Author's Note: Here we are, at the big ten. If you've made it this far, I'm going to have to assume you're enjoying the story so far - or it's, at the very least, holding your attention. With that said, our journey has only just begun. We are still very much so in the preliminary stages, and I don't expect to see the story in full swing until a bit later. Unfortunately with this release, my first semester of college has begun, hence why it took so long to push this chapter out. This means that the story will take a back seat, and updates will slow down. I apologize for this, but I'm sure all of you will understand that choice, it's simply a no-brainer.
I will make one solemn promise to you, however. I WILL finish this story, even if it takes me the entire four years I'm in college, I will not see this story abandoned. If you see my story without an update for even several months, just know that I have not forgotten. I'm rather proud of this story I've concocted. It started out as a group of blotched shadows, nothing more than a bunch of ideas with nothing tying them together. I gave it flesh and an immense amount of thought, but I didn't expect to have it quickly shoot up to one of the more popular stories on this site, and I could never turn my back on it. So, to you the readers, I thank you all for supporting me and I'm especially thankful to those who review and offer consistent feedback. I wouldn't be here now, and I especially wouldn't be writing as well, if not for those who offered their assistance to help me improve my writing. You know who you are.
Anyway, with that out of the way, let's get back to the good stuff. Please enjoy reading Chapter 10!
Sendai walked out of the Mess Hall, having just finished her breakfast. It was an absolutely beautiful early morning, the sun was just beginning to rise, and it was just the right temperature with a cool breeze blowing through. There were hardly any clouds in the sky, and the waters were smooth as glass. With a deep breath, she reluctantly picked her feet up and started walking to the Crew Quarters. Today, the most gorgeous day she'd ever seen, would be the first day she would look after Asashio, something she really wasn't looking forward to. However, she was trying to stay as optimistic about it as possible.
She just eyed the silky smooth wake on the harbor as she continued strolling toward the Crew Quarters. 'It's only for a couple days, just grin and bear it.' She thought to herself. Sendai opened the door to the Crew Quarters, and started down the hallway toward Asashio's room. She hesitated once she reached the door with Asashio's name tag on it. She lingered outside the door, thinking about what Asashio might say, or what Sendai herself would say to her. She half expected Asashio to turn her right around and reject her outright.
Sendai's concentration was broken when a door opened a little further down the hallway. A girl she hadn't seen before stepped out. She had a pale eye that demanded notice before anything else. Sendai caught herself staring at her white eye alone for at least several seconds, and only when she forced her attention away did Sendai notice this girl was smiling at her.
"Hello." Furutaka said cheerfully, widening her smile. Sendai could tell she had just woken up by her hair alone, which was moderately frayed.
"Uh.. Hello... Who are you?" Sendai said, still somewhat surprised at the sudden unfamiliar face.
Furutaka took several steps toward Sendai to close the distance between them. "My name is Furutaka, I'm a Heavy Cruiser and I was constructed last night. Pleased to meet ya." She said, being as friendly as possible.
Sendai finally returned her smile. "Heavy Cruiser? Glad to hear we have one. The name's Sendai, Light Cruiser." She said, extending her hand for a handshake.
Furutaka eagerly shook Sendai's hand. "I look forward to working with you." Furutaka said, still wearing that warm smile.
"Well, you won't have to wait long, we're gearing up soon to mount an attack. I imagine you'll be at the center of it." Sendai said.
Furutaka was immediately interested. "How soon?" She asked.
"Don't know, but I'd say within a week, maybe two." Sendai said, putting her finger up to her chin in thought for a moment.
Furutaka wasn't sure how she felt about it, but she could sense a mixture of excitement and dread build up within her. "Can't wait." She said calmly.
"So, what's with the eye?" Sendai asked, not afraid of crossing any lines.
"Oh, it's a spotlight." Furutaka explained.
Sendai just looked at it a little longer. "That's actually pretty cool. Why do you have it?" Sendai asked, already wondering if she could get one herself.
"I don't know. I had it when I was constructed." Furutaka said.
Sendai was almost a little bit jealous. Almost. "Well, regardless, it'll be a useful tool for sure in upcoming battles." Sendai said with a smile.
"Mhm. Anyway, I'm hungry, could you show me where we're supposed to eat?" Furutaka asked, still unaware of where anything in the base was located.
"Uh, about that. I can't show you, unfortunately, I'm a little busy at the moment. But, if you go out this building and hang a left, it's the next building over. There should still be some Destroyers that would be willing to show you around." Sendai explained, almost wishing she had decided to ditch Asashio to give Furutaka a tour.
"I see. Very well then, I'll get someone to help me after I've eaten. Thank you for your help, Sendai." Furutaka said politely, smiling at her again.
"Anytime. If there's no one in there to help you, you can find me in this room so just come and get me." Sendai said, as she pointed over to the name tag on Asashio's door.
"I will." Furutaka said as she started walking down the hallway towards the door. "Thanks again, see ya later." She said, giving Sendai a little wave goodbye.
"See ya around." Sendai said. After Furutaka had walked out the door, Sendai finally turned her attention back to the door in front of her. She hesitated for several moments, and after a couple false starts, finally twisted the knob.
