Sendai walked through the front door of the Crew Quarters, her eyes locked on the door to Jintsuu's room. She wasn't terribly concerned about what happened, expecting it to be a totally trivial matter. 'She probably tripped or something, and felt too embarrassed to show her face again.' Sendai thought to herself, a half smile on her face. Still, Sendai always loved feeling like the dependable older sister, and she was eager to dust off Jintsuu's shoulders and get her back on her feet.
She calmly approached the door to Jintsuu's room, and gave it a few knocks. She immediately reached for the door knob, only to find it was locked when she tried to twist it. 'Must've been one hell of a tumble.' Sendai thought to herself. "Oh, Jintsuu. Open up, It's me." She stated in a raised voice, trying to get her to unlock it.
No response, not even a peep. "Don't make me kick the door down." Sendai shouted in a polite tone, crossing her arms as she waited. Still nothing. Sendai pressed her ear against the door to try and hear if Jintsuu was coming to unlock it. She heard some quiet commotion going on, but couldn't make out what it was exactly. She did, however, hear the unmistakable sound of sniffling once. After a short pause, Sendai heard the soft patter of steps closing in on the door.
Sendai stepped back, and the door opened. Jintsuu showed her face with a smile. "Hey, Sendai." She said. Jintsuu's cheeks were red and puffy, her eyes slightly swollen. There was no doubt about it to Sendai, Jintsuu had been crying.
Sendai just smiled back. 'Why does she always have to hide it?' Sendai thought to herself, slightly annoyed. She just wordlessly invited herself into Jintsuu's room, Jintsuu closing the door after she was in. "Alright, spill it. What have you been crying about?" Sendai asked, direct as always.
"Hm? I haven't been crying. What makes you think that?" Jintsuu said, giving Sendai an odd look.
Sendai just turned to look at her and sighed. "It's written all over your face. That, and you never lock your door." Sendai stated. She crossed her arms firmly, asserting that she wasn't buying Jintsuu's act. Although Sendai was initially unconcerned, it was clear now that something relatively serious occurred.
Jintsuu sighed. "Sendai, you're my sister. I wouldn't try to hide anything th-" She began to reason before being cut off.
"Don't even finish that sentence, because we both know it's a lie!" Sendai said in a raised voice. "...You do hide it. You hide everything, even from me." Sendai said in a much calmer tone. There was a moment of silence as Jintsuu just looked down at the floor, averting her gaze. "Now tell me what happened." Sendai said calmly.
Jintsuu was struggling to keep her act together. She was trembling, fighting the urge to break down and cry. She felt like if she responded in any way, she would break, but she had to say something. Anything. Jintsuu finally spoke up. "N-Nothing happ-" Without hesitation, Sendai slapped her. The sound echoed through the silent room. Sendai immediately followed it up by wrapping her arms around Jintsuu.
"You don't have to lie to me, Jintsuu. I love you more than anything." Sendai said softly. By this time, Jintsuu had already lost it, and was silently sobbing as tears rolled down her face. "You know you can trust me, but you keep me in the dark. It terrifies me that you're so willing to act like everything is fine. It scares me that you'd lie to anyone, including me, to cover up the fact that you're suffering. You don't have to shoulder it alone, I'm right here and I always will be." Sendai said, tightening her grip around Jintsuu.
Jintsuu gently returned Sendai's embrace as she buried her face into her shoulder. "I love you too." Jintsuu said, her voice was rough and coarse. "I'm sorry."
There were no more words for the next few minutes as Sendai just held Jintsuu in her arms. Sendai was willing to stand there all day if necessary. After Jintsuu seemed to calm down a bit, Sendai spoke up. "Now why don't you tell me what happened? Start from the top." She said.
Jintsuu broke from the embrace. "Where do I even start?" She asked herself as she fell to the floor. She propped herself up against the wall as she sat, Sendai went ahead and sat in front of her. Over the next hour, Jintsuu told Sendai everything that had happened during and after her test. In her guilt, however, Jintsuu neglected to mention that she threatened Daimlon during the test.
Asashio continued helping Daimlon for a few more hours to plan tomorrow's test, and plan for the attack on UG Island. Daimlon had even dumped all of their remaining resources into a new construction project. The construction resulted in an identical timer to when they had obtained Sendai - ten hours, which wouldn't be finished until almost midnight. Afterward, Asashio found herself in the Mess Hall with Maikaze and Fubuki.
"So, how was the intel, Asashio?" Maikaze asked, before spooning food into her mouth.
Asashio gave her a weak smile. "It's proving to be quite valuable. Hopefully we'll be ready to go within a week." She said, digging in herself.
"Take your time, I'm in no rush to go anywhere." Maikaze said with a smile.
"I don't think anyone is really eager to go out there." Fubuki said. Fubuki had already eaten, but was staying around to chit chat.
"You can say that again." Maikaze stated.
"Just make sure you guys are ready when the time comes." Asashio said as she continued to eat.
"I'm always ready." Maikaze reassured as she finished the final bite of her food. "Anyway, it's time for my dance practice with Lilly, so I need to go find her."
