Chapter Five

While the original plan had been to set sail on the Mutsu for the journey to Azur Lane's main naval base, the addition of Akagi to our group meant that we had access to a vessel with slightly better speed, range, and accommodations. There were always risks of encountering Sirens on any long-range voyage, so having planes available to scout and patrol would minimize the danger to us. Thus, with those considerations, we departed the home port aboard the aircraft carrier Akagi instead.

We still had several days of travel ahead of us, even assuming best speed and good weather the whole way. Since we left in a hurry and packed light, it proved to be tricky staving off the inevitable boredom. In retrospect, bringing some extra books along or a movie might've been prudent. Tending to ship duties such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, and watch shifts occupied most of our time, but that still left several hours per day unaccounted for. We tried a few times to hold gunnery drills on the flight deck, but there was little to use as proper targets, and we couldn't afford to slow down for the time it would take to set something up. Mutsu had remembered to bring along a deck of cards, but one could only play so much Old Maid before you got tired of it.

Plus I kept losing to her. Every. Single. Match.

On the third day, I did find something that could at least help pass the time more readily, at least for one of us. During the day, we were each responsible for a four-hour watch shift on the bridge, so it was mid-afternoon when I was relieved of duty by my sister. Free for the remainder of the day, I ventured off to find my counterpart, Choshu. Thankfully, we had all adapted to using her new alias, so with any luck there would not be any serious confusion when we arrived at the Azur Lane port. Under normal circumstances, I would've expected to find her in the officer's lounge where the accommodations were at least tolerably comfortable. Instead, though, I found my counterpart on one of the port-side anti-aircraft gun platforms. She was leaning up against the railing with her gaze cast out to the horizon. Between the salty breeze and the churning of the ocean as the Akagi cut through the waves, it made for a relaxing view. Every crash of water against the hull was like the earth taking a breath, and as I stared out to the very edges of the horizon, it was as though time stood still for us. Compared to it, every worry and anxiety just felt so small… so trite. Alas, I reminded myself that sight-seeing was not the reason I had wandered over to this part of the ship.

"Good afternoon, Choshu," I greeted her. "I thought you would've been below deck."

"I've spent enough time staring at walls," she answered before she glanced over to me. "What's that you're carrying?"

She referred to the small stack of books I had tucked under my arm. "Akagi's notebooks," I explained before I held them out for her. "She has made extensive notes on most of the major figures amongst the Azur Lane fleets. I thought it might help you if you're able to familiarize yourself with the people we shall be working with. It might help make them seem less… intimidating."

"I'm not frightened of them!" Choshu snapped back. Realizing that tensing up made her words a little less convincing, she let out a deep sigh and accepted one of the books. "I guess it wouldn't hurt to do a little homework. Know thy enemy, and all that."

"They are not our enemies," I reminded her.

"Yes, yes, I know," she said as she waved off my chastising. She opened the notebook and started to flip through the pages. "Pretty thorough, I have to say," she remarked. "I take it your Akagi is something of a spymaster for you?"

"It is more of a hobby for her," I said with a hint of amusement. Setting the rest of the books aside someplace safe, I joined my colleague at the railing. "The more you know, the less likely you will be taken by surprise."

I had no doubt that she and Akagi would get along well. I don't think the esteemed carrier thought much of the alliance either: at best a temporary reprieve in order to recoup our own strength. If something could not be controlled, then it was better off destroyed than risk it becoming a threat later on. We could never control Azur Lane, so it would always remain a threat. It wasn't flawed reasoning, but it was hard for me to accept when it suggested conflict would always be inevitable unless we ruled everything. Everyone was either a subject or an enemy-to-be. I was certain she even viewed the Ironblood, our ally in the Crimson Axis, as someone that we would eventually have to put into one of those categories.

"I was surprised to see that it was just Akagi accompanying us," Choshu commented. "I would've thought yours would be just as attached to the hip to Kaga as mine had been."

"Normally, you wouldd be correct. However, Kaga has stayed behind in order to take Akagi's place as an advisor to the Flagship, for the time being." Like my counterpart, I had also thought it curious to see only one half of the First Carrier Division as part of our mission. I couldn't remember the last time I had seen the two so far apart. "I think the incident with Project Orochi still weighs on her."

"What was Orochi? I've heard it mentioned a few times now."

Technically, I should've refrained from saying anything further, as the whole incident was considered a classified matter, not to mention a national embarrassment. Still, everybody at the Azur Lane base would know, so while it was a state secret, it was clearly no secret amongst the kansen. She had every right to know what had happened to the people she now needed to trust and work alongside.

