For the last five minutes, Takao had watched the four-bladed fan rotate. Her eyes followed its circular motion, the blades seeming to slow as her sight followed the spin. She felt too awake for five in the morning, the last sensations of fatigue no longer tugging at her eyelids nor caressing her joints to slumber. The softness of the bed had dulled and the pillow's warmth now tepid; her body seemed to want to push her from the little sleep she had enjoyed.
Reluctantly, the cruiser relinquished the blanket, stifling a a sigh at the brisk chill. She'd long since grown used to it but it was no less unwelcome now, doubly so when she wanted less and less to do with the room. As she retrieved a pair of pants and a simple shirt and vest, she glanced over to the night table.
The small white bottle stood there, exactly as she had left it yesterday and before her uneasy slumber when she'd last trudged into her room. The cap was still sealed shut.
It had been the one thing letting her survive the last few weeks. On the open sea, over a decade of experience made her respected and admired in equal measure. Yet here she felt dependent, a far cry from her professional career. All hopes of steady sleep and being able to face tomorrow rested in whatever compounds comprised the small brown-white pills.
They did their job, even if those strange black dreams would haunt her, but she felt a little guilty each time she washed them down with a quick glass of water. Slowly she turned to look over her shoulder but a mere glance was never enough.
Takao's hand gently rolled over the slack form of a slender man, youthful and spry. He was around her height, his hair a similar short and tidy nature, but his was a pure snowy white. The name ship found her breathing unsteady, quickening as she looked into his shut eyes, his face bearing the same pensive expression it was when he was examining UAV footage or consulting with the staff sent to the intelligence division's office.
What misfortune; the only time they could spare for one another was when they barely had any. She wondered if he'd caressed her the same way her hand trailed across his cheeks, down his chest, across his back. Her first smile of the day came as her fingers trailed familiar paths, lightly brushing her nails on the faded red lines.
It wasn't the time for that, she knew. He always slept easier than her and she remembered the a familiar warmth enveloping her body in the late hours of the night and morning, if only for the fleeting moments her consciousness remained.
Leaning down to his lips, Takao placed a quiet kiss, pausing for a moment to see if perhaps his eyelids would move. Yet he remained still, his breaths near silent.
Packing away a few things into a handbag, Takao quietly closed the door behind her.
The naval base was a little eerie at night. The old lamps of the courtyard did not provide a great degree of light and when they did, it was a kind of warm texture as if looking at an old colour photo. The rows of stone arches under the compounds were beautiful in the day but in at this late hour they looked ominous and shadowy. The wind would whistle as it travelled through, normally bearable but Takao found it a bit off-putting when she had neither coffee nor sleep.
She had to admit, it was scenic against the lightening hue of the sky. No rays of light broke through the clouds but it was not totally dark. What might have been a notable chiaroscuro effect between the electric lighting and the shadows around them was muted by the faded white light from the moon, settling gently against old stone and posters plastered against the surfaces. She recognized a few of them; it was mostly Naka and her sisters with Maikaze and Agano as back-up dancers. Against the warm light of the lamps they looked almost like the same class, especially when the latter two dyed their hair brown and added buns on their heads.
A catchy jingle bounced in her head but she pushed onwards, steps ringing out under the arches. She understood the appeal but it felt somewhat embarrassing to consider following Atago along to attend. Naka's sugary sweet voice grew a pitch louder and her footsteps quickened. She hoped Maya or Choukai would take the ticket; she had promised the blonde she'd go only if there really was nobody else. The mental image of her cheery younger sister yelling her signature catch-phrase in time with the synthesized beats felt either very uncomfortable or terribly unbecoming.
The cruiser's pace increased, her eyes scanning the windows to see if perhaps one of the destroyers had gotten up early. She wouldn't have minded being scene but she preferred the solitary quiet of night and early morning. To acquire that, she would need to move further away from the cobblestone and brick and closer to the sloshing waves. The phantom sensation of metal rigging against her skin was inevitable; a ghostly presence that followed kanmusu and lingered for years. Some found it unpleasant but for Takao it was something she bore with pride; almost like a tattoo or a scar, a reminder of her power and innate inhuman nature.
The effect faded; a ghost of adrenaline rush and combat readiness, hovering distantly as she walked by the stone barrier traded glances with peeking rays of light. In years prior this coastline would've been riddled with gun emplacements, dragon's teeth like barriers, and hidden minefields. It had resembled a long line of jutting urchin spines and shark's teeth; all promising gruesome dismemberment and gunfire impalement towards their wraithlike foe.
