Here was Fubuki's reward for completing the night watch: a brilliant sunrise splattered across the eastern sky, breathtaking in its colors. Six hours of mindless sailing and shining her spotlight on fish had all been worth this. In secret, it was the reason why she'd volunteer for so many of the watches. Sendai openly despised her for it – maybe missing skies like this was why. Or perhaps she was just weird that way. The girl sure did like her night engagements.

Despite the beauty spreading above her, though, the destroyer was tired. She had to turn her back on the sight and make for the base before her legs gave out. It wouldn't be very nice for someone to see her bobbing along, face down in the water like a dead goldfish. Her thighs and calves were leaden, their aching made worse by the weight of the running gear attached to her shoes. Her movement was slow and painful, but at least the sea was calm. "Oh," she let herself whine quietly. "I gotta run more. My stamina is awful."

As the base and town became clearer with her approach, she noticed another ship girl underway and heading toward her. With a white skirt, long, flowing hair, and really big b—wait. It was Nagato. Nobody ever came to meet her when her watches were done – they were usually all asleep – so seeing the Admiral's right-hand battleship steaming at her with a purpose left Fubuki uneasy. Had she screwed up? Did a submarine get through and attack? Nothing seemed to be on fire; she didn't let facts stop her from panicking, though. Propelled more by terror than anything, she raced over and tried to put together a suitable greeting. "M-miss Nagato! Good morning! My watch is complete! Nothing happened! Nothing… nothing happened, did it?"

Nagato did not slow, forcing Fubuki to keep up with her. "Not that I know of. Good work." She only acknowledged the destroyer's anxiety after Fubuki kept following her. "Is something the matter?"

She admitted her fear through a false smile. "I thought you were coming out here to yell at me."

Now Nagato couldn't help but raise a brow. "First, I could do that over the radio, and second, when have I ever yelled at you?"

"G-good point, I just, uh, never mind." Fubuki tried to still her heart with a hand and looked away. "What's going on then?"

The grand old battleship's hair was flowing in the wind as she sailed, leaving her companion slack-jawed in admiration. "I'm heading out to meet a new arrival." She blinked at Fubuki's expression. "What?"

Fubuki literally slapped herself out of her reverie. "N-nothing!" she squeaked, before muttering to herself, "I really need to buy better shampoo." Another weird look from Nagato made her giggle nervously. "Don't mind me. I'm sleepy." Sleepy… but curious. The base had gotten a lot of transfers with the arrival of the new Admiral. Why hadn't this girl been among them? "May I come along with you?"

"I don't see why not."

"Thank you! It's so exciting to meet someone new." Fubuki grinned wide, trying to stave off the tiredness clinging to her eyes. "What's her name?"

The blankness on Nagato's face darkened slightly. "I don't know."

"What?" Fubuki's eyes went forward as she tried to figure out why that would be. "Didn't the Admiral tell you?"

"She doesn't know it either."

This left her so stunned she nearly tripped over a wave. "What the—why not?!"

Nagato replied with a shrug and some awkward silence before deciding it wouldn't hurt to tell Fubuki what she knew. After all, the destroyer – or a previous version of her – had been the new Admiral's very first ship girl. "She's a ship type we've never had before. Something like a battleship, just faster."

Fubuki cocked her head. "Like Kongou?"

"No. This girl has much heavier armaments while still being almost as fast." The glint of the sun off the ocean made her squint. "Since the Abyssal fleet has shifted its attention our way, the Capital Region is reinforcing us. From what I know, her deployment here is a trial run."

"Wow. This really is exciting." The light bothered her too; to alleviate matters she shielded her eyes and tried to focus on the horizon. Against the golden explosion there hovered a black dot, stuck where the sky met the sea. "Contact. Bearing one-one-zero."

"I see it." Nagato's left hand went to her temple. "Vessel off our bow, this is the battleship Nagato and her escort. Request identification." Fubuki's giggling about being called an escort made her lips tighten. The destroyer saw this and quickly ceased laughing.

"I am the battlecruiser Amagi, in transit from the Capital Region. Are you here to guide me in?" Amagi's voice was flat and chilly. Nagato swore it sounded a little metallic, even through the radio.

