Third person pov

Harper and Dabi were in somewhat of a race. After coercing Aizawa into letting them leave a little earlier than everyone else, it was just a matter of getting Kurogiri to Hound Dog before sprinting to the teacher's lounge before Shoto could hunt them down. His thoughts were intent. The half-and-half teen was extremely focused on Dabi. He'd basically been inspecting the guy all morning. Dabi had only sat tensely in his seat, back straight and gaze trained forward as beads of sweat formed on his brow. He was freaking out. Todoroki was freaking out. Harper didn't have the energy to deal with it.

This whole thing was a colossal shit show in the making. Bringing Kurogiri to school was alright. Bringing Dabi... not the best idea, considering his past and his connection to Shoto. That being said, she would die before trying to get any other sort of bodyguard, even if it was just one for school hours. She'd managed to find someone tolerable. He was like the brother she no longer had. They just sort of clicked, and she'd gotten attached terrifyingly quick all things considered.

"Hurry." Harper hissed as they skidded down the hall, trying to keep it down. Though there was only one minute left in class, drawing attention to themselves would only end badly. Kurogiri seemed reluctant to see Hound Dog as the reality that he and Harper would be separated further set in, causing him to drag his feet. Dabi wasn't having it, spewing out quiet threats to him while Harper dragged him by his arm. The brunette felt more frazzled than she had in a long time. There was a lot to do today, between talking to Stain before they moved him to a more secure location and chatting with Sero. That, and they were going to bring her to Sero's old house. The one by the river. They'd properly swept it for evidence, and they'd gotten her cleared to come take a look.

"I don't know about this, Harper Rye. Will you be safe?" Kurogiri asked anxiously. It was weird to be able to see his facial expressions now that his fog was gone. His eyes darted about unsurely, and his dark hair looked tousled in a haphazard sort of way. He seemed paler than he had been before, but it was honestly hard to tell. Either way, it was pretty clear he was having second thoughts. "If she dies, I will die. The world as I know it will shatter beneath my very feet. I will spiral into a depressing black pit-"

"You know all that? What you just thought? Tell that to Hound Dog." Harper demanded, throwing the door to the guidance counselor's office open. The pro-hero's head snapped up immediately, his ears popping up and to attention as the tired girl shoved the warp gate user in as hard as she could. "I have Dabi with me, and he'll roast anyone or anything that tries to hurt me alive. Have fun. Sorry, Hound Dog."

"Don't worry about it, pup. I'll take care of this nervous dog for you." The man assured. "She looks stressed. I wonder if I could wrangle that pup into another session. She's always so reluctant. I know it makes her tail tuck, and I wouldn't want that."

Harper gave a forced smile before closing the door. Her expression dropped like a rock in a pond right after as she spun around to face Dabi, who looked just as grim as she did. They hadn't ever talked about him being Touya Todoroki. Dabi knew she knew, but had chosen not to address it. And Harper was fine with that. He was a functioning human being. A bitter one with some issues, but it wasn't extremely concerning like, say, Iida's depression. His nightmares had alleviated greatly since he began staying primarily with them and watching Kurogiri, so there was nothing to concern herself with there. Overall, she hadn't had any reason to touch the topic. So she didn't.

Harper wasn't sure how to deal with her classmates. She knew she'd have to. Bakugo still had anger issues of some kind, and she sort of wanted to help him out somehow. Endeavor was a dick wad. It was just a matter of talking to Shoto and somehow convincing him to talk to Tsukauchi. Nezu had looked into it, but until she got someone to step forward, all he could do was compile evidence. Which he had, apparently, been doing. But they had to make sure Shoto was on board and wouldn't simply deny the truth of it all if it came down to it. 

The bell rang, signalling the end of class and the start of the first year's lunch. Dabi's eyes widened. "Shit. Shoto. I knew he'd recognize the nick name. He's going to demand answers. I don't know if I'm ready for that. What am I going to say? I left him, cut and dry." 

