Contest at bottom O w O ?

Third person pov

Harper held her breath, her posture tense as she waited for Sero to move first. It wasn't like she'd be able to get the jump on him. Going towards him would only ensure that she got herself taped in the face. Besides, she was already counting on failing. Of course she knew going in with that mindset was essentially suicide on her part, but she couldn't help the inevitable. Tape against mind reading, the latter of which couldn't be used to its fullest potential. If people knew of her real quirk, she could use it to fuck with people. If only. For now she was stuck hoping Sero thought out each of his moves instead of acting without thinking like people like Kaminari did.

She'd never sparred with Sero before. He was a quiet thinker, much like Shoji, Tokoyami, and Momo. Unless she sought their thoughts out, she really didn't hear them over the volume of her classmate's. It was something she really needed to work on if she was being honest with herself. If she was going to try this whole hero thing out with a mental quirk that didn't help her physically in the least, she'd need to hear everything, not just the loudest people in the vicinity. But that would require a hell of a lot of focus, and Harper wasn't sure if she had the patience for that.

Sero was assessing her, and the stadium's noise seemed to drop as the tension rose. Harper gazed across the field, not sure what to do with herself. Did she awkwardly clasp her hands behind her back? Let them hand by her side? Crouch into a fight-ready position? She had no idea. The urge to fold her arms over her chest was incredibly immense. The girl was beginning to sweat under the pressure of all the thoughts directed her way. Though her parents and Aizawa were really the only ones who did it, when thoughts were focused on her or intended for her to hear, they were louder. Stronger, in a sense.

"You can do it, Harper!" Ochako's thoughts were determined and extremely sure. She had the utmost confidence in her brunette friend, which would only make Harper impending loss all the more disappointing. Harper let out a breath of air through her nose, willing herself not to tense. She'd be fine. Sero wasn't the type to go overboard with these types of things, like maybe Bakugo or Todoroki. They'd clobber her for sure if she were up against them.

"She's not moving. I guess she can't really predict what I'm going to do if I'm not planning on doing anything." Sero's thoughts seemed to decide. "Still, I can't believe she managed to squirm out of Shigaraki's grasp. There's go to be more than meets the eye here."

Harper froze.

What.

No fucking way.

Harper stared at Sero, lips parted in surprise and eyes blown wide. She was honest to god stunned. Sure, her luck was bad, but this bad? Holy shit-- maybe she was hallucinating. Sero was the fucking traitor? She swore to every deity about that she'd heard him refer to Shigaraki by name, and to her kidnapping. The kidnapping that nobody aside from UA's most trusted staff and her parents, who'd been carted off the a far off location, knew about. The only other person who could ever even begin to have an inkling about it was Shinso, and that's because she landed half-dead in his backyard.

"She looks scared all of a sudden. Man, I can't believe I thought she was the one to rat out the janitors and that idiot gardener. It was probably Jiro, or Shoji, maybe someone from another year. Someone who could easily overhear those dumbasses and their plotting. Whatever. Still, Harper is the daughter of a detective, so I guess I'll need to exercise extra caution around her. Especially if she accidentally reads me as threatening..." Sero trailed off. Harper stared at him, pressing her lips together into a tight, thin line. Of course. Of fucking course. God dammit. And here she was hoping today would go semi-smoothly. Why would it? When did things ever go her way?

"Harper, are you okay? You look totally spooked!" Aizawa's thoughts chirped, though there was an undertone of concern that told her just how much her emotion was showing on her face. Harper quickly smoothed over her expression, taking a deep breath. She was fine. Midnight and Cementoss were right there, and Sero couldn't do much surrounded by pros. Worse case scenario, he get to her and maybe snapped her neck or choked her out with his tape. He'd been the traitor this entire time and hadn't done shit, so there wasn't a reason for him to do so now with millions watching across the globe.

Harper shot a glance at Midnight. What did she even do in this situation? Did she fight the match, and then tell someone? You know, show caution and subtly? No, this was dangerous. As long as he didn't know she knew, he wouldn't kill her. But if he got an inkling or decided to finish what Shigaraki didn't get the chance to, she was completely and totally fucked! Done for. God, Harper had no energy for this. She had no energy for anything. She was going to invent time travel for the sole purpose of going back in time to tell herself not to do jack shit.

"I wonder what I'll have for dinner tonight..." Sero's thoughts drifted away from Shigaraki just as fast as they came onto him. "Some good ol' ramen sounds good! I really want to watch that one cat vine compilation again. Wait, I need to finish the match first. It's been an entire minute and we've just been staring at each other. I need to just wrap it up. Get it? Wrap? Why am I talking-- thinking-- to myself again? Whatever."

