Two Days Later

It was noon at St. Freya High as the school day went along as usual for Kiana and the mostly recovered Mei as they had just finished eating their lunch.

Seeing as there still was time left for the noon break, the two quickly decided to go pay a visit to Theresa.

The two left the cafeteria and began to make their way down the halls and towards the main office until they reached the principal's door.

Kiana knocked a couple of times before receiving.

"Come in Kiana. You too Mei. Me and Thereda were expecting you both to arrive eventually." Said Himeko.

The two girls walked into the office as Mei closed the door behind her.

"Let me guess. I'm pretty sure why you two are here correct?" Asked Theresa as the two nodded.

"How are the current conditions of Bronya and Alex, Principal Theresa?" Asked Mei.

Theresa then pointed at Himeko who held the medical report.

The red head then cleared her throat before speaking.

"I'll start with Bronya's since its currently short and to the point. Right now it's simply to early for out medics to officially determine if Bronya is brain dead, in a coma, or simply unconscious. We're gonna need more time from her before we get an official ruling on her condition. As for Alex, let's just say that we're lucky we got here on time. Our medics said that the punch the AE mech gave him resulted in a Grade 4 Concussion. We're just lucky that it doesn't cause any face or structural damage. Regardless, the kid's still unconscious. Though his condition is stable, his timetable to awake is still unknown. All we can do is wait until then." Explained Himeko as the two girls nodded.

"I-I'm sorry everyone." Said Mei as she bowed her head. "If it weren't for me being weak and easily kidnapped, Bronya wouldn't have had to fry her brain and Alex wouldn't have needed to take a sacrificial blow for Major Himeko."

"Mei....." Said a somber Kiana.

"Keep your head up Mei." Said Himeko. "Anti-Entropy simply played us like a fiddle and used Wendy as bait to capture you. There's nothing else we could've done to avoid the situation. Just keep your head up high. After all you were able to hang on just enough to not let your core get taken." Said Himeko, patting Mei on the head as the young girl looked up and cheered up.

"Anyways, I suggest that once Alex wakes up, that you two thank him for his contribution in the last two missions. He was the one who managed to convince Durandal to leave Wendy to you two and Bronya. He then came back to help us on his own accord when he could've easily stuck to his word and stayed away, and lastly, he took a nearly fatal blow from an AE mech to protect Himeko who was defenseless at the time. Needless to say, though he isn't full time hired by us, he's already put himself in bold situations and sacrificed himself for us and more specifically you three girls." Said Theresa as Himeko nodded.

"The principal's right girls. Point of the matter is that when he isn't under contract, he has no obligation to help us yet he has. We saw it with the Ganesha incident and now with the Anti-Entropy Raid. He may be a mercenary, but it's clear that he's grown an attachment to you three girls." Said Himeko.

The two girls kept quiet as they indeed did realize that it was true.

Alex more often didn't need to help them in both situations yet he choose to help.

"Alright then. We'll do that. Keep us updated on his and Bronya's conditions." Said Mei.

"Will do girls. Now go back to your classes." Said Himeko.

The two nodded and proceeded to go back to class, hoping that at least one of the two would wake up soon.

[4 Days Later]

A groan was heard, as Alex slowly began to open his eyes, being greeted by blinding lights above him.

It took a moment for the boy to get adjusted to the lighting, while also feeling lightheaded as well.

'Damn. How long was I out? Last I remember was saving Himeko from the mech's punch.' Thought Alex to himself.

He tried his best to look around the room and eventually saw that he was in a hospital room and was on a hospital bed.

Alex tried to sit up and struggled a bit until he finally managed to sit but immediately as he did, he felt a sharp pain in his head as he placed a hand there as he groaned a bit.

When he did, he felt and realized that his whole forehead was covered in bandages while also being a little damp so Alex concluded that blood had probably soaked onto them but was on it's way to dry up.

"You should be careful not to strain yourself too much." Said a voice next to Alex.

The boy looked to the side and saw Fu Hua there peeling apples for him.

"Fu Hua? Where, am I? And when did you get here?" Asked Alex.

