Four days later
"Half of our fleet is out of action."
"Yes."
"And we have no idea why."
"Correct."
Sigh, "Has Akashi found any possible answers?"
"No sir."
He held his head and sighed.
"Sir, you should know I'm going under in five hours."
He rubbed his forehead, "Any more news?"
"Yes, Fuso is going under as well."
"Ise, I told you I'm fine," she protested.
"Yeah and I'm a destroyer. You cannot stand there and tell me you feel fine. I can tell you're fighting it but this isn't something you can power through. I already told Akashi you'd be there in ten."
"Ise, the fleet cannot lose both of its leaders simultaneously. One of us has to stay awake."
"They're warships Fuso, not kids. They can handle being without us for a few days."
"But- No buts. I suggest you get moving. You wouldn't want to keep Akashi waiting, would you?"
She sighed and shook her head but left. I sighed, "She is so stubborn." I hissed when my head started to throb.
"You sure you shouldn't go see Akashi now?"
"Yes. The symptoms of, whatever this is, get worse before they get better. If I went to her now the best she could give me is painkillers and those work for shit. If you don't mind sir I'm going to retire to my quarters and lay in bed till its time."
"Its fine Ise. The fleet's orders are postponed until there is an actual fleet to receive the orders." I chuckled at his humor.
Getting to my quarters proved to be far more difficult than it should be for two reasons. One, I am extremely light headed and two my head is pounding so hard that my vision is actually blurring. Surprisingly I made it to my quarters without falling and didn't run into anyone on the way. I stumbled in, shut the door, and quickly laid down in my bed. Eventually, my eyes slipped shut and I fell into a deep sleep.
I have no idea how long I was asleep but when I woke up I felt a lot better. It didn't feel like a battleship had crashed into my head and my vision was clear so I wouldn't be stumbling around like a drunk. I felt hot and energized and started to pace the room.
'Knock, knock'
"Come in!"
"Ise, I brought you some... what are you doing?"
"Pacing." I curtly answered and turned to see who it was. I-1 or Hyogo, as she prefers, stood there with her head tilted in confusion.
"Okay. I brought you some water."
It was then I realized how blisteringly hot I was. It felt like my boilers are overheating and when I checked they were running far hotter then normal to the point that my crew was worried they could explode. I snatched the bottle way from her and chugged it.
"Wow."
"What?"
"I just didn't expect that. I figured you would be more like Fuso, like a lady." Her eyes winded and she raised her hands. "It's not a bad thing you're not," she hastily added.
I chuckled, "There is a time and a place to be a lady and now is not the time. What time is it anyway?"
"17:30 hours. Why?"
"17:30 hours? I need to go see Akashi then."
"Why?" She asked as I walked past her.
"So I can be done with this ailment." Yeah, that's close enough.
Once again I failed to run into anyone on my way to her office. I pushed the door open, "Hey Akashi-" I stopped when I saw she was with Natori who had her rigging summoned but it looked different. It had a more modern look to it now and her weapons are completely different from what they were before. The seven single barrel guns were replaced three duel 15 cm (6 in.) guns. Her four torpedo launchers were replaced by a single quad mount and her AA defense was increased. Her 8 cm guns were replaced by four 13mm machine guns in duel mounts along with four 25 mm AA guns in duel mounts. All in all, she looked good.
"Am I interrupting?"
"Not at all Ise I'm just finishing up here. I finally have a name for what the fleet is going through, remolding. From what I've seen it fits."
"It does. You feel alright Natori?"
"I feel great," she said still looking herself over.
"Alright, I'm done. You're free to go just let me know if anything feels off in a sense."
"If my guns suddenly have a mind of their own you'll be first to know." Just as she said that two of her guns turned to face Akashi who was not amused.
"You'll have to do better than that Natori."
"Dang it," she pouted
"Alright, out," Akashi shoed her away.
Natori rolled her eyes and bowed mockingly, "As you wish your highness." She winked at both of us and left.
"It's nice to see that she's back to her normal, bubbly, self."
"Indeed. It's just wrong seeing her downcast."
I hummed in agreement. "Will my remodel take place here?"
"It would be more private but no. As far as I know, the remodel has to happen in the repair baths. You go on ahead I need to grab a few things and then we can get this done."
Akashi POV
"And one more sleeping like a baby." I smiled at the peaceful look on Ise's face. You'd never know she had the power of a battleship at her fingers. I rubbed her head, "Sleep well Ise."
I packed up what little I brought with me and took it back to my temporary office. Once that was done I made my way to Vice Admiral Takeaki's office, he needed to know what I had found.
'Knock, knock.'
"Sir, can I come in?" There was no answer and after a few minutes, I slowly pushed the door open. "Sir? Huh, he's not here. I'll just leave my report on his desk so he can read it when he gets back." The door opened behind me and I turned to see Vice Admiral Takeaki walk in. He was busy reading a report so he didn't notice me. About ten seconds passed before he looked up and I smirked at his confused expression.
"Akashi? When did you get here?"
Chuckling, "I was already here sir. You were so engrossed in reading you walked right past me."
"Guess I should pay more attention. What did you need?"
"My report on the remolding of the fleet, sir."
"Remolding," he asked taking my report and opening it.
"That what I'm calling sir and it seems appropriate. Take Natori for example. Her seven single guns were swapped for three duel turrets, her four torpedo launchers swapped for a single quad launcher and her AA defense was increased. Another thing I noticed is that no two remodels are the same. Take Asagiri for example. Her 13mm machine guns were swapped for a pair of duel 25 mm AA guns. Uranami, her sister, didn't receive the 25 mm AA guns but her single 13mm mounts became twin mounts."