"I'll go with you, I wouldn't mind tagging along." Fubuki said cheerfully with a smile.
"See you later, Asashio" Maikaze said before going to drop off her tray, and eventually heading out the door.
"Take care you two." Asashio returned. Fubuki just waved back at her with a smile before following Maikaze. 'Enjoy the tranquility while it lasts.' Asashio thought to herself as she watched them walk out. Asashio continued to eat by herself until she was finished.
She dropped her tray off and started heading towards the door. Daimlon had asked her to check on the Supply Depot to make sure everything was running smoothly. She would have to spend some time talking to Yuu - a hefty misfortune in Asashio's eyes, but she was more than willing to do it.
She stepped outside the Mess Hall and started walking toward the Supply Depot. She followed the wall of the Mess Hall until it ended at the corner of the building. A few steps after passing the corner, Asashio suddenly felt someone grab her.
It happened too fast. With no warning, Asashio found herself being held up, and forcibly thrown to the ground. She landed on the concrete so hard it knocked the wind out of her. She immediately began to writhe on the ground as she tried to force air into her lungs. That's when she saw Sendai standing over her. "You little fucking cunt." Sendai said in a sharp tone, a firm scowl across her face. "You think you're so fucking cool, don't you?" She asked.
Asashio couldn't even breathe, let alone respond. "Consider this your warning." Sendai said as she straddled herself on top of Asashio. "Don't." Sendai brought a clenched fist down on Asashio's face. "You ever." Sendai struck her with her other fist. Asashio could feel blood beginning to drip down the side of her face. "Disrespect her." Sendai punched her as hard as she could. "Like that." Again, Sendai struck Asashio. "Ever again!" Sendai shouted as she punched Asashio one final time.
Asashio's face was cut pretty bad, and was bleeding quite heavily. There was blood splatter all over the concrete and the wall of the Mess Hall next to her. Sendai wiped her bloodied knuckles off on Asashio's white shirt as if it were a towel, and immediately stood up. "You'd do well to remember that what you do to Jintsuu, you do to me. Bitch." Sendai spat, and with that she angrily marched back toward the Crew Quarters.
Asashio was still trying to force air into her lungs from being thrown on the ground. She rolled over and held herself up on her hands and knees, her face burned intensely with pain. There was a steady flow of blood coming from her mouth as she struggled to breathe, finally able to draw short breaths again. She spat a mouthful of blood on the concrete as she deepened her breaths. She took a few moments to calm herself, panting heavily as she watched the puddle of blood grow with every drop.
Asashio heard footsteps approach her from the direction of the Supply Depot, and saw a pair of black boots stop just before reaching her many droplets of blood scattered on the concrete. She looked up to see Yuu standing over her. Yuu crouched down a short distance from Asashio. "Are you okay?" She asked, her eyes as stoic as ever. Yuu was covered in a thin layer of sweat, and wasn't wearing her usual jacket, indicating she was busy working in the Supply Depot. She exposed a black undershirt that she wore beneath to allow her outfit to breathe while she worked.
Still panting to recover from her loss of breath, Asashio just looked back at the blood splatter. She simply nodded in acknowledgement. A small stream of blood began to run down from a cut above her eyebrow and into her eye. Yuu reached into her back pocket, and withdrew a handkerchief, immediately offering it to Asashio. Asashio took it, and wiped a good amount of blood off her face. "Thank you." Asashio said loosely, unable to speak properly. She offered it back to Yuu, which she took and shoved into her back pocket again.
"Forgive me for not intervening, I did not expect the situation to escalate like it did." Yuu explained professionally. She had seen the whole thing, and made sure Sendai was gone before approaching.
"Don't worry about it." Asashio said without moving her lips. Blood was already beginning to stream down her face from her several cuts again. Yuu stood from her crouch, and offered a hand to Asashio. Though Asashio took note of the hand offered to her, she stood up on her own.
"You should go see the Admiral about this." Yuu said in her signature calm tone.
"Yeah." Asashio muttered, as she clutched her face, still panting slightly.
"Do you need assistance?" Yuu asked her.
"No thanks." Asashio said simply before turning around and walking toward the HQ.
Yuu just watched her leave for a few moments. She took note of the ample amount of blood splattered on the ground. Yuu smiled faintly as she turned around to head back to work.
There was a knock on the door as Daimlon was enjoying a brief moment of down time, his feet propped up on his desk. "Come in!" Daimlon said.
The door opened, and Daimlon's jaw hit the floor. A bloody Asashio stepped through the door without as much as a word. He immediately stood up from his seat, placing his hands on his desk as he leaned forward. "Asashio!? What the hell happened?" Daimlon asked in a raised voice. He promptly walked out from behind the desks, over to Asashio.
Asashio just looked up at him, blood slowly dripping off her face onto her shirt. "I tripped." Asashio said simply. By this time, Asashio's face was beginning to swell, turning a mild shade of purple in some areas.