But she only let it bother her for an instant. "Affirmative. Maintain course. We'll reach you momentarily. Nagato out."

In a minute or so they were on each other. Like them, the new girl was fully armed. She mounted five twin turrets, not four like Nagato, and her combat gear bristled with secondary guns. Unlike the battleship, she was dressed rather modestly – a knee-length gray sleeveless dress with clunky-looking black knee boots, and a flowery black sash around her waist. Her brown hair also flowed in the wind. Fubuki's attention was drawn first to the red bow on the left side of her head, then to the woman's face. It was so much like the visage of her favorite carrier that she couldn't help but comment on it. "Wow, she looks a lot like Miss Akagi."

Nagato nodded her agreement. "No kidding." Everyone slowed to a stop and regarded each other for a bit before the battleship extended her hand. "Welcome to the western front. We're glad to have you." And while Amagi did eventually complete the handshake, Nagato regretted making eye contact. Those gray eyes pierced right through her, as if locked on some object in the far distance. "So, ah, long trip?"

Amagi shrugged her shoulders and glanced off to the side. "It was fine. My fairies are probably tired."

"Right." The three of them fell into a loose formation and proceeded toward the harbor. Fubuki made no attempt to disguise her gawking, so Nagato had to tap her on the shoulder. "Don't stare."

"S-sorry! She just has so many guns!"

"I guess I do," Amagi noted evenly, glancing down at her turrets.

This emboldened the destroyer a little. "So, what class are you from?"

"The class that bears my name." She turned her eyes to Fubuki for a moment.

This brief eye contact was long enough to make the girl shiver. "Aha, so am I! Except I probably have a lot more sisters than you do..."

A dark, bitter cloud swept over Amagi's expression. "I only had one."

Fubuki tried to work the chills out of her spine, smiling wide all the while. "M-miss Akagi, right? I bet she'll be happy to see you."

The battlecruiser's attention moved to Nagato. "My sister is here?" Her tone was far different – it suddenly held a warm quality.

"Not at the moment. She and Kaga are leading some of our newer carriers out on an expedition. They should be back tomorrow."

"I see." Amagi's voice was back to being an audible blizzard.

That quelled any further small talk. Fubuki was too unnerved to ask anymore questions and Nagato could not shake her unease about the strange notes in Amagi's voice. Thankfully, a change of subject was fast approaching. The naval base came into view around a little islet in the harbor, its red cranes gleaming in the sunrise. "How about a tour? Most of the base should be open by now," the battleship said politely.

An instant of consideration passed before she agreed. "I don't see why not."

Shortly afterward, the little fleet reached a huge, rectangular concrete structure. It was built into the cliff and stood partially underwater, with a flat roof and blue lights across the top. Most of its front was dominated by an immense steel door. Fubuki's exhaustion had finally caught her flush; the poor destroyer lagged behind, hardly able to stay upright. "Miss Nagato?" she droned. "Permission to… permission to..." The words were out of reach of her sleepy mind.

Nagato dropped back and helped her along. "You're relieved. Go to bed. I'll handle things from here." Her hand went up to her temple again. "Ooyodo, three coming in."

"Roger that. Stand clear."

The steel door tilted back with a series of rumbling creaks, its bottom rising from the water. As soon as there was enough space between it and the sea's surface for them to move, they went, Nagato leading the way. The water ended at the terminus of a short, dark tunnel, which opened up into a cave-like space clad in concrete and metal and topped off with an overhead crane. Little humanoid creatures climbed and darted about all over. "Take care of Fubuki first," Nagato said, waving to a few of the fairies. "Before she passes out." While they went to work, she looked over at Amagi. "They might need a second to calibrate the crane to your equipment."

"I understand." Her arms went skyward – at first, it seemed like she was stretching, but she kept them there. "Dismissed." she murmured lowly. "I'll see you all later." A sudden flood of fairies emerged from her turrets and superstructure.

Now Nagato understood why she had to raise her arms. Against her better judgment, she decided to try chit-chat again. "So, how was the Capital Region?"