"Power is necessary for an Empire in order to protect its people, and the Sirens represent some of the greatest power we know of. As such, Akagi has always strived to harness their power for our own benefit," I explained even though I suspected much was the same for her timeline. "Somewhere along the path, though, the Sirens convinced her that a weapon known as Orochi could give her all that she desired. In truth, she was being played, and we wound up building them a weapon of terrifying power. Kaga helped as well, but unlike her sister, it was done more out of a sense of loyalty than an adherence to philosophy."

"So now Akagi wants to keep her sister shielded from any further Siren schemes?"

"I believe that is the case. She has not said so openly, but it cannot be a coincidence that her first deployment after Project Orochi is being undertaken without her other half."

Choshu nodded knowingly. "The duty of an elder sister," she said. "Sometimes I think the only reason I fought to become so strong was to protect my Mutsu."

I looked up to the island, wherein Mutsu was currently handling the watch shift. At that exact moment, she peeked over the railing of the observation deck and caught sight of us down below. As she waved to us, I wanted to chastise her for neglecting her duty in pursuit of childish whims, but all I could do was wave back to her. A few seconds of indulgence wouldn't ruin things, after all, and how could I bring myself to upset her.

"As do I," I agreed, giving a curt nod, "if only so that she may never have to be sullied by war."

Choshu scoffed, intermixed with a sort of amused chortle as she just rolled her eyes. "We're kansen. It's not like we can just live a normal life. If not from the Sirens, then the ambitions of men. People will invariably covet what they do not have, and what they cannot have, they will take by force. It's… human nature. It was what birthed us all." With a sweep of her arm, she gestured out to the whole of the Akagi. "When you make something as grand as this, inevitably someone will insist on using it. Sheltering Mutsu will only leave her unprepared for when war does find your shores."

She sounded just like Akagi. Indeed, the two of them were cut from the same cloth, which at least meant this was a conversation I've had before. "I am not so naive as to think that conflict will never arise. By its very nature, strength begets challengers. I will not stop praying for peace, but I will always be prepared to meet any threat to my home in order to prevent the kind of war that gave rise to us." A show of strength and determination had always seen me through whenever Akagi and I had disagreements in our views of the world. Though in hindsight, it may be more due to deference to my position than the strength of my arguments, especially as Choshu didn't appear dissuaded in the least.

"Well, I hope you do better with that than you did when we fought," she remarked under her breath.

Leaning in closer and with hand on hip, I stared down the vulpine kansen square in those scarlet eyes of hers. "Prithee, Choshu, what precisely do you mean by that?"

She clapped the book shut. "I'm saying that you're going to need to do a lot better if you want to live in that little dreamland of yours."

I wasn't sure if she was trying to test me, or if she just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, but given how my irregular sleeping habits had made every side of the bed bad for me, I wasn't in the mood to entertain it. "As I recall, after our scuffle, you were the one that was towed back to port," I reminded her.

"Because someone blindsided me," Choshu shot back.

"The strength of the Empire has always been in the unity of its fleets, not the strength of any one."

Folding her arms, Choshu closed the distance until we were virtually in each other's faces. "Which draws its unity from the strength of its flagship. A few more seconds, and your entire fleet would have been in disarray as they watched you sink beneath the waves."

While she did have me there, it would be presumptuous to say that she would have won. Despite feeling like I was making excuses, as a warrior of the Sakura Empire, I had to defend my honour. "You had the advantage of surprise on your side; an error brought about only because I exercised restraint. An honourable duel would have seen things go much differently."

"You were simply careless, and it nearly got you killed," Choshu scolded. "In my fleet, such naivety gets stamped out quick, either by rod or by gunfire." She leaned in closer, until her forehead was pressed against my own, and even went so far as to push against me, which forced me to respond in kind. "You really think a Siren's going to care about honourable duels? If I had killed you, nobody would've given a damn about honour."

I growled back, furrowing my brow as I tried to match her move for move. I may not have had fangs like hers, but I couldn't let her walk all over me. "A duel is the purest test of a kansen's skill. Unless you are just afraid to face me on an even playing field."

"As if!"

"Then how about when we reach Azur Lane, we arrange a little rematch?" I suggested. "An honourable one, of course."

"Sure. Sounds like fun." She grinned, showing off her oversized fangs for a moment.

As she looked like patience was rapidly becoming her least favourite virtue, I took the opportunity to part ways. "Be sure to read your notes," I said and then headed back inside the carrier. I only made it partway down the corridor before I had to brace myself against the nearest bulkhead.

My hands were trembling. In fact, it had taken all of my willpower to stay calm for the past minute. There was an intensity in Choshu's gaze that was unlike anything I had seen before. It was a stare that went through me, and perhaps even beyond me. If it were that eyes were the windows to the soul, then I swore that I had just stared into the abyss.

And I definitely blinked.

