Chapter Nineteen
As of late, I've noticed that my dreams have not been quite as troubled as they had been. Though occasionally I would still be plagued by visions of ruined cityscapes and skies blackened by Union aircrafts, they did not feel as intense as before, and I awoke with feelings of sorrow and regret more than those of hate and ire. Even by those standards, though, my latest dream felt surprisingly tame. I was laying down, eyes closed, but I could feel the summer's glow upon my skin, and the gentle sea breeze told me it was still early in the day. Though I could not see, I knew I had to be close to a harbour of some sort: I could hear the bellows of trawlers hard at work, the call of the gulls circling high above, and the subtle lapping of the waves as they met the piers. There was a tranquility to it, one that I was quite familiar with thanks to some of the peaceful times in my own home.
The only reason I knew this was not one of my own memories was because I could tell that I was using somebody's lap as a pillow, and I have never allowed myself to behave in such a manner in front of others. It would've been undignified for a person in my position, but clearly such was not the case for the other Nagato.
"How unusual for you to let yourself be pampered like this," spoke the person upon whose lap I enjoyed. Her voice was as warm and inviting as her embrace, like a thick blanket on a cold evening. Her fingertips brushed through my hair, each touch enticing me further into my sloven state. I did not want to get up, even if the whole world suddenly burst into flames. "I guess that's to be expected. You've been so anxious lately, I was beginning to worry about you."
Whatever worries I might've had, I clearly wasn't feeling them at that moment, and my only response was a blissful, contented murmur. She laughed, and then playfully rubbed the tips of my ears.
"Well, if anyone deserves to be spoiled a little, it's you." She began to massage my ears with slow, methodical caresses. "I hope you're not too troubled by what Akagi said to you. She's not wrong, you know, and she knows much of the world, so you would be wise to heed her counsel. In this world, full of empires and unchecked ambitions, only the strong can flourish. Hope and prayers alone won't protect our home; only by making the Sakura Empire stronger can we survive and keep our people safe." Despite her encouragement, the words still brought unease in my heart, and it was only through the machinations of her hands that I felt content enough to remain still and silent. "I cannot begin to imagine how much this decision weighs upon you, but I want you to know: whatever choice you make, your sister will always support you."
Then something tickled at my nose, so I finally opened my eyes and saw the face of the woman looming over me, and how the long strands of her crimson hair curtained around our faces. As the dream ended with me staring into her reassuring, affectionate gaze, I awoke with a growing sense of wariness. For now I knew that the mysterious kansen who fought us as we crossed the Pacific was indeed the same person that I just saw in my dreams.
It was Mutsu, the younger sister to Choshu, and who supposedly died years ago in a harbour explosion.
Though my sleep was not being troubled by unsettling nightmares and horrific visions of an apocalyptic landscape, I was still unable to greet the new day feeling rested. It seemed that no matter the nature of the dream, it still prevented whatever it was about sleep that made one feel rejuvenated in the morning. Or it was just my new arrangements that made it harder for me to sleep. Back home in the empire, I slept in absolute luxury, with the softest of blankets and futons at my beckoning. At this naval port, however, I was forced to endure the nights in the same western-style bedding that every other kansen used. If the other kansens from the Sakura Empire could adjust to such sleeping arrangements, then I just needed more time.
Yes, more time to sleep would have been a godsend.
I could've stayed in to sleep more, as my current confinement by the inhibitor collar meant I could not partake in any training exercises or commissions. Thus, I was free from any commitments or expectations, and could start the day however I desired. However, I had also been given a request the night before to meet with the captain at my earliest convenience in the morning. It didn't specify where or when precisely, so despite having woken up early due to my troubled sleep, I decided to go see what the captain wished of me.
The port was much quieter in the morning, with the only people up at this hour being the ones in the midst of preparing to take over for the first watch. It made for a brisk, tranquil walk to the captain's dorm, which wasn't in the same block as all of our dorms. Apparently whoever designed the port's layout decided it was better to keep the non-kansen support staff housed elsewhere, so their dorms were attached directly to the administrative building, although it had only one occupant at this time. It must've been rather lonesome to have an entire dorm to one's self, but I imagined it was probably for the best if he lived separately from the rest of us. There was already enough gossip about the captain floating around the dorms as it was, enough to even catch the attention of those of us who weren't actively seeking it out.
On the bright side, it made searching for DeWolf's quarters a trivial matter: his was the only name on the registry list, and unsurprisingly, he took the largest quarters that were available to him, which afforded him not only more legroom, but also had an attached bathroom. Under normal circumstances, one could've been envious of such an added luxury, but we kansens had access to the bathhouse that the Royal Navy built on-site, so who needed a private shower when you had spacious, heated baths available twenty-four hours a day?
I was still pondering what Captain DeWolf could need from me, although a not-insignificant part of me didn't really care so long as it was something to keep me occupied. I dreaded the thought of sitting idle in port while everyone I cared about continued to work and fight against the Sirens.
Just as I was nearing the captain's quarters, I heard a scream come from down the hall. It was full of shock and alarm, a cry of distress that we as kansens were almost instinctively drawn towards as a call to arms. I may have not been able to summon my rigging, but I wasn't about to sit idle if the captain was in trouble. As to what it could be, I was not concerned: with everything that has happened in the last few days, a Siren showing up in the middle of the port wasn't beyond the realm of possibility. I just prayed it wasn't somebody who disagreed with DeWolf's presence at the base and decided to finally take matters into their own hands.
