This definitely was something odd.

Even after doing a double take looking outside and at the clock, Alex still couldn't think of a single reason as to why Kiana was suddenly leaving this late.

Everyone here was sound asleep and Bronya wasn't gonna be discharged until tomorrow morning so there was really no reason for Kiana to be walking about even though Alex had been told that Kiana would indeed sneak out on sleep to purposely skip school the next day on a few occasions.

With everyone else asleep, Alex decided that he should handle the situation so after putting on a jacket due to it being chilly outside, he stepped out and decided to follow Kiana first to see where exactly she was headed towards before getting her attention.

Alex began to tail the white haired girl, keeping a fairly far but not too close gap between them as he followed.

As the tailing continued, they eventually reached St. Freya as Kiana was walking along the outer area of the center plaza, walking between narrow paths of the small grassy walls.

Once they got here it felt like they were going in circles as Kiana kept turning left and right so many times that Alex lost count.

Eventually after walking down a straight path, Kiana had suddenly stopped and just stood there.

Alex waited a bit longer in case she would start moving along again but it never happened as Kiana just stood there for nearly five minutes.

The boy decided that now was best to finally get her attention so he moved ahead and started to walk up right behind Kiana.

Right when he was about to place a hand on her shoulder, Kiana suddenly turned around and pinned Alex, holding him at gun point as she aimed her weapon right at his head.

"H-Hey what the hell are yo-!?" Alex was shouting before stopping himself as he noticed something off about Kiana.

'Her eyes. What the hell?' Thought Alex.

Instead of her natural blue eyes, they were now yellow with a uniquely shaped pupil that resembled a crosshair.

What made this more uncomfortable was that Kiana didn't even talk, blink, or more a single inch.

She just held him down at gunpoint, as he kept looking into her eyes.

That was until Alex saw Kiana's eye revert back to normal as she finally moved, looking around being confused as to why she was outside at St. Freya before looking down to see Alex underneath her.

It took her a moment to process this scene before she began to shout as she got off and immediately shot at Alex as the boy panicked and moved out of the way and got up.

"Hey don't just suddenly shoot at me!" Shouted Alex.

"Why shouldn't I!? You followed me out here like a creepy, pervy stalker!" Shouted back Kiana.

"Says the girl who literally left the dorms when everyone was asleep and then had no clue where she was going! All while happening past midnight!" Shouted Alex back at her.

"W-Wait what!?" Shouted Kiana as Alex sighed and showed her the time on his phone as it read, "12:15 A.M."

"O-Oh crap! We gotta get back now before Auntie Teri finds out!" Shouted Kiana which left Alex bewildered at the sudden 180 degree change in personality.

He didn't question it any further though as clearly with how confused she was, there was no way in hell she'd be able to provide answers.

"If you're that worried then hurry up and let's go now." Said Alex.

With that Alex grabbed Kiana's hand and immediately began to lead her back to the dorm as quick as possible.

Thankfully they weren't caught on the walk back as they eventually made it back inside the dorm room.

"Now go to your room. You've already wasted an hour of my sleep you damn snowflake." Said Alex in annoyance.

"Yeah yeah. Whatever you say pervy stalker." Replied Kiana back.

Alex groaned but knew better not to continue the conversation as he headed up to Bronya's room and laid down on the floor as he finally went to sleep.

[Timeskip: The Next Day]

The sun was out and shining brightly in the morning as Alex, Mei, and Kiana were walking to school with Alex lagging a bit behind as he gave a yawn.

"Did you get enough sleep Alex?" Asked Mei as she looked back at him.

"Sleep. Yeah that's something I wish I'd have gotten more of." Said Alex as he looked at Kiana.

"H-Hey don't blame you perv! You shouldn't have followed me in the first place if you were concerned about sleep!" Shouted Kiana.

"One, if I hadn't gone who knows how long you would've been away. And two, stop calling me a damn perv just because I did the right thing and followed you to bring you back!" Replied Alex.

Before the two could bicker any more, Mei immediately had the two calm down until Alex split from the group as he went to go discharge Bronya from the health department under orders from Himeko.

Reason being was because this was the last day before the Valkyries Exams which were tomorrow.

Right now since he was more likely gonna be on his own for the majority of that day, he had no clue what he was gonna be doing but he was sure that he'd find something to do tomorrow when the day came.

After walking further down the path, Alex began to see the department appear in his view but then also saw Bronya walking away from it on her own as the two met on the path leaving Alex confused.

"Hmm? Why's Subject Alex headed towards the Health Department?" Asked Bronya.

"Um, I came here to discharge you cause Himeko asked me to do it yesterday but, why are you already outside?" Asked Alex.

"The Bronya isn't a baby. The Bronya performed self-diagnostics using the Health Terminal and found out that all of the Bronya's systems were back online. The Bronya then accessed the system's database, updated all physio readings, and approved of her own discharge." Said Bronya, explaining why she was out already.

"Um, okay? Isn't it illegal to discharge yourself without permission from the ones in charge?" Asked Alex realizing that yes, while Bronya herself saw that she was in a good condition, she still needed an official word on her release.

"Trust the Bronya, Subject Alex. The Bronya is perfectly fine." Said Bronya as Alex sighed.

"Fine then. Let me at least lead you back to school." He said.

Bronya nodded and the two began their short trip back as not too long after they were back at St. Freya as Bronya bid Alex a goodbye as she walked to the entrance.

That now left Alex on his own for the remainder of the morning and afternoon but before he could even waste a second on trying to think of what to do, he noticed a pair of legs stop in front of him as he looked up and saw the maid from yesterday stand in front of him.

'That maid from yesterday.' Thought Alex.

"Um, do you need anything?" Asked the boy.

"You must be the mercenary. Alex Mustang, correct?" Asked the maid as Alex nodded.

"Yeah I am. What's it to ya?" He asked.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Mustang. My name is Rita Rossweisse. I work directly for and under the Overseer of Schicksal, Otto Apocalypse." Said Rita.

"Oh really? That's nice. Any reason why you're here?" Asked Alex.

"I'm here to verify the report details that Madam Theresa gave to Otto about the battleship that you helped contain. I'd like to congratulate you in place of Schicksal for helping out on the job." Said Rita.

"It was just a job I was hired for. Nothing special. Either way, if the report is all that's on your plate, then doesn't this visit seem a little too much? A simple congratulatory letter would've sufficed." Said Alex.

"Oh right. I forgot to add that Overseer Otto also wants me to attend the Valkyrie Exams this time around. He seems to be expecting something interesting this year." Said Rita.

"Ya know, it's kinda odd to just be saying all this so casually to a simple old merc like me." Said Alex.

"I see no harm in it. After all since your contract hasn't been fully paid off yet, you're still technically working for Schicksal." Said Rita.

"Wow. Nice way to use something I hate against me. W-Wait how the hell do you even know that!?" Said Alex before immediately questioning how the maid knew something like that.

"Word spreads fast at Schicksal Mr. Mustang. Anyways, will you be attending the exams as a spectator?" Asked Rita.

"Just call me Alex, and to be honest I'm not sure. If I'm invited then I may consider going. For now though it's a no." Said the boy.

"I see. Well I hope to see you there Alex. I enjoyed this chat with you. Till then." Said Rita as she bowed before walking off as Alex looked up at her walking away before he himself decided to walk back to the dorms.

As he walked back, a thought he didn't think he'd have came across his mind.

'I don't know why, but a small part of me actually wants those three girls to succeed. Well, all I can do is wait for tomorrow.'

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Chapter 10: Complete