Third person pov

The classroom's silence was stifling as Harper turned expectantly towards the door. She felt too exhausted to be here, and she wondered distantly why she'd ever agreed to do this. It's not like she'd had a choice, she supposed, but still. They'd all been through so much. This was going to add more stress to not just them, but to Sero too. He'd fought at Kamino, and he'd seen Kirishima get hit first hand. Now, he was going to be under the watchful eyes of all of 1-A and the staff, and he'd more than likely be criticized on the regular. People were going to be naturally suspicious of him and untrusting, and Harper was expecting droves of animosity.

It's not like the faith in her was sky high either. She had more of their trust than she'd thought-- largely because of her close friendship with Kirishima, she was sure, but still. If this Sero thing didn't work out or she made an accidental misstep, it could throw this shaky train right off its just-as-shaky tracks. Harper wasn't sure what she'd do if that happened. She didn't think she had the resources to handle a stressor like that. She could only try so hard before she ran out of fuel, you know?

The class was swarming with tumultuous emotion. Harper had just revealed her quirk to be extremely invasive and had admitted to lying to them all this time. That on top of what happened to Kamino was enough. Like, that was the limit. Only Nezu didn't understand 'pathetic human concepts' like that and had deemed this the best day to get the Sero integration out of the way. If Harper had it her way, they'd wait months, perhaps even until next schoolyear to try bringing Sero in. He wasn't going to be the same one they remembered and it was going to throw everyone even more off.

There was a brief, tense pause before the door slammed open so hard it banged against the wall. Harper had to roll her eyes at the dramatics, suppressing a grimace as the class flinched back at the rather violent action. She listened carefully to the thoughts of her peers as Sero strode in, his head held high and his jaw locked into some form of a scowl. If the way Sero used to walk could be categorized as lithe and laid-back, then he was definitely prowling more now. His steps were silent, eerily even and shoulders level. The look he levelled the class with was one they found uncharacteristic of him, and Harper could only watch with a frown as the color drained from several faces. 

Sero seemed relieved to see her, his tension bleeding out only a little. Waiting to hear whether or not they'd let him try again had to have been hard. If they'd said no, Sero would be carted back off to his room at the police precinct, where he'd be forced to stay for an unknown amount of time. Though it was no box, it was still confining and left him with little mental and social stimulation throughout the day. He was constantly on edge there, cameras watching his every move, not allowed to leave and knowing he'd be killed if he tried.

The brunette focused most on Kaminari as Sero came forth, as she had since first coming in. He was staring at Sero with something earth-shatteringly heartbroken shining in his eyes, his fists clenched so hard they were shaking and his adam's apple bobbing as he struggled to hold his tears back. Harper's own hands curled into fists, and she took a deep breath. She couldn't cry right now. She couldn't freak out, or break down, or scream at the camera's until Nezu got his rat ass down here for her to kick. She just had to stand here, mediate, and hope for the best.

Sero came to a stop next to her. Harper looked up at him, searching his tight face and his thoughts. He wasn't feeling particularly mean. In fact, he seemed quite glad to see his classmates relatively unharmed. It was his nerves that were off the charts. Dozens of 'what ifs' ran through his mind as eyes bore into him, and memories of the torture he'd gone through flitted by in brief succession. The brunette sighed through her nose, wishing she could apologize to him. It was too soon for him to be here, for the class and for Sero. Last time he'd been in this classroom, it was because he was being threatened with unexplainable torment. 

"Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit." Jiro's thoughts spilled out in a panicked slew, her face pasty and eyes stretched open wide as she took in the appearance of their ex-traitor of a classmate, who fidgeted next to Harper in a manner that somehow managed to be both unhinged, anxious, and threatening all at the same time. He seriously was not projecting a good image of himself right now. "That's really Sero. He's actually here and he... he's so different. Just looking at him, he's crazy different. The way he holds himself, the look on his face, the hood of his eyes. It's... it's insane. Was he really behind the USJ?"

"Sero... oh, man. Sero." Kaminari's thoughts were weepy, distant, and unfathomably sad. Harper pried her gaze away from Sero, focusing on the class instead as they stared. Sero stared back, eyes narrowing into something resembling a glare and arms folding across his chest. It gave full view to the restraints on his elbows that would prevent him from using his quirk, but he somehow didn't feel any less dangerous. "H-He's nothing like he used to be. Did Eijiro really want him to come back? He... he betrayed us. He worked for the guy that killed him, didn't he? And he just... that's not him. It hardly even looks like him!" 

"This is crazy. This is absolutely crazy!" Mina had tears in her eyes that she was fighting to keep from falling. "To think this whole time, Sero was actually..."