Thankfully, the captain's door wasn't locked, so I didn't need to risk trying to break it down when I barged in. "Worry not, Captain DeWolf, I am here!" I shouted as I frantically looked for the man.
In retrospect, I should've tempered my zeal, or exercised some caution, because instead of finding any threats, all I saw was the captain standing in the open doorway leading to the attached bathroom. He was dripping wet from head to toe, and had clearly just stepped out of the shower as the only thing he had with him was the towel he held in one hand, which by some miracle was positioned just right to preserve his modesty. Time slowed to a crawl as the two of us just stared at one another with a silent, wide-eyed look of disbelief.
There was a man in front of me.
A naked man.
A very incredibly naked man.
Now while I had lived a relatively sheltered life, it wasn't as if I was completely ignorant about the facts of life. Every kansen's training in the Sakura Empire included the basics of biology and physiology, and it wasn't like sailors were known to be the most modest of professions, especially when working on deck in the sweltering summer heat. However, I had never been confronted by such lewdness so close. Naturally, I did what any girl would do in that situation: I shrieked at the top of my lungs as I buried my face into my palms.
Something along the lines of 'oh gods I'm sorry, I didn't see anything' was shouted in the mix, but in my panic, I might've said everything in my native tongue instead. If DeWolf tried to say anything in his defence, I couldn't hear it as I was far too preoccupied crouched on the ground, trying to shut out the entire world. The only thing that finally snapped my senses back to reality was a very distinct sound of drawn steel weaponry.
"Hands in the air, and no sudden moves!"
It was Kawakaze's voice. I glanced up and saw my steadfast colleague now standing between me and the captain. I was only able to see what was happening because there happened to be a slightly and totally coincidental gap between two of my fingers that afforded me just enough space for the opportunity. Now it was she who was in a stare-down with the captain, but all he did was just raise an eyebrow as he looked to my friend, then down to his towel, then back to her.
"I'd rather keep my hands where they are," he replied.
At least Kawakaze was able to keep a level enough head to realize her mistake and respond appropriately. "We're terribly sorry!" she blurted out before taking me by the hand. I was pulled out into the hall, whereupon my friend slammed the door shut behind her. It was only then that I noticed she was just as red-faced as I was, her eyes wide in a startled sort of stupor with one hand clasped over her mouth. "I… I almost saw his…"
"Are you okay, Kawakaze?" I asked.
Hearing my voice snapped her from her thoughts, and she was able to quickly regain her normal, stoic composure. "Ah, yes. I'm fine," she replied, tersely. "More importantly, are you okay? He didn't do anything, did he?"
"N-no, of course not! The fault was entirely my own," I explained. As panic and adrenaline began to subside, I was able to view the situation more objectively. Clearly I had acted in haste and should've knocked before barging in, regardless of how noble my intentions may have been. However, in that post-panic clarity, a thought crossed my mind. "Wait a moment, Kawakaze, why are you even here?"
"Oh… uh, I heard your scream, and I thought you were in danger."
That part, while true, was obvious and not what I meant. "Your arrival was far too swift to be a coincidence. You were following me, weren't you?"
"Of course I was," Kawakaze snapped back, opting to go on the offensive rather than try to pretend otherwise. "You were going to the captain's quarters in the early morning. I needed to make sure you were safe. With that collar on, you are more vulnerable than ever. Plus, you are quite small. And very cute. It's dangerous for you to be left alone with a man."
I let out a tired sigh. "You are beginning to sound like Akagi. Your concerns are appreciated, but overblown. Captain DeWolf does not pose a danger to me. Such recklessness not only insults his honour and integrity as an officer, it shames both of us in his eyes. You should apologize to him forthwith."
"But I—"
"No buts," I snapped, pointing a finger to her. "He is an honourable man, and our commanding officer. You shall treat him with the respect he is owed."
Though she wasn't my bodyguard, and I thus had no actual authority over her, she nonetheless let out a defeated murmur and bowed in deference. "As you wish," she replied. With the matter resolved, the two of us waited patiently outside the captain's quarters. Hopefully he would be ready soon, although neither of us were in any rush to check. "You know, I always heard western officers were lazy and decadent. I guess that is not necessarily the case."
I wasn't sure why she felt it necessary to bring that up. Maybe she was just trying to change the course of the conversation, in which case she was successful since the mere mention of the captain's… physique caused those mental images to flash through my mind. The rush of heat to my face almost knocked me senseless, and for a second I worried my ears were about to turn into candles.
I had to say something, but all I managed was a mumbled, "Y-yes, he is… adequately fit."
"Did you see the scar?"
"The one on his side? I… might have." She was referring to a jagged scar line that DeWolf had on his lower left side. Its wide, jagged, and discoloured lines told me that it was not some clean, surgical incision. To leave such a mark, it had to be violent… brutal… left to linger and fester, and exposed to the elements before crudely patched over like a piece of sheet metal welded over a hull breach. I only happened to see it because he was turned in such a way that it was more visible to the casual eye: it wasn't because I was staring at him or anything. "It looked to be a war wound."
"He wasn't badly injured when we rescued him," Kawakaze recalled. "I would've thought officers kept their distance from battle these days."
Our awkward conversation was cut abruptly short. "I can hear you two, you know?" DeWolf's voice sounded from the other side of the door. A moment later, a now fully-dressed Captain DeWolf stepped into the hallway. He wasn't in his full suit this time around, and instead wore a simpler, dark-coloured working coat and matching slacks; the coat itself lacked the trimmings and buttons of a formal coat, instead being a more pragmatic design with plenty of pockets and all the insignias and labels attached by velcro straps. It gave him a much more 'working man' look than the more formal 'officer and a gentleman' look of yesterday.
