This is hellish to read but I got it over with, so let's literally never do that again. It's so boring. I'm sorry, please kill me, leggo

Third person pov

Toshinori was sweating under Harper's gaze, and she hadn't even asked anything yet. The girl really wasn't sure where to begin. The longer she focused on the extra seven voices latched to his consciousness, the weirder things got. Voices didn't normally have colors. Sure, you could assign colors to them if you wanted, but she'd never gotten any sort of sense that someone was a certain shade of blue, or maybe green. That wasn't how her quirk worked. Or at least, not before now. These voices were different. They were nearly... glowing. When she closed her eyes and focused, she swore she could almost see them.

The first, oldest voice belonged soft-spoken who radiated a bright white light. It was silvery and rippled like it was the beginning of something stronger. A runner, crouched at the starting line. They weren't powerful physically, but they held this air of certainty within them that was reassuring in an odd way. They sounded... not as old as they felt. Like they were a young man, and not something age-old. Harper had a feeling she was digging into something deeper than she could ever even begin to imagine.

The Second was full of hope and the urge to lift others up, shining an exuberant, blue light that promised rescue. They felt like a refuge, certainly sounding older than the First, but not by much. While the blue light wasn't as old as the white one, they were still older than any man Harper had run into. They were also kind, but in a loud way. The Second felt like a hugger. The kind of person that would greet a stranger like an old friend with a smile on their face. They really cared.

Three was radiating a dull but powerful red shade. They were almost certainly male, and felt... dangerous. They were the most quiet out of all of them, but they didn't sound all that old anytime they did comment on something. Younger than the other lights, they still somehow felt far too old to be a living person. That's what perplexed Harper the most about this situation. She could not hear the dead. The dead were gone-- they didn't have the ability to think. So how was she hearing entities that felt several decades older than the average life-span stretched?

Four was a leafy green. They were quiet, but not in a cold way like red was. They were cool and calculated, but seemed relatively sassy when they did contribute to the conversation. Most of their quips were quietly-spoken, but they burned in a witty way that made the rest of the voices howl with laughter. They didn't hold the same raw power as Three, and they weren't as old either, but they sounded the eldest out of the voices so far. Another male, she felt. Strong willed despite not seeming it. They felt like a hero, much like Two.

Five was a golden yellow, gruff with what felt like the distinct ability to capture. They scoffed and laughed in a deep, hearty laugh that came from the belly. Definitely a man. Strong and with the ability to hold out. They knew what they were doing. Harper felt that if Five got a hold of her, there'd be no escaping. Something about him was secure, like some sort of stronghold. He seemed warm. Someone you wouldn't think cared, but did in their own way.

Six was another male, purple, with a certain warmth that laid over his seriousness like a blanket. He was younger than all the other voices as well, though he felt like he was only in his fifties or so. Not old at all. He gave quiet snorts when he found something amusing. He was very pointed in his speech, and seemed calm. His tone was a strong timbre, sure and steady. Still, Harper knew he was dangerous as well. They all were.

The Seventh and final voice was a woman. Her light shimmered and rippled with several colors, never picking just one. She was not only the youngest out of all the voices, but also the loudest too. Her laugh, her jokes, even her smile was something Harper could feel. She held this raw strength not a lot of people had. She reminded her a lot of All Might in way, grinning constantly and so sure of herself. Determination bled off of her like she was some sort of leaky faucet, never completely stopping.

The voices were... weird. They almost formed a time line. They were generational in age, the first older than all the rest, then the second, third, and so on and so forth. They were attached to Toshinori and to Izuku, so it had something to do with them for sure. The pair actually continued the timeline. After Seventh, All Might slotted in perfectly. Midoriya was younger than him, also fitting in after him. Harper had a lot of questions. She had never been one to pry, or maybe she'd just never needed to, and she didn't often find herself curious despite all the thoughts she caught snippets of. This was... different, though. Something she'd never seen. It wasn't familiar at all. Definitely not a mental illness, but if not that, what was it exactly?

