Chapter Nineteen: He Doesn't Care

Katsuki was in the common room playing video games and getting increasingly more irritated the more times he died. Aisla sat next to him on the small couch doing homework and giggling at his expense every time he roared in anger. She was the weirdest girl he'd ever met. Any sane person would have run away by now.

"DAMN IT TO HELL!" he bellowed when his character was suddenly sliced in half with a sword. "THIS GAME IS RIGGED!"

Another laugh from his left. "It's just a game, Katsuki. There's no need to get so worked up about it."

"I told you not to call me that in public!" he snapped at her as he started another round. This time he would for sure win! He had this in the bag. There would be no stopping him now!

"You never told me that," she argued, though her tone was laced with amusement.

"Well, I'm telling you now! DAMMIT!" He swore when his opponent got a crucial hit in, knocking his HP bar down to the yellow.

"You always get so heated when you play this game," she remarked with a snicker.

"Shut up," he commanded through gritted teeth, then pushed forward with his sword.

"Maybe we could take a break and do something else after this match?" she suggested. "We could go spar if you want?"

"Why would I…"

Somewhere behind them, their classmates' annoying chatter interrupted his reply. They were talking loudly amongst themselves, making Katsuki even angrier than the game was. They'd been getting louder, and it was becoming harder to tune out their irritating voices. Especially when the subject they were discussing was his dumbass best friend.

"Wait, Kirishima ditched tutoring?" Ashido's high voice squeaked in concern.

Katsuki clenched a fist. That shitty-haired idiot was bailing on tutoring, huh? It was his own fault for falling behind on his grades thanks to the work-study he was participating in. Katsuki didn't even feel bad for him. When he so kindly offered to help Kirishima with tutoring this time around, the bastard had turned him down! "You're a little too intense when you're teaching, bro." "Think I'll just join the tutoring program with the upperclassmen, no offense, man!" Look at the dumbass now, ditching the tutoring he ditched Katsuki for.

Honestly, if Kirishima failed his classes, it would be what he got for being a slacker. Katsuki wouldn't have cared. He shouldn't have cared. But then the invisible chick brought up that girl Kirishima had been rambling about for the past week.

Just a couple of days ago, the redhead had come to Katsuki for advice, pestering him with stupid questions like "how do I know if I like her" and shit. As if Katsuki was some kind of love guru therapist or something. Katsuki had blown him off, of course. He didn't like dealing with his own feelings of romance or attraction or whatever the hell he had with Aisla, let alone his dumb friend's problems.

He didn't care about Kirishima's problems. He definitely wasn't listening when invisi-girl spilled the latest gossip about how shitty-hair had caught his new love interest getting handsy with that third-year freak exhibitionist Tamagotchi or whatever his name was—the one who could phase through walls. Apparently, she'd seen them together in the halls cuddling or whatever. Kirishima's dumbass was there, too, only he'd run off like a damn girl to cry in his room. That loser… He could have just gone up to them and demanded to know what was going on! That was what Katsuki would do if…

He glanced at Aisla who must have finished her homework early and was now typing something on her phone while she waited for him to be ready for the next match. He leaned over to her and peered over her shoulder. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Can I help you, Mr. Nosy?"

He blushed and sat back. "You don't like exhibitionists, do you?" he blurted.

"Not really, why? Do you think I'm talking to one?" she teased.

He cleared his throat. "No. I don't give a shit who you're talking to…" He sat back and folded his arms across his chest, trying to pretend he wasn't curious.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Aisla waving her phone screen in his direction. "I don't care if you look at my phone, Katsuki~" she sang. "Go ahead, look at all my dirty little secrets."

He turned toward her slowly and scowled. "I don't wanna know your damn secrets!"

"Togata?" Midoriya suddenly burst out, drawing Katusku ungracefully back to the subject of Kirishima. "I didn't know he had a…girlfriend…" his voice trailed off and Katsuki thought he might actually shut the hell up for once, or at least speak at a normal volume so he wouldn't have to hear him, but after a moment his voice picked up again, even louder than before. "I-I mean, not that it's any of my business, that's kind of personal!"

Katsuki was growing more enraged the longer that green-haired nerd spoke. His hand twitched in irritation and he was this close to beating the shit out of him.

"Are you okay?" Aisla whispered, leaning closer to him.

