"So, how much?" asked Zuikaku to the young woman manning the cash machine.
"Romulan ale, Jumbo Mollusk, Viinerine, and Osol Twist, 6 portions each. Those added up to..." The woman said the price Zuikaku needed to pay, and Zuikaku suddenly remembered why capital ships generally didn't eat outside the base.
Zuikaku was still grieving over her finance when she and Enterprise got out of the restaurant and back into the sea of people.
"In our days, that kind of money could buy a house." said Zuikaku.
"Well, death, taxes, and inflation, right?" responded Enterprise, looking oddly guilty. "Sorry that I haven't received my paycheck yet. Do I owe you?"
Zuikaku shrugged. "Nah, it's fine. Never used my money for anything but books anyway."
Enterprise looked at Zuikaku with a hint of fascination. Maybe she didn't expect her to be a literature girl?
"I'll lend you some of mine, then! what kind of books do you like?" said Enterprise eagerly.
"Well, nothing fancy. Mostly historical fictions. Aubrey-Maturin series, Honor Harrington...or something similar."
Enterprise put a finger on her chin. "Well, Brown only had enough space for one series from my collection, so I actually only have 'Temeraire' for now."
"Never heard of it. is it any good?"
"Well. the story is about naval warfare in the Napoleonic era..."
"Okay." That actually sounded right up Zuikaku's alley.
"...but with dragons."
Alright, Zuikaku didn't expect that twist.
"It's really fun. Sometimes it kinda feels like having carriers in the age of sails, but the planes are dragons."
Zuikaku curled her lips and nodded. "Well, I'll check it out, at least."
Enterprise perked up. "I'll bring them to your room later, then!"
"Uh..." Zuikaku suddenly sounded hesitant, which only drove Enterprise's curiosity.
"Hm? Do you prefer to go into my room instead, Crane?" Enterprise smiled teasingly.
Zuikaku flustered. "Uhh, no, my room is fine."
"Good. Expect me arriving at about 1900 hours."
"Right."
Zuikaku calmed herself and was just starting to think of a new topic to talk about when the visage of a single old man in the crowd caught her attention.
Somehow, the old man stood out among the hundreds of men and women walking around. He did not wear any sort of special clothing or anything that could catch Zuikaku's eyes. Actually, he seemed to be going out of his way to wear the most non-descript outfit possible. Gray trousers, and a blue linen shirt folded and unbuttoned to match the increasingly hot weather as the sun was nearing its apex. Yet there's just something about the man that tugged at Zuikaku. It could be the man's age, which was clearly older than the majority of the other patrons, or maybe it was the fact that he was just standing there still amongst the perpetually moving crowd, watching, like the top of a rock jutting out from the surface of a river.
Whatever made the man special, Enterprise seemed to have caught it, since when Zuikaku noticed, she was already running towards the man with a notebook and a pen that she had just taken out from her bag in hand.
Zuikaku watched silently as Enterprise approached the elderly man and initiated a conversation with him. It was obvious that Enterprise recognized the man, judging by how familiar their interaction appeared to be. This left Zuikaku in a dilemma as she considered whether or not it was appropriate to join in.
Finally, Enterprise gave her notebook and pen to the man, and Zuikaku watched with an odd sense of envy when Enterprise's face lit up to rival the daylight as a wrinkled hand wrote something in her notebook. After he finished, the old man gave the book and the pen back to Enterprise, and they both bowed each other goodbye before Enterprise ran back towards Zuikaku.
When she was right in front of Zuikaku, Enterprise opened her book with a childlike pride in her eyes, showing Zuikaku a quickly handwritten note on a white page.
The page started with 'for Swanson', followed by a large stylistic writing at the bottom that Zuikaku guessed to be a signature.
"George Takei?"
Enterprise touched her forehead in realization. "Oh, right, We've only watched some TNG yesterday, so you probably didn't recognize him. He was in the original series as one of the main supporting characters."
Was that supposed to be a common knowledge? the way Enterprise said it certainly made it felt like it was.
"And who's 'Swanson'?"
