Third person pov

The day flew by, and soon they were running from Shoto again. Or they were trying to. Hound Dog materialized from god knows where, there to say goodbye to them and give his woeful farewells to a clearly-smitten Kurogiri who lingered a little too long for Harper's liking. The half-and-half boy was determined. He sprinted out of the classroom not even a second after the bell rang, causing Harper to suck in a sharp breath of air and yank Kurogiri. If only he were allowed to use his quirk on school grounds. Sansa and Tsukauchi were already waiting outside, ready to haul them out. It was just a matter of getting there in time.

"Come. On." Touya hissed, punctuating each word with a tug. Kurogiri finally seemed to budge, clearly not sensing their urgency as Shoto got closer and closer. "Dammit, he's gaining. I knew I wouldn't be able to avoid this forever, but I would've thought I'd at least last a day."

Harper had to agree with that. Harper had been doing pretty shitty on her own, but add Kurogiri and Dabi into the mix, and they were a mega-magnet for bad luck. Even worse, Ectoplasm popped out of his classroom just to tell them not to run. Not that they listened, but it made them feel all the more pressured as they tore through the crowd, weaving between students and ducking under arms. Kurogiri seemed to find immense joy in it all, so at least one of them could say they were having fun. Shoto was gaining though, and fast. He was right on their tails.

"Harper!" Shoto exclaimed behind her, voice pleading and possibly a little pissed. Harper wasn't about to turn around and look at him to see which was plastered on his face. "If they're running away, it's because they know something. Touya must've recognized me. That must be him!"

Harper muttered a few curses to herself. Of course. They should've acted natural and pulled lies right out of their asses. Kurogiri could even mindlessly play along, seeing as Harper and Dabi himself were the only ones who actually knew his real name. That being said, the tired girl wasn't sure Dabi would've been able to handle lying to his younger brother. His mind had circulated around the teen all day. About how much he'd grown, and how powerful he was, and how he was finally using the full extent of his quirks. They had Izuku to thank for that. One less issue for Harper to tackle, she supposed.

They skidded down a set of stairs. It was only then that she realized they'd left Kirishima in the classroom, and she cursed herself. Of course they'd accidentally forgotten him. Just her luck. Excellent. This was great. She'd have to text him, and work out some sort of way to warp him. Since he knew about Sero, he'd been cleared to come alone. Though he couldn't see Sero or Stain, or enter Sero's home, he could at least tag along. Not that having four people in the back seat was legal, but Tsukauchi and Sansa said it was probably fine, so they were going to go with that. When the law speaks, it speaks.

"Shit, shit, shit." Dabi hissed as they exited the school. The crowd was thinner there. It meant they could go faster, but it meant the same thing for Shoto. The half-and-half boy sped up when he saw the car they were heading for. Sansa and Tsukauchi saw them coming, and the cat-headed officer scrambled out to open the door for them. One of the few useful things he'd ever done in his lifetime. A small blessing. At this point, Harper was counting every one she got no matter its size. "We're not going to make it. Shoto's too stubborn."

Sansa hopped back in the car. All the windows were rolled down anyway, and Hallelujah by Panic at the Disco was pouring out at max volume. Harper didn't have time to think about it. She slowed down slightly, still pulling Kurogiri behind her. Dabi took the lead, boots hitting the pavement hard as he put the rest of his energy into the last few strides. He propelled himself in, scrambling to the end. Harper jumped in next, pulling Kurogiri with her. The warp-gate user seemed to get the memo and slammed the door behind him, the gaseous shroud his quirk produced springing from his clothing and giving him his usual appearance of a purple mist cloud in a suit.

"Floor it!" Dabi and Harper both shrieked at the same time. Tsukauchi's tires squealed. Shoto was still running. The engine gave a rev, the music hit its peak, and just as they began to roll away--

Shoto dove right through the window. And everyone started screaming.

