"Commander is awake, and she brought others with her this time, nyaa! Do you need Akashi, Yuubari, or both nyaa?" Akashi remarked upon seeing the group that was arrayed in front of her.
"Good afternoon Akashi. I need both of you, and your expertise," Nanami answered, not giving away the full reason for her visit. Still, Akashi's eyes sparkled, she seemed to have a sense for secrets.
"Follow Akashi then nyaa! One of you will have to carry the Commander, as there are no ramps nyaa," Akashi warned as she opened a door behind the counter.
"I do not nee-" Nanami began to protest when Enterprise lifted her straight from the chair into a princess carry.
"Oh..." she breathed, looking back over Enterprise's shoulder. Behind them was a smirking Amagi and a smiling Hood, and Nanami's face burned. She buried it into Enterprise's neck to hide her embarrassment. This caused Enterprise to panic, nearly dropping Nanami, only further encouraging Nanami to bury her face.
"En, be gentle..." Nanami whined just loud enough that Amagi heard it.
She swept forward and whispered in Enterprise's other ear, "Yes En, be gentle with Nanami." Enterprise's face scrunched up as she tried to ignore the pair and focus on walking.
After a going down several flights of stairs into Yuubari's research center, Akashi finally stopped the group. Nanami had recovered enough to speak.
"En...please...you can put me down now. Just stay close so I may lean on you," Nanami whispered in Enterprise's ear. Enterprise obeyed, her face still red from Amagi's previous teasing.
"So, what does the Commander need of Akashi and Yuubari, nyaa?" Akashi asked once she had pried Yuubari from her current project.
"Amagi?" Nanami prodded. Amagi came forward and showed the two smaller Sakura ships the cube. The moment they saw it, they looked at one another in excitement.
"This is what you think it is. It came from the Siren that attacked us. I want you two to poke and prod at it, learn from it. If it looks like it is reacting too much, stop and come get me," Nanami explained her request in full now that she had the pair of them.
"We have the perfect equipment to analyze this with," Yuubari happily announced, and ran over to uncover a machine with a tarp over it.
"Great idea Yuubari, nyaa! That came to us compliments of another Siren, nyaa! Of course the Sakura admiralty doesn't need to know that, nyaa," Akashi exclaimed before turning around to ensure everyone understood. Nanami's curiosity got the better of her, and she moved forward to inspect the machine.
"How does it work?" she asked Yuubari who was calibrating the machine.
The little cruiser's face glowed as she explained, "It takes sonic input and converts it into a tightly focused, high energy beam! It's great for trying to get reactions from Siren tech! Additionally, every one of us gives off a unique harmonic signature that the machine can be attuned to!" Nanami smiled at the enthusiasm of her research team, and then she had an idea.
"Does it have a microphone? Could it take input from an individual, such as singing?" she inquired, and Yuubari stopped in her tracks.
"No, but I can make one," she responded excitedly. After assuring her that was what she wanted, Nanami turned back to the group she had brought with her.
"Ladies, I hope I do not have to say this, but.." Nanami began, when she was cut off by an unexpected source.
"None of this is to be spoken of? Nanami, I am sure none of us would dare betray your confidences," Hood assured her. The others made it clear they agreed with Hood's sentiment.
"Before we leave, please let Akashi and Yuubari get your harmonic signature. It will allow them to better experiment if they have multiple signatures," Nanami requested, and then in a surprise to the others, she stepped up to the machine first.
"Commander what are you doing nyaa?" Akashi asked, clearly confused.
"Again ladies, this is my secret, a personal one, and one I only just found out myself thanks to Vestal's help. Long story short, I have a wisdom cube," Nanami explained, and the room went silent. After a moment, Amagi stepped forward.
"This certainly explains the previously inexplicable events that surrounded you. It also brings many more questions out," Amagi mused.
Nanami nodded and responded, "Yes, questions I plan to find the answers to myself before the Admiral arrives so I may confront him."
"You have our support Commander! We will do anything to assist you," Shoukaku chimed, stepping forward. The others echoed her assurances, and Nanami couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.
Akashi began the scans, and after a few minutes everyone was in the database. Though, Akashi remarked on Nanami's scan.
"Commander's harmonic is so much louder and clearer than the others nyaa! What a surprise nyaa," she commented. With another interesting, yet confusing fact attributed to her cube, the group left the building, Nanami once again in Enterprise's arms on the stairs.
"Where do you wish to go next Nanami?" Amagi asked once they were out in the open again. Nanami began to speak when suddenly a vicious growl came from her stomach.
"Shall we go to the Royal dorms? The Queen is fond of late lunches, so the food should still be quite fresh," Hood remarked tactfully, something which Nanami was incredibly grateful for. The group agreed, and they headed off to the Royal dorms.
