.
Chapter Eleven
.
.
"I look ridiculous," Kazuya scowled at her reflection, earning a mean glare from both herself and her mom, who had done her makeup and hair for the games. Her hair had been pulled into high pigtails with two thin strands hanging in front of her face. One was black, the other blue.
Elena spun her daughter around and examined her work: mascara, the tiniest bit of eyeshadow, glitter in the inner corner of her eyes, and so much highlighter that the girl glowed in even the dimmest of lights.
"You look cute!" she huffed, "Besides, I never got to dress up your sister, so at least let me have this, okay?" At the mention of her sister, Kazuya shut her mouth and let the woman work. Noticing how quiet she got, her mother sighed and pulled her into a warm embrace, "I shouldn't have said that. You are not Kagami. You are not your father. You are nobody but Kazuya, understand?"
"Yes, Ma'am," she closed her eyes, leaning into the touch. Elena kissed her forehead and held her face in her hands for a moment.
Kazuya could barely sit still on the way to school, let alone when her class was placed in a waiting room for over half an hour. She was ready to get out into the field and prove that she was truly worthy of the title "hero". Nothing could stop her from kicking ass, especially not the ten pounds of cosmetics on her face.
"Wow…" Ashido gasped when she finally arrived, "I didn't peg you for the makeup type. You look great!"
"My mom made me. I had no choice," Kazuya sighed. Admittedly, the look had grown on her and she found herself hating it less and less, "I didn't have the heart to tell her I'll probably sweat it off by the end of this."
"I think you look sexy!" Mineta gave her a thumbs-up, popping up from God-knows-where. She crouched down to his height, hands on her bent knees.
"Talk to me like that again and I'll throw you into the sun," her smile and charming tone did not fit the intensity of her words. Ashido burst into a fit of laughter at the way Mineta deflated like an old balloon. Kazuya stood up and rolled her eyes in disgust, pushing the grape boy away with her foot.
"From an objective standpoint, I think it's fairly clear that I'm stronger than you."
Everyone paused to look at Todoroki, who was standing face-to-face with Midoriya. The green-haired boy nodded, a bead of nervous sweat rolling off his brow.
"However, you've got All Might in your corner, helping you out. I'm not here to pry about what's going on between you two, but know that I will beat you," Todoroki continued.
The atmosphere of the room had changed in an instant. Kazuya felt a tingling in her spine when she saw the calm yet spiteful look on Todoroki's face. He was like a sharp icicle hanging from a roof— cold and beautiful, but dangerous.
"Woah, what's with all these declarations of war lately?" Kaminari laughed nervously.
"Yeah, what's the big deal? Why are you picking a fight right before we get started — "
"We're not here to be each other's friends," Todoroki shrugged Kirishima's hand off of his shoulder with a frown then turned to leave the room, "Don't forget this isn't a team effort."
"What's his deal?" Ashido pouted, arms crossed as she dropped into a chair. Kazuya shrugged and chewed on the inside of her cheek. She hoped they wouldn't start fighting right here and now.
"Wait, Todoroki," Midoriya suddenly called, fists clenched at his sides, "I don't know what's going through your head or why you think you'd need to tell me that you'll beat me. Yeah, you might be better than me. In fact, you probably have way more potential than anyone in the hero course. That's how you got in so easily."
"This will get inspirational eventually," Kazuya deadpanned, eye twitching in annoyance at Midoriya's indirect insult. She thought she had potential…
"He's right. All the other courses are coming for us with everything they've got. We're all gonna have to fight to stand out." Lifting his head so dark shadows fell across his face dramatically, the boy's emerald eyes burned like a forest fire, "I'll be aiming for the top, too."
"Fine," Todoroki huffed indifferently. It was only for a second, but Kazuya swore he looked at her before pushing past Iida to go out into the hall.
"Where are you going?" Tsu asked when she jumped out of her seat to follow him.
"I'll be right back," she waved her hand dismissively and pursued her classmate with a frown. Iida shut the door behind her, leaving her and Todoroki in the hallway alone.
"What do you want?" he immediately asked but didn't turn around.
"I'm not declaring war if that's what you're thinking. I've already picked my battle," she shrugged and shoved her hands into her pockets, "I know you're strong or whatever, but you can't go around thinking you're better than everyone."
"Why is what I do any of your concern?" he finally glanced over his shoulder, cerulean eye boring holes into her.