No wonder she never suspected him. Still, he was the traitor. He probably had a lot more training than he let on, which meant he was more dangerous than he appeared. Fuck, she needed some Advil. And a nap. And some ice cream. And an early grave, seeing as she's done her job and found the traitor. But of all the times to figure out who it was, of course it had to be now. Only she'd get put up in a fight against the person she was trying to hunt down.

Sero took a step forward, and she heard his tape dispensers whir at the ready. He grinned at her. Without her quirk, it would have seem good-natured, maybe even comforting. Now Harper just felt sick. Sero was a teenager like her. Someone her age. And yet he was a villain. Just what had he gone through to get to this point? Going undercover for people who wanted nothing more than to wreak havoc? It made her feel sick, and she wondered how she hadn't realized it was him before. Now that she knew, it was as though she couldn't unsee it. She'd never felt so idiotic before. That being said, Sero was a damn good actor. She had to give him that.

The crowd broke to life as Sero began to act. He was cocky, and put on a good show for those watching. "Finally, we're seeing some action! After a tense standoff between our two hero course students, it looks like Hanta Sero is going to make the first move!" Mic cheered. "Weird! I've never had such a long wait before. Is something wrong? Harper looks pale as hell, and even Aizawa is getting concerned. And Aizawa rarely shows emotion! I wonder how much of it he actually feels. Eh, it's probably pretty minor. I'd know if he was seriously freaking out over something!"

"OH MY GOD, HARPER, ARE YOU DYING?!" Aizawa shrieked at her, seriously freaking out and successfully snapping her from her stupor further. "You look sooo pale. Mic is hot by the way, don't you think? I should totally ask him on a date already. We've known each other for years. It's fine though because he's H-O-T. Spell it with me. H. O. T. There you go! Anyway, are you okay? You don't look okay, no offense. I mean, you're looking super cute, as always, but like also sick. You read me?"

"Midnight..." Harper's voice didn't carry far enough. She cleared her throat and raised it. "Midnight!"

The urgency in her voice caused Sero to pause, and the stadium to fall quiet once again with a lot of shushing. Midnight stood up with raised brows as Harper shook out her hands. Damn, she needed to calm the hell down. She wasn't in the League's bar or anything. She was just fine. That being said, Kurogiri could pop up at any given moment and nab her right out of the arena. She didn't doubt the League was watching. It was an excellent source of information, after all. That also meant they were going to see this... fucking hell. 

"Is everything okay?" Sero asked. Harper grimaced, her heart beating wildly in her chest. Sero was dangerous. She felt like an A-class idiot for not seeing it before, and over the fact that she was freaking out.

"Him." Harper sighed, taking a deep breath. She leveled a rather confused Midnight with a level gaze. "It's him. Sero's the one."

Midnight stared for a moment, trying to figure out what she was trying to say. Harper didn't want to outright say 'Hey, Midnight. Sero's the traitor we failed to inform the parents and students about who could have easily killed any one of us at any given moment.' on live television. In her opinion, that was good judgement. Sero looked a bit concerned, brow creasing as Midnight worked it over in her mind. Something in the woman's eyes flashed, and she tensed.

"She can't know, can she? What does she mean I'm the one?" Sero's thoughts were getting frantic the longer Harper and Midnight stayed in eye contact.

"You don't mean..." Midnight trailed off, glancing back at Cementoss as he approached. Her thoughts said what she didn't want to aloud. "Is Sero the traitor, Harper?"

"I'm one-hundred percent sure." Harper gulped, a bead of sweat rolling down her brow. The crowd was eerily silent, though their thoughts were racing. Hushed, but racing.

"Why'd it stop? Is something wrong with Rye?"

"Something's going on. This has never happened before. It's kind of exciting!"

"I need popcorn. I think some shit's about to go down."

"Midnight looks pale. What's going on? I can't hear. I knew I should have paid extra for the closer seats."

"That Sero kid looks a bit freaked out. Is the brown haired one doing okay? She looks like she's going to be sick."

"She knows. Somehow, she knows. We have to get him out of there now. He can't be allowed to divulge what he knows."

Harper's eyes snapped up to the crowd, and she dug through it for the thoughts she'd just heard. A new sense of urgency overtook her. They were going to try and get Sero out, or at least kill him so he couldn't talk? How? Would one of Kurogiri's portals open up below him for the world to see? Or maybe a bullet would shoot out from the crowd and through his eye socket. Maybe one would fly through hers. 

