A/N: Third of the fourth chapter, enjoy~
Dance With Me (One Last Time)
It was Spring. April, to be exact.
The cherry blossoms had come into full bloom a mere few days earlier, their petals dancing on the fresh breeze. The wind was strong today, carrying away the pink petals with haste and scattering their beauty across the waters around the island. One could visibly see the wind itself due to how many petals were caught in its grasp, like a whirling dragon that snaked through the blue sky around the mountain.
Normally, Kawakaze would marvel at their beauty – she would sit and simply watch them move through the air as if they were dancing. Now however she had different priorities, and couldn't afford to watch them go by. She wouldn't be able to muster the calmness needed.
''I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do.''
The atmosphere was heavy and thick, a stark contrast to the coolness outside. Kawakaze was knelt beside Amagi's futon, the weak Battlecruiser laying atop its covers, while Nagato and Akashi stood off to the side, crestfallen. Amagi's breathing was shallow and skin so pale it was like snow. Each breath was becoming a struggle and took visible effort. Kawakaze remained painfully stoic, but her blue eyes revealed the raging storm of emotions running through her heart.
''Are you certain?'' Kawakaze asked, her tone straining to remain level.
''Hai...'' Akashi nodded sadly – her verbal tic nowhere in sight. Her ears remained flat against her head, sorrow clear on her face. ''Her Wisdom Cube is too damaged. It's beyond my ability to repair – beyond anyone's.''
Nagato closed her eyes, exhaling slowly. ''It... it was inevitable. We all knew it... just, time seems to fly, doesn't it?''
Kawakaze murmured a quiet agreement, not taking her eyes from Amagi's face. She had always knew such a time would come, when Amagi's body would simply give up on her. She just refused to acknowledge it. Pretend that Amagi would recover from her weakness, that it was only temporary and not terminal. Now as Kawakaze watched her long-time companion, her lover, her wife slowly die out before her... it broke her heart.
With nothing else to say Nagato and Akashi quietly ducked out of the home, giving the two some privacy. Despite it being left unsaid, they all knew the bitter truth.
Amagi wouldn't survive the hour.
Amagi's chest rose and fell, her half-lidded eyes shifting to Kawakaze. ''Don't... look... so... upset... River... Wind...''
''How can I not...?'' Kawakaze murmured, not even reacting to the nickname. ''We've only been together for a year... it isn't fair...''
''You... should know... that life... isn't... fair...'' Amagi smiled weakly.
Kawakaze smiled bitterly, gently taking Amagi's hand in her own. It was cold.
''If only Kaga didn't be an idiot, and get you hurt...'' Kawakaze said lowly, smile fading. ''She-''
''-has... no fault... in this...'' Amagi interrupted, squeezing her hand with as much strength as she could muster. ''It... was my own... recklessness...''
''Recklessness that could've been avoided if Kaga wasn't such a fool...''
''If she... wasn't... such... a fool... then... we wouldn't... have... ended up... together... no?''
A slight smile fluttered across Kawakaze's face. ''Perhaps so...''
''Then you'll... have to... give her... our... thanks...''
''...perhaps not.''
A weak, coughing laugh escaped Amagi, simultaneously making Kawakaze smile and worry even more.
''How... strange...''
''What is it?'' The Destroyer asked curiously.
''Seeing... Akashi... so sad... I... am reminded... of... the days... leading up... to our... wedding...'' Amagi said wearily.
Kawakaze rose a brow. ''I don't follow...''
''She... was the one... to fit... my dress...'' Amagi elaborated slowly, each breath taking a second. ''She... noticed... my growing... weakness... and realised... my time... was running... short. This... marks... the second... time... I've seen her... so... sad...''
She hummed quietly, acknowledging Amagi's words. She couldn't be mad at Akashi for not saying anything – if anything, she was glad. Glad that she got to spend so much time with Amagi, so much time to smile, to laugh, to feel truly happy.
Happiness. Such a foreign emotion, once upon a time.
''Say... Kawakaze...''
''Yes?''
''Can you... do... me... a favour...?''
There was a note of wistful fondness in her voice, immediately drawing Kawakaze's full attention.
''Of course.'' She agreed without hesitation.
Amagi smiled faintly. ''May... we dance...one... last time?''
…
''...it would be my pleasure.''
