(Boom pow, I hate the new Nickelodeon, it cringy af. I want Jace Norman back. And Riele Downs. Can I have the Thundermans back? Like before Chloe? Oh and, we're rushing so I can have fun. Can we just talk about the many times I almost poisoned myself? Like Princess and The Frog, the dude put spray in his mouth so I did it with my mom's perfume and they spent the next twenty minutes trying to wash my mouth out.)

It was nighttime by now. It was extremely late as well. The clock has rung ten times over thirty minutes ago. Ryuko couldn't sleep though. At the moment she was picking lentils out of ash. Reason why? Chitose has it as a requirement on her list of chores. Of course, it did take a while but she got to stop halfway through.

There was a small knocking at the window. It was probably just Fumikage and the other birds. When she opened the window, without hesitation, she held her hand out. She had put bird seed in it and she wasn't scared of her feathered friends. Sure they might peck her but... as long as they ate she didn't really care.

At least four birds landed on her tiny hand. Fumikage, Mina, Rin, and another one named Ibara. Ibara was a canary, Rin was a pigeon, and Mina was a red bird of some sort. Rin wouldn't stop pushing around though. He eventually knocked Mina off of her hand. Ryuko caught her with her other hand.

Other animals began coming inside. Ochako and Hagakure already lived there, living inside their mouse holes.

(I regret not making Ochako a Rat. I don't wanna look up a rat either. They scare me.)

Eventually the birds had to get off and she was starting to get pecked. It hurt a little but she didn't mind it until one actually pierced her skin. When she had begun to bleed, was when she shook her hand for them to get off.

"Sorry, you were hurting me!" She apologized. "... would it be too much to ask if you could separate the lentils from the ash?" She asked. She was resorting to animals to get her chores done.

The birds just got to work. They didn't chirp so it sounded like they were angry. Ryuko had just fed them, so... Haha if they were angry she would murder a bird-

Why was she getting so violent all of a sudden? Jesus Christ.

All of her bird friends began separating the lentils and ash. Denki and Kyouka, a pair of Fennec foxes, were trying to claw at them so Ryuko had to separate them from the birds. Especially Mina, they wouldn't stop trying to attack her.

Ochako climbed up her leg and Ryuko held her in the palm of her hand.

"What're you gonna wear to the ball?" She asked in the high pitched voice she had 'perfected'. It actually kind of hurt her voice.

"Well, I'll be wearing my mother's gown Ochako! She wore it at all the nice events she went to. It'll be like she's taking me instead of Chitose."

"What the hell are you doing?" A voice asked. Ryuko's eyes widened as she turned around. It just had to be Himiko. "Is that a mouse?!" She screamed. Ryuko presses a finger to her lip. The open window let all the animals back out and Ryuko quickly grabbed Ochako, Tsuyu, and Toru to put them in the pocket of her apron.

"Um... no?"

"You're fucking insane. You probably have diseases too, just like that dumb Princess. Or your mom."

Oh she really had to go there. Himiko thought she was being witty but in truth, Ryuko just stood there, questioning how and why, her father married Chitose. Ryuko took in a deep breath before going back to her chores. Himiko went back upstairs. Ryuko waited a few more minutes before going to the windowsill.

"Hey she's gone now."

(Y'all I- I'm having an issue with the idea that Ryuko knows Ballet- it's not even gonna be in this, I'm just thinking of it.)

Ryuko got back to work as her friends slowly jumped back in the window.

-------

It was only three days before the ball now. Ryuko was busy still. Chitose kept her hard at work, leaving her to wake up early in the morning and stay up late at night. Only a few hours of sleep at night now. Ryuko was risking her health for a ball she might regret going to? Definitely. She wanted the chance to be happy like Himiko and Jin did. Well, she was happy still, but she wanted to feel happiness in a way that didn't involve making living animals her puppets.

(I'm dying at the thought of my Ryushot baby, Dani (Daenerys) watching Daenerys burn down Kings Landing.)

So yeah. At the moment, Ryuko was spending her lunchtime trying to find her mother's dress. She knew it was in her father's study so she would just have to look there. She knew it was in a chest as well. It was a simple dress of the beautiful ivy green. She remembered it well. It wasn't as exaggerated as some of the dresses she knew she would see, but it was gorgeous and meant something to her.

The search was quite short. The white chest was on a bookshelf. She picked it up and walked back into the attic with it. She didn't want to risk being caught with it. She had never been caught before but Chitose had robbed her of all things that could make her... prettier than she already was. She wouldn't put the dress on until the night of the ball.

-------
(Y'all I'm doing something I will not regret.)

While Ryuko was doing whatever she was doing, Himiko was looking for chaos. She was a bit insane and she wouldn't even deny it. Like, right now, she was sticking her hand in a mouse hole trying to find that ugly thing Ryuko was talking to last night.

The dumb rats were there, but she couldn't feel them. If Ryuko caught her, she would say "I just wanna see what's so fascinating about a rat." It wasn't a complete lie... Maybe she hallucinated last night and didn't actually see her crazy step sister talking to animals. As she was still searching, she grabbed something fuzzy...

"Gotcha!" She squealed and pulled her hand out from the mouse hole. Why on earth was the rat mouse thing wearing a pink dress? How much mercury did that crazy woman consume? Genuine question. "You're a nasty little sucker. Let's go." She smirked and dragged it to the kitchen. Luckily, Ryuko wasn't there either.

Himiko pulled out a jar and threw the rat inside. She twisted the lid on but forgot to put air holes. She wanted the disease carrier alive so she began stabbing holes in the lid. She'd probably just feed it to Catsuki if she didn't want it around anymore.

"You and I are gonna be good friends. What'd she call you? Ochako? Yeah... we're gonna be good friends." Himiko grinned like the Cheshire Cat before walking up to her own room, shaking the jar.

(I'm proud of myself. Oh and... :) I love this chapter. It was supposed to be out by the first I think? And it's out now :/.)