Jus Bellum Justum
It is well war is so terrible, or we should grow too fond of it.
-Robert E Lee.
Cherry blossoms filled the air with a sweet scent, and many of them were lifted up on the breeze, causing the highway to appear to be lined with a blanket of pink, rippling waves. Bird song filled the air, as the normally busy road was mostly empty, and a mountain stream babbled beneath the bridge.
Izuku ignored the beauty. He was here to cause destruction and bring salvation, not to enjoy nature. He was far more focused on the two guard posts by the bridge, and the platoon of PLF elites that were guarding it. He didn't know their quirks, but they had to be strong, and combat experienced. That made them dangerous.
"Bubbles, what's the picture?" Izuku asked over the radio.
"Charges are set," Hagakure whispered back. "The guards didn't even notice me. This anti-thermal stuff either works, or they don't have that sort of imaging."
Izuku nodded, eyeing the map on his HUD. He was crouched behind a screen of trees upstream of the highway bridge, scanning the countryside for movement. "Right. Spiral?"
"Ready, boss," Hado answered, her tone still chipper, even in this circumstance. She was hundreds of kilometers away, but Mei assured Izuku that her jury rigged communications network was secure, and he believed her.
"Right. Commence assault. Remember, engage, anger, and then get out," Izuku ordered. "And make sure Demon shows himself. They have to know what he is now."
Izuku turned to Aoyama, who was standing beside him. Gone were the ridiculous glasses and purple cape. He was dressed in a wetsuit, with utility webbing, from which hung a combat knife and various other implements of destruction. "You and Tsu are good to go. Hit them hard when the bridge goes up."
"Oui. Zeré weehl bé non survivairs. Come, mon chairi. Eet eez time to dance." Aoyama and Tsu slipped into the water, gliding away down the river towards the doomed bridge.
"Nerd, this is Arms. The convoy is on its way. ETA, 16 minutes," Shoji's voice said in Izuku's ear.
"Copy that," Izuku said, starting the final countdown on his HUD. He turned to the rest of his assault force. "Madonna, Steel, move up. Make sure you prevent any of that convoy from escaping.
"Yes sir," Tetsutesu and Shiozaki agreed, then moved off quietly through the woods.
That left Izuku with Pixie Bob, Tokoyami, and a few former police officers armed with automatic weapons. He knelt down, waiting patiently.
Right on schedule, the armored column moved down the highway. Five large tractor trailers hauling livestock cages, filled with people. A dozen armored vehicles. They'd tracked this group up out of Tokyo, and they'd been doing exactly what Shiguraki had promised: rounding up the quirkless, or those who opposed the PLF's new regime, and taking them back to the former UA campus, where a concentration camp had been created. There were more convoys like this, but Izuku didn't have the time or resources to stop them all. He couldn't save everyone. But he could save these people.
As the convoy approached the bridge, Izuku triggered the explosives, which caused it to collapse into the river below. "Move out!"
He lifted off into the air as Aoyama's laser began to fire up out of the river at the disoriented guards, and Tsu's tongue lashed out to drag others down to their deaths. Hagakure would be moving as well, using her knife to cut down those that were open, vulnerable to the flanks. He trusted them to deal with the guards. Izuku's target was the convoy.
Vines sprang out, blocking the convoy's line of retreat, as logs crashed down over the road, thrown there by Tetsutetsu. Izuku's targeting laser had painted the escort vehicles, and he fired them, destroying each of them in blossoming fireballs. A few guards escaped, leaping from the flames, saved by their quirks, or having been driving the trailers, which Izuku didn't dare hit with high explosives.
Dust beasts and Tokoyami tore into them, ripping and tearing with beastial fury. Izuku landed and crushed a few of the guards as well, using his laser or his fists. He wasn't interested in taking prisoners today, and none of the PLF either had the wherewithal to surrender or the desire, so they all went down in minutes.
Once the guards were dispatched, Izuku hurried to open the trailers, ripping open the metal with Ultra Armor strength.
"Oh thank you! You came for us!" a girl wept, grabbing on to Izuku's arm and weeping as the others scrambled free. With a start, Izuku realized he recognized her.
"Hana Kenishiro?" Izuku asked, kneeling to gently rest a large metal hand on the girl's shoulder.
She gasped, a grin spreading on her face. "My letter! You read it!"
"I did," Izuku agreed. "Still trying to be a hero?"
"More than ever," Hana agreed fervently. "Thank you, Mr. Midoriya! Power Suit! You are a true hero!"
Others echoed Hana's sentiments, while a few glared at Izuku.
"Damn freak, it's because of you that they rounded us up in the first place!" someone shouted.
