"Be back by ten dear...Commander," Amagi chimed from the kitchen. Nanami was almost sure she was teasing her, but if she wasn't, what was that? Shaking it out of her head, she continued out the door and made her way to the infirmary.

Once there, she checked in with Vestal. Apparently she had an entire copy of her bedroom here for events like this. Nanami wondered who approved that expense, but ultimately decided, if it kept her top nurse happy, it was good.

When she entered the ward, she was pleasantly surprised to see most of the girls awake and eating or talking.

Choukai was surrounded by her family, all three of her sisters, Atago, Maya and Takao. Hibiki was still out, but that wasn't surprising with the wounds she suffered. Nanami decided she would need to hear everything from someone in the coming days. Zuikaku seemed the most likely candidate for that.

As she walked down the ward, Takao turned and saw her. She quickly ran up to her and bowed deeply.

"Commander, you have my thanks and my eternal loyalty. Atago told me what you did for Choukai. Though I was incredulous at first, I am now humbled, seeing your arm, to know it was true. My blade is yours, forever," the dog-eared girl made an overt show of her gratitude.

Nanami smiled at the woman, and replied, "I accept your declaration, but you do not need to thank me. I am the Commander, I need to look after the well-being of those I lead. That also means you Takao. If you are having a hard time, come talk to me. I will listen. You do not have to bear all of your burdens alone." Takao was not sure what she expected in response to her vow, but this was not it.

With the eldest sister leading the way, both Maya and Atago came to thank her as well, but she waved the back. She came over to them so they wouldn't have to push themselves, even if they were okay. Atago looked haggard, but much better than she had the previous night out on the water. Maya meanwhile had some bandages and visible scrapes.

Finally was Choukai who waited patiently for her turn, "Commander, I'm sorry that this is the state in which we officially meet. And I'm sorry that my rigging gave you that those injuries. Please forgive me for being so careless."

"You are fine Choukai. I did what I had to, and my injuries are the result of my actions nobody else's. I imagine any one of you would do the same in that situation. More importantly how are you feeling?" She reassured the injured woman.

The cruiser smiled softly, "Thank you Commander. Well, I feel like I was hit by a torpedo. It is hard to explain unless you have actually been hit by one before." It was Nanami's turn to smile.

"I think I can imagine it. I was in the fragmentation radius of an Siren shell during the Battle of Puget Sound," She revealed. All four of the girls' eyes widened.

Seeing the shock she continued, "Yes, I have a bit of a score to settle with the Sirens. My injuries only scrape the surface of why."

The youngest of the four, Choukai gestured for the Commander to come closer. Once she was in range, the woman leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

"Take that as a token of my appreciation Commander," she giggled. This event made her sisters, especially Takao, glare at the injured girl. However when she put on the puppy-eyes, their hearts melted and they could not stay mad at her.

Once they settled back into their conversation, Nanami excused herself and stopped by Hibiki's bed. Offering a prayer again, she was about to step away when the little hand she had just held softly grabbed her blouse.

"Are you a Tennin?" the young destroyer asked in Sakuran. Nanami smiled, Tennin were angelic, fae-like beings in Buddhism.

"No Hibiki, I am Nanami. But, I will guard you from here on like an angel," Nanami replied to the heavily-injured little girl.

"Promise?" she asked weakly, needing reassurance. Nanami leaned over, softly kissed the girl on the forehead like her mother used to do to her

She reassured the girl, "I promise, now get some sleep. You need strength to heal, and that is your job now, okay?" Hibiki lightly nodded and drifted off to sleep again, a peaceful smile on her face. The sight hurt Nanami deeply, it was just too much like herself 15 years ago. A kid this age should never have to fight a war. Nanami resolved to give her uncle a piece of her mind next time she called him.

Saying one more prayer to the gods, she turned and went to Shoukaku's curtained off area. When she peaked in, both of the crane sisters were sleeping, so she left quietly. She found Vestal and left a message with her. After getting some sleep the repair-ship was much more friendly and accommodating.

With the visits done, she left with some time before she needed to be back at the house, so she went for a walk. Her feet carried her to the waterfront where she sat on a bench for a few minutes. Then the peace was disturbed by the sight of that damned dock-warehouse.