"That's the surname of the Secretary of the Navy back in 1936 when I was launched. His wife sponsored my launch, so I often use her name whenever I need to pass off as human. What, you don't have a human name, Crane?"
"Nah, I don't get out of the base much."
Having a second name was actually quite common for a Kanmusu, especially for those with 'odd' names like Enterprise, Chikuma, Iowa, Warspite, or indeed, Zuikaku. This helped them to mingle normally in human society without using the names that had been solely associated with war machines. For a Kanmusu to use her real name among civilians would be like a soldier insisting on being referred by and only by their military rank in a non-military setting, like in a Sunday mass. It'd be just...weird.
"So...Takei, huh?"
"His father was from Yamanashi if I remember it correctly."
Zuikaku watched as 'Takei' disappeared among the crowd, a strange feeling of discomfort lingered in her.
"Is he an American?" Zuikaku asked.
"Well, yes." Enterprise answered as if it was obvious.
"How old is he?"
"Uhh...his birthday is in April, so about 80 years old, maybe...ah."
Enterprise seemed to have suddenly realized the true nature of Zuikaku's questions.
"He'd still be a newborn when we...started." Zuikaku began, barely audible over the sound of people. "Did...did they 'get' him?"
Long story short, 1942 wasn't a great time to be a Japanese-American.
Zuikaku saw Enterprise's face turned gloomy for a second before she looked down and hid her eyes with her bang, making it impossible to perceive her expression.
"His family got sent to a horse stable in California...I think." Enterprise whispered.
Zuikaku looked back at the spot in the crowd where the man had disappeared.
"As an infant? Damn, that's harsh."
Unfortunately, Zuikaku was looking the other way. Otherwise, she might've seen the rising rage on Enterprise's face and kept her words to herself. The moment Zuikaku realized her mistake, Enterprise had already opened her mouth.
"WELL! AT LEAST MY PEOPLE DIDN'T USE INFANTS FOR SWORD PRACTICE!"
Zuikaku almost leaped backward. Enterprise's sudden fury came completely unexpected, both for Zuikaku and for a large number of people around her. The two carriers stood still, watched by the suddenly silent crowd as Enterprise glared at Zuikaku with the look of utter spite and disappointment.
Finally, Enterprise realized that she was being watched. The people at the back of the crowd had started whispering something. Zuikaku couldn't tell what they were talking about, but judging by their expressions, Zuikaku couldn't imagine that it was something endearing.
"I..." Enterprise looked around her, only to be looked back by numerous pairs of judging eyes. "I need to go."
Enterprise dashed away from Zuikaku and through the crowd, disappearing before Zuikaku could as much as shout the word 'wait'. With Enterprise gone, the crowd's attention now solely focused on Zuikaku, their dozens stares only served to increase Zuikaku's stress level.
"Oh, dammit."
Zuikaku moved her legs and ran towards the general direction of Enterprise's last position, cutting through the crowd. It's only after a few minutes of running that Zuikaku accepted that she had lost her.
Zuikaku was starting to panic when a voice sounded from behind her.
"Need help?"
Zuikaku looked back and saw a small person wearing jeans, well-shined leather shoes, and a black hoodie. Zuikaku could immediately felt the almost natural scent of danger emanating from this person, and for a moment Zuikaku thought that she was about to be mugged until the person took off her hood from her head.
"Albacore-san?"
"Aye." the dark-skinned girl nodded.
"What are you doing here?"
"Stalking carriers."
That was not the answer Zuikaku wanted to hear.
"You...you were watching us?"
"Oh, definitely." Albacore folded her arms behind her head, looking obnoxiously relaxed. "You two had a good vibe going until you fucked it up."
"I...wait! why were you stalking us in the first place!?" Zuikaku shouted, putting all of her stress in a single sentence. The submarine did not even look perplexed.
"Well, now that I have legs I think it's a good thing to learn how to use them properly. I've mastered sneaking on and in waters, now I'm going to master sneaking on land." For emphasis, Albacore clicked the heels of her high-class shoes on the asphalt. "Plus I'm always a sucker for a budding romance story."