"Yeah, and hell froze over last night." Daimlon said, asserting his disbelief in her excuse.
Asashio just remained silent, still clutching her face to try and ease the bleeding.
Daimlon just gave her a heavy sigh. "Sendai did this to you, am I right?" Daimlon said.
Asashio nodded at him after a short delay. "Yeah." She said, still not moving her lips.
Daimlon took a deep breath. "I'll take care of her later. First I need to take care of you, follow me." Daimlon stated as he walked toward his bedroom door. The two of them walked into his room, closing the door behind them. "Have a seat on the edge of the bed." Daimlon instructed as he walked into his bathroom. Asashio had a seat, being careful not to bleed all over Daimlon's room.
Daimlon withdrew a rather large white metal box with a red cross on it from a cabinet in his bathroom. He walked back with it in hand, and set it on the bed. He had a seat on the chair at the desk, and wheeled it over next to his bed.
Daimlon reached behind her, opened his medical box, and withdrew a small rag and a pair of latex gloves. He promptly put the gloves on before wiping all the excess blood off of her. He then withdrew some cotton balls with a bottle of alcohol. "This is going to sting." Daimlon said, as he placed a cotton ball on the top of the bottle, and up ended it. He thoroughly wiped down all of her open wounds, refreshing with a new cotton ball every so often. Asashio barely winced at the sting from the alcohol.
Since kanmusu can't repair damage that is sustained outside of their kanmusu form, medical aid became an invaluable skill to all people involved with them. Daimlon was required to take an extensive class on treating all kinds of injuries, from simple cuts all the way to gunshots or broken limbs. Kanmusu are just as fragile as humans when outside their kanmusu form, and as such need to cared for when they are injured. Kanmusu heal exceptionally quickly, healing broken limbs in just a few weeks, but during the healing process they're totally exhausted while their body works away at such a rate.
Giving kanmusu medical attention despite their fast recovery time reduces the strain on their body, reduces chances of infection, and allows the wound(s) to heal up to three times faster than their already accelerated healing time. It wouldn't surprise Daimlon if Asashio was back to normal by the time she ate breakfast tomorrow. Although fairies such as Regina or Nonna are imprinted with the medical knowledge of a doctor, at no light expense to the Kanmusu program, Daimlon was free and didn't feel it necessary to bother them.
After disinfecting her cuts, Daimlon gave her a clean rag. "Here, apply pressure to stop the bleeding." Daimlon said.
"It hurts." Asashio stated as she applied pressure anyway.
"Asashio, I'm shocked to not see you in tears. You got messed up pretty bad." Daimlon said, giving her the truth. Daimlon was digging through his medical box, gathering bandages.
"It'll take more than a few cuts and bruises to make me cry." Asashio said, talking through the rag on her face. She was finally able to move her lips without causing excruciating pain anymore.
"How are your teeth? Does anything feel loose?" Daimlon asked her.
Asashio actually hadn't considered it, and checked all of her teeth with her tongue. A tooth on her bottom jaw felt incredibly loose, and caused excruciating pain when she touched it. She knew what had to be done. She reached inside her mouth, gripped it firmly, and pulled. With almost no effort, it came right out. Blood came flooding from the empty socket. "No, nothing feels loose." Asashio stated with a straight face.
Without a word, Daimlon just handed her some gauze. "I don't think that was a good idea." Daimlon said in a low voice, but he couldn't help but admire her resolve.
"Sorry." Asashio said as she bit the gauze in her mouth, applying pressure to stop the bleeding. Daimlon took Asashio's tooth from her, and put it in a small bag.
"I've seen what you can do. Is Sendai okay?" Daimlon asked, expecting Sendai to be twice as bad given Asashio's hand to hand demonstration.
Asashio momentarily took her gauze out. "She's fine. She caught me off guard, knocked the wind out of me and from there I couldn't even breathe." Asashio explained. She wanted to believe that she could've easily fended off Sendai had she known. She immediately put the gauze back in, biting firmly.
"Either way, she's getting an ear full about this." Daimlon said. He can't say this result was totally unexpected, but he did deem it as highly unlikely.
"Don't. I don't want to make a big deal out of this. I kind of feel like I deserved it anyway." Asashio said.
Daimlon just looked her in the eye. "If you think I'm going to let Sendai run around and beat the crap out of people, you are sorely mistaken. Behavior like that is completely unacceptable, and I will not tolerate it." He stressed. He began bandaging Asashio's swollen face as he considered his options for punishment.
"She might do something worse when she finds out I went straight to you about it." Asashio said, slightly concerned at what else Sendai could do without a second thought.
"If she does, her ass is grass. I'll make sure her punishment is so bad she won't even consider doing this again." Daimlon stated. He was already thinking of making her clean the entire base from top to bottom.
"Just make sure it's not too harsh. It could have the opposite effect of what you want." Asashio said. With that, the final bandage was placed, and Daimlon began packing his supplies back in his box. "Thank you." Asashio said with what smile she was able to put up, which wasn't much.
