Once the Kanmusu came ashore, it was revealed that they would be spending the night at the Baohua hotel, a rather tall building with a commanding view over the harbor.
"As you can probably guess, they don't get much in the way of tourism anymore, here." Ning Hai said, perhaps a little stiffly, as they entered the lobby, "the only guests our little province normally gets these days are the black-armored and nasty kind. And they are not in the habit of booking rooms."
"A shame too! This place looks awesome!" Iowa said, looking around with her star-spangled eyes, "Wow! The place even has a swimming pool!"
"Oh, yes, we cross almost the entire breadth of the South China Sea, and your first thought is plunking yourself right back in the water," Houston said jokingly.
Iowa waved the Cruiser off, as the Destroyers, who had slowly formed one big gaggle during the walk, stared around in wonder.
"So 'tis is our digs fer the night?" O'Bannon asked, looking around the front lobby, "we gettin' separate rooms or what? Cause if so I'd rather stay with my squadron if it's all the same." She finished, wrapping both her arms around the shoulders of the nearby Strong and Taylor, respectively. Nicholas nodded in agreement, from where she'd been standing by Gambier Bay.
Ning spared a warm smile for the US Destroyers, "Of course, most of the rooms are empty, you can come to any sleeping arrangements you like."
"Yes! Actual beds!" Kisaragi said, pumping a fist, "I hate sleeping out on the ocean, I'm always scared I'll capsize in my sleep!"
"Oh come on kids! I'll keep you from going under, you know that!" Yuubari said, stooping to catch the entirety of Desdiv 30 in a bearhug before catching a decidedly neutral look from Ning. Yuubari straightened, coughing into one closed fist, "Uh, yes, I uhm..."
While the other vessels continued talking about sleeping arrangements, DesDiv 6 mingled with the pair of Chinese Destroyers, Akatsuki poked Chien Kang, getting both of the smaller Destroyer's (and wasn't that a feat!) attention, "...So, um, I-I'm Akatsuki, names-ship of my class and a real Lady! And these are some of my sisters," she swept a hand behind her, pointing at the rest of her division, "Hibiki, Inazuma, and Ikazuchi!"
"Hi, I'm Chien Kang-" the little blonde started, only for the other to carry on the sentence.
"-And I'm Yu Chang," Yu continued, seamlessly, her twin bobs of hair swaying slightly as she looked up at Akatsuki "we're both-"
"-FU PO class Torpedo boat Destroyers." Chien finished for her sister, wringing her hands shyly.
There was a pause as the newly-introduced Destroyers sized each other up.
...
"You look Western," Hibiki said, rather bluntly.
"Ah! Hibiki! Don't be rude!" Inazuma said, before waving her hands placatingly to the two bemused Chinese Kanmusu, "she didn't mean it! She's just really honest sometimes!"
Chien smiled widely, "Don't worry about it, Missus Inazuma! We-"
"-Were made in Germany, as variants of the-"
"-S90 class torpedo boat!" They finished together.
Akatsuki's eyes were practically spinning, as she was made dizzy looking back and forth at the two Destroyers as they kept talking over each other, "Bwah! Stop talking like that!" She asked, shaking her head.
Chien frowned, puzzled, "Talking-"
"-Like what?" Yu finished.
"Alright squirts!" Tenryuu said, walking up to the group of escorts, "The grub the Chinese provided is being brought into the main cafeteria. If you wanna grab anything nows the time!" She smirked, "Unless you little munchkins aren't hungr-"
Chien cheered, raising both fists to the air, "Yay! We've been looking forward to eating with you guys-"
"-ever since we heard you were coming!" Yu cried, hugging her sister before they turned to DesDiv 6.
"Come on! We know where the cafeteria is!" They both said together, before hurrying down the hall.
Tenryuu blinked (indistinguishable from a wink due to her single eye) as the Akatsuki's dashed after the Fu Po-class Destroyers. "Huh, well, someone's getting along, at least." She muttered, looking over to where Ning Hai was still subtly glaring daggers at the Carriers.
The Cafeteria, looking more like a restaurant than anything, was packed. Not with people, no, there was a bare handful besides the Kanmusu, not including the workers, but with food. The food was being brought out not by platter or trolly, but by pallet, a quartet of Chinese men in the hotel's uniform using pallet jacks to wheel out boxes of pre-cooked seafood, working together to stock the table, as another pair worked on keeping on top of the empty dishes.
"You're supposed to take the meat out of the shell first, you know," Houston said dryly, as Iowa crunched down on a massive red lobster claw.
The American Battleship simply finished chewing, before looking over, "But I like the crunch!" She took another large chunk out of the claw, before setting it down and picking up the large fish-burger on her plate, she looked over at Gambier, who was enjoying her own burger, a rare, truly happy smile on the pigtailed girls face, "It's not a good'ol fashioned Hamburger, but this is pretty good! What kind of fish you think this is Gamby?"
Gambier Bay finished chewing and swallowed before she replied, "I'm not sure, it tastes like Haddock, but... hmm... most good fish does, to me anyway. What do you think, uhm, Shinano?" She turned in her seat to the Yamato-hulled Carrier, who was herself heaping another pile of dumplings onto her plate.
