Mind Boggled

Chapter 73

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.