"Don't mention it, it was in the job description." Daimlon joked, still packing his things. "Were there any witnesses?" He asked her. Asashio pulled her gauze out, and checked the bleeding with her tongue. It had already stopped.
"One. Yuu saw the whole thing. I think. If there were others, I don't know about them." Asashio said.
"One is enough. I just need an outside account so I can find any discrepancies when you both tell me exactly what happened." Daimlon said, closing his box of medical supplies.
Asashio just stayed quiet for a few moments, looking at the floor, unsure of whether or not she wanted to voice what came to her mind. "A-Are you sure we can trust her, though? How do we know she's going to speak the full truth?" Asashio asked, looking at Daimlon. She immediately felt like she had spoken out of line.
Daimlon just looked back at her. "What do you mean? I don't think she would have any reason to lie about it." He said, somewhat surprised by what he had just heard.
"N-Nothing, sir. It isn't my place to question things like that. Forgive me." Asashio said, embarrassed that she had said something like that. She felt her cheeks heat up slightly, and was thankful that her bandages would cover her blush for the most part.
"Asashio, if you have something to say, say it." Daimlon urged. If for whatever reason Asashio didn't trust Yuu, he wanted to know why. He didn't want any secrets on his base.
"I have nothing to say. I was only speaking hypothetically, sir." Asashio said, trying to cover for her own mistake.
Daimlon immediately had his doubts. Asashio wouldn't voice something like that if it was merely hypothetical. However, he decided to drop it, and pay attention to the matter in the coming weeks. "Alright. I think I can piece together what happened on my own, so if Yuu does lie, I don't think it would be too hard to figure it out. Anyway, we need to get you some ice." Daimlon said. He took his gloves off after throwing away any trash, and reached for his tablet. He immediately paged Nonna.
Nonna appeared in the room, and what Asashio and Daimlon saw surprised them both. Her hair was an absolute mess, and had a tub of ice cream in her hand. Her face and shirt were smeared with chocolate, and she was continuing to shovel ice cream into her mouth. She was possibly the messiest eater Daimlon had ever laid eyes on. "What do ya need?" Nonna asked, immediately stuffing her cheeks full with ice cream.
"Nonna, what the hell?" Daimlon asked in disbelief.
Nonna then took note of Asashio's face. "Whoa, what happened to you?" She asked, looking at Asashio.
Daimlon just looked at Asashio, then back to Nonna. "Let's just say Sendai didn't like how the test went." Daimlon said.
"I see. What are you going to do?" Nonna said, spooning more ice cream into her mouth.
"Before we get into that, what the hell are you doing?" Daimlon asked, referring to the ice cream.
"Oh, this? We made a bet, remember? Since she made it past day four, I won by default." Nonna said with a smile on her face, obviously proud of herself.
Daimlon had forgotten entirely about that bet they had made. "Okay, I don't have a problem with that, but why do you have to wear it?" He asked.
"I got a little carried away. I'll be more careful about that." Nonna said, slightly embarrassed.
"Thank you. Anyway, we need ice for her face to keep the swelling down. Do you think you could get a bag for me?" Daimlon said. Although she wasn't swelling half as bad as Daimlon would've expected, probably due to her recovery speed, Daimlon still felt it necessary.
Nonna just thought for a moment. She flew over to Asashio and held her tub of ice cream out. "Here, you can have the rest of this. It's still cold so it should help." Nonna said with a smile.
"But this is yours." Asashio said.
"You need it more than I do right now, besides I have thirty more where that came from." Nonna said.
Asashio hesitated for a moment. "Alright. Thank you." Asashio said. The tub was small, and had less than half remaining, but she was still grateful for it.
Nonna dissipated in white smoke, and promptly reappeared with a clean spoon in hand. She handed it off to Asashio. "You're welcome." Nonna said cheerfully.
"Just make sure you eat on the opposite side of the tooth you pulled." Daimlon said as he headed into his bathroom to put the medical box back where it belonged.
"Wait, what?" Nonna asked, somewhat frantically.
"She had a loose tooth, so she just pulled it out." Daimlon said, his voice echoing from his bathroom.
"Are you serious!? Why would you do that? There are so many things that could go wrong from doing that. Why did you let her do that!?" Nonna said somewhat angrily, looking at Daimlon as he walked back into the room.
"She didn't tell me she was going to. She just did it. I didn't know. I told her it was a bad idea afterward." Daimlon said, defending himself.
Nonna just glared at Asashio before dissipating. She reappeared with a small flashlight in hand. "Open your mouth." Nonna instructed.
"It was too loose, and it hurt, so I just pulled it out." Asashio said, before opening her mouth. Nonna peered inside, her small size giving her a close view of the empty socket.
"You really did. I cannot believe you. You better hope that doesn't get infected, or it'll be a world of trouble. We'll have to give you an implant so we can bridge the gap." Nonna said as she turned her flashlight off. "You should've told me, your tooth probably could've been repaired."
Asashio sighed, already regretting her decision to alleviate her own pain. "I'm sorry, I didn't think it would cause any issues." Asashio said.
