— And you, kissing a soldier so intensely in your room... What will your father think of this? — Aiko exclaimed, with a provocative tone.

Emilia stared at her with a serious and cold look.

— I... I won't say anything! — Aiko said, raising her hands, clearly intimidated.

Emilia sighed deeply.

— This is Kay, my boyfriend. — Emilia declared firmly.

Aiko was completely shocked, her eyes wide as if she had seen something unbelievable.

— What kind of reaction is that?! — Emilia asked, full of disdain.

Tears began to flow from Aiko's eyes.

— You... you're finally acting like an adult! — Aiko thought, feeling an inexplicable pride as she tried to hold back her tears.

Kay and Emilia looked at each other, confused by the girl's exaggerated reaction.

— Don't embarrass me, you idiot! — Emilia said, quickly covering Aiko's mouth.

Kay started laughing out loud, enjoying the situation.

— I also saw this more childish side of her. To be honest, it's the first time I've seen this more adult side when she's not acting like a princess! — Kay commented, still laughing.

— How embarrassing... Don't remind me of my past! — Emilia muttered, looking away, embarrassed.

— What past?! Until a few weeks ago, you were still acting like this! — Aiko teased.

— What did you want here, anyway? — Emilia asked, trying to change the subject.

— I was looking for Alpha Zero! I asked the soldiers and they said he would be with you. So I asked your mother where you were, and she told me to look in the garden. Since I didn't find you there, I came here to your room! — Aiko explained quickly.

— Mom! — Emilia said, with an irritated tone.

— Were you looking for me? It's because of the suit, isn't it? I'll take it off now. — Kay said, standing up.

—W-wait! — Aiko said, embarrassed, gesturing for him to stop.

Kay, without paying attention, began to take off her suit.

—Where can I leave this? — Kay asked, now with the clothes that were underneath her uniform.

—Leave it on the chair. She'll get it later. — Emilia replied, pointing to the piece of furniture.

Aiko opened her eyes and widened when she realized that Kay was only wearing her underwear.

—You were going to take off your suit in front of everyone? Why are you embarrassed now? — Kay asked, not understanding.

—She's serious when she's acting like a scientist, but she changes completely when she's doing nothing! — Emilia commented, with an ironic tone.

"They really do look alike!" — Kay thought, observing the two.

—You just compared us, didn't you?! — the two said in unison, staring at him in sync.

Kay smiled, but quickly shook her head, trying to hide it.

"I'm going to be away from him for a long time, so wait outside!" Emilia said irritably, as she crossed her arms.

"Even if I wanted to, my body is still paralyzed!" Aiko replied, with a mischievous smile.

Emilia glared at her.

— It's not my fault! You never told me you had a boyfriend, much less that he was 100% all this time! — Aiko retorted.

— Without the mask, you can call me Kay. With the mask, call me Alpha Zero. — Kay said, in a serious tone, trying to bring order to the conversation.

— You're not the boss of me! — Aiko replied, stubbornly.

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— I told you I had made a soldier friend! — Emilia reminded, rolling her eyes.

— It's been a while, but you never said that this "friend" became your boyfriend! — Aiko replied, narrowing her eyes.

— I must have forgotten... — Emilia said, trying to end the subject.

Aiko turned her gaze to Kay, analyzing him with scientific curiosity.

— He's not bad-looking... A 100% capable of using the full potential of the suits. Julius never lets anyone study him... I wonder if this guy is like Julius? If I dated him, would I be free to touch him too? — Aiko thought out loud, lost in her thoughts.

— You thought out loud, idiot! — Emilia said, full of disdain.

— S-sorry! I was just joking! Don't take me seriously! — Aiko said, laughing nervously.

— She's funny! — Kay commented, laughing easily.

— Anyway, you can't date someone without love involved. It's not like I'm going to say "Do you want to date me?" and he's going to accept! — Aiko said, trying to justify her words.

Kay seemed lost in his thoughts, almost in a trance.

— I accept. — Kay said suddenly, breaking the silence.

The two looked at him, confused.

— What did you say?! — Emilia and Aiko exclaimed at the same time.

— Okay, I accept dating you. — Kay repeated calmly.

— How funny! Your boyfriend is really funny! — Aiko said, forcing a laugh, clearly not understanding the situation.

Before Aiko could react, Kay kissed her quickly.

— I'm serious. I accept your request. — Kay declared calmly.

— W-what? What are you saying?! — Aiko stammered, completely lost.