"It's not," Kazuya snapped, nearly bursting a blood vessel in her forehead, "but I'd like to think that everyone isn't secretly an asshole, so spill the beans, Frozone." When Todoroki didn't answer her, she stepped up to his side and leaned in front of his face. "Come on, you can tell me! What's eating at you? Is it your huge ego? A grudge? Family drama? I can help with that one — "
"You are the most annoying person I have ever met," he grumbled when she finally cracked through that icy exterior.
"That whole lone wolf thing is going to blow up in your face. Apparently, you can't go long without being forced into friendships," she sighed and shook her head. Despite being ignored, her lips still curved into a playful smile. Soon, their classmates joined them for their big entrance and she gave up on trying to find that softer side of Todoroki that she briefly saw during training. For the time being, that is…
When class 1-A stepped into the stadium, Kazuya felt her anxiety creep into the back of her mind and make her heart beat like a drum. Present Mic did some crowd work and talked them up plenty, although it sounded unnecessary from the way the crowd roared when they entered. The cameras swung towards them the second they appeared and Kazuya had to focus on the upcoming fights to keep face.
"I hope you're watching, Dad," her lips twitched upwards into a calm smile, contrasting with the excited burning of her eyes. It was almost scary.
All the students gathered before Midnight as she stood on a podium in her R-rated hero costume. She licked her lips, disregarded the drooling spectators (including Mineta), and began the introductory speech.
Kazuya was amazed by the fact this temptress was the same woman who so softly comforted her when she was blinded by rage and heartbreak. As someone who was also incredibly two-faced at times, it wasn't hard to imagine. She just admired her remarkable mastery of it.
With another crack of her whip, the pro brought attention to the screen projected above her, "Without further ado, it's time for us to get started! The first game of the cultural festival will be randomly decided now." The screen spun, similar to a casino slot machine. When it settled, Obstacle Race was displayed in big characters.
The challenge sounded easy enough. All classes would race through a four-kilometre-long track around the outside of the stadium. Students would have to go through various obstacles and they couldn't leave the course.
When Midnight told the students to take their places in front of the starting tunnel, Kazuya felt something brush past her shoulder. Through her peripherals, she saw a head of violet hair shuffle up next to her. This was the first time Shinso had been this close since their little…display…in front of everyone.
"You look good. I'm guessing Elena did your makeup?" he murmured without making eye contact. It didn't matter. She refused to acknowledge him, anyway. The timer was already counting down to the start of the first game and there was no way she would allow him to be a distraction or trip her up with Brainwash.
A loud buzz came from the overhead speakers and, without missing a beat, everyone crowded into the narrow entryway like they were trying to escape some masked psychopath. There were so many students and so much shoving that her quirk sparked to life as if it could sense her discomfort. Maybe if she could just Repel herself up and over, she could get a head start…
Before she could even take her glove off, however, someone else acted upon her idea. Todoroki froze all his opponent's feet to the ground and rode a wave of ice to the front of the pack, followed closely by Bakugou, Yaoyorozu, Kirishima, and Aoyama.
"Oh, they're playing dirty?" Kazuya's lips twitched upwards. Her smile turned dark as she looked at the closest competitor. "I'm not sorry," she whispered to Shinso as she pulled a glove off and slammed her hand onto his chest.
The contact spot on his clothes and her glove glowed red before she shot forward like a bat out of hell. She broke through the ice, whooping and hollering as she relished the feeling of flying through the air. The students below were nothing more than ants beneath her feet from this height.
Wanting to save energy, she let her quirk fade and curled so she safely rolled to the ground. She smiled when she realised she had made it to fifth place, but the victory was short-lived.
Heavy, metallic footsteps shook the ground and brought everyone to a halt; blocking the path were three giant robots with targeting sensors aimed directly at the students.
"Oh, enemies out of nowhere! A test of strength and cunning!" Present Mic shouted through the speakers, nearly peaking the microphone.
"The robots from the entrance exam…" Kazuya heard Midoriya mutter.
"You fought those things?!" her eyes nearly popped out of her head. Hearing her shock, the green-haired boy shot her a confused look.
"Didn't you?" he asked with furrowed brows. She shook her head and he pieced together the implications rather quickly, "Y – You're a recommendation student?!"
