"This can't be possible."

Kaga looked over at her admiral from her seat next to him at his desk. "What is it?"

"There's no way Akagi can consume this much bauxite just from training," the American said, throwing the sheet of paper onto the desk.

"Well… She has always had a big appetite."

Drake snorted. "Yeah, no wonder Mamiya always sighs in defeat whenever she sees Akagi walk through the door."

"Carriers need a lot of nutrition and upkeep, sir," Kaga pointed out.

"Yeah, but I feel like Akagi is eating a lot more than she needs to. Neither you nor the Fifth Carrier Division consume this much…"

"She is special in her own way," Kaga simply said, resisting the urge to smirk at her admiral's frustration with the gluttonous carrier. "Also, I heard Akagi mention that there is some sort of party tomorrow…?"

"Wasn't my idea," Drake quickly told her. "Everyone wanted to have a celebration since we never did anything after our first successful sortie, so we're just going to watch a movie or something at my house tomorrow night. Hopefully that will satiate them."

Kaga frowned. "Are you sure we should be doing this in the middle of a war?"

"Hey, I told you it wasn't my idea," Drake said. "But honestly, I don't think it's too much of a problem. Everyone needs a break sometimes, and soldiers used to watch movies all the time during World War II."

"If you say so, sir. What movie will we be watching?"

"You'll find out tomorrow," Drake responded mysteriously. "But trust me, I'm sure you will all be able to identify with it. I also think this is a good opportunity for the fleet to increase its sense of camaraderie."

The doors to the big office then opened, and the pristine and professional figure of Bismarck strode in, her blonde hair trailing behind her. She walked up to Drake's desk and tersely saluted.

"Sir," she said as a way of greeting, though her voice held no warmth. "Battleship Bismarck, reporting for duty."

"I see you're finally out of the docks." Drake returned her salute. "Uh, well, training is already over for today, so there's not really much I have for you to do… You could try training on your own, I guess. Or Kaga or someone could show you around since you're still new to the base."

Bismarck's icy blue eyes flitted over to the Secretary Ship for a brief moment. "I will be fine on my own."

Drake shrugged. "Fine. But you really should try and get along with everyone. If you're going to be part of a fleet, you should probably make it so that the people watching your back during a battle don't hate you."

The German narrowed her eyes. "I don't understand. Are you saying the rest of the fleet hates me?"

"Well… They certainly don't like you. Some of those girls have been wanting the Secretary Ship position from the very start, and for you to just come in and challenge Kaga for it on your very first day was probably seen as incredibly arrogant and rude."

Bismarck shot a quick look at Kaga again, but the carrier was busy reading over a report, wearing her usual blank expression.

"I admit that I was defeated fairly," the battleship said, "but I will not apologize for my actions. Not to anyone."

"That's your choice. But don't think anyone's going to shed a tear for you when you sink in combat, then."

"I don't need anyone!" she shot back, her mouth twisting into a snarl. "What, do you all think that you're superior to me because I lost one training match? You don't know how mistaken you are! I am Bismarck, Germany's greatest battleship!"

"See? This is the exact kind of attitude that nobody likes," the admiral told her with some edge in his voice.

Bismarck glared at him. "I don't care whether you like it or not. You must feel so smug, sitting there and giving me, of all people, orders. Let me tell you this: I'll never accept any commands from an American pig, nor from his Japanese lapdogs who have forgotten their pride and bent over so sweetly for their new masters!"

"Excuse me?" Drake asked, clearly angry at this point. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

The German battleship smirked darkly. "Oh? Are you angry now?"

"The fuck is wrong with you?" Drake stood up, baited by her taunting. "Why do you insist on being such a little bitch?!"

"How dare you! I won't stand here and listen to your slander any longer, filthy American!" Bismarck declared, turning away and storming out of the office.

"Fine then, you Nazi whore! Fuck you!" Drake shouted bitterly as she left, which drew looks from Nagato and Mutsu, who were also present in the office, but they quickly averted their gaze after Drake sent them a glare.

The rear admiral sat back down, still angry at Bismarck's rudeness and slightly ashamed at himself as well. He cast a glance at Kaga, and unsurprisingly, she was still sitting there reading that report as if nothing had happened.

