Third person pov

The police precinct was absolutely freezing, and Harper wasn't living for it. Meeting Kirishima mother's had gone well and left her feeling relatively satisfied. It was probably he most positive social interaction she'd had with someone else's parents in a long, long time. It left her feeling rather refreshed all things considered. She'd needed a win, and a win was what she'd gotten. Now it was time to deal with Sero and hope he didn't choke her out in any possible bouts of rage.

What they'd found was definitely concerning. She was almost positive that the cabinet she'd found was the box. It made sense. Now, she'd talk to the man who'd assessed Sero and see if anyone had used a quirk to tamper with his memory. Harper was almost positive now that someone had. There wasn't another good explanation as to why there were so many holes in his memory. When something traumatic happened, it either tended to stick or to not. She'd never seen the story change completely into something that was quite possibly worse than what originally happened. It just... it didn't make any sense whatsoever. 

"Let's get this over with. I have shit to do." Harper grumbled, as she usually did when she had shit to do. Go figure. Tsukauchi patted her shoulder and gave it a firm squeeze, offering her a reassuring half smile that truly didn't reassure her in the least. Kurogiri was holding her hand and bouncing in place. Though Harper was essentially the only one to talk to Sero, everyone was eager to find out just what was going on with him. 

This whole situation was concerning. It had been concerning since day one, but now it seemed to be reaching its peak. Never in her life would Harper assume she'd find herself dealing with a scenario that involved not-so-dead sisters struck mute by mysterious villains who dug a hole in a child's house under a cabinet to intimidate and traumatize them. Why go to the effort? Why choose Sero specifically? Things were coming together, but not clearly enough to give Harper the full picture. A lot of pieces were missing, and she wasn't confident she'd find them all.

First, she tromped towards where Dabi and Shoto had been for hours. They'd been left in there far, far longer than Harper had intended, and she could only hope they were both still in one piece respectively. If either were in ash, she'd have hell the pay. The Chief was already on the edge with the favor she'd pulled with Stain. He'd never been particularly fond of Dabi, but Harper did too much for him to say no to much of anything she did anymore. He actually seemed to be a little afraid of her. It was a mixture of sad and amusing in her eyes. Sansa thought it was hilarious. Tsukauchi secretly did too, but would rather die than say so out loud.

The entire office smelt like smoke, and all the windows were open. It definitely wasn't promising, and it made her scowl all the more. Her quirk reached out almost unconsciously in search of Dabi or Shoto. Preferably both, but she was beginning to assume one of them had died. Probably Dabi, because he would rather keel over than lay a hand on his younger brother. Harper could respect that, and maybe even admire it a bit. It occurred to her that there were a lot of people she'd willingly die for nowadays. Not that she needed to be tempted much to put herself in harm's way, apparently. Getting kidnapped even just once was enough, but she had long since blown past that checkpoint.

"Keys." Harper demanded the terrified looking newbie waiting outside the door. There had probably been some sort of disturbance, but no one was willing to disobey her sticky note and check in. She was glad, because Dabi may have run. Of course, Shoto would've chased him, but that was besides the point. Dabi was a wuss at heart, and Harper knew that better than anyone.

"R-Right!" The man fumbled with them, almost dropping them in the process. "Holy shit, she's terrifying. Like actually terrifying. How can a teenager be so terrifying?! She's like, fifteen. Chill. You're... you're an adult. An adult that's being glared at by a very annoyed individual who has the Chief of Police in her corner. It's fine. It's not like she could get me fired or anything! Hah... hahahah please have mercy on me."

"Thanks." Harper grumbled as the keys were all but thrown at her. Poor guy had no idea what her quirk was or that she could hear his internal panic attack, but she wasn't about to say anything. He looked ready to pass out as it was. He was pale, shivering vaguely, and couldn't make eye contact with her without breaking out into a cold sweat. He stumbled back and away from the door as she jammed the key in. It came unlocked with a dull click, and immediately after she was pushing the door open and stepping inside.