"You have to get him. Now. They're coming to try and get him." Harper said, whipping her head back to face her teachers. 

"What are you guys talking about?" Sero laughed nervously, taking a step back. "They know. How the fuck do they know? Harper's quirk... it's not what it seems, is it? That detective isn't her father, and Nezu hasn't been calling her in for meetings just to get her settled. Dammit, I should have put the pieces together..."

"Cementoss!" Midnight exclaimed. The man snapped to attention, stepping up but looking questioning. Harper began to back up as she leaned over to whisper to him, not once taking her eyes off Sero. The teen continued to keep up the act, looking worried, but not too worried. Confused, but not too confused. Concerned, but not too concerned. It was all too perfect. The longer you stared at him, the faker the expression appeared. Harper groaned to herself on the inside as she scooted back further. How'd she miss this? How? 

"Wow, looks like we've run into a bit of an issue down there in the stadium! Don't worry, folks, I'm sure it'll be sorted soon!" Mic called. "Something's going on. Is Sero...?"

"Harperrrr, what's going onnnn?" Aizawa whined. Inwardly, he just sat there and stared. It was still just as unnerving as it was the first day. Harper watched Sero hold his hands up in a placating manner as the cement rippled around him, encasing his ankles. An alarmed expression came over his face, and Harper knew it was genuine. The crowd burst out with murmurs as Midnight ripped a portion off her costume's arm, holding the skin in Sero's general direction as Cementoss backed up to stand with Harper.

"And you're sure?" The man asked, not removing his eyes as Midnight caught Sero before he could tip forward. Harper released a slow breath when she felt his consciousness drift into a dazed, sleep-like state full of thoughts he wouldn't remember when he woke up. Harper gave a grim nod, crossing her arms over her chest and allowing her gaze to drift up to where her classmates were sitting. Half were leaning over the railing, bewilderment written across their faces.

"Hey, hey, what're they doing with Sero? Did something happen? Did he say something unmanly? Is Harper okay? Is he okay?" Kirishima had a deep-set frown on his face as he leaned forward trying to get a better view.

"Deku's ass looks hot when he bends over the railing like that. And look at those thighs." At least Bakugo's priorities were in order.

"Why'd Midnight put Sero to sleep? I don't understand... did I look away and miss something?" Mina frowned. 

"How weird. Something must be going on. Did Harper's quirk decide Sero was really dangerous or something? No, it doesn't work like that from what she's said." Tsuyu hummed.

"This is insane..." Ochako trailed off, flabbergasted and unsure of what to think.

"Yo, what're they doing with my bro Sero?!" Two coherent thoughts from Kaminari in the same day. The Sports Festival certainly brought on many surprises.

"What a mad banquet of darkness..." There was Tokoyami.

Overall, most of her classmates were just confused. All reasonably responses, nothing suspicious. Harper was glad, though she really wished Sero could have waited until after their match to think traitorous thoughts. Now all Harper could do was duck her head and allow Cementoss to usher her towards one of the exits as other teachers and pros swarmed Sero. They seemed to be waiting to restrain him, at least until they were out of sight of the cameras. Harper was glad. UA got enough bad enough press as it was.

"Holy shit." Harper said the moment they were in the hallway and out of the arena. She unfolded her arms and shook her hands out, which she was doing a lot. A nervous tic, she supposed. "Sorry for my language, but what the actual fuck?"

"I think some cursing is justified in such a situation." Cementoss assured. "Fuck yeah it is. Wait, she can hear me. I apologize."

Harper just ran a hand through her hair. Could she go home now? If the League didn't have an eye on her before, they sure as shit did now. She'd just outed Sero as the traitor on national television. In hindsight, waiting would have been safer, but she didn't want to risk it. Not to mention she'd been having a mental breakdown sort of. Not a total freak out, but the slow, "what the fuck do I do with myself" kind. 

"There you are. Are you alright?" Aizawa asked curtly, appearing from around the corner and nearly giving her and Cementoss both a heart attack. "Ohmygodareyouokay?! Harper, that must have been terrifying! Do you want a hug? I'll give you a hug. I don't even care if Cementoss doesn't see it. Nobody will ever believe him, or you. I'll bake you muffins. Move in with me? That would work too. Then I could hug you, bake you muffins, and make sure nobody kidnapped or killed you!"

