Mind Boggled

Chapter 10

Hey guys! Sorry for the severe lack of updates all around lately. The school year is coming to a close, and I'm actually going to be moving out of state on the 21st. Pretty wack! So yeah, I've been really tied up with packing and trying to study for finals. Things will pick up pace again next month, I promise! As for WHERE I'm moving too...

COUNTRY ROADSSSS

TAKE ME HOOOOOOMMMEEEEE

Third Person Pov

Living with Tsukauchi? Not as bad as Harper thought it'd be. After she dumped the news on her parents and winced through her mother's sobs and father's horror, they were carted away to be put under witness protection for the time being. Harper hated that she had caused the uprooting of their lives, but there was little that could be done. They were forced into new identities and whisked off to god knows where. Somewhere far away from Harper, no doubt. It hurt, but Harper wanted them safe. Even if that meant she wouldn't be seeing them anytime soon.

Harper was more surprised than not that her parents weren't upset with her. They'd mentally dubbed her a hero already for doing something as "selfless" as offering up her services to the principal. In reality, she hadn't offered jack shit. Nezu had hunted her down and gave her an offer (and guilt trip) she couldn't very well refuse. She'd told them as such, but they'd stuck to their pride anyway. Harper would have been more pleased if they were right. If she were a hero. She definitely wasn't.

The bar she'd been taken to when Kurogiri snatched her was empty. Harper had somehow managed to mentally retrace her steps when given a map, and there was really only one bar in the area. It didn't really belong to anyone in particular, which made it all the more suspicious. It was empty when they got there, smelling of bleach with every surface wiped clean. Harper wasn't disappointed, but only because she'd been expecting it. She'd gotten away, so there's no way they'd stay there. Not unless they were complete and total idiots. At this point, it was a real possibility.

Tsukauchi was borderline parent material. Maybe if he wasn't jumping blindly into the deep end, he'd be better at it. Harper had no idea. She was just glad she hadn't been nabbed off the street again. That was probably due to the fact that the detective now drove her to and from school on the daily now. She wasn't sure how big Kurogiri could make his portals, but dropping an entire car into their base probably wasn't on their to-do list. Especially not one with a cop in it. All in all, Harper seemed to have been written off for the time being.

Tsukauchi's apartment isn't the coziest or most comfortable. It wasn't all that lived in, discounting the dining room table that was always covered in paperwork. Harper had taken it upon herself to take care of the overflowing sink, brave the task that was cleaning out the fridge, and had even squared off against a gaggle of possums living under the sink that Tsukauchi apparently hadn't been aware of despite the fact that the creatures were evidently raiding his pantry on a fairly frequent basis. They were friendly enough at first, but then Harper tried to remove one of their cracker boxes for sanitary purposes. That had not gone over well.

So yeah, Tsukauchi's place wasn't the best, but Harper would give anything to be there at the moment.

"Holy shit." Harper hissed, massaging her temples. Sitting across from her, Iida didn't look like he was doing all that much better. They'd all had fair warning about the Sports Festival. Hell, they'd been training for it nonstop these past few weeks. Yet somehow, despite that, Harper still found herself taken aback and feeling an awful lot like a small animal that had just been pounced on by a much larger predator, who was ready to sink its teeth in and eat her whole. 

She didn't really have stage fright. Harper had learned a long time ago to ignore people's opinions of her. No, being seen failing at physical activity wasn't the issue. She already knew she wasn't going to win. The issue here was just how many people were present. How many thoughts there were present. God, they were crushing. She'd never been at the center of a crowd so big and so loud. It felt like her brain was being vacuum sealed, stuffed with cotton, thrown into a garbage disposal, and then slowly squashed by a hydraulic press. It definitely wasn't her definition of fun.