"As long as this serves as a lesson. We can get your implant in tonight if you want. The sooner the better." Nonna said.
"Sounds fine to me. How long am I going to have to be taken off mission ready status?" Asashio asked, concerned she might miss the upcoming mission.
"Depends on how the operation goes. Given how quickly you guys can heal, it could be anywhere from one day to one week. I'll have to talk to Daimlon about it after the operation, and I'll give him my own opinion, but the decision will ultimately be his." Nonna explained.
Asashio looked up at Daimlon, almost pleading with him to make it as short as possible. "I'll pass that decision on to you, Asashio. Any minute now you'll feel like you got hit by a truck, and you'll barely be able to stand. Only you can tell me if you can fight, and I won't make you if you can't." Daimlon said professionally.
"Okay. Thank you." Asashio said.
"For now, you should go to your room and get ready to rest. Your body is going to make you, whether you like it or not. I'll stop by and check on you whenever I can, and we can get the implant in by nightfall. Also, we have no anesthetics on hand at the moment, so the operation isn't going to be pleasant." Nonna said, being as honest as possible with her.
"Sounds like fun." Asashio said sarcastically as she stood. "I'm gonna go change into clean clothes. Thanks again, both of you." She said as she headed for the door. With that, the battered Asashio walked out, and went back to her room, being careful not to run into Sendai again. She dumped the empty tub of ice cream in a trash can, and dropped the dirty spoon off at the Mess Hall on her way.
"You sure do make a lot of work for yourself... And me." Nonna joked.
"I know." Daimlon sighed. "I'm confident that things will work out in the end, though." He said.
"I hope you're right." Nonna said.
Daimlon looked at Nonna. "Me too." He said, some doubt lingering in his voice.
Shigure stirred slowly as she woke from her nap after the early morning scouting mission. She glanced up at the time, to find it was only a few hours after she had fallen asleep. She tried falling back asleep for another ten minutes, but she couldn't. Frustrated, she got up despite being more tired than when she had gone to bed. She looked in the mirror, and spent a little time making her hair look nice. With a yawn, she headed for the door, eager for some food.
She stepped out into the hallway, the door to her room closing in it's own. As she was nearing the front door, it opened, and Asashio stepped through. Her shirt covered in blood, and her face swollen and bandaged. Shigure's stomach dropped the moment she saw how much blood was on her shirt.
"Hey, Shigure." Asashio said as she continued to walk past her.
"Uh." Shigure took a moment to get her footing again. "Asashio, what happened?" She asked as politely as she could.
"Oh, nothing too bad." Asashio said, stopping to turn around to look at Shigure.
"Are you okay? Do you need any help?" Shigure asked, concerned about Asashio.
"I should be fine. Thanks, though." Asashio said with what smile she could muster.
"What happened?" Shigure asked.
Asashio knew she was running out of time. "If you really want to know, follow me." She said as she turned to go to her room.
Shigure wasn't sure if she really wanted to know, but she followed anyway. She stepped through the door into Asashio's room, the first time she had been in anyone's room but her own. Once the door closed behind her, Asashio began her explanation.
"Sendai did this. I pissed her off, and she took me by surprise and punched me more than a few times." Asashio said.
"What?" Shigure could hardly believe it. "What did you do?" She asked.
Asashio took her shirt off, and started digging in her dresser for a clean one. Despite having a bra on, Shigure immediately shielded her eyes.
"Relax, Shigure. I don't care, you're gonna see it someday anyway." Asashio stated.
"I just didn't want to intrude on your privacy." Shigure said, lowering her hand.
"I made Jintsuu feel bad. I assume Jintsuu told Sendai, and Sendai found me to do this to me." Asashio said, pointing at her own face.
Shigure immediately began looking at Sendai in an entirely different light. "I can understand wanting to protect your sister, but that's too far." Shigure said, almost thinking aloud.
Asashio finally found what she wanted to wear during her rest period, a plain white T-shirt with a pair of pajama shorts. Asashio took her skirt off, and replaced them with her shorts. "Agreed. I really wasn't expecting Sendai to d-" Without warning, Asashio felt it. The fatigue. She suddenly became dizzy, and her muscles felt incredibly weak. She had to brace herself on her dresser using all her strength, and she still nearly fell over.
Shigure ran up to her to catch her, afraid she was going to fall over. Shigure wrapped her arm around Asashio, helping her maintain her balance. "Careful. You know the fatigue hits you out of nowhere." Shigure said in a mildly lecturing tone.
"I know, but I still expected some warning." Asashio said, somewhat out of breath. Asashio struggled to get her shirt on, but with a little assistance from Shigure, finally got it on.
"Come on, let's get you into bed." Shigure said. Using Shigure as a crutch, Asashio made her way over to her futon. Shigure always loved the feeling she got when she helped others, even in the smallest of ways.
Once Asashio finally got settled in, she let out a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks Shigure." She said.
"It was my pleasure. I had a thought you might need help when the exhaustion hit you." Shigure said with a warm smile on her face.