"None of that!" a woman with long green hair and bruises on her face barked. She had been locked up in a personal cage, with a restraining gag on her one of the police had removed. She bowed to Izuku. "I'm Emi Fukukado, I'm-"
"Ms. Joke, the Smile Hero," Izuku said, returning the bow. "I remember you used to work with Mr. Aizawa, my teacher at UA. You retired about the same time he did, to teach at Ketsubutsu Academy, correct?"
Joke laughed, rubbing the back of her head. "Wow, guess I must be something special if you know who I am, Power Suit! Yeah, a few of my students are here too. We were trying to lead a local resistance against the PLF, but, well…" Fukuado's grin vanished, tears forming in her eyes. "We failed. I tried, I really did, but…"
"I understand," Izuku said, sighing. "We're recruiting, if you're interested. If not, otherwise we'll drop you off at a town behind our lines, where you should be safe from the PLF."
"They...they took my quirk," Joke said quietly. She held up her arm, which had a small bruise from a dart on it. "Still locked me up like I had it. I know you're quirkless and all, but...hell. Give me a rifle. Someone's got to avenge my students."
"We'll do what we can for you," Izuku told her. "We're working on therapies to help those who have lost their quirks. The process isn't perfect, and it takes time, but either way, you're welcome to join."
"Excellent. Just go over there, we-"
"Midoriya!" Tsu called. "We need you, ribbit, now."
"Sorry, excuse me. Pixie Bob is collecting recruits over there," Izuku said, then hurried to Tsu. "What is it?"
"It's easier to just show you," Tsu said, turning and heading to one of the trailers.
There, Izuku found a man sitting on the ground, looking slightly dazed as he scratched at his neck. "I told them, I'm not truely quirkless. I don't deserve to be with these cattle. The bastards, they wanted to take me back, publicly execute me! Ah, Power Suit! Good, you came to free me! You see? This is what comes of letting those with quirks run free! They have my bullets, you see. They were using them! You have Eri, don't you? We can make more! I can show you how to streamline the extraction process, and we can-"
There was a sharp crack as Aoyama backhanded Chisaki. "Silénce, dog. Izuku weehl decidé yur fate."
"He was in a special cage, like some of the heroes we got out," Tsu said quietly. "I wasn't sure what you wanted to do with him."
Izuku felt sick, but shook his head. "No prisoners. And we can't just turn him loose."
"Oui. Eet eez as ai thought. Vairy well. Wé shall 'andlé 'im," Aoiyama said, hauling Chisaki to his feet.
"No, he's my problem. I should deal with it," Izuku said, taking half a step forward until Tsu put her hand on his chest.
"No, Izuku. You've got enough to worry about, ribbit. We'll take care of this."
His gut churning, Izuku could only nod and turn away.
"What are you doing?" Chisaki demanded. "Where are you taking me? I can help you, dammit! We can still remake the world!"
"We are goéng fair a lit-tell walk. Zén, you shall 'ave a nice swim. You aré dirtay, non?"
"Yes, yes, I must get clean, filthy animals," Chaski growled. "I need gloves! Give me yours!"
Izuku returned to watch as the rescued prisoners were led away to the hidden vehicles a short ways away, and Pixie Bob approached him.
"No casualties on our team. A lot of sick and wounded civilians though. We'll have a hard time treating them all. And...and all the heroes had their quirks removed. They've found a way to duplicate those bullets," Pixie Bob reported.
Izuku nodded. "We'll find a way to treat them. All of them. Mei's been working with Eri and Recovery Girl. They think they have a way to repair damaged quirks, as long as they weren't taken by All For One."
"That's good," Pixie Bob sighed. "Tomoko's getting better. She can sort of use her quirk again. She says she'll be ready for operations soon."
"Good, we can use her," Izuku agreed.
Tsu and Aoyama returned, Aoyama wiping the blade of his knife on his sleeve before sheathing it. Pixie Bob frowned at him. "What happened to Overhaul?"
"He went for a swim," Tsu answered with a shrug.
"A vairy long un. He weehl not bothair ur jénteehle filee Eri again," Aoyama confirmed.
Pixie Bob paled for a moment, then nodded. "I suppose that's for the best."
"It was necessary. We don't have room for our own sick and wounded, let alone prisoners," Izuku sighed. "And he was too dangerous to set loose."
"Don't let it bother you, Izuku. He hurt Eri," Tsu stated, as if that were the end of the matter. It would still bother Izuku, for years to come, that he had ordered the death of a man, but that could be said of many of the things he was forced to do as the leader of the Hero Resistance. In the end, Kai Chisaki's only memorial was a distant corner of Izuku's guilty conscience.