The air was slightly cloudy, which was a clear sign she hadn't been imagining the smoky smell that was wafting around in the air. The first thing she managed to notice was the fact that a portion of the ceiling was missing, with the edges blackened by what could only be fire. There was also water dripping from the massive hole, meaning Shoto had to have frozen it in a desperate attempt to stop the flames from eating away at the entire building. Harper shrugged. She didn't have to pay for it, and therefore didn't really care. 

Her gaze dropped to the two figures glaring at her from their place on the floor. Shoto and Dabi were sitting side by side, staring at her in the most withering way possible. They didn't look happy, but they didn't look hurt either. It was certainly better than Harper had expected. Behind her, Tsukauchi, Sansa, and Kurogiri all peeked in to see what the damage was and most importantly, if there were any bodies that needed removing. Harper sighed.

Dabi wanted to feel upset with Harper for tossing him into a room with his brother and shutting the door, but it had admittedly been very effective. Shoto now wanted to move out of the house to defy Endeavor, press charges, etc. Not to mention they'd, you know, reconnected. Shoto wasn't even mad at him for leaving. In fact, the half-and-half teenager seemed rather intrigued by the idea of just dipping out. 

"Where the fuck have you been?" Dabi raised an eyebrow at her, not sounding all that overjoyed to see her. Not that Harper actually cared about his opinion, but he could go off she guessed. "How many hours have we been in here? Long enough to set the place on fire, I guess. Fuck. I really didn't need a sibling bonding session today, yet here the fuck I am. I thought you weren't going to throw me under the bus! What the hell?!"

"Yeah, stop whining. You're not dead, and it clearly worked out if you're sitting next to each other. You're free to go to the bathroom now. I can tell you both really need to pee." Harper said. Shoto didn't say a word, but looked a bit sheepish. They were honestly lucky they hadn't said fuck all and gone in the corner with how long they'd been in there. "And you could've just climbed through the giant fucking hole in the ceiling-- thanks for that, by the way. I'll be the one forced to explain to the Chief why it's there--and out into the hall. The ceiling tiles are practically made of cardboard."

The pair of brother's looked dumbfounded at her short response. Harper had honestly just come to make sure neither were dead. It's not like she really had to do paperwork, but it would've been a lot for everyone else here. Not to mention someone would've probably been charged with murder-- probably Shoto, and seeing as Endeavor was his father, Harper didn't want to think about how that could've gone. Especially considering Sansa had a cat head and the Chief had a dog one. She shivered just dwelling on it.

"Wait, aren't you going to ask them how it went?" Tsukauchi questioned, stepping out of the way nonetheless so she could get by. "All she did was stare at them for five seconds. Was that all she wanted to do? I mean, I guess that's fine. I'm not sure why I still bother to ask questions. I never get answers."

"Don't you see, you idiot? Are you blind? Deaf? Both?" Sansa grabbed Tsukauchi by his shoulders, spinning him towards him and looking him dead in the eyes. "She doesn't care what they think, or what any of us think. She doesn't have to, because she already knows."

"Why is Sansa implying Tsukauchi is an idiot when he is the idiot?" Kurogiri questioned in the most innocent tone imaginable. "What would I call Sansa? It's that thing Dabi always calls me! A dumbass fuckwad. How pleasant and fitting!"

Sansa whirled around to stare at Kurogiri, his fur all poofed up in an angry manner and his ears pointing tautly upwards. Harper just sighed and kept walking, following after the thoughts of what she had to assume was the consultant who'd tried to figure out just what in god's name was wrong with Sero. The guy had so many problems, Harper wasn't sure he'd be able to detect them all. Harper sure as shit couldn't. And trust her, she'd tried. A great many times. All she got was blurred lines, anxiety, and a deep pit of unrivaled fear that he only tapped into when the box was brought up.