Shinano looked over to her fellow Carrier, cheeks bulging out like a chipmunk as she chewed frantically to be able to reply, that got a short barking laugh out of Iowa, and a small giggle out of Gambier Bay. Shinano finally swallowed, snatching a napkin and dabbing at the corner of her cheeks before replying, "Ahm, I think they may be Red Snappers, see that whole one Akagi is eating?" She pointed, to where the named Carrier was brutally dismembering eating a large fish, she had forgone the chopsticks and forks provided, and had simply picked the large animal up with her hands, tearing into it with gusto as the American destroyers watched in horrified fascination beside her.
"I'm almost afraid to sit this close to her mouth," Taylor said, edging away slightly as the Japanese Carrier popped the cooked fish's head into her mouth, chomping down with a loud 'crunch' before going for the next fish on the pile in front of her, "she might eat me by accident!"
Kaga, sitting calmly at Akagi's side, shook her head, "That's preposterous," she turned to the Fletchers, as she put her napkin down, "she only ever eats escorts that misbehave, I'm sure you four will be fine." She finished with a deadpan expression.
"Y-you're kidding, right?" Strong asked.
Kaga simply stared at them with the same aloof expression she always seemed to wear, a perfect poker face.
Strong looked at Akagi, "She's kidding, right?!"
Akagi, who had been in a feeding-induced trance, paused, looking over at the American Destroyers blankly. A long strip of flesh hanging out of her mouth, still attached to the fish she was currently demolishing.
...
There was a rustling as the chairs the Destroyers were using scraped on the floor, the ships dragging their seats further from the Japanese Carriers as Akagi went back to eating, speeding up to make up for lost time.
Kaga put her napkin to her mouth, hiding the wide smirk on her face under the pretense of dabbing away some non-existent crumb, "Destroyers, all the same, no matter where they are made." She muttered, amused.
She was brought out of her brief jolly mood as she noticed Ning again, the 'Cruiser' didn't notice the Carriers gaze for a moment, talking with a well-dressed Chinese official next to her, but she seemed to notice Kaga's gaze, turning to look at the Carrier.
...
Ning Hai turned back to the official, lips considerably more pursed, as Kaga let out an almost imperceptible sigh, going back to her own food.
"So you weren't even an IJN vessel?" Chien said shyly, looking across the 'kiddie table' at Muruyu. The table consisted of the Fu Po's, Akatsuki's, and the singular submergence transport.
The two Chinese Destroyers had been a bit hesitant to talk to the Submarine, but had relaxed as the conversation had gone on, largely helped along by Inazuma including the shy girl.
The small Submarine nodded, pushing up her goggles from where they had slipped down her forehead a little, "Yeah, I was made in a bunch of different factories, but it was all on commission from the IJA to reinforce their isolated Pacific garrisons, I was crewed by them too, over the IJN."
Yu, seemed to come to a realization, "You were made-"
"-In separate factories?" Chien finished, "Does that mean you were-"
"-Built-in modular pieces, and put together separately?" Yu said.
*Mogumogumogu-*
Maruyu stopped chewing as she realized the question had been directed at her, she blinked, a chicken leg sticking out of her mouth awkwardly before she tore off a piece and replied, "Nono! I am ALL of me! Maruyu is all of Maruyu!"
The near-identical Fu-Po's looked at each other, "I don't understand." They said together.
Hibiki chimed in, "Mogu is all the Submergeance transports rolled into one. there was..." She squinted, trying to remember, "forty? Made, she is all of them." Hibiki thumbed at Maruyu, who, for her part, was pouting.
"We're Maruyu! Not Mogu!" She turned to the Chinese ships, "She's almost right, there was thirty-eight of me finished! Split between the Yu-1, 1001, 2001 and 3001 sub-classes!" Maruyu smiled, "most of me even survived the war! Only five of us actually sank."
"Wow," Chien said, before looking a little sad, "so, if your class is all just one ship, does that mean you don't have any sisters?"
Maruyu giggled, shaking her head before replying, "Of course I do, we are all right here!"
She tapped her own forehead.
"Don't even think about it, dess." Kongou said, putting a hand to Nagato's shoulder, as the Japanese Battleship stared longingly at the kiddie table, a small whine sounding from somewhere deep in her throat.
"But they are so adorable!" Nagato gushed, quietly, as not to be heard by the others, a low squee escaped her lips as the Chinese Destroyers spoke to Maruyu, "Look at them making friends!"
"And they'll keep making friends, with each other, without getting hugged to near-implosion by a Battleship!" Kongou said the last archly, a knowing grin working its way across her face.
"...That was one time, and it was an accident!" Nagato hissed quietly, a small blush nonetheless working across her cheeks.
"Poor Hirato STILL runs and hides when she hears you're on base..." Kongou continued, "poor girl, not to mention she has the other DE's terrified of you ne!"
Nagato huffed, looking down at her plate, "Honestly, she didn't need to start spreading rumors about me wanting toeat them! It was an accident! I hadn't even been Awake for a month! I... didn't really know my own strength..." Nagato said the last haltingly, putting a hand to her face to knead her forehead.
Kongou patted the Battleship's bare shoulder consolingly, before she playfully nudged the larger Battleship's cheek with a finger, "Come on Nagato-San! Stiff upper lip, you big lug! Here..."
Nagato looked up, "Wha-Urmph!?"
Kongou smiled, setting down her chopsticks and grabbing the teapot set out for her, she re-filled her cup as Nagato silently chewed on the massive pile of fried shrimp Kongou had shoved into her mouth, "A full-hold always make me feel better, dess!"
Nagato just continued chewing, after all, she couldn't really argue.
Especially when she found the dipping sauce.