"I can't... I can't even process. What the actual fuck is going on?" Ojiro stared hard at Sero, not looking quite as close to a mental break as some of his classmates, but definitely getting there. "I can't believe it. I thought he was one of us. I guess... man, she said he was manipulated and I get that, but seeing him now... man, it's like looking at a completely different person. The other Sero was never even real, huh?" 

Harper didn't move. Sero didn't either, glancing at her on occasion as though searching for social cues on what to do. As though she knew any better than he did. Like, hello? He'd been a student here before and had acted just fine. He could surely pull out some of the residual bullshittery from that and take a load off her shoulders, right? Or was he trying to be his true, genuine self now? Because if so, he was going to make far more enemies than he was friends. He was fucking annoying as hell. Hopefully he had the sense to tone it down at least a dial. Until the class adjusted, maybe. Harper could dream.

"I fucking hate this." Sero's thoughts groaned, still glowering like he was about to leap out into the crowd and kill someone. Harper somehow wouldn't put it past him, but she was too tired to put much stock into the possibility. Besides, she was in the same boat as him. She 'fucking hated' this too. Sero was fully within his rights to be nervous and apprehensive. Nezu had backed them both into this corner, rushing this along far too fast. "Ugh. And you want me to be nice, Harper? They're all looking at me like a bunch of kicked puppies. There's no way this is going to work out. They don't want me here."

Harper shot him a look that conveyed her utter exhaustion and lack of shits given. Of course they were upset. They'd just learned a dear friend they'd been missing and worrying about all this time had actually betrayed them and tried to get them killed. They were definitely allowed to feel upset and look like whatever kind of kicked animal they so pleased. Was Sero's lack of empathy going to be an issue? Trick question, it was definitely going to be an issue. She could feel herself slowly unraveling into derangement. What would they really be able to do if she did break down sobbing right here and now?

Okay, no. No, no, no. She had to pull through. Her classmates were counting on her and she owed them this. Kirishima had wanted this. Had wanted her to be open, and present, and... ugh, social. The bar was high. Now that Kirishima was gone, she couldn't even argue with him. She just had to take his last words and... and she had to roll with them. Fuck, if he were here, it would make all the difference in the world. But he's not and she's... she's still not entirely sure what to do about that, to be honest. She cried, and screamed, and cursed the world to high heaven. It hadn't done much. Everything still hurt, and now all she could do was try not to fall under.

What if she did? Kirishima wasn't here to pull her out. She didn't know if anyone would be able to pick her back up again if she fell like she did after Eric died. Harper was in the middle of an ocean, trying to keep herself afloat and not doing the best job. Was it bad that she wanted to sink?

"Fuck, his thighs are still amazing." Mineta's thoughts pierced through Harper's fragile mental stability like a javelin thrown by God him-fucking-self. She immediately went rigid in posture, eye twitching as Mineta drooled so openly she was sure the rest of the class would've noticed if not for their shock. Kurogiri noticed Harper's new tension immediately and made a small noise of mild panic and concern, and Sero tensed, staring at her like she was about to blow up. Aizawa leaned forward in his seat as well. "What that tape do? I wonder if I can perv on the girls and get him to tie me up again."

Uh, yeah. That was a cute little fake-Sero trick. This one would just remove Mineta's head from his shoulders and then laugh about it. Harper might even laugh with him at this rate. Everyone else was freaking out and somehow Mineta was still horny? This had to be a mental disorder. This went beyond the usually, ramped-up teenage lust. Bakugo was normally thinking about Izuku's ass at times like these, but even he wasn't focused on the freckled boy this time around. No, instead he was contemplating ways to kill Sero and get away with it, just like half the rest of the class was! 

"Mineta." Harper's voice came out frigid and tight, because she is genuinely too upset to even be here today. She looked and sounded like she was in pain, and Mineta's expression dropped like a stone in a pond as they made eye contact. Ew, ew, they'd made eye contact. This was so gross. There had to be a good way to get rid of him, right? She should cash in a favor with Nezu. Thoughts like these had to be criminal in some sense, right? Either way, she could get him arrested for harassing the girls, regardless of the lack of attraction on his part. "You remember when I said I could read minds? I wasn't lying when I said that."

Nobody said anything, but a bit of curiosity piqued amidst the depression, betrayal, and overall shock as everyone turned to look at the purple menace, who looked like he was about to combust. No, like for real. He felt on the verge of cardiac arrest. As though he'd just now put two and two together about what Harper's quirk meant for him. Harper could only press her lips together and resist the urge to scream at him for all the torment he'd put her through all this time. Harper was too tired, too stressed, and too sad to fuck around with whatever twisted shit was going on in his bulbous little grape brain, alright? 