It was getting late, but Harper didn't really care. She would keep this guy as long as she needed to. He was an older man, with graying hair and big, round glasses that looked too big for his face. He wore a sweater vest, which was so stereotypical that Harper couldn't help but feel a bit surprised. Him being the sort of consultant he was, it was expected that he'd dress like it was still the 70s and this was north America. Fucking pinecone.

"Hey." Harper's voice came out sharper than intended, but it had the desired effect. He whipped around to face her while wearing a rather startled expression, his glasses slipping down the long bridge of his nose as he blinked at her. She gave a dry look in response. "Are you the consultant for Hanta Sero?" 

"Who's asking?" Ah, so he was the snooty type. Spectacular. Harper really didn't want to deal with that right now. Working in police was tiring, and she wasn't even full-time. She just had a few of what the Chief called 'side projects', which were really full-blown cases that he probably wasn't allowed to let her in on. Yet here she was. Lovely. "Wait just a moment... bags under eyes, messy brown hair... this can't be Harper Rye, can it? The Mind Reader Sero spoke so much about while I assessed him? The one the Chief said would be hunting me down?"

"Yes, that's me." Harper expertly ignored the screaming match Kurogiri and Sansa had gotten into in the hallway. She could feel Tsukauchi about to cry as he tried to negate it. "Can we get this over with? Was he under the influence of a quirk or not?"

"M-My apologies! I hadn't realized you'd be so... young." The man sniffed to himself slightly, shoving his glasses further up his face. Harper just stared at him impatiently. She wanted to sleep at some point, thank you very much. It's not that exploring Sero's house had been particularly tiring, but dealing with Stain and his son hugging her and thanking her as though she'd just proclaimed herself to be the second coming of Christ in the body of a tired teenage girl had certainly been. Count on her never doing that shit again. This was what happened when she bothered caring! "After assessing Hanta Sero, I came to the conclusion that his mind had most definitely been tampered with. There are false memories lying atop his real ones; although, it seems they may be fading..."

"So it's going away?" Harper called it. Sero's memory wasn't actually his memory, and he probably hadn't killed his parents. Considering is sister's story and how much it clashed with his own, it was quite obvious someone wasn't telling the truth. Only Tsukauchi could detect lies and knew Sero wasn't lying, and Harper could read minds, and knew his sister wasn't lying. Which left Sero not actually knowing what happened. Technically, he wasn't lying. He was saying what he genuinely believed to be true, so Tsukauchi was detecting it as such.

"Yes. It's a progressive type that wears away as more pressure is put on it. If you could bring the buried memories to the surface, it could 'break the barrier', I suppose you could say." The man sounded oddly proud of himself, puffing up like a bird with his feather's ruffled. "Well, I suppose she must be esteemed if she really is on a case such as this. It's really rather interesting. I wonder if she'd let me stay on and follow it..."

"I wouldn't." Harper decided right then and there, because why would she subject herself to the company of a cocky man who probably just got over his midlife crisis? Not bothering to soak in the scandalized expression on his face, she spun around and made her way back to the hallway Sansa and Kurogiri were still fighting in. Kurogiri was giving every logical reason that pointed to Sansa being an absolute moron, all of which were valid. Sansa was giving weak reasons why he was actually a certified genius. Only most of his responses included mentions of alcohol, which made him look like he was even more of an idiot.

"Can you two move?" Dabi asked as Kurogiri and Sansa continued to shout. Tsukauchi had given up and was standing dejectedly to the side. Harper felt bad for him. She knew better than anyone how much of a pain it was to try and wrangle Kurogiri and Sansa. Trying to rein both in at the same time? Near impossible unless Kurogiri actually valued your opinion, and the only opinions he valued were Harper's, his own, and apparently, Hound Dog's. He just acted like he cared about everyone else. "I need to piss and these two are having a dick-measuring contest. Of course."

"Are they always like this?" Shoto asked quietly, standing close to his brother. They'd clearly made some sort of peace. Harper was glad her master plan hadn't miraculously backfired and ended up killing the two Todoroki's and quite possibly everyone else in the precinct, because that had definitely been a working possibility when she first shoved them in that room together. It was amazing what exposure therapy could accomplish, wasn't it? "Touya doesn't seem surprised... I need to pee."

