Third person pov
Harper and Kirishima landed atop Tsukauchi's cruiser with a firm thump that sent the vehicle wailing, still holding onto each other for dear life as the car's alarm blared from below them. Tsukauchi and Sansa both whirled around at the sudden sound, the former of which with his phone up to his ear. Their eyes were wide with surprise, and Harper and Kirishima both could do nothing but mirror their expressions while dumbly holding one another as though they were still plummeting through a void of Kurogiri's making. For a moment, they were all silent. Harper couldn't blame the two officers. It was a lot to process.
Harper's mind was racing, wondering if an ambulance would make it to the three boys they'd left in the alley. It had only been a few hours since Kurogiri took her. Kirishima's heart was pounding wildly from the rush of things they'd just gone through, thoughts stumbling over Stain, and the fact that they very well could have been near death just now if not for Kurogiri's actions. It was terrifying for him to realize he'd probably only lived because someone he'd only known as a villain up until this point had saved him.
"...I need a beer." Sansa voiced after a few seconds of opening and closing his mouth like a dying fish. "This is too much. I'm going to have a heart attack and the ripe, old age of thirty-five. She was gone for over an hour. We thought she was dead. Where did she even fall from?! And who's the redhead?"
"Harper! You're alive!" Tsukauchi sputtered, almost dropping his phone in his surprise. Harper could see the stress lines on his face, and his eyes were red rimmed. So he'd either cried, rubbed them a lot, or done some sort of marijuana. Maybe crack, but he wasn't fidgeting enough for that. "Holy shit. She's okay. And she's with one of her classmates. Well, wait, okay is a strong word. She looks as though she's in shock. And where exactly did she fall from?"
Harper opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off when the phone call to Dumbass #3 finally patched through. The sleep-riddled voice of none other than Toshinori Yagi emanated from the speaker, implying heavily that he'd probably slept through all the abrupt news reports pertaining to Hosu and its destruction. Wonderful. "Harper? Is everything alright?" The man asked. Harper brought the phone up to her ear, blinking away the dumbfounded feeling that came along with unexpectedly falling. Next to Tsukauchi, Sansa quietly reached into the detective's pocket and retrieved his car keys. The alarm shut off mid cry.
Her life was entirely out of whack. She was on the phone with All Might, was holding Kirishima, who was holding her right back while trying not to hyperventilate over all that had happened, she had a fake dad who was a detective, and his partner was another officer who had a cat head. It all had her head spinning and scrambling to catch up. The migraine that had formed behind her eyes certainly wasn't doing much to help things.
"Oh. Everything's just peachy; thanks for asking." Harper's tone was so heavy with sarcasm that she could almost hear the Number One Hero flinch. "Get your red, white, and blue ass out of bed and check the news. I just rode a roller coaster of bullshit I did not choose to get on of my own free will, I smell like a middle-aged smoker who's been taking out two boxes a day since high-school, and Sansa is going to spiral back into his alcoholic tendencies if things don't start making sense soon."
"Wha-" Toshinori started, but she cut him off. Kirishima stifled his snicker, an arm still wrapped around her. Harper wondered how long it would take him to notice how close they were, and promptly freak out over it. Right now he was awing over her phone call and trying his best not to laugh. Admirable. Were she in his shoes, she would have lost her shit without an ounce of shame.
"Oh, and my dad's blood pressure is slowly rising, so I'd pick up the pace. I can hear the years dropping off his lifespan." Harper pulled an arm away from Kirishima so she could massage her temples and turn off her headband. The redhead yelped in surprise, eyes going comically wide. "Just... hurry the hell up before Endeavor notices Sansa has a cat head, please. That's the last thing I need today."
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!"
Harper raised an eyebrow as Kirishima swiftly spun on his heel so his back was to her, as though that changed the fact that his hero costume simply didn't involve a shirt. There was nothing wrong with that in Harper's opinion. He had abs, they were hot, his clothes would probably get shredded in correspondence to his quirk anyway, and thus it was fairly normal. Harper shrugged it off. Kirishima evidently needed a minute to wrangle his misplaced crush. He'd never freaked out over her seeing him without a shirt before. Maybe it had just now occurred to him.
"Well, you don't look hurt. But what do you mean Stain? You ran into him? Did he say anything mean to you? How are your feelings?" Tsukauchi asked, quirk revving like the engine of a car ready to tear out of a Walmart parking lot, almost daring her to even try lying. Harper raised her eyebrows. "She's in shock. I knew it. She's scarred for life! This is all my fault!"
"We did cross paths with him, but not for long. He got warped just like we did." Harper shrugged. They really hadn't seen him long. She and Kirishima brought Kurogiri to him, and that was about it. Pretty open and closed if you asked her.