"It's a spotlight." Furutaka said with a cheerful smile on her face. She loved that she was always asked about her eye, it proved to be good for starting conversations.
"Wow! That's so freakin' cool!" Lilly stared at Furutaka in awe.
"It sounds really useful, especially at night." Fubuki stated from across the table.
"I'll say." Maikaze said through a cheek full of food.
The four girls were all seated at the same table as Maikaze and Furutaka ate their breakfast.
"So I hear we're going to be going on a mission soon?" Furutaka asked, curious to know more about this mission she heard about.
"That about sums it up. No one knows much more than that, though." Maikaze said after swallowing her food.
"I see. I guess we'll know more when we're supposed to." Furutaka stated.
"I hope so, nobody really knows. It'll be a first for everyone, even the Admiral." Maikaze said.
"Wait, what? The Admiral hasn't had a mission before?" Fubuki asked, shocked to hear that nobody had gone on at least one mission before.
"Nope. We're all about as green as they come." Maikaze said.
"Green? Nobody here is green." Lilly stated.
Furutaka couldn't help but smile at how clueless she was. "She's adorable." Furutaka stated to the others.
"Yes she is." Fubuki said, smiling herself.
"What?" Lilly asked innocently.
"Lilly, being green means that someone is inexperienced or new at what they do." Maikaze explained politely.
"Oh." Lilly said.
"Anyway, what's the Abyssal presence like here?" Furutaka asked, curious to see what they were facing against.
"Minimal at the moment. Just a few stray Destroyers here and there, but I can't imagine it'll stay that way for long." Maikaze said, taking another bite of her food as she finished.
"Really? I was told to expect up to a few Heavy Cruisers. I heard it from Daimlon himself." Fubuki said.
"Well, that's news to me." Maikaze stated, slightly irritated she was only just finding out.
"Regardless, I can't wait to get into some action." Furutaka said.
There were a few seconds of silence as nobody had anything to say.
"I heard that they were starting to become less active, and that everyone is going to be sent on a lot more offensive missions. Even the other bases." Lilly said, breaking the silence.
Everyone just stared at her for a second or two. "Where did you hear that?" Fubuki asked politely.
"I heard Regina talking about it to Donnie one day, she told him to expect more offensive orders." Lilly explained, somewhat nervous at all the stares she was receiving.
"That's better than what's been happening. It's about time we came out of our foxholes and fought back instead of defending all the time." Maikaze said, almost in a grumble.
"So the Abyssals are starting to hold back, Lilly? Do you know why?" Fubuki asked her.
"I guess, I don't know." Lilly responded, shrugging her shoulders.
"I'm not sure if what you say is true, Lilly, but I hope it is. You can't win a war just by defense." Fubuki said.
"You said it. Even though I don't want to fight at all, we all know that it needs to be done, and we need to take the offense for once." Maikaze said.
The door to the Mess Hall opened, and everyone but Furutaka, who had her back to the door, noticed that Daimlon had walked in.
Furutaka was in the middle of her statement when Daimlon started walking over to the table. "It couldn't really be helped. Especially when you consider the fact that-" Fubuki and Maikaze both shushed Furutaka, interrupting her sentence.
Furutaka was completely surprised to see the reaction she got. "So Fubuki, why aren't you eating?" Maikaze asked her, almost insistently staring at her for a response.
"Oh, I already ate this morning, I had breakfast with Sendai." Fubuki stated. Daimlon finally arrived at the table, and stood over them.
"Morning, ladies. How are we all feeling?" He asked.
"I feel great!" Maikaze shouted with a smile.
Lilly and Fubuki both responded with a simple 'good'.
Daimlon smiled back at them, then looked over at Furutaka, who was just looking up at him. She was still somewhat lost as to what had just happened. "How about you, Furutaka? Sleep well?" He asked.
Furutaka hesitated a moment or two before giving her response. "Oh, I- I'm doing good." She said, forcing a smile as she finished.
"How about you, Admiral?" Maikaze asked Daimlon in return.
"I'm doing well. I trust you're all giving Furutaka a warm welcome." Daimlon stated.
"Of course." Fubuki said, giving him a smile.
"Donnie." Lilly said.
"Yes Lilly?" Daimlon responded, looking at Lilly.
"When are we going on the mission I keep hearing about?" She asked. Daimlon could already tell she wasn't exactly looking forward to it.
"Soon." Daimlon said.
Lilly just looked down at the table, away from Daimlon. "I don't want to go." She said in a pout.
Daimlon crouched down to Lilly's level, and looked at her. "Trust me, nobody does, but I can promise you that these three right here will always keep you safe." Daimlon reassured.
Lilly didn't respond in any way, refusing to acknowledge what he said. Daimlon didn't want to send Lilly out into the field, but he didn't really have much of a choice. She was the only one capable of what she did.
Daimlon stood up again, and looked over to the other three. "Well, I'd stay around and eat breakfast with you, but, unfortunately, I'm rather busy at the moment. If anyone needs anything, feel free to stop by my office." Daimlon stated. Daimlon felt bad that he was always so distant from everyone else, and he hated always giving the bland excuse of 'being busy', but it was the truth. If anything, he just wanted to get to know the girls under him better just so he could build trust between them.