Zuikaku instantly felt her boilers figuratively being replaced by a pair of twin volcanoes.
"R...romance...?"
"If you're going to deny it, don't bother. I've already observed you two and formed my own opinion, and I'm sticking to it." Albacore raised her arms and opened her mouth for a massive, inelegant yawn. "Put it simply, I want to help you two."
Zuikaku shook her head furiously. " 'We' don't need any help, thank you very much. Especially not regarding r...romance." Zuikaku stuttered, ruining her chance to actually sound convincing.
Albacore clicked her tongue. "Lady, you two need more help than a pregnant woman in her ninth month on the lowest deck of the Titanic. Just give me your phone number so I can message you, and put your phone on vibrate and at hand. It'd be almost impossible to hear anything from a phone in this kind of crowd."
"We use E-Mails for short messages in Japan." said Zuikaku, not sure why she's even still talking to the stalk-crazy submarine.
"Then give me your address. I'll turn on my phone's infrared."
Albacore pulled out her phone and looked expectantly at Zuikaku. Zuikaku hesitated for a moment, but she finally gave way to Albacore's insistent staring. She pulled up her own phone and turned on the infrared, ready to exchange address.
Having received Zuikaku's mail address, Albacore smiled. "And now, to find myself a Yorktown. Blink."
"What?"
Zuikaku blinked, and when she opened her eyes, Albacore was gone, as if she was never there.
"How the heck did she do that?"
Just as Zuikaku finished asking that question, her phone began to vibrate in her hand, the screen indicated that she had received one message from 'Suddendeepseadeath. at . gmail . com'. Zuikaku opened the mail, and there was only a single word; wait.
Figuring that she had already been pulled along into the submarine's probably badly advised plan and that there's nothing she could do at this point, Zuikaku found herself a bench, slumped her body onto it, put her sunglasses into her jacket pocket, and waited.
It took almost less than a minute after Zuikaku began regretting her life decisions when she received another mail from Albacore.
'Found her. Ferris wheel, north of you. meet me at the entrance.'
Zuikaku raised her gaze upwards and to the North. The Ferris wheel Albacore mentioned was not as eye-catching as the roller coasters and tower-based attractions scattered all around it, but the facade of a circular furry creature emblazoned on the side was rather distinctive.
Zuikaku took a deep breath, flooding her boilers with air and pushing her engine to war capacity. Zuikaku picked herself up from the bench and began to move her legs. She ran, faster than any normal human could realistically be, apologizing all the way as she accidentally knocked the men and women that dared to stand in her path.
In an almost instant, Zuikaku reached the entrance of the Ferris wheel, just as Albacore had specified. Zuikaku looked at the name of the attraction written on a sign at the side of the entrance.
'ROLLING TRIBBLES'
The line was suspiciously empty, at the front of the gate another makeshift sign had been placed; 'Exterminating Tribbles, closed until 2 PM.'
Zuikaku felt her phone vibrated in her pocket, it was another message.
'What are you waiting for? Get in.'
Looking around to make sure nobody was specifically watching her, Zuikaku hesitantly snuck through the half open gate and towards the nearest Ferris wheel capsule, shaped like a giant furball. She looked up and immediately got amazed by how tall the structure was, and how she used to be taller when she was still made of steel.
"Finally, you're here."
Zuikaku looked to the side, and inside the box that usually one would assume to be the control room for the wheel's operator, she saw Albacore, dressed in the ubiquitous red shirt of the park's staff.
"How did you get that clothes?" There were a thousand questions Zuikaku wanted to ask to the submarine, but for some reason, that one came up first.
"Don't worry, I didn't kill anyone. I'm going for a Silent Assassin run." said Albacore, pulling out what looked like an empty medical syringe from her back. "Fortunately he was in my size. Now, we have about an hour before he wakes up, so we better hurry."
Zuikaku was sure that in some bizarre parallel world, what Albacore had just said would probably make sense. Not in this world, however.
"You...what exactly are you planning to do?" Zuikaku asked, now exceedingly worried not only for her own well-being, but also for the well-being of anyone within 7 kilometers radius.