"Not a good enough one apparently," she stared at the scene in front of them with widened eyes and a hanging jaw. In the short span of their conversation, Todoroki had managed to show off again. This time he froze everyone of those fucking machines with a single swipe of his hand.
Kazuya didn't know whether to be terrified or thankful. There was no time to deliberate on it, though. The show must go on!
The robots had sensors on their "face" that looked like red eyeballs. If she could crack one, she figured she could slip by and hopefully stall the pack behind her as it malfunctions. Grabbing an especially sharp piece of broken metal, she pulled it out of the ground and rushed towards the smaller droid. It jabbed a heavy hand towards her at surprising speed and she rolled out of the way. Its arm got stuck in the dirt, giving her an easy-access ramp up to its head.
The training she underwent during the last few weeks helped her control when her quirk activated, but she still had trouble commanding the objects she threw. For example, she could have just sniped the mech from the ground without needing to get closer, but there was no guarantee that she wouldn't miss entirely, or end up attracting the slab of iron, instead.
With one last leap, she was able to get in front of its face and shove the jagged scrap into its sensor. The glass cracked and some electric sparks flew out of the socket before it began to malfunction, swinging its arms around wildly. The kids closest to it were either thrown or backed away. Kazuya felt her heart rate spike as she used the robot for a quick boost, pushing it to the ground while throwing herself further.
This is just too fun!
When Kazuya arrived, she found Tsu, Ashido, Uraraka, and a few other non-1-A students had already made it to the next obstacle. This challenge had tightrope wires suspended above a large chasm for the competitors to cross. She had never been afraid of heights, she even loved tall coasters, but this seemingly endless pit was enough to make anyone hesitate.
Regardless, Tsu stepped forward first and used her Frog quirk to hop a great distance and stick to the wires.
"She's fast!" Ashido watched her with an impressed glint in her eyes. Kazuya nodded, smile growing. She was so proud!
"Finally," a maniacal cackle caught the girls' attention, "This is my chance to show off what I can do! My support items are gonna steal the spotlight from these wannabe heroes." A student with pink dreadlocks held her arms out, showing off the various pieces of equipment she was strapped into.
"You're from support!" Uraraka pointed out.
"Hey, how come you got to bring all that stuff?!" Ashido asked in a whiny voice.
"To keep things fair for us non-heroics kids, we're allowed to bring whatever gadgets and costumes we want as long as we make them ourselves!" the geared-up support student explained with a proud grin. Behind her bulky goggles, her bright yellow eyes shifted to Kazuya. "You're Doctor Imai's kid! I'm Hatsume Mei, it's a pleasure to meet ya!"
"Y – Yeah, you too," her cheeks heated as the girl's shoes whirred to life and began to lift her off the ground.
"I'd love to stay and chat, but I've got to show off my babies! I hope employers are watching!" A metal claw attached to a rope shot out from her belt and grappled onto one of the rock pillars that littered the space of the ravine. She shot forward like a bullet.
"Wow, talk about annoying," Ashido huffed, lips pursed into a fine line.
"She's awesome," Kazuya muttered unconsciously, getting a strange look from her friend. Shaking the thought from her head, she grabbed Uraraka's shirt and crouched low to the ground.
"What are you doing?!" the brunette yelped as she was pulled down.
"You want to win right?" She nodded. "Then when I say so, you need to make us float. Mina, grab on." Kazuya narrowed her earth-coloured eyes and Ashido quickly latched onto her arm.
When she willed her quirk to activate, the dirt under her hand and her classmate's tracksuits glowed ruby red. She waited until a few more students got courageous, and then gave the signal. Uraraka got them into the air while Kazuya kept their forward momentum.
"Nice!" the brunette beamed. She let gravity return to normal when they hit solid ground, but scrunched her brows when she found she couldn't move.
"Sorry, guys. No hard feelings!" Kazuya gave the two girls a half-hearted salute and dropped one of her gloves before they could ask questions. The part of their shirts that connected with her skin glowed blue, and they were unable to move from her abandoned accessory.
"Damn it, Kazuya!" Ashido shrieked, trying desperately to use her legs but to no avail. The effect would wear off eventually, although Kazuya wanted to get farther ahead. After using her quirk so much in such a short amount of time, her legs began to feel heavy. Nevertheless, she persevered.
Based on Present Mic's warnings of hidden land mines, someone else had already made it to the next obstacle. Sure enough, when she got there, Todoroki and Bakugou were fighting for first place while some other students crept up behind them. She noticed Midoriya hesitating at the start of the minefield, trying to figure out his next move.