"Don't worry, we know the drill." Maikaze said, looking up at him.
"Good to know. See you guys later." Daimlon said, and he turned toward the serving station to get his food.
Everyone except Lilly issued him a farewell, and silently waited for him to grab his tray and leave the building. It was the most awkward silence anyone had experienced up to that point. Daimlon finally filled his tray, and made his way outside to continue his work in his office.
"What was that for?" Furutaka asked, somewhat demandingly.
"Furutaka, are you serious? He's an American." Maikaze explained hastily.
Furutaka just looked at her for a few seconds. "Noooo, you're pulling my leg." She said, her tone full of disbelief.
"No, I'm serious. Jintsuu told me she heard it from the Grand Admiral while she was being assigned to him." Maikaze stated.
"He even looks like he is." Fubuki said.
Maikaze immediately pointed to Fubuki in agreement. "Mhm, she knows."
Furutaka instantly knew that they were right. "I see." She said in a dull tone as she just looked down at the table in front of her.
"Just be a little more mindful about it now that you know." Fubuki said.
"I will." Furutaka said, taking a bite of her food after a brief pause. "It's just a little unexpected. That's all."
There was a rather extended period of silence.
"So, Furutaka. Do you like dancing?" Maikaze asked, a slight smile forming on her face.
The girls continued to talk until everyone had finished eating, and showed Furutaka around the base when they were done.
If there was one thing about exhaustion during recovery that Asashio had to be thankful for, it was definitely the fact that it made sleeping much easier. Despite her operation the night before, she had fallen asleep rather quickly. Even though she just woke up, she still felt exhausted, but most of her discomfort had subsided. She thought back to last night, having to be held down to keep her from moving as she screamed and cried in pain. The operation was short, but Asashio had never felt a pain that pierced her entire body like that before, it made her squirm just thinking about it.
She rubbed her jaw lightly. The swelling had reduced greatly overnight, and was sure she would at least be able to speak properly.
"Mornin'." A voice said to Asashio's right. It instantly clicked as to who it was. It was Sendai. She sat there, propped against the wall as she sat at the table, waiting for Asashio to wake up.
Asashio was afraid that Sendai was here to make her ordeal worse. She was almost too afraid to say anything. "What do you want?" Asashio asked her in a flat tone as she gave her a cold look. She hoped her mildly aggressive front would keep Sendai from doing anything more.
Sendai looked at her feet, and scratched the back of her head as she readied herself. She put on a smirk as she looked back at Asashio. "To help." She said.
It was then that Asashio noticed Sendai was keeping her voice down. She looked further up to the right where Shigure sat the night before to see her still there, slumped over as she slept on the table - A small blanket thrown over her.
Asashio was shocked, and had to gather herself again after hearing that. "Help how?" She asked, keeping her voice low as well. Though she could speak well enough, it was still impeded slightly by her swelling.
"I'm here to help take care of you." Sendai responded, putting on the best smile she could.
Asashio had her doubts, but was willing to play along. "I see... What time is it?" Asashio asked.
"It is 0713. I've been here for about an hour now." Sendai said. "Hungry?"
Now that Sendai mentioned it, Asashio was starving. She just gave Sendai a nod.
Sendai sat up, and reached for a small bowl in the middle of the table. "Don't ask me what this stuff is, but Nonna told me to give it to you." She said as she stood up. Unfortunately, Asashio had to be put on a liquid diet for a bit. Sendai knelt down next to her, bowl in hand. It looked like a heavily thinned down soup to Asashio, and didn't look appealing at all. "Can you sit up to eat?" Sendai asked.
Asashio struggled to get herself upright, pushing herself up with her shoulder as she picked the other up. That was as far as she got, however, and collapsed shortly after. "Here." Sendai said. She placed the bowl down and wrapped her arm around Asashio's shoulders, pulling her up all the way. With Asashio upright, it took her no effort to keep herself there, so Sendai let go.
"Thanks." Asashio said, grabbing the bowl. Her hand trembled as she brought the bowl closer, putting her other hand on it to keep it steady. She brought it up to her lips, and took a sip. It didn't taste bad, but it sure didn't taste good either.
With some guilt clinging to her, Sendai watched the pathetically weak Asashio strain just to feed herself. Sendai stood up and grabbed a cup on her way to the bathroom, filling it with warm water when she got there. She sprinkled some salt into it, and mixed it in to dissolve it. When she returned, she found Asashio finishing the last of her soup.
Sendai knelt down next to her again, and took the bowl from her, putting it down on the floor next to her. "Here, rinse with this. Don't swish it around, though." Sendai said, offering the cup to Asashio.
Asashio just looked across the room, seemingly lost in thought. "Why are you doing this?" She asked, turning to face Sendai only after she was finished speaking.
Sendai hesitated a few moments. She was looking for the right words to say. "Because.. I.." Sendai started to say, looking around the room awkwardly. "I don't want us to be on bad terms." She said, wishing she could have worded it better.