Over the next couple of days at sea, I decided to exemplify the courage and resolve that defined the Sakura Empire, and gave Choshu a very wide berth. It was fortunate that she kept herself busy reading over Akagi's notes, so neither of us had much opportunity to cross paths, at least not in private. When she was around Mutsu, I always noticed that she seemed livelier, which I attributed to my sister's penchant for bringing out the best in everyone around her.

We were about halfway to our destination when I found myself having lunch with Akagi in the galley, while Choshu was on the bridge on look-out duty, and Mutsu was off delivering our watchgirl her meal. Our meal was simple; although the ship was stocked mostly with canned rations, Akagi had managed to make a simple stew from the meat and dried vegetables, which we served alongside some rice. It wasn't the best cuisine of the Sakura Empire, but it was better than eating straight out of the tins.

"Here you go, dear," Akagi said as she set a plate down at our table.

"My thanks."

We promptly said our thanks and then set about eating. The silence was short-lived, although it came as no surprise since I was sharing my meal with a woman who never stopped watching and analyzing. Even as I ate, I could feel her ever-vigilant eyes burning a hole through the top of my head. Whenever I glanced up to her, she smiled and continued eating, but I could tell she was just at the cusp of making some kind of poignant observation. Any second now I'd hear that whimsical, all-knowing giggle of hers, or some kind of teasing, off-handed comment that splayed open my inner thoughts like a chef filleted a fish.

I didn't even want to take my eyes off of her as I ate each bite, but she just ignored me while appearing more interested in teasing her rice.

"Would you just say something already?" I finally snapped, sending a spray of rice across the table.

"Oh? I thought you might've wanted to eat in silence, since you seemed so preoccupied already. Is there something in particular you want to discuss?"

"N-no! There is nothing," I stammered back, more panicked than reasoned.

Akagi then just shrugged while chuckling under her breath. "Then let us enjoy this meal in silence." She was toying with me again: she knew I had something on my mind, she knew it was eating away at me, and she knew that she was probably the only person on the ship that I was comfortable bringing the matter up with, otherwise I would've done so already.

"I do not think Naga—I mean, Choshu likes me," I blurted out before I could reconsider. The rest just tumbled out without any help. "Lately it seems like all I do is quarrel with her. S-she is just so… so… I do not even know! Something about her just keeps frustrating me. I feel like I'm always on edge when we are talking. Like she is about to strike if I lower my guard. You have spoken with her a few times, right? I-is it just me, or is she like that with you, too?"

My colleague said nothing at first, instead picking up her meal and moving around the table in order to plant herself in the spot beside me. "Do you like her?" she inquired, seemingly ignoring my questions and concerns.

I figured I may as well see where Akagi was planning to go with her line of reasoning, and mulled over her answer as I nibbled on a small helping of rice. "I do not dislike her," I eventually concluded. The more I tried to pin down how I felt to a word, the more elusive it became. "I am uncertain if I like her either. There is just… something about her that makes me uncomfortable."

"Feelings are never an easy thing, and they're rarely so black and white," Akagi replied. "But if yours are complicated, then would it not be a fair assumption that hers might be as well?"

Her words made me realize that my concerns had been made in haste. How she felt was likely as nuanced as mine, and I barely understood my own. It didn't change that I disliked how things were between us, but there was little chance to change our relationship until I better understood why she made me so uncomfortable. It wasn't just a matter of her opinions differing from my own; many in the Sakura Empire held opposing views, Akagi often being the most vocal of them. But the two of us have often remained civil in our discussion, whereas with Choshu I was almost compelled to take her ego down a notch: I couldn't just let her opinion be different, I had to prove that she was wrong.

"What do you make of her?" I asked idly, hoping an alternative perspective might help focus my own. Knowing Akagi, though, she'd probably answer with something vague and keep her true opinions a close secret.

"She's… interesting."

"Of course that is your answer," I muttered to myself.

"She's still rather guarded around me," Akagi continued. "I don't believe she trusts me yet."

It was possible the other timeline's Akagi was just as scheming as ours had proven to be, and it didn't help that Choshu was informed of what happened with Project Orochi. 'Siren collaborator' would hamper anybody's reputation, and it wasn't inaccurate to say that there were more than a few people in the Sakura Empire that would've preferred we made scapegoats of the First Carrier Division. Akagi knew that as well, which might be why she seemed so keen on regaining my favour by helping with Choshu. The mere fact that I wasn't certain, however, spoke of how damaged our trust had become.

"You'd probably be better off asking your sister for her thoughts," Akagi suggested. "Speaking of which…"

Since the ship was, in essence, an extension of Akagi, it was no surprise that she was aware that Mutsu was just about to barge in through the galley hall door.

