Third person pov
It was already Wednesday and Harper was nearing total brain death, so jot that the fuck down. Her exhaustion was real, as was her new caffeine addiction. Super fun. Very cash money. Being in UA's hero course was taxing, but even she knew it would pay off in the long run. Hero training was very slowly feeling less like hell and more invigorating. Slowly. And by that she meant she was okay for thirty seconds before her lungs were ready to give out. She was covered in bruises and her muscles ached so bad she felt numb.
Dragging her feet and pouring far too many energy shots to be healthy into her dinged-up thermos, she pulled herself into class. With the Sports Festival coming up, Iida was even worse than usual. She hadn't thought that at all possible until now. Everyone was either overly excited, overly stressed, or a terrifying mixture of the two. Barring Izuku, who was just downright terrified. Still, this meant she had to be extra diligent in watching the engine-quirk user.
"Are you... wearing sweatpants under your skirt?" Kaminari asked as Harper shuffled through the door, looking like she was hanging on by a mere thread. How could the blonde form words with the Wii theme remix still going through his head? Was he so used to it that he'd somehow learned to function with it there? Was he even aware? Harper had so many questions, none of which she truly wanted answers to. Who knows what horrors were waiting to be found in Kaminari's brain-damaged head.
"I've got on slippers too." Harper grumbled, raising an eyebrow as she passed an awe-struck Kirishima.
"That's amazing. She's absolutely fucking amazing. Nobody here is manly enough to push dress code like that! And she looks so cute. Tired, but adorable. I wonder what she's thinking about. I should really talk to her. I'm just so nervous! What would I even ask her about? She hasn't said a word to me since her first day here. I wonder-" Harper dipped out of the redhead's thoughts, unintentionally plunging right into Bakugo's in the process.
"Fuck, I just want to be friends with Deku, at least. Why am I suck a fucking idiot? I'm a fucking dumbass. Why can't I just tell him what I'm thinking? It shouldn't... It shouldn't be this fucking hard. Is there something wrong with me? There has to be. Nobody else is like this. I don't want to be like this. I just... don't fucking get it. I don't get it!" Outwardly, Bakugo was glaring at seemingly nothing. Harper was beginning to think he just had a resting bitch face, or defaulted to that expression without realizing it. Poor guy was having an existential crisis. Harper sighed heavily. She was going to regret this, but why the fuck not? She was going to die one day soon anyway.
"Hey, Sato." Harper said loudly, drawing his attention. She put on some heavy emphasis, sounding detached and utterly done with everything. "When I can't convey my thoughts through words out loud, sometimes I write them down instead."
"Uh... good for... you?" Sato's brows furrowed. "That came out of nowhere. Did I zone out somehow, and she's actually been talking this entire time? I don't think I've ever heard her voice raise so much. She was almost yelling, but also... not. I feel super bad now! I think I missed something!"
Alternately, several people in the room seemed to have their own respective epiphanies. Harper was beginning to think she might care too much. She really, really missed her stoner class from before.
"Fuck! Tired Bitch is a genius! I can write shit down!" Bakugo mentally crowed, straightening up and glaring back at her. She felt no malice coming from him, and even so, she gave no shits. Good for him. Maybe he could make Izuku not scared shitless of him via folded pieces of notebook paper.
"Love letter." Kirishima's thoughts gasped. "I should write her a love letter! Then she'll know exactly what I'm thinking!"
The absolute irony in that made her snort as she plopped down. Her eyes trailed towards Iida, and she winced at his thoughts. Yep, there was that regret she swore she was going to feel. "Was that a sign that I should go through with it? Perhaps... yes, I should rewrite my suicide note, and then... and then I can..." The blue-haired teen was once again spiraling into a pit. But then again, when was he not? The guy was at rock bottom, and still digging to try and go deeper. Most people generally tried to go up. Not this dumbass, though. He was blind to his own self-worth.
"Iida." Harper sighed heavily, massaging her temples. She felt like an overworked parent as he turned towards her with a questioning look. "You're a complete genius. Can I borrow your notes?"
Iida lit up, and she could tell it was real. She withheld another sigh and instead forced a smile as he happily handed over his notebook to her. What did come as a slight shock was when, for the first time since she'd gotten here, his thoughts took a somewhat positive turn. Not a huge leap or anything, and it didn't last long before he went back to feeling like a soggy piece of lettuce on the inside, but it was better than nothing at all, "I'm glad I can be of help!"