"...Everything okay, Harper?" Tsukauchi asked after a few minutes. "She's been staring at him for a long time. I think he's begun to hold his breath. Just what is she focusing on? His thoughts? Feelings? Can she feel something up with his quirk?"

Harper gazed at Toshinori a bit longer, keying into his thoughts on what was going on. He had no idea what she wanted to ask or what she knew. "Wh-Why's the looking at me like that? I do suppose I look rather gaunt these days, but there's something deeper to this. Can she pry into my memories? Or do I have to actively be thinking about it? Young Rye is certainly a complicated young girl. I'm not sure how to approach this. With a smile, I'm sure."

Harper cleared her throat and blinked, leaning back against the couch. She could practically see the relief on All Might's face as her gaze slid back to the plate in her lap instead of his face. She honestly couldn't blame him for that. It wasn't his fault she had literally no idea how in hot hell she was supposed to approach a topic like this. Was it sensitive? He didn't appear to know about it, but that didn't mean he wouldn't know what was going on. It was like having cancer. Even if you don't know you have it, once someone tells you, you at least know you're somewhat screwed, if not completely. Though not seen, it could certainly still be recognized.

"Right, sorry." Harper sighed, raking a hand through her hair. She wanted to say Schizophrenia ran in his family and it just didn't quite make it for him, but that was clearly not the case if Izuku was experiencing the same thing. Both had voices in their head, but neither could hear said voices. Unless they were related in some way (Harper honestly wouldn't be surprised if they were, given their general disregard for their own well-being), then that meant there was another answer to this mess of a question.

"Is something wrong?" Tsukauchi asked. "She looks distressed, maybe a bit confused. There must be something bothering her, and it has something to do with Toshinori. I'd bet it has something to do with what she wants to ask him. Maybe it's a loaded question? No, she wouldn't bother if it were."

Only she would bother. Apparently.

"You know the brunt of my secrets, Miss Rye. Feel free to ask anything you want." Toshinori tried to smile, but you could tell he was freaking out. "She looks far too tired for a girl her age. Whatever this is... it's serious."

"Don't worry. It's not something that hurts anyone." Harper sighed tiredly, shaking her head. She needed to just get on with it. It was now or never. Never actually sounded fairly appealing right now. No amount of spring rolls could make up for this shit show. "Just... alright, this is going to sound weird as shit. Even I'm not sure what's going on. Do you know... okay, you both know what Schizophrenia is, right?" 

They both nodded, looking more lost than before. Harper was, once again, too young for this. She swallowed a groan. Dealing with Iida was simpler than this.

"Right. When I run across someone with Schizophrenia, I can hear their own thoughts, as well as the voices in their heads. That make sense?" They nodded again. "Right, cool. So... All Might has that. He has seven voices in his head. It's... similar to Schizophrenia, only I'm pretty sure he can't hear the voices. They're attached to you, but I don't hear them in your head. Just... around it."

Harper vaguely gestured. The blonde immediately looked like he'd been struck, reeling back and away from her with wide eyes and a dropped jaw. Tsukauchi looked startled, the piece of chicken he'd wrangled into his chopsticks slipping and plopping back down onto his plate silently. Harper immediately wanted to turn back time and just... not. The shock coming from Tsukauchi was pretty impressive, sure, but it didn't compare to the emotion rolling off Toshinori in crashing waves. You'd think she'd just admitted to being his long-lost daughter or something. His shock wasn't even the worst part.

No, the seven voices were freaking out too.

"She did not just say that." Number Seven's tone was flat with disbelief. 

"I believe she did. She is the mind reader, correct?" Four asked. Harper got the impression that he was raising an eyebrow.

"This just got a lot more complicated, didn't it? I mean, it makes sense! With 'er quirk and all." Five laughed as he said it, so Harper wasn't sure he was actually worried.

"This is quite interesting... I suppose she can hear us, then." One smiled softly. Almost like a parent. Harper coughed a bit into her fist.

"Wow! That's... That's really something. Does that mean we now have an open line of communication into the outside world?" Two sounded relatively excited.

"Don't get so ahead of yourself. We don't even know if we can trust her. This could be potentially disastrous." Three grunted, seemed frustrated over the fact that he couldn't do anything.