"That was quite interesting," she said after a few seconds.

"Not the word I would use, but sure."

"Mm. You should probably go and apologize to her."

Drake was dumbfounded. "... What? Why would I apologize to her? You're telling me you're not angry at what she said about you?"

"No. It is clear that she is distressed and is not thinking normally, so I will do the mature thing and not hold it against her. You should do the same."

"I can't believe this. You seriously want me to apologize to her?"

"I don't presume to give you orders, but I would recommend it, yes. It has been a difficult few days for her. First of all, she is new to this country and this naval base. That transition alone is enough of a challenge, but in addition to that, she was also defeated and humiliated in front of the entire fleet on her first day here. For someone who used to be the Flagship of the European Fleet, that must be a heavy blow to her pride. She then spent the next day in pain while recovering in the docks. On top of all that, she is completely alone and has no one to comfort her save for a fleet full of girls who dislike her and a commanding officer who is from a country that she has always seen as an enemy. Under those circumstances, it is only natural that one would experience a great degree of discomfort and be prone to outbursts like the one we just saw."

Drake grimaced as he leaned back in his chair. "... I hadn't thought of all that. Still, that doesn't excuse what she said."

"You also were not very cordial, sir," Kaga responded in her monotone. "If you don't wish to apologize, then I won't say anymore. But just as you told Bismarck, perhaps that would be the best course of action, at least for the sake of the fleet."

Sighing in defeat, Drake stood up. "You're right, I guess. I'll go find her…"

The rear admiral put on his cap and strode out of the room, not looking forward to his task. As he walked down the stairs and out the lobby of the Administrative Building, he looked around the street outside, wondering where she would have gone.

Guess I'll have to ask around…

The sky was painted orange in the wake of the setting sun, and seagulls called out to each other in the distance. Fall had finally come, but the weather did not seem to notice, so the day was as hot as ever. Drake scowled as he pulled at his collar. The heat only worsened his mood as he reluctantly stalked the base in search for the German battleship.

A few minutes later, Drake spotted Shoukaku and Zuikaku walking together, talking about something or another. They saluted when they saw him, and he saluted back.

"Admiral, good evening," Shoukaku greeted. "Taking another break?"

"Actually, I'm here on business. I'm looking for Bismarck," he replied, slightly annoyed at her use of the word 'another.'

"Huh? She's finally out of the docks?" Zuikaku asked.

"Yeah, for better or for worse," Drake sourly said. "So have you two seen her?"

"Nope," the twin-tailed carrier answered. "And I don't really want to, to be honest. She can keep to herself for all I care."

"That's not the kind of attitude you should have towards a fellow fleet member," Drake told her, aware of how hypocritical he was being. "Shouldn't you try and get along with her?"

Zuikaku frowned. "Then she shouldn't have came in here acting like she was the new Empress or something. I think she got what she deserved."

"But if she already got what she deserved, then there's no reason to continue being hostile towards her," Drake pointed out. "Right, Shoukaku? What do you think?"

"Er, I… I think it was a bit rude of Bismarck to act the way she did," Shoukaku admitted a bit hesitantly. "But still, I do agree that for the sake of the fleet, we should try and get along. I am willing to put the past behind us, and I think everyone else should as well."

Drake nodded. "You should tell the same thing to the rest of the fleet. Now, then, I've still got business with her, so I should probably get going…"

"Wait," Shoukaku called out, stopping the admiral. She turned back to her sister. "Zuikaku, you go on ahead. I will be there in a minute."

Zuikaku raised an eyebrow but said nothing and kept walking, and Drake turned around with a questioning look.

"What is it?"

"I… I wanted to apologize for what I said. Before the Kido Butai sortied…"

"What do you… Oh, that," Drake said, recalling how Shoukaku and Zuikaku came into his office and demanded to know why they were being replaced by Hiryuu and Souryuu on the sortie to hunt down the Airfield Princess. "You don't need to apologize for something like that."