Asashio took the cup from Sendai. She honestly didn't know what to say to her, she could hardly believe what she was hearing. She sipped the salt water and gently rinsed her mouth out, allowing herself time to think about what to say.
After a brief pause, Sendai continued. "I guess.." Sendai continued, trying to tackle the obstacle before her. "What I'm trying to say is..." She scratched the back of her head as she looked around, clearly uncomfortable. She was trying to force the words to come, but she couldn't quite speak them. "Well.." She finally just took a moment to take a deep breath and shoved her pride off the table. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry, and I was hoping that you would forgive me." She said, getting it off her chest.
Yet again, Asashio couldn't even believe what she said. Asashio set the cup of used salt water off to the side, and let herself fall back onto her futon. "What are you talking about? There's nothing to forgive." She said in a simple tone.
Sendai was speechless.
"I hurt someone close to you, it's expected that you'd be angry or upset." Asashio said as she just stared at the ceiling. After a brief pause of silence, Asashio looked at Sendai. "I can't say I would do the same thing, but if someone did that to my sister, I'd make sure they didn't do it again. So don't be sorry."
Sendai couldn't help but smile. She never expected a response like that from Asashio, and any lingering anger toward her vanished. "And here I was worrying that you'd hate me." Sendai said with a chuckle.
"No, I don't blame you. I deserved it." Asashio said, digging her way deeper into her futon.
"Well shit, I'm not disagreeing with you, but I got a little carried away." Sendai said.
Despite just waking up, Asashio was ready to go back to sleep already. "It's no big deal, don't worry about it. Just worry about finding better ways to resolve issues." Asashio said with a half smile.
Sendai just smiled widely at her. "Got it." Sendai found it really weird. Just ten minutes ago she really disliked this person, only to find herself almost admiring her now. She never thought she'd see the day where she would punch someone and have that person say that they deserved it. "Say, I wanna ask you. Why did you do it anyway? To Jintsuu I mean." Sendai asked.
Asashio just looked up at the ceiling for a few moments, gathering her thoughts. She had no intention of telling her that Daimlon put her up to it. "I guess I just want to see her get stronger... I'm hoping this gives her a wake up call to really push herself. It was nothing personal against her, but I see a lot of potential in her, and so does Daimlon. If she can ever get out of this rut she could easily be one of our strongest ships. I want to see her be the best she can be." She said, her voice trailing off in the end.
Now Sendai really felt bad about punching her. "You just keep making me feel worse." Sendai said with a half-hearted laugh.
"You're the one who asked." Asashio said.
"I know, but when you did that to her, I really felt like I was the only one who was trying to help her. You seemed so much like the stuck up elitist type, I couldn't have imagined that you did it for any other reason than to make yourself look good. I wanted to make sure you were knocked down a peg. I misjudged you." Sendai said.
"And I assumed that you would never apologize to me like this. I think it's safe to say we both misjudged each other." Asashio admitted.
Sendai looked at Asashio with a somewhat serious face. "No hard feelings?" She asked.
Asashio just laughed a little. "I already told you, I don't hold it against you. As long as you're willing to cover my back out there, we're fine. That's all that really matters after all." She said.
Sendai just smiled. "Yeah. Is there anything you need? Anything I can help with?" Sendai asked.
"Not at the moment, no. I am pretty tired, though." Asashio said, indicating she wanted to go back to sleep.
"Alright, I'll let you get your rest, then. I'll stop by again in like an hour to check on you." Sendai said, a smile on her face.
"Mhm." Asashio groaned as she gave Sendai a nod, closing her eyes.
"Do you think I should wake Shigure up?" Sendai asked, looking at Shigure.
"No, she was up late with Nonna and I. I'd let her sleep." Asashio said.
"Okay. Anyway, I'll be back." Sendai said as she stood up, immediately making her way to the door. "See ya." Sendai said as she headed out the door. Asashio decided not to say anything, and just closed her eyes again.
With that, both of them felt that things were going to be better than they were before the entire ordeal even started.
Daimlon sat at his desk, typing up a personnel profile in his computer. It was a profile on Furutaka that was to be kept on base for his own records, and sent to the Grand Admiral for an update on the global roster. Unfortunately, every time he constructed someone he had to make a profile for them from scratch. Only a picture and personal information, such as her height and weight, were filled in automatically from the construction. Fortunately, it didn't take long to create, as much of the page was reserved for future updates such as mission count, kill count, and a plethora of other statistics about her operational history to come.
Then came the knock on his door. "Come in." He said.
The door opened, and Yuu stepped in. "You called for me, Admiral?" She asked.
After minimizing Furutaka's profile, he spun himself to face Yuu in his chair. "Yes, I did. Come, have a seat." He said.
She calmly walked over to his desk, and had a seat in the chair. One thing never changed about her, her face was always so serious, never cracking a smile or batting an eyelash. However, this time Daimlon couldn't help but notice how tired she seemed when he looked at her eyes. "I just wanted to ask you a couple questions." Daimlon explained, placing his interwoven hands on his desk.
"Of course." Yuu said.
"It's to my understanding that you witnessed Sendai's... Assault, on Asashio?" He asked her.