"Your attire is quite casual today, sir," I commented.
"The weather's a bit too warm for the walking dress," he answered. "Although they haven't quite sent me all the proper patches and a new hat yet."
"It suits you," I said. I hope some kind words would make up for all the trouble I had just caused him. "You look like a man who is ready to lead from the front."
He must've not expected a compliment, as he just shuffled a bit awkwardly before pushing past us to continue on his way. "Come along, we can talk more in my office," he said as he gestured for us to follow along. "And it was shrapnel."
"Excuse me?" I repeated.
"The scar," he answered as he pointed to his side. "Piece of shrapnel caught me in the side."
"Ah, of course." Remembering that he had overheard our discussion, I was thankful that I was behind him as my face sizzled once more.
The next few minutes consisted of the most awkward walk I had ever had to endure with a silence so stifling at times it felt like I couldn't breathe. Even Kawakaze looked to be off-guard, as her normally vigilant gaze would keep abruptly pulling away from DeWolf whenever it wandered close. It was as if she was going through great strides to avoid looking in his general direction. When we arrived at his office, we were greeted by the curious sight of Choshu standing at attention next to the door, her sword nestled in the crook of her shoulder.
"Ah, good morning captain," she greeted. "You're rather early; it's not quarter to the hour yet." There must have been something written on my face because despite my best attempts to act casual, she stared at me with a curious gaze for a few unsettling seconds. "What's the matter with you? Did something happen?"
Immediately, Kawakaze and I both replied with a chorus of, "Nothing happened!"
Being a bit more sensible, Choshu just turned her attention to the captain with the obvious hope that he might be able to explain our totally-not-suspicious behaviour. "Just a little misunderstanding involving a busted shower," DeWolf explained, as though it were as mundane an explanation as a broken clock.
"Nothing too serious, I hope?"
"Damn thing couldn't make up its mind whether it wanted the water to be scalding or freezing," he explained. This was how the encounter and conversation should have gone when I first arrived at his quarters; how normal, sensible people responded to things. It left me feeling even more foolish than ever. "Anyways, seeing as both you and Nagato have decided to show up much sooner than I expected, we may as well just skip the office part and just move on to where I needed to take the both of you."
"You wanted to meet with both of us, sir?" I asked, thankful that the new line of conversation took us away from the uncomfortable topics.
DeWolf gestured once more for us to follow as we now proceeded away from his office on a route that would eventually lead us outdoors. "Not really 'me' precisely, but Joseph told me that he's finally got his lab space up and running, and he was rather eager to start some preliminary tests."
"T-tests? What… what kind of tests?" Choshu asked.
As she fell into step just slightly behind the captain, he didn't notice the flicker of apprehension in her expression. "I'm not sure. You'll have to ask him—he's the scientist. I doubt it's anything too invasive, since he said he wouldn't keep you for very long."
I was relieved when I first heard that Dr. DeWolf had taken such an interest in our peculiar interdimensional problem. When we first departed, I feared that we would have to either wait months for a response, or be stuck in the middle of an argument between the factions over who led the project. After the Orochi Project debacle, the Sakura Empire were happy to wash their hands of Choshu, but the Iron Bloods and Eagle Union were notorious for their cutting edge research into kansen and siren technologies. On top of that, I was confident we could trust the other DeWolf brother, and that the worst we had to fear from him was an unsolicited petting or ear poke. Though my cohort had her worries, I had a growing curiosity as to what awaited us. I knew little about the science behind kansens and sirens, especially in the fields of active research, so with any luck this would be a great learning experience.
The research labs themselves were located further inland due to the sensitive nature of their work. While most of the base was functional and even tasteful in its architecture, the labs were made of thick concrete bunkers and bland hangar-like structures meant to contain and protect potentially dangerous technologies. It was the sort of architecture created by a cold, pragmatic calculus rather than any sort of artistic merit. I imagined they put it further inland just so that everybody working in the port wouldn't have to deal with the eye sore.
We were about halfway to our destination, however, when we came across Akagi, who appeared to be out for a morning stroll. Those of us familiar with the unique inflection of her footsteps knew she was coming well before she wandered into view. It was a curious sight for her to be on a walk-about so early in the day, but I figured she was familiarizing herself with the port layout just as I had.
"Ah, Captain DeWolf, Lady Nagato… how pleasant to see you on this lovely morning," she greeted us. "And I see Miss Kawakaze and Choshu are with you as well. Quite the enviable position, to be escorted by so many fine young women." She certainly did not waste time in teasing him.
"Strictly business, I assure you," he answered in his usual straight-forward manner.
"Dr. DeWolf wishes to conduct some tests," I explained to her.
"Really? How interesting. I'm impressed that your brother has managed to get his facility up and running so quickly," Akagi said as her eyes lit up. "Would it be too much to ask if I might accompany you for this? For good or ill, I've more experience with Sirens and their technology than almost anyone else on base."
The captain didn't answer, but instead looked to Choshu and I. Without even saying anything, the message was clear: it was up to us whether we'd want her coming along. I had no idea what kind of tests were going to be involved, but I doubt there would be anything invasive or embarrassing, so I, for one, felt more secure having her expertise close at hand. I nodded in agreement, as did Choshu, and so did our travel group grow to five.
