Nanami woke as her nose was assaulted with the smells of acrid smoke and burnt flesh. At the same time her body suddenly registered a nearly unbearable pain that covered most of her body.

With a groan, she tilted her head down and took in the wreck that was her little body. Shrapnel, blood, and burns covered most of her torso and right side. As she took a shallow breath to avoid causing too much pain, she heard a voice off to her left.

"You are in quite the pitiful state aren't you?" the emotionless voice remarked. Turning her head toward the new person, she saw a snow white girl with blue eyes sitting upon a throne made of a mechanical blue jellyfish. At the sides of the throne were a pair of miniature naval guns.

Nanami coughed, "What are you? Did I die?" The girl's head tilted to the side as she stared at Nanami's prone form.

"You yet live," she reassured the young girl. Though the lack of emotion in her voice was off-putting for Nanami, she believed the ethereal being.

After a short pause, she approached Nanami and continued, "We are more akin to your own personal devil. Before we are through in this timeline, your life shall be hell." The moment the words registered through the pain, a fierce defiance burned in Nanami's eyes. Summoning all the strength she could muster, she weakly threw a punch towards the pale woman looking down on her. It didn't make it anywhere close to connecting.

"There we are. That is what we wanted to see," she remarked. Nanami's anger for the woman only grew as she reached out a hand and something appeared from thin air.

"Take these. Your fate is not to die here...not yet." She handed the object to Nanami, placing it on her chest. It was a dark, shining cube. As soon as it touched her skin, a small wave of relief washed over her body. As she was focused on the cube, the woman also placed a flare gun beside her. The woman on the jellyfish began to float away, but not without giving some parting words.

"Fight, grow strong, and survive. Next we meet shall not be so pleasant for you," her voice trailed off, echoing hauntingly in Nanami's mind. Before she could really organize her thoughts, the cube pulsed brightly and a sudden, overwhelming pain in her chest caused her to black out.


When Nanami woke again, the sky was full of stars, and much of her previous pain was gone, though the injuries were still there. With a tremendous effort, she managed to sit up.

After a short rest, she picks up the flare beside her. Holding both it and the cube is a surprisingly difficult task for her frustratingly small hands. Remembering what her father had taught her about flares, she opens the breech and verified there was a round loaded.

Satisfied the woman hadn't simply given her the gun without a round, she stood up. A wave of dizziness overtook her, but she kept her feet. She was barely able hold the flare gun in her injured right hand, and hugged the cube to her chest with her left.

Satisfied that she had everything she needed, she began walking. She knew the area well, and plotted out a path to the nearest beach in her mind. It was going to be a long walk...at least in the shape she was in.

As she walked, something was bothering her, and she couldn't quite place it. Then she realized what it was. The Sound was deafeningly quiet. The absence of the sound of ships was unsettling. All she could hear were the soft calls of wildlife and the gentle sound of the waves.

She was lost in her thoughts, getting very near her destination when suddenly that quiet was broken by the sound of a ship cutting through the waves. She could see the beach through the trees, and she broke into a light jog, ignoring the horrible discomfort brought on by the act.

When she reached the beach, she looked out and could see a ship with it's search lights on. It was close enough she could make out the flag on the side. It was friendly!

Nanami struggled to lift the flare gun with her right arm, but it just wouldn't listen. She realized she had to drop the cube if she were to fire it, but that thought upset her for a reason she couldn't explain. Still, she did what she had to, and the cube fell to the ground.

Pain wracked her body as she lifted the flare gun toward the sky and pulled the trigger. The entire beach was lit up as the flare shot skyward. The ship's searchlight swiveled rapidly across the beach, and just as it passed over her, she pitched forward in the sand. The pain overwhelmed her once again, as she scooped the cube up before passing out.


The next time Nanami's eyes opened, she was in a sterile, white room. A mask covered her face, pumping oxygen into her lungs. Her body was bandaged practically head to toe, but that wasn't all that important to her. She did not feel a wave of relief until she saw the cube, resting there on her chest.

She suddenly became aware of voices on the other side of the curtains surrounding her bed, and she saw a pair of silhouettes.

"Every time we take the cube away from her, her vitals drop rapidly. As it is, the cube is barely keeping her alive. She's dying and likely won't last out the week. But...we believe there is one method of saving her," a stern male voice said. She didn't recognize it at first. The next speaker she did recognize.

"Don't give me that bullshit! What about the other experiments with the other cubes? Remind me, how did those end again?" Uncle Frank angrily rebuked the other speaker.

The other voice sighed, "This time is different; circumstances have changed. Frankly the fact she hasn't died yet is a testament to the cube's power and her own will to live. We need to know the extent of the cube's powers. It seems bonded to her in a way none of the other cubes bonded to anyone. That makes her the optimal test subject."

Uncle Frank, keeping his voice low, exploded, "Shove the 'optimal test subject' spiel! That is my niece!" His silhouette, the shorter of the two, closed the distance with the other man, his finger pointing.

"Can I take that as a rejection of the proposed operation Admiral?" the other voice calmly asked.

"You can go to hell Mark," Frank replied, barely restraining his anger. Hearing his name, Nanami finally placed his voice. Captain Mark Meadows, another of her dad's friends.