I am going to figure out what is in there now. This is my base, I should know what is on it, Nanami thought, steeling her resolve. For it to be plated the way it is, whatever was in there was probably dangerous. As she approached the door, she saw that it was welded shut. There were gaps, but for the most part it was one with the wall.

She realized just how futile this was without the right equipment, and was about to leave when she heard something. It was a high, keening howl from the other side of the door. But what she also heard a voice in her head.

"Remember who you are. Reunite your soul. Retaliate against the usurpers," the voice, her voice, demanded in her head. She stumbled back from the warehouse, stunned at what had just happened. She pinched herself to ensure she was awake, sure enough, it hurt. Nanami just had a repeat of the encounter with the wolf she had met in the dream. Except this time it was in real life, it said more, and it was in this warehouse.

She decided she must be hallucinating from the blow to the head or the stress of the last few days. She would have Vestal run an MRI on her when she had the time. If only for peace of mind. Looking at her phone, she realized it was almost time to meet up with the others, and she took off home. Nanami arrived just on time due to the warehouse.

As she entered she called out, "I am back from the infirmary."

"Welcome back! We are in the living room," Amagi called out from within the house. Nanami took her shoes off and made her way towards the conversation coming from the living room. As she entered the room, she was met by a flying blur of blonde and pink. She dodged it and wrapped her arms around Marblehead's waist to keep her from crashing into the wall.

"You need to try harder than that to ambush me," she got close and whispered in her ear. A shiver went down Marblehead's spine at the sound of Nanami's whisper, and the proximity of their bodies. She was so caught up in it that when Nanami released her, she almost fell forward.

The rest of the room was silent, and more than a couple were red. Suddenly Nanami realized that what she had done could have been misconstrued.

"I only told her to try harder to ambush me next time," she blurted out, making herself sound far more guilty than if she had stayed quiet.

Nanami quickly changed the topic, "That aside, how are you all?" After a round of replies, it came to a girl with blonde hair up in a ponytail. That did nothing to keep her hair from spilling all around her in huge waves. Her eyes were a lavender. Her outfit was, revealing to say the least, showing quite a bit of cleavage. Between her and Marblehead, Nanami began to get a little worried about them picking out her clothes.

"I'm Nachi, Myoukou-class's second ship, and the most perfectly designed heavy cruiser in existence. I'm in your care from now on," Nachi introduced herself before she walked up and stared at Nanami's eyes. Nanami returned the introduction with her standard spiel, and Nachi smiled.

"Are you so desperate that you tell everyone to call you by your first name?" she laughed. Her laugh was almost stereotypical for a rich, spoiled girl.

Nanami decided not to give her what she wanted, and turned to the rest of the group, "So, are we ready to leave?" Nachi pouted at being ignored, but bounced back quickly at the thought of shopping.

"I think we are ready, yes," Enterprise answered from her spot next to Yorktown. Then Grim suddenly took off from her shoulder and flew to Nanami's left shoulder.

"Oh Grim, how could I forget about you? How is my best bird friend doing?" she cooed at Grim while gently petting his head. They left the house with her still petting the bird. As they walked, Yorktown remembered a question that was pertinent to the shopping.

"Nanami, how much are you willing to spend? That might affect where we go to shop," she asked Nanami with a bit of hesitation.

Nanami waved her off, "It will be fine. Whatever is picked I will purchase." Now that she said it, she realized what she said, and she looked to the other girls whose mouths were all on the ground.

"Is there something wrong? I have never really spent money from my paychecks. Most of it went into savings," she explained. Amagi smiled and stepped up to Nanami's right side.

"You don't just go bragging about how rich you are Nanami, that's impolite," she chided. Nanami realized what she said this time, and now understood why the girls responded that way. It wasn't shock that she'd buy anything, but shock she had that much money.

Nachi and Marblehead hugged and their eyes sparkled thinking of all the things they could get her to wear. She would be a real life doll for them! Seeing them interacting like this Nanami just barely smiled. It was good to see Empire and Union girls get along so well.