However, rather than fall into step alongside Kawakaze, Choshu, and I, our newest addition instead inserted herself right next to the captain, and linked her arm with his. "I do believe in your culture, it's proper etiquette for a gentleman to escort a lady, yes?"
I was certain that she was just making that up, but for whatever reason, the captain went along with it. Even though their arms were linked, he looked as if he was still trying to keep his distance as best he could. I hoped her forwardness wasn't going to hurt our working relationships by making the captain wary of her. I prayed that he would grow accustomed to her eccentricities in time. At least Akagi appeared happy with the arrangement, if her swaying tails were anything to go by.
"I have to say, you girls have been criminally under-utilizing the facilities you have here," Joseph DeWolf explained, although he had driven the point in several times during our tour of the labs. "See that thing? The chair with all the wires and connectors? Practically never been touched. You wouldn't believe the amount of begging and favours I had to pull just to get one of those sent to me back at my last lab."
I remembered once getting a tour of the science lab back in the empire's main port, although the event was more about building morale and publicity than actually making sure I had a thorough understanding of our scientific capabilities. I remembered being shown equipment much like the ones Dr. DeWolf had spent the past hour showing us, but at least now it appeared more… connected. It wasn't just a show for the cameras and newspapers. The lab at this particular port was something of a disorganized mess with old sheets still draped over some of the equipment, and every so often we saw people scurrying around with mops and brooms. I got the impression their lab had sat unused for quite some time, just waiting for someone with the curiosity and drive to give her purpose once more. It made sense: most kansens were more interested in fighting than research, and most governments wanted to keep their researchers and labs on the mainland where they were beyond the reach of the Sirens. A facility like this in a frontline outpost was more intended to be used on a temporary basis, such as the staging ground for an expedition or trial experiments. I suspected even Dr. DeWolf did not expect to stay at this facility for too long.
"The ones we have in the empire look a bit more capable than yours," Akagi commented, still hooked to the captain's arm. "Are you sure it has a high enough detector array frequency to get all the data you need?"
Dr. DeWolf looked a little chuffed at the insinuation that his equipment was inferior. "The empire makes its equipment by slapping together pieces of reverse-engineered Siren tech and calling it a day," he replied. "Its detectors might have higher sensitivities, but they lack the necessary processing algorithms to capitalize on all the extra data you can collect."
Personally, I had no idea what the two of them were talking about, but at least they were getting along in their own sort of scientific rivalry. Aside from the need for more cleaning, the lab itself looked much the same as our own, if a little unpolished given its nature as a frontline facility. We stood in one of the larger rooms which was lined with work stations and lab equipment ranging from simple microscopes and fume hoods to complex scanners and analyzers, including something he had referred to as a 'wisdom cube integral disseminator', which honestly looked more like an oversized rice cooker to me.
"I could send word to my superiors to have some of our… older pieces shipped here. A collaborative effort might produce something greater than either of us have produced on our own," Akagi suggested. Once again, I couldn't help but notice how uncharacteristically cooperative she's being. First with the captain, now with the brother. I didn't want to feel skeptical or untrusting of her, but I was beginning to wonder if she was feeling alright.
"I'm not going to hold my breath when it comes to the Sakura Empire's admiralty, no offense," he replied. "Even trying to get a collaborative project running on neutral grounds has always been stonewalled, especially when the Iron Bloods get involved. They'd sooner give up beer than their secrets."
Akagi let out a playful laugh. "Oh, don't even get me started on them. We're their closest allies, and I'd have more luck convincing a fox to part with its tail than pry a secret from their hands."
"You said you wanted to run some tests," Captain DeWolf said, steering the conversation back to the purpose of our visit. Though I did enjoy the tour, despite barely understanding half of the explanations he gave, it did distract us from the purpose of our visit.
"Right, right, the tests," Joseph said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. He dropped onto a nearby stool, then proceeded to wheel himself over to a nearby computer station. "I just want to run a few scans, plus collect some samples as well."
"S-samples?" Choshu repeated. Her ears went rigid for a second, and I couldn't help but notice her eyes kept darting over to the nearest exit.
"Yeah, just a bit of blood and some swabs to start with," he answered, clearly not noticing her apprehension as his attention was already drawn to something on his computer monitor. "We can start with those, if that's not too much trouble." He was already typing away when he gestured with an offhand in the general direction of where some unoccupied stools were.
Feeling particularly brave that day, Choshu made the noble decision to volunteer me with a gentle nudge forward and a silent expression that screamed 'you first.' Not wanting to fight, I dutifully grabbed a stool and joined the doctor at his workstation. He quickly explained what exactly was going to happen for the samples he wanted to collect, and honestly it wasn't anything I hadn't gone through before back home in the empire. I've had enough scraps in training exercises to know what the inside of a hospital was like and the kind of tests they regularly performed, and as an active-duty kansen, we were required to undertake routine check-ups. He first ran a special cotton swab along the inside of my mouth, then gestured for me to extend my arm out to the side. Again, I was more than used to blood samples, so as he began to prep my arm, my eyes wandered across his workstation in idle curiosity. That was when I noticed that his choice of decor was rather sparse with the exception of a shimmering azure cube that sat inside a plexiglass container like a sort of trophy.
"I see you and your brother share a habit of keeping mementos at work," I remarked. "I'm surprised your superiors would let you keep a wisdom cube for yourself."
"Well, my peers insist that she's a dud, so she was destined to be broken apart for some other research project," he explained, a small hint of pride in his voice. "I managed to save it from such an untimely end."