Asashio didn't say anything, and just closed her eyes.
"Alright, if you need anymore help, let me know." Shigure said as she made her way back toward the door. Before Asashio could say anything, she was gone. Asashio lay in the silent room by herself for a few moments.
A couple minutes later, Shigure came back through the door with a book in hand, a warm smile on her face. She had a seat near the table in the back corner of the room, turning so she could watch over Asashio. She opened her book, flipping to the bookmark near the front, and began reading.
Asashio just let a moment of silence expire. "Thank you." She said as sincerely as she could. She was somewhat afraid of Sendai walking through, but it made her feel safe knowing that Shigure would be right there.
"There's no need to thank me." Shigure said in a quiet tone, still wearing that smile.
Sendai hesitated as she was about to walk through the door to Daimlon's office. She knew exactly why she was called into his office, and she wasn't sure how it would go. She kind of felt bad about what she had done, only mildly so, but she still felt justified by what Asashio had done to Jintsuu. Without even knocking, she walked in. Daimlon was looking at her with a face of stone.
"What did I tell you about knocking?" Daimlon asked her.
"Sorry, forgot." Sendai said, brushing it off. She walked over to the chair in front of Daimlon's desk and had a seat.
"I'm sure you know why you've been called here. Explain yourself." Daimlon demanded, his hands were clenched together as he waited for her response.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Sendai said, inspecting her nails after removing her arm sleeves.
"Sendai, I'm really not in the mood for your games." Daimlon said, already irritated with her.
Sendai just continued to inspect her nails for a few moments, intentionally drawing her attention away from Daimlon. "Really? That's good to hear." She said.
Daimlon could tell she was trying to get under his skin by being disrespectful. Unfortunately, it was working. "You're only digging your hole deeper, Sendai." He said.
"Why? Just because I beat the snot out of that punk? She deserved it, there should be no hole." Sendai said, finally turning her attention to Daimlon.
"Unfortunately for you, there is a hole. Why did you do it?" Daimlon demanded, he was growing tired of pressing for a simple answer.
Sendai just squinted her eyes slightly. "Shouldn't that be obvious? She intentionally screwed Jintsuu over just because she didn't like her. Someone had to teach her a lesson." She said.
"Sendai, I had already disciplined Asashio in a manner I felt appropriate. I don't need anyone running around punching people for their own personal revenge on top of it. Discipline is my responsibility and mine alone." Daimlon said, being extra careful with his wording to avoid telling any lies.
Sendai just chuckled at him. "What did you do? Slap her on the wrist?" Sendai joked.
"Her punishment will not be discussed with anyone else, just as yours won't be." Daimlon said.
"Why should I be punished? I was simply correcting her attitude problem for you. I did you a favor." Sendai argued.
"You're the only one with an attitude problem. And don't worry, you're not the only one being punished, Jintsuu's receiving a minor punishment as well." Daimlon said professionally. He crossed his arms firmly as he sat in his seat.
"For what!?" Sendai shouted.
"She raised her weapon, not only against a comrade, but her commanding officer as well. I don't know if she told you, but she threatened to kill both myself and Asashio since Asashio refused to cooperate." Daimlon stated.
"You're full of shit. She told me about doing that to Asashio, but she would never do something like that to you." Sendai said, in complete disbelief.
"But she did, Sendai. Whether you believe me or not, the fact remains that she did." Daimlon said.
Sendai just brushed him off. "You're making that up. She told me everything, and assured me it was the truth." Sendai said confidently.
"It may have been the truth, but perhaps it wasn't the full story. Maybe she wanted to protect your image of her by leaving out something that might damage it." Daimlon said.
Sendai just sat there silently as she thought about it. It wouldn't be outside of Jintsuu's character to do that at all. It made a lot of sense, but Sendai still wasn't buying it entirely.
"Anyway, we're not here to discuss Jintsuu. I just want to make one thing perfectly clear, Sendai." Daimlon said.
Sendai perked up, and looked at him.
"I want you to understand that you're never to raise your fist to someone like that ever again. I can understand wanting to protect your sibling, but saying you went overboard would be an understatement. If that's how you resolve your issues, then I can find someone to replace you who doesn't. I have no tolerance for bullying or discrimination, and I will make sure you are separated from Jintsuu if this happens again. Understood?" Daimlon said in a heavy tone, driving home the weight of his words.
Sendai didn't respond. Though Sendai would never admit it, she knew that what she had done was wrong.
"Did I make myself clear?" Daimlon demanded, raising his voice.
"Yes." Sendai said in a quiet voice.
"Good. In that case, I'll give you your punishment now. Rather light in my opinion, consider it a reward for a job well done on the scouting this morning." Daimlon said. He let a few moments of silence pass, making sure Sendai was paying attention. "You are to take care of Asashio during her recovery period. Anything she asks of you, do it. I also want you to have a calm discussion with her, and sincerely apologize to her. By the time she recovers, I want you two to be friends again. We can't afford to have conflict this early on, and especially before our first big operation." He finally finished.