"Nagato of the Sakura Empire!" she hollered with enough force to startle me. Few things filled me with more impending dread than hearing my full name shouted with such vigour, except perhaps when Yuubari utters the phrase 'test this out for me.' I froze on the spot as my sister stormed up to the table and slammed both hands down, which nearly toppled my rice bowl over in the process. "What do you think you're doing?"

The answer she sought was obviously not 'lunch', so my response was limited to a puzzled and anxious stare.

"Choshu's going through a really hard time right now and is super stressed! The last thing she needs is you going around picking fights with her!"

I wouldn't have described our argument as me 'picking a fight', especially as I had only responded to Choshu's backhanded remarks, but clearly my sister had gotten her information from a biased source. In hindsight, allowing my counterpart to control the narrative was a mistake, but I didn't expect her to try and turn my own sister against me in such a way.

"I acknowledge that her situation is a difficult one, but to say that she is 'super stressed' is a bit of a hyperbole, don't you think?" I answered in an attempt to remain diplomatic. To get defensive after being accused of being hostile would only fuel that misconception. "She has made no complaints, and, if anything, has handled her circumstances with commendable dignity and grace."

Mutsu looked about as convinced by that argument as the time we tried to convince her on Christmas Eve that the Atago dressed as Santa she caught sneaking into her room was because the real Santa had to call in sick that night. She continued to stare me down with an overly scrutinizing gaze, but if she thought she could crack me so easily then she was mistaken. I had been stared down better by worse people.

"Is that so?" she said before folding her arms across her chest. "And how have you been sleeping lately?"

"Wha—I… I have been sleeping fine."

"Uh-huuuuuuuuuh. Well, I guess that's something you both have in common." While I wondered about whether I had discussed my sleeping issues with Mutsu or not, she took me by the wrist and proceeded to drag me to the exit. "Whatever! You're coming with me right now!"

"H-hey! Wait, my lunch!" My pleas went unheeded, and I could do little more than just look back to Akagi in the fleeting hope that she might come to my aid.

That damnable vixen just smirked and waved good-bye.

Mutsu was dead-set on whatever course of action she had decided upon. Her typical easy-going nature had been entirely replaced with a cold and silent determination that I rarely saw from her. To see her act in such a bold manner left me speechless for a while, and it wasn't until we had reached the flight deck that I finally regained enough wits to speak up.

"Where are you taking me?" I demanded.

"We're going to fix things with Choshu before you ruin her time here," she answered, although I failed to see how she intended on that. "I know I normally don't try to tell you what to do, but now that I'm a big sister, I've got my own responsibilities! You'd do the same for me, I'm sure."

I was beginning to wonder if she had grown too attached to this whole 'big sister' thing she had with Choshu. It was one thing to entertain the idea for fun and games, but now I wondered just how far did she plan to take this. A part of me wanted to say something about it, but how could I tell her to stop caring about someone else without coming off as insensitive? Besides, she was right: in the same circumstances, I'd be doing the exact same thing, albeit a bit less forcefully.

My repeated attempts to convey the futility of her efforts went ignored, and before I knew it, I had been dragged all the way up to the bridge and now stood before Choshu. She sat near the forward-facing windows with a pair of binoculars in her hands and a bored look on her face that silently screamed for any kind of distraction. I was placed before her and then my sister gave me a not-so-subtle push forward.

"Can I help you?" Choshu asked, puzzled as if she had no clue what the meaning of the intrusion had been. Knowing my sister, it was more than likely that this encounter was a unilateral decision.

"Mutsu believes I am a source of stress to you," I answered.

"That's not what you're supposed to be saying!" Mutsu exclaimed as she pounded on my shoulder with her fists. "You're supposed to be taking responsibility and apologizing!"

"Ow! Would you please cease that!" I pleaded, which only had the opposite effect. "Okay, fine, I shall say it!" I couldn't believe how persistent she was being on this matter. With a defeated sigh, I looked back to a now amused-looking Choshu. "I apologize for my remarks during our prior conversation. I spoke out of turn and was not being considerate of your feelings and circumstances."

"This really isn't necessary," Choshu remarked.

"Yes it is!" shouted a defiant Mutsu. "This is very important. Just let your big sister handle this!"

"I do believe this is what most people would call 'meddling,' dear sister," I added.

"So what if I'm meddling? That's just because I care about you two," Mutsu insisted. "You're both Nagatos—you were both flagships, so you're supposed to be the ones setting an example for everyone else. Instead the two of you have been bickering and squabbling with each other over whose guns are bigger!" She was growing increasingly irate, which could lead to her giving up in frustration, or it could explode in our faces with the force of a volcano. I wasn't sure which would be worse in the long run. "What do you think the folks at Azur Lane will think if they saw you two acting like this? What would Mikasa think? You always said faith and unity was the strength of our fleet, but I sure ain't seeing much of that right now."