The rest of the day consisted of Nanami visiting the rest of the dorms and notifying the representatives of each faction of an important meeting they were to attend the next morning. Along the way, more than a few of her girls stopped her to wish her well.
Near the end, it was just Amagi, Enterprise, and herself. She wanted to head to the office to catch up on papers that had undoubtedly piled up in the few days she was absent. Her advisers had other plans. They took her home, En princess carried her through the door, and right into the bedroom.
It wasn't until she was on the bed that Nanami realized how exhausted she was, not just physically, but mentally as well. She could not recall a time where she was this beat down by events. When the other two joined her on the bed, she sank into their soft embrace and quickly drifted off.
Nanami awoke the next morning with both Enterprise and Amagi gone from the bed, but she smelled breakfast. After she got up, she struggled into an undershirt, then made her way to the dining room, following her nose.
She heard the voices of her two close friends as she approached, and she stopped to peak around the corner. What she saw filled her heart with so much joy, she wasn't aware she was capable of feeling any emotion this strongly except for rage. There at the stove was Enterprise, cooking with Amagi's arms wrapped around her from behind, guiding her movements.
Enterprise's face was red as Amagi deftly moved her hands for her, teaching her the proper way to make something that Nanami could not see. Realizing that this was probably a surprise for her, Nanami turned around and gingerly made her way back to bed. What she didn't see as he left was Amagi's right ear flick towards her.
A few minutes later, Amagi entered the room and quickly crossed to the bed. She laid down gently, and with a sly smile, gently hugged Nanami to her bosom.
"You can stop pretending to be asleep now Nanami," she whispered as she released her hug, and Nanami knew that she had been found out.
Nanami looked up at her strategist and then realized how she had been discovered. She reached up and playfully stroked Amagi's ears. Amagi's playful smile was replaced by panic and she let out a light moan.
"These ears are so wonderful, even when they betray me. And again you make such cute sounds when I touch them," Nanami teased as she ran her thumbs over the tips of her ears.
Amagi grew desperate and whined, "Nanami..." Taking that as the cue to stop, Nanami released her ears gently and got out of bed. Amagi had to regain her composure before she could follow.
When they reached the dining room, Enterprise was just finishing setting out the food, and was still in a cute blue and white apron.
"G-good morning Nanami," Enterprise stuttered her greeting when she saw Nanami enter.
Nanami gave her a brilliant smile and said, "You did not have to go to all this trouble just for me En, but thank you for cooking breakfast. It means a lot." Enterprise blushed heavily, and couldn't speak, so she simply gestured for the others to sit. There on Nanami's plate was a breakfast crepe. It wasn't perfect in its aesthetics, but that was to be expected with someone's first try.
After a table prayer, they began eating. Nanami practically wiggled from happiness.
"This is very good En, was this your first try making crepes?" she complimented Enterprise who took a moment to respond.
"Th-thank you...yes, it's k-kind of my first time cooking anything really," she admitted sheepishly. Nanami grinned again. She really couldn't help it or explain why, but her emotions were far more available to her ever since she woke up from her injury induced coma.
After a short, pleasant breakfast, Enterprise and Amagi cleaned up. Nanami offered to help, but she was simply pushed back into her chair by Amagi and told to wait. When they had finished cleaning up, they took Nanami back to her room and helped her into her uniform.
Though she hadn't noticed it the day before, Nanami realized that her uniform felt slightly tighter. She really felt it around the chest region in particular. She stared at herself in the mirror trying to figure it out when Amagi noticed what she was doing.
"Nanami, what's wrong?" she asked, coming up behind the Commander. Nanami suddenly became very aware of what she had been doing, and her face burned.
"Nothing," she denied a little too strongly. Amagi grinned, but let it pass for the moment since they had to get to the office for the meeting. Instead she filed it away for future use. Soon thereafter they left the house and on the way to the office, they came across Mikasa and a second woman that Nanami was unfamiliar with.
"Good morning Mikasa, may I ask who your friend is?" Nanami approached and greeted the pair. Mikasa's friend was short, had icy blue eyes, and wore her white hair in two long braids. She dressed in what was clearly a Northern Parliament winter uniform. As with the uniforms of most of the ship girls, it was heavily customized.
"Good morning Commander, I am happily surprised to see you up and about after the injuries you sustained. I will allow her to introduce herself," Mikasa returned the greeting warmly. The woman next to her stepped forward.
"Greetings comrade Commander! I am Avrora, the Pallada-class Light Cruiser. My guns signaled the start of the October Revolution," Avrora introduced herself, then continued, "The Northern Parliament sent me as its representative to see if this Azur Lane was worth backing. If half of what comrade Mikasa has told me is true, you will have our strength."