"Stop acting like children." Harper demanded tiredly as she trudged past, jerking her head for Tsukauchi to follow as she passed by. He willingly did, seeing as he had literally nothing else to do other than stand there and wallow in his own failure while Kurogiri and Sansa continued to shriek like banshees. Sansa hissed at her as she went, but Kurogiri immediately flinched like she'd just slapped him. The gas that surrounded his body-- flared up from the argument--shrunk down immensely as he dejectedly hung his head. Harper gave Shoto and Dabi a nod as she shuffled towards where Sero was being held.

Cluing into his thoughts as she approached, it was clear the consultant hadn't told him anything. Had he been informed that his memory was indeed tampered with, he would be in the midst of a total mental breakdown at the moment. The mere idea that maybe, possibly, his memories could be inconsistent in relation to the actual thing made him cry. He'd hugged her and sobbed into her shoulder at the suggestion, so who knows what he'd do if she sauntered in and told her he had totally been fucked with. 

Tsukauchi wanted to say something. Harper could hear exactly what it was, so it didn't really matter that he was too nervous to ask out loud. He wanted to know if she'd be okay. Not in the emotional or mental way-- she was never okay in those areas-- but physically. Sero was an unstable individual who'd lashed out at others before. Never at her, but a high-stress situation such as this could push him over the edge. Even if he'd come to see her as a friend, that didn't necessarily mean she was safe from any wrath this revelation may incur. 

"If he kills me, he kills me." Harper shrugged. Tsukauchi looked nonplussed at the idea, his brows furrowing. Harper sighed. "We've played Uno together and he hasn't choked me out yet despite losing almost every game. I think I'll be fine."

"That isn't reassuring. Like, at all." Tsukauchi stressed. "If anything happens to her, I'm going to kill everyone in this precinct and then myself."

"Sansa's rubbing off on you. He's not going to do anything but cry. Maybe scream a little or throw his lamp at me. I keep telling them we need to bolt that to his bedside table before he uses it to bash someone's head in." Harper complained. They'd already had to drill his chair into the floor after he threw it at an officer who pissed him off. Albeit, the officer had deserved it, but that was besides the point. "I'll aim for the crotch if he tries anything."

"Right..." Tsukauchi trailed off, worried but refusing to say anything. Honestly, everyone around here let Harper do whatever with minimal questioning. They were too nervous to defy her. It was one of the few perks that came with being completely and totally dead inside. "I'll call some extra guards to walk the halls. That way they'll be close if anything does happen."

Harper rolled her eyes at his concern despite it being completely justified. As she'd stated many times before, she was a total and complete asshole. It was really a miracle so many people put up with her and her crappy attitude. She was like a walking cloud of depression that did nothing but eat and sometimes breathe. That, and invade the privacy of every human being in her general vicinity. Fun. 

The guard currently posted at Sero's door seemed extremely tired as he unlatched the door and let her in. She gave a polite nod. Her manners were fading out slowly overtime, but some still managed to stick despite it all. He returned the gesture grimly, as though he thought she wouldn't be coming out alive. Fair enough. Harper had more faith in Sero than she did in UA High. That being said, she had pretty much no faith in that school anymore. Between Aizawa's demeanor and Nezu's existence in general, she wasn't impressed. 

"Harper, you're back! I thought you'd died along the way and everyone was just too afraid to tell me." Sero said chirpily. "Thank fuck. I thought it was that guard poking his head in again to see if I was doing anything suspicious. Can't the dickwad just use the cameras?"

"Wow. So much faith in me." Harper, as brought up several times in the past, is not the type to doddle around the point. The bush isn't something she beats. She cuts that shit down and throws it in the wood chipper. "So, the consultant said your memory was tampered with and you're remembering shit wrong. And your sister's alive, too."

In any other situation, the drastic and sudden change in his expression would be amusing. In this one, Harper couldn't help but wince.