Shoukaku looked at the ground. "It was shameful for me to act in such a way. I did not mean to come off as selfish or spoiled…"

"I told you, it's fine," Drake assured her. "I understand your reasons, and if you're apologizing, then you understood ours as well. And like I said, you and Zuikaku will have plenty of chances to sortie in the future. You're both important members of this fleet, and in my mind, you two are just as good as the Kido Butai. There's a reason why I chose you to be the flagship of the Sixth Fleet, after all."

"Admiral… Thank you." Shoukaku smiled at him. "Then… I will do my best to continue to lead this fleet to victory, alongside you and Kaga."

"Good," Drake replied with a nod. "Well then, I've got to go find Bismarck, so I'll see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Yes, sir. Good night."

Drake continued his search. It had been just over ten minutes since he started looking.

At least it's finally cooling down a bit, he thought as he glanced out towards the sun, which was slipping further and further beneath the horizon. Where could she be…?

"Admiral!"

Drake turned to see Sendai running towards him, accompanied by two other light cruisers who he assumed were her sisters since they wore similar uniforms. Though Sendai cheerily bounded up to him, the other two maintained their distance.

"What are you doing out here, sir? Are we going to have night battle training today?"

"No," came Drake's curt reply. "I'm looking for someone. Have you seen Bismarck?"

Sendai tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? What does Bismarck have to do with night battles?"

"We're not talking about night battles here! Seriously, what is your obsession with night battles? Ever since I've met you, you haven't shut up about them!"

"Because we haven't had any yet!"

"Well, too bad. I don't make the decisions on what time the operations are going to be. Now, have you seen Bismarck or not?"

Sendai pouted in frustration. "... Yes. I saw her going towards the docks."

"Thanks," Drake said as he speedwalked away to escape any more questions about night battles.

The rear admiral hurried over to the docks, hoping to find Bismarck soon and get this over with. The main part of the docks was still bustling with activity, so Drake assumed that Bismarck wouldn't be there. He headed towards a quieter portion of the area, namely a place where a small, isolated pier jutted out into the ocean. Sure enough, there she was, her back to him as she sat on the pier and looked out towards the ocean.

The battleship turned slightly when she heard him approaching, and once she realized who it was, she stood up and whirled around to face him.

"W-what do you want now?"

"I just came to… Wait, were you crying?"

"N-no!" Bismarck denied, though her sniffle afterwards didn't give much credibility to her words.

I guess they really are human as much as they are ship, Drake thought, now feeling guilty for making a girl cry.

"Anyway," he began with some difficulty, "I came to apologize. I didn't mean those things I said, and I'm sorry."

Bismarck blinked in surprise. "You're… Apologizing?"

"Yes."

"I-I see. In that case, I accept your apology."

"... So you don't have anything else to say to me?"

"Are you expecting me to apologize to you as well?" Bismarck asked, turning up her nose. "You called me a 'Nazi whore.'"

"Don't act like you didn't say anything to me either!" Drake snapped, but then took a breath. He wasn't here to start another fight. "... I already told you that I'm sorry for calling you that. Don't you think it would be better to just put all of that behind us? Whether you like it or not, I am your commander, and you will have to obey my orders. It will be easier for the both of us if we can get along."

Bismarck said nothing, her icy blue eyes boring into Drake's dark brown ones.

"I don't know why you insist on being so uncooperative," the admiral said, frustration tinting his tone. "This isn't World War II anymore, and we aren't enemies. There's a greater threat out there right now, and if we don't work together to stop it, the Abyssals will kill us all. How much do petty arguments like this really matter in the face of something like that?"

"I know that!" Bismarck spat back caustically. "But I was doing perfectly fine in Europe! I don't see why I had to come here and fight for your base instead! Ever since I've got here, things have just been going completely wrong! This isn't how it's supposed to be!"

Drake sighed. "I know it must be hard for you to come here all the way from Germany. I've been here for about a month now, and I still miss America sometimes. It's not easy going to a different country where you don't know anybody or anything, and as a foreigner, I understand what you're feeling… We're both in the same situation, and even if the other girls don't like you at first, it would be good if the two of us could get along, right? At least then you won't be completely alone."