"I did, sir." Yuu said professionally.
"Excellent. Can you tell me everything you saw?" He asked.
"Yes. I saw Sendai grab Asashio from behind, and throw her to the ground. After a brief pause, Sendai got on top of Asashio, and punched her in the face five times. After that she stood up and walked away. I'm afraid that is all I can tell you." Yuu explained.
Daimlon was hoping for more than that, he already knew everything she told him. "You can't tell me anymore than that?" He continued to question.
"No, sir." She said.
There was a period of silence as they both just looked at each other. "I see. Very well then, I suppose it can't be helped." Daimlon said, leaning back in his chair. "I understand it may be difficult for you to transition from German to Japanese command. How are you doing? Maybe a little culture shocked?" He asked, curious to know how the foreigner is adapting.
Her normally stagnant arms moved a little, and briefly touched each other. "I'm doing fine, sir. Thanks for asking." She said, breaking eye contact for the briefest moment. There was no doubt about it to Daimlon, it was the self touch gesture - an easy to spot indicator of deception. It could've been just an itch, but with how little she normally moved when she talked, especially to Daimlon, he had his doubts about that.
He decided to run a little test to confirm whether or not she was lying. "Are you lying to me?" Daimlon asked her, staring right at her.
It was the stare that made her slip. "N-No, sir." She said in a low tone, looking down to the ground for a moment.
"Spill it, Yuu. I know you're lying to me." Daimlon demanded.
There was a period of awkward silence as Yuu's eyes darted around the room, clearly unsure of what to say. "I. Uh-" She said, giving a false start before firmly planting her feet in the ground again. She regained her lost composure and looked Daimlon straight on. "Forgive me, sir. I did not mean any disrespect, but my issues are not serious enough to warrant your personal attention. I can manage, sir." Yuu said.
Daimlon just leaned back in his chair a little as he looked at her. "I never doubted your ability to cope, but keeping me informed with how you're feeling is important. Now what seems to be troubling you?" Daimlon asked her.
Yuu just took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I miss my friends back in Germany, and I can't say anyone has become a friend. However, I'm sure that will resolve itself in time. In Germany we were based on the mainland, and we could go wherever we wanted outside of the base within a certain distance. Here we are confined to a small island, only a slight issue that can't be helped. And I have not slept much since arriving here, but I just need some time to adapt. Overall, it's nothing that cannot be fixed with time and effort on my part, sir." Yuu said, being as open as possible. No signs of deception this time, she was as stagnant as usual, moving hardly a muscle.
He could understand why she would have a difficult time moving to an island location without any friends. It wasn't anything he could help with, but he was glad that she was willing to tell him. "Why aren't you sleeping?" He asked.
"I find futons uncomfortable, sir, but I will get used to it." Yuu said professionally.
That one, Daimlon could understand on a personal level. He always hated futons, and always reverted to a mattress when he could. He reached for his tablet, laying off to the side on his desk. "Well, Yuu." He began as he flickered the display on, poking his way into the construction tab. "Taking your contributions at the Supply Depot into consideration..." He said.
Nonna appeared in the room in her puff of smoke. "What's up, Daimlon?" Nonna said, asking why she had been paged.
"I see no reason why you do not deserve some sort of reward. So how about a mattress instead of a futon? Can you do that, Nonna?" Daimlon asked, smiling as he did.
Nonna brought her clipboard up to her face. "Of course I can, what size?" She asked.
Yuu just sat there, her face growing ever so slightly red as she finally broke from the stone cold mask she constantly wore. "I- uh. Sir-" Yuu said, tripping over herself a little before being cut off.
"I don't know, what do you think?" Daimlon asked, completely ignoring Yuu's attempts to interrupt.
"I think a Queen would do just fine, and it would fit the room perfectly." Nonna said, a slight smile on her face.
"Queen it is, then." Daimlon stated, sitting up in his chair excitedly.
Nonna scribbled on the clipboard a little. "Soft or firm?" She asked.
Daimlon turned his attention to Yuu. "Soft or firm?" He asked her.
Yuu just faced him, mouth slightly agape as she was in a state of mild disbelief. "No, no, no. You don't have to give me anything! I can cope with a futon, I didn't do anything-" Yuu said frantically, her face turning a light red. Daimlon tried to talk over her, but she kept talking.
"Soft or firm?" Daimlon asked, trying to interject her.
"- special, I was only doing what you told me. I mean it, you don't need to give me any kind of reward!" Yuu said, incredibly insistent she not receive anything. "It's really not -" She was finally cut off.
"Yuu!" Daimlon said in a raised voice, stopping her in her tracks. "Soft. Or firm?" Daimlon asked once more.
Yuu just paused a few moments, she was going to say something more, but she decided not to. Daimlon was insistent she take it, and a small part of her wanted it anyway. She hung her head low, defeated. "Soft." She said calmly. She picked up her head a little bit to say more. "A silky smooth touch to the skin, so soft that your skin grows to crave it's gentleness each night. A consistency that embraces you, enveloping you like a loving mothers' arms, refusing to let go. And able to breathe so well that every twitch of the arm or leg offers a cool sensation under the heat of the blankets." Yuu said in a low tone, as if she had just described her deepest guilty pleasure. She was absolutely humiliated that she was so descriptive about it, sure that both Daimlon and Nonna would burst into laughter.
