Mind Boggled

Chapter 36

Third person pov

The file had been tucked in a storage locker rented by another police station several prefectures over. It was around five years old, after all, never getting put into any sort of online system for some reason or another. Perhaps lazy negligence on the part of the officers responsible, or maybe because everyone wanted to simply forget what was inside. Either way, the Chief of Police had taken it upon himself to dig it out, and he now found himself standing in Nezu's office with his paws clasped behind his back while the mouse-like man read along.

"Interesting, interesting!" Nezu gleefully exclaimed to himself, flipping to the next page. His dark, beady eyes scanned it just as fast as they had the others, his mouth stretching into a smile as the urge to cackle became overwhelming. The Chief shifted uncomfortably. "I can see why you brought me these. I had no idea! No idea at all!"

"I'm not concerned. It's... It's not a pretty story, but it sounds as though it were resolved." The Chief cleared his throat. When he'd found out from an older captain who was transferring into a precinct nearby remembered a case involving the Harper Rye everyone in their station continuously raved about, he'd of course mentioned it. Their officers had photos of the girl up everywhere, and the man had immediately recognized her during a business-related visit. Needless to say, Kenji Tsuragamae had immediately set out to hunt it down. It had been buried down deep for reasons that became only clear once he looked at the contents inside. Finding it hadn't been easy.

"Still, to think, Harper Rye is technically a criminal!" Nezu snapped the file shut, eyes gleaming. The Chief blanched slightly as the creature sipped at his tea, the expression on his face morphing into something more calculating. It was cooler than before, though the odd amount of joy was still there as he gleefully gazed down at the thick folder he'd been gifted. "Now... I wonder where this will lead."

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Finally, it was Friday. Harper felt ready to throw herself off a building, in all honesty. If anyone else asked her where Sero was, how he was doing, or if they could see him, she swore to god she'd burn this place to the ground. Kirishima had been her saving grace these past few days, running interference with their classmates. He'd strike up conversations with them, cause distractions, and such of that like. Aizawa did the same, though more discreetly. He'd shush people more often when they tried to talk to her during class, and would ask Harper to take papers place just before lunch so she wouldn't get caught up in the rush of her classmates rushing for the cafeteria.

The rumor mill at UA was more efficient than you'd think. Sero being knocked out by Midnight on live television had blasted across the internet, taking it by storm. Articles and theories as to why were pumped out quicker than Sansa consumed alcohol after a bad day at work. UA was no better, seeing as they'd all seen Sero around and about, and even talked to him on some occasions. The fact that Harper had been outed as having contact with him meant that focus was on her-- and with focus came a tidal wave of thoughts. 

They wanted to know if he was dead somewhere, if she'd killed him, if he was sick, if he'd cheated, some assumed he was on steroids or maybe some quirk enhancers. What was the most frustrating of all is that, somehow, the traitor thought passed through no mind she could detect! It simply wasn't within the realm of possibility for UA students. When she'd told Kirishima, he'd grimaced. At UA, they truly did live in a bubble. 

"Yeah, they really won't stop! I guess I don't blame them, though. But still..." Kirishima noted as they exited the school building entirely, walking side-by-side. "Oh my god. It's happening again. I'm walking next to Harper. And she can read my thoughts. That means she knows I think we're soulmates. No, that I know we're soulmates. Wait, she just heard that. Gah! I'm such an idiot! Subject change, subject change... right, Sero! Sero is what we're talking about!"