MitsuKoko

MitsuKoko is the het ship between Mitsuru and Kokoro from the DARLING in the FRANXX fandom.

Canon
Mitsuru and Kokoro were in different FRANXX pairings at the start of DARLING in the FRANXX. They barely interacted with each other as they had little need to and shared no common interests. Mitsuru was sort of a lone wolf who often headbutted Hiro and Kokoro was a shy, quiet girl who was afraid to voice her opinions, usually just going with the flow.

After Mitsuru got traumatised by piloting with Zero Two, Kokoro started showing concern for Mitsuru's wellbeing, which Mitsuru brushed off, thinking she was just pitying him. When Squad 13 was rewarded with a short getaway at the beach, Mitsuru found the remains of an abandoned city and wanted to do some exploration. Kokoro voiced her fears of the place, to which Mitsuru coldly told her she didn't need to come if she was afraid and added that he couldn't guarantee anyone's safety. However, Mitsuru managed to save Kokoro from getting crushed by a falling bookcase in an old clinic later, implying he had been following her closely. He also noticed Kokoro had picked up a book about childbirth and reproduction - banned information but chose not to mention it.

During the Boys x Girls fight, Kokoro and Mitsuru bumped into each other at the greenhouse. Kokoro wondered if Mitsuru had an interest in flowers and proceeded to explain the 'language of flowers'. When she realised Mitsuru didn't seem to be listening she asked if he was going along in the fight, to which he replied he found the fight stupid and couldn't be bothered about it. Kokoro praised him for his bravery, stating it took a lot of courage to refuse to toe the line. As he walked to leave the greenhouse, Mitsuru found Kokoro kept the book from the getaway despite it undoubtedly being against regulation when it dropped out of her pocket. When Kokoro admitted she had indeed kept the book, Mitsuru didn't alert their caregivers about it, stating the book didn't involve him and agreeing to keep it a secret. While not stated, it is implied that Mitsuru's bravery of refusing to toe the line might have given Kokoro the courage to speak up to her fellow pistils to end the fight. Squadmates Ichigo and Ikuno notice this, even commenting on how unusual it is for Kokoro to be so assertive.

Whilst on a special mission to defend the S-Planning facility, Mitsuru collapses due to 'child fever' and puts Chlorophytum out of commission. Even after recovering, testing finds he and Ikuno's sync rate has dropped so low Hachi notes he could become a pruning target. This along with a few other factors led to Nana suggesting the option of a partner shuffle between the members of the squad. Even after promising to be Futoshi's partner forever, Kokoro volunteered to try riding with Mitsuru, shocking the entire team and bringing Futoshi to tears. As with his other squadmates, Mitsuru was unable to open up to Kokoro. On their first mission after Partner Shuffle, MitsuKoko's FRANXX (Genista) acted as rear support. However, they had problems fighting and they disconnected following Mitsuru blindly crashing Genista head-on after failing to eliminate klaxosaurs. The klaxosaur was about to crush them with its foot when Chlorophytum ran in to protect them, saving them.

Inside Genista, Kokoro turns to reconnect, but Mitsuru tells her he's incompetent and shouldn't get her hopes up. Kokoro refutes his claim, telling Mitsuru to lean on and trust her more, to which Mitsuru revealed the childhood promise Hiro broke. He revealed that incident shattered his faith and he couldn't bring himself to trust in anyone, fearing his trust would be broken again. Kokoro acknowledged that although Mitsuru's broken promise was indeed something hard to take, she too broke her promise to Futoshi. She remarked she wasn't the nice, gentle girl everyone thought her to be and they weren't perfect unlike the adults. However she added, despite that, she still wanted to have relationships with her squadmates. Mitsuru asked if what she meant was he should forgive Hiro, to which she replied was up to him. She reaffirmed that she believed in him and reconnected to Genista. However, Mitsuru didn't connect with Kokoro and Genista went into stampede mode. Even though Kokoro was getting hurt during the stampede she didn't stop, even after her squadmate told her to, wanting to prove Mitsuru's competency. Luckily, Mitsuru intervened and pulled her off the machine before she could get seriously hurt. As MitsuKoko lay on the floor, Mitsuru looked up at Kokoro and asked how she could trust someone to the point of hurting herself, to which Kokoro smiled sheepishly. Mitsuru smiled back at her, commenting he found her unbelievable. MitsuKoko reconnect and their para capacity levels shoot to maximum. Genista is reactivated and blasts a bigger hole in the klaxosaur to reveal its core. Strelizia leaps in to land the finishing blow and eliminates the klaxosaur.

Upon returning to the FRANXX hanger, Kokoro's former partner Futoshi, berated Mitsuru for making Kokoro (as Genista) blindly smash into the klaxosaur. Even before Mitsuru could reply, Futoshi landed a punch on his face which knocked him off his feet. As Kokoro rushed to help him, Mitsuru told Futoshi he was being unreasonable. Futoshi angrily explained that hurting a girl was the worst thing any guy could ever do and if Mitsuru ever hurt Kokoro again he "would make him pay". Following Futoshi's yelling, Mitsuru promised to protect Kokoro as long as they were together, shocking both Kokoko and Futoshi. Although he made it sound like he was just saying it to pacify Futoshi, it is implied he really meant it.

After this incident, MitsuKoko grew closer. Often seen positioned next to or near each other in most scenes, MitsuKoko back up each other's statements and encourage each other during battle. Most notably, they learned from each other, as observed as Kokoro learning to speak her mind bravely and Mitsuru opening up to and trusting his squadmates.

Fanon
It is a highly popular ship in the fandom, having reached first place in weekly anime ship popularity charts. It rivals FutoKoko.

Children
Series' finale shows Mitsuru and Kokoro have three children plus one on the way. Only one of them has their revealed name for now:

Ai
Ai is the firstborn daughter of Mitsuru and Kokoro. She is also the first naturally born child to the Parasites after APE's departure.

Ai is the Japanese word for "love" (愛). Mitsuru and Kokoro named her after this in honor of Hiro and Zero Two's relationship.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

PIXIV
 * ミツココ tag on pixiv.
 * ミツココ on pixiv encyclopedia.

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