Chapter 5: Devil-May-Care Deku
The next match was now under way, and saw Midoriya currently standing in the middle of a clearing in Woodland Area 2, after a number of his friends had wished him luck. (As he departed for the site of the match, Buster commented off-handedly that Midoriya was going to need a lot of luck, considering who he'd be up against.) Midoriya was doing a web search on his phone for some info on his opponents, the oddly-named Tasmanian Devil and his student Dizzy Devil. What info he did find was mainly about the particular appetite of these creatures.
"Let's see..." he said as he scrolled through the page, "the Tasmanian Devil is a strong, vicious, ravenous brute of a creature, with powerful jaws akin to a steel trap. Has an equally-ravenous appetite-eats: tigers, lions, elephants, buffaloes, donkeys, giraffes, octopuses, rhinoceroses, moose, ducks-"
"Green-haired teenagers," a new voice added.
"Green-haired teenagers?" Midoriya repeated confusedly. "I don't see that here." It was then he saw a furry hand write on his phone's screen with a marker. Midoriya's brain took a second to register just what he'd seen, and when it did, the boy's eyes widened as he brought his head up. He turned around and found himself face-to-face with the very creatures he'd been researching. The larger of the two had brown fur, with some of it on his head sticking up in a way that looked ominously like horns. The smaller of the two had purple fur, two differently-colored eyes (one purple, one green), and wore a propeller beanie on his head. The two Devils proceeded to shout a bunch of unintelligible gibberish as they gesticulated wildly, which to Midoriya could only mean one thing to him:
RUN FOR IT!
-X-
Moments later, Midoriya was running like crazy, doing his best to put some distance between himself and both Tasmanian Devils. One thing for sure was that he needed a plan, and fast. Planning was how he defeated most of his foes, be they rivals or villains, in past skirmishes; unfortunately, in this instance, it was kind of hard for him to stop and think when he had two living tornadoes on his tail, ripping through trees and other vegetation that wound up in their path, and even cutting through large rocks like hot knives through butter.
Thus, for now, Midoriya's only option was to keep running and think as best he could on the fly. In his hurried thought processes, he calculated how long he could feasibly navigate his way through the wilderness while maintaining his stamina, and so far, the results weren't ideal, to say the least. His opponents, no matter the outcome, were close by, and his best chance was to use One-for-All to enhance his speed and agility. The only problem was, he'd never used his quirk while running for his life, and he very well couldn't stop so he could attempt it.
Midoriya was already starting to feel a bit of the whirlwind from the rapidly-approaching cartoony beasts when he began to concentrate and activate his quirk's 'full cowling' ability so he could gain some distance. For some reason or another, he decided to taunt his foes a bit with a slight impression of one of their own.
"Meep meep!" he said after briefly sticking his tongue out before pouring on the gas.
Both Devils hit the brakes for a moment as they groaned at the lame attempt.
"Why they always do the hard way?" Taz posed rhetorically as he shook his head.
-X-
Minutes later, Midoriya had found a hiding spot where he could both catch his breath and plan his next move. Said spot proved to be not as good as he believed, as a tap on the shoulder made him jump in surprise when he discovered Dizzy Devil had found him. Suddenly, Midoriya had another question on his mind.
"When did-?! How did you-?!" he asked, before he began motor-mumbling. "I mean that can't be possible-according to my research, you just moved ten miles per hour, faster than a regular, adult, fully-able Tasmanian Devil. Andyourlimbsaren' ,hereatU. 'vegotseveralstudentscapableoffeatsnoregularhumaniscapableof,andinwatchingtheothercompetitorsfromACMELooniversityinaction,onecanimaginesuchaphenomena'sprettycommonplacewhereyoucomefrom;I'mthinkingitmightbetheresultofsomemutationsimilartoourworld'squirksortheresultofso-called'cartoonphysics',andifit'sthelatter,it'sanearmiraclewe'vemanagedtoscorepointssincecartoonphysicsis,bydefinitition,unlimitedintermsofpossibilities,orlimitedtotheextentwhereit'sfunny,dependingonthetheory,andofcourseourpresentsituationwon'tletussolvethisriddle,whichputsmeatabiggerdisadvantage,sowithoutthecapacitytoanalyzethefullextentofthehthreatlevelofmyopponent,Ican' ,Iwatchedmyclassmatesinaction,butIdon'tthinkit'senoughto-"
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah SHADDUP! You boring!" Dizzy exasperatedly complained before he spun away at full speed, not having the patience to sit through Midoriya's mumblings when he went into overdrive.