— What are you talking about, Kay? You don't even know her well! — Emilia exclaimed, indignant.

Kay, thoughtful, looked at Aiko.

— It's true... Why am I attracted to her? Is it because Mira asked me to accept anyone, or because she reminds me of you? — Kay thought out loud, looking at Emilia.

— Wait! Today is the last day of that deal with Mira... I had even forgotten about it! — Emilia said, as if she had been hit by a sudden revelation.

— What are you talking about? Who is Mira? And why don't you seem angry that he betrayed you by kissing me?! — Aiko shouted, sitting on the bed with an incredulous look.

— Mira is his fiancée. Kay is kind of... emotionless. So Mira suggested he have more wives, so he would develop more emotions. And it's working! I already loved him, so I became his girlfriend too. — Emilia explained, with a calm expression.

— And now, just because I played, I became his fiancée too? That doesn't make any sense! — Aiko said, clearly shaken.

— I don't understand either... You rejected me, even indirectly, at first. So why did you accept my cousin so easily? — Emilia asked, frowning.

— I don't know... It was something natural. I think her way reminds me of you, and since I love you, I think I can love her too. — Kay answered honestly.

— I'm not happy with that comparison! — Emilia said, irritated.

— You're laughing like an idiot! — Aiko commented, crossing her arms.

— He would accept anyone as a girlfriend just because they look like me! That means he loves me a lot, doesn't it? — Emilia said, smiling, blushing.

— I don't understand you guys, but leave me out of this strange relationship! And you'll pay for stealing my first kiss! — Aiko exclaimed, standing up and going to the chair where Kay's suit was.

— Wait! Are you sure? He accepts us as we are and will love you the same way he loves me! — Emilia said, trying to convince her.

— I can't date a guy who already has other girlfriends, especially one who is my cousin! — Aiko replied, determined.

— Are you sure? He's been over 100% for a long time! — Emilia teased, with a mischievous smile.

— Don't provoke her. — Kay warned, worried.

Aiko quickly approached Kay, her eyes shining with scientific curiosity.

— What is she talking about? There's no way to go over 100%! The suit would overload and not work properly! — Aiko said, with a skeptical expression.

— I'm operating at around 200% right now. — Kay replied calmly.

— You're kidding me! I never thought it was possible to surpass 100% naturally, without causing any kind of overload or penalty to the system! — Aiko exclaimed, fascinated, as she analyzed Kay more closely.

"Her eyes are shining... It's just like the first time I talked to Emilia. She was excited like that too." — Kay thought, smiling as she observed Aiko.

— How?! When did this happen? — Aiko asked, perplexed.

— When is a difficult question to answer, but the percentage increases a lot when you make a deal with the Ghoul. — Kay explained enigmatically.

— Think about it later, Aiko. Soon he'll have to leave! — Emilia said, interrupting and pulling Kay's face towards hers, kissing him passionately.

Aiko watched them in silence, her gaze filled with doubts.

“I... I don’t know if I can feel it. I spent so many years focused on my research that I no longer feel it…” Aiko began to say hesitantly.

Before she could finish, Kay approached her and kissed her.

“I don’t feel anything... So why don’t I want to stop kissing you?” Aiko thought, confused, as her hands trembled slightly.

“I wasn’t good with feelings either. But, living with people, I started to feel. By loving, I explored those feelings even more. I want you to feel the same way I do,” Kay said, staring at her intensely.

“Just... just stop talking!” Aiko interrupted, pulling him in for another kiss, her voice filled with repressed emotion.

A few minutes later, the scene shifted to the castle courtyard.

“I’ll fix your suit. Give me two days and I’ll bring it to you,” Aiko said seriously, but with a slight blush on her face.

“Thank you.” I'm leaving it in your hands. — Kay replied, already with her Alpha Zero mask back on.

“Let's go!” — Joana said impatiently, as she watched the interaction with an arched eyebrow.

“Take care! And remember what I told Mira.” — Emilia said, with a soft smile, clearly worried.

“I remember. See you later.” — Kay replied, her voice calm through the mask, but full of confidence.

The two waved in sync as Kay began to leave. He stopped for a moment, looked back and smiled under the mask before waving at them.

They got into the cars, and the driver started the car, taking them away.

“Did you get the information you wanted?” the queen asked, with curiosity in her eyes.

“Much more than that!” — Aiko replied, smiling enigmatically.

The queen frowned, confused.

“I'm going back to the institute.” — Aiko said goodbye quickly, with a determined glint in her eyes.

The scene changes to the base a few minutes later.