He ignored her and waited to see what else Deku would say. As if the hero-worshipping loser knew anything about relationships, or about Kirishima and the rainbow-hair chick. His opinion didn't mean shit in this conversation. If anyone should have something to say, it should be Katsuki. If I cared.

"I'm just surprised," he continued. "Especially that he would be the type to have, you know, PDA on campus, that doesn't really sound like him… N-Not that there's anything wrong with PDA, I just mean—"

Hearing Deku talk about PDA was the last proverbial straw. "GOD, WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP?!" Katsuki finally snapped. He slammed a fist against the window, making the glass groan in protest, and gave his classmates a start. They all glanced over at him in surprise. "NO ONE WANTS TO HEAR THIS CRAP!"

"Um, Katsuki…?" Aisla tried, but he brushed her off and stood up angrily from his seat. He stuffed his hands into his pockets to prevent himself from punching anyone, then started for the hallway. He would deal with this problem himself, then everyone else could shut the hell up about it.

"Hey, where are you going?" Kaminari called after him.

"TO PULL KIRISHIMA'S HEAD OUT OF HIS ASS!"

He ignored the other's attempts to stop him, he didn't care what they thought of his actions. Even Aisla, who probably would have told him that 'violence isn't the answer,' was dead wrong in this situation. He'd already attempted to talk to the rock the other day and he'd gotten nowhere fast. He was as dumb as his quirk was hard and he needed someone to show him exactly how stupid he was being.

He stormed up the stairs to his friend's door and beat the living daylights out of it. "KIRISHIMA!" he hollered. "GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE AND STOP YOUR DAMN POUTING OR I'LL KILL YOU!"

That would work. If he didn't stop his girly crying shit, Katsuki would pound his face in before he had time to activate that quirk of his.

When no response came, he tried to force the handle open instead, pulling on it so hard it was sure to break off if the other guy didn't answer the damn door. "DON'T IGNORE ME, YOU BASTARD!"

Kirishima finally opened the door a crack and peered out at him. His stupid face was puffy as if he'd been crying. Katsuki wanted to beat the redness right off of it. Instead, he shoved open the door, grabbed his friend by the collar, and held his puffy-ass face right up to his own. He hoped his expression looked deadly so Kirishima would grasp the seriousness of the situation.

"What the hell are you doing in here, Kirishima?!" he yelled. "You wanna tell me why the hell you're lazing around in your room while the rest of us are rehearsing for the school festival?"

Kirishima pulled his collar free from Katsuki's grasp and straightened it. "Rehearsals start tomorrow, I'm not shirking my duties. I'm just taking it easy this afternoon, it's not a big deal"

"Taking it easy?" Katsuki seethed. "Seems to me like you're moping in your room over some loser hero-crutch from the second-year support class!"

Kirishima sighed and looked away from his murderous glare. "Not cool man. How'd you know about that anyway?"

Katsuki couldn't stand the sight of him like this. The peppy, chivalrous do-gooder looked like hell, like a wounded puppy whimpering over some girl. He wanted him back to normal. He hated the thought of him feeling the same kind of shitty emotions Katsuki felt when things were bad between him and Aisla. "How the hell can I count on you to be my personal punching bag if you get like this over some chick?!" he raged. "GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!"

Kirishima took a step back and held his hands up defensively. "I will, alright? I'm not the type to sit around crying about it forever. Just…leave me alone for one afternoon, cool? You can punch me as many times as you want in the morning."

Katsuki realized that he was serious. For the first time in ever, Kirishima wasn't in the mood to take his beatings. He growled angrily but finally decided that he didn't give a shit and turned to leave. "Fine, do whatever the hell you want. See if I care!"

I don't care, I don't care, I don't fucking care! He told himself as he stormed back down the stairs and into the common area. He ignored his classmates' calling out to him as he burst through the door and stampeded across the lawn.

I don't give a flying shit, he reminded himself. I'm doing this for my own sanity, not because I care!

He strode past all the first-year dormitories, past the courtyard between academic buildings, and all the way to the second-year support class dorm. He stormed right up to an unsuspecting girl and screamed at her to get the rest of her class out here right now. She looked terrified, eyes wide and lips trembling, but she nodded as she ran into the building, casting uneasy glances behind her as she did as if waiting for him to reach out and strike.

