Yin and Wo watched as Shimakaze, Tenryuu, and Musashi disappeared off into the horizon; heading toward their first real sortie. Yin did not expect trouble, after all; despite the numbers they were only going to be fighting I-class destroyers. Letting out a slow sigh, Yin looked down beside him to see Wo standing beside him, still looking out toward the horizon. "They'll be back," Reassured Yin, causing Wo to turn and look up at him; her eyes barely visible beneath her headgear.

"Wo?"

"Don't worry, they'll be fine too," Yin added, thinking that Wo was likely worried about them, as he gazed back at the horizon.

"Wo!"

Yin turned his gaze back to Wo, wondering what she was crying about, and quickly understood. Wo was still standing where she had been and was still facing him, but all four tentacles on her head gear were pointing straight for the pool/firing range. "You want to go for a swim huh? Well it's not like I have anything important to do. Until we get more ships and begin more sorties my paperwork is practically non-existent. Let's go."

"Wooo!" Wo exclaimed happily as she turned around and led the way across the docks, shuffling along with her short little legs.

Yin followed behind her, making sure to slow his speed to not accidentally walk past or kick Wo by accident. Despite Wo's little legs they made it across and away from the dock in good time; getting into the pool/firing range area within ten minutes. As Yu slid off his uniform, he watched as Wo haphazardly leapt headlong into the pool and began swimming around happily; both her limbs and tentacles moving rapidly to speed her along.

Letting out a small snicker, Yin walked over to the pool and dropped himself in; the water feeling cool and pleasant against his skin. Doing a quick stretch, he pressed his legs against the wall of the pool and sprung off of it, speeding across its length as he began to do laps. The others likely wouldn't be back until late in the afternoon; it would be a long day.

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"That is the place where the nest resides then?" Musashi asked as she, Shimakaze and Tenryuu stood atop the water a mere half league from the fake cruiser's wreckage.

Tenryuu nodded as she pulled her katana out of its sheath and readied her gun. "Yeah that's it. It was swarming with I-class's before. We killed about a dozen of them then."

"And now we can finish the job!" Shimakaze said impatiently as the barrels of her Rensouhou's seemed to twitch and shiver with excitement.

"This Musashi understands. How do we want to do this?" Musashi asked politely.

"Let's just rush in and break em! We'll do it so fast they won't see it coming!" Shimakaze stated as the rudders on her heels began twitching like her Rensouhou's.

Tenryuu shook her head. "It was awfully dark in there last time and we don't know how many there are. I say we blast them out with all of our guns and demolish their nest from here. Once it's destroyed we can destroy the ones that come leave without trouble!"

"Musashi agrees. Our cannons will make short work of it, and destroy many of them as well. It will make this much safer. We don't want to need heavy repairs after our first sortie."

Shimakaze opened her mouth to disagree, but quickly realized she was overpowered in votes and firepower; and they did have a point. "Alright, I guess. We can do it that way. It'll be slow though."

"Yeah it will, but let's light it up and make them so afraid they'll run scared!" Tenryuu said as she aimed her gun toward the nest and let of the first shot.

Shimakaze was next, firing shots from her Rensouhou's right toward the nest and Musashi was last to fire her cannons. The rumbling of which caused the water around them to scream from the shockwaves of her fire. The nest took only two shots directly; every shot after blowing through it creating massive blasts of shrapnel and fire. Within a minute the nest was a mere pile of scrap that was quickly being swallowed up by the sea. And then they appeared. In seconds almost two dozen I-class abyssal destroyers came to the surface and bared their teeth to the girls, showing that they would not retreat. All three girls smiled and re-aimed their guns. It was time to earn some experience.

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Wo watched anxiously with the admiral at the dock for the girls to return. From the way that the admiral was eying the bright orange horizon it was easy to tell that he was nervous; not that she could comfort him much - even though she wanted too.

Suddenly the Admiral began waving his arms and a big smile crossed his face. Looking away from the admiral and to the horizon, Wo could see the silhouettes of Shimakaze, Musashi and Tenryuu, and the warmth of happiness filled her. Within seconds of the three of them climbing onto the dock Wo threw herself at Tenryuu's ankle and hugged her happily. Picking her up, Tenryuu and allowed her to cling onto her chest; an act she happily splurged in to show her care.

But later that night as the three girls were in the warm steamy water with Wo, she could make out words they were saying to each other. 'Battle, guns, destroyer, battleship, cruiser, ships, allies' all of these and more Wo was able to make out, though she could not mimic them. It became obvious to her, from the way the three girls spoke, that they had indeed been in danger when they had gone, and that they would be again.