"Boring." Amagi reached behind herself as the crane came down for her gear, flicking a switch when the hook was securely attached. She began to walk as her guns flew away. "I'll be outside."

Getting there was a bit of a journey, up a twisting metal staircase that climbed what should have been an elevator shaft, or so it seemed. At the top there was a landing and a simple red door; beyond it was a stretch of grass, a sidewalk, a road, and to her right, the town that had sprung up to support the naval base. Across the street was a stern-looking brick thing, three stories tall, whose front was propped up by a set of white columns. Amagi let herself get accustomed to the scenery as she waited. Then a thought crossed her mind. "Akagi..." Her thin brows furrowed.

She hadn't expected to see her here. Or, in fact, ever again.

No time to dwell on it, however, as Nagato was already through the door and walking up to her. "The grand tour, then." She pointed at the brick building across the road. "That's headquarters. I'm sure the Admiral will want to talk to you... whenever she wakes up." Her finger then went to the town. "It's not the capital, but the people are nice. You can get some good food near the harbor. The rest of the base is this way. Follow me."

Nagato didn't bother following the road. Instead she cut across it and onto the grass around the headquarters. Once it was out of the way, Amagi could see more structures behind it. Most of them were more modest than the one they'd just passed, at least in height. Hardly anyone else was on the paved paths.

One of those few early risers was Tenryuu, walking at a brisk pace. The sword on her hip bounced with each step. "Oi, Chief!" she greeted at a distance, waving her arm. "Who's the new girl?"

The battleship flicked away her question with a hand. "She can introduce herself."

And she did, with all the cheerfulness of a graveyard memorial. "My name is Amagi."

Tenryuu quickly picked up on her distant demeanor and rolled with it, not even bothering to offer a handshake. Her bravado, however, remained intact. "Hey there. I'm Tenryuu. Heh. Probably heard of me, right? I'm pretty terrifying."

"I somehow doubt that very much."

Amagi's reply left her silent and slack-jawed. The two capital ships walked on without a further word, although Nagato turned back and shrugged at Tenryuu helplessly. "That was a bit harsh, don't you think?" she eventually asked.

Her attention was focused on figuring out the purpose of the buildings around her. "I don't have time to lie. Where are we?"

"These are the living quarters. Up ahead is the bath house and where the Admiral lives." Nagato blushed a bit. "I mean, I'm not saying she lives in the bath house, I meant..."

"I get the point. Where are the docks?"

Now the battleship felt as stung as Tenryuu must have a few moments earlier. "Under the red cranes down by the deployment point. All the factory facilities are around there." Nagato came to a stop in front of one building and nodded at its double doors. "The battleships live here. We only have two, so you more or less have your pick of the rooms." She made way as Amagi approached the doors. "I don't know when the Admiral will want you. Depends on when she wakes up."

Another shrug as she wandered into the building. "I'll manage in the meantime." And with that, she shut the door and left Nagato to stand there awkwardly.

"Well." She put her hands on her hips and frowned. "I don't mind terse, but this is a bit much." Some of the birdsong in the background had abruptly become very loud – she glanced up to find a bluebird perched on one of the metal protrusions of her hairband. "I'm not a statue." Despite her gentle shaking, it refused to leave. "Hmph. If it's late enough for the birds, it's late enough to go wake up the Admiral."


And so she did, but an hour later the woman still hadn't made it to her office. At this point Nagato's hands were tied – if she asked questions now, all she'd get were grumbling, mumbled responses that may or may not even be made of words. So to pass the time, she sat at her desk in the Admiral's office and fretted over paperwork. Requisition forms, mostly, things Akashi and Yuubari wanted for equipment or construction. All the while, her mind kept wandering back to Amagi's metallic voice. "So strange," she breathed, rubbing her eyes. "Why would she sound like that?"

A loud bump against the wall broke her concentration. As she stood up to investigate, two more bumps rang out, then one of the office doors swung open. Through it came a blonde woman in an all-white uniform, complete with a peaked cap. Her hair was tied back in a messy ponytail that ended between her shoulders. "Why did you wake me up?" she demanded sleepily. "Nothing's on fire."