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

Dabi refused to talk as they drove, and Shoto refused to move. He was pretty much in Harper's lap sideways, his legs on his brother's and folded up awkwardly. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed dangerously. His whole body seemed set into a grimace. Kurogiri was happily humming along to the music. Sansa and Tsukauchi weren't talking, but Harper could see the sweat gathering on the back of her fake-dad's neck. Sansa's fur was all poofed up, and she was pretty sure he'd licked his paw a few times. Harper was, decidedly, done.

"...You can tag along. But no questions until I'm not with my shit." Harper decided, and Shoto looked at her. She raised her brows. He was in her lap, so it's not like he could say no. The half-and-half teen gave Dabi a glance before returning his gaze to his classmate. It was slightly awkward, but she could tell Shoto didn't care. She really didn't either. So, they had some sort of stare-off while Dabi silently fidgeted next to them.

"God, I can't believe he jumped through the window. Poor Harper. All she could do was grimace and help him sit up while we all shrieked. I'll owe that kid some tylenol later." Dabi thought to himself. "But... holy fuck. Shoto is here. Well, sort of. He's sort of curled up. I don't think he wants to sit on Kurogiri. Still, I can't believe it. This is really happening."

"You won't run again?" Shoto raised an eyebrow at her. "Harper has always seemed trustworthy and like a good friend. We sit together at lunch, when she actually eats in the cafeteria. With Midoriya, Iida, and Ochako too. She's the one who invited me to sit with them in the first place, after the Sports Festival, and she helped us with Stain. And in the hospital room... she cares, but she's clearly friends with Touya as well. Where does her loyalty lie most?

"Where would I go? We go to the same school, and Dabi over here will be coming along anyway. Even if we did run, you'd still be able to corner us." She said. The car turned, and she brought up her arm so he didn't topple backwards suddenly. His left hand clasped on her shoulder, and he cringed visibly. Great, so he was enjoying this about as much as she was. Good to know. "If he doesn't talk, I'll make him."

This seemed to satisfy him, and he fell silent again. Harper patted his back awkwardly a few times. For a moment, nobody said anything. Dabi had stopped dwelling and was now silently thinking to her, focused on her face so he could better read her expressions. The fact that he even understood anything she meant just based on her face was sort of amazing and slightly weird, but she'd think about it later. There were worse things. He finally admitted to her directly that he was Touya, though she'd overheard it in his thoughts many times before. A brief background was given. Harper felt a little better, being updated on the situation.

Out of nowhere, Sansa said something that caused Tsukauchi to almost veer into a lamppost. 

"Hey, Tsukauchi. There's a teenage boy in your daughter's lap."

The shriek the brakes produced made them all wince.

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

She texted Kirishima and vowed to bring him in and update him later. He'd sent some thumbs up emojis and told her he needed to go home first anyway, and talk to his moms. He gave a tentative invite to her, asking her if she'd at least like to come in and meet his mothers. She'd of course said yes. Not because she actually wanted to meet them, but because Kirishima wanted her to. Harper owed him a metric shit ton for all he'd put up with. Hell, she could donate her heart for transplant to the guy and it still wouldn't be enough to make up for even half of what he'd been through. The comment about Endeavor being a furry had been terrifying enough, but the wedding he'd been forced to go through? Nothing short of traumatizing. Harper still had glitter in her hair.

"Stay here. Don't fight. Dabi, you leave Shoto alone. Shoto, you leave him alone. Kurogiri is in charge of watching you." Harper demanded, eyes narrowed. Dabi looked flummoxed at the mere notion that Kurogiri could ever have any authority over him. One glance at the happy warp gate user diminished that. The ex-villain was pretty much an over-sized child in a suit, who puffed up proudly as he was pronounced as the one in power here.

Sansa had driven off to go pick someone else up, so Harper would be chatting with Sero first. Tsukauchi brought her back, his thoughts bleeding into her quirk. "She looks stressed. I know today was hard. I wish we could've pushed all this back a day, but Stain's getting moved tonight, and it's better to kill two birds with one stone and get her talk with Sero out of the way. Not the mention the crime scene. I have no idea when they'll be cleaning it up, but I at least want her to see it. She's perceptive, quirk aside."

"I'll be alright. Long day." Harper assured, glancing up at him. He gave a lopsided smile. "But I do expect ice cream after this."