"She's evading the feelings question. He totally said something." Sansa butted in. Kirishima glanced back, and Harper gave him a sympathetic look. There was a whole lot of shouting coming from the other end of that phone line. A majority of it sounded like curses, and the rest was Kirishima being called incompetent. It made Harper want to roll her eyes and heavily scoff. It wasn't Kirishima's fault he got separated from his group or whomever he was with before. Anyone who thought it was could suck a dick. But hey, that was just Harper's personal opinion. Sansa squinted at her. "What did he say to her? She's hiding something. I can smell it with my good ol' fashion sniffer."
Tsukauchi abruptly stopped his rapid texting to-- from what Harper had gathered,-- the Chief of Police, and looked at her. "So you don't know where Stain is right now? Where he could have landed?" The man checked, and Harper shrugged. "If Stain's on the loose, it could mean bad news for a lot of the heroes dispatched around here. Most are relatively low-level, or sidekicks to higher ranks. I'll send out a warning."
"No idea where he is." Harper shook her head. Tsukauchi's quirk registered her words as the truth. The brunette realized, belatedly, that was she was still unconsciously pushing at Kurogiri. Like she'd formed a connection that had yet to snap. If she was still wiring emotion to him, that meant he was still around. Actually, it sort of felt like he was getting closer. In a quick, gradual way. She recognized the feeling. Harper had only felt it a few times, but it meant he was warping in. Which implied-
"Stain is still falling." The man in question noted, appearing in a swirl of purple and black mist that made Sansa and Tsukauchi scream in surprise. Harper groaned and brought her hands up to her face as they continued to shriek. "Why are they screaming? Have I offended them? No, people tend to shout when offended. This is... ah, terror. Wait... is there a danger nearby? Danger incites fear, to which I can deduce that they are screaming because they are afraid of something! My word! This is not good! Where is the enemy?!"
"Calm down! And you two, stop screaming." Harper snapped as Kurogiri began to fan his face in a panic. Sansa and Tsukauchi's mouths clamped shut, teeth clacking together harshly from how hard they snapped shut. They gazed at her with wide eyes. Kirishima glanced over again, looking a bit concerned over Kurogiri's presence, but not as scared as he was the first time he saw the man. "It's a long story. Yes, I'll explain later. No, he's not going to kill you. Kurogiri is on our side now."
"She adopted me." Kurogiri sniffled, his voice a croak. Was he crying again? "If I've been adopted, it implies that Harper Rye is now my family. I've always wanted family. Yes, indeed. I must give her a hug."
"Oh, god." Harper breathed to herself as the man approached her with open arms. Sansa and Tsukauchi looked more confused than not. They seemed less afraid than Kirishima had been, seeing as they'd never actually witnessed Kurogiri do anything villainous. They had only the information given from those involved in the USJ attack. "He's uh... a bit emotional. Just pretend he's on a man period and it'll be easier to understand."
"Is he crying?" Kirishima blinked as Kurogiri continued to hold her, her cheek squished against his chest as he cried it out. Harper didn't look amused as she stood there, brows flat and her lips pressed into a thin line. "This is too weird. I guess she really did adopt him. I don't remember him being this emotional, though! I wasn't really one of the ones who interacted with him a lot though. Harper did say she'd explain later. For her, I'd wait an eternity!"
"He's just... really happy." Harper said. Tsukauchi slowly pulled his phone back out. To take pictures or to text the Chief, Harper didn't know. Probably both. Sansa was cupping the underside of his snout with one of his paws, staring off and into the distance while he contemplated just what was going on. Harper was sort of in the same boat, stuck gazing at Kirishima and wondering how on god's green Earth she'd gotten to this point in her life. He flushed a bit and offered a sympathetic smile.
"Wait, he said Stain was still falling? As in you still have him?" Tsukauchi checked, shaking his head as though to shake away his shock. Kurogiri pulled away from Harper with a tilt of his head. "Alright, this is insane, but I trust Harper. If she says this guy is on our side... we can deal with the details later. For right now, I'm a bit more worried about there being a possible serial killer on the loose."
"Ah, yes. I can drop him anywhere you like." Kurogiri said politely. As though to further his point, a portal opened up in the middle of the little circle they'd somewhat formed. Harper jumped a bit, Kirishima shifting himself so he was a bit further in front of her as Stain fell out and onto the pavement with a thunk. They all stared in silence. Kurogiri blinked. "Or perhaps they did not want an example. Though he is unconscious, it is probably disconcerting to see- HE MOVED!"