Which they did. Yuu tried to keep her cool the best she could. After a short period, Nonna recollected herself. "I think I can make that work for you. That's everything, right?" She asked, grinning from ear to ear.
Yuu could only nod, still refusing to look up at them.
Daimlon could hardly believe she was the same person, absolutely tickled that she had gotten so worked up so quick. He gave a short laugh again. "If you wanted one this bad, you should have asked sooner." He teased.
Yuu didn't say a thing, choosing to take a deep breath instead. She calmed herself once more, and picked herself up in her seat, looking Daimlon in the eye again. She was still lightly pink, but had reassumed her serious face and posture.
"Alright, Don, enough teasing her. Is there anything else you need?" Nonna asked, holding her clipboard against her chest.
"I never told you that you can call me Don." Daimlon said teasingly, smiling at her. "Open a ship construction panel for me, please." He said in a more serious tone.
"Sure thing, Don." Nonna said, making sure to emphasize his name.
Yuu was sitting there, absolutely confused as to what was going on. No individual would dare speak to her old officer that way, especially in such a disrespectful manner.
Daimlon received a timer from his input, seven hours. Given that it was 0900 on his clock, he was happy to see it would finish before dark this time around.
He knew he would be getting another small ship, but he couldn't really complain after getting a Heavy Cruiser just last night. "Now that'll be all. Thank you, Nonna." He said looking up to her.
"Sounds good to me, Don." She said, teasingly emphasizing his name again with a smile. "Yuu, if you find anything about the bed to your disliking, let me know and I'll change it up for you. It should be in your room shortly after dinner time, okay?" Nonna said.
Yuu just looked up at her. "Y-Yes, ma'am." She said.
Nonna gave Yuu a quick smile, and then dissipated in her white smoke cloud.
Daimlon then turned his attention to Yuu. "Alright, do you have anything else you'd like to discuss with me while you're here?" He asked her.
"No, sir." She responded back professionally.
"You know, Yuu, you don't have to always be so formal. You can drop the 'sir's and the 'ma'am's, you should loosen up a bit." Daimlon said, finally getting it off his chest.
Yuu couldn't understand it. They were in a military environment running military operations, subordinates should be nothing but respectful to those above them. Her old Admiral understood this perfectly well, and made sure everyone respected him properly, she couldn't understand why Daimlon was insistent on quite the opposite. She just brushed it aside for the moment. "I'll try, sir." She said.
There was a drawn out silence between them. "You didn't seem to try very hard." Daimlon said, almost teasing her.
"I'll try. Sorry, sir." Yuu said professionally, sitting up straight in her seat.
Obviously they weren't making any ground today. "If you insist on formalities, I suppose it isn't an issue. Will that be all?" He said, giving up.
"Yes sir." She said calmly.
"Alright, tell me how you like your reward tomorrow, okay?" Daimlon said with a smile.
"Understood." Yuu said.
With that, Daimlon considered the conversation to be over, and pulled up Furutaka's profile once more to continue work on it. However, one thing was nagging him as he started. Yuu wasn't moving a muscle, just sitting there staring at him. 'Don't tell me I actually need to dismiss her.' Daimlon thought to himself, but he knew that was what she was waiting for.
"Yuu, you're dismissed." Daimlon stated. Sure enough, without a word, Yuu stood from her seat and exited the room. 'I guess they run a much tighter ship in Germany.' Daimlon thought to himself. He promptly returned his attention back to his computer, and continued to peck away at his keyboard, constructing Furutaka's profile alone in his office.
Several hours later, there was an unexpected knock on the door. Daimlon leaned back from his stack of paperwork and looked up to the door. "Come in." He said in a raised voice. He was eagerly awaiting Jintsuu to stop by to apologize in person, and expected to see her walk through the door.
Sure enough, Jintsuu stepped through hesitantly. It was immediately clear to Daimlon that she had absolutely no desire to be in that room. Without a word, and refusing to look at him, she quietly made her way over to the chair, and had a seat.
Daimlon continued to look at her as the long silence carried on. She was still looking at the floor, her head hung low. "Can I help you, Jintsuu?" He asked her.
She immediately put her palms together, bowed her head, and held her hands above her head. "I'm terribly sorry, Daimlon." She said, finally getting it off her chest. "I didn't mean a thing I said, and I whole heartedly regret it." Daimlon wasn't expecting such an intense apology.
As much as Daimlon wanted to make nice with her, he still had to pretend he was somewhat upset by her actions. "Why?" He asked simply. "And look me in the eye like you mean it." He said, following up quickly.
Jintsuu put her arms down, and raised her head. She reluctantly looked up at him after a short delay, and looked him in the eye. He could see she meant it, her face was rather serious, accompanied with a frown and wide eyes. "I'm so sorry." She said as seriously as she could. "I know I said things that..." She looked away for a brief moment. "That... were uncalled for, and rude, but I apologize for it all." She finished.
