“Are you going to talk with the other guys to inform them of what we discussed in the briefing now?” asked Miue as he walked beside his commander, their route directed towards his fellow soldiers and the group of targets sat down on the table.

“I am,” answered Murayama, though a mischievous smirk popped up in his lips as he spoke his next words, the mixture of the two making Miue arch an eyebrow just the slightest. “After I test something out.”

“Murayama-san, Miue-san, welcome back~” greeted Mizusaki, throwing at the two returnees to the group a quick grin. “Is it finally time to pass the baton of babysitters to the second group?”

“Yeah, you’re going to have your briefing with me in a couple of minutes. But first...” acknowledged Murayama, giving a sharp nod with his head. He switched his gaze from the soldiers to the table. “M0!”

“Yes?” answered M0, appearing out of nowhere right in front of Murayama, who jumped back in surprise.

“F-For fuck’s sake, stop appearing like that right in front of us!” requested Murayama, his heart thundering inside of his chest. He didn’t think that his message really went across M0, seeing as he simply tilted his head like he always did whenever something unknown to him showed up. He cleared his throat and took a piece of paper from his pocket, motioning it towards M0 – it was the contract that had been signed by all six Ms and him. “Who taught you to write?”

“Is that really the first question you want to ask me?” asked back M0, his head once again straightening as he expressionlessly stared at Murayama.

“Did you... Did you listen to the whole conversation we had upstairs?” ended up asking back Murayama too, a deep frown on his face due to the question he had obtained instead of the explanation that he sought.

“No, I did not listen to the conversation that you had upstairs,” answered M0, causing Murayama to release an unconscious sigh. “M3 listened to the conversation and told us every single word that came out of your mouths.”

Fuck!, inwardly cursed Murayama, one of his hands curling up to form a tight fist. Maybe instead of going up a couple of floors into a soundproof room, they should have gone to a different building on the whole.

“M1 did,” suddenly said M0, catching once again Murayama’s full attention. A soft smile remained in his lips as he reminisced in the very few events in his past that could be categorized with the human emotion of ‘happiness’. “M1 was the one who taught me how to write and read.”

I knew it, inwardly said Murayama, part of him slightly taken aback by the first smiling expression that he had actually seen on M0. When he was certifying himself that all of the Ms had properly signed the contract, as a reassurance that none of them had forged anything, Murayama had noticed that M0’s and M1’s writing were an exact copy of one another. He would have easily believed it if someone had told him that it had been the same person signing if he hadn’t personally witnessed both of them picking up the paper and pen.

“How exactly did he teach you something like that if you never met personally before?” asked Murayama, his brain delving once again in confusion over all the wrapped and contradictory information he was obtaining.

“I suppose you know how to write and read, Murayama Yamase, taking into consideration that you were one of the people who elaborated our contract and signed it,” started M0, his face returning to its usual state of expressionless. “Then I don’t see the point of explaining how I got to learn it.”

“If I shared with you the methods used by humans to learn how to read and write, would you be willing to share your own methods to obtain the same result?” tried to negotiate Murayama, crossing his arms over his chest while holding the contract with one of his hands.

“But I already know how to read and write,” pointed out M0, his head once again tilting to the right. “Why would the methods used by humans interest me now?”

“Okay, okay. I get it,” ended up conceding Murayama, a frown creasing his brows. He released a soft sigh and deemed that it would be better to drop the whole conversation here before death knocked on his door – all the hair in his body was sticking up and his spine was tingling at how intensely M1 was glaring at him, silently sat down on his seat in the table. “Let me just ask you this then. Did M1 also teach the other four Ms how to write and read?”

At hearing that question, another soft smile popped up in M0’s lips, one that carried extreme pride in the words that were about to exit his mouth. “No, M1 only taught me how to write and read. The others were taught with the human methods that you were trying to use as bait for me to answer your questions.”

