Mind Boggled

Chapter 72

I know a lot of you have seen the news on what's going on in Ukraine with Russia. The world is incredibly scary at the moment. We're watching the third world war brew right before our very eyes and that's terrifying. My heart goes out to the people of Ukraine who are so scared right now, and to those in Russia who are opposed to the war and stuck in a country that won't stop. 

I send out my well wishes to any of you who have family, friends, even just acquaintances in the military right now. If anyone needs to talk, don't hesitate to message me. If anyone doesn't understand what's going on but desperately wants a run down on the details, I'm up to date and willing to talk to you about it. Or even if you just want to have a chat, my inbox is always open and I promise I don't bite! 

Third person pov

Harper survived, but Sero did start crying and blubbering about how she 'saved his life' and 'hunted through his mind and found the truth despite everything' and whatever the fuck else. He'd also refused to let go of her for half an hour. Did she really know what to say to that? No. She wasn't about to ask for suggestions either. Getting him to calm down had taken long enough as it was, and Kurogiri too. Her running down the hall spontaneously hadn't gone over well and now she's standing in front of Class 1-A with the warp gate by her side wondering if any of this is even worth it.

"Before we start class, Harper has something to tell all of you. I expect you to be quiet and respectful until she's done, and to keep an open mind about anything she says." Aizawa droned, sounding and looking more tired than Harper's ever seen him. There was a deep sadness radiating off of him and the rest of 1-A that seemed to leak into the air and fill the entire room. Harper slouched under its weight. "Good luck, Harper! Kirishima would be so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, sooooo, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, so, soooo, so proud of you! Wow, I'm going to cry. Are you going to cry? We can cry together. We should do that. Do you want to hug? We should do that sometime. This hurts a lot. Are you okay? I don't think you're okay. Breathe if you aren't-- oh my god, you really aren't. I knew it. It's okay-- Dadzawa is here baby."

Yeah, she wasn't going to touch on that with a ten foot pole right now. Aizawa's thoughts had been erratic and tearful since that day in the hospital, and Harper can't help but wonder if they'll ever go back to normal. She's not sure any of them will be able to entirely bounce back from this, least of all her and Kaminari, who's mind is still free of the music that had bumped in it from day one. Harper still doesn't know exactly what that means, but but she's sure it can't possibly be good.

Harper gazed out at her classmates, who stared back with a varying degrees of curiosity and anticipation. They all looked exhausted. Harper wondered how they were going to react to this. It's something she hadn't really planned on holding off on, but she had wondered if waiting until everyone had more time to adjust to all that had happened would've been better. That wasn't possible with Sero returning to 1-A, as an explanation would definitely be needed. Speaking of which, he was another thing she didn't think her classmates needed. Taking Kirishima away and slotting in Sero wasn't going to fix anything. She wasn't sure Nezu understood that. Little sociopath. They weren't interchangeable, and Sero wasn't the friend they remembered either.

Her brown eyes met Bakugo's red, and he nodded to her. A quiet show of support that she couldn't help but appreciate a little. She took a deep breath, ignoring the way Kurogiri quietly hovered behind her

"Hey." She started off lamely, leaning forward and putting her weight on her elbows, which were propped atop Aizawa's teaching podium. She clasped her hands together against the cold wood, eyes roaming the room. She hoped she looked earnest. "I want to start out by saying that I didn't actually transfer to UA from another hero school, nor is my quirk 'Reflex'. That was actually the name of my brother's quirk before he died. It's why I used it."