With his back on the cushioned seat and legs perched over the sofa’s backrest, Rei intently read a novel while continuing to listen in to the several conversations happening inside of the living room.

Iru, Azuma, Murayama and Miue were all discussing the possible plans and strategies they could implement during the destruction of Tokushima’s illegal lab. Kinjou was also present, as his squad would be an active participant during the operation too. They studied satellite images of the surrounding areas of the building, came up with several routes to arrive and leave the target zone and when Mitsu had come earlier to deliver them detailed floor plans of the illegal lab’s structure, they had immediately added them to the discussion.

Rei had become slightly disheartened when he heard Murayama and Miue inform Kinjou they’d travel by military vehicles rather than by train or airplane. But since a joint military exercise with Osaka’s military base was being used as a cover-up for their true intentions, there was little he could complain about. Taking down a second lab and fulfil his mission further would have to do for the time being.

Close by to the table being used by the strategy team, Atsumu, Mitaru, Tsugi, Ikusaki and Mizusaki were researching more about super soldiers and the different serials. Being the only one who had been at a different lab before getting selected to the M serial, Atsumu had become the main lecturer on the topic. Thanks to Mitsu’s backdoor and the floor plans she dug out through it, Atsumu could accurately explain to the research team which was which and where was what, down to the number of super soldiers being kept inside of the facility.

“You’re not going to participate in the preparation sessions?”

Rei lowered the open book to his chest and craned his neck backwards, his grey eyes pinpointing the closing door and the soldier coming inside of the room now dubbed ‘library’ due to the growing number of books and bookcases.

“Murayama-san tasked me with the learning process of human speech patterns,” answered Rei, following Eki with his eyes as he drew closer to the sofa he had occupied. After a brief pause, he reformulated his sentence a second time. “Murayama-san recommended me some books.”

“Yes, that does sound more human-ish,” acknowledged Eki with a small nod of his head. He stopped next to the short side table next to the sofa, where several novels of different sizes and page counts were being pilled. “Will you be able to finish all of these before our departure to Osaka?”

“Reading them won’t be a problem,” said Rei, turning his head against the cushion to also stare at the pile of novels. “What I don’t know is if I’ll be able to accurately apply the knowledge I learned from them. The characters in the novels are all so different and sometimes react or speak in contradictory ways within the same settings. It’s hard to grasp human behaviour and speech patterns.”

“We feel the same way about you,” confessed Eki, slowly taking a seat next to Rei’s sloppy reading position. “It’s quite hard to grasp what you’re thinking or why you act the way you do. And it’s not just you, Rei. That’s applied to all seven of you, Mitsu included. Even though she was such close friends with Tou-san, she doesn’t seem all that bothered that you killed him.”

“I thought soldiers were, to some degree, used to the loss of their comrades when in war periods?” pointed out Rei, sliding his head against the sofa to tilt it slightly. “Were we wrong to think like that?”

“No, you’re not wrong,” sighed Eki. Now that it had been slapped straight to his face, he couldn’t help but feel weirdly self-conscious of his facial expression while Rei was around. He could actually feel his facial muscles and skin tensing up when his eye landed on the small super soldier. “But there’s a large difference between losing a comrade to enemy fire and losing a friend to another friend. Rei, why did you kill Tou-san?”

“Eki-san, why did you become a spy for the Ministry of Defence?” asked back Rei, offering no answer whatsoever to the prior question.

So this is how it’s going to be… ​ Eki silently continued glancing at Rei, who was retributing it with an unmoving gaze of his own. After long minutes of tension, he leaned his back on the sofa’s backrest. “Shouichi and I are descendants of Japanese immigrants that went to live in Germany. One day, we just found ourselves orphans and being used as child-soldiers for the German army. Though in all honesty, we were just war prisoners being used as discardable foot soldiers. If we as much as complained about anything, we could lose a part of our bodies. An officer heard me venting to Shouichi about always being closed inside of the same cell and seeing the same miserable scenery every day. So the next day, I had one less eye to watch that misery…”

“If you don’t want to watch, then you don’t need eyes…?” said Rei, more in the shape of a question than a statement.

“Yes, I guess that’s how they made an example out of it,” acknowledged Eki after a dry sigh. “Years passed and then one day, someone from the Japanese army came to the base where we were being kept. It’s quite easy to find Asian descendants in the middle of European ones. The Japanese officer saw me and came to talk to me. He told me that if I helped him, he would help us. Some weeks later, Murayama-san showed up and took us under his wing. We officially joined the Japanese army and became members of his squad upon our arrival to Japan. And as agreed, I gave the Ministry of Defence any information I got my hands on, even if they were just words being said in the canteen or the barracks.”

“Why does the Ministry of Defence want to have a spy stationed in one of their main bases?” inquired Rei, tilting his head even further. “Doesn’t the army operate according to their wishes?”

“At the time that officer came to Germany, a lot of military coup d’état were successfully happening in several countries,” explained Eki. “In a roundabout way, it’s when the army destroys the government and becomes the government. They were becoming slightly paranoid about a possible power struggle against some of the main bases, specifically Tokyo’s and Nakatani-san. That’s why they put a spy here. Not a new recruit, not a transfer from another base, but a returnee that had been a war prisoner and wouldn’t surprise anyone if he turned out to be an ally to the enemies. Iru is not the only one who can come up with pretty messed up plans that work surprisingly well.”

“Does Ikusaki-kun know you’re a spy?” asked Rei, following Eki with his eyes as he got up from the sofa and started walking to the door.

“Of course not,” chuckled Eki, motioning one of his hands to the doorknob to open the door. “No one but you knows.”

“And you’re also going to report to them all the details of this mission?” asked Rei right after, pushing the book from his chest and onto the sofa so he could sit down straight.

“It’s my duty to do so,” acknowledged Eki, starting to exit the room as he whispered, “...I may not lose another eye but Japan is not lenient with spies and the death penalty…”

The door closed but Rei kept his eyes stuck to it nevertheless.

Minute after minute ticked by, the room silent but still filled with the voices and sounds of a thousand soldiers and a million of rattlings and clatterings, clanks and clinks.

The world knew no silence, even when there was no sound.

“They’re going to get more information on us and super soldiers…” whispered Rei, changing his seating position and opening the book on top of his crossed legs. “Shuuai-kun, what do you think about it? ...Yes, I do think so too. ...Really? Iru-kun might not like that very much. ...Nn. Their paranoia might become reality then.”