"Your in one of St. Freya's hospital rooms. You were transferred to here by Himeko and company after they all managed to escape after the invasion. You were out for nearly a week as its been six days since the raid." Explained Fu Hua.

"I see. Tell me, how's Mei and Bronya. I need to know." He asked.

"Mei's doing perfectly fine. She's mostly back to full strength so she's still limited in Valkyrie training until she's back to top shape. As for Bronya, the jury's still out on whether or not she's brain dead, in a coma, or is simply knocked out. The medics are gonna need more time to figure out that one." Replied back Fu Hua.

Alex nodded and got a little somber look and receiving the news that Bronya's condition was still unknown.

"Hey Alex? I wanna thank you. After the Ganesha incident, I was genuinely suprised when you jumped in to battle the beast, but this past event definitely sealed the deal on my opinion about you. This was a situation that absolutely had nothing to do with you. You had no obligation and had the right to do whatever you wanted, yet you still offered to return and help the girls get back Mei and Bronya." Said Fu Hua as she handed the apple slices to Alex.

"You may be a simple mercenary, but with what you've done for us over the past couple of months, you've gained my respect as a comrade. I welcome you into our St. Freya family." Said the girl with a smile.

Alex was caught off guard by her sudden speech before shrugging it off as he took the plate and began to eat the slices.

"No need to get all deep alright? I just did what I felt was right in that situation. After all once I'm fully recovered I'm just gonna go back to my regular life again." Said Alex.

"I'm perfectly fine with that. Just know that your always welcome here." Said Fu Hua.

Shortly after that, the door opened as Mei and Kiana walked in.

"Hey are you here Fu Hua? Aunt Theresa said you we-." Said Kiana until she stopped talking as the two girls saw Alex sat up.

"Uh, sup you two?" Awkwardly asked Alex wondering the two girls were just standing there looking at him.

That was until Mei quickly walked up and hugged him tightly.

"Oh thank goodness! Thank goodness your awake!" Shouted Mei, nearly in tears.

"H-Hey might wanna let up a bit? I just woke up." Struggled to say Alex.

"O-Oh sorry Alex!" Apologized Mei as she hugged a little gentler, wiping tears away.

"You okay Mei? Your tearing up." Said Alex.

"Of course she's tearing up dummy!" Shouted Kiana. "You nearly died risking your life to help us save her! And then you took a nearly fatal blow for Aunt Himeko! You had them all worried sick!"

Kiana then blushed a bit and looked to the side before speaking again.

"Y-You also, had me worried as well." Shyly said Kiana before quickly going back to stern. "E-Either way don't do anything like that again you hear me!? Or else your getting a swift kick to the face!"

Alex was taken aback by just how genuinely concerned all the girls, especially Kiana and Mei were for his wellbeing.

Even though he should've expected this, he just didn't.

After being quite for a bit, Alex simply chuckled a gave a smile.

"Alright fine. I promise I won't do anything like that ever again." He said.

"Good!" Said Kiana before going back to shy. "A-Also, I'm sorry for being so rude to you before, especially when you choose to leave after being paid off. Aunt Himeko and Aunt Theresa made me realize how much you've done to help us, so I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about I don't blame you. After all I was a random boy that you had no choice but to suddenly live with due to unfortunate circumstances, and looking back on it now, you were right for calling me out on ditching you all. I was being selfish and not realizing that what I thought was right was really wrong, but that's all water under the bridge." Said Alex.

When Kiana heard that, she immediately smiled and held out her fist for a fist bump.

"Alright! Then here's to a fresh, new restart for us!" Excitedly said Kiana.

Alex simply chuckled as he returned the fist bump back, holding out his own fist as they fist bumped.

'Maybe I won't staying here a little longer once I'm recovered.' Thought Alex to himself, until for some reason, he mind thought back to that night when Kiana had him pinned down at gun point, where he saw her normal blue eyes become golden instead, and then he remembered the words Truth told him before their conversation ended, as a thought clicked in his head.

'Wait, is that what he meant when he said she's not what she seems?' Thought Alex.

Chapter 23: Complete