"Any flavor you want." Tsukauchi promised, ruffling her already disheveled hair. Harper snorted at him, shaking her head as the guard unlocked the door to Sero's room for her. Tsukauchi moved on to go to the viewing room, where the Chief would probably be. He'd been around their precinct a lot lately despite residing over several. "Hopefully these all go smoothly. She doesn't need anything else today."

Damn right she didn't. Harper sighed to herself as the guard closed the door. He didn't lock it behind her, so he could get in fast if things went awry. Harper didn't expect they would. Sero, despite being the traitor, was someone she still considered a friend. He was messed up, but she understood on some level. Something was wrong. He was confused for some reason, and wasn't remembering things as surely as he had been before. When she prodded at his mind, she could feel something slipping away. Fading out. She had no idea what it was, but it felt like the remnants of something foreign. A quirk expert was coming in today. It's one of the reasons she was here.

"Wow, you look like shit." Sero marveled, propping his arms up on the table as Harper plopped down across from him. He always looked forward to these visits. Nobody talked to him like Harper did. Not anymore, anyway. She treated him like he was a real person. Yes, he was a criminal, but he had feelings! Erratic feelings, but they were still there. He knew he'd done wrong and that he was quite possibly insane. The more he tried to figure out when he'd lost it, the harder it seemed to recall. When had things changed? "The bags under her eyes are a lot deeper. Doesn't look like she's been sleeping. Midterms would've already passed, right? I wonder why she's so tired."  

"Gee, thanks. You too." Harper responded dryly, running a hand through her hair. "Just what I wanted to hear. Glad to know we're such good friends."

"Oh please, I'm probably the best friend you've ever had." That was another thing Sero liked about Harper visiting. He could joke, and she wouldn't take it seriously. She'd take it as it was-- as him kidding. "Seriously, though. She looks run dry. I wonder... she mentioned my old house last time. Doesn't that mean... mean they found the... the... the b-"

Harper cut off the thought with the only thing she had to offer. An insult. "You're insane."

"Says you."

"Yet you're the one in cuffs." 

"What can I say? I'm a kinky person."

Harper rolled her eyes at him, giving a lazy half grin. He gave a full blown one back, seeming brighter than he had when she came in. She was determined to get to the bottom of whatever had happened to him. It clearly hadn't been anything good. Deep down, she felt like Sero was a stable person. Not right now, but there was one buried in there. She didn't have any solid proof for that of course, but her hunches were seldom ever wrong. Something with this wasn't right. It wasn't as cut and dry as many people were writing it off as. Family dead, he goes insane, becomes a villain and somehow manages to convince himself he was the one who murdered his mother, father, and his sister, who wasn't never dead to begin with? It was too simplistic. Sero was a complicated individual.

"Well, as you can imagine, I didn't come just to see your ugly mug. I've got another heads up for you." Harper said, and Sero perked up. He always seemed relieved to have a warning. "This one's cutting it close, but it's better than nothing. This evening, a quirk specialist is coming in to see you."

Sero's expression turned confused. "For my elbows? No, that doesn't make sense. They've prevented me from using my quirk. Are they trying to see if I have more than one? That doesn't quite fit either... what is it, then? Damn, I really am an idiot. It's probably obvious, but this one's flying right over my head. Nice."

"Sero... listen." Harper sighed, leaning forward slightly and meeting his eyes. He tensed, realizing she was serious. "My quirk has more to it, and I know you know that. There's something... not right with you. And I'm not saying you're crazy or that there's something wrong with you as a person. It's... I think you're under the influence of a quirk."

"You think I'm what?" Sero blurted out, his eyes wide. "Why would she... she's not lying. She wouldn't do that to me, but why? What... aren't I just insane? I betrayed my class after... becoming a villain. I became a villain because... I don't want to go in the box. I want to leave the box. I don't... none of this makes any sense anymore. I don't understand."

Harper winced slightly as he began to spiral. Great. Just what she needed. 