Katsuki waited impatiently for the girl to do as he asked, tapping his foot on the ground so hard he was sure he'd dig a hole big enough to swallow him up.

"This is so fucking dumb," he muttered. "That stupid idiot is going to pay big time for this shit!"

A few long minutes later, a group of girls emerged from the building, all wearing the same confused expression. He looked over them but didn't recognize anyone in particular. They were all just extras, not even good enough to be on the hero-track.

"WHICH ONE OF YOU IS THE HAIR CHICK?!" he demanded. She'd better be in this group or he'd be even more pissed off than before. He wasn't going to search all over campus for some stupid girl so Kirishima would stop moping.

A long pause ensued while the gathered girls murmured amongst themselves. Finally, a girl with braided blonde hair stepped forward. "I'm…um, Kanzashi," she said hesitantly.

"Of course, you are," Katsuki muttered in annoyance. He wasn't surprised this would be his friend's type. All tall, blonde, and walking around with RBF. Kirishima was a masochist on more than just the training field, apparently.

"To what do I owe the, um, pleasure?" she asked carefully, shifting on her feet.

"DO YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND?!" he roared, getting straight to the point so he wouldn't be forced to stand out here embarrassing himself for any longer. This was so dumb. He should have made Aisla come over here and ask instead. Or better yet, he should have just minded his own damn business and stayed out of this altogether.

A couple of girls giggled in response.

Kanzashi or whoever looked uncomfortable. "Um…I'm sorry, what?"

God. Was she stupid or something? "JUST ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!"

"Listen…" she played with her braid as she talked, something Aisla did a lot when she was anxious. He wondered what the hell this girl had to be anxious about when all he wanted to know was the answer to a simple question! "It's not that you're not…cute, in your own way…" she seemed to be having a hard time coming up with the words and he hoped she'd get on with it before he decided to just leave. "But, you're not really my type."

Oh. So that was why she looked so sick right now… She thought he was asking…

Katsuki felt his cheeks get hot and hoped none of the gathered girls noticed. "I'M NOT ASKING FOR ME, YOU DUMBASS HERO-CRUTCH! DO YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND OR NOT?!"

He dug his feet into the earth harder, willing it to swallow him up right now.

"I…no, I don't," she finally answered.

He narrowed his eyes at her, wondering if he should believe her or not. "What about that quirkless exhibitionist? Mario or whatever?"

Surprise lit her features. "Mirio Togata? No, no way! We're neighbors, it's nothing like that!"

He watched her for a long moment, then finally decided he was satisfied and turned to leave. "Good," he muttered as he walked away.

"Wait!" Her grating voice called out to him, but he ignored her. He'd humiliated himself enough already getting drawn into Kirishima's melodrama. "Are you asking me this for Kirishima?"

He froze. Part of him wanted to deny it and claim that he didn't care, but… He wasn't fooling himself anymore. It was the same as with Aisla. He could only put on a front for so long before even he realized he cared. He cared about that annoyingly cute girl who kissed him sometimes and he cared about his idiot best friend who always smiled.

"JUST KEEP YOUR GRUBBY HANDS TO YOURSELF OR I'LL MURDER YOU!" he finally shouted. At least now she'd know better than to go hugging guys in the hallways when she had a perfectly good Kirishima who wanted to be her bosom-buddy.

He stomped back to the dorm, right past his curious classmates, and straight to Kirishima's door. He kicked the door with his boot. "KIRISHIMA!" he bellowed. "That stupid girl you like is single, so stop screwing around and get your act together before you seriously piss me off!" He kicked the door a second time just to get his point across, then immediately turned for his own room, not even bothering to wait and see if his friend would come out.

"Wait, Katsuki," he heard the idiot say as he tramped down the hall. "Did you talk to her?"

"Let me make this clear, Kirishima," he snarled, turning back to glare at the other boy. "I'm never getting involved in your personal drama again as long as I live, and the only reason I did this time is because we have a concert to put on and I'm not gonna let you make me look bad!"

He shut his door right in the shocked face of his friend and turned the lock just in case he had any funny ideas about following him inside.

Let him mull that information over for the next day or so, Katsuki thought in triumph. He'd better remember to be grateful and get his shit together by then or Katsuki's next move would be a blaster to his face.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice that someone already occupied his dorm room until they spoke.