Daimlon was honestly rather uncomfortable. "Why?" He repeated. "Why did you say them?" He kept his face stone cold to the best of his abilities.
Jintsuu looked away again, her discomfort bled through her body language like an open wound. "I.. I don't know. I was just... so upset. That I just threw my hands up." She said, her voice trailing off as she finished.
"There seemed to be a degree of truth to what you said, however. Would that be an accurate statement?" Daimlon asked, referring specifically to her finally outburst. This was it, Daimlon's best chance to squeeze the truth out of Jintsuu. He would be willing to cradle her in his arms if it meant getting the truth out of her, it was all he needed to set a plan in motion to help her, rather than continue to wring it out forcefully.
"W-What do you mean?" She asked, looking at him again.
"I am referring to your statement about no one caring. It came off to me as a rather serious remark." Daimlon said in a heavy tone. His heart was starting to beat slightly heavier in anticipation.
She just looked away again. "..It's true." She said, almost in a murmur.
"And why is that Jintsuu? What causes you to feel that way?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.
Jintsuu refused to look at him again. "..I.. I don't know." She said meekly.
"If you believe it to be true, you should hold some feelings as to why. Something is telling you that it is the truth, what is that something?" He continued pressing for the favorable response he was looking for. He was determined to pry it out of her, no matter how badly she didn't want to tell him.
Jintsuu didn't even move, let alone respond.
"Do you feel that your old Admirals never cared? Based on that assumption, did you take it a step further and say I don't either? Spill it, Jintsuu." Daimlon said, his voice growing in intensity.
"...Yes." She said in a murmur. Daimlon's heart skipped a beat. Finally, some progress of some sort. Even if it was a reluctant 'Yes', Daimlon had broken through the first of many walls she erected around herself.
"Jintsuu. I want to make one thing perfectly clear to you. Look at me." Daimlon said demandingly. Jintsuu reluctantly looked at him, it was apparent she really didn't want to. "I am unlike any Admiral you've met until now. I've not met any of them, but I can assure you that I am not like any of them." Daimlon said heavily, sitting forward in his seat to strengthen his words. "You are my starter, Jintsuu. I am not going to give up on you, and I will never scrap you." Daimlon watched as Jintsuu just continued looking at him, her eyes widening as he spoke. Even if it was only slightly, he could see Jintsuu was uplifted by his words. "However, if you are unwilling to work with me, I might be forced to make a decision I don't want to. Don't make this harder than it has to be." Daimlon finished, hopeful that she would finally gut herself like a fish.
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be quite that easy. He could see Jintsuu's eyes well up with tears. "I.. Every Admiral has told me the same exact thing. You are just like them." She said, her voice was rough and hoarse. Tears began to roll down her red cheeks. "You're every bit like them, you're all the same." She said, her voice trailing off near the end, burying her face in her hands.
Daimlon could feel his heart dropping as she spoke, helplessly watching as she began to cry. "Jintsuu, I don't understand why you're so opposed to telling me why you're constantly dismissed. I'm trying to help you." Daimlon said, raising his voice slightly.
Jintsuu seemed to try and gather herself once more. "It.. It's never helped before. It's.. not even relevant." Jintsuu said, her face dry but her voice still rough.
"So you'll never tell me why?" Daimlon asked.
Jintsuu didn't respond to him.
So that's how it was. No matter what, Jintsuu would never tell him what happened beforehand. Daimlon just took a deep breath, quite irritated with Jintsuu. "Very well, then. I won't push you to share anymore." Daimlon said. Daimlon's determination crushed, he decided to revert to one last question before deciding how he handled the rest of Jintsuu's situation.
"I'm sorry." Jintsuu said meekly.
"I only have one question for you." Daimlon said with renewed vigor. Jintsuu just looked at him, giving him her attention. "Are you going to continue with your tests? You told me you were giving up." He asked.
"...I'm not giving up. Along with apologizing, I wanted to reassure you that I'm not giving up." Jintsuu said somewhat confidently behind her flustered face and recovering voice.
That was all he needed. Whether it was because he was irritated with her, or because he legitimately thought it for the best he couldn't tell, but he had finally made a decision. "Good. You'll continue with your next test tomorrow... Just know that I won't make it easy on you." Daimlon said.
Jintsuu just looked down a little. "You never did." She murmured.
"...Is that everything you had to say?" He asked her, stone faced.
She just nodded.
"You're free to go." He said simply, immediately turning his attention back to his paperwork as if Jintsuu wasn't even there.
Jintsuu hesitated leaving for a moment, watching Daimlon get back to work without missing a beat. She felt as though she should say something more, but nothing came to mind. She awkwardly stood from her seat, and slowly shuffled her way out the door.
The moment the door closed, Daimlon broke from his paperwork and leaned back in his chair. He was already busy thinking of how to force Jintsuu to improve, whether she liked it or not. He wasn't looking forward to it, but she left him no choice but to stick her in the frying pan.
It was roughly 1545, and Asashio was starting to feel a little better. She was no longer totally exhausted all the time, and could even sit up on her own now. Her stomach growled as she faced the ceiling, the liquid diet she was on did nothing to fill her stomach. She looked over to the table where Shigure and Sendai once sat, both areas now vacant as she was alone for the time being. If there was one thing she hated, it was definitely how boring it could be to just lie around all day.