"Fucking hell." Harper could feel Shoto approaching as she and Dabi worked against the crowd. Most of the first years saw the scarred man and paled considerably, parting and giving him some berth. Those who didn't bumped past, slowing them considerably. They were going to run into Shoto at this rate, and that was the last thing Harper wanted at this moment and time. Too much drama. Her plate today was full enough without Shoto either setting them both on fire, having a mental breakdown, or worse, a mixture of the two.

"Where did they go? They said something about the counselors office. They should be down this way, then..." Shoto's thoughts drifted through the crowds. Harper's head was pounding from the mass of jittery students hungrily rushing to try and be first in line to get their food. Her eyes darted around for some sort of out. If Shoto caught them, it wasn't like they could exactly knock him out and make a run for it. Nezu was keeping an eye on them. In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if he were cackling at their misfortune right at this very second. Definitely sipping his tea, too. 

The brunette's eyes fell upon the door to the janitor's closet. Memories of overhearing UA's cleaning staff's thoughts and plans to plant bombs at the Sports Festival flooded back, and she grimaced. Dabi followed after her as she changed directions and managed to push over to it. The crowd was thinning, and Shoto was getting closer. Harper threw open the door, all but diving in and out of the hoard of her peers. Dabi followed, closing the door quickly behind him and successfully bathing them in darkness. For a moment, neither of them spoke. 

Dabi was sort of freaking out. He couldn't simply ghost Shoto forever, and he knew he was stressing Harper out. As he turned on the dim light overhead, he could see her grimacing and massaging her temples from the ache of it all. He didn't doubt she'd help him as long as was needed. She was good like that, and he trusted her. However, Harper had a lot weighing her down at the moment. Between her classmates and all the police work she'd been saddled with, she was stuck juggling a lot. Not the mention all the thoughts and emotional issues belonging to those around her.

The pair stared at each other for a moment, blinking and trying to figure out what to do now. Dabi felt muddled, and Harper had a migraine that was getting worse by the second. She needed to text Tsukauchi and update him, and give the Chief of Police a call so she could confirm the times at which she was supposed to be meeting with Stain and Sero. Not to mention he was supposed to email her the report they'd gotten from Sero's sister. She'd been further questions, and they had somewhat of a timeline of events. 

Before either of them could even try to start a conversation to break the awkward quiet that had descended upon them, a semi-familiar face popped through the door. Right through the middle. There was no knob-turning, and nobody punched a hole through the middle. Someone's face just... phased right on in, a happy smile on its face. Harper paled slightly at the sight, her expression falling into one of slack disbelief. Dabi whipped around to see what she was looking at, hopping back and away with wide eyes. They stared at the face. It stared back.

"...You're the girl that tried to tell me Tamaki was in love with me!" Mirio chirped out of nowhere. Harper and Dabi shrieked. 

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Turns out, Mirio Togata's quirk allowed his body to phase through solid objects. He could fall through the ground, pass through walls, and even move through people. His power made him intangible. It was incredibly useful, though it unfortunately didn't work on his clothes. He tried his best not to use his whole body unless it was sorely needed. He'd thought he heard something in the closet as he passed by, and popped in to check it out. And lo and behold, there was Harper and a very shady looking Dabi! The blonde Third Year had immediately recognized Harper.

"So, your name is Dabi! It's nice to meet you." Mirio had followed them to the teacher's lounge happily, and nobody was about to stop him. Harper was sitting on one of the couches with a plate of muffins Aizawa had dropped on her lap for her sitting there, her fingers flying across the screen as she hopped from text conversation to text conversation. Tsukauchi wanted to know if they were dead, Sansa wanted the date of the funeral, the Chief of Police was being fickle and wanting a phone call, but Harper didn't want to talk with sunshine boy in the room. However, it was becoming clearer and clearer to her that he still hadn't got with his anxious elf friend, and she really had to fix that. It was going to bother her if she didn't.

"Uh... nice to meet you too." Dabi grumbled in the most socially-inept way possible, averting his eyes as Mirio cheerfully shook his hand. "Who the hell is this guy, and how do I get him to go away without setting off some sort of alarm? Setting him on fire is out, insulting him might piss the principal off... damn."