"You're seriously forcing me to make up with her?" Sendai asked.
"I'm not forcing you to do anything. However, I would strongly advise you to do it." Daimlon said in an implicative tone. "When Asashio is fully recovered, I'll ask her a few questions about how it went, and if the answer I get is positive, you're off the hook. Above all I want you to establish yourselves as comrades again. We're throwing ourselves into the frying pan here soon, and any mistrust or conflict within the group could cost us greatly." Daimlon explained.
"It's a waste of time. We both know she wouldn't be willing to forgive me." Sendai reasoned.
"You don't know unless you try." Daimlon said. There were a few moments of silence. "Are you okay with doing this?" Daimlon asked.
Sendai just thought to herself for a while. She was still angry with Asashio, but at the same time, she knew that they would have to deal with each other for a long time to come. Reluctantly, Sendai came to her conclusion. "I'll try." She said quietly. Sendai wasn't willing to forgive Asashio, but she was willing to make a compromise.
"Glad to hear it." Daimlon said. "You'll start taking care of her tomorrow after her implant is in, when she'll need care the most."
"An implant?" Sendai questioned.
"For a tooth." Daimlon said in a simple tone.
Sendai just looked away, somewhat unnerved by the fact that Asashio would forever have one less tooth thanks to her. Daimlon couldn't help but admire the look of Sendai feeling some guilt. "If nothing else, I can apologize for that." Sendai said in a half joking manner.
"Well, I think that's all for now. Thank you for being reasonable, Sendai." Daimlon said, expressing some gratitude.
Sendai just gave a huge sigh. She tried organizing the hurricane of mixed feelings she was experiencing. "I wouldn't exactly call myself reasonable." Sendai admitted.
"Neither would I, but you just demonstrated that you can be. Do you remember what I told you when we first met? I seek people who strive for constant improvement. Admitting that you aren't reasonable is the first step to becoming a reasonable person." Daimlon reassured her.
"I guess." Sendai said as she scratched the back of her head. "I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you."
It took a little bit of effort, but Sendai was proving herself to be more reasonable than he ever expected. "Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one you inconvenienced. Just remember not to do anything like this again, okay?" Daimlon said.
"I'll try." Sendai stood from her seat to leave. "Also, Jintsuu wanted me to apologize for the way she acted toward you after the test." Sendai said.
"Tell her that if she wants to apologize she can do it in person." Daimlon said.
Sendai expected a response like that from Daimlon. "I can understand that. I'll tell her. See you later, Daimlon." Sendai said. With that Sendai headed toward the door.
"Goodbye Sendai." Daimlon said. The door closed behind Sendai, and Daimlon was incredibly pleased with the way things were beginning to turn out. He hoped this would be the last of Sendai and Asashio's issues with one another. However, something told him it wouldn't be that easy.
It was late at night, the moon was up among the stars as it was drawing closer to midnight. Daimlon stood in front of the Construction Yard with Nonna floating over his shoulder. Everyone else had already gone to bed.
"I can't believe you're still awake." Nonna said
"I can't sleep through something like this, it's been on my mind all day." Daimlon explained, eager to meet his newest ship. From the timer, he expected another Light Cruiser, considering it was identical to Sendai's.
The two of them continued to listen to the drones of construction emanating from the building before them. "By the way, while Asashio didn't seem to think so, her operation went over smoothly. She should be back on her feet within two days, but I would recommend taking her off mission ready status for at least three just to be safe." Nonna explained.
"Why didn't Asashio think so?" Daimlon questioned.
"Uh, I had to drill into her gums without any kind of pain killers, and while she toughed it out for a while, there was plenty of screaming and shouting. I could only imagine that would be the reason." Nonna said.
"How's she holding up now?" Daimlon asked, somewhat concerned after hearing how it went.
"She's fine now, but I don't think she's gonna be pulling any of her own teeth anytime soon." Nonna said with a smirk on her face.
"Well, that's good to hear. But I'll let her decide when she's ready to go on missions again. I'm not going to dictate when they feel battle ready or not." Daimlon said.
"You should be careful, Asashio seems like the type to force herself to fight even when she knows she isn't ready." Nonna argued, crossing her arms.
"I know. I want to see how much I can trust her in that respect." Daimlon said, smiling at her.
As Daimlon finished his sentence, the sounds of construction ceased. After a short delay, the gargantuan door began to open slowly. Unable to suppress his own excitement, he ducked below the door to allow himself in as quickly as possible.
He brushed aside the curtain that lie beyond, and only found a blinding light coming from the center of the room. Daimlon's eyes well adjusted to the dark, it was almost painful to look at, and shielded his eyes. "Hello, you must be my Admiral." A voice called from the center of the room.
"What's going on, why are you shining?" Daimlon asked. He looked over to see Nonna shielding her eyes with her forearm.
Behind his outstretched hand, he could see the blinding light dissipate for a moment. "Oh, Admiral, you're too kind." The feminine voice said with a giggle. Before he could even take a peek, the blinding light was focused back on them, but for a split second he could see a small portion of the rest of the room. The lights flickered on, and even then, Daimlon couldn't bring himself to look at the light that was shining at him.
