"There they are. I've picked them up on radar." Azuma said as Illustrious's swordfish took to the skies.
"Ah. So it is. It looks however that they aren't being pursued. That means we won't need to fight." Illustrious said.
"I was looking forward to something. I know Mutsuki needs a parent figure, but I'm still a capable warfighter." Azuma said softly.
"Well, right now, battle does not call to us. Whatever it was, they managed to take care of it." Illustrious said.
"How's it going with Tirpitz, if you don't mind me prying?" Azuma asked.
"She's surprisingly gentle. I often finding myself reassuring her that I'm not as delicate as she seems to believe." Illustrious said.
Azuma nodded.
"I wish I could have gone instead of Warspite. From the sounds of it, Shikikan has enough battleships in his main fleet." Azuma said.
"You say that, but I think little Mutsuki would be quite sad if you would have left." Illustrious said.
"Yeah... you have a point. I really shouldn't complain. I'm happy taking care of Mutsuki. I hope he finds her sisters as well. I'm sure she'll be happier if he finds them." Azuma said as they approached the Union fleet.
Ranger looked to the sky as the sounds of engines were heard overhead. Wincing a bit and pulling her jacket over her arms, she stood up to get a better look.
"Swordfish. Must belong to Illustrious." Ranger said as she walked past a few of the older civilians that had wandered onto her flight deck to stretch their legs.
Ranger walked to a radio receiver and picked it up.
"Hello? This is CV-4 USS Ranger. Can you hear me, Illustrious?" Ranger asked.
"I do. Welcome to international waters, Eagle Union. Shall we join up and escort you and your fleet back to Bermuda?" Illustrious asked.
"Please. We have quite the fleet here. We even picked up three new submarines that helped us get rid of our pursuers." Ranger said.
"I see. Well, please slow your speed so we can slip into formation. We have space to receive these refugees for a short bit, but we can ship them out towards Australia if need be." Azuma said.
"Understood." Ranger said, her voice trailing off when she saw the Azuma slip into view.
"Holy hell... to think Sakura kept that hidden away..." Ranger said softly, seeing the massive cruiser approaching the fleet.
Washington looked over at the Ranger and took a deep breath. She jumped to the waves and strode over to the carrier, noticing shimmering blue shields covering massive holes at the waterline. She jumped up onto the flight deck, using her rigging to gently push through the crowd of people on the flight deck.
"Flattop... we need to talk." Washington said as Ranger put the receiver down and looked at the silver haired battleship.
"Here to make me feel worse about existing?" Ranger asked pointedly as Washington saw the black bruises on her arms.
Washington realized immediately that the bruises were from the damage sustained in the last battle.
"What happened? Why did you take so much damage?" Washington asked.
"The civilians come first. I'm just happy I managed to stop the flooding." Ranger said.
"Your shields should have protected your whole vessel..." Washington said.
"Carriers don't work the same way. We have the ability to direct our shields. I used mine to ensure that the civilians were safe." Ranger said.
"You could have been sunk." Washington said.
"Yes I could have. But I didn't." Ranger said.
"At what cost?" Washington asked as she looked closer at the bruises.
"Those look nasty. Go take a rest. I'll tow you in." Washington said, silencing Ranger before she could protest.
"Just focus on keeping water out of your hull, and pumping out whatever got in. We have Cruiser Division 10 if we run into enemy aircraft. I'm here if enemy vessels come in range. And we have subs watching the area with Sonar. You can rest now." Washington said.
"But..."
"Shut it, Ranger. Go rest. You're of no use if you sink yourself." Washington said sternly, shocking Ranger with the use of her name.
"Oh... alright." Ranger said as she walked below deck to attempt repairs.
Mutsuki had taken quite the liking to Eugen the moment she had caught wind that Eugen was going to make chocolates. Mutsuki had practically attached herself to Eugen as she made her way to the kitchen, under guard from Graf Spee.
"Eugen-san! Eugen-san!" Mutsuki exclaimed as Prinz Eugen pulled a cardboard box from the cupboards.
"What is it, kleines Kätzchen?" Eugen asked.
"Can I have the ones we mess up?" Mutsuki asked with big eyes and a soft smile.