"You got this!" He jumped as she slapped him on the back. Repel activated and she was gone before he could get a word out. She flipped to keep off the ground, using people as stepping stones to jump her way across the field like a game of leapfrog. This move wasn't fast, but it was effective and the spectators probably loved it.
With careful footing, she stepped onto the broad shoulder of her classmate, Shoji. His expression was unreadable thanks under his mask, but she caught the subtle flush of his cheeks. She bent at the waist, hair falling over her face as she flashed him a toothy grin.
One loud bang and a bright pink flash later, Kazuya's pigtails were picked up by the wind and her balance shifted. The massive blast created such a powerful shockwave that she nearly slipped off the tall boy's shoulders, but he created another set of arms with his quirk and kept her stable.
"INCREDIBLE!" Present Mic cried out, "What just happened?! Whatever the case, class 1-A's Midoriya Izuku is suddenly in hot pursuit of first place!"
"What?!" Kazuya's head spun around so fast that she nearly got whiplash. Shoji pointed to something coming out of the pink, glittery smoke and that's when she saw Midoriya soaring through the air on a hunk of metal. After the initial shock, she couldn't stop herself from cheering him on. The world seemed to move again once he took first place and she continued to bound towards the finish line.
Taking advantage of the trail made by Todoroki (who was currently chasing Midoriya in lieu of fighting Bakugou), she slid along the leftover ice path that hindered the mine explosions. Her lungs hurt like hell and her legs ached in protest of any movement, but slowing down was out of the question. She was going to make it to the next round, no matter what! All that required was placing forty-second or higher.
The Imai family had been through enough heartbreak and if Kazuya did well in the games, maybe she could ease some of that pain. Her mom and dad deserved to be proud of the daughter they still had! Reminding herself that her parents were watching gave her the strength to speed up, passing some other unknown students as she dashed through the finish line.
Midnight made some sort of speech as the rest of the students poured in, but Kazuya couldn't hear over the sound of her heartbeat thumping in her ears. Her hearing returned once the results of the race were displayed on various screens around the stadium.
First Place – Class A: Midoriya Izuku
Second Place – Class A: Todoroki Shoto
Third Place – Class A: Bakugou Katsuki
Fourth Place – Class B: Shiozaki Ibara
Fifth Place – Class A: Imai Kazuya
Sixth place – Class A: Iida Tenya . . .
Kazuya laughed lightly at first, light chuckles that could have been mistaken for laboured breathing but quickly turned to the giggling of a mad woman. She didn't expect to get top ten, let alone top five! With no way to release the pure happiness within her, she wrapped her arms around Midoriya, who had been standing beside her. It didn't hit her that she squeezed him so tightly that he couldn't breathe for a few seconds.
"Izuku, you were incredible! The way you just flew over everyone like that?! Amazing! I even saw you crawl across the tightropes and you powered through everything like an absolute mad lad…" she rambled on, shaking the poor boy by the shoulders until she felt light-headed and had to sit down.
"Th – Thanks! You were amazing, too!" Her green-haired friend flushed bright red. Kazuya pumped her fist in the air, let out a sharp whoop, and then fell flat on her ass. As she lay sprawled out on the grass, she finally settled down and listened to Midnight.
The next game would be a cavalry battle, where the remaining students would form teams of up to four people. The player was assigned a point value based on how well they did in the previous race. As the screen behind the hero flashed, each student's name, rank, and point value were displayed. The points increased in increments of five, except for the students who placed first.
"Ten…million…points?" Midoriya squeaked like a frightened mouse. His face fluctuated between a ghostly shade of white and sickly green as everyone turned to face him. Kazuya gave him a gentle pat on the back, afraid she'd knock him over if she used even the slightest force. Hell, a soft breeze could push him to the ground.
"The game itself will last fifteen minutes. Individual point values will be added together to reach your team total. Everyone will know how much you're worth thanks to your headbands."
The rest of the rules seemed simple enough: teams can't knock other teams down, stolen headbands must be worn from the neck up, and everyone could play until the end of the timer. Another fifteen minutes were granted for team building and strategizing.
Kazuya glanced at her name once more. She was worth one-hundred and ninety points and even though most would probably go straight for Midoriya, smarter players would pile up points from the other targets in the top ten. Midoriya was too high-risk to be a good teammate, Ashido was trying to convince Bakugou she would be useful, and Tsu had sided with Shoji…All of her friends were picked off already.