"Fascinating. Do you know what caused it?"
"My best guess is combat experience. Still have no idea to measure when it will happen though."
"How long does it last?"
"Four days give or take a few hours. At least that what I've observed. If a remodel can happen more then once then the time it takes could change."
"Fleet Admiral Jakuchu will need to know about this. Thanks Akashi at least we have some answers."
"You're welcome sir. Now if you'll excuse me I need to check on my patients."
"Well, I would hate to keep you waiting. Dismissed."
Ise POV
I groaned and rubbed my eyes as my vision slowly came back. Strangely I was laying on my back in the repair bath which was empty. Something is differently wrong here. I stood up and climbed out of the bath. Every noise was amplified my footsteps thundered in the room and my breathing reviled a dragon's. I took a second to look around. The room is practically the same besides the aforementioned lack of water and the colors. They're blue, black, and white colors commonly associated with abyssals. That's... ominous.
I caught a flash and turned to find a door had appeared behind me. "Well, here goes nothing." I pushed the door open and bright light blinded me.
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My eyes opened. "Glad to see you're awake." Akashi was next to me putting some of her things away. I groaned and rubbed my head while I blinked my eyes to clear my vision.
"Blurry vision and headaches are common when you first wake up, they'll be gone in a few minutes. You were sleeping for four days and eight hours in case you wanted to know."
"Thanks."
"You can rest for a few minutes. How do you feel?"
"Other than the headache, pretty good."
I decided I wouldn't tell her about the... dream? No, it was too real to be a simple dream.
"Alright Akashi, what do you need me to do?"
"We'll head to my office before I have you summon your rigging that way we have some privacy."
We went to her office and I summoned my rigging. As she wrote down notes I looked over myself to see what had changed. My four 7.62 cm (3 in.) guns were replaced by four twin 12.7 cm (5 In.) dual-purpose guns. Increasing my AA defense further were ten twin 25 mm AA guns. I still had my casement guns but I had sixteen instead of twenty. I also had an aircraft catapult on my No. 5 turret capable of launching a Nakajima E8N floatplane for reconnaissance. My armament wasn't the only thing to change. My armor scheme had increased thickness and my shaft horsepower had also increased giving me a top speed of 25.5 knots. For some reason, this translated into my breasts being bigger and the same can be said for my stern while my hips were slightly thicker. I know how it happened but I don't why it happened. Seriously, what point does it serve?
"Akashi."
"Yes?"
"Why did this happen," I pointed to my body.
"What, are you complaining?"
"No." If I'm being honest I like the change.
"No idea. The girls enjoyed the change so I'm not going to look into it."
I nodded, fair enough. "So, am I free to go?"
"Yes, just let me know if anything feels off."
"Alright, do you know where Natori is?"
"She should be in her quarters."
I made my way through the base passing personal and Kanmusu alike on my way to the cruiser's dorms. I knocked on her door, "Natori, can I come in?"
"Yeah!"
I opened the door and found her eagerly talking to her sister Yura. Both had their rigging summoned and Natori seemed to be comparing their differences while Yura watched her with a smile.
"Wow, Natori. I didn't know you were a doctor," I chuckled.
"Wait your turn Ise. I'll compare the two of us when I'm done with my sister." She furiously wrote on her note pad and then went back to examining Yura's guns. I'm not sure what she's so excited about from where I'm standing there's not much different about them. Both have the same turret layout, a single quad torpedo launcher, and the same amount of AA guns. She turned ever-so-slightly and I found her main difference. Yura had a quad torpedo launcher and a double torpedo launcher. That's a minuscule difference.
"Natori, the only difference is that she can launch six torpedoes and you can launch four."
"It's a difference! I don't care how small. It proves that every Kanmusu will have differences in their armament."
"She's been like this ever since I got here," Yura said earning a light slap from Narori. "Quiet you. Ise! Can I see your rigging!?" She rushed over to me and her eyes begged me to let her. I rubbed her head, "I guess." She actually squealed in excitement and jumped back.
I closed my eyes and with a thought, my rigging was summoned. I sighed contently. Having my rigging out brought a calming feeling and a sense of power that I relished in. Natori quickly darted around me looking over my rigging and muttering to herself as she wrote things down at lighting speed. I just watched with I smile as she pointed out all of the changes from my remodel. After fifteen minutes of nearly non-stop talking and writing, she finally stopped and collapsed on her bed out of breath.
"Why are you so interested in this?"
"Because I find it interesting."
"I know you find it interesting, but why?"
She shrugged, "I don't know I just do."
"Changing the subject, why do you have a katana?"
The katana rested on my left hip. I unsheathed it and held it in front of me. A tingling feeling started in my arm and quickly spread to my entire body. I started running through the basic exercises with the blade. Block, counter, attack again and again slowly picking up speed as time went on. The blade became a silver blur as I continued to run through the movements adding my own flare to the actions. I'm don't know how much time passed but when I sheathed the blade I had worked up a small sweat.
"Wow."
I felt my face heat up. I was so immersed I had completely forgotten about Natori and Yura. "I apologize."
"Oh, no, no don't mind us. That's was beautiful to watch," Natroi said with stars in her eyes.
"Have you practiced with a katana before," Yura asked.
"No, it just comes naturally." I gazed at the hilt of the blade and I went to unsheathe it again.
'Grrrrrrr.'
The blade was in front of me in an instant. Natori and Yura's laughter had me confused for a second.
'Grrrrrrrrrr.'
I blushed heavily. I sheathed the blade and Yura cleared her throat while her sister giggled. "I think lunch is served in the mess, shall we?"
"That sounds wonderful."