Now all Takao saw of it were a few metal plates bolted into the ground. One day, they might need to turn these rocky shores into a militarized barrier again.
She took a detour to the right and took in a deep breath of the salty air and that leafy, earthy smell of the busy trees that shaded this path. A few moths casted their fluttering shadows over her as she walked to a familiar spot. It was a familiar path, one that allowed access to a few locations of personal note to the ships and personnel and almost as if entering a procession, her thoughts cleared. The path remained nameless after all these years but its significance felt beyond a mere ephemeral categorization. This very cement she walked on was hallowed if only for the purpose of those who walked across it.
The woody barrier broke and once more, the still dark morning greeted her, the crashing waves on the rocks to her right, just beneath the stone barrier. To her left, a mossy, overgrown hill and the shattered wreck of a massive three-barrelled turret, emerged from the overgrown foliage like a hunter's rifle. Nature had swallowed twisted metal and jagged edges in its embrace and where once blast-scars and open blast marks were visible was now inhabited carpets of fuzzy green moss and tangling vines. She could see the partitions and footsteps and hear wrappers and empty bottles rustling inside.
To her right, an old bench and a long black strand that danced in the wind. In the low light, her enhanced senses made out the purple fabric with white trims and the tall, powerful figure standing there, hands in her uniform's pockets. The most distinctive features was the long ponytail, inexplicably smooth and almost like a long black thread. The serpentine feature split halfway into two smaller tails, each with a pointed ends.
Hints of a strong and misty smell wafted up and Takao spotted her hands wrapped around a tubular grip, the rest of its body hidden behind the backrest of the bench.
"Typical of you."
The tall woman glanced over her shoulder at Takao's words but otherwise remained still. She neared with a smile; of course she would be drinking this early. It wasn't an old habit of hers; she had more self-discipline than that but she had given up wishing she would drop this recent practice. Her friends must be to blame.
"Perhaps I would be surprised if you were here sober but the uniform is a nice touch. I don't suppose we'll be walking down together will we?" Takao brushed her hand against the back of a white gloved palm.
Slowly, the bottle's mouth rose to her lips and she breathed in deep the pleasant scent. Takao took the bottle, taking in a light draw. The cold burn down her throat wasn't the same as coffee but it would do the trick in sharpening her up. She was grateful that as a ship, they needed far more alcohol to be inebriated; she didn't want to go to her staff meeting with anything more than hint of sake. Her eyes tensed slightly and travelled to the edges of her partner's sight, light brown irises finally meeting Takao's pinkish red.
The woman motioned for her to come forward, to stand a little closer. Next to her, Takao was maybe half a head shorter without her combat gear's heels. She bore a curvier, slightly stocker shape to her, more traditionally feminine and softer in her features. A quick glance over her uniform and she raised an eyebrow; impeccably smooth and even the buttons looking rigidly in order, the other ship's kai ni uniform had a rigid orderliness, the wrinkles across her arm, dropping back to her side, disappearing smoothly into the tough purple fabric.
"It's a bit early to be returning to the Wall. I didn't peg you as sappy enough to be drinking before your yearly pilgrimage." She continued, taking a seat on the bench. "Did barely a quarter of a bottle really addle the mighty Nachi's senses so early in the morning?"
"You really don't take well to silence." Nachi replied. Before Takao could retort, a blur of motion effortlessly removed the bottle from her hands, realizing she was gripping air and not glass. Nachi raised the rest and the sake's contents dwindled nearing half. She casually dropped the bottle and Takao cursed as she hastily shot forwards to catch it, clumsily snagging it in a hugging motion against her bosom.
Nachi dropped down onto the bench and spread out her arms and Takao rolled her eyes. Her uniform, formal as it was, did little to hide her chest straining just subtly against the tense fabric. Such crudeness; she really hadn't changed at heart, same with that wolfish grin. Takao remembered the way she'd be teased by her in the past. Already she knew-
"Before you say it, I wear shorts now." Takao retorted. Nachi smirked and chuckled but before her mouth could open, Takao's glove nearly smacked her lips. "Next time I hear you're suggesting I borrowed them from the Kagerous, I won't miss."
"A bold claim; though aren't you selling your waist size a little small?" Nachi's hand raised quickly to shield her face but Takao's foot went harder and faster into her heel, drawing a grunt from Nachi and a seething inhale from her lips. "Stingy as ever."