With all the gentleness of a mother holding a newborn baby Kawakaze snaked her hands under Amagi's weakened form, delicately hefting her to her feet. But Amagi's strength was all but gone, unable to stand on her own two feet anymore. Kawakaze looped an arm around the Battlecruiser, supporting her and guiding her outside, the bright afternoon light a harsh contrast to the gloomy dim interior of Amagi's home.
Her feet touched grass, cherry blossoms drifting past them too fast to catch. It reminded her of when they first kissed, how they danced amongst the cherry blossom... only this time, it seemed like everything was rushing away from her grasp.
Kawakaze stopped, carefully adjusting Amagi in her grip until they were facing one another. She laid a hand on Amagi's right hip while snaking her right hand under the Battlecruiser's left elbow, gripping her arm tenderly. Amagi wrapped her arms around the Destroyer's neck, resting her forehead against Kawakaze's own.
Slowly, with graceful gentleness they moved. Side to side like a tree in the wind, hair fluttering in the wind yet neither cared. For a brief few moments, all that mattered was each other.
''Haah... you've... improved...''
Kawakaze's expression softened. ''Mm. You were the one to teach me, after all.''
Amagi smiled faintly. ''In...deed... do you... remember... on our... wedding? When... Fubuki-chan... tripped...?''
A huff slipped past the Destroyer's lips. ''I do... that girl needs to watch her footing. She nearly sent herself and Kaga into the river. Before Kaga threw her into the river as punishment.''
The Battlecruiser mustered a breathless laugh. ''Mm... it... was... amusing... no?''
Kawakaze's lips curled up at the corners. ''Very.''
Silence befell them once more, the gentle howling of the wind filling the air. She grasped Amagi's hand and extended it to the side, swaying like a tassel in the wind. Amagi's arm was like a wet noodle... a thing without any life to it.
Amagi's breathing grew shallower, becoming inaudible over the breeze despite their foreheads touching.
''Kawa... kaze...''
The Destroyer swallowed, staring into Amagi's hazy purple eyes. Her eyelids struggled to stay open, her eyes unfocused and staring at nothing. Yet they didn't leave her face, as if committing every last detail to memory for the last time.
Mustering all her strength Amagi tilted her head down, pressing her lips against Kawakaze's in a weak, final kiss.
''Thank... you...''
Her lips left Kawakaze's, head lolling against her shoulder.
Kawakaze kept moving, slowly swaying them side to side. Even as Amagi stopped breathing completely. Even as the cherry blossoms around her vanished, the last of the petals gone with the wind and taken from her sight. Even as tears streamed down her cheeks like the river she was named after.
Her strength left her and she sunk to her knees, hugging Amagi's motionless body for dear life, choked sobs filling the area.
''Y-You're... s-such... an i-idiot...''
And for the first time in her existence, Kawakaze cried.
X-x-X
Years passed.
In the months following Amagi's death, Kawakaze was promoted to Head of the Combined Fleet. Nagato relayed that she was more than ready for the task, and the only reason she hadn't offered the position sooner was to give Kawakaze time to grieve. However with the rising threat of the Sirens, Nagato was more needed on the front-lines, and so stepped down from her position and gave it to Kawakaze. Nagato, of course, remained as an advisor to the widowed Destroyer.
That said, it didn't mean Kawakaze never saw battle. Quite the opposite – she was on the battlefield just as much, if not more often than Nagato. She fought the Sirens with single-minded ruthlessness, tearing apart their Fleets with the wrath of a literal storm – so much so that the Sirens had even gave her a nickname.
'Tenran' - The Heavenly Storm.
It wasn't a surprised to anyone that the Sirens considered her a top-priority target, a rank that only Nagato shared. Kawakaze alone had more confirmed kills than the First Carrier Division and the Second Carrier Division combined. A single Destroyer with more kills than four legendary Aircraft Carriers and their accompanying escorts.
Kawakaze sighed, deep blue eyes staring out at the everlasting sea. Her grey hair was tied into a high ponytail by a black bow, a design change she did on a whim. She was currently standing on the edge of Amagi's old property – which had been abandoned for years now. She didn't let it rot of course; she came down every few days to polish and tidy up. She just couldn't bare to live in a house that felt so... lifeless, without Amagi in it.
The Destroyer tore her gaze from the sea, turning and wandering over to the waterfall where a lone gravestone sat. Amagi's grave.
