Bello Licentiae Chapter 19: Strategic Intelligence Sass
Summary:
tw: torture, FQM, discrimination, quirk elitism, child abuse, gang mentions 'text' JSL Text thoughts
Since Akira had the day off due to Fat Gum's injuries, they practically buzzed with excitement to see how the presentations went. The format followed BLUF, or bottom-line up front, so their conclusions were on the first slide and the supporting evidence on the following ones. Koji presented first, correctly identifying Mina, Sero, Katsuki, and Midoriya as the agents of Team 1. He made ten dead drops, one meeting, and one brush pass. Team 1 went next, and they struggled due to Koji mostly using animals to pass information. They did correctly identify Kayama as the contact due to the first dead drop Akira found and intercepted two dead drops.
Aizawa raised an eyebrow at the cooperation but didn't say anything against it. Ida went next and identified Sato and Yaoyorozu as two agents of Team 2. He made fifteen dead drops and one meeting. Team 2, which also included Fumikage and Kirishima, had just identified Majima as the contact that morning and intercepted six dead drops. Ida's speed was a drawback in the exercise since while they didn't always see him make the dead drops, their placement wasn't well-concealed.
Jiro only identified Shoto as an agent, although now she suspected Kaminari and Hitoshi as well given who was left. She made five dead drops and three brush passes, forgoing the meeting to reduce the likelihood of her contact being identified. Team 3 also included Tsu, Uraraka, and Kaminari, who were not able to identify the teacher contact and intercepted one dead drop.
Shoji identified Hitoshi, although he had thought Kaminari was another agent. They had suspected Akira but didn't have anything to back it up. She made five dead drops, one meeting, and two brush passes. Team 4 had the longest presentation, and Akira started as the head of their group.
' Team Four partnered with each team in 1A and connected with teams from 1B through our liaison, Monoma, with the goal of mutual information exchange, ' Akira began as Aizawa sat a little straighter, eyebrows raised.
A look of understanding passed over Koji's face, turning to fond exasperation. Shoji nodded thoughtfully, growing intrigued as they continued. Jiro flicked her earjack back and forth as her confidence waned into frustration matching Ida's restless tapping.
Hitoshi clicked the next slide to show pictures of Yamada and the recording of Ectoplasm. ' We have high confidence Shoji's contact is Yamada Hizashi codename Present Mic, identified Ectoplasm as the contact for Honenuki, and identified Eraser Head as the contact for Yanagi. '
"We used box and triangle trailing methods," he continued and clicked to the next slide showing pictures of the intercepted and observed information passes, "and Mori was able to observe a meeting between Shoji and Yamada yesterday. We chose not to intercept one of the four observed dead drops and took evidence of the brush pass that occurred this morning to avoid tipping off our target."
"I also coordinated with Yaoyorozu on the main building roof to observe movements across campus," Ojiro added. "We had end-to-end encrypted group chats with the other teams we were in touch with, and the moles' names were automatically redacted in case of security breach."
"In the interest of information sharing," Aoyama added as the next slide showed several pictures of dead drops meant for other contacts. "We documented any suspicious activity we found and passed it on to our liaison, Monoma. Mori and I headed assistance with decryption and translation."
Aizawa muttered something under his breath, which had Shoji and Jiro look over in surprise, as presentations wrapped up, and All Might looked shocked. "You all did well this week," Aizawa drawled, running a hand down his face. "Not communicating that you should work independently on an intelligence mission was on us. Going forward, each team is to do its own work without knowingly interfering with another. That being said, the intelligence network was impressive to set up in such a short amount of time and with limited resources."
They spent the last half of class going over critiques of technique, communication, and subtlety. As the teacher contacts for 1A entered, Aizawa briefly explained their purpose of critiquing the moles while he did the same for 1B. He also informed them that espionage would be continuing but the teams rotated so each student would get an opportunity to act as a mole. The teacher contacts were randomized, so they shouldn't necessarily expect the same to be involved.
"Eri is with Kayama in the teacher's lounge," Aizawa explained as he led Akira and Yamada to his office. "Before we start, is there anything you need or want from us? Or is there anything that will help you feel more comfortable?"
Akira shook their head and took a steadying breath. ' I wasn't a late bloomer like they're trying to claim. The Wrens started the forced quirk manifestation process when I was five, and I triggered when I was thirteen. ' They had to take a few breaks as memories painfully resurfaced, but when they finally got through, the room lay silent.