"Hey, it could be nothing. Or you could... have you ever considered that maybe you're remembering things wrong?" Harper hinted. Sero's gaze snapped back up and met hers, his eyes wide. He didn't freak out on her, for the record. All he did was stare at her, stunned by the mere concept. Looking at him, Harper had to grimace. Sero was making sense of the idea. That a quirk could be tampering with his memory. The fact that he wasn't completely rebutting it made her believe she was right. Someone had used a power of some sort on him.

"I don't... I don't know." Sero murmured, looking down again. He frowned. Harper winced some more. Were those tears in his eyes? Those were tears in his eyes. "It's starting to get blurrier. I could see it all so clearly before. What if she's right? I... but if I'm not remembering right, then what really did happen?"

"I'm not too sure yet either, whether or not what you're remembering is the real story." Harper answered carefully. He was crying. Wonderful. Just what she wanted. What a great day. "But I'm going to find out, Sero. I promise I will get to the bottom of this bullshit."

He burst out into full sobs, throwing himself across the table. Harper tensed up entirely as Tsukauchi and the Chief's panic shot from behind the one-way glass, but she held up a swift hand in her direction to stop them from pulling any alarms. Her other hand awkwardly patted the back of sobbing ex-classmate, and she grimaced for what must've been the millionth time today. Yes, today really wasn't her day.

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

When Harper managed to get Sero calmed down, she left him with a muffin Aizawa had baked. It wasn't as fresh as it had been at lunch, but he still gladly took it. She reminded herself, mentally, to try bringing him fast food more. The guy's meals nowadays weren't all that good. Yes, he was a villain. But none of her classmates had died by his hand or as a result of his actions, so she was willing to try and look past it for now. She wasn't saying he was innocent, but he was still a person, and she wasn't going to shun him completely and treat him like trash. He needed someone on his side.

She wandered back into the waiting area where Kurogiri was very intently staring at Dabi and Shoto. They were sitting as far away from each other as possible, with Dabi at one end of a row of chairs, and Shoto at the other. Dabi was pointedly looking away, but Shoto was staring at his brother as though trying to piece together the puzzle all on his own. Harper blew out a puff of air through her nose, and her classmate's gaze snapped to her immediately. She watched hope fill his mismatched eyes, and prepared to do what she did best. Snuff it out.

"No, I'm not done." Harper claimed dryly, her gaze trailing to the teenager standing awkwardly by the front door, looking like he didn't know what to do. Stain's son, Hirotoki, was awkwardly tall. He lingered in an unsure manner, eyes trained on the ground. Occasionally they'd flick up to glance at Shoto, Dabi, and Kurogiri. He probably recognized the half-and-half boy from the Sports Festival. And if not, Dabi and Kurogiri were both sights to behold in and of themselves.

"A-Ah, Harper!" Hirotoki finally noticed her, jumping slightly. "I wonder if she called me in for questioning. I... I was surprised when no one did before. She said she'd keep them off my back, and she kept her word. She's been incredibly patient throughout this whole process, and more involved than I thought she'd be. I didn't think she'd be so willing to keep me in the loop."

"Hey, come with me real quick." Harper jerked her head to the side. They didn't have long. "I need you to do something for me real quick. Your dad's transferring today."

"Do I need to sign something?" Hirotoki wondered, mildly confused as he scampered to follow her. Harper shoved her hands in her pockets with a sigh, nodding to Kurogiri as she passed. He'd been waving happily almost since she stepped in, and ignoring him would only make him act like a kicked puppy. Sort of ironic considering he was apparently completely smitten by Hound Dog, who seemed entirely taken as well. How, Harper wasn't sure. Hound Dog was asexual. Was Kurogiri? He seemed like it, but she couldn't assume.

Harper was ready for this day to end, but she guessed things weren't the worst they could be. She was ticking tasks off her list of things to do one by one. That, and Kirishima would get to tag along with her later after she forced Dabi to deal with the real world. Kirishima was good with conversation. Normal conversation! With someone her own age! An abstraction, truly. And she'd be getting to meet his moms, so that would be interesting. Tsukauchi would demand answers later, and Sansa would hold her at spray bottle point until she gave them. Not that she'd refuse or anything like that, but he was just dramatic like that.