By the heavens, she was good at laying the guilt on thicker than jam on morning toast. I knew my behaviour had been less than admirable, but to hear it aired out in the open just made the shame feel even more unbearable.

"I am truly sorry," I groaned in dismay.

"As am I," Choshu added. She hopped up from her seat and bowed in deference to me. "I have not been affording you the proper respect and have been allowing my pride to get the better of my judgement."

With the peace apparently restored, Mutsu breathed a contented sigh and clapped her hands together. "See? Isn't it so much better when we're all getting along?" she said with a level of glee that would make anyone question whether she had been angry in the first place. "Now promise me there won't be any more fighting."

Choshu and I exchanged glances and together released a defeated sigh.

"We promise."

"Good! Because otherwise I'm throwing both of your butts overboard."

With that oddly cheerful threat, my sister departed, humming and skipping along with her usual child-like merriment. We both just stood in absolute silence as her tune gradually faded, accompanied by her footsteps down the steps until we were alone on the bridge. Though my sister appeared to have reverted back to normal, I still did not feel completely at ease. I knew I had to do better for her sake, so naturally I did the exact opposite.

"I cannot believe you would drag my sister into this," I sounded my disapproval. "If you had an issue, or were feeling distress, you could have spoken to me directly. I will not forgive you if you upset my sister."

Her fears flattened as she shot me an offended glare. "I did no such thing," she replied. "She was the one who opted to intrude upon my business, and pestered me ceaselessly until I yielded to her inquiries. If you have an issue with her meddling, you can take it up with her."

Despite the protests, my sister had already insinuated that Choshu shared my apprehension for honesty, so I saw no reason to believe her excuses. "Do not act as though you are an innocent bystander in all of this. You probably enjoyed that spectacle."

Choshu just turned to the window and chuckled dryly to herself, which did little to convince me that she played no part in it. "Well, I must admit that seeing you getting chastised and humbled by her was a little amusing."

At least she was being honest about it. "You were being chastised as well," I reminded her.

"Only by collateral. You were clearly the intended target. Being the 'little sister' certainly has its advantages; I could get used to this arrangement."

There she went again with her taunts and provocations. If we were going to keep relying on a familial hierarchy, then it was due time that I asserted my authority as the eldest sister. "You would be wise to refrain from getting ahead of yourself," I sternly warned her. "She is my sister, not yours. You are merely borrowing her for a little while, so do not get any false ideas that you can keep her as a replacement."

I had intended to only silence her boasting, so imagine my surprise when Choshu suddenly stormed up to me and, without word or warning, slapped me across the face. And it wasn't the kind of light smack of irritation; this was a full-blown 'hand of Buddha' level of impact that might've toppled over a lesser person. Now clearly something I said had upset her, and I began to realize that my sister was correct. There was some underlying stress that I had obviously failed to notice until I blundered right into it. Thus, the rational course of action would be a prompt apology and to back away, lest the situation escalate out of control.

On the other hand, she had just slapped me like some petulant child, so I tossed all reason aside and slapped her right back. There was a most satisfying 'smack' when my palm made contact, and it even left a bright red print across her cheek. The momentary, shocked expression of hers was cathartic, but to no surprise, it gave way to anger and she promptly lunged at me. She slammed into me with enough force that we crashed into the nearby console. Scratching… biting… snarling… we thrashed about the bridge in a violent and bestial frenzy. It was a mess of flailing limbs as we each tried to grab a hold of the other. At some point, she latched onto my hair, but I had managed to get a tight grip on her ear.

"Insolent cur!"

"Dishonourable wretch!"

In our cuss-filled, entangled dance, we somehow managed to stumble our way off the bridge and right into the nearest stairwell. Neither of us were paying attention, of course, as we were more fixated on trying to claw each other's eyes out. Gravity, though, was an unbiased judge, and there was a terrible cacophony of cries and wails as we tumbled down the stairs to the deck below and landed in a painful heap right at the foot of none other than Mutsu herself.

Her fists were clenched tight enough to bend steel as she gazed upon us with rage-filled eyes. "Not. Even. Five. Minutes!"

Now, it was easy to think that because of Mutsu's bubbly and cheerful personality that she was the kind of person who was nothing but gentle and kind, that she wouldn't even hurt the wings of a fly. Indeed on most days, her sweet innocence was the very antithesis of our nature as warships. However, all of this was simply because she was a girl who never held herself back. She smiled and laughed because she was feeling joyful. When she was curious, she'd loose a barrage of questions so rapid a person couldn't think straight.

And when her temper boiled over, even the heavens trembled.

