A Certain Lady Part 31

Hiei hummed a happy tune as she finished pouring out a piping hot cup of water. It wasn't the most elegant or steady of displays, but she was in far too good a mood to care.

The reason for her chipper self could be attributed to two things.

The first was the fact she had two fully functional arms again. Sure, the newly repaired appendage was still plenty sore. But she was officially seaworthy again. It would just take some proper stretching and a nice regime of target practice to get her battery up to par again.

The second, and vastly more important reason, was that she was having a tea party with her dear elder sister. As she felt was appropriate, she had pulled out all the stops.

She'd broken out the nice tablecloth and its matching accessories. Her special silverware and tea set sat on the table in an orderly and pleasing arrangement. The centerpiece was shared between a steaming pot of water under a cozy that sported a pleasant plaid pattern and a tiered cake stand filled to the brim with all manner of fresh snacks. Near the two sat an arrangement of tins containing different teas just waiting for their chance.

Having the tea already steeping simply wouldn't do. Everyone took theirs a little different and her sisters were no exception. She liked hers a bit stronger, too strong for Haruna, and Kirishima preferred hers a little more textbook. And Kongou? Well, she tended to let hers steep more or less depending on her mood and proximity to Admiral Goto.

And that wasn't even getting into the choice of tea!

Their chances to sit together had been slim to none, but Hiei memorized everything to the letter when the did. She refused to let anything slip by and wonder about maybes or what-ifs should the worst come to pass.

Now considering Admiral Goto was still in Yokosuka and Kongou was getting ready to set sail for battle, she had been almost certain it would be jasmine with a long steep. Probably a drip or two of honey and not a grain of sugar.

"Mhmhm~" Kongou giggled playfully as she stirred in one lump of sugar to her honey bereft earl grey. "You guessed the time to steep, but not the time of day."

"One out of... many isn't too bad?" countered Hiei weakly, albeit with her smile still firmly in place. She reached out and plucked a tin of breakfast tea from amongst the others as her choice of drink. It wasn't exactly breakfast time in the lest. However she was a battleship and, to quote a rather boisterous American, she did what she wanted.

Being a Kongou merely added to it.

"I'm just happy finally I get to have some time with my biggest little sister." Kongou took a lady-like sip of her drink and let out a content sigh. Her normally alert teitoku seeking radar was relaxed and bobbing in tune with her movements. "I'm looking forward to when Haruna and Kirishima can join us, but until then I have you all to myself."

"Maybe we can convince Haruna to bring Tiger along with her some day." Hiei hadn't heard much from Haruna unfortunately. But what little she had usually involved their British cousin. It'd be nice to meet her some day. The more the merrier!

"Oh, that would be fun! And Miss Amy as well."

"I'm sure she'd like to meet everyone."

"Dess!"

The two sisters each took a sip of their steaming teas before deciding to add a little bit of snack to their meal. Kongou took a warm scone and adorned it with a generous helping of blueberry preserves while Hiei helped herself a slice of cake.

Kongou raised an eyebrow when Hiei's plate clattered as she served herself.

"Hiei, how's your arm?"

She blinked before setting down the plate with a bit more care than was probably needed. Better safe than worry.

"It's still a bit sore, but it won't be much longer before I can get back into the fight." She laughed and tried to put her sister at ease. Few ships could be said to love as much as a Kongou did. And the name-ship was above all others without question in her eyes. "Don't you worry, oneesama. They got a lucky shot in and I had a lot of help recovering."

"I know, but I'm your sister. And I'm going to be worried no matter what you say." Kongou stood from her seat and took the few steps needed to place herself directly behind Hiei. With a flourish, she wrapped her arms around the seated warship and hugged her tightly. "So you get to put up with me being a worrywart about absolutely everything. It doesn't matter what it is. I want the absolute best for my precious imoutos."

Hiei could only lean into the embrace and close her eyes.

She was confident in her prowess in a great many things. Her drive and skill both on the battlefield and off were tremendous. Yet she would always be weak to the comforting presence of her sister. Maybe it was a ship thing. Or a sister ship thing. She wasn't really sure.

But she didn't really care.

"Now!" declared Kongou with a grin. "No more grim talk. I want to gossip and goof off and relax, dess!"

Before Hiei could open her mouth to reply, Kongou was already back in her seat with a bright-eyed expression and mirth on her lips.

Gossip, and fun, and all that silly jazz? Oh, she could do that. One didn't share a home with Mutsu and not pick up on a few things. Part of her was dreading the day Arizona decided she would get in on the fun. At least Jintsuu didn't seem too driven towards it.

"Then tell me, oneesama," began Hiei as she did her best to imitate the half-lidded gaze Mutsu tended to use when she was feeling in a particularly teasing mood. "When am I going to be an aunt~?"

Had Kongou been taking a drink of anything at the moment, it was almost guaranteed to have been used to create a spit-take suitable for legend.

"Where did you hear that!?"

"A little ship told me." Specifically Jintsuu with her access to the Light Cruiser Information Network. Jintsuu only allowed her a very, very limited amount of direct access. And only when it was either an emergency or it pertained to her sisters. One did not trifle in the affairs of or question the boons granted by the shipgirl equivalent of an NCO. Not without paying the penalty.

