DISCLAIMER: I do not own any aspect of Arpeggio of Blue Steel. This was simply written to give people a possible true ending to the anime series (as it doesn't look like there's going to be a third movie, sadly).

More Than a Ship

"He was not a traitor, Mother...he was a hero."

Gunzou Chihaya stood in the Naval Cemetery in front of the plaque that bore his parents' names. The silence of the cemetery, broken only by the sound of birds singing, was greatly comforting to him, as it was the first bit of peace and quiet he'd gotten since returning home to Yokosuka a month ago.

The five crewmembers of I-401 were considered worldwide heroes for ending the conflict with the Fleet of Fog. Upon their return to Japan, there were countless parades, ceremonies - including one before the Emperor that made Gunzou and Shozou Chihaya the first father-son recipients of the Grand Cordon of the Rising Sun (1st Class), with I-401's four crewmembers receiving the 2nd Class award - and banquets in their honor. Shozou Chihaya had also been posthumously issued a public apology and the Thanks of the Nation by the Emperor. In Gunzou's opinion, it was all a bit much...a simple 'thanks' would've been enough for him. His four friends were of the same opinion, but the attention had helped in some ways.

Sou had finally discarded his trademark helmet, stating that life was too short to worry about allergies. Of course, the fact that that helmet prevented him from kissing Shizuka whenever he wanted was probably another reason he got rid of it, Gunzou thought to himself. I-401's XO and Sonar Operator were perfect for each other.

Kyohei relished in the publicity and the attention, and quickly found that the bikini models whose pictures he'd kept plastered to the walls around his station on I-401 had no problem in acknowledging his existence. However, he also quickly learned that this was a problem for Iori, who - to Kyohei's and everyone else's surprise - decided to claim him for herself.

And me? Gunzou thought, shaking his head as he remembered the first few weeks back in port. He endured each special event like a robot, going through the motions, smiling when needed, shaking hands when asked to, accepting whatever award was being presented, and making speeches when necessary. Then he'd return to the apartment he'd been given by the government and completely fall apart, mourning the loss of his ship.

Iona...losing her had been a pain like no other. He'd suffered painful losses before, certainly...his father at sea when he was a child...his mother to suicide his second year at the Academy...his girlfriend Kotono in a fire the following year...but the loss of Iona hurt worst of all. His former ship haunted his dreams at night, and it was always the same dream...running across Yamato's half-sunken turret, jumping onto the massive gun barrel, running toward Iona, frantically screaming her name...and then she would disappear just before he got to her.

The dream occurred each night, and Gunzou found himself dreading going to bed. He'd thought of buying some sleep medicine, but negated that idea for fear of repeating the dream more than once in the same night. His sleepless nights were becoming more apparent to others, now; the dark circles under his eyes were growing darker by the day, and it was becoming obvious the only time he was eating anything was during the banquets he was forced to attend. His friends - Sou in particular - looked like they wanted to say something, but at the same time hated to impose on their former Captain's solitude.

Gunzou knew it was all going to come to a head soon if he didn't clean himself up and start living again, so this visit to the cemetery was his first step. A final goodbye to his parents, and then he would go to the naval base dock where he first met Iona to say a final farewell to her. He'd known he was in love with her ever since Iona had sacrificed everything but her core to keep him alive after the attack by I-400 and I-402, and he'd thought Iona had returned those feelings, but both had been too scared to voice them aloud to one another.

And in the end, it was too late. He sighed and bent to set down the flowers he'd brought with him. However, there was already something there that made his heart nearly stop beating.

Iona's brooch...the one he'd bought for her in Vladivostok. She'd seen it in a store window, and he'd made the decision to buy it for her, not just because he wanted to give her something, but in the hopes that maybe, someday, they could move beyond their current relationship of merely Captain and Ship. But what was it doing here? The last he'd seen it, she had been wearing it when she disappeared to join the Admiralty Code.

Unless...?

He heard approaching footsteps on the walkway behind him, but ignored them; there were many graves in this place, so encountering other visitors was perfectly normal. His thoughts remained concentrated on the brooch at his feet, countless possibilities and scenarios for its sudden apperance racing through his mind, but he refused to even acknowledge the chance that the unthinkable had occurred.

A shadow fell on the gravestone in front of him; someone was passing by. He sighed and set the flowers down beside the brooch before brushing his fingers over his parents' names one last time.

"Goodbye, Mother and Father."

"Gunzou?"

He froze...was his mind now so sleep-deprived as to produce hallucinations? Perhaps a sleeping aide might not be such a bad idea after all, he laughed inwardly to himself. It's definitely time for me to move on if it's gotten this bad. He shook his head as if to clear it, and turned to leave.

And promptly stopped. She stood in front of him, wearing the same blue-and-white sailor outfit she'd worn throughout their fights with Takao, Haruna and Kirishima, I-400 and I-402, and Kongo...the outfit he would forever picture her in.

"...I-Iona?" he was inwardly embarrassed at how his voice cracked with emotion upon seeing her.

The vision before him nodded and smiled. "I'm sorry I had to leave you alone...I had to clear up some matters with the Admiralty Code." She blushed demurely. "I must warn you now...I'm not as I once was."

Gunzou followed her gaze towards the sea. There, sitting in the harbor, was not I-401, but Yamato.

"H-how...?" Gunzou trailed off.

"I was Yamato's backup program all along," she replied. "When Yamato was destroyed by Musashi, I was activated. When we destroyed Musashi, I gained control of Yamato's ship-self, as you remember from our battle with Musashi."

Gunzou nodded, still unable to speak.

"My ship is now Yamato, and I am the Supreme Flagship of the Fleet of Fog." she smiled hopefully. "Am I also still your ship?"

The question snapped him out of his daze. She had come back to him, even better than ever, and now there were no enemies trying to hunt them down...no government factions trying to gain control of her...nothing but a bright future ahead. A future together.

His response to her question was to walk over to her and pull her into his arms. Her squeak of surprise was cut off when he bent down and kissed her senseless like he'd wanted to do since he awoke from the surprise attack by her sister ships.

She clung to him and kissed him back like she'd wanted to do since discovering her efforts had preserved his life...since she'd wanted to do during their private conversation on deck as they headed back out to sea after delivering the vibration warhead to San Diego. She'd come back to see if there was any chance he would still desire to be her Captain, even though there was no longer a war to fight, and she'd gotten her answer.

The kiss seemed to go on forever, but when they finally separated, he smiled and gazed into her eyes, his fingers caressing her cheek.

"Iona...you are so much more than just my ship."

Thanks for reading...hope you enjoyed it! Please review!