Mineta didn't say a word, but he was shivering like she'd just killed his dog right before his very eyes. His eyes which somehow managed to trail back towards Sero's southern areas. Harper made an offended noise in the back of her throat, stepping to the side and in front of her still-slightly-deranged friend. Kurogiri also made an offended noise as his hand slipped from her shoulder. Sero took the opportunity to replace it with his own, sending the warp-gate user a look damn near taunting as Harper protected his dignity. She was on the verge of losing it. Absolutely losing it.

Be open! Talk to them! Tell them the truth! Fat lot of good advice there, Eijiro. Harper had no idea what the fuck sort of world she was even living in anymore. Why was she doing any of this? Was there even a good reason? Was anything that came after this point even going to be worth it? Harper's throat felt tight. She felt like her chest was being squeezed so hard she could hardly breathe, let alone think. And now Mineta was going to roll in and do whatever it was he was doing right now. Checking out Sero? Like, come on. Sero? I-betrayed-you-and-almost-got-you-kill-and-am-now-glaring-at-you-so-hard-you-may-catch-on-fire Sero? 

"I-I-I d-don't, um, I-I-" Mineta squeaked out, his tone higher than it should've been. His gaze when to Izuku's back, and then over to Ojiro, and then-- yeah, this was a mental issue. He was literally always thinking about guys, even in a scenario like this in which she was calling him out. Sero snorted in the most derogatory way possible, and Mineta's thoughts flared happily. Harper groaned, bringing her hands up to her face and shaking her head. She couldn't, she couldn't. She really, honest to god could not. Not today, not tomorrow, not next week, and certainly not right now. "You can't tell, Harper. You can't tell! Surely you don't blame me. How could I not be attracted to them? Aren't you? Just look at Midoriya's back muscles, and Ojiro's calves, and fuck, Iida's shoulders! Don't tell! Don't, don't, you can't! You can't!"

Harper scrubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. Of all the confrontations she was probably going to have today, this wasn't one she'd wanted. She'd definitely walked into it, but he was picking apart Sero while everyone was freaking out. Like, as in at the most inappropriate time. Harper had expected Iida, probably Todoroki, definitely Izuku, seeing as she knew about One For All. But Mineta? Fucking Mineta, man? This could not go on. Harper wasn't going to survive at this rate. The class turned back towards her with question in their eyes and immediately looked horrified, and a quick glance back showed Sero hovering behind her looking absolutely murderous. It was his default-- not at all a threat-- but they didn't know that.

"Can everyone just shut the fuck up? Depresso can read our minds. So fucking what? You shits got something to hide? She knows all my shit and I don't fucking care, because I'm not a fucking dumbass and I know she isn't going to tell anyone. She already said the Deranged Fuck was vetted. Who the fuck cares if he's different than before?" Bakugo scoffed openly, taking the attention off Sero and bringing it to him. He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back in his seat with an irritated look on his face. "You owe me for this shit. You better tell me what the fuck that grape-haired bastard was talking about later."

If she did, she would be sharing that supposed shit she wasn't going to tell anyone, but you know. It was Mineta and he deserved it. It would be the same if Jiro overheard Mineta perving with her quirk when no one else did. Was she just not supposed to warn anyone because it was her quirk that had told her? Morally, it was dicey, but Mineta had lost his right to privacy a long time ago. Fuck him.

"What the fuck did you call me?" Sero hissed out, temper flaring at the name. Harper and Kurogiri both turned to him, absolutely fucking incredulous. Was he fucking serious right now? Mina let out a shuddering gasp, and Momo squeaked at the venomous tone. Bakugo looked ready to stand up and fuck him up. He probably would too if not for the... the... you know, leg, situation. "I'm going to fucking kill him. Who is he calling deranged? What does he know?"

Harper genuinely couldn't believe this was happening to her right now. She turned to look at Kurogiri just to confirm this was actually going on right now and he stared back at her, entirely lost, implying that she wasn't having a fever dream. Harper was going to beat the fuck out of Sero. She meant it. She was going to fuck up his entire life. Everyone thought Bakugo's leg was the most serious injury in the whole class? She could fix that, and she could do it without a quirk. He was literally supposed to be behaving himself right now and wasn't.

"Hollly shit. It's getting real." Hagakure's thoughts hushed.

