November 7, 2023,
Hansi, this is Haruna here, and, well, we were attacked on the way back, and it seems we are the only survivors.
It was night, but Haruna does not remember the exact time. You were holding her, giving her your warmth, when there was an explosion. You got up, grabbed the rifle, and loaded it as you left the room. Haruna tried reaching reach out to you, asking for you to stay, but the words simply could not come out. There was shouting, the shriek of abyssal planes, and the splashes of near misses. But through it all, Haruna heard 5 methodical gunshots. Your gunshots. Haruna got up, Haruna wanted to help you, but a much larger explosion rocked the ship. It began to list. Haruna grabbed your diary and our framed photo, put on the spare basic mobility rigging, and ran into the burning hallway to search for you.
You were in the water, not moving, clothes badly singed. Haruna jumped into to get to you. You were barely breathing. Haruna carried you in a princess carry, like how you carried her to your cabin. Haruna sailed away from the burning ship as it exploded; it sank within a minute.
We went at max speed to the rendezvous point you were talking about. Haruna told the escort fleet everything and kept moving south-southeast back to base. You were still unconscious and bleeding. The escort fleet went to the point of the sinking to search for clues or survivors; Haruna is sure there are none. It was another 8 hours before we arrived at the base.
Haruna waited outside the operating room for 12 hours. The doctors had to remove countless pieces of shrapnel and perform multiple blood transfusions to save you. They said afterwards that between the head injury, blood loss, and prolonged exposure to abyssal steel shrapnel, it is likely you will have memory problems, among other things. Not enough to invalidate you from service, but enough for you to not remember the past few weeks and have slight changes to your personality. They also said something about abyssal steel and impotency, although a link has yet to be proven.
Haruna has been sitting here beside you the past 2 days, waiting for you to wake up, for you to see her, for you to look her in the eye and smile again. Just as you never gave up on her, Haruna will never give up on you. Haruna had time to read through your diary, and in this time Haruna has been thinking, and Haruna just wants to say a few things.
Haruna is sorry for violating your privacy by reading your diary. Although there is nothing in there that you haven't already told Haruna in the past, it was still wrong for Haruna to intrude. Haruna is sorry she caused you so much pain. Haruna needed time to come to terms, but Haruna never meant to hurt the one she loves most. Haruna is also regretful she was not able to stop the air attack that sank the command ship. It was dishonourable of Haruna to put herself before her duties.
And most importantly, Haruna read your proposal. It was the most touching thing Haruna has read, and what Haruna thinks she needs the most at this point. Haruna wants your assurance that everything for us will be alright, that the war will end one day, that we will have the wedding we deserve, and that we will retire to our dream island to build our dream home. No matter how much longer the war will drag on, Haruna will be by your side until the very end. For now, you job is to rest and recover; Haruna will be the one on overwatch. Haruna will also hold onto your diary for now, until you are ready to propose to me on your own. Sorry.
Until then, we can continue to live, laugh, learn, and dream together. Even though we may never have children, as long as we love each other, Haruna is alright, even if it will forever be just the two of us…
Just Teitoku…
Just Haruna…