"Why is she so bright, Nonna?" Daimlon asked, a little concerned he might have a defect.
"You look at me like I have an answer for you." Nonna said.
"Oh, stop it, you're making me blush." The feminine voice grew audibly excited at the 'compliments' she was receiving. Again for a split second, the light was taken off of them, then promptly back on.
"Look away for a second, could you?" Daimlon asked her.
"O-Okay." The voice said, and the light was immediately taken off of them. Daimlon lowered his hand, and could see her clearly for the first time. She had short brown hair with no particular hairstyle. She wore a standard uniform with a blue and white shirt, and solid blue skirt. Before long, the light had returned, and Daimlon had to shield his eyes again.
"Turn it off, turn the light off." Daimlon pleaded with her.
The girl just giggled. "You flatter me, Admiral. I didn't think anyone would go so far to compliment me." She said. Daimlon could almost hear the blush forming on her cheeks.
"You are shining a light in our eyes! Please stop!" Nonna shouted, growing irritated.
The two of them heard an audible gasp, and the light dissipated for the last time. The two of them finally laid their eyes on a girl not much larger than Sendai, her face beet red. "I -uh - I'm so sorry!" She said, stammering over herself initially.
"It's fine. Who are you?" Daimlon asked, finally able to approach her. It was then that Daimlon took note of something he had never seen before. She had a case of heterochromia. One eye was a bright brown, while the other was a pale white.
She tried gathering herself from her extreme embarrassment, but it took her a few moments.
"I'm the Heavy Cruiser Furutaka, name ship of my class! Again, I'm terribly sorry!" Furutaka said, still incredibly embarrassed that she thought he was complimenting her.
"I am Admiral Daimlon, it's a pleasure to meet you Furutaka. Now I have a question for you, why is one of your eyes white?" Daimlon asked, incredibly intrigued by her eyes.
"I-uh, That's what was blinding you. It's a searchlight." Furutaka explained, turning an even darker shade of red as she turned her face in a different direction, and flickered it on as a demonstration. "I didn't realize it was on, and I thought. You were just... Complimenting me." She said, her voice trailing off as she looked down to the floor. She felt like she could die of embarrassment.
"Relax, Furutaka. It's perfectly understandable. Don't sweat it." Daimlon said, trying to ease her discomfort. He could understand her position, and kind of felt bad for her.
Furutaka just took a deep breath. "I'm fine. It's a pleasure to meet you, Admiral Daimlon." She said, extending her hand with a smile.
Daimlon grabbed on, and the two shook hands. "Glad to have you, you're our first Heavy Cruiser. What kind of armament do you have?" Daimlon asked her, wanting to know exactly what he managed to get his hands on.
"I have six twenty centimeter cannons, twelve torpedo tubes, and a small array of AA weapons." Furutaka said proudly. "Unfortunately, I don't possess much more armor than a Light Cruiser, but I'm fast because of it."
"Glad to hear it, we're going to need some larger guns for our next mission." Daimlon stated.
Furutaka yawned, something that surprised Daimlon. "I feel like it's in the middle of the night. What time is it?" Furutaka asked.
"Almost midnight. Are you tired?" Daimlon asked.
"Upon construction, their level of fatigue matches what would be the norm for that time of day, so since it's night, she's probably ready for bed. You should probably get to bed too." Nonna lectured to Daimlon sternly.
Furutaka just nodded with a smile on her face. "That's right." She said.
"Alright, if you're tired then the tour will have to wait until tomorrow." Daimlon said. He didn't want to admit it, but he was incredibly tired himself.
"Should I show her to her room?" Nonna asked.
"If you would, please." Daimlon said.
"Very well, follow me." Nonna said before shoving off.
"Thank you, and again, it's a pleasure to be here Daimlon." Furutaka said.
"You can call me Don if you want. Don't mention it, I'm glad to have you." Daimlon said, smiling at her.
Furutaka began trailing behind Nonna. "Alright, Don. Goodnight." She said, looking behind her.
"Goodnight. Also, Furutaka." Daimlon said, getting her attention. "The situation is complicated, but some people aren't getting along well. Do us both a favor and try to stay out of it, okay?"
She nodded back at him. "I will. See you tomorrow." Furutaka said, following Nonna all the way to her room, where she would spend a few hours lamenting in her own embarrassment before finally heading off to sleep.
Daimlon figured it was time for bed himself, and began heading toward his room in the HQ. Overall, he was pleased with how today turned out when all things were considered.
Author's Note: We're finally starting to dig into some of the larger ships, and I couldn't be more excited for the future of this story. I hope you share those feelings. Anyway, not much to say this time around, but I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave me your thoughts in a review, and let me know how I can improve. Thanks again guys, see you next time!
Don't forget to check out my Twitter account, (at sign)WixomFanFics, from time to time to learn more about when the next chapter will be posted. Have a good one!