Bismarck dropped her gaze for a moment, then looked up. "I… All right. I apologize for my words as well, and… And I will fight with you from now on. The spirit of a German battleship will not be broken so easily."

Drake took a few steps forwards, then held out his hand. "That's more like it. Let's get along from now on."

The last sliver of the sun began dipping below the horizon, painting the two figures in a dim red light. Bismarck gave Drake a confident grin and shook his hand.

"Agreed, Admiral."

Amatsukaze watched with a focused look as her practice shell sailed through the air, then smirked in satisfaction it crashed down onto a training dummy hundreds of meters away.

"Wow, good shot, Amatsukaze," Fubuki complemented from beside her.

The destroyers were training out on the ocean early Saturday morning, currently trying to hone the accuracy of their shelling. Though they technically had off on Saturdays, many of the ship girls chose to spend at least a portion of the day training. Since they were soldiers, they valued themselves on their combat abilities, so they all made sure that their skills were as sharp as could be. Even so, their Saturday training wasn't nearly as grueling as their regular regimen since there was no admiral to oversee them, so they could take things at a more leisurely pace.

Yamakaze sailed up beside the other two destroyers, marvelling at the speedy destroyer's shot as well. "I wish I could do that…"

"Oh, come on. I'm sure both of you are just as good," Amatsukaze said, though she was enjoying all the praise.

"But still, I wonder… Are we good enough to defeat the Abyssals again?" Fubuki asked, staring out at the sea.

"Huh? What do you mean? We beat them last time, didn't we? The three of us didn't really take much damage either," Amatsukaze pointed out.

Fubuki frowned. "I didn't really do anything. I just stood guard over Kaga and Zuikaku the whole time…"

"Well, I fought the Abyssals and I've seen you during training, so I believe you wouldn't have had a problem," Amatsukaze said, trying to reassure her fleetmate.

"Thanks, but… How do we know that those enemies were the strongest they have? And there weren't that many of them either. I have a bad feeling that things are just going to get much harder from here on out…"

Yamakaze whined in discomfort, but Amatsukaze simply shook her head.

"You're being too pessimistic. There's no reason to assume that those enemies were extraordinarily weak."

"Maybe. But I still think we should be prepared for harder fights from now on."

"Can't argue with being prepared, I guess," Amatsukaze replied before firing another shot towards the training dummies.

"I h-heard the carriers fought a strong enemy," Yamakaze interjected, scaring herself with her own words. "If there are enemies like that… Will we have to fight them too?"

"Oh, you mean that Airfield Princess that attacked the base?" Amatsukaze recalled. "If there are a lot of enemies like her, then yeah, I could see that being a problem… Even four carriers and a submarine fleet couldn't sink her, and they all were beaten up pretty badly by the end of the sortie."

"I think the Princesses might be part of the Abyssal command structure," Fubuki inputted. "That's what I heard Kaga telling Akagi, anyway. So maybe there aren't that many of them…?"

"Yeah, hopefully," Amatsukaze added. "Though even one of them would be a bitch to deal with."

"Hey!" a loud, cheerful voice suddenly called out, and the three destroyers looked over to see Kongou and her sisters sailing towards them. "Bucky! Out training this early?"

"Ah, hello, Kongou," Fubuki greeted. "Yeah, we thought we would get some practice in. Are you here to train too?"

"Yep! A true ship girl never neglects her duties!" the battleship declared proudly, causing Fubuki to suppress a laugh because of how ridiculous that sounded coming from Kongou.

"Are they all from your fleet, Haruna?" Hiei asked, looking over the three destroyers. "Wow, your fleet must be really dedicated. So the American admiral really is pretty tough, huh?"

"Ah, yes. Haruna nearly burst into tears when we asked her how her training was going that first week," Kirishima said with a smirk.

"N-no! That was so long ago!" Haruna quickly countered, trying not to look bad in front of her juniors. "Training is going fine now! Right, girls?"

"I still think it's annoying, but yeah, I guess it's helpful," Amatsukaze admitted.

"I heard he makes you fistfight each other," Hiei said with a grin. "That kinda sounds like fun."

"It's CQC training," Fubuki told her.