Mark ran a hand through his hair, and admitted, "With what we'll be doing to this girl, no matter the outcome...I probably will Frank. But it is her only chance...you know that." Frank's outline takes a step back and lets out a heavy sigh.

"Unfortunately the decision doesn't fall to me. The Joint Chiefs have already given you blanket approval, and the President signed off," he told Mark as he handed over a piece of paper.

As he read it, Frank continued, "For God's sake Mark...I promised Dean I'd look after her if anything happened to him. I already failed with her brothers...if she dies..." Mark reached out and put his hand on Uncle Frank's shoulder. At the same time a wave of exhaustion washed over Nanami.

"Frank, Dean was my friend to. You know I'll do my best," he softly reassured the Admiral. Then he added, "Besides...she's in good hands. I am the best there is after all." Mark's confidence made her smile as she slipped back into unconsciousness.

Nanami finally emerged from the darkness again, only to notice she was resting in her bed. Something fluffy and soft rested atop her, keeping her quite warm. The sensation was incredibly pleasant when it had felt like an eternity since she experienced anything other than pain.

The smells on the air mingled together, noodles, meat, tea, the flowery perfumes of Hood and Amagi. Nanami though, Odd...had they just been in the room? Then soft noises from the other room reached her, as one of her ears flicked towards the low conversation.

"Is the wolf still not letting anyone in her room?" the gentle voice of Hood asked.

"Yes. Anne is quite obstinate. It's been five days, and none of us have been able to get close to her since she let us move her the first day," Amagi answered quietly. Five days? Nanami was taken aback at how long she had been out.

Enterprise added, "She has been feeding Nanami what we bring to the door. Though we're not sure how." Nanami smiled as she imagined the puzzled expression on En's face. Suddenly her stomach growled and she knew it was time to get up.

Nanami rolled out of bed and stretched to work the kinks out of her muscles. Five days of not moving made everything tight. She even shook out her tails so they would sit properly.

She looked down to see if she was presentable, and noticed something odd. Her shirt was so tight that it exposed her midriff and accentuated her bust. Weird...she remembered this shirt fitting before. Her shorts were similarly short. But that didn't matter, she was hungry, and she didn't mind the women in the other room seeing this much of her.

Wait...tails? Suddenly, she snapped to full consciousness. Staring into the mirror on the wall she was stunned to see her reflection. In fact, she barely recognized herself. She was easily half a foot taller, and her bust...she was stunned. They practically rivaled Akagi's! Nanami definitely wouldn't have an inferiority complex about that anymore.

The changes didn't stop there either. Instead of the glossy black hair she was used to, it had bleached snow white. Atop her head were a pair of white wolf ears that flicked this way and that as they responded to incoming sounds.

However, that wasn't the most shocking change. That honor fell to the seven fluffy wolf tails that sprouted from her backside! They gently swished back and forth, betraying her happiness.

The one feature that definitely did not change were her eyes. They remained the same intense, imperious blue.

A warmth welled up in her chest as she looked at her figure. After a few minutes, she had her fill, and opened the door quietly. Anne stood the moment the door opened.

"My other half, I am so glad to see you. How do you feel?" the giant she-wolf asked, her voice projecting through Nanami's head.

Nanami hugged the wolf and replied telepathically, "I've never felt better Anne! I'm so happy we have been reunited!"

"I am glad. But we can talk later. Go to your friends, put their hearts at ease," Anne gently nudged her down the hall. Nanami nodded and softly walked to the dining room. As she rounded the corner, the talking stopped.

Sitting there at the table, turned to face her, were Hood, Tirpitz, Amagi, and Enterprise. The four of them sat in stunned silence as they took in Nanami's new form.

"Sorry for giving everyone a scare," she apologized sheepishly, her tails drooping in fear of their response. Nanami noticed tears in Amagi's eyes as she stood and crossed the room. Nanami looked down to avoid her gaze, but Amagi lifted her chin up.

"You really are Nagano...thank the gods," Amagi whispered before she threw her arms around Nanami. The other three stood and soon Nanami was wrapped in the arms of all four women. The warmth that welled up in her once again was practically overwhelming. Tears streamed down her face, and her tails swished back and forth.

After a minute, they broke apart and Nanami wiped the tears from her eyes. But before she could speak, she heard very light footsteps come from the direction of the bedrooms. Wondering who that could possibly be, Nanami turned to see a small figure round the corner. Her legs nearly gave out in surprise.

Standing there, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, was a nearly perfect copy of Nanami at the age of 8. Her short white hair, wolf ears and tails contrasted with the slightly disheveled blue kimono she wore. At her heels padded a tiny wolf pup, no doubt a tiny Anne.

Finally Nanami's little doppelganger opened her eyes. When she saw Nanami, she smiled sleepily and spoke.

"Mama is finally awake?"

Whaaaaaat?


A/N: Sorry for the short chapter after such a long time since my last update. My mental health is not great, and I rarely have the will to write. I do still plan to finish this fic. It is just going to take longer than I wanted.

As always, please leave a review, I love reading your feedback. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the reveal!

I will try to write another chapter in the next week or so.