"Katsuki?"

The blond yelped like a startled puppy and spun around on his heel, fist raised and ready to strike the intruder. He let it fall to his side when he recognized the girl in front of him.

He let out an annoyed sigh. "Oh, it's you. Should have known you'd be here."

Aisla sat in his desk chair, legs crossed and hands neatly folded in her lap. She was giving him a disapproving expression that reminded him uncomfortably of one his mother sometimes gave him. He didn't like seeing it on this girl.

He scowled and turned his back on her. "What do you want?" he asked as he flopped onto his bed. He put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt exhausted.

"What happened just now, Katsuki?" she asked him. "Where did you run off to?"

"Nothing," he answered coolly. "Nowhere. I just had a chat with Rainbow Hair."

"Who?"

"Kana-sushi?" he offered.

"Do you mean Kanzashi?" Aisla guessed.

He half-shrugged. "Sure, whatever. I just went to ask if she had a boyfriend or not."

He heard her soft laugh. "Oh, should I be jealous?"

He tried to come up with a reasonable explanation as to why she'd even ask that, but his mind drew a blank. "Jealous of what?"

"Oh, I don't know," Aisla began casually, "maybe because you're asking other girls if they're single?"

He gave her an "are you stupid?" look.

She shrugged. "I like you, Katsuki," she said simply.

"Yeah, well don't get any dumb ideas," he muttered as he closed his eyes once more. "You know as well as I do that no sane person would want to be with someone like me anyway."

"You're a nice guy, Katsuki," she murmured. "Anyone would like you."

His cheeks heated. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" he demanded, but refused to open his eyes to look at her again.

"Exactly what I said," she sassed. "You're a nice guy. And I was only teasing you. I know why you went over there, that's why I'm here now."

"You don't know anything," he mumbled, though he had a feeling she did. She was a mind reader after all. That damn girl knew everything.

"You knew Kirishima was upset over Kanzashi and you wanted to help him out. That's really sweet of you," she observed.

"I'M NOT SWEET, DAMMIT!" he growled. "STOP SAYING THAT DUMB THING!"

"But I think you're sweet~" she trilled, unfazed by his shouting as usual.

"Then you're an idiot…" he spoke softly.

He heard the chair squeak as she stood up but he was too tired to look over and see if she'd left. He hoped she had so he could just go to bed. So what if it was only six o'clock? He was tired! He needed to sleep off today's events.

"Katsuki?" Her soft voice was right by his ear.

His eyes flew open to find her face inches above his own. He opened his mouth to tell her to leave, to get the hell out and not to be in his room ever again…but something about her piercing blue eyes held his tongue captive.

"Let me lay with you…" she whispered, so low he had to strain just to hear the words.

"N-no…" he tried but wasn't sure if he'd even gotten the word out.

Aisla leaned down and pressed her lips lightly against his cheek. "Please…?" she begged. "I won't bother you."

Oh no. No, no, no. She could not be in his bed. Was she crazy?!

"Aisla…no…" he warned but made no effort to push her away. In fact, he found himself drawing her closer. His hands reached out without permission and slid around her back, pulling her into him. She fell right onto his chest but made no moves to get up or adjust her position. She stayed right there, head in the crook between his neck and shoulder, body lazily draped over his, and hand softly caressing his arm.

He shifted slightly so she rested beside him with her head still cradled on his chest. His arm instinctually tightened around her, but he hated himself for doing it. He screamed every foul word at himself and swore on his own life that if he didn't ask this girl to leave right the fuck now he'd regret it.

But he didn't. He held her in his arms as his eyes drifted closed again. He listened to her soft breathing and felt the faint beating of her heart against his. He thought about what this would mean for them later when his head was no longer groggy from sleep. For now, he allowed himself to relax and drift off to sleep with Aisla tucked safely in his arms.

Katsuki slept through the night until the milky light of dawn had barely begun to creep across his floor. It wasn't the light that woke him, however, it was the sudden movement beside him and the soft sigh that definitely did not belong to himself.

Well, fuck.

Her head still rested against his arm—which was now numb from the hours it spent in this position—but she'd turned onto her other side sometime during the night. Her back was now pressed firmly against his, and his other arm had made its way across her body without his knowledge and held her there almost possessively.