Haruna nodded. "I feel more confident engaging abyssals up close after that training. I think it's useful."

Fubuki then remembered what the three destroyers were discussing before the Kongou-class ships arrived.

"Hey, Kongou, you're Admiral Genji's Secretary Ship, right? What happened with that mission the carriers went on a while back?"

Kongou raised an eyebrow. "The Airfield Princess sortie? You don't know what happened?"

"I mean we know what happened, but we wanted to know more about the Princess herself," Amatsukaze clarified. "How powerful is she, exactly? How many Princesses are there? Will we be facing anymore of them in the near future?"

"I'm not sure Kongou is the best Secretary Ship to ask these questions to," Kirishima said, referring to her older sister's tendency to skip out on the base's administrative meetings.

"Rude!" Kongou spat before turning to the destroyers with a smug grin on her face. "Actually, as things would have it, I do know a thing or two about the Abyssals. Sure pays to be a Secretary Ship, doesn't it?"

"Literally," Amatsukaze agreed, "you get a bigger stipend than us, too."

"Yep! Maybe one day you can become as great as I am and get a Secretary position for yourself, desu!" Kongou boasted proudly as she puffed out her chest.

"Um, about the Princess…?" Fubuki tentatively asked, trying to get them back on track.

"Oh, right," the nameship said, growing more serious. "The Princess is just as powerful as you figured. She managed to hold off four of our strongest carriers, and that was after she lost some planes from bombing our base. To put it simply, her airpower is unlike anything we've seen before, either from ship girls or the Abyssals. We were extremely lucky when she attacked our base because she could have potentially done a lot more damage. She has the airpower equivalent to an entire airfield, hence her name. If we face her again, and we will eventually, then we're going to need to sortie at least four standard carriers to even have a shot at sinking her, desu."

The group of girls grew deathly silent after hearing that disheartening information from the normally-cheerful battleship.

"And to answer your other question," Kongou continued, "yes, there is more than one Princess. During that sortie, it was obvious that someone other than just the Airfield Princess was calling the shots, since the Guadalcanal was attacked by a fleet of abyssal submarines and destroyers that the Airfield Princess did not call in. That must mean that whoever ordered that fleet to sortie has at least an equal standing to the Airfield Princess. This is just a guess, but we think that there might be an entire group of Princesses who serve as the leaders for the Abyssals."

"... An entire group, huh?" Amatsukaze finally said, breaking the tense silence. "And they're all as strong as the Airfield Princess?"

Kongou shrugged. "Around the same level, I think. Let's just say that they aren't to be taken lightly…"

Fubuki swallowed nervously, and behind her, Yamakaze looked as if she were about to faint out of fright. Even Kongou's sister ships appeared to be uncomfortable, so Fubuki guessed that this was the first time Kongou shared all that information with them as well.

"But don't worry!" Kongou suddenly exclaimed in her usual jovial tone. "I'm sure we'll beat them in the end, right?"

"Y-yes, if we all train our hardest, we can do it," Haruna agreed with a shaky smile, but she definitely didn't sound certain.

"No one can beat the Kongou-class!" Hiei added, though her words were not very convincing either.

Realizing the atmosphere she created, Kongou sighed. "You guys… There's no point in worrying over this, desu. My advice to all of you is to just do the best you can. Nobody can really do more than that, right?"

The rest of the ship girls nodded, and Kongou gave them another bright smile.

"All right, then! Good luck with your training, you three!"

She then sailed away with her sisters, leaving the destroyer group to themselves.

"That was certainly motivational," Amatsukaze sarcastically noted.

"Even the battleships looked scared…" Yamakaze said with a downcast expression.

Fubuki looked out at the horizon. So it appears that the enemy is stronger than we thought… Can we really beat them?

But as the destroyer thought about the future, she realized that Kongou's words were true. We can't change the Abyssals. All we can do is train as we hard as we can in order to prepare ourselves. Cowering in fear is useless… What would Akagi do in this situation? I'm sure she wouldn't give up, so I can't either! If I do, I'll be a disgrace to her and the rest of our fleet!