"I'm fine." Harper sighed heavily. Was she really, though? "Sero was the traitor. Not sure how I didn't see it sooner, but now I feel like a certified dumbass, so that's that. Can I go take a nap now?"

"Girl after my own heart." Aizawa's thoughts cooed, though outwardly he had a cool, collected expression. Harper would never not be disturbed by the contrast. "Later, kid. We've got to go find Tsukauchi. He's in the crowd somewhere. Probably calling a car, or van."

"We've got him restrained and Recovery Girl will make sure he stays sedated, for the time being." Midnight jogged up from the hall to their left, offering Harper a half-smile. "The crowd is confused but Mic's handling it. We're going to get the match started as soon as possible. This is just a little hiccup, is all. We're going to cite it as medical reasons, and that your quirk detected something wrong with his body about to happen. For now we're going to take Sero, if that's his name, and see if his emergency contacts dig anything up." 

"I doubt they will." Aizawa grunted with a scoff. "I'm like, so happy you're okay. Mic will handle the crowds! Let's go pretend Sero's having a heart attack!"

Harper's opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by Mic's booming voice.

"Sorry about that, everyone! Harper has a reflexive quirk, which means she can detect things before they happen. While they work on movements, they work just as well on other parts of the human body! She detected something about to happen in Sero's heart, yo! He's with Recovery Girl now, so there's no need to worry! They've both sent their apologies and hope we can all continue to enjoy the show!" Mic cheered, bringing the crowd back to life with a vengeance. Harper sighed, bringing a hand up to massage her temples. "I wish Aizawa were here. He looks so cute with he's irked. The little furrow in his brow when he marched out was adorable! I wish he loved me the same way I loved him..."

Aizawa didn't outwardly react to Mic, but began to hum happily on the inside. "I'm so in love with Mic! Fun!"

Harper really wanted to bash her head in. She was beginning to consider it a real option at this point. Her teacher didn't even twitch at her despondent expression, though his eyes flashed with a gleam of pure, unadulterated joy, amusement, with maybe some smugness mixed in. Harper resisted the urge to push into his consciousness the same way she had with Kurogiri just so she could see him stumble.

"Let's go meet up with Tsukauchi. The sooner we get it over with, the sooner Harper here can rest." Cementoss put a hand on her shoulder. Harper wasn't one for physical contact, but it was oddly comforting. "Poor kid's got too much stress on her shoulders. Right, she can hear me. It'll be over soon, Harper. I'll see what I can do to get it sped along, and I'm sure Tsukauchi will as well."

"Thanks, Mr. Cementoss." Harper was resigned. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

Somehow, she already knew she'd jinxed it.

~~~

Harper and Cementoss are high-key BROTP of the century let's go

ANYWAY CONTEST SORTA KINDA MORE LIKE A RAFFLE BUT LEGGO

Comment a song, any song, and I will randomly pick one to write a one shot about. Using this book. The only song you can't pick is All Star by Smash Mouth because I used it in another story and now I can only imagine it pertaining to fight scenes. Sorry y'all, dug myself into that hole all by myself-

So yeah, any song. If I start to see like, repeats or majority, I may go with the majority, but probably not. Or I'll have someone else go pick a comment for me ay yO

TO BE CLEAR

YOU ARE PICKING JUST A SONG. NOT CREATING AN IDEA. I'll do the idea creating and it'll be a fun happy time because you could be like "I'm expecting some dark, angsty shit" but then I hit you with sunshine and rainbows by twisting the lyrics 

Sort of examples:

So maybe someone picks "Trouble" by Taylor Swift

I might write about Iida falling in love hard with Harper even though he thought she was a sleep deprived gremlin at first, and it's totally fucking him up. Or maybe I'll write about Harper outing Aizawa's inner personality and how Aizawa knew she'd be his downfall the second he laid eyes on her. Or maybe it'll be Kirishima flipping out over Harper. Or Bakugo and Izuku zoinking the zonk while Harper sighs in the background. Or Bakugo hating Todoroki after Todoroki sister snatches Izuku. Or maybe they all figure out Harper can read minds and are like "fuuuuck holy shit I shoulda knOWN-" or smth idk

In contrast, someone might comment "How To Save A Life" by The Fray

Then it'd probably be sad. Maybe Iida gives in before Harper can stop him. Maybe SHE dies, or maybe Harper somehow befriends someone in the League (Dabi, Toga, Shigaraki, Spinner, someone) and watches them either get arrested or die right in front of her. Angsty town.

Anyway yeah, hopefully that helps give you an idea of what- I'm rambling. Go ham. I'll yeah yoink.