"I wonder why this guy is here. He's too old to be a student! He seems to be with this Harper girl. I really want to ask about what she said about her quirk and Tamaki. What if she was telling the truth, and he thinks I rejected him? It's been driving me nuts, but I haven't run into her until now!" Mirio's thoughts were determined. "At the Sports Festival, they said her quirk was a reflex one, but she said it had something to do with emotion too."

"Can you keep a secret?" Harper asked, not looking up from her phone. Mirio blinked.

"Who? Me?" The blonde checked. "Of course I can! After interning with Sir Nighteye, I'd hope so, at least..."

"Awesome. Tell a soul, and I'll have your ass expelled." Harper looked away from her phone briefly to meet his confused gaze. "I read minds. Do the math."

Dabi took a slight step back from Mirio as his shoulders tensed. Harper went back to her texting, assuring Kirishima that Todoroki hadn't gotten to them, and that they could talk later. He'd tried to stall the half-and-half teen, but apparently he'd been determined to hunt her and Dabi down. Harper couldn't blame him. He clearly missed Touya a lot, and was aching to know the truth. His suspicions were well-founded considering they were completely correct. Dabi really was Touya Todoroki. Harper grimaced a bit. She couldn't imagine what it may feel like to know the brother you thought had died was still alive. Just thinking about it made her chest tight.

Watching the color drain from Mirio's face was rather amusing to Dabi. Without saying a word, he whirled around and threw the door open, darting out as fast as his legs would take him. Harper snorted and shook her head, and Dabi closed the door with an amused smile. 

They ate a lunch consisting of muffins, muffins, and, you guessed it, more muffins. Harper made a few calls, and ended up in a screaming match with the Chief of Police about a favor she wanted to cash in. Mic had come into the room, seen the expression twisted on her face, and turned right on around and walked out. Even locked the door behind him so nobody else could come in to hear her talk down the head of the department himself. Dabi found the whole sight rather relaxing. Especially when Harper put it on speaker so she could pace easier. The Chief had submitted rather readily, meekly saying it was fine and that she was unofficial head of Stain's case anyway, and could do what she wanted.

Harper was annoyed with this whole thing. She wanted her life to taper down a bit. The League was still on her back, and she'd rather that be her biggest problem. Only it sort of wasn't, which was terrifying considering what a big deal it was. Sero's case was getting stickier and stickier. He didn't like talking to anyone who wasn't her, and seemed... confused, as of late. He was having trouble remembering things. When Harper would repeat things back to him that he'd said before, he'd get this conflicted expression on his face. His thoughts would warble in an unsure manner. Harper was just raring to get a quirk specialist in there. 

To avoid running into Shoto, they went to get Kurogiri a little early. Hound Dog wouldn't mind. Harper only hoped that the warp gate user hadn't freaked out the entire time. He could get to be a little much. Dabi had a surprising amount of patience with him, but not everyone had the energy to deal with all... that. At least the scarred man could ignore him and put in earbuds to tune it out. Hound Dog was tasked with meeting him head on. Their meeting hadn't been the longest in the world, but Kurogiri could still be rather overbearing.

"Do we knock?" Dabi raised a brow at the door. "The bell will ring soon. I'd rather not get caught up in the crowd. Shoto will have more of a chance to corner us that way." 

Harper was about to knock on the door and brace herself to be tackled, but halted. Instead, she found herself staring at the door in disbelief. Dabi raised a brow as she turned to look up at him with wide eyes. To him, it was pretty obvious the girl was hearing something she either didn't expect or didn't want to have seared into her mind. She'd done him enough solids, and why did he care? He scoffed and turned the knob himself, pushing open the door in an irritable manner. Harper blinked a few more times, and Dabi could see why.

Kurogiri was laughing. Hound Dog was laughing. Both of them were laughing, and they were perfectly fine on top of that. Just totally chilling out. Kurogiri was leaning forward on the couch, cheeks rosy with color and a smile on his face. Hound Dog's tail was wagging, his ears perked up happily. His hair was all floofed out in a cheerful way that conveyed an air of excitement. Harper and Dabi stood in the doorway, staring, completely floored. The pair turned to face them curiously, Kurogiri smiling even brighter.