"I find it funny that you needed an hour to gather the mental capacity to complain about me waking you up, ma'am." Nagato walked near her in case she needed help getting to her own desk, but the Admiral made it under her own power – mostly. The moment she was seated, she slumped over and rested face down on the top. "Ma'am. Please. There's something important I need to discuss with you."

"You woke me up at 0730 and nothing was burning. I'm super annoyed."

A suddenly grumpy Nagato crossed her arms. "Ma'am, honestly, you're like a child sometimes."

The Admiral tilted her head just enough to get one eye on the battleship. "Are you ever going to stop calling me ma'am?"

She put on a wry smile. "You are my commanding officer, ma'am, so no ma'am, I will never stop calling you ma'am, ma'am."

"I kinda hate you right now." With immense effort – or at least the appearance of such – she straightened up in her chair and tried to look like a competent flag officer. "Fine. What has your rigging in a twist this time?"

Now the wry smirk was on the blonde's face instead. Nagato cleared her throat with a scowl. "I don't often have my rigging in twists… ma'am. The transfer came in this morning."

This revelation failed to rile the Admiral. "Uh huh. What about her?"

"She shouldn't exist."

That got her attention. "Why not?" she asked, blue eyes glittering with curiosity.

Nagato turned away, staring out the window to focus on the memories. "I was young when she died. The earthquake killed her – or so I thought." The recollection of the work she and Mutsu did to save lives filled her mind for a moment and made her smile. That quickly faded away. "I heard her hull was cracked in two."

The Admiral knew enough history to figure out who the transfer was by now. "The first Amagi. No wonder high command was so evasive. You're right. She shouldn't exist." They shared a vaguely concerned look. "Did she behave herself?"

"Yes, but she was distant. Chilly. That isn't what bothers me. Her voice sounds strange. Almost like her voice box is metal."

The Admiral's head tilted subtly. "Aren't parts of you metal?"

"I, well-" Nagato paused to tug at her thick steel collar and frown, then she regained her composure and spun on her heel. "No! We're flesh and blood! And oil. And…" The more she thought on it, the less certain she was. "Perhaps parts of our bones are steel? I admit, I'm not entirely sure how we work."

"That makes two of us." The Admiral kicked back in her chair and yawned. "Look, she could sound like a kazoo for all I care. All I want is for her to get along with everyone – or at least co-exist with everyone – and fight well."

Movement beyond the window caught Nagato's eyes briefly. "We'll have to wait and see on the latter. I'm not so sure about the former. Amagi strikes me as a little hostile."

Those concerns received a shrug of the Admiral's shoulders. "Well, she's new. And given all the secrecy around her deployment, she's gotta be different. Maybe she just needs some time to settle in."

"Maybe."

All signs of playfulness vanished from the Admiral's face as she stood up and walked over. "You're not telling me something."

Nagato steadfastly refused to look at her. "It's nothing. I'll deal with it." She could feel those blue eyes boring into her soul. "Ma'am, it's-"

"Don't give me that shit, Nagato."

Her shoulders jumped slightly with the Admiral's harsh words. "I just want her to—I mean I'd like her to… hmm." She dropped the act and folded her arms loosely. "No matter what we try we can't seem to construct a new battleship. Mutsu and I are kind of lonely. Now we've got Amagi and – besides the fact that Akagi has her sister back – we have someone new to talk to that isn't terrified of our firepower. I'm hoping she won't get herself transferred out." She jumped again when the Admiral gave her a pat on the back.

"What a softie," she said. "I'm sure the factory will make us another big girl eventually, but, uh, I didn't know it bothered you so much."

She decided to take this as a compliment and smiled. "I keep it to myself."

The Admiral sprung her trap on the way back to her desk. "Maybe that's why Amagi bothers you, you're too much like her."

"Wh-wh—that's not true! That's not true at all!"

"Mhm. If you say so." She busied herself by shuffling through a leather-bound stack of reports. "Could you grab me a cup of coffee? And call Amagi in. Let's see how not alike you two really are."