"And you disagree with your peers' assessment?"
He nodded. "I like to think every cube holds the potential for a kansen, we just haven't figured out how to unlock it yet."
"What do you mean by that?" Choshu asked.
"Well, you know how the kansen creation process goes, right? We put the wisdom cube into the awakening cradle, we attune it to the right harmonics, and throw the switch. Then you get the fancy light show and 'boom', a new baby kansen is born." He continued talking all while he lined up a needle to my arm. Whether it was intentional or not, the discussion had a way of keeping me distracted from what he was about to do. "At least that's how it used to be. We could churn out new kansens almost as fast as we could manufacture new cubes, but then some cubes started to fizzle instead of boom. We thought it was just manufacturing defects, but then a few turned into many, which then turned into a lot, and I'm sure you folks in the empire know what was at fault."
"The Theory of Diminishing Returns," Akagi chimed in.
"Exactly," Joseph said, pointing a congratulatory finger to her. "The more kansens we had, the more cubes it took to get a new one. Every nation eventually ran into the problem, and nobody knows why."
I barely even noticed when he pushed the needle into my arm and started drawing blood. Instead, my attention was fixed on Akagi, who had the most confident smirk on her face as she meandered over to the doctor. "Oh, but you have an idea, don't you? I remember hearing whispers about one of Azur Lane's leading minds falling out of favour because of an outlandish theory."
Now free of a certain fox's grasp, Captain DeWolf leaned up against a work desk on the opposite side of the room. "Trust me, crazy ideas aren't the reason nobody returns his calls anymore," he stated coldly. "But we're not here to rehash failed theories."
I would've expected the doctor to press on with his discussion all the same, but it seemed like it only took one exchange of looks between the two brothers to silence him. "Ah, you're right," he said with a defeated sigh. "Anyways, you're all done, Miss Nagato. I'm afraid I don't have any lollipops to hand out. Miss Choshu, if you'll please."
Hearing her name, my counterpart suddenly went rigid right up to the tips of her ears. "Wh—me? Oh, w-we don't need a blood sample. I mean, what is that even going to tell you? Sounds like a huge waste of time if you ask me."
Obviously, nobody believed such a half-hearted excuse, but nobody wanted to be the first to point it out. The rest of us exchanged a few curious glances before I finally decided to bite the metaphorical bullet. "Choshu, the doctor is trying to help. We both agreed to this."
"I just fail to see what value such a test would be when dealing with a kansen from an alternate timeline. That's like using a thermometer to check the time."
She was tense, anxious even. Given how sudden it came about, only one possibility came to mind. "You're not scared of needles, are you?"
"I am the fourth flagship of the great Combined Fleet! I do not fear any steel!" Choshu blurted out in a furious tirade. "It's humans who tremble in fear of my power, not the other way around!"
In a rather bold and ill-thought out plan, Joseph cleared his throat to draw her attention back to him, and more specifically to the large-bore needle he held out to her. Faster than one could say 'bonzai', there was a flash of steel and light as Choshu summoned the full extent of her battle rigging. A full set of forty-one centimeter guns trained onto the doctor, who now found himself staring at the business end of her sword.
"Mine's bigger so just try it, ya filthy gaijin!" the panicked battleship exclaimed.
Were she any other kansen of the Sakura Empire, I would've been confident enough to use authority and mutual respect to talk her down, but Choshu no more respected me than any other girl here. In fact, if anything I was put under more scrutiny and higher expectations because of our shared name. With the exception of Kawakaze, who now stood with her sword at the ready, none of us were afraid that Choshu would actually start firing. Still, there was no way we were going to complete this test while she was at action stations. A battleship kansen could knock aside high-caliber artillery rounds, so what hope did a medical needle have?
"Choshu, don't you think you're overreacting a little bit?" Captain DeWolf said, his tone resembling a teacher lecturing a troublesome student. Not fearing any reprisal, he walked over to the still-anxious girl and extended a friendly hand to her. "Come on now, we wouldn't be asking this of you if it wasn't important. We can't help you if you don't let us. I promise, it'll only sting for a moment." I wasn't sure if he was intending to from the very start, but he then patted the girl on the head.
"Wah!" Choshu yelped, tensing to such an extreme that I fear she'd snap at a moment's notice. She was red from ear to ear now. "Wh-wh-what are you doing? You can't just go patting a girl's head without warning her!"
"Ah, sorry. Kind of… I dunno, felt like the right choice?" DeWolf offered. It was as though even he was surprised by what he did. He must've figured that since the strategy worked on Akagi earlier, it could be used on any other fox-eared girl.
Just as he pulled his hand away, though, Choshu snapped again. "I didn't say you could stop!"
Equal parts surprised and confused, Captain DeWolf just kept petting her, all the while her face continued to turn an even deeper crimson hue as she did her best impression of a boiling kettle. "Hnnnng! Okay, fine! I'll do it!" she finally announced. Dismissing her rigging, the reluctant girl took my place next to the doctor and shoved her arm out to him while averting her gaze. "J-just get it over with."
By the mercy of the heavens, we managed to get through all of Dr. DeWolf's tests without any further panic attacks or negligent discharges. The blood samples were, honestly, the worst part of the whole process, so once Choshu managed to tough it out, with the captain's help, it was smooth sailing afterwards. The rest of the testing was more dull than anything: it involved the two of us sitting in a pair of cheap recliners underneath a strange assortment of electronic devices that hummed loudly as they took readings and scans. Given how disruptive my dreams still were, I was almost inclined to take a nap while I waited for the machines to finish.
