Hey guys! Sorry for the severe lack of updates all around lately. The school year is coming to a close, and I'm actually going to be moving out of state on the 21st. Pretty wack! So yeah, I've been really tied up with packing and trying to study for finals. Things will pick up pace again next month, I promise! As for WHERE I'm moving too...

COUNTRY ROADSSSS

TAKE ME HOOOOOOMMMEEEEE

Third Person Pov

Living with Tsukauchi? Not as bad as Harper thought it'd be. After she dumped the news on her parents and winced through her mother's sobs and father's horror, they were carted away to be put under witness protection for the time being. Harper hated that she had caused the uprooting of their lives, but there was little that could be done. They were forced into new identities and whisked off to god knows where. Somewhere far away from Harper, no doubt. It hurt, but Harper wanted them safe. Even if that meant she wouldn't be seeing them anytime soon.

Harper was more surprised than not that her parents weren't upset with her. They'd mentally dubbed her a hero already for doing something as "selfless" as offering up her services to the principal. In reality, she hadn't offered jack shit. Nezu had hunted her down and gave her an offer (and guilt trip) she couldn't very well refuse. She'd told them as such, but they'd stuck to their pride anyway. Harper would have been more pleased if they were right. If she were a hero. She definitely wasn't.

The bar she'd been taken to when Kurogiri snatched her was empty. Harper had somehow managed to mentally retrace her steps when given a map, and there was really only one bar in the area. It didn't really belong to anyone in particular, which made it all the more suspicious. It was empty when they got there, smelling of bleach with every surface wiped clean. Harper wasn't disappointed, but only because she'd been expecting it. She'd gotten away, so there's no way they'd stay there. Not unless they were complete and total idiots. At this point, it was a real possibility.

Tsukauchi was borderline parent material. Maybe if he wasn't jumping blindly into the deep end, he'd be better at it. Harper had no idea. She was just glad she hadn't been nabbed off the street again. That was probably due to the fact that the detective now drove her to and from school on the daily now. She wasn't sure how big Kurogiri could make his portals, but dropping an entire car into their base probably wasn't on their to-do list. Especially not one with a cop in it. All in all, Harper seemed to have been written off for the time being.

Tsukauchi's apartment isn't the coziest or most comfortable. It wasn't all that lived in, discounting the dining room table that was always covered in paperwork. Harper had taken it upon herself to take care of the overflowing sink, brave the task that was cleaning out the fridge, and had even squared off against a gaggle of possums living under the sink that Tsukauchi apparently hadn't been aware of despite the fact that the creatures were evidently raiding his pantry on a fairly frequent basis. They were friendly enough at first, but then Harper tried to remove one of their cracker boxes for sanitary purposes. That had not gone over well.

So yeah, Tsukauchi's place wasn't the best, but Harper would give anything to be there at the moment.

"Holy shit." Harper hissed, massaging her temples. Sitting across from her, Iida didn't look like he was doing all that much better. They'd all had fair warning about the Sports Festival. Hell, they'd been training for it nonstop these past few weeks. Yet somehow, despite that, Harper still found herself taken aback and feeling an awful lot like a small animal that had just been pounced on by a much larger predator, who was ready to sink its teeth in and eat her whole. 

She didn't really have stage fright. Harper had learned a long time ago to ignore people's opinions of her. No, being seen failing at physical activity wasn't the issue. She already knew she wasn't going to win. The issue here was just how many people were present. How many thoughts there were present. God, they were crushing. She'd never been at the center of a crowd so big and so loud. It felt like her brain was being vacuum sealed, stuffed with cotton, thrown into a garbage disposal, and then slowly squashed by a hydraulic press. It definitely wasn't her definition of fun.

"I'm going to fail right away. I'll disappointed my brother and my family, all on live television. But if I don't go, it'll be worse. They'll know I'm a coward... no, they already know that. They're just far too kind to say it out loud. Yes, that must be it." Iida's thoughts grumbled. He was especially in a funk today. Harper was confident he'd have committed suicide today if not for the fact that he was expected to walk out there. There was too much of a chance of him getting caught, and Harper was beginning to realize that that was his biggest fear. Someone finding out and halting him from ending it all mid-attempt.

"Man, I've already got a headache." Harper spoke up as Todoroki mentally recited what he was going to say to Izuku for the fifth time. He'd been memorizing the small speech for three days now. Seriously, challenging a classmate shouldn't have been that hard. "How are you feeling about this whole thing, Iida?"