Sansa and Tsukauchi absolutely shrieked as Stain's head groggily raised itself from the pavement, Kirishima yelped, and Harper flinched so violently it almost knocked the few remaining brain cells she had left right out of her head. Kurogiri let out a shrill scream, jumping away from Stain like he was a cockroach on the kitchen floor at three in the morning. A portal opened up beneath the Hero Killer before the man could even realize what was happening, leaving them all breathing heavily and staring down at the street with wide eyes. Almost as though they expected Stain to claw his way right back out of the asphalt.
"...Let's not do that again." Tsukauchi wheezed. "Who... Who is this man, and why the hell has my daughter adopted him?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All Might showed up and Texas Smashed a few Nomu into the sun. Izuku, Todoroki, and Iida were all found and carted off to the hospital. The very same one Harper was heading to with Tsukauchi, Sansa, and Kurogiri right this very second. Fourth Kind had shown up and dragged Kirishima off, Tetsutetsu also in tow. Harper had simply given the redhead a sad shake of the head as he went, mouthing that she'd still explain later. He'd shot her a dopey grin and a thumbs up, his cheeks red and his crimson eyes sparkling happily despite the situation he was in. Harper just shrugged. Optimists were complicated.
They had tried to detain Kurogiri via quirk suppressing cuffs, at the very least. Only it was accidentally let out that he'd be separated from Harper, and the warp gate user really didn't seem too keen on the idea. So anytime anyone other then her started to get too close, he'd shove his hands in his pockets and teleport away as fast as his quirk would let him. He'd put himself atop light posts, behind cars, behind the brunette he'd been adopted by, and at one point, even on top of a Dunkin Donuts sign. The Chief finally relented, saying as long as he wasn't actively harming anyone, it could be discussed later.
"I'm going to kill that idiot." Harper sighed as they all got out of the car. She'd told Tenya to talk to someone. Her words had been a pretty clear message: 'Don't do anything stupid, and don't bottle up your feelings.' She'd communicated it perfectly! And yet what did Tenya go out and do? That's right. He did something stupid as all hell, and bottled up his fucking feelings. There were any number of people he could've talked to about what he was going through and how it was effecting his mentality, but instead he'd chosen to be a dumbass. Midoriya and Todoroki had gotten dragged into the mess too, and by extension, herself and Kirishima!
Despite that, she actually wasn't mad. Tired, always, but pissed off? Not really. Tenya's mental state was crumbling at an alarming rate. She could just barely keep up with it, so there were bound to be slips like this. With what happened to Tensei, she couldn't find it in herself to blame him. Yes, he'd made a dumb decision, but he was already in a bad place even before Tensei was harmed.
"We're here to kill someone?" Kurogiri seemed immensely confused. "That can't be correct. Heroes don't take lives unless strictly necessary, I believe. Unless my information is faulty. Could it be that there is a villain within this hospital that needs to be put down? If that's the case, I could simply drop Stain atop them and hope for the very best."
"She doesn't mean it literally." Tsukauchi assured. He seemed to enjoy educating Kurogiri on the ways of the world. The man had a million questions now that he finally had emotions again. He wanted to know why certain things made him sad, or uncomfortable. Why things made him smile or want to cry. Tsukauchi was enthusiastic in his explanations, while Sansa made snarky quips about whatever he felt was necessary. His Detective partner didn't share the same suspicion. "Does this mean Kurogiri will be living with us? I guess I'll need to work out where he's going to sleep. My office could get moved into the living room... yeah, that could work!"
"There's not enough orange juice and vodka in the world to deal with this." Sansa sighed. "Today has been insane. I don't know what's happening. Kurogiri is a villain, but I guess Harper adopted him. How's that even work? If he kills us all, I won't even be surprised.
The hospital was cold. Kurogiri stuck close to Harper, eyeing the many doctors and nurses bustling about and going about their business. Sansa and Tsukauchi both fell back to talk to the Chief, who'd already confronted the three teenagers who'd primarily faced off against Stain. Harper cracked her knuckles as she approached the room they were in, also popping her neck the best she could. Kurogiri looked heavily concerned as she also arched her back, a loud snapping noise coming from it.
Kurogiri didn't know what to think of Miss Harper Rye. She was certainly an oddity, with her tired sighs and knowing eyes. There was more to her quirk than reflexes. The fact that he could feel what he felt at this moment told him that much. Harper was truly something else, managing to hold their connection steady even when they were apart. He was sure it would be a while before he was trusted with her true quirk. Or at least, he wouldn't know until he had earned their full trust. He accepted fully that that may never happened, even if the idea made him immensely sad.
"You wait here." Harper demanded of him. "If the Chief asks where Stain is, don't panic. Just say he's falling. And don't drop him on the ground as proof."
"Of course." Kurogiri nodded. "She'll just be in the next room over. There is no need to worry. I just get so jittery when she's out of sight. I am unsure of what that feeling could possibly mean. I just feel... severely uncomfortable when we part ways."