Approximately five minutes after the announcement, Amagi came striding into the office with a distinctly blank look on her face. As before, her eyes seemed to be fixed on something in the far distance. The Admiral was not here, however; she'd stepped out for some air. Nagato was the only one around to greet her. "Ah, there you are. The Admiral will be back in a moment. Have a seat."

Amagi denied the offer with a shake of her head and examined the office. "There's something familiar about this place."

"Huh?" Nagato joined her in looking around. Nothing stuck out to her, of course – she was too used to the sight by now – but she still tried to figure out what Amagi meant. When this failed, she verbally admitted defeat. "I don't follow."

"The painting."

The piece in question was a faded depiction of a shoreline with a green island in the background. Nagato had never paid it much attention before now. "Hm. Ashigara says the Admiral brought that with her. I'm not sure I share her tastes." She looked over just in time to see Amagi's eyes narrowing. "What?"

"Is Nagato badmouthing me behind my back?" The Admiral came wandering in with a coffee mug in one hand and her hat in the other. "Man, it's chilly out there." Amagi's presence made her stop and look, but the battlecruiser still had her back turned. "There you are. Welcome." When Amagi faced her, the look on the blonde's face went from playful to dumbfounded, then settled on utterly shocked. "I… uh..."

Amagi eyed her with arms folded. "What a surprise. The last time I saw you, you were a Lieutenant Commander. How times have changed."

"And the last time I saw you, ah..." She moved to her desk and sat down roughly. "Ahahahaha… ah… oh boy."

A surprised Nagato couldn't help but state the obvious. "You two know each other?"

"You could say we've met," Amagi replied evenly, her eyes on the trembling Admiral. "No wonder they sent me out here. They must think you can handle me."

She refused to go any further with the exchange and cleared her throat. "I'm gonna change the subject before we end up in classified territory." And then she couldn't think of anything to say. The meeting had left her too rattled to think. "Um..."

"Ma'am?" Almost subconsciously, Nagato put herself between Amagi and the Admiral. "You look pale."

"Okay, we're gonna have to talk about what we're talking about. Nagato, step outside and try not to hear anything secret so I don't get executed."

She looked between her commander and the battlecruiser and blinked several times before relenting to the order in silence. Her posture was unbelievably stiff as she walked out. The Admiral got up and locked the door behind her. "You didn't even have a name," she said while coming back. "You were just a body in a tube. Who decided to call you Amagi?"

Gone was the hollowness in her steely eyes, replaced by bitter, brilliant flames. "I called myself Amagi. After your colleagues were done poking wires into my existence, the least they could have done was let me figure out my own name. And the least is exactly what they did."

The Admiral swallowed hard. "Okay. You're mad. I totally understand, but-"

Amagi was back to her muted self again. "I'm not mad at you. You would know if I were."

"Yeah. I bet I would." They regarded each other warily for a second or two. "Nice bow."

"I guess." She touched it briefly. "When will Akagi be back?"

"Tomorrow evening, if everything is going smoothly. I'd tell her you're here but I have the detachment under radio silence." At last the Admiral had something to smile about. "She's going to be so happy to see you. I can't wait to see the look on her face."

Even Amagi had to smile now. "Yes." She dismissed it with a frown. "I was told there would be an orientation briefing?"

"Yep. And I gotta stick you in a fleet. Actually, probably gonna organize one around you. We don't have many capital ships." She rifled through some loose papers on the desk while making a few low noises. "I need to put you through a shakedown anyway. See what I have."

Amagi ran a hand over her walnut hair. "Whatever gets my guns pointed at the enemy fastest."

The blonde looked up with uncertain eyes, no longer able to keep the biggest question she had to herself. "So, uh, what happened to you after I left?"

"That's classified even above your clearance, I'm afraid." Perhaps the ice was finally broken, or maybe Amagi just didn't care enough to go anywhere else – whatever the reason, she sat in one of the chairs in front of the desk and looked out the window. "I'll just wait here for you to decide, if you don't mind."

"Sure, that's fine." The Admiral looked at her again. "I… uh, I'm glad you made it. For whatever that's worth."

Amagi regarded her with a thousand yard stare. "Now that I know Akagi is alive, so am I."