"Well, I've read in some of your 'manga' that a Ferris wheel is a great place for a couple to talk things out." Albacore said, smiling widely and showing two rows of white teeth that contrasted her skin. "Enterprise is in capsule six, currently in the eleven o'clock position."
Albacore pointed up, and Zuikaku's eyes instinctively followed. Most of the capsules of the Ferris wheel stood eerily still, but one of the uppermost capsules was shaking wildly, as if it was containing an agitated, really furious monster inside it.
Zuikaku's face went pale as she realized what was going on.
"YOU'RE TRAPPING HER UP THERE!?"
"Yes." answered Albacore in an irritatingly flat tone. "Otherwise she'll run the moment she sees you."
"Bu...but..what..." Apparently, the sheer concentration of Albacore's madness had short-circuited Zuikaku's brain, because she suddenly could no longer form a proper sentence.
"Just get in, alright? I'll give you two thirty minutes."
Albacore pulled some levers on the control panel, and the Ferris wheel began to creak and turn counter-clockwise.
"Wait..." Zuikaku whimpered, but the wheel refused to listen. Zuikaku partly wanted to run away, but it's as if her feet were stuck in quicksand, she's already in too deep to get out now.
Finally, capsule number 6 arrived in front of Zuikaku, and when the handle turned, Zuikaku's body unconsciously moved into a fighting stance.
"Finally!" said Enterprise as she opened the door. "A technical problem on the first day? seriously, you-"
Enterprise's words stopped in her throat when she realized who the person in front of her was. Zuikaku had expected to receive a punch the moment the door opened, but seeing that enterprise was instead looking as confused as her, Zuikaku went out of her fighting stance and settled for a simple nervous wave.
"Uh...hi."
Zuikaku wasn't given the time to utter any other word before she felt a mighty kick on her back, which sent her crashing onto Enterprise and onto the capsule's floor. She had only managed to catch a glimpse of the smiling Albacore before she closed the door shut.
"Now, you either make up, make out, or kill each other. Cheers!" said Albacore through the glass before she rushed back to the control panel with the look of sadistic glee on her face.
Zuikaku immediately removed herself from Enterprise, not even realizing how red Enterprise's face was. She quickly attempted to open the capsule's door, but as she had expected, it was locked.
Zuikaku stood like brain-dead in front of the door, not even dare to look back to face Enterprise until the capsule stopped at the top of the wheel.
"Well?" Enterprise said, trying to poke Zuikaku to start explaining. "What the heck was that?
"Honestly, I have no idea." said Zuikaku as she took a seat in one of the benches in the capsule, still refusing to look Enterprise in the eyes. "I think she wants us to talk."
"Talk?" said Enterprise, unbelieving of what she had just heard. "This is rather extreme just to make us talk, isn't it?"
"For a submarine, she is rather impatient." commented Zuikaku, cupping her face in her hands. "I'm sorry."
"No need to be sorry. The moment we get down I'll equip my planes with enough ASW to create a deep sea trench." said Enterprise, before she remembered that her hangar was empty. "Oh, wait. My hangar is empty."
Zuikaku shook her head. "No, it's not that. It's about our argument before."
Enterprise tilted her head quizzically before crossing her arms in a demanding manner. "Continue."
"I was being stupid. I thought I was making a casual remark. I didn't think that you'd react that way."
Zuikaku could hear Enterprise exhaling loudly. "I'm sorry too. I was little overreacting back then. I shouldn't be making that much of a scene in a public space."
Well, that was surprisingly easy.
Zuikaku raised her face, and saw that Enterprise had already taken a seat right in front of her. "What do you think of me, Crane?"
"W...what?"
"We've worked alongside each other nicely so far, but I'm honestly not sure why. I've killed your comrades, bombed your soldiers, sunk your convoys, and starved your people. Those are not things that you can just forget. So I want to know what you actually think of me, of the Grey Ghost."
This sudden philosophical question came unexpectedly for Zuikaku, and so she did what any preschooler would do when they're faced with a difficult question; throwing it back.
"What about you then? You danced with me, invited me to an amusement park, watched movies all night with me, and you even k..kisse... "
Yeah, totally not finishing that sentence.
