Relieving the Besieged Castle

She's running.

To where I do not know, only that it is away from me.

My daughter.

I want to go after her. To tell her the truth. That she is loved, cherished. Everything that has happened was solely to keep her safe. But I cannot move. I...

Where has my strength gone? The courage and conviction to stand against my enemy, to never falter against their weapons and hate as we dueled to the death. I have sortied into battle time and time again, always confident in my actions even as the specter of death hung over us. Yet here in this room, with only the simple truth to face, I've become so powerless.

So afraid.

The silence between us as I hesitated, the words I so wanted to say but couldn't find the strength to do so. But it was too long. I was too hesitant. The moment had passed. She stood there with the pieces of my past, my secrets laid bare in the worst fashion possible as all my fears and doubts smothered my words. That look she gave me. Anger. Confusion. Pain…

Betrayal.

It hurts. More than any torpedo or bomb. I try to stifle the pain, but… it's too hard. Too much to stem the flow. How could a simple look hurt so much?

I'm afraid. Afraid that anything I could do would only make it worse. What words could I give that would not ring hollow in her ears? What could I say that would lessen the guilt? Fifteen years. Years where I told myself that it was for her own safety. So that she wouldn't be hurt as I had when Haruki had been taken away from me. That was what I said to myself each time I reached for the pen, each time she gave me that look of trust and adoration, never knowing the truth.

Had she been searching all this while? The thought haunts me, scares me. How could I have missed the signs? If I had been a little more attentive, a little less afraid of closeness… how much pain had she endured, looking for a mother that had always been right beside her? A mother who… who...

How can she see it as anything but cruel abandonment?

If she were to hate me...

Haruki… what should I do? I… I don't know what I can do. I need you now more than ever. Please. I've failed as a mother and now our daughter… she...

Footsteps.

I lift my head, the faint glimmer of hope on my heart. Could it be…?

No.

"Akagi? I heard a commotion…" Daisuke's face is a mask of concern. One that quickly morphs to alarm as he takes in the signs, understanding striking him like a hammerblow. "You're crying." He asks, dread creeping upon his features. "What's wrong?"

"Daisuke…" I whisper, my words barely able to pass my lips as I gesture at the raised tatami mats. A place I once thought secure. What a fool I've been. "Fubuki… she… she knows I'm her..."

His face is pale, almost the same white shade as an abyssal. "She found out? On her own?"

I don't answer, the question sparking a thought in my mind. A traitorous one. How could she have known to look? Why had she been asked to clean only to find what I had hidden? Kongou. Her tone, her words. So nonchalant like usual yet so specific. Had she known? Had she… somehow planned this?

"Akagi, listen to me."

The admiral's words call to me. But his voice is faint, a distant echo as the thoughts swirl within, each one gaining in intensity. My breath comes quick, something dark and ugly deep within my breast clamoring for release. How else could it had happened? Who else could have arranged for this. She had to have known what would have happened. Maybe even desired the outcome. That… that b-

"Listen to me! It's not too late!"

I blink, my thoughts in disarray at sudden physical sensation. Daisuke is staring at me with concern, arms on my shoulders.

"You can still make up with her." He says, each word heavy with meaning. "But you have to act quickly!"

Meaning I desperately want to believe in. But…

"How? How can she forgive me after-"

A look from him silences my words. Not the look of the brother of my beloved. Not the look of someone who once shared in our long ago interactions. No it is the look of the admiral, one who must give orders.

"Tell her the truth. All of it." He says simply. "It's too late to try and turn back the clock. She knows enough of the truth now to put most of it together and nothing in the world will change that. So tell her everything. Explain your side of things, let her understand why you did it."

Can it be so simple? "How can you know for certain? How do you know she will believe me?"

He sighs. "I don't, but Fubuki is a smart girl. I can't promise that she'd agree with your reasons, but if the truth comes from you? At least then she'll be able to see the whys. Forgiveness starts from understanding. It doesn't work any other way. And it has to be you who tells her Akagi. Not me, not Kongou, and definitely none of the remaining geriatrics from high command who were in on it back in the day. If it doesn't come from you, we'd only be doing the same song and dance we have for the last fifteen years, and it will only hurt both of you further. There's no more delaying it Akagi. No more hiding from the truth. It's time to come clean. You have to let her know before her heart hardens."

"W-what do you mean?"

The expression on his face changes. Worry lines etched with tiredness and haunting guilt. "Did you know I found her looking at the memorial? The one from fifteen years ago?"

Oh no. Oh no no no. Please. No.

"She was hoping to find her parents names on them, to give her at least some closure. Because if they weren't dead…"

Please.

"She cried her heart out Akagi, terrified at the thought that she was unwanted."

I can't speak. I can't say anything. All that comes out is a wordless sob as I look upon him in horror.

"Talk to her. Tell her the truth before it's too late."

Dimly, barely hearing his words, I make for the door, his softly muttered words following on my heels.

"It's the only way this story can hope for a happy ending."

This story is a collaborative effort between myself, Mashadarof402, lt_agn02, and Lord K. This Chapter was written by Mashadarof402.