“...” Murayama silently observed M0 disappear from in front of him, only to pop up in the next second back on his seat in the table, his body already being wrapped around by M1’s arms, who was still sideways glaring at him while delivering a soft peck to M0’s cheek.

You’re good, M0, inwardly mumbled Murayama, a smirk slowly pulling at the corners of his lips as he continued to keep M0 under his gaze. If M1 is an expert in manipulating others, then you are an expert in reading others.

“They are two, but one at the same time, huh...” mumbled Murayama once away, this time in a hushed voice.

“How do you think that M3 told them about the conversation we were having?” asked Miue, a deep frown on his forehead as he threw a sideways glance to the M in question. “Kuwabayashi was supposed to report to us right away if there was the smallest of hints they were listening in to what we were saying.”

“That’s because Kuwabayashi-san didn’t notice the way they were communicating with each other,” explained Mizusaki, once again butting in the conversation with a knowing smirk on his features. “I thought it was weird the way M3 was constantly tapping his fingers on the table. Initially, I saw it as a nervous habit of his. But when M4 and M2 mentioned out of nowhere that he had misspelt some words... it finally clicked~ M3 was using Morse code to narrate everything that was said during your briefing.”

“What?” interjected Miue, a completely flabbergasted expression on his features as he looked at Mizusaki with eyes wide open. “Morse code? On the fucking table?”

The three soldiers readily looked at the table, all of the targets silently staring in their direction with knowing smirks on their faces – with the exception of M0, void of expression as usual, and M4, who seemed irked for some reason. M3 lifted his hand in the air and wiggled his fingers around at them in a taunting way.

“This is so fucking messed up...” groaned Miue, his eyes slightly squinted to observe the Ms more closely. “No, they are so fucking messed up. I’m starting to agree with James. Bringing them to the base isn’t the wisest of choices. They are scheming some sort of shit and we won’t know about it until our guts are decorating the floor.”

“The orders were to bring them to the base. We don’t really have any choice here,” sighed Murayama, feeling once again just as mistrusting of the Ms as his second-in-command was. “Our priority as soldiers is to comply with the orders from above... even if they end up making us lose our lives. We were fully aware of that when we enlisted in the army.”

“I know but damn it! This is frustrating as hell!” cursed Miue, his tongue clicking loudly in annoyance at the same time as he stomped his foot on the floor. “I feel like they can keep as many dirty secrets as they want and we have to expose all of our conversations and meetings to those fucking augmented ears of them! And those brats freaking dare to rub it in our faces when we find out that they’re sneaking around, eavesdropping and scheming things right beneath our noses!!”

“You’re getting too exalted once again, Miue,” suddenly said Kinjou, an unreadable expression on his face as he walked over to the group while accompanied by James and Hisaka, who had started making the final preparations for departure while the others were or in the briefing or keeping an eye on the targets. “Be careful with your blood pressure.”

“I fucking have a reason to be exalted! And screw blood pressure right now!” grumbled Miue, crossing his arms over his chest as his foot impatiently tapped on the floor.

“Yes, we have more important matters to deal with right now than Miue’s blood pressure,” announced Hisaka, a complex expression on his features as he said those words. “All the preparations to take them to the base are done except for the most fundamental one. The airplane that is supposed to take us back isn’t here yet and when I tried to enter in contact directly with the pilots, I couldn’t establish a connection good enough to understand shit of what they were saying.”

“Have you checked with the control tower or with the counter supplying information about the incoming flights and landings?” asked Murayama, not having expected to have that sort of problem in the midst of everything that could go wrong.

“I was about to go to the counter when I met Kinjou and informed him of this. He said that it would probably be better to inform you directly of this too before I made any other move,” explained Hisaka, pointing with his thumb in the direction from where they had come from and where the counter was located. “I’m going to go there now and ask whoever is on the counter for some details about t—“

“Oh! Can I go instead of you~?” suddenly yelled M5, getting up from his seat and making the chair tumble down on the floor. “Let me go and ask them about it!”