"Listen, I called in a favor, alright?" Harper spun around to face him once they got a bit deeper in, looking up at him. He tensed at the intensity of her gaze. "We have a short amount of time. I have to be present the whole time, and touching must be as minimal as possible. One hug upon entry, one upon exit, alright?"

"W-Wait, what?" Hirotoki's eyes grew wide and hopeful. Harper hoped he wouldn't cry. "Is she... Did she really-"

Stain had grown to enjoy the company of Harper Rye, or Manx, as he usually called her. Such an odd hero name, but admittedly catchy. He'd worked with her to compile a timeline of his crimes. Throughout it all, she'd winced, and recalled most of the heroes he'd killed. She found something positive in them that made them a good person, but never seemed to judge Stain. No, she didn't like what he'd done. But she still recognized him as a human. On some deeper level, she understood him. He didn't know how, but it was refreshing to have that in a place as tight as a police precinct. The holding cell he was kept in was heavily guarded with men who were either silent or spit vile insults at him. He could see why he deserved them, with all the lives he'd taken. He didn't regret any of his crimes, however. Save for a few, but he was too ashamed to admit that he'd been wrong.

Either way, Manx was an interesting girl. He'd grown fairly fond of her and all her tired quips. Her dry humor made a grin most found creepy stretch across his face. She was vigilant and asked all the right questions, and knew when not to push something. The brunette updated him regularly on Hirotoki. Every time she went, she'd snap a picture of the teen when he clearly wasn't expecting it. There weren't many photos, but each one he'd cherished and committed to memory with a sad smile and bout of gratitude.

He was being transferred to a high security facility just later today. It saddened him to know he wouldn't be seeing Harper nearly as much. She was such an amusing child. He was curious to see where she'd go in her life. She was doing the jobs of half the people in this damn station, juggling school, the League of Villains, and the personal problems of other people.

That's another thing he enjoyed. Her complaining, and telling him about her day. It was like a peek into her life, and into the outside world.

His head raised slightly when the many locks on the door began to click and slide out of place. He'd been sitting and waiting for half and hour, but he didn't mind. There wasn't much else to do, and Stain had always been content to just be with himself and his thoughts. He watched with his head cocked to the side as Harper's head poked in. The bags under her eyes seemed deeper, and her hair was messier than it usually was. She wasn't in her hero costume today, meaning he be calling her by her given name today. He alternated depending on what she was wearing. It just felt right.

"Before you say anything, listen. I've got to lay down some rules." Harper cut him off before he could greet her, and his brows shot up. He stayed silent nonetheless. When Harper told him to shut up, it was usually for a good reason. That, or he was rambling about his beliefs and she had a headache. She gave an accusing look. "You better love me for this. This is illegal. I'm surprised I got the Chief to agree. You have twenty minutes. One hug upon entry, one upon exit. You have to consent to a search afterwards, or I will castrate you. Clear?"

"What is this about? I don't quite understand." Stain's thoughts grumbled as he nodded, seeing no use in trying to rebel. Harper nodded back and opened the door wider to reveal another person behind her. His eyes went wide, and he shot up out of his chair at the sight of his son. Eyes identical to his own stared back at him, wide and teary, and full of disbelief. Harper stepped in and pulled Hirotoki with her, closing the door with her foot. Stain gaped like a fish out of water.

"Hirotoki..." Stain breathed, a smile full of incredulity stretching across his face. His son choked out a sob.

"Dad." 

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

Harper's solutions to things varied. They ranged from minor to entirely brash and quite possibly dramatic. Getting two of her teachers hitched was one example. That approach had been straight forward. Admittedly, she'd doubted it would actually work. She'd actually expected it to all crash and burn. Clearly, that wasn't the case. It was going great in the most chaotic way possible, but a solution was a solution. Another point in which she'd solved her problems in the bluntest way possible was when she adopted Kurogiri. That was... going not as smoothly as Aizawa and Mic's marriage, but it could definitely be worse all things considered. He had been a villain before, after all. They were lucky he hadn't snapped and murdered them in their sleep.

