A/N: Last Sunday, I learned that Jessie James Grelle - formerly Josh Grelle - who plays Tokoyami, came out as transgender. Because of this, I'm changing all mentions of Tokoyami's gender to use they/them pronouns. I realize I probably could've done this sooner, but hey, better late than never. Besides, I wanted to draw attention to the fact that LGBTQ+ rights in Russia are ABYSMAL. Yes, I'm aware that they're not much better in Ukraine, either, but I believe that Ukraine has a greater capacity to change than Russia.

Once the students had changed from their PE uniforms into their hero costumes, in addition to receiving communicators that Yaoyorozu had created, they along with the pro heroes assigned to this mission loaded up onto some JASDF C-130s, while various civilians – Japanese and Serbian alike – cheered them on and wished them success in their mission. The C-130s ended up going as far north as Hokkaido, where the heroes and students landed in Wakkanai, not only the northernmost city in Japan, but also the closest one to Russia's Sakhalin Oblast. Immediately, the pros set about putting up a defensive perimeter, but Todoroki had another idea as she led the students to an abandoned warehouse at the Port of Wakkanai.

"What are we doing here, Shoko?" asked Deku.

Todoroki took a key out from underneath a nearby rock. "You'll see."

Todoroki unlocked a solid steel padlock on a small door, and she led the students into the warehouse, where she turned on the lights. Inside, there were a bunch of wooden crates, marked with warnings such as "DANGER: EXPLOSIVE".

"Help me get these crates open!" said Todoroki.

A bunch of students grabbed crowbars – some of which Yaoyorozu created – and proceeded to pry open the crates. Deku was the first to get his open and was surprised when he pulled out an M16A1 assault rifle.

"Um…Shoko…where did you get guns from?" asked Deku.

"One of my father's top informants is an arms dealer. I pulled some strings here and there, and thus, I stockpiled weapons around Japan."

"THAT'S SO STUPID!" yelled Kacchan. "WE HAVE QUIRKS! WHY THE CRAP DO WE NEED GUNS!?"

"Bakugo's right," said Iida. "These seem rather superfluous, not to mention that we could incur negative press if it becomes known that heroes are killing people."

Todoroki nodded. "I realize some of you are hesitant to use firearms because of your Quirks, but think about it this way: these could not only be a useful supplement to Quirks, but in some cases even an extension."

Mei Hatsume gave a thumbs-up. "Great thinking, Todoroki!"

"I agree," said Sladjana, whose hero costume resembled the dress of the Statue of Liberty, even including a spiked hair band. "I myself have no long-ranged attacks, so this could be what I need to cover for my weaknesses."

Kacchan crossed his arms. "You might agree, but I still think it's stupid."

"I agree!" said Shiozaki. "This is absolutely barbaric!"

"Yeah, I don't really see why we need guns, either," said Tokage.

"Me neither," said Zorana, whose hero costume was a dark blue longcoat with gold trim and matching knee-high boots. "To me, the Staff of Power is sufficient."

Ojiro scratched his cheek. "Maybe for you, but I think a gun could really be useful in my case."

"That's OK," said Todoroki. "None of you are legally required to use a gun if you're not interested. I'm just offering these as a way to improve our chances of winning this war."

Initially, there was silence. Then, there was a chorus of interested murmurs as the students decided that these things could actually be useful after all, so they began taking them.

"HOLD ON!"

Todoroki thrust her hand out, palm facing forwards, and all the students looked at her.

"Before we handle firearms, I have to give you four basic safety rules about using them: 1. Treat all guns as if they were loaded at all times, 2. Keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot, 3. Never point the gun at anything you don't intend to destroy, and 4. Don't fire unless you're sure of your target and what's beyond it. Is that clear?"

The students responded affirmatively.

"Good."

Kirishima responded affirmatively to an AK he'd picked up. "AK! Hell yeah!"

"What you've got there is actually an MPi-KM-72, an East German copy of the AKM. The most notable difference is the brown Bakelite furniture, with earlier models having a wooden lower foregrip. Authentic examples are extremely rare nowadays."

Tsu curiously eyed two Uzis she'd picked up. "I've never seen anything like these before, ribbit."

"Those are Uzi submachine guns, an Israeli design that has been popular with military and police forces for several decades. They're usually chambered in 9mm Parabellum, but it looks like the specimens you have there have been chambered in .45 ACP."

"This is something else!" Hagakure picked up an M76.

"That's the Smith & Wesson M76, an American-made copy of the Swedish Carl Gustaf Model 45 submachine gun. The particular specimen you have is equipped with a Gemtech SG9 suppressor, which I think would go well with your invisibility Quirk."

"Nice!"

"Shoko, I'm interested in trying these out, but how do we use them?" Uraraka jostled her Heckler & Koch MP5K.

Todoroki picked up a Heckler & Koch G3A4. "So, every firearm is composed of three basic components: the stock/grip, the action and the barrel. These may vary depending on the exact type of firearm, but the general procedure is as follows." Todoroki picked up an aluminum 20-round magazine for the G3 and opened up a 200-round box of 7.62mm NATO ammo. "First, fill your magazines with ammo by inserting the bullets between the lips of the magazine and pressing down with your thumb, with the front of the bullet facing away from the lips. Repeat this procedure until the magazine is full, and be sure to fill up more than one magazine so you'll have spares."

Todoroki proceeded to fill the G3 magazine, and other students practiced with their weapons.

"Once you have filled a magazine, insert it into the magazine well with the bullets facing towards the muzzle. Give the magazine a hard slap on the bottom to make sure it locks in place."

Todoroki showed off the procedure, which the students got down all right.

"Once the magazine is inserted, cock the weapon to chamber a round. The exact procedure may vary depending on the weapon, but for example, with assault rifles, submachine guns and machine guns, you want to pull the charging handle back all the way and let go to chamber a round. With HK's roller-delayed weapons such as this G3, pull the charging handle back and up into a recess before inserting the magazine, and then give a hard downwards slap to the charging handle like so." Todoroki did the HK Slap to her G3.

Kaminari hoisted his Heckler & Koch PSG-1. "Oh, ya mean like this?" He too did the HK Slap.

Todoroki smiled. "You've got this, Kaminari."

Deku smiled too as he looked at his M16A1. Even if using a gun was unconventional, he felt as though he could take anyone on now.

RESOURCES TO HELP UKRAINE:

UNICEF: Currently working to help children and families affected by the war, particularly those without potable water or electricity due to infrastructure damage.

RAZOM FOR UKRAINE: Working to provide critical medical supplies for emergency and tactical situations in the field and in hospitals. Also has other ways you can take action, such as contacting elected officials and signing petitions.

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS: Has response teams providing medical care not only in Ukraine, but also in neighboring countries with Ukrainian refugees, such as Poland, Moldova, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia.

UNITED24: A global initiative to support Ukraine whose funds go to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Healthcare and Ministry of Infrastructure.

SIGN MY ROCKET: For a donation, you can have an artillery shell signed.

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