After a short while, Grim moved on to Yorktown for more attention. He was quite the attention hog when given the chance. Eventually they made it to an upscale fashion wear store that Nachi and Marblehead insisted was the best place for clothes. Nanami wasn't sure if either of them had ever actually shopped here, but they seemed confident, so she followed them in.

Once in, it was clear how upscale this place was, meticulously clean with the smell of new clothes toned down by perfume, and a trendy new pop song playing softly on the speakers. Grim had to wait outside, so he took off flying above the city.

Meanwhile, the girls started to put together outfits immediately and handing them to Nanami to try on in the fitting room. Of course with their eyes, they all fit, but Nanami a few of them seemed a little...revealing.

One such item was a tank-top with a heart-shaped window to show her cleavage. Paired with the sinfully short khaki shorts they gave her for it, she was showing more skin than she was hiding. However, she kind of liked it. She wouldn't be wearing it to the barbecue, but it would be nice to dress for herself every once in a while.

When she came out of the fitting room, several of the girls went quiet, and Enterprise turned red.

"Is it that bad?" Nanami asked as Enterprise turned away.

She quickly spun back around and stammered, "N-n-n-no no no. You look good, great...i mean it is..." She trailed off as she tried to explain herself. Nanami did not understand what was going on. She did not seem to be able to access her emotions here.

She discarded that thought to return to the fitting room. This was the last outfit here, a swimsuit. It was a white bikini with frills along the edges, and rather light on material otherwise. If the others hadn't seen all her scars before, they certainly would now. Nanami put the bikini on and stepped out to hear a soft exclamation.

"Oh,"Enterprise let out a soft cry of amazement. Her face, which had only just recovered from the previous outfit, went into overdrive. The eyes of Nachi and Marblehead gleamed once again. They had succeeded in their job here. Everything they picked looked awesome on her!

"We should totes hang out sometime," Marblehead said as they danced around in celebration.

Nachi replied, "I'd love to. Unfortunately I am leaving on a mission tomorrow. So when I get back we'll spend some time together!" Nanami was impressed with just how well those two were getting along. Who knew something like fashion could unite two people.

Meanwhile, as Nanami changed out of the swimsuit, she heard Yorktown say, "Oh little sister, you just can't be honest with yourself can you?" The commander wasn't sure what she meant by that, but Enterprise's response was cut off when she exited the changing room.

With all the outfits gathered up after, Nanami decided to get them all. She wouldn't be wearing any of the outfits from here to the barbecue, but with all the things she had to go to, she really needed some clothes. The more elegant dresses especially would see use.

After they left, they went to a more all-around, lower-priced clothing store. There were a lot of t-shirts, jeans, shorts, and sportswear that she would pick from. Her favorite was a cute blue t-shirt with a smiling cartoon wolf in white, and a pair of khaki capris.

Especially popular outfits from the shop were a tight-fitting tracksuit, a blue sundress that she would be wearing to the barbecue, and jean shorts with a tied off plaid shirt.

They paid for all of the outfits that got good receptions. Some of those showed more skin than she would normally show due to her scars. She did not want to bother others with the way she looked.

However, the fashionistas insisted and Nanami had promised to buy what they recommended. Nanami carried the bags with Enterprise's help, and the group made their way back to the base with about an hour to spare before the barbecue.

As the rest of the group sat in the living room, she changed into her new clothes. Sure it felt odd wearing them without washing them from the shop first, but that couldn't be helped. Instead she used a perfume that Marblehead brought to cover up the new clothes scent. This girl seemed prepared for anything as long as it was fashion related.

Nachi wanted to help as well, so Nanami had her put her hair into a long over-the-shoulder braid. It was a slight variation of the braid she used to wear on a regular basis, but she had not worn her hair in one since arriving on base a few days prior.

Then the dynamic duo did her makeup together. This bonding experience was going so well that Nanami was almost excited to see how the cookout would go with all the other Sakura girls there.

Once everything was done, she reentered the living room.

"Shall we leave for the party?"


A/N: I greatly appreciate you waiting patiently for this chapter. It is slightly on the short side, but it was the only way to write it that would make it make sense.

That said, I started publishing my web novel over on Tapas. It is called Redemption of a Reicarnated Tyrant. Link is on my profile!