"You always were too indecisive."
God, not now.
Shinso watched her with those tired eyes that were once comforting but only pissed her off now. She quickly clamped her mouth shut and glared at him.
"You seriously think I'd brainwash you into being on my team?" he frowned. Kazuya couldn't stop herself from answering.
"I didn't think you'd talk about me behind my back, yet here we are!" she folded her arms over her chest, practically radiating negative energy. Right as Shinso turned away from her with a scoff, her face fell.
His Brainwashing quirk combined with her Attract and Repel could easily draw in teams like flies to a spider web. They were a great pair!
"I was standing up for you, but if you want to throw a tantrum, fine. I'll use my quirk to get another teammate."
Oh, right. I'm mad at him.
"Wait," Kazuya sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose while her eyebrows scrunched in annoyance. There was a moment of silence, where she debated what she was about to do, but continued anyway, "I'll be on your stupid team."
"Really?" Shinso's eyes widened in subtle surprise. Kazuya's eyebrow twitched and he quickly ran off before she could change her mind. A few minutes later, he returned with one of her classmates, Ojiro Mashirao, and a 1-B student. He immediately noticed the way she frowned at their glazed-over eyes.
"I told you I was going to."
"Shut the hell up and let's human pyramid this shit," she grumbled as the timer finally reached zero.
All the teams stacked up their members as Midnight instructed, every group either built for evasive defence or heavy offence. Most notably, Todoroki's team was built for both: Iida taking care of their movement, Kaminari's skill in wide-range attacks, and Yaoyorozu probably there to negate Kaminari's quirk. They were unfortunately smart.
"Did you even figure out their quirks before kidnapping them?" Kazuya gave Shinso a sideways glance as he put on their four-hundred-and-eighty-point headband.
"It doesn't matter. Brainwashing can get us points and Attract and Repel can keep us safe. They're just here for extra mobility," he nodded towards Ojiro and the 1-B boy.
"You and your zombies better not fuck this up," Kazuya huffed and fixed her crooked ponytails.
When they got into position, the 1-B student was placed in front while Shinso sat on top of Kazuya and Ojiro's shoulders. They had agreed to keep themselves out of harm's way until the perfect opportunity presented itself. That being said, when the alarm signalled the beginning of the second game, everyone ran towards Midoriya and left them alone.
"Team Shinso" played it safe, lingering on the outskirts of the field for the first ten minutes or so. A few teams tried to get their headband, but Kazuya pushed them away with Repel.
Her lips twitched upwards when a three-person group got too close for comfort. The raven-haired girl on top looked like she could care less as her teammate shot a glue-like substance out of his face. Shinso persuaded Ojiro to deflect it with his tail.
Kazuya reached out to tap the shoulder of one of the teammates, but they backed away at the last second. They stayed close, but still far enough that she couldn't reach.
"They knew how my quirk works. Sneaky little brats planned this," she bit out through clenched teeth. This was starting to get annoying. Shinso nodded and took her words as a sign to deal with the minor inconvenience.
"You want our points?" he asked the rider. As soon as she opened her mouth to respond, her eyes glazed over. Her teammates watched in horror as she simply handed over their seventy-point ribbon.
Sensing a chilly breeze, Kazuya glanced over her shoulder to see Todoroki spread ice along the floor with a pole. Yaoyorozu created an insulated blanket and nodded to Kaminari. When she caught on to their plan, her eyes widened.
"Hang on!" she shouted as she tapped all of her teammates' clothing, then dropped to the ground. Because of her late reaction, Repel just barely vaulted them above Kaminari's Indiscriminate Shock. Her leg got nicked by the tail end of his bolt, but it was still enough to make her cry out in pain.
"Are you okay?" Shinso hastily asked, worriedly staring at the Lichtenberg figure crawling up her calf.
"It doesn't matter!" Kazuya hissed when they hit the ground. Todoroki's ice made navigating hard, and her injury slowed them down immensely, but they still managed to brainwash a few people out of their headbands.
Eight hundred points later, her team settled nicely into second place. Present Mic had said the top four teams would move on to the next round, which left them hopeful.