“...Huh?” interjected all ten soldiers in unison, their mouth gaping wide open as M5 cheerfully walked around the table and then motioned over in their direction.

“You... Just what kind of nonsense are you saying?” admonished Miue, feeling one more wave of deep anger tempesting inside of his stomach. “Why the heck would we allow one of you to run around free, interacting with ‘normal humans’ and asking them about our stuf—“

“Because you’re curious about us, right?” interrupted M5, a mischievous smirk on his features as he glanced around to every soldier in front of him. “You are all dying to get to know some juicy details about us~ I want you to stop bothering M0 with your annoying questions so I’ll volunteer myself to give you a little taste of what we can truly do, whether as a mission... or simply to entertain the curious minds of some... Heh, meaningless beings.”

“...!” With a vein popping out in his forehead, the only reason why Miue’s fist didn’t move towards M5’s smug expression was that Murayama had the foreshadowing action of grabbing into his arm and precluding all movements. He yanked his arm free and straightened his back, taking a step forward in M5’s direction. “Yeah? And how does a mass murder machine completely uneducated in the arts of human society thinks that he will be able to talk with a ‘meaningless being’ without being deemed as one of the targets, seeing as everyone inside of this airport knows that you are here?”

“Just watch me, Miue Satoshi,” said M5, his head lowering just the slightest as he shortened the distance between their faces, a defying glint in his eyes. “I’m going to show you now what it means to be a mass murder machine and how superior we are when compared with you humans.”

M5 quickly straightened his back once again and lunged his hands forward, readily tugging at Miue’s jacket in order to take it off.

“Eh!? Wait!” yelped Miue, fighting against the hands that were surprisingly taking his military jacket in the correct way and not making any attempts to discover how it was done first. “What the fuck do you think you’re do—“

“Rule number one for infiltration,” interrupted M5, giving another tug at Miue’s jacket and fully taking it off of his body. He readily put it on himself afterwards – the sleeves were too short on him but it still would serve its purpose. “You need to make them think at all moments that you are who you say you are. So right now... hmm... I’m Miue Atsumu, a 20 years old soldier that at first turned tail and ran away from the monstrous targets that killed all the scientists and workers of the lab. But then decided that it was too risky to leave them with such a small amount of soldiers guarding them and returned to the airport to help out with anything that may be needed.”

After neatly adjusting the jacket on his body, trying to make it seem that it always belonged to him, M5 once again motioned his hands in Miue’s direction and put them around his neck, his fingers delicately taking off the communication device wrapped around his flesh and connected to one of his ears. Yes, delicately – a word that Miue would have never expected to associate with any of the Ms.

The fact that M5’s hands were warm and not icy cold like what it was expected to be found in a machine also didn’t help make his confusion and surprise any lesser.

“That’s why, Miue-san,” continued M5, giving more emphasis to the honorific that he had sarcastically put after the soldier’s surname at the same time he put the communication device around his neck and ear. “Soldier Atsumu is at your beck and call for the short minutes when he will remain as soldier Atsumu~”

Miue threw a quick sideways glance Murayama, who just shrugged his shoulders at the silent question he had sent him through the means of his eyes only.

“Fine. You want to play pretend with us adults, brat?” acknowledged Miue, his suspicion morphing into a frown almost instantly. “Then you better play according to the rules because I’m pretty sure that soldier Miue Atsumu signed the contract after he had a talk with Murayama and Kinjou about rejoining the two squads.”

“Heh...” softly snorted M1, a mischievous smirk being hidden behind M0’s shoulder.

“I may not be as smart as you, M1, but humans aren’t as fucking dumb as you think they are either,” announced Miue, this time directing his words to M1. “You six need to start to understand that downgrading humans to the category of ‘meaningless beings’ can come to bite you in the ass when you least expect it. That and to fucking learn how to respect your elders!”