes.
What's wrong? Don't cry!
It wasn't because my wound hurt.
Er...
It's a mistletoe.
Yeah, those were probably tears of joy.
The picture book's world was pretty,
and I believed that if I was with him, I could be the same, too.
"But that wouldn't be allowed"
But this world didn't allow it.
Why? Why is it?
Am I not able to find the answers I seek
because I'm just a child who doesn't have the power to protect anyone?
Why didn't I realize?
That he and I were different creatures, with blood of different colors,
"Erase these memories"
and that I was a monster?
It's what you get for forgetting you're children.
Erase those memories. They're noise.
Zero Two!
But he's an interesting specimen.
Darling!
Aren't you gonna give them names anymore?
Why? You liar!
This is bad.
Monster.
That's why I swore to become human, no matter what I had to do.
If I were the same as him, I could be with him forever.
Delphinium!
Hiro, get away from Zero Two!
She got closer to you to suck you dry!
If you stay with her,
even you'll lose your humanity!
That's right.
After all, I...
The picture book.
You were the girl with the picture book back then, weren't you?
"And a story of reunion"
Episode 13
The Beast and the Prince
In the deepest, darkest part of a forest lived a tribe, hidden from all. They had large wings on their backs and were beautiful, but they were what would be called beasts. Among them was their princess, who had huge, ashen wings. Their law said that once one turned sixteen, they would be allowed to fly outside the forest.
And on her sixteenth birthday, the princess took flight to the world beyond the forest. She crossed the steep mountains and the surging rivers and reached a land of humans. The moon shone brightly in the sky.
She landed in a castle garden, where she found a young man gazing up at the moon. The princess hid in the bushes and stared at the young man, and for the first time, love bloomed in her heart. But he was clearly of a different race. A beast and a human could never be together.
And so, the princess went to see a witch who lived in the same forest and said, "I want to live as a human. I want to be united with him." The witch replied like so: "I can help you if you offer me your wings. But keep this in mind. No matter how you disguise yourself, you are a beast, and you will consume the prince's life one day." The princess ripped off her wings and was assaulted by pain far more intense than she had ever felt. She could never fly again.
Even so, she smiled happily, with tears of joy streaming down her face. "I'm human! I'm human! I'm the same as him now!"
The princess once again set out for the land of humans, this time on foot. In the desert, she spotted a group of people. "Oh, no! Is there anyone who can save him?!" There lay a young man, his leg bitten by a snake. The princess rushed to his side and sucked the venom out from his wound."Thank you, o brave lady. I am the prince of these lands." It was the same young man she had met in the castle. "I owe my life to you. Please marry me."
A wedding ceremony was held soon after. The priest asked the princess, clad in a wedding dress of pure white, "Do you vow to be true to him in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"
"I do." The two exchanged rings, and when the priest said so, they sealed their vows with a kiss. And cheers rang out across the land. "Bless the brave girl who saved our prince's life!" The whole kingdom celebrated their marriage.
"Humans! Humans! They have neither the wings to fly nor the claws or fangs to hunt. Such weak and frail creatures, but they are so, so warm. Humans are wonderful!" After the wedding, she lived happily as the princess of a human land. She supported the prince in his work, traveled the world, and saw oceans studded with glints of sapphire, sparkling grasslands, and auroras that swayed like raging flames. The princess took the prince's hand and said with a smile on her face, "Grab on to me and never let go, *******."
But the princess's happiness was short-lived. She woke up one night to a pain that threatened to rend her asunder and found her body turning into one of a beast. "Why? I asked you to make me human!" On her back were jet-black wings, tearing through her flesh and skin to spread. "Using magic comes at a price. You've attained plenty of happiness as a human. Now, it is time for you to lose yourself and turn into an ugly monster," the witch of the forest whispered to her. "However, if you kill the person you love most, you will be freed of your curse and return to the beast you originally were."
The princess gazed at her beloved prince as her claws reached for his throat. She loved him more than anything and anyone, but the desire to rip his neck apart welled up inside her. As she desperately tried to clench her fist and stop herself, her claws dug into her skin, and blood started gushing out. "If I kill the prince, I will be freed of this curse..." With tears streaming down her face, she kissed the prince on the cheek.
When the prince awoke, the princess was no longer beside him. Instead, the bed was covered in jet-black feathers.
In profound sadness, the prince searched all across the land for her. But nobody had seen the princess.