"Ooooh. It had better not have been Ashigara." Kongou pouted and crossed her arms as Hiei laughed. "And next time I'm going to use a ribbon that doesn't chafe so much."

"You did not!" exclaimed Hiei in an intentionally over the top manner.

"Goto was trying to be professional, but I know his resolve was cracking. One more push and..." She trailed off as her imagination began to run wild. Occasionally a giggle or a syrupy 'Goto~' would escape her lips. And then, like a flash, it was gone. "But we have a war to win. And then I'm going to make sure my beloved teitoku knows just how much I've been holding back."

"That's the first time I've ever heard you use his name like that." Hiei might have been lacking in contact, but she couldn't rightly recall ever hearing Kongou refer to Admiral Goto so familiarly. Even in comfortable settings like this there had always been some attachment of rank.

"Really? Hm, I suppose so." Kongou didn't seem too surprised at the realization. At least not beyond acknowledging it.

"You might win the bet yet." Hiei took a measure bite of the tasty cake. It was one of her more trusted recipes and she had not been about to attempt an experiment given what was soon approaching.

"You do not have faith in your oneesama to be the first to be a deliriously happy wife and mother with at least one in the slipway?" The exaggeration was so intentional that both women couldn't help but crack up.

"Weeeel..."

"Oh, how tragic this is. That my own sister does not believe in the power of BURNING LOVE! What have I done to warrant such a relation? How have I failed!?"

Hiei nearly fell from her chair laughing as Kongou continued her dessperate tirade of sorrow and indignation. Her sides hurt so much from laughing that she was fairly certain she was about to burst a bulkhead or crack her belt.

"You must believe, oh imouto! That love and spirit will see you through to victory!"

"Y-You're ha-hahha! Having too mu-much fun!" gasped the second Kongou as she tried to crawl back into her seat.

"Dess~!"

"But!"

"Is there more that my dear little sister knows that I do not?" questioned Kongou with a leering and plainly amused gaze. She was having too much fun indeed.

"Technically, I won the bet."

"What!?" Kongou recoiled as if struck by a full broadside, her arms snapping into a defensive position.

"I, Battleship Hiei of the Kongou-Class of fast battleships, am a mother!" Hiei struggled to retain her imperious persona, but Kongou's showy reactions of desspair and defeat were making it ludicrously difficult. Were it any other member of her household, they would have cracked in moments. Jintsuu would have broken down into a case of severe giggles before anyone else.

"This cannot be! It must be a lie!" cried Kongou as she clutched her head. With a dramatic flourish, she whirled about and fell to the floor. "By my own sister. How could I have been defeated so? Such tragedy. Such betrayal. It's desspicable!"

They paused to take a sip of their respective teas.

"You were defeated before the battle began, dear sister." Hiei stood from her chair and went to kneel before the fallen Kongou. With the gentle hand of an emperor, she stroked Kongou's cheek. "You never had any hope of being first."

"That's not true. That's impossible!"

"Search your feelings, you know it to be true!"

"Nooooo~!"

There was a pregnant pause.

"Jintsuu has been a terrible influence on you."

"I'm not an American, so I can't plead the fifth. But I will anyways."

"Oh, what has Admiral Richardson done to my dear sister? She's thinking like a Yankee now." Kongou giggled as she stood to her feet and was promptly hugged by a grinning Hiei.

"This, coming from a Japanese ship who smells of scones, black tea, and colonialism?"

"Dess."

Hiei guided Kongou back to her seat and promptly stuffed a scone into her sister's mouth. Kongou seemed happy regardless as she chewed on the pastry.

"You know... If you don't mind being third or fourth in line to win the bet, would you mind helping me with something?" Hiei polished off her cup while she waited for Kongou to finish off the scone.

"Hmm, I don't want to wait any longer than I have to. I want Goto's love so much I can barely stand it. But I think I can wait a little longer if you're planning what I think you're planning." Kongou's smile turned more warm and whimsical.

"I'm going to be making sure that John gets enough love letters and model kits that he'll need a forklift to move them all." She wasn't sure if she was exaggerating or not. But the intent was all the same. She would not let this fail.

"Are you building him a fleet, or does this involve... oh. Oh!" Kongou's violet eyes brightened as she realized what Hiei was plotting.

Hiei nodded resolutely.

"He'll always have us, no matter what happens or how he holds us in his heart. But he's more stubborn than Arizona and he only has one ring."

Hiei knew she held a part of Richardson's heart that no one living ever could or would. And there had been times she wasn't sure if even the late Mrs. Richardson had held some of what she did now. But she was not the one he should be giving his ring to. If anyone was going to hold his heart like that again, it would be the one who he held the heart of. And she would brook no quarter. She would see him happy come hell or high water.

That was her love for him.

Her love for her other half.

"So then, what's the plan?"

"Love letters forged in Mutsu's handwriting. Each delivered with a model kit and enough spirit to shake a mountain."

Kongou laughed merrily.

"If that doesn't get him to make a move, then we'll have to lock them in a room together." She placed a hand on her chest and smiled brilliantly. "For the realization of their burning love, I will gladly lend a hand. Not only mine, but I will unleash the full might of the combined American and Japanese Navies."

"And then we'll do the same to Goto."

"Dess!"