"I'm very good, I doubt we'll mess many up. But I think I can let you get away with eating one or two pieces." Eugen said as she began melting the chocolate in a bowl.
After a few hours of making candies and chocolate covered cherries, Eugen and Mutsuki put all of it in the cold storage.
Eugen took a cherry and a molded chocolate star and gave them to Mutsuki.
"Now don't go eating it all at once. You'll get an upset belly before dinner." Eugen said as she went to wash the dishes.
Mutsuki quickly ate what she was given and looked at the door to the cold storage.
Mutsuki quietly snuck over to the door and tried to open it without Eugen hearing.
"Just because I can't see you, doesn't mean I don't know what you're trying to do." Eugen said.
"But... Eugen-san..." Mutsuki said as she looked at Eugen with tear filled eyes.
Eugen turned to face the destroyer.
"Kein kleines Kätzchen. What would Azuma say if she were here?" Eugen asked.
Mutsuki sniffled a bit and began to cry, revealing just how much she missed her Azumama.
Eugen sighed a bit and knelt down in front of Mutsuki, who had devolved into full on crying in the absence of her mother figure.
"Kommen Sie heir Kätzchen." Eugen said softly, opening her arms to receive the bawling kitty missile known as Mutsuki as she looked for any sense of comfort.
"I know you miss her. She is a very kind woman. But she has to go and help our new friends. They need help and Azuma was more than willing to help. She'll be back, I'm sure of it." Eugen said as she shot a soft look to Spee, who nodded a bit before walking out of the room, confident that Eugen would behave.
Mutsuki stopped crying and used her coat to wipe her tears.
"Can... can I have just one more piece please, Eugen-san?" Mutsuki asked.
"Warspite and Azuma have spoiled you rotten. Fine. One more, but you'll have extra vegetables on your plate tonight." Eugen said as she carried Mutsuki into the cold storage to pick out her third piece of chocolate.
The emerged with Mutsuki taking small bites of another chocolate star, savoring the candy in her hand.
"Such a cute kitten." Eugen said softly.
"You give nice hugs. Just like Azumama." Mutsuki said softly as she hugged Eugen, burying her head in Eugen's chest.
Eugen smiled softly and looked down at the destroyer.
"That is the nicest thing I have been told in some time, kleines Kätzchen. Danke Schön. But I believe Azuma may be capable of giving bigger and better hugs than myself." Eugen said.
Eugen put Mutsuki on the ground and looked at the messy kitchen.
"Why don't you see if Spee is available to play? I have to clean up from our little chocolate party." Eugen said.
"Okay!" Mutsuki said as she bowed politely, as Azuma had taught her, before running out of the kitchen. Mutsuki was so distracted by the chocolate in her hands that she ran right into St. Louis.
"Woah there, little kitten. You got to be careful when running around." St. Louis said softly as she knelt down to help Mutsuki up off the ground. Mutsuki dusted herself off and stood up.
"St. Louis-san!" Mutsuki exclaimed excitedly.
"Can I help you with anything little one?" St. Louis asked.
"Have you seen Spee-san?" Mutsuki asked.
"I saw her walking towards the communications room. I can take you to her if you'd like." St. Louis said, happy to help the young destroyer.
Mutsuki nodded excitedly as St. Louis scooped her up off the floor.
"Looks like the Union fleet got really close before meeting with Azuma. They should only be twenty minutes until they return." Tirpitz said as Spee nodded.
"Look. There's Graf Spee." St. Louis said as she walked up the steps, carrying Mutsuki, who was more than content with being petted between her ears.
"Spee-san! Can we go play?" Mutsuki asked, her face caked with chocolate from her last piece.
Spee walked over with a soft smile and wiped off Mutsuki's face.
"Of course, little one. We can go down to the docks and play with the little crabs that crawl on shore." Spee said with a soft smile.
"It's nice to see you smiling, Graf Spee." Tirpitz said as she smiled softly at the Destroyer who was burying her face in St. Louis's chest.
"You give nice hugs too, St. Louis-san." Mutsuki said as St. Louis blushed brightly.
"That's a nice thing to say." St. Louis said as she regained composure.
Spee looked down at her own chest and sighed.
