Sorry for the lack of updates, guys. I've got some family stuff that came up all of a sudden, and that along with school have been bogging me down and keeping me pretty busy. I'll do my best to stay consistent! 

Third person pov

Harper could honestly say she was done with life's shit. It was throwing curveballs left and right, and she truly was not here for it. Sero had told her in all certainty that he'd killed his mother, father, and sister. He'd even said it out loud for Tsukauchi, who'd deemed it the truth. Sero was convinced he'd murdered his entire family. Evidently, that wasn't as solid as it seemed. The whole thing was giving Harper a headache. They'd need to do a blood test to confirm and such of that like, of course, but Harper was pretty sold. This girl was telling the truth.

"You don't have to sign. My quirk allows me to read minds, so anything you think, I'll be able to hear." Harper wasn't sure telling this girl about her quirk was a good idea, but it's what she had to do anyway. She and Sero's supposed younger sister were seated in an interrogation room, Tsukauchi and Sansa observing. Dabi had wrangled Kurogiri into sitting in the waiting room. The warp-gate user was now sulking like a sorry child. Harper wasn't sure what was funnier: That the officers in the precinct had given the warp-gate user a coloring book to scribble in to calm him down, or the fact that it had actually worked.

"I see! It's... been a long time since someone has been able to hear my voice. My name is Aimi, by the way. Aimi Fujie" The girl gave a hesitant smile, fidgeting nervously. A anxious energy radiated from her. She was unsure, and a bit lost. Like she didn't quite know how to go about this. "I... I almost couldn't believe my eyes. When I saw Hanta on screen while the UA Sports Festival was broadcasting. They said his last name was Sero, so I thought maybe he'd been adopted. But we managed to get in contact with UA's principle after a few weeks, and..."

"I'd say it's nice to meet you, but it's really not. You're probably pretty confused. I sure as shit am. He said he'd murdered you." Harper knew she was being blunt and quite possibly rude. Scratch that, definitely rude. Today had been  long day, and she really just wanted to go home and try sleeping. She'd gotten into the habit of sitting on the couch next to Kurogiri and letting him hold her. It was really weird, but he'd just wrap an arm around her and let all his stress from the day and not having her there melt away. And she'd fall asleep like that. Tsukauchi always took endless photos, but she didn't give a damn. Sleep was sleep. 

"I... well, someone tried, but it wasn't him." Aimi's hand flew to her throat, almost reflexively. "When we were little, our father was an underground hero who made a lot of enemies. One night, some men broke in. I was really little and don't remember much, but Hanta and I were hiding in a cupboard, peeking out. They... killed our parents, and we saw the whole thing. I remember Hanta trying to shield me with his body when they found us. He was so angry. Screaming, crying so hard his face was red. Once they saw his quirk, they grabbed him, and tried to... w-well-" 

"Alright, I've got the gist of it. So it sounds like his memories are a little out of whack, then." Yeah. A little. More like a metric shit ton. So Aimi had been around, what, seven when this all happened? Give or take a couple of years, of course. Men had broken in and killed their parents in front of him. That's where he'd gotten that piece of the story. Then, they'd seen his quirk, and they'd taken him. Had he been brainwashed somehow? It wasn't all that far-fetched to assume that could be the case. Quirks were insane.

Where did that leave them with Sero? There was no telling what was true and what wasn't. Was the box the cupboard they'd been hidden in, or was it a place he was hiding bodies? Had he even killed anyone? Harper wasn't sure what to think anymore. This was becoming more and more of a mess. With midterms coming up, Harper was already dead tired trying to study. Kirishima wasn't an idiot, but there were certain subjects he was begging for help in. Others had been asking for her help too. Not because she was particularly smart, but because they knew they'd have a chance to ask about Sero if they could get her alone. She understood, but that didn't mean it didn't drive her nuts.