Mercifully, the drive back to their stronghold was free of complications. Hado's group had to undergo a fighting retreat, but ultimately they were successful in disengaging from the PLF forces to the south with minimal casualties. Their mission had been to assault a headquarters building, but that had been a diversion. Izuku didn't think they were ready for a full blown attack yet, but this was to be the first in a series of probing maneuvers that would gage the PLF's strength, and hopefully slow them down a bit. That group would need to bivouac in the woods overnight, but Izuku wasn't looking forward to the briefing. Minimal casualties weren't the same as none.
The civilian refugees were dropped off, but Ms. Joke and six of her students volunteered to go back to join the rest of the resistance. They were all that was left of what had once been a large force, Izuku gathered. The same story had played out in many places across Japan. A few groups had managed to fight back as Izuku and his group did, but Shiguraki was slowly going around, destroying them one at a time. Izuku could only protect so much.
When they returned, Izuku was surprised to see Mr. Aizawa waiting for them, along with several other heroes and medical personnel.
"Mr. Aizawa!" Izuku called, landing in front of the trucks as they pulled up. "We've got a lot of new recruits to take care of."
"That's what I heard," Aizawa said with a shrug. "Plus, you radioed ahead that she was-"
"SHOTA!" Fukuado jumped right out of the truck she was in before it even rolled to a stop, and nearly tackled Mr. Aizawa in a hug. "You're alive!"
"So it seems," Mr. Aizawa answered in a dry tone. Then, his expression softened. "It's good to see you too, Emi."
"Aw, you almost sound like you care," Fukuado teased, patting Aizawa on the cheek gently. "And you called me Emi! That's progress! Next thing you know, you'll develop a heart, too!"
"Hmph. Are you well?" Aizawa asked, looking Fukuado over. "I was a guest of the PLF for a time myself. It's not something I would wish on anyone. Especially not you."
"Of course! I'm-" Fukuado suddenly cut off, her smile fading. She suddenly hugged herself, looking sick. "No. No I'm not OK. Shota...they killed my students. Oh God, they killed so many of them. They were just kids." She started to weep, and Aizawa stepped forward to hug her, gently patting her back.
"I know. I've lost a lot of friends lately too. I'm just relieved that you weren't one of them, Emi," Aizawa said.
Izuku turned away, trying to give the two of them a private moment, directing traffic as the trucks unloaded. The ones who had joined Izuku were all fairly healthy, but they would need a thorough medical exam, especially the ones who had lost their quirk. The treatment was still experimental, but Mei had high hopes for its success.
With that done, he turned back to talk to Aizawa, but he was still with Fukuado.
"You're hard to get to laugh as usual," Joke was saying, wiping at her eyes. "But it looks like I'm the grumpy one this time."
"It's alright," Aizawa said, and slowly, a smile spread over his face. "I'm just glad to see you, Emi. I'll smile for both of us, this time."
"I'm glad, I think I'm all out of jokes just now. Imagine that, me, without one funny thing to say!" Joke chuckled, though the tone was more morbid than humorous. "I won't even say the stupid line this time."
Aizawa shrugged. "I wouldn't mind, just this once. If it would make you feel better."
"Maybe," Fukuado sighed. She managed to smile, this time with a little real warmth. "Ok. Here it goes. Let's get married."
"Sure. Seems like as good a time as any," Aizawa agreed.
That made Fukuado snort with laughter. "Ok, that was good! Thanks, I needed that! Imagine that, you, getting me to laugh at a joke!"
"I wasn't joking, but it's alright if you were," Aizawa answered.
That made Fukuado freeze, her mouth open. Slowly, she closed her mouth, head tilting to one side. "You really mean it?"
"I've had to evaluate certain priorities in the past few weeks," Aizawa replied, his eyes full of pain. He reached up, gently smoothing Fukuado's hair. "I don't know how much longer any of us have. But spending the rest of my life with you, Emi? That's something I could live with. No matter what happens."
That made Fukuado burst into tears, and Izuku stepped away again. He could talk to Mr. Aizawa later.
He found Mei waiting for him at the maintenance bay, and hurried up to the charging stand, dismounted from the Ultra Armor, then removed the power suit.
"You're back," Mei said, grabbing Izuku and pulling him into a tight hug as soon as he was out. He was gross and sweaty from long hours inside of the armor, but she didn't seem to mind as usual. "And everyone is OK."
"Yeah, mostly," Izuku agreed. He swallowed. "Um, we found Chisaki with the other prisoners we saved."
"Yes. Tsu told me. He is gone now. That is good," Mei stated fiercely. "Otherwise, I would have had to deal with him. I told Aoyama thank you for doing it."