' Fuck those bastards, I'm in, ' Yamada signed, expression stormy as his jaw flexed. ' What can I do to help? '
Akira sunk deeper into the chair as some of the tension left their body. ' If you can find someone with similar quirks to what All for One has, that would help limit the unknowns. Don't seek out the Wrens, but pass along anything that might be relevant, ' Akira explained. Limelights here kept surprising them, but they couldn't — and didn't want to — shake the paranoia around them as a whole.
Yamada's expression softened after a moment, and he asked, ' Did I do something different or stop doing something? '
What is he... Akira shook their head. ' No, that's the point. '
After clearing up some logistics questions, the three headed to the teacher's lounge. Inside, Kayama sat on the sofa with Eri, an assortment of crayons and colorful paper spread out on the table. Aizawa and Yamada stopped behind Akira, letting them observe for a minute before Akira stepped into the room. They gradually increased the weight in their steps until Eri jolted up.
Her eyes lit up as she ran over but stopped short, uncertainty filling her face as she hunched into herself a bit. Aizawa crouched with a soft smile. "Do you want to show us what you've been working on with Auntie Nem?"
Eri looked to Akira, who gave an encouraging smile, and nodded shyly. She led them back to the table where a few flowers and figures were interspersed with much darker colors with abstract shapes. As she explained each piece, Yamada's smile grew more forced as his eyes grew sadder, and Aizawa twitched occasionally under his practiced façade. Kayama held a quiet understanding in her eyes, and Akira wondered if that came from the victims she usually interacted with or her own past.
After making sure Eri was settled for the night, Akira let Aizawa know they were heading out and probably wouldn't see him on patrol.
He raised an eyebrow, "Probably?"
Akira shrugged with a small smirk, ' Never know where the night might lead. Should be pretty quiet, though. '
Akira relished in the freedom of roof hopping they couldn't quite get in the parkour course at U.A. They spent some time Friday and Saturday nights with Blue Fang, catching up with old friends and meeting new members. On Monday, Aizawa slipped their file for the week with homework he was returning, and Akira grinned. This'll be fun .
On the train, Akira listened bemused as Kirishima animatedly gushed about working with Uraraka and Aoyama since he only really knew Sero out of his group. I'll have to check with Vlad whether I can use information learned off campus , Akira mused as they waited to see how much he would say. The moles were never clarified as part of a team or not, so... fair game?
"So who are you working with this time around?" Kirishima grinned over at them.
Did he... did he honestly forget? Akira kept the excited smile on their face as they leaned across the divide conspiratorially. ' I actually want to play it close to the vest this round. Since we can't work together, might as well go with a completely underground approach. '
"That's so manly! I can't wait to see your presentation at the end."
Fat Gum and Suneater were on desk duty recovering from their injuries, so Mortis and Red Riot patrolled with the backup evening shift. The patrol was pretty quiet, mostly solving small personal disputes and a couple purse snatchers. The shopkeeps and bakers they were slowly learning the names of checked in, offering gift baskets and sending them away with a few extra goodies wrapped up. Mirage and Sandpaper showed Mortis the signs for their neopronouns, lun and hu, respectively. Bloom led the patrol since he'd been a sidekick for the longest, Mirage and Sandpaper only having their full licenses for about a year.
When they got back, Akira made their way to their room, tiredly waving to Kirishima as they left the elevator. A flash of their keyfab opened the door, crutches dully thumping against the carpet. They froze as the door clicked shut. Straining their ears, Akira let their capture scarf silently rise about them. There . Slight shuffling, muted voices, someone— no, some people were above them.
Akira warped onto their balcony, phone in hand with the locator app open as they directed their clone through their more familiar routine. With Kurogiri safe, the League wouldn't have access, so a new threat? Akira carefully leaned out to check the balcony above. Clear. But why would they... Akira silently huffed as they warped and the voices became clearer. Peering between the blinds, they could just make out the group gathering in what should be an empty room, clearly trying to move quietly but still making small noises.
Edging closer to the sliding door, Akira stayed just far enough from the glass to avoid fogging it. Inside, they could hear muffled whispers. "And you're sure they don't suspect you?" Uraraka asked as Kirishima walked in.
Akira grinned as the train ride made much more sense now. Clever play.
"Of course not!" Kirishima stage whispered back as the others shushed him. "Who would tell their target their own team members?"