The short haired cruiser crossed her arms and rose her nose but even she had to smile. It was a familiar song and dance for both; the stiff superior officer and the mouthy young warship that once fell under her command. Small talk would occupied them; who was in love with whom, outrageous tales from the battlefield, ribbing at their superiors, and the daily news.
Takao however wasn't content to let the morning hours pass so lightly. She was the first to rise to her feet, stretching back her arms and feeling tight muscles loosening with the strain. Nachi followed and swirled the bottle; there was roughly half of it left now.
"Aren't you here a day early?" Takao had flipped open her cell phone, taking a quick peek at the date and flicking at a few icons. "The time is correct but you would always wait for the rest of us. Is something wrong Nachi?"
Nachi spun the bottle and caught it, stuffing it into one of her pockets. It stuck out awkwardly but she had little caring, slipping her hand into Takao's. She gave it a teasing tug but just as the short haired one turned to walk down the path, Nachi stopped her. She was staring off into the horizon again; it was almost forced.
"We aren't pretending to be a sappy old couple, Nachi." Takao sighed as she stood by her.
"You've taught me patience before. Just stay a while again. Say, how is your new fleet?" She was smiling even if it was hard to see under the dim light of the moon. Not a cocky smile but a warm, natural one. Not uncommon but normally, she only smiled as such under specific circumstances.
They were going to walk down there sooner rather than later. Nachi might enjoy delaying but Takao was too experienced to fall for it.
She didn't find it unpleasant or irritating to stand with her, whatever it was Nachi was thinking.
She pondered her words carefully; Nachi's eyes didn't shift her way, concentrated on the moonlight reflection across the swaying waves.
"It's taking time. I don't like to be nostalgic or to compare," She paused for a little to see how her old friend would react. "But it's becoming something of its own. Your eldest sister, she's quite something. I can see where you got your guts from. You must have had quite an impact on her, growing up here; she envies your strength."
Nachi simply smiled, her mouth slightly open. The ghost of a conversation hovered between them but her response became a smile. The praise was nice, but she wanted to hear more. Takao's slight nervousness at Nachi's silence drew a gradual smile to both their faces.
"Shouhou… she's improving. I see a tension in her I don't see in Souryuu or Kaga. She says it helps her focus but I fear it's giving her tunnel vision. She learns as quick as Katsuragi did thankfully and we enjoy her company. She's an easy one to tease, even when we're relaxing. Boastful a bit on pub nights, especially when Zuikaku is around. Somewhat clueless as to finer details of the fleet... I'm glad you didn't know her growing up."
Nachi wouldn't resist and looked away sheepishly. Shouhou was truly clueless sometimes and Takao wasn't the first she heard it from. Now, she fully believed it. "A corrupting influence upon the youth? Perhaps I would've taught her a thing or two, taken off a bit of her edge." She grinned, nudging against Takao's shoulder.
"And I hoped your kai ni and ensuing promotions would've put a stop to that. You're still so terrible; how is Kiso more mature?" Takao grumbled. While the old fleet had broken up, Kiso was the only one who hadn't been reassigned away from the two heavy cruisers, sticking in under Takao's command.
"Well, Kiso never got to rib you the way I did didn't she? But Kiso, don't tell me she gets up just to salute admirals on their way to briefings and enjoys secretary work now."
"She'll show actual courtesy and respect for rank, keeps the bad-girl tomfoolery to a minimum, and you wouldn't believe how well she took to the dress uniform." Takao stated as a matter of fact, watching Nachi's eyebrows raise and stay raised for half a minute. "What? She never was 'discount Tenryuu'. That joke must have made her tired of being a pure miscreant."
"Fine, she was Tenryuu's second sister ship." Nachi said, her eyes narrowing a bit. She paused for another witty snapback but none came. Her foot shifted, boot grinding against the pavement and there was an anxiousness to her; her fingers curled and tightened. Takao wondered if she'd played it too close to home.
The bottle sloshed and Takao removed it from her pocket, raising it into her lips as it dropped to a little under half. Nachi paused to quickly take it back, eyeing her oddly.
"Coffee craving… needed a substitute. I'll ask Graf for her strongest afterwards. Shall we? Widow's Wall has a nicer bench anyways." She adjusted her hat and nodded down another tree-shaded path, watching that sharp expression of Nachi's.
It softened just minutely but she nodded, her hand once more joining with Takao's. There was much to reminisce and to understand. And it would be better with quiet company.