Without You

Chapter 3

What Does That Mean?

Note: Here's a special update for you guys. We finished our tour of the east coast pretty quickly and are about to leave the country. I got to see New York and it was very crowded. It was definitely not my kind of place. The next time you guys hear from me, I'll be in Europe so wish me luck. I hope you all enjoy.

The day started like any other day. Nagato was stuck in Mutsu's mind while war and battle plans were stuck in Nagato's mind. She did manage to get over her little fiasco in the bathroom, but she was still a little confused about that. She wanted to know why those thoughts made it inside of her head. The two of them got ready and headed to HQ where they somehow met up at the exact same time. It was weird because Nagato always got there really early compared to anyone else.

"Good morning Nagato."

"Good morning. Shall we?" She opened the door and allowed Mutsu to walk in first. This was a strange move by Nagato, but Mutsu didn't allow it to show on her face. The two of them walked in and were immediately halted by a special someone.

"A-Admiral?!" They stood up straight and saluted them in the most official way they could. "Excuse me for asking this, but what are you doing here?"

"It's quite strange actually. Ooyodo and I were examining the enemy's movements and we found that nothing was on radar or sonar. It appeared as if the Abyssals suddenly went extinct." Nagato and Mutsu tried to understand what this meant, but it was just too confusing for them. "So I decided to come visit HQ to see if I could get any more accurate readings and everything points to the same thing. The Abyssals are not around."

"What are you saying? We defeated them?"

"Not quite. It's almost as if they're regrouping." Immediately, Nagato conjectured her thoughts.

"Well, if they're regrouping, shouldn't we attack them now, when they're vulnerable?"

"I understand your concern Secretary Ship Nagato, but like I said before, there is nothing on radar or sonar. Even if we wanted to execute and all-out assault on them, we wouldn't even know where to look for them."

"What about their supposed base?"

"I sent a reconnaissance mission out this morning, but they saw that nothing was there. It was bone dry." The conversation between the two of them continued to go on for a long time while Mutsu just stood there and took it all in. She started to gather that the Admiral was going to tell them something a little unusual. She then looked over at Nagato who was completely flustered. It was almost as if she was losing her purpose in life. She constantly did work and without the threat out there, she felt like there had to be something for her to do. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case at all. "I know this may seem weird, but I'm giving you two the day off."

"Ehh?!"

"But Admiral…"

"Nagato, please listen. If the enemy is gathering for some kind of an attack, we'll be ready for them. I just want my two best girls ready no matter what the situation. When was the last time you were actually able to relax." At that moment, the room went silent. They tried to answer his question, but it was impossible. The last time they relaxed was before they were drafted into the fleet.

"So you don't need us today?"

"I know it may sound weird, but I'd like to handle things here. I'll make sure everything resumes smoothly when this little situation blows over." Mutsu was taking this really well, but on the other hand, Nagato was going nuts.

"Admiral, how can you stand for this?! We're your Secretary Ships. We need to be by your side. We have to do everything in order to make your job easier. How can we just not do anything? That's just absurd!"

"Nagato! As your commanding officer and Admiral of this fleet, I order you to leave this room and not come back until 0800 tomorrow." Mutsu's jaw dropped to the floor. She's never seen the Admiral raise his voice, let alone it being directed at Nagato. She looked over at her and saw that she was finally put in her place. "I thank you for showing concern for this war, but you can't keep overworking yourself. When I found you, you were so headstrong and determined. I knew there was something special about you. You're such an incredible person Nagato. I don't want that spark to fade because you worked yourself too hard." Mutsu smiled. The Admiral always had a way with words. "The two of you are dismissed." They saluted and left the room in silence.

Right as they left HQ, the two of them didn't know what to do. Both of them spent most of their days in that room so when they were given that order, it totally caught them off guard. Mutsu looked at Nagato, but it was obvious that she fumbling around in her head. It's been a while since she's seen her relaxed face and that time definitely wasn't it.

"Um, Nagato, what are you going to do?"

"I think I need to head back to my room. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong."

"What are you talking about? This is all of my fault. We wouldn't be forced out of HQ if it wasn't for me." She brought her hands up to her head and closed her eyes. "Ugh, this is ridiculous." Without saying anything more, she stormed off to her room. Mutsu wanted to follow her, but she knew that this wasn't the time to do that. In this situation, Nagato wasn't the kind of person who you should bother. Although it was difficult to admit, Mutsu had to leave her alone.

As Nagato made her way to her room, Mutsu headed to the café. When she got there, everyone welcomed her with smiles. It was strange to see the Secretary Ships out of HQ so they all wanted her to join them. As fun as it was to hang out with her fellow fleet girls, Nagato was still on her mind. She couldn't concentrate on having fun with the other fleet girls so she quickly left the café and headed to her room. However, before she got there, she turned her head and looked to where Nagato's room was. She knew it was wrong to interrupt her, but she simply had to. She walked over to her and room and knocked on her door.

"Hey Nagato, are you there?" There was no response. However, she could hear a lot of rustling from inside the room. She didn't know what it was so she slid the door open a little and saw Nagato running through her house looking for things. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to find my map so I can organize so future missions."

"But the Admiral said that we could take a day off."

"He doesn't know what he's talking about. This war has gotten to him. I'm the only one who can truly lead this fleet to victory." Mutsu watched her carefully and could see that her eyes were red and very busy.

"Nagato, please, can't you just take a break?"

"No, there's too much to deal with for me to take a break. Now, if you don't mind, I'd like for you to leave." Nagato headed towards Mutsu and tried to usher her out, but out of nowhere, Mutsu punched her in the gut and Nagato immediately knocked out. Her body fell onto Mutsu's and she caught her before she fell.

"I'm sorry, but I care about you too much to see you like this. I promise that this little break will make all of the difference."

…

A couple of hours later, Nagato slowly opened her eyes. She was a little sore from the punch that Mutsu landed on her. Once she was fully conscious, she tried getting out of her bed, but noticed that an arm was preventing her from leaving. She turned her head and saw that Mutsu was holding her close.

"W-What are you doing?" Mutsu was asleep and couldn't respond. On the other hand, Nagato tried to escape her grasp, but she couldn't. Mutsu's grip around her body was too strong for her to get out. Also, a strange thought came into Nagato's mind.

This girl is so warm.

End of Chapter 3