The boy flinched slightly, clearly not expecting her to engage. Harper didn't blame him. He was the only she willingly talked to first. Sure, she responded to other people, but she never sparked conversation if she could help it. "I'm sure things will go fine. I plan to give it my all! After all, my brother is watching." Iida proclaimed, and she caught the hint of something warm. Love, for his sibling. His thoughts were a stormy contrast. "I hope... I hope my opponent goes too far. I hope an accident occurs. I hope I-"

"You're most likely to win." Harper cut him off. Kaminari's Wii music increased in volume across the room as Todoroki stood up and strode towards Izuku. 

"What?" Iida blinked owlishly at her. "I must have misheard her! There's no way she thinks... that I can win... No, not me. I'm pathetic. She must know that on some level."

"Think about it rationally. Your quirk is crazy powerful and versatile. It gives you the ability to throw super-charged kicks and to go fast. Speed is everything, and you're naturally strong as well. Seriously, you're one of the tallest, brawniest people in class. It's only logical. You've also had more training than a lot of us." Harper insisted, glad pulling shit out of her ass was her specialty. She wasn't exactly wrong, though. Iida had a good chance of winning. She really hoped he did. Maybe it would do his mentality some favors. Then, she wouldn't have to do as much damage control.

Iida gaped at her in utter disbelief. She raised an eyebrow dryly, gaze flitting over to Kirishima. He was grinning at her in a dopey manner, head perched on his hand. "Look at her. She's so perfect. I bet she's going to do amazing. I hope she wins. Should I wish her good luck? No, she barely knows me. We're not even friends. I wish we were, since she's definitely my soulmate." Kirishima's thoughts were earnest. Experimentally, she shot him a smile. She was getting better at those. "Holy shIT SHE SMILED AT M-"

"Y-You think that about me?" Iida sputtered, drawing her attention away from the wide eyes, flushed redhead gaping at her from across the room. "Sh-She really thinks all that?! About me?! It's not true... well, Harper is observant. Could it be that I'm not as bad as I assumed? No, that's not possible, right? Is it... my brother does use his engines efficiently, and I have the same engines in my legs. I-I... I don't-"

"Of course I do. You're one of the most impressive people in class." Harper scoffed as though it were obvious. Again, she wasn't technically lying. She just didn't have as strong of an opinion on the matter as she was projecting. That didn't matter. The brunette had become invested in Iida, and so here they were. She was too far in to go back now. Abandoning people apparently wasn't something she did. Wow, Harper was learning more and more about herself everyday. Goody.

God, she hated caring.

Iida gave a smile, and for once, it was genuine. "Thank you, Harper. Nobody has really ever... said such things about me before." He kept his voice soft, half because he was feeling melancholy, and half because Todoroki was in the middle of challenging Izuku. "I don't deserve such good friends."

"Yeah, well don't get too used to it. I don't give out my thoughts to just anyone." Harper grumbled. Iida seemed to brighten even further at that, giving a nod as Izuku responded to Todoroki's challenge. The half-and-half boy was sort of panicking, clearly not having expected much of a retaliation. Let alone for Izuku to agree by saying that yeah, Todoroki was the strongest in the class and could probably knock everyone here on their asses if he wanted to.

"Damn, Todoroki and Midoriya are both looking majorly hot." Mineta thought, glancing at the two before going back to staring at Momo and pretending to ogle her. "I'd hit both of them. No- I'd hit every guy in this room."

"Todoroki never uses his fire side, so it's reasonable to assume he could be lured somewhere and promptly frozen to death depending on how much of an adversity he holds against his flames. Or burned, depending on how fire resistant he is..." Koda trailed off thoughtfully as he watched the exchange between the half-and-half boy. Harper cringed away from his thoughts slightly. She'd learned to stop listening in on Koda's thoughts when it took him only fifteen minutes to come up with thirty different ways to break Iida's legs just to incapacitate him. 

"Have mercy on my tortured soul." Hagakure was exasperated. "I am about to yeet myself into the sun, where my invisible body will incinerate into sheer nothingness, and I will finally disappear fully as though I never existed at all."

Harper could relate to that. She focused on Izuku to see his side of the encounter, a bit curious. It was hard to block out the thundering voices of everyone here to watch a bunch of teenagers duke it out in what was essentially a legalized fighting ring. There were so many people that their voices blended together in a cacophony of noise that was nearly steady. Like white noise but louder and more likely to give you a headache. 