"I thought he was dead, to be honest." The girl looked down. "I wasn't sure it was him at first, but there's no mistaking that quirk... I didn't know what to do. I had to come here to get the story. When I found out he' d been arrested, I was so worried. I never thought... "

And she was crying. Great. Just what Harper needed. What was with people involved in cases getting so emotional? First Kurogiri is crying at the drop of the hat, then Stain's son is wailing on the couch while Harper awkwardly pats his hand and avoids making eye contact. She knew humans well and how their minds worked. But there was a big difference between knowing and actually being able to successfully deal with said thing. Harper wasn't all that emotional of a person, and thus wasn't sure how to deal with other people who were. Save for Kurogiri. You just patted him, and it was fine. Not everyone was that simple, however.

"Alright, this is fine. Totally fine." Harper massaged her temples. "Look, I'm not sure how to deal with this. I'll definitely talk to Sero and the Chief of Police. Him seeing you may not be a great idea. I have no idea what he'd do. He's extremely mentally unstable. I think I'm going to have a quirk specialist come in to see if he's ever been under the influence of some sort of outside power. It would certainly explain why the psychologist we brought in was so confused when he left."

"Thank you." Aimi sniffled, her inner voice wobbling. "This means so much to me. I thought I'd lost everything from my life before. I know I haven't talked to my brother in years, but I do remember him. He's a good person."

"It's not a problem." Harper tried to keep the sigh from her voice. This was a total pain in her ass. "One more thing before we part ways, though. Do you know anything about a lake house?"

"We used to live by a lake. That's where it happened." Aimi said, seeming almost surprised by the question. "Would you like the address?"

For this first time since this conversation started, Harper found herself smiling, even if it was just a little.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kirishima's face was red, and he couldn't get it to calm down. Anytime he found some semblance of calm within himself, he'd remember the exact reason he was flustered to begin with, and he'd erupt into a blush all over again! He was sitting at the end of his bed, his foot tapping anxiously on the ground and his phone clutched in both hands. His stomach did a flip anytime he glanced at the screen of the device, and his palms would sweat copious amounts. It was actually sort of ridiculous, but could you blame him?! He didn't have near the emotional capacity needed to deal with feelings like this.

He glanced down at his phone again, and a strained wheeze left him.

Soulmate 💜😍🥰💞:
Hey, do you own a dress shirt? 

Kirishima:

Yeah, of course! Why do you ask?
Soulmate 💜😍🥰💞:
Put it on. I'll be there in twenty. 

Kirishima:
Wait, where are we going?

Soulmate 💜😍🥰💞:
You're my date to Mr. Aizawa's wedding. Don't ask.

Kirishima:
SKLDSLKDJFOISJDSIOJDSIO

And that was the end of their texting conversation. Short, sweet, and to the point. That was one way to describe Harper, Kirishima was sure. That was completely besides the point and not at all relevant at the moment. He and Harper were going on a date. This would be their second one. Third, if you counted that one other time, but she hadn't called that one a date, so he wouldn't dare assume. Hope, yes, but making presumptions would get him nowhere. He just needed to be calm.

Harper would be here at any moment, and Kirishima was dressed to the nines. He'd done it all. His hair was down and pulled back into a small ponytail that his Ma said looked neater than his usual spiked style, and he'd put on a crisp white button up his Mom had swiftly and efficiently ironed. The only tie he had was red, but it worked fine with his black slacks. He was fidgeting nonstop, just waiting in tense silence. He could barely handle it. He felt like steam was billowing out of his ears, with how hot his face was.

A wedding. He was assuming it wasn't a big, flowery affair, or he probably would've heard about it by now, but it was still a wedding. As in, a marriage. Was this a sign? Did she like him too, or did she simply not wish to brave Aizawa's wedding alone? He remembered the look on her face when she'd told him she'd gotten them engaged. Regret was the only one way to describe it, to be honest. Even with her attitude towards it, the fact that she'd invited him of all people had to mean something! Right?!

Outside his house, Tsukauchi pulled up. Harper was in the back seat, wearing a dress she didn't want to put on, sitting next to a clingy ex-villain she wished would stop sniveling like a child pulled from a candy store. Dabi was blessed by god, sitting in the front seat and looking at his phone while Harper suffered behind him in the center seat. Her legs were freezing, because all the leggings she had were black, and guess what didn't match this shit-ass dress Aizawa got her? Yeah, black. That meant she'd had to shave for the first time in almost a year, and was hating every moment of it. Though she had to admit, it was pretty trippy to feel her legs so smooth.