Suddenly, there was knock on her door. "Come in." Asashio said as loudly as she could. It was probably Sendai showing up to check on her as she usually did every other hour or so.
Daimlon stepped through the door, closing the door behind him. She immediately perked up, but pulled the covers further up. "Hey." Daimlon said, standing there as he looked at Asashio bundled up in her futon.
"..Hi." Asashio said, laying her head back down against her pillow.
Daimlon took a few steps toward her, standing at her side. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
Truth be told, as much as her condition improved, she still felt pretty bad. "I've felt better." Asashio said, looking up at Daimlon.
"As long as you've felt worse." Daimlon said, a small smile forming on his lips.
Asashio couldn't help but give a slight smile back. "I've definitely felt worse." She said, almost in a murmur.
"Can you stand yet?" He asked.
Asashio hesitated for a moment. Without a word, she threw the covers off herself. Despite being self conscious about how she looked, especially since she didn't have the opportunity to shower today, she was determined to stand up on her own. She rolled over on her stomach, and managed to get herself on her hands and knees.
Daimlon watched, fighting the urge to help her as she struggled to bring her right knee up. It took almost all of her effort, but she managed to get herself onto one knee.
Calling on all her strength, she pushed down with both hands on her knee, helping to straighten it as she brought her other foot up to stand on. It was too much for her. Her right leg muscles gave out, still too weak to do it, and she was forced back into the kneeling position. She brought her knee back down, and let herself fall onto her futon.
"It's okay if you can't stand yet, don't push yourself too hard." Daimlon said as Asashio rolled onto her back again, pulling the covers over herself to hide her shame.
His words didn't do much to comfort Asashio, she was still disappointed that she wasn't strong enough to do something so simple. She continued to silently curse herself for failing like that in front of Daimlon.
Daimlon could tell that Asashio was disappointed with herself. "Hey, Asashio." He said, grabbing her attention.
She shifted her gaze to look at him as he stood over her.
He knelt down to get closer to her. "Relax, you'll be standing by tomorrow morning. Just take it easy, and focus on getting better. I still need help developing those tests, after all." Daimlon said, offering her a slight smile.
Asashio couldn't hide the smile that crept across her face. "Of course. But at this rate you'll always need my help." Asashio said teasingly.
Daimlon stood once again. "And would you consider that a problem?" Daimlon asked, knowing the answer.
Asashio just gave a small laugh. "No. I wouldn't." She said.
"Good." He replied. Several seconds of silence fell between them. "Anyway, I need to leave. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were holding up. Do you need anything? Cup of water? Something to read? Anything?" Daimlon asked, making sure she was okay.
Asashio just shook her head. "No thanks, I should be fine. Hopefully Nonna delivers my food soon." Asashio said.
"Alright then, I'll let you rest." Daimlon said as he walked back toward the door.
"Thanks for checking up on me." Asashio said, staring at the ceiling.
"Anytime. Take care." Daimlon said, opening the door.
"You too." She replied. With that, the sound of the door closing filled the air. Asashio just lie motionless, staring at the ceiling. She felt much better as a result of Daimlon's visit, eager to hurry up and get better. If only there were a shortcut to the healing process. Unfortunately for Asashio, there was no such thing as a shortcut to recovery.
Daimlon brushed past the curtains prefacing the open Construction Yard building, stepping into the dark room. The lights flickered on, and a small girl on par with Maikaze was standing in the center of the room.
Her hair was almost a dull purple, a shade reflected in her bright eyes. She had her hair in a long ponytail that stretched off to her right side down to the hip, tied up by a pink flower with a clip on the back, a brass bell attached to it. She wore a white uniform top with a blue collar and sleeve ends, along with a solid blue skirt.
"Hello, Admiral." The girl said. Unlike most of those before her, there was no smile on her lips as she spoke for the first time.
Daimlon took a few steps forward, unsure of the personality of this new girl. "Greetings. I am Admiral Daimlon, you can call me Don if you wish. What is your name?" He said, making sure to keep it somewhat formal.
"...You look a little young to be an Admiral." She said, making note of his age.
Daimlon decided to put on a smile for her. "I can assure you that I am of an appropriate age." He said, hoping she would finally tell him who she was.
"Mmmm, you look American. Are you?" The girl asked.
For the first time he was asked directly if he was American, quite the surprise from a fresh construction. "...I am." He said.
"How long have you been an Admiral?" She asked, her facial expression hadn't shifted from her standard gaze.
"I was officially promoted almost three months ago. I received my first assignment to this base just over a week ago." Daimlon answered. He was growing increasingly annoyed that she still hadn't fulfilled the common courtesy to give him her name.
"So you're an American that's fresh out of the Academy, A new Admiral that probably hasn't even seen combat yet, am I getting that right?" She asked in an increasingly exasperated tone.
"That is correct. You still haven't told me your name." Daimlon said.
The girl just paused a few moments and formed a tight scowl across her face. "Well this is great." She said in a sarcastic tone. "A shitty Admiral."