That's all it was, but it was enough for Harper. She wasn't really that useful, and she wasn't good at a lot of things. Trying to stay positive towards Iida was hard. Watching his thoughts was tiring, but somehow, hearing that single phrase made it entirely worth it. Like maybe he'd actually get somewhere if she kept it up. In reality, it wasn't so bad. Busying, but she was adjusting fast.
"I wish Ojiro would fuck me."
Ah. And then there was Mineta, here to ruin literally everything just by existing. Harper was still trying to figure out whether she should kill him now or wait until after the Sports Festival.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Dismissed. If I hear any of you started a food fight in the cafeteria again, I'm expelling you." Aizawa grunted, throwing his sleeping bag over one arm. "I hope my kiddos eat well! Hero training is going to be pretty intensive today, and I wouldn't want them hungry. Hopefully none of them need anything! Nezu called for a staff meeting today. I wonder what it's about. Probably the Sports Festival! We haven't heard much of anything about the security, after all."
Harper sighed and rolled her shoulders, eyes shifting to Izuku. His thoughts were on the fritz. "How am I going to show the world I'm here if I can't even use my quirk without shattering my bones?! All Might is going to be so disappointed! Am I even worthy of being his successor?"
That was another thing she hadn't brought up. A lot of times, Izuku referenced All Might in his thoughts and referred to him as though he were more than just a UA teacher. Like he knew him outside, or before UA. The word 'successor' came up often. It was pretty clearly a secret if how nervous he got anytime someone asked about his quirk was anything to go off of. She would mention it to Nezu, but she wasn't sure if he knew either, and it wasn't exactly suspicious. Extremely odd, maybe.
"Man, to think the Sports Festival is almost here. I'm so nervous." Ochako slapped her cheeks. "What about you guys?"
"I believe we'll all do just fine. We're members of UA's hero course, after all!" Iida proclaimed. "I'm going to fail. I'm bringing shame to the Iida name as is, but what will happen when I ruin this? My brother... he'll be so disappointed. So will my parents. I just... how can I ever compare to my classmates?"
"I-I'm pretty nervous, but I-I think we'll do alright. Plus ultra, right?" Izuku gave an uneasy grin. "Alright is a massive overstatement! I'm totally done for if I can't refrain from using my quirk in the beginning!"
"Harper, what are your thoughts on it?" Iida checked. "She always makes an effort to talk to me. Perhaps it's because... maybe... she does actually want to. I've never seen her engage anyone else so much. Could it be that she somehow finds me... pleasant to talk to? Not pleasant, per say, but tolerable? If even that?"
"Oh, I'm done for." Harper snorted, satisfied with the slight curve in Iida's thoughts. It still wasn't much, but it was definitely an improvement. Fuck, what was she now, a therapist? UA was doing shit to her, and she didn't like it. She was going to need some major mental health after all this. Especially after Aizawa. She'd never trust again. "My quirk lets me know how shit's gonna move, but-"
Harper suddenly halted, ears pricking. Her three classmates also stopped, watching curiously as she tilted her head slightly to the side, lips pressed tightly together and brows furrowed. Ochako and Izuku shared a glance while Tenya frowned, feeling a bit concerned as she totally froze. Almost as though sniffing something out, her head turned, face tilted upwards just slightly as her eyes scanned slowly along the hall. After a moment, Harper's gaze came to settle on a single door that very clearly said 'janitor's closet' on it. She stared.
There were... six people in there, all talking in low voices. Their thoughts bounced back at her as she focused.
"Sports festival... we have our orders, but is this actually worth the money? Those League fellas are paying a shit load, but these are kids we're talking about, not to mention whoever's in the stands. Blowin' them up seems cruel... but my mortgage..."
"I'm too in debt to pass this up. Who cares if a couple dozen civilians blow up? The world'll get over it. That crazy Shigaraki fucker threatened to mess with my sister too, and I'm not risking that."
"All the kids here are stuck up brats anyway. Maybe it'd be better to just blow up a part of the school. I know the guy wants news coverage, but he'll get more students if we do it during hours. We've got the supplies we need."
"Harper, are you okay? You look a bit pale..." Uraraka trailed off as the girl took in a deep, shuddering breath. Harper gulped, sweat beading her brow as her gaze snapped back to the three teens she did suppose were her friends now. Their concern was flattering. Even Iida took a break from being depressed to fret over the fact that she looked like someone had just put a gun to her head. In this case, Harper supposed it was the thought that counted. She needed to calm down anyway. They weren't going to act right now, anyway.