"Wake me up, wake me up, call my name and sAVE ME FROM THE DARK," Izuku's thoughts shrieked as he stared up at Todoroki, sweat running down the side of his face. Harper was glad she didn't have anything in her mouth. She either would have spit it out or choked on it. Probably both, knowing her luck. "BID MY BLOOD TO RUN, BEFORE I COME UNDONE,"

Before the room could descend back into quiet conversation, the door swung open. Harper suppressed a groan immediately as she was mentally greeted. Ever since Aizawa had found out she could hear thoughts, her life had become something akin to, you know, hell. A downgrade from the usual purgatory that was far, far less painful. "Hi Harper! You look extra adorable today, of course. I'm doing great, it's nice to see you too! Yeah, you think so? I thought Mic looked hot this morning too. Don't worry, I won't tell him you said that." He thought, as though she were responding. In reality, Harper couldn't make her expression any flatter.

"Alright everybody, it's time to go. Hurry it up." Aizawa barked out gruffly, causing half the class to shoot up out of their seats like they'd spontaneously caught fire. "Good luck, Harper! Oh my god, they're all so cute. I can't handle this. I have four devices recording this from four different news stations, but I am not ready. This is proof that god is at least somewhat real! Where else did all these adorable little cuties come from? So much potential. I could just drown in it!"

"I guess that's our cue!" Ochako chirped nervously as Harper and Iida rounded the table, inching towards the doorway Aizawa had just disappeared from apprehensively. "Wow, I can't believe this is happening. It's crazy! Mom, dad, I hope I can make you proud..."

Kaminari's Wii music dubstep seemed to evolve as they all trudged down the hallway towards their entrance, becoming more intense. Harper strayed away from his thoughts and away from Bakugo's, which were of course centered around Izuku, and instead decided to check in on Iida one last time before she brought out her A-game. And by that, she meant she was going to block out literally everything to the best of her ability. Not even for her performance; just for her sanity in general.

"This is a horrible idea. I should turn back now. I can't do this. I wasn't meant to do this. I'm a disappointment to my family. News stations will laugh at them, and it'll be all my fault. It'll... I'm going to ruin everything. I always ruin everything. Why can't I ever do anything right?!" Iida's thoughts were corrosive, and Harper couldn't hide her grimace. Her head was pounding, she was pretty sure she could still hear Aizawa's thoughts screaming at her from somewhere else in the stadium, and she just... she just wanted a nap, you know?

"Hey, Iida." She elbowed him lightly, feeling awkward. "Good luck, yeah? I'm sure you'll do great. Jet legs, and all."

Iida looked taken aback. Harper always seemed to know when his thoughts were at their worst. At times, it felt almost as though she was combating them. Listening in and then repeating the opposite to him. It... meant a lot. More than he'd ever be able to express. Talking to Harper was probably one of the best methods of suicide prevention for him. Was it a part of her reflex quirk, maybe? On a subconscious level, did she somehow detect that he was always on edge?

"I'm sure you'll do excellently as well, Harper." Iida offered a smile. Harper gave one back, but this time she had no doubt it looked more like a grimace. If the competition didn't do her in, the sensory overload would. Her brain was going to be absolutely fried by the end of this, no doubt about it. Harper wasn't sure there was anything she could do to stop that, unless she wanted to run away. 

They turned a corner, and Harper could see the light at the end of the tunnel. It was like some sort of sick representation of her impending death. Her heart beat was so loud it nearly drowned out both the mental and verbal roar of the crowd, as well as Mic's voice hyping up the crowd. She could feel Iida giving her a sidelong glance and she really didn't think it was helping her nerves all that much as she tried to build up her mental barricades. Shit, she was about to participate in UA High School's famous sports festival. More popular than the Olympics. 

She was done for.

"H-Hey, Harper!" A voice called as they inched closer and closer towards the exit. The girl turned without really thinking about it, looking up at Kirishima with a raised eyebrow. She hoped it was dimly lit enough that he couldn't see how much she was sweating. It's not that she cared, she just didn't want to be confronted about it. "Good luck out there. I'm sure you're gonna do great!" 

"You too, Kirishima." She forced a smile, eyes flickering to Iida when his thoughts became nearly nauseating for not only himself, but for Harper. It had been a long, long time since a single person was able to make her sick. She'd reported him to the principal and stressed the fact that he needed help, but there was only so much they could do. They couldn't force him to talk to the school counselor, Hound Dog, nor could they confront him unless he tried something.

"Y-Y-Yeah!" Kirishima bared his teeth in a grin. "Holy shit, Harper just talked to me! This is the best day of my life. Oh my god. She wished me luck back. And smiled. Are we friends? I think this makes us almost friends. Slightly friends? I can get behind that, man!"

"This first group are no strangers to the spotlight! You know them for withstanding a villain attack! That's right everyone, it's the hero course students of Class 1-A!" 

"Fuck." Came from half her classmates. Harper couldn't agree more.