Tapping off the locator app, Akira took a picture of them before slipping back into their room. They waited until they could hear Fumikage and Dark Shadow making their way down the hall before they warped next to the bird, keeping their steps in time with his just in case as they slipped into his room with him. They blinked in shock as dried flowers and leaves as well as decorated pinecones interspersed with the usual decorations in the dark room.
reaper: I want to check how far I can get from my clones before they disappear
raven: do you want assistance?
reaper: if I leave a clone in here while I walk away,
can you tell me when it disappears?
Fumikage jumped and looked around curiously while Akira grinned. They warped just to the side and had their clone wave.
reaper: also my trackers are in the room above mine
Kirishima, Uraraka, Sero, and Aoyama aren't your team
' Sensei said don't help? ' Fumikage signed, fidgeting as he looked around at the new additions.
reaper: technically he said "each team" should work independently
whether the moles are considered a team is up for interpretation
Fumikage sighed in exasperation but nodded, shushing Dark Shadow as they quietly trilled. Akira dropped the clone currently in the room and walked toward the balcony doors, running the distance calculations in their head for a minute before taking a step back and warping onto the grass under a tree. They kept an eye on the balcony of the empty room for a moment before jogging down the pathway, keeping a steady but quiet pace to avoid any evening runners.
Akira glanced at their phone every few seconds as they distanced themself from the dorms, curiosity growing as they still hadn't received a text from Fumikage. They eventually slowed to a stop on the other side of the swimming pool and texted Fumikage. To their surprise, the clone was still present, and checking their mindscape, Akira had a thread leading into the distance where they could make out what was probably the shadow. Curious, they tugged to make it warp, and a few seconds later, Fumikage asked if they meant to do that. Oh, I can definitely work with this, Akira mused as they headed back.
Armed with their notes and red herrings, Akira pinged Recovery Girl that they needed their prescription renewed and set off towards class with their crutches. The autumn air was getting nippy, and while it wasn't as bad as the oppressive heat and humidity of summer, Akira knew Aizawa and Taishiro would get on their case about not accepting help if they weren't proactive. Akira tiredly waved to Ida as they passed, warping once they knew he wouldn't talk with them.
They easily warped past the door into Vlad's class to place one paper in the podium and one into his pocket. Slipping back into their own classroom, Akira planted another slip under their own desk. All encoded, of course, with different ciphers so they couldn't easily be compared to derive the giver and receiver. Especially since the one in the podium used the same cipher as Tsunotori was using.
Akira kept to their usual routine for the most part, only deviating when they sent a clone with their phone to pick up on any conversations they needed to hear. Vlad unfortunately confirmed they couldn't directly use information learned off campus, but it could inform their conclusions as long as they had evidence collected on-campus to back it up.
raven: my community celebrates Mabon this Saturday.
Would any of you be interested in attending?
reaper: Is that an equinox thing?
raven: yes, it's a Pagan celebration
peppermint: do we need to be pagan to join?
raven: no
Akira smiled at their phone, glad Fumikage decided to open up. The new decorations and his altar made a bit more sense now. Since it was a potluck, they could bring dishes but weren't expected to as long as he got a headcount. Akira decided on caramel apple cider cookies since they looked easy enough to make and fit the theme.
On Wednesday, free of off-campus activities, Akira made an excuse of quirk training to slip away and find Vlad training his own class. He passed a note as they walked past, making their steps just loud enough to be heard by the teacher. They in turn made a false dead drop behind some equipment where he usually watched.
Akira did notice a tail coming out of heroics and easily slowed to talk with Hitoshi as Aoyama realized he'd been made. He skirted around them, continuing in the direction of the dorms but not quite towards them. Akira watched as he skirted into the trees while they and Hitoshi meandered into the main building. They smiled slightly as they heard another set of footsteps then a pair join them and realized Hitoshi was the head of a triangle around Fumikage and using Akira as cover.
' Where are you headed? ' Akira asked just a smidge broader than needed. ' I don't usually see you around here after heroics. '
"Just thought we'd chat while you head to your appointment," Hitoshi recovered smoothly, not even glancing behind themself. "We don't see each other as much now that we've got work studies."
Akira nodded along, but the slight falter in Fumikage's gait left them satisfied. Soon after, he ducked down a hallway and the other two followed. Hitoshi, to their credit, didn't break stride and walked Akira to their therapy session.