She sent Kirishima a text letting him know they were there, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. Apparently Dabi was really good with hair, and had tamed hers into something a bit more presentable. Harper wasn't actually sure how he'd pulled this off. Despite its length, he'd somehow managed to braid her hair into a crown around her head. Yeah, it had taken a copious amount of bobby pins, but he'd managed. She was impressed, appalled, and confused all at the same time.

"You know inviting a boy to a wedding sends signals, right?" Dabi fiddled with the radio stations while Tsukauchi stressed over her 'date' and such. He hadn't known her first meeting with Kirishima had been titled a date. To him, this was the first time they were 'getting together', and he was freaking out about it. Kurogiri didn't seem that happy either. Dabi glanced at her in the rear view mirror. "Relationship signals, kid. He's going to think you're into him."

"Yeah, it's fine." Harper shrugged. Kirishima wasn't the worst. The brunette didn't know much about being in a relationship, but not having anything bad to say about Kirishima seemed like a decent sign. Well, she supposed his taste could use some work. His bar was really low if he was liking her. She'd need to work on that with him. He deserved so much better.

"No, it's not fine!" Tsukauchi and Kurogiri both exclaimed at the same time. Harper's expression turned flat.

"She can't like boys! Or girls! Both are illegal! Oh my god, my baby who isn't my baby is growing up so fast. It seemed like just days ago she didn't want to have any physical or social contact with anyone or anything unless it was her bed." Tsukauchi thought emotionally. Harper considered it for a moment. Technically, he wasn't wrong. She'd opened up a lot and become far more tolerable of other people since beginning to attend UA.

"Boys are dangerous. They could surely hurt Harper Rye. I can't allow that to happen." Kurogiri was getting more and more nervous, prompting Harper to sigh. "Wait, he's in her class! How am I supposed to watch her then?! And this whole wedding event! Oh my, this isn't good at all."

Kirishima's front door swung open, and the red-faced teenager darted out looking extremely off kilter as he stumbled off his doorstep and onto the walkway. Tsukauchi and Kurogiri both let out shrieks, as though terrified, and Dabi just sighed heavily at them. Harper was with him on this one. She and Kirishima weren't eloping or anything. She just didn't want to go in alone, and Tsukauchi, Dabi, Kurogiri, and Sansa had all been denied access to Aizawa's wedding. And she couldn't exactly bring one of them as her date, seeing as that was both nasty and illegal. Tsukauchi and Sansa would both be arresting themselves in their distress!

Harper leaned over and pushed the door open as much as she could for the redhead, seeing as Tsukauchi had locked it in a desperate last attempt to thwart this whole thing. Kirishima caught it, his thoughts flooding into the car and nearly drowning out all the others with their intensity. She wasn't outwardly phased by this, of course, but the fact that Kirishima was feeling some major anxiety still stood. He looked at her in her dress, and died. It truly didn't make things better.

"Ohmygodshe'sinadress." Kirishima's thoughts were a continuous stream free of pauses. Kurogiri cleared his throat rather rudely, and they slowed only slightly. "I've never seen her legs before. Is that weird? They look really smooth. She can hear me. She thinks I'm a pervert. I'm getting in the car. Oh my god, she looks so pretty. Look at her hair. I can die happy. I want to marry her. She heard that too, oh my god! I need a distraction. I should sing. So she said what's the problem baby, what's the problem, I don't know, well maybe I'm in lo- THAT'S NO BETTER I-"

"Thanks for agreeing to this." Harper decided not to acknowledge the blushing, or why it was happening. That would only get to Tsukauchi and Kurogiri all the more. They were already eyeballing the color of his face, which was the last thing Harper needed in her life. "Hopefully they'll keep it short, but knowing them..."

"Y-Yeah, of course. I'm sure it'll b-be lots of fun." The fact that Kirishima had even managed to form words was impressing in Harper's opinion. "Okay. Christ, calm down. She wears a skirt all the time! It's just legs! But she looks so pretty, and her hair. God, my heart really can't take this. Ma didn't tell me what to do if I was too overwhelmed by her perfection! This is bad. This is really bad."

Harper wasn't quite sure whether or not she regretted inviting Kirishima yet. She'd decide on the way there.