Later that night as Wo lay beside Tenryuu on the futon, she found herself unable to sleep, but also unable to make noise to tell Tenryuu so. Instead, she only felt an emotion she did not understand. Curiosity, love, caring, fun; she understood all of these emotions and splurged in them with Tenryuu, the admiral, Musashi and even with the little gray guys of Shimi's. But these new emotions were different. They were hard and hot, cold and dark, and thick and steely. She didn't understand these new feelings, but she felt the need to.

Sitting up in the futon, Wo looked at Tenryuu as she slept. Tenryuu was nice and loving and cared for her; she didn't want her to become hurt in whatever danger she was in when away from her, that much she knew perfectly.

Crawling out of the cloth covering her, Wo slid away from Tenryuu; making sure not to wake her. Shuffling out of the room on her tiny legs, Wo went down the dark hallways and came to a door; sliding it open and going in. From the floor she could see the dark skin and large motherly chest of Musashi at the edge of the futon before her. Musashi was quiet, but she felt strong and safe to be near; and Wo liked her a lot. She didn't want her to be hurt, or to go away.

Again leaving the room, Wo continued down the hall and went into the next room. In the room were two futons; one where the three fun gray guys slept comfortably and the other were Shimi lay. Shimi was loud and Wo knew she wasn't liked by her, but she didn't hate her for it. Wo knew she wanted to be liked by Shimi, but would somehow have to make it happen herself.

Sliding out of the room once more Wo came to a set of double doors. Pushing one open, she walked through the empty barren room, filled with only a desk, and came to its second door. Sliding it open, she walked over to the futon in its middle. Laying in it with a small content smile on his face was the admiral. The one she first met and first liked; he played with her, and made her feel happy and wanted. He was a good person and she knew from the way that he talked to her, that when the other girls were gone he was nervous; worried about them and the danger they were in.

As Wo left the admiral's room and office, she stood outside of it; the size of the door making her seem even smaller than she was. She recalled some of the words Tenryuu and the others had said as her tentacles lifted up and touched the protrusions coming off the side of her large head. 'Ammo, gun, cannon.' Feeling even stranger now, Wo walked to the end of the hall and pushed open the door.

The midnight air was cool and moist as it blew off the ocean and around the base. Working by memory, Wo slowly made her way to the angled place of water where Admiral kept taking her to swim; and where she had seen Tenryuu and Shimi firing the loud flashes at circles on the other side. Pushing the door ajar and stepping into the angled place. Stepping up to the water's edge, Wo looked at the clear calm water and recalled that Shimi, Musashi and Tenryuu always stood atop it while using the flashies at the circles.

Jumping down at the water Wo went right into it, sinking down to the bottom in an instant. Quickly swimming back up, Wo used her tentacles to pull herself up and out of the pool and faced it again. Again she jumped at the water and again she went to its bottom. But she did not give up. Again and again and again Wo did this, until finally she stepped onto the water and found her feet holding to its top; her body on the water but above it.

Holding herself steady, she looked at the circle's that sat at the end of the pool. She remembered the shape, look, sound and effect of what happened when Tenryuu's flashy thing flashed toward the circle and tried to make it happen, but nothing did.

Wo glanced down at the water below her and could see her reflection clearly. The protrusions on her large head were shaped just like the flashy things of Tenryuu's; could they do what Tenryuu's flashies did? Wo looked to the circles and thought about aiming toward them, and her protrusions did. She thought about making them flash, but nothing happened. However, Wo was determined now. Time after time she tried to make it flash until finally both of her protrusions let out small flashes; accompanied with small bursts of noise. The circle she was aiming at was in pieces and, feeling the desire to do it again, Wo did so until no circle thing stood in one piece at the end of the pool.

Stopping now that all the circles were broken, Wo realized that while the strange feelings inside her where still there, a few had changed. Instead of feeling like she was scared for Tenryuu, Shimi and Musashi, she now felt like helping them and finding a way to do so. Deciding in that instant she would find a way to help them; Wo's mind was completely made up. But the night was long and sleep was finally catching up with her. Letting out a yawn, Wo left the pool and headed back to bed With Tenryuu; not noticing that the red tips of her tentacles had turned to wiggly stripes, and crawled down their entire length.

Beta read by Nanashi Wanderer

Authors note: And things continue! As a note to a grammar schism that some will likely notice some of the words for wo's thought processes are obviously grammatically wrong, but this is because, as you likely know, her thought processes can be compared to a young child or toddlers. I hope you understand and down attempt to hunt me down, but the words of hers that are obviously wrong was done to make her psyche seem more as it should.

Other than that I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and this look at how wo is slowly changing.