Midoriya himself, as he watched one of his opponents speed off, was unsure if he should feel insulted or relieved. He didn't have time to dwell on his doubts when the larger of the two Devils appeared, growling menacingly. Midoriya, briefly glancing our way, shrugged and started addressing Taz. "Oh, it's good you're here, I was just talking with your student, and I was trying to get his opinion on the extent of your abilitiesandthewaysI' ,I'mnotaskingyoutothrowinthetowel,Iwasjustcuriousabout-" It was then that Midoriya noticed Taz pointing to the plugs in his ears, before growling menacingly at him again. Midoriya sighed, mumbled a quick apology, and jumped back as he aimed his finger at Taz, making sure he wouldn't miss as he unleashed a-
"Delaware...SMASH!"
With One-for-All, Midoriya unleashed a small shockwave from a flick of his finger. To Midoriya's dumbfounded surprise, Taz seemingly 'caught' the shockwave right in his big mouth...and swallowed it. Taz then proceeded to hold back a little of what appeared to be a large belch, evidenced by how huge his cheeks bubbled up. A shy smile appeared on his face as he briefly blushed.
"Excuze me," Taz said, before he growled again and began spinning towards Midoriya.
"All right, you're asking for it now," Midoriya said as he got into a stance. "Visitor or not, you leave me no choice." Soon, Midoriya channeled One-for-All into his feet, causing them to glow. "Indianapolis..." From there, Midoriya swiftly ran in the opposite direction. "...DASH!"
-X-
Soon, Midoriya found himself in another part of Woodland Area 2, and hid behind a huge boulder. It didn't take long for him to hear the approaching whirlwinds...and then he realized, it was only one of the whirlwinds. Before he could react, a finger poked his shoulder. Turning to his side, he once again found himself face-to-face with Taz, growling and snarling menacingly at him. Midoriya swallowed, and hoped his research was right on the money for what he was about to do.
"Oh, hi there!" he said in a more jovial manner. "Listen, I know you're pretty hungry right now, but c'mon! You're in Japan! You've simply gotta enjoy one of our traditional hot springs first, right?"
"Huh?" a confused Taz asked. "Hot springs?"
"Yeah, yeah, hot springs," Midoriya said as he urged the large beast towards a nearby pond. "Right this way." Once they got there, Midoriya handed him a couple of towels. "Just get in, relax, and I'll bring you a prepared dinner later, 'kay?" As soon as Dizzy spun in, Midoriya handed him his own complimentary towels. "You too, little guy, step right in! It's like a pool."
"Pool?" Dizzy asked, before an eager expression appeared on his face. "Me do cannonball?"
"Oh sure, sure!" Midoriya replied with a swift couple of nods. "But relax for a little bit first, then you can do a cannonball."
After both Devils settled into the pond, Midoriya quickly ran out of Woodland Area 2, and swiftly returned with his classmate Shoto 'Shoto' [boy, he could've used a bit more input on his hero name] Todoroki, he of the scarred face, two-tone hair color, and combination of fire and ice powers.
"All right, Todoroki," Midoriya started to say, "let 'em have it."
Todoroki, briefly glancing in our direction, sighed resignedly. "Doesn't this seem a bit like cheating, Midoriya? Aren't you worried about us being penalized?"
"Oh, come on!" Midoriya began to point out. "You saw how the other matches went down-with these guys, it's pretty much an 'anything goes' situation!"
"Even so, you're always one who tends to go by the book," Todoroki, arms folded, pointed out in turn. "Yet what you're asking me-"
"Todoroki," Midoriya, slightly-exasperated, began to ask while he held the bridge of his nose, "just for once, can't you just let it go?"
Midoriya suddenly felt the front of his outfit being grabbed by a considerably-peeved Todoroki who'd just gotten up close and personal. "Never...and I mean NEVER, ever use those three words in front of me again. EVER! Is. That. Clear?" the hot-yet-cool-headed boy warned.
A nervous Midoriya nodded his head fearfully, not knowing exactly how to answer that one. Sighing once again, Todoroki put him down and then proceeded to unleash his ice powers to freeze the pond, and with it, both Taz and Dizzy Devil, who sported looks of great surprise on their faces.
"T-t-t-t-Taz and D-d-d-d-d-Dizzy Devil are un-n-n-n-can't continue," Porky declared.
"Point goes to U.A.!" Present Mic added gleefully.
Meanwhile, in the stands, Bugs and Principal Nezu, observing the events on the Jumbotron, eyed each other with a certain gleam in their eyes.
"Of course you realize," Bugs started to say, "this means war."
To be continued...
**Author's Note(s)**
The online encyclopedia entry Midoriya consults is a paraphrased version of the one Bugs looks up in Taz's debut Looney Tunes short, 1954's "Devil May Hare".