"N-now Mutsu, j-just wait a moment—" My stammering was abruptly cut off when my sister grabbed both of us by the ear with a vice-like grip. In a second, she had not one, but two flagships of the Fourth Combined Fleet yelping and wailing like kits as she dragged both of us out onto the flight deck.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Mutsu, stop!"

"You'll rip it off!"

"It doesn't bend that way!"

"Mutsu, please!"

Unsurprisingly, there was no mercy to be found anywhere that day. Whatever patience my sister had in her had already been burned to cinders when she saw us pratfall down the stairs. All that remained of the sweet little sister was her divine wrath, which Choshu and I had the extreme misfortune of being the sole recipients of.

"What did I tell you two?" Mutsu shouted once she finally released us. "I said there was to be no fighting! None! You promised me. Do those mean anything to either of you?"

"Mutsu, my sister… there are no words that can express my regret for the shame I have brought upon not only myself, but the Sakura Empire as a whole. I humbly beg your forgiveness." Such were the words that I should've said right away, followed by hitting my head against the flight deck so hard in reverence that I'd leave with a concussion. Instead, the first words from my lips were, "She started it."

It was the truth, but at the same time I was throwing my counterpart in front of the oncoming train. Hardly the behaviour of a former flagship but…

Mutsu scared me.

"Is this true?" Mutsu asked, pivoting her furious glare to the kansen beside me.

In an instant, all of Choshu's usual swagger and bravado evaporated, leaving nothing but a lonesome kit frozen in blind panic. "W-well, y-yes, but I—"

She would never get to finish that sentence because, unlike Choshu and I, my sister kept her word. Mutsu seized the offending kansen by the collar and belt and hauled her towards the edge of the flight deck. Everyone knew what was about to happen, but both of us were just too stunned to do anything about it.

"Wait, Mutsu! Stop! Mutsu, please! Mutsu! MUTSUWAIT!"

Sadly, there would be no mercy; no hesitation. Mutsu dragged the panicked kansen to the ledge and, without a single utterance, pitched Choshu over the side. A loud, echoing scream rang through the air, punctuated by a final, pitiful splash. I would be lying if I said that it wasn't a little amusing to see her pride and hubris thrown out like old trash, but I had more pressing concerns.

"And you!" No sooner was Mutsu done had she turned her ire towards me. She was immediately in my face, jabbing at my chest as she stared me down. "What do you have to say for yourself? There better be a good explanation for why you would break your word to me! What did you say to her?"

Words tumbled out of my mouth, but without any form or direction, which left them no more resembling coherent sentences than I did a pleasure yacht. As more nonsense cascaded out, Mutsu just continued pressing in on me, backing me into the proverbial corner. Though I had made countless speeches before the fleets and citizens of the Sakura Empire, when confronted by Mutsu, my purse of golden words was just… empty. Before I knew it, I was at the deck's edge and still no closer to a satisfactory answer.

"Well, Nagato? What did you say? Answer me!"

"I… told her you were not a replacement."

"Replacement?" Mutsu repeated, incredulous. Sighing and shaking her head in dismay, her tension finally subsided. I thought for a second that I had gotten through to her. What a fool was I. "You… idiot!"

Before I could answer, she followed it up with a swift kick to the chest that launched my sorry butt over the edge. All I could think as I tumbled through the air was how in the world did I mess up so badly.

It went without saying that falling overboard was little more than an inconvenience for a kansen. Our pride and dignity took the brunt of the injury, and the worst part was just the fact that by the time Choshu and I finally got back on board, we were soaked head to toe. Kansens might've lived and breathed for the seas, but that didn't mean we enjoyed being drenched in cold and briney ocean water. Were I back in the home port, I would have had hot blankets and an even hotter bath already waiting for me; instead, all I had was a single blanket and a cold bunk in an even colder cabin. Not even an officer's room, but a regular, enlisted crewman cabin that would normally be shared by four people with barely enough room to fit two. Akagi also told me that I was to be confined to the cabin until further notice.

Obviously, this was all part of Mutsu's punishment, but I tried to remain optimistic. My sister wasn't the type to hold grudges for long, so I just had to tough it out for a while and eventually she'd come around. I would have to apologize a number of times over before this fiasco was settled, but a dose of reality along with cold water had helped focus my feelings. Maybe I was a little intimidated by Choshu.

Just a little bit. A small amount. Microscopic.

In fact, it wasn't even really intimidation; it was more like a general discomfort, like having a pebble stuck in my shoe. The idea that I was somehow afraid of her was laughably childish. I was Nagato, former flagship of the Fourth Combined Fleet: there was no ship on the seven seas that I was afraid of, least of all another me. While it was true that Choshu was indeed quite strong, the fact that she had been seconds away from killing me was a trivial detail. An acknowledgement of strength and capabilities was not an admission of fear. Now, none of that excused my appalling behaviour, but knowing what the cause wasn't was still a step in the right direction.