During that time, Joseph managed to make a lot of small talk with all of us. Compared to his brother, he was far more outgoing and sociable, which was odd considering he was the scientist and his brother the officer; one tended to assume the opposite sort of personalities given the professions. Captain DeWolf mostly kept to himself, watching us from a short distance and only occasionally taking a moment to pace around the lab in an effort to keep his legs from falling asleep.
"Well, the preliminary results are starting to come in," Joseph said from where he sat, operating the workstation connected to the scanning devices that Choshu and I sat beneath. "I'll probably be sifting through the data for a while, but at a glance, I can definitely say with absolute confidence that Choshu is not a lunatic."
"That's surprising, considering what happened not too long ago," Captain DeWolf remarked. "But what do you actually mean by that?"
"Meaning she is definitely who she says she is," the older brother explained. He turned the computer monitor towards us, showing a readout displaying a bunch of graphs and wavy lines. Again, with science being a weak point of mine, I may as well have been looking at a New Year's fortune for all the use it was to me. "Look at these harmonic resonance waveforms for both Nagato and Choshu: they're identical. There's no way for that to happen under normal circumstances."
"And for those of us who lack doctorates," an unimpressed Choshu suggested.
Dr. DeWolf just rolled his eyes for a moment, and once again gestured our attention to the wavy lines on his computer monitor. "These waveforms represent you—it's the energy pattern created by your wisdom cube and its link to the collective human consciousness. They're unique to each kansen, like a fingerprint. You shouldn't be able to get two kansens with the same pattern. Even girls who consider themselves twins have different patterns."
"So all you've established is the assumption that we've already been operating under," Akagi remarked, sounding equally unimpressed by the doctor's work.
The challenge, though, was met with a confident grin as the doctor pushed up his glasses. "Except there are some serious implications that go along with sharing a harmonic waveform," he said, as if that made sense to the rest of us. "Remember, you kansens are a manifestation of human will, built upon its collective memories of the ships you draw your power from. Choshu, however, hails from a different existence: another timeline with its own history, hence why her form is slightly different. But now she's existing in our dimension with a form drawn from her own timeline. Do you get what's exciting about this? She's single-handedly proving that the wisdom cube's reach is not limited by time and space."
There was no denying that he was excited about this news; he was practically rocking in his seat as he explained it, like a child exalting what he just learned in school. The implications of his explanation still flew over my head, but as a kansen my concerns were rather limited to what could be applied on the battlefield. I did notice that Akagi listened intently to everything the doctor explained. Her experience with Siren technology, especially the Orochi project, likely gave her more insight and understanding than I possessed.
"Do you think this might explain what's been happening to Nagato?" Akagi asked.
"Wait, how would this be related to my situation?" I said, failing to understand how what Joseph said segued to her question.
"Everything a kansen is comes from their wisdom cube: it's the closest thing to a soul we've ever scientifically described. But your cubes have the same harmonics. Think of it like… uh, like a radio transmission. Normally everyone has their own private channel, but the two of you have a shared frequency, so in theory you could be receiving signals from each other's sources as well as your own."
An interesting theory, to be sure, and since Choshu and I were the first known example of two kansens with this 'shared frequency', we had no other examples to draw data from. He was, as best as I could tell with my limited scientific knowledge, making a complete guess at this stage. However, as much as it may have been a guess, it would explain a lot of what I had been experiencing since Choshu's arrival. The dreams I had, the memories I witnessed; those had to be those 'mixed signals' that Dr. DeWolf theorized about. It was as if the universe kept getting confused over which of us was the Nagato native to this timeline and which was the visitor. It would also explain how I was able to summon such terrifying power during my meeting with Enterprise, as I must've tapped into my counterpart's hatred for the famed war hero.
"That's quite the theory you have there, doctor," Akagi complimented. "If that's true, then our little Nagato was likely drawing from Choshu's power when she attacked Enterprise."
"It sounds ridiculous," Choshu scoffed.
"Except it is exactly what is happening," I said. Since the theory had been put out there and the implications significant, it was important to explain what had been happening to me as of late. "Lately, I have been having strange dreams—sights of the empire in flames. At first I thought they were premonitions of peril to come, but since your arrival, they have grown clearer, more detailed. I have watched Yokosuka be bombed by Eagle Union forces; seen how Yaezakura dreamed of sailing into battle alongside you; and how Enterprise—"
"Enough!" Choshu suddenly snapped back. Her outrage took everyone by surprise, but in retrospect, memories were considered quite personal, and I was spilling hers for everyone to hear. "It seems that the doctor's hypothesis has some merit after all."
"Have you been having any strange dreams?" I inquired. It only made sense that if I was being afflicted, then she must be experiencing the same. "Any trouble sleeping?"
She sank into her seat, a look of apprehension about her as she averted her eyes from me. "Quite the opposite, really. In my dreams… cool barley tea on a summer afternoon in the courtyard; the glow of the bonfire as people dance at the Obon festival; music and laughing children as the cherry blossoms fill the air above the home port…" She sighed as her eyes drifted to the ceiling, staring far beyond the confines of the building. "I can't remember when I've slept so well."
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a flurry of movement, and that was when I noticed that Dr. DeWolf had been furiously scribbling down notes of everything we had just been saying. One couldn't fault the doctor for being so passionate about his research, although it felt surreal to be the subject of study.
"Fascinating," he muttered to himself. "You know, if my hypothesis is accurate, then perhaps—"
"Joseph!" The unexpected interruption came from the captain, who held an equally surprising stern look on his face. "In private. Now."