Technically, it was a pointless grave – as a Ship-Girl, once Amagi passed away her body was set off into the sea where she would later sink. It was ceremonial – as ships, they were made to die at sea, not on land. The grave by the waterfall was only a reminder.
Kneeling down before the grave, Kawakaze stared. Motionless she watched the grave, her mind swimming in fond memories of her deceased partner. There was nothing to say, and on the few times she felt the need to speak her mind, to simply 'let it all out', she did. Many times she had come here and shed what few tears she dared, voice low as she relayed her inner pain to the gravestone. Nagato once told her it was a way to heal. She had her doubts.
Technically she had other places to be, right now. She was supposed to arrive for a summoning down at the docks.
Due to the war against the Sirens, many of their kind were sunk in battle. Through trial and error Akashi had managed to find a way to bring them back, by crafting a brand new Wisdom Cube – a feat previously thought unachievable. It was so war-changing that all other nations adopted it immediately.
Kawakaze immediately had her hopes shoot up at the prospect of being reunited with Amagi... but, despite Akashi's best efforts, she wasn't able to precisely decide who was summoned back from the grave. It was entirely random. The only deciding factor was where the resurrection took place – if it was in the Eagle Union, then it would be an Eagle Union ship. If it was in the Sakura Empire, then it would be a Sakura Empire ship, and so on.
When the technique was first developed, Kawakaze actively greeted the returned Ship-Girls. But as tens turned to hundreds, her fragile hope of meeting Amagi dwindled to nothing. That hope was firmly crushed when Akashi theorised that Amagi might not return since her Wisdom Cube was too damaged. After that revelation, she stopped caring about the summons and let Nagato handle it.
'Amagi...' Kawakaze thought morosely, lithe hand gently brushing some dust from the gravestone.
There was no wind today, so she easily noticed a pair of footsteps slowly climbing the hill – footsteps clacking against the worn stone path. Kawakaze immediately rose to her feet, steeling her expression and posture. She was Head of the Combined Fleet, and despite Nagato's insistence to 'relax a bit', she would act as a leader should.
A pair of black cat ears peeked over the hill first, followed by a head of black hair and an ever-smiling visage. Fusou, the shrine-maiden Battleship.
''I do hope I'm not interrupting, Kawakaze-sama.'' Fusou smiled kindly, hands folded in front of her.
Kawakaze stared for a moment, before looking away. ''No. It's alright.''
The Battleship inclined her head gently, crossing the little bridge over the river and approaching the gravestone. Fusou had grown to be something of a friend over the years – she had been the one to officiate their marriage, being a Shinto priest of sorts. Yamashiro had been the ring-bearer... who then tripped and head-butted her sister.
Now that Kawakaze thought about it, there was a lot of accident-prone Ship-Girls in their navy... perhaps something to look into.
Fusou came to a stop before the grave, kneeling down before it and clasping her hands before her, murmuring something too low for Kawakaze to hear.
She waited patiently until the Battleship finished, before expressing her curiosity. ''What are you doing?''
''Praying.'' Fusou replied lightly, unclasping her hands. ''Would you like to try?''
Kawakaze mulled it over, before deciding there was no harm in it. ''Very well.''
Fusou quickly went over the basic prayer, not seeing any reason to give the Destroyer an in-depth and complex explanation over every minor detail. Kawakaze appreciated that – while she always made time for Amagi, she did have other duties to attend to and couldn't afford to be here all day.
''...it doesn't have to be verbatim; only that you maintain the respect and meaning behind your words.'' Fusou finished, smiling lightly. ''Give it a try.''
Kawakaze frowned, kneeling before the grave, and closed her eyes.
''I pray to thee, Amaterasu-sama. I pray to thee, Susanoo-sama. I pray to thee, Tsukiyomi-sama.'' Kawakaze murmured quietly, ''I ask thee to bring back the one called Amagi into my arms, if thee deems this one worthy. Even if for a moment, that is all I ask of thee. Need I split the seas and rend the skies for you, I will oblige, if it pleases thee enough to grant this one her desire.''
She paused, before deciding that was enough. A shortened version of Fusou's more elegant speech, but she honestly meant every word she said, and that was enough in her books.
Fusou smiled, a hint of pride in her eyes. ''Beautifully articulated, Kawakaze-sama. I'm certain the gods heard your plea.''
''Hn.'' Kawakaze hummed, rising to her feet. ''If that is all, I will be going.''
''Of course, don't let me keep you.''