Harper bit back a groan as she opened the door to the hospital room her three classmates were in. Great. Kurogiri had just gotten emotions, and was already developing mental issues. Separation anxiety. In relation to her, of all people.
Harper carefully closed the door behind her. A deep sense of shame was radiating off of Iida from where he sat in bed, his arm bandaged up to high heaven. He spared her only a glance before returning his stare to his lap. The fist attached to his uninjured arm was clenched tightly, and she could just tell he was gritting his teeth. The quiet chatter between Todoroki and Izuku both ceased as she shoved her hands into her pockets for lack of a better place to put them, her eyes scanning them all as she stepped further in.
"She probably hates me. She offered me her shoulder to cry on, and I turned her away. She's done so much for me, and I had the audacity to seek out Stain. I almost died, and she would have been left with that. Left knowing that something was wrong, and that it was too late. I can't... I'm not worthy of being a hero, or being a friend. I'm worthless. A total piece of shit-" Iida's thoughts were spiraling horribly the longer she stood there in silence. Izuku gave a tentative smile, and Shoto's hand unconsciously came up to clutch his shoulder.
"We're so lucky Harper got there! She doesn't look happy, though..." Izuku's smile faded, but only for a moment before it came back full force. "But she cares! I know she does. She totally saved Todoroki back there. I'm sure she's just worried about whether or not we're okay. I'm glad she doesn't look hurt, too. Things got pretty crazy back there..."
"My arm. I... almost lost it. If she hadn't tackled me..." Todoroki's gratitude towards her swelled, and Harper's nose scrunched up unconsciously. Iida flinched at the expression when his eyes flashed to her again, and she knew it was time to say something.
"You're all dumbasses. You especially." Harper gave Iida a pointed look, and he flinched again, Adam's apple bobbing. She sighed. "But I'm glad you're all alright. Even if you're total idiots."
"We're glad you're okay too." Izuku smiled a watery smile. Harper offered a small one back, her tense shoulders going slack. Iida's self-hating mental spiel stalled as she grabbed a chair and dragged it from where it say by the wall, dragging it closer to the three beds. Shoto shifted, offering a miniscule smile of his own and nod. She nodded back as she took a seat, dreading what she was about to do. She really, really didn't want to, but it was about damned time. She had a suicidal in one corner, someone with zero self-preservation skills in the other, and an abused teenager smack dab in the middle of them. To prevent something like this from happening again, this was required. Unfortunately, she was the only one present that could possibly pull it off.
Harper gave a sigh, clasping her hands together and leaning forward so that her elbows were braced against her thighs. She propped her head up on her conjoined fists, grimacing. The three boys looked a bit perplexed, but scooted a bit closer on their beds in preparation nonetheless.
"So," Harper started, "I think this is the shitty part where we all talk about our feelings, right?"
The color drained from their faces, and she smiled wryly. If she was going to suffer, they were sure as shit going to suffer with her.
~~~
We have art! Sorry nothing really happened this chapter. You all know we get weird bridges here and there where the chapter is totally a filler but needs to happen nonetheless.
Havoc_And_Weird, the very same one who did the amazing, spectacular cover art is back at it again with some more Harper art. Look at it! I love it so much. The way she illustrates hair is always so cool. Seriously, thank you so much for this! I love it!
CharTime did an awesome job not only capturing Harper's hero uniform, but adding Kurogiri in as well! I seriously love it so much. It's super amazing, and I love Kurogiri's little blush. Super accurate considering how shitty he is at controlling his emotions right now. Thank you so much for this!
She also drew the second one, which is how she imagines Aizawa thinks Harper looks in her hero costume. I love it so much! Thank you for both of these. I adore them.
HiiroXentral not only drew an amazing Harper, but they put their username on the actual art. This is literally the best thing you can POSSIBLY do if you're sending art in the discord server!!! I am not a magician who will immediately k n o w your username. So thank you so much for the amazing art and for giving your username with the art. It's seriously an awesome piece and the expression on her face is so accurate.
forsakenmel0dy Has drawn this really cute Chibi Harper! I really love that you included the cat ears, and the pink cheeks are truly adorable, so thank you!
secrettaleau drew both these adorable Harpers in their hero costume. She looks super cute and I just really love the overall style. The pose on the second one is so adorable, and you did an amazing job on the hair. Thank you so much for this amazing piece of art! It's so cute!
AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHH has truly outdone herself! She drew two amazing Harper's in her Hero Costume. Both are beyond accurate too, and I just really love them. They're a perfect representation of what Harper looks like in costume! She also drew happy Aizawa, and it's literally so cute. I love it so much. Look at him!!! Thank you so much, Cady. The art is beyond amazing.