Everyone except for the doctor looked on in absolute confusion as the two siblings got up and walked off to have their discussion away from our many ears. We could only speculate as to what prompted the sudden intrusion, but as the brothers left, Akagi suddenly showed an even stronger interest. In a flicker of flame, she summoned some of her airplane talismans into her hand. While I was baffled as to why she would call upon her rigging's power now of all times, I could only watch in silence as she threw one of the talismans towards the two brothers. As they headed into an adjacent room and closed the door behind them, the thin, paper talisman silently glided through the air and slipped through the crack under the door.
"A-Akagi, y-you're spying on them?" I gasped in a hushed whisper.
"Aren't you curious to hear what's so important they can't say it in front of us?" she replied, a devilish grin across her features. Now she was acting more like the Akagi I knew.
I should've said or done something to stop her, or even just speak loud enough so that either DeWolf would hear what was going on. She was eavesdropping on them, and I knew with every fiber of my being that this was no way to treat our allies and commanding officer. There was a brief moment where I hoped that Kawakaze or Choshu would intervene in my stead, but for whatever reason they both kept quiet. Maybe they were like me and hoping that somebody else would be the one to dare tell Akagi to stop. However, in the absence of any objections, the nine-tailed fox just continued with her plan. As an aircraft carrier, her senses were connected to her planes, and by pulling out a second talisman, she essentially now had ears on the captain's conversation.
"This is the part where you tell me I'm being an idiot, isn't it?" Joseph's voice emanated from Akagi's talisman.
"If it's that obvious, why are you doing this in the first place?" the captain replied, a hint of tired exasperation in his voice.
"Because you know this could prove my theories."
"Do you have any idea how much I had to beg just to get you assigned here? Everyone was happy to just let you languish in early retirement before I stepped in. My arse is on the line, and you're going to burn us both if you try and bring that old song and dance out again."
"Choshu is proof that the Sirens can bypass the Theory of Diminishing Returns!" Joseph didn't lack passion or enthusiasm when pleading his case, that was for certain. There was even a hint of desperation when he spoke. "You and I both know it. We worked for years on this. Every time a wisdom cube fizzles out, it emits a brief harmonic waveform that matches an already existing kansen. There's so much more to the process that we haven't yet figured out. If the Sirens can bring out a kansen that shouldn't even exist, imagine what we could do with it. It would be the key to realizing the Wishing Well project!"
"That was a pipe dream, Joseph, and everyone knows it. You didn't help yourself by giving it such a ridiculous name, too."
"Better than 'Priority Research Project A-One-Nine-Four-Five.' And don't speak so little of it. This was our dream, remember? The big one that could finally change the tide of this war."
There was suddenly a slam, likely from DeWolf hitting a table or a desk, and it was loud enough for us to hear even without the aid of Akagi's abilities. "Your dream, Joseph! It was always just yours, and you've never given a damn about anything else besides it. Tell me, how many people are going to have to die this time around? How many have to give their lives in this farce of a pursuit of yours? If it wasn't for that stupid theory of yours then—"
Everything went silent at that moment, but it wasn't because Akagi stopped listening. Like an explosion, all of the energy in the conversation vanished into smoke. Despite how wrong it felt listening to their private conversation, my curiosity wouldn't allow me to turn away.
"You're not the only one who blames themselves for what happened at Iroise," a drained Joseph replied. "Or sometimes wake up in the morning wondering why I lived and others didn't. Maybe I am being an idiot and selfish, but if I give up then it would've all been for nothing. I like to think I owe them at least that much."
"If I tell you no, then you're just going to go behind my back and do it anyways," an equally exhausted Captain DeWolf replied. "Just… be careful, okay? No experiments without my expressed consent. And for the love of god, don't tell King George V that you're doing this. I can protect you from the admiralty, but I don't think I could stop her."
As it sounded like the discussion had reached its conclusion, Akagi recalled her minions. Like a fox that had just finished ransacking the henhouse, she was quite pleased with herself. A triumphant smirk adorned her face, but it lasted only for a moment, as we heard the door open, and she had to feign ignorance of everything that transpired. Both DeWolfs came walking back in just a moment later, and if we hadn't just overheard everything, I would've been confused by why the doctor didn't have the same excited glint behind his glasses.
"Tests are over. You girls are all dismissed," the captain announced, wasting no time in ending the day's events. "We'll send for you if any more tests are needed in the future. Headquarters will want to know about this… development."
"Then we will bid you good day," I said as I hopped out of my seat. I gave a polite bow to both brothers. "Thank you for your efforts, Dr. DeWolf. I've learned a great deal today."
"Yes, today's been quite enlightening, if I do say so," Akagi added, as if compelled to secretly flaunt her success.
We all bid our farewells and the four of us headed out. Though I wasn't sure what the rest of my day would consist of, there was little point in hanging around the research lab. As informative as the day was, the lab did still leave a slight feeling of unease in me, although it was possible that some of that came from Choshu's own feelings. Our walk back towards the main section of the naval port was quiet. For my part, I was busy digesting all that I had learned from the doctor. While we now had a theory as to why I had the strange dreams and what caused Enterprise's shooting, it still didn't explain what Choshu or her sister were doing in our timeline. The Sirens must have had a purpose when they offered me the cube and its power, and the other Mutsu appeared to be aligned with them. They twisted Akagi's desires to suit their goals, and likely would've done the same to me had I not answered with my cannons. What were Mutsu's goals, and would she find herself betrayed as well?