"Ah, Harper Rye! I was beginning to worry about you quite a bit! Ryo assured me that you and Dabi would be quite alright, and I can see now that he was correct!" Kurogiri chirped cheerfully, standing up. Hound Dog did too. "I am quite glad I came here. This Hound Dog fellow makes me feel quite giddy! It must be another result of this pleasant emotional roller coaster Harper Rye has put me on. Though, my heart has never raced in this manner! For once, it is thumping not out of fear, but something else!"

"Oh my god." Harper whispered. Dabi blanched at the first name usage. They turned to look at each other in horrified disbelief. Silent words passed between the pair. 

"Our session trotted right by, didn't it? He did good, pup. You don't have to worry about leaving this clever dog with me." Hound Dog assured, tail still happily swishing as he beamed down at her. "Kurogiri is quite a witty dog! I didn't expect him to be so quick with his words! Talking to him was like eating a good bowl of kibble. I'm exited to bark at him more tomorrow. It'll be a walk in the park to get him detached from this pup. She'll be free of her leash in no time, and Kurogiri can finally drop his guard!"

Harper looked between Hound Dog and Kurogiri, who kept stealing glanced at each other before bashfully looking away. Dabi was opening and closing his mouth, searching for words. Harper stared some more, trying to process.

"He has given me his telephone number. I have much to tell you of our session later!" Kurogiri said after a moment. "He wishes to be my friend! I questioned if he would like to come over some time. His tail-wagging is quite endearing!"

Harper brought her hands up to her cheeks, and she took a deep breath, closing her eyes softly. The bell rang in the background as she tried to calm herself. Not because she was about to freak out or because she was terribly stressed. But because Kurogiri had a crush on Hound Dog, and apparently... Hound Dog had one back. 

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They tromped into Aizawa's classroom around fifteen minutes late. Kurogiri was happily holding her hand, his cheeks still colored and his eyes still filled with unbridled joy. She and Dabi just kept their gazes on the ground as they processed, trying to figure out how this had happened. Kurogiri and Hound Dog were so different! Hound Dog was one of the best people in this joint. He was just an asexual guidance counselor living his best life and caring too much about everyone else in the purest way. And then there was Kurogiri who was... well, he was Kurogiri!

"You're late." Aizawa raised a brow blandly at them. Shoto sat up straighter as Dabi drifted in. "Harper, are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost! Oh my god, did you? I bet you did. Wait, that's bad. Did it possess you? You're too cute to be possessed. Or are you? OMG, I can't believe I just thought that. Of COURSE you're too cute to be possessed. I'm like, such a horrible person, I can't believe I ever doubted y-"

"Sorry" Harper cut his thoughts off. She peered up at him, looking more tired than she ever had before. She felt... so off. This whole day was just different, and she didn't like it. She felt like crying. Or sleeping. Or both. "I'll try not to do it again."

Dabi nudged her towards her seat. Kirishima shot her several concerned glances as she passed by, and Kurogiri patted the redhead's hair as he passed, bouncing along happily. Everyone silently followed, but they'd never know what she and Dabi had witnessed. And Harper was sort of glad. Because if she couldn't comprehend it, she doubted any of them could either. 

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ART

If you have it in a book, I've forgotten. Definitely comment here and I'll do my best. If you've sent something through instagram, also say something here ay

CharTime is back at it again with some amazing Kurogiri art! I really love this, and I think you got his appearance on point! Thanks so much for drawing it and taking the time to illustrate it. Your digital art skills never cease to amaze me.

Silver_button_eyes drew this! I really love the symbolism here. The weight of having her parents be whisked off, of being hunted, the guilt, the lies, Kurogiri--- it's all really starting to come down on her, and I think that really illustrates that. Thanks so much for drawing this! It's truly amazing.

Scripter_Numine did this amazing art to go along with the bonus/one-shot I did recently in this book, in which Dabi died and Harper was heartbroken. She did such an amazing job with this. Thank you so much for drawing this. It looks really good and I just--- ugh, I love it.

I don't remember whether or not I did this one but ahem. Lampe-y sketched this amazing Harper! She's such a good artist I stg y'all. I really like the jumble of letters in the back, and your shading skills are seriously top notch. Thanks so much for drawing this out man. Seriously.