"All the secrets of the world worth knowing

are hidden in plain sight."

-Robin Sloan

----------------------------------------

'Something about this is... wrong.'

With a brow peppered with wrinkles and a deep frown etched into his face, Deku continued to take out on a member of the Milka Cafe after another, moving through them like cheese to a grater. Each one moved awkwardly; despite the powerful quirks that they utilized, he could simply feint or fall back behind another one of their comrades. Then he would swoop back in and finish them off. If the normal reaction time of a human could be described as a run-down car, and Deku's could be described as a super top tier sport car, their reactions would be a bicycle.

'Against normal people, this would be plenty. The sheer power of these destructive quirks and being surrounded would be enough to spell their doom. The only reason I haven't been defeated myself lies in my reaction speed; no matter how destructive they are, if they can't hit me, there is no point-'

He felt his pupil contract as he saw the subtle regeneration of a member that definitely did not have that type of quirk. Even if he did, what was happening should be impossible; Deku had broken his spine in half before kicking a chunk of his head out just to be certain. If he was still regenerating that would be immortality, not simple healing. The beginning of a hypothesis began to form in his head, but he had to make one thing certain first and foremost.

"Gray, can you eat the thoughts of these members?" His voice was quiet and barely more than a whisper, but Gray caught it.

{You sure? I won't be able to help you for a bit against these guys then.}

It was a little known fact that only the two shared (and an especially guarded secret) that when Gray was eating thoughts and assimilating with them, she couldn't do anything at all. It was reasonable that she couldn't, but it didn't change that it could be a problem at times. Still, Deku had some degree of confidence in surviving for a brief period of time. Not because he was arrogant, but because the reflex enhancement was on at all times, even - and especially - when Gray wasn't paying attention. It was where Gray lived, after all.

But there was also one other reason that he was willing to do it.

"I don't need you to actually eat them; just see if they actually have thoughts at all."

Gray wasn't stupid; she got what he was saying right away.

{Got it. I'll be as quick as possible, so try not to die-, don't surrender to these chumps. If you fell to them, it'd be a real disgrace.}

He rolled his eyes at Gray's blatant motives but felt a tad bit of warmth at the meaning of them.

(It flickered out soon enough, but the fact that it was there meant everything.)

"Don't worry. I won't let myself die to these losers. That honor belongs to someone else. Of course, they'll be dead too."

His fingers stabbed into the eyes of an approaching enemy, the latter dropping to his knees and crying blood. But he didn't even let out a sound at the painful attack. He wasn't even bothering to pretend anymore, and it seemed like that flipped off a switch in the zombies surrounding him. Little and subtle shifts here and there; the long-distance attackers to the back, melee types at the front. In the very back, there appeared some figures he had never seen before. The seemed so scrawny they were almost skeletal, but they gave him the greatest sense of danger.

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'This... Just disregarding the fact that I didn't even notice those fellows at the back, this sudden change just has the absolute perfect timing. Before they were just coming at me like a disorganized mob, but now they're more like an army... But how did they know? I didn't bother to use the mental link because Gray gets irritated when I do it and there only seemed to be combatant types...'

He shook his head. His stance shifted to a more offensive one and there was a glint in his eye that wasn't there before.

'Endlessly pondering over it won't achieve anything. Hearing enhancement, energy detection, telepathy... There are many ways to find out the truth. I'll have to adapt as I go and get out of this place as soon as possible. This is their base; it's way too favorable for them.'

He let out a sudden roar of rage so loud it could shatter eardrums, while seeming to get right into the thick of the enemies, almost intent on just trading blow for blow, and life for life. But secretly, he was aiming for the door in a sidestep diagonal like pattern. But still, it wasn't easy. These first few seconds where Gray hadn't been able to get back to him yet were crucial.

The chances of him dying here, statistically anyway, were higher than any other part; even greater than when they would inevitably realize what he was planning if they hadn't already figured it out. He couldn't discount the possibility of a mind reader. Still, despite the dire situation... Somehow, he felt more alive than ever. He would have even grinned had he been able to. The beat of his frantic heart and the thrum of adrenaline was the only thing in the world right now.

One second.

He suppressed his wince as a dark line was drawn across his cheek, only a few centimeters from his eye. The cause was a wielder of an invisibility quirk. They had dropped down from the ceiling while he was preoccupied with two people wielding giant hammers, and it was only because of their rigid joints that it wasn't immediately game over.

Two seconds.

He hadn't made it more than a couple of feet before he was surrounded by the twin wielders of the hammers and the pseudo-assassin at his back. He had managed to endure for a couple of milliseconds by the time the ranged attacks finally reached him from the hands of the people at the back. He could only avoid the least damaging ones. Some fire and rocks flew beside him, but acid that he had thought was water sizzled on his chest, and a blast of invisible wind had hit him with enough blunt force to make him dizzy.

He grit his teeth hard enough to bleed.

Three seconds.

Deku was totally surrounded. Every moment had either a blade or an element flying at him, and the worked in such perfect sync that he didn't know how long he could last before he inevitably made a fatal mistake. He could feel the sting of his injuries working against him, and while he could ignore them, there was a reason the body had pain in the first place. It was a warning system. And its alarms were blaring.

He couldn't resist and looked back to where he had come from for the first time in this mad escapee.

The sight made his blood run cold.

"ARHhhh... D-Damn it... Isn't this the worst possible situation?"

Four seconds.

The blade of an ax skimmed his stomach, but it must have hit a bad location because blood was rushing out like no tomorrow. But that wasn't even the worst of it. Standing guard around the body Gray had swum into to check, there was a literal wall of metal in every direction. Had it just been metal, it wouldn't have been that bad, but alongside the walls were people as well. Each and every one of them was a metal type, albeit with slightly different variances.

It looked like Gray could get out (she wasn't normal lightning, after all) but the thing they all lacked most was time.

With a hollow but determined resolve, he pushed his right foot forward...

But it. did. not. want. to. move.

He stared down at the pool of blood underneath him.

'Yeah... That'd do it.'

The world slowed to a still as a blade slowly but surely was on its way to his neck.

'...Oh well, I guess. I tried and got a valiant end. The beautiful embrace of death is coming straight to me; why should I reject it?'

{I SWEAR TO GOD! STOP TAKING THE EASY ROUTE, YOU NUMBSKULL! USE YOUR GODDAMN BRAIN!}

The sudden ringing voice of the lightning spirit was loud enough to make even the undead (?) flinch and the blade went slightly off track, enough not to be fatal. Needless to say, Deku was even more startled. He blinked his eyes rapidly, before sighing softly. Indeed, he may have been unconsciously suppressing a method, but the chances of that working in light of recent events were slim to none.

Still, it wouldn't do to take the 'easy route', would it? Gray would probably haunt him if he didn't even try it.

Thus, he said one, single, tiny little word.

"Zero."

And the whole world stopped.