Mysteries for another day, it seemed.
Once we were well and clear of the lab and not at any risk of others overhearing us, there was one last thing that I still needed to discuss. It was the matter of Akagi's spying: while it went without saying that I disapproved of it, I knew it would be hypocritical at this point to chastise her for something that I, through inaction, consented to. There was a different nagging concern that itched at the back of my mind. Less a certainty and more a possibility that I needed to confirm.
"Akagi," I said once I worked up the nerve to confront her about it, "I have a question, and I hope you will be honest with me."
"Then by all means, ask away," she replied, confident as always. "You know that I would never lie to you."
"A lie of omission is just as wrong," I reminded her. As much as I could've gone into depth about how she still technically misled and deceived me during the Orochi Project incident, that was not the point of my question. "But I digress, before we left the home port, you had a meeting with the admiralty. They would have been aware of Captain DeWolf's assignment to this naval port, and likely that of his brother as well. Akagi… were you asked to spy on them?"
"Spying?" Choshu asked, incredulous. "Are you so distrusting of your own kin?"
"It is not a matter of trust. I know Akagi, and she has been peculiar for some time," I insisted, before pointing a finger to my nine-tailed colleague. "You have been overly familiar with DeWolf, and I must assume that it has been so that you can learn about this 'Wishing Well' project, am I right?"
I knew my government, and I knew how my superiors operated. They wouldn't need to send Akagi along with me just for the sake of her expertise, which could have been handled by a long-distance phone call. What she was, however, was crafty and cunning, and had a way with words that allowed her to flow and weave through opposition like water through a riverbed. She knew what to say and how to say it in order to weather down even the most guarded of individuals, and what she couldn't acquire through charm, she could supplement with her cunning. Even Captain DeWolf was slowly warming up to her, although I could tell he was still guarded around her. Still, if she wanted a secret from someone, by the end of a conversation she could get the person to happily hand them over and thank her for it afterwards. Spying on Dr. DeWolf was precisely the kind of assignment that the admiralty would give to her, and if she tried to deny it, I would feel even more inclined to believe that was the case.
"Yes, they did order me to. Unlike the Royal Navy, there's many in the empire who believe the Wishing Well project is feasible."
I wasn't prepared for such bluntness. Part of me didn't expect to get this far. I expected a verbal wrestling match with my long-time friend and advisor, but instead she gave up the truth right away, which not only left me confused, but even more on edge. "So what is this Wishing Well exactly?"
"Hard to say, hence why I was asked to gather more information. We believe, as the Royal Navy once did, that if the project works as intended, it would allow for more targeted creation of kansens: drawing them from across timelines, and perhaps even creating kansens from vessels never built. Surely you could understand why the empire would want such power."
"That I can," I sighed reluctantly. Everyone knew that kansen production had stalled out, just as Dr. DeWolf had described. Due to the cost of manufacturing new wisdom cubes, most of the navies have stopped making attempts until technology and science improved the odds. When even the Eagle Union, with all its wealth and industry, concluded it was too expensive to maintain wisdom cube production at the necessary levels, then it was beyond unsustainable for the rest of the world. Beyond the cost savings, the idea of being able to create multiple versions of a kansen would have any admiral salivating at the thought. Any navy that could field a whole fleet of Enterprises or Yamatos would be unstoppable. And while it might solve the Siren threat in a heartbeat, it would leave the world with a lot of kansens and no immediate threats to shoot. One didn't need to be an oracle to know how that would end.
"They also ordered me specifically not to tell you," Akagi continued on. "So I hope you can appreciate the risk I'm taking by being honest. I don't want a repeat of the Orochi Project, and I've no desire to sacrifice the trust you've placed in me."
"I… do appreciate the honesty," I said with a reluctant sigh. "I don't suppose I can convince you to stop this?"
"If the Wishing Well is possible then it would be in our best interest to have access to it," she reasoned with her usual confident and disarming smile. "You can't expect Azur Lane to share something so powerful, and if they become able to summon whole fleets at will, how long do you think the alliance will last?"
It was hard to argue against that kind of logic, because I knew if the situation were reversed our government would throw aside the alliance without a second thought. If I told the captain she was spying on them, it would destroy his trust in her and she'd probably have to return home. It would be a blow to operations at port, as well as our mission to help Choshu and deal with whatever threat the other Mutsu posed. I couldn't just expose her, but it was clear I wasn't going to be able to convince her to stop short of some kind of ultimatum, and I didn't want to threaten her like that.
"And let's be honest here, it's more likely the situation will be as Captain DeWolf described: a pipe dream. If that's all it winds up being, then nobody is harmed if I happen to uncover anything. My instructions were only to do so if the opportunity presented itself; even the admiralty knows it's too early to be taking risks with our alliance."
Just like the captain with his brother, I realized that if I tried to stop her outright, she would just continue behind my back. The best I could do now was just mitigate the dangers involved. "Just promise me you will not send anything back to the admiralty until we have enough information to judge whether it is safe or not. From what the captain spoke of, this 'Wishing Well' has already brought about disaster once before. I shall not have it unleashed upon our own people."
"If that is what you wish, then I'll comply," Akagi agreed.
"Thank you for your understanding."
At the very least, if she only collected information but didn't send any, then I had time to change her mind, or find another solution. Yet, while it seemed that the matter was settled for the moment, I couldn't help but shake the feeling that I had given her exactly what she wanted, and I just thanked her for it.