"Yeah. And hey, we recruited some new people. Emi Fukuado, also known as Ms. Joke, and some students from Ketsubutsu and a few other heroes and some civilians with useful skills."
"That is good! We will have more friends to help us beat the bad guys," Mei declared.
"I hate to ask, but um, do you think you could try your new quirk restoration therapy on them?" Izuku asked. "They had their quirks destroyed with some of those bullets Chiaski made and-"
"Yes, where are they? I will start right now!" Mei declared. Izuku pointed, and Mei ran off, Izuku hard on her heels.
They found the new arrivals in the cafeteria, receiving some much appreciated hot meals. Mei hurried up to Aizawa and Fukuado, a wide grin plastered on her face. "Mr. Aizawa! Are you taking good care of our babies?"
That, of course, had Fukuado spitting her soup all over the table and laughing uproariously. Aizawa simply wiped himself off, looking up at Mei with a blank expression. "Yes, Hatsume. I've been taking the drugs you've given me."
"They are not drugs! They are a viral delivery system for a nanomachine gene editing therapy that restores damage to the QR.16 gene! Which makes them a super cute baby that Izuku and I made."
"Um, I didn't really do much to help you with those, Mei," Izuku said, scratching at his head and feeling slightly embarrassed.
"Well, you are my partner, so you get credit too," Mei declared. "Also, hello! I am Mei Hatsumei! Who are you?"
"I am Mrs. Aizawa," Fukuado replied, her eyes sparkling.
"Oh." Mei cocked her head to one side, thinking. "Are you his sister? You do not look the same."
"Ha! You were right, Shota! She is hilarious!" Fukuado laughed. "No, we're getting married, he finally said yes!"
"Oh! You should talk to my sister, Hari. She is also getting married. I am not sure when, but it seems to be very important," Mei said.
"Well, I was thinking tomorrow, what about you, sweetheart?" Fukkado said, batting her eyes at Aizawa.
"Sure. Beats waiting around, you'd only mope and that would get old, fast," Aizawa deadpanned. Then he managed to smile. "Besides. Life is short. We should enjoy it while we can. The same goes for you too, Mei."
"Yes, I see," Mei said as Kukado laughed and cried, kissing Aizawa. Mei turned, and shouted across the cafeteria, "Hari! Mr. Aizawa says that life is short and he is getting married tomorrow! Why are you waiting?"
"Jesus Christ Mei!" Hari roared back. "It hasn't even been a month!" Then she turned to Togata, a stupid grin on her face. "Well?"
"Um, mom, dad, you busy tomorrow?" Togata laughed, rubbing the back of his head.
"Yes!" Mei turned back to Izuku, clearly ecstatic. "Do you know what this means?!"
"Um, tomorrow's going to be really busy?" Izuku guessed.
"There will be CAKE! There is always cake at a wedding!" Mei cheered. She turned to Lunch Rush, who was still serving up dinner. "You can make cake, right?"
Lunch Rush gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, to the cheers and jeers of the lunch room.
Izuku managed to smile. Somehow, Mei had found a way to cheer everyone in a way that even today's successful operations hadn't managed.
Then she leaned down to Fukuado, whispering something into her ear. By her expression of shock, laughter, tears, and embrace of Mei, Izuku figured Mei was telling her she might just get her quirk back too.
As everyone celebrated, Izuku made his way over to a more morose table in the back of the room, sitting with Tsu and Aoyama.
"Bonne chance to ur 'appy couples, eh? Eet eez good to see such 'appinéz een zese times," Aoyama said, raising a glass of wine to Izuku as he took a seat.
"I guess that's what it means to be a hero, right?" Tsu observed. "To fight so that others can be happy."
"Yeah," Izuku agreed, smiling. "And thanks, you two. You did a hard job."
Aoyama nodded, his old sparkling smile emerging. "A 'ard job fair 'ard heroés. But mon chairié, ai do not think we are ready to bé wed, béfaire you ask. Eet eez steehl too soon, ai think."
Tsu raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think I'd marry you anyway, ribbit?"
That made Aoyama sputter, but then he recovered and winked. "How could you reseest mon sparkle? Mon déui, 'ow could ai reseest yurs!"
Tsu chuckled. "Maybe someday, Princess Sparkles. But you'll have to buy me something nice first, ribbit."
Izuku shared another laugh as Mei sat down with them, and soon he was talking animatedly with her about the potential of integrating a newly developed Eraser Missile into his suit's arsenal. For a time, they could find happiness.
But only with great sacrifice.
Authors Note:
This is your friendly reminder that the French are absolutely terrifying when they go to war.
And you should always beware the silly ones.