His whole body went suddenly cold with alarm. Aisla was in his bed. Aisla had been in his bed all damn night. And not just that, but he'd somehow managed to sleep for hours without even noticing he'd been cuddled up against someone! What the hell was wrong with him?! He needed to kick her out right this minute before anyone noticed.

"Katsuki…" she sighed, and he stiffened in response. She said nothing else, which either meant she thought he was still asleep or…or she was asleep. But why the hell would she say his name in her sleep? Was she… no. She wasn't dreaming about him, was she? What kind of dream would she be having while sleeping in his bed? His mind went to a few possibilities, but he didn't think sweet Aisla, who cried when someone accidentally crushed a bug, would ever imagine the things he sometimes did.

That's it, he decided a moment later. He'd just thought he heard her say his name. That was logical. He was half asleep after all. She definitely didn't say anything.

He gently pulled his arm free from beneath her neck and winced at the pins and needles feeling that instantly stabbed the entire limb. He silently cursed the gods for allowing this to be a sensation humans could have. He was being punished for letting a girl sleep in his bed, he just knew it. Maybe his arm would stay limp forever.

Fortunately, it didn't take long for the feeling to come back. Once the arm was fully functional again, he used it to shake the girl at his side. "Hey," he said softly. "You gotta get out of here. It's already morning."

She inhaled deeply and stretched as she turned toward him. Her eyes were heavy and slightly disoriented as she shifted her gaze all over his face, then the room beyond him. Finally, they opened wide and she sat bolt upright, clutching her chest as if in pain.

"Oh my god. I'm so sorry, Katsuki!" she exclaimed. "I didn't mean to fall asleep, I swear! I…I'll leave now! I'm so sorry!" She hastily pushed herself from the bed and started for the door.

"Aisla, wait!" he called after her, but she was out the door before he could stumble out of bed. Now, it would look too suspicious for him to go after her. "I didn't mean…" He groaned and pulled at his hair in frustration. "I'm a fucking idiot."

He laid back down and sighed heavily. He didn't mean to make her feel bad this time. She must have thought he was trying to throw her out because he was embarrassed. He had been trying to get her to leave, but not because he didn't want her there. He was afraid of someone catching them like that. If someone had seen them curled up together, they'd both be in major trouble. The last thing he needed was someone blabbing to Mr. Aizawa that he'd been spooning the teacher's pet in his room all night.

"Well, whatever," he said aloud a moment later. If she wanted to be upset then she could be. It was her own damn fault for sneaking into his room and whispering dumb shit like "let me lay next to you, Katsuki." He was the one who should be upset! They could have gotten into so much trouble if anyone had caught them. He was honestly kind of surprised no one had come looking for either of them the whole evening. When he'd come back to his room after yelling at Kirishima, it couldn't have been later than six-thirty.

"Guess they were all busy planning for the concert…" He sighed. "Which is what we should have been doing, too, instead of…God." He smacked himself upside the head. There was nothing to be done about it now, though. They would just go about their day as if nothing weird happened. If he got that lucky anyway. Knowing Aisla, she'd want to talk about their feelings or some shit. He didn't want to talk about his feelings. There had been enough of that going on in the last two months.

But amazingly, I don't hate it as much as I thought I would…

He shook off the thought because it was total bullshit. He hated talking about his feelings and didn't want to do it again today. Maybe he would just stay in his room for the whole day and avoid her. Then again, she would just let herself in like she owned the place… Sit in his chair… Lay in his bed…

He remembered the feeling of her hand caressing his skin as he drifted off and the way she'd said his name in sleep like she was dreaming about him. He remembered her kissing his cheek, then later pressing her lips to his chest when she thought he was asleep. Then, there was the fact that he'd felt so comfortable with her in his bed, in his arms…like it was something they'd done a hundred times before.

He groaned loudly and stood from the bed, deciding what he needed the most at that moment was a nice cold shower to remind him that he was in school dammit. He should be thinking about becoming the next best hero and not about sleeping next to girls.

He took his things down to the showers and prayed that no one else would be up this early so he could shower in peace. He needed to be alone to get rid of his thoughts. He couldn't keep thinking like this or he'd go crazy. He knew that if he spent too much time thinking about Aisla sleeping in his bed that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from imagining her doing other things in his bed. And that wasn't right.