"We are pleased to have you comrade Avrora, and Mikasa flatters me with her praise. I am Nanami Winters, the Commander of Azur Lane as you are aware. Please, join us, we were just headed to the office for a meeting with the representatives of every faction over a sensitive matter that just came to my attention yesterday," Nanami offered to the pair. Avrora nodded in agreement and the group continued on to the office.
Once in the building Nanami saw Belfast preparing tea in the break room. Enterprise stared at her, and though Nanami grew jealous, she reigned it in this time.
"Go," Nanami told Enterprise, who jumped in surprise. Nanami motioned for her to go help Belfast, and Enterprise hesitantly left. Since there was a short amount of time left before the meeting, Nanami stopped in her office first. The sight she was met with brought tears to her eyes.
Her entire desk was overflowing with balloons, flowers, and cards. As she picked through them, each seemed to be sent by a different group of women. There was even a bag of candy from the Mutsuki class destroyers with a homemade card that told her the candy would make her feel better. She popped one of the candies into her mouth and smiled. Turns out that Mutsuki was right, they did make her feel better.
"I think there is no doubt the entire joint fleet acknowledges you as our Commander already Nanami, especially after your actions the other day," Amagi explained. Nanami was a bit overwhelmed and had to take a moment to recover before they moved on to the meeting room. However, as she was about to leave, Essex entered the room.
Seeing Nanami there and awake for the first time in days, Essex dropped the papers in her hand and wrapped Nanami in a hug. It wasn't until Nanami yelped in pain that the carrier let her go.
"I'm sorry Commander! It's just..I thought you were...I didn't think..you would be able to come back," Essex sniffed, tears forming as fast as she could brush them away. Nanami was the one to hug Essex this time, wrapping her up as tightly as she could manage.
"Everything will be okay Essex. I am not going anywhere anytime soon. I promise," Nanami comforted until she stopped crying.
Essex wiped away the remaining tears, and apologized, "I-I'm sorry Commander. I must look so silly, crying in front of someone new."
Avrora shook her head and assured her, "Comrade Essex, it is clear that the Commander means a great deal to you and many others on this base. Your reaction only shines a bright light on the loyalty the Commander instills."
Once Essex had gathered her papers off the floor, the group continued to the meeting room where all of the representatives were already gathered. Each representative also had a second who was to act as a secretary and take notes. She motioned to the open seat at the table for Avrora to sit, and then took her spot at the head of the table.
"Ladies, I want to thank you for gathering here on short notice. I have new information that I am going to provide to you. First though, I'll allow our new comrade to introduce herself," Nanami announced. The group turned to Avrora who gave a similar introduction as before, and once they had each made introductions in return, they turned their attention back to Nanami.
"For the time being this information must not leave the base. Is that understood?" Nanami asked, though it was clear what her orders were. Tirpitz was the one to speak, since she felt it was most indirectly aimed at herself.
"Your information shall be safe with our delegation," Tirpitz replied bringing her hand up to her chest.
Nanami flashed her a grateful smile, and continued, "Yesterday I found out, through the assistance of our head repair ship, Vestal, that I house within me a Wisdom Cube. What that means we are not quite sure as of yet. At the very least, I am partly a ship girl." The entire room was quiet after the announcement as it sank in.
"Any questions?" Nanami asked to break them from their shock. Tirpitz again spoke first.
"If this is true, did the Eagle Union admiralty know?" She inquired. Her insinuation was clear. If they knew
Nanami sighed and answered, "Yes, in all likelihood, the admiralty is fully aware of who and what I am. I will ensure that the answers to many of our questions will be had soon. I do not like being lied to. Especially by those I trust, those who called themselves my father's friends. If he even is my real father..." That she trailed off on that note left an uneasy feeling in the air.
Queen Elizabeth broke the unease by asking, "What of the Commander's rigging, your true rigging? And your ship class?"
"That is unknown information at this time Your Majesty. However, we are working on getting answers. I have only one real lead, but it is potentially dangerous. I wish to exhaust all other options before pursuing it," Nanami explained, her frustration with the circumstances leaked through to her tone.
She shook her head and continued, "Bearing all this in mind, I hope you ladies will work with me to prepare for the Admiral's arrival in 6 weeks. The main Iron Blood, Vichya, and Sardegna fleets arrive a week from today."
A unified chorus rose up, "Yes Commander!"
A/N: Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I appreciate you all so much! We hit two huge milestones 15k views and 100+ reviews last chapter! And we are just shy of 100 favorites! You are all absolutely incredible!