With a determined glint in her eye, Fubuki turned back to the training grounds. With her cannons loaded, she aimed at a training dummy in the distance, then fired.

We are warships, she thought as she watched her shell sail through the air. We were made to fight, and to defeat the enemy. And that's exactly what we'll do.

"Admiral, what's this?"

"Don't touch that!" Drake exclaimed, taking his passport out of Sendai's hands and shoving it back into the drawer. "Seriously, do you have to go around touching everything you can get your hands on?"

Sendai pouted. "But your house is so interesting…"

"It's really not," Drake replied, unsure of how she could possibly find the place 'interesting.' There wasn't anything special in his flat aside from the usual household appliances.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. Sendai excitedly rushed to open it, revealing Kaga and Akagi.

"Hello!" Akagi greeted. "See, Kaga? I told you we weren't early."

"Actually, you are," Sendai said with a grin. "I'm just even earlier!"

"She's been here for half an hour," Drake added, already tired of having to simultaneously entertain and control the energetic light cruiser.

"I came over as soon as the sun went down! A night battle with the Admiral!" Sendai declared.

Drake sighed. "Don't put it that way, please… Anyway, since you're here, just make yourself at home, I guess. I got all the stuff you asked for, so…"

"Ah, the bauxite!" Akagi exclaimed as she saw the tub full of resources on the kitchen counter, beside other food and drink items. "Admiral! Thank you!"

Before Drake could even respond, the gluttonous carrier rushed past him and immediately began stuffing her face. Drake looked on in a mixture of mild disgust and amazement.

"That must have been expensive," Kaga said, also eyeing the bauxite tub.

Drake shrugged. "I just took it from one of the resource dumps. Hopefully it's not a significant enough amount that people will notice it missing…"

Kaga sighed, but said nothing else on that matter. "So, what movie are we going to watch today? You can tell us now, right?"

"I guess. It's called Titanic. You've heard of that ship, right? It was pretty famous back then."

"I believe so. It was a British passenger liner that sunk, correct?"

"Yeah. The movie is about that event."

Drake wasn't a big fan of romance films, but there was something about this one in particular that stuck with him. Maybe it was because he liked tragedies, or it might have been because the sea setting appealed to him. He was an admiral, after all.

"But wouldn't we already know the ending, then?" Kaga asked. "The movie can't possibly be interesting since we already know what's going to happen."

"Oh, don't be so sure about that," Drake replied with a smirk. "The sinking of a ship isn't all there is to this movie… Though admittedly I did choose it because it was about a ship. I thought maybe you girls could connect with it more that way."

The corner of Kaga's mouth kicked upwards in amusement. "I don't think it works quite that way, sir."

"Whatever. It's still a great movie either way. You'll see."

Soon enough, the rest of the fleet began to arrive, and Drake's house was filled with a lively chatter as they all gathered together and talked among themselves. To the admiral himself, the situation felt strange. There he was, an American in his house on a Japanese naval base, having a party with a group of warships personified as human girls. When he first joined the Navy, Drake never in his wildest dreams expected to be doing something like this.

Also, it feels kind of awkward being the only guy here, he thought to himself. It feels like I'm in a harem anime, except none of my harem members are actually in love with me.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, and Drake went over and opened it to reveal the final missing member of their fleet: Bismarck. When the German ship girl entered, there was a moment of awkward silence before everyone went back to what they were doing. Mostly everyone, at least.

"What's she doing here?!" Amatsukaze demanded to know, evidently still salty from the other day. "I thought this was supposed to be a celebration for the first sortie, which she wasn't even on!"

Bismarck frowned angrily. "I was ordered to come, so I came. Don't blame me."

Suzuya also lost some of her usual cheer as she spotted the battleship. "Hey, Admiral, why's she here?"

Drake suppressed a sigh. He knew something like this would probably happen. "You two, stop making a fuss. Bismarck is your fleetmate now, so you better get along with her. I'm sure she's very sorry for anything rude she said to you before, so can't you just move past that already?"

Bismarck's frown deepened as Drake spoke for her, but she did not outright deny his words, so the admiral took that as a victory.

"Whatever," Amatsukaze said, turning away and going back to the other destroyers.