"A...as I've said, that one was completely platonic." said Enterprise. Any outside observer but Zuikaku would find her words unconvincing. "And I don't think that we need any more conflict when we both have a bigger enemy to worry about."
"Then you could simply not being a jerk and acted professionally. We'd operate just as well, and we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place." Zuikaku looked deep into Enterprise's red eyes. "What do you think of me, E?"
Now it's Enterprise's turn to not being able to look at her conversation partner in the eyes. She looked down, once again hiding her face with her bang.
After a few seconds of soul-crushing silence, Zuikaku decided it's time to man up, even though she's a lady. "Very well then. I'll go first." Zuikaku gulped, swallowing her fear before continuing. "I think you're a great carrier. You've served your country with distinction, and although I think you sometimes used more force than necessary, as a fellow warrior I can fully understand why you did what you did. I..." Zuikaku paused, waiting for her brain to find the right words. She did not want to mess this up. "I respect you."
Zuikaku saw Enterprise biting her lower lip in response to her words, her eyes looking longingly out of the capsule's window and into the blue afternoon sky. Then, her eyes turned their gaze from the sky to Zuikaku, still keeping their longing expression.
"I think of you as a former worthy foe," Enterprise spoke out. "Who fought loyally and fiercely against a losing odd. I remember how you still insisted on troubling my forces even when your hangar was empty. You did not cower and hide like so many of our other foes, whether back then or anytime." Enterprise paused. "As a fellow soldier, I too respect you, Zuikaku, at least in some ways."
Another silence befell the two carriers, but this time it was different. The silence was not gloomy. Instead, there was silence because neither wanted to be the first to show her smile.
Zuikaku was the first one to break. She shamelessly showed Enterprise her wide grin, a genuine kind of smile where you could clearly see the honesty in the person's eyes.
"Thanks." said Zuikaku.
"Same to you." Enterprise returned, her smile made it as if she were trying to compete with Zuikaku.
Zuikaku nodded, accepting Enterprise's gratitude before she opened her mouth again. "Say, E. The things you've said, the burning, the killing, and the starving, have you ever regretted any of it?"
Enterprise once again tilted her head in a questioning manner, before she suddenly moved and took a seat right beside Zuikaku, driving the Japanese carrier into a surprised jolt.
Enterprise opened her mouth, and beyond Zuikaku's wildest expectation, she started singing.
Remember Pearl Harbor, when you sight down the barrel of your gun.
Remember Pearl Harbor, never stop, 'til you drop every one!
Give'em bomb for bomb, give'em shell for shell,
Kill a hundred rats for every boy that fell,
Remember Pearl Harbor, wipe the Jap from the map, give'em hell!
After she had finished with her song, Enterprise looked at the stunned Zuikaku and smiled.
"No regret." Enterprise said, fully contented.
"Hundred of us for each one of you, huh?" Zuikaku finally said. "Pretty sure you had exceeded that quota by 1943."
"And you were returning the favor. It was not even, but it was certainly not for the lack of trying."
"You certainly did more damage to our people than we did yours..." Zuikaku said. Her nature as a war machine made her own words sting.
Enterprise turned her body, facing Zuikaku properly before offering her hand.
"We both have done horrible things to each other," said Enterprise, still waiting for Zuikaku to take her hand. "Let's do it right this time."
Zuikaku looked at enterprise's hand for a moment, before drawing her own hand and held Enterprise's hand in a firm grip.
"Friends." Zuikaku declared with full confidence.
"Right...friends." parroted Enterprise. Anyone but Zuikaku would've noticed Enterprise's slight tone of irritation at the word 'friends'. "By the way, how long will we be up here?"
"Huh?" Zuikaku realized that they were still literally hanging. "Well, Albacore-san said that she'll give us thirty minutes."
"We still have ten minutes." said Enterprise, checking the time on her phone. She then looked at Zuikaku, her expression suddenly turned mischievous.
"Say, Crane..."
Enterprise moved in her seat, inching closer to Zuikaku.
"...wanna do something fun?"