"You're too serious." Six chided. "She seems perfectly pleasant to me. I'm sure we won't have any issues, and if we do, it's not as though we can do much anyway."

"I'm sorry." Toshinori choked out before she could reply to any of the voices, all of which could apparently hear her talk just fine. She somehow hadn't thought they'd be that aware. "You said seven voices?" 

"Six men, one woman." Harper nodded. "They're freaking out about it right now. Guess this has never happened to them either." 

"Holy shit, she can hear us!" The Seventh cheered. "It's been so long since I've gotten to talk to another girl. Poor Toshi doesn't know what hit him. It's nice to meet you, Kid!"

"Uh... yeah, nice to meet you too." Harper awkwardly replied with a wince. Several of the voices gasped at her ability to reply before beginning to, once again, flip their lids and bicker of how to react. She decided to let them come down from their upwards spiral. Toshinori still looked like he'd been slapped. Actually, was he breathing? Tsukauchi looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack, and this wasn't even about him. Harper massaged her temples. Alright, so maybe mentioning this was a mistake. She didn't know.

"She... can hear them? Seven voices? No, it's not possible. They're all... they've all passed. But... But they are carried on within this quirk of ours. Is it possible that it was not just a fragment of them that was pulled along, but maybe their entire beings?" Toshinori's thoughts were frantic, but no longer to a concerning extent. He looked at her with urgency in his eyes. "You said there was a woman's voice, yes?"

"The Seventh's. She's the youngest out of them all from what I can tell. Like I said, they're not directly effecting you, and they don't have any ulterior, nefarious motives. Just thought I'd bring it up, I guess." Harper said quickly, eyes darting to Tsukauchi. He was looking at her like she was some sort of otherworldly being, and she didn't like it. She shoved some rice in her mouth.

"Wait, are you calling us old?" The Fifth suddenly startled. 

"Well, we are, aren't we?" One questioned softly. Six snorted with amusement dancing in his... light, and she swore Two rolled his eyes. Which was odd considering he was nothing more than a disembodied voice.

"At least I look great for my age." Four murmured. "Unlike... some people."

"Wow, okay, feeling the love." Two didn't really seem offended.

"Can it. I'm trying to focus on the drama dropping on my successor and our new friend!" Seven shushed. 

"Harper... are you sure you can hear these voices? Positive?" Tsukauchi asked softly, like a parent trying to coax a lie out of their child. Harper stared at him dryly. Man of little faith, this one. Whatever. Harper honestly had no right to be surprised about literally anything anymore. "This shouldn't be possible. It opens a lot of doors that I'm not sure I want her to step through, but at this point I'm not sure she has a choice. She's in way too deep."

"I'm sure." Harper really wanted to go back to the days when her biggest worry was whether or not her gym teacher would get onto the girls smoking in the bathroom and make them all run around the track for the entire period. "Look, just-- Seven, the woman, what's your name? You know All Might, right?"

"I do! He's my student. Didn't he turn out great?" Seven beamed. There was something motherly in her tone. If Seven had a body, Harper would be suspiciously squinting at it right now.

"Yes. Great." Four coughed. Six and Two both snickered, only to be shushed softly by One. They immediately listened.

"Yeah, All Might's the best." Harper said in a drawl tone. "He's also waiting for me to get your name so he can figure out whether or not I'm lying. He's focusing very hard on not giving me the name before you do."

Toshinori flushed with embarrassment, and Seven laughed fondly.

"Sounds like him." She grinned. "My name is Nana Shimura."

"Harper Rye, but you probably knew that." Harper responded. Talking to voices that didn't belong to anyone was a lot easier than talking to voices that did. She looked to Toshinori, who continued to fidget in place, anxious waiting for her to tell him the name of Seven. Their Chinese food had long since gone cold. Tsukauchi and All Might both looked like they'd lost their appetites. More for her, she supposed. Harper honestly just wished this day would end already. Could it get anymore stressful? "She says she's your teacher. Does the name Nana Shimura mean anything to you?"

Harper didn't need to read his thoughts to know it did. The look on his face was answer enough.