At least Akagi and Mutsu had the good sense to separate Choshu and I after we were back aboard. However, after nearly an hour of sitting alone in wet clothes with only a single blanket to help stave off a carrier's cold interior, I was beginning to wonder if they had forgotten about me. It was possible that my punishment was going to include spending the night like this in order to reflect on my misdeeds. I might even wind up going without dinner.

Mutsu wouldn't deny me dinner, would she?

Finally, after what felt like a period long enough for Mount Fuji to have worn itself down to a nub, there came a knocking from the cabin door.

"Come in."

The door swung open to reveal Akagi in the hallway. "If you'll come with me, Lady Nagato; your sister is waiting for you above deck."

"She's not going to throw me overboard again, is she?" I asked, half in jest.

"I guess that all depends on you," Akagi answered in an unsurprising, cryptic manner. She smiled like a devilish little fox, clearly knowing more than she let on. "She did tell me to bring extra towels. By the way, no fighting in the halls, or I'll be the one throwing you overboard."

I wasn't sure what she meant by that, but the answer became apparent when I followed her into the corridor and noticed that Choshu was present as well. Still soaked and wrapped in a towel, she reminded me more of a wet dog than a person, although chances were I looked much the same. We exchanged cold stares, but neither of us dared to say anything. I wasn't about to push my luck when Akagi was the one making the threats, and it appeared Choshu was of the same mind.

The tense silence in the corridor was disturbed only by the echoing footsteps from Akagi's sandals, strumming the chords of our worries like some sadistic bard. By the time we reached the threshold to the flight deck, I had myself half-convinced that a firing squad was waiting for us on the other side. Instead, it was quite the opposite as the first sight that greeted us was Mutsu's excited and jubilant grin. Perhaps her plan had been to take us by surprise, as judging by how wide our eyes and mouths were, reality itself may as well have been flipped on its head.

"Great! You're both finally here!" As Mutsu lunged for us, we both instinctively clasped our hands over our ears, only to be seized by the wrist and pulled along. "You know, while you two were cooling off, I was thinking 'Mutsu, how can you get those two to stop fighting and be better friends? What would Nagato do in this situation?'"

It would be a good question, although in this situation what I would do included 'start a fight' and 'get kicked overboard' so that source of inspiration was of dubious merit.

The answer to her rhetorical question was revealed as she brought us before a rather curious set-up. Secured to the flight deck were a pair of oil drums arranged atop of some gas burners I could only presume had been scavenged from the galley. Various tubings and pipes connected the contraption together such that a steady flame was applied to the underside of each one, which upon closer inspection I realized had been filled with water.

"Ta-da! It's your very own Akagi-class open air bath!" Mutsu exclaimed. She beamed with pride over her creation, but I still struggled to understand the thought process that took her from 'throwing us overboard' to this.

"Why?" Choshu said, beating me to the draw of asking the obvious.

"Obviously because the two of you are being so cranky and you need to relax!" my sister answered, punctuating the final point by tapping Choshu on the nose. "Things are tough, I get that. You're trapped here alone, never knowing when or if you'll see your friends and loved ones again." She then turned to me. "And Nagato is stressed because she's afraid that losing her position as flagship has robbed her of purpose and meaning in the fleet. So it's time for the two of you to unwind, relax, and bond through the power of skinship!"

Choshu and I exchanged confused and justifiably skeptical glances. We were both expecting some sort of twist to be announced, but there was none to be. Mutsu wasn't the type to deceive, after all.

"You did all this… for us?" the puzzled Choshu asked.

"Well of course," she replied, as if the answer should've been plain to see. While it had been to me, my counterpart didn't share the same breadth of experience with this particular Mutsu. "Tossing you into the ocean might've been a good stress relief for me, but it doesn't do anything to help either of you. And what kind of sister would I be if I didn't help with that?"

About as good of a sister as I had been lately, I thought to myself.

Unsure of how to react, I defaulted to my usual diplomatic approach. "You humble us with your compassion and generosity," I answered, followed by a quick bow.

Mutsu would have none of that, however. She swept in behind us both and began to shove us towards the baths. "Oh come on, no need to be so formal around me. Get in. Get in! We can dry your clothes out while you're bathing, too."

While parts of me still had doubts about the efficacy of her plans, I concluded that it couldn't possibly be any worse than anything I had done thus far, nor did I have anything better to suggest other than giving us another dunk in the Pacific just for good measure. At the very least, a hot bath was a welcomed sight—we had subsisted on showers ever since we left port. A quick side-glance to Choshu revealed that she was having the same mental debate, and the temptation of hot water was just as convincing to her as it had been for me.