Beneath that hope, however, was a deep sense of dread that gnawed at Kazuya's gut. She felt something was off and glanced in the direction of Bakugou, who was seething with bloodthirsty intent. When he tried to attack some cocky blonde from B class, the murderous Pomeranian got stuck to the ground by the glue boy from earlier. Her eyes narrowed when they locked on to the multiple headbands hanging around the arrogant kid's neck.
"Only one minute left!" Present Mic announced. Kazuya clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. She moved to push her team towards that blonde point-hogging bastard, but the pain that shot through her leg nearly forced her to the ground. If Shinso hadn't compelled Ojiro to hold her up with his tail, their formation would have crumbled.
"Stop it. We can still pass if we don't pick a fight," he snapped. She wanted to shout at him, but she knew he wouldn't have the other boys move forward even if she wanted to. So, despite her overwhelming urge to climb even higher in the ranks, she bit her tongue and watched Todoroki snatch Midoriya's million-point headband.
Iida's engines stalled and left his team vulnerable after using a move that she had never seen before. It made her feel a little better knowing her classmates were going all out. Especially Midoriya, his quirk flaring to life on his right arm. They both knew there was a high chance of it breaking afterwards, but the intense determination in his eyes reminded her of All Might, oddly enough.
Todoroki's left arm came up to shield his two headbands with a barrier of fire, prompting Kazuya to smile unknowingly. She remembered how stand-offish her dual-quirked classmate had been about disclosing information on his other half. Judging by the shocked expression on the boy's face, he had scared himself with his own flames.
Midoriya's right hand sliced through the air and extinguished the fire, giving him an opening to grab the ribbon. His team skidded to a stop and took a second to glance down at their points. Much to their surprise (and the surprise of everyone watching) Team Midoriya's point total only went up to seventy.
"He grabbed the wrong one," Kazuya mumbled, biting down hard on her bottom lip when she saw her friend's face fall.
"We still have time!" Uraraka cried out. So much happened as she whirled around: Tokoyami's Dark Shadow stretched towards Todoroki, Bakugou leapt towards Midoriya, and Hatsume's rocket boots burst to life.
For what felt like the longest ten seconds ever, the intensity escalated as they grew closer to each other and reached for the ten-million-point headband. Todoroki's right hand coated itself in ice and then —
"TIME'S UP!"
Bakugou's face planted into the dirt and the participants came to a sudden stop. The only signs of life from the blonde were the subtle twitch of his fingers as he grabbed fistfuls of dirt and screamed into the ground.
"You 1-A kids are so melodramatic," Shinso deadpanned as he climbed down and released his control over Ojiro and the 1-B brat. Before he could offer help to Kazuya, she limped off towards Yaoyorozu and Iida.
"Now, let's take a look at who the top four teams are! In first place, Team Todoroki!"
"Congrats, you guys. Iida, I didn't even know you could go that fast!" she gave a thumbs up to her blue-haired classmate while Kaminari wandered around like a braindead idiot.
"Thank you, Imai. It was a close call," Yaoyorozu sighed in relief, shirt still opened from the nature of her quirk. Kazuya quickly turned away from her. Do. Not. Look. At. Her. Boobs.
"In second place, Team Bakugou!"
They looked over at Bakugou, Sero, Mina, and Kirishima. Mina whined about not being first while Sero reminded her they were advancing either way. Bakugou still sat on the floor, screaming his head off.
"In third place, it's Team Tetsutestu — Wait, what?! It's Team Shinso? When did they come back from the dead?"
"We were never dead, asshole," Kazuya grumbled, aware some could hear her. Shinso approached her with his eyes trained on her leg. "I'm still mad at you," she pouted but still let him slip one of her arms over his shoulders.
"I know," he sighed and looked away. His assistance was appreciated, even if their height difference was less than an inch.
"I could be mad for like…forever," Kazuya carefully examined his reaction. She found a glimmer of shame in those violet eyes.
"I know." He stared for a bit too long and she had to look away.
"And in fourth place is Team Midoriya!"
A shrill wail made the two of them wince. Midoriya had fallen to his knees, an emotional mess. Seeing the extra headband in Dark Shadow's mouth, Kazuya let out an exasperated breath; "We are dramatic, aren't we?"
She wrapped her other arm around Shinso's neck and rested her head on the nook of his shoulder, "Take me to the nurse, then I'll let you say your piece." He nodded and acquiesced her request with an 'Mn'. Neither seemed to mind the looks thrown their way.