So now, looking at Shoto and Dabi, she knew exactly what she had to do.

"Come with me." She jerked her head up, twirling Tsukauchi's key ring around her finger. Hirotoki had cried with his father and gotten a chance to talk to him. Harper would make sure they could at least exchange mail, and would be looking into visitation rights as soon as Stain settled wherever they were going to place him. Even she wasn't exactly sure on that one. Either way, she'd gotten hugs from both Stain and his son. She was finally starting to adjust to those. Hugs. They were vaguely disgusting, but what could you do? 

"Where are we going?" Dabi spoke pretty much for the first time since getting here, his voice gravelly and low. Shoto jumped slightly. He sounded threatening, but Harper could tell he was on the verge of a breakdown. "It'll be okay. It's too late to turn back now. I always knew I wanted to reconnect with my siblings. I just... hadn't really thought about when or how that would be happening."

"I have places to be and shit to do, so I'll keep this short." Harper said as they walked right into an empty room. All there was in it was a metal table and two chairs, bolted to the floor. And a slab of one way glass that allowed for a small room so viewers could observe without being seen, of course. She'd brought them to the most fireproof room they had. On purpose. A safety precaution she hoped wouldn't be necessary. 

"Harper?" Shoto's tone was questioning as she slumped between them, coming to stop by the door. The jingle of the keys twirling around her finger stopped as she suddenly grasped them, looking over her shoulder. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"That's your brother, Touya Todoroki." Harper said in a bland tone. Dabi's eyes grew impossibly wide, and Shoto stilled, looking stunned at the straight-forward admission. Harper didn't have time for bullshit and drama. "Talk about it."

And then she walked out and closed the door, ignoring the way Dabi shouted curses after her. He'd thank her later. Even now, she could tell he wasn't really mad. This was the push he needed, so she was going to give it to him. She'd come back after looking at Sero's old house and check on the damage. See who was still standing. Review the emotions everyone was going through. Such of that sort. Touya would never kill Shoto or hurt him in any way, but was capable enough to handle Shoto if it came to that. She'd grab someone to check on them every so often.

"Wait, we're leaving them here?" Tsukauchi asked as she walked back into the waiting room. Kurogiri sprung up, looking mildly uncomfortable with the amount of time she'd been gone. Between Sero, Stain and his son, and now the two Todoroki brothers, she'd been scrambling around the precinct for a few hours now. The sun was going to set soon, and she didn't want it to be dark out when they viewed Sero's old home. "Her face is too blank. What did she do? I have a feeling it's going to result in property damage."

"Yeah. I left a sticky note on the door telling anyone who comes along not to open unless they want their faces burned off." Harper tossed Tsukauchi his keys, and he scrambled to catch them. The brunette let Kurogiri take her hand with a sigh. "Can we go now? We're running late as it is."

~~~

Art!

CharTime drew Harper in the eyes of Kirishima! I seriously love this sketch so much. It's so adorable, and puts a cutesy spin on Harper's pessimistic self. This is honestly super awesome, so thank you so much for taking the time to draw it!

Scripter_Numine drew Harper after a good, full night's rest. I really just cannot express to you how much I love this. Can you imagine everyone's reactions to her being even semi-pleasant when all she does is sulk around and scowl? I seriously love it, so thank you so much for drawing it! It's super amazing!

*Inhales*

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHKLDSNHFLKSDHNLFKSJD G U Y S OH MY GOD ARE YOU SEEING THIS??? I'M SEEING THIS WITH MY EYES. jaidart DID THIS AMAZING DRAWING AND SHE GOT KUROGIRI PERFECT. AND I MEAN SHE GOT HIM S P O T ON. This is literally exactly how I imagined him, from his skin tone, to his eyes, to his hair--- I'm fucking dying. And look at Hound dog. Look at how happy they are. Look at how good the art is. I'm about to freaking have an seizure out this bitch. Seriously, thank you so much for this. It's my current desktop background and it will REMAIN my desktop background until I am dead. I,,, I just love it,,, so much??? I'm gonna go cry now I'm so happy.