Mind Boggled

Chapter 60

Third person pov

They'd been quick, but Mr. Compress was quicker.

The man was as slippery as Harper remembered him to be. The way he maneuvered through the air and danced around them in general was astonishing. Harper could feel her frustration build/ She became less scared and more irritated. This guy had done some bad shit, but she had to wonder how she could've ever been so fearful of someone so... so idiotic. It's not that he wasn't clever or anything like that, he was just overall... stupid. The idea of him was stupid. The nightmares she'd had were stupid. She was eight and had clobbered him with just the help of another eight year old. If she could get her hands on him now, who knows what she'd be able to do to him. 

"Won't you stay still? It's not nice to interrupt one's performance!" Mr. Compress hummed, dancing around Shoto's fire. Harper couldn't tell where the marble had gone. He was trying his best to hide it, but Harper was digging for the information. "These brats won't let up. Here I thought Harper Rye would be paralyzed with fear. I suppose she's come further than I assumed she would. A shame. This could've been so much easier." 

Him being here was surreal. It felt like she was dreaming-- or having a nightmare, rather. Something in her mind wasn't clicking. That this man here was the Atsuhiro Sako that had... god, she didn't know. He felt the same, but acted and thought so differently than before. His aura was unwavering. That was a dead giveaway that it was the same person. Perhaps his near-death experience had changed him a bit. Harper didn't care either way. She was still going to grind her shoe into his face as soon as she got the chance. He wasn't getting away again. Even if she was going to get caught in this process, that was fine. As long as he didn't slip through her fingers. 

Even if she wasn't as scared as him as a person anymore, the experience from before loomed over her. Despite her decision and determination to end him, what had happened... it was still stuck, and it was still trying to claw at her. Kota's presence fended it off. Harper held onto him tight, careful not leave him exposed to any sort of harm if she could help it. He was scared, but cheering her on in his mind. Telling her to kick his ass. And that's what Harper had to do here, wasn't it? Or what she'd been trying to do. Like she'd said before, Atsuhiro was no idiot. He knew how to get to Harper. He dove for Midoriya, who wasn't going to be fast enough to get out of the way.

Of course time seemed to go in slow motion when it happened, because why wouldn't life draw this horrific moment out for her and force her to decide what to do? Not that she really had to think much about it. 

Most people have a moment they've experienced when they knew they were meant to be a hero, or decided that they were going to become one. Up until now, Harper hadn't really decided. She'd played around with the idea and sort of set her heart on it, but she'd never been truly sure she was fit for it. She thought maybe she'd thrive better as a detective like Tsukauchi. And hey, maybe she would. That didn't occur to her right now, though. She saw Midoriya about to get sucked into the depths of Mr. Compress' quirk, and she acted without thinking. It was like her body had moved on its own. One moment she was there, and the next she was diving in front of her classmate and getting sucked into the terrifying, cold depths of Atsuhiro Sako's quirk. 

Her heart all but stopped as soon as it happened. The empty sensation that filled her. She felt like she'd been wrapped up uncomfortably tight. Encased in cold cement, maybe. Harper wondered if this was what it would feel like to be sucked down a drain, or stuck through a funnel. That's what it felt like. Like she'd been pulled and shrunk down against her will and forced to stay suspended in this... this marble. 

She could feel herself immediately begin to cry, but she didn't give a shit. She deserved to shed more than a few tears, she thought. There was only one thing that stopped her from panicking completely and losing her mind. Kota was still clinging to her, warm, alive, and breathing. She could feel his heart pounding against her as he tightened his grip on her as best he could. It was near impossible to move in one of Mr. Compress' marbles. Just as she'd remembered. Maybe if she were alone, she'd be more afraid. Or maybe she'd just reached a turning point. One where she was so scared that the only way to go was up.