"I suppose a quick bath wouldn't hurt," Choshu murmured, more to convince herself than anything else.

And that's how it came to be that two Nagato-class battleships, who just hours ago were being thrown overboard for disorderly conduct, found themselves sitting in an improvised onsen on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier. Judging by how both of us let out a long, contented sigh as we dipped ourselves into the piping hot water, this was a sorely needed respite. The two barrels had been set up side-by-side, so I sat with Choshu no more than a foot to my left, although neither of us appeared to be paying much heed to the other. We both just slowly sank deeper and deeper into the bath's warm embrace until we were almost completely submerged, save for our heads. Mutsu and Akagi left us to enjoy the bath in peace, with the latter taking up the watch shift on the bridge, and my sister setting up a clothesline for the laundry.

I did my best to just allow all of my worries to melt away in the soothing heat. Letting my eyes drift shut so that I could be carried away by the music of the ocean currents, everything began to feel so trite in retrospect. I felt… at peace with the world.

"Your sister is too good to us," Choshu spoke up, finally breaking the silence.

"She is your sister, too," I replied. "At least, for so long as you wish to consider her as such."

"I thought I was just borrowing her." No malice or spite tainted her voices, but instead a wary curiosity as she probed for the meaning behind my change in attitude.

"I fear I have been about as good an elder sister as I have been a flagship," I admitted with some reluctance. "Now I find myself being replaced in one aspect, and while the rational part of me knows it is not true, it feels as though I am being replaced in the other."

Choshu let out a brief chortle. "You know, when Mutsu and I were spending time together yesterday, she spoke of you constantly. It was always 'Nagato would love to see this' and 'we should bring Nagato here next time.' I don't believe there was a moment in any of those days where you were not on her mind. I'm sure deep down you already know this, but I couldn't replace you even if I tried."

Once again, I found myself humbled and shamed to the point where I wanted to sink completely into the water to hide. Instead, I only murmured a weak response of, "She is too good to us."

Though she was right, it nonetheless came as a relief to know that my misguided fears were exactly that. With so many things in my life changing, my knee-jerk reaction to try and cling to how things were could have lost me that which I was trying to preserve, and blinded me to the possibilities of how things could be. As I relaxed and meditated on the matter, I realized that in Choshu I could find an equal with whom I could speak my mind freely and garner a perspective from one whose life has had many parallels to my own. With her, I did not possess nearly the same degree of emotional baggage, misgivings, or preconceptions that I had with kansens like Akagi, Mikasa, or Kawakaze.

They say that people are often afraid of the unknown. In that sense, it explained why Mutsu was never bothered by Choshu's mannerisms, for in her curiosity she would always strive to understand the world around her. My sister was fearless in that respect, and I lamented it took me so long to even begin trying to understand the strange, but oddly relatable, kansen beside me.

"And for what it's worth," Choshu spoke up again, pulling me from my meditative silence, "you are the only one who has the power to define who and what you are, and what purpose you hold. Not the Admiralty, not the governments, and certainly not Azur Lane."

"Some days I wonder how the humans are able to cope with all the… uncertainty," I remarked on something of a tangent thought. "They are not created with purpose or intent like us. They simply come into existence, and must figure out not only their path but what they are at the same time."

"They've managed to survive this long, so it can't be that difficult," Choshu said with a quick shrug. "Just be patient, and try not to stress about it if you haven't found an answer yet."

The mentioning of not stressing reminded me of a question that had been lingering in the back of my mind for a little while. "Choshu, was what my sister said accurate? Are you… stressed?"

"What? No, o-of course not," she blurted out no sooner the question left my lips. It appeared as though my sister was right about a number of things.

"Choshu, please…"

She let out a wistful sigh as she realized the futility. Like a candle burning out, her once proud façade subsided. "I'm scared," she whimpered. "It's been years since I've seen my sister. I miss her so much, and I don't know when I'll see her again. Every day she feels further away, and I'm afraid I'll wake up and have forgotten her face… her voice… how her eyes always shone when she smiled."

Her voice fell silent, and for a moment it looked as though she might break down entirely. To her credit, she managed to keep her emotions in check, although she continued to teeter on the precipice. Unable to find the right words, all I could offer was a reassuring touch, and reached over to rest a hand on her shoulder. I wanted to say something, but what words could I muster up that wouldn't have been trite in that moment? A gesture, though, could be just as potent, and I prayed to the heavens that I could alleviate even a small part of that burden for her. If I could, I would've stayed by her side for as long as it took for her to start feeling better, but that was right at the same moment that the ship alarms rang out, calling everyone to action stations.

So much for our relaxing bath.