"He's so scary now. He looks ready to kill someone." Kaminari wiped furiously at his eyes, his hurt only making Harper more mad. Not at him, but at Sero for being such an idiot in such a sensitive situation. She didn't care if his nerves were making him touchy. If Harper could suck it up, so could he. "Is Harper really sure he's safe? Did Kirishima really want him back? Did he know he was like this?"

"No... no way." Mina sniffled, eyes big. Harper sighed long and slow. Could they just sit down and start class? Bakugo had been giving them an out. A literal, actual out. 

Sero was burning holes into Bakugo's head and panicking. Because he, a deranged teenage boy who was on the verge of being a complete psychopath, had been called deranged. How the fuck was that supposed to work? It wasn't as though Sero wasn't self-aware. They used to darkly joke about it all the time. 

"He called you deranged, you fucking idiot." Harper hissed right back at the tape-quirk user, reaching up and smacking him hard in the side of the head. So hard, in fact, that her palm made an audible pop against his ear. There were several jaws dropped at her bold display of outright physical abuse, but Sero can take it. Harper glowered up at him as he shied away from her, eyes narrowed and teeth bared. "Stop acting like a rabid dog and maybe they wouldn't have such a violent reaction. You almost got them killed and your personality is a pile of steaming shit."

"So you think I'm deranged? You?" Sero eyed her up and down. Kurogiri let out the most scandalous gasp, and a few people in class did too at the quip. Harper massaged her temples. She got that her head wasn't exactly on straight these days, but really? From him? This was just sad. "I take it back. They're going to kill me. They don't want me here. They're going to give me back. They don't want me here. They don't want me here."

"Did you just call Harper Rye deranged?! You puny, pathetic, despicable, moronic, evil sack of soggy rice! After all she's done for you?!" Kurogiri shrieked, mist flaring illegally. Like, literally, he wasn't supposed to be using his quirk in here. He had a bit of leeway since the events of Kamino-- his quirk needed to be at the ready if anything happened-- but he wasn't supposed to do anything that could be categorized as threatening. Him expanding to three times his side into an undiscernible cloud could definitely be seen as a threat. "I knew I should have ended him when I had the chance!" 

Harper watched. Like, she literally just stood there for a moment and stared as they seemingly engaged in a standoff. Sero had crouched down like some sort of gremlin about to strike, eyes full of deadly gleam that confirmed her suspicions that he was in no way, shape, or form ready for this. The class was horrified and confused. Mineta was still Mineta. Kirishima was dead, they were going to be living in dorms together, Dabi was mentally undisposed and now Harper was stuck here. In this.

Harper took a breath and cracked her neck. Alright. Fuck. She was this far in the game, could she really give up now? This was happening. This was going on. Kirishima would be disappointed if he saw her laying down so easily, and Harper was honestly disappointed in herself too. She'd dealt with worse than Kurogiri and Sero having a catfight. If she could get them to calm down, she could simply lay her head down on her desk and relax for a moment. There was no need to freak out, there was no need to overthink, there was no need to cry. It was okay. It was no different than before Kamino. The only difference was that Kirishima wasn't here to back her. But that didn't mean she was alone.

Bakugo rose from his wheelchair as best as someone missing a foot actually could, looking mad. At the same time, Aizawa stood up so abruptly his chair flew back and slammed into the wall. Kurogiri's mist popped out of existence, leaving the man blinking cluelessly and turning around to look at the teacher. Sero also tensed, straightening and taking a few steps back. Right into Harper's reach. Her hand darted out and grasped his upper arm, dragging him back and into her side. She squeezed as hard as her hand would allow, smiling in a way that was not friendly in the slightest. Sero blanched slightly.

"If you're done, we have a few things to go over before class starts." Aizawa drawled. "You're stressing out my poor baby! Sero, honeybun, I adore you but stop it! Everyone is so sad, and I'm sad, and it is not even the look I was going for. My lovely students need peace and stability! Papa-zawa is here to give that, but no fighting! It's not cute!"

Harper takes it all back. Nothing is okay and she's sick to her stomach. Fuck, Aizawa just subtly winked at her. She can't do this. She's going to go hand her resignation in. 

"He's right. So are you done, or can we go sit down?" Harper asked in a low tone, hand shooting out and gripping Sero around his upper arm. He stared at her with wide eyes, going from her face to his grip on his arm, and then back again. The silence grew tenser as his glancing grew more frantic. Harper didn't let go or loosen her grip, her stare steady and brows set in a furrow. Kurogiri still looked ready to beat Sero up. Harper had half the mind to fucking let him. How many shits did she have left to give? So many questions, so few answers. "Sero? It's a yes or no question."

Sero burst into a sudden bout of tears. And when the class blanched, Harper did too.