"...I'm good." Harper cleared her throat, reaching for her phone. "I... need to do something before lunch. I'll meet you guys there."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Izuku frowned at her. "She doesn't look okay at all! I'd know that expression anywhere! She... She looks really afraid..."
"Yeah, peachy." Harper pulled out her phone and turned on her heel, slippers shuffling against the linoleum as she started towards the conference room. The tour Iida had taken her on was suddenly something she was heavily thankful for. Not to mention there was a teacher staff meeting today, meaning a shit ton of pros, all in the same place. She'd already crossed off the possibility that one of her teachers was the traitor... though it was beginning to look like there was more than one enemy amongst them.
"We'll save you a seat, then." Iida said, and she paused for a moment. "Idiot. Why'd you say that? She's clearly busy and distressed."
Harper took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, regaining her bearings. It wasn't a big deal. The janitors had just sold themselves off like fucking prostitutes- no, scratch that, most prostitutes had standards- and now they were planning an act of terrorism! Happy-go-lucky shit right there. Whatever. Forcing a smile onto her face, she threw the grin over her shoulder with a hearty thumbs up. She was sort of freaking out right now, but she refused to derail Iida. She was finally making progress at something for once in her sorry existence, and she'd be damned if she washed it down the drain of her own free will.
"Thanks, Iida. You're the best." She assured before she began to speed walk away, fingers tapping rapidly across the screen. Thank fuck she saved Tsukauchi's phone number, even if she hadn't had a reason to use it until now.
Harper:
Hey, it's Harper. Send a shit ton of squad cars to UA and bring as many hand-cuffs as you can get your grubby little detective hands on. I don't know how many of them there are. Six so far.
Inspector Gadget:
What? What do you mean? What's wrong?
Harper:
I'll explain when you get here. Or someone will. No one is in immediate danger, so keep it on the down low. Don't need them to freak out if they hear the sirens.
Harper paused for a moment and considered it. They'd said they had the supplies...
Harper:
Bring a bomb squad.
Inspector Gadget:
W
ait a second. Harper, explain.
Inspector Gadget:
Harper?
Inspector Gadget:
Harper, why is a bomb squad needed???
Inspector Gadget:
Oh come on!
Harper shoved her phone in her pocket and prayed the man would listen as she took off into a run. Her slippers weren't doing her any favors, but she chose this life, and she didn't regret it. Aizawa had tried to get her for dress code, but girls were allowed to wear shit under their skirts if they wanted. Simple as that. It never said that something couldn't be sweat pants, no matter how dumb it looked. She was comfortable. And if Izuku could wear those red atrocities he called shoes, she could wear her fuzzy pink bunnies.
The staff conference room was alight with thoughts on the Sports Festival and its security measures. They were about to get a huge ass bomb dropped on them, pun intended. Janitorial terrorists were targeting the festival, bought off by a crusty man who apparently had blue hair and was last seen covered in severed hands. Who knows who else on the staff could be trusted. All the teachers she'd ran into seemed trust worthy enough, and the traitor in 1-A was without a doubt a student. Fuck, this was frustrating.
She was too young for this. Really, Harper was once again questioning what she was doing. She was in UA's hero course, 1-A, and she'd just found out at least six janitors were planning to bomb their sorry asses! Explode the stands! She had no idea what to think of that. They'd been offered money, and they were just going to... kill people. And she'd overheard it! And now she was going to go inform her pro-hero teachers that it was going to happen.
Harper didn't bother to knock. Everyone fell silent as she threw open the door and all but dove inside, slamming it back shut behind her. Harper didn't realize how heavily she was breathing until she slumped against the door, bringing up hands up to wipe at her sweaty face. Nobody spoke for a moment, staring. Harper listened to their thoughts. Nothing incriminating. Wonderful. Now all she had to do was calmly let them know that the same people who cleaned the toilets also wanted to explode them all.
"Detective Tsukauchi is on his way with a shit ton of squad cars and a bomb squad." She instead said. The reaction was instant.
"Th' hell?!" Snipe sputtered. "What did this little lass do?! She's the new girl, I believe. Th' hell's goin' on? Why's she even in here? This is supposed to be a confidential staff meetin'. How'd she know to find us here?"
"A what?!" Mic shrieked. "Oh my god, someone's trying to blow up the school?!"
