The Problem with Nagato
Chapter 3
A Lonely Heart
Day quickly turned to night, but there was no sign of Nagato or her squadron. Mutsu didn't hear anything from the Admiral so she could only assume that the battle was still raging on. This, however, angered her. She wanted to be by Nagato's side, fighting this war with her instead of waiting on the sidelines for something to happen. She waited in the HQ until the moon was towering over the base. When no word came from anyone, she was forced to head home.
When she got back, she immediately took a shower with the hope that her worried would be able to disappear after such a long day. Unfortunately, the longer she stayed in the shower, the more that pain in her chest became evident. That's when she turned off the water and fell to the floor in tears.
"Why is this happening? Why are you doing this? I'm more than capable of fighting this war with you. Why do you force yourself to be my shield? You may think it makes what we have right now possible… It doesn't. It kills me slowly and you're not even aware of it." Mutsu stayed on the shower floor for a little while longer.
Once she regained her strength, she dried herself off and headed back into the room. She looked at the bed and saw that it was empty. Knowing that it was only for tonight made the bed look even bigger than it already was. She turned off the light and laid herself down on her side of the bed.
Nothing was going on. The room was silent except for the soft ticking of the clock. At the same time, her heartbeat was having a war with the clock. The two sounds boomed like bass drums while Mutsu was trying to flush all of the sound out. It was no use. The constantly drumming nearly drove her insane. She suddenly climbed out of bed, grabbed her clothes, and made her way to the beach.
The night always caused the sea to grow a little furious, but tonight seemed very calm. The waters were very still and she could barely even hear the swelling of the tide rolling in. She walked down the beach until she grew tired and sat down on the soft sand. She looked up to see the bright mooning on top of her.
"Nagato, I know you care about me. Even if what you said is true. The reason why you're out there and not with me is because you're afraid. You keep such a strong front, but in all actuality, you're even more fragile than me."
The tide rolled up to her feet, sending a chill through her body. She knew that it was just water, but she couldn't help but feel that this cold sensation was more than just it being nighttime. Mutsu stayed on the beach all night, hoping that the squadron would return, but nothing showed up. The night was as quiet as could be. Eventually, Mutsu tired herself out from thinking too much and slept on the beach.
When morning came around, sunrise immediately woke her up from her sleep. Before thinking about herself, she looked around to see if the squadron made it back, but there was no sign of them. After that, she quickly made her way to HQ where Ooyodo was already working.
"Have you heard anything back from the squadron or the Admiral?"
"No. everything is silent. It's making me worry."
"I know. Worrying shouldn't be something we do, but I can't help but feel that something is wrong."
The two of them waited in HQ for something, anything. They were manning the radio, watching over the bay, and pacing the floor, but nothing came up. HQ was as silent as a tomb. However, Mutsu was going insane. All of the other times that she could remember, the radio was blowing up with Intel and communications from everyone, including the Admiral. Now, it was as if she and Ooyodo were the only two people left alive in the empire.
"What is going on here?!"
"Mutsu-san?!"
"I'm tired of waiting like this. The Admiral or someone should have ordered another squadron to go out and support them. Communications should never be this quiet."
"Perhaps the enemy is suppressing their forces, making it impossible to get a signal out."
"That doesn't excuse the fact the Admiral has not shed a word to us about what is going on. He is overseeing this war so he should constantly be filling us in about the war."
"Mutsu-san, please calm down."
At that moment, the base siren went off which caused Mutsu and Ooyodo to look out the window. Once their eyes adjusted to the outside light, they saw the squadron returning. The only bad thing was that they were being pursued by enemy forces.
"Special Destroyers: Shimakaze and Amatsukaze. Prep for defensive maneuvers. All carriers in the area, launch your fighter pilots. We must bring our squadron into the bay."
The entire base started up again. Shimakaze and Amatsukaze quickly suited up and headed out to sea to intercept the enemy forces. Meanwhile, the available carriers launched their planes into the air to provide aerial support. The enemy ships tried shooting their planes down, but the two destroyers took them down before they could. The quick action by Mutsu and the swift maneuvers by the destroyers secured the squadron back into the base. That's when Mutsu left HQ to meet up with the freshly returned group.
Unfortunately, when she met up with them at the bay docks, Nagato was badly damaged. Kongou and Kaga were barely keeping her up, but it was obvious that she was unconscious.
"Let's get her to the docks as quickly as possible."
"The Admiral gave us orders that she's to go to the factory."
"Factory? Why?"
"Her damages are too great for the docks to repair. But enough of that, we need to get her there now." Without wasting anymore time, the two of them pushed through the crowd and carried Nagato to the factory.
Once Nagato made it to the factory, the entire building was shut off from anyone else. News that one of their secretary ships sustained heavy damage spread across the base like wildfire, causing everyone to crowd around the building and show their support for their beloved Nagato.
Dawn approached them faster than anyone could have expected. All of the girls were waiting outside of the factory with the hope that they'd be able to get some good news. Unfortunately, there was none for them. One by one, they slowly left the building in sadness. They wanted to see how she was doing, but judging by the circumstances of the situation, that just wouldn't be possible. The last people to stay were Mutsu and Yamato. Mutsu was trying to hold back the tears with all of her strength while Yamato was keeping her normal façade on.
"Mutsu, don't worry. Nagato will come back to us in no time. I'm sure she appreciates you waiting for her, but you need to get some rest as well." With those words reaching Mutsu, Yamato turned around and left her alone. That's when Mutsu lost it completely.
She dropped to her knees and started to wail.
"No, this can't be happening! You promised to come back to me! This doesn't count! You lied to me! How could you do this?! You're stronger than all of us combined. There's no reason for you to be in the there." She clenched her fist as tight as she could, but only tapped the side of the building. "Why are you doing this," she asked softly.
"Mutsu-san?" At that moment, a small hand was placed on her shoulder which forced Mutsu to quickly wipe herself off.
"It's fine. I'm fine." She turned her head and saw Fubuki standing next to her.
"Fubuki-chan? What are you doing here?"
"I heard you and I was worried."
"Oh, thank you for showing concern, but I'm fine. I just… I wasn't myself. You don't need to worry about me. Head back to your quarters. It's been a long day."
End of Chapter 3