HiroZero

HiroZero is the het ship between Hiro and Zero Two from the DARLING in the FRANXX fandom.

Canon
Hiro and Zero Two met as kids while they were still in the garden and tried to escape together. Hiro first found Zero Two at the lab, a facility he often frequented due to his 'child genius' status. Zero Two was the specimen of a ghastly, inhumane experiment conducted by Dr. FRANXX to observe her klaxosaur abilities. Hiro was intrigued by her red skin and horns, but even more so by her battle against the adults. Up to that point, he felt he was the only one fighting that battle against authority and was amazed to find someone like him. He felt sorry that she had to go through the suffering and wanted to know more about her, but the adults at the facility brought him back to his dorms. This mystery, however, only made him want to know about her even more.

When Hiro was around nine years old, he found the room in which Zero Two resided and hatched a plan to rescue her. Breaking the glass to free her, Hiro and Zero Two ran away from the garden in the snow. During the time they spent together, Hiro cared for Zero Two, gave her wrappings to substitute socks and even named her. Zero Two got comfortable with him, calling him "darling" and showing him her beloved storybook. Unfortunately, the adults came looking for them, so HiroZero had to flee. While running, Zero Two hurts herself and Hiro bends down to treat her wound. As he kneels before her, Zero Two misinterprets his actions as Hiro wanting to marry her. Hiro smiles and says once they get out of the Garden he'll marry her, moving Zero Two to tears.

Not long after, the adults find them and surround them. Hiro tries to protect Zero Two but gets hit on his head and falls unconscious. Zero Two cries as they are taken away to have their memories erased. While Hiro's memories were successfully erased, Zero Two's weren't. Despite that small hiccup, Hiro was sent back to the Garden and Zero Two was sent back to her room. As such, Zero Two regained her memories after recalling familiar actions, such as the way Hiro referred to himself with the word "boku" and the way he licked her wounds. From then on, Zero Two remembers her darling and vows to reunite with him, no matter what it takes, no matter how many people she needs to use as a stepping stone to get to him.

At the start of the show, HiroZero first meets at the lake in Mistilteinn. While Zero Two calls Hiro a "pervert" for holding her underwear, she thanks him for jumping in to "save" him. They chat for a bit, then Zero Two decides she has taken a liking towards Hiro and asks him if he will be her "darling".

Fanon
It is the most popular ship of the fandom due to it being the central point of the show's plot. It made it to the list of top 10 anime ships. It also rivals with HiroIchi, thought the latter was sunk as of Episode 15.

While HiroZero wasn't an official ship until Episode 15, many of the show's fans shipped them. Some even predicted a previous meeting during their childhood which made them "instantly attracted" to each other, which was confirmed in Episode 13.

Some DARLING fans dislike this ship as they feel their relationship was toxic. Some called out Zero Two for manipulating and using Hiro for the first half of the show.

Fandom
DEVIANTART

PIXIV
 * ゼロヒロ tag on pixiv.
 * ヒロゼロ tag on pixiv.
 * ゼロヒロ on pixiv encyclopedia.
 * ヒロゼロ on pixiv encyclopedia.

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