Mind Boggled

Chapter 27

She hung up before he could reply. Kirishima was leaning slightly away from her, jaw dropped, eyes blown wide, and hands awkwardly hovering a few inches from her as to not touch her. "Holy shit we hugged. Sort of. We were falling, but it still counts. Now she's like, on me! Like, I can't move if she doesn't move! This is the best day of my life. Look at her. She's amazing. A mess, but an amazing, badass mess. She totally talked back to the hero killer, made a phone call after falling for a solid fifteen seconds, and is managing to stay calm even though there's a Nomu just down the street duking it out with Endeavor! This is the best day of my life!" 

"Oh... Oh, you're okay." It seemed to hit Tsukauchi all at once, and he slumped with relief. Sansa muttered to himself some more about how Harper would eventually be the death of him. Harper wouldn't be surprised if she were, even if the man was more likely to go out via alcohol poisoning. "She's alright. But where did she go? She doesn't look hurt. She's moving just fine. Her friend looks a bit red in the face, but I don't see any blood. Did she manage to escape again somehow?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. We both are." Harper sighed as she shifted off of Kirishima, who was blinking rapidly still. His thoughts were an endless stream of how they were touching, and it was amazing, and how he never wanted it to end, but also sort of wanted to get out of here. Harper couldn't blame him. It was pretty funny to watch his skin turn so red it actually blended in with his hair, though.

"Y-Yeah, it was pretty crazy, but we're alright. Wait, you are okay, right? You totally tackled Todoroki back there!" Kirishima seemed to realize, eyes going wide all over again. "She fell pretty hard, but she got up like it was nothing. Harper isn't someone I'd ever want to get on the bad side of. So womanly! I'm so in love. This is amazing. I need to stop freaking out over this. Be cool, Eijiro!"

"Wait, Todoroki Shoto? Endeavor's son?" Sansa asked, ears twitching. "The plot thickens."

"The one and only." Harper sighed, allowing herself to slip over the edge of the car. Kirishima followed in a much more graceful manner, landing firmly on both feet instead of slowly slipping over the edge like she had and nearly falling flat on his face. The brunette allowed Tsukauchi to grab her shoulders and examine her. "Speaking of which, has Stain fallen from the sky recently?"

"The Hero Killer Stain, she means." Kirishima added when Sansa's head cocked to the side. "This is unreal. I can feel the heat from Endeavor's flames from here, and he's almost an entire two blocks that way, maybe more! I wonder if Fourth Kind is around here... I'm glad Harper was able to get back to her dad. But where's Kurogiri? Did he go back to the villains? I hope not."

"The Hero Killer?" Tsukauchi and Sansa both squawked. Harper gave them a dry look. She was too tired for this. Kirishima was scanning her for injuries while also trying to keep an eye out for warp gates, and was mentally rambling about how badass she was when all she'd really done was body slam Todoroki into the pavement and suffer from smoke inhalation. Yes, she'd sassed a serial killer, but adrenaline and anxiety when mixed were a terrifying force. Along with the nonchalance she held over her own life's value... yeah, she really wasn't that worried about getting her head chopped off.

"I'll take that as a no." Harper sighed. Her eyes shifted over to Kirishima. "Where are you supposed to be? Do you need to call someone? Not that I'm not appreciating the company. They haven't made a single dad joke since we've gotten here."

"Guess we got lucky, then. But you're right; I should try shooting my supervisor a message." He seemed to realize, blinking down at her before offering a grin. Harper gave a tired half-smile back, offering her phone over to him leisurely. "She made a joke, and I replied jokingly, like a normal person. I just need to not blush so much. I've got this. I just need to stay calm in front of her, be chill, and- I'm shirtless!"