"KYAAA"
"AH! H-huh? Hagi! What is it? An enemy attack..!?"
There come no reply as Arashi looked around the dark room.
"..Hagi..?"
She could hear the light sound of sobbing before her eyes came to and she was able to make out the shapes of various objects around the room. There was no sign of an enemy attack, fortunately. Without needing to think she pushed off the covers and climbed out of her bed before carefully descending the ladder from her bunk. As she reached the floor she began scanning the bed below hers, spotting the faint outline of someone sitting up in the bed. The said person sat with her face buried into her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs, hugging them tightly against her chest. Even in the dark Arashi could see the girls shoulders moving slightly to the sound of sobbing. It was enough to break Arashi's heart in two. Slowly and carefully, she crawled into the bed and brought herself to a seated position next to the crying girl. "..Hagikaze.." she spoke, barely above a whisper. The said girl looked up, tears streaming from her yellow eyes. "..Hey, It's okay, Hagi.." Arashi whispers as she wraps her arms around the purple haired girl, pulling her close. "..Arashi.." The girl spoke, her lips trembling. Arashi held her close, occasionally stroking her hair to calm her down.
"..A-Arashi..." Hagikaze began, "..I-It was so cold... I.. couldn't see very well and.. and.. it hurt. It hurt so much." she stopped, unable to finish due to the tears returning.
Arashi gently rubbed her back. It pained her to see Hagikaze this way. But, there wasn't much she could do to make this better. The most she could do was comfort her, like always. She knew this was normal among ship girls, but, still.. this was Hagikaze. Her Hagikaze. If there was a way to make the nightmares go away. A way to release her from this pain. She would do it. At any cost, she would do it. Her hands clenched into fists, unconsciously, as she grasped Hagikaze's clothes.
"O-ow." Hagikaze whimpered softly.
Arashi quickly released her grip, rubbing at the spot she had grabbed. "S-sorry, sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you... Are you okay..?" she asked.
"Mm.. Y-yeah..." Hagikaze answered as she pressed herself further against Arashi, who reciprocated the action by hugging her tighter.
"...The sea was really cold.. I was freezing.. more than that, I was scared. It was really dark and I was all alone.. It was scary.. A-Arashi.. I'm so scared.."
Arashi felt Hagikaze grab onto her clothing and pull herself closer, despite already being squashed together. A few tears escaped from Arashi's own eyes as she fought back against her anger. Of course, she wasn't angry at Hagikaze, how could she be? Hagi hadn't asked to become a ship girl, she was born one, like everyone else. Ship girls were around to protect humanity from Abyssals. But, at what cost? Hagikaze didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve to have nightmares constantly haunt her. She didn't deserve to be scared of the dark. She didn't deserve to live in fear of sinking.
"Hagikaze!" Arashi suddenly shouted. She placed her hands on Hagikaze's shoulders and gently pushed her back to look into her eyes.
"..Y-yes?!"
"Damnit, Hagi. You don't deserve this! I'm gonna personally sink whoever made you a fleet girl. How?! How could they?!"
"A-Arashi.. Stop-"
"No. I wont ever forgive the one responsible for this! Even if it is fate... I can't- I won't... Argh. Don't they know how precious you are?! Don't they know how much you mean to me- to everyone?!..."
"..Arashi..?"
Arashi moves her hand against Hagikaze's cheek and gently wipes away her tears. The small gesture seems to calm them both down. Letting out a sigh Arashi continues, "..Look, Hagi. I'm sorry. I can't make the nightmares stop or take away your fear of the night.. But.. I know that it'll be okay. I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you. I'll talk to the admiral again about not making you go on night battles. If he doesn't listen this time, I'll pound some sense into him or something.. But, I promise you, I won't let anyone or anything hurt you.. You won't have to worry about being alone. I'll be there for you. Mai and Nowachi, too. You won't have to be cold, because I-er, we'll warm you up. At night, we can even stay with you, if you'd like. You wont have to be scared anymore... I'm right here.. Always, okay?" she finishes as she gently pinches Hagikaze's cheek. The said girl smiles, her eyes soft and warm, "Okay. Thank you, Arashi." she says, a light blush on her cheeks as she covers Arashi's hand with her own.
"U-Uh.." Arashi says awkwardly, blushing now. "L-lets get some sleep, yeah?"
"Mm. Good idea. Uh.. You'll stay with me, right..?"
"You bet~!"
Hagikaze moves into a laying down position as Arashi carefully covers her with the blanket before getting into a comfortable position next to her, pulling the blanket over herself as well. "G'night, Hagi." she whispers. Gently, Hagikaze shifts closer, resting her head against Arashi's chest. "Night.." she replies tiredly. All that crying must have exhausted her. But, was that really the right thing to say? No body knows how fleet girls actually come about. Weather they're fate or made, it's all a mystery. Still.. Hagikaze is special to Arashi. Gently, Arashi wrapped her arms around Hagikaze, making sure not to wake her up. She lay there for a few moments, listening to the soft breaths Hagikaze took before slipping away into a deep sleep.