"Hm… All right," Suzuya gave in, not willing to ruin the entire party over something like that. "I'll just pay ya back in training later, Bismarck!"

"See? I told you you could get along with them," Drake said to Bismarck once the two Japanese ship girls went back to whatever they were doing.

"I don't think that is considered 'getting along with them,'" Bismarck snorted. "They barely tolerate me as it is. Not that I care, though."

Drake shook his head in disappointment. Of course things couldn't be that easy.

The rear admiral then stepped towards the front of the room, causing everyone to quiet down.

"All right, everyone, welcome," he greeted, "for tonight's showing, we will be watching the movie Titanic, about the British ship that sunk in 1912. It's a good movie, so make sure you pay attention… Maybe I'll make you take another quiz about it next week during training."

The ship girls groaned at that, which caused Drake to smirk.

"I'm kidding, obviously. Anyway, that's really all I have to say, so I'll just start the movie now."

There weren't that many seats around the television in Drake's living room, so the fourteen of them had to make do with what they had. The couch barely fit about four people, and Drake ended up squished in between Yamakaze, who latched onto his sleeve as if they were about to watch some horror film, and Bismarck, who no one else evidently wanted to sit next to. The rest of the girls either sat on the floor or on extra pillows or bedsheets.

After someone dimmed the lights, causing Yamakaze to clutch Drake's arm even more tightly, the movie started. At first, the ship girls were excited about watching a movie and kept making comments about the film, but as time went on, they grew more and more silent.

The movie itself was fairly long, but nobody seemed to have a problem with that. Even Drake, who had already seen Titanic before, wasn't bored, though he did feel a bit uncomfortable about being pressed so closely against two other people, especially during the more… awkward scenes. Yamakaze also did not let him go for the entire movie, which Drake didn't really mind because she was just so cute, but there were times where he thought he would lose circulation to his right arm.

When the movie finally ended and the credits began rolling, there was silence again. Though he had already seen the movie before, Drake couldn't help but feel a dull ache in his chest afterwards, which was the same feeling (which he liked, to be honest) that he got whenever he finished a tragedy. He could also hear a few muted sniffles, so at least a few of the other girls felt some emotion, which was encouraging. A lot of people considered it corny to cry at the end of a movie like Titanic, so at least he wasn't completely alone in liking the film a lot.

"All right, that's all," the rear admiral concluded, standing up and slowly turning the lights a bit brighter. "It's probably well past midnight by now, so you all should go home and get some sleep."

"Admiral! That was so sad!" Suzuya exclaimed, also getting up. "I thought this was supposed to be a fun party!"

"I thought it was beautiful," Haruna said, speaking up in defense of the film.

"See? At least one of you has good taste," Drake said. "Think of this movie as encouragement to do your best on the battlefield. See how much tragedy a sinking ship can bring?"

"R-right, sir!" Akagi agreed in between sniffles, then held up the empty bauxite tub. "B-by the way, you're out of b-bauxite."

Are you crying because of the bauxite or because of the film? Drake wondered inwardly.

"Well then," Bismarck started, getting up and stretching. "I'm leaving. Gute nacht, Admiral."

"Good night," Drake returned as she left. Guess she didn't find it too sad, though I doubted she would in the first place. Maybe it was because it was a British ship?

"Admiral, you can't kick us out just yet!" Sendai protested. "The night is still young! There's still time for a night battle!"

"Yahagi, please take Sendai home," Drake simply said, far too tired to deal with the night battle enthusiast's antics.

"Yes, sir," Yahagi replied as she dragged Sendai out of the house. Kashima followed closely behind, waving goodbye as she returned to the dorm building she shared with the two light cruisers.

"We'll be leaving too, Admiral," Fubuki piped up.

"Y-yeah, g-goodnight," Amatsukaze said, trying to hide her teary eyes.

Drake couldn't help but smile slightly. "Good night, you two. Did Yamakaze already leave?"

Fubuki and Amatsukaze looked at him like he was insane, and he then realized that the green-haired destroyer was hiding behind him, lightly holding onto his sleeve.

"Uh… Can I help you?"