X-x-X
The next day, Kawakaze found herself back down at Amagi's former home.
She wasn't sure what it was. It was like a nagging sensation in the back of her mind, luring her down here. She tried cleaning up the place and watering the plants, but there was nothing that could abate the odd restlessness.
''Hmph... must be one of 'those' days, I suppose...'' Kawakaze murmured to herself, keeping the watering can where it was and rising to her feet.
A gentle gust of wind blew by, carrying with it a scarce few cherry blossom petals. It was Spring once more – three years since Amagi died, and four since she confessed. Given it was the start of the season when cherry blossoms bloomed, that meant it was four years to the day. It was strange how fast time flew by. Maybe it was because she was entrapped in grief for many months, but it seemed like Winter was only yesterday. She had grown fond of Winter; the coldness numbed her and distracted her from any unwanted, emotional thoughts.
Pink briefly filled her vision as a petal blew right past her eye, and when it was gone she found herself staring at Amagi's grave. A brief pang of longing filled her before she pushed it away, but she couldn't find it in herself to tear her gaze away from the stone construct.
After a moment she gave into the strange feeling, wandering over to the gravestone. It looked just as it did yesterday, only with a couple of cherry blossom lingering atop it. She knelt before it, quietly clasping her hands together and offering a prayer like the one Fusou showed her yesterday.
Once upon a time she may have found such a thing pointless... but now, where was the harm?
'I pray to thee, Amaterasu-sama. I pray to thee, Susanoo-sama. I pray to thee, Tsukiyomi-sama.' Kawakaze murmured internally. 'I ask thee to bring back the one called Amagi into my arms, if thee deems this one worthy-'
Her praying, however, was interrupted.
''Kawakaze. There's something that requires your attention.''
Her eyes flickered open. ''I believe that I stated to not interrupt me during these... times, Nagato-dono.''
Nagato wasn't the one to respond.
''Hmhm... how you've changed, River Wind.''
Kawakaze stiffened, shooting to her feet and head snapping to the side, eyes wide.
Standing next to Nagato, was Amagi.
She looked just as she remembered. Brown hair that flowed with the wind, fox tails and ears that swished and twitched, pale skin that looked almost healthy in the afternoon sun... and a silver wedding ring that rested on her right hand. Even in death she didn't dare part with her ring.
Before she even consciously realised it, she was moving. The cherry blossoms rustled with how fast she moved, covering the distance in seconds – barely minding to slow down enough to not send both of them to the ground. Any hesitance was erased when Amagi's arms wrapped around her, pulling her into a loving hug.
''H-How...?''
Nagato was the one to speak. ''Unknown. Akashi presumes her initial theory was incorrect, and that Amagi simply had a hard time being summoned.''
Amagi smiled, gently brushing a hand through Kawakaze's ponytail. ''Sorry it took so long to return, Kawakaze.''
''Mm...'' Was all the Destroyer could think to say.
With great reluctance she pulled out of the hug, though didn't dare let go of Amagi's hand. The Battlecruiser clearly noticed this, smiling warmly and giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. Her hand was as soft as she recalled.
''I'll give you two some privacy.'' Nagato smiled amusedly, nodding respectfully at Amagi before departing back down the mountain to her current residence.
Kawakaze looked up at Amagi, simply taking in the sight of her visage. How many nights had she spent sleeping with a photograph, how many evenings had she fondly recalled their wedding, how many days had she wished and begged whatever deity that would listen for Amagi to come back to her... hell, it may very well have been the gods for all she knew. Maybe her praying actually did something.
''My... you look so mature with this...'' Amagi murmured, running her hand through Kawakaze's ponytail.
Kawakaze blushed lightly, shooting her an indignant look. ''Did I not look mature before?''
''Well, the sounds you made in bed were rather cute.'' Amagi chuckled as Kawakaze's face turned scarlet. ''Truly though... Nagato-sama says I have been gone for many years. You'll have to fill me in on the days gone by, Kawakaze.''
The Destroyer's expression softened. ''Mm... I, erm... kept your house clean while you were gone. I didn't change anything, so it should be as you left it...''
''Hm... well, we'll have to change that, won't we?'' Amagi smiled warmly, wrapping her arms around Kawakaze's. ''After all, we have plenty of time to spent with one another now, no?''
The bright, almost innocent smile Kawakaze made was the most beautiful thing Amagi had ever seen.
[END]