Rule 67. Contrary to popular belief, Mississippi does not have a "rocket punch".
Fuso was relaxing in the guest dorms of San Diego Naval Base watching Ben 10 reruns when Yamashiro stumbled in, holding her hand to her cheek. The other battleship was immediately out of her seat and fussing over her sister.
"Yamashiro! What happened?! Did you get in a fight?" Fuso fussed as she looked over her sister for any other damage. Thankfully, the bruise on her cheek was the only injury.
"N-no. Well, kinda," Yamashiro hedged. "I... might have disparaged Oklahoma in hearing range of some American battleships. Mississippi took offense and fired her rocket punch at me."
Fuso's heretofore tender ministrations vanished instantly. Yamashiro glanced at her sister's face to see an expression of exasperation and mild disgust. "Okay, fine, don't tell me who hit you. I can take a hint." And with that, Fuso turned around and flopped back on the couch.
"What?" Yamashiro said, thoroughly confused. "But I'm telling the truth! That's what actually happened!"
"Yeah, sure," Fuso scoffed. "Let me know when you actually want to talk about this."
~o~
Yamashiro took in her targets, the American battleships Idaho and New Mexico, happily chattering away to two of her brethren. Yamashiro would have gone up and done what she needed to do regardless, but the other two battleships were California and Pennsylvania. Two of the ships that had sunk her. She shuddered at the memory. At least West Virginia and Tennessee weren't there. Taking a deep breath, she stepped out from behind the corner and approached the American battlewagons.
"Oh, hey Yamashiro!" Idaho called out as Yamashiro approached. "What's up?"
"Uh, hello, Idaho-san."
"Hey, none of that 'san' crap! We're friends, aren't we?"
It was to her great surprise that Yamashiro realized that that was true. Idaho had always been warm and friendly to her, so much so that she actually felt safe around her. Something she never felt around the other American battleships. Her courage bolstered, she asked the question she needed an answer for.
"Do you know that Mississippi has a rocket punch?"
For a moment, there was just silence as all four American battleships just stared at her. Yamashiro had just begun to fidget nervously when Idaho and California both burst into raucous laughter.
"Bahahahahahahahahahahaha!" Idaho's laughter slowly subsided as she wiped a tear from the corner of her eye. "Heh, thanks, that was a good one, Yamashiro."
"But-But that wasn't a joke!" she protested. "She really does have a rocket punch! She hit me with it!"
"Like, I know it was a good joke, but you don't need to keep it up," California interjected.
"But- I- Aaaaah!" Yamashiro cried as she bolted in the other direction, tears streaming down her face.
"I think you broke her," Pennsylvania deadpanned.
~o~
"A rocket punch? Really?" Akashi sighed. "Yamashiro, you've been watching too much Mazinger Z."
~o~
"No, I don't have a rocket punch," Unryu drawled. "The rockets are for AA. Besides, that sounds really impractical."
~o~
"Rocket punch?" Intrepid said through a mouthful of mochi. "Oh, yeah, Gyatt has one, too. So does Boston. I don't know about Mississippi, though..."
"She does," Salem confirmed. "She was used as a test ship for the Terrier missile, that's how she got it." The heavy cruiser shot a frazzled, half-asleep Yamashiro a sympathetic look. "You've been running around trying to prove that for a long time, haven't you."
"Uh-huh..." Yamashiro mumbled. Why were her eyelids so heavy.
"Go get some sleep," Salem said, lightly shoving Yamashiro towards the dorms. "You've solved the mystery."
"Do you really think we should've lied to her like that?" Intrepid asked as Yamashiro stumbled away.
"You saw her, she wouldn't have slept if we didn't," Salem replied. "Though I wonder how she got that notion in her head in the first place..."