"Explain." Aizawa grit out. "Oh my god, oh my god, my babies. Are they safe? If anyone hurts my children I'll rip out their tongues! Holy shit, holy shit, is Harper okay? She needs a hug. I should hug her. Where's the rest of my kids? They need hugs too. They probably have no idea what's happening, but they need hugs, dammit!"
"A bomb squad? Why?" Power loader's brows furrowed. "I swear, if Hatsume's at it again..."
"Oh, this is going to be good." Nezu chuckled darkly within his mind. "A bomb squad! Very interesting... and Miss Rye has talked to Detective Tsukauchi as well. Perhaps they'll begin to communicate more? I'd love to see what Harper can do, especially when paired with someone involved so closely with the law."
"Stop! Christ, stop thinking!" Harper barked, massaging her temples. She searched for anyone who might be listening, but found none. The not-schizophrenic blonde man who looked like a skeleton was here too, which wasn't helping with her forming migraine. Nezu waited patiently, smiling pleasantly. The teachers all gaped at her as she slumped forward, the bags under her eyes seeming all the more prominent as she gazed at them flatly. "No offense, no disrespect, but calm the fuck down."
"You just came in here and sprung that on us, kid." Midnight pointed out. Harper sighed again. Fair point. Fair, fair point. But she was dead tired, needed to get back to Iida to make sure he wasn't moping too badly again, and then needed to get more coffee. Somehow.
"You need to replace your entire janitorial staff. At least six of them are planning to set off bombs at the Sports Festival. One implied that they had the supplies, so I'm not sure if that means the explosives are in the school or not. They were bribed, so I don't think they're actual villains. You've got to... shit, I don't know. Detain them?" Harper sighed. They gaped very openly at her. Not surprising, considering. She gestured at the teachers as she looked to Nezu. "None of them are the traitor, by the way."
"Excellent!" Nezu chirped, clapping his hands together. "Everyone, you know Harper Rye, the girl I had transferred in! Her real quirk has nothing to do with reflexes, in fact, she's actually a mind reader here to help us with our little traitor issue! And it seems she's found a leak of sorts."
Ah, blunt as always. Not that she could talk considering she'd just burst in here and dumped that on them to deal with. Harper just wanted to go to lunch and eat. Maybe try to shove Kirishima's affections off by being as disgusting as possible because she didn't care about people's opinions of her. Watch Bakugo try to write a love letter. That would actually be pretty amusing. That, Toru and Jiro both tended to sync up during lunch and listen to music together, and their mental duets weren't half bad, even if they had no idea they were doing it.
"I counted at least six in the janitor's closet on our hall. They were all talking about something. Not sure what, but it was probably something to do with their attack." Harper groaned, clenching her eyes shut. "I'm too young for this. I need a nap. Coffee. Alcohol."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up." Vlad King demanded. "You mean to tell me she's a mind reader? That she can hear our thoughts right now, and has been able to since she got here?! Isn't that an invasion of our privacy?"
"Yes, I can't turn it off. It sounds like you're talking like normal. I realize it's an invasion of your privacy, but suck it up. I can't turn it off. I wish I could. I can barely block anything out as is." Harper snapped without meaning to. She was stressed, okay?! Someone wanted to blow them the fuck up! "And no, Mr. Aizawa! Fucking no, I don't need a hug and I'm not going to cry! I'm fine! Jesus Christ, calm down, man!"
Aizawa stared at her blankly. Everyone looked confused, turning to look at him, and then back to Harper like she was the crazy one. If only they could hear Aizawa's thoughts now. "She can read my thoughts! Hi, Harper! Hello! You're very cute, like a small dog or baby deer! I hope you know I love and adore you! Look, nobody suspects a thing. We can talk now! Omg! This is going to be so fun! We can be like, buddies!"
"Please, god, no." Harper groaned. She lied. She was going to cry.
"Alright, everyone remain calm! Help is on the way." Nezu said, looking down at his own phone with that same eerie smile. "Any questions before we detain the cleaning crew, then?"
"Why didn't you tell us?!" Mic wailed. "Harper knows I'm into grunge! Will she leak this? What will my viewers say? Will... Will they know I'm not a true, die-hard rock fan? I can't allow this to happen."
"Well, what if one of you were the traitor? I couldn't risk that! Miss Rye has luckily cleared you all!" Nezu chirped. "A great relief indeed to know I didn't make a mistake in choosing my first year teachers! However, it seems I should have been a bit more thorough in deciding who filled the other, essential roles here in the school. I'll have to be more careful this time around."