"Don't worry about it Spee. Having big ones come with more problems than having smaller ones." Tirpitz said, noticing Spee's predicament.
"I'm happy with my body, Tirpitz. At least I'm not like Hipper." Spee said with a smile.
"You had better hope she don't hear that." Tirpitz said with a chuckle.
"I think Azuma has me beat in the hug category though." St. Louis said as she put Mutsuki on the ground.
Mutsuki sniffled a bit before running over to Spee.
"Let's go, little kitten. We're gonna go down to the docks." Spee said as she scooped the destroyer off the stone steps.
"Okay..." Mutsuki said sadly.
"I have a surprise for you that I think you'll like." Spee said softly as she scratched Mutsuki between her ears.
"Really?" Mutsuki asked, her tears stopping for a short moment.
Spee nodded, remembering the moment that Azuma had left. She had been there holding Mutsuki, who had adamantly refused to leave Azuma's side. Spee never thought she would be able to hear the sound of a child's heart breaking, but the moment Azuma left the docks without Mutsuki, Spee placed the sound immediately. From that moment on, she had been trying to find a way to make it up to the feline destroyer. She had vowed to be there when Azuma returned to hear the cries of joy.
Spee considered grabbing some chocolate for herself, but decided that it would be best to get to the docks before everyone arrived.
They arrived shortly after and sat on the docks.
"Do you know how to skip stones?" Spee asked.
Mutsuki shook her head.
"I was always too busy watching Takao-san with her sword practice. Fusou-san always made sure I was busy doing something productive. And Lady Nagato always made sure we had fun stuff and candy to keep us happy in the down time." Mutsuki said.
"It sounds like you had a great life back in the Empire." Spee said as she picked up a small stone.
"I did... but... now the Sakura is gone. Azumama is all I have now." Mutsuki said tearfully.
"That's not true." Spee said as she handed Mutsuki the stone before sitting next to her.
"Really?" Mutsuki asked.
"You have Azuma, Tirpitz, Eugen, Warspite, all of us. And of course you have the Kommandant and all the girls with him. Everyone wants the world to go back to normal. So, don't lose hope." Spee said as she found another stone.
Mutsuki watched as Spee launched the stone across the water, skipping countless times before a loud clank was heard, like the sound of stone against steel.
Mutsuki looked out and saw a massive fleet emerging from the fog, causing her eyes to go wide in terror.
"Spee-san!" Mutsuki cried as she hid behind the pocket battleship.
"Mutsuki, it's alright. Those are Union ships." Spee said as Mutsuki peeked out, seeing the large fleet begin mooring and offloading all of the civilians.
"Wow... that's a lot of people." Mutsuki said.
Spee nodded.
"I see ships of every type. Even submarines." Spee said as Mutsuki caught sight of I-19's red ears and tail.
"It's I-19!" Mutsuki said happily.
"So it is. I see U-557 as well." Spee said as she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning slowly, she saw Azuma holding a finger to her lips.
Azuma knelt down behind Mutsuki.
"Do you see her yet?" Spee asked.
"No..." Mutsuki said sadly.
"I see her ship." Spee said as she pointed to a remarkable large cruiser sitting in the last berth.
Mutsuki sighed with relief.
"Do you see her yet?" Azuma asked from behind Mutsuki.
Mutsuki shook her head.
"Maybe she's helping everyone get off the boats." Mutsuki said softly before stopping for a few moments.
She turned slowly and nearly screamed when she was face to face with Azuma.
"Azumama!" Mutsuki cried as she hugged Azuma with everything her little body could muster, unwilling to let her go.
Spee wiped a tear from her eyes as she watched a very happy kitten embrace her mama.
"Welcome back, Azuma." Spee said.
"It's good to be back." Azuma said.
"Eugen-san and St. Louis-san were right." Mutsuki said.
"Oh?" Azuma asked.
"Azumama gives the best hugs." Mutsuki said as she remained steadfast on her refusal to release the cruiser from her grasp.
Azuma looked at Spee, who cupped her chest.
"Well, thank you, little one. I'm happy that you enjoy my hugs." Azuma said as she picked up the tuckered out destroyer and headed down to the docks to continue unloading the civilians.