Rejected Stones

Jus Bellum Justum

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.