"I see." Ectoplasm said, hiding how flustered he was. "If you can hear me, Miss Rye, I apologize. I've had the American Care Bear's opening stuck in my head for the past few days."
"It's fine. It's... It's totally fine, Mr. Ectoplasm. I've heard worse." Harper assured her math teacher with a heavy sigh. Everyone turned to look at her, eyes wide with curiosity and varying amounts of fear. Present Mic was terrified about his music taste, Midnight didn't want anyone to know she had a chocolate fetish, Power Loader was sort of freaking out over the fact that he'd been thinking up plans for a weapon of nuclear proportions for fun, and Vlad King didn't want anyone to know he was a dog person. She had no idea why on that last one.
"Alright, so everyone knows that this must stay on the complete down-low, correct?" Nezu asked. There were murmurs of stunned agreement. The blonde skeleton man looked terrified as he gazed at Harper. "Miss Rye, do you have anything to say?"
"Fuck yes I do. I have shit I need you guys to do." Harper jumped on the opportunity with wide eyes, hyped up on coffee and adrenaline. She had a chance and she was damn well going to take it. Ignoring their thoughts to the best of her ability, seeing as she had no reason to listen to them now that she knew they weren't the traitors, she took a deep breath.
"Tenya Iida? Praise him as much as possible and don't scold him if you can help it. Try not to cut him off mid sentence either. Fucker's majorly depressed. Mineta Minoru is gay and into guys so don't let him secretly harass male students and make sure he doesn't take pictures. Traitor is male. Keep an eye out. Don't be super mean to Kaminari if he zones out; he has brain damage. Koda is planning your murders so keep an eye on him. He's really nice. Don't worry too much, but maybe distract him if he stares at you too long. And you-" She whirled on the skeleton man. Most teachers took the flow of information relatively well, but others were simply slack-jawed. At least a majority were taking it in stride
"M-Me?!" He squeaked. "Does she know I'm All Might?!"
Silence. Dead silence. Harper's brain stalled so long that for a moment, everything was quiet. Harper had just wanted to rush it all out then go to lunch. You know, get through the gritty part and put it behind her. Apparently that wasn't going to happen.
"Well... I sure as shit do now." Harper responded, dumbfounded. Blood leaked from the man's mouth, the tension in the room rising as they stared at one another in a stunned sort of way. This was All Might? Did she even want to know? She'd just wanted to know why he was a failure of a Schizophrenic, but she felt a bit odd asking now. Was the Number One Hero unhinged? Why the fuck did he look like a twig? This had something to do with Izuku's thoughts and she knew it.
"I can't believe it. She's a mind reader! Who would have thought?!" Cementoss awed.
"Man, she's heard me the whole time. All of us, and her classmates. What's that like? What is everyone thinking?" Power Loader frowned.
"Th' hell, man. She knows I ain't that into western country music." Snipe sulked. Priorities.
"No wonder the poor dear's always tired and stuck with a headache. Nobody ever shuts up for her. It's a miracle she can focus at all." Midnight frowned. "Does she know I don't actually have a sex dungeon? Scratch that, she probably does now."
"She must hold so many secrets, poor kid." All Might frowned. "I... I hope she can be trusted. She's friends with Young Midoriya, and has yet to bring it up with at least him, and... and nothing of my quirk's nature has appeared to have leaked quite yet."
"She knows I love her! That I love all the kiddos! Someone sees the real me, and I didn't even have to bring it out in the open. So fun. Maybe she'll convince me to act more like myself. What would Mic say if he realized I wasn't as cold as I act? That would be so cute to see!" Aizawa chirped. Harper glowered at him. She wished others would share her pain.
"Right, right, secrets, everyone! Nothing leaves this room, or there will be severe consequences!" Nezu smiled as he hopped out of his chair. His eyes gleamed maniacally. "Now, shall we go arrest some janitors?"
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Who do you guys think the traitor is and why, and what do you think of the story so far?
(And yes to those who know how unprepared I always am, I actually do already know who the traitor is, thank fuck. I'm just curious to know what everyone thinks!)
Huge thanks to Havoc_And_Weird for the amazing art on the cover. I love it so, so much, and it's super amazing, so thank you! Thank you to everyone else who made art. Please go check out her awesome art book, you guys! More versions of the Harper picture are inside if you want to see them. If you were someone who also made art, please comment here so I remember to include it in future chapters for everyone to see!