On Friday, Akira and Kirishima were slated for training at Fat Gum's agency so they could present, and Fumikage had the day off to present. Akira pulled Aizawa to the side before heroics, holding back a grin as they asked, ' Can I present after my assigned group? I can name all of them now if need be. '
Aizawa narrowed his eyes, regarding them suspiciously. "Why?"
' I want to see what they picked up on, ' a small, mischievous smirk spread across their face. He sighed and agreed after they revealed the names.
Fumikage also managed a couple red herrings, although his team of Hitoshi, Kaminari, Katsuki, and Sato caught on. They didn't identify Aizawa as his teacher contact, though. Tsu used her camouflage to get away with most of her dead drops, although her team of Ojiro, Shoto, Midoriya, and Yaoyorozu did get photos of her brush passes to Snipe. Mina had the clever idea of using a slow-working acid to destroy evidence of her dead drops but didn't quite get the formula right at first, so had a few missed dead drops. Once she got the hang of the formula, she got them through, but her group of Shoji, Ida, Jiro, and Koji were able to gather evidence of their existence.
"We're changing the order for our last group," Aizawa drawled to All Might's surprise. "Mori requested their group go before them and was able to identify each member."
Kirishima deflated as he walked up with Aoyama, Uraraka, and Sero. Aoyama went first this time, opening with, "Given Kirishima and Mori's train rides to Esuha, we tried a bold strategy for concealing our movements. Who would suspect that one of their pursuers would give up the identities of the other group members?"
A look of understanding crossed Aizawa's face as he glanced to Akira. Not the worst strategy to employ, but definitely a bold move. They went over the encoded notes they found and the three encryptions and handwriting styles used to write them. Knowing the possibility of red herrings, they held onto what they believed to be the keys and treated each note as a potential lead. They stayed split up for the most part, covering what they could of campus and observing from the room above Akira's in case they snuck out. They did run into a couple of the corrective notes Akira left and took the advice to Aizawa's chagrin, although there was a lingering spark of pride in his eyes.
As the icing on the cake, the team had narrowed it down to Vlad and Yamada but went with the latter. They had eliminated Aizawa due to seeing a meeting between him and Fumikage.
Akira got up and started their presentation with the picture they captured of the group on the first night to their crestfallen faces. Kirishima looked like he wanted to melt. ' First, I want to say that it was a good strategy, and I initially fell for it. It's dangerous, however, to underestimate your target's paranoia. I was ready to ping my location to Aizawa when I warped to the balcony and instead overheard you talk about your strategy. '
Akira went on to explain their encryption methods, red herrings, and true path of communication. Aizawa sighed at their admission of helping the other moles, drawing a hand over his face as Akira went over how they used their quirk to their advantage. The other teachers involved came in to give more critiques and praises, talking about how their quirks could have been more efficiently used or relied on less.
"So what is your range, Mori?" Midoriya asked, eyes bright as his hands twitched.
' I actually don't know, ' Akira shrugged, drawing a curious look from Aizawa. ' I walked from the dorms to the other side of the pool, and the clone in Raven's room was still active. '
"Do you want to do distance tests?" he lit up.
' We'd have to get permission first based on that first test, but sure. '
Notes:
ah, Strategic Intelligence Society (SIS) was truly a treat. It's where I'm drawing inspiration for this espionage training, as we did something similar to this over a 3-day period where we'd stalk an assigned officer of the club to see if they're the mole without getting caught. The last year I was in SIS, we were assigned to an officer and had to intercept or document as many dead drops as we could without getting caught. I even found a sticky note from what was probably a dealer while looking for them 😊 I did lowkey pull a Kirishima during that op, though lol I was friends with the officer we were assigned to, and we had already planned a meetup for him to fix my computer. I was a little too casual about it, though, and not subtle enough in my questions. Come to find out at the debriefing a dead drop was under the cushion of the chair I sat in Attachment styles in children is really interesting, would recommend it as a research jaunt. I remembered they're really informative on behavior, especially in early years, so backed up what I remembered from my developmental psych course. Figured I should give the backup evening patrol names at least lol there are a few background characters I might not get to showcase for a while if at all. Like how I've had Akira's dad's profile since writing Mortem Ad Wrens Chapter 23. The villain had such a good quirk in the original chapter so I ended up reworking it for Libertias aut Mortis.
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