"Y-you said it wouldn't be scary…" Yamakaze said, her tone accusatory.

"Oh, come on. It wasn't scary at all," Drake replied with a sigh. "Don't tell me you're too scared to walk home by yourself…"

Yamakaze blushed and looked away. "I don't like the dark…"

The rear admiral frowned. "Can someone please walk Yamakaze back?"

"I'll do it, sir," Haruna volunteered. "You wouldn't be scared with a battleship protecting you, right, Yamakaze?"

The timid destroyer shot a nervous glance at her admiral, but reluctantly let go of him and followed Haruna out, along with the other two destroyers.

And to think that she's a warship easily capable of killing a man. Honestly, if there was one thing he learned from tonight, it was that all the ship girls were definitely human. They had emotions and feelings just like everyone else, and they were far more than just ordinary weapons.

The rest of the fleet left soon after, and the last two to leave were Kaga and Akagi. Kaga offered to stay behind to help with the cleanup since she was the Secretary Ship, so Akagi went on ahead.

"What did you think of the movie, Kaga?" Drake asked once they were alone, curious about the stoic carrier's opinion.

"Hm? It was fine, I suppose," she replied as she tossed an empty juice bottle into the trash can.

Yeah, I shouldn't have expected much else out of her.

"But… It was strange, though," she then continued. "I have always thought the sinking of a ship to be a tragic event because of how much time, effort, and money is spent on the vessel, not to mention that the utility of a ship far outweighs the usefulness of a single human. However, in this movie, though the ship sinking was unfortunate, the main focus seemed to be on the humans, and how their losses were actually far worse… In the end, why does the death of a single human mean so much? Even to me, I felt far more impacted by a human's death than the sinking of the actual Titanic… That surprised me."

Drake was a bit amazed that Kaga thought so deeply into the movie, but it made sense.

"Maybe it's because you're no longer just a ship now," he pointed out. "You're a human as well, right? So it's only natural that the suffering of humans would resonate more deeply with you. I guess I can't really explain it that well, but… There's just much more you can experience in a human body. During your time in World War II, you couldn't feel sadness, love, or any sort of emotion. Though you can look back at that time and feel emotions about it now, that's only because you're in a human body, and you are now able to translate what you felt back then into the emotions you feel today."

Kaga looked at the floor, her eyes far away. "That is what I thought as well, but… Even though I know all that, it is still difficult for me to understand these types of emotions. I am sure you have noticed this by now, but I… I am not as outgoing or expressive as the other girls. Maybe that is just my nature, but I think it's because I still don't understand these emotions that this new body has bestowed upon me. I feel as though I am… Lacking in that regard."

Drake stood silently for a few seconds, not sure of what to make of that. This all seemed like very personal information, so he wondered why she was sharing it with him. Kaga herself realized that as well, and she blushed slightly as she turned away, embarrassed that she had let all that slip out.

"You're wrong about yourself," Drake finally said. "You remember a couple days ago when we were talking about the Battle of Tangier? You said you would 'fight by my side until the end.'"

Kaga's blush deepened. "That's…"

"You are the only one who's ever said anything like that to me," the rear admiral continued on. "Nobody's ever brought up the Battle of Tangier with me, and no one's asked me about what happened that day, not even my own family. That's pretty much the way I wanted it, since I don't like to talk about how I acted back then, but for some reason, you still asked me about it. And… And I'm glad you did."

Drake cursed inwardly as he felt his own face heat up at saying that. God, I probably sound so pathetic right now…

"Admiral…" Kaga's golden eyes shined briefly with emotion before she blinked and her expression returned to its normal mask, though she did wear a small smile. "Admiral, thank you. You always find the right words to say."

"I could say the same about you," Drake parried with a smirk, but he really did mean what he said.

The two stood staring at each other for a second before the atmosphere turned from warm to awkward, and Kaga hurriedly turned around.

"W-well, I will be leaving then, sir. Good night."

"Yeah, good night," Drake responded as the aircraft carrier left.

Hm… I've always preferred working alone, but I think we make a good team, the American mused as he finished cleaning up the living room. Maybe being posted here in Japan was a good thing after all.