Unfortunately for him, there was already someone occupying the showers. He didn't want to be caught dead showering alongside anyone else, but… He really needed that blast of cold water to bring him to his senses. He could not go back to his room before that. So, even though he'd rather shower next to an alligator than this bastard, he stepped into the next stall and stripped out of his clothes anyway. He turned on the water at full blast and cursed when the icy water hit his skin.

"I know that's you," came an unwelcome voice.

"You're right," Katsuki answered with a sneer. "It's fucking Saint Nick. Ho ho ho, go to hell."

He thought he heard the bastard chuckle in response but that could have been the pipes squeaking. "Where did you and Aisla take off to last night?" he inquired.

Katsuki stiffened. He hadn't wanted to talk about her, he'd been trying to get rid of thoughts pertaining to that girl. "None of your damn business," he shot back. Then he realized something. "How the hell did you even know we were together, Todo?"

"I was told by Uraraka and Ashido that she went looking for you," he said. "No one saw her return to her room all night, nor did we see any of your unwelcome presence, so I put two and two together."

Katsuki grumbled under his breath as he reached for some soap. He decided he needed a fast shower. "We were studying, okay?!" he lied. "Didn't you see her doing homework downstairs?" He was pretty sure that was what she'd been doing, but now his mind was a little hazy on the details.

"You were doing homework…all night?" Icy Hot pressed, in a tone that implied he didn't believe a single word.

"Look, you fucking labrador, if you have something to say then come out and say it or leave me the hell alone!" Katsuki was getting worked up, but at least he wasn't feeling anything…else anymore. He was no longer thinking about the events that conspired that night. His focus was only on how quickly he could get away from here. He wondered what the hell Aisla saw in this douchebag because personally, he kind of hated his guts.

"I'm just looking out for my friend," he replied with an obvious edge to his voice. "I don't want anyone taking advantage of her…generosity."

Katsuki gripped the soap so hard it flew right out of his grasp. It fell to the floor and broke in two, but he let it stay as rage coursed through him. "What. The. Fuck?" he managed to get out through clenched teeth. He was shaking with anger now. "I didn't do anything to Aisla, okay?! So leave me the hell alone! It's not my fault you're a jealous mutt!"

Silence met him for an eternity before Todoroki finally spoke in an even tone. "Maybe I am jealous," he allowed, "but that doesn't negate the fact that she deserves better than you."

The water turned off in the shower next to him. There were sounds of shuffling as he probably dried off and slipped into clothes, followed by the sound of footsteps as he stomped across the room and out the door.

Katsuki stood there under the spray of water for a long time contemplating those words.

She deserves better than you.

He was right. Katsuki hated to admit it, but Todo-fucking-Roki was absolutely right in this instance. Aisla Haru deserved way better than someone like Katsuki Bakugo. He couldn't give her the relationship she needed. She was soft and sweet and warm-hearted. She was too good for him. He'd known that from the beginning.

But I don't care, he thought. He wanted her pretty damn badly, more than he could admit. He liked her a lot and didn't want to give her up just because her jealous best friend thought he should. Then again…was that what was best for Aisla? He couldn't be selfish anymore; he couldn't keep putting his own needs above hers. Maybe what was best for her…was to be with someone like Todoroki.

Maybe I should just let her go…

A/N: Hello, friends! If you recall, last week I let you know that I'd be going on a trip this weekend. Tomorrow, we fly out really early in the morning, and it's a long flight so I won't be able to post on Friday like I normally do. Because of this, I decided to post a day early for you all! That way, you can still have your weekly fix of Aisla and Katsuki XD

Reviews:

MeMyselfAndI82907: Thank you!

LilFoxDemon666: Oooh the remastered Fruits Basket was so beautiful! I loved it even more than the original, and that one was already great! And thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it! I like cute Bakugo too! Actually, I like any Bakugo. He can be my "friend" any day XD

The New Aged Hippie: Of course! I've been meaning to do that, I honestly spaced! I'll try to be better at including that for those of you who read the others or would like to read! I don't believe there's any connection in The Contract with this chapter, but I added a reference to The Ribbon.

Beta: yellowchikadee

Test Audience: yellowchikadee; Ashteriax

Reference: The scene with Kirishima and Kanzashi was taken directly from yellowchikadee's story "The Ribbon." You can find the full version in chapter 3!